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Making Work Fun Again: A Conversation with Jake Brown 2025 author jake-brown podcast-guest Jul 31, 2025

What if your biggest challenge at work, whether it’s a bad boss, a chaotic brain, or burnout from building your own business, was really the doorway to something better?

In my latest episode of the Writing & Influence podcast, I sat down with Jake Brown: author, speaker, coach, and self-proclaimed ...

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From Transactional to Transformational: Bruce Rosenthal on Mastering Corporate Sponsorships 2025 authors podcast podcast-guest podcast-interview Jul 16, 2025

Elaine Acker sits down with Bruce Rosenthal, author of Mastering Association Corporate Sponsorships, to talk about what’s changing in the association world and how associations can unlock game-changing opportunities with the right approach to sponsorship.

Elaine Acker: Bruce, what are the biggest c...

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Writing Stories That Last: A Conversation with Susan Wiggs 2025 authors podcast podcast-guest susan-wiggs writing-and-influence Jul 02, 2025

When bestselling author Susan Wiggs joined me for a conversation, it felt like catching up with an old friend—because it was. We met years (and years) ago while both nurturing our storytelling dreams, and since then, Susan has gone on to write over 50 novels that have touched millions of readers aro...

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What Wyman Meinzer Taught Me About Seeing Texas—and Telling Its Stories 2025 podcast podcast-guest podcast-interview wyman-meinzer Jun 20, 2025

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I met Wyman Meinzer, the State Photographer of Texas, nearly thirty years ago when I was writing magazine features and ad campaigns for Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine. Wyman was out in the field, chasing light across forgotten corners of the state with his camera. H...

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No Comment Is a Comment: Kristi Piehl on Crisis, Leadership, and Owning Your Story 2025 kristi-piehl podcast podcast-guest podcast-interview writing-and-influence Jun 05, 2025

From the newsroom to the boardroom, Kristi Piehl has built a career on the power of storytelling. As the founder and CEO of Media Minefield, she’s redefining PR and showing leaders how to communicate with clarity, confidence, and heart. In this episode, we sat down to talk about leadership in a cris...

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Branding Through Transition: A Q&A with Sarah Sears of S Design 2025 branding marketing podcast podcast-guest podcast-interview sarah-sears May 23, 2025

When I attended GROW 2025 earlier this year, I realized something: for a few reasons, I needed to rebrand and relaunch my podcast. The decision wasn’t dramatic, but even a small shift like that came with a surprising number of moving parts. At the same event, I had the chance to reconnect with Sarah...

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“Everything You Want Is on the Other Side of Fear”: A Conversation with Scott Ballard 2025 podcast podcast-guest podcast-interview scott-ballard writing-and-influence May 09, 2025

In the first episode of Writing & Influence under our new name, I sat down with Scott Ballard—a leadership coach, entrepreneur, and as many know him, “The Confidence Coach.” Scott’s story is one of resilience, transformation, and purpose, and he’s helped everyone from CEOs to NFL players rediscover ...

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