Andrea Jordan — Creativity, Courage, and Building Human-Centered AI
Release Date: 11/18/2025
Sabina Nawaz on Executive Presence, Power, and What Changes When You Become the Boss
The Jason Cavness Experience
In this episode of The Jason Cavness Experience, Jason sits down with Sabina Nawaz, an executive coach and leadership advisor who works with founders, CEOs, and senior leaders navigating power, influence, and responsibility at the highest levels. Sabina shares what she’s learned from years of coaching executives as they step into positions of authority and why leadership often becomes harder, not easier, as power increases. She explains how authority subtly changes behavior, how communication breaks down at the top, and why well-intentioned leaders can unintentionally create silence,...
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Tait Covert on Building Sentry Computing and Practical IT Leadership
The Jason Cavness Experience
In this episode of The Jason Cavness Experience, Jason sits down with Tait Covert, President and CEO of Sentry Computing, to talk about building a service-first managed IT company and what it really takes to support small and mid-sized businesses. Tait shares his path into entrepreneurship, how his background in retail sales, graphic design, and project management shaped his approach to IT, and why clear communication and transparent guidance matter more than technical jargon. He explains how Sentry Computing delivers contract-free managed IT services, prioritizes cybersecurity and...
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Shonta Riles on Building Poppin Notary, Community Trust, and Expanding a Local Service Business
The Jason Cavness Experience
In this episode of The Jason Cavness Experience, Jason sits down with Shonta Riles, CEO and founder of Poppin Notary, to talk about building a trusted local service business, expanding beyond traditional notary work, and staying deeply connected to the community. Shonta shares how he launched Poppin Notary in 2016, what it took to earn trust in an industry built on accuracy and reliability, and why customer service is the real differentiator for small businesses. He explains how his background hosting the Deprogram Talk Radio Show sharpened his communication skills and helped him connect with...
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Taylor Black on AI, Startups, Microsoft, and Building a Life Through Foster Care and Adoption
The Jason Cavness Experience
In this episode of The Jason Cavness Experience, Jason sits down with Taylor Black for a wide-ranging conversation that spans AI, startups, big tech, and family life. Taylor shares his experience working at Microsoft, where he’s been close to how AI is being built, adopted, and misunderstood inside large organizations. He talks about how startups and founders should think about AI realistically not as hype, but as a tool that rewards clarity, discipline, and execution. Beyond tech, Taylor opens up about his family’s journey through fostering and adoption, what it’s taught him about...
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Scott Strong on Sales Discipline, Customer Service and Building a Service-First Business
The Jason Cavness Experience
In this episode of The Jason Cavness Experience, Jason sits down with Scott Strong, founder of Strong Fiber Systems, to talk about building a service-first business in the telecom industry and why sales discipline and customer service still matter in a world obsessed with automation. Scott shares his journey into entrepreneurship, how he built Strong Fiber Systems by focusing on relationships and trust, and why doing the unscalable work, personal outreach, follow-ups, and real conversations creates a lasting competitive advantage. He explains the difference between motivation and discipline in...
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Brandie Henry on Communication, Dance, Hip Hop, Leadership and Serving Youth and Families
The Jason Cavness Experience
In this episode of The Jason Cavness Experience, Jason sits down with Brandie Henry. A communication coach, consultant, educator and community advocate whose work bridges personal development, professional leadership, youth services and creative expression. Brandie runs S4S Management, where she coaches leaders on communication, clarity and emotional intelligence, while also serving the community through her work with Southwest Youth and Family Services (SWYFS). Brandie shares how her early foundation in dance shaped her understanding of expression, confidence and presence long...
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Liz Galloway on Adventure, Branding, Storytelling and Building a Life Without Limits
The Jason Cavness Experience
In this episode of The Jason Cavness Experience, Jason sits down with Liz Galloway a global brand strategist, PR pro, experiential marketer, storyteller, TEDx curator, wellness advocate, and adventure-driven entrepreneur. Liz’s work spans luxury hospitality, wellness retreats, publishing, consulting, media production and high-impact brand development across Central America, Europe and the U.S. Liz shares how she built a life and career around curiosity, creativity and courage blending strategy with soul to help brands cut through noise and connect with people on a deeper level. She and Jason...
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HR Laws Every Small Business Owner Must Follow: A Practical Breakdown for Companies with 49 or Fewer Employees
The Jason Cavness Experience
In this solo livestream episode, Jason Cavness walks small business owners through the HR laws you must follow when you have 49 or fewer employees. Jason draws from more than 30 years of HR experience, 25 years as a retired U.S. Army officer, and over a decade working with startups to explain complicated HR rules in a simple, practical way. Jason covers what federal government actually requires, why most HR mistakes come from confusion rather than bad intent, and how ignoring even one rule can lead to fines, audits, lawsuits, and massive headaches for small business owners. Using...
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Marketing, Mindset, and Modern Strategy with Nicholas White
The Jason Cavness Experience
In this episode of The Jason Cavness Experience, Jason sits down with Nicholas White. A Seattle-based marketing strategist, startup advisor, entrepreneur, and operator with experience at Amazon, Microsoft, and multiple early-stage ventures. Nick has led digital marketing programs for major B2B/B2C brands, driven pipeline expansion, advised early-stage founders, and built systems that blend creativity, data, and practical execution. His approach to modern marketing is shaped by curiosity, experimentation, and a deep understanding of customer psychology. Jason and Nick dive into how marketing is...
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Inside the Founder Grind: HR Laws, Wefunder, Startups, and Building in Public — Jason Cavness Live
The Jason Cavness Experience
In this solo episode of The Jason Cavness Experience, Jason goes live to break down everything he’s building across CavnessHR, the Wefunder campaign, HR law education, livestreaming strategy, and the behind-the-scenes founder grind people rarely talk about. Jason talks through his work on the HR Laws Livestream Deck, what small businesses keep getting wrong about HR compliance and why he’s pushing hard to create accessible education for founders who can’t afford expensive consultants. He also gives an update on the CavnessHR Wefunder campaign, the ebooks rollout, the Builders Club,...
info_outlineAndrea Jordan — Creativity, Courage, and Building Human-Centered AI
Episode Summary:
In this episode of The Jason Cavness Experience, Jason sits down with Andrea Jordan, Founder & CEO of Empathium, an AI-powered platform focused on helping people strengthen emotional intelligence, communication, and connection through role-play, self-awareness tools, and human-centered design.
Andrea shares her journey as a parent, founder, and creative problem-solver and the unique path that led her from writing and imagination-filled childhood days to becoming a leader in Seattle’s fast-growing AI community. She breaks down how she built her platform in just three days, how community shaped her entrepreneurial path, and why courage is a skill you build, not something you’re born with.
The conversation covers her panel at Seattle AI Week, her experience winning pitch competitions, the incubator she joined (C619), and the systemic challenges she sees in healthcare, training, burnout, and tech accessibility.
Andrea also gives a live demo of her personalized communication and self-awareness platform and explains how role-play, scenario training, and micro-learning can help people navigate everything from crisis de-escalation to tough family conversations.
This episode is packed with insights on AI, empathy, leadership, burnout, resilience, and the power of showing up as your full self especially when you’re the “only one in the room.”
Topics Discussed:
• How Andrea balances parenting, creativity, and building a startup
• Why courage is a skill, not a personality trait
• The origins of Empathium and the inspiration behind TEND
• Using AI to build empathy, not replace it
• The power of micro-learning and real-time scenario practice
• What Andrea learned from Seattle AI Week and winning multiple pitch competitions
• Navigating burnout vs. moral injury
• The importance of community for founders especially women and Black founders
• Her experience joining an incubator
• How AI tools can transform healthcare, training, and communication
• The emotional reality of being a founder and decision-maker
• Why emotional connection is at the center of all human work
• Advice for anyone who’s the “only one” in a room or industry
• Why authenticity beats assimilation in the startup world
Support CavnessHR and Help Us Build the Future of Small Business HR CavnessHR is building an AI-native HR system specifically for small businesses with 49 or fewer employees combining automation with a dedicated HR Business Partner to save time, reduce risk, and make HR actually work.
If you believe small businesses deserve better, here’s how you can get involved:
💸 Invest on Wefunder Be an early owner as we rebuild our platform with our Vietnam dev team.
https://wefunder.com/cavnesshr
📚 Download 7 Free eBooks from The Jason Cavness Experience Leadership, AI, startups, founder stories, and more:
https://www.buildcavnesshr.com/ebooks
🤝 Join the CavnessHR Builders Club Help shape the product. Be part of the community.
https://www.buildcavnesshr.com/
Connect with Andrea Jordan & Empathium
Website: https://empath.ai
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-jordan/
Connect with Jason Cavness
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncavness
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jasoncavness
Podcast Website: https://www.thejasoncavnessexperience.com