The Shift: Stories of Resistance + Resilience

The Shift is a podcast series exploring stories of resistance and resilience from activists, creatives, and leaders across industries who are boldly challenging the status quo. Through honest conversations and powerful storytelling, we uncover how people shift systems, narratives, and culture to create a more inclusive, just, and liberated world. If you believe in the power of stories to spark change, this is the podcast for you. It is hosted and produced by Mark Travis Rivera, CEO + Founder of The Professional Storyteller, LLC.

The Shift: Stories of Resistance + Resilience is a education podcast hosted by Mark Travis Rivera, with 39 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Mark Travis Rivera hosts The Shift: Stories of Resistance + Resilience, a education show with 39 episodes published.

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  Episode #19

  Confronting Death and Defining Time with Darnell Lamont Walker & Mark Travis Rivera

  Aug 26, 202645 minS2

  This is not a normal episode of The Shift. The camera is fine. Mark is fine. But the chair is flipped. Season 2 opens with a special episode in the tradition of last season's two-part "How I Became the Professional Storyteller" series with Araya Baker, in which Mark sits in the guest chair while someone else asks the questions. This time, there was only one person he wanted to do the asking. It’s only fitting that season 2 concludes with the person who helped kick off the season, Darnell Lamont Walker. Darnell is a writer, death doula, Emmy-nominated creator, founder of Passport Required, and one of the most quietly essential voices in contemporary American storytelling — who came to this podcast as a guest and left as a new friend. A new friend who showed up to Mark's birthday party. A friend, Mark, slid into the DMs respectfully after seeing Darnell's book announcement and knew immediately he had to be on the show. A friend whose book Mark has texted about to what sounds like dozens of people. Darnell interviews Mark the way a death doula would, not with softballs, but with the questions that only make sense when you've already thought about the end. What story about your life do you hope survives you? What parts of yourself no longer feel important? What are you still becoming? What has disability taught you about time? What follows is one of the most intimate and revealing conversations Mark has had on his own show. About audacity as a survival strategy. About the freedom of no longer needing to prove people wrong. About representation and what it means to be the possibility model you never had. About grief, loss, and the Billy Porter song about time. About love and why you can't project-manage it. About crip time. About the lunch ladies at his university who pretended to swipe his student card when he didn't have enough meal swipes, and how he has tried to be Ms. Ebony to everyone he meets ever since. Order Darnell's book. It's called Never Can Say Goodbye: The Life of a Death Doula and the Art of a Peaceful End. Mark's been telling everyone about it. Now you know why. Guest Host Bio: Darnell Lamont Walker is a death doula, Emmy-nominated children’s television writer, producer, and explorer. Born in Charlottesville, Virginia, he creates spaces worldwide for healing through storytelling, end-of-life care, and workshops on grief, resilience, unlocking the writer within, and radical empathy. He joyfully lives in the Chattahoochee National Forest of North Georgia. Connect with Mark: ⁠Sign up for Mark's Newsletter⁠: Follow Mark on Social Media⁠ Connect with Darnell: Instagram LinkedIn Website Order Darnell’s Book: Never Can Say Goodbye Questions or comments? Email us at Hello@MarkTravisRivera.com. Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/swoop/success License code: SQK0ZY8P3EBIUZYY Disclaimer Note: The captions in this video are auto-generated, and while we try to ensure accuracy, you may notice a typo or error. Thank you in advance for extending grace.

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  Episode #18

  Leading with a People-First Approach with Nick Reich

  Aug 19, 202640 minS2

  Nick is Mark's business coach, the man who didn't renew his contract five years ago (we don't say fired here), and the same man who turned around immediately after and helped Mark launch The Professional Storyteller. He is, as Mark puts it, the one white straight man in his life he is fully committed to, and this episode is the story of how an unlikely pairing across every surface-level identity marker became one of the most formative professional relationships in both their lives. Nick's debut leadership book, Every Player Is Bigger Than the Program , arrives with a backstory nobody saw coming: a college athlete kicked out of school over a marijuana arrest in Kentucky, who experienced homelessness, drifted through states and odd jobs and self-medication, and eventually landed in a Boys & Girls Club role that redirected everything. From there: school social worker, high school basketball coach, and the architect of the fastest team in Indiana history to win a state championship, built from scratch, without a gym, in four years. This episode marks the first time Nick has ever read his book aloud publicly. Bring tissues. Mark cried on page two, and he is not embarrassed about it. Guest Bio: Nick Reich is a leadership coach, author, and CEO of Abundant Empowerment and CoLab, organizations dedicated to developing full-circle leaders and high-trust, high-performance teams. His upcoming book, Every Player Is Bigger Than the Program, blends storytelling, strategy, and systems thinking to help leaders navigate complexity with clarity, courage, and humanity. With more than two decades of experience across the social impact, nonprofit, and business sectors, Nick is known for translating complex change into practical, actionable leadership. His work focuses on building cultures of trust, strengthening alignment, and helping leaders grow into more conscious, effective stewards of people and purpose. He has advised and partnered with organizations ranging from startups to global organizations, and has coached hundreds of leaders worldwide. Nick’s leadership philosophy was shaped both on and off the basketball court. As a young coach, he helped build a state-championship program from the ground up in just four years - the fastest in Indiana high school history - reinforcing his core belief that when people are developed well, they become the engine of lasting transformation. Today, he coaches leaders, facilitates retreats, and guides organizations committed to creating meaningful, human-centered work and enduring impact. Connect with Mark: ⁠Sign up for Mark's Newsletter⁠ Follow Mark on Social Media⁠ Connect with Nick: Instagram LinkedIn Order Nick’s Book + Website Questions or comments? Email us at Hello@MarkTravisRivera.com. Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/swoop/success License code: SQK0ZY8P3EBIUZYY Disclaimer Note: The captions in this video are auto-generated, and while we try to ensure accuracy, you may notice a typo or error. Thank you in advance for extending grace.

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  Episode #17

  Being An Unapologetic Black Girl with Amena Brown

  Aug 12, 202640 minS2

  Mark met Amena Brown through Creative Mornings ATL, the community she led as chapter host for five years. From the moment they connected, it was, in her words, a handshake emoji. This conversation catches Amena in the middle of her book tour for her new release, Never Tell a Black Girl How to Black Girl , days before heading to Essence Fest. But she made time. Because that's what real community looks like. What follows is a wide-ranging, warm, and often deeply funny conversation about ancestral resilience, containing multitudes, the complexity of interracial marriage in this political moment, what it costs to refuse to shrink yourself, and why "black girl" is both a noun and the most expansive verb in the language. Plus: the craft of reverse-engineering stage performance into written prose, and more. Guest Bio: Amena Brown is a spoken word poet, author, and performing artist whose work interweaves keep-it-real storytelling, rhyme, and humor. A proud graduate of Spelman College and a former poetic partner for Tracee Ellis Ross’ natural hair brand, PATTERN Beauty, Amena is the author of five spoken-word albums and three nonfiction books. Her new book of comedic essays, Never Tell a Black Girl How to Black Girl, is available at your favorite bookseller. As a stage performer, Amena turns arenas, theaters, and performance venues into living rooms where the audience and her readers can make themselves at home. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband, DJ Opdiggy, and their dog Kane. Connect with Mark: ⁠Sign up for Mark's Newsletter Follow Mark on Social Media⁠ Connect with Amena: Instagram Website Order Amena’s Book Questions or comments? Email us at Hello@MarkTravisRivera.com. Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/swoop/success License code: SQK0ZY8P3EBIUZYY Disclaimer Note: The captions in this video are auto-generated, and while we try to ensure accuracy, you may notice a typo or error. Thank you in advance for extending grace.

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  The Shift: Stories of Resistance + Resilience

  Reclaiming Our Identities and Language with Rodney Eric López

  Aug 5, 202643 min

  Two Boricuas walk into a podcast. One is a Jersey Rican who grew up understanding Spanish but not speaking it, who moves his whole body when merengue comes on, who just went back to the island for his birthday for the first time as an adult and healed something deep. The other is a Nuyorican who got a 100 on his Spanish Regents exam and was still made fun of for sounding like a gringo, who found the language he was looking for not in a classroom, but on a dance floor. Mark met Rodney Eric López through a Latinx dance leaders convening and saw his book teaser on Facebook. He stopped in his tracks. He felt seen. He knew immediately Rodney had to be on the show. I Don't Speak Spanish, But I Understand Everything When I'm Dancing is Rodney's debut book, and it is exactly the book that needed to exist. Part memoir, part historical excavation, part act of communal healing, it traces the journey of second-generation Latinx people who were assimilated out of their heritage language, who were told that their Spanglish was a bastardization, who were never Puerto Rican enough, and offers something rare in return: not a fix, but a full release of the shame that was never theirs to carry.This episode is an act of reclamation. By two men who have every right to claim exactly who they are. Guest Bio: Rodney Eric López is an accomplished educator, artist, and non-profit leader. His diverse professional background includes successful tenures in teaching artistry in public schools in New York City and beyond, training, coaching and facilitation, corporate communications and public relations, and executive non-profit leadership. Rodney served as Executive Director of Dancing Classrooms in New York City, where he led program growth, supported new business efforts, oversaw training and professional development, and served as the face of the organization in stewardship of its 20 national and international affiliates. His teaching work with Dancing Classrooms is featured in the Paramount Classics hit documentary Mad Hot Ballroom. He is a master instructor of Latin and social dance and has taught children and adults the art of dance both for personal enjoyment and as a powerful tool for team and community building. Prior to his career in arts education, Rodney was a successful professional in communications and PR, serving in communications leadership roles at North General Hospital, the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone, and BSMG Worldwide. He is the creator of the Generosity and Abundance Process online course and author of The Generosity Solution. He founded Currents RI, a giving circle dedicated to engaging men of color in philanthropic purpose. He has served on several boards and is a member of the Rhode Island Foundation's Equity Leadership Initiative. He is the author of "I Don't Speak Spanish, but I Understand Everything When I'm Dancing!", a new social memoir that explores the intersection of language shame, identity, and Salsa. Rodney holds a B.S. in Communications Studies from New York University, where he was a Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholar and a Certificate in Spiritual Entrepreneurship from The Glean Network and Columbia Business School. Connect with Mark: ⁠Sign up for Mark's Newsletter⁠ Follow Mark on Social Media Connect with Rodney: Instagram LinkedIn Website: Order Rodney’s Book: Questions or comments? Email us at Hello@MarkTravisRivera.com. Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/swoop/success License code: SQK0ZY8P3EBIUZYY Disclaimer Note: The captions in this video are auto-generated, and while we try to ensure accuracy, you may notice a typo or error. Thank you in advance for extending grace.

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  Episode #15

  Leading with Humanity in the Digital Age with Dr. Josie Ahlquist

  Jul 29, 202647 minS2

  Content Warning: this episode makes reference to sexual assault. Dr. Josie Ahlquist is the blueprint. If you've spent any time in higher education — especially at the intersection of communications, student affairs, and digital leadership — you already know her name. And if you don't, this episode is your introduction to someone who was doing the work before the field had a name for it. This is their first face-to-face conversation despite years of existing in overlapping orbits, connected through mutual friend and colleague Danielle. What follows is a wide-ranging, emotionally honest, and unexpectedly vulnerable conversation about what it costs to be a pioneer in digital spaces, about burnout culture disguised as hustle, about surviving something unspeakable and choosing six months later to share it publicly, and about what it means to communicate with integrity when the entire country feels like a crisis communication scenario. Dr. Josie doesn't polish things up and make them look pretty. And that, as she says, is very much the point. Guest Bio: Dr. Josie Ahlquist guides leaders, organizations, and students to practice purposeful digital leadership through speaking, coaching, and consulting. Josie’s work is grounded in grant-funded, award-winning research that has enabled her to train thousands around the globe as a speaker; provide consulting services to institutions and companies; and coach professionals in branding, voice, and positioning. Dr. Josie was selected as a 2023 NASPA Pillar of the Profession, one of the highest honors for student affairs. Josie is a three-time LinkedIn Top Voice in Education and has for six years been recognized by Ed Tech Magazine as one of the “Top 50 Must-Read Higher Education Technology Blogs” and her podcast, Josie and The Podcast, has been featured by The Chronicle of Higher Education and Inside Higher Ed. Her book, Digital Leadership in Higher Education: Purposeful Social Media in a Connected World, was listed as an Amazon #1 new release for college and university student life. Connect with Mark: ⁠Sign up for Mark's Newsletter⁠ ⁠Follow Mark on Social Media⁠ Connect with Dr. Josie: Instagram LinkedIn Order Dr. Josie’s Questions or comments? Email us at Hello@MarkTravisRivera.com. Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/swoop/success License code: SQK0ZY8P3EBIUZYY Disclaimer Note: The captions in this video are auto-generated, and while we try to ensure accuracy, you may notice a typo or error. Thank you in advance for extending grace.

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