Famous Interviews with Joe Dimino

Friday, January 16, 2026

Executive Sales Leader, Real Estate Investor & People-Builder Christine Valdes

Welcome to a new edition of the Famous Interviews with Joe Dimino series. On this episode, we talk with Christine Valdes—Executive Sales Leader, Real Estate Investor, Entrepreneur, and People-Builder with nearly 30 years of experience leading high-performing teams across complex, results-driven organizations.

Christine is a seasoned corporate sales executive who currently oversees large, multi-state sales organizations, known for delivering disciplined execution while maintaining a strong commitment to culture, character, and long-term leadership development. Her leadership philosophy is deeply people-first, blending accountability with authenticity to create environments where both performance and personal growth thrive.

Rooted in lived experience, Christine brings a grounded and relatable perspective on leadership, sales, investing, and building teams that last. She is passionate about helping others grow not just in success, but in confidence, clarity, and purpose—a mindset that has shaped her career and the many leaders she’s helped develop along the way.

This conversation explores leadership at scale, sales excellence, culture-building, and what it truly takes to sustain success over the long haul. Enjoy this interview.

More Christine:
https://christinevaldes.com/

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Ashlee Hirschfeld on Leadership Realignment, Burnout & Getting Things Done

Welcome to a new edition of the Famous Interviews with Joe Dimino series. On this episode, we talk with Ashlee Hirschfeld—Intuitive Strategist and the GSD Queen—who guides high-functioning leaders through deep personal realignment, especially those shaped by years of performance, over-responsibility, and quiet burnout.

Ashlee blends practical strategy with energy attunement to help leaders reconnect with their truth and design lives that finally feel like them again. Her path didn’t follow a traditional credential-driven climb. Instead, she rose because she could get things done—better and faster than anyone else in the room.

Starting as a personal assistant, Ashlee became the trusted problem solver behind the scenes—the steady operator everyone relied on when things mattered most. That lived experience now fuels her work with leaders who are outwardly successful but internally misaligned.

In this conversation, we explore leadership burnout, intuitive strategy, identity realignment, and what it really means to step out of survival mode and into intentional leadership. It’s quite a story. Enjoy this interview.

More Ashlee & GSD Queen:
https://www.gsdqueen.com/

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Musicians of the Bay Area Collective LOBE

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series. On this episode, we talk with LOBE, a collective of musicians from the San Francisco Bay Area, about their new and debut 2025 album was that on purpose? and the story behind the band’s formation, sound, and mission.

The LOBE collective features Daiki Nakajima on flute, bass, tenor and soprano saxophones; Sam Silverstein on violin; Nolan Miranda on piano and synths; Mark Rau on bass and guitar; and Michael Hayes on drums. Originally united by a shared love of rhythm-forward contemporary jazz, the group quickly expanded its sound to include dance, folk, electronic, and pop influences.

Through years of collaboration, friendship, and deep musical chemistry, LOBE developed a distinctive voice—whimsical and unhurried, challenging yet inviting, time-bending while firmly rooted in the present moment. This conversation explores creative process, collective identity, modern jazz evolution, and the spirit behind their debut release. Dig their story and this interview.

Get the album:
https://lobeband.bandcamp.com/

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Thursday, January 15, 2026

Author, Creator of The Strategic Human Firewall™, Cybersecurity Awareness Expert, Good Guy Hacker & Private Investigator Robert Siciliano

Welcome to a new edition of the Famous Interviews with Joe Dimino series. On this episode, we talk with Robert Siciliano—author, cybersecurity awareness expert, “good guy” hacker, private investigator, and creator of The Strategic Human Firewall™.

Known for delivering straight talk on safety and security, Robert strips away jargon to empower everyday people and organizations to protect themselves from cybercrime, identity theft, and digital threats. He is a bestselling author and CEO of ProtectNowLLC.com, and a trusted media commentator who has appeared on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, and The Today Show, helping mass audiences understand complex security risks.

One of the nation’s most trusted voices on cybersecurity, Robert has built an unparalleled media record—appearing on over 500 television programs, contributing to more than 1,000 radio shows, and serving as an expert source in over 3,000 articles. Grounded in the belief that “All Security Is Personal,” his approach reframes cybersecurity not as abstract compliance, but as essential personal safety—comparable to physical security measures designed to prevent harm.

This conversation dives into cyber awareness, human behavior, personal responsibility, and how individuals and organizations can build real-world digital defenses. It’s an incredible and eye-opening story. Enjoy.

More on Robert:
https://protectnowllc.com/

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Serial Tech Entrepreneur, Business Coach at INSEAD & Le VPN Co-Founder Ksenia Votinova-Arnaud

Welcome to a new edition of the Famous Interviews with Joe Dimino series. On this episode, we talk with Ksenia Votinova-Arnaud—serial tech entrepreneur, business coach at INSEAD, and co-founder of Le VPN.

Ksenia specializes in coaching women in tech on how to build their own technology-powered businesses without leaving their corporate careers. Her mission is bold and clear: to empower 10,000 women to leverage technology to create resilient, profitable businesses that solve meaningful global problems—while gaining the freedom to live life on their own terms.

With more than 20 years of experience in the tech industry, Ksenia has coached over 1,100 executives from companies including Google, AWS, Salesforce, SAP, Dell, IBM, and Adobe. She brings this deep background in tech entrepreneurship and executive coaching together in her signature Weatherproof Business™ system, a proven framework for building sustainable, future-ready tech ventures.

This conversation dives into women’s leadership, entrepreneurship, innovation, resilience, and the practical steps required to build a tech-driven business that lasts. It’s an inspiring and actionable story. Dig in.

More on Ksenia:
https://kseniavotinova.com/

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Toronto-based Jazz Singer, Songwriter & Actor Whitney Ross-Barris

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series. On this episode, we talk with Toronto-based jazz singer, songwriter, and actor Whitney Ross-Barris about her new 2025 album Curtains of Light and a life devoted to the arts.

Curtains of Light is a deeply expressive recording that blends jazz, choral music, neo-soul, spoken word, and folk, weaving intimate human stories of disconnection, longing, and resilience shaped by the challenges of recent years. The album features award-winning multi-instrumentalists Michael Shand and Drew Jurecka, whose contributions further expand its emotional and sonic depth.

Beyond her work as a recording artist, Whitney has appeared at major music festivals as a solo jazz performer and has enjoyed a successful career as an actor, bringing the same emotional intelligence and storytelling to both disciplines. This conversation explores creativity, vulnerability, genre-crossing jazz, and the power of music to heal and connect. Enjoy this interview.

Get the album:
https://whitneyrb.bandcamp.com/album/curtains-of-light

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Wednesday, January 14, 2026

Corey Dissin on High Performance, Discipline & Going the Diss-Tance

Welcome to a new edition of the Famous Interviews with Joe Dimino series. On this episode, we talk with Corey Dissin—entrepreneur, author, and high-performance coach who helps driven professionals ditch the fluff and finally get unstuck. Corey is the no-nonsense force behind Knockout Life and his high-performance coaching platform, built on grit, structure, and relentless execution.

After nearly 30 years leading massive media and broadcast projects, Corey flipped the script and built a coaching system rooted in discipline, accountability, and real-world action. He is the author of GOING THE DISS-TANCE, part memoir and part fight plan for building a life that pushes back—without shortcuts.

As Vice President and General Manager of a national broadcast production company, Corey oversaw more than 100,000 projects and managed over $10 million in inventory, working with major brands including Disney on Ice, The Howard Stern Show, Monster Jam, and the Philadelphia 76ers. He’s built his career, reputation, businesses, and life one disciplined step at a time. This is an inspirational, straight-shooting conversation about execution, resilience, and earning results. Enjoy.