Today’s guest brings over 20 years of strategic leadership experience to companies focused on improving people’s lives. When this podcast was recorded he was the Chief Communications and Advocacy Officer at GLSEN, the nation's leading education organization focused on ensuring safe and affirming schools for all students. He recently founded JMart Strategies were he works with clients using his experience as a strategist, change agent, and turnaround specialist.

Prior to GLSEN, he was the Vice President of Strategic Communications at Sesame Workshop, was a Senior Consultant for Teach for America, and a Senior Program Officer for Policy and Advocacy at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

My guest also had the honor of working for Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, first as the Communications Director for the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, and then as the Governor’s Press Secretary.

We connected because he and I were both accepted into LeadBoston, he is an alum from the class of 2004. LeadBoston is an 11-month experiential executive education program, that focuses on the inner workings of Boston and socially responsible leadership.

Please join me in welcoming Juan Martinez.

Visit www.OntheSchmooze.com for show notes and related links.

Welcome back to On the Schmooze. Thank you so much for joining me. Last week I had the pleasure of interviewing Charley Francis, this week you’ll be hearing from me, your host.

Every other week I’ll be offering my take on some aspect of networking and relationship-building.

These shorter podcast episodes will include practical networking tips and techniques you can put into practice right away. My hope is that insights from me and my guests will help you achieve the leadership position you’re seeking, build and sustain your professional network, and find the work/life balance that works best for you.

This week I’ll be talking about the endless cycle of collecting and recycling business cards and how to Stop Wasting Time Networking.

Visit www.OntheSchmooze.com for show notes and related links.

Today’s guest is a housing and community development professional with diverse, multi-sector experience. Early in his career he was an AmeriCorps*VISTA for two years which is where he launched an “Urban Service Experience” series and led efforts to conduct a neighborhood risk and resource assessment.

His interest in urban planning led him to The Heller School at Brandeis University where he received his Master’s in Public Policy and then to work for 5 years as a Presidential Management Fellow at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. He led efforts in Massachusetts to implement HUD’s Rental Assistance Demonstration Program, a program that allows expiring use multifamily properties to be preserved as long-term affordable housing. He also provided strategic support to State partners on high-level issues such as public housing governance reform and addressing Veteran’s homelessness statewide.

He was a New Leaders Council Fellow in 2010 and Director of the Boston Chapter from 2012-2014. This interview was recorded when he was Director of Policy at Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development. He recently became Assistant Director of Leased Housing & Rental Services at Rhode Island Housing.

Please join me in welcoming Charley Francis.

Visit www.OntheSchmooze.com to read show notes and view related links.

I'm excited to have with me today, a fellow member of LeadBoston class of 2015. LeadBoston is an executive education program, that focuses on the inner workings of Boston and socially responsible leadership.

I met my guest initially through his work at Fenway Institute which was launched in 2001 by Fenway Health as an interdisciplinary center for research, training, education and policy development focusing on national and international health issues, especially related to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities.

Currently, he is the Vice President of Multicultural Initiatives and Health Equity at the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association, where he is focused on engaging and cultivating community partners in the fight for equitable health outcomes within communities of color.

Please join me in welcoming Benjamin Perkins.

Visit www.OntheSchmooze.com for show notes and related links.

Welcome to On the Schmooze, a weekly podcast that features a mix of interviews and solo shows.  My hope is that insights from me and my guests will help you achieve the leadership position you’re seeking, build and sustain your professional network, and find the work/life balance that works best for you.  Interviews are with talented people from different fields.  We explore how they built strong networks and overcame challenges on their way to becoming successful leaders.  I identify a key take-away from each interview, something you can put into action that week that you’ll benefit from for years to come. In the show notes I provide resources to help you get started.  Solo shows are shorter episodes every other week where I share practical networking tips and techniques you can put into practice right away.  Podcast inspired by business and marketing guru Dorie Clark, Pat Flynn of Smart Passive Income, Jonny Nastor of Hack the Entrepreneur, and Dale Carnegie.

In today's episode you will learn a bit about me, my expectations for this podcast, and what to expect from the first three episodes. I believe the best way to demonstrate why you should subscribe is to share solid content in this introductory episode, so I also shared my 8 Steps for Successful Networking.

Visit www.OntheSchmooze.com to read show notes and related links.

Welcome back to On the Schmooze. Thank you so much for joining me. Last week I had the pleasure of interviewing Benjamin Perkins, this week you’ll be hearing from me, your host.

Every other week I’ll be offering my take on some aspect of networking and relationship-building.

These shorter podcast episodes will include practical networking tips and techniques you can put into practice right away. My hope is that insights from me and my guests will help you achieve the leadership position you’re seeking, build and sustain your professional network, and find the work/life balance that works best for you.

This week I'll be talking about a vexing problem that affects many professional women. When will women win the right to pockets?

Visit www.OntheSchmooze.com to see this episode's show notes which include a link to download a transcript.