Explore every episode of the podcast Wellbeing Ignites Welldoing

Physicist. Operations research analyst. Space scientist. Crime novelist. Elizabeth Heider doesn't have a career path — she has a pursuit.

She holds a doctorate in physics from Tufts. She has worked with the US Navy, INTERPOL, Northrop Grumman, NASA, and the European Space Agency. She has operated alongside military personnel across Army, Navy, Marines, and Special Forces.

And then, in 2024, she published May the Wolf Die — a crime novel set in Naples that the New York Times named one of the Best Crime Novels of 2024, the Washington Post named one of the Best Mystery Novels of 2024, and Publishers Weekly starred and named one of its Best Books of 2024. The sequel, Children of the Savage City, followed in February 2026 to immediate critical acclaim.

Her protagonist, Nikki Serafino, asks a question that sits at the heart of this podcast: How do I remain ethical in a broken world? Is it possible to fight the wolves without becoming one?

That question is not fictional. It is the question Elizabeth has been living across a career at the intersection of science, research, military operations, and literature. She has seen power up close. She has watched systems break people. She has studied how surveillance enables authoritarianism and how corporate greed reshapes the planet. And she has chosen, deliberately, to respond through story — because fiction, she believes, is one of the most honest ways we have of telling the truth.

Aaron Minkovich is a technology leader who has spent over two decades at the intersection of transformation, scale, and human complexity. As Chief Technology and Security Officer at Manulife, he oversees one of Canada's most consequential technology ecosystems — spanning cloud platforms, AI, DevSecOps, 5G, and global distributed teams — within a highly regulated financial services environment.

But what makes Aaron a compelling voice for the Wellbeing Ignites Welldoing podcast is not just his technical range. It is the humanity that shows up alongside it. He walks for cancer research in honour of his father-in-law. He cheers his teams on charity rides. He champions the people behind the platforms. In a domain that often reduces humans to headcount and systems to tickets, Aaron seems to understand that the engine of great technology is, fundamentally, people — and that people run best when they are well. That mirrors Manulife's own mission of making decisions easier and lives better — connecting financial wellbeing directly to health, so people can live longer, healthier, more optimized lives. Aaron isn't just running the systems; he's building the infrastructure behind that mission at global scale.

This conversation explores what wellbeing looks like at the top of one of Canada's most complex technology organizations: the weight of transformation, the pressure of responsible AI in a regulated world, the resilience required to lead global teams through constant change, and why the most powerful infrastructure a CTO can build might not be in the cloud — but in the culture.

Eric Whaley is a CIO who has spent three decades quietly doing something that most technology leaders only talk about: building cultures where people actually want to show up. Across Canada Trust, HSBC, IIROC, and now Wolseley Canada — part of Ferguson, the country's leading national distributor of plumbing, HVAC/R, and PVF products — Eric has led transformations of extraordinary complexity while consistently being described in one way: as someone who engages and motivates people and builds highly collaborative work cultures.

Known as a business technology executive with a talent for leveraging technology and building inspired teams, Eric is recognized for his leadership in setting goals and fostering collaboration. Outside of his day-to-day work, he stays connected to the startup community and emerging technologies through partnerships with educational institutions and participation in community forums.

This conversation explores what it means to lead technology transformation with a fundamentally human orientation — how collaborative cultures are built and sustained through change, what wellbeing looks like inside organizations navigating digital disruption, and why the softest skills in a CIO's toolkit may be the most strategically consequential ones of all.

Amisha Miller brings a rare perspective to the conversation on wellbeing at work — one forged over more than two decades of operational leadership within a single organization. Rising from Office Manager to VP of Services & Operations at Levata Canada, a global IT services and technology products distributor specializing in barcode, RFID, access control, POS, and networking solutions, Amisha has lived through every phase of organizational evolution: growth, restructuring, rebranding, and the ever-accelerating pace of technology change.

Her journey is not just a career story — it is a masterclass in resilience, adaptability, and the kind of institutional trust that only comes from staying deeply committed to people and purpose over time. In a world that increasingly celebrates the new hire and the fast mover, Amisha represents something we rarely celebrate enough: the wisdom and wellbeing that comes from depth, loyalty, and staying the course.

This episode explores what it takes to sustain personal wellbeing through decades of organizational change, how operational leaders can cultivate cultures where people genuinely thrive, and why the human infrastructure of a business matters just as much as the technology it deploys.

Brent Maney is an Air Force Pararescue veteran and Department of Defence Human Space Flight Support specialist, he has built his professional life around a single principle: when conditions are at their worst, you go in anyway. That creed That Others May Live, is not a motto. It is an operating system.

But the most demanding mission of Brent's life didn't come with a uniform.

In 2007, his wife Trudie was diagnosed with young-onset Parkinson's disease at 33. What followed wasn't a crisis to manage and resolve. It became the permanent structure of their life: cognitive changes, financial collapse, bankruptcy, foreclosure, and the compounding weight of full-time caregiving alongside full-time federal work. No exit ramp. No end in sight.

What Brent did next is what makes him essential for this conversation. He didn't soldier through alone. He didn't perform resilience. He did the actual work: therapy, veteran programs, licensed counselling, coaching — and he sat, unflinchingly, with what sustained pressure had cost him. Out of that reckoning, he created HeldLight: a platform built on the radical premise that real strength isn't the absence of struggle. It's the willingness to name it.

For executives who lead through uncertainty, carry invisible weight, and are expected to project composure while absorbing pressure, Brent doesn't offer a model for avoiding discomfort. He offers something far more valuable: a hard-won, battle-tested framework for moving through it and emerging more capable, more grounded, and more genuinely fit to lead.

Tyler Chalk, Executive Vice President & Chief Strategy Officer at Southlake Health, a large healthcare organization that is embarking on one of the most significant healthcare transformation efforts in Canada—shifting from a traditional hospital-centric model toward a Distributed Health Network model that redefines how care is designed, delivered, and scaled.

At its core, his work is about strategic system redesign under extreme complexity—balancing population growth, resource constraints, infrastructure pressure, and evolving community needs. While grounded in healthcare, the principles extend far beyond it.

This conversation is designed for leaders across sectors who are navigating transformation, scale, and uncertainty. It explores how Tyler’s approach to system-level strategy, execution discipline, and cross-sector collaboration can inform how executives think about strategy, operating models, and long-term value creation in their own organizations.

Dr. Ulrich Vogel has spent more than 25 years helping organizations understand what truly drives people. As the founder of profilingvalues, he has conducted over 7,000 assessments using a values based approach that reveals the deeper structures shaping how we think, lead, and relate to others.

In this conversation, Uli challenges the assumptions we make about talent, performance, and potential. We explore why behaviours can be misleading, how blind spots emerge, and what happens when organizations fail to recognize the qualities they say they value most.

Together, we examine what it means to see people more clearly and why doing so may be one of the most powerful ways to strengthen wellbeing, build healthier cultures, and unlock human potential.

Jeff Schwartz is a CEO who believes that how you treat people — customers, employees, partners — is not a soft consideration sitting alongside the business strategy. It is the strategy.

His leadership journey began not in a corporate boardroom, but around a campfire at Camp Timberlane in Haliburton, Ontario, where his time as a camper, counsellor, and unit head instilled in him lessons of teamwork, resilience, and community that became the foundation of his leadership style. From there, nearly two decades at Bell Canada and a high-growth run at Brookfield Infrastructure's Enercare brought him to Go Lime — Canada's leading digital first provider of home and commercial services — where he has led one of the most interesting business transformations in the Canadian consumer market: dismantling an opaque, high-pressure rental industry and replacing it with radical transparency, digital access, and genuine customer trust.

Go Lime was founded to restore transparency, trust, and choice to the home comfort industry — and under Jeff's leadership, it has done exactly that, earning nearly 7500 five-star reviews and closing a transformational partnership with Basalt Infrastructure Partners in 2025. He also holds a Workplace Mental Health Leadership certification from Queen's University — a quiet but telling signal that his people-first language is more than positioning.

Regina Fuchs brings a progressive and deeply human perspective to early childhood education—one rooted in curiosity, questioning, emotional safety, and learning through play. In a time when many systems prioritize performance, structure, and measurable outcomes, her work reminds us that wellbeing, creativity, resilience, and healthy development begin much earlier in life than most organizations realize.

This conversation explores how the environments we create for children shape not only individual development, but also the future of workplaces, leadership cultures, and societal wellbeing. Through the lens of early childhood education, Regina offers insights into emotional intelligence, intrinsic motivation, community, and the role of nature and exploration in human flourishing.

While grounded in childcare and education, this episode is designed for leaders, parents, educators, and professionals across sectors who are rethinking how healthier humans—and healthier systems—are developed from the very beginning.

RJ Casey defies every standard category. He is a combat-decorated Special Operations veteran with tours on four continents. He is the first hire on SpaceX's Personnel Recovery Team, providing technical rescue and remote medicine for human spaceflight missions. He is a SAG stunt performer and military advisor on films including Extraction 2, Jack Ryan, Dunkirk, and Inception. He is a co-founder of Four Branches Bourbon — a service-disabled veteran-owned spirits company featured on the NBC Today Show — and of Brigands Co., a community platform built for veterans, first responders, and their families. He is a NAUI scientific diver doing marine conservation work with FORCE BLUE. He is a physician assistant trained at Fort Sam Houston. He speaks Spanish.

And woven through every single one of those chapters is a single thread: service. Not as a resume line, but as a lived philosophy about what it means to show up fully — for your team, your community, the ocean, the mission, the people who didn't make it home.

Wellbeing Ignites Welldoing rarely gets a guest like this. This conversation is not about corporate wellness programs or leadership frameworks. It is about what it takes to sustain a human being across thirty-five years of operating in some of the most extreme physical, psychological, and moral environments on earth — and what RJ has learned, sometimes the hard way, about resilience, purpose, grief, brotherhood, and the kinds of wellbeing that nobody talks about until it's almost too late.

Chris Schmelzer has spent more than a decade inside some of the most complex organizational transformations in North America, first at Deloitte and ScottMadden, and now as the founder of The ChangeMindset Co. His new book, The Missing Link, offers a radical reframe of why change programs fail, not because of poor strategy or weak communication, but because of something more fundamental: organizations systematically ignore the biological reality of the human nervous system under pressure.

Chris’s central thesis is disarmingly clear. For more than a century, we have designed organizations as if humans were interchangeable units of cognition. But the brain’s primary job is prediction, not execution. When sustained change destroys predictability, the prefrontal cortex, the seat of reasoning, creativity, and empathy, goes offline. Survival circuits take over. And no communication campaign, training program, or culture initiative can reach a nervous system that is signaling danger.

The correct sequence, Chris argues, is: Regulation, then Coherence, then Mindset, then Behavior. Most organizations begin at step three or four and wonder why nothing sticks. In this episode, we go deep into the book, the biology, and what it actually looks like to lead change in a way that honors the most fundamental system we have.

Sam Valentine is the head of Employee Performance and Experience at miro, operating at the sharp edge of where people strategy meets business performance.

At Miro, he’s shaping both employee experience and building people infrastructure designed to protect revenue, accelerate decision-making, and sustain performance through transformation. His work reframes HR from a support function into a core lever of competitive advantage.

From retaining talented people through change to compressing strategic decision timelines from weeks to days using AI-powered insights, Sam brings a deeply data-driven, outcome-oriented lens to culture, performance, and leadership.

In this conversation, we unpack what it really means to build human sustainability systems that scale, how AI is reshaping people leadership, and why the future of work belongs to organizations that can connect culture directly to measurable business outcomes.

Dr. Jonathan Ellerby has spent more than three decades sitting with healers, elders, and spiritual teachers across forty cultures — and just as long translating that wisdom into something practical, accessible, and genuinely transformative for modern people.

His work spans 5-star wellness resorts and Indigenous community halls, corporate boardrooms and remote African villages. What stays constant is his conviction that spiritual practice isn't a luxury — it's a survival skill.

In this conversation, we explore what it actually means to support young people in developing inner capacity during one of the most turbulent transitions of their lives — and why the integration of ancient contemplative traditions with modern behavioural science may be exactly what we need to stop falling through the cracks and start building lives of meaning, resilience, and genuine belonging.

Shana Francesca is an ethical leadership architect, keynote speaker, and founder of Concinnate LLC whose work focuses on transforming workplaces through intentional relationships, psychological safety, and inclusive leadership.

Drawing on her lived experience as a survivor, scholar, and advocate for the neurodivergent community, Shana helps organizations reimagine leadership through the lens of curiosity, respect, and accountability. Her work demonstrates that cultures built on trust, inclusivity, and ethical leadership are not only healthier for people but also more innovative and profitable.

In this episode, we explore leadership as a relational practice, the role of psychological safety in driving innovation, and why organizations that honor diverse ways of thinking are better positioned to thrive in an increasingly complex world.

Silvia Via has turned lived experience into entrepreneurial innovation. As the founder of multiple mission-led ventures—from ethically sourced coffee to fashion-forward nonprofits—she exemplifies how business can serve as a vehicle for healing, inclusion, and global impact.

This conversation explores the role of creativity, recovery, and social enterprise in advancing employee wellbeing, inclusive leadership, and purpose-driven strategy—especially relevant as companies rethink culture in the age of AI and burnout.

For executive listeners, Silvia’s work offers insight into:

• How lived experience can inform regenerative leadership
• Why employee-led social impact drives brand authenticity
• The power of storytelling, design, and wellness in building belonging

Zach Baumer has spent over a decade shaping one of the most ambitious municipal climate agendas in North America. From technical data modeling to frontline community resilience, Zach’s leadership at the City of Austin has helped bridge the gap between sustainability vision and scalable systems change.

Now Director of the newly formed Office of Climate Action & Resilience, Zach is focused on turning policy into practice—whether through multi-site solar procurements, cooling solutions for unhoused residents, or embedding financial feasibility into climate compliance frameworks.

This episode dives into what it takes to sustain long-term momentum, how climate leaders can push progress without burnout, and why resilience starts not with flashy headlines—but with human impact, local trust, and data that actually drives decisions.

Jeff Melanson is a rare kind of leader, one who has navigated the worlds of global technology, creative institutions, family enterprises, and civic systems with equal fluency. From serving as President & CEO of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and President of the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, to advising multigenerational family enterprises and partnering with one of the world’s leading real-time 3D technology platforms, Jeff’s career reflects a deep understanding of systems, stewardship, and human potential.

Across arts, business, technology, and advisory work, Jeff has consistently focused on one central question: how do organizations sustain creativity, performance, and purpose over time? In this episode, we explore leadership as an act of stewardship, the role of creativity in organizational wellbeing, and what it takes to lead complex systems with clarity, care, and long-term vision.

To explore how small, science-backed lifestyle and workplace behaviors can drive large-scale sustainability and wellbeing outcomes, Lori Myren-Manbeck—author of Mars Can Wait, clinical psychologist, and sustainability advocate—invites us to rethink how everyday decisions, at home and at work, can close the gap between corporate ESG goals and meaningful real-world impact.

This episode unpacks the behavioral psychology behind sustainable action, the urgency of climate leadership, and how inclusive wellbeing strategies can catalyze enterprise-wide transformation from the inside out.

Burnout is often framed as a workload, mindset, or motivation problem. Yet across recovery environments, workplaces, and public institutions, a deeper pattern is emerging: when people are physically depleted, emotional regulation, engagement, and belonging become biologically inaccessible.

Marie Gardiner brings seven years of applied experience working at the intersection of cellular health, recovery, and human resilience. This episode explores why physical regulation is the missing foundation beneath many wellbeing strategies—and how restoring the body’s capacity enables deeper engagement, emotional stability, and genuine belonging.

Earl Foote is not your typical tech CEO. A bass-playing adventurer, community builder, and mindset-driven entrepreneur, he has spent over two decades building Nexus IT into one of the nation’s top managed security service providers. But behind the accolades: Inc5000, Utah Fast50, and multiple “Best of State” wins, lies a deeper mission: to build a business where people thrive.

Through bold leadership, transparent culture, and a fierce belief in personal growth, Earl has cultivated a company where high performance and human wellbeing go hand in hand. In this episode, we explore how work can be both intense and uplifting, why discomfort is often the sign you’re growing, and how leaders can create space for others to succeed—even in the face of rapid technological change.

Erin Young serves as the Sustainability Specialist for Breckenridge Grand Vacations, where she helps steward one of Colorado’s most iconic mountain ecosystems. Her work sits at the intersection of environmental resilience, community wellbeing, and place‑based leadership.

Outside her sustainability leadership role, Erin is also the author of The CEOwner and an international ski judge, bringing a dynamic perspective rooted in community, sport, and sustainable small‑business leadership.

This episode explores how sustainability becomes truly transformative when grounded in local action, community wisdom, and daily micro‑practices that strengthen both people and the planet.

To spotlight Sandra Sherman’s powerful 17-year journey at DXL Group, where she’s led initiatives that ensure global supply chains are not just efficient but also ethical, humane, and compliant with the highest social and environmental standards. This conversation will highlight Sandra’s leadership in driving forced labor prevention, traceability, and vendor accountability, while also exploring how this work directly contributes to employee pride, psychological safety, and workplace wellbeing—both within corporate HQs and global factories.

Anna Turrell is one of the world’s most respected voices in sustainability. With a track record that spans multinationals, startups, boards, and policy-shaping coalitions, she brings a systems-thinking approach to some of the most urgent challenges facing our planet—and the organizations operating on it.

As former Chief Sustainability Officer at Decathlon, and Group Sustainability Director at Tesco, Anna has led Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) transformation from the inside out. Now, through her work as Founder of Ethos & Edge and as a strategic advisor and board member, she guides companies toward integrated strategies that unite environmental impact with ethical governance and human flourishing.

In today’s conversation, we’ll explore what’s next in sustainability, how leaders can move from compliance to courageous action, and why the future of sustainability and workplace wellbeing are fundamentally interlinked.

Mark Patterson is at the forefront of inclusive innovation in Canada’s workforce landscape. As the Executive Director of Magnet, Mark is driving systems-level change to ensure that digital transformation—including AI adoption—is both human-centered and inclusive. This episode explores how we build national capacity for equity, wellbeing, and adaptability in a world shaped by automation, demographic change, and evolving skill needs.

This episode brings two CEOs from companies working in the sustainability space to have a conversation about their work and its importance related to people’s wellbeing. We will end with a call to action for business leaders to support achieving the ESGs.

Wade Smith is the CEO of EnergyPrint, helping organizations turn utility data into actionable insights and measurable ROI. With a purpose-led approach, Wade believes the energy and utilities managed within buildings mirrors the energy cultivated within people—driving integrity, sustainability, and care.

Roger Barlow is the CEO of Diversys Software, a sustainability tech company helping organizations transform how they track and optimize recycling and waste compliance. A global tech leader turned entrepreneur, Roger champions data integrity as the foundation of trust—and trust as essential to both culture and wellbeing.

In this episode, we’ll explore:

✅ What ESGs are and how transparency affects real people’s wellbeing

✅ Lessons from building a company culture where wellbeing and integrity are inseparable

✅ What leaders can do to turn advance sustainability in ways that really matter to employees

Today we will be talking with Dr. Connie Noonan Hadley who is a globally recognized organizational psychologist, thought leader, and researcher dedicated to enhancing work-life experiences. She is the Founder and Chief Scientist of the Institute for Life at Work. She also serves as a Research Associate Professor at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business, as well as Associate Director of the Human Resources Policy Institute.

Her work spans critical areas such as team effectiveness, psychological safety, loneliness, inclusion, trust, burnout, mental health, and the impact of AI on interpersonal dynamics at work. Widely published and named to the Thinkers50 Radar List for her rising global influence as a management scholar, Connie blends rigorous research with lived human experience to redefine what healthy, sustainable workplaces must look like.

In this conversation, we’ll explore how leaders can design workplaces of connection, meaning, and belonging, before loneliness becomes the silent epidemic of the modern workplace.

In this episode, we’ll explore:

✅ Why businesses should prioritize workers well-being

✅ How loneliness is a structural problem, not a personal one

✅ The ways social norms and workload expectations worsen isolation

✅ Practical shifts leaders can make today to build connected, thriving teams

Andres Angelani is a globally recognized tech executive with over two decades of experience leading software engineering innovation across startups and global enterprises. Now CEO of Wizeline, Andres previously held senior leadership roles at Globant, and Speedcast, where he pioneered distributed agile models and built high-performing global teams.

At Cognizant Softvision, he played a pivotal role in shaping the digital engineering brand and creating global digital studios. His leadership consistently bridges strategy, technology, and culture—making him a sought-after voice on scaling innovation responsibly.

In today’s episode, we’ll discuss why people, not just platforms, are the true drivers of innovation, adaptive teams across geographies, how to create agile models in a global setting, and what it takes to lead digital transformation at scale.

Mark C. Crowley is a pioneering voice in the movement to redefine workplace leadership. Known for his bestselling book Lead from the Heart, Mark returns with a bold, research-backed follow-up: The Power of Employee Well-Being. Drawing from Oxford’s 20-million-person global study and his decades of experience as a financial services executive, Mark’s message is clear: outdated metrics like engagement scores aren’t enough.

Instead, workplace wellbeing must be the North Star of 21st-century leadership—because people don’t perform at their best unless they feel cared for, connected, and safe. Mark’s work offers a practical, soul-awakening roadmap for leaders who want to build flourishing teams, retain talent, and lead with empathy in a high-pressure world.

Zach Mercurio, is one of today’s leading voices in meaningful work, purposeful leadership, and positive organizational culture.

He’s the author of The Invisible Leader and The Power of Mattering: How Leaders Can Create a Culture of Significance. Through decades of research, teaching, and consulting with organizations like Marriott, Delta Airlines, the U.S. Army, and the FDA, Zach empowers leaders to create cultures where people feel seen, valued, and essential.

Zach will help us explore how mattering — feeling noticed, needed, and important — is a fundamental human need often overlooked in modern work cultures.

Specifically, in this episode, we’ll explore:

Why mattering is a basic human need and a competitive advantage

How purposeful leadership transforms performance and well-being

Practical ways leaders can embed mattering into daily organizational life

Why meaning and connection, not perks, are the true retention strategies today

Vatsal Sood is a rising voice in the world of communication—and not just because of his powerful stage presence. As a public speaking coach, keynote speaker, and leadership mentor, Vatsal helps high-achieving professionals transform fear into confidence and speaking into impact.

He walks the talk—from impromptu storytelling at Halifax’s first Story Slam to sharing emotional truths on stage at Toastmasters competitions. Whether you’re a nervous speaker or a seasoned presenter, Vatsal brings a compassionate, strategic, and community-first lens to public speaking.

In this episode, we’ll explore:

✅ How to conquer public speaking anxiety and unlock authenticity

✅ Why storytelling is a superpower in leadership and life

✅ The role of community in shaping confident communicators

Dave Allman is on a mission to rewire how organizations think about care. As the founder of Wellbeing @ Work (W@W) and Careots, Dave has built platforms that transform vague wellbeing intentions into data-driven strategies that drive real impact on performance, retention, and engagement.

This episode explores how Dave’s “Google Maps” approach to wellbeing helps leaders navigate the complexities of emotional, social, physical, and financial wellbeing—empowering them to meet employees where they are and guide them toward a thriving work life.

We’ll discuss how moving from check-the-box wellness programs to personalized, scalable wellbeing maps is not only the future of work—it’s a business imperative.

🔍 In this episode, we’ll explore:

✅Why wellbeing is more than yoga and fruit bowls—it’s organizational performance

✅ How data helps leaders prove they care in ways employees can see and feel

✅ The link between a thriving workforce and reduced turnover, burnout, and disengagement

✅ Why personalized wellbeing journeys help build resilient, high-performing cultures

✅ How Gallup science and smart tech can operationalize care at scale

George Alifragis is a trilingual business transformation expert with over 15 years of success in driving growth, delivering transformative results, and cultivating strategic partnerships. As Senior Vice President at Metropolitan Partners Group and a thought leader with the Forbes Business Council, George specializes in building innovative frameworks that align organizational objectives with customer success and employee engagement.

Previously, George has held pivotal leadership roles, including Chief Operating Officer at Sryas, where he successfully exited, and Chief Customer & Innovation Officer at Altima Telecom, driving customer-centric innovation. His track record includes spearheading global initiatives, implementing change management strategies, and creating cross-functional collaborations that deliver measurable impact.

Today, we’ll dive into George’s insights on leveraging human-centric leadership and innovative strategies to transform businesses, empower employees, and achieve sustainable success.

Dr. Sam Elmi is a rare blend of organizational psychologist and HR strategist with over a decade of experience designing people-first systems inside fast-scaling environments. Most recently, as Director of People Strategy and operations at Nava, a public benefit corporation transforming government services, Sam built a new function from the ground up, anchored in human development, competency frameworks, and inclusion.

Throughout his career, from government to healthcare to tech, Sam has redesigned performance systems, developed employee experience programs, and helped leadership teams align around growth, equity, and care.

In this conversation, we’ll explore how leaders can turn organizational complexity into human clarity and scale HR in ethical, strategic, and deeply human ways.

DJ Campbell is a seasoned healthcare executive and transformational leader specializing in people strategy. As VP/Chief HR Officer at Sanford Health, DJ oversees nearly 3,800 team members in the Bismarck market while contributing to enterprise-wide strategy for the organization’s 50,000 employees. With a focus on workforce development, employee experience, and organizational effectiveness, DJ plays a pivotal role in driving change and fostering a culture of excellence at Sanford Health.

Beyond his professional responsibilities, DJ is deeply invested in the Bismarck-Mandan community, serving on boards such as Make-A-Wish North Dakota, the North Dakota Workforce Development Council, and the State Board of Higher Education. An active member of SHRM and the Society for Diversity, DJ exemplifies a commitment to advancing HR practices and creating inclusive, dynamic workplaces.

Today, we’ll delve into DJ’s insights on shaping the future of healthcare workforces, driving impactful change, and creating environments where both employees and organizations can thrive.

Sheeja Rai is an accomplished leader with over two decades of experience across industries such as chemicals, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and IT. As the Global Head of HR for Taste & Wellbeing at Givaudan, Sheeja leads strategic initiatives to drive employee engagement, performance management, and wellbeing for a diverse, global workforce.

Her innovative, people-first strategies have earned her recognition as a transformative leader in HR. From pioneering advanced performance management systems to spearheading employee engagement programs, Sheeja combines a strategic focus with a deep commitment to fostering a culture of care.

In today’s episode, we’ll explore Sheeja’s journey, her strategies for integrating employee wellbeing into organizational success, and how HR leaders can prepare employees for fulfilling, resilient careers in an ever-changing global landscape.

Michelle Grocholsky is a global equity strategist and the founder of Empowered EDI, a consulting firm redefining how organizations approach equity, diversity, and inclusion. With two decades of experience and international accolades—including Canada’s Top 100, and a distinction for progressing gender equality across Canadian corporations—Michelle is known for moving EDI beyond performative talk and into systemic transformation.

Her work focuses on changing the way people make decisions. From advising Fortune 500 firms and not-for-profits to leading global strategy at BlackBerry and BMO, she has helped shape cultures where equity is not an afterthought, but a foundational operating principle.

Michelle’s philosophy, “lift as you rise,” is more than a tagline—it’s a leadership lens that informs how she coaches, consults, and shows up in the world.

In this episode, we’ll explore:

✅ How to embed equity into decision-making systems—not just in values, but in practice

✅ Why metrics matter (and which ones drive change)

✅ What it takes to build workplaces where everyone can thrive, not just survive.

In this episode, host Thyagi DeLanerolle sits down with Dr. Rae Chresfield. Dr. Rae is a trailblazing leader in mental health advocacy, education, and organizational development. As the Assistant Vice President of Health and Wellbeing at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, Dr. Rae is dedicated to fostering a culture of care that equips students with the tools they need to succeed in both academic and professional settings.

With a decade of experience in counselling, higher education leadership, and organizational development, Dr. Rae has a proven track record of creating programs that address mental health, resilience, and career readiness. Her innovative approach has included establishing a sober living wellness residence and designing workshops to help students transition from campus to career while maintaining their mental wellbeing.

In today’s episode, we’ll discuss Dr. Rae’s journey, her strategies for preparing students for workforce challenges, and the importance of aligning student and employee wellbeing.

Earl Hoeg is on a mission to humanize work. With over three decades of leadership experience, he helps organizations build cultures of trust, connection, and collaboration—especially in hybrid and distributed teams.

Earl brings a people-first philosophy to leadership development, grounded in real-world experience and powered by proven systems used by Fortune 500 companies, including Insights Discovery and the Center for Creative Leadership. He advises leaders on how to move beyond policies and mandates—and instead lead with clarity, empathy, and purpose.

During his time in the public sector, Earl led workplace transformation efforts for over 40,000 employees across 425 office buildings—helping teams thrive through massive shifts in how and where we work. Today, he’s a founding member of the Global Future of Work Alliance and an advocate for wellbeing-centred leadership that works.

In this episode, you’ll hear Earl’s signature “Give an F” Framework (don’t worry, it’s not what you think), along with practical strategies for building team culture in hybrid environments—and creating workplaces where people can truly thrive.

Rasheedah Hasan is a seasoned leader with over 15 years of experience spanning industries such as media, entertainment, banking, and technology. Currently serving as VP, Chief of Staff, and Office of CHRO Lead at The New York Times, Rasheedah acts as a trusted advisor to the CHRO, leading critical functions such as operations, program management, HR analytics, and payroll.

Her career journey has been marked by transformative roles at organizations like The New York Times, Viacom, and Bank of America, where she has consistently driven operational excellence and organizational transformation.

Rasheedah holds a master’s degree in psychology, where her research focused on improving leadership behavior, a passion that informs her people-first approach to leadership. She is dedicated to fostering organizational conditions that value collaboration, respect, and intentional direction while balancing the demands of complex, global enterprises.

Today, we’ll explore Rasheedah’s strategies for navigating change, building inclusive cultures, and empowering leaders to achieve operational and human success.

Kevin Ramalingam is a recruitment industry veteran and the founder of Total Match Consulting, where he helps organizations across North America find their ideal match—not just in skills, but in values, culture, and vision. With over 15 years of experience spanning agency, enterprise, and consulting roles, Kevin has built a career around authentic relationships, strategic hiring, and putting people at the center of every staffing solution.

Through his work, he’s developed a reputation for delivering transformational hires, cultivating client trust, and mentoring recruiters to approach hiring as a human-first experience—not just a transaction.

In this episode, we’ll explore:

✅ What it takes to build meaningful recruiter-candidate relationships in a digital-first world

✅ How to balance speed with fit in high-pressure staffing environments

✅ The role of empathy and listening in the future of recruitment

Neil Milliken is a global leader in digital accessibility, inclusion, and assistive technology. As the VP - Global Head of Accessibility at Atos, he spearheads initiatives integrating accessibility into digital transformation strategies for enterprises worldwide.

He is also a Board Member at the World Institute on Disability, a Co-Founder of AXSChat, and a Member of the IAAP Global Leadership Council—actively shaping inclusive workplace strategies, digital accessibility policies, and assistive technology adoption.

This episode will explore:

✅ The role of digital accessibility in shaping the future of work

✅ How AI and emerging tech can drive true digital inclusion

✅ Practical steps for organizations to embed accessibility into business strategy

Adriana Peón is a trailblazing leader in global business operations, currently serving as the CEO of Decathlon Americas, where she oversees operations across Canada, the United States, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, and Colombia.

With over 15 years of experience in eCommerce, retail, financial services, and consulting, Adriana has held pivotal leadership roles at Meta, PayPal, and McKinsey & Company. Her focus on innovation, team empowerment, and business growth has been the cornerstone of her success in diverse markets.

Adriana’s passion for building inclusive, high-performing teams shines through her work with organizations like Latinas in Tech and Reinserta, demonstrating her commitment to social impact and employee engagement.

Today, we’ll delve into Adriana’s leadership insights her approach to managing complexity in the age of AI.

Christian Beaudoin is not just leading marketing for one of the world’s largest workplace solutions providers—he’s helping redefine how workspaces serve people. As Global Head of Marketing for JLL Work Dynamics, he oversees strategy for a $12B business supporting 80 countries and 1.5 billion square feet of space.

But Christian’s approach goes beyond the metrics. Recently, he facilitated a compelling conversation with workplace researcher Connie Noonan Hadley to explore one of the most under-discussed challenges in modern work: loneliness. Together, they unpacked systemic causes and what organizational leaders must do to restore connection.

From hybrid realities to human-centric storytelling at scale, Christian brings a powerful perspective at the intersection of real estate, marketing, and workplace wellbeing.

In this episode, we’ll explore:

✅ How to scale purpose-driven marketing across global teams

✅ What leaders can do to design spaces and systems that reduce workplace loneliness

✅ How JLL is redefining the modern workplace—turning square footage into belonging.

In this episode of the Wellbeing Ignites Welldoing, Thyagi DeLanerolle sits down with Eliad Weisberg exploring the intersection of HR strategy, legal expertise, and organizational leadership in driving efficiency, fostering a collaborative culture, and supporting business growth in a global environment.

Eliad Weisberg is a seasoned leader at the nexus of human resources, legal expertise, and organizational strategy. As Global VP of HR at Fiverr, Eliad leverages a comprehensive business outlook to lead cross-organizational initiatives that enhance productivity, develop talent, and foster a collaborative culture. With a strong background in legal counsel, Eliad’s career spans roles as Chief of Staff at the Standards Institution of Israel and Chief Compliance Officer at Environmental Services Company Ltd., where he guided strategic partnerships, managed compliance, and led high-stakes negotiations.

Eliad’s unique combination of legal and HR expertise has equipped him to navigate complex global challenges while maintaining a people-first approach.

Today, we’ll discuss his insights on balancing legal rigor with organizational empathy, fostering innovation in HR, and building resilient global teams.

In this special episode of the Wellbeing Ignites Welldoing, Adwoa Buahene sits down with Dr. Winters' to explore her extensive leadership experience in human resources, consulting, and talent management, focusing on her philosophy that "people matter" and her approach to driving transformative change through human-centred policies, innovation, and relentless focus on results.

Dr. Jeanette Winters, a trailblazer in human resources and talent management whose career has redefined the impact of human capital on business success.

As Chief Human Resources Officer at 8x8, Dr. Winters champions a people-first philosophy, driving collaboration, customer satisfaction, and results. Her impressive career includes leadership roles at global giants like Amgen, Pitney Bowes, and American Express, as well as startups and private equity ventures.

With over two decades of experience, Dr. Winters has delivered transformational outcomes, from reducing attrition by 50% at Igloo Products to designing strategic talent frameworks at Amgen. As founder of Winters Advisory Group, she has coached leaders, advised equity partners, and served as an interim CHRO, always delivering measurable results.

In this episode of the Wellbeing Ignites Welldoing, Thyagi DeLanerolle sits down with Jay Fortuna, to delve into how innovative talent strategies and forward-thinking leadership can drive employee engagement, foster career progression, and create a culture of continuous learning. Highlight Jay’s groundbreaking work in revitalizing organizational processes and leveraging technology in learning and development (L&D).

Jay Fortuna is a visionary leader in talent development and organizational transformation with over a decade of experience driving innovation in L&D and employee engagement. As the Senior Vice President of Talent & Operations at GoHealth, Jay spearheads initiatives that redefine the employee experience, blending cutting-edge technology like AI and micro-learning with robust succession planning and leadership development.

Jay's work has earned accolades from Workforce Magazine, Brandon Hall, and CLO Learning in Practice. His passion for empowering individuals and organizations shines through his efforts to build high-performing, engaged teams. In addition to his leadership role at GoHealth, Jay serves as a Faculty Member for the Brandon Hall Group, an Advisory Board Member for Corporate Learning Network and Consero, and a member of the OnCon Senior Council.

In this episode, we’ll explore Jay’s innovative approach to L&D, his insights on fostering agility in performance, and how he envisions the future of talent development.

In this episode of the Wellbeing Ignites Welldoing, Thyagi DeLanerolle sits down with Christina Allia to explore her expertise in creating global employee benefits and wellbeing programs that leverage neuroscience and data-driven insights. This episode will highlight how Christina fosters a human-centric approach to employee engagement, satisfaction, and performance while managing complex global challenges.

Christina Alliak is a dynamic leader in international HR with over 15 years of experience in employee benefits, wellbeing, and recognition. As the Global Head of Benefits, Wellbeing, and Recognition at Celonis, Christina oversees programs for over 3,000 employees across 15 countries.

Her innovative, human-centric approach integrates applied neuroscience, technology, and data analytics to optimize the employee experience, engagement, and performance. Christina’s passion for understanding the intersection of wellbeing and employee satisfaction has made her a sought-after voice in global HR transformation.

Today, we’ll dive into Christina’s journey, her groundbreaking strategies for fostering employee wellbeing, and her vision for the future of global benefits.

In this thought-provoking episode of Wellbeing Ignites Welldoing, Thyagi DeLanerolle sits down Simon Trevarthen, Interim CEO of the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC)—a nonprofit dedicated to helping newcomers fast-track their careers while solving skilled immigrant underemployment for employers.

Simon is a strategic transformation and workforce innovation expert with a track record of fostering disruptive innovation across the post-secondary, healthcare, and public sectors. He has led innovation ecosystems that mobilize industry and community partnerships, creating future-ready workplaces.

With experience as an executive, consultant, and speaker across Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and North America, Simon brings a global perspective with local impact. He’s also a passionate storyteller and strategist, shaping the future of work through human-centric leadership and digital transformation.

In today’s episode, we’ll explore:

✅ How organizations can embrace transformation and innovation to stay competitive

✅ Why human-centric leadership is essential in the age of AI and digital disruption

✅ The role of inclusive hiring and workforce development in shaping the future of work

In this episode of Wellbeing Ignites Welldoing, Thyagi DeLanerolle sits down with Sasha Farley, a human-centered leadership and organization development expert who believes that people are at the heart of every successful company. As CEO of Sasha Farley Consulting and former General Vice President of the International Organization Development Association (IODA), Sasha has helped businesses navigate change, build thriving workplace cultures, and optimize hybrid and remote work models.

With experience at Booz Allen Hamilton and a background spanning government, corporate, and nonprofit sectors, Sasha brings deep expertise in neuroscience-based leadership, culture transformation, and energizing retreat facilitation. Her work empowers leaders to create workplaces that foster both business success and human flourishing.

In this episode, Sasha shares insights on how to lead change to empower people rather than overwhelm them, the role of emotional intelligence and trust in high-performing organizations, and why culture always comes before strategy. Join us for a powerful conversation on leadership, transformation, and the future of work.

In this thought-provoking episode of Wellbeing Ignites Welldoing, Thyagi DeLanerolle sits down with Phil Kirschner, a global thought leader in workplace strategy, employee experience, and human-centric design. As the Founder of PK Consulting, Phil helps organizations rethink the future of work, leveraging AI, workplace transformation, and organizational effectiveness to create inclusive and high-performing environments.

With over 20 years of experience at McKinsey & Company, WeWork, and JLL, Phil has advised top real estate and talent executives on designing workspaces that foster collaboration, engagement, and well-being. His expertise in data-driven workplace solutions and strategic advisory work has made him a leading voice in reimagining how we work in an era of rapid technological change.

In this episode, Phil shares insights on how AI is reshaping work environments, the evolving role of physical and digital spaces, and how leaders can design workplaces that maximize human potential. Join us for a compelling conversation on the intersection of technology, culture, and workplace strategy.