Season 2

Twenty-five years ago, Fran Pastore turned a transition in her career into an opportunity for thousands of other women, their communities, and the State of Connecticut. A recent guest of the Mom Shuffle Podcast, a show which features interviews with...

WBDC CEO Fran Pastore was recently appointed Board Chairperson for the Connecticut Paid Leave Authority. In this episode of Courageous Conversations Fran sits down with Nancy Barrow, host of . Of course, they discuss WBDC's work and why...

Can supporting your local Community affect your bottom line? Amy Kenkel and Laurie Surprenant say it can! Amy and Laurie are the owners of Leaps and Bones, a pet supply store and pet bakery with locations in South Windsor, Southington …

In her inspiring and eye-opening book, The First, The Few, The Only, Deepa Purushothaman examines the challenges faced by women of color in the workplace. In this episode, Fran had the opportunity to discuss Deepa’s work at an event held …

We continue our conversation about child care – an industry in crisis – with Beth Bye, Commissioner of the CT Office of Early Childhood. Child care providers are struggling as they strive to recover from the pandemic. While much has …

The child care industry is in crisis – in Connecticut and across the country. Recognizing that access to quality child care is essential for our economic recovery, Connecticut’s leadership took action to stabilize the industry and drive growth for...

We’re kicking off the season with two recent WBDC Equity Match Grant recipients, Kevnesha Boyd, owner of Quality Counseling in Hamden, and Jona Jeffcoat, owner of Infinity Music Therapy Services in Southington. Listen to hear how these inspiring entrepreneurs plan …