Sandi Klein's Conversations with Creative Women

Born in Nairobi and raised in both Kenya and New York City, Agunda Okeyo describes herself as a Pan-African New Yorker. A writer, producer, filmmaker and activist, Agunda is the creator and force behind the monthly production of "Sisters of Comedy: at Caroline's on Broadway. It's a 'who's who' of black women in stand-up. Agunda's written about race, gender, politics, culture and film for numerous publications including Salon, The Daily Beast, Indiewire's Women and Hollywood blog. This year she produced a benefit show supporting an Equal Rights Amendment aimed at assuring gender equality and also in 2016, was named a Progressive Women's Voices Fellow with the Women's Media Center.

Actress Ilana Levine's stage, film and tv career has spanned more than 25 years. On Broadway she's best known as Lucy Van Pelt in the revival of "You're A Good Man Charlie Brown." Among her film credits: "Confessions of a Shopaholic," "Kissing Jessica Stein" and the "Nanny Diaries." TV appearances include "Seinfeld," "Law and Order" and "NYPD Blue." She's now part of the podcast universe having launched "Little Known Facts with Ilana Levine." Some of her celebrity guests are recent Tony winner Reed Birney, Cynthia Nixon, John Slattery and BD Wong. Ilana's interview style is unfiltered and uniquely funny and so is this conversation.

Hear what life is like as Pastry Chef of the venerated Balthazar Bakery - where thousands of croissants, baguettes, scones, breads, tarts, cakes, pies and mini pastries are lovingly made daily at its Englewood, New Jersey 14,000 square foot facility. Amanda Pacheco, who earned degrees in both Culinary and Pastry Arts from Johnson & Wales, began working at Balthazar as a pastry cook, worked her way up to sous pastry chef and in 2015, snagged her dream job - Pastry Chef. Amanda, who supervises a staff of 8, gets to work at 5:00am 5 days a week, including holidays - Thanksgiving, New Year's Day, Easter. But, it's a labor of love.Grab an iced tea and a galette and check out this mouth-watering conversation.

Sandi Klein's Conversations with Creative Women is excited to offer bonus content from our contributors. First out, our own social media master Melanie Breault offers her true-life story of a New York City apartmnt she credits with saving her life. It's a story of heartache, loss, and creating family in the unlikeliest of places. 

From a young age, sports played an important role in Yolanda Jackson's life and continues to do so today. She's the founder and CEO of Yolanda L. Jackson and Associates, a sports marketing company that represents female athletes - a profession built on 30 years experience. Twenty of those years were spent working at the Women's Sports Foundation - the brainchild of tennis great Billie Jean King. You'll want to hear what Yolanda has to say about the current and future status of women in sports.

Ana Castillo, a poet, award-winning novelist, short story writer, essayist, editor and playwright, is one of the most celebrated voices in contemporary Chicana literature. In her most recent book, Black Dove: Mama, Mi'jo and Me, she details her life as a single, brown, feminist parent, while at the same time, describes her against-all-odds career as a writer and activist. Join us for an enlightening, eye-opening and fascinating conversation.

Priscilla Anany hit the big time - the first time. Her feature, "childreN of the mountaiN," premiered at this year's Tribeca Film Festival. It's the first time a Ghanian film debuted at the prestigious New York event. By the way, she won the Best New Narrative Director Award. Priscilla, who came to the States in 2003, earned a Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts from the University of North Carolina and a Master's in Corporate Communications from NYU.  She divides her time between New York and Ghana where she runs i60Productions, the film company she founded in 2011. There's plenty to talk about - so sit back and tune in.

Allison Michael Orenstein's love affair with a camera began when she was 15 and has been going strong ever since. The New York City-based portrait photographer's work has graced the covers and pages of "Vanity Fair," "Esquire," "People," "Vogue," "Elle," "New York" Magazine, "Art Forum," "The Wall Street Journal," "The Hollywood Reporter," "Billboard," and "Town & Country." She's photographed such notables as Chuck Close, Philip Glass, Stella McCartney, John Waters, Billy Crudup, Amy Schumer - the list goes on and on. Enjoy meeting and hearing from this passionate and very creative woman.

Meet and get to know Anastasia Higginbotham, writer, illustrator and creator of the children's book series, "Ordinary Terrible Things." It tells the stories of youngsters who navigate trouble with "their senses sharp and souls intact. Help may come from family, counselors, teachers and dreams, but it's the children who find their own way." Anastasia's first book, "Divorce is the Worst," published by the Feminist Press was followed by "Death is Stupid." Both books tackle very critical, sensitive topics and are must reads for both children and adults.

Kate Wolff likes to make people laugh. She spends a lot of time doing so. Kate's a regular at New York Comedy Club, Broadway Comedy Club, Stand Up New York and Greenwich Comedy Club. She's also been on Tru Tv's hit series World's Dumbest, Red Eye on Fox and Nickelodeon's NickMom's Night Out. Kate also has her own podcast, Invasion of Privacy. Her career didn't begin in front of a mike, but she did have an audience. Kate was an art teacher, a job she hated and eventually quit to follow her dream of doing stand up. So sit down and listen in.

Victoria Herrmann's a woman on a mission - and what a mission it is. The 25 year old climate change specialist is a Bill and Melinda Gates Cambridge University Scholar and PhD student at the Scott Polar Research Institute. She also happens to be the Managing Director of the Arctic Institute, an inter-disciplinary, independent think tank made up of young professionals who work from locations around the world and who represent expertise in many different disciplines. When it comes to saving the planet, our conversation with Victoria is one you absolutely CANNOT AFFORD TO MISS.

How many women do you know who host their own weekly sports show? Well, you're about to meet one. A pioneer of sports radio and tv, Amy Lawrence brings her passion, talent and take to "After Hours with Amy Lawrence," a four-hour late night program which airs on CBS Sports Radio, the country's largest 24/7 major market radio network. Before joining CBS, Amy spent 9 years at ESPN Radio and had the distinction of being its only regular female host. Amy doesn't hold back - she shares the highs, lows, good, bad and ugly about what it's like being a woman working in a male-dominated world.

She might not have any formal culinary training, but that didn't stop Valerie Shulock from launching her own catering business, Basil Tree. That was back in 1987, when she and two friends cooked and created in a cramped kitchen in Somerville, Mass making unique dishes for area cafes and take-out markets. Today, Val has more than 30 employees who work out of a much larger space in Cambridge. Basil Tree Catering & Cafe is a business with a conscience, working closely with the Boston area's charitable organizations and shelters. As a certified Sustainable Business leader, Val and company recycle and re-compost more than 90% of their waste. Val shares her philosophy, work ethic and some of her delicious dishes - made from scratch with fresh, all natural ingredients.

Amy Newmark spent 30 years working in finance and telecommunications. In 2008 she made a major career change. That's when Amy and her husband Bill Rouhana, bought the Chicken Soup for the Soul book series from the company's co-founders. Bill's the Chairman and CEO, Amy's the Publisher, Editor-in-Chief and Co-Author. With more than 250 titles - 110 million copies sold in the U.S. and Canada, and 500 million worldwide, Chicken Soup for the Soul is the best selling trade paperback book series of all time. Tune in - Amy's got plenty to share.

Can you imagine what it must be like when your family history - the one that defines you, is not 'you' after all - but rather, a long-kept secret that forces you to re-think your entire identity? That's exactly what happened to Lutheran pastor and author Heidi Neumark. She shares her journey into an unimagined past, that brings with it life-changing repercussions for her future. There's no way you'll want to miss this honest, riveting and moving conversation.