What happens when the thing you love the most starts to deteriorate and change for the worse? And what happens when you take responsibility for protecting it?

This week’s guest was the youngest person to run a marathon on every continent and is currently serving as the first female CEO of Protect Our Winters. We are thrilled to welcome Erin Sprague to the podcast for a conversation about leadership when progress feels slow, transformational learning from failures, and staying curious about one of the biggest problems the world faces today: the climate crisis.

One of the most important takeaways of this conversation is: you don’t have to be perfect in sustainability to step up and make a difference. Tackling the climate crisis isn’t about being the loudest voice in the room, or having all the answers. It’s about recognizing that if you care about clean water, clean air, and stable food systems, you’re already a part of this story.

This episode will leave you feeling inspired and energized to get involved in climate solutions so we can create a future that’s rooted in collaboration, action, and hope.

Protect Our Winters helps turn the love, care, and passion for our planet into action by meeting people where they are at through community, education, and advocacy. If you’d like to learn more about POW and how you can get involved, visit: https://protectourwinters.org/

In this week’s episode of the Redefine What’s Possible Podcast, Shanon sits down with Russell Benaroya—an entrepreneur, leader, and endurance athlete—for a conversation about leadership, adventure, identity and what it means to truly redesign your life.

Russell is the author of One Life to Lead: Business Success Through Better Life Design, and he is someone who has learned firsthand that success on the outside does not always answer the deeper question of “who are you becoming on the inside?” Shanon unpacks and explores Russell’s journey during the Marathon des Sables—a grueling 6-day, 155 mile race in the Sahara desert—and not just what happened in the Sahara, but what came before it.

This episode is an inspiring story about becoming, the detours, the resets, and the choices that shape who we’re trying to be. If you have ever questioned what success is really costing you, or that there may be a more intentional way to live and lead, this episode is for you.

If you'd like to learn more about Russell's story, you can keep up with him via LinkedIn.

At 16 years old, Billy Moore made a decision that altered countless lives, including his own. What followed was 20 years in prison, the weight of accountability, and a long journey toward understanding identity, forgiveness, and purpose.

In this episode, Billy shares the “story before the story”, the loss of his father, the search for self and belonging, the influence of his environment, and the split-second confrontation that ended in tragedy. He speaks candidly about incarceration, the turning point sparked by his grandmother’s words, and the commitment he made to ensure his life would not be defined solely by his worst mistake.

Now a site manager with Chicago CRED (Creating Real Economic Destiny), Billy works on the front lines of violence intervention, mentoring young men navigating the same pressures, trauma, and survival mindset that once shaped him. He discusses his approach to instilling hope in communities where systemic inequities, economic disinvestment, and fractured trust are predominant forces in the lives of the young men he serves.

This conversation is about accountability without erasure, forgiveness without denial, hope without overpromising, and the belief that redemption is not a single moment, but a daily decision to grow, to serve, and to get one step closer to purpose.

Learn More: Chicago CRED