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Ronderings

Ronderings

Written by: Ron Rapatalo
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About this listen

 In RONderings, Ron talks to his guests about their superpowers, including career advice, diversity, mindset, wellness, and leadership. Ron grew up in New York City, and has been coaching and leading executive searches for the last five years, taking what he has learned from 15 years in corporate, higher education, government, and non-profit contexts. He and his wife are obsessed with reality television, and Ron also moonlights as a men's personal stylist and group fitness instructor. Ron says, "I believe in the power of intuition and deepening one’s self-awareness and impact on others. I believe in the power of connection and transparency. I believe that we must dismantle systems of oppression and racism to recover our fullest humanity. Most of all, I believe our power to change the world starts from changing ourselves first."© 2023-2025 Ron Rapatalo Careers Economics Personal Success Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Transforming Broken Systems: Designing Justice Systems That Help Young People Thrive with Dr. Gisele Castro

    Transforming Broken Systems: Designing Justice Systems That Help Young People Thrive with Dr. Gisele Castro
    Jan 21 2026
    From a childhood shaped by crisis in the Bronx to leading one of New York’s most influential juvenile justice organizations, Dr. Gisele Castro shares how lived experience became the foundation for systemic change and courageous leadership.In this episode, Ron welcomes Gisele Castro, CEO of Exalt, a nationally recognized nonprofit dedicated to supporting court-involved youth through education, paid internships, and cross-sector collaboration. Recently earning her Distinguished Doctoral Degree from NYU Steinhardt, Dr. Castro reflects on her journey as a scholar-practitioner who bridges research, policy, and on-the-ground impact. With more than two decades in the juvenile justice field, she is widely respected for building ecosystems that center young people while transforming how institutions work together.Dr. Castro traces her purpose back to a defining moment at age fourteen, when her older brother was shot and became entangled in the juvenile justice system. Witnessing her family navigate a broken system without adequate resources reshaped how she understood inequality, poverty, and opportunity. Though she once imagined a career in journalism, that same curiosity evolved into a deeper question: what could she build to change outcomes for young people facing the same barriers her family did?Throughout the conversation, Dr. Castro unpacks the philosophy behind Exalt’s success, from cultivating internal self-reflection and coaching to uniting judges, prosecutors, educators, nonprofits, and youth who rarely sit at the same table. She shares insights from her doctoral research, Innovation Versus Incarceration, and introduces the emerging 2030 Project for Juvenile Justice—a blueprint designed to close the gap between scholarship and practice while centering youth voice. Listeners will also hear how Exalt approaches leadership development, talent mobility, and intentional scaling as it expands from New York City to Syracuse.At its core, Dr. Castro’s journey is a powerful example of legacy, environment, and responsibility. She challenges leaders to reject scarcity mindsets, invest deeply in people, and model wellbeing so young people can truly thrive. Tune in for an inspiring conversation on how proximity to adversity, paired with disciplined leadership, can reshape systems and create lasting impact.Chapters🌱 00:39 Meet Dr. Gisele Castro and Her Journey of Resilience📘 01:53 Publish your book at https://leveragepublishinggroup.com/ ✨ 01:53 The Spark Behind a Lifelong Mission🏛️ 02:46 Building Exalt and Transforming Systems and Lives🔮 04:43 Personal Reflections and Future Aspirations✍️ 17:12 Find support for writing your impact-driven book at booksthatmatter.org 🧠 26:25 Intellectual Inspiration and Family Legacy📍 29:45 Exalt Expands Its Impact to Syracuse📈 32:16 A Methodical and Strategic Approach to Scaling🏙️ 35:09 Building the Next Generation of Leadership in New York City🚀 38:24 Inside Exalt’s Leadership Development Model🌐 40:52 If you are a leader or changemaker looking for support, check out geniusdiscovery.org 🎙️ 52:29 Want a podcast just like this one? Check out podcastsmatter.com LinksWebsite: www.exaltyouth.orgExalt’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/exalt_2/Socials: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gisele-castro-9860b8b/ Connect with Dr. Gisele Castro’s work through Exalt and follow her journey as she continues to reimagine juvenile justice, leadership development, and systems built to help young people and communities thrive.Connect with Ron: www.linkedin.com/in/rapataloCheck Out Ron's Book: www.amazon.com/dp/1613431473 Leverage Publishing Group: www.leveragepublishinggroup.comPublish a Book That Matters: http://booksthatmatter.orgStart a Podcast That Matters: http://podcastsmatter.comGo from Expert to Thought Leader: http://geniusdiscovery.org For more great podcasts like this one, visit: https://podcaststhatmatter.org/
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    54 mins
  • Rest as Infrastructure: How Nonprofit Leaders Can Break the Burnout Cycle with Josh Feldman

    Rest as Infrastructure: How Nonprofit Leaders Can Break the Burnout Cycle with Josh Feldman
    Jan 14 2026
    From learning differently to leading differently, Josh Feldman shares how a childhood shaped by learning disabilities became the foundation for redesigning work culture around rest, humanity, and sustainable impact.Josh Feldman is the Founder and CEO of R&R: The Rest of Our Lives, a practice dedicated to helping mission-driven organizations build cultures where people can actually thrive. With over 20 years of experience as a master facilitator, coach, and community builder, Josh has worked across nonprofits and social impact spaces, bringing deep empathy, creativity, and systems thinking to leadership development. His work challenges the assumption that productivity and exhaustion must go hand in hand, especially for changemakers doing meaningful work.Josh traces this philosophy back to his childhood, sharing a formative fourth-grade memory of seeing beauty in New York City buildings while struggling to read. Navigating a learning disability with the support of thoughtful parents and teachers taught him early on that there are many valid paths to success. Those experiences shaped his belief that differences can become superpowers—building collaboration, empathy, and inclusive leadership skills that would later define his career.The conversation explores why so many leadership programs fail to create real change: people are simply too burned out to absorb what’s being offered. Josh explains how this realization led to founding R&R and advancing practices like sabbaticals, Break Weeks, and redefining rest as organizational infrastructure rather than individual self-care. He emphasizes that leaders must model rest themselves, normalize practices like naps and meeting-free time, and reject false urgency that keeps teams trapped in constant sprint mode.Josh is calling to redesign work around life, not the other way around. Josh and Ron reflect on hustle culture, nonprofit scarcity narratives, and the opportunity to use this moment of technological change to re-center humanity at work. Listeners will walk away with a more expansive understanding of rest, permission to experiment with what restoration looks like for them, and a vision for building workplaces that can sustain impact for generations to come. Tune in for a thoughtful, restorative conversation that just might change how you think about leadership, productivity, and what really matters.Chapters🎙️ 00:39 Meet Josh Feldman and His Mission to Transform Work and Leadership📚 01:24 Publish your book at https://leveragepublishinggroup.com/ 🌱 09:45 Founding R&R the rest of our lives🛌 13:37 Why rest belongs at the center of leadership and work culture✍️ 22:40 Find support for writing your impact-driven book at booksthatmatter.org 🧭 29:26 Reflections on leadership maturity and personal growth⏰ 31:23 Flexibility, autonomy and trusting people at work❤️ 32:55 Redefining rest and well-being beyond self-care🏗️ 39:13 Redesigning work culture for long-term sustainability🤝 47:44 If you are a leader or changemaker looking for support, check out geniusdiscovery.org ✨ 52:17 Final reflections and an invitation to rethink work🎧 57:09 Want a podcast just like this one? Check out podcastsmatter.comLinksWebsite: https://restofourlives.orgLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-josh-feldman-4a84297/Explore Josh Feldman’s work at R&R: The Rest of Our Lives to discover research, tools, and practical frameworks, like Break Weeks, sabbaticals, and glimmers, that help organizations and individuals build more humane, sustainable ways of working.Connect with Ron: www.linkedin.com/in/rapataloCheck Out Ron's Book: www.amazon.com/dp/1613431473 Leverage Publishing Group: www.leveragepublishinggroup.comPublish a Book That Matters: http://booksthatmatter.orgStart a Podcast That Matters: http://podcastsmatter.comGo from Expert to Thought Leader: http://geniusdiscovery.org For more great podcasts like this one, visit: https://podcaststhatmatter.org/
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    58 mins
  • Where You’re Born Isn’t Destiny: How Identity, Privilege, and Relationships Shape Real Impact – with Sana Shaikh

    Where You’re Born Isn’t Destiny: How Identity, Privilege, and Relationships Shape Real Impact – with Sana Shaikh
    Jan 7 2026

    From first-generation Pakistani American immigrant to national leader in educational equity, Dr. Sana Shaikh shares her journey of using identity and lived experience to transform communities and advance opportunity for all.

    Sana Shaikh is a nationally recognized expert in education, policy, and economic development, currently serving as a Business Development Specialist at the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven. With over 14 years of experience spanning K–12 education, nonprofit leadership, and public policy, she has dedicated her career to building systems that center equity, inclusion, and authentic human connection. Her journey began as a Teach For America corps member teaching high school in Baltimore, where the realities of systemic barriers reshaped her understanding of opportunity and inspired her to pursue a PhD at Brandeis University.

    Sana’s path has been marked by pivotal turning points, from teaching in under-resourced schools to leading cross-sector initiatives in economic development. She reflects candidly on the challenges of navigating higher education, professional spaces, and personal life as a mother and immigrant. These experiences highlighted that meaningful change is not just about credentials but about authentic relationships, curiosity, and connecting deeply with others to understand their real needs.

    Throughout the conversation, Sana shares practical insights on fostering trust, cultivating empathy, and leveraging personal and professional privileges to create systemic impact. Her frameworks emphasize authentic engagement, cross-cultural understanding, and the power of intentional collaboration. She also explores how exposure to diverse communities and perspectives strengthens leadership, broadens empathy, and equips individuals to address inequities thoughtfully.

    Listeners will leave inspired by Sana’s message that impactful work requires both courage and vulnerability, and that each person can use their unique identity and experiences to make a difference. Tune in to hear her stories, lessons, and actionable advice on turning lived experience into leadership and lasting community impact.

    Chapters

    👋 00:38 Meet Dr. Sana Shaikh and Her Journey of Sacred Synthesis

    🔗 01:32 Publish your book at https://leveragepublishinggroup.com/

    🌍 02:27 Dr. Sana Shaikh’s Immigrant Experience and Career Path

    🤝 06:14 Building Authentic Connections and Impactful Policy

    🎓 24:08 Balancing Life While Pursuing a PhD

    💪 26:24 The Emotional and Physical Labor of Academia

    🗣️ 27:01 Navigating Relationships and Negotiations During Doctoral Work

    📖 28:43 Find support for writing your impact-driven book at booksthatmatter.org

    💼 30:30 The Art of Building Connections

    🚀 36:17 Empowering Entrepreneurs and Strengthening Communities

    🌟 38:41 If you are a leader or changemaker looking for support, check out geniusdiscovery.org

    🎧 44:24 Want a podcast just like this one? Check out podcastsmatter.com


    Links
    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sananaeemshaikh/
    Check out Dr. Sana Shaikh’s LinkedIn to explore her work in educational equity, economic development, and cross-sector collaboration, and discover how she turns lived experience into meaningful impact.

    Connect with Ron: www.linkedin.com/in/rapatalo
    Check Out Ron's Book: www.amazon.com/dp/1613431473

    Leverage Publishing Group: www.leveragepublishinggroup.com
    Publish a Book That Matters: http://booksthatmatter.org
    Start a Podcast That Matters: http://podcastsmatter.com
    Go from Expert to Thought Leader: http://geniusdiscovery.org


    For more great podcasts like this one, visit: https://podcaststhatmatter.org/
    Show More Show Less
    47 mins
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