Positivity Matters

President Jeffrey Gold: Making Dreams Come True
Ask Dr. Jeffrey Gold what the job of a university leader is, and the answer is refreshingly direct: to make people's dreams come true.
Recorded June 23, 2026, this episode welcomes Dr. Jeffrey Gold — cardiothoracic surgeon, first-generation college graduate, and the ninth president of the University of Nebraska System — for a warm and wide-ranging conversation about service, strengths, and the people who shape a life. Gold speaks of an appreciation and awe for the medical field that he has carried since he was a young person, and of a lasting joy in mentoring young people as they find their way. He is, in the truest sense, the kind of leader Robert K. Greenleaf had in mind in describing the servant leader — one who serves first, and whose success is measured by whether those they serve grow healthier, wiser, freer, and more likely themselves to serve.
It is a conversation about what leadership is really for: not command but inspiration, and not personal achievement but bringing out the best in other people — a spirit that sits close to the heart of everything Positivity Matters is about.
President Gold's Top 10 CliftonStrengths:
Achiever
Learner
Ideation
Individualization
Responsibility
Connectedness
Arranger
Belief
Strategic
Developer
Listen in, and be reminded of how much good a life of service can set in motion.

Annick Janson: Now (Strengths) & Next (Practical Hope) 
Recorded June 22, 2026, this conversation features Dr. Annick Janson — positive psychologist, social science researcher, and co-founder of the Fast Track Inclusion Trust. Drawing on her work with families of differently-abled children through programs like Pictability and Now & Next, Annick shares how parents move from feeling overwhelmed to having agency, right here and right now, with what they already have.
Her VIA signature strengths come through in every minute: Perseverance (Grit), Love of Learning, Hope, Zest, and Leadership — the same strengths she helps others discover and put to work toward the goals that matter most to them.

Mia Sundstrom: Toward a Radiantly Kind and Playful World   
CEO, The National Institute for Play
Play Styles: Mover (Kinesthete) | Explorer (Adventurer) | Competitor (Sports Competitor)
Sports competitor, adventurer, kinesthete
VIA Strengths: Leadership | Humility | Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence | Creativity | Judgement
Recorded Tuesday, June 2nd, 2026

David Thomas: On Becoming a Playvolutionary for Fun
Dave's CliftonStrengths: Ideation | Strategic | Intellection | Input| MaximizerDavid Thomas hosts the podcast The Fun Question and co-founded Professors at Play — the nearly-1,000-member "Playvolution" remaking higher education — and co-author, with John Sharp, of Fun, Taste, and Games (MIT Press, 2019). His work argues that play isn't ornamental or adjacent to serious work. It's a distinct aesthetic with its own structure: ludic form, ambiguity, and set-outsidedness.
Recorded: Friday, May 8th, 2026

Jarrod Elwell: MI ↝ ABCD ↝ AI ↝ CI = How Community Change Happens Along the Lines of Relationships at the Speed of Hope
Jarrod Elwell is the Community Development regional manager for the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, serving Virginia and Washington D.C.
Strengths: Fairness, Love of Learning, Kindness, Spirituality, Hope
Record: March 31, 2026