Despite Impossible

Today’s guest is Cory Schlesinger. He’s a small-town Nebraska native and a former football player for the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers and the Detroit Lions. The NFL retiree remains active as an Allen Park High School teacher. Beyond his career in the classroom, he’s a husband and a father plus a painter and a gardener. This is his story.

Today’s guest is Rachelle Vartanian. She’s the founder of the Northville nonprofit Living and Learning Enrichment Center for adults with autism and related challenges. She’s also a former special education teacher and a mom of four sons. This is her story.

Today’s guest is Nathaniel Harley. He’s the CEO of MANTL, a financial technology company that provides a platform to open accounts online with community banks and credit unions – including us at Community Financial Credit Union. He’s also a husband and father, foodie and sports fan, meditator and problem solver. This is his story.

Turn on your listening ears for another back-to-school throwback! As the school year gets underway, we’re going back over our episode with Plymouth-Canton Community Schools Superintendent Dr. Monica Merritt. She’s been honored as Michigan’s 2023 Superintendent of the Year, three impressive decades after starting her career in education as a high school English teacher. This is her story. At the en...

Today’s guest is Greg Mitchell. Born into a family of farmers in the Midwest, he grew up to become a devout Christian, a Coast Guard member, a Disco dancer, and the CEO of First Tech Credit Union. All the way through, his life’s work has been making the most of his gifts to assist other humans in reaching their potential. This is Greg’s story.

Listen in for our back-to-school throwback! To celebrate the start of the school year, we’re going back to our episode with Northville Public Schools Superintendent Dr. RJ Webber. His career in education has comprised not only leadership but also teaching, presenting, and consulting.

Today’s guest is Andy Janning. He’s a self-described “nerd” who loves telling stories through words and pictures – from books and speeches to films and photos – especially about cancer advocacy. Inspired by his wife’s cancer-related challenges and successes, Andy is passionate about pausing cancer debt and ending terminal debt for patients through his programs partnering with financial institution...

Today's guest is Jack Wernstrom. Jack is a 21-year-old senior at Michigan State University. Jack is also an experience team intern at our Playground location. This is Jack's story.

Today's guest is Joy Lewis. Joy is proud of her Westside of Lansing roots, she is an innovator and a visionary, and a driven individual committed to making the world a better place. She is also the owner of Joyola Mei Hair, a specialty hair salon providing sustainable and eco-friendly products for clients with wavy, curly, textured, and coily hair in Detroit's Corktown neighborhood. This...

Today's guest is Randy Harrington. He is a seeker, a parent, a husband, and a person that can see potential and goodness in people. He is also the Founding Partner at Strategic Arts & Sciences. Randy considers himself to be both a student and a practitioner in the science and art of long-term strategic planning. This is Randy's story.

Today's guest is Matt Nahan. He is an artist, a friend, a collaborator, an advocate for social causes, a son, a partner, and a dog dad. He is also the executive director at our Relentless Care Foundation, leading the philanthropic impact CFCU ignites across Michigan. This is Matt's story.

Today's guest is Arlita Ibach. She is someone who enjoys life, people, and all the small things in between that combined become people's journeys. She is also an entrepreneur and the founder of Red Dot Coffee Company here in Northville. This is Arlita's story. To learn more about Arlita's invitation to approach life with the "you are here!" attitude that her Red Dot o...

Today's guest is Clint Smiley, a second-generation lifelong educator, raising a third generation of educators and a through-and-through Michigander. He is also West Middle School's retiring Principal. This is Clint's story.

Today's guest is Nick Jones, a husband, father, bother, and son. He is also the vicepresident for community wellness at Nationwide Childrens' Hospital in Columbus, OH. He is someone trying to make this a better place for children. This is Nick's story.

Today's guest is Jeff Chambers and adventurer, a father of three teenagers, and a human eager to change the word. He is also the founder & ceo at Lumin Digital, a digital banking platform designing the future of how humans interact with their credit union. This is Jeff's story.

Jodie Schanhals joins us on this episode of Despite Impossible. She's a self-described "force to be reckoned with" and President at MeetingMaker. A tool for verifying meeting attendance by geolocation. The solution  is comprised of a lovely mix of several years of recovery, IT, mobile app design, tracking and geolocation experience. This is Jodie's story.

Today's guest is Kelly Botti, President and CEO at TruMark Financial Credit Union in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania. She weaves her love for Taylor Swift and 90s rock into everything she does. 

Today's guest is Chuck Fagan, President and CEO of PSCU, a payments partner organization to credit unions. Leveraging digital technology, PSCU supports 2,400 financial institutions, representing more than 7.7 billion transactions annually. He says where credit unions own the member relationship, PSCU is there to play an important role.  This is Chuck's story.

Today's guest is Chase Bonhag, CEO and co-founder of FirstIgnite, an AI-driven platform simplifying the process for universities to craft compelling marketing content by analyzing complex research data and publications. This helps speed up the process of getting research data into the hands of experts who can turn it into new products and processes that impact our world. This is Chase's...

Today's guest is Clark Sweat, Chief Operating Officer for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. Married his sweetheart, is a farm owner, and he's a guy that likes to play with dirt. This is Clark's story. To learn, and donate, visit:  https://childrensmiraclenetworkhospitals.org/

Today's guest is Jeff Russell, President & CEO at Delta Dental in Iowa. Father, music lover, not a dancer, and he happens to be the co-founder and operator of Catalyst Ridge Wines, a winery in Oregon. This is Jeff's story. To learn more, visit: https://catalyst.wine

Today's guest is Mark Zook, President and CEO at Maps Credit Union in Salem, Oregon. He's known for being a builder in the industry and says it's important as a leader to be a generalist, not a specialist, so he can ask "the whys." He leads by being kind and curious. 

Today's guest is Miche Rayment, Founder and CEO at The Hire Effect. She reminds us that becoming masterful at fostering and growing an effective culture and hiring takes intention and patience. This is her story. To learn more about Miche, visit  https://thehireeffect.com/  

Today’s guest is Linda Armyn, Chief Strategy & Marketing Officer at Bethpage Federal Credit Union, the largest credit union in New York state and my alma mater. Linda is a dear friend and a huge fan of the Irish rock bank U2, which might rival my Dave Matthews Band fandom. This is her story.