This writing process takes the raw material of our lives and transforms it into healing. Heller shares her journey of leaving home when she was thirteen years old and living on the streets to later guide others to use generative writing for self-discovery. Generative writing will reveal your inner wisdom for healing, creative magic, and personal transformation. Meredith Heller is a poet, singer-songwriter, avid nature lover, and educator with degrees in writing and education. She leads writing workshops online and in person. She also teaches in schools, juvenile detention centers, women’s prisons, and wellness retreats. She is the author of. Write a Poem, Save Your Life: A Guide for Teens, Teachers, and Writers of All Ages (New World Publishers 2021) and Writing by Heart: A Poetry Path to Healing and Self-Discovery (New World Library 2024)

Interview Date: 6/14/2024. Tags: Meredith Heller, homelessness, poetry, generative writing, radical honesty, ancestors, prayer, the Moon, Health & Healing, Personal Transformation, Writing

Despite our strongest intentions, there are common reasons we may find ourselves defeated in our efforts to make sustainable changes in eating and exercise. Segar gives us new frameworks to finally achieve our goals as she outlines areas of behavior based on the science of sustainable change. Michelle Segar, Ph.D., is an award-winning researcher at the University of Michigan and health coach. For nearly three decades, she has pioneered methods to create sustainable healthy behavior changes that are being used to boost patient health, employee well-being, and gym membership retention. She advises global organizations on these issues and delivers keynotes and trainings. Her books include: No Sweat: How the Simple Science of Motivation Can Bring You a Lifetime of Fitness (Harper Collins Leadership 2015) and The Joy Choice: How to Finally Achieve Lasting Changes in Eating and Exercise (Hachette Go, 2022)

Interview Date: 6/16/2023 Tags: Michelle Segar, sustainability, behavior change, habits, motivation, mindfulness, exercise, eating, self-compassion, flexibility, Health & Healing

Our present media landscape poses significant challenges in the current political climate as they continue to exacerbate the perception that most U.S. citizens are hopelessly divided. Research shows this is not the reality. Outlined here are examples of many groups that have built alliances and have crossed boundaries to build a better future for all. Diana McLain Smith, Ph.D. has worked with families, organizations, communities, and in some of America’s most iconic businesses and entrepreneurial nonprofits. She has developed an approach that converts debilitating intergroup conflict into constructive outcomes. This work is known as Leading through Relationships (LTR™). She’s a former partner at the Monitor Group and former chief executive partner at New Profit. Her approach is to educate practitioners to develop the skill for engaging and fact-based dialogues, learning from different perspectives, and partnering across boundaries. Her books include Divide or Conquer: How Great Teams Turn Conflict Into Strength (Portfolio 2008), The Elephant in the Room: How Relationships Make or Break the Success of Leaders and Organizations (Jossey-Bass 2011) and Remaking The Space Between Us: How Citizens Can Work Together To Build A Better Future For All (Ballast Books 2024)

Interview Date: 7/5/2024 Tags: Diana McLain Smith, Not in Our Town, Derek Black, Eli Saslow, friendship, Billings Montana, Patrice O’Neil, Allison Gornick, Media, Social Change/Politics