The Jacquelyn Social Exchange

The Jacquelyn
  • 2.5 (11)
  • Society & Culture
  • Updated Biweekly

Conversations that inspire meaningful connection, local impact, and purposeful living. Episodes highlight changemakers, creatives, entrepreneurs, and community leaders making a difference to fuel your purpose. The Jacquelyn is a private social club in Sacramento, CA, that combines art, design, and science to inspire genuine connections, foster creative pursuits, and promote ongoing intellectual growth. Join Mary Daffin, The Jacquelyn’s Grande Dame, whose wit, warmth, and passion for community set the tone for a show as vibrant as she is—embodying the art of living fully.

  1. Aug 12

    The Modern Male Playbook - Bryan Flaherty

    How do you build a meaningful career without sacrificing the very people and relationships you're building it for? That's the question at the center of this conversation with Bryan Flaherty, the newly named Publisher of the Sacramento Business Journal. Bryan talks about what he's watching most closely in Sacramento right now, and what a busier, more energized downtown could mean for Midtown, Folsom, and Roseville. He also gets candid about the weight of the Journal's platform — credibility and fairness matter more than being liked, and protecting readers' trust sometimes means risking his own comfort. Along the way, he offers advice for young professionals finding their footing, and reflects on how fatherhood, marriage, and a demanding new role are redefining what it means to be a "provider" today. You'll learn: Building a career that grows with your relationships instead of at their expense Why Sacramento's downtown is on the cusp of an "explosion" and what he's watching to prove it What's happening in journalism right now, from AI's impact to staying true to local news Bryan's advice to young men trying to find their footing in a career: show up in person, and mean it. Sponsors: ⁠https://meropictures.com⁠ Learn more about the Jacquelyn social club: ⁠https://www.thejacquelyn.com/⁠ Get In Touch: Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/thejacquelyn.official/⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-jacquelyn/⁠ Email: ⁠podcast@thejacquelyn.com⁠

  2. Jul 27

    Think Outside Yourself - Gabe Lemon

    We talk a lot about what men can lift. We don't talk nearly enough about what they carry. Gabe Lemon built G6 Performance Training into one of Sacramento's most respected athletic development programs. He's trained thousands of athletes, sent players to the NFL, NBA, and MLB, and built a business that runs on one principle: movement is medicine. But behind success is always a human being, and sometimes life demands that we redefine ourselves in ways we could not have imagined. This conversation is not about chasing perfection or motivational culture. It's about identity, vulnerability, and what happens when strength is called to evolve. You'll Learn: - Why protecting your energy isn't optional - Why the injury is never really about the moment it happened, it's the pattern that led there - What leadership actually looks like when you step back from the thing that defined you - Why community — real, consistent, unglamorous community — is the infrastructure that holds everything else up Perfect for: Leaders, athletes, and men who are pouring out more than they're taking in. Sponsors: ⁠https://meropictures.com⁠ Learn more about the Jacquelyn social club: ⁠https://www.thejacquelyn.com/⁠ Get In Touch: Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/thejacquelyn.official/⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-jacquelyn/⁠ Email: ⁠podcast@thejacquelyn.com⁠

  3. Jul 14

    Activating Change - Jessica Kriegel

    Most leaders try to fix culture by managing actions—new policies, new incentives, or more oversight. Dr. Jessica Kriegel says that's the wrong lever. Jessica is a change strategist, Chief Strategy Officer at Culture Partners, and author of the bestselling Surrender to Lead. In this episode, Jessica and Mary Daffin talk about why most leaders get stuck in what she calls "the action trap," managing the action instead of the belief behind it. They talk about surrender: not giving up, but releasing the illusion of control you never had in the first place, and focusing only on how you show up. And they talk about accountability. Why it's become a dirty word, and the new definition Jessica uses with clients: a personal choice to focus on what you can control to drive results. Jessica also walks through the four-step framework she uses to make accountability practical: See it, Own it, Solve it, Do it. It is a set of questions that works just as well on a direct report as on a boyfriend who won't walk the dog. You'll learn:  Why culture starts with belief, not policy — and how to identify the belief that's actually getting in your wayWhy managing the action harder almost never worksThe four-step framework — See it, Own it, Solve it, Do it — for holding yourself or someone else accountableHow storytelling moved one hospital's next-of-kin form completion rate from 42% to 97% in three weeksSponsors: ⁠https://meropictures.com⁠ Learn more about the Jacquelyn social club: ⁠https://www.thejacquelyn.com/⁠ Get In Touch: Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/thejacquelyn.official/⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-jacquelyn/⁠ Email: ⁠podcast@thejacquelyn.com⁠

  4. Jul 7

    How We Make Change - Darcy Totten

    Darcy Totten will tell you: we're only one grandmother removed from women not being able to open a bank account without a husband's signature. Darcy leads the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls, one of the state's most important advocacy bodies, representing 20 million women and girls. She writes economic blueprints. She convenes rooms. She tells stories that turn data into decisions. In this episode, Darcy and host Mary Daffin talk about what it takes to change a room once you're in it, why representation requires more than just showing up, and what the UN's 33% threshold actually means in practice. They talk about the enormous wealth transfer currently underway to women and what it would mean if women used it the way men have. They talk about mentorship, solidarity, and the particular skill of building consensus among people who have nothing obvious in common. And they talk about hope. The progress is real, and there is genuinely a lot to be hopeful about. You'll Learn: - How Darcy turns complex policy data into stories that move elected officials to act - What the largest wealth transfer in history means for women and what it would look like if women used that power differently - Why showing up in the room is the first step, not the whole project, and what comes next - What a future of collaborative, solidarity-based leadership actually looks like Sponsors: ⁠https://meropictures.com⁠ Stiver Financial Services https://www.stiverfinancialservices.com/Diamond Collective https://www.diamondcollective.org/gala-2026 Learn more about the Jacquelyn social club: ⁠https://www.thejacquelyn.com/⁠ Get In Touch: Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/thejacquelyn.official/⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-jacquelyn/⁠ Email: ⁠podcast@thejacquelyn.com⁠

  5. Jun 24

    The Kind of Influence That Changes a Life - Lisa Wrightsman

    There's a version of Lisa Wrightsman that almost didn't make it. Division I athlete. Goal scorer. The kind of player who felt invincible on the field. And then, the day the structure stopped — no practice, no team, no room to belong to — it all unraveled fast. What pulled her back wasn't a program. It was a field. Lisa Wrightsman leads Street Soccer USA in Sacramento, helping individuals experiencing homelessness rediscover structure, dignity, and belonging through the game. She also brought the Homeless World Cup to the United States. This is the kind of influence that changes the trajectory of a life. In this episode, Lisa and host Mary Daffin talk about what it means to be in the right room — and what it costs when you're not. They talk about the rooms that define us, the rooms that close on us, and the rooms we have to build ourselves when no one else will. The mission of Street Soccer USA is simple: soccer is the mechanism. Belonging is the point. You'll Learn: - Why belonging is the real mission - What it takes to rebuild identity after losing the structure that defined you - How a single room can change the trajectory of a life Sponsors: ⁠https://meropictures.com⁠ Learn more about the Jacquelyn social club: ⁠https://www.thejacquelyn.com/⁠ Get In Touch: Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/thejacquelyn.official/⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-jacquelyn/⁠ Email: ⁠podcast@thejacquelyn.com⁠

  6. Jun 21

    Presence Is Strategy, Not Performance - Cassandra Pye

    Influence isn't loud. It doesn't announce itself. It works in rooms most people don't know exist — through relationships, presence, and unspoken rules. Cassandra Pye has been working those rooms for over 40 years. As president of Lucas Public Affairs and one of Sacramento's most trusted voices in communications and public affairs, she's advised governors, senators, and electeds from both sides of the aisle. She was raised by seven women in Baltimore who handed her a blueprint most people spend a career trying to find. Cassandra shares what she was taught, what she had to figure out on her own, and what she now passes on — about power, presence, discipline, and the unspoken rules of influence. What they share in these conversations doesn't usually leave the room. Now it does. You'll Learn: - Why presence is a strategy and how to build it deliberately - The unspoken rules that govern who gets heard and remembered in high-stakes rooms - How to make a genuine connection before you say a word - What it actually means to build a brand and why consistency is the whole thing Perfect for: Leaders who want to build influence through relationships Sponsors: ⁠https://meropictures.com⁠ Learn more about the Jacquelyn social club: ⁠https://www.thejacquelyn.com/⁠ Get In Touch: Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/thejacquelyn.official/⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-jacquelyn/⁠ Email: ⁠podcast@thejacquelyn.com⁠

  7. Jun 9

    More Than the Show - Lyndsay Burch

    If theater goes away, what does Sacramento lose? A lot more than the show. Lyndsay Burch, CEO of The Sofia and B Street Theatre, makes the case that the arts aren't just culture — they're infrastructure. They connect businesses, draw people to a city, and give a community a reason to be together when everything else is trying to pull it apart. In this episode, Lyndsay sits down with Mary to talk about the extraordinary balancing act of running a job that's 100% creative and 100% operational, why B Street's children's theater is the future of the performing arts, and what live theater means in the age of AI. You'll Learn: - Why the arts are foundational to a city - How theater is becoming more valuable, not less. - How to activate a theater to it's full potential. - The evolution of leadership across Sacramento's art organizations. Perfect For: Anyone who cares about what makes a city worth living in and anyone who's ever walked out of a theater feeling more connected and joyful than when they walked in. Sponsors: ⁠https://meropictures.com⁠ Learn more about the Jacquelyn social club: ⁠https://www.thejacquelyn.com/⁠ Get In Touch: Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/thejacquelyn.official/⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-jacquelyn/⁠ Email: ⁠podcast@thejacquelyn.com⁠

  8. Jun 5

    Going Slow To Go Fast - Kiera Anderson

    Kiera Anderson, Ed.D. is in the early days of leading one of Sacramento's oldest cultural institutions — the Sacramento Ballet. In that time, she's already navigated hiring new artistic leadership and making the call to scale the school. In this conversation with Mary Daffin, Kiera talks about how ballet's demand for discipline and real-time problem-solving shaped her as a leader, and why the rehearsal room — not the stage — is where trust is really built. They also have a candid exchange about women in leadership. Kiera's dissertation examined teenage girls who were still being called 'bossy' in 2019. The progress is real, but the distance left is too. And at the heart of it all is Kiera's vision for access — changing the perception that ballet is "not for me" and building a company of artists who live here, work here, and are our neighbors. You'll Learn: How the discipline of ballet translates directly to leadership The difference between technique (the dancer) and mentorship (the whole person) Why trust is built in rehearsal, not on stage What Kiera envisions for the Sacramento Ballet's next five years — touring, scaling, and expanding access Perfect For: Anyone who cares about leadership, the arts, or what it looks like to step into something bigger than yourself. Sponsors: ⁠https://meropictures.com⁠ Learn more about the Jacquelyn social club: ⁠https://www.thejacquelyn.com/⁠ Get In Touch: Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/thejacquelyn.official/⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-jacquelyn/⁠ Email: ⁠podcast@thejacquelyn.com⁠

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Ratings & Reviews

2.5
out of 5
11 Ratings

About

Conversations that inspire meaningful connection, local impact, and purposeful living. Episodes highlight changemakers, creatives, entrepreneurs, and community leaders making a difference to fuel your purpose. The Jacquelyn is a private social club in Sacramento, CA, that combines art, design, and science to inspire genuine connections, foster creative pursuits, and promote ongoing intellectual growth. Join Mary Daffin, The Jacquelyn’s Grande Dame, whose wit, warmth, and passion for community set the tone for a show as vibrant as she is—embodying the art of living fully.

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