Radical Transformational Leadership with Dr Monica Shar

Radical Transformational Leadership with Dr Monica Sharma: Guest Sushant Shrestha

Radical Transformational Leadership: What does this imply? Guest Hosts Kirsten Gallo and Sudarshan Rodriguez Guest Sushant Shrestha
Sushant Shrestha is a venture capital investor with a track record of successful exits in the Artificial Intelligence, Smart Materials, and Blockchain space. He is a graduate of the Social Finance Programme at Saïd Business School, Oxford University, researching innovative fund structure and financing strategies. He is a member of the Forbes Business Council, an invite-only network of successful business executives. He engages transdisciplinary and transformational frameworks for innovation in finance, portfolio management, and industry evaluation. His research and analysis have generated over 20M+ in growth capital for his portfolio companies.
He is a Founding Partner at Conscious Full-Spectrum Finance Institute, bringing whole system transformation to social finance. He is a Founder and Managing Partner at Humanitas Smart Planet Systems, a venture capital firm investing in climate tech and social tech. He is an adjunct faculty at National University, California, and teaches leadership and sustainable change courses. Currently, he engages in different countries as a venture catalyst and an advisor to startups and growth companies.
Previously, Sushant served as a Finance Director for startups in three countries and worked as a Research Consultant for National Park Services. He has worked in Peru, Nepal, and India. His educational training and degrees are in Finance, Management, and Integral Psychology, with a professional background in management consulting, business systems analysis, sustainable finance, and organizational analysis. He is passionate about scaling transformative technologies globally to meet the challenges of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
KIRSTEN GALLO
Kirsten Gallo served as the head of the National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring Division. She held a variety of positions in the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service conducting natural resource monitoring and stewardship of public lands. She holds a doctorate degree in Ecology and has dedicated her career to conserving natural resources and demonstrating interdependence between humans and our environment. She began applying RTL tools and techniques in 2009 and created platforms for leadership in five federal government agencies and NGOs. Kirsten is now working to make RTL a global movement as she works in the fields of the environment, leadership, and finance. Specifically, she’s working to remove chemicals from our food systems and return to regenerative agricultural techniques to support the wellbeing of people and the planet.
SUDARSHAN RODRIGUEZ
Sudarshan Rodriguez is a development professional with experience in disaster management, environmental sciences, environmental economics, policy, and environmental law. He has worked with Dr. Monica Sharma as an RTL practitioner coach since 2010.
After 22 years in the development sector with a variety of organizations, including the United Nations, grassroots organizations, policy think tanks, civil society and academia, he dove into the adventure of setting up the next generation development consultancy and social purpose enterprise called “RTLWorks”. Before founding RTLWorks, he was the Programme Director at Mahatma Gandhi Academy of Human Development, heading a center of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai located in Nagaland, India focusing on Livelihoods and Social Entrepreneurship.
He also delivers and implements Radical Transformational Leaderships ‘learning-in-action-programs’ for business and non-profit organizations on different aspects of leadership development for sustainable change.
Learn more about Dr. Monica here: www.radicallytransform.org

Radical Transformational Leadership with Dr Monica Sharma: Guest Joshy Jose

Guest Hosts Kirsten Gallo and Sudarshan Rodriguez with Guest Joshy Jose
In this episode, we explore the use of Radical Transformational Leadership tools in assisting some of our most marginalized people—commercial sex workers and their children. We discuss the importance of shifting from a focus on our rights to focusing on embodying values and how that shift can be the difference between a life filled with violence and a life of care and nurturing. We also describe the importance of community for all of us and steps for building resilient humans and communities.
KIRSTEN GALLO
Kirsten Gallo served as the head of the National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring Division. She held a variety of positions in the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service conducting natural resource monitoring and stewardship of public lands. She holds a doctorate degree in Ecology and has dedicated her career to conserving natural resources and demonstrating interdependence between humans and our environment. She began applying RTL tools and techniques in 2009 and created platforms for leadership in five federal government agencies and NGOs. Kirsten is now working to make RTL a global movement as she works in the fields of the environment, leadership, and finance. Specifically, she’s working to remove chemicals from our food systems and return to regenerative agricultural techniques to support the wellbeing of people and the planet.
SUDARSHAN RODRIGUEZ
Sudarshan Rodriguez is a development professional with experience in disaster management, environmental sciences, environmental economics, policy, and environmental law. He has worked with Dr. Monica Sharma as an RTL practitioner coach since 2010. After 22 years in the development sector with a variety of organizations, including the United Nations, grassroots organizations, policy think tanks, civil society and academia, he dove into the adventure of setting up the next generation development consultancy and social purpose enterprise called “RTLWorks”. Before founding RTLWorks, he was the Programme Director at Mahatma Gandhi Academy of Human Development, heading a center of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai located in Nagaland, India focusing on Livelihoods and Social Entrepreneurship.
He also delivers and implements Radical Transformational Leaderships ‘learning-in-action programs’ for business and non-profit organizations on different aspects of leadership development for sustainable change.
JOSHY JOSE
Joshy Jose plays the role of an integrator and is responsible for establishing strong accountability and program structures. He contributes to the conceptualization, construction, and strategic planning of programs that provide life-course solutions for children from vulnerable backgrounds, especially “Red light districts.” Joshy brings over 27 years of work experience in program design, innovation, and management. His expertise ranges from leading youth-targeted programmes to building learning systems and designing human-centred initiatives. In the past, Joshy held positions of Senior Director, Programs, Knowledge strategies, and planning. He also worked as a technical advisor for the youth and adolescent vertical of ChildFund International and was a part of the country management teams of The Leprosy Mission and Hope Worldwide. Joshy is a facilitator of the theory (and practice) of change and has been a consultant and Master Trainer for the “Developing Life-Skills” program in organizations across four countries. He is also trained in nonviolent communication and Radical Transformational Leadership. He firmly believes in in fostering children from vulnerable backgrounds “as our own,” and considers any kind of violence, especially violence against children, unacceptable.
Learn more about Dr. Monica here: www.radicallytransform.org

Radical Transformational Leadership with Dr Monica Sharma: Guest Satjyot Gill

Radical Transformational Leadership: What does this imply? Guest Hosts Kirsten Gallo and Sudarshan Rodriguez Guest Satjyot Gill Psychologist
In this episode, we explore the use of Radical Transformational Leadership tools and templates across sectors: promoting mental health and wellbeing and advocating for animal rights. RTL change agents take a whole-systems perspective and cultivate the ability to respond to problems effectively and put in place strategies to realize the full potential of people to generate a paradigm shift at the same time. We discover that we all have a unique and important contribution to make, even those of us who are marginalized and are struggling to make ends meet.
KIRSTEN GALLO
Kirsten Gallo served as the head of the National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring Division. She held a variety of positions in the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service conducting natural resource monitoring and stewardship of public lands. She holds a doctorate degree in Ecology and has dedicated her career to conserving natural resources and demonstrating interdependence between humans and our environment. She began applying RTL tools and techniques in 2009 and created platforms for leadership in five federal government agencies and NGOs. Kirsten is now working to make RTL a global movement as she works in the fields of the environment, leadership, and finance. Specifically, she’s working to remove chemicals from our food systems and return to regenerative agricultural techniques to support the wellbeing of people and the planet.
SUDARSHAN RODRIGUEZ
Sudarshan Rodriguez is a development professional with experience in disaster management, environmental sciences, environmental economics, policy, and environmental law. He has worked with Dr. Monica Sharma as an RTL practitioner coach since 2010.
After 22 years in the development sector with a variety of organizations, including the United Nations, grassroots organizations, policy think tanks, civil society and academia, he dove into the adventure of setting up the next generation development consultancy and social purpose enterprise called “RTLWorks”. Before founding RTLWorks, he was the Programme Director at Mahatma Gandhi Academy of Human Development, heading a center of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai located in Nagaland, India focusing on Livelihoods and Social Entrepreneurship.
He also delivers and implements Radical Transformational Leaderships ‘learning-in-action programs’ for business and non-profit organizations on different aspects of leadership development for sustainable change.
SATJVOT GILL
Satjyot Gill is a practicing Psychologist. She has been a consultant on various projects related to mental health and well-being. Her experience involves setups such as clinics, hospitals, psychiatric institutes, NGO’s and educational institutes. She trusts in the innate potential of all living beings to create an equitable and harmonious world.
Currently she is a consultant on mental health and well-being projects with Indian school of Development Management, Veera Health and Feminist Approach to Technology. She has been volunteering for animal welfare and rights regularly in her personal capacity and follows vegan life style. She believes that all the animals that she has connected with have deeply healed her. She has been practicing “Radical Transformative Leadership” tools since 2018 and has been applying them in her breakthrough initiatives personally, professionally and socially. She has firm faith that an inside out journey of “Radical Transformative Leadership” can transform the human race to create an equitable society.
Learn more about Dr. Monica here: www.radicallytransform.org

Radical Transformational Leadership with Dr Monica Sharma: Guest Dr. Jana Newman

Radical Transformational Leadership: What does this imply? Guest Hosts Kirsten Gallo and Sudarshan Rodriguez
Leadership—RTL style with Guest Dr. Jana Newman
We tend to think that leadership is reserved for people with particular titles or positions. We think that change only happens when it comes down from senior leaders in an organization. As we deepen our RTL practice, we recognize the importance of leadership at every level. This approach emerges as grassroots efforts, which leverage the influence that everyone has—the contribution each of us has to make—regardless of position in an organization. That said, senior managers do hold unique responsibility for establishing and upholding cultural norms. If a senior leader adopts an authoritarian style of leadership and does not ask for or consider input from their team, co-creation will not be possible. Success will be limited. In this conversation, we explore the role of senior leaders in creating the culture of an organization and the practices we can use to increase our effectiveness. We begin with a cornerstone of RTL practice, the embodiment of values—upholding dignity, equity and fairness, having compassion for ourselves and others.
Dr Jana Newman is a scientist, educator and life-long learner. Currently, she is learning how to improve her sourdough baking skills!  She embodies a deep sense of connection and caring for the earth and its inhabitants, striving to leave the world a better place than she found it.
She has studied, volunteered and worked in the field of conservation for most of her life. Jana began her professional career as a high school science teacher before returning to school to earn a doctorate from the University of Connecticut. She recently retired from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, where, as the National Inventory and Monitoring Manager, she worked with a team of dedicated scientists to manage and conserve our natural resources for the benefit of current and future generations. Prior to that, she had the privilege to support the conservation and restoration of the Everglades while working as a researcher for the State of Florida.
KIRSTEN GALLO
Kirsten Gallo served as the head of the National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring Division. She held a variety of positions in the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service conducting natural resource monitoring and stewardship of public lands. She holds a doctorate degree in Ecology and has dedicated her career to conserving natural resources and demonstrating interdependence between humans and our environment. She began applying RTL tools and techniques in 2009 and created platforms for leadership in five federal government agencies and NGOs. Kirsten is now working to make RTL a global movement as she works in the fields of the environment, leadership, and finance. Specifically, she’s working to remove chemicals from our food systems and return to regenerative agricultural techniques to support the wellbeing of people and the planet.
SUDARSHAN RODRIGUEZ
Sudarshan Rodriguez is a development professional with experience in disaster management, environmental sciences, environmental economics, policy, and environmental law. He has worked with Dr. Monica Sharma as an RTL practitioner coach since 2010.
After 22 years in the development sector with a variety of organizations, including the United Nations, grassroots organizations, policy think tanks, civil society and academia, he dove into the adventure of setting up the next generation development consultancy and social purpose enterprise called “RTLWorks”. Before founding RTLWorks, he was the Programme Director at Mahatma Gandhi Academy of Human Development, heading a center of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai located in Nagaland, India focusing on Livelihoods and Social Entrepreneurship.
He also delivers and implements Radical Transformational Leaderships ‘learning-in-action programs’ for business and non-profit organizations on different aspects of leadership development for sustainable change.
Learn more about Dr. Monica here: www.radicallytransform.org

Radical Transformational Leadership with Dr Monica Sharma: Guest Daljeet Wadhwa

Radical Transformational Leadership: What does this imply? Guest Hosts Kirsten Gallo and Sudarshan Rodriguez
Guest Daljeet Wadhwa is the Founding Director of Sri Aurobindo Centre for Arts and Communication (SACAC)
An underlying principle of RTL is that we all have innate greatness within us and we can manifest that greatness in ourselves and others through our work. Even as children, we understand fairness. We understand caring. With RTL, we can design systems to manifest health and wellbeing. We can design systems that are fair. But we must first hold these values for ourselves and all others. RTL gives us tools, templates, and practices to create meaningful change in the world. At its core, RTL is a way to deliver results and shift the systems and mindsets that maintain the status quo so that our results endure. Our systems deliver what they were designed to deliver.
Today, we discuss the role of media and communication professionals who are not only accountable but also responsible for the content they deliver. The reach and role of mass media and social media in responding to issues and setting the tone for global, nationwide, and local conversations is unparalleled. Media and communication professionals have a powerful influence on how we see the world and on the decisions we make— decisions that may make the world better or worse. In other words, media professionals interpret the world for us. They can promote fear and disregard for others or they can construct new social realities, generative conversations, inquiry, and inspiring action.
Fallacy: There is a fallacy that because media professionals are trained and skilled, that they should always write facts from a neutral point of view. Similarly with advertising, marketing professionals should be creative about promoting products and services for which they have been hired, regardless of the consequences for people or the planet. They have to deliver what their audience wants! We falsely believe that leadership development and universal values have nothing to do with journalists and other media professionals.
New Learning: Media professional need to report facts. The universal values of dignity, equity, and compassion are essential for every human being to manifest their full potential, including media professionals. What they see influences how they choose to lead their lives and what they report, write, and document, which in turn shapes the mindsets of people and the trajectory of the future of humanity and our planet. Transformational stewardship development is of paramount importance for media professionals too. Responsible media and advertising is critical for a thriving humanity and planet.
KIRSTEN GALLO
Kirsten Gallo served as the head of the National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring Division. She held a variety of positions in the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service conducting natural resource monitoring and stewardship of public lands. She holds a doctorate degree in Ecology and has dedicated her career to conserving natural resources and demonstrating interdependence between humans and our environment. She began applying RTL tools and techniques in 2009 and created platforms for leadership in five federal government agencies and NGOs. Kirsten is now working to make RTL a global movement as she works in the fields of the environment, leadership, and finance. Specifically, she’s working to remove chemicals from our food systems and return to regenerative agricultural techniques to support the wellbeing of people and the planet.
SUDARSHAN RODRIGUEZ
Sudarshan Rodriguez is a development professional with experience in disaster management, environmental sciences, environmental economics, policy, and environmental law. He has worked with Dr. Monica Sharma as an RTL practitioner coach since 2010.
After 22 years in the development sector with a variety of organizations, including the United Nations, grassroots organizations, policy think tanks, civil society and academia, he dove into the adventure of setting up the next generation development consultancy and social purpose enterprise called “RTLWorks”. Before founding RTLWorks, he was the Programme Director at Mahatma Gandhi Academy of Human Development, heading a center of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai located in Nagaland, India focusing on Livelihoods and Social Entrepreneurship.
He also delivers and implements Radical Transformational Leaderships ‘learning-in-action programs’ for business and non-profit organizations on different aspects of leadership development for sustainable change.
DALJEET WADHWA
Daljeet Wadhwa is the Founding Director of Sri Aurobindo Centre for Arts and Communication (SACAC) and a Radical Transformational Leadership (RTL) Practitioner Coach.
Daljeet amplified the mission of SACAC to become an educational institute bringing meaningful change in our society, communities and the planet. Her work has led her to increasingly focus on de-glamourising and demystifying media and arts to raise awareness regarding important socio-political and cultural issues. Under her direction in the last 18 years, SACAC has become an institute shaping generations of media professionals in the country having a deep sense of inner purpose and who think creatively, work consciously through authentic and responsible communication.
In all her works, personal and professional, Daljeet remains rooted and guided by Sri Aurobindo and The Mother’s vision in her spiritual journey towards leading a conscious life.
Learn more about Dr. Monica here: www.radicallytransform.org

Radical Transformational Leadership with Dr Monica Sharma: Guest Speakers: Therese Adams & Vernice Miller

Radical Transformational Leadership: What does this imply? Guest Speakers: Therese Adams and Vernice Miller
Artists for Equity
We invite you to a discussion with Therese Adams and Vernice Miller.
Therese Adams and Vernice Miller invite artists and all of us to use the Arts for transforming the inequities in the world today. They invite us to explore how the arts can open our hearts to equity, dignity, and compassion while revealing unfair systems and cultural norms and inspire everyday citizens to step into action. Due to pandemic, murder of George Floyd, Black Lives Matter, and the MeToo movement, there is an opening in our collective imaginations.
Therese shares: I see people deeply troubled by the suffering around them and looking for solutions and are called to act. And because of COVID19, people are dealing with sickness and loss of job, and concerns about the future. The disparities in the quality of our life, especially for people of color, in terms of housing, education, job opportunities and healthcare availability are so apparent. We need Radical Transformational Leadership now at this opening, during this time of collective yearning for equity and dignity for all so that we do not go back to the way we were, which will happen if we do not address the inequitable systems so everyone thrives.
As artists, Therese and Vernice will share the journeys of their lives --using the tools of the theatre and dance to find freedoms around complicated issues. They will share their drive to radically contribute to creating a post privilege world, and their evolving understanding of how to dismantle the systems that continually feed global injustices.
Vernice shares: my exposure to Monica and her ideas of applying conscious full-spectrum responses put forth in Radical Transformational Leadership has afforded me a clarity of how to harness my inner wisdom, to shift systems for the betterment of all. It is this exposure that has shifted my pedagogical approach from not just what I teach but how. I now consciously curate spaces calling others to source their inner values and to apply them without feeling moralistic. Today whether in the role of artist, teacher, sister, or friend I am charged with making use of the various tools of the theatre and RTL to decolonize the behavior in myself and others to create an equitable, just and fair world where all can live with dignity.
Guest: Therese Adams: For over 20 years, Therese Adams has held nonprofit leadership positions working in Santa Cruz, California as an executive director, fund development consultant, development director, and community organizer. Since 2014, Therese has practiced Leadership for Community Transformation with Dr. Monica Sharma and has supported the training of hundreds of leaders in Santa Cruz County and the Bay Area of California as a practitioner coach. In her work with nonprofits, she has incorporated the Conscious Full Spectrum Response and Radical Transformational Leadership to promote equity and generosity to transform the current nonprofit fund development and philanthropy practices to create sustainable change.
Since 2012, Therese has worked on the issues of homelessness as Community Organizer with the United Way of Santa Cruz County and Development Director at Pajaro Valley Shelter Services. Currently, she is the Executive Director of the Santa Cruz affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), using the Conscious Full Spectrum Response to stop stigma and to improve the treatment for those with mental health conditions. Originally from Los Angeles, Therese moved to Santa Cruz to receive her BA in Theatre Arts from UC Santa Cruz. For several decades, she was the Director of Moving and Storage Performance Company and was the SPECTRA Arts Coordinator and Instructor for Cultural Council of Santa Cruz, County working to ensure every school in the county had arts programming. To contact Therese Adams please email her at seeds.therese@gmail.com
Guest: Vernice Miller is an international theatre artist with a life-long mission to investigate, uncover and share the soul of performance. In addition to being an award-winning actor, she is an educator, director, writer, and social justice activist. Born in Jamaica, Miller has worked in London, Scotland, Wales, Denmark, Switzerland, Netherlands, France, Ukraine, Poland, Slovenia and most recently South Africa. In the U.S. she is an adjunct lecturer and mainstage director at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
Her work on the world stage includes long-term collaborations with jazz musician, Wynton Marsalis on Eatonville, a Zora Neal Hurston Project, and with directing anthropologist, Dr. Omotayo Jolaosho’s Three Women (Break the Silence). The theatrical performance of Three Women began at the Market Theater Laboratory in Johannesburg then toured underserved communities throughout South Africa. Its performers address what it means to find one’s voice amidst gendered repression and urge us to “break the silence” regarding women’s bodily and sexual autonomy.
Vernice Miller and Joann Yarrow co-founded A Laboratory for Actor Training Experimental Theatre Company (ALATetc) as a destination to evolve the work they began with Roberta Carreri at Eugenio Barba's Odin Teatret in Denmark. ALATetc is now a collective of artists and activists who create work for the stage that provokes dialogue, inspires action, and heightens awareness of personal ethics. ALATetc is in residency in the Theatre Department at John Jay College, offering a rigorous actor training technique to students and professionals alike.
With Kobi Skolnick, Vernice Miller offers training to support emerging and established leaders, generating positive and sustained impact in the communities and organizations. Vernice Miller collaborates with Dr. Monica Sharma; and now, along with her and Therese Adams, is engaged in developing RTLArts. RTLArts is a conscious full spectrum response to using the arts as a lever for challenging systems and cultures that do not support our wellbeing; and instead offer compassionate, courageous alternatives for personal and planetary transformation. vernicem@hotmail.com
Learn more about Dr. Monica here: www.radicallytransform.org

Radical Transformational Leadership with Dr Monica Sharma: Guest Speakers: Barbara Clifton Zarate & Megan Joseph

Radical Transformational Leadership: What does this imply? Guest Speakers: Barbara Clifton Zarate and Megan Joseph
We Are The Ones We Have Been Waiting For
We invite you to a discussion with Barbara Clifton Zarate and Megan Joseph.
They discuss how to break patterns in philanthropy. They point out: it may be hard, but it is not impossible. We can learn to think differently-- we are in a place of possibilities right now. Right now, we have an invitation, an invitation on this planet to transform. Our work must be based on principles and values, on ethical leadership, on effective and responsive philanthropy, on challenging the current paradigm and creating a new one. What we measure we will move. How do we shift counting widgets, to paying attention to indicators related to outcomes and equitable and enduring impacts – to see whether the needle is moving, whether lives are better off, our water is cleaner, our earth is protected, and so on.
What can we do differently in philanthropy?
Advance Equity and Inclusion and Make Equity a Through-line in All Investments
Invest in Effective Collaboration and ethical leadership development
Strengthen Nonprofit and Community Ecosystems
Support Movement Ecosystems
Listen deeply, invite conversations, and learn from grantees, members of the community and diverse experts; and simultaneously shaft the disempowering social and cultural narratives.
More than grant dollars…Leverage assets such as knowledge, connections, reputation, access, influence, and the freedom to take on difficult or controversial issues to give beyond dollars.
Barbara Clifton Zarate and Megan Joseph invite us to reflect on the issues we are experiencing today, from a global pandemic, to the impacts of climate change to civil unrest and demand for racial justice. These are issues caused by human and systemic patterns that are hundreds of years old. Generations have been fighting to change these patterns and build more just and sustainable systems. And it is the shoulders of these generations that today’s movements stand on– that give us the openings, the shifts in consciousness, the courage to dismantle what is not working; and at the same time, generate new effective alternatives in today’s context. Philanthropy plays a key role in generating and sustaining deep systemic transformation, and they have a responsibility to meet this moment with courage, innovation and strategic action.
Guest: Barbara Clifton Zarate’s academic and professional background is in public health and philanthropy. She has dedicated the last three decades of her career to addressing the inequities and disparities that so many are negatively impacted by, and transform the systems that perpetuate them. She championed initiatives to address poverty, health access, education equity, and grassroots community advocacy and leadership development. She has worked on issues of basic human needs, such as access to food, housing, and water. Barbara stands in solidarity with Indigenous Water Protectors across the globe in opposition to the extraction of fossil fuels and the protection of our sacred water and Mother Earth. She is a mother and grandmother. Barbara stands in solidarity with those calling for justice and for the systemic reforms necessary to end structural racism.
Currently, Barbara Clifton Zarate works as the Director for Economic Opportunity at the Marin Community Foundation in Marin County, California in the United States. Her work is to advance economic equity and opportunity in the County.
Guest: Megan Joseph, MA has worked for nearly two decades with multi-sector collaboratives to increase their capacity to work together for equitable and sustainable results. Megan is the founding director of Impact Launch, a collective of social impact professionals that support individuals, teams and collaboratives to work more effectively for equitable and sustainable outcomes in policy, systems and community change. Recently as Executive Director of Rise Together, a multi-county initiative to cut poverty in the Bay Area, Megan implemented a 250 member coalition for policy and systems change, addressing issues of employment, affordable housing and early childhood education for critical populations. As Director of Community Organizing for the United Way of Santa Cruz County she founded and supported multiple sustained initiatives, including the Santa Cruz County Youth Violence Prevention Task Force and the Community Corrections Partnership Community Engagement Task Force. Megan was recognized with the 2015 National Community Indicators Consortium Emerging Leader award for her work using community indicators as a catalyst for change to reduce youth violence. Megan has practiced Radical Transformational Leadership for a decade with Monica Sharma, and over the last 10 years launched two leadership programs, Leadership for Community Transformation Santa Cruz County and Leadership for Equity & Opportunity Bay Area which together has trained over 900 leaders to design and implement equitable and sustainable social change projects. She has also served as faculty at JFK University. Megan earned an MA in Consciousness Studies from JFK University and an MA in Criminology, Law and Society from UC Irvine. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Learn more about Dr. Monica here: www.radicallytransform.org

Radical Transformational Leadership with Dr Monica Sharma: Guest Speakers: Ama Delevett & Srilatha Juvva

Radical Transformational Leadership: What does this imply? with Monica Sharma-Guest Speakers: Ama Delevett and Srilatha Juvva
Well-being world-wide with agency and dignity, without sexual abuse
We invite you to a discussion with Ama Delevett and Srilatha Juvva.
Ama Delevett is a therapist who supports herself and others to deepen their compassion, joy and love for life. Ama has been working with survivors of child sexual abuse for the past 15 years. Srilatha Juvva is a trained psychiatric social worker and currently works as Professor in the School of Social Work at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai, India. She works in the fields of mental health, disability and therapeutic interventions.
Srilatha and Ama invite you to create safe spaces for yourself and others to heal from the trauma and become pro-activists to create the paradigm shift for well-being world-wide. And to create safe spaces for children and youth to authentically share and be supported to live their full potential. Most communities and family do not wish to talk about child abuse -- the idea that "other cultures, socioeconomic sphere" etc sexually abuse children. Not true. It happens in all cultures and socio-economic spheres. ACE study was helpful in identifying that.
Ama focuses on child abuse and suggests that we stop being ‘a bystander’. Release shame and do something to help us end child sexual abuse - take Darkness to Light Stewards of Children online training most people want to turn away from this issue. How do we create inviting spaces for people to connect with what they deeply care about and generate change from there? Srilatha shares: the universal values I anchor myself in, underpins everything that I do- in my teaching – where students and I are one. How do we unfold our full potential based on universal values, so that it becomes the foundational unifying factor -- the foundation that helps us to solve problems, while interrupting social and cultural norms that are divisive? And establish well-being?
Ama Delevett and Srilatha Juvva
Guest: Ama Delevett was born and raised at Esalen Institute, where unfolding human potential and creating equitable social conditions for everyone to thrive was at the center. She became a therapist to support herself and others to deepen their compassion, joy and love for life and has been working with survivors of child sexual abuse for the past 15 years. She has been a practitioner coach for Radical Transformational Leadership (RTL) for the past 5 years where her purpose to create more wellbeing in the world and contribution of working with volunteers, clients and colleagues, has been based on the Conscious Full Spectrum Response Model.
Ama works on creating wellbeing for all by helping end child sexual abuse and offering a safe place for those who experienced childhood trauma to heal. She is working on creating the systems shift from people not knowing what to do to people knowing how to prevent the abuse, intervene responsibly and heal trauma by creating wellbeing their bodies, minds, hearts, families and communities. Ama organizes transformational events for example the Walk to Stop the Silence and the Art of Healing where the main focus was on the issue of child sexual abuse. These transformational events are held with families, business owners, city government, artists, musicians and community members because everyone has a stake in creating a world free of abuse. She partners with city government, musicians, artists, schools, parents and business owners for their Caring for Kids and Imagine Healing: The Arts of Transformation events because everyone has a stake in creating a world free of sexual abuse.
Ama and her partners are working on the paradigm shift from sexual abuse as a norm to sexual abuse no longer happens in our world.
Guest: Srilatha Juvva is a social work educator with a Ph.D. in Psychiatric Social Work. She is currently Professor with the Centre for Disability Studies and Action, School of Social Work, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India. She has over 24 years of teaching and clinical practice experience. She cares deeply about manifesting full potential and fairness in self and others. Her areas of expertise include mental health, disability, disaster mental health, and therapeutic interventions. She uses the transformative design templates in theoretical classes as well as field work and practice with students and NGOs. She serves on the Board of several NGOs and Academic Board of Studies in 5 universities. Professor Srilatha Juvva has directed many research projects and has published in peer reviewed national and international journals and in books. She was a Fulbright Senior Research Fellow. She is an enthusiastic volunteer in disaster situations, with expertise in rendering services and building capacity in psychosocial care. She is a member of professional associations in the field of Social Work. Srilatha Juvva is a practitioner-coach and uses the transformative templates and tools in her everyday practice, both in her personal and professional life in order to foster radical transformational leaders and students.
juvva.srilatha@gmail.com   juvvas@tiss.edu
Learn more about Dr. Monica here: www.radicallytransform.org

Radical Transformational Leadership with Dr Monica Sharma: Guest Speakers: Martine Watkins & Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson

Radical Transformational Leadership: What does this imply? Guest Speakers: Martine Watkins and Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson
Shaping Democracy with Integrity
We invite you to a discussion with Shebreh Kalantari -Johnson and Martine Watkins.
Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson has lived in Santa Cruz County for the past 20 years. She is a candidate for Santa Cruz City Council. Join us to explore how her work has built multi-sector partnerships to address complex social justice issues such as substance use, mental health, criminal justice reform, immigration rights, homelessness, early care and education and more and brought over $30 million dollars into her community.
Martine Watkins has dedicated her career to public service. She is currently a Santa Cruz City Council member. Let’s learn how Martine is builds consensus, and how she effectively champions issues that matter to everyone- addressing climate change, health care, early childhood development.
Martine and Shebreh see Democracy as a part of change, locally and in the world:
To really embrace how we at a local level impact the global conversation as it relates to climate change; a lot of our cities are contributing to carbon emissions, how we as city policy makers are impacting that
At the local level with democracy, leaders are so much more accessible to residents which feels great during this difficult time. We need leaders connected to our communities.
Individualistic ‘freedoms’ are often related to our preferences, and hinder our global freedom/ We see ourselves as part of a species, where our very existence is interdependent with others: our freedom is interdependent.
Pivotal moment in history where we have an opportunity to majorly transform what was already under way but accelerated. They are working on Democracy as transparent and authentic inclusion, through concrete action.
They will talk about how a resilient community overcomes hardships, meets community needs, and maintains lasting health. Health in All Policies (HiAP) is a conceptual frame which requires us to look at every decision we make through the lens of health, equity and sustainability. As we recover, we can reinforce our city’s resilience and ability to adapt.
Guests:   Martine Watkins and Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson
Bio: Martine Watkins received her Master’s Degree in Public Policy from CSU Monterey Bay and the Leon & Sylvia Panetta Institute of Public Policy, and has dedicated her career to public service. Martine was elected to the Santa Cruz City Council in 2016 and served as Mayor, December 2018-December 2019. She is currently a Santa Cruz City Councilmember. Martine is a strong advocate for climate adaptation and change representing the City of Santa Cruz at the United States Conference of Mayors where she was a co-sponsored a resolution to the US Conference of Mayors for formal adoption, that supports cities’ rights and efforts to mitigate climate change damages and protect taxpayers from related costs. More than an advocate for our environment, Martine has proven to be a consensus builder, championing the Health in All Policies initiative to improve the health of the Santa Cruz community. Martine is also a Senior Community Organizer at the Santa Cruz County Office of Education and for nearly 15 years has overseen several youth and family support service programs - ranging in focus from cradle to career. In her capacity as a Senior Community Organizer, Martine works with community partners to initiate measures for youth to succeed.
Bio: Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson is a native of Iran and has lived in Santa Cruz County for the past 20 years. Shebreh is a grant writer who also provides project coordination, strategic planning, and facilitation services to agencies working in the areas of public health, education and social services. She has been doing this work for over two decades. Her work has brought over $30 million dollars into her community and built multi-sector partnerships to address complex social justice issues such as substance use, mental health, criminal justice reform, immigration rights, homelessness, early care and education and more. Shebreh’s work has generated increased investment and funding in the community, innovative projects, and health focused local policies. Shebreh currently serves in leadership roles including Central California Alliance for Health Board, the Pajaro Valley Health Trust Board, and Dignity Health Community Advisory Board’s Community Giving Body. Shebreh has been practicing the Conscious Full Spectrum Response framework for the last seven years. She has also supported the training of hundreds of other leaders through the Leadership for Community Transformation Santa Cruz County and Leadership for Equity and Opportunity Bay Area. She received her B.A. in Psychology and French/Francophonie Studies from University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) and a Masters in Social Work from San Jose State University. She is a mother of two boys, is married and lives in Santa Cruz California. She is a candidate for Santa Cruz City Council. Shebreh strives for equity and compassion in her work and in her every day.
Learn more about Dr. Monica here: www.radicallytransform.org

Radical Transformational Leadership with Dr Monica Sharma: Guest Speaker: Sarah Emmert

Radical Transformational Leadership: What does this imply? Guest Speaker: Sarah Emmert
Transforming Community Responses to Public Safety
We invite you to a discussion with Sarah Emmert Sarah Emmert, Director of Community Impact with United Way of Santa Cruz County. For the past 12 years Sarah has been working on social justice issues, ranging from educational advocacy and racial equity, to working with those that have been impacted by the criminal justice system. Sarah has come to value the importance of strategic design, collaboration and building relationships with community and diverse stakeholders, especially when working on complex social issues and systems change. Sarah is a community organizer working to transform how the community addresses and responds to public safety issues.
Explore how anyone can be a transformational leader. Sarah will share what it takes to be one, based on her learning and practice. Being a transformational leadership takes much intentionality- creating time for design and reflection; but in doing so the investment generates much greater outcomes and result. Sarah shares: being a transformational leader required humility, a willingness to examine ones’ thoughts and actions – asking what’s missing?; what needs to shift?; What should be retained? Not from a space of doubt or negative self-talk, but from a space of emergence, growth and deep commitment to creating a better world for generations to come. It is important to always come with a beginner mind; to SEE challenges as opportunities.
A system delivers what it is designed to do. We invite you to hear what happens when we design differently to make a difference. There is a power in using the Conscious Full-Spectrum Response Model- in tapping into not only mine, but in other’s inner capacities. In doing so, it transforms relationships, it shifts conversations, it informs strategic actions. It ensures accountability. It has allowed numerous committed individuals to asked questions that create a space for new solutions; for a co-creation of equitable immediate and long-term sustainable results –both at the same time.
We need to meet the immediate needs of the most vulnerable members of our community AND we need to shift unworkable systems and norms at the same time. For example, with COVID-19, we need service providers and funders who support the community with basic needs – rental assistance, food, access to health care; AND at the same time, we can and must design these interventions in ways that address the root factors that are creating disparities and unhealthy outcomes in our community. Reflecting on the recent racial justice uprising – we need to rally in the streets - calling attention to the inequities; and we need to work with the systems and cultural norms to push for and support shifting policies and practices
Most importantly, each one of us, have the potential and possibilities to generate equitable change in this world. It is our choice to do so.
Guest: Sarah Emmert
Bio:  Sarah Emmert Director of Community Impact, United Way of Santa Cruz County
Born and raised in Santa Cruz County, for the past 12 years Sarah has been working on social justice issues in the community, ranging from educational advocacy and racial equity, to working with those that have been impacted by the criminal justice system. Sarah has come to value the importance of collaboration and building relationships with community and stakeholders, especially when working on complex social issues and systems change. In 2014, Sarah was brought on as staff to United Way of Santa Cruz County to coordinate the Youth Violence Prevention Network, its strategic planning process and implementation. In 2016, Sarah was promoted to the Director of Community Impact. Current projects focus on equitable trauma-informed systems, coordination and implementation of a strategic plan to better meet the needs of crime survivors, efforts to elevate youth voice and leadership, and working with community partners to reduce duplication of efforts and increase alignment and leveraging of resources. Prior to working with United Way, Sarah was the Public Policy Manager with Homeless Services Center and worked with Barrios Unidos Coordinating the Prison Project. Sarah also served on Santa Cruz County’s Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Commission. She has a BA in Psychology from UC Santa Cruz and a Master’s Degree in Criminology, Law, and Society from UC Irvin.
 Learn more about Dr. Monica here: www.radicallytransform.org