Exceptionally Good: Leaders for a Better World
We bring you in-depth interviews with exceptional leaders who drive toward a different bottom line — leaders from health care, philanthropy, non-profits, education and rescue services who are doing exceptional work for the good of the world. Exploring their origin stories, their leadership journey and the lessons they learned on their path -- sometimes the hard way -- we bring you close to understand how exceptional leaders tick.
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Episodes
36 episodes
33. Ron Berger, a leader in the Rebel Alliance: Why Not Give People Important Work to Do Now?
This episode, I have the immense pleasure and privilege of talking with a mentor and a friend — Ron Berger.Ron is a powerful voice and leader in education as an author of best-selling books such as A Culture of Quality and Lead...
32. Ryan Maxwell: The Host Becomes the Guest - The Table Is Turned (and So Is the Mic!) - Feat. Felicia Lee
This week, we're turning the tables — or in this case, the microphone.I'm Ryan Maxwell, and today, I'm the guest.Guest hosted by Felicia Lee, founder of
31. Dr. Susan Enfield - Knowing Students by Name, Strength, and Need
This week, we're sitting down with a leader who has spent her career doing something rare — keeping students at the center, even when the systems around her made that hard.Dr. Susan Enfield is the Executive Director of the University of ...
30. Tracking What Matters: Jess & Advice on Partnership, the Wild, and True Collaboration
Today we have the delight to connect with a pair of leaders who are exceptional in their craft AND in how they are good partners for each other. Jess and Advice are not my typical guests. They don't lead non-profits or NGOs, they don't have bac...
29. Dr. Zach Shirley — Brotherhood Built Me: HBCUs, Identity, Evolution, and the Work of Belonging
This episode I'm delighted to talk with Dr. Zach Shirley — a nationally recognized leader in diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.Dr. Zach currently serves as Vice President of DEIB at Cambium Learning, where he shapes strategy, d...
28. Alejandra Naranjo — Earning the Trust to Match Generosity with Impact
Today’s guest is someone who embodies a rare and powerful combination: sharp strategic thinking paired with a deep, human understanding of what it means to give, to trust, and to build something that matters.Alejandra Naranjo is currentl...
Live from Austin! - Leadership Flops - 5¢ for Your Failures
In Austin last week, I set up a little Lucy-style advice booth with two microphones — offering a nickel for leadership stories of those times when it all went sideways.Turns out some folks really like to share these stories. &...
Live from Austin! - AI Has 500 PhDs… So What’s a Real Teacher For?
The question is simple.And a little dangerous.AI is always awake. Always patient. Always available.It never burns out. Never calls in sick. Never asks for healthcare.So…What is a real teacher goo...
27. Becca Katz — Good-Natured Learning: Reconnecting Classrooms with the Living World
Becca Katz — educator, writer, & co-founder of Good Natured Learning.For more than twenty years, Becca has taught in classrooms both walled and wild — from modular units in strip malls to expeditions in the Arctic and the Andes. She’...
26. Dr. Alison Lee — Human Connection, AI and the Work of Keeping Centered Who & What Matters
This episode, I’m delighted to welcome Dr. Alison Lee—a friend, a former colleague, and someone whose influence on my own leadership is deeper than she probably knows.Some of the work I’m most proud of in my career—work focused on...
25. Kirstin Lund of the Order of PEI — Courage, Collaboration & Community Change
This episode, I’m joined by Kirstin Lund — mediator, changemaker, and fierce advocate for safer, stronger communities in Stratford, Prince Edward Island.Kirstin began her career practicing law, but soon discovered that true tr...
24. Luke Di Sessa - Building Men of Character in a Time That Needs Them
At a time when the world needs men of character, it is my delight to host a conversation with a leader who is working to foster spaces for them.Luke Di Sessa — a powerful leader in Australia whose life’s work centers on developing...
23. Lina Jean Fritz — Rising with Resilience & Evolving Leadership from Warrior to Diplomat
This episode's guest is Lina Jean Fritz, a Chicago-based, C-suite nonprofit leader in strategy and innovation whose work sits at the intersection of equity and moral courage in access to the work force and higher education.Lina is...
22. Professor Scott Seider — Educating for Purpose, Justice, and Democracy
In this episode of Exceptionally Good, I’m joined by Scott Seider, a professor, former public school teacher, and one of the most thoughtful voices I know on what it means to educa...
21. Sheeba Jacob & Anay Shah - Growing from Challenge, Transition and Loss — and Partnered for Love
In this episode of Exceptionally Good: Leaders for a Better World, I’m joined by two remarkable humans—Sheeba Jacob and Anay Shah—for a conversation about purpose, partnership, and the clarity that can emerge through chal...
20. Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King — I Have Been to the Mountaintop
“Let us rise up tonight with a greater readiness. Let us stand with a greater determination. And let us move on in these powerful days, these days of challenge to make America what it ought to be. We have an opportunity to make America a better...
19. Brad Barrett - No Margin, No Mission - How the Tenets of Financial Independence Can Enable Your Exceptionally Good in the World
In this episode - Brad Barrett, CPA and co-founder of the ChooseFI Podcast, one of the most influential platforms in the Financial Independence (FI) movement. While Brad’s career began in accounting, it’s his work making FI access...
18. Ron Rapatalo - Building Trust Like the Flash, Getting Fired and then RONward to What’s Next!
Ron Rapatalo is a connector, coach, and culture-shifter. A proud New Yorker and the son of Filipino immigrants, Ron brings over two decades of experience in K-12 education, nonprofit leadership, and executive search. He's dedicated his career t...
17. Isamu Thung - Systems, Self, and the Struggle to Lead (…all before graduating high school)
What does it look like to reflect deeply on education systems—after you’ve learned across the ocean and back again …and before you’ve even graduated high school?In this episode, Ryan sits down with Isamu Thung, a...
16. Dr. César Cruz - Drawing on AI: Ancestral Intelligence
In this episode, we hear stories — an ancient form of wisdom — as I get to talk with the incomparable Dr. César Cruz.A Mexican-born, Compton-raised educator, César has spent over three decades walking alongside young people who th...
15. Dr. Arria Coburn - Your Team is Not a Family — It’s a Partnership for Impact
Dr. Arria Coburn - Your Team is Not a Family — It’s a Partnership for ImpactWhat happens when a new leader inherits a tight-knit “school family”—then faces budget cuts? Or when you’re asked to define your leadership style before y...
14. Chris Widmaier - Cultivating Community Through Nature
Chris Widmaier is the Founder & Executive Director of Rochester Ecology Partners (REP), a nonprofit that “serves people in Greater Rochester through nature-based learning and community-building.” A forme...
12. Tierionna Pinkston - Leading as YOU is What Everyone Wants
Tierionna Pinkston is a dynamic school leader, educator, and community advocate currently serving as the principal of The Noble Academy in Chicago. Tierionna brings both fierce intellect and deep heart to her work. Known for her commitment to a...
11. Courtenaye Jackson - From Prosecutor to Purpose: A Journey to Justice
Courtenaye Jackson: - From Prosecutor to Purpose: A Journey to JusticeWhat does it mean to lead with purpose, principle, and power?This episode features Courtenaye Jackson—currently General Counsel for the
10. Bernie Shakeshaft - “Do whatever it takes for as long as it takes.”
Bernie Shakeshaft is the founder of Backtrack Youth Works, a nonprofit based in Armidale, New South Wales, Australia. For nearly 20 years, Bernie and his pack of working dogs have helped young people w...