Swan Dive

“Delicious, decadent, and utterly diabolical. No one serves up a scandal like Asha Elias,” writes author Kirsten Miller about this writer, mother, and reluctant socialite. Asha's acclaimed debut novel, Pink Glass Houses, is a seductive social satire about the wealthy PTA moms of an elite elementary school in Miami Beach. We read it and loved it. Her much-anticipated second novel, The Namaste Club is another delicious page-turner about rich people behaving badly, set among the wellness industrial complex, rich ladies doing yoga, and all things fabulous and Florida. It drops next month with a third in the pipeline as part of a multi-book deal with HarperCollins. Asha graduated from the University of Miami with a degree in print journalism then, fresh out of college, landed at Ocean Drive Magazine, where she spent a decade in ad sales and promotion, becoming intimately familiar with the crazy underbelly of the singular South Beach scene. During this time she became an accomplished yogi. When her first child arrived, Asha opted to be a stay-at-home mom for a few years. Until the lifelong itch to write her first novel became too strong to ignore. Asha has contributed to Cosmopolitan magazine and is currently the sex and dating columnist for Miami New Times. She lives with her family in Miami Beach, Florida.Have a Swan Dive to share? Text us!We are always looking for Swan Dive Stories to share so hit us up, send an e mail to Ron: Ron@artbikesjax.com or Stu: Stuart@stuartsheldon.com

Eric Gottesman teaches, organizes, writes, and makes artworks with other people that address nationalism, migration, structural violence, history, and intimate relations. His work is always collaborative; he has never made an artwork alone. One of Eric's creative superpowers is his ability to take his time and gently notice the delicacy and hard edges of his subjects, without judgment, before capturing their images. The resulting pictures are remarkably soulful and honest. He is a John Simon Guggenheim Fellow, a Creative Capital Artist, a Fulbright Fellow and a co-founder of For Freedoms, an artist-led organization that centers art as a catalyst for creative civic engagement and was named the "largest creative collaboration in United States history" by TIME Magazine. He co-created the books Sudden Flowers (2014) and For Freedoms: Where Do We Go From Here? (2024). Gottesman is a mentor in the Arab Documentary Photography Program in Beirut, Lebanon, and the W.W. Corcoran Visiting Professor in Community Engagement at George Washington University.TedX talk Have a Swan Dive to share? Text us!We are always looking for Swan Dive Stories to share so hit us up, send an e mail to Ron: Ron@artbikesjax.com or Stu: Stuart@stuartsheldon.com

Robert Earl Sinclair is a Future Architect & Speculative World-Builder striving to make sense of our rapidly changing world and co-create bold futures. Born in "the hood" of Los Angeles and challenged with dyslexia, Robert became a successful international hip-hop recording artist in his teens and went on to graduate from the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts and NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. Now, this multicultural, classically trained artist, actor and writer uses storytelling to activate the idea that if something is broken, we can fantasize about what it looks like unbroken, and that exercise, in and of itself, can help us to find our way to a solution. This is speculative world-building. In this pursuit, Robert's dyslexia has become an asset, because dyslexic people experience information as story and possess a much higher retention of facts which allows Robert, a voracious reader, to draw from a vast store of resources and disciplines. Dedicated to beauty, justice and inclusive imagination, Robert designs at the crossroads of art, culture and technology and has created original content and world-building workshops for: NYU, Google Creative Lab, Sundance Film Festival, The Guggenheim, the Rockefeller Foundation, Pop Culture Collaborative, The Doris Duke Foundation and For Freedoms, where he co-created For Freedoms News and its month-long residency at the Brooklyn Museum. Robert is an original member of the Guild of Future Architects' celebrated Futurist Writers Room, a diverse community of visionary artists, intellectuals, engineers and technologists. Working with Dot Connector Studio, Robert is working to shape alternative economic models of sustainability and thrivability for everyone. Most recently, Robert has  lectured at USC's School of Cinematic Arts and the ASU Center for Science and the Imagination. He is currently teaching Emergent Expressions at the Harvard Divinity School.Have a Swan Dive to share? Text us!We are always looking for Swan Dive Stories to share so hit us up, send an e mail to Ron: Ron@artbikesjax.com or Stu: Stuart@stuartsheldon.com

Have a Swan Dive to share? Text us!We are always looking for Swan Dive Stories to share so hit us up, send an e mail to Ron: Ron@artbikesjax.com or Stu: Stuart@stuartsheldon.com

Nate Monroe writes a column about Florida for USA Today, exploring how power works in the gilded, strange heart of the modern Republican Party. His irony and rapier wit have made him a reader favorite but have also ruffled some significant feathers. Previously an investigative reporter for Jacksonville's Florida Times-Union, Nate focused on covering Jacksonville City Hall, the largest municipal government in Florida. His most notable deep-dive exposed a massive, nefarious scheme to sell Jacksonville's city-owned power company to Florida Power & Light ... and led to an indictment and jail time for the local CEO, an enormous win for justice and transparency. For this excellent work, he was surveilled and threatened. “It was obviously surreal," says Nate, "to open a batch of records that I had some sense was about the controversy and to actually discover that there was stuff about me in there” - his full Social Security number, driver's license and a list of friends dating back to childhood — information not readily available as a public record.  His lived experience as a target of attack on the media and honest reporting is emblematic of the challenges facing democracy today. Still, Nate loves his job, is built for it. An old school journalist who came up through the ranks, Nate remains undaunted about speaking truth to power. Prior to arriving in Jacksonville in 2013, he was a small town beat reporter for newspapers in the Deep South, where he wrote about hurricanes, small-town corruption, oil spills, Army Corps screw-ups, Mardi Gras, and bingo nights at the senior citizens center. Nate's work is absolutely critical to keeping our democracy healthy and alive. Have a Swan Dive to share? Text us!We are always looking for Swan Dive Stories to share so hit us up, send an e mail to Ron: Ron@artbikesjax.com or Stu: Stuart@stuartsheldon.com

The Stanford Arts Review described Samantha Rose Williams as a “Mezzo-Soprano with ‘jaw-dropping vocal power.” This opera singer and arts activist is committed to creating space for critical discussion about art, culture, and social change. Her latest project is American Patriots, an opera she created that seeks to examine patriotism from four vastly different perspectives: African-American, Native American,  New American and white Working-Class American. For this piece, Samantha asked 50 Americans from diverse racial, socio economic, political, cultural and gender backgrounds to answer the question, “What is a patriot?” Their verbatim answers became the lyrics for her newest opera, which she sings magnificently. She hopes that through sharing nuanced stories of people of all backgrounds and beliefs, she can be a part of breaking down the walls of “us and other” and help to create a more sympathetic and equitable world.Have a Swan Dive to share? Text us!We are always looking for Swan Dive Stories to share so hit us up, send an e mail to Ron: Ron@artbikesjax.com or Stu: Stuart@stuartsheldon.com

Send us a textDaniel K. Forkkio is CEO of Represent Justice, building a critical mass of “system-impacted storytellers” using film and media to mobilize audiences to take action and transform the legal system. Because, those closest to the problem are closest to the solution. About this transformational approach to filmmaking, Daniel says, “What I started to learn about these (grassroots) films is that the films themselves were part of the reconciliation process for the person that had gone through a (traumatic) experience. And so, the act of writing down what had happened, thinking about their audience, the different characters ... and what were the myths around those characters. And what did they want the audience to do and think and feel concerned about, allowed for a reconciliation of all of the different frames that they had been told about their story … and allowed for a different level of control and empowerment around their story. And then, with the film screening, they could go to their local community, their local council members, their local community partners and they could just gather people differently. When you learn together, and when you learn someone's story and see how it connects to yours, it just creates this inspiration and this understanding that allows you to tell your story more effectively.” In the 5 years since inception, RJ now has people in 20 different states producing films & campaigns about their own lived experience, learning and growing from one another in ways that are completely transformative. RJ provides training, support, compensation and mental health resources ... all of which culminates in folks being able to produce a campaign about their unique personal experience rather than relying on whatever Hollywood has produced most recently. For this exceptional work Daniel was recently named a 2024 Elevate Prize winner, chosen alongside 9 other nonprofit leaders from across the globe for leading some of the most impactful missions to change our world for the better. RJ began as part of the impact campaign for the highly acclaimed Hollywood film, Just Mercy, starring Jamie Foxx and Michael Jordan, about the life of acclaimed public interest lawyer, Bryan Stevenson, and the civil rights work he does helping the incarcerated and the condemned. A policy expert conversant in the film's core issues, Daniel witnessed something remarkable at the screening and advocacy events he organized for Just Mercy - the unexpected impact of the people present connecting with each other through their own real life stories of similar lived experience. Says Daniel, "It got me thinking … what about this power of firsthand storytelling should extend beyond a campaign? What if we we were constantly working with folks who were impacted by this issue and, in fact, what if they were the ones producing the film? What if it wasn't a matter of a Hollywood actor? What if it wasn't as much a matter of a studio release? What if impacted folks, in their communities, had these skills of convening and using film as a medium? And, that became really the blueprint for Represent Justice." Learn more and watch some of these magnificent films at RepresentJustice.org@danielforkkio@werepjusticeShare your Swan Dive at www.swandive.us

Matt Hartley is an Interfaith expert and "DEI Criminal." He's a dad, a cellist, a high school running coach, an educator and ordained minister. In other words, one of the good guys. Yet, after 5 years leading the University of North Florida Interfaith Center, Matt's job was eliminated last year by draconian anti-DEI (Diversity Equity and Inclusion) laws initiated by Gov Ron Desantis. To keep his interfaith work alive, Matt joined OneJax, a local diversity organization supporting Interfaith work on multiple campuses. In a 2023 New York Times article titled, What It Is Like To Teach In The Crosshairs of Ron DeSantis,  Matt said, “When people think about diversity and inclusion, they generally think of race, not faith. That is by design. The G.O.P. branding gurus intentionally turned “woke” into a racist dog whistle.” Matt now works independently. His website, Faith in Diversity, features a weekly subscription newsletter and explores the landscape of DEI, religious diversity, war and human rights. Share your Swan Dive at www.swandive.us

Trained as an anthropologist, Suz Howard spent 20 years as a partner at IDEO, one of the world's leading design and innovation companies, playing a critical role in growing IDEO from 200 employees to 1000 in 9 locations around the globe. Focused on building creative leadership within organizations, she founded IDEO U, a digital learning platform that has served over 80,000 students through various forms of cohort-based learning since 2014. In effect, Suz has dedicated her life's work to building out-of-the-box thinkers and enhancing the future of work itself. Now, out on her own, Suz continues her work with individuals and organizations, bringing human-centered design and design thinking to develop insightful strategy, deploy rapid prototypes, and align multiple stakeholders around a common vision for a brave new future. In addition, she teaches entrepreneurs at the Aspen Institute and advises startups on climate tech. Her writing has been published in Inc Magazine, Fast Company and many other places over her illustrious career.Share your Swan Dive at www.swandive.us

As Executive Director of the Stax Museum of American Soul Music in Memphis, TN, Jeff Kollath oversees the world's only museum dedicated to preserving and promoting the legacy of Stax Records and American soul music. Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, John Lee Hooke, Booker T & the MGs and the endless Stax roster of musical icons produced  songs that stirred our souls and shared our collective story, a story born of pain and glory, rags and riches, love and lust. Stax liberated our hearts and freed our hips to move like nobody was watching. Kollath, brandishing a BA and Masters in History, shares the complex STAX story everday, highlighting the granular details of each artist and the revolution they created. And overseeing magnificent installations that capture the moments when musical and cultural magic happened in a beaten up corner of Memphis. Kollath has researched and written extensively about soul music and Black culture during the Civil Rights and Black Power eras. Prior to arriving in Memphis in 2015, Kollath created dynamic public programming and exhibitions for the UW-Madison Center for the Humanities, the Milwaukee County Historical Society, and the Wisconsin Veterans Museum. Memphis Magazine Interview Photo Max Gersh / The Commercial AppealShare your Swan Dive at www.swandive.us

Clark Butcher will be the first to tell you he is addicted to endurance athletics. He started running age 7, completed his first half marathon at 11 and discovered triathlons at 14, where he naturally excelled in cycling. By 16, Clark was competing in the Junior World Cup in Canada, National Championships and pro-caliber events throughout the US. This culminated in 2002, when Butcher spent a summer racing throughout Europe with the German National Team. Clark founded Victory Bicycle Studio in Memphis in 2010 and has grown it from a part-time project to a national industry leader in bicycle retail. Victory is to bike shops what the Apple Store is to electronics. And his "Couch to 50" program has changed the way a community finds both fitness and friendship on a bicycle. One of his many satisfied customers said it best, "No matter what you do, every time he gives some information, something sticks that didn't stick before.”Couch to 50 video!Share your Swan Dive at www.swandive.us

As a teenager, Dr. Scott Morris became deeply interested in two things: his religion and the practice of medicine … AND a way to connect the two to serve humanity. Now 70, Morris is the founder and chief executive officer of Church Health in Memphis, TN. A leading voice in the field of faith and health and a passionate advocate for the poor in U.S. society, Morris opened Church health in 1987 to provide quality, affordable health care for working, uninsured people and their families. It has now grown to become the largest faith-based, privately funded primary care clinic in the country w over 60,000 patient visits per yr. Morris holds a Masters in Divinity from Yale Divinity School and an MD from Emory. The current issue of Fortune Magazine did a stunning  feature on his incredible journey. And, Stuart had the privilege to join Morris on his inspiring Mystic Podcast episode on a recent visit to the Church Health facility in Memphis. We are honored to welcome this righteous champion of "doing well by doing good" to Swan Dive."Fine & Blessed" - Short video clip from Swan Dive interview with Dr. MorrisShare your Swan Dive at www.swandive.us

Chris Jenkins is Head of Production in University of California, Santa Barbara's Film & Media Studies Department. He has been behind the lens of many notable and award-winning documentaries. His work has aired on Netflix, PBS, Discovery, The History Channel, Sundance Channel and on and on. Prior to receiving his Masters in Documentary Film & Video from Stanford, Chris was in East Africa as a United Nations Volunteer working with and capturing on film tribal cultures, animals, the plight of refugees and much more. Before that he bicycled to southern Chile on assignment for National Geographic en route to a year as an Ambassadorial Scholar. His harrowing adventures and riveting stories are endless!http://cjpictures.comCheck out “Vera Cruz” from CJ on Vimeo at https://vimeo.com/121515049Photo by Steve GlassShare your Swan Dive at www.swandive.us

Hollywood Creative Director and Graphic Artist, Gary Adler, has a blackbelt in branding on a global scale.  He moved to LA in 1986 to chase his dream and, after  decades designing for the film industry's best, from Disney to Dreamworks, Warner Bros,  Sony and Fox, he's seen it all. If you watched Nightmare Before Christmas, you've seen Gary's work. He sold a wonderful screenplay to Harold Ramis but, like so many Hollywood dreams, bad timing kept it on the shelf. Still, Gary lived well off his creative chops in the take-no-prisoners world of movie making. And is now exploring new avenues on his creative journey.  Share your Swan Dive at www.swandive.us

Taylor Keen has an astonishing resume: Golden Gloves boxer, Dartmouth undergrad, Harvard MBA and Masters in Public Administration. Business man. Indigenous leader, Strategy consultant and full-time instructor in Corporate Strategy and Entrepreneurship at Creighton University. But at his core, Taylor is a storyteller. And the stories he tells are those of his tribal people. Harvard did a magnificent feature on Taylor last Dec titled, Singing To the Corn, where they wrote: “Corn thrives when sung to and spoken to—something Taylor Keen does in the language of his mother's Omaha Tribe, where he is known as Bison Mane. Keen is also an active member of the Cherokee Nation, his father's people, where his tribal name is Blackberry. He grew up between Omaha and the Cherokee reservation in northeastern Oklahoma ..." IN 2014, Taylor founded Sacred Seed whose goal is preserving Native American heritage in history through collecting, growing and spreading the seeds of corn and other traditional Native American foods. This incredible polymath has seen a great deal and gained much wisdom, which he generously shares on Swan Dive.Watch Sacred Seed video Recommended books on Indigenous Culture:Bury My Heart at Wounded KneeCuster Died for Your SinsGod is RedCorn Among the Indians of the Upper MissouriBraiding SweetgrassShare your Swan Dive at www.swandive.us

In 2019, Miami New Times tweeted “Does anyone know Miami music better than Lolo Reskin?” Music is in this woman's blood. Lauren Reskin, better known as Lolo, is founder of Miami's iconic, Sweat Records. Lolo's father is a Julliard graduate, professional trumpet player, and composer. Her grandmother, a concert violinist. Even her great uncle, Alan Freed, was the (in)famous 1950's radio DJ who coined the phrase “rock and roll.” In 2005 Lolo opened Sweat Records, a must visit destination for vinyl lovers in Miami. She's a sought-after DJ and leading music tastemaker, who is in it for the love of culture and community. As a native Miamians, we can say that this woman is a bona fide local hero. Find awesome new music right now at SweatRecords.comShare your Swan Dive at www.swandive.us

Katie Hathaway's swan dive moment came as her 7-yr-old son got in the car at school pickup and said, "Mom, I know it. We're gonna be the first classroom shot up. We're closest to the front of the school." Katie's heart sank. That any child would have such a thought, let alone when they're supposed to be safe at school, made her sick. She knew she had to do some thing. Katie started by scheduling a meeting with her state representative who referred to himself as the Florida Gun Lawyer. As a former business woman, she knew she needed to bring the facts, not just sheer emotion, into that meeting. It was a tough conversation. Now, Katie is a leading volunteer with Moms Demand Action, devoting her life to righting the wrongs of gun violence, school censorship and other hot-button issues. She's been quoted by President Biden and is as fearless as she is emotional about the rightness of her efforts. Katie's motto is, “This work isn't easy, but it's necessary. I'll see you tomorrow.” Twitter @khathaway1Share your Swan Dive at www.swandive.us

In the mid-1990s, Andy Peay and his brother, Nick, set out to find land for the vineyard they dreamt of creating. Eventually, they settled on a property in California's West Sonoma Coast, an old sheep farm and apple orchard. Here, the brothers, along with star winemaker and Nick's wife, Vanessa Wong, built Peay Vineyards, 53 acres of vines with six different grapes, where they make elegant, refined wines that are an expression of the land on which they are grown, land which, according to the NYT, “offers distinctive qualities shown transparently in their wines, primarily complex, polished pinot noirs; savory syrahs; fresh, intense chardonnays; and smaller amounts of vibrant Rhône whites.” Peay won SF Chronicle's 2010 Winery of The Year, and for good reason. Andy's wines are now poured in the finest restaurants in America, and are objectively sublime. Drink this wine and enjoy Andy's inspiring journey.Learn more about Peay Vineyards here.Share your Swan Dive at www.swandive.us

“Crazy is a prerequisite in this shit." -- George ClintonClinton's Parliament-Funkadelic collective is considered one of the foremost innovators of funk …  and his music made asses shake worldwide, including ours. With over 40 hit singles and three at #1, Clinton has been sampled by everyone from Dr. Dre to Tupac and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. In 2019, George and Parliament-Funkadelic were given Grammy Lifetime Achievement Awards. Wiz Khalifa stars as George in the brand new film, "Spinning Gold," about his time on Casablanca Records with such mega-acts as Kiss, Donna Summer and the Village People. Multi-talented, this Renaissance man also paints (though he's colorblind) and recently had an exhibition at the illustrious Deitch Gallery in LA. At his essence, George is a  philosopher who gave us all the secret to living well when he sang, “Put a glide in your stride and a dip in your hip … And come on up to the Mothership.” We are so honored and delighted to welcome this fine, legendary soul to Swan Dive!Follow his intergalactic journey @YoLikeGeorgeShare your Swan Dive at www.swandive.us

David William Carson's heart lives among the tall trees and endless oceans. This environmental scientist, entrepreneur and artist was raised in the forests of upstate New York. He earned a Master's degree in Environment and Resource Management in Amsterdam after pivoting from a rocky career in tech and finance. Now 31, David  recently started his dream job as executive director of the Rogers Center, a 600-acre nature sanctuary and environmental education facility in upstate New York whose historic lands have been cherished by four generations of his family. David is elated to be living and working close to family, back in his hometown as a steward of the forest he grew up in. Learn more at www.friendsofrogers.orgShare your Swan Dive at www.swandive.us

In 1984, Keith Pariani and eight fellow enthusiasts left San Francisco on antique "high-wheeled" Columbia bicycles, following the path across the USA taken 100 years earlier by pioneer Thomas Stephens. They rode these awkward contraptions which have no brakes and only one gear across the entire country, through sun and rain, over the Rockies and vast stretches of emptiness, finishing 61 days later in Boston. The classic bike Keith rode, along with his extraordinary collection of antique bikes, is currently on display in the "Ride On" exhibit at the Lightner Museum in St. Augustine, FL, housed in the former Hotel Alcazar, built in 1888, when these bikes were all the rage. ollected over a lifetime, Keith's bikes represent the intersection of engineering and art from the "Gilded Age." But, they also represent the culmination of his Swan Dive, the first time this shy yet passionate enthusiast and successful entrepreneur received the recognition he deserves for honoring a lifelong obsession. Keith reminds us all that we can chase our dreams and let our "freak flags fly," no matter how eclectic, alongside our our day jobsLearn More about "Ride On" at the Lightner MuseumShare your Swan Dive at www.swandive.us

All day, every day, we each tell stories about who we are and how we are. Collectively, we speak of “controlling the narrative,” both positively and negatively. Rick Stone tells stories for a living and is one of the world's foremost experts on the power of storytelling. He began in advertising and has dedicated the past 30 years to bringing back this ancient art form in service of teaching, learning and connecting people worldwide. As the CEO of StoryWork International, Rick uses story-telling based training programs to help fortify interpersonal relationships and for team building and leadership development, helping professionals add deeper purpose and meaning to their work and life at Disney, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Hewlett Packard and many more. His latest book, Story Intelligence, co-authored with Scott Livengood, helps each of us become a master of our story and amplify and unleash every aspect of our IQ and EQ (emotional intelligence). Learn more at Storyintelligence.comAnd check out TheCentralFire.net where you can bring the delight of storytelling to your own community and join other communities of amazing raconteurs. Share your Swan Dive at www.swandive.us

With sold out tours, millions of followers on social and growing critical acclaim, Jake Miller has quietly emerged as a magnetic pop presence. He has done this on his own terms with an infectious, high energy style that's full of optimism and fun as hell. His fans, dubbed “The Millertary,” are so devoted that many tattoo his lyrics on their body. Florida-raised and LA-based, this singer, songwriter, and producer made waves with 2014's Dazed and Confused EP. The title track to his 2015 project, Rumors, gathered tens of millions of streams. Jake's been making heartfelt music steadily ever since … and has shared the stage with the late Mac Miller (who Jake cite as a major influence), Ariana Grande and Shawn Mendes to name a few. He recently performed on NBC's Today Show and LIVE with Kelly and Ryan. Jake continues to inspire on a series of 2022 singles and his forthcoming fifth full-length album.Click Here for to learn more about Jake's tour, music and moreClick Here to see Oscar from the Office on Tic Tok Share your Swan Dive at www.swandive.us

Nothing is more gratifying then when a listener calls to share that a discussion on Swan Dive influenced their life choices in a positive way. A recent call with an old coworker of Ron's was exactly that and explored this listener's “great resignation” opportunity. This prompted Ron and Stu to revisit some of the key and critical aspects of their own swan dives. In this short episode, your hosts look back at some of the more pragmatic details surrounding their decisions to chase their dreams and discuss the “new wealth” concept, in which time represents the truest and most important currency of all. If you have a story to share or have heard something in this podcast that prompted some action in your life, please reach out and share!Click Here to connect with Swan Dive!Share your Swan Dive at www.swandive.us

Christian Boos is one of the most sought out surf and sportfishing guides on the North Pacific Coast of Costa Rica. He grew up in the ocean in Venezuela. At university in Caracas, he majored in computer engineering, a field of study he felt pressured into by society's expectations of him. But after just 3 months working as a computer engineer in the early 2000s, Boos quit his job and moved to Costa Rica to find a more satisfying and simpler life. A few years later, he started Boos Adventures where, for the past 14 years, he has captained his boats and spent each day pursuing his passions along with his clients. With 4000+ trips under his belt and a reputation for excellent customer service and nautical wisdom, his company's slogan says it all - “All we do is surf and fish.”Boos Adventures Surf & Fish ChartersShare your Swan Dive at www.swandive.us

Sheryl Johnson is good at what she does. She's a fine lawyer, happily married and the mother of four. But one of Sheryl‘s children, Alex, suffered from mental illness and anxiety. And, like so many with this disease, her son did not find in society the care and understanding that was needed. Alex took his own life in 2017, a victim of the pain of depression. Sheryl and her family struggled for a long time with the weight of this unthinkable tragedy. Then, the universe sent Sheryl a sign by way of a dragonfly. And since that time, Sheryl has used what she learned from her beautiful eldest son to make the world a gentler and more helpful place for people suffering  mental illness. She created  the non-profit, hearts4minds.org, dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of mental health and connecting those in need to those that provide. Hearts 4 Minds received the “Positively Jax” award in May 2021 in recognition for the impact made in the community, and Sheryl has found joy and profound purpose in this endeavor. This episode of Swan Dive will leave you feeling hopeful not sad. For Sheryl is a warrior who is truly making the world a better place.Click Here to learn more about Hearts 4 Minds Share your Swan Dive at www.swandive.us

Veterinarian Eric Dubbin spent 18 years practicing large animal medicine and evaluating new animal drugs for the Food & Drug Administration. Out of the blue, one day, the FDA invited him to fill the position of a retiring colleague in the field of coaching and organization development within their management ranks. Eric knew virtually nothing about coaching, and what he did know, he found bizarre, if not ridiculous. But, Eric has always lead with his curiosity and decided to learn more. Lo and behold, he discovered he had a gift to help others who were stuck in their professional lives. Eric quotes Viktor Frankl in describing this unexpected transition, "We don't create our purpose in life so much as we detect it.”  As part of his coaching training, Eric wrote his personal  mission statement in which he detected his purpose - “I live to serve all animals in pursuit of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health.” All animals includes humans. And, while Dr. Dubbin still loves large farm animals with all his being, it is people he now serves daily. We hope you enjoy his wonderful and unexpected Swan Dive. Share your Swan Dive at www.swandive.us

Mitzi Rapkin is the founder, host, and producer of the long-running podcast, First Draft: A Dialogue on Writing,  featuring in-depth conversations with the world's most distinguished literary writers of fiction, non-fiction, poetry and essays. One of the best interviewers in the biz, her archive contains more than 380 interviews accumulated over nine years. Mitzi reads 50 BOOKS A YEAR, that's one a week, to produce up to 52 exquisite episodes/year, each meticulously covering the  craft, creativity and  themes of a writer's work. She consciously cultivates conversations that evolve from the mechanics and quirks of a writer's process to questions on what it means to be human. She quit her cushy government day job two days before this episode recorded and told us, “I'm not sure if I'm diving or just falling, but hey,  here I go!”Subscribe to FIrst Draft: A Dialogue on Writing  Share your Swan Dive at www.swandive.us

“I'm not inherently brave. I was very much in a life that, outside of being queer, had checked off all the American dream boxes: job, child, house, partner that loved me. It was a good relationship, we paid our bills,  I mowed the yard … had cookouts. And then I met my partner (Bret) at a birthday party. I quit my job without a plan … It was in that moment that I was either gonna live authentically or not live very well, despite what on the outside looked really lovely.” Pete Barma, with her wife Bret, recently premiered their latest short film, Pete, at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York. For this lifelong educator and storyteller, the struggle to live authentically, to love fully and to grow into the best version of herself led her to take an extraordinarily bold leap of faith. That swan dive resulted in Pete finding not only the true love of her life but also a new career as a highly talented filmmaker. Her, short animated, autobiographical film, Pete, tells the story of a little girl named Pete who just wanted to play baseball with the boys, despite the noise coming from "concerned" parents who didn't approve of a girl like this in the mid 1970's. Whoopie Goldberg, one of Tribeca's curators of animated shorts, fell in love with Pete  when she watched it with her granddaughter who also loved it. Petey's wife, Bret Parker, co-founder of Artfarm Productions, is a veteran filmmaker with 26 years at Pixar.  In 2019, Parker and Pete directed their first feature documentary, Through The Windows. Pete is their second film with many more on the way. Click Here for more information about "Pete" and Artfarm Productions. Share your Swan Dive at www.swandive.us

During his nine years as a pro hockey legend from 1972-81, Ron Andruff shared in 3 Stanley Cups with the Montreal Canadiens. He won two Most Valuable Player awards with three major professional hockey leagues. He also won the American Hockey League Scoring Title. During and after his athletic career, Andruff lent his name and support to important causes, from Big Brothers to cancer, water conservation and many others. An entrepreneur and tech pioneer, Andruff started numerous companies in sports marketing, advertising, travel and beyond. His current consultancy focuses on creating a safer internet where patients in need can be sure that medicines purchased online are both fairly priced and efficacious.Share your Swan Dive at www.swandive.us

Beth Black is the Founder of Cherokee Creek Boys School, a therapeutic boarding school for struggling boys 10-15 that offers a safe place to “discover what is real and true about themselves and the world around them.” The school uses indigenous wisdom coupled with modern psychology to help these boys grow and thrive. Beth's son attended a therapeutic boarding school in the 1990s, and she says, “It has become my mission to seek out the best practices in education and emotional healing for young people and to design a benchmark school that will truly make a difference in the lives of children and their families.” Beth began her career with the Walt Disney World organization in corporate communications, helping the world understand “how Disney does what it does.” She was part of the illustrious team that opened Walt Disney World in Orlando in 1971. This lead to a 35-yr career career in marketing and corporate culture building and a deep dedication to taking care of the people on her team. Share your Swan Dive at www.swandive.us

The youngest Latina ever to run a nationally endowed philanthropic foundation, this inspiring daughter of immigrants, Dr. Carmen Rojas, has dedicated her life to bettering the lives of underserved working people across the US. Growing up in a sprawling, multicultural family, surrounded by love and core values, instilled in Carmen a deep sense of promise. “For me, it's really about supporting people, organizations and initiatives that create an alternative possibility where it's not a zero sum game but where instead we are seen as collectively coming together in order to fill the promise of a multiracial democracy," says Carmen. Now, as president & CEO of The Marguerite Casey Foundation, this visionary, dreamer and truth-teller puts the money where it matters to support leaders, scholars and initiatives focused on shifting the balance of power in society — building power for communities that continue to be excluded from shaping how society works … and from sharing in its rewards and freedoms. She holds a Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning from the University of California, Berkeley and was a Fulbright Scholar in 2007. Her 2021 Seattle Times editorial, "How philanthropies can support grassroots social movements," exemplifies her purpose-driven life, awash in much-needed optimism.Share your Swan Dive at www.swandive.us

Wayne Irwin evolved his electrician trade into a radio broadcast engineer and now, a solar energy entrepreneur.  Wayne owns Pure Energy Solar in Gainesville, Florida and his company creates innovative products that help bring solar power to the world. Last year, Wayne followed his passion for music and launched his own radio station, WMBT "The Wombat" 90.1FMl in Gainesville, FL. "Gainesville's Locally Driven Radio is also streaming  worldwide on www.wmbt901.com, playing every flavor of music and building passionate community along the way. Whether he's harnessing the sun or taking your eclectic musical request, this devoted father, husband, inventor and entrepreneur, success is about continually evolving and staying focused on the things that matter most in life. Share your Swan Dive at www.swandive.us

Steff Florentina grew up in Nova Scotia, the daughter of an excellent tennis player who introduced her to the sport at age 5. “My life was tennis. When we weren't playing tennis, we were watching tennis, or going over areas that I could improve. My typical schedule growing up was wake up at 5, drive 35 minutes to the tennis courts, be on the courts from 6:00-8:00, make it to school just in time ... , play tennis during lunch (rain or shine), play tennis after school from 4-6. Eat, do homework, watch tennis and do it all again." When her devotion to tennis began to wane in her teens, she had some hard choices to make. This episode deals with the tricky terrain of expectations, our own and those that love us ... and how we must find our way through these choices. Tennis is still a massive part of Steff's life, only now, it's 100% on her terms. Follow her @steff.florentina and @alexandsteff and www.alexandsteff.com Share your Swan Dive at www.swandive.us

Swan Dive started in March of 2020 and we recorded our first episodes in a pre-COVID world.  In this episode, we look aback at the moment Ron first took his dive.   As the year winds down, what small change can you make?  What big change is ahead of you?  Looking ahead while finding value in examining where we have been, take a leap and join us on Swan Dive.  Share your Swan Dive at www.swandive.us

Criminal defense attorney and award-winning novelist, Jon Miller, has tried cases in all but one of New Mexico's far-flung counties. He knows the grit and grind of the criminal mind. Raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with a vision of practicing environmental law, Jon studied Urban & Regional planning at Cornell, went to law school and then worked at the Dept of Interior in DC, until budget cuts sent him packing back to NM, where he landed a gig as a Public Defender in Roswell. Yes, that Roswell. On the drive down to Roswell, Jon saw a road sign that read "Watch for Rattlesnakes.” This inspired him to write a book called Rattlesnake Lawyer. He's written 13 novels to date. Still an active criminal defense attorney, his law firm is named Rattlesnake Law. Share your Swan Dive at www.swandive.us

Welcome to Swan Dive Revive, a reflective pause to look back at where we were to better understand how far we've come in our ever-evolving journeys. Today we revisit May 5, 2020, the episode titled, Unfinished. Ron was just about to leave his successful career as the pandemic hit. As the world experienced a collective pivot, we discuss his virtual going away party and the then-novel idea of being together in lockdown “doing nothing” with loved ones. Much has happened since. Yet, so much remains Unfinished … for all of us. We continue to explore the critical questions: "Who do you want to be? And what are you going to do about it?"Share your Swan Dive at www.swandive.us

The documentary film project, Capetown Legends, described Conrad as “an artist, self-taught master blacksmith and conservationist that is merging many worlds in his distinctive work.” Based in Capetown, S Africa, Conrad specializes in hand-forged metalwork to produce his sculptures and architectural and interior design projects. His forge is housed in The Bijou, an old Art Deco cinema, which he bought and began restoring in 1998. Conrad asserts “that all traditional blacksmithing jointing methods have innate metaphorical meaning adding to the final symbolic meaning of the finished form.” His much-sought-after designs are as beautiful as they are functional and energetically magical.Share your Swan Dive at www.swandive.us

Tiffany Manning was cruising along with a satisfying job in the art department of an ad agency when the layoff happened.  She looked at the change of career as a gift and quickly changed gears, making moves as a commercial photographer.  But with Tiffany, it was all about movement and there was one more move she needed to make. She dreamed of being an artist, and when she finally found the courage to make that declaration out loud, everything changed. Tiffany Manning is a photographer, artist and visual storyteller. "I lovingly refer to my studio practice as the art of allowing. I am creating to be present in my body." Tiffany has been working hard over the last 6 years to refine her voice. Learn how everything changed once she said what she wanted out loud. Connect with Tiffany on Instagram:@tmannphoto  @squareshapedlove @femininesoulprojectShare your Swan Dive at www.swandive.us

Artist, Julie Miller Torres, specializes in printmaking. Trained as a lawyer, from a family of lawyers, Torres practiced law for seven years. She was good at her job and enjoyed her clients. But something was missing. At 34, she left her law career to start over in fine art at the prestigious, Savannah College of Art and Design ("SCAD"), where she earned a BFA in Printmaking. A few years out of art school, her career was beginning to get traction, when Covid hit. Undaunted, she turned to social media to promote her work. Five years after leaving art school, Torres created a series of screen prints of Supreme Court Justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg. A New York collector saw one of these works on Instagram and purchased it. This collector had connections to the Metropolitan Museum of Art who then reached out to Torres and purchased another of the RBG pieces for its permanent collection. That piece, titled "Superdiva" is currently on exhibition at The Met thru next year in an exhibit called “Revolution, Resistance and Activism.” Share your Swan Dive at www.swandive.us

"Throughout his career, Hank Willis Thomas has addressed the visual systems that perpetuate inequality and bias in bold, skillfully crafted works. Through photographs, sculpture, video, and collaborative public art projects, he invites us to consider the role of popular culture in instituting discrimination and how art can raise critical awareness in the ongoing struggle for social justice and civil rights," reads the bio from his 2019 retrospective at the Portland Art Museum. Hank's work is as clever as it is hard-hitting, and Swan Dive host, Stuart Sheldon, believes Hank to be one of the most important artists working today. Hank is the co-founder of For Freedoms and the Wide Awakes, both of which have changed the game in creative activism and engagement. Hank's work is included in numerous public collections including the MOMA, the Guggenheim, Whitney National Gallery in D.C. and many others. He has a beautiful young family and lives and works in NY.  Share your Swan Dive at www.swandive.us

Cierra Britton (b.1996, Baltimore, MD) is an independent curator and art consultant living and working in New York City. Cierra Britton Gallery is the first NYC-based art gallery dedicated to representing woman artists of color. Share your Swan Dive at www.swandive.us

Born Nov. 1923 in Key West, long-time Miamian, Ruth Wolkowsky Greenfield is an American concert pianist, composer and teacher who, through music, broke racial barriers and brought together black and white students, taught by black and white teachers. She moved to Paris in 1949 to study piano and there experienced a society far more racially integrated than Miami, which was in the throes of profound racial segregation ... in schools, beaches, parks, restaurants. When she returned to Miami, Ruth founded the Fine Arts Conservatory in 1951 in Miami, one of the first fully integrated schools for music, art and dance in the South. This pioneering color-blind approach was considered scandalous at the time, but provided a breath of fresh air in a toxic society. Greenfield continued to teach music for 32 years at what is today Miami Dade College, Florida's first integrated college. Concerned w urban blight in Downtown Miami in the late 70s early 80s, Ruth founded the Lunchtime Lively Arts Series that brought music and culture to downtown Miami. She has devoted her life to using music to build bridges, bringing music to performers of all races, ages and genders. Watch the documentary about Ruth -  "instruments of Change." Share your Swan Dive at www.swandive.us

As a fertility doctor, Michael Freeman is responsible for helping his patients bring new life into the world. Which makes his second bout with cancer all the more ironic. Yet, Michael's humor and optimism remain fully activated. "I'm still flossing," he told us when asked how he's changed his life to face the disease. Optimism abounds. This loving husband and father to three beautiful children helps us explore what happens emotionally when you get this diagnosis out of the blue, offers tips on how you interact with friends and colleagues, and shares what not to say to try to make him feel better. Happily, his treatment is going very well, and Michael's measured wisdom shines - enjoy the wins when you get them and keep  stressful situations to a minimum, something we should all do more of. This is a Swan Dive into our own mortality and the critical choices we each must make to live life with humor, grace and definitive action. Share your Swan Dive at www.swandive.us

Ken Russell had a dream job, traveling the world kite-surfing and paddle boarding with is watersports company, when he got involved with the cleanup of the city park across the street from his Miami home. That civic engagement resulted in a run for office and a hard pivot from entrepreneur to his current position as Vice-Chairman of the Miami City Commission, recently re-elected in November 2019 for a second term. He entered Miami politics in 2015 with an optimistic view on positive change, and during his first term, Commissioner Russell was successful in passing legislation that supported resilience infrastructure, affordable housing creation, government transparency, and strong wages. He was instrumental in passing the Miami Forever Bond, which will invest $400 million into housing, parks, streets and flood mitigation throughout the city. Now seasoned in the blood sport of politics, Ken retains his jovial spirit and positive outlook, as he leans into a run at Marco Rubio's Senate seat. Swan Dive host, Stuart Sheldon, one of Russell's constituents, firmly believes that this amiable, Japanese-American, father of three, former YoYo champion,  ukulele playing, wood sculpting renaissance man would make a fine Senator ... with both the policy chops and disarming persona to make Washington a less vicious and toxic place. To learn more, click here. Share your Swan Dive at www.swandive.us

Robert Arleigh White's life forever changed when at 14 years old, his lifelong friend, Lenny, handed him a flyer and said, "Come on, we're gonna audition for the school play." In that moment, as Bob now recalls, Lenny handed him is life. Bob shares his winding but deliberate path, from high school teacher (11 yrs) to running Theater Jacksonville (16 yrs) , where he directed over 50 plays, to Exec Dir, Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville (14 yrs), to VP Development Museum of Science & History (2 yrs) and finally to Principal with Robert Arleigh White + Associates, overseeing and advising nonprofit arts organizations in North Florida. Bob has also been active in promoting a host of arts related, community and civil rights initiatives. In recognition of over 20 years of successful legislative and community advocacy, the City of Jacksonville named August 12 “Robert Arleigh White Day.” Dubbed “the kindest motherfucker in the whole goddamned city,” Bob's life has been committed to assuring that everyone's story gets told. Watch his RAW Talk, “What I did with my pandemic.”Share your Swan Dive at www.swandive.us

Bhakti Baxter (born in Miami FL, 1979) lives and works in Topanga, CA. At 38, having never lived anywhere but his hometown, Bhakti outfitted an old Sprinter and made his way to the west coast, immersing himself in the deep solitudes of Southern Utah and other singular landscapes along the way. Exploring the relationship between science and spirituality, his work hinges heavily on geometry, the systemic manifestations of geometric principles in nature and the interpretive freedom of abstraction. Working in a variety of media within sculpture, painting and drawing, Baxter's practice is an ongoing investigation into existential queries through the creative process. His work has been exhibited at Nina Johnson Gallery, Miami, FL; Perez Art Museum Miami, FL; Bravin Lee Programs, New York, NY; Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, Paris, France; Manifesta 11, Zurich, Switzerland; among others.Share your Swan Dive at www.swandive.us

In the late 1990s Richard Bowsher co-founded the conference company, StreamMedia.com which pioneered the nascent space devoted to the delivery of audio and video over this new thing called the Internet. He sold that thriving company to NYSE publisher Penton Media. In 2007, Richard founded Klipopmekaar and started farming rooibos tea high in the Northern Cederberg mountains of his native South Africa. The only things standing on the farmland when Richard began were an old bus and a ram-shackle camp site. Today, along with being a thriving, productive and happy place, Klipopmekaar is one of the largest organic rooibos farms in the world. In addition to supplying premium tea brands direct, Richard Co-founded BOS Ice Tea in 2009 which is now the world's leading Rooibos ice tea brand with regional head offices worldwide. Between Klipopmekaar, BOS Ice Tea, and their suppliers, hundreds of jobs have been created in the South African economy and beyond. BOS has significantly increased the world-wide awareness of rooibos tea, its proudly South African roots, its premium qualities, and its spirited African identity. Richard is an avid surfer,  loving  a father, husband , farmer, artist and dear friend of Swan Dive host, Stuart Sheldon. Share your Swan Dive at www.swandive.us

Award-winning journalist Gloria Riviera spent 20+ years as an ABC News producer and correspondent based around the world covering breaking, investigative and feature stories for the network's flagship broadcasts and social media platforms, including Good Morning America, World News Tonight & Nightline. She has a very exciting New Project as host of “No One is Coming to Save Us,” a podcast about the child care crisis that launched May 20th from Lemonada Media, the podcast network that presents humanity unfiltered. The New York Times wrote, "“No One Is Coming To Save Us” won’t actually fix the American child care crisis. There’s only so much that four hours of audio can do. But the podcast offers an encouraging look at other, more successful child care systems — some from other countries, some from America’s present and past." We've listened to #NOICTSU and the host absolutely slays! Gloria is married to Jim Sciutto, Anchor and Chief National Security Correspondent for CNN. They met in Fallujah during the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 and live in Washington DC with their 3 kiddos - Tristan, Caden and Sinclair.   https://twitter.com/grivieraShare your Swan Dive at www.swandive.us

Jay Sweet runs some of America’s most iconic music festivals: the Newport Folk Festival & Newport Jazz Festival. During his tenure as Executive Director of the non-profit Newport Festivals Foundation, his Folk Festival has won five Pollstar awards for Music Festival Of The Year … and America's original music festivals have regained their stature among the country’s premier happenings. He is a frequent keynote speaker at music conferences like SXSW and a contributor at NPR’s “All Songs Considered”, “The Connection” and “On Point” … and served as the Editor-at-Large for the acclaimed music and film magazine PASTE, where he wrote features and cover stories on The Roots, The Flaming Lips, Radiohead, My Morning Jacket, and film director Wes Anderson. An diehard music lover, Jay’s team supports music education initiatives throughout the United States. @imajsShare your Swan Dive at www.swandive.us

Danny Báez immigrated at 20 from the Dominican Republic to the US and worked for one week in a factory before realizing he had to find another route. Odd jobs paid the bills the next 5 years, until serendipity changed the entire trajectory of his life. A friend who worked for renowned Thai artist, Rirkrit Tiravanija, needed help for a 3-day gig. Danny showed up and worked hard, doing whatever was asked with a smile. On the second day, Rirkrit approached Danny and asked him what his dreams were. The rest is history. That gig lasted 3 years, followed by 7 years assisting legendary gallerist, Gavin Brown. Danny then launched out on his own. Co-Founder of the iconic collective, ARTNOIR. Co-Founder of MECA International Art Fair in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Founder,  REGULAR NORMAL Gallery, Danny Baez is a regular and normal guy based in New York City. He firmly believes in the power of building upon community and has organized various exhibitions in New York since 2010, proving that love, hard work, passion ... and a little bit of "fake it till you make it" go a long way! Share your Swan Dive at www.swandive.us