Choosing Who We Become: A Conversation with Olden Carr

Who do we become when life doesn't unfold the way we expected?

Few of us escape disappointment, regret, or unexpected turns. The question isn't whether life changes us—it's how we choose to respond.

In this episode of Moving Forward: Conversations on Culture, Identity, Healing, and Hope, Linda Anderson sits down with Olden Carr for a thoughtful conversation about accountability, faith, leadership, grace, and the lifelong work of becoming the person we are meant to be.

Although Olden grew up in New Jersey, he didn't discover football until college. The sport became an important part of his identity, teaching perseverance, discipline, teamwork, and leadership.

During those same years, one tragic event changed the course of his life. Rather than searching for excuses, Olden chose a path of accountability, reflection, healing, and purpose.

He went on to build a respected career as a business leader, earning the trust of colleagues and communities through integrity and service. Instead of allowing one chapter of his life to define him, he chose to let it shape the kind of leader, husband, father, friend, and person he wanted to become.

His journey also led him to restorative justice and conversations with leading voices in the field, including David Karp at the Kroc School of Peace Studies, where he came to understand that accountability and healing are deeply connected.

As he prepares to return to New Jersey and begin another chapter, Olden reflects on purpose, legacy, and the relationships that shaped his life.

This conversation isn't about the worst moment of one man's life.

It's about choosing responsibility, extending grace, and using life's hardest lessons to serve others.

In This Episode, You'll Hear About:

• Discovering football in college and the lessons it taught about leadership and perseverance.

• The life-changing event that reshaped Olden's future.

• Building a career rooted in integrity, trust, and service.

• How faith provided strength through seasons of challenge.

• The relationship between forgiveness, grace, and accountability.

• What restorative justice taught him about healing and redemption.

• Returning home to New Jersey and reflecting on purpose and legacy.

• Why authentic relationships matter more than titles.

• The wisdom he would share with his younger self.

Whether you've experienced regret, loss, or unexpected change, this conversation reminds us that our past does not have to define our future.

What defines us is the courage to take responsibility, continue growing, and use our experiences to make a difference in the lives of others.

Memorable Quote

"While we cannot change the past, we can choose how we respond to it—and how we use our experiences to serve others."

Connect with the PodcastIf this conversation encouraged you, please subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who believes in the power of accountability, faith, grace, and hope.

Because moving forward isn't about pretending the past never happened.

It's about choosing, every day, the person we are becoming.

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Music by Maksym_Dudchyk from Pixabay

Podcast produced by Ury Gonzalez

With Guest Host Ury Gonzalez, Prince Padania, Roxane Jablonski-Liu, and Judy Cuturrufo

Throughout our lives, we are known by many roles—educator, leader, parent, mentor, and friend.

In this special episode of Moving Forward, the spotlight turns to host Linda Anderson as the third installment in a four-part series exploring the different chapters of her life. After conversations about Linda as a wife and as a mother, this episode focuses on the role that shaped more than three decades of service: educator.

For this conversation, the microphone is handed to Ury Gonzalez, producer of the Moving Forward podcast. Since the show's beginning, Ury has worked behind the scenes to help bring each episode to life. In this special role reversal, he steps into the host's chair to guide a thoughtful conversation about Linda's own journey as an educator.

Joining Ury are three people who each represent a unique chapter of Linda's educational journey.

Prince Padania first met Linda as her sixth-grade student teacher and has since built a career as an inspiring kindergarten teacher who believes children learn best through play, curiosity, and joy. His perspective reflects the lasting influence of mentorship and the importance of investing in the next generation of educators.

Roxane Jablonski-Liu is a respected educational leader whose career has spanned classroom teaching, principalship, district leadership, and human resources. She served as Principal of Oliveira Elementary before Linda, and Linda later had the privilege of succeeding her in that role. Roxane offers the perspective of someone who understands both the opportunities and challenges of leading a school community.

Judy Cuturrufo has shared much of her professional journey with Linda. Together, they helped launch the Curriculum and Instruction Department in Fremont Unified School District, where Judy served as an instructional coach, Program Manager, and English Language Development (ELD) specialist. Today, she teaches third grade at Warwick Elementary School in Fremont, California, and serves as a Student Teacher Supervisor for San José State University.

Together, Prince, Roxane, and Judy ask the questions that invite Linda to reflect on the experiences, people, and moments that shaped her career—from discovering her calling as an educator to navigating leadership challenges, building meaningful relationships, mentoring others, and finding hope in every season.

The conversation concludes with a fun round of rapid-fire questions from Prince, revealing another side of Linda beyond the principal's office.

More than a conversation about one career, this episode is a celebration of the relationships that define a life in education. It reminds us that leadership is not measured by titles or accomplishments alone, but by the people we encourage, the communities we build, and the opportunities we create for others.

Whether you're an educator, school leader, parent, or someone reflecting on your own journey, this conversation is a reminder that our greatest legacy is found in the lives we help shape.

Connect with Linda Anderson

Moving Forward: Conversations on Culture, Identity, Healing, and Hope explores the stories that shape who we are and the experiences that help us move forward with purpose.

If you enjoyed this episode, please follow the podcast, share it with someone who would appreciate Linda's story, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform.

You can also continue the conversation through Linda's weekly Substack, Open Doors, where she writes about leadership, identity, belonging, and the unexpected doors that continue to open throughout life's journey.

If you have a comment or question please email us at themovingforwardpodcast@gmail.com

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Music by Maksym_Dudchyk from Pixabay

Podcast produced by Ury Gonzalez

Our titles may introduce us, but our stories connect us.

In this heartfelt episode of Moving Forward: Conversations on Culture, Identity, Healing, and Hope, Linda Anderson welcomes educator, leadership coach, author, and Mandala Rising founder Dr. Cheryl Wozniak.

After more than 35 years in education—as a teacher, principal, assistant superintendent, and now consultant and coach—Cheryl continues to help schools create environments where every child and every adult feels seen, valued, and like they belong. But this conversation reaches far beyond education.

Together, Linda and Cheryl explore what it truly means to believe, "I am enough."

Drawing from her children's book, I Am Enough Just As I Am, Cheryl reflects on the experiences that shaped her life, the importance of quieting our inner critic, and why so many of us spend our lives trying to earn worth that has always been ours.

They also discuss:

• Why belonging begins within ourselves.

• How our experiences of being seen—and unseen—shape the way we lead.

• The evolution of leadership from managing people to nurturing humanity.

• Supporting educators while protecting their own well-being.

• Why retirement wasn't the end of Cheryl's purpose, but the beginning of a new chapter through Mandala Rising.

• The wisdom her grandchildren continue to teach her about joy, curiosity, play, and being fully present.

• Her hopes for the future of education—and for a world where every child knows they matter.

Whether you're an educator, leader, parent, or someone navigating your own journey of identity and purpose, this conversation offers a powerful reminder that our value is not something we achieve—it's something we already possess.

As Cheryl beautifully reminds us:

"You are enough, just as you are."

If this episode encourages you, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who may need this reminder today.

Connect with Dr. Cheryl Wozniak

• Mandala Rising• I Am Enough Just As I Am (Children's Book)

Moving Forward: Conversations on Culture, Identity, Healing, and Hope

Hosted by Linda Anderson, Moving Forward features conversations with educators, leaders, authors, and changemakers whose stories inspire us to grow, heal, and move forward with hope and purpose.

Because our titles may introduce us...

...but our stories connect us.

If you have a comment or question please email us at themovingforwardpodcast@gmail.com

Follow us on:

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Music by Maksym_Dudchyk from Pixabay

Podcast produced by Ury Gonzalez