The Change-Makers
The Founder
Renee Beth Poindexter is the founder of Living The Potential Network, a community that works together to create a better future by connecting individuals of all ages and backgrounds with the mentors, collaborators, resources, training, and opportunities they need to unfold their unique potential, so they can be and create the change they want to see in the world. An accomplished trainer, facilitator, success coach, and organizational consultant, Renee Beth discovered the significance of learning in the world of business over twenty-five years—across many sectors, including technology, healthcare, financial services, construction, advertising and public relations, executive search, coaching, and consulting.
A former high school English teacher, Renee Beth has worked with non-profit organizations, schools, and businesses to facilitate the positive changes needed to fulfill their organizational vision. Her background in continuous improvement has assisted her in designing programs that inspire people to lead with their heads and hearts connected and create better results. Renee Beth’s current work through Living The Potential Network includes coaching, consulting, mentoring, and networking individuals who are courageously choosing to own their purpose and design their legacy with one common goal: Leave the world better than they found it.
Her book, Living The Potential: Engaging the Wisdom of Our Youth to Save the World, invites people who are vested in a positive future to open new pathways for collaboration—where everyone can bring more of who we are to what we do and how we do it, and engage the wisdom of our youth as active participants in co-creating a happier, healthier future for all.
She is on the Advisory Council for the Transformative Learning Foundation in the United States and the board for Village Home Education Resource Center. A global traveler, Renee Beth makes her home in Portland, Oregon, with her partner, Mark Roth. She loves people, nature, and adventure, and is a master networker.
The Core Team
Don White
Don has a background in sales, business development, strategy, marketing from a variety of technology companies that range from start ups to Fortune 100 Corporations. He has been an engaged father of two sons ages 26 and 23 via their interests in soccer, swimming, snowboarding, robotics and more. While his sons were growing up they taught him a variety of life lessons which naturally enabled his involvement in Living The Potential. He strongly believes in empowering youth, supporting them as they lead the way in areas they are interested in exploring.
One of his favorite quotes from a keynote address at a robotics competition… “Where are your children allowed to fail to learn to achieve?” Dean Kaman, Co-founder FIRST Robotics.
Onyx Reyes
Cultural Integrator and Executive Advisor
Onyx helped create the foundation of the LTPN cultural unity and acts as an advisor and consultant. He uses his depth of experience in corporate communication and his design expertise to help integrate and facilitate cross-generational communication. His breadth of skills, ranging from technology integration, graphic and user experience design, multi-media production, quality assurance, life coaching and many other disciplines, helps him find creative solutions to overcome challenges. Other fun titles of the past include Master of Locks [2004], Generational Liaison [1995], Breaker of Norms [1998], Keeper of Promises [2009], The Friend [2018], Quantum Enigma [2010], and Energy Guru [2000].
Parker Cook
Parker has 20 years of experience in Digital & Traditional Marketing, Video Production, Brand Management, Communications, Product and Service R&D & Business Development helping companies grow and prosper. He has worked with Molson Coors, BC Lottery Corporation, National Bank Financial, SelfDesign and others.
Parker is currently Managing Director at Integral Industries and Point Grey Productions, and has held positions as Director of Marketing, Business Development among others at SelfDesign Learning Community (the Canadian Prime Minister Award-winning K-12 education program and the 2nd largest Independent DL school in BC), where he significantly impacted revenue (8X to $13 million/year) and growth in student enrolment (5X to 2000 learners/year). He helped launch the SelfDesign Graduate Institute (Graduate Level studies in Education), and Co-Founded and was Director for SelfDesign Global (offering the SelfDesign education model in 15 countries).
He was also Co-Founder and founding Board member of SelfDesign Foundation USA (overseeing SelfDesign Global & the SelfDesign Graduate Institute); Board Treasurer with SelfDesign Learning Foundation (governing the BC SelfDesign Program) and Board Treasurer & Marketing Committee Lead with the BC Centre for Elder Advocacy and Support (now Seniors First BC, providing legal and financial support to seniors in BC); Board Member with Marine Court Housing Cooperative (Affordable Family Housing) and with Vancouver Mind-Body Centre (fitness, personal training & martial arts).
Parker is fluent in Spanish; enjoys physical and mental fitness, yoga, martial arts, skiing, and coaching baseball. His ongoing studies are focussed on AI and Digital Marketing & Communications and he lives with his partner and two children in Vancouver, BC.
Toby Walsh
Project and Administrative Assistant
Toby is a dependable, passion-driven, self-directed learner, who has a variety of skills including (but not limited to) team management, programming, extensive digital literacy, and technological problem-solving. And uses those skills to help find creative solutions to any problems that may arise.
Toby has also used this extensive skillset within volunteer work for multiple educational orginizations: Helping with anything from extensive programming, to team management and moderation. Toby is working behind-the-scenes here at LTPN to make sure that everything runs smoothly and is able to facilitate this intergenerational learning environment.
The Facilitators
Debbie Leightner
LTPN Certified
Debbie Leightner founded Be Your Why LLC to share her 33 years of self-directed learning through trials and triumphs to make a positive impact and leave a legacy. She is a mentor and coach who is passionate about helping others discover what’s important to them and create customized plans of action that support discovery and advancement.
Donald White
LTPN Certified
Don is an accomplished business development specialist who has worked in companies that range from small businesses to Fortune 100 corporations in roles that include strategy, alliance management, sales, and marketing. His passion for skiing is matched only by that of helping parents understand, support, and learn from their children.
Julie Diaz
LTPN Certified
Julie is an educator and leader in connecting people to their food. She has spent more than 10 years teaching kids and adults how to Eat Your Veggies. She is inspiring A Cooking Revolution by sharing and creating simple meals using fresh local produce that she buys directly from the farmers at her nearby farmers market. Her vision is simple: When we share meals and stories around the table, we can Cook for Peace.
Lynn Bensing
LTPN Certified
Lynn is an educator who had a thirty-three-year career in one of the largest public school systems in the United States. With a B.S. in Special Education and an M.A. in Administration and Supervision, her depth of knowledge comes from her experience working with special education and general education students, K-12, as a teacher, school-based administrator, and central office administrator. Lynn is passionate about creating school communities in which all students feel safe and engaged in their learning, teachers are knowledgeable and compassionate, and parents feel that they are an integral part of their child’s learning.
Marliese Colantuno
LTPN Certified
Spiritually inclined, innately curious, and an innovative thinker, Marliese discovered her own pathway to making a meaningful contribution early on. Having changed schools frequently as a child, she acquired the habit of observing and analyzing each new system in which she found herself. She began noticing what was and wasn’t effective in education and taking an active interest in how people learn. Today, she is an expert in experiential learning and a Montessori teacher trainer.
Tracey Curran
LTPN Certified
Tracey Curran-Herman is a graphic and freelance artist and owner of Creative Graphics, Inc. Her professional experience encompasses work for educational institutions at all levels as well as small to international companies. Several of her commissioned pieces are held in private collections and her work has been displayed throughout the United States, including galleries in New York and, most recently, in San Antonio.
Melissa Bauer
LTPN Certified
Melissa is a creative change advocate, servant leader, coach and multifaceted solution finder who has facilitated and integrated systems in multiple environments. She is quite adept at working with all business stakeholders from upper to middle management levels both independently as well as in team structures. She sees the micro in the macro and helps others integrate “right and left hemispheres” to see the “forest in the trees.” She develops materials and facilitates training for standard work and software applications in one on one and team scenarios. From her strong data management analysis skills she helps organizations manage risk and design error resolution as well as process improvement in and out of ERP systems as she is experienced with Continuous Improvement and Lean Six Sigma. She is passionate about life long learning, holistic healing and her family.
The Youth Advisory Council
Aaron Johnson, 19
As a writer, mock trial performer, and emerging entrepreneur, Aaron is passionate about helping people see the infinite potential of the world and the importance of building communities and relationships that facilitate life-long learning. He’s currently working on a few creative writing projects, doing part-time admin work for Living The Potential Network, and continuing to support his school’s newspaper and participate on their mock trial team. He’s excited to be a part of the Youth Advisory Council because of its potential to change the way our world treats learning and embody what happens when domains come together, create community, and communicate about what they can do to create meaningful change that works for everybody.
Cassandra Funmaker, Age 19
Cassandra Funmaker is an activist, creative, environmentalist, and humanitarian. She is thrilled to use her skills to inspire and uplift people from all walks of life. A current high school senior who is continuing her education at Columbia College Chicago, she is studying film/television direction. Between May 2021 and August 2022, however, she is taking a gap year in her education to recuperate, travel, and continue her work fighting for social peace. She is currently working on amplifying femme indigenous voices with her school’s Indigenous People’s Club. Cassandra is elated to begin her Living The Potential journey.
James Schmidt, Age 19
James Schmidt is a previously-homeschooled learner now attending college. Recently, he completed his educational journey with Village Home Salem Education Resource Center; and he’s expanding his friendships, experiences, and his continuing education into places like Chemeketa Community College where he is studying to become a therapist. Diagnosed with Autism at an early age, he struggled with things like deciphering body language and understanding social contexts. With the help of his parents and his supportive educational environment, he developed several methods to help him by slowly building up knowledge about how people and social situations flow and function, which he refers to as his Translation Matrix. James is thrilled to be a part of the YAC because he loves brainstorming and collaborating with all of the brilliant people that are a part of it on issues he’s passionate about, such as technology’s role in our society, educational freedom and empowerment, and helping people to connect and understand one another.
Samuel Osborne-Huerta, Age 19
Samuel first began working with Youth Performance Company(YPC) in his hometown of St. Paul, MN, in 2017. While working with YPC, he performed in seven main stage productions, each of which played an incredibly formative role in his journey as an artist. After being accepted into The UMN/Guthrie Theater BFA Actor Training Program, he graduated high school amidst the COVID-19 pandemic with a full scholarship to the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities. During his freshman year of college, he was asked to participate in an online panel focused on the importance of listening to voices of all ages at LTPN’s Garden Experiment. Shortly thereafter, he accepted the invitation to become a member of the Youth Advisory Council and is eager to help build a network of learners from every background.
Zelo-Jade Rael, Age 19
Jade is a tribal member of Picuris Pueblo and a high school graduate from the Santa Fe Indian School, earning the highest award given to SFIS graduates, the “19 Pueblos of New Mexico Governors’ Award” for their “Overall Excellence in Academic Achievement, Community Service and Civic Affairs, and Exemplifying the Core Values of the Santa Fe Indian School with a commitment to Native American Cultural Values and Traditions.” In the coming fall, Jade will be attending the University of California – Los Angeles, majoring in Human Biology and Society. Their goals are to educate others on the connections between mental wellness and creative expression, as well as enable struggling youth to take control of their initiatives. (If you would like to see more of these projects, click the icon below her picture.)
Council Seat Open
Interested in becoming a Youth Advisory Council member? Email us at yac@livingthepotential.com
Council Seat Open
Interested in becoming a Youth Advisory Council member? Email us at yac@livingthepotential.com
Meet the Youth Advisory Council
Aaron
Cassandra
James
Samuel
Zelo-Jade
The Advocates
Our Advocates are some of our greatest resources in this network!
They are making a difference in the world, and they lend their superpowers and expertise with everyone who joins the network.
Are you looking for a Mentor,
or do you want to become an Advocate and Mentor yourself?
Do you have a change-making offering that you could bring to
Living The Potential Network?
We can help!
Nancy Miriam Hawley
CEO of Enlignment®, Inc.
Nancy Miriam Hawley is CEO of Enlignment® Inc. She works in partnership with business owners, executives and management teams in a variety of organizations, educational institutions, and publicly and privately owned businesses. Miriam’s clients span the fields of law, medicine, biotech, engineering, development, financial services and the arts.
Fran Fisher
Master Certified Coach
Fran was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award 2012, by the Washington State Chapter of the International Coach Federation. Since 2006 she has been in private practice providing coaching services for individuals, small business owners, and executives. Her specialty is coaching and mentoring experienced coaches who are reaching for their next level of mastery.
Monica Kmetz Cochran. M.Ed
Learning Without Borders
Monica is passionate about nurturing the love of learning and has vast experience in helping learners of all ages enjoy learning. She works locally in the southeastern Michigan area and virtually (online) all over the world. Although she loves working with all learners, she has a special place in her heart for the quirky learners — the round pegs in the square holes. A passion of hers is to help learners who have challenges develop their strengths, learn in ways that work for them, and be able to thrive in our 21st-century world.
Amanda Johnson
Founder of True To Intention
Amanda Johnson helps aspiring and seasoned change agents write truer individual and collective stories. She partners with divinely-inspired souls to craft messages for maximum impact on their audience, brand, and bottom line AND heal their st*ries, so they can change the world without compromising their health, sanity, or soul.
Rajitha Bommakanti
Founder of Healthy You Lifestyle Center
In her nursing journey, Rajitha has seen gaps in patient care and barriers which caused people to have complex life-changing medical conditions. She saw how one thing leads to another and the impact chronic medical conditions had on her patient’s quality of life. She wanted to make a difference so she moved into a health coaching/transformation space where she is a health partner in educating, inspiring, and empowering people to make small changes to their lives to improve their health. Her company is called Healthy You Lifestyle Center.