In this episode, Jessica talks with Dr. Brandi Kelly, a licensed clinical social worker and former school superintendent who has spent over two decades in education. Brandi’s story starts with deep personal loss. She was in high school when her brother drowned, and that moment changed everything. Since then, she’s walked through grief, burnout, family challenges, and the pressure of leadership at the highest levels.

Now, she’s the founder of Spark Hope EDU and helps others rebuild their lives from the inside out. This conversation is honest, emotional, and packed with wisdom for anyone navigating hard seasons, questioning their path, or wondering if it’s too late to make a change.

Key Takeaways:

• Real leadership often starts in the hard places

• Burnout is your body asking for something different

• It's okay to walk away, even after decades in a role

• Healing starts when you stop going it alone

• Hope is something you build, not just something you feel

Power Move of the Week:
Practice the pause. Slowing down is sometimes the boldest thing you can do.

Want to learn more?
Follow Jessica on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicacumming04/

Download Clarity in 10

Contact Brandi:

https://sparkhopeedu.com

Stop making other people’s comfort your responsibility. If you’ve been swallowing comments, smoothing tension, or staying quiet to keep the peace, it’s not “maturity”—it’s self-silencing. And over time, it chips away at your confidence, your self-trust, and even your nervous system’s ability to feel safe being seen.

In this episode, Jessica Cumming breaks down what really happens when you finally speak up—not dramatically, not aggressively, but clearly. She shares the real-life moment a familiar comment crossed the line and she stopped protecting a dynamic that was never protecting her. The result wasn’t chaos—it was relief, alignment, and a version of herself she could finally respect.

Here’s the CLEAR method to speak up without starting a fight:
C — Clarify what’s actually bothering you (say the real thing, not the softened version)
L — Listen to your gut (your body notices misalignment first)
E — Evaluate the cost of silence (will you respect yourself tomorrow?)
A — Align with your values (speaking up is integrity, not aggression)
R — Respond directly (one sentence is enough)

This episode is for the woman who’s tired of shrinking in meetings, swallowing comments in relationships, or carrying emotional weight she never agreed to hold. Your voice doesn’t come back all at once—it returns one sentence at a time.

Power Move of the Week: Say one thing you’ve been swallowing. One clear sentence. Then stop negotiating with yourself about whether you were “too much.”

Want to learn more? Follow Jessica on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicacumming04/
Download Clarity in 10 Reset: https://www.jcnewbeginnings.com/clarity-in-10
Ready to go deeper? Book a Clarity Call: https://www.jcnewbeginnings.com/booking-calendar/clarity-call?referral=service_list_widget

What if burnout wasn’t the end but your invitation to begin again?

In this powerful episode of We Are Women, Unapologetically, I sit down with Chris Coladonato, a former high-achieving corporate leader turned speaker, coach, and creator of the therapeutic coloring book Color Me, Unplugged. Together, we unpack what burnout really looks like for high performers and why so many of us don’t even realize we’re in it until we’ve broken.

🎧 Chris shares:

• The subtle signs of burnout she missed (until it was too late)

• Her journey from corporate success to breast cancer diagnosis

• The messy, raw middle of losing your identity after “doing it all”

• Why coloring became her reset tool—and how it can help you too

• The life-changing mindset shift that helped her finally love herself

This isn’t just a story of quitting. It’s a story of choosing: to pause, to heal, and to become.

If you’re stuck in “the in-between” the gooey, hard part of growth—you are not alone. And this episode is your permission to stop proving, and start becoming.

✨ Power Takeaways

• “I didn’t know I was burned out—until I started living differently.”

• “I wore busyness like a badge…and a security blanket.”

• “Coloring wasn’t an escape. It was how I learned to focus again.”

• “The cancer didn’t break me. It made me finally receive love.”

🎁 Resources + Links Mentioned

🔗 Chris's Website: connectioncatalyst.com
📘 Color Me, Unplugged Coloring Book – Available now
📲 Follow Chris on Instagram: @chriscolaunplugged

💌 Free Reset Gift for Listeners

Feeling stuck in the swirl? Download my free reset guide:
👉 Clarity in 10: A Quick Reset

📞 Ready to Reset Your Life & Career?

You don’t have to figure this alone.
✨ Book a complimentary Clarity Call: https://www.jcnewbeginnings.com/booking-calendar/clarity-call?referral=service_list_widget

🗣️ Connect with Me

Instagram: @jessicacumming04/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicacumming04/
Website: https://www.jcnewbeginnings.com/

When a title changes, whether through a layoff, divorce, caregiving shift, empty nest, or a chapter you didn’t choose—it can shake your identity more than you expect. For many high-achieving women, roles become anchors. They give structure, direction, and meaning. So when a title ends, it’s easy to feel lost, irrelevant, or unsure of who you are without it.

In this episode of We Are Women, Unapologetically, Executive Life Strategist Jessica Cumming breaks down the emotional and psychological impact of identity loss and why women feel it more intensely. Jessica shares personal insight, real-life examples, and the deeper truth every woman needs to hear:

Your power didn’t leave with the title.
Your worth didn’t disappear with the role.
You are still becoming.

This episode will help you reconnect to the woman you’ve always been, even when life reshapes your path. Whether you're navigating a career transition, a changing family role, or a season of reinvention, this conversation gives you clarity, hope, and a grounded path forward.

Inside this episode, you’ll learn:
• Why women tie identity to roles like mother, wife, caregiver, and leader
• How title loss impacts self-worth, confidence, and emotional stability
• What remains constant when life forces reinvention
• How to rebuild your sense of self without a title to lean on
• The strengths you carry forward into your next chapter
• How to anchor yourself during identity transitions
• The truth about reinvention after 35, 40, 50+

If you've ever whispered, “Who am I without this title?” this episode will help you hear yourself again — and reclaim the power the world could never take from you.

Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.

There comes a moment when the pressure you’re carrying at work stops feeling like “part of the job” and starts feeling like something deeper. Something heavier. Something you can’t quite name.

In this episode of We Are Women, Unapologetically, I sit down with Dr. Sharalyn Payne for an unfiltered conversation about what it really feels like inside a toxic workplace. Not the polished HR version. Not the vague “bad culture” summary. The reality.

The bullying.
The politics.
The silence from the people who should step in.
The fear from those who don’t want things to change.
And the emotional and physical toll it takes on high-achieving leaders who walk in ready to make a difference.

Dr. Sharalyn shares her experience of joining an organization to shape culture and elevate leadership, only to discover that the CEO, middle management, and HR leadership were all playing a part in a system that rewarded safety, fear, and control over integrity, growth, and transformation.

This episode is a mirror for anyone who has ever questioned themselves in environments that were never healthy to begin with.

What We Explore in This Episode

• The real experience of working inside a toxic work environment

• How misalignment shows up before you even recognize it

• What happens when HR is aware but unwilling to act

• The physical symptoms you should not ignore

• The moment she decided to reclaim her voice

• How toxic workplaces follow you home

• Why high achievers stay longer than they should

• Small but powerful ways to invest in yourself

  Key Takeaways

  By the end of this episode, listeners will understand:

  • You are not imagining the harm.

  • Toxic workplaces can rewrite your health, identity, and confidence.

  • Misaligned systems often punish the people trying to fix them.

  • Your silence is not proof that you are okay.

  • You are allowed to reclaim your voice even if nothing around you changes yet.

  • You do not have to carry what was never yours to fix.

  • Small investments in yourself are still investments.

  • The clarity you gain is often the thing that saves you.

  Who This Episode Is For

  This episode is for high-achieving professionals who:

  • Feel drained, unheard, or undervalued

  • Have been bullied or dismissed in rooms where they were supposed to be respected

  • Are carrying emotional weight at work and home

  • Have lost parts of themselves to a job

  • Feel obligated to stay even though their body and intuition are telling them otherwise

  • Need language, clarity, or validation to finally name what’s happening

    Meet the Guest: Dr. Sharalyn Payne

    Dr. Sharalyn Payne is an award-winning speaker, strategist, trusted advisor, and executive performance coach. She is a systems thinker and builder of leaders who transforms misaligned cultures into exceptional ones.

    Her work spans Fortune 500 companies, global organizations, and public institutions. She is known for taking on the challenges most avoid: fractured culture, leadership bottlenecks, and execution gaps.

    When credibility is on the line and transformation cannot wait, leaders call Dr. Sharalyn.

    Her mission is to raise the standard of leadership, empower organizations to thrive without compromise, and create impact that leaves a lasting mark.

    Connect with Dr. Sharalyn:
    • LinkedIn: Dr. Sharalyn
    • Substack: Ultra Influential (ultrainfluential.com)

    Listen to the Episode

    🎧 Listen to Episode 8: What It Really Feels Like Inside a Toxic Workplace on:

    • Spotify

    • YouTube

    • Apple Podcasts

    • Amazon Music

    • Or wherever you get your podcasts

    Make sure to subscribe to We Are Women, Unapologetically so you never miss an episode.

Episode Summary

Sometimes you make the thoughtful choice.
The responsible choice.
The aligned choice.

And months later, you’re sitting in a life that doesn’t feel like your own, wondering how something so “right” could feel so wrong.

In this episode, Jessica shares a deeply personal chapter: a cross-country move that made perfect sense on paper and became one of the most challenging seasons of her life. It’s a story of identity, misalignment, resilience, and the unexpected clarity that emerges when everything falls apart.

If you’ve ever supported someone you love, made the responsible call, followed the plan, and still ended up questioning everything — this conversation will speak to you.

What We Cover

• When the right decision leads to the wrong reality
• The emotional cost of ignoring your inner knowing
• Why high achievers stay too long in misaligned seasons
• The guilt we carry when “the dream” doesn’t feel good
• How to decode what your body is telling you
• What your choices are actually teaching you
• The turning point that changes everything
• And the clarity questions that shift your entire direction

Clarity Reset Action

Jessica walks you through three key questions to help you understand whether you’re living inside an outdated decision — and what your next steps need to be.

Mentioned in This Episode

• The Clarity in 10 Reset
• The Courage to Pause Waitlist
• Clarity Coaching Calls with Jessica

About Jessica

Jessica Cumming is an Executive Life Strategist helping high-achieving professionals rebuild their next chapter without burnout or apology. She blends clarity, strategy, and manifestation to help leaders create a life that actually feels like theirs.

If your burnout, brain fog, or body has been trying to tell you something, you’re being invited to listen.

In this episode, Executive Life Strategist Jessica Cumming sits down with Anne Trager, executive coach, 5-time entrepreneur, and national martial arts champion at 50. Together, they explore how the body’s “symptoms” are really signals—data points calling you back to balance, energy, and self-understanding.

Anne’s story moves from early loss and reinvention to global entrepreneurship, biohacking, and becoming a French National Champion in martial arts at midlife. It’s proof that clarity doesn’t come from pushing harder, it comes from paying attention.

🎧 Listen now

🔹 Inside This Episode💫

• How Anne rebuilt her energy and identity after burnout, menopause, and exhaustion
  

• What becoming a national martial arts champion at 50 taught her about resilience
  

• Why your body’s symptoms are signals, not setbacks—and how to interpret them
  

• How to use biohacking and neuroscience to reclaim energy and focus
  

• The simple practice of savoring that rewires presence, peace, and perspective
  

• What it means to be “productively delusional” when chasing a dream
  

• The mindset shift that helps high achievers act with courage—while feeling everything
  

“Symptoms are signals. Signals are data. It’s not about fixing yourself— it’s about understanding yourself.” — Anne Trager

About Anne Trager💬

Anne Trager is an executive coach, 5-time entrepreneur, and founder of Potentializer Academy, where she helps leaders unlock clarity, energy, and measurable impact. A certified black belt and former national martial arts champion, she blends the discipline of sport with neuroscience, biohacking, and evidence-based strategy to help clients transform complexity into clarity and potential into power.

She also co-hosts The Human Pulse Podcast, exploring how to live well with technology in an always-on world.

Connect with Anne

📍 Connect with Anne on LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/in/annetrager/

📍 Visit potentializer-academy.com

📍 Listen to The Human Pulse Podcast- https://www.youtube.com/@HumanPulsePodcast

Connect with Jessica

📍Jessica on LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicacumming04/

📥 Download your free Clarity in 10™ Reset — your 10-minute tool to reconnect with what matters- https://www.jcnewbeginnings.com/clarity-in-10

Download the Official Transcript

If you’ve ever been the one everyone counts on, the one who “can make it work” no matter what, this episode will hit home.

In this solo episode, Jessica Cumming, Executive Life Strategist and host of We Are Women, Unapologetically, opens up about what happens when capacity becomes expectation and strength turns into silent exhaustion.

From balancing caregiving with a full-time career to confronting the invisible load that so many women carry behind closed doors, Jessica unpacks the quiet cost of being the strong one for too long and the freedom that begins when you finally put something down.

🔹 Inside This Episode:

• The invisible load: how “being capable” quietly becomes your identity

• The kitchen call: the moment Jessica realized strength without support isn’t sustainable

• Why hinting for help keeps you stuck — and how to finally ask for what you need

• The truth about boundaries and what they really protect

• How to know when your capacity has turned into expectation

• What “done imperfectly” by others can teach you about peace, not performance

“They called me lucky because I could work remote.
But what they didn’t realize was that flexibility became the reason I did everything.”
— Jessica Cumming

Jessica Cumming is an Executive Life Strategist, speaker, and host of We Are Women, Unapologetically. She helps high-achieving professionals reclaim clarity, rebuild after transition, and rise without burnout or apology.

📍 Connect with Jessica on LinkedIn
📥Book a Clarity Call
📄 Download the Official Transcript Here