The Toughest Choice with Stephanie Reynolds

Dr. Joel and Michelle Levey pioneered the integration of contemplative science, deep resilience, optimal performance, and collective wisdom into leading organizations around the globe for five decades. Founders of Wisdom at Work, they have dedicated their lives to personal transformation as a catalyst for profound social change.

They have worked with tens of thousands of leaders in organizations around the globe including: NASA; NOAA; U.S. Surgeon General’s Office; U.S. Army Special Forces; Boeing; Google; British Parliament; Prime Minister’s Office of Dubai; National Institutes of Health; National Health Service; Intel; MD Anderson Cancer Center; World Bank; West Point Military Academy; Compassionate Action Network; Compassion Games International; Stanford Research Institute International; Washington Athletic Club; St. Francis Hospice; MIT; Clinton Global Initiative; World Government Summit (Dubai); and the World Business Academy.

Their published works include: Manual for the Awakening Warrior: The Special Forces Secret Mind-Body-Spirit Training Program; Living in Balance: A Mindful Guide for Thriving in a Complex World; Mindfulness, Meditation, and Mind-Fitness; Wisdom at Work; Corporate Culture and Organizational Health; Learning Organizations; Community Building in Business; Intuition at Work; The New Bottom Line; and VUCA Savvy Leadership.

Learn more about the book and the Leveys' work  (https://www.WisdomAtWork.com) 

Denise Wolf returns to discuss the pressures and struggles that leaders face, and the importance of inner work and reconnecting to the self.

Denise is a Therapist and Leadership Thought Partner at Clarity Connection. She helps people and organizations find clarity, connection, and direction, especially during times of growth, transition, or challenge. With a unique blend of leadership, coaching, strategic consulting, and trauma informed care, Denise brings both systems thinking and human insight to her work. Her experience spans industries like tech, retail, and distribution, giving her a deep understanding of how organizations function and how the people within them can thrive.

With extensive experience in AI, DevOps, and cybersecurity, John Wyss is an accomplished enterprise product and strategy leader. He is known for building innovation culture within diverse global teams at companies including ServiceNow, Cisco, and Microsoft, as well as startups including Fortanix, a pioneer in the field of confidential computing and data security.

Mindy Geisser is Chief People Services Officer at Savers, and has more than two decades of senior executive leadership in Human Resources. She is committed to all things recruitment, training, team member relations, employee relations, and building and developing capabilities.

Mindy is also an advocate for further diversity and inclusion, and carries those people-centric strategies to help shape a respectful workplace and enable the growth and positive impact of her people and company.

John-Mark Hack is  President and CEO of The Healing Place, a nationally renowned organization in Louisville, Kentucky, dedicated to providing comprehensive recovery services to women and men dealing with alcoholism and addiction, as well as serving unhoused people.

John-Mark joined The Healing Place in March of 2024, coming back to his hometown of Louisville after an extensive career in business, government, academia, and nonprofits.

Effenus Henderson  is the President and CEO of HenderWorks, and the Co-founder of the Institute for Sustainable Diversity and Inclusion. He has over 40 years of experience at Weyerhaeuser in many human resource roles, including recruiting and staffing.

He is also an internationally recognized diversity thought leader who has been invited to numerous companies and organizations to share his expertise. His book, SPINE: The DEI Backbone for Agility and Adaptability in a VUCA, was published in 2025.

Leif Embertson is the President and Principal Engineer at Natural Systems Design, a team of scientists, engineers, and planners who use landscape scale restoration of ecosystems and physical processes to promote quality of life for local communities and restore balance to natural systems.

Veresh Sita is a Fortune 500 tech executive turned mission-driven entrepreneur, on a journey to upgrade human capability—starting with the mind. After leading technology at global brands like Starbucks, F5, WeWork, Alaska Airlines, and Avish Budget Group, Veresh stepped away from the corporate world to build Vasana, a behavioral health platform that uses neuroscience and AI to help people thrive under pressure.

Veresh’s values and passion were deeply shaped by his upbringing in apartheid-era South Africa. Growing up in this environment, he experienced firsthand the importance of mental agility and resilience in overcoming life’s challenges. As a young community leader, he also witnessed the strength of collective action, serving as an electoral officer during South Africa’s first democratic elections that brought Nelson Mandela to power.

Now based in the U.S., Veresh blends emotional intelligence with deep business acumen to help organizations build high-performing, human-centered teams. Whether he’s speaking to enterprise CEOs, frontline responders, or high school students, Veresh brings candor, warmth, and a touch of wit to every conversation.

Cat Cuevas is the Managing Director of People and Culture at the Seattle Foundation.

She leads and drives the people operations and culture strategy for the systemic and scalable implementation of DEIB, Learning, Talent Development functions, and culture transformation initiatives. Cat has over 20 years of experience in leading strategic, tactical, and transformational DEI, Organizational Development, Talent Development, and People Operations across various industries, such as Tech, Government, Education, Non-profit, Healthcare, and Arts.

Denise Wolf is a Therapist and Leadership Thought Partner at Clarity Connection.

 She helps people and organizations find clarity, connection, and direction, especially during times of growth, transition, or challenge. With a unique blend of leadership, coaching, strategic consulting, and trauma informed care, Denise brings both systems thinking and human insight to her work. Her experience spans industries like tech, retail, and distribution, giving her a deep understanding of how organizations function and how the people within them can thrive.