Ronderings

Julie Chan was a Yale and MIT-trained urban planner building a career in economic development when a spontaneous spiritual awakening opened intuitive abilities she never asked for and could not explain. Today she helps entrepreneurs and executives find their life purpose, and she is on a mission to bring science and spirituality back into the same room. In this episode of Ronderings, Ron sits down...

A high school sports editor watched a fellow editor dismiss a brilliant Black student's writing. The question that moment raised never left him. In this episode of Ronderings, Ron sits down with Jon Schnur, cofounder of New Leaders and CEO of America Achieves, for a conversation about leadership, education, and economic mobility in the age of AI. Jon grew up just outside Milwaukee, the son of a mo...

George Suttles followed the money. Not for status, for impact, and from inside some of the most powerful funding institutions in the country, he is trying to redesign how philanthropy works. In this episode of Ronderings, Ron sits down with George Suttles, Executive Director of Commonfund Institute, Harlem-born and New York City-rooted, for a conversation about power, repair, and rebuilding the sy...

Chris Thompson, CFA, went from training to be a mechanic at a Brooklyn vocational high school to managing over a billion dollars on Wall Street. The thing that changed his trajectory wasn't talent. It was a math teacher who told him he was good at something he couldn't yet see in himself. In this episode of Ronderings, Ron sits down with Chris Thompson, impact investor, executive coach, and JP Mor...

Career expert Jeremy Schifeling says a referral used to give you a 10x edge in hiring. In today's AI-flooded job market, it's now 20x, because trust is the one thing a machine can't fake. In this episode of Ronderings, Ron sits down with Jeremy Schifeling, founder of The Job Insiders and best-selling author of the top LinkedIn and AI job-search books on Amazon, for a conversation about how to actu...

Some leaders climb out of a system and never look back. Dr. Patrick Fagan climbed out of New York City Public Schools and came back to lead it. In this episode of Ronderings, Ron sits down with Dr. Patrick Fagan, Chief Talent and Human Resources Officer for New York City Public Schools, the largest school system in the nation, for a conversation about what it takes to lead people at a scale most o...

Most people think legacy is about dying. Shawna Wells builds her whole life around the opposite idea: legacy is about living, and you are leaving one with every choice you make right now. In this episode of Ronderings, Ron sits down with Shawna Wells, CEO of 7Gen Legacy Group, executive coach, and self-described generationalist, for a conversation about leadership, generational thinking, and what...

Board-certified psychotherapist Jessica Muñoz calls herself a visible survivor of gender-based violence and an expert in re-traumatizing systems designed to help. She built The Business of Healing™ to train the rooms most likely to encounter a survivor first: hotels, gyms, courts, workplaces. In this episode of Ronderings, Ron sits down with Jessica, founder of The Business of Healing™ and a survi...

In this episode of Ronderings, Ron sits down with Wenimo Okoya, educator, public health scholar, and founder of Healing Schools Project, for a conversation about why community itself is medicine and why the adults carrying the most trauma are the ones being asked to deliver wellness frameworks for kids. Wenimo's path runs from a Newark classroom (where she lost her job in the Christie-era budget c...

Revenue strategist and third-generation entrepreneur Amirah Raveneau-Bey has spent 25 years inside Citibank, Zillow, Trulia, NerdWallet, and Opendoor. The truth she keeps coming back to: you cannot scale a business you are not personally growing into. In this episode of Ronderings, Ron sits down with Amirah, founder of Grow Scale Develop, to talk about why what looks like a revenue problem is almo...

Education leader Jameelah Stuckey has built a career across finance, classroom teaching, school founding, and national education research, and she did it without losing the softness her father told her to protect. In this episode of Ronderings, Ron sits down with Jameelah, senior manager at TNTP and education chair of the Greater Tulsa Area African American Affairs Commission, to talk about identi...

Dr. Abiodun Durojaye arrived in the United States at nine years old from Nigeria, and by fourth grade she had learned two things: she was Black in America, and the name her father gave her would not fit in the spaces she was trying to enter. In this episode of Ronderings, Ron sits down with Dr. Abiodun Durojaye, founder of AsidaLove and former CEO of Urban Alliance, to talk about identity, gratitu...

From a special education classroom in West Philadelphia to corporate philanthropy at Vanguard, Nicholas Pascale has spent two decades building his career the same way he builds everything: through relationships.   In this episode of Ronderings, Ron sits down with Nicholas, a former SPED teacher, principal, district leader, and nonprofit consultant who now works on Vanguard's Community Stewardship...

Leadership coach and former statewide education CEO Dr. Maya M. Faison knows what it looks like when organizations want your brilliance but not your voice, and she is done staying quiet about it.   In this episode of Ronderings, Ron sits down with Maya, founder of Faison Advisory Group and creator of the UNMUTED coaching experience, to talk about what it actually costs black women to lead inside s...

Hector Calderón grew up watching the South Bronx burn, taught himself English through Gilligan's Island tapes, and went on to co-found the first Human Rights High School in the nation.   In this episode of Ronderings, Ron sits down with Hector Calderón, co-founder and former principal of El Puente Academy for Peace and Justice, educator, racial justice facilitator, and leadership coach with over 2...

Mindfulness coach and professional development consultant Amanda Muhammad knows what burnout looks like from the inside, and she built a company to help organizations do something about it.   In this episode of Ronderings, Ron sits down with Amanda, founder of Mako Mindfulness, to explore workplace stress management, psychological safety, and what it genuinely takes to build a culture where people...

From Silicon Valley innovator to neuroscience educator, Ellen Petry Leanse explores what happens when we stop separating creativity from analytical thinking and begin using the full capacity of the human mind. In this episode of the Ronderings podcast, Ron Rapatalo speaks with Ellen about her unusual path from a curious child interested in both science and art to a decade-long career at Apple duri...

What does it take to lead real change inside systems that weren’t built for you? In this episode of Ronderings , Dr. Natalie Neris shares how mentorship, faith, and integrity shaped her journey from Chicago classrooms to systems-level leadership helping organizations turn bold visions into lasting change. Natalie reflects on her upbringing in Chicago and how a life-changing mentor helped her navig...

From strategic communication to leadership intelligence, Danielle Kristine Toussaint shares how saying what you mean can transform how leaders build trust, align teams, and lead through uncertainty. In this conversation, Ron sits down with Danielle Kristine Toussaint, founder and CEO of Purple Haus, to talk about how authentic communication shapes powerful leadership. Danielle reflects on how earl...

From competitive dancer to higher education strategist, Dr. Chantelle George shares how discipline, ambition, and identity shaped her leadership journey.  Raised in Lafayette, Louisiana, Chantelle grew up in a family grounded in education and service. Today, she is the CEO and founder of CG Consulting, a national firm working across K-12, higher education, nonprofits, and workforce systems to expa...

From corporate finance to education equity, Nick Freeman didn’t take the expected path.  At 26, with an MBA and master’s in finance in hand, he walked away from the corporate world and stepped into Chicago Public Schools. What he saw there (school closures, resource disparities, and the weight of systemic inequity) reshaped his career and his calling.  Today, Nick is the Co-founder and Chief Growt...

From a student activist placed on a no-fly list to White House policy leader to an equity-driven consultant in Canada, Chris Harley shares how a lifetime of intersectional leadership shaped her mission to help organizations lead with courage, clarity, and care. Chris is a nonprofit leader, fractional executive, and strategic advisor with more than fifteen years of experience guiding mission-driven...

From broadcaster to ADHD advocate: Dave Delaney shares his journey of turning lifelong curiosity, comedy, and communication expertise into a mission to help others understand and manage ADHD. With over two decades of podcasting experience, Dave has explored everything from parenting with his wife on Two Boobs and a Baby to solo musings on Walking with Dave , and now educates audiences through his...

From classroom teacher to leadership architect, Nautrie Jones shares her journey of transforming educational systems and workplaces by helping people recognize their value, develop their potential, and create meaningful impact. Nautrie Jones, co-founder of Empact Work, has spent over two decades shaping people-centered leadership across education and organizational consulting. Beginning her career...

From a childhood shaped by crisis in the Bronx to leading one of New York’s most influential juvenile justice organizations, Dr. Gisele Castro shares how lived experience became the foundation for systemic change and courageous leadership. In this episode, Ron welcomes Gisele Castro, CEO of Exalt, a nationally recognized nonprofit dedicated to supporting court-involved youth through education, pai...