Connecting with Jenn at TJs

In this last episode I speak with my Dad, Kevin Bryant. He has been involved in leadership roles in interscholastic and intercollegiate athletic administration and coaching for most of his work life. He also has a strong background in fundraising, casting vision, and taking an idea or goal and making it a reality.Currently, Kevin is an Adjunct Professor in Sport Leadership and Management at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon. In 2014, he founded Thrive Athletic Consulting, LLC, a consulting business for interscholastic athletic administrators around the US and Canada. In April 2024, my dad was inducted into the Oregon Athletic Directors Association (OADA) Hall of Fame where we as a family got to celebrate him! While all of this is quite impressive, what matters most to me is that this guy is my dad. In our conversation about connection and leadership, he shares many great nuggets which I am grateful to have recorded!Here are a few of those nuggets:“Connecting is what life is all about” "Remember you have 2 ears and 1 mouth - use them in that proportion.""Be FAT: Faithful, Available, and Teachable.""Leadership is not for the unafraid."Please remember to take the poll after listening to this episode! Thanks for tuning in!

In this episode, I get to welcome three of my dearest friends from my Gonzaga graduate program to the show: Claire Le Poullouin, Iman Lyons, and Jess Loomer!We all started the program within the same year as each other and attended our first on campus immersion in September 2023. It was this fortuitous encounter where we all connected and have stayed in touch ever since. This sisterhood has helped me to get through the past two years of grad school! So many leadership and connection nuggets were shared in this conversation. Claire:There is something in the pattern of who we are that connects us. The foundation of community is resting in that same pattern together. Iman:Different people require different things from us. Learn to adapt your style in order to foster connection with those you lead. Jess:You don’t have to have a title to be a leader. Relationships are more valuable than the role. Finally, as Claire did on the T-ball bases as a child, get to know the people who land in your spaces. We must know other people in order to lead other people because at the end of the day we need other people! 

In this episode Matt Mori shares many beautiful views of how we all crave connection and connection is everything in life! Being intentional and not letting things just happen, make it happen!Fostering and facilitating connections are a primary role of leadership. "Leaders need to provide a space: a physical space, an emotional space, and a psychological space in order to make connections."And finally, leadership is confronting others with their freedom. Reminding people of the agency they have and empowering them to form the future that we collectively want.Matt is an architect by trade, a choir singer at church, and a family man! At his architecture firm, HMC Architects, he developed an entire mentorship program to build connections across the organization.My fortuitous encounter with Matt was in our Relational Dynamics and Organization Development course during Matt’s final semester at Gonzaga. We both signed up for the same book critique project: The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker. After experiencing some initial group drama and personal trials, Matt and I connected via text or phone almost daily during this 8 week course.

In this episode Valerie Lynn laughs with me through the conversation we have on connection and leadership. She shares so many wonderful leadership and life nuggets throughout this conversation! The idea that there needs to be an element of intention, authenticity, and vulnerability when it comes to connection. You have to take action if you want to connect. Making connections is a practice that one does - just like working out and hygiene. Valerie is a fellow podcast producer and panel moderator. Her podcast is called “The Women on Top” where she interviews female leaders, disruptors, and rule-breakers. Her passion for empowering women everywhere AND encouraging the shattering of glass ceilings is shown through in the joyful and beautiful way Valerie speaks with her guests!My fortuitous encounter with Valerie happened when we both attended a dinner in 2016 with a group of colleagues in Washington state. We hit it off right away! Our friendship has grown since that time and we have managed to keep in touch and see each other almost annually over the past 6 years even though we have not lived in the same state. I am delighted to share with you this fabulous and dear friend who is maybe more passionate about great leadership than I am!

In this episode, Jenn Acuña (She/They) shares so many beautiful sentiments on connection! They have spent decades engaged in discovery of spirit and self. Most recently, Jenn has completed an 800 hour, two year training with Breathwork for Recovery.  She employs a systems-oriented, relational, and intersectional approach to their work.In order to create a culture of belonging - "show up as yourself, be accepting, and get to know people". It’s all about "seeing someone, knowing that they are seen, and being seen yourself". This culture shows someone they are wanted and they belong.My fortuitous encounter with Jenn happened while working together at Trader Joe’s here in the Tacoma area. Jenn has been an incredible coworker to me and someone I am very grateful to call friend!

In this episode Lisa Green shares so many wise nuggets with us! The idea of choosing to connect with people who fill up your cup is an image I love dearly. "Just show up! Be authentic and be true to yourself and true to other people. Not everyone is going to like you and that is ok!"Finally, get out of your comfort zone and don’t miss out on those moments. Take the moment!Lisa is the Vice President of Family Support Services with Catholic Charities Eastern Washington. She has over twenty-four years of experience in human services with an emphasis on children and families.My fortuitous encounter with Lisa happened when we sat at the same table during our Leadership and Storytelling immersion in February 2024 at Gonzaga University. Our studies crossed again this year as we have been in our final course together.

In this episode, I speak with Dr. Shani Byard from Los Angeles. Dr. Shani has her Doctorate of Education and is the CEO of her own consulting company called Legacy Refresh where she provides empowerment coaching, inclusive leadership development consulting and facilitation, and organizational culture and transition strategy. Shani is by far one of the best leaders I have ever worked for in my life! My fortuitous encounter with Shani began in the fall of 2021 when I applied for a job on her workforce development team. Shani focuses on reframing and being intentional to create deep and meaningful connections. Her ability to understand others and her humility to learn from others is a great example to me. She reminds us that leadership is a privilege and connecting is essential in order to serve those we are leading!

In this episode, I speak with Dr. Shawn Vainio up in Girdwood, Alaska. Dr. Vainio currently works for the Yukon Kuskokwin Health Corporation in the Native Alaskan village of Bethel. When Shawn is not working in Bethel he is with his wife, Annjannette, and daughter, Anja, in Girdwood, AK skiing, hiking, biking, or exploring other parts of the world. Shawn has been on over 15 medical expeditions in the Himalayas, spent 7 months at a research station in Antarctica as the only clinician, and focused most of his career in rural medicine. He was the Alaska Family Doctor of the Year in 2022 and he was awarded the Humanitarian of the Year by the American Academy of Family Physicians in 2023. Not a bad reference for my graduate school application!My fortuitous encounter with Shawn was in early 2020 where we created and put on the first and second Annual Alaskan Improving Diagnostic Accuracy in Medicine Virtual Conferences. Shawn treated me as an equal, checked in with me regularly, and helped me to see the importance of the work we were doing. Shawn describes deep connections and holistic relationships being like the deep roots of a tree. He encourages people to "Just Make it Happen" saying if you take advantage of opportunities and establish relationships, things will be offered to you!

In this episode Steve Murray eloquently shares with us so many good people-leader nuggets in this episode! He also discusses how synergy can be created when we are willing to put ourselves out there and share our stories. I know Steve from our graduate school program at Gonzaga University in Organizational Leadership. Our fortuitous encounter was that we were in our first class together in August 2023 called "Foundations of Leadership". Then, last summer, we both took the course "Leadership and Hardiness". At the end of the summer term, our class met up in person to climb Mount Adams, the second highest peak here in Washington State. You really become good friends with someone when you take a class called Hardiness and attempt to climb up a mountain together.

In this episode, I speak with Pastor Judy Peterson, also known as The Walking Pastor because she walked across the United States in 1999 from the west coast of Washington state ending on the east coast of Miami, Florida.She has mentored and cared for so many humans over her lifetime. Pastor Judy currently runs a nonprofit called Haecceitas Inc. (sounds like Heckseeyatoss) which is Latin for "thisness". Through this organization Judy pastors people who have left the traditional confines of the church. Judy shares with us how connection is possible when we are open and vulnerable. By remembering our humanity, we can create safe places for people to be their fullest, truest versions of ourselves.