Edward Lees Built A Life Balancing Markets, Nature, Poetry, And Self‑Discovery

Jun 9, 2026

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Extraordinary People

Asim Ahmed Reflects On Caregiving, Infectious Disease Sleuthing, And The Soundtrack Of His Life

Asim Ahmed has three passions: the detection and workings of infectious diseases, sports (especially his hometown St. Louis teams), and music, and in this wide-ranging conversation, he shows how each one has shaped his life. We talk about his one-of-a-kind custom jerseys (clever mashups of teams, players, and music references),… Listen ⇢
Mariela Rexach Learned To Stop Following The Script

Mariela Rexach’s life reflects a combination of steadiness, self-knowledge, and humble assertiveness. From Amherst to Penn Law and back home to Puerto Rico, Mariela has raised a family and built a nearly three-decade career at the same women-owned labor and employment law firm. She shares the thinking that has helped… Listen ⇢
Kensei Nishikawa Champions The Humanities In A Divided World

Kensei Nishikawa arrived at Amherst as a transfer student from Japan already holding a degree from the University of Tokyo, carrying with him two languages, two cultures, and a deep love of literature. What he didn’t yet know was how profoundly Amherst would shape not just how he reads and… Listen ⇢
Parke Lutter And The Art of Becoming Who You Already Were

Amherst isn’t known for launching fashion designers and entrepreneurs, but that’s just one of the reasons why this conversation with Parke Lutter was so much fun. This talent has been building inside of him since his childhood in the Midwest, where he made clothes for one of us stuffed animals,… Listen ⇢
Deb Thalheimer Long Listens Her Way to a Life of Meaning

Deb Thalheimer Long’s career and life since graduating with me from Amherst College have been marked by subtle yet profound transformations. From Wall Street to academia, from the Baltimore public schools to the hospital floor, Deb has navigated big career pivots with intentionality. Now a nurse specializing in wound care… Listen ⇢
Matt Sawyer Has Found His Forever Team

Matt Sawyer has built a career rooted in one place: the Williston Northampton School in Easthampton, Mass., where he’s taught English, coached baseball and football, and served as ninth-grade dean for more than three decades. In a world that celebrates mobility and reinvention, Matt’s story is one of steadfastness and… Listen ⇢
David Young Finds Hope and Purpose Amid USAID’s Abrupt End

When I started the Amherst College part of this podcast, I wanted to capture the stories of my 1994 classmates who’ve navigated big pivots in their lives. Few stories embody that better than David Young. He joined me from Mozambique, where he and his husband make their home. David’s career… Listen ⇢
Zack Henry Has Mastered The Art Of Connection

Since our freshman year in Morrow (“Psycho Ward”), Zack Henry has built a life that’s taken him across the globe. He’s lived on four continents, worked on six, and led projects ranging from energy dialogues in Saudi Arabia to business development in New York and São Paulo. But at the… Listen ⇢
Jessica Smith Sent Climate Instruments To The Edge Of Space. Now, She’s Reimagining Her Path.

Thirty years ago, a Boston Globe classified ad launched Jessica Smith into a career at Harvard, where she built bespoke instruments and launched them on NASA’s converted U-2 aircraft, flying at 70,000 feet to read the chemistry of our stratosphere. In this conversation, she traces the improbable path from Amherst’s… Listen ⇢