Letters to Strangers: Youth-to-Youth Mental Health with Diana Chao– Episode 253

There is a lot of psychological research that shows that there’s so much healing power in a secure relationship where you can speak and share how you feel. In this episode, Dr. Erin Elmore speaks with Diana Chao, founder and Executive Director of Letters to Strangers, a non-profit that seeks to destigmatize mental illness and increase access to affordable, quality mental health treatment for young people. Diana has a really unique story. She grew up with bipolar disorder and complex PTSD. After surviving a series of suicide attempts, Diana found healing from an unexpected source: writing. In writing letters to strangers, Diana realized she was not alone and later founded the youth-run organization Letters to Strangers. Diana has been honored by two U.S. presidents at the White House, was the winner of the Princess Diana Awards in 2021, was the youngest-ever winner of the Unilever Young Entrepreneurs Award and gave a TEDxTeen speech at the PlayStation Theater in Times Square to a standing ovation. In addition to mental health advocacy, Diana worked for NASA, published a novel at the age of 13, and received recognition from the U.S. Navy for her work on dengue fever. Diana is also an award-winning artist and conceptual photographer. Together Erin and Diana discuss the Letters to Strangers inception, details of the program, and ways for youth to get involved.

Life-Enhancing Anxiety with Dr. Kirk J. Schneider – Episode 252

Managing anxiety can be a powerful gateway into awareness and presence. Over time, connecting with the most difficult parts of themselves, so they can reoccupy, explore, and discover life-enhancing opportunities to grow. In this episode, Dr. Graham Taylor speaks with Dr. Kirk Schneider. Kirk is a leading spokesperson for existential-humanistic and existential-integrative psychology. Dr. Schneider is an adjunct faculty member at Saybrook University and Teachers College, Columbia University, and a co-founder and current president of the award-winning Existential-Humanistic Institute. He is also a Fellow of five divisions of the American Psychological Association as well as a frequent speaker at conferences and in the media. Dr. Schneider was a 2022 candidate for president-elect of the American Psychological Association (APA) and is the author/editor of 14 books including his latest book, Life-Enhancing Anxiety: Key to a Sane World.

Empathy as a Business Concept with Dr. Natalie Petouhoff – Episode 251

It's not that hard to change the work culture, but it does take a conscious effort to do some self-reflecting as a leader to look at the employee environment, ask employees what they'd really like, and make that a daily practice. In this episode, Dr. Graham Taylor speaks with Dr. Natalie Petouhoff. Natalie is a best-selling author and a Customer Experience Strategist and Consultant who works with brands to help them transform their customer and employee experience. Natalie’s career spans many years in technology and customer and employee experience with positions in and consulting at companies including Salesforce, Hulu, Marriott, General Motors, General Electric and many more. Natalie’s current passion is shifting outdated paradigms by juxtaposing current beliefs with seemingly contradictory ones to reveal insights to drive the future of work, customer’s experiences, businesses, and humanity forward. She believes we can imbue technology with our hopes and dreams for a future focused on bettering humanity. We just need to understand what we are optimizing for and why. Together Graham and Natalie discuss the disconnect with the customer experience, the future of the workforce, and her book Empathy in Action.