The Hope Matrix

If you haven’t heard, we recently hired Miss Avery Peel to start working on campuses to activate hope. Avery joins me in this episode of The Hope Matrix to share her powerful, transformative Shine Hope Story and how she is taking that story to inspire all the University of Arkansas students on campus.  Tune in to hear insights on managing hopelessness, navigating grief, balancing college life, sel...

In this episode, podcast host Kathryn Goetzke engages in a profound conversation with Kristi Kandel, the CEO and Founder of I&D Consulting. They discuss the impacts of natural disasters on individuals and communities, focusing on resilience, hope, and the importance of community support. Kristi shares personal experiences of navigating through hurricanes and wildfires, highlighting the emotion...

In this episode of The Hope Matrix Podcast, host Kathryn Goetzke talks with Robin Cogan, a Nationally Certified School Nurse entering her 24th year in the Camden City School District of New Jersey. Robin also serves as the New Jersey Director of the National Association of School Nurses. Robin shares her experiences working during the Covid-19 pandemic and discusses the crucial role of school nurs...

Join us for a powerful episode with Kamala Poudel, a program officer at Koshish Center, as she shares her inspiring journey from childhood trafficking to becoming an advocate for mental health and hope. Kamala discovered the Hope Story template through the Hopebeat Weekly newsletter and it inspired her to share her own story. Writing a Hope Story gives everyone an avenue to normalize hopelessness...

In this episode of The Hope Matrix Podcast, we sit down with Leslie Weirich, a suicide prevention advocate and the author of "The Gifts of Grief," to explore the journey of grief and hope. Leslie shares her deeply personal experiences with loss, including the tragic loss of her son, and how these experiences have shaped her perspective on life and hope. We delve into the importance of bu...

Join us for an inspiring conversation with film producer, entrepreneur, and managing partner of Level 2 Partners LLC, Jonathan Bogner. In this episode, we explore the profound impact of hope on mental well-being and practical ways to foster positivity through Jonathan's incredible story. He has applied the Shine Hope framework to recover from his journey, demonstrating Shine Hope in action. K...

Damian Wąsowicz

In this episode of The Hope Matrix Podcast, host Kathryn Goetzke sits down with Elad Talmor, a cognitive behavioral psychologist based in Israel, to discuss his work in empowering and teaching teens about Hope amidst challenging circumstances, like war. Elad shares insights from his experience working with teenagers in Israel, who are grappling with the aftermath of the October service massacre an...

This is a special episode of The Hope Matrix Podcast featuring Zoya Awan, Director of Public Affairs at Walmart. Zoya Awan directs the strategic outreach and engagement strategy for Walmart’s strategic partnerships within multicultural and minority communities including People with Disabilities, Native Americans, and Emerging Generations across communities. In this episode, Zoya and Kathryn Goetkz...

In this episode of The Hope Matrix Podcast, we explore the inspiring journey of Grace Ramirez, a chef, dedicated humanitarian, educator, author, and TV personality. Chef Grace Ramirez takes us on a captivating journey from her humble beginnings to becoming a trailblazer in higher education representation with Latina Cuisine. She shares her experiences, highlighting the importance of trust, perseve...

Crystal Bryce

Dan Tomasulo

Featuring Scarlett Lewis

With an undeniable, unique perspective on Hope, this week’s episode of the Hope Matrix features Luis Gallardo. As a true wealth of knowledge and wisdom, Luis provides an enthralling viewpoint on Happiness and Hope. Luis is a social innovator and entrepreneur with the higher purpose of elevating the vibration of the planet by developing ideas, connecting thought leaders, activists, and communities,...

Given his history, he should be dead. Or incarcerated. He grew up in Las Vegas in a broken family of eight. In a true story of Hopelessness to Hope, Grant Denton is this week’s guest on The Hope Matrix. Grant Denton burned through jobs. He became addicted to heroin and crystal meth. He married and divorced twice, having two sons. Because of his addiction, he lost his job and his family, intermitte...

On this week’s episode of the Hope Matrix, our host Kathryn Goetzke meets with Craig Kramer and Katharine and Peter Lee-Kramer to explore the importance of hope and hope skills within a family dynamic. Craig Kramer currently serves as the Mental Health Ambassador, and Chair of the Global Campaign on Mental Health, for Johnson and Johnson. He has traveled the world in pursuit of mental health advoc...

Now, more than ever, one is able to see how important it is to manage hopelessness on the college campus. This week’s special guest on the Hope Matrix is Max Hennessy. Max grew up in Norfolk, Virginia and graduated from UVA’s College of Arts and Science this past August with a degree in Religious Studies. He started his first side hustle at 14 years old, reselling vintage video games throughout hi...

This week’s special guest on the Hope Matrix is Malia Pruyn. Malia has had her own struggles with mental health throughout high school and leading into college. She is the Panhellenic President at the University of Nevada, Reno, and is greatly involved in her sorority, Pi Beta Phi. She worked for Crisis Support Services of Nevada to help populations in crisis. However, she left to find a role that...

This week’s special guest on the Hope Matrix is Matthew Jackman. Matthew lives with Bipolar Affective Disorder and Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (defined by DSM/Psychiatry), is a sibling caregiver to his younger brother and sister who live with enduring psychosocial diverse abilities, and has lost his mother to suicide, and consequently his grandparents due to stigma. His experiences of d...

This week’s special guest on the Hope Matrix is Abbey Johnson. Abbey is the Founder of Live Without Apologies, LLC.  She is a child of God, a daughter, sister, friend, Naija, a Mental Health Advocate, passionate public servant and so much more. She created Live Without Apologies to inspire everyone to—“Live life unapologetically on YOUR terms, without judgment or validation from others.  She had t...

This week’s special guest on the Hope Matrix is Charlene Sunkel. Charlene was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1991 and her journey since then has exposed her to the challenges experienced by persons with mental disorders within and outside of the mental health sector. This encouraged her to commit herself to fighting the cause for mental health and human rights. She has worked in the field since 2...

This week’s special guest on the Hope Matrix is Dr. Zachary Burton. Zack co-founded and leads The Manic Monologues , a play and film honoring true stories of mental health and illness to disrupt stigma. The Manic Monologues has drawn accolades from NPR, The Washington Post, Broadway World, Modern Healthcare, and others, and in just a few days, will see a unique pandemic-era virtual premiere with f...

This week’s special guest on the Hope Matrix is Luis Gallardo. Luis is a social innovator and entrepreneur who is dedicated to increasing awareness on the science of happiness, holistic education, and smart innovation. Luis is the Founder of World Happiness Fest , author of The Exponentials of Happiness , and the President of the World Happiness Foundation .  In Episode 12 of the Hope Matrix, Kath...

This week’s special guest on the Hope Matrix is Shamash Alidina. Shamash has been practicing mindfulness since 1998 and runs an international mindfulness teacher training organization. He is the international bestselling author of Mindfulness for Dummies , The Mindful Way through Stress and 7 other books. He’s currently also passionate about offering daily live meditation classes and creating a fr...

This week’s special guest on the Hope Matrix is Lian Zeitz, Co-Founder and Global Director of Love and Compassion for Youth RISE, a company mobilizing youth to be engaged in full spectrum harm reduction and drug policy reform to promote health and human rights. Lian has also worked as the Director of Youth Engagement and Advocacy for Cities RISE.  In this week’s episode, Kathryn and Lian explore t...