The Make Meaning Podcast

Dean Stark began working at Sacramento Waldorf School when he was 21. That was 37 years ago, and when he began, he had no intention of staying so long because he imagined he would go on to coach at bigger and bigger schools until he possibly landed an opportunity to coach college basketball. But staying was a great decision - perhaps the decision of his lifetime, Dean says. In the latest episode o...

Nancy Sharp experienced an exceptional grief when her husband died from brain cancer at the age of 39, when their twins were toddlers. She eventually left New York City for Denver to start over amid the mountain air. She left a public relations career and became a Guided Autobiography instructor, as well as the author of the bestselling memoir, Both Sides Now: A True Story of Love, Loss, and Bold...

When Ramona Pintea turned 40, she decided to close her interior design business and start a new path following her true passion — art. During the beginning of the pandemic, she created a piece called Mother Earth which looks at the hope amongst all the terrible things happening. She shared it on Facebook and discovered a huge audience of supporters which spurred her to create the art series Urban...

The reason John Wynn has built an entertainment empire and impact school children is because he begins each day with daily devotion and family check-ins. That, and the way he keeps his father's legacy front of mind. The Reno, Nev.-based third-generation pastor and entrepreneur says he watched his father become the first African-American to host a local religious TV show and be the first Black man...

The coronavirus pandemic has changed the world in so many ways. For some people, the past year has led to a major shift in the work they do, either by necessity or by desire – both of which are reasons that propelled Rebecca Jeffreys to end her 35-year career as a professional flutist and launch Sprouting Health Families. In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast , Rebecca speaks with host...

Margaret Trimer has created a varied and fascinating career with a focus on building educational opportunities for children and girding communities with value and voice. She does this, she says, by following her personal core values.  Beginning at the Detroit Free Press as a reporter covering education, Margaret has moved through roles as founder and director of one of the highest performing chart...

For Michael Ziman , life has been relatively easy. He grew up enjoying the nature of the Jersey Shore, and built a career building vacation homes in his favorite place. But when the COVID-19 pandemic shut the world down last year, he started to realize how damaged nature had been by human intrusion – and how clear and beautiful it became when humans stepped away. In the latest episode of the Make...

The past year was a challenge in so many ways, and relationships were impacted in many ways by long lockdowns, economic turbulence, and the need to work at home while guiding children in doing school remotely. But there was a sunny side for some relationships as couples settled in to more time together without the distractions of "normal" life. While some relationships reached a breaking point dur...

After 20 years as a teacher and school principal, Jan Tinetti knows the damage period poverty can do to young girls and women seeking to build a better life. Children as young as six would miss a week of school each month due to a lack of products to support their monthly cycle. When she became Minister for Women in the New Zealand Parliament, Jan partnered with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in la...

When Lynne Golodner pivoted from journalism to public relations and marketing, she had a love-hate relationship with the PR field; it felt like crossing over to the dark side, she recalls. But Nancy Marshall , founder and CEO of Marshall Communications in Maine, never had such misgivings about the field of public relations. She loved it from a young age and has been thrilled with her decades-rich...

"The future doesn't have to be about more stuff," says Gina Nicholas . "It can be about sharing experiences with others." When the World Trade Center twin towers came down in a terrorist attack , Gina saw it as a sign that she should leave her corporate career to return home to the Keweenaw Peninsula in Michigan, surrounded by the cold waters of Lake Superior , and focus on preserving the natural...

Sometimes meaning comes out of the tiny obligations and routines of daily life. We find meaning in the mundane as easily as preparing a meal and sitting down with people we love to enjoy it. As a celebrity chef, author of two books and mom to two young children, Crystal Blanchette is dedicated to making meal prep easy and making food a priority, not a chore. In the latest episode of the Make Meani...

"A mural cannot be a band-aid on a society that puts Black and Brown people at the bottom every single day," says Katie Yamasaki , muralist and children's book artist who uses art as a platform to build dialogue and tell stories of communities. In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast , Katie speaks with host Lynne Golodner about her early influences (including her famous grandfather, arc...

Learning how to write and channel your voice is an act of bravery, says Patrick Hicks , which may lead you to become more adventurous in other parts of your life. The author of more than 10 books , including The Collector of Names , Adoptable and This London , Patrick is the latest guest on the Make Meaning Podcast . In this episode, Patrick speaks with host Lynne Golodner about whose history is r...

Sometimes a meaningful life and a purpose-driven career grows out of a step-by-step approach to accepting opportunities and seeing where they take you. Margaret O'Gorman , President of the Wildlife Habitat Council and author of the book, Strategic Corporate Conservation Planning , could not have charted her life's course from her childhood in Ireland – she simply embraced the opportunities that ca...

Growing up in the Chabad Lubavitch community, Bassie Shemtov always knew she'd devote her life to service. So when she married and moved to Michigan, she and her husband set about dedicating their life and family to building friendships with people in isolation. In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast , Bassie speaks with host Lynne Golodner about the origins of the Friendship Circle , h...

When many people receive life-altering medical news, they don't see it as opportunity. Keisha Greaves does. As founder of Girls Chronically Rock and an inspiring advocate for the disability community, Keisha embraced her situation and let it motivate her to live her best life. In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast , Keisha speaks with host Lynne Golodner about being diagnosed with Musc...

She calls herself an eco-warrior, and her mission started early in life. By the age of 8, Kehkashan Basu was already advocating for sustainability, and now as a university student in Toronto and the founder of the Green Hope Foundation , she shows no signs of slowing down. In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast , Kehkashan speaks with host Lynne Golodner about why children are perfectly...

Eric Hale says he's not trying to be the best teacher; he's trying to be the most impactful educator in the country. As Texas Teacher of the Year, and the first African-American man to be awarded this honor, Eric raised more than $100,000 in the last two years for his economically challenged school district in the "red light district" of Dallas – in addition to teaching some of its youngest studen...

Sabrina Colosimo has been productive during this year's coronavirus pandemic. Her interior design business exploded online, as people stayed home and found renewed energy and inspiration for renovating and redecorating. In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast , Sabrina speaks with host Lynne Golodner about spending a month in Bali to find precious housewares and fabrics, creating rooms t...

Seeing people as solutions to problems, Froswa' Booker Drew says she wants her funeral to be a networking session. Relationships are critical for success, Froswa' says, they teach us how to become leaders, how to interact with the world, and how to transform what we do and who we are. Froswa' holds many roles: Vice President of Community Affairs for the State Fair of Texas Co-Founder of HERitage G...

When asked which role he prefers – teaching high school, coaching soccer, serving as a blended family expert, or being a husband and father – Joel Hawbaker has a hard time choosing. All of these roles combine to form his personal purpose, says the Alabama native. In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast , Joel speaks with host Lynne Golodner on having a growth mindset, the purpose of educ...

It makes total sense to form a consortium connecting the 17 colleges and universities in our nation's capital. The Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area, led by Andrew Flagel, develops financial efficiencies and better delivery of higher education core services as well as making it easier for students, staff and faculty in the region to access the great offerings of its me...

From living with monks to leading a consciousness-raising website, Harry Sherwood has done a deep dive into meaning and purpose in his young life and built a career based on what he believes. In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast , Harry speaks with host Lynne Golodner about feeling suffocated by the life he was living and going on a journey for something more, something meaningful. Ha...

As chair of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee of the Michigan PTA, and past PTA President at Norup International School , Jennifer Johnson is living out her purpose – to advocate for all children, and to take steps toward building true equity in education. Growing up in a family committed to Civil Rights and accompanying her mother to rallies from before she could walk, Jennifer feels...