Leaders of Today Creators & Guests

Lorraine Connell, MEd, MS, is the Owner of Peers not Fears, LLC, and a veteran educator of over 20 years. As an educational coach and consultant, she has developed curricula for high school teens on leadership. She collaborates with others to provide coaching to educators and students everywhere through her company Peers not Fears, LLC. Lorraine hosts the podcast Education Unimagined where she interviews current and past students on their educational experiences, and listens to their advice on how we could do better.Her work spans the impact of understanding how and where our biases come into play. In 2022, Lorraine left her full-time chemistry teaching job to work with interested schools, families, and communities to build more equitable access and empowerment of students.When she is not working with others on developing leadership skills she is supporting her two boys in all their adventures. Lorraine and her husband Justin are both educators and work to improve and develop their and others' social and emotional learning.

Matt Gilhooly is a creator. His focus on communication is seen throughout his work experiences. As a creator, Matt also enjoys producing and hosting his podcast, The Life Shift Podcast. He also enjoys designing content, such as communication materials, coloring books, digital art, pitch meeting presentations, keynote speaking engagements, and other forms of media.Matt earned his MBA from the University of Central Florida in 2004 and has worked in various management roles in higher education and start-up organizations. He excels in project brainstorming, planning, and execution. Other skills include budgeting, operations, and people management. In every experience, he relies on his ability to communicate with various audiences in ways that cater to the needs and desires of each individual. He believes that we must take time to support the people around us to achieve success. He is a team player. Yet, he is happy to take the lead on any project if needed.Matt has self-published over 10 coloring books on Amazon and recently released a new children's book that celebrates individuality and confidence, "I Can Be Anyone: A Soul's Journey," in June 2021.He loves to travel and experience new cultures and locations and looks forward to the world opening up again soon.