Curious Idealist Angel Lovecchio

In this episode I am honored to share the mic with an amazing woman and friend, Dr. Kristen Donnelly where she shares a little of her TEDx journey,  we dive into the empathy rabbit hole, I learn some amazing parenting techniques, and she teaches me about what trampolines have to do with leadership. 

Check out all things Kristen below and support the show at CuriousIdealist.com/Coffee !



Kristen Donnelly (MSW, M.Div, PhD) is a TEDx speaker, international empathy educator, and researcher with two decades of experience in helping people understand the beauty in difference, and the power in inclusivity. She is one of The Good Doctors of Abbey Research, COO of their parent company, and an unapologetic nerd for stories of change. Kristen lives outside of Philadelphia with her husband, where they are surrounded by piles of books and several video game consoles.

TEDxSouthLakeTahoe: “How Embracing Tolerance Has Failed Us”

TEDxFarmingdale: “The Cultural Aftermath of the Northern Irish Troubles” (please note, this title was chosen by TED and is misleading. The talk is about the lie of ‘back to normal’)\

Recent Appearances:

Podcast: “Family Business Evolution” on BizNation

Podcast: “Clarity as a Journey” on Crystal Ball, Clarity of It All 

Article: “What to Do When Old Marketing Methods Stop Working” in Forbes Magazine

Article: “Emotional Intelligence & Why It’s Necessary” in Authority Magazine


The Good Doctors of Abbey Research are Dr. Kristen and her partner, Dr. Erin Hinson. Abbey Research exists to empower inclusive communities to cultivate and activate their empathy. Empathy is an intellectual posture, not an emotional response, and they believe it is powered by curiosity and is mandatory to change the world.

Abbey Research is part of Abbey Companies, a family-owned network of businesses that Dr. Kristen owns with her brother, Brian Nielsen. Their mission is to impact lives and create wealth, which they’ve been doing in a variety of industries for over 30 years. You can learn more here on the website of Abbey Color, their flagship company.

Melissa is a hopeful who simplifies organizing and she runs a business called Hopeful Simplicity where she helps people find organization systems that fit into their life and bring their home team together. As someone who is constantly a work in progress when it comes to organizing my space and ideas, Melissa brings the hope that I, or anyone else, really can be more organized.    |    

Referenced in the show | David Allen: Getting Things Done https://gettingthingsdone.com/  |

HopefulSimplicity.com |   CuriousIdealist.com

Let's address the noise and call out the crap. This is a love letter to all those shady sales people out there.
Resources referenced:
| Chris Do Instagram  https://www.instagram.com/p/CQ6GBZELJbb/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link |
EdX.org |
Coursera.org
| Simon Sinek : https://youtu.be/RyTQ5-SQYTo | https://simonsinek.com/InspireU#/
Tal Ben-Shahar : https://vimeo.com/124504453 | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBWejfL0xOA

For the kick-off episode I thought it was important to pay tribute to some friends in an international community of thought leaders who know the value of Starting with Why. The Ynternational (Why International) community was spawned off connections made inside workshops we had each attended on Simon Sinek's platform of live online classes. [ https://simonsinek.com/InspireU#/ ]

From a WhatsApp group, to Discord server, to WYRED, a free 3 day international summit with no budget and no sponsors...and no asking people for money... just pure value add [ http://wyred.live ] I'm humbled to be part of a group of thought leaders who've inspired me to keep the conversations going through this podcast. In this episode we start with why and talk more about how we came together and the future of The Curious Idealist. 

Time Stamps: 

00:00 - Intros

06:10 - Why this podcast?

11:36 - Hopes / Vision / Expectation for the future of The Curious Idealist Podcast?

17:39 - Future topics for the Curious Idealist?

20:23 - How to stay connected with the people this reaches?

24:23 - Connecting virtually on a real level?



To connect with/follow anyone from this roundtable: 

Ying Pan [ New York / China ]


"My why is to connect and inspire people with intention so that together we are uplifting each other to live an extraordinary life." 
Legal work in banking, and community builder (aka - the social pick-up artist)
https://www.linkedin.com/in/yingpa/

Rod Aparicio [ Peru / Germany ]


"My why is to light unseen possibilities so that we can create real sh*t from things we think are too far away to actually work."
Consultancy for small independent firms [He gets your brand un-stuck]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rodaparicio/

Angel Marie C. Baguinat [ Singapor ]


"My why is to connect generations so that together we can honor and celebrate each other." 
Artist | L&D Consultant | Facilitator | Curriculum Designer | Digital Transformation & Learning Agility Specialist 
https://www.linkedin.com/in/abaguinat/

Ashley Freeman [ Atlanta, GA - USA ]


"My why is to love people generously for exactly who they are so that we can become the fullest, most authentic expressions of ourselves."
Founder, Lead Facilitator & Coach at Flourishing Work LLC | MBTI® Certified | MBA
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleysfreeman/

Julia P. [ Germany ]


"I empower others to strive everyday becoming a better version of themselves, so that we together create the freedom to live our true colors."
Strategic Data Manager
https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterjulia/

Melissa Ciciola [ Canada ]


"I connect people to possibility so that we build a more courageous world and lay the foundations of growth and innovation"
Contact Center Consultant at Promethee Consultants
https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-ciciola/

Noah Max [ U.K. ]


Inspiring Hope Through Creativity 
Facilitator, Coach, Platform Speaker | Creative Artist | Writer
https://www.linkedin.com/in/noahmaxinspire/





Additional Links / Resources


Ynternational.com
http://wyred.live
https://simonsinek.com/InspireU#/

Disclaimer: This one is a little heavy and it took some vulnerability (and encouragement, thanks friend) to get this one out here. There is a lot of good that can come from our more difficult experiences. Today, I share some learning from one of mine.

I am addicted to diving deeper into topics than most people might be comfortable with. The intent is to dig out actionable things we can all do communicate better, lead better, love better...really just be better. 

Because I'm an idealist, I know we can do better than we have been. So I'll ask the questions, I'll share the learning, and at the end of the day, the goal is to put a little good out into the world, and have some fun in the process.