Episodes

This week, Jessica speaks with Marianne Poon, Financial Advisor, Piano Teacher, and Registered Piano Technician. The child of immigrants, Marianne grew up playing the piano and earned her diploma from the Royal Conservatory of Music. She won third place in the national finals of the Canadian Music Competition. Marianne studied finance and economics at the University of Toronto and built her expertise in corporate finance, where she helped manage 4 billion dollars in institutional pension funds...

In a special interview, Jessica speaks with her voice teacher of 20+ years, Susan Gundunas. Susan is a renowned singer and actor, voice teacher, and mom. Consistently praised for her consummate vocal talent and stage presence across the US and internationally, her notable roles include Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, Lucia di Lammermoor, Madama Butterfly, Violetta in La Traviata, and Carlotta in the Phantom of the Opera. A voice teacher for over 25 years, Susan has taught hundreds of students 1:1 in...

Jessica speaks with Emily Holland, co-founder of Wild Poppy Creative Consulting, a podcast consulting company that helps small business owners hone and increase their impact on the world. She loves spending time outside rock climbing, trail running, running ultramarathons, hiking, skiing, or just watching her rescue pup Kayda frolic in the woods. Through her work on The Stokecast she told stories of how top outdoor athletes, adventurers, and entrepreneurs build their lifestyles and careers while...

Jessica speaks with Alyssa Jarrett, a romance author and content marketer based in the San Francisco Bay Area — where the only thing funnier than working in tech is writing about it. She's currently writing and self-publishing a 5-book series of Silicon Valley rom-coms. Her latest novel, Book 3 in the series, is an Armenian bakery romance titled LOVE AND PAKLAVA. As a content marketer, she worked for a decade in B2B marketing roles for tech companies, including Rockerbox, Iterable, and Ripple. A...

Sid Mofya, capital architect & band leader, has built a career helping founders, investors, and business leaders bridge capital and opportunity. For years, he led the Draper Venture Network, a 2.5-billion-dollar global alliance of VC firms with over 650 tech companies. Now, he runs MOTIF Africa, a boutique consultancy expanding the capital stack for African enterprises in sustainable resources, agriculture, and renewable energy. A self-taught musician and producer, he created The Flight Risks, a...

Dr. Janine Lee is an award-winning Learning and Development Leader with 20 years of experience at Fortune 500 companies. In her business life, she focuses on organizational effectiveness, strategy and operations, digital transformation, change management and Belonging. She's also known to the world as JetsetJanine, a food and travel content creator who has explored over 100 countries and eaten at over 100 Michelin-starred restaurants. As a food and travel influencer, she's partnered with top br...

Jessica speaks with Dr. Bree Rosenblum, Professor of Global Change Biology & Ampersand Cultivator. Bree is the Koshland Distinguished Chair for Innovative Teaching and Research at UC Berkeley, and her work has been featured broadly in the press, including the New York Times, National Geographic, The Discovery Channel, NPR, the BBC movie Endangered, and on the TEDx stage. Bree weaves her work on the biodiversity of our planet with her passion for supporting others on the journey of life as a coac...

Jessica speaks with Emily J. Smith, a writer and tech professional based in Brooklyn, New York. Her debut novel, NOTHING SERIOUS, published by William Morrow (HarperCollins), is out now wherever you buy books. Emily studied Electrical and Computer Engineering at Cornell and earned an MBA from UC Berkeley. She has led teams at top tech companies and nonprofits, and she is the founder of the dating app, Chorus. Her writing has appeared in The Rumpus, Catapult, Slate, Hobart, The Washington Post, V...

What happens when you refuse to choose just one path? On The Ampersand Manifesto, host Jessica Wan – executive coach & classical singer – sits down with “the most interesting people at the dinner party” – those who have made their mark in two or more seemingly different worlds. Through candid conversations, we explore what it takes to navigate multiple callings, find the connection points between them, and redefine success on our own terms. Together, we’re co-creating The Ampersand Manifesto – ...

Episode description: In our final episode of Season 3, Jessica speaks with Josh Willis, actor, improviser, filmmaker and occasional Elvis impersonator. Known to his friends and fans as Climate Elvis, he also has a secret identity: Josh is a climate scientist who studies global warming for NASA. He's the lead NASA scientist for the satellites that measure sea level rise from space. He worked on a project called Oceans Melting Greenland, or conveniently, OMG for short, where he led an airborne m...

Jessica speaks with Susan Lieu, Vietnamese-American author, playwright, and performer. She's the creator of her theatrical solo show "140 LBS: How Beauty Killed My Mother," which received critical acclaim from LA Times, NPR, and American Theatre. Her debut memoir, The Manicurist’s Daughter, is an Apple Book Pick of the Month and Must Listen of the Month, and has received accolades from The New York Times, NPR Books, Elle Magazine, and The Washington Post. She's also the cofounder of Socola Ch...

This week, Jessica talks with Stephen Kohler, leadership coach & singer-songwriter. Stephen is the Founder & CEO of Audira, where he brings a passion for people along with 25 years of extensive business experience within organizations ranging from startups to Fortune 100 companies. At age 15, Stephen discovered the electric guitar, piano, and vocals, which ignited a lifelong passion for rock and pop music. In 2022, he released his debut album, Daydream. He earned an MBA from University of Chi...

Jessica interviews Christina Wallace, Storyteller & Entrepreneur. A self-described “human Venn diagram”, Christina has crafted a career at the intersection of business, technology, and the arts. She is currently a Senior Lecturer of entrepreneurship at Harvard Business School, an active angel investor, and a Tony-nominated co-producer of Broadway musicals. Her latest book is The Portfolio Life: How to Future-Proof Your Career, Avoid Burnout, and Build A Life Bigger Than Your Business Card. She...

This week, Jessica talks with Jason Park: trumpeter, arts administrator, & chef. Jason has spent over 20 years working as a chef while also performing and teaching the trumpet. If you are in the classical music scene in the Bay Area, you've probably worked with Jason or heard him play. He's currently the program administrator for the San Francisco Boys Chorus, Trumpeter for the San Francisco Playhouse, and a freelance stage manager and chef. Jason has had a variety of past job titles like Resta...

This week, Jessica talks with Nieka Mamczak, Fitness Instructor, Nutrition Coach, & Sales Enablement Leader for tech companies. A lifelong athlete, she started playing soccer as an elementary school kid and played both soccer and volleyball in high school. Nieka has spent the last 10 years teaching group fitness classes both online and in person, as well as offering nutrition coaching. Nieka’s spent the past two decades building a career in sales and technology, with a concentrated focus on sal...

This week, Jessica talks with Vidya Srinivasan – Product Leader, Speaker, D&I advocate, and Singer. Vidya works as a Principal Product Manager on the Trust & Safety team for Facebook, Messenger, and Instagram. Prior to that, she worked at Microsoft. Vidya has filed 21 patents for her work so far. A passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion in tech, she has served as the General Chair of the Grace Hopper Conference — the world's largest gathering of women technologists. Vidya is a public s...

This week, Jessica talks with Don Seaver, psychiatrist & composer/songwriter. Don worked as a Medical Director for the San Francisco County Jail for 30 years, and he currently practices psychiatry with Kaiser Oakland. As a composer, he has collaborated with the Paul Taylor Dance Company, San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, New Conservatory Theatre, and various companies and artists in the San Francisco Bay Area. Find Don at donseaver.com and listen to Lady of the ‘Loin on Spotify. ~ Are you a...

With the Summer Olympics top of mind, Jessica talked with Christina Klinepeter – business executive, mom, and former athlete on Team USA for Karate. She trained for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after a childhood spent in competitive Karate and her first retirement from the sport. Christina shares her journey back to being an elite athlete, competing through a major injury and taking Bronze at the 2022 World Games, her mental fitness routines, and her life as a mom and a business executive. Through h...

Welcome back Dominic Lim, author, singer, and storyteller, to the show! We first talked to Dom back in Fall 2022, when he'd signed his two-book deal. We caught up with him again last summer when his debut novel All the Right Notes launched to great acclaim: it was named a 2023 best book by over 20 publications, including USA Today, Harper’s Bazaar, Goodreads, the SF Chronicle, and Entertainment Weekly. And now, Dom is preparing for the launch of his second novel, Karaoke Queen, which comes out S...

This week, Jessica welcomes guest Craig Perry, Recovery Advocate, Guitarist, & Firefighter. Craig earned his Masters of Music in Classical Guitar Performance from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He's described as a uniquely elegant classical guitarist with a highly expressive and dynamic blend of Classical, Jazz, and Original Material. A performer, composer and guitar instructor, he launched his debut album, entitled Himself, in 2013, and is currently working on his second album. As a f...

Jessica speaks with Jenny Qi, poet, writer, & scientist. She is the author of Focal Point, winner of the 2020 Steel Toe Books Poetry Award. A freelance writer, her essays and poems have appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, San Francisco’s Asian Art Museum, and numerous other publications. She is working on a hybrid collection titled Liminal Bodies and a memoir in essays in conversation with her late mother's memoirs of the Cultural Revolution and life in Las Vegas. Jenny holds a Ph.D. i...

Jessica speaks with Scott Snibbe, new media artist, entrepreneur & meditation teacher. He is the author of the book How to Train a Happy Mind, and host of the Skeptic’s Path to Enlightenment podcast. Scott's interactive art and augmented reality installations have been incorporated into concert tours, museums, and airports; and he has collaborated with musicians and filmmakers including Björk, Philip Glass, Beck, and James Cameron. His work can be found in the collections of New York's MoMA, the...

Jessica speaks with Pamela Mendoza Brasunas, People Ops Leader for early stage startups & Birth Doula. As a startup leader, Pamela creates and nurtures company culture for startups with an ambitious mission. She currently serves as the Head of People Ops at PayZen, and she previously helped grow startups like Udemy and Carbon Health, as well as the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. A trained birth doula, Pamela founded her doula business Butterfly Birthing, inspired by her work with Planned Par...

Jessica speaks with Charles Chen, jazz pianist & software engineer & magician. Charles has performed in top venues such as Yoshi's and the San Jose Jazz Festival, and he won first place at the 2019 Jazz Search West competition. His debut album, "Charles, Play!" was released in January 2024. Outside of music, Charles performs magic and works as a software engineer. In his engineering life, he's collaborated on features in Google Search and Microsoft Outlook that have impacted millions of people. ...