About I'm Frickin' Lonely...Tell Me Your Story! (Staying Connected Through Conversation)
In its original iteration, this podcast explored the ways we'd all been impacted by the pandemic: how the "COVID years" changed the trajectory of people's lives. And how they were still able to do great things in spite of and sometimes even because of this "crisis".
Now the content has evolved beyond COVID to conversations about people's lives, paths, passions and purpose. We are talking with leaders in the arts, humanities, community service and just plain great people!
Some stories will be funny, some sad, some inspirational? Let's see what happens! And maybe we'll learn something.
Sandra Toussaint - "A Passion for Service Inspired Her Shift from Corporate to Non-Profit Leadership"
My conversation with Sandra Toussaint, President and CEO of The United Way of Greater Mercer County, is full of great stories as she recounts her family’s emigration from Haiti, her youth in Brooklyn and Queens, and what led her to a career in non-profit leadership.
Her upbringing included life lessons of hard work, perseverance, education, and most of all, service to others. Introduced to politics at an early age by her attorney father, Sandra became aware of the broad impact effective policy can have on people’s lives.
Passionate about her views, Sandra became a formidable member of her high school debate team, presenting her positions with clarity and factual backup. This talent hasserved her well in all her capacities over the years, and I can say with confidence that I do not want to get in an argument with Sandra! (And this capability is one of many“transferable skills” I learned about in the conversation.)
While in college, her time volunteering in homeless shelters in Harlem really opened her eyes to life’s disparities; understanding that so many people are one health crisis, one job loss, or one broken down car away from homelessness.
This experience, along with her lifelong passion for service, led to Sandra’s shift from corporate work to not-for-profits; the shift from helping shareholders to transforming people's lives.
Listen in while we talk about her move to New Jersey, her life-altering epiphany, and her finding her home as a leader at the United Way of Greater Mercer County.
Please join us!
13 Apr 2026
Senator Andrew Zwicker - "Our Physicist-Senator: A Passion for Fusion, Fairness, Freedom and a Better Future"
What an honor it was to host my state senator Andrew Zwicker for this episode. Knowing how jam-packed the senator’s schedule is (I see him attending community events and visiting constituents non-stop!) I was amazed that he found time for our conversation.
I had always been proud to say my congressman was a rocket scientist, back when Rush Holt was our U.S. House Representative for New Jersey. And I can still brag on my local legislator because Andrew, too, is a physicist/rocket scientist! Not only is he our State Senator, but he’s also Head of Science Education at the Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (I love itwhen my legislators are smarter than I am!)
We talk about the exciting world of fusion, the decades of research invested in it and its potential to solve our energy problems, (albeit not necessarily in the near term). And of course, we talk about politics. I wondered how Andrew made the shift from science to politics, and the issues he’s passionate about. Being in a very purple district, he uses dataand facts (what are those?) to find common ground with constituents from both ends of the political spectrum.
From protecting our communities from federal overreach to defending the “right to read”, we had a lot to talk about! Not to mention grape “Pop Rocks”!
I came away feeling optimistic about the positive impact of state and local politics on people’s lives, and how good works on the local level will be our salvation in these crazy times!
Please join us!
29 Mar 2026
Altagracia Montilla - "Dreaming It Forward" - Creating Your Own Reality Through Visualization and Imagination
Today I was thrilled to host my fellow YWCA Board member Altagracia Montilla. Observing Altagracia’s amazing inspirational and energetic positivity first hand as she shepherded the YWCA’s board and staff in team building and conflict resolution left me wanting to learn more about her. Where did this talent, well-honed skill set, and positive outlook come from?
As it turns out, Altagracia’s renowned leadership in the fields of organizational facilitation, strategy development, leadership training, and culture transformation is a seemingly inevitable result of her passions growing up.
Altagracia’s positivity and optimism was pretty much self-taught. During our conversation, she describes how, through voracious reading and a love of learning, she was able to "dream it forward” and create her own alternate lived reality. Growing up in the South Bronx, experiencing scarcity, the library provided her with infinite new worlds. She also describes the concept of “Chosen Ancestry”, in which you can choose people who are kindred spirits and exemplify your beliefs to be your ancestors. I love that idea!
We hear about how Altagracia’s empathy for others and passion for education set her on a path to helping others achieve their greatest potential. From helping students prepare for college, to guiding organizations through culture change, conflict resolution, and forward-thinking, to providing space for creativity, imagination and self-realization,Altagracia’s optimism and drive have made her an unstoppable force.
I found our conversation uplifting and hopeful. I hope you do too!
Please join us!
And learn more about Altagracia at her website:
https://altagraciamontilla.com/
Or just Google her! Good stuff! The concept of "Architecting Community" is great, and we didn't even get to that in our conversation!
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
9 ratings
Spotify
3.7 / 5
3 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 42 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
55
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
71
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