Moments To Momentum

Clint Mitchell is CEO and co-owner of Estridge Homes, one of the largest home builders and residential real estate developers in the Indianapolis market. Since 1967, Estridge Homes has developed many of the top-selling neighborhoods in the state, totaling nearly 9,000 homes and over 50 neighborhoods. Prior to being named CEO in 2021, Mitchell led the company in areas of sales, marketing, land acquisition and development, product development, and investor relations. Clint was previously SVP of Business Development for Mainstreet Capital, responsible for the market selection and healthcare operator relationships for the company's real estate development business. Previously at Mainstreet, Clint led Acquisitions and Corporate Development for the company's affiliated publicly traded REIT, Healthlease Properties, until its sale to Welltower in 2014. He was involved with Mainstreet since 2010 in the areas of business development, acquisitions, and debt capital raising. Outside of work, Clint enjoys traveling and spending time with his wife and two daughters, who are both off at college. He has competed in multiple Ironman, marathon, and endurance trail races. He enjoys all types of outdoor activities including hiking, snow skiing, and mountain biking. In this fun and insightful episode, Clint talks about growing up in a farming family, how getting his start at Angie's List led him to meet Bill Oesterle, surviving the financial crash of the 2000s, how he got his start in real estate, his commitment to endurance sports, his long journey to becoming CEO of Estridge Homes, networking and creating deep relationships, having intellectual curiosity, the story of how his company responded to Covid in early 2020.  Learn more about Estridge Homes Connect with Clint on LinkedIn

Mark McFatridge is the Founder & CEO of Quade Executive Peer Group. He has over 25 years of professional experience and has played a prominent leadership role everywhere he's served.  His background includes serving as the Chief Executive Officer and board member for both public and privately held companies. Mark has led divisions of large companies and accumulated a portfolio of his own privately held companies. As an organizational specialist, Mark has excelled at turning around companies performing below their potential.  His most recent example was leading the exit of a privately held company for an 800% increase in value only three years after taking over as Chief Executive Officer.   McFatridge is the proud father of two University of Mississippi graduates who are on their own personal and professional journeys.  His partner for life, Deb, a Butler grad and former member of an executive peer group herself, has played a variety of roles throughout Mark's life including best friend, cheerleader, ass kicker, sidekick, partner and guiding light.  The McFatridge family journey has been filled with successes and failures like most families.  Throughout it all that journey has been done together. In this fun and insightful episode, Mark talks about community banking, culture, the importance of listening to understand not to respond, the story behind his nickname, self-awareness, surrounding yourself with good people, and a moment when overcame imposter syndrome and realized that we had the ability to be the leader he thought he could be.    Connect with Mark on LinkedIn Learn more about Quade Executive Peer Group Sponsors: Ninety.io Straticos Buy your copy of Level-UP To Professional: Second Edition

Scott Eckart is the Owner and Lead Advisor at West Point Financial Group. His passion for connecting with people is what makes him such a natural at helping people design the life they aspire to live. His thorough process helps to provide a path for his clients to take their vision of the future and translate it into a blueprint that can be implemented in an organized and systematic fashion. “I love seeing people make progress toward their goals,” says Scott. Scott draws on years of experience as a business consultant to help people better articulate their goals and take the necessary steps to accomplish them. His practice focuses on the needs of closely held business owners and pre-retirees, helping those clients to proactively take control of their personal, legacy, tax and gift resources. In addition, Scott volunteers his knowledge of personal finance to provide financial literacy education to children and young adults. Having benefited from strong mentors and role models in his formative years, Scott works to pay their gift forward by acting as an advisor and instructor to others. Outside of work he is an avid reader and outdoor enthusiast. On many weekends Scott can be found tending to his garden. He and his wife, Elsa, reside in Zionsville, Indiana, and enjoy spending time with their children, granddaughter and grandson. In this fun and insightful episode, Scott talks about becoming an accidental entrepreneur, financial planning, leading by influence, getting your hands dirty, the reason behind the answer to what his super power would be, embracing change, accountability, the power of friendship, and a moment while going through a business divorce that he realized that life is a classroom.  Learn more about West Point Financial Group Connect with Scott on LinkedIn  Sponsors: Ninety.io Straticos Buy your copy of Level-UP To Professional: Second Edition  

Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Emil Ekiyor left his family (7 sisters and two brothers) in Lagos, to pursue an education in Daytona Beach, Florida. Emil participated in Basketball, soccer, and football in high school and received a full athletic scholarship to attend the University of Central Florida, where he was named captain of the football team. After an outstanding college career, Emil went on to play six years in the National Football League with the Tampa Bay Bucs, Atlanta Falcons, and Oakland Raiders. Upon retiring from the NFL, Emil started several businesses in the USA. In addition, he worked with U.S. and Sub-Saharan Africa companies, to expand and take advantage of the rapid growth in Sub-Saharan imports and exports. Emil also served as the National Executive Director for the GEO Foundation, a nonprofit organization that partners with local community leaders to start, support, and manage high-quality K-12 charter schools. Currently, Emil is the founder and CEO of InnoPower, an organization that leverages seed-stage impact investing to drive innovation and accelerate economic productivity in Black communities in Indiana, and Sub-Saharan Africa. InnoPower also invests in businesses and real estate that helps generate wealth in and for Black Communities. In this fun, enlightening and impactful episode, Emil talks about leaving Nigeria to come to America by himself at a young age, getting a scholarship to play football at the University of Central Florida, playing in the NFL, becoming a high school football coach at Warren Central, starting his company InnoPower to figure out how to develop talent in a different way, eliminating the funk of failure, the importance of having people around you to call you out when you need it, and a haunting moment he experienced during his football coaching tenure, that still impacts him today.  Connect with Emil on LinkedIn  Learn more about Innopower 

Max Yoder is a renowned, successful and highly respected entrepreneur, visionary and thought leader. He is husband to Jess, dad to Marni, CEO and co-founder of Lessonly, and author of Do Better Work and To See It, Be It. He lives in Indianapolis, where he enjoys walking, talking, napping, reading, and writing. In this fun, deep and insightful episode, Max talks about the impact of growing up next to a funeral home, the importance of having great mentors, the story behind the Lessonly llama mascot, spirituality and the meaning/purpose of life, the downsides of social media, impactful books and thought leaders, and a moment of clarity he experienced dealing with the death of a close friend.  Connect with Max Yoder on LinkedIn Learn more about Lessonly by Seismic  Sponsors: Ninety.io Straticos Buy your copy of Level-UP To Professional: Second Edition  

Randie Dial has more than 20 years of experience in providing valuation, forensic accounting and financial modeling services to a variety of publicly-traded and privately-held companies. He performs valuations of businesses and intangible assets for a variety of purposes including financial reporting, tax, merger and acquisitions, private equity investment, and capital budgeting.  Randie also works in transactional services such as due diligence. Randie is also the Managing Principal of the Indiana Practice for CLA.  He is committed to the firm's position as a professional services firm that delivers integrated wealth advisory, outsourcing and public accounting capabilities. Randie is also passionate about the CLA Promise, which is about knowing and helping our clients succeed personally and professionally. In this fun and insightful episode, Randie talks about growing up in Frankfort, IN, bonding with his father over sports, his love of math, figuring himself out after freshman year of college, a story about when he almost resigned from his role at CLA, why he loves Adam Grant's book, Give and Take, and the aha moment when he figured out there was a more human way to approach networking and making new connections.  Connect with Randie on LinkedIn Find out more about CLA  Sponsors: Ninety.io Straticos Buy your copy of Level-UP To Professional: Second Edition

Ben Lytle is a self-made serial entrepreneur-CEO known for being ahead of the curve. He led the creation of five successful companies, including two listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The best known is Anthem, one of the nation's largest health plans. He is a healthcare policy expert who served on state and presidential healthcare commissions, governance leader with extensive public and private company experience, senior athlete, world traveler, father of three, and grandfather of eight. Ben's devotion to individual and collective human potential through accelerated wisdom fuels his writing, speaking, and entrepreneurial investments. In this fun and insightful episode, Ben talks about his new book, The Potentialist, his love of biking, principles for new world realities that will redefine life and careers in the next thirty years, his definition of democratization, a moment with a college professor that taught him about being your true authentic self, which led to his avocation for potentialism, and much more! Connect with Ben on LinkedIn Learn more about Ben Lytle  Sponsors: Ninety.io Straticos Buy your copy of Level-UP To Professional: Second Edition

Joel Kirk is a New York City theatre director and producer who specializes in the development of new plays and musicals. He has worked with New World Stages, Playwrights Horizons, NYMF, The Lark, New Dramatists, Sheen Center, Hudson Guild Theatre, Wide Eyed Productions, WorkShop Theatre, to name a few. Recently he worked with Tony Award Winner Reed Birney and Tony Award Nominee Sydney Lucas on the play CHANGEOVER. He has guest directed for NYU'S Grad Playwriting Program, Ball State University, and Fordham University's Playwriting Program. He is the Chairman/CEO of Joel Kirk Productions. Joel recently launched a non-profit called Discovering Broadway Inc. The New York Times wrote that "Discovering Broadway brings actors and writers to Central Indiana for weeklong retreats to workshop their new musicals." The vision of the organization is to make Indiana the first stop on Broadway's journey. Discovering Broadway Inc. has currently programmed new musicals based on the major motion pictures of THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA and EVER AFTER.  In this fun and exciting episode, Joel talks about the Indianapolis 500, growing up in Carmel, bringing Broadway to central Indiana, silver linings of the pandemic, Enneagram types, a hilarious story about how he met his girlfriend, having a "just ask" mentality, and a moment in 2018 when a song on a playlist changed his life. Learn more about Joel  Connect with Joel on LinkedIn Sponsors: Ninety.io Straticos Buy your copy of Level-UP To Professional: Second Edition

Crystal Givens is the president and chief executive officer of Starfish Initiative, a leading youth organization in Indianapolis that inspires, encourages, and prepares motivated high school students for success through one-on-one mentoring. Under her direction, Starfish Initiative is becoming a best-in-class mentoring organization that is effective in fulfilling its mission and better prepared to face current and future challenges. Crystal's transformational initiatives include financial stabilization efforts, modernization of programs, and expanding the reach of Starfish Initiative services.  Crystal is a longtime champion of children and families. She began her career as an early childhood teacher. She then went on to serve in multiple roles at Early Learning Indiana, the state's oldest and largest early education non-profit, ending as Vice President of Statewide Support after nearly two decades. Crystal's leadership then expanded to a national level when she took on a role at Child Care Aware® of America. There she led efforts to deliver rapid response to educators, families, and others during the height of the pandemic.  A native of Indianapolis, Crystal is a proud graduate of Indianapolis Public Schools. She earned her bachelor's degree in child development from Indiana State University and a master's degree in business administration from Indiana Wesleyan University. Crystal believes in the power of education and is an advocate for lifting others as we climb.  In this fun and insightful episode, Crystal talks about growing up as an Indiana girl, the purpose behind Starfish Initiative, the importance of mentors, how to make a proper PB&J, commitment devices, the power of journaling, having a heart of service, and a moment after receiving her undergraduate degree where she felt an immense amount of responsibility and duty to be a role model for young women of color.    Learn more about Starfish Initiative Connect with Crystal on LinkedIn Sponsors: Ninety.io Straticos Buy your copy of Level-UP To Professional: Second Edition  

Nate Feltman is co-owner of the IBJ Corporation, publisher of the Indianapolis Business Journal, the Indiana Lawyer and the Court & Commercial Record. Nate also is the CEO of NJF Consulting, LLC, which provides acquisition and business consulting services. From 2010 - 2017, Nate was President, CEO and co-owner of Home Health Depot, Inc. (HHD) and its subsidiary, Genesis Healthcare Services, LLC, providers of complex rehabilitation mobility equipment, hospice, respiratory and home medical equipment. During his tenure, HHD grew from one location in Indianapolis, to 20 locations in 6 states, and from 30 employees to 240 employees, while quadrupling revenue.  Nate was also a partner with the law firms Faegre Baker & Daniels and Ice Miller, in Indianapolis, and Altheimer & Gray in Chicago, where his practice focused on representing public and private companies with their merger and acquisition activities, as well as advising local governments on public-private partnerships and economic development strategies. Before his U.S. legal experience, Nate spent nearly four years in Moscow, Russia (1994-1998) with the international law firms Baker & McKenzie and Steptoe & Johnson, where he represented companies seeking to do business in Russia. Appointed by Governor Mitch Daniels, Nate served as Secretary of Commerce for the State of Indiana and CEO of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation from 2006-2008.  In this fun and insightful episode, Nate talks about his childhood fascination with the Cold War, a life-changing study abroad trip to the Soviet Union, the impact of losing his best friend, his affection for Mitch Daniels, his love for the band Crash Test Dummies, the importance of using the “Ben Franklin” method for weighing pros and cons, urging young people to find their passions, engaging with your community and colleagues, and two risky moments that led to huge opportunities in his life.  Connect with Nate on LinkedIn Learn about the IBJ

Scott Long is a top-rated corporate comedian. He has been seen on NBC, FOX-TV, and The Bob and Tom Show. After 2 decades of headlining comedy clubs across the USA, Scott now focuses his talents to perform at corporate events. Since doing so, he has built up over 100 five-star company reviews, from Seattle to Orlando. Scott's greatest passion, is helping to raise money and awareness, for groups that work with people with developmental disabilities, by bringing his inspirational comedy show - which includes the story of learning so much from his daughter, who is on the Autism spectrum. Having performed in 46 states and 5 countries, Scott Long proves you can be a National Act, while not living on the extreme coasts! In this fun, hilarious, and insightful episode, Scott talks about growing up in Iowa, how he got his start as a comedian, cancel culture, singing karaoke, pivoting from an edgy to clean comic, and the moment when he found out that his daughter would be born with Autism, and how she continues to make such a positive impact on his life.  Learn more about Scott Long  Connect with Scott on LinkedIn Happy Mondays with Maddie 

Arvetta Jideonwo has a distinguished history of leading and organizing high-performing teams in the non-profit sector. She has worked with nationally recognized organizations and has extensive executive-level experience in non-profit management, fundraising, and grant development. She is currently a Faculty Member at the IUPUI Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, and the Executive Director and Head of Social Impact at The CREA Foundation.  Arvetta has an extensive level of expertise in the philanthropic sector, with 20+ years of executive experience, within a variety of leadership roles across the fields of healthcare, human services, as well as K-12 education and higher ed. As the chief philanthropic leader at CREA, she oversees administration and strategic investments through grant and scholarship initiatives, in CREA communities throughout the nation.  Arvetta is a Certified Fund Raising Executive and earned a Bachelor's in Community Health from Indiana State University – School of Health Sciences, and a Master's in Health Administration from Indiana University - School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Arvetta is also currently a Non-Profit Leadership Candidate in Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Executive Education. In this fun and insightful episode, Arvetta sings the National Anthem, talks about the CREA Foundation, going on a yacht for the first time, quilting, finding your “VIP” (values, interests, passions), why everyone deserves an opportunity, and a moment at 17 years old with a school counselor during her senior year, that taught her the lesson of overcoming someone else's opinion about what she could or could not do. Connect with Arvetta Learn more about CREA 

Devin Johnson is the co-founder and CEO of Kennected - an Indianapolis-based SaaS company, with over 15,000 users. He is a serial entrepreneur, inspiring leader, and an adept marketer. As the CEO of Kennected, Devin directs the daily workflow, and is responsible for the overall success of over 125+ employees, and reaching over $15m in sales. His leadership led to Kennected being a recipient of the coveted INC 5000 ranking at #583 - for 832% growth in 2021. Devin's vision is to build a world where people value relationships even more than money; and where people feel inspired to help their fellow business professionals each and every day. This vision has directly led to Kennected being voted a “Top Place to Work” in Indianapolis. Devin's diverse employees, partners and clients see him as an inspirational and empathetic thought leader, who always maintains both a positive work environment and a culture of hard work, thoughtfulness, and understanding. He always leads by example - bringing out the absolute best in others. In this fun and insightful episode, Devin talks about tattoos, cold plunging, getting his entrepreneurial start by selling sneakers, finding his faith, controlling your environment, leaving your ego behind, knowing who you are, and shares sage business advice about the importance of starting out with the right mindset. Connect with Devin on LinkedIn  Learn more about Kennected   

Kylie Conway is a renowned, award-winning and very popular Broadcast Journalist, with 10+ years of experience. Kylie has done everything from morning reporter to evening anchor. Hired as the Weekend Anchor/Weekday Reporter at WISH-TV, she was promoted to Daybreak Anchor and Breaking News Studio-Reporter, in January, 2015. Before heading back to her Indiana roots, Kylie was the evening anchor at KTVX-TV In Salt Lake City, UT. While there she reported, field anchored (without Teleprompter), anchored in studio and conducted pre-taped and live interviews. In this fun, expansive and insightful episode, Kylie talks about her family connection to Squire Boon, her journalism heroes and roots, reflections on marriage and parenthood, completing her 100th yoga class, PB&J recipes, grit, and a pivotal moment that reinforced her need to be compassionately independent. Connect with Kylie on LinkedInLearn more about Kylie on WISH-TV Sponsors: Talevation Ninety.io Straticos Buy your copy of Level-UP To Professional: Second Edition

Brian Wolff is a sales-oriented leader who has worked with small and large teams for companies ranging in size from raw start-ups to billion-dollar publicly traded companies and currently serves as the President & CEO of Parker Technology. As an angel investor with several funds, Brian has learned to appreciate the value of running a lean, flexible, and customer-focused organization. Today his focus is on growing a great company and continuing to work with funded companies to identify their value propositions and execute their growth strategies. In this fun and insightful episode, Brian talks about growing up in Michigan, his crusade to make people see the value in parking, the importance of relationships, leaving Corporate America, the Orr Fellowship, the value of core values, the “Wolff rule”, and what he learned from a moment when he was fired from a company that he started.  Connect with Brian on LinkedIn Learn more about Parker Technology Sponsors: Talevation Ninety.io Straticos Buy your copy of Level-UP To Professional: Second Edition

Since joining United Way of Central Indiana (UWCI) as its President & CEO in 2013, Ann D. Murtlow has built on United Way's long-time commitment to education, financial stability, health and basic needs. UWCI has made significant progress in aligning programs, community partnerships, direct service agencies and public policy advocacy to create outcomes for people in need.  Prior to United Way of Central Indiana, Ann had a 30-year career in the global energy industry. Ann began her career at Bechtel Power Corporation, one of the world's leading engineering and construction firms. She joined AES Corporation headquarters in Arlington, Virginia in 1987 to lead the environmental permitting activities for new power stations in the U.S. and abroad. In 1997, Ann moved to AES Corporation's regional office in London, England where she led business development and operations in 22 northern and central European countries. In 2002, she became the President & CEO of IPALCO Enterprises, Inc. and its subsidiary, Indianapolis Power & Light Company. She currently serves on the boards of Evergy, Inc. (NYSE: EVRG) and Wabash National Corporation (NYSE: WNC). She was honored to serve on the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago from 2007 to 2012. She was also recognized as one of Women Inc. Magazine's 2019 Most Influential Corporate Board Directors and as one of Indiana Commission for Women's 2020 Torchbearer Award Winners. Ann received her Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from Lehigh University in 1982. She is a National Association of Corporate Directors Board Leadership Fellow. In this fun and insightful episode, Ann discusses her official retirement from the United Way of Central Indiana, a recent transformational $25 Million gift from MacKenzie Scott to the organization, the importance of diversifying your assets, prioritizing your health, having a support group, the fallacy of work-life balance …especially for professional women, the difference between mentors and coaches, and a few big moments that have impacted her personal and professional life.  Connect with Ann on LinkedIn Learn more about United Way of Central Indiana  Sponsors: Talevation Ninety.io Straticos Buy your copy of Level-UP To Professional: Second Edition

Jeb is the CEO and a Founder of Boardable. He spent most of his 20s playing music and avoiding adulthood. Everything began to click when he discovered eBay in 1999. After building a couple of successful businesses in the auction space, he took what he learned from growing those businesses with online marketing to start SmallBox in 2006. SmallBox evolved over the years from a marketing agency into a strategic consultancy that helps mission-driven organizations with branding and design. In 2018, he left SmallBox to join the board management software company Boardable as its full-time CEO. In 2020 Boardable closed its Series A raising $8m to invest in team and product. Boardable currently serves over 1,000 nonprofits around the world and continues to grow quickly. Along the way, he has been involved as a founder or investor with a number of other businesses and nonprofits including Springboard Marketing, The Speak Easy, Musical Family Tree, Joyful Noise Recordings, Gravy Lab, Boardable, Adproval, Ripley's Auctions, and Brain Twins. He also serves or has served, on the boards of several Indy-area nonprofits including The Speak Easy, Musical Family Tree, Big Car, United Way of Central Indiana, ProAct, and the Indiana Independent Venue Alliance. Jeb's personal mission is to create meaningful work for talented people who share his desire to use business as a force for good. He lives on the north side of Indianapolis with his wife Jenny and 3 beautiful daughters. In his spare time, he plays and records music, collects vinyl records, forages mushrooms, and cooks as much as possible. In this fun and insightful episode, Jeb talks about being a creative at heart, the impact of listening to Alan Watts alone in the woods, the impetus behind starting Boardable, having a beginner's mindset, leadership, and an “aha moment” in his late 20s, when he realized that it's ok to say “I don't know.” Connect with Jeb on LinkedIn Learn more about Boardable Sponsors: Talevation Ninety.io Straticos Buy your copy of Level-UP To Professional: Second Edition  

Megan Nail is a Total Rewards Consultant who creates engaging workplaces that value talent by aligning an organization and its goals. As the past State Director for HR Indiana SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management), Megan has invested in building and strengthening the HR community. She is currently a national Membership Advisory Council representative, which is the highest level of volunteer leadership within SHRM.  Prior to becoming a consultant, Megan was a senior HR leader in professional services organizations, most recently, Faegre Baker Daniels law firm. In this fun and insightful episode, Megan talks about The Great Resignation, how she got her start in HR at Target, the meaning behind all the acronyms in her title, explains what SHRM is all about, breaks down Total Rewards, and reflects on a moment while on a walk with her husband that she realized what she did and didn't want to do with her life.  Connect with Megan on LinkedIn Learn more about Indiana SHRM Sponsors: Talevation Ninety.io Straticos Buy your copy of Level-UP To Professional: Second Edition  

Alicia McKoy is a business owner & serial entrepreneur dedicated to making the work environment better for all. As the Founder and CEO of Peak Mind, her mission is to provide a variety of easy and effective solutions for elevating well-being in the workplace by helping organizations reduce healthcare costs while improving employee satisfaction, well-being, and engagement. In addition to her work with Peak Mind, Alicia has also been an actress and model for more than 16 years.  In this fun and insightful episode, Alicia talks about being a social scientist, being curious, spending millions of dollars as a corporate interior designer, her passion for workplace well-being, recently winning $80k in a pitch competition, watching tv to relax, the importance of micro nudges, why you should fill your social media feed with positivity, and a pivotal moment in college when she was fired over a $10 bonus.  Find out more about Peak Mind Connect with Alicia on LinkedIn Sponsors: Talevation Ninety.io Straticos Buy your copy of Level-UP To Professional: Second Edition  

Michael Leppert is a lecturer at the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University, as well as an Adjunct Professor at the O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Additionally, Michael is a published writer and featured columnist with regular pieces in the Indianapolis Business Journal.  Prior to his move to higher education, Michael was a seasoned Public Relations and Legislative Specialist, with 20-years as a private sector lobbyist, working with top government, community, and business leaders to achieve strategic priorities. He was also the former Director of Public Affairs, for Krieg Devault.  In this fun and insightful episode, Michael talks about his second book, and first novel, “Flipping the Circle”. He also explains what a lobbyist does, his love of show tunes, the value of understanding people from all walks of life, usefulness vs uselessness, and a “jolting” moment he experienced with his father when he was 18 that helped him understand empathy.  Check out Michael's website Connect with Michael on LinkedIn  Sponsors: Talevation Ninety.io Straticos Buy your copy of Level-UP To Professional: Second Edition  

CJ McClanahan is a sought-after coach, speaker, author, and advisor. Since 2003, he's spent more than 10,000 hours in front of entrepreneurs, executives, and their teams helping them to achieve record sales. A few years after starting his firm, CJ noticed that no matter how much success his clients achieved, few ever seemed to truly enjoy the journey. It didn't matter if they doubled their income or become CEO – it never seemed to be enough. It was clear to him, that our standard definition of success wasn't delivering the desired results. At this point, CJ became obsessed with helping his clients refocus on what was most important – both personally and professionally. CJ's latest book, The Overachiever's Dilemma, lays out a proven strategy to help professionals get back to what matters most in their lives while still achieving their professional goals. In this episode, CJ talks about being a law school dropout, buying a franchise 2 weeks before his son was born, his new book “The Overachiever's Dilemma”, his hardcore Wim Hof habits, and a moment he experienced while reading “When Good Things Happen to Good People”, that he discovered that the best way to find joy is by giving money and time.  Connect with CJ on LinkedIn Learn more about CJ  Sponsors: Talevation Ninety.io Straticos Buy your copy of Level-UP To Professional: Second Edition

Duncan Alney is the founder of Firebelly Marketing, a top-rated social media marketing agency. Duncan is a self-described "conscious entrepreneur and compassionate leader".  He is the host of The Firebelly Social Show podcast.  He has become known as a change agent, a straight shooter, a people-focused compassionate leader, a problem solver, and a seeker of joy. Duncan brings a distinct warmth to the table - enabling connection, conversation, and community. Duncan self-funded his own education in the United States, where he secretly dreamed of being a cowboy. When this dream didn't go as well, Duncan turned to the agency world - and founded Firebelly in 2001.  In this insightful and expansive episode, Duncan talks about being an “OG” original, growing up with unique Jewish-Christian roots, adopting the 4 agreements, thinking about death, losing time on TikTok, having great conversations, serving others, and a moment of clarity he experienced while on a trip to Calcutta to care for his aging parents.  Connect with Duncan on LinkedIn Learn more about FIREBELLY Sponsors:Talevation Ninety.io Straticos Buy your copy of Level-UP To Professional: Second Edition

Daniel Fuller is passionate about seeing people, leaders, cultures, and organizations develop. His life and work are given to empowering teachable, humble, and hungry leaders and teams to create and sustain joyful, strategic, and productive environments. Today, Daniel is the Vice President of Business Development at FullStack PEO, an organization that provides turnkey HR for emerging companies. Prior to joining FullStack, Daniel's background was in coaching global, entrepreneurial leaders and Indianapolis mission-driven organizations. While completing his MA in Global Leadership, Daniel founded a startup, Sycamore Way, focused on developing tangible skills for leaders and organizations to be talent development cultures.  He is the host of the “Savage to Sage” podcast, exploring the evolution of entrepreneurs through the crucible of starting and growing companies.   In this fun and expansive episode, Daniel talks about the parallels between growing up in rural western New York and small Hoosier towns, why he decided to major in Spanish at Houghton College, lessons learned from working with non-profits, the importance of embracing who you are,  and a monumental moment of transition that changed his life.    Connect with Daniel on LinkedIn Learn more about FullStack PEO Sponsors: Talevation Ninety.io Straticos Buy your copy of Level-UP To Professional: Second Edition    

Charlotte Westerhaus-Renfrow is the Faculty Chair of the Undergraduate Program at the Kelley School of Business, Indiana University-Indianapolis, and Clinical Assistant Professor of Management and Business Law. In 2019, Indiana University President Michael McRobbie appointed Charlotte as an Indiana University Bicentennial Professor - awarded to "extraordinary faculty who demonstrated a commitment to public outreach, community engagement, and translational public outcomes in their teaching, research, and service." In addition, in 2019, she was named to the Alliance of Distinguished and Title Professors, an organization that works to promote excellence at Indiana University. Before joining IU Kelley, Charlotte served as Interim President of Martin University, Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion of the NCAA, and other important roles at the University of Iowa, Purdue University, University of Wisconsin, and Northwestern Mutual. In this fun and insightful episode, Charlotte talks about growing up with southern parents that exposed her to art, science, and literature at a very early age, being a "glam-ma" to her 7 grandkids, the long road that got her to Indiana University, her love of cooking, forgiveness, grief, and a series of setback moments over the course of 18 months that set her up for her comeback.   Connect with Charlotte on LinkedIn Kelley School of Business Sponsors: Talevation Ninety.io Straticos Buy your copy of Level-UP To Professional: Second Edition

It's great to have the one and only, McKinzie Roth, as our guest this week. For those that don't know, McKinzie is famous and ubiquitous: in other words, she's very popular and everywhere these days, as a: journalist, reporter, on air personality, television anchor, spokesperson, podcaster, fashion model, and social media influencer/public figure (with over 78K Followers on her Instagram account @mckinzieroth). McKinzie is a proud Indiana native: a graduate of Carmel High School, and the Ernie Pyle School of Journalism at Indiana University. At the start of her career, she served as an official NBA emcee for the Indiana Pacers, and since then has been seen locally and nationwide in commercials for several years. She is a veteran of the red carpet, covering events like the Super Bowl, Grammys & American Music Awards. McKinzie hosted Indy's top-rated morning show on RadioNOW 100.9 and Houston's 92.1 before the role of “Entertainment Insider” was created for her by WISH-TV. She now anchors “All Indiana” and just launched “All Indiana Bets” weekends on WISH-TV. And coming soon, you can check out her new brand “Blonde After Dark.” In this fun and energetic episode, McKinzie talks about growing up as a lifelong Hoosier, a visit to a local news station that changed her life, winning a contest to become a radio DJ, the importance of mentors, family, reassessing your life on a regular basis and the moment when she realized that rejection is actually redirection.   Follow McKinzie on Instagram  Follow Blonde After Dark  Connect with McKinzie on LinkedIn   Sponsors: Talevation Ninety.io Straticos Buy your copy of Level-UP To Professional: Second Edition  

I am happy to report, that Stephanie Neale and Bryan Neale (yes, they are a married dynamic duo!), are my guests' on this weeks episode of my podcast, Moments to Momentum, with Scott Abbott. Bryan is the founder and Stephanie is the CEO of Blind Zebra, an elite sales and client success coaching company located in Indianapolis. Blind Zebra training is built on Bryan's simple yet powerful "Think-Do-Say" foundation, and is available primarily through BZ's Coaching Communities, group training programs designed around three pillars: relevant and modern coaching for sales and Customer Success (CS) teams, the accountability of professional peer groups and connection with like-minded individuals in a shared discipline. Blind Zebra offers Coaching Communities for high-performing or high-potential salespeople and customer success professionals, as well as VP-level peer groups for sales and CS leaders in a subscription model, much like a traditional SaaS company. In addition to being an NFL referee and nationally known keynote speaker, you may recognize Bryan's voice from his side-gig as co-host of The Advanced Selling Podcast, the longest-running sales podcast in history. In this super fun, exciting and wide ranging episode, Stephanie and Bryan talk about how they first met, The Price is Right, their first jobs out of college, starting the IU Dance Marathon, the story behind Blind Zebra, refereeing in the NFL, and a few professional and personal moments that impacted their lives. Learn more about Blind Zebra Connect with Byran Connect with Stephanie Bryan on The Price is Right  Sponsors: Talevation Ninety.io Straticos Buy your copy of Level-UP To Professional: Second Edition  

Zac Darnell is a lifelong Hoosier, leader at SEP and host of SEP's Podcast, Behind The Product. Zac is a strategic and tactical product leader with a startup mindset, and over 15 years of diverse business and industry experience in various fast-paced organizations. Adept at creating and leading people-focused, process-driven, and technically aligned teams through a disciplined approach, individual empowerment, and shared vision. In this fun and insightful episode, Zac talks about his podcast, Behind the product, his love of gaming, celebrity crushes, the differences between self-confidence and arrogance, the Johari Window, and a pivotal moment prior to starting at SEP when he was fired from his role as head of the engineering and product group because he was pursuing it for the wrong reasons, mainly a title and money.  Learn more about SEP Connect with Zac on LinkedIn Sponsors: Talevation Ninety.io Straticos Buy your copy of Level-UP To Professional: Second Edition  

Dr. Zubair Khan is the Medical Director and co-founder of Renova Aesthetics, a world-class, all-in-one salon, spa and wellness center, located in the heart of Carmel, Indiana.  Zubair is passionate about helping his clients and patients reach their goals, overcome obstacles, and change their lives and their confidence. Dr. Zubair was a physician for several years, but realized that his passion for fusing health with technology, was a great way to help empower his clients to take charge of their well-being, and optimize their health.  In this fun and insightful episode, Zubair talks about starting his medical journey at 16 years old, his passion/cause/purpose for Renova Aesthetics, the importance of good health and self-care, prioritizing wellness, unlocking your potential, health technology, and becoming the best version of yourself. In addition, Scott and Zubair touch upon Scott's health journey, and how he is working together with Zubair and his team at Renova, to help Scott be the best version of himself. Learn more about Renova Aesthetics Sponsors: Talevation Ninety.io Straticos Buy your copy of Level-UP To Professional: Second Edition  

Sonal Sheth Zawahri is an author, speaker, trainer, and life coach. She is also the creator of the “Stretching for Success Workbook: 7 Steps to STRETCH Beyond Your Comfort Zone” which takes you step-by-step through creating and achieving your goals, and two Val-U resource card decks that provide individuals and leaders the opportunity to encourage and motivate others. Sonal started her career teaching high school and college for over 15 years. She has proudly transitioned and reinvented her career 4 times in the last 25 years, to include corporate training, health coaching, consulting, and educational sales.  Her greatest passion is to inspire business leaders and individuals to identify their purpose, and guide them toward the achievement of meaningful success and contribution to others. In this fun, insightful, and expansive episode, Sonal talks about stretching for success, growing up with immigrant parents from India, moving to Oxford, Ohio in the middle of the night, her commitment to hard work, and a pivotal moment during her first job out of college that taught her about Imposter Syndrome, “leading from where you are,” and emotional intelligence.  Connect with Sonal on LinkedIn  Learn more about Tru You Sponsors:Talevation Ninety.io Straticos Buy your copy of Level-UP To Professional: Second Edition

Jason Barnaby specializes in actionable inspiration. Whether via one-on-one coaching, facilitating a group leadership program, or delivering an interactive keynote (in-person or virtual), his message and passionate delivery are sure to spark your inner fire. His love for facilitating A-HA moments led him to start his own company, Fire Starters Inc. in 2017. Its mission is #IgniteHope and #TorchFear with individuals and corporations to unleash potential, overcome limiting beliefs, and inspire action. Jason's first book, Igniting the Fire Starter Within, chronicles the journeys of 5 people (including Jason's) who said “so what” to their WhatIfAbouts (those pesky fears that work hard to keep us stuck and afraid), built a tribe of supporters and discovered their true inner fire. Jason's second book, 30 Days to Blaze, was written to provide simple yet actionable steps to help you ignite the life you dream about. Outside of professional pursuits, Jason is a devoted husband of over 20 years, a proud father of 3, a writer, reader, musician, and serious coffee junkie. In this fun and exciting episode, Jason talks about how to properly pronounce the word comfortable, why it took him 10 years to graduate college, what it's like being a 7 on the Enneagram, the essence of "starting a fire",  an epiphany atop a mountain in Colorado where the phrase "comfortable being uncomfortable" was born and a moment at a leadership conference where he discovered his magnificent vision.    Connect with Jason on LinkedIn Learn more about Fire Starters Sponsors: Talevation Ninety.io Straticos Buy your copy of Level-UP To Professional: Second Edition

Mike Kelly is an entrepreneur, author, farmer, podcast host, and co-founder of DeveloperTown and FullStack.  Mike helps corporate leaders and founders craft a vision for new products by working with them to put together strategies, teams, and funding to help launch, validate, and grow those products and businesses. Mike is also an active advisor and/or board member at a number of organizations, including the Nashville Entrepreneur Center, TechPoint Foundation for Youth, AcreBin, Venue Intelligence, Peerview Data, Peoplocity, and the Indiana National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). In this fun and insightful episode, Mike talks about growing up in a small town in Indiana, how getting his first computer got him started down the technology path, his love of gluten-free cookies and whiskey, starting a farm to teach his kids about meaningful work and a conversation that has been burned into his memory where he learned the importance of not trivializing the suffering and pain that other people feel.  Connect with Mike Kelly on LinkedIn Learn More about DeveloperTown Find out more about Mike    Sponsors: Talevation Ninety.io Straticos Buy your copy of Level-UP To Professional: Second Edition

Lindsay Boccardo is a global, top-rated virtual presenter, keynote speaker, host of the Youtube show “The Porch”, and founder of Lindsay Boccardo Training and Coaching. She is fascinated by generations in the workplace. As a nationally-recognized expert of Millennials and Gen Z, groups from across the country lean on her to help their teams work better together. With four generations of employees in the workforce right now, leaders are looking for new ways to help their organization stand out, recruit, retain and engage the talent on their teams. That's where Lindsay comes in, as she speaks to groups large and small, coaches their top talent, and provides real, actionable solutions for creating success in a multi-generational workplace. In this fun, insightful, and expansive episode Lindsay talks about how playing drums in a band taught her about leadership, going to coaching school after her band broke up, the importance of emotional intelligence, her love of Chris Pratt, and a moment when her former boss pushed her outside of her comfort zone and asked her to MC an event in front of a crowd of 5,000 people! Connect With Lindsay on LinkedIn Learn more about Lindsay Boccardo Sponsors: Talevation Ninety.io Straticos Buy your copy of Level-UP To Professional: Second Edition

Tony Armstrong is a leader with decades of experience bridging the gaps between the higher education, government, economic development, and technology sectors. In his current position as the President & CEO of IU Ventures, Tony facilitates collaborations between Indiana University faculty, students, staff, alumni, and partners to help foster the creation and growth of high-potential startup ventures. In this role, Tony established both the Innovate Indiana Fund and the Indiana University Philanthropic Venture Fund. Prior to this appointment, Armstrong served as Executive Director of the IU Office of Engagement and as Associate Director of the Office of Technology Commercialization at IU's Advanced Research and Technology Institute. He also served as the Executive Director and General Counsel of the Indiana 21st Century Research and Technology Fund. In this fun and insightful episode, Tony talks about growing up around the Madison Regatta (think Woodstock meets Top Gun on the water), his unique approach to reading books, the purpose and mission behind IU Ventures, and the moment where he realized the importance of being aware and prepared to do something different when things suddenly change.  Connect with Tony on LinkedIn Learn more about IU Ventures  Sponsors: Talevation Ninety.io Straticos Buy your copy of Level-UP To Professional: Second Edition  

As managing partner of Barnes & Thornburg, Bob Grand leads the firm's strategic development and execution of firmwide internal and external goals. He is responsible for driving production, productivity, quality and client service strategies, evaluating and supporting systems objectives and resource needs, and serving as a catalyst for change and innovation. Bob has four continuous decades of government relations practice, where he represents public and private clients before state and federal agencies and Congress.  In the community, Bob served as administrative assistant to Indiana Lt. Gov. Bob Orr (1979-1981) and also served in that role for Orr when he became governor of Indiana (1981-1982). He was treasurer of Friends of Dick Lugar (1987-2007), served as the Bush-Cheney finance chairman for Indiana, and was a member of the 2000 Bush-Cheney recount team in Palm Beach County, Florida. Notably, Bob also worked as a senior member of the campaign finance group for the Trump-Pence campaign.  In this episode we talk about how Bob got his start in law back in 1987 at Barnes and Thornburg, hitting a hole in one, lessons learned from his first job as a paperboy,  why having conversations and communication is key, setting goals, treating others how you want to be treated and the moment where he understood the importance of helping others.  Connect with Bob on LinkedInLearn more about Barnes & Thornburg  Sponsors: Talevation Ninety.io Straticos Buy your copy of Level-UP To Professional: Second Edition      

Matt Hunckler is the founder and CEO of Powderkeg - a digital community (which also hosts great in-person meetups) for thousands of tech entrepreneurs and professionals, that are building innovative companies in tech hubs between the coasts. Moreover, Matt and Powderkeg, are appreciated for simultaneously helping tech startups build great companies - while also helping those startups, as well as individuals - find, get and nurture great jobs, and prosperous careers they love.   Matt is also a coveted keynote speaker, and the host of an award-winning podcast “Powderkeg: Igniting Startups”, a show that shares the most fascinating stories of professional growth and innovation coming out of communities across America. Hunckler is also the author of “The Spark”, a hand-curated newsletter covering the tech news outside Silicon Valley.     In this super fun and insightful episode, Matt talks about getting bit by the entrepreneur bug at a very young age, getting married during a pandemic, the “unvalley” (a place outside of Silicon Valley where untapped potential lives), creating magic (Matt even did an awesome TEDx Talk, using magic), and the pivotal moment where he decided to stay in the midwest and not move out west to Silicon Valley. Connect with Matt on LinkedIn Learn more about Powderkeg  Sponsors: Talevation Ninety.io Straticos Buy your copy of Level-UP To Professional: Second Edition

Scott Jones is a prolific and renowned entrepreneur, investor, businessman, educator and philanthropist. Having raised over $200 million for his companies, resulting in over $5 billion of investor returns, Scott created and/or co-founded the world's largest voicemail provider, the world's largest music and video database company (Gracenote, now a division of Nielsen), one of the world's most innovative autonomous robotic vehicle products, the first successful virtual assistant (which correctly answered billions of questions in real-time better than Siri or Alexa), and now, one of the world's top-ranked software development and cybersecurity full-immersion training programs, known as Eleven Fifty Academy. In this fun, expansive and insightful episode, we welcome Scott Jones as our 50th guest and the first episode of season 3. While we cover lots of topics (including Scott's new tattoo), we barely scratch the surface about Scott's significant accomplishments, and the vast array of companies Scott has founded. That said, we also chat about artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles (and lawnmowers), how Eleven Fifty Academy is solving the tech talent problem in the Midwest, and Scott's trillion-dollar idea, the Career Accelerator Fund. Connect with Scott on LinkedIn Find out more about Eleven Fifty Academy Sponsors: Talevation Ninety.io Straticos Buy your copy of Level-UP To Professional: Second Edition

Jack Russell is the President and CEO of OneZone Chamber of Commerce. Before joining OneZone, Jack served as the President and CEO of the Westfield Chamber of Commerce. During his time as President, he grew the chamber to over 400 members and in 2017 the chamber was awarded by ICEA with the Innovation Award for their program, Chamber Innovation, connecting Westfield Washington Schools with Purdue Polytechnic.  Outside of leading OneZone, Jack serves on a variety of boards, including Carmel Youth Assistance, Good Day Carmel, and the Indiana Chamber Executive Association Board of Directors. Jack has also been an elected official serving the Town of Cicero as a Town Council Member from December 2018 to May of 2021. In addition to serving the chambers and public service, Jack coached high school girl's lacrosse for 9 years at Noblesville and Westfield High School. In his free time, you can also hear Jack during basketball and football season on Hamilton County Television, where he has been a broadcaster for 7 years. In this fun and energetic episode, Jack tells the story behind how Barstool Sports landed in Westfield over Indy 500 weekend; he talks about serving people, being honest with what scares you, how great leaders create other leaders (not just followers), and shares two significant moments to momentum, including the impact of his grandfather's legacy after his passing, and about navigating a new job through a global pandemic.  Connect with Jack on LinkedInLearn more about OneZone Chamber of Commerce Sponsors: Talevation Ninety.io Straticos Buy your copy of Level-UP To Professional: Second Edition

Marcus Manges is the Regional President for Accelerent, an exclusive business development community in 6 markets across the US – each market has between 45-65 partner companies who are all committed to helping each other grow by making warm, c-level introductions to each other's top prospects. He is passionate about helping Indiana businesses grow and his role gives him the unique chance to interact with hundreds of executives around the state each year. Marcus also engages the community by serving in his church and on non-profit boards. Most importantly, Marcus is a loving husband, and father of 5 children.  In this fun and expansive episode, Marcus talks about Faith, Family, and Fraternity. We dive into discussions about why leading with empathy is important, the benefits of “owning it”, the true value of relationships, and a humbling moment he experienced while attending Wabash College. Connect with Marcus on LinkedInLearn more about Accelerant Sponsors: Talevation Ninety.io Straticos Buy your copy of Level-UP To Professional: Second Edition  

Dave Rodriguez is the founder and former senior pastor, of Grace Church in Noblesville, IN. For twenty-seven years, Dave led Grace to advance the Kingdom of God in central Indiana and around the world. He has served the local church in pastoral ministry for over forty years. Grace Church has planted six churches in the United States, along with churches in London, England and Sydney, Australia. Grace currently worships in three campuses in central Indiana. In addition, Grace operates a Care Center that meets the needs of over 500 families a week through a choice food pantry, referral services, ESL classes, micro-loans, and a car care ministry. Dave retired as the founding senior pastor of Grace Church in May of 2020. These days he is giving himself to helping people and organizations discover their unique destinies, as the CEO of Destinyworks. He is also the author of “A Why to Live For: Where Your Destiny Meets the Broken Places of The World”.  In this fun and engaging episode, Dave talks about his past as the founder and senior pastor for Grace Church, his current role as a teacher and coach, adjusting to life during a pandemic, his love of cooking, being an ambivert, authoring his book, and a moment in his life that helped define what is most important to him now, which is helping people lead successful, meaningful, and purposeful lives. Connect with Dave on LinkedIn Learn more about Destinyworks  Sponsors: Talevation Ninety.io Straticos Buy your copy of Level-UP To Professional: Second Edition

Karen is an internationally-recognized thought leader whose TEDx appearance, keynotes, blogs and books reach thousands of business leaders, each year.  She is the author of “Working from Home: Making the New Normal Work for You”, “Listen UP! How to Tune Into Customers and Turn Down the Noise”, and “Success With Less”. A prolific blogger and sought-after media interview, she has been featured in Forbes and regularly contributes to Thrive Global and ZDNet. As Vice President of Customer and Market Insights at Salesforce, she engages current and future customers around the world to discover new ways of creating success and growth. She serves on the company’s Work from Home Taskforce, where she is helping the company’s 50,000+ worldwide employees to better adapt to a work-from-home environment. Passionate about diversity and inclusion, she also serves on the company’s Racial Equality and Justice Taskforce. Prior to Salesforce, she spearheaded Customer Satisfaction and Experience at Cisco. In this fun, expansive and vibrant episode, Karen talks about being a “mutlipotentialite,” learning to ask what matters by reading her late grandmother’s diaries, her desire to heal people’s relationship with success, and a moment when she learned to trust the ideas of her team and realized that as a leader, she didn't need to have all of the answers.  Connect with Karen on LinkedIn Twitter: @karenmangia Learn more about Karen Buy Success With Less Sponsors: Talevation Ninety.io Straticos Buy your copy of Level-UP To Professional: Second Edition  

Dave Neff is the Chief Revenue Officer for Prolific, where he oversees all new business development, strategic partnerships, and alliances. Formerly, Dave served as President & CEO of EDGE Mentoring for nearly six years – the nation’s largest, faith-based, whole-life intergenerational mentoring organization. Prior to EDGE, Dave worked for ExactTarget for two and a half years and Pacers Sports & Entertainment for four years in a number of sales and marketing leadership roles. Dave has been recognized as “Nonprofit Professional of the Year,” “Forty Under 40,” and as an “Inspire Award Winner” in Indianapolis. He also serves as a member of the Board of National Christian Foundation (Indiana) and on the Corporate Work Study Board of Providence Cristo Rey High School.  In this episode, Dave touches on themes such as career, faith, and family.  He dives into the importance of mentorship, specifically how having different mentors for all aspects of life has helped him throughout his career and we also discuss a defining moment in his early 20s where he bet on himself by leaving Exact Target to start Edge Mentoring and learned the lesson of not letting your job or title define you.  Connect with Dave via email: dneff@prolificonline.com Connect with Dave on LinkedIn Learn More about Cristal Rey High School Sponsors: Talevation Ninety.io Straticos Buy your copy of Level-UP To Professional: Second Edition

Kelly is an acclaimed PR professional, with extensive expertise in developing and implementing winning communication strategies. She is also the host of not one, but two podcasts: “The Badassery Life” and “Our Joy Project”. Kelly has garnered 25+ years of hands-on experience in nonprofit, education, arts, and corporate communications - by working with/for Indianapolis’ largest and oldest public relations firms, a public research university in Indianapolis, and by managing her own consultancy firm, Baise Communications. In this fun, personal and energetic episode, Kelly talks about growing up in Germany, the lessons she learned from working in the agency world, the importance of storytelling: personally and professionally, a big momentous moment she experienced while working at IUPUI (where she was tapped by the Chancellor to lead the schools response around the 9/11 tragedy), and how to fully embrace the “Badassery Life”. Connect with Kelly on LinkedIn Listen to The Badassery Life podcast Listen to The joy project podcast Check out Baise Communications  Sponsors: Talevation Ninety.io Straticos Buy your copy of Level-UP To Professional: Second Edition

Leonard Hoops has served as president & CEO of Visit Indy since 2011. He leads a team of 65 industry professionals who are charged with growing Central Indiana’s $5.4 billion convention, tourism, and event business. Under Hoops’ leadership, Visit Indy has shattered all-time records for convention and tourism sales, delivering up to $1 billion annually in incremental economic impact and a 90-to-1 return on investment from public funding. During his tenure, Indianapolis has been named the #1 convention city in America by USA Today, and a top visitor destination by The New York Times, Conde Nast Traveler, and Travel + Leisure. In this episode, Leonard dives into discovering more about his Trinidadian and Quaker ancestry, how he got started working with Destination Marketing Organizations, his role and impact at Visit Indy, his “3 P’s” for creating a great culture, and an impactful moment when he was working for the San Jose Convention and Visitors Bureau Center that had him hunting for unicorns.  Connect with Leonard on LinkedIn Learn more about Visit Indy  Sponsors: Talevation Ninety.io Straticos Buy your copy of Level-UP To Professional: Second Edition  

Lindsay Tjepkema is the CEO and Co-Founder of Casted. In the years before starting Casted, Lindsay Tjepkema was a marketing leader for a global Martech SaaS enterprise where she led all of the brand’s content marketing efforts. Her mission was to help grow the business by aligning the brand around a common message, humanizing it with a unified voice, and highlighting the perspectives of customers, partners, industry experts, and internal thought leaders.  What started with interviews of those subject matter experts turned into a powerful global content strategy. Lindsay left her role as a marketing leader to launch Casted, the only podcast marketing platform built to give marketers a true return on effort through access, amplification, and attribution of their brand podcasts and related content. In this episode we talk about her love of Brene Brown, the differences between joy and happiness, and the moment when she discovered her life’s mantra, to "boldly be yourself". Connect with Lindsay on LinkedIn Check out Casted Follow Lindsay on Twitter Sponsors: Talevation Ninety.io Straticos Buy your copy of Level-UP To Professional: Second Edition

Derrin is the humble Founder of ProAct Indy, an Indiana nonprofit organization, committed to standing in the gap for vulnerable youth and underserved communities, through human-centered social good. With a strong background in nonprofit management and research, training, and leadership, Derrin acts as the conduit between the needs of the community, and the individuals, partners, sponsors, and students that engage with ProAct. Under his servant leadership, the organization has engaged over 25,000 boys and girls, community leaders, and business professionals to value intentional community engagement and appreciate diversity and equity as an integral part of their lives. Derrin has coached/trained across the USA, as well as in Ireland, Ethiopia, Mali, Mexico & the UK. In this super fun, engaging and impactful episode, Derrin shares with Fabian Rodriguez and me, about losing yourself in the service of others, the power of vulnerability, redemption, and a moment while on a mission trip to Botswana, Africa that changed his life. Connect with Derrin on LinkedIn Check out Derrin's website Read Derrin's articles in the Indianapolis Recorder  Find out more about ProAct Indy Listen to Stood in The Gap podcast  Sponsors: Talevation Ninety.io Straticos Buy your copy of Level-UP To Professional: Second Edition

Dr. Kevin Berkopes is an unapologetic disruptor, educator, and inventor-- he believes human ecosystems change for the better through entrepreneurship. He and his teams have relentlessly pursued a new system for education that answers THE question of our generation: How do we achieve equitable access to high quality education and resources for all children? In 2016, Kevin launched Crossroads Education, a cutting-edge peer-to-peer collaborative tutoring approach that was designed to heighten the capacity of young people to learn while eliminating some of the undo burden on the classroom teacher. Combining tutoring, peer collaboration, and tech-enabled services, The Learning Commons has reset the expectations for how students can become self-directed learners. In 2018, Crossroads Education expanded its product line through funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Completing the vision, Crossroads now offers services to Elementary, Middle, High School, and Universities with client-funded projects and philanthropic funding from IU Health, Facebook, IEDC, and United Way of Central Indiana. In this episode, Kevin talks about growing up between 2 poles of poverty, his decision to become a teacher while backpacking through the Appalachian Mountains, and how injustice, equity, and trauma led him down the path to creating Crossroads Education.  Connect with Kevin on LinkedIn Learn more about Crossroads Education  Sponsors: Talevation Ninety.io Straticos Buy your copy of Level-UP To Professional: Second Edition

In addition to being an awesome human being, Jason specializes in career strategy, personal branding, and professional success. He is the author of the book “Find Work Worth Doing: A Career Management Handbook”, the host of the “Reinvent Relevance” podcast, a Gallup Certified Strengths Coach, and co-founded Merrfeld Career Management with his wife, Michelle Merritt. A Purdue University alumnus, with a Master of Science in Learning Design & Technology, Jason continues his life-long commitment, to the belief that learning should be at the core of everything we do. in this fun expansive episode, we talk about how Jason got his career start as an IT geek, his brief stint as an actor, and the time he was involved in a big car crash, when realized that life is just too damn short, and decided to change careers and start a new company. Connect with Jason on LinkedIn Learn more about Merrfeld Buy Jason's Book Sponsors: Talevation Ninety.io Straticos Buy your copy of Level-UP To Professional: Second Edition

Darye is the product-focused CEO of AfterSchool HQ, a platform that enables parents to find exceptional learning opportunities outside of the school day.  He has over 20 years of experience building software products and working in the start-up world. He has served as CTO for dozens of startups and has helped numerous startups and companies with tech strategy, launching tech products, and implementing better development processes. As a consultant, he has worked with brands like the NFL, NHL, Spike TV and has had his technology featured in Times Square, on The Today Show, and in NFL Training Camp Events.  In this episode, Darye talks about his passion for helping students start their journeys to success, his love for starting things, learning to trust your gut, and ultimately the moment that led him to start his own software consulting business.  Connect with Darye on LinkedIn Learn more about AfterSchool HQ Learn more about Mentors of Color  Sponsors: Talevation Ninety.io Straticos Buy your copy of Level-UP To Professional: Second Edition

Carmel Indiana Mayor Jim Brainard, is Carmel’s first seven-term mayor. Under his stewardship, Carmel has experienced tremendous growth and prosperity. It is considered one of the best and fastest growing cities in the United States.    The population has grown from 25,000, to almost 100,000 in the last 25 years. Park land, greenspace, and trails have increased from 40 acres to more than 800, including the Monon Trail and Central Park. The development of the Arts & Design District, Palladium, City Center and a new Midtown project, has helped in the creation of a vibrant, thriving walkable city, where companies want to locate, employees want to live and families want to raise their children. Mayor Brainard is frequently asked to speak around the world about city planning, climate change, redevelopment & roadways.   In this fun episode, Mayor Brainard talks about his journey to becoming the mayor of Carmel, his passion and experience for creating a thriving suburb with a successful downtown, a moment in 1969 that impacted his life, along with valuable advice on leadership, management and accountability.  Connect with Mayor Jim Brainard on LinkedIn Find out more about the City of Carmel Sponsors: Talevation Ninety.io Straticos Buy your copy of Level-UP To Professional: Second Edition    

Darrian Mikkel is an entrepreneur and business leader.  He is the Co-Founder and CEO of Qualifi, an HR tech startup focused on taking the pain out of recruiting while creating meaningful, engaging experiences for candidates. Before Qualifi, Darrian served as the VP at Viral Launch, a data-driven market intelligence and optimization solutions for Amazon marketplace retailers, driving e-commerce revenue growth and more efficient marketing spend. Darrian Graduated from Indiana Wesleyan Univ. in 2013 with a Bachelor's Degree in Entrepreneurship and Finance, he is a former 2-sport athlete (Basketball and Track & Field) and was a national champion in the Long Jump. In this episode, Darrian brings a mix of Hoosier hospitality and West Coast vibes to the show and talks about the moment that he first experienced failure and how that experience gave him the momentum to go on to start Qualifi.  Connect with Darrian on LinkedIn  Find out more about Qualifi Sponsors: Talevation Ninety.io Straticos Buy your copy of Level-UP To Professional: Second Edition

Versatility, passion and innovation are the hallmarks of American conductor Janna Hymes. Renowned for her inspiring performances, musical depth and energetic presence both on and off the podium, she has developed a reputation as an exciting, detailed communicator. Praised by the press as “an architect, a builder in sound, a conductor with an overall view who never misses details,” Ms. Hymes is Artistic Director of Indiana’s Carmel Symphony Orchestra (CSO) since 2017 and was recently appointed Artistic Director of the Carmel Music and Film Festival which she helped to launch. She served as Music Director of the Williamsburg Symphony Orchestra (WSO) from 2004 to 2019, when she celebrated the WSO’s 35th anniversary and her 15th and final season. A popular guest conductor, Ms. Hymes continues to expand her relationships with orchestras nationwide.  Zachary DePue has established himself in concert venues around the world delivering virtuosic high-energy violin performances. He demonstrates command as a leader, soloist, collaborator, and improvisational artist reaching across a diverse landscape of music. His authentic warmth and generosity on stage invites audiences to join him in all his explorations. DePue became one of the youngest concertmasters in the country when he was appointed to the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra (ISO) in 2007. For more than a decade, DePue served the orchestra as a passionate and dedicated leader both in and outside the concert hall. He was named a member of the Stanley K. Lacy Executive Leadership Series, connecting Indianapolis’ emerging leaders to the issues and needs of the community.  In this super fun, high-energy and highly informative episode, Janna and Zach talk about how they each got their start in the music industry, along with impactful moments (as well as tips and advice) from their lives, that inspire them to be who they are. We also discuss their upcoming show at the Palladium, located in Carmel, IN on Saturday, March 13th.  Find out more about Janna Hymes  Learn more about CSO  Find out more about Zachary DePue Watch The DePue Brothers: Music For Every Occasion  Buy Tickets / Livestream for Masterworks 4 on March 13 Sponsors: Talevation Ninety.io Straticos Buy your copy of Level-UP To Professional: Second Edition