An Unconventional Life

Mark Metry is a 24-year-old entrepreneur, author, creator, mental health advocate, coach, teacher, keynote speaker, podcast host, and loving human being.

Mark has interviewed over 300+ top leaders around the world from billionaire philanthropists, to neuroscientists, professional athletes, New York Times bestselling authors, philosophers, and innovative disrupters on his Top 100 Humans 2.0 podcast, which NASDAQ, and Yahoo Finance placed in the "Top 21 Growing Podcasts you must listen to..”

Now, Mark hosts the Social Anxiety Society podcast and is the bestselling author of Screw Being Shy: Learn How to Manage Social Anxiety and Be Yourself in Front of Anyone!

Mark has been featured in Forbes, TEDx, HuffPost, Mindvalley, Inc and many more. Mark‘s been mentioned alongside Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos and can be found speaking at Universities like Rutgers to Nonprofits like Coptic Orphans, to conferences and high schools across the nation.

Dr. Suzana E. Flores is clinical psychologist specializing in pop culture, mythology, and social media addiction, Keynote Speaker and author of "Untamed: The Psychology of Marvel's Wolverine" (McFarland Publishing, 2018) and "Facehooked: How Facebook Affects Our Emotions, Relationships, and Lives" (Reputation Books, 2014) with international book deals in South Korea and Poland. She currently works as a trauma specialist at Ochsner Healthcare System in New Orleans.

As a child, you were probably asked multiple times about your dreams. And, as a child your answer was probably something fantastical: firefighter, ballerina, football player, and, maybe, doctor.

Dr. Derichard McCoy is a Charlotte, NC native. He attended Livingstone College in Salisbury NC where he received a BS in Sport Management. He then went on to receive his MS in Education specializing in Sports Management from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale FL.

Dr. McCoy earned his Doctorate of Education in Sports Management with an emphasis in Sport Leadership from the United States Sports Academy in Daphne, AL. He is currently the Athletic Director and Health/Physical Education Teacher at Mountain Island Lake Academy and the Varsity Defensive Line Coach at Providence Day School.

Dr. McCoy consults with the Group of 5 college football coaches, helping them to better compete with the Power 5 programs within the Football Bowl Subdivision.

Have you been in a situation where just getting this one thing done seems impossible? It could be getting through step one of your workout routine, reading the first ten pages of a book, or writing one sentence for your diissertation. But dreams and goals don’t work unless you do, so what are you delaying?

Dr. Greg Cason is best known as “Dr. Greg” from the Bravo series LA Shrinks, the controversial docu-series that showed what happens in the therapist’s office and in his real life.  He appears regularly as a psychological expert on The Nancy Grace Show and has also appeared a large variety of TV programs including The Jeff Probst Show, The Tyra Banks Show, Extra, Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood, and several news features.

Dr. Cason's expertise was also featured in documentaries specifically about the gay community such as The Butch Factor, The Adonis Factor, and The Gift. Most recently, he provided expert psychological analysis in The Secret Tapes of the O.J. Case: The Untold Story. His writing includes an often irreverent psychology column for the gay community called “Off The Couch” in print and on-line versions of Frontiers magazine and his sometimes controversial views have been featured about in The Huffington Post, The Advocate, People, and several other publications.

Dr. Cason currently teaches in the psychiatric residency at UCLA and is a licensed psychologist and  Diplomate in the Academy of Cognitive therapy with a private practice in Los Angeles specializing in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy & the LGBT community.

Do you consider yourself to be a lifelong learner? How do you leverage that learning to benefit yourself, your family, and your community?

Dr. Michael Levittan is an accomplished and recognized expert on domestic violence, anger management, child abuse, trauma, PTSD, and suicide.  He is a licensed psychotherapist, director of T.E.A.M. - a state-certified batterers’ treatment program, serves as an Expert Witness in court, teaches seminars and courses at UCLA Extension, National Alliance on Mental Illness, International Conference on Violence, Abuse, and Trauma, L.A. Superior Court, Inter-Agency Council on Child Abuse and Neglect, California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, U.S. Marines, Women’s Shelters, etc.

Dr. Levittan's media work as an expert includes the Tyra Banks Show, ABC-TV News, Starting Over, Bad Girls Club, Montel Williams, Robert Irvine Show, Politico.com, Hollywood 411, and radio, on-line, and print publications.  He has contributed a chapter to the International Handbook on Interpersonal Violence, "The History of Infanticide;" a chapter in Violence in Our Society; and a chapter on Domestic Violence in “Her Story, His Story.”

Dr. Levittan appears in the newly-released documentary on parenting, "The Golden Opportunity of Child Development."  He also recently completed the soon-to-be-published “Essentials of Anger Management.”  Dr. Levittan is currently appearing as a Relationship Expert on the “Frangela” TV show.  As an Executive Board member of the NPEIV Think Tank (National Partnership to End Interpersonal Violence), he launched the GLOBAL PEACE COMMITTEE in order to promote peaceful, humane solutions to societal problems.  Recently, he has completed podcasts on “Fathers Raising Daughters,” the “Me Too” movement, and “Gender Expectations in the 21^st Century.”  Dr. Levittan appears in the soon-to-be released documentary “Chains.”  His passion comes across in his writings, presentations, and media appearances.

Sandra Long is a global LinkedIn expert, consultant, author, and speaker. She is a professional member of the National Speakers Association and received her Certified Virtual Presenter designation from espeakers.

Her best-selling book is LinkedIn for Personal Branding, The Ultimate Guide.  Sandra presented the first-ever TEDx talk about LinkedIn in 2019. The 11-minute speech is called, "LinkedIn Community: A Super Power Hiding in Plain Sight," and is available on YouTube.

Sandra and her company Post Road Consulting focus 100% on LinkedIn education and thought leadership. Their clients include sales teams, corporate C-Level executives, HR teams, universities, job seekers, and business owners.

Making the choice of getting a doctoral degree can be as terrifying as it is exciting. In fact, only one percent of the population successfully navigates this unconventional path. What’s holding you back?

Dr. Angela L. Swain is a business psychologist, executive coach, researcher, and author. As an expert in organizational behavior she believes in creating positive workplace cultures through leadership development professionally and personally.

Dr. Swain served as a researcher and moderator for The Emotional Intelligence Leadership Institute in Chicago where she conducted training programs for managers to discuss team membership, meaning, and empowerment and a senior consultant with Open Door Advisors, Inc., an organizational development consulting firm serving social enterprise leaders and consultant, coach. Currently, she is an adjunct faculty member for Theological Reflection and a ministerial coach and faculty member for the Thriving Together program at Catholic Theological Union, a seminary for both lay and religious leaders. Recently she began her tenure as Director for the Office of Human Dignity and Solidarity with the Archdiocese of Chicago.

She is the author of “Kitchen Table Talks with Dad: 5 Simple Tools to Become a Transformative Leader,” a book aimed at helping business leaders and entrepreneurs cultivate emotional intelligence and improve communication with their employees.

Do you find yourself navigating obstacles, battling excuses, and wondering, “Will I ever get there?”

Melody Bacon, PhD has taught in the MFT program at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology for over 10 years and in graduate programs for over 20 years.  She has an expertise in Bowen Family Systems therapy as well as Jungian Analytic Psychology.

Dr. Bacon has had a long interested in the confluence of art and the human psyche, and how, this in turn reflects the larger culture. She has led a study abroad program to Zurich, Switzerland on Spirituality and Addiction which explores the ideas of C.G. Jung and how this is applied to the nature of substance use disorders.

In addition to teaching, she also has a private practice specializing in relationship issues and is the author of two books, The Grace-Filled Divorce (2012) and Family Therapy and the Treatment of Substance Use Disorders (2019). Dr. Bacon is co-founder of The Family Matters program, an online program for families struggling with substance use disorders. She has presented at numerous conferences and workshops including AAMFT, International Family Therapy Association (IFTA), California Consortium of Addiction Program and Professionals (CCAPP) and the Raise Foundation Conference.

What did you tell yourself today? Are you going to be better than yesterday? Or are you going to stay the same?

With over 20 years of expertise helping people transform their lives and careers, Dr. Colleen Georges is a Positive Psychology life and career coach, TEDx speaker, founder of RESCRIPT Your Story LLC, and author of the 8-time award winning book, RESCRIPT the Story You're Telling Yourself: The Eight Practices to Quiet Your Inner Antagonist, Amplify Your Inner Advocate, & Author a Limitless Life.

She is also a Rutgers University Lecturer in counseling and women’s leadership. Prior to running RESCRIPT Your Story LLC, Dr. Colleen served as Director of the Rutgers University TRIO Student Support Services & McNair Programs, which serve first-generation, low-income students and provide academic retention, career development, and doctoral preparation services. She is also a three-time Rutgers graduate, earning her B.A. in Psychology from Douglass College and M.Ed. and Ed.D. in Counseling Psychology from the Graduate School of Education.

Dr. Colleen’s expertise has been featured in various media including News12, RVNTV, Huffington Post, Thrive Global, Forbes, Mashable, and New Jersey Family Magazine. She lives in Piscataway, New Jersey with her husband José, son Joshua, and two cat daughters, Kitty and Sweetie.

Have you listened to your body today? What is on your body's mind?

Rachel Allyn, PhD is a licensed clinical psychologist, certified yoga instructor, public speaker, and author.

She is the founder of YogaPsych, PLLC, a psychotherapy practice for adults that blends Western medicine with Eastern philosophy, and connects the mind with the body. She has been in private practice for fifteen years working with individuals and couples dealing with sexuality, intimacy, and relationship problems as well as trauma, depression, anxiety, and loss.

Dr. Allyn is a TEDx speaker and author of the forthcoming book "The Pleasure Is All Yours: Reclaim Your Body's Bliss and Reignite Your Passion for Life" drawing on her method of bodyfulness, a more dynamic version of mindfulness that incorporates the body's wisdom and capacity for healing. She’s been quoted in books and magazines including Yoga Journal, Women’s Health, Outside, Good Housekeeping, and Cosmopolitan.

Six dozen rats and months of literally wandering in the woods taught Dr. Rachel Herz what she didn't want out of life...

Rachel Herz, Ph.D. is a neuroscientist and world leading expert on the psychological science of smell. She has been conducting research on the senses, emotion, perception, motivated behavior and cognition since 1990.  Dr. Herz is a TEDx speaker, has published over 95 original research papers, received numerous awards and grants, co-authored scholarly handbooks, and is an adjunct professor in the Medical School of Brown University and part-time faculty in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at Boston College.

She is also a professional consultant to various industries regarding scent, taste, food and flavor, and is frequently called upon as an expert witness in legal cases involving olfaction.  Dr. Herz is the author of several academic and popular science books including the leading college textbook on Sensation & Perception (Oxford University Press) now in its 6^thedition, The Scent of Desire: Discovering Our Enigmatic Sense of Smell (2007; Harper Collins), which was selected as a finalist for the “2009 AAAS Prize for Excellence in Science Books,” and That’s Disgusting: Unraveling the Mysteries of Repulsion (2012; W.W. Norton & Co), which analyzes the emotion of disgust from culture to neuroscience, and was listed as a New York Times Book Review “Editor’s Choice”.  Her latest book Why You Eat What You Eat: The Science Behind Our Relationship with Food (2018; W.W. Norton & Co) explores how our senses, brain and psychology govern our perception of food, and the experiences and consequences of eating. Why You Eat What You Eat was a finalist for the “2018 Readable Feast Awards” and listed among the “Best Food Books of 2018” by The Smithsonian and The New Yorker.

Dr. Debra Warner is a leading forensic psychologist, TEDx speaker, trauma expert, training professional, and author. She addresses diverse topics including PTSD, multicultural therapeutic techniques, gang intervention, prison reform, human trafficking, violence against women, substance abuse, relationships and mental health.  She currently is a Professor for the Los Angeles campus of The Chicago School of Professional Psychology’s Psy.D. in Clinical Forensic Psychology. Dr. Warner is a sought out expert witness, psychological evaluator, and consultant.

Dr. Warner is also a male trauma expert, spouse of a male survivor and author of His History, Her Story, a Survival Guide for Spouses of Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse and Trauma and Barbara and My Boys.  She has devoted her professional efforts to helping men and their loved ones confront and conquer their long term effects of trauma on the male psyche. She frequently addresses issues related to the #Mentoo movement, and challenging masculinity stereotypes and dismantling stigmas related to male trauma.

Dr. Warner completed her doctorate in Forensic Psychology from Alliant International University in Fresno, California.. She received her Master of Arts and Master of Education in counseling psychology from Columbia University, Teachers College, in New York City, and has served as an adjunct professor for several universities and as Lead Faculty for Chapman University’s Marriage and Family Therapy program. Dr. Warner has also served as Special Assistant to the Dean of Academic Affairs: Diversity and Community Engagement and Lead Faculty for the Forensic Psychology department for Los Angeles and Irvine. Some of her other professional assignments have included the Department of Homeland Security, Los Angeles Police Department, C.U.R.E.-A Better Los Angeles, the Department of Defense, the Department of Corrections and Regional Center. For these assignments she designed the program elements related to mental health and evaluation. Moreover, she served and clinical supervisor relating to human trafficking, trauma, PTSD and multicultural therapeutic techniques.

With 22 years of experience in business and education, Jeffrey J. Darville, Ph.D. is an insightful professor, keynote speaker, and researcher. Currently as Professor of Business at La Roche University and formerly MBA Director and Assistant Professor in the College of Business Administration at the American University in the Emirates, Dubai, UAE, Jeff has taught Marketing, Negotiations, Change Management, OB, and Leadership. Jeff serves on committees, publishing, leading the MBA program, SACS and AACSB member accreditation efforts. Through collaborative organizational leadership and strategic marketing, Jeff has implemented changes, built programs, orchestrated profitable growth, and improved curricula. 

As an employee and consultant, he has worked for Verizon, AIG, PPG, Alcoa, Sony, Bayer, and Siemens-Westinghouse and well as SME businesses and start-ups. Completing his B.S. in Marketing and Management from Grove City College in 2000, Jeff gained his M.S. in Organizational Leadership from Geneva College in 2008, and his Ph.D. in Organizational Learning and Leadership from Gannon University in 2017. Jeff has published his models on Kinetic Leadership, Value-Added Services and Historical leadership. His research interests are in Strategic decision-making, the use of rationality and intuition, Top Management Teams, Servant Leadership, HRM, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Intercultural communication.

Dr. Louis L. Fletcher is the Director of Culture and Services for El Paso County Colorado School District 49. He is responsible for developing and implementing district-wide education, outreach, and training to promote a culture of inclusion, equity, and respect. Prior to coming to District 49, he was the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of Webster University’s Denver Metro Campus where he led programs that resulted in active duty and retired veterans successfully achieving graduate degrees. He is also formerly the Regional Director for the Western Region of Troy University where he was responsible for leading the academic programs offered at 10 campuses in the western United States and Northeast Asia.

Dr. Fletcher served as an officer in the United States Air Force for 20 years in locations such as Korea, Greece, France, Germany, and various locations in the US; his final assignment was the founding dean of the Advanced Space Operations School in Colorado Springs.

Dr. Fletcher is a restorative practices instructor and advocate who has presented on the discipline nationally and internationally. His goal is to free people from the disputes they have with each other and the world at-large, so that they can find peace, respect, and love in their lives.

Chaz Austin, Ed.D. is an expert in self marketing for the gig economy. He works with private clients around the world to develop their own personal brand. Dr. Austin teaches courses for Los Angeles Pierce College. He also has developed courses for the Beacon House Association of San Pedro.  

Dr. Austin is a TEDx speaker. His work is featured on LinkedIn Learning. And, his most recent book is 101 Ways to Find Work and Keep Finding Work for the Rest of Your Career. 

Dr. Dawn Graham is a career switch coach, TEDx Speaker, LinkedIn Learning Instructor and Host of the popular call-in show “Dr. Dawn on Careers” on SiriusXM Radio (channel 132). She is also a regular contributor to Forbes.com under the leadership channel, and the Career Director for the Executive MBA Program at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Her latest book “Switchers: How Smart Professionals Change Careers and Seize Success” combines her experience as a Career Coach, Licensed Psychologist, and former Corporate Recruiter to give career switchers the strategies to break through obstacles and land the job they want.

Jackie Lapin is a leader in helping leaders, authors, coaches, speakers and entrepreneurs connect with their next followers around the globe. An expert at aiding them to GET BOOKED, she provides strategies, guidance and direct leads through her SpeakerTunity®  programs, tip sheets and regional directories that get changemakers booked for speaking engagements, radio shows, podcasts, virtual summits, TEDx events and virtual networking across North America.SpeakerTunity® also offers a speaker-one sheet graphic design service, booking systems and training to fill up your speaking calendar. SpeakerTunity® is The Ultimate Speaker’s Tool Box.

Her internationally acclaimed Conscious Media Relations Radio/Podcast Tours have helped nearly 200 luminaries, leaders, filmmakers and authors grow their businesses, sell more books, create viewership and change more lives by introducing them to up to 9000 radio shows and podcasts, including such clients as Don Miguel Ruiz, Dr. Joe Vitale, James Twyman, Denise Linn, Arielle Ford, Hay House and more.