With this episode I wanted to do something slightly different, I'm still talking to someone who works in the area of making change but if we want to show up in the world, or even in just our own life, we can't pour from an empty cup so I've invited Life Coach Aisling Nestor on to the podcast today.

Aisling was working as a medical professional in the area of mental health when she experienced severe burnout which left her bed ridden for 3 months. When medical and psychological assessments gave her a clean bill of health she began working with a coach who made her unpack the stories she was telling herself, assess the impact they were having on her life and make a plan to move forward.

Aisling has retrained to become a coach herself and now works to help people do the same, today she talks to me about identifying our self limiting beliefs and where they come from, looking at our values and our needs and taking steps to a more contented life.

For more on Aisling click here

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I was quite blown away by this week's episode with Sandra Healy co founder of Inclusio a science based, data led diversity and inclusion platform, designed to measure, track and action diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

We talk about her career in tech spanning over 20 years and how a moment where she noticed a major gap between the number of men and woman at a conference to now working to have a more equal playing field for all, so that a workforce represents the diversity of our classrooms, our society and ultimately the customers of a business.

We talk about bias from seeing a name or address on a CV right the way through the work force and I found myself with a bias, I was still thinking of inclusion through a bit of an us and them lens – that it was a good idea to have more people who are different than me working alongside me and to break down any barriers to that, and that's true to a degree but after talking to Sandra I've realised it's actually about all of us, WE are all different and it goes deeper that race or nationality and its important we come together and make sure every voice is heard.

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Dr Eoin Galavan is a senior clinical psychologist and associate fellow with the psychological society of Ireland – they have recently set up a special interest group for addressing climate and environmental emergency. The group are looking at the psychological reasons why we hear the information, we know there is only a window of opportunity for us to turn around the climate crisis and yet we often just return to normal life and hope that someone else will sort it.

Eoin speaks honestly about his own journey to becoming climate concerned, not just as psychologist but also as a father and the steps he has taken.This is ultimately an empowering and uplifting conversation, not only giving greater understanding of how we humans work and behave but also what we CAN do now that can make a real difference.

Here are some of the references from the conversation;

Psychological Society off Ireland Special Interest Group on Addressing the Environmental and Climate Crisis https://www.psychologicalsociety.ie/groups/Special-Interest-Group-for-Addressing-Climate-and-Environmental-Emergency.

Epson Stonkes Ted Talk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5h6ynoq8uM

What we can do now https://www.dcu.ie/ocoo/sustainability-dcu

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Seyi Akiwowo is CEO and founder of Glitch and now author of How to Stay Safe Online – A digital self care toolkit for developing resilience and allyship.

Seyi has had the most incredible journey – a force to be reckoned with she became the youngest ever black female councillor in London at the age of 22. When a video of a speech she made at the European Parliament went viral, it led to a surge in followers but also sexist and racist comments as well as death threats. This experience led Seyi to speak out about the online world, it's very much knitted in to our every day and there are so many positives, but there is so much we allow to go unregulated and unreprimanded. Seyi speaks of the digital platform as being a public space with us as digital citizens and we should protect ourselves in that space as much as we do off line.

Today we talk about Seyi moving on from that traumatic experience and pouring herself into setting up Glitch, a charity looking to end online abuse through awareness, advocacy and action. We look at the fall out of online abuse including the sobering statistic that 43% girls hold back their opinions on social media for fear of being criticised. For black women it is worse, 84% are more likely to be mentioned in an abusive or problematic comment. Online abuse causes more issues that mental health, its infringing on human rights and eroding democratic engagement. We also talk about the boundaries we ourselves have to put in place in the online world.

I saw Seyi speak a couple of years ago and was blown away by her passion and had so many AHA moments with things she was saying about digital citizenship and the online world. I've been hoping to speak to her since then and I'm so chuffed she chose to make time for this podcast to discuss her brilliant book.

For more on Glitch which is packed with info and resources click here

For more on Seyi's book How to Stay Safe Online click here

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My guest today is Conor Buckley – Conor is the founder of Human Collective – a brand of sustainable clothing with a message of equality and a movement that includes education and workshops. As you'll hear Conor was inspired by his mum Christine, a changemaker herself who spoke out about institutional abuse and was a champion for victims and the vulnerable.

Human Collective gives back to three charity partners, Sports Against Racism Ireland, LGBTQ plus Ireland and The Irish Youth Foundation to support their work tackling inequality.

We talk in this episode about how we all have bias but now more than ever we need to come together as a collective – we need to call in rather than call out injustice and how it's ok to take small steps towards real and lasting change. Inclusion and diversity is what will empower and it's important that we aren't passive in our pursuit of this – but true allies.

For more on Human Collective click here

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Níall Ó'Murchú is a wellness expert, a Wim Hof instructor and author of The Blissful Breath. His mission is to teach people the tools to be able to check in with themselves and feel the many benefits breathwork and in some cases cold therapy can bring.

In today's episode we talk about his most recent venture, retraining in trauma and breathwork, initially to help the anxiety his young twin daughters were feeling after the pandemic. This is now been made into a programme to help children and teenagers all over the world.

Niall feels that the changemakers are the people who take those tools and use them – I hope at the end of this episode you'll feel empowered that you can make a difference to your own life, starting with just a few minutes of breathing every day.

For more on Níall click here

The Blissful Breath Book

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Elizabeth Zion is the youngest of my Changemakers so far – at only 19 she's been using her voice for the last few years to talk about family reunification. She serves on the global youth advisory board for UNICEF and currently works on the LIFT Ireland catalyst team, whose focus is building leadership skills in young people. She studies politics, international relations and social justice at the University College Dublin.

We have heard more and more over recent years about people seeking asylum or being displaced due to unrest in their home country but we hear less about stories like Elizabeth's. As you'll hear, her mother fled Nigeria while still pregnant with Elizabeth and with her 4 siblings, all very young at the time, Her father was willing to come with them and support his family but even as of recording he has not been able to secure visa application approval and they have had to make do with a visit every few years and phone contact. As you can imagine this has had a massive emotional toll on the whole family but also on their ability to truly settle here and contribute fully to society at times, so even on an economic level, this doesn't make any sense. Elizabeth and her family have found themselves homeless and have been tested more than many but she is grateful for the struggle which has taught her about what is important in life and she is determined to speak up for people in situations like hers, who might not have found the strength she has.

We talk about the effect of a broken home on a child and of course we live in a time when the shape of a family has changed, people can grow up with one parent for a variety of reasons and flourish. This is a different situation, a family who want to be together but can't because of a set of circumstances, not of their making, which they cannot control. We talk about the UN Convention on the Rights of a Child which recognises childhood is a special, protected time, in which children must be allowed to grow, learn, play, develop and flourish with dignity. It goes on to cite the importance of parents and family in this protection and that children have a right to family life. Elizabeth is calling for these rights to be prioritised and taken into account with visa applications.

For more on Elizabeth Zion click here

View her Ted Talk here

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Tammy D'Arcy is founder and CEO of The Shona Project a multi-award winning non-profit organisation aimed at providing help, guidance and education to young Irish women on issues such as anxiety and depression, bullying, stress, relationships, social media and body image.

Shona has an online community (www.shona.ie) runs schools workshops and is governed by professional doctors, counsellors and education providers. They also hold The Shine Festival every year featuring a host of empowering female speakers.

The mission at Shona is that Irish girls need to be empowered and educated to realise their full potential and become tomorrows changemakers.

They have impacted 20,000 girls through our school workshops and events, 30,000 through their survival handbook, 300,000 through our website, 350,000 through social media views each month.

Tammy has won multiple awards and was named Red Cross Humanitarian of the Year in 2021, in the same year she also released her book You've Got This - The ultimate girl guide to embracing your individuality, loving yourself and learning to truly shine – in your teens and beyond.

In this interview you will hear Tammy's personal story, how tragedy that befell her sister Shona and a struggle through Tammy's own teens inspired her to begin on her mission to help girls believe in themselves so they can become the women they are meant to be.

To find out more about The Shona Project click here

For more on Tammy's book - You've Got This click

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Pat Kane of Reuzi is my guest this week. Originally from Brazil and moved here with her Irish husband, when they had their first baby they become a little more eco conscious and started to look at their home as a starting point.

4 years later and Pat is now a sustainability strategist, a speaker and a writer for several publications. She founded Reuzi, described as a one stop shop for sustainably made, reusable goods and an educational hub on all things sustainable living. She wanted to create the space she was looking for when she started on eco journey and was unsure of where to go for products that were more environmentally friendly.

Pat has a lovely way about her, she doesn't believe in lecturing or scaremongering with the message of the climate crisis and she believes in the power of small steps which together can make a huge difference.

For more on Reuzi click here

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TW – Suicidal Feelings

Money Mentor Santis O'Garro is my guest today, finding herself a single mum of two and in debt after a life of borrowing and spending – she took control. She stopped striving and putting her self worth into the attainment of things and asked herself the question 'what do I really want for my life?' Once she got clear on what that was, she made a plan and she began to flourish as you'll hear.

We aren't given an education around money in school, everyone's set up at home, where we are given our first introduction to money attitudes, is different and we live in western society in a consumerist system – constantly sold something.

This conversation with Santis is so inspiring, we talk about a time in her life when things got pretty dark, but she found her way and is now empowering others to take control of their money and take control of their life. She's certainly inspired me – you'll hear how she is building a community The Budget Mindset Club, will be launching money clubs like slimming clubs, has a TV gig and more work in the pipeline, I'm excited to see what's to come for Santis O'Garro

Follow Santis here

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Pamela Uba is the current Miss Ireland, she represented the country in Puerto Rico back in March when Miss Poland eventually took the title, but Pamela has taken so much from the experience that went beyond winning first place. It has opened so many doors to the medical scientist and as you'll hear, she's going with the flow and enjoying every second. We discuss the negative slant so called beauty pageants can get, that they are demeaning to women and only celebrate one attribute but as you'll hear of the people Pamela met, and she is the same, there was so much more than the aesthetic and just because someone looks a certain way or enjoys glamour, there shouldn't be an assumption about their character.

And behind every beautiful smile there is a story. Pamela grew up in Direct Provision, as a teenager she took on the legal aspect of trying to secure a home for her mother and siblings and when she was told her education would not go beyond secondary school she chose to fight that too and get herself a degree and a masters.

This is such an inspiring, though heart breaking story at times, Pamela revisits traumatic experiences but ultimately she has emerged a strong and brilliant woman who now speaks out so there is learning from mistakes made with the treatment of her family and others like them. Pamela visits children in Direct provision now to impress upon them the importance of education and gives them access to technology.

She is one very impressive individual and it was great to get to sit down with her for this conversation.

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Roxie Nafousi is the wellness woman of the moment. Her debut book Manifest has sat at the top of the bestseller list for 18 weeks and has been translated in 18 different languages. I couldn't put it down! Roxie has been building a community as a personal development coach through her workshops, her products and her Instagram and her main teaching is around self love, helping people to believe that they are worth of manifesting the life of their dreams.

I think we've all gotten a little lost with what a life of dreams looks like. So many of us start striving to have loads of money and a big house but deep down I think we all know that all the material stuff doesn't really equate to happiness, that comes from the inside and for a variety of reasons it might need a bit of work. Roxie speaks from personal experience here, she talks to me about her rock bottom, her addiction to cocaine and her self worth being on the floor but when she heard a radio interview with someone talking about manifesting, starting with self love, she made small steps to build up her own and literally look at her now. I reckon this woman is only getting started.

Roxie is bringing her biggest workshop ever to Dublin in Sept and for more details on this and her work go to https://www.roxienafousi.com/

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Ailbhe Smyth is an academic, an activist and a campaigner. She is mainly motivated by feminist, gender, LGTBQI equality and wider social justice issues.

She was the founding director of the women's education, resource and research centre in UCD, she was co director of the Together for Yes Campaign, co founder of the coalition to Repeal the 8th amendment and she is current chair of Women's Aid.

Now in her mid 70s Ailbhe is still very much doing her thing. She's been at the front of many of the protests over the National Maternity Hospital in recent weeks, because as you'll hear in the interview, bodily autonomy is essential to true liberation.

She speaks so beautifully about the changes she has witnessed over the past 40 years, the scars they have left and the work still to do. She remains hopeful and warm and I know this conversation is one I will never forget.

We owe so much to Ailbhe Smyth and other women like her.  

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Today's guest is Patrick McAndrew, Patrick runs Momentum Mind Academy an educational company that gives people the tools to manage their attention, control their mindset, and expand their intellect. He's currently bringing his workshops and presentations to corporates but today we speak about how we can all go from a fractured mind to a momentum mind.

You don't have to work in an office or to be a CEO to feel the benefits of a momentum mind, or the struggle with a fractured one. Today Patrick and I speak about the demands put on our minds from our smartphones, the constant stream of noise and information, the dwindling attention span so many of us feel and how to combat it all.

Interest in this area began for Patrick when he decided to move to New York with a vision of working in the restaurant trade but a speed reading course changed everything. I hope you'll hear that there's no judgement of any of us who are addicted to technology, social media – this is all a part of modern life now as you'll hear Patrick say, we need to make sure we are using it, rather than letting it use us. It's also Imperative that we allow space to just be with ourselves, without distraction, we all crave connection but it starts with a connection to ourselves.

To find out more about Patrick and his work go to Momentum Mind

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Paul Ryder is probably best known for bursting on to our TV screens on Ireland's Got Talent with his drag act back in 2018. Since then he's gone on to set up his own dance school Proud Dance Academy, he still works as a choreographer, performer and TV presenter. In recent weeks his face can be seen across the country on billboards, bus sides and advertising posters for Centra as part of their Choices Define Us campaign. There are so many standards around the mentioning of brands in broadcast, I'm so trained in that way through my TV and radio work, only a certain number of mentions etc but here I think it's important we mention it lots of times as this is a nationwide supermarket brand and a man in drag is at it's centre, looking fabulous I might add, and the words – Attitude is a Choice. As you'll hear in our interview, this image and message is one that would have helped Paul growing up and he's been contacted by so many people saying it sparked conversations with their kids about freedom to be who you want to be and to express yourself however you see fit,

This is incredibly positive change and I was delighted to get a chance to sit down with Paul and ask him everything about that IGT performance, how it was Michelle Visage who gave him the RuPaul Ryder name and that making his Dad proud is at the centre of so many of his decisions.

https://linktr.ee/RuPaulRyder

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Today's guest is government minister Josepha Madigan. I was almost fearful of having a politician on, somehow they don't get the same maverick kudos of someone leading a grassroots movement, often they are met with an eyeroll and some cynicism but the reality is that changing legislation and representing the will of the people is one of the most central and powerful changemaker roles.

Myself and Josepha met when we sat together at a breakfast event for Spinal Injuries Ireland. I was struck by her warmth and her openness and when I contacted her office a couple of weeks later to invite her on she was immediately accessible and agreed.

Jospeha is a busy woman, her current remit is Minister of State for Special Education and Inclusion. She started out as a family law solicitor and witnessing the pain people went through during family breakdown, upon her election as TD she worked to bring about the divorce referendum in 2019 which saw an amendment to the separation duration for divorce eligibility reducing it from 4 years to 2. This had a massive impact on people's lives.

Regardless of your political persuasion, this is a podcast based on people wanted to make a difference and I think you'll hear from Joespha that this is who she is, motivated by people and the stories they tell, she has positioned herself as someone who can make legislative and funding changes as well as using her voice to speak on issues in the media and the Dail. She spoke out recently about her personal experience of gender based violence, something she did not need to do but felt compelled to as she saw an injustice she understood.

Today we talk about that, about the divorce referendum and the importance of accountability for our policy makers.

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My guest today is Jack Kavanagh. Jack had massive change foisted upon him when, on a holiday with his friends, a tragic accident involving him diving into the sea and hitting a bank led to a spinal injury and life long paralysis. Jack has been on a long road to where he is now, returning to his pharmaceutical studies, working as a healthcare professional and becoming what he calls an accidental activist, speaking out about life with diverse abilities through his Ted Talk his documentary Breaking Boundaries and his podcast Only Human.

Today we move the conversation on from his accident, injury and resilience and discuss taking on massive change. We talk about why he decided to go public with his journey and how he made the decision to speak first letting people know what he needs, taking ownership of uncomfortable situations. Jack is so much more than someone living life on two wheels, it doesn't define him but it is also a huge part of who he is and who he has become and has given invaluable insight into life lessons for everyone. He is the most captivating speaker and a beautiful soul I consider myself fortunate to know.

For more on Jack https://jack-kavanagh.com/

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Today's guest is the emodiment of a powerhouse – I'm mad about her, Sonya Lennon. Sonya is probably best known for her dedication to fashion – from working as a stylist to presenting Off the Rails on RTE with Brendan Courtney the pair went on to form fashion label Lennon Courtney, first on their own and now through Dunnes Stores but it's her work as a changemaker that had me ask her to come on the podcast.

We talk about her work with Dress for Success, which as you'll hear, started as a way to help women return to the workforce with confidence but became so much more so rebranded and is now called Work Equal – they recently campaigned and got pay transparency passed into law in an attempt to close the gender pay gap.

She also co founded Lift Ireland a social enterprise – which grew out of a desire to change our country for the better, not because better is needed but because better is possible. That sort of stuff just makes my soul sing – and you'd better believe they are rolling up their metaphorical sleeves and getting stuck in – starting with conversations – which as you know is right up my street.

Sonya is passionate, determined and has a keen have a go attitude but she is well versed, educated – she recently received a first class honours in a masters of Business, Equality, Diversion and Inclusion – she is extremely articulate and this was a very thought provoking conversation. We talk about gender, societal gender norms, the current system which serves no one and how true diversity and inclusion lifts everybody.

Sonya has this incredible mix of powerful leader but you also want to be her best mate, a seriously stylish superhero!

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Fiona Collins is network coordinator of the DCU Changemaker Schools Network, she made contact with me after hearing about the podcast and when we first spoke on the phone I was buzzing after talking to her, she is a right up my street. Passionate, informed and knows a hell of a lot about change. She began as a teacher and then as head of an inner city Dublin school which was experiencing a host of difficulties. Many of the students struggled with literacy and there was aggression and conflict in the playground but Fiona saw in the boys who came into her office that there was real emotion, just a lack of emotional literacy. She began by bringing in programmes which you’ll hear about, to give them the skills, she and her team broke down the hierarchy of power and empowered the children. Over 10 years there was a complete culture shift in the school and they were nominated as a Changemaker School. Ashoka an NGO were running the Changemaker School initiative at the time, all with the aim of driving social change, they eventually moved on and it was taken over by DCU and Fiona moved too to hold her current title.

You might never had heard to Changemaker Schools, I hadn’t until I got Fiona’s email and you might think why is this important, particularly if you’re not a parent. Wait until you hear what Fiona has to say, there is so much to be learnt from our education system, it is literally shaping the future generations – today we talk about what needs to change, why empathy, creativity, leadership and teamwork are essential and how the old system is no longer serving us. There is a global motivation for change and we need to move with this momentum. Fiona believes that we should begin empowering kids from primary school up – why wait until they are teens before we think they have a conscience and a voice?

I was so inspired by this conversation, Fiona has a brilliant way of taking on the big issues of our world and bringing them down to local level to show that real change is incremental and we can all be a part of it.

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Today my guest is self development coach Andy Ramage. Starting out as a professional footballer, moving into the corporate world when his sporting dreams were dashed, he climbed to the top of his game as a broker before pivoting again into his current career as he wanted to find something that didn’t sacrifice his mind, his body and his relationships.

Andy founded the global movement One Year No Beer with his friend and colleague Ruari Fairbairns and in this episode he talks about middle lane drinkers, those without addiction but who may be underestimating the effects drinking is having on their lives – or put in a different way, underestimating the joy and time they gain when alcohol is given up.

Andy has stepped away from One Year No Beer, the business, to focus his attention on a PHD around motivation and a business training people and other coaches on the psychology behind it. We talk about getting still, finding your passion, coming back from adversity and starting small.

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