The Okay Days

Behavioral Change with Mike Tadesse

In this season finale episode, Mike Tadesse, founder of Hewot, a virtual care platform that provides nutrition therapy, lifestyle coaching, and remote patient monitoring to slow progression and reduce complications of chronic kidney disease, joins The Okay Days to talk about behavioral change. Mike developed advanced stage kidney disease six years ago. While he was able to delay his progression of kidney disease by a few years, he realized that his success was not affordable to many. This led him to use his management consulting career to develop a start-up that focused on kidney care transformation. Mike is a forward-thinking entrepreneur and seasoned business development leader. He loves solving complex problems and pursuing ideas that bring value to society. He is currently finishing up his book Press On and recently finished his MBA at the George Washington University. We talk about Mike's immigrant story, how his entrepreneurial spirit never wavered as his businesses evolved, and why change is so hard. Follow along at @miketadesse8 [https://www.instagram.com/miketadesse8/].

Race + Youth Mental Health with Prameela Boorada

In this episode, Prameela Boorada, Chief Growth Officer at MannMukti, a non-profit organization dedicated to removing the stigma surrounding South Asian mental health, joins The Okay Days to talk about race and youth mental health. Prameela is a social-impact storyteller with an artsy, entrepreneurial spirit. Growing up in India, she was raised on a wonderful selection of fables, mythology, biographies and experiences. Shortly after moving to the United States, she attended UC Davis and graduated with a degree in Quantitative Psychology.  Through college, she suffered through several mental health issues and struggled to find culturally-competent resources. In an attempt to find healing and community, she got involved with on-campus mental health advocacy. That passion stayed well beyond college, and she went on to build an anxiety care app, conduct several research projects on youth wellbeing, publish a wellbeing magazine featuring creatives of color, got involved in grass-roots mental health advocacy and launched a national South Asian Youth Fellowship.  Prameela is also a part of Mental Health America's 2021-2022 Youth Mental Health Leaders Council. And when she's not out building programs or products, you can find her painting, writing poetry, baking or learning how to gracefully fall on roller skates.  We talk about the next generation of mental health advocates (spoiler alert: they are already here!), and how to start the conversation about race and mental health. Follow along at @mannmukti [https://www.instagram.com/mannmukti/].

Mental Health Education with Kyrah Altman

In this episode, Kyrah Altman, co-founder & CEO of LEAD Inc., the industry leader in mental health and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice & Belonging (DEI-JB) education, joins The Okay Days to talk about mental health education. Kyrah's story of social entrepreneurship began at a young age. Let's Empower, Advocate, and Do (LEAD) was founded in 2012 when Kyrah was in high school. The organization's creation was directly catalyzed by the Newtown tragedy, as many of the school shooting's victims were similar ages to Kyrah's younger siblings. Since Kyrah began raising her younger siblings as a pre-teen herself, this horrific tragedy catapulted her and her peers into action. In 2016, Kyrah won $32,500 of seed funding in The George Washington University's New Venture Competition, and incorporated LEAD as a 501(c)3 nonprofit. Through a variety of training, consulting, and coaching services, LEAD empowers individuals with no-fluff and practical education to move beyond awareness. And since LEAD’s founding, Kyrah was named one of 25 Under 25 leading social entrepreneurs, and one of 10 Outstanding Young Leaders by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, among other outstanding recognitions. We talk about LEAD’s 10 years of programming, the differences between mental illness and mental health, and how we can't have mental health education without DEI-JB education to turn awareness into action. Follow along at leadnow.org [https://www.leadnow.org/].

Body Image + Mental Health with Kayla Mills

In this episode, Kayla Mills, a "life enthusiast" sharing moments on the internet, joins The Okay Days to talk about body image and mental health. “Life enthusiast” is a term she uses to describe herself because aside from the daily struggles of life, Kayla believes there are always moments to be excited about.  We talk about body image and mental health: how Kayla uses her Instagram platform to celebrate self-discovery and body neutrality, if we even like resolutions (and checking back in with them), and words for our past and future selves. Follow along at @kaylaleemills [https://www.instagram.com/kaylaleemills/].

Workplace Wellness with Dr. Bailey, Dr. Sawyer & Dr. Grabarek

In this episode, Dr. Bailey, Dr. Sawyer, and Dr. Grabarek join The Okay Days to talk about how organizations can actually take care of their people. Dr. Bailey is a Professor at the George Washington University School of Business, who has designed and delivered hundreds of executive programs for a variety of firms. Dr. Sawyer is an Assistant Professor of Management at GWSB, as well, and her areas of expertise include diversity, work-life balance, leadership, and negative workplace behaviors. Dr. Grabarek has spent her career implementing Industrial/Organizational Psychology solutions to improve wellness, retention, performance, and engagement within organizations. We talk about the connections between psychology and business, how to turn a “trend” into action, and what it looks like to bring your heart to work. Learn more about Dr. Bailey at lessonsonleadership.org [https://lessonsonleadership.org/] and Dr. Sawyer & Dr. Grabarek at workrbeeing.com [https://workrbeeing.com/].