The SALA Series Podcast

SALA Series
  • 4.9 (118)
  • SOCIETY & CULTURE
  • UPDATED SEMIWEEKLY

Welcome to the SALA Series Podcast – bringing together purpose-driven leaders and ideas that matter. Hosted by Dalen Cuff and Monica McNutt, SALA celebrates diverse voices and highlights a commitment to community and individuals who are driving positive change across the interrelated worlds of sports, entertainment, corporate and nonprofit.

  1. JAN 30

    Leadership, Trust, and Opportunity: A Conversation with Garry Jenkins and Marshall Hatch Jr.

    In this episode Garry W. Jenkins, President of Bates College, joins Marshall Hatch Jr., Co-Founder and Executive Director of the MAAFA Redemption Project, for a conversation on leadership, institutions, and democratic responsibility. President Jenkins brings nationally recognized expertise in nonprofit governance, law, and higher education leadership, shaped by his tenure as Dean of the University of Minnesota Law School and his current role guiding Bates College’s academic mission. Marshall Hatch Jr., a Gates Millennium Scholar and Bates alumnus, adds a faith- and community-centered perspective informed by his work developing workforce, educational, and spiritual pathways for emerging adult Black and Brown men in Chicago. Together, they explore how leadership is cultivated, how institutions earn trust, and how education, faith, and governance intersect in shaping opportunity.

    56 min

  2. JAN 16

    Gordon LaForge: Fatherhood as a Window into Modern Life and Its Discontents

    Best known for his work on geopolitics, emerging technologies like AI, international institutions, and the future of democracy, Gordon LaForge turns his analytical lens inward—to fatherhood. Becoming a father has prompted deep personal reflection, mirroring the broader evolution of what fatherhood means in contemporary society. In this themed series, LaForge explores fatherhood as both personal reckoning and social lens. He reflects on changing ideas of manhood, the quiet loneliness many fathers experience, and the tension between achievement-driven success and lasting fulfillment. Looking ahead, he examines how boys are coming of age amid technological acceleration, cultural uncertainty, and weakened civic norms—and what fathers model, often unconsciously. Together, these reflections frame fatherhood as a central, under-examined force shaping families, communities, and our collective future.

    1h 7m

  3. JAN 9

    Rev. Dr. Kevin R. Johnson: Faith, Legacy, and Moral Leadership

    In this conversation, Rev. Dr. Kevin R. Johnson, Senior Pastor of Abyssinian Baptist Church, reflects on the weight and responsibility of leading one of America’s most storied congregations at a moment of national fracture.  Drawing on Abyssinian’s historic legacy and prophetic tradition, Dr. Johnson explores how the church can remain rooted in faith while expanding its reach—engaging younger generations, addressing mental and emotional well-being, and reimagining ministry beyond the sanctuary walls. He speaks candidly about leadership, stewardship, and moral imagination, offering a vision of the church as a keeper of tradition while responding to the moral and emotional needs of the present moment.

    1h 8m

  4. 12/22/2025

    Braven and SFSU: A Bold Partnership Transforming College-to-Career Pathways

    Two visionary leaders in higher education—Aimée Eubanks-Davis, Co-Founder and CEO of Braven, and Dr. Lynn Mahoney, President of San Francisco State University—join host Jeff Olivet, Executive Director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, for a timely and inspiring conversation on the future of college and career pathways.Together, they examine how the partnership between Braven and San Francisco State is reimagining higher education as a true engine of economic mobility—particularly for first-generation and low-income students. The discussion explores the evolving role of higher ed, the growing importance of real-world skills and social capital, and the leadership required to advance equity and innovation in today’s institutions.This episode is a powerful reminder that talent is everywhere—and that expanding opportunity is not optional, but essential.

    36 min

  5. 12/12/2025

    Rabbi David Wolpe: The Moral and Spiritual Tests of Today

    One of America’s most respected and influential religious thinkers, David Wolpe is our featured guest in a grounded, timely, and deeply human conversation about the questions of the day. With clarity and compassion, Rabbi Wolpe reflects on the rise of antisemitism following October 7th, the growing polarization across campuses and civic spaces, and how we can confront these fractures directly and thoughtfully.  A celebrated author, public intellectual, and former visiting scholar at Harvard Divinity School, he brings a rare combination of wisdom and candor to questions of faith, doubt, resilience, and the stories we tell to make sense of a turbulent world. Through his lens, we explore what it means to uphold empathy, dignity, and moral clarity—especially when fear and anger dominate public life. He offers practical insights on dialogue, free expression, and the quiet strength found in community.  This is a conversation for anyone searching for orientation in an age of noise, and for those who believe that helping people reach across divides is both possible and necessary.

    53 min

  6. 12/05/2025

    Jim O’Connell & Francis Hyatt: Compassion, Continuity, and the Future of Homeless Healthcare

    Dr. Jim O’Connell has spent nearly forty years building Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, a best-of-class, consumer-led model that delivers medical care directly to shelters, soup kitchens, and the streets. His friend and board member Francis Hyatt, EVP & Chief Community Investments and Sustainability Officer at Liberty Mutual, offers the perspective of a 'stakeholder' leader committed to driving positive change in society.  Dr. O'Connell & Hyatt share lessons from their joint community-investment commitments, including caring for patients through AIDS, multidrug-resistant TB, and the COVID crisis. They discuss why trust and continuity remain the bedrock of partnerships between nonprofits and corporate entities and ways in which philanthropy, healthcare and community investment can responsibly support systems strained by social determinants that stretch back decades. This episode offers a window into the future and how we can work to strengthen the safety net and ensure an equitable, just and caring society.

    52 min

  7. 11/25/2025

    Elusive and Effervescent

    They're back!  And picking up right where they left off - in between laughs, Dalen Cuff and Monica McNutt's catch-up on life and the world, including Monica’s major life changes, marriage, Mayor Mamdani and their own fresh takes on the Epstein Files.  Always fun to see old friends coming back together, especially when they're our hosts !!

    58 min

  8. 11/21/2025

    Education as a Moral Endeavor: A Conversation with Lindsay Whorton and Ruth Simmons

    In this deeply reflective episode, educators Lindsay Whorton, President of The Holdsworth Center, and Dr. Ruth Simmons, trailblazing university president and author of New York Times bestseller Up Home: One Girl’s Journey, explore what it means to lead with purpose in education.  In discussing the moral dimension of school leadership, Whorton and Simmons are aligned around the need to cultivate empathy and integrity in future leaders, and how personal history shapes one’s approach to service.  Further, as collaborators in practice (Simmons has served as a founding board chair and public-facing elder statesperson to The Holdsworth Center) the conversation moves naturally from biography to governance to policy.  From Simmons’ remarkable journey as the first Black president of an Ivy League institution to Whorton’s work strengthening leadership pipelines in public education, the conversation intertwines wisdom and urgency—reminding us that education is not only about achievement, but about the shaping of character, community, and democratic possibility.

    54 min
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4.9
out of 5
118 Ratings

About

Welcome to the SALA Series Podcast – bringing together purpose-driven leaders and ideas that matter. Hosted by Dalen Cuff and Monica McNutt, SALA celebrates diverse voices and highlights a commitment to community and individuals who are driving positive change across the interrelated worlds of sports, entertainment, corporate and nonprofit.

Information

  • Creator
    SALA Series
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    70
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright SALA Series
  • Show Website
    The SALA Series Podcast

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