For the 100th episode of In The Suite, I’m sitting down with the woman who made the very first power move in my life — my mother, Joanne Sutera.

Long before there were downloads in over 133 countries, before sponsors, before a microphone ever turned on, there was one listener. Her. She believed in this work before there was proof it mattered.

Joanne’s life is a masterclass in reinvention. She grew up the oldest of nine children in a chaotic household and went on welfare as a teenager. At 18, she left home. At 19, she boarded a bus to New York with $30 in her pocket and no clear roadmap. She became a single mother and sole provider, put herself through nursing school, and later returned to earn her bachelor’s degree as an adult student determined to see the world through an educated lens.

Over the decades, she built careers in healthcare, entrepreneurship, and international business. She worked inside small, privately held companies, ran operations in a high-end salon, handled international sales, and later taught computer classes aboard an international cruise line. Retirement didn’t slow her down. It marked another reinvention — this time as a published poet and longtime docent at Grounds For Sculpture.

This conversation is about education as an exit strategy, reinvention at every stage of life, and the courage to leave situations that no longer serve you. It’s about resilience as a daily practice, not a personality trait. And it’s also about walking through one of the hardest chapters of our lives together as I navigate lung cancer, choosing to stay engaged, creative, and present in the middle of uncertainty.

If you are navigating change, considering a bold move, or wondering whether it’s too late to start again, this episode is for you.

Thank you for being here for 100 episodes.

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Ep 100: The Original Power Move — My Mom’s Story of Reinvention & Strength with Joanne Sutera