Advertise on podcast: Talkin' Tennessee with Yvonnca

Susan Dakak’s story starts in Baghdad and keeps unfolding through Tennessee, engineering, and an unexpected mission: use everyday conversations to lower the temperature in a heated world. When Susan talks about “peace,” she doesn’t mean avoiding hard things. She means learning how to communicate before issues turn into conflict and teaching the next generation to solve problems without hate. Along the way, she shares the moments that shaped her identity.  If you are looking for a Realtor, don't forget to call The Landes Team to help you buy and sell!  Yvonnca Landes Realty Executives Associates 865.660.1186 or 588.3232 www.YvonncaSellsRealEstate.com Adrienne Landes Realty Executives Associates 865.659-6860 or 588.3232 Click here: https://linktr.ee/talkintnwithyvonnca Turning Knox Rental (Event Rental Services): www.turningknoxrental.com Landes Home Collection Online Store: www.landeshomecollection.com For promotion inquires please contact Yvonnca Landes. 865-660-1186 All Copy Rights are owned Yvonnca Landes and the Landes Brand ©. To gain legal access contact David Landes 865.660.6860 or [email protected]   Produced and engineered by: Adrienne Landes Thank you for listening! Follow us on social media! https://linktr.ee/talkintnwithyvonnca

One ethical line in the sand can change an entire life. Sharon Price shares the moment she realized she couldn’t stay in a job where integrity was optional and how that decision eventually led her to build one of Knoxville’s most recognized names in wealth management, The Trust Company of Tennessee.  If you are looking for a Realtor, don't forget to call The Landes Team to help you buy and sell!  Yvonnca Landes Realty Executives Associates 865.660.1186 or 588.3232 www.YvonncaSellsRealEstate.com Adrienne Landes Realty Executives Associates 865.659-6860 or 588.3232 Click here: https://linktr.ee/talkintnwithyvonnca Turning Knox Rental (Event Rental Services): www.turningknoxrental.com Landes Home Collection Online Store: www.landeshomecollection.com For promotion inquires please contact Yvonnca Landes. 865-660-1186 All Copy Rights are owned Yvonnca Landes and the Landes Brand ©. To gain legal access contact David Landes 865.660.6860 or [email protected]   Produced and engineered by: Adrienne Landes Thank you for listening! Follow us on social media! https://linktr.ee/talkintnwithyvonnca

She walked away from a $90,000 career, watched her bank account hit negative numbers, and still calls it the best season of her life. That’s the kind of faith-forward leadership we get into with Dr. Dasha Lundy, president and CEO of Knoxville College, as we talk about purpose, obedience, and what it means to lead when you can’t rely on comfort, credentials, or public approval. If you are looking for a Realtor, don't forget to call The Landes Team to help you buy and sell!  Yvonnca Landes Realty Executives Associates 865.660.1186 or 588.3232 www.YvonncaSellsRealEstate.com Adrienne Landes Realty Executives Associates 865.659-6860 or 588.3232 Click here: https://linktr.ee/talkintnwithyvonnca Turning Knox Rental (Event Rental Services): www.turningknoxrental.com Landes Home Collection Online Store: www.landeshomecollection.com For promotion inquires please contact Yvonnca Landes. 865-660-1186 All Copy Rights are owned Yvonnca Landes and the Landes Brand ©. To gain legal access contact David Landes 865.660.6860 or [email protected]   Produced and engineered by: Adrienne Landes Thank you for listening! Follow us on social media! https://linktr.ee/talkintnwithyvonnca

What does it look like to answer God's call when you don't have all the answers? In this powerful episode Dr. Dasha Lundy, President of Knoxville College, shares how faith has guided her leadership journey and the divine assignment she believes God has placed on her life. Through honest conversation, she reflects on trusting God's direction, leading with purpose, and moving forward even when the path isn't fully revealed. If you are looking for a Realtor, don't forget to call The Landes Team to help you buy and sell!  Yvonnca Landes Realty Executives Associates 865.660.1186 or 588.3232 www.YvonncaSellsRealEstate.com Adrienne Landes Realty Executives Associates 865.659-6860 or 588.3232 Click here: https://linktr.ee/talkintnwithyvonnca Turning Knox Rental (Event Rental Services): www.turningknoxrental.com Landes Home Collection Online Store: www.landeshomecollection.com For promotion inquires please contact Yvonnca Landes. 865-660-1186 All Copy Rights are owned Yvonnca Landes and the Landes Brand ©. To gain legal access contact David Landes 865.660.6860 or [email protected]   Produced and engineered by: Adrienne Landes Thank you for listening! Follow us on social media! https://linktr.ee/talkintnwithyvonnca

The fastest way to lose your confidence is to spend your life trying to fit into someone else’s idea of who you should be. We sit down with Vice Chancellor Frank Cuevas from Student Life at the University of Tennessee to unpack a powerful mindset shift: you can be the author of your own story, and you build that story one decision, one risk, and one lesson at a time. If you are looking for a Realtor, don't forget to call The Landes Team to help you buy and sell!  Yvonnca Landes Realty Executives Associates 865.660.1186 or 588.3232 www.YvonncaSellsRealEstate.com Adrienne Landes Realty Executives Associates 865.659-6860 or 588.3232 Click here: https://linktr.ee/talkintnwithyvonnca Turning Knox Rental (Event Rental Services): www.turningknoxrental.com Landes Home Collection Online Store: www.landeshomecollection.com For promotion inquires please contact Yvonnca Landes. 865-660-1186 All Copy Rights are owned Yvonnca Landes and the Landes Brand ©. To gain legal access contact David Landes 865.660.6860 or [email protected]   Produced and engineered by: Adrienne Landes Thank you for listening! Follow us on social media! https://linktr.ee/talkintnwithyvonnca

One simple question can change a life: “Are you OK?” That’s the moment Vice Chancellor Frank Cuevas remembers from his early days in college, when he was struggling to find community and came close to walking away. We talk through how that small act of care helped him build confidence, connections, and eventually a career in higher education leadership at the University of Tennessee. His role as Vice Chancellor of The Division of Student Life is helping to impact students in the most positive way! If you are looking for a Realtor, don't forget to call The Landes Team to help you buy and sell!  Yvonnca Landes Realty Executives Associates 865.660.1186 or 588.3232 www.YvonncaSellsRealEstate.com Adrienne Landes Realty Executives Associates 865.659-6860 or 588.3232 Click here: https://linktr.ee/talkintnwithyvonnca Turning Knox Rental (Event Rental Services): www.turningknoxrental.com Landes Home Collection Online Store: www.landeshomecollection.com For promotion inquires please contact Yvonnca Landes. 865-660-1186 All Copy Rights are owned Yvonnca Landes and the Landes Brand ©. To gain legal access contact David Landes 865.660.6860 or [email protected]   Produced and engineered by: Adrienne Landes Thank you for listening! Follow us on social media! https://linktr.ee/talkintnwithyvonnca

A loss can either close a door or train you for the next one. Randy Boyd joins us to explain how running for governor, meeting people across Tennessee, and learning what communities actually worry about became unexpected preparation for leading the University of Tennessee System as its president. He breaks down the moment the opportunity came up, why he said yes, and how he approached the job like a servant-leader.  If you are looking for a Realtor, don't forget to call The Landes Team to help you buy and sell!  Yvonnca Landes Realty Executives Associates 865.660.1186 or 588.3232 www.YvonncaSellsRealEstate.com Adrienne Landes Realty Executives Associates 865.659-6860 or 588.3232 Click here: https://linktr.ee/talkintnwithyvonnca Turning Knox Rental (Event Rental Services): www.turningknoxrental.com Landes Home Collection Online Store: www.landeshomecollection.com For promotion inquires please contact Yvonnca Landes. 865-660-1186 All Copy Rights are owned Yvonnca Landes and the Landes Brand ©. To gain legal access contact David Landes 865.660.6860 or [email protected]   Produced and engineered by: Adrienne Landes Thank you for listening! Follow us on social media! https://linktr.ee/talkintnwithyvonnca

You can learn a lot about leadership from a trail, a toolbox, and a loss. Randy Boyd, President of University of Tennessee Systems, joins us for a wide-ranging, deeply personal conversation that starts with Knoxville roots and life lessons then builds into a life philosophy he learned in the Boy Scouts: leave every trail better than you found it. That one idea becomes a filter for work ethic, entrepreneurship, public service, and how we treat the communities that raise us.  If you are looking for a Realtor, don't forget to call The Landes Team to help you buy and sell!  Yvonnca Landes Realty Executives Associates 865.660.1186 or 588.3232 www.YvonncaSellsRealEstate.com Adrienne Landes Realty Executives Associates 865.659-6860 or 588.3232 Click here: https://linktr.ee/talkintnwithyvonnca Turning Knox Rental (Event Rental Services): www.turningknoxrental.com Landes Home Collection Online Store: www.landeshomecollection.com For promotion inquires please contact Yvonnca Landes. 865-660-1186 All Copy Rights are owned Yvonnca Landes and the Landes Brand ©. To gain legal access contact David Landes 865.660.6860 or [email protected]   Produced and engineered by: Adrienne Landes Thank you for listening! Follow us on social media! https://linktr.ee/talkintnwithyvonnca

The Takeover Continues! David and Dr. Smalls continue the conversation and talk about how society has a way of handing men a script: be tough, be in control, be the provider, never admit you need help. We push back on that script and talk about the quieter work that actually builds a life: knowing who you are, knowing whose you are, and refusing the labels that try to shrink you.  This is a powerful conversation!  If you are looking for a Realtor, don't forget to call The Landes Team to help you buy and sell!  Yvonnca Landes Realty Executives Associates 865.660.1186 or 588.3232 www.YvonncaSellsRealEstate.com Adrienne Landes Realty Executives Associates 865.659-6860 or 588.3232 Click here: https://linktr.ee/talkintnwithyvonnca Turning Knox Rental (Event Rental Services): www.turningknoxrental.com Landes Home Collection Online Store: www.landeshomecollection.com For promotion inquires please contact Yvonnca Landes. 865-660-1186 All Copy Rights are owned Yvonnca Landes and the Landes Brand ©. To gain legal access contact David Landes 865.660.6860 or [email protected]   Produced and engineered by: Adrienne Landes Thank you for listening! Follow us on social media! https://linktr.ee/talkintnwithyvonnca

The takeover you didn’t see coming… but definitely need to hear. On this special episode of Talkin' Tennessee with Yvonnca, David Landes and Dr. Tyvi Small take the mic for a powerful and unfiltered conversation about manhood. This isn’t surface level talk… this is real, honest dialogue about the quiet pressure men carry every single day. From expectations to provide, protect, and perform, to the emotional weight that often goes unspoken, they unpack the “box” society has built around masculinity… and what it costs to stay inside it. This episode challenges the narrative, creates space for truth, and invites a deeper understanding of what it really means to be a man today. Transparent. Thought provoking. Necessary. Press play and lean in. If you are looking for a Realtor, don't forget to call The Landes Team to help you buy and sell!  Yvonnca Landes Realty Executives Associates 865.660.1186 or 588.3232 www.YvonncaSellsRealEstate.com Adrienne Landes Realty Executives Associates 865.659-6860 or 588.3232 Click here: https://linktr.ee/talkintnwithyvonnca Turning Knox Rental (Event Rental Services): www.turningknoxrental.com Landes Home Collection Online Store: www.landeshomecollection.com For promotion inquires please contact Yvonnca Landes. 865-660-1186 All Copy Rights are owned Yvonnca Landes and the Landes Brand ©. To gain legal access contact David Landes 865.660.6860 or [email protected]   Produced and engineered by: Adrienne Landes Thank you for listening! Follow us on social media! https://linktr.ee/talkintnwithyvonnca

Some relationships don’t end with a fight, they end with a quiet realization: you’re holding the rope and it’s costing you your future. Liz Stowers joins me for a powerful, honest conversation about boundaries, “transitional friends,” and why women in particular get trained to fix everybody even when it turns into codependency. We talk about how to spot toxic patterns, how to stop carrying burdens that were never assigned to you, and how confidence gets built one hard choice at a time. If you are looking for a Realtor, don't forget to call The Landes Team to help you buy and sell!  Yvonnca Landes Realty Executives Associates 865.660.1186 or 588.3232 www.YvonncaSellsRealEstate.com Adrienne Landes Realty Executives Associates 865.659-6860 or 588.3232 Click here: https://linktr.ee/talkintnwithyvonnca Turning Knox Rental (Event Rental Services): www.turningknoxrental.com Landes Home Collection Online Store: www.landeshomecollection.com For promotion inquires please contact Yvonnca Landes. 865-660-1186 All Copy Rights are owned Yvonnca Landes and the Landes Brand ©. To gain legal access contact David Landes 865.660.6860 or [email protected]   Produced and engineered by: Adrienne Landes Thank you for listening! Follow us on social media! https://linktr.ee/talkintnwithyvonnca

Knoxville talks a lot about being “the Volunteers” but what does service actually look like when nobody is handing you a script? I’m joined by Liz Stowers, a powerhouse community leader with deep roots in a military “service over self” mindset, and we get real about what it takes to show up, listen first, and build trust in East Tennessee. If you are looking for a Realtor, don't forget to call The Landes Team to help you buy and sell!  Yvonnca Landes Realty Executives Associates 865.660.1186 or 588.3232 www.YvonncaSellsRealEstate.com Adrienne Landes Realty Executives Associates 865.659-6860 or 588.3232 Click here: https://linktr.ee/talkintnwithyvonnca Turning Knox Rental (Event Rental Services): www.turningknoxrental.com Landes Home Collection Online Store: www.landeshomecollection.com For promotion inquires please contact Yvonnca Landes. 865-660-1186 All Copy Rights are owned Yvonnca Landes and the Landes Brand ©. To gain legal access contact David Landes 865.660.6860 or [email protected]   Produced and engineered by: Adrienne Landes Thank you for listening! Follow us on social media! https://linktr.ee/talkintnwithyvonnca

We’re unpacking leadership that builds people up, leaves no one behind, and measures success by lives changed—not trophies. With Phyllis Nichols, we dig into the practice of leading from the back of the pack, where teaching, coaching, and empowering turn raw potential into real progress. It’s a candid, story-rich exploration of substance over sizzle and why the most effective leaders obsess over outcomes, not optics. If you are looking for a Realtor, don't forget to call The Landes Team to help you buy and sell!  Yvonnca Landes Realty Executives Associates 865.660.1186 or 588.3232 www.YvonncaSellsRealEstate.com Adrienne Landes Realty Executives Associates 865.659-6860 or 588.3232 Click here: https://linktr.ee/talkintnwithyvonnca Turning Knox Rental (Event Rental Services): www.turningknoxrental.com Landes Home Collection Online Store: www.landeshomecollection.com For promotion inquires please contact Yvonnca Landes. 865-660-1186 All Copy Rights are owned Yvonnca Landes and the Landes Brand ©. To gain legal access contact David Landes 865.660.6860 or [email protected]   Produced and engineered by: Adrienne Landes Thank you for listening! Follow us on social media! https://linktr.ee/talkintnwithyvonnca

A single question reorients the whole conversation: what if success is measured by who you lift, not what you keep? We sit down with Phyllis Nichols—longtime Urban League leader, civil rights advocate, and relentless connector—to trace how faith, family, and practical tools turn good intentions into real outcomes.  If you are looking for a Realtor, don't forget to call The Landes Team to help you buy and sell!  Yvonnca Landes Realty Executives Associates 865.660.1186 or 588.3232 www.YvonncaSellsRealEstate.com Adrienne Landes Realty Executives Associates 865.659-6860 or 588.3232 Click here: https://linktr.ee/talkintnwithyvonnca Turning Knox Rental (Event Rental Services): www.turningknoxrental.com Landes Home Collection Online Store: www.landeshomecollection.com For promotion inquires please contact Yvonnca Landes. 865-660-1186 All Copy Rights are owned Yvonnca Landes and the Landes Brand ©. To gain legal access contact David Landes 865.660.6860 or [email protected]   Produced and engineered by: Adrienne Landes Thank you for listening! Follow us on social media! https://linktr.ee/talkintnwithyvonnca

What happens when life gives you a second chance? Clarence Vaughn's story is nothing short of extraordinary—a powerful testament to how faith, community support, and personal determination can transform even the most challenging beginnings into a life of purpose and service.    Expelled from high school after missing 86% of the school year with a shocking 0.7 GPA, Clarence could have become another statistic. Instead, he is now serving as Director for the Office of Access and Community Connections at the University of Tennessee's Haslam College of Business, Clarence has come full circle. He creates opportunities for young people just like his former self, including pre-collegiate summer programs that bring high school students to campus. His leadership philosophy is refreshingly grounded: "Small wins outweigh large victories," he advises, cautioning against the desire to leap from entry-level to CEO without experiencing the crucial steps between. If you are looking for a Realtor, don't forget to call The Landes Team to help you buy and sell!  Yvonnca Landes Realty Executives Associates 865.660.1186 or 588.3232 www.YvonncaSellsRealEstate.com Adrienne Landes Realty Executives Associates 865.659-6860 or 588.3232 Click here: https://linktr.ee/talkintnwithyvonnca Turning Knox Rental (Event Rental Services): www.turningknoxrental.com Landes Home Collection Online Store: www.landeshomecollection.com For promotion inquires please contact Yvonnca Landes. 865-660-1186 All Copy Rights are owned Yvonnca Landes and the Landes Brand ©. To gain legal access contact David Landes 865.660.6860 or [email protected]   Produced and engineered by: Adrienne Landes Thank you for listening! Follow us on social media! https://linktr.ee/talkintnwithyvonnca