What if the biggest obstacle to visionary leadership isn’t strategy, resources, or opportunity but unresolved trauma stored in the body? In this episode of the Leading Visionaries, host Anjel B. Hartwell sits down with Allana Pratt, intimacy expert, author, and global media personality. Allana shares her own journey from high-achieving overfunctioning to profound transformation through psychedelic somatic integration and body-based healing. She explains how trauma can push people toward extreme success or destructive coping patterns, and why many leaders unknowingly operate from survival mode rather than embodiment.

What happens when the pursuit of success masks deep personal pain? In this episode of the Leading Visionaries, host Anjel B. Hartwell sits down with Judd Shaw  CEO, lawyer, entrepreneur, and speaker. After building one of the largest law firms in New Jersey and achieving the outward markers of success, Judd found himself facing a private crisis that forced him to reevaluate everything he believed.

What does it take to lead in moments of crisis? In this episode of the Leading Visionaries, host Anjel B. Hartwell sits down with Jessi Beyer, crisis mental health clinician, SWAT negotiator, bestselling author of How to Heal a Crisis, and founder of the Life Model of suicide prevention.

What separates high performers who burn out from leaders who  build lasting influence? In this episode of the Leading Visionaries, host  Anjel B. Hartwell sits down with Dr. Lizette Warner, scientist and Chief Coaching Officer of Trust & Leadership, to unpack the neuroscience behind grounded leadership.

What if the biggest opportunity for learning in your organization is hiding inside your worst day? In this episode of the Leading Visionaries, host Anjel B. Hartwell sits down with Desai Link, safety leader, former lawyer, and author of Beyond the Incident. As the General Manager of Health and Safety for a commercial construction company in New Zealand and co-host of the Circus of Safety Podcast, Desai is reshaping how organizations approach workplace investigations.

What does it really mean to lead from lived experience? In this episode of the Leading Visionaries, host Anjel B. Hartwell sits down with Matt Paradise, a financial wellness speaker, award-winning author, and resilience-driven leader whose life journey spans homelessness, addiction recovery, cancer survival, and entrepreneurship.

What if burnout isn’t a personal failure, but a leadership signal asking for something different? In this episode of the Leading Visionaries, host Anjel B. Hartwell sits down with Sophia Mikelionis, self-leadership expert and founder of Gearing Together. Sophia shares her journey from thriving in corporate leadership to realizing that success without alignment was costing her relationships, health, and joy. 

What if aging isn’t something to fight, fix, or freeze, but something to express? In this episode of the Leading Visionaries, host Anjel B. Hartwell sits down with Cathy Goldstein, with nearly four decades in holistic medicine. Cathy challenges cultural narratives that tell us to chase youth, erase expression, and disconnect from our innate wisdom as we age.

What if the biggest thing blocking your vision is not your strategy, but your nervous system. In this episode of the Leading Visionaries, host Anjel B. Hartwell sits down with Luis Mojica, somatic therapist, trauma nutritionist, musician, and founder of Holistic Life Navigation, for a powerful conversation about what it really takes to lead, create, and build sustainably. Luis shares how his lineage shaped his visionary capacity, why he experiences creativity as a kind of natural “psychedelic” communion, and how developmental trauma can become an initiation into purpose. 

What does real leadership look like in a world obsessed with celebrity, conflict, and short-term wins? In this episode of the Leading Visionaries, host Anjel B. Hartwell sits down with Saji Madapat, a global transformation architect, author, and cultural myth-maker whose work spans Fortune 10 boardrooms, geopolitical strategy rooms, and ancient ritual traditions of Southern India. With more than 30 years of experience across 40+ countries, Saji brings a rare and provocative perspective on what leadership has become and what it must return to if we are to navigate the economic, social, and cultural disruptions of our time.

What if the fastest way to scale isn’t doing more, but touching less. In this episode of the Leading Visionaries, host Anjel B. Hartwell sits down with Max Lewis, author of Who Is Max Lewis? Max went from selling mangoes as a kid to building a propane tank exchange business that ultimately sold for $37 million.

What does it mean to lead when your path doesn’t follow a straight line and your vision unfolds in seasons rather than deadlines? In this episode of the Leading Visionaries, host Anjel B. Hartwell sits down with Lori A Andrus, creator of the Stone Speak Oracle and Journey Jewels Sacred Adornments, the founder of the Sanctuary Circle Community, and host of the Luminary Life Podcast. Lori shares her personal visionary journey. Rather than choosing a traditional healer’s path, Lori followed a quieter inner calling, allowing her gifts to emerge organically through art, jewelry, and eventually sacred tools that now serve people around the world.

What if one podcast, one book, or one idea could permanently change the direction of your life? In this episode of the Leading Visionaries, host Anjel B. Hartwell sits down with Nick Hutchison, founder of Book Thinkers, to explore how reading became the catalyst for leadership, entrepreneurship and conscious growth. From building a side hustle while still employed to hosting large-scale author events and serving visionary leaders around the world, Nick’s story is a powerful reminder that slow, intentional growth often creates the strongest foundations.

What if the real reason you feel stuck isn’t a lack of knowledge but old programming running your life on autopilot? In this episode of the Leading Visionaries, host Anjel B. Hartwell sits down with Deekron Krikorian, MBA, and transformation coach for high achievers and the founder of the Identity Liberation Movement. Deekron shares how a “survival identity” forms in childhood, how it silently drives perfectionism and why inner work is the missing piece for high achievers who want authentic leadership. You’ll also hear why metabolic health matters for your mind, your mood, and your decision-making.

What if the challenge in front of you isn't here to break you, but to bring you back to who you really are? In this episode of the Leading Visionaries, host Anjel B. Hartwell sits down with Felicity Ashley, mother of three, former corporate marketer, ocean rower, cancer survivor, motivational speaker and #1 bestselling author of Stronger Than the Storm.

What if the best person to teach you about money was not a guy in a suit, but a woman who has built real wealth, weathered big market shifts, and is willing to tell you the truth about money with zero fluff? In this episode of the Leading Visionaries, host Anjel B. Hartwell sits down with Gokce Donat, a no-fluff financial educator, real estate investor, and host of the Million Elle Podcast. With a background in engineering and finance, a builder’s license, and more than twenty years in business, Gokce shares how confidence, discipline, and clear thinking about risk helped her build wealth in male-dominated spaces.

What if the worst day in your business didn’t have to be chaotic? In this episode of the Leading Visionaries, host Anjel B. Hartwell sits down with Mike Swenson, founder of Barkley Public Relations and creator of the Crisis Track framework. Drawing on decades in broadcast journalism, politics, and leadership, Mike shares how visionary founders can use strategy, simplicity, and clear messaging to shape powerful stories in good times and in moments of crisis.

What if the so-called soft skills are actually the ones driving your hardest results? In this episode of the Leading Visionaries, host Anjel B. Hartwell sits down with Dr. Melissa Robinson-Winemiller, TEDx speaker, EQ coach, and author of The Empathic Leader. Dr. Melissa breaks down her definition of empathy as understanding and connection through perspective taking. She shares how a simple practice of walking the halls for 20 minutes a day helped one director turn his department profitable for the first time in seven years within just 90 days.

What if the biggest crisis in modern leadership isn’t weakness but confusion? In this episode of the Leading Visionaries, host Anjel B. Hartwell sits down with John Krotec, U.S. Army veteran, serial entrepreneur, and founder of NeoMasculinity Solutions. John shares how a childhood trauma and later TBI catalyzed his journey into creative healing, radical self-honesty, and purpose-driven leadership.

What if the bravest leadership move isn’t scaling up—but tearing down and rebuilding what truly fits your soul? In this episode of the Leading Visionaries, host Anjel B. Hartwell sits down with Camille L. Miller, bestselling author and Soul Professional® founder. Camille shares how she holds “big vision,” partners with her spirit team (lovingly called “Gus”), and leads by deconstructing models that no longer serve.