Amy Shlosberg, Ph.D , is an Associate Professor of Criminology and Department Chair at Fairleigh Dickinson University where she teaches courses on Wrongful Conviction, Offender Reentry and Reintegration, Race and Crime, Penology, Comparative Justice Systems, Data Analysis and Research Methods. Her primary research focuses on miscarriages of justice, the negative implications of incarceration and issues surrounding reentry, with an emphasis on policy and procedural reform. She is also the co-host of two podcasts: Women & Crime and Direct Appeal Amy and I connect via Instagram (where all the best relationships are born) and I immediately knew I wanted to have her on the show. The work she is doing in our criminal justice system is so important. And it’s so important that all of us US citizens understand the way our system works - and repeatedly fails to work. I learned so much in this conversation and I think you will too.  Listen in to hear Amy share: How she got involved teaching people in prisons and why it lights her up The impact of bringing university students into her prison classroom What inspired her and her podcast co host to create Women & Crime How women can be offenders and victims in our criminal justice system at the same time Her thoughts on whether or not our current criminal justice system works How the culture of poverty impacts our criminal justice system Why people are wrongfully convicted and the role of bias in wrongful convictions The problem with our bail system Why she has hope for our criminal justice system in spite of its current  Links mentioned: Take my Shameless Summer Survey and win $100 gift card: shamelessmom.com/survey Connect with Amy: womenandcrimepodcast.com/ Podcast: Women and Crime Podcast: Direct Appeal  Women and Crime on Instagram and Facebook: @womenandcrimepodcast  Sponsor info and promo codes: Please find our sponsor information here: shamelessmom.com/sponsor/ Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at sales@adalystmedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every time I’ve surveyed you all over the last 6 years, you have shared with me that overwhelm is one of your biggest struggles.   I HEAR YOU.   It seems no matter the season of life, if you are parenting, you are overwhelmed. Whether it’s the challenge of the constant caregiving logistics, that challenge of the state of the world, the challenge of holding emotional space for your children, or the challenge of trying to find some semblance of your own sense of self in all of this - IT IS A LOT. And it is CONSTANT.  Today, I’m giving you permission to start dropping some balls. Maybe one. Maybe two. Maybe, like 13???   In this episode, I walk you through how to determine which balls to drop and how to restructure time so you can keep the most important balls in the air.   I hope this episode helps you take a close look at what you can let go of in order to make space for more peace, joy and sanity.   Link mentioned:Take my Shameless Summer Survey and win $100 gift card: shamelessmom.com/survey  Sponsor info and promo codes: Please find our sponsor information here: shamelessmom.com/sponsor/ Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at sales@adalystmedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former litigator Shari Leid currently operates An Imperfectly Perfect Life, LLC, a professional mindset coaching business serving clients who are in those tricky middle age years, helping them create the life of their dreams. She is the author of the Friendship Flow transformational book series, which includes The 50/50 Friendship Flow: Life Lessons From and For My Girlfriends and Make Your Mess Your Message - More Life Lessons From and For My Girlfriends.Shari’s life has been an incredible journey of identity shifting and identity shaping events that have led her to such a beautiful place of honoring who she is and how she wants to show up in the world and share her life with other women.  Listen in to hear Shari share: Her story of being adopted from Seoul Korea in 1970 in the first wave of international adoptions by Japanese American parents who were interned during WWII Her parent’s memories of living and working in internment camps The impacts of her parent’s internment on her upbringing How she ended up growing her family by 2 children in less than one year How adopting her daughter brought her full circle in seeing her own adoption journey Her massive shift in identity when she left a career as a litigating attorney to become a stay at home mom - and the major struggle to maintain her sense of self The impact of her physical sense of self as she had double hip replacement from hip dysplasia and double mastectomy after a breast cancer diagnosis Links mentioned: Connect with Shari: animperfectlyperfectlife.com Shari on LinkedIn Shari on IG Shari on FB Shari on YouTube Shari on TikTok Sponsor info and promo codes: Please find our sponsor information here: shamelessmom.com/sponsor/ Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at sales@adalystmedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As I’ve worked with moms over the last 19 (!!) years, I’ve noticed how quickly society sells us short. And how often we, in turn, sell ourselves short.  I want to invite you to cross more finish lines - BUT - not by working more or working harder. I want you to cross more finish lines, reach more goals, and live more of your dreams by simply owning and honoring who you are, where you’ve been and how that journey makes you completely magical, uniquely talented, and tough as nails.  Motherhood makes you a better leader, advocate, and citizen. Motherhood allows you to hone skills you never knew you’d need and maybe never wanted - master negotiator, thoughtful persuasionist, quick adaptor, highly efficient productivityist, and intentional & considerate champion of others. Motherhood positions you as an expert and an authority on compassion, connection, and unconditional love. If you can own and honor these skills, the world opens up for you. But, we aren’t taught to own and honor these skills. Let’s change that.  In this episode, I’ll talk you through 4 ways you can leverage the gifts of motherhood in ways that can be mutually beneficial for you and for the world. Sponsor info and promo codes: Please find our sponsor information here: shamelessmom.com/sponsor/ Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at sales@adalystmedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jessica Sinarski is a highly sought-after therapist, speaker, and change-maker. Extensive post-graduate training and 15+ years as a clinician and educator led her to create the resource and training platform–BraveBrains. She makes brain science practical, helping parents and professionals become healers for hurting children. She is the author of the award-winning Riley the Brave series, Hello, Anger, and more.This is Jessica’s third time on the show! Anytime she has a new book, I’m dying to get her back on the SMA. Jessica’s ability to help kids and parents understand brain science in order to support emotional management is incredible. I walk away from every conversation with Jessica feeling like I have a ton of new tools to support my child and myself. Listen in to hear Jessica share: What anger is and why it’s so crucial to talk about it now The importance of recognizing anger as a protection mechanism Why we need to recognize that anger is not bad The vicious cycle of anger and shame  How mom overwhelm triggers anger The importance of really accessing our anger and working through it vs avoiding it and stuffing it (which ultimately forces it to show up in dysfunctional ways) How to explicitly ask for help with your anger or shame Why it was important to her to write a book that honors anger, not shut it down Links mentioned: Connect with Jessica: www.bravebrains.com Book Jess: info@bravebrains.com Shop Books: www.rileythebrave.org/bookstorev2 Jessica on IG Jessica on Twitter Jessica on Facebook Sponsor info and promo codes: Please find our sponsor information here: shamelessmom.com/sponsor/ Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at sales@adalystmedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I have spent the last year co-chairing the Parent Association at Vinnie’s school. I have learned so much from this experience. I’ve stretched myself in new ways and humbled myself more than once. I’ve made incredible new friends and led in ways I never saw coming.  You may recall many occasions in which I encouraged moms to “Get off the PTA! Stop volunteering so much!” So, yes, I feel like a bit of a hypocrite sharing my commitment to our school’s Parent Association. But hear me out… While I stand by the fact that moms over give and it’s a big problem, I am so grateful for this opportunity to show up and lead in new ways. I believe it has qualified me to lead in other new ways down the road. This role has allowed me to see myself as capable and qualified to do new things in my community that I never previously considered and that feels like a huge win and huge gift. I’m not at all suggesting that you all go out and become Volunteer of the Year at your kids school. But, if you do choose to step into leadership in your community in a similar way, I think my lessons might help you. To anyone from Vinnie’s school who might tune into this one, thank you for the opportunity to lead in this way and for affording me constant grace. I feel so fortunate to be a part of this community. It has been an honor to serve in this way. Sponsor info and promo codes: Please find our sponsor information here: shamelessmom.com/sponsor/ Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at sales@adalystmedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As a speaker, teacher, podcast host and author, Miranda Anderson provides tools and inspiration for women to live a creative, adventurous, and intentional life. Starting out as a lifestyle blogger in 2007, Miranda now offers thousands of weekly listeners of the Live Free Creative podcast something new to think about, feel and DO as they move toward living the life of their dreams. In 2018, she published ‘More Than Enough’ to chronicle her family’s 12-month no-shopping challenge that both shaped their perspective and family culture, and informed some of her most popular content on sustainability and intentionality. Since then, she’s hosted online courses, creative retreats, and in-person workshops in her efforts to help those ‘go-getter at heart’ women who feel stuck by circumstances live a life more aligned with their dreams and values.Listen in to hear Miranda share: Her philosophy on “just going for it”, knowing full well she may fail The massive impact of her 12 month no-shopping minimalism challenge, which inspired her book, More Than Enough What she learned about herself and how she learned to listen to her intuition by not buying anything new for herself or her family of 5 for 12 months How the 12 month challenge evolved and inspired her work today How she helps moms adopt a sense of adventure as a mindset Using adventure as a mindset and a lens to creativity, curiosity, connection, calm The difference between perfectionism and striving in how we manage outcomes How moms (especially risk averse or perfectionist moms) can practice being adventurous in low stakes way that can have big impact Links mentioned: Enroll in Momentum Mamas: shamelessmom.com/momentum Connect with Miranda: livefreecreative.co Join Miranda’s Grown Up Summer Camp July 14th-17th Miranda’s Podcast: Live Free Creative Miranda on Facebook Miranda on Instagram Miranda on Twitter Miranda on YouTube Miranda on Pinterest  Sponsor info and promo codes: Please find our sponsor information here: shamelessmom.com/sponsor/ Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at sales@adalystmedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fear is a beast. Don’t get me wrong, fear can be functional. It can protect us from great harm. But, it can also hold us back from taking action. It can paralyze our heads and our hearts. It can prevent us from dreaming, doing, and becoming.  There are some very real reasons to carry fear right now. That will continue to be the case. So, how will you learn to navigate fear and all the internal and external noise that accompanies it?Fear keeps us stuck. Fear allows our inner critic to grow louder each and every day. Fear keeps us stuck in inaction.  Right now, we cannot afford to sit in fear. When we are feeling fear, everything constricts - our ability to see possibility and potential, our ability to be nimble and adaptive, our ability to see what else is true beyond our fear. In this episode, I walk you through the ways that your fear might show up. Then, I share how to see it, listen to it, and continue to move through it - with it at your side instead of in your driver's seat. Link mentioned:Enroll in Momentum Mamas: shamelessmom.com/momentum Sponsor info and promo codes: Please find our sponsor information here: shamelessmom.com/sponsor/ Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at sales@adalystmedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Piers Kowalski is an average father of two with a not so average story. Born and raised in Colorado, Piers lived and worked on the west coast for 11 years before moving back to Colorado with his wife. He started building a career in his dream field of performance psychology, his wife went back to school for nursing, and they had two children. They seemed to be living a typical life. But at the age of 36, Piers was seven years, two kids, and two dogs into marriage when he discovered he was transgender. He was afraid he was going to lose everything and everyone he loved. On a mission to change the world, Piers shares his story of pain, self-discovery, fear, love, and hope to help others better understand the transgender experience, community, and humanity. We have had parents of trans kids on the show in the past, but Piers is our first trans parent to come on the show. I am so grateful and honored that he said yes. This was a really special and important conversation. I hope you’ll listen and then share it widely.Listen in to hear Piers share: The unexpected process of realizing he was trangender at the age of 36 The choice he had to make to either live with his family as a women - internalizing destructive pain - or take the risk of transitioning to living in his full male identity and potentially lose everything that meant the most to him The social conditioning of shame that creates immense and unnecessary pain for trans people His experience coming out to his mom and where she made missteps out of love that ultimately caused harm Simple steps cisgender people can support transgender people His 4 part advice for parents of a child who identifies as trans/non-binary or who are gender expansive/diverse in their gender identity or expression Links mentioned: Piers’s Personal IG Piers’s Professional IG  Sponsor info and promo codes: Please find our sponsor information here: shamelessmom.com/sponsor/ Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at sales@adalystmedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How do you get people to do what you want them to do?How do you help people make decisions that will benefit them?How do you help people see the potential they have to be leaders, culture shifters, and culture shapers?How do you move people to action?This might sound daunting, I know. But here’s the thing… You are already doing this in your parenting. You help your children make decisions. You help your children see their potential. You walk them into opportunities that serve them. You probably also cheer for and champion your partners and friends when they are doing something great.  How can you take the next step to become someone who inspires others to take action, to step into their gifts to lead, to advocate for themselves and others?  You can do this. I’m going to give you 4 steps to do it. 4 steps to inspire your children, partner, parents, friends, and co-workers to become better action takers.Sponsor info and promo codes: Please find our sponsor information here: shamelessmom.com/sponsor/ Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at sales@adalystmedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices