Podcasts about california youth authority

Notes and Links to Jesse Katz's Work      For Episode 249, Pete welcomes Jesse Katz, and the two discuss, among other topics, his childhood love of baseball, formative and transformative books and writers, lessons learned from early writing, LA and MacArthur Park lore, and salient themes and issues in the book like poverty and the punitive nature of powerful interests, grief, and various forms of violence, as well as larger narratives about the immigration system, family units, and traumas and silences.      Jesse Katz is a former Los Angeles Times and Los Angeles Magazine writer whose honors include the James Beard Foundation's M.F.K. Fisher Distinguished Writing Award, PEN Center USA's Literary Journalism Award, a National Magazine Award nomination, and two shared Pulitzer Prizes. As a volunteer with InsideOUT Writers, he has mentored incarcerated teenagers at Central Juvenile Hall and the former California Youth Authority.    Buy The Rent Collectors   Jesse Katz's Website   New York Times Review of The Rent Collectors   At about 2:00, the two discuss Jesse's recent book launch at Skylight Books, which Pete was lucky to attend At about 4:10, Jesse talks about generous feedback, including from those featured in the book At about 6:30, Jesse discusses the experience of recording the audio for his book At about 9:45, Jesse gives background on his relationship with language growing up At about 12:15, The two share memories of reading formative works on Jackie Robinson At about 14:30, Jesse describes takeaways from his adolescent readings of Hemingway, Kerouac, and immersive writers, and college reading that “flipped the switch,” including Joe McGinniss and Hunter Thompson At about 18:15, Jesse talks about his relationship with his alma mater, Bennington College, and Bret Easton Ellis and other standout alumni At about 19:55, Jesse highlights Matthew Desmond and Susan Orlean as contemporary writers (especially Orlean with her The Library Book and Desmond with his Poverty by América, an inspiration for The Rent Collectors) who inspire and thrill At about 22:55, Pete makes a connection between American Psycho and The Rent Collectors, especially with regards to litanies, and Jesse expands on “the cost of being poor” At about 24:50, Pete and Jesse talk about Jesse's book, The Opposite Field, and connections to the great Luis J. Rodriguez At about 27:50, Jesse responds to Pete's questions about how he sees the book now, speaking about The Opposite Field At about 29:00, Pete highlights a generous blurb from hector Tobar, and Jesse outlines how Hector's support propelled Jesse to get to work on realizing the book's finish At about 32:00, Jesse cites Giovanni's (Macedo, the book's protagonist) own healing and his generosity in sharing his story At about 34:00, Pete and Jesse discuss the book's opening, and why Jesse decided to start the book in the middle of the story with Giovanni “rising from the dead” At about 38:50, Jesse gives background on Giovanni's backstory, especially with regard to his father, and not knowing the reason for his father's death At about 42:10, Jesse expands upon the setting of MacArthur Park, the focus of the book's Chapter Two, and its denseness and uniqueness in LA At about 43:30, The two discuss Giovanni's early forays into gang life and some members of the clique featured in the book At about 45:30, Jesse speaks about Reyna, Giovanni's mother, and how she felt powerless in keeping her son from gangs At about 47:40, Jesse speaks to the staying power of gangs and how they “[fill] a void,” and Pete quotes Father Greg Boyle and his thoughts on hopelessness  At about 49:45, Jesse replies to Pete's question about Francisco Clemente, who survived the targeted shooting by Giovanni and how he stood up against the rent collectors At about 51:20, Jesse describes the “older, savvier gang members” who were sought out by Giovanni At about 54:30, Pete and Jesse talk about how he sets the scene in the book for the horrendous events perpetuated by the gang and Giovanni; Jesse also details how he used court transcripts and written correspondence with Giovanni to piece together Giovanni's thoughts before and after the shooting At about 58:30, The backlash and early investigations about the homicide are discussed At about 1:00:45, Pete charts Giovanni's life in the immediate aftermath of the murder, and Jesse responds to a question about his a key decision  At about 1:04:10, Jesse speaks to the naivete of Giovanni's dialogue with Holmes, the investigator  At about 1:05:40, The two discuss sentencing for Giovanni and his reflection on his crimes and aftermath At about 1:07:00, Jesse talks about Daniela, the mother of Luis Angel, and how he tried and failed to find her to speak with for the book, and why it was maybe for the good that she didn't have to relive the trauma At about 1:09:45, Jesse ruminates on Giovanni's future At about 1:11:15, Jesse reflects on how the book may help him with his parole At about 1:13:00, Pete and Jesse trade quotes and meditate on the book's hopeful lessons At about 1:14:50, Jesse gives contact info and book buying information       You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I'm @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I'm @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch this and other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both my YouTube Channel and my podcast while you're checking out this episode.     I am very excited about having one or two podcast episodes per month featured on the website of Chicago Review of Books. The audio will be posted, along with a written interview culled from the audio. A big thanks to Rachel León and Michael Welch at Chicago Review.    Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl     Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting my one-man show, my DIY podcast and my extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!       This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I'd love for your help in promoting what I'm convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.    The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.     Please tune in for Episode 249 with Ben Tanzer. He is an Emmy-award winning coach, creative strategist, podcaster, writer, teacher and social worker who has been helping nonprofits, publishers, authors, small business and career changers tell their stories for 20 plus years.     He produces and hosts This Podcast Will Change Your Life, which was launched in February 2010, focuses on authors and changemakers from around the country and the world, and was named by Elephant Journal as one of "The 10 Best Podcasts to Help you Change your Life.”    His written work includes the short story collection UPSTATE, the science fiction novel Orphans and the essay collections Lost in Space and Be Cool. His most recent novel is The Missing.    The episode will go live on August 27.    Lastly, please go to https://ceasefiretoday.com/, which features 10+ actions to help bring about Ceasefire in Gaza.

James Ellis Mark, also known as Blue, shares his journey from a troubled past to becoming a community development specialist. He discusses his experiences in the California Youth Authority and the influence of family and community on his path. James explains his desire to help others and the founding of the Black Agency. He highlights the importance of respect for elders in the black community and the need for diverse leadership. James also addresses issues of racism and discrimination in public services and offers assistance for at-risk youth. 00:00 - 3:10 - Intro - The road to independent journalism. 3:11 - 30:39—Blue shares how his troubled background helps him speak to young people. He also offers his perspective on why respect for elders is important in the Black community and how diversity and representation are crucial for addressing issues of racism and discrimination. And why leadership in the Black community needs to be collective and focused on collaboration rather than competition. 30:39 - 32:02 - outro

Robert Ochs, MS, LCSW, has worked in the criminal justice system since 1979, at the local, state, and federal levelsFor many years, his work was predominantly in forensic mental health. He trained at an LA County Probation Camp, worked in juvenile delinquency at the California Youth Authority, became a licensed clinician in 1983, and began a private practice. Bob's forensic mental health work also included evaluating insanity acquitees, mentally-disordered offenders, and sex-offenders for appropriateness of hospital release, and directing programs for these offenders. Bob also directed the Adult Division of a large Community Mental Health Center in Los Angeles (Didi Hirsch) Bob transitioned into the world of County Probation and served as Sonoma County's chief probation officer from 2005 to 2016, following 4 years as deputy chief. After retiring from Sonoma County, he served as the Mendocino County interim Chief probation officer for several months in 2017/2018. Bob was a Chief Justice appointment to the Judicial Council's “Task Force on Criminal Justice Collaboration on Mental Health Issues”. He has served on other similar panels, e.g., describing “Best Practices in Competency Restoration”, and “Mental Health in the Juvenile Justice System". In 2017, Bob received the Christine M. West Award from the Forensic Mental Health Association of California for significant contributions to the field of forensic mental health. Bob currently consults and speaks on issues at the intersection of the criminal justice and mental health systems. Finally, more than 20 years in Sonoma County can't overcome a lifetime in Southern California – Bob remains a proud Dodger fan.

Stephen B. Walker is a law enforcement veteran and lifelong activist in the areas of child protection and crime prevention. He is currently the director of Governmental Affairs for the California Correctional Peace Officers Association (CCPOA). Prior to this, he worked within the California Youth Authority for 26 years as a youth correctional officer. He also served as a jet mechanic and plane captain in United States Marine Corp. Stephen currently serves as vice chair for Protect, a national non-profit dedicated to protect children from physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, is the President and founding member of Minorities In Law Enforcement 4 Kids (Mile4kids), is a board member of Child Abuse Prevention Center (CAPC) and is a founding member of the Governor's Cup Foundation. He is also the host of Reason 55, a podcast that brings together diverse and determined people doing incredible work that helps to affect our world for the better.  (Originally aired 08/07/2023)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Coming to the table with Miss Liz for teatime is Ed Daube, Ph.D., The Emotions Doctor July 21st, 3 PM EST It is time to talk about emotions and learn Ed Daube T-E-A an afternoon tea of understanding your life and your emotions. Ed Daube, Ph.D., The Emotions Doctor retired as a Senior Psychologist-Supervisor after a 32-year career with the California Youth Authority. During his career, Dr. Daube worked clinically with incarcerated young women, all of whom had histories of multiple cases of abuse, attempting to help them understand and strategically deploy their emotions as tools (as opposed to lashing out and hurting others or hurting themselves). In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Daube also trained emotionally jaded correctional staff. His focus with staff was using the Emotions As Tools Model to help them understand both their own emotions and the emotions of the young women for whom they were responsible. After retiring, Dr. Daube realized that the general public and many professionals continued to believe and promote many potentially damaging emotional myths so he wrote two Amazon best-selling books. Emotions as Tools: A Self-Help Guide to Controlling Your Life, not Your Feelings covers emotions in general and Beyond Anger Management: Master Your Anger as a Strategic Tool covers anger specifically. He has appeared as a Speaker on a Cruise ship, has spoken to a variety of groups including Local Law Enforcement, the National Guard, and a local Weight Watchers chapter and has been a featured guest on a variety of podcasts. In a continuing effort to educate others about emotions, he authors a blog which has over 200 posts on all aspects of emotions. In order to make it easy to access each of his posts, the Blog has an Index tab which gives one-click access to all his posts by category and title. His specialty is making complex subjects understandable and accessible. His informative Blog: TheEmotionsDoctor.com Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00KEDHAZ6 He can be reached by email: TheEmotionsDoctor@gmail.com On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eddaube/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/misslizsteatimes/message

Great talk with a reformed man about his tragedy and continuing path to redemption.

Growing up in Sacramento, CA, Marcus ‘Big Herc' Timmons was a straight-A student and talented athlete before he took a wrong turn into gang life, drug dealing and violence. He spent most of his teens incarcerated the California Youth Authority juvenile detention system and before he went to prison for bank robbery, he worked as a performer in the adult industry. Today, Big Herc, is one of the fastest rising stars on YouTube. He spent nine years in the federal penitentiary for bank robbery, underwent a deep transformation during his time inside and came out the other side to thrive and empower others to choose a different path. He's best known as the co-creator and host of the wildly popular YouTube series Fresh Out: Life After the Penitentiary and a number of spinoff shows including Prison Talk. The Fresh Out Series has over 500k Subscribers and over 100 million views

EPISODE STARTS AT 26 mins Growing up in Sacramento, CA, Marcus ‘Big Herc' Timmons was a straight-A student and talented athlete before he took a wrong turn into gang life, drug dealing and violence. He spent most of his teens incarcerated the California Youth Authority juvenile detention system and before he went to prison for bank robbery, he worked as a performer in the adult industry. Today, Big Herc, is one of the fastest rising stars on YouTube. He spent nine years in the federal penitentiary for bank robbery, underwent a deep transformation during his time inside and came out the other side to thrive and empower others to choose a different path. He's best known as the co-creator and host of the wildly popular YouTube series Fresh Out: Life After the Penitentiary and a number of spinoff shows including Prison Talk. He's also a motivational speaker, author, executive coach and an entrepreneur who has started multiple businesses. If you haven't checked out Fresh Out or Prison Talk, let me just tell you that it's some of the rawest, deepest and most compelling content you're ever going to watch with insights into human nature and life lessons that people from all walks of life can learn from. Big Herc's mission is to help educate the world about the horrors of prison life and educate those headed inside so they can survive and get out alive. But most importantly, he wants to strip away the glamor associated with the criminal life on the street to help people on that path stop before they end up making the mistakes that he did. His content is amazing, his persona is magnetic and with his partners he's expanding his empire into multiple YouTube series, the supplement business, coaching and much more. Catch Big Herc at www.freshoutseries.com, follow him on social @bigherc916 and @freshoutseries. And don't miss the Fresh Out content that is soaring to the top on YouTube. FOR WOD POD MERCH Venmo @stephen-furey 26$ with you name and address

You probably know at least one person who has had a career disaster. Maybe they were passed over for a promotion, or let go from their job in a downsizing. Whatever the reason, it was a life-changing event that left them reeling financially and emotionally. If you want to avoid joining the ranks of career disasters, it's important to learn how to master your emotions at work. Luckily, it's not as hard as you might think! This week, I have with me Ed Daube - an Expert who's known as Emotions Doctor, who is giving us some top notch strategies for mastering emotions.By following the strategies , you can stay in control no matter what happens at work. Ed Daube, Ph.D., retired as a Senior Psychologist-Supervisor after a 32 year career with the California Youth Authority.  During his career, Dr. Daube worked clinically with incarcerated young women, all of whom had histories of multiple abuse, attempting to help them understand and strategically deploy their emotions as tools (as opposed to lashing out and hurting others or hurting themselves).He has wrotten two Amazon best selling books. Emotions as Tools: A Self-Help Guide to Controlling Your Life not Your Feelings covers emotions in general and Beyond Anger Management: Master Your Anger as a Strategic Tool covers anger specifically. In a continuing effort to educate others about emotions, he started a blog which has over 150 posts on all aspects of emotions and an  Index tab which gives one click access to all his posts by category, date and title.His specialty is making complex subjects understandable and accessible.TUNE IN NOW!CONNECT WITH ED DAUBEAmazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00KEDHAZ6His informative Blog: TheEmotionsDoctor.comEmail: TheEmotionsDoctor@gmail.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eddaube/-------------------------------------------------------Please feel free to reach out to us for any questions, and career support.connect@authorhina.comLINKS MENTIONED IN THE EPISODESecrets of the 6 Figure Employee with Zero StressDouble Your Salary Set Point - A 7 Day Action Planhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/thecorporatestarsBook with us a FREE CAREER STRATEGY CALL CONNECT WITH HINAFacebook TwitterInstagramLinkedInWEBSITETop Software Engineers from Eastern Europe | IT Staff Augmentation | Money Back GuarantyBoost your tech team with top IT talent, risk-free hiring, 10% off with code ECHO PODCAST.Authorhina - Career Guidance Check out how that worksDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show

Uso Ron gives us more about his life growing up before going to prison. On this episode Uso Ron talks about how his life spiraled out of control after finding out his biological dad wasn't his real dad. The lie caused him to loose trust in everything and everyone. He began to catch more criminal cases and they became more violent and eventually ended up in California Youth Authority. Eventually he paroled and than not to long after was in prison with a 30tolife sentence.. Tap In to hear the whole talk.. For more exclusive content go to YouTube.com @30ToLife. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/30-2life/support

We cannot change how things are. How we interpret them, ultimately depends on our view of the world and on how we perceive them and what can we do to make a change in this world. “Peace is at every moment. Peace begins with yourself.”Melody Garcia, Global Influencer, Transformation Catalyst, and Socially – Responsible Entrepreneur. She is an International Best- Selling Author, Award-Winning Sought-After Keynote Speaker, Thought Leader, Writer, International Media Icon, Transformational Catalyst Coach, and Humanitarian. With over 20 years in Fortune 100 Corporate Management and Leadership, Melody has a proven track record of building winning sales teams, business processes, coaching, development, and mentorship, and extensive experience in hiring practices call center management, and more! Melody is a Certified Green Belt Six Sigma, along with extensive leadership certifications and high-ranking accolades that boast of her winning mindset and expertise.  Her entrepreneurial spirit, combined with top executive commercial industry expertise, gives her a lethal edge in a visionary focus, balancing microscopic attention to detail and macroscopic implementation for increased revenues, connectivity, and staying power of any marketplace. Mark Anthony King is a “Master of Words”. He delivers soul-searing messages in both verbal and written form, engaging his audience to deeply reflect. Mark Anthony King is a three-time best-selling author, publisher, award-winning motivational speaker, and one of the most sought-after multifaceted coaches who specialize in Social and Emotional Intelligence. He is also a Neuro-Linguistic Programming Master Practitioner, as well as specializing in Timeline Therapy, Weight Loss Management & Holistic Health, and Strategic Intervention. His incredible love for people has allowed him the privilege of coaching hundreds of clients from all nationalities, age groups, and walks of life in the areas of relationships, leadership, curing lifelong phobias, helping clients achieve physical transformations into their healthier version of themselves or helping a suicidal individual rediscover the beauty of life.===============================Ari Gronich0:00Just like what we're doing. So, yeah. All right, we're going get started now. Welcome back to another episode of create a new tomorrow. I'm your host Ari Gronich and today I have with me Mark Anthony King and Melody Garcia. It is a double feature for you all. Marc Anthony is a serial entrepreneur, master of storytelling, multimedia persona and a global leader, with a focus on the kingdom of humanitarian impact. His business handlings include a master's in nutrition, health for optimization of overall wellness, and well-being. A Master Practitioner and NLP, strategic interventions of emotional intelligence, etc. His partner melody is part of the global peace. Let's talk with 35 countries handling co-leads of UNICEF, unite Orlando, and international multimedia handling. They're about to launch their sole script, which is a podcast media column and TV show. Is that like a breath full? Melody Garcia1:13Just a pinch. And that was the short form bio.  Mark Anthony That excited me.  Ari Gronich1:21You know, here's the thing, I have been told that I'm going to be in people's pockets, so that when anybody asks them what they do for a living, they just pulled me out. And this is what Ari says. So why don't you guys kinda of tell a little bit about yourselves, Mark, I talked to Melody before, so I'm going let you get started. Tell a little bit about yourself. Why am I talking to you? What is it that you're doing that's going to help create a new tomorrow? And, you know, let's get going. Marc Anthony King1:56Alright, so my name is Marc Anthony King. As far as why you're talking to me, you can thank Melody Garcia for that for putting us into it's a contact. You know, I full disclosure, full transparency. I didn't know the name of the show until right now. And I absolutely love that. You know, we live we live in an age where can I be candid? Or do I have to be like, super politically correct here? Ari Gronich2:24No, there's no political correctness allowed. Okay, perfect. No, no, you're not allowed to censor yourself at all. Marc Anthony King2:34Alright, so we live in an age where, unfortunately, the leaders and the trailblazers in the world are just horribly narcissistic, and the things that they're doing, and the things that they pride themselves on, and what's important, it's all self-glorification, at the end of the day, you know, so you asked what it is that we're doing to make a better tomorrow. Again, speaking, truthfully, we have the audacity to put God first and put service to humanity. Second. And that's an interesting concept for a multitude of reasons, you know, and I'm not going to get into religious discussions or religious debates. But my greatest mentor, Jesus Christ said, that the two things that we should do in this world in order, it's service to God, and then service to humanity. And somehow a Melody says that she was at best, when you put God first and humanity second, God finds a way of putting you first. You know, I never thought in a million years that I'd be doing the things that I'm doing now. It's, I didn't plan for it. And when it started happening, I asked myself a, no disrespect, but are you sure God that I'm the right person to be doing this? Because it was never on the plan, you know, and we become so myopic in our desires, and we become so like, single minded and tunnel vision in terms of what it is that we want, but ultimately, at the end of the day, that might not be in alignment with what God wants for us, you know, and when we surrender in that regard, we allow Him to place us where he wants us, the impact that we make, it's not self-serving, it's not self-glorifying. It's all to glorify Him and what better way to glorify Him then that actually doing something to create a better tomorrow, not hypothetically. Not conditionally, but literally, and long, long story short, short story long at this point, I'm sure. We were now in a position where we're handling the and I say this humbly, and I say this with so much gratitude in my heart, the welfare of 36 Different nations across the world, you know, and when I say welfare, I'm talking about hygiene products, I'm talking handling internally displaced peoples, orphans, preserving pygmy cultures, teaching children about their rights, teaching women about their rights, women's empowerment, agriculture, bringing in food, bringing in clean water, bringing in infrastructure, into incredibly remote areas. You know, these are, these are responsibilities that I don't take lightly. And one of my greatest pleasures aside from talking about God, and how amazing God is, and how amazing that woman is, right there on the screen underneath me here is doing what I can everything I can, you know, Melody has an amazing prayer that says, God, use all my gifts, talents, and annoying things and maximize everything that you gave me so that I can help make the world better, and help people, you know, help me help them. Being able to use that platform to talk about what it is that we're doing, and who we're helping is, is become the greatest joy of my life at this point. Ari Gronich6:09Cool, so I'm gonna interrupt you a little bit. Marc Anthony King6:12So I was I was rambling at that point. Ari Gronich6:16I don't know this about me. But I'm a very non-religious person, very spiritual person. I've studied pretty much most of the religions in the world, like, at a young age. And so I was, you know, nine years old, and I was I was in Hebrew school, from the time I was like, five. And then I started when I was nine, practicing Buddhism. And through Buddhism, I met my girlfriend, who lived on a reservation, and I started practicing and studying Indian way, and native way. And from there, I ended up studying Druidism and the Quran, and I kind of just love studying religions, in general, but I don't find myself in the same kind of state that you find yourself in, right, as far as like, having a specific and direct person that I think I'm speaking to. And so, I just want to I want to open this up, because the things that you're doing are amazing. Some people who are listening to this show are not going to resonate with the words that you're using, as far as God kingdom, King, you know, those kinds of things, they might resonate with the word source, they might resonate with the word universal truth, they might resonate with a lot of other things other than those words, and I want them to get turned off to the things that you're doing because of the words that you're using. Right. And so, I just wanted to emphasize that the things you're doing are amazing. To me, they have nothing to do with anything other than what's in your heart and your soul. Not so much a higher being that you're answering to and so I have a question for you. The question is serving God serving humanity itself? Because if we watch or listen to the scriptures that you talk about, and I will, there's a lot of stuff that says that we are in the likeness of God. So, by serving humanity, are we not serving God? Marc Anthony King8:39I would say it all depends on the intention, right? Because I used to fall into this category, many moons ago where, you know, I wanted to be seen and I wanted to be praised for all the good works that I was doing. So, at the end of the day, you know, it wasn't about God, and it wasn't about humanity. It was about Mark Anthony Kings ego. And that intention is everything. It's relative, but it's everything you know, so I would say yes, if your intention is pure and not self-glorifying, Ari Gronich9:16awesome. Melody you're up all Melody Garcia9:19Alright. What did you want me to cover? Everything about me? Was more Granville law. Ari Gronich9:27Why you're why you're helping to create a new tomorrow today. Melody Garcia9:31Well, so many platforms. We talked about UNICEF as one of the handlings you know, back in 2016. I decided to go with a what is the world's largest children organization that's known and then recreate that in local Orlando what was UNICEF. We live in a world that keeps basically putting up the message let's leave a better planet for our children. Let's leave a better planet for our children. Well, let's use some common sense the planets won't resolve its own problems. Without better leaders, you know, a lot of the handlings that I have along with Mark as coaches, I'm one of the few certified PMA coaches in the world. What does that mean? Psycho neuro actualization? What does that mean maximizing the human potential? One of my, the person that certified me in this is Dr. Steve Miraboli, one of the top behavioural scientists in the world, right. And let's pair it down to simplicity here. A lot of adult's root cause problems can be traced back to their childhood. We call the childhood trauma, and a lot of that from abandonment issues, abuse issues, you name it, that shapes them, to who they become in the adult stage. So, my genius basically said, Well, then let's leave better children for a planet. If I can impact at those young foundations, whether whatever their social, economic, cultural, whatever status background is, and show them what is love, what is fairness, what is equality, what is not having all this boundaries that have been imposed, almost impossibly by the adults by the environment they live in, then we can better leaders for tomorrow that started with that, you know, and giving sensitivity to your audience. But echoing Mark's sentiments were again, heart centered servant leadership, right? I was blessed with the opportunity to not contain it in just representing 190 countries my journey spoke about the first time I decided to say use me to help them not to glorify Melody, that very first event brought on impacting and saving over 20,000 lives halfway around the world, which is a lot more than what people can ever dream of in their life, collectively. So, I decided, okay, well, you know, I did that was my one all be all, but God had different plans. That was just my beginning, came UNICEF. And then he didn't contain, and I have the passion, the purpose once you truly have what Mark has, is a clarity of His purpose and impact. What is his life legacy message? You know, it's not just about boards, because as he beautifully puts it, beautiful words aren't always true. And the truth isn't always beautiful. Right. And that's a powerful statement to make. Will, lived authentically. It went from well didn't stop there. When we tap into the gifts that we have talents, gifts, anointing, whatever you want to call it. I discovered I have his love of passion for writing, well, didn't stop there. All of a sudden, that little column became a well-known column in many nations and started winning awards for it. So now I'm going to call him this for three international magazine that has anywhere from 11 countries to 74 countries reach, but it didn't stop there. Right comes global peace, let's talk that literally got handed to myself and Mark to now lead 36 countries, the handlings we have are massive.  Ari Gronich12:59purpose is exactly the global picture. Melody Garcia13:02I had more. I'll let Mark lead that. And then I'll add whatever you missing as far as global peace, let's talk. Marc Anthony King13:09So global peace, let's talk is an organization that was founded by somebody who's become like a sister, dear friend, mother figure to Melody and myself. She again had the courage and the audacity to say yes. And to do something that shouldn't have worked. That seemed far-fetched that seemed insane at the time. And through sheer determination through sheer love and compassion, she has created this organization that as it stands, as of right now, is in 36 different countries, and has now what? how many members that we just recently add, like as of not too long ago? Melody Garcia13:58So, we just added an additional 35,000 members with global peace, let's talk it's early concept very simple, because the founders in her 70s, in the UK, was just to spread peace unknowingly that intention brought on everything that needed to line up and in 10 months Ari. This is just a 10-month-old Foundation, non-profit 10 months. We're in 36 countries. It's incredible. It's almost unbelievable. And unless you're with us in those meetings, we are meetings with politicians, you know, from different countries, we are in meetings with leaders, entrepreneurs, but what really touches us as when we hear from people on the ground, what they're going through what the media doesn't cover. This is why Mark and I have the audacity to speak what is true, right? How are we changing a better tomorrow when we hear people from Cameroon, Africa being hunted down worse than animals and being slaughtered at that? When we're hearing about children try, you know, have groundworker saving children that have been violently assaulted. And all they're asking for Ari is a piece of paper and crayons so they can continue with art therapy. This is Yeah, art therapy. Marc Anthony King15:18Soccer ball so they can kick it around. Ari Gronich15:21So, what exactly does the foundation do? Melody Garcia15:25Yeah, so we support these 17 sustainable goals of the United Nations, which everybody can Google that part. But then it's not only supporting with message, so for example, to fight famine, we have an agricultural program that literally provides food on the ground, and then not only do that, but also somehow create an entrepreneurship program. So that people are sustaining their livelihood. Marc Anthony King15:54Yeah. Bringing repeatable, scalable, sustainable infrastructure into these impoverished areas. Ari Gronich16:01Cool. Question, which new technology is being used and how much old technology is being used in what you're bringing? So, things like for agriculture, how much soil are you teaching or creating soil garden, versus hydroponic in warehouse and things like that? Marc Anthony King16:23So currently, Kurt, you know, that is the goal, the goal is bringing technology into the equation because I always found it curious, you know, we invest so much money into smartphones, right? Smartphones cost over $1,000. Today, I mean technologies is growing at such a rapid pace. And as humanity, we're evolving with it in every area of our life, except agriculture. agricultural practices are still like 60 years old, and we're still implementing them today on mass. To me, it makes no sense. Why would you allocate so much resources to a phone, when a phone, you can't eat a phone? Unless you're David Blaine, I'm sure he's eating a bunch of iPhones in his career, but you can't eat a phone. So, the whole goal is eventually to make sure that we are leveraging as much technological advances and applying that to where we're growing food. But currently, I mean, it is we're doing what we're doing in America, at this point, where what we're doing now is though, we have this this really big parcel of land that we just acquired, we're going to use that to create an agricultural Academy, where we physically matriculate students and we teach them how to grow food, we have an onsite, really, really large garden growing, you know, things, things that grow well, in certain parts of Africa, like Yuka, and sweet potatoes, potatoes, cabbage, Moringa. And, again, taking those products and then selling them and using that to create infrastructure within the community, in addition to online academies, because we're looking at opening up the schools in different parts of the world. But right now, we're looking at, um, is it Botswana now, where the first school is going to be open? Yeah. Ari Gronich18:19Botswana?MGMelody Garcia18:20Botswana, Africa. And we've also got Marc Anthony King18:24We have a land in Kenya now as well, right?  Melody Garcia18:27Yeah. But we've also got Jamaica with their initiatives. And, you know, you talked about agriculture and technology, right. So that's part of one of our contacts in a different country, is helping us bring it to a level where at least we can use modern technology to expedite some of these initiatives. We are actually also creating new programs that bridges gaps, instead of that whole stay in your lane message that we talked about. Part of that is creating like a child ambassador program that will connect children around the world that shows leadership. Remember, I don't know Ari where you ever were you? Did you have some knowledge of old pen pal style, where you make friends by writing letters. Ari Gronich19:13I'm an old fogy at this grace Melody Garcia19:19But do you remember when we used to write to friends from a different country and how excited we were to get that that letter? Ari Gronich19:25Oh, absolutely. Yeah. Pen pals  was a big thing nowadays it's you know, Facebook WhatsApp. Melody Garcia19:32But there's so much mystery and just excitement when you get that letter stamp from a different country, and they send you pictures. It's recreating that in the newer modern version of child ambassadorships. But we're looking specifically for children that have demonstrated leadership and a global thinking. Right, what does that create peace, what does that create collaboration over competition?    Ari Gronich19:57Right. So, I have a good friend who has a non-profit and motivational missions. They do a lot of child trafficking, work and education, but they also travel to like the worst places on the planet and do talks in prisons in like South America and stuff like those beliefs. In Dominican Republic and all-over South America, they do these motivational missions to help with child trafficking. Do you guys as part of what you do team up with other non-profits and other organizations that are doing good? Or are you looking for people to just join in on what your thing is? Melody Garcia20:49Now we're actually in collaboration mode, but we are highly vetting any type of partnerships or invitations or collaborations. Because, you know, unfortunately, in my walk with UNICEF, right, as well, I've done a lot of call to action against human trafficking and drug trafficking and skin spit up statistics pastored, and a lot of people can and just the platform of trafficking, which is again, you know, the solid pandemic. Oh, yeah. Well, the statistics are this it's $152 billion industry well-funded, there has over four 40 million victims worldwide. Marc Anthony King21:27For the viewers, she did say billion with a B.  Melody Garcia21:31And child trafficking right now over 5.4 million children million are being trafficked. Right here in Florida, where I live, Florida's the third highest state reported when it comes to trafficking, right. People and this is just, you know, a side-line educational piece for any adults, parents, aunts, grandmothers, you name it, anybody that has an association with a child, watch anything that has to do with their social media handlings. From Snapchat, it Tik Tok, to Instagram, because a lot of traffickers are masked as predators mask as other children or teenagers. And people don't think about this that lures them. Because there's commonality, parents, if you have GPS tracking devices on your phone, specially when it comes to Instagram, social media, turn it off. All you're doing is literally giving these people triangulation of your activities. In fact, here's one thing, that's because we live in a social media world of posting everything that has to do with your children, and everything. I would encourage you to really restrict that and take you know, what are you promoting? Why are you showing your children all the time? Yes, we love we love their accomplishments. But you have no idea who's actually looking at your materials. More often Marc Anthony King22:54I know personally, individuals who have been trafficked by way of Facebook, they found themselves sold into human trafficking, because they began chatting with somebody on Facebook and within a few months, this individual was sold to a pimp.     Ari Gronich23:19Yeah, it's amazing. The craziness that is happening right out in the open. And the fact that people aren't recognizing what's right in front of their faces is kind of like it is very telling. So, the one of the reasons I wanted to have you guys on is because you're actually doing the things that most people are talking about doing. Right? So, I have this saying, and the saying is we want to stop gathering to complain and start collaborating to succeed. And collaboration is the main part of that we want to collaborate for results, right? So how do you guys collaborate, you've been collaborating with governments I want to get like a picture of what that looks like. So that people who are feeling like, that's just too big for them to be able to do I could never meet with a politician, I can never meet with a government official. Right? So, they could get an idea that this isn't like a big deal. There's they're just human beings like us, right? Melody Garcia24:26It's not, for example, and then I'll let Mark also explain this. For example, my work with UNICEF unites Orlando, it's an advocacy team in with beautiful, intelligent members and leaders. However, what we start is just knowing it starts with educating yourself, what are the issues? Right, what are the root causes when we do advocacy, for example, you know, this is my fifth-year advocacy Mark have the honor of actually leading part of that advocacy this year. It was literally meeting with members of the US Congress, right? And humanizing the statistics that they say, my story sure shares, everybody has a story. That is the one thing that that literally ties humanity is through story shares. But we tell stories. And then with that comes the other platforms that we represent. I'm sure people can tell stories. That's what they call their friends for. It starts as simple as that. You know, it doesn't have to be this Oh, my goodness, we're meeting with the senator from a different country. That's a whole different global thing. But it starts with a Let's educate ourselves be how can you, you know, for those that are interested, whether it be UNICEF, whether it be global peace, let's talk, I'll drop our email here on the link on how they can connect with us and to learn more. But it's really simple. It starts with the desire to make a difference. Ari Gronich25:48Right. My thing is, what I see is that the barriers of fear people have stopped them from being able to do the things that they're complaining about. So, for instance, in my town here in Florida, every time the politician runs for office, it seems like the biggest deal is the roads and the potholes. It's like the potholes. The potholes.  Melody Garcia26:21You're definitely not in Orlando. That's        Ari Gronich26:23Not in Orlando, right. Closer to the beach. But it's like this is a big, big deal for people, the roads, the roads, the roads, right. The things that are really important. Like, we have the river, you know, Indian River, I mean, it's being completely polluted. We have, we're right near an Air Force Base, and Space Center, and all that. So, we see all of the environmental damage, but the issue is the potholes. So how can people get away from? See, I think that people are going after the potholes because they think it's something that they have control over. And I don't think that they think that they have control over the environment and the policies for the environment or agriculture, the policies for agriculture, the policies for human trafficking, I don't think I think that that feels too big for somebody. And so, they go after the potholes. You think.  Marc Anthony King27:35I, I'm so happy that this isn't centered here. I, you know, absolutely. I hear and I appreciate what you're saying it's on the journey. I think we all experienced the same thing where I want to make a change, but I don't know where to start. I want to help animals, but do I join PETA? Do I join the ASPCA? Do I join the Humane Society, and you kind of sort of get so bogged down in the variety that you have, you know, it's like, you have that phenomena that occurs where you have 10,000 channels, but there's nothing to watch. So, a big part is just being decisive and just making a decision. It doesn't have to be the perfect decision. At the end of the day. If you choose the ASPCA and you don't like it, you learn something, you contribute it, then you can move on to the Humane Society, right, because you got an education. So, education, be decisive, and get an education and use it accordingly. You know, and in terms of the pothole that Melody and I say, have the audacity to care about humanity more than you care about yourself. You look at the people who've created the greatest change people who we admire who we love, who we tried to emulate like Mother Teresa, a poor little Indian woman from Calcutta who didn't have a whole heck of a lot of money. And yet every single world leader was at her funeral, and she died. Why is that? She wasn't worried about the potholes. She wasn't worried about how the potholes inconvenienced her journey. She wasn't worried about how the potholes affected her rims or her suspension for her commute. She had the audacity to care about other people who never even knew she existed. Who would never even know she existed care about them more than she cared about herself. You know, there's something to be said about experiencing compassion. Compassion means I understand. I empathize where you're coming from, and it hurts me to the degree that I'm willing to help you. That's why I'm not an advocate of complaining. Why? Because complaining eases pressure. Why is it that a whole bunch of people can gather together at an event complain? accomplish nothing, but they feel good? At the end of day. Ari Gronich30:01Like every protest I've ever seen. Melody Garcia30:04Yes.   Ari Gronich30:07Just saying every protest I've ever seen, and especially what happened last year last summer. Especially what happened last summer, was letting off the steam. It's a pressure cooker. Right? So, here's my question to you, then we don't want to let off the steam, we don't want to let off the pressure. What do we do instead of that, because if we're in a pressure cooker, at some point, the pressures either gonna get too big, and it's gonna blow up, or we're gonna let it off slowly, you know, or we're gonna, like, protest and create some violence and let it out that way. So, what is what is your solution? I know you're an NLP master. So, you gotta have something. Marc Anthony King30:52When and we're gonna use the pressure cooker analogy. So, what happens to anybody who's ever used a pressure cooker, if you open the pressure cooker right away, it explodes. Literally, it explodes. But what happens when you take that little nozzle and you just turn it sideways, you have a consistent stream of pressure, I don't believe in keeping everything bottled up, I believe in taking what would have otherwise resulted in an explosion and channelling it into a consistent stream. What that stream looks like, that depends on how much you're willing to care for humanity, that depends on how far you're willing to go to solve a problem that depends on how, how resourceful you're willing to be. You know, I know that for myself and for melody that, obviously, you know, we were in in Orlando, and basically, during between the month of October and mid-January, we're just heavy that is when UNICEF is in its heaviest humanitarian work. You know, all you got to do is drive around a certain part of your town. And you look at the living conditions of people. That should break your heart, but it should anger you. It should anger you to a point where you don't post on Facebook about it. And ease the pressure. You find out how you can actually help. You know, Melody and I were we're in a trailer park called Oh, goodness, what's it called? Happy oaks. Something? Well, it's one of the most unprogressed trailer parks in Orlando. And you go there, and it's like a third world country. I remember vividly the property manager, he manages 25 or 26, semi-trailers that are there. You would think that he would live in the best trailer and the best home there because he manages everything. This man lives in what looks like a shack, like that was abandoned a long time ago. And not only does he live there, but he lives there with his wife, and his six or seven grandchildren. You know, you see something like that. It doesn't matter if you don't know what to do you, you buy food, you donate money. You know, it's like a phenomenon where I want to make a change, I want to help somebody, but when the homeless person walks by my window, when I'm at a traffic light, all of a sudden, I'm pretending to text or I'm pretending to look in my glove compartment or in my center console. Or I'm just I happen to be looking this way when I know that he's over there. You know, we sometimes things are painful, right? And it hurts to see certain people's living conditions and it hurts to recognize what's happening to our children in this world. You know, it's painful to know that child trafficking is 152 human trafficking $122 billion a year. Industry and it's happening right in front of us. It's painful. I got scolded. While I was speaking to shocker. I was speaking to a senator's office, or was he a senator?     Melody Garcia34:23It was a congressman. Marc Anthony King34:25Congressman, can I say his name? No, okay. I was speaking to a certain Congressman's office. And I got scolded because I shared my particular story. My battle with mental health since I was a child, every label I was given a DD ADHD dyslexic, socially anxious, being epileptic. These are all labels I was given and then being sexually abused by Men and by women as a child, I told this story, right, because we connect via stories. Well, UNICEF attempted to silence me and the congressman, his office, we got into a bit of a 12 round fight, right. And at the end of the day, just knowing that people like that are in office, people who are willing to disrespect not just the struggle of the individual, right, me, but are willing to hear a bunch of individuals say, we need your help, we need your support, because there are girls right now in Africa, being raped on the way to get water that us in America wouldn't let our dogs drink. We need your help. And for that office to turn around and say, you know what? We don't support that. Because we need to be helping kids in our borders. Because, you know, white children are more special and more worthy of protect than those black children in Africa. Knowing that people like that exist, should light a fire and everybody in the way that they vote. And in the compassion that they're willing to have when they look at children, and when they look at that homeless man down the street.  Ari Gronich36:25We're shitting on people a whole lot. Right. So, it should do this. And it should do that. I get that. But there's a huge population of people who can't see in front of their own shoes, because their own shoes are holy, their own shoes are tattered and worn, because they're working two and three jobs, and they don't have time to think of anything other than trying to survive, right. So, I get that we're shooting on what people should be doing. I think most people, most people these days, are in a heightened state of fight or flight, their nervous system is completely out of whack and not working properly. We're reactive instead of responsive. So, we react to triggers versus respond to events, and truth, in fact, right? So, all of these should that we're shooting on people, right? What is it that is going to take us to actually care about us? Right next door. So, we have the world sucks chart, right? The world sucks chart looks like this. It's me as an individual. Right? And then my family, and then my community, and then my county, and then my state, and then my country, and then my, you know, common, right? The world sucks chart, because most people are stuck in the individual, maybe individual family in order to get to the worldview, where they're literally able to take that bigger picture view, you've got to go through individual trauma and pain and sickness and illness, then family pain and sickness and illness, then you got to go through city, you know, pain and, you know, illness. I mean, the pain and illness may be the roads, it may be the fraud and the politics, it may be any kind of thing, right? But we got to go through these layers in order to get to the worldview for most people, just jumping to that worldview is almost impossible. So, let's, drop back. Yeah, absolutely. Let's drop back into step by step it.    Melody Garcia38:53Right. So, I'm gonna start with a question for anybody who's listening, watching, you know, this interview? What is the value of a human life, whether it's yours, whether it's your child, whether it's your parents, whether it's your neighbourhood? Starts with that one question, because you're right, it starts with it. It all starts with us. We're not expecting people to jump on a global scale here. I'm asking you what Mark had alluded to, are you sensitive to the human suffering that when you see that homeless person on the side corner, what's the first thing that comes into mind, judgment? because that's what we've been hearing a lot. Oh, that person's not really a homeless, they're good. They're pretending to be rich, and you know, they're pretending to be poor, but they actually use this money for something else or the labels that we give them. They're alcoholics, they're gonna use that money for drugs, literally human nature is to automatically judge the situation. Let me pull it back with say what Mark said compassion.  Marc Anthony King39:52Compassion over condemnation. Melody Garcia39:54Right? What if we change that perspective and story? Could we literally stocks, You know, spare 50 cents or $1, or just even ask for their name Mark does something beautifully that I haven't seen in humanitarian space a lot, which is as simple as an act of kindness, that when we're doing our humanitarian impact, is to ask for that person's name that we're serving. What's their story? You know, a lot of this homeless folks in the Orlando area, surprisingly, are what veterans, people who served our own country, most of the time they're not even looking for, for the dollar 50, it's really interesting, sometimes they just want to be listened to, and that the act of compassion is free. So, I'm going to scale it back to start with that. So, you pointed out a really good picture there. Ari, we live in a world that is reactive, versus proactive. We live in a world that are judgmental, versus compassion. So, if we look at this behavioural modification of just retelling it from a different focus, what if you were that person in that person's shoes right now? Wouldn't you want somebody kind to at least lend an ear? Or maybe five minutes of your time it starts with that, you know, it's free. It's really free. When you look at it. Ari Gronich0:04Cool. thank you. Melody Garcia0:05You're welcome.       Ari Gronich0:06Bringing it back down, I just like I said I'm not, I'm not. I don't want to shame people. Because, frankly, like, people been told their entire lives, right, let's go to weight. They've been told their entire lives that they're fat, because of their particular habits, or particular kind of eating their particular way. Most of those people were never told that eating a low fat, high carb diet was going to make them more fat. Right? They weren't told they were told the opposite. And so, I think most people, they're not at fault. They're not at fault for the chemicals that have been put into their food. Right? They're not at fault, or the policies that have allowed poison to come into play, right. They're not like Nestle having a contract with the state of California to take out the water for like 70 cents, like per million gallons since the 1970s. And having that negotiation, never, you know, be renewed. Letting Nestle take that water allowed the fires, the droughts, the temperature changes, the amount of water not in that state is directly because of bottling, right? We can kind of target these things. We know this. Yet. The people are being told that they're responsible that they need to make the changes. I think that the changes need to come from the people to the politicians, right? So, the politicians, but how do they even know? How does Joe Schmoe? Like, look, I was at a Walmart, and I asked for the grass-fed meat and the guy in the butcher department didn't even know what I was talking about. He didn't know what grass-fed meat meant. So, if we think the people who think that we know, and that and who study this stuff, who know all kinds of information about it. Right? We think that everybody should know the same information we know. But most people haven't a clue about proper nutrition, about proper health about proper, you know, wait, not even most doctors know about how to create a lifestyle of health. And so, we stop blaming, I stopped, so I stopped blaming I get let people off the hook. It's not your fault. Now that you know that, right? What are you going to do about it? But at first, it's not your fault. You have been deceived. Right? So, for people who are wanting to change the world, right? And step up and step out of that comfort zone? What do you think that they need mentally, to get to the point where they can even think about something outside of I'm surviving? Melody Garcia3:13So, I'll start with a couple and then I'll turn it over to my trusted co-everything here. It starts with what is truth, not my version of truth or your version of true, what is true at this given moment. Right, that starts with that education, just like you said, the butcher didn't even know what grass-fed cow is. But we assume he should know because that's his part of his profession as a butcher, but they don't. Right. So, what is true? What is true in that picture? is there's a disconnect, about our assumption, our expectation and their learning. Right? Number two, did we judge them that they should know this? You know, you were talking about the shoe that you were throwing? So, the second question is asking that question, why don't you know this, then you're going to discover this whole mantra of well, we're no longer trained. We just we just expect people to read the label. Right? I'm like the butchers in the olden days. So, what is true in the current situation? Let's start with that. suspending all judgments, right, suspending all the expectations what is true, not my truth, not Ari's, truth, not Mark truth, but the factual statement at the moment. Right. Because like you said, we saw those protests we saw the marches, we felt every, the whole world was watching everything that was happening last year, but yet there were the silent people in action that are moving. You gave birth, lack of a better term Ari to a podcast that wanted to highlight the people that are making a difference of changing the world for a better tomorrow. That came out of a desire to make a difference for yourself. Right and find like-minded people that is doing this very things that that we're talking about right now. Instead of complaining about those things, that's a start. Right? Wouldn't it be beautiful if people actually had a gathering of solution driven thinking versus complaining? Ari Gronich5:11That's what I've been developing is Solution Summit.  Melody Garcia5:15So imagine if it starts with two people. Because that's what started with myself and mark, and then it just grew in teams, but it has to start somewhere. So why not start with yourself and just grab one person? And then rapid fire? Ari Gronich5:30Here's the thing. I have an entrepreneurial spirit; I have I am absolutely not risk-adverse. Risk is like, my life, right? I don't remember a time in my life, where I've felt safe. I felt comfortable. I felt, you know, any of those things settled that most people feel in life. Okay, so I recognize my personality, I'm not gonna settle for anything ever. I can't, I don't know how it's not in my DNA. That is not most people. And so, I recognize that in me, I am this type of person who will not ever settle. Who will not ever see the world as something that's done something that's finished something that doesn't need fixing, or doesn't need optimizing, I've actually taken the judgments out, I go, is that system optimized? Or is it sub optimized? If its sub optimized? How can we optimize it and make it more optimum? Right, take out the judgments completely. But I recognize that about my personality, I don't know your personality, I don't know your personality. Right, I would imagine that the fact that you've done what you've done means that you have a fair amount of risk, you know, to safety ratio, where you prefer a little bit more risk than safety, right? Because it is very risky to do what you're doing. And for you to go off and do that is takes it requires a certain personality type. So, here's my thing for the people who are not that personality, who do not have an entrepreneurial spirit who are born to be in the assembly line. They are trained from birth to be this cog in the assembly line, I do this, it goes down the line, the other person does that. Right? The other person does this. And then that whole product is done. But I'm not the master. I'm not the guy who's gonna cobble that shoe in turn, make every single piece of it perfect. Got it? You know what I'm saying? Like, there's personality type for mastery, and there's a person a personality type for an assembly line. So, the question becomes, how do we get the entrepreneurs who are moving things forward? Instead of the 1% That set tends to keep things stalled. Right? How do we get the people who are moving things forward, To then activate the assembly line to create the assembly of what we what needs to happen. We have the visionaries I get it. You're a visionary. You're a visionary Mark, you're a visionary, a Melody, I get that. So how do you move the people who are not visionaries into your way of being thinking, or at least acting? Melody Garcia8:39Mark, you go first?   Marc Anthony King8:40That's a really, really good question. I really, I thoroughly enjoyed that. When you're looking at, like you said, the visionary and the assembly line. I think that self-awareness is a priceless gift. A lot of people who should be in the assembly line, want to be leaders, want to be leading the pack. And that's going to cause chaos and calamity on its best day. And a lot of people that should be leading the pack have allowed themselves to be convinced by their own volition or by other people that they belong in the assembly line. So, I think there's something to be said about knowing who you are. And honoring that truth, honoring the truth of that and being where you belong. You know, Ari you have gifts and talents that I could never dream of having. So, it is Mel and vice versa. So, I think that that is critically important for because everything starts at leadership. Everything starts at leadership. Just like with families. how well your family does is a product of the leadership in the household. So, I think that there's an expression that I love that the majority of people are going to defer to the highest resonance in the room. Right? So, it's critically important that we bring in compassion and selflessness to leaders which is difficult, right? Because we live in a world that glorifies selfishness. And if leadership at the top is entirely self-focused and self-involved, we're not going to really get anywhere, because you're not doing your job as a leader at the end of the day leaders are supposed to produce a result. Absolutely. But it's your job to inspire and to teach. And based on what your goals are, and based on what drives you, what makes you get up out of the bed is it for you to leave a legacy, is it for you to become rich and well known powerful is it for you to make sure that, you know, one homeless person was seen that day and felt heard, I think flipping that script and flipping that switch from self-focus to, to just compassionate and not self-sacrificing in a in a negative way. But like we said, being willing to do for others, what the vast majority of people aren't willing to do. And I mean, there's only so many ways I can say compassion, compassion, compassion, compassion. Stop being selfish compassion, Ari Gronich11:28Right? So where does the whole concept of, you know, put the mask on your face before you put it on your kid's face come in? Marc Anthony King11:38Well, it starts with the self, you know, you have to make sure that we talked about self-awareness, but you need to figure out what's wrong with you. First, if you are a leader, and you want to make a positive impact, you need to figure out what your shortcomings are, you need to deal with your own trauma, you need to open those doors, that you worked tirelessly to bolt shut. You know, you can't have compassion for other people. If you're holding yourself to an immeasurable standard, and you're constantly criticizing and condemning. And it's almost like pennants. If you've seen that movie, with Tom Hanks, What's that movie? The prequel to angels and demons, The Da Vinci Code, there's this remember that guy that was constantly whipping himself? You know, leaders do that to themselves all the time. You know, if you're constantly in a state of war with yourself, or whatever the case, you're not going to be in a state of peace or compassion with other people. So that whole concept of putting your mask on first, I do believe that you can only help them bless other people to the capacity that you're able to do it for yourself. But once you've got yourself figured out, evolution, right dictates that we don't just stay there. Because if we just stay there in the self, we've become stagnant. And ultimately, you know, how much of this mental health crisis is just a product of I'm gonna say, inadvertent narcissism. It's just a product of inadvertent focus, you know, when you are this, there's 8 billion people will 7.9 something. But there's almost a billion people on the planet. It's a big world. And if everything just revolves around us, we're a pretty insignificant presence when compared to everything and everybody even when compared to those people at a town hall meeting. You know? So, I think that once you've got the cell figured out, once you've brought in compassion and understanding and a little bit of grace, it's only natural to extend it outward. How far is up to your discretion? It can stay within your family, your community. Ari Gronich13:54So, NLP, Ben, how does somebody start the process of figuring out who they are when they've never even heard that concept of, I know who I am, I like to, I like to watch a TV, my football. I know who I am. I know who I am. I like to, I like to study and read books. And you know, I know who I am.  Marc Anthony King14:17Like, the voice change for those two individuals. Ari Gronich14:22We have stereotypes, right? We have stereotypes, what are the stereotypes? Stereotypes are simple. You don't want somebody who's you know, as your neurosurgeon cutting in your head saying, Now, here's what we got to do. We got to cut your head, I don't want may, you may want that tremendously. It might be an awesome thing, but you'd rather say, you know, here's what we got to do. We're going to cut a hole in your head, and we're going to chord. Yeah, universal knowledge, you know, you want to hear totally different. We have stereotypes, most of them for a reason. Which is kind of odd. But the stereotype that I'm putting out here is most people don't know what they don't know. They don't know themselves. Because they know, nobody's ever told them to investigate themselves. Nobody even says, what do you want to be when you grow up anymore? It's more like, how do you want to make money? You know? So that's the question. You know, we're, we want to help people activate their vision for a better world. We want to help create a new tomorrow today. People need to have skills and tools to do that, right? we already know like, if they wanted to get part be part of global peace, let's talk they could contact you. But they may not know that they could do that, here or here. Right? You may have told them that, but they may not felt like that was an invitation for them. So how do you get them to feel like this is an invitation for you? And LP? might do that. But you know, let's kind of talk a little bit about that. How does one feel like the invitation is for them to start moving and start doing and start feeling and. Marc Anthony King16:19I'm gonna let you take that away, Mel, I want to see what steamer.      Melody Garcia16:25Like, let me take a step back here Ari. Prior to my entrepreneurship adventure of roller coaster of what the heck am I doing? And the three of us can relate to that I was in corporate management for two decades. I'm very familiar with this one. Ari Gronich16:45That's your two years old? Melody Garcia16:48Sure. Yes. Thank you for that. But yes, I wasn't sure if this is an audio or video or both type of podcast. But I get that all the time. Yes, since I was two years old for the sake of your listeners. But basically, you know, and I have a lot of those people that were just following that you give them a duty check, you know, and they're happy. They're happy with that their content. But this is the truth that everybody comes through what they do with it is a whole different matter. There's one question that ultimately shows up. I've seen this in annual reviews, performance reviews, because I mean, a lot of these people are like, Oh, am I going to get a raise this year, for the 12 months that I've done my checkbox, right? And then it sucks completely sucks. When you're being rated from one to five, you fall on the average? Right? Eventually, that's what led me out into this adventurous world. But here's the one question that's always showing up, there has to be more to life than this. It's gonna be That's why even in assembly lines, they look for promotions. They look for those merit badges. There's a competition sense of competition that happens within a corporate life. So, we can make people feel valued. That's the word what is your value? Right? People want to be contributors, even in an assembly lines. If not, then people will be happy with minimum wages and not want to have goals or any of that in life. But again, it's that label if you're an assembly line, most of you drop that enough. That's how they exactly go into perform. But if we start with there has to be more to life than this. You weren't born to live in a box. Tony Robbins says this. You weren't born to live in a box to drive a box to work in a box to type in a box and drive back in a box, spin in a box, turn on a box and then go to sleep still watching a box. It's not a box life. But somehow people have decided they were going to put you inside the box. Right. But yet, even in assembly lines, there's hierarchy. There's promotion, because people want to constantly prove to others, they're better than when they started or how they started. So, think about that. What is the value of human life? There has to be more to life than that. So, if we were to bridge out all the learnings in the last hour that we've been talking, right, whether it be NLP PNA, home in, in my case, in Marks case, we say God, right in the middle of everything that we handle, and Ari with your learnings. We don't start to remain stagnant. So even those people that are watching television shows somewhere in their history line. I love asking that question. What is the deepest adversity that became a catalyst to your purpose? What is the deepest adversity that became a catalyst of your purpose? Ari Gronich19:51So yes, that of normal people sitting on the couch watching TV.    Melody Garcia19:55Absolutely. And you know what? Yeah, the quality of your questions determines the response and the focus that conversation is going to have see people that you pointed at people that comes together in a crowd to complain someone was leading that complaint, someone festered, that complaint, and someone ended it with a complaint. But what if you're that one person, regardless, if you're just a clerical start-up, you know, I don't even know what the minimum wage is at this point. And just ask that quality question. What can you do to make a difference in this world? What is the deepest adversity that became a catalyst to your purpose? Do even know what your purpose is? or even as simple as this, what did you want to be when you grew up when you were a child? Because somehow along the way, we all wanted to be some kind of doctor or superhero actor or something. Right? It starts as simple as that. It's a fun question. So, I'm going to ask you that, for example, Ari, when you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up. Okay. And why did you want to be a veterinarian? Ari Gronich21:01Loved animals, liked medicine, I had a friend whose dad was a veterinarian. So, I spent like my ninth grade or ninth year in life, this summer, working for the veterinarian and helping with surgeries and stuff and doing all the things that veterinarian assistant would do. But that was why Melody Garcia21:22And what was the fondest memory of you doing that job? Ari Gronich21:27I'm not sure I had a fond memory of it was pretty gruesome to watch, but you know I really doing I enjoy doing stuff. You know, I always wanted to be doing things that were productive. My parents though, see, my parents had Amelie in the garage. You know, we have boxes of Amway. LOC sweet shot masks, you know, we had all that stuff. So, for me, I grew up with entrepreneurs, entrepreneur parent's, every everything was, what hustle can we try to get. And so that's how I was, that's how I perceive everything in my life. I was also a martial artist, gymnast, baseball player. I mean, I did a lot of sports, long distance cycling. And so, I was always very active, and very, using my own creative energy, I also wasn't a fan of people very much. Most people didn't like me. I had been raped and molested, and I was, you know, basically, treated like, because I was Jewish, I was treated like I killed Jesus personally. And so therefore, I shouldn't be alive. I mean, you know, there's, my history is very specific to the person that I've become. Right. I wouldn't wish my experiences on anybody. And I know that those experiences were uniquely directed at me. So that I could be who I am. But that is a lot of self-awareness that comes from I went to ask when I was eight, I did Life spring and landmark in the forum and Cyworld and CEO, space and IB, I mean, I've been in the world of self-development, alongside being in the world of being traumatized my entire life. So, it's like side by side went hand in hand. And so, I, I assume nothing. When it comes to other people, and how they grew up and what their thinking is, I assume nothing. I only can ask questions. Because the truth is, is that no matter how much I think I know what's in somebody else's head. I never have and I never will. Because most people don't even know what's in their own heads. Melody Garcia24:08But do you see what just happened here? I would not have discovered that unless I ask you those questions. And here's the truth, the truth of the matter here. Yes, you know, stories tie humanity together. But so, this adversity and suffering because none of us has spared from that as we go through life. It comes in different forms. You and Mark were very transparent with your abuses. You know that came painfully and the reasons why you're both advocates in different forms is because of those traumas. You went through personal development because you're trying to heal and find answers from those traumas. And I can almost bet you with accuracy. Everybody that you come across, whether it's the guy that's watching TV, because that's what brings him joy, at the moment, right at the moment has gone through some deep suffering themselves, because that is unfortunately, the one thing we can avoid in life, from childhood to adulthood. But there's also this humanity that is, you know, there's a part of humanity that is true, regardless of what background you come from, is the desire to be good, the desire to be accepted, the desire to be loved. That is something that three does desire to be needed and desire to be part of something beautiful.  Ari Gronich25:31How you know that that's part of everybody's belief, because I've met people that is even close to what they believe. Melody Garcia25:41It's not so much as they believe it's how you deliver that question. It starts at something happens in their childhood.  Ari Gronich25:50I understand that. I'll give you an example I used to do. We used to do sweat lodges in the prison system in California. So, we'd go into California Youth Authority with a bunch of gangs, people who thought that they were really tough, and we'd get them into a sweat lodge, you know, native ceremony. And what we considered the stones, the grandfathers, the ancestors, you know, gangbanger might think that they're tough, tougher than 100-degree temperature sitting, you know, in a womb dark with some stones sweating their pants off, right. And so, we could cleanse out and shift behaviour right from that. And I had somebody who had come to once they had gotten out of prison had come to the sweat lodges, and said, one night, you saved somebody's life tonight. And what are you talking about? I was about to go retaliate and kill somebody. And I came here instead. Right? So that's somebody being, in my opinion, having that that belief, like you were talking about, there's other people who are in that system, not only would they never have even thought about it, they would never have considered not killing that person, it wouldn't have even been a thought in their head. Maybe I shouldn't do this. Right? So, here's the thing, yes, the history of that person is going to be directly involved in where they're at now. And I don't believe in evil, I believe in optimum and sub optimum, right. So, their state of affairs that they're in his sub optimal mental state, right. In order to get that person to a cleaner mental state, would take probably a massive act of tools, a massive act of tools, concentrated active tools. But I've never seen that person or those people who have who are in that position in the moment, calm themselves enough to be in a place where you're where you're talking about them being. Melody Garcia28:28Well, it's not Yeah, it's not in that moment, but sometimes one question would ignite that spark as simple as what happened? What happened to you or what happened? opens up a doorway of discoveries. Right, should they choose to stay there? That there's choice. Am not trying to save that person, when there's nation waiting for us to step up. But here's what's true, every day we delay, more people suffer. Every day that we decide to not do something about there's another crowd writing that complains about. Well, I don't want to be on the second or the latter crowd. The three of us certainly don't. That's why we're having this conversation this afternoon. Right. So, it's just something as simple as it goes back to that what happened, the simple questions, it goes back to the word that Mark said compassion, it goes back to you Ari, the audacity to say what is true, uncensored, right? Whether you be in an assembly line, whether you'd be a CEO or a high-risk entrepreneur, find out what is that link that connects to that the ability or desire to want to do something, I am not going to condemn you. If you're the person that decides no, my happiness is watching that box. Because I've done my time. Right? It's very interesting what then what I can learn from me during the time that you were doing that time so that I can gain wisdom or lessons or under the table. But I'm going to gain something from somebody all the time. What I do with that, that's my choice and prerogative. Melody Garcia30:13He ends this with a grunt.  Marc Anthony King30:17I had to drop that that little baritone, you know, you're, in my opinion anyway, for whatever it's worth, you're absolutely correct in that regard. We, you know, we're students and teachers at the end of the day, but part of having that compassion awakened inside of you is, it's just that, you know, not judging and condemning because you don't know, there's an expression that I absolutely love, which says, If you were to spend 10 minutes alone with your greatest enemy, you'd realize they have way more in common with them than you thought. Because as different as we all are, there are certain intrinsic, inherent needs that we all have, you know, as different as we all are. And in the mu

Tonight's special guest is Stephanie L. Mann from Henderson, Nevada, a returning NAASCA family member who's a Crime and Violence Prevention Consultant and Host of 'The Safe Kids Now Show' on AauMedia from NY. She's also the author of 5 books on Safety. Her life's mission started in 1969 in her hometown of Orinda, California, where she worked with community leaders and helped spearhead a citywide crime-prevention program. In 1975, with the support of California's first lady at the time, Nancy Reagan, and the California Youth Authority, Stephanie and Shirley Henke published Alternatives to Fear: Guidelines to Safer Neighborhoods, a guidebook which helped popularize the 'Neighborhood Watch' Program nationwide. Ms. Mann eventually saw the need to co-author another book. In 1993, she wrote Safe Homes Safe Neighborhoods: Stopping Crime where You Live (Nolo Press) with Mary Claire Blakeman. Stephanie's work continued to expand in the 1990s. “I realized child safety needed to be the primary focus for communities,” she says. "My work with the homeless in Oakland exposed me to the legacy of childhood neglect, abuse and social isolation." Street Safe Kids was published in 2000 as a ten-step guide to give parents practical tools to help young people become safe and spiritually strong. Stephanie continues to speak out on the need for individuals to take responsibility for neighborhood and community safety to protect children. She's been working nationally to strengthen families and to keep cities safe ever since!

Chris shares his Experience, Strength and Hope as a real old-timer with old-wisdom from the heart of Alcoholics Anonymous: Akron, Ohio. Chris grew up in a military family, with a father he feared, a new home every two years and the feeling of complete loneliness. He watched the calm alcohol brought to his dad and wanted to see what it was all about, and so at 9 yrs old Chris' drinking career began. Soon he was in Juvenile Hall and then spent a few years in the California Youth Authority, leaving there unbelievably angry and determined to never listen to anyone ever again.Chris came into the rooms with that same anger, throwing coffee cups and ashtrays and regularly getting kicked out of meetings . . . until the day he asked his sponsor why no one liked him, and thus began his true sobriety, years after his last drink. In this story, Chris goes beautifully into the Big Book and some of the 164 promises written within those pages. The loneliness resolved and the forgiveness of his father long ago given and received. Today, Chris walks free of anger, with both peace and purpose. Quotes“I was probably the most angry human being you ever met in your life, I hated myself, I hated everybody around me.” “This book teaches us to walk with purpose.” “This program is not for the incredibly lucky or the chosen few, it's for everybody who wants it.”

Get to know the Indigenous Heathens. Incredible Javier & Yahaira are a podcasting duo that both entered the California Youth Authority in their teens. They are now more socially conscious and passionate about the issues they speak about

Evidence photos and discusstion at https://talkmurder.com/toolbox-killersLawrence Sigmund Bittaker and Roy Lewis Norris are two American serial killers who together kidnapped, tortured, raped, and murdered five young women over a period of five months in California in 1979.Before they metLawrence BittakerShortly after his birth, Bittaker was adopted by Mr. and Mrs. George Bittaker. George worked in aircraft factories, which required the family to move often, from Pennsylvania to Florida to Ohio and finally to California.Bittaker, who had a tested I.Q. of 138, dropped out of high school in 1957, after several run-ins with juvenile authorities and police. Shortly thereafter he was picked up for car theft, leaving the scene of a hit-and-run accident, and evading arrest. He was imprisoned in the California Youth Authority until he was 19.The FBI arrested Bittaker in Louisiana several days after his release for violating the Interstate Motor Vehicle Theft Act. Convicted in August 1959, he was sentenced to 18 months in an Oklahoma federal reformatory. His behavior there soon got him transferred to a Missouri medical center. He was released after serving six months of his sentence.In December 1960 he was arrested in Los Angeles, and in May 1961 was sentenced to 1–15 years in a state prison. A psychiatric evaluation determined Bittaker to be paranoid and borderline psychotic, with little control over his impulses. Despite these findings, he was released in 1963.He was picked up two months later for parole violation and suspected robbery, and again in October 1964. While in prison he was again given a psychiatric evaluation, and again determined to be borderline psychotic.In July 1967 he was arrested and convicted of theft and leaving a hit-and-run accident. He was sentenced to five years, but was released in April 1970. However, in March 1971 he was picked up for burglary and parole violation. He was sentenced to six months to 15 years in October. He served three years of that sentence.He was arrested again when he stabbed a supermarket employee in the parking lot of the business. Bittaker had stuffed a steak down his pants and the employee had followed him outside and tried to stop him. The man survived, and Bittaker was convicted of attempted murder. He met Norris while in prison at the California Men's Colony in San Luis Obispo.In 1976 Bittaker was hired as the manager for the Holiday Theater in the Reseda area of the San Fernando Valley.He was given another psychiatric evaluation, which rejected the borderline psychotic finding, saying instead that he was a classic sociopath. Another psychiatrist called Bittaker a sophisticated psychopath. Despite the psychiatrists' warnings, he was released in November 1978 and moved to Los Angeles.Roy NorrisAt 17, Norris dropped out of school and joined the Navy. He spent most of his service stationed in San Diego, and served four months in Vietnam. He saw no combat while there.Back in San Diego, Norris was arrested on November 1969 for attempted rape. Three months later, out on bail before his trial, he was arrested again. He had tried to attack a woman in her home. Police arrived before he could harm her. At this point Norris was discharged from the Navy for psychological problems.In May 1970, while still out on bail, he attacked a female student on the San Diego State University campus. He had jumped the woman from behind, hit her on the head with a rock, then slammed her head several times on the concrete. The woman survived, so Norris was only charged with assault with a deadly weapon. He was sent to Atascadero State Hospital as a sex offender and spent five years there. When released he was considered no further danger to others.Three months after his release Norris attacked and raped a 27-year-old woman. Convicted of forcible rape, he was sent to the California Men's Colony in San Luis Obispo. While there he met and befriended Bittaker. Norris claims Bittaker saved his life twice in prison, which bound him to Bittaker according to the "prisoner's code".Norris was released on January 15, 1979 and moved in with his mother in Los Angeles, this is where it is believed he began an incestuous relationship. Bittaker contacted Norris and they continued their prison friendship on the outside.MurdersBittaker and Norris hatched a plan to rape and kill local girls. Bittaker bought a 1977 GMC cargo van, which they came to call "Murder Mack", because it had no side windows in the back and a large passenger side sliding door. From February to June 1979, they gave their plan a test run. They drove along the Pacific Coast Highway, stopped at beaches, talked to girls and took their pictures. When the pair was arrested, police found close to 500 pictures among Bittaker's possessions.On June 24, 1979, they claimed their first victim, 16-year-old Cindy Schaeffer. They picked her up near Redondo Beach, Norris forcing her into the van. He duct taped her mouth and bound her arms and legs. Bittaker drove the van to a fire road on San Gabriel Mountains out of sight of the highway. Both men raped the girl, and then Bittaker wrapped a straightened wire coat hanger around her neck. He tightened the wire with vise-grip pliers, strangling her to death. They wrapped her body in a plastic shower curtain and dumped it in a nearby canyon.They picked up 18-year-old Andrea Hall hitchhiking on July 8. Norris hid in the back of the van and Bittaker talked her into the van. After she had gotten in Bittaker offered her a drink from a cooler in the back. When she went to the cooler Norris jumped her, bound her arms and legs, and taped her mouth shut. They took her to the fire road and raped her several times. Bittaker dragged her from the van, and Norris left to get beer. When he returned, Hall was gone, and Bittaker was looking at Polaroid pictures of her. He had stabbed her with an ice pick in both ears and strangled her. He threw her body over a cliff.On September 3, while driving near Hermosa Beach, the pair spotted two girls on a bus stop bench and offered them a ride. Jackie Gilliam, 15, and Leah Lamp, 13, accepted their offer. The girls became suspicious when Bittaker parked the van near a suburban tennis court. Lamp went for the back door and Norris hit her in the head with a bat. A short scuffle broke out, but with Bittaker's help Norris subdued the teens and bound them both. Bittaker then drove them to the fire road. They kept the girls alive for two days, raping and torturing them the whole time with a wire hanger and pliers. They even made an audio recording of the events. Eventually Bittaker stabbed Gilliam in both ears with an ice pick. When she didn't succumb to her injuries, both men took turns strangling her until she died. Bittaker then strangled Lamp while Norris hit her in the head with a sledgehammer seven times. They dumped the bodies over a cliff, the ice pick still in Gilliam's head.They kidnapped Shirley Sanders on September 30, macing her and forcing her into the van. Both raped her, but she escaped. Police had showed her pictures of the men and she had identified the men as Lawrence and Roy.They kidnapped 16-year-old Lynette Ledford on October 31, raping her and torturing her, while driving around Los Angeles instead of heading to their usual mountain spot. Bittaker stabbed the young girl several times and also tortured her with the pliers. During her torture, her screams and pleas were tape-recorded as Bittaker repeatedly beat her elbows with a sledgehammer, all the time demanding that she not stop screaming; he eventually strangled her with a wire hanger, using the pliers to twist a cinching loop around her throat. Instead of tossing her body over a cliff, they left it on a random lawn in Hermosa Beach to see the local reaction in the newspaper. The body was found the next day and caused quite a stir, being only days since the arrest of "Hillside Strangler" Angelo Buono.Arrest, trial and sentenceNorris had been telling prison friend Jimmy Dalton all about the murders. Dalton thought the stories were lies until Ledford's body was found. He talked to his lawyer and they went to the Los Angeles Police Department with information about Norris.At the trial, both Norris and Bittaker were charged with murder, kidnapping, forcible rape, sexual perversion and criminal conspiracy. Bittaker was convicted of rape, torture, kidnapping, and murder on February 17, 1981 and sentenced to death. As of February 2008, Bittaker is still on death row, where he still receives mail, which he signs using his nickname "Pliers" Bittaker. Norris was also sentenced, but was spared a life sentence or being executed in return for his testimony against Bittaker. Norris was denied parole in 2009, and will be eligible in another ten years.

Evidence photos and discusstion at https://talkmurder.com/toolbox-killersI Said God Damn - https://open.spotify.com/show/5PCfGN9QRAPyD6RjTAsHA0?si=ekL5yfNoRreXqQhfhu0tdwLawrence Sigmund Bittaker and Roy Lewis Norris are two American serial killers who together kidnapped, tortured, raped, and murdered five young women over a period of five months in California in 1979.Before they metLawrence BittakerShortly after his birth, Bittaker was adopted by Mr. and Mrs. George Bittaker. George worked in aircraft factories, which required the family to move often, from Pennsylvania to Florida to Ohio and finally to California.Bittaker, who had a tested I.Q. of 138, dropped out of high school in 1957, after several run-ins with juvenile authorities and police. Shortly thereafter he was picked up for car theft, leaving the scene of a hit-and-run accident, and evading arrest. He was imprisoned in the California Youth Authority until he was 19.The FBI arrested Bittaker in Louisiana several days after his release for violating the Interstate Motor Vehicle Theft Act. Convicted in August 1959, he was sentenced to 18 months in an Oklahoma federal reformatory. His behavior there soon got him transferred to a Missouri medical center. He was released after serving six months of his sentence.In December 1960 he was arrested in Los Angeles, and in May 1961 was sentenced to 1–15 years in a state prison. A psychiatric evaluation determined Bittaker to be paranoid and borderline psychotic, with little control over his impulses. Despite these findings, he was released in 1963.He was picked up two months later for parole violation and suspected robbery, and again in October 1964. While in prison he was again given a psychiatric evaluation, and again determined to be borderline psychotic.In July 1967 he was arrested and convicted of theft and leaving a hit-and-run accident. He was sentenced to five years, but was released in April 1970. However, in March 1971 he was picked up for burglary and parole violation. He was sentenced to six months to 15 years in October. He served three years of that sentence.He was arrested again when he stabbed a supermarket employee in the parking lot of the business. Bittaker had stuffed a steak down his pants and the employee had followed him outside and tried to stop him. The man survived, and Bittaker was convicted of attempted murder. He met Norris while in prison at the California Men's Colony in San Luis Obispo.In 1976 Bittaker was hired as the manager for the Holiday Theater in the Reseda area of the San Fernando Valley.He was given another psychiatric evaluation, which rejected the borderline psychotic finding, saying instead that he was a classic sociopath. Another psychiatrist called Bittaker a sophisticated psychopath. Despite the psychiatrists' warnings, he was released in November 1978 and moved to Los Angeles.Roy NorrisAt 17, Norris dropped out of school and joined the Navy. He spent most of his service stationed in San Diego, and served four months in Vietnam. He saw no combat while there.Back in San Diego, Norris was arrested on November 1969 for attempted rape. Three months later, out on bail before his trial, he was arrested again. He had tried to attack a woman in her home. Police arrived before he could harm her. At this point Norris was discharged from the Navy for psychological problems.In May 1970, while still out on bail, he attacked a female student on the San Diego State University campus. He had jumped the woman from behind, hit her on the head with a rock, then slammed her head several times on the concrete. The woman survived, so Norris was only charged with assault with a deadly weapon. He was sent to Atascadero State Hospital as a sex offender and spent five years there. When released he was considered no further danger to others.Three months after his release Norris attacked and raped a 27-year-old woman. Convicted of forcible rape, he was sent to the California Men's Colony in San Luis Obispo. While there he met and befriended Bittaker. Norris claims Bittaker saved his life twice in prison, which bound him to Bittaker according to the "prisoner's code".Norris was released on January 15, 1979 and moved in with his mother in Los Angeles, this is where it is believed he began an incestuous relationship. Bittaker contacted Norris and they continued their prison friendship on the outside.MurdersBittaker and Norris hatched a plan to rape and kill local girls. Bittaker bought a 1977 GMC cargo van, which they came to call "Murder Mack", because it had no side windows in the back and a large passenger side sliding door. From February to June 1979, they gave their plan a test run. They drove along the Pacific Coast Highway, stopped at beaches, talked to girls and took their pictures. When the pair was arrested, police found close to 500 pictures among Bittaker's possessions.On June 24, 1979, they claimed their first victim, 16-year-old Cindy Schaeffer. They picked her up near Redondo Beach, Norris forcing her into the van. He duct taped her mouth and bound her arms and legs. Bittaker drove the van to a fire road on San Gabriel Mountains out of sight of the highway. Both men raped the girl, and then Bittaker wrapped a straightened wire coat hanger around her neck. He tightened the wire with vise-grip pliers, strangling her to death. They wrapped her body in a plastic shower curtain and dumped it in a nearby canyon.They picked up 18-year-old Andrea Hall hitchhiking on July 8. Norris hid in the back of the van and Bittaker talked her into the van. After she had gotten in Bittaker offered her a drink from a cooler in the back. When she went to the cooler Norris jumped her, bound her arms and legs, and taped her mouth shut. They took her to the fire road and raped her several times. Bittaker dragged her from the van, and Norris left to get beer. When he returned, Hall was gone, and Bittaker was looking at Polaroid pictures of her. He had stabbed her with an ice pick in both ears and strangled her. He threw her body over a cliff.On September 3, while driving near Hermosa Beach, the pair spotted two girls on a bus stop bench and offered them a ride. Jackie Gilliam, 15, and Leah Lamp, 13, accepted their offer. The girls became suspicious when Bittaker parked the van near a suburban tennis court. Lamp went for the back door and Norris hit her in the head with a bat. A short scuffle broke out, but with Bittaker's help Norris subdued the teens and bound them both. Bittaker then drove them to the fire road. They kept the girls alive for two days, raping and torturing them the whole time with a wire hanger and pliers. They even made an audio recording of the events. Eventually Bittaker stabbed Gilliam in both ears with an ice pick. When she didn't succumb to her injuries, both men took turns strangling her until she died. Bittaker then strangled Lamp while Norris hit her in the head with a sledgehammer seven times. They dumped the bodies over a cliff, the ice pick still in Gilliam's head.They kidnapped Shirley Sanders on September 30, macing her and forcing her into the van. Both raped her, but she escaped. Police had showed her pictures of the men and she had identified the men as Lawrence and Roy.They kidnapped 16-year-old Lynette Ledford on October 31, raping her and torturing her, while driving around Los Angeles instead of heading to their usual mountain spot. Bittaker stabbed the young girl several times and also tortured her with the pliers. During her torture, her screams and pleas were tape-recorded as Bittaker repeatedly beat her elbows with a sledgehammer, all the time demanding that she not stop screaming; he eventually strangled her with a wire hanger, using the pliers to twist a cinching loop around her throat. Instead of tossing her body over a cliff, they left it on a random lawn in Hermosa Beach to see the local reaction in the newspaper. The body was found the next day and caused quite a stir, being only days since the arrest of "Hillside Strangler" Angelo Buono.Arrest, trial and sentenceNorris had been telling prison friend Jimmy Dalton all about the murders. Dalton thought the stories were lies until Ledford's body was found. He talked to his lawyer and they went to the Los Angeles Police Department with information about Norris.At the trial, both Norris and Bittaker were charged with murder, kidnapping, forcible rape, sexual perversion and criminal conspiracy. Bittaker was convicted of rape, torture, kidnapping, and murder on February 17, 1981 and sentenced to death. As of February 2008, Bittaker is still on death row, where he still receives mail, which he signs using his nickname "Pliers" Bittaker. Norris was also sentenced, but was spared a life sentence or being executed in return for his testimony against Bittaker. Norris was denied parole in 2009, and will be eligible in another ten years.

This week's bonus episode of incarceration stories features one of the most traumatic childhood narratives we've heard to date. Charles Carpenter grew up in the early era of gang violence in Los Angeles. He shared his story of becoming a gang member, going to juvenile hall, the California Youth Authority and a life sentence in prison to his transformation and becoming the author of four books. Please listen to Charles' raw and painful story. Charles was born in Los Angeles in 1969, he was raised in both L.A. and Pomona, California. Charles was arrested at 32 years old for first degree murder and was sentenced to 37 years to life. Charles' earliest release date is in 2029 under the Elderly Parole Program. He has written several books including his autobiography, titled, “Handcuffed,” telling his story about how he got to where he is today. Charles' early years were filled with trauma and abuse. He remembers his dad hitting his mom when he was just a small child. Him and his mom tried getting away from his father when he was young, they moved from city to city, and eventually ended up in Pomona. It was there he would get involved with the Crips. This was during an especially violent time in gang culture. Charles was 9 years old when he first started hanging out with the older gang members. He looked up to them as role models, because he was missing a male presence in his life. The gang world is a backwards world, they treated anyone who did well in school as chumps, and squares. He learned from his father to have a negative view of authority figures.  When Charles was 12 years old, just entering the 7th grade, he and his brother were walking home from school and were getting tired of walking. Charles had a box cutter in his pocket and while another kid was riding by on his bike, they robbed him and took his bike. It turned out the person he robbed was a classmate of his and he got arrested when he went to school. He went to juvenile hall, where murderers and gang members were held with him, this was his first taste of being in the system. In the gang culture, going to juvenile hall was basically your way of working up the ranks. It was your way of getting respect from the people that you look up to. While getting moved around to different juvenile facilities, he was placed in a community program. At one of these community programs, his counselor was not going to allow him to go home for the weekend, so Charles grabbed a broomstick from the closet, and hit him in the eye with it. He got arrested on the spot, adding assault to his charges. They ordered he spend 36 weeks at a long term camp. On June 3, 1983, at age 13, Charles got transferred to Camp Scott. “Military Operation” is used to describe Camp Scott. It's a tough place that is designed to teach you discipline and the value of an education. One of the counselors had a big impact on Charles as a kid, Mr. Washington was a tough, former gang member that wanted the kids to succeed. He inspired Charles to learn something new everyday. John H. Johnson, the founder of Ebony Magazine's success story inspired Charles to learn more about him and the importance of an education. Mr. Hill was another counselor that had an impact on Charles during his time at Camp Scott. He would often give the kids speeches after lunch. In one of his speeches, he brought up some statistics about how many would go home, versus how many would end up in prison or dead. That resonated with Charles, and everything Mr. Hill said that day came true. Charles then went to the California Youth Authority (CYA), if someone underage gets charged with a horrible crime they get sentenced to the California Youth Authority until they turn 25. Charles was housed at Fred C. Nelles, in Wittier, California. In Charles' words, this place was ‘gladiator school'. If you went through Fred C. Nelles, you learned how to fight. It was a daily requirement there. This only helped to further Charles' violence...

Welcome to Beyond The Facade Podcast! Get to know us Doña Junta and Sabrina as we discuss all things history, paranormal and more. On episode 1 we discuss our upcoming adventure to visit Preston Castle in Ione California. Preston Castle is a former reform school for boys built in 1894. Preston Castle has a dark history of injustice and abuse of juvenile wards since its early days. It later became part of the California Youth Authority system better known as Preston School of Industry. We discuss the dark history, paranormal activity, and our anticipation to visit the castle for the first time for (me) Doña Junta and after 10 years for Sabrina. Follow us at swapmeet_chronicles and observing_spooks_andothervices --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/beyondthefacade/support

Cinnamon Brown was 14 years old when her own father, David Brown, convinced her to carry out the murder of her stepmother, Linda Bailey Brown. Cinnamon was fully convinced and brainwashed into thinking that she wouldn't do jail time and instead just have to see a psychiatrist. Little did she know, she'd be taken away in cuffs and sent to a California Youth Authority facility for the next 4 years while her father and his new wife cashed in on Linda's life insurance policy and lived the good life. Don't worry though, Cinnamon came back strong and David got what he deserved.  As always thank you to our sponsors: HelloFresh: Go to HelloFresh.com/10morbid and use code 10morbid for 10 free meals, including free shipping!” Squarespace: Go to Squarespace.com/MORBID for a free trial and when you're ready to launch, use the offer code MORBID to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain Curology: Go to Curology.com/morbid for a free 30-day trial, just pay for shipping and handling! Betterhelp: Special offer for morbid listeners get 10% off your first month at ​betterhelp.com/​Morbid Shudder: To try Shudder free for 30 days, go to shudder.com and use promo code morbid

On this episode I chat it up with my childhood friend Victor Vega and we talk about how we grew up in Santa Barbara and his experience with being a gangster and how he spent time behind bars in various correctional centers like the California Youth Authority and various Prisons. We also discuss how he used drugs to mask his anxiety and depression and how he is now 6 years sober, a single father and working as an adolescent drug and alcohol abuse counselor. It was a lot of fun to catch up with him and to learn of all the positive changes he has made in his life. I hope you enjoy it!

Madd Ronald is joined by Deaneal McKight (reformed) gang member that gives his account on growing up in a gang related environment, being placed in group home (placements), sentenced to county camps, California Youth Authority, and graduating to the California State Prison system, and paroling from an indeterminate S.H.U. program.He later reclaims he life and attends Washington State University, where he earns a degree in sociology, psychology, and comparative ethnic studies.

Brief description on first time being locked up in 1979. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/ronald-caesar/support

Tonight's special guest is Stephanie Mann from the San Francisco area, a returning NAASCA family member who's an author and crime & violence prevention specialist. Her life's mission started in 1969 in her hometown of Orinda, California, where she worked with community leaders and helped spearhead a citywide crime-prevention program. In 1975, with the support of California's first lady at the time, Nancy Reagan, and the California Youth Authority, Stephanie and Shirley Henke published Alternatives to Fear: Guidelines to Safer Neighborhoods, a guidebook which helped popularize the 'Neighborhood Watch' Program nationwide. Ms. Mann eventually saw the need to co-author another book. In 1993, she wrote Safe Homes Safe Neighborhoods: Stopping Crime where You Live (Nolo Press) with Mary Claire Blakeman. Stephanie's work continued to expand in the 1990s. “I realized child safety needed to be the primary focus for communities,” she says. "My work with the homeless in Oakland exposed me to the legacy of childhood neglect, abuse and social isolation." Street Safe Kids was published in 2000 as a ten-step guide to give parents practical tools to help young people become safe and spiritually strong. Stephanie continues to speak out on the need for individuals to take responsibility for neighborhood and community safety to protect children. (Please also see: www.pinterest.com/safekidsnow). She's been working nationally to strengthen families and and keep cities safe ever since!

Growing up in Sacramento, CA, Marcus ‘Big Herc’ Timmons was a straight-A student and talented athlete before he took a wrong turn into gang life, drug dealing and violence. He spent most of his teens incarcerated the California Youth Authority juvenile detention system and before he went to prison for bank robbery, he worked as a performer in the adult industry. Today, Big Herc, is one of the fastest rising stars on YouTube. He spent nine years in the federal penitentiary for bank robbery, underwent a deep transformation during his time inside and came out the other side to thrive and empower others to choose a different path. He’s best known as the co-creator and host of the wildly popular YouTube series Fresh Out: Life After the Penitentiary and a number of spinoff shows including Prison Talk. He’s also a motivational speaker, author, executive coach and an entrepreneur who has started multiple businesses. If you haven’t checked out Fresh Out or Prison Talk, let me just tell you that it’s some of the rawest, deepest and most compelling content you’re ever going to watch with insights into human nature and life lessons that people from all walks of life can learn from. Big Herc’s mission is to help educate the world about the horrors of prison life and educate those headed inside so they can survive and get out alive. But most importantly, he wants to strip away the glamor associated with the criminal life on the street to help people on that path stop before they end up making the mistakes that he did. His content is amazing, his persona is magnetic and with his partners he’s expanding his empire into multiple YouTube series, the supplement business, coaching and much more. Catch Big Herc at www.freshoutseries.com, follow him on social @bigherc916 and @freshoutseries. On YouTube, search for Fresh Out Series. Thanks so much for taking time to listen to Choose the Hard Way. If you enjoy the show, PLEASE hit the subscribe button and rate the show. Then share this episode with a friend who you think might dig it. It makes a huge difference, it only takes 30 seconds, and it really means a lot to me. Thanks for listening and I’ll be back with another great guest soon. In the meantime, you can reach out @hardwaypod on Twitter or Instagram or just drop an email to choosethehardway@gmail.com. You are what you overcome. Choose the Hard Way.

Ed Daube is a Clinical Psychologist and a Senior Adjunct Professor of Psychology at the University of LaVerne in Southern California. During his 32 year career as a therapist, staff trainer and Supervisor with the California Youth Authority, he taught incarcerated adolescents, and jaded correctional officers how to master their emotions as tools to improve their productivity, their relationships and their lives. He designed a Personal Growth Class to teach college students these same skill sets.   Where you can find Ed online: LinkedIn   What did you think of this episode? I want to know. Go to MarkStruczewski.com/ed and leave a comment.   To leave feedback about the podcast or give suggestions for ideas for future episodes (including guests you'd like to hear me interview), go to MarkStruczewski.com/mypodcast or email feedback@markstruczewski.com. If you are looking to take your productivity to the next level or if you are interested in bringing me in to speak at your event, visit MarkStruczewski.com. Follow me on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Subscribe to my weekly Next Level Productivity Digest. If you love the show, share it with a friend on Apple Podcasts.

"I said, 'God, I'm not going to make any promises because every promise I've made, I've broken.'" Legendary tattoo artist Freddy Negrete is best known for his pioneering black-and-gray tattooing style, honed while he was serving time in the California Youth Authority in the 1970s. Profiled in numerous TV programs and magazine articles Freddy, a gifted and natural-born artist, was transported from the confines of prison cells onto the sets of major Hollywood films such as Batman, Blade, Con Air, Austin Powers and Falling Down. But then, after years of success in the motion picture industry, Freddy found himself back inside again: in Folsom maximum security prison, suffering heroin withdrawal and tattooing for packets of soup. His autobiography, Smile Now, Cry Later—co-written with Steve Jones—depicts his addiction and recovery story and was released last year. Smile Now, Cry Later: (Amazon)https://www.amazon.com/Smile-Now-Cry-Later-Tattoos-My-ebook/dp/B0180SLM00 Freddy on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freddy_negrete/ _________ Themes: @djfmdotcom

Rev. Kimberlee and Rev. Cassandra are digging deep for Episode 6 in the first installment of a two-part series centered on the issue of mass incarceration. Listen in to hear first-hand accounts of being arrested and incarcerated in the California Youth Authority during the era of the War on Drugs and the onset of the crack-cocaine pandemic in the black community. Michael Gibson, Morehouse graduate and Yoruba Priest joins the conversation at the table as he breaks bread and shares a very candid testimony on his childhood, his experience with Christianity, Islam and Yoruba and African religious/spiritual practices and his ultimate transformation. The episode is gripping, compelling and poignant. For more information visit us online: www.thetablelive.com, send us an e-mail info@thetablelive.com or on social media using the handles @thetablelive!

Tonight's special guest is Stephanie Mann from the San Francisco area, a returning NAASCA family member who's an author and crime & violence prevention specialist. Her life's mission started in 1969 in her hometown of Orinda, California, where she worked with community leaders and helped spearhead a citywide crime-prevention program. In 1975, with the support of California's first lady at the time, Nancy Reagan, and the California Youth Authority, Stephanie and Shirley Henke published Alternatives to Fear: Guidelines to Safer Neighborhoods, a guidebook which helped popularize the “Neighborhood Watch” Program nationwide. Ms Mann eventually saw the need to co-author another book. In 1993, she wrote Safe Homes Safe Neighborhoods: Stopping Crime where You Live (Nolo Press) with Mary Claire Blakeman. Stephanie's work continued to expand in the 1990s. “I realized child safety needed to be the primary focus for communities,” she says. “My work with the homeless in Oakland exposed me to the legacy of childhood neglect, abuse and social isolation.” Street Safe Kids was published in 2000 as a ten-step guide to give parents practical tools to help young people become safe and spiritually strong. Stephanie continues to speak out on the need for individuals to take responsibility for neighborhood and community safety to protect children. (Please also see: www.pinterest.com/safekidsnow) 

A graduate of College of Charleston and Southwestern University School of Law, she worked as an entertainment attorney, founded Isis Management, representing musicians, producers, and artists, including Phred Mosbey, Musical Director for Earth, Wind, and Fire, musical group Bel Biv Devoe; the great South African singer, Miriam "Mama Africa" Makeba, Salaelo Maredi, acclaimed South African director, actor & playwright, and many others.Ms. Elan later founded Sisi Records, releasing a collection of works, including Motown Legend Sylvia Moy's hit "Love's Inside" on the "Universal Love" album. Moy wrote and produced Stevie Wonder's "My Cherie Amor."In 1990 she wrote musical "Amandla Ka Mandela," which was staged at Henry Street Settlement Theatre in Manhattan, New York, which was followed by her historical fiction book "Missionary."Singer/Songwriter: Soul singer Aria Elan dropped debut album "Smile" November 1, 2013. Aria has entertained Veterans and active duty troops at various military bases.She has spoken and performed for the US Navy, U.S. Air Force, women's conferences, Veteran's Organizations, and has received certificates of appreciation from the California Youth Authority, College of Charleston, County of Maui, NAACP, Ventura Self Help Clinic, Watts Legal Aid and numerous others.As a motivational speaker, Aria Elan presents humorous, poignant and memorable stories about Aria's ABCs of SUCCESS that resonate with people. Aria performs her "ode to positive thinking" song "Smile" at all speaking engagements.

Tonight's special guest is Stephanie Mann from the San Francisco area, an author and crime & violence prevention specialist. Her mission started in 1969 in her hometown of Orinda, California, where she worked with community leaders and helped spearhead a citywide crime-prevention program. In 1975, with the support of California's first lady at the time, Nancy Reagan, and the California Youth Authority, Stephanie and Shirley Henke published Alternatives to Fear: Guidelines to Safer Neighborhoods, a guidebook which helped popularize the “Neighborhood Watch” Program nationwide. Ms Mann eventually saw the need to co-author another book. In 1993, she wrote Safe Homes Safe Neighborhoods: Stopping Crime where You Live (Nolo Press) with Mary Claire Blakeman. Stephanie's work continued to expand in the 1990s. “I realized child safety needed to be the primary focus for communities,” she says. “My work with the homeless in Oakland exposed me to the legacy of childhood neglect, abuse and social isolation.” Street Safe Kids was published in 2000 as a ten-step guide to give parents practical tools to help young people become safe and spiritually strong. Stephanie continues to speak out on the need for individuals to take responsibility for neighborhood and community safety to protect children. (Please also see: www.pinterest.com/safekidsnow)

The California Youth Authority presents Fake-a-Wish camp, for young people who have faked illness in order to participate in... last time fun things.

Audio File:  Download MP3Transcript: An Interview with Gillian Caldwell Executive Director, Witness Date: August 9, 2007 NCWIT Interview with Gillian Caldwell BIO: Gillian Caldwell took the helm as the CEO for Global Witness in July of 2015. Prior to that, she was the Executive Director of WITNESS (www.witness.org), which uses the power of video to open the eyes of the world to human rights abuses. By partnering with local organizations around the globe, WITNESS empowers human rights defenders to use video as a tool to shine a light on those most affected by human rights violations, and to transform personal stories of abuse into powerful tools of justice. Since its founding in 1992, WITNESS has partnered with groups in more than 60 countries, bringing often unseen images, untold stories and seldom heard voices to the attention of key decision makers, the media, and the general public -- prompting grassroots activism, political engagement, and lasting change. A film-maker and an attorney, Gillian has experience in the areas of international human rights, civil rights, intellectual property, contracts, and family law. At WITNESS, she has helped produce numerous documentary videos for use in advocacy campaigns around the world, including Outlawed: Extraordinary Rendition, Torture and Disappearances in the "War on Terror";System Failure: Violence, Abuse and Neglect in the California Youth Authority; Books Not Bars; and Operation Fine Girl: Rape Used as a Weapon of War in Sierra Leone. She is also co-editor and author of a book published by Pluto Press called Video for Change: A Guide to Advocacy and Activism (2005). Gillian was formerly the Co-Director of the Global Survival Network, where she coordinated a two-year undercover investigation into the trafficking of women for forced prostitution from Russia and the Newly Independent States that helped spur new anti-trafficking legislation in the U.S. and abroad. She also produced and directed Bought & Sold, a documentary film based on the investigation which received widespread media coverage. Gillian lived in South Africa during 1991 and 1992, investigating hit squads and security force involvement in township violence, and has worked in Boston, Washington, D.C., and New York on issues related to poverty and violence. Gillian has been awarded the Echoing Green Fellowship (1996-1998), the Rockefeller Foundation Next Generation Leadership Award (2000), the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship Award Winner (2001-present), the Tech Laureate of the Tech Museum (2003), Ashoka: Innovators for the Public as a special partner (2003), Journalist of the Month by Women's Enews (2004), and the Skoll Social Entrepreneurship Award (2005). Gillian is a member of the Social Venture Network, promoting new models and leadership for socially and environmentally sustainable business in the 21st century, and she is admitted to the Bar in NY and Washington, D.C. She received her BA from Harvard University and her J.D. from Georgetown University, where she was honored as a Public Interest Law Scholar. Larry Nelson: This is Larry Nelson, with w3w3.com, Colorado's Voice of the Technology and Business Community. And we are a very fortunate proud partner with the National Center for Women and Information Technology, or, as we call it, NCWIT. And we've got a three‑part interview here; we're doing a wonderful interview with a very strong entrepreneur that we are very interested in talking with on some interesting topics. And we're here today with Lucinda Sanders ‑ we call her Lucy; all of her friends do ‑ who is the CEO of NCWIT, as well as Leigh Kennedy, who is on the board at NCWIT; and she's a serial entrepreneur herself. So, Lucy, welcome to the show. Let's get into it and introduce your guest. Lucy Sanders: Well, today, we're introducing Gillian Caldwell, who is the executive director of Witness. I have to say, Gillian, after really looking at your website and understanding what the mission of Witness is, it's a very compelling mission that you have. And your tagline, "See It, Film It, Change It", I thought, was one of the best tag lines I've ever seen for the mission of an organization. Can you give us a little bit of background about witness? I know you started it in 1992. Gillian Caldwell: Yes. So, witness was founded in 1992 by musician and advocate Peter Gabriel. He was struck, when he was touring with Amnesty International, by the isolation of the human‑rights defenders that he met in countries around the world who had had their stories of abuse denied and covered up and forgotten. And he had with him, at that time, in 1989, a handheld video camera; it was a Hi8; it cost about $1, 800. And he was using that camera to record their stories and their experiences; and he was struck by the potential of those stories and that technology to bridge the gap and connect audiences all around the world to those realities and ensure they weren't covered up and forgotten. And Witness was founded just a few years later, in the wake of the beating of Rodney King, which, of course, was shot by a handheld video camera, which galvanized an international conversation about police brutality. The Reebok Human Rights Foundation provided the early seed funding in 1992. And witness began as a technology‑transfer organization, with a primary focus on donating handheld video cameras to human‑rights advocates around the world. Over the last fifteen years, since we were founded in 1992, Witness has evolved considerably. And, at this stage, as you suggest at the outset, our focus is on enabling people to see it, film it, and change it. We don't just provide the camera: but we provide both the technical and strategic support that human‑rights defenders need to document the violations; ensure that they can, in a compelling, story‑driven way, explain not just the problem, but the solution; and get that media in front of the audiences that can make a difference, whether it's a Congressional subcommittee trying to decide whether or not to allocate armed forces and funding in the context of the genocide in Darfur, or whether it's a local judicial official who is being influenced by the evidence that's being presented before him on a videotape. Lucy: Well, and I think, in looking at your site, as well, you're using all the Internet and Web 2.0 technology now to really create this worldwide audience. I mean it's a very compelling use of technology to achieve social good. Gillian: What's really exciting at this stage is that I'm just about to launch something called "the Hub", which will basically be a kind of a YouTube for human rights or, as I like to think of it, a YouMyWikiTube for human rights. If you imagine the technologies and the philosophies of YouTube, MySpace, and Wikipedia, you get close to what we're trying to do at the Hub, which is a site that will be premiering in the fall of 2007. So this is a destination, a website, to which anybody anywhere could upload visual imagery, whether it's photographs or video, or possibly even audio content, of human‑rights‑related issues in their communities, here in the United States and around the world. They can upload it and opt in to a community of people that care about those issues and support campaigns for change. Lucy: Well, so, it's real evidence of how technology supports social entrepreneurism. And that gets me to my first question about technology in general: what technologies do you see on the horizon that are really going to make a difference for you, in addition to the Web 2.0 and Internet types of technology? Gillian: Well, of course, the cell phone, and particularly video‑ and photograph‑enabled cell phones, are really making a difference. I mean, historically, when people thought about the Rodney King beating, they thought "Oh, if you can just capture the abuse as it happens, it will make all the difference"; and the reality is that, with the larger video cameras people have historically used, you're unlikely to be in the wrong place at the right time. But, now, with the handheld cell phones, so many of which are video‑enabled and photograph‑enabled, there is a brand new opportunity to capture that abuse as it happens. If you think back to the London Tube bombings, just a couple of years ago, when a so‑called citizen journalist was reporting live from inside the London Tubes and the BBC moved ahead to create an email address to which anybody could email imagery of news‑related stories in their community, you start to realize that the cell phone is actually really revolutionizing the way we access information, as is text‑messaging and, of course, the Internet, which really didn't exist when Witness was founded. Lucy: And the cell network is very ubiquitous as well, especially in developing countries. Gillian: Right. I mean we still have a massive digital divide: but the beauty of the cell networks is that many of the countries which have historically been confronted with that massive divide will be able to leapfrog over the physical infrastructure, as those cellular networks are strengthened; and we'll be able to embed larger and larger files and transmit larger files over the cellular networks. But it is a concern, still, of course, when we think about the challenges of the Hub. And to take, for example, perhaps a humanitarian‑aid worker in Darfur, who happens to be on the spot as a genocide unfolds, who captures some of that imagery on their cell phone, and who wants to upload it to the Hub so that maybe the Save Darfur Coalition, in Washington, D.C., can then download it and provide that to the Congressional subcommittee: that aid worker faces several challenges. First of all: What's the bandwidth? What's the cost? What's the expense to upload that content? And does he have the strength of signal to do it? And secondly: What about the security risks? Here's a big issue for us, because, of course, if we log the IP addresses of the people who are uploading content, even if we enable them to upload the content anonymously, they really may be at risk, and we could face a subpoena, as Yahoo! Did in the case of Chinese dissidents. So the simple size of the file, of the video file, as it stands, makes it very difficult to encrypt or anonymize those files and it does put people at risk. So the technology is still insipient in terms of really fully enabling what we're talking about. Lucy: It is interesting how you've continually used the latest technologies to help in the pursuit. So, if we switch gears a little bit and we think about you being an entrepreneur: why did you decide to be an entrepreneur, and what is it about entrepreneurship that really makes you tick? Gillian: Well, I mean it's interesting that I have been sort of dubbed a social entrepreneur by a variety of organizations that recognize people in that field, whether it's Ashoka, or the Skoll Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, or the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, really going back to about 2001. And a social entrepreneur is defined variously; but it's really understood as somebody who's really taking an innovative and sustainable approach to an old problem. And what Ashoka says about social entrepreneurs is that they're born that way. And it's funny: it isn't a primary identity for me; but, more and more, I do understand myself as somebody who's genetically inclined towards innovation and towards growing new ideas and towards thinking really tactically and strategically about what's sustainable. But my passion is not earning income: my passion is doing work that feeds my soul; and that's why I've always invested myself in work that delivers social value.. Larry Nelson: Gillian, who in your life really helped, supported your ‑ whether it was genetically inclined beginnings, or was it a mentor that came along the way? Was it a particular group that really had a major influence on your direction? Gillian: Well, I think, like so many people, the most formative influences for me were both my family ‑ particularly parents, who were not, themselves, deeply involved at a political level but who really had what I would call progressive values and who were very driven by integrity, in terms of how they thought about the world ‑ and then, of course, my teachers, particularly my history teachers, in grammar school and in high school, who introduced me to Amnesty International. I began running my high‑school chapter of Amnesty International when I was 12 years old; and I recall organizing weekly Urgent Action letter‑writing campaigns with students, getting dozens of students to write letters to President Zia‑ul‑Haq, in Pakistan, at the time, about political prisoners. And I remember organizing a school symposium on torture. And, I think, there, again, not just my parents and their support of my commitment to doing social‑justice work, but the teachers that encouraged me. And then additionally, interestingly, the work of an artist by the name of Leon Galag, who died quite recently, but who did a series called The Mercenary Series, which was very powerful, enormous canvases of mercenaries in Latin America torturing political prisoners. And, strangely enough, because I lived in the back of an art gallery in SoHo, in New York, when I was growing up, those paintings were in my living‑room for a period of time. In fact, I've often commented that, in these paintings, in The Mercenary Series, there was always a perpetrator looking at you looking at them, almost making a witness out of you and demanding that you do something about it. So I see a very consistent narrative thread, in terms of my focus on social justice and my focus on enterprise, going back to the days when I used to host regular bake sales on the local street corner to try to earn a little income. Lucy: I'd say this is genetically baked into you. Leigh: No pun intended. I thought it was really interesting, too: you're a lawyer. Did you pursue a law degree in support of your social activism? Gillian: Yes. I decided to get a law degree because I wanted additional credibility and depth, in terms of doing policy‑oriented work. I didn't intend to practice, although I did enjoy the short period of time in which I practiced, both at the administrative level, representing disability applicants, and then also working with special‑education cases and discrimination cases, before I got involved in a big undercover investigation on the Russian Mafia and their involvement in trafficking women for forced prostitution. And that undercover investigation utilized hidden‑camera technologies. We posed as foreign buyers interested in purchasing women. And that was my real introduction to video advocacy, as I now call it. But the law degree was always intended to help give me a little bit more credibility, a little bit more depth. And I didn't ‑ I couldn't anticipate at the time that it would be as useful as it is, of course, in the context of running an organization like Witness, where, you'd think, most of my legal training would come into play in the context of human‑rights law, when, in fact, most of what I really deal with on a daily basis, through the three pro‑bono law firms that support our work, has to do with intellectual‑property and trademark protection. Lucy: That's what I was going to ask you about: digital rights management. But that's probably a discussion for another time. Larry: Yeah. Leigh: So, Gillian, when you think about your career as a social entrepreneur, what's really been the toughest thing that you've had to do? Gillian: The biggest challenge is recognizing that the only thing that will be constant is change, particularly in an organization like Witness, where you're focused on integrating new technologies into social‑change work. You have to stay adaptable and evolutionary, which means you're never standing still. So, while I've been running witness for almost ten years now, I can honestly say that the organization looks, feels, and acts very differently from quarter to quarter. When I started, it was just me; and, at this stage, for fiscal '08, we're going to have a budget of $4.2‑million and a staff of 30. So that's a very different operation than it is to run something that's just two or three people. I think the other thing is that, if you're working as an entrepreneur in a social context, you're constantly in the midst of a so‑called stretch assignment: you're learning as you move through the process. And what's so important is being sure that you're really thoughtful about reaching out to get the advice and guidance and support that you need along the way, and that you build a system and an infrastructure of support surrounding you, because it may not always exist within the organization itself, but there are people that have done it before and you're not always needing to reinvent the wheel. Lucy: Well, and speaking of advice: if you were sitting in a room with some young people, what advice would you give them about entrepreneurship? Gillian: Well, again, I look at it through the perspective of social enterprise. So, for me, the most important advice I could give anybody is to stay committed to evolution; and that means that you have to live as a learner. I think that Gandhi once said that we should live like we are going to die tomorrow but learn like we will live forever. And I really believe that's the case: if we aren't open to learning, and if we don't spend as much time listening as we spend speaking, we can't do anything well. So I think that's the most important thing: to stay adaptable, to stay evolutionary ‑ and to build leadership. Somebody who really is a leader is ultimately somebody who takes all the blame and none of the credit. And that's a hard thing to map your mind around; and, at times, it is a bit of a thankless task, because there's just as many nuts and bolts as there are opportunities for big‑picture strategic visioning to take place. But it's really important to stay humble and to stay open and to stay learning. And, as you mature, over time, you realize that, the more you know, really the less you know, I think. Lucy: That's really true. I have to say Gandhi is ‑ I love his quote: "Be the change you want to see in the world." Gillian: Yeah; well, that's also about really living your values. I think it's so easy to compartmentalize our values and to try to articulate them through the check we write at Christmastime or the bottle we put in the recycling bin. But the reality is that living your values is a full‑time occupation, and it really requires us to challenge ourselves all the time to think and wonder: you know, "Was the thought that just passed through my mind racist?", "Was the dynamic that I just participated in unfair?", "Am I carbon neutral?" I mean all of this is about integrity and about values and about being a productive member of the planet. Lucy: So, speaking of characteristics: when you think about yourself, what personal characteristics do you think have given you advantages in being an entrepreneur? Gillian: Well, I think I have a lot of assets in that department, which have served me really well. One is stick‑to‑it‑iveness: I am dogged and determined, and I will find a way; and that's absolutely necessary. You have to have passion driving your commitment; and I believe, if you're passionate, you can achieve whatever it is that you set out to. It's also important to have solid organizational skills. A lot of entrepreneurs are visionary but aren't fortunate enough to get the skills of discipline and the organization and detail orientation that is required to pull off an enterprise. So, for those people, I think, it's so important to recognize that and surround themselves with people that do complement them well in that way. I think the other issue, of course, is the strategic thinking. And, there, it's making sure not just that you give yourself space and opportunity to think strategically, but also that you create environments in which strategy can evolve through collective conversation. Too often, people at all levels of an organization are not involved in creating and participating and designing a strategy for an organization. And that's what builds ownership, and I think that's what builds better long‑term solutions... Larry Nelson: Gillian, with a background like you ‑ you've had this organization, now, for ten years; you now have a budget of $4.2‑million; you have 31 employees. Here's a question: how do you bring about balance to your personal and your professional lives? Gillian: Well, the quickest way to get some balance is to have some children. And I have two of those: I have a girl, named Tess, who's just about to turn five, and a boy, named Finley, who will be three shortly. And that really, really necessitates a balance, because I will not miss their childhoods. So it enabled me to really walk the walk and talk the talk when it comes to balance. You know, I have certain lines that I draw, in terms of the number of nights a month that I will be away from my children, and a commitment regarding the number of hours I want to be with them at the beginning and the end of each day. So that's really important. The other thing that is so important to me, which I'm really grateful to have been able to bring back into my life, is exercise. And I think everybody finds balance in different ways: some people, through spiritual practice; others, through meditation; and, for me, exercise and, at this stage, running is really critical. So I do run five to six days a week, for roughly 45 minutes; and that's a way to really stay balanced and attuned. Lucy: Well, Gillian, you've really achieved a lot. We haven't even really mentioned it on this interview; but you are an author. You're clearly a passionate activist. You're a lawyer. And, also, you're a techlaureate, from the Tech Museum, which is very impressive as well. You've achieved so much. Oh: and a mom, with great kids. What's next for you? Gillian: Well, interestingly, I'm not somebody who's ever had a clearly designed career path in mind. I'm fortunate that I've been able to work throughout my life in the things that are absolutely engrossing to me and that really make me feel passionate. So I don't have a next step in mind. One of the things that I am increasingly concerned about and do want to direct my attention to, in the context here at Witness and conceivably beyond that, is really the issue of the climate, which is collapsing around us. And I think, first of all, that we are sleeping on the job, in terms of recognizing how serious the issues are, and, second of all, that there is this arbitrary divide between the field of human rights and the environmental movement. And, in fact, if we don't work cohesively together to analyze the intersections between climate collapse and human rights, we're really going to be in trouble. Just by way of example: there will be, and already are, millions of environmental refugees as sea levels rise. Take a look at Bangladesh: much of Bangladesh will be underwater, millions of people forced from their homes. There is already, all over the world today, wars over resource extraction, whether it be wars for oil ‑ of course Iraq comes to mind there ‑ or gold or other natural minerals, which displace hundreds of thousands of people in countries and force them to confront unspeakable violence. There will be the massive spread of vectorial disease. We're already seeing that in disease mutations which function in higher‑temperature environments. So I really see that as a place for a lot more focus and energy; and I'm passionate about seeing what I can do, at Witness and beyond, in that area. Larry: Gillian, I have a feeling that you're going to see it, film it, and change it. Lucy: We really want to thank you for everything you're doing for our world and at Witness. We really appreciate the time that you have taken to talk to us. Gillian: Thank you so much for having me. Lucy: I just want to remind everybody that the podcasts are hosted at the NCWIT website, www.ncwit.org, and also w3w3.com. Larry: That's it. Gillian: And you can go to www.witness.org to learn more about the work. Lucy: Wonderful. Thank you very much. Larry: One more link. Leigh: Thank you, Gillian. Lucy: Bye‑bye. Gillian: O.K. Thank you. Series: Entrepreneurial HeroesInterviewee: Gillian CaldwellInterview Summary: Gillian Caldwell is the Executive Director of WITNESS, which uses the power of video to open the eyes of the world to human rights abuses. A film-maker and an attorney, she has always believed in the power of images to change people's minds. Release Date: August 9, 2007Interview Subject: Gillian CaldwellInterviewer(s): Lucy Sanders, Larry NelsonDuration: 20:50

The Juvenile Injustice System There's old saying that goes: "Children are the Future." If that's true, then a startling portion of our future is locked up in prisons. In the United States and around the world, a growing number of groups are fighting to redirect public resources away from punishment and toward opportunity for young people. On this edition, we'll hear about the scandal-ridden California Youth Authority, abuses inside one of Brazil's juvenile detention centers, as well as alternative approaches to helping troubled kids. The post Making Contact – July 29, 2005 appeared first on KPFA.

Juvenile justice systems across the United States are in a dangerous state of disarray. According to recently published reports, violence within the system is rampant and abuse of the youth inside by staff is routine. Juvenile facilities nationwide hold almost 104,000 youth. Many states have more juveniles held for property crimes, drug offenses, and public disorder than anything else; only A QUARTER of the youth are committed for violent crimes. We strive not only to be creative here at artificial eye, but also to bring issues deserving attention. Many of the conversations at the recent AVIT vj conference centered around our responsibility as artists not only to deliver eye candy, but a message in our content. Here is something about what is happening in my home state, california. This post has been excerpted from "System Failure: Violence, Abuse and Neglect in the California Youth Authority," produced by WITNESS and Books Not Bars a program of WITNESS partner The Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and offers testimony of the human rights violations "including sexual abuse, beatings, forced medication, and systemic mental health and educational neglect of juveniles" taking place at the California Youth Authority (CYA), one of the largest youth correctional agencies in the country.