Notes on Resilience

Send us a textCrisis leadership is about recognizing reality faster than everyone else. And telling the truth when it’s hardest. We sit down with Samantha Montano—associate professor of emergency management and author of Disasterology—to unpack what actually works when the stakes are life and death. From Katrina’s painful lessons to the East Palestine train derailment and the long haul of COVID, she traces a thread through delayed recognition, top-down blind spots, and the corrosive impact of mistrust.Samantha breaks down the habits that separate effective responders from well-meaning bystanders: identify a crisis quickly, listen to the people closest to the ground, decide with clarity, and stay flexible as facts change.We also talk about what we owe survivors after the cameras leave: rigorous after-action reviews that identify what failed—codes, policies, infrastructure—and commit to real fixes. Samantha shares practical ways to navigate the misinformation by pre-identifying credible experts and transparent sources before a crisis hits. There’s hope here too: a new wave of students stepping into emergency management with clear eyes about climate risk and a drive to build systems worthy of public trust.If you care about disaster response, public communication, or leading under pressure, this conversation offers concrete frameworks and hard-won wisdom. Dr. Samantha Montano is an associate professor of emergency management at Massachusetts Maritime Academy, co-founder of Disaster Researchers for Justice and the Center for Climate Adaptation Research, and the author of Disasterology: Dispatches from The Frontlines of The Climate Crisis.BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/samlmontano.bsky.socialGo to https://betterhelp.com/resilience or click Notes on Resilience during sign up for 10% off your first month of therapy with my sponsor BetterHelp. Support the show__________ Producer / Editor: Neel PanjiInvite Manya to inspire and empower your teams and position your organization as a forward-thinking leader in well-being, resilience, and trauma sensitivity.Please subscribe, rate, and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts or your listening platform of choice. It really helps others find us.#trauma #resilience #compassion #MentalHealth #CompassionateLeadership #leadership #survivor

Send us a textFear rewires leadership in the moments that matter most. We sit down with Melissa Agnes, keynote speaker, author of Crisis Ready, and a shaper of ISO 22361, to explore how leaders can move from survival mode to creation mode when the stakes are high. Melissa shares why so many teams cling to the concept of getting back to normal after disruption, and how that reflex can stall recovery when normal created the problem. Her antidote: embodied leadership, daily regulation, and a culture that turns readiness into a default, not a wish.We dig into the science of fear and why your thoughts aren’t always trustworthy under stress. We talk about grief as a mix of loss, longing, and feeling lost—and how addressing grief openly builds trust and momentum. From co-regulating a room with a calm nervous system to designing four levels of safety—physical, emotional, psychological, operational—Melissa maps out practical steps any leader can use to stabilize teams.Crisis readiness, as Melissa defines it, blends mindset, skill set, and organizational capabilities so you fall to strong training instead of weak habits. That means practicing vulnerability, clarifying values, and running honest after-action reviews that actually change how you operate. The result is a healthier culture and leaders who show up as whole people at work and at home.Melissa Agnes is a speaker, the founder of Crisis Ready Institute and creator of the Crisis Ready® Certification, and is recognized as a Top 40 Thought Leader in Security & Life Safety (2025). She helped shape international crisis management standards as a panel member for ISO 22361 and is the author of Crisis Ready: Building an Invincible Brand in an Uncertain World. You can connect with and learn more about Melissa on LinkedIn or Instagram.Go to https://betterhelp.com/resilience or click Notes on Resilience during sign up for 10% off your first month of therapy with my sponsor BetterHelp. Support the show__________ Producer / Editor: Neel PanjiInvite Manya to inspire and empower your teams and position your organization as a forward-thinking leader in well-being, resilience, and trauma sensitivity.Please subscribe, rate, and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts or your listening platform of choice. It really helps others find us.#trauma #resilience #compassion #MentalHealth #CompassionateLeadership #leadership #survivor

Send us a textNews travels faster than your approval chain—so who speaks for you when it matters most? We sit down with crisis management consultant Suzanne Bernier to unpack what effective leadership looks like under pressure. The conversation quickly turns practical: why a team-led model outperforms lone-wolf leadership, how to select a spokesperson who naturally projects trust, and when to move the CEO out of the spotlight and into a strategic command seat.We discuss the move from traditional business continuity to operational resilience. Suzanne lays out the cadence of preparedness—annual exercises, quarterly scenario walk-throughs, and clear incident management roles that prevent overload and duplication. The goal is a living system where strategy, operations, and communications work in sync.Communication is the decisive edge. The first message out shapes public understanding, so waiting for perfect certainty invites misinformation to fill the gap. Suzanne shows how to build legal-safe messages in advance, define what can be said without risking the investigation, and empower a spokesperson trained to connect with empathy and clarity. Real stories from survivors and responders bring the lessons home, making risk tangible and action urgent. We close with big news: the Disaster Heroes podcast is coming back—this time co-hosted—bringing frontline voices from around the world to the mic.If this conversation helps sharpen your crisis playbook, follow the show, share it with a colleague, and leave a review with the one change you’ll make to your plan this week.Suzanne Bernier has been making resilience relevant since 1997. A former journalist and government press secretary, Suzanne is now an international, multi-certified, award-winning crisis management trainer, speaker, and author. She is currently the Vice President of the Resilience Information Exchange (RIE) - Toronto Chapter and a faculty member of both DRI International and DRI Canada.She is the author of Disaster Heroes, a book that highlights the stories of ordinary individuals who have made extraordinary contributions during disasters. You can learn more about Suzanne on her website or LinkedIn.Go to https://betterhelp.com/resilience or click Notes on Resilience during sign up for 10% off your first month of therapy with my sponsor BetterHelp. Support the show__________ Producer / Editor: Neel PanjiInvite Manya to inspire and empower your teams and position your organization as a forward-thinking leader in well-being, resilience, and trauma sensitivity.Please subscribe, rate, and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts or your listening platform of choice. It really helps others find us.#trauma #resilience #compassion #MentalHealth #CompassionateLeadership #leadership #survivor

Send us a textAnxiety doesn’t mean you’re broken; it means you care. When stakes rise, that surge of energy can sharpen focus, rally teams, and improve decisions—if you know how to work with it. We sit down with Harvard Medical School psychologist David Rosmarin to unpack a practical, research-grounded approach any leader can use to turn anxious moments into traction.David explains what anxiety really is—both the body’s activation and the mind’s appraisal of threat—and why chasing zero anxiety backfires. Instead, he offers a clear framework. We also talk about the cultural shift organizations need: stop pathologizing normal stress and start building simple rituals that make conversation safe and useful. From a team paralyzed by AI fears to a company-wide workshop that turned nerves into unity, David demonstrates how reframing anxiety as evidence of care can transform outcomes.You’ll learn a straightforward scale to gauge everyday activation versus clinical concern, how to run quick check-ins that reduce silence and guesswork, and why leaders who pretend they’re never anxious often drive unhealthy coping across a team. The result is a playbook for resilience: fewer knee-jerk decisions, more clarity in crisis, and a culture that treats uncertainty as a space for skill, not shame.Dr. David Rosmarin, PhD is a Harvard psychologist, keynote speaker, and founder of Center for Anxiety and the author of Thriving with Anxiety: 9 Tools to Make Your Anxiety Work for You. He is a trusted expert who delivers insightful, science-backed commentary with clarity and compassion. He has been featured in TIME, The Harvard Gazette, Good Morning America, over 40 leading podcasts, and has delivered two widely viewed TEDx talks.Visit his website or connect with him on LinkedIn.Go to https://betterhelp.com/resilience or click Notes on Resilience during sign up for 10% off your first month of therapy with my sponsor BetterHelp. Support the show__________ Producer / Editor: Neel PanjiInvite Manya to inspire and empower your teams and position your organization as a forward-thinking leader in well-being, resilience, and trauma sensitivity.Please subscribe, rate, and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts or your listening platform of choice. It really helps others find us.#trauma #resilience #compassion #MentalHealth #CompassionateLeadership #leadership #survivor

Send us a textA cargo plane cockpit isn’t the first place most people look for lessons on software leadership—until you hear what happens when a co-pilot stays silent. A single dismissive moment can shut down a voice and invite disasterIn this episode, I talk with Nate Amidon, founder and CEO of Form 100 Consulting Today, about how trust, humility, and psychological safety turn complex, invisible work into predictable results, and why compassionate leadership is a performance advantage.We explore what it means to pull out the best thinking from your team, and map the small behaviors that create psychological safety. We also dig into the unique challenges of a software business, where the work is hidden behind screens and pipelines. You can’t walk a factory floor to spot a stalled widget; you need people to surface risk early. Finally, we connect compassion to alignment: clear goals, plain-language requirements, and feedback loops that let executives and engineers row in the same direction.If you care about building resilient teams, scaling delivery without burnout, and creating a culture where people actually speak up, this conversation is for you. Listen, and share with a manager you know who could benefit. Nate Amidon is the founder and CEO of Form100 Consulting, a veteran-owned and veteran-staffed technology consulting firm that brings military leadership principles to software development organizations. Nate has spent over 20 years serving in the Air Force as a C-17 pilot in both active duty and reserve capacities. His experience leading C-17 crews and planning large military exercises provided the basis for Form100 Consulting’s approach. When not collaborating with clients, you’ll find him chasing trout with a flyrod or skiing on the slopes of the Rocky Mountains. You can connect with Nate and learn more about him on LinkedIn.Go to https://betterhelp.com/resilience or click Notes on Resilience during sign up for 10% off your first month of therapy with my sponsor BetterHelp. Support the show__________ Producer / Editor: Neel PanjiInvite Manya to inspire and empower your teams and position your organization as a forward-thinking leader in well-being, resilience, and trauma sensitivity.Please subscribe, rate, and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts or your listening platform of choice. It really helps others find us.#trauma #resilience #compassion #MentalHealth #CompassionateLeadership #leadership #survivor

Send us a textResilience isn’t about being unbreakable. We sit down with Dr. Jordan Smoller—psychiatrist, epidemiologist, and geneticist at Harvard and Mass General—to discuss resilience as adaptation and explore why naming harm matters, how acknowledgment from leaders reduces isolation, and the real-world steps that transform empathy into trust.Jordan brings a blend of clinical experience and research leadership to questions many of us have: When does a normal response to trauma become a condition that needs care? How do we balance the language of diagnosis with the need to reduce stigma? We dig into the complexity of mental health science, from brain and body to relationships and social context, and tackle the systems-level issues that shape recovery: access to mental health care, workforce shortages, insurance barriers, and the political currents that complicate meaningful change. Jordan argues for two parallel commitments: immediate access to effective support and sustained investment in research that turns innovation into implementation. If you’re ready for a grounded, hopeful take on resilience, mental health research, and the power of being seen, this conversation offers perspective and practical insight. Subscribe, share with someone who needs it, and leave a review with your answer to one question: what change would make the biggest difference for mental health where you live?Dr. Jordan Smoller is a psychiatrist, epidemiologist, and geneticist whose research focus has been understanding the genetic and environmental determinants of psychiatric disorders across the lifespan and using big data to advance precision mental health including improved methods to reduce risk and enhance resilience. He is Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, Professor in Epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and the Jerrold F. Rosenbaum Endowed Chair in Psychiatry and Director of the Center for Precision Psychiatry at  Massachusetts General Hospital, among many other roles. He is also the author of The Other Side of Normal (HarperCollins/William Morrow, 2012).Go to https://betterhelp.com/resilience or click Notes on Resilience during sign up for 10% off your first month of therapy with my sponsor BetterHelp. Support the show__________ Producer / Editor: Neel PanjiInvite Manya to inspire and empower your teams and position your organization as a forward-thinking leader in well-being, resilience, and trauma sensitivity.Please subscribe, rate, and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts or your listening platform of choice. It really helps others find us.#trauma #resilience #compassion #MentalHealth #CompassionateLeadership #leadership #survivor

Send us a textWork should feel human, not like a daily battle with noise, sameness, and stress. We sit down with Travis Hollman, CEO of Hollman Inc. and founder of MeSpace, to unpack how neuroinclusive design, compassionate leadership, and AI can transform focus, creativity, and retention. Travis shares his personal journey with dyslexia and ADHD, then connects it to a bold but practical vision: give people control over their environment, measure real cognitive gains, and build a culture that celebrates difference.We discuss why open offices compromise attention and dignity, and how customizable private spaces can boost measurable cognitive output by 26%—for both neurodiverse and neurotypical teammates. Travis explains how AI transforms idea-first thinkers into clear communicators by eliminating the friction of formatting and spelling, allowing teams to tackle more complex problems more efficiently.This conversation is packed with takeaways for founders, managers, and HR leaders: design for brains, not trends; align words and actions to earn trust in a world where everyone has a voice; and consider how higher productivity could fund a four-day workweek without sacrificing results. If you care about workplace culture, retention, and real performance—not just slide decks—this one will challenge how you think about space, tools, and leadership.Travis Hollman is the CEO and owner of Hollman, Inc., the world’s leading manufacturer of locker solutions, and founder of MeSpace, a workspace design company creating modern, customizable workstations for neurodiverse professionals. Overcoming childhood challenges with Legg-Perthes disease and severe dyslexia, he now leverages his personal journey to inspire innovation and inclusivity in the workplace. Passionate about giving back, he serves on the Board for The Family Place and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Dallas, and he co-founded The Hollman Family Foundation with his wife, Stephanie.Go to https://betterhelp.com/resilience or click Notes on Resilience during sign up for 10% off your first month of therapy with my sponsor BetterHelp. Support the show__________ Producer / Editor: Neel PanjiInvite Manya to inspire and empower your teams and position your organization as a forward-thinking leader in well-being, resilience, and trauma sensitivity.Please subscribe, rate, and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts or your listening platform of choice. It really helps others find us.#trauma #resilience #compassion #MentalHealth #CompassionateLeadership #leadership #survivor

Send us a textWhat if leadership is a practice you start the moment a gap appears? That’s the lens Sebastián Torres-Calderon brings to our conversation. He was an intern who helped stabilize a hospitality company during COVID and later became its leader Sebastian traces his first leadership roles back to the soccer field, where playing midfield taught him to connect people, read the whole game, and lead by example. Those instincts carried into a crisis: answer questions nobody else can, shoulder the unglamorous work, and set a steady rhythm when uncertainty spikes. We discuss how servant leadership transforms presence and support into performance, what compassion really looks like at work—less pity, more caring plus honesty and accountability, and why cultures modeled after high-pressure restaurant kitchens burn out talent. And we explore practical ways to build trust and psychological safety without lowering the bar: clear goals, fast feedback, and a leader who removes friction so experts can do their best work.We also get specific about measurement. Sebastian shares how he balances culture and the bottom line using business results and employee Net Promoter Score, and why managers (not HR) own the daily experience of their teams. As the company grew from a handful of people to seventy across Spain, the mindset stayed the same: service over status, humility over control, and learning over certainty. The result is a resilient culture where people feel supported, standards stay high, and success compounds.Sebastián Torres-Calderon is the general manager at Stay U-nique. He started his career studying at Le Cordon Bleu and working in top kitchens such as the Ritz Carlton in Florida, where he learned discipline and leadership in high-pressure environments. He is also the co-founder of Tekea, a frozen tequeño brand.You can connect with Sebastián on LinkedIn.Go to https://betterhelp.com/resilience or click Notes on Resilience during sign up for 10% off your first month of therapy with my sponsor BetterHelp.Support the show__________ Producer / Editor: Neel PanjiInvite Manya to inspire and empower your teams and position your organization as a forward-thinking leader in well-being, resilience, and trauma sensitivity.Please subscribe, rate, and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts or your listening platform of choice. It really helps others find us.#trauma #resilience #compassion #MentalHealth #CompassionateLeadership #leadership #survivor

Send us a textA steady voice can feel like a life raft when the world flips. We sat down with emergency management expert and ICISF faculty member Dr. Mary Schoenfeldt to unpack how leaders actually help in the acute moments and the aftermath—what to say, what not to fake, and how to hand off the mic. Mary breaks down the brain science behind crisis: survival chemicals narrow our vision, mute our hearing, and shift us from executive function into fight, flight, or freeze. That’s why messages must be short, repeated, and grounded in plain language. It’s why “I don’t know yet, and here’s how we’ll find out” can earn more trust than polished certainty. And also why expecting one person to master every phase is a recipe for burnout. SMary also reframes public blame and second-guessing as a predictable search for control, not a verdict on character. That perspective helps leaders stay calm, focus on their needs, and maintain humane communication. Along the way, we talk about peer support, ethical leadership, and the small, repeatable actions that make a huge difference when attention is tunneled and emotions run hot. If you lead people—at work, in government, in schools, or at home—this conversation offers clear tools you can use before, during, and after the next hard day. Dr. Mary Schoenfeldticis is an ICISF Faculty member and an emergency management professional who is known for her work with business, health care, government, schools, and communities. She has responded to incidents around the world including hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires, floods, airline accidents, school and community violence, and mass fatality incidents.You can reach Mary by email at: yoursafeplace@msn.comGo to https://betterhelp.com/resilience or click Notes on Resilience during sign up for 10% off your first month of therapy with my sponsor BetterHelp. Support the show__________ Producer / Editor: Neel PanjiInvite Manya to inspire and empower your teams and position your organization as a forward-thinking leader in well-being, resilience, and trauma sensitivity.Please subscribe, rate, and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts or your listening platform of choice. It really helps others find us.#trauma #resilience #compassion #MentalHealth #CompassionateLeadership #leadership #survivor

Send us a textResilience isn’t a solo grind or a wellness checklist—it’s a system that lives in people, teams, and the way an organization actually works under pressure. We sit down with strategic advisor and executive team coach Natasha Kehimkar to reframe resilience as connection. When pressure spikes, leaders often go inward—exactly when community and connection matter most. Natasha explains why belonging is a performance driver, how isolation quietly erodes collaboration and trust, and organizational resilience. Most corporate playbooks cover finance, IT, and safety, but skip the messy middle where strategy fails: people. Natasha lays out the building blocks—aligned leadership behaviors, psychological safety, and shared learning frameworks—and makes a compelling case for investing in middle managers. This is your core, the layer that translates direction into daily action and carries most employees through change. We break down why training alone rarely sticks, how to scaffold learning with real scenarios and feedback, and ways to turn off‑the‑shelf content into habits that fit your context.If you care about engagement, delivery speed, and reputation, you need a resilience strategy that goes beyond slogans. Walk away with a clearer blueprint for connection, alignment, and practical leadership development that strengthens your culture without soft‑pedaling performance. Natasha Kehimkar is a strategic advisor, executive team coach, and organizational transformation expert. Natasha and her team at Malida Advisors enable leaders and organizations to level up and thrive, address unhealthy friction, and drive transformation through expert coaching, inclusive leadership, and high-impact people strategies.You can learn more about Natasha on LinkedIn.Go to https://betterhelp.com/resilience or click Notes on Resilience during sign up for 10% off your first month of therapy with my sponsor BetterHelp. Support the show__________ Producer / Editor: Neel PanjiInvite Manya to inspire and empower your teams and position your organization as a forward-thinking leader in well-being, resilience, and trauma sensitivity.Please subscribe, rate, and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts or your listening platform of choice. It really helps others find us.#trauma #resilience #compassion #MentalHealth #CompassionateLeadership #leadership #survivor