Success. Stability. Achievement. From the outside, everything can look exactly right—and still feel completely disconnected from who you really are. In this moving episode of Words of Wisdom from Kick-Ass Women, hosts Liz Brohan and Mary Olivieri welcome special guest Shauna Hannan for a conversation about the quiet moments that change everything: the moments when you stop performing, stop proving, and start paying attention to yourself. Through stories of unexpected pivots, difficult choices, personal reinvention, and learning to trust inner knowing over outside expectations, this episode explores what it means to reclaim your own voice across different seasons of life. Together, they unpack identity, burnout, motherhood, relationships, healing, and the surprising courage it takes to leave behind things that once defined you. If you’ve ever wondered whether the life you built still fits the person you’ve become—or felt guilty for wanting something different—this conversation offers permission to pause, reflect, and choose yourself. Because sometimes growth doesn’t begin with doing more. It begins with listening.
What if the stories that shape us—and the stories we tell—aren’t so different after all?
In this thoughtful and unexpected episode of Words of Wisdom from Kick-Ass Women, hosts Liz Brohan and Mary Olivieri sit down with Shauna Hannan, president of the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, to explore the intersection of storytelling, leadership, creativity, and faith.
Shauna shares her unconventional path—from aspiring documentary filmmaker to pastor, professor, author, and seminary president—and reveals why she believes preaching and filmmaking have more in common than most people realize. Both, she argues, are rooted in creating experiences that move people, not simply delivering information.
The conversation explores what happens when institutions invite participation instead of hierarchy and why listening may be one of the most transformational leadership skills we have. Shauna reflects on reimagining theological education for a changing world, creating greater access to learning, and making room for voices traditionally left out of the conversation.
Liz and Mary bring their signature curiosity and candor to topics including creativity as a spiritual practice, the role of performance in communication, collaborative leadership, and the challenge of letting go of nostalgia in order to build something meaningful for the future.
Along the way, the discussion touches on wilderness, art, interpretation, community, and those unexpected moments that redirect our lives.
Whether you identify as spiritual, religious, creative, questioning—or simply curious—this episode is an invitation to think differently about leadership, meaning, and the courage to trust your own voice.
Because sometimes the most powerful stories aren’t the ones we’re told.
They’re the ones we’re invited to help create.
Resources & References Mentioned
Highlight Quotes
“Preaching and filmmaking aren’t that different. Neither is about delivering information—they’re about creating an experience that changes people.”
“We’re not trying to get back to the glory days. We’re making them. Growth begins when we stop worshipping nostalgia and start imagining what’s next.”
“Bring exactly who you are. Don’t leave parts of yourself behind. The future gets stronger when more voices are invited into the story.”