Episodes

Lori Mihalich-Levin believes in empowering working parents. She pursues this mission as the founder and CEO of Mindful Return, author of “Back to Work After Baby: How to Plan and Navigate a Mindful Return from Maternity Leave,” and co-host of the Parents at Work podcast. On this installment of Next Steps Forward, she shares with program host Chris Meek and the audience how and why she has been committed to promoting women’s equality and leadership throughout her career and how other women can ef...

SSgt Bryce Cherryholmes, USMC (Ret), served faithfully for eight years in the United States Marine Corps. During his first deployment, Cherryholmes incurred an initial back injury that became much worse over time. Due to the back injury and subsequent surgery, he received a full medical retirement and was Retired from Active Duty. After retiring, SSgt Cherryholmes underwent spinal cord surgery which unfortunately, due to complications, left him paralyzed. Today, he serves as an Ambassador for th...

If you or someone you know is living with an eating disorder, today’s conversation could be a potentially life changing, or even life saving, one. This Week Dr. Dena Cabrera and Megan Kniskern join program host Chris Meek to discuss complex eating disorders and nutrition therapy for mental health. Megan Kniskern is a registered dietitian, a licensed dietitian nutritionist and certified eating disorder specialist supervisor. For the past 15 years, Megan has been working in the field of eating dis...

Joel Lesses founded the Education Training Center as a means of counseling those marginalized by trauma, addiction and psychological distress, and its effects including incarceration, homelessness and institutionalization. He is dedicated to reframing mental health distress as a potential spiritual marker. Joel has lived in Nepal and Israel and is also a poet expressing the landscape of the mystical elements of our human beings. He believes world religion, poetry, spirituality, and meditation en...

Next Steps Forward host Chris Meek is excited to welcome Dr. Nikole Benders-Hadi to the program to discuss timely topics surrounding wellness, such as how to reduce the stigma around mental health, how to improve mental health care access and address current inequalities that exist in mental health treatment. Dr. Benders-Hadi is a board certified psychiatrist and Medical Director of Behavioral Health at Included Health, a leading virtual care and healthcare navigation company. She is particularl...

God often uses the weakest among us to make the greatest impact. Bob Vander Plaats, President and CEO of The FAMiLY LEADER whose gospel-first mission is to strengthen families by coming alongside the Church and inspiring Christ-like leadership, provides insight into this very truth. Author of Light From Lucas, Bob joins Next Steps Forward to share the poignant account of his son Lucas, who although severely disabled at birth offered inspirational lessons throughout his life and insurmountable jo...

Karith Foster is a Diversity Engagement Specialist whose signature programs are impacting lives at academic institutions, organizations and corporations across America. Now, she is joining Chris Meek on Next Steps Forward to address these same issues of diversity, inclusion and effective communication with the program's audience. Karith’s goal is to engage and inspire the audience to navigate the journey of mutual respect between themselves and others with an authentic desire to help others and ...

Dr. Dawson Church is an award-winning science writer with three best-selling books to his credit and the founder of the EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) Universe with a mission to bring the healing benefits of EFT tapping and meditation to others. With a passion for seeing people heal, Dr. Church joins Chris Meek on this volume of Next Steps Forward to speak about how EFT techniques work, why EFT is one of the quickest and simplest ways to produce healing, as well as how to apply these breakth...

Thank you for joining Next Steps Forward as we launch into 2023 with a continued commitment to helping improve your wellbeing, become even more empowered and achieve more than you ever thought possible. As always, it's an honor and a pleasure to have you with us again! Our guest this week is Ross Szabo, co-author of the book Behind Happy Faces: Taking Charge of Your Mental Health and author of The Kids Book About Anxiety. As the wellness director at Geffen Academy at UCLA, Ross is working on cha...

Vitalijus Majoravas is a sleep biohacker, certified sleep and recovery coach, certified Buteyko clinic breathing instructor and co-founder of Pulsetto, who has spent more than ten years in the sleep products industry. On this episode of Next Steps Forward, Vitalijus speaks with Chris Meek about the vagus nerve, how it is affecting us and, in particular, how vagus nerve stimulation can affect mental health and practical ways to go about stimulating the vagus nerve. Throughout the hour he will als...

Constable Kimberley Tent is an author, poet, retired police officer and owner of Apothic Entertainment. In her book “Parts of Me,” Kimberley details how she had given up on life and her battle with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) when a stranger changed everything and provided her with the courage she needed to face her biggest adversary: herself. Now she joins program host Chris Meek in this installment of Next Steps Forward to speak about how her collection of poems found in “Parts of Me...

On this edition of Next Steps Forward, Dr. Katherine Grill, the CEO and co-founder of Neolth, a Walnut Creek, California technology company that provides personalized mental health support to teens through a self-guided program, joins Chris Meek for an empowering discussion. Before founding Neolth, Katherine worked at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C., conducting National Institutes of Health research. She’s also been a university professor, teaching courses in psychology and neur...

Did you know that the brain generates more energy in one day than all of the cell phones in the world combined? Dr. Tiffany Tajiri joins Next Steps Forward host Chris Meek to speak more on that incredible fact, as well as in-depth about the power of the brain and how it impacts every single cell of the human body. A licensed and board-certified clinical psychologist, Air Force Veteran, author of the faith-based recovery book Peace After Combat, and founder of the nonprofit Stand Up and Recover, ...

Laura Cox Kaplan is the creator of She Said / She Said — a multimedia platform for women who strive to live their best lives with intention and who are seeking insight and inspiration through thoughtful conversation and content focused on women. On this episode of Next Steps Forward, Laura joins program host Chris Meek to speak about career and life pivots. This includes how to come to terms when something you love no longer fits in your life or the legacy that you want to leave behind, how to g...

Program host Chris Meek is honored to have the audience join him for a lively discussion with Jessica Cording, a registered dietitian, health coach and author with a passion for helping people simplify their wellness routines by building sustainable, healthy habits. Through her writing, consulting, public speaking and counseling, she works with individuals, corporations, and the media to help make drama-free healthy living approachable and enjoyable. She is the author of “The Little Book of Game...

This week’s guest on Next Steps Forward is Rob Morris, CEO and co-founder of Love146, an international human rights organization working to end child trafficking and exploitation. Before co-founding Love146, Rob worked with Mercy Ships International where he directed training schools at the International Operations Center. He has lectured and taught in more than 20 countries on issues of justice, compassion, and human rights. He has been featured in the Huffington Post, the CNN Freedom Project, ...

Ben Elmore is the CEO, Founder and Managing Partner of Intevity, a boutique digital consultancy that develops solutions and technology to drive growth, transform business and make a real impact on people’s lives. He joins program host Chris Meek this week to discuss servant leadership and how to build a work culture that really cares for its people. It is Ben’s working thesis that most people are rarely celebrated, appreciated, cared for or experience excellence, that is why companies that creat...

On this edition of Next Steps Forward, program host Chris Meek speaks with Aaron Stark, a TEDx speaker, author and advocate, who shares his story of growing up in painful and abusive conditions which very nearly led him to an atrocity as he planned a deadly shooting spree on his Denver, Colorado high school until simple acts of kindness changed his life forever. His TED Talk, “I Was Almost A School Shooter,” has more than 14.4 million views. He shares his mission to let people know that no matte...

Brittany Dunn, a national leader working to eradicate human trafficking in the United States and COO and Co-Founder of Safe House Project, joins program host Chris Meek in this edition of Next Steps Forward. Prior to the Safe House Project, Brittany spent 10 years in international business development at CareerBuilder.com. Brittany earned a B.A. in Economics and English from Wellesley College. She graduated top of her class with an MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management. She is a membe...

On this edition of Next Steps Forward, Amanda Zwanziger joins program host Chris Meek! Amanda is the best-selling author of “The Paralyzed Movement” and is a successful speaker, life coach and professional focused on helping others chase their dreams and change their lives. Amanda spends half her days running her own consulting business, RightHand, LLC, and the other half as what she has coined, a “Ministrypreneur.” In both endeavors, Amanda’s passion is helping people discover how to find happi...

Susan McPherson is a serial connector, angel investor, corporate responsibility expert and founder and CEO of McPherson Strategies, a communications consultancy focused on the intersection of brands and social impact. The author of “The Lost Art of Connecting: The Gather, Ask, Do Method for Building Meaningful Relationships,” Susan joins Chris Meek in this edition of Next Steps Forward to share her secrets for building meaningful business relationships that stand the test of time. Susan believes...

Matthew Bocchi is a survivor of devastating loss, emotional and psychological trauma, and sexual assault after his father, John, lost his life during the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. Matt then began speaking in front of high school audiences throughout the greater New York City area about his experiences. On this edition of Next Steps Forward, he joins program host Chris Meek to deliver his message of hope and perseverance. The awestruck reception that Matt has received led him to wri...

On this noteworthy installment of Next Steps Forward, program host Chris Meek is honored to be joined by Staff Sergeant Bryce Cherryholmes and double-amputee and Purple Heart Recipient Saul Martinez. SSgt Cherryholmes served faithfully for eight years in the United States Marine Corps. During his first deployment, Cherryholmes incurred an initial back injury that became much worse over time. Due to the back injury and subsequent surgery, he received a full medical retirement and was Retired from...

On this edition of Next Steps Forward, program host Chris Meek speaks with General George Casey and Dr. Joel Kupersmith, authors of “Supporting Veterans After 50 Years of the All-Volunteer Force and 20 Years of War: Ideas Moving Forward.” The goal of their book and their wider work is to begin the important discussion regarding how best to treat and serve the veterans of the all-volunteer military which will have existed in the United States for 50 years next year. Dr. Kupersmith, the current di...