Café Radio Podcast

Captain Lena Kaman is the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Commanding Officer in New Orleans, Louisiana. She is the first woman to command this base. As a trailblazer, Kaman offers her insights to young people through her experiences and journey as Commanding Officer. Kaman is from Shawnee, Wisconsin, and hails from a military family. During Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom, she flew over 100 combat hours. For this effort, she was awarded the Air Medal. She has experience working with the Chief of Naval Personnel in Washington, D.C., as well as Executive Officer and later Commanding Officer of the HT-8 Eightballer team. She has also assumed the role of Legislative Fellow in the House of Representatives and worked with the Chief of the Navy Reserve. All in all, she has flown over 4,200 hours in naval aircraft.

Deborah Rutter is the President of the historic Kennedy Center. The center was established as a "living memorial" by Congress in 1964, honoring the legacy of President John F. Kennedy and his belief in diversity within the arts. Deborah Rutter assumed the role of president on September 1, 2014. Before her time at The Kennedy Center, Rutter was President of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association, leading young professional musicians. As president of the Kennedy Center, Rutter has been integral in establishing REACH, which is designed to facilitate artistic development through innovative indoor and outdoor space. She has developed DIRECT CURRENT, a series that spotlights new art from multiple disciplines and forms. Rutter discusses the value of art in the human experience and her journey working with gifted individuals.

Jason Levien is the managing general partner of the Major League Soccer team based in Washington, D.C. As Co-Chairman and CEO of D.C. United, he has been instrumental in constructing Audi Field, a new 20,000-seat stadium. Audi was the host of the 2023 MLS All-Star Game. Levien is working to build soccer infrastructure around the D.C. metropolitan area. He created the USL Championship Club, Loudon United, and the United Performance Center in Leesburg, Virginia. Another one of his projects was constructing Segra Field. Before his achievements in the D.C. area, Levien was the CEO and managing partner of the Memphis Grizzlies. In this conversation, Levien speaks about his experience playing sports, being passionate about life, traveling the world, and his journey to the highest echelons of sports management.

Christopher Dunlavey co-founded Brailsford & Dunlavey and currently serves as president. He is also the co-founder of CENTERS. Dunlavey's roots are in his experiences as an architect and earning an advanced real estate development and finance degree. Dunlavey is known for managing the development of sports venues and "quality of life" projects in higher education. Notable clients are Howard University, Johns Hopkins University, the Catholic University of America, Lockheed Martin Corporation, Marshall University, Jackson State University, and the University of Pittsburgh. Another notable client is his alma mater, George Washington University, where he earned his Master of Business Administration. He is a member of the American Institute of Architects College of Fellows. He earned his bachelor's degree from Columbia College of Columbia University. Dunlavey discusses the business of sports, building his own business, and sports team ownership.

Dr. Jean Accius's accomplishments are filtered through his work around building health systems that are sustainable and equitable. Accius has served on the policy team for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and as the Senior Vice President of International Affairs and Global Thought Leadership at AARP. He is widely published in outlets such as TIME Magazine and The New York Times. Dr. Accis received bachelor's and master's degrees from Florida State University and a Ph.D from American University School of Public Affairs. He is also a Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health program on Health Reform graduate and a fellow with the Executive Leadership Council. Accius offers insights into the value of tenacity, hard work, and giving back to our communities.

Barbara Humpton is the President and CEO of Siemens Corporation, where she can operationalize her love of diversity and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education. Before Siemens, Humpton contributed to new business development for technology consulting in the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security. She oversaw Biometrics Programs, Border and Transportation Security, and Critical Infrastructure Protection at Lockheed Martin Corporation. Humpton earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics at Wake Forest University. Her story and experiences have much to offer young people seeking a STEM career and learning from an innovative thinker.

Nikhil is an amazing example of an individual who has taken the time to choose the right path for themselves. He began his career path in engineering like his father but quickly switched his path to the medical field when he discovered his love of biology and anatomy. In his senior year of undergrad at Clarke University he was accepted to four medical school programs but decided instead to take the LSAT so he could explore the Law of Science. He believes this will allow him to combine his passion for biology and the medical field, with his passion for advocacy. He will be attending Northwestern Law School in the Fall. As a side hobby he is a fashion designer with his own Instagram and blog where he promotes fashion, diversity, and inclusivity.

Currently in her senior year of High School, Medhnaa was inspired at the age of seven to begin raising funds for the Bal Ashram orphanage in India after a visit with her family. During her first fundraiser she raised $4K for the orphanage and began hosting more bake sales and reaching out to donors. She started her own Foundation called Touch of Life which has helped pass bills, work towards advocacy outreach, and has raised over $300,000 for the orphanage. She has a passion for STEM and has volunteered hours towards helping students in India learn robotics, math, and coding. She sees her accomplishments as an extension of her ADHD diagnosis and believes that it is a large motivator in the work she has done. She hopes that more people see it as a positive rather than a negative.

Alexis began her award journey when a mentor at Beaches Habitat told her about the program and signed her up. Through this mentor she was able to work with multiple students at all levels of the Award and grow as an individual as well as network with her peers. During her Award journey she was able to work with the nonprofit Junior Achievement, where she was able to reach her personal development goals by focusing on financial literacy and business development. Because of this focus on business and financial literacy, she has been inspired to one day start her own business. After the Award she studied communications at the University of North Florida and began her career in public relations and nonprofits. She is now working as an executive assistant at a Corporate SolutionsTech which was inspired by her STEM Star Award. To her the mentorship aspect of the Award was what made it the most meaningful and she is grateful someone saw and encouraged her potential.

Before obtaining his LLM in Trial Advocacy, Christopher attended the University of Delaware for political science and Villanova for law school. His past experiences include interning for Vice President Joe Biden, working as a judicial clerk, and being an adjunct professor of law at the Delaware Law School. His award journey began in the eighth grade when he took on the self-motivated initiative to find a program that would highlight all the activities he was already doing. His award experience was key to helping him in his future career and he has discussed the experience before in interviews and on resumes. He hopes to either become a lawyer in Philadelphia or work on the White House Counsel in the Fall.

During her time as a participant of the Award, Bailey lived in Kansas City before completing her BFA in Recorded Music at NYU. The Award motivated her to continue into adulthood her work on Award program pillars such as physical fitness through tennis, personal development through music, and volunteerism through her local junior league. Her love for music has led her to become the Music Licensing Specialist for The Tonight Show where she oversees all the music licensing for the show. Without the Award giving her the motivation to continue her love for music, she may not have decided to go into the music industry.

Originally for Los Angeles, Bonnie now lives in Seattle where she has held multiple positions within Microsoft. In her current role she works on the environmental sustainability team where she focuses on corporate environmental strategy. This career path stems from her love for biology and her want to make an impact through conservation. Before Microsoft, she trained as a conservation biologist, in which she was recognized as a National Geographic Explorer for her work in environmental education. Previously, she helped initiate the marine program for the Wildlife Conservation Society in Myanmar, discovered a new sea slug species in the Caribbean, and researched climate adaptation of endangered penguins in South Africa. Bonnie received her B.A. in organismic and evolutionary biology at Harvard University and was an inaugural Schwarzman Scholar at Tsinghua University.

Florida Gubernatorial Fellow, Congressional Award Communications Intern, and 2015 Silver Medalist Zenani Johnson speaks on her career in advocacy and lifelong dedication to community service.

Senior Manager at The Recording Academy and 2009 Bronze Medalist Nicole Brown speaks on overcoming challenges and her career in the entertainment industry.

Government at LYFT and 2008 Gold Medalist Victoria Willingham speaks on her career in law and the tech industry.

Facebook intern, full-time college student, and 2018 Gold Medalist Swati Bhageria speaks on her journey to a career in tech and discusses how she's navigated the challenges of breaking into the STEM field.

Accounting firm KPMG intern, student-athlete, and 2019 Gold Medalist Fernando Miranda-Fred reflects on his experience with leadership and how to become a strong leader no matter what stage of life you're in.

Fox News Reporter and 2015 Bronze Medalist Joshua Q. Nelson speaks on the communications industry and using storytelling as an effective communications tool.

Season 1 of this podcast was launched in partnership with DC Radio, Eliot-Hine Middle School, and The Congressional Award Foundation. The series is produced by The DC Office of Cable Television, Film, Music, and Entertainment (OCTFME) in collaboration with Eliot-Hine Middle School students.The Congressional Award Board of Director's Chairman Paxton Baker provides an introduction to The Congressional Award program.