Tom Lenoble’s story is a powerful combination of leadership, resilience, and personal transformation. In this inspiring interview, Tom reflects on his remarkable career leading global customer operations for major brands like MCI, Walmart.com, Palm, and Facebook, where he helped build the company’s first customer operations organization during its explosive early growth.
Beyond his Silicon Valley leadership achievements, Tom opens up about surviving two life-threatening illnesses, living with HIV, and battling metastatic cancer for 13 years while continuing to lead, inspire, and thrive. His bestselling memoir, My Life in Business Suits, Hospital Gowns, and High Heels, reveals the deeply human side of his journey — from corporate success to vulnerability, healing, and purpose. Today, Tom is a sought-after leadership coach, speaker, and CEO of the Academy for Coaching Excellence, helping others discover strength, clarity, and meaning in life’s most difficult chapters. This episode is a powerful reminder that resilience, courage, and authenticity can transform even the hardest experiences into incredible “gifts.”
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What happens when a life-changing accident forces you to redefine everything you thought was possible? On this episode of the We're Not Stumped podcast, I sit down with Dr. Kirsten Ludwig—a biomedical researcher, educator, former professional polo player, and advocate for disability inclusion in healthcare. In 2021, Dr. Ludwig was paralyzed from the neck down during a horseback riding accident. Through determination, rehabilitation, and an incredible commitment to recovery, she became what she describes as a walking quadriplegic. Today, she combines her lived experience with her work as an Associate Professor of Biomedical Science at the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine, helping educate future physicians about disability, accessibility, and patient-centered care.
What is it really like to live with hearing loss? . In this episode of the We're Not Stumped Podcast, Mike Bolland sits down with Janelle Parker, founder of TAMCO Learning, to discuss her lifelong journey with hearing loss and the lessons she's learned along the way. Janelle shares how she was born with a unique "cookie bite" hearing loss, received her first hearing aid before age four, and adapted to life in a world designed for hearing people. She also discusses the dramatic evolution of hearing aid technology, assistive devices, and accessibility tools that have transformed opportunities for people with hearing loss. Whether you're living with hearing loss, supporting a loved one, or simply interested in learning more about accessibility and communication, this episode offers practical advice, inspiration, and valuable perspective.
Three years after her first appearance on We're Not Stumped, Rose Booth returns to the podcast to share an extraordinary journey of resilience, faith, and new beginnings. After enduring 14 surgeries, multiple episodes of sepsis, a heart attack, and the loss of her right leg above the knee, Rose found herself on a path she never expected. A former technology executive, she left corporate America behind and discovered a passion for writing and ministry. In this episode, Rose discusses her memoir Dancing in the Valley and the inspiration behind her new children's book, Rosie and Her Robot Leg. Inspired by the children she serves through Vacation Bible School and the questions they asked during her recovery, Rose created a story designed to help children, parents, and teachers better understand limb loss and disability.
