15. If You’re A Mother Going Back To Work … This Is For You - Mela Lush

When a Sunshine Girl Learns to Glow in the Dark In this electric and deeply human episode of The Powerhouse Diaries, Yaela Raber sits down with Kimberley Crossman, an actor, comedian, producer, creator of Pretty Depressed, grief survivor, mental health advocate, marine biology nerd, and the woman who somehow lives ten lives at once without losing the plot or her light. For years, the world saw Kimberley as the sunshine girl. Cheerful. Bubbly. Always on. But what most people never saw was the grief she was carrying through auditions, deadlines, miscarriages, and the pressure to stay “fine” on screen and online. This episode opens the curtain on that truth but not in a tragic way rather in a way that shows how softness and strength can co-exist in one woman who absolutely refuses a small life. We explore the wildly parallel worlds she moves through. Los Angeles sets. New Zealand bush walks. Comedy stages. Shark tagging adventures. Solo healing. Creative entrepreneurship. And a career built on resilience that would break most people long before the ten thousandth no. This conversation is bright, funny, disruptive, emotional, and full of moments that make you feel like you are sitting with a woman who has lived enough for three seasons of her own show. Kimberley brings receipts on what it means to keep going after loss, to redefine resilience, to stop performing for approval, and to let your messy and magnificent parts all have space at the table. If you’ve ever felt split between who the world sees and who you actually are or ever carried grief while still building a big life this episode feels like oxygen.

She Built a Fashion Legacy by Choosing Joy Over the Grind

Designing the Dream, Then Dismantling It This is what happens when ambition meets awakening. Yaela Raber sits down with Mia Feasey, founder of Siren Design Group, to talk about what success really costs when you’ve spent your life chasing it. Mia built one of the most celebrated design studios in Asia Pacific, leading teams, winning awards, and creating spaces that shaped culture. From the outside it looked perfect. Inside, it was a slow collapse of identity, ego, and exhaustion. In this raw and unguarded conversation, Mia opens up about the reckoning that followed the burnout that forced her to rebuild from soul instead of status. She shares how she learned to lead without losing herself, why she dismantled the version of success she once worshipped, and what happens when you finally stop performing and start becoming. This episode isn’t about walking away. It’s about walking home. -- In This Episode We Discuss 00:00 Episode trailer 01:10 The rise of Siren Design and the architecture of ambition 06:00 When achievement becomes addiction 12:30 Burnout, identity, and the ego that built the empire 18:45 The power and pain of letting go 25:00 Motherhood, leadership, and the cost of proving yourself 31:15 Rebuilding from alignment instead of exhaustion 37:20 What success looks like when peace becomes the goal 43:40 Creativity after collapse 48:00 How to design a life that finally fits -- Episode Resources Guest Website: https://sirendesigngroup.com Guest Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Mia_Feasey Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/miafeasey -- Follow Us On Apple Podcast: The Powerhouse Diaries Spotify: The Powerhouse Diaries Instagram: @powerhousediaries

She Cracked the CFO Code: Candice Tait on Money Mastery, Mindset & Freedom In this episode of The Powerhouse Diaries, Yaela Raber sits down with Candice Tait a seasoned Chief Financial Officer turned founder, investor, and financial empowerment mentor who’s on a mission to help women reclaim their power through financial fluency. From working in London’s high-stakes tech scene as a CFO surrounded by men to building a purpose-driven career in New Zealand, Candice opens up about breaking glass ceilings, redefining safety, and creating what she calls the “F*** You Fund” a savings system designed to give women true freedom of choice. This conversation dismantles money myths, explores how trauma and safety shape our financial behaviors, and reveals why understanding your numbers is the most radical act of empowerment a woman can take.

From Breaking Point to Breakthrough: Jody Boshoff on Reinventing Success and Building a Business With Integrity In this episode of The Powerhouse Diaries, Yaela Raber sits down with Jody Boshoff founder of Launch PR, communications strategist, and storyteller to unpack the raw truth behind starting over when life and business fall apart. From navigating motherhood and burnout to rebuilding her life from scratch after losing everything, Jody’s story is one of courage, reinvention, and radical self-belief. She shares how she turned crisis into creativity, walked away from corporate PR, and built an agency that thrives on transparency, results, and human connection. This episode is for every woman who’s ever hit rock bottom and wondered if she could start again. Jody proves you can and come back stronger than ever. In This Episode We Discuss: 00:00 - Episode Trailer 01:15 - From corporate comms to chaos: when everything collapsed at once 05:20 - Bathing the kids in a bucket and the moment everything changed 09:00 - Rebuilding from the ground up and redefining success 12:45 - Why “having it all” nearly broke her 16:10 - Building Launch PR: doing business differently 20:30 - The ethics of storytelling and getting results with integrity 24:00 - From invisibility to leadership: reclaiming her voice 28:45 - The truth about burnout and balance 33:20 - Using failure as fuel for reinvention 36:40 - What it really means to be a powerhouse woman Episode Resources: Guest Website: https://launchpr.co.nz/ Guest Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jodyboshoff/ Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodyboshoff/ Uri Hasson TED Talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/uri_hasson_this_is_your_brain_on_communication Uri Hasson TED Talk Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDhlOovaGrI Follow Us On: Host Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yaela.raber/ Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/powerhousediaries/ Spotify: The Powerhouse Diaries YouTube: The Powerhouse Diaries