Catalyst

This week on Catalyst, Tammy is joined by Beth Howen, President of State, Local Government and Education (SLED) at NTT DATA, who helps government agencies and school systems modernize the technology touching everyday life. Beth traces her path from becoming a state CIO in Indiana at 28 through leadership roles at Capgemini, TELUS International, Atos, and the City of Indianapolis. So how did she do so much at such a young age? Beth credits it to a willingness to work outside rigid processes when they don't serve the outcome. She and Tammy dig into how AI risks compounding government's legacy-system problems if agencies automate broken workflows instead of modernizing first, and the promise of AI-powered care reaching rural and underserved communities.

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Beth Howen 

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This week on Catalyst, Tammy is joined by Emma Boyd, a recent Chapman University graduate stepping into her first job as a practice analyst at a San Francisco law firm just as her generation navigates entering the workforce in the age of AI. Emma and Tammy discuss how she's learning to use AI as a tool for condensing and outlining her work, without letting it take over the writing and critical thinking she loves. They also dig into her capstone project at Fabletics, where she researched the legal and ethical questions around AI-generated models in fashion marketing, uncovering a constant cycle of new technology outpacing legal standards almost as soon as they catch up. Emma also has some advice for senior leaders: don't underestimate Gen Z, who are more gritty and driven than older generations often assume.

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Emma Boyd - LinkedIn

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In this episode from the archives, Tammy is joined by Nimesh Mehta. Nimesh is the Chief Information and Strategy Officer at National Life Group and is passionate about creating human experiences with AI — music to our ears! Tammy and Nimesh discuss how to implement digital transformations with empathy and purpose. Nimesh also shares his thoughts on why psychological safety is so important at organizations working at the forefront of technological change, because disruption can't happen in the presence of fear.

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The Trusted Advisor 

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This podcast is presented by Catalyst, the opinions and views expressed are those of the host and participants and do not necessarily reflect National Life Group's views on the topics discussed. This podcast is for informational purposes only and is not to be construed as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy a security in any state where such offer or solicitation would be illegal. Any unauthorized use is prohibited. National Life Group is a trade name of National Life Insurance Company (NLIC), Montpelier, VT and its affiliates. This podcast was recorded on 2/21/2025. TC7784363(0325)3

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This week on Catalyst, Tammy is joined by Shelly Swanback, a transformation executive who spent her career helping global organizations navigate digital disruption and large-scale cultural change. Before retiring, Shelly co-founded and helped build Accenture Digital, then went on to lead Western Union and TTEC through major transformations, and she recently published a chapter in The AI Edge: How to Thrive Within Civilization's Next Big Disruption. Shelly and Tammy discuss what leaders need to be communicating right now, and why in this moment of disruption, messaging matters as much as the vision itself. They also dig into why so-called soft skills, curiosity and emotional intelligence are, in fact, hard business requirements at a time when employees are anxious about what AI means for their jobs and their futures. As Shelly puts it, leadership isn’t about having all the answers, it’s about building teams that can thrive within the questions.  

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Shelly Swanback 

The AI Edge: How to Thrive Within Civilization's Next Big Disruption

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This week on Catalyst, Tammy is joined by Cal Thompson, designer, product advisor, artist and mindfulness teacher with over 15 years of experience in human-centered design. Cal most recently served as VP of Product Design and Research at Headspace, where they led both a design team and a scientific research team through the company's expansion from a meditation app into a full mental health platform. Cal explains how growing up gay in the south impacted how they see design and makes a strong business case for incorporating accessibility into all products and designs. They also explore why the design toolkit is more critical in the AI era than ever before, and why vibe coding without domain expertise risks producing what Cal calls "feature slop." They also dig into the attention economy and how mindfulness is quietly becoming a radical act in a world engineered to capture your focus.

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Cal Thompson

Headspace 

Future London Academy 

Center for Humane Technology

Greenway Institute 

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This week on Catalyst, Tammy is joined by Carolyn Lee, President of The Manufacturing Institute, the workforce development and education affiliate of the National Association of Manufacturers. Carolyn grew up in a manufacturing family on Long Island and spent years on Capitol Hill before taking the helm of the MI in 2017. Tammy and Carolyn dig into the widening gap between AI adoption at the executive level and awareness on the shop floor, and why closing it is the defining challenge for American manufacturing right now. They also unpack the fear factor driving resistance to change and Carolyn announces the forthcoming AI for Manufacturing 101 curriculum to help manufacturers who are at risk of falling behind. 

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Carolyn Lee

The Manufacturing Institute - AI Skills Training  

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This week on Catalyst, Tammy is joined by Sezin Palmer, AI Solutions Leader at NTT DATA in North America. Sezin traces her impressive and unconventional journey from CIA analyst and Navy submarine warfare programs to building the National Health Mission area at Johns Hopkins' Applied Physics Lab from scratch, then leading health AI and data at EY. Tammy and Sezin dig into the democratization of AI and what it means that capabilities once locked behind years of data science training are now accessible to nearly anyone. They also discuss the thorny challenge of how organizations decide what not to build and why the hardest leadership problem right now isn't launching AI, it's knowing when to stop. Sezin also shares her vision for what has her most excited: the convergence of software, robotics, and biology. 

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Sezin Palmer 

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This week on Catalyst, Tammy is joined by Abhijit Sunil, Senior Analyst at Forrester Research, where he leads flagship research programs on IT sustainability, sustainability management, and climate risk. Abhijit traces his remarkable journey from designing robotics labs at IIT Bombay to consulting at Ericsson and McKinsey, before landing at Forrester where a flood of client questions about data center efficiency set him on the path to sustainability research. He shares how volunteering as a teacher in Mumbai's slums profoundly shaped his worldview—giving him a lens for seeing optimization and sustainability as deeply human issues, not just technical ones. Tammy and Abhijit also dig into the double-edged nature of AI, from its staggering energy demands to its extraordinary potential to democratize access, and why the answer to almost every big question in sustainability lives somewhere in the Goldilocks zone between extremes.

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Abhijit Sunil 

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This week, Tammy welcomes Will Townsend to the Catalyst podcast booth, recording live from NTT Research’s Upgrade event in Silicon Valley. Will is the Chief Analyst at LoneStar Advisory and Research, an independent firm he launched after nearly a decade at Moor Insights & Strategy. In this conversation, Will shares where he's seeing AI create genuine, measurable impact beyond the pilot stage. Will also makes the case for post-quantum readiness as the next critical frontier and gives a candid look at his own hands-on science experiment with an OpenClaw mini PC — because, as he puts it, there's no substitute for getting your hands dirty.

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LoneStar Advisory and Research 

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This week on Catalyst, Caleb Knight joins Tammy in the Catalyst podcast booth, recording live from NTT Research’s Upgrade event. Caleb is the Director Of AI TechX, Industry Partnerships and Economic Development at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Together they explore the reality of AI in the workforce; reframing the conversation around job displacement into job creation and opportunities.They dive into how the University of Tennessee is working with a variety of industry partners to empower the next generation entering the workforce, how this translates across industries and fields, and how being a lifelong learner is the way forward! 

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Caleb Knight 

AI TECHX 

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