E129 | Carlos Gonzalez I How We All Become More Fully Human

E132 | When Novels Want To Be WrittenCyrus Cassells is a Poet. Translator. Cultural Critic. Actor. Professor. Cyrus is best known for his 9 poetry books, most recently “Is There Room For Another Horse On Your Horse Ranch.” His books have earned numerous accolades, including the William Carlos Williams Award from the Poetry Society of America, a Lambda Literary Award, and two Pulitzer Prize nominations.Cyrus has held fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, National Endowment of the Arts, and the Rockefeller Foundation. He is a Regents’ Professor and University Distinguished Professor of English at Texas State University. From 2021 to 2022 he was appointed Poet Laureate of Texas. Rome, Paris, Montreal, Mexico City and Hawaii are just some of the places he loves - and places where he has lived.www.cyruscassells.com/

Charlotte Libov is a seasoned writer and keynote speaker, formerly at The New York Times, who specializes in writing about health and the Arts.Ever since she left Connecticut for fabled Miami Beach 19 years ago, Charlotte has become a “South Beach gal about town.” Sing Out, her Facebook group that celebrates song, dance, and all forms of self-expression, has become an influential forum for all entertainers, from Broadway and cabaret legends to karaoke amateurs, who wish to promote their events. In her Fourth Act, Charlotte Libov has emerged as the epitome of an unabashed arts champion and influencer.

Bestselling author, keynote speaker, branding strategist and provocateur Tom Asacker has spent most of his career in the fascinating world of belief and behavior change, and how it impacts both personal and professional lives.Tom is focused on helping people and organizations break free from self-deceptive thinking and reclaim their creative freedom and joy. His bestselling books include The Business of Belief, Sandbox Wisdom, and I Am Keats. Tom’s TEDx talk titled “Why TED Talks Don’t Change People’s Behaviors” has garnered just shy of a million views. Tom’s new book, Unwinding Want, is just out.

Carlos Gonzalez has been an Associate Professor of English at Miami Dade College for over 30 years. He describes himself as a "professor of joy, grief, wonder, listening. movement and sitting."Carlos Gonzalez's expansive view of how a teacher serves is informed by his passion for mindfulness, physical exercise. nature, and deep personal exploration. In addition to his work at MDC, Carlos teaches meditation and writing in South Florida correctional facilities through Exchange for Change, a Miami-based non-profit, and facilitates letter-exchange-programs between his students at MDC and incarcerated humans.

Gayle Zalduondo is a creative soul and seasoned serial entrepreneur. Among her many accomplishments is co-founding an acclaimed and innovative furniture company, Urbanus, with Andrew Kelly. For 20 years, Gayle served as CEO and lead designer for Urbanus, creating furniture for national retailers such as Crate & Barrel, Room & Board, Ethan Allen, Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware. She and Andrew successfully grew Urbanus to a business employing 85 employees.Gayle has since co-founded Miami’s Little River Box Company, a firm that has transformed shipping containers into restaurants, kitchens, bars, bathrooms and homes. She Is in the midst of exploring her next creative act. This exploration has included movement studies. personal transformation tools, and becoming a Path of Azul teacher.www.gaylezalduondo.com

Ann Odell is a former architect turned celebrated brand strategist, futurist, and culture forecaster. She has led breakthrough creative strategies for endless Fortune 500 enterprises, working for Lippincott, CBX Worldwide, Gensler, Donovan/Green, and Estee Lauder.Ann now operates as the head of her own firm, animated by the firm belief that for-profit enterprises have the power to be fundamental change agents. Ann resides in Manhattan, with one foot in Italy.

Johannes Leerink is a seasoned business executive from the Netherlands. After a fast-track career as a rising star at Procter and Gamble and Sara Lee, Johannes dropped out of corporate life. Influenced by the teachings of Landmark and Werner Erhard, Johannes founded and served as practice leader of Vantage Group Europe, a boutique organizational consulting firm.Johannes has subsequently founded or co-founded other leadership laboratories such as Silk Leadership Lab and The Hidden Transit. In work and life, Johannes is animated by an ever-deeper exploration of inner healing, consciousness, and freedom.www.thehiddentransit.com

Larry Duplechan is the acclaimed and iconic author of 5 queer novels. They include Blackbird (considered by many the first modern Black “coming-out” novel) and the Lambda Literary Award-winning Got ’til it’s Gone. Blackbird was adapted for film in 2014, starring Mo”Nique and Isiah Washington.In 2023, Britain’s Team Angelica published Larry’s delicious and sweeping memoir, Movies That Made Me Gay. It does double-duty as an encyclopedic and highly personal act of movie criticism, and it asks the provocative question: Can movies actually make us gay? Larry is the perfect guest to help me contemplate Pride Month in 2024.

Malissa Smith is the author of A History of Womens’ Boxing, published in 2014. It is the first comprehensive history of the sport; Ring Magazine dubbed it “the Bible of Women’s Boxing.”Malissa is a co-host of the popular WAAR Room podcast, a founding board member of the international Women’s Boxing Hall of Fame, and contributed a powerful essay, “How Boxing Uncaged Me,” to a book we put out last year via Balboa Press, The Difference. Malissa’s follow-up to A History of Women’s Boxing, titled The Promise of Women’s Boxing: A Momentous New Era for the Sweet Science, is out the first week of June and will be celebrated by an official book launch on June 15 at the iconic Gleason’s Gym in Brooklyn.

Paula Ayotte is a professional dancer, poler, actress, and model. After a career as a dancer in LA in her 20s, Paula left for Hawaii, studied microbiology, combined it with her passion for scuba diving and forged a new career in maritime research, often living on boats for months on end.When Paula explored pole dancing as a hobby in her 50s, it turned out to be her ticket back to show business. In her late 50s Paula moved back to LA, performed in pole dancing competitions, found instant representation by commercial agents and, more importantly, immediately booked work as an actress, model, and dancer. Now in her early 60s, Paula is an avid pro-aging advocate.www.instagram.com/paulaayotte