Aliza Freud is the Founder and CEO of SheSpeaks, which was launched in 2008 as a platform to amplify women’s voices. It is now the largest community of female influencers, reaching 300 million consumers per month, through brand programs designed and executed to drive real impact. The platform has become the voice of female consumers and influencers. It has created an award-winning Influencer Platform, with over 250 thousand members. Aliza Freud's expertise has been featured on ABC News, MSNBC, Good Morning America and in Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, New York Times and The Economist.

Spark

Rise of Influencer Marketing

Jill Salzman is currently growing her third entrepreneurial venture, The Founding Moms, where she helps female entrepreneurs build better businesses. Previously, she started a music management firm and then launched and sold a baby jewelry company before creating her current venture. Jill is the author of The Best Business Book In The World* (according to my mom) and the Amazon best-seller, Found It: A Field Guide for Mom Entrepreneurs. She has shared the speaker stage with Richard Branson, Sheryl Sandberg, and Desmond Tutu, among others. Jill hosts the podcast, Why Are We Shouting? She is also a co-host of Inc. Magazine's business podcast, Breaking Down Your Business. Dubbed a “mommy mogul” by CNN Money, a “Cool Mom Entrepreneur We Love” by MSN Live, Jill was recently named one of the Top 50 Women to Watch In Tech as well as a Top 100 Champion Small Business Influencer after Forbes’ named The Founding Moms one of the Top 10 Websites For Entrepreneurs.

How to Grow Your Community, Online and IRL 

Astronaut Clayton –“Astro Clay” spent 167 days in space and 38 hours and 28 minutes in executing 6 spacewalks. He applied 15 times before NASA selected him as an Astronaut in 1998, and he spent 30 years working for NASA; 15 as an engineer and then 15 as an Astronaut.Succeeding in one of the most difficult and coveted jobs in the world through perseverance and a never-give-up mantra, Anderson employs NASA’s “Plan, Train and Fly (Execute)” philosophy to his goals. He is the author of The Ordinary SpacemanTM: From Boyhood Dreams to Astronaut, A is for Astronaut: Blasting Through the Alphabet, Letters From Space and It’s a Question of Space: An Ordinary Astronaut’s Answers to Sometimes Extraordinary Questions. His story has been featured in leading media outlets including ABC News, Fox News, Business Insider, Space and TEDx. 

Never Give Up

Dilip Jeste, M.D. is a geriatric neuropsychiatrist, who specializes in successful aging, neurobiology of wisdom and psychotic disorders in older adults. He is the Senior Associate Dean for Healthy Aging and Senior Care, Estelle and Edgar Levi Memorial Chair in Aging, Director of Sam and Rose Stein Institute for Research on Aging, Founding Director of UC San Diego Center for Healthy Aging, Co-Director, IBM-UCSD Artificial Intelligence Center for Healthy Living, at the University of California San Diego. He has published over 600 articles in peer-reviewed journals and 14 books. In his most recent book titled Wiser: The Scientific Roots of Wisdom, Compassion, and What Makes Us Good (2020), he describes evidence-based findings on the definition, measurement, and neurobiology of wisdom as well as its relationship with aging, and interventions to promote wisdom. His work has been featured in leading media outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Time, National Public Radio, PBS, Public Radio International, London Times, and The Colbert Report, among others.

Science of Wisdom

Darcy Gaechter is an extreme athlete, entrepreneur, environmental activist and author. She is the first woman to kayak across the widest part of South America, stretching 4,000 miles, from source to sea. Ms Gaechter has won whitewater kayaking races throughout the world and led kayaking expeditions in eighteen different countries. When she is not on a whitewater expedition, Ms Gaechter runs her kayaking business, Small World Adventures. She is also the author of The Kayaker’s Guide to Ecuador and Amazon Woman, an adventure memoir detailing her Amazon River expedition (its rights purchased to turn her story into a movie). In addition, Ms Gaechter donates her time to the Ecuadorian Rivers Institute and other non profit organizations. She is currently spearheading a fundraiser for ERI to help protect Ecuador's rivers and the ERI's volunteers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ms Gaechter was featured in the award-winning film, Wild Water, by Anson Fogel. 

Courage to Pursue

Dr. Jen Gunter is known by her thousands of fans as "Dr. Jen."  She is also regularly referred to as "Twitter's resident OB/GYN." As an internationally, successful author and physician, her New York Times and USA Today bestselling book, The Vagina Bible, has been translated into nineteen languages and she recently released The Menopause Manifesto. The Guardian newspaper in the United Kingdom has called her “the world’s most famous—and outspoken—gynecologist.” 

Living Through Menopause

How can we optimize the quality of both our physical and mental health as we age? Kellee talks to Dr Frank Lipman, specializing in the functioning of the body as a means of preventing disease and creating vibrant, sustainable health. He shares what we can do to promote our well-being over time. 

The New Rules of Aging Well

Hair loss can be traumatic for people. The current stress of the pandemic may be contributing to it. Kellee talks with Dr Sophia Kogan, cofounder and chief medical adviser of Nutrafol, a hair wellness company about the key factors tied to hair loss and what we can do about it.  

Combatting Hair Loss

What if your gut health determines your mental, physical and future well-being… would you optimize the strains of gut bacteria that will protect you from diseases and brain deterioration? Kellee talks with Dr Peter Swann, an authority on the gut microbiome. He will share how we can boost our gut health that will prevent degeneration of our brain and body. 

Optimizing Your Gut Health

What if you didn’t have to take a separate health supplement and  it was infused into your tea or coffee? This is what Gary Shinner and Jill Portman, founders of Mighty Leaf Tea (acquired by Peets) has accomplished in their new line of Good Pharma infusions. Kellee talks with Gary Shinner about the health benefits of their new infusions and why these infusions are different from the health supplements and superfoods that are being offered on the market.  

Integrative Infusion of the Future

Imagine living in a country where people are only focused on power, status and appearance as well as manipulating others for personal gain. It would be all about winning, material growth and perfect exterior facade. This would all make a very lonely existence. Some researchers are finding that the US is heading in this direction. Kellee talks with Ramani Durvasula, a leading expert on narcissism. She will share what narcissism looks like and how it impacts us, in particular in our relationships and how we connect with others. 

Rise of Narcissism

In December of 2020, US economy lost 140,000 jobs. All of them were held by women. Many are turning to gig work as larger part of their income or becoming solopreneurs or even entrepreneurs. It is a growing trend during this time. How can one thrive as a solopreneur or entrepreneur during this pandemic?  Kellee talks with Ms Viek about how solopreneurs and entrepreneurs can thrive during this time. 

Rise of Solopreneurs During Pandemic

More than 35 million Americans live in households that struggle with hunger. One in ten households in the U.S. experience food insecurity. Millions of low-wage earners are barely getting by, week to week. They worry about how to pay the rent and put food on the table. They need government programs, including Food Stamps and Medicare, on top of working full-time jobs just to get by. How can we support those who are on the brink of despair? Kellee talks with Jimmy Chen, CEO of Propel, who is working to deliver accessible financial support to the low-income and minimum wage earners through its technology platform.

Social Impact: Innovating Fintech for Those Most in Need

Access to financial services has been recognized as one of the most important factors in eradicating global poverty. 1.7 billion adults remain unbanked on the global scale, yet two-thirds of them own a mobile phone that could help them access financial services. Women make up more than half or 55 percent of the global unbanked population. How can we help the unbanked become bankable or access to financial services or support? Kellee talks with Ashish Gadnis, CEO of BankQu, who is working to address this challenge through his blockchain technology platform and company.

Social Impact: Financial Access for the Unbankable

The National Human Trafficking Hotline in the US saw a 20 percent increase last year in the victims and survivors who contacted for help. Each year, it is estimated that around 18,000 foreign nationals are trafficked into the United States.The number of U.S. citizens trafficked within the country each year is even higher, with an estimated 200,000 American children at risk for trafficking into the sex industry. What is happening and what can we do about it? Kellee talks with Megan Cutter, Director of National Human Trafficking Hotline, at Polaris about the state of human and sex trafficking in the United States.

Social Impact: Combatting Human Trafficking in the US

Spark, hosted by Kellee Marlow, on KXSF.FM in San Francisco, focuses on curated conversations with change-leaders and influencers- to inform minds, inspire ideas and ignite innovation. Basically, conversations that enable us to transcend beyond what we believe we are capable of.

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Spark

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