Episodes

Got a question for us? Submit it here or hit us up on social media Episode 123 is a special mid-week collaboration with elementary principal Dominic Armano and high school principal Todd Bloomer. Continuing our special series, Dom, Todd, and I sit down and share our insights on the Super Bowl (complete with our picks) and answer a viewer/listener question about creating a culture where staff will discuss the undiscussable issues. The article from which this topic came can be found here Book D...

John R. Miles is a leading authority on intentional behavior change, personal growth, and mattering. He is a keynote speaker, author, top-rated show host, and the founder and CEO of Passion Struck®. His award-winning podcast, Passion Struck with John R. Miles, consistently ranks among the world’s top 100 shows and the #1 Alternative Health podcast. Recognized as one of the top thinkers in personal mastery and a Premier 100 Leader, his influence extends far and wide. With over two decades of corp...

Erik M. Francis, M.Ed., M.S., is an international author, educator, presenter, and professional development provider with over 25 years of experience in education. He is the author of the book Deconstructing Depth of Knowledge: A Method and Model for Deeper Teaching and Learning published by Solution Tree. His book Inquiring Minds Want to Learn: Posing Good Questions to Promote Student Inquiry will be published by Solution Tree in Spring 2024. He is also the author of Now That’s a Good Question!...

Lisa Parry is a veteran writing teacher and school leader who provides a variety of services to professionals including custom communication, conflict mediation, keynotes, and professional development. She especially loves to help others create scripts for the tough talks we all have to have at home and at work. Lisa is proud to lead a 2021 National Blue Ribbon Elementary School and a 2020 ESEA Distinguished Elementary School, and she was honored to be named 2022 South Dakota Region 1 High Scho...

Mosongo Moukwa is a seasoned executive and consultant who has dedicated his career to helping companies thrive by commercializing new technologies, diversifying their product offerings, and entering new markets. Across thirty-plus years in leadership, Mosongo has applied his unique talent for identifying leadership gaps and developing the talent and culture necessary for success. He helps solve important innovation challenges that hold organizations back by unleashing the collective creativity o...

Allow me to introduce two incredible educators to you all. Todd Bloomer and Dominic Armano are both currently seated principals and are highly respected in their field by their peers. Both are soon to be published authors (Road to Awesome, LLC) and will be regularly featured here on the podcast during each month's special mid-week release. Got a question for us? Submit it here or hit us up on social media Todd Bloomer was born and raised in New York, Todd Bloomer got to Texas as soon as he cou...

Candace Heiken, M.Ed. combined her background in education and psychology with her passion for empowering students and founded Lively Minds Institute, an organization with a mission to cultivate independent, lifelong learners through the development of executive function skills. Lively Minds developed an executive function solution called Cerebrate that provides educators with a simple way to identify deficiencies based on observable classroom behaviors and then access lessons to teach the strat...

Dr. Kristilynn Turney: A highly experienced subject matter expert in school improvement initiatives, leadership professional development, coaching and mentoring, and diversity, equity, and inclusion, Dr. Kristilynn Turney has dedicated over two decades to making education work and educators thrive. Her vast experience with multicultural systems and their language-related learning challenges has developed her into a favored go-to for training, coaching, goal establishment, results metrics analysi...

This is the year when you decide to embrace having that leadership coach. Having a coach took me from being a struggling manager to a leader of people, to Principal of the Year. It can do that for you too...hit this link and schedule a free conversation with me about leadership coaching for you, your team, or an individual on your leadership team. My purpose is to help leaders gain clarity, walk in their purpose, and find joy in their leadership life. Let's connect... Thank you for listening to...

This special episode is a collaboration between Leaning into Leadership and The Teaching Champions podcast with Brian Martin Darrin & Brian take on each other's questions about education, leadership, experience, and the holiday season. If you haven't already, make sure you check out the Teaching Champions Podcast Book Darrin to speak at your school or conference contact us here Grab your copy of Darrin's FREE e-book Walk in Your Purpose Check out Darrin's blog for great leadership tips and ide...

Dr. Joy Karavedas is an experienced leader with over 20 years of executive-level leadership in independent schools and nonprofits. With a Masters in Education and a Doctorate in Organizational Leadership, Dr. Karavedas actively teaches as a Professor at Bachelors and Masters levels. She currently holds the position of Director of Research and New Program Development at Orange Lutheran High School where she is responsible for development and oversight of the school’s flexible learning options and...

Check out the NCMLE Inspire 2024 conference here David James is a 7th grade social studies teacher at Harold E. Winkler Middle School in Concord, NC. He serves his students and colleagues in multiple leadership capacities including the Lead Mentor as part of the Winkler Middle School Beginning Teacher Program, 7th grade level chair, and 7th grade social studies lead. David believes effective teacher-leadership is a core proponent of the K-12 school building that is built on passion, trust, and ...

Dr. Bryan Pearlman is a veteran educator/school administrator, a mental health therapist, keynote speaker, and adjunct professor. He is the author of two books: Maslow Before Bloom: Basic Human Needs Before Academics released in May 2020 & Whatever It Takes For All Students To Succeed In School and Life, released in January 2019. Dr. Pearlman is also the co-founder and board member of the mental health non-profit DSMHW.org. His expertise is helping all children to succeed, challenging behaviors,...

Steve Bollar, a.k.a. Stand Tall Steve, is an educational thought leader, former Superintendent of Schools, principal, author and a school culture and motivation expert. He is known for his quick wit, creative thought, and humorous personality. Steve has been identified as one of the Top 30 Global Gurus In Education. He is the author of the leadership book Stand Tall Leadership, school culture book Ideas, Ideas, Ideas!, Ideas, Ideas, Ideas Rally Edition, and is a contributing author in the book ...

Jim Saliba is a certified coach, trainer, and public speaker with a BS, MBA, and over thirty years of experience in the leadership world. His career began as a software engineer before being promoted to management in the IT industry, where he eventually became the VP of a $4 billion tech company. He has been in the trenches and has conquered most challenges leaders face throughout their careers. Jim adopted a growth mindset and created an atmosphere where employees were encouraged to experiment ...

Katie Kinder, author of Untold Teaching Truths and Hallway Leadership, is a professional learning facilitator, and she has been an educator since 2006. She brings her message of hope, fun, and real strategies to educators all over the nation. She believes that life is fun, and learning should most definitely be fun. A teacher of the year, top five district finalist, Speaker, Author, Professional Development Leader, a Mom, a Wife, a Fierce Advocate for Education, and grant award winner, Katie has...

This week on the show, I am recapping a fabulous visit with Ft. Hays State's Future Educators Day. On this episode, I am answering four questions of undergraduate teacher candidates. Big thank you for Morgan Barba, Lauren Cure, Skylar Steinle, and Vanessa Renteria for their willingness to record their questions and being on the show! Go Tigers!! Check out Episode 68: When Calling Parents isn't your Calling with Crystal Frommert Check out Ft. Hays State University's Teacher Education Program her...

Don Schmincke is the author of the Best-Selling book The Code of the Executive and has been featured in the Wall Street Journal and USA Today. He is an Award-Winning Speaker, Researcher, Founder of the SAGA Leadership Institute and delivered over 1,700 speeches. His new book, Winners and Losers: Entrepreneurial Lessons from 30,000 CEOs on How to Come Out on Top is available now on Amazon. Connect with Don: don@sagaleadership.com or on LinkedIn or Twitter (X) Book Darrin to speak at your school...

Sam Demma is the best-selling author of Empty Your Backpack: Unpack Your Beliefs, Take Consistent Action, and Create a Life of Meaning, and one of the most in-demand keynote speakers in the Education and Association sectors. He co-founded the volunteer organization PickWaste, delivered two TEDx talks, and—as a result of his exceptional contributions to Canada—was awarded the prestigious Queens Platinum Jubilee Award. His work is often featured on national news shows like Marilyn Dennis, Breakfas...

October is National Principal's Month - to celebrate and help principals walk in their purpose we have the autographed copy of my book, Road to Awesome: The Journey of a Leader here, at a special price of just $20 and free shipping (use code FOBA) Johnathan Cranford has seven years of experience as a special education teacher on a therapeutic campus for students with emotional disturbance and four more years as an in-school suspension teacher at two middle schools. After discovering how in-scho...

October is National Principal's Month - to celebrate and help principals walk in their purpose we have the autographed copy of my book, Road to Awesome: The Journey of a Leader here, at a special price of just $20 and free shipping (use code FOBA) Maxwell Roach is a children’s book author and the Founder of JonAyves Learning Club, a personalized learning organization that teaches children concepts such as long division as early as the age of 3. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Univer...

October is National Principal's Month - to celebrate and help principals walk in their purpose we have the autographed copy of my book, Road to Awesome: The Journey of a Leader here, at a special price of just $20 and free shipping (use code FOBA) Cheryl Strauss Einhorn founded Decisive, a decision sciences company that trains people and teams in complex problem solving and decision-making skills using the AREA Method. AREA is an evidence-based decision-making system that uniquely controls for ...

Dr. Jay Dostal has served as a high school principal in both Nebraska and Arkansas. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Nebraska at Kearney where he received endorsements in English and Physical Education. He holds a Masters and a Doctorate Degree in Educational Administration and Supervision from the University of Nebraska. In 2013, he was named the Nebraska Association of Student Councils Principal of the Year, in 2016 was named the Nebraska State Association of Secondary...

Get your autographed copy of Road to Awesome: The Journey of a Leader here at a special price of $20 (use code FOBA) Book Darrin to speak at your school or conference contact us here Grab your copy of Darrin's FREE e-book Walk in Your Purpose Check out Darrin's blog for great leadership tips and ideas Sign up for the Road to Awesome email list and newsletter Have a book idea you'd like to submit to Road to Awesome? Click here Equipment and Software for the aspiring podcaster: Blue Yeti stereo ...