Formative

Growing up, Keith Howard knew he was the best — and he was going to the NBA. How’s he then find himself as Commissioner of the NYC Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD)? How does his love for the game influence his work? And what basketball dreams are still alive? These are just some of the things Kureem asks him about on this episode of Formative.

It’s the season 4 launch of Formative! This week’s guest was so focused on surviving transitional life in foster care, she didn’t think she’d attend college — much less accomplish a PhD and keep going. Dr. Shanika Hope is now the Director of Education for Social Impact at Google. In this episode, 8th grader, Emily, shares her own hopes and concerns and hears what it’s like for one woman in technology who learned to take the limits off and take a risk on herself.

After 25 years in the public eye, Sportscaster John Chandler still gets nervous before going on the air. On this episode, of Formative, he tells co-host Khody how those nerves show him he still cares after all this time. Coming into his career through a deep love of sports, John talks about the highlights and challenges of being the face fanatics see.

Author Chrystal D. Giles had a son and began to crave seeing him and her family reflected in children’s books. In this episode she tells 6th grader, Christina, how this absence of diversity spurred her on to write the books missing from the shelves. Once an accountant, she’s now a full-time author who believes we have time to do “all the things” we’re interested in.

After a successful nonprofit career, Rich found himself pivoting to an organization that had made his community work possible. Now the CEO of Robin Hood, he’s getting to support projects he loves, in neighborhoods he loves. In this episode, 7th grader Chanse picks his brain on everything from the importance of pre-k and afterschool programs — to anime.



It’s not every day you meet someone who can catch a speeding tap shoe mid-air in the dark — fix it — and then send it back out to finish the show. This week’s guest can do just that. Islah Abdul-Rahim is a successful visual artist and Broadway wardrobe professional. In this episode, co-host Prianna asks her what in her career she’d do exactly the same — and what she’d make alterations on.

Entrepreneur, podcast professional, and New York Edge board member, Robert Tuchman joins 12-year-old Rokiat to discuss the winding path many of our careers take. We dream of one thing and a couple of pivots down the road we’re enjoying a career we didn’t expect. 

In this episode of Formative, 7th grader, Angel, connects with Simone Harris-Laws who’s in charge of DEI marketing and community partnerships for Macy’s. We learn to find common ground through ice cream, get less rigid with our schedules, and the importance of mentors as an alternate family who want us to be happy.

Let’s get our butterflies into formation and make the next right move. On this episode of Formative, former U.S. Ambassador, and aspiring aerospace engineer, Suzan LeVine deep dives with 8th grader, Allyson. They mull over the power of the listening ear and how, as women leaders, it’s sometimes hard to be heard.

How does Overwatch teach valuable life lessons? Should I be a chef…or psychotherapist? And how can chocolate make a difference in a borough…and the world? That’s just some of the things we learn on this episode of Formative as D’Angelo from 362K interviews Carlos Cortes of Chocobar Cortés.