We sat down with Dr. Natalie Houghtby-Haddon, a longtime colleague of both Bonnie and Ina through the George Washington University Center for Excellence in Public Leadership (GW CEPL). Our conversation began with her new role as Executive Director of the Center, stepping in at a time of transition and uncertainty. For more than two decades, the Center has focused largely on federal government leadership training, but as that landscape shifts, so does CEPL’s direction.

Originally launched to support local government employees, the Center quickly evolved to serve the federal workforce, adding executive coaching to its offerings along the way. Now, with the emergence of “CEPL 4.0,” the Center, led by Dr. Houghtby-Haddon, is looking beyond public service to develop leadership training for corporations and other sectors. It’s a moment of challenge, but also opportunity.

With Dr. Houghtby-Haddon at the helm, we explored how her lifelong commitment to building healthy, just, and sustainable communities informs this next chapter. That guiding principle first led her to the United Nations, then with a desire to make more of a direct impact in the community, she became a clergywoman and spent two decades pastoring churches in Southern California. Throughout her career, Dr. Houghtby-Haddon has helped people reimagine what’s possible in their lives and communities.

She shared her powerful framework of the “four worlds”—mythic, communal, social, and cultural—interconnected spheres that help us navigate change and envision new ways of being. Drawing on her experience across leadership, ministry, and public service, she spoke about her personal philosophy and how both failures and successes have shaped her journey.

Dr. Houghtby-Haddon also walked us through five key leadership perspectives that have influenced her thinking and continue to do so at the pivotal time for the Center: Scientific Management, Excellence, Values-Based Leadership, Trust and Cultural Leadership, and Whole-Person Leadership. Each contributes to a holistic view of how leaders and the organizations they serve can thrive in times of transformation.

Toward the end of the conversation, we returned to Dr. Houghtby-Haddon’s model and how it inspires people to move beyond it in pursuit of their fullest potential. She spoke about the importance of letting go of the old and welcoming the new—something she’s experiencing first hand at the Center, where the future is uncertain but full of exciting possibilities to rethink leadership and help leaders lean into their full potential. Don’t miss our lightning round at the end of the conversation to find out what Dr. Houghtby-Haddon might do if she had all the time in the world, where she might spend it, and what she’s currently reading. It’s a fascinating conversation that really opens the mind, and we hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Meet Tamala Floyd, whose deep commitment to healing spans over 25 years. In our conversation, Tamala shares her journey from traditional social work and teaching to pioneering accessible paths for emotional healing, particularly for women navigating trauma, mothering, and relationship challenges.

We began our conversation by discussing Tamala’s latest book, Listening When Parts Speak, and explored the philosophy behind her work. Drawing from Internal Family Systems (IFS), a therapeutic model that views the mind as made up of distinct “parts” or sub-personalities, Tamala reveals how healing begins not by silencing these parts, but by approaching them with compassion and curiosity. Through IFS, individuals learn to relate to these inner voices from a place of calm, clarity, and connection, led by the unbroken "capital S" Self within.

Our discussion touches on profound ideas about how healing does not require a therapist’s office, how ancestral legacies can both shape and burden us, and how true transformation often begins when we listen with openness to the wounded protectors within. Tamala also speaks candidly about her own life, mothering five children, including three adopted, and making bold moves to create a life filled with purpose, adventure, and international travel.

Beyond personal healing, Tamala emphasizes the power of community and shared experience, especially when confronting inherited wounds. Her retreats and new audio program, Healing the Wounded Mother, create spaces where women can unburden the past and reclaim joy for future generations.

Throughout our conversation, Tamala invites us to reflect on what parts of ourselves still need to be heard, what legacies we are ready to release, and how our healing might ripple outward to our families, our ancestors, and the world.

We know you will leave this episode feeling inspired, softened, and deeply hopeful about your own capacity for transformation.

Meet Nicolás García Mayor—an entrepreneur and, truly, an ingénue—who took years of experience in industrial design and channeled it into something far greater. From the start, he knew he was meant to do more for his fellow human beings. Transitioning from corporate design to humanitarian development, Nico applied his engineering and design background to improve communities around the world.

We sat down with Nicolás to talk about his journey—from the world of commercial innovation to dedicating his life to helping others. Our conversation begins with Nico sharing his philosophy on life and the deep sense of purpose he felt from a young age—a calling only intensified by a personal tragedy later in life. He moved across the globe, barely speaking English, and overcame countless barriers in pursuit of bringing a transformative idea to life.

Rejecting society’s conventional definitions of success, Nico followed his heart. That journey led to the creation of the CMAX System—an industrial-scale housing solution with multi-purpose applications such as emergency shelters and mobile clinics. It has been deployed in war zones, during the COVID-19 pandemic, and in humanitarian crises across the globe, providing critical infrastructure and safety in times of need.

Nico also opens up about the extraordinary logistical challenges he and his team have faced—and continue to face—when delivering aid to the most vulnerable. But for him, the mission is clear: never give up when it comes to improving the lives of others.

Throughout our conversation, Nico challenges us to consider the legacy we want to leave. What kind of impact do we want to have during our short time on this earth? What kind of life do we want to live—and are we wasting any of it?

We know this episode will leave you reflecting on these questions and filled with the same hope and inspiration that Nico sparked in us.

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