The Tao of Self-Confidence

Tara Parsons is the Vice President, Deputy Publisher for the East Coast imprints of the HarperOne Group at HarperCollins Publishers. She is responsible for overseeing the marketing departments for four of the HarperOne Group’s imprints: Amistad, HarperCollins Español, HarperVia, and Martin Luther King Jr. Library. In addition, Tara acquires and edits her own list of titles. Her recent books include Jenna Book Club Pick Bright Burning Things by Lisa Harding, Indies Introduce Pick and Andrew Carnegie shortlisted Greenland by David Santos Donaldson, and Indie Next and Amerie Book Club Pick Woman, Eating by Claire Kohda. She currently serves on the Board of Words Without Borders and works as an Adjunct Professor at NYU. Prior to HarperCollins, Tara worked as Editor-in-Chief of Touchstone Books at Simon & Schuster and Editorial Director of Fiction at Amazon Publishing. Tara shares her journey of traditional publishing and what it took for her to elevate more Asian authors. She shares the importance of being visible and how it can create commercial success in North American and beyond. Check out her episode to listen to her full story,

Samantha Ong is the founder of Joeydolls, a toy company on a mission to celebrate culture, identity, and inclusivity through play. Inspired by her own experiences as an Asian immigrant and mom, Samantha created Joeydolls’ diverse line of plush dolls to reflect and honor different Asian cultures. Since launching in 2023, Joeydolls has sold over 13,000 dolls worldwide, been featured on Dragons’ Den, CBC, and Good Housekeeping, and earned multiple parenting and toy awards. Through her work, Samantha hopes to empower children to feel proud of who they are while helping families everywhere build cultural pride and connection. Samantha shares how being courageous to show up led her to creating Joeydolls. She shares how she was able to attract more opportunities to her business while making a positive impact for the Asian community. Check out the full episode to listen to her story.

Jenna Ushkowitz is known for her role as Tina Cohen- Chang on the award winning Fox television series, Glee. Jenna is a SAG Award winner for Best Ensemble Cast in a Comedy Series and a two-time Tony Award winning producer. She has served as a co-producer on the Broadway Revival of Once on This Island, THE INHERITANCE and Be More Chill as well as the West End’s THE JUNGLE. Jenna returned to Broadway as Dawn, in the Tony-nominated musical Waitress. She also starred in the movie musical, HELLO, AGAIN. Jenna also served as an executive producer of the documentary, Twinsters. Jenna headlined as Julia Gulia in The Wedding Singer at the Pittsburgh CLO and starred in the Hollywood Bowl’s 2014 summer musical production of Hair. She made her Broadway debut in the 1996 Revival of The King & I and returned to Broadway in the Tony winning production of Spring Awakening. Jenna has appeared in Lady Gaga’s Marry the Night and Katy Perry’s Swish Swish music videos. She released her first book, “Choosing Glee” in May 2013. Film Credits include, HELLO, AGAIN, Yellow Fever, Educated, Babyface, One Night in San Diego and most recently Rosé All Day. Jenna recently competed on the 2nd season of RuPaul’s Secret Celebrity Drag Race as drag queen, Milli Von Sunshine. Her voice was featured in the 2022 HBO MAX and Cartoonito animated musical special, Naked Mole Rat gets Dressed and currently voices Queen Ryung in the upcoming Netflix animated series, Princesses Wear Pants. Jenna co-hosts the official Glee Rewatch podcast, And Thats What You Really Missed on iheart Radio with co-star and best friend, Kevin McHale. Jenna opens up about how starting her acting career at a young age helped her build confidence and embrace new opportunities with courage. Tune in to her episode to hear her inspiring journey.

Erika Casupanan is a media personality, keynote speaker, podcast host and historic reality TV champ. As the winner of SURVIVOR 41, she became the franchise’s first Canadian and first Filipino winner, and the first woman to win in seven seasons. Before reality TV, Erika had a decade-long career in marketing and corporate communications. The lessons she learned as a Filipino immigrant navigating the corporate world have fuelled her passion for empowering underrepresented groups and overlooked experiences. Now, Erika dedicates her career to telling stories that inspire resilience in the face of change and being underestimated. Erika is the host, creator and executive producer of the Happy to See Me podcast which puts the spotlight on the overlooked and underestimated. As a motivational speaker, Erika combines her communications expertise, relatable storytelling style and natural wit that’s been honed by years of comedy training, to inspire employees, not-for-profits, students and more. Erika returned to TV as a correspondent on Entertainment Tonight Canada and competitor on the Traitors Canada. She has appeared in the Globe and Mail, Chatelaine and the RepresentASIAN Project. Erika talks about how competing and winning Survivor helped show up as her true confident self and is now on a mission to tell stories that inspire the underdog, one of them through her own podcast called Happy To See Me. Check out her full episode to learn more about how her story competing on Survivor and becoming the first Canadian to win the competition.

Dominique Narciso Kim is an LGBT Filipina-American Entrepreneur, Founder of the Women’s Entrepreneurial Corps (WE Corps) for Mission-Driven Coaches, Speakers, and Visionary Entrepreneurs, author of Live Your New Story: Discover Your Best Self and Live Your Best Life, and host of the WE Corps Podcast. Her mission is to train and mentor women coaches and speaker entrepreneurs to stand in their power and build profitable and transformational businesses helping people thrive and heal the planet. Through her work, Dom has spoken on the topics of Women’s Leadership, Women’s Entrepreneurship, and Living a Mission-Driven Life. She has spoken on the global stage for the US Embassy in South Korea, the Philippine Embassy in Australia, UN Women Canberra, The Expat Woman Global Summit, and the Women Rocking Business Global Speakathon, among others. In a prior life, Dom served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Costa Rica and US Diplomat in Peru. She recently repatriated back to the United States, and lives in Virginia with her wife and three daughters. Her goal is to continue living the adventurous life with her family and financially empower women to start businesses and build generational wealth. Dom shares her story of going full force as an entrepreneur and how that built her confidence to be the woman that she is today. She also shares tips that you can use in your own journey to confidence.