Creative Impact Podcast

What does it look like to have a healthy and thriving team? Throughout the month of November, we are bringing you a mini-series focused on developing and cultivating a Positive Team Culture! The context of this series is dance team culture, but the content is applicable to all teams and relationships.

Today’s episode is part five of this series, and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to connect with Dr. Chelsea Pierotti! I first heard about Chelsea through her business, Passionate Coach, and I was so encouraged by her resources as a dance team director myself. It was such a gift to get to talk to her, hear about her journey, and learn from the insight she brings with her background in sport psychology.

Chelsea was a professional ballet dancer and a successful high school dance coach for over a decade. She won multiple State Championship titles and was recognized as Colorado’s Dance Coach of the Year and twice as the National Dance Coaches Association’s Associate of the Year. Outside of coaching, Chelsea also has a Ph.D. in Sport Psychology and is a Teaching Assistant Professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

In our conversation, we talk about Chelsea’s experience getting into dance, her time as a dance coach, and what led her to get her Ph.D. in Sport Psychology. Through her business and her Passion for Dance podcast, Chelsea has had the opportunity to work with a variety of teams from all around the nation. We get into topics like the difference between belonging and “fitting in”, signs of a healthy vs. unhealthy team culture, the importance of not only setting–but following through–with team values, and our words as leaders (and how they can shape our team’s self-talk).

Chelsea currently runs a company providing online and in-person educational resources for dancers and dance educators including digital courses, memberships, and workshops to help you learn and thrive. She specializes in education for dance teachers and coaches in many areas of mental skills including confidence, resilience, motivation, mindset, and leadership. Visit her website and check out her podcast, a Passion for Dance at https://chelseapierotti.com.

Check out our website http://creativeimpactpodcast.com for the full show notes that include Chelsea's biography and additional links mentioned in this episode. You can be sure not to miss a Creative Impact conversation by subscribing through your favorite podcast app.  We are so grateful to have you as a part of the Creative Impact community and would love it if you would share the show with your friends!

What does it look like to have a healthy and thriving team? Throughout the month of November, we are bringing you a mini-series focused on developing and cultivating a Positive Team Culture! The context of this series is dance team culture, but the content is applicable to all teams and relationships.

Today’s episode is part four of this series. I’m so thankful for our guest today, the incredible LaKeisha McGowen! LaKeisha is one of those people who brings the energy with her wherever she goes! Her background includes experience as an educator, dance team director, administrator, and as the Executive Director of Contests for Crowd Pleasers Dance. She’s worked across multiple schools & districts in a variety of settings and brings great perspective to this conversation. We talk about topics such as leadership, signs of a healthy versus unhealthy team culture, accountability, celebrating as a team, conflict resolution, and relationship building.

Lakeisha currently serves as an Assistant Director of Fine Arts in Katy ISD. Prior to rejoining Katy ISD in 2021, she was the Executive Director of Contests for Crowd Pleasers Dance for over 5 years. She spent several years as the Director of Fine Arts in Alvin Independent School District. She is active in the dance community as a CEDFA Fine Arts Summit Cadre Member, TDEA DEAL committee member, a DEAL adjudicator and she also makes time to travel throughout the state presenting workshops, providing professional learning, judging, choreographing and directing dance events.

Check out our website http://creativeimpactpodcast.com for the full show notes that include LaKeisha's biography and additional links mentioned in this episode. You can be sure not to miss a Creative Impact conversation by subscribing through your favorite podcast app.  We are so grateful to have you as a part of the Creative Impact community and would love it if you would share the show with your friends!

What does it look like to have a healthy and thriving team? Throughout the month of November, we are excited to bring you a mini-series focused on developing and cultivating a Positive Team Culture! The context of this series is dance team culture, but the content will be applicable to all teams and relationships.

I am so excited and honored to be joined by my former dance team director, Betsy Heathcock, for part three of this series! Betsy and I talk about topics such as intentionally developing a positive team culture, the power of empathy, and what it looks like to continue learning and growing as a leader.

Betsy has been actively involved in Dance Education since 1978. During her career she taught dance and directed at three premier high schools. She was the choreographer for the Tournament of Roses “Music for All Honor Dance Team”, Dance Team Directors of America’s “All Star Dance Team” and was the United State Olympic Festival Assistant Dance Director/Choreographer in 1986.

Betsy has served on the Texas Dance Educators’ Association Executive board in six different board positions. She oversaw the inception of the Texas State Dance Assessment, D.E.A.L -“Dance Educators’ Assessment of Learning” and continues to Coordinate and adjudicate for this Assessment. Betsy has earned numerous accolades including being named to the Texas Dance Educators’ “Hall of Fame” in 2005, “Lifetime Achievement Award” in 2000 and “Dance Team Director of the Year” in 1995.

Betsy was a Clinic Director for MA Dance Officer Camp and continues to be a Camp Director at MA Dance line camps and an adjudicator for MA Dance as well as with several companies throughout the country. She continues to mentor and provide guidance to Dance educators throughout the state. Betsy has been one of the most impactful mentors in my life, and I have watched her live out the wisdom she shares in this episode.

Check out our website http://creativeimpactpodcast.com for the full show notes that include Betsy's biography and additional links mentioned in this episode. You can be sure not to miss a Creative Impact conversation by subscribing through your favorite podcast app.  We are so grateful to have you as a part of the Creative Impact community and would love it if you would share the show with your friends!

What does it look like to have a healthy and thriving team? Throughout the month of November, we are bringing you a mini-series focused on developing and cultivating a Positive Team Culture! The context of this series is dance team culture, but the content is applicable to all teams and relationships.

For part two of this series, we are so excited to introduce you to Rob Miller from Proactive Coaching! Rob is the former director of Champions of Character for NAIA and the former Director of the National Christian College Athletic Association. He is presently the commissioner of the Wolverine Hoosier Athletic Conference. Rob was a 3-sport athlete in high school and played NAIA college basketball, where he served as team captain his senior year. He has coached both men and women in high school and college basketball as well as in track and field.

Rob has been a partner in Proactive Coaching since 2008. He speaks about 120-130 days per year bringing character-based team and leadership development to high-school and college teams. In our conversation today, we jump right into practical and relevant content. I love how Rob breaks things down in a straight-forward way and shares steps for how coaches, directors, and leaders can create a healthy team culture. Rob shares four key elements of a positive team culture, some warning signs for when a team may be in an unhealthy place, how to intentionally develop trust, how to leverage everyday moments for impact as a leader, and more! Get ready to take notes as Rob brings so much wisdom in this conversation!

Check out our website http://creativeimpactpodcast.com for the full show notes that include Rob's biography and additional links mentioned in this episode. You can be sure not to miss a Creative Impact conversation by subscribing through your favorite podcast app.  We are so grateful to have you as a part of the Creative Impact community and would love it if you would share the show with your friends!

What does it look like to have a healthy and thriving team? Throughout the month of November, we are excited to bring you a mini-series focused on developing and cultivating a Positive Team Culture! The context of this series is dance team culture, but the content will be applicable to all teams and relationships.

It is such an honor to have Mary Wendt join us for part one of this series! Mary is a dynamic speaker, educator, and leader. She has been involved in the dance team industry for over 41 years as a coach and industry professional. Mary was the Education Director for USASF Dance and the Associate Director of Enrichment/Leadership. Mary has judged internationally and facilitated coach and athlete workshops, including developing a leadership program for students from Moldova. A part of the original judging panel at The Dance Worlds, Mary was the Dance Scoring Director for the IASF, the International All-Star Federation.

Mary was the executive director and former choreographer of the Citrus Bowl and worked for MA Dance as their Vice President for over 35 years. The Texas Dance/Drill Team Educators voted her as their youngest Lifetime Achievement Recipient and Hall of Fame Recipient. She has received the Hall of Fame award from DX Events and the National Dance Coaches Association.

Mary shares so much wisdom from her experience as we dive into this series. We cover a wide variety of topics including being intentional in building a positive team culture, leading out of your values, practical tips for building communication skills, and why the work of directors and coaches is so important.

Check out our website http://creativeimpactpodcast.com for the full show notes that include Mary's biography and additional links mentioned in this episode. You can be sure not to miss a Creative Impact conversation by subscribing through your favorite podcast app.  We are so grateful to have you as a part of the Creative Impact community and would love it if you would share the show with your friends!

A quick message from Rachel to share some exciting news and to reveal our November mini-series topic!

We are so grateful to have you as a part of the Creative Impact community! You can check out our website at http://creativeimpactpodcast.com to learn more. You can be sure not to miss a Creative Impact conversation by subscribing through your favorite podcast app. 

In this final week of October, we are wrapping up our Entrepreneurship and Pursuing a Vision mini-series! Throughout the month of October, we’ve been focusing on conversations with artists and entrepreneurs who are at different stages of bringing a God-given dream to life. Today, I am so grateful to wrap up the series with my brother-in-law, Zach Piñones!

Zach brings so much wisdom in this conversation as he shares about how he and his wife, Alisa, took a leap of faith to start their business, Create Construction Management. Zach brings his over 20 years of experience across commercial, industrial, and multifamily construction projects to serve their clients as President and CEO. Their motto is “intentionally built,” and Zach shares what this looks like day-to-day in their business.

We chat about Zach’s journey, how the business has developed over the last several years, and lessons learned along the way. Zach has a heart to serve others and help their vision come to life. The mission of Create Construction Management to respectfully steward the time and resources entrusted to them and be intentional about everything they do is evident. If you have a dream you would like to pursue, you are going to be inspired and encouraged by Zach’s words today.

Check out our website http://creativeimpactpodcast.com for the full show notes that include Zach's biography and additional links mentioned in this episode. You can be sure not to miss a Creative Impact conversation by subscribing through your favorite podcast app.  We are so grateful to have you as a part of the Creative Impact community and would love it if you would share the show with your friends!

Today we are bringing you part three of our Entrepreneurship and Pursuing a Vision mini-series! During the month of October, we’re focusing on conversations with artists and entrepreneurs who are at different stages of bringing a God-given dream to life.

I am so excited to introduce you to our guest for episode 75, Keelia Clarkson! Keelia is an actress, writer, and filmmaker. She is the editor in chief of Wallflower Journal, an online women’s magazine, and is the host of the brand new Dear Wallflower podcast. Her husband, Nathan Clarkson, was a guest on the podcast back on episode 20.

Keelia shares about her experiences growing up that led her into acting and writing. I love Keelia’s encouragement that it is okay to do some things you aren’t good at and it is okay to fail. In fact, in order to grow, you have to try new things, fail, and continue to learn. She also shares about what it looks like to build community in creative work and the importance of being authentic in your art.

Check out our website http://creativeimpactpodcast.com for the full show notes that include Keelia's biography and additional links mentioned in this episode. You can be sure not to miss a Creative Impact conversation by subscribing through your favorite podcast app.  We are so grateful to have you as a part of the Creative Impact community and would love it if you would share the show with your friends!

Today we are bringing you part two of our Entrepreneurship and Pursuing a Vision mini-series! Throughout the month of October, you’ll hear from artists and entrepreneurs who are at different stages of bringing a God-given dream to life.

I am so excited for you to hear from today’s guest, Michelle Brogan! Michelle is a pastor, speaker, entrepreneur, wife, mother, and mentor. She is the founder and director of Revolution Ministries and has invested faithfully for decades. Since the time of its conception, Revolution Ministries has added discipleship programs, leadership training, large scale productions, the Epicenter for the Arts training center, and conventions to get the truth and the message of Jesus Christ to this generation.

Michelle is a powerhouse and brings passion and fire to this conversation! She has built over 5 businesses from the ground up and has so much wisdom to share as an entrepreneur. She reminds us that with no risk, there’s no reward and to activate the vision God has given you to pursue. If you are facing resistance and obstacles to get started, get ready, because the truth Michelle brings today is about to inspire you to move past those barriers!

Michelle shares her powerful testimony journeying through mental illness, hearing God calling her to begin Dance Revolution, and then continuing to take steps of faith over the past 22 years. She and her team at Revolution Ministries have impacted so many lives–which is evident by how often Michelle and Dance Revolution have been mentioned by guests on this podcast. It is such an honor to have Michelle join me today!

Check out our website http://creativeimpactpodcast.com for the full show notes that include Michelle's biography and additional links mentioned in this episode. You can be sure not to miss a Creative Impact conversation by subscribing through your favorite podcast app.  We are so grateful to have you as a part of the Creative Impact community and would love it if you would share the show with your friends!

During the month of October, we are excited to bring you a mini-series on Entrepreneurship and Pursuing a Vision! In this four-part series, you’ll hear from artists who are at different stages of bringing a God-given dream to life.

Kia Coquoz, founder of TeaJoy Daily Devotionals, joins us for part one of this series. TeaJoy Daily Devotionals is a monthly subscription service that pairs a wonderful selection of hand blended teas with a devotional. TeaJoy combines Kia’s love of tea, writing, and sharing the hope of Jesus with others.

Kia is also a professional dancer and a member of Open Sky Connecticut. She shares about her love for dance and missions, and her experiences dancing professionally. We spend a lot of the episode talking about what it was like for Kia stepping out in faith to start TeaJoy Daily Devotionals. I love her encouragement to have a support system of encouraging people around you as you pursue your God-given vision!

Check out our website http://creativeimpactpodcast.com for the full show notes that include Kia's biography and additional links mentioned in this episode. You can be sure not to miss a Creative Impact conversation by subscribing through your favorite podcast app.  We are so grateful to have you as a part of the Creative Impact community and would love it if you would share the show with your friends!