Next Steps Forward with Dr. Chris Meek

Dr. Sherry Davis Molock, is a Professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at The George Washington University in Washington, DC. Dr. Molock teaches undergraduate and doctoral courses in clinical psychology and conducts research on the prevention of suicide and HIV in African American youth. Thirty years ago, she first discovered her calling was to help prevent suicide among Black people, as rates of suicide continued to rise in Black adolescents. Since then, she has been adamant that Black churches could lead the way on teen mental health and suicide prevention and has worked diligently to implement suicide prevention programs for Black youth in predominately Black churches. In addition to her work in psychology, Dr. Molock and her husband, Guy Molock, Jr., are the founding pastors and Pastor Emeriti of the Beloved Community Church – United Church in Christ in Fort Washington, Maryland. Their ministry focuses on "family healing" that is designed to bring spiritual, physical, and emotional healing to the community. She joins program host Dr. Chris Meek on Next Steps Forward to discuss a reluctance in the Black community to acknowledge mental health problems, how her work continues to challenge misconceptions about Black people and suicide, how faith leaders can recognize mental health issues within their own congregations and ensure their parishioners are comfortable speaking about them, and both the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for her HAVEN Connect Workshops.

Next Steps Forward host Chris Meek is honored to speak with Dana Perino, co-anchor of FOX News Channel’s morning news program America’s Newsroom and co-host of The Five, about her career as an American political commentator, bestselling author and role as White House press secretary under President George W. Bush. Perino will speak about the lessons that she has learned throughout her career on how to maintain a level head and find success in the face of adversity. No conversation with Perino would be complete without talking in-depth about her time working for President Bush and, of course, politics in general, including how to navigate relationships with individuals in the workplace or in our families who have different political views. In addition, Perino will share the inspiration behind her latest book “Everything Will Be Okay: Life Lessons for Young Women (by a Former Young Woman)” and why men, and not just women, should consider reading her book. Perino serves as an inspiration for young women and all Americans alike and, throughout the hour, will share with the audience how they too can feel empowered and achieve their goals.

At a moment when the nation seems intractably divided and incapable of addressing our long-term challenges, a single movement, No Labels, is working to get Washington past the brain-dead politics of Democrats vs. Republicans. It's the brainchild of Nancy Jacobson, described by New York Times columnist David Brooks as No Labels' "undeterrable" leader. Having spent her early career helping Gary Hart and Bill Clinton remake the Democratic Party, Jacobson worked for Sen. Evan Bayh for fifteen years before launching No Labels in 2010. Over the past few years, host Chris Meek has used Next Steps Forward as a platform for civil discourse when it comes to politics. Ms. Jacobson and her organization have charted a path for what civil yet effective political conversations and actions should and can look like for Americans. Throughout the hour she will give a voice to America's often ignored political majority, which is overshadowed and drowned out by the extremes of the two major parties. This will be a conversation rooted in civility, which regardless of political beliefs, audience members can all be appreciative of.

Danielle Freitag, co-founder and executive director of Action169, is on a mission to empower women to overcome substance use and to enable those in sexually exploitative industries to know their intrinsic worth. As a Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor, she has worked in a variety of settings as a counselor and advocate to provide direct support, care and counseling for women in recovery. She joins Next Steps Forward host Chris Meek to speak about the trauma-informed, faith-centered counseling program she created that promotes holistic restoration through evidence-based practices, including the creative arts. As an overcomer of severe addiction and the commercial sex industry, Danielle's captivating story of transformation will inspire hope in the audience and leave them with solutions to overcome in their own lives .

"If we're going to overcome anything, it's our mindset around it. It is how fast we come to grips that life is not going to return to a previous state of existence." Do you have a desire and/or need to overcome adversity in your life? John Register helps individuals overcome their fears and attack life's obstacles in his motivational and inspirational speeches through a three-step process of reckoning, revision and renewal. Host Chris Meek welcomes John back to the program to illuminate the three step process of overcoming and to share more about his definition of "new normal" and how to come to terms with exactly what that means. A two-time Paralympian, Paralympic Games silver medalist and Persian Gulf War veteran, John learned how to amputate his own fears. Now he guides others as they begin to do the same, by encouraging them to discover the stories that reside within them and unlearn or relearn the things they already know. Catch up with John Register and better position yourself to amputate your fears!

Dr. Gary Reiss is a licensed clinical social worker and certified trainer in process-oriented psychology in private practice in Eugene and Portland, Oregon, who joins program host Chris Meek on Next Steps Forward to discuss his work teaching process-oriented psychology worldwide for more than 35 years. His specialties include family therapy, sex therapy, working with coma patients, worldwork in hot spots in the world, organizational development and integrating process work with different spiritual traditions. He is the director of The International Peace Group and the founder and director of the Rivers Way Community Clinic in Portland, Oregon. In addition to finding the time to do all that, he's the author of 14 books, including Healing History, Process-Oriented Facilitation and Getting off the Wheels, a Process-Oriented Approach to Personal and World Liberation. Throughout the hour, Dr. Reiss will draw on his extensive experience teaching, counseling and facilitating individuals and groups to walk the audience through how he has developed unique techniques for applying process oriented awareness skills with the goals of enhancing deep development while reducing suffering, both personally and collectively.

Samantha Baltadonis, owner and CEO of Strive Solutions and senior manager at a Fortune 5 company where she provides Organization Development Consulting and Leadership and Transformation Coaching, joins program host Chris Meek on this installment of Next Steps Forward. Sam advocates for creating healthy organizations that prioritize the well-being of individuals, emphasizing that kindness and empathy do not need to be separate from exceptional business results. She will speak to her mission to fundamentally alter corporate America's approach to workplace expectations and engagement by leveraging trauma-informed leadership to go beyond emotional intelligence to understand the psychological and physiological elements to overstimulation and burnout. She will walk the audience through how she empowers leaders to respond to the complex and evolving needs of their teams with empathy and compassion. Listeners will be inspired to take control of their lives and align with their true values and desires to enable true, lasting transformation.

On this installment of Next Steps Forward, Strategic Communications Executive Jackie Gulley joins program host Chris Meek to discuss her experiences as an executive in global communications, marketing, and digital strategy advising clients on executive coaching, brand development, corporate strategy and media relations. Through her work in corporate branding, she built a strategy of outreach and advocacy for business executives with regulators, third party groups, think tanks, trade associations, influencers and media. Jackie's experience in corporate life served as the launching pad for her career as an executive coach - with her years leading global employee communications, crisis and issues management, strategic messaging, and executive communications, she developed the tools and methodologies to help her clients succeed. As she will share with the Next Steps Forward audience, her secret to success is understanding the dynamic and ever-evolving role of leaders today. Audience members are encouraged to tune in to learn about how Jackie expands the presence and creates strategies to thrive for businesses and high achieving executives, increases productivity and visibility for employers and their businesses and helps entrepreneurs grow and expand.

Donna Rice Hughes is the President and CEO of Enough Is Enough ® (EIE), an internationally known internet safety expert, author, speaker and Emmy-Award winning producer. She joins Chris Meek on this installment of Next Steps Forward to share her vision which helped to birth the internet safety movement in America at the advent of the digital age and how, since 1994, she has been a pioneering leader on the frontlines of U.S. efforts to make the internet safer for children and families. Throughout the hour she will share steps to prevent internet-initiated crimes against children through education, equipping and empowering parents, educators and caring adults with the knowledge and resources they need to protect children, as well as cyber security risks and dangers related to social networking, online gaming and mobile devices. Ms. Rice Hughes uses evidence-based curriculum to equip adults to implement both safety rules and software rules when it comes to youth's internet enabled devices.