Many of the conversations we have had on this podcast have been around subject areas or circumstances that many of us, but not all of us, go through. This discussion with Marissa. Renee Lee is one that can connect with everyone. Losing a loved one or having a really bad experience in life happens to us all. Marissa joins us to discuss the idea that healing from loss does not mean moving on, but instead that we need to strive to love those we have lost even after death. And when you really dive deep, you can sometimes find love that you didn't even feel when they were alive

Marisa Renee Lee is a called upon grief advocate, entrepreneur, and bestselling author of Grief is Love: Living with Loss. Deemed "the friend we all wish we had in times of need" by Elaine Welteroth, Marisa is able to utilize research-based advice and wisdom to help others navigate the complicated and dark emotions we face when experiencing loss, offering unique insights for women and Black communities. 

In addition to her work in the grief space, Lee is a former appointee in the Obama White House and CEO of Beacon Advisors, a mission-driven consulting firm primarily focused on racial equity. She is a rabble-rouser of social healing: former managing director of My Brother's Keeper Alliance; co-founder of the digital platform Supportal; and founder of The Pink Agenda, a national organization dedicated to raising money for breast cancer care, research, and awareness. 

Lee also regularly contributes to The Atlantic, Glamour, Vogue, MSNBC, CNN and serves as an expert for Ritual's wellbeing app. She is a Harvard graduate and an avid home cook. Marisa lives in Virginia with her husband Matt, their newborn son Bennett, and their dog, Sadie.

Join us in this conversation to hear the small steps Marisa Renee Lee took to better navigate grief.

Want to learn more from Marisa Renee Lee?

>>Visit marisareneelee.com

>>Grief is Love: Living with Loss 

>> Follow on Facebook

>>Follow on Instagram @marisareneelee

Connect with Andrew Sullivan on Instagram @thesmallstepspod

Watch Small Steps, Big Change on YouTube @Small Steps Big Change Podcast 

We have focused a lot of our time on this podcast hearing from people who have done the inner work to not just survive but thrive. However, what do you do once you have that inner power? That's where Samara Bay comes in.  By redefining what power and authority sound like, Samara will teach us just how to use our voice to move the world toward a better tomorrow.

Samara Bay is an author and speech coach whose clients are candidates for US Congress, C-suite executives, international diplomats, high school girls, and Hollywood celebrities.  Her Penguin Random House book, Permission to Speak is a revolution in how to think about your voice and everyone else's.   I've never had a more timely guest-   Samara, you're just what we need right now and it is an honor to bring you on Small Steps. 

Join us in this conversation to hear the small steps Samara Bay took to use her voice to help lead us to a better future. 

Want to learn more from Samara Bay?

>>Visit ladialectcoach.com

>>Follow on Twitter @SamaraBay

>>Follow on Instagram @samarabay

>>Permission to Speak is available for pre-order now@samarabay.com, and it'll be available in bookstores February 7th, 2023.

Connect with Andrew Sullivan on Instagram @thesmallstepspod

Watch Small Steps, Big Change on YouTube @Small Steps Big Change Podcast 

This conversation is with a special guest, Robert Walker, who is also my friend and mentor. Robert Walker is known to his friends and colleagues as Bob. Bob founded American Program Bureau (APB), to provide an open forum for individuals to voice their opinions and point of view. Today, APB has the largest speaker roster in the industry, from entertainers and politicians to business leaders and renowned public intellectuals. A pioneering force in the lecture industry, Bob and the team at APB Speakers created the medium for people to see the most exciting and popular personalities, hear cutting-edge ideas, and experience the leaders, activists, and innovators, unedited and unfiltered by mass media. 

Upon founding APB in 1965, Walker reinvented the traditional lecture by creating infotainment to transmit the innovative intellectual excitement of a dynamic time and an entertaining format. From colleges to town halls, community forums, corporations, and trade and professional associations, this fourth medium offered audiences what they could not get elsewhere. To this day, under Walker's guidance and leadership, APB's culture of innovation continues to define each era while always looking into the future.

Join us in this conversation to hear the small steps Robert Walker took to put purpose over profit and show us how to measure our lives by the impact we make.

Want to learn more from Robert Walker?

>>>Visit apbspeakers.com

>>>Connect on Twitter @Robert Walker

>>>Connect on LinkedIn @Robert Walker

Connect with Andrew Sullivan on Instagram @thesmallstepspod

Watch Small Steps, Big Change on YouTube @Small Steps Big Change Podcast 

Episode 6 with Chamique Holdsclaw dove into overcoming adversity and rebounding from trauma. This week’s guest, Joanne P. McCallie is also known as Coach P to her players and colleagues, has a very similar story to Chamique. As a coach, the stigma can be even worse. Coach P shows us the power of storytelling, and drives home the need for more education, action, and overall change to the stigma-filled narrative about brain health.

Joanne “Coach P” McCallie is a former NCAA Division I women’s basketball head coach for 28 years, leading teams at Maine, Michigan State, and Duke, making National Coach of the Year, and winning numerous championships at all three schools. She is the only coach in history to win Coach of the Year in four different conferences, and then achieved that five times. And she is the only Division I head coach to lead two different programs to 30-win seasons with three National Championship game appearances.

Coach P was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder at age 30 while coaching at Maine. It was something she wanted to reveal for decades but was counseled that it would be career suicide and distracting to her teams. In 2021, she decided it was time to talk and became a mental health advocate and speaker, sharing her story to inspire and educate others on how to “win without losing yourself.” The result was her best-selling book, Secret Warrior: A Coach and Fighter, On and Off the Court, and numerous speaking engagements where she shares her story.

Join us in this conversation to hear the small steps Coach P took to go from survivorship to thrivership.

Want to learn more from Joanne P. McCallie? 

>>Connect with Joanne on LinkedIn

>>Follow her on Facebook and Instagram @coachp4life

>>Secret Warrior: A Coach and Fighter, On and Off the Court

Connect with Andrew Sullivan on Instagram @thesmallstepspod

Watch Small Steps, Big Change on YouTube @Small Steps Big Change Podcast 

Growing up, Drew recalls seeing the Holdsclaw jersey hanging on the wall in sports stores, although he never really knew exactly who Chamique Holdsclaw was. The only thing that Drew knew was that she was a really good basketball player– no one knew what Chamique Holdsclaw was going through behind the scenes. This conversation will be all about that part of Chamique’s life. You will hear her personal story of resilience as well as a message of the importance of self-care, prioritizing mental health, asking for help, and knowing that you are not alone.

From the rough edge courts of New York City and recruited by Coach Pat Summit for the University of Tennessee's, Lady Balls, Chamique Holdsclaw was hailed as the female Michael Jordan- impressing crowds with her artistry, athleticism, and drive. A three-time NCAA champ and number one draft pick in the WNBA, Holdsclaw seemed destined for a spectacular professional career until her long-suppressed battle with mental disorders emerged to derail her career and threaten her life.

Join us in this conversation to hear the small steps that Chamique Holdsclaw took after hitting her rock bottom moment. 

Want to learn more from Chamique Holdsclaw on how to overcome adversity and rebound from trauma?

>>Follow Chamique on Instagram and Twitter @ChamiqueHoldsclaw 

Connect with Andrew Sullivan on Instagram @thesmallstepspod

Watch Small Steps, Big Change on YouTube @Small Steps Big Change Podcast 

Drew is honored to share with you his conversation with Wawa Gatheru. Wawa’s passion for life and her energy around climate justice is something that everyone should hear. In this episode, Wawa shares this passion while opening up about what an activist means to her, who her community is, and the small steps she took to be able to express herself today. 

Wawa Gatheru is a climate justice storyteller motivated to uplift the voices of those most impacted by the climate crisis. She has become the voice of her generation using the power of social media to share how communities of color and women had been adversely affected by climate change and the racist roots of the environmental movement. Wawa is also the founder of Black Girl Environmentalist, an Erode Scholar at the University of Oxford, a narrative fellow at the All We Can Save Project, and a recent Revolutionary Power Fellow at the US Department of Energy, where she worked under the first-ever deputy for energy justice to integrate energy justice in the federal landscape. She is also the youngest member of the Earth Justice Council and the first black person in history to receive the Rhodes, Truman, and Udall Scholarships.

Join us in this conversation to hear the small steps Wawa Gatheru took to build her community, why they matter to her, and how she became a climate justice storyteller. 

Want to learn more from Wawa Gatheru about building a community and why it matters?

>>Visit wawagatheru.org

>>Follow Wawa Gatheru on Instagram @wawa_gatheru

Connect with Andrew Sullivan on Instagram @thesmallstepspod

Watch Small Steps, Big Change on YouTube @Small Steps Big Change Podcast 

Like many of our guests, John Quiñones is an excellent storyteller and uses his storytelling as a way to further social change. We will continue to discuss some of the themes from past episodes and really center on the idea of always doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.

A lifetime of never taking no for an answer took John Quiñones from migrant farm work and poverty to more than 30 years at ABC News, the anchor desk at 2020 and Primetime, and seven national Emmy awards for his reporting over the years. Along the way, John broke through barriers, won the highest accolades, and became a role model for many. As host and creator of What Would You Do? the highly rated hidden camera, ethical dilemma news magazine. Now on its 14th season, Quiñones has literally become the face of doing the right thing to millions of fans. Known for truly connecting with audiences and leaving them uplifted and inspired, John Quiñones delivers a powerful message of believing in oneself, never giving up, and always doing the right thing.

Join us in this conversation to hear the small steps John Quiñones took to do the right thing even when no one is watching. 

Want to learn more from John Quiñones?

>>Follow John on Twitter @JohnQABC, Facebook, and Instagram @johnquinones.

>>Click here for full episodes of What Would You Do? on ABC

Connect with Andrew Sullivan on Instagram @thesmallstepspod

Watch Small Steps, Big Change on YouTube @Small Steps Big Change Podcast

I've had the privilege of knowing Feminista Jones for close to five years. I have always been impressed with her inspirational story, her ability to set boundaries, and the way in which she brings all of her lived and learned experiences to everything she does. Feminista is a role model when we talk about living your most authentic life. Named one of the top 100 Black Social Influencers and 25 Most Inspiring Women on Twitter, Jones is a feminist thought leader and social media influencer honored for online activism.  

Feminista Jones is a Philadelphia-based feminist writer, public speaker, community activist, and retired social worker. She's an award-winning writer and the author of the critically acclaimed Reclaiming Our Space: How Black Feminists Are Changing the World from the Tweets to the Streets. Her work center is around queer identity, critical race theory, intersectionality, mental health, and social work. She also teaches a course on the African American queer experience at Temple University. 

Join us in this conversation to hear the small steps Feminista Jones took to live her most authentic life. 

Want to learn more from Feminista Jones?

>>Follow Feminista Jones on Twitter FJ(@Feminista Jones) and on Instagram @feministajones.

>>Visit www.feministajones.com to learn about Feminista’s services, upcoming events, and listen to the Black Girl Missing Podcast.

>>Reclaiming Our Space: How Black Feminists Are Changing the World from the Tweets to the Streets

Connect with Andrew Sullivan on Instagram @thesmallstepspod

Watch Small Steps, Big Change on YouTube @Small Steps Big Change Podcast