Lifting Leaders Podcast

Leading with Hope: How Jeni Craswell is Transforming Community Leadership from the Inside Out

In this episode of Lifting Leaders Podcast, we continue our “What Brings Us Hope” series with a powerful conversation with Jeni Craswell, President & CEO of Leadership Eastside.Jeni shares how courageous, values-based leadership can transform not only organizations but entire communities. As co-chair of the visionary team that created the first community-focused adaptive leadership curriculum for LE, she’s helping local leaders build the mindset and capacity to address complex social challenges collaboratively.
Discover how initiatives like Eastside Pathways are creating thriving, equitable communities through trust, connection, and shared purpose. Jeni offers wisdom on aligning who you are and what you value with the work you do, reminding us that real change begins within. Tune in for inspiration on how to lead with hope and courage in times of change, build leadership capacity across communities, and foster collaboration, equity, and belonging. Listen now to be inspired to lead differently, starting with yourself.

The Power of an Intermission: Renew Hope, Creativity & Purpose

This week on Lifting Leaders Podcast, we explore the power of pressing pause. In a world that glorifies busyness, intentional rest can feel risky—but it’s often where hope, resilience, and creativity return. Learn how taking an intermission can restore well-being, spark innovation, and renew your sense of purpose as a leader and human being.

“Hope Is a Verb: Daily Habits for Resilient Leaders & Well-Being”

Continuing our “What Brings Us Hope” series, we explore what our Hope Survey reveals about how people sustain hopein daily life and leadership. Discover simple, research-backed practices that build resilience, strengthen well-being, and help leaders stay grounded when challenges arise.
Hope is a verb — and we all have a role in keeping it alive.

What Brings Us Hope? Darrell Thomas Shares His Journey to Financial Savvy!

Continuing with our theme of “What Brings Us Hope,”  we are so happy to introduce you to Darrell Thomas, Creator and Host of “The Money Levels Show,” host of “Resource Investment Conference Media Channel” and seasoned EDI professional. Spend this time with us, as Darrell candidly shares his fascinating story, from his beginnings in Oklahoma, through his varied endeavors that have led him to this point in his life journey.  Learn what sparked Darrell’s focus toward financial wealth and how that started him on a new journey to help others gain control of their own finances.  He even has a few things to say about our country’s current economic concerns and how we can keep things in perspective. We HOPE you enjoy spending this time with the three of us.

What Brings Us Hope? Meet Dr. Matt Sturchio, PhD, Building Bridges Between Solar and Agriculture for a Better Future

Continuing with our theme of “What Brings Us Hope,”  we are excited to introduce you to a World-class research scientist, Dr. Matt Sturchio, PhD, who is transforming how we think about solar energy. Most people know that solar panels are used to feed the grid, so we can heat and light up our homes or recharge our vehicles. Imagine a world where solar panels coexist with native plants, nourishing the soil and possibly mitigating some of our worst climate challenges. What if we could grow more habitats for foraging animals?  Listen in and learn about Ecovoltaics, and how Matt’s research is transforming our future.  Hear about Matt’s Cornell University project focusing on the co-location of agriculture and solar, in New York State and beyond. If you, like us, are interested in learning about how existing materials are shaping a better world for now and for our future, listen to this episode. We HOPE you will feel as inspired as we do.   

Breaking New Ground: Our First Public Speaking Milestone on Hope

We’re beyond excited to share our first-ever public speaking engagement, on the topic of HOPE—at the International Organization Development Network Conference. It’s only Day One but we are already learning so much! We spent this great day meeting fellow OD Professionals and learning from some of the pioneers in our profession.  What does it feel like to step onto a global stage for the first time? How can somatic practices, like music, create alignment across systems and organizations? Do you know what Agency is and why it matters? And what unexpected insights emerge when you sit in a World Café conversation, where collective wisdom takes shape through dialogue? In this episode, we reflect on what we learned, how it inspired us, and why this milestone matters for our journey. Curious? Come listen in—you might discover ideas that spark your own growth, too. 

What Brings Us Hope? Taking Action! Stop Trying and do more with Carla Ondrasik!

What better way to kick off our new, Season Five series, “What Brings Us Hope,” (that’s one!) than to celebrate with one of our absolute, all-time favorite guests, for the third time, Carla Ondrasik (that’s two!)?  And we are thrilled and honored to be sharing this episode on the very day that Carla’s new book, STOP TRYING – The Life-Transforming Power of Trying Less and Doing More, is launching! (that’s three!).  Yes, listeners…that’s right! You can get it hot off the press today!!  Listen in, as Carla shares a bit of her journey, over the past 20 years, to get to this day…launch day.  Learn about the role planning played in helping Carla Stop Trying and begin Doing.  Ever hear the expression, “Eat the frog”?  Well listen in and you may find yourself embracing the practice yourself. What Brings Us Hope, during this upbeat episode lies in seeing ourselves and anyone who reads this book, begin to feel stronger, more confident, empowered and engaged, when we all Try less and Do more. We hope you check out the episode. We’re inspired to Stop Trying and we hope you will be too!  

We Are Back!!! Welcome To Season FIVE!

We are SO excited to be back from our annual Summer break AND to introduce Season FIVE of Lifting Leaders Podcast!  We did a lot during our six-week sabbatical, and we want to share some of it with you.  Listen in and hear about a key lesson learned, during this time off.  Hint…how many activities can one commit to, in a six-week period of time?  Hear about a related lesson learned that we believe everyone should heed, particularly when winding down from work or school. Check out our latest series, focusing on What Brings Us Hope, that will  officially kick off next week. We will be digging into different ways people find and feel more aligned with hope.  So, if you find hope in art, music, the environment, activism, whatever, you will likely find a great deal of inspiration in this series.  It took approximately 15 minutes to get the show notes written (counting spelling and grammatical corrections!).  This episode is just about 20 minutes longer than that – and you don’t need Spell Check!   Let’s keep that conversation going, shall we?  

It’s a Wrap! Closing Season Four – Starting Our Summer Break!

Well, we did it!  Season Four is coming to a close, just as we begin our annual Summer break (August, anyway!). In this episode, we share some of the highlights from this season’s show, with fantastic guests, insightful Gem episodes, Coaches Corners and more.  We learned and accomplished so much, this season, from offering a series on Coaching from the Heart; visiting our local plant nursery, to learn more about indigenous plants that attract pollinators; and sharing the spotlight during the Hudson Institute Learning Conference.  Everything we offered and everything we did this season gave you, our listeners, opportunities to grow and to explore new and different possibilities.  Hey! We even learned a bit from and about Chat GPT!  We are so grateful that you are part of our listening network, and we look forward to bringing even more in the new season. In fact, we have some ideas for a few new series, in Season Five, and we HOPE you will join us. We are taking the month of August off, as we do, every year.  Keep your ears and eyes open for an Season Five announcement, coming in early September.  Collectively, we are all making the world a better place.  Let’s keep that conversation going, shall we? 

Having Fun While Reducing Our Lifestyle Waste

As we get closer to taking our annual August break, we want to take a look at ways in which we can have fun, while not overtaxing our environment.  Listen in and learn about some simple ways that everyone can make a sustainable difference, while having fun. Interested in learning about how you can save on your energy usage?  Did you know that it takes less water to run a full dishwasher than it does to wash dishes by hand?  We didn’t. For us coffee drinkers – we don’t have to throw away our grounds anymore. They are great for the soil! When was the last time you took a trip through your local thrift store.  You might be surprised to find some true treasures in previously owned and gently used items. We hope you will check it out.  In fact, we would love to hear, from you, ways in which you are saving time, energy, and doing things that are sustainable.  We will gladly share your ideas on our podcast and on our website.  We hope you find some gems in this episode. Listen in!