David speaks to the power of expressing your voice. He leads listeners in a guided process asking them to inquire about times when you feel that you are not fully expressing your voice. As we lean into our authentic changemaker selves, it is critical that we share our voice loud and proud! He recommends that once you become aware of the block that you have, then you can begin to take small steps to share your voice. Ask yourself why you are not speaking up and sharing your voice. David shares th...
Sep 20, 2023•27 min•Season 1Ep. 28
David speaks with Matt Beaudreau who is a Keynote Speaker, Consultant, and Coach to organizations around the world, Matt has a reputation as a provocative thought leader in educational and personal development practices. He is a two-time featured TEDx speaker having spoken to over 250,000 people across the world. In 2017, Matt founded Acton Academy Placer Schools; schools that utilize the Socratic method, with an emphasis on self-direction and cultivating confident, independent young people with...
Sep 13, 2023•46 min•Season 1Ep. 27
David speaks to the power of expressing your deepest truths through what you create in this world. His guests are reflections of a vision they held within themselves for a better education system, and the courage they had to go out and create it. He starts by asking the question: what makes you, you? What is your unique emanation that wants to express through you? What dream have you deferred or have been holding back on? David’s recent guests have made the connection between action and what is ...
Sep 06, 2023•26 min•Season 1Ep. 26
Scott Bess is the Founder and former CEO of Purdue Polytechnic High Schools, which has quadrupled the annual number of underrepresented minority students from Indianapolis who attend Purdue University. Prior, Scott was President of Goodwill Education and developed the Excel Center to create opportunities for high school dropouts to attain a high school diploma, which now serves over 9,000 students across the US. He was appointed to the Indiana State Board of Education by Indiana’s Governor and s...
Aug 30, 2023•46 min•Season 1Ep. 25
David begins today’s episode with a short guided practice to get you centered as he hopes that you can listen from your heart today. He shares his experience navigating change from the limitations of fear vs. the expansion of your heart. He speaks to the importance of locating where you are coming from with your changemaking goals. If you are coming from a place of fear, you will create more suffering. If you are coming from a place of love and from the desires of your heart to serve, you will s...
Aug 23, 2023•25 min•Season 1Ep. 24
David speaks with Jethro Jones who is a national award-winning former school leader, podcaster, and author of the books How to be a Transformative Principal and SchoolX: How principals can design a transformative school experience for the people right in front of them! He is also founder of the BE Podcast Network, the best educational podcast network out there. Jethro currently consults school leaders on strategies to help them save time, lead more effectively, and overcome their own weaknesses....
Aug 16, 2023•53 min•Season 1Ep. 23
David took a courageous step to re-release an episode from his previous podcast. Please forgive the audio quality. The message is so raw and authentic that David is asking that you feel his words, despite the audio distractions. This was a powerful moment in David’s life where he publicly shared a traumatic experience from his childhood around abuse and abandonment. He held this shame and fear within his body for more than 32 years. Through his healing journey, he can work with this part of hims...
Aug 09, 2023•35 min•Season 1Ep. 22
In this solo episode, David shares his vision for Changemaker ED”U”. He describes his process for coming to this place of clarity around moving in the direction of building an education changemaker hub. In the process he shares powerful advice about how to find your calling for creating change in the education space. What wants to come through you? Don’t let the limitations of the egoic mind talk you out of your soul’s mission. We all have a purpose that wants to come to life. This episode is fo...
Aug 02, 2023•28 min•Season 1Ep. 20
In today’s episode, David has a great conversation with Danielle Nuhfer who believes that “well schools will change the world.” And part of how this change will happen is through educators, school leaders, and school systems prioritizing mindfulness and self-care. We discuss what inspired her to start the Teaching Well which is dedicated to helping schools increase teacher retention and student outcomes by prioritizing wellness. Danielle shares her vision for how to help teachers and schools pri...
Jul 26, 2023•42 min•Season 1Ep. 20
David starts this solo episode by inviting you to pause and take a breath with him and be in gratitude for your own growth journey. This episode focuses on trust within yourself. We have been taught to not trust ourselves, and trust things on the outside. We are not taught to trust that deep knowing within ourselves. We are constantly searching for external validation from our boss or coach, or partner, or others. We need to learn how to trust ourselves and our own feelings, senses, and intuitio...
Jul 19, 2023•23 min•Season 1Ep. 19
David has a great conversation with Dr. Tyler Hester who is currently the founder of Educators Thriving and also a vice principal in Richmond, CA. Previously, Tyler worked for the U.S. Department of Education, the Obama presidential campaign, was a classroom teacher, and a leader at Teach for America. Tyler has an undergraduate degree from Stanford, a Masters from Cambridge, and a Doctorate from Harvard. They discuss Tyler’s educational journey and how he launched Educators Thriving and his beli...
Jul 12, 2023•44 min•Season 1Ep. 18
David starts this solo episode by inviting you to pause and take a breath with him and envision your happy place to bring calm and peace to your day. This helps you calm your mind, body, and spirit. This episode focuses on self awareness from an emotional intelligence and mindfulness perspective. From a mindfulness lens, connect with that part of you that is limitless and boundless and live your life from there. Catch that feeling of expansiveness. When you can live in this place on a daily basi...
Jul 05, 2023•23 min•Season 1Ep. 17
Lindsay Kobolt currently serves as the Director of Counseling and Community Well-Being at Pembroke Hill School in Kansas City Missouri. Lindsay is passionate about advocating for well-being initiatives in school systems. When the challenges of parenting, being an educator and striving for excellence became overwhelming, Lindsay found her way to mindfulness. David and Lindsay have a great conversation about doing your own work on yourself to be a better educator. Lindsay shares her first hand exp...
Jun 28, 2023•48 min•Season 1Ep. 16
David starts this solo episode with an invitation to practice letting go of your worries, and being in the now moment for a few minutes. Then he shares the key message for today’s episode. Pay attention to what lights you up! Observe what makes you happy and try to get out of your head and into your heart. Get clear on what wants to come through you as an education changemaker. Listen to the whispers of your soul. Ask yourself what would you love to do if money weren’t an object? Try not to let ...
Jun 21, 2023•19 min•Season 1Ep. 15
David has a great conversation with Craig C Martin who is an award-winning gay Black Male Educator with over 20+ years of service and leadership centered on building culturally rich and inclusive scholar-centered learning ecosystems. Craig serves as an Executive Director & Superintendent of Bridge Boston Charter School where he has implemented a competitive teacher compensation model; adopted SEL & restorative practices to champion student voice and reduce punitive disciplinary measures;...
Jun 14, 2023•52 min•Season 1Ep. 14
In this solo episode, David starts with a short guided practice to help you get calm and connected. He then shares his feeling of how we are experiencing a tectonic shift in our world. The pandemic was a watershed moment in our history. How will you respond? Do you want to choose to co-create this new reality as we experience this great time of change or do you want to go back to the same old ways from the past? As an education changemaker, ask yourself these questions: what wants to come throug...
Jun 07, 2023•22 min•Season 1Ep. 13
Linda Ryden shares her experience teaching mindfulness since 2003 and how this led her to launch her non-profit organization, Peace of Mind. Linda’s work helps children apply mindfulness and neuroscience to notice and manage their emotions, build positive relationships, and skillfully handle real-life challenges like conflict resolution, bullying, implicit bias and racial, gender and other sorts of discrimination. Linda believes in the transformative power of mindfulness to help children become ...
May 31, 2023•46 min•Season 1Ep. 12
In this episode, David speaks from his heart, and shares the need to heal ourselves after this tumultuous 3 year period of insanity. He discusses how he lives in his “why” each and every day. David implores you to feel your pain and commit to being the best version of you for your community. He reminds you that you have all of the power and reviews the simple process that each of his guests use to take care of themselves, live with less stress, and make their “why” the north star that keeps them...
May 24, 2023•23 min•Season 1Ep. 11
It was such a pleasure to speak with Lindsey Frank, M.Ed., who is the President of the Coalition of Schools Educating Mindfully (COSEM). She has been an educator for over 12 years working with students from early learning-8th grade, and has been a districtwide Climate & SEL Coach. She has dedicated her work to integrating wellness within education through mindfulness and social-emotional learning. Her master’s is in Educational Leadership, she is a Mindfulness-Based SEL children’s book autho...
May 17, 2023•45 min•Season 1Ep. 10
David speaks from his heart in this solo episode and shares how he overcame his painful past by committing to a deep healing journey of befriending his wounded inner child. David shares openly and honestly about his past sexual abuse and abandonment as a child and how this pain held him back for so many years until he had the courage to face it with love. As he committed to a path of mindfulness and meditation, he opened up a deep path for healing the wounded parts of him that were keeping him s...
May 10, 2023•23 min•Season 1Ep. 9
In this solo episode, David shares the true purpose of mindfulness and meditation as taking back your life and getting to know the real and authentic you. You are journeying back home to yourself through these practices. One easy step on this journey is to connect with the playful and free inner child. In this episode you will learn: How self care and being in the present moment is part of a deeper game to being free and authentic That handing the “keys” to your playful inner child will set you ...
May 03, 2023•23 min•Season 1Ep. 8
David has a powerful and healing conversation with Janet Philbin ( https://www.janetphilbin.com/ ) who is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Certified Clinical Trauma Professional, a Certified Hypnotherapist, and a Certified Conscious Parenting Coach. Janet is the author of the best-selling book, Show Up For Yourself- A Guide to Inner Awareness and Growth. As a clinician with a successful practice for over 30 years, Janet’s passion is to help you show up for you and to help you develop strong co...
Apr 26, 2023•46 min•Season 1Ep. 7
David has a phenomenal conversation with Michael Fenchel who has started 4 successful companies and is currently the Co-Founder of Breathe for Change ( https://www.breatheforchange.com/ ) which is a movement enhancing the well-being of over 5,000,000 teachers, students, and school community members. In this episode, you will learn: The importance of mindful leadership for education changemakers regardless of whether you are a formal leader or not How to create lasting change from the inside out ...
Apr 19, 2023•49 min•Season 1Ep. 6
In this week’s solo episode, David shares the importance of managing your energy. Using energy as a framework for how you are navigating your life was a practice that completely changed David’s life and he wants to share it with you. He asks that listeners engage in finding the truth within themselves and to commit to the courageous act of being open to where your energy is blocked and free. In this episode you will learn: The importance of managing your energy from a spiritual, physical, emotio...
Apr 12, 2023•29 min•Season 1Ep. 5
Donnovan Somera Israel shares his wisdom as a wellness educator for over 30 years at Stanford University. David and Donnovan discuss the importance of self care, resource and recovery, burnout, stress management, boundaries, self love and compassion practices, perfectionism, and the teacher martyr. Throughout the conversation, Donnovan shares practical and useful tips to use in your daily life as a busy educator. In this episode you will learn: How to resource on the front end and recover on the...
Apr 05, 2023•49 min•Season 1Ep. 4
Key bullet points: Listening today is a courageous act as this is warrior work that most are not willing to do. You are going within your own heart to seek the truth. You are a warrior. Observe where your energy goes in your life. Is this where you want it to be going? What patterns are you running on autopilot that you aren’t aware of? Bring awareness to these patterns. For now, just notice them without judgment. We have to challenge the belief that being busy is more important than slowing dow...
Mar 15, 2023•32 min•Season 1Ep. 3
Key bullet points: Learn to love yourself the way you love those you serve. Keep your warrior spirit alive while also slowing down and prioritizing your own well being. This is a core focus of this podcast. We need your creativity, love, energy, compassion, care, innovation, as we all work together to create a better education system for all of the people in it. Begin to trust your own inner wisdom. Begin to notice your energy, how you feel, your breath, and become aware of the times when you fe...
Mar 15, 2023•33 min•Season 1Ep. 2
Key bullet points: After a serious health scare, David asks is changemaking truly worth it? He finds the answer through mindfulness and meditation. This podcast is all about helping you do the same. His commitment to mindfulness and meditation leads to liberation, truth, and inner peace and he desires to show you how to do this too. You can change education by radically changing yourself and doing the inner work. This is the first step. Join David in the journey to live your purpose to create th...
Mar 15, 2023•29 min•Season 1Ep. 1
This is a podcast for the education change makers. You see that the world is changing and feel deeply that education needs to change with it, and you are ready to be part of the solution. The Mindful Education Warrior podcast is your place to be inspired to pursue your dream of what you see as the potential for education and our young people. You know there is a better way. David K Richards is a career innovator, entrepreneur and educator who uses mindful leadership as a way to catapult others i...
Mar 05, 2023•4 min•Season 1Ep. 1
