

Current insights, tips & research about teens for parents, educators and mentors.
PODCAST: SEASON 3, EPISODE 17: Allyship and mentoring in regional Australia with Mikhara Ramsing
In this episode we chat with social entrepreneur Mikhara Ramsing about mentoring young people in regional Australia, writing programs for young people from cultural diverse backgrounds, running a tea social enterprise which funds suicide prevention and Ethnic LGBT+ -...
PODCAST: SEASON 3, EPISODE 16: Supporting migrant and refugee youth with Enda Gilbert
In this episode we're joined by Enda Gilbert, an educator, parental burnout practitioner and coach. Enda shared important and practical tips on how we can best support migrant and refugee young people. Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on Spotify | View all...
PODCAST: SEASON 3, EPISODE 15: Hosting rites of passage experiences for teens and their parents with Jaclyn Cunningham
In this episode I chat with Jaclyn Cunningham about: * the framework of a transformative Rites of Passage experience for teens and their parents, like a Mother-Daughter Retreat * how she runs retreats like this * tips for facilitators * why parents love them and * how...
PODCAST: SEASON 3, EPISODE 14: Meet 3 Youth Mentors
Meet 3 youth mentors - a former early childhood teacher, a life coach and a UN development worker. People become youth mentors for all sorts of reasons, and come to this work from all sorts of backgrounds. We want to introduce you to 3 of them today. Some have been...
PODCAST: SEASON 3, EPISODE 13: 3 Things you need to be a great youth mentor
One of the things I hear the most from folks who know in their bones that they want to work with young people is that they’re not sure if they’re qualified/good/old/young/perfect enough. So, here are 3 things you need to be a great youth mentor! Enjoy this short...
PODCAST: Season 3, Episode 12: Beyond Body Positivity: dismantling the ladder of body hierarchies with Nicola Haggett
Join us for a thought-provoking episode of The Youth Mentor Podcast, where Amanda sits down with body liberationist and Body Trust coach, Nicola Haggett. In this snippet of a conversation recorded at the 2022 Youth Mentor Conference, they delve into the complex topic...
PODCAST: Season 3, Episode 11: Helping Young People Deal with Uncertainty with Sarah Found
In this episode, we're excited to share with you insights from Sarah, a youth mentor and researcher who has recently completed a dissertation on helping young people build hope and resilience in the face of ambiguous loss and uncertainty. With the ongoing pandemic...
PODCAST: Season 3, Episode 10 – Telling it like it is to parents, dropping the labels and being unapologetically YOU with Reece Anderson
In this episode, Amanda chats with Reece Anderson about all sorts of things - it was a big, deep, fun chat! We covered: self-leadership, connecting with teens and also the interesting ways that Reece brings the parents along for that journey and really looking at the...
PODCAST: Season 3, Episode 9 – Honouring your Youth Mentor Archetype with Amanda Rootsey
In this episode, find out what your youth mentor archetype is and how to use it to be the best youth mentor you can be for the youth in your community. Understanding this early on can cut your learning curve so much, help you focus where you're going to have the...
PODCAST: Season 3, Episode 8 – Supporting teens to regulate their nervous system with Gina Nelson
In this episode, Amanda is joined by licensed therapist and teen resilience coach Gina Nelson. Gina shares about how we can start to help young people to map out their nervous system, catch when they're going into fight or flight mode and self-regulate their emotions...
PODCAST: Season 3, Episode 7 – Mentoring 1:1 with teens – what works and what doesn’t with Bec Coldicutt
In this episode of The Youth Mentor Podcast, we chat to Bec Coldicutt from Rebel Starseeds in Auckland, New Zealand. It's a big episode and we cover a lot, including Bec's previous careers in law and as a teacher and then starting her youth mentoring business, Rebel...
PODCAST: Season 3, Episode 6 -The power of journalling for teens going through challenges with Jenna Lee
In this episode we chat with author, coach and mentor Jenna Lee about supporting women and teens to confidently express themselves through writing. Jenna shares her story around being a teen and not knowing how to express herself, how journalling helped transform her...
PODCAST: Season 3, Episode 5 – Celebrating Menarche with First Moon Circles with Charlotte Pointeaux
In this episode we chat with Charlotte Pointeaux about holding first moon circles to celebrate and support young people around their first period. Charlotte shares generously about: // the magic of circles // how to set up the space so it’s really respectful and open...
PODCAST: Season 3 Episode 4 – Building Resilience through Long-term Programs with Janaiha Bennett
In this episode Amanda is joined by Janaiha Bennett, the Executive Director of Youth Leadership Foundation (YLF). Janaiha shares generously about: // her journey from a participant with YLF to becoming Executive Director // how she encourages young people to see...
PODCAST: Season 3 Episode 3; Starting a youth non-profit with Grenita Brooks
In this episode Amanda is joined by Grenita Brooks, who doesn’t hold anything back in sharing how she started her not-for-profit for girls, how she then expanded and changed the not for profit to include all genders, how her community and school programs run, how her...
PODCAST: Being an inclusive youth mentor with Sharyn Holmes
Know what you need to be aware of, and the work that needs to be done, to ensure we're minimising harm with marginalised youth and the practical steps we can take to ensure we're holding inclusive spaces, from the way we design programs, how we hold space and even the...
PODCAST: Season 3 Episode 1 – Welcome with Amanda
Welcome to season 3! Amanda is solo in this episode, sharing what's been happening this past year at Shine From Within HQ and what you can expect from this new season of the podcast (like how to be an inclusive youth mentor, how to engage with teens online and so much...
PODCAST: Sustainable Period Products with ModiBodi Founder Kristy Chong
Kristy’s the CEO and creator of Modibodi™. She’s a mum on a mission, a fash-tech entrepreneur and a social advocate for women’s health issues and rights. With over 13 years in senior PR roles for organisations including McDonald’s Australia, sanofi-aventis and Edelman...
PODCAST: Reviewing O-Week with Amanda Rootsey
Today's episode is a little different than our usual episodes, our host Amanda Rootsey is jumping on to have a special chat about our Online Academy and the O-Week that was run during school holidays in Australia. In this episode Amanda discusses: How we came...
PODCAST: Coaching Parents and Teachers with Coach Chantay
Chantay Golson is a therapist, family systems expert, parenting teens coach and author. Her mission is to teach parents of teens how to communicate with their teenagers without drama. In this episode we discuss… Connecting and building a loving trusting bond with your...
PODCAST: Raising Girls Voices with Mandy Dante
Mandy Dante is the CEO & Founder of Flourish Girl. She is an ex-speech pathologist, TEDx Speaker, Model and an Australian Accredited Facilitator. Mandy is the first-senior female facilitator at The Rites of Passage Institute and is paving the way for their school...
PODCAST: Giving a Voice to the Elephant in the Room with Steph and Suzy from Batyr
Batyr is a community, a herd, a passionate group of young people united through vulnerability, respect and a drive to change the conversation around mental health & increase help-seeking rates. On the youth mentor podcast today we’ve got Steph, the national...
PODCAST: Parenting during COVID-19 with Adefolashade Fadeyi
Today we interview Adefolashade Fadeyi The Brighter Girls team is led by her founder Adefolashade Fadeyi, a Person Development Expert for Teens. A Certified Girl Empowerment Coach, Trained Youth Mentor and a Curriculum Developer with over 15 years of experience...
PODCAST: Self-Care for Teachers and How To Prevent Burnout with Ellen Ronalds Keene
In this episode Today we interview Ellen Ronalds Keene, she is passionate about preventing teacher burnout, improving teacher wellbeing and supporting teachers to overcome their barriers to self-care. We discuss What it was like to step away from teaching and going...
PODCAST: Welcome to Season 2 with Amanda Rootsey
Welcome to Season 2 of the Youth Mentor Podcast! I’m excited to share some wonderful guests with you in this season...I've had some incredible conversations about: An amazing mental health program in schools that empowers young people to own their story How to deal...
PODCAST: Supporting young people with learning difficulties with Claire Curyer
In this episode I chat with Claire Curyer from White Blank Pages. Claire was diagnosed with dyslexia early on in her schooling and at the age of 11, she had the reading and writing of a 7 year old. Although the traditional schooling style and learning proved to be...
PODCAST: Understanding Gen Z with Tanya Meessmann
Youth mentor and founder of Girl Shaped Flames, Tanya Meessmann, shares how she built her business before diving into what this current generation of teens is really going through and how we can support them. In this episode Tanya focuses on: How Girl Shaped Flames...
YMP024 – Taking the Fear Out of Having a Period with Demi Spaccavento
In this episode, we’re joined by Demi Spaccavento from Bright Girl Health. She’s a women’s health educator and passionate high school teacher. She’s dedicated to breaking the taboo surrounding women’s health in schools all across Australia by helping girls understand...
Empowering Teens to Deal with Bullying: Noelle Fritsch
I’m really excited to introduce you to Noelle Johnson with Sparks to Flames. Noelle is a graduate of our Youth Mentor Training Program and she’s also a school teacher who’s really passionate about supporting students when it comes to bullying. We Chat About... How we...
YMP022 – Young People, Leadership, and Activism with Nora Kramer
Let me introduce you to Nora Kramer, who has dedicated herself as an educator and activist to be a force for good in the world. In combining her obsession with activism and social change with her passion for working with youth she founded Youth Empowered Action (or...

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