Women In Media Spotlight: Heather Shore,CEO and Co-Founder of Women of HERstory Podcast

Heather Shore is the CEO and co-founder of Women of HERstory, and co-host of Women of HERstory: A Podcast. As a performing artist, when the COVID-19 pandemic swept through NYC, she knew she had to embark on a new adventure- entrepreneurial- as there was no guarantee of when live theatre would be
making its’ way back to our stages. Heather has always had a passion for history, and the discrepancies
in the representation of women in the archives. Women of HERstory is dedicated to celebrating women who have made, or are making, their mark on society. The juxtaposition of women of the past with interviews with women of today helps us to realize how far we’ve come, how far we still have to go, and brings recognition to women who have otherwise been edited down to a sentence in a textbook chapter. She hopes to be able to expand the business and podcast to reach as many people as possible!

Throughout her life, Heather has pursued the arts in all forms, with a primary focus on the performing
arts. She has performed all over the world, including Kagoshima, Japan and Florence, Italy. After completing ballet education at North Central School of Ballet under the direction of Les Jordan III in
Keller, TX, Heather went to the University of North Texas to study dance. It was during this time that she fell in love with Musical Theatre and everything it has to offer. Heather sung throughout her life, and MT offered a combination of her two greatest loves, dancing and singing!

That doesn’t mean she isn’t interested in everything under the sun, from baseball and knitting, to cooking and a particular obsession with parkour, Heather strives to learn as much as she can about anything that comes across her path. After a dear friend’s life was tragically and suddenly cut short just before entry into University, Heather decided that life was too short to not take risks to make your dreams come true. After a few years at UNT, and scrimping as many pennies as possible, Heather packed up four suitcases and moved to New York City. She hit the ground running and booked numerous concerts, tours, and shows across the United States and the globe.

We Empower Magazine got an exclusive interview with Heather.

Heather Shore

Please tell us how the Women of HERstory brand came to be?

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, my partner Joe and I found ourselves in a tricky situation. We are both performing artists, and suddenly we were without employment for who knew how long. During NYC’s shutdown, we would take daily walks, trying to figure out our next step, and somehow our conversation landed on the lack of representation of women in various fields.

We are both true-crime podcast fans, so we were already interested in podcasts, and Joe said, “why don’t you start a podcast about women doing amazing things?” and Women of HERstory: A Podcast was born. Initially, the show was going to be exclusively researched biographical episodes of women of yesterday and today. I wanted to do an episode about Rachel Balkovec, the first full-time female hitting coach hired by a major league baseball organization, but I couldn’t find much information about her. I reached out, asking if I could ask her some questions via email so I could write up an episode when she offered the option to simply interview her via video chat! Thus, adding the interview element of our show, which offers a different element than a lot of other shows. Something else unique to us is the fact that Joe is a host. Men can be feminists, too, and feminism isn’t a bad word. We’ve since established an LLC and hope to be bringing some amazing new multimedia projects to everyone as soon as possible!

What do you enjoy most about the work that you do?

I really love being able to provide a space for women to share their passions, triumphs, and failures. We all have a story to tell, and to have a platform that allows me to amplify those stories is something I never thought I would be able to do. A theme we’ve encountered in our researched episodes is that so often people aren’t given the credit they deserve until well after their death. So here we are, making sure people are celebrated while they’re alive. Amazing!

What was your experience like performing all over the world?

Shaping. I have been so fortunate to have been provided with the opportunity to travel starting at a young age and having been a stage mouse from the time I was 3, every place I ever went I dreamt of leaving my stamp on. When you travel with an open mind and an open heart, it is life-changing, and to have been able to not just travel to places, but to leave a part of myself there with once in a lifetime performances, is unexplainable.

My time in Kagoshima, Japan was certainly a time of formation for me. You learn a lot about yourself when you don’t have the ability to communicate. I try to take everything I can from each experience so that I can continue to bring more of myself to every aspect of life.

How do you feel you make a difference in the world?

I’d like to think that I give others the confidence to be unapologetically themselves. Sometimes we feel like we need permission to voice our opinions, passions, failures, and silly jokes for fear of being ostracized or judged. It took me a long time, but I have found that the more I share my vulnerabilities and things that make me different, the more common ground I find with others. Hopefully, that’s the difference I make in the world.

When you think of women’s empowerment, what comes to mind?

I think of support when I think of women’s empowerment. It’s not about demands, it’s about the ability to examine the discrepancies and inequalities throughout our society, open discussions, and take action. Amongst women there are also incredible inequalities when you bring in race and class, so for women’s empowerment to be experienced by all, we must examine our own differences and provide the support needed for those who may not have had the advantages that others have.

What other awesome endeavors are you currently involved with or are working on?

I’m always working on something, but at the time of my answering these amazing questions, I cannot disclose details on current projects quite yet! Boring answer, I know, but it’s the truth! If you want to keep up with what I’m doing, or with what we’re up to at Women of HERstory: A Podcast, you can always follow our socials medias, and you can visit our website!

What do you want your legacy to look like?

I want my legacy to be littered with great successes and epic fails. I want it to look like I took risks that didn’t always work out, but I kept moving forward. Trekking along until I found the ways that proved that hard work and a sprinkle of luck paid off. The road is never smooth, and it’s never a singular road. There should be potholes and dirt paths, river rapids and sky-high mountains. Some to be barreled through, others that sent me on a scenic detour that led me to a new avenue. I hope my legacy will encourage someone else to try that one thing they are convinced will never come to fruition.

 

Keep up-to-date:

Instagram: @womenofherstorypodcast @heathershore09
Twitter: @theherstorypod @heathershore09
TikTok: @womenofherstory
Facebook: Women of HERstory
www.ofherstory.com

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