Across 35 years in public education, she built her district’s first program for academically gifted students, created opportunities with limited resources, and advocated for young people even when doing so put her at odds with administrators. Her work extended far beyond the classroom, including through the Central Pennsylvania Honor Bus, which she helped establish with her students to bring hundreds of veterans to their memorials in Washington, D.C.

For Mark, this conversation is personal: Beckie was his middle school teacher. Together, they explore the childhood experiences that shaped her commitment to others, the rewards and personal costs of service, and the relationships that continue to give her life purpose and meaning.

With her signature humor and candor, Beckie reflects on listening before directing, admitting when she doesn’t know the answer, and trusting young people with responsibilities that help them grow.

In this episode:

• How early childhood responsibility shaped a lifetime of service
• Why honesty matters with children
• The interplay between serving others, feeling valued, and neglecting our own needs
• Listening to students and creating opportunities around their individual strengths
• Humility, resourcefulness, and advocating for people within resistant systems
• Finding purpose through relationships, curiosity, and continued growth

Because This Matters features conversations with impactful people about the values that shape how they show up in the world.

Over more than 20 years as an operator and executive, Manisha built teams, led transformation, and helped grow billion-dollar businesses. But after years of achievement, recognition, and measurable impact, she made a deliberate choice to step away and create space for something different—even though she didn’t yet know what that would be. That pause became a sabbatical, a period of unexpected boredom, and eventually a new relationship with time, ambition, and enough. Today, Manisha works as an executive coach and facilitator, grounded in a conviction that clarity precedes impact.

In this conversation, Manisha and Mark explore what living across cultures taught her about trust, why boredom can be a surprisingly powerful source of growth, how a lifetime of change shaped her comfort with ambiguity, and why curiosity may be our best alternative to judgment.

In this episode:

• Why slowing down and making space can sometimes matter more than moving faster
• What Manisha discovered when she intentionally stepped away from a successful career
• Boredom as a path toward self-awareness, creativity, and growth
• What living across countries and cultures taught her about trust
• Finding clarity inside ambiguity and change
• Why curiosity and judgment cannot easily coexist

Connect with Manisha Sharma:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manishasharma/

Website: https://www.inscape.solutions/index.html

Because This Matters features conversations with impactful people about the values that shape how they show up in the world.

Her life has included substance use, incarceration, trauma, family rupture and repair, and a life-altering stroke. Through all of it, she has continued to return to a few central values: spirituality, courage, family, and what she calls “recovery from life.”

Today, Danielle is a recovery coach and the founder and executive director of Unlikely Journeys, a nonprofit rooted in recovery, reentry, prevention, and second chances. Her experience helped shape what she calls the “we factor”: walking alongside people with honesty, compassion, and a willingness to see their strengths even in the middle of their mess.

In this conversation, Danielle and Mark explore what it means to keep moving forward without requiring the journey to look perfect, how relationships can challenge the beliefs we hold about ourselves, and how surviving a stroke fundamentally changed Danielle’s relationship with her own life.

A note for listeners: This episode includes candid discussion of addiction, trauma, loss, and suicidal ideation.

In this episode:

• Spirituality, courage, family, and “recovery from life”
• Why recovery is nonlinear and sometimes messy
• Repairing relationships and learning to accept connection
• How surviving a stroke changed Danielle’s relationship with life
• Second chances, compassion, and the “we factor” behind Unlikely Journeys

Learn more about Danielle and Unlikely Journeys:

Website: unlikelyjourneys.org
TikTok: @unlikelyjourneys2
Instagram: @unlikelyjourneys
Facebook: Unlikely Journeys, Inc.

Because This Matters features conversations with impactful people about the values that shape how they show up in the world.

He worked as a cowboy on a cattle ranch in Texas, became a tour manager in the music industry, and eventually left Nashville with his family to help build a luxury guest ranch in Western Montana.

Across those chapters, the same themes keep showing up: integrity, responsibility, intuition, family, service, and the willingness to act on what matters even when the outcome is uncertain.

In this conversation, Will and Mark explore what it means to “ride for the brand,” how to trust your gut without becoming reckless, why time may be the only thing we truly have, and how the people who believe in us can change the course of our lives.

In this episode:

• Reorienting life around family and fatherhood
• Leaving one dream job to pursue another
• Clarity, uncertainty, and “right action”
• Why Will sees time as our most valuable resource
• How A New Earth helped reshape his thinking
• Cowboy culture, work ethic, and “riding for the brand”
• Navigating a conflict between commitment and opportunity
• Why nature can help people reconnect with themselves
• The importance of helping others and giving people opportunities

Learn more about The Meadows on Rock Creek:

Website: https://themeadowsonrockcreek.com

Email: info (at) themeadowsonrockcreek.com

Because This Matters features thoughtful conversations with impactful people about the experiences and values that shape how they show up in the world.

Learn more about Mark at https://www.markpoiesz.com/

Born in Bethlehem and raised across different countries, Kara studied Arabic and international affairs, worked as a foreign policy analyst in the UAE, taught yoga, spent time on a remote Greek island and in India, and eventually returned to Australia, where she now works in coaching, strategy, and change management.

Along the way, she has kept returning to some of the same questions: What creates belonging? How do we know when it’s time to change direction? What happens when clarity points us toward uncertainty? And how do we build lives around what actually matters to us?

In this conversation, Kara and Mark explore freedom and belonging, ambition and identity, personal growth and systemic change—and why curiosity may be one of the most important values we can cultivate.

In this episode:

• How growing up across cultures shaped Kara’s sense of identity and belonging
• The mental health challenges that began an inner journey in her teens
• Leaving a high-status career and redefining ambition and success
• Why clarity and certainty are not the same thing
• Taking calculated risks while remaining open to the unexpected
• The relationship between personal wellbeing and the systems we live within
• Curiosity as a path toward compassion, connection, and less judgment

Connect with Kara:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kara-hawkins-75091b84/

Website: https://www.karahawkins.com.au/

Instagram (Art): @kara_eh

Podcast: Life, Leadership and Change with Kara Hawkins

Because This Matters features thoughtful conversations with leaders, artists, entrepreneurs, and more about the values that shape how they live, lead, and contribute.

Nine conversations later, recurring themes began to emerge.

Across conversations with musicians, educators, military operators, nonprofit founders, advocates, and business leaders, three values surfaced again and again: compassion, humility, and relationships.

In this first solo episode, host Mark Poiesz reflects on the common threads woven throughout the podcast’s first nine guests, pairing his own observations with excerpts from those conversations.

This episode explores what these remarkable individuals collectively reveal about growth, leadership, service, and what it means to become more fully human.

Featured guests:
• Nasim Lari
• Joe Arias
• Rich Redmond
• Nancy Hajek
• Steve Rucker
• Melissa
• Alison Krebs
• Dr. Heather Baker
• Chad Bernstein

This episode explores:

• Why compassion begins with understanding
• Humility as openness to growth and change
• The role relationships play in shaping who we become
• Why becoming more fully human may be the work of a lifetime

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

01:41 Theme: Compassion

07:53 Theme: Humility

15:35 Theme: Relationships

21:07 Synthesis

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Because This Matters is a podcast exploring how values take shape—and become action—through the challenges and experiences that define our lives.

If this episode resonates, please follow, rate, review the show, and share it with someone who might enjoy the conversation.

markpoiesz.com

Underneath the growth of the organization is a more personal story.

In this conversation, Chad reflects on the bullying and self-doubt he experienced as a young person, the role music played in helping him find belonging, and the lessons that shaped his approach to leadership, mentorship, fatherhood, and service.

Together, Mark and Chad explore what happens when people feel truly seen, the responsibility that comes with leadership, the power of curiosity over judgment, and how growth often begins when someone believes in us before we believe in ourselves.

This episode explores:

• How music became a refuge during Chad’s early struggles with belonging
• The juvenile detention center experience that inspired Guitars Over Guns
• Why mentorship is about helping people discover what’s possible for themselves
• What young people have taught Chad about leadership, trust, and human potential
• The relationship between creativity, service, and personal identity
• Why growth in an organization is limited by a leader’s willingness to grow
• Gratitude, spirituality, and finding meaning in a complicated world

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To learn more about Guitars Over Guns or support their work, visit Guitars Over Guns⁠ online. The organization provides music education, mentorship, and creative youth development programs for young people in underserved communities across multiple U.S. cities.  

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Because This Matters is a podcast exploring how values take shape and become action through the challenges and experiences that define our lives.

If this conversation meant something to you, please follow, rate, and review the show—and share it with someone else.

After surviving sudden cardiac arrest, Heather found herself asking questions far deeper than emergency preparedness or public policy. What do we owe one another? How do we lead when we know life is fragile? And what matters enough to dedicate our lives to protecting?

Today, Heather is an elementary school principal, researcher, educator, and nationally recognized advocate for cardiac emergency preparedness in schools. Her work has helped train thousands of people in CPR and AED use, shaped legislation, and expanded awareness around sudden cardiac arrest and prevention.

In this conversation, Heather reflects on survival, motherhood, leadership, vulnerability, and the perspective that comes from knowing everything can change in an instant. She shares how surviving cardiac arrest transformed her relationship with stress, why asking for help became one of the most important lessons of her life, and how raising a child with a congenital heart condition deepened her understanding of courage, responsibility, and gratitude.

Together, Mark and Heather explore what it means to prepare for uncertainty without living in fear, and how life’s most difficult moments can become a catalyst for service.

This episode explores:

• Surviving sudden cardiac arrest and its lasting impact

• Leadership through vulnerability rather than perfection

• Learning to ask for help and accept support

• Parenting a child with a congenital heart condition

• Advocacy, resilience, and creating meaningful change

• Gratitude as a practice during challenge and uncertainty

• How awareness of mortality can clarify what matters most

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Follow Heather on social media @heathersheartsquad

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Because This Matters is a podcast exploring how values take shape—and become action—through the challenges and experiences that define our lives.

If this conversation meant something to you, please follow, rate, and review the show—and share it with someone else.

She began her career in the high-pressure world of corporate leadership, helping build a Fortune 500 company. After entering recovery in 1999, her path took unexpected turns—through monastic formation, years running a dog grooming business, and eventually to the stage as the lead vocalist of Rok Ali and the Addiction, an internationally touring hard rock band.

Underneath every chapter is a deeper thread: humility, community, surrender, and the ongoing process of becoming more fully human.

In this conversation, Alison reflects on how her understanding of achievement changed over time, why vulnerability became essential to growth, and how recovery reshaped the way she sees identity, spirituality, accountability, and purpose.

The conversation explores the tension between striving and surrender, the role of community in healing and alignment, and what it means to let go of certainty in order to become more fully human.

This episode explores:

• How humility transformed Alison’s relationship with achievement
• The role of recovery in reshaping identity and purpose
• Why vulnerability and accountability are essential for growth
• Community as a foundation for healing and alignment
• Spirituality, “unknowing,” and learning to let go of control
• The relationship between performance, purpose, and transcendence

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Connect with Alison / Rock Ali and the Addiction:
https://rokali.com/

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Because This Matters is a podcast exploring how values take shape—and become action—through the challenges and experiences that define our lives.

If this conversation meant something to you, please follow, rate, and review the show—and share it with someone else.

In this conversation, they explore the values that shape how we relate to others—and ourselves. Drawing from both her personal life and nearly two decades working with children and families, Melissa reflects on kindness, compassion, emotional intelligence, and the importance of community.

She shares the early experiences that shaped her perspective, how parenting deepened her understanding of these values, and why giving grace matters more than ever.

Throughout the episode, a deeper thread emerges: that much of what people need most is not judgment or perfection, but patience, understanding, and the willingness to meet people where they are.

This episode explores:

• Why kindness must be modeled, not just taught
• Emotional intelligence and helping children navigate big feelings
• The role of compassion in parenting, friendship, and community
• The difference between transactional relationships and genuine care
• Learning to accept people as they are—not as we wish they would be
• Why giving grace to ourselves matters too

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Because This Matters is a podcast exploring how personal values take shape and become action through conversations with leaders, artists, and entrepreneurs.

If this conversation meant something to you, please follow, rate, and review the show—and share it with someone else who may find it meaningful.

In this conversation, Mark sits down with one of his mentors, Steve Rucker—musician, educator, and longtime director of contemporary drum set studies at the University of Miami—to explore a life shaped not by rigid identity, but by openness, curiosity, and continual evolution.

Steve reflects on the moments and influences that reshaped how he sees the world—from discovering the work of Joseph Campbell to experiencing the difference between belief and direct knowing. He shares how these perspectives have informed not only his career as a performer and educator, but also the way he approaches growth, creativity, and human connection.

Throughout the conversation, a deeper thread emerges: the idea that who we are is not confined to what we do. That flexibility, presence, and openness may matter more than any title we carry.

This episode explores:

• The difference between belief and lived experience

• Identity beyond roles, labels, and professions

• How openness and flexibility shape a meaningful life

• Teaching, mentorship, and meeting people where they are

• Creating a life that evolves over time rather than staying fixed

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Because This Matters is a podcast exploring how personal values take shape and become action through conversations with leaders, artists, and entrepreneurs.

If this conversation resonated, follow the show and share it with someone who might find it meaningful.

In this conversation, Mark sits down with Nancy Hajek, hypnotherapist and founder of Dream Lodge Hypnotherapy, to explore a way of moving through life rooted in presence, curiosity, and a deeper sense of connection with others.

Nancy shares how her life’s work has been shaped by a search to understand what happens in the space between people—moments of openness, trust, and something that feels like recognition. Through her experiences in hypnotherapy and spiritual study, she offers a perspective that invites us to look beyond surface-level behavior and relate to others in a more grounded, intentional way.

The conversation moves through themes of attention, self-awareness, and how we meet others in real time, along with the challenge of holding that way of being in a world that doesn’t always reward it.

This episode explores:

• Why reacting with anger often creates more of what we’re trying to change

• The practice of “catching yourself” in moments of resistance

• Curiosity as an alternative to judgment

• The tension between inner clarity and the external world

• What it means to move through life with a sense of shared humanity

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Find Nancy Hajek online: http://dreamlodge.org/

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Because This Matters is a podcast exploring how personal values take shape and become action through conversations with leaders, artists, and entrepreneurs.

If this conversation resonated, follow the show and share it with someone who might find it meaningful—perhaps sparking a conversation of your own.

In this conversation, Mark sits down with Rich Redmond, drummer for Jason Aldean, speaker, author and actor, to explore the mindset and values behind a sustained, high-level career.

Rich shares how enthusiasm has become a daily practice, not just a personality trait, and how showing up consistently while staying aligned with purpose creates opportunities over time.

The conversation moves beyond performance into something deeper: presence, gratitude, and the ability to smell the roses, even while pursuing what’s next.

This episode explores:

• Enthusiasm as a choice and a discipline

• The relationship between alignment and opportunity

• Consistency and showing up over time

• Presence, gratitude, and “smelling the roses”

• What it takes to sustain energy across a long career

Connect with Rich Redmond

Website: https://richredmond.com

Because This Matters is a podcast exploring how personal values take shape and become action through conversations with leaders, artists, and entrepreneurs.

If this conversation resonated with you, please follow the show, comment and share it with someone else.

Together, they explore the values that shape how Nasim moves through both work and life—especially compassion, humility, and integrity. Nasim reflects on how family influences, personal growth, and professional experience have shaped her perspective, and how those values guide the way she leads, serves others, and stays aligned when life feels off track.

The conversation also touches on the difference between recognition and impact, the role of vulnerability in leadership, and the ethical possibilities of AI in healthcare.

Topics in this episode include:

• compassion and integrity as lived values

• choosing impact over recognition

• staying aligned in seasons of stress

• vulnerability, leadership, and trust

• ethical questions around AI in healthcare

Because This Matters is a podcast exploring how personal values take shape and become action in the way we live and lead.

If this conversation resonates with you and you’re exploring your own values and direction, you can learn more about Mark’s coaching work at markpoiesz.com.

Together, they explore Joe’s shift from achievement and identity-driven ambition toward a deeper focus on family, sustainability, and compassion. Joe shares how years as a Green Beret shaped his relationship with service, conflict, and responsibility, and how becoming a husband and future father has clarified what matters most, once again.

The conversation also touches on religion as a path to understanding others, the tension of impossible decisions in combat, and the role of compassion in a divided world.

Topics in this episode include:

• family as a defining value

• transition out of Special Forces

• achievement, identity, and ambition

• compassion as understanding

• conflict, responsibility, and impossible choices

• religion, culture, and learning how others see the world

• sustainability and the next chapter of life

Because This Matters is a podcast exploring how personal values take shape and become action in the way we live and lead.

If this conversation resonates with you and you’re exploring your own values and direction, you can learn more about Mark’s coaching work at markpoiesz.com.

Connect with Joe Arias here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-arias

In each conversation, Mark Poiesz explores how values take shape and become action—revealing the ground people stand on as they navigate work, leadership, family, and life.

Listen to the trailer and subscribe!