S5 Episode 27: Purposeful Empathy with Dr. Anita Nowak, PhD

Dr. Anita Nowak is an award-winning educator, author, speaker, and one of the world’s leading voices on empathy and social change. She holds a doctorate in education from McGill University, where she has spent over a decade teaching courses on happiness, leadership, ethics, and social innovation. Her work has helped shape a global understanding of empathy as not just a feeling, but a powerful, teachable force for personal and collective transformation. Dr. Nowak is the author of Purposeful Empathy, a book that makes the case that empathy is not a trait we either have or don’t, but that it’s a skill; one we can learn, practice, and choose with intention. Across her three TEDx talks, Dr. Nowak shares a clear and urgent message: empathy is not passive, it’s a purposeful practice, a way of being, and a form of everyday activism that holds the power to reshape our relationships, our systems, and our world. Dr. Nowak works at the intersection of emotional intelligence, systems change, and human connection, coaching changemakers, advising organizations, and reminding us that compassion, when practiced with courage, has the power to create real and lasting impact. Beyond the research, the teaching, and the accolades, Dr. Nowak is a translator of the soul’s language, and she’s devoted her life to helping others remember what we were born knowing but taught to forget: that connection is sacred, and that love, when lived out loud, is the most radical force on earth. Her work invites us to lead with presence, to meet one another with care, and to remember that empathy is not a weakness; but that it’s wisdom in motion and when we choose to lead with our hearts, we’re not stepping away from the world; we’re stepping more fully into it.

Connect with Dr. Nowak:

Instagram - @anitanowak21

Website - https://anitanowak.ca

Linktree - https://linktr.ee/anitanowak

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