Change Starts Here

Straight A’s are not always easy to come by, but often, earning them in a traditional setting means getting to the right answer, not learning why an answer is needed or how to go about solving a problem. Sally Amoruso, Chief Partner Officer at EAB, a firm dedicated to serving educational institutions, spoke with Change Starts Here podcast host Dustin Odham to discuss how to prepare for the changes...

Garcia speaks several languages, is a speaker, a teacher, a comedian, and a world traveler who has not yet made it to Antarctica, but he’s checked all other continents off his list. His strong faith background guides him, and Garcia believes everyone is born with a purpose. And through his struggles in high school, he learned the art of simplicity. When Garcia learned how to keep things simple, he...

Mielke encourages educators to be in a space of happiness and purpose. “Every time I speak on a topic, I get to not only apply it to myself but see the shifts in people where they're not only thinking about their role as a student or a teacher, they’re looking at it through the lens of how does this impact my entire world view and it's a really and empowering thing,” he said. The challenge...

Finding this gift didn’t come quick to Lawrence, but that journey to self-discovery isn’t one he’d trade away. “I learned a lot of my lessons through sport,” Lawrence said. “I used the school system and the opportunities there to participate in sport. I had some great coaches, and I gravitated towards wrestling.” And it was there Lawrence first began to cultivate the mental toughness that would se...

Fievre published her first book as a teenager, and she credited her aunt, a grammar and literature teacher, for introducing her to the understanding and importance of editing. “She could look at my manuscript and see what it lacked on the grammar side. Also, she could help me with the developmental.” Fievre quickly realized writing and editing were two essential but different crafts. Her advice to...

Because of his experience in Japan, and his continued education in learning Japanese in college, McIntyre was offered a sales position with an international trade publisher at their Japan operation. And the more he traveled and experienced different cultures; the more McIntyre wanted to learn. Although McIntyre built himself a strong resume in international business, some project work with Frankli...

Smiling nearly the entire podcast, Covey clearly loves what he calls his purpose, which is to increase trust and inspiration in the world today. Writing his first book 16 years ago, he found his inspiration because of the absence of these qualities and a lack of reliable content on the subject. With the only constant being change, it’s clear a disruption is needed since the paradigm of how we view...

Okay. Full disclosure: Odham was away on vacation this week, but he wanted to give folks a chance to catch up on some great moments and amazing content from some genuinely inspiring educators and thought leaders. Whether this is the first exposure to these guests or a second time around, these agents of change are worth spending a few minutes with, and these hand-selected clips are some of Odham’s...

Dr. Cardenas has spent the past 13 years leading Janson Elementary. For eight of those years, the school enjoyed the status of being a Lighthouse school. And in 2022, they received the Legacy designation. The discussion opened with a look into what makes Janson different. “I think the most important thing that really helped our school was having a very clear purpose and vision,” said Dr. Cardenas....

A culture of belonging includes diversity, the presence of differences in an environment, and inclusion, or making all community members feel included. Belonging is an outcome of those; it is a sense of acceptance, support, and inclusion in community. “When students and staff and families feel like they can bring their authentic selves, 100 percent who they are to that community, that truly turbo...

Hild found her education influenced by her parents, both educators. “My dad was a U.S. history teacher, and he really instilled values of learning,” Hild said. And through her experiences and travels early in life, she recognized the importance of empowering people and giving them a platform to make a difference. Hild believes that people don’t always recognize their talents, so it is essential to...

Farouk Dey teaches life design for a living which he said is the opposite of career planning. “It’s trying to create a culture where we no longer ask people, ‘what do you want to do with your life,’” said Dey. “We’re essentially asking them, ‘what are you curious about?’ and getting them to act on that curiosity.” There can be a natural tendency to adjust their narrative based on presented opportu...

Garcia’s journey began unconventionally. Raised by a single grandmother who didn’t drive, Garcia grew up in an environment of love. Garcia’s Grandmother’s kindness shaped her and instilled a passion for doing great things , and making a difference in the lives of others. “I am who I am in my professional life because of that experience,” Garcia said. A little more on the conventional side, Garcia’...

A wise old Jedi once said, ‘size matters not,’ and Covey takes that advice to heart. At 5'8" and 165-pounds, Covey’s size does not instantly scream NFL wide receiver, where the average size of most professional WR’s tip the scales at over six feet and 200-pounds. “I realized early on people were going to view my height and my size pretty much one of two ways: It was going to be the detrime...

Odham is clearly a fan of Reyes whom he refers to as Danny throughout the episode. Highlighting everything from his exceptional teaching skills that engaged 5th-grade students in solving community problems to creating a safe place with high expectations that improved overall student performance. This podcast is for any educator, school administrator, school employee, or anyone for that matter who...

Heath’s journey began with studies in engineering, then a Ph. D. in psychology from Stanford University. Today he teaches organizational behavior at the Stanford School of Business and co-authored four bestselling books with his brother Dan. “I’d been teaching a course at Stanford on the marketplace of ideas,” Heath said. “I had done a talk with a Silicon Valley group, and the theme was what we ca...

High school students Jenaya Wilder, Jorge Sanchez and Mary Katherine Archer joined host of Change Starts Here, Dustin Odham, to discuss how to overcome the issues facing today’s schools. A common theme the three students mentioned as a struggle for the modern-day high schooler was the tendency for cliques to form, which discourages individualism and increases groupthink, and time management, like...

“For me, education was something my mother always told me, ‘Once you have it, they can never take it away from you and that could be your golden ticket,’” he explained. Jackson found out the hard way how a lack of funds can impact a student’s ability to pursue their career of choice. While studying to be an astronaut, he was forced to make the hard decision of finding a different major, which is w...

Portell wasn’t initially on the educator path. “I was into forestry, but people kept saying kids gravitate toward you. I didn’t receive my educational degree until 29.” Now, his days are filled with impacting the lives of children and unapologetically disrupting the education field. Portell’s days as a principal weren’t trauma-informed. It was a lecture he attended on ACES (adverse childhood exper...

Now let's all take some time to hit pause and reflect on this previous year. See you in 2022!

Safety and trust are developed in a child at just 18 months old, which is derived from the somatic nervous system (or the sensory nerves that relay sensation from the body to the central nervous system). Traumatized children usually have a faulty neuroception system – or they perceive danger when there is none. Author of “Brain Changing Strategies to Trauma-Proof Our Schools,” Maggie Kline is a fo...

In describing who he is and what he does, Marshall said, “I love helping people in new ways and inspiring the uninspired. EdTech is a great vehicle to do this, and education has always been a passion of mine.” Marshall considered becoming an educator but instead used his business degree to impact education, joining one of the first online learning programs, Study Island. The company grew and took...

“I love seeing growth and change in humans and organizations by an extension of that,” said Thompson. “There is a confidence that is kind of palpable when someone is making progress.” Thompson came to the rapidly growing FranklinCovey Education division after a varied career, starting in the field of clinical psychology, focused on child abuse prevention. She then transitioned into organization de...

In her role, Dr. Miller breaks down research to deliver practical ways to apply it to the classroom. Her journey with gratitude was no different. “I looked at the science of gratitude, and it opened my mind. For one, gratitude, unlike other emotions, you can self-induce. You also don’t need something good to happen to feel grateful.” Dr. Miller shared multiple studies on the topic with gratitude i...

7 years ago, Dr. Desautels left Marion University after feeling as though she had lost touch with teaching. “It was not enough for me to go in to observe first and second-year teachers,” Dr. Desautels explained. She left there knowing that if she was really going to continue this work she needed to go back into the classroom. “I am a learner, that is who I am. I love to learn and this work has evo...