Today, I talk with Dakarai Ashby, Los Angeles based collage artist, designer, painter and editorial illustrator from Cleveland, OH. We talk about passion, persevering and the power of hope.  Dakarai has published three art books that catalog works created between the span of 2014-2016, 2016-2019, 2019-2021. He has participated in countless group and solo exhibits over the span of 10 years and has had work published in publications such as The New York Times, Wired Magazine, Readers Digest and several more. In our conversation, Dakarai speaks about his faith and describes what that loos like in practice. He talks about how he defines well-being and how modeling that is a demonstration of his leadership.  One of Dakarai's profound realization is the peace that comes with you are collaborating with the right partner. In his case, he states it is collaborating with God that provides that peace! Dakarai's collages are small windows into the worlds of black surrealism & afrofuturism. Each piece tells it’s own story that is entirely up to the viewer to create based on their own observations. When creating these collages Dakarai focuses on color, shape and composition to tell a story or to give the viewer a unique feeling. Check more of his work at the link below: http://www.dakaraiart.com/collage

Allow me to introduce Dr. Kelly Daugherty!!  Dr. Kelly Bullock Daugherty is a former classroom educator who has taught in the primary grades for over 18 years and held several school/district leadership roles during her tenure. Her wide range of experience in teaching, learning, and leading has afforded her many opportunities to impact teaching and learning across the country. Dr. Daugherty is the Founder and CEO of Transitions Educational Coaching & Consulting Services, LLC. (formerly Transitions Educational Consulting, LLC) She is also an author, speaker, trainer, and dedicated advocate for all things education. She has found her purpose in motivating, inspiring, and empowering teachers and teacher leaders to overcome the many challenges they face in and around education to help them build capacity in their practice and become more effective, efficacious leaders. She resides in Northeast Ohio with her husband of 22 years and their 3 teenage children. Dr. Kelly's conversation touches on what happens when we lean into those seasons that seem to break up down, to make us feel like we are completely off track and lost.  Becoming a reflective practitioner of ourselves allows us to lean into those periods, to look for the teachings, to rediscover our purpose and develop ways to walk in our uniqueness, our power and purpose. https://www.transitionseducates.com/ Rebuilt not Broken by Dr. Kelly Daugherty https://www.transitionseducates.com/s/shop

Our guest today is Ristina Gooden. Ristina’s work centers on her belief that what is central to God’s love for God’s people is that we all flourish. She exercises this belief through her writing, preaching, and speaking on topics about faith, race, gender and sexuality, and pop culture through a womanist lens. A licensed minister in the Baptist Church tradition, Gooden is a third year student at Vanderbilt Divinity School, concentrating on Religion, Gender, and Sexuality. She also serves as president of the Vanderbilt Divinity School Black Seminarians and Student Government Association. Following her studies at Vanderbilt, she plans to pursue her Ph.D. in Homiletics. Today we chat about human flourishing. . .how do we find it or deepen it our lives; how do we make room for it in our work, with our colleagues? Our family? Our friends?  Oddly enough, the foundation of this concept can be found in the writings of Aristotle.  Aristotle discusses, what he calls, the virtues which include brave, temperate, witty, friendly and more.  He discusses what those virtue look like when we are deficient in them or have them in excess.  Check out the visual on instagram: uniquelyordinarychyrel https://positivepsychology.com/flourishing/

Darnell Weaver, performer, musician, teaching artist and entrepreneur joins us today in a conversation embracing our humanity in our leadership. He is passionate about the arts and youth development and has served as facilitator and lecturer at local universities and community panels on the topics of youth development, leadership and disparities within the professional arts scene.   As we discuss our leadership journey in all its various stages, we talk about the work of showing up fully and authentically within our personal and vulnerabilities which lead to a whole slew of questions. . . How do we navigate the change from transactional to transformative leadership?  How do we become more curious, empathic, and resilient? How do we collaborate and communicate in a way that deepens our connection with others? Below are links to examples of Darnell's work--in youth development and dance and of course with music. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqtwZRnCbPY https://www.instagram.com/reel/CMVQBy6hSsj/?utm_medium=copy_link

In this episode, I talk to Angela Flowers, co-founder of Making a Difference Consulting. She is a licensed social worker, community activist, life coach, motivational speaker, and author who was included in the 2019 Cleveland Magazine list of Cleveland's Most Interesting People. She speaks and facilitates conversations with children and teens on topics that include self-esteem, bullying, suicide, depression, sexual abuse, and witnessing violence.  We talk about her work, her passion and her why.  Angela embraces an approach to her work and life which includes a focus on personal, professional and organizational continuous improvement. See the links below to learn more about Angela and personal continuous improvement http://makingadifferenceconsulting.com/ http://www.amazon.com/Footprints-Sky-Angela-Flowers/dp/1523851503 https://www.lifehack.org/788823/continuous-improvement

Join Ben Zimmer and me as we discuss our self-awareness journey and the challenges of consistently lowering our masks to connect with those around us.  We often wear masks. . .ways that we keep our authentic selves separated from those around us as a mode of self-protection or as a way to hide our lack of confidence. Maybe we do it to hide our wounds, maybe just maybe our masks serve as an emotional band-aid as we heal.  Whatever reason we are using masks, we want to take some time to reflect on its impact on our leadership. Ben and I reflect on that during our conversation.  Below are links to the article and poem mentioned as well as a link to the Ben's organization to find additional information. https://hbr.org/2018/01/what-self-awareness-really-is-and-how-to-cultivate-it https://internetpoem.com/paul-laurence-dunbar/we-wear-the-mask-poem/ https://www.larchmerecenterforwellbeing.com/

Today's guest is Honey Bell-Bey, a motivational poet, writer, educator, and community advocate, Bell-Bey is an Ohio Certified Prevention Specialist and the founder and director for The International, Distinguished Gentlemen of Spoken Word, a character based performance troupe for adolescent males who perform on topics of disparities and social injustices. She has performed, directed, and choreographed Spoken Word performances internationally and has received numerous awards and accommodations for her service and activism utilizing poetry as a tool to unite communities around issues in social justice and equity. She was appointed the poet laureate of Cuyahoga County in January 2020, the first poet in sixteen years to hold the position, and lives in Cleveland, Ohio. Bell-Bey will launch P.O.E.T. (Power Over Emotional Trauma), a project that engages a collective of Cleveland poets and community-based Poet Educators to give voice to community needs, issues, and social justice concerns. The project will include a series of writing workshops celebrating poetry, healing, and community that will engage community members who do not traditionally see themselves as writers. The project will conclude with a collaborative publication. Our conversation explores impact of vulnerability and accountability on our leadership.  What we do with the time we have. . .personal development, building relationships, following our passions, pursuing our purpose?  Our discussion touch on those topics and others as we think about reclaiming our time, even if it is from ourselves. Below is the link to Honey's YouTube channel. . . check out her videos! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCX-PpjoQEhwtS2Gl1lKSWWw/videos

Today's conversation is with an emerging leader as we discuss his journey into leadership, the self-discovery inherent in that, and working with those of a different generation. Karlton Laster, lobbyist, political consultant and diversity, equity and inclusion content expert.  I think the label that he may own most completely is writer and creative.  Take a listen to the conversation; use the link below to enjoy his writings! https://link.medium.com/ebzEsiiv4ib

In this week's episode, I will discuss purpose and passion with Stacy Ward Braxton. There is a quote that states: Purpose directs passion and passion ignites purpose." Stacy shares how passion and purpose go hand in hand for her and how that impacts her work, her vision and her leadership.

In this episode, I chat with Maurice Cole about using our voices in the 'room where it happens' and some of that pesky personal baggage that may cause us to be silent. Maybe the next time you are in spaces that you need to use your voice and amplify the voices of others, you will find yourself humming the notes to the popular song from the musical Hamilton, "In The Room Where It Happens". I hope it gives you the reminder to be courageous, to feel empowered to speak your truth and the truth of others to create necessary change in that community.