<![CDATA[HerStory Podcast - Presented by Chamber Fayetteville and Be Freaking Awesome - Featuring Stories of Women of Fayetteville]]>e10be096-1d66-5a6d-bb8e-7e7f080feaf4Fri, 12 Jun 2026 18:26:36 +0000Captivate.fmBe Freaking Awesome Podcast Producershttps://artwork.captivate.fm/f9c65bb5-5734-43a3-b9e0-814a81d65cbd/HerStory-Logo.pngHerStory Podcast - Presented by Chamber Fayetteville and Be Freaking Awesome - Featuring Stories of Women of FayettevilleBe Freaking Awesome Podcast ProducersBe Freaking Awesome Podcast ProducersEvery woman you admire has a story she almost didn't tell. The version where things didn't go as planned. The pivot that looked like a failure before it became the thing that changed everything. The moment she almost talked herself out of the room she was born to be in. Those are the stories that actually teach us something. The ones that make you feel less alone and more ready to go back out there and try again. That's what HerStory is about, and it starts with an invitation. Chamber Fayetteville's Women of All Generations returns on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, from 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center. It's an annual panel, celebration, and networking event that brings together women across industries and age groups for honest, meaningful conversation. This year's theme is "You've Earned This," and it's exactly what it sounds like: a pause worth taking. A room full of women who have worked hard, grown a lot, and earned the right to celebrate that together. The 2026 event features a panel discussion moderated by Brittany Phillips, with confirmed panelists Samantha Gregory (influencer, @MunchinWithMantha), Kelsi Musick (head coach of the University of Arkansas Women's Basketball team), and Carol Gray (General Manager, Village Inn). You'll also find meaningful networking with 400-plus attendees, The Curated Collective marketplace spotlighting local and women-owned businesses, and the Sarah Jessie Young Award presentation, honoring a woman who exemplifies leadership, impact, and generational influence. HerStory is how we're getting you ready for that room. This limited podcast series is produced in partnership with Chamber Fayetteville and hosted by Angela Belford and Sami Kinnison of Be Freaking Awesome. Each episode features a different woman from the Fayetteville community, sitting down to share the real version of her story. Not the polished LinkedIn bio. Not the highlight reel. The actual journey: the grit it took, the confidence she had to build from scratch, and the growth she wouldn't trade even on the hard days. We're not here for surface-level inspiration. We're here for the honest, specific, "I needed to hear that" kind of conversation. The women featured in this series come from different industries, different generations, and different starting points. What they share is a willingness to talk about what it actually took. Because here's what we know after years of coaching and facilitating conversations about leadership and communication: the stories women tell each other in quiet moments, the real ones, are some of the most powerful professional development tools that exist. And most of those stories never get told out loud. HerStory is our attempt to change that. Angela Belford has spent decades helping people understand the beliefs underneath their behavior, the invisible edges that shape how we lead, how we communicate, and how we see ourselves. Sami Kinnison has built a career helping teams and leaders say the things they've been avoiding, and find out what's possible on the other side of that conversation. Together, they bring a warmth and depth to these interviews that creates space for guests to go somewhere real. Each episode is a conversation, not an interview. You'll hear laughter. You'll probably hear something that makes you catch your breath a little. You'll definitely hear something you want to text a friend. If you've ever sat next to a woman at an event and thought, "I want to know more about her story," this series was built for you. If you're the kind of person who drives home from a conference replaying one conversation that changed your whole perspective, you're going to love this. If you've been waiting for permission to tell your own story out loud, we hope something you hear here gives it to you. Subscribe now so you don't miss a single episode, and grab your tickets to Women of All Generations at fayettevillear.com/woag. This is the kind of event that reminds you why community matters, and why your story matters too. HerStory. Real women. Real Fayetteville. Real talk.https://herstory.captivate.fmfalseserialnopodcastEP18 She Kept Going Anyway with Sami Kinnison and Angela BelfordEP18 She Kept Going Anyway with Sami Kinnison and Angela BelfordFrom the very first episode, they have been here. Asking the questions, holding space, staying curious and just barely managing not to ask too many follow-ups during the rapid fire questions. Now it is their turn.

In the finale episode of HerStory, Sami Kinnison and Angela Belford interview each other. No outside guest. No filter. Just the two hosts, who also happen to be mother and daughter, finally answering the questions they have been biting their tongues on across thirteen episodes. They talk about where their careers started, what changed everything, what they have each learned from this series, and what they hope for Fayetteville as it grows. They also, at Sami's insistence, answer the glass ceiling question. In this episode, we get into:

  • Angela's winding path from undecided major to marketing degree to single parent to America Sales Director before she graduated college
  • The moment she found out she was pregnant as a student, and what she thought it meant for her future
  • Sami's career pivot: four promotions in five years at a great organization doing work she was good at but did not love
  • How she ended up pitching herself for a job at The Belford Group by accidentally practicing her salary requirements out loud
  • What surprised them most from thirteen interviews with women across Fayetteville and all generations

Angela talks about what it was like to be a young marketing student, newly married, newly pregnant, hearing voices from her past say she would never amount to anything. She finished her degree anyway. She became president of the American Marketing Association with a baby on her hip. She built teams and developed leaders and mentored the next generation the way she always had. The mechanics of the work, she says, have not actually changed that much. She is wiser. She is healthier. But who she is at the core is who she has always been.

Sami talks about the moment in her corporate career when she realized she was good at her job but did not love it, and how her boss moving on felt like the sign she needed. She talks about the years she spent telling herself nobody would listen to a twenty-two-year-old teach leadership, then discovering that was not true, then deciding to build a business around exactly that. She also talks about Fayetteville the way only someone born and raised there can, having tried to leave more than once and having never actually wanted to.

They end with rapid fire answers to the questions they have been asking everyone else all series. Childhood jobs. Favorite vacation. What they would do with a bonus. And the goal they are most excited about right now.

This is the last episode before the Women of All Generations event on June 16, 2026, 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center. If this series has meant something to you, come be in the room. Grab your tickets at fayettevillear.com/woag.

Mentioned in this episode:

  • Be Freaking Awesome: bfreakingawesome.com
  • The Belford Group: thebelfordgroup.com
  • Be Freaking Awesome podcast (250+ episodes): listen at bfreakingawesome.com
  • Women of All Generations event: fayettevillear.com/woag

Connect with Sami and Angela:


Mentioned in this episode:

Women of All Generations | June 16, 2026

The Women of All Generations event is almost here. Join us June 16, 2026 from 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center for an afternoon of real conversation, connection, and celebration. Tickets and sponsorships are available now. You belong in that room. Grab your spot at fayettevillear.com/woag.

]]>From the very first episode, they have been here. Asking the questions, holding space, staying curious and just barely managing not to ask too many follow-ups during the rapid fire questions. Now it is their turn.

In the finale episode of HerStory, Sami Kinnison and Angela Belford interview each other. No outside guest. No filter. Just the two hosts, who also happen to be mother and daughter, finally answering the questions they have been biting their tongues on across thirteen episodes. They talk about where their careers started, what changed everything, what they have each learned from this series, and what they hope for Fayetteville as it grows. They also, at Sami's insistence, answer the glass ceiling question. In this episode, we get into:

  • Angela's winding path from undecided major to marketing degree to single parent to America Sales Director before she graduated college
  • The moment she found out she was pregnant as a student, and what she thought it meant for her future
  • Sami's career pivot: four promotions in five years at a great organization doing work she was good at but did not love
  • How she ended up pitching herself for a job at The Belford Group by accidentally practicing her salary requirements out loud
  • What surprised them most from thirteen interviews with women across Fayetteville and all generations

Angela talks about what it was like to be a young marketing student, newly married, newly pregnant, hearing voices from her past say she would never amount to anything. She finished her degree anyway. She became president of the American Marketing Association with a baby on her hip. She built teams and developed leaders and mentored the next generation the way she always had. The mechanics of the work, she says, have not actually changed that much. She is wiser. She is healthier. But who she is at the core is who she has always been.

Sami talks about the moment in her corporate career when she realized she was good at her job but did not love it, and how her boss moving on felt like the sign she needed. She talks about the years she spent telling herself nobody would listen to a twenty-two-year-old teach leadership, then discovering that was not true, then deciding to build a business around exactly that. She also talks about Fayetteville the way only someone born and raised there can, having tried to leave more than once and having never actually wanted to.

They end with rapid fire answers to the questions they have been asking everyone else all series. Childhood jobs. Favorite vacation. What they would do with a bonus. And the goal they are most excited about right now.

This is the last episode before the Women of All Generations event on June 16, 2026, 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center. If this series has meant something to you, come be in the room. Grab your tickets at fayettevillear.com/woag.

Mentioned in this episode:

  • Be Freaking Awesome: bfreakingawesome.com
  • The Belford Group: thebelfordgroup.com
  • Be Freaking Awesome podcast (250+ episodes): listen at bfreakingawesome.com
  • Women of All Generations event: fayettevillear.com/woag

Connect with Sami and Angela:


Mentioned in this episode:

Women of All Generations | June 16, 2026

The Women of All Generations event is almost here. Join us June 16, 2026 from 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center for an afternoon of real conversation, connection, and celebration. Tickets and sponsorships are available now. You belong in that room. Grab your spot at fayettevillear.com/woag.

]]>7f6836ab-12f1-4c38-ad17-aa6f0fbb30a5Fri, 12 Jun 2026 08:00:00 -050038:36falsefull118181EP17 To Have Community You Have to Be Community with Shannon HendrixEP17 To Have Community You Have to Be Community with Shannon HendrixAbout two or three weeks after Shannon Hendrix left her corporate healthcare leadership career, her husband looked at her and said: I'm glad I got my Shannon back. She did not fully realize, until that moment, just how much of herself she had been spending.

She took eight months off. She played tennis every day. She had lunch dates and coffee with people she had not made time for in years. She watched Netflix. She started Pilates. And by the time she was ready to ease back in, she had decided that she was only going to do work that aligned with who she actually was.

Shannon is now VP of Operations at Serve2Perform, a Fayetteville-based leadership development organization built around connecting people, encouraging service, and growing leaders at every level. Before that she was a registered dietitian, a food service sales rep, a corporate healthcare executive, and the former Chief Administrator of Arkansas Children's Northwest. She is also one of the core people behind the Brooklyn Ray Foundation, which has donated over a million dollars to Arkansas Children's Cancer Research over seven years. In this episode, Angela sits down with Shannon to talk about what it looks like to build a career by staying curious and keeping your options open. In this episode, we get into:

  • Why she left a thriving corporate career and what her husband said two weeks after she did
  • How she went from registered dietitian to food service sales to healthcare executive, following opportunities instead of a plan
  • The advice she gives young professionals: stay curious, find your voice early, and do not lose yourself climbing the ladder
  • The practical work-life balance shifts she made, including scheduling joy the same way she schedules meetings
  • What NWA connections feel like compared to other places she has lived, and why she believes in connections as collective currency

Shannon talks about what it felt like to realize she had not been doing the things that gave her energy. The tennis. The friendships. The books. The slow mornings. She is clear that work-life balance is not a myth, but it requires intentionality. She now schedules Pilates and tennis on her calendar the way she once scheduled board meetings. She reads with a group of baseball moms. She protects the things that fill her back up because she knows, firsthand, what happens when she does not.

She also says something about NWA community that is worth sitting with. When she left corporate America and reached out to a friend to ask for help figuring out her next move, that person spent an hour making a list of twenty people for her to connect with. She says she has never experienced that kind of generosity in any other community she has lived in. Her take: connections are not just currency here. They are collective currency. When the tide rises, all boats rise.

The Women of All Generations event is June 16, 2026, 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center. Grab your tickets at fayettevillear.com/woag.

Mentioned in this episode:

  • Serve2Perform: serve2perform.com
  • Brooklyn Ray Foundation (Arkansas Children's Cancer Research): mention in show notes and confirm link with Shannon)
  • Arkansas Children's Northwest (Shannon's former employer)
  • University of Central Arkansas, Conway (Shannon's alma mater, nutrition degree)
  • Women of All Generations event: fayettevillear.com/woag

Connect with Shannon:

  • Serve2Perform: serve2perform.com
  • LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/shannon-hendrix

Mentioned in this episode:

Women of All Generations | June 16, 2026

The Women of All Generations event is almost here. Join us June 16, 2026 from 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center for an afternoon of real conversation, connection, and celebration. Tickets and sponsorships are available now. You belong in that room. Grab your spot at fayettevillear.com/woag.

]]>About two or three weeks after Shannon Hendrix left her corporate healthcare leadership career, her husband looked at her and said: I'm glad I got my Shannon back. She did not fully realize, until that moment, just how much of herself she had been spending.

She took eight months off. She played tennis every day. She had lunch dates and coffee with people she had not made time for in years. She watched Netflix. She started Pilates. And by the time she was ready to ease back in, she had decided that she was only going to do work that aligned with who she actually was.

Shannon is now VP of Operations at Serve2Perform, a Fayetteville-based leadership development organization built around connecting people, encouraging service, and growing leaders at every level. Before that she was a registered dietitian, a food service sales rep, a corporate healthcare executive, and the former Chief Administrator of Arkansas Children's Northwest. She is also one of the core people behind the Brooklyn Ray Foundation, which has donated over a million dollars to Arkansas Children's Cancer Research over seven years. In this episode, Angela sits down with Shannon to talk about what it looks like to build a career by staying curious and keeping your options open. In this episode, we get into:

  • Why she left a thriving corporate career and what her husband said two weeks after she did
  • How she went from registered dietitian to food service sales to healthcare executive, following opportunities instead of a plan
  • The advice she gives young professionals: stay curious, find your voice early, and do not lose yourself climbing the ladder
  • The practical work-life balance shifts she made, including scheduling joy the same way she schedules meetings
  • What NWA connections feel like compared to other places she has lived, and why she believes in connections as collective currency

Shannon talks about what it felt like to realize she had not been doing the things that gave her energy. The tennis. The friendships. The books. The slow mornings. She is clear that work-life balance is not a myth, but it requires intentionality. She now schedules Pilates and tennis on her calendar the way she once scheduled board meetings. She reads with a group of baseball moms. She protects the things that fill her back up because she knows, firsthand, what happens when she does not.

She also says something about NWA community that is worth sitting with. When she left corporate America and reached out to a friend to ask for help figuring out her next move, that person spent an hour making a list of twenty people for her to connect with. She says she has never experienced that kind of generosity in any other community she has lived in. Her take: connections are not just currency here. They are collective currency. When the tide rises, all boats rise.

The Women of All Generations event is June 16, 2026, 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center. Grab your tickets at fayettevillear.com/woag.

Mentioned in this episode:

  • Serve2Perform: serve2perform.com
  • Brooklyn Ray Foundation (Arkansas Children's Cancer Research): mention in show notes and confirm link with Shannon)
  • Arkansas Children's Northwest (Shannon's former employer)
  • University of Central Arkansas, Conway (Shannon's alma mater, nutrition degree)
  • Women of All Generations event: fayettevillear.com/woag

Connect with Shannon:

  • Serve2Perform: serve2perform.com
  • LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/shannon-hendrix

Mentioned in this episode:

Women of All Generations | June 16, 2026

The Women of All Generations event is almost here. Join us June 16, 2026 from 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center for an afternoon of real conversation, connection, and celebration. Tickets and sponsorships are available now. You belong in that room. Grab your spot at fayettevillear.com/woag.

]]>57fbf85e-1f8d-473d-8f25-fa34bab3c60cFri, 05 Jun 2026 08:00:00 -050022:19falsefull117171EP16 Small Beginnings Are Launch Points, Not Limitations with Tamara PhillipsEP16 Small Beginnings Are Launch Points, Not Limitations with Tamara PhillipsTamara Phillips walked into a bank every week for six to eight weeks. She was not a customer. She was just a woman who knew she wanted to work in banking and decided to show up until someone gave her the chance. Finally, a hiring manager called her and said: I am just tired of you coming in here asking if we have openings. I have a job for you.

That job was in the basement. She sat in front of a microfiche machine all day looking at customer statements. She gave it 100 percent anyway. She finished every day knowing she had left nothing on the table. And the opportunities grew from there.

Four decades later, Tamara is a Business Development Officer at Citizens Bank, a woman who has walked the halls of finance from the bottom floor to senior management, raised a family, navigated hard personal seasons, and built a philosophy of life around one conviction: small beginnings are not your limitations. They are your launch points. In this episode, Sami sits down with Tamara for a conversation about persistence, patience, and the kind of character that compounds over decades. In this episode, we get into:

  • How she got her first banking job by showing up to ask for one every single week for six to eight weeks
  • What it means to give 100 percent when your starting point is a basement and a microfiche machine
  • Why she believes all of life is sales, and what that actually means day to day
  • The personal financial season that gave her credibility to teach financial literacy in a way no textbook can
  • What she would say to a young woman at the very beginning of her career who wants to know how to find her path

Tamara talks about the gap between destination thinking and journey thinking, and why she believes the fixation on climbing quickly and reaching the top causes people to miss the strength, wisdom, and growth that only come through the season they are in right now. She says: the way you do anything is the way you do everything. Your habits, your attention to detail, your attitude toward the small tasks, all of that defines your character. And your character is what compounds.

She also speaks with real honesty about a hard personal financial season she and her family walked through, and how the principles she had been teaching others were the ones she had to live for herself. That experience, she says, is exactly what makes her credible when she sits across from someone now and helps them navigate their financial life.

The Women of All Generations event is June 16, 2026, 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center. Grab your tickets at fayettevillear.com/woag.

Mentioned in this episode:

  • Citizens Bank (The Citizens Bank): thecitizensbank.net
  • Women of All Generations event: fayettevillear.com/woag

Connect with Tamara:

  • Citizens Bank: thecitizensbank.net
  • LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tamara-phillips-67782930

Mentioned in this episode:

Women of All Generations | June 16, 2026

The Women of All Generations event is almost here. Join us June 16, 2026 from 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center for an afternoon of real conversation, connection, and celebration. Tickets and sponsorships are available now. You belong in that room. Grab your spot at fayettevillear.com/woag.

]]>Tamara Phillips walked into a bank every week for six to eight weeks. She was not a customer. She was just a woman who knew she wanted to work in banking and decided to show up until someone gave her the chance. Finally, a hiring manager called her and said: I am just tired of you coming in here asking if we have openings. I have a job for you.

That job was in the basement. She sat in front of a microfiche machine all day looking at customer statements. She gave it 100 percent anyway. She finished every day knowing she had left nothing on the table. And the opportunities grew from there.

Four decades later, Tamara is a Business Development Officer at Citizens Bank, a woman who has walked the halls of finance from the bottom floor to senior management, raised a family, navigated hard personal seasons, and built a philosophy of life around one conviction: small beginnings are not your limitations. They are your launch points. In this episode, Sami sits down with Tamara for a conversation about persistence, patience, and the kind of character that compounds over decades. In this episode, we get into:

  • How she got her first banking job by showing up to ask for one every single week for six to eight weeks
  • What it means to give 100 percent when your starting point is a basement and a microfiche machine
  • Why she believes all of life is sales, and what that actually means day to day
  • The personal financial season that gave her credibility to teach financial literacy in a way no textbook can
  • What she would say to a young woman at the very beginning of her career who wants to know how to find her path

Tamara talks about the gap between destination thinking and journey thinking, and why she believes the fixation on climbing quickly and reaching the top causes people to miss the strength, wisdom, and growth that only come through the season they are in right now. She says: the way you do anything is the way you do everything. Your habits, your attention to detail, your attitude toward the small tasks, all of that defines your character. And your character is what compounds.

She also speaks with real honesty about a hard personal financial season she and her family walked through, and how the principles she had been teaching others were the ones she had to live for herself. That experience, she says, is exactly what makes her credible when she sits across from someone now and helps them navigate their financial life.

The Women of All Generations event is June 16, 2026, 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center. Grab your tickets at fayettevillear.com/woag.

Mentioned in this episode:

  • Citizens Bank (The Citizens Bank): thecitizensbank.net
  • Women of All Generations event: fayettevillear.com/woag

Connect with Tamara:

  • Citizens Bank: thecitizensbank.net
  • LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tamara-phillips-67782930

Mentioned in this episode:

Women of All Generations | June 16, 2026

The Women of All Generations event is almost here. Join us June 16, 2026 from 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center for an afternoon of real conversation, connection, and celebration. Tickets and sponsorships are available now. You belong in that room. Grab your spot at fayettevillear.com/woag.

]]>96349d89-4a42-4d6a-9aa6-019a370c0bc6Wed, 03 Jun 2026 08:00:00 -050026:06falsefull116161EP15 The Path That Found Her with Olivia JamesEP15 The Path That Found Her with Olivia JamesOlivia James started her career thinking she wanted to be in public health. Then she did an internship at a community clinic, got introduced to the behavioral health department, and started paying closer attention to something she had been circling for a while. Then a tornado changed everything.

She was injured. She experienced physical mobility limitations. She went to counseling to process the trauma. And the path that she had been moving toward became unmistakable. She was already heading into a helping profession. Now she knew firsthand what it felt like to need one.

Olivia is a Springdale-raised, University of Arkansas-educated access coordinator and licensed associate counselor at the Center for Educational Access at the U of A, where she works with students with disabilities to remove barriers, coordinate accommodations, and provide counseling services. She graduated from the same counseling program her mother completed. She did not plan that. In this episode, Sami sits down with Olivia for a conversation about early careers, identity, and a reframe of imposter syndrome that will stay with you. In this episode, we get into:

  • How a personal experience with injury and trauma led her directly into the work she was already heading toward
  • What it felt like to be one of very few Black women in her counseling program and how she navigated the imposter syndrome that came with it
  • A reframe of imposter syndrome that a speaker gave her in grad school that she cannot stop thinking about
  • What it means to work in an office that genuinely mentors and teaches without a gatekeeper energy
  • The community of women, family and chosen, that has surrounded and shaped her from the beginning

The imposter syndrome conversation is the centerpiece of this episode. Olivia shares what a speaker at her Association of Black Counseling Students meetings told her: imposter syndrome is internalized suppression. The question is not whether you are qualified. The evidence is already there. The question is who you think you are imitating, and why you have been socialized to believe you do not belong. That reframe is worth the entire listen.

She also talks about what it looks like to be supervised well, how good feedback lands differently when it is given in love and in true mentorship, and what she hopes to pass forward when she eventually supervises licensed associate counselors herself.

The Women of All Generations event is June 16, 2026, 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center. Grab your tickets at fayettevillear.com/woag.

Mentioned in this episode:

  • Center for Educational Access, University of Arkansas: cea.uark.edu
  • Association of Black Counseling Students (grad school organization)
  • Community Clinic NWA (Olivia's public health internship)
  • Women of All Generations event: fayettevillear.com/woag

Connect with Olivia:

  • Center for Educational Access: cea.uark.edu
  • Email: olj001@uark.edu
  • LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/oliviajames333

Mentioned in this episode:

Women of All Generations | June 16, 2026

The Women of All Generations event is almost here. Join us June 16, 2026 from 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center for an afternoon of real conversation, connection, and celebration. Tickets and sponsorships are available now. You belong in that room. Grab your spot at fayettevillear.com/woag.

]]>Olivia James started her career thinking she wanted to be in public health. Then she did an internship at a community clinic, got introduced to the behavioral health department, and started paying closer attention to something she had been circling for a while. Then a tornado changed everything.

She was injured. She experienced physical mobility limitations. She went to counseling to process the trauma. And the path that she had been moving toward became unmistakable. She was already heading into a helping profession. Now she knew firsthand what it felt like to need one.

Olivia is a Springdale-raised, University of Arkansas-educated access coordinator and licensed associate counselor at the Center for Educational Access at the U of A, where she works with students with disabilities to remove barriers, coordinate accommodations, and provide counseling services. She graduated from the same counseling program her mother completed. She did not plan that. In this episode, Sami sits down with Olivia for a conversation about early careers, identity, and a reframe of imposter syndrome that will stay with you. In this episode, we get into:

  • How a personal experience with injury and trauma led her directly into the work she was already heading toward
  • What it felt like to be one of very few Black women in her counseling program and how she navigated the imposter syndrome that came with it
  • A reframe of imposter syndrome that a speaker gave her in grad school that she cannot stop thinking about
  • What it means to work in an office that genuinely mentors and teaches without a gatekeeper energy
  • The community of women, family and chosen, that has surrounded and shaped her from the beginning

The imposter syndrome conversation is the centerpiece of this episode. Olivia shares what a speaker at her Association of Black Counseling Students meetings told her: imposter syndrome is internalized suppression. The question is not whether you are qualified. The evidence is already there. The question is who you think you are imitating, and why you have been socialized to believe you do not belong. That reframe is worth the entire listen.

She also talks about what it looks like to be supervised well, how good feedback lands differently when it is given in love and in true mentorship, and what she hopes to pass forward when she eventually supervises licensed associate counselors herself.

The Women of All Generations event is June 16, 2026, 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center. Grab your tickets at fayettevillear.com/woag.

Mentioned in this episode:

  • Center for Educational Access, University of Arkansas: cea.uark.edu
  • Association of Black Counseling Students (grad school organization)
  • Community Clinic NWA (Olivia's public health internship)
  • Women of All Generations event: fayettevillear.com/woag

Connect with Olivia:

  • Center for Educational Access: cea.uark.edu
  • Email: olj001@uark.edu
  • LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/oliviajames333

Mentioned in this episode:

Women of All Generations | June 16, 2026

The Women of All Generations event is almost here. Join us June 16, 2026 from 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center for an afternoon of real conversation, connection, and celebration. Tickets and sponsorships are available now. You belong in that room. Grab your spot at fayettevillear.com/woag.

]]>971cf62c-180f-4606-90b3-d974a54a929aMon, 01 Jun 2026 08:00:00 -050018:48falsefull115151EP14 You Have to Know the Story with Ashley HarrisEP14 You Have to Know the Story with Ashley HarrisAshley Harris arrived in Washington D.C. at 21 years old with a PR degree and no room for fear. She was scheduling and managing the office of a congressman, surrounded by people who had been doing this for decades, and she just decided her words carried weight. That conviction has followed her across every room she has walked into since.

Now she is the VP of Marketing and Communications at Ozarks Electric Cooperative and OzarksGo, a member of the Chamber Fayetteville board, and a government relations advocate who regularly walks into the offices of senators and congresspeople to make the case for the 90,000-plus members her cooperative serves. She started in a car dealership finance office. She spent years at Mitchell Communications Group doing PR for Walmart, Sam's Club, and Tyson Foods. She worked a lobbying firm where the three-martini lunch was very much a real thing. Every single stop, she says, led her here. In this episode, Angela sits down with Ashley to talk about the career that keeps circling back to the same truth. In this episode, we get into:

  • What it felt like to arrive on Capitol Hill at 21 and decide that her voice belonged in that room
  • The lobbying world of the 1990s, raising the largest amount of presidential campaign money ever for a small firm, and changing into a formal gown in a bathroom after 26 hours straight
  • Why advocating with heart and story is more powerful than advocating with facts and figures
  • How to call your congressman's office, make an appointment, and go talk about the thing you care about
  • What nine years at an 80-year-old electric cooperative has taught her about legacy, service, and real-world impact

Ashley talks about the shift from paid lobbyist to government relations advocate and why the difference in confidence is enormous. When she walks into a Senate office now, she is not there for a client. She is there for the line workers who spent seven days in the field after the last major tornado, for the rural member on an oxygen tank who loses power during a storm, for the cooperative that cannot access FEMA funding the way investor-owned utilities can. Those stories, she says, are what move legislators. Facts and figures are the floor. The story is what gets someone to stand on the Senate floor and champion a bill.

She also makes a point that is worth writing down. Her mentor in PR told her: you can be a great storyteller, but you have to be a great story knower. Across marketing, public relations, civic advocacy, and leadership, the people who show up knowing the real story are the ones who change things.

The Women of All Generations event is June 16, 2026, 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center. Grab your tickets at fayettevillear.com/woag.

Mentioned in this episode:

  • Ozarks Electric Cooperative: ozarksecc.com
  • OzarksGo: ozarksgo.net
  • Mitchell Communications Group, Fayetteville AR
  • University of Arkansas, Fayetteville (Ashley's alma mater)
  • Chamber Fayetteville: fayettevillear.com
  • Senator James Langford (Oklahoma) and FEMA cooperative reform advocacy
  • Women of All Generations event: fayettevillear.com/woag

Connect with Ashley:

  • Ozarks Electric: ozarksecc.com
  • OzarksGo: ozarksgo.net
  • LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ashleywhisenhuntharris
  • Chamber Fayetteville: fayettevillear.com

Mentioned in this episode:

Women of All Generations | June 16, 2026

The Women of All Generations event is almost here. Join us June 16, 2026 from 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center for an afternoon of real conversation, connection, and celebration. Tickets and sponsorships are available now. You belong in that room. Grab your spot at fayettevillear.com/woag.

]]>Ashley Harris arrived in Washington D.C. at 21 years old with a PR degree and no room for fear. She was scheduling and managing the office of a congressman, surrounded by people who had been doing this for decades, and she just decided her words carried weight. That conviction has followed her across every room she has walked into since.

Now she is the VP of Marketing and Communications at Ozarks Electric Cooperative and OzarksGo, a member of the Chamber Fayetteville board, and a government relations advocate who regularly walks into the offices of senators and congresspeople to make the case for the 90,000-plus members her cooperative serves. She started in a car dealership finance office. She spent years at Mitchell Communications Group doing PR for Walmart, Sam's Club, and Tyson Foods. She worked a lobbying firm where the three-martini lunch was very much a real thing. Every single stop, she says, led her here. In this episode, Angela sits down with Ashley to talk about the career that keeps circling back to the same truth. In this episode, we get into:

  • What it felt like to arrive on Capitol Hill at 21 and decide that her voice belonged in that room
  • The lobbying world of the 1990s, raising the largest amount of presidential campaign money ever for a small firm, and changing into a formal gown in a bathroom after 26 hours straight
  • Why advocating with heart and story is more powerful than advocating with facts and figures
  • How to call your congressman's office, make an appointment, and go talk about the thing you care about
  • What nine years at an 80-year-old electric cooperative has taught her about legacy, service, and real-world impact

Ashley talks about the shift from paid lobbyist to government relations advocate and why the difference in confidence is enormous. When she walks into a Senate office now, she is not there for a client. She is there for the line workers who spent seven days in the field after the last major tornado, for the rural member on an oxygen tank who loses power during a storm, for the cooperative that cannot access FEMA funding the way investor-owned utilities can. Those stories, she says, are what move legislators. Facts and figures are the floor. The story is what gets someone to stand on the Senate floor and champion a bill.

She also makes a point that is worth writing down. Her mentor in PR told her: you can be a great storyteller, but you have to be a great story knower. Across marketing, public relations, civic advocacy, and leadership, the people who show up knowing the real story are the ones who change things.

The Women of All Generations event is June 16, 2026, 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center. Grab your tickets at fayettevillear.com/woag.

Mentioned in this episode:

  • Ozarks Electric Cooperative: ozarksecc.com
  • OzarksGo: ozarksgo.net
  • Mitchell Communications Group, Fayetteville AR
  • University of Arkansas, Fayetteville (Ashley's alma mater)
  • Chamber Fayetteville: fayettevillear.com
  • Senator James Langford (Oklahoma) and FEMA cooperative reform advocacy
  • Women of All Generations event: fayettevillear.com/woag

Connect with Ashley:

  • Ozarks Electric: ozarksecc.com
  • OzarksGo: ozarksgo.net
  • LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ashleywhisenhuntharris
  • Chamber Fayetteville: fayettevillear.com

Mentioned in this episode:

Women of All Generations | June 16, 2026

The Women of All Generations event is almost here. Join us June 16, 2026 from 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center for an afternoon of real conversation, connection, and celebration. Tickets and sponsorships are available now. You belong in that room. Grab your spot at fayettevillear.com/woag.

]]>f88ccb44-f3d8-45df-931b-7c85b6d5a512Fri, 29 May 2026 08:00:00 -050020:33falsefull114141EP13 Running Toward What Matters with Meredith LowryEP13 Running Toward What Matters with Meredith LowrySix years into a successful law career, Meredith Lowry looked up and realized she had no friends. The law school crew had scattered. Life had accelerated. And the woman who would go on to found a networking initiative for women entrepreneurs was sitting at networking events not knowing how to talk to anyone.

Meredith is a patent attorney with Wright Lindsey Jennings, one of a very small number of women in that specialty in the entire state. She has been doing patent and trademark work for over 20 years, added privacy law, and is now one of the most in-demand voices in the region on AI governance. She founded Woman Run to build better bridges for women entrepreneurs. She is running a half marathon in all 50 states. And she sat down with Angela to talk about all of it, including the parts of her story that do not usually make it into a bio.

If you have ever wondered whether it is possible to stop doing the parts of your work you hate and go deeper on the parts you love, Meredith did exactly that, and this episode shows you how that decision gets made. If you have ever felt the pressure of the sandwich generation closing in, she names it clearly and without apology. If you are a working mom who has spent too much energy on the performance of parenting instead of the actual thing, she gives you permission to put it down. And if you have a goal you have not said out loud yet, she says hers right here on the mic.

In this episode, we get into:

  • How a coworker at an animal clinic taught her what it actually means to be part of a team
  • What joining Wright Lindsey Jennings gave her that smaller firms could not: the freedom to stop doing what she did not love
  • The honest story of how she found herself with no friends six years into her career and had to learn to make new ones
  • Why she founded Woman Run and how it evolved from networking events to a podcast
  • The glass ceiling she still sees, and the piece of it that women sometimes build themselves
  • Practical wisdom on work-life balance, caregiver stress, and why the color-coded calendar is not optional

Hit play on this one right now. This is the kind of conversation that makes you want to call someone, clear something off your plate, or finally say the goal out loud that you have been keeping to yourself. Meredith says hers. You might find yourself ready to say yours too.

Then come meet Meredith in person at Women of All Generations on June 16 at Fayetteville Town Center. Tickets at fayettevillear.com/woag.

Mentioned in This Episode

  • Wright Lindsey Jennings (WLJ) -- wlj.com
  • Woman Run -- women entrepreneurship initiative by WLJ
  • Women's Foundation of Arkansas -- mentorship partner for Woman Run
  • Susan G. Komen -- where Meredith started volunteering as a new attorney
  • Be Freaking Awesome Podcast -- bfreakingawesome.com
  • Chamber Fayetteville -- fayettevillear.com

Connect with Meredith

  • Firm website: wlj.com/attorney/meredith-lowry
  • LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/meredith-k-lowry

Mentioned in this episode:

Women of All Generations | June 16, 2026

The Women of All Generations event is almost here. Join us June 16, 2026 from 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center for an afternoon of real conversation, connection, and celebration. Tickets and sponsorships are available now. You belong in that room. Grab your spot at fayettevillear.com/woag.

]]>Six years into a successful law career, Meredith Lowry looked up and realized she had no friends. The law school crew had scattered. Life had accelerated. And the woman who would go on to found a networking initiative for women entrepreneurs was sitting at networking events not knowing how to talk to anyone.

Meredith is a patent attorney with Wright Lindsey Jennings, one of a very small number of women in that specialty in the entire state. She has been doing patent and trademark work for over 20 years, added privacy law, and is now one of the most in-demand voices in the region on AI governance. She founded Woman Run to build better bridges for women entrepreneurs. She is running a half marathon in all 50 states. And she sat down with Angela to talk about all of it, including the parts of her story that do not usually make it into a bio.

If you have ever wondered whether it is possible to stop doing the parts of your work you hate and go deeper on the parts you love, Meredith did exactly that, and this episode shows you how that decision gets made. If you have ever felt the pressure of the sandwich generation closing in, she names it clearly and without apology. If you are a working mom who has spent too much energy on the performance of parenting instead of the actual thing, she gives you permission to put it down. And if you have a goal you have not said out loud yet, she says hers right here on the mic.

In this episode, we get into:

  • How a coworker at an animal clinic taught her what it actually means to be part of a team
  • What joining Wright Lindsey Jennings gave her that smaller firms could not: the freedom to stop doing what she did not love
  • The honest story of how she found herself with no friends six years into her career and had to learn to make new ones
  • Why she founded Woman Run and how it evolved from networking events to a podcast
  • The glass ceiling she still sees, and the piece of it that women sometimes build themselves
  • Practical wisdom on work-life balance, caregiver stress, and why the color-coded calendar is not optional

Hit play on this one right now. This is the kind of conversation that makes you want to call someone, clear something off your plate, or finally say the goal out loud that you have been keeping to yourself. Meredith says hers. You might find yourself ready to say yours too.

Then come meet Meredith in person at Women of All Generations on June 16 at Fayetteville Town Center. Tickets at fayettevillear.com/woag.

Mentioned in This Episode

  • Wright Lindsey Jennings (WLJ) -- wlj.com
  • Woman Run -- women entrepreneurship initiative by WLJ
  • Women's Foundation of Arkansas -- mentorship partner for Woman Run
  • Susan G. Komen -- where Meredith started volunteering as a new attorney
  • Be Freaking Awesome Podcast -- bfreakingawesome.com
  • Chamber Fayetteville -- fayettevillear.com

Connect with Meredith

  • Firm website: wlj.com/attorney/meredith-lowry
  • LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/meredith-k-lowry

Mentioned in this episode:

Women of All Generations | June 16, 2026

The Women of All Generations event is almost here. Join us June 16, 2026 from 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center for an afternoon of real conversation, connection, and celebration. Tickets and sponsorships are available now. You belong in that room. Grab your spot at fayettevillear.com/woag.

]]>b414b469-ed5d-442c-a579-a7024a4246dcWed, 27 May 2026 08:00:00 -050025:05falsefull113131EP12 Do It Scared with Mallory FilesEP12 Do It Scared with Mallory FilesMallory Files started Ozark Charcuterie in her home kitchen five years ago because she needed somewhere to put her hands and her energy. She had no business plan for what it would become. She just started making boards.

Today, Mallory is the founder and owner of Ozark Charcuterie and Wine Bar, a pink-painted, disco-ball-adorned space in downtown Fayetteville that she describes as the antithesis of a sports bar: designed for women, by a woman, where everyone is welcome. She's opening a cheese and wine shop in Rogers, has a U of A marketing degree she actually uses, and built the whole thing off social media and sheer will. In this episode, Sami Kinnison sits down with Mallory to hear the real story behind the business: how it started as a way to survive a hard season, what happened when a neighboring business owner told her three times she wasn't going to make it, the guilt cycle she navigates every single day as a mom, wife, and entrepreneur, and the big vision she's sharing publicly for the very first time.

If you've ever talked yourself out of something because you didn't feel ready, if you've ever been in a room where someone tried to make you feel small, or if you're carrying that endless guilt of never quite being in the right place at the right time, this episode will feel like a conversation with someone who gets it and kept going anyway. Mallory's advice isn't polished. It's honest. Do it scared. You don't have to be perfect. You just have to show up.

Listen to this episode of HerStory now and hear from the woman who built a business on charcuterie, community, and the refusal to let anyone else decide how much space she gets to take up.

The Women of All Generations event is June 16, 2026, 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center. Tickets at fayettevillear.com/woag.

Mentioned in this episode:

  • Ozark Charcuterie and Wine Bar, 3 E. Mountain St., downtown Fayetteville: ozarkcharcuterie.com
  • Ozark Charcuterie Rogers location (opening 2026): 401 N. First St., Suite 101
  • University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
  • Women of All Generations event: fayettevillear.com/woag

Connect with Mallory:


Mentioned in this episode:

Women of All Generations | June 16, 2026

The Women of All Generations event is almost here. Join us June 16, 2026 from 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center for an afternoon of real conversation, connection, and celebration. Tickets and sponsorships are available now. You belong in that room. Grab your spot at fayettevillear.com/woag.

]]>Mallory Files started Ozark Charcuterie in her home kitchen five years ago because she needed somewhere to put her hands and her energy. She had no business plan for what it would become. She just started making boards.

Today, Mallory is the founder and owner of Ozark Charcuterie and Wine Bar, a pink-painted, disco-ball-adorned space in downtown Fayetteville that she describes as the antithesis of a sports bar: designed for women, by a woman, where everyone is welcome. She's opening a cheese and wine shop in Rogers, has a U of A marketing degree she actually uses, and built the whole thing off social media and sheer will. In this episode, Sami Kinnison sits down with Mallory to hear the real story behind the business: how it started as a way to survive a hard season, what happened when a neighboring business owner told her three times she wasn't going to make it, the guilt cycle she navigates every single day as a mom, wife, and entrepreneur, and the big vision she's sharing publicly for the very first time.

If you've ever talked yourself out of something because you didn't feel ready, if you've ever been in a room where someone tried to make you feel small, or if you're carrying that endless guilt of never quite being in the right place at the right time, this episode will feel like a conversation with someone who gets it and kept going anyway. Mallory's advice isn't polished. It's honest. Do it scared. You don't have to be perfect. You just have to show up.

Listen to this episode of HerStory now and hear from the woman who built a business on charcuterie, community, and the refusal to let anyone else decide how much space she gets to take up.

The Women of All Generations event is June 16, 2026, 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center. Tickets at fayettevillear.com/woag.

Mentioned in this episode:

  • Ozark Charcuterie and Wine Bar, 3 E. Mountain St., downtown Fayetteville: ozarkcharcuterie.com
  • Ozark Charcuterie Rogers location (opening 2026): 401 N. First St., Suite 101
  • University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
  • Women of All Generations event: fayettevillear.com/woag

Connect with Mallory:


Mentioned in this episode:

Women of All Generations | June 16, 2026

The Women of All Generations event is almost here. Join us June 16, 2026 from 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center for an afternoon of real conversation, connection, and celebration. Tickets and sponsorships are available now. You belong in that room. Grab your spot at fayettevillear.com/woag.

]]>cf042bfd-57f2-46fd-b750-24a12bd0283aMon, 25 May 2026 08:00:00 -050022:24falsefull112121EP11 The Woman Behind 4,000 Businesses with Chung TanEP11 The Woman Behind 4,000 Businesses with Chung TanBefore Chung Tan started working in Fayetteville, the city didn't know how many businesses were operating inside its own limits. No registry. No emergency contacts. No way to answer the basic question: who is actually here?

Chung Tan is the Director of Industry and Employment Services for the City of Fayetteville, a Certified Economic Developer, and one of North America's Top 50 Economic Developers. She spent 10 years building economic development at the Fayetteville Chamber before joining the City in 2019, and her career started not in Arkansas but in Malaysia, where she served as boots on the ground for Arkansas and Georgia companies expanding into Southeast Asia. In this episode, Angela Belford sits down with Chung to hear the full story: how a tip from a friend turned into a cross-ocean move, how she built a business license registry from scratch, how the city now uses data to identify sector gaps and recruit strategically, and why she believes the most powerful thing about Northwest Arkansas is that people here are not afraid to ask for help and not afraid to give it.

If you've ever wondered what it actually takes to shape a city's economic future, if you've felt stuck because you think you chose the wrong path, or if you've needed someone to give you permission to pivot without calling it failure, this episode delivers. Chung's mantra is simple and she means every word of it: nothing is permanent, so go for it.

Listen to this episode of HerStory now and hear from the woman who has spent 16 years helping Fayetteville understand what it is and plan for what it can be.

The Women of All Generations event is June 16, 2026, 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center. Tickets at fayettevillear.com/woag.

Mentioned in this episode:

  • City of Fayetteville Economic Development: fayetteville-ar.gov
  • Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce: fayettevillear.com
  • University of Arkansas research and development investment announcement
  • Arkansas Association of Asian Businesses (AAAB)
  • Suzanne Clark (referenced as an example of career pivoting)
  • Women of All Generations event: fayettevillear.com/woag

Connect with Chung:


Mentioned in this episode:

Women of All Generations | June 16, 2026

The Women of All Generations event is almost here. Join us June 16, 2026 from 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center for an afternoon of real conversation, connection, and celebration. Tickets and sponsorships are available now. You belong in that room. Grab your spot at fayettevillear.com/woag.

]]>Before Chung Tan started working in Fayetteville, the city didn't know how many businesses were operating inside its own limits. No registry. No emergency contacts. No way to answer the basic question: who is actually here?

Chung Tan is the Director of Industry and Employment Services for the City of Fayetteville, a Certified Economic Developer, and one of North America's Top 50 Economic Developers. She spent 10 years building economic development at the Fayetteville Chamber before joining the City in 2019, and her career started not in Arkansas but in Malaysia, where she served as boots on the ground for Arkansas and Georgia companies expanding into Southeast Asia. In this episode, Angela Belford sits down with Chung to hear the full story: how a tip from a friend turned into a cross-ocean move, how she built a business license registry from scratch, how the city now uses data to identify sector gaps and recruit strategically, and why she believes the most powerful thing about Northwest Arkansas is that people here are not afraid to ask for help and not afraid to give it.

If you've ever wondered what it actually takes to shape a city's economic future, if you've felt stuck because you think you chose the wrong path, or if you've needed someone to give you permission to pivot without calling it failure, this episode delivers. Chung's mantra is simple and she means every word of it: nothing is permanent, so go for it.

Listen to this episode of HerStory now and hear from the woman who has spent 16 years helping Fayetteville understand what it is and plan for what it can be.

The Women of All Generations event is June 16, 2026, 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center. Tickets at fayettevillear.com/woag.

Mentioned in this episode:

  • City of Fayetteville Economic Development: fayetteville-ar.gov
  • Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce: fayettevillear.com
  • University of Arkansas research and development investment announcement
  • Arkansas Association of Asian Businesses (AAAB)
  • Suzanne Clark (referenced as an example of career pivoting)
  • Women of All Generations event: fayettevillear.com/woag

Connect with Chung:


Mentioned in this episode:

Women of All Generations | June 16, 2026

The Women of All Generations event is almost here. Join us June 16, 2026 from 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center for an afternoon of real conversation, connection, and celebration. Tickets and sponsorships are available now. You belong in that room. Grab your spot at fayettevillear.com/woag.

]]>30c4f5eb-3b94-4660-8eef-7874e34aba68Fri, 22 May 2026 08:00:00 -050026:46falsefull111111EP10 What Keeps People Here with Lauren AllenEP10 What Keeps People Here with Lauren AllenLauren Allen will tell you, completely deadpan, that love is what brought her to Fayetteville. Her boyfriend was here. So she followed him. They're getting married now, so it worked out. But that one-liner is just the entry point into a conversation about what it really means to show up for a community, and for the kids most likely to be forgotten by it.

Lauren is the Community and Volunteer Engagement Coordinator at CASA of Northwest Arkansas, where she recruits and supports the 300-plus volunteers who advocate for children in foster care. Ten to fifteen hours a month, consistently, with their whole hearts. In this episode, she talks about what she learned doing crisis intervention as an undergraduate intern at a domestic violence shelter, why she thinks every social problem is connected to several others, how she protects her own energy while working in a field that could swallow it whole, and what Gen Z actually gets right about calling things out.

If you've ever loved your work and still felt the pull of burnout, if you've ever wondered whether your city is different or you're just used to it, or if you've ever needed someone to say out loud that the glass ceiling is real and getting named is part of how it moves, this episode is for you. Lauren is specific, honest, and refreshingly unsentimental about all of it.

Listen to this episode of HerStory now and hear what it looks like when someone shows up for a community that showed up for her first.

The Women of All Generations event is June 16, 2026, 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center. Tickets at fayettevillear.com/woag.

Mentioned in this episode:

  • CASA of Northwest Arkansas: nwacasa.org
  • Leadership Fayetteville (Chamber Fayetteville program)
  • Rise House (domestic violence shelter, Conway, AR)
  • Northwest Arkansas Food Bank
  • Peace at Home Women's Shelter
  • Hendrix College, Conway, AR
  • Women of All Generations event: fayettevillear.com/woag

Connect with Lauren:


Mentioned in this episode:

Women of All Generations | June 16, 2026

The Women of All Generations event is almost here. Join us June 16, 2026 from 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center for an afternoon of real conversation, connection, and celebration. Tickets and sponsorships are available now. You belong in that room. Grab your spot at fayettevillear.com/woag.

]]>Lauren Allen will tell you, completely deadpan, that love is what brought her to Fayetteville. Her boyfriend was here. So she followed him. They're getting married now, so it worked out. But that one-liner is just the entry point into a conversation about what it really means to show up for a community, and for the kids most likely to be forgotten by it.

Lauren is the Community and Volunteer Engagement Coordinator at CASA of Northwest Arkansas, where she recruits and supports the 300-plus volunteers who advocate for children in foster care. Ten to fifteen hours a month, consistently, with their whole hearts. In this episode, she talks about what she learned doing crisis intervention as an undergraduate intern at a domestic violence shelter, why she thinks every social problem is connected to several others, how she protects her own energy while working in a field that could swallow it whole, and what Gen Z actually gets right about calling things out.

If you've ever loved your work and still felt the pull of burnout, if you've ever wondered whether your city is different or you're just used to it, or if you've ever needed someone to say out loud that the glass ceiling is real and getting named is part of how it moves, this episode is for you. Lauren is specific, honest, and refreshingly unsentimental about all of it.

Listen to this episode of HerStory now and hear what it looks like when someone shows up for a community that showed up for her first.

The Women of All Generations event is June 16, 2026, 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center. Tickets at fayettevillear.com/woag.

Mentioned in this episode:

  • CASA of Northwest Arkansas: nwacasa.org
  • Leadership Fayetteville (Chamber Fayetteville program)
  • Rise House (domestic violence shelter, Conway, AR)
  • Northwest Arkansas Food Bank
  • Peace at Home Women's Shelter
  • Hendrix College, Conway, AR
  • Women of All Generations event: fayettevillear.com/woag

Connect with Lauren:


Mentioned in this episode:

Women of All Generations | June 16, 2026

The Women of All Generations event is almost here. Join us June 16, 2026 from 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center for an afternoon of real conversation, connection, and celebration. Tickets and sponsorships are available now. You belong in that room. Grab your spot at fayettevillear.com/woag.

]]>972dba71-66f1-4d45-aae3-f1723817bc84Wed, 20 May 2026 08:00:00 -050023:54falsefull110101EP8 What's the Next Right Thing with Tanya MimmsEP8 What's the Next Right Thing with Tanya MimmsTanya Mimms graduated from the University of Arkansas in 1993, looked around at Northwest Arkansas, and decided she wasn't leaving. Back then, most people had to. There weren't a lot of jobs. The first people willing to take a chance on her were a car dealership. She got a job. She stayed in finance. And she never looked back.

Now she's the Fayetteville Community President at First National Bank of NWA, a role created specifically for her, overseeing lending, retail, marketing, business development, HR, and as she puts it, sometimes cleaning and buying toilet paper. Because that's what leadership actually looks like.

In this episode, Sami sits down with Tanya to talk about 30-plus years of building a career and a life in one community, what she learned in the seasons that felt impossible, and the question she asks herself when everything gets overwhelming. In this episode, we get into:

  • How she ended up in finance completely by accident and why she never left
  • The advice she gives herself and others when the enormity of something feels impossible: what's the next right thing?
  • What she learned early in her career about women supporting women, and how she sees that changing
  • Why she says yes to uncomfortable things, including this podcast
  • Her take on the glass ceiling, and why she'd rather talk about solutions than problems

Tanya talks about the early days when there were women around her who had fought hard to get where they were and didn't feel generous about sharing what they knew. She talks about how different it feels now, and about the men who stepped up to mentor her when other women didn't. She's honest about all of it without being bitter about any of it.

She also makes a case that is worth writing down: if your employer isn't investing in your growth, invest in yourself. The library is free. There are successful women in NWA who will give you their time if you ask. The resources exist. The question is whether you're willing to use your off time to grow.

The Women of All Generations event is June 16, 2026, 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center. Grab your tickets at fayettevillear.com/woag.

Mentioned in this episode:

  • First National Bank of NWA: fnbnwa.com
  • Fayetteville Public Library (free resources for career development)
  • Arkansas Fair Housing Commission (Tanya serves as commissioner)
  • Women of All Generations event: fayettevillear.com/woag

Connect with Tanya:

  • First National Bank of NWA: fnbnwa.com
  • LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tanya-mims-a0338a34

Mentioned in this episode:

Women of All Generations | June 16, 2026

The Women of All Generations event is almost here. Join us June 16, 2026 from 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center for an afternoon of real conversation, connection, and celebration. Tickets and sponsorships are available now. You belong in that room. Grab your spot at fayettevillear.com/woag.

]]>Tanya Mimms graduated from the University of Arkansas in 1993, looked around at Northwest Arkansas, and decided she wasn't leaving. Back then, most people had to. There weren't a lot of jobs. The first people willing to take a chance on her were a car dealership. She got a job. She stayed in finance. And she never looked back.

Now she's the Fayetteville Community President at First National Bank of NWA, a role created specifically for her, overseeing lending, retail, marketing, business development, HR, and as she puts it, sometimes cleaning and buying toilet paper. Because that's what leadership actually looks like.

In this episode, Sami sits down with Tanya to talk about 30-plus years of building a career and a life in one community, what she learned in the seasons that felt impossible, and the question she asks herself when everything gets overwhelming. In this episode, we get into:

  • How she ended up in finance completely by accident and why she never left
  • The advice she gives herself and others when the enormity of something feels impossible: what's the next right thing?
  • What she learned early in her career about women supporting women, and how she sees that changing
  • Why she says yes to uncomfortable things, including this podcast
  • Her take on the glass ceiling, and why she'd rather talk about solutions than problems

Tanya talks about the early days when there were women around her who had fought hard to get where they were and didn't feel generous about sharing what they knew. She talks about how different it feels now, and about the men who stepped up to mentor her when other women didn't. She's honest about all of it without being bitter about any of it.

She also makes a case that is worth writing down: if your employer isn't investing in your growth, invest in yourself. The library is free. There are successful women in NWA who will give you their time if you ask. The resources exist. The question is whether you're willing to use your off time to grow.

The Women of All Generations event is June 16, 2026, 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center. Grab your tickets at fayettevillear.com/woag.

Mentioned in this episode:

  • First National Bank of NWA: fnbnwa.com
  • Fayetteville Public Library (free resources for career development)
  • Arkansas Fair Housing Commission (Tanya serves as commissioner)
  • Women of All Generations event: fayettevillear.com/woag

Connect with Tanya:

  • First National Bank of NWA: fnbnwa.com
  • LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tanya-mims-a0338a34

Mentioned in this episode:

Women of All Generations | June 16, 2026

The Women of All Generations event is almost here. Join us June 16, 2026 from 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center for an afternoon of real conversation, connection, and celebration. Tickets and sponsorships are available now. You belong in that room. Grab your spot at fayettevillear.com/woag.

]]>24b1e009-371f-472f-ab95-e534ebf61a9fFri, 15 May 2026 08:00:00 -050020:12falsefull1881EP7 Be Your Own Hype Woman with Natalie AbramEP7 Be Your Own Hype Woman with Natalie AbramNatalie Abram grew up in Fayetteville, cheered at the University of Arkansas, planned weddings, worked events at Crystal Bridges and The Momentary, and is now the events and marketing manager at Lewis Automotive Group. She is 24 years old. She did not finish college. And she is one of the most clear-eyed people in this series about what it takes to get where she is.

She doesn't see a glass ceiling. She doesn't talk about people blocking her path. She says: the only person standing between me and what's coming next is me. And she says it like she's said it to herself a hundred times, because she has.

In this episode, Sami sits down with Natalie to talk about growing up in Fayetteville, taking her own unconventional path through some of NWA's most exciting organizations, and what she thinks about building a career before you're thirty. In this episode, we get into:

  • How her mom helped her identify her strengths as a kid with ADHD and why that foundation still guides her today
  • What it's actually like to work in rooms where most people are older than you and have more traditional credentials
  • Why experience outpaces a diploma in her field, and what she'd tell anyone who's questioning whether college is the right path
  • Her completely contagious take on the glass ceiling: she doesn't see limitations because she refuses to
  • What 34-year-old Natalie is going to be grateful that 24-year-old Natalie is doing right now

Natalie talks about confidence as a practice, not a personality trait. She talks about booking a last-minute flight to a Morgan Wallen concert in Florida and about the specific feeling of driving into Fayetteville on I-49 and seeing Old Main come over the hill. She is fully herself in this conversation, and that's exactly what makes it worth listening to.

If you know someone who is early in their career, feels out of place in a room, or is wondering whether the path they're on is the right one, this episode is for them.

The Women of All Generations event is June 16, 2026, 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center. Grab your tickets at fayettevillear.com/woag.

Mentioned in this episode:

  • Lewis Automotive Group: lewissuperstore.com
  • Women of All Generations event: fayettevillear.com/woag

Connect with Natalie:

  • Lewis Automotive Group: lewissuperstore.com
  • Lewis Automotive Instagram: @lewisautomotivegroup
  • LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/natalie-abram

Mentioned in this episode:

Women of All Generations | June 16, 2026

The Women of All Generations event is almost here. Join us June 16, 2026 from 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center for an afternoon of real conversation, connection, and celebration. Tickets and sponsorships are available now. You belong in that room. Grab your spot at fayettevillear.com/woag.

]]>Natalie Abram grew up in Fayetteville, cheered at the University of Arkansas, planned weddings, worked events at Crystal Bridges and The Momentary, and is now the events and marketing manager at Lewis Automotive Group. She is 24 years old. She did not finish college. And she is one of the most clear-eyed people in this series about what it takes to get where she is.

She doesn't see a glass ceiling. She doesn't talk about people blocking her path. She says: the only person standing between me and what's coming next is me. And she says it like she's said it to herself a hundred times, because she has.

In this episode, Sami sits down with Natalie to talk about growing up in Fayetteville, taking her own unconventional path through some of NWA's most exciting organizations, and what she thinks about building a career before you're thirty. In this episode, we get into:

  • How her mom helped her identify her strengths as a kid with ADHD and why that foundation still guides her today
  • What it's actually like to work in rooms where most people are older than you and have more traditional credentials
  • Why experience outpaces a diploma in her field, and what she'd tell anyone who's questioning whether college is the right path
  • Her completely contagious take on the glass ceiling: she doesn't see limitations because she refuses to
  • What 34-year-old Natalie is going to be grateful that 24-year-old Natalie is doing right now

Natalie talks about confidence as a practice, not a personality trait. She talks about booking a last-minute flight to a Morgan Wallen concert in Florida and about the specific feeling of driving into Fayetteville on I-49 and seeing Old Main come over the hill. She is fully herself in this conversation, and that's exactly what makes it worth listening to.

If you know someone who is early in their career, feels out of place in a room, or is wondering whether the path they're on is the right one, this episode is for them.

The Women of All Generations event is June 16, 2026, 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center. Grab your tickets at fayettevillear.com/woag.

Mentioned in this episode:

  • Lewis Automotive Group: lewissuperstore.com
  • Women of All Generations event: fayettevillear.com/woag

Connect with Natalie:

  • Lewis Automotive Group: lewissuperstore.com
  • Lewis Automotive Instagram: @lewisautomotivegroup
  • LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/natalie-abram

Mentioned in this episode:

Women of All Generations | June 16, 2026

The Women of All Generations event is almost here. Join us June 16, 2026 from 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center for an afternoon of real conversation, connection, and celebration. Tickets and sponsorships are available now. You belong in that room. Grab your spot at fayettevillear.com/woag.

]]>f21c669c-aeda-4eb6-888d-f19792ba7220Wed, 13 May 2026 16:20:00 -050023:20falsefull1771EP6 Every Path Leads Back with Takama Statton-BrooksEP6 Every Path Leads Back with Takama Statton-BrooksTakama Statton-Brooks spent 22 years in higher education. She loved it. She was good at it. She had a career that by almost any measure was working.

And then her father passed away, and she remembered a promise she had made to herself that she hadn't kept.

She had told herself she wanted to get her social work license again. She had never done it. There was no reason not to, except that she was content. And contentment, it turns out, is sometimes the thing standing between you and the work you were actually built for.

Now she is the executive director of Magdalene Serenity House in Fayetteville, a nonprofit that helps women with histories of incarceration, addiction, and trauma rebuild their lives. And the thing she didn't know when she took the job? She was returning to the very first population she had ever worked with. As a graduate student, she worked in a prison in Kansas. She had come full circle without planning to.

In this episode of HerStory, Angela sits down with Takama to talk about the long road that led her here, what it's like to run a nonprofit that serves a population most people overlook, and what she'd tell anyone early in their career who thinks they know exactly where they're headed. In this episode, we get into:

  • How 22 years in higher education turned out to be the perfect preparation for running a nonprofit serving justice-involved women
  • The promise she made to herself after her father died, and what it took to finally keep it
  • What Magdalene Serenity House actually does for the women it serves, and why dental restoration is one of the most critical pieces
  • Why 'show up and pay attention' is the career advice she gives everyone, at every level
  • What she learned about NWA that living and working here for 20 years had never taught her

Takama talks about morning circles, the daily meditation practice that starts every day at Magdalene, and why she finds herself going to work feeling like she's just been to church. She talks about volunteering on nonprofit boards, the bubble of campus life, and what it means to finally become a connected citizen of the community you've been living in for two decades.

She also shares a goal she's been sitting on quietly. It's one that makes complete sense for someone who spent her career developing people and has a gift for getting a room's attention.

If you want to support Magdalene Serenity House or learn more about their work, visit lovehealsnwa.org.

The Women of All Generations event is June 16, 2026, 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center. Grab your tickets at fayettevillear.com/woag.

Mentioned in this episode:

  • Magdalene Serenity House: lovehealsnwa.org
  • Thistle Farms, Nashville TN (model organization): thistlefarms.org
  • Joy Morris, Director of Development, Magdalene Serenity House
  • Leadership Fayetteville (Chamber Fayetteville program)
  • University of Arkansas, Fayetteville (22 years in residence life)
  • Women of All Generations event: fayettevillear.com/woag

Connect with Takama and Magdalene Serenity House:

  • Website: lovehealsnwa.org
  • Email: takama@lovehealsnwa.org
  • Facebook: facebook.com/magdaleneserenityhouse
  • LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/takama-statton-brooks

Mentioned in this episode:

Women of All Generations | June 16, 2026

The Women of All Generations event is almost here. Join us June 16, 2026 from 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center for an afternoon of real conversation, connection, and celebration. Tickets and sponsorships are available now. You belong in that room. Grab your spot at fayettevillear.com/woag.

]]>Takama Statton-Brooks spent 22 years in higher education. She loved it. She was good at it. She had a career that by almost any measure was working.

And then her father passed away, and she remembered a promise she had made to herself that she hadn't kept.

She had told herself she wanted to get her social work license again. She had never done it. There was no reason not to, except that she was content. And contentment, it turns out, is sometimes the thing standing between you and the work you were actually built for.

Now she is the executive director of Magdalene Serenity House in Fayetteville, a nonprofit that helps women with histories of incarceration, addiction, and trauma rebuild their lives. And the thing she didn't know when she took the job? She was returning to the very first population she had ever worked with. As a graduate student, she worked in a prison in Kansas. She had come full circle without planning to.

In this episode of HerStory, Angela sits down with Takama to talk about the long road that led her here, what it's like to run a nonprofit that serves a population most people overlook, and what she'd tell anyone early in their career who thinks they know exactly where they're headed. In this episode, we get into:

  • How 22 years in higher education turned out to be the perfect preparation for running a nonprofit serving justice-involved women
  • The promise she made to herself after her father died, and what it took to finally keep it
  • What Magdalene Serenity House actually does for the women it serves, and why dental restoration is one of the most critical pieces
  • Why 'show up and pay attention' is the career advice she gives everyone, at every level
  • What she learned about NWA that living and working here for 20 years had never taught her

Takama talks about morning circles, the daily meditation practice that starts every day at Magdalene, and why she finds herself going to work feeling like she's just been to church. She talks about volunteering on nonprofit boards, the bubble of campus life, and what it means to finally become a connected citizen of the community you've been living in for two decades.

She also shares a goal she's been sitting on quietly. It's one that makes complete sense for someone who spent her career developing people and has a gift for getting a room's attention.

If you want to support Magdalene Serenity House or learn more about their work, visit lovehealsnwa.org.

The Women of All Generations event is June 16, 2026, 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center. Grab your tickets at fayettevillear.com/woag.

Mentioned in this episode:

  • Magdalene Serenity House: lovehealsnwa.org
  • Thistle Farms, Nashville TN (model organization): thistlefarms.org
  • Joy Morris, Director of Development, Magdalene Serenity House
  • Leadership Fayetteville (Chamber Fayetteville program)
  • University of Arkansas, Fayetteville (22 years in residence life)
  • Women of All Generations event: fayettevillear.com/woag

Connect with Takama and Magdalene Serenity House:

  • Website: lovehealsnwa.org
  • Email: takama@lovehealsnwa.org
  • Facebook: facebook.com/magdaleneserenityhouse
  • LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/takama-statton-brooks

Mentioned in this episode:

Women of All Generations | June 16, 2026

The Women of All Generations event is almost here. Join us June 16, 2026 from 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center for an afternoon of real conversation, connection, and celebration. Tickets and sponsorships are available now. You belong in that room. Grab your spot at fayettevillear.com/woag.

]]>fd603946-3f1b-44e0-94fe-322a340a8689Mon, 11 May 2026 16:35:00 -050025:37falsefull1661EP5 You Have to Look Up with Beth PittmanEP5 You Have to Look Up with Beth PittmanBeth Pittman's dad gave her advice early in her career that she's spent the last two decades respectfully disagreeing with. He told her to keep her head down, work hard, and the company would take care of her. What actually happened was that a client she used to support in a legal capacity looked up one day and said, I think you'd make a really good recruiter. She didn't even know what that meant. She looked into it, interviewed, got the job, and found the thing she was built for.

Now, after 20-plus years in recruiting and as the co-founder of Skills Lab Training, she spends her days helping other people find that same thing. And along the way, she noticed a pattern: women keep hitting a ceiling not because they aren't qualified, but because nobody taught them how to ask for what they've already earned.

In this episode of HerStory, Sami sits down with Beth Pittman of Skills Lab Training to talk about the winding road from paralegal to recruiter to entrepreneur, what she sees from the inside of the hiring process that most candidates never know, and why investing in yourself is the most underused career tool most women have. She also shares a goal nobody saw coming. In this episode, we get into:

  • How a client's offhand comment changed the entire trajectory of Beth's career
  • What 20 years of recruiting has taught her about the gap between what women are worth and what they ask for
  • The coaching moment that helped one woman walk into her boss's office and ask for a promotion, a raise, and more responsibility in one conversation
  • Why starting a business is hard in ways nobody talks about, and what Beth did about it
  • The secret goal that nobody in her life knew about until this conversation

Beth talks about the difference between heads-down work and career growth, why your network is gold even when you can't see it yet, and how Skills Lab's free Business Owners Roundtable came directly from her own startup growing pains. She also makes a case for investing in yourself the same way you'd invest in a tutor for your kid's math test, or a piano teacher, or three years of travel soccer. The skills that get you promoted don't happen by accident.

She also says something about the glass ceiling that is worth hearing. As a recruiter who sees exactly what companies pay men and women for the same roles, she is not speaking in theory.

The Women of All Generations event is June 16, 2026, 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center. Beth is a past attendee and she loved it. Grab your tickets at fayettevillear.com/woag.

Mentioned in this episode:

  • Skills Lab Training: skillslabtraining.com
  • Skills Lab Business Owners Roundtable (free, held every other month)
  • Kristi Martin, co-founder of Skills Lab Training
  • Walton College of Business, University of Arkansas (Skills Lab coaching partnership)
  • Women of All Generations event: fayettevillear.com/woag

Connect with Beth:

  • Website: skillslabtraining.com
  • Email: beth@skillslabtraining.com
  • LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/pittmanbeth
  • Instagram: @skillslabtraining
  • Facebook: facebook.com/skillslabtraining

Mentioned in this episode:

Women of All Generations | June 16, 2026

The Women of All Generations event is almost here. Join us June 16, 2026 from 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center for an afternoon of real conversation, connection, and celebration. Tickets and sponsorships are available now. You belong in that room. Grab your spot at fayettevillear.com/woag.

]]>Beth Pittman's dad gave her advice early in her career that she's spent the last two decades respectfully disagreeing with. He told her to keep her head down, work hard, and the company would take care of her. What actually happened was that a client she used to support in a legal capacity looked up one day and said, I think you'd make a really good recruiter. She didn't even know what that meant. She looked into it, interviewed, got the job, and found the thing she was built for.

Now, after 20-plus years in recruiting and as the co-founder of Skills Lab Training, she spends her days helping other people find that same thing. And along the way, she noticed a pattern: women keep hitting a ceiling not because they aren't qualified, but because nobody taught them how to ask for what they've already earned.

In this episode of HerStory, Sami sits down with Beth Pittman of Skills Lab Training to talk about the winding road from paralegal to recruiter to entrepreneur, what she sees from the inside of the hiring process that most candidates never know, and why investing in yourself is the most underused career tool most women have. She also shares a goal nobody saw coming. In this episode, we get into:

  • How a client's offhand comment changed the entire trajectory of Beth's career
  • What 20 years of recruiting has taught her about the gap between what women are worth and what they ask for
  • The coaching moment that helped one woman walk into her boss's office and ask for a promotion, a raise, and more responsibility in one conversation
  • Why starting a business is hard in ways nobody talks about, and what Beth did about it
  • The secret goal that nobody in her life knew about until this conversation

Beth talks about the difference between heads-down work and career growth, why your network is gold even when you can't see it yet, and how Skills Lab's free Business Owners Roundtable came directly from her own startup growing pains. She also makes a case for investing in yourself the same way you'd invest in a tutor for your kid's math test, or a piano teacher, or three years of travel soccer. The skills that get you promoted don't happen by accident.

She also says something about the glass ceiling that is worth hearing. As a recruiter who sees exactly what companies pay men and women for the same roles, she is not speaking in theory.

The Women of All Generations event is June 16, 2026, 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center. Beth is a past attendee and she loved it. Grab your tickets at fayettevillear.com/woag.

Mentioned in this episode:

  • Skills Lab Training: skillslabtraining.com
  • Skills Lab Business Owners Roundtable (free, held every other month)
  • Kristi Martin, co-founder of Skills Lab Training
  • Walton College of Business, University of Arkansas (Skills Lab coaching partnership)
  • Women of All Generations event: fayettevillear.com/woag

Connect with Beth:

  • Website: skillslabtraining.com
  • Email: beth@skillslabtraining.com
  • LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/pittmanbeth
  • Instagram: @skillslabtraining
  • Facebook: facebook.com/skillslabtraining

Mentioned in this episode:

Women of All Generations | June 16, 2026

The Women of All Generations event is almost here. Join us June 16, 2026 from 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center for an afternoon of real conversation, connection, and celebration. Tickets and sponsorships are available now. You belong in that room. Grab your spot at fayettevillear.com/woag.

]]>d35d6e36-481e-409f-94c2-8d25ab8ae3e0Fri, 08 May 2026 09:00:00 -050025:49falsefull1551EP4 The Mother-Daughter Business That Works with Julie and Cassidy MagnusonEP4 The Mother-Daughter Business That Works with Julie and Cassidy MagnusonJulie Magnuson didn't plan to end up in Northwest Arkansas. She just kept saying yes to the next right thing. Buying from promotional product vendors. Working for one. Moving to a new market for a colleague who needed help. And then one day, someone asked what it would take for her to stay, and she looked around and thought: this is a good place to raise a family.

Forty years later, she and her daughter Cassidy are running Creative Promos together. And the goal Cassidy just said out loud for the first time? To take over the business one day and keep serving the customers Julie has spent decades building relationships with.

This episode of HerStory is a little different. It's two women, two generations, one business, and a genuinely honest conversation about what it takes to make all of that work. Sami sits down with Julie and Cassidy Magnuson of Creative Promos to talk about the winding paths that brought them both to NWA, what it's actually like to work with your mom, and why service is still the thing that makes or breaks a business. In this episode, we get into:

  • How Julie went from buying promotional products to selling them, and eventually owning her own company
  • How Cassidy went from healthcare recruiting and medical sales to joining the family business
  • What it's actually like to work with your mom (the real answer, not the polished one)
  • How they divide the work so it doesn't swallow their relationship
  • Why burnout is real, vacations are not optional, and messy balance is still balance

They talk about the challenge of being a working mom before remote work existed, when your boss's wife stayed home and he genuinely didn't understand why yours couldn't. They talk about what makes NWA a community worth staying in, and why the answer keeps coming back to the same thing: the people here actually care about each other.

And then they each say something out loud that they haven't said before. Julie's is about retirement. Cassidy's is about stepping into something big. You'll want to hear both.

The Women of All Generations event is June 16, 2026, 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center. Grab your tickets at fayettevillear.com/woag.

Connect with Creative Promos:

  • Website: creative-promos.com
  • Phone: (479) 871-1945

Mentioned in this episode:

Women of All Generations | June 16, 2026

The Women of All Generations event is almost here. Join us June 16, 2026 from 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center for an afternoon of real conversation, connection, and celebration. Tickets and sponsorships are available now. You belong in that room. Grab your spot at fayettevillear.com/woag.

]]>Julie Magnuson didn't plan to end up in Northwest Arkansas. She just kept saying yes to the next right thing. Buying from promotional product vendors. Working for one. Moving to a new market for a colleague who needed help. And then one day, someone asked what it would take for her to stay, and she looked around and thought: this is a good place to raise a family.

Forty years later, she and her daughter Cassidy are running Creative Promos together. And the goal Cassidy just said out loud for the first time? To take over the business one day and keep serving the customers Julie has spent decades building relationships with.

This episode of HerStory is a little different. It's two women, two generations, one business, and a genuinely honest conversation about what it takes to make all of that work. Sami sits down with Julie and Cassidy Magnuson of Creative Promos to talk about the winding paths that brought them both to NWA, what it's actually like to work with your mom, and why service is still the thing that makes or breaks a business. In this episode, we get into:

  • How Julie went from buying promotional products to selling them, and eventually owning her own company
  • How Cassidy went from healthcare recruiting and medical sales to joining the family business
  • What it's actually like to work with your mom (the real answer, not the polished one)
  • How they divide the work so it doesn't swallow their relationship
  • Why burnout is real, vacations are not optional, and messy balance is still balance

They talk about the challenge of being a working mom before remote work existed, when your boss's wife stayed home and he genuinely didn't understand why yours couldn't. They talk about what makes NWA a community worth staying in, and why the answer keeps coming back to the same thing: the people here actually care about each other.

And then they each say something out loud that they haven't said before. Julie's is about retirement. Cassidy's is about stepping into something big. You'll want to hear both.

The Women of All Generations event is June 16, 2026, 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center. Grab your tickets at fayettevillear.com/woag.

Connect with Creative Promos:

  • Website: creative-promos.com
  • Phone: (479) 871-1945

Mentioned in this episode:

Women of All Generations | June 16, 2026

The Women of All Generations event is almost here. Join us June 16, 2026 from 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center for an afternoon of real conversation, connection, and celebration. Tickets and sponsorships are available now. You belong in that room. Grab your spot at fayettevillear.com/woag.

]]>062be55a-dced-4979-b44d-9f1f6b1e973aWed, 06 May 2026 16:45:00 -050019:21falsefull1441EP3 The Designer Who Designed Her Life with Brittany PhillipsEP3 The Designer Who Designed Her Life with Brittany PhillipsSixteen years into running her own firm, Brittany Phillips still gives young designers the same piece of advice: go find someone you admire and go learn. Not because she's repeating what worked. Because she lived it, and it's still the truest thing she knows.

Brittany is the founder of Brittany Phillips Design, a brand design firm in Fayetteville built intentionally small. She came up through regional ad agencies, global work with Saatchi and Saatchi X, and years at DOCSA under mentor Tim Walker before going out on her own. In this episode, she sits down with Angela to talk about what it actually looks like to build a career, a business, and a family in the same city you stayed in by choice. And the design principle she uses with clients that turns out to be the best life advice she has: when you emphasize everything, you emphasize nothing. In this episode, we get into:

  • Why the most boring early-career work often becomes your most valuable skill
  • What she'd tell every young woman just starting out in Fayetteville
  • The word Angela heard in Brittany's life description that neither of them had connected to design before
  • How she handles the frustration of not being heard in a male-dominated industry, and what she did with it
  • The secret goal involving art she hasn't told anyone about yet

Brittany talks about the detail work that felt tedious and almost devastating early in her career, the years of prepping files, checking crop marks, learning what can go wrong at press. And how that exact work is now the thing that makes her irreplaceable to clients. She also opens up about navigating creative disagreement with a client who doesn't choose what you'd choose, and why the advice "take it for what it is, it doesn't define you" is a whole lot easier to say than to live.

There's a moment in this conversation where Angela connects Brittany's approach to life to the principles of design itself: restraint, breathing room, margin. The things you don't put in matter as much as the things you do. Brittany hadn't quite framed it that way. Neither will you, until you hear it.

The Women of All Generations event is June 16, 2026, 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center. Brittany will be there as the moderator of the panel discussion. Grab your tickets at fayettevillear.com/woag.

Mentioned in this episode:

  • Brittany Phillips Design: brittanyphillipsdesign.com
  • Blackwood Martin (regional ad agency, Fayetteville)
  • Saatchi and Saatchi X
  • DOCSA, Fayetteville (mentor: Tim Walker)
  • City of Fayetteville Trash and Recycling
  • Chamber Fayetteville
  • Women of All Generations event: fayettevillear.com/woag

Connect with Brittany:

  • Website: brittanyphillipsdesign.com
  • Instagram: @bpdfayar
  • Facebook: facebook.com/brittanyphillipsdesign
  • LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/brittany-phillips-ba49818

Mentioned in this episode:

Women of All Generations | June 16, 2026

The Women of All Generations event is almost here. Join us June 16, 2026 from 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center for an afternoon of real conversation, connection, and celebration. Tickets and sponsorships are available now. You belong in that room. Grab your spot at fayettevillear.com/woag.

]]>Sixteen years into running her own firm, Brittany Phillips still gives young designers the same piece of advice: go find someone you admire and go learn. Not because she's repeating what worked. Because she lived it, and it's still the truest thing she knows.

Brittany is the founder of Brittany Phillips Design, a brand design firm in Fayetteville built intentionally small. She came up through regional ad agencies, global work with Saatchi and Saatchi X, and years at DOCSA under mentor Tim Walker before going out on her own. In this episode, she sits down with Angela to talk about what it actually looks like to build a career, a business, and a family in the same city you stayed in by choice. And the design principle she uses with clients that turns out to be the best life advice she has: when you emphasize everything, you emphasize nothing. In this episode, we get into:

  • Why the most boring early-career work often becomes your most valuable skill
  • What she'd tell every young woman just starting out in Fayetteville
  • The word Angela heard in Brittany's life description that neither of them had connected to design before
  • How she handles the frustration of not being heard in a male-dominated industry, and what she did with it
  • The secret goal involving art she hasn't told anyone about yet

Brittany talks about the detail work that felt tedious and almost devastating early in her career, the years of prepping files, checking crop marks, learning what can go wrong at press. And how that exact work is now the thing that makes her irreplaceable to clients. She also opens up about navigating creative disagreement with a client who doesn't choose what you'd choose, and why the advice "take it for what it is, it doesn't define you" is a whole lot easier to say than to live.

There's a moment in this conversation where Angela connects Brittany's approach to life to the principles of design itself: restraint, breathing room, margin. The things you don't put in matter as much as the things you do. Brittany hadn't quite framed it that way. Neither will you, until you hear it.

The Women of All Generations event is June 16, 2026, 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center. Brittany will be there as the moderator of the panel discussion. Grab your tickets at fayettevillear.com/woag.

Mentioned in this episode:

  • Brittany Phillips Design: brittanyphillipsdesign.com
  • Blackwood Martin (regional ad agency, Fayetteville)
  • Saatchi and Saatchi X
  • DOCSA, Fayetteville (mentor: Tim Walker)
  • City of Fayetteville Trash and Recycling
  • Chamber Fayetteville
  • Women of All Generations event: fayettevillear.com/woag

Connect with Brittany:

  • Website: brittanyphillipsdesign.com
  • Instagram: @bpdfayar
  • Facebook: facebook.com/brittanyphillipsdesign
  • LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/brittany-phillips-ba49818

Mentioned in this episode:

Women of All Generations | June 16, 2026

The Women of All Generations event is almost here. Join us June 16, 2026 from 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center for an afternoon of real conversation, connection, and celebration. Tickets and sponsorships are available now. You belong in that room. Grab your spot at fayettevillear.com/woag.

]]>37e39199-5733-4a96-8b31-faa5da0911d5Mon, 04 May 2026 16:50:00 -050023:25falsefull1331EP2 Publishing, Purpose, and Putting Yourself in Rooms That Scare You with Sydney SullivanEP2 Publishing, Purpose, and Putting Yourself in Rooms That Scare You with Sydney SullivanShe moved to Fayetteville in 2020 for school, got COVID, mono, and tonsillitis three times, and genuinely did not think she was going to stay. Fast forward a few years: she's the publisher of Fayetteville City Lifestyle Magazine, a published author, and one of the people most responsible for making sure this city's stories actually get told. Sydney Sullivan did not plan any of this. And that's exactly what makes her story worth hearing.

In this episode of HerStory, Sami sits down with Sydney to talk about what it looks like to build a career around something you've loved since childhood, how to walk into rooms where you feel like you have no business being there, and why Fayetteville keeps doing this thing where people show up planning to leave and end up obsessed. Sydney also shares a goal she hasn't said out loud yet, and it's one that anyone in a season of figuring it out needs to hear. In this episode, we get into:

  • What it actually felt like to go from tech sales to publisher in her mid-20s, and why following what you loved as a kid is still the best career advice
  • How to walk into a room where you don't belong and stay anyway
  • The 'secret sauce' of Fayetteville according to someone whose entire job is to pay attention to this city
  • What she hopes Fayetteville never loses as it grows
  • A secret goal involving women's stories that she's never said out loud before

Sydney talks about the mindset shift that got her through imposter syndrome: "somebody put me here, so it wasn't on accident." She shares what her dad's steady belief in her built inside her, the advice she'd give her younger self about leaning into natural giftings instead of chasing stability, and the question she most wants to ask the panelists at the Women of All Generations event on June 16.

What you'll take from this conversation is a little more permission to be exactly where you are, even when it doesn't look like what you planned. Sydney is 24, running a magazine, and still figuring things out in real time. That's not a disclaimer. That's the point.

The Women of All Generations event is June 16, 2026, 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center. Grab your tickets and find out everything at fayettevillear.com/woag.

Mentioned in this episode:

  • Fayetteville City Lifestyle Magazine: fayettevillecitylifestyle.com
  • The College Girl's Guide to Fayetteville by Sydney Sullivan
  • The Soul of Shame by Curt Thompson
  • Andrew Huberman's Huberman Lab Podcast: hubermanlab.com
  • George's on Dickson Street, Fayetteville AR
  • Dodo Coffee, Fayetteville AR
  • Baba Boudan's, Fayetteville AR
  • Women of All Generations event: fayettevillear.com/woag

Connect with Sydney:

  • Instagram (personal): @sydney.i.sullivan
  • Instagram (magazine): @fayettevillecitylifestyle
  • LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sydney-sullivan-17699320a

Mentioned in this episode:

Women of All Generations | June 16, 2026

The Women of All Generations event is almost here. Join us June 16, 2026 from 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center for an afternoon of real conversation, connection, and celebration. Tickets and sponsorships are available now. You belong in that room. Grab your spot at fayettevillear.com/woag.

]]>She moved to Fayetteville in 2020 for school, got COVID, mono, and tonsillitis three times, and genuinely did not think she was going to stay. Fast forward a few years: she's the publisher of Fayetteville City Lifestyle Magazine, a published author, and one of the people most responsible for making sure this city's stories actually get told. Sydney Sullivan did not plan any of this. And that's exactly what makes her story worth hearing.

In this episode of HerStory, Sami sits down with Sydney to talk about what it looks like to build a career around something you've loved since childhood, how to walk into rooms where you feel like you have no business being there, and why Fayetteville keeps doing this thing where people show up planning to leave and end up obsessed. Sydney also shares a goal she hasn't said out loud yet, and it's one that anyone in a season of figuring it out needs to hear. In this episode, we get into:

  • What it actually felt like to go from tech sales to publisher in her mid-20s, and why following what you loved as a kid is still the best career advice
  • How to walk into a room where you don't belong and stay anyway
  • The 'secret sauce' of Fayetteville according to someone whose entire job is to pay attention to this city
  • What she hopes Fayetteville never loses as it grows
  • A secret goal involving women's stories that she's never said out loud before

Sydney talks about the mindset shift that got her through imposter syndrome: "somebody put me here, so it wasn't on accident." She shares what her dad's steady belief in her built inside her, the advice she'd give her younger self about leaning into natural giftings instead of chasing stability, and the question she most wants to ask the panelists at the Women of All Generations event on June 16.

What you'll take from this conversation is a little more permission to be exactly where you are, even when it doesn't look like what you planned. Sydney is 24, running a magazine, and still figuring things out in real time. That's not a disclaimer. That's the point.

The Women of All Generations event is June 16, 2026, 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center. Grab your tickets and find out everything at fayettevillear.com/woag.

Mentioned in this episode:

  • Fayetteville City Lifestyle Magazine: fayettevillecitylifestyle.com
  • The College Girl's Guide to Fayetteville by Sydney Sullivan
  • The Soul of Shame by Curt Thompson
  • Andrew Huberman's Huberman Lab Podcast: hubermanlab.com
  • George's on Dickson Street, Fayetteville AR
  • Dodo Coffee, Fayetteville AR
  • Baba Boudan's, Fayetteville AR
  • Women of All Generations event: fayettevillear.com/woag

Connect with Sydney:

  • Instagram (personal): @sydney.i.sullivan
  • Instagram (magazine): @fayettevillecitylifestyle
  • LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sydney-sullivan-17699320a

Mentioned in this episode:

Women of All Generations | June 16, 2026

The Women of All Generations event is almost here. Join us June 16, 2026 from 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center for an afternoon of real conversation, connection, and celebration. Tickets and sponsorships are available now. You belong in that room. Grab your spot at fayettevillear.com/woag.

]]>d50c0ed7-030c-4ff4-8585-45280c73564bMon, 04 May 2026 16:45:00 -050023:45falsefull1221EP1 Why We're Telling Her Story (And Why You Should Listen)EP1 Why We're Telling Her Story (And Why You Should Listen)There are stories happening all around you. In the coffee shop, in the board room, in the carpool line. Women who built something, survived something, started something, lost something and kept going anyway. Most of those stories never make it past a quick handshake and a business card exchange.

That changes now.

HerStory is a limited podcast series from Chamber Fayetteville and Be Freaking Awesome, hosted by Sami Kinnison and Angela Belford. Each episode features a different woman from the Fayetteville community, sharing the real version of her story. Not the polished version. The actual one, with the pivots and the hard seasons and the moments she almost didn't make it to the room she was born to be in. We're doing this as a lead-up to Chamber Fayetteville's Women of All Generations event on June 16, 2026 at Fayetteville Town Center, and every episode is an invitation to show up for that day. In this first episode, Sami and Angela introduce the show, share why women's stories matter more than ever, and give you a peek behind the curtain at what's coming. In this episode, we get into:

  • Why Fayetteville's women deserve their own spotlight (and what makes this community different)
  • The real reason we wanted to tell her story instead of just showing up at an event
  • Why this podcast is for everyone, not just women
  • What surprised Sami after already sitting down with several guests
  • How shared stories create shortcuts to real connection in a room full of strangers

Angela talks about what it was like to be a young woman buying a software company in the early 2000s, operating at the intersection of two very male-dominated industries, and what that experience taught her about who gets heard and who doesn't. Sami reflects on growing up in Fayetteville, trying to leave (the part where she found out 'anywhere but here' doesn't have a college application is a little too relatable), and what Leadership Fayetteville taught her about a city she thought she already knew everything about.

What you'll walk away from this episode with is simple: a reason to hit subscribe and a reason to show up on June 16. These aren't just stories. They're the conversations that make a room feel less like networking and more like belonging. And we can't wait to show you what that looks like.

Grab your tickets and find out everything about the Women of All Generations event at fayettevillear.com/woag. New episodes drop regularly between now and June, and you don't want to miss a single one.

Mentioned in this episode:

  • Women of All Generations event: fayettevillear.com/woag
  • Chamber Fayetteville: fayettevillear.com
  • Be Freaking Awesome podcast: bfreakingawesome.com
  • Leadership Fayetteville (Chamber program)

Mentioned in this episode:

Women of All Generations | June 16, 2026

The Women of All Generations event is almost here. Join us June 16, 2026 from 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center for an afternoon of real conversation, connection, and celebration. Tickets and sponsorships are available now. You belong in that room. Grab your spot at fayettevillear.com/woag.

]]>There are stories happening all around you. In the coffee shop, in the board room, in the carpool line. Women who built something, survived something, started something, lost something and kept going anyway. Most of those stories never make it past a quick handshake and a business card exchange.

That changes now.

HerStory is a limited podcast series from Chamber Fayetteville and Be Freaking Awesome, hosted by Sami Kinnison and Angela Belford. Each episode features a different woman from the Fayetteville community, sharing the real version of her story. Not the polished version. The actual one, with the pivots and the hard seasons and the moments she almost didn't make it to the room she was born to be in. We're doing this as a lead-up to Chamber Fayetteville's Women of All Generations event on June 16, 2026 at Fayetteville Town Center, and every episode is an invitation to show up for that day. In this first episode, Sami and Angela introduce the show, share why women's stories matter more than ever, and give you a peek behind the curtain at what's coming. In this episode, we get into:

  • Why Fayetteville's women deserve their own spotlight (and what makes this community different)
  • The real reason we wanted to tell her story instead of just showing up at an event
  • Why this podcast is for everyone, not just women
  • What surprised Sami after already sitting down with several guests
  • How shared stories create shortcuts to real connection in a room full of strangers

Angela talks about what it was like to be a young woman buying a software company in the early 2000s, operating at the intersection of two very male-dominated industries, and what that experience taught her about who gets heard and who doesn't. Sami reflects on growing up in Fayetteville, trying to leave (the part where she found out 'anywhere but here' doesn't have a college application is a little too relatable), and what Leadership Fayetteville taught her about a city she thought she already knew everything about.

What you'll walk away from this episode with is simple: a reason to hit subscribe and a reason to show up on June 16. These aren't just stories. They're the conversations that make a room feel less like networking and more like belonging. And we can't wait to show you what that looks like.

Grab your tickets and find out everything about the Women of All Generations event at fayettevillear.com/woag. New episodes drop regularly between now and June, and you don't want to miss a single one.

Mentioned in this episode:

  • Women of All Generations event: fayettevillear.com/woag
  • Chamber Fayetteville: fayettevillear.com
  • Be Freaking Awesome podcast: bfreakingawesome.com
  • Leadership Fayetteville (Chamber program)

Mentioned in this episode:

Women of All Generations | June 16, 2026

The Women of All Generations event is almost here. Join us June 16, 2026 from 3 to 6 PM at the Fayetteville Town Center for an afternoon of real conversation, connection, and celebration. Tickets and sponsorships are available now. You belong in that room. Grab your spot at fayettevillear.com/woag.

]]>e7a23e2c-82db-40c9-b449-bd7a49fc67d6Mon, 04 May 2026 13:00:00 -050024:28falsefull1111