What does leadership look like in a classroom, and how do everyday teaching behaviors shape lives far beyond school walls?

In this heartwarming and deeply personal episode of Behaviorally Speaking: Leadership for Change Makers, Dr. Esther C. Bubb sits down with her sister, Ms. Lois Bubb, a beloved educator whose 40+ years of teaching and mentoring have shaped thousands of lives across Grenada.

Ms. Bubb shares stories from her journey into teaching, the values that anchored her through challenges, and the moments that reminded her why education is a calling, not just a job. From cultivating positive classroom cultures and supporting struggling learners to balancing discipline with compassion and honoring cultural identity, this conversation highlights how leadership shows up in daily actions.

Together, they explore how classrooms become leadership labs, how compassion and consistency transform student behavior, and how cultural identity influences how we teach, learn, and lead.

Listeners will hear stories of:

• A quiet student whose simple act of gratitude changed the course of Lois’s career
• How modeling respect and setting clear expectations became pillars of her classroom
• Why embracing mistakes, persistence, and small wins builds confident learners
• How restorative practices and family engagement lead to healthier school communities
• The leadership values that sustained her through challenging seasons: integrity, resilience, empathy, service, and consistency

Whether you’re an educator, a leader, a parent, or someone who believes in the power of human connection, this episode, rooted in humanity, equity, and care, will touch your heart and strengthen your practice.

Ms. Bubb’s Bio:

Ms. Lois Bubb spent over forty years in the classroom, touching the lives of countless students with her kindness, wisdom, and unwavering dedication. Since beginning her teaching journey in 1983, she has been more than an educator; she has been a mentor, a guide, and a source of inspiration. Her instruction spanned multiple disciplines, with specialization in Mathematics. Generations of students remember her not only for the lessons she taught in Mathematics, but also for the encouragement she gave when they doubted themselves, and the joy she brought to learning.

Her classroom was always a place of warmth, where curiosity was celebrated and every student felt seen and valued. Ms. Bubb’s ability to make each child believe in their true potential, and her passion for ensuring that no child was left behind, has left a lasting impact, with many of her former students crediting her influence for their success in life. Colleagues admire her generosity of spirit and her willingness to share her experience, while members of the wider community cherish her as a role model who gave her heart to education.

Even after four decades, Ms. Bubb’s passion for teaching never dimmed. Her legacy is not measured only in years, but in the thousands of lives she has shaped with her compassion, patience, and love for teaching and learning. She will always be remembered as a teacher who gave her very best, and whose impact will continue to flow through the generations she inspired.

In this special bonus reflection episode of Behaviorally Speaking: Leadership for Change Makers, Dr. Esther C. Bubb takes listeners behind the mic for an honest, reflective, and deeply personal look at what she has learned across the first ten episodes of Behaviorally Speaking: Leadership for Change Makers.

From pressing record despite fear, to forgetting to press save and turning a “leadermon” into “leadermonade," this episode explores what it truly means to lead behaviorally.

Dr. Bubb reflects on:

• Why leadership is behavior, not a title
• The power of listening as a leadership intervention
• Creating opportunity through expanded choice
• Compassionate, performance-based feedback
• Behavioral momentum and persistence
• Progress over perfection
• Perseverance, courage, and starting before you're ready

If you’ve ever delayed starting something because it wasn’t “perfect,” this episode is your reminder:

Start, even if imperfectly, but start!

Reinforcement will follow.

🎧 Listen now and share with someone building something meaningful.

What does leadership look like when it’s grounded in behavior, not position?

In this episode of Behaviorally Speaking: Leadership for Change-Makers, Dr. Esther C. Bubb sits down with Dr. Jim Connell, Associate Professor at Drexel University and founding director of multiple graduate training programs, and a nationally recognized leader in school psychology, applied behavior analysis, and systems‑level change, to explore leadership through a behavioral science lens.

Dr. Connell shares his powerful and remarkable journey, from entering college later in life after serving in the military, to confronting personal challenges, to sobriety, and to building impactful academic and clinical programs, which led to his rediscovery of purpose through behavioral science.

Dr. Connell also unpacks how listening, opportunity, choice, guardrails, and performance feedback shape effective leadership.

Together, Dr. Bubb and Dr. Connell explore:

• Leadership as a set of observable behaviors
• How perseverance and compassion shape leadership
• The power of listening and setting “behavioral guardrails”
• Using data‑based decision‑making to strengthen teams and systems
• How performance feedback is a robust leadership tool that becomes a transformative leadership strategy
• Creating opportunities, reinforcing growth, and building momentum to shape outcomes
• Navigating resistance to change with empathy and curiosity
• Supporting others without judgment as paths evolve
• Why inclusive leadership matters — especially for neurodivergent colleagues

This warm, conversational, and inspiring episode highlights what leadership truly looks like when rooted in behavioral science and human connection. It’s a must-listen for educators, behavior analysts, administrators, and anyone committed to developing people and systems with intention.

Dr. Connell’s Bio:

Dr Connell is an Associate Professor in the Drexel University School of Education. In 2012, Dr. Connell departed the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine to become the founding Clinical Core Director of the A.J. Drexel Autism Institute. There he designed the Institute clinic, hired Core area faculty and staff, and developed and supported contracts and funded research for the next 8 years. At the time of his Drexel appointment, Dr Connell also founded the Drexel ABA master’s program which continues to this day. Dr Connell became full time faculty in the Drexel School of Education 5 years ago, to be the founding director of the School Psychology graduate training program, which is now in its fifth year. Dr. Connell has published in consultation, intervention, and assessment, which demonstrates his professional interest in school psychology. His current interest includes the manipulation of the population through social media, and the behavioral mechanisms than set the occasion for radicalized behavior, and the making of a “school shooter” through the work of his doctoral student.