Overcoming Barriers, Leading with Purpose: Susan Frew’s Story

Welcome to this episode of Becoming Unshakeable! If you’ve been a follower and fan of Leadership with Heart, you’re in exactly the right place. From here on out, Becoming Unshakeable will be the new name of my show—and I can’t wait to bring you invaluable insights on what it means to lead with clarity, compassion and courage. In this conversation, I sat down with my friend and powerhouse leader, Susan Frew. Susan’s path runs from corporate leadership at AT&T Wireless across the Caribbean to small business ownership, reinvention, and now her work as a top AI speaker. She embodies what Becoming Unshakeable is all about. We talk about the moments that tested her, the choices that reshaped her, and the practices that keep her steady when life speeds up.  Susan shares how being a young international VP in Grenada and St. Vincent taught her to build from scratch, lead across cultures, and become her own IT department. She opens up about the seasons that didn't fit, what she unlearned about “being everything to everyone,” and why finding work you truly love changes your energy, confidence, and results. We get honest about ADHD as a superpower, the discipline of protecting your circle from gossip, and the surprising role sleep hypnosis and mindset work have played in her growth. If you are barely holding it together, this one will meet you right where you are. You will hear practical self-leadership tools, a fresh take on career reinvention, and a grounded vision for using AI to serve people with integrity and kindness. Listen in for fuel, clarity, and a reminder that you can move forward, even on the hard days.  

In this episode, I open up about what it truly means to become unshakeable. Not perfect. Not untouchable. But rooted in a steady strength that grounds you and steadies the people around you. I share why this evolution from Leadership with Heart to Becoming Unshakeable is not just about the world’s needs, but also about my own. Like many of you, I needed more clarity, more calm, more centeredness. Letting go of perfection and embracing purpose has given me freedom from anxiety, fear of judgment, and the impossible pressure to prove myself. Together, we will explore the difference between resilience and unshakeable strength, the power of self-leadership, and the importance of aligning daily actions with your deepest values. I will also share personal reflections, from raising four children (and why being called 'Super Mama' makes me cringe) to learning to love my own voice and curly hair. These moments demonstrate that unshakeable leadership stems from embracing authenticity, not striving for perfection. You will leave this episode with practical steps to build your own unshakeable core, including a simple values alignment practice to try this week. When you are clear on your purpose, confident in your values, and flexible in your approach, you not only withstand change but also thrive in it. You create calm in the midst of it.  

Welcome to one of the first guest episodes of Becoming Unshakeable! If you’ve been a follower and fan of Leadership with Heart, you’re in exactly the right place. From here on out, Becoming Unshakeable will be the new name of my show—and I can’t wait to bring you invaluable insights on what it means to lead with clarity, compassion and courage. What does it really take to live bravely and lead with your whole self? In this heartfelt conversation, I sat down with my dear friend Kimberly Davis, Founder of Brave Leadership and author of Brave Leadership: Unleash Your Most Confident, Authentic, and Powerful Self to Get the Results You Need. Kimberly opens up about the wake-up calls that changed her life, from personal loss during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to making the bold decision to sell her home in Texas and move her family to Costa Rica. She shares how bravery is not about being fearless, but about making clear choices, standing in your values, and permitting yourself to live fully. Together, we explore what it means to become unshakeable when life throws curveballs. We discuss leaning into self-leadership, making powerful decisions even when they are intimidating, and discovering practices that keep you grounded when your world feels uncertain. Kimberly’s story is a reminder that courage is contagious. When we choose to show up authentically, we permit others to do the same. If you have ever wondered how to step into your own brave choices, whether at work, in life, or in leadership, this episode will inspire you to stop waiting for permission and start living the life you want now.  

Welcome to the second episode of Becoming Unshakeable! If you’ve been a follower and fan of Leadership with Heart, you’re in exactly the right place. From here on out, Becoming Unshakeable will be the new name of my show—and I can’t wait to bring you invaluable insights on what it means to lead with clarity, compassion, and courage. When I began planning the very first guest episode of Becoming Unshakeable, I thought carefully about who could help bridge the journey from Leadership with Heart to this new season of resilience and self-leadership. The choice came quickly. My longtime friend and inspiring leader, Rich Gassen, was the perfect person to join me. Rich has spent more than a decade as a supervisor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and he has always impressed me with his steady commitment to growth, learning, and values-based leadership. His personal mantra, “show up and participate,” has guided him through every challenge, from a serious health scare to leading a major team relocation.  What struck me most in our conversation was how Rich has never stopped being a learner. He constantly seeks out new knowledge, applies it to his work, and shares it generously with his team and colleagues. During our conversation, Rich opened up about what being unshakeable means to him. For him, it is about leaning on his values, staying grounded in creativity and curiosity, and never losing sight of the whole person he is leading. He reflected on how compassion and transparency shaped the way he guided his team through difficult times, and how active listening allowed him to support others in moments when life outside of work was weighing heavily. His approach to leadership is deeply human, rooted in the belief that progress matters more than perfection. Rich also spoke about what he had to unlearn on his leadership journey. Moving from a technical role into a supervisory position meant realizing that he didn't need to have all the answers. Instead, he learned to listen more, ask better questions, and empower his team to find solutions themselves. That shift not only helped him grow but created more resilient, capable people around him. What I love most about Rich’s story is how authentic it is. He does not pretend to be perfect. Instead, he focuses on showing up every day, aligning with his values, and creating the conditions for others to thrive. That mindset is at the heart of what it means to be unshakeable.  

Welcome to the very first episode of Becoming Unshakeable! If you’ve been a follower and fan of Leadership with Heart, you’re in exactly the right place. From here on out, Becoming Unshakeable will be the new name of my show, and I can’t wait to bring you invaluable insights on what it means to lead with clarity, compassion, and courage. In this opening episode, I share the personal wake-up call that shifted everything for me. From battling perfectionism and self-doubt to redefining success through self-leadership, I take you inside the transformation that inspired the rebrand. We will explore why inner strength is not a luxury but a necessity, especially when the world feels unstable. You will hear why this show is not just for managers or executives, but for anyone who wants to stand firm in uncertainty, lead themselves before leading others, and build a life and career grounded in clarity and courage. Some episodes will be solo reflections, others will feature leaders, creators, and thinkers who have found their unshakeable core. This journey is about building resilience from the inside out. When your core is strong, the world can shake, and you will still stand.  

After six amazing years, this is the final episode of the Leadership with Heart podcast. If you've been with me since the beginning, thank you. Truly. This journey has been one of the most meaningful parts of my career and my life. When I started this podcast in 2018, I felt the world needed more conversations about compassion in leadership. I believed that caring and connection were missing from too many workplaces, and I wanted to help change that. What followed was more than I could have imagined. This show led to best-selling books, powerful stories, and countless conversations with leaders who inspired me to keep going. But like all of us, I’ve grown. I’ve evolved as a speaker, as a parent, as a consultant, and as a human being. And with that growth has come a realization: it's time for something new. So, while this is the end of Leadership with Heart, it's also the beginning of something that feels even more aligned with where I am now. My new podcast is Becoming Unshakeable. Let me tell you why. I still believe deeply in caring leadership. That will never change. But I also believe we need to make space for the strength that comes from knowing who we are, standing firm in our values, and staying grounded when the world around us gets messy. Being unshakeable doesn’t mean we’re never shaken. It means we keep showing up. We get back up. We lead with care and clarity, even when it's hard. This next chapter will explore the full spectrum of what it means to lead and live with courage, resilience, and compassion. I’ll still be speaking with leaders, but not just those with titles or teams. I’ll be inviting people who have lived through adversity, rebuilt themselves, and learned how to stay rooted no matter what life throws at them.  

In this episode of the Leadership with Heart podcast, I sit down with Lorii Rabinowitz, the CEO of Denver Scholarship Foundation, for a heartfelt and eye-opening conversation about what it means to lead with empathy, clarity, and purpose. Lorii was referred to me by someone I deeply respect, and it quickly became clear why. Her approach to leadership is both profoundly human and boldly practical. We explore the power of honoring each individual's "you-ness," a term Lorii uses to describe the unique combination of lived experience, professional expertise, and personal story that each person brings to a team. From her early days in media sales to her current role leading a 90-person organization, Lorii shares her zigzag journey and how every step along the way has informed her people-first philosophy. The Denver Scholarship Foundation serves thousands of students every year through a powerful combination of access programs, wraparound success supports, and promise-based scholarships. But what makes Lorii's leadership stand out is her belief that every team member, whether in program delivery, administration, or fundraising, is an integral part of that mission. She talks about what it takes to scale a culture of shared purpose as the organization grows and how to create alignment without losing authenticity. Lorii opens up about a personal leadership moment that changed everything for her. In the middle of a hectic workday, she almost overlooked a colleague's quiet request for help. That moment shifted how she shows up for people and how she listens. She also shares how her team navigated the return to in-person work after the pandemic and what they learned when their communication didn't land the way they intended. Rather than retreating, Lorii and her team chose to listen, adapt, and co-create a stronger culture. We talk about the tension between honoring individuality and maintaining equity, the importance of knowing whose voices are missing from the table, and the value of learning out loud. Lorii reminds us that leadership is not a title but an activity, and that every person, regardless of role, has the power to lead from where they stand. Whether you're in a nonprofit, corporate, education, or any team-based environment, this episode offers a powerful blueprint for leading with both heart and clarity. Lorii's wisdom is generous, grounded, and filled with insight that will stick with you long after the conversation ends.  

On this week’s episode of the Leadership with Heart podcast, I sit down with Kurtis Strauel, Senior Director of Human Resources at Mark-Taylor Residential, to discuss the power of leading from the heart in a field that is often misunderstood. With over 30 years of experience in HR and more than two decades in leadership, Kurtis brings a deeply reflective, people-first perspective that cuts through the noise of policy, process, and performance metrics. What struck me most in our conversation was Kurtis’s commitment to showing up for others, even in the most challenging moments. He shares the story of joining an organization and realizing he prioritized execution over connection. Without trust and a relationship, results fall flat. That moment changed how he leads and how he listens. We explore how HR can reclaim its role as a champion for the human experience at work, how leaders can balance business outcomes with empathy, and why creating a culture rooted in dignity and respect is not just suitable for people but essential for performance. Kurtis also opens up about his early childhood challenges, the lessons he learned from his parents, and how those personal experiences helped shape the heart-led leader he is today. His vulnerability is refreshing, and his clarity about what truly matters, such as taking care of people, staying humble, and learning from mistakes, feels like a masterclass in authentic leadership. If you’ve ever felt torn between performance goals and staying grounded in compassion, this conversation will remind you that those two things can coexist. When they do, everyone benefits. Listen in and reflect on your leadership journey. Are you leading from the heart? Are your people seen, heard, and supported? This episode will give you the courage to keep asking those questions and to keep doing the work that truly matters.  

What happens when a leader blends deep operational structure with genuine human care? That’s the question at the heart of my latest conversation on the Leadership with Heart podcast, where I’m joined by Sarah Mazzocco, Chief People Officer at Americare Senior Living. We first met when I was invited to speak at Americare’s annual leadership conference. Even before I hit the stage, I could tell Sarah was a different kind of leader. She carried a quiet confidence rooted in clarity, process, and intention. What stood out most was her heart. She wasn’t just focused on logistics or event outcomes; she was also concerned about the overall experience. She was focused on people, how they felt, what they needed, and how the experience could serve them long after the event ended. That same intentionality came through in this conversation. Sarah spoke openly about the tension between designing robust systems and remaining flexible when things do not go as planned. She shared a powerful example from her early days at Walmart, when she was tasked with redesigning cashier training across hundreds of thousands of employees.  The project seemed straightforward until feedback from frontline workers completely shifted her team’s perspective. What they thought was high value turned out to be disconnected from the reality of day-to-day work. That insight prompted a redesign, but it also paved the way for deeper trust and improved outcomes. For Sarah, moments like that proved the value of staying curious and staying humble. Throughout the episode, we repeatedly returned to the importance of asking the right questions, not from a place of pretense or ego, but with a blank slate mindset. Sarah talked about how being wrong is not a threat to leadership. It is often the very thing that makes leadership real. By remaining open to new data, perspectives, and feedback, she creates space for her team to feel seen and heard. That sense of psychological safety is what allows innovation and transformation to take root. We also explored the myth that leaders have to choose between being results-driven or people-centered. Sarah pushes back on that narrative. For her, the numbers matter because they help validate whether the work is meaningful. They serve as a reflection of the lived employee experience. If people feel seen, supported, and inspired, the data should reflect that. But she is clear that you cannot just lead with numbers. You must start with a purpose, stay grounded in listening, and use data as a tool to guide rather than dictate the path forward. Sarah’s leadership style is rare in its balance. She brings process and structure, but she also makes room for messiness. She values outcomes, but she centers people. She has the credentials and experience to lead from the top, yet she has never stopped asking questions like a student. This conversation was a reminder that caring leadership is not a sign of weakness. It is strategic. It is data-informed. It is rooted in values and made powerful through action. Sarah is a brilliant example of how leaders can hold both heart and accountability, as well as consistency and curiosity, and bring it all together to create workplaces where people truly thrive.  

Dean Wegner is a former Army Ranger, a West Point graduate, and now the CEO and co-founder of Authentically American, an apparel brand rooted in purpose. But more than that, he’s a husband, a dad of four, and someone who truly understands what it means to lead with heart. We started this episode by connecting over something very personal. As many of you are aware, my son is currently attending the U.S. Naval Academy. That journey has opened my eyes to a whole new level of respect and awareness regarding military service, patriotism, and what it means to serve something greater than oneself. So when a listener suggested Dean as a guest, the timing could not have been better. Dean shared how his leadership journey began long before building a business. It started at home, and it was shaped by the values he learned in the military, including putting others first, leading by example, and building character when no one is watching. He discussed what it means to transition from focusing on personal growth to genuinely supporting and developing the people you lead. We also explored his pivot from a corporate career to entrepreneurship. Like many of us, he faced moments of doubt and unexpected challenges, especially during the early days of the pandemic. But Dean’s story is an excellent reminder that hard work, faith, and staying true to one's mission can carry you through even the most challenging seasons. If you’ve ever questioned whether leading with heart is compatible with ambition and business success, this episode will encourage you. Dean is proof that you can grow a brand, serve a cause, and stay grounded in your values.