The CharacterStrong Podcast

Christine Mazzi is a 16 year old Ugandan-American living in the Bay Area. She is the CEO and founder of The Woman of Color Project (ProjectWOC), an instagram based community organization that strives to inspire and empower young women and girls of color. When she is not Leading Project: WOC she loves to read YA novels, have light-hearted debates, spend time with her family, and rewatch Friends (or any Jubilee youtube video under the sun). Christina was recently named the 2020 MLK Student Humanitarian of the Year in her County and a #icanhelp 2019 Digital For Good Award Recipient. You can find out more at: https://instagram.com/projectwoc

Dawn MacFarland has 20 years of service to military-connected students and families through DoDEA (Department of Defense Education Activity). She began her teaching career in Tucson, Arizona, and has since taught in London, England, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as well as Hanau and Stuttgart, Germany. Ms. MacFarland teaches language arts and humanities, and her lifelong commitment is dedicated to educating the whole child—mind and heart. Ms. MacFarland's career is cultivated by a mindset that looks beyond typical markers of student success and dives deeper into areas of long-term student development and growth. Her entire concept of teaching revolves around the idea that in education, as in life, leaders need to build relationships, and create climates of security, in order to get the best out of the communities they serve. Ms. MacFarland was a finalist for DoDEA 2020 State Teacher of the Year, and she is the 2020 Europe East Teacher of the Year.

Aaron Hancock has been the Head Coach at Wyoming High School in Cincinnati, Ohio for the last eight seasons. He attended and played D3 football at The College of Mount Saint Joseph in Cincinnati. He has been a Physical Education Teacher at Wyoming High School for the last 19 years. The last four seasons his teams have gone 52-3 and has a career record of 85-14. In eight seasons as a HC, his program has won 6 League Titles, 2 Regional Runner up, 2 Regional Titles and 1 State Title. Prior to becoming the fourth Head Coach in last 64 years at Wyoming High School, he was an assistant coach at Wyoming for eleven seasons. Aaron and his wife, reside in Wyoming with their three boys.

Micah Mortensen has been in education for 17 years. He started as middle school history teacher, quickly moved into the assistant principal and then principal position in Vail School District in Tucson Arizona. Micah made it a goal to know every single student's name on campus and could be found outside interacting with the students more than behind the closed door of his office. He has been the Superintendent for Benson School District in Arizona for the past 6 years. Micah was Arizona's 40 Under 40 Man of the Year in 2012. Micah's passion is to create a workplace where adults want to be with the ultimate goal of creating excellent academic and social/emotional experiences for our students.

John Norlin is a Co-Founder of CharacterStrong, a Servant Leadership trainer, and motivational speaker. He was Advisor of the Year, taught 5 leadership classes per semester for 10 years at Sumner High, and was an Administrator for the Whole Child.

Antonio McLemore is a highly accomplished MBA graduate in Executive Leadership, who drives growth-oriented, Tacoma-based programs initiatives with a focus on community engagement, sustainable strategies, team building, and local/regional network development. He's a hands-on self-starter who exhibits personal, professional, and academic experience as a dedicated trailblazer, public speaker, and dedicated advocate toward creating positive change in the community. Antonio McLemore is the Male Involvement Program Manager, and he believes mentorship is the vehicle we use to introduce young men to an idea that's greater than their realities or circumstances. Mentorship is also a vehicle MIP uses to prepare young Kings for the world in front of them. Antonio leads a team of four mentors that serve over a 100 students weekly, throughout four campuses, and using outcome driven curriculum to empower, equip, and encourage young men to be agents of change in their homes, communities, and campuses. He served as an Youth Executive Director at a local non-profit for the six years before returning to complete his Master's in Business Leadership. He serves as a sought-after motivational speaker, as well as an influential keynote speaker for character development, social and emotional learning, and professional development. His service in character development has allowed him to travel the world, places such as New York City, NY, Kolkata, India, and Los Angeles, CA to inspire youth people to discover their inner Greatness. He believes every person has a Genius, and this is why Antonio believes the student to Teacher/Mentor relationship serves a consequential role in cultivating the character that will sustain every student's Genius. Antonio is married to his beautiful wife, Katie, and Antonio has two sons, Israel and Legacy.

Ryan Carle-Ogren graduated from Northern Arizona University in 2011 with a Bachelor of Music Education (Music Secondary Education- Instrumental) and a Bachelor of Music (Performance-Instrumental Music). Throughout his education, Carle-Ogren has worked to develop an educational philosophy that ensures a positive, challenging, constructive, and inclusive learning environment while cultivating an appreciation for music and skills necessary to succeed in all aspects of life for all students involved. This philosophy was enacted at Walden Grove High School- a brand new school in Sahuarita, AZ in August of 2011. Beginning the year as the sole music teacher, Carle-Ogren began to develop an award winning music program. Over the course of the next five years, the band and orchestra programs grew from fewer than 25 students to over 100, receiving superior ratings at numerous competitions and festivals across the State of Arizona. The growth of the program has enabled Carle-Ogren to challenge students to become effective student leaders, to perform at a high level across Arizona and California, and to develop a strong supportive bond between each other, all while working to develop a culture around campus that supports all of the performing arts. Outside of the classroom, Carle-Ogren has developed relationships with local community members, opening the door for his students to perform around the community, earn scholarships, and build connections to further their musical and educational careers. He has also partnered with area music educators in planning and governing area honor musical festivals to recognize highly performing students across the region

Lisa Schroeder has taught for 17 years, cross circularly, and has received various honors, and educational awards for her teaching, leadership, community service and program development. Lisa is the recipient of The Student Leadership Advisor of the year for the state of Arizona in 2015, The National Young Leaders Congressional Youth Leadership Council Selection, and Who's Who Among National Educators. She has been a keynote speaker for educational leadership workshops at district, state and national leadership conference events. She has been a mentor teacher for the past 10 years. Lisa is passionate about investing in building our future through making impactful student and community connections.

Dr. Dakeyan Cha' Dre' Graham, the 2019 Hillsborough County Teacher of the Year, was selected in July 2019 as the 2020 Florida Teacher of the Year, representing 74 school districts and more than 195,000 teachers. This year, Dr. Graham is on sabbatical from teaching and serves as the Christa McAuliffe Ambassador for Education. In this role, he tours the state delivering motivational speeches and workshops focused on empowering teachers to create the most impactful learning experience possible for their students. A product of Hillsborough County Public Schools, Dr. Dakeyan Cha' Dre' Graham recently served as the Director of Instrumental Studies at his alma mater, C. Leon King High School in Tampa. He holds Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Music Education (University of Florida), a Master's in Educational Leadership (Concordia University), and a Ph.D. in Music Education (University of South Florida). During his 10 years in HCPS, his students consistently demonstrated determination, focus and tenacity as they earned a performance position in the prestigious Carnegie Hall. While serving as the president of the Hillsborough Secondary Music Council and founder of the Eastern Coalition of Music Directors, Dr. Graham travels around the state as an adjudicator for both the Florida Bandmasters and Orchestra Associations. In 2012, Dr. Graham was a finalist for Hillsborough County Teacher of the Year and a semi-finalist for Grammy Music Educator of the Year in 2013. Dr. Graham assists in leading worship at CityLife Church and teaches youth and adult martial arts throughout the Brandon area. He is blessed to share life with his wife, Casey (also an HCPS educator), and daughter, Aaliyah. His passion is to continue positively impacting the next generation of world changers.

An acclaimed, experienced and versatile sports consultant, Brett McDaniel is a regular face on the sports performance scene and has consulted a variety of sports programs all over the northwest. A former all-state and collegiate athlete, has worked with college teams all around the region as well as numerous high school programs scattered around the state. In addition to his work with teams, he also has serves as a yearly presenter for the WIAA, WACA, FCA and numerous local coaching clinics. After graduating from Western University, he started his career in coaching having accepted an opportunity to assist a small high school basketball program (Blaine HS) that featured future NBA star, Luke Ridnour. It was this experience as a coach that influenced a desire to use sport to influence character and mental development in athletes. His work as a coach for over 22 years now has led Brett to a variety of coaching positions and opportunities with both boys and girls that have shaped his vision and philosophy of sport. Currently, Brett serves as an elementary Assistant Principal and head girls basketball coach in the Sumner School District. He is married to his wife Elli (21 years) and has three kids. Daughter McKenna (17) Jorja (14) and son Colt (10)​.