A podcast

about teenagers and everything that goes along with raising them.

When it comes to parenting, there may be no more difficult time than adolescence (which, we hate to tell you, lasts until the mid-20s). You need a partner, someone who really gets it and who can SPEAK TEEN. We started this podcast to save you time, money, and sanity! We’ve dedicated our careers to raising healthy, thriving young adults and we can’t wait to share all of our pro-tips (not to mention the shit your teenagers won’t tell you!).

 
 

Cathy Chen

Cathy has been a professional educator for the past 20 years. She started her career as an undergraduate admissions officer for her alma mater, the University of Southern California, which led her to a college counseling position at Menlo School, a respected college preparatory school in Silicon Valley. Her passion for helping teens led her to earn a Master's degree in Prevention Science and Practice from Harvard University in 2015. She is the founder of Village Coaches, a teen coaching company whose mission is to help teens pursue lives of value and meaning. She lives in Silicon Valley with her partner Adin, and their fur babies, Winston, Ozzy, and Burt Reynolds. Her love for Asian food is matched only by her love for karaoke, thanks to her Chinese roots. When she isn't busy coaching students, she spends her time making pottery, learning new hip hop routines, or trying to stand on her hand (emphasis on "trying").

 
 

Meredith Herrera

Meredith has been ‘speaking teen’ for two decades and like Cathy, she began her career as a college admission professional for her alma mater, the University of Southern California (fun fact: Cathy hired her!). Driven by her passion to build resilience in young people (and an oh-so-geeky love of politics), Meredith earned a Master’s degree in Education and Human Development, focused in school counseling, from The George Washington University. She’s made it her mission to promote adolescent well-being. When it comes teen behavior and teen issues, Meredith has seen it ALL as a Director of College Counseling, Academic Dean, Dean of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion, and Dean of Students in elite high school settings. She is the Founder of Herrera Educational Consulting, a company dedicated to promoting social emotional learning in schools and supporting educators of color and trustee at the Mt. Tamalpais School. In her downtime, Meredith will likely be binge watching The West Wing, practicing Muay Thai, overanalyzing the ph balance of her garden, and talking to Cathy about food.