Welcome to P.S. Blossom, powered by Rhia Ventures!

“I wish I had known how to ease into menopause because, growing into womanhood, most women may experience childbirth, and some may or may not. However, I wish I had known more about what my body would go through, and how my hormones would naturally change with my body. I wish someone had actually explained that to me.” — Reshonda Robinson

In The Change, we speak with Reshonda Robinson (She/Her) - a Strategic Empathetic Leader and Human-Centered Analyst. Reshonda carefully and compassionately articulates her own personal journey with menopause, from first learning about it and then going through it, to the legacy she hopes to leave behind for her daughters and other young women.

Join us for this vulnerable and personal story about the experience of going through menopause!

Key Points From This Episode:

• An introduction to today’s speaker: Reshonda Robinson.
• How she came to learn more about menopause.
• She details different avenues she explored for herself while dealing with the symptoms of menopause.
• How she learned about menopause initially.
• Finding an ethnic gynecologist and having that support.
• She talks about how she found the new her and it was worth celebrating!
• Reshonda shares some of the challenges she faced during menopause.
• Why she takes pride in sharing her menopause story.
• The support of her family through menopause.
• Resources that would have helped Reshonda get through menopause.
• She chronicles the support she received from her healthcare giver.
• Her experience with pre-menopause.
• Reshonda shares her symptoms and experience with true menopause.
• Her holistic approach through menopause and helping with her hormones.
• How menopause influenced her mental and emotional health.
• The importance of her diet change on her journey.
• Reshonda’s goals and aspirations for the future.
• Her advice to other women, mothers, and daughters.
• Three words to describe her journey.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Follow Reshonda Robinson: LinkedIn

IG: @ps_blossom

Twitter: @PS_Blossom

Click here to learn more about P.S. Blossom!

P.S. Blossom Team

• Executive Producer, Co-Host: ⁠Victoria M. Griffin⁠

• Co-Host: ⁠Crystal Pirtle Tyler, PhD⁠

• Creative Director: ⁠Lillian Zhao⁠

• Production Assistant: Elena Morales

Reproductive Justice and Venture Capital may seem like unrelated areas of interest, but in reality, they are interconnected in many ways!

Policy expert, writer, educator, and producer, Heidi Williamson, hosts a conversation with Marcela Howell and Ulili Onovakpuri to explore these intersections and imagine an empowered future for all. Kicking off our conversation, we are introduced to Marcela’s work as President, CEO and Founder of In Our Own Voices with the National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda, and Ulili’s role as partner at Kapor Capital.

Sparked by 2020’s protests against police brutality, there has been a movement towards racial justice and equity within and beyond criminal justice. This conversation centers health, reproductive justice, and freedom for all. Join us as we differentiate between sectors, explore both tensions and possibilities, and consider the role that investors can play in ensuring reproductive justice. Thanks for tuning in!

Key Points From This Episode:

• Background on host Heidi Williamson, policy expert, writer, educator, producer, and voice for change.
• Welcoming Marcela Howell, president, CEO, and Founder of In Our Own Voices: National Black Women's Reproductive Justice Agenda.
• An introduction to Ulili Onovakpuri, partner at Kapor Capital, an early-stage, social-impact venture capital firm.
• Context for the conversation with 2020’s protests against police brutality in mind.
• Understanding that criminal justice is not the only area where racial justice and equity is necessary.
• What to bear in mind if you are new to understanding reproductive justice.
• Ulili’s relationship with impact investment and what it means to her and the team at Kapor Capital.
• Defining reproductive justice and why it is important to this conversation.
• Ulili’s perspective on venture capital.
• The work of educating investors on access issues faced by poor communities.
• How the COVID-19 pandemic revealed inequalities in our world.
• Why investment in Black communities benefits everyone.
• The importance of reaching out to Black communities to communicate how innovations can help.
• Why it is necessary to enter communities to see opportunity.
• Why reproductive healthcare is about economics, culture, and more.
• The reason behind the inherent lack of trust between Black people and venture capitalists.
• Being intentional about having people from the community you are serving on your team.
• Why fighting racism is a long-term investment that requires building trust over time.
• Potential and possibility demonstrated by a diverse show of support for Black Lives Matter.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Marcela Howell on LinkedIn

National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda

Heidi Williamson on LinkedIn

Hummingbird Black Creative

Ulili Onovakpuri on LinkedIn

Kapor Capital

Rhia Ventures

P.S. Blossom on Instagram

Welcome to P.S. Blossom, powered by Rhia Ventures!

“That awareness was a relief, but it was also a mourning period. It was an interesting time to be in that space of knowing that having a child was never going to happen for me. Then, [with] the country going into lockdown and me being far away from my family and trying to process all of this at the same time, it was a very interesting time.” — Keisha Leverette [0:07:04]

In Living with Primary Ovarian Insufficiency, we speak with Keisha Leverette (she/her) Vice President of Development and Communications at Rhia Ventures. She generously shares her story of being diagnosed with primary ovarian insufficiency, processing the implications of her condition, and her hopes for awareness building on this topic to help other young women.
Join us for this open-hearted conversation on what it means to live with primary ovarian insufficiency, the importance of awareness, and the power of resilience!

Key Points From This Episode:

• The pressure Keisha felt not to fall pregnant as a teen and young woman.
• Keisha’s feelings about becoming a parent and why she was never set on having a child.
• How she was diagnosed with primary ovarian insufficiency.
• The difference between early menopause and primary ovarian insufficiency.
• What it was like to process the fact that she wouldn’t be able to have a child during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• An overview of the treatment Keisha is receiving and the high financial costs involved.
• Risk factors associated with primary ovarian insufficiency.
• Why Keisha is grateful to have a doctor that she trusts.
• The factors that have helped her remain resilient through her diagnosis and treatment.
• Her hope that more awareness can be built around this issue, especially for young people.
• Why she’d love to see more innovative products to help with night sweats.
• Keisha’s advice to other women: you shouldn’t feel pressured to be like everyone else!

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Rhia Ventures

Follow Keisha Leverette on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keisha-leverette-97b33314/

Follow Keisha Leverette on X: https://twitter.com/Aida_44

IG: @ps_blossom

Twitter: @PS_Blossom

Click here to learn more about P.S. Blossom!