In this deeply inspiring episode, Laura speaks with Allison Sagraves, data and AI strategist, educator, and lifelong learner whose unconventional journey led her from corporate burnout to a cabin in the woods and to an entirely new way of living.

What began as a quiet yearning for space became a full transformation: from feeling claustrophobic in her career to creating a wild sanctuary rooted in nature, community, and creative purpose. Allison shares how buying a tiny cabin led her into beekeeping, rewilding her land, and reconnecting with the rhythms of the natural world, all while continuing to teach and consult at the highest levels of data and AI leadership.

This conversation beautifully bridges the practical and the spiritual, the technological and the natural. It’s a story of listening deeply, following intuition, and allowing life to unfold in its own time, an act of applied serendipity in every sense.

What You’ll Hear in This Episode:

• How Allison’s yearning for space sparked a life-changing journey

• The healing connection between grief, land, and freedom

• From corporate claustrophobia to cabin life: what happens when you listen to intuition

• How one small cabin turned into a compound of creativity, connection, and care

• The surprising intersections between AI, data science, and citizen science

• What nature can teach us about systems, resilience, and balance

• The future of community: family, tribe, and shared spaces of belonging

• Healing through simplicity, rest, and reconnection

• Allison’s reflections on risk, resilience, and reclaiming her own narrative

Bio

Allison Sagraves is a data strategist, AI advisor, and educator who helps organizations around the world design intelligent data systems with integrity and insight. She serves on the faculty at Carnegie Mellon University in the Chief Data and AI Officer Program and is the founder of Applied Serendipity, where she blends technology, strategy, and soulful leadership.

Resources & Links

Connect with Alison on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/allisonsagraves/ or Instagram https://www.instagram.com/appliedserenity

Or visit her website https://www.allisonsagraves.com/

The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene

Pete Oudolf and native plant design

Music Featured

The music in each episode of Surrendering to the Signs has been carefully curated to enhance the episode, below is a list of all tracks featured.

List of Music

Saggie, Steven Beddall & Jenny Penkin - Easy to Love

Ben Winwood - Intimacy

Louis Island - Forest Fire - Instrumental

Michael Drake - Milk Honey

Lior Soltz - Glistening Ripples Lullaby

Elad Perez - Only This

Southern Call - Cactus Flower

In this expansive and heartfelt conversation, Laura reconnects with her dear friend and fellow guide, Tesse Akpeki, to explore how we cultivate resilience in times of chaos, grief, and transformation. Tesse shares her deeply personal journey, shaped by global roots, professional pivots, and profound loss and how a serendipitous solo trip to Ghana became a turning point in her healing.

Together, Laura and Tesse reflect on how disruption can become a doorway to presence, purpose, and inner strength. They talk about the power of self-compassion, the need to honor our own timeline for grieving, and how unexpected change can become the very ground of growth.

This episode offers a powerful reminder: we can navigate even the most unpredictable storms with courage, curiosity, and care for ourselves and for one another.

What You’ll Hear in This Episode:

• Tesse’s multicultural background and journey from Nigeria to the UK
• The impact of sudden loss and the complexity of traumatic grief
• How a leadership retreat that didn’t happen became a soul pilgrimage
• What it means to be a “global citizen” shaped by many cultures
• Tesse’s evolving work in resilience, wellbeing, and leadership in academia
• The story behind her Future Focused Wellbeing & Resilience initiative
• The culture shock of returning home to find peace in Ghana’s pace and presence
• A powerful hospital story that demonstrates how loving culture can transform care
• The difference between anticipatory grief and traumatic grief
• The practice of intentional noticing and writing down daily moments of gratitude

Bio

Tesse Akpeki is a governance professional, lawyer, coach, and podcast host who has dedicated her life to helping individuals and organizations thrive in complex times. A true global citizen, Tesse blends legal expertise, leadership training, and deep spiritual insight to guide others through transformation. She is the host of Tesse Talks and Tesse Leads.

Resources & Links

Tesse’s podcasts: Tesse Talks and Tesse Leads

Man’s Search for Meaning and Hope by Viktor Franklin

Music Featured

The music in each episode of Surrendering to the Signs has been carefully curated to enhance the episode, below is a list of all tracks featured.

List of Music

Saggie, Steven Beddall & Jenny Penkin - Easy to Love

Jimit - Forever Instrumental Version

Hans Johnson - Maasai

Ran Raiten - Pain Management

Seth Parson - Lekki

CTRL S - Colours of Your Heart Instrumental Version

Soft Sand - MEOD

The Ladyproducer - Born Chic

LUMINAR - As We Go

In this powerful and soul-bearing episode, Laura welcomes her longtime friend and fellow seeker, Sherold Barr. What unfolds is a profound exploration of trauma, trust, resilience, and spiritual awakening. Sherold opens up about the life-altering events that have shaped her journey, her brother’s unsolved murder, her son’s near-death illness, and her own harrowing accident that led to a near-death experience.

Through it all, Sherold shares how she learned to question her thoughts, trust her intuition, and surrender to what she calls “the high road to healing.” Her journey has been anything but easy but her willingness to face pain with consciousness, compassion, and radical honesty is deeply inspiring.

This conversation is a testament to the power of inner work, the grace of synchronicity, and the wisdom that comes when we stop resisting life and start listening.

What You'll Hear In This Episode

• How Sherold’s brother’s unsolved murder became the catalyst for deep inner healing

• Discovering Byron Katie’s work and realizing how our minds can imprison us

• The painful yet transformational experience of her son’s rare illness and recovery

• Insights into the “mother archetype” and how to mother ourselves and others

• A near-death experience in Mexico that changed everything—physically, emotionally, and spiritually

• The extraordinary synchronicities that appeared during and after her accident

• Learning to listen to intuition and the consequences of not trusting it

• The long journey from trauma to trust, and how writing helped uncover deeper truths

• Healing generational patterns, family dynamics, and coming home to herself

• Living now from a place of spiritual clarity, sobriety, and sacred service

Sherold Barr is a writer, coach, and spiritual guide whose life has been marked by profound adversity and even more profound transformation. A former PR executive turned seeker she now brings her lived wisdom to others through coaching and writing. Sherold is currently working on her memoir, High Road to Healing, and a program to help others navigate health crises with grace and intention.

Resources & Links

The Work by Byron Katie

Map of Consciousness by David R. Hawkins

Seth Godin’s work on creative and conscious entrepreneurship

Sherold’s website https://www.sheroldbarr.com/

Music Featured

The music in each episode of Surrendering to the Signs has been carefully curated to enhance the episode, below is a list of all tracks featured.

List of Music

Saggie, Steven Beddall & Jenny Penkin - Easy to Love

Amick Cutler - Heartache (instrumental version)

Adrián Berenguer - Aware

Ilan Bar-Lavi - Cielito Lindo (instrumental version)

Rob Matheson - Spring

Roie Shpigler - Into the Light (instrumental version)

Salt of the Sound - Surrender

Dream of Eden - Speak without words

Steven Beddall - Never gonna let you go

Saggie, Steven Beddall & Jenny Penkin - Easy to Love (instrumental version)