Podcasts about berkeley hills

Practicing guitar up in Tilden Park in the Berkeley Hills. A beautiful despite. Birdsong, trees rustling in the wind, grass shimmering in the sunlight.

How Cookbooks Travel Across Cultures, Part 1  A Conversation with Cookbook Author and Recipe Adaptor Maria Zizka When it comes to writing and publishing cookbooks, adapting recipes for different countries is far more complex than simply converting grams to ounces. In this week's Flavor of Italy Podcast, I chatted with acclaimed cookbook author Maria Zizka, who specializes in the art and science of recipe adaptations—specifically the “Americanization” of international cookbooks. Maria is based in the Berkeley Hills of California, while I'm in Rome, Italy. So we both understand the importance—and challenge—of translating food and flavor across culinary cultures. In this first installment of our two-part conversation, we dug into everything from ingredient substitutions and baking adjustments to measurement conversions and language nuances.

Nestled in the Berkeley Hills, Indian and Mortar rocks are popular hangout spots known in part for epic views of the Bay. For climbers like Berkeleyside reporter Ally Markovich, they're known for their outsized role in the development of bouldering. But for the native Ohlone, the boulders are a symbol of a destroyed cultural landscape, and an urgent call to protect native history. This episode first ran on Dec. 23, 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Arriving at Orville's place takes you through a scenic drive on the Berkeley Hills. Quintessential to the Bay Area, driving on the steep, winding roads feels like the slow climbing of a rollercoaster. At the summit, glimpses of the Golden Gates Bridge peek through the misty clouds. On a clear day, the urban sprawl of San Francisco, Berkeley and Albany unfolds beneath you; even on a rainy day, the charming neighbourhoods with Berkeley Bungalows more than make up for the long drive from Palo Alto.Orville Schell will be familiar to our returning readers. We have featured him twice before, once on his experience in the 60s, and again in the 80s.  A veteran journalist and currently the Arthur Ross Director of the Center on US-China Relations at the Asia Society, Orville has given us insight into how foreign China watchers navigated the  challenges of the Cold War and how China's gradual shift from socialism in the 1980s. In this issue, we explore Orville's experience in the Vietnam War – a transformative event for an entire generation of Americans and a key moment that shaped his consciousness as a China scholar. Orville, as someone deeply embedded in the American China-watching community, sheds light on the often-overlooked impact of the Vietnam War on Western perceptions of China.A brief hiatus in the summer has recharged Peking Hotel well. We now have a new and brilliant editing team, so it's not just myself sifting through mountains of tapes anymore (hurray!). We will aim to release a new episode every two weeks, and your continued interest is our best accountability measure :)I thank my wonderful editors Yiwen Lu and Caiwei Chen for their support.Enjoy!Leo Get full access to Peking Hotel at pekinghotel.substack.com/subscribe

It would be easy to overlook the significance of Indian Rock and Mortar Rock, two relatively modest outcroppings located in the Berkeley Hills. Unlike the towering cliffs of Yosemite, which dominate the landscape, these boulders are partially obscured by the homes and trees that surround them. But for nearly a century, some of America's most influential climbers have used these rocks as a training ground to test new techniques and technologies. The guidebook “Golden State Bouldering” calls these rocks “the heart and soul of Bay Area climbing.” In a recent Berkeleyside article titled “How Berkeley's famous boulders took rock climbing to new heights,” reporter Ally Markovich explored the history of these influential outcroppings and the loyal community of climbers who have spent decades scrambling around on them. Her article uses these Berkeley boulders as a lens for tracing the emergence of modern climbing, the rise of “dirtbag” culture, the relationship between outdoor climbing and the current proliferation of indoor gyms, and sport's growing diversity. To hear our conversation about all these topics and more, listen to the new episode. https://eastbayyesterday.com/episodes/climbing-was-all-i-had/ East Bay Yesterday can't survive without your donations. Please make a pledge to keep this show alive: www.patreon.com/eastbayyesterday. Subscribe to my newsletter at: https://substack.com/@eastbayyesterday Special thanks to the sponsors of this episode: UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals Oakland and the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive. To learn more about UCSF Benioff Oakland's new program BLOOM: the Black Baby Equity Clinic, visit: https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2023/07/425846/new-black-baby-equity-clinic-helps-infants-and-moms-flourish To learn more about BAMPFA's current exhibit “What Has Been and What Could Be,” visit: https://bampfa.org/program/what-has-been-and-what-could-be-bampfa-collection

Nestled in the Berkeley Hills, Indian and Mortar rocks are popular hangout spots known in part for epic views of the Bay. For climbers like Berkeleyside reporter Ally Markovich, they're known for their outsized role in the development of bouldering.  But for the native Ohlone, the boulders are a symbol of a destroyed cultural landscape, and an urgent call to protect native history. Links: Transcript Part I: The stories Indian and Mortar rocks can tell us Part II: How Berkeley's famous boulders took rock climbing to new heights This episode was hosted by Ericka Cruz Guevarra and produced by Ericka Cruz Guevarra, Maria Esquinca, and Adhiti Bandlamudi

Snow in the Berkeley Hills. Floods in the middle of San Francisco. A snowpack that's reached staggering heights. We're in the midst of an extreme winter, and another major storm is on the horizon. Chronicle meteorologist Gerry Díaz joins host Cecilia Lei to talk about this winter's record-breaking precipitation and its impact on California's drought. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod Got a tip, comment, question? Email us: fifth@sfchronicle.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For more than a century, people in the Bay Area — and especially the East Bay — have puzzled over the existence of stone walls scattered on ridges from near San Jose north through the Berkeley Hills. Sometimes the walls are built in long straight lines. Sometimes they form angles. Occasionally you'll find rectangular or circular constructions. "Who built these things? How long ago? And why?" asked listener Eric Haven. It's a tougher question to answer than you might imagine, but reporter Dan Brekke does his best. Learn more Uncovering the Real Story Behind the 'East Bay Mystery Walls' Video: The Real, True Story of the Mystery of the East Bay Walls (YouTube) Sign up for the Bay Curious newsletter Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts This story was reported by Dan Brekke. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz, Amanda Font and Brendan Willard. Additional support from Paul Lancour, Christopher Beale, Cesar Saldana, Jen Chien, Jasmine Garnett, Carly Severn, Jenny Pritchett and Holly Kernan.

This week we have a golf course review of Bay Area favorite, Berkeley Country Club! Located in the Berkeley Hills above the community of El Cerrito, California, BCC is the first private course we've reviewed on this podcast and folks, it's awesome! Nowhere else can you get such a spectacular view of the San Francisco Bay and its surroundings for a really good price. The crew chats about their latest round, the course conditions, facility, cost, and much much more. Most importantly, check out our sponsor, Robin Golf! For a limited time, they're offering 15% off with the code: TOSSINGCLUBS. Head to this link (you won't be disappointed!): https://tossingclubs.robingolf.com/

Mentioned in this episode: the Berkeley Hills, an old girlfriend of mine, my mother, old family friends. 

Join correspondent Tom Wilmer at the iconic Claremont Hotel in the Berkeley Hills above Oakland, California for a visit with Michelle Heston, fairmont Hotel's Executive Director of Public Relations.

Troy Helming is a 25+ year clean energy industrialist, executive, inventor & real estate developer. 4 of the companies he founded created solar & wind projects totaling more than $13 Billion of asset value, and added over $30 Billion of economic impact to the U.S. economy. He has had multiple successful “exits” from his companies, is an author, public speaker, a world-class athlete as a professional American Ninja Warrior (invited 3x to be a competitor on the hit NBC show and is ranked top 20 in the World in Masters and in the top 1-2% of Professional adult male ninjas), former runway model, former national champion & 2-time All American male cheerleader & gymnast.  Troy's been the founder & CEO of three impactful clean energy companies, including: TradeWind Energy, which he founded in 1998 & sold in 2004 (~$6 Billion+ of wind projects built since then, some of which are award-winning projects, and TradeWind was the biggest wind developer in the USA in 2017 & top 3 in 2018) and then Pristine Sun: 350 solar projects built so far totaling $100 Million in market value and many high profile projects including the largest floating solar project award in North America & the largest community solar projects in both Vermont and Wisconsin.  He's the author of the 2005 book The Clean Power Revolution, co-inventor of FloatoRack (an innovative floating solar system with multiple patents pending) and inventor of the Red Gopher (a world-changing technology in stealth mode also with patents pending).  Troy has been driving an electric car since 2012, was the 1stcustomer of the world's fastest production motorcycle, the all-electric Lightning LS-218, and started driving on biodiesel and natural gas in 2004 as an early adopter.  Troy is a yogi, rock climber, and family man: he's married to Alysia Helming, author of the best-selling young adult novel Protogenesis.  They have one son and live in the Berkeley Hills overlooking the San Francisco Bay.

On October 20, 1991, the hills across the bay from San Francisco were cloaked in smoke. Flames moved up the steep slopes of Oakland and Berkeley, California, What became known as the Diablo Fire had started on Saturday, October 19, from an incompletely extinguished grass fire in the Berkeley Hills. Firefighters fought the 5-acre fire on a steep hillside and by Saturday night they thought it was under control. The fire re-ignited as a brush fire shortly before 11 a.m. on Sunday, October 20 and rapidly spread southwest, driven by wind gusts up to 65 mph. It quickly overwhelmed local and regional firefighting resources. By 11:30 a.m., the fire had spread to the nearby Parkwoods Apartments. Shortly before noon, the fire had been blown up to the top of Hiller Highlands to the west, from where it began its sweep down into the Hiller Highlands development and the southern hills of Berkeley. Burning embers from houses and vegetation were carried ahead of the fire line by torrid winds and started new blazes ahead of the original burn. Within thirty minutes the fire had crossed both Highway 24, an eight-lane freeway, and Highway 13, a four-lane freeway, eventually igniting hundreds of houses in the Forest Park neighborhood. The hot, dry northeasterly winds, dubbed as “Diablo winds” " in reference to the Diablo Mountain range and surrounding geography of same name, periodically occur during the early fall season. These are similar to the Santa Ana wind in Southern California, and have been the cause of numerous devastating fires. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Brian Katrek is big-timing the guys, busy playing at Pinehurst.  BK checks in with Ollie Dean and Derrick Thomas, as the guys discuss the Ryder Cup, coming up this week. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We welcomed Keitha Pansy from the full-time MBA class of 2002. She is currently the Managing Director at the Women of the World Endowment. WoWE provides institutional financial support to accelerate gender lens investing and promote impact for women and girls. Keitha takes us back to her background from studying accounting at Howard University to finance at Haas and why she decided to get her MBA. She also walks us through her 15 years of blended experience within financial services working with different big companies like JPMorgan and BlackRock. Keitha also talks about the year she traveled to different places to reflect and enjoy life for a moment. Finally, she shares how she got into impact investing and co-founding WoWE. Episode Quotes: --------------- *Why she chose Haas* - "When I stepped foot on the campus, it just felt right. I'm finding my tribe. It's just that easy for me. I had paired up with a first-year who took me up into the Berkeley Hills, and there was this beautiful view. And it's so vibrant in my mind, still to this day. You can see the Bay, and you can see the mountains, which was so beautiful to me. And I was like, this is my home. It just felt right." *On finding her true purpose and making an impact* - "I believe those who know that they are called for a purpose while they exist here on earth were not meant to just be consumers. We are called to do something greater. I know there's more. I want to wake up knowing that I'm having an impact. I want to wake up knowing that what I do everyday matters." *On being part of the impact investing space* - "I feel like this is a full circle and what I'm supposed to do with the second half of my life. The first half was a setup. It was the training ground for my purpose-driven life." Show Links: ----------- * LinkedIn ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/keithaypansycpamba/ ) * Women of the World Endowment ( https://wowendowment.org/about/ ) Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/onehaas/donations

Ever been driving into Oakland on California State Route 24 and wondered what came before the Caldecott Tunnel? Wonder no more!...in this episode Tom discusses the early history of roads over the Berkeley Hills and the 1903 Kennedy Tunnel. More regarding the Kennedy Tunnel can be found on the Gribblenation blog site below: https://www.gribblenation.org/2021/01/former-california-state-route-24.html --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/gribblenation/support

On October. 20, 1991, the hills across the bay from San Francisco were cloaked in smoke. Flames moved up the steep slopes of Oakland and Berkeley, California, What became known as the Diablo Fire had started on Saturday, October 19, from an incompletely extinguished grass fire in the Berkeley Hills. Firefighters fought the 5-acre fire on a steep hillside and by Saturday night they thought it was under control.  The fire re-ignited as a brush fire shortly before 11 a.m. on Sunday, October 20 and rapidly spread southwest, driven by wind gusts up to 65 mph. It quickly overwhelmed local and regional firefighting resources. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“And immediately he saw the heavens opened and the Spirit descending upon him like a dove…” (Mk. 1).    Waiting for jury duty this week a new friend asked me why I got ordained. It is the most obvious question, and that I didn’t feel ready to answer shows that I’ve been spending a great deal of time with people who already know me here. But the short answer to his question is that I am deeply, unequivocally, incurably in love with God. I want to know about God, read about God, hear people’s experience of God, encounter God myself, all the time. This is true every day, but over the years, that point of contact seems to grow stronger and more steady. I was ordained a priest a this time of day exactly twenty-five years ago. It feels like yesterday. I spent that afternoon walking and praying in the green Berkeley Hills as a Pacific storm swept through the Golden Gate. Then in that warm redwood chapel, St. Clement’s Church, where I had gone to church in college, with everyone there – my family, friends from middle school every stage of my life, I knelt on the red carpet. All the assembled clergy put their hands on my shoulders. Afterwards old retired priests asked me for my blessing. It was a day filled with moments when heaven opened up and the spirit descended like a dove. At that point I had no idea what I was getting into. Since then I’ve felt God’s spirit descend in so many ways. It happened we taught children Christmas carols at pageant rehearsals, after sleeping on the marble floors of St. Paul’s Cathedral in Boston for a youth group event, while keeping vigil at Stanford Hospital with an old Marine veteran and then with a twenty year old girl. The weddings and baptisms have been magical. I rmember the first board meeting of the little school we started, playing the clarinet in the church band, the hospitals, prisons, courtrooms, government offices and schools I visited on official church business. 1300 ordinary Sundays were transformed because every Sunday is a feast of our Lord. Bill Countryman, the retired New Testament professor at our Berkeley seminary says that a priest is anyone who points out what God is doing and draws our attention to the love of Jesus. He goes on to say that even people who would never consider getting ordained do work that is priestly. He writes, “By priest I mean any person who lives in the dangerous, exhilarating, life-giving borderlands of human existence, where the everyday experience of life opens up to reveal glimpses of the HOLY – and not only lives there but comes to the aid of others living there.”[1] At that time and over the years I continue to take great pleasure that today is the feast day of the poet and country parson George Herbert (1593-1633). I delight in his poems and in his whole approach to the spiritual life. In that time of intense political and religious conflict leading up to the English Civil War, George Herbert continued to emphasize that beauty matters, that God can be experienced in simple things, that worship is the way to finding and fulfilling our true self. “He writes “All things are of God… and have God in them and he them in himself likewise.”[2] We sing as a hymn George Herbert’s poem “The Call.” The last stanza goes like this “Come, my Joy, my Love, my Heart: / Such a Joy, as none can move: / Such a Love, as none can part: / Such a heart, as joys in love.”[3] But George Herbert also said, “The country parson preacheth constantly, the pulpit is his joy and his throne.”[4] With this in mind I better stop. But before I do let me implore you to fall in love with God. Look around. See the spirit descending on you. And every day in prayer, in acts of mercy and kindness, walk more deeply into the divine mystery. [1] L. William Countryman, Living on the Border of the Holy: Renewing the Priesthood of All Believers (Harrisburg, PA: Morehouse Publishing, 1999) xi. [2] “All things that are of God (and only sin is not) have God in them and he them in himself likewise.” George Herbert, The Country Parson, The Temple ed. John N. Wall (NY: Paulist Press, 1981) xv. [3] Ibid., 281. [4] Ibid., xiii.

Episode 028 of *The Upful LIFE Podcast* welcomes JESSICA DORE (@thejessicadore) to the show. On Twitter and Instagram, my longtime friend is a new-school tarot superstar, Jessica has hundreds of thousands of followers for her unique approach to tarot as a therapeutic tool. She's a licensed social worker, tarot practitioner and journalist/author interested in using tarot cards to help people understand the interplay between internal and external life.  I'd seen a variety of media features about her in recent months, and made a mental note that she'd be an ideal guest for this show, which came about rather serendipitously. Introduction to Jessica Dore @ 8:00, Conversation @ 12:30  Jessica and I go way back to Jazz Fest in NOLA some years ago, and we've stayed in touch sporadically. She's always been a friend on my radar, in spite of the many moons or miles between. Not long ago, we randomly bumped into one another on the streets of Oakland, and I knew it was a cosmic re-connection. Jessica was kind enough to invite me up to her idyllic treehouse studio in the Berkeley Hills for an interview that was really like a conversation between friends catching up. She has been influenced by the people and landscapes of the places she's lived and traveled including New Orleans, Jamaica, Central America, India, Northern California and New England. In just over an hour-long powwow, we share a dialogue that touches on her time in New Orleans, and Mardi Gras gone by. Plus her passion for Jamaican dancehall music, why she moved to Kingston, JA, only to subsequently leave dee-jaying behind. That narrative provides a launching point for an enlightening rabbit hole on the topics of roots, culture, family heritage, and the nature of our collective appropriation. From there, we briefly explore her daily and unwavering devotion to ashtanga yoga.  Yet the majority and priority of our conversation is focused on tracing the embryonic roots and rapid evolution of her work as @thejessicadore on Twitter and IG. She combines her knowledge from years of studying psychology, behavioral science, tarot and mysticism to support people during times of both change and stuckness. Her ideas and tarot practice have become wildly popular across social media over the past few years, and she's at the forefront of a revolution in tarot and psychology, so much so that she's out here in the Bay writing a book on the topic, contracted to a major publisher. In a language that everyone can easily understand, Dore breaks down how tarot entered her life, the connections she first discovered while working in psychology book publishing, and how they organically blossomed into @thejessicadore daily readings. How she interprets and interpolates self-help principles and therapeutic concepts into her practice and profession. The study of the soul at once ancient and brand-new. Jessica Dore's avant-garde, revolutionary tarot practice has been featured in The New York Times, New York Magazine‘s The Cut, VICE, Teen Vogue, Yoga Journal, Philadelphia Magazine, The Philadelphia Inquirer, NPR's Weekend Edition and more. Her writing has been featured in O, The Oprah Magazine, VICE, and Psych Central. Jessica has studied behavioral therapies extensively and holds a level 1 certificate for essential skills in energy psychology.   PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW on iTunes! You Can Listen on Spotify!  Theme Song: Mazel Tov by CALVIN VALENTINE

Ann Wallace and Michael Wallman are here today to teach Aja and Mark about Professional Services Organization (PSO) at Google Cloud. PSO is the “post sales” department, helping clients come up with solutions for security, data migration, AI, ML, and more. Listen in to this episode to learn more about the specifics of the PSO! Ann Wallace Ann Wallace is the Global Security Practice Lead for Google PSO. She has spent the last 6 months building out the security practice. Ann is passionate about inclusion in tech. She is the West regional lead for Google Cloud EDII and a volunteer with Women Who Code Portland. Before Google Ann spent 14 years at Nike in various engineering and architecture roles. CloudNOW named her one of the top 10 Women in Cloud in 2015. When not working, Ann can be found ultra-trail running around the world. Michael Wallman Michael Wallman is a TPM, working on Cloud Migration for internal Alphabet companies and acquisitions. He also serves as the America’s infrastructure practice lead. He is in his 3rd year at Google. Prior to Google, Michael is Cloud “OG”, and spent almost 5 years growing the AWS Professional Services organization from 5 to 700+. Before sticking his head in the clouds, Michael helped found 2 start-ups: Aspera and SensysNetworks. Outside of work Michael spends his time chasing his 2 toddlers and mountain lions around the Berkeley Hills. Ann and Michael actually met 5 years ago, working on Nike’s first cloud migration project. This encompassed reverse engineering a custom Perl configuration management system. (Who doesn’t love Perl?) It’s a small cloud world. Cool things of the week Amy built an app that uses Cloud Vision to identify key features of images texted to it link Want to Change the Game? Design your own with Google Play blog Change the Game site The team based game of life app we demoed during the keynote is still up site How we search for bow wows and meows blog Why do cats and dogs…? site Interview G Suite site Chrome site GKE site Kubernetes site Anthos (the new Cloud Services Platform) site Pub/Sub site GCS site GCS Dual-Region Buckets site Grafeas site CRDS site Exploring container security: Digging into Grafeas container image metadata blog CRE site SRE site Cloud Consulting Services site Question of the week How do I cache files between builds in Cloud Build? Cloud Builders Community site Where can you find us next? Mark will be at IO, Open Source in Gaming Day which is co-located with Open Source North America Summit, and CFP. Aja will be online! She has blog posts coming on assessing coding during interviews, using Ruby + GCP for weird stuff, and many other things. Our guests will be at Kubecon EU.

Through our partnership with the Coalition of Black Excellence founded by Angela J. we have the pleasure of sitting down with 500 Startups venture partner Clayton Bryan. He sits down with us to discuss his career journey up to this point and to share valuable advice for young leaders and founders, particularly in the VC space. We also promote CBE Week, an event designed to highlight excellence in the black community, connect black professionals across sectors, and provide opportunities for professional development and community engagement.Learn more about CBE Week here! https://www.cbeweek.com/Learn more about Transparent Collective: https://www.transparentcollective.com/Learn more about HBCUvc: http://www.hbcu.vc/Check out the Dorm Room Fund: https://www.dormroomfund.com/Check out 500 Startups' VC Unlocked: https://education.500.com/TRANSCRIPTZach: What's up, y'all? It's Zach, and listen, y'all. Living Corporate is partnering with the Coalition of Black Excellence, CBE, a non-profit organization based in California, in bringing a Special Speaker series to promote CBE Week, an annual week-long event designed to highlight excellence in the black community, connect black professionals across sectors, and provide opportunities for professional development and community engagement that will positively transform the black community. This is a special series where we will spotlight movers and shakers who will be speakers during CBE Week. Today we are blessed to have Clayton Bryan. Clayton has over 12 years of experience in the tech space, initially working as a marketer. He transitioned into business development and over the past 3 years has worked in venture capital. Currently, as a venture partner at 500 Startups in San Francisco, Clayton is focused on the media, e-commerce, and frontier tech. Clayton is also one of the co-founders of Transparent Collective, a non-profit launched to help founders of color connect with investors and mentors. Prior to returning to the Bay Area, as a member of the Dorm Room Fund team in New York, Clayton worked with and invested in some of the best and brightest student-funded startups on the East Coast. With that being said, welcome to the show, Clay. How you doin', man?Clayton: Zach, I'm doing great, and to all the listeners out there, good evening, good morning, good afternoon, whenever you might be listening to this. Happy to be here, and looking forward to, you know, having a good conversation.Zach: Absolutely. So look, man. Of course I read your profile in the introduction, but for those of us who might be wanting to know a little bit more--I know I'm one of those people--would you mind talking a little bit more about yourself and your journey?Clayton: Sure, happy to hit on some of the high notes and the milestones. So I'm originally from the Bay. Big shout-out to Oakland. And, you know, growing up I always felt this gravitational pull towards technology. I was fortunate to be able to have an Apple II back in the day and played, you know, some games on that, everything from, you know, Oregon Trail to Mavis Teaches Typing, Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing. Yeah, those are some of the OG titles.Zach: Oh, wow. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let me ask you this real fast about those games though. Did you ever played this game called Gizmos and Gadgets?Clayton: I don't recall that one. That one--Zach: 'Cause man, it was really dope. Okay, okay, but you said Oregon Trail. Did you ever play that Mario typing game? Where you type and then Mario moves?Clayton: Oh, yeah. Yeah, that was a classic too, you know? So for everyone from that era, you know, those were great, and I think that they did a good job of really kind of getting a lot of folks into technology and just, you know, bringing up that awareness. And so once I saw the application of that--and then I also was able to go to, you know, great places as a kid growing up in this area. Places like the Lawrence Hall of Science up in the Berkeley Hills, and, you know, really getting to see all of these cool things happen with science. And so when I got to high school I started to code a little bit, and I took CS in high school. When I got to college, I thought that was gonna be my track as well, but I happened to go to a school where there's a really tough computer science program, and I was like, "Actually," you know, "I think I'm a little more creative than this." So I wanted to touch technology, but not necessarily from the coding perspective, and so I became actually--I was a poli-sci and economics major, and then when I graduated I joined Yahoo as a content marketer, and I was there for a couple years. Then I decided I wanted to go do the startup thing, so I worked at a couple different startups, and that's when I first got--started to really hear the term "venture capital," and back in the 2000s it was a very different time and place within Silicon Valley and the way that we think of things. Investors weren't blogging, they weren't tweeting. It was very obscure as to what investors actually did. Now it's different. Now, you know, you see--it's kind of a who's who on Twitter. Twitter has a VC category you can follow. There's Medium. It's just very easy to kind of stay plugged into that scene if you really want to learn how different investors are thinking. There's a lot of information out there. Back in the 2000s that was not the case, but I was very fortunate at the time--one of the companies I was working with, we had done a Series A and a Series B--and also the check sizes were much different than a Series A and a Series B were today--but I was the seventh hire, and I got to really see, you know, what these meetings with investors look like, and I was exposed to that, and I was like, "This is kind of cool. This is interesting," and that's really, you know, kind of planted the seed for me to want to be on that side of the table. And so fast-forward a couple years. My first--my first kind of role where I was in an investor-like seat was running an accelerator program that focused on underrepresented founders, and so through that program I got to know a lot of folks who I'm gonna shout-out later on in, you know, our conversation. But I got to see--I was even closer, but the problem with that program was that we were not writing checks, and I wanted to actually deploy capital. In order for me to feel comfortable doing that I decided, "Okay. Well, I want to go back to school," which was kind of a controversial decision at the time, because I still think MBAs are not necessarily all that welcome within the space, but I think it's changing now. But for me it leads--the decision was to go back, learn more about finance, build up that skill set, and then finally venture out as a venture capitalist, and so that's what I've been doing since 2015, and I've been incredibly blessed to join a great team at 500 and incredibly blessed to be a part of something called the Dorm Room Fund. And yeah, that's my journey in 3 minutes or less.Zach: Man, that's incredible. And, you know, it's interesting--you know, to your point about some of your decisions being a little non-conventional, still--you talked about yes, there's definitely more information to learn about venture capitalism and being a venture partner. However, Clayton, I have to be honest, man, I'm still really kind of confused when I think about the role of a venture partner. So, like, would you mind sharing a little bit more and kind of breaking it down, what it is your role entails? On, like, what you actually do on a day-to-day basis?Clayton: Sure. And, you know, I think--before I answer that I'll answer a question that I think is a good kind of intro or good for just context in terms of, you know, "Well, how did I get here?" And "Is there a certain path?" Right? I think a lot of folks that want to get into venture are like, "Well, how can I also get into venture?" And I think, you know, a couple years ago there were maybe two different pathways in, where, you know, being a founder that had success. So exited a company, sold a company, right? That was a path. Another path would be, you know, becoming an executive at a top internet company, a big brand that, you know, everyone in the States would know, and then really develop a skill set in sales or marketing or even people ops, and then market yourself to one of these firms as being able to add value. But today, you know, there are so many different firms that are popping up, and I think that if you talk to the folks that are at these firms, they all have different pathways in. And so I think the primary thing is just to have that interest and really network, and be beneficial to founders. Be beneficial to folks that work at these firms. Do the job before you have the job, and I think that's a great way to do it. And there's great programs out there, like HBCUvc, Dorm Room Fund. There's a lot of different programs out there, depending on where you are in your stage of life. We have one at 500 that's called Venture Capital Unlocked. First Round Capital has one called the Angel Track. So there's a lot of programs out there that will help you, you know, kind of get the right skills, because things change so frequently within this space. So I would say that was a little bit of a prelude to the next thing, which is "What do I do on a day-to-day basis?" Well, you know, no two days look alike. I would say the core of my duties, really I'm out here trying to help founders, and so I'm meeting with founders all of the time. If you look at my calendar at any given point in time, there's a lot of meetings with some of the current investments that I have, some of the investments that are a little bit more mature, meaning that, you know, I'm not working with them on a day-to-day, because we have an accelerator program, and so we're--it's essentially like a boot camp for entrepreneurs. So we're helping them with their marketing, their sales. We're helping them really craft the way they're thinking about their investor strategy, and then also with the execution, because a lot of the folks that come through our program, you know, they might be really good at their core competency, whether that's, you know, data science or agriculture tech or spinning up something--you know, some kind of hardware play, but when it comes to the nuances around going out and fundraising and selling your business to the investor audience, it's a little bit of a different type of game. So just understanding and acquainting yourself with the language and the types of models and terms that are being used at this stage. I'm talking about things, you know, as far down as, like, customer acquisition costs, but just understanding things like, you know, your revenue, your different growth rates, right, and how to present that in a way that's meaningful, impactful, but translates well into the minds of investors. So a lot of what I do is coaching. I'm always looking for the next best--the next greatest thing, right, that I can invest in, but even if I can't invest in it right now, I still need to be able to talk to with those founders, help them as much as I can, because I'm always looking for potential, and that means a couple--that means a lot of different things to a lot of different people, but I'm out there always looking for potential. So a lot of what I do I categorize kind of as just, like, helping founders. That would be one big category, and then other things that I do is meeting with other investors and really trying to assess how they're looking at the market or markets right now, what's interesting to them, because as someone that's at the seed stage, I--at the end of the day, I need to have confidence that I can help my companies raise money, and if the later-stage players are not as actively looking for deals in that category, it might be--it might not be the right time. Timing is so big in what we do, right? It's a huge--I would say timing and [seeds?] are so important. So you really have to get an understanding, if you're a founder, "Is this the right time for me to go and fundraise for this business? Should I try to hunker down, just focus on product right now, and come out in 6 months when things might be a little bit different?" Right? So again, going back to that fundraising strategy piece, but a big part of what I do also is just networking with investors, networking with other stakeholders in the States, folks that might be doing products at Slack or Pinterest or wherever and just asking them, "What are you seeing that's interesting within your category," right? Because that's helping me make more informed decisions when I'm looking--when I'm crafting my theses, my investment theses, and when I'm starting to go out and I'm meeting with different founders trying to see "Can I find founders that think similarly about the way the future's going to be, and then can I back those founders?" And that's--at the core of my job, as someone that's thinking actively about my fiduciary to my [inaudible] partners, I'm constantly thinking about that, right? Constantly trying to think about the trends that not everyone else is seeing just yet, right? Especially at the early stage. That's what we have to do. We have to be able to look across--look around not the next corner but two corners, because we're investing at such an early stage.Zach: Man, that's just--that's incredible, and there's--you know, I have--I have a couple questions about that role and how you show up. Before I ask that question, you know, all of the things you're talking about and the brands that you're mentioning and the conversations that you're having, I'm curious, how many--how rare is it to see black men moving in this space? And I'll say--I'll just say people of color. I'll just say non-white folks to start, but then how--but how rare is it? It seems like it would be rare.Clayton: Yeah. I mean, like, it's rare to see women. It's rare to see Latinx. It's rare to see black men. It's rare to see anyone that doesn't fit a certain profile of what you're already named, right? And so it is rare, but I think it's starting to get better, and, you know, I can't quantify that growth rate, but I think that more and more investors are starting to realize that there's a need to have multiple perspectives, right? We can't all think the same when we're doing an investment. We can't all, you know, have been trained at the same academic institution and travel in the same social groups, because we're gonna miss out on big movements. And even on a geographical note as well. There's big things that are happening across the continent of Africa, right? And there's big things that are happening all across the world, and we can't just think in that tunnel vision of "What's the next greatest thing that's gonna come out of Northern California?" We have to think--we have to think beyond that, right? And so there are things that are helping. There are things that are getting us where we need to be, but I think that the pace can pick up. And I mentioned, you know, groups like HBCU VC, which I think are great, but we need more of that. We need more of that, and we need more funds like what, you know, Chris Lyons is doing with the Cultural Leadership Fund. We need a lot of that. We need to amplify that times 10 at least, because I'm not seeing enough folks that look like me and have similar backgrounds when I go to these different conferences, different networking events, and I think that's problematic when we start to really see, you know, what's getting invested in, who's getting invested in, right? There's steps out there that talk a lot about that, you know? Talk about the amount of fundraising going to folks of color compared to, you know, folks that are coming from, you know, I'd say more common backgrounds within tech, and it's staggering in terms of the disparity.Zach: You're absolutely right, and we actually had an--we actually had an episode about that last season where we talked about--where we talked about being in venture capital while black, being in venture capital while other, and we discussed the disparity and fund allocation to the point where--they were talking about certain demographics, it was, like--to represent it in dollars would've been, like, basically zero, right? So it's nuts, and that--to your point though about the role, you know, it seems as if your role requires, like, a cocktail of being able to kind of influence without direct authority, a lot of emotional and social intelligence, and then also all of that still being backed up by significant business competence. Can you talk a little bit about how you show up being, you know, one of the few, and what is it that you're doing in these spaces that are--that are majority white? And what challenges, if you have any, have come with that?Clayton: Yeah. I mean, I think it's just, like, being able to paint pictures. Like, for one, I mean, you definitely need to have your facts, right? You need to have your facts and your stats down, and you need to be able to help those around you, and I'm talking about other investors, see what these trends are telling me. I need to translate that over to them, right? And I need to translate it over to them in language that they will be able to understand, because at the end of the day, like, we're all here to try to, at minimum, 3X our money, if not greater, right? 5X, 10X, and sometimes, you know, if these other investors lack that background, they might not be able to understand things in the same manner, right? And this is why I think every board room--and you're starting to see this within big tech companies, like the Twitters and the Salesforces and the Googles of the world, where they're realizing that they're building products for the entire world, so they need to have a team that reflects that, right? And so--but in the venture scene, we're not seeing that as--you know, we're not seeing it develop as quickly. So for me, in order to go in, you know, I need to be able to pound the table, have the facts, but really build these theses in a way in which can align with what my firm wants to do, right? And so I think a lot of it is just, like, you have to go the extra mile, right? You have to really put in that extra work, and it's making me a much better investor, but part of me is like, "It shouldn't have to be this hard," at the same time, right? Like, if I want to do a deal that's founded by a person of color and I think that--and I'm able to show the data, the trends, all of this is really supporting going in this direction, right? And it's funny, sometimes even money that's coming from outside of the United States sees it better than money that resides within the United States, because it's--like, they understand how emerging markets work, and sometimes, you know, if you put it in that lens, like--I mean, we're not emerging, but we have the same capability of an emerging market in terms of the growth potential. Then a lot of the dollars from overseas are like, "Oh, I want in on that," right? And so sometimes it's just you have to be creative, but, like, you just have to--you have to persevere. I think that's the biggest thing, is really, like, you just have to keep willing to push through, and that's the same note that I want to give out to the founders listening, which is, you know, you have to knock on--especially the seed level. You're gonna have to knock on a lot of different doors. I have founders that come in and tell me, like, "Look, I heard "no" 91 times, and I heard "yes" 9 times, but that's all I needed to close my seed." So don't get--you know, don't get, you know, depressed. Don't have anyone try to knock you off your hustle. You're gonna just have to find the folks that your message resonates with the most, and so that's the message I want to give to the founders that's out there.Zach: No, that's incredible, and you're absolutely right. You know, my father--you know, he's a bit of entrepreneur, financial background, sales background, and what he would--he always tells me is he's like, "Son, you know, you don't need but one yes." Like, often times you just need that one. Like, people keep on--like you just said, you know, the majority said no, but you really just needed, like, a scant few to say "yes" for you to continue forward. And I think it's hard though when--you know, when you continue to present and you present and you present, and, you know, who knows what those no's look like, right? 'Cause a no is a no, but, like, you know, the way that they--sometimes the way people tell you, you know, can hurt. Like, maybe you were told no like, 10 times, even though you were just told no once. You know, so those types of experiences. It's tough, so that's great advice. Before we--before we let you go, do you have any other parting words, shout-outs, or special projects that you're working on?Clayton: Yeah. So I just want to, you know, give a shout-out to Transparent Collective. You know, it's a great initiative that we're trying to, you know, continue, and we're actually looking for sponsors for that. So that's a--it's a great initiative. It's a labor of love, and I want to see that continue in the future. So folks out there that might be interested in sponsoring, hit me up. Big shout-out to--you know, this is gonna be a little bit of a long list, and there's people that definitely if I--it could be a lot longer, but, you know, I want to keep time in mind. So big shout-out to Monique Woodard. She's done a lot to help me out professionally. Big fan of hers. Chris Lyons, Marlon Nichols, Connie LaPuebla, Richard Kirby, Eric Moore, Austin Clements, just to name a few. And then also I love what initiatives like Black VC are doing and also HBCUvc, which I mentioned a few times in this podcast. So that's it. And also one last shout-out to all the founders out there, all the hustlers, all the innovators that are grinding right now. You know, keep building. Keep moving forward. Keep persevering. I know it might be tough. I know that, you know, it might be disheartening when you hear "no" here and there, but you really gotta keep grinding, and you will find your path. And, you know, to the best extent that I can, I'm always willing to make myself available for folks that have questions on the businesses that they're building or the careers they're trying to build, because I believe that you really have to pay it forward in this world. So on that note, that's all I have, and signing off. Thank you, everybody. It's been a great pleasure to have this conversation.Zach: Clayton, man, first of all, the pleasure has definitely been ours. Wonderful feedback, thoughts, and points of advice here. We're gonna make sure that we list all of the organizations that you listed, that you named off, that you shouted out, in the show notes, and then we'll also make sure to have your LinkedIn information in the show notes as well so that people can reach out to you as they're able. Now, I think that's gonna do it for us, folks. Thank you for joining the Living Corporate podcast, a Special Series sponsored by the Coalition of Black Excellence. To learn more about the Coalition of Black Excellence check out their website CBEWeek.com, and make sure that you actually sign up for CBE Week, which is gonna be happening February 18th to the 24th of 2019--that's this year, come on, y'all--in the San Francisco Bay Area. If you go to their website, you'll be able to learn more, get your tickets, and all that kind of stuff right there. Now, make sure you follow us on Instagram though, okay? @LivingCorporate, and make sure you follow CBE at @ExperienceCBE. If you have a question you'd like for us to answer and read on the show, make sure you email us at livingcorporatepodcast@gmail.com. Check out our website, living-corporate.com. This has been Zach, and you've been speaking with Clayton Bryan. Peace.

The very first episode of Jerry Kay!

Today on Crosscurrents:

“Around 380 BC, the Greek philosopher Plato wrote in the Republic about the idealized society as having a “united influence of music and sport” where its people “mingle music with sport in the fairest of proportions.” – from the Rhythms of the Game: The Link Between Musical and Athletic Performance (Hal Leonard Corporation, 2011) As a youngster growing up in the Berkeley Hills in the early 60s, I loved jazz–the rhythmic jests and jolts of Louis Armstrong, the sensuous guitar of Antonio Carlos Jobim, the manic mastery of drummer Buddy Rich. I loved baseball, too, and my best friend and I imitated the kinetic rhythms of our favorite pitchers . . . the high-kicking Juan Marichal and the smoldering, snake-like delivery of Bob Gibson. And then there were the unique batting styles and varied rhythms of our favorite hitters– the whipsaw swing of Willie Mays, the languorous, looping swing of lefty Willie McCovey. And then came Muhammad Ali. Watching Ali box was pure magic – poetry. I’d always believed that Ali was a begloved body-jazz musician ever improvising new creative rhythmic repertoires in the ring. But it wasn’t until I read Rhythms of the Game: The Link Between Musical and Athletic Performance (Hal Leonard Corporation, 2011) and spoke with co-author Dave Gluck in this wonderful interview that it all made sense. Gluck, a peripatetic percussionist professor of studio composition at Purchase College, State University of New York, had the extraordinary experience of having New York Yankee All-Star centerfielder Bernie Williams walk into his office one day in 2007 to inquire about music classes. Williams, in addition to being one of the finest baseball players of his era and one of the greatest post-season players in baseball history, was in the process of making a transition into a second career as a professional musician. A classically trained student at a performing arts high school in his native Puerto Rico, Williams had always been as devoted to music as he was to sports ever since he was captivated by the sounds of flamenco guitar as a young boy. Williams’ illustrious baseball career included taking his guitar with him wherever he went and going so far as to assess the acoustics in major league ballparks (the tunnel in Anaheim Stadium was his favorite). Enter the third collaborator, music colleague Bob Thompson. Thompson is a two-time Grammy nominated composer, conductor, producer and performer, co-founder (along with Gluck) of the Rhythm and Brass eclectic jazz/classical group, as well as the Baseball Music Project. Gluck, Williams, and Thompson’s conversations became the impetus for a unique book, Rhythms of the Game: The Link Between Musical and Athletic Performance. This is a thought-provoking, fact-rich but also highly anecdotal, reader-friendly and entertaining product of three different men who love music…and sports… and the rhythms in life. Although the book isn’t specifically about jazz, it nonetheless is somehow all about jazz, and if you appreciated how Ornette Coleman and Keith Jarrett explored and pushed musical and performance boundaries, or how the transcendent talent of a Coltrane was as much the product of hours and hours of practice and study and not just a “gift,” and if you ever sought to understand the mysteries that musicians and athletes experience of “being in the zone,” you’ll love this book. With so many fascinating strands, Rhythms of the Game: The Link Between Musical and Athletic Performance will appeal to everyone – not just musicians, not just athletes, but to anyone, young or old. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Around 380 BC, the Greek philosopher Plato wrote in the Republic about the idealized society as having a “united influence of music and sport” where its people “mingle music with sport in the fairest of proportions.” – from the Rhythms of the Game: The Link Between Musical and Athletic Performance (Hal Leonard Corporation, 2011) As a youngster growing up in the Berkeley Hills in the early 60s, I loved jazz–the rhythmic jests and jolts of Louis Armstrong, the sensuous guitar of Antonio Carlos Jobim, the manic mastery of drummer Buddy Rich. I loved baseball, too, and my best friend and I imitated the kinetic rhythms of our favorite pitchers . . . the high-kicking Juan Marichal and the smoldering, snake-like delivery of Bob Gibson. And then there were the unique batting styles and varied rhythms of our favorite hitters– the whipsaw swing of Willie Mays, the languorous, looping swing of lefty Willie McCovey. And then came Muhammad Ali. Watching Ali box was pure magic – poetry. I’d always believed that Ali was a begloved body-jazz musician ever improvising new creative rhythmic repertoires in the ring. But it wasn’t until I read Rhythms of the Game: The Link Between Musical and Athletic Performance (Hal Leonard Corporation, 2011) and spoke with co-author Dave Gluck in this wonderful interview that it all made sense. Gluck, a peripatetic percussionist professor of studio composition at Purchase College, State University of New York, had the extraordinary experience of having New York Yankee All-Star centerfielder Bernie Williams walk into his office one day in 2007 to inquire about music classes. Williams, in addition to being one of the finest baseball players of his era and one of the greatest post-season players in baseball history, was in the process of making a transition into a second career as a professional musician. A classically trained student at a performing arts high school in his native Puerto Rico, Williams had always been as devoted to music as he was to sports ever since he was captivated by the sounds of flamenco guitar as a young boy. Williams’ illustrious baseball career included taking his guitar with him wherever he went and going so far as to assess the acoustics in major league ballparks (the tunnel in Anaheim Stadium was his favorite). Enter the third collaborator, music colleague Bob Thompson. Thompson is a two-time Grammy nominated composer, conductor, producer and performer, co-founder (along with Gluck) of the Rhythm and Brass eclectic jazz/classical group, as well as the Baseball Music Project. Gluck, Williams, and Thompson’s conversations became the impetus for a unique book, Rhythms of the Game: The Link Between Musical and Athletic Performance. This is a thought-provoking, fact-rich but also highly anecdotal, reader-friendly and entertaining product of three different men who love music…and sports… and the rhythms in life. Although the book isn’t specifically about jazz, it nonetheless is somehow all about jazz, and if you appreciated how Ornette Coleman and Keith Jarrett explored and pushed musical and performance boundaries, or how the transcendent talent of a Coltrane was as much the product of hours and hours of practice and study and not just a “gift,” and if you ever sought to understand the mysteries that musicians and athletes experience of “being in the zone,” you’ll love this book. With so many fascinating strands, Rhythms of the Game: The Link Between Musical and Athletic Performance will appeal to everyone – not just musicians, not just athletes, but to anyone, young or old. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices