The Story Behind Her Success
Women from every walk of life reveal how they got to where they are today, sharing their wisdom and the lessons they have learned along the way.
Episodes
July 3, 2025 • 23 mins
There is something about facing down your biggest fears that really changes you on an elemental level. -Laura DeSisto
Happy 4th of July weekend, everyone! This week’s success story is a listener favorite…and perfect to listen to in the car on your way to the beach. You may have heard that it’s the 50th anniversary of the movie that made a lot of people afraid to go into the ocean at all. JAWS was released in the summer of 1975 and...
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June 20, 2025 • 26 mins
There are no shortcuts in life. It is going to take time to find success. Do it anyway. -Christy Cashman
Welcome to the story of Christy Cashman, a listener favorite on The Story Behind Her Success. This interview launched about two years ago, and when I lost my voice due to acute laryngitis, I had to put recording new shows on hold and went to my library to find the most popular shows to listen to. Christy Cashman is an actress ...
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June 12, 2025 • 23 mins
When I was serving in Afghanistan, it was always mission first. You have to get the “scared” out of your mind. I told myself that God put me here for a reason. -Erica Horan
By popular demand, we’re reissuing a handful of our most popular interviews. Meet Boston Medflight www.bostonmedflight.org nurse and US Air Force veteran, Erica Horan. Recorded 5 years ago in a hangar at a municipal airport just outside of Boston, this intervie...
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June 4, 2025 • 25 mins
We all have “favorite places”, and for this week’s guest, it is the island of Nantucket. Julie Gerstenblatt has been spending her summers there since she was just a child. Accessible by air or by ferry, Nantucket is located 30 miles off the coast of Cape Cod. Steeped in history, Nantucket was once the whaling capital of the world, and even today, it seems frozen in time. Rooted in the story of the Great Fire of 1846, Julie’s his...
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May 30, 2025 • 24 mins
Success isn’t grades, money, or status. It’s fulfillment, joy, and kindness that come together to allow you to live your best life. - Colleen Esposito
Welcome back to part 2 of my interview with my daughter, Colleen Esposito, co-author of Nelson’s Garden and our follow-up children’s book, Nelson’s Garden & the Free Little Flower Stand. It’s been a joy to ask my daughter the same kinds of questions I ask every woman who is a gue...
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May 22, 2025 • 25 mins
Getting a book published is not for the faint of heart. It’s kind of heartbreaking because you have this book you’ve poured your heart and soul into, and you’re hoping readers will love it, too. -Colleen Esposito
I’ve wanted to introduce my daughter, Colleen, to you for the longest time, and here she is! Recorded from the window seat in her home just outside of Boston, part 1 of this interview focuses on the process of writing o...
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May 15, 2025 • 22 mins
They always say, you can’t choose your sister, but I would choose mine. - Linda Wong Chu
If you are ever visiting the Boston area and you need a hot tip for the best Chinese food around, the family-owned Kowloon is the place to go! We’re on the road to Saugus, Massachusetts, for this episode, and you better believe there will be a takeout bag of Kowloon delishiousness beside me in the passenger seat! Purchased by William & Madelin...
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A good outfit can make you feel confident. Uncommon Threads is a non-profit that boosts the self-esteem of low-income women through the power of clothes. We focus on dignity and respect. -Susan Kanoff
Meet Susan Kanoff, style blogger, influencer, and Founder of uncommonthreads.org. A life-long fashionista with a heart of gold, she has spent her career helping women feel better about themselves with an innovative “outside-in, ins...
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My daughter Dalia taught me about courage, sweetness, patience, and love. I am who I am because of her. We were meant to be together. -Jessica Fein
Welcome to part two of my interview with Jessica Fein, author of Breath Taking: A Memoir of Family, Dreams and Broken Genes. Jess and her husband, Rob, adopted three children from Guatemala. When their daughter, Dalia, began exhibiting balance issues and speech delays, genetic te...
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We spent five years trying to have a baby and then decided to make the switch from baby making to family making - Jessica Fein
We’re back in my cozy living room for this episode of The Story Behind Her Success. I’m learning that when you're sitting on a comfy couch with the fire going, the time you spend together feels more like a chat between friends and less like a formal interview. An author, marketing executive, and former opi...
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There were two flashes of white light at my feet, like quick fireworks, and then everything went black. My brain knew that my right leg was beyond repair. -Roseann Sdoia Materia
April 15, 2013: That’s the day the bombs went off at the Boston Marathon finish line. This is the story of an innocent bystander who lost her right leg when the second bomb went off in front of the Forum Restaurant. Roseann Sdoia Materia’s life would be...
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April 10, 2025 • 22 mins
We are on a mission to inspire and empower children and families to discover, imagine, and grow together. -ErinGallagher
The living room edition of the series continues with an interview with Erin Gallagher, a young mother of three who teamed up with a friend and neighbor to create the Children’s Museum of Franklin. www.childrensmuseumfranklin.org. What started as a dream in the summer of 2023 has become a reality, with the gra...
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April 3, 2025 • 22 mins
Being a scientist is a way of looking at the world, and asking the question 'why' without your own pre-conceived notions. I’ve learned that it’s also a great way of doing business. -Julia Wrin Piper
How do you go from scientist to CEO? Meet Julia Wrin Piper. She’s got degrees in Molecular Biology, Neuroscience, and Evolutionary Biology from UC/Berkeley, the Salk Institute for Biological Sciences, and Harvard University, and she’s ...
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March 19, 2025 • 21 mins
The Amalfi Coast is a dream place, and when I saw it for the first time, something shifted in me. I knew I had to live there. -Lauren Birmingham
Born into an Italian-American family of great chefs, Lauren Birmingham has an innate love of food and family. As a child growing up in Cranston, Rhode Island, she spent hours swinging in a hammock under a cherry tree, reading the classics. This fascination with reading, combined wi...
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March 13, 2025 • 22 mins
Family comes first & chocolate comes second! - Cheryl Salto
We’re back in my cozy living room with the fireplace roaring for another edition of The Story Behind Her Success. In the spotlight, a registered nurse and mother of two who makes chocolate treats all day long in her home kitchen, for special occasions. Check out Cheryl Salto’s yummy chocolate delights here: www.candyundercover2.com/shop. Her entrepreneur story starte...
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This is a book about empowerment. It’s about finding yourself within the rubble. -Sarah Elizabeth
Sarah grew up on a dirt road in rural Maine in a farmhouse built in 1770…an idyllic childhood until it completely disappeared when her parents divorced when she was in high school and her family as she knew it, fell apart. “ As a young woman, the image of the white picket fence became a mission for me. I was convinced that I could b...
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February 27, 2025 • 21 mins
What’s my definition of fear? False Evidence Appearing Real. -Anna Sabatino aka “Anna Sab”
Meet Anna Sabatino, wife, mother, life coach, driving instructor, entrepreneur, and all-around super-woman. It was Anna’s husband who nominated her as a guest on the show and she did not disappoint! In this interview, we learn all about the long and winding road of life. For Anna, the twists and turns are there to help us find our purpose...
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February 20, 2025 • 24 mins
I found myself at the top of the ladder, took a deep breath, and realized that this wasn’t where I wanted to be anymore. -Jennifer Gulbrand
In the spotlight, Jenn Gulbrand, a multi-talented woman who spent years following the path she thought she should be taking until, one day, she realized that her paycheck was feeding her family and not her soul. She flipped that script and is now a visionary leader who is dedicated to building...
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February 12, 2025 • 22 mins
Rise and reset your mind. Today is a new day to start over. -Lisa Ponte
Meet Lisa Ponte. She’s on a mission to spread self-love and positive thinking through affirmation cards, positive vibe products, and her beautiful new line of Stacked with Love jewelry. www.lpvibes.com. The devoted mother of two, her career path has been one of reinvention, beginning with a 20-year career in finance and marketing and now as an entrepreneur. Bu...
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February 6, 2025 • 22 mins
I’m a boots-on-the-ground leader. I think of St. Ignatius, who said, “It’s deeds, not words,” and Bill Belichick who said: “Do your job!” -Grace Cotter Regan
You’ve heard of Boston College, right? Well, there’s a high school not too far away that bears the same name. Founded in 1863, the schools were initially created as a 7-year educational experience for the children of Irish Catholic immigrants. Separated into (2) distinct scho...
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