Exceptionally Good: Leaders for a Better World

Ryan Maxwell
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We bring you in-depth interviews with exceptional leaders who drive toward a different bottom line — leaders from health care, philanthropy, non-profits, education and rescue services who are doing exceptional work for the good of the world.  Exploring their origin stories, their leadership journey and the lessons they learned on their path -- sometimes the hard way -- we bring you close to understand how exceptional leaders tick. Exceptionally Good on Substack: https://substack.com/@exceptionallygood More from Exceptionally Good: 📧 ryan@exceptionallygood.org Work with Ryan:https://www.exceptionallygood.org/services

  1. 6D AGO

    33. Ron Berger, a leader in the Rebel Alliance: Why Not Give People Important Work to Do Now?

    This episode, I have the immense pleasure and privilege of talking with a mentor and a friend — Ron Berger. Ron is a powerful voice and leader in education as an author of best-selling books such as A Culture of Quality and Leaders of Their Own Learning, has served Chief Academic Officer for Expeditionary Learning, as a keynote speaker in places as far-flung as Japan, the Bronx, Timor Leste, West Virginia, Spain, mountaineering huts in the Rocky Mountains, England and Alabama.  He leads workshops for organizations such as High Tech High and Harvard’s Graduate School of Education.  Ron’s video called Austin’s Butterfly highlights the power of creating high-quality student work through a revision process of a culture of craftsmanship and been viewed over half a million times. At heart, Ron is a teacher.  Ron taught at a small public school in a small rural town in Western Massachusetts for over 30 years, developing  service-based learning projects with his students who took on the complex, important and needed work: a radon test report for local homes, a highway crossing for local salamanders, a local store run by students selling jewelry made from agate that they would tumble, design into jewelry, market and sell to raise funds.  Ron’s dedication to the growth of student character and the craft of teaching how to produce high-quality work led to him being named as the best teacher in America by the Annenberg Institute.   When asked why he is an educator, Ron once wrote:  I am an educator because so many of my heroes and role models - the people who inspire me - are young people doing beautiful work in the world. Above all, Ron has one of the kindest souls you will ever know, has the finely crafted skill of making the complexity of quality teaching & learning accessible, and at every turn has highlighted students at the center-stage of learning in ways that help students and educators alike see what’s possible. Ron, perhaps more than anyone else I know, uses his many many talents and skills for good in the world — he’s a true leader in the Rebel Alliance. And as a teacher, his butterfly wing effects have spread further than you could think possible.  You, dear listener, are in for a real treat. Dive in! Models of Excellence: https://modelsofexcellence.eleducation.orgAustin's Butterfly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_6PskE3zfQ"The Dancing Prince" use of models - Support the show •••••••••• About Exceptionally Good: https://www.exceptionallygood.org/about More from Exceptionally Good: 📧 ryan@exceptionallygood.org Work with Ryan:   https://www.exceptionallygood.org/services Exceptionally Good on Substack: https://substack.com/@exceptionallygood Producer, editor and host: Ryan Maxwell Theme music: Ryan Raddatz Guitar music: Adeline’s Guitar Credits/Outro Read by: Adeline, Advice and Jess The views shared on this podcast are those of my guests and the host and do not necessarily reflect those of any employer past or present.

    1h 21m

  2. APR 27

    32. Ryan Maxwell: The Host Becomes the Guest - The Table Is Turned (and So Is the Mic!) - Feat. Felicia Lee

    This week, we're turning the tables — or in this case, the microphone. I'm Ryan Maxwell, and today, I'm the guest. Guest hosted by Felicia Lee, founder of Campana Leadership Group, who leads executive coaching. Years ago, Felicia coached me to see myself more clearly — so there is no one better suited to hold this microphone. This one is personal. And a little uncomfortable. And honestly? That's probably why it might be worth listening to. We explore stories that shaped my path. A brother school completely failed. A friend bused 35 minutes across Milwaukee to find a better school. Two kids sleeping in a median in Ecuador who begged for a bag of milk — and a school in the hills of Quito where kids terrace-farmed, calculated crop yields, and ran a community's economic engine. Origin stories. The sparks for the work. From there, we go deep on: What a glowing introduction really feels like — and why it can feel like "one painting" of who you areThe barbed wire of mission-driven work, and how to keep going without losing yourselfFinding your crew — and why leading in community is the only sustainable strategyBody, mind, spirit — and the coaching that helped me finally understand what the question was even askingCreativity, anxiety, music parties that end with Leonard Cohen, and a solo retreat to the Porcupine MountainsDreams deferred — and the audacious ones I'm leaning into nowRyan Maxwell is the host of Exceptionally Good, striving to use his talents and skills for social good — in classrooms in Oakland and Chicago, in national nonprofit leadership at EL Education, and now leading a small but might LLC focused on coaching, consulting, and school design. Links: Campana Leadership Group — Felicia Lee's coaching firmEL EducationAmeriCorpsNational Equity ProjectWin Every Argument by Mehdi HasanGreg Brown — singer-songwriter from IowaKinship — (not Kindred) - local Milwaukee food pantryRabindranath Tagore — "I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I woke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy."So let’s dive in together! Support the show •••••••••• About Exceptionally Good: https://www.exceptionallygood.org/about More from Exceptionally Good: 📧 ryan@exceptionallygood.org Work with Ryan:   https://www.exceptionallygood.org/services Exceptionally Good on Substack: https://substack.com/@exceptionallygood Producer, editor and host: Ryan Maxwell Theme music: Ryan Raddatz Guitar music: Adeline’s Guitar Credits/Outro Read by: Adeline, Advice and Jess The views shared on this podcast are those of my guests and the host and do not necessarily reflect those of any employer past or present.

    1h 12m

  3. APR 20

    31. Dr. Susan Enfield - Knowing Students by Name, Strength, and Need

    This week, we're sitting down with a leader who has spent her career doing something rare — keeping students at the center, even when the systems around her made that hard. Dr. Susan Enfield is the Executive Director of the University of Washington's Center for Educational Leadership. Her path there winds through some of the most meaningful work in public education — from serving as interim superintendent in Seattle, to a decade leading Highline Public Schools, where she launched the Highline Promise: that every student would be known by name, strength, and need. Most recently, she took on Washoe County School District in Nevada, one of the largest in the state, bringing that same commitment to scale. What sets Susan apart isn't the titles or the accolades — though she has been recognized nationally as a superintendent of the year. It's the how. She leads with listening. She builds trust before she builds programs. She creates conditions where both students and adults can grow. And she does it all with a humility that is disarming and a clarity of vision that is unmistakable. In this conversation, we explore what it really takes to lead through change, why relationships will always matter more than programs, and how someone at Susan's level of experience continues to grow. This is a leader who has chosen, again and again, to use their many many talents and skills for social good. Dive in! Support the show •••••••••• About Exceptionally Good: https://www.exceptionallygood.org/about More from Exceptionally Good: 📧 ryan@exceptionallygood.org Work with Ryan:   https://www.exceptionallygood.org/services Exceptionally Good on Substack: https://substack.com/@exceptionallygood Producer, editor and host: Ryan Maxwell Theme music: Ryan Raddatz Guitar music: Adeline’s Guitar Credits/Outro Read by: Adeline, Advice and Jess The views shared on this podcast are those of my guests and the host and do not necessarily reflect those of any employer past or present.

    1h 4m

  4. APR 10

    30. Tracking What Matters: Jess & Advice on Partnership, the Wild, and True Collaboration

    Today we have the delight to connect with a pair of leaders who are exceptional in their craft AND in how they are good partners for each other. Jess and Advice are not my typical guests. They don't lead non-profits or NGOs, they don't have backgrounds as educators — but they have remarkable gifts to share. Leadership comes in many forms. Advice Ngwenya is a tracker among one of the most elite group of trackers in South Africa and the world. Advice can spot the track of a leopard in the sand and figure out if it is fresh or 2 days old, male or female, which way it was headed and how fast. He can hear the alarm calls of birds and triangulate them to find an animal walking silently through the bush. He can find lion cubs stashed away in a thicket in ways that seem impossible. He can spot tracks in places that would seem invisible to you and me — with a genius that is a mix of seriousness and humor. He's a great man with kind dad energy; he brought our family the iridescent feather of a Greater Blue-eared starling and a porcupine quill with a quiet smile that says all you need to know. Jess Shillaw was until very recently Advice's partner — and among the best of the best rangers at Londolozi Game Reserve — a wondrous track of gorgeously restored bushveld in South Africa adjacent to Kruger National Park. Jess has the  distinction of ranger — not merely guide — having gone through an intense selection process — testing candidates to be not only gracious in caring for guests, but resilient in the wild and essential in an emergency, and when we met, she had the .357 calibre rounds on her hip to prove it. My family had the delight to have Jess and Advice as our tracker/ranger pair.  And there could not be a better role-model for my 11-year-old daughter, who loves animals perhaps more than people, than Jess, who might say the same thing! She can also drive a Land Rover through the bush in a mad search for wild dogs in miraculous ways that will make you hold onto your hat. Jess and Advice were paired as tracker/ranger for almost every game drive over 6 years: twice a day, for weeks at a time. While they've had many many adventures and encounters with wild animals, the reason I invited them is because I had the rare delight to see a pair of humans who are as close as brother and sister and collaborate in ways that were remarkable. In a country with a fraught history of racial tension and injustice, to see Jess — a white South African, and Advice — a Black Shangaan man — have such a strong connection and deep mutual respect, well, their partnership is a story worth hearing. They are leaders who use their many many talents and skills for social good — and who have something rare to teach us about true collaboration. And with that… dive in! Support the show •••••••••• About Exceptionally Good: https://www.exceptionallygood.org/about More from Exceptionally Good: 📧 ryan@exceptionallygood.org Work with Ryan:   https://www.exceptionallygood.org/services Exceptionally Good on Substack: https://substack.com/@exceptionallygood Producer, editor and host: Ryan Maxwell Theme music: Ryan Raddatz Guitar music: Adeline’s Guitar Credits/Outro Read by: Adeline, Advice and Jess The views shared on this podcast are those of my guests and the host and do not necessarily reflect those of any employer past or present.

    57 min

  5. MAR 30

    29. Dr. Zach Shirley — Brotherhood Built Me: HBCUs, Identity, Evolution, and the Work of Belonging

    This episode I'm delighted to talk with Dr. Zach Shirley — a nationally recognized leader in diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. Dr. Zach currently serves as Vice President of DEIB at Cambium Learning, where he shapes strategy, drives organizational change, and equips teams to build more inclusive cultures. But to understand how he got there, you have to go back to a kid in high school — nerdy, scrawny, overlooked — who thought he had nothing to offer the world. What changed everything? An HBCU and a fraternity. Dr. Zach is a proud Dallas native and a proud life member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. — and he'll tell you simply: "My HBCU and my fraternity saved my life."  What came from that experience was not just a career. It was a calling. For sixteen years, Dr. Zach built a remarkable career in higher education — as a student affairs administrator, Greek life director, and mentor to marginalized students across some of the country's finest universities. He built departments from scratch at Texas A&M University–Commerce and the University of Cincinnati, sat on the board of the Association for Fraternity and Sorority Advisors, and had his name on a national fellowship. By any measure, he had made it. And then, at 40, amid a pandemic and a moment of honest self-reckoning, he walked away from it all. In this conversation, we explore what it really costs to leave an identity — not just a job — behind. Dr. Zach shares the fear, the grief, and the hard-won wisdom of that transition: from higher ed to EdTech, from certainty to growth, from warrior to something wider. He talks about the twin brother who walked the same path beside him for decades — and the phone call he made the day everything changed. He talks about what it means to evolve rather than bury who you were.  And he shares a Kirk Franklin lyric that wakes him up every morning with a question worth asking: When I die, what will they say about me?  Will the work that I've done been enough to have helped someone? Dr. Zach also shouts out a remarkable organization doing critical work: Innovation for Equity (IFE) — a network of changemakers committed to disrupting the status quo and transforming the life outcomes of Black learners of all ages. He recently joined their board and is a proud graduate of their Senior Leadership Cohort. Learn more and support them at innovationforequity.org. This episode is for anyone who has ever wondered whether the identity they built is the only one they're allowed to have — and anyone striving to use their many many talents and skills for social good. Dive in! Dr. Zach's LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/zevanshirley/ Support the show •••••••••• About Exceptionally Good: https://www.exceptionallygood.org/about More from Exceptionally Good: 📧 ryan@exceptionallygood.org Work with Ryan:   https://www.exceptionallygood.org/services Exceptionally Good on Substack: https://substack.com/@exceptionallygood Producer, editor and host: Ryan Maxwell Theme music: Ryan Raddatz Guitar music: Adeline’s Guitar Credits/Outro Read by: Adeline, Advice and Jess The views shared on this podcast are those of my guests and the host and do not necessarily reflect those of any employer past or present.

    1h 10m

  6. MAR 23

    28. Alejandra Naranjo — Earning the Trust to Match Generosity with Impact

    Today’s guest is someone who embodies a rare and powerful combination: sharp strategic thinking paired with a deep, human understanding of what it means to give, to trust, and to build something that matters. Alejandra Naranjo is currently the Assistant Vice President for Development, Principal Gifts and Campaign Initiatives at New York University, where she leads transformational philanthropic partnerships at the highest level. Her work sits at the intersection where trust fosters the path for generosity to help with world—helping move significant resources toward bold ideas that shape institutions and expand opportunity. Before NYU, Alejandra served as Vice President of Administration and Development for the Tecnológico de Monterrey Foundation, where she helped raise more than $15 million in just four years—and closed an eight-figure gift in her first two. At The New York Women’s Foundation, she led development efforts generating over $10 million annually in unrestricted funding, growing the donor base by 30% and advancing equity for women and families across New York City. But what makes Alejandra’s story especially compelling is the breadth of her journey. From corporate banking at Citi to teaching econometrics at ITAM… from nonprofit leadership at The American School Foundation to working alongside Mexican President Vicente Fox on cross-border initiatives to reduce poverty—her career reflects a throughline of purpose, connection, and impact. Alejandra brings both clarity and warmth to this work. She reminds us that philanthropy, at its best, isn’t just about money—it’s about belief. It’s about aligning values, honoring relationships, and investing in a future we’re brave enough to imagine together. Most of all, Alejanda uses her many many talents and skills for social good.  Listen in if you’re someone working in leadership, in philanthropy, or simply trying to make a difference in a complex world. In this episode, we explore: What builds real trust in donor relationshipsMoving from transactions to transformational partnershipsLeading across cultures and bordersBalancing strategy with empathy in high-stakes environmentsThe deeper purpose behind giving and what makes generosity meaningfulAnd what to do when you present an award to Robert De Niro... but you don't actually have an award. What does it look like to not just ask for support—but to invite someone into shared belief? Dive in! Alejandra Naranjo: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alejandranaranjo/ NYU University Development and Alumni Relations: https://www.nyu.edu/about/leadership-university-administration/organization-directory/university-developmentandalumnirelations.html Support the show •••••••••• About Exceptionally Good: https://www.exceptionallygood.org/about More from Exceptionally Good: 📧 ryan@exceptionallygood.org Work with Ryan:   https://www.exceptionallygood.org/services Exceptionally Good on Substack: https://substack.com/@exceptionallygood Producer, editor and host: Ryan Maxwell Theme music: Ryan Raddatz Guitar music: Adeline’s Guitar Credits/Outro Read by: Adeline, Advice and Jess The views shared on this podcast are those of my guests and the host and do not necessarily reflect those of any employer past or present.

    1h 3m

  7. MAR 20

    Live from Austin! - Leadership Flops - 5¢ for Your Failures

    In Austin last week, I set up a little Lucy-style advice booth with two microphones — offering a nickel for leadership stories of those times when it all went sideways. Turns out some folks really like to share these stories.   They are reflective. The stories are full of learning. And they feel cathartic to tell. And I love these stories and sharing them — because I know so many leaders striving to lead for good have thrown in the towel because they thought: “I’m clearly not cut out for this work.  I’m not up to it… I just don’t have what it takes…” But the thing is: no one shows up with all it takes.  And it’s not that you are no good, it’s that the conditions are tough, the challenges unending and the struggle is real. But we can learn. The hard way from our flops. Or from listening to others. 🔥 This episode shares just what leaders like you need to hear. 🎧 What you’ll hear in this episode Stories of inner strugglesTimes when we plowed forward without asking the folks on the groundThe time we just let the thing flounder because our heart wasn’t in itHow we got left in the cold (literally) because we didn’t listen to our gutStories where we learned the hard way Leadership.  Not for the faint of heart. And something we all can learn. With gratitude Huge thanks to the thoughtful humans who sat down and shared some hard-earned wisdom: Victoria AndrewsRob HarrisKippy SmithLisa LangBerenice Pernalete  If this episode resonates with you, share it with a leader might need to hear that all these great and admirable people also struggle with all the same things all us mere mortals striving to lead for good struggle with. You -- and they -- are not alone in this work. Support the show •••••••••• About Exceptionally Good: https://www.exceptionallygood.org/about Follow us: @e.g.exceptionallygood More from Exceptionally Good: 📧 ryan@exceptionallygood.org Work with Ryan:   https://www.exceptionallygood.org/services Exceptionally Good on Substack: https://substack.com/@exceptionallygood Producer, editor and host: Ryan Maxwell Theme music: Ryan Raddatz Guitar music: Adeline’s Guitar Credits/Outro Read by: Adeline, Advice and Jess The views shared on this podcast are those of my guests and the host and do not necessarily reflect those of any employer past or present.

    1h 5m

  8. MAR 18

    Live from Austin! - AI Has 500 PhDs… So What’s a Real Teacher For?

    The question is simple. And a little dangerous. AI is always awake. Always patient. Always available. It never burns out. Never calls in sick. Never asks for healthcare. So… What is a real teacher good for anyway? I got to sit down in Austin with a group of thoughtful, funny, deeply human leaders across education, research, and innovation—and we chased that question together. Not in a polished panel. Not with prepared remarks. But in real conversations. Curious. Honest. Sometimes a little scrappy. What emerged? Again and again, people circled something we could feel… but struggled to name: “Soul.”Connection.The human spark.The thing that happens in a room that no one can quite quantify. What if AI gets better at motivation? What if it personalizes perfectly? What if budgets force impossible tradeoffs? What if the future actually does look more like screens than classrooms? And still… 🔥 The tension at the center This episode doesn’t land on easy answers. Because the truth is: AI is powerfulIt will reshape learningIt can expand access, feedback, and possibility And… There is something about being human together—that refuses to be reduced to efficiency.  Spirit, connection, authenticity. 🎧 What you’ll hear: A spirited debate about whether AI could replace most teachersThe case for “soul” as the irreplaceable ingredientA jazz analogy you won’t forgetA story about dissecting a cow eye at recess (yes, really)A deep dive into whether connection through screens is “good enough”And a recurring question that lingers long after the mic is off: What is the thing that makes us human… and how do we protect it? 🌱 Why this matters If you’re a leader in education—or anywhere humans are trying to grow, learn, and become—this isn’t a theoretical question. It’s a design question. A moral question. A future-of-our-work question. And maybe most of all… A question about what we refuse to lose. 🙏 With gratitude - Huge thanks to the thoughtful, playful humans who sat down and wrestled with this question: Ronak ParikKristen HuffAmelia KellyMaddie CarzonCarly CampbellShanna GershmanLisa LangIf this episode resonates, share it with a leader who’s trying to hold onto what matters while everything shifts around them. You’re not alone. Support the show •••••••••• About Exceptionally Good: https://www.exceptionallygood.org/about More from Exceptionally Good: 📧 ryan@exceptionallygood.org Work with Ryan:   https://www.exceptionallygood.org/services Exceptionally Good on Substack: https://substack.com/@exceptionallygood Producer, editor and host: Ryan Maxwell Theme music: Ryan Raddatz Guitar music: Adeline’s Guitar Credits/Outro Read by: Adeline, Advice and Jess The views shared on this podcast are those of my guests and the host and do not necessarily reflect those of any employer past or present.

    1h 2m
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About

We bring you in-depth interviews with exceptional leaders who drive toward a different bottom line — leaders from health care, philanthropy, non-profits, education and rescue services who are doing exceptional work for the good of the world.  Exploring their origin stories, their leadership journey and the lessons they learned on their path -- sometimes the hard way -- we bring you close to understand how exceptional leaders tick. Exceptionally Good on Substack: https://substack.com/@exceptionallygood More from Exceptionally Good: 📧 ryan@exceptionallygood.org Work with Ryan:https://www.exceptionallygood.org/services

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