That ALL Might Be Edified: Discussions on Servant Leadership

Be Courageous & Foster Curiosity

Acclaimed leader and author, Ben Beckhart is the guest on this episode of the podcast. Ben discusses some of the attributes of leading with character and provides some great examples from his many years in leadership roles. Ben has explored the idea of leading with character deeply and wrote a book about it for those who want to learn even more of these principles. Ben declares that the challenges we are seeing in "The Great Resignation" is a void in leadership and invites us to think more about how we can use this opportunity to step up and fill this void. To be a good leader, people need to be courageous and curious, so we discuss how those two attributes can be fostered in us and in the people around us in a way that allows them to feed on one another in a positive way. 

Ben Beckhart is a Bi-cultural, bi-lingual entrepreneurial CEO with strategic and operational leadership competencies, and experience in Consumer Product Goods industry. Ben builds and transforms businesses through brand development, distribution expansion, innovation and high performance individuals particularly in challenging market & competitive situations. He has a diverse 20+ years of Profit & Loss management experience and is motivated by a culture that emphasizes growth, competition and spirited leadership. Ben seeks to contribute growth, transformation and make a difference and has had leadership roles in Sabritos, Frito Lay, Disney, General Mills, Wm Wrigley Jr, the Hunger Project and many others spanning multiple countries. He is the current Chief Engender Officer at Beckhart Engendra. Ben has a B.S. in Economics & Finance from the Wharton School, and an MBA from the Harvard Business School. Ben is also the author of the book Lead with Character: Build a Better Future. Ben reminds us that people who lead with character leave a positive example that transcends beyond their sphere of influence. 

Resources: 

Benjamin Beckhart - Lead With Character: Build a Better Future https://www.amazon.com/Lead-Character-Build-Better-Future-ebook/dp/B07RGRLD9M/ref=sr_1_1?crid=323C9WYP2B7OG&keywords=lead+with+character+ben+beckhart&qid=1644899099&sprefix=lead+with+character+ben+beckhart%2Caps%2C142&sr=8-1

Benjamin Beckhart discusses Social Civility https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-beckhart-34a7aa5/ 

 

Make Deposits in People’s Emotional Bank Account

Captain Thomas Berchtold references Stephen Covey's idea of investing in people's emotional bank account and provides several examples about how he focuses on the people on his team  to build a strong servant leader minded community. He points out that it is far better to postpone important conversations with people until you can give them your full attention or risk missing the mark and even creating an atmosphere of distrust. He shares a time when he failed as a leader because he wasn't being authentic and uses it to emphasize the need for each person to be true to themselves and use their strengths in their leadership opportunities. He looks for chances to help others along their path and provide them with recommendations that will help advance their journey and highlights the importance of having open and honest conversations early and often. 

Captain Thomas E. Berchtold hails from Brigham City, Utah and attended Utah State University. He was commissioned as an Ensign, United States Navy through the Health Professions Scholarship Program and he attended Virginia Commonwealth University where he graduated magna cum laude and earned his D.D.S. 

After graduation from dental school he attended an Advanced Education in General Dentistry residency in Jacksonville, Florida. After being in Florida 1 year, he was transferred to Port Hueneme, CA to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion Three (Seabees) for a tour as Dental Department Head.  The battalion had a six-month deployment to Guam during this time where he successfully led the dental department with multiple battalion detachments being all over the world from the main body of personnel. Upon completing his tour with the Seabees, he was transferred to Naval Medical Center San Diego.  While in San Diego, his main duty was the division officer for the dental department at the Naval Submarine Base at Point Loma.

He attended the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Dentistry in the Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics for three years of advanced training.  There he served as the Chief Resident for the Department during his last year of residency.  He received a Masters Degree in Clinical Dentistry as well as a Certificate in Orthodontics.

After residency, CAPT Berchtold was stationed at 13 area dental clinic at Naval Dental Center Camp Pendleton (NDC CPEN).  He set up the inaugural orthodontic practice at Camp Pendleton and served as the orthodontic department head. He was then assigned to Naval Base San Diego Branch Health Clinic.  He was chosen as the assistant department head at Naval Base San Diego Branch Health and Dental Clinic.  His next orders were at Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton where he was selected and served as the Director of Dental Services and served on the board of directors for the hospital until his transfer to Naval Hospital Yokosuka. 

At Naval Hospital Yokosuka, he was appointed as Associate Director for Dental Services, the Dental Corp Career Development Board manager as well as working as a staff orthodontist.  He received his board certification from the American Board of Orthodontics during this time.

From Japan, he was stationed at the Naval Medical Readiness Command San Diego as a member of the craniofacial team for the hospital and worked as an orthodontist to supplement the surgical treatment of patients for the oral surgery residency program.  

Dr. Berchtold has been married to Julie Berchtold for 25 years and has four children.  Miranda, Jentry, Tate and Riley.  His oldest is married and will attend graduate school this summer and his youngest is still in elementary school.  He enjoys road bicycling, golfing, swimming, fitness, and eating good food and a little well known fact is that he has completed 5 half iron man triathlons and 3 marathons. 

Resources: 

Global Servant Leadership: Wisdom, Love, and Legitimate Power in the Age of Chaos - Philip Mathew, Jiying Song, Shann Ray Ferch, & Larry Spears https://books.google.com.mx/books?hl=es&lr=&id=ATQGEAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=global+servant+leadership&ots=JvavIOHVQR&sig=JG6qdV4hOBhdTAiNYOEjBXofs6o&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=global%20servant%20leadership&f=false

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen R. Covey https://www.amazon.com/Habits-Highly-Effective-People-Powerful/dp/1982137274/ref=sr_1_1?crid=XZWQQGHJJ3F6&keywords=seven+habits+of+highly+effective+people&qid=1644205239&s=books&sprefix=seven+has%2Cstripbooks%2C191&sr=1-1

Start With Why - Simon Sinek https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ss78LfY3nE

 

Delegate & Distribute the Power You Have

Tamrat Negera joins the podcast on this episode; proclaims that everyone can be a leader and that being a servant leader is the most accomplishing thing we can do. Tamrat invites us to think about the comparisons of Nelson Mandela & Robert Mugabe and King Benjamin & King Noah to highlight the differences in a person espousing servant leadership and a leader who priorities their own progress over others. Tamrat also calls upon experiences growing up in Ethiopia and living in Kenya and the United States to emphasize his message that true fulfillment comes when you serve other people and when you help bring people to wherever you are or to an even better outcome. At a young age he was put in a leadership role, which he uses to display how important it is to become a part of your team and to encourage everyone to contribute based on their strengths. Tamrat became an engineer to help the people of his community in Ethiopia and works diligently to stay connected to his community while working hard to serve the community he belongs to in Louisiana and all that he has encountered along the way. 

Tamrat Negera is originally from Ethiopia and moved to United states in 2012 to pursue higher education at BYU-Idaho where he graduated with bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. While attending university, he worked for the campus as a team lead on a project that created a GIS (Geographic information system) for BYU-Idaho electrical department. With the GIS technology, the electrical department could locate all campus street lights, transformers and breakers with a GPS enabled mobile phone application.

After graduation, Tamrat worked at APR Energy; a company based in Jacksonville Florida as a global inventory engineer. he was on a team that enabled the company to create visibility on their material assets in USA, Panama, and Dubai. In 2016 he started at working at his current employer, Solar Turbines, a Caterpillar company, as a Field Service Engineer. His office covers 8 southern states, from Texas all the way to North Carolina. As a field service engineer, Tamrat travels around to commission, upgrade and maintain industrial gas turbines, generators and compressors for Hospitals, universities, offshore oil rigs, natural gas transmission pipelines, chemical plants, waste treatment plants.

Tamrat speak 4 languages: English, Amharic, Oromic and Swahili. During his off hours, he volunteers as the LDS church English to Amharic translator and interpreter. In this capacity, he works on semi-annual general conferences, publishing materials and was also one of the ecclesiastical reviewers of triple combination translation to the Amharic language before it was published.

As a young man, Tamrat volunteered to serve in the Kenya Nairobi Mission between 2010 and 2012 that included Kenya and Tanzania. Other volunteer church leadership positions include Young Men's President in Ethiopia, Elder’s Quorum president at BYU-Idaho, Sunday school teacher and youth leader, and is currently serving as a High Councilor in the Slidell Stake High Council of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Tamrat married Donnya Negera in 2015 in Salt Lake temple and they have 2 children. Abigail 4 years old and Amaan just turned 3 in January.

Resources: 

Nelson Mandela - UN Nelson Mandela International Day Information https://www.un.org/es/events/mandeladay/legacy.shtml 

International Journal of Servant Leadership - Gonzaga University https://www.gonzaga.edu/school-of-leadership-studies/community/scholarship-publications/international-journal-of-servant-leadership 

King Benjamin Addresses His People - Based on Mosiah Chapter 1-5 https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/video/mosiah-1-5/2020-03-0100-king-benjamin-addresses-his-people-mosiah-1-5-1080p?lang=eng 

King Benjamin - Benjamin the Great King by Eugene England https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1976/12/benjamin-the-great-king?lang=eng

 

Create a Space that Fosters Collaboration, & Great Dialogue

This week the Chief Experience Officer and Research Scientist of the Lastinger Center for Learning at the University of Florida, Dr. Cathy Cavanaugh joins me to discuss how she works to bring a diverse team together focusing on expanding educational opportunities to more people while focusing on the teachers they support. She emphasizes the importance of partnerships and collaboration at every level by sharing some great experiences from her rich background. She uses her teaching experience to relate to the need to scaffold people along and develop micro-milestones while working to create a space where ideas flourish and that invites great dialogue. 

Dr. Cavanaugh previously she held roles at Microsoft leading Professional Development and Analytics in the education products group, and working with education leaders and organizations around the world to transform learning and teaching. Cathy’s experience includes leading a statewide education transformation initiative and launching a virtual school in Western Australia; higher education leadership and research in the Middle East during a national mobile learning program; and work as a professor and researcher in educational technology in US universities; as well as school teaching and leadership. She was a Fulbright Senior Scholar advancing e-learning in Nepal. She has developed successful and innovative online degree and professional development programs, and blended learning programs for K-12 students. She also directed professional development centers in the US and was a STEM classroom teacher in the US and Caribbean.

Dr. Cavanaugh's research and her 150 publications focus on technology-empowered teaching and learning in virtual schools, online and blended learning, teacher development, and mobile learning. Her work has been recognized for its impact with international awards including a 2016 International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Making IT Happen award, as well an innovation awards for research focused on virtual schooling. Cathy is a frequent speaker at education events, and she has consulted on educational technology with national and state governments, universities, schools, and organizations. Her education includes a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction, a Master of Education, and a Bachelor of Education.

Resources:

The University of Florida Lastinger Center, LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lastingercenter/

The University of Florida Lastinger Center Webpage: https://lastinger.center.ufl.edu

Claude Steele - Whistling Vivaldi: How Stereotypes Affect Us and What We Can Do (Issues of Our Time) https://www.amazon.com/Whistling-Vivaldi-Stereotypes-Affect-Issues/dp/0393339726/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1PRTDHN10RRZY&keywords=whistling+vivaldi&qid=1643065548&sprefix=whistling+vi%2Caps%2C166&sr=8-1

Blair Hodges Fireside Podcast - with John Swinton: Slow Down https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fireside-with-blair-hodges/id1559678265?i=1000547527182

John Swinton - Becoming Friends of Time: Disability, Timefullness, and Gentle Discipleship https://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Friends-Time-Timefullness-Discipleship/dp/1481304097?crid=3I2TXGO2ZT2CZ&keywords=john+swinton+friends&qid=1642119746&s=books&sprefix=john+swinton+friend,stripbooks,109&sr=1-1&linkCode=sl1&tag=bycomcon-20&linkId=7b33cc9afa4aa645b291039b6025e202&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

 

That ALL Might Have a Larger Piece from a Larger Pie

Thero Mitchell joins as the special guest this week. He uses a story about his son's path towards becoming more devoted to his soccer ability to highlight the virtuous cycle of recognizing a talent or skill, which leads to a desire to practice or refine that gift, which leads to success which then starts the cycle over again, ultimately leading to greater success. He reminds us of the need to boost others up by focusing on the positive three times more than the negative while trying to catch people doing the right things and proclaims that everyone benefits when more people are successful. His word for the year is invest, trying to be more deliberate in how he invests his energy and time and we talk about how our dreams can be broader to focus more on others and not just ourselves. His wife taught him from her organization to always start with care and he encourages us that people are often able to perform beyond their current capabilities when they have a leader who believes in them and who sets high expectations. We hope that we can inspire others as they go throughout this week that started with Martin Luther King Jr. Day, to be more intentional about including others and expanding opportunities to others especially those who have been marginalized in the past so we can stop playing injured and reach our full potential. 

Thero is currently Director of Client Services at Intermedia, a Software as a Service company that helps over 124,000 businesses connect better with their portfolio of communications and collaboration solutions delivered through one highly reliable and secure platform. Intermedia’s Client Services Organization has been named  JD Power Certified Assisted Technical Support (C.A.T.S.) + TSIA rated outstanding: 6 years in a row, 2016-2021. He leads a Technical Services Department of thirty professionals focused on helping customers and partner implement Intermedia’s cloud solutions.  This department has maintained average Customer Satisfaction surveys scores of over 9.5 for the last 5 years. He holds an Executive MBA from Pepperdine University, and is PMP Certified by the Project Management Institute.

Resources:

Martin Luther King Jr - I Have A Dream speech full transcript on NPR https://www.npr.org/2010/01/18/122701268/i-have-a-dream-speech-in-its-entirety

Fireside with Blair Hodges - Slow Down with John Swinton https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fireside-with-blair-hodges/id1559678265?i=1000547527182

Dr. Christa Kirsch & Dr. Janet Peters - Leadership from Inside Out: Student Leadership Development within Authentic Leadership and Servant Leadership Frameworks https://journalofleadershiped.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/16_1_peters.pdf

John Swinton - Becoming Friends of Time https://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Friends-Time-Timefullness-Discipleship/dp/1481304097?crid=3I2TXGO2ZT2CZ&keywords=john+swinton+friends&qid=1642119746&s=books&sprefix=john+swinton+friend,stripbooks,109&sr=1-1&linkCode=sl1&tag=bycomcon-20&linkId=7b33cc9afa4aa645b291039b6025e202&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

 

Build a Better Future By Building Bridges

This episode features two members of the BYU Hawaii faculty, Ann and Scott Springer. Ann and Scott discuss how their roles at BYU Hawaii have uniquely situated them to focus more on leadership studies while helping the rising generation to grow as leaders in many different endeavors. They discuss and model the words on the sign outside the university "Enter to Learn, Go Forth to Serve" while looking for ways to help bridge the gaps between generations, countries, cultures, and any other place the world would create division. They discuss some of the positive attributes of Generation Z and highlight the ways we can all learn from one another. Their message exemplifies how we can expand our worldview and learn to harness the good attributes of other people. They were both successful in the private sector prior to accepting their current roles at BYU Hawaii and they show us how servant leaders look to build others up. 

Ann Springer teaches courses in marketing and communications at Brigham Young University-Hawaii. She started BYU-Hawaii's first student-led digital marketing agency. She is the co-advisor for the BYU Management Society's BYUH student chapter which helps over 100 students from diverse majors and countries to develop ethical leadership skills. Prior to teaching full-time, Ann has worked in business development, marketing, and public relations for two decades in both the private and public sectors. Her experience and education crosses multiple industries, including health care, corporate communications, non-profits, and leadership. She holds an MBA in healthcare management and leadership. 

Dr. Scott Springer is an Assistant Professor of Organizational Leadership at Brigham Young University—Hawaii in Laie, Hawaii on the island of Oahu. His current research interests include leadership education, the experiences of first-time managers, and leadership communication. Prior to joining the BYU-Hawaii faculty, Dr. Springer worked for 15 years as a global director in the academic publishing industry.

Resources: 

Sen Sendjaya, Nathan Eva, Ivan Butar Butar, Mulyadi Robin, & Samantha Castles - SLBS-6: Validation of a Short Form of the Servant Leadership Behavior Scale https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10551-017-3594-3 

BYU Hawaii Mission Statement - https://about.byuh.edu/about-byuh/mission-and-vision 

Elder Gerrit W. Gong - Room in the Inn https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/liahona/2021/05/16gong?lang=

BYU Management Society Moral & Ethical Leadership Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/moral-ethical-leadership/id1462330188

 

 

 

Work Diligently to Minimize the Law of Entropy

Regan Howell, the Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Monroe Energy, LLC, a refining, pipeline and terminal company headquartered near Philadelphia Pennsylvania, is the guest on this episode. Regan explains how every encounter we face each day is an chance to reinforce our organizational culture or to allow it to continue to deteriorate. Regan uses The Law of Entropy to illustrate that we must continually put energy into our organizations and our culture or they will naturally move from an organized to a disorganized state. Regan recommits to being more intentional about the way he reinforces his organizational culture as he displays one of the aspects of servant leadership, to model the way, and reminds us that focusing on serving to lead and focusing on the individuals or the ones is very important for every aspiring servant leader. 

Regan is a chemical engineer who has spent nearly 30 years working for oil companies, large and small, around the world. He is a proven leader with over thirty years of business experience, primarily in refining and fuels manufacturing.  A ‘culture hawk’ whose record demonstrates that value-based decisions lead to better business results.  Entrusted with increasing levels of responsibility and has continually demonstrated integrity; technical, business, interpersonal acumen; and teamwork skills. He feels he experiences his greatest success when part of a properly led, motivated, and rewarded team. He has a life-long fascination with leadership; both studies and practice. He is married to Jen and they have 5 children and 5 grandchildren

Resources: 

Dr. D. Brent Smith, Rice University https://onlinebusiness.rice.edu/mba/faculty/d-brent-smith/

Viktor E. Frankl - Man’s Search for Meaning https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36069536-man-s-search-for-meaning?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=rKFenqPivr&rank=7

Yvon Chouinard - Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22155.Let_My_People_Go_Surfing?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=TdsqDcalwl&rank=1

Allow Yourself To Be Vulnerable

Marine Science Technician Master Chief Petty Officer, Trevor Hughes joins as the guest on this week's episode to help us understand why allowing ourselves to be vulnerable is a necessary step that prepares us for future growth. He also helps us understand how important it is to create a space of trust that allows people to be comfortable, emphasizes the importance of receiving and giving positive endorsements, and discusses leading self, leading others, leading change, & leading service as it relates to the cycle of leadership. 

Master Chief Hughes is currently the Assistant Branch Chief for the Facilities, Containers, and Explosive Handling Division at U.S. Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound in Seattle, Washington, is the Chief of the Mess for the Greater Seattle Area Chief's Mess, and coordinates military outloads managing explosive handling details supporting Army 833^rd Transportation Brigade and Navy Indian Island Weapons Depot. 

Master Chief Hughes is a native of South Portland, Maine where he spent most of his youth sailing the waters and exploring the islands of Casco Bay.  He began his military service in 2002 after working as a contractor for the Atlantic Strike Team during the World Trade Center Recovery operation following the event of 9/11. During his 19 years of service, he has served in the Coast Guard’s incident command structure during response operations for Deepwater Horizon, Hurricane Sandy and was the Coast Guard’s Safety Officer during the response to the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. On occasion, he has also traveled overseas to provide incident management training to our partners within the international maritime community. 

Master Chief Hughes previous tours include CGC Healy, Sector San Francisco, MSST San Francisco, Sector Boston, MSU Cleveland, and TRACEN Yorktown. He is a proud graduate of the Coast Guard Chief Petty Officers Academy class 206 and the Coast Guard Senior Enlisted Leadership Course class 02-17 where he earned the Donald Horsley Selfless Leadership Award. He holds a Master’s degree from the Duke University in Environmental Management with a focus on Environmental Leadership. He lives in Bainbridge Island, WA with his wife Annika and three children.

Resources:

Jennifer Brown - How To Be An Inclusive Leader https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45356172-how-to-be-an-inclusive-leader

Henry Rollins - 200 lbs https://youtu.be/iSsCR8wjWYk 

The Story of You - Ian Morgan https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57637421-the-story-of-you

Typology with Ian Morgan Cron (S05-010) Amy Porterfield on the Gifts of Self-Awareness https://www.podbean.com/ei/dir-bq5m9-10663528

 

 

 

 

 

It All Starts with RESPECT

Assistant Fire Chief Clint Ory from Louisiana's St. Tammany Parish Fire District No. 4 joins on this episode to talk about how important showing respect is to servant leadership and shares a powerful vision of how we could change the world if we had more respect for one another. We welcome in the holiday season with some great insights in how spirituality is a vital aspect of servant leadership and discuss how many of these holidays are routed in the principles of servant leadership. A great discussion on the importance of discovering your own truth while respecting other peoples truth helps to illustrate how we can build from our similarities and learn from our differences. 

Clint has been a firefighter for over 30 years and also is certified as a Hazardous Material Technician, Fire Investigator, Executive Fire Officer, and as a Paramedic. He has serve in numerous leadership positions throughout his career and also dedicates his off time to serving in his community and surrounding states after natural disasters. 

Clint is a certified ACE Peer Fitness Trainer and helped create the St. Tammany Parish Hospital Firefighter Wellness Program including the design and validation of the Firefighter Advanced Fit for Duty assessment. He serves as the subject matter expert for St. Tammany Parish Hospital on NFPA 1582 -Standard on Comprehensive Occupational Medical Programs for Fire Departments. Clint voluntarily works with Firefighters who need assistance in meeting the essential job functions after returning from extended absences due to injury or illness. 

Clint serves on several public safety associations and committees including the Parish Emergency Management Advisory Committee. Clint has served as a Boy Scouts of America Scout Master for many years, and earned the BSA Wood Badge from the Sam Houston Area Council in 2011/2012, he has worked with youth for most of his adult life through his church service and other programs. Clint was awarded First Responder of the Year in 1996 by OLL Knights of Columbus, The Louisiana Distinguished Civilian Service Medal from The Louisiana National Guard in 2001, the Friends of the Military Award 

from the Mayor’s Military Advisory Committee of Greater New Orleans in 2002 and the YMCA Northshore Heroes Award in 2018. Clint graduated from the 10-month Leadership St. Tammany program for emerging and existing leaders in June 2019. As part of his volunteer church service, he was assigned in July 2017 to serve pastorally as the Bishop for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Covington. Clint currently serves as First Counselor in the Slidell Stake Presidency for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, serving 8 congregations across South Eastern Louisiana and South West Mississippi. Clint and his wife Danelle Danos Ory have been happily married since October 1994, they have three adult children Logan, Hannah and Elisabeth and a daughter in law Lindsay. 

Resources:

James Kouzes & Barry Posner: Credibility https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/643449.Credibility

Josephson Institute Six Pillars of Character: https://josephsononbusinessethics.com/2017/01/principled-reasoning-decision-making/ 

Sen Sendjaya, Nathan Eva, Ivan Butar Butar, Mulyadi Robin, & Samantha Castles: SLBS-6: Validation of a Short Form of the Servant Leadership Behavior Scale: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10551-017-3594-3

 

 

 

 

Get Into the Arena of Life & Let Greatness Happen

April Rice joins with me to illustrate how she has embraced the challenges that life throws at her to encourage greatness in those around her as she embraces the arena of life. For the past 10 years April was the Director of of a college access and persistence program for potential first-generation high school students at Tulane University in New Orleans. During her time with his program, whose participants live below poverty level, they consistently achieved a 100% college enrollment and a 73% college graduation rate, which is almost four times higher than the national average for students with socio-economic barriers. 

April talks with us about the importance to meet people where they are while envisioning the potential each individual embodies, finding ways to look past the barriers in front of us, how to serve others, listen deeper, and really realize that the individuals all around us connect a web to create a master piece.

April Rice is an educator by profession, but a teacher by heart. She likes to say that teaching is in her DNA. Her passion and love for others has motivated her through the last 20 years in education. She has a deep love to help the individual achieve their unique path toward education and life, regardless of circumstances, has blessed hundreds of people she has worked with over the years.

April received her bachelors in Heath Science Education at Brigham Young University-Idaho in Rexburg, and a Master’s degree in Higher Education Administration at Mississippi College along with certification in Life Coaching with an emphasis on trauma-induced coaching.

Her education career began in a Level 6 juvenile correctional facility in central Florida where she developed a love for marginalized and underserved students. Throughout her career, April has taught special education, science, STEM and engineering classes, developed dropout prevention programs, trained teachers, and served in administration capacities in the K-12 sector.