The Essence of You Podcast

Steph Lokelani sits down with Evan Stewart, executive director of Jesse Tree, the Treasure Valley nonprofit working to prevent homelessness before it happens. Evan explains who Jesse Tree serves: working families, single parents, and seniors living paycheck to paycheck, often just one car repair or medical bill away from falling behind on rent.

He breaks down why Idaho is one of the fastest-evicting states in the country, why an ev...

Steph Lokelani reunites with her longtime friend Caitlin Copple, founding partner of Full Swing PR, the nation's leading agency for under-recognized leaders in high-growth professional services firms. They open with old-friend banter before Caitlin shares how the two actually met.

Caitlin unpacks what she calls PR 3.0: writing not just for journalists but for the AI models now shaping how people find and judge a business. She expla...

Sarah Cortez knew she wanted to be a pilot from the age of three, watching out the window of her dad's plane. It took her almost 40 years to act on it. In this episode, Sarah, a longtime sales professional, keynote speaker, and student pilot, joins Steph Lokelani to talk about what it took to finally start flying: clearing her schedule, ignoring the excuses, and pushing through nearly 200 two-week training cycles to earn her privat...

Steph Lokelani reunites with Angela Ocheltree, the oldest friend she's had on the podcast to date, for a warm, funny catch-up that doubles as a time capsule. The two met as seventh graders at Lakota Junior High in Federal Way, Washington, in the early '90s through drama club, and they trace the throughline from those teenage years to now.

They swap stories about the theater kids they used to be (Godspell, Macbeth, and one unforgett...

Sharmaine McWhite joins Steph Lokelani for a raw, funny, and unexpectedly deep conversation that starts with a joke about Social Security numbers and ends up covering nearly everything in between. Sharmaine, a multi-hyphenate creative, real estate agent, and content creator, opens up about growing up in a strict independent Baptist household that took her family from North Carolina to Alaska, where courtship replaced dating, skirts...

In this episode of The Essence of You, host Steph Lokelani sits down with Karin Henniges, the mother of Episode 3 guest Angela Reish, who is visiting from her home in Oregon, by way of a life that has spanned three countries. Karin shares her story of growing up in Hanover, Germany as the only girl among three brothers, meeting her husband Mike (whose real name, Reinhold, she didn't learn until they sat down together to fill out im...

In this episode of The Essence of You Podcast, host Steph Lokelani sits down with Boise hip-hop artist and community builder Cornell Johnson, known on stage as ZERO Wan-Kenobi. Cornell opens up about how he found his voice through music with the Earthlings crew, why he believes Boise's creative community needs to support each other instead of competing, and how writing a song for his mother after her passing in 2020 taught him to "...

"You can't be triggered if you're not cocked." That's the kind of line Nichole Stull drops mid-conversation - half punchline, half life philosophy. In this episode, Steph sits down with improv artist and filmmaker Nichole Stull, who's spent decades shaping the visual world of indie film and TV (including the demon-driven color palette of "259") while also teaching storytelling and applied improv alongside her husband Jared for the ...

Art Burns spent years in New York's high-pressure advertising world before addiction and burnout brought him to his knees, and to mindfulness. Today he's a certified mindfulness meditation teacher and founder of Alicia's Angels, a nonprofit bringing guided meditation, self-compassion coaching, and community support directly into chemotherapy infusion centers.

In this conversation, Art shares the story of Alicia, the client whose jo...

This episode kicks off with a cold open - Steph and Chance Fuerstinger re-discovering their unlikely shared connection to Grand Junction, Colorado, before the mics officially turn on.

Actor, writer, filmmaker, and acting teacher Chance Fuerstinger joins Steph Lokelani for a conversation that moves from the craft of storytelling to the harder work of understanding yourself. Chance breaks down the Meisner technique, why "the dialog i...

Joey Maxey wears a lot of hats - actor, filmmaker, dancer, cosplayer, and host of the vintage jigsaw puzzle YouTube channel Janky Puzzles. But ask him what he's proudest of, and he'll tell you it's his job as an elementary school janitor.

In this episode, Steph Lokelani sits down with her longtime friend and collaborator to trace a career that's gone from indie feature films (including their own "Retreat" film) to retail, a hospita...

In this episode of The Essence of You Podcast, host Steph Lokelani sits down with her friend Celia Espinoza, a finance officer at Idaho Housing and Finance Association, for a heartfelt conversation about culture, identity, and the winding paths that lead us home to ourselves.

Steph and Celia first connected through the Boise Metro Chamber's b|Wise mentorship program, and their friendship has only deepened since. Together they explo...

In this timely conversation,  Steph Lokelani sits down with her dear friend Adrienne Evans, Executive Director of United Vision for Idaho (UVI), for a raw, wide-ranging conversation about political division, authoritarianism, and how everyday people can rebuild community across difference. From growing up in rural Idaho to a life-changing visit to Auschwitz, Adrienne shares hard-won wisdom from 17+ years leading UVI and over 1...

Jamie Lange has spent her career sitting in two different rooms - the therapy chair and the yoga mat - and on this episode of The Essence of You, she brings the wisdom from both into one of the most layered, tender, and unexpectedly funny conversations of the series yet.

Jamie is a licensed therapist, owner of Front Street Yoga, and founder of the nonprofit Girls on the Mat. She joins Steph for a conversation about the ideas we nev...

In this episode of The Essence of You, host Steph Lokelani sits down with Jen Potcher - an actor, singer, and karaoke host based in Boise - for a wide-ranging conversation about the many lives of a working actor and the power of women supporting women.

Jen pulls back the curtain on her work as a "standardized patient" and role player: an actor who steps into realistic scenarios for nursing schools, police academies, the Department ...

In this heartfelt episode, host Steph Lokelani sits down with her close friend, elementary school computer teacher, and yoga teacher trainee Mallory Wirz for a conversation that is equal parts raw, funny, and deeply moving.

Steph and Mallory met through a two-year women's healing retreat. Their shared story of growing up as the oldest siblings, navigating trauma, and choosing the hard work of healing forms the backbone of this epis...

What if the behaviors holding you back aren't flaws to fix, but patterns to understand? In this episode of The Essence of You Podcast, host Steph Lokelani sits down with Karolee Lovan, behavior life coach and behavioral interventionist, and founder of Social Graces. Karolee brings a rare blend of behavioral psychology, real-world intervention experience, and deeply personal transformation to a conversation that will make you rethin...

What does it mean to truly see someone? In this episode of The Essence of You, host Steph Lokelani sits down with Shannon White-Deane, a Certified Gallup Strengths Coach, leadership and disability consultant, and "certified single mom" based in Boise, Idaho. Shannon brings warmth, honesty, and hard-won wisdom to a wide-ranging conversation that touches on identity, community, change, and what it really means to lead from your stren...

In this special live episode of The Essence of You, host Steph Lokelani hands the mic to executive coach and mental performance strategist Mike Krause for a full podcast takeover recorded in front of over 50 leaders at the Hemingway Building on Boise State University campus as part of the Leadership Boise program through the Boise Metro Chamber.

Mike leads a rich, wide-ranging conversation on leadership, legacy, and succession with...