Roads Taken

Guest Matt Wiltshire, Dartmouth '96, grew up in Nashville in a family that was active in politics and in serving the community around them in a variety of ways. Ever the fiery, argumentative one, Matt went to college to study government and thought law school was in his future. Thinking he’d save a little money before law school, he followed in the shoes of senior year roommate and went into investment banking. He hadn’t intended to make it into a fifteen-year career but the idea of sticking with smart people working on interesting problems led to opportunity after opportunity, city to city.

Finally, he found a banking opportunity that brought him home to Nashville. He loved the work, but he found himself being pulled into community development work with local not-for-profits boards and community committees and found a desire to do more of that. When an opening appeared within the mayor’s office of economic development, he knew he would be an unlikely candidate. But luckily they recognized that the skills he had gained while he was gone, married with the love he had for the city, would make Matt the perfect person to try to expand opportunities for Nashville and his fellow citizens.

In this episode, find out from Matt how making things better is all the sweeter in a place that you love…on ROADS TAKEN...with Leslie Jennings Rowley.

About This Episode's Guest

Matt Wiltshire is a proud son of Nashville, Tennessee, doing all he can to build and strengthen the city he loves. After a fifteen year career in investment banking, he finally turned to public service, becoming the Director of the Mayor’s Office of Economic and Community Development under multiple mayors. He is currently Chief Strategy and Intergovernmental Affairs Officer at Nashville’s Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency. 

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

Find more episodes at https://roadstakenshow.com

Email the show at [email protected]

Find more episodes at https://roadstakenshow.com

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

Email the show at [email protected]

Guest Matt Little, Dartmouth '96, had a bit of a free-range childhood, allowed as he was to paddle out to his own little island fiefdom near his parent’s lake cabin in Central Minnesota. Finding frogs and other friends and feeling one with that special place, he knew then—as a young child—that he wanted to do all he could to protect special places like this. 

With an eye to one day becoming head of the Environmental Protection Agency, he pursued his high school studies to get him to the right college and the right experiences to make it happen. It paid off as he soon found himself in Washington, D.C., doing environmental policy work—yes, even with the Environmental Protection and also the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan of New York.

But with an eye on doing more for the Environment, capital E, he also knew that his own environment was also important for his psychic good. So he found a way to plunge himself back in nature and started making impact in a different way.

In this episode, find out from Matt how continuing to make the impact that fills your soul sometimes requires a change in environment…on ROADS TAKEN...with Leslie Jennings Rowley.

About This Episode's Guest

Matt Little is a conservationist, environmental policy wonk, and currently the director of investor partnerships at Social Venture Partners Portland. He lives in Washington State with his wife and their two daughters, whom he tries to get into the great outdoors as much as possible.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

Find more episodes at https://roadstakenshow.com

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

Email the show at [email protected]

Guest Jennifer Wullf, Dartmouth '96, never thought she was college bound, let alone Ivy League material. But with encouragement that she was a strong writer who had the goods, she entered Dartmouth as a transfer student at the age of 23, making her time at college seem somewhat out of sync. Perhaps that is one reason the memoir she tried to write during her last year’s fellowship—though packed with a roller-coaster plot—ended up missing the mark.

She continued her journey as a writer with a quick stint at Sports Illustrated and then a ten-year career at People Magazine, where she honed her skills profiling some of the most accomplished and creative celebrities. To better suit life with a family, she turned to freelance work and now writes frequently for the Dartmouth Alumni Magazine, where she still profiles some pretty amazing people. But, while she does that work well and enjoys it, it still doesn't fill her need to tell her own story.

In this episode, find out from Jen how listening to others can ultimately bring out the story from within …on ROADS TAKEN...with Leslie Jennings Rowley.

About This Episode's Guest

Jennifer Wullf is a freelance writer, most recognizable to Dartmouth folks through her many cover stories and profiles of alumni from Mindy Kaling to Shonda Rimes to our own Marsha Stephanie Blake in the Dartmouth Alumni Magazine, where she is a contributing editor. Before hitting it out on her own, she was a long-time staff writer at People Magazine. She is currently working on her memoir.

Also Mentioned in this Episode

Jen’s Dartmouth Alumni Magazine coverstories on actor classmate Marsha Stephanie Blake ’96 and Hollywood showrunner extraordinaire Shonda Rimes ’91.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Audio Engineer: Clancy Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

Find more episodes at https://roadstakenshow.com

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

Email the show at [email protected]

Guest Darryl Knudsen, Dartmouth '96, was technically a comparative literature major in college, but one could be forgiven for thinking he was a paddling major given the amount of time he spent on the water. Unsuprisingly, he began adult life as a river guide. But when he stood on the banks at one point and realized he didn’t have the tools needed to make the impact he wanted, he took a different course.

He embarked on a career in human rights and business—one he needed to forge for himself as there was little in the way of corporate social responsibility in either grad school or businesses. Starting first with socially responsible investment funds, he then found his way into Gap, Inc. where he honed his skills over the next decade and then found himself working globally on everything from improving working conditions to curtailing child exploitation. And once he had the tools of negotiation in the human and environmental rights context, the rivers called him back.

In this episode, find out from Darryl how picking the right path in the current—sometimes going with the flow and sometimes against it—while hard, can be transformative …on ROADS TAKEN...with Leslie Jennings Rowley.

About This Episode's Guest

Darryl Knudsen is Executive Director of International Rivers, an organization devoted to protecting rivers and defending the rights of the communities that depend on them. The tailor-made role allows him to meld his love of rivers with two decades of experience in human rights and global corporate responsibility honed during his time at Gap Inc. and other experiences representing the interests of workers, communities, and environments.

Also Mentioned in this Episode

Established in 1920, Ledyard Canoe Club is a student-run organization at Dartmouth College that supports flatwater and whitewater canoeing and kayaking.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

Find more episodes at https://roadstakenshow.com

Email the show at [email protected]

Find more episodes at https://roadstakenshow.com

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

Email the show at [email protected]

Guest Suzie Brown Sax, Dartmouth '96, was part of lots of communities in college, from sports to Greek life. But she found her “people” for the first time, senior year, when she joined the female a cappella group the Rockapellas. While the group provided the creative outlet she didn’t know she needed, it also made her question her long-standing dreams to join her science skills with her interest in helping people in a life of medicine. Sage words from a summer music teacher right before she went off to medical school convinced her that she was lucky that she had more than one talent and that somehow there would be a way to keep music in her life.

Little did she know that she would find a way to touch lives through both a vibrant cardiology practice and a career as a singer-songwriter—both of which are about vulnerability in very different ways. She feels a clear sense of purpose with cardiology and puts all of her energy and thought into her patients when she is with them. But she also could never see herself stopping creating music.

In this episode, find out from Suzie different ways to touch people’s hearts and how to be strong for others, you sometimes need to find another outlet for emotions you can’t express elsewhere …on ROADS TAKEN...with Leslie Jennings Rowley.

About This Episode's Guest

Suzie Brown is an advanced heart failure/heart transplant cardiologist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and a singer-song writer with multiple albums to her name, including her latest Under the Surface. She lives in Nashville with musician husband Scot Sax and their two daughters. Find Suzie and her music at suziebrownsongs.com. 

Bhttps://roadstakenshow.com/episodes/touching-hearts-suzie-brown-025/TRANSCRIPT

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

Find more episodes at https://roadstakenshow.com

Email the show at [email protected]

Find more episodes at https://roadstakenshow.com

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

Email the show at [email protected]

Guest Rebecca Oettinger Feder, Dartmouth '96, knew enough about business after leaving college to know that she didn’t know enough. After a rotational program and an executive MBA, she realized she was drawn most to Human Resources, which she came to regard as more than just an enabling function to the businesses of which she was a part. Her roles supporting senior managers across the entirety of a business gave her an intimate look at all sides of the business and a courtside seat to how senior executives make decisions.

But with the growth of her career—serving many business units within giant global companies that required more and more days on the road and away from family—she realized she needed to make a change. Luckily a decade before, when she was just contemplated motherhood, she had drawn up a business plan for her own HR consultancy. At the time, trusted advisors told her she needed more experience and connections, but when she brushed off the plan all those years later, she was on her way.

In this episode, find out from Rebecca how sometimes it’s the combination of experience, connections, and timing that leads to the impact you are after…on ROADS TAKEN...with Leslie Jennings Rowley.

About This Episode's Guest

Rebecca Oettinger Feder is principal consultant at Princeton HR Insight, LLC. With extensive experience in HR management roles with global organizations, including as McMaster-Carr, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Tyco/Johnson Controls, she now advises clients in a range of industries through her own firm. Find Rebecca at PrincetonHRinsight.com.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

Find more episodes at https://roadstakenshow.com

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

Email the show at [email protected]

Guest Marc McDonald, Dartmouth '96 and self-proclaimed film lover, had been combining his love of media and communications and sports through writing and broadcasting during college. After sticking around campus for a year after graduation as an assistant track coach, he also took advantage of the opportunity to run the Dartmouth Film Society and a chance to connect with the Telluride Film Festival kicked off a passion that he was able to stoke for over two decades. Although he immediately knew he wanted to run a film festival for a living, Telluride had only a small full-time team.

His skill in marketing and storytelling and innate managerial skills led him to arts management elsewhere—with a Shakespeare theater company. He realized that he needed to hone his management skills further, so pursued an MBA. The career he made for himself after that has centered on managing teams and communications work within social impact organizations. But he’s never given up the dream to run a film festival. He just figured out how to have his cake and eat it, too.

 In this episode, find out from Marc how keeping a passion project alive takes work but pays dividends...on ROADS TAKEN...with Leslie Jennings Rowley.

About This Episode's Guest

Marc McDonald has a history of managing organizations and teams—and their storytelling efforts—in the social service, arts and media fields. He is currently with the AARP Foundation where he has held a number of Communications, Marketing and strategy integration roles. His previous experience includes stints at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, among other. But his love of film and community accounts for his love affair with the Telluride Film Festival, where he has been Manager of Theatre Operations, seasonally, for the last 20-plus years. 

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

Find more episodes at https://roadstakenshow.com

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

Email the show at [email protected]

Guest Scott Anthony, Dartmouth '96, was never really thinking about a life in journalism. But he found the time spent working on America’s oldest college newspaper, The Dartmouth, enjoyable because of his ability to pose questions and do research and tell a story. Years later, those skills would come back together in the work he does as an author on business innovation topics.

Though he credits growing up in a family that valued tinkering, trying things, and finding new connections as one inspiration, it was a chance encounter in business school with Clayton Christensen, father of disruptive innovation, that set him on path to consulting, researching, and writing on innovation. Scott ended up being a research assistant for Clay, co-writing a book with him, and joining his start-up consulting firm. Nearly twenty years later, working in the firm’s Singapore office, he’s learned—and written—volumes on what it really means to be innovative and what it takes to be innovative in personal and professional realms.

In this episode, find out from Scott how innovation in business and innovation in life often feel very similar…on ROADS TAKEN...with Leslie Jennings Rowley.

About This Episode's Guest

Scott Anthony is an author and senior partner at growth strategy consulting firm Innosight. He has written extensively about a number of innovation topics including disruptive innovation and business transformation, with such titles as his first work with Clay Christensen Seeing What’s Next and his recent 2020 release, Eat Sleep Innovate. His latest research is on "both/and" behaviors (as opposed to "either/or" strategies) that predict stellar leadership. Find Scott at innosight.com.

Mentioned in this episode is the book The Innovator's Dilemma by Clayton Christensen.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

Find more episodes at https://roadstakenshow.com

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

Email the show at [email protected]

Guest Chesley Homan Flotten, Dartmouth '96, entered college thinking she would be an advocate in the legal sense—one who is professionally qualified to plead the cause of another in a court of law. But a love of history soon blossomed and she found herself in graduate school with the idea of researching and teaching. Ultimately, that path didn’t resonate with her either and, as a new mother, she sought to exercise her professional side in a role where she could make more direct impact on people. She worked in college fundraising until unexpected news set her life in a different direction.

A breast cancer diagnosis at the age of 28—which she did not expect but also needed to push doctors to rightly identify—opened her eyes to how important it is to advocate for yourself. Thankfully able, in time, to manage that personal health challenge, she next found the same self-advocacy skills were required to navigate the social and educational services landscape surrounding her son’s autism journey. A seemingly impulsive decision to open a knitting store actually emerged as a holding space for a community-building movement that helped her connect one-on-one with others going through similar challenges. Ultimately, it led her to add professionalized skills of social work to the personal advocacy network she was creating.

In this episode, find out from Chesley how navigating the abyss on your own can sometimes make you the best advocate and guide for others...on ROADS TAKEN...with Leslie Jennings Rowley.

About This Episode's Guest

Chesley Flotten the former owner of The Knitting Experience Café, is a licensed clinical social worker specializing in oncology social work, focused on addressing the psychosocial needs of individuals and families coping with the impact of illness and disability. She is currently the manager of psychosocial oncology services at Harold Alfond Center for Cancer Care in Augusta, Maine.

Mentioned in this Episode

Young Survival Coalition: The organization addressing the unique needs and improving the quality of life of young adults under the age of 40 affected by breast cancer.

Knitted Knockers: Two main organizations have sprung from that which Chesley created to help provide soft, comfortable knit prosthetics for free to breast cancer survivors. https://www.knittedknockers.org/ and http://www.knittedknockersusa.org.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

Find more episodes at https://roadstakenshow.com

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

Email the show at [email protected]

Guest Jonathon “Stew” Stewart, Dartmouth '96, set off to Hollywood immediately after graduation to become a writer and director in Hollywood. Without ready-made connections or a pre-determined path, he had to stumbled around in the beginning until a few observations of the sublime and the ridiculous within his own family made him take stock anew and recommit to the path he’d chosen. Embarking on a collaboration with fellow Dartmouth writer Eyal Podell ’97, he worked on a biopic script about a protégé of Frank Lloyd Wright’s before taking the plunge into a similar project on Theordore Geisel. The Dr. Seuss script, though not without its barriers to an easy road to the box office, became the duo’s calling card around Hollywood and ultimately opened doors to animated film projects and other creative initiatives that require just the tricky balance of humanity the pair have continued to perfect.

In this episode, find out from Stew how finding the human story--whether in a non-human animated character or the protagonist of a period biopic--is all about simultaneously seeing both the whimsy and drama of life…on ROADS TAKEN...with Leslie Jennings Rowley.

About This Episode's Guest

Jonathan Stewart is a screenwriter, director, and author, who—with writing partner Eyal Podell, Dartmouth ’97—has straddled big budget animation and period biopic projects, pulling both the humanity and whimsy out of such characters as Lightning McQueen, a protégé of Frank Lloyd Wright, and our own Dr. Seuess. Find out about his creative projects (as well as a very cool coffee endeavor called Java Stew) at jstew.com.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

Find more episodes at https://roadstakenshow.com

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

Email the show at [email protected]