076: Why the Stories We Tell Matter with Leena Nasser

I’ve talked before about how sharing stories in your talks helps the audience to better understand and remember what you’re teaching.

In this episode, we’re going deeper into why stories matter - not just for our presentations, but for understanding ourselves, our place in the world, and our identity - who gets included and who is excluded in the stories we hear and the stories we tell.

My guest is Leena Nasser, who is Executive Director of The Chopra Institute in NYC.

Leena Nasser specializes in the intersection of neuroscience, cognitive psychology and education. She explores the question of how experiential storytelling, told orally, or spatially impacts the mind-brain connection, identity and behavior.

I met Leena this past March when I was in NYC. We hit it off immediately - Leena is incredibly smart and passionate and I knew I had to invite her on the podcast to share some of the research she’s done, including when she was in graduate school at Harvard.

About My Guest: Leena Nasser specializes in the intersection of neuroscience, cognitive psychology and education. She explores the question of how experiential storytelling, told orally, or spatially impacts the mind-brain connection, identity and behavior. She is the Executive Director of The Chopra Institute, a global social enterprise aiming to build the next wave of preventative health care. Prior to this role, Leena served as one of two experts in the education sector of the global consulting firm Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

Leena has a graduate degree in Mind Brain and Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her research explored how the design of informal and formal learning spaces contribute to sense of identity and residual mind brain lifelong impact. Leena was specifically investigating the power of stories—told explicitly through words, or implicitly through orchestrated spaces--on the brain and behavior. Leena remains currently involved in this research, specifically looking at less represented communities and the impact of empowering identity stories on performance, societal contribution and health and wellbeing. Leena is fluent in Arabic and English and was born and raised in Saudi Arabia, while spending much of her time in Syria. Leena now lives in New York City.

The Speaking Your Brand podcast is hosted by Carol Cox. At Speaking Your Brand, we help women entrepreneurs and professionals create their signature talks and gain more visibility to achieve their goals. Our mission is to get more women in positions of influence and power: on stages, in businesses, on boards, in the media, in politics, and in our communities. Check out our coaching programs and workshops at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com.

Links:

Show notes at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/76

The Chopra Foundation

Check out Debbie Gonzalez and her upcoming book “Girls with Guts: The Road to Breaking Barriers and Bashing Records”.

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Become Bookable Live Online Workshop - April 15, 2026
If you want to speak more but you’re not sure where to start or your efforts haven’t produced the results you want, I’m hosting a live online workshop called “Become Bookable: How to Get Speaking Invitations” on Wednesday, April 15th.

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