I'm Here Too

What would make you walk away from a Fortune 500 career to become an “old founder?”In this episode, I reconnect with my middle school buddy, Jon Zweifler. We talk about hitting a ceiling in your career and what happens when you realize there is no “next job” that will teach you something new. Jon shares his journey from the Fortune 500 to life as a tech founder who is building Reed AI from the ground up to turn real-world language into learnable moments for neurodivergent kids and how his personal journey inspired a platform helping children make more sense of the world around them. We also get into parenting in a rapidly changing world, including the realization that some teenagers don’t see the point of having a driver’s license, what it’s like to raise a child without a clear timetable or milestones, and letting go of velocity when you are wired to optimize everything.Jon’s lightning round answers don’t disappoint. He manages to choose both options on more than one occasion, makes a bold claim about Carmen San Diego, and has a relatable insight as to why he didn’t need to watch The Real World.Join us as we talk about the long game of doing the work, even when there are no guarantees.

“You have to live as you're going to your objectives. You can't just wait for them.”Kahwa and I met in elementary school. We grew up together at the same small private school in New Jersey and lost close track when her family moved in middle school.On September 11, 2001, she was working at the IMF in Washington, D.C. That experience and the very specific decision she made the next day became a guiding principle for her.During our conversation, we talk about protecting your time. About choosing space over status as members of a generation that was trained to optimize for both. About growing up multiracial, having hair that wasn’t like our classmates. We talk about why she enjoys having Scotland as a second home, losing a parent, and what happened when she had a baby she wasn't planning for in her 40s.About Kahwa DouoguihKahwa is an entrepreneur, economist and educator committed to creating and growing business ventures and sustainable solutions in Africa and helping the next generation develop a globalized perspective in business and entrepreneurship. She has a broad scope of international experience in Africa and the Americas in the areas of economics, development and finance at both public and private sector institutions including the Vale (Inco), Africa Finance Corporation, IMF and several start-up ventures. She is on the Board of Directors of local and multinational manufacturing, natural resource and economic development organizations.

In this episode, I reconnect with Sunil Ayyagari, someone I’ve known since we were kids, to talk about time, identity, ambition, and what it looks like to build a life that surprises you.Sunil reflects on growing up queer in the late 80s and 90s, when stigma and fear shaped what was visible, and how pop culture touchstones like Madonna and Pedro Zamora, plus early AOL chat rooms, helped him piece together a sense of self. We talk about moving to New York, working in theater, and the moment he realized the dream had limits, including burnout, money, and the feeling of hitting a ceiling.From there, he walks through a full reset in his early thirties: business school, a new industry, a new city, and eventually marriage and a move back to North Jersey. We also get into attention and technology, what we miss about appointment TV and mixtapes, and how our cohort came of age before constant connectivity, then got addicted anyway.At its heart, this conversation asks: what happens when the life you thought you wanted changes?About Sunil AyyagariSunil Ayyagari works in brand strategy and innovation for national and global brands.  From 60+ theater productions, to sexual lubricants to soup, he’s had the opportunity to market a diverse range of products, keeping the work days interestingOutside of work, Sunil’s passions include the performing arts, fundraising for the MS Society of NJ,  and seeing the world with his husband of 7 years.  He’s also a cat dad, with two children named Biscuit and Gravy, who are delicious as they sound. 

If you graduated from college in the early 2000s, this one might feel familiar.Jeff and I have known each other since nursery school. Back then, we were trying to sell “pencils” made out of sticks. By the time we graduated from college in 2001, the message was clear: there was a hierarchy of “good jobs.” Consulting. Finance. Real estate. There was real social pressure to choose the prestigious path, even if you weren’t entirely sure it fit.We reflect on what that moment and the myth that adults have it figured out. The realization that nobody gets a playbook for career, parenting, or midlife. You hit the milestones, but you’re constantly learning in real time.From there, we talk about changing values. Status versus time. Technology and boundaries. Jeff’s CB radio and longing for a vintage Apple IIE or IIC. Friendship in adulthood. And the decision to design a life where, as Jeff puts it, you have a sidewalk that goes somewhere.About Jeff GurtmanJeff Gurtman is a hospitality professional and art dealer with a career built around a sharp eye for detail and a low tolerance for mediocre service. He believes the smallest moments—timing, tone, follow-through—are what define a great experience, and has spent years helping luxury brands refine those moments in ways that actually work in the real world.His early training dates to a Montessori classroom alongside his oldest friend and podcast host, Ara, where the two first crossed paths washing tables and cutting carrots. While neither knew it at the time, this was Jeff’s introduction to systems, standards, and doing things properly the first time—skills he’s been applying (with slightly higher stakes) ever since.Earlier in his career, Jeff worked in media as a basic cable television host on TLC and the Travel Channel, where he covered travel and hospitality—an experience that, while firmly in the past, still tends to come up at cocktail parties and company “get to know you” sessions, usually as a subtle (and occasionally not-so-subtle) flex.Today, Jeff runs a boutique consulting firm, partnering with leading hotels, resorts, and brands to elevate service through practical, experience-driven evaluation. In parallel, he is the co-founder of Essex Co Vintage (@essexcovintage), where he operates as an art dealer, sourcing and curating vintage pieces with character, history, and just the right amount of weird.

If you’re somewhere between 40 and 55, chronologically or otherwise, this one might feel familiar.Mayuri and I have known each other since we were kids. This year marks 25 years since we graduated from college in 2001. Our conversation begins with the strange mix of sadness and surprise that comes with realizing how fast that happened. When your doctor is suddenly younger than you. When you still feel like a younger version of yourself, even when the mirror disagrees.We talk about the New York we imagined in our twenties, shaped by Rent and Sex and the City, and what it was actually like to arrive in New York City in 2001. That October, Mayuri started at the Public Art Fund, presenting contemporary art in public space in a city still processing 9/11.From there we get into nonprofit leadership, burnout in the arts, and the moment you realize being “in charge” doesn’t always mean being equipped to lead. We end with reflecting on what it’s like to grow up before constant connectivity, the beauty of silence and longing, as well as what it takes to sustain a creative practice.About Mayuri Chandra:Mayuri Chandra (pronouns: she/her/hers) is a passionate advocate for the arts, deeply committed to advancing equity. She believes in the transformative effects of the arts on youth development and as such, for almost 20 years, has worked for museums and nonprofits around the world, developing educational and community programs. Her early career started in NYC (presenting contemporary art in public spaces with Public Art Fund); on to Boston (developing education programs at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston); then to London (heritage educational programs), and is currently at Arts Ed Newark, a collective impact initiative in Newark, NJ, ensuring access to and opportunity in arts education. She has, for multiple years served as National Juror for the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards; In 2022, was an Americans for the Arts’ Arts and Culture Leaders of Color Fellows panelist; We Need Diverse Books judge (2021); Morris Arts Local Grants panel juror (mult. years); Newark ArtStart juror (mult. years). An avid reader, she was selected to be a volunteer reader for CRAFT (2026) and you can also read her (guest) book reviews on #BrownGirlBookshelf.

We thought adulthood was the destination. It turns out it's only a stop along the way.Seven guests. Real conversations about burnout, reinvention, parenting, ambition, responsibility, and what it actually feels like to be in your forties and fifties.We'll bring the honest conversation. You bring the mixtape.

If you’ve listened to any of the full length conversations or bonus episodes this season, or even just parts of them, you might be wondering what to do with what you heard.Not in a big, life-overhaul way. More like: what’s actually useful right now?This short companion episode offers a simple way to take the themes from Season Two into the week ahead. It names the core themes that came up across the conversations and offers a few practical questions to help you orient yourself, especially if time and energy are limited.This is not a recap and not advice. It’s a way to use these conversations as resources.If five minutes is all you have, that’s enough.

This bonus episode is for people who have been doing this for a while.Not just starting out. Not in the honeymoon phase. Somewhere in the long middle.Drawing from conversations across Season Two, this episode brings together voices reflecting on time passing, changing seasons, and what it looks like to stay with creative work when momentum slows, clarity fades, or life intervenes.You won’t hear neatly packaged origin stories or easy breakthrough moments here. Instead, you’ll hear people talking honestly about grief, fatigue, uncertainty, and the decision to keep going even when the work changes shape or pace.This episode isn’t meant to resolve anything. It’s meant to offer company and context for those navigating the long arc of a creative life.Listen on its own, or as a companion to the full-length conversations featured throughout Season Two.

In this episode, I talk to brand strategist James Wu, founder of Studio Tomo, about creativity as a collective practice rather than a solo pursuit.James shares how his early love of album art, magazines, and design shaped his understanding of brand as feeling and experience. He traces his career from digital advertising to nonprofit work, and eventually to founding Studio Tomo, a studio built around collaboration, empathy, and mission-driven work.We explore how creative teams function best when they reflect the communities they serve, why relationship-building matters more than efficiency, and how misunderstandings can be navigated through trust, vulnerability, and time. James also reflects on parenting, leadership, burnout, and the cost of empathy when it becomes overextended.This is a conversation about building creative ecosystems, honoring lived experience, and sustaining work that is thoughtful, relational, and grounded in care.About James James Wu has 20+ years experience partnering with leaders building a more just, fair, and interdependent world. As the Founder and Managing Director of Studio Tomo, and as a freelance strategist with agencies like Pentagram, Gretel, Johnson Banks, and Hyperakt, he's had the privilege of working with National Geographic, Duolingo, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, Natural Resources Defense Council, WITNESS, PolicyLink, Philadelphia Art Museum, Kripalu, and the United Nations Development Programme. Previously, he was a Partner and Head of Strategy at A—B Partners (now NewWorld) where he was a member of the executive leadership team and helped build brands and campaigns for organizations working on climate justice, disinformation, reparations, criminal justice reform, and gender and reproductive justice.Prior to this role, James served as a Senior Strategist at SYP where he led Fortune 500 executives through large-scale transformation; Head of Branding for the nonprofit impact investor, Acumen; Executive Assistant to the Vice President of Planning & Development at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM); and Director of Business Development for the digital agency, Modea.James is an Emeritus member and former President of the Marketing Advisory Board at Virginia Tech, and serves on the board of the Asian Mental Health Collective. He has guest lectured for the Virginia Tech Honors College Presidential Global Scholars in Riva San Vitale, Switzerland, the University of Warwick in the UK, John Jay College for Criminal Justice’s Moelis Social Entrepreneurship Fellows, University of Texas’s McCombs School of Business, and Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs. He lives in Brooklyn, NY (though his heart is often found in North London, COYG! UTA!).

In this episode, I talk with Rana Campbell, the creator behind Dreams in Drive, a podcast geared toward creatives & lifestyle entrepreneurs who want to learn how to take their dreams out of Park and into Drive. Together, we explore what it means to build a creative life over time: through career changes, motherhood, grief, intuition, and the desire to leave something meaningful behind. This conversation's about the stories we inherit, the ones we choose, and the ones we’re still learning how to tell. And it’s about how Rana brings people together through questions, through connection, and through a belief in possibility that runs all the way back to her childhood.This episode is full of honesty, reflection, and the hard-earned wisdom that comes from staying committed to a long creative path.About RanaRana Campbell is a multifaceted storyteller, podcaster, entrepreneur,  and media personality known for her work in marketing, partnerships,  personal branding, and entrepreneurship. She is the founder of Dreams In Drive - which she launched in 2016. DID is a podcast and platform where she interviews successful individuals who have turned their dreams into reality. Through her podcast, Campbell explores their journeys, challenges, and insights to inspire others pursuing their own dreams and entrepreneurial ventures.  The show has over 430+ episodes and some notable guests include Jenifer Lewis, Yolanda Adams, Craig Robinson …and more. Beyond DID, Rana is a 2013 Princeton University graduate and has spent her career working in marketing and brand partnerships. She currently works as a Senior Brand Partnerships/ Integrated Marketing manager at Paramount Brand Studio - Paramount's in-house branded content studio - helping to pitch multi-million brand deals for some of your favorite brands like Cash App, Subway, Intel,Universal Studios,  Marriott, Kraft and more. Rana is a proud first-generation Jamaican American and mother to two young children. Her motto? Anything is impossible!

In this episode, I talk with artists and co-directors Tamalin Baumgarten and Meredith Leich about the Cuttyhunk Island Artist Residency and the creative partnership that sustains it.Tamalin shares her early relationship to Cuttyhunk through her family and how returning to the island as an adult shaped both her painting practice and her desire to create a residency rooted in community. Meredith reflects on joining the project through a trial residency, her background in arts organizations, and her long-standing interest in the conditions that allow art to happen.Together they explore how friendship became partnership, how trust shapes their decision-making, and how care, logistics, and attention form the invisible structure of a successful residency. They talk candidly about the behind-the-scenes labor of running an island program, from ferry schedules and groceries to emotional attunement and staff wellbeing.This is a conversation about creative life as a collective practice. About holding space for others while staying connected to one’s own work. And about why, for Meredith and Tamalin, the residency is not an end point, but the beginning of long creative relationships.About Tamalin and MeredithTamalin Baumgarten (b. 1986, Spokane, WA) is a painter known for dreamlike coastal scenes that capture the essence of a place through a blend of observation and imagination. Often inspired by Cuttyhunk Island, where she has family roots and spends time each year, her work evokes a world that feels both familiar and just beyond reach. With a muted, lyrical palette and minimalist compositions, her paintings capture fleeting moments shaped by the quiet poetry of wind, light, and sky. Baumgarten received her MFA from the New York Academy of Art (2015) and her BFA from Cornish College of the Arts (2010). She has been the recipient of numerous awards, including two Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grants, the Portrait Scholarship Award and Shanghai University Residency Award from the New York Academy of Art, the Dahesh Museum of Art Award, and a Vermont Studio Center grant. Her work has been exhibited across the United States and internationally at the Shanghai University Gallery.  She is the founder and co-director of the Cuttyhunk Island Artists’ Residency in Massachusetts, established in 2017 at her grandfather’s historic island home. The residency has since become a hub for creative exchange and community among contemporary artists.Meredith Leich (b. 1986) a painter, animator, and video artist.  Her work explores our relationship with our changing environment, through research, collaboration, and intuitive visual exploration. Leich's films have screened at the Ann Arbor Film Festival, Athens International Film + Video Festival, and Chicagoland Shorts, among others, and she has shown her work at venues nationally and abroad. Her collaboration with glaciologist Dr. Andrew Malone was awarded an Arts, Science & Culture Initiative Grant from the University of Chicago, second place in Deutsche Bank’s “Macht Kunst” Contest, and an Individual Artist Grant from Chicago’s DCASE. She has completed residencies at the Oak Spring Garden Foundation, Tide Institute and Museum of Art, Studios of Key West, Ragdale Foundation, Vermont Studio Center, and Wrangell Mountain Center, among others. Leich received her BA from Swarthmore College and MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she also lectured in Film, Video, New Media, and Animation for five years. She currently lectures at The School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University and serves as the Co-Director of the Cuttyhunk Island Artists’ Residency. 

In this episode, I talk with artists and collaborators Jason Tranchida and Matthew Lawrence, whose creative partnership spans performance, publishing, and multi-year collaborative projects. Their work includes the long-running art publication Headmaster and the immersive musical documentary Scandalous Conduct, rooted in archival research about the Newport Navy Sex Scandal of 1919.Together they explore what it means to build a life by building work together: how shared creative labor becomes a way of shaping identity, supporting one another, and moving through the world with curiosity and conviction.This is a conversation about collaboration as intimacy, community as practice, and how two people can create a creative ecosystem that feeds them both.About Matthew and JasonMatthew Lawrence and Jason Tranchida’s collaborative practice is interdisciplinary and research-driven, centering around curatorial projects, video, and performative events. Their assignment-based print publication Headmaster explores themes of gender and masculinity, amplifying the work of queer artists from around the world. Their projects often center around the unearthing of forgotten LGBTQIA+ histories. Their most recent project, Scandalous Conduct: A Fairy Extravaganza is a feature length musical-documentary. The multi-screen video installation is a re-telling of the Newport Navy Sex Scandal of 1919.Matthew Lawrence (writer/director/producer/sound editor) is an archivist, writer, and editor in Providence, Rhode Island. In 2022 he received his Master of Information Studies from McGill University, and has since worked on archival projects with Providence Public Library, the Massachusetts State Historical Records Board, and Providence College Galleries, among others. He has also written about art for many local and regional publications. He was a 2021 finalist for the Rabkin Prize for Visual Art Journalism and a 2015 recipient of the Public Humanities Scholar Award from Rhode Island Council for the Humanities. Jason Tranchida (writer/director/producer/production designer/editor) has a creative practice that is a multi-disciplinary intersection of art, design, and curatorial projects. Born in Detroit and living in Providence, Rhode Island, his project-based art practice includes objects, installations, video, and digital explorations. As creative director of Headmaster magazine, Tranchida has received two Print Merit Awards from the Society of Publication Designers. His creative agency LLAMAproduct specializes in graphic and experience design, creative direction, and event production. His work draws heavily on his foundation in architecture and stage design. Photo credit: Nelson Villarreal

Creative culture often reinforces the idea that meaningful work happens in isolation.But listening back to these conversations, a different pattern emerges.In this bonus episode, voices from across Season Two reflect on the relationships that make creative work possible. Partners, collaborators, friends, and communities show up not as background support, but as part of the work itself.This episode isn’t about collaboration as a strategy. It’s about creativity as something that often happens between people and with the help of others.If you’ve been carrying too much of the work alone, this episode is meant to offer recognition, relief, and a way into the conversations that follow this season.

No interview. No polish. Voice notes.This one’s about women.

No interview. No polish. Voice notes.This one’s about need. With an assist from Melissa Etheridge.

In this episode, I talk with artist and educator Mike Mitchell, whose creative life is shaped by love, lineage, and a deep attention to the everyday. Mike’s art emerges in the “creases and cracks” of his life: grocery store walls, family rituals, neighborhood stories, and the long partnership that anchors him.Together we explore what it means to grow creatively in adulthood, how identity and place shape an artist’s voice, and the role a loving, steady relationship plays in an evolving creative practice.This is a conversation about art that’s lived. About marriage as a form of collaboration. About finding meaning in humble materials and daily gestures. About the beauty that appears when we let things fall apart and trust what comes next.If you’re someone trying to make space for creativity inside a full life, or wondering how love and art can coexist, this episode is for you.About MikeMikey Mitchell aka mikewindy manages the Nina Lovelace Center for Arts and Social Practice at Tennessee State University in Nashville where he is a professor in the Art Department. He is an artist, arts educator, writer, musician, and skater.He is the host of the Drawing South Podcast which has over 100 episodes including conversations with artists across disciplines and career positions from Atticus a 15 year old drummer and punk show promoter in the Nashville Skate Scene to Jason Moran. He and his brilliant and beautiful wife Windy have been married for 29 years and their son Joey is a freshman at the University of Memphis.

No interview. No polish. Voice notes.This one's about megaphones. And Maya Angelou.

No interview. No polish. Voice notes.This one is about loneliness. And Jodie Foster.

In this episode, artists and producers, Everest Hall and Mike Russnak take us inside a shared life built, literally, from the ground up. We talk about art school, self-education, reinvention, homelessness, humor, moral courage, astrology, and the unexpected power of moving across the country with nothing but each other.Together they describe what partnership looks like when it’s deeply creative: the way one person steadies the other, the way listening becomes a practice, and the surprising places where joy and possibility still break through.About Everest and MikeEverest Hall (born 1974, Auburn, New York) is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice spans painting, performance, architecture, and sculpture. He developed an early interest in the arts and attended Walnut Hill School for the Arts, where he received formal training in visual art. Hall went on to earn a BFA in Painting from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, followed by an MFA from the Yale University School of Art in 1998.Hall has exhibited extensively both nationally and internationally, with his work held in museum and private collections. In addition to his studio practice, he is an active producer of digital content, creating several YouTube channels including EverestDIY and, most recently, Big Apple Mountain Tarot, which he co-produces with his partner, Mike Russnak. Born in 1978 in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, Michael Russnak is an interdisciplinary artist whose work explores the intersections of tradition, superstition and human connection. Raised in a working-class Catholic family, Russnak’s early education in parochial schools instilled in him a lifelong fascination with the moral and symbolic framework that shape belief and behavior - an interest that continues to inform his creative practice today. Originally awarded a scholarship to study architecture at Pratt Institute, Russnak also attended NYIT before departing to pursue broader creative and experimental paths. This pursuit led him to the William Esper Studio where he honed his craft as an actor studying the Meisner technique. Michael’s eclectic career has included work as a decorative painter, wood finisher, actor, escort, surrogate partner and astrologer - roles that together form a living study of intimacy, labor and identity.Since relocating from New York City to the southwest in 2020 with his partner Everest, Russnak has continued to expand his artistic and metaphysical endeavors through Big Apple Mountain Tarot, an astrology-based community that blends spiritual exploration with humor and cultural commentary. He is currently developing a news-comedy segment rooted in the same empathy and wit that defines his body of work.

As we begin Season Two of I’m Here Too, this bonus episode brings together voices from across the season to talk honestly about what creativity actually needs to survive inside real lives.Instead of discipline or hustle, you’ll hear people talk about conditions. Time. Space. Safety. Care. Flexibility. Structures that make creative work possible rather than exhausting.This episode is not advice and not a productivity framework. It’s a recognition that creativity falters not because people lack desire, but because the conditions around it are wrong, missing, or under constant pressure.If you’ve been trying to make something work without the right support, this episode is meant to offer clarity, company, and a way into the conversations that follow this season.

Welcome back to I’m Here Too! This season, I’m talking with the people who shape and support our creative lives. Partners. Collaborators. Friends. Community-builders. Together we explore how creativity grows in relationship, what it takes to stay close to our vision while being seen by others, and how the people around us influence, steady, challenge, and inspire the work we do.Off we go, enjoy!

Before Season Two gets underway, I’m sharing one more reflection from the first season of I’m Here Too.At the end of every conversation, I asked each guest:“What’s something the audience can do for you?”Their answers weren’t transactional. They revealed seven ways we ask for meaning, support, and connection in our lives:Asking as Action: applying what we learnAsking as Amplification: helping meaningful work travel fartherAsking as Understanding: staying curious about what people carryAsking as Attention: noticing what’s alive underfootAsking as Contribution: showing up where it mattersAsking as Self-Regard: tending to our internal belongingAsking as Impact: deepening how we support the causes we care aboutFeaturing voices from across the season, this short bonus audio episode weaves those asks with reflections of my own and lands on a closing reflection.Thank you for listening, and for being here too.Off we go, enjoy.

A season closer — and a pause before what’s next.Before heading into Season Two, I’m reflecting on the first season of I’m Here Too — where we explored how we grow, create, and stay connected while everything around us keeps moving.Through some favorite moments and voices from Season One, I revisit reflections about purpose, belonging, becoming, and the everyday practice of finding home wherever we are.Thank you for listening, and for being here too.Off we go, enjoy.

Hi everybody, this episode feels like a late-night call — the kind you don’t want to end. I’m talking with Amy, a friend from my early years in Essex County, New Jersey, and we go deep into what it means to grow, drift, and return to the people who’ve known every version of us.This one’s audio-only, intentionally — I wanted it to feel like the kind of conversation you lean into, where you can just listen. The pauses, the laughter, the quiet — they’re part of the story too.We talk about how friendship can be a kind of home — a mirror, a soft landing, and a reminder that connection isn’t about proximity but about presence. If you’ve ever had a friend who helped you find yourself, this one will feel like an exhale.Off we go. 🎧CHAPTERS(00:00:06) Opening: A Call Between Old Friends(00:01:32) The Work of Friendship: Staying When It’s Hard(00:03:35) What Deep Friendship Feels Like(00:05:24) You Are a Relief: Finding Calm in Each Other(00:06:37) Learning to Let Yourself Be Seen(00:11:07) Settling into the Hug — Presence as Practice(00:12:36) Holding the Whole of Someone: The Good, the Awkward, the True(00:20:01) When We Leave, When We’re Left — and What Remains(00:22:10) The Invisible Thread Between Us(00:22:50) Imagination as a Bridge in Friendship(00:28:00) Sitting with the Uncomfortable and Staying Open(00:30:54) Where Energy and Empathy Intersect(00:32:39) The Inner Game of Friendship(00:34:05) Until Next Time — The Pause That Holds Connection💬 Who’s a friend that still feels like home to you? Share your thoughts with me on Instagram → @im_here_too_podcast or @i_am_here_too______.🎧 Home Is a Verb — two conversations about purpose, friendship, and belonging.With old friends Gene and Amy, exploring how we stay connected to ourselves and others as we keep moving.Listen next:👉 Taking the Fork in the Road — with Gene Gurkoff

Hi everybody, in this episode, I’m talking with my old friend Gene Gurkoff, founder of Charity Miles. We grew up together in Essex County, New Jersey, and this is a conversation about what it means to keep moving — literally and figuratively — and to build a life that feels true.We talk about taking the road that isn’t always straight, about purpose as something we practice rather than find, and how staying in motion can create its own kind of belonging.If you’ve ever wondered what it looks like to live a life aligned with meaning — even when you can’t see the whole map — this one’s for you.Off we go. 🎧Chapters(00:00:06) Opening: Purpose in Motion(00:02:10) From Big Law to Big Meaning — The Leap to Charity Miles(00:07:28) Building Impact: How Charity Miles Works(00:09:25) Becoming a Podcaster While on the Move(00:12:45) Why Every Step Tells a Story(00:15:20) Many Miles, Many Stories — Purpose as Practice(00:16:40) Talking Style Canoeing with Seth Godin: Ideas in Motion(00:21:45) No Days Off — Redefining Rest and Routine(00:22:49) What It Means to Live an Integrated Life(00:24:48) The Fork in the Road: Choosing with Courage(00:27:49) Habits, Rituals, and the Stories That Shape Us(00:32:47) Naming Your Superpower(00:35:00) Impact Starts Small: How to Begin Today(00:37:18) Culture, Curiosity, and Creative Fuel(00:40:35) Closing: The Miles Ahead💬 What does “purpose in motion” look like for you?Share your thoughts with me on Instagram → @im_here_too_podcast or @i_am_here_too______.🎧 Home Is a Verb — two conversations about purpose, friendship, and belonging. With old friends Gene and Amy, exploring how we stay connected to ourselves and others as we keep moving. Listen next: 👉 Settling into the Hug of Friendship — with Amy

Hi everybody!Welcome to this episode of I’m Here Too: Mastering the Art of YOU, a conversation with Dana Bernstein. Among many things, Dana is a conflict resolution author, speaker, consultant and Principal of Dare to Live Brave. With over 2500 coaching hours and more than 100 clients, Dana specializes in de-escalation, negotiations, contracts, project management and high stakes situations. In 2025, Dana published “It’s the Thought That Counts: Mastering the Art of YOU vs. you,” an interactive book helping individuals resolve internal conflict to better navigate external challenges. Dana and I got to know each other as part of the Rutgers Leadership Coaching for Organizational Performance program and it was a real treat to get to sit down with her. As I think you’ll learn during the conversation, Dana has a way with words and I asked her to elaborate on a number of quotes that resonated with me after reading her book and listening to some of her other podcast appearances including: --> “The words that make you tick, are the same ones that tick you off.”--> “Sometimes the mountains are there for a reason.”--> "If you’re not vulnerable, you don’t have the stickiness to grow.”--> “You get to choose your hard.”Dana also generously did some live coaching with me, shared her thoughts on how quiet the outside noise so you can tune into your true inside voice and at your own pace, had some wild adventures and musical experiences to share, and somehow did all of this without missing a beat - even when we got disrupted briefly by a technical glitch. If you want to witness someone living their values out loud and in service of helping others, if you want to learn how to navigate in this fast paced world, or if you’re just curious about my least favorite food, then I think you’re really going to like this conversation.Off we go, enjoy!CHAPTERS(00:00:05)  Introduction(00:02:30) ‘Dare to Live Brave’(00:04:01) How do we trust ourselves?(00:05:32) Moving to France without knowing (much) French(00:08:45) Wherever we go, there go our values(00:11:13) Do we have to live in the fast lane?(00:14:22) Building connection with others and showing them they matter(00:15:03) Becoming your best and most intentional self(00:18:40) What’s your ideal emotion?(00:19:56) Writing “It’s the Thought That Counts”(00:24:30) Curiosity, Play and Leadership(00:27:21) “The words that make you tick are the words that tick you off”(00:31:30) “Sometimes the mountains are there for a reason”(00:32:57) “If you’re not vulnerable, you don’t have the stickiness to grow”(00:35:50) “You get to choose your hard”(00:38:45) A diverse career journey and finding joy in work(00:42:20) Handling stress and navigating when “something happens”(00:43:55) Preoccupations(00:46:35) Superpowers(00:49:32) Be good to yourself(00:51:13) Binge watching and mosh pits(00:56:53) ClosingAbout Dana BernsteinDana Bernstein is a Conflict Resolution author, speaker, consultant and Principal of Dare to Live Brave. In 2025, Dana published “It’s the Thought That Counts: Mastering the Art of YOU vs. you,” an interactive book helping individuals resolve internal conflict to better navigate external challenges. Dana has a Master’s in Dispute Resolution from Montclair State and is a court-appointed volunteer mediator. She is an ICF NJ Board Member, Co-Director of Programs with a PCC Credential. She is a Project Management Professional (PMP) and Certified Meeting Professional (CMP).An avid volunteer, Dana has been working with the Girl Scouts and the Girl Scout Service Unit Leadership Team for 15 years. She is a strong supporter of women advocating for informed health choices for those who have breast cancer.Dana helps people use their voice in managing conflict. Dana offers a vast portfolio of business accomplishments with a proven track record of leadership and successful outcomes.

Hi everybody!Welcome to this episode of I’m Here Too: Writing Our Lives, a conversation with Heather Lanier. Heather is an essayist, memoirist, poet, professor and TED speaker whose talk, “Good and Bad Are Incomplete Stories We Tell Ourselves” has been viewed over three million times and translated into 18 languages. I had the good fortune of meeting Heather back in 2009 when we were roommates at the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference. It was great to catch up and talk about a number of things including: writing and spirituality, staying attuned to our dreams, making space for more honest emotions including vulnerability, grief and joy, finding community and connection with other writers, and the challenges of writing about the people closest to us. And make sure you stick around for the lightning round where Heather reveals the secrets to thrifting, among other interesting facts. If you’re a writer, a reader or someone who’s just looking to build connection in an ever changing world, then stay tuned because I think you’re really going to like this conversation.Off we go, enjoy!CHAPTERS(00:00:06) Introduction(00:02:04) Writing as a Spiritual Practice(00:07:55) It All Belongs: Joy, Grief and Wholeness(00:12:22) Finding Creative Community(00:17:55) Lessons from Teaching and Staying Put(00:27:02) “Good or Bad, Hard to Say”(00:31:48) Writing About the People We Love(00:37:28) Parenting, Memoir and Presence(00:39:56) Protecting Energy and Finding Rest(00: 42:24) The Lightning Round: Preoccupations, Superpowers and Building Connection(00:53:47) ClosingAbout Heather LanierHeather Lanier is an essayist, memoirist, and poet. She’s the author of the memoir, Raising a Rare Girl, along with two award-winning poetry chapbooks. Kirkus Reviews called her full length poetry collection, Psalms of Unknowing, “a powerful poetic reckoning with motherhood and religion.” Her nonfiction has appeared in The Atlantic, TIME, Salon, The Sun, Longreads, The Wall Street Journal, and elsewhere. A recipient of an Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award, a Vermont Creation Grant, and a New Jersey Artist’s Fellowship, she works as an Associate Professor of Creative Writing at Rowan University. Her TED talk, “‘Good’ and ‘Bad’ Are Incomplete Stories We Tell Ourselves,” has been viewed three million times and translated into 18 languages.

Hi everybody!Welcome to this episode of I’m Here Too: a bonus feature with Hilary Harkness and Becky Moon. Many of you may know Hilary is my wife, but more importantly, she is a wonderful artist. In 2023, she had a solo show at PPOW Gallery in New York City. Upon hearing about this, Becky actually decided to take a flight from St. Louis where she was a student at Washington University. Becky landed in Tribeca and came to the closing day of the show. This was actually the first time Hilary and Becky met in person. When Hilary heard that Becky and I were having a conversation, she said, “I’d love to drop in and talk to Becky for a little bit.” And so here is some of that conversation. I think it will be very helpful for artists, but also people who wonder what artists do when they talk to each other, artist to artist. Off we go, enjoy!CHAPTERS(00:00:06) Introduction(00:01:04) Hilary’s tips for being a mentor and giving feedback(00:02:30) What Becky learned about maximalism and painting(00:03:37) Finding love and inspiration(00:04:07) ClosingAbout Hilary HarknessIn her meticulously rendered small-scale paintings, Hilary Harkness (b. 1971) fuses traditional techniques with a distinctly contemporary sensibility to explore power struggles inherent in sex, race, and class systems on an uncensored stage. Working in episodic series that take years to complete, Harkness wields unparalleled skill and imagination to elevate the stories and intersectional experiences of women, people of color, and LGBTQIA+ people. Harkness earned her BA from UC Berkeley and her MFA from Yale University. Her work has been featured in exhibitions at FLAG Art Foundation, New York, NY; Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, Spain; American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, NY; Portland Institute of Contemporary Art, Portland, OR; and Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Ridgefield, CT; among others. Her work is in the permanent collection of the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY; Yuz Museum Shanghai; Mead Art Museum, Amherst, MA; and the Seavest Collection, New York, NY; among others. In 2017, she received the Henry Clews Award and participated in the inaugural Master Residency Program at the Château de La Napoule, France. She has lectured widely at leading academic and cultural institutions. In 2014, she co-curated Roy Lichtenstein: Nudes and Interiors at FLAG Art Foundation. Harkness’s first solo exhibition with P·P·O·W Gallery, Prisoners from the Front, was on display in fall 2023. Co-published by Black Dog Press and P·P·O·W, Hilary Harkness: Everything for You is the first comprehensive monograph on the artist’s work and features new texts by Lynn Tillman, Dr. Ashley Jackson, as well as an interview with American painter Ivy Haldeman.Harkness was represented by Mary Boone Gallery in New York City from 2003 until the gallery closed in 2019. She is currently represented by P·P·O·W Gallery in New York City.About Becky MoonBecky Moon (b.2002) is an artist based in New York City who comes from a half North Korean and half South Korean heritage. She paints the imagined structure of the invisible human mind through the arrangement of fictional objects. In this limitless world built from meticulous brushstrokes, each thought transforms into a branch, rock, or snail shell. She is pursuing her MFA in Visual Arts at Columbia University. Previously, she earned a BFA in Art with a Second Major in Philosophy at Washington University in St. Louis and attended Yale Norfolk School of Art. She has also worked as an education associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Museum. Her most recent solo exhibitions were held at Bruno David Gallery in St. Louis, MO, and at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA. 

Hi everybody!Welcome to this episode of I’m Here Too: Seeing the Forest and the Trees, a conversation with Becky Moon. Becky is many things; she’s an artist, a philosopher and an admirer of ants. So, you can imagine when we got together, we had a lot to talk about around all of these intersections, but most importantly about the spirit of generosity that Becky brings to her work, her life and her practice. So, if you’re someone who is interested in questions like: What does it all mean? Why am I here? Now what do I do? then stay tuned, because I think you’re really going to like this conversation. Off we go, enjoy!CHAPTERS(00:00:06) Introduction(00:01:05) Becky’s Artistic Journey(00:03:11) The Ig Nobel Awards Connection(00:06:36) Isolation and Connection(00:09:59) Art and Feminist Philosophy(00:19:30) Interconnectedness of Art, Science and Philosophy (00:30:52) 10,000 Trees, Swiss Cows and Ant Power(00:37:34) Influence of Parents(00:42:50) Humor in the Creative Process(00:50:51) Building a Community of Artists(00:55:44) Preoccupations(00:56:53) Superpowers(00:58:53) Finding Joy in the Smallest Things(01:00:31) Neko Case and Fish Sense(01:01:35) ClosingAbout Becky MoonBecky Moon (b.2002) is an artist based in New York City who comes from a half North Korean and half South Korean heritage. She paints the imagined structure of the invisible human mind through the arrangement of fictional objects. In this limitless world built from meticulous brushstrokes, each thought transforms into a branch, rock, or snail shell. She is pursuing her MFA in Visual Arts at Columbia University. Previously, she earned a BFA in Art with a Second Major in Philosophy at Washington University in St. Louis and attended Yale Norfolk School of Art. She has also worked as an education associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Museum. Her most recent solo exhibitions were held at Bruno David Gallery in St. Louis, MO, and at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA. 

Hi everybody!Welcome to this episode of I'm Here Too: Raising a Creative Kid, a conversation with Sheryl and Roger Tucker. This episode goes out to my fellow creatives and all of the people who love us. During this conversation, we dive into a number of topics including, what does it mean to both be a creative kid as well as be the parent of one? How do you know when you should let go, get out of the way or engage even when it might be uncomfortable? We also talk about things like living authentically and what it looks like to thrive versus survive. And all along the way, we have a ton of fun, because that is what characterizes all of the conversations when we get together. Our family group chats are pretty epic, and I'm looking forward to giving you a chance to jump in and join us on this one. So off we go, and I hope you enjoy!CHAPTERS(00:00:06) Introduction(00:01:32) Career Pivots and Reinventions(00:03:49) Education vs. Experience and the Power of Career Whisperers(00:07:04) Giving Effective Career Advice(00:09:26) Focusing on Strengths over Titles(00:10:12) Ara's Career Path: Not So Obvious to her Parents(00:15:42) Understanding What Makes Your Child Happy and Motivated(00:21:09) Intersectionality, Identity and Unexpected Champions(00:39:20) Ara's Storytelling: Too Close to Home?(00:42:35) Art Changes Minds(00:45:40) Living Authentically Changes Minds(00:47:30) Joy, Excellence and Storytelling(00:50:51) Lessons Learned from Ancestors(00:59:05) There Once Was a Boy Named Pierre...(01:02:32) Where Did Ara's Sense of Humor Come From?(01:06:26) Roger's Hopes for Ara's Novels(01:08:20) Are Too Many Choices Fueling Our Anxiety?(01:11:33) Sheryl and Roger's Superpowers(01:18:22) Knowing When to Get Out of the Way to Encourage Creativity(01:19:42) Death of the Author, Silent Agreements and Atomic Habits(01:25:29) ClosingAbout Sheryl and Roger Tucker (brief bios below)Sheryl Hilliard Tucker leverages her extensive executive, media and nonprofit board experience to help for mission-driven organizations develop innovative strategies and solutions to achieve greater impact. Tucker’s distinguished career showcases her versatility as a result-oriented critical thinker.Tucker currently sits on the board of The Teagle Foundation. She is a trustee of Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan New Jersey.  She is a Trustee Emerita and Presidential Councillor of Cornell University.Tucker received her M.S. degree from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, B.A. from Cornell University, and attended New York University’s Heyman School of Philanthropy.Roger C. Tucker III is Founder and Director of Tucker Contemporary Art. TCA works with collectors and institutions interested in acquiring, exhibiting and promoting the work of emerging contemporary artists. Leveraging extensive experience in fine art, marketing and education, Roger advances the careers of African American and other underrepresented artists – academically trained or outside the mainstream. Roger, a Newark native, is the host of the “⁠What's Newark Got To Do With It?⁠" Podcast, where he interviews artists, historians, authors, curators and other cultural thought leaders from/of Newark, NJ about the cultural impact and life-long influences the Brick City has, and continues to have, on their lives and careers.Roger recently concluded his service as Board President of GlassRoots, a nonprofit, glass art center in Newark, NJ.He received his BFA from The Cooper Union, MS from Pratt Institute and Professional Certificate in Art Business from New York University.​

Hi everybody! Welcome to this episode of I'm Here Too: Building the Foundation for a Well-Lived Life, a conversation with Cynthia Cuffie, MD. I'm really excited for this one. We're going to sit down with Cynthia and hear about her early academic experiences and how those paved the way for her career success as a physician, as a corporate executive and as an executive coach. We'll also learn how she managed to find the time to be an engaged mom of three, while giving back to her community. And if you're a lover of all things home renovation, then listen closely toward the end, because I think you may find that you have a show or two in common with her. So I mentioned that she found the time to be an engaged mom of three, and yes, you may notice the resemblance…she is my mom. I'm really excited and really grateful that she took the time to sit down. So looking forward to sharing this conversation with you. Off we go, enjoy!CHAPTERS(00:00:06) Introduction(00:01:08) Childhood Challenges and Family Support(00:03:52) Early Academic Experiences and Influences(00:07:55) Finding Musical Inspiration and High School(00:10:03) College Years at Cornell University and the Road to Becoming a Physician(00:19:50) Influencing Children's Education and Ambition(00:25:10) Passing Educational Values to Grandchildren and the Power of Empathy(00:31:11) Learning Through Professional Experiences(00:37:47) Impact of Travel on Professional Perspective(00:40:49) Purpose and Integrating Family and Career(00:46:00) Leadership and Community Service(00:54:15) Hopes for the Next Generation(00:55:04) The Importance of Education and Not Limiting Yourself(00:56:27) Cynthia's Superpowers(00:57:45) Cynthia's Ask of the Audience(00:58:33) Cynthia's Love of All Things Home Renovation(01:00:59) Parting Words: Enjoy Life, Keep it BroadAbout Cynthia Cuffie, MDCynthia is an endocrinologist with more than 25 years of experience in global pharmaceutical clinical development. As a corporate executive, she led strategic and operational cross-functional teams in global research, developed and executed leadership development programs for emerging leaders, and led a regional employee group mentoring program during organizational restructuring. During these years, she also maintained patient contact and student teaching responsibilities as an attending physician and clinical instructor at university hospitals.As an executive coach, Cynthia leverages her corporate leadership experience and clinical training. She provides executive and career coaching, leadership development, and candidate selection guidance to individuals, teams, and organizations. Cynthia is also an experienced course facilitator. A certified assessor of a variety of assessments such as leadership, conflict and change management, team, and 360 feedback, she offers comprehensive customized services.Cynthia completed an endocrinology fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY. She received a MD degree from Rutgers University and a BS degree from Cornell University College of Human Ecology. She is an International Coaching Federation certified executive coach with a certificate in career planning from New York University.She has served on various boards, including the American Heart Association of Central New Jersey, the Cornell University Board of Trustees and The Pingry School.

I know, I know. Everyone and their cat has a podcast. But I was one of the masses who had a blog and we had fun, right? Okay, so in less than 90 seconds, here’s why I’m taking the podcast (aka chatting with people I admire and enjoy) plunge and why I think you’ll want to join me on this journey; sporadic and scrappy as it will definitely be. Thanks for listening!