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Posts by Giovanna Rossi

354: Turning a Personal Challenge into Your Greatest Strength with Amanda Pascali

What if the very thing that makes you feel like you don’t belong is actually your greatest creative gift? 

In this moving conversation, I sit down with Amanda Pascali, a singer-songwriter, translator, and Fulbright Fellow who’s turned the experience of never quite fitting in into her life’s work. A Harrington Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin, she researches Italian studies and ethnomusicology while revitalizing centuries-old Sicilian folk songs for modern audiences. Having built a community of hundreds of thousands online, she’s proven that the space between cultures isn’t empty—it’s where authentic connection is born. 

Amanda translates and reinterprets the work of Rosa Balistreri, one of Italy’s first women to publicly denounce social inequality through music, bringing women’s perspectives to stories that have long been filtered through a male gaze. Her latest album, Roses and Basil, transforms ancient lullabies and protest songs into something that speaks to anyone who’s ever felt like the outsider looking in.

What makes Amanda different—and why this conversation felt so essential—is that she’s not here to tell you how to fit in. She’s here to show you what becomes possible when you finally stop trying. She understands the exhaustion of pretending, the power of claiming your own space, and how the very thing that made you feel different can become your greatest source of strength.

 

In this episode, you’ll discover:

  • How feeling like the “weird girl” became the foundation for authentic artistry
  • Why Amanda picked up a guitar at 12 and decided to create space for herself through music
  • The story behind her Fulbright Fellowship translating Sicilian folk songs in a UNESCO-endangered language
  • How she reinterprets centuries-old songs to center women’s voices and experiences
  • How to use ancient wisdom to speak to our most modern struggles
  • What it’s like to balance online visibility with real-life authenticity
  • Why she believes music is how we say the things we can’t say with spoken word

 

This conversation reminds us that our greatest challenges often hold our greatest gifts. When you stop pretending to fit in and start trusting who you really are, you create:

✨ Ease in finally letting go of the exhausting performance of trying to belong—which frees up energy to honor what matters most to you, pursue work that aligns with your values, and show up authentically in every space you enter

Joy in discovering community with others who also don’t fit the mold—in finding your unique voice when traditional paths don’t serve you—and in creating rituals that ground you and reconnect you to what’s meaningful

Impact by centering voices and perspectives that have been marginalized or overlooked—by giving others permission to embrace what makes them different—and by proving that making people feel less alone is one of the most powerful things we can do

Self-trust in believing your perspective has value even when it challenges convention—in choosing to reclaim parts of yourself on your own terms—and in knowing that the dreams your ancestors couldn’t pursue are now yours to live

 

🔗 Get Amanda’s new album Roses and Basil (bilingual reinterpretations of Sicilian folk songs): https://amandapascali.bandcamp.com/album/roses-and-basil

 


Experience the Power Up Workshop

“The wants felt frenzied. The desires felt calm. Like planting seeds.” — Sarah, workshop participant

The Power Up Workshop happened on December 27th, and the feedback was incredible.

The replay is now available. Join Giovanna Rossi for 90 minutes to reflect, release, and ground yourself before moving forward.

This is the anti-hustle, anti-resolution approach. The work that comes before the goals.

Use it anytime you’re in transition or ready to reset — not just for year-end.

Get instant access: https://wellwomanlife.com/powerupworkshop

📅 Also happening this month, 100 Women Albuquerque will meet on January 28 at 5:30 pm in Albuquerque to amplify our impact and assist under-supported organizations. The WWS will continue its sponsorship of this great work in 2026. Come be inspired by the collective power of women. Join us to meet like-minded women committed to making a difference. Members can nominate local nonprofits and promote a business or event during our meeting. Click here! http://100womenabq.org/ 

📣 Nominate a remarkable woman (or women) for KRQE’s Remarkable Women 2026 contest. It’s a chance to spotlight women whose dedication and community impact deserve to be celebrated. Click here to submit your nominations today: https://www.krqe.com/contests/remarkable-women-2026/

 


Resources Mentioned

Connect with Amanda 

Website: https://www.amandapascali.com/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/amandinapascali

FB: http://facebook.com/amandinapascali

Connect with Giovanna Rossi

Website: https://wellwomanlife.com/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/wellwomanlife

FB: https://www.facebook.com/TheWellWomanShow#

YT: https://www.youtube.com/@wellwomanlife128

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/giovannarossi/

 


The Well Woman Show is delighted to partner with the Work and Family Researchers Network and its next conference June 17-20, 2026 in Montreal, Canada. For more information, look to https://wfrn.org/2026-work-and-family-researchers-network-conference/

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to the Well Woman Show on your favorite podcast platform and leave us a review. Share it with a woman who needs to hear this. Your support helps us continue bringing you conversations with incredible women leaders who are changing the world.

353: Financial Serenity: Building a Wealth Ecosystem with Christine Joy Luck Sarno

What does it really mean to be financially free as a woman? Not just secure—but serene. Confident. Fully yourself.

In the powerful conversation, I sit down with Christine Joy Luck Sarno, a financial coach and speaker known as the Financial Wingwoman. A former financial advisor, she now helps high-earning women take control of their money with clarity and confidence. Having built multiple seven-figure wealth as a single mom and financial head of household, she blends practical strategy with lived experience and humor. She guides women to cut through confusion, overcome money anxiety, and build wealth that supports the life they want. Christine believes that when women grow and protect their wealth, they gain personal freedom and the power to create lasting impact in their families, communities, and the world.

What makes Christine different—and why this episode felt so personal—is that she’s not here to hand you a checklist of books to read or give you the usual financial tips. She really gets women’s lives—the challenges we face, what actually supports us, and how to create real well-being in every area.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

  • The financial problems women are facing
  • The wealth myths keeping women playing small—and what to focus on instead (hint: it’s not lattes)
  • Practical steps to build financial literacy 
  • The ripple effects of the gender wage gap, and the most powerful equalizer we have against it
  • What a wealth ecosystem is and how to start building yours
  • Why financial sovereignty is a joyful, deeply feminine act of self-care (which in turn is one of the most powerful ways to create impact in the world)
  • Why financial serenity matters more than financial security

This conversation reminds us that financial empowerment isn’t just personal—it’s relational, communal, and transformational. When you trust yourself with money, you create:

Ease in navigating life’s unexpected turns—which means you can show up more fully for others ✨ Joy in knowing you have choices aligned with your values—which radiates to everyone around you ✨ Impact in your own life and rippling outward to your family, your workplace, your community, and beyond ✨ Self-trust in your ability to care for yourself fully—which gives others permission to do the same

 

🔗Get Christine’s FREE PDF money guide: “33 Smart Wingwoman Money Moves for 2026”: https://www.christinejoylucksarno.com

🔗She’s also offering a special 30 minute 1:1 financial coaching session at $97 through the end of this year by scheduling directly here: https://calendly.com/christinejoylucksarno/30min

✨ The Well Woman Reset Kit is here—a digital guide and meditation designed to help you pause, reflect, and remember your power before stepping into the new year. For $27, you’ll get journaling prompts, a year‑in‑review ritual, a guided meditation, and more. And because rest is contagious, you can gift the kit to two friends at 50% off. Plus, your purchase includes a bonus seat in our year‑end Power Up Workshop on December 27th—so you can step into 2026 with clarity, energy, and purpose.

If you’re ending this year feeling stretched thin or craving a reset, then this is for you.

Grab your copy and let’s reset together: https://wellwomanlife.com/reset/

✨ Nominate a remarkable woman (or women) for KRQE’s Remarkable Women 2026 contest. It’s a chance to spotlight women whose dedication and community impact deserve to be celebrated. Click here to submit your nominations today: https://www.krqe.com/contests/remarkable-women-2026/

Resources Mentioned

Connect with Christine Sarno

Website: https://www.christinejoylucksarno.com/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/christinejoylucksarno

FB: https://www.facebook.com/TheChristineSarno

Connect with Giovanna Rossi

Website: https://wellwomanlife.com/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/wellwomanlife

FB: https://www.facebook.com/TheWellWomanShow#

YT: https://www.youtube.com/@wellwomanlife128

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/giovannarossi/

The Well Woman Show is delighted to partner with the Work and Family Researchers Network and its next conference June 17-20, 2026 in Montreal, Canada. For more information, look to https://wfrn.org/2026-work-and-family-researchers-network-conference/ 

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to the Well Woman Show on your favorite podcast platform and leave us a review. Share it with a woman who needs to hear this. Your support helps us continue bringing you conversations with incredible women leaders who are changing the world.

352: From Broadway to AI Leadership: Why Women’s Voices Matter with Molly Mahoney

What if stepping into your full power could actually be joyful? What if career transformation didn’t have to be overwhelming? And what if your authentic voice could create ripple effects of impact far beyond what you imagined?

In this episode, I sit down with Molly Mahoney, Founder of The Prepared Performer and a leading female voice in artificial intelligence who embodies all four of our core values: joy, ease, impact, and self-trust

She is a performer-turned-entrepreneur who helps coaches and agency owners create content that converts, powered by authentically driven AI and automation. She’s an author and a podcaster who brings humor and heart to social media and firmly believes… the more fun you have, the more money you’ll make.

We dive deep into: 

Ease — Using practical frameworks to simplify complex decisions (like career transition) ✨ Joy — Finding fun in the journey ✨ Impact — Changing systems and amplifying women’s voices ✨ Self-trust — Listening to our internal knowing over external validation

Key Takeaways: 

  • How women’s voices shape the future of AI
  • What’s it like being the only woman in male-dominated AI spaces (and why Molly keeps showing up!)
  • Practical AI tools that amplify (not replace) your authentic voice + tips if you don’t want it to read your emails! 
  • How to pivot your career using what you already have (using Molly’s 3-step process)
  • Validating your offer before investing time and resources (The “Sell It First” Strategy)
  • Why “the more fun I have, the more money I make” isn’t just a catchy phrase—it’s a business strategy
  • The FFTT method for navigating life’s challenges (Face it, Feel it, Twist it, Thank it)
  • Why your “too much” energy is your superpower

If you’re in transition, building something new, or claiming your space in male-dominated industries, this episode is your permission slip to do it your way. 

✨ Get Molly’s Ideal Client Generator Tool —a custom AI resource that helps you get crystal clear on who you’re here to serve: https://aiify.me/ideal-client-avatar?el=icagpt-well-woman

✨ Watch out for the Well Woman Reset Kit coming out this Black Friday. It’s a digital guide + meditation designed for women who are done pretending everything’s fine. Who are tired of the hustle and ready to pause, reflect, and realign before stepping into the new year.

This isn’t another productivity planner or hustle workbook. 

It’s a reclamation—a quiet revolution disguised as a digital download. 

Because you don’t need another planner. You need a pause.

To learn more, follow us on socials (see the links below) or join our Newsletter by clicking here: https://wellwomanlife.com/quiz.

 – By answering this two-question quiz you can join my Newsletter AND you can find out which stage of the Well Woman Life Framework™ you’re in and what you can do right away to feel better, get back on track, and make the impact you know you’re here to make. 

 

Resources and Tools Mentioned

Connect with Molly Mahoney

Website: http://mollymahoney.com/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/mollymahoneyofficial/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/mollymmahoney

Connect with Giovanna Rossi

Website: https://wellwomanlife.com/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/wellwomanlife

FB: https://www.facebook.com/TheWellWomanShow#

YT: https://www.youtube.com/@wellwomanlife128

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/giovannarossi/



The Well Woman Show is delighted to partner with the Work and Family Researchers Network and its next conference June 17-20, 2026 in Montreal, Canada. For more information, look to https://wfrn.org/2026-work-and-family-researchers-network-conference/ 

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to the Well Woman Show on your favorite podcast platform and leave us a review. Share it with a woman who needs to hear this. Your support helps us continue bringing you conversations with incredible women leaders who are changing the world.

351: Overcoming The Systems That Fail Us with Jen Hatmaker

What happens when the life you built on all the “right” systems suddenly crumbles? In this episode of The Well Woman Show, Giovanna Rossi sits down with bestselling author, speaker, and podcaster Jen Hatmaker.

Jen is the author of fourteen books, including four New York Times bestsellers, and host of the award-winning podcast “For the Love.” She’s also a speaker, advocate, educator, mother, and a textbook Enneagram 3.

But beyond the accolades, Jen is a woman who found herself rebuilding her life after her marriage crumbled—and in that rebuilding, she discovered something profound about the systems we’ve been told will save us. Her new memoir, “Awake”, isn’t just a divorce story. It’s a surgical examination of patriarchy, religious dogma, and the invisible walls that limit women’s lives.

What you’ll hear in this episode:

  • Jen’s journey from pastor’s wife and teacher to bestselling author and podcast host
  • Why divorce was only part of the story—and what it revealed about larger systems
  • How to recognize when shame is showing up and keep it out of the driver’s seat
  • Listening to our own bodies before burnout forces us to

If you’ve ever struggled with burnout, shame, or overcoming systems that fail us, this episode will inspire you to rise, rebuild, and reclaim your power.

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The Well Woman Show is thankful for support from The Well Woman Academy™ at https://wellwomanlife.com/academy/. Join other smart, high-achieving women to rewrite the rules for how to love, lead, and succeed—so you can live with more joy, ease, and abundance, even when life is tough.

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Also, the Well Woman Show is delighted to partner with the Work and Family Researchers Network and its next conference June 17-20, 2026 in Montreal, Canada. For more information, look to info@wfrn.org.

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Resources Mentioned

Connect with Jen Hatmaker

Website: https://jenhatmaker.com/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/jenhatmaker/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/jenhatmaker/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jen-hatmaker/

Connect with Giovanna Rossi

Website: https://wellwomanlife.com/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/wellwomanlife

FB:https://www.facebook.com/TheWellWomanShow#

LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/giovannarossi/

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to the Well Woman Show on your favorite podcast platform and leave us a review. Share it with a woman who needs to hear Jen’s message about building a life that truly serves her. Your support helps us continue bringing you conversations with incredible women leaders who are changing the world.

350: Modern Matriarch with Maija West

In this episode, we’ll talk about how we can lead, create change, and stay true to ourselves—all at the same time, with my guest, Maija West.

Maija is a retired attorney turned organizational governance consultant, author, and peacemaker with over 25 years of experience working with nonprofits, foundations, businesses, tribal communities, and government agencies. She specializes in utilizing reconciliation, peacemaking, and conflict resolution strategies to foster strong communication and leadership within diverse communities. 

Maija is also the co-founder of the Healing and Reconciliation Institute and a strategic consulting partner supporting ecological governance and lineage-based leadership to a select group of leaders and organizations.

As a first-generation American with deep Latvian roots, she’s discovered how connecting to her own cultural lineage has transformed not just her leadership style, but her entire approach to creating change within patriarchal systems.

In her recent book, “Matriarch Makeover: A 30-Day Invitation,” Maija offers what she calls “an ecological call to action for leaders” – a radical reimagining of how we can lead from a place of cultural groundedness and feminine wisdom.

We discuss:

  • how she weaves together the “three strands of the braid”—self, family, and community—as her guide to live an authentic life even in the most challenging environments
  • why reclaiming and connecting to your lineage is essential for trauma-informed leadership and the key to thriving in patriarchal systems 
  • how your burnout might be a signal that you’re disconnected from your cultural lineage
  • how you could transform toxic boardroom meetings into healing circles
  • and more

This conversation will challenge everything you think you know about working within oppressive systems while staying true to who you are.

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The Well Woman Show is thankful for support from The Well Woman Academy™ at https://wellwomanlife.com/academy/. Join other smart, high-achieving women, to rewrite the rules for how to love, lead, and succeed—so you can live with more joy, ease, and abundance, even when life is tough.

Resources Mentioned

Connect with Maija West

Website: maijawest.com

IG: https://www.instagram.com/danilovawest/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maija-west-2123079/

Email: maija@maijawest.com

Connect with Giovanna Rossi

Website: https://wellwomanlife.com/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/wellwomanlife

FB: https://www.facebook.com/TheWellWomanShow#

LinkedIn: Giovanna Rossi, MSc, ICF-ACC | LinkedIn

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If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to the Well Woman Show on your favorite podcast platform and leave us a review. Your support helps us continue bringing you conversations with incredible women leaders who are changing the world.