Welcome to the Ampersand Manifesto

What fuels a multi-passionate life? 

In this podcast, I interview the most interesting people at the dinner party.

These folks have led double-lives for decades and straddled two completely different worlds.

For as long as I can remember, I've led a double-life of the practical and the creative. I've built a career in marketing for almost two decades. And now, I work as leadership and executive coach. 

On the creative side I've been a musician since I was a kid playing the piano, violin, and oboe. Music was my thing! And then I kept it up. As an adult, I've been actively performing opera, classical music, and musical theater since 2001. 

But for the longest time, I wasn't even sure what we should call ourselves. Renaissance humans? Polymaths? Something-slash-something else?The answer woke me up at 2AM one night. We're Ampersands! We have a big, substantial "and" in what we do. We've poured tens of thousands of hours into our creative endeavors, but we've also risen in our paid professions as leaders in the fields of business, education, technology, medicine, science, and more.

The goal of this podcast is to collectively design the Ampersand Manifesto. Why do we continue to lead these double-lives? What does it look like to be balancing and even integrating two big pursuits? And how can our multifaceted endeavors support other Ampersands and the community around us? 

This season I interview Ampersands from so many different walks of life. I can't wait to introduce you to these multi-talented, passionate people. Join me for the Ampersand Manifesto, season 1.

Music Credits: Haas-in-Place Episode 1: Zueignung with Don Atkins (piano) and Jessica Wan (vocals)