Rounding The Bases With Joel Goldberg

On this episode, Joel talks with a serial entrepreneur and political prodigy behind the best kept secret in real estate. His first foray into politics was at the age of 22, with a grassroots campaign aimed at returning his hometown to glory. He finished in a close second, but the campaign opened his eyes to the influence that property ownership has on shaping local communities. Five years later, h...

Leadership is a journey, not a destination. In this episode, Joel sits down with the brains and unrelenting passion behind a truly remarkable achievement nearly two decades in the making. Joining him is Dr. Roy Jensen, a brilliant pathologist, widely published scientific authority and the Director of the University of Kansas Cancer Center. His vision put Kansas City on the map, medically speaking,...

Time for our "Best of the Month" episode! Danny Beckley took over as executive director of the Kansas City Symphony in 2019 and found himself navigating the pandemic months later. The entertainment industry took a massive hit during Covid, yet the Kansas City Symphony figured out how to stay sharp and in rhythm by continuing to play in a unique way.

As we approach Memorial Day, this episode provides a truly vulnerable and courageous discussion with two remarkable women, Kelli Campbell and Colleen Katzenberger. Kelli and Colleen are members of a distinguished class of military spouses known as Gold Star Wives. They are survivors of those who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our freedom. Kelli and Colleen were given the insurmountable tas...

For 20 years, John Mikos provided people with creative thinking tools giving them the chance of equal opportunity to reach their full potential. And in doing so, he’s made a mark on preserving a societal legacy. He is the President and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Kansas City. While the goal of the YMCA is to strengthen a community, the pandemic brought paralyzing ambiguity, which gave John the oppo...

While on an assignment in London, Heath Wessling learned about the concept of wellness and discovered a strong passion for finding a healthy way in all aspects of life. After investing nearly two decades building a career in health tech, he left corporate life to pursue his passion. Now he’s the Owner and Founder of the award-winning Kansas City Wellness Club, an all-encompassing respite in the hi...

Maki Moussavi is the fiercest of the anti-hustle variety, and she would like to welcome you to your discomfort zone. It’s the place conventional career advice tells you to avoid, and also where she found her authentic self. In a previous version of her life, this relentless high achiever reached heights on the corporate ladder, but that was before she started living on her own terms. Today, Maki i...

Joel's guest on this episode has an affinity for bringing the right people and organizations together. Membership is his passion, so it's fitting that his firm is dedicated to making the connections that allow them to thrive. Joining Joel on Rounding the Bases is Lucas McCann, the President and CEO of Core Affinity, whose calm is legendary and professionalism exceptional. His leadership has paved...

On this special Mother's Day edition, Joel Goldberg welcomes his mom Nancy Goldberg to the podcast as well as his brother Marc Goldberg. Marc and Joel's full conversation is a past episode, but we repurpose the brotherly chat as they talk about their childhood and the love and respect they have their mother. Nancy has a fantastic story, one that the boys greatly respect and admire. They tribute mu...

Brandon Calloway is one entrepreneur with two businesses, and each is an opportunity for him to design a better kind of world. As a graphic novel artist, he founded Dark Moon Comics where his characters normalize black heroes in their crime-fighting worlds. Perhaps more notably, Brandon is also the CEO and Founder of Kansas City G.I.F.T, where he works vigorously to close the wealth gap in Kansas...

On this episode of Rounding the Bases, the spirit of innovation and the tradition of music unite in perfect harmony. Innovation and music may not be the most obvious pairing, but for Danny Beckley, the two have always been inextricably linked. Danny Beckley is a peerless trombonist, distinguished leader, and most notably the Executive Director of the Kansas City Symphony. His foundation may be cla...

As we wrap up another great month on Rounding The Bases, we celebrate Sam Mellinger as he transitioned into his new role as the Kansas City Royals Vice President of Communications. After spending 21 years as a writer for the Kansas City Star, Sam made a massive pivot last winter, as he moved into his new role working for the team he covered for decades. It's a success story of changing career path...

Joining Joel Goldberg is Chef Ashley Bare, a culinary hustler and local Kansas City food legend. Ashley is a gastro-genius whose signature flavor is defined as east meets midwestern cooking. She finds inspiration wherever she goes, and her latest creation sets her apart in the kitchen. Drawing influence from the Swedish word meaning ‘at home’, she founded Hemma Hemma KC, the premier meal delivery...

On this episode, our audience will hear the incredible story of a former athlete who learned to fail forward. His football career was a charmed one. In college, he was a two-time all conference offensive lineman and also the MVP of his senior year. In 2003 his dreams of playing in the NFL became reality when he was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars, and his athletic success helped pave the way f...

Joining Joel Goldberg is a special personal guest, Marc LeBlanc, the corporate dropout turned legendary speaker, four-time author and masterful business coach. As a rookie he was accused of not having what it took to make it on his own. Determined to prove the naysayers wrong, he went into business for himself at the ripe, young age of 21 and has never looked back. After years of trial, error and...

Barry Litwin is the commercial strength CEO and ace of initiatives for worldwide supply distributor Global Industrial, a $1.1 billion distribution leader of industrial and MRO products. Barry is a veteran e commerce executive with an extensive knowledge of optimizing experiences for his consumers and his associates. With his focus kept firmly on best-in-class execution, Barry’s award-winning leade...

Dr. Kurt Graham, the Director of the Truman Library and Museum hails from academia and has led an esteemed career that includes doctorate studies at Brown University and instructing at Cal State San Bernardino. After his transcontinental pursuits, it’s only appropriate that he would ultimately land in the Midwest, at the helm of America’s original democratic classroom. Under his direction, the Lib...

Sam Mellinger’s career as a journalist has ranged from high school sports to Final Fours. From Super Bowls to World Series. He’s seen it all as a newspaper reporter and columnist. Sam made a massive pivot last winter, trading in his notebook for a job in media relations as a vice president for the team he used to cover, the Kansas City Royals. Joel talked to Sam about the differences in building t...

We’re now two years into the Covid-19 pandemic, and it would be nearly impossible to find someone who hasn’t been impacted by its challenges. We all felt the collateral damage, but the very people who needed protecting the most may have actually suffered the most. Seclusion helped keep vulnerable seniors from the virus, but it also introduced them to its equally destructive companion, loneliness....

As we wrap up another month with fantastic guests, we circle back to Anita Newton's episode in this month's "Best Of" series. Anita Newton is an innovative entrepreneur and marketing junkie, but perhaps best known as the Chief Innovation Officer of Community America Credit Union. With a proclivity for fun and willingness to say ‘yes’, she introduces groundbreaking ideas that challenge boundaries....

Raneem Alasmi is a woman of bravery, of strength, drive, and love. She is a young woman who has overcome more adversity than most of us will in our entire lifetimes. And even though her name probably isn't one you’ve heard before, after hearing her story, it’s one you won’t soon forget. Raneem Alasmi is a Syrian refugee with an insatiable hunger for life. After fleeing her home country, she and he...

Laura Sanko is the type of person who looks a challenge in the eye and gives it a wink. And even though she may not look like the fighting type, she shows up every day ready to break down yet another barrier. Over the course of her career, Laura has gone from amateur MMA fighter to promising correspondent. Now, she’s a marquee on-air talent for the UFC. Capturing the title of first-ever female ana...

For many, April 13, 2014 was just another Sunday. For today’s guest, it marked the day her life trajectory was altered forever. Headlines circulated around the world when the open fire of an antisemitic gunman took the lives of her father and 14-year old son, leaving her as a grieving mother and daughter with a decision to make. And in the face of unimaginable tragedy, Mindy Corporon chose to resp...

Bringing heart, hustle and a heap of confidence into her every day, LaFarris Risby adheres to one simple tenet in life, which is that the decisions you make today will ultimately affect your tomorrow. She is dynamic, she is results driven, she is the founder and CEO of Loving Arms Enterprises. Today LaFarris boasts an impressive list of credentials, but her success story is actually rooted in nece...

Marquita Miller-Joshua is the Founder and President of Five Star Tax and Business Solutions, best-selling author and powerhouse motivational speaker. While she may be a masterful accountant by trade, her real business is advocating for others on a journey to their own success. A staunch proponent for acting with intention, Marquita has earned herself a reputation for inspiring entrepreneurs and au...