We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Mari Maldonado a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Mari, appreciate you joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

When I was forty I tried out for Sesame Street. It was the summer of 2012. I received a text message from my Mom saying “Sesame Street is hiring!” She also included a picture of the job posting. I could not believe my eyes. It had been a life long dream of mine to be on Sesame Street. So much so, that as a child I wanted to grow up to be a Muppet! How could I not? I was growing up in a time where Jim Henson’s Muppets ruled the evening television time slots and Sesame Street was the piece de resistance of public television. Puppets and people living in harmony, singing songs and teaching. It was glorious and I wanted to be part of it! Time progressed and I realized it was impossible for me to be a Muppet but I never gave up my love for puppetry or Sesame Street. They just became a part of me.Now here it was decades later and I had the opportunity of a lifetime! The job criteria was specific:

OPEN CASTING CALL. Hispanic, bilingual, good sense of humor, can sing and dance. Between the ages 18-25.

That did it. Bubble officially burst. I felt dejected. I was clearly a decade or two over the age requirement. I took to the pages of social media to share my lament explaining how my childhood dream would never be reached. A friend of mine responded to my post “Do it anyway”. Those words struck me like a bolt of lightning. Do it anyway. So I did.

What happened next was a whirlwind of activity. As a single parent the first thing I had to do was to talk to my son about my decision to pursue my dream. At seven he thought it was cool and encouraged me to go. He knew how much I loved puppets and Sesame Street. I daresay he was proud of me. He had no problem staying with Grandma for a few days. Next, I had to find a reasonably priced plane ticket on short notice. I only had a week to plan. I had to get headshots and a resume’. Lucky for me my friend is a photographer. While another friend is a pro at making resumes and she lived in Manhattan close to where the auditions were being held so I had affordable lodging, as in FREE. I also had to request the time off from my job! Somehow I managed to get it all done. The big question looming was what was I going to do IF I was selected for the position? In my head I came up with a workable plan to ask for a leave of absence from my job in law enforcement. A job I had been doing for fifteen years and I was ready to give it up for Sesame Street! I didn’t just have faith. I had CRAZY FAITH.

The day of the audition came and went. It truly is one of my best memories. I did not get selected to be a part of the cast of Sesame Street but I came out of this experience a winner. I will never look back and say “I wish I had” or “If only”. I can confidently say I tried. Not only did I chase one of my dreams but I showed my son the importance of staying true to yourself and never giving up. After I returned home, my son was super supportive and encouraging. My age didn’t matter to him, my minimal bilingual capabilities or the fact I was not a professional singer or dancer. Or that I had zero acting experience. He hugged me and said “I can’t believe they didn’t pick you because you didn’t speak Spanish”. He walked away shaking his head.

I risked job security and a comfortable home life in a community surrounded by family and friends to pursue a dream that didn’t come to fruition. I don’t feel silly or have any regrets in the least bit. The bigger risk would’ve been to let the dream fall to the wayside and not being able to show my son the importance of chasing his dreams.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a certified Laughter Yoga teacher by way of law enforcement. I have been a police officer for twenty eight years. I started practicing Laughter Yoga when I was a young School Resource Officer as a way to show students another way to destress. I shared Laughter Yoga with my friends but was never in a position to get the actual training for certification. In 2019 I began pursuing Laughter Yoga seriously as I saw how beneficial it was for my overall health and wellness. I began sharing Laughter Yoga with my friends, family and peers at work. In 2024 I became a certified Laughter Yoga teacher and continue to spread joy, laughter in positivity with others with a special focus on law enforcement. I also, hold a graduate certification in puppet arts
which I am beginning to integrate puppetry with my Laughter Yoga. I am in the process of creating a Laughter Yoga puppet show to share with school age children.

As time goes on I would like to invest in a van to travel around the country to spread the joy and health benefits of laughter while including my puppetry!

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

My whole life has pretty much been a pivot! What I have learned is that change is inevitable. Flexibility is key. I never intended to be a single mom or have a career in law enforcement for as long as I have but I stayed true to myself, my morals and values and never gave up on my dreams. Pivot and don’t look back. The best is yet to come.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

Love. Your. Team. That’s all I can say. When you lead or supervise in a loving way and care about your employees you will see the results in how they perform. When people feel known and valued it makes a difference in how they see their position at work. The book Power of Positive Leadership by Jon Gordon really hones in on being a servant leader and how a manager/supervisor who embodies this concept shapes a positive workplace. There is no room for “Energy Vampires’. Love is instrumental in maintaining morale and a team that stays together.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Laughteryogawithmari.com
• Instagram: Laughter_yoga_with_Mari
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61558020813365&mibextid=wwXlfr&mibextid=wwXlfr