AI is here and we believe it can help us be more efficient, more creative and get more work done. Jennifer Bittinger shares how AI is helping industries across sectors as well as in her industry of healthcare reporting. She’s not talking about AI replacing humans but helping humans do their job better and with more efficiency so humans can do what makes us human; create, connect and contribute. With 20 years of experience in tech, media, marketing and public relations, Jennifer brings a wealth o...
Nov 15, 2023•48 min•Ep. 107
Who controls your narrative? Is it you? Or is it an external force? Narrative is more powerful than stats and creating your narrative is an essential part of creating your future. I sat with the brilliant Shawn Dove who published ‘I Too Am America’ and is here to talk about the importance about the brilliance of black contributors to the American story and why it is important to us all to create and share our story. Shawn Dove’s leadership mission mantra is “there is no cavalry coming to save th...
Nov 08, 2023•40 min•Ep. 106
Your body is an instrument of thought. Top leaders understand how to connect with their body, listen to their body and control their body for optimal leadership and personal success. Today we have top thought leader and doctor in somatics, Dr. Robyn Tiger who is discussing why it is important to get reconnected to our bodies. Her work greatly aligns with CAFFE’s NeuroSomatic Creativity®’s belief that we need to better link our mind, body, brain and spirit to have the best chance for a life well ...
Nov 01, 2023•47 min•Ep. 105
What is proximal Leadership? You'll find out today! Emotional intelligence affects leadership and is needed for team creativity. Kristen is a thought leader in the area of ERG support, leadership and organizational strategy in healthcare and other industries. She is also a top CAFFE facilitator in Prismatic Leadership and Intercultural Creativity. Listen in for great strategies to empower your leaders and team members for internal and external success! Kristen Isaac, MPH, Founder and CEO at Proj...
Oct 25, 2023•49 min•Ep. 104
Have you ever wondered where the foundations of creativity and leadership are built? It might be earlier than you thought! The foundations of all learning are built during the incredible first 1000 days of life. Finding out about the impact of these vital early days transformed today's guest, Clare Stead's career took her from working with primary-aged children to building the Oliiki app for parents and parents-to-be from conception to two. She's building the leaders of tomorrow. During our chat...
Oct 04, 2023•51 min•Ep. 103
'Music is the transformative technology of the mind," Dr. Ani Patel As we skill and reskill our workforce for this future of work, do we really take into account the interactive methods and activities that make brains more aware and creative in business? With the work of Lisa Peterson, we do. Lisa is a music therapist and supports our advocacy here at CAFFE Strategies that claims our top Prismatic leaders are ones who use the arts and new experiences to better integrate their brains. They also u...
Sep 20, 2023•40 min•Ep. 102
Today's prismatic leader is a leader that understands their inner game. They are strong in self awareness, emotional regulation, meta-cognition and interoception, which is the ability to understand your body’s internal signals. Who knew that poetry was an effective way to build these skills? And it’s now proven by neuroscience! Nationally recognized poet and author, Peter Kahn is a national thought leader on using poetry to build these internal leadership skills. A founding member of the London ...
Sep 07, 2023•45 min•Ep. 101
What a perfect time to celebrate creativity and our world premiere of the audio version of I AM CREATIVE! than on World Creativity and Innovation Day! Today we are inviting some of the top voices on workplace creativity and doing something unique with the book. We are taking this children’s book and discussing how these ‘16 Diamond Tools of Creative Thinking’ are major points of concern for the workplace and our nation’s creative output. Sometimes the best way to talk about serious issues is thr...
Apr 23, 2023•1 hr 10 min
Episode 100: The Creative Potential of Our First-Gen Students Dr. La’Tonya “LT” Rease Miles is an expert on the first-generation college experience. Being a first-gen college graduate and a former stop-out student herself, she is now the Director of University Partnerships at ReUp Education, a company founded in 2015 to help colleges reconnect with the long-overlooked population of stopped-out students through a mix of technology and human coaches. In this episode, Genein and La’Tonya chat about...
Apr 10, 2023•39 min•Ep. 100
Episode 99: Mindfulness, Meditation, and the Power of the Creative Brain Nicole Tetreault is the author of Insight Into A Bright Mind, and today we have her discuss Neurodiversity and everything that revolves around that subject. To begin, we will learn about Nicole's path through the field of neuroscience so that we can gain a deeper comprehension of her experience and acquire some context regarding how she developed into the person she is today. For today’s episode, we will get to know how opt...
Feb 27, 2023•43 min•Ep. 99
Episode 9 8: Being Unashamed, Unafraid, And Beautiful Even In The Face Of Creative Abuse *Disclaimer: There are sensitive subjects are addressed in this episode. Listener discretion is advised. Experience changes the brain and affects our creative identity. Therefore, when our childhood or early life involves any type of abuse, it affects the way we see ourselves, our environment and others. Trauma literally changes the brain. Jozanne Marie bravely shares her story of dealing with childhood abus...
Feb 13, 2023•36 min
Episode 9 7: How Intercultural Creativity® is Impacting our Climate for the Better With Susan Israel Susan Israel, the founder and president of Climate Creatives, an architect, artist, social entrepreneur, and change agent, joins us in a very fascinating episode wherein we talk about what she does and how she started. What kept people from taking action? Fear and a lack of conviction that their actions are important. Susan thinks that because we're so focused on the present and the future, we're...
Feb 06, 2023•56 min
Episode 9 6: The Neuroscience of Education: How to Empower Our Students by Teaching with the Brain in Mind with Dr. Kieran O’Mahoney Dr. Kieran O’Mahoney, who is a neuroscientist, author and speaker, joins us in a very interesting discussion about being aware of the brain’s part in making the way for diversity, equity, and creative thinking in our classrooms. In this episode, the Genein and Dr. Kieran will discuss how he got his start in cognitive neuroscience when he saw the disconnect between ...
Jan 23, 2023•55 min
Episode 95 - How to Find the Creative Gold within Your Wellness Journey with Alicia Leytem Alicia Leytem joins us for a conversation on wellness and creativity! Alicia is a certified Wellness Coach, Wellbeing Consultant and a Mindfulness Expert combining her passions for healthy living, mindfulness, and authentic leadership to guide professionals in creating lasting changes for their physical, mental, and spiritual growth. She founded Alicia Leytem Wellness in 2015 and she recently published her...
Aug 15, 2022•47 min
A Creative Tribute to a Teacher: Mr. Miller For this Diamond Mentor moment, I will be sharing my recent experience speaking at my 6th grade teacher's memorial service and how his guidance and empathy structured my current mindset and creativity. I nominated him for the 2011 Sondheim Award which he won $10,000. I’ll share how that award affected his reflection on his whole teaching career. We will also discuss how empathy and engagement is critical for building strong brains and how the brain pro...
Aug 05, 2022•20 min
Episode 94: How A STEM Career is Made Better with STEAM with Joseph Jefferson How do the arts help leaders navigate through a VUCA world? NASA's award-winning flight engineer, Joseph Jefferson discusses how his arts background trained him to be adaptable, observant, and emotionally aware throughout his STEM journey. He and other JPL-NASA and CalTech employees and students just finished an 'off-off Broadway' play debut, 'From the Earth to the Moon'. The process and final production provide furthe...
Aug 01, 2022•48 min
Words can build or destroy and now we have the neuroscience to prove it. During this Diamond Mentor Moment, I'll bring in the work of Dr. Andew Newburg, Dr. Lisa Feldman Barret and Dr. Mark Waldman to show how words, microaggressions and negative phrasing can hurt our ability to thrive, create and connect with one another. Intercultural Creativity® and Intercultural NeuroCreativity® at its best! Enjoy! Genein Letford, Keynote Speaker, Author, Educator...
Jul 21, 2022•13 min
Episode 93: Living a Creative Life of Purpose with Yetunde Shorters Yetunde has a calling, and it’s crystal clear - to guide women in discovering their life’s purpose so they can impact lives, brand their business, and earn profits confidently! Yetunde believes the world would be more joyful, compassionate, and kind if everyone stepped fully into their purpose. She has made it her mission to find the answer to the question, “Why is it so difficult for humans to be kind to each other - not nice, ...
Jul 18, 2022•36 min
Episode 92: How to Be an Interculturally Creative Communicator with Monique Russel Communication is critical and language is powerful. Language can influence the way we see ourselves, others and the creative potential of us all. Monique Russell, the Communication Coach, shares her wisdom to guide us to craft our words and melodic messages to get our message across to the masses. Come learn how to use language to improve your Intercultural Creativity®! Monique Russell is the communications expert...
Jul 05, 2022•44 min
How does being on the most powerful non-profit board literally change a brain? 🧠 For our Diamond Mentor Moment, I open up and share my journey of self discovery through the participation of one of the most awesome and powerful boards in the nation, Donorschoose.org. We look at mindset, culture, neuro-mind maps and what it means to truly discover your authentic self. I’ll be bringing in statements from Dr. Lisa Fieldman Barrett and Dr. Micheal Platt, both neuroscientists who study brain plastici...
Jun 29, 2022•21 min
From veterinarian to comic to creative guru, Dr. Caroline Brookfield is on the mission to make sure people are in control of their everyday creativity. She encourages people to *DANCE” which is 5 effortless habits to help YOU release your inner creative genius. Listen to this hilarious and information packed episode to learn what they are. She loves to challenge, entertain, engage and interact with audiences and this is no different. Fill your mental universe with more diamond stars to enhance y...
Jun 13, 2022•47 min
How do you create a life that combines neuroscience with social activism? Well, our next guest Dr. Peter Sterling has written the playbook on it. From being a Freedom Rider and getting arrested for social justice to seeing the connection between discrimination and brain stress, Dr. Sterling started to see a connection between wellbeing, brain science and overall health in marginalized communities. He also shows how this affects our Intercultural Creativity®. Working in communities of color, Dr. ...
Jun 07, 2022•43 min
How does being wise and creative with our food help us be more innovative in life? The ‘Fit Foodie’ Mareya Ibrahim-Jones is here to share her wisdom! Mareya Ibrahim is "The Fit Foodie" - Clean eating and food safety expert, patented inventor of Eat Cleaner and the Grow Green line of products, author of the book Eat Like You Give a Fork: The Real Dish on Eating to Thrive and podcast host of Recipes for Your Best Life. Chef, holistic nutritionist, and wellness warrior. Mareya was featured on the E...
May 30, 2022•42 min
Did you know that it is possible to transform your health data into artistic expression? Justus is here to tell you how having something tangible about your body’s information helps in healing healthcare. In today’s episode of The Create and Grow Podcast, we speak with Justus Harris. Justus Harris is the epitome of what it means to combine disciplines to make a greater impact in the world. They are an artist, educator, and health advocate. After their Type 1 Diabetes diagnosis, Justus founded Me...
May 23, 2022•35 min
‘Genein, I can’t take any more voice over powerpoints! This is having no long term effect on people’s behavior around these DEI topics!” I heard this and I knew one reason why. If facilitators aren’t tapping into people’s emotional brain, there is no strong connection to the topic. Sitting in a 60 minute lecture you are not emotionally committed to means it goes in one ear and out the other. Especially if it is a topic that can put people in a defensive mode or a ‘I’m not engaged’ mode. The neur...
May 18, 2022•16 min
Did you know this was Mental Awareness Month? Yes! And to improve your creative thinking, you need to be mentally aware and mentally healthy. In today’s episode of The Create and Grow Podcast, we speak with Dr. Saliha Afridi. Dr. Saliha Afridi is a powerful thought leader in the areas of mental health, wellness, parenting and dealing with that inner critic – that voice – that influences your creative identity. She established The LightHouse Arabia, which is now one of the largest mental health c...
May 16, 2022•52 min
Did you know your creative thinking ability affects your financial wealth? Did you know that your relationship with money is also affected by your cultural lenes? Bob is here to share how these concepts are connected and how to build a solid financial foundation with these connections in mind. In today’s episode of The Create and Grow Podcast, we speak with Bob DePasquale. Bob is an advocate of stewardship. He has always believed in taking care of the things that he has been blessed with. It is ...
May 09, 2022•43 min
Are you leading the way for others? If you need to know how, Tara is here to lead the way! In today’s episode of The Create and Grow Podcast, we speak with Tara Jaye Frank. Her work, fueled by a deep belief in the creative power and potential of everyone, focuses on building bridges between people, ideas, and opportunity. Before founding her culture and leadership consultancy, Frank spent twenty-one years at Hallmark Cards, where she served in multiple executive roles, including Vice President o...
May 02, 2022•43 min
Today’s Diamond Mentor Moment uses the incident of the 2019 university college scandal to talk about the effects of “protecting” our children and team members from experiencing rejection. What is going on in the brain when rewards are just given to us and we don’t have to work for them? What does that do to our creative identity? Join me today as we dive into the university blues of removing failure from our life! Dr. Kelly Lambert's TEDx Talk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOJL3gjc8ak...
Apr 29, 2022•14 min
How does theater arts help you in business? Well Theo is here to highlight the connections! Bronx, NY native Theo Caesar began his career as a professional actor at the age of 10. From his first commercial, which was filmed in the original office of MTV in the 80s, to his first feature film role in "Police Academy 3", it was obvious that there was a positive chemistry between young Teddy Abner and the entertainment world. Theo left NYC and Acting to pursue a career in music writing, production a...
Apr 25, 2022•37 min
