Moments That Define Us

Today's episode is a special one. Iryna is talking to Eman Abdur-Rahman, who is a mom and entrepreneur. Eman had quite a journey when it comes to motherhood. With her first child she had a very difficult birth followed by severe postpartum depression and in the midst of going through postpartum depression, she started her business. Eman tells a story of how starting her business while battling postpartum depression saved her life. ...

Today's episode is all about motherhood. Iryna opened up about her journey, her pregnancies, breastfeeding and why being a working mom makes her a better mom, why showing her kids there are different options out there is very important for her.

Do you want to be a stay-at-home mom or go back to work, should you breastfeed or give your baby formula? Why women still judge other women for choices they make as moms? Is it ok to touch a ...

Today's conversation is about a mom , who lost her son to a gun violence, and how through grief and with a help of a very strong community she created a foundation to keep her son legacy alive. Angel Shabazz is the founder of The DJ Armstrong Foundation. The mission of the Foundation is twofold: to empower young people and families through scholarships, mentorship, mental health support, and grief assistance, and to walk alongside ...

Today's episode is dedicated to all the teachers and educators everywhere. Teachers are there to help us raise our children and create defining moments that are fundamental in our children's lives.

Our guest today is Rachel Schopp, former classroom teacher with over a decade of experience and founder of Allied Education. Allied Education is dedicated to providing personalized guidance and support to families and students. Rachel u...

On today's episode we have a licensed therapist China Borjas, she is the Founder of Ubuntu Wellness LLC - https://www.ubuntuwellness.me/

Therapist corner is a new segment on Moments That Define Us Podcast and you can write in your questions for our therapist to momentsthstdefineus@gmail.com.

Today, we got to know China and her defining moments that led her to become a therapist, from her family business to her own journey with ther...

On today's episode Iryna had a great conversation with the CEO of Helios Worldwide, Yuki Bi. They spoke about leadership , specifically women leaders and how even in 2025 , even in industries that are targeting women as their primary customers, there are not enough women in the decision making positions. AI has been a big topic , especially in the past year and Yuki gave her take on positive and negative effects AI has. Yuki is fro...

In today's episode Iryna had one of the most honest, open and vulnerable conversation with the a certified Image Consultant, celebrity stylist, and keynote speaker, Celeste Moore. Celeste shared some of the hardest moments that happened in her life to shape her to be the woman she is today. She shared the lessons she learned going through divorce at 22 and building her empire as a single mom. Celeste shared some of the defining m...

In today's episode Iryna is in conversation with a Keynote Speaker and Feminine Leadership and Soul Coach , Ber-Henda Williams. She is a resident of Detroit and woman with many gifts and so much wisdom. Ber-Henda offered a very valuable lesson to our listens on how to find your your true calling in life or as she calls it "your soul's calling". She spoke about some of her defining moments that lead her to be the woman she is today ...

Welcome back to Moments That Define Us Podcast. This is the first episode of season 5. Our host Iryna is talking about what's happening in the county today when it comes to immigration, what it means to be an immigrant, and why its extremely important to treat everyone with kindness. She raised a question "What would you do if you had to flee your county and save your family, provide a better life for them?" Why its important to p...

In today episode Iryna is joined by Lisa Conway. She is a beautiful human, a heart-led human who opened up in such a vulnerable and authentic way. Today Lisa is a mom, wife, business owner of a hair salon called Vantage Salon in Arvada, CO, community member and so much more. Life hasn't always been easy for Lisa. She started living on her own at the age of 16 in NYC and had to grow up fast but there have been so many beautiful le...

A few weeks ago, Iryna had a chance to have a wonderful conversation with the CEO and co-founder of a Detroit based social enterprise Rebel Nell, Amy Paterson. Rebel Nell is a women owned and mission driven jewelry company. Not only each piece of their jewelry has a unique story but they use reproposed graffiti in their jewelries.

"Rebel Nell is a social enterprise that provides employment, equitable access, and holistic support to ...

Today is another solo episode. In recent weeks Iryna finished reading The Anxious Generation book by Jonathan Haidt and watched 2020 documentary " The Social Dilemma", two amazing and very informative pieces of work. In this episode Iryna discusses her take on the documentary an the book, growing up without technology ,the effect social media has on her life ,and why it is important to pay attention between using technology as tool...

Today's episode was recorded on April 27, which is Iryna and her husband's 11th wedding anniversary. This is a short solo episode where Iryna talks about her life as a mom, wife, friend and gives unsolicited life advice to anyone out there who needs it on marriage and relationships. She tells the story of how her and her husband met, why its ok to not like your partner sometimes, and how important it is to marry someone who love ...

In today's episode Iryna is joined by an amazing woman, author, film and culture critic Jonita Davis. In this episode we only scratched the surface of the amazing life this creative woman has lived. We talked about her writing process and should you stay in "one lane " as a creative, why it is important to speak up against injustice, especially in the state of world today.

Jo was diagnosed with ADHD and she opened up about how ge...

In today episode Iryna is joined by the founder of GraceFull Home, a Denver based furniture bank, EmilyJane Zahreddine. EmilyJane is a powerhouse, who saw a problem in her community and decided to create a solution. She launched her non profit in 2024 and already helped over 200 people in Denver metro area who are exiting homeless and need help furnishing their new home. EmilyJane spoke about how the idea of creating GraceFull Hom...

In today's episode Iryna is joined by Emily Mara, who is a personal trainer, accountability coach and the founder and owner of EMpower by Emily Mara https://www.empowerbyem.com/. This conversation is extra special for many reasons. One of the reasons is in this episode Emily and Iryna talked about the beauty and challenges of motherhood. Emily lost her mom over 10 years and she spoke about lessons she learned from her mom, her grie...

Michael Sykes is the founder of the organization called Equitable Solutions and the director of culture, equity and leadership for Denver Public Schools. This conversation was deep, meaningful, vulnerable and we talked about variety of topics. Michael was open enough to talk about his life in a very profound way, things he had to learn and overcome to become a person he is today. Michael wrote a book "Easy Equity" and he dedicated...

I had a pleasure of having a wonderful conversation with Karen Olson, the founder of national non profit organization call Family Promise. Karen joined me on the podcast to talk about her book "Mean For More" . In her book Karen captured her incredible journey from a single act of kindness to a lifetime of service. Karen wrote a beautiful story about her childhood and tragedy she experienced at a young age and how helping others ...

In today's episode Iryna is joined by an incredible fashion designer Michael Sullivan. Michael went all the way back to his childhood and talked about little Michael, his hopes and dreams for the future and how he is living that dream right now. Michael's grandfather was a big inspiration for him because of his impeccable style and his wisdom. Michael has been honoring his grandfather in his recent clothing collection. Not only Mic...