Motivational Mondays: Conversations with Leaders

It all began with a shopping trip. When Dana Marlowe needed new bras, her inquiry for the salesperson about what she could do with her old bras yielded a shockingly simple answer: “Homeless women need bras.” In response, Marlowe founded I Support the Girls, which helps 1.7 million people with more than 21 million products (including bras and menstrual hygiene products) worldwide. On a mission, Mar...

You may have heard the phrase, “Kill ‘em with kindness,” but this week’s Motivational Mondays episode illustrates the ways that kindness can instead build others up and keep away loneliness.  Leaving behind his job as a London broker, Leon Logothetis traveled the world, relying only on the kindness of others and learning how to give that same kindness to anyone he met. Logothetis shares his j...

Health matters. This week on Motivational Mondays, Dr. Ian Smith emphasizes the need for physical wellness for success. Many people live with metabolic disease without knowing it, but Dr. Ian hopes to give people the tools they need to take control of their health. Metabolic inflexibility is often the culprit of weight gain, Dr. Ian shares, and he breaks down the science behind the concept and beh...

What can leaders learn from art? In Peppermint’s view, art and entertainment play vital roles in creating change through representation and visibility.  As parts of our nation become increasingly antagonistic toward the LGBTQ+ community, from book bans to bans on drag shows, it’s important that we as leaders learn how we can help our friends and neighbors create a safer, more loving world. We...

Leaders everywhere could learn a lot from parents. Corey Powell talks with Alvin McCray and Jason Rudman about their experiences as LGBTQ+ parents and as a family “at the intersection of race, gender, and sexual identity.” Childrearing and education have become a charged topic lately, especially for LGBTQ+ parents who must raise their children in places that want to restrict learning about the LGB...

Authentic leaders make stronger leaders. In this week’s episode of Motivational Mondays, you’ll hear about Ritu Bhasin’s journey to find her authentic self and why belonging is so important both personally and professionally. Our society often encourages homogeneity and a culture of “fitting in,” encouraging us to live behind masks and disconnect from ourselves. Bhasin experienced this first-hand,...

Do you know that we all play an indirect role in the major global labor crisis? In this episode of Motivational Mondays, you’ll hear why Siddharth Kara - author, researcher, screenwriter, and activist - strives to share the truth about dangerous labor practices and bring it to the public's attention. Cobalt is a metal used in rechargeable batteries in every smartphone, tablet, laptop, and electric...

Dana Tai Soon Burgess is a leading choreographer, dancer, and cultural figure known worldwide as the Diplomat of Dance. His D.C.-based dance company will celebrate its 30th season this year. Dana’s parents are both visual artists. Because of this, he grew up in a creative family but didn’t have the propensity to draw or paint. As a child, he actively searched for his place in the world. After watc...

Laura Gassner Otting is a renowned life coach and the best-selling author of "Limitless: How To Ignore Everybody, Carve Your Own Path, and Live Your Best Life." She's been featured on TODAY, Good Morning America, Oprah, and more.  Otting wrote "Wonderhell" because she found herself living through it. She says, "Wonderhell is the space between who you were yesterday and who you just realized y...

Adam Alter is a professor of marketing and the Robert Stansky Teaching Excellence Faculty Fellow at New York University's Stern School of Business. He also holds an affiliated professorship in social psychology at NYU's psychology department and is a New York Times bestselling author of " Drunk Tank Pink " and " Irresistible ." ( https://amzn.to/3LWY6P0 ), ( https://amzn.to/42pP56m ) Alter st...

Kyleigh Leddy is a Boston College graduate with her master’s in social work from Columbia University. In 2019, she took a writing class for enjoyment while studying clinical psychology and won The New York Times Modern Love College Essay Contest after writing about grieving her sister. Her essay caught the eye of multiple publishers who took an interest in her story. After signing a book deal, she...

Yuval David is a celebrated actor, host, filmmaker, and advocate. He's known for his major TV Network roles in “Madame Secretary,” “The Michael J. Fox show,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and “What Would You Do.”  He’s also the mastermind behind the Emmy Award-winning “One Actor Short,”aimed at uniting the world in a time of divisiveness. Social justice and civil rights are something that everyone...

Darleen “Coach Dar” Santore is a licensed and board-certified occupational therapist. She’s also the former Phoenix Suns mental-skills coach, and a leadership and mental-edge coach to athletes and business leaders worldwide. Her highly-anticipated book, The Art of Bouncing Back: Find Your Flow to Thrive at Work and in Life - Anytime You’re off your Game was recently released. In the book, she shar...

Tom D’Eri is the co-founder and COO of Rising Tide Car Wash, an organization that employs over 90 individuals with autism in a successful business. He’s also the author of The Power of Potential . ( https://amzn.to/3kLM40c ) Tom’s brother has autism so his family wanted to find a way to help him live a capable life of independence. They started Rising Tide Car Wash specifically to employ people wi...

Philip (Phil) Wilkerson is an Employer Engagement Consultant at GMU Career Services. He serves as a liaison between employers and the GMU community to help the school match students with well-aligned internships and job opportunities. Phil grew up in Northern Virginia and graduated from James Madison University. Some educators went above and beyond to support him with career preparation (like craf...

Pashtana Durrani is an Afghan human rights activist and community development expert focusing on female education. She's the founder of LEARN Afghan, a grassroots organization established to safely and securely educate girls through a distributed network of tablets using an offline platform.  One of the reasons Pashtana's platform is designed to work offline is that Afghanistan has a limited...

Chef Guy Vaknin is a world-renowned chef, celebrated for his distinctive plant-based creations. He and his wife developed a signature vegan brand, Beyond Sushi.  Since then, they’ve opened multiple restaurants and launched a successful catering company. Guy believes you can start from nothing and achieve your dreams because he’s done it and learned by trial and error.  He put in the work...

Ryan Leak inspires over 50,000 people monthly. He’s the author of the USA Today best-selling book, Chasing Failure: How Falling Short Sets You Up for Success . His most recent book, Leveling Up: 12 Questions to Elevate Your Personal And Professional Development , is a Wall Street Journal bestseller. ( https://amzn.to/3yu081m) , ( https://amzn.to/420nYzt ) Regarding your future success, Ryan believ...

Jenn Lim is a speaker, executive coach, and author of Beyond Happiness: How Authentic Leaders Prioritize Purpose and People for Growth and Impact . She started writing her book during the Covid pandemic. At the end of 2020, the co-founder of her associated business unexpectedly passed away. ( https://amzn.to/41Is7I6 ) This prompted her to shift gears and focus on a project that encapsulates what i...

Elissa Bassist is the editor of the "Funny Women" column on The Rumpus and the author of Hysterical . She teaches humor writing at The New School, Catapult, 92NY, and the Lighthouse Writers Workshop. She has an uncanny ability to find the funny in the most challenging situations. ( https://amzn.to/3jYPCeQ ) Elissa admits it took her 11 years to write and publish her first book. She prides herself...

Dr. Cynthia Hickman was a registered nurse for 27 years. She's also the founder and CEO of Your Proactive Caregiver Advocate , a platform educating people to be proactive and mindful of our elderly population. ( https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/your-proactive-caregiver-advocate-dr-cynthia-speaks/id1544611599?i=1000571603349 ) Most people only think about the physical aspects of being a caregi...

Chef Robert Irvine hosts Food Network’s hit show, Restaurant: Impossible . He’s an entrepreneur with numerous successful businesses and the founder of the Robert Irvine Foundation, which gives back to America’s veterans and first responders.  Robert wrote his new book to cover success stories and failures, and shows the pure grit it takes to succeed. The book includes case studies of his busi...

Robin Arz ó n is a two-time  New York Times Bestselling author of Shut Up And Run and Strong Mama . She’s also VP of fitness programming and head instructor at Peloton. She believes that sweat can transform one's life and her story is living proof of that. ( https://amzn.to/40J1iTz) , ( https://amzn.to/3XmVaxz) Robin was working 80-hour weeks as a corporate litigator in New York City. She tho...

How does one ancient practice help heal racial wounds, reduce chronic stress, and help you get a raise? In this episode of Motivational Mondays, Zee Clarke teaches us the power of mindfulness and breathwork, and how to use these practices to improve overall well-being. A Harvard MBA who used to lead Fortune 500 teams and Silicon Valley startups, Zee left corporate life and traveled to India where...

Dr. Adolph "Doc" Brown is a clinical psychologist, master teacher, mental health keynote speaker, and founder/president/CEO of The Business & Education Leadership Authority. He's also the co-host of the new ABC series, The Parent Test . ( https://abc.com/shows/the-parent-test ) He strives to help people get to the root of their unconscious bias and change how they see the world. He says it all...