Office Hours #900 | Leadership Under Fire: School Safety, Trauma Recovery, and the Power of Resilience

Office Hours #900 | Leadership Under Fire: School Safety, Trauma Recovery, and the Power of Resilience

Lee Mandel is an entrepreneur and nationally recognized leader in school and building security technology, dedicated to creating safer environments for schools, hospitals, government facilities, and public spaces. As CEO of XSponse, he leads the development of an advanced AI-powered security ecosystem that enhances emergency detection, alerts, and mass notification systems while reducing human error. A passionate advocate for school safety, Lee has worked closely with educators, parents, and community leaders nationwide and has become a trusted media expert, appearing on Fox News, ABC’s Good Morning America, and numerous security-focused outlets. His innovations include helping develop one of the first one-button lockdown systems, and his leadership at IntraLogic led the company to six appearances on the Inc. 5000 list before its successful acquisition. Shazad Carbaidwala is a transformational leader, entrepreneur, coach, author, and former professional bodybuilder whose life’s mission is centered on helping others reach their full potential. Drawing from experience in business, law enforcement, humanitarian work, and public speaking, he empowers individuals to overcome obstacles, develop resilience, and achieve meaningful success. After earning his Executive MBA, Shazad recognized the impact mentorship had on his own journey and committed himself to coaching others through a direct, compassionate, and results-driven approach. He is also the author of Row: We Live by the Choices We Make, I Made Mine, a powerful psychological memoir that explores accountability, personal responsibility, and the consequences of life-altering decisions through the story of a death row inmate seeking redemption. Captain James Owen is a retired Long Beach Fire Department captain, founder of Camp Pivot, and author of The Last Patient. Following a 30-year career in one of the busiest urban fire departments in the country, he now speaks and consults on leadership, PTSD, trauma recovery, and organizational challenges in high-pressure professions. Having personally experienced operational trauma, addiction, identity collapse, and recovery, James brings hard-earned insight into what it takes to endure and grow through adversity. Through Camp Pivot and his writing, he helps first responders and professionals develop resilience, mental strength, and practical leadership skills. His philosophy, “Situation Screwed / Still Survivable,” reflects his straightforward, field-tested approach to navigating life’s toughest challenges and sustaining performance under extreme pressure.

IG Live | How to Build Wealth in Uncertain Times: Government Auctions, Gold Investing & Inner Peace

Greg Berry is the founder and CEO of Municibid, the leading online marketplace for government auctions in the United States and Canada. Inspired by witnessing a police car worth $3,000 sell for only $300 while serving as a borough councilman in Pennsylvania, Greg invested $2,000 to create a better solution for public agencies. Since launching in 2006, Municibid has grown into a platform serving more than 7,000 government agencies and over one million registered buyers, helping municipalities, schools, police departments, and other organizations recover significantly more value from surplus assets. Through his vision, the platform has returned more than $250 million to public budgets while improving transparency and efficiency in government asset sales. Dana Samuelson is a highly respected precious metals expert with more than four decades of experience in the gold, silver, and rare coin markets. As the Founder and President of American Gold Exchange and a former President of the Professional Numismatists Guild, he has become one of the industry's most trusted voices. Trained by James U. Blanchard III, a key advocate for the re-legalization of private gold ownership in the United States, Dana regularly shares his expertise through major media outlets including Forbes, MarketWatch, and Fox Business. He also helped establish the Anti-Counterfeiting Task Force, working alongside Homeland Security and the U.S. Secret Service to combat counterfeit bullion. With deep knowledge of inflation, currency devaluation, and geopolitical risk, Dana helps investors make informed decisions about preserving and growing wealth through precious metals. Evelyn Elphia is the author of Mindless As Fck: The No BS Survival Guide to Inner Peace and Outer Power, a bold and unconventional approach to personal growth and wellness. Drawing from her St. Lucian heritage, global travels, and experience working in high-pressure environments, Evelyn challenges traditional mindfulness teachings and argues that many popular wellness practices may be adding stress rather than reducing it. Combining neuroscience-informed techniques, linguistic insights, humor, and cultural perspective, she offers practical tools designed for real-life challenges. Her work encourages people to move beyond wellness trends and embrace approaches that genuinely create inner peace, resilience, and personal empowerment when life gets difficult.

IG Live | From Betrayal to Abundance: Healing Trauma, Building Wealth & Detecting Life-Saving Health Risks

Lora Cheadle is an author, TEDx speaker, leadership wellness coach, and former attorney who helps individuals and organizations recover from burnout and betrayal. As the creator of the FUEL UP Burnout-Recovery Method and author of It’s Not Burnout; It’s Betrayal, she teaches that many burnout symptoms are rooted in deeper experiences of broken trust and emotional wounds. Drawing from both professional expertise and personal experience—including healing her marriage after discovering her husband’s 15-year affair—Lora now helps others rebuild trust, resilience, confidence, and a stronger sense of self. Rebecca Whitman, known as the Abundance Mentor, is an international bestselling author, award-winning coach, and host of the globally ranked top 1% podcast Balanced, Beautiful, and Abundant. A Princeton University honors graduate and recognized as Mindset Coach of the Decade, she helps individuals create greater happiness, freedom, and success through her 7 Pillars of Abundance framework, which focuses on spiritual, physical, emotional, romantic, mental, social, and financial well-being. Her work has been featured in major media outlets, and she has shared stages with influential leaders including Grant Cardone, Jack Canfield, and Les Brown. Dr. Michael Christopher is a dermoscopist and melanoma detection specialist known for his exceptional success in identifying skin cancer at its earliest and most treatable stages. Using advanced dermoscopy techniques, he detects between 150 and 215 melanomas each year—far exceeding the average detection rate of most physicians and demonstrating the value of evidence-based screening methods. Beyond his clinical practice, Dr. Christopher is a leading advocate for improved melanoma detection standards, better dermatology training, and greater public awareness about skin cancer prevention, early diagnosis, and proactive skin health.

Office Hours #899 | How to Thrive Through Economic Uncertainty, AI Disruption, and Rapid Change

Dmitri Maxim is a Canadian Certified Management Accountant with more than three decades of experience in accounting, financial analysis, and corporate finance. In 2008, he began a 17-year forensic investigation into the global financial system, applying professional auditing methods such as reconciliation, variance analysis, and pattern recognition to uncover structural risks within modern financial and digital systems. His research culminated in MARPOLE: Return of Measure, a 444-page audit that examines the growing vulnerabilities of the global economy and argues that many of the forces driving financial instability remain largely unseen by the public. Through his platform, Marpole.ai [http://Marpole.ai], Dmitri aims to provide entrepreneurs, creators, and business leaders with greater clarity about systemic risks so they can build stronger, more resilient futures. Stephen de Groot is a leadership expert, speaker, author, and co-founder of Brivia who has spent his career helping individuals and organizations unlock higher levels of performance and human potential. Known as “The Practice Leader,” he has worked with more than 300 organizations across 12 countries, coaching everyone from troubled youth and gang members to CEOs, surgeons, and F-35 pilots. His latest bestselling book, Getting to Better: A New Model for Elevating Human Potential at Work and in Life, introduces the CORE Algorithm, a practical framework designed to help people improve how they think, feel, and act. Through his speaking, coaching, and research, Stephen translates complex human behavior into actionable strategies that create lasting personal and professional growth. Noah Borts is the Co-Founder and COO of HappyPath, an AI-powered software testing company focused on improving enterprise technology implementations. Drawing from his experience at EY and in the financial services industry, Noah saw firsthand the inefficiencies and risks associated with manual testing and complex enterprise systems. HappyPath helps implementation teams streamline testing, documentation, and execution, with a vision of becoming a comprehensive testing platform for enterprise software ecosystems. A lifelong entrepreneur, Noah launched his first company while still in high school and has since built multiple ventures, including HappyPath, which he founded alongside his college best friends. His journey reflects a blend of innovation, persistence, and a passion for solving real-world business challenges through technology.

IG Live | Leading in the Age of AI: Human + AI, Global Business, and the Future of Trust

Seth Cushing is an entrepreneur, enterprise AI transformation leader, and founder of Bodhi AI, where he helps organizations integrate artificial intelligence in ways that drive innovation while preserving trust, accountability, and human judgment. With experience leading large-scale technology and digital transformation initiatives across industries such as healthcare, finance, telecommunications, government, manufacturing, and cybersecurity, Seth specializes in AI governance and adoption strategies. His journey from foster youth and former U.S. military service member to technology leader reflects a story of resilience, reinvention, and a commitment to helping organizations build effective Human + AI operating models. Jamie Hodgins is a Program Officer at the International Centre for Dispute Resolution, the international division of the American Arbitration Association, one of the world’s leading providers of international arbitration and mediation services. Working within a global network that serves businesses in more than 80 countries, Jamie helps support fair, efficient, and impartial resolution of cross-border commercial disputes. Through his work, he contributes to an organization that has played a significant role in shaping modern international arbitration standards and provides trusted dispute resolution solutions for companies operating in complex global markets.