What's Your War Zone? w/ Traci Scott
Next Steps Forward with Dr. Chris Meek
Release Date: 02/11/2025
Courage After Tragedy: Kristen Breitweiser’s Fight for Justice In the Wake of 9/11
Next Steps Forward with Dr. Chris Meek
As the 24th observance of the September 11th attacks approaches, Next Steps Forward host Dr. Chris Meek sits down with Kristen Breitweiser, a woman whose life was forever changed that day and who transformed her grief into a powerful call for justice and accountability. After losing her husband, Ron, in the attacks on the World Trade Center, Kristen emerged as one of the most determined and influential voices for 9/11 families. Alongside three other widows, known to the nation as the “Jersey Girls,” she fought tirelessly for the creation of the 9/11 Commission, testified before Congress,...
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Breaking the Stigma: Understanding Veteran Mental Health with Dr. Ron Acierno
Next Steps Forward with Dr. Chris Meek
This week on Next Steps Forward, Dr. Chris Meek welcomes Dr. Ron Acierno, professor and vice chair of Veterans Affairs in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at UTHealth Houston McGovern Medical School, and executive director of the UTHealth Trauma and Resilience Center. With more than 150 published articles, 30 book chapters, and decades of groundbreaking research, Dr. Acierno is a leading voice on trauma, resilience, and veteran mental health. In this powerful conversation, Dr. Acierno and Dr. Meek explore: The realities and misconceptions surrounding post-trauma stress...
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The Power of Coaching: Building Leaders Who Inspire and Transform w/ Dr. Dana Kirchman
Next Steps Forward with Dr. Chris Meek
What makes a good leader truly great? In this week’s episode of Next Steps Forward, host Dr. Chris Meek welcomes Dr. Dana Kirchman, leadership expert, executive coach, and trusted advisor, to explore that very question. With more than 25 years of experience working alongside leaders at the highest levels, Dr. Kirchman shares her insights on the habits, mindsets, and relational skills that drive authentic leadership transformation. From the role of compassion in high-stakes environments, to the impact of remote and hybrid work, to the essential differences between emotional intelligence and...
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ENCORE: Giving A Voice to the Voiceless w/ Janice Trey & Ying Chen
Next Steps Forward with Dr. Chris Meek
Janice Trey, the head of Epoch Times/NTD Network, and Ying Chen, conductor at Shen Yun Performing Arts, join program host Dr. Chris Meek in this installment of Next Steps Forward to discuss their experiences with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), communist history and to highlight the ongoing human rights abuses of numerous groups in China. Janice Trey will detail her experiences in a CCP labor camp, where she lived until she was 9 years old, and her inside view of the two vastly different worlds of communism and freedom. She discusses why her commitment to spread true information and...
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ENCORE: Trailblazing Leadership: Lieutenant General Patricia “Patty” D. Horoho on Resilience, Service, and Empowering the Next Generation
Next Steps Forward with Dr. Chris Meek
In this week’s episode of Next Steps Forward, host Dr. Chris Meek sits down with retired U.S. Army Lieutenant General Patricia “Patty” D. Horoho, a trailblazer who made history as the first woman, first nurse, and first non-physician to serve as the Army Surgeon General and Commander of the U.S. Army Medical Command. With a career spanning over 38 years of service, General Horoho reflects on her remarkable journey from the Green Ramp disaster in 1994 to the Pentagon on 9/11, and her transformational leadership in Army medicine. After retiring from the Army, General Horoho’s leadership...
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Serving Those Who Serve w/ Lt. Randy Sutton
Next Steps Forward with Dr. Chris Meek
What happens when the protectors need protection? This week on Next Steps Forward, host Dr. Chris Meek sits down with Lieutenant Randy Sutton (Ret.), a 34-year law enforcement veteran, national media voice, and founder of The Wounded Blue, the only nationwide organization dedicated to helping injured and disabled law enforcement officers. During his decades of service, Randy Sutton witnessed firsthand the physical, emotional, and financial toll of the job - especially when officers are injured in the line of duty. Out of that experience, he created The Wounded Blue, a nonprofit that provides...
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Leadernomics: How Economics Can Teach Us to Lead with Integrity w/ Col. Seung Paik
Next Steps Forward with Dr. Chris Meek
What can economics teach us about leadership, resilience, and character? This week on Next Steps Forward, host Dr. Chris Meek welcomes Seung Paik, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel, award-winning educator, and creator of Leadernomics, for a thought-provoking conversation on leadership in today’s complex world. After 25 years of distinguished service, including deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and leadership roles across the globe, Paik transitioned from military command to the classroom - where he combined his passion for leadership and economics into a groundbreaking framework:...
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It’s Time to Rebel w/ Cari Kenzie
Next Steps Forward with Dr. Chris Meek
Cari Kenzie is trailblazer in the fields of leadership, resilience and personal transformation. As a dynamic speaker, coach and entrepreneur, Cari has dedicated her life to empowering others to rise above their circumstances and lead with purpose. In 2013, Cari’s life took an unexpected turn when she survived the Boston Marathon bombing. This harrowing experience became a pivotal moment, reshaping her understanding of resilience, leadership and the power of choice. Rather than being defined by the trauma, Cari chose to transform it into a source of strength and inspiration. Her story is not...
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Legacy of Service: The Dowdell Brothers’ Story of Resilience, Duty, and Hope
Next Steps Forward with Dr. Chris Meek
In this moving episode of Next Steps Forward, Dr. Chris Meek is joined by brothers Patrick and James Dowdell - two men whose lives were forever changed on September 11, 2001, when they lost their father, FDNY Lieutenant Kevin Dowdell. Patrick and James share how that moment of tragedy inspired lives of extraordinary service. Patrick went on to graduate from West Point, serve as a combat platoon leader in Iraq, and lead operations in Afghanistan as a captain. James, just 17 at the time of 9/11, later followed in his father’s footsteps by joining the FDNY and now serves as a lieutenant,...
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Footprints of Schizophrenia w/ Dr. Steven Lesk
Next Steps Forward with Dr. Chris Meek
In this powerful and enlightening episode of Next Steps Forward, Dr. Chris Meek welcomes psychiatrist and author Dr. Steve Lesk, a 40-year veteran of the mental health field and author of Footprints of Schizophrenia: The Evolutionary Roots of Mental Illness. With decades of experience treating patients and mentoring professionals, Dr. Lesk brings a groundbreaking perspective to one of the most misunderstood mental illnesses: schizophrenia. Dr. Lesk explores his pioneering “primitive organization” theory, which draws from evolutionary biology, neurochemistry, and psychology to offer a new...
info_outlineTraci Scott, communications strategist, author and public speaker, started her broadcasting career at just 16 years old with the Far East Network (FEN) in Japan. Since then, her career path has taken her from CBS News, Capitol Hill, and the Pentagon to war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan and advising more than a dozen Army generals and a cabinet secretary. She joins program host Dr. Chris Meek to describe how her love of country inspired her to go to Iraq in 2003, where she served as a civilian press officer for the Coalition Provisional Authority and later wrote a book, “Take Off Your Hoop Earrings Before Putting on your Gas Mask: A Civilian Chick’s Guide to Surviving a War Zone,” about how coping with daily attacks, the loss of friends, and unideal living conditions, among other life lessons, taught her how to use wit, determination and perseverance to survive. She speaks candidly about how the lessons about leadership she learned in Iraq and other areas of life led her to create and develop a non-profit, The Green Dress Project, which mentors and prepares young women from underserved communities for their future careers.
About Traci Scott: Traci Scott was only 16 years old when she started her broadcasting career with the Far East Network (FEN) in Japan. Since then, her career path has taken her from CBS News, Capitol Hill and the Pentagon to war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan. Most recently, she has served as a key advisor to more than a dozen Army generals and a cabinet secretary. She later decided to transition out of broadcasting, moving to Congress where she first launched a communications office for a freshman U.S. Senator and subsequently generated a similar effort for an up-and-coming political candidate. In 2003, her love of country inspired her to go to Iraq, where she served as a civilian press officer for the Coalition Provisional Authority. Later, she was chosen to stand up the press office for the special inspector general for Afghanistan. In 2015, Scott was one of 60 leaders chosen from 1000+ applicants to participate in the first Presidential Leadership Scholars class. This prestigious program was founded by Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. Those lessons in leadership led her to create and develop a non-profit, The Green Dress Project, which mentors and prepares young women from underserved communities, for their future careers. Scott was among the first to earn a master’s degree from the Graduate School of Political Management when it merged with the George Washington University in 1996. She graduated from Howard University with a degree in broadcast journalism in 1987.