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Strategies for Joint Health: Insights from an Orthopedic Surgeon

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Atlanta Business Radio
Atlanta Business Radio
Strategies for Joint Health: Insights from an Orthopedic Surgeon
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On this episode of Atlanta Business Radio, Lee Kantor interviews Dr. Stephen Smith of Peachtree Orthopedics. Dr. Smith discusses orthopedic care for hip and knee issues, emphasizing the importance of exercise and weight management for joint health. He also highlights the Peachtree Orthopedics Foundation’s charitable work, including providing surgeries in Honduras and supporting disadvantaged medical students at Morehouse Medical School.

Dr. Stephen Smith is an orthopedic surgeon with Peachtree Orthopedics in Atlanta, specializing in joint replacement. In addition to his local practice, he serves as Co-Director of the Peachtree Orthopedics Foundation’s Honduras Missions program alongside Katie Smith, PA.

Earlier this year, they led a team of 31 physicians and volunteers to Honduras, performing 40 life-changing surgeries entirely free of charge to local patients.

He also travels annually to Haiti to donate his expertise, reflecting his deep commitment to improving lives through compassionate, world-class orthopedic care.

Connect with Stephen on LinkedIn and Facebook.

What You’ll Learn In This Episode

  • Leadership roles in the orthopedic field and overview of clinical specialties and career highlights.
  • Peachtree Orthopedics Foundation: Origin and mission of the program. How they became involved and eventually became Co-Directors—the importance of bringing advanced orthopedic care to underserved communities.
  • Scope of the 2025 Honduras Mission trip: 31 physicians and volunteers and performing 40 life-changing surgeries—free of charge.
  • Impact & Long-Term Goals: The ripple effect of this work in local Honduran communities and how these missions inspire and influence their work back home.

Transcript-iconThis transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix.

 

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business Radio studio in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for Atlanta Business Radio. Brought to you by Kennesaw State University’s Executive MBA program, the accelerated degree program for working professionals looking to advance their career and enhance their leadership skills. And now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here. Another episode of Atlanta Business Radio in. This is going to be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor, CSU’s executive MBA program. Without them, we couldn’t be sharing these important stories. Today on the show, we have Dr Stephen Smith. He is with Peachtree Orthopedics. Welcome.

Dr Stephen Smith: Thank you.

Lee Kantor: Before we get too far into things, tell us about Peachtree Orthopedics. How are you serving folks there? Air.

Dr Stephen Smith: We’re a group of about 35 orthopedic surgeons in Atlanta. We’ve been here since, I think, 1952. I’ve been here a long time. Uh, and we do every area of orthopedic surgery operate at Piedmont and Northside hospitals. We’ve got several different therapy centers around the around town, several different surgery centers around town. So we help serve Atlanta and various, uh, orthopedic needs, whether it be hand or spine or ankles or feet or hips or knees. I’m a hip and knee specialist, so that’s kind of my area.

Lee Kantor: Now, are the folks you see mostly older people? I would imagine with the aging of the population, there’s a lot of folks coming in for near hip issues.

Dr Stephen Smith: Yeah. So my patient population is on the older side, but you’d be surprised how many people in their 30s and 40s. See, I just finished a clinic About ten minutes ago, and I was seeing a guy in his 40s. So, yeah, I mean, there’s a lot of, uh, younger folks too, but we serve all ages now.

Lee Kantor: Is there any advice you’d give maybe somebody that’s getting older in order to get more, uh, use and ability out of their knees and hips? So there’s some do’s and don’ts as you age to have a healthy knees and hips.

Dr Stephen Smith: Yeah. I mean, a lot of times it boils down to losing weight and exercising daily and that I guess so many things boil down to that. But I think, you know, if you can maintain an ideal body weight and exercise daily, uh, which is easier said than done, I understand. But a lot of it boils down to that. You know, I think those two things are probably the most important pieces of advice I could give.

Lee Kantor: Now, does exercise have to be super strenuous or is kind of walking okay?

Dr Stephen Smith: No, I think as long as you do something, a lot of people ask me the best exercise, and I think the best exercise is the one that you’re going to do and stick with. So I always tell people to try and choose something that’s fun and that you enjoy. Whether it be walking or biking or swimming or go to the gym or doing ellipticals or, you know, what have you. I think that choose something that keeps you moving for, you know, 30, 45 minutes an hour per day. And that is going to be the thing that’s best for you is something that you’ll stick with and and actually do. And, you know, I hear all the time things like stationary biking and ellipticals are so boring. But, you know, you can plug in your phone and watch Netflix or catch up with content, Instagram, movies, whatever have you. But choose something that’s fun that you can do and stick with.

Lee Kantor: Yeah, I think sometimes people think to overthink it, that it has to be so hard or difficult or, you know, hitting personal bests. But there’s something to be said of just showing up every day and doing something.

Dr Stephen Smith: I completely agree. And you know, once you get in that habit of exercising daily, when you don’t exercise, you’ll miss it. And I think it’ll become a part of your, of your life. And it helps you in so many things, not only physically but mentally. Uh, I think it’s super, super helpful. I’m a big believer.

Lee Kantor: Yeah. And and don’t you think that humans are meant to move like we weren’t meant to sit on a couch for, you know, eight hours at a time?

Dr Stephen Smith: Correct. I think that’s a fantastic point. And, you know, people, I see a lot of hip and knee arthritis and people think, well, if I if I use it and I exercise more, I’m just going to wear it out quicker. And nothing could be farther than the truth. I mean, joints, uh, joints, whether it be a hip or a knee or a shoulder or what have you. Uh, they they love the movement. They say motion is lotion or. And I think that’s that’s that’s true. I think the movement is good. I mean, the joints were meant to move and they respond well to that.

Lee Kantor: Now let’s talk a little bit about the Peachtree Orthopedics Foundation. How did that come about?

Dr Stephen Smith: Yeah. So, um, it came about because we wanted to kind of have a non profit, non non profit wing of a group, uh, that uh could uh, pay for charity work that we’ve been doing in Haiti, um, and Nicaragua and Honduras. Um, it also helps to cover research efforts that we’re involved with. Um, and some various programs that we’re, um, involved with. We do a program at Morehouse that at Morehouse Medical School that helps, um, some, um, Financially disadvantaged students gain access to orthopedic, um, internships and fellowships. So we do a lot of things with the foundation, and it’s just an avenue that people can contribute. And, um, and we can do a lot of, a lot of cool things. Uh, with.

Lee Kantor: So how did that come about from the practice standpoint? Like you said, there’s, you know, three dozen or so, um, kind of doctors as part of your practice. How how do you all decide, you know, okay, we’re going to go to Honduras or we’re going to support Morehouse, like, like, how do those decisions get made?

Dr Stephen Smith: Yeah. So it’s it’s been a part of our fabric as a group really since the 50s. Um, one of our founding partners would go to Haiti every year and developed a lot of good relationships there. And so really, since the early 50s, our group has been sending 2 or 3 Three groups per year to Haiti to do work. Uh, and then, um, I don’t know if you follow the situation in Haiti, but it has become, uh, incredibly bad, uh, with the gang violence and really the breakdown of the government there over the past 2 to 3 years. And, uh, Haiti has become, uh, pretty impossible to do anything in because I think they’ve only got one functioning hospital now in port au Prince. Uh, and, uh, it has sadly become a place where you really can’t get a lot done. And it’s super dangerous to even go there now. So that that actually has been happening in Haiti for probably for the past decade or so. And so I actually started doing some work in Nicaragua and in Honduras and have developed a relationship there with some medical professionals in Honduras. And so we’ve kind of morphed our efforts, uh, from Haiti to Honduras. And now, you know, I do two trips a year where we do, we’ll go down there and do, uh, 30 to 40 knee replacements. Um, uh, in about 3 or 4 days. Uh, for deserving people in Honduras. Um, uh, so it’s been a tremendously rewarding, uh, effort. Uh, and we are trying to make that sustainable, uh, through, you know, each partner in my group actually has agreed to donate, uh, a percentage of their salary every year to the foundation so that we can fund those trips and make it sustainable. Uh, hopefully for a long, long time in the in the future.

Lee Kantor: Now, when you’re going over there, are you primarily doing During the surgeries. Are you training folks there to to do surgeries when you’re not around?

Dr Stephen Smith: Yeah. So we do both. Um, the we we do all the surgeries, but we have fellows down there that also learn with us. So we’re teaching the Honduran surgeons to do the the surgery. The problem in Honduras and many developing countries is that they just can’t afford the implants, the actual implants that you do. Uh, and a lot of orthopedic surgery where you’re replacing a hip or replacing a knee, uh. The implants can run, you know, $5,000 just for the implants. So they just simply can’t afford that when many people, you know, make 3 or $4 a day. I mean, they’re not going to be able to afford a $5,000 implant as you can. Uh, as you, as, you know, so we we provide the surgeries free of charge. We get Stryker, uh, Corporation and Crosslink Orthopedics to donate the implants. So we do everything for free and we carry everything with us each trip. Um, and we’re able to do these surgeries. And because we’ve got a relationship with an orthopedic surgeon there. Um, he can take care of the pre-op and post-op problems, because the last thing you want to do is go down there and do a bunch of surgery and just leave, and so that nobody’s really taken care of after or after the surgery. So, you know, thankfully, we’ve developed a really good relationship with some medical professionals down there. And they can, um, they can do the work on the ground after we leave. And it works out really good so that people were taken care of.

Lee Kantor: So, um, let’s talk a little bit about the work with Morehouse. Um, how did that come about?

Dr Stephen Smith: You know, it came about just, uh, through, you know, Morehouse Medical, um, students, uh, for whatever reason, we saw a need, uh, that they were not getting the same access to, uh, or to to orthopedic surgery residency programs in America. And we thought a lot of it had to do with in order to, to go from medical school to residency and to get the residency that you want. Um, it it takes a lot of money, believe it or not. Um, and the reason for that is that during medical school, you have the opportunity to go spend time with various residencies and get to know them and, and, uh, experience, um, that area of medicine. So, in other words, a medical student would go, let’s say they are interested in Vanderbilt. They would go over to Vanderbilt and spend some time with the orthopedic residents and, uh, work with them for six weeks during a, a elective rotation. Well, it takes a lot of money to go to Nashville and stay in Nashville and, and do that. And a lot of the students just didn’t have the financial resources to avail themselves to these, um, to these away rotations like that. So we saw a need and we stepped in. And we we like to help the students, if they so choose to do that, to help them do that and hopefully, uh, increase, um, the diversity within orthopedic surgery. Uh, and, and the field.

Lee Kantor: Now, are there enough orthopedic surgeons, um, with this kind of aging population? I would imagine that you guys a lot of demand for your services.

Dr Stephen Smith: Yeah. I mean, it’s like a lot of things in medicine. I mean, there’s enough in the cities and there’s not enough in the rural areas. Uh, and that’s been an age old problem in just about any, you know, family practice or OBGYN or what, whatever specialty you choose. So the trick is, uh, I think there’s enough Off in total numbers. But the trick is in order to kind of lure people to go practice and in more underserved areas. And I’m not sure what the answer to that is, but, uh, you know, as far as numbers, I think there are enough. It’s just perhaps geographically misplaced.

Lee Kantor: Is it, uh, is there a place for, like, telemedicine? I know that from a surgery standpoint, probably not. But is there is there some technology that can help alleviate some of the shortages in some of these, uh, areas?

Dr Stephen Smith: You know, telemedicine became very popular during Covid, and we did a lot of telemedicine. Um, but the problem with orthopedic surgery is that you can’t really do this surgery till, you know, uh, robotically from afar, at least at this point, you can’t. Um, and so you can only do so much through, uh, through telemedicine because we do a lot of injections Actions and, um, a lot of things like that that you just can’t do through telemedicine. But I think certainly there’s a part for telemedicine, but perhaps not as much in orthopedic surgery as, say, uh, primary care.

Lee Kantor: So if somebody wants to learn more about the practice, whether they have any issues or they want to just contribute to some of the causes that you’re all supporting, what is the best way to connect?

Dr Stephen Smith: Yeah. So just look up. Uh, just Google Peachtree Orthopedics. Uh, I think it’s Poke atlanta.com and you’ll see information on the foundation uh, and, and our group. So yeah anything is appreciated for sure.

Lee Kantor: Well, Steven, thank you so much for sharing your story today, doing such important work. And we appreciate you.

Dr Stephen Smith: Absolutely.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on Atlanta Business Radio.

Grants, Guidance, and Growth: The TAG Invest Connect Experience for Entrepreneurs

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Atlanta Business Radio
Atlanta Business Radio
Grants, Guidance, and Growth: The TAG Invest Connect Experience for Entrepreneurs
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In this episode of Atlanta Business Radio, Lee Kantor interviews Larry McHugh, co-chair of TAG Invest Connect. They discuss the upcoming event on October 23rd at Comcast Headquarters, designed to support underserved entrepreneurs—especially women and minorities—by connecting them with corporate buyers and investors. The event features a buyers brunch, a pitch competition with $10,000 and $5,000 grants, and mentoring for participants. McHugh highlights Atlanta’s collaborative tech ecosystem and shares how TAG Invest Connect helps entrepreneurs gain funding, exposure, and valuable connections. Applications are open until the end of September.

Larry McHugh had a successful career in marketing, advertising and sales before ‘retiring’ ten years ago. He helped build the business of well known companies such as Procter & Gamble, Ogilvy & Mather, and The Art Institutes – as well as here with The Weather Channel.

Born in Pittsburgh, he grew up in a small town, raised by a single mother, along with his three siblings. Thanks to generous federal and state grants, he was able to get a good education in business and psychology at private liberal arts college.

For the past ten years, Larry has been focused on ‘paying it forward’ – grateful for what he has been given. He has supported entrepreneurship with organizations such as the Urban League, KSU, GSU, TAG, Georgia Tech’s ATDC, Venture Atlanta, and Startup Atlanta – he now also serves on several non-profit Boards.

Larry and his wife of 39 years have moved to Atlanta three different times – and now live happily and actively in Vinings.

Connect with Larry on LinkedIn and Facebook.

What You’ll Learn In This Episode

  • Association of Georgia (TAG)
  • TAG Invest Connect
  • Resources for entrepreneurs in Atlanta’s thriving innovaton ecosystem

Transcript-iconThis transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix.

 

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business Radio studio in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for Atlanta Business Radio. Brought to you by Kennesaw State University’s Executive MBA program, the accelerated degree program for working professionals looking to advance their career and enhance their leadership skills. And now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here, another episode of Atlanta Business Radio. And this is going to be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor, CSU’s executive MBA program. Without them, we couldn’t be sharing these important stories. Today on the show, we have Larry McHugh. He is the co-chair of Tag Invest. Connect. Welcome, Larry.

Speaker3: Glad to be here, Lee.

Lee Kantor: Uh, for folks who aren’t familiar, can you share a little bit about tag invest connect. Can you talk about it a little bit?

Speaker3: Sure. Technology Association of Georgia is a member organization with 30,000 members. They do like 150 events a year. One of which is tag invest connect, which is part of their Bridge Builders program. And that will be coming up for the, I believe, the third year on October 23rd at Comcast headquarters in the battery. And it will start at 11 a.m. with chance for entrepreneurs to meet buyers from corporations in Atlanta like Home Depot, Cox Enterprises, BlackRock’s and major players in the community. And that will be followed by an Investor Connect session, where many individual investors from the Atlanta area will judge them, judge the entrepreneurs and their products, and the winner will get a $10,000 grant, not equity And the second place will be $5,000. So it’s a full day on October 23rd at Cox. I’m sorry. At Comcast headquarters.

Lee Kantor: So what was the genesis of the idea? There were so many pitch competition going on throughout the city. Why was it important for Tagg to do one?

Speaker3: Tagg is focused on entrepreneurship and inclusivity, and this is focused on underserved entrepreneurs, female and minority entrepreneurs, which get a fraction of investments from venture capitalists and even angel investors. So it’s an outreach to underserved entrepreneurs, and it’s been very successful. In fact, of the 1500 or so people who have participated in this program over the years. 62% of them have actually gotten some funding through the program. So it’s it’s very successful. It’s very focused. And the great community involvement is other people say Atlanta’s secret sauce is collaboration. And while there are 12 serious investors judging the presentations, I’m going to be reaching out to many more. So there will be a lot of capable investors in the room.

Lee Kantor: So what was kind of the criteria in order to be able to pitch.

Speaker3: Its beyond a minimum viable product? It has to have. The entrepreneurs have to have some paying customers some revenue and scaled for growth. And that’s what usually the investment is for, to do some outreach for marketing and promotion and production. Pretty basic stuff, but it’s not investing in ideas or individuals. It’s actual experienced entrepreneurs that have experience in their field and a product that’s up and running and some happy customers.

Lee Kantor: Now, what was kind of for you, the impetus to get involved at the co-chair level.

Speaker3: Um, that’s a fair question. I’ve been very involved in Atlanta’s startup ecosystem for about 13 years now, starting with Georgia Tech’s advanced Technology Development Center, the ATC. I’ve also served on the board of the Urban League of Greater Atlanta and supported their entrepreneurship program as well as development. And you mentioned that Kennesaw State Executive MBA program is the sponsor of this program. They all. Kennesaw also has a well funded entrepreneurship program sourced by Doug Shaw. And that that program is expanding on both campuses. Emory has a program. Uh, Georgia State has a program on the board there as well. So for the last ten years, exclusively, I’ve been volunteering to support entrepreneurs in several organizations around town. And it’s very personally rewarding, frankly, to to work with motivated, determined, smart people, and I learned stuff every day.

Lee Kantor: Now, you mentioned the criteria for pitching is to have sold somebody something. Um, is there kind of any niches or is it just kind of if they’re in technology, then this is the right place for them to consider participating.

Speaker3: Fair question. Um, yes. Technology. Uh, and that can be software as a service. That can be fintech. Uh, it can be medtech. Uh, put tech at the end of anything and you’ve got it. But, uh, edtech. Um, Atlanta’s ecosystem is thriving. Um, for example, the the startup awards are happening on October 9th. Recognize some of the key players in town. And it’s just a it’s just a great community with a lot of different people involved and a lot of collaboration as opposed to competition. I’ve lived in other places where it’s kind of a zero sum game, where the only time I can win is for you to lose. And it’s just not that way in Atlanta. I’ve seen multiple cases where direct competitors are very supportive of each other.

Lee Kantor: Now, how does the. So let’s walk me through kind of the day of the event. What’s going to occur on the day of the event on October 23rd?

Speaker3: Uh, very good. There’s a buyers brunch. Where, um, at 11:00, representatives from companies, um, like UPS, uh, Comcast, Home Depot, Georgia government, Blackrock, Honeywell, these, uh, enterprise companies will have people there to share what they look for in a product when they buy. And then the entrepreneurs will have an opportunity to ask questions and, uh, pitch their product to these buyers. So it’s it’s it’s not hypothetical. It’s real buyers from real companies. That’s at 11:00. And then, uh, later in the afternoon, probably around 1:00, we’ll start the pitch event, where they will get a chance to pitch to active investors, both B2B and B2C. And like I said, there’s a $10,000 first prize to that and a lot of capable investors in the room beyond the actual prize. So it’s really a great opportunity for a small group of entrepreneurs to meet with several different investors, both angel investors and venture capital investors.

Lee Kantor: Now, so when you apply to pitch and then you pitch, is there any mentoring that goes on prior to that to give them kind of a leg up when it comes to pitching, or is this. Is that not included in this competition?

Speaker3: Well, just like Adventure Atlanta, it’s a competitive process where people submit an application to participate and they will be prescreened for selection there and then those that are accepted will get active mentoring and coaching right down to their their their PowerPoint deck and presentation skills. So yes, there’s direct mentoring of the people before they present.

Lee Kantor: And then you mentioned October 23rd is the day of the event. Is is it already kind of locked down of is it too late to to apply or is it still a.

Speaker3: No go on? Uh, Technology Association of Tours website, which is tag online and follow the event for Bridge Builders program and then tag invest connect application online.

Lee Kantor: So there’s still time to um, apply to pitch.

Speaker3: Absolutely, yes.

Lee Kantor: Now, um, have you been involved like you mentioned, this is just I think you said the third year of the event.

Speaker3: It’s. Yes.

Lee Kantor: Have you been involved in all three years I have.

Speaker3: Um. It’s been a great event. You know, it’s fun. You know, Larry Williams, the CEO of a tag he’s very involved in. Doctor Loretta Daniels is the executive director, and she’s in charge of all the education programs, this being one. And, uh, it’s a great program. I’m not sure where the genesis of it came, but I joined it in the early stages. And it’s it’s a very worthwhile organization and event.

Lee Kantor: Now, um, the are the judges, um, kind of VCs and investors. Is that who you have judging? So there are actual people that would put or could put kind of their money on the line?

Speaker3: Absolutely. Um, people like Aaron Hurst from Dogwood Ventures, LaVar Hassani from Bendy Capital Group, Junior Gaspard from Fulcrum Equity, Stig Mosley, the godfather of angel investing, Scott Lappin, who’s with uh, Tech Square Ventures and some others. So it’s a it’s a highly respected group of actual investors.

Lee Kantor: Now, are you finding that Atlanta is becoming a more hospitable place for VCs? Are you seeing some folks who exited, staying around to keep the flywheel going and keep investing in Georgia based companies?

Speaker3: Well, absolutely. Absolutely. Um, the people that have come out of the ATC and, uh, the Atlanta Tech Village, David Cummings was a successful entrepreneur who reinvested in starting, uh, Atlanta Tech Village. And he’s also invested in several of the companies that are unicorns. Um, you know, now worth over $1 billion. One example might be flock safety, which I think is worth $7 billion now. And I can remember when they were looking for their first round of seed funding with the Atlanta Technology Angels. So, um, Atlanta’s you know, it’s not exactly Silicon Valley by any means or New York. Um. That’s where the serious money is. But it’s a thriving tech ecosystem with some well-established investors and very successful companies. There’s numerous companies that started from nothing and are now worth billions of dollars, and they’re paying it back like like clock safety. Started a program, um, to invest in brick and mortar businesses.

Lee Kantor: So you’re seeing kind of that, um, successful exit and not just kind of leaving and going, you know, to retire somewhere in a yacht, but to actually stick around and, um, and, and kind of help the community, uh, grow and thrive.

Speaker3: Absolutely. It’s like I said, it’s a it’s a collaborative community. And I’ve reached out to numerous people to participate in events, not just, for example, the Startup Atlanta Awards. Um, the deadline has been extended to Thursday night and people can go on Startup Atlanta dotcom and apply there. And just last night I sent a note to 28 people very involved in the community. I heard back from many of them, several of whom have said they’re going to submit companies for recognition. And, uh, Hieronymus is going to do another plug, uh, Wednesday to promote the, the the extended deadline. Yeah, there’s, there’s there’s a real community of people that are willing to help each other and often, uh, without reward.

Lee Kantor: Now, you mentioned that you’ve been involved with this event, um, since its inception. Has there been a company that came out of one of the early, um, competitions that has gotten some traction?

Speaker3: You know, I can’t come up with any names for you right now, but I do believe that, uh, just last year, two companies got got funding, uh, from the actual event the day of the event, because there are a lot of investors in the room. And if there’s a Resonance with one of the investors. I know that at least two companies last year did. And, um. And on the other hand, the people that have participated. Uh, 98% were very satisfied with the program. So it’s done a lot of good.

Lee Kantor: Now, out of the people who apply, how many make it to the kind of the pitch competition on the 23rd.

Speaker3: I think we had over 40 applications and 5 or 6, uh, will be presenting on the 23rd.

Lee Kantor: So what do you need more of? How can we help you?

Speaker3: Um, people with a tech company that has, uh, a minimum viable product, some at least a handful of happy paying customers and are scalable. Ideally, an experienced entrepreneur that’s started another company, even if it wasn’t successful. Um, we have found that experienced entrepreneurs, uh, are more successful and in many cases. I know investors that say we’re betting on the the jockey, not the horse. In other words, the team, the entrepreneurs are more critical than the actual product in some cases.

Lee Kantor: And then the event is October 23rd. Do you know the deadline to apply to pitch?

Speaker3: I believe it’s the end of September.

Lee Kantor: All right. And then if they want to learn more, they go to tag online and then look for, uh, invest. Connect.

Speaker3: Yes. Under the Bridge Builders program then tag invest. Connect.

Lee Kantor: Well, Larry, thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.

Speaker3: It’s my pleasure. Lee, it’s always a pleasure talking to you.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on Atlanta Business Radio.

Navigating the IEP Maze: Essential Tools for Parents of Children with Special Needs

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High Velocity Radio
High Velocity Radio
Navigating the IEP Maze: Essential Tools for Parents of Children with Special Needs
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Lee Kantor talks with Luba Patlakh, founder of Kidology, a multidisciplinary therapy company for children. Luba shares her journey from immigrant to entrepreneur, discusses Kidology’s bilingual therapy services, and introduces “The Confident IEP Parent”—an online course empowering parents to advocate for their children’s educational needs. The conversation highlights the importance of holistic, individualized support for families navigating special education, Kidology’s growth, and Luba’s commitment to helping parents confidently secure the services their children deserve.

Luba Patlakh is a passionate and dedicated speech language pathologist, the founder, and director of Kidology, Inc., a pediatric practice specializing in speech, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and ABA services. With over 15 years of experience in the field, Luba’s expertise and compassion have shaped her approach to child development.

She has built a thriving private practice, where her innovative and client-centered approach has empowered families to help their children achieve significant milestones in speech and development. Her deep commitment to fostering inclusive and community-rooted services has earned her recognition as a winner of the Entreprenista 100 Award, and in 2024, she was named to the Inc. 5000 list for growing her business at an impressive rate.

Her journey to becoming a leader in pediatric speech therapy was not traditional. She originally studied broadcast journalism and worked as a production assistant at Good Morning America, but her path took a significant turn when she discovered her love for helping children. She earned a master’s degree in speech language pathology and found her calling in pediatric care.

After working in clinical settings, including skilled nursing and pediatric hospitals, she opened her practice, Kidology, with a mission to provide scalable and compassionate care to children and their families.

A dedicated entrepreneur and “mompreneur,” Luba is the mother of three and a champion for helping others balance family life and business ownership. Growing up in a family that taught resilience and manifestation, she was inspired by her mother’s entrepreneurial spirit and her father’s hard work.

As a child, she faced adversity, including growing up in the Ukraine before immigrating to the United States, where she learned firsthand about the challenges of overcoming poverty. These early experiences fuel her passion for helping others break through barriers and build their own successful businesses.

When she’s not working, she enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, and indulging in hobbies like gardening and bike riding. She is also an advocate for supporting families with diverse needs and loves giving back through philanthropic efforts. Her story is one of perseverance, innovation, and dedication to transforming the lives of children and families through education, therapy, and support.

Luba is a powerful voice for women in business, child development, and scalability in healthcare, and her mission continues to inspire both in her practice and beyond.

Connect with Luba on LinkedIn and Facebook.

What You’ll Learn In This Episode

  • Empowering families and breaking barriers: How she supports children with diverse needs
  • Building a scalable healthcare business: Lessons from her on growing a pediatric practice

Transcript-iconThis transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix.

 

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for High Velocity Radio.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor hear another episode of High Velocity Radio, and this is going to be a good one. Today on the show we have Luba Patlakh, and she is with Kidology and a new product and service called the confident IEP parent. Welcome.

Luba Patlakh: Hi. Thanks for having me.

Lee Kantor: Well, I am so excited to learn more about what you’re up to. Let’s start with Kidology. How you serving folks?

Luba Patlakh: There is an incredible brand I’m proud founder if you will, like a proud parent. We’ve been in business for ten years and I am a speech language pathologist. That’s how it all got started. We serve as children, ages birth to 21 years old in multidisciplinary therapy capacities like speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy and ABA, which stands for Applied Behavior Analysis. So everything we do here at chronology is for the betterment and well-being of the development of young children and beyond, and counseling their families through the process, of course.

Lee Kantor: So what was the genesis of the idea? Had this all get started?

Luba Patlakh: You know, actually I come from broadcast originally, which is is funny. I love this realm, but my whole life I always wanted to help people. I came here as an immigrant at two years old from Kyiv, Ukraine, with my parents. My mother was a nurse there. My grandfather was a famous dentist there, and we had other people surrounding us that were, you know, busy helping others. And I always wanted to do that. I wanted to be a doctor. I was a natural born mom. I wanted to help people, but I was damn terrified of blood, like, I. I was not going to be a doctor and we would, like, laugh about that. And then as I grew into adulthood, I found the speech pathology when I was searching for career Path. And I said, you know, I have the gift of gab. I think this could be this could be the field for me. And I started to learn more about the education. I received my master’s in speech pathology, and that’s how I got here.

Lee Kantor: So how did kind of all of that education and desire turn into Kidology? Like what was the the problem you were trying to solve from a business standpoint?

Luba Patlakh: When I started working initially and I gained some experience as a special instructor, actually, and I’m from Pennsylvania, so it was in the Philly area, and there weren’t too many companies that were considered bilingual or multilingual aside from Spanish speaking ones. And I happened to work at one, but I spoke Russian, so I brought something very unique to the table for them. And as time went on and I was able to open my own business, I decided that there really was an absence for the immigrant community in terms of therapy for their children. And while I am a big advocate for learning in English because eventually the child goes to school and they have to speak English for in America. However, with the influx of immigrants coming to the United States and the parents feeling like they don’t really understand what’s going on with their child, I knew that I was meant to be that voice for them, given that I had grown up the same way, and I was so happy to be able to, you know, go out to the community and really teach people, hey, you don’t have to hide. You don’t have to feel like if your child has autism or any other need, that there’s no one out there to help you.

Luba Patlakh: I’m here for you. You know, come to my business and and I’ll help you. And that’s exactly what I did. And year by year, we grew. More people were finding out. More parents were coming. One mother, four weeks from Ukraine literally came on these refugee programs that are going on right now. It was last year. She came straight to my office. She said, my cousin told me to come straight here and talk to you. I said, am I in trouble? And she said, no, I want to tell you about my son. You know, he’s seven and he’s autistic, and we just came here from Ukraine and we desperately need your help. He’s been out of service for several months and he’s regressing. Can you help me? Like in tears. And we got her in service right away. And that’s the message I want to put across. I’m here for all families and children at technology and I myself as an advocate. And, um, and that’s that’s what we want to do. We want to make the childhood and the development of a child who’s already in need easier and guide their parents through the process.

Lee Kantor: Now, is your practice primarily still in Pennsylvania, or is this something that’s nationwide?

Luba Patlakh: Right now we have two locations in Pennsylvania. We have a remote office in Florida, so we are licensed there to see people. Unfortunately, we don’t have a full office brick and mortar like we do here there. But we are available in Florida on Teletherapy and we are God willing. Future future plans. Maybe the brand will go nationwide, but you’ll have to stay in touch with us to find out what happens next.

Lee Kantor: Now, can the services be delivered virtually over zoom, I would imagine. I mean, my son had help with speech and elementary school, uh, as part of, I guess, that they have plans for, for kids through the public schools that, um, yeah, support this. So he had that for several years, and that was very helpful and useful and helped him, uh, you know, even to today he is able you can tell that he articulates well and he can speak very precisely, uh, compared to maybe other people who hadn’t had that kind of training early on. Um, is that kind of the goal is to make it where people can access this type of services wherever they are, without the need of being kind of in person.

Luba Patlakh: So the teletherapy is beautiful, especially when it was Covid time. We all became tele therapists and thank God because people were going crazy at home with their kiddos and they didn’t want to have a gap in their services. Um, teletherapy is a beautiful thing. We can provide teletherapy. If a client comes forward and says, hey, I’m really interested in you’re multilingual and there’s nothing like that around me. We would just have to get a licensure for that type of therapy in the state. But the interesting thing about therapies, which is different than like a lawyer perhaps, is that a lawyer will have to sit for the board in every state, whereas a speech therapist, occupational or physical therapist, if they already have passed their boards in one state, all they have to do is apply for the license in a different state. So yes, we would be able to do so. And 1,000% Teletherapy is a beautiful thing and it’s really, really convenient for all ages, especially once you’re five. Plus, because the kiddo can sit with the provider on the screen. There’s so many interesting games now and products. It’s not like you’re just sitting there face to face like, hey, how are you? We actually do, uh, you know, engage with them in virtual and digital capacities, which are so interesting.

Lee Kantor: And it doesn’t need kind of like physical touch, right? Like this type of service can be done, you know, just speaking virtually.

Luba Patlakh: Yeah. So for speech. Very extremely. So that’s the one that’s the most I’ll say successful on teletherapy occupational and physical therapy, of course, depending on the diagnosis of the individual may demand that in person. But what could happen is techniques and therapy advice and some stretching or whatever. Some exercises that are able to be on tele would be provided. And then when the need would come either out, you know, a provider could be assigned or we have Partnerships with people that we know and we could provide someone to. Them in person on an as needed basis. But of course Teletherapy is 100% suitable for people, of course, depending on their need.

Lee Kantor: Now, um, your clients are the children of your clients. Sound like their needs are very diverse. Can you talk a little bit about the variety of services that you offer when it comes to this?

Luba Patlakh: Yeah, absolutely. So we work with a wide range. It is not a niche type of, uh, pathology or physical therapy where sometimes you’ll go somewhere and it’s very specific. Like I have a friend who runs an office of just executive functioning here at archeology. Um, we do offer services to all needs so the child can have as simple a need as a couple of sounds that are disarticulated, and they just need maybe an 8 to 12 weeks therapy. And then they overcome those sound difficulties and are able to clearly speak them, or someone as severe as a chair bound disabled child, whether born or post traumatic injury or something like that, who might have autism or Add. We really work with a wide variety of needs. Um, and I am just very lucky to have such a wonderful team who’s not only willing but eager to dive into needs like that, because sometimes it gets complicated and it takes a lot of patience, a lot of commitment. But we have so many wonderful people working here, and we can work collectively and we train the family, which is a really important piece. So that’s why I feel like we’re so successful, um, even in the most severe situations, of course, we will refer out if we feel that it’s something we can’t do, but that doesn’t happen too often for us.

Lee Kantor: Now, talk about kind of the ambition from growing just a thriving local business, which you obviously have done in Pennsylvania, and then scaling this to something that can be all over the place. Um, those are kind of two different mindsets. Can you talk about what was the thought process you had when it came to okay, I’m going to build the scalable business. And number two, that, um, what was kind of the signal that, hey, this can work anywhere, not just where I’m at right now locally.

Luba Patlakh: So for me, um, I’ve always been a bit of a go getter, if you will, but I, I’ve always been, like, very fast paced and any jobs that I held prior. And in the last ten years, when I first started this, it took about a year to actually become an established business. So I actually opened 11 years ago, but has been running for ten years. Um, because it took one full year for the state of Pennsylvania to deem us a provider of the state. And I think once I finally got that paperwork and I started to figure out piece by piece, how this would look, um, people. People started to come and I started with one type of service capability. So I was working only early intervention services. And then over time, I want to say like year 3 or 4 is when I started to dive a bit into insurances, which was a whole other slew of, uh, contracts. And we accept over 14 insurances, including medical assistance. So we, we want to help everyone. And initially I didn’t even have an office. I was just kind of going door to door. The model was more homecare esque. I was interviewing people in Starbucks and then my girlfriend, who owned a very successful home care at the time. She’s like, what are you doing? Why are you not opening an office? You can’t carry all this weight by yourself.

Luba Patlakh: You’re getting busier. It’s getting harder. I was pregnant with my first child then, and she’s. And she’s said all these things to me. And I said, what are you talking about in office? I, I’m like, I don’t think I can afford an office. That sounds expensive. And I got to hire a secretary and like, that’s expensive. And but I took her advice finally, and I just stopped being so afraid. And I’m so grateful to her for the push because me opening a space stopped us. Going from going to Starbucks gave us some credibility. People were coming in to interview and train in my office. That led to them bringing their neighbor for therapy, and we were still going out a lot at the time. So when I say going out, it’s all of our providers were working in the field, so they would work at daycares or schools or homes. Um, but now we had a space so we could bring people in and mothers would be like, well, I want to come to you on my insurance. And that’s the process that kind of started to, uh, push me forward and make me apply for insurances, get credentialed that way so that I could accept those people and not just out of pocket. I saw that there was a need. I saw that there was an interest. Um, whether it was because of the way I was communicating and advocating for the families or just that there really was a need for this.

Luba Patlakh: It was coming together for me, and I didn’t want to give up the opportunity. So I worked really hard and I kept watching what I was doing, how I was doing it, planning, growing. And slowly but surely, I went from, I think, year one. I had four providers and myself and one other person in the office. And then and I don’t forget, I was between both. So I was in the office and I was a therapist. Um, and then by year four, I had jumped to like 20 providers from four, which was a huge difference. And already five people in the office. And today we have like 75 providers and 17 administrative office staff. So as you can understand, it’s been quite a production. Um, but the idea, I think, just comes from that rocket fuel motivation I have within me the eagerness to succeed, but also really like the will and want to help others. I before I had a piece of paper for speech therapy, I had the heart for it. And I think deep down from my early babysitting years and baking cookies for the neighborhood, I have always had a bit of an entrepreneurial spirit. So I think all that combined, it just it just worked out in my favor.

Lee Kantor: Now, have you developed kind of a cardiology methodology that unique to the work that you’re doing, or are you just kind of building on what is just a standard way of interacting with young people in order to help them, you know, to support them and to get better at whatever their challenge might be.

Luba Patlakh: We don’t follow a particular cardiology based curriculum. Um, what I always like to say is every provider therapist has their unique methodologies, and we let everybody kind of figure out each individual client on their own. There’s really no rhyme or rhythm to how someone will come across, because everybody’s so different. Every day here is different. Um, so we don’t have, you know, a cardiology methodology or curriculum. However, because I’m participating in so many IEP meetings, which are Individualized Education Plan. That’s what. Iep stands for. And it starts at the age of three. Once the child is technically like. Of kindergarten going to kindergarten. Um because early intervention is birth to three. So that’s an individualized family service plan. And then the 3 to 5 will start the Individualized Education Plan. This is a plan that’s updated yearly. We work off of those plans, um, with kiddos and their families here in the clinic for the school district. But when they come internally, we make our own initial assessments and goal plans. So we don’t necessarily follow IEP in the private care space, but we advocate and work with so many IEPs. So what I have gone ahead and created and it’s my new product I’m launching right now. It’s called the confident IEP parent. And what my intent is with this the minute families believe me Ology, or they’re continuing archeology and they’re now at the school level.

Luba Patlakh: They may come across the need for an IEP in the school. So whether they were getting speech or OTP prior and now they’ve gone to school or this came up in fourth and fifth grade. There could be a variety of reasons why it comes up, but it comes up. This family no longer has the cushion of a company like ours to go in and advocate while the kiddo is here. We are on calls with their coordination teams insurances. We’re constantly advocating showing data results to get them hours to ensure their meeting their needs and goals. However, once they get to the school, we don’t have the right to do that now. It’s the school district and the parent. And what I’ve come to find is parents are not winning. They are coming against the big bad wolf of the school district. They don’t see the clear picture of the child. And it is my goal and duty now from here on out, to train parents to be the confident IEP parent in order to successfully get to that meeting. Sit at that table and prove to those people. My kid needs this, this, this. Please give it to me. Have a nice day. And that is what we’re aiming to do now with, um, you know, you brought up. Do you have a method? Not necessarily in theology, but I do now with the confident IEP.

Lee Kantor: And then these, uh, plans, are they something that once you build a plan for one, uh, group like a school system in Pennsylvania, that that would be kind of translatable to another one in different community? Or is this something that has to be customized based on whatever the requirements are of a given market?

Luba Patlakh: Are you speaking to the program of the company, the IEP?

Lee Kantor: Yeah, the the confident IEP parent program.

Luba Patlakh: This is it’s going to be a course that’s going to be sold on our website which will be just the IEP. Com. Um, if people want to go and sign up now we’re handing out free freebie handouts. And you can get on our waiting list to hear when the course comes out. But it’ll be a work at your own pace for families. And they have a question and answer time and a resource like someone to talk with about it. I’m not an attorney. I’m not an advocate in that way. I’m just advocating and teaching the parent techniques and skills of what to say, how to say, how to ensure their child comes across so that they’re not constantly told no when they’re asking for certain services. For whatever reason, the school doesn’t always see the big picture. They like to assign goals. Academically, it makes sense. But there’s more to a person, a child than just their academia. What’s their personality like? How are they socially? How are they in the home? What kind of needs do they have? It’s so important to see the global picture. And the parents are educated today. And this is like, you know, it doesn’t have to be interchangeable to, um, a state at all. Ieps or IEPs. It’s all based on what the school thinks a child needs. But the parents are not getting a voice because they just don’t know what to say. If a parent is coming more prepared data, information and kind of like a a whole global picture of their kiddo, they’re more likely to get what their needs are.

Lee Kantor: Right. You’ve learned kind of best practices. You’ve learned how to the right words to say and not say in order to help the child get what they need, where the parent, this is their first time doing it, and the stakes are extremely high for that individual parent, but they just don’t know what they don’t know. And you do.

Luba Patlakh: You’re right. That’s right.

Lee Kantor: So, um, so that course is going to be rolled out and that’ll be available to anyone in any market. Because like you said, that type of coaching and consultation is kind of universal and it’ll have to be customized by the parent in order, you know, for their specific situation, but that the general knowledge is universal in that standpoint.

Luba Patlakh: Yes, exactly. And I’m really anticipating being able to help so many parents. I looked up the statistics recently and it said that over 7.5 million children between the ages of three and 12 have an IEP.

Lee Kantor: Wow. That’s crazy.

Luba Patlakh: It’s a lot. It’s a lot of families.

Lee Kantor: Yeah, that is too many. Um, so, um, what could we do to help you? What what do you need in order to continue growing and continuing serving this, uh, this constituent.

Luba Patlakh: I’m. I’m just so excited to share this information. I want people to know that there’s a person like me out there that is behind the scenes, advocating and caring for them and their families. I know despite going sometimes to the schools or bigger entities, not everybody is going to think about their best interests. But there are people out there like myself who are. I’d love for anyone who needs. I have a personal Instagram. I’m at Queen k d l g q e n. That’s my personal. Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions about any therapy related stuff? Business related stuff? Um, then of course we have, uh, at the confident IEP parent. It’s directly on there too, on my Instagram and at our Cardiology Inc. you can see what we’re up to in our clinics. We have a TikTok. Our everyone’s a really good sport in my clinics. And they love to share what they’re doing in therapy. Their kiddos wins how our clinics look. So if you’re somebody that’s interested in this market or realm, or a parent that wants to better understand how it might look, there’s a lot of information on there for you as well.

Lee Kantor: Well, thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.

Luba Patlakh: Thank you. I’m so like I’m honored to be on and I appreciate you sharing my message. And thank you so much.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on High Velocity Radio.

Finding Clarity in Chaos: How Coaching Transforms Lives with ADHD

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High Velocity Radio
High Velocity Radio
Finding Clarity in Chaos: How Coaching Transforms Lives with ADHD
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In this episode Lee Kantor talks with Dawn Keating of ADHD Brain Understood about the complexities of ADHD, especially in adults and women. Dawn discusses her personalized coaching approach, the importance of accurate diagnosis, and how ADHD can be reframed as a strength. They explore the differences between therapy and coaching, challenges with executive functioning, and practical strategies for managing ADHD. Dawn also shares advice for those considering support and highlights the value of self-awareness and seeking help without waiting for the “perfect” time. 

Dawn Keating, Owner of ADHD Brain Understood.

She is the coach you call when you’re done white-knuckling your way through life with ADHD and are so over the burnout, overwhelm and 57-open tabs opened up on your computer.

She works with smart, driven women who know they’re capable of more, but can’t seem to get out of their own way.

Connect with Dawn on LinkedIn and Facebook.

What You’ll Learn In This Episode

  • The hidden toll and costs of unmanaged ADHD
  • Why successful women with ADHD are often the most burned out
  • Do you really need a diagnosis?
  • What Dawn wishes more people understood about living with ADHD

Transcript-iconThis transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix.

 

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for High Velocity Radio.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor hear another episode of High Velocity Radio in. This is going to be a good one. Today on the show we have Dawn Keating, who is with ADHD Brain understood. Welcome.

Speaker3: Hi, Lee. How are you?

Lee Kantor: I am doing well. So excited to be talking to you about this important topic. Tell us about your practice. How you serving folks?

Speaker3: Well, I am serving folks in a whole bunch of different ways. I see a variety of clients that are entrepreneurs, that are healthcare professionals. And so I say that my coaching practice is kind of a one size fits none, because if you’ve met somebody with ADHD, you’ve met someone with ADHD. We all show up differently. And we all have different needs and really what we’re looking for. So it’s kind of it’s designed to kind of meet the, you know, individual where they’re at.

Lee Kantor: About how many people have ADHD.

Speaker3: Well, they say that about, you know, that some of the numbers are changing, you know. And, you know, I would say maybe between like eight and 10%. And so the one thing that I’m noticing, though, is that more and more people are getting diagnosed. And that’s really that group of us women that got missed or didn’t present as the typical, you know, nine year old boy we think of when we think of ADHD, you know, jumping on the furniture. And so now we’re starting to come out and say, hey, wait a minute. Right. Or in my case, I got misdiagnosed and didn’t really even get my, you know, official diagnosis to 48.

Lee Kantor: Now, you mentioned that for women that maybe they are not even being diagnosed or they’re being diagnosed. Way later than a lot of children, when I’m sure that’s when they typically check this. Right. As a kid, the kids, you know, having a difficult time in elementary school. And then they say, we better test them. Is that the normal?

Speaker3: Yeah. Or it might be that the teacher, right, is saying, hey, this you know, Johnny is being disruptive in my class. Right. And so something is going on with Johnny maybe not thinking that, you know, Johnny is a kinesthetic learner. Maybe Johnny is going to learn better with movement, right? And so normally, you know, when it’s picked up early, it’s normally because it’s been an unexpected behavior or something that it just didn’t check off the box. Right. If everybody else can do it and Johnny can’t, there must be something wrong with Johnny. And for girls, right. Lots of times we’ve been raised to be polite. Right. Don’t speak unless you’re spoken to. You know, sit quietly. You know, we’re kind of people pleasers, and we’re kind of quiet. And so for a lot of those reasons, it can also be missed. Right. Is, you know, for example, you know, at one point it got brought to my parents said, wow, you know, Dawn has some real anger issues, right? And I was doing the best I could to keep it together at school. And the reason that the anger issues came out was because she, my teacher, had said, hey, you know, she’s always ripping up her papers and getting frustrated. And it was my brownie leader who said, no, dawn just needs a pair of left handed scissors. Right. And so sometimes, you know, we have these boxes that we have to check off. And guess what? Li. Once I got left handed scissors, there was no more ripping up paper. Right. And so sometimes I think of being the left handed person in a right handed person’s world. Just like being ADHD person in a neurotypical world.

Lee Kantor: Now, for folks who are getting diagnosed later, are they getting diagnosed by like kind of in through official channels? Or are they like taking kind of BuzzFeed tests to say if I have ADHD or not?

Speaker3: Yeah, that’s a great that’s a great question. You know, there was a lot of that going on for a while where you could kind of go online and, you know, fill this out and get this diagnosis. And the the clients that I work with are doing, um, they’re not really doing that. Buzzfeed. The you know, what’s in now, they’re really seeing the psychologist or their doctor and, you know, taking the channels to really get this official diagnosis. You know, some of my clients might say that they didn’t do the two day neural psych eval, but they’ve they’ve done the questionnaires. They’ve done the maybe the piece involvement from a spouse or a coworker. And they’re taking those channels, you know, and, you know, that’s it’s tricky because sometimes people, you know are wondering even at this point, like, does it does it matter? Right. And so I am seeing though that more people, um, are getting, you know, diagnosed later in life or are coming to me and saying, hey, you know what, Don? I don’t know if it’s ADHD, but there’s something going on here. Right. Um, and so again, do you have to have the ADHD diagnosis to know, hey, I’m struggling here.

Lee Kantor: And what are. As as you age, you obviously learn different coping techniques and different ways to navigate the world that you wouldn’t as a child. Um, what are how is it presenting itself, as, you know, a 30 or 40 year old, uh, where they say, were they individuals? Like, this is something. It’s not nothing. Um, I should get checked out. Like, what are some of the symptoms or signs that this might be ADHD related?

Speaker3: Yeah. Well, it what what I’m hearing from the people that, you know, that I worked with and what I even noticed myself is it’s, you know, this executive executive function, which is the day to day operations that we do right just to manage our day to day living. When we start adding more executive functioning to our plate is when it gets harder, right? And so let’s say that, you know, I’m, you know, in school or maybe I’m in high school and, you know, I’ve missed a couple assignments and, you know, um, I’ve done a few little things right, like skipping class. I’ve missed some assignments. My my room is messy. Right? I got maybe a couple speeding tickets. Right. And now I’m in college. Right. And now there’s there’s such a bigger load. Right. Or I’m in my graduate program. And now I’ve really got to use this executive functioning for planning my day, organizing my calendar. Right. Getting started on these tasks. Right. I also see it a lot when there’s that change of life, say, and for me is where I notice it is when I had kids. So not only am I just responsible for myself, but I’m also responsible for these these little people, right? Planning their day, organizing the doctor’s appointments. It’s not just about me anymore. And so I see that a lot when there’s, you know, maybe this big change of life event, right? Um, you know, running your own company, right, is different than working for somebody, right? Um, you know, and so normally it’s kind of when we got that, we’re really tapping into that executive function and some of the tools or strategies that we used before, you know, some of them may still work, but then all of a sudden they’re not working anymore and we can’t figure out why. And that’s why.

Lee Kantor: So now when the person is, you know, they go through the process, they’re diagnosed, they’re not diagnosed, but they they realize that this could be ADHD. How are they deciding between kind of a therapist or a coach? Because obviously they’re similar, but they’re really different in a lot of ways.

Speaker3: Yeah. Well, and that’s a great question. A lot of my clients that I work with actually also have a therapist with them. Right. So therapy will work on, you know, the traumas or childhood or, you know, if sometimes if there’s something that they feel needs to be, you know, fixed. Right. Where coaching really? My coaching is very strength based. Right. We don’t really talk about anything from the past unless it’s something like. All right, well, how is that, you know, showing up in our day to day, right? How we’re not going to spend our time there. Right. I know that my clients are are capable. They’re resourceful. Right. They know the answers. They just need to figure out how is my ADHD showing up or what is it getting? What is it that’s actually getting in the way? And how do I build those, you know, strategies or tools that I need to really excel. And so it really is, you know, if you think about even, you know, in school, right, if you had a coach, right? Your coach, you know, maybe helped you, you know, run a little faster, right. How to shoot those hoops, how to train. And that’s really more so what coaching is, is helping you really be the best version of yourself. And, you know, helping you kind of get uncomfortable so that you can do the growth, right. And so I say, you know, um, are we, you know, a partnership? Yes. Am I going to cheer you on? Yes. But am I going to just cheer you on and not help you grow? No. Right. And so the relationships are different. Um, but a lot of my clients have a therapist, um, as well.

Lee Kantor: Now, as part of your work as a coach. Um, is teaching the individual to, uh, look at their ADHD. Not necessarily as a detriment, but maybe as a superpower and how to kind of wring out the most from that.

Speaker3: Absolutely. And ADHD is not a detriment. You know, I think the, the and I should say it like this is that if you don’t understand your ADHD, right? Or, you know, you’re so focused on trying to become something that you’re not or someone that you’re not, yeah, it can be a detriment, right? And so the the piece that really is enlightening and freeing is when you understand that, hey, it’s, it’s just a different brain wiring and you know that there’s other ways that I can do these things, you know, and some people hate the word superpower because, you know, you know, ADHD can definitely be a challenge, right? But you know, and so but there are superpowers. There are they’re great gifts. Right? We’re the ones that think outside the box. We’re the ones that come up with the answers. Right? We’re the ones that are creative. Right. A lot of us are the entrepreneurs or the self starters. Right? And so, you know, looking at, hey, there are a lot of benefits, um, you know, and a lot of, you know, really amazing things we can do. But we first got to understand it and be willing to kind of learn to work with it.

Lee Kantor: Now, you mentioned earlier that, uh, some of the people you work with tend to be entrepreneurs or healthcare. How did kind of those two groups get? How did you get attracted to those two groups? They seem a little disparate. They’re not necessarily, you know, two in a row that I would think of.

Speaker3: Yeah. Well, you know what, Lee? It’s actually funny that you say that because it’s entrepreneurs and health care professionals that I get. And then the other group I get are men that are usually in their late 40s or 50s. So I don’t know how I get one of the three. Um, but I think the healthcare professionals, I get them. Um, because before this I worked at a major medical, um, you know, hospital for 23 years, and I did nuclear medicine. And so I have a lot of training in neuroscience. And I think that, you know, I have that love of learning. And I think that that group of health care professionals, um, kind of can relate to that. And the piece of how can you look so successful on the outside, but on the inside feel like you’re barely keeping up? Right. You know, I had a woman, a client of mine, and she said, you know, Don, um, she worked in the ER, and she said, I am saving. I’m saving lives. Like I am triaging what needs to be happened. But inside I’m falling apart, you know? And so I think that I resonate with them. And then I think that piece of the entrepreneur of, you know, we’ve got these great ideas and we’re creative. And sometimes, you know, we want to do it our way. Right. Um, and that thinking outside the box and, you know, this was my own entrepreneurship, right, is leading from the medical field to start up my own business. So I think it’s a combination of those two. And as for the gentleman, I think maybe they figure, you know, I’m a wife, I have a husband, and she must know how to help me with, you know, leaving the towel on the floor or forgetting to get the milk, whatever it is, I don’t know. Um, and so that’s pretty much how I, um, I think I kind of resonate with that with those three.

Lee Kantor: Now, when you’re working with your clients, um, are they coming to you after something kind of bad has happened, or are they being proactive and like, I want to get a handle on this, like, what is usually the trigger that gets them reaching out to you? Or are they getting referred by a therapist? Like like how what’s your path to a new client? Because it seems like this is an interesting challenge for these folks to, to to get help or get at least, um, people to listen to them, to see what it is that their issue is. But so how do you kind of go about getting that client?

Speaker3: Yeah. So, um, it’s a little bit of combination. I do get some of my clients, um, as referrals from psychiatrists or psychologists. Um, I just had a conversation with a psychologist, um, who knows about ADHD, and she said, but you know what, Don? I, I can help other people, but I’m really drowning myself, right? And I’m feeling that I’m a fraud, right? And that I’ll be found out and and so sometimes it might be that piece of, you know, just sheer exhaustion, right. This front of if I work harder, if I plan better, if I’m more organized right, or I steal time from somewhere to get more time, I’ll be better. I can outrun this ADHD. And then that’s the myth, right? It’s like you’re not going to outrun the ADHD. And at that point, sometimes it’s just that sheer exhaustion, right? Sometimes it’s that piece of, you know, they’re playing small, right? Like, you know, I, I’m, you know, I missed this promotion or, you know, um, people maybe aren’t finding me as a team player or I’ve let my team down or, you know, I’ve got a lot on the line. I’m running this group. Right? And if I can’t manage my time and our goals, then we’re not going to make it. And so it’s a little bit about, I think, realizing like, first of all, does it have to be this difficult. Right. And sometimes it’s like, you know, I’ve done everything I can and now I need to ask for some help. And I think that especially with women. Right. We you know, we’re, you know, we’re we’re people pleasers, right? We’re you know, we’re managing our household. We’re managing our team. You know, there’s no sandwich years where we’re managing our own young kids and then elderly parents, right? And it’s like there’s just too much that they feel like, you know, I just. I just can’t do it. Right. And it’s costing them, you know, relationships. It’s costing them time with their family or bringing their work home. And now they’re like, hey, you know what? I’m I’m always in ketchup mode. And that just gets exhausting.

Lee Kantor: Now, in health care specifically, there’s such a crisis of burnout. I would imagine that if you can help somebody solve this problem, you’d be making a big difference for a health care system or individual that’s in health care, because it is a tough time for those folks nowadays.

Speaker3: Yeah. And, you know, I was, you know, in health care still during Covid. And I remember just just the stress with that and, you know, just the shortage and you didn’t really know what you were walking into. You know. And what I see is that the, the clients that I work with, they love what they’re doing. They’re so dedicated to patient care and helping. Right. But, you know, it’s the piece of, um, managing their schedule. Right. Or say they’re, you know, doing research, right. You know, um, allotting the time to get that done or charging at the end of the day. Right. The seeing the patients and the crisis, that’s the excitement. That’s what gets them interested and motivated. But at the end of the day, now they’ve got charting, right. And they’ve got these pieces that they’ve got to check in with. Right. And then there is more of that burnout because then sometimes they’ve got to bring it home. Right. So there is not that time to relax or unwind with your family or just do the things that you want to do, because now you’re bringing that home with you. Right. And that doesn’t help with the burnout or recharging.

Lee Kantor: Now, is there any kind of tip or advice you can share for someone that’s listening that maybe hasn’t been officially diagnosed for ADHD, but they have some of the characteristics you describe that they might be, um, suffering from it. Is there some action they can take right now to either relieve some of the suffering, or at least kind of manage it a little better?

Speaker3: Well, I would say this is that, you know, it’s it’s not about, you know, getting the diagnosis. It’s not about having an excuse, but it’s about having that explanation. And so sometimes when clients, you know, to say, hey, I’m going to get this diagnosis, um, you know, it doesn’t mean it’s for medication or whatever, but it might be of a little bit of that piece of, aha! I knew it wasn’t. It wasn’t me. I knew something else was going on. Right. And then maybe learning. Okay. Well, what what is it or what are the areas that I really need to, you know, kind of learn about or dive into. Right. I think now. Um, and so I think that there’s that piece of just that validation of I knew something was going on. Right. But then again, it can also help you, you know. Okay, now where do I go from here? And as for the people who maybe decide, you know, I don’t want to do medication or I don’t really want the diagnosis. I would say, you know, one of the a tip that I could give would say, you know, be, you know, take a few minutes every morning right before the chaos starts and really say, what’s my priority? Right. What’s draining me? What is my intention for today? Because we’re in this world of just this autopilot and this go go go go. And, you know, sometimes, you know, I’ve, I’ve met with some, you know, potential clients and they’ll say, all right, once I get my, my life together and I get more time than I’m going to be ready to dive in.

Speaker3: Right. But here’s the thing. This is when you need it. Now. When you don’t have the time, right? It’s like saying, I’m going to get my teeth. You know, I’m gonna start brushing and flossing before I go to the dentist and get that cleaning. No, you need to get to the dentist now. Right. And so there’s that piece of, you know, when I get it together a little bit more, you know, maybe then I will reach out or, you know. Um, and I don’t know if some of that is just that mentality of, hey, you know, in today’s world, right? We can do it, all right? We can run a business, we can run a family. We can take care of, you know, our aging parents, you know, we have a clean house, we’re making homemade meals, and we’re getting in our exercise every day. And so they feel that this is something that they should be able to do, you know. Um, but really, at that point when you’re struggling, it’s like, now is the time, you know, even if it starts with, you know, getting really clear on your day of what’s really important to me today. Right? Because it all feels important to us with ADHD, right?

Lee Kantor: And especially when you have that hustle culture where everybody is, is just kind of bragging about how they’re getting it all done, when in reality they probably aren’t getting it all done. And if they are, it’s probably not done well and just giving them grace and space, um, you know, just to find their routine or path that’s going to help them grow and be the person they want to be. I’m sure your coaching is just invaluable when it comes to just giving them kind of a place to share, because it can get overwhelming.

Speaker3: It can. And, you know, lots of times just having that safe space to really process something and to have that reflective partner really can just, you know, create so many ahas or, you know, giving you the space to really think this out because we’re always so busy, right? It’s always that hustle or we’re having a conversation with somebody and they answer the question, and we didn’t really get to process what we were even thinking. Right. And so I do feel that that’s just that space of like that safe space of, okay, what’s really important here and, you know, time to really deep dive. And that’s also where the personal growth and development comes from. You know, um, I think that’s when we get a chance to see and learn a little bit more about ourselves.

Lee Kantor: Now, when you’re coaching, is it primarily one on one? Is a group is a virtual like what? How do you coach?

Speaker3: Yeah. So, um, right. I’m, I’m, I’m going to start groups. Just not yet. I’m waiting for the summer. Um, even though summer are supposed to be relaxing and chilling, I feel like this is like the busy version of December. And so, um, I will be starting that more in fall, but right now, my, um, coaching is one on one, um, predominantly virtual because I never know where anybody is coming from. I only see two clients that are local in person and, um, yeah, it’s, you know, and, um, and it’s funny because one of the clients that I work with, you know, was afraid to drive in the snow. So even though there’s no snow, we still work in person. Right? Because I guess snow can be scary if you’re from California. And so, yeah, it’s it’s predominantly just online.

Lee Kantor: And if somebody wants to learn more, have a more substantive conversation with you to see if it’s a good fit. What is the website? What’s the best way to connect?

Speaker3: Yeah, the best way to connect is to reach me through my email address, which is Don at ADHD brain understood.com.

Lee Kantor: And that’s the website right ADHD brain understood.com. They can go there and they there’s information a blog. There’s ways to kind of learn a little bit about you there right.

Speaker3: Yeah there is so yeah ADHD brain understood is my website. My email is Don at ADHD. Brain understood and I did create a little bit of a like a clarity kickstart guide. Um, right. Because you know, ADHD is, you know, people say it’s about the focus, right? But, you know, it’s about the regulation, right, of our focus, of our attention. And so I did create a little kickstart that might help some of the audience kind of see where it is that they’re struggling with this ADHD and around this executive functioning. Um, and so that’s on there as well.

Lee Kantor: Good stuff. Well, Don, thank you so much for sharing your story today, doing such important work. And we appreciate you.

Speaker3: Thank you. And thank you so much for having me.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on High Velocity Radio.

The Power of Coaching and Emotional Intelligence in Leadership Development

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High Velocity Radio
High Velocity Radio
The Power of Coaching and Emotional Intelligence in Leadership Development
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Lee Kantor interviews Valerie Keels, known as Val the HR Gal, about her journey from HR consulting for nonprofits to a focus on leadership and emotional intelligence coaching. Valerie shares insights on the growing demand for coaching, especially post-COVID, and discusses her client-centered approach using self-reflection and emotional intelligence tools. She highlights the importance of relationships, self-awareness, and creativity in career development, and offers practical advice for individuals and teams seeking greater fulfillment and effectiveness in their work lives.

Valerie Keels, Coaching Fundamentals with Val the HR Gal. A human resources practitioner with over 25 years’ experience in non-profit association management in the DC metropolitan area, she has proven success in creating cultures of collaboration and implementing change to achieve workforce excellence.

As an ICF certified coach, she has built her practice in the aeras of transformational leadership, as well as developing emotional intelligence, team building, and managing career change.

Connect with Valerie on LinkedIn.

What You’ll Learn In This Episode

  • The value proposition of coaching
  • Why the business tagline is, “Success through Relationships”
  • How to distinguish between what’s good from what’s right

Transcript-iconThis transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix.

 

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for High Velocity Radio.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor hear another episode of High Velocity Radio in. This is going to be a good one. Today on the show we have Valerie Keels and she is with Val the HR Gal. Welcome.

Speaker3: Hi, Lea. Thank you. Glad to be here.

Lee Kantor: Well, I’m so excited to learn about your practice. Tell us about Val, the hr gal. How are you serving, folks?

Speaker3: Absolutely. So I thought of Val, the air gal in a dream. And I manifested my my business probably about 15 years ago as a consulting, just HR consulting business. I’ve been 20 plus years as an HR generalist for nonprofit organizations in the Washington, DC area. And I’m thinking, you know, future thinking. You know, how can I expand my knowledge base and my my network and to also prepare for whatever retirement means when it’s that time? So I’ve been doing about air golf for about 15 years, and most recently have been concentrating mostly on leadership coaching and emotional intelligence coaching.

Lee Kantor: So you started out doing actual consulting and then now you’ve pivoted towards coaching or you do both?

Speaker3: I do both. I started out doing mostly HR consulting, but it seems that the nature of work and business people seem to need coaching a bit more, and I get more people coming to me for for the coaching than anything else.

Lee Kantor: Well, I find that pretty encouraging because I think coaching is so valuable and that not enough people are taking advantage of all the great coaches that are out there.

Speaker3: Absolutely. It’s an emerging market. As I said when I started, it was mostly emotional intelligence. I am a Ekiti 2.0 certified emotional intelligence coach, and when I started doing that about eight years ago, you know, that was when this whole big thing about emotional intelligence was very prominent. And, you know, people wanting to build teams, build better teams and communicate with leaders, wanted to communicate with staff better and work better together. You know, we have multigenerational, multi-ethnic, very diverse workforces. And I think people really needed help relating to one another. In addition to that, you know, I also do the leadership coaching, career coaching, just whatever people need in their lives at that moment.

Lee Kantor: And then your niche is primarily nonprofits.

Speaker3: Primarily nonprofits. But I do have clients from the whole spectrum.

Lee Kantor: And then so when they’re coming to you for coaching, what are they hoping to get out of it? Like leadership is kind of a general term, but do they? Are they trying to get promoted or are they trying to look for their next opportunity? What like what are they trying to get out of coaching?

Speaker3: Absolutely. So people come to me for various reasons. Sometimes they’re in a program and coaching is part of their leadership development. Maybe they’re middle management and looking to move into leadership roles. Sometimes people are new in their career, um, and need some help, you know, kind of charting a career path. And then I have others who have been in a career for a while, and they want to pivot and change. I think the time around Covid, when people were really being very self-reflective and thinking about what’s important to them. Um, they really started digging deep and saying, am I really doing what I want to do? Um, and if that wasn’t the case, how do I break out and do something that’s more fulfilling and brings more purpose to my life.

Lee Kantor: So what are some exercises you do for people who are having those kind of thoughts? Like, are there some things they could be doing that will help them kind of chart a more fulfilling path in their career?

Speaker3: Absolutely. I mean, I always encourage people, and it doesn’t have to be any of the tools that I use, like Myers-Briggs or, um, disc, or I even have an emotional intelligence tool that I use as well with the EQ 2.0, but just to allow people to do some self-reflection first, like what are what are my goals? Like, what am I strong at? Um, what brings me joy? Identifying those things and how how do I communicate with others? You know, all those things go into that kind of self-reflection to try to figure out, you know, what’s important to me, and what do I need to be successful now?

Lee Kantor: Do you find an area that people maybe aren’t leveraging enough, or maybe they take for granted? Are there relationships?

Speaker3: Um, yeah. And I think, you know, when you think about relationships, everything that we do, both personal and professional, is centered around some sort of relationship, whether it’s, you know, your parental relationships, your sibling relationships or friendships, you know, spouses, whomever, bosses, coworkers, they’re all relationships that we have to maneuver and manage through our lives. And I think when we think about some of the things that inhibit us, it is our reluctance sometimes to explore those relationships a little deeper and dig deeper into understanding why we’re not always getting the best results.

Lee Kantor: So is there any kind of anything actionable for our listeners in order to kind of, you know, get more out of those relationships. Are there some activity or exercise that I’m doing right now to maybe kind of, um, either reboot or jumpstart, uh, some of their relationships?

Speaker3: Absolutely. Lee, I think, again, I have a three part kind of approach. Um, I call it consciousness and self-reflection. So that’s all about that kind of self-discovery. Who am I? What do I want? What brings me joy? Then looking at, um, rhythm and flow. Like, how am I showing up? What’s my way of doing and being? And how is that working for me? That’s a quote from Doctor Phil when he’s interviewing people, how is that really working for you? And sometimes we approach life like we’ve always done it this way or this way has often got the best results. But we live in a very dynamic world and things change. People change. I keep going back to Covid because that that was really an explosion of change Age and opportunity. I think people saw that as, you know, I really need to reboot and do some things differently to bring some better happiness and joy into my life, and then allowing a space for, um, creativity and spaciousness and thinking outside of the box, you know, being counterintuitive and allowing for that openness for new ideas to flow.

Lee Kantor: Now, when you’re working with your clients, um, how do you kind of open their mind to doing things maybe a different way or auditing, like you were saying, you know, how’s this working for you? In order to determine that, you have to kind of look and see what your track record is, and you got to kind of you’re holding them accountable to some past that has actually occurred, not some theoretical future, but some past. So how do you kind of create that safe space for them to feel vulnerable enough to share and in order to get the most out of the coaching experience.

Speaker3: Absolutely. I am a ICF certified coach, and part of the ethics of that coaching environment is stating, you know, that the coaching experience is led by the client. The client determines what they want to work on. The client determines what they want to bring to the coaching relationship and what they want to get out of it. And we generally start with a individual development plan that we co-create. Um, there’s generally like a hypothesis or a question or something that they want to get to, to get to the other side. Like, you know, how can I show up differently at work to present myself as a candidate for a promotion? Or what do I need to do differently to bring more joy into my life or whatever it is that the client wants to work on. It’s there. There. This is the process is them and they drive it. Um, so we open it up. We we really create kind of like a personal Swot analysis. We look at, you know, the strengths and weaknesses of what they’re doing and also the opportunities and threats for them to get to where they want to go.

Lee Kantor: Now is there a story you can share? Um, that kind of demonstrates how this could work or potentially, um, how you can help someone get to a new level? Don’t name the name of the individual, but maybe share the problem that they had and how you were able to help them.

Speaker3: Sure. Um, I think well, my clients, I’m not going to say many people, a lot of my clients are open to what the universe has for them, even though they may be employed or self-employed or whatever it is they’re doing in their lives. They’re always looking for something better or more or more enriching. And I had this one client. He worked for a municipality, but he always had this inkling to be an entrepreneur. I mean, but he had a family, you know, a wife, and he, you know, had to make sure that, you know, his home is taken care of, that, um, you know, the bills are paid and that sort of thing. But I encouraged him, just as I’m doing kind of, you know, to explore entrepreneurship on the side as his schedule allows and to feed into, you know, some of his desires outside of work. So we worked out a plan where he’s scheduled in some time to do some investigations to build up his network, to do the sorts of things that were going to enable him to explore that in a safe space for him where he could still meet the responsibilities of his 9 to 5. But to also expand and to see what the possibilities were. The good thing in that situation is that his wife was not, um, American, and the plan had always been to move to her home country at some point. So, you know, we explored some of the contacts that he had in his wife’s home country and worked out, you know, some marketing and some things like that. So I’m not sure we didn’t, you know, when we worked together for about six months, I’m not sure where he landed, but he was definitely at a point where he had a roadmap to get him to that next place.

Lee Kantor: And that’s really all you could hope for, right, is give them kind of the pathway they have to take the steps in order to be successful. You you can’t want it more than them.

Speaker3: No, not at all. Exactly. And they have to do the work. And as you mentioned earlier in our conversation. You know, I’m an accountability partner, right? I’m not a taskmaster. I’m not a drill sergeant. You know, I’m only here to help the client fulfill what they want.

Lee Kantor: Now, do you ever work with boards of directors at some of these nonprofits to, um, you know, put into place some, uh, some coaching program for the organization or certain people within the organization? Or do you primarily work with individual contributors?

Speaker3: Yeah, it’s about HR. I do primarily work with individuals, but as an employee, I’m still employed. I do work within the HR team. We have a cadre of certified coaches within the organization, and my organization has a retreat kind of mentality. The teams, um, typically will go away for 2 or 3 day offsite, um, type of activity. And with that, I can bring in group coaching, you know, to to do some team building and identifying areas that the team need to work on. Um, to be better. We can also work with individuals within teams or leaders of teams to help them manage their teams better.

Lee Kantor: Now, do you enjoy that work or retreat work?

Speaker3: Absolutely. That’s what I started doing. And, um, it’s been very fulfilling. My, my employer has been very supportive of my coaching work. And because I can use it internally, it’s a win win for us both.

Lee Kantor: Have you learned anything about how to put on a good retreat? Some do’s and don’ts.

Speaker3: Um, I would say have a good plan in place first. Like, what do you want to get out of the retreat? I think it’s also important to have a good balance of the work, like the the planning and and you know what the team needs to accomplish, but also some down fun time. You have to make sure you have some getting to know. Um, allowing people to let their hair down a little bit and get to know one another on a very personal level, I think that’s very important as well.

Lee Kantor: So if somebody wants to learn more about working with you, uh, what is the website? Is there a place to connect?

Speaker3: Sure. My website is WW. Vale the HR gal t h e hr.com. Um, I can also be reached in LinkedIn. Um, and I can provide you those, um, digits if that’s necessary, but.

Lee Kantor: I think it’ll be on the post. But Val, the HR gal com is a pretty easy way to find you.

Speaker3: Pretty easy way, yes.

Lee Kantor: Yeah, that dream was pretty efficient to get you the URL for the website as well. That worked out pretty well.

Speaker3: Like years before I even launched the business. I was like, I think it was a vision. So I pounced on that and secured the URL. And then a couple years later I actually moved on it.

Lee Kantor: Wow. That’s a it’s a catchy URL. Good. Good job. I think most people don’t spend the $12 to get to lock that down. That’s a good investment. Well, congratulations on all the success and thank you so much for sharing your story. You’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.

Speaker3: Thank you for having me, Lee.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on High Velocity Radio.

Tiny Global Footprints: Inspiring Young Explorers One Book at a Time

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High Velocity Radio
High Velocity Radio
Tiny Global Footprints: Inspiring Young Explorers One Book at a Time
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On this episode of High Velocity Radio, host Lee Kantor talks with Deborah Haile and her son Jonah Seyum of Tiny Global Footprints. They discuss how their family travel adventures inspired a business creating children’s books, podcasts, and vlogs that celebrate cultural exploration. Deborah and Jonah share insights on involving kids in creative projects, running a nonprofit to help African children write books, and practical family travel tips. Their story highlights the value of collaboration, flexibility, and empowering children to lead, offering inspiration for families interested in travel, storytelling, and entrepreneurship.

Jonah Seyum, a 12-year-old globe-trotter, has traveled to 22 countries alongside his mother and co-CEO, Deborah Haile, and has already published six bestselling books. His latest project, The Eri Basketball Boys, co-authored with friends from Eritrea, is set to release later this year. He has a passion for travel and cherishes spending time with his family — especially his parents and his 30 cousins, who are spread across Minneapolis, Atlanta, Orlando, Denver, and Eritrea.

Beyond his love for adventure, Jonah enjoys playing basketball and soccer, performing on his violin, and diving into epic Fortnite battles on his PS4. He has a strong affinity for math and history, loves reading books, enjoys learning new languages, and finds joy in listening to music.

Founder and Co-CEO of Tiny Global Footprints, podcaster, and bestselling author, Deborah is a busy working mother committed to seeing the world with her son. She loves seeing the world through his eyes and sharing stories from their travels by writing the Jonah’s Global Footprints book series.

She holds a master’s degree from George Mason University in Virginia and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Minnesota. She is originally from Eritrea but grew up in Minnesota. She is passionate about teaching children about global cultures and wants to help make travel an essential part of every childhood. She plans to publish more books based on different countries she and Jonah visit.

Connect with Deborah and Jonah on Facebook and Twitter.

What You’ll Learn In This Episode

  • How Deborah and Jonah are building Tiny Global Footprints and the podcast
  • Deborah’s guidance, coaching, and mentorship tips on building a family business
  • Advice for others who would like to coach/go into business with their kids
  • How Deborah nurtures Jonah’s leadership skills
  • What Deborah has learned about running a business with her son

Transcript-iconThis transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix.

 

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for High Velocity Radio.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor hear another episode of High Velocity Radio and this is going to be a good one. Today on the show, we have Deborah, Hila, and Jonah Seyoum and they are with tiny global footprints. Welcome.

Deborah Haile: Thank you Lee. We appreciate the opportunity. Thank you.

Lee Kantor: Well, I’m excited to learn what you’re up to. Tell us about Tiny global footprints. How you serving, folks?

Deborah Haile: Okay. Um, Jonah will go first, and then I’ll go out right after.

Jonah Seyum: So tiny global. Footprint is our business, and we write books together. For example, I’ve written seven books. Three with my mom and three by myself, and one with my friends who live in Asmara, Eritrea, which is in Northeast Africa.

Deborah Haile: So the the brand it started kind of global footprint started back in 2019 as my son and I loved to travel and see the world, and from our travels came books. We started writing books about our adventures. We wrote books on Thailand, Cuba, Eritrea. Like Jonah mentioned this in Northeast Africa, which is our original. Our families are from there as well. And then that kind of ignited some type of author a writer want to be to Jonah. And so he started to get to start writing books on his own. And then that went into us having like our own podcast as well. And then from that just it’s just been growing over the years. And then now we have also a nonprofit in Africa. Basically, we help other kids write books as well, which is the one that Jonah just mentioned. They just published it with his friends in Eritrea. So it’s been evolving over the years, but a global footprint originally started for us just because we have a love for travel and writing books.

Lee Kantor: So at the beginning, when it was just you traveling, what kind of was the genesis of, hey, maybe we should write some of this down and turn and turn our adventures into books.

Deborah Haile: It was people just coming and asking questions like my friends and family just saying, I don’t know how you’re doing it. Traveling with, you know, a five year old, a four year old, you know, to Thailand, to the other side of the world to like Cuba. These are just, you know, places that adults are somewhat fearful of going to. So I said, oh, let’s write a book about it because it’s safe. And, you know, we need to have a cultural. We need to bridge this cultural barrier. It seems like, because everyone feels like there is this fear to go abroad and learn about other cultures and learn about, you know, other areas, parts of the world. So. And taking children with you. So that’s where that came from.

Lee Kantor: And what was kind of the like. Why didn’t you write it as you as being, you know, somebody that’s had the career that you’ve had, why didn’t you just have it from your perspective? What was the thinking of getting your child involved?

Deborah Haile: He has a different perspective than I do. So we always, you know, and when we started writing, I was writing children’s books. So I wanted it to have a child’s voice as well, not just an adult’s voice writing. And, you know, for children. And I think that’s also what’s been inspiring for other children now to wanting to write and wanting to travel because they see him doing, you know, this and the whole purpose is for us, you know, to to inspire other families. And I, I’m not doing it by myself. So I’m doing it with my son. And I wanted his voice to be heard as well.

Lee Kantor: So as a parent kind of creating a business with their child, how are you kind of guiding your child and, you know, while still giving them support but not necessarily taking over the whole project? How are you creating that balance?

Deborah Haile: Well, creating a balance between, um, it’s difficult, but I think he he’s growing into it too now, meaning it’s changing his, uh, perspective. He is writing his own books. He has he’s he’s creating YouTube videos like vlogs from our travels, which he’s getting, you know, a lot of subscribers to he’s moving on to getting subscribers and moving on to, uh, being just a, uh, knowing, I guess he’s moving into him, getting his own voice heard as well. Uh, from this is giving him confidence, is giving him a way to, um, set in his own, um, you know what what what it is that he wants to say and what it is that he wants to do in these travel vlogs that he has on, you know, YouTube that’s, you know, also helping you know, with, with along with the books, I guess. So I guess I balance I’m feeding off of him now. Initially he used to feed off of me. Um, he has his own confidence going and he has his own ways of doing things. And so because he’s been doing it for the last six years. And so, um, I guess he’s, you know, him finding his voice, uh, it makes me happy, and I’m balancing it. Well, because it’s not. I used to run everything, but he’s definitely there supporting me with it now. So Jonah answered the question.

Lee Kantor: So? So, Jonah, what? Um, what do you like more? Do you like doing the videos? Do you like writing the books? Do you like maybe some of the speaking that you’re able to do now? What are your favorite parts of this adventure?

Jonah Seyum: So I like doing all of them because I like to show the people, like on social media about traveling and about the world and different cultures. But I also like to show younger children about cultures and traveling through books as well.

Lee Kantor: So when you’re traveling, what do you look for? Uh, what what types of things are you excited to do when you get to a new country? Is it the food? Is it the people? Is it the sights? What are your favorite parts of traveling?

Jonah Seyum: Normally, my first thing that I love to do is go sightseeing and then have some traditional food. And then after that, if it’s like somewhere that has a beach, go to the beach.

Lee Kantor: So are you primarily going to countries that have beaches? Is that, uh, what you’re all looking for?

Jonah Seyum: Um, not really like, but we do go to some. But like, over the summer, we just went to Qatar and Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Deborah Haile: And. And there. What did you do there?

Jonah Seyum: And there we went to like, different different like known locations, went to malls, museums and stuff like that.

Lee Kantor: Um, because of your work, are you getting opportunities when you get to these different, um, communities? Are you getting opportunities to interact with the children, like, do you set up kind of, um, talks with, uh, young people?

Jonah Seyum: I do that in Eritrea, but not sort of with other countries, because in Eritrea, like, it’s easier to, um, to bond and to tell them about writing and traveling and like. Yeah.

Deborah Haile: And in Eritrea, we have a writers program that is, um, that he’s involved with. And so that’s where the children come in, that’s where his influence and the kids come in to.

Lee Kantor: And that hasn’t been able to expand beyond Eritrea.

Deborah Haile: So that’s new right. Like so again like I this is not a full time work for me. I have a full time job. I’m, um, I’m a director in a legal operation, so I don’t have this is a part time thing that started as, you know, again, like us, um, just traveling, writing books. But then that evolved into us having a, you know, podcast media, um, as, um, also being having this nonprofit now. So the reason why, uh, we, we had no plans on even doing it in Asia. It’s just the kids were interested after they seen what Jonah has done. Um, he was able to, um, you know, show them that he was able to write books on his own, that he was able to show them like he’s been to, you know, 22 countries and what he’s learned from there. And, you know, they the kids wanted to be part of, you know, our journey. And they wanted to be involved, and they wanted to write their own books and their own stories. So then we, you know, started having like teachers and other, um, instructors there for them that help them kind of with this process. And then they are writing and they are reading and they are doing all these things there, and we are helping them from here. But yeah, it’s so that’s been our contribution is just helping, you know, these kids, you know, that were that showed interest in this um, in our program basically.

Lee Kantor: So are there any lessons you can share to other parents who might want to get involved with the business with their children? Maybe some do’s and don’ts?

Deborah Haile: Yeah. Um, studying them early is a do for sure. Um, I would say, um, you know, setting them early, not only setting them early, but have them having them be part of the process. So, for example, Joanna, can you tell them about the festival that we just had. And what did you do with the book selling and stuff like that?

Jonah Seyum: So we just had an annual Eritrean festival that was in California and family came in, but we had like our own booth at the festival and we were selling our books, and I sold most of the I sold most of the books. And I was explaining how, like how kids should go, how kitchen explore and travel the world, like how I did and to inspire them to read and write.

Deborah Haile: And you did it at the Miami Book Fair as well, every year. Right. Mhm. Doing it. And so it’s so again it’s like he’s having um he’s growing up to have confidence in showing up on. Oh these are our books. This is what the book is about. This is why you should get it. This is why I wrote this. This is I wrote, you know why. Oh, about chores. Because I hate chores, and I. Now, as I get older, my chores keep increasing. So I wrote about it. I love basketball and soccer, so I wrote about it. These are things that are happening in my daily life. So then that’s basically what is inspiring, you know, the kids to do. So starting him early I think, is what helped him have this voice now and is also helping him have this voice now, as you know, a 12 year old, um, about not only about traveling, but also like having these vlogs, these travel vlogs, and he’s where he’s explaining about where he is, what he’s doing. Um, his travel vlogs show different parts of the world the Middle East, Asia, Africa, um, you know, South America. So it’s it’s good, uh, to start them early and I would say like don’t. And with business as well, he’s he controls the money like everything that we made for example from the festival, he got 50% because he was there selling the entire time.

Deborah Haile: He didn’t go have fun with his friends. He also, um, also did a lot of, um, PR work when we were there, just going out and meeting people. And a lot of people recognize him from our Instagram, our, um, YouTube. So they were coming and saying hello to him, taking pictures with him, which gave him more motivation and told him, you know, you’re a young leader. Keep going. And so that gave him even, um, you know, encouragement. Um, so it’s a really good, like, confidence, you know, I guess booster in a, in a way. And he’s learning. In the same token, he’s learning about, you know, being how to become an author. He’s writing, he’s learning about, you know, the world culture, um, and he’s contributing to that as well as a young author. Um, so which is, um, which is, I think, helpful. And so to do do’s and don’ts, I think it’s more do’s than don’t I don’t think I said anything that you don’t, but just get them involved. Um, the money part, you know, to get them financially. To get them to learn about financials, like I mentioned.

Deborah Haile: Like him, how much he was getting when he was like writing that he was getting 50% of it. And and he was doing the calculations. He counted everything. He put it in an Excel sheet. He calculated how much you were getting back and everything. So it’s great because he’s able to, like, explain, um, what, you know, his involvement is with everything. So, um, and so having a business with a child is has been more, you know, beneficial than than not. Because even in the podcast, as both of us talking to both of us, um, you know, explaining about, you know, our travels or the do adults of different countries, we want to what are some tips that we have learned for family travel that is um, so even in the podcast, he runs it with me. He sets it up. He does. He makes sure the video is working, he records it. He’s the one who sends it to our editor. He’s fully involved and engaged in the whole process. Um, like I mentioned, I was the one who was doing all this. You know, when we started. But now he is definitely doing the 50% of it and supporting, uh, his end, uh, by doing, uh, by doing all these that tasks that I just mentioned.

Lee Kantor: Now, what about some tips for family travel? Uh, that sounds like that’s where this all began for, uh, just traveling internationally. Um, is there anything that you would recommend for families when they travel together? Um, how to involve the child more and how to maybe get some of their input on where to go and what to do?

Deborah Haile: Yeah. Um, how how do you do it? Joanna, we’ll start with you.

Jonah Seyum: So I recommend, before leaving, check the weather on on the destination, because you don’t know how you’re going to pack for this trip. And you want to know, like the weather, so that you’re not too cold or hot and don’t bring the right clothes. Close next. Research about your destination before you go. Like make sure it’s safe and places and cities that you want to visit and landmarks that you want to see. And and yeah, that’s those are my tips.

Lee Kantor: Now how do you all find kind of the hidden gems? How do you find the places the locals go to rather than, you know, where a lot of tourists go?

Deborah Haile: Oh, good. Good point. You know, um, back in the I would say like, you know, 5 or 6 years ago, I would make sure to Google and check it to see what’s, you know, again, what’s our plan? Uh, some of them also we try to do multiple countries. So we go to every trail once a year. Oh sorry. Twice a year usually. And once we go to Eritrea we usually go, you know, we try to go. For example, last time we did London and then Eritrea, and then last time after that we did Rome. And then another time we did this past time we did Qatar and Dubai and Abu Dhabi. So. And then so when we go to these places when we’re trying to figure out where to go. It’s usually a few days that we’re there, so I make sure that I do a plan, a tight plan, right? Like, okay, we’re there for three days. What do we want to. What are the masses in three days that are not. Um, there are sometimes I think that are not popular. So for in Qatar, I said, what are the best? Where is it? I asked ChatGPT this time before it used to be Google. I asked ChatGPT what is the right place I need to go in Qatar? Where do I need to stay? That is in the middle. Um, and it’s not like, you know, downtown or anywhere, but it’s close to, you know, the museums is close to things that we must see as a, you know, family, um, of, you know, traveling.

Deborah Haile: Um, and the hotel that we ended up seeing was right by the souq, which is the market. Um, and it was an area. It was a hidden area. Like no one, really. The hotels and the tourists stayed on the other end of the city. And when we were staying, it was, you know, really nice, but it was really right next to the market. It was really it was next to all these museums as well. And then there’s a a flag area that that also a flag plaza that’s also well known. So we made sure to stay close by so we can walk to it. But it was very hot. So we also Uber at the same time. But we tried to make sure we plan it ahead. So when we were traveling. One of the things we try to do is plan ahead. We tried to get Johanna and I involved in like what he wants to do. What I want to do, and then we try to obviously even it out with figuring out what is it that that we both are going to enjoy doing. So the itinerary usually involves both of us. We try to obviously always embrace the local culture. So we always say, where is kid friendly food, places that we need to go to, or where is it? You know, we want to make sure like we have authentic, uh, food that we want to eat.

Deborah Haile: What are the what are some, uh, restaurant recommendations? Um, usually we do this when we get there. We don’t plan that ahead. Actually, we don’t do any restaurant research ahead. We get there and we ask the locals. We get there. We ask the concierge concierge that are at the at the hotel. Um, so we always try to make sure, you know, that we are, uh, prioritizing, you know, looking, um, prioritizing, going to areas that are, you know, hidden, not only hidden gems, but also somewhere where we can learn the culture, um, and obviously but and make sure that we’re staying, you know, safe at the same time. But embracing the culture, the local culture is definitely our go to. So, um, and we make sure that, you know, we are doing that for, you know, where we’re meeting like locals, we would go places and we would meet locals and we would say, hey, what do you recommend for? We were thinking to do this. And they say, oh, you have to do this. So, you know, just having chats with locals also helps. We, we basically like we we don’t go from here, from the US. Basically, we don’t go from the US planning every single item that’s on the itinerary. We go from the US saying, these are the things we would love to do. Let’s get there and see how we feel. Let’s talk to other locals there.

Deborah Haile: Let’s see how the culture is. Let’s see. We might change these plans so that that has happened multiple times as well, where we just get there and we say, okay, let’s do this instead. So just plans change. And so I try not to make it just concrete plans that we need to stick to. Sometimes I do, and there are some things that we really want to do, but majority of the time. Um, we go there and then, you know, we have some ideas of what we want to do, but when we get there and talk to the locals, we definitely change our minds. We’ve changed our minds many times of what how our itinerary goes because of the recommendations of our tour guide or recommendations of other local or hotel staff or, you know, restaurants that we end up seeing and stuff like that. So, um, we are definitely not, uh, travelers that that, um, plan every single detail of the trip. We we go, we try to go there. That’s part of the adventure that we do is we go there and we figure it out sometimes. A lot of times, actually, 80% of the time, um, there’s places we went and we didn’t have a hotel when we landed. We’re like, okay, what area should we stay this time? And, um, we figure it out when we get there. Um, so we’ve done that several times and it works out just well for us.

Lee Kantor: Now, how do you decide what, uh, subject to publish books on, uh, especially moving forward?

Deborah Haile: Um. Good question. So our books, the the theme is the the book series is called Jonah’s Global Footprint. And so the book, again, like I mentioned, it’s, uh, Cuba and Thailand and Eritrea, and now we’re writing our new book in, um, in the Middle East. Uh, actually, the new book will be coming out of Middle East. So the theme of our books is travel, because that’s how this whole thing started. However, in parallel, Joanna also writes. Kind of day to day life, things like I mentioned. He wrote about chores. He wrote about basketball or soccer. He wrote about what does daddy do, do do all day during, um, Covid because he sees me. You know, he was young, he was only like six, seven then, and he saw me, like leaving the house and, you know, uh, sorry, staying at home and working. And he he would see that, you know, leaving the house. And he got curious. Where is it that you work even though he knew or he worked, but he still was curious about it. So he wrote a book about it. What does daddy do all day while mommy works? And so, um, it was it’s just things that, that he is really interested on that he writes, uh, books on. Um, but our theme for our, for the, for the books that we write together is travel. So new destinations like, you know, we did Africa, we did Asia. We did, um, you know, Kiva, and now we’re doing the Middle East. And so, you know, next we’ll see which, you know, country, which region we’re going to concentrate on. But it’s going to consist of writing more on, you know, different parts of the world to introduce that, you know, to introduce those cultures, to introduce those ways of, um, you know, working and um, just embracing, embracing those cultures, basically.

Lee Kantor: And, um, if somebody wants to learn more and follow your travels, get Ahold of the books or listen to your podcasts. Is there a website where they can kind of a centrally located place where they can learn more about what you’re up to?

Jonah Seyum: Yeah. So our website is called Tiny Global Footprint Net.

Deborah Haile: And, uh, they can contact us with an email. Um, hello. Tiny global footprint net. Um, but on social media, we are, um, tiny global footprint. Um, and we have, um, you know, uh, followers from all over the world. So which is, you know, great. Uh, our podcast is also on our website, so you’ll be able to find it there. Um, and all the media that we’ve had, all the articles about us and all the TV interviews we had everything. All, all. All of that is also in the website. So. And the books included. Um, all our books are also on there. All seven books are also on there. So you’ll be able to find everything about us on our website. Tiny global footprints net.

Lee Kantor: Well, Deborah Jonah, thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.

Deborah Haile: Thank you. Lee. We really appreciate the time.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is all right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on High Velocity Radio.

From Burnout to Balance: Transforming Healthcare One Micro Shift at a Time

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High Velocity Radio
High Velocity Radio
From Burnout to Balance: Transforming Healthcare One Micro Shift at a Time
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In this episode of High Velocity Radio, Lee Kantor interviews Doreen Steenland, a reset and work-life integration expert. Drawing from her experience as an ICU and trauma nurse, Doreen discusses the severe impact of burnout among healthcare professionals, costing the industry $300 billion annually. She introduces her Micro-Shift Reset System—practical, quick stress management techniques designed for busy healthcare workers. Doreen emphasizes the importance of small, actionable changes over traditional self-care approaches and shares success stories from her coaching. 

Doreen Steenland, RN, PCC, Reset Specialist, Micro‑Shift Reset System™ Creator, Leadership Coach for Healthcare Pros, Executive Presence at Doreen Steenland Coaching & Facilitation.

She help healthcare leaders break the burnout cycle and reset their nervous system—on command—whenever overwhelm strikes. No fluff. No bubble baths. Just brain-based, body-led micro-shifts that work in real life (yes, even mid-shift chaos).

After 35+ years as an RN, she have seen how survival mode steals their energy, their joy, and their presence. She created the Micro‑Shift Reset System™ to change that—one tiny reset at a time.

—Reclaim your calm.
—Lead with clarity.
—Have energy left for what matters most.

Because stress isn’t the enemy—staying stuck in it is.

Connect with Doreen on LinkedIn and Facebook.

What You’ll Learn In This Episode

  • Why is burnout prevention in healthcare workers so important
  • Why is burnout so prevalent in healthcare
  • Why do traditional stress management programs fail to deliver permanent transformation
  • What makes Micro-Shift Reset System™ different from all the other burnout prevention programs

Transcript-iconThis transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix.

 

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for High Velocity Radio.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor hear another episode of High Velocity Radio and this is going to be a good one. Today on the show, we have Doreen SteenLand, who is a reset and work life integration expert with Doreen Steenland Coaching and Facilitation. Welcome.

Doreen Steenland: Thank you. Thanks so much for having me. I’m really glad to be here.

Lee Kantor: Well, I am excited to learn what you’re up to. Tell us about your practice. How are you serving folks?

Doreen Steenland: Yeah. So I help healthcare stop the $300 billion bleeding due to stress related retention and absenteeism costs.

Lee Kantor: So what exactly does that mean? What? How do they kind of quantify that as a $300 billion issue.

Doreen Steenland: Yeah. So annually, hospitals and health care systems are losing this kind of money to stress related retention and absenteeism costs. Medical professionals are running on empty, and they are fleeing the field faster than we can train their replacements. So this is a real problem. And if you’ve ever if you’ve been to the hospital lately, any hospital, you’ll know that medicine is kind of running on bare bones. Now, if you’ve ever tried to get a doctor’s appointment recently, you see that you’re now waiting 6 to 8 months for appointments as a new patient. This is a problem. This is a problem of supply and demand, and it’s a problem of having enough professionals who don’t feel burnt out staying in the system.

Lee Kantor: So is this kind of a new problem, or is this problem being kind of creeping upward over the years?

Doreen Steenland: Now, this problem has been around for a while, but post Covid we definitely saw an increase and hospitals have been trying to navigate this burnout problem. Let’s face it, nurses right now in in 2025 report 69% burnout rate and 62% of those nurses are under the age of 25. That is our replacements. So I see this as a major problem. And physicians are still at about a 49% national average of burnout. These are big numbers, considering we’ve been working at this for the last five years to the last decade.

Lee Kantor: So what’s your backstory? How did you get involved in this line of work?

Doreen Steenland: Yeah. So I I’m one of, uh, 12 family members in my house in medicine, and I know what the halls of the hospitals are like. I was an ICU nurse, trauma nurse, and also a nurse leader. And I’ve lived the burnout, and I’ve felt it. I felt the detachment. I felt the cynical, um, attitude that comes with it being short fuzed. And it wasn’t because I wasn’t smart or capable. It was because I was stuck in these survival tendencies and these survival tendencies when mental, physical and emotional fatigue chronically deplete the energy reserves. So burnout is a real thing. And I’ve seen with all of my family members how they have to kind of several of them have to crawl up a bed after their their shifts for the week to recover because they are, um, just not bouncing back. And it’s not because they’re not smart, it’s not their fault. It’s because they’re stuck in survival tendencies. And I saw this as a huge problem. Um, and also there there’s obviously organizational issues with the hospital organization. This is not it’s not their fault. It’s not all on them. We’re short staffed. And that that specifically really weighs on a health care providers because they really care. They want to do the best for their patients. And they went into medicine to help others, and they’re feeling frustrated because they’re not able to give the care and the attention that they want to give to their patients.

Lee Kantor: Patience. Now, is there any relief coming with the advent of AI and robotics and some of these kind of machine learning and artificial intelligence tools that are at least a lot of people are talking about how they’re going to replace a lot of jobs. Is that where some of the relief is going to come from?

Doreen Steenland: Yeah. So I don’t see I really taking the place at the bedside where I do see AI intervening is in some of the mundane work that’s required in order to make meet insurance company regulations. I could see AI being, um, active in, um, assisting physicians and nurses with taking client histories and and tracking the notes and, and working in those ways. But but I can’t see them see AI directly involved in patient care.

Lee Kantor: Now, what is being done? Um, kind of in the boots, on the ground level when it comes to stress management right now. How? What are they doing to kind of alleviate some of this suffering?

Doreen Steenland: Well, there’s there’s two different approaches. There’s there’s, um, you know, education obviously. But what I’m seeing is that these professionals can recite the education and education without application is really short lived. Right. If if you’ve ever read a book, you know that reading the book is not going to create the transformation, you need to actually be able to apply it in real life settings. So there’s lots of education, there’s lots of coaching available. Excuse me for one minute. And um, there’s lots of, um, effort right now being put on the upstream efforts to reduce burnout by by taking a more systematic approach. And I would see what I offer health care, a more upstream approach to burnout prevention because it is, um, trying to tackle it before the burnout arrives.

Lee Kantor: Now, is this approach something you developed yourself from kind of being involved in health care for so long, or is there some, some other person’s kind of modality that you’re, uh, facilitating and implementing?

Doreen Steenland: Yeah. So I created the micro shift reset system. And this system actually walks health care workers through small daily, uh, incremental changes that they can apply right in the middle of their daily workflow. So being part of medicine and having so many family members in medicine. I know what the workflow is like in the hospital. I know that it’s unrealistic to have, um. Our medical professionals sit down for 30 minutes and meditate. That is not realistic in in the fast paced, uh, environment that they’re in. With the long 12 hour shifts, plus sometimes that they’re working. It’s unrealistic to expect them to do very, um, long activities. So this this process has been created to meet them right where they’re at, at the bedside, uh, to give them small little things that they could do to re-energize themselves and refill their tank in the middle of their day.

Lee Kantor: So these kind of, I guess, micro shifts, you call them?

Doreen Steenland: Yes.

Lee Kantor: Now, was this something that you just said, hey, no one’s going to sit down for 30 minutes in the middle of their day. How can I make this kind of the smallest, easiest, um, activity to implement? Is that what you were thinking? And just. You just started kind of testing it?

Doreen Steenland: Yes, exactly. So here here’s the thing. I’ve, I’ve been in coaching for the last decade, and this population will not deny that they need help. Um, they might not admit it to the staff. They might not admit it to the hospital. But they know inside that something’s wrong. And over and over and over again I’d hear clients say, but I don’t have time for blah, blah, blah, for coaching for this, for that. The other thing, and so their mindset right now is they are in a time warp almost. They don’t think they have time. So in order to start the process There needs to be small incremental steps and small wins that they could say this is doable. This is really doable. It doesn’t require a spa day. It doesn’t require a vacation. It doesn’t require a bubble bath where I sit still for an hour. It doesn’t require a 30 minute meditation. These are small, incremental steps that they could build into their actual workflow, that empower them to experience more of an inner peace, and that translates into money for the hospital.

Lee Kantor: Now, what was kind of the first reset that you came up with? You know, at the beginning of this.

Doreen Steenland: Yeah, I think I think always breathwork is something that everybody is really familiar with. Um, just even right now, Lee, if you just take a deep breath and inhale through your nose and exhale for longer than, um, than you normally do. So if you don’t mind, just humor me and do this with me. Sure. Take a deep breath in through your nose and exhale for a count to six. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Now do that a few times. We’re going to repeat that process. And I want to I want you to tell me what you notice in your body.

Lee Kantor: Well, the first thing I notice is my mind kind of quiets and I feel a sense of calm.

Doreen Steenland: Yeah. Yeah. And see, this is just one simple little micro shift there. There are hundreds of them that professionals and even people who sit behind desks and deal with client complaints all day can implement so that they can regain composure and regrown themselves. They’re all based in neuroscience. They all have to do with regulating the the inner world, regulating your nervous system so that you could show up as your best self.

Lee Kantor: Now, why do you think that? I mean, breathwork, I’ve heard about it. I’ve done some of it over the years. Why is it something that is just not, um, practice and known by more people? It seems so fundamental.

Doreen Steenland: Yeah, it is fundamental. And here’s the thing. Whenever we’re faced with stress, if you if you pay attention to what’s happening in your body, most of us hold our breath or breathe very shallow, or we brace ourselves for impact. That is just the way your body was designed to keep you safe. And when when professionals start to notice that they’re walking around, they’re they’re bracing a lot. They’re holding their breath a lot. They’re not really taking that deep breath. The sigh is actually your brain and body resetting your nervous system on command. That’s what it does. That’s what it was created to do. And it connects the body and the brain together. Yeah.

Lee Kantor: Now, you mentioned that this is obviously a multi-billion dollar product problem that’s affecting health care systems, big and small, all over the place. Um, are they kind of open to having conversations with you, the leadership, or is this something that they feel like this is just impossible to, to kind of deal with, even though that making even a small change would be a big deal in most, um, system health care systems, I would imagine.

Doreen Steenland: I think that the the statistics show that this is a viable space to invest in your employees for. Um, not only, um, preventing burnout and retaining your, your. Your good help, but it’s also for patient satisfaction surveys when your doctor is short or your nurse is short, stressed out, and doesn’t have time for you. How does that impact your experience in a hospital system?

Lee Kantor: Yeah, it’s not going to look good in the on those, uh, surveys.

Doreen Steenland: No. Absolutely not. So this this is a money making investment for health care facilities, for professionals, for hospitals to invest this for their employees. Now, many, um, many hospitals right now have employee assistance Programs because they are invested in providing for their employees. But the truth is that only 10% of employees actually engage in those programs, and those are the 10% that are already in in a bad state, right? Because nobody goes for help until they have to. Nobody calls the doctor unless they have to. Nobody really just seeks to say they put it off. They say, okay, I’ll deal with this tomorrow. Tomorrow will be better. We’ll have more staff. We’ll, you know, figure things out. Health care professionals were trained to self abandon to put everyone else above themselves. This was part of our training in school. This is how we were were taught. So to have them be able to notice themselves in the middle of all of this is is a huge shift.

Lee Kantor: Now, are your clients individual practitioners, or are you trying to talk to the kind of leadership of these, um, health care systems?

Doreen Steenland: Right. Yeah, I’d love to, to, um, have conversations like my ideal client is to have conversations with health care systems to get this in for all client onboarding, new nurse and physician onboarding. I’d love to see this in nursing and medical schools. I’d love to see this, um, given to every employee as a benefit so that they can have tools at their fingertips that they could do right at the bedside. They don’t need to take a break to do these tools. These are things they could do right in the middle of of handing out medications, doing procedures, talking with a patient at the bedside. They’re super practical. And that’s that’s the bottom line here. This is not a death by slide. Um, program. This is microlearning. And the statistics on microlearning right now are off the charts. Microlearning is the hottest new thing. It works because it increases retention by 80%. It increases engagement of people in the educational program by 50%. And the completion rates are quadrupled versus traditional learning methods. Traditionally, you know, we’re very scientific people in medicine. We have lots of statistics. We have lots of slides, we have lots of journal information which are all valuable. They’re all research based, and they’re all super important. But that doesn’t really tell them. All right. Everybody knows we have a burnout problem, but it doesn’t tell them how to fix it in the middle of their day. That’s what makes my product unique.

Lee Kantor: Is there any story you can share where you’ve implemented this, and either on an individual basis or a system basis, where there has been a noticeable change, where they were able to get to new levels and maybe kind of alleviate some of this burnout pain.

Doreen Steenland: Yeah. So here’s the thing I’ve had I’ve tested this extensively with individuals, and I have had report after report of, um, having increased job satisfaction again, of being stuck in traffic and having remembered one of these micro shifts and being able to control the anxiety that was bubbling, bubbling up inside of them. I’ve had, um, testimonies of people being able to speak, um, put their voice out there and ask for what they need. Because they’ve suddenly realized that. That they. It’s okay to have needs. It’s okay to to need space. It’s okay to take five minutes for a breath. It’s okay. To care for themselves so I can go on and on with testimonies about that. But, you know, I believe that this product can help the hospitals improve their numbers dramatically, dramatically.

Lee Kantor: So if somebody wants to learn more, have a more substantive conversation to discuss how to implement this type of facilitation, is there a website? What’s the best way to connect with you?

Doreen Steenland: Yes. Uh, Doreen. Com is my website, And, um, yeah, you can connect with me on LinkedIn. You can connect with me on Facebook. I’m I’m all over the internet, and I would love to have a conversation with you about how you can really, um, on a boots on the ground way impact your staff for for the good.

Lee Kantor: And that’s about d o r e e n s t e n land. Com.

Doreen Steenland: Correct. Correct.

Lee Kantor: Well, Doreen, thank you so much for sharing your story today. Doing such important work. And we appreciate you.

Doreen Steenland: Thank you for having me. Lee, I really, really appreciate it.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on High Velocity Radio.

Better Money Habits for Gen Z: Strategies to Thrive in Today’s Economic Landscape

by

Atlanta Business Radio
Atlanta Business Radio
Better Money Habits for Gen Z: Strategies to Thrive in Today’s Economic Landscape
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On this episode of Atlanta Business Radio, Lee Kantor talks with Barbie Palmer, Vice President of Business Technology Integration at Bank of America, about the Better Money Habits Gen Z Report. Barbie shares insights into Gen Z’s financial challenges, spending habits, and reliance on digital tools for money management. The discussion covers Gen Z’s attitudes toward saving, investing, and financial literacy, as well as their decreasing dependence on family support. Barbie offers practical advice for improving financial health and highlights Bank of America’s commitment to empowering young adults through accessible financial education resources.

Barbie Palmer is Business Technical Integration Manager within Operations at Bank of America.

She joined Bank of America in 1985.  Progressing through Lockbox Services senior leadership roles, she became one of the first recipients of the prestigious Global Diversity and Inclusion award in2010.

Due to her exceptional leadership and volunteer efforts, she was the recipient of the Global Diversity and Inclusion award again in 2016 and 2022. Due to Barbie’s exceptional volunteer work, she was the recipient of the Global Volunteer Award in 2018.

Active in her community,  she is a former CASA volunteer where she was the voice of children that were in the juvenile court system. She has developed partnerships and led several volunteer initiatives with the YMCA, Boys and Girls Clubs, Girls Scouts, Cool Girls, the Women of Cherith, Kindred Teen Spirited Moms, Mary Hall Freedom House and the Beverly Cunningham Outreach Program.

She has achieved milestone fundraiser amounts for United Way, Susan G. Komen and Lukemia Light the Night programs. Barbie is a recent graduate of United Way Volunteer Improvement Program.

In 2010, she was a recipient of the Neighborhood Excellence Initiative Award for developing a robust volunteer recruitment program with Operations Hope to deliver financial literacy to over 4,000 students in one year. In 2014, she was the recipient of the NAACP Jondelle Johnson Community Volunteer Award.

As the former Chair of Community Volunteers Atlanta from 2010-2014, Bank of America was recognized as the 2014 recipient of the Corporate Volunteer Council Impact Award and the 2013 recipient of the Corporate Green Day Environmental Award. In2017, she was the recipient of the Saving Our Children and Families Economic Empowerment award.

She was recently featured in Bank of America ads in 30 local market newspapers promoting her volunteer work. Barbie was also featured in 2022onward taping of iHeart Radio’s Black Information Network (BIN) for her work as a Better Money Habits Champion lead.

An Atlanta native, she received several certifications in Accounting and Management. Barbie is Greenbelt Certified. She has received a BA in Business Leadership at the University of Arizona at the highest level of summa cum laude. She serves as a mentor to new college students.

Currently she is working on her graduate degree in Organizational Management graduation in December 2025.She was inducted into the National Honor Society, Alpha Sigma Lambda and Golden Key International Honour Societies.

Connect with Barbie on LinkedIn.

What You’ll Learn In This Episode

  • How Gen Z is actually managing money in 2025
  • The cost of “adulting” and how this generation is adapting
  • Where financial wellness, mental health, and self-care intersect
  • What can Gen Z be doing to build their savings
  • What are Gen Z’s financial coping mechanisms
  • How is Gen Z tracking on financial milestones, such as saving for a home, retirement and investing

Transcript-iconThis transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix.

 

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studio in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for Atlanta Business Radio. Brought to you by Kennesaw State University’s Executive MBA program, the accelerated degree program for working professionals looking to advance their career and enhance their leadership skills. And now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here, another episode of Atlanta Business Radio. And this is going to be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor, CSU’s executive MBA program. Without them, we couldn’t be sharing these important stories. Today on the show, we have Barbie Palmer, who is Vice president, business Technology Integration with Bank of America. Welcome, Barbie.

Barbie Palmer: Hi, Lee. How are you today?

Lee Kantor: I am doing well. So excited to be talking to you. Tell us about your work at Bank of America. How are you serving folks?

Barbie Palmer: Thank you so much for that. I’m glad to be here today. Just wanted to let you know I will be celebrating 40 years with Bank of America. I will, it’s been a journey, but I am so happy that I’m able to celebrate 40 years. But I work in Treasury services. I also lead our better money habits champions within Bank of America, where we go out into into the community and make financial lives easier. So it’s been a great, great venture for me. I’m so excited.

Lee Kantor: So as part of your work, I would imagine is the release of the Bank of America’s Better Money Habits Gen Z report.

Barbie Palmer: It is correct. Today I will be reviewing the results of the Gen Z report. We had the opportunity to survey 1000 and about 100 Gen Zs to talk about engines. These are age 18 through 28, and we just had an opportunity to solicit their feedback to see how they’re managing their financial success.

Lee Kantor: So any kind of learnings you’re willing to share?

Barbie Palmer: As far as some of the findings, it was noted that Gen Z is finding adulthood more expensive than expected. Many are spending more than anticipated to cover daily costs. A third say that they feel as if they’re stressed about their finances. 52% of them are saying that those economic inabilities is primarily the root cause, and just saving continuously seems to be a struggle for much of this generation. And the charity report not being reports that it’s not being able to save as a top barrier to financial success at higher rates then in 2024. So despite financial pressure, Gen Z embraces the power of small treats. Whether to cheer themselves up or to celebrate a win. So they are also less financially dependent on their parents. Just 39% of the Gen Z are receiving financial support from family, which is down from from last year’s results. So when you think of it, Gen Z is is our next future. So we want to make sure that they have all the tools that they need in order to become more financially savvy. Thank you.

Lee Kantor: Now, how are they interacting with banks and financial institutions? Are they, you know, going into banks like maybe their parents would or are they rely primarily on digital, uh, financial services?

Barbie Palmer: So of course, Gen Z’s are more Technically savvy. They are leveraging the of course the Better Money Habits website. Which is better money have that better money habits.com. They’re leveraging those technical tools, such as visiting the budget and credit to and resources that shares all type of material and curriculum to assist them with, with understanding where to really where to start. And then in some cases, we have noted that they will from time to time seek financial advisor. But primarily they leverage remote technology and their and their phones to see what they can do to be able to manage their money coming in versus their money going out. And from there, they’re making adjustments to see what can they do differently. So definitely leveraging technology tools in order to identify I were. Room is needed for improvement.

Lee Kantor: Now, are they relying on professionals or are they kind of crowdsourcing their financial literacy? Are they leaning on sites like Reddit or some of the other kind of online portals where they could be learning about these skills? Or are they actually kind of walking into a Bank of America branch and chatting with a banker?

Barbie Palmer: So in actuality, we noticed that they’re leveraging better money habits. Com website, which is a free financial education platform designed to help people access trustworthy financial information that empowers them to improve their financial health. So we’re seeing more Gen Z’s leverage the website versus going into your typical brick and mortar. From time to time, you may see a Gen Z meeting with a financial advisor to primarily talk about investing in other, more sophisticated financial Aspects, but but 99% of the time the Gen Z are leveraging technology tools.

Lee Kantor: Now, are they kind of leaning into the power of compounding? Are they putting money aside every month to grow financially?

Barbie Palmer: Is a great question. So as far as some of the tools that Gen Z are using, of course, definitely being able to manage money more effectively. The goal is for Gen Zs to create an emergency fund, and with the emergency fund, we’re looking at saving finances for at least three months, up to a year, or whatever works best for them. So that’s one of the aspects, is for them to be able to create an emergency fund. But of course, the the most important thing is being able to leverage budgeting, saving, monitoring their credit as well as investing. Investing is is a is a great opportunity that the Gen Z are very r are very conscious of and interested in doing more. And of course, one of the things that they’re interested in, but due to some form of economic constraints is retirement. They’re looking to see what they can do for retirement planning. Saving is definitely a key component to that.

Lee Kantor: Are they still believing in the American dream?

Barbie Palmer: Absolutely. That’s a great question. They’re very they’re they’re advocates for the American dream. And I can just tell you, Leigh, I just taught financial literacy to over 50 Gen Zers from a nonprofit organization. And they were so eager to learn about what’s out there for them in order to be able to manage their money from being able to to read and understand their paycheck to being able to set up direct deposit. So instead of them getting a paper paycheck, they’ll receive that money directly into their bank bank account. And then from there, just literally setting up a savings account. And then credit is I think we spent probably about an hour talking about credit, because they want to make sure that they’re not making the wrong choices when it comes to credit, because most of the time when they go to college, they have people, they receive things in the mail saying, hey, you can get this credit card, and of course you’ll get this big gift. But they never tell them about the impact when they go and charge their credit card to the to the, to, to the max, and then they have to pay it off.

Lee Kantor: So you feel like they’re more literate maybe than previous generations when it comes to managing that type of debt.

Barbie Palmer: Based on my understanding and what I have witnessed over my 15 years of being a better Money Harvest champion, I would definitely, definitely say yes, that they feel as if the tools are out there primarily resources. They can just use their phone and search for having issues with saving and from there things pop up primarily. Better money happens if they enter w WW dot better money habits.com. They’re able to search by credit savings budgeting, investing. All of those things are readily available at their fingertips. Whereas other generations when you think of baby boomers, they may not have had the tools. Of course, they didn’t have the tools that’s in front of the Gen Z that they have today to assist them with being more financially savvy.

Lee Kantor: So is this generation actively investing or are they, um, kind of waiting until they get a little more financially stable?

Barbie Palmer: So I would just say about 35% of Gen z C investments as a key marker of financial independence. Yet only 21% of Gen Z invested in the stock market over the past year, which of course is higher than last year, which is which was 15%. They’re well aware of the importance of retirement planning, but saving for the future is a luxury much of this generation can’t afford right now. But the ultimate goal is to be able to start saving and leveraging the tools that they have in front of them to ensure that they’re making the right decisions that will not impact them in the future. But 1 in 10 say they don’t think that they will be able to invest or may have enough money to retire comfortably. So there’s still a lot of work to be done. But there are some great tools out there to assist us in getting to a point where they can retire comfortably, as well as they can invest without having any, any bad results of it.

Lee Kantor: Now, um, in your experience working with so many Gen Zs and, um, and in the work you’re doing, is there any tangible, actionable advice that a Gen Z can be doing right now or in the near future in order to build their savings?

Barbie Palmer: Absolutely. Great question. Some things that they can start doing right now is of course, I would recommend that they. Manage their money through knowing what’s coming in and what’s going out. Creating a savings account. Setting goals for savings. Continuously check your bank statement. Check receipts. Shop at lower price grocery stores. Look for affordable housing. Paying your bills early versus on time and then transferring money to savings. So those are some some tools that can definitely help us to get on the right track to being financially stable.

Lee Kantor: So based on the report, what kind of sets Gen Z apart from other generations?

Barbie Palmer: That is a great question. I would say primarily, as I mentioned earlier, Gen Z’s are eager. They want to be able to save money and be financially stable. Being open about their finances is one of the key contributors. So naturally talking about it to their family members, being transparent, talking to their friends, they don’t let peer pressure stand in the way of them establishing their financial goals. And then they don’t feel, as I mentioned, pressured from friends if they may have to cut out going out on the weekend because they’re spending more money versus staying home cooking their own meals. And then also, I would just say 42% of Gen Z say they are comfortable turning down social plans and just solely admitting I can’t afford it. Some people won’t say that, and they’ll continue to spend and spend and spend, but Gen Zs are aware of what’s going on. So in response to the rising cost of living, they’re passing up on those great events with friends and save money. So the biggest thing when it comes. Even when it comes to dating, Gen Z’s priority prioritizes financial responsibility. In a romantic partner, those are some things that they look for in order to set themselves apart from other generations.

Lee Kantor: If somebody wants to learn more about the report and about the website, what is the best way to do that?

Barbie Palmer: Yes, the best way to find out about the report is to visit Bank of America, and you can learn more about the report. There’s also the report is also listed under Gen Z. So you can you can click on the link for Gen Z. And it will give you all the tools that you need in order to see the results of the actual survey.

Lee Kantor: Well, Barbie, thank you so much for sharing your story today, doing such important work, and we appreciate you.

Barbie Palmer: Thank you so much. I greatly appreciate your time. I wanted to leave you with just one comment. At Bank of America, we’re We’re very committed to helping people lead better lives. We are helping them with all the skills and knowledge and tools that they need in order to be successful. We encourage all of our our clients to leverage the Bank of America website. We currently have over 500 better money habitat champions like myself, who go out into the community to promote Bank of America curriculum. I wish that I would have learned this earlier on in life. So to our Gen Z’s, you’re not giving up. We know you’re not giving up. You got this. A reminder please go to Better Money Habits. Com to learn more. Thank you so much.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on Atlanta Business Radio.

From Diagnosis to Empowerment: Shayne Swift’s Journey in ADHD Coaching and Expressive Arts

by

High Velocity Radio
High Velocity Radio
From Diagnosis to Empowerment: Shayne Swift’s Journey in ADHD Coaching and Expressive Arts
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In this episode of High Velocity Radio, Lee Kantor is joined by Shayne Swift, an ADHD coach and expressive arts facilitator with Swift Lyfe Coaching and Consulting. Shayne shares her late ADHD diagnosis at 38, her journey from educator to coach, and how she supports clients nationwide through virtual sessions. She discusses creative strategies, including art and community-building, to help clients manage ADHD. Shayne also introduces her workbook, designed to guide individuals through the emotional stages of diagnosis, and highlights the importance of self-advocacy and connection.

If ADHD were a superpower, Shayne Swift would be its wise and witty mentor. Diagnosed at 38, Shayne transformed her whirlwind experiences—think “Chatty Cathy meets postural sway champion”—into a thriving career as the Founder of Swift Lyfe Coaching and Consulting.

With credentials as impressive as her ability to juggle a million ideas (hello, ACC certification and a Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction!), she specializes in ADHD coaching, life coaching, and education consulting. She’s on a mission to help clients turn their “scatterbrain” moments into strategies for success.

Her approach is a delightful mix of empathy, expertise, and hilarity. She doesn’t just “get it”—she’s lived it. From navigating her own ADHD challenges to raising a daughter with the same diagnosis, she’s the real deal. Whether it’s demystifying ADHD in the BIPOC community or sharing her adventures of body doubling and DMV escapades, Shayne knows how to turn struggles into relatable, actionable insights.

At Swift Lyfe, she creates spaces where clients are seen, heard, and equipped with tools to thrive. Her coaching isn’t just about managing life—it’s about embracing your quirks, unlocking your potential, and laughing along the way.

Ready to take your journey from chaos to clarity? Shayne’s your guide, cheerleader, and (when needed) a dose of tough love. Dive into the Swift Lyfe experience and see why ADHD isn’t a flaw—it’s your greatest asset.

Connect with Shayne on LinkedIn, Instagram and Youtube.

What You’ll Learn In This Episode

  • How do creativity and art unlock new pathways for neurodivergent individuals—especially those with ADHD
  • About the Chaos2Clarity community
  • What are the biggest misconceptions about motivation, and what tools actually help people get started
  • Her book Grieving Differently.

Transcript-iconThis transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix.

 

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for High Velocity Radio.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor hear another episode of High Velocity Radio and this is going to be a good one. Today on the show, we have Shayne Swift, who is with Swift Lyfe Coaching and Consulting. Welcome.

Shayne Swift: Thank you. Thank you so much for welcoming me. Nice to meet you.

Lee Kantor: Nice meeting you. I am so excited to learn about your practice. Tell us a little bit about your practice. How are you serving folks?

Shayne Swift: So I am an ADHD and, uh, coach and expressive arts facilitator, and I serve clients nationally because all of my coaching is virtual and I enjoy supporting people with managing their ADHD, getting a better understanding of how their brain works, and helping them implement strategies in their lives so that they can be more fulfilled, more purposeful, and more successful.

Lee Kantor: So what’s your backstory? How did you get involved in this line of work?

Shayne Swift: Well, at the age of eight, I knew I learned very differently from other people, but I had no idea why. Fast forward 30 years later. I’m 38 years old and getting an ADHD diagnosis myself, so I consider myself the help that I never had in school. And in my first in the start of my professional career and want to be that support for other neurodivergent.

Lee Kantor: Now, in your practice, how do you go about getting clients? Is this something that you have to work with? Practitioners who have identified this in their patients and they say, hey, maybe you should talk to Shane.

Shayne Swift: And that is a way that I get clients as a referral, but usually people find me on ADHD coaching directories because consumers know that we’ve been vetted if we are a part of the directory. And so usually that’s how people find me. So through attitude magazine, echo, which is the ADHD coaches organization. So people find me typically through those means or they find me on LinkedIn.

Lee Kantor: And is ADHD. Is it being found in people sooner than I mean, in your case? Obviously it was much later.

Shayne Swift: So basically, women seem to be diagnosed later than men because of the way it manifests itself. So, for example, um, as an elementary school student, I was the proverbial Chatty Cathy. And that is an underlying symptom for girls with ADHD, but I was just told I was talking too much, and it wasn’t until I was 38 that all of the dots were filled in and put together that the way that my ADHD was manifesting itself in elementary school is a bit different. So there’s a lot more light shedding on girls getting earlier diagnoses based on, um, this new set of criteria that we’re able to look at.

Lee Kantor: And then once you kind of understood that, how was that like what then what became actionable that you were able to, um, see things differently or do things differently?

Shayne Swift: Yeah. So first I had to get over being diagnosed. Um, because there are things that come up like shame and fear and anger. Um, so once getting over that, I knew that I had to do things very differently for myself. So I am a slave to my calendar. And so if it is not on my calendar, it is probably not going to happen. So I schedule time blocks and things like that. I have several reminders on the back of my Google calendar, so I get like seven reminders per event that goes on my calendar. Um, and I stretch them out to like two weeks before the event is supposed to start, so that I’m getting reminders in case there’s something I need to prepare, um, prior to the arrival of that particular date. Um, another example would be using an Eisenhower matrix. Um, on Sunday nights, I typically do this. Um, and that helps me prioritize the things that I need to do for the week. So what’s urgent? What can be scheduled? Is there anything I can delegate to someone else? So those are some of the strategies that I use to support myself and share with clients.

Lee Kantor: So how did a kind of your artistic expression fall into this?

Shayne Swift: Um, that’s a great question, honestly. Um, after 30 years in education and being burned out. Um, from the classroom to being a school founder, uh, it was a really difficult decision for me to leave, um, the school that I co-founded. And I found myself needing to resort to something to help me heal. Um, because I was going from being in a community of people all day. Teachers, students. You know, it’s fairly busy at a high school to working remotely. And that was really challenging for me. Um, so I got into AI art. Um, to kind of work through that and then realize that other things were happening with me, such as, um, my ability to regulate my emotions as an ADHD er was changing as a result of this, um, daily art practice. Um, I, uh, felt more creative. Um, um, as I did that and also my blood pressure was lowered as a result of doing the art. So I said, you know what? Something something is happening with me that I think I need to be able to share with other people. And so I decided, because I’m a serial learner. Um, I decided to, um, take an expressive arts courts to get that certification. And I use it with my clients now, and I, I love it. My clients love it.

Lee Kantor: So what? What? So you kind of stumbled into this? I art like it was just you were curious about it, and you’re like, let me see if I can do it. And you started playing and all of a sudden you’re like, I have an aptitude for this.

Shayne Swift: Yeah, absolutely. That’s that is exactly how it happened.

Lee Kantor: So what was your first kind of things you were experimenting with with the AI because it’s changing so rapidly? I mean, they have new, uh, you know, new improvements almost on a daily basis nowadays.

Shayne Swift: Yeah. So my first few pieces honestly were about expressing, um, how I feel as an ADHD, or so you know, some days or, you know, smooth and other days are really rough. And so I would create these characters that had these different facial expressions on them. Um, and that helped me to be able to unmask and explain ADHD to other people very differently. So I can actually give you an example, um, something that I had been struggling with for years. My my sister and her husband have these, um, big barbecues at their house. And, um, I would always say I was going to come and and then somehow I would find my way out of not coming. And, you know, people started to think that I was a bit flaky. But honestly, being around that, you know, such a big group of people and the sounds and the smells and, you know, there’s a couple dogs and I found it to be very overwhelming, um, as an ADHD. So, you know, like places like Chuck E Cheese and Dave and Buster’s, um, I can’t tolerate being in those environments. But for so long because of the sensory overload that I experienced. And so I finally, after, you know, having done this art practice and really sharing, you know, who I am as an ADHD, I was able to say to my sister, hey, I just I just want to come to your house when nobody else is there. Um, because I get really overwhelmed and I find myself, like, retreating to the bathroom or to a corner. Um, you know, just to kind of take a breath and and and reset myself.

Lee Kantor: And your art has progressed to the point where now it’s on sale. I was on your website. It’s beautiful.

Shayne Swift: Yes. Thank you. Yes. Um, so I said, well, why not monetize it? Um, and this is how I’m able to keep a couple of pro bono, um, coaching clients. Um, by, um, supplementing my income with my art practice.

Lee Kantor: And so you find that art, or at least creative expression, is useful for folks that are suffering with ADHD or living with ADHD.

Shayne Swift: Absolutely. Um, because we’re non-linear thinkers, and traditional forms of communication or self-regulation may not work for us. Um, we feel, uh, very deeply, a lot more than other people. And so movement and color and sound and story, um, our ways to kind of bypass shame and access, like our personal truths, so to speak. Um, and it’s a great way for clients to, like, externalize their emotions. Um, find patterns of behaviors that they may want to work. Work on or process certain experiences in their lives.

Lee Kantor: Now, you mentioned earlier, coming from, uh, education background. Um, it sounds like community is super important, uh, for you and, and even now in your work today, you have the chaos, the clarity community you’re building. Can you talk a little bit about that?

Shayne Swift: Yes. So I’m really excited about the chaos, the clarity community because my belief is, um. Navigating ADHD is not a solo mission. Uh, it requires, um, being able to share experiences with other people who are going through the same thing. So, um, we talk about so there’s there’s a course in there called Kickstart Coach where, um, you know, if you’re not 1 to 1 coaching with me but want support, you know, you’re learning how to navigate, um, procrastination by using the task initiation strategies that are a part of the course. Um, we talk about wellness. Um, we talk about, um, self-advocacy in our community. And I also provide body doubling. So body doubling is an opportunity for people to virtually co work um together. And it works. So I hop on and some of my clients or others in the community may jump on as well. Um we set our goals at the beginning of the session, and people will let us know if they want to check in or not, you know, while they’re on and people work, I put on some focus music. Um, typically I, you know, take into consideration like which clients, um, show up and cater the focus music. There it’s usually in it’s always an instrumental, um, that I play and it is an opportunity for people to just get stuff done. So I’ve had people clean their pantries. I’ve had people wash dishes, cook, um, worked on their LinkedIn profile, uh, work on their resume. Um, some of the clients that I have are entrepreneurs, so they’ll work on their, um, tasks that they have. So it’s a really cool way to, um, support each other and hold each other accountable. Um, and it’s without pressure. It’s just, um, connection. And it’s an opportunity for people to really, like, unmask, um, in the community.

Lee Kantor: Now having a background in education and working with young people. Do you have, um, is that your target audience for your coaching, or do you coach people of all ages?

Shayne Swift: Yeah, I actually have, um, three types of clients I coach, so I do coach, um, high school, uh, clients in college, college students. Um, so that’s one bracket. Then I have, um, folks that are in their 30s, um, who usually want to change careers, um, or they’re in some kind of transition. And then I have the late diagnosed, um, people like me. So, like, my oldest client is 59 and just recently diagnosed a year ago, a woman. Um, and so I have different, different kinds of clients. Um, so typically the clients that are my age are burned out, um, and ready to move on to like what I call the encore career. Um, my millennial clients typically, um, are transitioning and want support for the work that they’re currently doing. And then, of course, our focus with teen clients and college students are more on supporting them through their academic journey.

Lee Kantor: Now, is there any kind of clues for a person that might be listening and maybe hasn’t been diagnosed, but maybe they are ADHD? Is there some things that are kind of I don’t want to say symptoms, but at least signals that maybe that you are ADHD.

Shayne Swift: Yeah. So I think one common thing is, um, sleep. It’s very difficult. Um, sometimes it’s very difficult for people to go to sleep that have ADHD or stay asleep. Um, sometimes we find ourselves up ruminating. So that is, uh, one thing. And And we’re definitely, um. We definitely have FOMO. You know, so by the time you come home, you’re ready to unwind and do finally do something for yourself. And so people find themselves up late on their phones or playing video games or watching television. Um, we’re fairly creative people, and we don’t like following rules. Um, so a lot of, um, ADHD or ADHD ers find themselves as entrepreneurs, um, for that reason. Um, another thing is really, um, being able to start on a task, um, without external motivation. So that’s a challenge for people with ADHD. So we typically need novelty interests and a deep why to get started. So we literally need to trick our brains. Um, to get started with tasks that aren’t that interested in us. Like, um, you know. Opening mail is not very interesting. So, you know, how do I do that and get it done? Because I know there are bills in there. Um, maybe I’m playing music. Maybe I’m going to a different setting, um, to do it. Maybe I’m talking on the phone with a friend while I’m opening mail, because that’s a form of body doubling. Um, so those are the types of things that we usually see. Um, with folks with ADHD. But there are a lot of strengths as well. We’re very creative people, very empathetic, um, people. And so those are the, the other things that come to mind. Um, that kind of signal, um, that someone may have ADHD.

Lee Kantor: Now are they’re like, how do you get diagnosed? Do you have to go to a doctor, or is this something that there’s assessments or on the internet, like websites you can go to to check if maybe you are. How do you even kind of identify.

Shayne Swift: Yeah. So my process, um, because it was some time ago was, um, to see a psychiatrist, and the psychiatrist did a fairly, um, in-depth intake. And basically, the goal is to see that if do these things happen across different settings, so does the, you know, is am I being affected in my personal life, my, um, my work life, um, any other settings that I’m in, um, that the symptoms may happen. Um, there is testing, neuropsychological testing that people can get done. It is very expensive and insurance companies may or may not cover it. Um, and so the best way, you know, the, the greatest way to get the diagnosis is, is, of course, in grade school where you can have, um, the support of the school, um, doing the assessment and pick up the tab for it. Um, so when you’re an adult with ADHD, you know people may tend not to move forward with diagnosis because of the cost.

Lee Kantor: So now to work with you, obviously you don’t have to have kind of an official diagnosis if you’re feel like you are ADHD. You’ll work with those folks too. Right.

Shayne Swift: Absolutely. I’ve had a couple of people who have said they’re there. They are not officially diagnosed, but they believe they have it. Um, and I’ve been supporting them, just like I would support, um, any of my other clients.

Lee Kantor: Now, is there any kind of tools for somebody who might be suffering, like, is there low hanging fruit that a person could do right now? Something actionable that, hey, if you have this, this might, uh, you know, give you more comfort or relieve some suffering or just make you feel better.

Shayne Swift: Yeah. So, um, emotional regulation is a challenge for people with ADHD. Um, and so. Easy things to do. Are developing a meditation practice. Now, a lot of folks with ADHD would tell you that meditation is hard, but I think we need to reframe what it means to meditate. It could be journaling, um, quiet journaling. It could be just protected time for yourself. Um, where you’re checking out of, you know, technology and you just have time to think. Maybe it’s a walk. Um, maybe it is a guided meditation. Um, but those things are really helpful. Mindfulness is is super helpful for people with ADHD. Um, especially if they have challenges with emotional regulation. Um, the other thing is just doing a brain dump, like at the, you know, at the beginning of your week, um, all the things that you need to get done, but not with the goal of overwhelming yourself, doing the brain dump and then separating Doing what needs to be done immediately from what needs to be done. What could wait until later on in the week? Or perhaps the following week? Um, that’s an easy go to strategy. Um, that someone could could do.

Lee Kantor: Now, in addition to your coaching and the community building and your art, you also found time to, uh, write a book, grieving differently. Uh, can you talk a little bit about that?

Shayne Swift: Yeah. So actually, um, I had done a form of pictures initially, and I. And I left it sitting for months, and then I had a client who inspired me to move forward. I actually lost him as a client. Um, I lost him as a client because everyone is not ready for coaching, and he was grappling more with the diagnosis than anything else, And he chose to move toward therapy. And I said, you know what? I would like to develop this thing that I’ve been working on more so that I can support people through the first part of their diagnosis. Because I remember my time, um, being diagnosed, I was shocked. Um, and I was very angry, especially at my mom, because she had been, um, she has a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. And I said, Ma, you know, you kept calling me scatterbrained and clumsy and this, this, that and the other. And, you know, like, I had a nickname called The banana Queen because I would always wait tomorrow to do something I said, and it was ADHD. And she said, well, I didn’t know, you know. So I wanted to make something that could support the old me that went through that process and this, um, client that I lost as well, so I started playing. The images were already made and so I decided, okay, well, what kind of text could go with this? And because I had just finished the Expressive Arts course, I just kind of blended everything together. So really, it’s a workbook that takes you through the different stages of grief, but through an ADHD lens. So what it’s like to feel shame with the diagnosis? Um, there’s fear with the diagnosis, but the last part of the book is really about the New horizons, um, that can come out of this because you learn, um, you know, that you’re not broken. Your brain is just wired differently. And then the very last stage is advocacy, you know, getting to a point where you can either self advocate or start advocating for others with ADHD.

Lee Kantor: Well, Shane, it has been a delight chatting with you today. If is there a website or a place to connect? If people want to learn more about your coaching, your book, your art, um, all the things that you have got going on. Is there a kind of a central location for all this?

Shayne Swift: Yeah. So the central location would be my website. That’s w ww dot swift life. So s w t l y f e.com.

Lee Kantor: Well, Shane, thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.

Shayne Swift: Thank you. Lee, thank you so much for having me on and I appreciate our time together. Thank you.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on High Velocity Radio.

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