r(E)volutionary Woman

What does it really look like to lead a company, raise a family, and build something meaningful at the same time?

In this episode of Revolutionary Women, Tes Silverman sits down with Brandy Thompson, CEO and Founder of BenefitBay, for an honest conversation about leadership, motherhood, and taking a path that doesn’t always look traditional.

Brandy shares how she moved from finance and HR into the CEO role, and how her experience as a mother of six shaped the way she leads. She talks about building a company rooted in empathy, creating space for real-life responsibilities, and why understanding people matters just as much as performance in today’s workplace.

You’ll also hear how BenefitBay is helping reshape employee health benefits through ICHRA (Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangements), giving both employers and employees more flexibility and choice.

This episode is for women in leadership, working moms, entrepreneurs, and anyone figuring out their next step while juggling real life.

One of the most meaningful takeaways from this conversation:
“You don’t have to have followed the yellow brick road to get to where you are.”

Brandy Thompson is the CEO and Founder of benefitbay®, a Kansas City based health benefits

technology company focused on modernizing how employers deliver coverage through ICHRAs.

She is a mother of six and has built her company with an intentionally people-first approach,

including hiring frontline team members with backgrounds in education and healthcare to deliver

a more empathetic enrollment experience.

Brandy’s leadership story is rooted in values-based decision-making, building at a sustainable

pace, and designing a workplace that supports real life responsibilities, especially for working

parents.

To learn more about Brandy Thompson:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandy-thompson-24389536/

To learn more about benefitbay:

https://www.linkedin.com/company/benefitbay

In this episode of Revolutionary Woman, Tes Silverman sits down with Nikki Padilla Rivera, co-founder of She Shapes History NYC, to explore women’s history, storytelling, and the hidden contributions of women in New York City. With a background in travel, tourism, and brand marketing, Nikki shares how her work is helping uncover overlooked female leaders and reshape how we understand history. This conversation highlights women’s impact, cultural storytelling, and the growing movement to recognize the voices and achievements of women who have long been left out.

Nikki Padilla Rivera is co-owner of She Shapes History NYC which shares the hidden history of women who built NYC.  By day she’s a brand marketer and lives with her two small kids in Queens, NYC.  Instagram is her social media of choice and she could eat Vietnamese food every day if given the option.

To learn more about Nikki Padilla Rivera and She Shapes History:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nikkiblp/?hl=en

Website: ​​https://sheshapeshistory.com/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/sheshapeshistorynyc/?hl=en

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This episode used the following music:

Time to Shine by tubebackr & Popsicles

https://soundcloud.com/tubebackr

https://soundcloud.com/popsiclesmusic

Creative Commons — Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported — CC BY-ND 3.0

Free Download / Stream: https://www.audiolibrary.com.co/tubebackr-and-popsicles/time-to-shine

Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/Cvbjhx6X4ZY

In this episode of Revolutionary Women, host Tess Silverman speaks with Charlotte Kemmeren, a social work educator and researcher at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences whose work focuses on community building, social justice education, and inclusive learning environments. Charlotte works closely with students to create spaces where diverse voices can be heard, difficult topics can be explored, and meaningful dialogue can take place.

Growing up in the Netherlands, Charlotte became aware of inequality at a young age. That awareness later shaped her academic path in anthropology and urban geography and eventually led her to teaching and community-centered work in higher education.

In this conversation, Charlotte reflects on the importance of creating spaces where students can speak openly about identity, justice, and social change. She also shares insights from her work with the SESI Community Center, a student-led initiative that amplifies underrepresented perspectives and encourages dialogue around intersectionality and social impact.

Charlotte Kemmeren is a teacher in Social Work and a researcher at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. She is committed to fostering inclusive learning environments in which students and teachers can share diverse perspectives and engage in critical reflection. While she recognizes that a fully just society may be unattainable, she believes that education and communities that amplify multiple voices can create hope and meaningful opportunities. In her teaching, Charlotte addresses themes such as urban inequality and solidarity. Previously, she spent five years as project manager of the SESI Community Center, an intersectional platform for student engagement where students took the lead in developing programs that claimed institutional space for underexposed topics.

To learn more about Charlotte Kemmeren and SESI:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlotte-kemmeren-6b7882106/

IG: @sesicommunitycenter

Key Topics in This Episode

• Community building and social justice education
• Inclusive learning environments in higher education
• Youth engagement and student leadership
• Creating space for underrepresented voices
• The role of educators in supporting diverse perspectives

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This episode used the following music:

Time to Shine by tubebackr & Popsicles

https://soundcloud.com/tubebackr

https://soundcloud.com/popsiclesmusic

Creative Commons — Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported — CC BY-ND 3.0

Free Download / Stream: https://www.audiolibrary.com.co/tubebackr-and-popsicles/time-to-shine

Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/Cvbjhx6X4ZY

In this episode of Revolutionary Women, Tess Silverman speaks with Starre Vartan about the science behind women’s strength, endurance, and long-term health. Drawing from research in exercise science, female physiology, and longevity studies, Starre explains how cultural assumptions have shaped what we believe about women’s bodies — and what the data actually shows. From bone density and strength training to the overlooked advantages of endurance and recovery, this conversation offers a fresh perspective on women’s health and physical capability.

Starre Vartan is the author of The Stronger Sex: What Science Tells Us About the Power of the Female Body, and a science and environment journalist who regularly contributes to National Geographic, CNN, Scientific American, and The Washington Post. A former geologist, she still picks up rocks wherever she goes, and she’s an avid wildswimmer, ecstatic dancer, weightlifter and trailrunner. A dual citizen of the US and Australia, she splits her time between the Pacific Northwest and the Illawarra coast of Australia south of Sydney. 

To learn more about Starre Vartan and her book, The Stronger Sex:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/starrevartan/

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thecurioushumana

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/starrevartan/

In this episode of Revolutionary Women, I speak with Kyla Reynolds P’an, Head of Development for Pangea Trust, a UK–Portugal charity building Europe’s first large-scale elephant sanctuary in Portugal’s Alentejo region.

Pangea Trust is creating a sanctuary for elephants currently living in captivity across Europe, offering a lifelong home designed for recovery, space, and social connection. We discuss what it takes to build an elephant sanctuary from the ground up, from fundraising and public awareness to infrastructure, international logistics, and preparing for the arrival of Kariba, the sanctuary’s first elephant, expected in 2026.

Beyond wildlife conservation, this conversation explores career evolution, living between cultures, and how seasons of work, including raising a family, shape the paths we take later. Kyla shares what it looks like to step into a new chapter with clarity and purpose.

If you’re interested in elephant conservation, nonprofit leadership, philanthropy in Europe, or stories of women creating change in their communities, this episode offers both depth and perspective.

Kyla Reynolds P’an is Head of Development for Pangea Trust, a UK/Portugal based charity building Europe’s largest and most comprehensive elephant sanctuary in the Alentejo region of Portugal. The sanctuary will serve as a compassionate solution for Europe’s zoos and circuses seeking a life-long home for their elephants. Kyla holds a Master’s in Journalism and is the mom of two teenagers. She has more than 20 years of front-line development experience under her belt, including the Smithsonian Institution, Boston University, Harvard Medical School and Mass Audubon.

To Learn More about Kyla Reynolds P’an:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyla-p-an-59b1131/

To learn more about Pangea Trust:

Home – Pangea Trust

(2) Pangea Trust: Posts | LinkedIn

(20+) Facebook

(7) Instagram

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Time to Shine by tubebackr & Popsicles

https://soundcloud.com/tubebackr

https://soundcloud.com/popsiclesmusic

Creative Commons — Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported — CC BY-ND 3.0

Free Download / Stream: https://www.audiolibrary.com.co/tubebackr-and-popsicles/time-to-shine

Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/Cvbjhx6X4ZY

Teagan Vaughn is a Fundraising Officer at St. Paul’s Youth Forum in Glasgow, Scotland and a 2025 Time to Shine Leader with The Rank Foundation.