Keni Silva is shown speaking with her daughter Alexis Silva during the first episode of In Heels with Keni Silva, which has been recognized as a 2026 Signal Awards finalist in the Self-Improvement & Self-Help category.
Keni Silva, the show’s creator and host of In Heels with Keni Silva, a series that has earned a 2026 Signal Awards finalist spot in Self-Improvement & Self-Help.
This accolade honors the program’s debut episode, an intimate mother-daughter discussion between Keni Silva and Alexis, whose personal story helped inspire the series.
It may have started as my dream, but this has never been a journey I've taken alone.”— Keni SilvaLOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, September 29, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — In Heels with Keni Silva has been announced as a 2026 Signal Awards finalist in Self-Improvement & Self-Help for its premiere episode, “Turning Survival into Music, Mission & Miracles: A Mother-Daughter Conversation with Alexis Silva“, which features Keni Silva’s daughter, singer-songwriter and philanthropist Alexis Silva.
This achievement represents a major milestone for the series, yet for Silva, the episode holds a significance that goes well beyond being the show’s first installment.
When Alexis was just fourteen, she faced a life-threatening adrenal tumor that required a complicated seven-hour surgical procedure. In that episode, mother and daughter revisit that experience from two viewpoints: Alexis as the teenager enduring it, and Silva as the parent managing one of the most frightening and uncertain times in their family’s life.
Alexis later turned that ordeal into purpose, using what she endured to fuel her music, advocacy, and philanthropic work. Her journey also helped inspire the creation of In Heels itself.
“Watching Alexis go through something that could have completely changed the direction of her life, and then seeing what she chose to do with that experience, stayed with me,” Silva said. “I kept thinking about how many people overcome something and then do something with it. They build something, help someone else, find a new purpose or become a different version of themselves. I wanted those voices to be heard. That became the heart of In Heels.”
Making Alexis the series opener was a deliberate choice long before production began.
In August 2025, during a family trip to Greece, Silva had a conversation with her children about fears and overcoming them. When they turned the question back to their mother, Silva shared a fear of her own: chasing her dream of launching a talk show while ensuring her children never felt that building it came at the expense of being present for them.
“My biggest fear wasn’t failing,” Silva recalled. “I told them, ‘I’m starting this talk show. It’s my dream, and I know it’s going to take a lot of work. My biggest fear is that you’re going to feel like I’m not giving you enough time.’”
Alexis’s reply stayed with her.
“She told me, ‘Mom, if you just spend one hour a day with us talking, that’s enough. We’re going to support you.’ I remember telling her that I wanted her there at the beginning with me because she was part of my journey — and, in so many ways, her story was part of why In Heels existed in the first place.”
When filming began in October, Silva kept that commitment. Alexis became the first guest to sit opposite her on the In Heels set.
That conversation established many of the themes that would later define the series: resilience, identity, family, purpose, and what individuals do after an experience alters the trajectory of their lives.
When Silva submitted In Heels to the Signal Awards in April 2026, she intentionally selected that first episode.
“Of all the episodes I could have submitted, I wanted it to be Alexis’s,” Silva said. “Yes, In Heels is my dream, but my children have been beside me through the process of building it. I wanted Alexis to be the first guest, and I wanted this episode to represent what the show was created to do — give people a place to talk about what they have lived through, what they learned from it and what they chose to do next.”
Since its debut, In Heels with Keni Silva has featured open discussions with notable figures such as Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg, Mohamed Hadid, Gretchen Rossi, Garry Lineham, Dr. Daniel Pompa, and Dr. Nadine Macaluso, along with experts and leaders in wellness, mental health, relationships, business, philanthropy, and personal transformation.
This recognition places In Heels with Keni Silva among the 2026 Signal Awards finalist field, which this year includes acclaimed creators and hosts such as Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Obama, Jon Stewart, Amy Poehler, and Anderson Cooper. Finalists represent the season’s highest-scoring podcasts as determined by the Signal Awards Judging Academy.
When Silva learned that In Heels had been named a finalist, Alexis was the first person she notified.
“She said, ‘Oh my God, I’m so proud of you. I love you.’ And I said, ‘We did it. We did it together,’” Silva recalled. “Because that’s really how I feel. It may have started as my dream, but this has never been a journey I’ve taken alone.”
The Signal Awards revealed its 2026 finalists on September 29, with all finalists automatically entered into the Listener’s Choice public voting campaign. Voting remains open through October 15, and Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Listener’s Choice winners are scheduled to be announced October 20.
About In Heels with Keni Silva
In Heels with Keni Silva is a conversation series created and hosted by Keni Silva that explores resilience, reinvention, and the experiences that reshape people’s lives. Through candid discussions with notable voices, experts, entrepreneurs, advocates, and individuals with extraordinary personal stories, the series examines what happens after life challenges the version of ourselves we thought we knew — and how people discover purpose, strength, and identity on the other side.
In He
