Leaning into Leadership

Michelle Osterhoudt is a wife, mother, and 24-year educator and community leader.  Active in civil rights work within her community, Michelle serves as the Vice President of the Oneonta Area NAACP. Michelle has also served on the Commission on Community Relations and Human Rights for the City of Oneonta and was the first African American Council member for the city of Oneonta serving the 4th...

Brian T. Miller is a husband, father of five, reader, writer, blogger, public speaker, podcaster, and proud principal of Chief Joseph Elementary. Samwise Gamge is his hero. Check out Brian's Schurtz & Ties podcast here Connect with Brian: Website: Millerbrian.com Facebook: Brian T. Miller Twitter: @Miller_brian_ or @SchurtzandTies TikTok: miller_brian_ Get your autographed copy of Road to Awes...

Welcome to a special mid-week episode of Leaning into Leadership. I was once an aspiring administrator and know how challenging the job search process can be. As someone who believes so strongly in supporting and coaching early career leaders, I think these mid-week episodes (and yes, there will be more) can have a great impact on those just starting or getting ready to start a career in leadershi...

Jamin Heppell is the a co-creator and leadership coach of Mountains and Marathons, which is a revolutionary leadership development company that focuses on holistic transformation and completes each program with an epic physical challenge, such as running a marathon or climbing a mountain in iconic locations around the world. Jamin’s clients have included senior executives of Fortune 500 companies,...

Hal Bowman  can see the future, and he is determined to do all he can to change it for the better, one life at a time. He is certain that schools are the key to a better world down the road. “Every school can be a phenomenal school” is his mantra, and it shows in his actions. Most days, you are likely to find him with his shirtsleeves rolled up and doing at least one thing to make it so. He i...

Mark Herschberg is the author of The Career Toolkit: Essential Skills for Success That No One Taught You and creator of the Brain Bump app . From tracking criminals and terrorists on the dark web to creating marketplaces and new authentication systems, Mark has spent his career launching and developing new ventures at startups and Fortune 500s and in academia, with over a dozen patents to his name...

Thomas Annunziata is the Director of Student Activities at Freedom High School in Woodbridge, Virginia. Mr. Annunziata is a 3-time Teacher of the Year and recent addition to the Freedom Eagles Administration team. In the short time since accepting the role as Freedom’s Activities Director in August , Mr. Annunziata has brought Wrestling, Swim, Golf, and Baseball back to th...

John VanDusen is currently an 8th grade U.S. History teacher in Kingsford, Michigan where he also enjoys coaching football and being involved in his church along with his wife and son. John served as a military police and infantry platoon leader in Baghdad, Iraq. When he returned, he began his teaching and coaching career while continuing with the military. He is also an instructor in the Army res...

Jen Rafferty is an educator, author, and international public speaker, who started as a middle school music teacher for 15 years in Central New York. She is known for bringing her energy, humor and expertise in her presentations while inspiring educators to stay connected to their " why ." Jen is a certified Emotional Intelligence Practitioner and is currently pursuing her Ph. D. in Educational Ps...

Robert Jordan is the CEO of InterimExecs , which matches top executives with companies around the world. Based on research with thousands of leaders and companies, he and Olivia Wagner wrote Right Leader Right Time: Discover Your Leadership Style for a Winning Career and Company , and have launched the FABS Leadership Assessment, a free assessment at RightLeader.com designed to help leaders and or...

Let's reflect on 2022, our goals, our successes, and our short comings. Great leaders are the ones who are willing to be open and transparent about their work. Great leaders are the ones who are aware of their failures and look at failure as an opportunity to learn and grow. As my friend Wade Stanford shared this week, "It is nearly impossible for you to have your best idea the first time you thin...

Erin Jones has been involved in and around schools for the past 26 years. She has taught in a variety of environments, from predominantly Black to predominantly White to some of the most diverse communities in the nation. Erin received an award as the Most Innovative Foreign Language Teacher in 2007, while teaching in Tacoma and was the Washington State Milken Educator of the Year in 2008, while t...

Mike Alpert founded Peer Driven PD in 2019 with the goal of bringing streamlined, private sector solutions to public education. Mike’s corporate experience as a project analyst for an international renewable energy firm (Iberdrola Renewables) and as a financial services specialist (employee credit union of Intel and Microsoft) led him to realize the importance of education across all fields. Mike...

Dr. Larry Dake has served in leadership positions for over 12 years as a curriculum coordinator, principal, and assistant superintendent.  He attended King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, PA, and Binghamton University, in Binghamton, NY. Beyond spending time with family, Larry is an avid fan of baseball history and spends way too much time looking up stats on baseball-reference.com. Prof...

Rick Morton has been a Jostens representative in Tacoma, WA for the last 21 years. Rick grew up in San Diego and has been married to his High School sweetheart for 34 years. Rick has 3 adult children and 1 grandkid. His passion is to help every school he serves improve their environment with proven strategies and programs. Rick believes that Jostens Renaissance plays a significant role in helping...

Jonathan Alsheimer is the unorthodox, energetic, and entertaining middle school teacher who refuses to live a life of limitations. He currently teaches at the Chancellor Middle School in Spotsylvania County, VA. In addition to being a passionate educator, Jonathan is an international keynote speaker and the author of "NEXT LEVEL TEACHING," a #1 new release in education on Amazon in March of 2020....

Dr. Dan Kreiness is an instructional leader, podcast host, author, and speaker who constantly searches for the most effective ways to advance education and produce high student achievement. Dr. Kreiness has worked in education for over 16 years as a school administrator, instructional coach, intervention specialist, and classroom teacher while working in districts in the New York City metro area i...

Texas-born & raised, Dr. Amy Mathews-Perez is currently in her 30th year of public education where she has served as a General Ed. Teacher, SLP, Diagnostician, SPED Supervisor, Principal, Assistant Principal and a Director of Special Education. Dr. Mathews-Perez has worked in the private sector as an Education Coordinator at a County JJAEP and in both home health & nursing home settings as...

Katelynn Giordano is a Middle Level Language Arts and Social Studies educator and co-author of Poking the Bear: A guide for engaging in the conversations that matter most . Katelynn is a dynamic educator who is passionate about student voice and empowerment, promoting equity, and valuing teachers as professionals. It is her belief that what we teach goes far beyond our content—we are teaching our...

Dr. Chris Jones has been an educator in Massachusetts for 22 years. His experience in the classroom ranged from 8th - 11th grade working in an urban setting. He is currently the Principal of Whitman-Hanson Regional High School in Whitman, Massachusetts. He is the author of SEEingtoLead , a book that provides strategies for how modern leaders can and must support, engage, and empower their teachers...

For the first time in the brief history of this show, I have two guests this week. Erich Bolz's educational career spans over 25-years in public education as a remedial reading teacher, pre-K-12 principal, central office administrator (small, large, and Educational Service District levels), Adjunct Professor at Heritage University and 2013 recipient of the Violet Lumley Rau Alumni Outstanding Alum...

Tom Cody , a co-founder of Top 20 Training, shares his unique witticisms, insights and wisdom gathered from his 40 years in the classroom. His professional life has been committed to education, serving as a grade school and high school math teacher and Social Emotional Learning teacher from 1974 until his retirement from teaching in 2014. Tom now devotes his time and energy to Top 20 Training...

Dr. Donna Marie Cozine helps overworked and exhausted educational leaders establish work life balance so they can lead their organizations and live the lives they DESERVE. She is a leader, author, speaker, podcast host, and executive coach. She is the founder of Renaissance Academy Charter School of the Arts in Rochester, NY. She grew the school from 194 students and 32 staff members to 506 studen...

Doug Kaplicky is honored to serve as Adams Elementary Principal (Yakima WA) and Consulting Owner of the Positive Focus Group. After 12 years in school administration and teaching at the college level, Doug was named the 2017 Washington State Principal of the Year.  This recognition was a direct reflection of an amazing, certified and classified middle school staff, who valued students’ indivi...

Dr. Chris Hobbs is a 20-year veteran of education holding positions of teacher, coach, student minister, principal, athletic administrator, & executive director in the suburbs of Washington D.C., New York City, West Palm Beach, and Houston. In his current role as Director of Institutional Advancement at Second Baptist School, he provides global leadership to admissions, advancement, communicat...