Less Presentation. More Conversation.

Written By Cynthia Roth

I wanted to create a small puberty workshop for Teagan and her friends. It sounded manageable, fun, and like something I was qualified to do. Puberty isn’t rocket science. Communication is, though. I was confident that I could soften the science and sprinkle fun on the facts because I’d spent decades writing content and building wellness workshops, training programs, and trainer education curricula. The process made sense to me.

But before I built anything, I needed to understand what already existed.

I started locally, looking at who was doing this work in San Diego County. I wanted to learn, not reinvent. I found one program offering live workshops in San Diego and several others focused on online courses.

I also found an organization in Louisville, Kentucky that I absolutely loved: Period of Change. I reached out to the founder to explore opening a chapter locally. It would have taken more time than I wanted, and I realized that while our values aligned, our approaches had a different feel, mine a little more Taylor Swift. Still, I can’t say enough about her generosity. She engaged with me, offered guidance, and even read my business plan. I love her for that.

Each organization approached the work differently, and none of them created the environment I was imagining.

I wanted it small. Less presentation, more conversation.

One of my core values is being fact-based, so I went deep on the content. I used Planned Parenthood’s SexEd2Go for age-appropriate, reusable materials. I reviewed peer-reviewed research from the Cleveland Clinic. I enrolled in coursework through the California Prevention Training Center. I paid attention to what girls can learn at this age, but more importantly, what they should learn. A lot is better saved for later.

After researching, writing, and rewriting (seven times!), I brought the work to my team.

That team includes an RN (Labor + Delivery), an educator (who taught first grade for over 25 years), and a trusted fitness coach and dance instructor (who understands bodies, movement, and what it actually takes to hold the attention of kids). Their role wasn’t to make it bigger or flashier. It was to ensure that the science was accurate, the language was appropriate, the developmental level was right, and yes, that it was fun.

Being loud has never been my goal. Being responsible is.

Cynthia Roth

I’m a marketing leader, educator, and certified coach with over 15 years of experience creating content, training programs, and education initiatives in the fitness and wellness space. Throughout my career, I’ve worked at the intersection of business strategy, behavior change, and well-being, and I’ve always been deeply passionate about helping people thrive.

I’ve had the opportunity to partner with brands such as Reebok, CrossFit, Aetna and The Active Network to design engaging, scalable programs. My writing has also been featured in publications including IDEA Fitness Journal, Oxygen, and Competitor Magazine.

Alongside my Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and my certification as an iPEC coach, I’m currently earning a Master’s Degree in Social Work to deepen my understanding of human development, systems-level thinking, and meaningful, lasting change.

As the proud founder of The Pep Talk Diaries, I’m finally able to bring my experience, passion, and parenthood together to fill a gap I’ve long felt was missing; honest, supportive puberty education for young girls.

The idea became personal when I realized that if I wanted my daughter (and her friends) to have better tools, language, and support during this stage of life, I was probably going to have to create it myself. And because I knew how to build, write, and scale educational programs, I did.

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Why I Started The Pep Talk Diaries: Raising Confident Girls Starts Earlier Than We Think