Erin M. Barlow opens this episode by sharing how she felt when she was in one of her life’s lowest lows, when she was trying to navigate the loss of her beloved sister Michelle, and manage her own health crisis, and trying to find a way forward. As she looked out at the patter of rain on the lake’s surface, she felt a tap on the shoulder…Equal parts grit and courage, Erin shows us how she was able to move through loss, grief, and trauma…and chart her path forward to thriving. Erin is a talented, aspiring actor, filmmaker, and screenwriter. She is chock full of badassery and even as a tween, was the only girl on her town’s elite hockey team…and the Goalie!!We can think of no one better to open season two of our podcast, Katy Hansell: The Impact Whisperer™ than the inimitable Erin M. Barlow! LinkedIn

In our final episode of Season 1 of Katy Hansell: The Impact Whisperer ™ podcast, our guest Hussein Al-Baiaity opens this episode by sharing how losing his beloved father changed his perspective about how to live his own life. Hussein’s father was visiting family and friends in Baghdad when he suddenly passed away. Hussein learned this devastating news in a phone call from a relative. His father, Kamel Al-Baiaity, was Hussein’s greatest teacher and an acclaimed artist known throughout Iraq. In fact, as you will learn in this episode, it is his father’s artistry that enabled Hussein and his whole family to ultimately be granted safe passage from the refugee camp in Saudi Arabia where they lived for four years to the United States. This episode makes no mention of the current war in the region, the US and Israel’s war against Iran, as it was recorded before the war broke out on February 28, 2026. It does reference the Gulf War which caused Hussein and his family to have to flee under the cover of nightfall from their home south of Baghdad in Iraq. The transformative power of art and its tool to build resilience are the major throughlines of this podcast conversation between Hussein and Host Katy Hansell. This episode is for anyone who has ever felt like they didn’t belong, as Hussein shares what it was like to be displaced from his home to a refugee camp and then trying to assimilate in the US before he knew how to speak English. Like his father Kamel, Hussein used the power of art to find his way, befriend his peers, showcase his budding talent in school via a book creation contest, and ultimately help him advise others in his current business. Hussein is the host of the Rising Authors Experience podcast, author of the book Art of Resilience: The Refugee State of Mind, and founder of Rising Authors, his coaching business where he helps authors build clear brands and thriving platforms that turn books into lasting opportunities.

This episode opens with Dr. Faye T. Gamboa, O.D., sharing how a college volunteer service trip to help clean up after Hurricane Katrina opened her eyes to what true service looks like. Moment of Impact: "If you want to help us, walk with us." This episode is for anyone who is considering a service-based professional career or anyone who has a wanderlust for travel and wants to figure out how to combine travel with service. Dr. Faye also offers tips about how to own your own practice as a healthcare provider and move into entrepreneurship from clinical settings. We discuss the importance of role clarity when you have a team of professionals who want to collaborate in a frictionless way. Dr. Faye T. Gamboa is the owner and optometrist at Wanderlust Eyecare in Northfield, IL where her husband Shwin also works and their dog Winnie. She is also a Primary Care and Ocular Disease Optometrist at the North Chicago VA Hospital. Born and raised in Chicago, Dr. Gamboa has a Bachelor's degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Illinois-Chicago and her doctorate cum laude from the Illinois College of Optometry. She completed her residency in Primary Eye Care and Ocular disease at the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center in North Chicago. She has worked in corporate and private practice settings and, in addition to her role as the founder of Wanderlust Eyecare, she devotes time to helping veterans and active-duty military personnel at the VA hospital. Dr. Gamboa treats her own wanderlust with ample travel around the world. She is an enthusiastic foodie who loves to spend free time with family and friends. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/faye-therese-gamboaWebsite: https://www.wanderlusteyecare.com

Dave Babst, President and Co-Founder of DNA Business Consulting, opens up this episode by sharing how the birth of his eldest daughter and becoming a father for the first time shaped his outlook on what is important in life. Dave and his wife Amanda knew in advance that their eldest daughter Katherine would have a potentially challenging birth as she was identified in utero as having a congenital heart defect. Dave shares how the experience of Katherine’s birth changed his outlook to focus his life on how to be of service. We also explore a number of important topics relating to the ever-changing world of work and how to adapt to changing circumstances. Dave started his career working for some of the top firms: Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, National City, Google, and Publicis Groupe. He decided to become an entrepreneur so that he could be home more to help out when Katherine needed some surgeries as a young girl. We talk about how valuable fractional roles are for mid-career folks, especially given the ageism in the corporate world. Dave and Katy share their top tips for how to explore fractional roles if you have been faced with downsizing or being laid off. Dave shares how he has adapted and pursued strategic alliances that have helped his business become even more valuable to the founders, whom he helps scale by unlocking value and growth drivers. Dave remains deeply involved in his community, serves on nonprofit boards, and coaches youth sports teams. He and his wife Amanda live in Cleveland, Ohio, where they’re the proud parents to three teenagers. Dave holds a JD from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, an MBA from the Katz Graduate School, and a BA from the University of Richmond with additional executive education from Stanford’s School of Design. LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-babst/Website: https://dnabizconsulting.com/

Rebecca Liron, a humanitarian response professional with 10+ years of global experience (Nairobi/Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Burundi, Abidjan/ Côte d’Ivoire, Geneva), opens this episode by sharing how seeing an exhibit as an undergraduate student at Northwestern University piqued her interest in humanitarian work and made her want to learn more. She is a Washington DC-based humanitarian response professional with 10+ years of global experience working with UN agencies, NGOs, foundations, and research institutions as a protection expert in contexts of forced displacements. She shares the series of impactful moments that spurred the transformation points in her career, including Going to Nairobi, Kenya as a Princeton in Africa Fellow and working on behalf of the IRC (International Rescue Committee).

Now, Rebecca is working with the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) and leading the CGI Humanitarian Response Portfolio as Deputy Director.Among the themes we discuss are: Rebecca’s passion for community-based protection, the meaningful participation of people with lived experience of forced displacement and statelessness, child protection, and the experience of forced migration and lived trauma. This episode is a must-listen for anyone who wants to learn more about being a responsible global citizen and step into being an advocate for humanitarian causes, whether as a volunteer or a career.

Dr. Elke Zani-Ruttenstock, Pediatric Surgeon at Washington University and Director of the Pediatric Colorectal Program at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, opens this episode by sharing how life threw her a curveball when there was a time in her career when she couldn’t practice medicine and it really affected her sense of identity and self-image. What we talk about is so relatable to anyone who feels displaced from their work against their will. While the circumstances were due to being part of a two-surgeon power couple and trying to navigate international careers in medicine, Elke shares what many people feel when they are laid off or let go from a career they loved and have to make sense of it. I share my own sense of this identity struggle from when I left my high-powered consulting career (BCG) and being a Director of Strategy (Bayer) to become a stay-at-home mom for a period of time. Elke tells us how she shared in a yoga group about her struggle, and someone directed her to coaching. In pursuing coaching during that interval, she realized how it was a blessing in disguise because it helped her to see the importance of presence, authenticity, listening, and empowerment in the OR and in health care settings. Once she was able to return to being a pediatric surgeon and in charge of a clinic, she was able to infuse her lessons about centering humanness into medicine. Hence, I call her “The Humanist Surgeon”! We also discuss how A.I. is changing surgery and which use cases make sense at this stage in the tool’s development; her global perspective on healthcare and how differences show up in different countries; how important it is to be willing to show vulnerability even when you are an accomplished professional in a high-status role, like surgeon. Elke has practiced medicine in 4 countries (US, UK, Canada, and Austria) and speaks 4 languages. She is a mom to two daughters and lives with her husband in St. Louis, MO. Thank you to Dr. Elke Zani-Ruttenstock for honoring us with her presence and insights on the pod! LinkedInWashington University in St. Louis bio

Sonali Makanji, Communications & Relational Expert focused on Emotional Fitness, is a London-based ICF Accredited Coach (CPCC, ACC) who helps individuals discover how to be more authentic in their communications and their presence. Now running her own coaching practice "Coaching with Sonali", she brings 12+ years of experience across corporate and professional services, spanning consulting and in-house industry leadership roles. She has served as Head of Communications for a pan-European management consultancy in the City of London and as Director, Head of Brand for a private equity backed tech unicorn. In her first Moment of Impact (MOI), Sonali opens this episode by sharing an early lesson in primary school where she first became aware of the power of choosing perspective. She shares how seeing a peer draw a peacock using colors other than ones they naturally appear in opened her mind to thinking outside the box. In a second Moment of Impact (MOI), she shares how she encountered a practitioner when she traveled to the foot of the Himalayas to rejuvenate, and how he advised her to “do nothing” during her stay there. He had perceived that she drove herself hard, was accustomed to planning and executing at a high level, but it was taking its toll on her well-being. Sonali embraced this advice and journaled. She became aware of how “just being” can be so cathartic and therapeutic. These moments of insight she shares elucidate how she has developed her current work on emotional fitness. Sonali offers a suite of coaching services to help clients reconnect with themselves and deepen their connections with others. In our conversation, Sonali shares an example of a bride who was getting "decision fatigue". Through their work together, they discovered that what was actually happening was the bride was seeking perfection in the planning of the wedding in order to feel safe and in control. Sonali’s work often focuses on unpacking these layers to get to the essence of what is actually going on and helping the person unlock their own wisdom in response. Sonali would love you to engage with the art series on her website. In our pod convo, we discuss the “Onion People” image and what it strikes in each of us when we see it. Be sure to go to www.sonalimakanji.com to see what you think! We talk about essentialism, building self-awareness through community, the power of inter-generational friendships, and more! As with every episode of our podcast, we close on what brings Sonali hope! We are so honored that Sonali appeared on the podcast and shared so many insights about how to be more emotionally fit and thriving! Thank you, Sonali! Personal site: www.SonaliMakanji.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sonalimakanji/

Gina S. Lovasi, PhD, MPH, Dana and Davis Dornsife Dean at Drexel University of the Dornsife School of Public Health, opens up the episode talking about her moment of impact. When reflecting back on her career, she is most proud of the times when she worked in partnership with others to answer big questions that none of them could have tackled on their own. A renowned epidemiologist and the youngest dean of a school of public health in the US, probably the youngest dean at the university level in the US period, Dr. Lovasi tells us how the work of public health affects our daily lives. She shares how epidemiologists focus on “exposures” and “outcomes” and carefully examine causation versus correlation. In order to create trust with the public, when facing policy decisions with spending ramifications, Dr. Lovasi focused at the neighborhood level and the implications for the reality on the ground.

To help us understand her work in practical terms, she shares an example of a research question examining what the impact on a neighborhood food desert would be if a grocery store were added. While it sounds so simple at face value, we learn that it is actually complex. Another example of evaluating if planting trees will produce the desired benefit of reduced asthma. Again, not what you think at first glance!

We go on to learn how she keeps the integrity of the inquiry, joins with partners from other disciplines, and constituents affected in the processes she designs to keep maximum trust in the process. We discuss AI and higher ed. She makes the point that if you are not paying for AI, why is it free to you? It is because YOU are training the model. We discuss how the responsible use of AI should balance in the water and energy consumption and we as a global society should decide is it worth it for jokes and memes OR should we conserve it for the best use cases where AI can solve intractable problems. Finally, she shares what it is like to be a dean when you are trained in science, but not necessarily in management, how she balances her professional life with her family life as a spouse, mom, and other important roles, and what gives her hope for the future.

From the Dean's Desk: https://drexel.edu/dornsife/news/deans-blog/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gina-s-lovasi-ab19a064/