Who's taking care of you?

As leaders, we're often the people everyone depends on. We solve problems. We support our teams. We pour into students, colleagues, friends, and family.

But who pours into us?

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Kevina Brown and Samantha Hernandez, two leaders I've known and admired for years. We talk about the people who saw something in us before we could see it ourselves, how those moments shaped the leaders we've become, and why even experienced leaders need spaces where they can be honest, supported, and reminded of their worth.

What I found most fascinating was how different our stories were, yet they all led us to the same place.

Kevina shared how, as one of only a handful of Black students in her elementary school, her second-grade teacher cast her—a little Black girl—as the king in the school play.

She said, "In that single action, she gave me wings."

Sam talked about the mentors who saw potential in her long before she believed it herself and how those experiences shaped the way she now leads and serves students.

Listening to both of them reminded me that leadership doesn't begin with a title. It begins with someone believing in us. And sometimes, years later, we still need someone to remind us of who we are.

I also realized we weren't just talking about leadership. We were talking about the people everyone else depends on.

Who's taking care of them?

I hope this conversation reminds you that leadership was never meant to be a solo journey.

Dr. Kevina Brown has more than 20 years of experience in higher education and currently serves as Community Relations Specialist and a part-time lecturer at San José State University. Throughout her career, she has been committed to student success, educational leadership, and creating spaces where students feel seen, supported, and empowered. A proud member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., she believes leadership begins with helping people feel seen, heard, and valued.

Samantha F. Hernandez serves as Director of Student Engagement, Director of Student Needs, Undocumented Student Liaison, and Advisor to Student Government at a California community college. A Latina and first-generation college graduate, Samantha has dedicated her career to ensuring students have the support they need to thrive. Since 2019, she has led the growth of her college's basic needs program, expanding resources for food security, housing, financial stability, and wellness. She believes education changes lives when students feel safe, seen, and empowered.

Dr. Debra Griffith is the founder of Do Better Coaching & Consulting, where she coaches senior leaders, develops executive teams, and partners with organizations to build stronger leadership and healthier workplace cultures. With nearly three decades of leadership experience across higher education and 6–12 education, she has dedicated her career to helping leaders navigate complexity, strengthen relationships, and create meaningful change.

Through her podcast, coaching, consulting, and speaking, Debra creates conversations that help people make sense of the experiences that shape who they become. She believes leadership is deeply personal, our greatest lessons often come through one another, and we are all still becoming.

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

Learn more about executive coaching, consulting, speaking, and the ROOTS leadership community:
https://www.dobettercoachingandconsulting.com

What does it look like to stop living in survival mode and actually listen to what your nervous system has been asking for all along?

In this episode of Do Better with Debra, I'm joined by Zabie Yamasaki for a deeply grounding, expansive conversation about healing, boundaries, and learning how to choose ease in a world that rewards overextension. This is a conversation about slowing down, honoring capacity, and remembering that rest is not collapse, it's care.

Zabie shares her journey as a survivor, healer, educator, and mother, and how her lived experiences shaped the work she now offers to others. We talk honestly about trauma, hypervigilance, and the ways survival mode can quietly become our baseline, especially for women of color, caregivers, and those working in systems that demand constant giving.

We explore how boundaries live in the body, why "boundary work is nervous system work," and what happens when we stop overriding the signals our bodies send us. Zabie reflects on the moments that led her to write Protect Your Energy, a book that reads less like instruction and more like a restorative inhale, gentle, spacious, and deeply affirming.

This conversation weaves together stories of loss, resilience, activism, and healing, while naming the exhaustion so many of us carry but rarely say out loud. We talk about toxic work environments, the pressure to overperform, redefining success, and learning to ask for and receive, what we deserve.

If you are tired, carrying too much, or questioning whether another way is possible, this episode is an invitation to pause. You don't need to fix anything. You don't need to do more. You just need to listen.

My hope is that you hear something that reminds you that your body is wise, your capacity matters, and you are allowed to choose yourself, without guilt.

• Survival mode often shows up quietly and can become normalized over time

• Boundary work is not just cognitive; it lives in the nervous system and the body

• Rest is not collapse it can be restorative when practiced with intention

• Honoring capacity requires slowing down and learning to trust bodily cues

• Healing does not require perfection or completion; it can happen right in the middle

Zabie Yamasaki, M.Ed., RYT is the founder of Transcending Trauma through Yoga and a nationally recognized trauma-informed yoga instructor, resilience educator, consultant, and keynote speaker. Her work centers nervous system regulation, embodied healing, and supporting trauma survivors through accessible, compassionate practices.

Zabie's yoga as healing curriculum is implemented at over fifty college campuses and trauma agencies across the country, including the University of California system, Stanford, Yale, USC, Notre Dame, and Johns Hopkins University. She is the author of multiple books and healing tools, including Protect Your Energy: A Gentle Guide to Nurture Your Nervous System, Cultivate Rest, and Honor Your Needs.

She lives in Los Angeles with her partner and children and sees her sensitivity and softness as her greatest strength.

Connect with Zabie:
Instagram: @transcending_trauma_with_yoga
Website: zyamasaki.com

Debra Y. Griffith, Ed.D. is an executive coach, consultant, and the voice behind Do Better with Debra. She currently serves as Chief Equity Programs Officer at Alliance College-Ready Public Schools in Los Angeles, where she leads system-wide equity strategy focused on belonging, college readiness, and postsecondary success.

With more than 25 years in education and leadership, Debra supports women of color leaders navigating transition, complexity, and change, without abandoning themselves in the process.

Connect with Debra:

Website: www.dobetterexecutivecoaching.com

LinkedIn: Debraygriffith

Instagram: @dobetterwithdebra

Subscribe to Do Better with Debra on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.