Ronderings

About Ronderings

RONderings is where meaningful conversations meet practical leadership. Ron Rapatalo talks with leaders, changemakers, and everyday people about purpose, career growth, wellness, relationships, identity, and the moments that shape who we become. Ron is a business development leader, executive and career coach, author of Leverage the People Who Love and Care About You, and host of RONderings. Drawing on nearly three decades of experience across corporate, nonprofit, higher education, government, and mission-driven organizations, he believes the best leadership starts with self-awareness, authentic relationships, and the courage to keep growing - for ourselves and for those we serve.

Publisher

Ron Rapatalo

Category

business · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

15 Feb 2023

Latest episode

4 Nov 2026

Latest episodes

118 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   4 Nov 2026

   Hold Up an X-Ray, Not a Mirror: Shared Power, Possibility Development, and Young People Who Lead Now (with Dr. Kimberlin Butler)

   Nearly every Sunday, a woman at Dr. Kimberlin Butler's church in Louisiana looked at her and told her she was born to win, designed for accomplishment and endowed with the seeds of greatness. A Head Start student who later relied on Pell Grants for college, she heard it so often that she came to believe it, and her work since has been about giving other young people that same sense of what is possible. In this episode of Ronderings, Dr. Butler, founder of The L.E.A.D. Agency, a social impact firm, and creator of Youth-Possible Philanthropy, a framework for sharing real decision-making power with young people, talks about the difference between being heard and having influence. She became a teacher through Teach For America, advised two US secretaries of education during the Obama administration, and led national work at Grantmakers for Education, a network of education funders. Again and again she saw institutions make decisions about young people with no young people in the room, including during the Atlanta Public Schools cheating scandal, when she was a funder asking who was caring for the students. She describes the Tower Foundation's Community Experts Team, where young people with lived experience co-design the requests for proposals, score applications and decide how roughly $350,000 in grants is awarded, and explains why foundations need an x-ray rather than a mirror. She also tells the story of a young woman she calls Maya, celebrated on national stages while she was homeless in New York City, and describes the Youth-Possible Philanthropy Practice Network she is building to bring funders and young people together over three years. Her Rondering is that the future does not simply belong to young people; it has to be shaped with them, because leadership grows when people are trusted with real responsibility, not once they have earned the right title. (01:47) - How Ron met Kimberlin on a search (03:03) - A story about possibility (03:19) - Head Start, Pell Grants and the McNair program (03:53) - A StoryCorps episode with Carl McNair (04:54) - Kim Possibilities on the other side of the tracks (06:13) - Teach For America and two secretaries of education (07:50) - The Atlanta Public Schools scandal (09:01) - Cradle to career work and a dissertation (10:19) - Kim Possible (10:58) - Mrs. Kay: born to win (12:43) - What the 40 Under 40 award unlocks (13:16) - What Youth-Possible Philanthropy is (14:34) - Youth voice versus youth power (18:01) - Six bodies of practice (21:39) - The Tower Foundation's Community Experts Team (24:39) - Answering the cynic: can this scale? (27:30) - An x-ray, not a mirror, and an MRI (28:35) - The skate park young people didn't want (29:52) - Asking young people, and why TikTok isn't for Ron (30:32) - Maya's story (34:20) - What has to change inside foundations (38:54) - The Youth-Possible Philanthropy Practice Network (41:58) - What's possible, not what's hard (44:01) - Ron's first human-centered design session (45:54) - Beyond surveys, and the moment she knew (47:57) - Kimberlin's Rondering: shaped with young people (49:50) - Where to find Kimberlin (51:32) - Doing more with less as funding shifts (54:54) - Defining possibility development Referenced in this episode: Carl McNair - brother of beloved astronaut Ronald McNair - and Kimberlin Butler discuss the impact of being a Ronald McNair Scholar/Fellow. - https://archive.storycorps.org/interviews/carl-mcnair-brother-of-beloved-astronaut-ronald-mcnair-and-kimberlin-butler-discuss-the-impact-of-being-a-ronald-mcnair-scholarfellow/ (https://archive.storycorps.org/interviews/carl-mcnair-brother-of-beloved-astronaut-ronald-mcnair-and-kimberlin-butler-discuss-the-impact-of-being-a-ronald-mcnair-scholarfellow/) 11 Ex-Atlanta Public School Employees Found Guilty In Cheating Scandal - https://www.npr.org/2015/04/02/396975990/11-ex-atlanta-public-school-employees-found-guilty-in-cheating-scandal (https://www.npr.org/2015/04/02/396975990/11-ex-atlanta-public-school-employees-found-guilty-in-cheating-scandal) Engaging Youth in Philanthropic Practice: Field-Building Strategies and the Promise of Youth-Possible Philanthropy™ - https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/tfr/vol17/iss1/9/ (https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/tfr/vol17/iss1/9/) Power Shared, Possibility Realized: Youth-Possible Philanthropy™ in Practice at the Peter & Elizabeth Tower Foundation - https://www.geofunders.org/news/power-shared-possibility-realized-youth-possible/ (https://www.geofunders.org/news/power-shared-possibility-realized-youth-possible/) Links: Dr. Kimberlin Butler on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberlindbutler (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberlindbutler) More about The L.E.A.D. Agency: https://theleadagencyllc.com/ (https://theleadagencyllc.com/) Connect with Ron: www.linkedin.com/in/rapatalo (http://www.linkedin.com/in/rapatalo) Check Out Ron's Book: www.amazon.com/dp/1613431473 (https://www.amazon.com/LEVERAGE-People-About-Personally-Professionally/dp/1613431473/) Leverage Publishing Group: www.leveragepublishinggroup.com (https://leveragepublishinggroup.com/) Publish a Book That Matters: http://booksthatmatter.org (http://booksthatmatter.org/) Start a Podcast That Matters: http://podcastsmatter.com (http://podcastsmatter.com/) Go from Expert to Thought Leader: http://geniusdiscovery.org (http://geniusdiscovery.org/)

2. 

   28 Oct 2026

   Get Quiet Enough to Hear What's Next: Job Searching in the Age of AI, Relationship Capital, and Joy at Work (with Krista Purnell)

   When Krista Purnell was laid off for the first time, she planned on six months at home with family and then a new job back in New York. That is not what happened. What came instead was not on her bingo board, and she says it left her in a really great place. In this episode of Ronderings, Krista, an education leader with nearly twenty-five years in classrooms, schools and nonprofits who now offers coaching and consulting, talks about looking for what comes next, being a super connector, and relationship capital in K-12 education. She grew up the youngest of three in New Jersey, twelve years behind her sister, with Saturdays at the museum and the bookstore. She joined Teach For America in 2003, and her first years as a classroom teacher in Newark are still the hardest job she has ever had. Later, as a managing director at the education nonprofit Citizen Schools, she found her old school among those in the program. Then came a merger, that first layoff, and the hard lesson that a business decision still hurts when you have given a place a little of your heart. The conversation turns to what a search looks like now: being honest about which roles are not hers, writing a resume for whoever is actually reading it, taking a coding class and AI courses, and making time quiet enough to hear what comes next. It also covers why she introduces people with nothing expected back, why serious work for children can still make room for joy, and why investing in people is how the results come. It ends on her advice for anyone in a transition: be open to how your life and career unfold, because the next door may open because of what happened before. (01:29) - Recording conversations with the people Ron knows (02:11) - The Knicks, Philly, and comeback wins (05:43) - Growing up twelve years after her sister (07:09) - Saturdays at the museum and the bookstore (08:27) - Becoming a Teach For America corps member in 2003 (10:32) - Teaching middle school math and building assessment systems (12:36) - Citizen Schools, and a first layoff (16:51) - Coding classes and new tech skills (17:27) - Job searching now: waiting for a sign (19:23) - Honest applications, and resumes for systems and people (22:07) - How Krista became a super connector (24:33) - Neuroscience, social intelligence, and reaching people (26:47) - Little science nerds and Trivial Pursuit cards (28:51) - Introductions with nothing expected back (30:52) - Brad Stulberg and The Way of Excellence (33:08) - Joy at work, from Messi to Stephen Curry (35:04) - Serious work without taking ourselves too seriously (37:33) - Vulnerability, joy, and high performance (39:32) - New Leaders, and serious Ron mode (43:07) - Krista's one-minute commercial (44:29) - Hiring managers, and why the streets talk (46:03) - Relationship capital in K-12 education (46:48) - Social savants and drawing out org charts (50:06) - Beliefs, behaviors, and ways of being (51:07) - Krista's Rondering: be open to how your career unfolds (53:48) - Where to find Krista Links: Skechers Is Releasing OG Anunoby's Game-Winning NBA Finals Sneakers - https://www.complex.com/sneakers/a/victor-deng/og-anunoby-skechers-skx-reign-nyc-blue-pe (https://www.complex.com/sneakers/a/victor-deng/og-anunoby-skechers-skx-reign-nyc-blue-pe) The Case for Excellence Without Obsession - https://nextbigideaclub.com/magazine/case-excellence-without-obsession-bookbite/58786/ (https://nextbigideaclub.com/magazine/case-excellence-without-obsession-bookbite/58786/) Ask Why, Then Act: From a High School Newsroom to New Leaders and the Good Jobs Economy with Jon Schnur - https://ronderings.podcastsmatter.com/episodes/jon-schnur (https://ronderings.podcastsmatter.com/episodes/jon-schnur) PD for Instructional Coaches: Exploring Your Inner Landscape - https://www.edweek.org/education/opinion-pd-for-instructional-coaches-exploring-your-inner-landscape/2015/01 (https://www.edweek.org/education/opinion-pd-for-instructional-coaches-exploring-your-inner-landscape/2015/01) Krista Purnell on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/krista-purnell/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/krista-purnell/) More about Purnell & Co: https://purnellandco.netlify.app/ (https://purnellandco.netlify.app/) Krista Purnell on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekplife/ (https://www.instagram.com/thekplife/) Connect with Ron: www.linkedin.com/in/rapatalo (http://www.linkedin.com/in/rapatalo) Ron Rapatalo's bestselling book Leverage: www.amazon.com/dp/1613431473 (http://www.amazon.com/dp/1613431473) Interested in writing or publishing? Visit: www.leveragepublishinggroup.com (http://www.leveragepublishinggroup.com/) Start your own podcast that matters: www.podcastsmatter.com (http://www.podcastsmatter.com/) Check out other impact-driven podcasts: www.podcaststhatmatter.org (http://www.podcaststhatmatter.org/)

3. 

   21 Oct 2026

   You Always Notice the Referee: Calm Leadership, Big Bets on Imperfect Data, and Skill Building in Nonprofits (with Alex Cantu)

   When Alex Cantu trained new soccer referees, he told them to give every call about thirty seconds, because the game would show them whether they got it right. As a Chief Operating Officer, he leads the same way, watching how each decision moves through finance, HR and the next staff survey. In this episode of Ronderings, Ron sits down with Alex, Chief Operating Officer of the Surge Institute, a national nonprofit that develops and supports leaders of color in education, to talk about staying calm under pressure, making big bets on imperfect information, and why a budget should tell a story. Alex tells his story as three decisions. His parents in San Antonio, who never got to finish college, made his education the priority from preschool on. In high school he took up refereeing because it paid cash, and twenty-three years later he still works games on Sundays. He graduated into the tail end of the Great Recession hoping for a career like the one in the advertising drama Mad Men, and a first job in schools with a nonprofit turned him toward social impact. Ron and Alex dig into why Alex says a COO communicates for a living, and why the role now calls for a generalist who can speak finance, law and culture without being a CPA or a lawyer. Alex sees keeping top talent through uncertainty as the sector's next challenge, and bets on skill building, with AI used to multiply what a lean team can do, not to shrink it. For his Rondering, Alex challenges his fellow COOs and CFOs to keep one spreadsheet for the whole budget and make the rest narrative: the organization's legacy, what has to change this year, and the way forward. The numbers matter, but people follow narratives. Chapters: (01:33) - Meeting at the Education Leaders of Color convening (03:27) - Three decisions, starting with his parents (05:25) - Refereeing soccer for twenty-three years (08:08) - A calm refereeing style and two breaths (11:32) - Missing calls and why the ball never lies (13:49) - From referee to chief operating officer (15:44) - Give every call thirty seconds (16:57) - Big bets on imperfect data (18:32) - Bridgespan and the rise of the generalist (23:23) - PowerPoint night: communicating for a living (26:57) - A first job in the Great Recession (28:53) - Advice to college Alex: be confident sooner (31:34) - Retaining top talent through uncertainty (35:44) - Alex's big bet: skill building and AI (37:20) - Ron's big bet: nonprofit mergers and acquisitions (42:37) - Reading together and celebrating what didn't work (48:03) - Alex's Rondering: one spreadsheet, the rest narrative (52:16) - Culture, the Spurs and the Knicks (55:05) - Investing in yourself as a leader Links: NBA referee Tim Donaghy pleads guilty in a betting scheme, August 2007 - https://www.justice.gov/archive/usao/nye/pr/2007/2007aug15.html (https://www.justice.gov/archive/usao/nye/pr/2007/2007aug15.html) How Generalists Help Nonprofits Navigate Complexity, Bridgespan - https://www.bridgespan.org/insights/how-generalists-help-nonprofits-navigate-complexity (https://www.bridgespan.org/insights/how-generalists-help-nonprofits-navigate-complexity) A new home at Transcend for the Gradient Learning program, February 2026 - https://gradientlearning.org/whole-student-journal/our-next-chapter/ (https://gradientlearning.org/whole-student-journal/our-next-chapter/) The Knicks beat the Spurs in the 2026 NBA Finals - https://www.espn.com/story/_/id/48419498 (https://www.espn.com/story/_/id/48419498) The Two-Organizations Problem, Harvard Business Review - https://hbr.org/2026/06/the-two-organizations-problem (https://hbr.org/2026/06/the-two-organizations-problem) Alex Cantu on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexcantutx/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexcantutx/) More about the Surge Institute: https://www.surgeinstitute.org/ (https://www.surgeinstitute.org/) Connect with Ron: www.linkedin.com/in/rapatalo (http://www.linkedin.com/in/rapatalo) Ron Rapatalo's bestselling book Leverage: www.amazon.com/dp/1613431473 (http://www.amazon.com/dp/1613431473) Interested in writing or publishing? Visit: www.leveragepublishinggroup.com (http://www.leveragepublishinggroup.com) Start your own podcast that matters: www.podcastsmatter.com (http://www.podcastsmatter.com) Check out other impact-driven podcasts: www.podcaststhatmatter.org (http://www.podcaststhatmatter.org)

Reach and audience

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

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

6 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

9 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 57 / 100

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

Quality

85

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

71

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Guest appearances

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