Real Leaders with Roshini

Justin Sutherland is opening a new chicken restaurant...Side Chick. learn more when he talks about the opening June 14. #baddestbirdontheblock

Explorer. James Beard Award Winner. Restaurant owner. Chef Gavin Kaysen's list of accolades keeps growing. A very real global pandemic hit his industry hard, and he wasn't afraid to put his neck out to fight for it. He compares his restaurants to kids but admits the best part of his day is always getting home to his very real two sons. Chef Kaysen calls cooking his therapy and had a distinct vision for each of his three restaurants: Spoon and Stable, Bellecour, and Demi. His favorite mistake? Losing his passport in Switzerland at the age of 21. That also meant a memorable and long date with his now wife. As for downtime, he loves long walks by the river for date night and grabbing a meal at a great restaurant--something he hopes to do sooner than later.

Growing up in Worthington, Minnesota, Liz Collin found inspiration from how much her grandparents loved watching the news. She became a news junkie at a young age and got her broadcast debut covering a tornado in Southwest Minnesota while working at a small radio station. Eventually, she went on to report for TV stations around the US before landing at WCCO TV in Minneapolis. An Emmy-winning reporter, her investigative journalism has led to policy changes in the daycare industry as well as for Minneapolis 911 operators. You might not guess this hard-hitting newshound also plays the organ and the violin. In fact if she weren't a journalist, she'd be a fiddler in a country band. Her son Anthony makes her melt and focus on what's truly important. Liz cherishes every day she gets to watch him become the person he was meant to be.

A special conversation for Season 2 of Real Leaders with Roshini as Dean Sri Zaheer is the first leader from whom we asked for reaction to the COVID-19 global pandemic. You'll find inspiration in the speed at which she and her team were able to mobilize the students, staff, and faculty at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management to go virtual. Not surprising for a leader who says "the only thing that's predictable is unpredictability." Her story starts in the town of Dargapur in the state of West Bengal in India. Zaheer still marvels that a young girl who decided to follow business instead of physics would end up in such a big position on the other side of the world. Her blue chip education is backed by a global mindset and a habit of listening to others. In January 2020, she started her term as Chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. To blow off steam and stay in shape, she took up boxing more than a decade ago. A sport she says can teach lessons in "focus, living in the moment, and agility." Just what is needed now and well into the future. 

Colle McVoy chief creative officer Mike Caguin thanks his wife of more than two decades for putting up with his sometimes inability to focus. He says "laughter drives the success of their relationship" along with strong communication and acknowledges, "Much like work, I will never master marriage. But I'm in the pursuit of mastery." Credited with leading culture-shifting campaigns, he admits his early days as a manager came with a command and control model. One that he didn't like much nor did his employees. Over time, Mike learned "being among the people" was his strength. He regularly walks the halls and invites people to mini brainstorming sessions. He calls advertising the "intersection of art and commerce." When those "moments of magic happen," he basks in the purpose-driven results he can bring to clients. His favorite part of fatherhood is how he gets to rediscover his inner child when he interacts with his teenagers.

Katie Harms takes her role as health advocate seriously. She didn't ask for the title but landed there through her own health odyssey. After struggling on and off with major headaches, a car accident in 2017 caused a series of events that led to a spinal fluid leak. She tried all sorts of treatment until surgery at Mayo Clinic gave her some relief. Though after-effects will never completely leave her, she finds joy in teaching and advocating, hoping to "short-circuit some of the tough stuff" for others. Her role on the board of the Spinal CSF Leak Foundation has taken her to Washington, DC, to lobby members of Congress for legislation toward relief. Katie says there are 300 different designations for headaches. Those known as migraines are the number two cause of disability in the United States. Always an optimist, her journey has helped her find the positives in life. Katie ponders: perhaps this is the "path I'm supposed to be on so I can find ways to help others with it."

No stranger to big challenges, Laura Brod Hameed has flexed her muscles as University of Minnesota Regent, a state legislator, and tech startup CEO. As executive director of Columbus Children's Foundation, her advocacy and fundraising strives to make life better for people with ultra-rare diseases, specifically children. 320 million people globally have an ultra-rare disease. Half of which are children; three of ten of those kids will not live to their fifth birthdays. She embraces the task ahead of her and treasures each win along the way. When Laura is able to see a gene therapy treatment fix a child's genetic mutation, she calls it "humanity at its best." This multi-tasker is also a big family person. She and her husband have six children between them. That's why their downtime includes lots of good meals, conversation, and wine.

The term deviant often brings negative connotations. But health journalist and co-host of The Living Experiment podcast, Pilar Gerasimo, wants you to try the deviant lifestyle to fully handle modern life. Whether dealing with a pandemic or everyday challenges, she reminds people that "A high-vitality, high-energy, high-resiliency person always stands a better chance of getting through periods of high stress." Her past life as founding editor of Experience Life Magazine and now author of The Healthy Deviant, all make her especially committed to the adage, "If you're not breaking the rules, you're probably breaking yourself." She shares the Morning Minutes Ritual that can help you take control of your autonomy each morning and urges you to adopt a lifestyle that observes your own ultradian rhythms. Why is she so passionate? Her research found that 50 percent of US adults are living with chronic illness and only 3 percent of America is healthy, happy, and on track to stay that way.

Justin Sutherland never planned to go into cooking professionally. His childhood was filled with watching his Japanese and Mississippi native grandmothers cook and garden so food was always a big part of his life. He credits Chef David Fhima and Meritage owner Russell Klein for many lessons through hard work and his Iron Chef  TV experience as giving him a wonderful springboard for national exposure. Chef Sutherland calls cooking an action and doesn't buy it when someone says they can't cook. For now, he welcomes you into his restaurants, which he calls judgment-free zones. His legacy will be one of taking chances and owning his own path.

Would you believe that of the world's developed nations, the United States has the fastest death rates for moms in childbirth? Melissa Hanna co-founded Mahmee with her own mother, who's a nurse, because the healthcare system was letting moms and babies down. The Mahmee healthcare app provides personalized, ongoing postpartum care to new moms and infants. So far, Mahmee has more than 1000 providers in Los Angeles and is working on scaling nationally. Anyone can access Mahmee online. Melissa says Finland, Norway, and Denmark lead the world in how their models of care prevent many of the gaps the US and other countries face. Those "gaps in care are rooted in gaps in data," she says. Find out what she said when Roshini asked her if moms get shafted by US laws. Melissa remains committed to helping more parts of the system see the big picture so the crisis of maternal and infant mortality disappears.