As summer waned and we began looking at how (and when) we would wrap these walks, we kicked around a bunch of ideas to finish this project the 'right' way. Would we do something super meta or reverse roles or document the journey or try a crazy idea like...sitting instead of walking? Not to spoil anything, of course...some ideas are still good enough to try. But instead, we started concentrating on the remaining Walkers themselves. Then more were added. Then a couple more. Suddenly, we were steaming past 50 with no end in sight. And then Liz scheduled a walk with Jeff Greenfield, and with his perfect mix of fun, energy, disruption, sincerity, earnestness, and friendship (not to mention he's an experienced former educational leader carrying the occasionally good demons of a past life too often defined by the position...sound familiar?), it suddenly wasn't a question at all.

Liz and Jeff walk along what sounds at first like a quiet country road, only for it to turn into a highway so Liz could tell her 'hit by a bus' joke one more time. As each explain their experiences during and after their headships, you hear what it's like not to succeed a highly influential leader, but to be succeeded. Personal identities and thought patterns and internal clocks and even dreams. It's a glimpse into the minds of people with plenty of answers behind them and plenty more still to learn...plenty more to do, to laugh at, to live well. Lessons we could all keep in mind as we push forward in this life.

Finally, before we go, one more thank you to all who have had a hand in this project. Whether it's season one or chapter one or the first and final draft, this year has been a real, true, altering experience. Something deliberate. Something special. Something that gave us not just a liferaft at sea, but a purpose amidst the waves. Something that thank you doesn't satisfy, but only a thank you will do. Cheers to this and all that is next.

And thanks for the walk, Jeff. What a way to close it.

#WalkwithMe #MeetMeonthePlayground #Leadership #Parenting #LearningDifferences #Education #Inspiration #GENed #Harvard #HGSE #Friendship #Fun #MiddleSchool #WendyMogel #55 #Retirement #GapYear #Stories

#Fearless

There was a thought at the start of this project that maybe the setting would mean as much as the title. That the physical space would reflect the walker as much as the content. So walks took place in city centers, at sports arenas, in shopping malls for those who knew the ‘secret’ mall walker entrances. Our subseries, Meet Me on the Playground, was originally meant to meet school leaders on...you guessed it...the playgrounds of their schools. It was a fun idea to find another bit of connection or comfort within the piece, if also not a little extra and unnecessary. And while we didn’t abandon it completely, many times, we just met when and where we could, which also meant Liz took special trips on occasion, flying around the country even when it didn’t exactly match the travel schedule at hand. And then today, she walked with an old friend along Lake Tahoe, with sounds of the unending waves slapping against the shore in the distance, droplets separating briefly before reentering as one, and it feels like we’re ending this whole thing in about the most on-the-nose place yet.
Today, Liz walked with William Peters, the author of At Heaven’s Door and founder of the @sharedcrossingproject, and someone who has dedicated much of his life to compassionate care for others at the end of theirs. He talks about some of his early experiences with death, from his own injury to working in a hospice ward, and Liz speaks to his invaluable guidance during her own parents’ passing, particularly when it came to closing unfinished business and accepting the peace that came with it. They also talk about the general mindset around ‘fighting’ death and how a medical model based around framing the most predetermined thing in existence as a failure may need some adjustments.
Thank you. I love you. Goodbye.
What a remarkable conversation. Thanks for walking, William.
#WalkwithMe #WalkwithLiz #GENed #Parenting #Leadership #LearningDifferences #Inspiring #SharedCrossingProject #AtHeavensDoor #SharedDeathExperience #Healing #Hope #Love #Harvard #Friendship #Compassion

The home stretch continues to...stretch...the official Walk count for this project. Again, maybe it's the first season, maybe the first iteration, we're not completely sure. But considering this project seemed to begin with a bit of a blank slate, it's fitting to end with something similarly murky. It sure has worked for us so far! And, to be fair, it's not for lack of planning or outlining and certainly not for lack of steps, but instead it's changed our outlook. Much like a comedian struggling to experience mundanity without finding the funny, we've begun struggling to find impactful people or have impactful conversations without sharing the story. As Liz says, sometimes, 'I don't really know why some of them were involved...yet we're standing in the midst of a conversation and I knew it had to be part of the series.'

Today is one of those stories. Inspiring, connected experiences shared among friends Monica Williams and Carolyn Greenfield, worthy of being shared with others. They walk and talk about aging and how it fits in with modern culture, from social media to medical IEPs, and how the 'Crone Stage' is one of the most beautifully overlooked phases of life.

Thanks for Walking, Monica and Carolyn.

#WalkwithMe #WalkwithLiz #GENed #Parenting #Leadership #LearningDifferences #Inspiring #CroneStage #Crone #Aging #Wisdom #Healthcare #COVID #Jewelry #Passion #HumanDoing

*BONUS WALK WEEK!*

That's right. Fifty schfifty. We're powering right through, though we do have an endpoint in mind. We're coming up on a calendar year since the very first release and we're closing things out with a similar cadence as we began. So, for the next couple of weeks, you'll have a couple of walks to enjoy. Then, in the weeks after that, we'll talk about what's next.

Speaking of mirroring the beginning, today we have a close friend and confidant and someone who Liz has asked for advice on more than one occasion, Jon (JD) Grandstaff. Someone who prides himself on gift giving, personally and professionally, in a unique kind of way...by seeing something in plain sight that others may not see in themselves, or...their companies. Sound familiar? Talk about another theme for these Walks.

But JD's gift is not just meant for clients, but also for those the clients then serve. It's the byproduct of a life spent finding heart hidden in the data, speaking with steady, sometimes brutal honesty, and believing we're all part of the team if we all know the goal.

Thanks for walking, JD. And thanks for being that (tall) lighthouse in the storm.

#WalkwithMe #WalkwithLiz #GENed #Parenting #Leadership #LearningDifferences #Inspiring #Friendship #WritersBlock #Storytelling #Insurance #Lighthouse #Gift

It’s not every day you find someone that you’re able to joke, rant, and just be with, wholly, no matter how much time goes by between visits. Long, philosophical monologues followed by long silences and somehow longer laughs. A single word, ‘Yeah’, providing everything from ‘I agree’ to ‘I’m here’. It’s even rarer to find them in a highly professional setting. And rarer still to find that person across from you in an accreditation review. That last one is pretty specific, to be fair, but the point stands. These relationships come around a handful of times in life. And somehow, as we’ve found throughout this project, finding an hour to talk deliberately, to be interviewed, to tour around the suburbs, well, those times may not happen more than once. So it’s fitting to extend our 50 walks with one of those people, Luke Felker.

Luke is the head of school at The Bay School in San Francisco. He’s someone that believes in the power of that position and in the potential of his school, while simultaneously demanding joy and holding onto enough self awareness and humility to find perspectives beyond his ‘bubble’…and at times in a snow cone maker.

Thanks for meeting on the playground, Luke. Thanks for playing tour guide. And thanks for walking.

#WalkwithMe #MeetMeonthePlayground #Leadership #Parenting #LearningDifferences #Education #Inspiration #GENed #BaySchool #SanFrancisco #Generations #MaryTylerMoore #Moonshot #Joy #BlueSkies #SnowCones

'...this is not going to be a presentation. This is going to be a class discussion...I'm a teacher and a coach at heart.'

If you're hard pressed to choose whether Liz or our 50th (!!) Walker, Kermit Cook, said those words, no one would blame you. When education is in your bones, it spills out in all ways, at all times...no matter where your path leads.

But it was Kermit who said those words, during his hiring process that led to his becoming CEO of Penn Foster, an ever-growing online educational system with roots in helping miners find safer jobs and branches touching thousands of learners who just do not fit into the traditional mold. He embodies that heritage, initially enrolling in the very programs he was set to lead in order to feel the roadblocks for himself. Like a player-coach, the 'student-CEO'. The Bill Russell of vet-tech programming. Kermit is a living example of the 'beginner's mind', of patience in career paths, and of actively learning every step along the way. What a pleasure.

So tag along for our 50th Walk and the newest in the Meet Me on the Playground subseries. Thanks for walking, Kermit.

#WalkwithMe #WalkwithLiz #GENed #Parenting #Leadership #LearningDifferences #Inspiring #PennFosterGroup #OnlineEducation #Teacher #Coach #TeachforAmerica #PrivateEquity #CEO #BeginnersMind #BHAG

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And before we go...50?! FIFTY?! We sat down over a year ago to outline this project, and boy, has this been a labor of love. You can scroll through the blog and see how the writing has changed, how the production has improved, how the walks have expanded. There will be plenty of reflection ahead, but it's important to put a marker down sometimes. And 50 is one for the books. Let us all thank Liz Hofreuter for bringing us together once again.

What improves the quality of one's life? It's easy to think it's the big accomplishments or the great achievements...the wins. But to Jane Fleming, those are just moments. Exciting, life-changing 'bragging rights', to be fair, but moments all the same. It's really about doing what you love, often in the service of others or the greater good. 'In the Nations Service and the Service of Humanity' as scrawled on the crossroads at Princeton's Nassau Hall. Living the motto.
What else? How about going for a walk while REALLY talking to a decades-long friend?
Join Jane and Liz as they talk about the days going left when others went right, embracing mistakes to fail forward, and stepping up to do the special things, even when they don't have to.
Thanks for walking, Jane.
#WalkwithMe #WalkwithLiz #GENed #Parenting #Leadership #LearningDifferences #Inspiring #Teammate #Crew #Princeton #PrincetonCrew #NationalChampion #Coxswain #Princeton89 #Disney #Zombies4 #OpenWater #BowBall

Some of these walks are just wonderful. You get rare insights into people you may have known for years. You hear stories both harrowing and heartfelt and everything in between. Origin stories and quiet struggles and altered perceptions and so many lessons learned along the way. And sometimes, you get a glimpse into 'the life'. An honest, raw, all-over-the-place look at the world of a leader...particularly, in this case, a school leader. The Head. Today's walk is one of those.

James Calleroz White is a school head whose style is built on trust, support, action, and looking at things a little differently...oh and a big, world-defining laugh. He's also real about this job. James doesn't sugarcoat the hard times, like the COVID years, and he doesn't pretend this was the position he always wanted. Instead, James talks about how much respect he's gained as he's lived it. That ever-changing, ever-challenging position and how much work it really entails...deserves.

But that's the job. That exhausting, exhilarating, important, joyful job. In service to everyone and unpredictably everything. What a blast.

#WalkwithMe #MeetMeonthePlayground #Leadership #Parenting #LearningDifferences #Education #Inspiration #GENed #COVID #HeadofSchool #DwightEnglewood #NorthernNJ #Laughter