What happens when a successful entrepreneur leaves her own thriving business to get a "real job" only to discover she already knew more than she gave herself credit for? In this episode of Wickedly Smart Women, host Anjel B. Hartwell welcomes Arielle Tayar, founder of Whip Creative Studio and Whip Productions. 

What happens when the career you've worked so hard to build no longer energizes you? In this episode of Wickedly Smart Women, host Anjel B. Hartwell welcomes Bela Shah, a former attorney and ICF-certified coach.

What happens when the career you worked decades to build no longer aligns with who you’ve become? In this episode of Wickedly Smart Women, host Anjel B. Hartwell welcomes Dr. Cynthia Bentzen-Mercer, organizational development strategist, executive coach, international keynote speaker, and creator of Stop Drifting: The Discipline of Direction™. 

What happens when a woman walks away from corporate stability, navigates financial uncertainty, and builds a thriving business in a male-dominated industry? In this episode of Wickedly Smart Women, host Anjel B. Hartwell welcomes Hannah Hurckes, author, entrepreneur, and high-impact speaker known for saying what others won’t.

What if the biggest wake-up call of your life became the reason you completely reinvented your future? In this episode of Wickedly Smart Women, host Anjel B. Hartwell welcomes Janet McConnell, a Senior National Champion Bodybuilder who began competing in her late 40s, Janet brings decades of experience in strength training and lifestyle habits that support cognitive health, resilience, and vitality. As the author of Elements of Aging Well, she blends science-backed insight with real-world strategies to help women age with confidence, strength, and purpose. 

What if the reason your team isn’t performing has nothing to do with strategy and everything to do with leadership? In this episode of Wickedly Smart Women, host Anjel B. Hartwell welcomes Kathy Eastwood, CEO and creator of the human-first E3 Leadership Code and a leadership strategist with over thirty years of executive experience across EY, Hewlett-Packard, high-growth startups, and private equity-backed companies.

What happens when you wake up one day and realize the career you built no longer fits your life? In this episode of Wickedly Smart Women, host Anjel B. Hartwell welcomes Megan Applegate, Career Strategist, Certified Personal Consultant, and the founder of Career Blueprint Solutions. 

What if the decision that changes everything isn’t about leaving your job but about how you think? In this episode of Wickedly Smart Women, host Anjel B. Hartwell welcomes Dr. Crystal Gifford, CEO of EdgeTech Global, a pioneering force in educational leadership, curriculum development, and EdTech integration.

What if the key to higher profits isn’t better marketing or more sales tactics but how you treat your people? In this episode of Wickedly Smart Women, host Anjel B. Hartwell welcomes Sandra Coker, CEO of Human Power Solutions and author of People Profit. Sandra shares her powerful journey from corporate leadership to entrepreneurship, sparked by life-changing personal experiences that forced her to rethink everything.

Burnout is not a personal failure. It is a systems problem, and today’s episode breaks down exactly why. In this episode of Wickedly Smart Women, host Anjel B. Hartwell welcomes Dr. Trisha Vinatieri, a clinical psychologist and organizational development psychologist who has spent nearly two decades treating PTSD and holding various leadership roles within healthcare systems.

What happens when your body starts telling you it’s time to walk away, even before your mind is ready to admit it? In this episode of Wickedly Smart Women, host Anjel B. Hartwell welcomes Stacey Bailey, a leadership coach, strategist, and facilitator who helps entrepreneurs and creative leaders grow businesses with heart. A certified System and Soul™ Implementor and Dare to Lead™ Certified professional, she brings more than 15 years of experience in leadership and operations within the creative services industry.

What if your burnout isn’t just stress but a deeper biological disconnect? In this episode of Wickedly Smart Women, host Anjel B. Hartwell welcomes Meredith Oke, strategic coach turned science storyteller, host of the Quantum Biology Collective podcast, and founder of a nonprofit focused on helping women reclaim their energy and health through the lens of quantum biology. After walking away from burnout and chronic fatigue, Meredith now helps women understand how their environment, light exposure, and daily habits directly impact their energy, health, and long-term wellbeing.

What if the biggest risk in your career isn’t leaving corporate, but staying? In this episode of Wickedly Smart Women, host Anjel B. Hartwell welcomes Heather Moore, Founder and CEO of Pet Centric Health. Heather takes us behind the scenes of what it really looks like to transition from corporate stability into entrepreneurship, including the mindset shifts, challenges, and unexpected growth that come with building a company from the ground up.

Why are women still dramatically underrepresented in leadership positions despite earning the majority of college degrees and making up half the workforce? In this episode of Wickedly Smart Women, host Anjel B. Hartwell welcomes Gloria Feldt, visionary leadership strategist, bestselling author, and co-founder of Take The Lead. Drawing on decades of experience, including serving as national president of Planned Parenthood and building leadership development programs for women, Gloria explains why the issue is not a lack of ambition but a deeper challenge around women’s relationship with power and money.

What is trauma-informed leadership, and why does it matter in today’s workplace? In this episode of Wickedly Smart Women, host Anjel B. Hartwell welcomes Dr. Melanie Gray shares how trauma-informed care transforms leadership, strengthens workplace culture, and prevents burnout before it derails careers. Drawing from over 25 years in healthcare, higher education, and corporate leadership, Dr. Gray explains how trauma shapes behavior, how generational stress impacts performance, and why confidence is built through intentional self-leadership.

What happens after the baby arrives, and why has that conversation been missing for generations? In this episode of Wickedly Smart Women, host Anjel B. Hartwell welcomes Aanchal Dasoar Arora, women’s health innovator, pelvic floor physical therapist, and founder of Mendhai Health, shares how postpartum depression, pelvic floor dysfunction, and an identity crisis after motherhood led her to leave a high-level corporate healthcare career and build a digital maternal recovery platform born out of MIT.

What if the reason you feel stuck isn’t that you need to push harder but because you need to let go? In this episode of Wickedly Smart Women, host Anjel B. Hartwell welcomes Ginny Priem, keynote speaker, #1 bestselling author, master certified coach, and host of the Unsubscribe podcast. Ginny shares how escaping a toxic relationship became the catalyst for transforming her entire life and career.

What if working from home wasn’t a trend but a calling you answered decades before the rest of the world caught up? In this episode of Wickedly Smart Women, host Anjel B. Hartwell welcomes Lesley Pyle, a true pioneer in the remote work and entrepreneurship space. Lesley is the founder and CEO of Hire My Mom, a platform that connects small businesses with highly skilled virtual professionals.

What if the reason you’re exhausted, overworked, and questioning your worth at work has nothing to do with your talent and everything to do with a game no one ever taught you how to play? In this episode of Wickedly Smart Women, host Anjel B. Hartwell welcomes Robin Goad, a senior technology executive at Amazon Web Services, speaker, and author, to unpack how childhood trauma, perfectionism, and unspoken corporate rules shape the careers of high-achieving women. With more than 30 years of leadership experience at Fortune 100 companies like Dell and Gartner, Robin shares how she built a wildly successful career while unknowingly operating from survival patterns formed in childhood.

What if the way you speak is the most powerful leadership tool you’re underutilizing? In this episode of Wickedly Smart Women, host Anjel B. Hartwell welcomes Julie Holunga,  to explore how trust, communication, and intentional leadership language shape influence at every level of an organization. Julie shares her journey from nonprofit and corporate leadership into building a consulting practice rooted in integrity, trust, and meaningful impact.