Through seasons of parenthood, partnership and entrepreneurism, Abby Green has grown in both her sense of self and her purpose.
She explores these topics — and much more — on her two popular podcasts, HERself and Pursuing HER Purpose.
Abby, who holds a bachelor’s degree in community health education and master’s of public health and is a certified personal and business coach, launched HERself in late 2019 with Amy Kiefer. The two had actually known each other for years before deciding to team up.
“Amy and I met in college, at UW–La Crosse,” she says. “We ran on the same cross country team but weren’t that close.”
But they stayed in touch as Amy started a blog and Abby worked in sales at an insurance company, where she met her husband Colin. As the women journeyed along similar paths, getting engaged, married and pregnant, they exchanged advice and recommendations. When they both became interested in hosting a podcast, Abby suggested joining forces.
“We were working side by side, and all of a sudden, one day I thought, we should do this together,” she says.
The idea was that they’d have a shared platform in which they’d dig deep into topics of motherhood, marriage, self-improvement and more, but with two very different voices.
Their approach and tone — of showing up with their full and authentic personalities — clicked with their audience, and the podcast grew quickly. Abby and Amy have published more than 150 episodes that have been downloaded more than two million times!
“I love speaking,” Abby says. “Podcasts are great because you can reach a lot of people at once. And you meet people where they’re at. Especially for busy mothers, it just works. I want them to be able to multitask.”
Abby’s primary goal with the podcast is to help women become not their best self but their truest self, and she expanded upon that concept when she and Amy started their second podcast along with Kat Herro. Launched in September 2021, Pursuing HER Purpose speaks to the woman who wants to run a businesses or pursue a passion and “hit her goals without losing herself, her values or her relationships along the way.” Through more than seventy episodes they’ve showcased the wisdom of experts along with behind-the-scenes looks into their own businesses and experiences.
Abby says they’ve never run out of content ideas for either podcast. They regularly bring on guests who have piqued their interest, and they listen to their audience when they ask about specific topics. “People DM us, and if we get the same question six to seven times, we create an episode about it,” she says.
They also aren’t afraid to explore a topic from a variety of angles. “We don’t have just one guilt episode,” Abby says. “Guilt is so multifaceted, so we have three different guilt episodes spread out over a couple of weeks.”
Abby loves learning from the experts featured on the podcasts, and she’s put marriage and motherhood advice to good use as she and Colin raise their three kids — six-year-old Lucy, four-year-old Micah and two-year-old Owen — in Waunakee.
She’s also learned the power in sharing your own story, even when it’s messy or before an issue is wrapped up. “A lot of people on podcasts talk about a problem when they’re nearly through it,” Abby says, adding that it can be more helpful to show up when you’re in the thick of it.
“Six days after our diagnosis, I jumped on the microphone,” she says, referring to episode 22 of HERself, in which she discussed learning that their third child would have Down Syndrome. It remains one of their most-downloaded episodes, and a local hospital now includes it among resources for parents receiving the diagnosis.
For Abby and Colin, the news was traumatic, partly because neither of them had any experience with Down Syndrome. But as they learned more — and met their sweet baby — their grief and fear turned to celebration and advocacy.
“There’s actually a 0.8 percent chance of a baby having Down Syndrome,” Abby says. “It’s a miracle — that’s the reframe. That’s why every time a baby is born with Down Syndrome, it needs to be celebrated like crazy.”
Abby says many people don’t understand this, or know what to say when a family receives the diagnosis. And some have questions but are afraid to ask. Both in person and on her podcasts, Abby seeks to provide a space for dialogue and learning.
“I want you to ask me those questions,” she says. “So then I can tell you and you can know. When someone gets a diagnosis, don’t say, ‘I’m sorry.’ Say, ‘Congratulations. This child going to change your world and you don’t know it yet.’”
Abby now sees how each of her children changed her and helped her grow and find new purpose. She’s learned what works for her and her family, and she hopes others — especially mothers — feel empowered to do the same.
And after living through trials and pivots on her own path and recording hundreds of wisdom-packed podcast episodes, Abby’s biggest piece of advice is powerful yet simple:
“Your life isn’t supposed to look like hers.”
– Katie Vaughn
Photos by Poppy and Olive Photography.
Katie Vaughn is the editor and co-founder of Northerly. She is a University of Wisconsin-Madison and Stanford University-trained journalist with experience as a writer, reporter, editor, blogger and author. She lives in Madison with her husband, daughter and son, and is always up for an adventure.