Meet the Handyma'ams

Three licensed pros on a mission to make sure no woman ever feels helpless in her own home.

Our Story

It started with one 175-year-old house and a renovation that stalled during the pandemic. Samantha picked up the tools herself, then a flip house, then jobs for friends, and eventually a residential builder’s license.

Today, Samantha, Emily, and Arly run MyHandyma’am, a full-time construction company, and How to Handyma’am, where we teach women to take care of their homes with confidence. Because knowledge is freedom.

What We Believe

Empower women with real home repair skills.
Build a community where you never have to do it alone.
Open doors to the trades for women who want in.
Work smarter with contractors by knowing what to ask and what to expect.

Three women in a workshop, two standing and one sitting on a step stool, smiling at the camera. One woman is sitting on a step ladder, leaning on a yellow railing, with a ladder behind her. The workshop has tools and supplies visible in the background.

Young woman with long blond hair, wearing a beige hoodie and headphones, smiling and looking down, sitting in front of a microphone in a radio studio with purple curtains and bookshelf in the background.

Arly Streed

Co-host · Chief Educational Officer

Arly grew up learning hands-on skills from her family and never stopped. She earned a biology degree from Olivet College, then found her way to the job site, where she now paints, tiles, hangs wallpaper, and does trim carpentry like it’s nothing.

As Field Services Manager, she mentors our team and trains every new hire, and she’s also worked with a domestic violence shelter. Teaching is what lights her up. Whether it’s a new employee or a first-time DIYer, Arly loves watching someone realize, “Oh, I can do this.”

A woman with red hair wearing headphones and a blue sweatshirt, smiling and speaking into a microphone in a recording or broadcasting setting. The sweatshirt reads 'My HandyMAM Home Repairs and Renovations' and features illustrations of people wearing sunglasses, holding tools, and working on home improvement projects. Purple curtains are in the background, and she is sitting at a table.

Samantha Pearl

Co-host • Licensed Residential Builder • Chief Operations Officer

Samantha spent years in nonprofit healthcare, armed with a business degree and an MBA, before a 175-year-old house changed everything. When the pandemic stalled her and her husband’s renovation in 2020, she picked up the tools herself. One project led to a flip house, the flip led to jobs for friends and family, and those jobs led to her residential builder’s license.

She started How to Handyma’am for every woman who’s ever felt helpless in her own home. Her goal is simple: teach women what’s possible, so they can decide for themselves. “It’s all about giving them choices.

A woman with long wavy blond hair, wearing glasses and headphones, sitting at a table with a microphone, smiling, in front of a purple curtain with a neon sign.

Emily Pearl Reist

Co-host • Licensed Residential Builder • Chief Creative Services Officer

Emily is an artist at heart, and it shows in everything she touches. An interior design lover and Certified Aging in Place Specialist, she brings an eye for beauty and a focus on homes that work for people at every stage of life. As Business Development Manager, she keeps MyHandyma’am growing.

She also runs our entire online presence, and yes, she’s the one who taught the rest of us TikTok. Emily is the soul of HTHM, and she’s built this community to be a place where everyone can come as they are and be brave.

We’ve talked tools and taken questions on WILX, WLNS, CBS 58, New Day Cleveland, and a stack of podcasts. Turns out people really want to know how to fix their own stuff.

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