Let's get your High Performance Leadership Retreat scheduled today! Reach out to me darrin@roadtoawesome.net to set up the conversation and get your team on the Road to Awesome for the upcoming year! Book Darrin to speak at your school or conference contact us here Grab your copy of Darrin's FREE e-book Walk in Your Purpose Check out Darrin's blog for great leadership tips and ideas Sign up for the Road to Awesome email list and newsletter Have a book idea you'd like to submit to Road to Awesome...
Mar 31, 2024•46 min•Season 1Ep. 131
Let's get your High Performance Leadership Retreat scheduled today! Reach out to me darrin@roadtoawesome.net to set up the conversation and get your team on the Road to Awesome for the upcoming year! Dr. Melinda Vandevort has been an educator for well over 20 years, dedicating herself to shaping the educational landscape. In 2016, she transitioned into administration driven by her passion for professional learning and a desire to empower fellow teachers. Recognizing the need for guidance in the ...
Mar 24, 2024•43 min•Season 1Ep. 130
In this special collaborative episode , I'm sitting down with Brian Miller from the Schurtz & Ties Podcast. Brian T Miller is a middle school principal, writer, speaker, and podcaster who is dedicated to building and maintaining healthy school cultures and encouraging all to #DoGreatThings! For more on this episode, visit Brian's blog here Interview season is here! And we’d love to help. Below are a few lessons and tricks we have picked up along the way and share in this episode TELL YOUR ST...
Mar 17, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 129
Got a question for us? Submit it here or hit us up on social media Episode 128 is a special mid-week collaboration with elementary principal Dominic Armano and high school principal Todd Bloomer. Continuing our special series, Dom, Todd, and I sit down and share our insights on March Madness, not basketball, just simply the craziness that is March in our schools. Listen in as we talk hiring, budget, recruitment and retention, staff support, and more. Book Darrin to speak at your school or confer...
Mar 13, 2024•50 min•Season 1Ep. 128
Meghan Lawson is a thought leader who studies and implements the conditions and systems needed for transformational change. A lover of learning who believes in the goodness of people, Meghan works to cultivate spaces that honor the humanity of all people. She promotes storytelling, the exchange of ideas, and risk-taking. She is passionate about disrupting the status quo and creating kinder, forward-thinking communities of action. Meghan is also intensely curious about how to enhance the customer...
Mar 10, 2024•48 min•Season 1Ep. 127
Phil Januszewski is a tattoo covered, Netflix baking-show flopping, high-energy chemistry/physics teaching professional speaker. He is on a mission to create and spread happiness through education, motivation, and entertainment. Phil is a nationally known dynamic speaker of 10+ years and a public school educator since 2005 with a masters in teaching leadership and a certification in positive education. His personal mission is to empower others to overcome burnout and work towards a more flourish...
Mar 03, 2024•41 min•Season 1Ep. 126
Claire Chandler, President and founder of Talent Boost , deeply believes that leaders shape cultures, and stronger cultures drive greater success. Leveraging 30 years of experience in people leadership, human resources, and business ownership, Claire helps organizations expand their business without losing their best talent using her proven “Growth on Purpose” methodology. Claire holds a certificate in strategic HR leadership from Cornell’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations, a master’s de...
Feb 25, 2024•48 min•Season 1Ep. 125
Dr. Kristina V. Mattis advises statewide educational technology efforts for the California Department of Education, specifically addressing the Closing the Digital Divide Initiative to achieve digital equity. Kristina’s 20+ years in education spans roles from classroom teaching to executive director, and from strategic plan development to leading change and project management across public and private instructional institutions. She is an ESL multilingual speaker and published author. Kristina’s...
Feb 18, 2024•39 min•Season 1Ep. 124
Got a question for us? Submit it here or hit us up on social media Episode 123 is a special mid-week collaboration with elementary principal Dominic Armano and high school principal Todd Bloomer. Continuing our special series, Dom, Todd, and I sit down and share our insights on the Super Bowl (complete with our picks) and answer a viewer/listener question about creating a culture where staff will discuss the undiscussable issues. The article from which this topic came can be found here Book Darr...
Feb 14, 2024•54 min•Season 1Ep. 123
John R. Miles is a leading authority on intentional behavior change, personal growth, and mattering. He is a keynote speaker, author, top-rated show host, and the founder and CEO of Passion Struck®. His award-winning podcast, Passion Struck with John R. Miles, consistently ranks among the world’s top 100 shows and the #1 Alternative Health podcast. Recognized as one of the top thinkers in personal mastery and a Premier 100 Leader, his influence extends far and wide. With over two decades of corp...
Feb 11, 2024•46 min•Season 1Ep. 122
Erik M. Francis, M.Ed., M.S ., is an international author, educator, presenter, and professional development provider with over 25 years of experience in education. He is the author of the book Deconstructing Depth of Knowledge: A Method and Model for Deeper Teaching and Learning published by Solution Tree. His book Inquiring Minds Want to Learn: Posing Good Questions to Promote Student Inquiry will be published by Solution Tree in Spring 2024. He is also the author of Now That’s a Good Question...
Feb 04, 2024•51 min•Season 1Ep. 121
Lisa Parry is a veteran writing teacher and school leader who provides a variety of services to professionals including custom communication, conflict mediation, keynotes, and professional development. She especially loves to help others create scripts for the tough talks we all have to have at home and at work. Lisa is proud to lead a 2021 National Blue Ribbon Elementary School and a 2020 ESEA Distinguished Elementary School, and she was honored to be named 2022 South Dakota Region 1 High Schoo...
Jan 28, 2024•45 min•Season 1Ep. 120
Mosongo Moukwa is a seasoned executive and consultant who has dedicated his career to helping companies thrive by commercializing new technologies, diversifying their product offerings, and entering new markets. Across thirty-plus years in leadership, Mosongo has applied his unique talent for identifying leadership gaps and developing the talent and culture necessary for success. He helps solve important innovation challenges that hold organizations back by unleashing the collective creativity o...
Jan 21, 2024•44 min•Season 1Ep. 119
Allow me to introduce two incredible educators to you all. Todd Bloomer and Dominic Armano are both currently seated principals and are highly respected in their field by their peers. Both are soon to be published authors (Road to Awesome, LLC) and will be regularly featured here on the podcast during each month's special mid-week release. Got a question for us? Submit it here or hit us up on social media Todd Bloomer was born and raised in New York, Todd Bloomer got to Texas as soon as he could...
Jan 17, 2024•50 min•Season 1Ep. 118
Candace Heiken, M.Ed . combined her background in education and psychology with her passion for empowering students and founded Lively Minds Institute, an organization with a mission to cultivate independent, lifelong learners through the development of executive function skills. Lively Minds developed an executive function solution called Cerebrate that provides educators with a simple way to identify deficiencies based on observable classroom behaviors and then access lessons to teach the stra...
Jan 14, 2024•39 min•Season 1Ep. 117
Dr. Kristilynn Turney: A highly experienced subject matter expert in school improvement initiatives, leadership professional development, coaching and mentoring, and diversity, equity, and inclusion, Dr. Kristilynn Turney has dedicated over two decades to making education work and educators thrive. Her vast experience with multicultural systems and their language-related learning challenges has developed her into a favored go-to for training, coaching, goal establishment, results metrics analysi...
Jan 07, 2024•38 min•Season 1Ep. 116
This is the year when you decide to embrace having that leadership coach. Having a coach took me from being a struggling manager to a leader of people, to Principal of the Year. It can do that for you too...hit this link and schedule a free conversation with me about leadership coaching for you, your team, or an individual on your leadership team. My purpose is to help leaders gain clarity, walk in their purpose, and find joy in their leadership life. Let's connect... Thank you for listening to ...
Dec 31, 2023•27 min•Season 1Ep. 115
This special episode is a collaboration between Leaning into Leadership and The Teaching Champions podcast with Brian Martin Darrin & Brian take on each other's questions about education, leadership, experience, and the holiday season. If you haven't already, make sure you check out the Teaching Champions Podcast Book Darrin to speak at your school or conference contact us here Grab your copy of Darrin's FREE e-book Walk in Your Purpose Check out Darrin's blog for great leadership tips and i...
Dec 24, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 114
Dr. Joy Karavedas is an experienced leader with over 20 years of executive-level leadership in independent schools and nonprofits. With a Masters in Education and a Doctorate in Organizational Leadership, Dr. Karavedas actively teaches as a Professor at Bachelors and Masters levels. She currently holds the position of Director of Research and New Program Development at Orange Lutheran High School where she is responsible for development and oversight of the school’s flexible learning options and...
Dec 17, 2023•44 min•Season 1Ep. 113
Check out the NCMLE Inspire 2024 conference here David James is a 7th grade social studies teacher at Harold E. Winkler Middle School in Concord, NC. He serves his students and colleagues in multiple leadership capacities including the Lead Mentor as part of the Winkler Middle School Beginning Teacher Program, 7th grade level chair, and 7th grade social studies lead. David believes effective teacher-leadership is a core proponent of the K-12 school building that is built on passion, trust, and a...
Dec 13, 2023•34 min•Season 1Ep. 112
Dr. Bryan Pearlman is a veteran educator/school administrator, a mental health therapist, keynote speaker, and adjunct professor. He is the author of two books: Maslow Before Bloom: Basic Human Needs Before Academics released in May 2020 & Whatever It Takes For All Students To Succeed In School and Life , released in January 2019. Dr. Pearlman is also the co-founder and board member of the mental health non-profit DSMHW.org . His expertise is helping all children to succeed, challenging beha...
Dec 10, 2023•41 min•Season 1Ep. 111
Steve Bollar , a.k.a. Stand Tall Steve, is an educational thought leader, former Superintendent of Schools, principal, author and a school culture and motivation expert. He is known for his quick wit, creative thought, and humorous personality. Steve has been identified as one of the Top 30 Global Gurus In Education. He is the author of the leadership book Stand Tall Leadership , school culture book Ideas, Ideas, Ideas! , Ideas, Ideas, Ideas Rally Edition, and is a contributing author in the boo...
Dec 03, 2023•45 min•Season 1Ep. 110
Jim Saliba is a certified coach, trainer, and public speaker with a BS, MBA, and over thirty years of experience in the leadership world. His career began as a software engineer before being promoted to management in the IT industry, where he eventually became the VP of a $4 billion tech company. He has been in the trenches and has conquered most challenges leaders face throughout their careers. Jim adopted a growth mindset and created an atmosphere where employees were encouraged to experiment ...
Nov 26, 2023•42 min•Season 1Ep. 109
Katie Kinder, author of Untold Teaching Truths and Hallway Leadership , is a professional learning facilitator, and she has been an educator since 2006. She brings her message of hope, fun, and real strategies to educators all over the nation. She believes that life is fun, and learning should most definitely be fun. A teacher of the year, top five district finalist, Speaker, Author, Professional Development Leader, a Mom, a Wife, a Fierce Advocate for Education, and grant award winner, Katie ha...
Nov 19, 2023•42 min•Season 1Ep. 108
This week on the show , I am recapping a fabulous visit with Ft. Hays State's Future Educators Day. On this episode, I am answering four questions of undergraduate teacher candidates. Big thank you for Morgan Barba, Lauren Cure, Skylar Steinle, and Vanessa Renteria for their willingness to record their questions and being on the show! Go Tigers!! Check out Episode 68 : When Calling Parents isn't your Calling with Crystal Frommert Check out Ft. Hays State University's Teacher Education Program he...
Nov 15, 2023•31 min•Season 1Ep. 107
Don Schmincke is the author of the Best-Selling book The Code of the Executive and has been featured in the Wall Street Journal and USA Today. He is an Award-Winning Speaker, Researcher, Founder of the SAGA Leadership Institute and delivered over 1,700 speeches. His new book, Winners and Losers: Entrepreneurial Lessons from 30,000 CEOs on How to Come Out on Top is available now on Amazon. Connect with Don: don@sagaleadership.com or on LinkedIn or Twitter (X) Book Darrin to speak at your school o...
Nov 12, 2023•38 min•Season 1Ep. 106
Sam Demma is the best-selling author of Empty Your Backpack: Unpack Your Beliefs, Take Consistent Action, and Create a Life of Meaning , and one of the most in-demand keynote speakers in the Education and Association sectors. He co-founded the volunteer organization PickWaste, delivered two TEDx talks, and—as a result of his exceptional contributions to Canada—was awarded the prestigious Queens Platinum Jubilee Award. His work is often featured on national news shows like Marilyn Dennis, Breakfa...
Nov 05, 2023•41 min•Season 1Ep. 105
October is National Principal's Month - to celebrate and help principals walk in their purpose we have the autographed copy of my book, Road to Awesome: The Journey of a Leader here , at a special price of just $20 and free shipping ( use code FOBA ) Johnathan Cranford has seven years of experience as a special education teacher on a therapeutic campus for students with emotional disturbance and four more years as an in-school suspension teacher at two middle schools. After discovering how in-sc...
Oct 29, 2023•41 min•Season 1Ep. 104
October is National Principal's Month - to celebrate and help principals walk in their purpose we have the autographed copy of my book, Road to Awesome: The Journey of a Leader here , at a special price of just $20 and free shipping ( use code FOBA ) Maxwell Roach is a children’s book author and the Founder of JonAyves Learning Club, a personalized learning organization that teaches children concepts such as long division as early as the age of 3. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Univ...
Oct 22, 2023•52 min•Season 1Ep. 103
October is National Principal's Month - to celebrate and help principals walk in their purpose we have the autographed copy of my book, Road to Awesome: The Journey of a Leader here , at a special price of just $20 and free shipping ( use code FOBA ) Cheryl Strauss Einhorn founded Decisive, a decision sciences company that trains people and teams in complex problem solving and decision-making skills using the AREA Method. AREA is an evidence-based decision-making system that uniquely controls fo...
Oct 15, 2023•39 min•Season 1Ep. 102
