Episode Description

Most leadership or mission-driven podcasts don’t dive into politics. But when promises meant to save lives hang in the balance, it becomes a moral question — and leadership matters more than ever.

In this episode of Mission Driven You, I talk with Shawn VanDiver, founder and President of #AfghanEvac, a coalition of over 250 organizations that works with the U.S. government to relocate and resettle Afghan allies who served alongside American forces. Shawn’s leadership is born from crisis: it began during the chaotic fall of Afghanistan in 2021 and has grown into a global effort to fulfill a sacred promise to those left behind.

Our conversation is gritty, urgent, and full of nuance. We explore how #AfghanEvac operates at the intersection of civic duty, diplomacy, and moral conviction. We dig into the politics of refugee policy, broken systems, moral accountability, and what it takes to sustain a mission when media attention fades.

If you lead anything — a company, a nonprofit, a team, or even a movement — this episode is a call: when structures falter, it’s the character and courage of a few that determine whether promises are kept or abandoned.

Show Notes

In this episode, we cover:

• The story of how #AfghanEvac began — the phone call from Urgun, the military background, and the leap into coalition building
• Shawn’s transition from Navy veteran and civic strategist to founding and scaling #AfghanEvac across 250+ organizations (Gaslamp Consulting)
• How the coalition partners with the U.S. State Department through a Memorandum of Understanding, renewing government–civic collaboration (#AfghanEvac)
• The current crisis: refugee freezes, shifting U.S. policy, stalled pipelines, and what VanDiver calls “worse than the withdrawal” for many Afghans (The Diplomat)
• Systemic breakdowns: SIV (Special Immigrant Visa) pathways, U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) freezes, bottlenecks, and geopolitical risk (WORLD)
• Stories of individual stakes — the Afghans whose lives hang in the balance, whose service is caught in bureaucratic limbo (NBC 7 San Diego)
• How Shawn and his team maintain trust, accountability, and operational integrity across NGOs, governments, and families
• Moral questions of abandonment, betrayal, and what it means to lead in the gap between promise and policy
• Leadership lessons: sustaining mission under pressure, building systems when there is chaos, and how to lead “in between” institutions
• What listeners can do today — advocacy, awareness, supporting resettlement efforts, or amplifying marginalized voices

Why Listen & Key Takeaways

• Leadership in crisis demands more than vision — it demands grit, humility, systems, and moral clarity
• The promises made to wartime allies are not optional — their fulfillment speaks to national integrity and character
• Policy and bureaucracy are not abstract; they shape whether lives are saved or lost
• Coalitions and...

Episode Description

We’re living in a moment of turbulence not seen in higher education—or perhaps in leadership in general—for decades. Political pressure, financial stress, cultural division, campus protests, and debates about belonging and identity are all colliding in ways that make leadership feel impossibly hard.

In this episode of Mission Driven You, I speak with Beverly Daniel Tatum, distinguished psychologist and former president of Spelman College and interim president of Mount Holyoke, about her new book Peril and Promise: College Leadership in Turbulent Times. Drawing on years of leadership, rigorous research, and real crises, Beverly doesn't flinch from the threats facing our institutions—but she also insists there is hope, and that leadership grounded in values, courage, and clarity can make a difference.

This isn’t just for college presidents or university deans. If you’re an entrepreneur, executive, community leader—or anyone who carries responsibility in an organization—what Beverly shares here matters. We explore what it takes to lead when the ground is shifting, how to build belonging even amid conflict, and what character looks like when pressure is high.

Show Notes

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

• What Peril and Promise means by “peril” — the political, financial, cultural, and demographic threats higher education is currently facing. (Hachette Book Group)
• How Beverly defines “promise” — where opportunity still exists, especially through leadership, values-based decision-making, inclusive community, and courage in the face of resistance. (Forbes)
• The declining average tenure of university presidents (now under six years) and what that tells us about the speed and intensity of today's challenges. (Forbes)
• The role of belonging (affirming identity, building community, cultivating leadership) in helping students, faculty, and staff thrive—even when political pressure or cultural backlash is intense. (The Englewood Review of Books)
• How institutions can lean into free speech tensions: balancing respect, safety, academic freedom, and open dialogue. What decisions leaders are being forced to make. (Kirkus Reviews)
• Real case studies of leadership under pressure—how certain institutions have responded to threats, protests, and financial strain with integrity and vision. (Forbes)
• Lessons in character and governance: what board leadership should look like, how to sustain values under external attack, and why the internal culture of leadership matters. (Forbes)
• What “coherence in chaos” might look like for organizations outside academia: how lessons from...

Episode Description

What separates the people who keep showing up from those who quit when it gets hard?

In this episode of Mission Driven You, I talk with Dre Baldwin—also known as Dre All Day—a former professional basketball player who’s built a global personal development brand around his Work on Your Game philosophy. With over 40 books published and more than 30,000 pieces of content created, Dre’s story is proof that consistency beats talent, and discipline outlasts motivation.

We dive into Dre’s journey from the basketball court to the stage and the digital arena, unpack the four pillars of his framework—discipline, confidence, mental toughness, and personal initiative—and explore how his “third day” principle explains why most people fail before they even get started.

If you’ve ever struggled to stay consistent or wondered how to build the presence and power that commands a room, this conversation will give you both the strategy and the inspiration to work on your game.

Show Notes

In this episode, we cover:

• Dre’s journey from professional basketball to building a global personal development brand
• Why he’s published tens of thousands of pieces of content without a single viral moment—and why that’s the point
• The story behind Work on Your Game and its four pillars:
• Discipline: showing up every day
• Confidence: putting yourself out there boldly
• Mental toughness: staying the course when results don’t come quickly
• Personal initiative: making things happen instead of waiting for permission
• The “third day” principle: why excitement fades, resistance kicks in, and success depends on whether you push through
• How content creation has evolved from YouTube’s early days to today’s algorithm-driven platforms
• The importance of owning your audience instead of being owned by platforms
• Why communication—writing, speaking one-to-one, and speaking to groups—is the most valuable skill for any leader

Resources & Links:

• 🌐 Dre’s website: workonyourgame.com
• 📚 Explore Dre’s books: Dre Baldwin on Amazon
• 🎙️ Listen to Dre’s podcast: Work On Your Game Podcast
• 📱 Follow Dre: LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube