Project Happy Place
By Jane Maine
Project Happy PlaceMay 09, 2023
MAGIC: How to Unlock Your Team's Potential with Van Lai-DuMone
Van is the Founder & CEO of worksmART where she develops teams and leaders through the use of creative integration, which means all her work is done through creativity, play and shared experiences. Her work helps companies tap into creativity at all levels of an organization, to level the playing field and create environments where all ideas are heard. She is a mom to a 10 year old boy, 3 dogs and a hamster!
https://www.worksmartadvantage.com/
https://www.instagram.com/worksmartadvantage/?hl=en
https://www.linkedin.com/company/worksmartadvantage
The Great Outdoors - How Abigail Jones Lives an Intentional Life in Her Happy Place Helping Teams Connect + Grow
Abigail lives to design impactful solutions to unlock human potential. As a linguist and ethnographic researcher, Abigail served as the Community Wellness Research Lead at UCSD's Lab of Comparative Human Cognition for five years. She started and built a 100-member yoga community at a brick-in-mortar studio before moving into corporate training. With a team from the Center for Creative Leadership, she designed and facilitated a program to fuse professional and personal development using mindfulness and improv comedy. Past clients include Atlantic Records, the US Navy, UPS, and UCSD Rady School of Management. In 2019, Abigail partnered with the founder of Cairn Leadership Strategies to facilitate leader and team development through gritty outdoor adventures and executive coaching.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/abigailjonesadventure/
Protect Your Peace: How to Cultivate a Life in Tune with Your Happy Place!
Molly is a classical vocalist, sound healing artist, and experience designer based in Brooklyn, NY and her personal core values are community, collaboration, and creativity. In 2019 she completed her Sound Healing Certificate from Sage Academy of Sound, which led to the founding of Bloom Sound Collective in 2022. Bloom is a community of healers and musicians devoted to creating meaningful healing experiences with sound. She also works with Daybreaker, as the Sr. Partnership Manager. Daybreaker is the global dance and wellness phenomenon. She builds community through brand partnerships and meaningful storytelling.
IG: @mollyrabuffo @bloomsoundcollective
Be a Champion of Wellness in the Workplace: Creating Powerful Moments of Connection through Well-Being
Kevin Hekmat is a corporate performance and wellness coach who’s here to shift how we respond to stress – and bring more happiness, productivity, and communication to teams around the world. He uses over 30 years of research from the HeartMath Institute to share a new understanding of how we can manage the stress response through simple, evidence-based techniques, and create a happier and healthier work and life.
The Journey to a DREAM Career: Gillian Halters Path to Becoming a Genetic Counselor
Gillian Halter is a Genetic Counselor in the Oncology department at a local hospital in San Diego. She's originally from the Philadelphia area and moved to San Diego, CA 15 years ago. She loves doing yoga, hiking, and being outside as much as possible! She graduated from PSU in 2007, earned her Master's of Science in Cell and Molecular Biology from SDSU in 2012 and graduated from Augustana University with a Master's of Science in Genetic Counseling in 2020. She is a CA state licensed and American Board of GC certified GC.
The Art of Storytelling through Design: The Journey to a Non Traditional Career Path
Mikey Mioduski is a presentation specialist who spends his days exploring the intersection of business, design and storytelling. After receiving an MFA in Advertising Design from the Savannah College of Art and Design, Mikey stumbled into the tech space, where he soon found a love for one of the most ubiquitous yet overlooked communication mediums in our modern history: corporate PowerPoint slides. Today, Mikey and his team at GhostRanch Communications are on a mission to bring new levels of creativity and care into the world of b2b presentations. If you care to hear some of their findings along the way, be sure to tune into their podcast — Presentation Thinking™, or visit GhostRanch.com to see what their team of specialists can do to help you level up your next big pitch.
Life Isn't a Straight Road, Enjoy the Journey + Embrace Life: Justin Skeesuck + Patrick Gray
Tune in to the latest episode of the Project Happy Place podcast to hear from Justin Skeesuck and Patrick Gray.
Justin Skeesuck and Patrick Gray have been blessed with a unique friendship that spans over 46 years. Despite the many challenges of a progressive neuromuscular disease robbing Justin of the use of his arms and legs, the two seek to live life without reservation.
Their friendship has taken them on many adventures together; most notably their 500-mile wheelchair journey across the vast terrain of northern Spain on the Camino de Santiago.
What began as an impossible journey between two best friends, evolved into one of the most powerful representations of what humanity is capable of accomplishing when we come together. Through the help of friends and strangers alike, Justin and Patrick accomplished what many said couldn’t be done.
As best-selling authors and highly sought-after keynote speakers, Justin and Patrick use their life/work experiences and their adventures as backdrops to which they explore concepts such as leadership, teamwork, relationship, and the power of the human collective.
They have been featured on many news media outlets spanning across the globe reaching over 600 million homes including The Today Show, The Meredith Vieira Show, “Harry” with Harry Connick Jr., New York Times, and TEDx.
To learn more about Justin and Patrick or to book them for your next event, please visit illpushyou.com and pushinc.us.
Food as Medicine: Reclaiming Your Life After Suffering from an Autoimmune Disease
Erica Anderson is a Certified Transformational Nutrition Coach with a specialty certification in Autoimmune Health. She was diagnosed at 17 with Still's Disease, a rare autoimmune disease that affects the joints and muscles. After 10 years of taking immuno-supressing drugs, she was able to achieve complete remission using the power of food and managing stress and other triggers. This experience and the years of research into nutrition and the causes of autoimmune diseases, led her to her mission to empower other autoimmune warriors to take their health back by managing their disease through diet and lifestyle changes.
Erica currently works with entrepreneurs with autoimmune disease to help them regain control of their health and business and eliminate fear and uncertainty so they can live a life that is no longer limited by their diagnosis.
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Erica Anderson
@theautoimmuneentrepreneur
Design for the LOVE of Life: The Inspiring Work of Bonnie Casamassima
Hello, Happy New Year, here we go 2022. Thank you for joining me for season 2 of the PHP podcast. PHP is an initiative to spark conversation and inspire people to do more of what makes them happy. My guests inspire me and hopefully you to live a purpose filled life in their happy place. Doing what truly makes their heart happy. I was introduced to my next guest through a friend. I’m going to go off on a short tangent but in full disclosure, Bonnie and I recorded this episode in November of 2021. I reached out to Bonnie a few weeks ago and asked if she’d be willing to re-record. I’m not alone in saying 2022 has been off to an interesting start and I wanted to connect with Bonnie in real-time to get up to speed on what’s going on in the universe and how we can make it through.
Bonnie Casamassima is the Principal and Founder of Interweave People Place and an Adjunct Professor of Interior Design at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). Bonnie holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Interior Design from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Interior Design focusing on Biophilic Design and Environmental Psychology from SCAD.
Connect with Bonnie:
https://www.interweavepeopleplace.com/
https://www.intuitivebynature.com/
Instagram: @intuitive_by_nature
Catch Your Dreams: How One Couple Found Their Happy Place at Sierra Pines Resort
Sierra City (elevation of 4,200 feet) was founded in 1850 and lies at the base of the south slope of the Sierra Buttes, a group of spectacular rocky peaks that rise to an elevation of 8,600 feet. Atop the Sierra Buttes, a breathtaking view awaits you from the highest fire lookout in either Tahoe or Plumas National Forest. Once a booming mining town, Sierra City has become a popular tourist area with more than fifty glacial lakes providing one of the finest and most beautiful recreation areas of the entire state. Jean Herrington was a member of the pioneer Busch family. Her mother and grandmother were also born in Sierra City. Her father, Ernest Innes, owned and operated the Sierra Buttes Inn (1925-1945) and the Old Boterro Ranch which supplied produce and dairy products to the local miners. The ranch is the present site of Sierra Pines Resort (formerly Herrington’s). Sierra Pines remains a family owned and operated business, which began in 1967 by Hugh Herrington (Jean’s husband). The resort is comprised of 40 acres of beautiful Sierra timberland through which State Highway 49 and the North Fork of the Yuba River meander for a third of a mile. Glen & Cindy Haubl purchased the resort from the Herringtons in 2019 and look forward to carrying on the traditions. Originally from the SF Bay Area, Glen was a CFO in the tech industry and Cindy was a corporate event planner.
You Get What You Need: A Before & After Plant Based Medicine Journey
This is a special bonus before & after series with Ros Galati! Ros is the founder of Ask Ros, she travels and co-host of the Mates & Rates podcast. She’s traveled to over 50 countries and hails from Australia. She’s lived in the US for over 12 years and whenever I connect with Ros, I’m inspired to dust off my passport and go on an adventure. Based on the feedback & questions I received from episode 3 - expand your consciousness with breathwork & psychedelics, I thought it would be fun to do a before/after series with Ros who is going to participate in a ceremony with Jessica in the next few weeks.
LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/roslyngalati/
Instagram:
@ask.ros.she.travels
Master Your Craft and Find Your Happy Place: How David Stevens is Changing the Game in the Events Industry
David Stevens is a Silicon Valley native celebrating 20 years in the events industry. David holds a Pandemic Meeting & Event Design certificate and is a Covid 19 Compliance Officer. He’s a 2020 Connect 40 under 40 honoree and 2021 SmartMeetings Planner of the Year. He was recently named to the BizBash 500 list which celebrates the most influential event professionals in 2021.
He is currently the uncontested "Fittest man in meetings and events". His happy place is the post-workout bliss of getting through an exceptionally taxing workout like Murph. He finds these workouts bring balance and higher levels of productivity to his day. He has worked in various capacities in the events world including agencies, non-profit associations, experiential, concert and tour production, and is currently Director of events at Alation, the leading enterprise Data Catalog company.
The Power of Reiki to Heal and Transform Your Life: Rebecca Hanna's Journey from Engineer to Reiki Master
Welcome to the PHP podcast! PHP is an initiative to spark conversations and inspire people to do more of what makes them happy. My guests inspire me and hopefully you to live a purpose-driven life in their happy place. As of the release of this episode, August 2021, we are currently in a transition time and a huge shift in consciousness and vibration is happening. Curiosity, optimism, creativity and humor are playing a major part in what’s going on around us as published by the power path. We’ll dig into this later in the episode but if you are experiencing a time of transition yourself, please know you are not alone.
My next guest is the founder of Cetana Reiki. Cetana meaning - to be driven by intention. Rebecca was a registered civil engineer with decades of experience when her life got turned upside down after losing her fiance to cardiac arrest. Having worked in and been a business owner in the high-stress industry of engineering consulting and land development along with her finance, she realized stress played a pivotal role in your energy and emotions. After experiencing the traumatic loss of her fiance, Rebecca turned to reiki as a way to connect with her higher self and clear emotional and spiritual blockages. That decision has lead her on the most incredible journey of self-discovery; deepening her understanding of life, death, purpose, and true inner peace. Welcome to the PHP podcast, Rebecca.
Cetana-Reiki
https://www.cetana-reiki.com/
Happy Place is a Journey: How We Grow and Evolve by Recognizing Codependent Tendencies and Transferring Trauma into Transformation
My guest for episode 6 has won many accolades including a Webby Award for his VOICE Talks but we’re not going to dig into that here. We dig into some heavy topics including codependency and suicide. What I admire about Pete is his vulnerability and whole-hearted living.
Pete has been a contributor nationally at NPR, CBS, NBC and serves as the on-air “Tech Expert” for Fox 5 DC where he appears regularly to provide commentary on technology news that impacts consumers.
Modev is based in Arlington, Virginia where Pete resides with his wife, two kids and dog Maisey. Welcome to the PHP podcast Pete!
Connect with Pete: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peteerickson/
The Power of Manifesting Your Dream Career: How Yoga Became Natalie Suppa's Happy Place
Natalie Suppa E-RYT 500 began her journey with yoga when she was 27 after a lifetime battle with depression and almost immediately found the answer to her struggles. She signed up for yoga teacher training within a few months, knowing it was her path in life. She now dedicates her life to helping students in the way yoga was there to guide and heal her. After graduating from yoga training, she has never stopped educating herself and becoming more knowledgeable for her own practice and for the students; currently in her second 300 hour training and will not end there because according to her “Yoga has given me a strength inside and out that I didn’t know was possible”. Welcome to the PHP podcast Natalie.
- YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0i6qBfU6yJmYLKAdWNuzwg
- IG Handle: @nattisupskis
- Yoga Six: https://www.yogasix.com/location/bay-park
- Idyllwild Retreat: https://simplebooklet.com/womenswellnessretreatidyllwildca2
How to Reduce Stress & Find Your Happy Place by Honoring Your Inner Bad Ass with Jennifer Cassetta
Jennifer Cassetta is one of my covid silver lining friends. I signed up for her 30 days of badassery in April 2020. Jennifer is a nationally recognized speaker, coach and self defense expert. She works with audiences around the country to help empower them through safety trainings, empowerment and success coaching. Her belief is that everyone has all the power they need within them to live a masterful life. One just needs the tools to access that power and that's what Jenn contributes to her clients.
Equipped with her 3rd degree black belt in HapKiDo, Master’s degree in Nutrition and NLP certification, Jennifer helps people release their inner badass and feel strong, safe and powerful from the streets to the boardroom.
Her popular self defense program, She Warrior Self Defense has been featured on The Today Show, The Doctors, The Real, Rachael Ray and many more! Jennifer published her first book, Hear Me Roar: how to defend your mind, body and heart against people who suck and she was a featured wellness expert on ABC TV's, My Diet is Better Than Yours.
You can find out more at: www.jennifercassetta.com
Book: https://www.amazon.com/Hear-Me-Roar-Defend-Against/dp/0990646203
Fermented Food: https://www.westonaprice.org/
Expand Your Consciousness with Breathwork + Psychedelics: How Jessica Rector Found Her Happy Place by Following Her True Calling
This episode brings a smile to my face. Whenever I connect with my next guest, I leave feeling grounded and inspired to do more of what makes me happy. This is going to be a special one. I hope you’re ready. Jessica Rector is a former Doctor of Physical Therapy and Pelvic Floor Specialist. After working under the western medicine paradigm for years, she realized that chronic physical symptoms require not only physical solutions, but those that address the heart, soul and energy field as well. She heard her calling and shifted her work to integration coaching and psychedelic healing. She is the founder of Body Absolution and is based in San Diego. Her work now involves using breathwork and plant medicines to induce elevated states of consciousness which allow her clients to release buried emotions, traumatic memories, and long-held negative thought patterns.
Wellness Retreat September 9-12, 2021 (https://simplebooklet.com/womenswellnessretreatidyllwildca2#page=1)
Connect with Jessica:
@sacredpsychedelis
Tap into Creativity and Change the Way You Work: How Van Lai-DuMone Transforms the Way Her Clients Think About Creativity in the Workplace
Van Lai-DuMone is the founder of worksmART, a progressive team development and leadership training consultancy that utilizes creativity, play, and experiential learning to evolve mindset, skill sets, and behaviors in the workplace. Her clients include game-changers such as Google, LinkedIn, and Pandora. Her work is built on the foundation that we are all creative, good ideas can come from any level of an organization, and by cultivating idea sharing in the workplace, everyone has a chance to have their voice heard. And when that happens - company culture, performance, and innovation can skyrocket! She recently shared her work in a TEDx Talk titled, ‘What if? The Life-Changing Power of Curiosity.
Van studied Psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara and earned her MBA from Pepperdine University. With over 15 years of corporate and start-up experience, Van actively works to rewrite the way we apply creativity in the workplace, inviting clients to think with their hands and use right brain creative tools to disrupt traditional training methods.
TEDx Talk:
The Honor Foundation:
https://www.honor.org/
Social Media:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanlaidumone/
Science, Surf & Sand - An Immunologists' Simplistic Approach to Finding His Happy Place
Welcome to the Project Happy Place podcast, I’m so glad you’re here. Project Happy Place is an initiative to spark conversation and inspire people to visit their happy place every day. Happy place is a feeling of contentment and joy. My guests are people that inspire me and hopefully you to do more of what makes them happy. My guest today is Dr. Christian Maine. Christian is an accomplished scientist with a Phd in Immunology from Imperial College in London. He currently resides in San Diego and works for a large pharmaceutical company, he also so happens to be my husband. I’m excited for you to tune in over the next 20 minutes to hear Christian’s approach to finding his Happy Place. I’ve always been inspired by his dedication and passion for science. His approach to finding his Happy Place is a simplistic one that includes science, surf and sun.
Connect with Dr. Maine on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-j-maine-ph-d-17185432/
Dr. James Allison Breakthrough Documentary:
https://www.breakthroughdoc.com/
Welcome to the Project Happy Place Podcast - Intro
Welcome to the Project Happy Place podcast. Project Happy Place is an initiative to spark conversations and inspire people to visit their happy place every day. Happy place is a feeling of contentment and joy. Happy place doesn’t have to be a plane ride away. It can be a cup of coffee in your favorite mug, a 10-minute meditation, or cooking a new recipe. It sounds like such a simple concept but going to your happy place is hard to put into practice every day. What does Happy place mean to you? When you visit your happy place every day, a smile comes onto your face, you feed your soul, and practice self-care.
After experiencing my own burnout in 2021, I learned firsthand how important it is to visit your happy place every day. I felt numb, lost, and out of control. After going through a process of self-healing, I rediscovered what makes me happy. When I think of happy place I think of feet in the sand, reading, my kids belly laughs, brunch outside at a favorite restaurant and a 10 minute afternoon meditation. Visiting my happy place every day whether it be for 10, 20 or 30 minutes brings a smile to my face and feeds my soul. Happy place is a journey. There are tests along the way. It’s not easy and requires discipline but it’s worth it in order to stay balanced.
References made during the podcast:
https://www.burnoutbook.net/
https://drgabormate.com/book/when-the-body-says-no/
https://reganwalsh.com/heartboss/
https://open.spotify.com/track/5W05N4aETUauCVzddI8L66?autoplay=true