About the Show
Listen on –
Anne W. Schiavone
Attorney/Managing Partner, Fierce Advocate, Certified Pilates Instructor
Anne is a Managing Partner and trial attorney who spent her first four years in law defending corporations before realizing she'd much rather beat them in court. For over two decades, she's been exclusively in the business of fighting for people—representing victims of negligence, discrimination, sexual abuse, and corporate wrongdoing. She's currently Past President of the Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys (one of only five women to hold the position of President in 70+ years), leads multi-district litigations involving thousands of cases, and has been recognized as one of the Top 50 Women Attorneys in Kansas and Missouri and a top 100 lawyer in both states. Anne was also selected into the 2020 Class of Women Who Means Business by the Kansas City Business Journal! When she's not fighting for the underdog, she's a rescue dog advocate (all pit bulls, all the time), world traveler, and newly certified Pilates instructor who proves you can absolutely reinvent yourself in your 40s.
Melissa McManamy
Founder of The Human Group, Professional Life Igniter, Former Corporate Warrior Turned Change Champion.
Melissa is the founder of The Human Group and spent 25 years as a Senior HR Leader and Management Consultant at Accenture before following her fire into entrepreneurship. As a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) and Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), she partners with everyone from C-Suite executives to women re-entering the workforce, helping them navigate change, find purpose, and ignite their full potential. Melissa knew from childhood she was a helper—the friend everyone came to with their secrets and struggles. Her superpower? She brings out the unfiltered truth in people through genuine curiosity, compassion, and the kind of listening that makes you feel truly seen. She's also a musical theater enthusiast, avid runner, proud mom of three daughters, and has read every single midlife book on the market (so you don't have to).
HOW TWO EAST COASTERS FOUND EACH OTHER IN THE MIDWEST
Fifteen years ago, fate (and kindergarten enrollment) brought Anne and Melissa together. Their kids were starting school, and within minutes of conversation, they discovered they were both East Coast transplants navigating the Midwest. The connection was instant. The bond was unbreakable.
"When you're raised on the East Coast and transplanted somewhere else, you feel it," Melissa says. "My people and personality still align more with my East Coast kin. When I find them, I feel at home—and that's exactly how I felt with Anne."
They're both driven, direct, adventurous, confident, and unapologetically funny. They have bellies on fire to live life fully and presently. They don't settle. They don't wait for permission. And yes, they interrupt each other constantly—because that's how East Coasters communicate. Passionately. Enthusiastically. With zero patience for beating around the bush.
Over the years, they've become more than friends—they're family. They've traveled together to Mexico, Costa Rica, Florida, California and beyond. They've been each other's accountability partners through career transformations, parenting chaos, and life's biggest challenges. Anne was Melissa's biggest cheerleader when she launched The Human Group in 2020, constantly pushing her with "just DO IT already." Melissa has been Anne's sounding board for everything in life including midlife reinventions.
Welcome to Midlife:
Interrupted and Unfiltered.
Two East Coast women. One powerful mission.
Pull up a chair. Pour yourself a drink. Let's get real.
Don’t just listen. Interrupt the routine!
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