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In this week’s Taught episode, I talk with researcher Amanda Hiner, PhD student in Industrial-Organizational Psychology, about the Total Teacher Health project and what happens when schools move beyond surface-level “wellness” and start tackling root causes.

When the Total Teacher Health Project began collecting data across six New England schools, the results were hard to ignore:  76% of educators reported moderate to severe stress, 31% reported clinically significant anxiety, and 49.5% met criteria for depression.

Through the Total Teacher Health project, Amanda and her research team are using a participatory design approach to turn those numbers around. She walks us through their Learn–Plan–Improve model and describes a cafeteria case study where small environmental tweaks and light-touch incentives measurably reduced chaos, improved school climate, and protected teacher bandwidth- without costly programs.

We also explore how to balance educator voice with leadership support, how to include non-instructional staff for broader insight, and how to implement simple recognition practices that actually work.

Tune in to learn how participatory designs - and simply listening - can create transformative change.

Learn more about the Total Teacher Health Project at the University of Connecticut.

Access the Educator Well-being Program infographic here, with QR codes to watch an informational video and sign up for the Total Teacher Health newsletter.

Connect with guest Amanda Hiner on LinkedIn. 

Support the show

Read the Episode Transcript on the TAUGHT website.

Connect with host Amy Schamberg on LinkedIn

Explore:

• Learn more about the Total Worker Health® approach from NIOSH
• Discover Amy’s wellness workshops, coaching, and consulting at amyschamberg.com
• Check out the book that started it all! Taught: The Very Private Journal of One Bad Teacher by Melissa Lafort — Available on Amazon

Want to Be a Guest on TAUGHT?
We're always looking to elevate expert voices and real solutions. Email [email protected] with your name, title, and a brief description of your perspective or experience in education or workforce wellbeing.

Need Support Right Now?
For immediate mental health resources, visit HealthCentral or connect with a licensed provider in your area.

Send us a text

How do we create schools where neurodivergent students and their teachers can thrive?

In this episode, psychodynamic counsellor Liessa Callahan (United Kingdom) draws on three decades as a teacher and special educational needs coordinator to reveal the invisible struggles in today’s classrooms. From sensory overwhelm to unsustainable curriculum demands, she explains how outdated systems harm both learners and educators—and why small, practical shifts can transform outcomes.

Her insight is clear: What works for neurodiverse children works for everyone.

You can find Liessa at www.perspectivescounsellingservice.co.uk

Support the show

Read the Episode Transcript on the TAUGHT website.

Connect with host Amy Schamberg on LinkedIn

Explore:

• Learn more about the Total Worker Health® approach from NIOSH
• Discover Amy’s wellness workshops, coaching, and consulting at amyschamberg.com
• Check out the book that started it all! Taught: The Very Private Journal of One Bad Teacher by Melissa Lafort — Available on Amazon

Want to Be a Guest on TAUGHT?
We're always looking to elevate expert voices and real solutions. Email [email protected] with your name, title, and a brief description of your perspective or experience in education or workforce wellbeing.

Need Support Right Now?
For immediate mental health resources, visit HealthCentral or connect with a licensed provider in your area.

Send us a text

Workplace culture strategist and corporate attorney Luaskya Nonon, author of Embracing the Future of Work, joins us this week for a powerful conversation on what it really takes to build thriving organizations. Luaskya shares how well-intentioned workplace initiatives often fail to reach everyone and what leaders can do differently.

Drawing from her expertise as an Afro-Latina attorney, executive coach, and author, Luaskya explores why belonging, equitable opportunity, and psychological safety must come before wellness programs can succeed. We discuss how to uncover blind spots in program design, why middle managers hold the keys to safe environments, and how servant leadership, authentic communication, and personal accountability can reshape organizational wellbeing.

If you’re ready to move beyond surface-level efforts and embrace the future of work with humanity at the center, this episode is for you.

Connect with Luaskya Nonon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luaskyanonon/

Visit her website https://equityprinciple.com/ to learn more about her consulting services.

Purchase her newest book, Embracing the Future of Work—15 Actionable Strategies for Inclusive, High-Performing Organizations 

Support the show

Read the Episode Transcript on the TAUGHT website.

Connect with host Amy Schamberg on LinkedIn

Explore:

• Learn more about the Total Worker Health® approach from NIOSH
• Discover Amy’s wellness workshops, coaching, and consulting at amyschamberg.com
• Check out the book that started it all! Taught: The Very Private Journal of One Bad Teacher by Melissa Lafort — Available on Amazon

Want to Be a Guest on TAUGHT?
We're always looking to elevate expert voices and real solutions. Email [email protected] with your name, title, and a brief description of your perspective or experience in education or workforce wellbeing.

Need Support Right Now?
For immediate mental health resources, visit HealthCentral or connect with a licensed provider in your area.

Send us a text

Educator burnout is a compounding global crisis, yet many wellness efforts focus solely on individual strategies while ignoring the systems that contribute to stress and exhaustion. In this episode, Misty Bonta shares her journey from school psychologist to founder of Get Psyched Inc. She reflects on how early career burnout shaped her advocacy for systemic solutions to educator well-being.

We discuss the importance of professional community, data-informed practices, and gradual culture change within schools. Misty highlights how strengths-based approaches, setting boundaries, and reconnecting with your professional “why” can help shift school culture—and why real change requires more than self-care.

This conversation is a powerful reminder that supporting educators means rethinking how schools operate, lead, and care for their people.

Connect with Misty and learn more about her services below:

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://getpsychedinc.com/

1. Live School Based Mental Health Trainings (CEU/CPDs)

2. On-Demand School Based Mental Health Trainings (CEU/CPD)

3. Get Psyched Instagram

4. Get Psyched Facebook

5. Get Psyched Linkedin

6. Misty's Psychology Today Profile

Support the show

Read the Episode Transcript on the TAUGHT website.

Connect with host Amy Schamberg on LinkedIn

Explore:

• Learn more about the Total Worker Health® approach from NIOSH
• Discover Amy’s wellness workshops, coaching, and consulting at amyschamberg.com
• Check out the book that started it all! Taught: The Very Private Journal of One Bad Teacher by Melissa Lafort — Available on Amazon

Want to Be a Guest on TAUGHT?
We're always looking to elevate expert voices and real solutions. Email [email protected] with your name, title, and a brief description of your perspective or experience in education or workforce wellbeing.

Need Support Right Now?
For immediate mental health resources, visit HealthCentral or connect with a licensed provider in your area.

Send us a text

In this episode, trauma recovery coach Amy Huggins breaks down the powerful concept of neuroception—our nervous system’s behind-the-scenes radar that’s constantly scanning for safety or threat. We talk about what trauma really is (hint: it’s not just the event, but our body’s response to it), and why two educators can experience the same stressful moment—like a student flipping desks—and respond in completely different ways.

Amy shares practical, bite-sized strategies to help educators regulate their nervous systems, set healthy boundaries, and stop treating emotions like enemies. From "inner child" work to 30-second self-regulation tools, this conversation is full of insights for anyone looking to create more psychologically safe classrooms—or just survive a hard day at school. It’s a must-listen for educators and school leaders ready to move beyond surface-level fixes and start building sustainable well-being from the inside out.

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Connect with Amy Huggins: 

Amy Huggins, Trauma Recovery Coach: www.ascensionwellnesslife.com

Creating Calm After Chaos: Process Art Workshop for Educators

Book: The Language of Emotions by Karla McLaren

Gabor Maté – Resources on trauma and nervous system science: https://drgabormate.com

Support the show

Read the Episode Transcript on the TAUGHT website.

Connect with host Amy Schamberg on LinkedIn

Explore:

• Learn more about the Total Worker Health® approach from NIOSH
• Discover Amy’s wellness workshops, coaching, and consulting at amyschamberg.com
• Check out the book that started it all! Taught: The Very Private Journal of One Bad Teacher by Melissa Lafort — Available on Amazon

Want to Be a Guest on TAUGHT?
We're always looking to elevate expert voices and real solutions. Email [email protected] with your name, title, and a brief description of your perspective or experience in education or workforce wellbeing.

Need Support Right Now?
For immediate mental health resources, visit HealthCentral or connect with a licensed provider in your area.

Send us a text

What happens when we prioritize the well-being of those who care for our children?

In this episode, Lisa Dee Gonzalez, Senior Health Promotion Coordinator at the University of Colorado School of Public Health, shares how school wellness programs can support both student nutrition and teacher well-being.

Through initiatives like the School Wellness Program and Fostering Resilience in Early Education, Lisa illustrates how small, evidence-based changes—like healthy recipe cards in corner stores or walking pads for teachers—can ripple through school communities.

Sustainable change doesn’t require big budgets or complex plans. Simple actions like leadership recognition, brief movement breaks, and truly listening to educators can shift school culture. As Lisa says, “Teachers want to be heard.”

For school leaders, educators, and parents, this episode offers practical strategies to build healthier, more resilient schools—starting with the people at their center.

Connect with Lisa: [email protected] | LinkedIn

Learn more about the RMPRC School Wellness Programs and gain access to free resources. 

Support the show

Read the Episode Transcript on the TAUGHT website.

Connect with host Amy Schamberg on LinkedIn

Explore:

• Learn more about the Total Worker Health® approach from NIOSH
• Discover Amy’s wellness workshops, coaching, and consulting at amyschamberg.com
• Check out the book that started it all! Taught: The Very Private Journal of One Bad Teacher by Melissa Lafort — Available on Amazon

Want to Be a Guest on TAUGHT?
We're always looking to elevate expert voices and real solutions. Email [email protected] with your name, title, and a brief description of your perspective or experience in education or workforce wellbeing.

Need Support Right Now?
For immediate mental health resources, visit HealthCentral or connect with a licensed provider in your area.

Send us a text

In this powerful episode, Heather Vaughn, EdS, Transformative Leader and Educator, shares her journey from early-career burnout to leadership grounded in humanity and wellness. During our conversation, Heather reveals both the dangerous reality of burnout culture and practical pathways to organizational change. We explore high-functioning depression, the cost of overachievement, and how small daily actions can shift entire school cultures. Listen now to learn concrete leadership practices that can dramatically impact educator retention, wellbeing, and ultimately student success.

Connect with Heather on LinkedIn

Learn More about High-Functioning Depression

Heather Vaughn, Ed.S. is currently the G/T Manager in the Gifted and Talented Department for Denver Public Schools. This role is part of the central team leadership that works collaboratively with DPS schools to support gifted and talented programming, identification services, professional development, and other needs.

With most of her career dedicated to curriculum development and teacher training, Ms. Vaughn has served as a district and school administrator, a district specialist, an educator in the classroom, and a college professor. Her work has been recognized by the National Association for Gifted Children and the Texas Association for Gifted and Talented for her contributions in creating and championing services for gifted students. 

Support the show

Read the Episode Transcript on the TAUGHT website.

Connect with host Amy Schamberg on LinkedIn

Explore:

• Learn more about the Total Worker Health® approach from NIOSH
• Discover Amy’s wellness workshops, coaching, and consulting at amyschamberg.com
• Check out the book that started it all! Taught: The Very Private Journal of One Bad Teacher by Melissa Lafort — Available on Amazon

Want to Be a Guest on TAUGHT?
We're always looking to elevate expert voices and real solutions. Email [email protected] with your name, title, and a brief description of your perspective or experience in education or workforce wellbeing.

Need Support Right Now?
For immediate mental health resources, visit HealthCentral or connect with a licensed provider in your area.

Send us a text

What happens when the very traits that fuel your success lead to collapse? In this raw and powerful episode, Army veteran and coach Craig Madden shares how years of emotional suppression in the British military led to physical and mental breakdown, and how he rebuilt his life from the ground up. Now “The Dad Stress Coach,” Craig challenges toxic norms around masculinity and leadership, helping men navigate identity, burnout, and fatherhood with clarity and purpose.

Listen now to hear how Craig is redefining strength—and learn what it really takes to lead, parent, and live well under pressure.

Connect with Craig on Facebook & LinkedIn

Need mental health help now, or know a man who does? Check out Man Therapy.

Support the show

Read the Episode Transcript on the TAUGHT website.

Connect with host Amy Schamberg on LinkedIn

Explore:

• Learn more about the Total Worker Health® approach from NIOSH
• Discover Amy’s wellness workshops, coaching, and consulting at amyschamberg.com
• Check out the book that started it all! Taught: The Very Private Journal of One Bad Teacher by Melissa Lafort — Available on Amazon

Want to Be a Guest on TAUGHT?
We're always looking to elevate expert voices and real solutions. Email [email protected] with your name, title, and a brief description of your perspective or experience in education or workforce wellbeing.

Need Support Right Now?
For immediate mental health resources, visit HealthCentral or connect with a licensed provider in your area.

Send us a text

Have you ever wondered why so many passionate, dedicated professionals across industries eventually burn out? The answer may lie not in individual failings but in our workplace systems and leadership structures.

In this conversation with Snezana Djuric, a globally experienced executive coach and leadership trainer, we uncover the universal challenges that professionals face regardless of country or industry. Drawing from her background in education, linguistics, and over a decade leading cross-cultural teams in the IT and gaming sectors, Snezana brings unique insights into what truly makes workplaces thrive or deteriorate.

Whether you're a leader seeking to create healthier team environments or someone struggling with workplace stress, this episode offers both validation and actionable approaches to addressing burnout at multiple levels.

Connect with Snezana on Linkedin 

Learn More by visiting her website at snowation.com

Check Out Snezana's Resources:

Her Blog (especially latest posts about developing various leadership skills):
LinkedIn Newsletter- 2 Parts on Delegating. Part 1 & Part 2

Support the show

Read the Episode Transcript on the TAUGHT website.

Connect with host Amy Schamberg on LinkedIn

Explore:

• Learn more about the Total Worker Health® approach from NIOSH
• Discover Amy’s wellness workshops, coaching, and consulting at amyschamberg.com
• Check out the book that started it all! Taught: The Very Private Journal of One Bad Teacher by Melissa Lafort — Available on Amazon

Want to Be a Guest on TAUGHT?
We're always looking to elevate expert voices and real solutions. Email [email protected] with your name, title, and a brief description of your perspective or experience in education or workforce wellbeing.

Need Support Right Now?
For immediate mental health resources, visit HealthCentral or connect with a licensed provider in your area.

Send us a text

What if the key to combating burnout isn't found in productivity hacks or wellness programs, but in how deeply we connect with one another? In this episode, award-winning slam poet Andre Bradford takes us on a journey through the landscape of purposeful empathy and its transformative power in educational settings and beyond.

As owner and performer at SC Says Poetry, Andre didn't set out to become a mental health advocate. His path began on poetry stages where vulnerability in performance created unexpected spaces for authentic connection. In this conversation, he shares moving stories about the educators who shaped him, and how one unexpected reunion affirmed the lifelong impact of empathy in action.

For leaders, educators, and anyone building community, Andre offers a compelling challenge: What if we evaluated empathy as intentionally as we evaluate performance? What might shift if we prioritized feeling seen just as much as productivity?

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Discover More from Andre Bradford & SC Says Poetry:

Ready to transform your approach to leadership, education, or personal connections? Explore Andre's performances and resources at scsayspoetry.com and discover how purposeful empathy might be the antidote to burnout you've been searching for all along.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scsays/

Instagram: @scsays

Support the show

Read the Episode Transcript on the TAUGHT website.

Connect with host Amy Schamberg on LinkedIn

Explore:

• Learn more about the Total Worker Health® approach from NIOSH
• Discover Amy’s wellness workshops, coaching, and consulting at amyschamberg.com
• Check out the book that started it all! Taught: The Very Private Journal of One Bad Teacher by Melissa Lafort — Available on Amazon

Want to Be a Guest on TAUGHT?
We're always looking to elevate expert voices and real solutions. Email [email protected] with your name, title, and a brief description of your perspective or experience in education or workforce wellbeing.

Need Support Right Now?
For immediate mental health resources, visit HealthCentral or connect with a licensed provider in your area.