Martha Lopez-Anderson is member of a club that no one wants to be part of. After the sudden death of her seemingly healthy 10-year-old son from sudden cardiac arrest in 2004 blindsided Martha and her family, she immersed herself in education and training related to the prevention and treatment of SCA in youth. She joined Parent Heart Watch which is made up of parents who tragically lost children from SCA, many of them during a sporting event at school. Martha advocates for prevention strategies like early heart screenings and for lifesaving tools to be available wherever children gather that can be used in the event of a cardiac emergency. Martha could have crawled into a hole and lived in her grief, but instead, she turned her love for her son and her passion for helping other families into her life’s work. You will learn from her experience and be inspired by her courage.

To learn more:

Website: https://parentheartwatch.org

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/phwsca

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/phwsca

Twitter: https://twitter.com/PHWorg

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/parent-heart-watch

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@parentheartwatch8881

****PLEASE NOTE THIS PODCAST CONTAINS DETAILED REFERENCES TO KIDNAPPING, CHILD ABUSE, VIOLENCE, AND SEXUAL ASSAULT.****

You may be familiar with a recent movie that just dropped on Netflix called “Woman of the Hour” with Anna Kendrick. It is the fictionalized version of a true story about a serial killer and rapist name Rodney Alcala. He’s known as the “Dating Game Killer.” There have been countless shows, documentaries, and podcasts about his crimes. He was convicted of murdering 7 girls and women and placed on death row until he died of natural causes in 2021. And while he was convicted of some of his crimes, there was always a belief by investigators that he was potentially responsible for 130 more. One of those unsolved crimes involved Niki Rowe Cross. She says Alcala was one of the johns who raped her in an attic in Ohio in 1977 where she was held captive as a teenager along with two other teens for a year. Niki tells her powerful and disturbing story as a way to bring awareness to human sex trafficking and to help others. The show can be watched here on YouTube, or you can listen wherever you get your podcasts: https://sites.libsyn.com/490772

If you or someone you know is the victim of human sex trafficking you can call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at: 1-888-373-7888 or text them at 233733.

To learn more about Niki and her work:

staarministry.com/home.aspx

GiveSendGo | LIKE DADDY USED TO SAY Movie Development Funds

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Niki Rowe Cross (@crossni.nc) • Instagram photos and videos

(30) Niki Rowe Cross | LinkedIn

NC woman who was victim of sex trafficking now tries to help other victims

Marla Bedrosian was on a successful track in corporate America, managing hotels up and down the East coast for a global hospitality company. Along the way, she learned a little bit about wine from the sommeliers at the hotels she oversaw. Eventually, that knowledge and interest fueled the fire beneath her to make a big change. She and her husband decided to become farmers and purchase a boutique winery in California. The confirmed New Yorker is now swimming deep in the entrepreneurial pool, learning as she goes how to make the wine flow and doing it with her family. She makes frequent trips back East to see her adult children and new grandchildren, but she and her husband are determined to make a go of this chapter. You will love her wit, brilliance, and enthusiasm, and will be inspired by her unique journey.

To learn more about Marla:

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Domaine de la Rivière (@domainedelariviere) • Instagram photos and videos

(26) Domaine de la Rivière: Overview | LinkedIn

Russian River Valley Pinot Noir - Domaine de la Rivière (domaineriviere.com)

Darlena Moore grew up in the beautiful city of Asheville in the North Carolina mountains. The devastation that Hurricane Helene left behind has been tragic for her and her family, as well as heartbreaking. She is continuing to help in the recovery there in any way that she can. But at the same time, she is on her own personal mission. Darlena and her siblings were born into poverty and lost their mother at a very young age. They were separated and Darlena ended up in a very dangerous situation—a home that included alcoholics, violence, pedophiles, and emotional and physical cruelty. One day, she climbed out a bathroom window and ran away with nothing but the clothes on her back. After several placements, Darlena finally ended up in a nurturing foster home. The couple that took her in, the Gilberts, not only cared for her, but they helped her follow her dream of going to college. To honor the opportunity she was given, Darlena created a nonprofit scholarship fund that specifically helps children in the foster care system in North Carolina pay for college. Initially, she funded it by making homemade “mountain girl” granola until she could get donors. Now, Darlena is making granola for hurricane survivors as well as making the dreams of other foster children come true.

To learn more about Darlena and her work go to:

https://mountaingirlinitiative.com/

https://www.facebook.com/TheGilbertScholarship/

https://www.instagram.com/gilbertscholarshipinc/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/darlenamoore/

Like the title of her first book, “Bare Naked in Public,” Christine Amoroso is baring everything—not literally, but emotionally, as she unpacks a life where happiness often seemed elusive. Pregnant and married at age 17, she pulled herself up by her bootstraps to have multiple successful careers in accounting and education. But eventually, she realized that her workaholic ways and poor choices in the romance department had led her into a downward spiral of shame and guilt instead of happiness. In her fifties, Christine quit everything, got rid of her belongings, and traveled to Italy in search of her family’s roots. What she didn’t realize was that in the process of examining her family tree, she would eventually find herself. Christine is now blowing up the myths that have ruled her entire life. Twice divorced, she realized that she had been making all the wrong choices when it came to men. She also realized that life is not all about work. Christine calls herself a “recovering overachiever” who occasionally relapses, something many of us can relate to. She bravely shares her journey to self-acceptance and fulfillment with me in this week’s show.

For more about Christine:

www.christineamoroso.com

www.barenakedinpublic.com

https://www.facebook.com/christine.amoroso.5

https://www.instagram.com/barenakedinpublic/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/christineamoroso/

At almost 68 years old and with more than 40 years in the broadcast industry, Susan Murphy has had more career reinventions than Madonna. She started as one of the nation’s first radio traffic reporters in Philadelphia, then moved to Florida to become a TV news reporter and a “weather girl” (back when they called it that). At 25, she helped start the first traffic reporting service in New York, and then became a radio talk show host and producer, a news director on Long Island, a Public Television producer, an on-air personality, a college dean and instructor, and a voice over artist. Now, Susan is a broadcast coach specializing in what she says is helping young women get rid of their “little girl voice” so they can meet the world with strength and confidence. You will be surprised by how our emotional history can keep us from finding our authentic, confident voices.

For more about Susan:

https://susanmurphyvosot.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-murphy-a649406/

Shea Butler is a passionate traveler who divides her time between Washington state, Vancouver, and Los Angeles. She was born in Cairo, Egypt to American parents living abroad. Her most awe-inspiring trip was a horseback riding safari through Botswana. There’s nothing like being charged by two lions to get your creative juices flowing, she tells me. In addition to her travel adventures, Shea is a television and film writer, an author, and an award-winning director/writer/producer. Her short stories have been published in magazines and anthologies and are available via the audio book: "Transitions: Stories of Mystery, Murder, and Speculative Fiction." Shea is currently writing her first novel, a murder/mystery story set in the swamps outside of New Orleans, and producing a film, a coming-of-age love story featuring the complex topic of teen homelessness. Shea believes that no matter what your age you should always pursue your dreams.

FOR MORE ABOUT SHEA:

(90) Shea E. Butler | LinkedIn

Amazon.com: Transitions: Stories of Mystery, Murder and Speculative Fiction (Audible Audio Edition): Shea E. Butler, Kathe Mazur, The Butler Did It Productions: Audible Books & Originals

(340) TROUBLE CREEK WEB SERIES - Season One - YouTube

www.thebutlerdiditproductions.com

Crystal Roberts grew up in a family of educators where she was always challenged to do her best—especially when it came to writing and public speaking. She was one of two black children in her elementary school out of 700 students. But like all the other obstacles she faced in her life, Crystal handled it with confidence and grace. From a job loss, to caring for her ailing father, Crystal was powered by one mantra: “forge ahead.” As a communications expert who has spent most of her career working for public school systems, Crystal believes in mentoring the next generation and in building people up, especially women, so that they can become the strong leaders of tomorrow.

For more about Crystal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mountaintopproductionspr/