Coach It Out
With Everyday Leaders

Coach It Out With Everyday Leaders is a series of interviews that aims to get to the heart of leaders and their stories. Most of the time, there is always a great backstory to what makes a leader up and if they can share those backgrounds, it might help and benefit the rest of us.

Keep in mind, these lessons are not meant only for those who are official leaders; these are based in attributes we can all have and we can all refine in ourselves for personal and professional development. There are so many things that are transferable.

Take a listen below.

Episode 7

Brent Robertson
Organization & Title: Fathom – Founder & Partner
Industry: Organizational Development & Transformation

In this episode, I talk with Brent Robertson. I met Brent through a mutual acquaintance who had explained that “Brent spends his days helping leaders get closer to what matters to them, to understand the potential their organizations possess and focus their energy in ways that will make the biggest difference.” That reason alone made me want to talk to Brent — and it was definitely confirmed by the end of our conversation.

During our conversation, Brent covers the experiences in his life which led him to combine the driving forces that have always been present in his life — the power of what is now and the never-ending possibilities of what has yet to be created. He conveys the importance of bringing the best out of everyone, drawing out that which is not easily seen, and which is way too valuable to go untapped.

Full Conversation – Bio / Background / Questions / Analysis

The Short Cut – Bio / Questions

Episode 6

Jamal Jimerson
Organization & Title:
Minority Inclusion Project – MIP (Founder & Executive Director)
Though Partners Consulting – Principal Consultant
Industry: Social Entrepreneurship

In this episode, I talk to Jamal Jimerson. I met Jamal at one of Minority Inclusion Project’s Courage In Conversations, a series which fosters open and honest conversations on various topics surrounding race. After watching Jamal facilitate that conversation and hearing about what he’s trying to do through MIP, I asked him to sit down with me to learn about what it was that drove him to do the work he does today. I learned about his background, growing up in the tough atmosphere of Brooklyn, NY, where he was guided by his mother and school teachers who knew he had too much to lose to give into the drugs and violence on the streets around him.

Listen to his story, as Jamal walks me through how he shifted out of that world and developed his passion for social impact work and outlines his current mission to keep the conversation going in companies, their boards, the greater community regarding diversity and inclusion that properly represents the minority experience and voice.

Full Conversation – Bio / Background / Questions / Analysis

The Short Cut – Bio / Questions

Episode 5

Dan Starbuck Pelletier
Organization & Title: DIG USA – Founder & President
Industry: Education

In this episode, I talk to the guy teaching chess and soccer to students in the community — for free to those students in under-served communities. Dan coaches students in various cities throughout the state of Connecticut several times a week while holding down a full-time corporate job and playing soccer in the Connecticut Soccer League for the Polonia Falcon. I saw Dan and his company, DIG USA, profiled in the Hartford Courant. I thought his would be a great conversation to capture, so I reached out to him. Knowing Dan now, it’s no surprise he was game to sit down with a stranger and spread the word of what he’s trying to achieve with his organization and the impact he’s trying to make in the communities he serves.

Find out in this episode what is was that lead Dan to his passion for soccer, chess, and serving others.

Full Conversation – Bio / Background / Questions / Analysis

The Short Cut – Bio / Questions

Episode 4

April Capone
Organization & Title:
Yale New Haven Hospital
Manager – Center for Living Organ Donors in the Transplantation Center
Industry: Healthcare

In this episode, April walks me through the many lives she’s seemed to have had in her life to-date, from her time with Cirque Du Soleil, to her foray into politics as the Mayor of East Haven, CT, to her current role as Yale New Haven Hospital, and her work as a board member with PoliticaCT. So much goes into and has impacted April’s journey. Uncertainty earlier in her life about what to pursue lead her from the circus, to school, and into politics. An underlying theme, based on the lessons of her family and illustrated in all her work to date, is service to others.

Find out in this episode the specifics of what led April to continue her service to others throughout her career.

Full Conversation – Bio / Background / Questions / Analysis

The Short Cut – Bio / Questions

Episode 3

Anthony G. Barret
Organization & Title:
Girls for Technology – Co-Founder
Wilson-Gray YMCA Youth & Family Center – Executive Director
Industry: Social Entrepreneurship

In this episode, I wanted to hear about what it is that drives Anthony in his Social Entrepreneurship. Building off an idea his wife had, they co-founded Girls for Technology, a company based in Hartford, CT, which is “changing the future of science, technology, engineering, and math professions by inspiring and equipping girls of all backgrounds to pursue these fields.” Anthony then went on to become the Executive Director of the Wilson-Gray YMCA Youth & Family Center, also in Hartford. Growing up in a tough part of Hartford, he left the behind to attend college, only to return and build a solid presence in those two entities, giving back to the community.

Find out in this episode what it is that keeps Anthony pushing forward, building up the social contributions to Hartford as he goes.

Episode 2

Molly Mendez
Organization: Bristol Board of EducationIndustry: Education

In this interview I wanted to capture what it is that drives Molly through everything she does. Anyone who has met her, immediately sees her complete commitment to what’s at hand, whether it’s her continuing education, philanthropic efforts in which she’s involved, her work as a school administrator in the City of Bristol, or being with her family and friends. I was curious about what it is that drives someone, so strongly, to have such an impact on other people. Some of it is unique to Molly — we all can’t have that physical, non-stop, go-go-go ability. But there is something we can try to understand: What causes her to be her best, through her work, for her students, her community, and herself.

Find out in this episode what it is that drove Molly through the education field to get to where she is today.

Episode 1

Lindsay Vigue
Organization & Title: Lindsay Vigue Photography – Owner
Industry: Professional Photography

In this episode, Lindsay walks me through how the experiences in her life, including her travels both domestic and abroad and the people in her family and community, have contributed to her roles as a community leader and business owner. The entirety of all her experiences brought her back home to Bristol, CT, to give back to her town and be a force in its revitalization. For example, she’s helped establish the The Art Squad in Bristol, a group committed to using various forms of art to revitalize the Bristol community, demonstrating the “All Heart” culture of Bristol. She’s a force to be reckoned with, committed to seeking out, building, and sharing what an artistic and creative life, and life in general, has to provide.

Find out in this episode what it is that’s lead Lindsay to give back and create so much the way she has.