The Pink Change Purse
A podcast series about Possibilities, Opportunities and Empowerment for Women
The social landscape and fabric has changed dramatically for women in the U.S. over the centuries, and especially in recent years. The first major shift happened when, after a long and grueling fight, women finally received the right to vote in 1920. Most would agree that the 1960s and early 1970s was the second most pivotal time, when civil rights, the Equal Pay Act, and Roe v. Wade added dimensions and freedoms to women’s lives.
Yet, in 2025, women still earn “change on the dollar” compared to men’s earnings, and in 2025, some of our liberties seem to be unraveling.
This series strives to explore many aspects of women’s lives, from personal to professional challenges, rewards, growth, and aspirations, and the places where they intersect. Along the way, we hope to find some solutions about how to level the playing field so women can overcome the many barriers that prevent they from achieving equity in society and security in retirement.
Episode #11 – Women in Public Relations
In Episode #11 of The Pink Change Purse, Host Carol White Llewellyn of CommuniVision Studios gets insights from industry pros Jessica Lewis of LàLew Public Relations and Dawn Kellogg of Summit Federal Credit Union on changes they’ve seen in PR, how influencers and social media are altering the PR landscape, and tips on using PR to make an impact.
Episode #10 – Women and Grants
In Episode #10 of The Pink Change Purse, Host Carol White Llewellyn of CommuniVision Studios, Berta Rivera, Director of Community Programs at Rochester Area Community Foundation and Morgan Hellquist of Genesee Valley Council on the Arts take a deep dive into the importance and impact of the availability of grant funding within communities and how the current administration’s cuts are negatively impacting society.
Episode #9 – Women in Music
In Episode #9 of The Pink Change Purse, Host Carol White Llewellyn chats with percussionist, marimbist, drummer, singer, composer and Coordinator of Percussion Studies at Nazareth University Kristen Schiner McGuire, and Music Director host and producer on WXXI Classical 91.5, Mona Seghatoleslami about how they chose to get into music as a career, the many different directions one can take in a musical career, and balancing life and career in the field of music. They also share thoughts about Rochester’s rich music legacy and how it contributes to the community, and ways that non-professionals who love music can get involved in different groups locally.
Episode #8 – Women and Words
In Episode #8 of The Pink Change Purse, Host Carol White Llewellyn interviews Author Jennifer Collins and Arts Equity and Engagement Specialist Rachel DeGuzman about the importance of storytelling, their past and current projects and how those came about, their thoughts on why the number of published female writers has increased dramatically since 1970, and advice for wannabe writers.
Episode #7 – Women in Museums
In Episode #7 of The Pink Change Purse, Host Carol White Llewellyn interviews Margot Muto of Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester and Elizabeth Alecki of the Rochester Museum & Science Center on the role women play in museums. We talk about the many “hats” that museum visitors have no idea women in museums wear, whether museum management is becoming, per an article in The New York Times, is becoming a “pink collar profession,” how the recent erosion of grants and the economic downturn may affect museums, and more!
Episode #6 – Women and Democracy
In Episode #6 of The Pink Change Purse, Host Carol White Llewellyn interviews Kelly Cheatle, Artistic Director of Airigami who is running for City Council and Deborah L. Hughes, President & CEO of the Susan B. Anthony House and Museum, about such topics as women’s historic role in preserving democracy, how women are taking on roles as the cornerstones of Democracy, and what actions people can take to help preserve Democracy.
Episode #5 – Women in Visual Arts
In Episode #5 of The Pink Change Purse, Host Carol White Llewellyn interviews Visual Artists Jacquie Germanow, Olivia Kim and Suzi Zefting-Kuhn on how artists discover and develop their own unique style, their sources of encouragement and the obstacles they’ve encountered in creating art, and ways to prepare financially for entrepreneurship in the field of visual arts.
Episode #4 – Women in Photography
In Episode #4 of The Pink Change Purse, Host Carol White Llewellyn interviews Photographers Marie Costanza and and Elena Dilai about such topics as how to distinguish yourself as a photographer when everyone owns a camera, their personal philosophies on capturing photos, a discussion of each of their personal passion projects, and why photography is a wonderful field for women who are often balancing family and career.
Episode #3 – Women in Film
In Episode #3 of The Pink Change Purse, Host Carol White Llewellyn interviews film Producer Chris Christopher and Filmmaker, photographer and Film Instructor Clara Reidlinger about story telling through the lens of a video camera. We’ll be talking about the types of works each produce, the dearth of females in principle filmmaking roles and the changes that have occurred since Chris first got into making films. We’ll also delve into how each got started in filmmaking, the challenges in getting films funded, making ends meet as a filmmaker, and what advice they’d give a daughter or niece who wanted to enter the world of filmmaking.
Episode #2 – Women in Theatre
In Episode #2 of The Pink Change Purse, Host Carol White Llewellyn will head into the footlights to discuss with Freyda Schneider, Executive Director & Founder of TYKEs and Brynn Tyszka, Artistic Director at Blackfriars Theatre to talk about what its like to be a leader in the world of Theatre. We’ll be covering topics such as why women are the primary theater ticket purchasers, but men write the majority of plays produced and hold the majority of leadership roles, what the role of theater is in today’s world, and how to balance home and career in the modern world of theater.
Episode #1 – Women in Dance and Movement
In Episode #1 of The Pink Change Purse, Host Carol White Llewellyn will be talking to Natalie Rogers-Cropper of Garth Fagan Dance and Heather Stevenson of PUSH Physical Theatre, focusing on the rewards and challenges of being a woman in the field of dance and movement. We’ll be covering topics such as balancing home life and a career that often keeps you out for evening performances and takes you on the road, career opportunities that are and that are not there for women, and how the financial picture stacks up for retirement and long-term financial health for women in the world of dance and movement.
Audio Links to Podcast
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We thank Genesee Valley Council on the Arts, their staff, and the Grants Committee for their support, and for selecting The Pink Change Purse as a benefactor of their Community Arts Grant.
This project is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrants Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of The Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and administered by the Genesee Valley Council on the Arts.
We also thank Rochester Community Media Center for agreeing to act as the Fiscal Sponsor for The Pink Change Purse.
We are a proud Member of RocVox Recording and Production, with which we partner on the production of The Pink Change Purse.