Community Catalysts

A harsh public criticism. An embarrassing mistake. A difficult decision that will disappoint people. Losing an election.

For local leaders, these experiences can feel threatening. But what if our brains are responding to ordinary challenges as though we're being chased by a tiger?

In this special Election Day episode of Community Catalysts, stress physiologist, author, and speaker Dr. Rebecca Heiss explains how our biology shapes our reactions to uncertainty, criticism, and conflict, and why stress itself isn't necessarily the enemy.

Together, Rebecca and host Matt Lehrman play a revealing game of "Tiger or Not a Tiger?" and explore practical ways to distinguish genuine danger from discomfort, turn anxiety into productive energy, and use curiosity to interrupt our instinctive reactions.

And Rebecca offers a particularly meaningful insight for public servants: One of the most powerful ways to manage the stress of leadership may be to reconnect with the very people you're trying to serve.

A fascinating and encouraging conversation about what happens when leadership feels threatening, and how we can train ourselves to respond with greater confidence, clarity, and purpose.

LINKS

Women's Recreational Basketball Association: theWRBA.org

Ask a Question or Leave a Comment: 602-688-2724 Send Matt a Note: [email protected] Apply to Be a Podcast Guest: CatalystGuest.us

On Substack: Democracy Runs on Dialogue™ Connect on LinkedIn: MattLehrmanProduced by Social Prosperity Partners

Charlie Frye arrived on the Fredericksburg City Council with something unusual: a handwritten plan in a composition book for addressing gun violence in his community.

A shooting near his son's school bus stop had prompted him to run for office in 2013. Once elected, he shared his idea with a receptive city manager, sparking a voluntary gun giveback program that recently became the basis for a new Virginia state law.

But that remarkable journey took more than a decade, a legal challenge, years of persistence, and a consequential relationship with a state legislator.

Charlie's experience raises an important question for every local elected official: How much can you accomplish on your own when the authority to act belongs to the governing body or professional staff?

In this return visit to Community Catalysts, Charlie reveals how personal initiative, persistence, and relationships can turn one council member's idea into something far bigger than he ever imagined.

LINKS

Ask a Question or Leave a Comment: 602-688-2724 Send Matt a Note: [email protected] Apply to Be a Podcast Guest: CatalystGuest.us

On Substack: Democracy Runs on Dialogue™ Connect on LinkedIn: MattLehrmanProduced by Social Prosperity Partners

Imagine arriving at work tomorrow morning to discover that your organization's computer network is simply gone.

What stops working?

If you lead a city, county, school district, or other public organization, the answer may be far more consequential than you realize. And that raises some uncomfortable questions.

• How long could your organization actually function without its technology?

• At what point does an IT failure become a public safety emergency?

• Why might a small community be an easier target than a major city?

• How is artificial intelligence changing what attackers are capable of doing?

• And perhaps most importantly: If cybersecurity is managed by the IT department, who actually owns the risk?

Chad Goodhue has spent more than 25 years in public-sector technology. In this conversation, he takes cybersecurity out of the server room and puts it where it belongs: among the leadership responsibilities of anyone entrusted with keeping a community functioning.

You don't need to understand technology to follow this conversation. But if you're responsible for a community, you should know which questions to ask.

LINKS

Ask a Question or Leave a Comment: 602-688-2724 Send Matt a Note: [email protected] Apply to Be a Podcast Guest: CatalystGuest.us

On Substack: Democracy Runs on Dialogue™ Connect on LinkedIn: MattLehrmanProduced by Social Prosperity Partners

Karen Corbett Sanders has built a career across international business, technology, public education, and elected service, with relationships and listening as a constant thread.

Drawing on experiences from corporate boardrooms in Europe to eight years on the Fairfax County School Board, Karen reflects on why leaders need to slow down, create space to think, and listen beyond the loudest voices. She explores the important transition from campaigning to governing, the courage it takes to say "I need to think about this," and why strong communities depend on relationships built long before a difficult decision demands them.

Today, Karen helps bring elected leaders from across Northern Virginia together to learn from one another, build relationships across jurisdictional boundaries, and tackle regional challenges no community can solve alone.

Her advice for getting started is wonderfully simple: Pick up the phone.

LINKS

Ask a Question or Leave a Comment: 602-688-2724 Send Matt a Note: [email protected] Apply to Be a Podcast Guest: CatalystGuest.us

On Substack: Democracy Runs on Dialogue™ Connect on LinkedIn: MattLehrmanProduced by Social Prosperity Partners

Jeremy Nunes was a stand-up comedian looking for an extra $75 a month when he decided to run for his small-town board. Two years later, campaigning as "a real joker in office," he was elected mayor of Dawson, Illinois.

Then the joke got serious.

A broken water main threatened the town's water supply. Flooding put its water plant at risk. Residents resisted change. A pig got loose on Main Street. And the job Jeremy thought might take five hours a week sometimes demanded six or seven hours a day.

In this funny and surprisingly thoughtful conversation, Jeremy reflects on what happens when someone who never expected to become a civic leader suddenly has people depending on him. He and Matt talk about crisis leadership, supporting staff, confronting "that's how we've always done it," and learning on the job when there's no manual for what comes next.

Most of all, Jeremy offers a simple reason more people should consider serving their communities: "People did it for you."

LINKS

Jeremy Nunes: https://www.jeremynunes.com/

Ask a Question or Leave a Comment: 602-688-2724 Send Matt a Note: [email protected] Apply to Be a Podcast Guest: CatalystGuest.us

On Substack: Democracy Runs on Dialogue™ Connect on LinkedIn: MattLehrmanProduced by Social Prosperity Partners

Who owns the problem when no one person or organization is actually in charge?

Philip Falcone represents downtown Riverside, California, a complex ecosystem of residents, businesses, government agencies, cultural institutions, historic infrastructure, and competing community needs. In this conversation, Philip explores what it takes to lead where responsibility is shared: bringing people together who don't report to one another, negotiating with colleagues for limited resources, balancing compassion with economic vitality, and helping people understand problems that local government cannot solve alone. He also shares how losing his family's home in Hurricane Katrina shaped his commitment to public service and his conviction that local government's most fundamental responsibilities are often the ones people barely notice, until something fails.

LINKS

Ask a Question or Leave a Comment: 602-688-2724 Send Matt a Note: [email protected] Apply to Be a Podcast Guest: CatalystGuest.us

On Substack: Democracy Runs on Dialogue™ Connect on LinkedIn: MattLehrmanProduced by Social Prosperity Partners

What becomes possible when we stop questioning the intentions of people with whom we disagree?

David Ramadan, former member of the Virginia House of Delegates and Professor of Practice at George Mason University, believes relationships are the currency of leadership. Drawing on his journey from war-torn Beirut to elected office in Virginia, David shares how relationships helped him win across party lines, build bipartisan support for election reform, and work productively with people whose politics differed sharply from his own. Along the way, he makes the case that disagreement need not become distrust, that leaders don't need to pretend they know everything, and that the relationships we build before we need them may determine what becomes possible when difficult decisions arrive.

LINKS

Ask a Question or Leave a Comment: 602-688-2724 Send Matt a Note: [email protected] Apply to Be a Podcast Guest: CatalystGuest.us

On Substack: Democracy Runs on Dialogue™ Connect on LinkedIn: MattLehrmanProduced by Social Prosperity Partners

What does local government look like to someone whose job is to watch it closely, ask difficult questions, and explain its decisions to everyone else?

Mary Ramsey, local government accountability reporter for The Charlotte Observer, offers a journalist's perspective on the people and processes of local government: what accountability means, how reporters decide what is newsworthy, and how shrinking newsroom resources affect what communities see and understand. She also shares what she has learned from watching elected officials up close, including why transparency sometimes means acknowledging what government cannot do, why good leadership cannot be about making everyone happy, and why citizens have a responsibility to pay attention and participate before decisions are made.

LINKS

Ask a Question or Leave a Comment: 602-688-2724 Send Matt a Note: [email protected] Apply to Be a Podcast Guest: CatalystGuest.us

On Substack: Democracy Runs on Dialogue™ Connect on LinkedIn: MattLehrmanProduced by Social Prosperity Partners

What happens when someone enters public service to improve one part of their community and discovers a responsibility to the whole?

Nick Rutledge, Mayor of Moody, Alabama, began his career as an apprentice carpenter and spent nearly three decades in commercial construction before a desire to improve opportunities for his daughter and other young people drew him into community service, city council, and eventually the mayor's office. In this conversation, Nick shares what construction taught him about leadership, how elected office changed his understanding of why government moves deliberately, and what it means to balance growth with preserving the character of a community. He also explains why he still drives a school bus, why listening matters even when you disagree, and why his approach to leadership begins with a simple conviction: "It's not about me. It's about something bigger than me."

LINKS

Ask a Question or Leave a Comment: 602-688-2724 Send Matt a Note: [email protected] Apply to Be a Podcast Guest: CatalystGuest.us

On Substack: Democracy Runs on Dialogue™ Connect on LinkedIn: MattLehrmanProduced by Social Prosperity Partners

What if the first responsibility of leadership isn't solving problems, but creating the conditions where people feel safe enough to face them?

Matt Sandoval, CEO of Art Heals Arizona, believes that trust, connection, and resilience begin with one fundamental human need: to be seen and understood. Through arts-based experiences and caring adult mentors, Art Heals Arizona helps young people affected by trauma discover confidence, belonging, and hope for the future.

In this conversation, Matt shares how his work in education, clinical practice, and nonprofit leadership has shaped his belief that organizations are human systems, not just structures to manage. He explains why leaders must seek understanding before action, how to create spaces where people can be honest about challenges, and what attachment teaches us about building stronger relationships.

Matt also offers a powerful perspective on bridging divides in our communities: recognizing that different experiences and perspectives are not weaknesses to overcome, but strengths we need in order to move forward together.

LINKS

Ask a Question or Leave a Comment: 602-688-2724 Send Matt a Note: [email protected] Apply to Be a Podcast Guest: CatalystGuest.us

On Substack: Democracy Runs on Dialogue™ Connect on LinkedIn: MattLehrmanProduced by Social Prosperity Partners