Ronderings

Chris Thompson, CFA, went from training to be a mechanic at a Brooklyn vocational high school to managing over a billion dollars on Wall Street. The thing that changed his trajectory wasn't talent. It was a math teacher who told him he was good at something he couldn't yet see in himself.

In this episode of Ronderings, Ron sits down with Chris Thompson, impact investor, executive coach, and JP Morgan investment banking alum,...

Career expert Jeremy Schifeling says a referral used to give you a 10x edge in hiring. In today's AI-flooded job market, it's now 20x, because trust is the one thing a machine can't fake.

In this episode of Ronderings, Ron sits down with Jeremy Schifeling, founder of The Job Insiders and best-selling author of the top LinkedIn and AI job-search books on Amazon, for a conversation about how to actually get hired when applying...

Some leaders climb out of a system and never look back. Dr. Patrick Fagan climbed out of New York City Public Schools and came back to lead it.

In this episode of Ronderings, Ron sits down with Dr. Patrick Fagan, Chief Talent and Human Resources Officer for New York City Public Schools, the largest school system in the nation, for a conversation about what it takes to lead people at a scale most of us will never touch.

Born in London...

Most people think legacy is about dying. Shawna Wells builds her whole life around the opposite idea: legacy is about living, and you are leaving one with every choice you make right now.

In this episode of Ronderings, Ron sits down with Shawna Wells, CEO of 7Gen Legacy Group, executive coach, and self-described generationalist, for a conversation about leadership, generational thinking, and what it actually means to live a ...

Board-certified psychotherapist Jessica Muñoz calls herself a visible survivor of gender-based violence and an expert in re-traumatizing systems designed to help. She built The Business of Healing™ to train the rooms most likely to encounter a survivor first: hotels, gyms, courts, workplaces.

In this episode of Ronderings, Ron sits down with Jessica, founder of The Business of Healing™ and a survivor leader with Sanctuary fo...

In this episode of Ronderings, Ron sits down with Wenimo Okoya, educator, public health scholar, and founder of Healing Schools Project, for a conversation about why community itself is medicine and why the adults carrying the most trauma are the ones being asked to deliver wellness frameworks for kids.

Wenimo's path runs from a Newark classroom (where she lost her job in the Christie-era budget cuts that brought the Zuckerb...

Revenue strategist and third-generation entrepreneur Amirah Raveneau-Bey has spent 25 years inside Citibank, Zillow, Trulia, NerdWallet, and Opendoor. The truth she keeps coming back to: you cannot scale a business you are not personally growing into.

In this episode of Ronderings, Ron sits down with Amirah, founder of Grow Scale Develop, to talk about why what looks like a revenue problem is almost always a leadership probl...

Education leader Jameelah Stuckey has built a career across finance, classroom teaching, school founding, and national education research, and she did it without losing the softness her father told her to protect.

In this episode of Ronderings, Ron sits down with Jameelah, senior manager at TNTP and education chair of the Greater Tulsa Area African American Affairs Commission, to talk about identity, neurodivergence, advocac...

Dr. Abiodun Durojaye arrived in the United States at nine years old from Nigeria, and by fourth grade she had learned two things: she was Black in America, and the name her father gave her would not fit in the spaces she was trying to enter.

In this episode of Ronderings, Ron sits down with Dr. Abiodun Durojaye, founder of AsidaLove and former CEO of Urban Alliance, to talk about identity, gratitude, motherhood, and why love...

From a special education classroom in West Philadelphia to corporate philanthropy at Vanguard, Nicholas Pascale has spent two decades building his career the same way he builds everything: through relationships. 

In this episode of Ronderings, Ron sits down with Nicholas, a former SPED teacher, principal, district leader, and nonprofit consultant who now works on Vanguard's Community Stewardship team. Nicholas grew up in a work...

Leadership coach and former statewide education CEO Dr. Maya M. Faison knows what it looks like when organizations want your brilliance but not your voice, and she is done staying quiet about it. 

In this episode of Ronderings, Ron sits down with Maya, founder of Faison Advisory Group and creator of the UNMUTED coaching experience, to talk about what it actually costs black women to lead inside systems that were never designed ...

Hector Calderón grew up watching the South Bronx burn, taught himself English through Gilligan's Island tapes, and went on to co-found the first Human Rights High School in the nation. 

In this episode of Ronderings, Ron sits down with Hector Calderón, co-founder and former principal of El Puente Academy for Peace and Justice, educator, racial justice facilitator, and leadership coach with over 25 years of experience building l...

Mindfulness coach and professional development consultant Amanda Muhammad knows what burnout looks like from the inside, and she built a company to help organizations do something about it. 

In this episode of Ronderings, Ron sits down with Amanda, founder of Mako Mindfulness, to explore workplace stress management, psychological safety, and what it genuinely takes to build a culture where people can show up at their best. ...

From Silicon Valley innovator to neuroscience educator, Ellen Petry Leanse explores what happens when we stop separating creativity from analytical thinking and begin using the full capacity of the human mind.

In this episode of the Ronderings podcast, Ron Rapatalo speaks with Ellen about her unusual path from a curious child interested in both science and art to a decade-long career at Apple during the company’s early years. ...

What does it take to lead real change inside systems that weren’t built for you? In this episode of Ronderings, Dr. Natalie Neris shares how mentorship, faith, and integrity shaped her journey from Chicago classrooms to systems-level leadership helping organizations turn bold visions into lasting change.

Natalie reflects on her upbringing in Chicago and how a life-changing mentor helped her navigate college and discover her p...

From strategic communication to leadership intelligence, Danielle Kristine Toussaint shares how saying what you mean can transform how leaders build trust, align teams, and lead through uncertainty.

In this conversation, Ron sits down with Danielle Kristine Toussaint, founder and CEO of Purple Haus, to talk about how authentic communication shapes powerful leadership. Danielle reflects on how early encouragement from family ...

From competitive dancer to higher education strategist, Dr. Chantelle George shares how discipline, ambition, and identity shaped her leadership journey. 

Raised in Lafayette, Louisiana, Chantelle grew up in a family grounded in education and service. Today, she is the CEO and founder of CG Consulting, a national firm working across K-12, higher education, nonprofits, and workforce systems to expand access and economic ...

From corporate finance to education equity, Nick Freeman didn’t take the expected path. 

At 26, with an MBA and master’s in finance in hand, he walked away from the corporate world and stepped into Chicago Public Schools. What he saw there (school closures, resource disparities, and the weight of systemic inequity) reshaped his career and his calling. 

Today, Nick is the Co-founder and Chief Growth Officer of In...

From a student activist placed on a no-fly list to White House policy leader to an equity-driven consultant in Canada, Chris Harley shares how a lifetime of intersectional leadership shaped her mission to help organizations lead with courage, clarity, and care.

Chris is a nonprofit leader, fractional executive, and strategic advisor with more than fifteen years of experience guiding mission-driven organizations through growth and tr...