Exceptionally Good: Leaders for a Better World

33. Ron Berger, a leader in the Rebel Alliance: Why Not Give People Important Work to Do Now?

This episode, I have the immense pleasure and privilege of talking with a mentor and a friend — Ron Berger. Ron is a powerful voice and leader in education as an author

32. Ryan Maxwell: The Host Becomes the Guest - The Table Is Turned (and So Is the Mic!) - Feat. Felicia Lee

This week, we're turning the tables — or in this case, the microphone. I'm Ryan Maxwell, and today, I'm the guest. Guest hosted by Felicia Lee, founder o

31. Dr. Susan Enfield - Knowing Students by Name, Strength, and Need

This week, we're sitting down with a leader who has spent her career doing something rare — keeping students at the center, even when the systems around her made tha

30. Tracking What Matters: Jess & Advice on Partnership, the Wild, and True Collaboration

Today we have the delight to connect with a pair of leaders who are exceptional in their craft AND in how they are good partners for each other. Jess and Advice are not m

29. Dr. Zach Shirley — Brotherhood Built Me: HBCUs, Identity, Evolution, and the Work of Belonging

This episode I'm delighted to talk with Dr. Zach Shirley — a nationally recognized leader in diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. Dr. Zach currently serves

28. Alejandra Naranjo — Earning the Trust to Match Generosity with Impact

Today’s guest is someone who embodies a rare and powerful combination: sharp strategic thinking paired with a deep, human understanding of what it means to give, to trust

Live from Austin! - Leadership Flops - 5¢ for Your Failures

In Austin last week, I set up a little Lucy-style advice booth with two microphones — offering a nickel for leadership stories of those times when it all went sideways.

Live from Austin! - AI Has 500 PhDs… So What’s a Real Teacher For?

The question is simple. And a little dangerous. AI is always awake. Always patient. Always available. It never burns out. Never calls in sick. Never asks for healthcar

27. Becca Katz — Good-Natured Learning: Reconnecting Classrooms with the Living World

Becca Katz — educator, writer, & co-founder of Good Natured Learning. For more than twenty years, Becca has taught in classrooms both walled and wild — from modular unit

26. Dr. Alison Lee — Human Connection, AI and the Work of Keeping Centered Who & What Matters

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

25. Kirstin Lund of the Order of PEI — Courage, Collaboration & Community Change

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

24. Luke Di Sessa - Building Men of Character in a Time That Needs Them

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

23. Lina Jean Fritz — Rising with Resilience & Evolving Leadership from Warrior to Diplomat

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

22. Professor Scott Seider — Educating for Purpose, Justice, and Democracy

In this episode of Exceptionally Good, I’m joined by Scott Seider, a professor, former public school teacher, and one of the most thoughtful voices I know on what it mean

21. Sheeba Jacob & Anay Shah - Growing from Challenge, Transition and Loss — and Partnered for Love

In this episode of Exceptionally Good: Leaders for a Better World, I’m joined by two remarkable humans—Sheeba Jacob and Anay Shah—for a conversation about purpose, partne

20. Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King — I Have Been to the Mountaintop

“Let us rise up tonight with a greater readiness. Let us stand with a greater determination. And let us move on in these powerful days, these days of challenge to make Am

19. Brad Barrett - No Margin, No Mission - How the Tenets of Financial Independence Can Enable Your Exceptionally Good in the World

In this episode - Brad Barrett, CPA and co-founder of the ChooseFI Podcast, one of the most influential platforms in the Financial Independence (FI) movement. While Brad’

18. Ron Rapatalo - Building Trust Like the Flash, Getting Fired and then RONward to What’s Next!

Ron Rapatalo is a connector, coach, and culture-shifter. A proud New Yorker and the son of Filipino immigrants, Ron brings over two decades of experience in K-12 educatio

17. Isamu Thung - Systems, Self, and the Struggle to Lead (…all before graduating high school)

What does it look like to reflect deeply on education systems—after you’ve learned across the ocean and back again  …and before you’ve even graduated high school? In th

16. Dr. César Cruz - Drawing on AI: Ancestral Intelligence

In this episode, we hear stories — an ancient form of wisdom — as I get to talk with the incomparable Dr. César Cruz. A Mexican-born, Compton-raised educator, César has