Behind every statistic on homelessness is a human story — and leaders like Stephanie Melchert working every day to rebuild lives.

How close is most of America to losing their home?

In this episode of Make It Count, Tanya Waymire sits down with Stephanie Melchert, CEO of a multimillion-dollar Dallas organization serving individuals experiencing homelessness.

Stephanie shares what leadership really looks like in one of the most complex and emotionally demanding spaces — where compassion, accountability, and operational discipline all have to coexist.

You’ll hear about the realities of homelessness most people never see, the mindset that keeps teams moving forward, and why Stephanie lives by PMA — Positive Mental Attitude — because attitude is everything.

This is a conversation about leadership, resilience, and building real pathways to hope.

What if the secret to building a company that scales… is love?

In this episode of Make It Count™, I sit down with Ivo Nelson — entrepreneur, CEO, investor, board member, and one of the most respected leaders in healthcare technology.

Ivo built Healthlink into the world’s largest privately held, provider-focused healthcare technology consulting firm before its acquisition by IBM. He has since advised and led multiple companies, served on more than 20 boards, and been recognized as one of the top 50 contributors to healthcare IT over the last 50 years.

That’s the résumé.

This conversation is about the responsibility behind it.

We talk about what it feels like to carry a company when people’s livelihoods depend on you. The difference between scaling revenue and scaling standards. What founders misunderstand about culture. What changes in you when success stops being theoretical. Why love — real love — belongs in serious business rooms.

If you’re building something and you care about how you build it, this episode will stay with you.

Subscribe to Make It Count™ and stay close to conversations with builders who have actually done the work.

Mundo Sanchez sees what others miss.

Twice named CFO of the Year, he brings precision to the numbers and vision to the strategy behind them. He improves the bottom line without shrinking the mission. Margin matters to him because stewardship matters.

In this conversation, we talk about how he approaches complexity inside growing organizations. Where waste hides. How cash flow tells the truth. Why financial leadership is not about restriction but clarity. Mundo operates like a problem solver with range—able to move from high-level strategy into granular execution without losing speed.

We also get into identity. The internal standard that holds when revenue rises and pressure increases. Titles follow competence. Competence follows discipline.

If you run a company, manage capital, or want to understand what financial leadership actually looks like when it is done well, this episode delivers.

Subscribe to Make It Count™ for conversations with leaders who know vision and numbers belong in the same room.

Tammy Kling built Words Are Currency on a premise most people overlook: language shapes outcomes.

In Part 1 of this conversation, we step into the weight of words. In business. In leadership. In relationships. In the stories we repeat about ourselves. Tammy is clear that communication is not decoration. It is infrastructure. The words you choose determine what you build and what you break.

We talk about power, identity, and responsibility. About how executives in high-rises and individuals sleeping on the street often carry versions of the same wound. Different environments. Similar fractures. Titles and income do not eliminate internal narratives. They often amplify them.

Tammy shares where her conviction was formed and how Words Are Currency became more than a phrase. It became a framework. One that demands precision and ownership.

This is not a surface-level discussion about mindset. It is about the measurable consequences of language in rooms where decisions are made and in private moments where belief is formed.

Part 2 continues the conversation.

Subscribe to Make It Count™ for conversations that operate at the level where words, decisions, and outcomes intersect.

Christopher Teehee is an owner and operator.

He’s built and scaled an electrical business with real crews, real timelines, real accountability. He also runs a real estate venture that’s built on execution, not theory. He understands margin because he’s had to earn it job by job, project by project.

In this conversation, we talk about how he approaches growth. Hiring. Training. Quality control. Cash flow. The moments where scale exposes every weak system you tolerated when you were smaller.

We also talk about something most people skip: business starts with friendship. Trust first. Relationship first. The deals come after. Christopher is deliberate about who he builds with and why.

This episode is practical. How to scale without losing your name. How to expand without turning into a mess behind the curtain.

If you’re building a services business, building a portfolio, or building both at once, you’ll recognize this conversation.

Subscribe to Make It Count™ for conversations with builders who know results follow standards.

Michelle Bryan helps people invest in real estate who never thought it was available to them.

In this conversation, we talk about access. First properties. Limited capital. Uncertainty around risk. Michelle works with individuals and families who assume real estate investing is reserved for someone else. She walks them through what it actually takes to get in the game.

We get into education, underwriting basics, financing realities, and the conversations that happen before someone wires money into a deal. She understands the hesitation. She also understands the math.

Michelle speaks to the responsibility of guiding first-time investors. Clear numbers. Clear expectations. No inflated projections. She stays grounded in what the asset can support and what the investor can sustain.

If you’ve considered investing in real estate but assumed you were too late, undercapitalized, or underqualified, this episode is practical.

Subscribe to Make It Count™ for conversations with people who expand access and raise the standard at the same time.

Glenis Romero Hargreaves stands with homeowners when loss hits.

In this conversation, we talk about what happens after the storm. Fire. Water. Structural damage. The moment when families are trying to stabilize life while navigating a claims process they’ve never had to understand before.

Glenis operates as an advocate for the insured. She represents homeowners in the appraisal and claims process, bringing technical knowledge, documentation discipline, and negotiation experience into rooms where carriers are equipped and resourced. Most policyholders are not.

We get into how claims are evaluated. Where gaps show up. What homeowners assume versus what policy language actually says. The responsibility she carries when someone’s largest asset is on the line.

There’s nothing dramatic here. Just the reality that representation matters when complexity increases and emotions are high.

If you own property, manage assets, or advise clients who do, this conversation is worth your time.

Subscribe to Make It Count™ for conversations with people who step in when the stakes are real.

Kevin and Marcie Thompson build together.

In this conversation, we step into what partnership looks like when it carries weight. Business. Marriage. Capital decisions. Long-term vision. Alignment isn’t assumed. It’s constructed.

We talk about roles, trust, and the discipline required when two strong operators share a table. How they navigate growth without splintering focus. How they protect the foundation while expanding the footprint.

There’s maturity in the way they make decisions. Clear lanes. Clear standards. Clear ownership. No noise around it.

If you’re building with a spouse, a partner, or a co-founder, this conversation sits in a real place. Shared responsibility changes the game. So does shared vision.

Subscribe to Make It Count™ for conversations with people who understand that scale is stronger when it’s aligned.

Sheila Fejeran understands how rooms move.

In this conversation, we talk about presence. The kind that isn’t announced. The kind that is recognized. Sheila shares the path that shaped her leadership, the standards she carries into every environment, and the responsibility that comes with influence.

We get into decision-making under pressure. Navigating complexity without losing clarity. Holding authority without theatrics. There’s experience behind the way she speaks and precision behind the way she operates.

This isn’t about titles. It’s about command. About knowing when to advance, when to hold, and when to reset the board entirely.

If you lead teams, manage capital, or operate in rooms where the margin for error is thin, this conversation will feel familiar.

Subscribe to Make It Count™ for conversations with people who have earned the right to lead.

Birdie Nicksic operates at a level where taste is earned.

In this conversation, we talk about how her eye was formed. The discipline behind restraint. The decisions that shape spaces long before a client ever walks through the door. There is a difference between decorating and directing. She understands it.

We get into creative authority. Client expectations. Protecting margin without diluting the work. The responsibility that comes with putting your name on something that will outlive the moment it was created.

There’s no performance in this conversation. Just a clear look at what it takes to hold a standard when compromise is always available.

If you build brands, portfolios, companies, or environments that carry your name, this one will resonate.

Subscribe to Make It Count™ for conversations with people who understand that legacy is designed on purpose.