Sarah Fader The Podcast

Join me as chat with Alexis Pleus about Truth Pharm, an organization that fights against the stigma of substance abuse. Alexis is a professional engineer, artist, writer and activist, and mother of 3 sons. In 2014, she lost her oldest son Jeff to an overdose and as a result of that experience, founded Truth Pharm 6 months later with a focus on raising awareness, reducing stigma, educating and advocating to reduce the harms caused by substance use. Truth Pharm has impacted legislation, the way our community views substance use and has gained national recognition. Alexis has testified at several New York State Legislative Hearings, served on state and national coalitions, testified for Congressional Hearings twice, has been keynote speaker for many events, spoke at multiple conferences, been included in National media coverage and is featured in several documentaries, articles and books. Alexis is the Co-chair of the New York State Harm Reduction Association. Alexis created the Trail of Truth in 2016, which is now a National event and movement providing memorialization and elevating the devastating loss families face to compel change.

Join me as I speak with Dana Bernstein about conflict, inner-critics, core values, getting along with co-workers and more! Dana Bernstein is a Conflict Resolution author, speaker, consultant and Principal of Dare to Live Brave. With 2,500+ coaching hours and 100+ clients, she specializes in de-escalation, negotiations, contracts, project management, and high stakes situations representing universities, government, banking and courts. She founded and manages a family-run animal hospital. Dana published 30 articles on contracts and negotiations (1995-2007). She produced 8 PMI webinars with “Mastering the Art of Human-ness in Project Management: Serving Others Through Powerful Communication,” garnering 52,500 views since March 2020. In 2025, Dana published “It’s the Thought That Counts: Mastering the Art of YOU vs. you,” an interactive book helping individuals resolve internal conflict to better navigate external challenges. Dana has a Master’s in Dispute Resolution from Montclair State and is a court-appointed volunteer mediator. She is an ICF NJ Board Member, Co-Director of Programs with a PCC Credential. She is a Project Management Professional (PMP) and Certified Meeting Professional (CMP). An avid volunteer, Dana has been working with the Girl Scouts and the Girl Scout Service Unit Leadership Team for 15 years. She is a strong supporter of women advocating for informed health choices for those who have breast cancer. Dana helps people to use their voice in managing conflict. Dana offers a vast portfolio of business accomplishments with a proven track record of leadership and successful outcomes. https://danalynnbernstein.com/

Lawrence Harris is a youth empowerment speaker and author who helps teens and young adults build self-love, inner strength and improve their mental health. Through his speeches, online content and books, listeners find the courage to heal, dream bigger, and take ownership of their lives. His purpose is to help others to break free from limiting beliefs, heal from what tried to silence them, and step into the confidence of who they were always meant to be. https://www.lawrencecharris.com/shop/21c0200f-d16f-489e-822a-1e106e2986c0

Join me as I chat with coach Rachel Radway about highly sensitive people, neurodivergent folks, how to make survive in corporate America as with a unique brain and her award-winning book "Perceptive: Insights for Leaders who Feel More, Process Deeply, and Think Differently." Rachel Radway is a certified leadership & executive coach, mentor, speaker, and award-winning author with more than 25 years’ experience in corporate leadership roles at startups, national nonprofits, Fortune 100s and global enterprises. With compassion and a deep understanding of all the disconnects between the corporate world and brains that are wired a little differently, Rachel helps high-achieving, highly perceptive and neurodivergent clients lead with confidence, clarity and authenticity—and without burning out. Her book, Perceptive: Insights for leaders who feel more, process deeply, and think differently, recently won a Nonfiction Book Award Silver and a 2025 NYC Big Book Award.

Join me as I talk with the lovely, articulate animal loving Alida Miranda Wolff. We discuss bunnies, the University of Chicago, the problems with the law of attraction, trauma, mythology and her new book The Raven in the Storm. Books recommended by Alida in this episode: The Age of Magical Thinking by Amanda Montell Staying with the Trouble Making Kin in the Chthulucene by Donna J. Haraway Alida Miranda-Wolff is the Amazon-bestselling author of two nonfiction books with HarperCollins Leadership and the debut fantasy novel A Raven in the Storm, the first in the Gods of Tellus quartet. Her writing has appeared in Salon, Writer’s Digest, Books by Women, and Hippocampus. A diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging practitioner and worker’s rights activist, Alida also hosts Care Work, a podcast about what it means to offer care for a living. She received the University of Chicago’s Early Career Achievement Award in 2021 and holds a degree in creative writing from the same institution. She lives in Chicago with her husband, their threenager, and a literal animal menagerie.