In our season finale, we share the evolution of the podcast and how it's grown over the last several months. Megan shares some behind the scenes on how the podcast was made, where she is in her own journey, and gives a sneak peek at what's ahead for Season Two (debuting January 2026).

To everyone who has come on this journey with us, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you. We may be in the middle, but we're just getting started.

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In November 2024 alpine skier Shannon Abeda was three days away from the start of his season in hopes of qualifying for his third Olympic games. He asked his company for any support they could give. Instead, he was laid off. In this episode, Shannon opens up about his skiing journey, from discovering it as a three year-old in Alberta, Canada, to missing out on the 2014 Winter Olympic Games by 0.01 seconds, to carrying the flag for Eritrea at the 2018 and 2022 Winter Olympics, to his journey to the 2024 Olympic Games in Milan. He reflects on the toll of injuries, burnout, post-Olympic depression, and rebuilding after disappointment. You'll hear how he turned setbacks into fuel for growth, and what it takes to keep showing up when no one’s watching. This episode is an inspirational reminder that sometimes our hardest moments are the ones that shape us the most, and that the path to success is rarely a straight line.

Shannon Abeda is a three-time Eritrean-Canadian Olympic alpine skier. Born in Fort McMurray, Alberta to Eritrean parents, Shannon discovered skiing when he was three years old and went on to represent Eritrea at the 2018 and 2022 Winter Olympics after narrowly missing qualification for Sochi in 2014 by just 0.01 seconds. Off the slopes, he holds two bachelor's degrees and a master's, balancing full-time work with elite training. Shannon is passionate about mental health, creative expression through photography and videography, and creating opportunities for the next generation of underrepresented athletes.

Follow Shannon on Instagram and Facebook, and watch him as he competes in his third Winter Olympic Games at Milan 2026 this February.

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In this episode, sustainability expert and environmental scientist Dr. Mara Ranville shares how her career moved from a small town in Michigan to geology labs, research cruises across the Pacific, university classrooms, and the chaotic streets of New York City. On the outside, she was creating a career path uniquely her own, but behind some of her pivots was another journey she was quietly fighting for: three years of infertility treatments, miscarriages, and the dream of becoming a mother that ultimately didn’t come to pass. Mara opens up about grieving in private, rebuilding her identity, and learning to trust a career and life path that looked nothing like she imagined.

Over the last 30 years, Dr. Ranville has held roles as a researcher, project manager, educator, and content producer. She now works as a sustainability and social impact consultant, connecting people, policy, and purpose and helping organizations make their operations better for the planet. Dr. Ranville holds a Bachelor of Arts in geology and environmental studies from Macalester College and a Ph.D. in environmental toxicology from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Connect with Dr. Ranville on LinkedIn or read her stories at Global Citizen.

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As the U.S. pauses to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday, we're bringing you an encore of our episode with executive recruiter Steve Lavner. Since his original episode aired, Verizon and Amazon announced massive layoffs, the September jobs report was published, the unemployment rate ticked up to its highest in four years, and more.

Steve's insights are more relevant than ever. After more than 20 years in executive recruiting, he has seen it all, and he shares the unspoken truths of recruiting at the highest levels, the politics behind hiring decisions, and how the job market has shifted beneath our feet. He talks why “career progression” is an illusion, why the best candidates sometimes get passed over, how careers are turning into project role after project role, and what it was like going through his own sudden layoff.

Steve Lavner spent over 20 years in executive search and talent acquisition. As Senior Vice President of Talent Acquisition at Edelman Smithfield, a global financial communications boutique within Edelman, he connected top talent with roles across 25+ cities worldwide. Prior to his recruiting roles, Steve performed on Broadway, playing Le Fou in Beauty and the Beast. He’s now a certified Senior Professional Career Coach and creates short, uplifting YouTube videos of kids songs in his spare time.

Connect with Steve on LinkedIn, his career coaching website Steve Lavner Talent Advisory, or on his YouTube channel.

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Rick Morales spent nearly a decade helping build Apple Music Radio from the ground up, producing shows with global icons like Bad Bunny and Travis Scott. In 2023 he noticed something unsettling: the artificial intelligence (AI) programs framed as “tools” weren’t just making him better. They were completely learning his job. When the layoff hit a year later, he faced a cascade of personal losses, losing his home, belongings, relationship, and the sense of stability he’d spent years building. Through community and a never-ending love of music, Rick’s finding a new sense of purpose, but his story is a gripping look at AI in the workplace and what it takes to truly start over.

Rick Morales spent over a decade at Apple Music driving platform growth through content strategy, artist partnerships, and global launches. He partnered with top artists and labels to create programming that not only shaped culture but also contributed to Apple Music’s expansion to 80 million paid subscribers across more than 30 markets. He now focuses on K-pop and shaping the next wave of Asian music. Rick has been a voting member of The Recording Academy since 2022.

Connect with Rick on LinkedIn or Instagram, or by sending him an email.

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When Kevin Rice sold the company he built in a garage, it should have been the moment he’d been working toward his whole life. But instead of fulfillment, he felt… nothing. In this episode, Kevin opens up about what it’s really like to reach the top while your personal life quietly falls apart, and what it was like navigating divorce, single parenthood, and slowly realizing that “robot mode” success had cost him presence, health, and connection. He shares how he rebuilt from the inside out, what he’s learned about leading and parenting with intention instead of perfection, and why “work-life balance” is a myth worth rewriting.

Kevin Rice co-founded Hathway and built it from a scrappy startup into a leading digital agency before selling to Bounteous in 2021. While serving as president and chief marketing officer, he led his team to ship mobile apps, loyalty programs, and growth engines for brands like PepsiCo, Wingstop, and Dutch Bros, enabling them to increase their sales by hundreds of millions of dollars. Today, he serves as an angel investor, advises growth-stage startup teams, and backs founders who are using artificial intelligence (AI) to solve real problems for real people. He also hosts the CEOs & ABCs podcast, where leaders share how they scale companies without missing the moments that matter at home.

Connect with Kevin on LinkedIn or on his website. You can listen to his podcast, CEOs & ABCs, on Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, or YouTube.

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In September 2010, Dr. William T. Lewis, Sr. stepped into what he believed was his dream role: vice president for Diversity and Inclusion at Virginia Tech. But what began as the pinnacle of his career quickly unraveled into a four-year storm of politics, pain, and ultimately, being fired. The harder part? That moment wasn’t the end of his story but the beginning of a years-long battle with rejection, self-doubt, and the search for identity beyond a job title. In this deeply honest conversation, Dr. Lewis opens up about how he rebuilt his confidence, rediscovered his self-worth without external validation, and how he learned to stand steady in life’s fiercest storms. Along the way, he reveals the seven core resiliency traits he’s discovered while writing his second book, Perched in the Storm: Brutal Lessons Every Leader Can Learn from Entrepreneurs.

Dr. William T. Lewis, Sr. is a nationally recognized expert in organizational culture, leadership, and change management. He is the founder of WillHouse Global and co-founder of The Intersection, where he advises institutions and businesses on building cultures of courage, clarity, and belonging. A former DEI executive at four major institutions - including Indiana University and Virginia Tech - Dr. Lewis now serves as Senior Consultant for Inclusion and Belonging at ECU Health. A U.S. Marine Corps veteran, he is the award-winning author of Sweet Potato or Pumpkin Pie: Conversations with My White Friends about Race and co-author of NADOHE’s Standards of Professional Practice. He also leads community efforts in Winston-Salem, serving on the boards of Bookmarks, United Way, the Black Philanthropy Initiative, and Leadership Winston-Salem.

Connect with Dr. Lewis via email, on LinkedIn or on his website. You can learn more about his upcoming book, Perched in the Storm: Brutal Lessons Every Leader Can Learn from Entrepreneurs, here.

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In July 2025, David Nebinski embarked on an experiment: call one new person every day for a month. No scripts, no agenda, no calendar invite. Just pick up the phone, call a number, and see what happened. What happened next planted the seed for his own next chapter. In this episode, David unpacks the discomfort, confusion, excitement, and embarrassment of being in his middle, and talks candidly about the courage it takes to leave something “perfect” and chase who you want to become.

David Nebinski works with founders and companies to build their brand community through go-to-market roles, projects, and consulting opportunities. Prior to this, he spent over four years building and growing the Chief of Staff Network community, where he built followings of 30,000+ followers, launched a podcast, and hosted and produced hundreds of global events. He lives in New York City and is known for his community skills and love of funky pants.

Connect with David on LinkedIn, on his website, or on Substack.

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