 Debbie Forcier-Lynn is the founder of Cultural Alignment Solutions and creator of the Expansion Leadership Academy. A Professional Certified Coach, speaker, author, and energy disruptor, Debbie has spent two decades helping leaders break unconscious patterns and lead with power, presence, and purpose. She’s known for her unapologetic style and bold approach to leadership transformation—infusing neuroscience, emotional intelligence, and energetic alignment into everything she teaches. Her first book, The Expansion Factor: Living, Leading, and Loving from the Inside Out, challenges readers to stop performing and start expanding with intention. It’s not a self-help book—it’s a mirror. Debbie has coached thousands of leaders—from first-time managers to the C-suite—who value her rare integration of neuroscience and soul work. She’s a trusted partner for organizations seeking real culture change, not just better metrics. Her signature question, “What are you expanding?” has become a mantra for leaders ready to grow from the inside out. She co-hosts The Expansion Factor podcast, lives life fully with her husband, Jason, and their big, blended family, and spends her days expanding joy, making memories, and living with intention. In The Expansion Factor, you discuss the concept of "Breakthrough Communications." Could you elaborate on what this entails and how it facilitates organizational alignment? Breakthrough Communication is what happens when surface-level conversations give way to real, honest, truth-telling moments that create alignment, not just agreement. It’s about cutting through the noise, performing effective communication, politeness that avoids conflict, vague feedback, and replacing it with courageous clarity. When leaders communicate with full presence, aligned energy, and emotional accountability, they stop managing perception and start moving people. That’s where trust is built. That’s where alignment sticks. Communication becomes a vehicle for culture, not just a tool for compliance. Your book emphasizes the importance of "Action-Based Leadership." How does this approach differ from traditional leadership models, and what advantages does it offer in today's corporate environment? Action-Based Leadership is not a performance. It’s not “managing people.” It’s how leaders live their values in real-time, how they own their impact, and how they follow through. Unlike traditional models that reward titles or task delegation, Action-Based Leaders take radical responsibility for their energy, their decisions, and their people. This model is built around one core idea: “I am accountable to you for your success.” In today’s fast-paced, burnout-heavy culture, that kind of presence, ownership, and follow-up isn’t just powerful, it’s magnetic. It creates cultures that retain talent, build trust, and actually grow. You mention that "everyone has blocks that cause blind spots." What strategies do you recommend for leaders to identify and overcome these obstacles to unlock their full potential? First, stop pretending you don’t have any. That alone is a block. We all do. The real work is self-awareness that goes beyond surface-level reflection. In The Expansion Factor, I show leaders how to recognize their patterns, decode their energetic responses, and get comfortable with their triggers, because those triggers are gold. They point to the beliefs and blind spots running the show. From there, we use tools like the Expansion Audit, breathwork, Thought Shifters and a framework I call “Recognize, Redefine, Release, Replace.” This work doesn’t just shift how leaders think, it changes how they lead. Because when you stop running unconscious scripts, you stop sabotaging connection, follow-through, and confidence. And that’s where expansion actually begins. As the founder of Cultural Alignment Solutions, how do the principles outlined in The Expansion Factor integrate with your organization's mission to enhance team performance and retention? At Cultural Alignment Solutions, we don’t just train leaders, we shift cultures. The Expansion Factor is our foundation. It’s how we help organizations align behavior, mindset, and energy from the top down. We teach Whole-Self Leadership, which means we focus not just on competencies, but on emotional intelligence, nervous system awareness, and energy accountability. That’s the secret to performance that’s actually sustainable. Our clients don’t just check boxes, they build leadership legacies. And that’s what drives retention: leaders who show up fully, consistently, and with clarity. For readers aiming to implement the strategies from your book, what initial steps would you suggest to begin fostering a culture of accountability and growth within their teams? Start with presence. Leadership isn’t about your next move—it’s about how you show up right now. Because how you show up in this moment is how you show up everywhere. Then, make this your new mantra: Action. Accountability. Follow-up. Begin with consistent 1:1s that aren’t just about tasks—they’re about energy, ownership, and alignment. Teach your team to own their choices. And most importantly, model it yourself. Don’t say “I support you”—show it by doing what you say you’ll do. Culture doesn’t shift through policy. It shifts through lived example. One decision, one conversation, one leader at a time. There’s a saying you’ll hear me repeat often: “If you’re not seeing accountability in your team, where are you not being accountable?” Or, if you’re ready for the unfiltered version: “If your team sucks, you suck as a leader.” That’s not judgment—it’s empowerment. Because the moment you own it, you can shift it. Website: https://www.culturalalignmentsolutions.com/meet-debbie
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cultural_alignment_solutions/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CulturalAlignmentSolutions LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbieforcierlynn/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXkZy_jnPRDyHg8lN0LaGHA Purchase the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Expansion-Factor-Living-Leading-Loving-ebook/dp/B0FSNZ3R96
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 Sherry Yellin, PhD, PCC, BCC Sherry is recognized professionally as an expert in leadership, learning solutions, and executive development. She specializes in applying cognitive and neuroscience-based approaches dedicated to equipping leaders to be extraordinary through brain-based, innovative learning and coaching solutions. For more than 22 years, Sherry has been custom designing and delivering comprehensive leadership development programs and executive coaching services for Fortune 500 organizations, nationally-ranked hospital systems, university systems, commercial clients, international clients, and clients in the public sector. She has served mid- and large-sized organizations across multiple categories, including healthcare, packaged goods, aerospace, construction, food service, semiconductors, technology, and more. Sherry is the author of Unforgettable Leadership: 7 Principles for Leading, Learning, and Living and is the founder and facilitator of The LEADing Lab Mastermind Group, an international group of multi-disciplined leaders from across various industries that meets monthly to discuss challenges and share best practices. She is also the creator of The CRANIUM Campus, an online learning platform that hosts micro-trainings on focused leadership topics. Sherry is a brainiac and word nerd – if it involves learning about the brain or the origin of words, she’s all about it. She loves to travel, see new places, and meet new people. She has a passport full of stamps and a suitcase full of souvenirs. Sherry is married with two grown children and lives outside Dallas, Texas, with her husband, Lance, and her miniature donkey, Jasper. In her free time, Sherry enjoys volunteering at North Texas Food Bank, Redeeming Zoe in Cebu, Philippines, and Los Cabos Missions for Christ. High-Level Overview and Neuroscience Foundation The Science of High-Performance Leadership introduces the CRANIUM methodology—seven brain-based strategies designed to align leadership practices with how the brain learns, decides, creates, and connects best. Grounded in decades of neuroscience, this model integrates the science of learning with the art of leadership, transforming how leaders engage teams, make decisions, and cultivate cultures that thrive. The brain is the most valuable resource in our workplaces. It is the compass that points the way. The brain drives every choice we make, so it makes sense to let it guide how we lead. These seven brain-based strategies provide the map for being a leader people want to follow and creating a culture people want to be loyal to. Competent vs. Inspiring Leadership Competence gets the job done. Inspiration gets others to want to do it. A competent leader knows what to do. A leader worth following knows how to unlock potential, reduce threat, ignite purpose, and build a culture where people feel safe, seen, and stretched. The word “inspire” means “to give life.” Leaders worth following give life to those around them by building trust, providing a clear vision, leveraging strengths and involving other to deliver a better outcome and foster greater ownership and accountability. It’s the difference between managing tasks and moving hearts. Inspiration Behind Merging Brain Science with Leadership My journey began not in a boardroom but in a cubicle, helping create a workplace education program. A scared manufacturing worker with 25 years of service boldly stepped into my office and shared her struggles with learning and her fears of losing her job That encounter sparked a quest to answer one question: “How does the brain learn?” That search led to neuroscience, just as the "Decade of the Brain" exploded into the mainstream. What I discovered changed everything: how the brain learns is how leaders must lead. What started in the classroom moved to the conference room and reshaped how I would teach and coach leaders forever. One Brain-Based Strategy That Shifts Tomorrow The Challenge Strategy. The greatest intentional act leaders can take is to transform threat into challenge. Threat steals, kills, and destroys. When the brain is under threat, we lose the abilities to plan, collaborate, appreciate the perspective of others, and see options. We become defensive, closed-minded, and overly committed to being right. When leaders intentionally reduce psychological threat and replace it with trust, the brain’s executive functions light up—creativity, empathy, problem-solving, and adaptability surge. A simple shift like replacing judgment with curiosity or providing the why behind a decision can unleash higher engagement and performance and drastically reduce unnecessary resistance and drama. Addressing Cognitive Overload and Burnout CRANIUM honors the brain's need for clarity, purpose, respect, and inclusion. Recent studies reveal the increase in overwhelm, burnout, and stress, and the decrease in engagement and trust impacting our workplaces. The Action Strategy speaks to brain health awareness and accepting the brain has limitations we must work with and not against. It debunks the myth that more is better and emphasizes that the cheaper, better, faster philosophy rarely applies to the human brain. Optimal performance comes not from pushing harder, but from aligning with the brain’s natural rhythms—protecting against multitasking, chronic stress, and sleep deprivation. CRANIUM cultures turn productivity from a grind into a flow. Real-World Example of Measurable Change At a major defense manufacturing organization, CRANIUM strategies transformed a low-trust, high-threat culture into a collaborative, high-performing one. Employees were empowered to learn and lead at all levels—on company time. Trust replaced fear. Innovation soared. The move to self-directed work teams succeeded, employee retention improved, and the organization became an industry benchmark for progressive leadership. Challenging Traditional Leadership Models Traditional leadership models rely on checklists, org charts, and control. CRANIUM replaces that with chemistry—literally. It’s built on neuroscience, not nostalgia. Instead of forcing behaviors and relying on authority, it shifts beliefs and leverages behaviors that build trust and influence. CRANIUM is about shaping environments that activate the brain’s best self. Traditional models tell people what to do using reasoning first. CRANIUM equips leaders with the why and how to foster relating. Traditional models focus on results; CRANIUM focuses on relationships, knowing its relationships that drive results. Where to Start for Emotional Intelligence & Self-Awareness Emotions run the show. CRANIUM leaders know we aren’t thinking individuals who happen to have emotion; we are emotional individuals who happen to think. Leaders aren’t thinking beings who happen to feel—they are emotional beings who happen to think. This strategy teaches leaders how to engage emotions intentionally, regulate reactions, and connect in ways that elevate performance and loyalty. Emotional intelligence is not soft—it’s strategic. It builds from self-awareness and self-management to social awareness and relationship management. Emotionally intelligent leaders know that the quality of their relationship management depends on the depth of their self-awareness. Insights on Leading Remote or Hybrid Teams Neuroscience reveals that connection, not proximity, drives performance. CRANIUM equips remote leaders to actively build and extend trust (Challenge), reduce ambiguity and give clarity (Relevance), increase interaction (Interaction), and evoke emotional engagement (Using Emotion). Virtual environments demand greater intentionality to create belonging, psychological safety, and novelty. Brain-friendly leadership transcends location. Most Surprising Discovery for Leaders Leaders are often shocked to discover how often they inadvertently create threat. They realize through CRANIUM that what they say is not what people hear and what they intend is not what other people experience. Once a leader develops greater self-awareness and brain-based strategies to reduce threat, they realize how much untapped potential naturally exists. When leaders align with the brain, they achieve better results with less effort and inspire loyalty. That changes everything. Website: https://yellingroup.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unforgettabledesign.group/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/yellin-group YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@yellingroup Purchase the book here: https://www.amazon.com/SCIENCE-High-Performance-Leadership-Brain-Based-Strategies-ebook/dp/B0FTTQ8F8W  A Lifelong Passion Turned First-Time Author Tamara Buzyna Adams is a first-time author, showcasing her meticulous research skills and her ardent passion for genealogy. Deeply immersed in her own family’s history project alongside her mother, Helen, she brings over 25 years of experience in uncovering and preserving ancestral stories from her Russian, Ukrainian, and Finnish heritage. Using her parents’ adventurous spirit, she vivaciously seeks out any experience, especially travel, that brings her closer to understanding not only her own heritage but of those surrounding her. Determined Roots: A Granddaughter’s Mission Comes to Life Tamara’s indomitable spirit, undoubtedly inherited from her ancestors, enabled her to pursue her ambitious ideas of researching her grandmother’s diaries and searching for descendants, and she was successful. From Diaries to Times Square After five years of researching her grandmother’s diaries, her work reached a remarkable milestone in November 2024, when her book cover was displayed in New York City’s Times Square. The next day, she presented a six-hour seminar on her findings to the spellbound descendants of those who had been on the ship with her grandmother. Her dedication comes full circle with the publication of her first narrative book, Last Ship to Freedom, in fall 2025. A Scientific Mind Behind the Stories In addition to her extensive genealogy research experience, Tamara holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from Elmhurst College (now Elmhurst University), and a bachelor’s degree in occupational therapy from Florida A&M University. Her background in science and research is evident in her attention to detail when uncovering family histories and piecing together her past. Balancing Motherhood, Medicine, and Memory Tamara lives in Alpharetta, GA with her husband and 2 children. Before pursuing genealogy, as a pediatric Occupational Therapist, she specialized in improving fine motor skills, enhancing upper body strength, and supporting functional daily activities to promote independence and well-being. She later embraced the role of a stay-at-home mom. While raising her children, she actively volunteered in their schools. Creative at Heart - with a Love for Snow and Prehistoric Bones Her hobbies span a wide range of creative and adventurous pursuits, including photography, graphic design, scrapbooking, card making, travel, and anything related to snow. In her free time, she enjoys diving into genealogy websites to research her friends’ family histories. Fun fact: She has always been fascinated by dinosaurs since childhood and dreams of joining a dinosaur dig one day! Perhaps a different kind of genealogy, tracing the lineage of prehistoric giants! What inspired you to turn your grandmother Lydia’s diaries into a full-length book, and what was the most surprising discovery you made along the way? I originally planned to simply translate my grandmother’s diaries to preserve them as part of our family archive, never imagining anyone outside the family would care. But as I shared her story, people were captivated. The more I realized how unique and relevant Lydia’s journey was, I knew her story had to be told. Through the process of researching and writing, I not only brought her experiences to life but, to my surprise, discovered how deeply alike we are! I feel like I know her better now than I did when she was alive! Lydia’s story is both deeply personal and historically significant. How did you balance emotional truth with historical accuracy in your writing? I fact-checked everything I possibly could from her diaries, (names, dates, and events), against historical records, but I never wanted to lose her voice in the process. Balancing accuracy with emotion meant honoring the facts and how she actually felt about them. Last Ship to Freedom captures, through a child’s eyes, how exile, uncertainty and hope were experienced in real time. The image of the steamship Kherson adrift in the Black Sea is so powerful. What does that ship symbolize to you and your family today? To me, the Kherson represents both survival and transformation, a grand, uncertain adventure that carried my family across seas, into a new life. For our family, it’s a symbol of courage, resilience, and hope, reminding us that even in the most uncertain moments, choosing bravery over fear can change everything. The Kherson was their last chance at freedom and they bravely took it. As a genealogical expert, how did your professional background influence the way you approached telling this story? I approached this genealogy project like it was a puzzle waiting to be solved. My science background made me crave evidence. So I verified every name, date, and event through records, archives and personal memorabilia. That genealogical mindset helped me not just confirm Lydia’s story, but expand on it, adding depth, context, and connections that made her experiences come alive. The book explores themes of exile, resilience, and identity. How did Lydia’s experiences shape the generations that followed, including your own? One of the most powerful threads in Lydia’s diary is how her family held onto their identity through tradition, even in the midst of exile. They celebrated holidays, cooked familiar foods, and kept their faith. As I read her diaries and told her story, I realized that many of those same customs in my own childhood traced back to her family. Her focus on gratitude, appreciation of small joys, and perseverance, even amid loss, shaped the generations that followed. Her resilience didn’t end with her, it lives on in us. There are haunting, poetic moments in the book—like the abandoned horses in the sea. How did you navigate capturing these scenes through a child’s eyes while honoring their emotional weight? Lydia never wrote about the abandoned horses in her diary, she only began journaling a few weeks later. However, she spoke of it years afterward with quiet stoicism, proof of how deeply it affected her. I chose to honor that moment through recollections of others who witnessed it, including her friend Zhenia’s niece, and a poem from a fellow evacuee. Letting their voices convey the scene’s emotion felt like the most truthful and respectful way to capture its haunting story. What parallels do you see between Lydia’s refugee journey a century ago and the experiences of displaced people today? The parallels are strikingly similar. Families still flee war and uncertainty, and children remain caught in the crossfire of history. The loss of stability and the uncertain future Lydia endured echo in today’s refugee crisis, reminding us that behind every statistic is a human story. Her journey helped me better understand how history shapes who we are and why we search for home, both physically and emotionally. What challenges did Lydia and her family face aboard the Kherson that particularly struck you as relevant during the COVID-19 pandemic? A century before the COVID-19 pandemic, Lydia lived through the typhus epidemic aboard the Kherson, an overcrowded, quarantined ship where fear, isolation, and uncertainty felt hauntingly familiar. Like families in lockdown, they faced strict limits, scarce supplies, and no clear end in sight, yet they endured. That parallel reminded me that while diseases change, the human experience of fear and isolation remains the same, offering perspective during the darkest days of the pandemic. If Lydia could see the impact her story is having today, what do you think she would want readers to take away from it? I believe Lydia would want readers to understand the quiet power of writing things down, even when life feels ordinary or uncertain. She might have said, “that’s just the way it was,” never realizing how extraordinary her story truly is. I believe she’d be proud to know her words now help others connect with history in a personal way. Through Last Ship to Freedom, her strength reminds us that perseverance and rediscovery often come from hardship, and that even in the most uncertain times, we can rise, rebuild, and find out who we truly are. Writing Last Ship to Freedom was clearly a labor of love. How has sharing Lydia’s story changed you and your connection to your family's history? Sharing Lydia’s story transformed how I understand my family’s history. It turned names on a tree into real, interconnected lives. One of the most rewarding discoveries was finding the descendants of my grandmother’s best friend from the ship. Their families were like family aboard the Kherson, and now, a century later, we’ve become family again. Through this project, I gained a deeper empathy for those uprooted by history and a profound sense that Lydia’s story continues to bridge generations, reminding us how the past still shapes who we are today. Website: https://www.tamarabuzynaadams.com/
Faceboook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61577538382880 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/author_tamara_adams/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tamara-buzyna-a-91883522a/ Purchase the book here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FRKZK3TF  MIT alum. NCAA athlete. Engineer. High-performer in his native Canada. Rob Kalwarowsky had it all. So why was he depressed? The chaos inside his organization was matched by an internal talk-track that was leaving him confused, frustrated and ready to end it all. But from depression came transformation: a powerful journey to self-leadership, acceptance and clarity that led beyond the toxic leadership and negative thinking that had stolen his focus. Confronting the personal and professional demons of chaos, Rob uncovered a proven way to help anyone (and any team) to enhance performance in the midst of uncertainty. By accessing new perspectives on self-leadership, his strategies help companies and high-growth business leaders to rise above the unpredictability of our times. A coach and TEDx keynote speaker, Rob capitalizes on chaos with multi-billion dollar international companies, entrepreneurs, executives and aspiring leaders. What inspired you to write Capitalizing on Chaos, and why do you feel this message is particularly relevant now? The inspiration came from my own story. I had all the external markers of success—a great career, an incredible partner, financial stability—but on the inside, I was suffering from depression, suicidal ideation and panic attacks. My inner world was pure chaos, even when the outside wasn’t. In 2025, we live in a world of unprecedented levels of chaos; in business, in the economy, in politics and in technology. My book provides a roadmap to master the chaos within so you can lead yourself, your family and your business in the best ways regardless of the chaos in the world. You emphasize that chaos is not just external, but also a state of mind. Can you explain what that means for leaders and professionals? Have you ever seen a person (athlete, musician, speaker, leader, etc.) perform at their very best when it seemed like everything was falling apart around them? It’s a state of mind. Internally, they are calm regardless of the chaos around them. When your brain feels chaos, it gets stressed resulting in the fight or flight response. This response not only makes you a worse leader for yourself but also for your families and businesses. For leaders, this shows up as your internal talk track—the judgmental voice, the constant pressure, the war within. When you are able to find inner clarity and a sense of calm, you can lead in innovative, human-centric ways regardless of what's happening around you. How does your background as an MIT alumnus, NCAA athlete, and TEDx speaker inform your approach to leadership during disruption? I come from a background where performance is everything. High-stakes and competition were part of my day-to-day. I learned to cultivate a mindset that delivers in the biggest moments regardless of what’s going on around me. As a leader, you can learn how to do that too through my tools and strategies. In today’s high stakes business world, can you afford to be the leader who folds in chaos? What would it feel like if you were growing while your competition turtles in fear? In your book, you discuss the “human operating system.” Can you break down what that concept entails and why it’s important? I define the "human operating system" as the core beliefs, patterns, and internal voices that govern our thoughts and actions. It's the "software” you run on and for the most part, you’re unaware of what it’s doing. It’s mostly formed during your childhood so it’s not up to date with your current life. Would you let your phone or laptop run on an operating system that was created 30-50 years ago? By understanding your human operating system, you can selectively perform updates to whichever core beliefs, patterns and internal parts that are outdated. You can design your psychology to support your personal, professional and business goals regardless of any chaos around you. How do you help leaders develop resilience in high-pressure and rapidly changing environments? Resilience isn't about being invincible; it's about your ability to respond and recover when you get hit. The real work of building resilience starts internally. I help leaders understand their own "human operating system" to identify the patterns and voices that are draining their energy. By getting to know your inner parts (like the inner critic, people-pleaser, judge, imposter, etc.), you stop fighting with yourself. This releases the energy that was once consumed by internal chaos, allowing you to stay centered and respond to external pressure with clarity instead of fear. Can you share an example of a business or individual who successfully applied the principles in your book to overcome chaos? In 2024, I worked with a CEO who was working incredibly hard to scale his business. His business had been stuck at $3 million/year in revenue and he was working long hours, weekends and on vacation to scale. He was frustrated, burning out and unhappy at the lack of results and how he was unable to spend time with his family. He had internal chaos and it spread into his business. Through coaching, the CEO was able to become a Self-led leader, reducing internal chaos. This allowed him to implement the team leadership strategies that we worked on to engage his team, empower them in their roles and focus on scaling his business through people, processes and technology. What were the results? In 2025, his business is on track to do $11 million in revenue, he spends more time with his family and he’s gotten back into working out for his physical health. The CEO feels more successful, happier, healthier and his business is thriving. Emotional intelligence is a recurring theme in your work. How can leaders cultivate it to better navigate uncertainty? Emotional intelligence is born from self-discovery. One of my favorite quotes is from a Jamaican spiritual teacher, Mooji who says “step into the fire of self-discovery. The fire will not burn you, it will burn what you are not.” You are not fear, you are not the parts that take control when you are stressed. You can start by being aware of your emotions, leaning into them with curiosity (why are you feeling the way you do? What is it trying to tell you?) and acknowledging them. A quick strategy, when you feel stressed, fear, uncertainty, anger, etc., is to take a deep breath and say to yourself “I’m Human”. Just by doing that, you will reduce your stress and activate the ability for you to give compassion to the parts of you that are signaling to you (through emotions) that you’re in chaos. Using that tool will help you make better decisions, innovate and thrive in disruption. What are the most common mistakes executives make when responding to disruptive change, and how can they avoid them? The single biggest mistake is trying to manage external chaos without first addressing the chaos within. Executives often believe that by controlling every detail or overworking themselves, they can feel safe. But that just creates a vicious cycle of fear and burnout. You can avoid this by first acknowledging your internal state and then focusing on what you can control: your own thoughts, emotions, and actions. This puts you back in the driver's seat, allowing you to lead your team from a place of clarity, perspective and confidence. How do you define “self-leadership,” and why is it critical in both professional and personal contexts? Self-leadership is the ability to create inner peace & tranquility regardless of the chaos around you. It's the moment you realize that your internal critic, your inner child, or your people-pleaser aren't enemies—they are parts of your system trying to keep you safe. By listening to them, you stop fighting with yourself and are able to choose your next action from your best judgment. You, as Self, are the only one who has all of the information and, by leading your parts, you will be the one at the helm. This is critical because you can’t truly lead a team or a company if you can't first lead yourself with integrity and purpose. Your coaching incorporates frameworks like Internal Family Systems. How do these psychological approaches enhance leadership development? Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a powerful tool because it helps leaders understand that their inner world is made up of different "parts"—the inner critic, the people-pleaser, the overworked achiever and many more. By engaging with these parts with compassion instead of judgment, you build internal alignment. Using IFS, you can see results very quickly, sometimes even in the first session! This inner work eliminates the inner chaos and frees up your energy to lead with greater presence, empathy, and resilience. Your team models you and this inner work makes your team more innovative, productive and happier. Website: https://www.robkalwarowsky.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bosscoachrobk LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-kalwarowsky YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ExecutiveCoachRobK Purchase the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Capitalizing-Chaos-Executives-Succeed-Disruption/dp/B0FM4KV2DR  Jake C. Rudquist is an author based in Minnesota whose stories have appeared in various humor publications. His debut novel, We’re All Dead Here, is a bit more serious than his usual nonsense, and is a tribute to all the scary books he read and loved in childhood. He currently resides in the Twin Cities with his wife and dog. What is your book about? We're All Dead Here is a ghost story from the point of view of the ghosts. It asks, what would you do if you were twelve years old and suddenly a ghost? Who is your book for? My book was written for middle grade readers because that's the age when I most loved to read. I tried to make it interesting enough for adults to enjoy too. I'm a parent. How do I get my child excited to read? Let them choose what they read. If it's a book, great, but it doesn't have to be. If they seem interested in comics and graphic novels, or magazines, or even online articles, that at least gets them reading. I remember reading video game magazines when I was younger. Sure, I loved playing video games, but I grew to enjoy reading about them too. The point is, I was reading! My child might be open to reading books, but just doesn't know WHAT to read. What would you recommend? Suggest something that touches on their interests. My book incorporates two things I found fascinating when I was in that age range - the paranormal, and the Second World War. If your child is interested in sports, or music, or gaming, there are definitely books out there about all those things, both fiction and nonfiction. Once my child starts reading something, particularly a book, how can I steer them towards finishing it? This is a great question, because all our attention spans are shorter than ever, for both kids AND adults. If your child is reading fiction, you can ask them who their favorite character is and what's happening to that character. In the case of my book, I wrote it so that adults can get something out of it too. It's possible for both you and your child to be reading my book (or something similar) at the same time. With whatever you're reading, you and your child can touch base every so often to talk about what's happening in the story and propel each other towards finishing the book. Website:
https://northernspecterpublishing.com/ Purchase the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Were-Dead-Here-Jake-Rudquist/dp/B0CNDFK9KX  Rosenberg grew up in the U.S. but has lived half his adult life in Australia. At the University of Texas, he started a literary and art magazine before setting off to work in London. He then travelled through Europe and Asia. Once in Sydney, he was accepted as a ‘Writer-in-Residence’ at the National Australian Film and TV School. It was here he began his screenwriting career. Rosenberg has written seven feature films, producing three. He’s worked with Miles Davis, Daniel Radcliffe and Jeremy Irons. An award-winning screenwriter, he’s taught in India, China, the U.S. as well as Australia. Always a writer, avid reader, and adventurer, writing novels has become a new passion. Neil Kyd walks a razor’s edge between moral ambiguity and fierce love. When you crafted him, did you see him first as a father or as an operative—and how do you imagine that duality would play out visually or emotionally on screen? I saw Kyd first as a father. He’s drawn back into the espionage ‘game’ because it’s a chance, a last chance, to save his daughter’s life. I have a daughter, so identifying with Kyd’s desperation and courage, even if it crosses moral boundaries, made it easier to imagine. A parent’s love for their child has no limits. I’ve been a screenwriter for many years and can’t help but see stories through my mind’s eye - cinematically. Economical character description, plot and pace come naturally to me. The father-daughter relationship feels like the heartbeat of the story. If this were ever adapted, do you see that emotional thread taking center stage, or staying subtly woven beneath the espionage tension—similar to slow-burn narratives like The Night Manager or Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy? Hopefully, the motivation for Kyd to take the risks he does and return home to his daughter come through strongly enough that a reader won’t need to be reminded that it’s the beating heart of the story. The espionage plot stands on its own and adds the pace and intrigue every tale needs. As with le Carre or Jason Matthews’ “Red Sparrow”, there is always an emotional element that gives the character believable depth. Readers feel the constant pressure chasing Kyd. Was there a particular scene that, in your mind, crystallized the entire tone of the story—something you could picture as the defining moment, whether on the page or on a screen? A scene or moment that sticks out to me is when after all that he’s been through, the things he’s seen and done, Kyd wonders whether he is the same person he was a week earlier, when he left Kansas. He’s murdered someone and questions whether other people will recognize that he’s changed, he’s become someone else. Your description of Moscow reads like a character in itself. Did your travels and global perspective inform that cinematic sense of place, and do you envision a specific atmospheric style—gritty realism, elegant tension, or psychological intimacy—if this world expanded beyond the page? I see locations as a character; they add the context and metaphorical atmosphere that helps a reader (or viewer) to identify with the character’s circumstance. In KYD’S GAME, Moscow is a real city, a location where Kyd can assume certain things – familiar and strange at the same time. The grittiness has to do with my love of film noir movies and books. I wanted to create something as stark and evocative as an Edward Hopper painting. Kyd’s Game sits beautifully between literary espionage and psychological thriller. Were there writers or filmmakers who helped shape that tone for you—whether John le Carré, Patricia Highsmith, or perhaps influences from your own screenwriting career? I’ve always been an avid reader and admire so many authors, but my writing has been most influenced by Patricia Highsmith, Donald Westlake, Ross Thomas, Denis Lehane, Peter Blauner and of course le Carre. I like the sparseness and elegance of their books. I worked with Miles Davis, and I still feel his music and personality influence me. I very much enjoyed the espionage series “The Bureau”, the French production. Redemption versus survival is a powerful theme here. If Kyd’s journey continued, do you see him moving toward healing—or is he a character fated to exist in perpetual motion, always hunted by both enemies and his own past? If Kyd’s journey were to continue, I see him much like Walter White in “Breaking Bad”. He can’t turn back, he’s opened another side of himself that pushes him forward. The world you’ve created hints at deeper layers beyond this mission. Do you see potential for a larger narrative universe—sequels, character spin-outs, or deeper looks into the Agency and his past relationships? I have thought about a sequel for Kyd and have the opening and ending, but the middle is still being worked out. You’ve written for powerful screen talents like Miles Davis, Daniel Radcliffe, and Jeremy Irons. With that background, do you find yourself writing with an internal visual rhythm or structure—even when working purely in prose? One of the tricks I’ve learned through screenwriting is to cast characters in my head. It’s helpful to know how they walk, talk, breathe. All things being equal, I would cast Kyd as Cillian Murphy or Michael Fassbender. I understand enough about filmmaking to know the writer’s wishes are not a top priority. The line “Life and death shadow each other to the last page” feels almost like a thesis statement. What does that mean to you personally, and how would you want that haunting tone preserved in any future interpretation of Kyd’s story? “Life and death shadow each other to last page” was a gift from the author Peter Watt, but it sums up what I wanted the reader to feel. Once Kyd takes on the CIA’s mission, there is no turning back and he continues to become the man he needs to be regardless of the deadly risk. Now that you’ve stepped into the world of novels after a successful screenwriting career, what excites you most about the idea of Kyd as a character who could live in multiple forms—on the page, in readers’ imaginations, and possibly in a visual world one day? I’ve been very encouraged by the reviews I’ve received and most of them see a film or TV series in the book. Kyd is a cinematic character. He’s not someone who can turn a cell phone into a satellite dish, or a martial arts expert, but an everyman, someone a reader or viewer can relate to. The action is cinematic, but the emotional core is personal. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marc.rosenberg.539233/
Twitter: https://x.com/RosenbergM5201 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/244face/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marc-rosenberg-75086864/ Purchase the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Kyds-Game-Marc-Rosenberg-ebook/dp/B0CXLSZBC2  Patricia Leavy, PhD is novelist, sociologist, and arts advocate (formerly Associate Professor of Sociology, Founding Director of Gender Studies and Chairperson of Sociology & Criminology at Stonehill College). She is widely considered the world's most visible proponent of arts-based research, which merges the arts and sciences. Patricia has published over 50 books, nonfiction and fiction, and her work has been translated into numerous languages. She has received over 100 book awards. She has also received career awards from the New England Sociological Association, the American Creativity Association, the American Educational Research Association, the International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry, and the National Art Education Association. In 2016 Mogul, a global women’s empowerment network, named her an “Influencer.” In 2018, she was honored by the National Women’s Hall of Fame and the State University of New York at New Paltz established the “Patricia Leavy Award for Art and Social Justice.” In recent years, her passion has turned to penning romance novels. Cinematic Destinies closes out a sweeping trilogy. How did your background as a sociologist and academic shape the way you approached writing such deeply layered characters and themes? To me, the Red Carpet Romance trilogy is about what it means to live a life and to do so well. It’s about the moments that string together ultimately creating the tapestry of our lives and how beauty hides in those seemingly small moments. It’s also very much about love, friendship, family, art, and becoming who we’re meant to be. So there are big themes and yet each book is very character driven. As a sociologist, I’m predisposed to look at both the big picture and the small parts. I think that helped me balance my desire to tell a romantic, sweeping love story and also address the bigger questions of life, hopefully in a poetic way. You’ve often spoken about the intersection of art and research—how do you see this trilogy in regard to your broader creative exploration? My goal has always been to create a philosophy of love and a philosophy of art through my nonfiction and fiction books. The big difference to me is that nonfiction is literal and fiction is poetic. This trilogy is very much a part of my larger desire to explore both love and art. All three novels in the series explore what love is, what it means to love, and what love brings to our lives. We often talk about love as something we say or feel, but it’s something we do. Love is a verb. The characters in this series do love well. The arts are also woven throughout the series. The trilogy begins and ends with film shoots. There’s a narrative about life imitating art and art imitating life. There’s also a narrative about the role of art in our lives, what we need from artists to make sense of our own lives, and what it means to create art. So while at the end of the day the Red Carpet Romance series is very much a romantic and whimsical trilogy with beach read vibes, it’s also a deeper exploration of love and art and that’s at the core of all my writing. Hollywood fairy tales and intellectual life meet in the Forrester family—did you draw on your own experiences balancing scholarship and storytelling when crafting Finn and Ella’s world? Finn and Ella were very much drawn from my imagination. That said, I’ve always enjoyed talking about art and ideas with my friends and colleagues. That started in earnest when I was in high school and never stopped. I think it’s natural for me to put characters together and have them explore creativity and ideas. The Red Carpet Romance trilogy begins with The Location Shoot. In that novel a group is living together in Sweden for three months while they make a film about the meaning of life. They form deep friendships, with Ella and Finn falling in love. Throughout the book they sit around talking about art, philosophy, and life. So these discussions were a part of the series from the start and it’s a natural extension to see more of that in Cinematic Destinies in which we meet Ella and Finn’s three adult children. I must say, writing the family scenes was great fun. I just love the smart and playful way they all talk with one another. And of course, more of those conversations happen in the film set in Iceland and in all the Forrester kids’ relationships. The Forrester children grapple with identity, ambition, and vulnerability in ways that mirror broader social questions. How did you approach their stories? The beauty of having three characters is that each has a different personality and thus different strengths and struggles. They each grapple with things we all deal with in some way. It’s difficult to figure out who we are and to become who we’re meant to be. Identity, career, love—these things are all challenging. I tried to write each of the Forrester kids authentically. My hope was to create resonant storylines for readers who may see bits of themselves in the characters. Between the Forrester children and the other characters in the novel there were so many different personalities. As a writer, that was great fun and I could identify with each of them in some way. Georgia’s story of artistry and self-discovery echoes both her mother’s path and, in some ways, your own. Was she the character who felt closest to your heart? I adore Georgia and in some ways she’s the character I admire the most because of her free spirit and desire to make life a grand adventure. She definitely lives out loud. In truth, I’m very different from Georgia. I’m a planner and I’m shy. I think the character closest to my heart in some ways is the least likely, Jean Mercier, the filmmaker. While we are wildly different in some obvious ways, he has devoted his life to his art and the search for beauty. He tackles tough topics because he believes that artists must sometimes go dark to help others see the light. I relate to all of that. Albert’s search for identity is particularly poignant. As an academic who has studied human complexity, what do you hope readers take from his journey? It’s okay to be who we are. We are each enough. The best thing we can do for ourselves, and others is to live authentically. Albert is a comic artist and loves creating superheroes. To become the hero in his own life though, he needs to be free to be himself. That’s very hard to do in a world that is often cruel. I hope Albert’s journey with his parents serves as a model to others for how those hard conversations can be made much easier if we lead with love. Ella and Finn are exceptional parents. This trilogy explores the nature of love, fame, and legacy. Looking back, what surprised you most as the story unfolded? I didn’t know it was going to be a trilogy, let alone that it would span over thirty years. I wrote The Location Shoot during the lockdown. Like so many others, I was bored at home, binge watching movies, double fisting potato chips, and filled with existential doom. I wanted to escape to someplace joyful, romantic, and creative. Someplace affectionate where you could hug and kiss people without fear of killing them. Due to the pandemic, I was thinking about the big questions of life, and so I decided to write a novel following a group making a film about the meaning of life and living together in seclusion. Given the topic of the film, Ella was a philosopher. When I finished the book, the vaccine was out and life was returning to something more normal, but I loved the characters so much that I wanted to continue with them. Each book in the trilogy organically inspired the next. The second book, After the Red Carpet, sees Ella and Finn building a life together and starting a family in the shadow of Hollywood. After that, I wanted to explore the lives of those three children when they were grown up. How would the public fascination with their parents’ love story affect them each and their love stories? And whatever happened to Jean Mercier, the filmmaker who started it all? Those questions became the basis for Cinematic Destinies. Your work consistently bridges academia and popular fiction. Do you feel your novels are part of a larger movement toward making scholarship accessible through storytelling? I hope so. At the end of the day, what’s most important to me is that my novels are beautiful works of literature. They are art. Yet there’s nothing that says art can’t also inspire, illuminate, provoke, evoke, and educate. In fact, I think the best art helps us to reflect on our own lives and the larger world in which we live. Literature is accessible to people in a way that traditional scholarship is not. There’s a long line of scholars who espouse their ideas through fiction, including Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, and Zora Neal Hurston, each of whom wrote plays, short stories, novellas, and novels as well as their traditional scholarly work. I hope to continue that tradition. After closing the door on the Forrester family’s saga, where do you see your creative and academic energies moving next? I have a nonfiction book, part memoir part guidebook, called The Artist Academic coming out in October. It’s the first book I’ve written of this kind, and I’m excited to share it. For years people have asked me how I merged academic and artistic interests and moved from being an academic author to a commercial novelist. This book is my answer. I held nothing back and loaded it with tips in the hope of making it useful to others. My next novel comes out March 24 and it’s called Twinkle of Doubt. It’s the second book in a big series I’ve written called The Celestial Bodies Romances which follows the healing love story of a novelist and federal agent. For people interested in the series, the lead title Shooting Stars Above is available everywhere books are sold. Beyond this, I’m fully immersed in writing fiction and have many romance and women’s fiction novels coming out in upcoming years. Many explore social themes such as identity in the age of social media, violence, and mortality. What role do you believe contemporary romance can play in not only entertaining readers but also in illuminating the complexities of human experience—something you’ve long studied as an academic? Romance novels espouse the hopes, dreams, fantasies, and emotional life of their readers and writers. They take seriously women’s feelings, experiences, and sexuality. Regarding sexuality, bear in mind the sex depicted in romance novels is often written from the perspective of women, something we rarely see in the culture. Moreover, romance novels are about love. Without love, there is no compassion, no humanity. It is at the heart of who we are as human beings. So I can think of no better way to make my contribution to culture and explore what it means to be human. Storytelling is very powerful. It can change the way we see and think. The more immersed we are in the stories, the greater the impact, and there’s actually neuroscience to support that. So being swept away in the whimsy and escapism of romance novels is a tool we can use to communicate powerful ideas. Website: https://patricialeavy.com
Faceboook: www.facebook.com/WomenWhoWrite Instagram: www.instagram.com/patricialeavy X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/PatriciaLeavy Purchase the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Cinematic-Destinies-Novel-Carpet-Romance-ebook/dp/B0DWNGNM1Z  What moment or experience first gave you the idea for OPULIS? Was there a specific story or woman that inspired you to start this project? It began with a question that kept me up one night: How will history remember the women who built Microsoft’s future? As the company’s 50th anniversary approached, I realized we had an opportunity and an obligation to contribute something meaningful. Microsoft wasn’t just another corporate partner to us; it was the foundation sponsor that helped give birth to Women in Cloud, the platform that allowed us to dream in billions: billions in access, innovation, in possibility. They had given us the tools to build, and now it was our turn to give something back. So we approached Microsoft’s leadership with a simple idea: “What if we honored the past, celebrated the present, and ignited the AI future?” The idea resonated instantly. Because this was not just about recognition; it was about continuation and contribution. During those early conversations, I learned something that stopped me cold: so many of the women who shaped Microsoft’s most defining transformations, the engineers, strategists, and program leaders, were missing from the official archives. Their work powered billion-dollar breakthroughs, yet their names rarely appeared in the record. The realization crystallized my vision. I knew we needed to create something lasting, a book that captured the untold stories of women and allies behind Microsoft’s moments. The people who built, supported, and believed in progress when there was no blueprint to follow. What makes OPULIS extraordinary, at least to me, is that it doesn’t just celebrate women, it honors the allies, mentors, and champions who stood beside us. Their belief, advocacy, and partnership were essential in shaping the inclusive innovation movement we see today. True progress has always been a shared endeavor, and I wanted that truth at the heart of OPULIS. I often call the stories within OPULIS the “leadership codes of innovation.” Because in so many cases, there wasn’t a manual, these women and allies wrote the playbook. They reshaped systems, designed first-of-their-kind solutions, and redefined what leadership looked like before anyone else dared to try. That’s what gives OPULIS its deeper meaning. It’s not just a book; it’s a leadership accelerator, a living framework that helps our community lead with courage, collaboration, and allyship. Everyone who contributes to or engages with OPULIS grows as a leader because they’re learning how inclusion, innovation, and impact intersect in real time. You’ve probably read about Microsoft’s transformation in business school case studies or Harvard Business Review articles. But OPULIS tells the human story, the lived experiences, the risks, and the relationships that made those transformations possible. I still remember one conversation that left a mark on me. A woman who had led global transformation initiatives at Microsoft once told me, “We contributed to Microsoft’s future, but history won’t remember our names.” That sentence changed everything. It reminded me that OPULIS had to be more than a tribute; it had to be a gift. A gift from the Women in Cloud ecosystem to Microsoft, the company that empowered us to build, belong, and believe in the power of democratized access. To me, OPULIS is a celebration of significance, scholarship, and shared leadership, a blueprint for how we honor the past, celebrate the present, and ignite the AI-powered future together. We created OPULIS to:
“When we think of artifacts preserved in museums, most of us picture ancient manuscripts, fine art, or political documents. Rarely do we think of the stories of women in technology. Yet these stories are every bit as foundational to understanding our world today.” That’s exactly what OPULIS represents to me: a landmark publication chronicling the lives of 50 pioneering women whose ideas, innovations, and advocacy guided Microsoft through the cloud and AI revolutions. This project isn’t just about memory; it’s about legacy. And more than that, it’s about ensuring that when the next generation looks back, they’ll know exactly who built the future they’re now living in. As you curated these stories, which one hit home for you personally — made you stop and think, this is why I’m doing this? When people ask which story in OPULIS hit me the hardest, I think back to why I began this journey in the first place. I’ve always been captivated by history. I can lose hours watching documentaries or wandering through archaeological sites, imagining the lives of those who came before us. I’ve long admired leaders like Cleopatra and others who shaped civilizations centuries before our time. And I often find myself wondering: What did it take for them to create the conditions that allow me, generations later, to sit here and do this work? That’s what OPULIS represents to me, a continuation of that legacy. The women in this book are the modern architects of progress. Their courage, intellect, and resilience built the foundation that allows us to imagine and innovate in this new era of AI. So when I think about the work we do at Women in Cloud, it’s never just about designing programs that democratize access or foster economic mobility. It’s also about preserving the stories of those who made such progress possible. Because someday, when women 20 or 50 years from now go searching for history, I want them to find truth, not just data. We live in an age where AI is democratizing intelligence, but with that comes a risk: truth can be diluted, reinterpreted, or lost entirely. Capturing these lived experiences now is essential. These stories are more than inspiration; they’re cheat codes for navigating systems that weren’t always built for us. They are blueprints of resilience, courage, and strategy. It’s our responsibility to preserve these frameworks so that future generations can not only see themselves in history but also have the confidence and clarity to shape what comes next. That’s when it clicked for me, this is why I’m doing this. To honor the past. To empower the present. And to safeguard the wisdom that will guide the future. Did anything surprise you while gathering these stories — something about women’s leadership you hadn’t seen so clearly before? Absolutely — and it began the moment I started reaching out to tell the women they had been selected as one of the Top 50 to be featured in OPULIS. When I called or emailed them to share the news, their first reaction almost always surprised me. Many of them simply didn’t believe it. They’d ask, “Are you sure? Why me? I wasn’t an executive.” Some even asked if I had reached out to the wrong person. That humility hit me deeply. These were women whose fingerprints were all over Microsoft’s most defining transformations from building the cloud to scaling global markets to advancing accessibility and inclusion, yet they didn’t see themselves as “chosen.” They didn’t have lofty titles or public visibility, but they had built the very foundation that powered Microsoft’s trillion-dollar shift. It reminded me how easy it is for history to overlook those who do the real building. Most people know names like Satya Nadella, Bill Gates, Melinda Gates, Steve Ballmer, visible figures who led the company from the front. But behind that visibility were hundreds of others: brilliant, humble, determined individuals who were quietly shaping strategy, executing vision, and creating the scaffolding of success. Then another, more unexpected layer emerged. Once word spread about the book, I began hearing from others who were disappointed not to be included. And I understood that emotion deeply, because the desire to be seen, to have your contribution recognized, is profoundly human. But I reminded them this was a nomination-driven process. If someone wasn’t in the book, it wasn’t because they didn’t deserve it; it was because one had nominated them. It became a powerful reminder for all of us: recognition doesn’t happen in silence; it happens when we advocate for each other. For me personally, being part of this group was an incredible honor because it validated something I’ve always believed: you don’t need a corporate vice president title to make a lasting impact. Leadership isn’t defined by hierarchy; it’s defined by contribution. Some of the women in OPULIS were deep technical experts, the ones who literally built the infrastructure that powers Microsoft. Others, like me, came from the product management and licensing side, designing infrastructures, platforms, public-private partnerships, and funding models that turned innovation into impact. Together, these diverse contributions became the engines of Microsoft’s strength. But what truly stood out across every story was a constancy of generosity. These women weren’t just building products; they were building bridges. They mentored, they sponsored, they shared their playbooks freely so others could rise faster. And that generosity, that open-handed leadership, reaffirmed my belief that democratizing access always begins with generosity, with the willingness to share knowledge, time, and visibility. That’s the essence of inclusive leadership. It’s what transforms companies into communities and innovation into belonging. After interviewing and researching these women, what qualities or habits do you think helped them break barriers at Microsoft and beyond? As I listened to their stories, one truth became undeniable: these women were not simply succeeding within the system; they were architecting the system to make it more inclusive and accessible for everyone. They were creating blueprints to democratize computing access long before it became a mainstream conversation. What I saw reflected across every story was the essence of ICONIC Leadership™, a model rooted in Intention, Courage, Optimism, Nurture, Innovation, and Connection. These women didn’t wait for permission; they built pathways that others could walk through. They understood that leadership wasn’t about holding power; it was about sharing it. It’s about democratizing access so that opportunity isn’t a privilege, but a practice.. Underneath their leadership behaviors were six powerful activations — a living blueprint for how democratization truly happens inside a complex global ecosystem like Microsoft:
That’s what helped them break barriers at Microsoft and beyond; they didn’t just lead within systems; they reimagined them. They turned leadership into architecture, one built not for exclusivity, but for access, inclusion, and shared impact. Was there a moment of bravery or risk-taking in one of the stories that really inspired you? Yes, one moment that stands out vividly for me was a conversation I had with Karen Fassio. Her vision stretched far beyond quarterly metrics or business outcomes. She wanted to address societal-level challenges like sustainability and inclusion. That conversation became the spark that eventually led to the creation of BUILD for 2030, an initiative that invited partners and innovators to align their work with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. For me, that was a defining moment of bravery, not the kind that comes from taking a personal risk, but the kind that comes from daring to think systemically. Karen wasn’t just asking, “How do we grow revenue?” She was asking, “How do we use this global platform to change the world?” One concrete example that still inspires me: we wanted to elevate innovators contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, but there was no internal mechanism to recognize or amplify their work. So, we Built one. We connected the macro system, which is Microsoft’s vast global ecosystem, and the micro system, these are the individuals and partners on the ground doing the hard work of change. That bridge transformed everything. It gave these innovators visibility, credibility, and long-term sustainability. It reminded me that bravery in leadership isn’t always about taking a leap, sometimes, it’s about seeing the system differently and having the courage to rewire it for the collective good. How has this journey changed how you see yourself as a leader and a woman in tech? This project fundamentally changed how I define leadership. When we started OPULIS, there was no budget, no blueprint, and certainly no roadmap. It was an idea born out of conviction that we needed to honor Microsoft’s 50-year legacy and the women who helped shape its trillion-dollar transformation. We quite literally tin-cupped our way through the early stages, reaching out to our networks, asking for support, and unlocking whatever resources, infrastructure, and talent we collectively had. What amazed me was how much we could accomplish when we stopped waiting for permission and simply started building. That’s when I truly understood the power of collective access that innovation doesn’t always need massive funding; it needs shared belief, trust, and alignment. On a personal level, I learned to lead with courage and clarity, especially when navigating ambiguity. There were moments when not everyone was engaged or aligned, and that’s normal in any ambitious project. But I realized that if the vision is clear and the goals are transparent, people will find their way into the journey. Leadership, I discovered, isn’t about forcing participation. It’s about creating reasons for people to want to contribute to help them see how their piece fits into something much bigger. Through OPULIS, I became a more grounded and systems-minded leader. I learned that courage doesn’t mean having all the answers; it means being willing to ask the hard questions, to hold the vision when others can’t see it yet, and to keep moving forward even when the path isn’t paved. As a woman in tech, this journey reminded me that access is our greatest equalizer. When we combine courage, clarity, and community, we can create transformation out of thin air and build legacies that will outlast us all. The book’s message is “You belong. You have an impact.” Why was that message so important to put out into the world now? We are living through one of the most profound transformations in human history the age of democratized intelligence. Artificial Intelligence and technology are reshaping how we work, connect, and create value faster than in any era before. Institutions are being tested, power structures are shifting, and the very definition of leadership is being rewritten in real time. In moments like this, it’s easy for people, especially women, emerging leaders, and those outside traditional circles of influence, to feel small or unseen. To question if they still belong in this next chapter. That’s why this message matters now more than ever. When we say, “You belong. You have an impact,” we’re not just offering encouragement; we’re making a declaration. We believe that every individual has a role in shaping the systems of tomorrow. Whether you’re a coder, creator, policymaker, or parent, you are part of this story of change. As the OPULIS manifesto says, “Intelligence was being democratized. Technology has become a powerful tool for access. For the first time, individuals everywhere could learn, build, lead, and unlock their potential at scale.” That’s what this moment is about: realizing that access and agency are no longer privileges for the few. They are possibilities for everyone. The women in OPULIS embody this truth. They didn’t wait to be chosen; they chose themselves. They didn’t wait for permission; they built pathways for others to walk through. Their courage, generosity, and innovation are living proof that you can make impact from any seat, at any level, in any system. So this message, “You belong. You have an impact,” is a reminder and a call to action. Because belonging is the foundation of innovation, and impact is the measure of purpose. This is our invitation to everyone reading: Step into your ICONIC Leadership zone. Use your access. Share your knowledge. Build with courage. Because the world doesn’t just need technology, it needs you in it. The book funds AI certification scholarships for women. What does that mean to you personally — and what impact do you hope it creates? My vision is for every woman who touches, plays, or creates with AI to have a copy of OPULIS in her hands to read these stories, connect with them, and design her own blueprint for leadership. Imagine a world where every woman, no matter where she begins, has the chance to thrive in the age of AI. That’s the purpose behind our Book-to-Scholarship model. For every ten copies of OPULIS sold, we fund a Microsoft AI Innovator Certification Scholarship, giving women gain the skills, mentorship, and community they need to build economically stable, purpose-driven careers. We’re not just launching a book; we’re igniting a movement to ignite 1,000 AI careers and bring more women into the AI workforce. Because AI isn’t just about automation, it’s about amplification. It mirrors what great teams already do: detect patterns, forecast possibilities, and innovate for impact. When women gain access to AI skills, we don’t just build smarter workplaces; we build a more inclusive economy, one that’s ethical, equitable, and empathetic. Every scholarship is a bridge. Every book is a spark. Together, we’re writing a new chapter where women don’t just adapt to the AI era, they lead it. Since launching #empowHER50, have you heard any stories or feedback from readers that moved you or validated the mission? Yes, and honestly, the response has been overwhelming. Even in our early pre-launch phase, we received over forty messages of early praise from leaders across industries who said OPULIS made them feel seen, inspired, and reconnected to their purpose. Many readers shared that seeing their peers’ stories reminded them that impact doesn’t always wear a title, and that belonging is built through contribution. The feedback validated that OPULIS isn’t just a book; it’s a platform for connection, recognition, and empowerment.
If a young woman in tech picks up OPULIS 20 years from now, what do you hope she feels — and what do you hope she does next? I hope she feels inspired, seen, and empowered. More than that, I hope she takes action: mentors others, drives inclusion, builds responsibly, and shapes technology in ways that open doors for the next generation, just as the women in OPULIS did. I hope she feels seen, capable, and limitless. I hope she realizes that she belongs in every room where technology, leadership, and innovation are being shaped not as a guest, but as a builder. I want her to see OPULIS not just as a collection of stories, but as a playbook for ICONIC Leadership™, a guide to embodying intention, courage, optimism, nurture, innovation, and connection in her own journey. Each story in OPULIS is a mirror, showing her what’s possible when women lead with purpose and design access for others. My wish is that she doesn’t just admire these women, she activates what they started. She creates her own blueprints for democratizing access, whether it’s in AI, policy, entrepreneurship, or education, and uses her platform to open doors for others. I hope she leads with awareness, takes responsibility for lifting others, and measures her success by the contributions she makes. Because real leadership isn’t about being the first or the loudest; it’s about building pathways so others can rise faster. If she can embody that courage, clarity, and community, then OPULIS will have done its job. I hope that, 20 years from now, she doesn’t just read about history, she writes the next chapter of it. Website: https://womenincloud.com/opulis/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/womenincloud Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/globalwic/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/wic-empowerment-chronicles LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chaitrav YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@womenincloud Purchase the book here: https://www.amazon.com/OPULIS-Powering-Microsofts-Trillion-Dollar-Shift-Collectors-ebook/dp/B0FXTYNYVJ  After writing hundreds of government reports, Lorelei Brush has stepped into the glorious freedom of fiction. She loves to occupy a comfy coffee house chair and imagine her characters acting out each scene. Her first novel, “Uncovering,” came from her experience managing a large USAID-funded education project in the northwestern part of Pakistan. She was inspired by the strength and resilience of the women on her staff and invented a group of characters working to improve the health of pregnant women and their children as they confronted the severe restrictions of fundamentalist Islam. “Chasing the American Dream” rolled from her pen following a six-month stint in the National Archives researching the role of her father in the Office of Strategic Services in World War II. He’d told his children exciting stories of his feats as a spy behind enemy lines, all of which turned out to be lies. She had to write about his quest to be a hero and how, when the war had not provided the opportunity, he might have used the 1950’s to achieve his goal. Along with two gentle cats, she lives outside of Washington, D.C. in a community of good neighbors, friends, and fellow writers. In her spare time she reads novels, sings with a community chorus, hikes, and works out at the gym. Your father’s tales of wartime heroism turned out to be inventions, something you uncovered only after deep research. When you realized those stories were fabricated, how did that discovery reshape your understanding of him—not just as a soldier, but as your father? And how did it reverberate through your own sense of identity and family history? My father was a very angry man and aimed his strong feelings toward everyone in his orbit. He had few friends. Even television commentators in the 1950s earned a shaking of the fist and harsh words. He claimed to have wanted to be a doctor but was unable to afford it, yearned to be an entrepreneur but couldn’t bring a small engine company out of near-bankruptcy, and had sworn never to have children. I did my best to avoid him as I grew up, and it took a long time for me to feel confident, especially in arguments. The discovery that he was not the hero he had described elicited from me several curses at him and then laughter. He wasn’t this perfect god who must be obeyed but a very human man whose goals were unfulfilled. I was freed to be the person I wanted to be and could forgive him, one adult human to another. Chasing the American Dream was born out of months spent in the National Archives. What was the most startling document or revelation you uncovered while digging into that history? According to my mother, my parents argued about my being named Lorelei. She was against giving me a German name right after World War II; he argued the name “Lorelei” had kept him safe as a spy behind German lines and would also keep me safe. After checking his personnel file for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), which contained only two pieces of paper, I dove into the list of code names OSS had given its spies. It was a “startling revelation” to discover no listing for “Lorelei.” My subsequent months of research seconded the idea that he wasn’t a spy with a code name, and he wasn’t ever behind enemy lines. Did he have a training exercise for which he had chosen this code name? Was it a secret wish? I will never know. The book’s 1955 setting is steeped in Cold War tensions and post-war disillusionment. How did you capture that uniquely American mix of optimism and paranoia? The choice of the 1950s time period seemed perfect to show off David’s optimism in his mix of avid patriotism, a hatred of communism, a firm belief he could achieve the American dream through hard work, and an absolute conviction that the Allies against fascism constituted a righteous war. Having missed his chance to be a war hero, David was sure that finding justice for a Nazi war criminal was the chance for him to be a true hero. The paranoia came from the accusation that David was a communist. The Red Scare of the 1950s in which many teachers were accused of being communists supplied an excellent situation to force David to recognize that his country had flaws, and he could not be the superhero of myth. Rather, he had to accept that his quiet successes as an “everyday” man could make him a different but satisfying hero. David goes from serving justice abroad to questioning it at home. What does his story say about the fragility—or resilience—of the American dream itself? The idea of the American dream has evolved over time. In the early 20th century, the dream encompassed a sense of pride in being a part of a country that believed in freedom, justice for all, and that hard work brings rewards. David was a disciple of this version. By the 1950s, the American dream had become more concrete, a sense of a chicken in every pot and a house and a car for each family. I believe this second version is where we are now, and I’m afraid it has led us to anger about not having everything on our list. We would be more resilient as a country if we returned to a debate on how best to realize “freedom and justice for all,” rather than argue that we’ve been deprived of what we are somehow owed by being citizens. In writing about a Nazi war criminal hiding in plain sight, how did you navigate portraying evil without sensationalizing it? I designed Dr. Gerhardt Adler as a man who followed orders, was a well-trained chemist, and was entranced with the idea of being at the forefront of rocketry. These professional qualities have a very positive side, balanced against the facts that the rockets he designed were built by men in a concentration camp and destined to kill large swaths of people. Adler also had a family, which gave him a chance to show off the parenting skills of discipline and love. By seeing the good side of a “villain” as well as the evil, readers can understand the character’s motives although still not agreeing with his actions. David longs to be a hero but is confronted with moral gray zones. Did you struggle personally with how far he should go in his pursuit of justice? Though David is only roughly drawn from my father, this characteristic of taking a belief to an extreme was definitely one of my father’s flaws. He was a man committed to patriotism, who thought he had the correct versions of right and wrong and expected others to agree and live by that code. He didn’t see gray zones. I was sure my character, David, would not give up his quest for justice easily. It took what he viewed as the failure of the justice system and the potential loss of family to stop him! How did your background writing hundreds of government reports shape your approach to David’s “spycraft”—both technically and emotionally? I wrote three sorts of government reports: (1) proposals in which I had to sell my company (and sometimes myself) as the perfect group to carry out a project; (2) reports of data that had to stick to the numbers, no interpretation; and (3) drafts of policies that would improve program structure and performance. I’m happy dealing with statistics but love to dream up multiple scenarios of what data might mean and what policies would encourage the best results. Selling one’s company or oneself also benefits from creative framing. In inventing David’s spycraft, I let my imagination flow, choosing which facts would constrain his behavior and where I’d let him go wild. Having read a good deal about spies in WW II—and watched a slew of movies—I stuck largely to historical events and let David’s risk-taking personality shine. You describe fiction writing as “glorious freedom.” After decades of structured, factual work, what surprised you most about unleashing your imagination? I wrote a good deal of this book long-hand at a coffeehouse, sitting in a club chair in front of a fireplace. I had a clear picture of my characters playing out scenes in my mind—the setting, the emotion, the movement, the language. And sometimes I’d erase the scene and start again, if it didn’t feel right. I’ve enjoyed storytelling like making up adventures for my son, but this writing enterprise unleashed three-dimensional movies in my head each morning. Pretty incredible stuff. Was there a scene or moment in Chasing the American Dream that changed dramatically from your first draft to the final manuscript—and why? I wrote at least four drafts of the ending for the book. For a while, I had David becoming a great lawyer and orator and showed him arguing an important case and winning. I was uncomfortable with that, as I didn’t think it showed nearly enough personal, emotional growth in the character. In the end, I made him a family lawyer, close to beloved by his community. That was the father I would rather have had. Your work intertwines personal family history with collective memory. What do you hope readers reflect on about truth, myth-making, and the stories we tell ourselves as Americans? I listened recently to a webinar by a genealogist who argued that everyone who researched their own family history found elements of mythology in the stories they’d been told. Family stories can be helpful as we work to define who we are, but they can also be harmful as they may set unrealistic expectations of what we should be like, given such a heritage. How much better it can be to understand the reality of who these people were and in their context the story occurred! In describing the context of my father’s war stories and reading reports from others of his experiences, I felt a great release of the anger I had harbored toward him. It was a forgiveness for his lies and a developing respect for who he was and why he felt lying was essential. I hope that readers will take the time to examine their own family stories, including the dreams of their forebears, the challenges they faced, the actions they took and failed to take, and the repercussions. Interviews with family members, use of websites such as ancestry.com, and genealogical research can provide a different framework for our thinking and allow us to clear out myths and come to terms with the truth. All of us also have gleaned myths about ourselves as Americans, with information from our families, the history we learned in school, and what we see and hear from traditional and social media. These bear examination as well. Is the U.S. a “land of opportunity?” For everyone? Is the ideal American a “rugged individualist?” What dream for our country do we all want to live into? Website: https://loreleibrush.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063715616610 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorelei-brush-657743a Purchase the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Chasing-American-Dream-Lorelei-Brush-ebook/dp/B08VQDSL2F  Christine Stringer is a former MGM assistant who was investigated by the FBI for piracy of a film starring The Rock. So yeah, she does find herself in little snafus from time to time. She has a BFA from the University of Victoria where she studied theatre and English. As a screenwriter and novelist, she strives to brighten people’s days, writing stories based on her film career, love life, and general mishaps. She lives in beautiful Vancouver, BC, with her husband and two young children who bring her joy every day, even though they have banned her from singing in the car. Charity Trickett Is Not So Glamorous: A Novel by Christine Stringer Bridget Jones fans are said to “fall hard” for your story. What compelled you to write a behind-the-scenes tale of Hollywood, and how much of it draws upon your own lived experiences? This book, while fun and lighthearted, is my way of taking the power back in my life after losing it. In my early twenties, I got hired to work at MGM. I thought my Hollywood dreams were coming true—until they weren’t. Through a bizarre chain of events, I found myself under FBI investigation for piracy of a huge MGM blockbuster film, starring The Rock. Quickly, I became a pariah at MGM, I was told my film career was over, and my car died - emptying my already pathetic bank account. I was devastated. Years later, with hindsight and maturity, I revisited this awful time with the intention of making it a book. By fictionalizing the worst part of my career I crafted a book filled with heart, fun, and suspense, making Charity Trickett a lovable and relatable character in the not so glamorous world of Hollywood. Hollywood in the 1990s was both glittering and unforgiving. What struck you most about the reality behind the red carpets, and how did you want to capture that tension on the page? In the 1990’s movie stars were the epitome of celebrity and our fascination for them was insatiable. This was before social media, so our images of them were limited to Entertainment Tonight and magazines. Movie stars were glamorous and out of reach. Until I worked in film I believed in Hollywood glamor. In reality, making movies is a shlep. The hours are long, the work can be tedious and tiring, and the competition in fierce. This book shows the not so glamorous work off the red carpet. Charity Trickett is both ambitious and tender-hearted—a combination that makes her feel deeply human. In what ways does she mirror your own journey, and in what ways did she take on a life of her own as a character? Charity is who I wish I was, when I worked at MGM. She’s smarter, more savvy, and more empathetic. When I was under FBI investigation for piracy, I was in my early 20s, and like most 20-year-olds, I was pretty self-involved. I only thought about how this mess impacted me. Now that I’m older, I see the stress and potential damage that I caused for the people I worked with. Because of my mistake, grown men with mortgages, and kids to put through college, could have lost their jobs and potentially their careers because of me. I never thought about any of that, but Charity does. As her life spins out of control, she empathises with people who are not supporting her through her hardship, because she recognises the significant pressure they are under. This makes her a more well-rounded and likable character than I was, when my life was spinning out of control. Your novel weaves together comedy, heartbreak, and moments of high-stakes drama—such as FBI investigations and costly mistakes. How did you balance truth, memory, and fiction in shaping this narrative? Being interrogated by the FBI was terrifying. But when I look back, I can see the absurdity. I mean, I was interrogated at a Coffee Bean in Beverly Hills—the agent even bought me a green tea! That’s where the comedy comes in. In terms of balancing truth, memory, and fiction; when you look at your past, and strip away all the dialogue, (because we can never truly remember, exactly what anyone said fifteen years ago) all we’re left with are feelings. All the feels I felt at that time, are delivered to the reader through Charity. Everything else is smoke and mirrors. At its core, your book seems to be about perseverance, the redemptive power of friendship, and the resilience required to pursue a dream. What do you hope readers carry with them after turning the final page? Time is precious time. So, when someone tells me they read my book, I truly appreciate them using their time to read my book. So, I hope I entertained them. I hope I made them laugh and forget about the problems in their complicated world for a little bit. And I hope that after the final page, they want more, because there’s another one on the way! As a young woman striving to become a screenwriter and producer in the 1990s, what barriers did you encounter, and how did those experiences shape your artistic voice? At the time I was at MGM they had never had a female executive or board member. That, in itself, defined the environment for women. MGM certainly wasn’t the only company in America who were under-representing women at that time. Throughout my film career, not limited to MGM, this male dominated environment didn’t want to hear young, fresh, female voices. While frustrating, that didn’t impact my creative voice. I knew I was being dismissed by old white guys who were out of touch. They were dinosaurs in my world. The entertainment industry has undergone seismic changes since the late ’90s. From your perspective, has it truly become more accessible for women and emerging writers, or do the same obstacles still remain—albeit in new forms? With the creation of HD, streaming TV and social media, there are more avenues to create and distribute stories outside the studio system, which gives everyone more opportunity to create. In the 90’s you had maybe twenty channels on the TV, and a handful of films in the cinema to choose from. Now, you can access hundreds of thousands of different creative content in various forms at any time from the phone in your pocket. As for women in the industry, I’m sure sexual harassment has diminished thanks to the #Metoo movement. And sure, there are more women in positions of power. But in my opinion, if women are going to be at equal footing as men in film production, the workday needs to be reduced from the typical 12-14 hour day, to an 8-9 hour workday. Long workdays are challenging to parents and while equality in the household may be improving, the reality is that women carry more childcare responsibilities. Myself, and a lot of my female friends in the film industry couldn’t continue working in film production once we had kids. With film and TV now being produced by corporations such as Apple and Amazon, companies worth trillions, it’s not too much to ask for a workday on set to be more comparable to a workday at Apple or Amazon with similar paygrades. For most crew members, that would dictate an 8 hour workday. Looking back on those formative years, what enduring lessons did Hollywood teach you about resilience, creativity, and navigating ambition? Hollywood taught me that resilience is everything. Projects fall apart, scripts don’t sell, rejection is constant. The people who lasted weren’t always the most talented—they were the ambitious ones who kept going. Creatively, the fast pace in film and TV taught me to make decisions quickly. With the distance of time, how do you view your years in Hollywood now—through the lens of nostalgia, as a cautionary tale, or perhaps as a crucible that shaped who you are today? I’m grateful for my Hollywood experience. Without it, I would never have created Charity and the cast of characters in her world. They bring me so much joy. I absolutely love spending time with them. Beyond this novel, where has your creative path led you? Can you share what excites you most about your current work, and how your voice as a writer has evolved since those early Hollywood days? Right now, I’m working on the next book in the Charity Trickett series, The Fame Game. Charity and her friends have hit success and are navigated the tricky world of stardom. I’m also adapting Not So Glamorous into a screenplay, which feels like coming full circle. My voice has solidified since those Hollywood days. I’m embracing who I am as a writer and not trying to be what I think others want. It’s exciting to see that people love the book and are eager for more, because this book is 100% me. Website: https://christinestringer.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christinestringerauthor/ Purchase the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Charity-Trickett-Not-So-Glamorous/dp/1684633168 |
AuthorJane Ubell-Meyer founded Bedside Reading in 2017. Prior to that she was a TV and Film producer. She has spent the last five years promoting, marketing and talking to authors and others who are experts in the field. Archives
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For more information contact: [email protected] 917 848 3353
Media
Privacy Policy
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Bedside Reading® is a Registered Trademark
