Heather Ditillo, MSW

What does kindness look like when you need to say no, deliver difficult feedback, or hold someone accountable? TedX speaker and Lead the Kind Way founder Heather DiTillo joins Leticia to explore why kindness is more than being nice—and how it can help people navigate hard moments at home and at work. Heather shares lessons from her early work with Mr. Rogers’ team on the child abuse prevention initiative One Kind Word, her experience in nonprofit and technology leadership, and the personal turning point that brought her back to kindness as her life’s work. She offers practical ways to pause, get grounded, and respond with care, while still addressing what needs to change. The conversation also looks at how kindness can build trust, strengthen teams, and support better performance. Heather’s reminder: the conversations we avoid today help create the culture we live with tomorrow.