Exceptionally Good: Leaders for a Better World

This episode, I’m delighted to welcome Dr. Alison Lee—a friend, a former colleague, and someone whose influence on my own leadership is deeper than she probably knows.

Some of the work I’m most proud of in my career—work focused on belonging, justice, and what it actually means to help young people thrive—came from collaboration, action, and studied reflection alongside Alison. She brings together a researcher’s mind, a brilliant intellect, and a heart anchored like granite in equity and human development. If you’ve ever had the chance to connect with her, you...

This episode, I’m joined by Kirstin Lund — mediator, changemaker, and fierce advocate for safer, stronger communities in Stratford, Prince Edward Island.

Kirstin began her career practicing law, but soon discovered that true transformation often happens not in courtrooms, but in conversation. In 1996, she founded Collaboration School, dedicating her work to mediation, facilitation, and helping people navigate conflict with empathy and clarity.

Her leadership has shaped PEI in profound ways. She founded the PEI Coalition for Women’s Leadership, chaired the Advisory Council on the Status of Women, and co-fou...

At a time when the world needs men of character, it is my delight to host a conversation with a leader who is working to foster spaces for them.

Luke Di Sessa — a powerful leader in Australia whose life’s work centers on developing men of character and helping them step into authentic, emotionally intelligent leadership.

Luke is the CEO and Co-Founder of Good Better Best Men, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to creating safe, courageous spaces where men can face their internal challenges, build resilience, and grow into grounded, heart-led leaders. In a cult...

This episode's guest is Lina Jean Fritz, a Chicago-based, C-suite nonprofit leader in strategy and innovation whose work sits at the intersection of equity and moral courage in access to the work force and higher education.

Lina is a first-generation college graduate, the daughter of restaurant workers, and someone whose early life was shaped by movement—growing up across Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi before graduating from a public high school in Mississippi and heading north to attend the University of Chicago.

From there, Lina’s career took her through teaching, instructional lead...

In this episode of Exceptionally Good, I’m joined by Scott Seider, a professor, former public school teacher, and one of the most thoughtful voices I know on what it means to educate young people for a just and democratic society.

Scott is a Professor of Applied Developmental and Educational Psychology at Boston College Lynch School of Education and Human Development, where his research centers on how schools can support young people in developing a sense of purpose, critical consciousness, moral courage, and civic responsibility. Before entering academia, Scott taught high school in Bo...

In this episode of Exceptionally Good: Leaders for a Better World, I’m joined by two remarkable humans—Sheeba Jacob and Anay Shah—for a conversation about purpose, partnership, and the clarity that can emerge through challenge and loss.

Two compelling and humble leaders for good… who just happen to be married to each other!

Sheeba is the Director of Middle School Design at Citizen of the World Charter Schools, a researcher, educator, and musical artist whose work explores how teachers—and all of us—can cul...

“Let us rise up tonight with a greater readiness. Let us stand with a greater determination. And let us move on in these powerful days, these days of challenge to make America what it ought to be. We have an opportunity to make America a better nation.”
  - Dr. King

This year, I’m doing something a bit different.  One in what I hope is a yearly series.  Instead of our usual conversation with powerful, human and reflective leaders for social good, I’m sharing a reading from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have Been to th...

In this episode - Brad Barrett, CPA and co-founder of the ChooseFI Podcast, one of the most influential platforms in the Financial Independence (FI) movement. While Brad’s career began in accounting, it’s his work making FI accessible to everyone that makes him a leader worth learning from.

The FI movement, as Vicki Robin framed it, asks a simple but profound question: your money or your life? At its core, FI isn’t about hoarding wealth... it’s about using intentional financial choices to reclaim your time, create freedom, and build resilience. 

Or...

Ron Rapatalo is a connector, coach, and culture-shifter. A proud New Yorker and the son of Filipino immigrants, Ron brings over two decades of experience in K-12 education, nonprofit leadership, and executive search. He's dedicated his career to cultivating equity and empowering and mission driven organizations. His experiences include leadership roles at Teach for America, New Leaders, Edgility Consulting, Stronger Consulting, and as an advisory board member at Harvard Business Review. 

As the host of the RONderings podcast, Ron delves into conversations around leadership, Identity wellness, exploring the superpowers that drive personal and professional transformation beyond his p...

What does it look like to reflect deeply on education systems—after you’ve learned across the ocean and back again 

…and before you’ve even graduated high school?

In this  episode, Ryan sits down with Isamu Thung, a recent graduate of High Tech High and one of the most thoughtful young leaders discussing learning, equity, and systems transformation. Despite just finishing high school, Isamu brings a level of wisdom, humility, and systems-thinking that challenges adults in the field to go deeper.

We explore:

In this episode, we hear stories — an ancient form of wisdom — as I get to talk with the incomparable Dr. César Cruz.

A Mexican-born, Compton-raised educator, César has spent over three decades walking alongside young people who the system has marginalized—not to fix them, but to help them remember their worth. He is the co-founder of Homies Empowerment, a grassroots organization in East Oakland that began as a leadership class for gang-impacted youth and has grown into a full ecosystem for good.

In this deeply powerful and provocative conversa...

Dr. Arria Coburn - Your Team is Not a Family — It’s a Partnership for Impact

What happens when a new leader inherits a tight-knit “school family”—then faces budget cuts? Or when you’re asked to define your leadership style before you even know how to lead? In this episode, Dr. Arria Coburn opens up about her evolution as an educational leader: from criminal justice major to special education teacher to award-winning principal and now district executive.

Dr. Arria Coburn brings nearly two decades of experience in public education. She led the Springfield...

Chris Widmaier is the Founder & Executive Director of Rochester Ecology Partners (REP), a nonprofit that “serves people in Greater Rochester through nature-based learning and community-building.”   

A former award-winning classroom teacher and instructional coach, Chris left a secure career, earned an MBA-equivalent at RIT, and launched REP on January 1, 2022. His work now centres on helping young people—and the adults who guide them—find nature where they live, work and play.

Enjoy the conversation, share it with a leader connected to community through nature and education and learn to thin...