B Student Podcast
B Student Podcast
Podcast Description
The B Student Podcast is hosted by Betsy Gardner, the President and CEO of the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce. The podcast focuses on exploring the "B side" of influential and dynamic professionals.Just like the B-side of a record, where deeper, more personal passions often live, this podcast highlights the less publicized yet deeply impactful aspects of these individuals' work and lives. Betsy brings her extensive experience as a CEO, speaker, consultant, and executive coach to dive into conversations with experts from diverse fields.The goal is to provide listeners with actionable insights, strategies, and inspiration to help them succeed and create meaningful impact in their own careers and communities. Each episode introduces listeners to unique perspectives and lessons on topics like leadership, emotional intelligence, community building, and personal growth—empowering the audience to "be" more successful and impactful in their own lives.About the host:Betsy Gardner is a dynamic leader with a diverse professional background. Since January 2017, she has served as the President and CEO of the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce, where she has been instrumental in modernizing the organization and implementing innovative programs to support local businesses and the community. Under her leadership, the chamber has received national recognition, including the North American Chamber Innovation Grand Prize, surpassing larger chambers such as Greater Boston and Vancouver. Before her tenure at the chamber, Gardner co-founded Longwave Apparel Ltd. in London, a company specializing in luxury UV-protective swimwear. She also served as the Director of Business Development for Mentore Consulting Ltd., focusing on mentoring programs for women in leadership roles. A native of Winter Park, Florida, Gardner holds a degree in History from the University of Florida, where she was recognized for her leadership and academic achievements. She is passionate about community development and has been involved in various initiatives, such as "Relaunch: Career Re-entry for Professional Women," which assists women returning to the workforce. She is also known for advocating for important issues and her efforts to make the chamber's programming more inclusive and relevant.Her leadership style is characterized by a strong bias toward action, strategic clarity, and a commitment to driving transformative revenue growth and innovation. She is dedicated to building diverse and inclusive teams and is recognized for her ability to energize cross-functional teams to consistently outperform targets.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast explores vital themes such as leadership, emotional intelligence, community building, and personal growth. Episodes include conversations like 'Secret Ingredients of a Successful Salesperson' with Tim Lesnick, highlighting strategies for sales success and the importance of developing sales skills across various roles, and discussions focused on impactful community initiatives.

The B Student Podcast is hosted by Betsy Gardner, the President and CEO of the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce. The podcast focuses on exploring the “B side” of influential and dynamic professionals.
Just like the B-side of a record, where deeper, more personal passions often live, this podcast highlights the less publicized yet deeply impactful aspects of these individuals’ work and lives. Betsy brings her extensive experience as a CEO, speaker, consultant, and executive coach to dive into conversations with experts from diverse fields.
The goal is to provide listeners with actionable insights, strategies, and inspiration to help them succeed and create meaningful impact in their own careers and communities. Each episode introduces listeners to unique perspectives and lessons on topics like leadership, emotional intelligence, community building, and personal growth—empowering the audience to “be” more successful and impactful in their own lives.
About the host:
Betsy Gardner is a dynamic leader with a diverse professional background. Since January 2017, she has served as the President and CEO of the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce, where she has been instrumental in modernizing the organization and implementing innovative programs to support local businesses and the community.
Under her leadership, the chamber has received national recognition, including the North American Chamber Innovation Grand Prize, surpassing larger chambers such as Greater Boston and Vancouver. Before her tenure at the chamber, Gardner co-founded Longwave Apparel Ltd. in London, a company specializing in luxury UV-protective swimwear. She also served as the Director of Business Development for Mentore Consulting Ltd., focusing on mentoring programs for women in leadership roles.
A native of Winter Park, Florida, Gardner holds a degree in History from the University of Florida, where she was recognized for her leadership and academic achievements. She is passionate about community development and has been involved in various initiatives, such as “Relaunch: Career Re-entry for Professional Women,” which assists women returning to the workforce. She is also known for advocating for important issues and her efforts to make the chamber’s programming more inclusive and relevant.
Her leadership style is characterized by a strong bias toward action, strategic clarity, and a commitment to driving transformative revenue growth and innovation. She is dedicated to building diverse and inclusive teams and is recognized for her ability to energize cross-functional teams to consistently outperform targets.
Stephanie Bowman survived severe domestic violence, battled addiction, experienced homelessness with her two kids, and eventually lost custody of her children. But her story didn’t end there. Today, she is the Founder and CEO of One Heart for Women and Children, an organization that feeds and supports over 20,000 people in Central Florida every single month.
In this episode of the B Student podcast, host Ashley Billings sits down with Stephanie for a raw, honest look at what it takes to rebuild your life from nothing. Stephanie shares the daily realities of recovery, what it’s like to start a massive community movement with zero money or business plan, and the unbelievable, true story of how a stolen trailer unexpectedly became the catalyst for a million-dollar campaign.
If you are going through a dark season, trying to launch a passion project, or just need a reminder of what human resilience looks like, listen to this conversation.
What we discuss in this episode:
- The reality of escaping domestic violence and surviving on the streets with two children.
- Navigating addiction recovery, the foster care system, and finding the confidence to start over.
- How to launch a thriving nonprofit when you have no funding, no building, and no business plan.
- Breaking the stereotypes around food insecurity in Central Florida and helping those who need it.
- The wild story of the stolen trailer that completely changed the trajectory of One Heart.
Time Stamps:
(00:00) Meet Stephanie Bowman and the mission of One Heart for Women and Children
(03:18) The Victory Cup journey and 11 years of persistence
(06:42) Building relationships that fueled a million-dollar campaign
(10:05) Feeding families with dignity and ending hunger in Central Florida
(13:34) Escaping domestic violence and becoming homeless with two children
(17:58) Addiction recovery, foster care, and rebuilding her life
(21:27) Faith, mentorship, and finding the courage to move forward
(24:56) Starting a nonprofit with no money, building, or business plan
(28:31) The stolen trailer that unexpectedly changed everything
(33:02) Serving 20,000 people a month and the realities of food insecurity
(37:06) Breaking stereotypes about who needs help
(40:02) Stephanie’s message of hope for anyone facing their darkest season
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Listen to more episodes of The B-Student Podcast wherever you get your podcasts.
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Connect with our Guests at:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-bowman-8484998/?isSelfProfile=false
Website: https://bstephanie.com/
Learn More about Winter Park Chamber of Commerce: https://www.winterpark.org/
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Podcast produced by Hi Hello Labs: https://www.hihellolabs.com/

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