Podcast appearances and mentions of adam welcome

Grab your copy of Culture First Classrooms: Leadership, Relationships, and Practices that Transform Schools from your favorite vendor: Amazon or Barnes & Noble or get your autographed copy here.In this episode, Darrin Peppard sits down with Rae Hughart, educator, TEDx speaker, and founder of the Teachers Deserve It (TDI) movement. Rae is passionate about empowering educators to reclaim their time, reduce burnout, and amplify their impact in the classroom.Rae shares the intriguing backstory behind the TDI movement, starting from an unexpected dinner conversation that led to co-authoring the book Teachers Deserve It with Adam Welcome. She emphasizes the importance of practical, sustainable teaching strategies that genuinely give teachers back their time and autonomy.Key highlights from this episode include:Origin Story of "Teachers Deserve It": How a dinner conversation with Adam Welcome sparked the creation of a movement and a bestselling book.Practical Tips to Save Time: Rae details a powerful email automation strategy that helped a teacher reclaim five hours of their week. This simple yet effective tip provides immediate value for educators overwhelmed by their inboxes.Supporting Paraprofessionals: Rae discusses the crucial role of paraprofessionals in schools and shares how the TDI team responded to community requests by creating dedicated training bundles specifically designed to uplift and support paraprofessional staff.Content Creation and Problem-Solving: Rae provides insights for educators interested in creating impactful content online. Her advice: clearly identify problems and offer actionable solutions.Leaning into Leadership: Rae reflects on her growth as a leader, specifically emphasizing the importance of active listening, facilitating reflection, and allowing time for solutions to emerge naturally.Connect with Rae Hughart:Website: TeachersDeserveIt.comSocial Media: @RaeHughartTikTok: @RaeHughartEDUFree Resource:Email Automation Download (available via TeachersDeserveIt.com)Tune in to learn practical strategies to save time, reduce burnout, and re-center your practice on what truly matters—because teachers deserve better.

As 2024 comes to a close, we take a moment to reflect on what has been a busy year at Genomics England and in the wider genomics community. Throughout the year, guests have joined us to discuss groundbreaking research discoveries, important ethical considerations, and share their personal stories. It was also a year of transformation: we rebranded our podcast as Behind the Genes, welcomed Dr Rich Scott as our new Chief Executive Officer, and launched the Generation Study, in partnership with NHS England. The Participant Panel also saw changes, with Kirsty Irvine stepping into the role of Chair and Adam Clatworthy and Helen White becoming Vice Chairs. In this special end of year episode, Adam Clatworthy, Vice-Chair of the Participant Panel, sits down with Dr. Rich Scott, CEO of Genomics England, to look back on the highlights of 2024. Together, they revisit key podcast moments, reflect on research discoveries, and share insights into the evolving world of genomics. Below are the links to the podcasts mentioned in this episode, in order of appearance: Celebrating genomic breakthroughs - Insights from the Festival of Genomics Shining a light on rare conditions How has a groundbreaking genomic discovery impacted thousands worldwide? How can we work in partnership towards a new era of genomic medicine and research? How has design research shaped the Generation Study? How can we bridge the gap between diverse communities? Can Artificial Intelligence accelerate the impact of genomics? "It's really important that we just continue to bring that patient and participant community on that journey, just to ensure that they really understand the full benefits. And we've talked about that on the episode today. I know that the panel has always encouraged the Genomics England team to look at its boots while shooting for the moon. I really like that phrase just to make sure, look, we can't forget where we've come from to make sure we're taking people on that journey" You can download the transcript or read it below. Adam: Welcome to Behind the Genes.  Rich: Our vision at Genomics England is a world where everyone can benefit from genomic healthcare, thinking about how we ensure the lessons we've learnt through our diverse data programme is embedded across all of our work.  So that word “everyone” applies to people in lots of different ways, different communities people come from, different socioeconomic backgrounds, making sure that equity is baked into all of our work.  And there's real opportunity for genomics to play a broader role than in rare conditions and in cancer, we're proud of the impact we're already having there, and we should really look to the future.  Adam: My name is Adam Clatworthy, and I'm the Vice-Chair for rare conditions on the Participant Panel at Genomics England.  On today's episode, I'm going to be joined by Rich Scott, CEO of Genomics England.  We're going to be taking a look back at the key milestones from 2024 for Genomics England, and really discussing our hopes and aspirations for the year ahead.  During this episode we'll also hear from some of our guests we've had on the show this year, who have helped shape our discussions and shared some of their most impactful moments and insights.  And if you'd like to listen to more like this, then please subscribe to Behind the Genes on your favourite podcast app.  So, with that, thanks for joining me, Rich, how are you doing?  Rich: I'm great, thanks for hosting today, I'm really excited about it.    Adam: So, Rich, it's been a pretty exciting year for you, you've taken on the CEO role at Genomics England full-time, so why don't you just start by telling us about how those first few months have been for you?  Rich: It's been a really exciting year, I think for us overall at Genomics England, and obviously personally taking on the CEO role, which is an enormous privilege.  I've been at Genomics England nine years, and I think both a privilege and a real responsibility to take on the role.  To think both about how we continue to honour the commitments we've given our participants and those we work with, and to think about the future, where we might go together, what evidence we need to generate, what our systems need to support.  So it's been great taking on the role, and thinking about that, both the present and the future, and there's been lots, as we'll talk about, there's been lots going on.  Adam: No, that's great.  And I must say for myself as well, I started the Vice-Chair role at a very similar time to you early in the year.  When I started, we were in the process of looking for our next Chair.  Obviously, we had Jillian and Rebecca, both standing down, after many years in the role.  They've been there from the start, really guiding the Panel through this amazingly successful period.  But for me, I've really enjoyed working in partnership with Helen, who is our Vice-Chair for cancer.  It's been a real partnership, in terms of filling in for that interim leadership role.  And we wanted to make sure that we weren't just caretakers, we were really continuing to be actively involved in a lot of the discussions that are happening with your colleagues across Genomics England.  Very much leading the Panel, and starting to have those important discussions around, where does the Panel go next?  And what's our strategy for the next two to three years?  What are the key areas that we can drive real value and impact, in line with your own milestones at Genomics England?    And, of course, I've just loved getting stuck into chairing the Panel meetings as well, for me, that's the best part, is really bringing together these amazingly diverse and passionate people.  With so many different personalities, lived experiences, and a combined passion for just taking this forward together, and making sure that the benefits of genomics really impact, and that's felt by the wider community itself.  So there's been lots of highlights to recognise this year, a real stand-out for me has to be the Genomics England Research Summit, from what I understand it was the most attended event to date.  And it was just so good to see that a lot of the Panel were front and centre across that event, sharing their stories, having a really active role, whether introducing speakers, or telling their own journeys as part of the Q&A sessions.   I myself was really privileged to be on stage with Baroness Nicola Blackwood, literally nine days after I officially started the role.  So it was great to just dive in at the deep end, get in front of an incredible audience, and just see that the broader Panel was front and centre of the event itself.  And it was just great to see how popular the event was, many more people coming to have a chat to us on the stand than would have found us before, so, all in all, a really big highlight for myself.  So, for you, Rich, are there any other highlights that you want to call out for this year?  Rich: And first to say, absolutely agree with the Research Summit being, you know, a highlight.  The diversity of the discussions that we had, it's one of the things we enjoy most about thinking about creating the summit, as you say, involving the participants very much at the centre.  Like, physically at the centre of the room, for people to come and talk to participants and hearing stories.  And then really seeing how over the years we can see the impact growing, and having talks, whether it's about individual findings, or big research studies.  So the final talk of the day was from Charlie Swanton.  He was talking about some really exciting work that his team have done in our National Genomics Research Library, making a really important discovery about extra chromosomal DNA in cancer, and that's now been published in Nature.  And then right next to him, we were having a policy talk from Sam, who's the CEO of NICE.  And you can see the range of things, the sorts of evidence, sorts of conversation, we need to have, so that was really fantastic.  I'd call out one discovery this year that maybe we'll come back to, and one other big highlight.  So I think the big discovery this year was the discovery of this piece of non-coding sequence in the genome called RNU4-2, which turns out to be pretty much the most common cause of developmental disorders that's been discovered.  And it's just so exciting to see that having been discovered in the National Genomics Research Library.  And then the news, the knowledge spread, across the world, and family support groups coming together to understand and learn more about what that means for them.  So that was, I think, the discovery over the years at Genomics England that's touched me most, seeing that story.  And I'd say for us, organisationally, another big highlight has been the launch of our newborns programme, the Generation Study.  So as lots of people listening will know, we've been actually thinking about what the questions underlying this study are for a good number of years, doing a lot of preparatory work.  Actually, before we even started, setting up public dialogue jointly with the National Screening Committee about what the public were keen to understand and the appetite for research in this area.  And then we've been spending several years designing the study, working with the NHS how to design, safely launch it, National Screening Committee involved all along, and working with patients and the public to design it.  And this year now launching the study at a public launch, just a couple of months ago, by the time people are listening to this, and at the time of recording, more than 2,000 families have joined the programme.    So really exciting, us exploring a really big question for genomics, about the use of whole genome sequencing in newborn babies.  Whether that should be offered to every baby at birth, primarily driven by that desire to do better for those children born with treatable conditions, where genetics, genomics, can be a way in to finding them, but doing that at the right pace, and very much in a research setting.  That's been a real, a moment, I think there's been so much work on the path to it, but it's right to sort of celebrate these staging posts on the way.  We're early in the programme, there's lots to do, lots to work through, lots of evidence that we'll accrue, but it's really exciting to be at that staging post.  Adam: No, absolutely, and from my side, I think seeing all of the media pick up for the Generation Study launch, you could really see the excitement in the wider kind of community.  Seeing it shared on social media, obviously those part of the 100,000 Genomes Project, seeing things like this.  It's like they can see the tangible outcomes of all the work that they've done as part of that initial project, and seeing how those learnings are then taken onto this new study.  So we'll now hear a clip from earlier in the year from Louise Fish, who is the former CEO of Genetic Alliance UK, who shares her thoughts on the potential of the Generation Study.  Louise: The Generation Study is looking at 200 conditions and whether it's possible to screen for them.  And for all of those 200 conditions, it's a really exciting opportunity to see if we can learn more.  Both about the potential to understand and develop treatments early, but also just about the chance to understand the natural history of that condition so much earlier than we do at the moment.  And I think that's it, it's that understanding the natural history of the condition really early, and understanding how a family can be helped, through all aspects of the condition, which is giving people most excitement I think, alongside the potential to develop treatments.  Adam: So now, let's look back at the priorities for Genomics England for 2025.  Now, Rich, would you like to just take us through some of the things you'll be focusing on next year?  Rich: Yes, one of the things that we've been doing this year, but also actually in the year before, is really looking to the future.  And saying, where might we be in terms of genomics really living up to the impact it could have, if we collectively, in the UK and working with international partners, sort of get things right?  And that's very much about balancing the realism of where we are, and the impact we're already having, and being proud of that, and then getting that same sort of ambition and realism casting to the future.  And I'd say, I think there are two really broad themes.  I think the first thing is, we're enormously proud of the impact we've had already for families with rare conditions, and people with cancer, and that impact will continue to grow in the coming years, in those areas.  And in the next few years, that's where the biggest impact of genomics will continue, and the rare disease programme we have thinking increasingly about how we support the generation of evidence and pathways that lead to rare therapies.    So building, getting better all the time at finding diagnoses, which is still a long journey we're on, and continuing that work.  Increasingly thinking about how we can support therapies, and in cancer, again, playing a better role in cancer, both by driving efficiency in diagnostics, and efficiency in identifying where therapies enabled by genomics can be targeted.  And we see lots of different examples of that, clinical trials is a big area where we hope to have more impact in the future, but also thinking about some of the novel therapies that are there, both for rare conditions, but also, for example, the cancer vaccines.  And I think we're uniquely placed in the UK, because of our partnership at Genomics England with the NHS, and the broader science ecosystem, to have that impact.  So that's the sort of like continuing very much where we are, but really pushing those boundaries.  And then also, if we look to the future, to say, what role could genomics play?  And we, as you know, our vision at Genomics England is a world that everyone can benefit from genomic healthcare, and I think that plays out in a couple of ways.  Firstly, thinking about how we ensure the lessons we've learnt through our diverse data programme is embedded across all of our work, so that word “everyone” applies to people in lots of different ways, different communities people come from, different socioeconomic backgrounds, making sure that equity is based into all of our work.  And then also, to say there's real opportunity for genomics to play a broader role than in rare conditions and in cancer, we're proud of the impact we're already having there, and we should really look to the future.  And as we set out where we think what evidence is needed and where we need to learn what the digital infrastructure that we build and others build, need to build that to support that, we look across a few different areas.  But really you can see genomics playing a role across the lifetime, in different places in different roles.   To pick one really powerful example is something people often refer to as pharmacogenomics.  Which is a medical term for what boils down to look at a person's DNA sequence, that's the genomics bit, and making decisions based on what drug to give them, what drugs to avoid, or perhaps what dose to drug to give them.  Based on, for example, the desire to avoid adverse drug reactions that people might be at high risk of, and you can identify that risk looking at the DNA.  That is one example of genomics playing a role in being increasingly sort of preventive, getting away from disease, getting upstream of disease arising, or harm arising.  And there are other opportunities in common disease as well, sort of casting forward to what that impact might be, and we feel that genomics could play a role, really broadly, across healthcare, in probably as many as half of all healthcare encounters.    But what we need to do over the coming years for that to potentially be the case is we need to build out the evidence, and we also need to understand what digital infrastructure we need, to make that a possibility.  So that the information is there in simple format, for patients and the public, for their GPs, for their pharmacist, for people in any speciality in hospital, not just sort of rare disease clinics or in cancer, as we are at the moment.  And so very much we're thinking about the programmes that we and others could run to ask some of those questions, to think about what we need to build out.  We feel that the UK's uniquely placed to develop that evidence, so that we can make the choices about how genomics is used, and so we can be ready to embed it.    And it really aligns with that shift that we see and we hear, for example, in government being talked about, when we're looking about sort of the shifts that the NHS sees as essential.  You know, increasingly preventive, increasingly digital, increasingly in the community, and that point of sort of getting upstream.  And genomics is going to be an important part of that.  And we at Genomics England are really excited about the role that we can play, whether it's through the digital infrastructure we build, whether it's the programmes that we run to develop the evidence.  Or whether it's through the ethics and the engagement work, the work with the Panel, and the work with the wider public, to understand how we might develop this evidence, what people are comfortable with, what the expectations are.  And I think that, pulling that together is complex, it's really exciting to think about how we do it.  I think we in the UK are uniquely placed to take advantage of that.  Adam: That's great, and I think the pharmacogenomics piece is fascinating.  I mean, you hear many stories of people having adverse reactions to certain medications, and you wouldn't even think it's something that may be linked to their genetic makeup.  It's so important that we take people along that journey, around what the benefits are, the ethics, to make sure that people really understand the journey that we're making and what the potential impact could be.  Whilst there's lots of amazing new areas to develop into, a key focus for us on the Panel is really continuing to demonstrate how the 100,000 Genomes Project participants continue to have an impact, and they're helping shape a lot of these developments.  So they generously donated their data, it not only helps Genomics England develop the systems and services that now benefit many families, but it also continues to drive that scientific and technological enhancement.  So it wasn't just about reaching that 100,000 genomes, that project was really the starting point, as it were, it's not the finish line, it laid the groundwork for a lot of these developments.  So it's about how do we focus on maximising the benefit for those participants over their lifetime, not just at that one point in time.    We know genomics is evolving so rapidly, what you can glean from a genome today is far more than what was possible in 2013.  And we know the Diagnostic Discovery team is continuing to analyse the data for participants in the project based on these new advances, the team led by Suzi (Walker), who's doing some amazing work there.  Using all the latest tools and enhancements, just to make sure that those participants are really benefiting from that learning.  So, we just need to make sure we stay close to that wider community, and just ensure they're not forgotten, that's really a key north star for us as the Panel.  And something that we've been pushing is better ways that we can help to communicate the ways that you're celebrating these successes, providing regular updates on research progress, offering personalised reports based on the latest findings.  And it's all about providing them with that hope.  Some people may never get a diagnosis, but it's about giving the hope that one day they might get that phone call out of the blue, so it's about giving the hope that those possibilities are out there for others.    So we're now going to shift gear onto hearing from Shaun Pye, who is the father of Joey.  She was diagnosed with DYRK1A syndrome, which is a rare chromosomal disorder, which causes a degree of developmental delay or learning difficulty, at the age of just thirteen.  In this podcast episode, Shaun and his wife Sarah told us of their journey to Joey's diagnosis, and how their role in writing the BBC television comedy drama series, There She Goes, has helped to shine a light on the rare condition community.  Shaun: Then the opportunity came along with 100,000 Genomes, and we signed up immediately.  And then that, they did that, and it was a few years before that went through the system, and then we had, out of the blue really, we were asked to go and see a geneticist, and we had no idea that this is what it was.  I honestly thought it was just a routine sort of, we've got a few more theories or something, and she just said, “We've found out what it is.”  And it's like, that moment is, well, we tried to describe it in the TV programme, but it is quite hard to describe what goes through your mind, when after thirteen and a half years somebody suddenly says, “Oh, by the way, that thing that happened with your daughter, we've worked out what it is.”  Adam: So here, Rich, did you want to provide some updates around future progress, particularly in diagnostic discovery and expanding the research?  Rich: When we're looking to the future, we're looking sort of in two areas.  How we can build the impact we're having today for families with rare conditions and cancer, and that very much includes the participants in our programmes, 100,000 Genomes, those through the NHS Genomic Medicine Service, who joined the National Genomic Research Library.  And we've seen, I think the number that I'm most proud of at Genomics England is that number of diagnostic discoveries returned to the NHS, which has just hit the 4,000 mark.  And for those less familiar with the terminology, essentially what that means is where either researchers or the internal team at Genomics England have identified changes in the genome data, that with new knowledge, often with a fine tooth comb, it's considered likely that that is the answer to the cause of the rare condition in that person in the programme.  So that's 4,000 of those returned to the NHS.    And that tells you a lot about where we are for families with rare conditions, and I think there's two points here.  The first one is, we've got a long way still to go to do what we want to for families with rare conditions.  I'm a doctor and still see families in my clinic once a month at Great Ormond Street, even with the incredible advances we've had over the last particularly 10or 15 years, with the changes in sequencing and analysis, we still find an answer for the minority of families.  So that number is growing, and we're really proud of how much better we've done, and there's a long way left to go.  And the really critical thing is designing a system which we're so lucky with in the UK here, where we can continue to learn.  And that's not just for learning for the knowledge of people who might encounter the health system in the future.  It's to learn for those people who've joined the National Genomics Research Library, who've already trusted us to be the custodians of their data, and to do better in the future.  And that's what our diagnostic discovery work really aims to do.  And sometimes that's about new gene discoveries.  So all the time new things are being discovered each year.  And if you look at the DNA code, if you like, boil it down very simply.  99% of it is what we call non-coding DNA, I'll come back to that, about 1% is the genes, which if you like are sort of the books in the library of the DNA, overall DNA code, that we understand relatively well how they're read by the body.  The bits in between, it's a bit of a funny, well-spaced out library this one, that's the 99%, actually we've had very little understanding of most of that code in between.  But we're beginning, and particularly this year, to gain an understanding of how we might interrogate some of those pieces.  And not all of the answers lie in that non-coding DNA, there's lots of answers still left in genes that we don't understand well.    But one of the examples I mentioned earlier, and in fact the thing, the single discovery I guess which I'm most proud of having happened in the National Genomic Research Library is this discovery of this non-coding region called RNU4-2.  Which is a funny, like technical series of letters and numbers, but basically it's a very small patch of the whole DNA code.  Where this year, scientists discovered actually about 60 patients in the families in the National Genomic Research Library where that was the cause of their child's developmental disorder.  Actually, that knowledge has really rapidly spread across the world.  So I actually saw on social media at the weekend, from one of the scientists involved in the discovery, that the family support group that's been set up for what they're calling ReNu syndrome, which I think is a lovely name in itself, speaks to that word hope that you mentioned, Adam.  There are now 248 members of that group, and that's how fast that knowledge spreads across the world.  And what we're doing is thinking how we can support those discoveries more broadly, and non-coding DNA is one of those areas where that growth is, but it's not the only one where we're looking to support things.  But it's so exciting, and I think it gives you a sense of the scale of progress that is left to make.  And I think a really important point is that remains a really important area of our focus, it's not about moving on and looking just to the future, but we need to keep working for the families who are already part of our programmes.    Adam: That's incredible, that 248 members in such a short space of time.  And I love the ReNu name for that, I agree, I think that's a fantastic way of positioning it.  Earlier this year, we heard from Lindsay Pearse, whose son Lars received a diagnosis through that groundbreaking discovery of the genetic change in the RNU4-2, or ReNu gene, which was made possible by whole genome sequencing.  She told us what the diagnosis meant for their family.  Lindsay: This feeling that, like, we've been on this deserted island for eight years, and now all of a sudden, you're sort of like looking around through the branches of the trees, and it's like, wait a minute, there are other people on this island.  And in this case, actually there's a lot more people on this island.  Yes, it's very exciting, it's validating, it gives us a lot of hope and, you know, it has been quite emotional too (laughter).  And also, a bit of an identity shift, because I spoke earlier about how being undiagnosed had become quite a big part of our identity, and so now that's kind of shifting a little bit, that we have this new diagnosis, and are part of a new community.  Adam: You talked about it there, Rich, I mean, it's been really seen as a success story for the whole genomics ecosystem, especially the speed at which it all came together.  From the conversations I had with some of the individuals that were involved in the study, from the date of seeing the first findings in the lab meeting to a polished pre-print going live, was exactly 47 days, which in science terms is less than a second.  So that's how they positioned it to me, incredible.  And you've just said there, they set up this support group earlier this year, and already got 248 members, which is incredible.  The impact on families is significant, the mother touched upon it there.  I mean, for many parents there is that relief that it wasn't something they did during pregnancy, but instead, it is a chance occurrence.  For some, this knowledge means that they can make important decisions, choosing to grow their family, for example.  And it really ends that diagnostic odyssey that many families face, providing answers and potentially ending unnecessary testing that their child is going through.  But I think, and I can talk from personal experience here, that the largest impact is really being able to connect with other families and building that community, you cannot really understate that.  If I look at our own experience of getting a CRELD1 diagnosis for our children, the first time we didn't feel alone was when we could find that community.  We can support each other, we can learn from each other's experiences, and really also drive forward further research into that condition through advocacy.  So, I remember seeing that post on the Facebook page, about that RNU4-2 discovery, and this was before I'd even started in the role at Genomics England on the Panel, but you could really feel that excitement and the relief that they had.  And they mentioned that the official paper only had 36 other people worldwide, they found this little Facebook group that they created with five families in, and in the space of, what, 6, 7 months, they're already at 248.  That's all people that understand what they're going through.  And it's really hard to describe, it's like finding your family that you've never met, people that understand, and they really get what you're going through.  And being able to share tips, advice, learnings, and things that everyone's going through at different stages in their child's life.  So, I really don't think you can talk highly enough of that, that community aspect, and that's just been amazing to see.  And, look, this new era of research into the role of non-coding RNA genes, it really may open more opportunities for diagnoses for patients, participants potentially leading to hopefully more breakthroughs in the year ahead.  So now we're going to move on to why it's so important to engage patients and participants in the genomics world.  So, we'll now hear a clip from Helen White, who is the Vice-Chair for cancer on the Participant Panel.  Now Helen and I have been working really closely together as Vice-Chairs in this interim leadership role, to really ensure that we continue advancing the Panel's strategic initiatives while we recruit that new Chair.  So it's been amazing learning and working with Helen.  In this clip, she discussed an important topic that's been very much top of mind of the Panel, which is the importance of involving the patients and public in genomics research.  Helen: I think, you know, as patients, members of the public, we're eager to get on and for change to happen and things to be better, but it's, yes, a big, big process.  But also, good to hear that you talk about it being a collaborative approach, it's not just Genomics England, it's the NHS, it's members of the public and patient voices, it's other organisations working in partnership.  Adam: Now I think we all recognise the importance of engaging patients and public to ensure diverse communities understand the benefits of genomics, and actively involving patients and participants in the research, to make sure that they're including the perspective of what matters most to them.   Rich: I mean, it goes back to the thing that we really see as central to the value that we at Genomics England can provide.  So we increasingly think of ourselves as a data and evidence engine for national scale genomics, and I think a really important to call out there is that evidence is broad.  And part of that evidence is about public expectations, public preferences, and patient preferences.  And if you think about the big things that we do and where we bring that value, and bring that data and evidence engine role, is, you know, firstly in the digital infrastructure that we build and the data that we hold and present to our various users.  Secondly, it's in the evidence that we distil from that, and very much thinking about part of that being evidence in and around, including that piece on what people expect, this isn't just about hard science and health economics, this is an equally if not more important part of that.  And then thirdly, it is the third area of our focus is on that engagement piece, because that's so fundamental.  And I think you and Helen called that out absolutely right, about that being, that's integral to the whole process, and it's the beginning of any programme you need to start with understanding what the big drivers are, what the expectations are, and doing this very much together.  That's one of the reasons we're so fortunate to have the Participant Panel we do, in our Newborns Programme the Panel have been an important part of that design from the outset.  It's also about broader engagement with different communities, people who currently don't engage with genomics, because they've had no need to, sort of understanding that piece.  And I think we've definitely seen over time in health data research, but also research more broadly, where it's quite easy for these things to be disconnected.  And that results in two things.  It results in research happening about interesting esoteric stuff, but not on the stuff that makes a difference for families.  And I think that's really important, because researchers need to be directed in the resource limited world towards the things that really make a difference.  So that's the first thing.  And the second thing is, it's very easy, with the best will in the world, for people to make wrong judgements about what people are or aren't content with, and you need therefore to be absolutely transparent about what the research is.  Be really clear about what those questions are, and let people challenge you, right from the outset, so that we can design research studies, but also, the system as a whole, together in a way that everyone has a say.  Not everyone has the same view, but how we can develop a system that takes into account those things and gets that balance right.  This is about making a difference to people's health outcomes, thinking about how we achieve that, while also balancing off all of the different views there are, is really important.  And that's at the heart of it.  And it can be scary, because it's right that there is that challenge out there.  And it's one of the things that I think we've learnt at Genomics England, how important it is to be really open to that challenge, and to do that piece really early in all of our work, and have it there baked into our governance as well, for example, the Participant Panel.  Adam: Absolutely, and I think you've summarised all the key areas there really well, in terms of the importance of that engagement.  And one other area I'd just like to pick up on is the impact it can have on the patients or the participants, simply by having that connection with the researcher, that's doing all of the amazing stuff that for some of us, it's really hard to comprehend.  But having that interaction and collaboration with them, it's so important in terms of, again, I go back to giving you that hope.  And a real highlight for me at the Genomics England Research Summit was when Hannah, one of the members of our Panel, she came running over to us and she was just beaming.  And she said, “Guys, you'll never guess what, I've just met the scientist who discovered my daughter's diagnosis in the NGRL.”  And you could see that she was so excited, you cannot understate the impacts that can have on them as a family.  Like having that interaction and that personal connection with the person that really in some ways kind of changed their lives, in terms of understanding more about what that could mean for their daughter growing up, and how they're managing the condition.  So, it's amazing when you can see those highlights and hopefully we'll see more of those.  And it's also really important that we get that diversity I think, as well, in that collaborative approach, just to make sure that it is equitable for all.  And that really brings us on nicely to the next topic, which is about how do we bridge the gap between those diverse communities, and make sure that we're reaching everyone as best as possible?  So we're now going to hear a clip from Sandra Igwe.  Sandra is a CEO and founder of the Motherhood Group, speaking about the Generation Study.  Now, Sandra spoke about the importance of building trust, and how it is vital to engage with a diverse group of communities in the design of research studies.  Sandra: Every community's different, and every patient is different as well.  And so that may require different focuses or different formats or different messengers for different groups.  And so we like to have people with lived experience from the community representing that, and also driving the uptake of consent as well.  But failing to engage diverse voices can lead to perpetuating inequalities in access and uptake.  So it's really important to have representation, because the lack of it in research can overlook communities' specific concerns and needs.  Adam: So, Rich, did you want to talk about why it's so important to have that diversity?  Rich: Yes, I mean, it's critical.  One, I mentioned earlier, our vision as an organisation is a world where everyone benefits from genomic healthcare, and that word “everyone” really resonates.  I think Sandra has been really an important part of the work that we've done over the last couple of years, particularly through our Diverse Data programme.  But I think one of the real challenges for us is how we make sure that that is something which is embedded across all of our work.  And that's something that we're really focused on at the moment, how we embed the learnings that we've had through that standalone Diverse Data programme into everything we do.  Because we're absolutely committed to that, and I think that is engagement with the diversity of different groups relevant to each programme.  I think one of the real important things is that transparency piece about actually that it's hard to achieve equity in healthcare, full stop, because of historical underinvestment in some of these areas.  And I think being clear with people about that is a really important step, and then talking really practically about why it really makes sense to take different approaches.  And so one thing about our programmes and how we think about the future overall, if genomics is going to make a difference to more than half of healthcare encounters, it needs to be something that across all communities, and across the large majority of people in each of those, that this is something that they want to be part of.  Because it's going to make a difference for them or their families or something they really buy into.  And that's why this isn't just about thinking only about specific programmes where this is a question, it's about making sure that we're designing a system, developing the evidence that is really broadly applicable, and continues to learn.  Because we know that what we learn today is hopefully an improvement on where we are, but we continue to learn and learn and learn.  And it's about creating a system that does that, and does that equitably, or as equitably as we can.  Adam: So we're now going to hear from Moestak Hussein, who works to build and embed cohesion, inclusion, and social justice, in her role at Bristol City Council, in public health and communities.  Moestak talks about the value of co-production, and how this can help to build trust with communities who have historically been underserved or mistreated.  Moestak: If we talk about co-production, true co-production is really creating a power balance where there's no hierarchy, it's an empowering model.  It empowers both the researchers or the person that comes in, but also the communities that participate, and you all start on the same level, on the same outcomes and the same goals and aims that you want to achieve.  Adam: So, if I look at that from our perspective on the Panel, I think co-production in genomics research, so using participant data in the NGRL, is certainly what we'd like to see much more of.  To ensure that research is not only relevant to its intended audience, but also aligns with broader democratic principles of citizenship, accountability, and that transparency as well.  But look, we have to be realistic.  Some genomics research projects are not going to lend themselves to meaningful patient and public involvement in the early stages, but it's really important later on in the research pathway, if the findings identify a patient population who might benefit from that research.  At the moment, involvement of patients and participants, carers in research, is really not great, in terms of the researchers using the NGRL.  So, in conversations what we're hearing is they're saying, “Well, we don't know how to do it, we don't know what steps we should take.”  Or “We don't think it's relevant because we do this particular research.”    But really, our view is that some PPIE, or patient and public involvement engagement is better than none.  Some may not be relevant for all stages of the research pathway, we're not really seeing enough of that happening at the moment, and some papers are even being published without any context of the participants' lived experience at all.  Which can actually be quite frustrating, if you're that patient or parent, and you see a paper published, and you think, well, actually, why didn't they reach out to us?  Just to understand a bit about the symptoms that we're experiencing, what are the challenges that we're facing, just to really add that important context.  So, I think there's certainly an opportunity for us on the Panel, certainly for Genomics England, to be that kind of guiding light for those researchers.  Whether it's providing them with researchers, research papers, or a hub of patient advocacy organisations that are already connecting those patients with researchers.  It's all about signposting them the relevant information, so I think there's certainly things we can do there.  And it really fits in with the bigger engagement piece.  So, whether there's a landing page or a dedicated website that shows them, where do they go, what are the steps that they can take, what's the best practice, what's worked well for another researcher, and how did that lead to really great outcomes for the families involved?  That's where I think we can all play a part in guiding them on that journey, rather than it just being a case of, they're not doing that patient and participant engagement very well, and kind of criticising it.  Let's reach out to them and say, “Look, we can help you and guide you on that journey.”  Rich: I really agree with the need to make those connections happen.  One of the things I think that is often missing is just a confidence just to crack on and do some of this stuff.  And I think, actually, looking at the ReNu syndrome experience, that was work that was swiftly done.  Scientific at the beginning, the initial publication put out there so that people could understand, and was quite medical by necessity, in terms of the speed of getting information out there.  And then very quickly, and quite organically, patient support groups have formed, and also, the scientists are working with that group.  I had a really interesting conversation with Sarah Wynn, who's the CEO of the Unique last week, about how some of that has played out, how the role they've played in facilitating some of that.  And some of it just comes down to sort of really simple things, and working through how you can set up Zoom or whatever meeting, for people to learn about the condition.  And how you preserve anonymity, where that's appropriate, but also allow people to have discussions about their loved ones where they want to, etc.  So it's partly just about giving people the space and the confidence to get on with some of these things.  And as you say our, one of the things we at Genomics England are quite thoughtful about, and I think it's a really good topic to continue talking to the Panel about, is how we get that balance right.  Where, actually, us being a connector and, as you say, signposting useful resources or ways of doing these things, just to break down some of those barriers.  Because almost always the research groups, when they discover something new, this is really new territory for them, and they're often nervous about doing the wrong thing.  And so it's about breaking down some of that anxiety actually I think.  Adam: Yes, absolutely.  In our case, with our condition that we're advocating for our son, we've been working with a researcher.  And it's almost on us as well just to kind of share our story with them, and making them feel more comfortable to ask us questions and be very open and transparent about the more we can share, the more that can hopefully benefit their research moving forward.  It's very much a two-way thing as well, but I like what you said there about having the confidence just to kind of reach out and start those conversations, and have that starting point.  Next topic, we're going to look at some of the innovations that are on the horizon, that we're seeing in the world of genomics.  So, Rich, do you want to take us through what are the most exciting things that you're exploring at the moment?  I know we hear a lot about AI and the technological aspect, so why don't you take us through some of those?  Rich: Yes, so I guess this comes back to that question where we've been looking forward, you know, where might genomics be impactful and making a real difference to people's lives, to helping us have a more efficient healthcare system in the future?  And I think part of that is about this general shift.  You know, genomics technology, we just take for granted now how much it's shifted, how it's within the means of the healthcare system to generate genomic data.  And we're really fortunate in this country because of the digital infrastructure that we've been able to build together with the NHS, that opens up a lot of these questions.  And it's just extraordinary the time we're at in genomics, so almost take those two things for granted, which we should never do.  The change in genomic testing technology, which continues to advance, and secondly, thinking about the digital infrastructure, like the nuts and bolts of what we've got, and the ability to safely store and reuse and analyse some of that data at scale.  And point at two big things.  Firstly, genomics enabled therapies are changing a lot.  So, our understanding, our ability to make a diagnosis, or understand what's different about a cancer, for example, mean that in various ways it's becoming feasible to do more tailored therapies.  Where knowing that, the genomics nitty-gritty of that condition, helps you tailor that, or create sometimes even a bespoke personalised, truly for that one individual, therapy.  And in rare conditions we see that with the so-called N=1 therapies, but also with gene therapies and so forth.  And in cancer we see that with the cancer vaccines, for example.  So that's an enormous area of change, and one of our responsibilities is to support that sort of research, to help identify people who might be eligible for trials or treatments.  But it's also to work with the ecosystem to think about how we can help support the generation of evidence that means that those therapies can be affordable and so forth, on a scalable basis.  So that's one really big area of excitement.  And we see our Rare Therapies Launch Pad being part of that, the National Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad, being part of that.  So that's thing one.  Thing two is AI and machine learning, and I think sat on alongside the sort of broader picture of saying, there's a lot left to learn, there's enormous potential in genomics in terms of playing a role in many different situations, not just in rare conditions, in cancer.  And we know doing that well, but also scaling it, making it really efficient, so that we can do that in a context of a really busy health service, one of the answers is making sure that we're leveraging everything we can about the potential of AI.  And there's lots of different ways in which that can be supportive, I won't list lots of them.  But one of the things that we're doing at Genomics England and working with the NHS is thinking about the most promising areas.  And some of those are quite, like, down and dirty, if you like, so sort of saying, which jobs are there that we can use AI, if you like, as a co-pilot, alongside experienced scientists, to speed up their work?  And we're really excited about the role we can play in a few ways actually.  So the first one, back to that sort of data and evidence engine point, is helping organisations who have a tool, help validate it for use in the NHS, and say, “Does it perform to this standard?  What do we want to say about how it performs from an equity point of view?  And from a clinical safety point of view?” etc.  And making that leap from stuff that makes a Nature paper to stuff that lands in clinic is surprisingly challenging, and that's one of our roles.  And we really enjoyed working with various companies and academics over the last few years on that.  We did some work recently with Google DeepMind, on their AlphaMissense tool, thinking about how we can think about that role that might play, for example, in speeding up the interpretation of rare variants that might cause rare conditions.  And there's enormous potential in all sorts of different parts of the sort of end to end of genomics playing a role in healthcare.  And then I'd also say one of the really important things is because genomics in many ways just needs to be part of healthcare and not be treated differently, we also need to recognise where there are questions we need to work through really thoroughly that are a bit more bespoke.  And one of the things that we're really committed to doing, as we look to the future, is making sure that we can support on some of those questions that we really need to be clear on.  I'll go back to that point on, what do we mean about making sure we understand how a tool is working, and whether it's producing results in an equitable way for all different communities?  How do we understand that?  How do we explain what we understand about the performance of a tool?  How do we make sure that patient identifiable data remains non-identifiable if a tool's been built, trained on data?  Working through some of those questions.  But they're really important for us to do, and we're enormously excited about the potential, and we're really committed to working through in detail how we can make that path to adoption safely and in the way that everyone would expect and desire as rapid as possible.  We're just one step in that process.  But we really see a sort of important role for helping people who are producing various tools or various use cases, helping them prove them, helping them validate them, and making the system more efficient overall, but in ways that we really understand.  Adam: That's fantastic.  Look, not that I'm biased at all, but I can tell you that the AlphaMissense innovations that are being developed are shared a lot internally at Google, it has been seen as an amazing success case.  So hopefully we'll see more on that moving forward.  But in the next clip, we're going to hear from Francisco.  So Francisco is the Director of Bioinformatics at Genomics England, who tells us more about the application of AI and its benefits in genomics in healthcare.  Francisco: So AI is already driving the development of personalised medicine for both research and healthcare purposes.  Now at Genomics England we are investigating the use of AI to support a number of tasks, for the potential impact in both research and healthcare.  In the context of healthcare, we are talking about AI tools that can support the prioritisation, the ranking of genomic variants to allow clinicians to make more accurate and faster diagnosis.  Adam: While all of these innovations sound really exciting, it's really important that we just continue to bring that patient and participant community on that journey, just to ensure that they really understand the full benefits, and we talked about that on the episode today.  I know that the panel has always encouraged Genomics England team to look at its boots while shooting for the moon.  I really like that phrase, just to make sure, look, we can't forget where we've come from to make sure we're taking people on that journey.  So, we're going to wrap up there.  Thank you to Rich Scott for joining me today, as we reflected on key milestones for 2024, and looked at the year ahead for both Genomics England and the wider genomic ecosystem.  If you enjoyed today's episode, we'd love your support.  Please like, share and rate us on wherever you listen to your podcasts.  I've been your host, Adam Clatworthy, this podcast was edited by Bill Griffin at Ventoux Digital and produced by Naimah Callachand.  Thank you everyone for listening. 

Adam Welcome, educator, podcaster, author, and keynote speaker, joins for a Connected Conversation. We delve into a deep conversation on leadership and the essential habit for leaders to read and grow. Visit Adam's website for more information on booking for speaking engagements, ordering his books, and consulting: https://www.mradamwelcome.com/

Welcome to the Count Me In Podcast! In this episode, host Adam Larson invites Soufyan Hamid, a highly experienced finance professional with over 15 years in the industry. Soufyan is also the founder of SouFBP, a global consulting firm that helps finance professionals enhance their presentation delivery. Join Adam and Soufyan as they delve into Soufyan's remarkable journey in the accounting field, from working with top-tier firms to transitioning into corporate finance. They discuss the challenges of effective storytelling in the finance world and the importance of clear communication to effectively convey complex financial data. If you're eager to gain valuable insights into the world of finance and accounting, this episode is a must-listen!Catch Soufyan live at IMA's European Accounting and Finance Conference in April 2024Full Transcript: < Intro > Adam:            Welcome back to Count Me In. Where we bring you compelling stories and insights from the world of accounting and finance. In today's episode, we have a fascinating conversation with Soufyan Hamid, an experienced accounting professional with over 15 years of corporate experience. As the founder of SouFBP, a global consulting firm, Soufyan's expertise lies in helping finance professionals, globally, master the delivery of their presentations by improving their preparation, messaging, and visuals. Soufyan takes us on his remarkable journey, through the accounting field from his early days at a Big Four firm to becoming a finance business partner. We'll hear about practical strategies for becoming a more effective communicator, and how human skills are more vital than ever, in the age of automation. Let's get started. < Music > Soufyan, thank you so much for coming on the podcast today. We're really excited to have you. I thought we could start off our conversation by, maybe, you could tell us a little about your journey, in the accounting field, and what initially drew you to the profession? Soufyan:        Well, it's quite easy because this is basically following the leads, that I started following in my studies in business, finance, and economics. And suddenly I realized that I liked the logic of accounting and the logic of finance. How precise it is, how organized it is to know the debits and the credits from one side. It has to be perfectly equal on both sides, so I liked the logic. And when you are in such an orientation, when you are in your studies, well, it goes quite easy because the Big Four are all over you, even before you end your studies. And, so, in my last year, I directly signed a contract with PwC, and that's how my accounting career started, basically. And, so, I started as an auditor, working for PwC, and I did that during four years. And I liked that journey because it was an accelerated program, to understand better accounting without having to go through all specializations. You're easily brought into the whole picture, into the helicopter view of a P&L, for example, or a balance sheet. And, so, I didn't have to go through all the transactions like bookkeeping AP, or AR, or cash, to finally become a general accountant. Thanks to that, after two years, I was already working on analytical reviews of the P&L, and working on the full balance sheet. So it was really a second university, I would say, and I love that. But since I didn't want to become a public accountant for a living, and I didn't want to end up my career like that, I decided to move. And, at that moment, I was still considering myself as a rookie because you understand a lot of things when you work in audit, but you're still somehow in studies. And, so, I wanted to face the reality of working in a company. But, obviously, at that time, I didn't have any experience working inside a company. So I decided to join Deloitte in temporary work department, with the business process solution department. And they offered us the possibility to work in accounting, but also controlling treasury, all finance fields, as a temp. Meaning that I had assignments of three months, six months, sometimes, one or two years. And, so, I had the opportunity to continue learning how to work inside of finance department, under the umbrella of Deloitte. And that was really where I discovered what it was to work in finance. And this is also where I discovered my passion for controlling, FP&A, and finance business partnering. Adam:            Mh-hmm, I think that's amazing. Because many accountants, whether they go the traditional route, starting at a Big Four like you, or they go right into corporate, right into the finance department, or the internal accounting team. They find themselves, eventually, getting to that point where they're looking at those finance, looking at the FP&A side of things, and being that business partner. And what are some of the main challenges that you find when you get to that point? Or you've been doing all these things and you get to, "Hey, I'm going to be analyzing this complex data and trying to tell the story." When you're trying to convey these things to people, not even in finance. So you're no longer working with auditing teams or working with accounting teams. You're talking to people who don't understand how it all works. What are some of the biggest challenges that you find, when that happens? Soufyan:        Well, I found these challenges when I started to work as internal for a company. Because when I left Deloitte, after five years, I decided to join a Belgian Telco company, as a finance business partner, and I was really good, technically. Technically, I was really good. I was one of the few to master financial modeling. I was one of the few to master Excel, visual basics, Power Pivot, everything, that was, somehow, what made me successful at Deloitte. And I was kind of happy, and in finance, everybody was happy because I developed dashboards, I helped them automate many things. But when I had to compare how I was welcomed by non-finance people, it's another story. Because I was so convinced that my success would go through the technical stuff, that I completely missed the fact that I was working with people, not mastering the same things as me. And I was there, telling them about the many exceptions you found in the data about I don't know which IFRS rule that made an exception to their figures. Another [Inaudible 00:06:05] that I had to reverse this month because it was too old to be there. And, so, I had a difficult time having a real partnership with them. And since I was supposed to be a finance business partner, that made it tough. So I thought I was right, and I just understood that when you're working inside a company, and that you leave the world of PwC, of Deloitte, of one of the Big Four, and even one of the consulting firms, you don't have that shield.You don't have that umbrella anymore, to protect you, and to give you the credibility, you need to convince people. So you have to work on your communication, you have to work on those ...

Welcome to the Count Me In Podcast, where we bring you conversations with top industry professionals and thought leaders. In this episode, host Adam Larson sits down with Jonathan Smalley, Co-Founder at Proxymity, for a deep dive into shareholder engagement in the corporate world. They discuss the critical importance of strengthening shareholder engagement, the impact on investor relations, and the ongoing digital transformation of proxy voting. If you want to gain insider insights and valuable advice from industry experts, you've come to the right place. Tune in to hear their engaging discussion on the future of shareholder communication and the evolving landscape of corporate governance.Episode Transcript:< Intro > Adam:            Welcome to Count Me In. I'm your host, Adam Larson, and in today's episode, we're diving into the world of shareholder engagement with Jonathan Smalley, co-founder at Proximity. We'll uncover why strengthening shareholder engagement is more crucial than ever, and why it's imperative for navigating the upcoming political landscape. From climate change to the rising influence of retail shareholders. We'll explore the global factors impacting shareholder engagement, and the shift towards digitalizing proxy voting. Jonathan shares valuable insights on bridging the gap in shareholder communication, and the potential benefits for organizations. Get ready to gain a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities, in shareholder engagement. < Music > Adam:            Well, Jonathan, I'm really excited to have you on the podcast today. And we're going to be talking about shareholder engagement, which is something not everybody touches, necessarily, but it's a very important part of your organization. Especially if you have a board or shareholders, if you're a public company. And, so, what makes strengthening shareholder engagement more critical, now than ever, for smoother investor relations. Especially as we're going into 2024 here, as we're recording at the end of 2023. What makes that so important, right now? Jonathan:       Firstly, thanks for having me, Adam. Yes, I'd say it's more critical than ever, but I'd say it's been critical for quite a long time. But when we look at what's behind us and what's ahead, there are some really big global factors that are not going away. That are continuing to heat things up, I feel like. I think as we head into 2024, also, it's the biggest political election year, globally, ever. Big elections in the U.S., India, South Korea, Mexico, likely to be one in the United Kingdom. And a lot of the factors, actually, that are going to impact political elections are going to be considerations when people go to the ballot box, are actually also transferable to the boardroom, or to the annual general meeting hall. Things like climate change is not going to surprise people, but that is something that is extremely topical and is a key part of issuer-shareholder engagement. Just this year, both inside the U.S. and outside, more shareholders' climate proposals than last year. And there are groups that cite that as financially material to their investment decisions now. And not just people on the street, but powerful, influential, institutional investor groups have got together and made that determination. And they're not just asking issuers and, obviously, the regulators are also calling for disclosures. It's also their service providers that are asking to do more.They want net zero policies. They want better climate integration into things like voting policies. And another one that's been heating things up for a long time now is Say-on-Pay. 94% now of S&P 1500 companies have a say on pay vote every single year. Ten years ago that would have been about 50%, so it's a big increase. And, I think, this year they, against recommendations from the leading two vote, advisors went down, but less against recommendations. But those resolutions got less support this year than last year. So that makes those contests quite frequent. And, then, I think, kind of linked to the climate change thing. You've got ESG versus increasing anti ESG, pretty polarized, and I think that's also something. As I sort of mentioned before, is going to also play out in political elections as well, not just in company elections.  And then I'd say that the big kicker to all of that is that we're just seeing year on year more votes, particularly, more votes from retail shareholders. Institutional shareholder voting has been quite high for a number of years now because of active ownership, because of stewardship codes, because of regulation. Retail, as a rule of thumb, has always been 20, 25% maybe in a contest a little bit higher than that. So there's clearly much more room for that to go into. And we've got some brokers going, "We're getting 30% a year on year increase." Some retail shared voting, and that's coming at a time where we're going through millennials and Gen Z's inheriting anywhere between $68 to $84 billion. And millennials, at the moment, are the most likely generational group to vote. So big issues against the backdrop of a great wealth transfer heading into a year that is going to be, probably, more politically charged than any we've seen across all the democratic countries, in the world, that are going to go to the polls. So I think engaging shareholders and having an efficient way for companies and shareholders to communicate back and forth is going to be more important than ever before, just because there's so much more coming. And I think we'll get on to maybe the technology a little bit later. But if you look at the legacy ecosystem about the way companies and shareholders communicate, we urgently need to upgrade that to deal with this. Because it's a good thing for companies and shareholders to communicate back and forth. We should be allowing it efficiently and digitally. And if we don't, and we're not ready for what's coming, then, there's going to be more negative headlines, I think, for companies to be worried about. As those general meetings debate and have voted on very important decisions for the company. Adam:            Yes, it's great how you outline all the different political factors. All the things happening around the world, that are causing more and more shareholders to become more engaged. And before we get to the technology piece, maybe, you could elaborate a little more about the importance of that communication between shareholders, in the organization. How it can impact a company's overall performance and even reputation? Jonathan:       Yes, I mean, starting with the reputational piece, it's probably easier to talk about the downside, sometimes, because, then, that's the thing that creates headlines. It creates headlines when results are challenged. When there's uncertainty about the results. And we saw a fairly infamous case a few years ago at the P&G's meeting, votes counted three times and it was a different result every time. And you're like, "How could that be?" And that was very expensive, both for the company, it w...

Welcome to Count Me In! In this episode, our host Adam Larson welcomes back Alissa Vickery, Chief Accounting Officer, SVP Accounting and Control at FLEETCOR, who shares her journey as an interterm CFO at FLEETCOR. Discover how Alissa balanced multiple finance responsibilities, handled the weight of the CFO role, and developed her leadership strategies. Get ready for an engaging discussion that will inspire and inform. Full Episode Transcript:< Intro > Adam:            Welcome to Count Me In. In today's episode, we are excited to have Alissa Vickery back on the show. Alissa is the Chief Accounting Officer, Senior Vice President, Accounting and Control at FLEETCOR Alissa, who served as the interim CFO at FLEETCOR shares her experience stepping into the role, navigating the transition, and balancing multiple responsibilities. She discusses the importance of building a strong team, seeking advice from mentors and auditors, and effectively communicating with peers and leaders.  She candidly shares her success stories and learning opportunities, during her time as the interim CFO. Lastly, Alissa reflects on how this experience has shaped her career trajectory, and emphasizes the importance of being a business partner within the finance leadership role. Keep listening to hear Alissa's insights and advice. Let's get started. < Music > Adam:            Well, Alissa, we're very excited to have you back on the Count Me In podcast. And today we're going to be talking, a lot, about your role, how you served as an interim CFO at FLEETCOR. And, so, to start off, maybe, you can briefly describe your experience as an interim role and what were your main responsibilities? Alissa:            Sure, so I guess I'll back it up a minute, when you get asked to sit in that kind of seat, even on an interim basis, it is quite overwhelming and humbling, all at the same time. And, so, after serving in various roles in the finance sector here at FLEETCOR over the last 12 years, stepping into the role and the responsibilities, and I'll just call it the weight of the position was, quite frankly, a moment where for me, professionally, I had to really look in the mirror and say, "Okay, I can do this. I'm ready. I can accomplish what my leaders are hopeful that I can accomplish." But in terms of what prepared me for that, I think it's the experience of being on the journey of the FLEETCOR trajectory over that 12-year cycle, and holding various roles throughout the organization. But always in a global capacity, and always in the interest of, I'll call it the overall finance good.  Whether it's helping with a deal and making sure that we're thinking through the risks and rewards appropriately, working on valuation, thinking about internal audit. It's really those experiences that prepared me to be able to step into the role in that moment, at that time, whether anticipated, unexpected, whatever. And, so, it was quite the opportunity, at that time. Adam:            Yes, I can imagine the weight of stepping, into something like a CFO. Because if you're not used to that, if you've never been in that role, there's a certain level of responsibility that is on your shoulders, all of a sudden. Like one day you're not, and then the next day you are. So it's a big transition. How did you navigate that transition to that new role? Alissa:            I would say I spent as much time as I could with my outgoing CFO, that was step one. Talked a lot with HR around how to navigate the executive ranks, if you will. I was already in the room, but having the CFO hat was a very different hat. And then I would say getting advice from both of those parties, as well as my external auditors. Who were already, I'll call it trusted business partners, as we navigated forward, and just trying to be, quite frankly, as prepared as I could be.  But then also have the chats with my CEO, to understand exactly where he wanted me to focus. Because I knew that it would be challenging to be all things to all people. I already know that in my personal life/professional life. You can't do all things excellent, at the same time. If you're being a great employee, sometimes, you're not as great of a mom or a wife. And, so, always striking the right balance. And, so, understanding what he was hoping that I would help control, and help manage, and get him comfortable with, as we moved forward. And, then, I think getting the advice from my outgoing CFO, who was quite gracious with the time he had left in the organization, around making sure that I was leaning on others. I was not in this by myself. I have a team. We have a strong team, and they help to build and support a great finance organization. "Don't forget to lean on them, ask for help, and seek the advice of others when needed." At the end of the day, I had already built the trust throughout the organization through my tenure, and through the various projects I've worked on over the years. And, so, not discounting the value, and I'll call it just the level of experience that facilitated in the new seat. Adam:            I can only imagine, but it sounds like you had a great team. And having a great team around you really helps lift you up, and prepares you for that. Are there certain leadership strategies that you had to implement to try to navigate this waters? Because one day you're same level as other people, and the next day you're suddenly a C-level person, right? Alissa:            Yes, it's just the short answer. It was super fascinating because suddenly I had a new peer group. And, so, working directly with each of those peers, and I have to say they were so gracious, and saying, "How can I help you be successful?" "Let me know what you need." So I think that's part of it.  But, then, too, in terms of the skill sets, it was really having the fortitude to find the right help. Back to my statement, I can't be all things to all people, at the same time. I already was the chief accounting officer, still am the chief accounting officer. But I had to elevate to CFO and wear both hats.  And, so, making sure that I brought in some help to supplement where I knew I needed to step out, and being thoughtful about what that skill set looked like. Knowing that I wasn't going to be able to give every piece of the process, the time that I would have had I only been wearing the single hat.  And, so, I would say learning to let it go, it's very difficult. Learning to trust your people in a way, I was already trusting them. But I had to trust them in a whole new level, and they're all fantastic, but it's just a change in mindset. I think type A personalities tend to keep it close, and close to the vest, and understand all the moving pieces, and then you can release.  And, so, I had to get out of my comfort zone, greatly. And I had to figure out new ways, quite frankly, to manage my calendar, manage my availability for those team members. Provide the right level of support to my new peer group, as well as be available to my CEO whenever he needed it. Adam:            Yes, and the whole thing about being able to wear multiple hats. You can't wear both hats, at the same time, and be available for both sections. So how did you balance having two different roles in your lap, at the same time? Alissa:            I would say focusing on the hottest fire or the most important thing, at any one point in time, and, quite frankly, having a significantly longer day. I would start my day a little earlier than I would typically, and certainly ended it later. And it is no joke when you take on a new role, even in the same org. It takes a level of commitment, and a level of just dive down, and hunker down, and get the work done attitude. That you don't typically have when you've sort of been in the role, in that same role, for a period of time. And, so, just being quite reflective on what were the most important things, at each point in time. Looking at my week, that weekend, in advance, and really being thoughtful about where I was going to be able to spend that time, working in time, to at least have one touch point with my finance and accounting team. So that I was super clear where we were in either budget cycle work, or in 10-Qs, 10-Ks.  Because that's really what we're hyper focused on, as well as I'll call it the internal audit work. Making sure we're tracking through supporting our auditors. Having enough of an awareness of what's going on, but not being able to own it. Really expecting my team members to own it and report up to me. So that we are striking the right balance and achieving the outcomes that are expected. Adam:            Were you able to identify different strategies or better strategies, on how to deal with different tasks that you may have done differently, if you just had the one hat on? Were you able to identify different strategies to do things more efficiently, and maybe find better ways to do things for the organization, overall? Alissa:            Well, sure, and I think implementing technological tools that help you to do things in a smarter, and more effective, efficient way, are always huge. And, so, we did that in a number of, I'll call it the budgeting process pieces. And it was probably the best thing that ever happened to the team, and to the process, because it forces you to take a step back. You have to find a way to do it smarter, more effectively, with the most accurate answer you can have. Because if we know anything about a budget or a forecast, it's wrong. But we're trying to get it as on point as possible. And, so, bringing in a little bit of contract help, combined with the team really having to take ownership. It forced that level of, "Okay, let's use this system to do this piece of work. We haven't used the system to do it before." Engaging with the leadership team to make sure that they're thinking through the risks, the same way I might. So that when I step in, I'm just asking the very top of the house questions. Okay, "Did we do A, B, C, D, E,?"  Okay, "Yes. Wait, F you haven't done that, yet? Go back, make sure this is part of our model, and then come back to me to where I feel really good about whatever the output is." And that's more on the budgeting and forecasting side, on the Qs and the Ks' side, it's really being super conscious over what the open items and tasks are to get us to end a job.  Knowing that when we acquire businesses, that entails a level of incremental effort documentation. It makes it from a deal document to a piece of accounting support, and memo, to the 10-Q or 10-K. It's a journey that involves a lot of third parties that help us to get to the right answers, and the team had to own it. And, so, I had to get comfortable that the team could own it, with just my sort of at the top, read the document, feel comfortable, that it's not materially misstated because they've done their jobs. Adam:            Mh-hmm. How did your leadership style evolve throughout this process? Because I'm sure you had to adapt as a leader, with two different teams, and different peer groups. How did that evolve over this time? Alissa:            I think it fundamentally shifted from being a little bit more hands on because I couldn't be, to the trust but verify, have the conversations that give you confidence. So we all do these DiSC Surveys here at FLEETCOR, which I think are really useful in terms of how somebody's brain works, and where they pivot on a cycle.  And I would say I would absolutely tend to be highly analytic, a little less direct, probably, a quieter person in the room, unless I feel like I have value to add. Stepping into the CFO role, I had to get a little uncomfortable. I had to be willing to find my voice. I had to be willing to speak up. Because I do know the business, I do know the risks. I do know the people at the table, and I know their businesses, and their products.  And, so, trying to ensure that I'm adding value, supporting our CEO and his efforts to get to the final envelope for the budget. But then, ultimately, being able to translate everything that I'm doing from a financial leadership role and pivot that into an investor purview.  So where I'm sitting on stage, at an investor conference, being asked questions that are, quite frankly, at a very high-level about the organization. But then dive down into the details, and finding my voice and being able to answer those in a way that is clear, concise, and eloquent. Because they're trying to get comfortable with what we're doing as a business and a public company, and, ultimately, to build investor confidence in the stock.  And, so, that is a muscle that I did not have prior to the role. It is one I feel like I exercised quite a bit. I worked a lot with my investor relations team, and they are fabulous, I have to give them a lot of props. Because that prep work and the homework, to then be ready to go, step on stage not three months, probably three months into the role, it was fantastic and a great learning opportunity for me. Adam:            Yes, that sounds like a great learning opportunity, it really stretched you as a person. And, so, thinking about your career development and where you see yourself going. How did serving as this interim CFO, how did that change your trajectory, of where you saw yourself going in your future professional development? Alissa:            Yes, it's a great question. I would not have said that my end goal was CFO prior to taking the role. Not because I didn't think I could do it, but just because I think we, as humans, we get comfortable in roles, and comfortable even in the space in which we serve. "I am an accountant, it's comfortable. I know what I'm doing, it feels like home." But stepping into the CFO role, forcing me to get a little uncomfortable, a little out of my comfort zone. And finding that voice where I'm more of a leader in the room, as it relates to business as a whole; being thoughtful, strategic, partnering with our different operators to where we all achieve the ultimate, bigger, better outcome.  I think, then, it changes your mindset a little bit. And, so, I absolutely see a future role where, hopefully, it benefits me that I've served in the role, but perhaps as a CFO in the future. Of course, for now, though, I would say having served in the role, it's not like the respect goes away, those relationships exist. And as my new CFO came in, we had a very direct and honest conversation about what I hoped it looked like going forward. And very pleased, so far, that I'm still allowed to have the seat at the table, to be a voice in the room.  I know my place as the lead of accounting versus the lead of finance. But striking the right balance, and being a business partner for him, as well, as he learns the business, the people, the risks, what we're trying to accomplish. And, so, hopefully, I'm a much more effective chief accounting officer, for having served in that CFO role at this org. Adam:            Yes, it gives you a whole new insight. And, plus, you've walked in his shoes, so you can say, "Hey, this is what I was doing, but let's talk through a better way of doing that." And it gives you that newfound respect, right? Alissa:            Yes, it's interesting, as you walk along the journey, especially, given that was my first time in that CFO seat. You have perspective coming out the other side of it.  Adam:            Of course. Alissa:            That you absolutely don't have, as you're trying to just work through your days, your weeks, your months, your deadlines, your filings, your earnings' calls, whatever it is. And, so, watching him come in, as brand new to the org, and how he operates has been insightful, for me. But also, it has allowed me to reflect on the experience, which was almost 10 months in length. To really have my takeaways as, "Okay, this is what I did. Here's what I could have done better. Here's what I think I actually did a pretty good job on, and here's the things that I didn't touch at all. So I want to go figure out how I can continue to grow and learn in those capacities." Adam:            Yes, so I imagine there's somebody listening to this podcast, and thinking they either have the opportunity, or they're saying, "What if I get this opportunity?" What advice would you give somebody who has the opportunity to step into interim CFO or balance multiple finance responsibilities? What advice would you give them, walking into that? Alissa:            I would say, first, take a deep breath, it's going to be fine. If you're asked to step into the role or you volunteer to step in the role. If you have the gumption and believe you have enough of the skill set to perform in that role, you probably do.  And, then, from there, I think, it's assess your team where your gaps are, fill in for where the weaknesses exist. Whether that was you stepping out, so you don't have anybody to fill that role, or you have known other challenges in the group and fill those holes. So that you were able to focus on the bigger picture, the more strategic aspects of the role, as opposed to getting sucked back into the weeds. I think it's the weeds that can tend to bog you down and, potentially, drown you. And then once you've got that core team and you have confidence, lean on them, empower them, make it a growing opportunity for them as well. Because I think, collectively, we all get something more out of it if we all benefit from the temporary elevation in title/role responsibility. Provide the guidance, lead them well. You are in the seat to be the financial leader, not just to make sure the numbers are right.  And, so, that entails working with your business operators. But also working with the individuals who, maybe, used to be your peers, and helping them ensure that they're able to convey the messages, and the answers that the CEO is looking for. Or at least the outputs that the CEO is looking for, maybe, it's not always the answer that he wants. But provide the support for them when they need it, along the process, and creating trust in the org is ultimate.  I tend to have an open-door policy, sometimes, to my own detriment because the door just opens. I'll be honest, I debated whether I needed to shut the blinds and lock the door, just to ensure that we aren't interrupted, but it's a good thing, it's a good problem to have. And I think my personality just lends itself to that, in general. But being available for there're individuals who need you when they need you. Because they may walk down the hallway and they may not do it again.  And, so, being available and ready for that chat when it occurs or when it needs to occur. And, then, I think being a change agent when appropriate, knowing that the way we've done things isn't always the way we need to continue to do things. Being thoughtful about how we use technology, I've always said, especially, in large orgs, it's a little bit like eating an elephant, you're not going to do it all in one bite. It's one bite at a time.  And, so, while we may not build the Titanic, all in one year. What we can do is make incremental improvements to our technical debt, to our financial processes, to how we analyze our business. To the outputs that, ultimately, help investors better understand what we're doing, or leadership better understand what the performance of the company truly is. So that we do make improvements year over year, to where over a period of time, it is much more meaningful. Adam:            Yes, I think that's some wonderful advice. And I was wondering if you'd be willing to maybe share a success story while you were interim and maybe even a failure because you've been telling some great things. But I'm sure everything wasn't flower beds and roses the whole time you were the interim CFO. Alissa:            I think a success story is when I was appointed to the role, immediately looking for somebody to fill my spot. To fill the gap that I was going to leave. So that I could truly focus on supporting the business and my leadership team. I cannot speak to how important that decision was now after the fact, and how finding the right person. Not just somebody, but the right somebody or somebodies to come in and assist. Having a network in the payments and tech community, and the financial community, in the Atlanta market, enabled me to identify who those right individuals might be. And I interviewed a lot of people to try to identify the right resource, and that was a total home run. It enabled me to step out of the role and just know it was going to get done. But it also empowered my team to really own their pieces of the business, and their pieces of the finance puzzle, in a way that they had not had to prior because of my level of engagement and involvement. So I'm super proud of what we accomplished there.  So, perhaps, a learning opportunity that I got out of the experience, is just learning how to ensure that I'm always effectively communicating with all members of my leadership team. There were a couple of instances where I felt like I could have better communicated or more proactively communicated. And it was one of those things where I didn't figure it out until after the fact, which is on me. I did have the grace of being in the role on an interim basis. And, so, those individuals who really needed me to communicate that information more proactively, they absolutely rationalized where we were. But it's something I can grow from, absolutely. Adam:            I think it's amazing, and thank you for being vulnerable to share that learning opportunity. Because it's not easy to share those things because, sometimes, you just want to talk about all the successes, but it's difficult. And you mentioned a little bit when your new CFO came in and you had those conversations. Can we talk a little bit more about what that transition was like, as you transitioned back out of the role? Alissa:            Sure. So I would say our new CFO is a very experienced financial executive. And, so, he came in with his views as to what finance looks like, certainly, in other organizations. A benefit that I didn't necessarily have stepping into the role. And, so, he was cognizant of, perhaps, the situation that I might be feeling, certainly given the situation I was in. But just trying to be open and open-minded, quite frankly, about how we would hand off the responsibilities, the tasks. Even as simple as, "Well, if you came in right before earnings, who's going to speak on the earnings' call?" And, so, just striking the right balance, in those very first days. And, then, once we had those first days behind us, then, just being open to the learning experience. But also trying to share with him as many nuggets of knowledge as I could. But allow him to ask me questions as it was organic to his growth trajectory, and learning experience here at the company. And, so, I would say really trying to treat it as a business partnership.  Because, ultimately, I believe that this organization needs a leader like this individual that is brought in, with a lot of financial acumen, a lot of experience, which enables them to lead in a different way. We are a large global S&P 500 company. And, so, I'm really excited about what the future holds with him at the helm. Adam:            I think that's great, being able to partner, be that business partner. And a lot of examples you've been sharing today have been about being that business partners. And I wonder if you could, maybe, share a little bit about how you view the finance role and the leadership, as the business partner within an organization. Alissa:            So I think that finance becomes the connective tissue. Without finance, it's really difficult to understand what the results are, what the performance looks like, gathering KPIs. Gathering them in a way that's consistent, accurate, and complete across an org, to where you have comparative metrics. And, so, it's not just in terms of producing the results. But then having those next-level conversations with operators or being part of their executive meetings, to understand what's happening in the belly of the beast. We don't have a ton of businesses, but we have enough to where going that extra layer down helps you to just really rationalize the why behind what the numbers are trying to tell you. Because the numbers only can go so far.  And, so, understanding that sales is connected to credit underwriting, which is connected to bad debt. Which is, ultimately, connected to the financial performance of that business unit, is super helpful. But then understanding that the personalities at play, and perhaps how you compensate individuals may drive behaviors that either were intended or unintended.  And, so, it becomes this great web, if you will, of, connectedness. That if you insert yourself into the process at the right points, whether it's credit, sales, operational results, recruiting, whatever. It really does help frame up the why behind the business performance, and business results, and how we plan to move forward from those as well. Adam:            Yes, Alissa, your story has been wonderful to hear, and it's not every day you get to hear somebody's story of being in an interim position, especially, a CFO's position. And, so, I just want to thank you so much for being able to share your experience with our audience, today. And thank you so much for coming back on the podcast. Alissa:            Thank you, it was really good to see you again. < Outro > Announcer:    This has been Count Me In, IMA's podcast, providing you with the latest perspectives of thought leaders from the accounting and finance profession. If you like what you heard and you'd like to be counted in, for more relevant accounting and finance education, visit IMA's website at www.imanet.org.

Welcome to Count Me In, with your host, Adam Larson. In this episode, Adam is joined by Tim Hedley, the Executive in Residence at Fordham University and Shari Littan, Director, Corporate Reporting Research & Thought Leadership at IMA.  Join this thought-provoking discussion as they delve into the importance of internal controls, the evolving landscape of sustainability reporting, and the challenges and benefits organizations face in adopting sustainable business practices.Discover how the COSO framework, the gold standard for reliable reporting, has been adapted to include non-financial reporting objectives, aligning with the rise of sustainability and ESG reporting. Explore critical trends in the world of ESG reporting, from increasing regulations to stakeholder engagement and supply chain transparency.Learn from Tim and Shari as they share their insights on the challenges organizations face in implementing sustainable practices and balancing short-term profits with long-term sustainability goals. Understand the significance of internal controls in providing a basis for external assurance and building stakeholder trust in reported information.Join Tim and Shari for a live event Nov 30 - Dec 1 in NYC. Register todayFull Episode Transcript:< Intro > Adam:            Welcome to another episode of Count Me In. In today's episode, joining us are two guest experts. Tim Hedley, who is Executive-in-Residence at Fordham University, and Shari Littan, Director, Corporate Reporting, Research and Thought Leadership at IMA. Our discussion revolves around the importance of internal controls and sustainability reporting. And how they enhance trust, accountability, and reliability of the reported information.  Tim and Shari share insights from the COSO framework. Which was developed to help improve confidence in all types of data and information. The landscape of sustainability reporting is constantly evolving, with shifting regulatory requirements and increased stakeholder expectations. We explore crucial trends; such as the focus on materiality and risk assessments, stakeholder engagement, supply chain transparency, and evolving reporting metrics. Let's get started, with this enlightening conversation.  < Music > Adam:            Shari, Tim, thank you so much for coming on the podcast. We're really excited to be talking about COSO, internal control, and everything in that whole ESG world. But just for our listeners, who may be unfamiliar, you could've, probably, have heard the term COSO, or ICSR, and those things before, but maybe you're not familiar with those terms. Maybe, Shari, you could take a little bit of time and define, maybe, a high-level overview of what COSO is, the significant, internal control framework, and the purpose of the new documents. Shari:             I'd be happy to, thanks, Adam, it's great to be here. So COSO stands for Committee of Sponsoring Organizations and it came about in the late 1980s. It is a collaboration of five accountancy and auditing organizations. There's the American Accounting Association, which is an academic organization, primarily. AICPA, everyone is familiar. IMA, where we sit, and we primarily focus on the accountants and finance professionals in business, the in-house folks are ours. Institute of Internal Auditors, and FEI, Financial Executives International. So those five organizations make up COSO. COSO came about in the late 1980s, amid what was then the savings and loans crisis, and there was concern that the profession needed to do better. That we were starting to see major accounting failures, disclosure, litigation, regulation, questions. Are we doing the right things in the profession?" So the five accountancy organizations got together, and they said, "How are we going to resolve this? How are we going to promote trust and accountability in what we do, as a profession?" The focus became on this concept of internal controls, which we'll get to.  So in '92, after that, the COSO, as an organization, produced its first internal control framework. And then we can move forward to 1990s, late 1990s, 2000, the Enron, WorldCom's era, which led to Sarbanes-Oxley. And Sarbanes-Oxley, rather than looking at the substance of what a company needs to disclose, again, looked at the idea of governance process, auditing, and said, "In order to produce financial reports to the markets, you need to focus on your systems and your controls. You need management to speak to it, in your reporting system. You need auditors to address controls." We had the PCAOP. So we have this Sarbanes-Oxley, which created this idea of internal controls over financial reporting. And, although, Sarbanes Oxley didn't specifically say, "You must use the COSO framework." It was considered the best thing around, and it's become the gold standard in how to produce reliable financial or corporate reporting in more general. Now, in 2013, the framework was refreshed, we got a new internal control framework. And what it did, in the 2013 refresh, is it added the idea of non-financial reporting objectives. That was around the same time, about 10 years ago, when we started to see all kinds of sustainability integrated, ESG, reporting frameworks. And, so, though not express, what the framework did, in its refresh, was say "Yes, this is completely applicable to these types of activities and reporting." And, so, that leads us to where we are, today. Where, earlier, in 2023 we issued the internal control over sustainability reporting publication. And what the authors did, in that publication, was we looked at the existing internal control framework and said, "Okay, now we're seeing an acceleration of ESG or sustainability reporting and activities, performance and activities.  And that means we need good information, and that means we need quality information and transparency. Let's look at the COSO Internal Control Framework, and see how we can interpret it and apply it to these new forms of reporting. Adam:            Shari, I think that's a great overview. And, as you mentioned, there's the ever evolving nature of this new type of non-financial reporting, ESG reporting. There are shifts in regulatory compliance. We were just speaking before we started recording how this could change, or that could change, or this regulatory body can make a statement, at this moment, at this time, how this is constantly changing.  And, Tim, maybe, I'll ask you, how do you see this landscape changing? And what should organizations be, particularly, aware of, especially, with the ever evolving nature and things constantly moving? Tim:               Well, Adam, thank you, and thank you for having me here. The sustainability reporting landscape has rapidly changed, particularly, recently, to meet stakeholder expectation, and government regulations. And, Adam, your question could be an entire podcast, or a big section of this podcast if we had that kind of time, but I do see some critical trends, just some of the ones, from my perspective.  I mean, many people are out there, I'm sure Shari's got all kinds of ideas of what those trends might be. But there are some that just come to mind, for me. I think the biggest one that I think about a lot, and certainly what I experience in the classroom, and then talking to people who are in the field of sustainability reporting, some of the people I work with in different contexts, I think the first one is increasing regulation.Regulatory bodies, worldwide, are increasing their focus on sustainability reporting. And, personally, I think we should expect ever more stringent reporting requirements. And an interesting case in point, I think, is under the new California Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act. U.S. companies with annual revenues of $1 billion or more, in the State of California, for report both their direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions, in the next few years. I think that's a huge change and really indicative of the kinds of things that we can expect going forward.  I think next is, probably, increased investor pressure, I have no doubt about that. Institutional investors are placing more emphasis on sustainability factors, while making investment decisions. And, actually, I just saw an actual run of this, recently, last month, actually, they are employing very structured analysis using very detailed sustainability factors. So I think there's going to be more and more demand for increased disclosures, and that's not going to go away anytime soon. I think we're going to see more focus on meaningful materiality and risk assessments. People are paying a lot of attention to ensuring there are robust materiality and risk assessments, that identify and prioritize issues that are most relevant to businesses and to stakeholders. Stakeholder engagement will increasingly be more important.  Engaging with stakeholders now is critical, but, I think, it's only going to become ever more so, as we move through this process. There appears to be a much keener focus on greenwashing, and I, personally, think this is a huge problem for us. I think it's actually gotten to the point, where it seems that the perception of greenwashing is causing some pushback in this space and, actually, almost threatening the integrity of the effort. I think we're going to have to think a lot more about honest transparency, in this process. Do we want people to actually buy into this and trust the process, and the kinds of things, this year, I was just talking about? I think I'm leaning directly toward that notion of more honest transparency. I think there's going to be a greater focus on supply chain transparency. Particularly around human rights, DEI, environmental impact, all these kinds of things. I think we've only seen the tip of the iceberg in this space. I think reporting, metrics will continue to change. The metrics that investors and stakeholders focus on are changing really fast. We are seeing a great deal of movement in the EU, in particular. For example, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, which went into effect this past January, it's extending the requirement to report on sustainability management from a select number of companies in the EU to nearly all companies in the EU. Except these little micro companies, I guess. So, again, a lot of movement here, a lot of stuff is changing. My bottom line, I mean, I could keep listing these things. But my bottom line is that sustainable reporting is dynamic, it's always changing, and, as professionals, we must stay informed about changes in regulations, investor perceptions, and societal expectations.Shari:             Can I add just one thing to what Tim said, and that is we tend to focus, or we have tended to focus, when we think about corporate reporting on public companies. Because naturally there are securities regulations both in the U.S. and in various jurisdictions around the world. But one thing that we are seeing in the world of sustainability, or ESG information, is that it is going to affect small and medium-sized companies. Maybe not direct corporate disclosure, but to their commercial customers into supply chain. We're actually seeing where a large public company, for example, has made net-zero commitments or other kind of commitments. And they talk about that in their public materials, and it goes into their ratings, et cetera. Well, they turn around and turn to their suppliers and say, "If you want to sell to us, we want your carbon footprint data. We want your modern slavery DE&I data. And we're seeing, in a positive way, in certain places, where the large commercial buyer is working along with the smaller suppliers. The component, the agricultural companies, to say, "Let's find ways that we can work together."  And it has become a competitive advantage for non-public companies to be able to say, "Not only can I deliver your components, but I can deliver your components along with quality information." We're seeing supplier audits in this area starting to come up, or industry collaborations where they're setting standards. So it's not only public companies to think about. Tim:               It's not just the public companies, because I've had conversations with a lot of organizations, they're asking for my help in responding to their customers. And if they're part of the supply chain, they will, certainly, have to disclose Scope 1, 2, & 3 emissions. Shari:             Exactly. Tim:               And one of the problems they have is they have no clue, what in the world that company is talking about. They don't even know what the starting point is. We're talking about internal controls over sustainability reporting, this is wonderful stuff. But if you're a small organization, that's never even heard of this space, that has no idea how to report. A lot more education is going to be necessary for that upstream and downstream indirect emissions providers. I've had people call me up and say, "They're asking, now, my employees, how far do they drive to work? What kind of a car do they drive?" And all of these kinds of things, and it's very confusing for, in particular Scope 1, Scope 3, emissions information providers. Like "How in the world do I capture this stuff?" And, Shari, you're absolutely right, large organizations can't get where they want to get to with their reporting, unless the entire value chain comes on board. Adam:            That makes a lot of sense, and there's going to be so much pressure from the consumers and regulatory bodies. And I can imagine it's overwhelming for any organization. Maybe somebody is listening to this and saying, "I know I need to do something." And, so, maybe, we can define what some of the benefits are to organizations and some advantages, if they can apply the sustainability business, the internal control integrated framework, to their organization.Shari:             Well, I will say that, first of all, one of the great benefits of looking to the COSO framework, or ICSR as we're referring to it in shorthand, is that we already know how to do a lot of this. We have the ability to leverage what we already know about building good governance systems, and controls, and processes, and oversight into our company systems, and looking at the information flow. We can train, think about training our board, and our members, but we already have a lot of the tools, and the know-how to address the concerns. It's not as esoteric or new, it really can be rooted in what we already do. Second, another great benefit is that, although, we think about COSO Internal Control with respect to external financial reporting. When you actually get into the framework, it is enterprise wide, it is holistic.  If you want good reporting, well, then, you need good information, and that means you are tracking your activities, and what your company is doing. And if the company is taking steps to actually become more sustainable in their performance. Of how they source energy, and how they human resources, and take care of waste, and all of those things. So it runs throughout an entire organization.  And the thing that I find is that when you think about it holistically, you start with the concept of purpose. So if you look at the publication, you look at the framework, you look at principle one, a commitment to ethical behavior, of being a good corporate citizen. And what is your purpose?  Why does your company or organization exist in the world?  What are you aiming to achieve? Why should all of your investors, and stakeholders, and employees, stay with you?  What are they going to get out of this; with respect to performance, and activities, and returns? So it leverages a reexamination, it leads to a reexamination, I should say. Why does our organization exist?  What are we doing, and are we doing these things efficiently? Are we doing them effectively? When I first started writing this publication, when I was tapped to become part of the authorship team. I said, "Internal controls and sustainability, well, that feels a little apples and oranges, to me." But, in fact, it's really about focusing on goals. It's focusing on purpose, and objectives, and how the company achieves those, and the information that it uses to decide how it's going to use these resources. Tim:               And I think I'll add something because I thought that was a great explanation by Shari. The bottom line is, from my perspective, I think the framework we're dancing or advocating and what has been put together with respect to internal control and sustainable reporting, it's comprehensive. It has widespread acceptance, it focuses correctly, in my belief, on risk management. It's very adaptable. When I read the publication that Shari co-authored, it's absolutely adaptable. We had with the internal control, the Internal Control Integrated Framework, absolutely adaptable, and it works perfectly here. And, really, most importantly, it has absolute global applicability Shari:             Yes, when I hear Tim say that global applicability is that there are so many regulators, and policymakers, and standard setters, and all sorts of organizations that are saying, "Here's what you need to report." It's a lot on the what to report, but this gives a framework of method of how. Tim:               Yes, and it does a good job with that. Adam:            I think you've given a great explanation about all the advantages and how it benefits. But I can't imagine that it's an easy process, and there are got to be challenges that people can encounter along the way. Maybe we can discuss a few of those challenges, to help people feel at ease. Tim:               When I was thinking through this, you can talk about some of the challenges. But, I think, it might make sense to talk about what some of the benefits are before we got to the challenges, perhaps, because I found that significant. I think the first, at least, from my perspective, the first benefit is enhanced reputation. A commitment to a purpose-driven business can enhance an organization's reputation, there's very little doubt about that. And there's a fair amount to thought leadership research, and surveys, and what have you, that support what I just said. If you look at GM, you look at Procter & Gamble, those are great examples of companies, in their sustainability report that have detailed their corporate purpose in very explicit ways, and easy to read, and make a lot of sense. And really I tell you in this space, there's been a paradigm shift. From just being a shareholder-first mentality, to say, "Hey, well, you know what, there are a lot of stakeholders." I think through this process you can gain a competitive advantage. Gain business practices, it can help recruit, and retain talent, just for one example. They can foster innovation. They can lead to development of new products and services. Think about electric vehicles, think about solar, think about power storage. These are all kinds of industries that we were not even really thinking much about not that many years ago, at least, not in a serious way. They can provide access to new markets and opportunities. And one thing I found very important, certainly, as my work over the last 25 years in the governance space and what have you, I can go a long way to increasing stakeholder trust and engagements. It can also have significant cost savings. Case in point is 3M's, 3Ps-Pollution Prevention Pays.And if you look at a sustainability report you'll see that, "Hey, this has saved billions of dollars since its inception." And they do a good job now of highlighting it, even though this was before we were really talking about sustainability, and ESG, and these things, and they were on top of some of the stuff. Risk mitigation, sustainable practice if well executed, it can mitigate environmental, social, and governance risk, ESG risks. It can help avoid costly reputational damage, integrity breakdowns, governmental scrutiny, fines and penalties, all kinds of benefits. Help provide access to capital, companies that demonstrate strong sustainable performance. Can often find it easier to access capital from socially responsible investors and from institutions that prioritize sustainable investments. Can lead to long-term value creation by producing a more stable and sustainable business model, less risk, and what I would say are higher valuations. And I think that's the greatest selling point for, actually, doing this stuff in a very serious way. It really is all about long-term value creation. And, of course, finally, I would say it can differentiate your brand. If you embrace sustainability and corporate purpose, you can distinguish yourself from competitors and build a brand that resonates with your consumers. Remember, it's all about the consumers in the end. There are some challenges which you had mentioned earlier, when we talked about it earlier. I think one of the biggest ones, the initial investment costs for sustainable products and efforts can be very expensive. Perhaps beyond the grasp of some, but well worth the investment for many. Understanding shifting consumer preferences is not always straightforward. Encouraging consumers to choose sustainable options over conventional ones can be slow and a challenging journey. Sometimes these sustainable options are perceived, sometimes, as being more expensive. Regulatory compliance can be demanding. It may require continuous adjustments to business operations. Clients with changing environmental regulations and standards can require continuous adjustments to your business operations. Which may pose significant operational challenges. Another big one is balancing short-term and long-term objectives it's often tricky. Organizations may, counter a lot of pressure to prioritize immediate profits over long-term sustainability, creating both internal and external pressure. And some may, I'm afraid, think you have to sacrifice one for the other. And, Adam, I don't buy into that, I don't believe that. But a lot of people do believe that, it's an either/or kind of thing. There are significant resource limitations above and beyond the budget I mentioned earlier. Things like renewable energy sources, sometimes, are hard to find. Sourcing sustainable materials can be really difficult, not to mention human resources and talent acquisition can be very difficult. Complex global operations are challenging. Multinationals might face headwinds in implementing uniform sustainability standards across diverse regulatory environments, cultural norms, socio-economic situations. Further global supply chains are incredibly complex. Much more so than domestic organizations, and requires a great deal of collaboration to make this work. And, then, finally, in this area, I would say the greenwashing concerns, we kind of touched upon it earlier. But with the focus on sustainability, there is a risk of an organization engaging in greenwashing. Where they make misleading claims about the environmental benefits of their products or operations. Such practices can lead to reputational damage and loss of trust among stakeholders.  I know I've talked twice about greenwashing, but it is a huge problem. And it really is undermining a lot of the good efforts taking place in this area. So to help ensure long-term viability and success, I think it's important to develop a comprehensive strategy that aligns sustainability goals with the overall corporate purpose. Shari:             Listening to Tim, I'm reminded of a story that was shared with me a few years ago, now. It was my colleague in an agricultural company. And, of course, the questions came to them about carbon footprint, "Are you measuring greenhouse gases, et cetera?"  And, so, they started to do that measurement, the inventory, instituting their processes. And in doing that what they discovered is a huge waste of water because they were looking at how they produce and operate in a more holistic, as you say, totality.  And, so, in trying to quantify and measure their carbon footprint they ended up changing their entire system of water and reduced it by a lot. So they ended up having gains, by extension, to new streams of information, that they hadn't been looking at before. Tim:               It really is an exercise in navel-gazing, looking deep inside yourself, to actually do this stuff. And it's not an easy process, but that's a great example of where there are all kinds of benefits, well, and it's unintended benefits, from actually going through this process, and a lot of discovery takes place. You learn a lot about yourself. Adam:            It really sounds like you can learn a lot. And I think you've kind of illustrated, my last question was going to be around, how does this framework play a crucial role in ensuring effective governance, and rules, and internal control systems. Especially, concerning sustainable business practices, and what you just displayed there, Shari, for us, was a great example of that. And if there are any other examples you guys can share, I think that would be really helpful, and encouraging as people are thinking about this and looking at it. Because it's inevitable that it will be affecting every organization. Shari:             Yes, here's another example that I thought of, when you're getting more into the risk and the overall reasons, to think about sustainable business. But I do remember if you drive along highways now, how often do you see charging stations. In fact, I saw, not far from where I live, a former gas station had completely changed into an electric vehicle station. And I thought somebody else in that supply chain, if you create fuel pumps, you might want to think about changing that business model, and that's what the information can bring forward. Tim:               Yes, earlier I had mentioned that notion of a robust, risk, and materiality assessment. And just adding on to what Shari was saying, I had a conversation not long ago with a tire manufacturer. So they were doing deep dives and taking it very seriously. But they started understanding things that were hugely important and material, they'd never thought about before. For example, when you drive down the road, your tread wears out of your tire. You don't think about, "Where does that rubber go?" Maybe it goes in the atmosphere, it goes on the street, it goes on the side of the road. And suddenly, wow, they're materiality mapping and that process is hugely dynamic. The risk assessment is dynamic, and I think people are looking for that dynamic approach to these kinds of things. You can be an energy company just delivering electricity for a municipality, and suddenly you start getting into solar panels. And, suddenly, "Wow, we got new risk, where are they sourced? Where is this stuff coming from? What does that supply chain look like?" So a lot of interesting things that actually pop out of going through this process. And a lot of it leads to much better decisions and also uncovering important things and cost savings, it's all there. Adam:            Tim, Shari, do you have any final thoughts for our audience? Shari:             Well, as we wrap up, I want to just bring it back to why the internal control, and the COSO framework, and that publication, in thinking about all these new types of activities and new types of information, that has risk associated with it. And there are business risks, but there are also risks in the information. For example, we talk about supply chain, so in order to account for Scope 1, not Scope 1 because that's your data. But Scope 2 and Scope 3, you, by definition, need to get information that doesn't come from your system that you're responsible for, it has to come from a third party. So there's risk in that information. So we need to think about other controls. We need to think about affiliates, or other investees, or companies that we outsource to, that we used to consider immaterial for financial reporting purposes, but now we need their information. Green Bonds, is another, where we're affirming to our lender that we are in compliance with certain ESG metrics and then they lower our interest rate, that's informational risk.  We also have the risk of estimation and expectations, and how we measure prospective assumptions and leads to that kind of reporting. I think that's really huge because so much of sustainability reporting, including some of the mandatory disclosure requirements coming out of Europe, double materiality, impact accounting, it means estimating the future. That's what sustainability is all about. Do we have the resources made available to us in the future? Can we count on that?  Are stakeholders willing to make those available? So, anyway, it goes to the question of estimating the future, which makes many, in traditional accounting, uncomfortable. They don't like to disclose and report on the future and our assumptions. But that's a necessary part of creating the measurement techniques in order to effectuate all these new demands, for reporting all these new KPIs. What I'm saying is that by following what we already know how to do, By leveraging the frameworks that we already have, it can highlight and help direct us address the innovative areas, the information, the use of digital technology, perhaps, to bring this about in a reliable way, and avoid the greenwashing that Tim has highlighted for us. Tim:               Yes, I think the things that you talked about resonate with a lot of things we talked about earlier. Those things are all about long-term value creation. Shari:             Agreed, absolutely. Tim:               You got to be thinking about the future. And, also, one of the things that I see from the work you've done here and the internal controls of sustainability reporting. I think it's going to go a long way to helping with the notion of external assurance of this information. Because now we'll have internal controls in place that make some sense, that can be tested in and of themselves, it gives a lot more confidence in what's being reported. Because stakeholders are going to take some of this stuff with a grain of salt. Unless someone actually opines it, "Hey, wow, you know what they're telling you it seems accurate enough. It's doing what it's supposed to do."  I think that's going to be a huge underpinning for the document we've been discussing here. Because I think it's going to go a long way to enabling that. And unless you have that third-party attestation, the trust may not be there until we get to that point. I don't know, that's just my prediction. Adam:            Well, I appreciate you guys sharing your final thoughts and sharing all your insights with our audience, today. And thanks so much, again, for coming on the podcast. Shari:             Thanks so much, Adam. Tim, it's been a pleasure.  < Outro > Announcer:    This has been Count Me In, IMA's podcast, providing you with the latest perspectives of thought leaders, from the accounting and finance profession. If you like what you heard and you'd like to be counted in for more relevant accounting in finance education, visit IMA's website at www.imainet.org.

On this episode of the Ed Branding Podcast we are thrilled to have the incredible Adam Welcome on the podcast! Adam is an educational innovator, author of 4 books, international keynote speaker, podcaster and all around awesome guy!Please learn more about Adam Welcome at https://www.mradamwelcome.com/Follow Adam on social media!InstagramTwitter We'd love to hear from our listeners!Connect with Dr. Renae Bryant:TwitterInstagramLinkedInConnect with Lynette White:ConnectEDTwitterInstagramLinkedInLynette White

Erin & Rick got to sit and chat with Adam Welcome. #mradamwelcome is a former elementary teacher and principal, turned author and speaker. He's also an avid marathon runner! Adam brings everything back to the heart of why we do what we do and points to the importance, urgency, and honor it is to teach kids. Our kids deserve the best versions of us as teachers. Website: https://www.mradamwelcome.com/ Social Media: @mradamwelcome

The always inspiring, Adam Welcome, joins me to discuss his journey and how he continues to push himself, grow, and lean into his full potential. More importantly, we discuss how YOU can do this, too! Adam is the author of: Run  like a Pirate (#RunLAP) which shares life lessons while he chronicles his attempt to run a  marathon every single month of a calendar year. Don't worry, if you are not a runner you will still LOVE this book! Running is just the vehicle used to share a larger message about pursuing goals and achieving great things.  He is also the co-author of 3 additional books: Kids Deserve It  Empower Our GirlsTeachers Deserve ItAdam is also the host of The School District podcast.Contact Adam or bring him in to speak at your event: Adam's websiteConnect with Adam on social media:TwitterInstagram Facebook

Sometimes we're caught looking for that one silver bullet for school improvement. But when asked how he leads his high-performing school, Arizona principal Chris Jackson gives credit to the families and students that come in every day. Adam Welcome and Rachael George sit down with Jackson to discuss how a learner-centered approach yields success in the long run. Chris Jackson is principal of Mountain View Elementary in Rio Rico, Arizona, where he has served for 8 years.

Principals may be leaders at their school, but they're always at their best when learning with and from their colleagues, community, and beyond. That could mean Idaho principal Tim Lowe bringing together staff and community members to learn about their culture, or Washington principal Jack Arend working with fellow educators to advocate for change in the state legislature. In today's episode, Adam Welcome and Rachael George sit down with these innovative school leaders to discuss strategies that help principals grow together. Tim Lowe is principal of William Howard Taft elementary in Boise, and serves the Idaho state representative and federal relations coordinator for NAESP. Jack Arend serves as deputy director of the Association of Washington School Principals.

In Episode 47 of the Unlocking Unlimited Potential STORIES Show, Dr. Brandon Beck and special guest, Adam Welcome (@mrAdamWelcome) dive deep into an insightful conversation. Adam is the author of 4 books, he is an international keynote speaker, a former principal, and has ran a LOT of marathons! To find out exactly how many...you have to listen! In this episode, Adam's passion is present and powerful. He describes the importance of Knowing Who You Are so you can develop transformative leadership around you. We discuss the economy of time, utilizing principles and values to inform decision making, and the importance empowering others. This episode is jam packed full of quotable lines from Adam as he shares his wisdom for developing schools that continue to unlock unlimited potential in all whom they serve. #UUPotential Dedication: Dr. Howard E. Fields (@HeFields3) Socials: @mrAdamWelcome mradamwelcome.com Tune into this insightful conversation, and tag @BrandonBeckEDU to continue the conversation and stay connected. Continue to Live with Passion, Purpose, and focus on the importance of serving others. -------- Sign Up for the FREE Something For You Newsletter at BrandonBeckEDU.com This newsletter delivers helpful tips and resources to your inbox on the 1st and 15th of every month. Brandon provides you with helpful takeaways so you can implement them immediately to continue to unlock unlimited potential in all whom you serve. What are you waiting for!? Sign Up NOW! If you are looking for an opportunity to connect further with Brandon Beck. Please visit BrandonBeckEDU.com to learn more about his speaking, coaching, consulting, and other offerings that are designed to help you and your organization find greater results in your journey. #UUPotential

As principals start off the year and work on school improvement or professional growth, its helpful to identify strategies that can help them throughout the year. Adam Welcome and Rachael George sit down with veteran Idaho principal Heather Hepworth to discuss what works, including: Starting off strong at the beginning of the year Looking ahead towards the end of the year How to prioritize and organize How to implement change Heather Hepworth is principal of Acequia Elementary School in Rupert, Idaho.

At this year's conference in Louisville, Adam Welcome sat down for a quick chat with Jessica Cabeen to share strategies and ideas for practicing principals. In this special episode, they discuss: Focusing on strengths instead of weaknesses How to start connecting with other leaders How crucial work-life balance is to success Jessica Cabeen is principal of Ellis Middle School in Austin, Minnesota, as well as an author and fellow at the NAESP Center for Middle-Level Leadership.

It's great when schools do good work, but even better when principals are able to talk about it. Good communication is essential for stakeholder engagement, and the overall success of your students and school. Adam Welcome and Rachael George are joined by Centers for Advancing Leadership fellows Dr. Ryan Daniel and Jessica Gomez, to talk about communication. In this episode we discuss: Why communication matters Using traditional means like newsletters Newer forms such as podcasts and YouTube How to adjust and adapt as needed Dr. Ryan Daniel is principal of Fort Foote Elementary School in Hyattsville, Maryland, and a fellow at the NAESP Center for Diversity Leadership. Jessica Gomez is principal of Alice Birney Elementary School in Colton, California, and a fellow at the NAESP Center for Women in Leadership.

AEW Revolution ist Geschichte und erzählte uns viele Geschichten. Wir erlebten Gutes, Schlechtes, Heftiges, Cooles, Blutiges... – im Prinzip durchlebten wir eine Achterbahn an Wrestling-Emotionen mit viel Lob, aber auch etwas Schmach. In der AEW Revolution-Review besprechen wir alle Matches, alle Geschichten und das großartige Debüt von William Regal! Von großem Storytelling a la CM Punks vs MJF oder Eddie Kingston vs Chris Jericho führte uns dieses laaaange PPV (zu lang?) zu großartigen Matches wie etwa Bryan Danielson vs Jon Moxley, dem Tag Title Three-Way oder "The Battle of the Adams" Adam Page vs Adam Cole. Insgesamt lässt sich sagen: Vieles haute uns vom Hocker, Vieles nervte uns – und entlockte sogar den einen oder anderen Rant! Wir freuen uns wie immer mega über Kommentare und Feedback auf Twitter, Instagram & Facebook – unterstützt den SCHWITZKASTEN dabei, der beste deutsche Wrestling Podcast zu sein!

Adam Welcome is a keynote speaker, author of Kids Deserve It, and is also a former teacher, principal, and director of innovation and technology. . Connect with us: Adam Welcome | https://www.mradamwelcome.com/ Hunter Flesch | https://linktr.ee/edessentials --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/edessentials/support

Our opening thought leader for Institute 2022, Adam Welcome, joins Bret on the podcast! Adam talks about his career journey and his philosophy of simplifying your plans for a greater chance of success. Hear about the inception of "Kids Deserve It" and Adam's approach to making an impact on educators as a speaker. Don't miss Adam's keynote on Wednesday, Feb. 2nd at Institute 2022! Click here to register and come back together with MESPA. Go to mradamwelcome.com to see a list of Adam's books, and connect with him online via @mradamwelcome across social media platforms.

In the second episode of The Confident Classroom Podcast, host Kelly Haas sits down with Adam Welcome, author, podcaster and speaker, to discuss setting goals in and out of the classroom. ADAM'S BOOKS: Kids Deserve It → https://amzn.to/3tBPC6X Run Like a Pirate → https://amzn.to/3nDc4sI Teachers Deserve It → https://amzn.to/3KrwkqT Empower Our Girls → https://amzn.to/33NcNjU EPISODE RESOURCES: Ralph Tells a Story by Abby Hanlon → https://amzn.to/3rvlPu3 The Giver of Stars by Jo Jo Moyes → ​​https://amzn.to/32aGOcX Support this podcast with a small monthly donation to help sustain future episodes. Have a topic you want covered on the podcast? Email us with your suggestions! → theconfidentclassroom@gmail.com Connect with Kelly: Twitter: @mrskellyhaas Instagram: @theconfidentclassroompodcast Connect with Adam: @mradamwelcome on all socials mradamwelcome.com --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/theconfidentclassroom/support

In the Season Three opening I sit down and talk with Becky Schnekser, Becky is a National Geographic educator, Explorer, grantee, field scientists and science teacher in Virginia. She recently published a book titled Expedition Science: Empowering Learners through Exploration and has joined a new nonprofit school opening this Fall in Norfolk, VA. She believes in field based, authentic experiences for learners of all ages, including educators because that is the way we use curiosity to drive learning. You can contact Becky at: Website: www.expeditionschnekser.com Twitter: @schnekser Instagram: @schnekser You can also reach out to Peg Keiner and Adam Welcome at: Instagram: pegkeiner Instagram: mradamwelcome --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/pixelclassroom/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/pixelclassroom/support

This week's guest is Adam Welcome. Adam is an educator, author of 4 books, podcaster, international keynote speaker, 30 time marathoner, and a door-walker-througher. Don't miss it. Adam's Online Info & Stuff website: https://www.mradamwelcome.com/ instagram: http://www.instagram.com/mradamwelcome podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/6jacN003NDkc1BEQLDWwvT?si=2JobHTlHR9qYTsSbnu1z7g&dl_branch=1 the school district podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-school-district/id1543504849

This week's guest is Adam Welcome. Adam is an educator, author of 4 books, podcaster, international keynote speaker, 30 time marathoner, and a door-walker-througher. Don't miss it. Adam's Online Info & Stuff website: https://www.mradamwelcome.com/ instagram: http://www.instagram.com/mradamwelcome podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/6jacN003NDkc1BEQLDWwvT?si=2JobHTlHR9qYTsSbnu1z7g&dl_branch=1 the school district podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-school-district/id1543504849

Adam Welcome joins the guys as they rank their Top 5 movies from childhood.  https://mradamwelcome.com/ https://www.amazon.com/Adam-Welcome/e/B01G01JQQG%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share  

“Think big, act small.” -@mradamwelcome

In this episode, we discussed reimagining school with the amazing and dynamic leader Adam Welcome. Adam's leadership style and passion are contagious! This episode is packed full of practical strategies you can implement today! If you would like to connect with Adam, you can find him @mradamwelcome on Twitter and other social media sites as well as https://mradamwelcome.com/.

Why do you teach? Or for aspiring teachers, why do you want to teach?The 'Why We Teach' series interviews 8 passionate Australian teachers about why they love their job, and how they overcome some of the pressures of the teaching profession. Today's episode is a conversation with Gold Coast based primary teacher Karen Caswell. Karen shares with us her most successful lessons & units of work, what she loves about teaching, some of the challenges she's faced, and what keeps her passionate about the profession after 25 years in the classroom. Check out Karen's website here: https://www.karencaswell.com/ Karen mentioned to books she had enjoyed reading. Teach Like a Pirate by Dave Burgess: https://www.booktopia.com.au/teach-like-a-pirate-dave-burgess/book/9780988217607.html?dsa=s1-east&gclid=CjwKCAjwm7mEBhBsEiwA_of-TCS6Hlln9dRA1UbUbyrvyhm4gT4vgiyxg7s_tWVOMzmEuO29IC6NUhoCqdsQAvD_BwEKids Deserve It! by Adam Welcome & Todd Nesloney: https://www.amazon.com.au/Deserve-Boundaries-Challenging-Conventional-Thinking/dp/0996989528 This episode of The Teacher's Guide Podcast is perfect for beginner teachers, aspiring teachers, prac teachers, uni students, experienced teachers, primary teachers, high school teachers and more!

#43 - Gerald was introduced to us by a previous podcast guest, Mr. Adam Welcome.  And when an author, marathoner, and motivational speaker tells you that there's a story you have to hear, then you listen. And when you hear that he's been featured in Runner's World Magazine and Live! with Kelly and Ryan, then your ears perk up. And of course, when you hear his unforgettable story of losing 150 pounds all while working a very challenging (and rewarding) job, you get inspired. The road hasn't always been easy, but what I love about Gerald's story is that he just keeps getting back on the horse. This interview is full of matter-of-fact advice, useful takeaways, and an incredibly inspiring story.

Jessica St Pierre tells us what it’s like to be an Executive Assistant. Jess is also an Autistic Advocate. You can connect with her on Instagram here. And here is her art page. Transcript: Thora: 00:00:11 Hi, and welcome. Adam: Welcome. You’re listening to Autism On Shift. Thora: I am Thora Adam: I’m Adam. Thora: What we do here is we talk to autistic folks about what we do for work. So they’re on shift. Get it? But we also want to shift the way we think about what people with autism are capable of. Exactly. Yep. Thora: So today we are talking to Jessica St. Pierre, Jessica has been, um, actually we’ve spoken to Jessica once before. Adam: We have, so welcome back. Thora: Yes, welcome back. Adam: Thank you so much for joining us again again, right. Thora: We totally didn’t mean to waste your time, but, um, for the listeners, Jessica so graciously agreed to hang out with us again, because she was our very first interview and we completely sucked as hosts. Jess: 00:01:09 That’s not true. Um, I don’t think that’s true, but I didn’t listen to the recordings of, I'll believe you guys, but I’m glad to be here again. Adam: Thank you. And you’re very kind. Thora: 00:01:17 Thank you. We appreciate it. Um, so Jess is an Executive Assistant and she’s going to tell us all about what that means, and then we’re going to ask her some seriously personal questions. Adam: Yeah! Jess: Should I be scared? Thora: No, no, they’re not personal. We’re talking about work. Adam: How many teeth do you have? Jess: Even I don’t know the answer to that. Adam: See, that's the right answer. That was correct. We need some sound effects. Thora: Uh, okay. So, um, so tell us about the life of an executive assistant. What does your day-to-day look like? Jess: 00:01:57 Um, my day-to-day consists of a bunch of different tasks that are not necessarily related to each other. Um, as the, uh, the word assistant says I’m, I’m there to help an executive in this case. Um, it’s my boss. So she’s the owner of the company I work for. It is a, um, doula agency. So basically, yeah, it’s really exciting. It’s actually really fun. So basically my boss has this team of doulas who she sends, uh, to customers who need help with prenatal and postnatal, help, whatever. So I help her out with, uh, creating systems or, you know, helping the doulas, get in touch with the clients, but also, you know, making appointments for her. You know, it’s a bunch of little tasks, there’s a lot of administrative, uh, paperwork as well that I help her with. So yeah, my work is kind of all over the place. Adam 00:03:08 That’s great though. You don’t want to get bored and doing one thing over and over again, although some people do like that. Jess: 00:03:15 Yeah. I do enjoy some of my tasks more than others, but, um, for me it really keeps it fresh and I was, uh, kind of explaining to you guys the last time I do, I do fee

After an eye-opening conversation with education guru Adam Welcome, Karen and Christy dive into the essence of prioritizing and communicating your goals. Whether it's a social media platform or a school, you have to define your priorities and stay the course for maximum impact. 

In the latest episode of EdLeader, Dr. Jackson sits down with Sarah Johnson, an author, speaker, coach, and EdLeader who is dedicated to adding value to others through sharing a message of balance, resiliency, and faith. Sarah is passionate about leadership and developing educators into the best version of themselves to lead at home, work, and life. She says this message is the only thing that would have called her away from the daily work as a school principal.Mrs. Johnson has been serving in educational leadership in Northwest Wisconsin since 2004, first as an English Teacher and then as a building principal. She is a co-author of Balance Like a Pirate: Going Beyond Work-Life Balance to Ignite Passion and Thrive as an Educator and contributed to Peter DeWitt’s Collaborative Leadership: Six Influences that Matter Most and Adam Welcome’s Run Like a Pirate. She is a state and national conference speaker around topics of balance, resilience, faith and is passionate about amplifying and empowering women through the IN AWE Podcast, which she hosts.Mrs. Johnson holds an unwavering belief in the importance of the message she shares with audiences and readers of her leadership books about seeking balance, building resiliency, and transforming within their own lives to be the best leaders they can be at home, work, and life.

#34 - My guest today is a teacher, principal, author, motivational speaker, and long time runner. Pre-Covid he was travelling the country - inspiring teachers. And he would often draw on his running background to drive the point home.In this episode - we talk about the race that changed Adam's life forever, the year he signed up for 12 marathons - and ended up finishing with 13 because he wanted to do a double marathon and oh yeah - completing a 100 miler 2 weeks later, the incredible lessons he's teaching his kids - and how he approaches parenting. Plus how his Vegan lifestyle has impacted his ability to recover.This is a fun and energetic episode that you don't want to miss.

On this episode on Tackling Tech, powered by DyKnow, Tierra interviews Adam Welcome, an Elementary Principal, speaker, consultant, author, and former teacher and Director of Innovation. Adam shares how students and teachers can utilize podcasting in the classroom. When in comes to integrating technology in the classroom, Adam wants educators to stop talking and start doing.

Adam has worked in public education for fifteen years in a variety of roles and is currently an Elementary Principal. He's also been a full time speaker and consultant traveling around the country working with school districts and meeting other amazing educators along the way. But most importantly, Adam's wife and two children at home are what make life so exciting and adventurous. Follow Adam on Twitter @mradamwelcome and visit his website at https://www.mradamwelcome.com/.

Join Adam & Jeff as we chat with former Principal of Gatewood Elem. in Hopkins School District, MN - Mark French! Mark is also an author, having written the book, "Principals in Action" w/ Jay Posick & Ryan Sheehy. What's your leadership story? Started in Houston, TX First taught in 1984 Tells principals or teachers now - contact a former principal or teacher to tell them how much they mean to you 38.5 years in education Transition to Retirement I'm sure you aren't retiring, - will you be repurposing? What will you do first? Will be moving to Vancouver, Washington Pre-Retirement What advice do you have for principals that are within 10yrs of retirement? How do you plan and prepare for retirement? “Principals in Action” story Started with Adam Welcome, setting out challenges to principals to “Get Out of the Office” Principals in Action Voxer group is ongoing #piachat on Twitter; Tuesday nights Leadership struggle We have to be able to share our vulnerabilities. Received all UNSAT is an evaluation Others have shared similar struggles Willing to remove blindspots Reach out to others Advice for New Principals Find things that will bring you joy and hopeful Share those passions! Don't let this be an isolating position - find people Don't compare yourself with others Hopeful: “I am hopeful because of what teachers are doing now” Passion & Empathy & Compassion I am seeing from everyone in the field right now, and that they will carry RESOURCES Buy the Book GUEST CONTACT INFORMATION Principal French on Twitter HOST CONTACT INFORMATION INSTAGRAM Dr. Jeff Prickett Adam DeWitt TWITTER Dr. Jeff Prickett Adam DeWitt FACEBOOK Principal Leadership Lab Dr. Jeff Prickett Adam DeWitt

Learn more about Adam at: https://mradamwelcome.com --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/david-schmittou/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/david-schmittou/support

Adam DeWitt chats with us about his journey from educator to administrator and shares many of the lessons he's learned along the way. More at www.teachbetter.com/podcast/adamdewitt Adam's Recommendations EdTech Tool: Google Calendar Books: Teachers Deserve It by Adam Welcome & Rae Hughart Who to Follow on Social Media: @Joe_Sanfelippo @SarahSajohnson @E_Sheninger YouTube/Podcast/Website/Blog: Gerry Brooks (YouTube) Daily/Weekly/Monthly Routine: Daily: Make 5 phone calls every day to parents. Weekly: Write down five positive interactions/moments. Monthly: Choose one day and unplug from everything. Best piece of advice you've ever received: Always do your best Links to Connect With Adam Twitter: @adewitt2 Instagram: principal_adam Facebook: Principal Leadership Lab --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/teach-better-talk/message

Join Jeff and Adam as we chat with Adam Welcome, former elementary school teacher, elementary principal, and Director of Innovation for a district with 35,000 students. Adam currently works as a motivational speaker and author. Adam talks about the power of walking through an open door when you encounter one, and offers advice for staying positive when it would be so easy to quit. Adam is the author of the books: Run Like a Pirate, Kids Deserve It (w/ Todd Nesloney), Empower Our Girls (w/ Lyn Colon), and Teachers Deserve It (w/ Rae Hughart) Adam Welcome Contact Info: Website: https://mradamwelcome.com/ Twitter: @mradamwelcome Instagram: mradamwelcome Host Contact Information INSTAGRAM Dr. Jeff Prickett Adam DeWitt TWITTER Dr. Jeff Prickett Adam DeWitt FACEBOOK Principal Leadership Lab Dr. Jeff Prickett Adam DeWitt --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Every day, educators across the country give students their very best. Often, many teachers feel overwhelmed, stressed out, underpaid, and unheard. This week’s guests, Adam Welcome and Rae Hughart, share how teachers and educators deserve more respect, time, connection and autonomy. This is a time to celebrate teachers and all the wonderful things they do for our students.  https://twitter.com/share?text=+-+&via=Joshua__Stamper&related=Joshua__Stamper&url=https://joshstamper.com/?p=2372 (Tweet This)In this Episode, we discuss: How Important Teachers are  The Future of Education Modeling as a Leader And Teachers Deserve It About Adam Welcome:Adam has been an elementary school teacher, Elementary Principal, Director of Innovation for a district with 35,000 students and enjoys pushing the envelope to always do what's best for kids! Adam was Principal of the Year for his region, a 20 To Watch for the National School Board Association, guest blogger for EdWeek, NAESP magazine, and many other publications. Adam also consults and works with many education companies as a way to improve their product for others! Adam is passionate about technology integration with all educators and a huge advocate of social media and connecting with other educators from across the country. Adam makes it clear that kids come first and has preached the message of Team Kid for many years. He is also the co-founder of Kids Deserve It with Todd Nesloney and the author of Run Like a Pirate. Adam has an amazing wife (Stacy) and two young children (Greta and Tilden) that keep life at home exciting and active. Adam also loves to run and has completed 23 marathons.   Follow Adam Welcome: Website: http://www.mradamwelcome.com (www.mradamwelcome.com) Twitter: https://twitter.com/mradamwelcome (https://twitter.com/mradamwelcome) Instagram: @mradamwelcome   About Rae Hughart:Rae Hughart is a Middle Level Math Educator in Illinois, the Director of Training & Development for the Teach Better Team, and author of https://www.amazon.com/Teachers-Deserve-What-Deserve-Dont/dp/1951600401/ref=sr_1_2?crid=CMAXD9KHQRJQ&dchild=1&keywords=teachers+deserve+it+book&qid=1596403052&sprefix=teachers+deser%2Caps%2C178&sr=8-2 (Teachers Deserve It) & https://www.amazon.com/Teach-Better-Chad-Ostrowski/dp/1949595668/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= (Teach Better) books.  After being inducted into The Illinois State University Hall of Fame in 2017, Rae was awarded the 2018 First Place Henry Ford Teacher Innovator Award for her innovative educational impact through the Teach Further Model. Additionally, Rae serves on several Educational Boards including the role of Vice President with the Association of Illinois Middle Schools (AIMS).  Rae conducts training on a variety of topics including the Teach Better Mindset, Dynamic Lesson Planning, Community Relationship Building, Student Engagement, Targeted Feedback Strategies, Mastering Personalized Learning. and Educator Empowerment. Follow Rae Hughart: Twitter: https://twitter.com/RaeHughart (https://twitter.com/RaeHughart) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/raehughart/?hl=en (https://www.instagram.com/raehughart/?hl=en)   Follow The Teach Better Team:Twitter:https://twitter.com/teachbetterteam ( https://twitter.com/teachbetterteam) Website:https://www.teachbetter.com/ ( https://www.teachbetter.com/) Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/teachbetterteam ( https://www.facebook.com/teachbetterteam) Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/teachbetterteam ( https://www.instagram.com/teachbetterteam) The Teach Better Podcast:https://www.teachbetter.com/podcast/ ( https://www.teachbetter.com/podcast/) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1951600401/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1951600401&linkCode=as2&tag=aspirewebsite-20&linkId=63f9795b108f2f0c696d9849fe90bedb  ...

We are back for a new season and a new school year with special guests.  Rae Hughart and Adam Welcome discuss why teachers deserve it but not in the ways you might think!  They give practical strategies to help create positive change so educators get what we deserve.   Check out our guests on Twitter! Rae Hughart @RaeHughart Adam Welcome @MrAdamWelcome   Buy Teachers Deserve It on Amazon!   GIVEAWAY bit.ly/TDIgiveaway

Sarah is a co-author of Balance Like a Pirate: Going Beyond Work-Life Balance to Ignite Passion and Thrive as an Educator and contributed to Peter DeWitt's Collaborative Leadership: Six Influences that Matter Most and Adam Welcome's Run Like a Pirate. She is a state and national conference speaker around topics of balance, resilience, faith. She is passionate about amplifying and empowering women through the IN AWE Podcast, which she hosts through In AWE, LLC, a business she founded to amplify and empower women. Sarah left a position in a building to seek to teach masses in what she believes is a calling. Her passion for the message of balance and resiliency is the only thing that would have called her away from the daily work with students and staff, and she takes this message seriously. As an educational consultant, Sarah holds an unwavering belief in the importance of the message she shares with participants and readers of her leadership books about seeking balance, building resiliency and transforming within their own lives to be the best leaders they can be at home, work, and life. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/edtoday/message

Adam has been a teacher, Principal, Director of Innovation for a district with 35,000 students and enjoys pushing the envelope to always do what's best for kids! Adam is passionate about technology integration with all educators and a huge advocate of social media and connecting with other educators from across the country. Adam makes it clear that kids come first and has preached the message of Team Kid for many years. He is also the co-founder of Kids Deserve It, the author of Run Like a Pirate and Empower Our Girls. Check out his work on www.mradamwelcome.com

Hello everyone! Last week, I talked with Adam Welcome about what it takes to lead in today's environment, and today we pivot the discussion a bit and discuss what teachers deserve, and how we should all raise our voices to tell the story of REAL education. Adam has been an elementary school teacher, Elementary Principal, Director of Innovation for a district with 35,000 students and enjoys pushing the envelope to always do what’s best for kids! Adam was Principal of the Year for his region, a 20 To Watch for the National School Board Association, guest blogger for EdWeek, NAESP magazine, and many other publications. Adam also consults and works with many education companies as a way to improve their product for others! In this episode, we discuss: Teachers Deserve It Motivation Burnout  Raising our voices …and a WHOLE LOT MORE! Inspiration ABOUND in this one. You do NOT want to miss it.     This episode is sponsored by Heinemann—the leading publisher of professional books and resources for educators. Heinemann knows that teachers make the difference every day for their students. That’s why they’re celebrating Teacher Appreciation Week for the entire month of May with a special discount. From now until May 31 , you can receive a special discount and free shipping on every Heinemann professional book and other select resources. Just use the coupon code MAYEDU during online checkout at Heinemann.com to receive this discount. There are some restrictions, so make sure you visit Heinemann.com or the Heinemann blog for all of the details. From everyone at Heinemann, thank you educators for everything you do.

Hello everyone! During times of uncertainty, turmoil, and change, leadership is needed more than ever. To discuss what it takes to lead a school, I brought on Adam Welcome, one of the premier leaders of our current educational world. Adam has been an elementary school teacher, Elementary Principal, Director of Innovation for a district with 35,000 students and enjoys pushing the envelope to always do what's best for kids! Adam was Principal of the Year for his region, a 20 To Watch for the National School Board Association, guest blogger for EdWeek, NAESP magazine, and many other publications. Adam also consults and works with many education companies as a way to improve their product for others! In this episode, we discuss: Perspective during Covid-19 Doing what's hard  Motivation Principal and teacher burnout Not wasting time on pointless tasks ...and a WHOLE LOT MORE! Inspiration ABOUND in this one. You do NOT want to miss it.     This episode is sponsored by Heinemann—the leading publisher of professional books and resources for educators. Heinemann knows that teachers make the difference every day for their students. That’s why they’re celebrating Teacher Appreciation Week for the entire month of May with a special discount. From now until May 31 , you can receive a special discount and free shipping on every Heinemann professional book and other select resources. Just use the coupon code MAYEDU during online checkout at Heinemann.com to receive this discount. There are some restrictions, so make sure you visit Heinemann.com or the Heinemann blog for all of the details. From everyone at Heinemann, thank you educators for everything you do.

5th grade teacher, and Teach Better Team Member, Becky Thal, chats with us about constantly evolving, getting connected to the team, and breaking through her comfort zone. More at www.teachbetter.com/podcast/beckythal Episode Highlights 0:43 - Discussing the #TeamJeff vs #TeamRae debate - Choose your side at www.teachbetterswag.com! 3:13 - Highlighting Mark Heller (@mheller2115) 6:35 - Previewing the episode with Becky Thal. 10:55 - Becky introduces herself. 13:35 - Becky shares how she got connected with, and joined the team. 17:07 - Becky's failure: Not having a broad vision of what is out there for educators. 21:50 - Becky's success: Going after things. Sending Jeff an email. 24:33 - What's keeping Becky excited about education right now: The freedom and flexibility to be creative. 30:35 - Becky's advice for teachers: Absorbed as much as you can, but also don't be afraid to offer your opinion on things. 33:00 - 6 questions answered in 15 seconds or less. 40:38 - How to connect with Becky. Becky's Recommendations EdTech Tool: All things Google Suite. Book: "Kids Deserve It" by Adam Welcome and Todd Nesloney "Be The One" by Ryan Sheehy "Teach Your Class Off" by CJ Reynolds Who to Follow on Social Media: @thekevinjbutler @doneppsEDU YouTube/Podcast/Website/Blog:  TeachBetter.com Real Rap with Reynolds edsurge.com edutopia.org Daily/Weekly/Monthly Routine: Shut it down at a certain time. Best piece of advice you've ever received: Be better today than you were yesterday. Be better tomorrow than you were today. Links to Connect With Becky Twitter: @mrsrthal

Todd Nesloney is the Director of Culture and Strategic Leadership for the Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association (TEPSA). He has also served as an award winning principal of a PreK-5th Grade campus of over 775 students in a rural town in Texas. He has been recognized by the White House, John C Maxwell, the Center for Digital Education, National School Board Association, the BAMMYS, and more for his work in education and with children. Todd's first book, Kids Deserve It!, which was co-written with Adam Welcome, was a runaway smash. Since then he has authored, Stories From Webb and co-authored Sparks in the Dark with Travis Crowder. He also hosts the podcast "Tell Your Story" and is very active on social media under the moniker Tech Ninja Todd. He is passionate about doing whatever it takes for our students and helping others tell their story. www.toddnesloney.com (www.toddnesloney.com) Twitter: @TechNinjaTodd instagram: @TechNinjaTodd Facebook.com/toddnesloney Show Sponsor  The National Association for Primary Education speaks for young children and all who live and work with them. This includes parents, teachers, governors and all those interested in primary education. NAPE is a non-political charity and works tirelessly to support teachers in the classroom as expressed in their ‘Value of Membership’ Document. NAPE leads the Primary Umbrella Group of thirty primary subject associations and unions and gives teachers and schools a voice at governmental level at consultative meetings with ministers for schools. For full details of how they can support you please visit their website at  nape.org.uk (https://nape.org.uk/) Support this podcast

Adam Welcome...marathoner, author, public speaker, education innovator...and the original inspiration for this podcast. This week Adam joins me to celebrate my tenth podcast milestone and tell his story about how he chased his passion and developed a side hustle that ultimately became his main hustle. We discuss this, as well as how chasing your passion and figuring out what special gifts of yours you can share with the world can break up the monotony in your life, create new connections, and lead to incredible and unknown places...not to mention make the world a better place.

In this episode we take a look back at our interview with Rae Hughart, educator, trainer, and Director of Professional Development for the TeachBetter Team. When we started this podcast, Rae was one of the guests we both knew we needed to have on. In this look back at Episode 5 of the Learning Through Leading Podcast, Rae talks with us about her journey from brand new teacher to classroom innovator, as well as some of the new projects she was working on back then. If you follow Rae on social media, you also know that she has another new project in the works, too. Rae has written a book, called Teachers Deserve ItI, with Adam Welcome. While we eagerly await the release of that book’s release, we hope you enjoy this look back with our first interview with Rae Hughart! Connect with Rae and the TeachBetter Team on almost any social media platform: Twitter: @RaeHughart http://twitter.com/RaeHughart Instagram: @RaeHughart www.instagram.com/raehughart/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/rae-hughart Facebook: www.facebook.com/TeachFurther Hashtag(s): #TeachBetter Web: www.teachbetter.com Podcast: www.teachbetter.com/podcast Remember to check out this and all past episodes at www.LearningThroughLeading.com. Click the Subscribe button at the top of the page to get each new episode delivered right to your email inbox. Leave us your questions or feedback using the Anchor app, at https://anchor.fm/learningthroughleading/message You can find us on Twitter at: @DrNickSutton @YodaMatt68 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/learningthroughleading/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/learningthroughleading/support

Several months ago we were fortunate to sit down with Adam Welcome for a discussion about leadership, culture, and improving instruction. The audio quality on our original recording was less than perfect, to say the least. With production assistance from the Learning Technology Center of Illinois, we were able to reduce some of the distractions to help make the episode a little easier on the ear. We’d like to extend our thanks to the Learning Technology Center of Illinois for that assistance, and we hope you enjoy this look back on our talk with Mr. Adam Welcome. Links: Website: mradamwelcome.com Social Media: @mradamwelcome on almost any platform Publications: Kids Deserve It! Run Like A Pirate Empower Our Girls We would also like to encourage you to check out the soon-to-be-released book that he has co-authored with our friend Rae Hughart (@raehughart), entitled Teachers Deserve It! One last thing: We’d really appreciate it if you’d take a moment to give us a rating and a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Your input helps us improve our podcast and helps spread the word about our show. Last, If you’d like to suggest a topic for us to cover, ask us a question, or even appear on a future episode of Learning Through Leading, please visit us at anchor.fm/learningthroughleading and leave us a voice comment. We may use your ideas on a future episode! Thanks again for listening. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/learningthroughleading/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/learningthroughleading/support

Catlin Tucker converses with Adam Welcome, a former educator, principal, and director of innovation, now EdTech consultant about balance in the classroom! Adam advises teachers to focus on what is sustainable for their classroom and to consider letting students be the experts on a variety of topics. Facilitate learning for your students. Create lesson plans that don't have your students just sitting, listening, and consuming. Shift some of the responsibility to students so you can focus on things in your job that bring you joy!