What does it take to journey from childhood singing stages in Dallas and finding sanctuary in a Black church choir to co-founding a groundbreaking board readiness program that has placed over 300 diverse leaders into corporate boardrooms?

In this episode of No Boxes, Just Verses, host Shannon Nash sits down with longtime friend, higher education executive, and board diversity champion Dennis Lanham, Executive Director of Executive and Professional Education at the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business. Dennis shares the candid, multi-layered story of growing up in Pleasant Grove, Dallas, finding solace from household trauma through church music, becoming the line-named "Scholar" chapter president of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. at the University of North Texas, and eventually leading global member services at the fraternity's Washington, D.C. headquarters.

Dennis details his deliberate pivot into university-based executive education, from rebuilding operations at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln to arriving in Silicon Valley at Santa Clara University. There, he fully embraced living authentically, tapped into corporate governance, and co-founded the Women’s Corporate Board Readiness program and the acclaimed Black Corporate Board Readiness Program (BCBR) alongside Dr. Thane Kreiner and veteran board leaders. Dennis also outlines his latest chapter in Atlanta, detailing how Terry College is tackling the executive retirement cliff with practice-forward AI leadership laboratories and launching its inaugural Corporate Directors Forum.

Dennis Lanham is Executive Director of Executive and Professional Education at the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business. With more than 20 years of experience, he builds leadership programs and corporate partnerships that help leaders grow and organizations perform more effectively. Dennis is also an experienced faculty member and a national leader in university-based executive education. He currently serves on the board of directors of UNICON, the Global Consortium of University Based Executive Education. He co-founded the Black Corporate Board Readiness and Women’s Corporate Board Readiness programs, whose alumni have filled more than 300 corporate board seats. Across his career, Dennis has focused on developing leaders for greater responsibility and helping organizations build the talent, capabilities, and leadership pipelines needed for long-term success.

Key Takeaways:

• Creative arts and early performance experience can build foundational confidence, cross-cultural fluency, and social adaptability across diverse environments.
• Chosen community and faith networks often provide essential stability, shelter, and encouragement during seasons of domestic instability and personal trial.
• Purpose-driven involvement in historical organizations can redefine notions of brotherhood, social justice, and organizational stewardship.
• Stepping out on faith and relocating to unfamiliar geographic regions accelerates leadership agility and breaks through comfort zones.
• Leadership requires consistent practice, embracing inevitable mistakes, and staying prepared long before formal opportunities emerge.
• Authentic inclusion in executive governance demands deliberate community infrastructure that connects qualified, board-ready talent directly with sitting corporate directors.
• Navigating executive workforce transitions and AI adoption requires structured leadership pathways tailored directly to the distinct operating competencies required at each management level.

Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, please follow, rate, and review the podcast!

CONNECT WITH DENNIS LANHAM:

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

University Program: Executive & Professional Education at Terry College of Business

Corporate Governance: Learn more about the upcoming inaugural Corporate Directors Forum (March 18–19) and custom workforce programs at the University of Georgia.

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Theme Song: No Boxes Just Verses by Thane Kreiner (Suno)

What does it take to evolve from an accidental technical recruiter to a four-time Chief Human Resources Officer, public company board director, and pioneer of workplace transformations at Apple, Goldman Sachs, Atlassian, and Pagaya?

In this episode of No Boxes, Just Verses, host Shannon Nash sits down with globally recognized executive, corporate board director, and author Tami Rosen to explore why people strategy is the ultimate business strategy. From growing up on Long Island with a blended family and a special-needs stepbrother to launching Wall Street’s first LGBTQ+ ally program, guiding Pagaya through a de-SPAC transaction to over $1 billion in revenue, and earning a rare seat as an insider board director, Tami shares the mindset, music, and pivotal relationships behind her career. She also previews her upcoming book, Super Human Companies, unpacking why investing deliberately in human capability will always outperform technology alone.

Tami Rosen is a globally recognized executive, four-time Chief Human Resources Officer, corporate board director, and thought leader with more than 25 years of experience building high-performing organizations. She previously served as Chief Human Resources Officer and Chief Development Officer at Pagaya, where she was the first C-suite executive and helped guide the company from a high-growth startup through its public listing to over $1 billion in revenue. Across her career, she has led workforce integrations for Apple's $3 billion acquisition of Beats by Dre, pioneered Atlassian’s Team Anywhere remote work model, held HR leadership roles at Luminar Technologies, and launched Wall Street's first LGBTQ+ ally initiative at Goldman Sachs. She serves on the boards of Pagaya, the Elie Wiesel Foundation, and Sarah Creal Beauty, and is an ambassador for Fortune’s Most Powerful Women community.

Key Takeaways:

• Viewing personal and cognitive differences as a competitive advantage fosters natural empathy and strengthens organizational leadership.
• Early non-linear jobs provide unexpected foundational skills that connect directly to major leadership opportunities decades later.
• Executive sponsorship is earned by consistently delivering exceptional work rather than through formal requests or transactional networking.
• Treating critical feedback as an opportunity to grow enables leaders to turn career disappointments into long-term advancement.
• Stepping outside familiar corporate ecosystems and taking calculated geographical and cultural risks accelerates executive capability.
• Investing in people strategies and organizational culture builds the essential resilience needed to navigate technological and economic dislocations.
• Corporate boards gain critical strategic oversight by appointing people strategists who understand how human capital directly drives business performance.

Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, please follow, rate, and review the podcast!

CONNECT WITH TAMI ROSEN:

LinkedIn

Playlist

Boards & Governance: Pagaya, Sarah Creal Beauty, and the Elie Wiesel Foundation

Forthcoming Book: Super Human Companies

CONNECT WITH SHANNON:

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Theme Song: No Boxes Just Verses by Thane Kreiner (Suno)

What does it take to rise from the youngest of 12 children in Altadena, California, to Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Gap Inc., and now Chief Executive Officer of Journey?

In this episode of No Boxes, Just Verses, host Shannon Nash sits down with legal executive, workplace strategist, and CEO Yolanda Sanders to explore how access, community, and personal resilience shape transformational leadership. From walking to the library every Friday with her mother to venturing to UC Berkeley, balancing big law litigation with motherhood, battling a life-threatening autoimmune disorder, and steering an 80,000-employee global retailer through the COVID-19 pandemic amid profound personal loss, Yolanda shares the hard-won wisdom behind her journey. She also discusses how Journey is democratizing executive sponsorship and opening doors for accomplished women to expand their impact across industries.

Yolanda Sanders is the first Chief Executive Officer of Journey, a leadership organization dedicated to accelerating the impact of accomplished women by connecting them with influential champions, peer cohorts, and high-level leadership development. Prior to leading Journey, Yolanda spent more than two decades at Gap Inc., serving as Senior Vice President and General Counsel, where she led the global legal department, oversaw brand legal operations for Athleta, and spearheaded the enterprise-wide task force responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier in her career, she clerked for a magistrate judge in the Northern District of California, practiced complex litigation and employment law at Morrison & Foerster, and founded a consulting practice specializing in workplace strategy, executive coaching, and organizational investigations. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and a law degree from UC San Francisco Law (formerly UC Hastings).

Key Takeaways:

• Access to education serves as a primary pathway out of poverty when backed by intentional family encouragement and consistent community support.
• Stepping away from familiar environments allows emerging leaders to shed family expectations and discover their authentic identity.
• Skepticism from peers can serve as fuel to prove capabilities rather than a deterrent to pursuing ambitious goals.
• Building deep, intentional community in academic and professional spaces provides the essential foundation to sustain long-term career growth.
• Career growth rarely follows a straight path, requiring leaders to adapt to non-linear opportunities and personal family transitions.
• Prioritizing personal health and maintaining firm boundaries is required to avoid depleting the personal energy needed to sustain executive work.
• Unlocking executive opportunities for accomplished women relies on deliberate access and executive sponsorship rather than a shortage of talent.

Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, please follow, rate, and review the podcast!

CONNECT WITH YOLANDA SANDERS:

LinkedIn

Journey to Lead

Leadership Summit (Feb 3-5 2027)

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CONNECT WITH SHANNON:

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LinkedIn Shannon | LinkedIn NBJV

Theme Song: No Boxes Just Verses by Thane Kreiner (Suno)

What does it take to go from dodging stick-up kids in inner-city Baltimore to selling two venture-backed tech startups to publicly traded companies and leading moonshots at Alphabet’s X?

In this episode of No Boxes, Just Verses, host Shannon Nash sits down with serial entrepreneur, futurist, and Co-Founder AI founder Clarence Wooten. From teaching college-level 3D computer animation at age 19 to raising millions in Silicon Valley, surviving the rollercoaster of early wealth, and co-parenting two standout STEM daughters, Clarence shares the music, mindset, and pivotal lessons that shaped his journey. He also pulls back the curtain on his latest venture, Co-Founder AI, and how agentic technology is democratizing entrepreneurship so anyone can build their own ladder.

Clarence Wooten is a serial entrepreneur, futurist, and technology executive building CoFounder.AI, an agentic AI business partner that helps entrepreneurs build, launch, and grow companies. Inspired by his book, CoFounder.AI, the company draws on his experience as Executive Entrepreneur in Residence at Google [X], Alphabet’s moonshot factory, where he led teams developing breakthrough AI and blockchain technologies. Clarence co-founded and led two venture-backed startups to acquisitions by publicly traded companies: ImageCafe, acquired by Network Solutions, and Progressly, acquired by Box. His experience spans SaaS, AI, and product innovation, and he is an advisor to many founders and investors. Clarence graduated magna cum laude, earning degrees in Business Management from Johns Hopkins Carey Business School and Computer-Aided Design from the Community College of Baltimore County. He is an inductee of the National Community College Hall of Fame and the subject of a Babson College case study. His proudest role, however, is being the father of two daughters—whom he calls “the best two startups I’ll ever create.”

Key Takeaways:

• Changing your environment can completely alter your worldview by shifting your focus from physical survival to intellectual growth and long-term ambition.
• Nurturing environments can accelerate early talent far beyond traditional timelines, giving non-traditional students the room to master skills and step into leadership roles early.
• True entrepreneurial longevity requires mastering both cash and customers so you never become entirely dependent on a single corporate paycheck.
• Major commercial breakthroughs often look like overnight sensations to outsiders despite requiring a decade of unglamorous behind-the-scenes iteration.
• Co-parenting and prioritizing intentional time with your children during their formative years yields far more lasting fulfillment than any business milestone.
• Experiencing startup setbacks provides the necessary data and resilience to refine your strategy rather than serving as permanent career defeats.
• Agentic technology can serve as the ultimate bootstrapping partner by leveling the playing field for non-technical founders across every industry.

Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, please follow, rate, and review the podcast!

CONNECT WITH CLARENCE WOOTEN:

Cofounder.AI

https://clarencewooten.com

https://linkedin.com/in/cwooten

@clarencewooten (X / Twitter)

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CONNECT WITH SHANNON:

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Theme Song: No Boxes Just Verses by Thane Kreiner (Suno)

Executive leadership is rarely a straight line—it is built on adapting to unexpected turns, mastering the art of influence, and learning that your career is not defined by an arbitrary five-year plan. Betsy Tong—leadership and operational strategy advisor, international business executive, and leading LinkedIn voice on artificial intelligence—has spent her career bridging the gap between strategic ambition and real-world execution. In this episode of No Boxes, Just Verses, Betsy joins Shannon Nash to share her journey from a self-described third-generation revolutionary in suburban Boston to war-zone reporting research, high-stakes M&A at Lenovo and IBM, family caregiving, and entering her unapologetic mic-drop era.

Betsy Tong is an executive leadership and operational strategy advisor who specializes in shortening the distance between a company’s announced strategy and what actually gets accomplished. Over her multi-decade career across leading global enterprises—including PwC, IBM, Lenovo, and Symantec—she has led major corporate restructurings affecting over 1,500 people, built a $500 million business in under five years, and directed large-scale international integrations across Europe and Asia. Today, Betsy is a prominent strategic voice reaching over one million readers weekly on LinkedIn, where she demystifies generative AI for non-technical leaders and advocates against automating people out of meaningful work. She holds a master’s degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

Key Takeaways:

• Honed during her time as a police reporter in Texas, the ability to ask incisive questions remains the most essential leadership skill in a world where AI commoditizes answers.
• Rising in executive leadership hinges on emotional intelligence and managing relationships rather than simply trying to be the smartest person in the room.
• Building lasting personal and professional networks requires roughly 200 hours of shared investment, making graduate school an invaluable space for long-term relationships.
• Abandoning rigid five-year plans and saying yes to unexpected opportunities leads to the most significant career breakthroughs.
• Navigating sudden personal tragedies revealed that human connection and presence matter far more than corporate accolades or climbing the ladder.
• Generative tools should be used to elevate human work and fix foundational processes rather than automate people out of their jobs.
• Reaching the mic-drop era means confidently pursuing your own path without feeling the need to justify your boundaries or choices to anyone else.

Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, please follow, rate, and review the podcast!

CONNECT WITH BETSY TONG:

LinkedIn

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LinkedIn Shannon | LinkedIn NBJV

Theme Song: No Boxes Just Verses by Thane Kreiner (Suno)

True leadership is built on recognizing that the mission is always bigger than your own ambition. It requires the humility to embrace being unboxed by the world, the courage to operate outside your comfort zone, and the wisdom to know when to pass the torch so the next generation can lead. Michael Strautmanis—Chief Corporate Affairs Officer of the Obama Foundation, former White House advisor, and longtime civic advocate—has spent his life working at the intersection of public policy, social impact, and community development. In our Season 3 premiere of No Boxes, Just Verses, Mike joins Shannon Nash to share his journey from a theater-loving kid on Chicago's South Side to the halls of the West Wing, executive leadership at Disney, and coming full circle to build the Obama Presidential Center.

Michael Strautmanis serves as the Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at the Obama Foundation, leading the strategy to extend President and Mrs. Obama's legacy by building the Obama Presidential Center as an economic and cultural anchor on Chicago's South Side. In this role, he oversees community affairs, government relations, strategic partnerships, and digital storytelling while developing the city's next generation of civic leaders. He also leads the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance, President Obama's signature initiative dedicated to creating safe, healthy, and nurturing communities for boys and young men of color nationwide.

Prior to his work at the Foundation, Mike spent over a decade in Washington, D.C., including four years in the Obama White House as Chief of Staff to Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett in the Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs. His distinguished public service career includes roles in the House of Representatives, the American Association for Justice, and the U.S. Agency for International Development. Following his first term in the administration, Mike joined The Walt Disney Company to lead enterprise corporate social responsibility initiatives. He holds a bachelor’s degree and a J.D. from the University of Illinois and remains an active civic leader serving on multiple Chicago boards, including Choose Chicago, World Business Chicago, and Interfaith America.

Key Takeaways:

• Refuse to let other people’s assumptions put you in a box; use your unique presence, perspective, and background as an operational superpower to chart your own course.
• Protect the foundational anchors of your life—faith, marriage, and family—recognizing that professional success means very little without strong personal grounding and mutual commitment.
• Learn to listen deeply to what lies beneath people’s words, developing the emotional intelligence to understand institutional systems so you can effectively reform them from within.
• Keep your ego in check by remembering that true public service and high-impact leadership are never about you; they are about the collective legacy and the communities you touch.
• Cultivate the grace to recognize when your season in a role has ended, willingly stepping aside to empower and elevate rising leaders.
• Anchor your work in relentless optimism, leaning into faith and joy even when navigating complex headwinds, crises, or loss.

Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, please follow, rate, and review the podcast!

CONNECT WITH MICHAEL STRAUTMANIS:

LinkedIn: Michael Strautmanis

The Obama Presidential Center: obama.org

Music by Michael Damani: Instagram

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CONNECT WITH SHANNON:

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LinkedIn Shannon | LinkedIn NBJV

Theme Song: No Boxes Just Verses by Thane Kreiner (Suno)

True leadership requires an unrelenting willingness to step up to the plate, risk constant public rejection, and fundamentally alter your trajectory when your target market changes. For Martin Blencowe—co-founder of the tech unicorn Cameo and founder of Endorsed—success is a direct byproduct of a relentless athletic work ethic and the humility to prioritize your core personal values over the pursuit of a prestigious external title. In this session of No Boxes, Just Verses, Martin joins Shannon Nash to break down the critical milestones, structural failures, and defining music that paved his journey from an 18-year-old immigrant to a pioneer of the modern talent ecosystem.

Martin Blencowe is a first-generation British-American entrepreneur, executive producer, and veteran talent representative. Born in England, he relocated to the United States at age 18 to attend the University of Southern California, graduating with a degree in political science and a minor in business. Over his multi-faceted career, he has produced roughly 25 feature films and launched an elite athletic representation firm as a certified NFL agent. In 2016, an innovative concept involving a personalized video clip from his first athletic client, Cassius Marsh, sparked the foundational blueprint for Cameo. Under his guidance, the breakthrough video platform scaled to a $1 billion corporate valuation in under four years. Martin currently leads Endorsed, an authenticated celebrity collectible and talent-driven merchandise enterprise structured around modern fan experiences.

Key Takeaways:

• Maintain an immovable internal work ethic, understanding that even if your initial conversion rate is low, sheer volume and relentless persistence are required to locate your ultimate career breakthrough.
• Refuse to let the anxiety of starting from zero paralyze your growth; instead, remain entirely clear-eyed about the operational data and use your proximity to high-value opportunities to aggressively scale your relationships.
• Learn to differentiate between a structural business model that works on paper and a personal pursuit that genuinely activates your passion, ensuring that your strategic head and execution heart are perfectly linked.
• Prioritize personal alignment and family grounding over the endless pursuit of capital, recognizing that real resilience requires maintaining a clear purpose without sacrificing your mental well-being or community connection.
• Leverage organic peer-to-peer referral networks to scale a modern tech platform, turning single high-performing client wins into collaborative, multi-tiered brand growth.

Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, please follow, rate, and review the podcast!

CONNECT WITH MARTIN BLENCOWE:

Cameo

Instagram

LinkedIn

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CONNECT WITH SHANNON:

Facebook

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LinkedIn Shannon | LinkedIn NBJV

Theme Song: No Boxes Just Verses by Thane Kreiner (Suno)