Intentional Performers

Thanks for joining us for today’s panel on Using Adversity for Good. I have been fortunate to chat with over 150 remarkable people on my Intentional Performers Podcast. These people have overcome adversity, thought deeply about leadership, and have setup intentional lives for themselves to perform at their best. The coronavirus has created challenges for so many throughout the world and it is my hope that these panel discussions will help those in need. While everyone on the panel has tremendous expertise, I also want to note that what we are going through is truly unprecedented and there may be questions that the panelists don’t have the answer to. That’s ok. This isn’t designed to give you the answer to every question you have, instead, it’s designed to have you think deeply about how you can handle this challenging time. Bio’s Below. Rais Bhuiyan After serving as a pilot officer in the Bangladesh air force, Rais moved to the United States in 1999 to study computer technology. Ten days after 9/11, Rais was the victim of a horrific hate crime. Shot in the face at point blank range by white supremacist, Mark Stroman, Rais barely survived. Sadly, two others were killed. Stroman was sentenced to death; ten years later, Rais led an international campaign, fighting to save Stroman’s life.  Through his non-profit, World Without Hate, Rais has touched the lives of more than 175,000 people as he shares his inspirational story and message at schools, universities, organizations and conferences all over the world. Website: https://worldwithouthate.org/ Twitter: @Rais4peace Van Brooks A native of West Baltimore City, Van was a three-sport athlete at Loyola Blakefield high school in Towson, Maryland. In 2004, Van suffered a life altering spinal cord injury at the age of sixteen. Despite that he earned a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications from Towson University, and founded SAFE Alternative Foundation for Education nonprofit in 2012 and the SAFE Center youth facility in 2015. Website: https://www.safealternative.org/ IG: @VanBrooks25 Derek Fitzgerald Derek Fitzgerald is a survivor of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, heart failure and ultimately a heart transplant. After receiving his life-saving transplant in 2011, Derek entered the world of endurance sports and became dedicated to helping others going through their own healthcare journeys. Since 2011, Derek has upheld his life’s mission to honor his donor’s gift. He has completed over 90 endurance events, including a coast-to-coast bike ride and multiple IRONMAN races, including the prestigious World Championship in Kona, Hawaii.  Website: https://www.recycledmanspeaks.com/ IG: @RecycledManSpeaks Moses Maddox I am the Veterans Counselor for Veterans to Energy Careers and Veterans Services at California State University San Marcos, I provide professional development service to veterans who have left the military and are in college entering their post-military careers. Website: https://veteranstoenergycareers.org/ IG: @Moses.Maddox

Thanks for joining us for today’s panel on Creating Culture During Uncertainty. I have been fortunate to chat with over 150 remarkable people on my Intentional Performers Podcast. These people have overcome adversity, thought deeply about leadership, and have setup intentional lives for themselves to perform at their best. The coronavirus has created challenges for so many throughout the world and it is my hope that these panel discussions will help those in need. While everyone on the panel has tremendous expertise, I also want to note that what we are going through is truly unprecedented and there may be questions that the panelists don’t have the answer to. That’s ok. This isn’t designed to give you the answer to every question you have, instead, it’s designed to have you think deeply about how you can handle this challenging time. Bio’s Below. Kris Herman Kris Herman has been an instrumental figure in collegiate softball since beginning her coaching career at Tufts University in 1988. After Tufts, Herman came to Williams during the 2003-04 academic year. On March 27, 2018, Herman reached the 700-win milestone in her career. Herman's career mark stands at 767-388-5, a .662 winning percentage. She became the 17th coach at the Div. III level to surpass 700 wins in a career and is 12th on the active list. Ben Olsen Ben Olsen is the longest-tenured head coach in D.C. United history, having served since the middle of the 2010 season. With Olsen on the sideline, the Black-and-Red have qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs four times in the last five years, including back-to-back-to-back seasons in 2014-15-16. In 2014, Olsen was named MLS Coach of the Year after helping guide the Black-and-Red to the biggest single-season turnaround in Major League Soccer history, finishing the regular season in first place in the Eastern Conference for the first time since 2007 and with the most points in team history. Cody Royle Cody Royle is a standout voice on leadership, culture, and organizational dynamics. Currently, he serves as head coach of AFL Team Canada, the men’s national program for Australian Rules football. Cody is the author of the influential sports-business book Where Others Won’t, which investigates how forward-thinking teams use talent strategies to create competitive advantage. Tanya Vogel Tanya Vogel assumed the role of Director of Athletics and Recreation on July 1, 2018 after serving as Acting Director of Athletics and before that Deputy Athletics Director, Senior Woman Administrator and Deputy Title IX Coordinator at her alma mater. In her third stint with GW Athletics, Tanya Vogel has seen intercollegiate athletics from every vantage point. First as a student-athlete competing in soccer as an undergraduate at GW, Vogel learned firsthand what the student-athlete experience should be. wae

Thanks for joining us for today’s panel on Teamwork Under Pressure. I have been fortunate to chat with over 150 remarkable people on my Intentional Performers Podcast. These people have overcome adversity, thought deeply about leadership, and have setup intentional lives for themselves to perform at their best. The coronavirus has created challenges for so many throughout the world and it is my hope that these panel discussions will help those in need. While everyone on the panel has tremendous expertise, I also want to note that what we are going through is truly unprecedented and there may be questions that the panelists don’t have the answer to. That’s ok. This isn’t designed to give you the answer to every question you have, instead, it’s designed to have you think deeply about how you can handle this challenging time. Bio’s Below. Mitch Aguiar Mitch Aguiar is a 10 year Navy SEAL Veteran, entrepreneur, speaker, painter and Professional Mixed Martial Arts Fighter.  Mitch learned early on that a lot things in life are hard, but setting hard goals instills confidence, which is why he enlisted in the Navy and eventually graduated from BUDs Class 273 in 2008.  He went to SEAL Team 10 deployed to Afghanistan in 2011 for 11 months, worked as a multi purpose Dog Handler for a year and then deployed to Europe for 6 months. Mitch has always had a passion for learning and teaching others.  And after his tours he finished up his time in the teams teaching combatives and close quarters combat. He left the Navy in January of 2018 at the rank of E6/SO1 (Special Operator First Class) to pursue his dream of becoming a World Champion Mixed Martial Arts Fighter.  He holds an amateur record of 15-1 and on January 27th, 2018 he made his Professional MMA debut winning by TKO.   Mitch encourages others to follow their passions in life and in March of 2017 he founded his company MASF (Mitch Aguiar Smashin’ Frog).  He aims to awaken and instill a new mindset in people. Once you truly understand the philosophy “Mindset is Everything”, your potential becomes limitless. He is on a mission to make the world a better place and to inspire others to do the same by sharing his story and living by example.  He travels across the US speaking to businesses and students, athletes and veterans, to share his “Mindset is Everything” philosophy.  Website: https://masfsupplements.com/ IG: @Mitch_Aguiar  Jeff Gum Jeff grew up in the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania and attended University of Central Florida majoring in Business Management/ Entrepreneurship.  In July 2007 he enlisted in the U.S. Navy to attend Basic Underwater Demolition/ SEAL (BUDS) training in Coronado, California. After two years of SEAL training he graduated from Class 272 and checked into SEAL Team Five. After his first deployment to Fallujah, Iraq, he was selected for the Navy SEAL Breacher and Sniper Schools and worked with the Secret Service on a POTUS mission for a month in Hawaii. His second deployment took him to the United Arab Emirates with the Crisis Response Element, and upon returning home he began teaching Combatives and Prisoner Handling to SEAL trainees.  As the Lead Petty Officer, Jeff helped develop the Combatives Instructor Course to train SEALs how to lead Combatives training for their platoons. He also traveled to Copenhagen, Denmark for two weeks to help the Danish Frogmen stand up their own Combatives program. In 2015, he began his transition out of the Navy by participating in The Honor Foundation’s 120 hours of Executive Education at UCSD Rady School of Management.  The program inspired him to launch his own swimwear line, Sunga Life, that is focused on achieving double bottom line goals of purpose and profitability, where 10% of profits go to veteran charities -- specifically those that benefit wounded and amputee Special Operations Forces. Jeff transitioned out of the Navy in June 2017 and traveled the world for a year before beginning his MBA at the UCLA Anderson School of Management with a focus on Entrepreneurship. He is currently focused on leading a team of MBA students to scale Sunga Life through the Business Creation Option as their master’s thesis at UCLA Anderson. Website: https://www.sungalife.com/ IG: @JeffGum Mario Romero Mario is a former Navy SEAL who is a graduate of Columbia University, where he studied math, astronomy, and astrophysics as he attempts to fulfill his dream to become an astronaut one day. He is also an advocate in trying to help the cause of suicide prevention, with hopes that the number of suicides can decrease by as much as 20% less than a decade from now. Today, Mario is a NASA EVA (SpaceWalk) tech, and Orion crew capsule recovery team member. Helping astronauts train for spacewalks and training recovery methods for recapturing crew capsules upon return to earth. He is also writing a book.  IG: @Marioromero186  

Thanks for joining us for today’s panel on Negotiation Under Stress. I have been fortunate to chat with over 150 remarkable people on my Intentional Performers Podcast. These people have overcome adversity, thought deeply about leadership, and have setup intentional lives for themselves to perform at their best.  The coronavirus has created challenges for so many throughout the world and it is my hope that these panel discussions will help those in need. While everyone on the panel has tremendous expertise, I also want to note that what we are going through is truly unprecedented and there may be questions that the panelists don’t have the answer to. That’s ok. This isn’t designed to give you the answer to every question you have, instead it’s designed to have you think deeply about how you can handle this challenging time. Bio’s Below. Blake Baratz I have now worked in the representation of professional athletes for the past 10+ years. I have learned a lot about this industry, but the most glaring area of need for improvement is simply education. 78% of all NFL players are either leaving the game broke, or broke within 3 years of their last NFL game. Twitter: https://twitter.com/blakebaratz Bob Bordone I am an internationally-recognized expert, speaker, author, coach, and teacher on negotiation, mediation, consensus-building, dialogue, and facilitation. Currently a Senior Fellow at Harvard Law School and a Visiting Clinical Professor of Conflict Transformation at the Boston University School of Theology, I was the Thaddeus R. Beal Clinical Professor of Law at Harvard Law School for more than two decades where I also founded and directed the Harvard Law School Negotiation and Mediation Clinical Program. I am also on the roster of neutrals at The Mediation Group in Brookline, MA. Twitter: https://twitter.com/bobbordone Danielle Cantor Danielle Cantor was born in Washington D.C. A former Division I soccer player at the University of Pennsylvania, Cantor also earned a degree from the Wharton School of Business. In 2007, Cantor helped David Falk to relaunch FAME, a sports agency. As of 2017, Cantor was the only female NBPA certified agent with a current client in the league. Twitter: https://twitter.com/dcantor22 Matthew Hartman is a founding partner at Betaworks Ventures, an early stage venture capital fund based in New York City and San Francisco. Betaworks builds and invests in consumer tech companies including Giphy, Twitter, Kickstarter, GroupMe, and Tumblr. At Betaworks, Matt has led investments in companies such as Anchor and Gimlet Media, which were both acquired by Spotify in 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/MattHartman

Thanks for joining us for today’s panel on Obstacle Opportunities. I have been fortunate to chat with over 150 remarkable people on my Intentional Performers Podcast. These people have overcome adversity, thought deeply about leadership, and have setup intentional lives for themselves to perform at their best. The coronavirus has created challenges for so many throughout the world and it is my hope that these panel discussions will help those in need. While everyone on the panel has tremendous expertise, I also want to note that what we are going through is truly unprecedented and there may be questions that the panelists don’t have the answer to. That’s ok. This isn’t designed to give you the answer to every question you have, instead it’s designed to have you think deeply about how you can handle this challenging time. Thanks to my wonderful panelists! Bios below. Josh Basile, a C4-5 quadriplegic, lives in Maryland and is a trial attorney working in Washington, DC. Growing up, Josh attended the Bullis School, graduating in 2003 where tennis and golf were his top passions. A natural athlete, Josh played number one singles for the Bullis Varsity Team and was recruited to play tennis at Skidmore College. He played for one year at Skidmore before his life was turned completely upside-down. In August 2004, while on his family’s annual summer vacation in Bethany Beach, DE, Josh was picked up by a single wave and was slammed headfirst against the ocean floor. The impact shattered his fifth cervical vertebra leaving him paralyzed from the shoulders down. http://www.determined2heal.org/about-d2h/joshs-story/ https://www.instagram.com/josh.basile/ https://www.facebook.com/josh.basile/  Matthew Del Negro is a professional Actor (Goliath, Scandal, The West Wing, The Sopranos) and podcast host (10,000 "No"s with Matthew Del Negro). He can currently be seen as Detective Chris Caysen, Captain of the Youth Violence Strike Force on Showtime's critically-acclaimed Boston crime drama series, City on a Hill, starring Kevin Bacon and Aldis Hodge. He received rave reviews on his Netflix Comedy Series, Huge in France, released in April 2019, for his portrayal of down-and-out actor Jason Alan Ross and was singled out as a "show stealer" and "comedic tour de force". https://www.10000nos.com/ https://www.instagram.com/mattydel/ https://twitter.com/MatthewDelNegro Adrianne Haslet has survived the terrorist bombings at the 2013 Boston Marathon where she lost her left leg below the knee. She is quickly rising to meet her daily challenges head on with a unique perspective. Being a full time professional ballroom dancer at the peak of her career, she has had to learn an entirely new meaning to the word patience. In the wake of the marathon, she has become an inspiration through her positive attitude. She has since returned to the dance floor, winning her first competition back, and ran the 2016 and 2018 Boston Marathons. https://www.adriannehaslet.com/ https://www.instagram.com/adriannehaslet/ https://twitter.com/AdrianneHaslet https://www.facebook.com/Adrianne-Haslet-367670170038419/  Neen James is the author of nine books including Folding Time and her most recent, Attention Pays. Named one of the top 30 Leadership Speakers by Global Guru several years in a row because of her work with companies like Viacom, Comcast, Cisco, Virgin, Pfizer, BMW, and the FBI, among others. Neen earned her MBA from Southern Cross University and the Certified Speaking Professional designation from National Speakers Association. She has received numerous awards as a professional speaker and is a partner in the international education company Thought Leaders Global. https://neenjames.com/ https://www.instagram.com/neenjames/ https://twitter.com/neenjames https://www.facebook.com/NeenJamesCommunications

The past few weeks drastically changed the landscape of the world. While I am generally an optimist, it’s my belief that the next few weeks will continue to be a challenge for many. With that in mind, I have been reflecting on what I could do to help. The Intentional Performers Podcast has given me an amazing gift; a stronger connection to amazing people and expanded wisdom and knowledge. It’s my hope that the listeners have received this gift as well.  So, here’s my idea to help others during this time of uncertainty. I am creating a series of panel discussions with past podcast guests to help others learn, grow and take action to better their lives and careers. It’s my hope that the content will help people navigate some of their toughest challenges right now in a productive way. You can also go to this YouTube link to watch all panels. Bios below for panelist participants.  Keith Mitchell Keith Mitchell is a former All-Pro NFL football player turned internationally renowned Celebrity Yogi. As a Motivational Mindfulness Coach, Holistic Health and Wellness Advocate, Community Activist and Humanitarian, he is committed to providing holistic tools that help others achieve optimal health, harmony and aliveness to the fullest degree.     A life changing football injury left Keith partially paralyzed, he utilized Yoga and Meditation to fully recover, he now shares his inspirational transformation with others as a highly sought after spiritual lifestyle/ wellness coach, teacher and motivational speaker.  Although Keith’s football accident forced him into an early retirement, it led him to his true life’s calling — inspiring others to move beyond survivor and victim consciousness to full empowerment.  Keith is a leader and exemplary teacher for people dealing with emotional and physical suffering. His personal shift from a professional sports athlete to spiritual luminary allows him to mentor from experience with full transparency and authenticity; utilizing his many years of Yoga and meditation training combined with his stellar PRO athlete expertise. As the founder of the The Light it Up Foundation , Keith considers altruism and service as his life’s purpose— the most rewarding position he has ever played— sharing his mindfulness skills Yoga and meditation certification whether for peak performance and self-awareness to help others heal from the inside and out.   Keith’s mission is to guide others to find the power within themselves to make a positive shift— so they may live a life full of joy, gratitude and purpose.  Stu Singer Stu Singer works as the sports psychology and performance consultant for the NBA’s Washington Wizards, the WNBA’s 2019 World Champion Washington Mystics, University of Maryland Women’s Basketball team, Rice University Basketball, and many other programs across the country. Stu served an integral role in helping the Mystics win their first WNBA Championship in team history, the University of Maryland Women’s basketball team reach back to back Final Fours in 2014 and 2015, and multiple NCAA Division 1 Conference Championships. The WellPerformance “system” is based in solid research and performance psychology theory, and then developed further through the lens of well-over a decade worth of "in the trenches' experience in high-performance environments. WellPerformance is all about applicable skills that can be developed and then used in the real world. Pro and elite amateur athletes across sport and gender - NBA, WNBA, NBA G League, NCAA, NWSL, MLS, USMNT and USWNT call-up players, USA Basketball Team Members, and Olympic gold medalists have been trained in Stu's system.  Stu completed his Doctor of Psychology coursework at the University of the Rockies specializing in sport and performance psychology, and is a professional member of the Association for Applied Sport Psychology. Additionally, he received his M.Ed. in Counseling from Shippensburg University.  Steve Schlafman I became a seed investor in 2010 and a certified professional coach in 2017. I chose these two professions because I love helping entrepreneurs bring their visions to life. I also love jamming on organizational design, leadership development and company building. This is what I plan to do for the rest of my life. I currently operate a boutique leadership coaching practice. I work closely with CEOs to help them lead more authentically and effectively. I also partner with ‘executives in transition’ who are contemplating a new role, career or venture I’m also an active angel investor and operate a small fund that invests in pre-seed and seed stage technology companies in NYC. Over the last decade, I’ve honed my human-centric investment philosophy and approach. I always put the founding team, market opportunity and human impact above everything else. Some companies I’ve been fortunate to work with include Bark & Co., Boom Aerospace, Bowery Farming, Breather, Brightwheel, Care/of, Citizen, Giphy, Groups, Managed by Q, SmartThings, The Skimm, View The Space and Zipline. Previously, I’ve held a mix of investing and operating roles at Primary Venture Partners, Lerer Hippeau Ventures, RRE Ventures, The Kraft Group / The New England Patriots, Microsoft, Stickybits / Turntable.fm, and Massive.

The past few weeks drastically changed the landscape of the world. While I am generally an optimist, it’s my belief that the next few weeks will continue to be a challenge for many. With that in mind, I have been reflecting on what I could do to help. The Intentional Performers Podcast has given me an amazing gift; a stronger connection to amazing people and expanded wisdom and knowledge. It’s my hope that the listeners have received this gift as well.  So, here’s my idea to help others during this time of uncertainty. I am creating a series of panel discussions with past podcast guests to help others learn, grow and take action to better their lives and careers. It’s my hope that the content will help people navigate some of their toughest challenges right now in a productive way. All panels will be recorded on Zoom and uploaded to YouTube so that as many people can have access to the content as possible. You can also go to this YouTube link to watch all panels. Bios below for panelist participants.  Handling Isolation  Sam Morris Sam Morris is the founder of Zen Warrior Training®, a transformational coaching program for high performers, entrepreneurs and creative professionals. Sam is an internationally known leader in the field of personal transformation. With over twenty years of experience studying and teaching the ancient wisdom of Zen and Taoist philosophy, meditation and breathwork practices, Sam coaches high performing men and women and corporate clients how to master the inner workings of the mind, body and spirit and live from a place of peace, power and purpose in their careers and in their personal lives.  Chris Wilson Born and raised in Washington D.C, Chris grew up under extremely difficult circumstances. Poverty, drug addiction, and gun violence was the everyday norm in his community. At the age of 17, he was charged with a crime, convicted, and sentenced to natural life in prison. It was during times of isolation that he decided to not only to turn his life around, but to make a difference in the lives of people who currently live in poverty-stricken communities similar to his childhood surroundings. “Many years ago, I committed my life to self-improvement and helping others. I sat in a dark cell and wrote up what I now call my Master Plan. A plan to build a business empire and help others.” While imprisoned, he earned his high school diploma, graduated from all of the vocational shops, earned an Associate of Arts Degree in Sociology, from Anne Arundel Community College and taught himself to speak and write in several foreign languages. He became a mentor, started a career center, book club and after serving 16 years in prison, he has returned to society a changed man. He now resides in Baltimore City and is the owner and founder of the Barclay Investment Corporation,  a multi-service social enterprise, specializing in residential and commercial contracting work. Barclay works closely with local workforce and social service providers to connect unemployed Baltimore City residents with clients who are in need of a number of services. His other business ventures include The House of DaVinci, a high-end furniture restoration and design company and Master Plan Productions, a social impact content development company. Ethan Zohn Ethan Zohn is a humanitarian, inspirational speaker and television host; former professional soccer player; cancer survivor and advocate; winner of the hit reality television show, CBS’s Survivor: Africa; contestant on season 40 of Survivor: Winners at War, author and inventor; and co-founder of the global non-profit, Grassroot Soccer. In 2002, Ethan used a portion of his Survivor: Africa winnings to help found Grassroot Soccer (GRS), an adolescent health organization that leverages the power of soccer to educate, inspire, and mobilize at-risk youth in developing countries to overcome their greatest health challenges, live healthier, more productive lives, and be agents for change in their communities. To date, the organization has reached over 2.7 million youth in over 60 countries with critical health information, access to health services, and mentorship. In 2009, as a fit, active, 35-year-old former professional soccer player who had traveled the world on behalf of the international health community through Grassroot Soccer, Ethan became an unlikely face of cancer. Diagnosed not once but twice with CD20+ Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in the span of several years, Ethan endured years of aggressive treatment, including two stem cell transplants. Ethan is a graduate of Vassar College, and he has played and coached soccer professionally in Zimbabwe, the United States, and as a member of the US National team for the 1997 and 2001 Maccabiah Games in Israel and 2004 Pan-American Maccabiah Games in Chile. In recognition for his work Ethan was awarded the 2004 Nkosi Johnson Community Spirit Award by the International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care, the Heroes Among Us Award from the Boston Celtics and the Massachusetts State Health Department, and the Auxilia Chimusoro Award from the US State Department in Zimbabwe. Ever the tireless and creative promoter, in 2008, Ethan embarked on a record-breaking 550-mile journey on foot, from Boston, MA to Washington, D.C., dribbling a soccer ball the entire route, to raise money and build awareness for GRS.    

The past few weeks drastically changed the landscape of the world. While I am generally an optimist, it’s my belief that the next few weeks will continue to be a challenge for many. With that in mind, I have been reflecting on what I could do to help. The Intentional Performers Podcast has given me an amazing gift; a stronger connection to amazing people and expanded wisdom and knowledge. It’s my hope that the listeners have received this gift as well.  So, here’s my idea to help others during this time of uncertainty. I am creating a series of panel discussions with past podcast guests to help others learn, grow and take action to better their lives and careers. It’s my hope that the content will help people navigate some of their toughest challenges right now in a productive way. All panels will be recorded on Zoom and uploaded to YouTube so that as many people can have access to the content as possible. You can also go to this YouTube link to watch all the panels. Bios below for panelist participants.  Panel: Leading During Crisis David Cuthbert David began his career in Naval Special Operations after receiving his bachelor’s degree in economics from the United States Naval Academy. After nearly a decade of leading Special Operations teams around the world, David became the CEO of cloud-based technology companies in the private and public sectors. In these roles, David gained extensive experience in strategic business development, mergers and acquisitions, and organizational development. He then leveraged this experience in his five years of service as CEO of Wine To Water, an international organization providing clean water and disaster relief. He established offices on four continents, working in 30 countries, serving a million people globally. He did this by connecting individual and corporate philanthropic initiatives to impactful international development work.  Noticing the gap between companies’ intention to make an impact with their CSR program and their actual implementation inspired David to start Global Imprint. In this new endeavor, he combines his passions for team and leadership development and the empowerment of communities on a global scale. David is married with three kids and enjoys surfing and swimming. In his own community, he coaches youth soccer teams, so they too can make their mark on the world. Melissa Hyatt Chief Melissa R. Hyatt was sworn in as Baltimore County’s 14th Police Chief on June 17, 2019, bringing with her over 20 years of law enforcement experience with the Baltimore Police Department. While at the Baltimore Police Department, her assignments included Chief of Staff to the Police Commissioner, Chief of Patrol, Chief of the Special Operations Division, and Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT). In 2018, she retired at the rank of Colonel to accept a position of Vice President for Security for Johns Hopkins University and Johns Hopkins Medicine. Hyatt holds a Masters in Management Degree from Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Delaware. She is a graduate of the 250th session of the FBI National Academy, and the Major Cities Chiefs Police Executive Leadership Institute (PELI). She has been honored with numerous awards and citations, and holds memberships in several professional organizations, including the Major Cities Chiefs Association and the Maryland Chiefs of Police Association. She is an enthusiastic supporter of Special Olympics and youth programs throughout the region. Chief Melissa R. Hyatt is a lifelong resident of Baltimore County. Brendan Tuohey Brendan Tuohey grew up in the Washington DC area and is a former Division I basketball player at Colgate University. Tuohey went on to found PeacePlayers. The goal of PeacePlayers is to use basketball as an entry point into areas of conflict so that people can truly begin to see each other as humans and develop empathy. PeacePlayers has operations in the Middle East, Northern Ireland, South Africa, Cyprus, and the US. In 2017, PeacePlayers partnered with Nike in Nike’s EQUALITY campaign in 2017 in an effort to build safer neighborhoods and improve relationships between police and the surrounding communities. Additionally, Beyond Sport has named Tuohey one of the 50 Most Influential People in Sport. Michael Signer Hon. Michael Signer, the award-winning former mayor of Charlottesville, Virginia, is a public scholar, executive, and practicing attorney. From 2016 to 2018, Signer served as mayor of Charlottesville, a AAA-bond-rated city of nearly fifty thousand. He has served as an executive and general counsel at a major Virginia technology firm, as counsel to governor Mark Warner of Virginia, as the national security director on the 2008 John Edwards presidential campaign, and as the chair of the Emergency Food Network in Virginia. He has been an instructor at the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, and the University of California. He was a candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia in 2009 and has received senior appointments from three Virginia governors. In 2018, he founded and chaired Communities Overcoming Extremism, a bipartisan capacity-building project for leaders in the public and private sectors and the sponsor of the "Overcoming Extremism" podcast. He is the author of two previous books, Demagogue: The Fight to Save Democracy from Its Worst Enemies and Becoming Madison: The Extraordinary Origins of the Least Likely Founding Father. He has written opinion pieces and essays for The NewYork Times, The Atlantic, the Washington Post, Time, and Vox. His latest book CRY HAVOC: Charlottesville and American Democracy Under Siege is now on sale.

David Shapiro joins us on this week’s episode of the podcast. David is the CEO of a non-profit called Mentor which does incredible work. They are the unifying national champion for outstanding quality mentor relationships for young people. For more than 25 years, Mentor has helped build and serve the mentor field by providing a public voice, and developing and delivering resources for mentoring programs nationwide. Mentors fantastic work with David at the helm has been mentioned in the Social Impact Exchange, Stanford Social Innovation Review, and Grant Makers for Effective Organizations. In this episode, we discuss his upbringing (6:20), his relationship with his siblings (8:20), if he’s structured (12:30), how sports impacted him (19:50), what mentor does to give people access to “heroes” (24:40), why he started with the Tiger Woods foundation (29:50), why he went into the non-profit world (33:30), what makes a great leader and a great mentor (37:30), how to view mentorship as the mentor (42:30), the type of training mentors should go through (46:00), his mentors (48:30), what he learned from sports (51:00), working with coaches vs. players (55:20), process vs. results (58:50), what will change in the next 5-10 years (1:00:10), and what he does to make sure he’s at his best (1:03:00). Thank you to David for coming on the podcast. We encourage you to check out https://www.mentoring.org/ where you can find out everything you need about his organization. Lastly, if you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening. -Brian

Riley Cote joins us on this week’s episode of the podcast. Riley played in the NHL for 4 years and was mainly known as an enforcer. We will talk about his experience as an enforcer, what it was like for him and the toll it took on him. Upon retiring from the NHL, he founded the Hemp Heals Foundation which is a non-profit organization that provides cannabis as a viable resource that can help increase the quality of lives of people. Riley is also a founder of Athletes For Care which is a non-profit organization created to help athletes find support, opportunity, and purpose in life after a career in sports. Riley is currently launching a product called Body Check Wellness which is a line of hemp based personal care products whose mission is to optimize everyday performance and challenge individuals to rethink the healing process. In this podcast, we discuss what life was like growing up (5:20), the values his parents passed down to them (9:10), his religious framework (11:40), his experience with ayahuasca (15:10), where his curiosity comes from (21:00), what it was like playing juniors (24:05), if he was into education at an early age (27:00), his progression working his way into the NHL (29:50), his options if he didn’t go into the NHL (32:20), what he’d do to get himself ready to fight (34:40), his perspective on guys overdosing from his role in the NHL (40:30), head trauma and concussions (45:20), if he believes fighting should be part of the game (51:30), what he’s been up to since he stopped playing hockey (56:50), and his meditation practice (1:03:50). Thank you to Riley for coming on the podcast. We encourage you to find him on Instagram @RileeCoyote32, Facebook @RileyCote, and Twitter @RileeCoyote. He is soon to be launching Cote Culture which is the umbrella website and business for all the things he’s involved in. Lastly, if you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening. -Brian