Ashley Brundage's career journey has been nothing short of inspirational. After facing significant challenges like discrimination, harassment, and even homelessness early on, Ashley took a courageous step into a second career as a means of survival. Little did she know then that this pivotal decision would pave the way for her to become a nation-leading voice in diversity, equity, and inclusion. From humble beginnings as a part-time associate, Ashley defied the odds and rose through the ranks at a major financial services organization. In under five years, she attained the role of National Vice President of Diversity & Inclusion - a remarkable feat that spoke volumes about her grit and capabilities. Today, Ashley runs Empowering Differences, an organization she founded based on 10 Empowering Actions that enabled her to overcome obstacles and advance her exceptional career. Her credibility is further bolstered by an extensive list of accomplishments, including serving as the Vice Chair of GLAAD's National Board of Directors, Past President of the Tampa Bay LGBT Chamber of Commerce, consulting for the White House, and receiving a prestigious DEI award from the Governor of Florida. We are truly honored to welcome the trailblazing Ashley Brundage to the show today. Her inspirational story and wealth of experience overcoming adversity make her an ideal guest to share invaluable insights.

Vanessa Joy is an innovation-focused leader, podcast host, and trans rights advocate with over 15 years of experience. She helps organizations understand the challenges of hiring and the solutions that can be implemented.

Join us as we talk to Jon Barnes! He is a master at gathering people together and inspiring them with a vision of what could be. He is a speaker, trainer, and communicator that brings a unique and unforgettable style to small and large groups alike. Whether it’s through his YouTube channel and social videos, marketing and personal brand training, inspirational group workshops, OR his published books, Jon Barnes is on a mission to help others find their unique story and tell it in a compelling way.

Dr. Jonathan Baktari, MD is the CEO at both e7 Health and US Drug Test Centers and the host of Baktari MD. e7 health is a preventative health and wellness company that has been called the “the Uber of preventive medicine” and was named the Best Technology Company in the Healthcare Space in 2019. US Drug Test Centers is a nationwide network of over 20,000 testing centers in the US and is revolutionizing drug and alcohol testing across the nation. Both of these groundbreaking technology companies were born out of a combination of Dr. Baktari’s expertise as a doctor, medical director and educator and his over 20 years of clinical, administrative and entrepreneurial experience. A former triple board-certified physician with specialties in internal medicine, pulmonary and critical care medicine, being a healthcare CEO is only the latest chapter in Dr. Baktari’s life mission to help others by making integrative preventative medicine available to everyone. Dr. Baktari has always believed that helping others was the ultimate achievement in life. Now, as a business leader, sought-after speaker and podcast host, he’s excited to share his expertise in preventative health, tech entrepreneurship and other topics that can’t be found anywhere else.

We welcome Linc Kroeger to Liftoff! He is a Social Innovator, President at Knight Moves, and an Enterprise Technology Expert! Linc and his company focus on the next generation of elite technology professionals through extensive training in tech disciplines. There is an intentional focus on including Native American, rural, and urban underserved communities Linc served on the Technology Association of Iowa board for three years and he was assigned by Governor Kim Reynolds to her Empower Rural Iowa Task Force and has been identified as “the most innovative leader on bringing tech jobs to rural in the nation” by U.S. Congressmember Ro Khanna representing Silicon Valley. His Key Focus: Empowering Native American, rural, and urban underserved communities to break through barriers that block socio-economic inclusion!

SOPHIE THEEN, award-winning people management expert and author of the upcoming book, THE SOUL OF STARTUPS: The Untold Stories of How Founders Affect Culture[Wiley | August 2, 2022], joins us on today's cast! If you are looking for an excellent resource for company founders, entrepreneurs, managers, and executives, you have found the right place! Sophie discusses how a company's culture is a top-down necessity and why it's vital for founders to create a workplace where employees can thrive and nurture their emotional maturity. There's a common misconception that a company's people make its culture. In reality, startup culture begins and trickles down from the top of a company's founder. That founder's personality, including their emotional maturity, can lift or destroy their organization's culture. So, how can founders identify whether their personalities positively impact their culture and make changes if not? Listen up here!

Mike is an amazon bestselling author, publisher and coach for business owners. He is the author of 15 books, including 2 international Amazon bestsellers, The 100-Page Book and The Magic of Short Books. Mike has over 25 years of marketing experience and his expertise has led him to be a guest speaker on the stages of some of the world’s most foremost experts on marketing. In 2019, Mike launched Bite Sized Books, a new publishing venture founded on his proven formula for creating short, helpful books (known as shooks) for business owners, entrepreneurs and CEOs. Which publishes a unique "direct response marketing" format of short nonfiction, business-oriented books for business owners, entrepreneurs and CEOs!

Ian Ziskin, President, EXec EXcel Group LLC, joins us to discuss The Secret Sauce of Leading Transformational Change. He has over 40 years of experience as a business leader, board advisor and member, coach, consultant, entrepreneur, teacher, speaker, and author. Most large-scale transformational change happens because of unanticipated, unaddressed, unplanned disruptions which raise questions about what it takes to lead, survive, and even thrive in periods of transformational change. Ian discusses how leaders who drive and sustain successful transformational change actually do and why we so often fail to lead change. Have a listen to see if you can find your secret sauce!

We welcome Robert Jordan and Olivia Wagner to the show! They are authors of a new book called Right Leader, Right Time: Discover Your Leadership style for a Winning Career. They are also co-founders of Interim Execs! They bring their expertise to assess distinct leadership styles and a step-by-step plan for optimizing that best suits businesses to scale and grow. They have identified 4 distinct leadership styles found in business today, what success looks like for each style, and what leaders can do right now to make sure that they're the leader the company needs. InterimExecs is a leadership executive matching firm that has helped fix global giants like Pepsi, Microsoft, UPS, and more by identifying the right leaders to step in during times of trouble or stagnation. By conducting interviews with thousands of executives, they have identified 4 distinct leadership styles and when and where those styles are the most useful. For example: When a company is in chaos or decline, it’s time to call in a Fixer. When a company needs a creative jolt to jump out of stagnation, turn to an Artist. When a company needs new markets and big growth, hire a Builder. When a company reaches complexity and scale, align with a Strategist.

We welcome Michelle Venema, CEO of Home of the Sparrow. Home of the Sparrow’s mission is to partner with women facing homelessness to secure housing, achieve long-term stability, and chart new paths for their futures. Michelle provides her vast experience and insight into who are the housing insecure and how you can help.

We welcome Tatiyana Cure to the podcast this week and she brings her extensive background as an executive recruiter and talent acquisition leader to her work of coaching managers. She has partnered with thousands of hiring managers in a wide variety of industries. We discuss practical hiring practices and how to not Y2K your hiring! She is also a fantastic author of "Hire to Win: Manager's Practical Guide for Attracting and Interviewing Top Talent"

Hello Liftoffers! We welcome Employee Experience Scientist at Qualtrics and Founder of Lifted Leadership LLC, where he coaches Fortune 500 executives on how to acquire, develop and retain their most valuable assets, people. Kevin Campbell, welcome to the show! Kevin talks about the science behind engagement and how companies are getting it right (or not)!

Andrew Bartlow takes us through how to scale (and how NOT to scale) as organizations come out of the pandemic. Focusing on HR and their part in developing programs, he takes his 25 years of Human Resources experience and Talent Management to organizations across a spectrum of sizes, maturity, stages and industries.

We welcome Nancy Murphy, founder of CSR Communications and creator of Intrapreneurs Influence Lab! From challenging stereotypes of girls in her Catholic school more than 40 years ago, to her first job after college convincing nonprofits to engage youth volunteers, or her role as board chair of a global nonprofit transforming the way we do international development...she shares her experience on how to become a credible leader of change, how to make change stick and 3 things on how to become an INTRAPRENUER!

Given the state of the world over the past two years, it has perhaps never been more vital for us as individuals and communities to expand our respect for ourselves and others and build an understanding of dissimilar cultures through the narrative of storytelling. I welcome Shari Foos, celebrated therapist and founder of THE NARRATIVE METHOD, a non-profit that connects diverse populations to themselves and each other through personal storytelling and other connective experiences.

We welcome author Jinny Uppal! Her new book, IN/ACTION: Rethinking the Path to Results (New Degree Press), will be out this month and talks about how the rise of hustle culture is responsible for our current levels of burnout, and why reflective thinking and strategic inaction is a better—and healthier—path to success. As the Great Resignation continues unabated—current estimates are that 4.4 million Americans left their jobs in September—there’s growing concern that younger professionals’ embrace of hustle culture is primarily responsible for the high levels of burnout they’re experiencing. Wearing 80-hour work weeks like badges of honor and staying chained to their virtual desks even during their downtime has resulted in increased stress levels, mistakes, and plain old exhaustion. Contrarily, says Uppal, knowing when to lean in and when to let go is the key to unlocking creative inspiration helping you achieving your most ambitious goals. Uppal's book is not about slowing down as an end goal, rather it's about leveraging strategic pauses to make great leaps forward.

DR. Scott Behson is the author of the book, THE WHOLE-PERSON WORKPLACE: Building Better Workplaces through Work-Life, Wellness, and Employee Support. The Whole-Person Workplace provides advice and custom-fit solutions for the post-pandemic workplace by empowering employers and managers to support employees and the full range of their work-life challenges. In this new world flexibility is key as companies negotiate a return to the workplace or a hybrid or work-from-home structure. Dr. Behson shares the following with us: • Supporting employees through the post-pandemic transition by building a workplace with effective employee onboarding, training, and easy-to-implement physical and mental wellness programs • Aiding working parents with parental leave and child-care solutions while enabling caregivers to take time-off to ensure loved-ones are properly cared for • Managing a flexible hybrid workplace that meets the needs of both remote and in-person employees and ensuring fairness for all – including the company • Valuing all employees (including hourly, blue-collar, and part-time workers) as “whole people” and crafting custom-fit solutions for each group to include flex-schedules and no-nonsense compensation and benefits • Building safe workplaces that celebrate the value of personal-identity and promote diversity and inclusion to achieve a healthy workplace culture • Encouraging and supporting volunteerism and adult education programs

We welcome Catherine Mattiske, global trainer, author and inventor of the globally acclaimed ID9 Intelligent Design Process! What is that? It helps you to Unlock Inner Genius (also the name of her most recent book) and use the online tools to unlock and increase your communication with family, colleagues and every person in your life! She provides road maps on how to navigate your path to ultimate success. Catherine founded her company, TPC, in 1994. There she serves clients worldwide with offices in Sydney, New York, Los Angeles, London, Basel (Switzerland) and Singapore.

We welcome Doug Shapiro, VP of Research & Insights at OFS, a global office and healthcare furniture manufacturer. He has a background with over 16 years of experience collaborating with world class industrial and interior designers on crafting products and strategies for the workplace. He answers the current questions of HOW to make your new work space comfortable and efficient! Especially for those now working from home!

We welcome professional opera singer turned professional certified coach, Elena Armijo to the show this week! Elena shares her expertise on how employers can attract and retain top-tier female talent by creating a workplace culture that supports and addresses women's needs. As an executive leadership coach, Elena has seen just how under-supported high-achieving women in the workplace at every level are; and she understands how hopeless it can all feel. Using her holistic executive coaching program and like-minded network of professionals, Elena created The C-Suite Collective. She will answer such questions as (to name just a few): • What steps companies can take to foster environments that are supportive of women • What resources high-achieving women require to be happy and productive in their work