Leading Conversations

Cheryl Esposito welcomes John P. Milton, founder of The Way of Nature and Sacred Passage™. John is a pioneering ecologist, author, spiritual teacher, meditation master, vision quest leader, and counsel to leaders around the world. His most recent book, Sky Above, Earth Below: Spiritual Practice in Nature is a guide to cultivation of connection to pure source for purpose and creativity. John's work teaches that one makes leadership stands from a place of pristine clarity. Inner-knowing and initiating new ideas emerge from pure creative potential. Aligning with the majesty and power of Nature catalyzes transformation at every level. Tune in as John reveals how deep inner communion with the Earth and Universal Source provide the foundation for grounded and centered leadership.

Cheryl Esposito welcomes John P. Milton, founder of The Way of Nature and Sacred Passage™. John is a pioneering ecologist, author, spiritual teacher, meditation master, vision quest leader, and counsel to leaders around the world. His most recent book, Sky Above, Earth Below: Spiritual Practice in Nature is a guide to cultivation of connection to pure source for purpose and creativity. John's work teaches that one makes leadership stands from a place of pristine clarity. Inner-knowing and initiating new ideas emerge from pure creative potential. Aligning with the majesty and power of Nature catalyzes transformation at every level. Tune in as John reveals how deep inner communion with the Earth and Universal Source provide the foundation for grounded and centered leadership.

Cheryl Esposito welcomes Mark Gerzon, President of The Mediators Foundation and author of Leading Through Conflict: How Successful Leaders Transform Differences into Opportunities. Whether working with leaders of global corporations, the U.S. House of Representatives or the United Nations, his mission is to foster the emergence of leaders who know how to build bridges across divides. Passionate about building a more just, peaceful and sustainable world, his work has included designing two successful Bipartisan Congressional Retreats, and serving as Distinguished Fellow at the East West Institute (New York/Brussels), developing a global network of think-tank's to find innovative ways of thinking about global conflict.

Cheryl Esposito welcomes Don Proffit, an ethical literacy coach with the Institute for Global Ethics and President of Proffit Projects, LLC. A conscientious objector during the Vietnam War, Don Proffit was assigned to alternative service in Alaska. That experience included an extended stay in the remote Inuit village of Point Hope, 150 miles above the Arctic Circle. In this isolated setting, his worldview began to take shape as he experienced the isolation of the outsider and witnessed the powerful role the arts and ethics can play in defining inclusive communities. The teachings from these early experiences provided insights that he brought to the New Jersey school system in order to create a caring, inclusive, safe school community for a student body from diverse backgrounds.

Cheryl Esposito welcomes Rayona Sharpnack, founder and CEO of the Institute for Women's Leadership and author of, Trade Up!: 5 Skills for Redesigning Your Leadership & Life from the Inside Out. A leader's most important job is to reveal and shift the boundaries of peoples' thinking... starting with our own. These boundaries, also known as 'contexts' are what determines what actions we take, where we stop in executing our responsibilities and ultimately what impact we can have. Rayona coaches some of the most successful leaders in business. She has been an educator, tennis champion, manager and player for a women's professional softball team. Her masterful approach takes very complex theoretical concepts and distills them down to poignant, relevant and easily accessible learning distinctions -- resulting in dramatically more effective leadership skills for her clients. Join us as Rayona explains how your context is your presence, your belief system, your purpose.

Cheryl Esposito welcomes Barrie Bergman, Rock n' Roll CEO and visionary entrepreneur. As a child Barrie Bergman dreamt of a life in the music industry. He opened his first Record Bar music store in 1963. Through Barrie's charismatic leadership, Record Bar grew to a national chain of 180 stores in 30 states and was involved in the early careers of celebrities such as Lyle Lovett, Larry Gatlin, Jimmy Buffett, and Harry Chapin. At the age of 47, Barrie and his partners sold Record Bar for $92 million. Shortly after selling Record Bar, Barrie and partner, John Hansen, purchased bankrupt Bare Escentuals, then a 4-store skin care company. Twenty-four stores later and a constant presence on QVC, Bare Escentuals was recapitalized for over $200 million, just 14 years after its rescue from financial ruin.

Cheryl Esposito welcomes C. Otto Scharmer, Ph.D., author of Theory U: Leading from the Future as It Emerges, and Presence: An Exploration of Profound Change in People, Organizations and Society, co-authored with Peter Senge, Joseph Jaworski, and Betty Sue Flowers. Otto is Senior Lecturer at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and founding chair of Presencing Institute. A blend of the words “presence” and “sensing,” presencing signifies a heightened state of attention allowing individuals and groups to shift the inner place from which they function. “The trouble is that most leaders are unable to recognize, let alone change, the structural habits of attention used in their organization. Being able to facilitate this shift is the essence of leadership today.” Join us as Otto helps us understand how to find the blind spots in order to transform them and develop the seven capacities of successful leadership in our ever-changing world.

Cheryl Esposito welcomes Dr. Luh Ketut Suryani, M.D., Ph.D. a renowned Balinese healer, highly acclaimed western-trained psychiatrist and a leader in bridging indigenous Balinese knowledge and values with the western world. Founder of Suryani Institute for Mental Health, much of her work focuses on the challenges of the children of Bali. Dr. Suryani has authored numerous books on Balinese culture and spiritual practices, hosts her own television show on women’s issues, offers weekly community meditation gatherings, and speaks about cultural issues impacting her beloved Bali. Join us as Dr. Suryani shares her insight into the growing problem the youth of Bali face as they try to blend the world of you-tube and MTV with life in paradise.

Cheryl Esposito welcomes Kimberly Weichel, co-author of the book Healing the Heart of the World. She is co-founder and co-director of the Institute for Peacebuilding, doing this work in Africa, Europe, the former Soviet Union, United States and with the United Nations. Her passion is to instill a new generation of peace leaders, the foundation for a culture of peace. “My work rests on several spiritual principles that we are all interconnected, we individually and collectively make a difference, it’s time to ‘be the change we want to see’, and it is important for each of us to bring our unique gifts forward. To realize these principles, it’s essential that the feminine qualities of partnership, collaboration, intuition, nurturing and long-term thinking are integrated within ourselves and within society…What is needed is a true partnership between the feminine and masculine qualities.” Join Cheryl and Kim in this conversation that could change the way you view leadership forever.

Cheryl Esposito welcomes Stewart Emery, entrepreneur, executive coach and leader; he served as the first CEO of est, and is considered one of the fathers of the Human Potential Movement. Author of several books, his latest bestseller is a collaborative effort with Jerry Porras and Mark Thompson, Success Built to Last: Creating A Life That Matters. What are the secrets of lasting success? And what’s love got to do with it? The answers – and the research - may surprise you. Join us to hear Stewart share stories of some of the most successful leaders of our time, a new definition of success, and why this matters to you.