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Welcome to episode 46 of the Today is the Day Changemakers Podcast.

This week my guest is Susan Slotnick. Susan shares her incredible journey from juvenile delinquency to college graduate, choreographer, artist, author, social justice advocate, and going into the prison system to teach dance twice a week to incarcerated men for twenty years. 

Susan had a difficult childhood. As a young child Susan was labeled a juvenile delinquent and back then children who fit that description were issued cards to carry. Susan rebelled, flunked out of school and befriended people with complicated lives. She did wind up going on one college interview that forever changed her path. Early experiences showed Susan how difficult life was for many and this instilled something in her to want to help marginalized, forgotten and disenfranchised individuals.

Susan shares that she found her diary from when she was 12 years old. In it she was sharing her current struggles, but then wrote "but why do I believe in myself so much?" She knew in her heart that anything was possible even back then, and that innate belief continued to catapult her forward. During the interview she also shares a message about not committing the sin of lost hope! This is a very touching part of the conversation.

Susan has helped change the perspective and mindset of countless incarcerated men by allowing them to experience emotions through teaching them modern dance twice a week at a correctional facility in NY state for 20 years. This was under the Rehabilitation Through the Arts Program.

Her humanitarian work has been covered and praised by several media outlets. Susan’s life work and dance company, Figures In Flight, has garnered much critical and professional acclaim. Numerous feature articles about her have appeared in dance magazines and she received the Dance Studio Magazine's "Caring Heart Award". She has been celebrated for Women's History Month as Huffington Post's "Greatest Woman of The Day" and featured in two radio documentaries. Susan was also featured in the documentary "The Game Changer" that won Best Documentary Short at both the Harlem and Cannes film festivals. Susan is the author of 'Flight: The Dance of Freedom' that is available on Amazon.

Listen in to hear what Susan shares as her answer to the last question of, if I knew then, what I know now. Thank you to Susan for sharing her incredible journey! Find the article Susan mentions at the end of the interview here: Susan Slotnick: I hope - Hudson Valley One

Next week, my guest is Kiran Handa Gaudioso, CEO, United Way of Northern New Jersey. Kiran and I discuss checking cultural boxes, her ongoing passion for helping those in need, an incredible program in NJ called ALICE -  Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed, the importance of checking in on our teams when we are leading, and knowing we can only do the best that we can. We also talk about the juggle and pressure a working parent experiences. This is another great interview with a strong leader and changemaker.

Please subscribe to the Today is the Day Changemakers YouTube Channel or stream this podcast on any streaming site . Like us on FB and Instagram at Today is the Day Live it. I am the CEO and Co-founder of the Zzak G. Applaud Our Kids Foundation. Connecting children and young adults ages 7-22 who meet the financial needs requirements with ongoing lessons in dance, acting, instrumental music, and vocal instruction.  For more information about Today is the Day and this podcast visit https://today is the dayli

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