School for Startups Radio

October 11, 2023 - Lead Together Tania Luna and Learning & Development Ginine Capozzi

Tania Luna – Founder of Scarlet Spark and the Author of the Book Lead Together: Stop Squirreling Away Power and Build a Better Team
The difference between power over versus power with is important.Power over is how most of us think about power, power as a meansof control. I have authority and I am going to get other people to dowhat I want them to do. Power with is asking what power do I have,what relationships do I have and then using that to grow the powerof the team. When the team’s power grows, your own power grows.
Tania Luna is a psychology researcher, educator and author of multiple books, including Lead Together: Stop Squirreling Away Power and Build a Better Team, The Leader Lab and Surprise. She is the founder of Scarlet Spark, a nonprofit that amplifies the effectiveness of animal advocacy organizations, and cofounder of LifeLabs Learning, a leadership development company that helps thousands of people become more capable leaders. She is also the co-host of the podcast Talk Psych to Me. Across her work, she strives to inspire interconnectedness among all living beings, humans included. She lives in a micro-sanctuary with rescued pigs, goats, dogs, roosters, cats and the love of her life.Ginine Capozzi – L&D Consultant & Owner of KnowledgeForce Consulting LLC
You can make money by investing in people and doing it in incremental bitsat a time. By investing in people, so many metrics begin to move. Return ontalent investment looks at where you get the best returns on talentinvestment, is it in culture, closing strategic gaps, or something related toreducing the amount of time in training.
Ginine Capozzi is an L&D Consultant, Professional CoActive Coach, and Owner of KnowledgeForce Consulting. Ginine has made it her mission to revolutionize training solutions to power people and businesses. With a background in Learning and Development Strategy, Ginine has over 15 years of industry experience, making her an ideal fit for podcasts targeting owners, founders, directors/VPs of HR, talent development, engineering, and sales. She is a hands-on leader, well-versed in the science of adult learning and change management, with expertise in curriculum development and instructional design. Ginine’s unique approach emphasizes the compounding returns training offers, even with as little as 1% behavior change. Her dedication to making a positive difference in the lives of others is evident through her active involvement in the community and volunteering efforts. Ginine’s knowledge and passion for reimagined training solutions that are strategically-planned and executed have made her an asset to numerous Fortune 500 companies. She continues to push the boundaries of training excellence, using techniques like Whole Brain® Thinking, gamification, and e-learning to deliver dynamic and engaging content. By inviting Ginine to your podcast, you’ll provide your audience with valuable insights on talent development and strategies to unlock their team’s full potential. Don’t miss the opportunity to have Ginine Capozzi as a guest on your show and inspire your listeners to drive real and sustainable change within their organizations. Book her now to spark meaningful conversations and lead the way to success!

October 9, 2023 - Consumer VC Marcel Bens and Discrimination Disrupter Chiquita Hall-Jackson

Marcel Bens – Managing Partner and COO at Emil Capital Partners
We invest in consumer-focused products and services. Anything thattouches the end consumer, and that could be in any category suchas food and beverage, beauty, consumer tech digital media, andhealth and wellness. We are early stages, right after friends andfamily, investors.
Marcel Bens previously worked at a multi-billion dollar distressed private equity firm in New York City and at an independent corporate and financial advisory firm in Sydney, Australia. Prior to that, he served in various key roles at a large German automotive conglomerate in the United States, Germany, and South Africa. Marcel holds a joint master’s degree in mechanical engineering and economics from the Technical University of Berlin in Germany and an MBA from Columbia Business School in New York. He is trilingual in German, English, and Dutch.Chiquita Hall-Jackson – Managing Attorney at Hall-Jackson & Associates
You get 24 hours to be somber and to be sad and then it’s time to say,‘What did we learn from that?’  And then go incorporate that lesson soit won’t happen again.
Chiquita’s career as the founding employment attorney of one of Chicago’s Top Employment Law Firms, Hall-Jackson & Associates P.C., was kindled by her own experience of work-related racial mistreatment, inequity, and sexism. “As a female African-American lawyer, I faced adversity as I overheard rude comments by coworkers who questioned my competence. I also did not have a voice in meetings. And, I noticed that my male and other non-Black counterparts were getting pay raises, while I was not,” she recalls. Now Hall-Jackson is the creator of a social justice brand, Blow The Whistle Law, sparked after being triggered by the Black Lives Matter movement with the belief that if a colleague of Officer Derek Chauvin had intervened during the tragic incident, lives could have been saved. The advocacy brand urges workers to speak up when they see discrimination in the workplace.

October 6, 2023 - Sales Maven Nikki Rausch and Detached Sales Bill Caskey

Nikki Rausch – Founder & CEO of SALES MAVEN and the Author of the Book The Selling Staircase: Mastering the Art of Relationship Selling
Nikki Rausch integrates her 25+ years of experience selling to such prestigious organizations as The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Hewlett-Packard, and NASA, sharing with her clients the same approaches that led to her shattering sales records in her industry and receiving multiple “top producer” awards along the way. A business degree from the University of Washington and her master certification in Neuro-Linguistic Programming mesh perfectly to create a powerful foundation upon which Nikki built tremendous sales skills and now provides enormous benefits for her clients. Nikki has received numerous sales awards, shattered sales records across industries, and was featured in Female Entrepreneur Magazine. A sought-after speaker, she regularly shares the results of success through illuminating keynote addresses and business-changing workshops. Her robust Sales Maven Society ignites game-changing outcomes for clients. Many of whom have also reaped the benefits of her immersive VIP consultations.Bill Caskey – President of Caskey Achievement Strategies
Bill Caskey is a sales development leader and experimenter who has been improving B2B sales teams and executives since 1990. His counter-intuitive philosophies and strategies go against the orthodoxy of most sales approaches – the ‘convince and persuade’ doctrine. Instead, Bill takes a radically different approach to B2B sales – which includes using media as a lead device, creating personal empowerment for the salesperson by avoiding the antiquated techniques of amateurs, and a thorough understanding of ‘buyer behavior’ which helps the salesperson control the sales process. His topics help: * CEOs of sales-oriented businesses who want rapid growth. * VPs of Sales who have sales teams needing to make their numbers. * Sales Professionals, who must reinvent themselves in the new digital economy yet who lack sound coaching from their managers. He is the author of Same Game New Rules, Rewire The Sales Mind, The Sales Playbook, and Email It! He co-hosts with Bryan Neale, The Advanced Selling Podcast (Top 30 Marketing Podcast on iTunes), a weekly podcast counseling sales forces and leaders worldwide, who seek to improve their business. The program is the top sales podcast with downloads of over 130,000/ month with 13,000,000 downloads in 13 years. He is the creator of The High Achiever’s Mentoring Program, a small group experience for high-income sellers. He also hosts his own podcast – The Bill Caskey Podcast, where he dives deeper into counter-intuitive concepts for CEOs and sales professionals. Bill Caskey is a business and sales development leader and experimenter. His ideas about selling are convictions about life, money, and meaning. He has coached sales professionals and executives since 1990 and his philosophies and strategies have fueled explosive growth in sales and profits. Bill has given over 3,000 workshops to groups in over 100 B2B Industries – and has invested over 14,000 hours consulting and training these companies.

October 5, 2023 - VC vs Investors Elizabeth Zalman and Courage in Cannabis Dr. Bridget Cole Williams

Elizabeth Joy Zalma – Founder Advisor of Crane Venture Partners  and Author of Founder vs Investor: The Honest Truth About Venture Capital from Startup to IPO
Elizabeth Zalman
Elizabeth Zalman is an infrastructure and information security expert and two-time founder/CEO of venture-backed companies, building her first startup to a successful exit and her second to a multi-hundred-million-dollar business. She has raised more than $100 million from the top VCs in the world. Liz has also never shied from a showdown with them, or anyone, really. She is a seasoned entrepreneur and advisor with a wealth of experience in the business world. As the founder and advisor of Crane Venture Partners, she has a proven track record of success in identifying and investing in innovative companies. With a background in marketing and brand development, Elizabeth brings a unique perspective to her work, helping her portfolio companies build and grow their brands. Her expertise in marketing strategy, brand positioning, and business development has made her a valuable partner to many startups and small businesses.Dr. Bridget Cole Williams – Family Physician, Medical Cannabis Specialist, Host of “Reclaim Your Wellness” Black Star Network, Keynote Speaker, and the Author of Courage in Cannabis: The Triumphant Stories
Dr. Bridget Cole Williams, MD., is a board-certified family physician, author, and CEO of Green Harvest Health in Ohio‌. “Courage in Cannabis” is a book by Dr. Cole Williams’ Green Harvest Health Community Foundation which features a compilation of narratives shared by a diverse group of individuals, including doctors, lawyers, patients, caregivers, entrepreneurs, and activists. The anthology showcases exceptional stories that aspire to inspire readers. Those who have chosen to explore cannabis or established ventures in the cannabis realm undoubtedly possess a story of courage that is worth sharing. Dr. Bridget Williams is renowned for her expertise in the field of integrative medicine. Having spent almost two decades offering exceptional family medical care at The Cleveland Clinic, Dr. Williams now incorporates this experience, her life, and cannabis coaching certifications to provide her patients with the best possible care. At Green Harvest Health, Dr. Williams staunchly recommends the use of CBD in wellness routines, and her medical cannabis clinic is a testimony to the effectiveness of its usage. With its sister organization EMBODY, Green Harvest Health offers a wide range of impressive products that include pleasantly scented body oils and facial serums, among others.

October 4, 2023 - Book Like a Boss Nachum Kligman and Lesix Marketing Agency Robert Lee

Nachum Kligman – Co-Founder and CEO of Book Like A Boss
Time is our most valuable asset. It’s the one thing we can never get backonce it is spent. When someone is requesting a meeting with you, you canask them what is the purpose of this meeting and make a response required.People can’t even book you unless they tell you why.
Nachum Kligman is an entrepreneur, tech innovator, and the CEO of Book Like A Boss, a platform that simplifies online scheduling and booking for entrepreneurs and small business owners. He is a sought-after speaker, having presented at numerous events and conferences on topics such as entrepreneurship, business development, and technology. With over 25 years of experience in the tech industry, Nachum is passionate about helping entrepreneurs succeed and empowering small business owners to streamline their operations and achieve their goals. Nachum came up with the idea for Book Like A Boss through a pain he realized as a business consultant. Entrepreneurs were constantly reaching out to pick his brain and offer to take him out for coffee or lunch. The back and forth via email as well as having to explain his fees was not scalable and often left potential clients in confusion. He wished there as an easy link to send to potential clients that told people who he was, what services he offered, showed them his calendar and allowed people to book him and pay him all in one place. He wanted to be able to manage the business from one dashboard and it had to be blazing fast and look amazing on mobile. After seeing no solution existed and after spending weeks trying to build it on WordPress he decided to build it.Robert Lee – Owner & Strategy Director of The Lesix Agency
Knowing what’s coming and when it is coming is the best way to make sureyou don’t overextend yourself in slower periods and under invest in busy times.
Robert is the founder of The Lesix Agency, a full marketing agency with the vision to put your company on the path to doubling your sales in 90 days. As a Digital Marketer Certified Partner, he brings in over 15 years of marketing experience. His mission is to help business owners unlock their potential. Robert and his team are dedicated to empowering entrepreneurs by providing expert guidance, building a strong foundation, and providing them with a marketing strategy that will propel their success. Robert truly believes you deserve a marketing partner that invests energy in helping you grow your business.

October 2, 2023 - Investment Management Platform Trilliam Jeong and EO Global President Myles Sherman

Trilliam Jeong – Co-Founder and CEO of WealthBlock.AI
We built a platform for crowdfunding but no one came to us toraise capital for them. Instead, everyone was asking if they coulduse our technology. Three months in, I made our first pivot.We became a pure technology vendor.
Trilliam Jeong has a diverse work experience spanning over a decade. He co-founded and served as the CEO of WealthBlock.AI, a platform designed to streamline capital raising and investor management processes for VC, PE, Real Estate Investment Firms, and Wealth Managers. He was responsible for 10X capital raising efficiency and helped clients raise $1 billion. Trilliam also participated as a cohort at Holt Accelerator in 2019. Prior to that, he worked at the National Futures Association, where he served as a Lead Quantitative Analyst. He designed and built systems to detect suspicious trading activities in the financial derivative market. Before joining the National Futures Association, Trilliam worked as a Media Buyer/Marketing Analyst at Venture Direct Worldwide Inc. His responsibilities included analyzing online ad campaign data, developing email marketing strategies, and negotiating with website publishers. He was also a Risk Consultant at Deloitte & Touché LLP, where he performed audits on budget forecast models and assisted in Sarbanes-Oxley testing. He also conducted an investigative audit for a stock option backdating lawsuit. Trilliam started his career as a Staff Accountant at The Episcopal Church Foundation and later worked as a Summer IT Audit Intern at Deloitte & Touche. Trilliam J.’s education history begins in 2003 when he attended Baruch College. He pursued a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree with a focus on accountancy, and also chose computer information systems and mathematics as minor subjects. Trilliam J. studied at Baruch College from 2003 to 2006. After completing his undergraduate degree, Trilliam J. went on to pursue a Master of Arts (MA) degree in applied mathematics at Queens College. He attended Queens College from 2008 to 2010. Building on his academic achievements, Trilliam J. then enrolled in the University of Chicago to pursue a Master of Science (MS) degree in financial mathematics. His time at the University of Chicago spanned from 2010 to 2012.Myles Sherman – Founder and CEO of Fuse Family Ventures and Developer of The Astrid 
One of my core values is that whatever you do, do it 110%. Don’t half assanything. My motto is to live with gratitude. Be grateful you live in thisamazing country and be grateful that you have opportunity. Entitlementis the opposite of gratitude.
Myles Sherman is a serial entrepreneur, successful real estate developer, and, most recently, founder and CEO of Fuse Family Ventures. Myles got his start at the age of 24 with five thousand dollars and a pick-up truck in Houston, TX. He built a real estate empire but had a dream in 2008 that prompted him to sell everything before the crash. He then devoted his life to entrepreneurship (he is in 26 deals right now) and giving back. He was the Founding Member of the Houston Entrepreneurial Organization (EO) chapter and later served as Global EO President. Myles was also the Founder of Bank of Houston and Keystone Bank. His portfolio includes hundreds of construction and development projects. His newest and biggest project to date, The Astrid, is a mountainside luxury development set to break ground later this year. In addition to his professional pursuits, Myles is deeply involved with numerous non-profits, including The American Cancer Society, Ronald McDonald House, Dress for Success, Big Brothers and Big Sisters, Teen & Family Services (Houston & Austin), SPCA, and more. He is also the Founder and board member of San Luis Spirits (aka Dripping Springs Vodka). Myles Sherman’s contributions and initiatives extend far beyond this, making him a multifaceted entrepreneur and philanthropist.

September 29, 2023 - eComm Growth Tyler ”Sully” Sullivan and Hypernomics Doug Howarth

Tyler “Sully” Sullivan – Founder & CEO of BombTech Golf and now Ecom Growers  
We did a full 180 on how it had been done before. The reality was wecould never afford a big name to sponsor our products, retail was nota channel I like because of its payment terms, and we weren’t bigenough. So, we said no pros and no retail, and we pass the savingson to the customers.
Tyler “Sully” Sullivan is the Founder & CEO of BombTech Golf and now Ecom Growers. Tyler “Sully” Sullivan, a two-time founder, possesses an arsenal of proven strategies that have propelled not only his own business but also numerous others, leading to significant growth. Sully never saw himself as an entrepreneur but his passion for golf and unique business strategies turned his first ecommerce Business, BombTech Golf, into a 7+ figure business. Sully is also the CEO and Founder of Ecom Growers, where he and his team have helped countless E-commerce businesses achieve amazing growth, 6-7 figures in additional sales, by implementing his proven systems. Sully, a two-time founder, possesses an arsenal of proven strategies that have propelled not only his own business but also numerous others, leading to significant growth. Sully never saw himself as an entrepreneur but his passion for golf and unique business strategies turned his first ecommerce Business, BombTech Golf, into a 7+ figure business. Sully is also the CEO and Founder of Ecom Growers, where he and his team have helped countless E-commerce businesses achieve amazing growth, 6-7 figures in additional sales, by implementing his proven systems.Doug Howarth – Author, Inventor, Discoverer of Hypernomics, CEO of Hypernomics, Inc. and Author of Hypernomics: Using Hidden Dimensions to Solve Unseen Problems
Right now, the question is why we have inflation, which I thinkis being under reported. No one seems to be talking about thefact that in the course of two quarters in early 2020, the M1money supply went up by 400%.
Doug Howarth discovered and named the field of Hypernomics, also known as Multidimensional Economics or ME. He formed his company, Hypernomics Inc., around this discipline. MEE has worked for NASA, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon Technologies, Northrop Grumman, and Virgin Galactic, among others. He and two others in his company patented “Multivariable Regression Analysis,” under US Patent Number 10,402,838, the world’s first software designed to arrange, plot, and decrypt markets in four dimensions. They call it MEE4D. Mr. Howarth has authored 15 peer-reviewed papers across four continents. His book, Using Hidden Dimensions To Solve Unseen Problems, awaits publication. Doug Howarth unleashed a paradigm shift. He discovered Multidimensional Economics (ME). It alters economics in the same way relativity changed physics, as it uses new frames of reference. It starts with four dimensions and adds time for a fifth. But, there is no upper limit to the dimensions considered. It finds the linked, opposing, self-organizing states of Value and Demand at work against each other at all times – just like the game of tug-of-war. At age 14, Doug Howarth sensed the plotting systems created by René Descartes were inadequate for many tasks. Decades later, he made a series of startling discoveries. He found the economy self-organizes in recognizable opposing patterns and devised ways to portray markets in four, five, or any number of dimensions. Doug named this new field Multidimensional Economics, (ME). In 2011, he formed a company, Multidimensional Economic Evaluators (MEE) Inc., who show their customers how to take advantage of ME. MEE Inc. has worked for NASA, United Technologies, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, among others. Along with two of his MEE colleagues, he was awarded US Patent Number 10,402,838 for Multivariable Regression Analysis, the world’s first software designed to deconstruct markets into their 4D structures. Doug has written 13 peer-reviewed publications across four continents.  They’ve been issued by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), and the International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences (ICAS), among others. NASA has requested that he speak to them three times. He has spoken to the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) in London four times, and they have published his peer-reviewed work as well. A sought-after speaker, he has addressed international conferences in Albuquerque, Amsterdam, Belo Horizonte (Brazil), Big Sky (Montana), Brussels, Denver, Houston, Montreal, Melbourne (Australia), New York, New Orleans, Phoenix, St. Louis, St. Petersburg (Russia), Seattle, and Tampa. He presented his paper entitled “A 7D Trade” in Brazil in September 2018. In 2018, he won a second Best Paper Award.  International Cost Estimating and Analysis Association gave it to him for a paper entitled, “Demand, Recurring Costs, and Profitability.”

September 28, 2023 - Nutrition Entrepreneur Dr. Michael Garko and 14k to 140k Monthly Chuck Leblo

Dr. Michael Garko – President & CEO of NutraLogic Health & Wellness
Dr. Michael Garko is the President & CEO of NutraLogic Health & Wellness. Dr. Michael Garko is a results-proven professional possessing a multifaceted skill-set with advanced skills and expertise in human nutrition, communication, social influence/persuasion, consumer behavior, marketing, media and mass communication, teaching/education, scientific research, retail sales, and management. Dr. Garko’s nutrition practice, NutriLogic Health & Wellness, is science- and evidenced-based focusing on nutrition care and counseling. For over 15 years Dr. Garko hosted and produced Let’s Talk Nutrition, a nationally syndicated, globally streamed health talk show. During the course of his career, he has also worked as a communication professor, corporate communication consultant, and trial and jury consultant, along with working as a nutrition and media/marketing consultant for leading dietary supplement companies.Chuck Leblo – CEO & Chief Strategist of Interact One
Chuck Leblo has served as the CEO and Chief Strategist at Interact One for over 17 years. His journey in business and as an entrepreneur began during his time in the US Army Signal Corps. After the army, he eventually worked his way up the corporate ladder to Vice President at various Telecom companies, and then decided to take his experience and start his own company. Interact One has become a trusted source for expert insights and resources in the realm of strategy and problem-solving. In a world where the business landscape can be challenging, Chuck and his team dive deep into the intricacies of each challenge, turning them from roadblocks into pathways. They specialize in enhancing digital presence, refining operational procedures, and delivering strategic insights that produce tangible, positive outcomes. Beyond his professional pursuits, Chuck is a devoted husband, a loving father (and grandfather), a veteran, and a horse lover. He is not your typical polished strategist; rather, he brings a unique blend of authenticity and expertise to the table. When faced with challenges, Chuck is not one to back down; he’s a natural problem solver, always committed to finding effective solutions. His unconventional approach to strategy sets him apart, making him a fresh and insightful voice in the world of business. He is your go-to strategist, ready to share his wealth of knowledge, his unique perspective, and his unwavering commitment to solving the most complex of problems with your audience. Turning Roadblocks into Pathways: Insights for guiding business owners to achieve optimal success,” Chuck Leblo shares his remarkable journey and expertise. He highlights a transformative success story where his solutions catapulted a client’s monthly earnings from 14k to an impressive 140k in under a year. Chuck offers a valuable guide to problem-solving, emphasizing the importance of addressing issues before they escalate, using the analogy that if your bucket has a hole, it’s crucial to stop filling it and fix the holes. Chuck also reflects on his personal journey as a veteran, crediting his military service for everything he has in life. He advocates for authenticity in business, recounting why he believes he should have never traded in his cowboy boots for a 3-piece suit. Chuck shares his inspiring resilience, detailing how his business bounced back stronger than ever after facing adversity during the pandemic. He poses the critical question of how to help business owners solve their true problems, even when they may already identify their pain points. Finally, Chuck offers insights into turning one’s passion into a thriving business, providing valuable advice for entrepreneurs and business enthusiasts alike.

September 27, 2023 - Building an Investment Biz Elliot Kallen and Building a Non-Profit Sonia Kahlon

Elliot Kallen – Owner of Prosperity Financial Group and Co-Author of the Book DRIVEN: How to Elevate Your Success as an Entrepreneur 
In the financial services industry, the key thought for you is to developtrust. If you make them money and they don’t trust you, they will stillfire you. If you lose money and they trust you, they trust you to helpturn it around. Trust is everything.
Elliot Kallen is the Owner of Prosperity Financial Group and Co-Author of the Book DRIVEN: How to Elevate Your Success as an Entrepreneur. Prosperity Financial Group, is an investment advisory firm with $300M+ assets under management. They have helped thousands of individuals, including business owners and retirees, manage their money and achieve financial independence. Elliot has 40+ years of entrepreneurial experience and has founded three other companies, including A Brighter Day, a nonprofit organization that provides scholarship funds and mental health resources to teens experiencing stress, depression, and suicidal thoughts. He started the nonprofit in 2015 in memory of his youngest son, Jake, who committed suicide at 19, and it is helping thousands of teens and their families understand, protect, and sustain their mental health. Elliot is also an author, and he recently published his second book, The Entrepreneurial Path to A Life That Matters, which offers advice for entrepreneurs on leadership, including how to lead in difficult circumstances. He has received many awards, including the 2020 Marquis Who’s Who Lifetime Award, Strathmore’s Who’s Who Award, and the Ronald Reagan Gold Medal AwardSonia Kahlon – Founder of EverBlume
I decided to pick a day and allow people to sign up for a free meeting.I acted like it was a meeting that I had been running for a long time andit was amazing.
Sonia is the founder of EverBlume which provides small group recovery meetings where members are matched into groups based on what they are struggling with. The goal is for members to find connection through conversation, and get meaningful support and feedback from each other. Sonia is an orthodontist who built and sold a successful multi-location practice in 2016 and got sober in 2017. Since then, she become a recovery coach and has dedicated her life to making a difference with social impact investing and volunteering with the incarcerated, formerly incarcerated, and victims of sex trafficking. And now she hopes to create her biggest impact by leveraging the power of peer support to create a community for those on their recovery journey. Sonia Kahlon built and scaled her own orthodontist practice over the course of 6 years, experiencing explosive growth along the way. But just as her career was booming, her mental health spiraled out of control, and she developed an addiction to alcohol. When her life became unsustainable, she decided to sell her practice and get sober. Fast forward to 2022, when the end of a long-term relationship saw her struggling with her sobriety once more, and seeking out meetings to avoid self-medicating. Kahlon found that many of the existing meetings deprived her of feedback, advice or individualized support – which was what she truly needed. Kahlon decided it was time to become a certified recovery coach and launch an organization that would more directly help women struggling with alcohol. That’s how she became the founder of EverBlume, which hosts intimate, online group recovery meetings where individuals are matched according to the specific challenges they are currently facing. In Sonia Kahlon’s perspective, she observed that conventional online group recovery meetings typically gathered anywhere from 50 to 200 participants, with only a small fraction, approximately 5%, actively sharing their personal stories. Over time, she noticed that the same individuals tended to dominate these discussions, resulting in a passive form of recovery akin to listening to a podcast, rather than fostering a robust support system. Moreover, she observed that these meetings primarily centered around sobriety, overlooking the myriad other challenges individuals faced, including self-esteem issues, imposter syndrome, job burnout, divorce, and the complexities of parenting at various stages, as well as caring for ailing relatives. To address these shortcomings, Sonia pioneered a novel approach, matching individuals based on their shared experiences, struggles, and successes, rather than demographic or socioeconomic factors. This approach allowed participants to connect on a deeper level, transcending differences in age or their respective stages of recovery. A significant turning point for Sonia’s initiative occurred when EverBlume gained viral attention on TikTok. Following months of relatively modest traffic, a post about her personal journey as a high-functioning alcoholic garnered over 650,000 views, drawing an outpouring of comments from people sharing their own struggles, offering mutual support, and providing valuable advice. This spontaneous community formed through comments was a testament to the impact and significance of the platform. Building trust with their clientele was paramount for Sonia and EverBlume. They offered free meetings to allow individuals to explore the platform before committing, actively engaged with their audience on social media, and appeared on podcasts to demonstrate the concept’s effectiveness. Reflecting on her past experiences, Sonia Kahlon emphasized the crucial importance of prioritizing one’s health, recognizing that neglecting mental well-being and personal care, as she had done during the rapid growth of her previous business, can lead to adverse consequences. Her primary goal with EverBlume was simple yet profound: to help one person transform their relationship with alcohol, tailored to their unique needs and aspirations. On challenging days, when she grappled with her own sobriety, Sonia remained motivated, reminding herself that every action she took, be it writing a post, hosting a group meeting, or coaching a client, contributed to her overarching goal of supporting individuals through EverBlume. A pivotal moment in Sonia’s personal journey occurred with the election of Kamala Harris as Vice President. Initially thinking of her nieces who would finally see representation in the White House, Sonia’s perspective shifted as she found inspiration in seeing an educated woman, who had chosen to be childless, achieve significant success. This revelation reassured Sonia, dispelling feelings of inadequacy in comparison to friends with children, and allowed her to embrace the life she had envisioned for herself.

September 25, 2023 - Gluten Free Mightylicious Carolyn Haeler and Open System Education Landon Mascareñaz & Doannie Tran

Carolyn Haeler – CEO of Mightylicious Bakery
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Carolyn Haeler is the CEO of Mightylicious Bakery, a popular bakery known for its delicious and healthy treats. With a passion for baking and a commitment to quality ingredients, Carolyn has grown the business into a thriving brand with a loyal customer base. Under her leadership, Mightylicious has expanded its offerings to include vegan and gluten-free options, catering to a wider range of customers. Carolyn Haeler is a celiac sufferer who spent years seeking out gluten-free cookie brands. One busy holiday season, she was disappointed yet again when a gluten-free cookie crumbled entirely after one bite. That’s when she realized there had to be a better way, and as one smart cookie herself, she was determined to create a cookie that was gluten-free, healthy, and above all, irresistibly delicious. So, she left her lucrative job at Morgan Stanley and started the MIGHTYLICIOUS GF cookie company. Now available in 7 varieties at Walmart and many other retail venues (and AMAZON of course). They will knock your taste buds socks off!  Kof-K kosher certified with dairy and vegan varieties available.  (You wont believe they are gluten free.)Landon Mascareñaz and Doannie Tran – Authors of the book  The Open System: Redesigning Education and Reigniting Democracy 
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Landon is an educator, writer, and democracy builder. As co-founder of the Open Systems Institute, he partners with leaders around the country to encourage an emerging discipline for openers everywhere. He is the current elected chair of the Colorado State Board for Community Colleges & Occupational Education, appointed by Colorado Governor Jared Polis. He also serves as chair of the Reisher Scholars Program, supporting students across the state to achieve their higher education goals. His new book, The Open System: Redesigning Education & Reigniting Democracy was released by Harvard Education Press this June. He is senior partner at the Colorado Education Initiative (CEI) where he is responsible for community-driven economic development through breakthrough partnerships in the Homegrown Talent Initiative, working in sixty rural districts across eight regions of the state. In his previous role at CEI he helped assemble the Sin Fronteras Education Partnership, a coalition of local, regional, and national organizations co-creating family partnership strategies for New Mexico communities, and he supported the launch of Colorado’s Statewide Family Engagement Center. During the first six months of the COVID crisis, Landon worked with community organizations to deploy the Denver Metro Emergency Food Network, which delivered over 320 thousand free meals to families and elderly people in need. At the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he worked with friends and partners to help launch Palaces for People to house refugees. He has previously led partnerships at A+ Colorado, served as a leader in the family engagement department in Denver Public Schools, co-designed the launch of the NACA Inspired Schools Network (a network of indigenous serving schools), led Teach For America–New Mexico, and taught first grade on the Navajo Nation. In 2015 he completed his doctorate at the Harvard Graduate School of Education with a focus on boundary-spanning leadership. Landon was born in California, raised in Colorado, attended college in Oregon, and began his professional career in New Mexico—leading him to consider the western United States his home. He lives in Denver, Colorado, with his wife and enjoys traveling, learning about ancient history, and developing his meditation practice.Doannie Tran taught middle school and high school science in both Oakland, California, and Boston, Massachusetts, before leaving teaching to help launch the Massachusetts region of Teach For America in 2009. Doannie was responsible for professional development for all new TFA teachers in Massachusetts and he built up their partnership with Boston University, where he has also served on faculty. During that time, the Massachusetts region was in the top 10% of all TFA regions in terms of effectiveness, satisfaction and retention of teachers. While doing his doctoral work at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, he was sponsored as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at NewSchools Venture Fund, launching an education technology company called the Teaching Genome. Doannie left his startup to join the leadership team of Boston Public Schools as Assistant Superintendent for Academics and Professional Learning. He led the inter-departmental team that worked with the Boston Teachers’ Union to develop the Essentials for Instructional Equity, the district’s vision for instruction that would close opportunity gaps. The Essentials were recently recognized as a “bright spot” in the district by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Before joining the team at the Center for Innovation in Education, Doannie served as the Assistant Superintendent for Innovative Programs for Fulton County, Georgia. He oversaw the design of two innovative high school models and also supported the development of the district’s professional learning strategy based on the implementation of PLCs at every level from the Cabinet to teachers. Currently, Doannie is the Partner for Liberatory Co-Creation at the Center for Innovation in Education where he focuses on family and community empowerment as a lever for systems change. He has helped launch community co-creation projects nationwide, bringing family and community members into co-creation with the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction, the Kentucky Department of Education, and Atlanta Public Schools. Doannie is also co-founder of the Open Systems Institute, which develops the capacity of leaders to co-create and co-produce with communities.