Empathetic Presence

About Empathetic Presence

Empathetic Presence is a podcast to liberate our voices, from silencing systems, speaking anxiety, and over-thinking. We don’t need more Executive Presence. We need empathetic, present leadership more than ever. Hosted by Self-Expression Strategist Lee Bonvissuto, each episode will share tools to help us express ourselves in big moments and feature interviews with empathetic experts who are creating cultures where we can all be heard.

Publisher

Lee Bonvissuto

Category

business

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

3 Apr 2025

Latest episode

19 Mar 2026

Latest episodes

14 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   19 Mar 2026

   We Survive Through Connection with Toya Northington

   I've been trying to have this conversation for over a year. Toya Northington was the very first person I wanted on this podcast. We set a date. The morning we were supposed to record, she texted me that she'd been laid off from her DEI role, one of the first waves of a pattern we've all now watched unfold across this country. We rescheduled. And I'm so glad we did, because the conversation we had this March is the one we were meant to have. Toya is an artist, social worker, and founder of Frameworks for Growth, a creative wellness practice that uses art-based experiences to help people process what they've been carrying silently, before they can even put it into words. She's also a longtime client and one of the people I admire most in this work. In this episode, we talk about what it means to build your identity around a title, and what happens when that title disappears. We talk about DE&I professionals being the advocates taken away first, about isolation feeding anxiety, about creativity as a tool for coming back to yourself, not for creating something pretty, but for your own transformation. In this conversation we talk about: What it means to rebuild your identity after a layoff Creativity as excavation, not performance The connection between speaking anxiety and the inability to hear your own inner voice Why isolation makes anxiety worse, and community is the antidote How grassroots movements have always been the thing that saves us Why social work is the future of work About Toya Northington, MSSW: Toya Northington is an artist, social worker, and founder of Frameworks for Growth, a creative wellness practice built on the belief that creativity can help us understand our lives in ways words alone often can't. She works with people navigating seasons of change, caregiving, grief, burnout, or starting over, offering art-based experiences for reflection, expression, and reconnection. Guided by both clinical insight and lived experience, she creates space for people to process what they've been carrying silently before they can fully put it into words, strengthening their inner voice and supporting them in moving forward with clarity and intention. Her work has been featured on NPR, PBS, and Burnaway, and supported by the Kentucky Foundation for Women. Find Toya at frameworks4growth.com (https://www.frameworks4growth.com/) or on Instagram @toyaNorth.

2. 

   17 Oct 2025

   Building a Care Society with Angelina Drake

   Angelina Drake, Chief Development Officer at Protect Our Care, discusses the importance of care work as political work and advocating for healthcare policy changes in an interview.

3. 

   6 Oct 2025

   Healing Through Ancestral Wisdom with Ssanyu Birigwa

   Ssanyu Birigwa, a narrative medicine clinician, discusses how ancestral wisdom and deep listening foster reciprocity and embodied presence, offering insights into authentic connection in an interview with the host.

4. 

   9 Sept 2025

   The Power of Words with Christina Ferguson

   Host [Host Name] interviews Christina Ferguson, founder and chief storyteller at Parable, exploring how authentic words reveal our true human identity and overcome struggles with self-expression.

5. 

   6 Aug 2025

   Finding Hope Through Gratitude with Abigail Somma

   Abigail Somma, founder of Gratitude Buddies, discusses gratitude as a tool for resistance and refocusing with the host, exploring its impact on presence and self-compassion in this interview.

6. 

   17 Jul 2025

   Why Visionaries Matter with Sehreen Noor Ali

   Sehreen Noor Ali of Te Cura Labs discusses the true meaning of being a visionary and how to strategically increase visibility, in an interview with the host.

7. 

   6 Jul 2025

   Bending Tools Towards Justice with Deepti Sharma

   Deepti Sharma shares her journey of leveraging entrepreneurial tools to advance justice and create opportunities for systematically overlooked communities in an interview with the host.

8. 

   24 Jun 2025

   Empathetic Practice with S. Leigh Thompson

   S. Leigh Thompson discusses empathetic practices for organizational transformation and building stronger cultures in an interview with the host.

9. 

   5 Jun 2025

   Moving Our World Forward with Chana Ginelle Ewing

   Chana Ginelle Ewing, Founder of littlebigworld, discusses how queer imagination and care-centered politics inform strategic marketing, offering listeners insights into leveraging identity as a source of power in this interview with the host.

10. 

    21 May 2025

    Reclaiming Empathy as a Revolutionary Act with Nicole Bauman

    With so much dividing us right now, what if conflict could actually deepen our connections rather than tear us apart? I sit down with conflict facilitator and transformative justice practitioner Nicole Bauman to explore how empathy is not a weakness but a revolutionary tool for liberation. Nicole shares their journey from conflict avoidance to seeing conflict as an opportunity for growth, revealing how self-empathy becomes the foundation for navigating even the most challenging conversations....

11. 

    6 May 2025

    Presence Not Perfection: Getting Out of Your Head and Into The Present Moment

    In this episode of Empathetic Presence, I explore something that's helped my anxiety - how to find the present moment and return to it when we inevitably get lost in thought again. It's particularly challenging to be present right now. With the constant news cycle and daily overwhelm many of us experience, it's natural to slip into hyper-vigilance. Focusing on presence rather than perfection has been transformative for my confidence and reducing anxiety. I share my personal journey from being...

12. 

    30 Apr 2025

    Redefining Leadership With Christina Blacken: Harnessing Narrative for Collective Change

    In this episode of Empathetic Presence, I sit down with Christina Blacken, founder of The New Quo, to explore what leadership really means and how more of us can see ourselves as leaders. Christina talks about how storytelling and narrative shape our behaviors and leadership styles - something she's passionate about in her work. We dive into how true leadership isn't just about being in charge, but about influencing people toward goals that benefit everyone. Christina shares some powerful ins...

13. 

    24 Apr 2025

    Reject Executive Presence

    In this episode of Empathetic Presence, host Lee Bonvissuto explores the importance of liberating our voices from anxiety, overthinking, and toxic environments. Lee argues against the concept of Executive Presence and promotes Empathetic Presence instead. This approach prioritizes ease, empathy, and true human connection—elements that technology can never replace. Lee shares insights from ten years of helping leaders express themselves confidently and introduces alternative strategies to embo...

14. 

    3 Apr 2025

    Introducing Empathetic Presence

    In this episode of Empathetic Presence, host Lee Bonvissuto introduces the podcast's mission to amplify voices silenced by toxic cultures, anxiety, and overthinking. Lee discusses the necessity of empathetic leadership over traditional “executive presence”, advocating for a more human, connected workplace. The episode aims to equip listeners with tools to speak up, advocate for themselves and others, and create inclusive cultures. Lee emphasizes that empathy combined with expertise is our str...

Who has been a guest on Empathetic Presence

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Angelina Drake
• Ssanyu Birigwa
• Christina Ferguson
• Abigail Somma
• Sehreen Noor Ali

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

4,273

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

3 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

3 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 37 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

35

Social presence

0

YouTube

68

Engagement

32

Contact Empathetic Presence

Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

Questions about Empathetic Presence