Personal Veritas unveiled: How the podcast series came to be

PERSONAL VERITAS: Harvard alumni reflect on life's twists and turns and the impact they hope to have on the world

In this launch episode of PERSONAL VERITAS, three members of the Class of ’97, Shauna Springer, Ann Elisabeth Stuart Samson, and Sally Wolf, the podcast’s executive producers, share the story behind the stories: how this podcast series came to be, the types of stories you can expect, and our goals for the episodes to come. They also provide brief introductions to the rest of the team: sound/tech guru JC Chao, musical director Rachel Garlin, and design artist Kate Isenberg. Detailed bios for each of the team members appear below.
Shauna ‘Doc’ Springer is a licensed psychologist, keynote speaker, award-winning podcast host, frequently requested media source, and one of the world's leading experts on psychological trauma, military transition, suicide prevention, and close relationships. A Harvard graduate who has become a trusted Doc to our nation’s military warfighters and first responders, she is the author of two best-selling books, WARRIOR and BEYOND THE MILITARY. In her next book, RELENTLESS COURAGE, she tackles the complexity of trauma within the law enforcement community. As Chief Psychologist for STELLA, an innovative healthcare organization with more than 50 clinics across the US and Australia, she advances a new model for treating psychological trauma that combines biological and psychological interventions.
Ann Elisabeth Stuart Samson has built organizations and platforms from the ground up. Her current project is a university-based think tank focused on Canada's future. She began her career working in women’s rights and with CBC television, and launched and ran BabyCenter Canada, a top pregnancy and parenting digital platform for 12 years. A recognized science and health journalist, she edited two best-selling parenting books and appeared on radio and TV across Canada. She studied History and Science at Harvard College and earned a master’s from University of Cambridge (UK) in the History and Philosophy of Science. She has three teenagers, serves on the Harvard Alumni Association Board of Directors, is a volunteer rowing coach, and an avid open water swimmer.
Sally Wolf is an entrepreneur and speaker who empowers and inspires others to flourish. Her company, LightWorks, guides corporate teams and individual clients toward wellbeing, personal/professional alignment and resilience. Her work integrates her studies at Harvard (AB, psychology) and Stanford (MBA, MA Education), her certifications in positive psychology, coaching, resilience, meditation, and Sparketype advising, and her lived experience with metastatic breast cancer. She also regularly speaks about authenticity, vulnerability, post-traumatic growth, and positivity. A former media executive, Sally created and launched OneFifty, a content incubator for innovative, diverse storytellers. A former camp counselor, Sally still passionately brings childlike wonder, creativity, and community into everything she does, most especially her adventures with her nephew and nieces.
Jen-Chun “JC” Chao is a re-recording mixer and sound designer currently based in New York. With a passion for the craft of sound, he has dedicated his career to audio post-production for film, television, and podcast, and earned a Master’s degree in Music Technology at NYU. His work has been displayed at Phoenix Film Festival, Bushwick Film Festival, and Santa Barbara International Film Festival. In 2020 and 2021 he was awarded Best Sound at the MOD Golden Short Film Festival in Taipei.
Rachel Garlin is a nationally-touring singer-songwriter with eight indie albums in the folk-rock genre. Her interest in people—their stories, struggles, and truths—is at the heart of her work and has been featured in the San Francisco Chronicle, Glide Magazine, and Curve Magazine (“storytelling at its best”). Rachel’s latest album The State That We Are In offers a provocative walk through the personal and political. Rachel lives in San Francisco with her wife and three kids.
Kate Isenberg is a cartoonist and an animator whose drawings have appeared in The New Yorker and other magazines. Her comic strip Stewball stars a unicorn-horse poet with an existential dilemma. Kate brought Stewball to the big screen in her animated short film Dear Death, which received a grant from Simpsons creator Matt Groening and screened at festivals worldwide. With an MFA in animation from UCLA, Kate teaches animation and sound design at California College of the Arts.

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