Today’s guest is a leading expert on friendship and how we can create healthier and more fulfilling relationships in our lives.

She speaks across the country and facilitates events for connection. She’s been quoted in the New York Times, The Washington Post, and Reader’s Digest, and has been interviewed live on over a dozen TV shows, including the TODAY Show and The Steve Harvey Show. She was selected by Facebook to be their media spokesperson and friendship expert for Friends Day 2018.

Her previous books include “Friendships Don’t Just Happen!” and “Frientimacy: How to Deepen Friendships for Lifelong Health and Happiness.” She’s taken her expertise about friendship into the workplace in her latest book, “The Business of Friendship: Making the Most of Our Relationships Where We Spend Most of Our Time.”

Her TEDx talk, “Frientimacy: The 3 Requirements of All Healthy Friendships” has been viewed over 400,000 times.

Please join me in welcoming Shasta Nelson.

In this episode we discuss:

• her thoughts on leadership: “Leadership is influence and having the influence to help people maximize who they are.”
• her journey of leadership goes back to when she was 8-years-old and her sisters were her followers.
• her original plan to become a war correspondent but how she ended up becoming a pastor and studying divinity in college.
• her passion to encourage and promote having healthy relationships.
• how she built a “match.com” but for friendship.
• how important it is to know your strengths and weaknesses in whatever industry you are in.
• how positivity, consistency, vulnerability are the basic requirements for strong  and meaningful relationships.
• how the pandemic has changed the way friendships are cultivated and nurtured.
• her transition from pastoring to coaching.

Listen, subscribe and read show notes at www.OnTheSchmooze.com - episode 223.

Today's guest has a passion for creating and sustaining successful business cultures.  

She believes that by having a committed and passionate workforce, your organization will create a better world.  She began her education with a BA in Psychology and a pledge to deliberately learn about human behavior every day.  She took a deep left turn and received an MBA in accounting and spent decades learning about how businesses function.  

With these two areas of expertise, employee engagement and culture building were a perfect fit. She has also earned the title of Certified Laughter Leader Expert by studying the research and science of laughter and humor.

A research nerd, she piloted a podcast called Businesses that Care and spoke with over 60 C-Suite leaders, including franchisors, about their effective cultures.  It was these inquiries that led to her newest book titled, Catalysts of Culture, How Visionary Leaders Activate the Employee Experience.

Please join me in welcoming Julie Ann Sullivan.

In this episode we discuss:

• her thoughts on leadership: “A really great leader can see aspects of a person that they may not even see themselves.”
• her first experience as a leader in her 40s despite hesitation to take on the role.
• the importance of being a great listener and how that prepared her to be an entrepreneur.
• her pivot into professional speaking even though she had no idea what it meant.
• her “Fuzzy File” to help keep her motivated throughout her journey.
• what Toastmasters taught her in her early life which she has now transferred over into her business.
• how she gets in and out of her own way in her business and how important that is to be successful.
• how she transitioned her network to her new entrepreneurial endeavour and how they helped her get started.
• how she nurtures her network with great joy and intention as the self-titled “Queen of Networking” using her head and her heart to stay in touch with people.

Listen, subscribe and read show notes at www.OnTheSchmooze.com - episode 222.

Today’s guest is a corporate relationship expert that turns problems into progress. He has devoted his adult life to understanding what makes people tick and how to bring out the best in people (including ourselves).

Whether addressing our hidden biases, helping navigate disruption and change, or providing leaders with skills that make them indispensable, he provides practical solutions that align with people’s real world experiences.

He has worked with hundreds of corporations and government agencies including the U.S. Secret Service, The Department of Homeland Security, Chase Bank, Estée Lauder, and N.A.S.A.

He is the author of “The Force Multiplier: How to Lead Teams Where Everyone Wins” and shared his expertise in a TEDx talk titled, “How to Stop Settling for Less.”

Please join me in welcoming Tony Chatman.

In this episode we discuss:

• his thoughts on leadership: “True leadership is about making everyone around you better.”
• his start as a smart, invisible kid growing up.
• how an invested teacher in high school changed the trajectory of his life.
• how he met his mentor and eventually became his peer.
• his transition from corporate America, to non-profit, to entrepreneurship.
• how he went from a Sunday night hangout with his “Advisory Board” to opening for Les Brown in three weeks.
• what he had to learn about business and marketing to establish his business.
• how he built his business, survived a recession, and continued to thrive.
• his sheer love for the art of speaking.
• his start in speaking about unconscious bias, diversity, and inclusion.
• how he nurtures his network from the heart and very organically while using a spreadsheet.

Listen, subscribe and read show notes at www.OnTheSchmooze.com - episode 221.

Today’s guest has spent almost two decades building companies focused on delivering innovative approaches to leadership and organizational development.

She has served as a CEO and key decision-maker, a board member for national organizations, a sought after consultant helping organizations plan and implement strategy, and a leadership development content creator assisting individuals and organizations as they grow and train their workforce. She has also been a key partner to corporations, nonprofits and philanthropic institutions including TSNE MissionWorks where she currently sits as the President of the Board of Directors.

A major focus of her work is to provide leadership and workforce development executive coaching, consulting and training focused on Gen Z. This work will be featured in “Looking Forward: Finding Your Leadership Path” a book she will release in 2021.

Please join me in welcoming Tammy Dowley-Blackman.

In this episode we discuss:

• her thoughts on leadership: “Leadership is the idea of wanting to make an impact. A leader cannot be described in one way.”
• how she discovered the joy of leadership at a math and science camp when she was 14 years old and how she is still in contact with the director of that camp.
• the impact her mom had on her life and her mindset which set her up for success at a young age.
• what she learned while working at the Brooklyn Academy of Music about community development and leadership development.
• her networking tip with an easy ask for her connections and how it helped her land her first two clients before her company even opened. Networking does not need to be only transactional.
• how she rebuilt and adapted her business model during a difficult health crisis.
• her rule for networking: If they come to mind once, it means you’re thinking of them. If they come to mind again, say hello!

Listen, subscribe and read show notes at www.OnTheSchmooze.com - episode 220.

Today’s guest is a champion of female empowerment and gender equality.

With her 20 years of experience in the finance industry, she has been a FINTECH industry leader at companies such as Credit Suisse First Boston, Lazard Freres, and Equity Growth Partners.

She has been a catalyst for positive change serving as a senior-level executive and leading numerous corporate turnarounds of VC-backed portfolio companies. She has served as Vice Chairman of the Serious Game Institute at George Mason University which has a focus on women and girls in technology and coding.

She founded Angelink, the first social crowdfunding platform inspired and powered by women. Angelink is a purpose-driven community to empower people around the world, transform lives, and restore faith in humanity.

Please join me in welcoming Gerry Poirier.

In this episode we discuss:

• her thoughts on leadership: “Leaders are courageous and sympathetic. They have to make decisions based on imperfect information. Good leaders are not scared to make mistakes.”
• her trip around the world for over four months with her little brother and friend, taking charge and building her self-confidence.
• her background in finance and how she landed a job in finance at the interview based on how risky her resume was.
• her passion to be an entrepreneur and do something that would help women, especially who were under-represented in the world of finance.
• her reason to start AngeLink and how her background in gaming and coding helped her build community.
• the challenges of building AngeLink outside of the main tech hubs in the United States and how her network helped her get some (back) doors open.
• her bucket list wish to meet Sara Blakely, inventor of Spanx.
• her strategy to nurture her network and the risk-taking required to make the first move.

Listen, subscribe and read show notes at www.OnTheSchmooze.com - episode 219.