Welcome to Integrity and Joy with Steve Walker

In an age of unique challenges, let's create a positive vision for ourselves and our kids.

I'm Steve Walker — educator, life and leadership coach, consultant. I’m also a former US diplomat and activist. My entire life, I've been driven by the desire — the need — to make a difference, be it big or small. I’ve been quite fortunate to have done so along the way. I am hoping that this space will allow me to contribute to some important conversations moving forward.

In 2003, I retired from teaching and running an extraordinary lab school in New York so I could focus on my business, Integrity and Joy. I started Integrity and Joy so I could make a difference in the lives of people around the world by being a coach and guide as they find their way on their personal and professional journeys, and by helping schools and educators create a new vision for education that will make a difference in the lives of our kids and those yet to come.

Education has been my passion for over 25 years. From my own experience as a teacher and director of an innovative lab school, I know how impactful a great experience in school can be for kids — and how vital it is not only for them but for our society and the world. Schools should help create empowered, kind, resilient, healthy young adults capable of thriving in the coming decades. I want to help administrators and teachers create these kinds of schools. We all should. So let’s figure out how to do that, together.

As a life and leadership coach, I want to help people find a greater sense of purpose and meaning, including by empowering themselves and others. I want them to feel less like they’re in a rat race and more like they’re on a great journey with wonderful people. I want them to have healthy relationships, not toxic ones. I want them to feel excited about the journey. We only get one chance at this journey (as far as I know!) and I want people to feel like they didn’t waste it and that, at the end of their days, they feel like they had a wonderful journey, full of ups and downs, heartaches and triumphs, and lots of love and joy. I want them to find meaning and joy in their own lives and to help those around them find meaning and joy, too. Leaders — and we all are leaders in some way — should empower others and lead by example.

When I work with people in their teens and 20s — an age that is so important and formative — I want them to feel supported as they go through a challenging time of growth and discovery. I want them to feel empowered, curious and excited about the rest of their journey. I want them to feel like “adulting” is complicated, but doable. I want to help them make good choices that take advantage of the freedom and youth that they enjoy while also laying a solid foundation for their later decades. I want their future selves to feel grateful for the way that they spent their younger years.

I’m also a meditation teacher on Insight Timer. I want people to feel like meditation is an important part of their life, not a chore or something to judge themselves on. It’s self-care. It’s essential like brushing your teeth. It can be a time when you find peace and enlightenment, sometimes at the same time.

By sharing my thoughts and reflections here, I hope to inspire, raise interesting questions, and maybe challenge some paradigms and assumptions along the way. I hope to participate in a conversation about how these challenging times can become a great opportunity for human renewal and progress. I hope you’ll join me!