Welcome to Compassiviste Dialogues. I'm Ali, your host, and my mission with this podcast is to shed light on critical social and environmental issues worldwide, exploring avenues for positive change. 

Today we’re joined by Dr. Max Klau, a Harvard-trained developmental psychologist, leadership educator, and founder of the Center for Courageous Wholeness. Max designs scalable approaches to inner development and servant leadership and guides people through his transformative online workshop, Leading with Wholeness. Beyond academia and leadership development, Max also fronts the Max Klau Band, exploring the surprising connections between music and leadership.

Dr. Max Klau is an author, coach, developmental psychologist, and the founder of the Center for Courageous Wholeness. His life’s work sits at the intersection of inner development and systems change, helping individuals and organizations serve others, confront their shadows, and scale inner development.

After two decades designing transformational leadership programs at City Year and the New Politics Leadership Academy, he has refined an approach that views leadership as a Dual Journey—integrating inner and outer change. This combined focus on impact and inner development is, in his view, essential for meeting a moment of unprecedented change and uncertainty. His book, Developing Servant Leaders at Scale: How to Do It and Why It Matters, explains a methodology rooted in humility, purpose, and the courage to do the inner work.

At the Center for Courageous Wholeness, he offers coaching, retreats, keynotes, and organizational consulting—built around one core truth: inner and outer change are too interconnected to separate.

Dr. Klau partners with values-driven leaders, teams, and communities ready to grow, serve, and lead with wholeness. Whether navigating a personal crossroads, leading a team through uncertainty, or embedding purpose into a large system, he helps guide the journey.

KEY NOTES:

Catching a Calling: Finding Purpose Beyond Your Career

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 - Intro  

THINGS MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST:

Dr. Max Klau's website: https://www.maxklau.com/about

🌐 Visit our website: https://compassivistedialogues.com/

CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Compassiviste/61555898333856/

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Welcome to Compassiviste Dialogues. I'm Ali, your host, and my mission with this podcast is to shed light on critical social and environmental issues worldwide, exploring avenues for positive change.

Today we’re joined by Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz, a Harvard-trained ethicist, Columbia PhD in Moral Development, and a moral architect of our time. Rabbi Shmuly is a relentless author of 30 books, an activist who has stood at protest fronts, dinner tables, refugee camps, all the way to Davos and the White House. He and his wife have even donated kidneys to strangers, a remarkable example of love and altruism.

In this powerful conversation, Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz reveals how everyday acts of compassion and moral bravery can lead to lasting social impact. From donating his kidney to standing up for justice in divided times, Rabbi Yanklowitz shows what it truly means to lead with heart.

ABOUT GUEST:

Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz is the President & Dean of Valley Beit Midrash, Founder & President of Uri L’Tzedek, Founder & CEO of Shamayim: Jewish Animal Advocacy, and Founder & President of YATOM: The Jewish Foster & Adoption Network.

Rabbi Yanklowitz’s writings have appeared in outlets as diverse as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the Guardian, and the Atlantic among many other secular and religious publications. Rabbi Yanklowitz is a sought-after educator, social justice activist, and motivational speaker as well as the author of twenty-eight books on Jewish spirituality, social justice, and ethics.

As a global social justice activist and educator, Rabbi Yanklowitz has volunteered, staffed trips, and taught across the world, including Israel, Ghana, India, France, Thailand, El Salvador, England, Senegal, Germany, Switzerland, Ukraine, Argentina, South Africa, and Haiti. Rabbi Dr. Yanklowitz has also served as a rabbinic representative, facilitator, and speaker at the World Economic Forum in Geneva and Davos. Rabbi Shmuly's religious journey was filmed in the Independent Lens/PBS documentary "The Calling." 

Rabbi Shmuly earned a masters degree from Harvard University in Leadership and Psychology, another masters from Yeshiva University in Jewish Philosophy, and a doctorate from Columbia University in Moral Development and Epistemology. He obtained rabbinical ordination from the Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School and two additional, private ordinations in Israel. He has twice been named one of America's Top Rabbis by Newsweek. In 2016, The Forward named Rabbi Shmuly one of The Most Inspiring Rabbis in America. In 2016, the Forward named Rav Shmuly one of the 50 most influential Jews. In the same year, Yanklowitz was selected for the Ariane de Rothschild Fellowship in Cross-Cultural Leadership and Innovative Entrepreneurship at the University of Cambridge.

Rabbi Shmuly, his wife Shoshana, and their four children live in Scottsdale, Arizona. They are also foster parents.

KEY NOTES:

From Inner Growth to Outer Activism: How personal transformation drives social change

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 - Episode Trailer

THINGS MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST:

Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz's Website: https://www.rabbishmuly.com/

TO LEARN MORE AND STAY CONNECTED:

🌐 Visit our website: https://compassivistedialogues.com/

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Welcome to Compassiviste Dialogues. I'm Ali, your host, and my mission with this podcast is to shed light on critical social and environmental issues worldwide, exploring avenues for positive change.

Today we’re celebrating International Youth Day by speaking with Lily, co-founder of YOUTHTOPIA, and Freya, lead of their education program. YOUTHTOPIA is a global youth movement that turns inspiration into tangible action, engaging over 15,000 young people across 70 countries and hundreds of programs. From international screenings of Bigger Than Us to global SDG storytelling initiatives, they’re proving that decentralized youth action can create real, measurable change.

In this episode, we explore how YOUTHTOPIA transforms compassion into capacity, builds systems that work, and nurtures the next generation of changemakers.

YOUTHTOPIA  is a place for all young changemakers to find community and uplift each other.

Every young person can be a changemaker, but not everybody knows where to start. YOUTHTOPIA came to life with the vision of accelerating positive change through the leadership of youth.

Our founder, full-time changemaker Melati Wijsen, spoke to over 1 million students in every corner of the world over the years. And, again and again, there was always one question the students asked: “How can I do what you do ?”

That is why YOUTHTOPIA exists. To provide an answer to that question. To help harness Gen Z’s energy for change. To one day empower millions around the world to be catalysts for change.

KEY NOTES:

How the spark behind Utopia turned youthful idealism into a global impact movement

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Introduction to Euthypia and Its Mission

https://www.youthtopia.world/

TO LEARN MORE AND STAY CONNECTED:

🌐 Visit our website: https://compassivistedialogues.com/

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Welcome to Compassiviste Dialogues. I'm Ali, your host, and my mission with this podcast is to shed light on critical social and environmental issues worldwide, exploring avenues for positive change.

Today’s guest is Peter Andersen, a marriage and family therapist and somatic movement specialist who bridges dance and therapy to help people heal and connect more deeply.

In this episode, Peter shares his journey navigating identity, trauma, and social division, while challenging us to rethink success and the purpose of capitalism. Through his unique perspective, we explore how movement expresses what words often cannot and why compassion is essential for healing.

ABOUT GUEST:

A love story rooted in movement, healing, and play.

Before The Playful Couple came into existence, Peter Andersen spent 25 years as a contemporary dancer and choreographer. For him, movement was a first language—one that taught him how to be present in the body, trust its internal rhythms, and explore the rich, creative ways humans relate to themselves and to one another.

Later, Peter’s path led him to the world of comedy improvisation in New York City. He became the founder and director of an improv company, where, night after night, he stepped into the unknown—discovering how play, trust, and connection could transform not only performance, but also relationships.

Alongside his artistic work, Peter immersed himself in deep personal development. He became certified in NLP, Timeline Therapy, Thai Massage, Craniosacral Therapy, and earned a Master’s in Leadership and Change. He studied Polyvagal Theory, Internal Family Systems (IFS), Nonviolent Communication (NVC), mindfulness, and the wisdom of the nervous system. Each modality provided him with a new lens on what it means to be in relationship—with the body, with ingrained patterns, and with others.

But Peter’s journey wasn’t purely professional. For many years, he struggled in long-term relationships—grappling with fear, loneliness, and disconnection. The turning point came when he began to understand his own needs, honour his nervous system, and trust what he was authentically drawn to. This internal work eventually led him into the most loving, secure, and joyful relationship he could have imagined.

What began as a personal healing journey now unfolds in the relationship he shares with his partner—their playful love story is the living, breathing proof of this work.

And that is how The Playful Couple was born.

KEY NOTES:

Navigating biracial identity and the search for belonging

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 - Episode Trailer

THINGS MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST:

https://www.theplayfulcouple.co.uk/plans

TO LEARN MORE AND STAY CONNECTED:

🌐 Visit our website: https://compassivistedialogues.com/

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Welcome to Compassiviste Dialogues. I'm Ali, your host, and my mission with this podcast is to shed light on critical social and environmental issues worldwide, exploring avenues for positive change.

This conversation explores the remarkable journey of Lyubim Kogan, a five-time first-generation immigrant, Winter Olympian, and founder of WingsForHeroes.org. Lyubim shares his experiences of resilience, cultural integration, and the relentless pursuit of dreams, emphasizing the importance of heart in decision-making and the lessons learned from both failure and success. The discussion also highlights the significance of compassion and shared experiences in overcoming life's challenges. In this conversation, the speakers explore themes of generosity, fulfillment, and the social contract we hold with those who protect us. 

They discuss personal experiences of wealth and dissatisfaction, the inspiration drawn from adversity, and the importance of collective action in supporting veterans through initiatives like Wings for Heroes. The dialogue emphasizes the need for compassion in action, confronting societal hypocrisy, and the responsibility of individuals to contribute to meaningful change.

ABOUT GUEST:

Winter Olympian. 9/11 WTC survivor. NYU Stern graduate. Bestselling author and co-author with Steve Forbes. Former Wall Street trader turned humanitarian. Vanished for 10 years to rebuild what war had torn apart. Now leading Wings4Heroes.org — helping amputee veterans rediscover purpose through flight and camaraderie. I am inspired by Henry Dunant and Mother Cabrini.

With hard work, dedication, and careful planning, all clients of Kogan Financial avoided losses in the 2008-2009 financial crisis.

KEY NOTES:

How Lyubim’s childhood in the Soviet Union taught him resilience and purpose

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 - Intro  

THINGS MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST:

TO LEARN MORE AND STAY CONNECTED:

🌐 Visit our website: https://compassivistedialogues.com/

CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Compassiviste/61555898333856/

Tune in, follow, and embark on this insightful journey with us. Your vision's transformation begins now. 🚀🌟

Welcome to Compassiviste Dialogues. I'm Ali, your host, and my mission with this podcast is to shed light on critical social and environmental issues worldwide, exploring avenues for positive change.

Today we’re joined by Dr. John DeGarmo, an international foster care expert, author, TEDx speaker, and the founder of the Foster Care Institute. With a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership, Dr. DeGarmo has dedicated his life to transforming the lives of vulnerable children in foster care. He’s the founder of the Foster Care Institute and Never Too Late, a residential home for foster boys.

This episode features John DeGarmo, a foster care expert, discussing the urgent need to protect vulnerable kids and the connection to human trafficking. He shares his personal journey into foster care and highlights the alarming number of missing persons. Learn about foster children and child exploitation in this important discussion.

ABOUT GUEST:

Dr John DeGarmo is the leading international foster care expert and consultant. He and his family have won multiple awards like the Good Morning America Ultimate Hero Award, Citizens of the Year, and that's just the beginning. Dr DeGarmo and his wife have been a foster parent to over 60 children over the years in their area. Tune in now to learn more about Dr DeGarmo and his work now!

KEY NOTES:

Lessons from raising 60 foster children

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 - Episode Trailer

THINGS MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST:

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/DrJohnDeGarmo/?ref=bookmarks

TO LEARN MORE AND STAY CONNECTED:

🌐 Visit our website: https://compassivistedialogues.com/

CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Compassiviste/61555898333856/

Tune in, follow, and embark on this insightful journey with us. Your vision's transformation begins now. 🚀🌟

Welcome to Compassiviste Dialogues. I'm Ali, your host, and my mission with this podcast is to shed light on critical social and environmental issues worldwide, exploring avenues for positive change.

I’m honored to welcome Sarah Templeton, a passionate advocate for ADHD awareness, author, and campaigner driving systemic change across education, mental health, and the criminal justice system. Sarah’s work sheds light on the often overlooked crisis of undiagnosed ADHD, especially within prisons, addiction centers, and homeless shelters, where some of society’s most vulnerable people fall through the cracks.

As the author of How Not to Murder Your ADHD Kid and a key voice within the UK government’s APPG for ADHD, Sarah fights for mandatory ADHD screenings in prisons and police stations to help break the cycle of unnecessary incarceration. In this episode, we delve into her journey, the urgent reforms required, and how early intervention can transform lives.

ABOUT GUEST:

Sarah Templeton is a passionate advocate for adolescents and adults with either unrecognised, and therefore undiagnosed, or late diagnosed ADHD. 

Purely because nobody including teachers, CAMHS, GPs, probation, the police and prison services and charities working in the sectors haven’t spotted it.

KEY NOTES:

What is ADHD, and Why Is It Overlooked in Prisons?

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 - Episode trailer

THINGS MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST:

Sarah's Website: https://sarahtempleton.org.uk/

🌐 Visit our website: https://compassivistedialogues.com/

CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Compassiviste/61555898333856/

Tune in, follow, and embark on this insightful journey with us. Your vision's transformation begins now. 🚀🌟

Welcome to Compassiviste Dialogues. I'm Ali, your host, and my mission with this podcast is to shed light on critical social and environmental issues worldwide, exploring avenues for positive change.

Today we’re joined by Susan M. Stevens, an award-winning novelist whose work bravely explores mental health, race, immigration, and gender identity through deeply human storytelling.

ABOUT GUEST:

After many years as a business writer, S.M. Stevens found the time to pen her first novel when a pelvis broken in 3 places absolved her from housework and chauffeuring the kids around for several months. The result was her middle-grade novel Shannon's Odyssey, written for adventurous animal-lovers.

A year later, while in treatment for cancer, she wrote the first of the Bit Players series to fill the void of fiction for music and theatre-loving teens. The YA series now has three books, and appeals to all teens not just drama-loving ones.

Her first adult novel (thankfully not prompted by another health crisis!) was Horseshoes and Hand Grenades, published in 2019. The story is a coming-of-age tale about two young women starting their careers in Boston while dealing with past and present demons. 

Her latest novel, Beautiful and Terrible Things, was released by Black Rose Writing in Summer 2024 and has won numerous awards, including Indies Today Best Literary Book of 2024. The same characters are featured in her award-winning novelette, The Wallace House of Pain (available on Amazon). 

KEY NOTES:

- From Business to Fiction: Can Writing Be a Path to Healing?

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 - Episode Trailer

THINGS MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST:

Beautiful and Terrible Things book: https://www.amazon.com/Beautiful-Terrible-Things-S-M-Stevens/dp/1685134475

TO LEARN MORE AND STAY CONNECTED:

🌐 Visit our website: https://compassivistedialogues.com/

CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Compassiviste/61555898333856/

Tune in, follow, and embark on this insightful journey with us. Your vision's transformation begins now. 🚀🌟

Welcome to Compassiviste Dialogues! I’m your host, Ali, and today we’re joined by Francis Hulbert-Powell a multidisciplinary artist, author, poet, and curator whose work spans cultures, genres, and generations.

In this episode, we explore how art can serve as healing, how surreal storytelling can reveal deeper truths, and why Francis believes in supporting grassroots action—like Road to Recovery, an Israeli–Palestinian initiative that helps transport wounded patients to receive life-saving care.

This conversation also supports our Indiegogo campaign for the upcoming anthology We All Live Under the Same Sky, raising funds for peace-building efforts and featuring voices from around the world.

ABOUT GUEST:

Born in England and now based in France, Francis has lived a life shaped by creativity, empathy, and activism. From teaching English in Austria to writing powerful prose and poetry, his journey is one of connection, between people, places, and perspectives.

 His published works include The Fish King, Two Wise Ghosts, and Together Behind Four Walls, a pandemic-era anthology created to raise funds for Marie Curie nurses.

How Art Becomes a Bridge in a Divided World

Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro

THINGS MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST:

Franci's X: https://x.com/Dreamheadz

TO LEARN MORE AND STAY CONNECTED:

🌐 Visit our website: https://compassivistedialogues.com/

CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:

Facebook:   / 61555898333856  

Tune in, follow, and embark on this insightful journey with us. Your vision's transformation begins now. 🚀🌟

Welcome to Compassiviste Dialogues. I'm Ali, your host, and my mission with this podcast is to shed light on critical social and environmental issues worldwide, exploring avenues for positive change.

Today we’re joined by Robert Kesten, an international human rights advocate and executive director of the Stonewall National Museum, Archives, and Library in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Since 2022, Robert has been leading one of the most important LGBTQ+ history institutions in the world, preserving over 50 years of queer legacy and confronting growing anti-LGBTQ+ attacks across the U.S.

Robert’s global work includes contributing to Ghana’s constitution, advocating for LGBTQ+ rights in Ukraine, supporting human rights movements across the Arab world, and producing an award-winning Holocaust documentary.

In this powerful episode, Robert shares a visionary call to action rooted in collective memory, compassion, and human rights. If you've ever wondered how your voice, your story, or your presence can shape the future—we invite you to listen in.

ABOUT GUEST:

Robert Kesten, President/CEO, Stonewall National Museum, Archives & Library. Mr. Kesten leads one of the world’s largest and most significant historical institutions of its kind; for 50+ years, Stonewall National Museum has fought tirelessly to preserve history and culture by fearlessly releasing powerful messages, hosting dynamic weekly events, launching a solutions-driven task force in Washington DC, creating dynamic national traveling exhibitions, mobilizing educators in its national education project, recognizing leaders and heroes, and providing an inexhaustible historic record of achievements, even in the face of prejudice and hate.  

Prior to Stonewall National Museum, Kesten’s human rights advocacy took many forms, including writing and producing an award winning documentary on the Holocaust at Concentration Camps in Poland, working on the Ghanaian Constitution, coordinating and producing events leading to Ukrainian independence, producing events for the first AIDS day treatment center in the nation, pushing for the decriminalization of homosexuality in Ukraine (the first Soviet Republic to do so), challenging book banning, LGBTQIA+ inclusion in schools and navigating anti-LGBTQ sentiments. Kesten also worked on the West Bank during the Intifada and was brought into Egypt and Tunisia during the Arab Spring to try and establish human rights cities. 

Robert Kesten often shares his expert perspective with national and local media, including Reuters, Associated Press, ABC Miami, Philadelphia Inquirer, Miami Herald OpEds (1, 2, 3, 4, 5), South Florida Sun Sentinel OpEds (1, 2, 3),  The Advocate, National Geographic, South Florida PBS, Global Peace Alliance, Washington Press, Herald-Tribune, CBNation ,CBSMiami and many more.

Stonewall National Museum, Archives, & Library houses millions of pages of records and materials drawing direct lines from our nation’s history to today.

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 - Episode trailer

THINGS MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST:

Robert’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertkesten/

🌐 Visit our website: https://compassivistedialogues.com/

CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Compassiviste/61555898333856/

Tune in, follow, and embark on this insightful journey with us. Your vision's transformation begins now. 🚀🌟