Sandi Klein's Conversations with Creative Women

Angels, spirit guides, aura. What exactly does it mean to be clairvoyant? No clue? We'll you're about to find out. Tori Quisling, founder of the New York Center for Clairvoyant Development, has spent the last 30 years as a professional clairvoyant and teacher, offering readings on a myriad of topics including: mediumship, past lives, career, health, relationships, spiritual path choices. Sit back and enjoy this other worldly conversation!

Molly Carr might be a millennial, but boy has she got some resume! She's a professional violist, chamber musician, educator and the founder/director of Project: Music Heals Us. Created in 2014, this non-profit provides free, live musical performances in hospitals, nursing homes, prisons, homeless shelters and refugee camps. We guarantee you'll be inspired and awed by this incredibly talented, creative woman!

A theatrical press agent for 40 years, Susan Schulman has worked with some of Broadway's most talented folks: Yul Brynner, Zero Mostel, Lauren Bacall, Katherine Hepburn, Alec Baldwin, Glenn Close. Susan's chronicled her rich and rewarding career in her book, "Backstage Pass to Broadway: True Tales from a Theater Press Agent," published in 2013. Now comes, "Backstage Pass to Broadway: More True Tales." Join us as Susan talks tales and more in this engaging, lively conversation.

Making a return engagement is the classy, accomplished, multi-talented singer/songwriter Vivian Sessoms. And once again, we cover a lot of territory. In a beautiful tribute, Vivian shares the impact the iconic Aretha Franklin had and has on her both personally and professionally. And...she also talks about the impetus for her new, powerful double-album LIFE, scheduled to be released on Baby Buddha/Ropeadope November 2nd.

Money matters to Jill Schlesinger. And to that end, the Certified Financial Planner covers the economy, markets, investing and whatever else contains a $-sign. An Emmy-nominated Business Analyst for CBS News, she shares her expertise on the network's radio and tv stations across the country. You'll want to make time to listen to Jill's jaw-dropping, but empowering stories about what it's been like to be a woman in a man's world.  

This week, we revisit our episode with singer-songwriter, actress, entrepreneur, and motivational speaker Rhonda Ross Kendrick. Her parents are music industry icons. Mom is Diana Ross; dad is Motown founder and hit maker Berry Gordy. The oldest of Diana's 5 children, Rhonda's maternal half-sister is actress Tracee Ellis Ross. So...put your 'to do' list on the back burner and spend the next 30+minutes with a very classy, refreshingly honest, creative woman.

You'll want to meet and get to know Special Education teacher Dena Grushkin, who recently retired after 35 years in the classroom. However, a 2004 trip to Nigeria turned out to be a seminal moment in her life, opening her eyes to the reality of children living and attending school under the most challenging circumstances. She managed to raise $5,000 from friends, colleagues and strangers for books and other supplies. That visit prompted Dena to create the Nigerian School Project, a nonprofit educational organization that supports teachers and students. In 2009 her organization built a junior secondary school; 5 years later a senior secondary was completed, both on the river community of Tomaro Island. This June marked the first graduation class. This is a conversation you can't afford to miss!

Lauren Molina has one helluva resume. She is an award-winning actress, musician, singer/songwriter who also performs with her highly popular, comedic 'undie rock band, The Skivvies. Her acting career has taken her to Broadway, Off-Broadway and regional theater. She's been receiving rave reviews as Bella Rose, the loveable, ballsy harlot Bella Rose in "Desperate Measures," the hit musical based on Shakespeare's Measure for Measure. There's lots to talk about with this warm, funny, open, engaging creative woman.

You're about to meet and get to know another female filmmaker. Paula Eiselt's work has been supported by the Independent Television Service, the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program and the New York State Council on the Arts. The recently released "93Queen" marks Paula's feature directorial debut. It tells the story of a group of Hasidic women as they overlook and overcome massive obstacles to form the first all-female ambulance corps in New York City. Their goal is to provide dignified, emergency medical services to the women and girls in this very religious community. "93Queen" won the inaugural first look Pitch Prize at the 2017 Hot Docs Forum.

Andrea Thome is yet another creative woman. Sports and hard news were her beat as a broadcast journalist. In fact, that's how she met her husband, Jim Thome. The Cleveland Indians third baseman was inducted into the Hall of Fame earlier this year. Andrea interviewed him on opening day of baseball's 1995 season - they were married 3 years later. Andrea also happens to be a writer. The recently released novel, "House of Belonging" is the 3rd and final book in her Hesse Creek Series. Andrea's an accomplished photographer...and a warm, friendly and engaging conversationalist!

Meet Emmy award winning director Rachel Dretzin (PBS' Frontline), who has been producing and directing documentaries since 1994. Rachel, along with her husband, are the founders of Ark Media, a Brooklyn-based documentary production company. "Far From the Tree," Rachel's first feature documentary, is based on the New York Times best seller by Andrew Solomon. It explores the difficulties and challenges of raising a child who has Downs syndrome, dwarfism, autism, deafness, mental illness, is a child prodigy, or are transgender. The power of documentaries to educate, inform, empower is a focus of this fascinating, important and honest conversation with this committed, creative, accomplished woman.

Yasmine Rana has a lot on her mind. A playwright, drama therapist and educator, her plays have been developed and produced in the U.S. and abroad. In 2014, Yasmine was one of 16 finalists for the Francesca Primus Prize for her play, "The War Zone is My Bed." A year later, she received a fellowship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts for "Another Spring." Her plays and monologues have been published in numerous reviews. As a drama therapist, Yasmine has worked with refugees in Bosnia, The Republic of Georgia and Switzerland. You'll enjoy meeting and getting to know yet another creative woman.

How many female jazz pianists/composers/recording artists can you name? Well, you're about to meet one. Bunny Beck was originally trained as a classical pianist, but jazz became her passion. She was able to study with the likes of Lee Evans, Fernando Hernandez and legend Harold Mabern. Her composing began primarily with jazz tunes and ballads. In 2010 PARMA Recordings released her cd "Sound Tapestries." It was followed 4 years later by "From the Spirit" featuring the Bunny Beck Jazz Ensemble. Bunny shares her passion and love for making music.

Acclaimed filmmaker Debra Granik's movies focus on the disenfranchised, marginalized and compromised as is evidenced by the powerful "Winter's Bone," which launched the career of Jennifer Lawrence and was nominated for 4 Academy Awards. Her latest, "Leave No Trace," tells the story of a father and his teenaged daughter who live off the grid in a nature reserve outside Portland, Oregon. We cover a lot of ground in this open, honest, fascinating conversation with a creative woman whose career has focused on exceptional people - both real and fictional.

Meet Sheila Ronning, leadership, networking expert, board strategist and founder of Women in the Boardroom. Since 2002, she's been connecting female executives with the people and tools needed to succeed in business and the boardroom. Her accomplishments haven't gone unnoticed, with a spot on the prestigious "40 Under Forty" membership Fortune's Most Powerful Women Insider network. Sheila and Women in the Boardroom has been featured in: The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Chicago Sun Times and the Minneapolis/St. Paul Journal.