The real version, the one that accounts for your history, your hormones, your stress, and the life you are actually living. Emily Horstman has spent over 15 years helping people figure that out.

In this episode of the TrueIcon Podcast, Jen sits down with Emily Horstman, registered dietitian, founder and CEO of HealthierSpan, and someone who pairs her values with intentional health and living.

Emily brings a diverse background and a deeply human approach to wellness, one that goes far beyond food. This conversation is about what it really takes to build health habits that stick, and why most people are not failing because of willpower.

Emily and Jen dig into what intentionality actually looks like in practice, why so many people are doing all the right things and still not feeling well, and how to stop chasing a version of health that was never designed for your body or your life. Emily also opens up about her own journey, the role of self-reflection and journaling in her practice, and why she believes true wellness starts from the inside out.

In this episode:

• What intentionality in health actually means and why it matters
• Why doing all the right things still leaves some people stuck
• The role of a dietitian in complex, whole-person health cases
• Self-care as a non-negotiable, not a luxury
• How journaling and self-reflection create clarity and momentum
• The connection between values, identity, and sustainable wellness

Episode chapters:
00:00 Welcome and intro
00:33 Who Emily is and what she is about right now
07:11 Why so many people struggle to reach their health goals
23:15 Using intentionality to create real momentum
52:27 The transformative power of journaling and self-reflection

Connect with Emily:
Instagram: @agingbetterrd
Website: healthierspan.com

Connect with Jen and TrueIcon:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beatrueicon
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferdegroff/
Website: https://beatrueicon.com/?utm_source=TI_Podcast

If this episode inspired you, please subscribe, rate, and leave a review. It helps us bring more honest, real stories to listeners like you.

About Emily Horstman:
Emily Horstman is a registered dietitian with over 15 years of experience in health and wellness. She is the founder and CEO of HealthierSpan, where she pairs her values with intentional health and living. Her approach goes beyond nutrition to address the whole person, helping clients build sustainable habits rooted in self-awareness and clarity.

About the TrueIcon Podcast:
Hosted by Jennifer DeGroff, the TrueIcon Podcast is an interview show about authenticity, growth, and redefining success on your own terms. We celebrate uniqueness, normalize imperfection, and lift people up. Whether you are navigating a career change, building a business, or trying to find your voice, this is your space to feel empowered to step into your greatness.

#beatrueicon #staytrueandboldlygrow #wellness #intentionalliving

In this episode of the TrueIcon Podcast, Jen sits down with Brad Colacino, founder and creative director of Bright Cycle Design Co., community builder, storyteller, musician, and mentor. Brad spent over two decades navigating the corporate ladder before making the leap to build something that actually felt like him. His story is not about burning it all down. It is about getting quiet enough to hear what you actually want.

Brad and Jen talk about what it costs to stay somewhere that no longer fits, how sobriety reshaped his relationship with himself and his work, and what it looks like to build a creative life from scratch after decades in corporate. He also gets into community, mentorship, and why redefining success is not a one-time decision but a daily practice.

If this episode inspired you, please subscribe, rate, and leave a review. It helps us bring more honest, real stories to listeners like you.

In this episode:

• Climbing every rung of the corporate ladder and still feeling empty
• The decision to quit and what finally made it feel possible
• How his personal journey changed everything, including how he creates
• Building Bright Cycle Design Co. from the ground up
• Community, mentorship, and showing up for other people
• What redefining success actually looks like in daily life

Chapters:

00:00 Intro + Meet Brad

08:37 How Brad defines success now vs. then

16:24 The tipping point that made quitting feel possible 23:23 Divorce, financial pressure, and choosing not to go back

32:32 No wrong roads: lessons from The Phantom Tollbooth 41:58 The stepdad story that stopped the room

51:49 The sobriety journey

01:06:28 Building community and the question that changes everything

01:22:24 Equal parts irrational confidence and humility

Connect with Brad:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brad-colacino/
Website: brightcycledesign.com

Connect with Jen and TrueIcon:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beatrueicon
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferdegroff/
Website: https://www.beatrueicon.com

About Brad Colacino:
Brad Colacino is the founder and creative director of Bright Cycle Design Co. After more than two decades in corporate, including a senior software engineering role at a Fortune 500 company, he made the leap to build a creative life on his own terms. He is a community builder, storyteller, musician, and mentor who has been rewriting what success actually means.

About the TrueIcon Podcast:
Hosted by Jennifer DeGroff, the TrueIcon Podcast is an interview show about authenticity, growth, and redefining success on your own terms. We celebrate uniqueness, normalize imperfection, and lift people up. Whether you are navigating a career change, building a business, or trying to find your voice, this is your space to feel empowered to step into your greatness.

#beatrueicon #staytrueandboldlygrow #creativelife #redefinesuccess

He went to a wellness retreat at one of the darkest points of his life. He walked a hundred steps. And by the time he reached the top, he had the only answer he needed. This one will stay with you.

In this episode of the TrueIcon Podcast, Jen sits down with Eugene O'Neill, muralist, art educator, and founder of Made In Truth. Eugene has spent his career transforming communities and classrooms through art and wellness. But in this conversation, he opens up about his own journey: the grief that broke him open, the retreat that changed everything, and what peace, love, and joy actually look like when you stop performing and start living them.

Eugene and Jen go deep on what it means to heal the healers, how art became his path to personal wellness, and why reconnecting with your inner child is not soft, it is essential. He shares the story of the Hundred Steps of Life, a meditation that helped him stop over-planning and trust the frequency he wanted to live in.

If you have ever felt like you were showing up for everyone else while quietly falling apart, this conversation will meet you exactly where you are.

If this episode inspired you, please subscribe, rate, and leave a review. It helps us bring more honest, real stories to listeners like you.

In this episode:

• Who heals the healers: Eugene spent years supporting others through grief and loss. This episode is about what happened when he finally turned that care toward himself.
• The Hundred Steps: a meditation that helped him stop over-planning and trust that peace, love, and joy are enough of a compass.
• Your shadow side is not the enemy: forming a relationship with the parts of yourself you have been hiding, not fixing them, but understanding them.
• The inner child is expansive: the inner parent refines and reduces. The inner child expands. You need both to grow.
• Forgiveness is where it starts: you cannot move out of the past without forgiving the version of yourself that did not yet have the tools you have now.

Episode chapters:
00:00 Welcome and intro
05:56 Art, community, and where it all started
18:01 Breaking free from external expectations and the retreat that changed everything
30:31 The Hundred Steps of Life
39:21 The journey to finding your true self
49:08 Living with peace, love, and joy
01:06:21 Forgiveness, the inner child, and lasting impact

Connect with Eugene:
Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn: @madeintruthinc
Website: www.madeintruthinc.com

Connect with TrueIcon:
Instagram: @beatrueicon

About Eugene O'Neill:
Eugene O'Neill is a muralist, art educator, and founder of Made In Truth. He has spent his career using art and wellness to transform communities and classrooms. His work sits at the intersection of creativity, healing, and human connection.

About the TrueIcon Podcast:
Hosted by Jennifer DeGroff, the TrueIcon Podcast is an interview show about authenticity, growth, and redefining success on your own terms. We celebrate uniqueness, normalize imperfection, and lift people up. Whether you are navigating a career change, building a business, or trying to find your voice, this is your space to feel empowered to step into your greatness.

#beatrueicon #staytrueandboldlygrow #mentalhealth #personalgrowth

In this episode of the TrueIcon Podcast, Jen sits down with Melissa Snyder, who shares her inspiring journey from facing repeated career rejections and feeling unfulfilled in corporate media sales, to finally discovering her true passion and purpose in the nonprofit sector.

Melissa opens up about the power of divine timing, explaining why the "no's" we receive are often just redirecting us to where we are meant to be. Together, Jen and Melissa discuss how to overcome limiting beliefs, the importance of journaling and meditation to connect with your inner voice, and how to build a supportive network that elevates everyone involved.

If you are currently feeling stuck, facing rejection, or wondering if you will ever find your professional calling, this conversation will give you the hope and tenacity to keep pushing forward.

If this episode inspired you, please subscribe, rate, and leave a review!

Takeaways

• Rejection is redirection
• Overcoming limiting beliefs
• The power of networking
• Trusting divine timing
• Aligning passion with purpose

Chapters
00:00 The Season of Gratitude
05:32 Overcoming Limiting Beliefs
10:32 Discovering Purpose and Impact
20:23 Finding Balance and Success
27:05 Staying True to Values
32:47 Supporting Wildwood Programs

Where to Find Melissa Snyder & Wildwood Programs
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-snyder-wildwood/

Where to Find Jen DeGroff & TrueIcon
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beatrueicon
Website: https://www.beatrueicon.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferdegroff/

About Melissa Snyder
Melissa Snyder is the Annual Fund and Events Manager at Wildwood Foundation. She is proud to advocate for the organization’s mission to support people with developmental disabilities and help them live more productive, fulfilling, and independent lives. Born and raised in the Capital Region, Melissa earned her BA in Public Communications from The College of Saint Rose.

Her professional journey has been shaped by meaningful life lessons: learning that rejection is often redirection, trusting her inner voice to push past fear, and experiencing the deep gratification of aligning passion with purpose. Once a shy individual who questioned her professional calling after repeated rejection, Melissa is living proof that growth is possible.

Today, she is an avid networker and community connector who values sharing her experiences so others may learn. When not networking, Melissa enjoys time at home with her husband and two cats. She is also an experienced couponer who loves finding a great deal.

**About the TrueIcon Podcast
Hosted by Jennifer DeGroff, the TrueIcon Podcast is an interview show about authenticity, growth, and redefining success on your own terms. We celebrate uniqueness, normalize imperfection, talk values, and lift people up. Whether you are navigating a career change, building a business, or trying to find your voice, this is your space to feel empowered to step into your greatness.

#beatrueicon #staytrueandboldlygrow

In this episode of the TrueIcon Podcast, Jen sits down with Reina Ciccarone, Creative Director and co-founder of 3tone Digital. Reina shares her journey from feeling like a "minion" in corporate America to building a thriving, family-owned digital agency with her husband, all while raising four children.

Reina opens up about what it really takes to turn a vision into reality, including the decision to "burn the boats" and go all-in on her business with no backup plan. Together, Jen and Reina discuss how to reclaim your creativity, why traditional networking events feel so fake (and how Reina is changing that), and the ultimate game-changer for any business owner: learning that "no" is a complete sentence.

If you are tired of following society's rules, feeling stuck in a creative rut, or wondering how to balance massive dreams with family life, this conversation will give you the permission to trust your gut and build a life on your own terms.

If this episode inspired you, please subscribe, rate, and leave a review! It helps us showcase more authentic stories.

Takeaways

• Going all-in
• Reclaiming creativity from corporate
• The power of vision boards and messy action.
• Ditch stuffy networking
• The power of saying no

Chapters
00:00 Support and Partnership
33:23 Overcoming Fear and Doubt
43:09 Living the Dream and Creating a Legacy
51:58 Staying True to Values and Saying No

Where to Find Reina Ciccarone & 3tonedigital
Website: https://www.3tonedigital.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/3tonedigital
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reina-☕-ciccarone-850308a2/

Where to Find Jen DeGroff & TrueIcon
Website: https://www.beatrueicon.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferdegroff/

About TrueIcon Podcast
Hosted by Jennifer DeGroff, the TrueIcon Podcast is a interview about authenticity, growth, and redefining success on your own terms. We celebrate uniqueness, normalize imperfection and lift people up. Whether you are navigating a career change, building a business, or trying to find your voice, this is your space to feel empowered to step into your greatness.

About Reina and 3tone Digital

3tone Digital is a New York State MWBE-certified, family-owned digital team. Founded by Reina and Tony Ciccarone, the company combines over 30 years of collective experience in design, development, and marketing.

Reina Ciccarone is the Creative Director and co-founder. Blending creative design, storytelling, and strategy, she transforms brands into beautiful, high-performing digital experiences. Since launching 3tone Digital in 2022 with her husband, Tony, Reina has helped small businesses and nonprofits elevate their online presence through custom WordPress design, branding, SEO, and hands-on tech guidance.

Alongside her web design work, Reina creates community-centered workshops and digital learning experiences that blend creativity, technology, and storytelling. Through her Latte Learning series, she brings people together to learn, connect, and strengthen their digital footprints.

In this episode of the True Icon Podcast, Jen sits down with Erin Fortin- a PhD chemist who left her 24/7 job working on multi-million dollar robots at Intel to build a thriving, bicoastal photography agency.

Erin opens up about the terrifying but liberating decision to bet on herself, the power of surrounding yourself with people who inspire you, and why "taking up space" is the opposite of being egotistical—it’s actually how we help others. Erin also shares her deeply personal story of surviving a stroke at 37 as a healthy marathon runner. It was a terrifying wake-up call that radically shifted her perspective on health, hustle culture, and what it truly means to build a legacy today.

If you’ve ever felt the quiet pull that there is "more" out there for you, or if you are navigating your own career pivot, this conversation will give you the courage to go find it.

If this episode inspired you, please subscribe, rate, and leave a review! It helps us bring more authentic stories to listeners like you.

Takeaways

• Taking up space: Sharing your story isn't egotistical-it empowers others.
• The pivot: How to leave a rigid corporate job for a fulfilling creative business.
• Community is everything: Surround yourself with people who inspire and challenge you.
• Health over hustle: Why your well-being is the ultimate business strategy.
• Legacy is now: It’s built through your daily actions, not just what you leave behind.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Career Transition
08:10 Transition from Engineering to Photography
19:16 Starting the Photography Business
27:38 Challenges and Growth in Business
35:25 Balancing Business Ownership and Vulnerability
48:18 Building a Legacy Through Actions and Values

Where to Find Erin Fortin
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erinfortinphoto
Website: https://www.erinfortinphotography.com

Where to Find Jen DeGroff & TrueIcon
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beatrueicon
Website: https://beatrueicon.com/?utm_source=TI_Podcast
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferdegroff/

About the True Icon Podcast
Hosted by Jennifer (Jen) DeGroff, the TrueIcon Podcast is a conversational interview show about authenticity, leading with values, growth, and redefining success on your own terms. We celebrate the hidden sides of people, normalize imperfection, break down judgments, and lift people up. Whether you are navigating a career change, building a business, or just trying to find your voice, this is your space to feel worthy, capable, and empowered to step into your greatness.

#staytrueandboldlygrow

In this episode of the TrueIcon Podcast, Jen sits down with Allison Beyer, CEO of Beyer Creative, a video production company that helps brands tell their story with clarity and confidence. Allison spent years building a career in higher education that looked impressive on paper and felt hollow on the inside. She helped students find their paths while quietly drowning on her own. Then she listened.

Today she runs a thriving creative business, has built a community she never thought she would have, and is just getting started.

Allison and Jen talk about the difference between the fear of going and the fear of staying, and why sometimes the scarier choice is not leaving. Allison opens up about the social anxiety that kept her isolated for years, the networking event that changed everything, and what it felt like to try video editing for the first time and feel completely on top of the world. She also talks about skills, why nothing from your past is wasted, and what it looks like to build a business and a life that actually fits who you are.

In this episode:

• The fear of staying vs. the fear of going and why both are real
• How social anxiety kept Allison isolated for years and what finally shifted
• The networking event she almost skipped that changed her entire life
• Trying video editing for the first time and feeling on top of the world
• Why nothing from your past career is ever wasted
• Building Beyer Creative and finally choosing a path that fits
• Legacy, community, and bringing more women into video production

Episode chapters:
00:00 Welcome and intro
01:13 What is taking up the most space right now
03:43 The fear of staying vs. the fear of going
05:54 Social anxiety, isolation, and the nagging feeling something was missing
14:25 The career that looked right on paper and felt wrong inside
22:36 The moment she finally listened
28:30 Trying video editing for the first time
34:33 Transferable skills and why nothing is wasted
39:16 Building Beyer Creative and staying true to the vision
51:40 Legacy, community, and bringing more women into video production

If this episode inspired you, please subscribe, rate, and leave a review.

Connect with Allison:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allisonbeyer/
Instagram: @allison.beyer | @beyercreative
Website: www.beyer-creative.com

Connect with Jen and TrueIcon:
Instagram: @beatrueicon
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferdegroff/
Website: https://www.beatrueicon.com

About Allison Beyer:
Allison Beyer is the CEO of Beyer Creative, a video production company that helps brands tell their story with clarity and confidence. She is passionate about community, creativity, and bringing more women into the world of video production.

About the TrueIcon Podcast:
Hosted by Jennifer DeGroff, the TrueIcon Podcast is an interview show about authenticity, growth, and redefining success on your own terms.

#beatrueicon #staytrueandboldlygrow #videoproduction #entrepreneurship