In this episode, Dr. Claire Oliveros reflects on her journey through 2025, a year filled with challenges and growth as a leader. Claire discusses the importance of acknowledging the truth of leadership struggles, particularly for women of color, and emphasizes the need for reflection and transformation. She recaps the Rise Up Pillars and introduces the NARRA Method for Season 2, highlighting the difference between merely surviving and truly thriving. Claire encourages listeners to set liberation-centered intentions for the upcoming year and to create rituals that support sustainable change and personal growth.

In this episode of the Ascend podcast, Dr. Claire Oliveros takes you on a journey of embracing "Progress Over Perfection." Discover how setting intentions, measuring what truly matters, and celebrating the cyclical nature of growth can empower your leadership journey. Claire shares personal stories and insights on overcoming self-doubt and the power of community support. Tune in to learn practical principles that align your path with your core values and inspire authentic growth.

In this episode, Dr. Claire Oliveros discusses the fifth pillar of the Rise Up Method: Uplift. She emphasizes the importance of community and collective care in achieving liberation and leadership. Through personal reflections and shared experiences, Claire illustrates how uplift is not just about individual success but about supporting one another as reciprocal. She outlines practical ways to uplift others and highlights the significance of shared identity and interconnectedness in fostering a supportive community.

In this solo conversation, Dr. Claire Oliveros discusses the importance of excavation as a means to clear space for liberation and healing. She emphasizes the need to reclaim our capacity for creativity and community care while addressing the systemic inequities that affect women of color. The discussion includes practical steps for mindful excavation, the significance of grief in the healing process, and the role of leadership in fostering collective healing. The session concludes with a micro meditation to help listeners release what no longer serves them.

In this conversation, Dr. Claire Oliveros and Paloma Concordia, Founder/CEO of Papalodown Agency explore the complexities of leadership, particularly for women of color. They discuss the importance of sustaining personal well-being, decolonizing spirituality, and the interlocking demands of leadership and family life. Paloma shares her grounding practices, including spirituality, and emphasizes the need for hope and inspiration in challenging times. The discussion also touches on defining sustainability in leadership and the non-negotiables that help maintain balance and growth.

In this solo episode, Dr. Claire Oliveros (she/her) explores what it means to ignite courage as Filipina American leaders and women of color executives in higher education. Moving from reclamation to action, this episode offers a framework for leading with courage — not as fearlessness, but as the practice of moving forward even when afraid. She highlights the necessity of igniting courage within ourselves and our communities to cultivate authentic leadership and transformation.

In this powerful episode, Dr. Claire Oliveros (she/her) explores what it means to reclaim space as Filipina American leaders and women of color executives, sharing the meeting room moment that changed everything, and why refusing to shrink is radical work in today's climate. What does it mean to reclaim space when systems demand your silence? Drawing on the work of bell hooks, Ronald Purser, and Rhonda Magee, Claire names the imperialist white supremacist capitalist patriarchy as the architecture of the institutions we navigate daily. Through personal story, cultural grounding, and the RISE UP Method, this episode offers both validation and a blueprint for leading with sovereignty during times of institutional hostility.

What if leadership wasn’t about fitting in, but about pausing long enough to hear your own truth? In this inaugural episode of Ascend with Claire Oliveros: Real Stories. Bold Leadership., I share my journey as a Filipina American with 30 years of higher education experience — including my pivot after becoming a mother at 40 — to creating a new path of leadership rooted in freedom, family, and authenticity.

We’ll talk about what it means to ascend while staying rooted, why I created the RISE UP Method (Reclaim, Ignite, Sustain, Excavate, Uplift, Progress), and how it connects to my worldview of liberated mindfulness in leadership — when we pause, notice, and lead with intention.
I’ll leave you with reflection questions, your first leadership challenge, and a short "Ingat Ka/Take Care" Micro Meditation to ground us in this new season of leadership.