Today, Maria talks with Dennis Mihalsky, a New York public school teacher and the president & executive director of Students Disrupting.

Do you know that barely 1 out of 10 public schools in New York City, the media capital of the world, has a student newspaper? Dennis founded Students Disrupting to bring student-run newspapers to every high school in the city. Through training, advising, and supporting students, teachers, and administrators, he is helping them find their voice, deepen their thought, and seek the truth.

Dennis talks about his school principal who considered the curriculum in every classroom with an open mind and empowered him to develop risk-taking approaches to his teaching.

The three-step process to launch the newspaper in each school is a powerful approach for any change we seek to create. It’s based on community roundtables and pilot programs, followed by implementation.

Tune in to hear Dennis’ inspiring commitment to education, community engagement and youth leadership development.

Maria is back on the mic this week to share how she’s practising telling better, more empowering and gratitude-filled stories about her journey and the people in her life.

Maria believes that there is more than one story for every experience we have, and today she talks to us about the skill of reframing our stories to tell a better one.

Tune in to learn how to develop this skill deliberately using a simple, yet powerful tool that you can practise on your own and with people you trust.

Today, Maria continues her conversation with the senior executive and strategist, Will Jacobs. Together, they unpack the framework outlined in his book Rock, Paper, Scissors: The Instant Leadership Solution.

Will and his co-author Fred Lennox, spent more than thirty years researching, developing and refining this leadership framework. Its uniqueness lies in how easily, and simply it works so you can mobilize your people quickly. It allows you to tap into the secret of how to motivate others, so they bring their best selves to their work.

This powerful leadership tool will help you identify the behaviors of your team members, colleagues and partners into:

✔️ ROCKS – Persistent, Consistent & Guarded

✔️ PAPERS – Inclusive, Enthusiastic & Opportunistic

✔️ SCISSORS – Analytical, Open-Minded & Perfectionist

Through stories and real-life examples, they share lessons that will guide you to effectively interact with each type, build and lead your strong teams, and create win-win outcomes.

Tune in to listen to a very engaging conversation and learn how to improve your personal and professional relationships so you can build a successful career and the life you want.

Today, Maria talks with Will Jacobs, a friend and former colleague known for achieving first-class results while caring for his teams. Will is a hands-on senior executive and talented strategist who started his career as a machine operator. His professional journey makes him highly capable both in the boardroom, with corporate investors and on the shop floor.

His ability to see complex links between seemingly unrelated matters is evident during our discussion as he reflects upon his learning journey in a vibrant way for the listener.

He talks about his mentors who recognized his talents, saw his potential, and created opportunities for him along the way. He also shares the forks in the road with a rare openness and honesty, from his decision to drop out of University when he was 19 to the key changes he pursued in his career. Most importantly, Will talks about his love for people and his passion for identifying and cultivating their talents.

Tun in to hear him share his rich learning journey with us in an impactful way!

Today, Maria talks with Amy Novotny about how she helps people with pain, stress and anxiety through specialized breathing and body repositioning techniques.

Amy is a doctor of physical therapy and the founder of the PABR Institute, where she developed a holistic approach to restoring the body to its full potential by using our own nervous system. She is also an entrepreneur, telehealth consultant, photographer, ultramarathoner, and author.

Maria first unpacks Amy's learning journey that includes teaching her mom to graduate from college later on in her adult life. Then, they discuss Amy’s career choices and the forks in the road that led her to become a business owner.

Amy’s commitment to developing her skills while teaching us how to live a pain-free life is inspiring.

This is part two of Maria’s conversation with Nate Turner. Today, they discuss the lessons he learnt throughout his journey as a parent.

When he learnt he was going to be a father, Nate realized he wanted to do things differently than his own father. In this process of changing the pattern, he started writing letters to his son as a way to communicate with him on a deeper level.

Nate’s book “Raising Supaman” is a collection of these letters that he sent to his son between the age of 2 and 16. They contain the lessons he was trying to reach him as a man-in-training.

Since publishing “Raising Supaman”, he has been travelling the country to speak to students, educators and parents about the importance of intentionally designing our children’s lives and playing a major role in them.

Today, Maria talks parenting and child-rearing with Nate Turner, who describes himself as a Humanity Propulsion Engineer. 

So that his child might be intellectually astute, globally competent, and socially conscious, Nate intentionally backward designed his son’s life. Today those tools, techniques, and strategies which were initially created explicitly for his son are educational and life development staples for people all over the country.

Nate takes us through his extraordinary parenting journey that led him to make an impact on others as well when the letters to his son were published into a book, “Raising Supaman”.

A fascinating conversation about the parents’ role in leading our children into their future!

Today, Maria talks with Steven Thompson, who has been a curious servant leader throughout his career as a teacher, assistant principal and principal.

They discuss how his curiosity and love for books have guided his work over the years. Steven is the host of a podcast where he blends history, music and leadership. He also blogs weekly about life and leadership.

Steven talks about the fork in the road while working at a charter school that led him to become the Director of Curriculum & Instruction of the Institution for the Redesign of Learning. In this role today, he makes an impact on children with special needs through creative projects he designs while he exposes them to technology.

Steven’s commitment to learning and leadership is inspiring. We hope you enjoy listening to his story and wisdom!

Today, Maria discusses the future of higher education with Steve Whitehead, the Associate Provost at California University of Pennsylvania. 

Together, they unpack how his childhood, the ten years he spent after high school on military training, a vocational-technical school and a community college along with his manufacturing experience prepared him well for his professional career at Cal U. They explore the challenges of higher education and how to make universities trusted spheres of learning within their communities so they can remain competitive.

Steve is trained in Human-Centered Design thinking by Luma Institute, and he regularly presents on the importance of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM) in Western Pennsylvania.  

A truly engaging conversation with a powerful changemaker!

To wrap up the last three episodes, today, Maria shares with us how we can start implementing the Impact Learning principles to prepare for the Future of Work. She reminds us of the questions we need to ask ourselves to move towards meaningful life and work. She offers us specific tips on how we can all create our own Learning Journey independently of our preferences. Maria also unpacks the power of community and explains how others on the same journey with us can support and guide us to take actions and continue to grow.

Are you in a career transition, looking to transition or want to get more joy out of your work? Maria's insights and wisdom will help you prepare for the Future of Work and create the life you want.