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

Longevity isn’t something you chase with willpower—it’s something that can ensue when your community is designed for it.

In this episode, Shanon sits down with Danny Buettner Jr., Executive Vice President of Blue Zones, to talk less about perfect personal habits and more about the real lever that changes outcomes: environment and culture. The original Blue Zones offered the learning. Blue Zones America is the application—partnering with cities, school districts, employers, and health systems to make the healthy choice the easy (and often unavoidable) choice.

Danny breaks down what Blue Zones America looks like on the ground—how communities build momentum through people, places, and policy; why “readiness” matters; and how leaders can create measurable wellbeing shifts that don’t rely on Superman discipline. They also unpack the forces working against health in modern life, and why the next era of longevity will be won through community design, not individual guilt.

If you’re a leader, parent, clinician, or anyone tired of feeling like health is one more thing to “try harder” at, this conversation offers a hopeful blueprint for building a life—and a city—where wellbeing can actually unfold.

www.bluezones.com

Olympia Edwards didn’t find her first mentor through a formal program — she noticed her skirt, her shoes, and the way she walked with confidence. Sometimes mentorship unfolds organically like it did for Olympia and her mentor, Kelly. Other times, a path has to be intentionally created so more young people can experience the leadership, confidence, and belonging that relationships like theirs make possible. That belief is at the heart of Project Girl.

In this episode of the Redefine What’s Possible podcast, Olympia, founder and executive director of Project Girl Mentoring Program, shares how that early, informal mentorship shaped how she leads and why she built a community-centered program that has supported over 1,000 girls across the Puget Sound since 2012. She reflects on what it means to be truly seen, why consistency matters, and how everyday moments of attention and care can change a young person’s sense of self.

Olympia takes listeners inside the work of Project Girl — from school-based programs to after-school spaces — and explains how belonging is built through presence, trust, and shared experience. She also offers practical insights on supporting young people, interrupting negative self-talk, and showing up in ways that are human rather than performative.

This conversation is a reminder that building belonging doesn’t require a formal title or a perfect plan. It starts with noticing, listening, and choosing to show up. If you’ve ever wondered how you might get more involved in your community, this episode offers a meaningful place to begin.

Follow Project Girl on Instagram

Learn More about Project Girl Mentoring Program

Most things come with a “best by” date—a quiet suggestion that usefulness, quality, or value has a shelf life. Judy Gay never bought into that idea.

Judy joined Experience Momentum at 63. She began training seriously later in life, took on triathlons in her 70s, and stepped into powerlifting well after most people are told to slow down. At 81, she’s not telling a story about what she used to do—she’s reflecting on what happens when you keep choosing to engage with strength, even as it changes.

Judy didn’t stumble into her strength. She built it—by showing up consistently, taking herself seriously, and surrounding herself with people who believed in growth at every age. She found belonging without shrinking herself, and community that didn’t lower the bar—but helped her clear it.

As seasons changed, Judy stayed in relationship with her strength. She listened when her body asked for adjustment, adapted without quitting, and found ways to keep moving forward even when “strong” needed to look different than before. Strength, for her, was never something to leave behind—only something to meet where it was and carry into whatever came next.

This conversation is a reminder that strength doesn’t disappear when it evolves. It accumulates. And when you keep choosing to engage with it—honestly, consistently, and on your own terms—it continues to redefine what’s possible.

Summary

When senior engineering leader Theresa Aristarco faced long COVID and burnout, her world suddenly got small — walking the dog became impossible, and even daily tasks drained every ounce of energy. But what happened next redefined her idea of success. In this powerful conversation, Theresa shares how she chose health over the high-powered career that once defined her, building a support team, finding strength through therapy and physical recovery, and ultimately transforming her life through creativity and coaching. From learning to ask for help to finding joy in the simple act of baking bread, her story is a masterclass in resilience, reinvention, and the courage it takes to start again.

Keywords: resilience, burnout recovery, long COVID, vulnerability, reinvention, holistic healing, redefining success, coaching, leadership transformation.

Chapters

00:00 From Burnout to Breakthrough
06:44 The Turning Point: A New Perspective on Health
13:57 Building a Support Team for Recovery
21:42 Celebrating Triumph: The Wedding Day
23:35 Reclaiming Health and Creativity
28:22 Transformative Journey Through The Artist's Way
30:45 Redefining Success: Health First
33:53 Coaching Through Transitions
38:43 Building a Sustainable Coaching Business
41:04 Taking the First Step Towards Change
43:26 Finding Meaning in Struggles
46:13 Rapid Fire Insights and Reflections

Keywords

orthopedic surgery, cycling, reinvention, healthcare, Mischief Bikes, resilience, passion, risk-taking, patient care, medical innovation

Summary

In this episode, Dr. Chris Wahl shares his remarkable journey from being a top orthopedic surgeon to founding Mischief Bikes, a custom bike shop in Seattle, WA. He discusses the motivations behind his career changes, the challenges faced in both medicine and cycling, and the importance of resilience, joy, and community in pursuing one's passions. Dr. Wahl reflects on the lessons learned from difficult cases in surgery, the evolving landscape of healthcare, and the significance of taking risks to redefine what is possible in life.

Sound Bites

• "The courage to reinvent yourself."
• "Good judgment comes from experience."
• "The time is now."

Chapters

00:00
The Leap from Surgery to Cycling

03:04
The Journey into Medicine

06:10
Defining Moments in Orthopedics

09:12
Learning from Challenges

11:56
The Changing Landscape of Medicine

15:02
Risk and Innovation in Surgery

17:59
Reflections on a Medical Career

20:57
Healthcare Challenges and Future Directions

24:09
The Joy of Cycling and New Beginnings

28:29
Family Adventures on Bikes

32:45
The Joy of Biking and Community

36:13
A Journey of Reinvention

40:51
Crafting Mischief: The Art of Bike Building

45:57
Legacy and Lessons Learned

50:54
Rapid Fire Insights