Wrapping up the series, Pivot Through the Pandemic, Deb engages in another enlightening conversation with Dr. Julie Riess, a long-time friend and Co-Founder of Day One Early Learning Community. The new organization focuses on raising the standard of training for preschool teachers to improve the early learning experience, increase professional salary levels appropriately, and provide a curriculum for preschoolers that involves playful learning. Dr. Riess's passion for education shines through as she reveals the challenges of running the inaugural program year in the midst of a pandemic as well as shares her vision to continue investing in the next generation of learners.

In this special episode, Deb sits down in-person with Yolanda Maness, an alum and now Associate Clinical Director of Mending Hearts, a Nashville-based social impact organization that has helped over 4,000 women over the past 18 years move from detox to independent living in a continuum care program bringing hope and healing to women recovering from addiction. Join Deb as she listens to Yolanda openly share about her addiction recovery story as well as shed light on their upcoming national awareness day: Women Touched By Addiction July 23. #WTDA celebrates all the women touched by this disease: those in recovery or their Mom addict, a sister, their wife, you get the idea. Yolanda invites everyone to join in and help Mending Hearts celebrate all of these courageous women.

Deb engages in an eye-opening conversation with David Bunch, retiring President and CEO of FedChoice Federal Credit Union, about how his leadership responsibilities shifted in response to the pandemic. David describes how the core values of the credit union supplied the roadmap for meeting the needs of his employees and their multigenerational constituent membership. He shares how "care and communication" served as the watchwords for the pandemic pivots made to attend to his clients and his team. David also talks about how the post COVID structural changes now present in the financial world will affect access to equitable practices especially with the expanding use of digital banking.