The HX Collective

In this episode, Deb sits down with Cat Miller, founder of This Way Up , to talk about what it really takes to make mental health feel accessible, without watering it down or turning it into a buzzword.  Deb’s conversation with Cat sits at the exact intersection where so many “wellness” conversations fall apart: we say we care about mental health, but we still treat it like a private failing rathe...

In this episode, Deb sits down with Nahel Gandhi, founder of Parinamas, to talk about what the AI era is really asking of us, not as technologists, but as humans. Deb comes into the conversation naming what many people quietly feel: that this moment in technology is moving fast, and that the speed alone can make it feel intimidating. Nahel meets that fear without dismissing it, and gently turns th...

In this episode, Deb sits down with Liz Repking, founder of Cyber Safety Consulting, to examine what really happens when our digital lives go unchecked. Rather than framing online safety as a technical issue, Liz brings it back to something more human; how distraction, algorithms, and anonymity quietly shape our relationships, our mental health, and our sense of stability. What unfolds is less abo...

In this episode, Deb sits down with clinical psychologist Dr. Sharon P. Khurana to explore a question that feels almost contradictory at first glance: what if suffering is not the opposite of flourishing, but one of its entry points? Drawing from nearly thirty years in the field of trauma and grief, Sharon invites us to reconsider the experiences we would rather avoid and to see them as signals fr...

In this episode, Deb Knupp sits down with Megan O’Malley, a two-decades-deep friend and one of the most respected plaintiff-side employment attorneys in Chicago, to talk about justice, kindness, and the kind of character that actually holds up under pressure. The conversation lands at an intersection most of us feel but rarely name. We say we value human dignity, yet we live inside systems that ro...

In this episode, Deb sits down with Shay Moinuddin, aesthetic nurse and clinic director at The Few Institute, to explore a subject that often lives in whispers: beauty. Not beauty as spectacle or excess, but beauty as it relates to identity, confidence, and the deeply human desire to feel at home in one’s own skin. The conversation unfolds at the precise intersection where many wellness dialogues...

In this episode, Deb sits down with Jen Marr, CEO of Showing Up and author of Lifting Up: The Transforming Power of Supportive Leadership , to talk about what it really takes to lead people well when life is messy, work is relentless, and uncertainty is no longer the exception. Deb’s conversation with Jen sits at the exact intersection where modern leadership tends to fall apart: we say we value e...

In this episode, Deb sits down with Armond D’Inverno, former co-founder of Balasa Dinverno Foltz, to talk about what it really takes to build a business that can outlast its founder. Not just in terms of valuation or scale, but in terms of culture, people, and the kind of leadership that creates room for others to grow. Their conversation moves beneath the surface of entrepreneurship and into the...

In this episode, Deb sits down with HX Ally Suzanne Massel to explore the third lens of human flourishing: the relationship we have with ourselves. This conversation turns inward to the quieter question that often sits beneath professional success. What happens when we pause long enough to ask whether the life we have built is actually aligned with who we are? Their conversation centers on a tensi...

In this episode of The HX Collective , host Deb Knupp sits down with Suzanne Masel to explore the second lens of human flourishing: relationships. While much of modern conversation about thriving focuses on achievement or productivity, this discussion turns toward something more foundational. What does it actually mean to build relationships that allow people to feel seen, heard, and connected in...

In this conversation, Deb welcomes HX Ally Suzanne Massel to explore what happens when achievement gives way to reflection, and when reflection reshapes how we lead, work, and connect. There are moments in a professional life when success alone stops feeling sufficient. Titles, longevity, credentials. They matter, but they do not always answer the deeper question of meaning.  Suzanne’s journey fro...

In this deeply personal conversation, Deb sits down with longtime collaborator and friend Andrea Mac , founder of Prequal , to unpack a truth that’s both obvious and routinely avoided: you can’t build a flourishing society without women having real economic agency . Andrea brings the room from tailgates to tectonic plates sharing her mother’s story of rebuilding after divorce, what she learned wat...

In today’s episode, Deb sits down with longtime collaborator and design strategist Andrew Benedict Nelson for a conversation that quietly reframes how we think about leadership altogether. This isn’t a discussion about becoming a “better boss” or adopting the latest leadership framework. It’s about something more foundational: realizing that most of what we experience at work was designed —and the...

In this episode, Deb is joined by attorney and HX ally Gretchen Miller Busch for a conversation that may change how you think about your career especially if you’re successful on paper, but quietly exhausted in real life. Together, they explore a reframing that lands hard: a demanding career doesn’t have to be draining. Gretchen names what most high performers feel but rarely say out loud: burnout...

In today’s episode, Deb sits down with her newest friend, Jay Stark, wealth advisor, business owner, husband, and proud dad of two daughters, for a deeply human conversation that isn’t really about money at all. It’s about presence . It’s about the quiet choices that shape a child’s confidence over time. And it’s about the kind of fatherhood that doesn’t just provide—it forms . Jay shares stories...

In today’s episode, Deb is joined by her mentor, coach, and longtime catalyst for change, Joy Ready Johannes , for a conversation that feels less like an interview and more like an invitation. An invitation to look at the stories you’ve been living inside and to decide quietly, powerfully whether you’re ready to choose something different. This isn’t a conversation about self-improvement or chasin...

In this episode, Deb sits down with Kevin Wood, a leading healthcare attorney and longtime friend, for a conversation that’s been a decade in the making. Kevin brings listeners behind the scenes of law firm life, where leadership decisions, personal values, and human flourishing collide. Through a moving story from early in his career, he shares the moment that permanently shaped his belief that c...

Deb sits down with Anne Marie Nest, professional performer turned voice and speech specialist, trainer, coach, and consultant, to explore a surprisingly powerful idea: your voice isn’t just sound. It’s access. It’s leadership. It’s belonging. And in the right culture, it becomes a force that amplifies everyone. Together, they unpack why even the most accomplished leaders can feel tongue-tied when...

In today’s episode, Deb sits down with longtime friend and former Big Law CIO Bob Craig for a conversation that starts with AI but quickly becomes something deeper: identity, approval, and what it really costs to be “the steady one” in every room. Bob has spent four decades guiding people through wave after wave of tech disruption. But in this season, he’s doing a different kind of work turning in...

In today’s episode, Deb sits down with her longtime friend, mentor, and executive coach Lisa Slayton for a grounding conversation about what leadership looks like when life won’t hold still. This one is for anyone who feels like the world is moving too fast, the fog is too thick, and you’re expected to “figure it out” anyway. Lisa shares the story behind co-authoring Life in Flux and why the book...

In this episode, Deb sits down with HX ally Alycia Sutor and spiritual director Lorilyn Wiering for a conversation that starts with a “bathroom-at-a-conference” origin story and quickly opens into something much deeper: joy as connection, joy as resistance, and joy as an embodied spiritual discipline. Together, they reframe joy as more than happiness or pleasure, as something sacred, alive, and ev...

In this episode of The HX Collective Podcast , Deb is joined by Gillian Stovall Rivers (Canada-based wealth coach, business owner, powerlifter, and host of The Flourish Feed ) for a conversation that quietly flips traditional wealth management on its head. Gillian introduces a more human definition of wealth, one that accounts for the millions of moments between the typical money milestones. You’l...

In this episode, Deb and Libby Baney explore perhaps the most essential—and most neglected—relationship we have: the one with ourselves. Through honest reflection and practical wisdom, Libby shares why self-care isn't selfish—it's foundational to human flourishing. From moving her body daily to carving out quiet space for reflection, Libby offers a powerful reminder that taking care of ourselves i...

In this episode, Deb sits down with Andrea Mac to explore why getting “good with the muck” is essential for real human flourishing. Andrea shares the pivotal practices and mindset shifts that helped her redefine success on her own terms—moving away from societal expectations and toward a life built on purpose, clarity, and honest self-alignment. From conducting a “happiness audit” to sitting with...

In this deeply reflective episode, Deb and guest Dean, explore what it means to elevate the human experience through your relationship with yourself. Dean invites us into the inner work of flourishing: cultivating habits that honor your body, feeding your mind with purpose, and embracing practices rooted in contentment and compassion. Drawing from wisdom traditions, personal rituals, and his own 6...