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7/14/2026 Phillis and Margaret | Sis’ Ceramic Shop What a pleasure to get to know this mother/daughter team! Margaret and Phillis welcomed me into their shop, which holds so many personal stories. The intention of creating a space that people could come and be creative together naturally developed into a safe space to connect and feel and be around family. Margaret and Phillis take so much pride in holding space for others, knowing the value the shop has brought to their own family. I could feel the passion and commitment from both Margaret and Phillis beyond just words - it was strong and deep and personal. This is what makes Sis' Ceramic Shop different and special, and allows them to reach across generations within their own family and so many others. Creativity and Calm come together here! When was your business founded and what inspired its development? Phillis: The business started in January of 1988. That’s when I opened the doors here. I started doing hobby ceramics when I was pregnant with my oldest daughter, Margaret (now business partner at the shop!). And then at some point, I decided that would be a fun little job to do. Margaret’s father didn't really want me out in the workforce, and preferred me to be at home with the kids. He worked trick work, so it worked into our family schedule. I thought a little artsy job would keep me busy… and it kept me very busy. We started out renting just the front of the current shop. We opened when Margaret was just 10 months old. Eventually, we expanded and purchased the whole building, so we could use the front and back. COVID really challenged us to keep the business going and our tenants upstairs were miserable, and really everybody was miserable during that time. I actually said, “maybe we should just sell everything and be done”. But my daughter said to me, “No, Mom, I grew up in the ceramic shop, and I want my kids to grow up in the ceramic shop”. And now that I have grandbabies, I think we're going to be here for forever! I can't say that we have a strong business plan other than it really revolves around family - family comes first. Everybody's family comes first. If somebody comes in and they've got family coming they want to share this experience with, we do our best to make those moments possible. My own children grew up here running around, and now my grandchildren are here being raised running around, and it brings me great joy. How does your business support mental health and wellness in our local community? Margaret: I think we've had a bit of a change over the years in how people have engaged with ceramics. It has gone from being a weekly routine and has evolved into people coming weekly and also those that come every few months or want to bring a group of people. I’ve noticed with a lot of our customers that come every week, it's more about the connections than it is about the ceramics. People seem to be accumulating less stuff, so someone may just sit and talk about their day without completing their project, but it’s okay because the human connection is so important. People create long term friendships - we have one woman who has been coming for over thirty years! We try to very much be teachers, and take a lot of pride in the fact that we go to a lot of educational workshops and maintain our technical skills to try to keep up with best products and how to use things in different ways. We may ask what someone’s vision is, and we may encourage them to be creative and not be tied to how something “should” look. I think that gives people more freedom and opportunity to just do whatever they want to do. In what feels like a super rushed world that we live in every day, people seem to need space to just sit and relax and connect. There's no pressure here - we don't have to upsell you. We want you to do what you want to do, and find meaning in the whole experience. We try to be flexible, so people don’t feel like they have to keep up with a group or class, and they can come back another time to finish so that it’s their own creation and not the result of rushing to finish. What makes your business different from others that may offer similar service? Margaret: I think there's a few things that make us different. One is that we started as a traditional studio. We still pour our own molds, and that gives us a little bit more flexibility, and that allows us to customize in some ways. A lot of paint-your-own pottery shops these days have very specific hours, and they've got a rotation of employees, you have a limited amount of colors, and they want to upsell products. And here you'll see we have hundreds of colors and many different pieces, and I like to have choices. Those other pottery shops may not have employees that can teach the way that we do - likely, people are using technique books for ideas, but we can demonstrate and actually teach many techniques. Phillis: We do pull out some of the old techniques, like marbelizing, which we helped my grandkids learn to do for a pumpkin project. When someone comes up with a vision or idea, we'll go dig in a corner someplace and pull out some sample piece of something we did, and we'll try to make it whatever you need. Margaret: And we've watched the trends come back around, like a lace design - and we’ve been using lace doilies for thirty years here. Phillis: We have a larger variety of pieces to choose from than some of the other stores, and also cater to people who want to take things home and work on them. Margaret: We’ve also been doing more parties - birthdays, bachelorette, kids, adults - and we can host here with whatever the groups wants, but also we have taken the projects to people’s homes or event space, so they can include the painting experience. How does your own journey or life experience shape how you show up in your work? Phillis: Starting as a hobby, and growing the shop into a business has created so much meaning for me. Being able to raise my kids here, and teach them about building a business and working hard, has allowed me to enjoy doing this, and it’s not work to me - it’s fun and relaxing. Business ownership can be stressful - how do you take care of your own mental health and wellness? Margaret: I think over the years, we've had our ups and downs, and this shop has always been our safe space. This is my version of home, where I get to have my family come and customers have become family here. We might be located in the city, but here it is safe and where people come to relax and unwind. We both have our day jobs where we have to be very particular and professional and politically correct all day long, and we can come here and let loose on whatever shenanigans was taking place in the day. The way we set things up here is like a Sunday dinner table that’s family style. Mom (Phillis) fell on the ice back in February and broke her elbow, so we were closed for the last couple of months. And customers offered to bring food and step up to do different things to help out. If people were to take away a feeling or message after experiencing your business, what would you want that to be? Both: Joy Phillis: The most important thing to us has always been family. If customers feel like they find family and connection here, then we’re doing exactly what we intended. Margaret: I know people find peace here, and that’s what really matters. www.sisceramicshop.com www.facebook.com/sisceramicshop www.instagram.com/sis.ceramic.shop
 Raeanne Lacatena The Integrated Entrepreneur Raeanne Lacatena and I crossed professional paths about 15 years ago, when our passion for social work and families experiencing complex trauma and grief overlapped at a pediatric palliative care program. We both learned how precious life is and how powerful connection is. For me, I took that work and developed my clinical practice to continue to serve families, complex trauma, and complicated grief journeys - For Raeanne, she took the perspective and compassion to her integrated approach to coaching people to be their best selves. Our friendship has evolved as our personal and professional lives have. Raeanne has created a business focused on wellness, awareness, and growth, with space for both personal and professional transformation. Raeanne believes that in order to be a successful business owner, one must be aware of unhealthy patterns of thinking and behavior, and commit to personal work to allow the best version of the whole self to thrive! The Integrated Entrepreneur sets the bar high for holistic business coaching of mind, body, and spirit for a lifetime of transformation! There are so many opportunities to learn from Raeanne and gain valuable insight and inspiration - individual or group coaching, attending an all inclusive retreat with her, following her on social media or buying her book, "The Integrated Entrepreneur". Check out Raeanne's upcoming retreat here: Fall Insight Room Retreat | 2026 Read the full conversation below! When was your business founded and what inspired its development? I was one of the many people who decided to open something new in 2020, and at that time, I had already been trained and worked as a business coach. My business, The Integrated Entrepreneur opened in October 2020. I actually started my professional career as a mental health therapist and that was a business evolution in itself. It took me a long time as a mental health therapist to realize that I was a business owner. A lot of us in the helping field call our work different things, but they don't always recognize that it is in fact a business. So, I had a business very early in the process of my career with individual clients and contracts and working with insurance companies and different networks of people right in my mental health practice. The inspiration of the business coaching practice opening was really because I knew that I was ready to do this on my own. I had been working with someone else for a long time, and the writing was on the wall that it was time for me to blossom and stretch my wings and do my own thing - and it was a really amazing move. It was empowering to be able to say I am no longer an employee of someone else's business. I am now officially fully a business owner, doing something that I absolutely love. And by then I had realized I was a business owner in the mental health field, but to step out and say I'm actually closing my mental health practice and opening up this business and going all in on it was very, very empowering. I found my purpose. I found my passion, and it was time to stretch my wings. How does your business support mental health and wellness in our local community? I am very protective of the mental health of my clients and of the mental health field. One of the things that I've had to do as a business coach is to learn how to discern when is this coaching and when is this mental health. Sometimes when a client comes to me and I see that their chronic, persistent, or acute mental health needs are the primary thing interrupting their business, I will tell them you need to be working with a therapist, and that is your business plan right now. There is no greater thing that you can do to be successful in your business, than to work with a therapist and take care of your mental health. Sometimes therapy is necessary before someone can benefit from coaching, and sometimes it's reasonable for us to do it in conjunction. I will apply some of the clinical techniques to complement the coaching work as appropriate, but there's a point in time when we have to separate out what is counseling and what is coaching, and so I will often work in conjunction with therapy. I just happen to refer most commonly to Tree of Hope Counseling, especially because I know people coming by a good fit counselor is sometimes the hardest part of receiving services, so it's a very active conversation with my clients. Every single new introduction that I have with them, because they see the letters after my name, I will tell them - while I have therapy skills, I'm not your therapist, and I reserve the right at any given moment to say this is a therapy need, not a coaching need, and it's best that we create a care plan for you to be connected to somebody. What makes your business different from others that may offer similar service? There are a lot of coaches in the world, but not all coaches can reasonably and respectfully use some of the clinical evidence-based practices that I have as a coach. Actually, in my coaching training, I was impressed and happy to see that they discourage coaches from using mental health practices because they're not trained and licensed in that modality, but I am both. So I am a unique flavor of both understanding neuroscience and emotional wellness, in addition to business strategy. I also happen to be a Reiki master, so I understand the energy of it all as well, so bringing all those different pieces together really makes me unique in the marketplace of business coaching. A lot of people will go to business coaching and want help with just the numbers, the KPIs. What is the strategy? How do I get in front of more people, which are very important things to look at as a business coach. But what I teach that's different at the Integrated Entrepreneur, is that we are one human being having lots of experiences, and that if we only look at the KPIs and the strategy, we're missing the human essence of who we are. And a lot of the business owners that come to me, they don't only want to build the currency of revenue, they want to build the currency of relationships, they want to have healthy bodies, and healthy minds. They often are also parents, and they don't want their business to be their favorite child. They want their children to be their priority, and they don't want to sacrifice being present to their lives, to their babies, to the people who they love the most. But they also want to build successful careers, and so finding the way to be all of yourself without losing out on one category or the other is what a lot of people will come to me for. How does your own journey or life experience shape how you show up in your work? My own journey and my life experience shaping what I do is exactly what I teach, that everything that we are as human beings gets to be a part of what we're building in business. I have to say how grateful I am for my career beginnings in pediatric palliative care, and here are a few of the examples that I bring into my work every single day. First, life is not guaranteed. Those children, those kids, they taught me that quickly in my early 20s, because I was bearing witness to things that people don't want to think about or see. These stories are happening in our community every single day. And so, when someone is complaining to me about something that feels small, I have a different perspective because of these rich experiences that these families gave me early in my career. I don't sweat the small stuff as much as other people do, and I help teach them that perspective as well. Life is not guaranteed, tomorrow's not guaranteed. There’s an amazing gift in bearing witness to the miracle of someone going through something hard and still finding the beauty in it - they become the defining moments, they become the greatest teachers, they become the greatest spiritual enlightenment moments, and they become the biggest business building moments. So when something hard has happened as a result of everything I've been through in my own personal life, and by bearing witness to hard things in our career as therapists and as coaches, it's easier for us to say, "Hang on, friend, yeah, you are in the goo, the liminal space, you are in the imaginal cells of the butterfly, you are about to transform, and there's going to be an identity shift, and it's going to be hard, but you are in a beautiful space right now, even though it feels terrible, and I'm here with you”. Business ownership can be stressful - how do you take care of your own mental health and wellness? I often say that I have a village. I have a therapist, a cranial sacral practitioner, an acupuncturist, a massage therapist, and I exercise daily. It is a non-negotiable for me to move my body every single day - and meditation, breath work. I do all the things, and I used to think I was extra and high maintenance for needing all the things, but now I know that practicing putting my oxygen mask on first ensures I'm the best version of myself in service to others. My kids especially - because we do this work all day and I want them to have the best of me at the end of the day. My new favorite one is Visionary Days. I've always given myself little moments of time to step away and think about the business and what I want in the future - but now we do it at a spa, or in the mountains of Denver, because when you take yourself out of your typical space and put yourself in a new environment, it resets your nervous system in an invigorating way. If people were to take away a feeling or message after experiencing your business, what would you want that to be? You are whole, you are enough, you belong, and by virtue of being human, you have the right to be here, your voice is important and deserves to be heard, and what you're building has value. Website: theintegratedentrepreneur.com Social: @raeannelacatena / LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/raeannelacatena  Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is come back into your body. Meet Jill Covert, LMSW and Yoga Therapist, founder of Closed Lotus Yoga Therapy! Jill spent years as a home health care social worker, watching people get stuck in a cycle of physical and mental health challenges with no clear way forward. That experience planted a seed - and when she discovered yoga therapy, she knew she had found something worth building a career around. She launched Closed Lotus Yoga Therapy in 2023 after completing her training through the Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy program. What makes Closed Lotus different? Jill's approach is fully body focused for the entire session - not just a portion of it. Grounded in the body-mind connection, yoga therapy helps people become aware of what is actually happening in their bodies rather than getting caught in the mental stories our brains spin about the past and the future. When people are more connected to their bodies, they make better decisions and take more intentional action. Jill works with individuals one on one, and her background as a Licensed Master Social Worker means she brings clinical depth to every session. Her work is especially meaningful for people navigating perimenopause, chronic stress, anxiety, and anyone who feels like talk therapy alone is not quite enough. Kara's takeaway: Jill's work is a beautiful complement to therapy - helping clients get out of their heads and into their bodies so they can get more out of every aspect of their healing. If you have ever felt like your mind just will not slow down, Jill and Closed Lotus Yoga Therapy offer something truly grounding. We loved this conversation and are so glad she is part of our community. Read the full conversation below! When was your business founded and what inspired its development? I started my business in 2023 and that was about when I was graduating from my yoga therapy program. I decided to do yoga therapy because I'd been working in home health care social work for many years, and I was just noticing that people weren't getting better - they were just getting stuck in this physical and mental health cycle of not being healthy and not knowing how to move forward… just being stuck in the mud. I left my home care role and was transitioning to a care management position, and had the opportunity to experience the role of yoga therapy in caring for people. I decided I wanted to be trained so I could offer this service, and build a business around it. After laying the foundation of Closed Lotus Yoga Therapy and being part time at my job, the program I was working for closed, and the timing was great to commit full time to my new business. How does your business support mental health and wellness in our local community? The work that I do brings people into their bodies to be aware of what's really happening. Our brains are just spinning these webs of stories of things that have happened in the past or might happen. When people experience yoga therapy, they tend to be more aware of what's happening in their bodies, and because of that, can make better decisions about what they want to do, the actions they want to take, because they're more informed. What makes your business different from others that may offer similar service? There are a lot of yoga teachers who are trauma informed - many of them who do one on one sessions with people, and they work with them in their bodies. The yoga therapy that I'm trained in, through Phoenix Rising, is based on a body-mind connection. I think what makes my work unique is that the whole yoga therapy session is body focused, whereas with somatic work or other body approaches, it may only be for part of the session. It's more body intensive than a regular talk therapy session, for sure. How does your own journey or life experience shape how you show up in your work? When I started this work, I really was doing it to provide it to others, but somehow along the way - because the trainings are always very experience focused - I'd say my own life has gotten a lot better from doing this work. Also as I moved into perimenopause, practicing yoga and yoga therapy has really helped me to come to terms with some of the changes that I can't control. It's also helped me be a much better parent and partner, because I'm a lot more aware of how I'm showing up with people. Business ownership can be stressful - how do you take care of your own mental health and wellness? It’s not always easy - a lot of times it's just shutting the computer and walking away, maybe just going out and taking a walk instead. I've noticed a real link between being on my computer in the evening and my hot flashes - if I'm working at my computer in the evening, I will almost always start to feel like a pressure in my head and eyes, and I'll start to get warm. It’s like my body's telling me I'm done, and then I just walk away from what I’m doing. Sometimes I just close my eyes, lay down, stretch out, and try to move a little bit to try to get out of that headspace. I also started exercising for even 15 minutes every morning and an informal yoga practice with some yoga postures and breathing. If people were to take away a feeling or message after experiencing your business, what would you want that to be? I would hope that they would feel like I was able to hold the space for them, that I was present and engaged with them. and really doing what they needed at the time. I hope they would leave feeling maybe a little more regulated and relaxed, and less anxious and stressed. www.closedlotusyt.com Social media: @closedlotusyoga   Meet Dr. Rob Myers, DO, Board Certified Neurologist and founder of Navira Brain and Body!
Dr. Myers shows his passion for this work the moment you meet him. As a Doctor of Osteopathy and Board Certified Neurologist, he brings a rare and powerful combination of expertise to the care of people living with depression, chronic pain, and headaches - and his approach is personal, holistic, and deeply accessible. Navira Brain and Body was founded with one specific goal: to make Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) more accessible. TMS has traditionally required 30 to 40 sessions over several months - a major commitment that often means people only consider it after everything else has failed. Dr. Myers uses a newer, FDA-cleared protocol that takes just six sessions, making it possible to offer this treatment earlier, when someone first starts to feel stuck - not as a last resort. Dr. Myers works closely with therapists and mental health providers, using TMS to create neuroplasticity so the brain is more open to change and patients can get more out of therapy. He also offers Osteopathic Manual Therapy (OMT) as a complementary treatment for anxiety, depression, trauma, and chronic pain. Kara's takeaway: Dr. Myers' passion and authenticity are palpable. His work felt so aligned with Tree of Hope Counseling's mission that Kara invited him to educate TOHC providers about TMS so the team can make appropriate referrals. If you or someone you know has felt like they have run out of options for depression, chronic pain, or headaches - please know that you have not. Dr. Myers and Navira Brain and Body are here, and they are doing something truly special. Read our full conversation below! When was your business founded and what inspired its development? Navira Brain and Body was founded with a very specific goal - to make TMS more accessible. For a long time, TMS has been limited by the way it’s delivered. The traditional model — 30 to 40 sessions over a couple of months — is a big time and financial commitment. Because of that, it usually ends up being something people only consider much later, often after a lot of other treatments haven’t worked. That never made sense to me. If something is effective, it should be available when people actually need it — not just when they meet certain criteria or can take on that kind of burden. What really changed things was the development of a newer, FDA-cleared protocol that can be done in just six sessions. That opens the door to thinking about TMS very differently, as something that can be used earlier, whenever we feel our patient needs it and not just when insurance will approve it. That’s what led to Navira. Creating a model where people can access the right treatment when they need it so they can feel better, and stay better. How does your business support mental health and wellness in our local community? My practice exists to support patients and mental health practitioners. When working with other practitioners, my role is not to modify your therapy or what to change in your treatment course, my work is meant to compliment yours. I use TMS to not only stimulate the mood circuit of the brain, but also create neuroplasticity so the brain is more open to change. There’s a growing body of evidence that TMS can enhance therapy, which is why I like working closely with therapists, not replacing what they’re doing, but helping patients get more out of it. And that’s really exciting. At the end of the day, it’s about getting the right treatment to the right patient at the right time, and helping people move forward instead of feeling like they’ve run out of options. What makes your business different from others that may offer similar service? I offer two approaches to TMS. For some patients, the traditional protocol, which is 30 to 40 sessions over 2 months and often covered by insurance, still makes sense. But what I’ve found is that a lot of people either don’t qualify for that, or it just doesn’t fit into their lives. The real value I’m trying to bring to the community is a more accessible option. I use a newer, FDA-cleared protocol that’s done in just six 25 minutes sessions, which makes it much more practical and more affordable for patients to actually follow through. This changes when we can think about using TMS. Traditionally, it’s something that comes later, after multiple treatments haven’t worked. This makes it easier to consider earlier, when someone first starts to feel stuck. How does your own journey or life experience shape how you show up in your work? Depression has been something I am both professionally and personally familiar with. Having had loved ones with depression for whom medication will never be something they consider, I understand the importance of having effective alternatives to medication. And I actually lost a friend to suicide last November, someone who hid it very well. These experiences give me a greater sense of purpose in what I am doing, they have helped me understand that we need every available option to help our patients and loved ones with depression. Business ownership can be stressful - how do you take care of your own mental health and wellness? For me, it comes down to being present. I try to spend a little time each day slowing down, observing my thoughts, and grounding myself. I truly believe that “Happiness is born of compassion” and that compassion is born of self awareness. That mindset carries into how I treat patients and how I approach this work. Affirmation statements have also been very helpful for me. I tend to default to pessimism, so positive affirmations have really helped me break free from maladaptive perspectives. It might seem silly, but regularly using an affirmation statement is actually just reprogramming your mind to default to a more healthy perspective. If people were to take away a feeling or message after experiencing your business, what would you want that to be? You are not out of options. You can feel better. Website: naviramed.com Social: navirabrain&body  Meet Sarah Buduson, RN, BSN, Holistic Wellness Coach and founder of The Postpartum Coaching Village!
The Postpartum Coaching Village represents the perfect combination of support for the fourth trimester - when moms are recovering physically, adjusting emotionally, and navigating the ups and downs of newborn care. Sarah believes that with genuine, practical support, moms and dads can adjust and thrive during what she calls this season of motherhood. Sarah started her coaching work in July 2025, four months postpartum herself, after years as a women's health and postpartum nurse. She truly meets moms where they are, going into the home if needed to provide education and support in the moment. Her postpartum coaching approach bridges a critical gap between labor and delivery and postpartum OB follow up. Kara's takeaway: just because motherhood is not beautiful every single second does not mean you are not capable or strong enough. Our community is so lucky Sarah has committed her unique combination of skills to moms and babies' health and wellbeing. If you are in the thick of new motherhood and could use someone in your corner, Sarah is the real deal. Stay tuned as Sarah continues to build her internet and social media presence! Read the full conversation below! When was your business founded and what inspired its development? I began my work as a coach in July 2025 however, it's been a long ongoing process of just building the foundation of a business. I also was four months postpartum at the time, so I'm in the early stages of building it right now. The inspiration really came from both my background as a women's health nurse and registered nurse, and my own experience becoming a mom. I have a seven year old and I have a 13 month old baby. In my role, especially as a postpartum nurse, I just kept seeing how the emotional and mental load of mothers is so heavy, and they're carrying so much, and there's very little space for them to actually be supported in a consistent and real life kind of way. And it's so important to create something that meets moms where they are. How does your business support mental health and wellness in our local community? My work is very centered around providing one on one emotional support for moms. I also am creating a space in communities through workshops that are interactive, bite-sized education, but what moms really need. I feel it's more about helping them process what they're experiencing so they can feel less alone and just find ways to feel more grounded and supported in their day to day lives. It's about having that space where you feel seen and understood that has such a meaningful impact on mental health. And in our day and age, I feel like there's just a lack of community - even though social media is like a community because it does bring people together, but I believe moms need something in real life. What makes your business different from others that may offer similar service? It’s been a little tricky for my business because I don't fit in to any particular area - I'm not a therapist or a doula - I am a nurse in profession, but this service is more coaching. I feel like my approach is grounded and realistic - I'm not trying to overhaul people's lives and give them a long list of things to do, because moms have enough on our plates. It's just about supporting them like where they're already living, where they already are, especially in overwhelming seasons. I do love supporting the postpartum period - that's where my heart is. Motherhood is not like a flip of a switch, you know, it's a journey. I'm big on nervous system awareness and just helping things feel more sustainable. I do home visits and I also do virtual visits. And then I've been meeting with different local businesses to do workshops in their spaces. I plan on creating a virtual workshop. I'm trying to do a mix of options so that support is accessible. How does your own journey or life experience shape how you show up in your work? It shapes everything! Between my nursing background and my own experience in motherhood, I feel like I have a deep understanding of how intense and nuanced and layered this season can be. It's made me more aware of how important it is for moms to feel supported and not just physically, with the medical side of it, but emotionally too - that’s where I’ve noticed the biggest gap is. I think my life experiences allowed me to show up with so much empathy and without judgment, and as a nurse, I've seen it all! I've been there too - I think that's so important, because a lot of moms are hesitant to be honest with themselves. It's not a pretty thought to say, like, “I don't feel like I was meant to be a mom”, “I don't feel like I'm cut out to be a mom” - and then you feel guilt and shame, and just because motherhood isn't beautiful every single second, doesn't mean that you aren't capable or strong enough to do it. Business ownership can be stressful - how do you take care of your own mental health and wellness? Right now I've really just been trying to focus on keeping things simple and realistic. I focus on small things that help me feel grounded throughout the day, like making sure I'm eating and going outside. As a perfectionist, this has been a big one for me, just giving myself permission to not do things perfectly. I am in a very full season of life - I also just started a new nursing job, there's just a lot going on, so a big part of just taking care of my mental health is adjusting my expectations and allowing things to grow at a pace that feels sustainable for me. If people were to take away a feeling or message after experiencing your business, what would you want that to be? I would want moms to feel that they are not alone and that they are supported. I would want them to feel more grounded in themselves, more understood and like things don't always have to feel quite so heavy and overwhelming, even if things look bleak. www.sarahbuduson.com Social: @sarah.buduson  Meet Dr. Sandra Koehn, DO, owner of Planted Direct Primary Care! Planted DPC officially opened in April 2026, built on a model that puts the patient and physician relationship back at the center of care. No insurance billing for visits, no rushed appointments, no clicking boxes and moving on. Patients pay a flat monthly membership fee and get direct access to Dr. Koehn - including her cell phone - with same or next day availability and appointments that actually go as long as they need to. Dr. Koehn is also a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, offering osteopathic manipulation treatment alongside primary care - think of it as if chiropractic and massage had a baby, and you have osteopathy! And Planted DPC is a faith-based practice, rooted in Psalm 1:3, though patients of all spiritual backgrounds are warmly welcomed. What really stuck with Kara: Sandra described how mental health so often goes unnoticed and untreated because it masks itself as insomnia, palpitations, or other physical symptoms. When a provider has the time to really listen and peel back the layers, the real picture emerges. That is the kind of care Planted DPC is built to provide - and it is exactly why this connection with Tree of Hope Counseling makes so much sense. If you have ever left a doctor's appointment feeling unheard or rushed, Planted DPC was built for you. We loved this conversation with Dr. Koehn and are so glad she is part of our community. Read the full conversation below! When was your business founded and what inspired its development? Planted Direct Primary Care was born in the summer of 2025, and it was an idea that I toyed around with for a while, and then officially opened on April 7th of this year, 2026. It's a membership based primary care model of health care that offers direct access to your primary care doctor, longer patient appointments, and personalized, tailored care for patients who are just sick of being a number. We do this by charging a flat monthly membership fee without the need to bill insurance for visits. How does your business support mental health and wellness in our local community? I think there's an epidemic of gaslighting by the health field in general, leaving patients feeling unheard. And sometimes there are just things that are simply helped by just listening really - listening to a person's concern and then making them really feel heard and answering their questions, and they walk out of there feeling great. No patient likes that feeling of the person that is in charge of my health care is not taking the time of day to listen to me, and I'm not heard, and my needs are unmet. And so they leave, and there's an element of distrust there. They don't trust that their doctor is doing the right thing by them because they don't feel like they have all the information they need. And, I mean, it's not the doctor's fault in a big health system, because they just don't have the time - they're pushed to see lots and lots of patients, one after the other. And they try their best to afford you however much time they can, but they also have a lot of things that they need to ask and get, you know, because of the quality metrics and things that they're held to. I've heard a lot of patients tell me “my doctor doesn't listen to me - they don't hear my concern.” And maybe they do address it, but it's very superficial or on the fly, and that really contributes to health and wellness, because then patients are Googling or using AI to try to self diagnose. The other aspect of it is that sometimes mental health requires medication, and there are not a lot of psychiatric prescribers around. Unfortunately, there's just a high demand for them, and there aren't that many - so a lot of it falls on primary care. And when primary care doctors are pushed to see lots of people and they have so many other things that they want to talk to you about, like your preventative care and your blood work, and then we have to also now spend time addressing mental health, and that's usually a longer conversation, PCPs don't have the time to do that. When you allot the time, and you really get into the weeds, so to speak, with a patient about what it is that they're feeling, and offer therapeutic listening - to peel back those layers - until you figure out what exactly the problem is. And then that way you can effectively treat it, whether by prescribing medication or suggesting therapy or whatever it is. I can't even tell you how many times patients come in and say, “I need a sleeping pill”, and we uncover anxiety, or life stress, by taking the time to learn more about the circumstances. That's what doesn't happen when providers are rushed. And so mental health can really go unnoticed and untreated for a very long time because it's masking itself as insomnia or palpitations or other things. What makes your business different from others that may offer similar service? My business is a primary care clinic that operates under a direct care model of healthcare. A lot of people around our area have heard of “concierge medicine”, and there are some slight distinctions between concierge medicine and direct care, so I'd like to clarify that. Direct care is essentially a direct contract between a patient and a physician - we remove a third party payer entirely, so we do not bill insurance for visits. Patients pay a monthly membership fee the same way you would pay a gym membership. Then you go to the gym, and you pay your monthly fee but don’t pay each time you go - you can go there every day, if you feel the need, or you can go there once a month or never. A monthly membership model where all of your primary care services and visits are completely covered - is how my practice works. In office testing is all included, and patients get direct access to me - they get my cell phone, and they can get me anytime, whenever they need to. It also allows us for smaller patient loads, so patients can be seen by me the same day or next day if they need to. I recently posted something about a lonely waiting room, about our waiting room having an identity crisis, because patients don't wait in the waiting room. Now concierge medicine has some overlap. They still do direct access to your doctor and really limited wait times, longer appointments, but concierge clinics actually bill insurance. Traditionally, concierge clinics bill insurance for visits, so you still pay per visit. In addition, you pay a retainer to your concierge clinic or doctor. With direct care like my business, you just pay that membership and I do not bill insurance at all for your primary care visits - but if a patient needs to go to see a specialist, or they need to go get an imaging test done, like an x ray or something, or they need to go to the lab to do blood tests, they can still use their insurance for those. Just this morning. I spent almost two hours with my new patient, and we talked about anything and everything under the sun, and there are still things we didn't get to so the ability to have longer appointment times and shorter wait times is the benefit of direct care. It’s also important to note that I’m a DO (Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine) and practice osteopathic manipulation treatment - think of it as if chiropractic and massage had a baby, it would be osteopathy! A little more focus on alignment than a massage therapist, a little bit less cracking than a chiropractor. Lastly, Planted Direct Primary Care, as a reflection of me, is a faith based practice. The name comes from Psalm 1:3, which is a verse that I've loved my whole life and it's just part of who I am. And not to say that I don't accept patients of all spiritual walks of life and all faiths, but if they do happen to be aligned on those types of values, I openly offer to pray with patients and kind of address some of their spiritual needs as well if they feel so inclined. How does your own journey or life experience shape how you show up in your work? I really try to live out my faith in all facets of my life, and I found it really difficult to live it out in certain situations when I'm not in control of what I can or cannot do in a big health system setting. And so just stepping out of that, and owning my own practice, and being able to practice in a way that does not morally injure me - that's been a really important part of it. When I was first trying to open the practice, I wondered - how open should I kind of be about my faith? And it was empowering to know that I can practice how I want to, and my faith is a really big part of who I am - my upbringing and our family - and in the name of transparency, I want people to know who I am and where I'm coming from. You know, life gets confusing and complicated, and so it's always really good to have that anchor to go back to and say, “Okay, does it align with this?” Some people want a faith based practice, and they want a physician who will pray for them and with them, and some don't want that, and that's okay - that's totally fine. And then the other experience was being in a practice for eight years in a big health system and it was just ingrained that you saw patients, click the boxes, go faster, see more people, and make sure your notes are done. You had to document correctly or insurance doesn’t pay. That pressure, especially after Covid where is just started to feel corporate - where it wasn’t just the patient and physician - the insurance company, hospital administration, and other things were just inserted into that relationship. The patient/doctor relationship suffers and it ends up taking the joy out of practicing medicine. Doctors choose primary care because they value relationships and they value time with their patients, and you can’t have a relationship without time - you can’t put a time limit on getting to know someone. So when you really press primary care to increase volume and to see more patients faster, you’re essentially sucking the life force out of what makes primary care important - the direct care model just restores that essentially. Business ownership can be stressful - how do you take care of your own mental health and wellness? Since I’m so early to this process, I’m trying to learn my boundaries. I have a couple mentors that are part of what is a huge direct primary care community and I keep hearing boundaries, boundaries, boundaries. I hear “start how you want to finish” - so setting a good rhythm in the beginning so that when you are busier, the routines can continue. Another thing I am doing is protecting some time in my week, because with direct care, I’m a one-woman-show, and on call 24/7, but also patients are very respectful of my time, and use that access for emergencies. I do limit access on Sundays - I disconnect - so patients know to reach out Saturday, use urgent care if it can’t wait, and I’ll talk to you on Monday. If people were to take away a feeling or message after experiencing your business, what would you want that to be? I would want them to walk away and say “I feel seen and I feel heard here - this person knows me”. I’ve always wanted to have the time to learn while I practice, and now I have the time to do some research and do more education with patients. Check out the website at: planteddpc.com Social Media: @sandrakoehndo
5/20/2026 Kayla Luther, PMHNP | Luther Psychiatry Introducing Kayla Luther, PMHNP-BC of Luther Psychiatry - our newest Small Business Connection! Kayla reflected on her own struggle to find balance and satisfaction in her work, leading to bringing her wealth of knowledge to a private practice. Kayla believes in the going beyond medication management that many psychiatric providers offer, and values holistic care, spending quality time with patients to get to know them, and educating and connecting patients based on their needs. The Luther Psychiatry website states "Beauty is in Becoming", which reflects the partnership that Kayla strives for with patients to transform into their best selves with her care and support. Read the full conversation below! When was your business founded and what inspired its development? Luther Psychiatry was founded in 2026, though it feels like something that’s been years in the making. My parents had encouraged me to pursue nursing at University of Rochester, and it was there that I discovered psychiatric nursing. I quickly fell in love with psychiatry during my time on an adult inpatient unit under the clinical instruction of Joanne Bartlett, PMHNP. That experience solidified my path, and I was ultimately hired onto that unit at Strong Memorial Hospital before I had even graduated. I truly learned psychiatry on that inpatient unit, and it was there that my sense of purpose took shape. That drive led me into a nursing leadership role while earning my master’s degree. After graduating, I joined Strong Behavioral Health, where I gained a deeper understanding of the Nurse Practitioner role and valued the strong collaboration with therapists and colleagues. At the same time, I began to feel the limitations of a system that didn’t always allow for the kind of care I wanted to provide. My experience continued to evolve following a relocation to Florida, where I practiced in both private practice and community mental health settings, gaining further insight into dual diagnosis and substance use treatment. After returning to New York, I transitioned into correctional psychiatry at the Monroe County Jail. That experience broadened my understanding of mental health in a meaningful way, while also highlighting how much I value continuity and the ability to follow patients over time. I knew I wanted to return to outpatient mental health, but in a way that allowed for presence, depth, and a more intentional approach to care. This past year became a turning point. I had to slow down and take an honest look at my own balance—and at the kind of work that would feel truly fulfilling. There were moments when I felt lost and disconnected from my sense of purpose, and I came to recognize that I couldn’t keep working within systems while quietly hoping something would change. At the same time, it became clear that going, going, going and continuing to carry everything the way I had been wasn’t sustainable. At some point, I had to turn toward myself and begin living the same advice I so often offered to others. In seeking my own therapy—an experience that was both eye-opening and deeply grounding—I found myself stepping beyond patterns I had long outgrown. As difficult as that season was, it offered clarity—allowing me to step more fully into myself, and into who I was becoming. I see that time now as a gift. It brought me back to what matters most. This work is not just what I do. It is my passion and my purpose. Luther Psychiatry was built from that place—out of both experience and personal transformation. And it’s the same place I now hold for others. How does your business support mental health and wellness in our local community? I’m drawn to a holistic model of care because it allows me to truly know the person in front of me. It creates space to ask deeper, more meaningful questions and to understand how all the pieces fit—health, hormones, life stage, relationships, upbringing, and lived experiences. I look beyond symptoms to the full story. There’s something powerful about sitting together and gently piecing that puzzle together—making sense of patterns, gaps, and connections that may not have been fully seen before. That kind of nuanced, whole-person care is what I hope to offer every client. Mental health doesn’t exist in isolation, and I approach care with that in mind. While I prescribe medication when appropriate, I also emphasize education, lifestyle factors, and other supportive strategies. My philosophy is often “less is more,” but also recognizing when medication can be an important and meaningful part of someone’s healing. My goal is to help people make sense of their experiences and feel empowered in their care. What makes your business different from others that may offer similar service? The relationship comes first. I tell my patients that no question is off limits—I want to meet them exactly where they are. Longer appointment times allow for a deeper understanding and a stronger therapeutic alliance, which I see as the foundation of effective care. I also offer ADHD assessments that bring together clinical evaluation and objective tools (QBcheck), helping to create a clearer, more complete picture—especially when attention concerns overlap with anxiety, trauma, or hormonal shifts. My additional training as an Evergreen ADHD Clinical Services Provider allows me to approach this work with greater depth and nuance. Women’s mental health is a particular area of focus for me. I believe my lived experience helps me connect with patients in a way that fosters openness and trust, especially when discussing topics that may be missed or underexplored in other settings. My approach goes beyond medication management—I place a strong emphasis on understanding each person’s lived experience as part of their care. How does your own journey or life experience shape how you show up in your work? My professional background has given me a wide lens, but it’s my personal experiences that have deepened how I connect with others. This past year, especially, taught me the importance of slowing down, reflecting, and caring for myself in a way I hadn’t before. In that space, I found my way back to my purpose and to the love for mental health that first drew me here. It’s a perspective that now guides my work, especially in supporting women who feel stretched thin or disconnected from themselves. I don’t just speak about burnout and compassion fatigue; I understand them on a lived level. That understanding informs how I show up in this work, with intention, curiosity, and care Business ownership can be stressful - how do you take care of your own mental health and wellness? Intentionality is key. A few years ago, I might have had a more rehearsed answer to this question. But this past year has taught me that caring for my mental health requires slowing down, being present, and making space to reflect. It’s about honoring my limits and staying connected to what keeps me grounded, so I can continue to show up fully in my work. I remind myself that it’s about progress, not perfection. My faith plays a meaningful role in helping me stay grounded, along with connection—whether that’s with family, friends, or simply stepping away when needed. Spending time in nature, especially in the Adirondacks with my family, is something that helps me reset. There’s something about that environment that brings a sense of clarity and calm. If people were to take away a feeling or message after experiencing your business, what would you want that to be? I hope they feel seen, heard, and understood. And more than anything, I hope they leave feeling grounded, and believing that change is possible. Learn more at: lutherpsychiatry.com Social Media: @Lutherpsychiatry 5/14/2026 Meg Tyo, LCSW | Sweet Home Photography Looking at life with the eye of a photographer and the heart of a social worker. Meet Meg Tyo, LCSW and owner of Sweet Home Photography - one of our most unique and heartfelt Small Business Connections! Meg combines the compassion of social work with the personal expression of photography to give older adults a platform to truly be themselves. Whether it is words of wisdom, candid silly moments, or posing with a meaningful object, Meg captures genuine emotion and beautiful stories - not just a posed photo. Kara's takeaway: Meg's passion for this work is palpable, and her pride in the gift she gives her clients is inspiring. She brings two rare skills together in a way that is entirely her own - and the result is something truly special for the people she photographs. If you have an older adult in your life who deserves to be celebrated and truly seen, Sweet Home Photography is the place. We loved every minute of this conversation with Meg. When was your business founded and what inspired its development? Sweet Home Photography was started in 2019, and was inspired by my own personal experiences. My grandfather passed away in 2009, and I coped with selling his house by photographing all of the unique details of the home, and creating a photo book for my family. When my husband’s grandparents had to move from the house they built in the 1940’s, I used photography to capture the legacy of their home, rather than focusing on the loss of the home. These experiences combined with my work as a social worker, inspired me to use photography to help older adults tell their stories. How does your business support mental health and wellness in our local community? Sweet Home Photography supports mental health on many levels. On the individual level, portrait sessions help promote self-acceptance and pride by making space for people to feel seen and valued–without editing age-related features. I offer sessions where people bring meaningful objects or photos of loved ones to be photographed with, which creates space for grief processing and legacy sharing. Another type of session I facilitate starts with a discussion group, during which participants share their thoughts about aging and sense of self, and then are photographed holding hand-written signs featuring their thoughts. This has been transformative. On a wider community level, candid event photography at senior communities captures evidence that aging is not all negative, and allows family members and community members to see older adults thriving and living authentically happy and connected lives. What makes your business different from others that may offer similar service? I provide all edited images to clients as part of the session fee- who am I to determine which photos best capture their true self? My primary focus is older adults, which is also unique in this area. I do not edit age-related features like wrinkles, and instead engage in discussion during sessions about the value of finding pride in authentic self expression. I approach photography like social work, where it’s about human connection and emotional content over technical perfection. I use the camera as a tool for healing and advocacy, focusing on emotion first, and aesthetics second. How does your own journey or life experience shape how you show up in your work? My family experiences with aging and end of life provided valuable insight into what it’s like to struggle with challenges that can arise during the aging process.. More recently, I was faced with needing to make a quick professional decision to resign from a job, and while disruptive, this grounded me in my values and empowered me to be myself. This only fueled my passion to create safe spaces for others to be themselves as well. Business ownership can be stressful - how do you take care of your own mental health and wellness? Self-care is a work in progress. I see my own therapist, who is very helpful. Networking with other business owners that understand the unique challenges of what it’s like to own a small business has been so important–finding other humans who get it has been very validating. A colleague and friend once told me that business should serve my life, and not the other way around, and this helps me remember to keep a balance between work and my personal life, which can be hard when I get so excited about what I do! If people were to take away a feeling or message after experiencing your business, what would you want that to be? I want people to feel appreciated and seen for who they are. I want clients to feel connected and comfortable with me as a person, not just a photographer. I want people to feel empowered to tell their stories and take up space as themselves. The same principles apply in my therapy practice - showing up, making space, and letting people feel seen, heard, appreciated, and proud. Check out Megan's website & socials here: http://www.sweethomephotoroc.com Instagram @sweethomephotoroc Facebook @sweethomephotorochester   What does a tattoo shop have in common with a mental health practice? More than you might think. Meet Adrien Clark, owner of Axe of Kindness Tattoo! Adrien built AOK around three things: connection, giving, and kindness. It is not just a tattoo shop - it is a space where people feel genuinely welcomed and honored for whatever story brought them there. Adrien's commitment to community and his acknowledgment of human challenges attracts thoughtful artists and customers who are seeking meaning through body art. Kara's takeaway: Adrien founded Axe of Kindness with a public declaration - combining community kindness, personal meaning and purpose, and human connection. That intentionality is what makes AOK different from other local shops, and it is exactly why this connection with Tree of Hope Counseling just makes sense. If you have ever wondered about the healing power of meaningful body art and community, Adrien and the AOK team are living proof. Read the full conversation below! When was your business founded and what inspired its development? I have been tattooing for 22 years now, and opened Axe of Kindness in April of 2022, so we are four years old now officially. It was kind of inspired by Covid. I've kind of always seen the inequity in the world, and just kind of felt powerless, because I'm not one of the billionaires out there who very easily could do things to help. Covid shifted my focus a little bit from worrying about what others have, who are more capable, and what I seemingly lack. I stopped focusing on that versus what I do have, because I do have excess, even if it's not grand - it's more than I need. So I figured out how to spread that out, tie it into the work that I already love to do, and cross my fingers that other people are into it as well. Was Axe of Kindness always the name you had in mind? I had a lot of names that I was kind of toying around with and when the idea of opening my own shop kind of hit me, and then the thought that I wanted to give back, I thought I should put kindness in the name. I wanted to make people aware that there are acts of kindness tied to the work. And I enjoy word play, and puns and such - so then I was just thinking - what about Axe of Kindness? Because an axe is a weapon - a weapon against cruelties of the world - we want to fight for the kindness that we have to give. And also tattooing kind of hurts so, you know, it also makes sense to have that edge in the name. And then, kind of what really sealed it, was just the thought that all the tattoos that I do are “AOK”. And I ask my clients all the time, “How you holding up? Still AOK?” And so I was like, oh yeah, that's the name! How does your business support mental health and wellness in our local community? One of the organizations that we donate to regularly is NAMI (National Alliance of Mental Illness). That's one of the ways which I feel is kind of more overt, if you will. And then I do feel like the space that we have created, not just the physical building itself or the space, but also the personalities of the people that we have at the shop helps to foster a warm, welcoming, comfortable vibe for anyone who comes in. And we do have people who are getting tattooed as sort of a means of therapy - some of the stories that we get from our clients are so heartbreaking. Some of them you really do feel for what people are going through, and it's kind of nice to be that safe space, if you will, for those people who are kind of using it as a bit of therapy. What makes your business different from others that may offer similar service? I think it’s just the focus on the kindness side of things. I have plenty of experience in other shops where, you know, that's not really a focus, and there's nothing wrong with that. But I just feel for me, that's got to be kind of the central part. There are five [tattoo artists], including myself currently. And then we have guests that come in every once in a while as well. Each of them have kind of joined this mission and everything that it's about. They're very much all talented enough to do the art side of the work at any shop, but chose to work with my shop because of the mission How does your own journey or life experience shape how you show up in your work? I would say, my childhood wasn't the worst, but it wasn't the greatest and so I definitely have scars that I wear. I think just being cognizant of that and knowing that other people also wear scars that we can't necessarily see, kind of helps to guide where I would like to go with everything. Business ownership can be stressful - how do you take care of your own mental health and wellness? As a business owner, I find it very important to get out of the shop and stay active physically. So basketball is a big part of my life, and I try to, as much as I can, try to play at least once a week. It's sometimes a little bit difficult, because I have a son who is playing basketball as well, and right now, it's AAU season - a lot of tournaments, oftentimes games on Sunday, which is the day I typically like to play, but watching him can be just as fun and good for me mentally. Beyond that, I do try to find just quiet time for myself… put down the phone and slow down. If people were to take away a feeling or message after experiencing your business, what would you want that to be? Hopefully they can take a little bit of kindness with them and spread it on their way. I just feel like even a simple hello to somebody you're passing by on the street sometimes is enough to change somebody's day. *Adrien added that walk ins are welcome, and if they cannot accommodate an appointment at that time, they will schedule a time to have the person come back, and welcome anyone to stop by and check out the shop any time. Learn more at: axeofkindnessroc.com  Meet Lauren Wadsworth, PhD, ABPP, Clinic Founder and Director of Genesee Valley Psychology! Lauren founded GVP in 2019 with a mission to bring evidence-based treatment for OCD to Rochester in a way that was financially accessible. Since then, GVP has grown to include a comprehensive Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) and trauma program - always guided by what the community actually needs. What makes GVP different? They specialize in conditions like OCD and Borderline Personality Disorder that are notoriously difficult to treat, and they do it with real depth and integrity. Most of their staff are psychologists and licensed mental health counselors, and they run a robust training program for those pursuing their doctorate or masters degree. Alongside GVP, Lauren also founded Meridian Practice to help therapists open and grow their own private practices, giving clients access to specialists and shortening waitlists for care across our community. Kara's big takeaway: it is at the core of GVP's values to provide evidence-based care with true integrity - a gift to those who need a treatment approach designed for exactly what they are struggling with. We loved connecting with Lauren! If you or someone you know has been searching for specialized mental health care in Rochester, GVP and Meridian are doing this work at a truly high level. We are so glad they are in our community. See full interview below! When was your business founded and what inspired its development? Genesee Valley Psychology was founded in 2019. My inspiration was to bring evidence based treatments to the area for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and in a way that was financially accessible. GVP evolved based on the needs of the clients that presented, and has developed to include a comprehensive Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) and trauma program. Meridian Practice was added to support therapists to open and grow their private practice, give clients access to specialists, and shorten waitlists for care. How does your business support mental health and wellness in our local community? GVP and Meridian provide psychotherapy services to support community mental health by providing niche services for conditions that can be treatment resistant or lead to death without access to a specific modality. We’ve always aimed to listen to the needs of the Rochester mental health community and respond to them. What makes your business different from others that may offer similar service? We focus on a subset of conditions with specific treatment approaches, such as OCD and Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) that are otherwise difficult to treat. Most of our staff are psychologists and LMHC’s, and we have a robust training program offering 5-10 trainings per year for those pursuing their doctorate or masters degree. How does your own journey or life experience shape how you show up in your work? I grew up in a rural area, and it wasn’t until I attended college that I understood the range of experiences that people can have based on their social identities, like race and gender expression. Once I learned about that, I was inspired to pursue mental health training with a Scientist/Practice/Activist model which laid the foundation of prioritizing accessibility in mental health as well as adapting evidence based practices to be considerate of client identities. These experiences also shape how I show up as a leader in my organizations. Business ownership can be stressful - how do you take care of your own mental health and wellness? I find living on a farm to be extremely regulating, especially compared to living in Boston, where I did all of my professional training. Finding times to go on walks and go outside is very helpful for my mental health, as well as engaging in my own therapy. If people were to take away a feeling or message after experiencing your business, what would you want that to be? I would want them to feel like they were met where they were at and respected, and that the experience brought them peace and more alignment with their values. More information on the website - gviproc.org |
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