In this episode of Forces of Change, hosts Dr. Mikah Sellers and Annie Graziani sit down with Piyush Mathur, co-founder of SkillsBridge AI and a veteran leader in People Analytics at Nielsen and Johnson & Johnson, to explore how organizations can close the widening gap between strategic business plans and workforce talent strategies.

Mathur describes what he calls the enterprise “plumbing problem”—the disconnect between corporate ambition and the actual skills inside an organization. Using his “Bridge to Nowhere” analogy, he explains why companies often invest heavily in HR technologies, learning platforms, and digital transformation initiatives without building the structural systems needed to prepare their workforce for the AI-driven skills economy.

The conversation dives into how organizations can use Generative AI and talent intelligence platforms to connect fragmented data across tools like GitHub, Microsoft Copilot, and HRIS systems, enabling personalized career development and skills-based workforce planning. Sellers, Graziani, and Mathur also examine the rise of hyper-personalized learning experiences—what he calls the “Netflix-ification” of employee development—and the critical balance between data-driven HR insights, employee privacy, and organizational trust.

For leaders navigating digital transformation and the future of work, this episode offers a practical roadmap for aligning AI innovation with human potential to build more agile, skills-based organizations.

In this episode of Forces of Change, hosts Dr. Mikah Sellers and Annie Graziani sit down with Shahram Ebadollahi, a pioneer in healthcare technology who helped shape the industry as a founding leader of IBM Watson Health and later as the first Chief Data and AI Officer at Novartis. Drawing on decades of experience at the intersection of artificial intelligence, healthcare innovation, and global enterprise transformation, Shahram explains why moving beyond the hype of AI requires far more than technology alone.

The conversation reveals a critical insight: technology accounts for only about 20% of successful AI implementation, while the remaining 80% depends on transforming organizational workflows, leadership incentives, and company culture. Sellers, Graziani, and Ebadollahi explore why organizations often become enamored with cutting-edge tools yet struggle to deliver measurable outcomes, and what leaders must do to close the gap between AI’s promise and real-world impact.

From the role of corporate boards in overseeing AI strategy to the tension between shareholder value and the mission of democratizing healthcare, the episode offers a practical roadmap for leaders navigating digital transformation in complex industries. The discussion highlights the importance of designing organizations to become “good recipients” of new technology, aligning people and processes to unlock the full potential of AI-driven innovation.

In this episode of Forces of Change, hosts Dr. Mikah Sellers and Annie Graziani step into the guest seat to unpack the research and real-world insights that inspired the podcast. Drawing from their professional backgrounds in leadership, workforce development, and organizational transformation, they explore how technology, policy, and workplace culture intersect with human well-being in today’s rapidly evolving economy.

The conversation dives into the rise of the “always-on” corporate culture and the growing burnout crisis reshaping the modern labor market. Sellers and Graziani examine the economic and organizational consequences of ignoring work-life integration and share how their research offers a data-driven roadmap for leaders seeking to build more sustainable and resilient organizations.

From the mass exit of women from the workforce to the measurable ROI of employee well-being, the episode reframes wellness not as a workplace perk but as a strategic business imperative. Sellers and Graziani also explore the psychological toll of constant digital connectivity and why establishing healthy digital boundaries may be one of the most critical leadership challenges of the modern era.

In this episode of Forces of Change, hosts Dr. Mikah Sellers and Annie Graziani sit down with Dr. Pablo Molina, cybersecurity strategist and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at Drexel University, to explore how artificial intelligence is transforming the cyber battlefield. Drawing on his experience at the intersection of AI, national security, and digital ethics, Dr. Molina explains why the rise of AI has created both powerful defensive tools and unprecedented offensive capabilities for cyber attackers.

The conversation frames AI as a “two-sided sword” in cybersecurity. While organizations are deploying AI-driven anomaly detection and context-based filtering to strengthen defenses, cybercriminals and state actors are using the same technologies to conduct advanced reconnaissance and launch sophisticated social engineering attacks at scale. Dr. Molina explains why offensive capabilities currently outpace defensive protections, creating a growing governance challenge in a digital environment where the boundaries between nation-state operations, criminal enterprises, and independent hackers are increasingly blurred.

Sellers, Graziani, and Molina also discuss the importance of keeping humans in the loop in AI-enabled security systems, the lessons learned from landmark cyber operations like Stuxnet, and the urgent need for clear rules of engagement in cyberspace comparable to those governing conflict on land, sea, and air. The episode explores what the future of AI-driven cyber warfare, digital trust, and global security may look like in an increasingly connected world.

The conversation explores a troubling pattern in modern leadership: executives frequently make high-stakes workplace decisions that align with their personal preferences for control while undermining the organization’s stated performance goals. From the hidden costs of RTO policies to the role of DEI initiatives in addressing labor shortages, the discussion examines how organizational power, workplace culture, and empirical research often collide.

Sellers, Graziani, and Ma also unpack the broader forces reshaping the global workforce, including the risk that AI-driven economic transformation could widen inequality, and why founder-led companies often outperform professionally managed firms in employee outcomes. The episode challenges leaders to rethink success—not simply as maximizing shareholder wealth, but as building organizations that improve lives while sustaining long-term performance.

In this episode of Forces of Change, hosts Dr. Mikah Sellers and Annie Graziani welcome Dr. Mark Ma, Associate Professor at the University of Pittsburgh and a leading researcher on the future of work. Known for his viral research on Return to Office (RTO) mandates—downloaded more than 17,000 times and covered by outlets including the BBC and The Washington Post—Dr. Ma shares groundbreaking insights that challenge conventional corporate thinking.

The conversation explores a troubling pattern in modern leadership: executives frequently make high-stakes workplace decisions that align with their personal preferences for control while undermining the organization’s stated performance goals. From the hidden costs of RTO policies to the role of DEI initiatives in addressing labor shortages, the discussion examines how organizational power, workplace culture, and empirical research often collide.

Sellers, Graziani, and Ma also unpack the broader forces reshaping the global workforce, including the risk that AI-driven economic transformation could widen inequality, and why founder-led companies often outperform professionally managed firms in employee outcomes. The episode challenges leaders to rethink success—not simply as maximizing shareholder wealth, but as building organizations that improve lives while sustaining long-term performance.

In this episode of Forces of Change, hosts Dr. Mikah Sellers and Annie Graziani welcome Noel Zamot, combat aviator, retired U.S. Air Force Colonel, and former commander of the Air Force Test Pilot School, for a deep dive into the rapidly evolving landscape of AI-driven warfare and autonomous military systems. Zamot, who helped establish the military’s first remotely piloted aircraft test program and pioneered frameworks for testing systems in contested cyberspace, offers a rare insider perspective on the technological transformation reshaping modern conflict.

The discussion explores how AI-enhanced drones and autonomous systems are redefining the battlefield, with unmanned platforms now responsible for the majority of casualties in conflicts like Ukraine. Sellers, Graziani, and Zamot examine the shift from traditional standoff weapons to fully autonomous agents capable of making decisions at machine speed, raising urgent questions about trust, accountability, and the future of military command.

The episode also confronts the psychological and ethical implications of remote warfare, where operators may conduct lethal missions from thousands of miles away, and the growing challenge of testing AI-enabled systems in contested environments filled with cyber attacks, electronic warfare, and signal disruption. Together, they explore what this new era of machine-speed conflict means for policy, military readiness, and the human dimension of war.

On this episode of Forces of Change, hosts Dr. Mikah Sellers and Annie Graziani sit down with Jason Bryant, Executive Director of CROP Organization, to explore the future of justice system reform and successful reentry after incarceration. After spending 20 years in prison, Bryant transformed his time behind bars into a mission-driven education—earning two master’s degrees, becoming a certified counselor, and helping build a movement dedicated to changing the system from the inside out.

Bryant shares the powerful moment that ignited his purpose—watching his father break down in tears on the day of his arrest—and how that experience led him to believe that people with lived experience are the experts best equipped to design real solutions. The conversation highlights CROP’s “Ready for Life” program, a holistic reentry model built by leaders with more than 100 years of combined lived experience, focused on addressing the root cause of incarceration: poverty.

The episode explores how mindset work, trauma healing, digital and financial literacy training, career pathways with livable wages, and stable housing are reshaping reentry success. Sellers, Graziani, and Bryant also examine the broader shift from a punishment-based justice system to restorative, community-driven solutions—and what it will take to scale these models nationwide.

Former Navy SEAL and sleep scientist Rob Sweetman, founder of Sleep Genius and 62 Romeo, joins Dr. Mikah Sellers and Annie Graziani on Forces of Change to expose the hidden crisis affecting the U.S. military: sleep deprivation and its impact on readiness, mental health, and operational safety. Drawing from his own difficult transition from combat to civilian life, Sweetman explains how chronic fatigue fuels the military’s reliance on stimulants and sedatives and contributes to costly “avoidable mishaps,” including ship collisions and aircraft losses. The conversation explores why sleep must be treated as a national security issue, the need to “weaponize wellness for the warfighter,” and policy solutions such as consistent circadian watch cycles and measuring physiological recovery. The episode also examines the future of warfare in an age of autonomous systems and the broader societal forces undermining wellness—from nutrition and pharmaceuticals to insurance regulation.

In the inaugural episode of Forces of Change, hosts Dr. Mikah Sellers and Annie Graziani sit down with Mike Bechtel, an inventor-turned-investor, futurist, and professor who works to make sense of what’s new and next in tech. Mike, a former Chief Futurist at Deloitte and Global Innovation Director at Accenture who holds 12 U.S. patents, translates "the art of the possible into the art of the profitable," helping today's leaders "arrive at their preferred tomorrows" ahead of schedule.