Lisa Groon: Following Purpose, Not Just a Path

In this episode of The Grit to Growth Podcast, Levi Te Slaa sits down with Lisa Groon—veteran, healthcare leader, community advocate, and TEDx speaker—whose story embodies the power of following purpose over simply following a path.

Lisa shares her journey from a small town in South Dakota to 22 years in the South Dakota Army National Guard (as a musician, no less), and into a career in healthcare focused on quality improvement and patient experience. She opens up about the personal impact of her mother’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis and how it led her to focus deeply on dementia care and advocacy—including her recent TED Talk, "Finding Dignity and Joy in Alzheimer’s Disease."

Levi and Lisa dive into:

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  The value of blending service, education, and leadership

  
  


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  Lessons from her time in the National Guard

  
  


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  Her deep involvement in nonprofit work and the Harrisburg School Board

  
  


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  Her advice for navigating public service and community involvement

  
  


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  How to approach networking and conferences with confidence

  
  


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  Her surprising guilty pleasures and what gardening taught her about herself

  
  

Lisa’s story is a testament to what it looks like to serve with joy, purpose, and grit—on and off the stage.

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