The InPursuit Podcast: A Spherical Look at Today's Workplace

Steffi August is the founder of Your Mindset Challenge – The Action Blueprint dedicated to supporting women over 40 to fulfil their potential and achieve extraordinary results, both professionally and personally.

Using 12 years coaching experience and 57 years life experience, cutting-edge tools, The Three Principles, and powerful Action Blueprint strategies, her clients start focusing on building new habits while challenging their Mindset. Creating winning strategies, her clients gain clarity, confidence and consistency to achieve self-mastery in their lives. They learn a new way how they think about themselves, how they think about their circumstances and change the way how they respond to challenges in life. Transforming challenges into opportunities are the norm, and results are guaranteed.

Steffi is known for being an energetic, determined and highly motivated individual. Known as The German Pocket Rocket and Self-Leadership Coach. Steffi inspires and challenges individuals and teams to dig deep inside themselves to unfold the keys to their real potential and breakthrough solutions to breakout. Passion, Belief & Determination is in her DNA, and her philosophy is, ‘long-term success is achieved by taking consistent small steps,’ and her motto is, ‘Every challenge in life is another opportunity. Never, ever, ever give up on yourself.’

Immigrating from East to West Germany before the wall came down and moving to NZ have been very challenging. Leaving a challenging relationship literally overnight, finding the love of her life, her soulmate was a life safer. Experiencing her husband, man of her dreams as killed in a tragic truck accident. She just survived for the last 3 years, started thriving again and found her spark and purpose in life. Now she’s passionate to help women 40+ to find their spar, their ultimate you again.

Contact her

www.steffiaugust.com

You won’t want to miss this week’s episode where we discuss harnessing your passions, strengths, and leaning into your inner genius.

Global business educator and author, Catherine Mattiske, is the founder of TPC — The Performance Company, a leading training and consulting organization that has worked with Fortune100 companies worldwide. Established in 1994, TPC has offices in Sydney, Los Angeles, New York, London, Singapore, and Basel (Switzerland). The author of more than 30 books, her latest is “Unlock Inner Genius: Power Your Path to Extraordinary Success” (September 2021).

Learn more about Inner Genius here: https://innergenius.onlinepresskit247.com/

In this week's episode, we dive into the choices we have as women and how to bravely and unapologetically embrace those decisions and the beautiful fluidity of life's chapters. 

Melissa is a top-tier finance professional, business owner, podcast host, author, mother, and the creator of Efficiency Bitch - a name she coined during an argument with her mom as a sassy teenager. It has since become a term of endearment, a podcast, and a book.

MELISSA'S MESSAGE: Don't let them tell you can't have your cake and eat it too. You can, you just have to adjust your recipe. Melissa teaches how to efficiently take inventory of tasks, both professional and personal, and one by one begin to automate, delegate and eliminate until you are left with just the ones that you love. Have it all, don't do it all.

DO LESS. BE MORE.

Contact her:

IG @efficiencyb

FB @efficiencyb

melissa@twosenseconsulting.com

Join me this week as my guest Don Colliver and I explore a life of passions, connectivity, and all the things we can learn from clowns. 

Don Colliver is a teacher, speaker, writer, and comedian with over twenty-five years of experience passionately engaging audiences and helping them engage with one another. Don’s mission is to help every speaker profoundly impact their audience through the power of courageous vulnerability, confident authenticity, and the joy of connection. Thanks to his popular public speaking courses delivered internally at Google and around the world, hundreds of nervous speakers have transformed into more effective and joyful communicators, reaching a deeper level of audience connection than they ever thought possible.

In addition to teaching, Don can be found on the trade show floor, where he writes and delivers presentations for companies including Adobe, Cisco, and Medtronic. On the screen, Don has written and directed hundreds of hours of nonfiction television for shows including House Hunters, $40 a Day with Rachael Ray, and Roker on the Road.

Before teaching others to confidently take the spotlight, Don toured internationally as a theatrical Clown for contemporary circus company Spiegelworld and performed briefly with the Blue Man Group and he is listed in the Cirque du Soleil performer database. He is a founding member of the award-winning sketch and clown groups DJ Faucet and the Innocents. His troupes have received awards, including the Improv Olympic Del Close Award for Best Sketch Comedy Troupe and the Hollywood Fringe Award for Best Physical Theater, and Don won the 2017 Toastmasters International District One Tall Tales Speech Championship.

Don graduated Summa Cum Laude with a BS in Communications from Boston University. He holds certifications in Design Thinking, Applied Improvisation, and Instructional Design. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and when he’s not helping speakers engage with their audiences more deeply, he can be found hiking through the redwoods. You can connect with Don at www.doncolliver.com.

In this week's episode, I met my kindred spirit; a woman as in love with travel and writing as I am. Listen in for inspiration on your next adventure. 

Ruksana Hussain is an award-winning journalist with 20+ years of experience working with local, national and international print and digital media for consumer and trade markets.

As a magazine editor and features writer, she has contributed to publications covering diverse beats and topics, including but not limited to lifestyle, travel, cuisine, culture, business, technology, education, construction, and more. Her bylines have appeared in Delta Sky Lines, Cuisine Noir, Detour, USA Today, Stanford Social Innovation Review and several other outlets.

Ruksana is also the publisher of Traveler and Tourist, a monthly subscriber-only digital magazine covering travel and lifestyle, which received funding via a journalism grant this year. She is the recipient of several awards and diversity fellowships for her journalistic and editorial work.

http://www.travelerandtourist.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruksanahussain/

Twitter: @RuksanaWrites

www.ruksanawrites.com

Calling all women business owners...are you eating only the broken cookies? In other words, are you holding onto self-limiting beliefs that are keeping you from scaling your revenue? Tune in to hear how Patty helps women overcome these challenges and grow their business income. 

Patty Block teaches women business owners who are experts in their fields how to turn up their power to price, sell and run their business on their own terms.

This means fine-tuning their operations and scaling their revenue for strategic growth.

Patty has approached each step in her career with an entrepreneurial spirit: from successfully operating a business as a lobbyist and political consultant, to serving as the Charitable Foundation Director for First Interstate Bank of Texas, to gaining years of experience as Director of Operations at a leading international school.

Her experience comes full-circle with The Block Group, turning roadblocks into building blocks for women-owned businesses.

Patty raised three fantastic kids, all of whom are business owners and also work in Patty’s company (she essentially raised her own workforce!)

**********

Free Quiz: myrevenuereoadblocks.com

Your Hidden Advantage Accelerator Program starting Sept. 2022

**********

Patty Block

The Block Group Inc.

713-826-0302

pwblock@theblockgroup.net

www.theblockgroup.net

Who better to inspire current and future entrepreneurs to continue their journey than world traveler and inventor/founder of the Hydro Flask®? Join us this week as we learn how to stay the course and succeed with grace from this serial entrepreneur.  

Capt. Rosbach has spent the last three decades enhancing his entrepreneurial skills. Throughout the years, Mr. Rosbach has been proud to invent and found Hydro Flask®, work as a business broker, fly as an Airline Pilot, is an active Professional Speaker, and start The Tumalo Group, providing sourcing, advising, and consulting.

His clients include various industries, celebrities, individuals, and even countries.
He not only shares his tradecraft with others but also practices it in the many startups in which he is currently involved.

Besides Entrepreneurship, Mr. Rosbach's Experience Includes:
- SCUBA Dive Master/Instructor (PADI 158190)
- US Merchant Marine Boat Captain (50 Tons)
- Commercial Airline Pilot (ATP)
- Oregon Contractors License
- Hawai'ian REALTORS License
- Yoga Instructor (500 Hour Hatha and Kundalini (NOT 3HO)
- Reiki Master
- Member of The Explorers Club
- Fellow at the Royal Geographical Society

The intersection of technology and education is truly the key to our brightest education future. Join me this week as Sandro Olivieri and I dissect the potentials and aspirations of the sector. 

Sandro is the CEO and Co-Founder of Project FoundED - a nonprofit dedicated to ensuring equitable learning outcomes for all learners by removing the barriers to EdTech innovation and adoption. He comes to this work after 8 years working to support EdTech entrepreneurs in the earliest stages of development. He designed and ran the AT&T Aspire EdTech Accelerator, and worked with several other impact organizations to create impactful investment and awards programs.

Sandro is the son of Chilean political refugees living in Mexico when he was born. He immigrated to the United States at 6 years old and was brought up through the public education system as an English Language Learner. He credits an early interest in technology as the main motivator for learning English and dedicated his studies to technology, receiving a BS in Computer Science and an MBA. His first job was in EdTech 20 years ago - developing online higher education courses, mostly for troops deployed in Iraq - and has developed an undying love for the Education sector and the potential technology has to improve its outcomes.

The light and laughter that is Dr. Cori Wong is undeniable. This week's episode inspires in a whole new way.  Dr. Cori Wong is a passionate speaker, writer, educator, and consultant with over 15 years of training and leadership experience related to intersectional feminism, antiracism, social justice, and inclusive culture change. Dr. Wong is committed to helping others develop necessary skills for creating more equitable and inclusive realities by clarifying how and why their leadership matters. With strengths in systems-thinking, vision, strategy, and facilitating difficult dialogues, she is a thought leader on how to connect everyday choices, behaviors, and practices to movements for systemic change. Her approach is rooted in feminist theory and liberatory praxis and fosters conditions for transformation by cultivating authentic relationships across differences. Values of love, creativity, and freedom inform the means and ends for her work, while support, truth-telling, care, humor, and playfulness are among the essential ingredients. Dr. Wong developed concepts such as feminist friendship, positive philosophy, and honest confidence, and began publicly sharing her reflections through her own YouTube channel and blog over a decade ago. You can learn more by listening to her podcast, Meta Level Love, or read her writing on her Buy Me a Coffee page. She also just launched a substack newsletter that blends insights around dating and creating inclusive workplaces called, Working Relationships. Over the years, her work has been featured in TEDx talks, journals, independent presses, podcasts and Oprah’s Spring 2021 Issue of O Quarterly Magazine. Prior to launching Positive Philosophy Consulting, Dr. Wong led diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives at Colorado State University. She earned a dual-title PhD in Philosophy and Women’s Studies from the Pennsylvania State University and a BA in Philosophy and Religious Studies from Colorado State University. 

More of Cori's work can be found across many platforms! 

Cori's Website and Blog: coriwong.com 

Working Relationships Newsletter: workingrelationships.substack.com 

More Personal Writing on Buy Me a Coffee: www.buymeacoffee.com/coriwong 

Meta Level Love Podcast: anchor.fm/coriwong 

Cori's YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/coriwong 

Positive Philosophy Consulting: coriwong.com/consulting

Join me this week as I speak with a nonprofit and entrepreneurial trend setter. 

Kristen Faith is a nonprofit thought leader and the Founder and Former CEO of Break The Silence Against Domestic Violence, one of the most successful domestic violence brands on the Internet. Kristen redefined the nonprofit industry after creating sustainable fundraising methods and marketing strategies to reach a vast donor network online before and during the pandemic. Kristen’s influence on domestic violence advocacy helped millions of men and women leave abusive relationships. She’s been featured on Yahoo!, HuffPost, Glamour, ESPN, Money, Bustle, and dozens of other media outlets as an expert in social justice advocacy.

Contact her:

hello@kristenfaith.com

www.kristinfaith.com

https://linktr.ee/iamKristenfaith

Whittney RoJo is a Money Healer from Boulder, CO. She is all about... Love, Money and Liberation. RoJo and her team focus on values alignment for a holistic experience to create generational wealth and collective liberation. After receiving a dual bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado in Spanish Literature and Psychology, RoJo had a career in education as an educator and administrator for 17 years. As a multi-cultural, woman owned and operated practice since 2017, RoJo has a unique perspective to co-create successful results and relationships that create health and wealth in our community.

Holding space for leaders, warriors and healers who share a vision of an equitable world, and take action in our community is how RoJo honors those before us and those after us.

This week we explore options for educators to use their skills inside and outside the classroom. Whether you are looking to permanently leave the classroom or just develop a "loving side-hustle", Deborah can help you find the right match for your unique talents. 

Deborah Osorno
Teacher Career Coach & Business Strategist
Founder/CEO of The Purposeful Educator

What she does:

As a Teacher Career Coach, Deborah works to help K - 12th-grade teachers find

clarity, maximize productivity and upgrade professionally to boost their careers inside

and outside of the classroom. Deborah is the founder of The Purposeful Educator

(TPE) which is a teacher coaching platform that provides a wide range of teacherspecific

services and resources. TPE also focuses on helping teachers and

edupreneurs develop wide ranges of progressive habits as well as build their

professional profiles and businesses so they can remain versatile, relevant, and

impactful.

The Purposeful Educator:

The Purposeful Educator (TPE), exists to provide teacher coaching services using

quality and appropriate teacher preparation content, professional development

resources, and personalized systems. Deborah leverages online technology and inperson

services to avail teachers anywhere to benefit from the resources offered. Her

goal is to enable teachers to become effective catalysts in knowledge dissemination

and equip them to independently build successful professional careers within the

classroom and beyond.

Offers:

Deborah's signature 1:1 coaching program, "The Purpose-Driven Academy" is now

open for registration! Within this program, Deborah uses her detailed framework to

help teachers build up solid structures that will guide their teaching career and equip

them to be much more effective.

Deborah is also launching the "The Purpose-Driven Edupreneur Membership." If

you are an educator and you have been desiring to build up your own

business/project, then this program is for you! Within this membership, you'll be

guided through all the steps you need to structure, build, and launch a strong and

rewarding venture.

Contact her: 

Instagram Handle: https://www.instagram.com/thepurposefuleducator/

Free Masterclass for teachers who want to become edupreneurs: https://bit.ly/3s7zp8I

Nathaniel Provencio has worked in the public education field for over 20 years as a classroom teacher, building administrator, and associate superintendent. During his tenure as a principal, he assisted his school in becoming a national model professional learning community and was the winner of the 2019 Richard DuFour Model PLC school of the year.

Nathaniel has been honored as the 2017 Prince William County, Virginia principal of the year, the 2017 Washington Post Principal of the Year and the 2019 Virginia National Distinguished Principal of the Year.

Nathaniel is the author of Community Connections and Your PLC at Work, which focuses on how schools can utilize the professional learning community framework to enhance family and community engagement.

Nathaniel currently is a national educational leadership consultant and works with school leaders and teacher teams across the country implementing practices and frameworks that ensure all students and families are learning at high levels.

Contact Nathaniel:

Twitter @ProvenPrincipal

Linked in: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathaniel-provencio-236b711a8/

www.provenprincipalllc.com

Consulting through Solution Tree

Allison Dillard is a math professor at Irvine Valley College, where she teaches Statistics and remedial math. She is the host of the Allison Loves Math Podcast, where she interviews trailblazers in math education about how to set our students up for success in math, STEM, school, and life. And, she is the author of multiple Amazon bestselling books, including: Crush Hypothesis Testing, a best-selling statistics book that details her and Professor Jennifer Flenner’s 5-Step Method for teaching Hypothesis Testing Crush Math Now, a best-selling Amazon book packed with all the advice Allison has given students over the years on math mindset, study skills, and test-taking strategies. Love Math Journal: A growth mindset journal with prompts, affirmations and reflections to help 4th-8th grade students to build confidence in and love math. Allison has a Master’s in Mathematics from Claremont Graduate University, where she was the recipient of fellowships from the National Science Foundation, Boeing, and Los Alamos National Lab. She has a B.A. in English and a B.A. in Mathematics from Scripps College, where she received the Reed Institute’s award for “Excellence in Problem Analysis and Problem Solving in Decision Science.” When she is not teaching, writing, or podcasting, you’ll find Allison playing board games with her husband, coaching her kids’ soccer teams and dreaming up new ways to convince the world that math is awesome. Her love for math is legendary.

Contact Info:

Email: allison@allisonlovesmath.com

Website: www.allisonlovesmath.com

Phone: 626-824-7609

Freebie:

You can get a free copy of Allison's open educational resource, Raise Your Math Grade, at

www.allisonlovesmath.com/freebook.

Social Media Links:

Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Allison-Dillard/e/B07PV43V59

Twitter @AllisonLuvsMath

Instagram @allisonlovesmath

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AllisonLovesMath

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/allisondillard/

Dr. Stacy Hawthorne is the Director of Online Programs for the Davidson Academy and an experienced educational strategist having implemented blended and online learning programs in public, parochial, and independent schools in California, Illinois, New Jersey, Texas, Nevada, Ohio Virginia, and Georgia. Several of the school districts with which she has worked are members of the Digital Promise League of Innovative Schools and one district was profiled by the U.S. Department of Education’s Future Ready campaign. Stacy began her consulting career with Evergreen Education Group, authors of Keeping Pace with Digital Learning. Previously, As the technology coordinator for a public school district, Stacy authored and implemented an Ohio Board of Regents Blended Learning Grant which created a transformative rotational blended model. Stacy also has several years of gifted education teaching experience which led her to her role today.

Contact her: stacy@hawthorneeducation.com

Karen Gross is an educator, author and artist. A former professor, college president and senior policy advisor to the

US Dept. of Education, she currently teaches at Rutgers School of Social Work. She specializes in trauma and its

impact on individuals and organizations with an emphasis on student success and crisis leadership. She writes a

children's book series titled Lady Lucy's Quest that is trauma sensitive; to date, she has read to more than 3500

children across the globe.

Karen Gross

www.karengrosseducation.com

karengrosscooper@gmail.com

Twitter: @KarenGrossEdu

Nathan Gorsch is the founding principal of Village High School in Academy School District 20 in Colorado Springs.  He became principal of a completely online program and worked with a team to develop a blended/hybrid approach that saw the school grow from 25 students to over 400 students in 6 years. Nathan has a passion for school redesign and creating meaningful learning experiences for students. Prior to The Village, Nathan served as a teacher, coach, middle school assistant principal, high school assistant principal and has served on numerous district, state and national committees.

Nathan holds Bachelor’s Degrees from Lincoln (Illinois) Christian University and Illinois State University.  He has a Masters of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction from Colorado Christian University and completed his principal licensure program at the University of Denver.

Welcome to the InPursuit Podcast where we aim to Inspire, Inform & Entertain. In this first episode, Melanie and Rachel kick things off with a discussion about the intention and focus for this new initiative. 

Our guests hail from the fields of education, nonprofit and small business. We amplify their inspiring stories of personal and societal impact, while also providing a platform for them to share their unique expertise and important lessons in leadership, strategy and operations.

New episodes are released every Thursday, anywhere you listen to your podcasts. You can support us by hitting subscribe, providing a rating/review or sharing this podcast with a friend.

Learn more about InPursuit...

Website:  https://inpursuitresearch.org

Instagram:  @inpursuitresearch

Facebook:  InPursuit Research

LinkedIn:  Follow the InPursuit page and connect with your host, Melanie Hicks, PhD 

Take a trip around the world with Kristin Montgomery, as we explore education and the impact that international experiences bring to classroom teachers and their students.

Kristin Montgomery is an international educator originally from Wisconsin.  She decided to get her teaching license after spending a year working as an English assistant in a bilingual school in Madrid.  License in hand, she jetted off to teach French and Spanish at a boarding school in Switzerland and later in Singapore.  Kristin came back to Wisconsin to teach Spanish Dual Language Immersion in public schools for six years and is currently on a year leave from that job to teach in Medellín, Colombia.  She is an advocate for language learning and language learners.  Kristin has visited all 50 states and over 50 countries and counting!

Contact Kristin: 

www.growingglobalcitizens.com

Instagram: GrowingGlobalCitizens

Facebook: Growing.Global.Citizens

You won't want to miss this week's chat on EdTech and Human Connection with Dr. Sam Fecich, author of EduMagic. 

Fueled by pumpkin spice lattes and a passion for raising up the next generation of teachers, Dr. Sam Fecich uses her EduMagic to train future  educators of excellence. Her goal is to help students become an excellent educator during college and beyond! She empower aspiring educators to take the lead in their learning through her books, podcast, speaking, and courses.

Follow her at: Instagram & Twitter @SFecich

Find her book EduMagic: A Guide for Preservice Teachers on Amazon 

In this episode, Dr. Katie Nall provides us with an insight into how she designed a career around helping people overcome their fears and trauma...and it all started with math. 

Although Dr. Katie Nall's degrees are in Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Science and Mathematics Education, her passion is showing others how to dissolve their WAFFLES - worry, anxiety, fear, frustration, exhaustion and stress. She is a TEDx Speaker and has practiced Emotional Freedom Technique since 2010. She is also a Master Trainer and Advanced Certified Practitioner with training in trauma and Quantum Tapping. 

Contact her at:

www.NallEdgeCo.com

hello@drnall.com

IG: katienallphd

FB: ktnall

LinkedIn: Katie Nall PhD

In addition to her impressive nail polish collection and impeccable style, Nicole has a passion for public health and serving her community. In this episode, she describes the "always learning" mentality that has allowed her to step into spaces with an open mind and open heart, and she pays it forward by sharing her knowledge and expertise, as well as opening doors for others behind her. 

Nicole Vick is a public health advocate, educator, civic leader, and fashion and beauty aficionado. For the last fifteen years, she has worked with stakeholders, community organizations, and residents to improve health and prevent disease in some of Los Angeles County’s most underserved communities. She is also a professor and loves to infuse her lived experience and work experience into her lectures.

She is a proud resident of South Central Los Angeles! From the Board Room to her backyard, her love of community manifests in many ways. She has opened her home to the community by hosting pop-up shops to support local businesses owned by black women and create awareness of the benefits of shopping local. She also helps women embrace their bodies and find their sense of style without breaking the bank.

Check out her books:

Pushing Through: Finding the Light in Every Lesson (2020)

Also, check out her workbook...coming soon! 

Contact her:

https://www.nicoledvick.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-d-vick/

In this week's episode, Brittany Hale shares how she applies her litigation background and unique experiences to make a positive impact on the students she serves as Board President of Rahway Board of Education.

Brittany S. Hale is the founder and CEO of BND Consulting Group. After graduating from Boston University School of Law, Brittany worked as a Securities Litigation Analyst at Bloomberg LP and eventually began to develop legal marketing strategies for her clients. Her results-oriented approach led her into trial work representing a Fortune 500 company where she obtained a 100% trial success rate in superior and appellate courts.

In 2016, Brittany used her skills as a former Obama Organizing Fellow to run for office and became one of the youngest black women to hold office in her state. She distilled her experience in litigation, politics, and marketing to develop BND Consulting Group, which helps companies codify, clarify, and elevate core values as an operational framework for decision making to establish a competitive advantage. She provides cultural assessments, equity, and board alignment strategies, and employee engagement workshops for enterprise, government, and startup clients alike.

Brittany is the Vice-Chair of The Gem Project, a non-profit which provides leadership and educational workshops for students in economically depressed communities. She also serves as the youngest woman ever on the Rahway Redevelopment Agency, where she evaluates developers looking to launch development projects in the city. In August 2020, she developed the first municipal Social Justice Commission in New Jersey and currently serves as an Executive Director. She is a 2021 New Leaders Council Fellow, serves on the Rutgers University Dean’s Cabinet, and is one of the top 20 Millennials on InsiderNJ’s 2021 Top 100 Millennials List.

Contact her: 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittanyshale/

https://www.bndconsultinggroup.com/about-brittany-s-hale

It is not everyday that you engage with a person for the first time and realize you hold nearly identical shared values. It not only leads to great conversation but meaningful connection. Join me on that discovery in this week's episode with Michael Glazer. 

Michael Glazer is a leadership coach, organizational development consultant and corporate trainer whose client work spans 15 countries across four continents. He speaks English and Japanese and has worked with leaders at companies including Johnson & Johnson, Bayer, Dyson, Mitsubishi and Hitachi. Michael has also guest lectured at Kyoto University and at the United States Air Force Academy.

Michael’s coaching focuses on working with next-generation senior leaders in Japan and Asia-Pacific. He has led leadership and coaching skills workshops for thousands of Fortune 500 professionals in the healthcare, IT, manufacturing, luxury brand, automotive, financial services, CPG and trading industries.

People First is his mantra. It guides how he collaborates with others to help them create their own paths to success and growth – and to inspire them to help others to grow and succeed. Michael has broad experiences as a commercial and global functional head at leading firms including Morgan Stanley, public relations firm Burson-Marsteller (now BCW) and Dell.

Michael earned a BA from the University of North Carolina, an MA from the University of Colorado and an external coaching certificate from the Teachers College Columbia University (C3P). He is a Coach AcceleratorTM Enhanced Practitioner and was trained by the former global head of executive coaching at Google. Michael holds Saville Consulting and Lumina Practitioner accreditations, and he is a Ken Blanchard Companies certified trainer in SLII and Leading People Through Change. Michael is also an active member of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan.

Conversation References:

NYT Article on Languishing by Adam Grant: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/19/well/mind/covid-mental-health-languishing.html

Contact him at: 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/learningpro/

https://www.peoplefocusconsulting.com/en/

https://glazercoaching.com/podcast/

How can the elephant in the room can be a valuable learning tool? Find out more in my conversation with Jessica Katz. 

Jessica Katz is a trainer, mentor and coach through Liberated Elephant. Jessica is passionate about working with individuals, teams, leaders, and organizations to help people discover and nurture their authentic selves. With this new knowledge, Jessica helps them uncover solutions that move them forward on their journey. Her methodology is informed by Agile values, principles, and practices - creating a safe space for clients to be wholly themselves without judgement.

5 years of experience in Agile coaching including: teaching and mentoring a team or individual towards embracing agile mindsets, coaching individuals and teams to emerge on their own solutions, providing conflict mediation, and encouraging increased emotional intelligence with the intent to provide greater personal engagement and team cohesion.

9 years of experience implementing Agile methodologies with a focus on Scrum and Kanban.

Skilled at breaking down complex high-level management goals into discrete steps to be integrated into the continuous improvement process while maintaining alignment with existing and new corporate goals.

Ability to manage creative talent under evolving management demands to help deliver a quality product.

Capable of identifying likely risks and trade-off decisions, communicating both to relevant stakeholders and working with them to define how those will be addressed.

Contact Jessica:

Linked in: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeskatz/

www.liberatedelephant.com

Join Rachel and I as we gain insights and inspirations from Dr. Amelia Parnell on the current state of Higher Education and the value of inclusivity with our teams. 

Amelia Parnell is vice president for research and policy at NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, where she and leads many of the Association’s scholarly and advocacy-focused activities. Amelia’s policy and practitioner experiences include prior roles in association management, legislative policy analysis, internal audit, and TRIO programs.

Amelia writes and speaks frequently about topics related to student affairs, college affordability, student learning outcomes, leadership in higher education, and institutions’ use of data and analytics. She is the author of the forthcoming book, You Are a Data Person: Strategies for Using Analytics on Campus and host of the new podcast, Speaking of College.

Amelia currently serves on the board of directors for EDUCAUSE and is an advisor to several other higher education organizations. She holds a Ph.D. in higher education from Florida State University and masters and bachelor’s degrees in business administration from Florida A & M University.

Contact her on Linked in at https://www.linkedin.com/in/amelia-parnell-0913735b/

Dr. Otis Smallwood is the Superintendent of the Bertie County School District in North Carolina. Dr. Smallwood has personally experienced education from every angle. He began his career as a high school mathematics teacher in my former high school, taught a year of first grade (disastrous), drove a school bus, then taught on the middle school level. He later became District-wide lead teacher math/science and a Middle School Administrator.

From there, Dr. Smallwood went on to serve at the district level in IT, Testing/Accountability then went on to serve as an Asst Superintendent in Human Resources/Auxiliary Services for 11 years in a district in southeast NC

Dr. Smallwood is a servant leader who believes in democratic leadership practices and the power of positive relationships. Most importantly he believe educators practice heart work and not hard work!

Contact him:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-otis-smallwood-b63809a3/

A deep dive into campus culture and the differences that generational intentions play in fundraising and our relationship to the college experience. 

Greg Caprara is the Owner of Certantum Strategies, providing fractional work as a C-level executive at the intersection of technology, Medicine, and education. Greg uses his unique experience in higher ed, K-12 education, and technology entrepreneurship to help companies navigate the ecosystems of higher education accelerators and private enterprise. Certantum clients reside in the Fintech and Medtech spaces with a focus on building strategic and tactical plans for SaaS products to improve fundraising effectiveness and medical care efficiency. Greg also provides connectivity for seed stage and advanced round start up funding.

Greg holds a Master of Strategic Leadership from the University Charleston. He frequently lectures and moderates discussions at Duquesne University, California University of Pennsylvania and West Virginia Universities Vantage Ventures program.

Contact him at:

Greg Caprara
Certantum Strategies 724-987-8400

https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregory-caprara-mssl-8a53b354/

Join Brian and I as we dive into the way education can be affected by our social, emotional and mental health and felt in our physical bodies. 

Brian Trzaskos PT LMT CSCS CMP MI-C is a somatic intelligence expert and co-creator of Sensation-Based Motivation coaching. He is a nationally recognized expert for his work in coaching, training, and mentoring leaders of health and wellness service organizations as well as human development professionals in holistic, somatic coaching practices and the science of trauma-informed motivation. Initially educated as a physical therapist at the State University of New York at Buffalo and the world-renowned Craig Hospital in Denver CO, Brian has experience in neurophysiology, somatic psychology, and energy medicine practices. Currently, Brian serves as both President of Motivation Beyond Measure and Director of the Institute for Rehabilitative Qigong & Tai Chi.

Contact Brian on Linked in or at:

https://motivationbeyondmeasure.com

https://instituteforrehabilitativeqigongandtaichi.org

Join us for a hilarious walk into the power of laughter; for our students; for ourselves; for our souls. 

Andrew Tarvin is the CEO of Humor That Works, a leadership development company that teaches professionals how to use humor to achieve better business results. He has partnered with top organizations–including IBM, the UN, and the FBI–to solve human challenges with humor solutions. A best-selling author, Andrew has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Inc, and FastCompany, and was named a ‘Visionary Under 40’ by the P&G Alumni Network. His TEDx talk on the skill of humor has been viewed more than nine million times, only half of which were his mother. He loves chocolate and tweeting puns. 

Find him at www.humorthatworks.org 

Or on Instagram @DrewTarvin

In our final episode of the season, President Pumariega from Miami Dade College enlightens us on her experience as the first woman and Latino in more than one career role. We also explore the meaning of "all access education". You don't want to miss this one. 

Madeline Pumariega

President, Miami Dade College

Breaking through barriers and making history, Madeline Pumariega is the first female president to lead Miami Dade College (MDC), the institution she attended decades earlier as a student-athlete. Her passion for innovation in higher education was born out of her own experiences, first as student and then as a longtime administrator at MDC.

President Pumariega prioritizes working with business partners to identify the skills needed in key industries and tailoring higher education programs to match those needs. Her transformative approach accelerates the ability of graduates to enter the workforce immediately upon the completion of their coursework.

Prior to becoming MDC’s President, Pumariega was appointed the first female and Hispanic chancellor of the Florida College System (FCS). In that role, she designed and implemented strategies to keep college accessible and affordable for Floridians especially in high-demand job fields. During President Pumariega’s tenure, several of the FCS’s 28 colleges––which serve 800,000 students––rose in the rankings of US News & World Report as well as other national measures. Florida was also named number one in higher education by US News Report.

In 2019, she became the executive vice president and provost of Tallahassee Community College, where her innovative approaches advanced the College’s three core divisions: academic affairs, student affairs and workforce development. President Pumariega helped lead the school during the unprecedented response to the COVID-19 pandemic and pivoted the college’s infrastructure to support virtual classroom instruction and student-teacher interaction. She also serves as Affiliate Professor of Leadership at the NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development.

She also previously served as president of Take Stock in Children, a statewide non-profit focused on breaking the cycle of poverty by helping students complete their high school education and advance into post-secondary education and careers. President Pumariega has a passion for ensuring that students have a path toward upward economic mobility through educational opportunities.

President Pumariega's love for academics and service excellence began as a student at Miami Dade College. This led into her 20 years of service at the College in positions of ascending responsibility, culminating in her role as Wolfson Campus President. She views her new role as MDC’s president as the opportunity of a lifetime, because it presents her with the greatest ability to serve students who were just like her –– looking for a chance to realize their dreams and succeed in the community they love and call home, Miami.

"Its not about what you can do, its how you get things done."

You won't want to miss this episode with the charismatic David Mantica of Soft Ed as we discuss the power of being a linchpin player and the need to learn to unlearn. Come be inspired! 

David has 25 years of business-to-business services, consulting, coaching, and training industry experience in roles from operations, service delivery, marketing, product management and executive management. Just recently he successfully sold his business-to-business training firm having taken it from $1.2m to $13m in seven years all done organically. Currently David is the VP and General Manager for SoftEd US, a leading provider of transformational training services, working to support companies embrace agile methods for achieving business results.

Along with his work at SoftEd, David provides business owner coaching services to several companies in the Raleigh-Durham area through DTM Services. He also provides pro bono career coaching services and presentations to individuals and organizations throughout the US.

Contact him on Linked in at David Mantica or at www.softed.com

Join Dr. Gonzalez and I as we discuss education as liberation, the power of saying yes and the magic elixir of empathy mixed with high expectations. A truly inspiring look at modern higher education. 

Dr. Beatriz González serves as the Wolfson Campus President for Miami Dade College (MDC).

Previous to her work at MDC, she served as Chief Diversity Officer, Vice Provost, and Professor of Counseling at the University of La Verne in California. As Vice Provost, she led initiatives supporting teaching and learning, with responsibility for sponsored research & IRB, community-based learning, faculty development, student affairs, advisement & registration, interfaith dialogue, career services, and tutoring services. As Chief Diversity Officer, Dr. González led advocacy, education, and policy development for an inclusive, equitable and enriched campus experience. Dr. González taught in the University’s graduate education program, bi-national leadership courses, and was selected as inaugural faculty of the Terrence E. Deal Leadership Institute.

Prior to La Verne, Dr. González served as the Vice President for Planning and Enrollment at St. Thomas University (STU) in Miami Gardens, FL. While at STU, she also served as an academic dean, a presidential chief of staff, and faculty member for graduate counseling programs. As Vice President, Dr. González was responsible for institutional research and strategic planning, enrollment, marketing and communications, student affairs, and athletics.

Dr. González is an American Council on Education (ACE) Fellow, an E. Kika De La Garza Fellow (USDA), and was the recipient of the 2017 Woman of Distinction Award for California’s 41st Assembly District for her efforts in promoting educational access and quality. Dr. González is a member of the National Advisory Council for the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity (NCORE). Dr. González’s expertise has been sought by the Metropolitan Universities Journal as guest editor, by The Campaign for College Opportunity as technical report reviewer, by Ellucian as a leadership and strategy speaker, and by the Alliance of Hispanic Serving Institution Educators (AHSIE) and the American Academic Leadership Institute as a presidential panelist.

With published works related to cultural competence, diversity, equity, and leadership, Dr. González is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in the State of Florida. She holds a Bachelor’s in English, a Master’s in Counseling, and a Ph.D. in Leadership and Education, with a concentration in Counseling. Prior to her work in higher education, Dr. González was a certified teacher and counselor, serving Miami Dade County Public Schools for a decade.

Contact her at: bgonzo6@mdc.edu or www.mdc.edu

Referenced McKinsey Report: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/public-and-social-sector/our-insights/covid-19-and-learning-loss-disparities-grow-and-students-need-help#

In this outstanding episode, Ama shares with us her unique upbringing and even more unique path to changing the lives of many through her work and children's book series. 

Ama Karikari-Yawson earned a BA from Harvard University, an MBA from the Wharton School and a JD from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.  Her unique understanding of social issues, business and the law has enabled her to become a relevant voice on issues as varied as diversity, sexual violence, and personal empowerment. 

She is a frequent contributor to publications such as The Huffington Post and The Atlantic.  In 2013, a painful experience with  bullying inspired  her to write her best-selling fable about difference, Sunne's Gift. Ms. Yawson became so personally invested in spreading the book's message of healing and harmony, that she quit her six-figure job as a securities lawyer to become a full-time, author, storyteller, speaker, and edutainer.  Her life-changing workshops and training sessions incorporate storytelling, drama, dance, history, cutting edge psychological research and legal analysis in order to truly propel participants towards healthier and more successful lives.

Purchase Sunne's Gift, The Talk and Earthe's Gift as well as her future books on Amazon. 

Contact her at 347-886-2026 or Ama@milestales.com

Join us as we explore a new option in higher education funding, the 2021 version of income share agreements. Opening doors for underserved populations around the country. 

Darius Goldman created Meratas to help democratize access to continued education by providing a better ISA solution to schools and skills training programs.

Prior to founding Meratas, Darius was a partner and head of the Distressed Debt & Claims Trading legal practice group, at the international law firm Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP, where he provided legal guidance surrounding investments in special situations and unique asset classes such as Income Share Agreements. During his legal tenure, Darius was one of the earliest professionals to specialize in ISAs, helping clients identify risks and understand opportunities involving ISAs.

As an early pioneer in ISAs, Darius recognized a need for better tools to efficiently manage ISA programs at scale. Meratas helps institutions launch thoughtful ISA programs designed to promote student accessibility and increase enrollment.

Our ISA programs are structured to incentivize students, schools, employers and capital providers to work together to promote and finance only the best educational programs that lead to great careers.

Outside of the office, you'll find Darius spending time with his three kids, splitting wood, and making the frequent Costco-run.

Darius Goldman Founder, CEO

Contact info:

Darius@meratas.com

www.meratas.com

Join us this week to hear the pandemic lessons from Lindenhurst School District. My guest Dr. Lisa Omeis shares her passion for literacy and kindness for all students. 

Dr. Lisa Omeis is the Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Curriculum & Instruction at Lindenhurst UFSD. With more than twenty years with the District, she has served as Principal, Assistant Principal an da teacher in multiple disciplines. 

She holds a Doctor of Education Degree from St. John’s University where she specialized in Leadership and Accountability and is the Author of the Children's Book, Henry Has No Manners. 

Contact her via Linked in at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-omeis-a015b635/

Tune in as we deep dive into some of the most important but controversial challenges in today's Higher Education environment. 

Mary Elizabeth “M. E.” Yancosek Gamble is the chair of the Performing Arts Department at Fairmont State University and an associate professor, School of Business. Immediately before she was chair of the Communications and Media Arts Department at Bethany College. She was named Bethany College’s 2018 nominee to the Faculty Merit Foundation's annual Professor of the Year, named "Educator of the Year" in 2015, by the West Virginia Public Relations Society of American (WVPRSA) and the Department won the coveted "Chapter of the Year" for 2012. In 2014, Bethany College won "Chapter of the Year" by Society for Collegiate Journalists.

She is the 2013 winner of the President's Award for Excellence in Performance, "Faculty Member of the Year" from the Bethany College Service Learning Center. She was one of fourteen finalists in the 2013 T. A. Abbott Award for Faculty Excellence and was nominated by Bethany College to the U.S. Professor of the Year sponsored by CASE, and the Carnegie Foundation. In 2017, she was the Scripts Howard Fellow for Entrepreneurial Studies at the University of Arizona. Before teaching at Bethany she was the state director of the Small Business Division of the West Virginia Development Office. Before being named state director, she was the Small Business Developer for Loudoun County, Virginia.

A native of Washington, Pennsylvania, she has a BA from California University of Pennsylvania, an MA from Marshall University (WV), both in communication studies, and post-graduate work in organizational communication from Bowling Green State University (OH).

Join my conversation with Dr. Jerry Luftman, CEO and Founder of the Global Institute for IT Management, as we discuss how IT and non-IT leaders are coming together to utilize technology for greater return on investment and greater impact. 

Dr. Jerry Luftman is the CEO and Founder of the Global Institute for IT Management and an international authority on IT business alignment and IT Trends. His experience combines the strengths of CIO/practitioner, consultant, and academic. His proficiency in business-IT alignment and global IT trends, 18 books, published research, consulting, mentoring, and teaching/speaking engagements exemplify Dr. Luftman’s expertise and leadership.

After a distinguished 22 year career with IBM, he had an exemplary career for 20 years as Professor, Founder and Associate Dean of the Stevens Institute of Technology Information Systems Programs.

Find out more at: www.globaliim.com

Social rabble rouser, turnaround strategist and fighter of the status quo in K-12 education, Amy Valentine, Executive Director of Future of Schools dives deep into the power of learning and of failure. 

Connect with Amy at:

avalentine@futureof.school

www.futureof.school 

An award winning Assistant Principal and Educator, Amy and I explore fulfilling student's basic needs, connecting with the broader community and how equity begins with all of us. 

Dr. Bob Schwartz enlightens us with his journey from single dad to leading women's studies professor and ultimate champion of students. 

Dr. Maureen O'Neil discusses all things Early Education. Of particular note the pay differential between teachers and the research supporting early education's role in future societal success. 

Helping students and parents unlock the maze of the college experience. 

A delightful discussion on the value and challenges of the Community College system in America. We dive into topics as complex as Dr. Long's research on racial inequities and highlight big wins such as the Tallahassee Community College CARES program. Its a lively discussion you will not want to miss.