What happens when a story you love becomes the life you choose?

In this powerful episode of HarmonyTALK, host Todd Stephens sits down with Scranton native Mike Kunda, founder of the Yo, Philly! Rocky Film Tour and one of the most recognized Rocky impersonators in the world.

As a child, Mike faced bullying, insecurity, and a deep sense of not belonging. Then he discovered Rocky. What began as escape became identity. What began as imitation became transformation.

Mike shares how he turned adversity into purpose, built a business rooted in passion, and formed a real-life connection with Sylvester Stallone himself.

This episode explores perseverance, identity, creativity, resilience, and what it means to keep showing up for your dream even when no one else understands it.

Perfect for listeners drawn to underdog stories, personal transformation, creative entrepreneurship, mindset, and the power of believing in something bigger than yourself.

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How many ceilings can one woman break?

Pat Mitchell stopped counting.

In this episode of HarmonyTALK, host Lisa Champeau sits down with a true original. A woman who did not just rise through the ranks of media, she reshaped them.

Pat Mitchell is a serial ceiling smasher. The first female president of PBS and CNN. The first woman to own and host a nationally syndicated daily talk show. And long before the titles, she was a young woman willing to risk everything to build a life that did not yet exist.

She marched for civil rights. Reported from war zones. Told stories no one else would touch. And when the industry said women’s voices did not matter, she made them impossible to ignore.

But what makes this conversation unforgettable is what comes after the accolades.

Pat speaks candidly about the decisions behind the moments. The instincts she learned to trust. And the responsibility she feels to lift other women as she climbs.

This is a conversation about leadership, yes. But also about courage, mentorship, and the quiet, persistent work of changing what is possible.

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Chef Von on Hustle, Reinvention and Building Something Real

What does it take to bet on yourself when there’s no backup plan?

In this episode of HarmonyTALK, host Greg Frigoletto sits down with Chef Ryan Von Smith, known as Chef Von, a self-taught chef whose journey spans Los Angeles, New York, Las Vegas, and Macau.

After leaving Scranton, Pennsylvania, in search of something bigger, Chef Von worked his way from the door - as a bouncer - at Tao Asian Bistro into high-pressure kitchens across the country. When COVID shut everything down, he returned home and started cooking out of his mom’s kitchen, turning a moment of uncertainty into Chef Von & Mom, a restaurant rooted in family, community and bold flavor.

Since then, he has stepped back onto the global stage, placing third at the World Master Chefs Competition, winning the 2024 World Rice Championship, and appearing on Gordon Ramsay’s Next Level Chef.

This conversation is about more than food. It’s about risk, resilience, reinvention and the confidence to build something real, twice.

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Beyond the Tank: When the Real Entrepreneurial Journey Begins

Many entrepreneurs dream of appearing on Shark Tank.

But what happens after the cameras turn off?

In this episode of HarmonyTALK, host Lisa Champeau sits down with Scranton native and inventor Kim Meckwood, founder of Click & Carry, the simple but ingenious device designed to make carrying grocery bags, paint cans, sports equipment, and everyday loads dramatically easier.

Kim’s idea began with a familiar frustration. While hauling grocery bags up apartment stairs, she wondered why such a common problem didn’t have a better solution.

That moment sparked Click & Carry.

Turning the idea into a real product required persistence. Kim built prototypes, secured patents, and auditioned seven times before finally landing a spot on Shark Tank, where she secured a deal with Barbara Corcoran and Mark Cuban.

Today Kim is focused on the next chapter of entrepreneurship. She is pitching Click & Carry to major retailers, working to place the product on big box store shelves, and exploring how to move manufacturing to the United States as new import tariffs reshape global production.

Her mindset is simple:

“No just means no for now.”

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What happens when the people you are studying ask you to stand beside them instead?

In this powerful episode of HarmonyTALK, host Lisa Champeau interviews Judy Frater, a Pennsylvania-born Fulbright Scholar, Ashoka Fellow, design educator, author and founder of India’s first design school for traditional textile artisans.

After moving to Kutch, India, more than 30 years ago, Judy’s academic research took an unexpected turn when an artisan asked her a life-altering question:”Instead of studying us, why don’t you help us?”

That moment sparked Kala Raksha, a women’s embroidery cooperative, a textile museum preserving nearly 800 historic works, and eventually Somaiya Kala Vidya, a groundbreaking design school that teaches artisans business, marketing, sustainability and innovation without abandoning tradition.

Judy shares what it means to empower rather than interfere, how commercialization and cultural preservation can coexist, and why “the biggest luxury is knowing who made your clothes.”

This episode explores sustainability, ethical fashion, women’s economic empowerment, social entrepreneurship, artisan education and the courage to make something new.

Perfect for listeners passionate about ethical fashion, social impact, women’s leadership, global design, sustainability, and creative entrepreneurship.

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How do you choreograph change when life shifts beneath your feet?

On this episode of HarmonyTALK, host Greg Frigoletto sits down with internationally acclaimed choreographer, creative director, educator and podcast host Cherice Barton to explore what it means to move through evolving seasons with grace, humor, and purpose.

With a career spanning Broadway, Cirque, television, ballet and global immersive productions, Cherice understands discipline, scale and creative leadership. At home, she and her former husband, a television executive, are collaborative co-parents to two tween daughters, modeling what modern family evolution can look like.

She also shares the inspiration behind her podcast, Creative Mamas Unplugged, a podcast where Cherice “navigates the hell out of being a creative mom with humor and heart.” Through it, she is building a bold, honest community for women balancing ambition and motherhood.

This conversation is about embracing discomfort, choosing joy, building community and always staying in motion.

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Jeff Braverman joins HarmonyTALK to reflect on 30 years of leadership at Camp Nesher and the unexpected decisions that helped shape one of its most meaningful legacies.

What began as a dream to create a vibrant summer camp experience centered on community and faith took an unexpected turn when he was approached by a parent who asked if their wheelchair-bound child with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy could be accommodated and welcomed at camp.

Braverman’s decision to move forward would become one of the most defining moments of his career. He didn’t simply advocate for accessibility. He embedded it into the culture of the camp itself, shaping programs and practices that welcomed campers of all abilities as equal participants through a partnership program with the national organization Yachad (Hebrew for “together”,) whose mission is inclusion for individuals with developmental disabilities into the greater Jewish community.

Located in Lakewood, Pennsylvania, Camp Nesher is part of NJY Camps, a 105-year-old organization and one of the world’s largest camping agencies, awarding up to $2 million in scholarships each year. In addition, NJY brings more than 40 years of experience in inclusive programming through its Round Lake inclusion program at its Milford, Pennsylvania, property which includes Camps Nah-Jee-Wah, Cedar Lake and Teen Camp.

In this inspiring conversation with host Todd Stephens, Braverman shares leadership lessons learned along the way and how passion, purpose and music can move in harmony.

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How do you scale a bold idea into a movement?

In this HarmonyTALK podcast episode, host Lisa Champeau interviews Dakota Kate Isaacs, the first U.S. employee at DECIEM and former Director of DECIEM USA. Dakota helped grow The Ordinary into one of the most disruptive beauty brands in the world, expanding to more than 2,500 retail locations across North America.

She discusses scaling disruption, working alongside founder Brandon Truaxe, executive producing the documentary The Abnormal Beauty Company, and launching The Big Sister Playbook, a podcast and field guide for modern ambition.

Perfect for entrepreneurs, marketers, founders, and emerging leaders, this episode delivers real-world leadership insight and inspiration.

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