In this episode I am honored to share the mic with an amazing woman and friend, Dr. Kristen Donnelly where she shares a little of her TEDx journey,  we dive into the empathy rabbit hole, I learn some amazing parenting techniques, and she teaches me about what trampolines have to do with leadership. 

Check out all things Kristen below and support the show at CuriousIdealist.com/Coffee !

Kristen Donnelly (MSW, M.Div, PhD) is a TEDx speaker, international empathy educator, and researcher with two decades of experience in helping people understand the beauty in difference, and the power in inclusivity. She is one of The Good Doctors of Abbey Research, COO of their parent company, and an unapologetic nerd for stories of change. Kristen lives outside of Philadelphia with her husband, where they are surrounded by piles of books and several video game consoles.

TEDxSouthLakeTahoe: “How Embracing Tolerance Has Failed Us”

TEDxFarmingdale: “The Cultural Aftermath of the Northern Irish Troubles” (please note, this title was chosen by TED and is misleading. The talk is about the lie of ‘back to normal’)\

Recent Appearances:

Podcast: “Family Business Evolution” on BizNation

Podcast: “Clarity as a Journey” on Crystal Ball, Clarity of It All 

Article: “What to Do When Old Marketing Methods Stop Working” in Forbes Magazine

Article: “Emotional Intelligence & Why It’s Necessary” in Authority Magazine

Abbey Research is part of Abbey Companies, a family-owned network of businesses that Dr. Kristen owns with her brother, Brian Nielsen. Their mission is to impact lives and create wealth, which they’ve been doing in a variety of industries for over 30 years. You can learn more here on the website of Abbey Color, their flagship company.

Melissa is a hopeful who simplifies organizing and she runs a business called Hopeful Simplicity where she helps people find organization systems that fit into their life and bring their home team together. As someone who is constantly a work in progress when it comes to organizing my space and ideas, Melissa brings the hope that I, or anyone else, really can be more organized.    |    

Referenced in the show | David Allen: Getting Things Done https://gettingthingsdone.com/  |

HopefulSimplicity.com |   CuriousIdealist.com

For the kick-off episode I thought it was important to pay tribute to some friends in an international community of thought leaders who know the value of Starting with Why. The Ynternational (Why International) community was spawned off connections made inside workshops we had each attended on Simon Sinek's platform of live online classes. [ https://simonsinek.com/InspireU#/ ]

From a WhatsApp group, to Discord server, to WYRED, a free 3 day international summit with no budget and no sponsors...and no asking people for money... just pure value add [ http://wyred.live ] I'm humbled to be part of a group of thought leaders who've inspired me to keep the conversations going through this podcast. In this episode we start with why and talk more about how we came together and the future of The Curious Idealist. 

Time Stamps: 

00:00 - Intros

06:10 - Why this podcast?

11:36 - Hopes / Vision / Expectation for the future of The Curious Idealist Podcast?

17:39 - Future topics for the Curious Idealist?

20:23 - How to stay connected with the people this reaches?

24:23 - Connecting virtually on a real level?

To connect with/follow anyone from this roundtable: 

Ying Pan [ New York / China ]

Rod Aparicio [ Peru / Germany ]

Angel Marie C. Baguinat [ Singapor ]

Ashley Freeman [ Atlanta, GA - USA ]

Julia P. [ Germany ]

Melissa Ciciola [ Canada ]

Noah Max [ U.K. ]

Additional Links / Resources

I am addicted to diving deeper into topics than most people might be comfortable with. The intent is to dig out actionable things we can all do communicate better, lead better, love better...really just be better. 

Because I'm an idealist, I know we can do better than we have been. So I'll ask the questions, I'll share the learning, and at the end of the day, the goal is to put a little good out into the world, and have some fun in the process.