Nardi Media's Purposeful Podcast

How can nonprofit leaders build stronger teams, healthier workplace culture, and deeper connection in a fragmented workplace? In this episode of Purposeful, Ashley Bernardi sits down with Dr. Elizabeth “Liz” Scott, founder and CEO of Brighter Strategies and author of The Ripple Effect: How Social Sector Leaders Build Networks That Transform Culture, for a timely conversation about nonprofit leader...

In this episode of Purposeful, Ashley Bernardi sits down with Kara Logan-Berlin, founder of Harvest, a leadership development and consulting practice that helps nonprofit leaders become bold, capable, and confident change-makers. Kara brings deep experience in nonprofit development, fundraising strategy, donor relationships, executive coaching, board strategy, and organizational growth. In this co...

In this deeply meaningful episode of Purposeful, Ashley Bernardi sits down with James Dismond, CEO of MiraSol Health, for a powerful conversation about hospice care, grief support, end-of-life planning, serious illness, and what it means to care for people with dignity and compassion. James shares how his own early experiences with loss shaped his journey from fearing death to finding purpose in h...

In this inspiring episode of Purposeful, Ashley Bernardi sits down with Erich and Dani Sanchack, the father-daughter co-author team behind DES Press and the bestselling fantasy series, The Nosam Chronicles. Together, they share how a family love of reading, tabletop gaming, creativity, and storytelling grew into a bestselling book series, a passionate reader community, and a larger mission to give...

In this deeply personal episode of Purposeful, Ashley Bernardi sits down with Tamra Sipes, President of Gold Star Spouses of America, for a moving conversation about military loss, surviving military spouses, remembrance, advocacy, and the power of community after unimaginable grief. As a Gold Star daughter, Ashley brings her own lived experience to this conversation, having lost her father while...

In this powerful episode of Purposeful, Ashley Bernardi sits down with Nicholas Janni and Amy Elizabeth Fox, internationally recognized leadership experts and co-authors of Leading in Chaos: A Clarion Call to a New Future. Today’s leaders are navigating uncertainty, polarization, disruption, AI, change fatigue, and what many describe as a polycrisis. Nicholas and Amy argue that the leadership mode...

In this meaningful episode of Purposeful, Ashley Bernardi sits down with Denise Chadwick Wright, CEO of Birmingham Green, to discuss mission-driven leadership, senior care, dignity, community impact, and the future of long-term care. For more than 90 years, Birmingham Green has served seniors in Northern Virginia through a mission rooted in compassion, accessibility, and respect. What began as a c...

In this timely episode of Purposeful, Ashley Bernardi sits down with Bill Eddy, co-founder of the High Conflict Institute, attorney, therapist, mediator, bestselling author, and one of the world’s leading experts on high-conflict personalities and disputes. For mission-driven leaders, authors, advocates, executives, and organizations, conflict is often unavoidable. But when conflict becomes chroni...

In this thoughtful episode of Purposeful, Ashley Bernardi sits down with Janet Jumper, nurse practitioner, coach, Air Force veteran, and communication educator, for a conversation about how mission-driven leaders can build trust through communication, compassion, resilience, and human connection. For leaders, founders, healthcare professionals, advocates, and purpose-driven organizations, communic...

In this inspiring episode of Purposeful, Ashley Bernardi sits down with Pam Sherman, founder of Sherman Edge, global leadership coach, actor, writer, and author of Play You: The Role of a Lifetime. For mission-driven leaders, authors, executives, and advocates, showing up with confidence is not about performing as someone else. It is about becoming more fully yourself and communicating in a way th...

In this powerful episode of Purposeful, Ashley Bernardi sits down with Sara Connell, five-time bestselling author, speaker, founder of Thought Leader Academy, and author of The Download: Train Your Brain, Unlock Your Genius, Create Miracles. At a time when artificial intelligence can generate content, answers, and ideas in seconds, this conversation explores what still belongs only to human beings...

In this moving episode of Purposeful, Ashley Bernardi sits down with Luba Patlakh, speech-language pathologist, entrepreneur, author, and founder of Kidology, Inc., to talk about helping children find their voice, build confidence, and understand that their differences can become their greatest strengths. After years of supporting children and families through speech, occupational, physical, and d...

In this thought-provoking episode of Purposeful, Ashley Bernardi sits down with Jamie Metzl, futurist, bestselling author, technology expert, and founder of One Shared World, to explore one of the biggest questions of our time: how do we use powerful technology to help humanity become wiser? Jamie’s latest book, The AI Ten Commandments: A New Moral Code for Humanity , explores the intersection of...

In this powerful episode of Purposeful, Ashley Bernardi sits down with Casey Caston, co-founder of Marriage365 and author of The Marriage Habit, to talk about what it really takes to build a thriving marriage in today’s busy, high-pressure world. After facing deep struggles in their own marriage, Casey and his wife, Meygan, made the decision to rebuild from the inside out. What began as their pers...

In this powerful episode of Purposeful, Ashley Bernardi sits down with Dr. Hassan Tetteh, thoracic surgeon, retired U.S. Navy captain, healthcare leader, author, and board member for the American Heart Association in the Greater Washington region. Together, they discuss Dr. Tetteh’s extraordinary life of service, from military medicine and trauma surgery to transplant care and organ donation. Dr....

In this episode of Purposeful, Ashley Bernardi sits down with Tom Davis, Vice President of Corporate Development and Partnerships at Good360, a nonprofit organization leading the way in product philanthropy. Good360 helps redirect excess and surplus goods from corporations to nonprofits and communities that need them most, keeping usable products out of landfills and getting essential items into t...

In this episode of Purposeful, Ashley Bernardi sits down with Casey Erin Clark and Julie Fogh, co-founders of Vital Voice Training, to explore the power of voice, authentic communication, and what it really means to show up as yourself in leadership. Casey and Julie help leaders, executives, entrepreneurs, authors, TEDx speakers, and organizations communicate with more confidence, presence, authen...

In this moving episode of Purposeful, Ashley Bernardi sits down with Camille Fortunato, mother, advocate, and founder of The Anthony Filippazzo Grant for Williams Syndrome Research, to share her family’s journey with Williams syndrome and the mission that grew from it. When Camille’s son, Anthony, was born, doctors immediately knew something was wrong. After years of medical complications, uncerta...

In this deeply moving episode of Purposeful, Ashley Bernardi sits down with Karen Worcester, Executive Director of Wreaths Across America, to discuss the organization’s powerful mission to remember the fallen, honor those who serve, and teach the next generation the value of freedom. Karen shares the origin story of Wreaths Across America, from one family’s simple act of remembrance at Arlington N...

What if kindness isn’t a soft skill… but one of the most powerful leadership tools we have? In this episode of the Purposeful Podcast, Ashley Bernardi sits down with Ian Sandler, co-chair of Riley’s Way, a national nonprofit dedicated to empowering young leaders to create meaningful change through kindness, empathy, and connection. Ian’s journey is deeply personal. After the sudden loss of his dau...

What if animal welfare isn’t just about animals… but about people too? In this episode of the Purposeful Podcast, Ashley Bernardi sits down with Stella Hanly, CEO of the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria, to explore how the field of animal welfare is evolving from shelter-based services to a more holistic, community-centered model. Stella’s journey from corporate consulting to nonprofit leadersh...

What if the most powerful thing you could do right now… is pause? In this episode of the Purposeful Podcast, Ashley Bernardi sits down with keynote speaker, TEDx presenter, and author Effie Santos to explore the transformative role of pausing in leadership, decision-making, and personal growth. Effie’s story is deeply personal. After the devastating loss of her 19-year-old daughter, Maddie, she ch...

Welcome to the Purposeful Podcast. Purposeful is a podcast by Nardi Media, created to amplify the voices of leaders, advocates, and changemakers who are uplifting the world through courage, service, and truth. In this episode, host Ashley Bernardi, Founder and CEO of Nardi Media, sits down with Jeeyun (Jee) Lee, CEO of Maui United Way, to discuss the devastating flooding currently impacting commun...

Welcome to the Purposeful Podcast! Purposeful is a podcast by Nardi Media, created to amplify the voices of leaders, advocates, and changemakers who are uplifting the world through courage, service, and truth. In this episode, host Ashley Bernardi, Founder and CEO of Nardi Media, sits down with Dorothy “Doro” Bush Koch, daughter of the 41st President of the United States, George H.W. Bush, and for...

Welcome to the Purposeful Podcast. In this episode, Ashley Bernardi, CEO of Nardi Media, reflects on the power of storytelling, resilience, kindness, and personal growth in shaping both our inner world and our communities. At the heart of this conversation is the recent Walk for Peace, a 2,300-mile journey led by Buddhist monks, completed over 109 days to spread nonviolence, mindfulness, and hope....