ABOUT YKAL

ABOUT YKAL

Founded in 2010 by Andrea Owen, Your Kick-Ass Life started out as a blog (Andrea started the blog in 2008 under “Live Your Ideal Life”) writing about women’s empowerment. Your Kick-Ass Life sets out to help women define and create their own kick-ass lives.

Our mission, through weekly podcasts, weekly emails, books, and social media, is to empower women with tools, techniques, and advice to live better.

WHAT YKAL STANDS FOR AND SUPPORTS:

I’ll be frank: When you’re talking about women’s empowerment and how to start feeling “good enough”, you’re talking about feminism. And when you’re talking about feminism, you’re talking about patriarchy. And when you’re talking about patriarchy, you’re talking about white supremacy. It’s all connected.

If those words make you uncomfortable, there is work to be done.

If you’re a feminist, you’re in the right place. If you’re not, you’re also in the right place. Please stick around and hear what I have to say. I don’t shy away from hard topics like talking about my own inherent racism that I’ve been untangling and unlearning over the past few years, how diet culture keeps women quiet, obedient, and small (both literally and metaphorically), and other topics that are directly related to all things personal development.

Since I understand how important receipts are and you should know I am actually doing the work, not just saying I am, we’ve put together this spreadsheet and keep it updated. Feel free to use any of the resources you see there.

I donate to feminist organizations, have a diverse, woman-run team and do my best to have all different voices on the podcast, especially marginalized ones. (This is by no means to tell you what a “good white person” I am– trust me, I have A LOT more work to do. It’s to be clear on where the money goes, if you choose to sign up for a program with me, as well as to tell you what our company values are.)

At YKAL, we believe:

Black lives matter.
Science is real.
Love is love.
Shame is not a tool for educating or growth.
Loving and kind boundaries are important.
Women’s rights are human rights.
Being trauma informed is important in personal development (and always).
Patriarchy and white supremacy is the root of the problem for many of the topics covered in self-help and is something that hurts everyone.

MEET THE TEAM: 

Jessica Sharp

Jessica Sharp is passionate about supporting underserved and minority communities, diverse representation, and brain education. Jessica is the Founder and CEO of Sharp Brain Consulting, a brain-based organizational development firm. Through her work with SBC, she is working to transform organizations through education about the brain. Additionally, she serves as an adjunct faculty member with the Organizational & Leadership Psychology Department at William James College. Jessica has a Master’s of Public Affairs from the University of Missouri and is currently a student at William James College where she is obtaining a Doctorate in Leadership Psychology. In her free time, Jessica enjoys reading, listening to podcasts, and spending time with friends and family.
Emily Kristofferson

Emily Kristofferson has been Andrea's right-hand woman growing Your Kick-Ass Life Coaching since 2012. Bringing nearly a decade of experience in the online coaching space, Emily makes everything run smoothly behind the scenes. In fact, Andrea jokes that Emily knows more about YKAL than she does and she sleeps better knowing that Emily is part of the team! When not working, Emily is a doting dog mom, a personal development junkie, and an aspiring yogi, always looking for what new adventure may lie around the corner.

Darlene Victoria

Darlene Victoria is our Podcast Editor and Virtual Assistant. She handles many of the behind-the-scenes podcast tasks, ensuring our weekly dose of the YKAL podcast is handled without interruption. She joined our team in 2015. Darlene has been producing podcasts and working from home since 2008. When it's time to unplug, she can be found listening to True Crime and Technology podcasts, playing with her toddler son, enjoying nature and gardening, and participating in family fun runs.

Rebecca Metauro

Self-deemed paperwork and organizational nerd, Rebecca Metauro loves to do all of the boring administrative tasks that bog down business owners. Not only does she help an array of business owners with their administrative tasks, but she also specializes in client care. Her personal touch with assisting her clients with customer relationships, onboarding, program continuity, and technical support really makes the difference in how our clients feel supported. Rebecca is the person you will find on the other end of support here so if you need any help, don’t hesitate to reach out! When she’s not assisting Andrea you can find her deep in a good book, with her hoop and floss working on an embroidery piece, or hanging out with her kiddos, fur babies and hubby.

Christina James

Christina James provides kick-ass copywriting for Your Kick Ass Life. To pay for her three-dog mini-zoo in Texas, she freelances and writes contemporary romance with heat and heart under her super-secret pen name. Just ask. She'll point you to her books. She has undergraduate degrees in journalism and English from Southern Methodist University and a Master's degree in American literature from the University of Texas at Austin.