Leading with Heart: The Long Way to Purpose

In this season finale of  Leading with Heart: The Long Way to Purpose , Whitney offers an honest reflection on balancing doctoral studies, teaching, leadership responsibilities, family, service, and personal purpose—without glorifying burnout. Over the past few years, life has required managing multiple responsibilities at once while still trying to remain present, productive, and emotionally grou...

In this episode of Leading with Heart: The Long Way to Purpose, Whitney reflects on how caregiving continues to evolve throughout life—professionally, personally, emotionally, and spiritually. After years working in healthcare and memory care, caregiving became more than a profession. It became a way of seeing and responding to the world. Over time, Whitney realized that caregiving was showing up...

In this episode of Leading with Heart: The Long Way to Purpose, Whitney reflects on navigating imposter syndrome, leadership transitions, and the uncomfortable process of finding your voice in spaces that once felt unfamiliar. What started as a simple plan to teach one class as an adjunct unexpectedly became a full-time transition into academia. But stepping into education brought more than a care...

In this episode of Leading with Heart: The Long Way to Purpose, Whitney reflects on how her professional experiences in healthcare leadership and caregiving shaped her approach to teaching and becoming an educator. Transitioning from memory care into the classroom brought a new level of responsibility. Teaching was no longer just about sharing information—it was about helping students grow, think...

In this episode of Leading with Heart: The Long Way to Purpose, Whitney reflects on the deeper lessons learned through working in dementia care—lessons that extend far beyond healthcare and into how we show up as human beings. Dementia care has a way of slowing everything down. It challenges urgency, disrupts routine, and requires a level of patience and presence that cannot be rushed. In these mo...

Leadership is often talked about in terms of strategy, performance, and results. But some of the most meaningful leadership lessons are learned in the moments that carry the most pressure. In this episode of Leading with Heart: The Long Way to Purpose, Whitney reflects on what it truly means to lead when the stakes are high. Drawing from her years working in assisted living and memory care, she sh...

In Episode 2 of Leading with Heart: The Long Way to Purpose, Whitney reflects on the transition from memory care leadership into higher education — and what that shift revealed about caregiving, learning, and growth. This episode explores what it was like to step into the classroom while still finding her footing, learning alongside students, and realizing that caregiving doesn’t end when roles ch...

In this first episode of Leading with Heart: The Long Way to Purpose, I share the story behind my journey — from growing up around education, to working in dementia care at a young age, to leading in healthcare, and ultimately stepping into higher education as a college professor. This episode is about transition, calling, and the courage it takes to follow purpose even when it comes with uncertai...