As 2025 comes to a close, we’re taking a heartfelt pause to reflect on a powerful year of learning, leadership, and HOPE on the Lifting Leaders Podcast. This special year-end episode looks back at the conversations and guests who shaped our thinking, inspired our courage, and reminded us what’s possible when leaders show up with authenticity and purpose.

Join us as we revisit the stories and insights that quieted our early-year worries and transformed them into clarity, connection, and renewed belief in what leaders can create even in complex times. Our guests shared extraordinary wisdom this season, helping us see leadership through the lens of hope, resilience, curiosity, and possibility.

Most of all, this episode is about gratitude for our remarkable guests, and for YOU. Your presence, engagement, and commitment to leading with intention are the heartbeat of this podcast. You are the reason we show up, week after week, to elevate conversations that move leaders and the world, forward.

Listen in as we wrap up 2025 with appreciation, reflection, and an inspired look ahead to 2026. We can’t wait to continue lifting leaders together in the new year.

Lifting Leaders Podcast closes out our 2025 guest lineup with a truly inspiring duo: acclaimed Pacific Northwest landscape photographer Robert LaSelle Chism and his life and creativity partner, Sun So, making her debut on the show.

In this visually rich and deeply human conversation, Robert and Sun share the stories, techniques, and artistry behind Robert’s breathtaking Pacific Northwest landscape photography images known for their vibrant color, depth, and mind-bending perspectives. (Yes…including those “how is that even possible?” puddle shots Sun helps direct.)

You’ll hear how these high school sweethearts found their way back to one another after years apart and built a life filled with creativity, collaboration, and purpose. Together, they offer a rare look into what it means to merge love, art, and a shared vision, transforming everyday moments into extraordinary works of photographic storytelling.

If you’re a photography lover, PNW adventurer, artist, creative professional, or simply someone who loves a beautiful real-life love story, this episode will both inspire and delight.

• How Robert captures iconic Pacific Northwest landscapes with next-level composition

• The creative process and partnership behind his stunning photography

• Tips for seeing the world through a more artistic lens

• How love and reconnection sparked a powerful creative collaboration

• Why everyday scenes (even puddles!) can become extraordinary art

Tune in to enjoy an authentic, heart-centered conversation that blends nature, creativity, and the power of partnership. After this episode, you’ll never look at landscape photography—or love—quite the same way again.

As we close out our “What Brings Us Hope” series, we’re taking time to reflect on the most powerful lessons, insights, and stories shared by our extraordinary guests—leaders, creators, innovators, and everyday changemakers who brought hope to life in meaningful ways.

In this episode, we revisit key themes from the series and highlight the surprising insights, moving stories, and memorable moments that resonated with our listeners. We also share discoveries from our two-year research study on HOPE, including what helps people strengthen hope, sustain it during challenges, and amplify it in community.

Whether you’re new to the series or catching up on episodes you missed, this conversation will leave you feeling inspired, grounded, and ready to carry hope into the future.