Change Starts Here

Host of Change Starts Here, Dustin Odham, encourages us all to take the much needed and deserved time to reflect and recharge over the next few weeks. We will see you back here in the new year!

One topic that frequently comes up on Change Starts Here concerns educator burnout and the residual effect of people choosing not to enter the education profession. According to a November 2022 Gallop poll, K-12 teachers report the highest burnout rate of all U.S. professions, with more than four out of every ten teachers noting they feel burned out “always” or “often” at work. That leads to a que...

2022 is a year for reflection, and at Change Starts Here, host Dustin Odham wanted to devote a special episode to reflect on all of the great advice from the many guests that appeared on the podcast over that past year. Throughout this episode, Odham captures moments from ten inspiring interviews from 2022, including author and Assistant Principal Joshua Stamper, Revolutionary Principal’s Amen Rah...

Trust is the foundation, or building block, of many key innovations. Without trust, new, creative ideas born from collaboration would not exist. Trust plays a key role in the evolution of companies and their technologies, but most importantly, their people. But how exactly can trust change the future? On the latest episode of Change Starts Here, host Dustin Odham chats with Mark Murphy, Senior Con...

Did you know that mentoring youth helps to increase their likelihood of graduating from high school while also decreasing the likelihood that youth will initiate abusing illegal drugs and alcohol use? Well, it's true. But building student success goes behind just mentoring. It's about creating an environment that evokes passion and curiosity. In doing this, where should you start? On this...

Monday, October 24th, 2022, a school shooter killed a teacher and a student in St. Louis, Missouri. After the shooting, a letter was found in the gunman's car. A few lines stood out to podcast host Dustin Odham. The writing describes a lonely life. Odham was impacted by the letter because it shows how the shooter had fallen through the cracks. This episode does not focus on the shooting itself...

Life throws many curveballs and at times people will have to work with what they know and have to get by. For educators, it's another ball game, and public school educators today are facing a lot of challenges, from budget cuts, low or stagnant salaries, and a pandemic. That also means the stakes are even higher for leadership at these schools, and principals have to be committed and dedicated...

Do you ever think about all the minute twists and turns that led you to the exact position you sit in life? For some, that journey has more twists and turns than it does for others. Joshua Stamper, Author, Podcaster, and Assistant Principal, joined Host Dustin Odham to describe how he went from graphic design to administration in the education realm. Stamper started as graphic designer, but when t...

Evolution is gradual, but revolution is about changing things quickly. Change is what Amen Rahh, the Revolutionary Principal and author, aims to do within his school and ultimately, the world. Change Starts Here host Dustin Odham chatted with Rahh about his background and his goals to inspire revolution across educational culture. Rahh was straight forward, “I’m happy to…talk about how we are goin...

In the latest episode of “Change Starts Here,” podcast host Dustin Odham discussed being in a leadership position in the field of education with educator and author Jill Siler. The two talked about the profession of a superintendent, and all that it entails in being one, including successes and failures. Siler is the author of “Thrive through the Five,” a book she wrote about the challenges that c...

Great things can happen under the direction of great leadership. But how does one become a great leader? Host Dustin Odham chatted with Dr. Mathew Ohlson, the Director of the Taylor Leadership Institute at the University of North Florida, about the habits of a great leader and how to jumpstart that career pathway. When Dr. Ohlson first started, he was sure he would get his PhD and go back into K-1...

Live Life in Crescendo: Your Most Important Work is Ahead of You is the new book by Cynthia Covey Haller. Haller, a teacher, and speaker outside of her writing duties, spoke with Dustin Odham about this inspirational book, guided by the wisdom of her late father and co-author of Live Life in Crescendo, Stephen R. Covey. Haller calls herself the mother hen of the Covey family; she is the eldest of...

Working within a positive culture creates optimal results in any setting, and that is especially true for those in K12 educational settings. Juan Bendaña, top youth motivational speaker, joined Host Dustin Odham to dive more into how to create and define a positive culture in the classroom. Bendaña believes the first step to understanding students is to take a step back. “The most important thing...

Cathy Quiroz Moore is the Superintendent of the Wake County Public School System, NC, the 15th largest school system in the United States. Moore came to the U.S. from Ecuador when she was two years old. That dual culture influenced who Moore is as a person and her actions as a leader. Her roots in the Wake County Public School Stem stretch back to 1988 when she entered as a French teacher. Being e...

Who takes care of the teachers? In the “Change Starts Here” podcast, host Dustin Odham chatted with author and associate at Marzano Resources and Solution Tree, Dr. Tina Boogren. As an advocate for the well-being and needs of educators, Boogren talked about a new shift towards emphasizing the wellness needs of teachers. In her prior studies of educators, Dr. Boogren came to the conclusion that the...

Facing adversity from a young age, Dr. John “Push” Gaines, a professional speaker and leadership consultant, was not sure where his life would end up - but he was sure of one thing: he would persevere. On this, Dr. Gaines speaks to host Dustin Odham about his experience in persevering and the importance of leaning into the present. “Persevere until something happens,” said Dr. Gaines. Dr. Gaines g...

In college, podcast host Dustin Odham read Rick Warren’s A Purpose Driven Life. He’s been living by a mission statement he created ever since – “to make a positive and lasting impact on every person I meet, every single day,” said Odham. He intentionally chose to create a mission statement that was not job-specific but would apply to all aspects of his life on a daily basis. The choices in Odham’s...

Throughout the second season Odham highlighted that he primarily focused on going more deeper and personal with his guests, by featuring the smaller tidbits of their lives like their hobbies, and how they contribute to their thought process. In the forthcoming season of “Change Starts Here” however, Odham plans on going a step further. He said he wants to discover how his guests beat adversity. “T...

As an author and Childhood Trauma Motivational Speaker, Clark now considers himself a “hope dealer.” But this wasn’t always the case. “I didn't grow up on love, affection, a wonderful mom and dad that just loved on me. I grew up on survival,” reflected Clark, “Over the years, I learned how to turn nothing into something.” After attempts to kill Clark failed, Clark was brought into the world wi...

From a young age, Chris McChesney fell in love with Stephen Covey’s application of principles over best practices. He wanted to be a part of Franklin Covey so much that he landed his first job with them over thirty years ago by pretending to be a newspaper reporter as a fake intern. That’s dedication. Today McChesney is a National Best-Selling Author, Keynote Speaker, and Global Practice Leader wi...

Andrew Houlihan, Superintendent of Union County Public Schools, Monroe, NC, is a Doctor of Education. His formal education took him to New York and Texas before coming back to his home roots in North Carolina. The best part of Houlihan’s day is walking into the classroom of any one of the 52 schools in his Union and watching learning take place. How does the superintendent of the 6th largest schoo...

The culture within companies is widely accepted as a critical element to success, but what is the culture within a school? Dustin Odham and Phill Boyte discuss the possibilities that open up when a school caters to a welcoming environment for students and staff. According to Boyte, connecting students fosters a healthy environment. The team has more influence, and students' success extends bey...

Dr. Kelvin Adams, Superintendent of St. Louis Public Schools, doesn’t have a magic formula for success, or why his leadership role within the St. Louis public school system has lasted for nearly fourteen years. If honesty, sincerity, and providing people with the correct information are magic, he’s happy to reveal those secrets. “At the end of the day, it’s always about keeping kids first and maki...

Pollak’s interest in public speaking dated to her K12 years when she won a prize for reading a Shell Silverstein book. Next, a Rotary Club college scholarship requirement to give a series of Rotary Club speeches began a journey that has not ended. The speech requirement was four. Pollak did thirty-nine. “I realized maybe there was something about this that I’m starting to enjoy,” Pollak said. “And...

The report aligns with the mission of JFF, founded in 1983, to create a system that benefits all students and prepares them for work in a realistic way. “The work over that time has always focused on the mission of creating and scaling up solutions that can really transform our education and workforce systems so that it achieves economic advancement for all equitably,” said Vargas. After working w...