Expressions of Leadership

In this episode of Expressions of Leadership, host Michele Kawamoto Perry speaks with Saurabh Narain, President and CEO of the National Community Investment Fund (NCIF), to explore his journey from a successful career in global banking to leading an organization dedicated to strengthening underserved communities through innovative finance. Saurabh shares the values that shaped him, the piv...

Content Note: This episode includes candid discussions about men's sexual health, vulnerability, relationships, and family dynamics. It also references the title of Kristina Denton's memoir, You Don't Know D**k: How I Healed My Daddy Issues Fixing Broken D***s. Listener discretion is advised.

In this episode of Expressions of Leadership, host Michele Kawamoto Perry welcomes Kristina...

In this episode of Expressions of Leadership, host Michele Kawamoto Perry sits down with acclaimed Irish singer-songwriter Mairéad Mac Mullan for a deeply personal conversation about authenticity, courage, creativity, and the lifelong journey of finding your true voice. From her early days in Dublin to touring alongside legendary artists such as Van Morrison, Natalie Merchant, Elvis Costello, and Tracy Chap...

In this episode of Expressions of Leadership, Michele Kawamoto Perry sits down with Errol (E.J.) Fortenberry, financial advisor at Bernstein, former Boston College football player, and trusted advisor to founders, executives, professional athletes, and families navigating pivotal life transitions. E.J. shares the lessons that shaped his journey, from overcoming setbacks and learning the importance of self-advocacy to building a car...

What can decades of studying human behavior teach us about leadership, trust, and ethical decision-making? In this episode of Expressions of Leadership, Michele Kawamoto Perry speaks with psychologist, ethics expert, author, and educator Dr. Jack Haynes. Over a remarkable career spanning more than 35 years, Jack has conducted hundreds of child custody evaluations, served in leadership roles focused on professional ethics, and worke...

Michele Kawamoto Perry sits down with Dali Rivera—U.S. Army veteran, immigrant, author, speaker, and founder of DaliTalks—to explore how a deeply personal experience transformed into a mission to create safer, more compassionate communities. After witnessing her young daughter endure bullying, Dali began advocating for stronger prevention efforts and ultimately built a career helping parents, educators, and organization...

Host Michele Kawamoto Perry speaks with Ashish Shah, Founder and CEO of Revida Water, about reimagining one of the world’s most overlooked infrastructure challenges: industrial wastewater. Drawing on a career that spans Wall Street, private equity, operations, and consulting, Ashish shares how firsthand experience with fragmented wastewater systems inspired him to build Revida Water, a vertically integrated company transformi...

In this episode of Expressions of Leadership, Michele Kawamoto Perry speaks with entrepreneur, innovator, and former Walmart executive Andy Ruben for a conversation about leadership, reinvention, and building what doesn’t yet exist. From his early days at Procter & Gamble to leading strategy, sustainability, and omnichannel innovation at Walmart, Andy shares the experiences that shaped his approach to leadership and trans...

Lauren Cantor’s career journey defies convention, from studying astrophysics at Columbia and working in an observatory in Chile to managing billion-dollar portfolios on Wall Street, earning an MFA in her 40s, and becoming an AI advisor and educator. In this episode of Expressions of Leadership, Lauren shares how curiosity, adaptability, and a willingness to take risks shaped her path across finance, design, technology, and te...

In this episode of Expressions of Leadership, Michele Kawamoto Perry speaks with musician and social entrepreneur Brad Wolfe about how a deeply personal loss shaped his life’s work, from creating music to founding Reimagine, a global community centered on healing, connection, and meaning.

Together, they explore how people can move through grief and transform it into purpose through storytelling, creative expression, and acts ...

In this episode of Expressions of Leadership, Michele Kawamoto Perry speaks with Rachel S. Moore, President and CEO of The Music Center of Los Angeles—one of the largest performing arts centers in the United States.

Rachel’s leadership journey began on stage as a professional ballet dancer with American Ballet Theatre before a pivotal turning point set her on a new path into executive leaders...

In this episode of Expressions of Leadership, Michele Kawamoto Perry sits down with Bob Riddle, a lifelong educator whose nearly four-decade journey, from math teacher to Head of School, offers a powerful perspective on what it means to lead with purpose, courage, and authenticity.

Together, they explore the defining moments of Bob’s leadership, including coming out and leading with greater authenticity, as well as bold insti...

In this episode, Michele Kawamoto Perry interviews Katie Mednick, a founder and TEDx speaker who bootstrapped Spark TS into a North American rail industry leader before successfully exiting in 2025. Katie shares how she navigated complex regulations, built trust across unionized teams and regulators, and scaled a product under intense pressure.

This conversation goes beyond entrepreneurship into the heart of leadership. Katie refle...

Ellie Shapiro has spent her career bringing imagination to life for iconic brands like Barbie and Disney Princess, but her most powerful story is about the life she chose to build. In this episode of Expressions of Leadership, host Michele Kawamoto Perry speaks with Ellie to explore her journey from corporate marketing to independent toy inventor, including the moment she took on a multi-billion-dollar company in a landmark lawsuit...

What does love have to do with leadership? For Dr. Kerry Neal, everything.

In this episode, Michele Kawamoto Perry traces the arc of a remarkable journey, from hospital orderly to Doctor of Education, from a devastating personal moment to the founding of Black Love Reimagined, a movement that has been quietly transforming how communities talk about love, accountability, and connection for 15 years.

This is a conversation about rein...

In this episode, Michele Kawamoto Perry speaks with Erica Rife, Executive Director of the Architecture Foundation of Oregon, about her journey from the startup world to nonprofit leadership, and how design literacy can expand who has a voice in shaping the built environment.

They explore Erica’s path into design-focused work, her decision to return to school to deepen her understanding of equity and philanthropy, and why earl...

Host Michele Kawamoto Perry speaks with Michelle Bacharach, CEO and Board Chairman of FindMine, about her journey from UC Berkeley to acting, product leadership, and ultimately founding an AI platform that helps brands translate their creative expertise into inspiring, shoppable experiences for consumers.

Michelle shares how burnout led her to step back and rethink what she wanted to build, the leadership lessons she learned along ...

Host Michele Kawamoto Perry interviews Cathy Derksen, founder of Inspired Tenacity, to explore her remarkable journey from medical genetics and financial planning to becoming a publisher, international speaker, and 23-time #1 bestselling author. Cathy shares how a midlife reinvention led her to discover the power of authorship and community as catalysts for leadership, visibility, and purpose.

In this conversation, they discuss lea...

Host Michele Kawamoto Perry speaks with Dr. Sarah Zappe, Assistant Dean for Teaching and Learning and Director of the Leonhard Center for the Enhancement of Engineering Education at Penn State, about what it means to lead with authenticity at the intersection of engineering, innovation, and the arts. As the first non-engineer to serve in her role within the College of Engineering, Dr. Sarah Zappe shares how she integrates creativit...