About Us

“Real Talk with Deb and Nia” was born out of an exercise at a mindset conference in Virginia. It was a bright, summer day in June. The exercise was on visualization. Participants were asked to choose a partner and talk about who they were and what they were doing in life presently. Then were asked to spin around and talk to their partner as if it were 3 years into the future and they were catching up on all the accomplishments and goals each one had achieved. No matter how out of the blue or outlandish it seemed, no dream or vision was off limits.  And while participating in this activity with Deb, “Real Talk” bubbled up from the depths of Nia’s imagination.  It was her very vivid vision. And it was very out-of-the-box.

In the real world, the original idea of having a massive conference at the Orlando Convention Center in the summer of 2020 was postponed by a global pandemic. Well, that and the fact that we didn’t yet have 99% of the funding needed to get that idea off the ground. Undeterred, we modified the vision to include a podcast.

Originally, the podcast’s purpose was to help and guide others through spaces that we personally knew, from experience, could appear to be futile and impossible to overcome. We wanted our episodes to be a sort of encouragement-a guiding light, if you will – through dark and bleak times.

However, right as we began to start to develop the structure of the podcast, “life” threw us more than a few curve-balls. Our mother/grandmother, Connie (pictured above), came for a 3-month visit that would last 5 years. During that time, our lives were put on pause, and, over time,caring for Mom absorbed the majority of our attention and focus. 

While on standby, we both did a lot of homeschool re-arranging and deep-diving into who we were as individuals, as a mother/daughter duo, as well as who we might be as a business team. And while initially resistant to the plan change, we chose to adapt, lean on one another, trust the process, and allow ourselves the space to fumble, expand, and grow. 

Naturally, as we grew, our vision for the podcast also evolved. We found ourselves with a new and unique blueprint for Real Talk with Deb and Nia. We didn’t want to just sympathize with others and offer tips and encouragement. We wanted to empower people.

We believe communication is key. Our goal is to inspire our audience to cultivate more meaningful, deep, strong, and resilient relationships between not just mothers and daughters, but with peers, family members, and themselves.

Our tagline, “Out-of-the-box. Straight to the Heart”, embodies not only how we’ve made this journey together, but how we intend to help others. We’re goofy. We’re quirky. We march to the beat of our own drums, and we have a touch of ADD. Our love-filled journey has been unconventional. Our stories are sometimes ironic, occasionally sad, and ofttimes wacky. Some are beyond belief. And some of our guests won’t be far off from that track. 

We hope you’ll listen to our podcast and share your own expansion stories with us. We love a good story–especially those where the female hero wins! 😉

We dedicate this podcast to our mother and grandmother Connie, who made her Heavenly transition in the Summer of 2020. She was a fierce, intelligent, funny, loving, giving, and a uniquely incredible woman. She was our #1 fan and supporter from the start. This podcast is in honor of her legacy as an innovator, teacher, principal, community leader and consummate creative educator. We Miss & Love You – Deb & Nia