Find Your Spark

“FIND YOUR SPARK” is a podcast that uncovers real-life stories about discovering and embracing your SPARK—even in the middle of a busy, messy life. Hosted weekly by Brooke Wheeldon-Reece, President & CEO of The SPARK Initiative, and Chad Hudson, this show brings a fresh and authentic perspective on life, growth, and impact.Each episode features heartfelt conversations as Brooke and Chad explore topics like family, mental health, personal development, running a nonprofit, and the transformative work of The SPARK Initiative. With a mix of honesty, humor, and deep insight, they create a space for meaningful dialogue—capturing the raw, unfiltered experience of being human while navigating life’s challenges and striving to make the world a better place.

Find Your Spark is a education podcast hosted by The SPARK Initiative, with 285 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

The SPARK Initiative hosts Find Your Spark, a education show with 285 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

• 

  Find Your Spark

  286: Bullying Prevention Month

  Oct 6, 202610 min

  October is Bullying Prevention Month, and in this episode, Chad sits down to talk about what bullying really looks like today. Bullying is wrong, but recognizing it isn't always simple. It doesn't just happen on the playground anymore. It shows up in group chats, comment sections, and social media platforms where kids and teens spend so much of their time. Chad breaks down the different forms bullying can take, from the obvious to the subtle, and why recognizing these patterns early matters so much. He also talks about the choices we all have in these moments. You don't have to participate in what the group is doing. You can choose to make someone feel like they belong, or you can tell an adult. Every choice shapes the environment around you. Chad leaves listeners with a question worth sitting with: what kind of environment are you willing to create for the people around you? Tune in to learn how to spot the signs, start the conversation, and support the young people in your life.

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Find Your Spark

  285: Protecting Your Yes

  Sep 29, 20267 min

  On this episode of Find Your SPARK, Chad explores the power of saying no for your mental health. Saying yes to everything is often just habit, not a real choice. A meeting, a favor, a commitment agreed to before we've even thought it through. Most of the time we don't decide, we default. That default has a cost. Chad digs into why we tend to say yes on autopilot, what it's actually costing us, and how saying no, thoughtfully and without guilt, can be one of the most protective things we do for our wellbeing. This isn't about shutting people out. It's about noticing where your yes goes unchecked and reclaiming the choice, because every no you mean protects a yes that matters more.

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Find Your Spark

  284: Architects of Peace - A Conversation for International Day of Peace

  Sep 22, 202640 min

  In honor of the International Day of Peace, Stephanie Fox sits down with longtime friend and colleague Mara Gleason Olson for a conversation about what peace actually requires, starting from the inside out. Mara is the co-founder of One Solution, where Stephanie served as Middle East Director, and together their teams worked with young people in Gaza and, through Rebels for Peace, on Chicago's South Side, showing that inner peace isn't a luxury for the comfortable, but a survival skill for anyone living amid violence and uncertainty. They share stories from the ground in Gaza, talk about teens choosing de-escalation over self-defense in life-or-death moments, and explore this year's theme, "Everyday Architects of Peace," the idea that lasting change doesn't start at a negotiating table, but in the quiet, internal shift that happens when one person decides to build from a place of peace instead of fear. It's an honest, hopeful conversation about grief, resilience, and why the world may be closer to a tipping point than it feels.

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Find Your Spark

  282: World Suicide Prevention Day

  Sep 8, 202615 min

  This week, in recognition of World Suicide Prevention Day (September 10th) and Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, Chad joins us for an honest, unfiltered conversation about mental health and stigma. Together we explore how stigma keeps people from asking for help, what it really means to check in on someone, and how each of us can help uncover a sense of hope and wellbeing in the people around us. This episode is a reminder that these conversations save lives, and that starting them takes courage, not certainty. If you or someone you know is struggling, you are not alone, and help is available: 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: call or text 988 Crisis Text Line: text HOME to 741741 You matter. Your story matters. And this conversation is for you.

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Find Your Spark

  281: Let's Talk Burnout

  Sep 1, 202624 min

  Burnout awareness is having a moment, with schools and organizations across the country finally giving it the attention it deserves. In this episode, Chad sits down with Makayla Wheeldon to unpack what burnout really means, where it comes from, and why it shows up in so many forms, mentally, physically, and emotionally. The conversation turns to the helping professions closest to SPARK's work, especially education. Chad and Makayla talk about the fast-paced world we live in, the expectations placed on us, and how clearly that pressure shows up for educators and social workers. These are roles where people take their work home with them, and the toll adds up. Burnout is real, it deserves recognition, and sometimes the most important thing we can do is slow down.

  ListenShow Notes

Recent guests on Find Your Spark. Study who booked and why before you pitch.

Based on semantic analysis of episode topics and host coverage, this show is a strong guest fit for executives in:

Industry fit is computed by PitchCentric using vector embeddings of the show's episode catalog.