Village Talks Ep. 19 — Tim Wills with Mentor on “Every Young Person Needs Someone in Their Corner”
https://youtu.be/vabER6EkXTw Village Talks Episode: Every Young Person Needs Someone in Their Corner with Tim Wills In this episode of Village Talks, Damien Howard sits down with Tim Wills, Chief Impact Officer at MENTOR, the national champion for mentoring across the United States and Canada. Their conversation centers on a powerful but often overlooked truth: young people thrive when they are […]
Village Talks Ep. 18 — Margot Toppen with Pivot to Flow on “Values-Driven Entrepreneurship”
https://youtu.be/_Rk8zeDgQ2s How Margot Toppen Builds a Village for Entrepreneurs, Educators, and Young People When Damien Howard invited Margot Toppen onto Village Talks, he wasn’t just bringing on another guest. He was bringing on someone he already trusted with his own ideas, doubts, and next steps. Margot calls herself a social impact entrepreneur. For more than two decades, she has worked at […]
Village Talks Ep. 17 – Jane Oh of Mentor Arc with “Youth Are The Village”
https://youtu.be/vBEoShn653c Episode 17: The Youth Are the Village Jane Oh, Founder of MentorArc Village Talks with Damien Howard Every now and then, the microphone needs to shift. Not to another expert.Not to another executive director.Not to another adult with a polished theory. But to a young person. Episode 17 of Village Talks is special because the guest […]
Village Talks Ep. 16 – Janay Boughton of After School Allstars with “Respect the Village”
https://youtu.be/U1C1D7Ibcf4 Episode 16: Respect the Village Janay Boughton – After School All-Stars New Jersey Village Talks with Damien Howard When you talk to someone who loves their city, you can feel it. Not the performative kind of love.Not the polished, PR version. But the kind of love rooted in the streets that raised you, the […]
Village Talks Ep. 15 – Shawn Mintz of Mentor City with “Mentorship Beyond Borders”
https://youtu.be/2M_qpJJBrsE Village Talks Episode 15: Mentorship Beyond Borders Featuring Shawn Mintz, Founder of MentorCity What happens when you believe in an idea so deeply… that you max out every credit card, cold call 500 companies, get rejected daily—and still refuse to quit? That’s the heart of Episode 15 of Village Talks. This conversation with Shawn Mintz, Founder […]
Village Talks Ep. 14 – Robin Koelsch of CIS with The Village Is a Verb
https://youtu.be/YF6IUDntETw Episode 14: The Village Is a Verb (with Robin Koelsch, CIS Chicago) What is up, Village? You already know what it is — it’s your friend Damien Howard with another episode of Village Talks. And I’m not even going to pretend I’m “calm” about this one. Because sometimes the podcast isn’t about meeting a new person. Sometimes […]
Village Talks Ep. 13 — Seeing Yourself Fully — Debra Giunta on SEL, Second Chances, and the Power of Being Re-Seen
https://youtu.be/YSE5Pwx_dDY Episode 13: Seeing Yourself Fully — Debra Giunta on SEL, Second Chances, and the Power of Being Re-Seen Short Page Description A powerful Village Talks conversation with Debra Giunta on social-emotional learning, identity, second chances, and why real growth happens when someone chooses to see you differently. Village Talks Episode 13 Seeing Yourself Fully […]
Village Talks Ep. 12 — Delores Druilhet Morton with The Power of Being Proximate
https://youtu.be/R3shJhzOhfI Flash Mentoring, Real-Time Support, and the Power of Being Proximate(Village Talks • Season 1, Episode 12 with Delores Druilhet Morton, CEO of Step Up) When mentorship is urgent, not “nice-to-have” Some episodes feel like a normal interview. This one felt like a strategy session for the village. In Season 1, Episode 12 of Village Talks, I […]
Village Talks Ep. 11 — Dr. Torie Weiston-Serdan on The Freedom to Dream
https://youtu.be/8Bng0SvCg6g Freedom to Dream: Rethinking Mentorship, Eldership, and What Our Kids Truly Need There are conversations that inform you.And then there are conversations that reframe you. Episode 11 of Village Talks was the latter. In this episode, I sat down with Dr. Torie Weiston-Serdan, Chief Visionary Officer and Co-Founder of the Youth Mentoring Action Network in Southern California. From the moment we […]
Village Talks Ep. 10 — Alicia D. Crudup on Kinship, Calling, and Community
https://youtu.be/1ZuogunX7xw Village Talks Ep. 10 – Alicia D. Crudup on Kinship, Calling, and Community Hitting double digits feels like a milestone. Episode 10 of Village Talks isn’t just another conversation—it’s a reminder that when you follow calling instead of comfort, the work has a way of finding you exactly where you’re needed. In this episode, I sat […]