Nicholas Ditto
Oxygen for Educators
SUMMARY In this episode of Oxygen for Educators, Michelle Kinder sits down with Nicholas Ditto, founder and CEO of Fort Worth STEAM Academy, for an honest conversation about the unseen weight educators carry every day. Nicholas shares his journey into education, the thousands of decisions teachers make daily, and how leadership, culture, and community directly shape student outcomes. After the conversation, Michelle and Chris Kent Phelps return to break down the moments that mattered most, reflecting on what educators can take with them as they lead, teach, and serve their communities. ...
info_outline
Oxygen Replay - PART 2 Alex Vesely-Frankl, Viktor Frankl's Grandson
Oxygen for Educators
Opt in for your gifted copy of the Oxygen for Educators magazine! ( ) SUMMARY In part two of our conversation with filmmaker and logotherapist Alex Vesely, grandson of Viktor Frankl, we explore what it really means to live a life of meaning as an educator. Alex unpacks burnout through a logotherapy lens, shares powerful stories about suicide and hope, and invites us to ask a different question, not “What is in it for me?” but “Who am I still here for?” This one is a North Star episode for anyone feeling overwhelmed, misaligned, or called to pick up the “right...
info_outline
Oxygen Replay - PART 1 Alex Vesely-Frankl, Viktor Frankl's Grandson
Oxygen for Educators
Don't forget to opt in for your gifted copy of the Oxygen for Educators magazine! ( ) SUMMARY We’re re-releasing this conversation with Alex Vesely because it has never felt more needed. In a moment when so many educators are exhausted and searching for steadiness, Alex brings a rare clarity about meaning, purpose, and why our inner life matters. This is Part 1 of a powerful two-part conversation. Part 2 drops next Friday. LINKS: Man Search For Meaning: https://a.co/d/iS2XrjX Logotherapy-online.com Logotherapy Institute of America Courses:...
info_outline
Jose Villasenor
Oxygen for Educators
SUMMARY Jose “Joe” Villaseñor has one of the most unexpected paths into education you’ll ever hear: TV production, seminary, bail bonds, school counseling, and now leading Employee Wellness at Irving ISD. In this conversation, he shares how those turns shaped his deep empathy for people in hard places and how that shows up in real, practical supports for educators today, from yoga and fitness classes to laughter workshops and campus wellness champions. If you’ve ever wondered what it looks like when a district truly cares for the adults in the building, this episode will give...
info_outline
Maurine Molak
Oxygen for Educators
Educators, we’re gifting you the Oxygen for Educators keepsake magazine. Opt in here: SUMMARY After losing her 16-year-old son David to suicide following relentless cyberbullying, Maurine Molak turned her grief into advocacy. She has led the passage of groundbreaking laws protecting children from online harm and now champions federal reform through the Kids Online Safety Act. Her story is one of heartbreak, courage, and a mother’s determination to protect every child. CONTACT CONGRESS TO HELP PASS THE KIDS ONLINE SAFETY ACT ( ) ( ) ...
info_outline
Radical Hope Update
Oxygen for Educators
Educators, we’re gifting you the Oxygen for Educators keepsake magazine. Opt in here: Before Radical Hope resumes in the new year, Michelle offers a moment of reflection and gratitude. Drawing from The Small Work in the Great Work by Victoria Safford, she honors educators who keep showing up with heart and humanity, even when things are uncertain, and reminds us that the smallest acts often become the great work. ************************************************************************************************ Oxygen for Educators is proudly sponsored by Tacky...
info_outline
Oxygen Replay - Dr. Maricela Helm
Oxygen for Educators
Coming early 2026: Get your FREE copy of Oxygen for Educators magazine — radical hope delivered straight to your home, no strings attached. Opt in . SUMMARY What if the secret to transforming a school isn’t a new program, but a new perspective? In this re-released conversation, Dr. Maricela Helm—now Executive Director of Student Services at Whitehouse ISD—shares how shifting from discipline to relationship, and from pressure to presence, changes everything. She and host Michelle Kinder explore how mindset becomes freedom, joy becomes evidence of...
info_outline
Radical Hope: How to Stay Steady When Everything is Shifting
Oxygen for Educators
Coming early 2026: Get your FREE copy of Oxygen for Educators magazine — radical hope delivered straight to your home, no strings attached. Opt in . SUMMARY We’re zooming out for a big-picture view of the Radical Hope series so far, what patterns are emerging, what ideas keep echoing, and what it all adds up to. Michelle Kinder walks us through five simple but powerful themes: safety, awareness, compassion, flexibility, and attention. This isn’t just reflection for reflection’s sake, it’s a roadmap for staying steady, even when everything around us is...
info_outline
Oxygen Replay-Dr.Shanon Zais
Oxygen for Educators
SUMMARY We are re-releasing this conversation with Rockwall ISD leader Dr. Shanon Zais because late October can feel like a grind for educators. This is the moment when stamina dips, the calendar is packed, and a reset matters. Shanon offers embodied, practical wisdom on rest, boundaries, and community care that lands differently right now. On re-listen, we also reflect on why this message is urgent, including Chris’s honest update about navigating breast cancer and the reminder that you do not have to, and cannot, do this work alone. Educators, we’re gifting you the Oxygen for Educators...
info_outline
Radical Hope: Attention Management for Mental Health PART 2
Oxygen for Educators
Coming early 2026: Get your FREE copy of Oxygen for Educators magazine — radical hope delivered straight to your home, no strings attached. SUMMARY What would it look like for your calendar to reflect your deepest values, not just your obligations? In this powerful follow-up to Part 1, Michelle Kinder shares 10 practical attention management practices that support mental health and nervous system regulation. From reframing to-do lists to breaking up with notifications, each practice offers a small shift that can spark real change. Whether you’re overwhelmed, overstretched, or...
info_outlineSUMMARY
Ever feel like some days you're calm and grounded, and others you’re just… barely holding it together? In this episode of Radical Hope, Michelle Kinder unpacks neuroception, your nervous system’s built-in radar that constantly scans for danger or safety (without you even knowing it).
She explains how our state creates our story, when we’re stressed or shut down, we see the world differently than when we feel safe and connected.
“Sometimes long after the threat has passed, we’re still carrying the cat hair.”
Even subtle past experiences can shape how we show up today.
Michelle shares tools for tuning into your nervous system and stacking your day with moments that move you toward calm, connection, and purpose. It’s not about mastering your nervous system, it’s about being in relationship with it.
Short, powerful listen. Totally worth it.
CHAPTERS