Women's Voice

  Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Addiction, Insecurity, Stress, Sexual Molestation, Dysfunctional Family, Fear, Racism, Co-dependency, Food Addiction, Nightmares, Trauma, Pain, Confusion, Anger Issues, Illogical Thinking, Parenting, Frustration Post-Partum Depression. Our guest today is the author of newly released book: Only I Can Define Me:  Releasing Shame and Growing Into My Adult Self Dena Sisk Foman. Dena is a practicing attorney, author and speaker. Foman is a passionate advocate for mental health awareness.  She, as a child that survived generations of mental illness and the mother of a child that suffers with bi-polar disorder, gives a much needed voice to families that suffer with mental illness.  It is her goal to educate the public to the plight of mental illness as both a disease that affects individuals and a disease that affects families and communities. You can find out more about her, this amazing book and her work through at www.createspace.com, www.releasingshame.comand www.amazon.com.  An excerpt of the book can be found on Ms. Foman’s website www.releasingshame.com. On her website, Ms. Foman shares stories weekly of people struggling with issues that they deem shameful or stressful in order to help others know they are not alone in their worries.  Ms. Foman is determined to start a social movement towards talking without fear of judgment.

On today’s show we will discuss the issues effecting women with disabilities. We will talk about a wonderful project called Women Enabled led by my amazing colleague Stephanie Ortoleva. Women Enabled is an education and advocacy project developed by Stephanie to bring attention to the urgent need to advocate for the human rights of all women and girls and to include women and girls with disabilities in international resolutions, policies and programs addressing women’s human rights and development. I know we will not be able to fit Stephanie’s remarkable accomplishments to this introduction but here is a really short version of it: Stephanie is an attorney with expertise in international human rights law and U.S. civil rights law. Currently, she is the Senior Human Rights Legal Advisor with the leading international human rights law firm BlueLaw International, LLP. She is the founding Co-Chair of the American Society of International Law’s International Disability Rights Interest Group.  Previously, Ms. Ortoleva served as an Attorney and Human Rights Officer at the U.S. Department of State, where she participated in the negotiations of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, serving on the United States governmental delegation, as well as undertaking extensive work at the United Nations and Organization of American States on international disability rights and on international women’s issues, including women’s role in peace building and post-conflict resolution and gender-based violence.  She was given the prestigious U.S. Department of State Franklin Award in 2009.  She is a frequent speaker at conferences and other events and has numerous publications on women’s rights, disability rights, and multilateral diplomacy. Check out updates on her website at:  www.WomenEnabled.org.

“Courage should not be about gender, but somehow it is” says our guest Judy Pearson. Life takes courage – but what is courage? and how can we learn to use it to our greatest advantage? Judy is the author of two biographies about ordinary people who’ve been extraordinarily courageous. Her most recent book, Wolves at the Door, has been optioned for a major motion picture.  Her current book project, entitled A Different Kind of Courage: How Women Have Expanded and Transformed Bravery in the Modern World, is a tapestry of cutting edge gender brain research, anecdotes of courageous women from all walks of life, and the results of a multinational survey.  It will both celebrate the courage of women and inspire courage in all who read it. She motivates and educates, making her a first class “moti-cator!” And Judy Pearson does it all with energy, humor and her own special flair.  In her workshops, Judy focuses on the different kind of courage women possess, leaving her audiences laughing at her views on life, tearing up at her touching anecdotes about women who have found their own courage, and excited about the potential their courage infused lives might hold.

Our guest, Doc Robyn holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a combined Masters/Doctorate in the psychology of organizations with a concentration in sport and performance. We will discuss conflict resolution and team building among female athletes and teams. As the world of sports opening its doors wider for women, issues of conflict, self-esteem, and healthy communication are coming to forefront in dialogues and discussions. Doc. Robyn will tell us how and why this is important and will give us tips and advice on the subjects. Doc Robyn has incorporated her corporate, academic and athletic (beach volleyball) experience with strategies usually reserved for organizational development and high level executive coaching to create her life changing message for college students. She is the President of Champion Performance Development, the Founder of the Stop The Drama! Campaign and the author of the book Stop The Drama! The ultimate guide to female teams. She is thrilled to 'pay it forward' by sharing her life altering strategies with students, athletes, parents, coaches and faculty. She has spoken to the NCAA Women Coaches Academy, Athletic Trainers, and countless college students.

Pelvic organ prolapse is an international women’s health concern. The impact of POP varies from country to country and region to region; in some areas the need is for education, in some it is for medical intervention. Throughout the world there is a need to establish awareness. Sherrie Palm is the Founder/President of APOPS, Association for Pelvic Organ Prolapse Support Inc, a nonprofit foundation for pelvic organ prolapse support, an award-winning author of the book Pelvic Organ Prolapse: The Silent Epidemic, and the Community Leader of the MedHelp.org Urogynecology Forum. As a women's pelvic floor health advocate, she devotes her time to all avenues of establishing recognition of pelvic organ prolapse and providing support pathways for women in various stages of POP. For relaxation Sherrie enjoys spending time in the woods and meadows of northern Wisconsin, walking with her dogs and taking digital photos of nature. For more info about APOPS or Sherrie Palm, go to  http://www.pelvicorganprolapsesupport.org http://www.sherriepalm.com

Our guest Karen R. Koenig, LCSW, M.Ed., is a psychotherapist, educator, eating coach, national speaker, international author, and expert on the psychology of eating—the WHY and HOW, not the what, of eating—with 30-plus years of experience teaching chronic dieters and overeaters the skills that “normal” eaters use naturally to maintain a comfortable, healthy weight for life without dieting and food restriction. We will discuss about the epidemic eating disorders, destructive dieting fads, body image issues and healthy eating habits. Our emotional connection to food and how can we learn to eat better to stay healthy and happy. A graduate of Simmons College School of Social Work, Ms. Koenig practices and teaches in Sarasota, Florida. She is the author of Nice Girls Finish Fat—Put Yourself First and Change Your Eating Forever (Fireside/Simon and Schuster, June 2009); What Every Therapist Needs to Know About Treating Eating and Weight Issues (W.W. Norton and Co., 2008); The Food and Feelings Workbook—A Full Course Meal on Emotional Health (Gürze Books, 2007), and The Rules of “Normal” Eating—A Commonsense Approach for Dieters, Overeaters, Undereaters, Emotional Eaters, and Everyone in Between! (Gürze Books, 2005). Nine foreign language editions are or will be available for three of her books.

As our representatives in Capitol Hill are endlessly bickering over the debt ceiling, do most of us know what exactly this “debt ceiling” is? When was it established? How is it utilized? Do other countries have it? What happens if we don't raise it? How are women's lives affected by it? Our political analyst Leslie Parsley and I, along with our guest contributor Wendy Gittleson of The Pragmatic Progressive Forum, will have a round table discussion about the subject of debt ceiling. Ms. Parsley has studied Political Science and History at University of Houston. She spent half of her career in academic libraries and the other half in newspaper libraries. For ten years she managed The Denver Post Library. After divorcing the father of her two lovely and accomplished daughters, she began a free-lance research business, specializing in development research for non-profits. She also wrote a column for a marketing magazine and served two stints at the Denver Rocky Mountain News as their research librarian. Grab your Sunday morning coffee and join us with your questions and comments!

The traditional custom of ritual cutting and alteration of the genitalia of infants and young children is still widely practiced throughout the world including USA. We will have two experts on our show today to talk about FGM and MGM, Georganne Chapin and Lucy S. Mashua. Georganne Chapin is the founding executive director of Intact America, an organization that is changing the way Americans think about circumcision. Chapin directs the national advocacy and public education campaign to end the practice of routine circumcision in the United States. Chapin writes and presents widely in the U.S. and abroad on bioethics and health care reform. She is frequently quoted in the press, and has appeared on national and local television and radio. She earned her B.A. in Anthropology from Barnard College, her M.A. and M.Phil. degrees in Sociomedical Sciences from Columbia University, and a J.D., cum laude, with certificates in Health Law and International Law from Pace University School of Law. She has taught as an adjunct professor of law at Pace. Lucy S. Mashua, President of Mashua Voice for the Voiceless, International, assisting and advocating for U.S. refugees and women’s rights. Global Ambassador for Ending Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) Chairperson of the Worldwide Campaign Against FGM leading in lobbying for HR 5137: The Girl's Protection Act.

Our guest, author, lawyer and activist Victoria Yousefi documented her dramatic journey living in Iran, when women didn't have any choice to make a decision for their own life, and her escape from the country with her three young children after the Islamic Revolution. Her touching new book will take you back to Iran n the mid 1980s with the overthrow of The Shah of Iran. When the war between Iraq and Iran happened, aggressive bombings took place almost every night and there was no place to run. She started her journey from Iran to America to reach freedom and democracy with her three children on her own. Her young son Omid, shortly afterwards was diagnosed with aplastic anemia, a serious bone marrow failure blood disease. Her journey started again to fight with aplastic anemia, side by side courageously with her son, Omid. After her young son symbolically departed this world on Valentine's Day, she started her mission in honor of her angel of love, Omid.   Her goal is to bring global awareness of aplastic anemia to honor her son and is dedicated to all people around the world who are suffering with aplastic anemia. Her foundation, AAOMF.org is honored to help support and educate families worldwide. Her life is committed to finding a cure. Join us to learn about her journey to freedom and support her efforts to find a cure for aplestic anemia!

  Our guest Jill Hanson is a semi-retired labor lawyer, who now devotes almost full time to various activities on behalf of the rights of immigrants. She is active with the Palm Beach County Coalition for Immigrant Rights, El Sol, the Labor Coalition for Latin American Advancement, and recently was involved in the "We Are Florida" campaign, which defeated efforts to pass state anti-immigrant legislation in Florida.    Ms. Hanson graduated with honors from Rutgers Law School, where she was an editor of the Law Review.  She received her undergraduate degree from Manhattanville College.  While employed at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, she became active in the union for administrative employees.  She was a founding member of the New York City chapter of CLUW, the Coalition of Labor Union Women, and became involved in many activities for equal rights for women, as a result.   Working with immigrant women, she has come to realize their tremendous courage, and at the same time, the great obstacles they face, in trying to make lives for themselves in this country.  

  Our guest AJ Januszczak will share with us her horrifying experience with date-rape. On February 18, 1996 two men in a bar drugged her with GHB –date-rape drug-, kidnapped her, raped and almost killed her. When she refused to stay quiet and after their pictures were exposed in the National media, over 30 women came forth with their horror encounters with them; in effect her mission was to put them behind bars and stop them. She hired 2 Florida Lawyers specifically for a trial with these serial rapists. Tune in to listen about her struggle to bring her rapists to justice. How the massive problems, loopholes and sexists attitudes in our justice system made her trial last for years. It is not like in Law and Order my friends! AJ wrote a book about the entire ordeal “Through My Eyes: The Past Come Calling.”  Please join in to learn about this epidemic, what can be done to prevent it and how you can protect yourself!

  Get ready for a fun and exciting conversation! Grab your Sunday morning coffee and join us! Our guest Michael Schuessler is changing the world! He is a sexuality life coach and the author of the Top selling book, “The Holy G-rail”. (G-spot, R-relating, A-anatomy, I-into, L-lovemaking)  He believes all women are The Holy Grail and should be treated as such. The Holy G-rail shows the dualities between the fabled "HOLY GRAIL" and the beautiful women that are within our presence daily.  He is also the Denver Sex and Sensuality Expert for Examiner.com and writes a weekly Q&A column for them, "Ask Michael"  Michael has been interviewed by many Local, National and International magazines and radio shows including;  The Susan Block radio show out of LA as well as Sirius 198 PLAYBOY Radio's "The Afternoon Advice Show" with -Host- Tiffany Granath and "Night Calls" with -Host- Christy Canyon. Locally (Denver) he has been on shows like, 106.7 KBPI "The Uncle Nasty Show" and 105.9 Alice "Your time with Kim Iverson" just to mention a few.

  Professor Scott Bonn is a criminology scholar, media expert and social critic. He is also a prolific author and speaker. He received his doctorate in sociology at the University of Miami, FL. Bonn teaches courses in criminology, sociology of deviance, media and crime, and criminal justice. His primary research interests include white-collar crime, state crime, serial killers and media effects on society. His research examines how and why the public forms its beliefs on complex issues such as crime, drugs, punishment, war and terrorism. He is the author of "Mass Deception: Moral Panic and the US War on Iraq" the critically acclaimed new book on the Iraq war and the G.W. Bush administration from Rutgers University Press. In this episode of Women’s Voice we will ask our expert guest about Long Island Serial killer. Why most serial killers are male and most of their victims are females? And also we will talk about his book and why and how media and officials are creating fear to control the masses. Grab your Sunday morning coffee and join us for another exciting and informative episode of Women’s Voice Radio. 

  Do you know who Lisa Ashton is? Her story is told in Telegraph, The Daily Mail, The Mirror, The Sunday Times, Washington Times... She is the stewardess fired by BMI -British Midland Airways- for refusing to wear the abaya –a type of Burqa- and walk behind her male colleagues while in Saudi Arabia. US Airforce Jetfighter Pilot –first female- Colonel McSally knows so well what Lisa went through. She sued the US Department of Defense and won her fight against this degrading policy. So Military stopped the practice, what about private companies? Lisa’s case went all the way up to European Commission; the new UK Cabinet Minister Owen Paterson supports Lisa in her fight. Also Buckingham Palace has written to Lisa to inform her that the Queen of England has “Taken careful note” of Lisa’s situation and has asked for the details of the case to be passed on to Lord Mandelson who is the Secretary of State of the British Labour Government. Saudi experts and companies that recruit women to work in the country say it is a “myth” that Western women are required to walk behind men. There is no requirement for them to wear the abaya in public, though many do. So what is BMI’s problem? Lisa is also a singer/songwriter. She was nominated finalist in the BBC Radio 2/British Songwriters Academy (Home of the Ivor Novello’s) “New Songwriting Talent Award” under the name Marcelle Ash. Join us to listen to Lisa telling us her story! Watch Lt.Col. Martha McSully's interview with 60 Minutes.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTDolvRZZ_Y&feature=player_embedded

This mother's day Women's Voice Radio has a real treat for you! Yale and Georgetown educated distinguished Professor, psychologist, author Ms. Angela B. McBride will be with us to talk about parenthood...and her book "The Secret of a Good Life With Your Teenager." Along with amazing Debra Robinson to talk about her documentary "Voices of the Voiceless"... These two remarkable ladies will marvel you with their knowledge and insights. From Angela's parenting tips to Debra's one tribe message, this is one show you do not want to miss. Start your mother's day with appreciation and inspiration!