Paid Vocation with Lupe Prado Lupe Prado

This week on the podcast I am excited to be joined by Nancy McGruder.
As the CEO of NMc Coaching & Consulting and an expert in her field, Nancy uses powerful strategies rooted in research, practical application, and emotional intelligence to meet clients at the point of their needs. As an adjunct professor for DBU's Cook School of Leadership, Nancy teaches a Doctoral course on Professional Coaching and mentoring.
Nancy earned her doctoral degree in Educational Leadership from Dallas Baptist University (DBU) in 2016. She also holds graduate degrees in Foundations of Education, Higher Education, and Management. 
She earned her coaching certificate from the NeuroLeadership Institute, where she learned to apply a brain-based methodology to facilitate productive coaching conversations using the neuroscience of learning, motivation, and change.
This conversation was a good reminder of the importance of having people in our lives that can help us in our goals.
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This week on the podcast I am thrilled to be joined by Fran Hauser. Fran is an author, keynote speaker, and startup investor who is passionate about leveling the playing field for women. 
Fran has invested in over 30 female-founded companies across consumer packaged goods, media & publishing, and wellness. 
She is the best-selling author of The Myth of the Nice Girl (Audible’s Best Business Book of the Year, 2018) and Embrace the Work, Love Your Career. Fran regularly speaks at conferences and organizations to help women build careers they love while staying true to themselves. 
Much of her current work is informed by 15 years spent in media, where she rose through the ranks at Time Inc. to President of Digital. 
She lives outside of NYC with her husband, two sons, and their beloved mini Goldendoodle.
I loved this conversation. Fran is passionate about supporting women and that really comes through in this interview. Her story will motivate you to find ways to embrace who you are and be successful doing it.
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I am thrilled to be joined by Raquel Lovern Harris.
Growing up in her mother’s garden, Raquel has always had a love affair with flowers. She dreamt of being a floral designer but decided to study botany and biology at the University of Texas.
Raquel started designing her friend’s wedding flowers while in college and shortly after R. Love Floral was born.
While teaching elementary science and planting the seeds for her floral business, R. Love Floral blossomed into a successful floral business. It was then that Raquel made the difficult decision to leave teaching behind and become a full-time entrepreneur. 
Through the years Raquel has built a dream team and designed over 500 weddings in 13 years serving couples all over the state of Texas and having her weddings published in magazines like BRIDE, Martha Stewart Weddings, Brides of North Texas, and D Weddings.
Since starting her floral business in 2010, Raquel has worked with the most amazing wedding clients, large corporate accounts, taught hundreds of floral classes both in person and virtually, and mentored countless budding designers.
When she’s not designing beautiful arrangements, or teaching in the flower barn you can find Raquel in the garden, playing with her kids and spending time with her husband at their dream home in the country.
I loved this conversation. Raquel is so open about her story and her true love for flowers really comes through.
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Episode #103. This week on the podcast, I am thrilled to be joined by James Ijames. 
James is a Pulitzer Prize winning and Tony Award nominated playwright, director and educator. James is the recipient of many awards, most recently the 2022 Pulitzer Prize in Drama and a 2023 Tony nominee for Best Play. 
He received a B.A. in Drama from Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA and a M.F.A. in Acting from Temple University in Philadelphia, PA. He is an Associate Professor of Theatre at Villanova University and lives in South Philadelphia. 
This is one of my favorite conversations on the podcast. I first heard James speak at the Aspen Ideas Festival earlier this year. His story and message resonated deeply with me and I was so excited when he accepted my invitation to join me on the podcast. Today we talk about his journey to becoming a playwright, authenticity, the importance of Big Talk versus small talk and pursuing what you love.
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Episode #102. This week on the podcast I am thrilled to be joined by Kate Myers.
Kate studied archaeology at Penn and recently published her first novel, Excavations.
She’s lived in New York, LA, and DC and worked for CBS in TV development, CollegeHumor and BuzzFeed.
She’s currently at work on her second novel and lives in Annapolis, Maryland with her husband and daughter.
In today’s conversation, Kate shares the process of getting her book published. She was so open and honest about the process and her sense of humor made the conversation so much fun. She shares how important it is to not give up on our dreams even in the face of lots of rejection.
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Episode #101. Rafael Barlowe joins me on the podcast this week.
After working in basketball operations for the Texas Legends (the Dallas Mavericks’ G League affiliate), Rafael launched Barlowe Basketball, a coaching and player-development operation that led him to becoming a skills trainer for players with the NBA, EuroLeague, EuroCup, Champions League, G League, and the NCAA Division I.
As a videographer, he created YouTube mini-documentaries for a few of the NBA players he trained and gained valuable experience working with elite AAU programs like Mo Williams Academy Elite and D1 Basketball that have produced McDonald's All-Americans and first-round NBA draft picks.
His combination of skills training and the ability to create video content has afforded him the opportunity to see the world while doing what he loves and what he is passionate about.
His video projects have led him to having numerous NBA and NFL players as clients, and his work has been featured on NBA.com, washingtonpost.com, USAToday.com, CBS.com, and NBA TV. He is the host of podcast, NBA Big Board.
I loved this conversation so much. I first met Rafael when he came to my high school to recruit students for an internship program called INROADS. After listening to his presentation, I knew I wanted to be a part of this program. That program eventually led me to an internship and then a full-time offer at one of the biggest accounting firms in the world.
I am so grateful to Rafael and I am so inspired by his incredible story. After leaving INROADS he went on to pursue his passion, basketball. He has an incredible story of perseverance. I can't wait for you to listen.
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