Embrace Your Strengths

EP 200 Celebrating Episode 200 with Gerry Buchholz

Barbara and Gerry celebrate 200 episodes of Embrace Your Strengths!   Gerry is EYS's biggest fan!  She shares a bit about how knowing her strengths "saved her marriage" and also living out her strengths daily gives her joy and passion as she meets with folks  and loves to share the life giving hope of knowing Jesus!   

You can hear more about her story on Episode 61.

Barbara talks about the history of EYS and the joy she gets from connecting with people and encouraging them  to live wholeheartedly in their strength areas. 

Find out your strengths by taking the CliftonStrengths Top 5 Assessment 

Workshops and Coaching with Barbara Culwell

Subscribe & Leave a Review on Embrace Your Strengths

 

EP 199 Restoring Broken Family Relationshipsin the Final Days with Josue and Nicole DeLeon

Josue's Top 5 CliftonStrengths are: Restoraive Connectedness, Woo, Communication and Context

Nicole's Top 5 Clfitonstrengths are:  Maximizer, Empathy, Harmony, Futuristic  and Developer

Nicole and Daniel (Mambo) make their home in Denver, Colorado, though they originally from Wisconsin and Mexico City. Nicole is a dedicated career coach who thrives on helping people discover their purpose and professional direction. Daniel works as a financial broker helping people to understand how the financial industry works so they can develop their own investment strategies.  

Together, they enjoy an active and adventurous lifestyle—hiking, mountain biking, traveling, and exploring new foods. Nicole especially loves rollerblading, while both cherish spending time with family and friends. Above all, they are passionate about sharing the message of Jesus and serving others through their local church. Their lives are marked by a love for community, faith, and meaningful connection.

Find out your strengths by taking the CliftonStrengths Top 5 Assessment 

Workshops and Coaching with Barbara Culwell

Subscribe & Leave a Review on Embrace Your Strengths

 

 

EP 198 Nature, Nurture and Her Strengths: The Gift of Two Families with Heather McDowell MacLeod

Heather McDowell Macleod's Top 5 CliftonStrengths are:  Positivity, Empathy, Developer, Communication & Includer 

Heather lives in Southern California with her husband, David, and their kids. Having grown up on CRU staff as the daughter of the McDowells, ministry has always been close to her heart. After six years of working directly with young adults, she recently stepped into the role of Director of Development at OC United. OC United is committed to keeping families together, preventing kids from entering foster care, and helping communities thrive through both prevention and intervention services.

Find out your strengths by taking the CliftonStrengths Top 5 Assessment  

Workshops and Coaching with Barbara Culwell

Subscribe & Leave a Review on Embrace Your Strengths

 

EP !97 Living Intentionally: A Life Devoted to People and Purpose with Tawny Williams

Tawny's Top 5 CliftonStrengths are:  Belief, Activator, Responsibiility, Achiever and Connectedness 

Tawny has been with Cru almost 30 years having served  in Baton Rouge, Costa Rica, Mexico, Colorado, and Orlando. She currently has the privilege of working with the Cru Coaching Center team as a launching specialist.  Being able to help students start ministries across the U.S. and world where there currently are none is what she loves doing.  She's married to Ryan and has two seniors, Sutton in high school, and Holden, at UF.  Best day for her would be one at the beach with her family, eating her homemade cookies, and cheering on the LSU Tigers.  

 

Find out your strengths by taking the CliftonStrengths Top 5 Assessment  

Workshops and Coaching with Barbara Culwell

Subscribe & Leave a Review on Embrace Your Strengths

 

 

EP 196 Love Rooted in God's Faithfulness with Michelle Sloan

Michelle's Top 5 CliftonStrengths are: Harmony, Activator, Relator, individualization and Responsbility  

Michelle lives in Austin Texas with  her  husband Austin and two girls Katherine and Margo. She  attended the University of Oklahoma and worked in campus ministry post college at SMU in Dallas. Most recently she has been  a part of the team at Generous Giving doing follow up for their retreats that happen all over the country. Her favorite things to do include being active and being outside (running and walking), eating good food (gluten free) and spending time with her wonderful family and friends! She also enjoys dabbling in pop culture as an outlet from mom life :)

Find out your strengths by taking the CliftonStrengths Top 5 Assessment  

Workshops and Coaching with Barbara Culwell

Subscribe & Leave a Review on Embrace Your Strengths

 

 

 

 

EP 195 Sojourning in France: Learning, Hosting and Savoring a New Season with Lana Urbis

Lana's Top 5 CliftonStrengths are:   Woo, Communication, Activator, Includer & Connectedness 

Lana  is currently living in Aix-en-Provence, a town in the South of France! She and her  husband  just moved there in July 2025  for an opportunity with his work, as well as a desire to be a part of God’s plan for the nations. Currently she spends her  days going to French school and enjoying all of the things that France has to offer! Before moving to France, she was a business strategy consultant and then worked for Poncho, a men’s outdoor clothing company based in Austin.

Find out your strengths by taking the CliftonStrengths Top 5 Assessment  

Workshops and Coaching with Barbara Culwell

Subscribe & Leave a Review on Embrace Your Strengths

 

 

 

 

EP !94 Adapting to a New Chapter in Charleston with Kelsey Linnartz

Kelsey's Top 5 CliftonStrengths are: Positivity, Strategic, Maximizer, Ideation and Adaptability 

Kelsey Linnartz is the artist and founder of LinnArtzy (yes, the name comes from her last name and a constant compliment, "you're so artsy"). She uses her top 5 strengths of Positivity, Strategic, Maximizer, Ideation, and Adaptability every day as an entrepreneur and creative.

She's a live fashion illustrator who draws guests at parties and brand events—think personalized fashion sketches created on the spot. She's worked with brands like Neiman Marcus, Alice & Olivia, Adobe, Kendra Scott, and a bunch of others, which still feels pretty surreal.

Originally from Fort Worth, Texas, Kelsey studied fashion design at Texas Tech University. She launched LinnArtzy in 2020 when the world needed some extra encouragement. Now she gets to do this full-time, which is honestly a dream.

After almost 5 years in NYC, she recently moved to Charleston, where she now works out of her art studio downtown. Kelsey travels often for events and collaborations. She's all about celebrating the good moments and adding some brightness to the tough ones—mixing fashion illustration with calligraphy and a whole lot of encouragement.

You can learn about LinnArtzy here!  

Find out your strengths by taking the CliftonStrengths Top 5 Assessment  

Workshops and Coaching with Barbara Culwell

Subscribe & Leave a Review on Embrace Your Strengths

 

 

EP 193 Championing Each Other in a New Season of Ministry with Matt and Elizabeth Bennett

Matt's Top 5 Strengths are:  Adaptability, Context, Positivity, Woo & Belief

Elizabeth's Top 5 Strengths are: Harmony, Relator, Discipline, Empathy & Focus 

Matt and Elizabeth live in Orlando, FL with their two sons, Caleb (2.5) and Shepherd (11 months). They met while serving in Italy with Cru, and recently moved back to the States. They now work at Cru's global headquarters, Matt in Risk Management and Elizabeth in Leadership Development and Human Resources. In their free time, they enjoy family walks, watching football, and making pancakes for breakfast. They are enjoying this season of stewarding their strengths through parenting their two boys and stepping into new ministry roles. 

Find out your strengths by taking the CliftonStrengths Top 5 Assessment  

Workshops and Coaching with Barbara Culwell

Subscribe & Leave a Review on Embrace Your Strengths

 

 

EP 192 Adoption, Trauma and the Power of Her Strengths With Kathy Ritz

Kathy's Top 5 Clifonstrengths are:   Woo, Belief, Competition, Learner and Focus 

Kathy lives in Cedar Park, Texas, mom of four and grandmother to one.  As Owner and Licensed Professional Counselor Associate, Kathy is using her strengths to help others on their emotional transformational journey.  Kathy uses a new form of therapy that integrates eye stimulation to transform emotions, bringing rapid results. You can find her at kathyritzcounseling.com.

Find out your strengths by taking the CliftonStrengths Top 5 Assessment  

Workshops and Coaching with Barbara Culwell

Subscribe & Leave a Review on Embrace Your Strengths

  

EP 191 Leveraging Her Strengths: Thriving as a Classical Teacher with Chloe Larson

Chloe's Top 5 CliftonStrengths are:  Input, Strategic, Responsibility, Discipline and Restorative 

Chloe Larson has been teaching Latin in the School of Rhetoric at Veritas Academy in Austin, Texas, for the past five years, where she also serves as the Dean of Student Life for 5th-12th grade. A grateful alumna of Regents School of Austin (Class of 2015), Chloe went on to earn her B.A. in Integrated Marketing from Gordon College. Though her degree was in marketing, she found herself most inspired by her Liberal Arts courses—a love that continues to fuel her passion for classical Christian education.

Outside the classroom, Chloe is a member of Providence Church, where she especially enjoys serving in the nursery. In her free time, she’s usually reading a good book, out on an evening walk, or catching up with friends over coffee.

Find out your strengths by taking the CliftonStrengths Top 5 Assessment  

Workshops and Coaching with Barbara Culwell

Subscribe & Leave a Review on Embrace Your Strengths