Choosing the Present: Sean Goode Talks Interdependence, Healing, and Movement Makers on The Pop-Up!
In a recent episode of The Pop-Up!, host Deaunte Damper sat down for an emotionally resonant conversation with community leader and consultant Sean Goode. Returning to the Black Media Matters Studio after roughly four years, Goode joined Damper to catch up on his recent personal and professional journey, unpack the complexities of leadership and mental health, and share the core philosophy behind his latest endeavor, Movement Makers.
A Journey Back to Self
Reflecting on his transition out of his previous role stewarding the nonprofit organization CHOOSE180, Goode shared details about a transformative three-month sabbatical. During this time, he committed to "saying yes to myself over and over and over again," traveling to Peru, hiking Machu Picchu, attending baseball games, and participating in retreats and plant medicine ceremonies.
For Goode, the sabbatical was an essential container to discover who he was outside of the expectations of others, stepping away temporarily from his defined roles as a father, husband, and prominent community member.
"Everything in nature gives to itself before it gives to others," Goode said, challenging the negative connotations often associated with being "self-centered.” He argued that true self-centeredness allows leaders to ensure they are healthy, whole, and grounded so they can sustainably pull up and serve their communities from a place of abundance rather than depletion.
Deconstructing the Performance of Masculinity and Leadership
A central theme of the broadcast was the unique mental health crisis facing Black men. Damper and Goode explored how systemic racism, generational trauma, and cultural expectations often force Black men into a perpetual state of performance.
Goode explained that from a young age, Black men are conditioned to perform masculinity, intellectual superiority, toughness for their peers, and a certain softness to appease the dominant culture's gaze.
"If you're constantly performing, then you have to constantly be aware of the audience that's in front of you," Goode said. "And before you know it, you've lost grounding on what it is that you are... there becomes a distancing from self. And that distancing from self is a big contributor to what we're seeing in mental health."
To counteract this, Goode emphasized the need for third spaces, whether they are professional coaching settings, cookouts, or friendships, to be safe enough for Black men to drop the performance entirely.
Shifting Nonprofits from Deficits to Possibilities
Drawing from his extensive background in community organizing and nonprofit leadership, Goode offered a sharp critique of the institutional status quo. He pointed out that many nonprofit organizations inadvertently operate out of a narrative of scarcity and permanence, building business models that are predicated on the ongoing existence of community harm, disparities, or trauma.
Goode challenged organizations to reorient themselves completely. Expanding on the mantra that young people are possibilities to be developed, not problems to be solved, Goode urged the broader community to apply that same lens of curiosity and potential to adults, even those causing harm. He noted that institutions like food banks should ultimately work toward their own obsolescence rather than celebrating year-over-year growth, which only indicates an increasing community deficit.
The Alignment and Vision of Movement Makers
This deeply ingrained philosophy of presence, authenticity, and alignment is what led Goode to establish Movement Makers. Described as a coaching and consulting practice, Movement Makers was built to invite individuals and organizations to return to themselves, choose themselves first, and align their actions with their core values in a lived, embodied way.
Goode spoke candidly about his own past missteps in leadership, admitting that as CHOOSE180 grew rapidly from a single full-time staff member to a large-scale operation, his positional privilege shifted. He realized retrospectively that he had become incredibly skilled at performing and looking toward future achievements, but had lost his connection to the present moment. Movement Makers is the curriculum and framework born from that realization.
Stepping fully into this new season, Goode made a firm declaration. "I'm not going to perform anymore... You're going to get me. I'm imperfect. I'm not the best at anything I do except being me,” he said.
Using a natural metaphor native to the Pacific Northwest ecosystem, Goode pointed to the relationship between the stinging nettle (which causes irritation and harm) and the bracken fern (which grows nearby and offers a soothing cure).
"Wherever there is harm, healing is nearby," Goode said, encouraging the community to embrace a principle of grace and mutual interdependence.
Connect and Support Local
For those looking to engage with Goode's consulting work, personal reflections, or coaching services, he can be reached through his official platforms:
Websites: movementmakers.co and seangoode.com
Newsletter: The Practice of Return on Substack
Goode closed the interview by expressing his deep gratitude for the Seattle region, reiterating his desire to focus his energy on the very environment and soil that nurtured him. As Damper beautifully summarized, Goode remains not just a leader or an organizer, but an authentic force for community healing.
Tune in to The Pop-Up! weekdays live at 9 p.m. on all Converge streaming platforms.
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