Find Your Voice, Change Your Life

Today, I interview Karen Rudolf who believed she wasn’t enough and learned early on to stay quiet, especially after being told as a child to stop asking questions. That moment shaped how she saw herself. She became very quiet, carried that into her relationships, and continued to feel small and unheard into adulthood.Growing up, her curiosity was shut down, and with a mother who was also timid and a people pleaser, she learned not to speak up. She entered a relationship where her voice was again dismissed, reinforcing the belief that what she thought and felt did not matter.Everything began to shift when her life circumstances intensified. Going through a divorce while raising three daughters, facing health issues like hair loss and a pre-diabetes diagnosis, and even being told she might not walk again forced her to confront how she had been living. These moments pushed her to listen to herself and realize she could no longer stay silent.She began to speak up, ask for what she needed, and trust her intuition. Today, Karen uses her voice to help others uncover the root cause of their patterns and express who they truly are.__________________Karen Rudolf is the founder of Tranquil SOULutions™, where science meets soul to support high-performing, heart-led women and leaders shift out of survival mode and into grounded alignment.With a background in nursing and training in neuroscience-informed tools, somatic awareness, and trauma-release principles, she helps clients reconnect with their inner voice, regulate their nervous system, and lead from a place of embodied clarity.Karen is also the creator of the Tranquil SOULutions Mind Mosaic™ and The Butterfly Technique, practical and intuitive frameworks for decision-making and inner realignment. She is the author of the upcoming book Spiraling UP: The Light You Command.__________________Find Karen here:https://www.facebook.com/officialkarenrudolf/https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenrudolf/https://www.instagram.com/officialkarenrudolf/https://www.youtube.com/@officialkarenrudolfClarity compass: https://karenrudolf.com/free-clarity-compass-pdf-967946480054Support the showI’m Dr. Doreen Downing and I help people find their voice so they can speak without fear. Get the Free 7-Step Guide to Fearless Speaking https://www.doreen7steps.com​.

Today, I interview Dori Eversmann who grew up in a family where speaking up could lead to disconnection, learning as a young girl to stay silent, watch people’s faces, and only speak when it felt safe.That pattern followed her into school and adulthood, where she became the quiet, compliant, invisible one, often freezing when asked to speak and doubting her own voice. For decades, she lived this way, until in her 40s she felt invisible, disposable, and replaceable, reaching a breaking point that pushed her to seek help and begin healing.A major shift came later after building and selling a business, when a COVID experience made her realize, “This is not what I am on this earth to do,” leading her to finally pursue something more meaningful.She began taking small, courageous steps, training as a coach, practicing speaking, and learning to connect from the heart. Today, she helps others move out of silence and fear and into authentic, heart-centered communication in their work and relationships.__________________Dori Eversmann is the owner of Resilient Relationships and a speaker, facilitator, and coach specializing in communication skills and leadership presence. She works with leaders and managers to build cultures of healthy communication and create high-trust teams where people actually want to stay and grow.Her career spans both business and nonprofit leadership. Along the way, she discovered one truth that shows up everywhere: effective communication is the key to success at work and in life.While she teaches these skills, she also lives them imperfectly. She openly shares that communication can still be a challenge, especially with her husband of 33 years.__________________Find Dori here:https://www.instagram.com/dorieversmann/https://www.linkedin.com/in/deversmann/https://www.facebook.com/dori.eversmannhttps://www.youtube.com/@RiseUpWithDoriSupport the showI’m Dr. Doreen Downing and I help people find their voice so they can speak without fear. Get the Free 7-Step Guide to Fearless Speaking https://www.doreen7steps.com​.

Mikki St. Germain, international speaker, author, and longtime football coach who founded The 4th and 1 Mindset, shares her journey from being silenced to finding courage. She recounts stepping up as a teen caretaker, refusing others’ limits, moving across the country with $263, and building a championship coaching career. Conversations focus on resilience, claiming your story, and turning setbacks into comebacks.

Today, I interview Robin Goad who grew up believing that if her own mother did not love her enough to protect her, then she must be unlovable. From a young age, she learned to perform. Achievement was praised. Expectations were high. On the outside, she looked confident and capable. On the inside, she was hiding pain and building a life around approval.That pattern followed her into adulthood. She excelled in corporate America, rising into leadership while staying driven by performance and approval. At home, she was in a painful marriage. Then she made a choice that went against her own values, a choice that forced her to confront the life she had been living.But what felt like a nervous breakdown was actually the beginning of something new. Alone and finally facing herself, she uncovered the lie she had been living from for decades. Facing that lie marked the turning point in her life.Today, Robin shows up differently. Through her book Girl by Birth, Woman by Fire and her coaching, she creates space for women to be real and authentic, to tell the ugly raw truth without judgment. She helps women heal from trauma and guides young women in corporate America to discover their superpowers and rise without losing who they are.__________________Robin Goad is a powerhouse technology executive at Amazon Web Services, speaker, and coach who helps ambitious women master the corporate game without losing themselves.With over 30 years of leadership across Fortune 100 companies like Dell and Gartner, she has closed billion dollar deals, earned recognition as Dell's Working Mother of the Year, and built a reputation as a warrior in heels.But Robin's journey was not paved in perfection. It was forged in fire. Behind the titles were battles with childhood trauma, divorce, and a breaking point that forced her to confront the lies she had believed. That moment became her turning point.As the author of Girl by Birth. Woman by Fire., Robin equips women with her R.E.A.L. Framework and The Unwritten Rulebook, practical strategies for thriving in corporate America and in life. Her message is simple and bold: you can achieve extraordinary success without sacrificing your soul.__________________Find Robin here:https://www.therealrobingoad.com/https://www.facebook.com/robin.goad.5/https://www.youtube.com/@robingoad5604/https://www.instagram.com/fiftyfavoredfiguringitout/https://www.tiktok.com/@therealrobingoad/Support the showI’m Dr. Doreen Downing and I help people find their voice so they can speak without fear. Get the Free 7-Step Guide to Fearless Speaking https://www.doreen7steps.com​.

Today, I interview Shelly Grimm, who reflects on growing up alongside chronic illness and learning, from a very young age, how to take care of herself and others.Much of Shelly’s childhood unfolded in hospitals, financial strain, and ongoing uncertainty. She learned how to manage, decide, and keep going without much protection or guidance. Confidence developed through necessity. Speaking up was less about expression and more about making sure life continued to function.As the conversation unfolds, Shelly starts to recognize how much of her strength came from necessity. Naming this brings a new awareness to the cost of always having to handle things alone, and how that shaped her confidence and voice.Today, Shelly’s work supports caregivers and families navigating long-term illness and responsibility. In this conversation, we explore how voice and confidence can form through lived experience, and what becomes possible when those early patterns are finally seen and understood.__________________Shelly Grimm is the founder of The Perpetual Caregiver Collective, a national movement dedicated to supporting caregivers and those living with chronic illness through compassion, financial clarity, and renewal.A former insurance executive with 27 years of experience in financial consulting, Shelly blends her professional expertise with deeply personal experience. Her mother was the first woman in the United States diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in 1956, an event that shaped Shelly’s lifelong empathy for those facing chronic illness and the families who care for them.She is the author of her debut memoir Some Asses Just Need Wiping and the upcoming sequel Some Loves Just Need Leaving, part of her Some Just Need… book series. Shelly has been featured on Fox Business, Bloomberg, and Tom Hegna’s Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, and was named by MSN as one of the Top 10 Most Inspirational Women to Follow in 2025.Her work through The Perpetual Caregiver Collective bridges the gap between practical financial preparedness and emotional well-being, ensuring no caregiver—or care recipient—ever feels unseen or unsupported.__________________Find Shelly here:www.linkedin/in/shellygrimm/www.facebook.com/theperpetualcaregiver/www.instagram.com/perpetualcaregiver/Support the showI’m Dr. Doreen Downing and I help people find their voice so they can speak without fear. Get the Free 7-Step Guide to Fearless Speaking https://www.doreen7steps.com​.

Today, I interview Katrina van Oudheusden, who reflects on how early family dynamics, expectations, and learning to be capable from a young age shaped the way she learned to push through, stay productive, and quiet parts of herself.Growing up in a large family with strong values around stability and responsibility, Katrina learned to perform well and do what was expected. As an adult, those early patterns followed her into high-achieving environments, where productivity was prioritized and bodily signals were often set aside, eventually leading to exhaustion and a sense of losing her voice.A turning point came when she began questioning whether confidence, speaking, and success were meant to be forced at all. That question opened a deeper exploration of listening to the body and recognizing rhythms many women are never taught to honor.Today, Katrina supports women in slowing down, reconnecting with themselves, and building lives and businesses that feel aligned with who they are. In this conversation, we explore how voice, trust, and presence begin long before speaking, and what becomes possible when listening replaces pushing.__________________Katrina van Oudheusden (van Oud-who’s den) is a Business Growth Coach and creator of the CreatHER Method, a framework that helps highly accomplished women grow their businesses without burnout.With a background rooted in Disney’s legendary customer experience philosophy, Katrina brings a unique blend of strategic precision and emotional connection to everything she creates.Through her offerings, including CreatHER Business Rewire, the CreatHER Planner, and her in-person CreatHER Rest & Reset, she helps ambitious women reconnect with their natural rhythms and design businesses that flow.Katrina’s work blends the art of customer experience with the science of business scaling, turning clarity into cash flow, rest into results, and creativity into sustainable impact.__________________Find Katrina here:https://www.linkedin.com/in/katrinavanoudheusden/https://www.pinterest.com/thetruthbomb/https://truthbombmarketing.com/go/authentically-female/authentic-femalehttp://creatherplanner.comSupport the showI’m Dr. Doreen Downing and I help people find their voice so they can speak without fear. Get the Free 7-Step Guide to Fearless Speaking https://www.doreen7steps.com​.

Today, I interview Desislava Dimitrova, who grew up learning to stay quiet in order to keep the peace. She shares what it was like growing up in a strict home where it did not feel safe to speak, and how being quiet became a way to protect herself from a very young age.A major turning point came later in her life through a serious illness that divided her life into before and after. The long healing process forced her to slow down, listen deeply, and face her biggest fears. Through years of meditation and healing, she began reconnecting with her heart and the deeper knowing that had always been there.Today, Desislava uses her voice to help others slow down and listen to their heart. Through meditation and a personal, intuitive approach, she supports people in finding healing, clarity, and a deeper connection to themselves.__________________Desislava Dimitrova is a holistic whole health consultant with intuitive and healing abilities. She is passionate about helping moms improve their lifestyle and live with more joy and inner peace. People she has worked with often describe her as practical and motherly nurturing, and she offers a very personal approach that works with mind, body, and spirit.She is certified in multiple healing modalities, but life experience is her biggest credential. Desislava works with mid age professional and business women who feel overwhelmed, stressed, or are going through major transitions in their lives. She helps them find peace, hear their inner voice, and move past blocks so they can take their next inspired steps with confidence and clarity, while creating a calm and safe space for healing and growth.__________________Find Desislava here:Website: https://desi-divine.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/desislava.dimitrova.3110/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/desislava-dimitrova-30271293/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/desisdivine/Support the showI’m Dr. Doreen Downing and I help people find their voice so they can speak without fear. Get the Free 7-Step Guide to Fearless Speaking https://www.doreen7steps.com​.

Today, I interview Manya Gittel who lost her voice during a stroke and woke up to something far more unexpected than the crisis itself. She describes that moment as an inner awakening she didn’t see coming, one that shifted her sense of who she was and how her voice lived inside her.Manya shares parts of her early life, shaped by her parents’ history and the roles she learned to carry as a child. These patterns became so natural to her that she never questioned them, even as they influenced how she showed up in the world.What changed after the stroke is something she explains in a way that feels both surprising and deeply human. The way she describes that shift invites you to listen closely and wonder about the places where you too might be living from habit instead of truth.Today, Manya reflects on how that experience continues to shape her voice and her presence. Her story opens a rare conversation about authenticity, connection, and the moment a person realizes they have been further from themselves than they knew. It is an invitation to explore what happens when someone finally hears the voice they didn’t know they lost.__________________Manya Gittel is a coach and trainer from South Africa who works with people around the world. Her background spans decades of facilitation, education, training programs, coaching, participatory theatre, and deep study of the Enneagram. She is known for helping people explore truth through voice, presence, and honest connection.Manya’s work is rooted in meaningful engagement, both with oneself and with others. She brings a unique blend of insight and experience, shaped by training in both formal and informal settings and by the recognitions she has received for her commitment to personal growth and awareness.Recent life events have opened new layers in her understanding of authenticity and expression, and she now weaves those insights into her coaching. She continues to guide people toward a more grounded, truthful relationship with themselves and with the world around them.__________________Find Manya here:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/manyagittel/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KnocKnockCoaching/Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/masteryofselfandrelationshipsLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/manyagittelSupport the showI’m Dr. Doreen Downing and I help people find their voice so they can speak without fear. Get the Free 7-Step Guide to Fearless Speaking https://www.doreen7steps.com​.

Today, I interview John Kippen who spent years hiding after a surgery left half of his face paralyzed. His story is one of deep courage, transformation, and learning what it really means to be seen.As a child, John grew up in a successful family and learned how to perform, achieve, and seek approval. But beneath that confidence was a longing to be understood for who he truly was. When a brain tumor led to facial paralysis, everything he knew about identity and worth was shaken.What followed was a long season of silence and isolation that eventually became a doorway to rediscovery. Through his love for magic and storytelling, John began to connect with others again. The stage became a space where he stopped hiding, shared his truth, and turned what once felt like a limitation into a powerful message of authenticity.Today, John uses his voice to help others find theirs. As a speaker and empowerment coach, he reminds us that real confidence isn’t about appearance or perfection. It begins with self-acceptance, compassion, and the courage to show up exactly as we are.__________________John Kippen is an entrepreneur, professional magician, speaker, resilience and empowerment coach, and published author.In 2002, he was diagnosed with a large benign brain tumor that, while successfully removed, left him with permanent facial paralysis. The experience stopped his forward momentum and led him into hiding for more than twelve years.During that time, John rediscovered his childhood love for performing magic and storytelling. What began as a way to cope slowly became his source of healing. With renewed passion and hope, he came to see that his facial difference was not a limitation but his greatest superpower.Today, John lives with joy and purpose, helping others rise above self-doubt and fear. As a resilience and empowerment coach, he teaches people to get out of their own way and step into a life of confidence and connection.His guiding mottos are simple yet profound: Being different is your superpower and Feed your heart with your art.__________________Find John here:https://www.johnkippen.com/https://www.facebook.com/kippen/?_rdrhttps://www.instagram.com/johnkippen/?hl=enhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/johnkippenspeaker/Support the showI’m Dr. Doreen Downing and I help people find their voice so they can speak without fear. Get the Free 7-Step Guide to Fearless Speaking https://www.doreen7steps.com​.

Today, I interview Robin Humphreys, who once felt her voice caught in her throat and her body tense with fear. She shares how creative expression became her lifeline, helping her release what she couldn’t say out loud.Growing up sensitive and full of imagination, Robin later faced experiences that taught her to hold back her voice. Years of silence led to a deep disconnection from her own safety and expression, until art and body-based healing began to show her another way to live and speak.Now, Robin helps others find that same freedom, guiding them to calm anxiety, reconnect with their bodies, and rediscover their authentic voice. Her work reminds us that healing and self-expression often rise together, leading us back to what is most true within.__________________Robin Humphreys is the visionary Founder and CEO of Phoenix Heart Healing. She is a true catalyst for transformation, guiding individuals to experience radiant shifts by aligning the body, heart, mind, and spirit.Her holistic mastery weaves together energy healing, meditation, breathwork, and movement, helping clients dissolve anxiety, depression, and overwhelm while nurturing a deeper connection to themselves and the world around them.As a trained international and TEDx speaker, Robin’s mission to transform lives has touched hearts across the globe. Her empowering presence inspires others to take a soulful leap on their journey homeward.__________________Find Robin here:https://www.facebook.com/phoenixhearthealinghttps://www.instagram.com/phoenixhearthealing/3 Tips to Reduce Anxiety in 2 Minutes or Less - https://phoenixhearthealing.org/ Support the showI’m Dr. Doreen Downing and I help people find their voice so they can speak without fear. Get the Free 7-Step Guide to Fearless Speaking https://www.doreen7steps.com​.