Spark Me

Spark Me Podcast

Spark Me was born out of countless honest talks with girlfriends about how life keeps shifting — and how incredible it is when women support each other through it. Co-hosts Michele Dempsey and Liz Graham bring humor, heart, and just the right amount of “did-we-really-just-say-that?” honesty to real conversations about careers, family, identity, health, relationships — and all the curveballs life throws in between.

  1. 3d ago

    Leave the Bag. Get on the Plane

    What would you leave behind to get on the plane? For Amy Conner-Murphy, the answer was her suitcase, and it changed how she sees everything. Michele's friend Amy Conner-Murphy is an architect, interior designer and founder of ACM Design in Asheville, North Carolina. She's also a mom of two, a gardener, a watercolor painter, a runner, a cyclist and a dog lover. Amy shares the childhood memory she pieced together decades later: watching from her crib as her granddaddy built a bathroom onto the family farmhouse. She talks about the summer her parents set her up to shadow friends at work, and the architect's office that just felt right. She started architecture school at Auburn at 17 and never looked back. Liz gets to ask two architects a question she's always wondered about: how do you even start designing someone's home? Michele tells the story of the house she designed for her parents, built around a coal breaker in honor of her grandfather, who left school in fifth grade to work in the mines. Amy explains why her client questionnaire asks whether you're a night owl or a morning person. Amy also talks about building a firm almost by accident while raising her daughters, why the business side is her least favorite part, and what she's learned by taking a tile class with the trades. Then it goes deeper. Amy describes Hurricane Helene's impact on Asheville: the loss, the grief, and the community that came together to rebuild. She shares what decades inside people's homes have taught her about what people really want. And she tells the story of the morning she left her suitcase in the car, got on the plane anyway, and found one of the most freeing weeks of her life. In this episode you'll learn: What makes a house a home, and why it always starts with storyHow Michele turned a coal breaker into a family home her parents loved to the endThe unexpected questions Amy asks clients, and what they revealHow caring for young children taught Amy how a home really worksWhy the business side of running a firm is so different from the work itselfHow learning from builders and tradespeople makes a designer betterWhy, in this stage of life, it's worth caring less about what everyone else thinksHow one decision in an airport parking lot opened up a week of unexpected joy Resources from this episode: ACM DesignOur episode with Beth Twohy Keep sparking If this conversation resonated with you: Follow Spark Me wherever you listen to podcasts so you never miss an episodeShare this episode with the friend who overpacks (or the one who needs permission to just go)Leave a rating or review. It helps other women in their second act discover the show.Tag us and tell us: what would you leave behind to get on the plane?

  2. Oct 21

    Why Don’t We Check Mental Health Like a Physical?

    Before kids go back to school, they get a physical and their shots. So why aren't we checking on their mental health too? In this Spark Short, Michele and Liz unpack their conversation with Dr. Maria Montoro Edwards, President and CEO of Maternal and Family Health Services. Michele has worked alongside Maria as the architect of the circle of care, and she shares what makes Maria such a decisive leader. They talk about the full-circle moment of a woman whose family once used WIC now running the largest WIC provider in Pennsylvania, and why treating mental health as part of whole-person care matters so much, for new moms and for everyone else. Michele takes us inside the circle of care in Scranton, a former silk mill. She describes how the design team turned MFHS's vision into a space that's dignified, easy to navigate even if you can't read the signs, and private for those who need behavioral health care. She also shares the litmus test she uses at the end of every project. Liz tells the story of a board chair who returned federal money nobody had ever returned before. Together they dig into decisiveness, paralysis by analysis, and Michele's childhood nickname, "Yeah, but what if." Then the conversation wanders, in the best way. They admit they don't really know what a midwife does, and they want to hear from you if you've had a midwife birth. Liz wonders why there's no women's version of the men's health clinic she visited with her dad. And they close on a theme guest after guest keeps coming back to: you don't have to blow up your life. A small tweak to the rudder can turn a big ship. In this episode you'll learn: Why mental health belongs in whole-person care, from postpartum to back-to-schoolHow the circle of care was designed so its building tells you who MFHS is The litmus test Michele uses to judge a finished designWhy decisive leaders beat paralysis by analysis, and how to quiet your inner "yeah, but what if"What one woman's choice to return federal money says about leadershipWhy women deserve a health care experience designed for themHow small shifts, not big blowups, can redesign a life that isn't workingResources from this episode: Our full conversation with Dr. Maria Montoro Edwards — https://www.sparkmepodcast.com/we-feel-like-we-have-to-be-wonder-woman/Maternal and Family Health Services — https://mfhs.org/WIC eligibility calculator — https://www.fna.usda.gov/wic/eligibility-toolCircle of Care, Scranton — https://mfhs.org/locations/mfhs-circle-of-care/National Maternal Mental Health Hotline: 1-833-TLC-MAMA (1-833-852-6262), free and confidential, 24/7 Episodes mentioned: Heather Cybulski, Michele's sister, and Beth Twohy — Keep sparking If this conversation resonated with you: Follow Spark Me wherever you listen to podcasts so you never miss a Spark Short Share this episode with the friend who's always saying "yeah, but what if" Leave a rating or review. It helps other women in their second act discover the show. Have you given birth with a midwife, or with both a midwife and a doctor? Tag us and tell us what it was like. We might just do a whole episode on it.

  3. Oct 14

    We Feel Like We Have to Be Wonder Woman

    Why is it so hard for women to ask for help? Dr. Maria Montoro Edwards thinks it’s because we believe we have to be Wonder Woman. Michele and Liz sit down with their friend Dr. Maria Montoro Edwards, President and CEO of Maternal and Family Health Services. MFHS provides health care, nutrition, education and support to more than 100,000 women, men and children across 17 counties in eastern Pennsylvania. Maria is the oldest of eight siblings, all with names starting with M, and she studied to be a freelance illustrator before discovering a knack for grant writing. She shares the secret she learned as a grant reviewer for the National Science Foundation: less is more. Get to the point. Maria explains how MFHS grew from a 1971 family planning grant into the largest WIC provider in Pennsylvania. She walks through the circle of care in Scranton, a maternity medical home where a mom can get prenatal care, nutrition support, ultrasounds, dental care, behavioral health counseling and more under one roof, on a bus route. (Full disclosure: Michele was the architect.) Maria talks about why the building opened debt-free, why preterm births among MFHS clients are dropping, and why so many families who qualify for WIC never sign up. Then it gets harder. Maria serves on the Pennsylvania Maternal Mortality Review Committee, and she describes what it’s like to review the deaths of mothers and ask where the ball was dropped. So often, she says, the missing piece is a warm handoff. She talks about the trauma many women don’t recognize as trauma, the stigma around postpartum depression, and why a single broken-down car can tip a hardworking family over the edge. She also gets personal about single parenthood, how hormone replacement therapy lifted her out of a fog, and the advice she’d give her younger self. In this episode you’ll learn: What Maternal and Family Health Services offers, from first period through menopauseWhy so many families who qualify for WIC never use it, and how to check if you qualifyHow putting care under one roof is helping lower preterm birth ratesWhat the Pennsylvania Maternal Mortality Review Committee does, and the warm handoff thatcould save livesWhy it’s okay to ask for help with postpartum depression and anxiety, and where to find itHow MFHS offers confidential reproductive health services to young adultsThe grant-writing secret that also makes you a better leader: less is moreWhy delegating is a gift to your team, not a weaknessHow to quiet imposter syndrome by talking to yourself like a friend Resources from this episode: Maternal and Family Health Services — https://mfhs.org/WIC eligibility calculator — https://www.fna.usda.gov/wic/eligibility-toolCircle of Care, Scranton — https://mfhs.org/locations/mfhs-circle-of-care/Nurse-Family Partnership — LinkHealthy MOMS at The Wright Center — https://thewrightcenter.org/services/healthy-moms/Pennsylvania Maternal Mortality Review Committee — https://www.pa.gov/agencies/health/programs/maternal-health-and-infant-care/maternal-mortality/mmrcCASA of Luzerne County — https://luzernecasa.org/Volunteer with or donate to MFHS — https://luzernecasa.org/National Maternal Mental Health Hotline: 1-833-TLC-MAMA (1-833-852-6262) Keep sparking If this conversation resonated with you: Follow Spark Me wherever you listen to podcasts so you never miss an episodeShare this episode with a new mom, or with the friend who never asks for helpLeave a rating or review. It helps other women in their second act discover the show.Tag us and tell us: what would you say to your younger self?

  4. Oct 8

    I Couldn't Leave Without My Dog

    Would you leave a dangerous home if it meant leaving your dog behind? Liz isn't sure she would be able to, and that's why this conversation stuck with her. In this Spark Short, Michele and Liz unpack their conversation with Lisa Fuller of the SPCA of Luzerne County and everything it changed for them. Michele walked in picturing the cartoon dog catcher and the pound, and walked out with her view flipped a complete 180. Liz was surprised to learn the SPCA runs almost entirely on community donations. Both of them keep coming back to Purple Paws, the program that cares for the pets of women leaving domestic violence. Neither had ever thought of a pet as a barrier to safety. They talk about what it takes to be someone like Lisa, who has adopted 18 elderly dogs and has seven at home now. They talk about why animals and kids are the most vulnerable among us, and how much work goes into every animal the shelter takes in, from the vet visit to the microchip to a quiet place to decompress. Then it gets personal. Liz tells the story of Smokey, the rescued cat who lived like a king with the Graham family, and of Guinevere, the Old English Sheepdog her family had to give up when they moved overseas. Michele remembers the strays of her childhood, and one candy-fueled family punishment she'll never live down. They close on why a dog might be the best reason to get outside, and what you can do even if you'renot ready to adopt. In this episode you'll learn: Why the old “dog pound” image of the SPCA is so farfrom the truthHow a pet can keep someone from leaving a violent home,and how Purple Paws removes that barrierWhat happens to an animal in its first days at theshelter, and why an adoption fee doesn't come close to covering it Why the SPCA depends on community donations, notgovernment fundingWhat it means to adopt the dogs nobody else willWhy surrendering a pet can be the right and lovingdecisionHow a dog gets you outside, moving, and connectedThree ways to help if you can't adopt: foster,volunteer or donate Resources from this episode: Our full conversation with Lisa Fuller — https://www.sparkmepodcast.com/more-than-rescue-what-animals-teach-us-about-being-human/SPCA of Luzerne County - https://www.spcaluzernecounty.org/Love Stays Home programs, including Purple Paws — https://www.spcaluzernecounty.org/how-to-help/love-stays-home.htmlFostering and volunteer applications https://www.spcaluzernecounty.org/adoption/National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233 Keep sparking If this conversation resonated with you: Follow Spark Me wherever you listen to podcasts so younever miss a Spark ShortShare this episode with the friend whose dog runs theirlife Leave a rating or review. It helps other women in theirsecond act discover the show.  Tag us and tell us about the pet who got you throughsomething

  5. Sep 30

    More Than Rescue: What Animals Teach Us About Being Human

    What really happens after an animal comes through the shelter door? Lisa Fuller has been rescuing animals since she was a kid growing up with a dad everyone called Dr. Doolittle. Today she chairs the board of the SPCA of Luzerne County and opens her home to senior and hospice dogs so their last chapter is a happy one. She has seven at home right now. In this conversation, Liz and Michele go behind the scenes of animal rescue, and it is a lot more than adoptions. Lisa walks through hoarding and neglect cases, the humane officers most people don't know exist, and Purple Paws, a program that cares for pets so women can leave abusive homes without leaving their animals behind. She clears up the biggest myths about euthanasia and funding, explains why shelters lose money on every adoption, and gives honest advice for anyone who wants a pet but isn't sure they have the bandwidth. (Michele, we're looking at you.) In this episode: The stray named Crab Cake that pulled Lisa into the SPCAWhat happens in an animal's first days at the shelterLove Stays Home: Kibble Connection, the Angel Fund, and Purple PawsWhy dogs sometimes live in the shelter's lunchroom, and go to summer campAdopting vs. buying, and why "foster fail" is a complimentThe difference between your local SPCA and the ASPCAPlans for a new 12-acre facilityFind a way to help: Resources From This Episode: SPCA of Luzerne County: https://www.spcaluzernecounty.org/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SPCAofLuzerneCounty/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spcaofluzernecounty/ Love Stays Home / Purple Paws: https://www.spcaluzernecounty.org/how-to-help/love-stays-home.html Not in NEPA? Look up your local shelter. Most are community funded, just like this one. If you or someone you know needs support, the National Domestic Violence Hotline is available 24/7 at 1-800-799-7233. Follow Spark Me on Instagram for weekly clips, and subscribe wherever you listen so you don't miss Lisa's part two when the new facility opens.

  6. Sep 23

    You Can Have Everyone and Still Feel Alone

    What if a relationship check-in belonged on your annual physical, right next to everything else you dread? In this Spark Short, Michele and Liz unpack their conversation with Dr. Christine Kiesinger and what stuck with them afterward. Liz walks away with a genuine mindset shift — she's always known to schedule the physical and the colonoscopy, but it never occurred to her to check in on the health of her relationships with the same discipline. Michele focuses on the piece she didn't get from the Harvard study or the Blue Zones: that the relationship with yourself comes first, and for women, that's usually the hardest one. They get honest about the practice of it. Liz on boundaries and refusing to give headspace to other people's toxicity. Michele on being caught mid-spiral by her sister and told that coulda-woulda-shoulda is a prescription for suffering. They talk about why small talk stopped working somewhere in the second act, why friend groups get smaller and deeper, and why the people who know us best rarely live in our zip code. Then it widens out. Liz tells the story of Breezy, a homeless man on a Georgetown corner 30 years ago whose name she still remembers, and what he proved about daily connection. Michele shares what the Blue Zones and a happiness-based city plan revealed about intergenerational relationships and what actually makes a place happy. And they both return to their recent in-person event — a room of women carrying more than anyone knew, and what happened when they felt seen and gotten. In this episode you'll learn: Why your relationships deserve the same scheduled attention as your annual physicalWhy the relationship with yourself has to come first — and why women struggle with it mostA practical way to spot and stop negative self-talk before it takes rootHow to set boundaries around other people's negativity without guiltWhy small talk gets harder and friend circles get smaller in your second actThe everyday micro-connections — the barista, the bank teller — that are associated with longevityWhat happened in the room at the Spark Me live event, and why it workedThe postcard practice that doubles as a check-in with yourselfWhat the Blue Zones and the happiest countries reveal about designing for connection Resources from this episode: The full conversation with Dr. Christine Kiesinger Christine's work on the social connection pillar for George Washington Faculty Medical Group The Harvard Study of Adult DevelopmentThe Blue Zones TED Talk on social integration and longevity Keep sparking If this conversation resonated with you: Follow Spark Me wherever you listen to podcasts so you never miss a Spark ShortShare this episode with someone who's been carrying more than they've told youLeave a rating or review — it helps other women in their second act discover the showTag us when you're listening and tell us: who are you sending a postcard to this week — or are you sending one to yourself?

  7. Sep 16

    The Connection Prescription with Dr Christine Kiesinger

    What if your doctor checked your relationships the same way they check your blood pressure? Dr. Christine Kiesinger returns as our very first repeat guest with an idea that reframes what we think we know about health. Commissioned by the George Washington Faculty Medical Group to write on the social connection pillar of lifestyle medicine, Christine argues that relational well-being belongs on the vital signs chart — right alongside weight, pulse, and blood pressure. She calls it the connection prescription. The data backs her up. The Harvard study on longevity and happiness has spanned 88 years, and it named healthy relationships the number one predictor of both how long and how well you'll live. Meanwhile loneliness has been declared an epidemic, with long-term effects Christine compares to smoking. And you don't have to live alone to feel it — you can be lonely inside a family, a marriage, or a full office. Christine gives Michele and Liz the questions to actually ask themselves, walks through her Five S's of relational health, and explains why relational invisibility does more damage than we admit. The conversation then turns to work — 90,000 hours of the average adult life — and to the particular loneliness of leadership. It closes where Christine's work always does: with the relationship you have with yourself, and why self-compassion is very good medicine. In This Episode You'll Learn: Why relational well-being deserves to be treated as a vital signThe specific questions that reveal the health of your own relationshipsThe Five S's of relational health — and how to spot toxicity earlyWhy loneliness happens inside marriages, families, and busy workplacesThe four horsemen of relational destruction, and the simple antidote to criticismWhy leadership is fundamentally an act of relationshipHow isolated leaders can build support outside their own organizationThe two sides of self-compassion — tenderness and fierce protectivenessWhy relationships should be the first thing you examine after a difficult diagnosis Resources From This Episode: Christine's work on life style medicineDr. Christine Kiesinger's social connection work for George Washington Faculty Medical GroupChristine's first Spark Me episode The Harvard Study of Adult Development The Gottman Institute — the four horsemen and their antidotes Gallup Q12 employee engagement assessment Self-compassion research from Dr. Kristen Neff and Dr. Christopher GermerEsther Perel on intimacy The Blue Zones Keep Sparking If this conversation resonated with you: Follow Spark Me wherever you listen to podcasts so you never miss an episodeShare this episode with someone on your critical care team — or someone you suspect doesn't have oneLeave a rating or review — it helps other women in their second act discover the showTag us when you're listening and tell us: who's the one person you're going to call, text, or send a postcard to this week?

  8. Sep 10

    Never Say Never: Can a Machine Actually Create?

    What if the most important skill in the age of AI isn't technical at all — it's curiosity? In this Spark Short, Michele and Liz unpack their conversation with Heather Cybulski, the transformation consultant helping companies bring AI into their teams. What starts as a debrief quickly turns into one of the most honest conversations they've had on the show — two women in their second act trying to figure out what this technology actually means for their work, their kids, their creativity, and their brains. Liz makes the case that there's something irreplaceably human about creation — the John Steinbeck letter, the Wright brothers building a machine to fly when no plane existed. Michele pushes back: never say never. They land somewhere in the middle, and the disagreement is the point. They also get into the parts nobody has answers for yet. What happens when AI stops being a tool and becomes the worker? What do teachers do when the detection software can't keep up? What are we losing when we let a machine do our critical thinking for us — and what does the research actually say about handwriting, typing, and memory? But this isn't a fear episode. It's a curiosity episode. Michele shares how she used AI to turn a study guide into a game her son actually wanted to play. Liz talks about a friend who released an album and a novel using AI as a creative collaborator. The takeaway isn't "be afraid" or "it's all fine." It's: pay attention, stay engaged, and don't bury your head in the sand. In This Episode You'll Learn: Why approaching AI with curiosity instead of fear changes what you're able to do with itThe difference between AI as a tool and AI as a worker — and why that shift is unlike any technology before itHow AI is opening creative doors for people without technical training (what "vibe coding" actually means)Why handwriting and cursive fire up your brain in ways typing doesn't — and what the new research out of Norway foundPractical ways parents and teachers can rethink learning in an AI worldHow to use AI to make learning more engaging for kids who don't thrive sitting stillWhy the human "imperfection" may be exactly what makes creative work resonateWhat James Patterson said about AI that reframes the whole creativity debateThe real-world resource and infrastructure costs behind the AI boomWhy Michele believes we'll look back on this moment as genuinely unprecedented Resources From This Episode: The full conversation with Heather Cybulski John Steinbeck's 1956 letter to Marilyn Monroe Norwegian study on handwriting vs. typing and memory retention Films referenced: Her, Ex Machina, 2001: A Space Odyssey, The TerminatorThe Diary of a CEO with Steven Bartlett Keep Sparking If this conversation resonated with you: Follow Spark Me wherever you listen to podcasts so you never miss a Spark ShortShare this episode with a friend who's either excited about AI or quietly terrified of itLeave a rating or review — it helps other women in their second act discover the showTag us when you're listening and tell us: what's one thing you've tried with AI — or one thing you're still refusing to hand over?

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About

Spark Me was born out of countless honest talks with girlfriends about how life keeps shifting — and how incredible it is when women support each other through it. Co-hosts Michele Dempsey and Liz Graham bring humor, heart, and just the right amount of “did-we-really-just-say-that?” honesty to real conversations about careers, family, identity, health, relationships — and all the curveballs life throws in between.

Information

  • Creator
    Spark Me Podcast
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    57
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Spark Me Podcast
  • Show Website
    Spark Me

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