Episodes

Travis Conover is an actor, film producer and president of StoryTeller Film Company. He made his on-screen acting debut, co-starring in The Trial of Everett Mann, which won several awards throughout some of the largest film festivals in the world, including the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. Shortly after, Travis booked an acting and producing role in The Penitent Thief, which hit theaters in 2020. During Travis’ career, he has written and produced several short and feature films. After becom...

Stacy Blakeley is the CEO of The Policy Circle, a national organization that informs, equips, and connects women to be more impactful citizens. Founded in 2015 on the belief that the free market is the best means to unleash human potential, the organization has grown to include 15,000 members in all lower 48 states. The Policy Circle has built a proven model to boost civic literacy and equips its members to lead at the local, state, and national levels through solutions-oriented programming and ...

Singer, songwriter, musician and producer Julius Adams is music and music is Julius Adams. His love for music extends from his own love for people, as the Next Steps Forward audience will find as he joins program host Chris Meek to promote his new single, “Healer.” Healer is a beautiful song about God being able to heal you from anything, whether it's sickness, disease, mental illness, financial issues, or heartbreak. Healer is meant to encourage listeners and let them know that God can heal the...

Dr. Sherry Davis Molock, is a Professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at The George Washington University in Washington, DC. Dr. Molock teaches undergraduate and doctoral courses in clinical psychology and conducts research on the prevention of suicide and HIV in African American youth. Thirty years ago, she first discovered her calling was to help prevent suicide among Black people, as rates of suicide continued to rise in Black adolescents. Since then, she has been adam...

At a moment when the nation seems intractably divided and incapable of addressing our long-term challenges, a single movement, No Labels, is working to get Washington past the brain-dead politics of Democrats vs. Republicans. It’s the brainchild of Nancy Jacobson, described by New York Times columnist David Brooks as No Labels’ “undeterrable” leader. Having spent her early career helping Gary Hart and Bill Clinton remake the Democratic Party, Jacobson worked for Sen. Evan Bayh for fifteen years ...

Danielle Freitag, co-founder and executive director of Action169, is on a mission to empower women to overcome substance use and to enable those in sexually exploitative industries to know their intrinsic worth. As a Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor, she has worked in a variety of settings as a counselor and advocate to provide direct support, care and counseling for women in recovery. She joins Next Steps Forward host Chris Meek to speak about the trauma-informed, faith-centered counseling p...

“If we’re going to overcome anything, it’s our mindset around it. It is how fast we come to grips that life is not going to return to a previous state of existence.” Do you have a desire and/or need to overcome adversity in your life? John Register helps individuals overcome their fears and attack life’s obstacles in his motivational and inspirational speeches through a three-step process of reckoning, revision and renewal. Host Chris Meek welcomes John back to the program to illuminate the thre...

Next Steps Forward host Chris Meek is honored to welcome legendary auto racing driver, Bobby Rahal, who most famously won the Indianapolis 500 in 1986 to the program. In an 18-year career spanning F1, Can-Am, Le Mans/IMSA and CART, Mr. Rahal’s name is widely known across the world having garnered three CART championships, along with wins at the 1981 24 Hours of Daytona and the 1987 12 Hours of Sebring endurance races. Chris is honored to know Mr. Rahal personally, having founded the nonprofit So...

Dr. Gary Reiss is a licensed clinical social worker and certified trainer in process-oriented psychology in private practice in Eugene and Portland, Oregon, who joins program host Chris Meek on Next Steps Forward to discuss his work teaching process-oriented psychology worldwide for more than 35 years. His specialties include family therapy, sex therapy, working with coma patients, worldwork in hot spots in the world, organizational development and integrating process work with different spiritu...

Samantha Baltadonis, owner and CEO of Strive Solutions and senior manager at a Fortune 5 company where she provides Organization Development Consulting and Leadership and Transformation Coaching, joins program host Chris Meek on this installment of Next Steps Forward. Sam advocates for creating healthy organizations that prioritize the well-being of individuals, emphasizing that kindness and empathy do not need to be separate from exceptional business results. She will speak to her mission to fu...

On this installment of Next Steps Forward, Strategic Communications Executive Jackie Gulley joins program host Chris Meek to discuss her experiences as an executive in global communications, marketing, and digital strategy advising clients on executive coaching, brand development, corporate strategy and media relations. Through her work in corporate branding, she built a strategy of outreach and advocacy for business executives with regulators, third party groups, think tanks, trade associations...

Donna Rice Hughes is the President and CEO of Enough Is Enough ® (EIE), an internationally known internet safety expert, author, speaker and Emmy-Award winning producer. She joins Chris Meek on this installment of Next Steps Forward to share her vision which helped to birth the internet safety movement in America at the advent of the digital age and how, since 1994, she has been a pioneering leader on the frontlines of U.S. efforts to make the internet safer for children and families. Throughout...

Fundrage founder Maria Underwood brings her over ten years of experience in fundraising, business and social media strategy to the Next Steps Forward audience, offering her unique knowledge of the how and why behind donor giving. Throughout her appearance on the program, she will discuss the success she has experienced in all types of fundraising campaigns, including major events, corporate sponsorships, peer-to-peer fundraising, grassroots grant writing and major gifts, as well as trends in the...

Stan Gibson is passionate about delivering powerful stories, science-based research and real world strategies that help high-achieving leaders experience renewed energy, uncover creative solutions and unleash their team’s true potential! The corporate executive turned author, entrepreneur, speaker and success coach, joins Chris Meek in this installment of Next Steps Forward to share his message that will both inspire and engage the audience to find greatness. Mr. Gibson’s mix of strategies found...

Eric Caron served honorably for 25 years as a distinguished Special Agent and Diplomat for the U.S. Government, where he held senior positions within Homeland Security and INTERPOL and managed world-wide covert operations relating to Iran, China and Russia’s illegal acquisition of weapons of mass destruction. He joins program host Chris Meek in this installment of Next Steps Forward to discuss his endeavors in furthering the interests of U.S. National Security, including his work leading covert ...

Program host Chris Meek is honored to welcome Bishop Donna L. Hubbard to Next Steps Forward. Chris has been proud of his commitment to bring forth guests who have worked tirelessly on the frontlines to combat human trafficking to share their stories, educate and offer hope to all of those who have suffered the horrors of being trafficked and to America at-large. Bishop Hubbard joins him to share her own experiences of being trafficked and how becoming incarcerated offered her a way out and led h...

Paola Cecchi-Dimeglio is a leading authority on helping senior leaders make more inclusive decisions for themselves and their organizations. Having advised some of the largest for-profit and non-profit companies in the world, she joins program host Chris Meek to discuss her experiences as an award-winning expert on race and gender and leadership strategy. Discussion topics will include what led Paola to first become interested in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and why she decided to make it the...

Kim Borchers, president and owner of Bird Dog Recruitment and Consulting, joins program host Chris Meek on this installment of Next Steps Forward. Her firm focuses primarily on placement of senior talent at the highest levels of state and federal government along with management development. Before opening her firm, Kim was the Executive Director of Leadership Development at a national think tank, the Foundation for Government Accountability, where she created and launched the organization’s Tal...

Many in the Next Steps Forward audience will surely recognize Victoria Jackson - actress, comedian and Saturday Night Live legend. Mrs. Jackson joins program host Chris Meek to discuss her iconic career in stand up comedy, her decision to leave Hollywood behind for Nashville, her brave battle with cancer and her unshakeable faith in God. Since leaving Hollywood, Mrs. Jackson has remained busy, most recently releasing her debut music-comedy album “When I Get to Nashville.” She will speak about th...

Dessi Schachne is a certified life coach, dedicated to enlightening and empowering individuals in midlife experiencing relationship transitions such as divorce, a breakup or the loss of a spouse. Through her coaching, Dessi equips her clients with a diverse set of proven techniques, enabling them to overcome challenges like past focus, people-pleasing, anxiety, and suffering, rebuild self-confidence, and have healthy relationships with themselves and others. She joins program host Chris Meek on ...

With America divided as never before, Kelly Wright, host of NTD News’ “America’s Hope with Kelly Wright,” seeks to answer questions such as “where can we find hope?” and “how can we return to the values outlined by our Founding Fathers?” A unique performer and accomplished musician, many individuals have become familiar with Mr. Wright’s work as an Emmy Award-Winning TV news journalist over the course of his more than thirty years delivering news to the American public. A former co-host of Fox N...

Dr. Lisa Babbage is an author, teacher and philanthropist. She has spent 20 years teaching math and science in the public school system in Georgia, where she currently resides. As a child, Babbage, her mother and brother, were frequently homeless. In 2011, she took a three-year leave of absence from her profession to inaugurate a non-profit organization, Maranatha House Ministries, aimed at the fight against homelessness. She joins Next Steps Forward to share her love for people and how it serve...

Natasha Owens is a contemporary Christian musician who has taken a new direction by offering up a bold, proud, powerful concept collection in her fifth studio album, American Patriot. Through her music she bridges an unwavering love of country with the themes of faith and family that have always played a significant role in her artistry. Program host Chris Meek welcomes Mrs. Owens to the program to discuss how her faith has turned her darkest days into light, reflect on her own seasons of loss a...

Mike Erwin graduated from West Point in 2002 and went on to serve on active duty for 13 years, including three deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan in the First Cavalry Division and 3rd Special Forces Group. This week on Next Steps Forward, Mr. Erwin joins program host Chris Meek to discuss what his time in the military taught him about leadership and the importance of giving back to those fellow Americans who serve our country. Mr. Erwin will discuss his work through the veteran-focused non-prof...