Finding Your Inner Mister Rogers

“People will forget what you did. They’ll remember how you made them feel.” Bekah Salwasser

The best leaders don’t just build winning teams. They make people feel seen, valued, and cared for.

As Executive Director of the Red Sox Foundation and EVP of Social Impact for the Boston Red Sox, Bekah Salwasser carries a profound responsibility: turning the global reach, history, and magic of Fenway Park into tangible, life-changing opportunities across New England.

Whether directing investments into youth sports, college scholarship pipelines, or health equity programs, Bekah’s approach to leadership isn't about status, it’s about presence. It’s about building a culture where listening comes before leading, and where compassion isn't just an afterthought, but the core strategy.

In this powerful episode of Finding Your Inner Mister Rogers, Bekah sits down with host Todd Faber to unpack:

• Relational Leadership in Sports & Philanthropy: How putting people first transforms institutional power into genuine community healing.
• Living the "95% Rule": Recognizing that behind every jersey, desk, or community center door, people are navigating unseen burdens—and how empathy changes how we serve them.
• The Power of Showing Up: How collective action turns iconic institutions into safe harbors for youth, families, and neighbors.

That spirit of community is on full display with Ravestock, the upcoming joint fundraiser between the Red Sox Foundation and William Raveis on October 16, directly benefiting the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Leadership that listens. A community that shows up. And a cause worth coming together for.

👇 Learn more about the Red Sox Foundation and Ravestock in the links below:

https://www.redsoxfoundation.org

Ravestock Boston 2026 Page

https://my.onecause.com/event/organizations/018aad7d-7a3b-4b4b-bd0a-65803d1acdb8/events/vevt:c0c78bfd-64bd-46ce-ac8a-52cd4790de9c/preview/home/story

#findingyourinnermisterrogers #95percentrule #RedSoxFoundation #BekahSalwasser #Leadership #CommunityImpact #Ravestock #DanaFarber #FenwayPark #EmpathyInAction

“I took it out of the market because it was wrong. I did the hard work of fixing it, which was no fun. I put it back in the market.”

Steven Rosenbaum said the quiet part out loud: truth matters, even when owning the mistake is expensive.

If you've ever had to rebuild trust, save this episode.

This past spring, Steven's book, The Future of Truth, got hit with public errors. He didn't dodge it. He pulled it, rewrote it, fact-checked it line by line, and today he put it back in the world with his name on it. That takes more than humility. It takes a spine. Because the real test isn't whether you mess up, it's whether you hide, blame, or do the harder thing and tell the truth.

In this deep, transparent conversation, Steven sits down with host Todd Faber to unpack:

• The High Cost of Integrity: What actually happens behind the scenes when a public leader pulls their own product to get it right.
• The "95% Rule" in Practice: How owning mistakes creates space for empathy, grace, and genuine connection rather than defensiveness.
• Truth in the Age of Generative AI: Why artificial intelligence is accelerating the speed of hallucinated facts, automated outrage, and deepfake content; and why human-led curation and radical transparency are our only shields.
• Rebuilding Broken Trust: Why the future of truth isn't about being infallible, but about building systems where accountability is built into the culture.

Maybe that's what leadership should always look like:

1. Own the damage
2. Do the repair
3. Keep your voice

👇 Link to Steven’s new book 📖, The Future of Truth 2.0 Revised Edition is here: https://thefutureoftruth.com

#findingyourinnermisterrogers #95percentrule

#truthmatters  #authenticity 

“Talent is evenly distributed, but opportunity is not”, Denella Clark

That’s why arts education matters.

Fred Rogers famously reminded us that every person has something inside them that is worthy of being shared with the world. In my conversation with Denella J. Clark, President and CEO of the Boston Arts Academy Foundation, she shared how access to the arts gives young people the tools to express that specialness, helping them find their community, recognize their potential, and imagine a future beyond the limits others may place on them.

As Denella put it: “The arts are not an extra. They are essential.”

A powerful reminder that opportunity isn’t just about opening a door, it’s about helping every young person see who they can become.

What role did the arts play in shaping your life?

#findingyourinnermisterrogers #95percentrule #Leadingwithkindess #bostonartsacademyfoundation

“ The best antidote to feeling stuck, lonely, in a downward spiral is to take action…I would either do one thing to help somebody else, or I would do one thing to ask for help.”

Courage isn’t a big leap. It’s a small practice.

I loved this conversation with Scott Simon of Scare Your Soul, especially his reminder that courage is not about becoming fearless. It’s about getting comfortable at the edge of discomfort: the place where you’re not out of control, but you’re also not coasting. That’s where growth happens.

Not in the grand gesture.

Not in the adrenaline moment.

In the everyday choices:

• The hard conversation
• The honest admission
• The ask for help
• The decision to speak up anyway

One idea from our conversation especially stayed with me: Scott’s practice of reflecting each night on five brave things he did that day. Not because every day is heroic. Because repetition changes identity. Eventually, you stop being someone who occasionally does courageous things. You become a courageous person.

• Consistency over intensity
• Service over spotlight
• Small acts of bravery, practiced often

Scott’s new book, The Book of Courage, written with Gregory Stock, was just released. It explores the power of meaningful questions and the conversations that help us become braver, more connected, and more honest.

Read The Book of Courage:

https://a.co/d/05ZT2DC

#findingyourinnermisterrogers  #95percentrule  #Leadingwithkindess #courage

"What you try to teach is compassion. Compassion is the ability to care for the other, but then protect yourself so you are allowed to stand back, do everything you can, and then step away,because you’re going to protect yourself so you can work another day and not burn out."

Jeff Walker

What if the most powerful leadership skill isn’t having all the answers, but learning how to listen?

Jeff Walker spent decades at the top of global finance before discovering that lasting change requires something much deeper: inner work, radical curiosity, collaboration, and the courage to put ego aside.

Real leadership doesn't start in the boardroom. It begins with the ability to listen, grow alongside others, and serve without burning out in the process.

Maybe the ultimate flex isn't taking charge, it's staying calm enough to actually be useful.

#findingyourinnermisterrogers #95percentrule #Leadingwithkindess #Compassionateleadership

What if the strongest leader in the room is also the kindest, and that combination is precisely what helped build a global legal powerhouse?

In this episode of Finding Your Inner Mister Rogers, I sit down with Miguel Zaldívar, Global Chief Executive Officer of Hogan Lovells Cadwalader, honored in our neighborhood as “The Global Architect.” Miguel shares a leadership philosophy that stands out in the corporate world for all the right reasons: deep humility, unyielding hard work, and a profound respect for human dignity.

From attending night school in Miami while working full-time to leading one of the world’s largest and most prestigious law firms, Miguel’s story is about far more than executive success. It’s a masterclass in staying grounded, leading with radical empathy, and keeping human connection at the center, especially when the pressure is at its highest.

In this conversation, we explore:

• Kindness as a Competitive Advantage: Why high performance and compassionate leadership are not mutually exclusive, but mutually reinforcing.
• The Journey of Resilience: How starting at night school shaped his perspective as a global leader guiding tens of thousands of employees at Hogan Lovells Cadwalader.
• Building a Values-Driven Culture: How to cultivate trust, institutional integrity, and authentic community across a global enterprise.
• Living the "95% Rule": Recognizing the unseen burdens team members carry and leading with a sense of shared humanity every day.

What I appreciated most about Miguel is his steadfast belief that you can achieve extraordinary professional heights without losing yourself (or your kindness) along the way. This conversation is an inspiring guide for anyone looking to build a culture of trust, purpose, and enduring impact.

#findingyourinnermisterrogers # servantleadership #95percentrule #Leadingwithkindness 

In this episode, Todd Faber talks with Jon Rubinstein, founder of Joe Coffee Company, about how he built a New York institution by centering kindness, hospitality, and a genuine sense of community. What began as a single Greenwich Village storefront grew into a beloved brand with 24 cafes, a roastery, and a wholesale business, but the real product was always the experience: making people feel seen, welcome, and valued.John shares how Joe Coffee became a “third place” for regulars, artists, students, and even celebrities, and explains the leadership philosophy that kept the culture intact as the company scaled. He reflects on hiring from within, training staff to lead with warmth, and eventually stepping back as CEO to hand the business to a longtime employee.

The conversation also explores legacy, mentorship, and the tension between kindness and accountability. Jon and Todd discuss what it means to lead as a guide rather than a boss, and why the strongest organizations are built around trust, humanity, and relationships that last.

The quiet power of leadership

One of the best leadership lessons I’ve heard lately came not from a boardroom or a keynote, but a children’s museum. 

On this week's episode of Finding Your Inner Mister Rogers, I talked to Carole Charnow about what it means to lead an institution built around play, access, and belonging, and one thing kept coming through: Real leadership is not just about what you build, it’s about who you make room for. Carole has spent years making sure Boston Children’s Museum is truly for all children. Whether keeping a $1 admission program alive, creating free access days for Boston families, building programs for children with autism and severe medical needs, or simply providing usable space for kids with wheelchairs, hearing differences, sensory needs, and more.

What struck me most was how she talked about access. Not as a side program or a nice extra, but as the mission. She said something that truly resonated: "When you put a stake in the ground about what you will allow, access can’t be optional." That’s leadership. The other thing I loved was her approach to people. She spoke about fundraising as relationship building. About staff as people who need space to try, learn, and sometimes be wrong. About culture as something that takes time, patience, and shared values. And when one of their small experiments, a summer camp, turned into a huge success, her instinct wasn’t to claim the win. It was to say, in effect: try it, learn from it, and if it works, great. Maybe that’s the part we don’t talk about enough. Kindness is not soft. Patience is not passive. And making room for people is not the opposite of strong leadership, it might be the definition of it. 

“We hide the learning in the fun and play.”

#FindingYourInnerMrRogers #Leadingwithkindness #95percentrule #accesibilityforall

The most effective leaders I’ve known don’t lead with certainty. They lead with trust.

On this week's episode of Finding Your Inner Mister Rogers I talked to Angelo Santinelli about mentorship, leadership, and what it really takes to build a culture people want to stay in. One line stayed with me:

"Nobody cares what you know until they know that you care."

That’s not soft leadership, that’s the foundation. Angelo made a point I think a lot of leaders miss: Trust isn’t built by having the answer to everything. It’s built through care, competence, consistency, character, and yes, vulnerability too. But not the kind that disappears under pressure. The kind that can say, "I don’t know yet, let’s figure it out." That balance matters:

Too much certainty and people stop telling you the truth.

Too much uncertainty and they stop trusting you.

What stood out most was how he connected leadership to values. Not just what people say they value, but what they actually choose when things get hard. Because in the real world, that’s where leadership shows up. In the hard conversations, the trade-offs and the moments when the easy choice is usually the wrong one. Worth thinking about.

The best leadership lesson I know is simpler than we make it

Jane Steinmetz said something that stuck with me:

When she tried to lead like the people already at the top, it didn’t work.

When she stopped performing and started being herself, everything changed.

That’s not just a career lesson. It’s a human one.

Jane was the first woman to lead a Big Four office in Boston. She’s also helped build EY’s Neurodiverse Center of Excellence, because she sees neurodiversity for what it is - not a problem to work around, but a competitive advantage.

That same mindset showed up again when we talked about mentorship, housing, childcare, and even environmental stewardship.

The thread was always the same:

Leadership is not about looking impressive.

It’s about making more room for other people to thrive.

Maybe that’s the point.