It is the end of 2021 and I cannot believe how much has happened. This year has been one of challenge and triumph, great loss, but also one of abundance. I thought I'd close out the year by talking about our bodies, the food we consume, and how the food in our community reflects our resilience. I'm really excited about today's episode and to be talking with someone near and dear to my heart, Jessica Featherson. 

Join Jessica and I as we  discuss what having it all means to her, her journey, and common misconceptions associated with having it all.  She has a creative background in dance and it has played an important role in saving her life.

We also explore 

• The relationship of food and Black culture and the role it plays in having it all with health, and 
• Seeking and accepting your gifts and embracing your purpose as the path to having it all

Meet Jessica Featherson

Jessica self-identifies as a womanist who advocates for amplified representation, visibility, and culturally relevant wellness solutions for black womxn. She wears many hats: performance + culinary artist, experience curator, scholar, educator, health + fitness coach. She is deeply passionate about health, wellness, and the unique, interconnected relationship between the mind, body, and soul.

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She received my BFA in dance performance from Temple University and my MFA from Rutgers University. She has performed nationally and internationally with Kariamu & Co: Traditions, Laurie Taylor/Soul Movement, and Eric Taylor Dance and taught on faculty at Rutgers University/Mason Gross School of the Arts and Ballet Hispanico.

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In 2016, Jessica obtained her Health Coach certification from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition (IIN). Jessica’s mission is to teach and empower women to be loud and unapologetic in their existence and to radically love and care for themselves so that they can flourish in all aspects of their lives. 

I want to send a special thank you to Jessica for being so open and willing to have this important conversation. A special thank you to all of you for tuning in this season and contributing to the conversation. We will continue this much-needed conversation in the new year. As always please like, follow, and share the podcast within your circle. Happy New Year and here’s to having it all!

Connect with Jessica:

For Updates on her work in the health, realm check out WellBodyKitchenTo connect with Jessica via her creative endeavors visit her personal website jessicacamille.com

You can also find Jessica on Facebook. 

Connect with me:

I would love to hear from you; send me an email at: cheri@leaderandloverpodcast.com

Want to find out more about the show? you can do that at: www.leaderandloverpodcast.com

Find Leader and Lover on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leaderandlover

Find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cheri_spigner/

As Black women, many of us can agree that we have a complex relationship with sex and understanding our sexuality. Religion and the purity culture that permeates our community make it almost impossible for us to have safe spaces to speak candidly about our sexual desires and ideas around sex. Now, ya’ll know that I love speaking about sex, especially good sex and that is why I am so excited for you to meet today’s guest, Ashley Cobb, also known as Sex with Ashley, a woman who has dedicated her life and work around one idea: to help black women have better sex.

Join Ashley and I as we have a candid conversation on perceptions around sex within the black community, the impact of trauma on black women’s sex lives, the importance of therapy, and why now more than ever, it’s important for black women to have safe spaces. Listen in as Ashley dishes on her evolution from Ashley Cobb to Sex with Ashley and her journey to having it all.

Meet Sex with Ashley (Ashley Cobb)

Ashley Cobb is the millennial microphone that brings the conversation of Black Sexuality to the forefront, and across generational lines.

 Ashley is a sexpert, blogger, and influencer known for her fun, down to earth and practical commentary that's been featured in top media outlets to include Huffington Post, Cosmopolitan, Self Magazine, Women's Health, Black Love Doc, Shape, and many more.  She's also the Sex Advice Columnist for the lifestyle publication Madame Noire. 

Ashley also is the creator of the digital news and entertainment platform, Gossip and Gasms, which has been coined "The Shade Room of Sex."  In addition to that, she co-hosts a sexuality-centered podcast, "Hoe And Tell" that features real-life sex stories from strangers.

Join Ashley and I as we discuss:

• What having it all means to her, her journey, and common misconceptions associated with having it all
• Her background within the church and breaking free of purity culture
• The importance of having conversations around sex within the black community 
• The impact of Trauma on sexuality and the importance of therapy
• Walking in your purpose and how this can help you have it all

I want to send a special thank you to Ashley for this honest conversation. Thank you for your wisdom, vulnerability, and sense of humor. A special thank you to you as well for listening to today’s episode. I hope it starts a much-needed conversation within your own life and communities. Feel free to like, subscribe, and share this episode within your circle. Here’s to having it all!

Connect with Ashley:

• For Updates on her work, as well as her five favorite sexual wellness products, check out her website.
• Listen to her podcast Hoe and Tell.
• Check out Gossip and Gasms 
• Find Ashley on Twitter and Instagram

Connect with me:

• I would love to hear from you; send me an email at: cheri@leaderandloverpodcast.com
• Want to find out more about the show? you can do that at: www.leaderandloverpodcast.com
• Find Leader and Lover on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leaderandlover/?hl=en
• Find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cheri_spigner/

As African American women, we serve as the backbones of our families and communities. This idea is so deeply entrenched in us that we are expected to be everything for everyone and nothing for ourselves. While our strength is something to be proud of, carrying it as a badge of honor and centering it as our identity can lead to burnout and resentment.

Today, I am joined by Dr. Zoe Shaw, a woman who has experienced the burnout that comes with superwoman syndrome, like many other African American women. It is precisely this that caused her to take a step back, re-evaluate her life and learn to prioritize herself. 

Join Dr. Zoe and I as we have a candid conversation on mental health, vulnerability, self-care, boundaries, and the importance of therapy. Listen in to find out how her self-care journey empowered her and her community and finally enabled her to truly have it all. 

Meet Dr. Zoe Shaw:

Dr. Zoe Shaw is a licensed psychotherapist, motivational speaker, podcast host, life coach and fitness fanatic. She is passionate about helping women who struggle in difficult relationships- especially that sometimes difficult relationship with themselves.

After 15 years in traditional psychotherapy practice, Dr. Zoe jumped off the couch and now helps women using a different modality with a mix of virtual therapy, coaching services and programs designed specifically for women trying to have it all, who sometimes struggle in the superwoman game. 

Dr. Zoe is a graduate of UCLA and Pepperdine University. She is a frequent blogger (writing about helping women redefine their Superwoman) and loves answering women’s burning questions in her advice column at the Grit and Grace Project (online women’s magazine). 

I want to send a special thank you to Dr. Zoe for imparting her wise words. A special thank you to you as well for listening to today’s episode. I hope it helps you as much as it has helped me. Feel free to like, subscribe, and share this episode with your sister circle. Here’s to having it all!

Connect with Dr. Zoe:

• Check out her website to stay up to date with her: https://drzoeshaw.com/
• Ready to begin your self-care journey? Check out her book ‘A Year of Self-care’: https://drzoeshaw.com/a-year-of-self-care/
• Listen in to her podcast, The Dr. Zoe Show: https://drzoeshaw.com/category/radio-show/
• Find her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drzoeshaw/?hl=en

Connect with me:

I would love to hear from you; send me an email at: cheri@leaderandloverpodcast.com

Want to find out more about the show? you can do that at: www.leaderandloverpodcast.com

Find Leader and Lover on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leaderandlover/?hl=en

Find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cheri_spigner/