It has been over two years since the start of the pandemic, and we are only just now beginning to see the repercussions. The impact of mental health is often an invisible one, and we may not always see it until later. The pandemic has affected not only the condition of our mental health, but also restricted many of our access to resources that could give us the help we need. This effect is compounded in kids and teenagers, whose access to mental health resources often comes from school, which was shut down for much of the pandemic. When we embrace the notion that all of us have mental health that needs to be taken care of, we can begin to destigmatize reaching out for help for those who need it. Join the engaging and enlightening conversation on our most recent podcast with Liz Llamas and Christina Henderson as we discuss the need to prioritize taking care of our mental health especially as we come out of a world-changing pandemic.

Guests:

Liz Llamas - Liz Llamas has over 20 years of experience as a marriage and family therapist. She got her BA in General Psychology from San Francisco State University and her Master’s in Counseling Psychology from Santa Clara University. She works as a marriage and family therapist supporting youth and young adults with Psychological Services and Personal Counseling at Skyline College. She also spent time as an Adjunct Lecturer at her alma mater, Santa Clara University. She is a co-founder of the nonprofit CASSY (Counseling  and Support Services for Youth) which has established school based mental health programs in 54 elementary and high schools in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Cristina Henderson - Cristina Henderson received her Bachelor’s in Psychology from Cal State Long Beach. Then she went on to get her Master’s with Credentials in School Psychology from Cal State East Bay. She spent a number of years as a school psychologist for the Alum Rock School District in San Jose, California, where she worked with elementary and middle school students. Cristina now works in the full-time ministry along with her husband Ade. She mentors people of all life-stages, from high school to college to young professionals and families.

Reference Notes:

1. Mental Health America - 2022 State Of Mental Health In America Report
2. California Surgeon General – Adverse Childhood Experiences
3. Suicide: The Ripple Effect
4. J Stephenson quote - "Our emotional, psychological and social wellbeing. Mental health affects how we think, feel and act."
5. The New York Times - As A Crisis Hotline Grows, So Do Fears It Won’t Be Ready
6. Sherry Turkle - Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age
7. Brené Brown - Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience
8. Mental Health–Related Emergency Department Visits Among Children Aged <18 Years During the COVID-19 Pandemic
9. Tara Brach, Ph.D. - aggressive bad “othering”

Too often, people view leaders as those who are out front and in charge – they think in terms of power. But real leaders are those who have the ability to effect change in the lives of others. They are those who create a collaborative culture where everyone is supported, included, and set up to succeed. Join Russ Ewell’s conversation with educator and founder of Think Inclusive Tim Villegas as they discuss the necessity and importance of inclusion not just for those with disabilities, but for everyone.

Tim Villegas is director of communications at Maryland Coalition for Inclusive Education, a nonprofit that envisions a society where neighborhood schools welcome all learners and create the foundation for inclusive communities. Throughout his 16-year career as a special education teacher, Tim advocated for the inclusion of students with significant disabilities in general education classrooms and continues his work with MCIE to empower inclusive systems to change in schools and districts. He studied at Azusa Pacific University then California State University, Fullerton. He is the founder of Think Inclusive and the host of the Think Inclusive Podcast.

Resources:

• The Biggest Barriers to Inclusive Education by Tim Villegas
• Easterseals study on the impact of Covid-19 on People with Disabilities
• “When you are accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression.” - Anonymous
• The 5 Levels of Inclusion article
• The 5 Levels of Inclusion podcast
• The Beyond Access Model: Promoting Membership, Participation, and Learning for Students with Disabilities in the General Education Classroom
• Erik Carter and “belonging”

Rather than building an organization around an individual leader or one generation of leaders, the goal should be to build a sustainable organization, which requires developing multiple generations of leaders who share the vision of building the organization to last. Join Russ as he talks to Jim and Rick McCartney about the importance of leaders who raise up other leaders.

References:

1. Built to Last by Jim Collins
2. Michigan Football Jim Harbaugh
3. The Get Back - Beatles Documentary
4. The Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck
5. "On Children"by Kahlil Gibran
6. iRewardHealth
7. Vilua

Visit LeadDiff.com - for more podcasts, articles and leadership resources

Guests:

• Jim McCartney
  • Obtained his BA in English from Duke University. He then went on to get his MBA in Finance from Boston University. Jim is a seasoned financial executive and leader, with expertise in investment finance, consulting, operational management, and leadership development. He has worked in for-profit and non-profit finance investments, and most recently been the Managing Director at Net Lease Capital Advisors for over 18 years. 
• Rick McCartney
  • Received his BA in Health and Counseling Psychology from Emmanuel College (in Boston), then attended Boston College for a Master of Science in Nursing. After working as a nurse practitioner for a time, Rick became CEO of iRewardHealth then Vilua, where he is using data technology to improve the health of people’s lives.

As leaders, each of us needs to become self-aware, so we can develop the relationships necessary to cultivate an effective team. While a solo leader puts out objectives, a team leader puts out a mission. Russ Is joined by friend Dr. Gregg Marutzky, a minister, counselor, engineer, and professor in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area, as they discuss what makes up effective leadership.


References:

• Inclusive Leadership
• Milton Rokeach
• David A. Seamands
• Dr. Meredith Belbin
  • Management Teams: Why they succeed or fail
  • Team Roles at Work
  • The Coming Shape of Organization
  • Changing the Way We Work
  • The Nine Roles
• Complexity Leadership Theory - Mary Uhl-Bien
• Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin
• The Courageous Follower: Standing Up to and for Our Leaders by Ira Chaleff
• Inclusive Leadership: The Essential Leader-Follower Relationship by Edwin Hollander 
• Founding Brothers, by Joseph J. Ellis
• John Adams, HBO miniseries
• Becoming Steve Jobs: The evolution of a reckless upstart into a visionary leader by Brent Schlender and Rick Tetzeli
• Asha Corporate Consultant
• Eleven Rings by Phil Jackson

*Dr. Meredith Belbin was mistakenly referred to as 'she' instead of 'he'. We apologize for the mistake*

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You can email the show at [email protected] 

Sensory Friendly Vaccine Clinic sign up

In today’s podcast, Russ talks with Dr. Dave Traver and Dr. Dieter Bruno about the importance of understanding and inclusivity in the conversation surrounding COVID-19 vaccinations. On May 15 and June 12, Hope Technology School is partnering with the Bay Area Christian Church and Sequoia Hospital to provide COVID-19 vaccines for people 12+ who may require a more sensory-friendly environment.

This clinic was developed by medical professionals, special education teachers, and parents to provide a calm, safe, and inclusive atmosphere in which anyone who’d like to get vaccinated can do so free from barriers that might be present at a typical vaccination site.

This sensory-friendly environment includes:

• Short wait times
• Minimal transitions
• No crowds
• Visual aids
• Social stories
• Quiet areas 

Go to bacc.cc/clinic to learn more and to sign up.

Resources

1. Dr. Fauci - to reach the unvaccinated we need Trusted Messengers/On the Ground Leaders
2. FDA Authorizes Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine for Children 12-15
3. Johnson and Johnson and Potential Risks (Scientific America)
4. The U.S. Has the Shots it needs, but Vaccine Doubt is Prolonging the Pandemic (Bloomberg article)
5. Hope Technology School
6. Sequoia Hospital

Sensory Friendly Vaccine Clinic sign up

Artists communicate and articulate emotionally what we are unable to do ourselves. When we don’t value and support artists, society as a whole misses out on truth, introspection, and depth. An Urban Institute study found that “96 percent of respondents said they were greatly inspired and moved by various kinds of art…[and] only 27 percent of respondents said that artists contribute "a lot" to the good of society.” If so many of us value and are moved by art, why don’t we support the artists that create it?

In the final episode of this three-part podcast series, Russ concludes his conversation with William Deresiewicz, discussing his book, The Death of the Artist: How Creators Are Struggling to Survive in the Age of Billionaires and Big Tech, and the importance of supporting and valuing artists’ contributions to society.

Deresiewicz has published more than 280 essays and reviews, won the Hiett Prize in the Humanities, the National Book Critics Circle’s Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing, as well as a Sydney Award. He is a three-time National Magazine Award nominee, and his work has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Harper’s, The American Scholar, and many other publications. These works have been translated into 18 languages and anthologized in more than 30 college and scholastic readers.

Resources

• The Death of the Artist
• Excellent Sheep
• A Jane Austen Education
• Solitude and Leadership
• The best education for all - Bill Deresiewicz TedTalk
• JFK quote the importance of artist in culture

“If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him. We must never forget that art is not a form of propaganda; it is a form of truth…”

• Juice Wrld

Students are people, first and foremost. When we treat them as products or resources for the job market, we deprive both them and the world of the creativity and depth necessary to develop holistic leaders. In this second episode of three, Russ continues his conversation with William Deresiewicz about rethinking and redefining education and the importance of seeing students as human beings.

Deresiewicz has published more than 280 essays and reviews, won the Hiett Prize in the Humanities, the National Book Critics Circle’s Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing, as well as a Sydney Award. He is a three-time National Magazine Award nominee, and his work has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Harper’s, The American Scholar, and many other publications. These works have been translated into 18 languages and anthologized in more than 30 college and scholastic readers.

Resources

Position, Purpose, and the Midlife Crisis 

This Side of Paradise 

Dostoevsky

Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite and the Way to a Meaningful Life

“Achievement machines,” from “Stressed for Success?” by David Brooks

Peter Drucker

In this first episode of three, Russ talks with award-winning essayist and best-selling author William Deresiewicz about a varying number of topics, including friendship, mentorship, and learning from those who are different from you. 

Deresiewicz has published more than 280 essays and reviews, won the Hiett Prize in the Humanities, the National Book Critics Circle’s Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing, as well as a Sydney Award. He is a three-time National Magazine Award nominee, and his work has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Harper’s, The American Scholar, and many other publications. These works have been translated into 18 languages and anthologized in more than 30 college and scholastic readers. 

Show Notes/References: 

• A Jane Austen Education 
• Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite and the Way to a Meaningful Life 
• The Death of the Artist: How Creators Are Struggling to Survive in the Age of Billionaires and Big Tech
• Odyssey by Homer, Translated by Emily Wilson
• The Death of Friendship 
• The End of Solitude
• Solitude and Leadership
• Emma
• Mansfield Park
• The Lost Art of Friendship

When thinking about effective leadership, it can be easy to focus on the tangible: what needs to be done and how quickly can it be accomplished? While this is important, it is just as important to develop self-awareness and team-building skills as leaders. Leaders should ask questions, be accessible, be vulnerable, and create an environment that allows people to feel safe to give feedback, and this requires emotional intelligence.

Join Russ Ewell as he talks with Dr. Patricia Thompson, a corporate psychologist and executive coach, about the need for leaders across all organizations to develop emotional intelligence, and to create a culture among your team that encourages collaboration and growth.

Powerful emotions can derail, disrupt, distract, and disorient us. If we don’t learn how to handle strong emotions, they will begin to lead us and our company, department, or family. Join Russ Ewell on this episode as he gives us a spiritual and emotional antidote to emotionalism so we can reinvent our leadership.

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As we are in the middle of a pandemic, it is easy to get negative. But this time of crisis opens the door to not just danger, but opportunity. Those who have accomplished extraordinary things in the past faced crises just like us, but were able to look past the danger to see the opportunities. We are in need of such leaders today: leaders who rise up in their communities, creating solutions the governments and corporations of the world cannot solve. Leaders who might feel too afraid or too small to lead now, but with the right courage, knowledge, and support, can change the world.

The hope of these podcasts is to start conversations around leadership, knowing that this is exploration more than it is certainty. The study of leadership doesn’t stand still, but is evolutionary - constantly growing, changing, and teaching us. Join Russ Ewell on this leadership journey.

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"Permanence, perseverance and persistence in spite of all obstacles, discouragements, and impossibilities: It is this, that in all things distinguishes the strong soul from the weak"
Thomas Carlyle -- Volumes of his books

• Edmund Burke
• Peter Drucker
• William Safire - “nattering nabobs of negativism”
• Joe Jackson - “Is She Really Going Out with Him?”
• TIME 100 People Of The Century
• Dead Poets Society
• Marcel Proust