Path Found

Send us Fan Mail Steven Sewell didn’t plan on becoming a chaplain in corporate America. He thought he’d spend his life as a pastor. But after almost 30 years in ministry, he discovered something: the break room at a car dealership needs the same thing as a Sunday morning congregation. Someone who will actually listen.  Steve and I talked about grief, starting over in your 50s, finding love again a...

Send us Fan Mail What does it look like to stumble, pivot, fail, travel, and eventually find your calling, not once, but many times? Sean Walpole's story is a master class in entrepreneurial resilience: from founding an IT company as a teenager in Zimbabwe, to dropping out of university, to launching a scuba diving business, a microbrewery, and ultimately a venture that has sent thousands of...

Send us Fan Mail Eric Adams spent his childhood mute in the classroom and decades as the loudest, most electric presence in Los Angeles nightlife. In between: a path that refuses every conventional menu option. In this conversation, Eric traces the through-line from a traumatic childhood marked by PTSD and depression, to a 12-year-old's decision to use Disneyland as a North Star out of the da...

Send us Fan Mail Holly Hill didn't wait for the world to catch up with her vision — she designed her own path. In this episode, Holly shares her remarkable career journey from environmental compliance at IBM in the 1990s, to sustainable design at an architecture firm, to her current role as Head of Sustainability at Zoom. Long before corporate sustainability was mainstream, Holly was marrying...

Send us Fan Mail Tyler Reeb grew up on a Canadian farm, moved to Long Beach at 11, slacked through college, and somehow ended up leading one of the country's most influential transportation research centers. Tyler reflects on what his path has taught him — about failure, procrastination, the value of integrity over people-pleasing, and why he's genuinely worried that young people are tur...

Send us Fan Mail Jessica Nersesian’s journey doesn’t follow a straight line; it is driven by curiosity, ethics, and a deep belief that design can change the world. A lifelong reader and systems thinker, Jessica explored communication, ethics, sustainability, and design before co-founding a product design firm that now guides products from concept to manufacturing, recyclability, and end-of-life im...

Send us Fan Mail Gus Orozco’s story is one of resilience, service, and the power of saying yes to unexpected opportunities. Growing up in Long Beach as the child of immigrants, Gus struggled in school, dropped out of high school, and earned his GED while searching for direction and support. Structure and community eventually came through ROTC and military service, where he deployed to Iraq at a yo...

Send us Fan Mail Melissa Romero never followed a straight line—and that’s exactly the point. From a perfectionist, science-loving kid with dreams of being a singer or mermaid to an environmental advocate writing legislation and lobbying in Sacramento, Melissa built a meaningful career in public policy. Yet even in success, something felt unfinished.  That quiet pull led her somewhere unexpected: b...

Send us Fan Mail Sudeep Wahla’s path was anything but conventional. Raised in Fontana by first-generation immigrant parents, Sudeep assumed college was the next step—until he didn’t get into the schools he expected. Instead of regrouping locally, he made a bold decision at just 17 years old: move to India and enroll directly in veterinary school, bypassing the traditional U.S. undergraduate route...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when the path everyone expects you to take doesn’t feel right—and the one that does feels risky, misunderstood, or “not legitimate enough”? In this episode of Path Found, Monica sits down with Macey McCallion, an equine professional, entrepreneur, and lifelong learner whose journey challenges traditional ideas of success. Macey shares what it was like growing up shy,...

Send us Fan Mail Joon Kim’s life looks successful on paper: senior leadership in higher education, decades of mentoring students, and a career built around helping others reach medical and graduate school. But his path there was anything but linear. Born in Seoul, raised across three countries, and shaped by the expectations placed on children of immigrant families, Joon grew up believing there wa...

Send us Fan Mail Londa Jensen has lived many lives—often before most people finish their first résumé. From backstage passes at rock shows in high school, to studying Arabic in Cairo, teaching in northern Iraq, leading students across Russia, India, and China, and eventually becoming CEO of a global personal-development company, Londa’s path has never been linear—or safe. In this deeply honest con...

Send us Fan Mail What if the idea of a “dream school” is shaping college decisions in all the wrong ways? In this episode of Path Found, I sit down with New York Times' bestselling author and journalist Jeffrey Selingo to unpack how students and families navigate one of the most consequential and misunderstood decisions of their lives. Drawing from his books There Is Life After College , Who...

Send us Fan Mail Kayla Anderson’s story is anything but linear — and that’s the point. From dreaming of becoming a trauma surgeon, to exploring aerospace engineering, to diving into environmental justice, livestreaming, climate communication, and ultimately building her own media company, Kayla’s path is a masterclass in curiosity, reinvention, and choosing what truly fulfills you. In this episode...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Path Found, Monica speaks with Corinne Argano, Executive Director of Greenspace, about choosing fulfillment over certainty. The conversation traces her journey from veterinary ambitions to conservation leadership, highlighting mentorship, transferable skills, and the power of intentional living. 🎧 Listen to “ Path Found Podcast ” Real stories of pivots, side qu...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Path Found , Monica sits down with Katie Drexhage, a senior environmental scientist whose career spans federal wildlife regulation, county public works, and California State Parks. Katie traces her path from a sheltered high school student fascinated by insects and biology to a leader managing conservation programs across 20,000 acres of coastline, forests, and...

Send us Fan Mail This week on Path Found, Monica speaks with Vikki Yaller Radow—a tech leader who built a career by jumping in, speaking up, and tearing down barriers long before diversity in tech was a conversation.  Raised by hardworking parents who never attended college, Vikki began her journey rolling out personal computers at Northrop Grumman. She learned to troubleshoot hardware, embraced e...

Send us Fan Mail Sierra Emrick’s journey is a powerful story of resilience, growth, and rediscovering what “success” really means. From studying marine biology to working in Sri Lanka and Panama, Sierra chased meaning across the world—only to realize her purpose was right where she started. Today, as Executive Director of the Central Coast State Parks Association, she shares how failure, sensitivi...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Path Found , Monica talks with Sal Medina—an immigrant, former ESL student, educator, small business owner, and former mayor of Claremont, California. Sal shares candid stories from his childhood growing up poor in Azusa, wearing hand-me-down clothes, learning English as a second language, and navigating daily bullying at school. He describes his “day-to-day ori...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Path Found , I talk with Clay Sandidge, whose journey from sealing driveways in a Kentucky summer to leading major environmental projects at Arcadis is a testament to resilience, reinvention, and the power of mentorship. Clay shares how one mentor’s simple driveway project set him on a new path — leading to his first company at sixteen, a college degree in geolo...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Path Found , Monica talks with Renée Kavanagh, a licensed clinical social worker and leader in school-based mental health. From her early ambitions of becoming an ER doctor to her transformative years working in London hospitals, Renée’s path is anything but linear. She shares how her global experiences—from supporting mothers battling addiction to traveling the...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Path Found , environmental scientist John Sayers shares how a winding journey — from sports and firefighting to running a struggling plant nursery — eventually led him to a career protecting California’s coastlines and ecosystems. John reflects on the challenges of starting over, the lessons learned from failure, and the power of networks and mentors in shaping...

Send us Fan Mail Hi everyone, I’m Monica Argandoña , and welcome back to Path Found. Today’s guest, Kristina Marler , shows us that sometimes the path forward starts with cleaning out more than a closet — it starts with clearing space for a new chapter. Kristina’s story begins with a dream of teaching, a homemade fortune cookie she once mailed to Martha Stewart, and a whirlwind career in New York’...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Episode 5, " From Blueprints to Freedom: Blair Bush’s Road to Redefining Success. " After two decades as an architect and construction executive, Blair Bush walked away from the corner office — and into a 35-foot RV with his wife and two young sons. What began as a leap into the unknown became a journey toward balance, creativity, and rediscovering what really...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Path Found , “ Wolves, Wild Paths, and Finding Purpose — Taylor’s Journey to Yellowstone, ” Taylor shares her remarkable path from uncertain beginnings in small-town Ohio to becoming a biological science technician with the Yellowstone Wolf Project. Her story is one of courage, self-discovery, and persistence — from walking away from a toxic job to volunteering...