The Xchange Zone Podcast

The Bridge Between Sports & Life

The Xchange Zone Podcast dives into conversations with former collegiate, world-class, and or professional athletes, revealing how locker room lessons shape real-life leadership.

This podcast explores what happens after the final whistle, when athletes hang up their jersey and cleats before stepping into life’s next chapter. It’s about how the lessons learned on the field still show up in boardrooms, classrooms, communities, and conversations.

Each episode brings you honest, down-to-earth talks with former athletes who reflect on pressure, setbacks, teamwork personal growth, and how those moments shaped the way they lead today.

The Xchange Zone Podcast uncovers how mindset, preparation, and accountability don’t end when the game does.

Because sometimes, life’s biggest wins don’t just show up on the scoreboard.

Jan 7, 2026 The Xchange Zone Podcast – Passing the Baton with LaJena James

We sit down with a former Division 1 collegiate cheerleader LaJena James, YES cheer is a sport, who talks to us about tumbling and flipping into a successful career and life.

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Jan 21, 2026 The Xchange Zone Podcast – Passing the Baton with Lloyd Richards

In this episode, we sit down with a former Division 1 collegiate Football player, who’s traded game-day playbooks for strategies that now shape major sporting events. He shares how the discipline, teamwork, and mindset from the field laid the foundation for a successful career and an even more fulfilling life.

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Feb 4, 2026 The Xchange Zone Podcast – Passing the Baton with Katrice Offord Abdallah

In this episode, we sit down with a former multi-sport athlete who excelled in volleyball, basketball, and track & field before building a global fashion career that took her across the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean, and Hong Kong, and now serves in a senior leadership role at one of the world’s top financial firms.

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Feb 18, 2026 The Xchange Zone Podcast – Passing the Baton with Shana Sumers

In this episode, we sit down with athlete, musician, therapist, and tech leader Shana Sumers, Senior Manager at HubSpot and leader of The Spot, to explore how her unconventional path now powers a thriving community for Black and Latin entrepreneurs.

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March 4, 2026 The Xchange Zone Podcast – Passing the Baton with Krishauna Vaughn

In this episode, we sit down with a former Division I volleyball player who took the lessons of teamwork, organization, and mental focus from the court into corporate America… and is now a highly successful financial advisor. She shares how the roles she’s played, the responsibilities she’s carried, and the resilience she’s built along the way now help others prepare for their financial future. Because as she says… save money today, and one day money will save you on your journey to financial freedom.
IG: @KrishaunaVaughn

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March 19, 2026 The Xchange Zone Podcast – Passing the Baton with Jacqie McWilliams

In this episode, we sit down with Jacquie McWilliams, a true trailblazer who went from multi-sport athlete to making history as the first female Commissioner of the CIAA and the first African American woman to represent all three NCAA divisions. She didn’t just break barriers, she changed the game. Jacquie shares what it really took to get there, the lessons she learned along the way, and what it takes to show up with confidence in rooms where you weren’t always expected to be. If you’ve ever wondered what it really takes to rise and stay there, this conversation is for you.

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April 8, 2026 The Xchange Zone Podcast – Passing the Baton with Ivory Angello

In this episode, we sit down with Ivory Angello, a former Rice University track and field standout who dominated the triple jump, earning multiple conference titles, All-American honors, and a spot in the 1996 Olympic Trials. Now a Senior Principal and Continuous Improvement Advisor, Ivory shares how he translated that same discipline and focus into leading change and driving results in his professional career. If you’ve ever had to pivot, reinvent yourself, or figure out what comes after the thing you were known for, this one will hit home.

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