Creative Innovators with Gigi Johnson

Questions: How do we design for extreme conditions and resource challenges?  Is that for Mars or Earth? Guest: Alfredo Muñoz, Architect; Founder; Onteco; Founder, ABIBOO Studio; Chair for Memberships of the Technical Committee of Space Architecture at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Digital twins?  Space architecture?  Alfredo Munoz combines astrophysics and architecture to let us pilot new ways of building in VR on Earth . . . as practice for Mars . . . to improve how we live on Earth.   He'll share elements of a digital twin of a compound in Mars that you can engage with here on Earth to try out better ways of working, living, and creating.  He also shares his own journey through innovative architecture and bringing those skills and insights to connect with space architecture and collaborative virtual reality.  Bio Alfredo Muñoz is the founder of Onteco and ABIBOO Studio. He is also the Chair for Memberships of the Technical Committee of Space Architecture at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Mr. Muñoz has been considered the youngest among the most influential Spanish Architects and the youngest European Leaders (EYL40). His clients range from Fortune Global 500 conglomerates to governments to private high-net-worth individuals on five continents. Alfredo has been teaching and speaking at elite Universities, and his work has been featured in media outlets across the world. He holds a Master's in Architecture from the Polytechnic University of Madrid and a Master's of Advanced Studies in Architecture from BarcelonaTech.   Mentioned Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alfredo-munoz/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/alfredo-munoz/) Twitter: https://twitter.com/AbibooArchs (https://twitter.com/AbibooArchs) https://www.facebook.com/ABIBOOStudio/ (Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ABIBOOStudio/) ABIBOO YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAKg_w7V0PquCiyCCO8mdvA (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAKg_w7V0PquCiyCCO8mdvA) Onteco https://onteco.com/ (https://onteco.com/) ABIBOO - https://abiboo.com/ (https://abiboo.com/) Mars Society and the Mars Desert Research Station - MDRS - https://mdrs.marssociety.org/ (https://mdrs.marssociety.org/) Nüwa City: https://abiboo.com/projects/nuwa/ (https://abiboo.com/projects/nuwa/) - https://vimeo.com/468344643 (https://vimeo.com/468344643) Space Analogs in Israel - D-Mars 2021 - AMADEE-20 Mars simulation, led by the Israel Space Agency and the Austrian Space Forum,https://www.israel21c.org/astronauts-carry-out-space-mission-in-israeli-desert/ NASA Analogs - https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/563511main_NASA-Analog-Missions-06-2011_508.pdf (https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/563511main_NASA-Analog-Missions-06-2011_508.pdf) Friends of Europe / EU - 40 People Below 40 - https://www.friendsofeurope.org/insights/read-all-about-it-the-names-of-the-eyl40-class-of-2019-are-finally-out/ (https://www.friendsofeurope.org/insights/read-all-about-it-the-names-of-the-eyl40-class-of-2019-are-finally-out/) Dr. Guillem Anglada-Escude and Proxima B - https://www.alphr.com/space/1004184/proxima-b-scientists-discover-a-new-earth-20-just-four-light-years-away/ (https://www.alphr.com/space/1004184/proxima-b-scientists-discover-a-new-earth-20-just-four-light-years-away/) Oxford Union Debate - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wAP0mVpPlw (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wAP0mVpPlw) Your Host: Gigi Johnson, EdD I run transformative programs, speak/moderate, invest, advise, and produce multimedia on creativity and technology.  I taught for 22 years at UCLA, where I ran the Center for Music Innovation and the podcast "Innovating Music," built four industry-connecting programs, and taught undergraduates, MBAs, and executives about disruption in creative industries.  Before UCLA, I financed media M&A at Bank of America for ten years. Connect with Us...

Question: How can you build a rich creative life based on referrals and going out on a limb? Guest: Darryl Hurs, Owner/CEO, Indie Week; Managing Director, Downtown Canada; Director, Market Development, Canada, CD Baby; Educator, Harris Institute In this episode, Darryl Hurs shares his journey from studying music, working in retail at HMV, and being in a band to building a dynamic life in digital arts and music business through the reach of the people he has met and putting himself out there, even if he was uncomfortable.  His work of getting and giving work to others launched his own early work for Live Nation in launching VIPNATION.  His life ever since has all been about referrals and reaching out.  He built Indie Week from booking venues and creating discovery opportunities for new music.  He threads together stories of expanded risk-taking from one group of skills and people to bigger opportunities -- and how the referral is at the core of building his work in the world. BioDarryl Hurs has a 25+ year history in the music business including launching and running Indie Week (one of Canada's largest music showcase festivals and conferences). In the past two years, he has founded 3 new online conferences: Music Pro Summit, indie101, and SCREENxSCREEN.  Darryl recently has been hired as the Managing Director for Downtown Music in Canada heading the Canadian operations for FUGA, Songtrust, Adrev, Found.ee, and CD Baby. His past positions include design and branding/marketing for Live Nation as a freelancer (projects included a corporate rebrand and logo design, launching https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2FVIPNATION.com%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR1JJoXtUf8frYUUJXLSFq4B192UiBfCCXIMQ_infOWA6ceUBHf09cMUFOY&h=AT3PF4tMKiuFYznYiaNVzLn54IXvbG67ZIMbfAqu8L2__QsrZpG4zoZ9Y0RkzAuA3PKQI4iyUi8i_53dhkuQ1laPfkJT18LHbBEzQrauDgpD86EXi9k9_3xpUnnUdhyqNxVnvLsQ2eIpS8jv7A (VIPNATION.com), work for U2, Nickelback, Madonna, Beyonce, Jay-Z and Dave Matthews), retail buyer at HMV, and booker for one of Toronto's top live music venues (The Rivoli). Linkshttps://www.indieweek.com/ (Indie Week) https://indie101.com/ (Indie 101) http://musicprosummit.com/ (Music Pro Summit) http://www.screenxscreen.com/ (Screen x Screen) https://www.downtownmusic.com/ (Downtown Music) Twitter: https://twitter.com/darrylhurs (DarrylHurs), https://twitter.com/indieweek (IndieWeek), https://twitter.com/downtownmusic (Downtown Music) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darryl_hurs/ (Darryl_Hurs), https://www.instagram.com/indieweek/ (Indie Week), https://www.instagram.com/downtownholdco/ (Downtown Music) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/darryl.hurs (Darryl.Hurs), https://www.facebook.com/indieweek/ (Indie Week) https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrylhurs/ (LinkedIn) Our Mission Through our guests' stories, we aim to inspire current and future change agents who are creatives, entrepreneurs, researchers, or community leaders who are seeking inspiration and support around creative innovation — changing the ways we create, collaborate, engage, change lives, and build communities. Your Host: Gigi Johnson, EdD I run transformative programs, speak/moderate, invest, advise, and produce multimedia on creativity and technology.  I taught for 22 years at UCLA, where I ran the Center for Music Innovation and the podcast "Innovating Music," built four industry-connecting programs, and taught undergraduates, MBAs, and executives about disruption in creative industries.  Before UCLA, I financed media M&A at Bank of America for ten years. Connect with Us https://maremel.com/creative-innovators-podcast/ (Our Website) How to submit a Creative Innovator Guest: https://maremel.com/creative-innovators-podcast/guest-information/ (Information Page) Subscribe to our newsletter http://eepurl.com/bugPcj (here). Join our Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/creativeinnovators (here).

Question: How do you connect independent artists and music business in India as a young woman? Guest: Ritnika Nayan, Managing Director, Downtown India; Owner: Music Gets Me High Ritnika Nayan shares stories about her passion: helping indie artists succeed and make money through various avenues that they might have been neglecting.  She does that in her main role: Managing Director for Downtown India.  That passion also connects her early love of Broadway musicals to working on college concerts at Hofstra, music festivals in India, building her own company, wellness work, ukulele covers, and writing a book and teaching future music industry leaders in India.   Bio Ritnika Nayan is the Managing Director for Downtown India representing CD Baby, Fuga, Songtrust, Downtown Music Services, Found.ee, and Adrev in the country. She is also the owner of the company Music Gets Me High and the author of Indie 101 – The Ultimate Guide to the Independent Music Industry in India.  Throughout her 21 years of experience in the music industry, she has worked with artists like Maroon 5, Nickelback, Guns & Roses, Manu Chao, Nucleya, Advaita, Jalebee Cartel and also consulted on festivals like Sula Fest, Ziro festival of Music, Wonderflip fest and more. Ritnika has also set up India's first stand-alone Music Business Certification course at SACAC, Delhi, and conducts workshops on various aspects of the Industry under MGMH Academy. She is an avid speaker at conferences globally including TEDx and has won various awards including the contribution to the creative industry award by the University of Westminster, UK and the Young Music Entrepreneur runner-up award by the British council and more. Mentioned Links: https://ritnika.com/about-me/ (https://ritnika.com/about-me/) https://ritnika.com/ (https://ritnika.com/)  https://www.linkedin.com/in/ritnika/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ritnika/) https://twitter.com/ritnika (https://twitter.com/ritnika) https://www.facebook.com/ritnikan (https://www.facebook.com/ritnikan) MGMH YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/mgmhindia (https://www.youtube.com/user/mgmhindia) SAC Certificate in Music Business Management: https://www.sac.ac.in/certificate-course-music-business-management/ (https://www.sac.ac.in/certificate-course-music-business-management/)  Indie 101: The Ultimate Guide to the Independent Music Industry in India: https://www.amazon.com/Indie-101-Ultimate-Independent-Industry-ebook/dp/B074279X8M Our Mission Through our guests' stories, we aim to inspire current and future change agents who are creatives, entrepreneurs, researchers, or community leaders who are seeking inspiration and support around creative innovation — changing the ways we create, collaborate, engage, change lives, and build communities. Your Host: Gigi Johnson, EdD I run transformative programs, speak/moderate, invest, advise, and produce multimedia on creativity and technology.  I taught for 22 years at UCLA, where I ran the Center for Music Innovation and the podcast "Innovating Music," built four industry-connecting programs, and taught undergraduates, MBAs, and executives about disruption in creative industries.  Before UCLA, I financed media M&A at Bank of America for ten years. Connect with Us https://maremel.com/creative-innovators-podcast/ (Our Website) How to submit a Creative Innovator Guest: https://maremel.com/creative-innovators-podcast/guest-information/ (Information Page) Subscribe to our newsletter http://eepurl.com/bugPcj (here). Join our Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/creativeinnovators (here). Sponsored and Produced by the https://maremel.com/ (Maremel Institute)

Question: How can you build campfires, mixing music and social activism? Guest: Arturo O'Farrill, Founder, Artistic Director, Afro Latin Jazz Alliance; Professor, Global Jazz Studies, The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, Associate Dean for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Arturo O'Farrill builds campfires and connects music, activism, and community to build momentum to change his areas of passion in the world -- especially in New York.   He shares with us the many projects he is working on, his Grammy-award winning music melding and digging beyond jazz and Latin music roots, his strong beliefs about Cuba and US foreign policy, and his new projects in housing and music in Spanish Harlem.  He talks about the impacts on artists with the Virtual Birdland project, which garnered a Grammy nomination, and his work with Dr. Cornel West with Four Questions.  He recalls his desires to conduct back at age 6 and breaking into his father's record collection and finding Seven Steps to Heaven, locking in his passion for music.  He states with bold examples how "Happiness is marrying your conviction with your art," which frames most of his adult work.  He speaks the vigor about the results of unbridled capitalism -- and does not mince words.  Our GuestARTURO O'FARRILL, pianist, composer, and educator, was born in Mexico and grew up in New York City. Arturo's professional career began with the Carla Bley Band and continued as a solo performer with a wide spectrum of artists including Dizzy Gillespie, Lester Bowie, Wynton Marsalis, and Harry Belafonte. In 2007, he founded the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance as a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the performance, education, and preservation of Afro Latin music. An avid supporter of all the Arts, Arturo has performed with Ballet Hispanico, Ron Brown's EVIDENCE Dance company, and the Malpaso Dance Company, for whom he has written several ballets. Arturo's well-reviewed and highly praised “Afro-Latin Jazz Suite” from the album CUBA: The Conversation Continues (Motéma) took the 2016 Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition as well as the 2016 Latin Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Recording. In addition, his composition “Three Revolutions” from the album Familia-Tribute to Chico and Bebo also received the Best Instrumental Composition Grammy in 2018. Arturo's 2020 album, “Four Questions” won yet another Grammy award in 2021. Arturo has been a Steinway Artist for many years and is now a Blue Note Records Recording Artist. Mentioned Links Websites: https://arturoofarrill.com/ http://www.afrolatinjazz.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/afrolatinjazz Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arturo_O'Farrill https://schoolofmusic.ucla.edu/people/arturo-ofarrill/ (UCLA: https://schoolofmusic.ucla.edu/people/arturo-ofarrill/) New Complex in Spanish Harlem: https://latinjazznet.com/news/new-home-for-the-afro-latin-jazz-alliance/ (https://latinjazznet.com/news/new-home-for-the-afro-latin-jazz-alliance/) Fandango at the Wall (2020): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11278140/ (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11278140/) Cuba meets Khaleeji, the Middle Eastern roots of Afro Cuban jazz:  https://www.nyuad-artscenter.org/en_US/events/2019/cuban-khaleeji-project-arturo-ofarrill-afro-latin-jazz-orchestra-and-guests/ (https://www.nyuad-artscenter.org/en_US/events/2019/cuban-khaleeji-project-arturo-ofarrill-afro-latin-jazz-orchestra-and-guests/) Virtual Birdland: https://latinjazznet.com/news/new-releases/arturo-o-farrill-aljo-to-release-virtual-birdland/ Dr. Cornel West and Four Questions:  https://latinjazznet.com/news/new-releases/arturo-ofarrill-the-afro-latin-jazz-orchestra-release-new-album-four-questions/ Timecodes 00:03 Introduction and current work 01:24 Hiring a new bass player with recordings - changing the system he was handed 02:29 ALJA and Building Campfires 04:18 Affordable Housing in

Question:  What can you do with focus on drive in both toys and STEM?  And what can a persistent Shirin Salemnia do?  Guest: Shirin Laor-Raz Salemnia, Founder and CEO, WhizGirls Academy and PlayWerks Shirin shares a passionate tale of drive, success with extreme persistence, and then designing new businesses to give back.  She talks about her journey through college, Mattel, MGA/Bratz, and building her two current businesses.  She didn't take no for an answer -- and said no many times to missions that pulled on her coattails.  She is one of our more driven guests, not taking no from guidance counselors, security guards, and many other people in her life.  The movie Big set her on her mission and voices as distinctive as Deepak Chopra and Simon Sinek inspired her to her current paths of giving back.  Our Guest Shirin Laor-Raz Salemnia is the Founder and CEO of http://play-werks.com/ (PlayWerks) and the founder of http://whizgirlsacademy.com/ (WhizGirls Academy). PlayWerks is an interactive media company that creates high quality multi-platform immersive games and experiences that engage children and adults. WhizGirls Academy is where students engage in project based learning and gamification that help them with tech and digital literacy while acquiring coding skills, entrepreneurship tools, and building confidence and growing as members of their communities with a healthy balanced lifestyle slant. In 2013, she hosted the first Hackathon for Women and Girls with https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/cwg (The White House Council of Women and Girls). In May 2014, she hosted the Kids Hack for LA in collaboration with Mayor Eric Garcetti, the White House, and will.i.am's http://iamangelfoundation.org/ (i.am.angel Foundation). Also in 2014, Shirin gave her Ted Talk "Are You a Gamer or a Gardener?" at the TedxYouth conference in Los Angeles, CA. She is currently teaching Tech for Social Impact/Entrepreneurship at http://itp.usc.edu/faculty-staff/Shirin-Salemnia (USC School of Engineering/(ITP)Viterbi). In December 2014, Shirin joined President Obama, the First Lady, and Vice President Joe Biden along with hundreds of college presidents and other higher education leaders at the "Reach Higher Summit" at the White House to announce the commitment to serve 25,000 inner city children and adults nationwide. The first WhizGirls Academy Mobile Tech Tour event with Mayor Garcetti in South Central Los Angeles in December 2014, was attended by 1500 people. More recently, in March of 2015 Shirin was honored by LA Mayor Eric Garcetti and Los Angeles City Councilmember Mike Bonin as 2015 LA City Pioneer Woman of the Year. Check out his http://www.11thdistrict.com/neighborhoods_first_profile_shirin?utm_campaign=april_15_news&utm_medium=email&utm_source=ant (write up) and her appearance at the http://gettyhouse.org/2015/03/25th-anniversary-of-the-pioneer-women-awards/ (Getty House with Mayor Garcetti) (Check out the 12th pic). In October 2015, She was honored as a http://www.tribecadisruptiveinnovationawards.com/shirin-laor-raz-salemnia-founder-and-ceo-playwerks/#sthash.lo66IxmJ.dpbs (Tribeca Disruptor Innovation Fellow). In March 2016 she was honored as IJWO Woman of the Year. Mentioned Links Twitter @ShirinSalemnia Facebook @ShirinLaorRazSalemnia Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shirin-laor-raz-salemnia-a95381 (linkedin.com/in/shirin-laor-raz-salemnia-a95381) WhizGirls Academy:  http://whizgirlsacademy.com/ TEDxYouth Talk: Are You a Gamer or a Gardener? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJvOSG9A6O4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJvOSG9A6O4) Mattel: https://corporate.mattel.com/en-us MGA & Bratz: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bratz Jetsetter by Shag: https://www.artcollectorz.com/artworks/artwork-detail?artwork_id=2544&edition_id=3375 Jordan Mechner: https://www.jordanmechner.com/ Oviatt Library at Cal State Northridge:...

Question: How can life make better sense backwards? How can we weave together arts, spatial sound, architecture, and organizational change? Jeremy Yuille, with Meld Studios in Melbourne, Australia, works with organizations to transform how they work in the face of changing futures. His own past weaves through architecture, art, music, and spatial information architecture. He shares how systems thinking and sound impact organizations and change . . . and shares a weaving graphic on how all the puzzle pieces of his life have come together, making even greater sense backwards. BioJeremy Yuille is a Principal with Meld Studios in Melbourne, Australia. He had been a Sr. Lecturer in Melbourne at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), as well as their Program Manager at the Australasian Cooperative Research Centre for Interaction Design (ACID). His PhD in Communication Design and Masters in Spatial Information Architecture both are from RMIT. Career Illustrations: Upper: https://maremel.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Drawing-Part-1-Yuille.jpg Lower: https://maremel.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Drawing-Part-2-Yuille.jpg Links on Jeremyhttps://overlobe.medium.com/grokking-the-swamp-130738034dbc (https://overlobe.medium.com/grokking-the-swamp-130738034dbc) is about his PhD - from the perspective of the practice leap it required.  https://medium.com/design-futures/principles-for-the-studio-dea2256fec7a (https://medium.com/design-futures/principles-for-the-studio-dea2256fec7a) are some principles designed for an online Masters he stood up as his academic swansong. http://overlobe.com (overlobe.com) will redirect to the archive, sometime back in the 90's https://linktr.ee/overlobe (https://linktr.ee/overlobe) is a place to find all this stuff (and more) LinksLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/overlobe/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/overlobe/) Twitter: https://twitter.com/overlobe (https://twitter.com/overlobe)  https://twitter.com/wearemeld (https://twitter.com/wearemeld)  Medium: https://overlobe.medium.com/ (https://overlobe.medium.com/)  Meld Studios: http://meldstudios.com.au/ (http://meldstudios.com.au/)  Donella Meadows, Thinking in Systems, 2008: https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Systems-Donella-H-Meadows/dp/1603580557 (https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Systems-Donella-H-Meadows/dp/1603580557) Timecodes00:07 Introduction 06:20 Circuitous Routes 09:30 Spatial Information Architecture 14:40 Music . . . Bush Duffs 16:48 Jam with Algorithms 17:31 Systems Thinking 20:02 Observing Power in Organizations 21:48 Working in the Weeds 20:28 Multiuser Environments in 2000 24:16 Net.art in late 1990 25:09 Higher Ed - Superpower? 28:50 Ways of Thinking About What is Next 32:07 The People Business 35:15 Getting our Collective Stuff Together 37:35 Who Do We Work with Now? 40:00 Creating to Refill the Tank 42:33 Making Less Time for Thinking 42:57 Walking Backwards Into the Future Our Mission Through our guests' stories, we aim to inspire current and future change agents who are creatives, entrepreneurs, researchers, or community leaders who are seeking inspiration and support around creative innovation — changing the ways we create, collaborate, engage, change lives, and build communities. Your Host: Gigi Johnson, EdD I run transformative programs, speak/moderate, invest, advise, and produce multimedia on creativity and technology.  I taught for 22 years at UCLA, where I ran the Center for Music Innovation and the podcast "Innovating Music," built four industry-connecting programs, and taught undergraduates, MBAs, and executives about disruption in creative industries.  Before UCLA, I financed media M&A at Bank of America for ten years. Connect with Us https://maremel.com/creative-innovators-podcast/ (Our Website) How to submit a Creative Innovator Guest:...

Question:  How can we use Augmented Reality to enhance the practice of collaborative biology?  Guest: Ippolito Caradonna, Co-Founder/CEO, Aug Lab; Director, HoloPractice Ippolito Caradonna mixes his love for biology with his background in film and passion for assisted research.  He is co-founding Aug Lab, an AR software interface for laboratory production that helps scientists traverse the complex topography of a lab.  He shares with us how he first fell in love with molecular biology through gene regulation.  His journey has not been a straight line.  After starting in film at Loyola Marymount, he became a social worker for 6 years in Santa Clara County, near where he grew up in Gilroy, CA.  He has had, what we call postcard moments in this show, where he dropped out of film school.  He went back to school, fascinated by "junk DNA," the extra DNA not being used.  He melded theater, music, and other areas of art in parallel with lab studies.  He shares how he bugged his now-parter, Christian Lafayette, to work with him on an augmented reality solution.  He shares his plans for Aug Lab in designing with other lab professionals how do we augment the lab experience vs changing it or distracting from their work.  He ends with his own values of making lab work understandable and accessible for young professionals exploring STEM careers and hopes that Aug Lab will make training easier to explore. Our Guest Ippolito Caradonna is a passionate molecular biologist with over 10 years of experience in academic and industry labs. He co-founded Aug Lab, an AR software prototype that spatially projects a projected environment for lab and collaborative work.  He has over two years in the Medical XR (mixed reality) arena as a mentor via the Black Technology Mentorship Program. He is also the director of a HoloPractice - a private incubator of technologists and health & wellness professionals building experiential platforms. Giving back to his community is one of his most important values and his commitment to authentic personal relationships is the cornerstone of his professional foundation.  He is passionate about shifting the paradigm in the laboratory from the 2D protocol-driven lab operation to a human-centered technology transfer that uses a digitally projected shared interactive environment. Mentioned Links theAugLab.com HoloPractice.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ippolito-caradonna/ Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/theauglab Timecode 00:00 Introduction 01:03 HoloPractice - What is it? 02:03 Molecular Biology 02:47 Aug Lab - What is it? 05:09 Falling in Love with the Lab and Biology 06:12 Leaving Film for Social Work 12:39 Liquid handling robot as a gateway to AR 14:23 Pursuing his co-founder 26:22 Envisioning science careers Your Host: Gigi Johnson, EdD I run transformative programs, speak/moderate, invest, advise, and produce multimedia on creativity and technology.  I taught for 22 years at UCLA, where I ran the Center for Music Innovation and the podcast "Innovating Music," built four industry-connecting programs, and taught undergraduates, MBAs, and executives about disruption in creative industries.  Before UCLA, I financed media M&A at Bank of America for ten years. Connect with Us https://maremel.com/creative-innovators-podcast/ (Our Website) How to submit a Creative Innovator Guest: https://maremel.com/creative-innovators-podcast/guest-information/ (Information Page) Subscribe to our newsletter http://eepurl.com/bugPcj (here). Join our Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/creativeinnovators (here). Sponsored and Produced by the https://maremel.com/ (Maremel Institute)

Jeremy Sirota, MerlinOur first guest of Season 2 shares his tales of two loves: music and technology. His journey to Merlin includes early fandom in the Orange County punk rock scene, learning brand design in New York City while launching a mini fashion brand, and a road through technology law, Warner Music, and Facebook. He shares his adventures "leaning out over his skis" and growing outside of his comfort zone. He talks about relationships and "finding enough space that luck finds you." Jeremy shares his learnings and beliefs in managing organizations and teams, as well as his challenges in managing as a new CEO into the heart of the Pandemic. BioJeremy Sirota is CEO of Merlin, the Independents' digital music licensing partner that strikes premium deals for its members with services like Apple, Facebook, Spotify, TikTok, and YouTube. Sirota has been recognized four times by Billboard, including Indie Power Player, International Power Player, and the 2022 Power List. Last year, Merlin added 32 independent labels and distributors from 17 countries to its membership and represents over 15% of the global market share. Prior to Merlin, he was an executive on the Facebook Music team, where he helped shape its music strategy as well as licensed rights from independents worldwide. Sirota previously held a number of senior positions at Warner Music Group, culminating as Head of Business & Legal Affairs for WEA and ADA. Early in his career, he was a technology lawyer at Morrison & Forster. For more, visithttps://merlinnetwork.org/ ( https://merlinnetwork.org/) Mentioned Linkshttps://merlinnetwork.org (Merlin Network) https://www.ada-music.com/ (Warner Music ADA) https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremysirota/ (LinkedIn) https://www.facebook.com/merlinnetwork (Facebook) https://www.twitter.com/merlinnetwork (Twitter) Timecode 00:00 Introduction 01:03 Merlin 03:51 Growing Up: Punk Rock & CIA? 06:42 College in Rhetoric? 08:33 New York in Design 14:03 Luck Finds You 19:28 Managing in Large and Small Companies 22:03 Merlin in 2020-22 28:12 North Stars and Team Goals 31:34 Big Ahas 36:14 Personal Side 39:19 Encouraging as a Parent 41:05 Intersecting Music and Tech Our Mission Through our guests' stories, we aim to inspire current and future change agents who are creatives, entrepreneurs, researchers, or community leaders who are seeking inspiration and support around creative innovation — changing the ways we create, collaborate, engage, change lives, and build communities. Your Host: Gigi Johnson, EdD I run transformative programs, speak/moderate, invest, advise, and produce multimedia on creativity and technology.  I taught for 22 years at UCLA, where I ran the Center for Music Innovation and the podcast "Innovating Music," built four industry-connecting programs, and taught undergraduates, MBAs, and executives about disruption in creative industries.  Before UCLA, I financed media M&A at Bank of America for ten years. Connect with Us https://maremel.com/creative-innovators-podcast/ (Our Website) How to submit a Creative Innovator Guest: https://maremel.com/creative-innovators-podcast/guest-information/ (Information Page) Subscribe to our newsletter http://eepurl.com/bugPcj (here). Join our Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/creativeinnovators (here). Sponsored and Produced by the https://maremel.com/ (Maremel Institute) https://www.captivate.fm/signup?ref=gigijohnson (This podcast is hosted by Captivate, try it yourself for free.)

Welcome to Season 2 of Creative Innovators. We're going to have intriguing guests this season. Our question to you: Who inspires you? Who would you like to see on the show? We have great folks recording now as guests, and we'd like to include creative innovators who inspire our community. Please reach out to us and let us know at https://bit.ly/CI-Guest-Info (https://bit.ly/CI-Guest-Info). Our Mission Through our guests' stories, we aim to inspire current and future change agents who are creatives, entrepreneurs, researchers, or community leaders who are seeking inspiration and support around creative innovation — changing the ways we create, collaborate, engage, change lives, and build communities. Your Host: Gigi Johnson, EdD I run transformative programs, speak/moderate, invest, advise, and produce multimedia on creativity and technology.  I taught for 22 years at UCLA, where I ran the Center for Music Innovation and the podcast "Innovating Music," built four industry-connecting programs, and taught undergraduates, MBAs, and executives about disruption in creative industries.  Before UCLA, I financed media M&A at Bank of America for ten years. Connect with Us https://maremel.com/creative-innovators-podcast/ (Our Website) How to submit a Creative Innovator Guest: https://maremel.com/creative-innovators-podcast/guest-information/ (Information Page) Subscribe to our newsletter http://eepurl.com/bugPcj (here). Join our Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/creativeinnovators (here). Sponsored and Produced by the https://maremel.com/ (Maremel Institute)

Question: How do you decide what adventures to take in your nonlinear career?  What are intentional plans vs. accidents? Guest: Martin Atkins, Music Industries Coordinator, Millikin University; producer, drummer, documentary filmmaker, DJ, and teacher Photo: Kara Hammond and NARAS Martin Atkins talked with our host, Gigi Johnson, from his studio that also acts as a museum of all of the adventurous projects around his career.  Martin shared how he began drumming at age 9 and persistently getting into Public Image Ltd, waiting through 5 drummers.  He talked about believing early on that he had a job -- "it's being me."  He diversified by accident and kept adding roles as blockages came his way, including launching bands and labels.  Each time, he picked the best option that arose and looked for both safety nets and for solutions IN the problem itself.  Our Guest Martin Atkins is the definition of entrepreneurial activity in cultural arts endeavors, his 35+ years in the music business spans across genres, borders, and industries. He was a member of Public Image Ltd and Killing Joke. He founded industrial supergroup Pigface, The Damage Manual, and Murder Inc., and has contributed to Nine Inch Nails (for which he has a Grammy) and Ministry. He is the owner of Invisible Records and Mattress Factory Recording Studios (est. 1988). He is the author of "Tour:Smart, Welcome To The Music Business….You're F*cked!” and "Band:Smart."  He is the Music Industries Coordinator at Millikin University in Decatur Illinois. Martin is a producer, drummer, documentary filmmaker, DJ, and father of four. Whatever the future of entrepreneurial music business education is, you can pretty much bet that he'll be in the middle of it. Mentioned Links: Twitter @https://twitter.com/marteeeen (marteeeen )(with 4 e's) https://martinatkins.com/ (martinatkins.com), with free download of Band:Smart Your Host: Gigi Johnson, EdD I run transformative programs, speak/moderate, invest, advise, and produce multimedia on creativity and technology.  I taught for 22 years at UCLA, where I ran the Center for Music Innovation and the podcast "Innovating Music," built four industry-connecting programs, and taught undergraduates, MBAs, and executives about disruption in creative industries.  Before UCLA, I financed media M&A at Bank of America for ten years. Connect with Us https://maremel.com/creative-innovators-podcast/ (Our Website) How to submit a Creative Innovator Guest: https://maremel.com/creative-innovators-podcast/guest-information/ (Information Page) Subscribe to our newsletter http://eepurl.com/bugPcj (here). Join our Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/creativeinnovators (here). Sponsored and Produced by the https://maremel.com/ (Maremel Institute)

This was fun.  Your host, Gigi Johnson, has been speaking for college classes this past week and kept being asked to tell her/my story of the pivot points and non-linear decisions over 9 careers. So in this Tuesday Tidbit segment, I share the story of how I changed into a film major at USC based on postcard from my teaching assistant for a single class.  That changed my life and direction and those changes echo through my choices to this day. What postcards have you gotten in your life -- or elements that nudged you to turn left or right?  Do you see them?  Do you send them?   https://www.patreon.com/creativeinnovators (Support the show) (https://www.patreon.com/creativeinnovators)

Question: What if you could build a company around your passions? In this episode, David Hernandez shares how he is unlearning and relearning what he knows to create competition for his company . . . in his own company!  He runs Colonize Media, a multiplatform network music aggregator.  He has worked to create “a very human culture” with his team of 30+ people and now works to “break artists from nothing.” Guest: David Hernandez, CEO, Colonize Media David Hernandez is the CEO and co-founder of Colonize Media, a digital content distribution service created in 2015. Originally from Jalisco, Mexico, David Hernandez grew up in a family of performers and entertainers. David Hernandez has applied his love and passion for the music and entertainment industry to Colonize Media, which was first founded to help increase traction for Latin artists and their content. Colonize Media now serves over 10,000 independent artists and record labels across all genres with 600,000 tracks and videos and 3,000,000,000 monthly streams. Colonize Media's goal is to aid in maximizing creators' content, through marketing, advertising, and promotions. Colonize Media also helps artists to develop content strategies by analyzing digital data to better understand the music community as a whole, including listener demographics and listening trends. By helping clients reach a larger audience and generate more revenue, Colonize Media helps artists keep creating content they love.  Links: David Hernandez - davidh@colonizemedia.com Colonize Media - https://colonizemedia.com/ The Book Gigi Mentioned: “Overcoming Underearning” by Barbara Stanny Your Host: Gigi Johnson, EdD I run transformative programs, speak/moderate, invest, advise, and produce multimedia on creativity and technology.  I taught for 22 years at UCLA, where I ran the Center for Music Innovation and the podcast "Innovating Music," built four industry-connecting programs, and taught undergraduates, MBAs, and executives about disruption in creative industries.  Before UCLA, I financed media M&A at Bank of America for ten years. Connect with Us https://maremel.com/creative-innovators-podcast/ (Our Website) How to submit a Creative Innovator Guest: https://maremel.com/creative-innovators-podcast/guest-information/ (Information Page) Subscribe to our newsletter http://eepurl.com/bugPcj (here). Join our Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/creativeinnovators (here). Sponsored and Produced by the https://maremel.com/ (Maremel Institute)

Today starts the first segment of Tidbit Tuesday, which brings in parts of the Redesigning Your Creative Career program from NextCareer.me. What is a Creative Career? What are we talking about when we throw around the term “creative career”? This could be having a traditional career in a creative industry, or it could be doing something that has creativity in the actual job. In terms of being different from non-creative careers, they tend to recruit differently, and often you can build your career differently. They tend to be both skill and relationship orientated, but don't fit in nice little square boxes. As a result, there is often a lot more freedom which, in turn, can make it a more complicated career path to navigate on your own. Take a moment for some reflection. What are some differences that you anticipate or have experienced when navigating a creative versus a more traditional career path? And "see" you Thursday for our next guest on Creative Innovators.  https://nextcareer.me (Redesign Your Creative Career) Redesign your next Creative Career with resources at the Creative Innovator's Club. https://www.patreon.com/creativeinnovators (Support the show) (https://www.patreon.com/creativeinnovators)

Question: What if you could pursue the creative projects that you already saw in the world?  Guest: Beatie Wolfe, Singer, Songwriter, Technologist (Photo: Ross Harris) In this episode, Beatie Wolfe takes us through her creative journey to become the technologist and artist she is today.  Back when she was 7 or 8, she began to imagine the “music books” (album covers) that she wanted over music and moved to reimagine the vinyl experience in her later work.  She shares her journey through projects like “Raw Space” (the anti-stream in the more quiet room in the world).  She also discussed “From Green to Red,” which she created for this year's London Design Biennale, and “Postcards from Democracy” with Mark Mothersbough that will be a Featured Session at March 2021's SXSW Online.  Enjoy Beatie's journey to create and re-create our ceremonial experiences around music in the real world. About Beatie: “Musical weirdo and visionary” (Vice) Beatie Wolfe is an artist who has beamed her music into space, been appointed a UN role model for innovation, and held an acclaimed solo exhibition of her ‘world first' album designs at the V&A Museum. Named by WIRED as one of "22 people changing the world,” Beatie Wolfe is at the forefront of pioneering new formats for music that bridge the physical and digital, which include: a 3D theatre for the palm of your hand; a wearable record jacket - cut by Bowie and Hendrix's tailor out of fabric woven with Wolfe's music - and most recently an ‘anti-stream' from the quietest room on earth. Wolfe is also the co-founder of a “profound” (The Times) research project looking at the power of music for people living with dementia. The Barbican recently commissioned a documentary about Beatie Wolfe's pioneering work titled "Orange Juice for the Ears: From Space Beams to Anti-Streams" and Wolfe's latest innovation is an environmental protest piece built using 800,000 of historic data that will be premiered at the London Design Biennale in 2021. Mentioned Links: Beatie Wolfe: https://beatiewolfe.com/ (https://beatiewolfe.com/) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beatiewolfe/ (https://www.instagram.com/beatiewolfe/)  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BeatieWolfe/ (https://www.youtube.com/c/BeatieWolfe/)  Punk Rock by Virginia Boston - https://beatiewolfe.com/this-beats-blogging/punk-rock-by-virginia-boston-1978 (https://beatiewolfe.com/this-beats-blogging/punk-rock-by-virginia-boston-1978) 8ight (2017) - “World's first 3D Interactive Album App” - “Theater for the Palm of the Hand” -  https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/beatie-wolfe-8/id666096956 (https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/beatie-wolfe-8/id666096956)  Montagu Square (2015) - Album Deck of Cards - https://beatiewolfe.com/shop-list/the-mongatu-square-album-deck-of-cards (https://beatiewolfe.com/shop-list/the-mongatu-square-album-deck-of-cards)  Raw Space (2017) - Documentary about the album and Bell Labs - https://beatiewolfe.com/raw-space-beam (https://beatiewolfe.com/raw-space-beam)  Victoria & Albert (2018) - “The Art of Music in the Digital Age” - https://www.vam.ac.uk/event/bJR1B3Ng/ldf-2018-the-art-of-music-in-the-digital-age-a-series-of-world-first-designs (https://www.vam.ac.uk/event/bJR1B3Ng/ldf-2018-the-art-of-music-in-the-digital-age-a-series-of-world-first-designs)  SXSW Session - Mar. 18, 2021 - https://www.sxsw.com/news/2020/cynthia-erivo-mark-mothersbaugh-beatie-wolfe-baratunde-thurston-more-join-sxsw-online-2021/ (https://www.sxsw).com Your Host: Gigi Johnson, EdD I run transformative programs, speak/moderate, invest, advise, and produce multimedia on creativity and technology.  I taught for 22 years at UCLA, where I ran the Center for Music Innovation and the podcast "Innovating Music," built four industry-connecting programs, and taught undergraduates, MBAs, and executives about disruption in creative industries.  Before...

Starting next Tuesday, we'll be sharing parts of the NextCareer.me career exploration programs to tie in with the non-linear career stories from each of these podcast interviews.   We'll be sharing each week on Tuesdays a bit of the programs we have been working on for a few years with groups on how to expand your creative career, using examples from past and future interview episodes.  Listeners can continue the programs for free in our online program spaces and can share them with friends.  https://www.patreon.com/creativeinnovators (Support the show) (https://www.patreon.com/creativeinnovators)

Question: What if you need to leave creative work to deal with crisis?  How can you bring your creativity to other fields?  Guest: Christopher Zyda, Author; CEO, Mozaic LLC In this episode, Christopher Zyda shares his journey through the 1980s AIDS pandemic as a young professional writer-to-be and his shift into finance to help care for his partner while dealing with insecurities and fears in launching a life.  He tells of his choices to go to graduate school, his persistence and a kind person that got him into Disney finance, his Zelig-like choices of taking financial leadership roles at Amazon, eBay, and a mortgage finance company, and his newer role of leading Mozaic, a financial investment firm. All of this work in finance still involved storytelling and learning everything he can.  Chris tells the story of returning back to writing with his biography of his own AIDS-era journey with his new book “The Storm.” About Chris Christopher Zyda is the author of The Storm: One Voice from the AIDS Generation. Chris is also the CEO of Mozaic-LLC, an independent, privately-owned firm that focuses on wealth management, family office, and corporate advisory services. He has over 30 years of investment management and senior-level corporate finance experience at several high-profile growth companies including The Walt Disney Company, Amazon.com, and eBay. Chris earned a Masters Degree in Business Administration from the UCLA Anderson School of Management in 1989 with a concentration in Finance and achieved Beta Gamma Sigma honors. Chris also earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from the University of California Los Angeles in 1984. Chris serves on the UCLA English department Board of Visitors, the advisory board for the LZ-Grace Warrior Retreat for special operations warrior veterans and Tier 1 first responders, and the advisory board for Veterans in Media and Entertainment. In addition to investments and finance, Chris enjoys training in CrossFit and Olympic lifting, running, skiing, river rafting, playing the piano, and creative writing. Links: Website: https://czyda.com (Czyda.com) Your Host: Gigi Johnson, EdD I run transformative programs, speak/moderate, invest, advise, and produce multimedia on creativity and technology.  I taught for 22 years at UCLA, where I ran the Center for Music Innovation and the podcast "Innovating Music," built four industry-connecting programs, and taught undergraduates, MBAs, and executives about disruption in creative industries.  Before UCLA, I financed media M&A at Bank of America for ten years. Connect with Us https://maremel.com/creative-innovators-podcast/ (Our Website) How to submit a Creative Innovator Guest: https://maremel.com/creative-innovators-podcast/guest-information/ (Information Page) Subscribe to our newsletter http://eepurl.com/bugPcj (here). Join our Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/creativeinnovators (here). Sponsored and Produced by the https://maremel.com/ (Maremel Institute)

In this episode, Laura Escudé takes us on her journey from violinist to adventures in Los Angeles as a seat filler for TV shows from Craig's list to market research to other one-off jobs. . . until she becomes a tech support staffer at M-Audio because of problems she had with her own keyboard.  For listeners who are inspired by linear journeys, this is not one.  Instead, Laura was launched from being laid off as the first Ableton Certified Trainer.  An email got her working for Cirque du Soleil in playback.  A phone call from all of her Ableton visibility brought her to Kanye West's audio engineer and then years of touring.  Until it wasn't -- and she shares the story of how in 2017 she rebuilt her career about teaching and inspiration in audio engineering around “transmuting” creators - “to move from one form of energy into another.”  Enjoy her story of building a global community of artists and creating new online programs ahead of the current virtual learning world.  And enjoy her stories of what she now has built with the Transmute Accelerator and Transmute Academy. Photo credit: Nicholas James Guest: Laura Escudé (fka ALLUXE), Future Classical artist blending music, tech, and consciousness Laura Escudé is the creator of The Transmute™ Accelerator, Founder of Electronic Creatives, and an Ableton Certified Trainer since 2008. Career highlights include performing in the GRAMMY Premiere band, programming and designing shows for Kanye West from 2009-2017, opening for Miguel on his 2015 Wildheart tour, and building a thriving international business populated by top-tier professionals.  She's done official remixes for artists, including M83 and Poliça, with her violin playing featured on albums by Big Grams, Kanye West, Jay Z, and many more.  She's released myriad albums, singles, and EPs under the name ALLUXE, synthesizing her skills as a classically trained violinist and her prowess as an avant-garde electronic producer. Now making music under her own name, Escudé released the Transmute EP, her most intimate work to date, capturing the sound and feel of a woman who's examined the darkest parts of herself and come out the other end transformed.  Technology is a second language for Escudé, who became the world's first Ableton Certified Trainer in 2008. In 2012, she founded Electronic Creatives, using her skills to hire and train programmers and playback engineers for artists including Logic, Ariana Grande, The Weeknd, Big Sean, Charli XCX, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.  She's brought massive productions to life for artists including Kanye West, Jay Z, Bon Iver, Missy Elliot, Herbie Hancock, and television megabrand American Idol. Escudé toured extensively with these shows, collaborating with artists to create fresh, thrilling experiences for audiences worldwide. Mentioned Links Transmute Academy: https://www.thetransmuteacademy.com/ (https://www.thetransmuteacademy.com) Web: https://lauraescude.com/ (https://lauraescude.com) and Instagram: https://instagram.com/lauraescude (https://instagram.com/lauraescude) Facebook: https://facebook.com/lauraescude (https://facebook.com/lauraescude) YouTube: https://youtube.com/lauraescude (https://youtube.com/lauraescude) Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4mfReLOTaMQoFv54RpEgFD?si=OHtAxr_XR7uWjql49BVvgw (https://open.spotify.com/artist/4mfReLOTaMQoFv54RpEgFD?si=OHtAxr_XR7uWjql49BVvgw) Your Host: Gigi Johnson, EdD I run transformative programs, speak/moderate, invest, advise, and produce multimedia on creativity and technology.  I taught for 22 years at UCLA, where I ran the Center for Music Innovation and the podcast "Innovating Music," built four industry-connecting programs, and taught undergraduates, MBAs, and executives about disruption in creative industries.  Before UCLA, I financed media M&A at Bank of America for ten years. Connect with Us...

Dae Bogan shares how he sees solutions and “warps” them into business ideas -- which is both a blessing and a curse. He began with selling cakes in middle school and organizing bus tours in high school from Cleveland, OH to New York. From his early history in acting, singing, and creating and producing events, he moved into a long series of start-ups (including putting gogo dancers in store windows) before moving into various endeavors in music tech. Dae has started and sold a variety of cloud-based ventures as well as mentored founders of other startups. Dae shares how he now is bringing those diverse skills to bear as head of Third-Party Partnerships with The Music Licensing Collective. The MLC works with music publishers and artists to collect and distribute their streaming royalties.   Guest: Dae Bogan, Head of Third-Party Partnerships, The Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC) Dae Bogan serves as Head of Third-Party Partnerships for The Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC), where he leads The MLC's strategy for engaging third-party entities to support initiatives in rights administration, data management, operations, and membership services.  A passionate music creators' rights advocate who enjoys exploring the global music rights landscape through the lens of business and technology, Bogan is also an adjunct lecturer at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. In this role, Bogan develops and teaches the music industry entrepreneurship course for which he was recognized in Billboard's "The 15 Best Music Business Schools In 2017."  Prior to joining The MLC and teaching at UCLA, Bogan's passion for innovation at the intersection of music and technology led him to found three companies: music rights administration technology company TuneRegistry, unclaimed music royalties, and licenses search engine RoyaltyClaim, and in-store music video network Maven Promo. Each of these companies has since been acquired.  Early in his career, Bogan worked directly and more creatively with recording artists, songwriters, music producers, and DJs as the owner-operator of an independent record label, a music publishing company, and a boutique artist management firm before pivoting into technology in 2012.   Dae holds an MA in Music Industry Administration with a focus on music publishing and copyright administration from California State University, Northridge, and a BA in sociology from the University of California. He resides in Los Angeles, California where he organizes SoCal Music Industry Professionals, an informal networking community of music industry professionals who live in Southern California. Mentioned Links: Website: https://daeboganmusic.com/ (https://daeboganmusic.com/) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daebogan/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/daebogan/) Twitter: @daeboganmusic Facebook: @daeboganmusic Instagram: @daeboganmusic UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music: https://schoolofmusic.ucla.edu/people/dae-bogan (https://schoolofmusic.ucla.edu/people/dae-bogan) The Music Licensing Collective (The MLC): https://themlc.com/ (https://themlc.com) SWOT: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats Analysis PESTLE: Political, Economic, Social, Tech, Legal, and Environmental Change Factors TAM: Total Available Market CSUN: Cal State Northridge: https://csun.edu/ (https://csun.edu) SXSW Music Mentors: https://www.sxsw.com/news/2019/2020-mentors-announced-for-interactive-film-music-convergence (https://www.sxsw.com/news/2019/2020-mentors-announced-for-interactive-film-music-convergence) Capitol Music Group / gBETA Musictech program: Your Host: Gigi Johnson, EdD I run transformative programs, speak/moderate, invest, advise, and produce multimedia on creativity and technology.  I taught for 22 years at UCLA, where I ran the Center for Music Innovation and the podcast "Innovating Music," built four industry-connecting programs, and...

In this episode, we hear how Bas den Braber and Jenna Seiden are following their purpose with Zambezi Partners, a benefits corporation with a mission to eradicate African wildlife poaching during our lifetime.  They both worked in large company business-to-business strategy, consulting, and brand leadership, and have found their purposes after their mid-career reality checks.  Their careers in their subsequent order built toward new opportunities . . . that led to their using tech tools to advance anti-poaching solutions.  They “grok” larger organizations and see the barriers to change -- and share that experience as interpreters between tech and technology to create forward momentum and innovation with saving species of animals.  On Dec. 13, 2020, at EndangeredRangers.com, they are having a fundraiser to support fundraising around people on the ground, as well as the technologies being used to complement what they do . . . staying on track to save these animals . . . and on KNECT TV app on your Roku Player and other devices. Guests: Bastiaan den Braber and Jenna Seiden, General Partners, Zambezi VenturesEach has previously launched their own startups receiving venture funding, Swagtime.com and Boost VC-backed SAMO VR, respectively. They started working together in Global Director positions for the SDG-centric Dutch $30M venture fund, LUMO Labs. Bas introduced Jenna, a second-generation wildlife conservationist, to his vision to use their venture capital acumen and Silicon Valley best practice models to combat poaching, an issue he committing to solving when he first began doing safaris in Africa in 2003, subsequently becoming an FGASA Level 1 trained Field Guide. The two have formally devoted their lives to bring their technology and investor networks together with their experience in investments to have the impact they've believed in their whole lives. They spend their time between Los Angeles and Zimbabwe where they have already partnered with a team on the ground in Harare and Panda Masuie overseeing investment opportunities and the deployment of the tech stack respectively. They will be on-site in Zimbabwe full-time upon securing the first 20% of the fund in addition to their own GP commit. An international, multi-disciplinary advisory board of industry sector experts, founders, asset managers, and executives is being established.  Jenna Seiden Jenna lives professionally at the intersection of technology and media, having worked for, with, or advised some of the biggest names in sports, entertainment, and technology.  She helps engineers and executives with business development, project financing, and corporate strategy. She has evolved or created new business models to adapt to changing technology platforms. She excels at identifying and negotiating strategic partnerships, which have led to some of the largest digital, video game, and virtual reality deals to date. She went to UPENN and holds an MBA from the Anderson School at UCLA. Jenna's extended family managed the largest animal sanctuary in the Northeast and has been a fervent animal advocate since her youth. She even predicted her current duty to stop poaching when she was 12 emphatically identifying Zimbabwe, of all the places in the world, where she would someday live and save rhinos and elephants. Bastiaan den Braber Bastiaan spent 15-years with Capgemini Consulting, helping executives with digital strategy, innovation, redefining operating models, institutionalizing consumer-centric design, and improving commercial performance. Most recently he helped South African clients find multi-billion USD market opportunities.  Using these tools he built SAMO VR, a venture capital-backed start-up that drives revenue in virtual and augmented reality by helping music industry companies define, finance, and deliver their emerging tech strategy. He recently served as Global Managing Director for...

Tania Katan shares her wit and wisdom about how to use creativity to challenge with playfulness our rigid organizational cultures.  She works with large and small companies, helping them find new alignment around their daily contradictions through “small c” creative work, facing everyday practical problems with imagination.  She shares the tales of #itwasneveradress (re-seeing the ladies' room logo into a cape) and challenging the community to arm wrestle for art at the Scottsdale Museum of Art.  She speaks and challenges how we connect virtually in her keynotes and works with organizational leaders through her “Creative Trespassing” classes and new membership organization. Guest: Tania Katan, CEO, Creative Trespassing Tania is a transformational speaker, innovation coach, and co-creator of the globally viral women's empowerment campaign #ItWasNeverADress. Her unique way of formulating ideas led to the groundbreaking bestselling book, “Creative Trespassing: How to Put the Spark and Joy Back into Your Work and Life” (Penguin Random House, February 2019). For over a decade, Tania has been successfully sneaking creativity into Fortune 500 companies, leading tech companies, arts organizations, marketing conventions, and innovation summits to teach people and companies the skill of generating creative breakthroughs. Some of the organizations and major conferences impacted by her work include CiscoLive!, Expedia, Amazon, Google, Humana, Etsy, TED, World Domination Summit, Uber, and Comedy Central Stage. Katan's status-quo-busting work has also appeared in The New York Times, USA Today, HuffPost, Time, BuzzFeed, CNN, Adweek, Mashable, Forbes, ReadWrite and Amy Poehler's Smart Girls, among others. If you long to leap from fear to freedom and just need a map… Here You Are: https://taniakatan.com/courses/ (https://taniakatan.com/courses/) URL: Creative Trespassing: How to Put the Spark and Joy Back into Your Work and Life - https://taniakatan.com/courses/ (https://taniakatan.com/courses/) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taniakatan/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/taniakatan/) Twitter: @taniakatan Instagram: @TheUnrealTaniaKatan  Inspirational Newsletter (get a FREE chapter of Creative Trespassing when you sign up): https://tania-katan.mykajabi.com/opt-in-833df3d3-9390-46dd-a091-36f10efacca0 (https://tania-katan.mykajabi.com/opt-in-833df3d3-9390-46dd-a091-36f10efacca0) Website: http://taniakatan.com/ (taniakatan.com) “Creative Trespassing” Book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/566682/creative-trespassing-by-tania-katan/9780525573401/ (https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/566682/creative-trespassing-by-tania-katan/9780525573401/) Interesting Mentions: Sonya Renee Taylor - https://www.sonyareneetaylor.com/ (https://www.sonyareneetaylor.com)  Patricia Stokes, “Creativity from Constraints in the Performing Arts” - https://www.amazon.com/Creativity-Constraints-Performing-Patricia-Stokes/dp/0692611991/ (https://www.amazon.com/Creativity-Constraints-Performing-Patricia-Stokes/dp/0692611991/) Axosoft - https://www.axosoft.com #Itwasneveradress - https://itwasneveradress.org Byron Katie - https://thework.com/ (https://thework.com) Pema Chödrön - https://pemachodronfoundation.org/ (https://pemachodronfoundation.org) Thich Nhat Hanh, Vietnamese Buddhist monk - http://www.seaox.com/thich.html Arm wrestling for art at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art - https://frontdoorsmedia.com/arm-wrestling-for-art (https://frontdoorsmedia.com/arm-wrestling-for-art)  Your Host: Gigi Johnson, EdD I run transformative programs, speak/moderate, invest, advise, and produce multimedia on creativity and technology.  I taught for 22 years at UCLA, where I ran the Center for Music Innovation and the podcast "Innovating Music," built four industry-connecting programs, and taught undergraduates, MBAs, and executives about disruption in creative...

Megan Elliott shares her journey from Australia and indigenous cultural media to trade union representation in Ireland to traveling across Asia connecting leaders and cultures . . before she was found on LinkedIn to bring her superpowers to Nebraska.  She tells of the shared collaborative creation of the Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts, which works to create “pirates, magicians, and wizards” who can reach their dream job or create their dream company right out of school.  Guest: Megan ElliottFounding Director, Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts, University of Nebraska, LincolnMegan Elliott is the founding director of the Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts at the University of Nebraska Lincoln. She was previously the manager of leadership and community connections at the University of Technology Sydney in Australia and former director and CEO of digital media think-tank X Media Lab. From 2015-2016, Elliott served as the manager of Leadership and Community Connections at the University of Technology Sydney in Sydney, Australia's number-one young university, where she led an international program for students to develop leadership and entrepreneurial skills, as well as instilling a commitment to innovation, social justice, community building, and sustainability. Elliott has deep ties to emerging media industries across Asia, Europe, and the world. She served as co-founder and director of China Creative Industries Exchange in Beijing and Shanghai, China, from 2007-2015. From 2005 to 2015, Elliott was the director/chief executive officer for X Media Lab (XML), an internationally acclaimed digital media think-tank and creative workshop for the creative industries that she co-founded with Brendan Harkin.  She also served from 2002-2006 as the executive director of the Australian Writers' Guild. Originally from Australia, Elliott received her bachelor's degree from the University of Canberra in Bruce, Australia Mentioned LinksMegan Email: megan.elliott@unl.edu LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/meganelliott/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/meganelliott) Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts, Univ. of Nebraska, Lincoln Website:  http://arts.unl.edu/carson-center (http://arts.unl.edu/carson-center) Twitter: https://twitter.com/carsoncenterunl (https://twitter.com/carsoncenterunl)  FB: https://www.facebook.com/carsoncenterunl (https://www.facebook.com/carsoncenterunl)  IG: https://www.instagram.com/carsoncenterunl (https://www.instagram.com/carsoncenterunl)  McKensie Wark, Professor of Media and Cultural Studies, The New School (NYC) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McKenzie_Wark (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McKenzie_Wark) and https://believermag.com/logger/an-interview-with-mckenzie-wark (https://believermag.com/logger/an-interview-with-mckenzie-wark)  Lynette Walworth, Australian filmmaker/artist/activist - https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/01/lynette-wallworth-climate-change-crystal-award-australia-fires (https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/01/lynette-wallworth-climate-change-crystal-award-australia-fires)  Media & Entertainment Arts Alliance, Australia (MEAA) - https://www.meaa.org/ (https://www.meaa.org)  The National University of Ireland Galway - https://www.nuigalway.ie/ (https://www.nuigalway.ie)  Australian Writers' Guild - https://awg.com.au/ (https://awg.com.au)  X Media Labs - http://xmedialab.com/ (http://xmedialab.com) Brendan Harkin - Your Host: Gigi Johnson, EdD I run transformative programs, speak/moderate, invest, advise, and produce multimedia on creativity and technology.  I taught for 22 years at UCLA, where I ran the Center for Music Innovation and the podcast "Innovating Music," built four industry-connecting programs, and taught undergraduates, MBAs, and executives about disruption in creative industries.  Before UCLA, I...

Ale Cohen and Mark "Frosty" McNeill share their journey through “experimenting with sound” and community in building the Internet radio collective DUBLAB over the past two decades. They share what inspired and drove them to build this institution and how it has shifted gears in our listen-from-home global era.   Dublab is not your average radio station. Mark calls it “experimentation with sound” that was formed as a reaction to the 1996 Telecommunications Act, which forced the closure of low-power stations. We talked about online radio as a “misuse of technology” -- as a “hack” and a mutant use of tech. Initially, dublab acted as “an excuse to gather the creative community of Los Angeles.” They share stories of how contemporary much often started out of the studio and how dublab became a testing ground for new sound and to honor the music that went before. Guests: Mark “Frosty” McNeill, Founder, and Alejandro Cohen, Director, dublab Alejandro Cohen is a musician and composer from Los Angeles, and the Director of non-profit radio station DUBLAB. Over the last two decades, Cohen has released music under numerous projects and groups including Languis and Pharaohs. He has composed music for TV shows, documentaries, and educational materials, and recorded more than two hundred solo artists and bands as a sound engineer and consultant forhttp://dublab.com/ ( dublab.com), KPFK 90.7 FM, Sony/Columbia, and the Society for the Activation of Social Space Through Art and Sound (SASSAS). As Executive Director of the Internet radio station and creative collective DUBLAB, Cohen curates the station's programming and podcast offerings, fundraises for the organization, and curates the annual ambient music event Tonalism. Mark “Frosty” McNeill is a DJ, radio producer, sonic curator, filmmaker, and creative community builder based in Los Angeles. He was the founder of http://dublab.com/ (dublab.com), a pioneering web radio station that has been exploring wide-spectrum music since 1999. McNeill hosts https://www.dublab.com/shows/celsius-drop/ (Celsius Drop), a weekly dublab radio show and has produced long-running programs for Red Bull Radio, Marfa Public Radio, and KPFK 90.7fm. McNeill co-curated/produced the https://lightintheattic.net/releases/4714-pacific-breeze-japanese-city-pop-aor-boogie-1976-1986 (Pacific Breeze) compilations of Japanese City Pop music for Light in the Attic Records as well as Somewhere Between, a forthcoming album focused on the more experimental side of Japanese pop. His output on a multitude of international media platforms has focused on sharing transcendent sonic experiences. Mentioned Links Email: info@dublab.com Frosty Web: http://dublab.com/djs/frosty (dublab.com/djs/frosty) Twitter: http://twitter.com/dublabfrosty (@dublabfrosty) Instagram: http://instagram.com/dubfrosty (@dubfrosty) Facebook: http://facebook.com/dubfrosty (@dubfrosty) Ale Web: https://www.dublab.com/djs/ale Dublab Web: https://www.dublab.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/dublab Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dublab/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dublab/ (https://www.facebook.com/dublab/)  Linktr.ee links: https://linktr.ee/dublab (https://linktr.ee/dublab)  KUSC - https://www.kusc.org/ (https://www.kusc.org)  KXSC - https://kxsc.org/ (https://kxsc.org)  SASSAS - The Society for the Activation of Social Space through Art and Sound - http://sassas.org/ (http://sassas.org)  Echo Park Film Center - Your Host: Gigi Johnson, EdD I run transformative programs, speak/moderate, invest, advise, and produce multimedia on creativity and technology.  I taught for 22 years at UCLA, where I ran the Center for Music Innovation and the podcast "Innovating Music," built four industry-connecting programs, and taught undergraduates, MBAs, and executives about disruption in creative industries.  Before UCLA, I financed media M&A at Bank of

In this episode, Arabian Prince shares the rest of the story -- both before and after working with NWA. He shares how he got started with tech, entrepreneurship, and music creation at a young age. He talks with Gigi about how he taught himself new gaming and creative technologies, and how he brings that energy to his many current adventures. Guest: Arabian Prince, Founder of iNov8 Next Open Labs and GGGOAT; Partner at Covitech; President, Next Careers A songwriter, rapper, producer, DJ, technologist Pro Gamer and futurist, Arabian Prince is best known for being a founding member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-inducted rap group N.W.A., West Coast electro music pioneer, and producer of the Grammy-nominated #1 hit song Supersonic. Founder of iNov8 Next Open Labs, GGGOAT, and Partner at Covitech. He also is the President of Next Careers, a non-profit working with 1,500 FIRST Tech Challenge roboticists, grades 7-12, across Southern California. His passion for technology led to him create a 3D animation and special effects studio in the '90s working with companies like Saban Entertainment and Fox, including 100+ videogame, film, and TV titles for Fox interactive and Vivendi Universal. As a consultant, Arabian has advised many companies on bridging the gap between technology and the youth, while bringing new product innovations to market. He is currently working with his tech partners to bring Open Labs to communities across the country in support of youth, women, diversity, veterans, and anyone else who wants to explore the future of technology. Mentioned Links: @OGArabianPrince Twitter - https://twitter.com/OGArabianPrince (https://twitter.com/OGArabianPrince)  IG -https://twitter.com/OGArabianPrince (https://www.instagram.com/ogarabianprince/)  LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ogarabianprincenwa (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ogarabianprincenwa)  SoLa Impact - https://solaimpact.com (https://solaimpact.com) mClassic - https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/mclassic-the-first-plug-play-graphics-processor (https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/mclassic-the-first-plug-play-graphics-processor) Covitech - https://covitech.us (https://covitech.us)  Your Host: Gigi Johnson, EdD I run transformative programs, speak/moderate, invest, advise, and produce multimedia on creativity and technology.  I taught for 22 years at UCLA, where I ran the Center for Music Innovation and the podcast "Innovating Music," built four industry-connecting programs, and taught undergraduates, MBAs, and executives about disruption in creative industries.  Before UCLA, I financed media M&A at Bank of America for ten years. Connect with Us https://maremel.com/creative-innovators-podcast/ (Our Website) How to submit a Creative Innovator Guest: https://maremel.com/creative-innovators-podcast/guest-information/ (Information Page) Subscribe to our newsletter http://eepurl.com/bugPcj (here). Join our Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/creativeinnovators (here). Sponsored and Produced by the https://maremel.com/ (Maremel Institute)

In this episode, Akira Nakano takes us through his journeys in piano performance, music composition, video editing, and starting a non-profit. These led to the launch of the LA Inception Orchestra, which works with youth and composers to launch Composers of Tomorrow. He shares his experience in piloting a learning non-profit organization and how his diverse skills and relationships combined into its launch and now growth in this Learn-From-Home era. Guest: Akira Nakano, President, CEO, and Artistic Director, Los Angeles Inception OrchestraAkira Nakano studied at the Colburn School of Performing Arts in both piano and percussion, soloing with numerous orchestras throughout Southern California as a young performer. He studied with Dr. Heewon Kwon with masterclasses from Jeffrey Kahane, Leon Fleischer, Ilana Vered, John Perry, and Daniel Pollack. He was the winner of the 1st Annual Herbert Zipper Award in Music Composition amongst other piano competitions. Entering UCLA on a full-ride piano performance scholarship, he won the UCLA Concerto Competition and graduated with a B.A. in Film & Television production. Mr. Nakano spent over twelve years working as a video editor, writer, producer, and live event director at TRW Space & Electronics and went on to have 20+ years of video marketing/communications and film producing experience which will dovetail into the LA Inception Orchestra's Virtual Reality/360 music education program.  Akira returned to the Zipper Hall stage in March 2012 with a solo recital accompanied by Michael Sushel. In September 2013, he paired with the Dream Orchestra in a concert of Liszt, Rachmaninov, and several original works. Since then, Akira has appeared as a performer/lecturer as part of the Great Speaker Series at the Beach Club in Santa Monica benefiting the California State Parks Foundation; soloed with the Southeast Symphony; and has played multiple engagements at the Huntington Library President's house for their donor dinners. Mentioned Links: Websiteshttps://www.inceptionorchestra.org/ (https://www.inceptionorchestra.org/) https://www.akiranakano.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/AkiraNakano (https://twitter.com/AkiraNakano) IG: https://www.instagram.com/inceptionorchestra LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/akira-nakano-ab91025/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/akira-nakano-ab91025/) Eventbrite link for Nov 7th Event - https://www.eventbrite.com/e/inception-orchestra-for-the-love-of-composing-an-on-line-event-tickets-123638288449 (https://www.eventbrite.com/e/inception-orchestra-for-the-love-of-composing-an-on-line-event-tickets-123638288449) Inception Orchestra - http://www.inceptionorchestra.org/ (www.inceptionorchestra.org) American Society of Music Arrangers and Composers (ASMAC) - http://asmac.org/ (asmac.org) Additional Links: Classical Saxophone Project - https://classicalsaxproject.org/ (https://classicalsaxproject.org/) Fox Family Foundation - http://foxgiving.org/ (foxgiving.org) Center for Asian Americans United for Self Empowerment - http://causeusa.org/ (causeusa.org) Asia American Symphony Association - http://aasymphony.org/ (aasymphony.org) Colburn School - https://www.colburnschool.edu/ (https://www.colburnschool.edu)  UCLA Extension Film Composition Program - https://www.uclaextension.edu/entertainment/music/certificate/film-scoring (https://www.uclaextension.edu/entertainment/music/c ertificate/film-scoring)   TRW - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRW_Inc (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRW_Inc).  Your Host: Gigi Johnson, EdD I run transformative programs, speak/moderate, invest, advise, and produce multimedia on creativity and technology.  I taught for 22 years at UCLA, where I ran the Center for Music Innovation and the podcast "Innovating Music," built four industry-connecting programs, and taught undergraduates, MBAs, and executives about disruption in creative industries.  Before UCLA,...

In this episode, Christopher Hope shares his journey to found The Loop Lab in Cambridge, MA. He learned through DJing, community service, religious studies, and partnering with local organizations to deliver a unique blend of higher education, apprenticeships, and entrepreneurship training. He has grown this nonprofit into a live and virtual training program for womxn and BIPOC youth to build jobs and creative companies in audiovisual industries. He began locally in The Port neighborhood and now connects with community leaders around the world. We discussed challenges in launching and growing The Loop Lab and its transformation during the current WFH challenges -- including how they are helping other non-profits in their local communities. Guest: Christopher Hope, Founder and Exec. Director, The Loop LabChristopher Hope, CTS is the founder and executive director of The Loop Lab, a non-profit dedicated to empowering young adults of color to enter careers in the media arts industry in Cambridge, MA. Hope received his B.A. from Tufts University, and a Masters at Harvard Divinity School. He now serves on the board of advisors for the George Washingon University School of Business in D.C., for the My Brother's Keeper Task Force in the Cambridge Mayors office, and on the community board of Lesley College of Art + Design. He is also an alumnus of the Creative Community Fellowship with the National Arts Strategies and has served on board of the South By Southwest festival (SXSW) in Austin, Texas. Hope is also an accomplished audio-video professional and on-air DJ with a podcast and radio broadcast called “Hip-Hope Radio,” having interviewed guests like Dr. Cornel West. The Loop Lab: The Loop Lab is a Cambridge-based non-profit social enterprise specializing in media arts internships and digital storytelling. Their mission is to empower Womxn and People of Color in the media arts to develop careers in audio/video through job training and job placement. As an organization, they are committed to ending inequality and racism through digital storytelling. Photo credit - Matt Malikowski/ The Loop Lab Mentioned Links: The Loop Lab Website: http://www.thelooplab.org/ (www.TheLoopLab.org) IG: https://www.instagram.com/wearethelooplab/ (www.Instagram.com/wearethelooplab) Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/wearethelooplab (www.Facebook.com/wearethelooplab) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-loop-lab (https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-loop-lab) Christopher Hope: https://www.linkedin.com/in/c-hope/ (www.LinkedIn.com/in/c-hope )and chope@thelooplab.org Eastern Bank: https://www.easternbank.com/ (https://www.easternbank.com) WBUR/NPR, Boston: https://www.wbur.org/ (https://www.wbur.org) Moses Michel: https://www.linkedin.com/in/m-moses-michel-he-him-his-8399b7101 (https://www.linkedin.com/in/m-moses-michel-he-him-his-8399b7101) The Port neighborhood: https://www.cambridgema.gov/CDD/planud/neighplan/neighs/4 (https://www.cambridgema.gov/CDD/planud/neighplan/neighs/4) Pentecostal Tabernacle: https://ptspice.org/ (https://ptspice.org) Leslie School of Art + Design: https://lesley.edu/academics/college-of-art-design (https://lesley.edu/academics/college-of-art-design) Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology: https://www.bfit.edu/ (https://www.bfit.edu) LISC Boston: https://www.lisc.org/ (https://www.lisc.org) Your Host: Gigi Johnson, EdD I run transformative programs, speak/moderate, invest, advise, and produce multimedia on creativity and technology.  I taught for 22 years at UCLA, where I ran the Center for Music Innovation and the podcast "Innovating Music," built four industry-connecting programs, and taught undergraduates, MBAs, and executives about disruption in creative industries.  Before UCLA, I financed media M&A at Bank of America for ten years. Connect with Us https://maremel.com/creative-innovators-podcast/ (Our Website) How to submit a Creative Innovator...

In this episode, Sasha Samochina shares her journey connecting art, VR, and science together -- to her trio of roles at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). She illustrates why she is “thankful for [her] boldness” in interning and pushing into each new job and new technology. The Field Museum in Chicago became an opportunity to connect art, science, computing, and social storytelling. By the end, you'll see the arc that returned to her desire as a young student to be a teacher and librarian but on an inter/planetary scale.  Guest: Sasha SamochinaDeputy Manager of the Ops Lab, Project Lead for ProtoSpace, and the Technical Group Supervisor for the User Interface Development Group (397M) at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)Sasha Samochina (sam-ocean-uh) is an Emmy award-winning creative technologist. She joined the team at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) after working in New York in the fields of video and web development and in Chicago, where she was a Media Producer at The Field Museum of Natural History. After dreaming up content for JPL's Communications department, she began to explore the world of 360 videos and XR. Through Sasha's visualization skills, she pioneered the very first 360° video release on social media for NASA. She is currently the Deputy Manager of the Ops Lab, Project Lead for ProtoSpace, and the Technical Group Supervisor for the User Interface Development Group (397M) at JPL. Sasha dedicated herself to helping create software that incorporates innovative forms of visualization that aid scientists, engineers, and astronauts in transforming their workflow, and she leverages that same experiential technology to educate and inspire the public to engage in STEAM. She loves all things digital, animal, sound-emitting, cosmic, and views the world through XR-colored glasses. Mentioned Links: Sasha's overall work: CloudSasha - https://www.cloudsasha.com/ (https://www.cloudsasha.com) Reach out: Twitter: @cloudsasha - https://twitter.com/cloudsasha (https://twitter.com/cloudsasha)  IG: @Cloudsasha - https://www.instagram.com/cloudsasha (https://www.instagram.com/cloudsasha) YouTube - von Karman lecture - https://youtu.be/Xv_9C5Mms4w (https://youtu.be/Xv_9C5Mms4w)  NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL): https://jpl.nasa.gov/ (https://jpl.nasa.gov) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NASAJPL (https://www.facebook.com/NASAJPL)  Twitter: https://twitter.com/NASAJPL (https://twitter.com/NASAJPL)  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/JPLnews (https://www.youtube.com/user/JPLnews)  IG: https://www.instagram.com/nasajpl (https://www.instagram.com/nasajpl)  Access Mars: https://accessmars.withgoogle.com/ (https://accessmars.withgoogle.com)  Protospace: https://www.cloudsasha.com/#/protospace (https://www.cloudsasha.com/#/protospace)  NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/ (https://www.jpl.nasa.gov) Field Museum of Natural History: https://www.fieldmuseum.org/ (https://www.fieldmuseum.org)  Hololens: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/hololens (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/hololens) Katie Stack Morgan at JPL: https://science.jpl.nasa.gov/people/StackMorgan (https://science.jpl.nasa.gov/people/StackMorgan)  Cassini's Grand Finale: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/resources/17628/cassinis-grand-finale (https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/resources/17628/cassinis-grand-finale)  “Reach Across the Stars” AR app on Female Space & Science Heroes for smartphones from the Smithsonian Institute: Your Host: Gigi Johnson, EdD I run transformative programs, speak/moderate, invest, advise, and produce multimedia on creativity and technology.  I taught for 22 years at UCLA, where I ran the Center for Music Innovation and the podcast "Innovating Music," built four industry-connecting programs, and taught undergraduates, MBAs, and executives about disruption in creative industries.  Before UCLA, I financed media...

In this episode, Ty Frankel shares how as a young music creator and entrepreneur he pushed to create relationships to build Shut Down Media. His multi-country company creates hip hop music for integration into film and television. He talks about how he overcame obstacles, how he got distracted, and how he returned to his core business. He talked about being inspired by Rich Dad, Poor Dad and other books on how to build his career. Ty shares how his company has pivoted with film and television during this crisis, and how it has spurred him to launch even more adventures.  Guest: Ty Frankel, Founder and CEO, Shut Down MediaTy Frankel started making rap beats from his home in Israel at just 14 years old. Since inception in 2017, Shut Down Media has grown with divisions like Shut Down Production Music, Shut Down Art, and Shut Down Sync. In only three years, Shut Down Media has worked with clients such as UMPG, Warner, NBA 2K, Fortnite, The Ellen Show, Mercedes-Benz, and many more.  Ty is a writer for UPMG and Warner and has secured placements on shows like Saturday Night Live. Not only has he built multiple companies at the age of 22, but he's also created new in-house record labels with the likes of FirstCom and No Sheet Music. Mentioned Links: Email: Ty@shutdownmedia.net Twitter: @thetyfrankel https://twitter.com/thetyfrankel (https://twitter.com/thetyfrankel) Shut Down Media:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/shut-down-media/ (https://www.linkedin.com/company/shut-down-media/) and https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyfrankel (https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyfrankel)  IG: @Shutdown_pmhttps://www.instagram.com/shutdown_pm/ (https://www.instagram.com/shutdown_pm) https://www.instagram.com/sdpm_unreleased/ (https://www.instagram.com/sdpm_unreleased) https://www.instagram.com/shutdown_art (https://www.instagram.com/shutdown_art) https://www.instagram.com/shutdown.media (https://www.instagram.com/shutdown.media)  https://www.instagram.com/thetyfrankel/ (https://www.instagram.com/thetyfrankel/) @thetyfrankel Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/shutdown_pm (https://soundcloud.com/shutdown_pm)   Twitter: https://twitter.com/shutdown_pm (https://twitter.com/shutdown_pm) First Com Music: https://www.firstcom.com/ (https://www.firstcom.com)  No Sheet Music: https://www.nosheetmusic.tv/ (https://www.nosheetmusic.tv)  BooksRich Dad, Poor Dad: https://www.richdad.com/ (https://www.richdad.com)  How to Win Friends and Influence People: https://www.amazon.com/Friends-Influence-People-Illustrated-International-ebook/dp/B08H8BXYX5 (https://www.amazon.com/Friends-Influence-People-Illustrated-International-ebook/dp/B08H8BXYX5)  Your Host: Gigi Johnson, EdD I run transformative programs, speak/moderate, invest, advise, and produce multimedia on creativity and technology.  I taught for 22 years at UCLA, where I ran the Center for Music Innovation and the podcast "Innovating Music," built four industry-connecting programs, and taught undergraduates, MBAs, and executives about disruption in creative industries.  Before UCLA, I financed media M&A at Bank of America for ten years. Connect with Us https://maremel.com/creative-innovators-podcast/ (Our Website) How to submit a Creative Innovator Guest: https://maremel.com/creative-innovators-podcast/guest-information/ (Information Page) Subscribe to our newsletter http://eepurl.com/bugPcj (here). Join our Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/creativeinnovators (here). Sponsored and Produced by the https://maremel.com/ (Maremel Institute)

Zack Zalon has shifted and grown along with a transforming music industry. He began as (and still is) a musician, then blossomed at the Troubadour before launching into websites, marketing, Farm Club, Virgin, and through that Moment of Mojo into taking his background and the now-possible world of artificial intelligence into Super Hi-Fi. We wrap up with advice to his younger self after this intriguing journey across music and digital transformation. Guest: Zack Zalon, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Super Hi-FiZack Zalon is co-founder and CEO of Super Hi-Fi, a Los Angeles-based music technology company that is creating transformative listening experiences for the world's largest music experience providers. Current partners include Peloton, iHeart, The Associated Press, Universal Music Group, Napster, and Target Spot. Zack also is a musician, with a recent release in 2018 of “Into the Great Divide.” Prior to Super Hi-Fi, Zalon served as co-founder and managing partner for We See Dragons, a “S.W.A.T.-style” digital agency that developed consumer platforms for brands including National Geographic, Johnson & Johnson, Ticketmaster, Comcast, Citibank, Experian, and Madison Square Garden. Earlier, Zalon was Managing Partner at Wilshire Media Group; President of Virgin Digital, the global digital platform for the Virgin Group; President of The Factory Network; and general manager of Doug Weston's Troubadour. Mentioned Links: URL: http://superhifi.com/ (http://superhifi.com/) LinkedIn: Zack Zalon - https://www.linkedin.com/in/zack-zalon-04b49/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/zack-zalon-04b49/) LinkedIn: Super Hi-Fi - https://www.linkedin.com/company/superhifi/ ( https://www.linkedin.com/company/superhifi) Co-Founder: Brandon Cassidy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendon-cassidy-6b07873 (https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendon-cassidy-6b07873) Not mentioned: YouTube interview about “Into the Great Divide” 2018 “instrumental progressive rock novel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnpFd9-X_yw (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnpFd9-X_yw) Troubadour: https://www.troubadour.com/ (https://www.troubadour.com) Your Host: Gigi Johnson, EdD I run transformative programs, speak/moderate, invest, advise, and produce multimedia on creativity and technology.  I taught for 22 years at UCLA, where I ran the Center for Music Innovation and the podcast "Innovating Music," built four industry-connecting programs, and taught undergraduates, MBAs, and executives about disruption in creative industries.  Before UCLA, I financed media M&A at Bank of America for ten years. Connect with Us https://maremel.com/creative-innovators-podcast/ (Our Website) How to submit a Creative Innovator Guest: https://maremel.com/creative-innovators-podcast/guest-information/ (Information Page) Subscribe to our newsletter http://eepurl.com/bugPcj (here). Join our Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/creativeinnovators (here). Sponsored and Produced by the https://maremel.com/ (Maremel Institute)

Enjoy the tales of Carlo Fox, Ben Willis, and Josh Andriano working together as the three-partner independent music management company leadership team running Indie-Pop. After meeting when Josh and Ben married sisters (no longer in the picture), they formed Indie-Pop and have learned to work together making decisions about talent, investment, and growth . . . and now in starting a new independent music label, Independent.co. They discuss future rights flow in building generational wealth for artists and their reasons for launching a new label in these streaming times. They close with how their lockdown experiences have made them see their daily lives and spend their time in a new way -- rethinking family, health, relationships, and travel. Guests: Carlo Fox, Co-Founder and CEO; Ben Willis, Co-Founder and Strategic Relations, and Joshua Andriano, Co-Founder and Head of New Talent, Indie-Pop and Independent.coCarlo Fox: Carlo came into Indie-Pop as the social media whiz and now is CEO and co-lead of both companies.   Ben Willis: An executive and entrepreneur with over two decades of music-business experience, Ben Willis is forging a new path for artists who defy the confines of pop convention. He's devoted much of his career to identifying left-of-center talent with a potentially massive appeal, then incubating that talent in order to foster both artistic integrity and long-lasting success. Joshua Andriano: Josh is a former DJ turned former entertainment attorney turned co-founder. He is a New York Law School graduate who shifted into music in 2008 and is now Indie-Pop and Independent Co-Founder and Partner. Indie-Pop: Founded in 2008, Indie-Pop had its first triumph with The Cataracs (a hip-hop duo they helped propel to multi-platinum status) and later helped build the career of rapper/singer/songwriter KYLE (whose Indie-Pop-released hit “iSpy” went six-times-platinum). With Indie-Pop's roster including global artists like Malaysian singer/songwriter Yuna, the team now co-launching Independent—a record-label solution offering all the creative benefits of autonomy while securing exceptionally fair and financially compelling deals for each artist. Mentioned Links Indie-Pop: https://indie-pop.com/ (https://indie-pop.com/)IG: https://www.instagram.com/indiepopmgmt/ (https://www.instagram.com/indiepopmgmt/) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/indiepopmgmt/ (https://www.linkedin.com/company/indiepopmgmt/) Independent.co:   https://www.independent.co/IG: https://www.instagram.com/independentco/ (https://www.instagram.com/independentco/) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/independentco/ (https://www.linkedin.com/company/independentco/) Carlo's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlofox/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlofox/) Ben's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-willis-328819175/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-willis-328819175/) Josh's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-andriano/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-andriano/) The Cataracs: https://www.facebook.com/TheCataracsMusic (https://www.facebook.com/TheCataracsMusic) Your Host: Gigi Johnson, EdD I run transformative programs, speak/moderate, invest, advise, and produce multimedia on creativity and technology.  I taught for 22 years at UCLA, where I ran the Center for Music Innovation and the podcast "Innovating Music," built four industry-connecting programs, and taught undergraduates, MBAs, and executives about disruption in creative industries.  Before UCLA, I financed media M&A at Bank of America for ten years. Connect with Us https://maremel.com/creative-innovators-podcast/ (Our Website) How to submit a Creative Innovator Guest: https://maremel.com/creative-innovators-podcast/guest-information/ (Information Page) Subscribe to our newsletter http://eepurl.com/bugPcj (here). Join our Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/creativeinnovators...

Jack Conte blends the worlds of music creation (Pomplamoose and the funk band Scary Pockets) and solving creators' problems with systems (crowdfunding and community with Patreon). He shares how he balances (or doesn't balance at times) creating music with running a large tech business. He also shares what he has learned, how his companies have shifted with the work-from-home world shift, and how he has changed/staffed his own creative processes in this distributed era. His career journey has been an interesting mingling of music and science/technology, all the way back to his science teacher who got him interested (who he still connected with monthly over Costco pizza). Guest: Jack Conte, CEO and Co-founder of Patreon; band member of Pomplamoose and Scary PocketsJack Conte is a musician, filmmaker, half of band Pomplamoose and Scary Pockets, and a co-founder at Patreon, a membership platform that makes it easy for creators to earn salaries directly from their biggest fans. Patreon was founded in 2013, and is on track to pay out more than $500 million to creators in 2019 alone.As a musician and filmmaker, Jack spent his days in a converted dog kennel-turned-recording studio in Sonoma County, making YouTube videos that have amassed over 120 million views. Now, he's in full-time CEO mode at Patreon HQ in San Francisco where the company is paying millions of dollars to creators every month around the world. Jack also loves working with robots. Mentioned Links: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/creator-home (https://www.patreon.com/creator-home) Patreon Twitter: https://twitter.com/Patreon (https://twitter.com/Patreon) Pomplamoose: https://www.pomplamoose.com/ (https://www.pomplamoose.com/) YouTube - Pomplamoose - https://www.youtube.com/user/PomplamooseMusic (https://www.youtube.com/user/PomplamooseMusic) Scary Pockets: https://www.facebook.com/scarypockets/ (https://www.facebook.com/scarypockets/) Personal: http://www.jackcontemusic.com/ (http://www.jackcontemusic.com/) YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/jackcontemusic (https://www.youtube.com/user/jackcontemusic) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JackConteMusic (https://www.facebook.com/JackConteMusic) Twitter: https://twitter.com/jackconte (https://twitter.com/jackconte) Your Host: Gigi Johnson, EdD I run transformative programs, speak/moderate, invest, advise, and produce multimedia on creativity and technology.  I taught for 22 years at UCLA, where I ran the Center for Music Innovation and the podcast "Innovating Music," built four industry-connecting programs, and taught undergraduates, MBAs, and executives about disruption in creative industries.  Before UCLA, I financed media M&A at Bank of America for ten years. Connect with Us https://maremel.com/creative-innovators-podcast/ (Our Website) How to submit a Creative Innovator Guest: https://maremel.com/creative-innovators-podcast/guest-information/ (Information Page) Subscribe to our newsletter http://eepurl.com/bugPcj (here). Join our Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/creativeinnovators (here). Sponsored and Produced by the https://maremel.com/ (Maremel Institute)

This week on the Creative Innovators with Gigi Johnson podcast, we are joined by Ted Cohen, who shared tales of doing things for the right reasons and seeing decades ago the dimensions of our current music streaming playlists and challenges. He talks about genuineness of artists vs. overproduction in livestreaming and concerts, pricing the risks of new markets, scarcity, negotiations, how business challenges repeat, and how some people don't see or know the past launches in their very own businesses. He shares his search and joy for things that are “effing amazing” as a whole with elegant execution. And he shares the joy of paying it forward from those who got him started as mentors. Guest: Ted Cohen, Head of Development, Mediatech Ventures; Managing Partner, TAG Strategic Known as “part connector/part evangelist/always a futurist,” Ted Cohen is Managing Partner of TAG Strategic, an LA-based digital entertainment consultancy. Additionally, Ted is Head of Corporate Development for Mediatech Ventures, the Austin-based VC/incubator/accelerator. Previously, as SVP-Digital for EMI Music, Cohen led global digital business development. Prior to EMI, Ted led Consulting Adults, clients included Universal Studios, Amazon, Microsoft, and Napster. Cohen also held senior positions at both Warner Bros Records & Philips Electronics. A 40+ year digital entertainment industry veteran, Cohen created & chaired MidemNet and served on the Grammy National Trustee Board. Ted continually looks for the next innovative technology & his next challenge, he really loves his life. Mentioned Links: Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/spinaltap (https://www.twitter.com/spinaltap)  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tlcohen/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/tlcohen/) Email: spinaltap@earthlink.net Arthur C. Clarke's 3 Laws - #3 -- “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”  Droplabs Sneaker - https://droplabs.com Your Host: Gigi Johnson, EdD I run transformative programs, speak/moderate, invest, advise, and produce multimedia on creativity and technology.  I taught for 22 years at UCLA, where I ran the Center for Music Innovation and the podcast "Innovating Music," built four industry-connecting programs, and taught undergraduates, MBAs, and executives about disruption in creative industries.  Before UCLA, I financed media M&A at Bank of America for ten years. Connect with Us https://maremel.com/creative-innovators-podcast/ (Our Website) How to submit a Creative Innovator Guest: https://maremel.com/creative-innovators-podcast/guest-information/ (Information Page) Subscribe to our newsletter http://eepurl.com/bugPcj (here). Join our Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/creativeinnovators (here). Sponsored and Produced by the https://maremel.com/ (Maremel Institute)

A year ago, Dmitri Vietze launched a new thought leadership conference on music technology in Los Angeles and had to move it with one day's notice. This year, he has moved his whole thought leadership with Music Tectonics online with virtual conferences and community gatherings. He shares his thoughts on crisis-driven shifts to music livestreaming, expanding new releases, and digital access, along with tidbits on intriguing companies in this current listen-from-home era.    Guest: Dmitri Vietze, CEO and Founder, rock paper scissors Dmitri Vietze is the Founder and CEO of rock paper scissors, inc. It was his crazy idea to transform a global music PR firm into what has become a predominant music tech PR firm. Dmitri is a regular presenter at SXSW Music, SF MusicTech, Music Biz, APAP, and WOMEX. He is also the founder and CEO of StoryAmp.com. He has a jaw harp collection, can juggle five balls, and has a titanium leg.  Links: rock paper scissors website: http://hello.rockpaperscissors.biz/ (http://hello.rockpaperscissors.biz/) Music Tectonics Website: https://www.musictectonics.com/ (https://www.musictectonics.com/) Podcast: https://www.musictectonics.com/podcast (https://www.musictectonics.com/podcast) Blog: https://www.musictectonics.com/blog (https://www.musictectonics.com/blog) Community App: https://app.musictectonics.com/ (https://app.musictectonics.com) Conference: Oct. 27-28, 2020 - https://www.musictectonics.com/conference (https://www.musictectonics.com/conference) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dmitrivietze/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/dmitrivietze/) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dmitri.vietze (https://www.facebook.com/dmitri.vietze) IG: https://www.instagram.com/dmitrivietze/ (https://www.instagram.com/dmitrivietze/) Twitter: https://twitter.com/dmitrivietze (https://twitter.com/dmitrivietze) Mentioned Links Topeka: https://topeka.live/ (https://topeka.live/) YouNow: https://www.younow.com/ (https://www.younow.com) Emma McGann: https://www.emmamcgann.com/ (https://www.emmamcgann.com) Bandsintown: https://www.bandsintown.com/ (https://www.bandsintown.com/) Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/ (https://www.twitch.tv/) CD Baby: https://cdbaby.com/ (https://cdbaby.com/) Audiobridge: https://www.audiobridgeapp.com/ (https://www.audiobridgeapp.com) Soundstorming: https://soundstorming.com/ (https://soundstorming.com) Chartmetric: https://www.chartmetric.com/ (https://www.chartmetric.com) CD Baby: https://cdbaby.com/ (https://cdbaby.com) Your Host: Gigi Johnson, EdD I run transformative programs, speak/moderate, invest, advise, and produce multimedia on creativity and technology.  I taught for 22 years at UCLA, where I ran the Center for Music Innovation and the podcast "Innovating Music," built four industry-connecting programs, and taught undergraduates, MBAs, and executives about disruption in creative industries.  Before UCLA, I financed media M&A at Bank of America for ten years. Connect with Us https://maremel.com/creative-innovators-podcast/ (Our Website) How to submit a Creative Innovator Guest: https://maremel.com/creative-innovators-podcast/guest-information/ (Information Page) Subscribe to our newsletter http://eepurl.com/bugPcj (here). Join our Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/creativeinnovators (here). Sponsored and Produced by the https://maremel.com/ (Maremel Institute)

Welcome to the 2020 launch of the new podcast, Creative Innovators with Gigi Johnson. Gigi engages with innovators and creators who are changing the way that we create and reimagine in music, art, live events, virtual events, video, film, education, and social innovation. Guests share their work and personal stories of how they became passionate about innovation and transformation in various creative and social change sectors.​ This podcast will inspire current and future change agents who are creatives, entrepreneurs, researchers, and/or community leaders who are seeking inspiration and support. We'll expand your ideas of creative innovation -- changing the ways we create, collaborate, engage, and build communities. Our Mission Through our guests' stories, we aim to inspire current and future change agents who are creatives, entrepreneurs, researchers, or community leaders who are seeking inspiration and support around creative innovation — changing the ways we create, collaborate, engage, change lives, and build communities. Your Host: Gigi Johnson, EdD I run transformative programs, speak/moderate, invest, advise, and produce multimedia on creativity and technology.  I taught for 22 years at UCLA, where I ran the Center for Music Innovation and the podcast "Innovating Music," built four industry-connecting programs, and taught undergraduates, MBAs, and executives about disruption in creative industries.  Before UCLA, I financed media M&A at Bank of America for ten years. Connect with Us https://maremel.com/creative-innovators-podcast/ (Our Website) How to submit a Creative Innovator Guest: https://maremel.com/creative-innovators-podcast/guest-information/ (Information Page) Subscribe to our newsletter http://eepurl.com/bugPcj (here). Join our Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/creativeinnovators (here). Sponsored and Produced by the https://maremel.com/ (Maremel Institute) https://www.captivate.fm/signup?ref=gigijohnson (This podcast is hosted by Captivate, try it yourself for free.)