From Sparks to Light - Inspiring Stories for Challenging Times

“Never judge and always believe.” These are the lessons that Susan Pulido learned in her early years as a rape crisis responder. It was in that work that Susan, now a Confidential Advocate at Sonoma …

“Whatever you do, lead with love,” says Renee Ho, founder & executive director of Amor Para Todos (Love for All). When a loved one came out as trangender in 2019, Renee vowed to do whatever was neede…

When Marc Zywaczewski dreamed of being an actor, he could not imagine that the greatest role of his life would be — as a social support coordinator for dementia patients. When the loss of his older b…

Blindness is not a disability. It is an opportunity to see things differently. That’s the lesson Paul Fordham learned from his father, a classically trained pianist who who was blind from birth. It i…

You go about the business of living. Husband, family, house in the suburbs. The ingredients of a happy life. Just like the one you were raised in, right? And then one day, something happens that make…

You have $80 dollars in your pocket and two suitcases. and you’re ready to take on whatever comes your way, or so you thought. At 18 you’re ready to spread your wings and try something new. Before yo…

Elaine Leeder was always drawn to the dark side of life. The daughter of a Holocaust refugee, she  spent the better part of her life trying to understand that darkness.  The desire to make sense of t…

After her marriage broke up, Leigh Brennan found herself alone and without direction. She’d always dreamed of walking the Camino de Santiago but Leigh had never imagined walking alone. Faced with an …

What do you see when you walk out your door? When you look at your colleagues, your teachers, neighbors and friends do you see people who look like you? Does your world reflect the diverse world we l…

Imagine being 28 years old, arguably at the beginning of your life, and told you have 5 years to live. With a sense of nothing to lose, Martina Clark, writer, teacher, and activist, dove into an acti…

Life is both beautiful and brutal. Tranquil and tumultuous. Filled with joy and pain. Susan Dunn, educator and support manager with NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has spent the better…

In 2019, when I set out to walk my first Camino, I did not understand what was about to happen. The importance of the people I would meet or the way that journey would change me. Looking back, I find…

"Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” 

I grew up a stone's throw away from the New York harbor where Lady Liberty resides. As the granddaughter of Italian immi…

What is the intention and purpose of our education system?  How well does it meet that purpose? One of the more challenging aspects of education is a discipline system that dehumanizes students, one …

Happy New Year and welcome to special bonus episode of From Sparks to Light.  Today I’m chatting with my good friend and fellow author Frances Rivetti who has just released her second work of fiction…

Here's part 2 of my conversation with Maris Blechner. If you haven't listened to part 1 yet, hit pause and go back and listen to the first part of our conversation. In this conversation we dig deeper…

Today on the podcast we’re taking a field trip to the online classroom of Maris Blechner, a social worker, educator and expert in the field of adoption. So pack up your notebooks, sharpen your pencil…

What happens when we take leaps of faith? When we step into the unknown, holding the belief that we are in the right place at the right time. That whatever comes next, we’re going to be OK. Perhaps e…

Who am I? That’s the question our guest asked herself as she stared at the results of a DNA test that she’d taken just for fun. 

Jodi Klugman-Rabb (Rabb is her married name) was raised in Marin County…

My conversation on the podcast today is with Jill Salvino, an accomplished commercial director and storyteller and the director of Between the Shades, her debut feature documentary that examines the …