Interviews

Creating Containers: From Field Kitchens to Yoga Studios with Fiona Donovan

Picture two spaces. 

In one, a field kitchen bubbles over with life. Under a makeshift tent, pots clatter, onions hiss on a portable hot plate, and someone’s calling out, “We need more rice!” A neighbor who's just lost everything ladles soup for another who’s just walked miles through mud.

In the second space, a yoga studio, breath slows, shoulders drop, the air smells faintly of lavender, bodies move in a quiet synchronicity, finding flow after a day that was herky jerky at best.

Some people can build both kinds of spaces.

I’ve always been fascinated by what it takes to steady yourself when the world around you is in chaos. My guest today, Fiona Donovan, Vice President of Response Administration for World Central Kitchen, has built her career as a student of that very question.

WCK, a nonprofit founded by chef José Andrés, is famous for being first to the frontlines in times of crisis–hurricanes, wildfires, earthquakes, war zones–anywhere people are hungry and hurting. Their teams set up field kitchens that serve fresh, hot meals with dignity and heart.

Fiona leads those teams. She oversees global relief operations, coordinating thousands of volunteers, local chefs, and community partners to deliver nourishing food to people quickly.

Before joining WCK, she worked in international development and taught in the Peace Corps. She knows what it means to be in the field, boots muddy, adrenaline high, trying to make things better fast.

In our conversation, Fiona and I trace the thread between field kitchens and yoga studios, between cooking for hundreds and centering yourself for one slow breath. We talk about how to lead with listening, how to design trust before structure, and how to tell when your body’s in reactive mode versus responsive mode. And maybe most beautifully, how to come down from long seasons of urgency without losing your purpose.

Fiona’s story is what it looks like when compassion gets operationalized. So take a breath, soften your shoulders, and maybe imagine the smell of something delicious cooking.

Listen to the full episode to hear:

  • The practices and hobbies that Fiona has cultivated to ground herself as she transitions out of the field

  • How the work of creating welcoming, safe spaces at WCK has translated into how Fiona approaches teaching yoga

  • Why it’s so important for WCK to partner closely with communities when they’re responding to a disaster

  • How Fiona approaches being responsive instead of reactive, for herself and her teams, even under immense pressure

  • How WCK empowers its field leaders to make decisions during a crisis without getting hung up by perfectionism

  • A simple, shared practice of what we’re currently grateful for

Learn more about Fiona Donovan:

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The Practice of Caring Out Loud with Samara Bay

I was a shy and intense kid. The kind who always wants to sit at the grownups table instead of running around with the other kids.

But I noticed early on that my intensity could confuse or overwhelm others, so I learned how to be me more quietly. I poured my caring into outlets that wanted me there, like theater, writing, and my horse, who always understood me.

As an adult–at podiums, in boardrooms, and even alone on my yoga mat–I would feel words pressing at my ribs. There were things I wanted to say, wanted to ask about, to try articulating, but my earnestness got buttoned up under a well-honed, cool girl armor. 

What if I showed my full self and it wasn't received? What if my passion made people uncomfortable? 

I learned to modulate, because people love passion, just not when it's too much. And that voice–the good girl, the good boss, the earnest striver–worked. Until it felt like a compression vest.

Eventually, I realized that power that doesn't include caring for everyone in the room is not power I want. The bravest thing I could do wasn't to hold it all together. It was to let myself be seen caring. 

Today, my guest, Samara Bay, and I imagine what a future could look like if more of us cared out loud. And because she is a coach and behavior geek like me, Samara offers us a delicious exercise that we can apply to our daily lives.

Samara Bay is a speech coach, author, and revolutionary voice in every sense of the word. If you haven't read her New York Times bestselling book, Permission to Speak, you're going to want to by the time our conversation is done. Samara is helping us reimagine what authority can sound like, what power can feel like, and how we can bring that into our daily practices.

Samara reminds us that giving ourselves permission to speak is not a surface level change, it's cultural transformation. We are quite literally changing the sound of power.

Listen to the full episode to hear:

  • How internalized risk management patterns keep us from connecting and making a real impact

  • How permission to speak creates paradigm-shifting opportunities for what power sounds like

  • How rewriting the internal narrative about your audience changes how you show up

  • Why we need to consistently practice speaking from connection instead of protection

  • Why making our care and effort obvious matters for ourselves and our communities

  • Three questions to ask yourself whenever you have an opportunity to speak

Learn more about Samara Bay:

Learn more about Valerie Black:

Resources:

Raising Your Hand: Finding Power in the Full Light of Day with Kriste Peoples

There are moments in life–many moments if we’re lucky–when we outgrow an old form. What once felt right starts to feel too small. Something inside insists: there’s more than this.

So the seed cracks. The old form gives way. And in that small rupture, something wild, something true begins to reach for the sun.

This episode is about those moments that pop us out of our own confines. The moments when the stories we’ve internalized–be helpful, hold it together, stay in the background–can no longer contain who we’re becoming.

My guest, Kriste Peoples, is a Boulder-based trail runner, writer, mindfulness teacher, and the Executive Director of Women’s Wilderness, where she helps women, girls, and nonbinary folks rediscover agency and belonging in nature.

I’m so excited for you to hear Kriste’s story about raising her hand to become Executive Director and what that moment stirred in her. In our conversation, she reminds us that becoming powerful isn’t about pushing harder; it’s about grounding deeper. And she offers some truly delicious wisdom about how to do just that.

Let’s learn what it means to shed what no longer fits so we can finally meet the sun.

Listen to the full episode to hear:

  • Why Kriste had to learn to protect breaks in her schedule herself and not rely on staff to do it for her

  • How she called BS on her story of sticking to support roles and raised her hand for the role of Executive Director

  • How a memory of literally jumping into the deep end helped Kriste recognize where she was bumping into internalized fears and limitations

  • How Women’s Wilderness creates spaces for participants to meet their own personal edges without comparison or competition

  • How Kriste is meeting her edges and modeling the culture and experience she wants to have at Women’s Wilderness

Learn more about Kriste Peoples:

Learn more about Valerie Black:

Externalizing Intuition: Using Tarot to Come Back to Yourself with Charlie Claire Burgess

This year, I’ve spent a lot of time feeling lost.

Since my layoff, I’ve been planting seeds and imagining myself into many new life shapes, wondering which seeds will take root.

This darkness can feel fruitful but can also be disorienting.

Recently, sitting in a coffee shop, feeling overwhelmed, a friend said to me, “You already know how to grow, even when you think you don’t.”

Could that be true? Deep down, is there a part of me that knows the way? Are we like acorns, carrying a quiet map, guiding our growth, even when the path seems obscured until we become an oak tree?

Can I tap into my intuition to help me through this challenging time? 

Questions like these led me to ask today’s guest on the podcast.

Charlie Claire Burgess is a trans, nonbinary artist, author, and creator of tarot decks and I wanted to ask this excellent maker about their relationship to their inner life and intuition. 

Charlie works at the intersection of tarot, spirituality, and queerness and is the author of Radical Tarot and the creator of the Fifth Spirit Tarot and Gay Marseille Tarot decks. Their second book, Queer Devotion: Spirituality Beyond the Binary in Myth, Story, and Practice, is forthcoming in 2025. 

Whether you're new to tarot or not, Charlie's insights will inspire you to trust your intuition and take control of your journey of growth and power.

Listen to the full episode to hear:

  • How Charlie started coming back to their spirituality and embracing their true self after years of self-abandonment

  • How tarot is a tool for externalizing thoughts and feelings to give them new awareness and perspective

  • What Charlie had to unlearn about work to honor and support their creativity

  • The practices that help Charlie ground in their spirituality

  • How tarot can be an opportunity to create agency rather than using Tarot as a predictive tool

  • Why following your intuition also means permitting yourself to screw up

Learn more about Charlie Claire Burgess:

Learn more about Valerie Black:

The Myth of 100%: Embracing Imperfection in Creative Work with Amber Petty

Are you a perfectionist?

Has anyone referred to you that way before?

As a coach, I understand that the desire to “get it right” plagues most of us in some way. And these tendencies can be especially pernicious when working on something that matters to us a lot. The tug-of-war between our aspirations and our current level of skill or ability can stop us before we even really get started.

So when I came across writing instructor Amber Petty’s provocative invitation to half-ass your writing to manage the perfectionism demons, I had to know more.

In this episode we delve into Amber’s strategies for dealing with perfectionism, how she learned to reset her internal bar and “half-ass it,” and how this shift in mindset has not only transformed her career but also unleashed her creativity. 

Amber Petty helps creatives say “yes” to their ideas, get bylines, and build audiences. After 13 years as a professional actor, Amber moved into freelance writing, working for the New York Times, Parade, Bustle, and more. She has also helped over 1000 students get bylines, start writing (for actual money), and begin newsletters to build a platform for their writing careers. 

Listen to the full episode to hear:

  • How Amber has learned to question her inner critic and build real self-trust

  • How she realized that giving 100% all the time wasn’t realistic or even desirable

  • How she uses deadlines to “outrun” her perfectionist streak

  • How Amber developed her confidence in her voice and point of view as she started her newsletter and business

Learn more about Amber Petty:

Learn more about Valerie Black:

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Inner Frontiers: Conversations on Power and Passion with Darcy Constans, MD

What rituals and practices do you turn to when you need refuge?

In a recent conversation with my friend and former colleague, Darcy Constans MD, I realized that we had a cherished childhood touchstone in common that Darcy still uses when she needs a respite from the real world.

In this episode, Darcy and I delve into her journey of managing her energy, exploring the spiritual and energetic aspects of healing, and her unique understanding of patients' dark nights of the soul. Her journey is insightful and inspiring, and I hope it motivates you in your own path of self-care.

Darcy Constans MD is a physician and community advocate with a focus on behavioral health, psychedelic medicine, and treatments for PTSD and substance use disorders.

Content note: Discussion of mortality, psychedelic use, addiction, and mental illness

Listen to the full episode to hear:

  • Why Darcy finds it essential to tend to her spiritual and energetic worlds in order to do her work as a physician

  • How Darcy’s grounding practices have evolved through different clinical environments

  • How Long COVID challenged Darcy’s sense of control in the world and forced her to step back with intention

  • How television provides refuge and comfort for Darcy, and how she maintains awareness of it as a tool

  • How Darcy manages screen time and technology with her kids with values and goals at the center

Learn more about Darcy Constans, MD:

Learn more about Valerie Black:

Building Joyful Reflective Practices with Sara Lawson

Have you ever felt like your brain was being a real jerk?

Our inner worlds can be brutal. But it is possible to intentionally cultivate a gentler, more generative landscape that offers us strong roots to ground us so that we can stretch out into the world with courage and support.

Sara Lawson joined me to share her journey of silencing the harsh, unforgiving voices in her head. She also revealed the practices she adopted to create a kinder, gentler inner world, a testament to the power of intentional change.

Sara Lawson brings 20+ years of leadership experience to support organizations and individuals with ambitious dreams and meaningful goals. Sara is a consultant, facilitator, executive coach, and the creator of Gauge Leadership Lab. She particularly loves supporting leaders and teams working to foster a culture where each person has the opportunity to belong, contribute, and thrive.

Sara has worked with organizations in all sectors, from video game makers to state-wide early childhood programs, higher education to community radio, architectural firms, and organic farming incubators. Sara’s guidance offers leaders the tools and inspiration to address significant challenges, do their best work, make a meaningful difference, and find satisfaction.

Listen to the full episode to hear:

  • How Sara realized that tending to the state of her inner world was necessary and worthwhile to her professional roles

  • How she developed a practice and mindset of “scanning for what’s going well.”

  • The process Sara has developed for evaluating her work and projects that value her perceptions along with external feedback

  • The creative practice that helped Sara find and hone her voice

  • How Sara has learned to lower the bar for being “good” at drawing through her daily-ish practice

  • How she’s bringing more overt playfulness to her practices for herself and her clients post-COVID

I look forward to hearing from you