Podcasts about Equal Justice Initiative

You are more than your grades, your struggles, or your past, says Bryan Stevenson (author of Just Mercy and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative). Stevenson shares his journey defending the wrongly accused and why he's hopeful about the next generation. Click here for this episode's transcript.The conversation was produced by Kiran Bhatia from Brookline, MA. Lead Podcast Producer Briget Ganske produced this episode with editing and mixing by Genesis Magpayo and help from Wyatt Mayes. Ryan Janes is the camera and audio operator.  

On this episode of the Rules of the Game podcast (the third in an eight-part, issue-specific podcast series), we'll discuss recent headlines impacting criminal legal reform advocates and explain how nonprofits can take action with legislative, executive branch, and judicial branch advocacy. From responding to legislative proposals to initiating litigation, nonprofits nationwide are standing up to fight for our rights and critical reforms to our criminal legal system. This episode will highlight their work and provide information about the rules that apply when nonprofits engage in advocacy to ensure due process, protect the rights of the accused, and improve judicial systems. Attorneys for this episode Monika Graham Melissa Marichal Zayas Natalie Roetzel Ossenfort   Show notes ·      Recent Headlines: Legislation, Litigation, and More! o   Legislation: §  Family Notification of Death, Injury, or Illness in Custody Act: Bipartisan legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate. Would require the DOJ to issue guidance on how federal prisons should promptly notify families of incarcerated individuals who become seriously ill or pass away in prison. o   Litigation §  Criminal legal reform advocates scored a win in Michigan recently, when the MI Supreme Court ruled that mandatory / automatic life without parole sentences for 19-20 year olds convicted of murder are unconstitutional. o   Executive Branch Actions: §  Earlier this year, the DOJ froze work on police reform and other civil rights cases. Now, (in the absence of DOJ leadership on these issues), the burden has shifted to local governments to take action. o   Keep on Your Radar: Trump's “Opening Salvo” in His War Against Criminal Justice Reform Starts With This Nonprofit §  The Vera Institute of Justice, a major criminal justice reform nonprofit, had all five of its federal grants—worth about $5 million—abruptly terminated by the Department of Justice under Attorney General Pam Bondi, a key Trump ally. §  Evaluate your funding sources, and make sure you're not overly dependent on any one source.   ·      Non-Lobbying Advocacy o   Nonpartisan Advocacy 101: 501(c)(3)s cannot support or oppose candidates for public office, but they can… o   Educate the public about issues of importance to your organization. §  Equal Justice Initiative recently provided education related to the wrongful incarceration and conviction of black defendants in murder cases. Not only did they report on research from the National Registry of Exonerations that black Americans are nearly 8x more likely to be wrongfully convicted of murder, but they noted that they are also likely to spend more years in prison than wrongfully convicted white people. o   Hold a rally: §  Earlier this year, a coalition of criminal justice reform advocates and nonprofits in New Mexico held a rally to call attention to the reality of mass incarceration and to propose common-sense alternatives to harsh prison sentences. o   Initiate or participate in litigation: §  The Innocence Project (AFJ Member) and other members of the Innocence Network, engage in litigation on behalf of wrongfully convicted persons who can be proven innocent with DNA and other types of evidence. o   Fund Advocacy §  Private and public foundations can support organizations advancing their charitable missions through general operating grants and/or specific project grants, ensuring flexibility and sustainability in pursuit of shared goals.   ·      Lobbying o   501(c)(3) public charities are also allowed to use unrestricted funds to engage in some lobbying activities. o   Tax Code Lobbying 101: Public charities can lobby, but they are limited in how much lobbying they may engage in. §  Insubstantial part test vs. 501(h) expenditure test. §  Under either test, lobbying includes attempts to influence legislation at any level of government. §  Track your local, state, and federal lobbying, and stay within your lobbying limits. o   State/local level lobbyist registration and reporting requirements may also apply when engaging in legislative and executive branch advocacy. o   Ballot measure advocacy (direct lobbying) could also implicate state / local campaign finance and election laws. o   Lobbying win! §  In March, DC Justice Lab, an AFJ member, and several other nonprofits lobbied in support of Maryland's Second Look Act by submitting testimony to the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. This legislation would permit individuals convicted of certain crimes between the ages of 18 and 25, and have served over 20 years of their sentence, to petition the court to modify or reduce their sentence based on demonstrated rehabilitation. Since the committee's hearing, the Maryland General Assembly has passedthe Second Look Act, which now awaits Governor Moore's signature.   Resources – ·      Justice & Equity: The Advocacy Playbook for Criminal Legal Reform ·      Public Charities Can Lobby (Factsheet) ·      Practical Guidance: what your nonprofit needs to know about lobbying in your state ·      Investing in Change: A Funder's Guide to Supporting Advocacy ·      What is Advocacy? 2.0

The Federal Communications Commission is currently investigating CBS for “intentional news distortion” for its editing of an interview with Kamala Harris. On this week's On the Media, what the new chairman of the FCC has been up to, and what led a top CBS producer to quit. Plus, what a growing effort to rewrite the history of Watergate tells us about the American right.[01:00] The Federal Communications Commission is currently investigating CBS for “intentional news distortion” for its editing of an interview with Kamala Harris. Host Brooke Gladstone talks with Max Tani, Semafor's Media Editor and co-host of the podcast Mixed Signals, about Brendan Carr's busy first three months as Chairman of the FCC and the impacts that these kinds of investigations could have on press freedoms.[15:37] Host Micah Loewinger speaks with Michael Koncewicz, political historian at New York University, about the fight over who gets to tell the story of Watergate and the years-long conservative movement to rehabilitate Richard Nixon's image.[29:26] Brooke sits down with Bryan Stevenson, public interest lawyer and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, a human rights organization based in Montgomery, Alabama, to talk about the Trump Administration's war on museums, especially those that deal with our nation's history of racism.  Further reading:How Nexstar dodged a Trump lawsuit, by Max TaniShari Redstone kept tabs on ‘60 Minutes' segments on Trump, by Max TaniThe Alarming Effort To Rewrite the History of Watergate, by Michael KoncewiczThe Worst Thing We've Ever Done, On the Media (2018) On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today (https://pledge.wnyc.org/support/otm). Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

Shai kicks off this week's episode with an I Told You Show for Becky, and his new discovery - vitamins (spoiler: his bodily fluids glow now). Calling from snowy Ottawa, Becky shares tales of Passover with her Russian in-laws, who have gone above and beyond to turn their home into a matzo fry culinary lab, complete with matzo waffles and matzo spanakopita. We also tackle a ton of movies and shows we're watching:  The Wedding Banquet (but Shai makes it about The Last Jedi) The Shondaland whodunnit The Residence, stacked with a killer cast including Uzo Aduba and Ken Marino Hit Man (again... Glenn Powell - need we say more) The Peanut Butter Falcon A revisiting of Mallrats and John Tucker Must Die with the next generation Plus, what's coming in May? Shai and Becky preview: Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Lilo & Stitch (Live-Action) Karate Kid: Legends Thunderbolts …and the Nicolas Cage slow burn The Surfer Clown in a Cornfield (a big NO for Becky) Also: Woody Woodpecker, Heart Eyes, and Captain America: Brave New World. Sign up for the Friday Night Movie Newsletter for giveaways, curated episode playlists from the hosts and guests (including our mom), and at MOST one email per month (and probably fewer).  Closed captions for this episode are available via the player on the official Friday Night Movie homepage, the Podbean app and website, and YouTube.  The Friday Night Movie Family supports the following organizations: The Red Tent Fund | HIAS | Equal Justice Initiative | Asian American Journalists Association | The Entertainment Community Fund. Subscribe, rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform, including iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Play | Podbean | Overcast. Play along with Friday Night Movie at home! Read the FNM Glossary to learn the about our signature bits (e.g., Buy/Rent/Meh, I Told You Shows, Tradesies, etc). Email us at info@p4tmedia.com or tweet @FriNightMovie, @pancake4table, @chichiKgomez, and/or  @paperBKprincess.  Follow our creations and zany Instagram stories @frinightmovie, @FNMsisters, and @pancake4table. Follow us on Letterboxd (@pancake4table) where we're rating every movie we've EVER watched.  Subscribe to our quarterly newsletter for exclusive giveaways and news! Theme music by What Does It Eat.  Subscribe and leave a review on IOS or Android at frinightmovie.com.  

4.14.2025 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: DOJ ends raw sewage settlement, Crockett rips GOP's dangerous health agenda, El Salvador Deportation In 2023, the Department of Justice identified a pattern of neglect by Alabama's Department of Public Health, which has contributed to a decades-old water and sewage crisis in the state's "Black Belt," specifically in Lowndes County. Now, the MAGA administration is terminating the settlement that was reached to address the county's water issues. I will speak with the Rural Development Manager of the Equal Justice Initiative about how this decision will continue to affect Black citizens in Alabama. The false narrative that noncitizens were voting led to the passage of the SAVE Act, which requires documentary proof of citizenship to register or update voter information. We will discuss with the Policy Council from the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law the implications of this law on voters. In tonight's Crockett Chronicles, Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett calls out MAGA Republicans for turning public health into a partisan circus. And thousands turnout to honor one of the greatest boxers of all time, George Foreman. #BlackStarNetwork partner: Fanbasehttps://www.startengine.com/offering/fanbase This Reg A+ offering is made available through StartEngine Primary, LLC, member FINRA/SIPC. This investment is speculative, illiquid, and involves a high degree of risk, including the possible loss of your entire investment. You should read the Offering Circular (https://bit.ly/3VDPKjD) and Risks (https://bit.ly/3ZQzHl0) related to this offering before investing. Download the #BlackStarNetwork app on iOS, AppleTV, Android, Android TV, Roku, FireTV, SamsungTV and XBox http://www.blackstarnetwork.com The #BlackStarNetwork is a news reporting platform covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jump into the compelling autobiographical world of creator Joe Tierney's f-ed up experience at a so-called "therapeutic boarding school" in our interview with him, well as in a director Kat Whalen, and stars Andrew Fama and Sarah Jeffrey. We go behind the scenes with this stellar team talk about how they turned the world of F-ED UP ANONYMOUS into a must-watch TV pilot.   Sign up for the Friday Night Movie Newsletter for giveaways, curated episode playlists from the hosts and guests (including our mom), and at MOST one email per month (and probably fewer).  Closed captions for this episode are available via the player on the official Friday Night Movie homepage, the Podbean app and website, and YouTube.  The Friday Night Movie Family supports the following organizations: The Red Tent Fund | HIAS | Equal Justice Initiative | Asian American Journalists Association | The Entertainment Community Fund. Subscribe, rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform, including iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Play | Podbean | Overcast. Play along with Friday Night Movie at home! Read the FNM Glossary to learn the about our signature bits (e.g., Buy/Rent/Meh, I Told You Shows, Tradesies, etc). Email us at info@p4tmedia.com or tweet @FriNightMovie, @pancake4table, @chichiKgomez, and/or  @paperBKprincess.  Follow our creations and zany Instagram stories @frinightmovie, @FNMsisters, and @pancake4table. Follow us on Letterboxd (@pancake4table) where we're rating every movie we've EVER watched.  Subscribe to our quarterly newsletter for exclusive giveaways and news! Theme music by What Does It Eat.  Subscribe and leave a review on IOS or Android at frinightmovie.com.

Writer / director Andy Reid joins the pod to talk about his meta exploration of the blending of reality and fiction in film, with his short, BRIEF SOMEBODIES that tells the story of a filmmaker directing and starring in a feature retelling his own sexual assault. We also go into depth about the critical role of intimacy coordinators on film sets in the eye-opening and vulnerable conversation. Sign up for the Friday Night Movie Newsletter for giveaways, curated episode playlists from the hosts and guests (including our mom), and at MOST one email per month (and probably fewer).  Closed captions for this episode are available via the player on the official Friday Night Movie homepage, the Podbean app and website, and YouTube.  The Friday Night Movie Family supports the following organizations: The Red Tent Fund | HIAS | Equal Justice Initiative | Asian American Journalists Association | The Entertainment Community Fund. Subscribe, rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform, including iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Play | Podbean | Overcast. Play along with Friday Night Movie at home! Read the FNM Glossary to learn the about our signature bits (e.g., Buy/Rent/Meh, I Told You Shows, Tradesies, etc). Email us at info@p4tmedia.com or tweet @FriNightMovie, @pancake4table, @chichiKgomez, and/or  @paperBKprincess.  Follow our creations and zany Instagram stories @frinightmovie, @FNMsisters, and @pancake4table. Follow us on Letterboxd (@pancake4table) where we're rating every movie we've EVER watched.  Subscribe to our quarterly newsletter for exclusive giveaways and news! Theme music by What Does It Eat.  Subscribe and leave a review on IOS or Android at frinightmovie.com.

Dive into the bizarre world of "Influencer Houses" with Director Pepi Ginsberg and Producer Karen Mader's gripping WASSUPKAYLEE, the story of Kaylee Hord, a 17-year-old prank video TikTokker struggling to fit in and pay the rent while pursuing viral fame at all costs. Special shoutout in this episode to composer, Martin Crane, who blew our minds with his shapeshifting and mind-rattling score. Sign up for the Friday Night Movie Newsletter for giveaways, curated episode playlists from the hosts and guests (including our mom), and at MOST one email per month (and probably fewer).  Closed captions for this episode are available via the player on the official Friday Night Movie homepage, the Podbean app and website, and YouTube.  The Friday Night Movie Family supports the following organizations: The Red Tent Fund | HIAS | Equal Justice Initiative | Asian American Journalists Association | The Entertainment Community Fund. Subscribe, rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform, including iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Play | Podbean | Overcast. Play along with Friday Night Movie at home! Read the FNM Glossary to learn the about our signature bits (e.g., Buy/Rent/Meh, I Told You Shows, Tradesies, etc). Email us at info@p4tmedia.com or tweet @FriNightMovie, @pancake4table, @chichiKgomez, and/or  @paperBKprincess.  Follow our creations and zany Instagram stories @frinightmovie, @FNMsisters, and @pancake4table. Follow us on Letterboxd (@pancake4table) where we're rating every movie we've EVER watched.  Subscribe to our quarterly newsletter for exclusive giveaways and news! Theme music by What Does It Eat.  Subscribe and leave a review on IOS or Android at frinightmovie.com.

Each Friday during Black History Month, Mayor Arceneaux highlights an individual whose impact, courage, and achievements inspire us all. Their stories remind us of the resilience, innovation, and leadership that have shaped history.This Friday, his inspiration is Bryan Stevenson, a lawyer, social justice activist, and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative. Bryan Stevenson has dedicated his life to fighting for the rights of marginalized communities. His work challenging wrongful convictions and advocating for criminal justice reform has changed countless lives. His bestselling book Just Mercy sheds light on systemic injustices and continues to inspire change. Enjoy!

Scott Burwell, PhD, is the founder and CEO of Neurotype Inc. Scott shares his journey from a background in experimental psychology to establishing Neurotype, a company developing brain therapeutics to address cravings in substance use disorders. He discusses the innovative use of EEG technology to measure brain responses to stimuli, providing an objective biological assessment and treatment of cravings. Scott emphasizes the importance of integrating science-led approaches in creating medical devices and reflects on the challenges and rewards of leading a MedTech startup.   Guest links: https://www.neurotype.io | https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottjburwell/ | https://www.linkedin.com/company/neurotype Charity supported: Equal Justice Initiative Interested in being a guest on the show or have feedback to share? Email us at theleadingdifference@velentium.com.  PRODUCTION CREDITS Host: Lindsey Dinneen Editing: Marketing Wise Producer: Velentium   EPISODE TRANSCRIPT Episode 049 - Scott Burwell, PhD [00:00:00] Lindsey Dinneen: Hi, I'm Lindsey and I'm talking with MedTech industry leaders on how they change lives for a better world. [00:00:09] Diane Bouis: The inventions and technologies are fascinating and so are the people who work with them. [00:00:15] Frank Jaskulke: There was a period of time where I realized, fundamentally, my job was to go hang out with really smart people that are saving lives and then do work that would help them save more lives. [00:00:28] Diane Bouis: I got into the business to save lives and it is incredibly motivating to work with people who are in that same business, saving or improving lives. [00:00:38] Duane Mancini: What better industry than where I get to wake up every day and just save people's lives. [00:00:42] Lindsey Dinneen: These are extraordinary people doing extraordinary work, and this is The Leading Difference. Hello, and welcome back to another episode of The Leading Difference podcast. I'm your host, Lindsey, and I'm so excited to introduce you to my guest today, Scott Burwell. Scott is the founder and CEO of Neurotype Inc, developer of new brain therapeutics to make environmental triggers less problematic for people in recovery for substance use disorders and other addictions. Well, hello, Scott. Thank you so much for joining us today. I'm so excited to speak with you. [00:01:17] Scott Burwell: Great. Thanks so much for having me, Lindsey. Thanks. [00:01:19] Lindsey Dinneen: Of course. Well, would you mind by starting off and tell us a little bit about yourself, your background, and maybe what led you to MedTech? [00:01:28] Scott Burwell: Sure. Yeah. So, I have a background in experimental psychology, a PhD in psychology from the University of Minnesota. And kind of what led me to that was experience: my family had a liquor store growing up and I worked there for many years. And so I saw firsthand from behind the counter people with substance use disorders occasionally, and just knowing from extended family, substance use disorders, and it was an interesting observation to me to see different people, how they get to a substance use disorder. Some through genetic propensity and some through experiences in their life. And that led me to get a PhD in psychology where I really focused on the genetics and physiology underlying substance use disorders. And during this time of getting my PhD, I was always trying to think of, where does my skill set and my interest align in the future? What kind of job am I going to have after this? So I looked around. I had some experience, thought, "Could I go the academic route? Could I apply for grants, be a professor at a university?" That approach, which is a very good approach for some people, where your main outcome are publications and grants and dissemination of science. And then I also looked at industry, but a lot of the companies in industry weren't doing exactly what I wanted to do, which was take these biomarkers that we were studying in psychology and transforming that into medical device or medical innovations. And then the third path that I didn't quite see at the time was this sort of like rabbit hole, this unknown path of medical device innovations or startup innovations. And it was an eye-opener to me through some programs at the National Institute of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, that led us to this opportunity that actually, I could start my own startup in this space. And and I'm happy to talk a little bit more about that, that later. But really, this opportunity to make something new, based on the science that we know today, and based on the opportunity and the gap in terms of what people are being treated for with these substance use disorders. So that's kind of what led me down the path, and happy to talk about it today. [00:03:41] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, excellent. Well, thank you for that. And yeah, I'm so excited to delve into so many aspects of your story. So going back just a little bit, you had this childhood where you were observing and you were seeing what was happening to some folks and you thought, "Okay, maybe there's a better way, or at least I'd like to understand more about this." But now, were you always sort of science minded and kind of interested in going into psychology, or did that come about as a result? How did that interest develop? [00:04:10] Scott Burwell: Yeah, really, I never saw myself getting a PhD, never saw myself going to an academia setting. People with graduate degrees, people with doctoral degrees-- all those people seem to be other people and not something that what we did. But my parents really instilled an appreciation of higher education in myself and my two older sisters. But again, it was never this plan for me to go out and get an higher education, PhD degree. I think that what really led me to the path was just try to understand myself. I think that's what led me to psychology. It was a psychology class in behavior genetics that I took in undergraduate that, you know, behavior genetics is the field of understanding how your genes and your rearing environment lead to who you are and influence who you are. And it was one of these, this realization that actually it's not just your experiences, it's not all just the soft, mental processing and soft psychological experience. There's really a physical, biophysical basis, to a lot of who you are and who you turn out to be. And I think that was really eye-opening to me and helpful for me understanding who I was and how I am in the world. And I think, you know, just that little bit of information of understanding, there's this objective information that is programmed in your genes or programmed in your physiology that influences who you are in everyday life, that I found super interesting and eventually led me to work at the Twin Study at the University of Minnesota. And then and then while I was there, I realized there's a lot of people getting PhDs that I'm not that much different from and we're all just curious people. And it's an opportunity for me to, you know, if I apply myself, it was an opportunity for me to pursue a field. [00:06:06] Lindsey Dinneen: That's very cool. Yeah. Okay. So, so you're pursuing this field and you've already had this background and interest in helping folks who have these substance abuse disorders, and I'm wondering, what were you observing as you have now developed this company? And I'm so excited to dive into that as well, but a little bit before that, what were your observations when you started realizing, "Okay there's a gap in the way that we're treating this or handling this or responding to this." And then what was the outcome for you that you thought, "Okay, let's try something different." [00:06:42] Scott Burwell: Yeah. So a couple of things. I think the first thing is that, the treatment of substance use disorders and all behavioral addictions and to some degree mental health is been sort of a parallel development. It's been a, it's been a parallel field that's been outside of the rest of the way that medicine is traditionally done. And so, even though we have for some substance use disorders medications for management of the substance use disorder. Or there are social support groups, AA, Narcotics Anonymous also, that help provide social support to people with substance use disorders. These are sort of groups and services that have been built outside of traditional medicine. And with the exception of these services, there haven't been too many medical innovations, FDA regulated innovations that doctors can prescribe for people with substance use disorders. And this is despite decades of research that are showing there are biological underpinnings of substance use disorders. There are biological interventions that, that can potentially help people with these afflictions. And so, that was one of the pieces that during my training, I was just constantly looking for companies that were doing this kind of work to treat disorders from a biological or psychobiological perspective. And I just wasn't finding anyone. And also at that same time, the DSM Five, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for substance use disorders, the criteria that sort of outline what it takes to get a diagnosis had just included the symptom of craving. It might be surprising to people, but it's only been since about 2013 or so, that craving has been an official symptom of a substance use disorder. And I mean, that's despite again, decades, many years of people reporting cravings being an issue that they deal with day in and day out. And so I was aware of this addition of a new symptom, but also I'm aware of the fact that the way that substance use disorders are diagnosed, they're assessed, they're monitored, is entirely subjective, meaning that people are reporting these symptoms in an interview in a one on one kind of subjective interview that people can report what they believe, report what they experience, which is valid information. But sometimes what you're aware of, what the clinician is aware of, might not be what's going on an objective biophysical level. And so I was aware of a certain biomarker that you can measure with brain waves using electroencephalogram or EEG and this biomarker is what leading science says is the biomarker underpinning of craving. And so I felt, well, you know, if there was a way that clinicians had this in their hands as either a diagnostic assistant or as a way to treat people with craving, this could be a valuable medical device that people can use. And so, I can talk more about the specific biomarker, but these were two realizations that I saw that there's a lacking and a need for innovation in this field. [00:10:03] Lindsey Dinneen: Great. Yeah. Okay. So yeah, could you share a little bit more about the biomarker and then how you have found, how you have discovered to affect this and what this device is and how it works? [00:10:14] Scott Burwell: Yeah, so Neurotype Inc., we were founded in 2019. We were founded after we were participating in this workshop at Yale University called Innovation to Impact. It's funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. And we really pitched this idea to them as kind of a off the cuff, last day of the workshop pitch event and won first prize in that thing. And that's really what gave us the steam to go ahead and apply for these federal grants to support further development of this biomarker. What the biomarker is, basically we put a headset on you and that headset is kind of like a fitness tracker except other than being like a fitness tracker that's tracking your steps from, you know, a watch or, you know, being a glucose monitor that's on your arm, that senses how much blood sugar you have, this fitness tracker is on your head. It measures the electro physiology that's generated by your brain. And it's entirely passive in that regard. We're not putting any like, you know, electrical stimulations in, but it's just measuring how your brain is acting at all moments. And what we do is that's different from other companies is we're actually recording how your brain responds on a millisecond scale in response to pictures. So we hand somebody an iPad while they're wearing one of these headsets, and we show them a flip book of pictures. Some of those pictures are like chocolate cake, puppy dogs, you know, cute, emotional pictures. Some of those things are boring things like kitchen supplies, office supplies, whatever they might be. And then some of those things are like opioid pill bottle, right? And so, for opioid use disorder, if you are liable for craving, and if you're likely to start reusing after being discharged from treatment, your response to that opioid pill bottle, the brain response, the objective brain response, is going to be very similar to how it responds to, for instance, chocolate cake, than a person that's not at risk for returning to opioid use or other kinds of craving. And so this biomarker is really a biomarker of what's called 'motivated attention.' How interesting you find that stimulus on the screen and how much it grabs your attention. And what we know from psychology is that if something grabs your attention, you're likely to behave in a way that is going to correspond with that. So if it grabs your attention, you're going to act a certain way around that stimulus. And so for people with opioid use disorder, it might be that it stimulates some thought process or some behavioral process in your body that leads you to seek that substance, affiliate yourself with people that have that substance, you know, all sorts of indirect ways that eventually lead you to start using that substance again. And so, we have done a few different research projects funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and these are different projects over time that have really established the core assessment capabilities of the device. And now we're working towards clinical trial validation through a small business innovation research project from National Institute on Drug Abuse that will be a pivotal clinical trial for us. [00:13:30] Lindsey Dinneen: That's really exciting. When does that happen? [00:13:32] Scott Burwell: So, that is part of what's called a fast track project, and we are finishing up our phase one portion of that. And the phase two portion will probably start sometime this coming summer. Yeah. [00:13:45] Lindsey Dinneen: Great. Okay. That's great. And so what is your dream or ultimate ideal goal for the company and for this device? What are you hoping to affect or where are you hoping this device will be used? [00:13:58] Scott Burwell: Yeah. So, our main goal or our first sort of beachhead market, if you will, is the intensive outpatient treatment clinics for substance use disorders or other mental health. It's a certain kind of clinic where people are seen on a pretty regular basis during early recovery when they're still in a kind of high risk period. And in this group of patients, they tend to be in a scenario where they are living at home or living in the wild, so to speak, it's no longer a residential treatment setting. But they are living and being challenged day to day with the triggers in their environment that, that can lead to risk for problems. And the interesting thing about this space though, and this market is that in that space, there really are not many regulated, or any regulated devices, that are being used to manage specifically certain symptoms. And especially none that are applying to brain physiology like ours. And so, it's a pretty big step to bring our device to these spaces because they might be familiar with a blood pressure cuff or people might get blood work done from time to measure other health related risks. But for us, we are bringing an EEG system, and it's a portable EEG with a software device, into a clinic where they've never been before. And so my grand vision for this is really to be, you know, we're not a fix all. We're not a cure-all solution, but we are solution to help one specific slice of somebody's condition, and be a fix for craving in these settings. But if we can get the device in these clinics settings, it opens the door for a whole lot of other biomarker solutions to take place. And so right now, we're just focused on craving, monitoring the craving, but also treating the craving through what's called closed loop biofeedback. But the but the long term vision for this is to do-- we can additionally build out with the same brain kind of assessment, we can build out other kinds of biomarkers. So, those that are related to genetic risk. So we don't have to do like a full genetic test, but we could use that same brain data to to study what are called endo phenotypes, but basically a genetic marker of risk for a certain disease type or a certain disease progression. We could also measure other aspects of distress or you know, other depressive symptomatology or things like this with our measures. So, I think if I were to, at minimum, if we were to be able to make a dent or just get our device into these intensive outpatient clinics, that would be a huge success for me and the company. But, I think much grander speaking, it would open the doors for a lot of more transformative addiction treatment care. [00:16:56] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. Yes. Okay. Well, that's incredible and thank you for sharing your vision, 'cause I always love hearing, all right, what's the longterm heart for this company in this project. So that's great. Yeah. Are there any moments that stand out to you, maybe as you're developing this device or maybe even before as you're studying the biomarker and you're thinking through, you know, how can I make a difference in this particular indication? So are there any moments that stand out to you as really affirming to you, "Yes, I am in the right place at the right time. Doing what I'm supposed to be doing." [00:17:32] Scott Burwell: Yeah, I think one piece was when we won first place at that at the Yale workshop that we did. I would say another was just getting each of these grants. We've applied for grants over and over again. And you don't get every one of those grants. But when you get certain projects, and when you're awarded these monies, it is incredibly validating because, you know it's gone through scientific review at the NIH. You know that also at the specific institute, so National Institute on Drug Abuse or Alcoholism or Mental Health-- they're different -- that this is an intense area that they see value. And so when you get these projects, and we've gotten over a million dollars now in these projects, that there's some validation behind it from federal and also a scientific level. So that's one area, but then I would also say that, when talking to clinicians, we talked to clinicians and we talked to some patients about the device, and we demo the device and demo the technology with some clinicians and patients. And, people will come back and be like, "Wow, why is this not out there already? Why don't we have this kind of data?" And to me that is incredibly rewarding to just see people and their immediate responses to the technology, because I don't think anyone really knows that this science or this technology is readily available. It just needs to be packaged in the correct way. And it also has to go through the correct regulatory and reimbursement pass. I mean, to just say "just," I think that's probably an understatement for sure. But, the science has decades of work behind it. And really it's up to us now to move that, to make it to that next milestone, that next goalpost. And that work isn't really science. It's just hard work. [00:19:14] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. Yeah, indeed. Well, speaking of hard work, you know, forming a company on its own, working in the medtech field on its own, all of those things are difficult challenges to choose. And I'm curious, how has your personal path been in terms of growing into this leadership role where you are directing this company and directing people. How's that journey been for you too? [00:19:43] Scott Burwell: You know, I think it's been a journey. And when people say that you can't do it on your own, that is 100 percent true. And even if you hear it and you believe it, sometimes I think it takes a lot for me to come to the realization to put that into practice. I tried to do a lot on my own. In the team, I am the CTO, the CEO, the COO, all these different roles that I've assigned myself. We participated and were awarded into the-- NIH has this program called Innovation Core, iCore. And we did this program and one of our mentors there was really harping on the idea of leaning into your what are called core competencies. So what are you actually really good at as a team and as a company? And what are you less good at? And and I think that the more that I've learned to lean into my core competencies, which are really around the science, the translation of the neuroscience, the translation into a clinical tool that can be used, thinking about the vision of our technology. And tried to offload some of the other things, whether it be regulatory or whether it be some aspects of business strategy or other otherwise to, to other people that can help in a fractional sense or whatever to help us out. That's helped me both maintain my role as a leader and keep on doing the work that I think that I can actually contribute to and be useful contributing to, as well as keeping the company afloat in terms of funding and just hitting our milestones on all the different projects that we've been awarded and need to produce for. So, so I would say that, you know, I'm no, I'm not a perfect leader. I'm not a perfect CEO by any means. But I, but as I go on, I kind of learned that you can't do it all yourself, and you can't accomplish everything to the same degree as another person possibly could. And so trying to build good teams, trying to lean on team members that can do certain things, finding the strengths in certain team members and asking them to do the right kind of work given their skill set. But I think that's been a crash course for me. [00:22:00] Lindsey Dinneen: Yes, indeed. Well, that makes complete sense because, you know, like you said at the very beginning, it is a journey, and it is a constant learning and growing process. So yeah, that's, that's fantastic. Well, pivoting the conversation just for fun, imagine that you were to be offered a million dollars to teach a masterclass on anything you want. It can be within your field. It doesn't have to be. What would you choose to teach and why? [00:22:29] Scott Burwell: Oh my gosh. Well, You know, I think that-- I'm not sure anyone would offer me a million dollars for this. But if I had the time, I think If I had the time, I would actually really love to teach a masterclass on how to do this sort of neuroscience innovations. There's a lot. This is a really hot area for startups and innovations, the idea of using neuroscience tools as products. There are companies out there like the Muse headband or there's Nurable, which makes these smart sort of headphones that also measure brainwaves. Neurocity is another company that's doing things for productivity. And I know people at these companies. They're all great companies. And these are some very successful examples. But there's other companies out there too that, that are doing things that I feel are led by engineering first. So, just because you can do something, it doesn't mean that you should do something. And it doesn't mean that there's any validity to what it is that you're doing. So, you know, there's a lot of interest in that. Around developing brain computer interfaces or other kinds of neurological or brain diagnostic or treatment devices. They're doing brain stimulation or brain sensing or biofeedback or all these sorts of buzzwords. I think we're kind of part of that group, honestly, but the difference between us and the others is that we are science led and a lot of these other companies are engineering or technology led. And when you lead through something, when you start by innovating by technology and innovating by engineering, that's great from a perspective of showing others that you have a tool. But without a use for that tool, and without evidence from science that tool actually does something useful, then it's kind of useless. And so a lot of those companies go broke because they don't have a user for that tool or the tool that they built doesn't actually do what they intended it to do. So one thing that I think I would do in this course, if I were to do this course, is to really emphasize like, here's how you can approach certain kinds of biomarkers. Here's the types of biomarkers that people actually think is correlate with a disease, major depression, ADHD, substance use disorders, whatever it is, and actually have a scientific grounding versus building a headset that does XYZ first and not really having a scientific basis. One, one tip I would just offer people is just get a PhD that has the background in that content space first on your team, because they will tell you what the field thinks of it. And a lot of times, the field thinks that a lot of the products that are being developed out there are just snake oil. And so, so really, you know, do your diligence on the science before diving into something. [00:25:27] Lindsey Dinneen: Cool. Yes. I'm sure that would be a fantastic masterclass and very needed. So, all right. Sounds good. All right. And how do you wish to be remembered after you leave this world? [00:25:40] Scott Burwell: Great question. You know, I would love, like I mentioned earlier, for Neurotype to play its part in establishing these kinds of brain biomarkers in the treatment for behavioral and mental health disorders. I would love for us to be a building block for what the future looks like. I think we're using the most current science available to build our innovation. And if we can be sort of that first step into the future, I think that would be so great. And the science will change in the future, but I think that if we can be that stepping stone, that would be ideal. I think on a more personal level, I think I would love for anyone I know, anyone that I come into contact though with, I really want to be remembered as a person that's just been kind to you. If you can remember one moment that that you felt like, "Oh, Scott made me feel good in that scenario" or "Scott was helpful in that scenario." I think that would be a more realistic grab or a closer term grab. So, so, you know, both those things I think would be great. But in the day to day, I really work to at least hope that people remember me and felt that I was kind to them. [00:26:48] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, absolutely. Kindness makes all the difference. Yeah! Okay, and then, final question. What is one thing that makes you smile every time you see or think about it? [00:27:00] Scott Burwell: Oh, geez. I think, you know, Is it is it okay to say cute animal memes from Twitter or something? But so... [00:27:08] Lindsey Dinneen: Sure! [00:27:09] Scott Burwell: I love cute animals. I love any cute animal or cute baby thing on Instagram or wherever. But I will also just say, back to the impact aspect of our company, we do research with people. We do early demo testing with people with substance use disorders. And some people struggle, they're in and out of treatment programs five, six times before something really starts to click. And they put in so much hard work and so much effort to keep on their pathway, unique pathway to recovery. And so, you know, I think that I'm really encouraged and really puts gas in my tank when I see people that are doing well and that they're happy. And because there's some degree of pride that person carries around and some, and and maybe that pride was not necessarily there beforehand. And so, you know, I think that I will, regardless if they are achieving their goals and living a happier life because of what Neurotype is doing, or something else, really doesn't matter to me. When I see people that are doing better, it is warming to my heart to see somebody that has made some sort of sustained change in their life that is impacting them in a positive way, because it really does show that people can change. People can do what they want to do and live the life that they want to live in many cases when they. are given the opportunity. And so that's heartwarming to me. [00:28:38] Lindsey Dinneen: Absolutely, yeah, absolutely. Ah, that's wonderful. Well, yes, and also, awesome little cute memes are the best, especially with animals, oh my gosh. [00:28:48] Scott Burwell: I know. Yeah. [00:28:49] Lindsey Dinneen: I spend way too much time looking at baby animals, but I always smile, so, you know, win. [00:28:54] Scott Burwell: Yes, it is. It's the main, it's the main way I get my little like boosts of dopamine throughout the day for sure. [00:29:00] Lindsey Dinneen: Yes, absolutely. Well, Scott, this has been a fantastic conversation. I so appreciate you joining me and sharing more about the work that your company is doing and all the innovation. I'm so excited to watch it continue to succeed. So thank you for spending some time with me today. I appreciate it. [00:29:18] Scott Burwell: Absolutely. Thank you, Lindsey. Thank you. [00:29:20] Lindsey Dinneen: Of course, and we're so honored to be making a donation on your behalf as a thank you for your time today to the Equal Justice Initiative, which provides legal representation to prisoners who may have been wrongfully convicted of crimes, poor prisoners without effective representation, and others who may have been denied a fair trial. So thank you so much for choosing that charity to support. We just wish you continued success as you work to change lives for a better world. And thank you also to our listeners for tuning in. And if you're feeling as inspired as I am at the moment, I would love if you would share this episode with a colleague or two, and we will catch you next time. [00:30:02] Ben Trombold: The Leading Difference is brought to you by Velentium. Velentium is a full-service CDMO with 100% in-house capability to design, develop, and manufacture medical devices from class two wearables to class three active implantable medical devices. Velentium specializes in active implantables, leads, programmers, and accessories across a wide range of indications, such as neuromodulation, deep brain stimulation, cardiac management, and diabetes management. Velentium's core competencies include electrical, firmware, and mechanical design, mobile apps, embedded cybersecurity, human factors and usability, automated test systems, systems engineering, and contract manufacturing. Velentium works with clients worldwide, from startups seeking funding to established Fortune 100 companies. Visit velentium.com to explore your next step in medical device development. ​

We begin our next series, this time on Capital Punishment. We start with the history of crimes throughout written history that justified the death penalty. Then we get into colonial history and how the death penalty was built into the foundations of racist America. Multiple Supreme Court rulings have shifted the landscape. We end with the recent EO attempting to expand the powers of the death penalty.   Death Penalty survey #1: https://forms.gle/S31MTYbM8JNsikpe9    Show Notes:    History of the death penalty: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/history-of-the-death-penalty/  https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/facts-and-research/background/history-of-the-death-penalty/early-history-of-the-death-penalty  Timeline of the history of the death penalty: https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/stories/history-of-the-death-penalty-timeline  History of the death penalty in USA: https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/facts-and-research/background/history-of-the-death-penalty  Death penalty in the U.S.: https://www.findlaw.com/criminal/criminal-procedure/the-u-s-and-the-death-penalty.html  Capital punishment in the United States: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment_in_the_United_States  On Crimes and Punishment by Cesare Bonesana di Beccaria, 1764: https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/historic-document-library/detail/cesare-bonesana-di-beccariaon-crimes-and-punishments-1764 Overview of the death penalty and capital trials: History, current status, legal procedures, and cost: https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/overview-death-penalty-and-capital-trials-history-current-status  Crimes act of 1790: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimes_Act_of_1790 List of women executed in the United States since 1976: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_women_executed_in_the_United_States_since_1976  Amnesty International resources https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/death-penalty/ “The Movement to Abolish Capital Punishment in America, 1787-1861” by David Brion Davis: https://www.jstor.org/stable/1847110?read-now=1&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents Study reveals racial bias in executions: https://eji.org/news/study-reveals-racial-bias-in-executions/ “I just wanted to … stay alive” Who was WIlliam Furman, the prisoner at the center of a historic legal decision?: https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/i-just-wanted-to-stay-alive-who-was-william-henry-furman-the-prisoner-at-the-center-of-a-historic-legal-decision  Furman v Georgia:  https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/us-supreme-court/408/238.html chrome-extension://oemmndcbldboiebfnladdacbdfmadadm/https://scholarship.richmond.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1097&context=law-student-publications  Gregg v Georgia: https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/us-supreme-court/428/153.html  HIstorical Federal Executions: https://www.usmarshals.gov/who-we-are/history/historical-reading-room/historical-federal-executions  Judiciary Act of 1789: https://www.usmarshals.gov/who-we-are/history/historical-reading-room/judiciary-act-of-1789-charter-us-marshals-and-deputies  EO on expanded Death Penalty https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/restoring-the-death-penalty-and-protecting-public-safety/ https://prismreports.org/2025/02/10/death-penalty-undocumented-immigrants-trump/ https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/florida-lawmakers-push-for-mandatory-death-penalty-in-immigration-crackdown/ Equal Justice Initiative https://eji.org/issues/death-penalty/ Texas Department of Criminal Justice on DP https://www.tdcj.texas.gov/death_row/dr_facts.html McCleskey v. Kemp https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/481/279/ EJI on McCleskey v. Kemp https://eji.org/news/the-legacy-of-mccleskey-v-kemp/ Racial bias in death penalty https://eji.org/news/study-reveals-racial-bias-in-executions/ Furman v Georgia https://www.oyez.org/cases/1971/69-5030 https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/408/238/ Wilkerson v Utah https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/99/130/ The Movement to Abolish Capitla Punishment by David Brion Davis https://www.jstor.org/stable/1847110?read-now=1&seq=7#page_scan_tab_contents Abraham Johnstone address https://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/johnstone/johnstone.html Slave Executions in the US https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0362331999800019 Execution statistics in US https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/executions/executions-overview/executions-in-the-u-s-1608-2002-the-espy-file Thomas Paine opposing execution of Louis XVI https://alphahistory.com/frenchrevolution/paine-opposes-executing-king-1793/ History of lynching in America https://naacp.org/find-resources/history-explained/history-lynching-america#:~:text=Lynchings%20did%20not%20occur%20in,the%20only%20victims%20of%20lynching. Confronting hte legacy of lynching in America https://lynchinginamerica.eji.org/report/ Other appearances: Chris Shelton interviewed us in the beginning of a series on Mormonism: https://youtu.be/gDCeSOr3U-s?si=bjxiWo-jaYtIESKP    Recent Live Show Book Club on Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCxAsGWNVXo    Email: glassboxpodcast@gmail.com  Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/GlassBoxPod  Patreon page for documentary: https://www.patreon.com/SeerStonedProductions BlueSky: @glassboxpodcast.bsky.social  Other BlueSky: @bryceblankenagel.bsky.social and @shannongrover.bsky.social  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/glassboxpodcast/  Merch store: https://www.redbubble.com/people/exmoapparel/shop Or find the merch store by clicking on “Store” here: https://glassboxpodcast.com/index.html One time Paypal donation: bryceblankenagel@gmail.com  Venmo: Shannon-Grover-10  

Shai recounts a hilarious prank his daughter played on him and mom gets her ear pierced. Also, Lily and Becky are super jealous that Shai gets the most holiday cards. And we review the Subtance.  This week on Friday Night Movie, Lily pees her pants… multiple times. We also watched the new Nosferatu remake (with a wide range of reactions) and are joined by the legendary Cousin Vanessa. IYKYK. Sign up for the Friday Night Movie Newsletter for giveaways, curated episode playlists from the hosts and guests (including our mom), and at MOST one email per month (and probably fewer).  Closed captions for this episode are available via the player on the official Friday Night Movie homepage, the Podbean app and website, and YouTube.  The Friday Night Movie Family supports the following organizations: The Red Tent Fund | HIAS | Equal Justice Initiative | Asian American Journalists Association | The Entertainment Community Fund. Subscribe, rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform, including iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Play | Podbean | Overcast. Play along with Friday Night Movie at home! Read the FNM Glossary to learn the about our signature bits (e.g., Buy/Rent/Meh, I Told You Shows, Tradesies, etc). Email us at info@p4tmedia.com or tweet @FriNightMovie, @pancake4table, @chichiKgomez, and/or  @paperBKprincess.  Follow our creations and zany Instagram stories @frinightmovie, @FNMsisters, and @pancake4table. Follow us on Letterboxd (@pancake4table) where we're rating every movie we've EVER watched.  Subscribe to our quarterly newsletter for exclusive giveaways and news! Theme music by What Does It Eat.  Subscribe and leave a review on IOS or Android at frinightmovie.com.

We're a week away from the inauguration, and I keep thinking about my recent visit to the Equal Justice Initiative's Legacy Sites in Montgomery, Alabama. That visit made it all make sense.

This week on Friday Night Movie, Lily pees her pants… multiple times. We also watched the new Nosferatu remake (with a wide range of reactions) and are joined by the legendary Cousin Vanessa. IYKYK. Sign up for the Friday Night Movie Newsletter for giveaways, curated episode playlists from the hosts and guests (including our mom), and at MOST one email per month (and probably fewer).  Closed captions for this episode are available via the player on the official Friday Night Movie homepage, the Podbean app and website, and YouTube.  The Friday Night Movie Family supports the following organizations: The Red Tent Fund | HIAS | Equal Justice Initiative | Asian American Journalists Association | The Entertainment Community Fund. Subscribe, rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform, including iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Play | Podbean | Overcast. Play along with Friday Night Movie at home! Read the FNM Glossary to learn the about our signature bits (e.g., Buy/Rent/Meh, I Told You Shows, Tradesies, etc). Email us at info@p4tmedia.com or tweet @FriNightMovie, @pancake4table, @chichiKgomez, and/or  @paperBKprincess.  Follow our creations and zany Instagram stories @frinightmovie, @FNMsisters, and @pancake4table. Follow us on Letterboxd (@pancake4table) where we're rating every movie we've EVER watched.  Subscribe to our quarterly newsletter for exclusive giveaways and news! Theme music by What Does It Eat.  Subscribe and leave a review on IOS or Android at frinightmovie.com.

Over 2024, we had so many rich discussions here at the State of Inclusion Podcast. Join me as we take a few minutes to reflect on our main themes and the wisdom my guests have shared across the year.If you'd like to help us refine our work on equity ecosystem mapping, reach out to me at amesanders@stateofinclusion.com.Find a full transcript and show notes HERE.Sign up for our newsletter and join us at The Inclusive Community to discover conversations, insights, and practices to encourage and support each of us working to build a more inclusive and equitable community.If you would like to help continue and grow our work please visit our Support Us page.  

No spoilers! Just tune in to hear which movies and TV shows made our best-of lists for 2024. Sign up for the Friday Night Movie Newsletter for giveaways, curated episode playlists from the hosts and guests (including our mom), and at MOST one email per month (and probably fewer).  Closed captions for this episode are available via the player on the official Friday Night Movie homepage, the Podbean app and website, and YouTube.  The Friday Night Movie Family supports the following organizations: The Red Tent Fund | HIAS | Equal Justice Initiative | Asian American Journalists Association | The Entertainment Community Fund. Subscribe, rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform, including iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Play | Podbean | Overcast. Play along with Friday Night Movie at home! Read the FNM Glossary to learn the about our signature bits (e.g., Buy/Rent/Meh, I Told You Shows, Tradesies, etc). Email us at info@p4tmedia.com or tweet @FriNightMovie, @pancake4table, @chichiKgomez, and/or  @paperBKprincess.  Follow our creations and zany Instagram stories @frinightmovie, @FNMsisters, and @pancake4table. Follow us on Letterboxd (@pancake4table) where we're rating every movie we've EVER watched.  Subscribe to our quarterly newsletter for exclusive giveaways and news! Theme music by What Does It Eat.  Subscribe and leave a review on IOS or Android at frinightmovie.com.

Bryan Stevenson, the prominent lawyer and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, has blazed a trail representing the poor, wrongly convicted and those on death row. Geoff Bennett sat down with Stevenson to discuss his career and the re-release of his best-selling book, "Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption." PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

Bryan Stevenson, the prominent lawyer and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, has blazed a trail representing the poor, wrongly convicted and those on death row. Geoff Bennett sat down with Stevenson to discuss his career and the re-release of his best-selling book, "Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption." PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

  Sign up for the Friday Night Movie Newsletter for giveaways, curated episode playlists from the hosts and guests (including our mom), and at MOST one email per month (and probably fewer).  Closed captions for this episode are available via the player on the official Friday Night Movie homepage, the Podbean app and website, and YouTube.  The Friday Night Movie Family supports the following organizations: The Red Tent Fund | HIAS | Equal Justice Initiative | Asian American Journalists Association | The Entertainment Community Fund. Subscribe, rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform, including iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Play | Podbean | Overcast. Play along with Friday Night Movie at home! Read the FNM Glossary to learn the about our signature bits (e.g., Buy/Rent/Meh, I Told You Shows, Tradesies, etc). Email us at info@p4tmedia.com or tweet @FriNightMovie, @pancake4table, @chichiKgomez, and/or  @paperBKprincess.  Follow our creations and zany Instagram stories @frinightmovie, @FNMsisters, and @pancake4table. Follow us on Letterboxd (@pancake4table) where we're rating every movie we've EVER watched.  Subscribe to our quarterly newsletter for exclusive giveaways and news! Theme music by What Does It Eat.  Subscribe and leave a review on IOS or Android at frinightmovie.com.

In this special crossover episode, The Scary Movie Project and Friday Night Movie team up to delve into the world of horror. We are joined by award-winning director Matt Lolich, founder of Hilltop Productions and host of The Scary Movie Project. Matt is known for his short films that explore urban legends, including The Haunting of Old House Woods, Something In The Bay: The Tale Of Chessie. The Chesapeake's Loch Ness., and The Bunnyman of Clifton. Our chat centers on the classic The Evil Dead (1981) by Sam Raimi and its 2013 remake directed by Fede Alvarez. We share our earliest memories of watching the original film and reflect on its impact. We also have a lively debate about who had the more memorable hand loss scene - Bruce Campbell or Jane Levy. Discover Matt Lolich's Short Films on Urban Legends: The Haunting of Old House Woods: Watch Here Something In The Bay: The Tale Of Chessie. The Chesapeake's Loch Ness.: Watch Here The Bunnyman of Clifton: Watch Here Sign up for the Friday Night Movie Newsletter for giveaways, curated episode playlists from the hosts and guests (including our mom), and at MOST one email per month (and probably fewer).  Closed captions for this episode are available via the player on the official Friday Night Movie homepage, the Podbean app and website, and YouTube.  The Friday Night Movie Family supports the following organizations: The Red Tent Fund | HIAS | Equal Justice Initiative | Asian American Journalists Association | The Entertainment Community Fund. Subscribe, rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform, including iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Play | Podbean | Overcast. Play along with Friday Night Movie at home! Read the FNM Glossary to learn the about our signature bits (e.g., Buy/Rent/Meh, I Told You Shows, Tradesies, etc). Email us at info@p4tmedia.com or tweet @FriNightMovie, @pancake4table, @chichiKgomez, and/or  @paperBKprincess.  Follow our creations and zany Instagram stories @frinightmovie, @FNMsisters, and @pancake4table. Follow us on Letterboxd (@pancake4table) where we're rating every movie we've EVER watched.  Subscribe to our quarterly newsletter for exclusive giveaways and news! Theme music by What Does It Eat.  Subscribe and leave a review on IOS or Android at frinightmovie.com.

Hannah Went, a pioneer in epigenetics, is the co-founder of TruDiagnostic and founder of Everything Epigentics. She shares her journey from the early days of TruDiagnostic to its burgeoning role in healthcare. She reflects on the rapid evolution of epigenetics, the challenges of making groundbreaking science accessible, and the gratifying shift towards mainstream acceptance. Hannah also delves into her personal growth, emphasizing the transformative impact of "The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership" and her desire to be remembered as loving and impactful.  Guest links: trudiagnostic.com | everythingepigenetics.com Charity supported: Equal Justice Initiative Interested in being a guest on the show or have feedback to share? Email us at podcast@velentium.com.  PRODUCTION CREDITS Host: Lindsey Dinneen Editing: Marketing Wise Producer: Velentium   EPISODE TRANSCRIPT Episode 041 - Hannah Went [00:00:00] Lindsey Dinneen: Hi, I'm Lindsey and I'm talking with MedTech industry leaders on how they change lives for a better world. [00:00:09] Diane Bouis: The inventions and technologies are fascinating and so are the people who work with them. [00:00:15] Frank Jaskulke: There was a period of time where I realized, fundamentally, my job was to go hang out with really smart people that are saving lives and then do work that would help them save more lives. [00:00:28] Diane Bouis: I got into the business to save lives and it is incredibly motivating to work with people who are in that same business, saving or improving lives. [00:00:38] Duane Mancini: What better industry than where I get to wake up every day and just save people's lives. [00:00:42] Lindsey Dinneen: These are extraordinary people doing extraordinary work, and this is The Leading Difference. Hello, and welcome back to another episode of The Leading Difference podcast. I'm your host, Lindsey, and I am so excited to introduce you to my guest today, Hannah Went. Hannah has a lifelong passion for longevity and breakthrough disruptive technologies that drive radical improvement to the human condition. She attended the University of Kentucky and graduated with a degree in biology. During that time, she had multiple research internships studying cell signaling and cell biology. After graduation, she worked for the International Peptide Society as their Director of Research and Content. Through work in the integrative medicine industry, Hannah saw an opportunity for a methylation based age diagnostics and started TruDiagnostics in 2020. TruDiagnostic is a company focused on array based methylation diagnostics for life extension and preventative healthcare serving functional medicine providers. TruDiagnostic has a commitment to research with over 30 approved clinical trials investigating the epigenetic methylation changes of longevity and health interventions. Since TruDiagnostics' inception, they have created one of the world's largest private epigenetic health databases with over 75, 000 patients tested to date. Hannah has since created Everything Epigenetics, where she shares insights on how DNA regulation has an impact on your health. All right, well, welcome to the show, Hannah. I'm so excited to talk with you today. Thanks for taking some time. [00:02:14] Hannah Went: Thanks, Lindsey. I'm excited to speak with you. [00:02:17] Lindsey Dinneen: Awesome. Well, would you mind starting off by sharing a little bit about yourself and your background and what led you to MedTech? [00:02:25] Hannah Went: Yes, absolutely. I've known since I was a little girl that I've always been interested in science, how the world works, how the body works. I remember being a little girl and going in our backyard, lifting up rocks, finding roly-polies and worms and getting all down and dirty. I was definitely a tom girl, if you will, growing up. I love sports. I loved connecting with people. So I also loved the social aspect of understanding how the body works as well. And I was very athletic growing up. So I played track soccer, basketball, sports all year round, essentially. I knew I wasn't good enough though, to go to like a D1 or probably even D2 college for sports. So I was like, "All right, well, I'll just go to a larger university, maybe play some club soccer and really focus on my academic route." And I ended up going to University of Kentucky. It wasn't too far from me. I'm just from Ohio, north of Dayton, a small town called Piqua. And I did end up playing soccer, club soccer there, got involved in a lot of other activities. Ended up actually going into veterinary work, animal science. UK has a really good program for that. They have a really good agriculture department. I ended up shadowing a vet one summer and I hated it. It was one veterinarian clinic. So a lot of work, a lot of late hours. And I knew I wanted to have a family growing up. So I was like, "Eh, let me just switch to general biology. Let me just open my doors." And fast forward to senior year. I was really interested in genetics and you know, how do we have these predispositions that are passed on throughout our family? How does that affect our health outcomes essentially? So I applied to genetic counseling school, which is a very new program. It's a master's program. It is where you get your master's essentially in genetics and counseling. So it's like the best of both worlds, exactly what I loved growing up. You have the science aspect, but you're sitting down and helping people actually understand their risk. Applied to school, Lindsey, and didn't end up getting in. So I was like, "Oh, I'm heartbroken. I'm still super young. My life's over!" type of deal, a big eye roll ,and thought it was the end of the world. But really where my career took a huge turning point was at that failure point. I took a job, my best friend got me a position at a compounding pharmacy in Nicholasville, Kentucky, which is just a little bit South of Lexington. And that was when I was opened up into this entire medtech space of healthcare providers and the integrative functional medicine journey who were focusing on healthcare, like true healthcare, not sick care, not taking care of sick people when they're already sick, they're already doomed and just trying to bill them for all of these medications through insurance. So that's really how I've gotten to where I am today. [00:05:23] Lindsey Dinneen: Oh, that is so cool. Well, first of all, thank you for sharing a little bit about your background. It was fun to even hear about your childhood and how that theme of interest in all those different aspects has woven its way through your story. And I would love to hear a little bit more then about, okay, so what does present day look like and how did you end up where you are? [00:05:43] Hannah Went: Yes, so I'll try and keep it short and concise. So this pharmacy was very innovative. It was the fourth fastest growing healthcare company in the nation in 2019. And it's really focused on the unique peptide products. It was again a compounding pharmacy by trade, meaning you can compound anything in all different dosing as long as you have a prescription from a healthcare provider by it. They grew really fast. So, you know, we always had regulatory agencies come check in, make sure we were doing everything correctly, which we absolutely were. But there was always this worry that these products made people feel better, but there wasn't a lot of quantitative data behind it. So we were like, "All right. Well, what can we measure in clinical trials and institution review boards to really prove to people out there, 'Hey, these are having a massive underlying biological effect on people.' They don't just feel better." We used to joke and say, "People can become tan, they can become skinny, they can increase their libido from these products, but they also actually save people's life." They stabilize insulin sensitivity. They can help people lose weight who have metabolic disease. They can mediate a lot of the effects of specific autoimmune diseases. So there are massive impacts that these products had. And we're like, "All right, well, if you had one test, like if you could measure one thing that really relates to all of those items I just mentioned, it's aging," right? These age related diseases. So, "how do you even measure age" is the follow up question and you can do that in all sorts of different ways. But there are actually these DNA regulation markers, like these on and off switches, called your epigenetics that seems to be the best way to measure aging. So we really started measuring and doing clinical trials with these epigenetic aging biomarkers to prove the efficacy of these products. And what we ended up doing is just selling the pharmacy in 2019. It became-- oh-- pretty boring, I guess, for lack of a better word, because there were new rules and regulations in place by regulators on what you can and cannot compound. And then you have built my company now, TruDiagnostic, from the ground up. We have our laboratory in Lexington, Kentucky, and we started out with one goal, which was essentially to offer the best age testing. And now we're doing a lot of different things. So that's what I'm really involved in now on a day to day basis. [00:08:10] Lindsey Dinneen: Wow. Well, thank you for sharing about that. And okay, so, so you embrace this entrepreneurial endeavor, which is a whole second set of-- I mean, obviously you have all the skills from your experience and your education and whatnot, but then to compound that with owning your own business and then setting up a brick and mortar, it's an actual lab and whatnot. How was that transition? Did you feel prepared for it? Did it catch you off guard? What was that like? [00:08:38] Hannah Went: We were kind of creating TruDiagnostic behind the scene when we had the pharmacy. So like end of 2019, we were really creating it. But I do think it caught me off guard looking back where it was like, "Okay, pharmacy sold, full time TruDiagnostic. How the heck do we set up this lab at the beginning of 2020?" It was go mode. So we bought a building in Lexington. It was an old insurance building. We completely knocked out the top floor, which was offices, carpeted, not usable lab space and built the lab again, like I mentioned, from the ground up. So I joke and say, "I'm a construction worker. I was an interior designer." I was doing all of these other things. And of course I had a lot of amazing people helping me all throughout the way, but testing SOPs for standard operating procedures, creating those. I remember the first day we were running samples in like trialing the protocol. I was here till 5am because we were thawing things and freezing things as part of the protocol and didn't even realize that was part of the step once we started to get into it. So yeah, it definitely took me off guard. And I think furthermore, we launched right before COVID 19. So it was the worst timing in history to launch. And you know, we did it anyways. And then the first year and a half, two years, it was a lot of follow up. It was a lot of cold calling. It was chasing or following up with these healthcare providers to use these kits that we sent out because we did a really nice promotion to get the product out there, but it was hard to balance because when COVID 19, this nasty pandemic, came into the U. S., you almost felt guilty asking the healthcare providers to focus on anything else, right? You're like, "That is not what you should be worrying about right now." So it was definitely hard to balance. [00:10:23] Lindsey Dinneen: And yeah, my goodness. And honestly what resonated with me too is, you know, you're talking about, you've worn so many hats, obviously, as a business owner and setting this up. And I used to joke that, when I had a brick and mortar business and I was like, "On any given day, I'm everything from the CEO to the janitor." [00:10:40] Hannah Went: I can relate. I can definitely relate to that. I remember we needed some kind of-- I don't even know what we need this for-- it was like some type of part that had to regulate water temperature or something like that. So a traditional thermometer wouldn't work. I remember I drove across the street to a pet store and I got something that belonged in a fish tank. And I'm like, " I don't even know if this will, will work." But I mean, we are just piecing everything together. It was like you were doing yet literally everything and anything that you could just because you wanted it to work so bad. You had that passion, that, that push. And you realized that the end goal in mind, which for us, it's really just to help our people, you know, people who are working with us, and our clients, whether that's anyone from now a healthcare provider offering our services or a researcher or academic collaboration, it's someone doing third party processing at our lab or even down to the end consumer client patient, whatever you'd like to call them that come directly to our website and do our testing. [00:11:40] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. Great. And that actually addresses my next question, which was going to be, so do you only work with healthcare providers? Is it a B2B enterprise? But it sounds like you also do the B2C and you can sell directly to them, to people who are interested. [00:11:55] Hannah Went: Definitely. Yeah. When we opened, we had that one goal in mind, which is what we knew, which were our healthcare providers that we really transitioned from the pharmacy over to TruDiagnostic. So that was like our main customer at the time. And I think we completed that goal of offering the best aging diagnostic tools at the end of last year with a large study we did with Harvard. But now what we've noticed and, of course-- we kind of got lucky in this sense, we would have never imagined where we are now-- is that epigenetics, these DNA markers, these on and off switches are really great for creating new and novel biomarkers. So you can predict almost anything with them. You can predict even how much you've smoked across your entire lifetime, how much alcohol you've consumed, your zip code based on where you live, just because of the environment you're exposed to and your behaviors in that environment. So it's pretty crazy, obviously we, we didn't expect that and I mean it's just being really blown up and everywhere you, you look, I mean it's related to every aspect of life and of course changeable as well. So even, providers who are using this test on a patient once, they'll retest them every 6 to 12 months. And then of course people coming from our website, we just released actually a subscription model a couple days ago so people can start to retest this in more of a hands off fashion. even every three to four months if they wanted to. [00:13:19] Lindsey Dinneen: Wow. So when somebody does your test and they get the results, is this something that you walk them through and say, okay "Here's where things stand now. If you make these tweaks, here's how things could stand?" Or how does it work from that perspective? [00:13:34] Hannah Went: Definitely. So just to walk you through the process, you would get your kit, we'd ship it to you, you would prick your finger. So just a little blood spot card about the size of a quarter, you ship that sample back to our lab in Lexington and we get results back to you in about two to three weeks from the time we receive it. Then you would get all these different age related reports, some of those characteristic and trait based reports I mentioned, like this smoking and alcohol. And we, we do, so we can project you out saying, "Hey, if you still stay on this trend, whether it's aging faster or aging younger, here's where you're, where you'll be in six months, 12 months." So it may be exciting to some, it may be scary to some, depending on where they are. Regardless, it's changeable. So if anyone's listening and they're like, "Oh my gosh, I don't want to know that. I'm so scared." If you've tested your genetics, that's in my opinion, even scarier. That doesn't change, right? You know your risk, you know your predisposition. So, this can all be mitigated through lifestyle factors, through supplements, medications, procedural based therapies as well. So we do give you recommendations on the report on what to do. You can absolutely again take it by yourself, but we can always help you and connect you with a healthcare provider if you're really wanting to go on this journey. But I always say, Lindsey, the first test is really fun. It's sexy. It's really trendy right now. But it doesn't mean much. It's just a baseline. It's telling you where you are, just like your hormones and your CBC panel, your second test is more important than your first third, more than the second fourth, more than the third. And so on and so forth. [00:15:09] Lindsey Dinneen: Okay. Yeah. And you addressed something else that I was going to ask. So when people are interested, they'd like to do it, but they have this like, "Ooh, I don't know if I really want to know," how do you help overcome that? Is it because things are changeable? Like everything can be changed? [00:15:26] Hannah Went: Yeah. Yeah. I'll even give you to an extent, I would say most of it, right. For the purpose of this conversation, yes. There are of course some exceptions, but my grandmother, for example, passed away from Alzheimer's when I was senior in high school. Right after that happened and what started some of my interest in genetics is I went and got my genes tested. I'm like, "Oh my gosh, that was awful to watch her go through. Am I doomed, right? Am I going to have that same risk?" And my results came back. Well, I have this specific snip. It's a single nucleotide polymorphism. So this specific variant on my genes that's APOE 3-4. So this means I'm at a more increased risk to have Alzheimer's, and even at a younger age as well. I would say you have an even further increased risk if you're at APOE 4/4. So I'm not the worst, but I'm the second worst, essentially, and I'm like, "Well, this obviously isn't good. But this can't be it, right? This can't be the end of this story." And you hear a lot of people say that too, people with metabolic disease or diabetes in their family. And, they may shrug and just say, "Oh, well, you know, I can eat whatever I want, right? I don't have to work out, like I'm doomed anyways, type of thing." And we know now that's not true, right? You're no longer really the victim of your genetic predisposition that we may have thought due to these epigenetic changes or the fact that it's changeable. So there are even peer reviewed published papers that come out showing estrogen, so optimizing your hormone levels can actually reduce your risk of Alzheimer's from an epigenetic standpoint along with everything else, exercising, eating very healthy, no artificial foods, flavoring. So you're, of course, always going to have that genetic risk, but you also have all of these other types of risks and you have this epigenetic risk, which should really be the main focus, because you're in the driver's seat again. You're no longer in the passenger seat. And that's really empowering to have all of that knowledge. [00:17:22] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. I know that the test is really important in terms of telling an individual exactly what's going on and how things can change, but in doing all this research and data collection, are there certain lifestyle things that pretty much everybody regardless should pay attention to. Is that a thing? [00:17:45] Hannah Went: Of course, that's the multimillion dollar question and a very frequent one that we get. And the answer is, "Sure, yes and no, kind of, maybe so." And what I mean by that is you can look at all of these general population studies that come out, right? These clinical trials and look at what really moved the needle. But again, those are populational trials, so you really need to find out what works for you. I can tell you what works for me. There is a study on this, which is why I wanted to try it first. So again, you can start to maybe trial some things based on results that are already out there, but I've tested my aging before and what I've noticed that really slows it down is caloric restriction. So it's not necessarily intermittent fasting or time restricted feeding or skipping an entire meal, it's just continual, 10 percent caloric restriction. So if you're on a 2000 caloric based diet, take out about 200 calories, which if you're eating healthier anyways, you may not even be hitting your intake of calories based on your metabolic rate and what your specific goals are. And I've noticed that helps slow down my aging. I've also noticed that I need to do more aerobic based exercises. So things like VO2 max, increasing FEV1, we can actually quantify those on our test. So really VO2 max is your oxygen uptake, so how much oxygen you can get into the body. Your FEV1 is your forced expiratory volume, so how much oxygen you can get out in and out of your lungs. Swimmers have a really good VO2 max and FEV1. So I noticed I was doing maybe too much like weightlifting, too much HIIT type of workouts. So you can get a lot of feedback from those reports. So for me, personally, that's what works. [00:19:30] Lindsey Dinneen: Wow. That's great. That is amazing what you can test and gain knowledge about and then make those changes based off of. So on your LinkedIn profile, something that I was really intrigued by is you are a founding member of an organization, I believe, called Opscotch. Did I get that right? Okay. And one thing that really stood out to me, and I'd love to just hear your take on the organization as a whole, but you said part of your mission is to make biohacking accessible to everyone. And I really appreciated that. And I'm curious if you would share a little bit maybe more about that. [00:20:05] Hannah Went: Yeah. Obscotch is a really cool community. So it is really democratizing the way healthcare I think has been viewed, even healthcare, like the model where we should go towards rather than that sick care. So it's making it a lot less scary. And I know that the founders of Obscotch, Spencer Coppin and Matt Christensen, and they're amazing people. They really set up this community as a way for people to have a support system. I think it can be really scary when you're entering really optimizing your overall health, what do you do? You see all of these ads, what protein should you take? What supplements should you take? They're just everywhere. Whose supplements really match the label? There are a lot of studies that show, that they don't even have promised ingredients on the label included in the supplement itself. So it's really confusing. And then you go down these rabbit holes and after a while, you don't know what you're looking at. So if you're part of this community, you can choose to get a Whoop and to start tracking a lot of these markers. You probably know the quote by Peter Drucker, "You can't manage what you're not measuring," so they measure a lot of things. They do the biological age testing through TruDiagnostic, and then they do some other laboratory based testing as well. So there's different levels of the membership that you can actually get depending on how involved you want to be, but they also do these monthly quarterly type of challenges. So it could be to get your Whoop fitness score above 12 for 15 days of the month. So again, it really encourages people to come together and I love that community aspect of it. They've done a really nice job. And again, are just amazing people there. They're located in Canada too. [00:21:46] Lindsey Dinneen: Oh, nice. Yeah. So taking ownership of your health, but within a community, which makes it a lot, well, more fun, at least. [00:21:54] Hannah Went: Yeah. And the community is awesome. That's probably a really good group for you to even look into, Lindsey. It's a lot of founders and entrepreneurs and people who have like wild backgrounds. And they're from all over the world too. So it's not just like, oh, you have to be in Canada. They do have a lot of like local meetups in Canada, which is really cool for things like cold plunging or running or, you know, scheduling dinners or seeing like Andrew Huberman, he was in town like a couple of months ago or something. So they put together the events and they also send you even like recommended podcast or YouTube videos to watch. So it's really curated health information if you're looking to optimize your own health. [00:22:35] Lindsey Dinneen: Wow. Amazing. Yeah. And then, so another thing that I really enjoyed reading about you and your experience is, you mentioned that you appreciate taking complex scientific ideas and translating them into narratives that resonate with the intended audience. And I love that, and I think that's really important, but I'm wondering if you could tell us a little bit about your process in doing that, translating very technical engineering science speak into maybe what other people who aren't in that world could relate to. [00:23:14] Hannah Went: Yeah, definitely. So I have my personal company too, called Everything Epigenetics. So this is a, something TruDiagnostic wanted to do for a while is just educate others on epigenetics and what that means because there's a lot of education lacking out there. There's not much you can find. With all things that kind of got pushed under the rug in our early days, but I was just, " Screw it. I'll just make it mine." And I set up all of the social, the website domain and didn't do much with it for the first couple of months. And I was like, "Okay, I really want to get into this." And I think I started it at the end of 2022, so almost two years, which is crazy to say. And, I used it as a way to really keep myself honest and involved in the research. So I'm not as involved in our research on a day to day. So I work with a lot of postdocs or PhDs who have created epigenetic algorithms or interpretations. And basically, hopefully break those conversations down for people to easily understand. It's still very high science and not as applicable, so it can be tough sometimes. But my real goal is just educating those on this massive paradigm shift we're seeing with epigenetics in terms of not only taking over traditional lab testing, but just medicine in general. I mean, it's causing a massive wave and really, I think, flipping our understanding of how this field works, how even really the body works. So I don't monetize that at all. It's just something I do on the side. I have a podcast that runs every other week. And then I also am pretty active on Instagram doing these Journal Club Friday kind of spiels. That's where it's usually a video that's anywhere, I think, they're at least 90 seconds, but 90 seconds to four minutes long, just highlighting some type of research paper in the space and trying to do it in really simple terms that way people can understand it. So it's not maybe always going to be applicable to everyday life. I think it's absolutely going to get there where we are able to measure epigenetics, see our exact plan, have everything served us on a silver platter. But we're a little bit far away from that now. And I think that's can be really frustrating to some people, but I think it's also as equally as exciting. And you have to keep in mind that this came out after the iPhone, after the first iPhone. So it only came out about, or I would say only became popularized about 10 years ago, which is very new. So we just have to be a little bit patient. [00:25:51] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, that's fair. Well, thank you for helping translate some of these crazy things into more digestible pieces of information for those of us who maybe don't have that same background. So I do appreciate that. [00:26:05] Hannah Went: Yeah, of course. It's really fun to just continue the conversation and start to break these complex ideas down. [00:26:12] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. So, within your journey you know, as a scientist and researcher and entrepreneur and everything else, are there any moments that stand out to you that, that really affirm to you that you were in the right place at the right time in the right industry? [00:26:34] Hannah Went: Ooh, that's a good question. I, I think yeah, I think probably a couple months ago, three months ago. So, we've actually joined with some other clinics on really pushing forward epigenetics. And I think we're starting to see everything coming together. So I think it is hopefully becoming mainstream. And that is just huge, because the vision for epigenetic testing is to be able to use one blood spot card, so really simple, easy collection method at a really cheap cost and getting every single biomarker back that you could possibly imagine: clinical lab values, hormones, inflammatory markers, vitamin levels, minerals, proteins, metabolites. And I think, I remember just a couple months ago, when we really started to get an increased volume and testing, more healthcare providers just saying yes and super open to this idea. So I usually spend my day to day on calls with healthcare providers or our partnerships that we have with, whether it be wholesale or like resellers of these kits. And people are just starting to get it more. Like I remember at the beginning of TruDiagnostic, we always had to set up a call with every single account. It was, Hey, start from the top. What is epigenetics? Even before epigenetics, what is aging? How do you measure this? This is a really weird idea. And now we're starting to see where people set up accounts with us and they don't even set up a call and they just start ordering, right? Or they set up a call and they're like, "Hey, I know what aging is. I know what epigenetics is. Help me market this to my patients. How do I sell this?" So, so we're starting to see that change and that's definitely not been overnight. To answer your question, right time, right room with the right people. But I think probably at the beginning of this year is when we started to really see that change, which has been super exciting. [00:28:35] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, that is. It is because it's hard to-- it's great to educate-- but it is hard when that is your entire job day in and day out. And eventually maybe the science will catch up or the understanding of the science will catch up so that you finally get to this, you know, "we're getting there" stage. [00:28:54] Hannah Went: I think it's hard, yeah, because you know, with us we speak with the healthcare providers. We speak with the academics, but we may not actually be seeing the end user, the end patient. So sometimes it can be hard. It's like, "Hey, what difference are we actually making?" And that can be a little bit of a pain point or a struggle. I think not so much anymore because our providers will come back and give us case studies or, you know, talk to us about some of their findings, which is really exciting. And that, continues to expand as we do these clinical trials and dive deeper into the research. But I think we're TruDiagnostics sits right now is just an awesome opportunity because we are in between collaborators in terms of universities and academics and healthcare providers and patients. So we really bridge that gap as new algorithms, as new research is happening. We really do feel like we're at the centerfold and it's our responsibility to push that out to healthcare providers because there's no one really there to merge the two. So we'll start to see our type of healthcare providers we work with are willing to try anything, and willing to want the newest, latest, and greatest information as well to test on their patients. So they make for a really great group. [00:30:04] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, that's incredible. And it's so great to hear about the ability to bridge the gap between an individual being able to take ownership of their own health versus-- doctors are amazing. I'm so thankful for every medical person-- but also it's nice to be able to feel a little bit empowered to take ownership as well. So I appreciate that you're able to start bridging the gap and, and help them make be more accessible. So that's great. [00:30:30] Hannah Went: Yeah. Yeah. Definitely. [00:30:32] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, so, pivoting the conversation just for fun, imagine that you were to be offered a million dollars to teach your masterclass on anything you want. It can be in your industry, but it doesn't have to be. What would you choose to teach and why? [00:30:47] Hannah Went: Ooh. What would I choose to teach and why? I think the ,there's a book that's really good that I think everyone should read and it's called "The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership." And have you ever heard of it before, Lindsey? [00:31:00] Lindsey Dinneen: Nope, but I'm writing it down. [00:31:02] Hannah Went: Yeah. It's awesome. So there, there are a couple of authors on the book, but yeah, Jim Dethmer, he would previously go to all of these companies and understand how their leadership worked. And it's a super readable book, super short, breaks it down in all of these chunks, depending on what you want to really focus on. He actually came and spoke to our company and it was really cool to learn from him about this. He doesn't do it much anymore. So, we felt very special to, to be able to have him. And It can act in all areas of your life. So it's not necessarily just leadership . It really extrapolates out to relationships, whether it be a romantic one, or not, or kind of a family one. It is really I think changed my outlook on a lot of things in life. So I think I would want to teach something that has to do with that, that book. Jim's wife actually does a lot of the Enneagram work too. So the Enneagram test and understanding really your, kind of, why you're wired the way you are almost. Everyone has this conception of life. And you get to learn more about the way people think and how they work and why they do the things they do. So everyone did that test, the Enneagram test, in our company, and you can start to see these patterns and things. And it's just very useful information and it just makes everyone, I think, work together and flow together a little bit better too, which is awesome. [00:32:25] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. It sounds like a great masterclass and I have it written down. I'm going to, I'm going to look it up right after so I can secure my copy. Yeah. So, and then how do you wish to be remembered after you leave this world? . [00:32:39] Hannah Went: Oh, how do I wish to be remembered? Hopefully as someone who is loving and fun and taught the world something. Doesn't necessarily have to be epigenetics related, but I think people probably see me right now as someone who is like very busy running around all of the time, going from place to place, and I don't think I like that. That's just what I think my interpretation of me maybe would be from the outside. But it doesn't feel like I'm busy, right? It feels like I'm doing the things that I want to do right now and I don't think I necessarily even like the word busy, right? What does that mean? Everyone's busy. Everyone's doing something to a degree. So, yeah, I just want to be remembered as fun, loving you know, I think would also be remembered, though, just as hardworking, determined and yeah, willing to work hard to reach specific goals. [00:33:32] Lindsey Dinneen: I love that. Yeah. And then final question. What is one thing that makes you smile every time you see or think about it? [00:33:41] Hannah Went: Just my family, my husband, my sisters, my mom, my stepdad, everyone. So I get to hang out with them next weekend. I'm super, super excited. We'll be with them at their lake house. So I'm excited to be with the family. [00:33:55] Lindsey Dinneen: Nice. Oh yeah. That's going to be wonderful. Well, Hannah, this has been such a great conversation and I so appreciate your spending some time with me today and sharing about your incredible journey and everything that's coming up too. And I'm so excited for you and for this mission and to see the company continue to grow and expand, so I do really appreciate you. being here. And we are so honored to be making a donation on your behalf as a thank you for your time today to the Equal Justice Initiative, which provides legal representation to prisoners who may have been wrongly convicted of crimes, poor prisoners without effective representation, and others who may have been denied a fair trial. So thank you for choosing that organization to support and we just wish you the most continued success as you work to change lives for a better world. [00:34:49] Hannah Went: Awesome. Thank you, Lindsey. I appreciate your time. [00:34:51] Lindsey Dinneen: Absolutely, you too. And thank you also to our listeners for tuning in and if you're feeling as inspired as I am right now, I would love it if you would share this episode with a colleague or two and we will catch you next time. [00:35:06] Ben Trombold: The Leading Difference is brought to you by Velentium. Velentium is a full-service CDMO with 100% in-house capability to design, develop, and manufacture medical devices from class two wearables to class three active implantable medical devices. Velentium specializes in active implantables, leads, programmers, and accessories across a wide range of indications, such as neuromodulation, deep brain stimulation, cardiac management, and diabetes management. Velentium's core competencies include electrical, firmware, and mechanical design, mobile apps, embedded cybersecurity, human factors and usability, automated test systems, systems engineering, and contract manufacturing. Velentium works with clients worldwide, from startups seeking funding to established Fortune 100 companies. Visit velentium.com to explore your next step in medical device development.

We are continuing through our Matthew 25 series this week by looking at the least talked about condition on Jesus' list, the imprisoned. Scottie Parrish joins us to discuss the history of imprisonment, his life-changing trips, and how Kairos Prison Ministries has allowed him to pursue his holy discontent of serving those in prison.For more on Kairos Prison Ministry: https://kairosprisonministry.org/For more on the Equal Justice Initiative: https://eji.org/For more on the Legacy Memorial Sites: https://legacysites.eji.org/ For more information on Ministry Misfits visit www.ministrymisfits.comTo become a Patron for Ministry Misfits visit www.patreon.com/ministrymisfitsSend us a textSupport the showFollow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ministrymisfitFollow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/ministrymisfitFollow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ministrymisfitBecome a Patron: www.patreon.com/ministrymisfits

We are continuing through our Matthew 25 series this week by looking at the least talked about condition on Jesus' list, the imprisoned. Scottie Parrish joins us to discuss the history of imprisonment, his life-changing trips, and how Kairos Prison Ministries has allowed him to pursue his holy discontent of serving those in prison.For more on Kairos Prison Ministry: https://kairosprisonministry.org/For more on the Equal Justice Initiative: https://eji.org/For more on the Legacy Memorial Sites: https://legacysites.eji.org/ For more information on Ministry Misfits visit www.ministrymisfits.comTo become a Patron for Ministry Misfits visit www.patreon.com/ministrymisfitsSend us a textSupport the showFollow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ministrymisfitFollow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/ministrymisfitFollow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ministrymisfitBecome a Patron: www.patreon.com/ministrymisfits

Lily kicks off this episode with a thrilling story of suspense and mystery that also involves her husband scaling an apartment building. Then she and Shai go deep on one of the Friday Night Movie Family's favorite movies of the year - Transformers One. (For real, this was like a Pixar movie for Transformers). But to make it even more fun, Lily saw it in Spanish and Shai saw it in English - so you get reviews of both versions in this hilarious episode. Sign up for the Friday Night Movie Newsletter for giveaways, curated episode playlists from the hosts and guests (including our mom), and at MOST one email per month (and probably fewer).  Closed captions for this episode are available via the player on the official Friday Night Movie homepage, the Podbean app and website, and YouTube.  The Friday Night Movie Family supports the following organizations: The Red Tent Fund | HIAS | Equal Justice Initiative | Asian American Journalists Association | The Entertainment Community Fund. Subscribe, rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform, including iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Play | Podbean | Overcast. Play along with Friday Night Movie at home! Read the FNM Glossary to learn the about our signature bits (e.g., Buy/Rent/Meh, I Told You Shows, Tradesies, etc). Email us at info@p4tmedia.com or tweet @FriNightMovie, @pancake4table, @chichiKgomez, and/or  @paperBKprincess.  Follow our creations and zany Instagram stories @frinightmovie, @FNMsisters, and @pancake4table. Follow us on Letterboxd (@pancake4table) where we're rating every movie we've EVER watched.  Subscribe to our quarterly newsletter for exclusive giveaways and news! Theme music by What Does It Eat.  Subscribe and leave a review on IOS or Android at frinightmovie.com.

Live from Rose City Comic Con in Portland, featuring only the best in lossless fart audio! We love this town, and we love all the questions about the value of valueless collectables, the fun of liquid nitrogen, and how to get electrocuted but in a cool way. Suggested talking points: A Picture of Betty Cooper we Didn't Know We Wanted Until Now, Penny Crimes, Human Tissue Factory, Discreet Plumber Experienced with Toilet Magic, Aroma Romance, Michael's Secret StuffThe Aroma Gate covers are available to view here.Equal Justice Initiative: https://eji.org/about/

Our story tonight is called September Leaves, and it's a story about some time outside as the wind blows and the acorns fall. It's also about the scent of bonfire, the weight of a dog laid across your legs, spaces where you feel safe and among friends, a memory of last summer and a glimpse of the coming winter. We give to a different charity each week, and this week, we are giving to Equal JusticeInitiative. Protecting basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society. Subscribe for ad-free, bonus, and extra-long episodes now, as well as ad-free and early episodes of Stories from the Village of Nothing Much! Search for the NMH Premium channel on Apple Podcasts or follow the link: nothingmuchhappens.com/premium-subscription. Save over $100 on Kathryn's hand-selected wind-down favorites with the Nothing Much Happens Wind-Down Box. A collection of products from our amazing partners: Eversio Wellness: Chill Now Vellabox: Lavender Silk Candle Alice Mushrooms: Nightcap NutraChamps: Tart Cherry Gummies A Brighter Year: Mini Coloring Book NuStrips: Sleep Strips Woolzies: Lavender Roll-On Listen to our new show, Stories from the Village of Nothing Much, on your favorite podcast app. Join us tomorrow morning for a meditation at nothingmuchhappens.com/first-this. Purchase Our Book: https://bit.ly/Nothing-Much-HappensSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Host Razia Iqbal sits down with the celebrated civil rights lawyer and activist Bryan Stevenson, a man as dedicated to his chosen profession as James Baldwin was to his.Stevenson is the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, based in Montgomery, Alabama, which has not only transformed the conversation about the disproportionate numbers of incarcerated Black Americans, but has also challenged how we think about the criminal justice system and the system's treatment of children in particular. He's been described by the late South African bishop and civil rights activist Desmond Tutu as “America's Nelson Mandela.” Stevenson also initiated the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, and continues to make us all think about the lived legacy of more than 200 years of slavery in the U.S. By Stevenson's own admission, Baldwin has had a profound impact on his life, professionally and personally. When asked to choose a single Baldwin quote that inspires him, Stevenson chose three, and an exception was made in the interest of an exceptional conversation. Tell us what you think. We're @noteswithkai on Instagram and X (Twitter). Email us at notes@wnyc.org. Send us a voice message by recording yourself on your phone and emailing us, or record one here.Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

Ringo Award winning writer and returning guest, Chris Miskiewicz (Grateful Dead Origins), returns to the pod with his signature words of wisdom and brings his usual non-stop chaotic joy, along with drop-ins from some of this comics industry A-list pals. This episode kicks off with a debate about Dunkin' Donuts current branding and winds its way to guests spots from Sean Van Gorman (The Pedestrian) and Charlie McElvy (American Yakuza). Chris is one-of-a-kind and we love we love when he jumps back into the FNM Fam. We're sure you will too! Friday Night Movie will be at Baltimore Comic Con, September 20-22, Booth 2013! Come on by and be part of the show! Sign up for the Friday Night Movie Newsletter for giveaways, curated episode playlists from the hosts and guests (including our mom), and at MOST one email per month (and probably fewer).  Closed captions for this episode are available via the player on the official Friday Night Movie homepage, the Podbean app and website, and YouTube.  The Friday Night Movie Family supports the following organizations: The Red Tent Fund | HIAS | Equal Justice Initiative | Asian American Journalists Association | The Entertainment Community Fund. Subscribe, rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform, including iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Play | Podbean | Overcast. Play along with Friday Night Movie at home! Read the FNM Glossary to learn the about our signature bits (e.g., Buy/Rent/Meh, I Told You Shows, Tradesies, etc). Email us at info@p4tmedia.com or tweet @FriNightMovie, @pancake4table, @chichiKgomez, and/or  @paperBKprincess.  Follow our creations and zany Instagram stories @frinightmovie, @FNMsisters, and @pancake4table. Follow us on Letterboxd (@pancake4table) where we're rating every movie we've EVER watched.  Subscribe to our quarterly newsletter for exclusive giveaways and news! Theme music by What Does It Eat.  Subscribe and leave a review on IOS or Android at frinightmovie.com.

As ground-level investors in a certain streaming platform, we think we should have some say in their hot dog based content. It's a topic we're well-versed in, along with comedy routines based around donuts and murder, dentists' music choices, and the Gary Sinise multiverse. Suggested talking points: We're Dudes Who Wipe, Chestnut Labs, Beloved Cup-Shaped Mascot, Apollo 14: We Fight Back, Sinise-sthesia Equal Justice Initiative: https://eji.org/about/

Deadpool & Wolverine has 116 F-bombs, extremely graphic violence, an incomprehensible story line and some of the best superhero meta-humor ever written. Our resident “Marvel expert” Becky gets about 70% of Lily's questions right. Thankfully, Shai (the real expert) is here to explain the many confusing timelines and backstories. Sign up for the Friday Night Movie Newsletter for giveaways, curated episode playlists from the hosts and guests (including our mom), and at MOST one email per month (and probably fewer).  Closed captions for this episode are available via the player on the official Friday Night Movie homepage, the Podbean app and website, and YouTube.  The Friday Night Movie Family supports the following organizations: The Red Tent Fund | HIAS | Equal Justice Initiative | Asian American Journalists Association | The Entertainment Community Fund. Subscribe, rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform, including iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Play | Podbean | Overcast. Play along with Friday Night Movie at home! Read the FNM Glossary to learn the about our signature bits (e.g., Buy/Rent/Meh, I Told You Shows, Tradesies, etc). Email us at info@p4tmedia.com or tweet @FriNightMovie, @pancake4table, @chichiKgomez, and/or  @paperBKprincess.  Follow our creations and zany Instagram stories @frinightmovie, @FNMsisters, and @pancake4table. Follow us on Letterboxd (@pancake4table) where we're rating every movie we've EVER watched.  Subscribe to our quarterly newsletter for exclusive giveaways and news! Theme music by What Does It Eat.  Subscribe and leave a review on IOS or Android at frinightmovie.com.

Bryan Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, author of Just Mercy, thinks with Kelly about repair in the face of deep societal ruptures. Can memorials transform thinking?  Can laying bare  injustice and its personal and collective effects foster a collective understanding -- followed by a durable commitment to equity?  From Berlin to South Africa to Montgomery, Alabama, people are confronting past harms and leaving with a Never Again spirit that just might save us.  Join us for the special episode in our Rupture and Repair series, sponsored by The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations.Previous podcast episode with Bryan Stevenson here.You can watch Kelly's previous video interview with Bryan Stevenson on her PBS show Tell Me More here.(And here's the link to Kelly's TED talk on bravery, which refernces Bryan Stevenson and his grandmother -- please share.)

Lawyer Stephen B. Bright is a hero to Fairfax criminal and DUI defense lawyer Jonathan Katz and to many other people. Steve left the security of his public defender salary at one of the nation's premier defender offices, to barely receive pay during some of the early months of his working to overturn death sentences imposed in the Georgia capital punishment machine. While Jon Katz was yearning to shift to serving social justice when at a corporate law firm doing litigation and regulatory work, at a 1990 post-Supreme Court oral argument reception at the nearby ACLU, Jon met Steve Bright, arguing lawyer Charles Ogletree, and Equal Justice Initiative founder Bryan Stevenson.  Professor Ogletree had argued what would lead to a unanimous Supreme Court's reversing a death penalty conviction involving racially motivated jury selection, in Ford v. Georgia, 498 U.S. 411 (1991). The room included numerous criminal defense lawyers. This gathering helped provide Jon Katz the extra oomph to become a criminal defense / public defender lawyer eight months later. At this gathering, Jon asked Steve Bright about any enlightened law firms Jon might consider applying to. Steve's answer was along the lines that such a phrase is an oxymoron. Stephen B. Bright is a criminal defense and civil rights powerhouse. He won all his four Supreme Court cases. Steve's Southern Center for Human Rights quickly made its reputation for great and devoted work that even law students and lawyers whose resumes could have earned them stellar salaries, went to work at the SCHR. Steve Bright underlines the necessity of fighting hard and well both at the trial and appellate levels for capital defendants and all criminal defendants, and the necessity of abolishing the death penalty, which he recognizes as being rooted in slavery. Steve has witnessed four of his clients being executed in the electric chair and one by lethal injection. He underlines how improved capital defense has reduced the nation to around forty annual death sentences from a high in the three figures, but even one death sentence is too many. Stephen B. Bright now consults with lawyers and is a visiting lecturer at Yale Law School and a visiting professor at  Georgetown Law School. Read his essential co-authored book about his work and Supreme Court victories, The Fear of Too Much Justice: Race, Poverty, and the Persistence of Inequality in the Criminal Courts (2023). See his detailed wesbite related to that book. https://www.thefearoftoomuchjustice.com/See Steve's online  capital punishment course at https://campuspress.yale.edu/capitalpunishment/ and  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh9mgdi4rNez7ZuPRY3KNJ2ef16qebyZeThis podcast with Fairfax, Virginia criminal / DUI lawyer Jon Katz is playable on all devices at podcast.BeatTheProsecution.com. For more information, visit BeatTheProsecution.com or contact us at info@BeatTheProsecution.com, 703-383-1100 (calling), or 571-406-7268 (text). Hear our prior podcasts, at https://podcast.BeatTheProsecution.com/If you like what you hear on our Beat the Prosecution podcast, please take a moment to post a review at our Apple podcasts page (with stars only, or else also with a comment) at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/beat-the-prosecution/id1721413675

Comedian, host, writer, actress and content creator Anna Roisman joins the podcast and we are very excited to welcome her to the FNM family. We chat about her incredible impressions, European vacations and which Kardashian each of us are. We literally laughed till we cried recording this ep, so grab a box of tissues and head to the link in bio!  Follow: @annaroisman  @bigwigspodcast Sign up for the Friday Night Movie Newsletter for giveaways, curated episode playlists from the hosts and guests (including our mom), and at MOST one email per month (and probably fewer).  Closed captions for this episode are available via the player on the official Friday Night Movie homepage, the Podbean app and website, and YouTube.  The Friday Night Movie Family supports the following organizations: The Red Tent Fund | HIAS | Equal Justice Initiative | Asian American Journalists Association | The Entertainment Community Fund. Subscribe, rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform, including iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Play | Podbean | Overcast. Play along with Friday Night Movie at home! Read the FNM Glossary to learn the about our signature bits (e.g., Buy/Rent/Meh, I Told You Shows, Tradesies, etc). Email us at info@p4tmedia.com or tweet @FriNightMovie, @pancake4table, @chichiKgomez, and/or  @paperBKprincess.  Follow our creations and zany Instagram stories @frinightmovie, @FNMsisters, and @pancake4table. Follow us on Letterboxd (@pancake4table) where we're rating every movie we've EVER watched.  Subscribe to our quarterly newsletter for exclusive giveaways and news! Theme music by What Does It Eat.  Subscribe and leave a review on IOS or Android at frinightmovie.com.

Meet Holly Rockweiler, CEO of Madorra. This episode explores the transformative journey of Madorra from a Stanford Biodesign fellowship project to a pioneering force in women's health aiming to revolutionize the treatment of vaginal atrophy and dryness without hormones. Holly's story is not just about groundbreaking medical devices, but also about the passion and determination that drive the quest for better healthcare solutions. Through engaging storytelling, this episode unveils the challenges and triumphs of bringing novel technologies to market, the power of female leadership in STEM, and the broader impact of MedTech on improving lives.  Guest links: www.madorra.com | https://www.linkedin.com/company/madorra-inc-/ | https://www.facebook.com/MadorraMedical | https://twitter.com/MadorraMedical Charity supported: Equal Justice Initiative Interested in being a guest on the show or have feedback to share? Email us at podcast@velentium.com.  PRODUCTION CREDITS Host: Lindsey Dinneen Editing: Marketing Wise Producer: Velentium   EPISODE TRANSCRIPT Episode 033 - Holly Rockweiler [00:00:00] Lindsey Dinneen: Hi, I'm Lindsey and I'm talking with MedTech industry leaders on how they change lives for a better world. [00:00:09] Diane Bouis: The inventions and technologies are fascinating and so are the people who work with them. [00:00:15] Frank Jaskulke: There was a period of time where I realized, fundamentally, my job was to go hang out with really smart people that are saving lives and then do work that would help them save more lives. [00:00:28] Diane Bouis: I got into the business to save lives and it is incredibly motivating to work with people who are in that same business, saving or improving lives. [00:00:38] Duane Mancini: What better industry than where I get to wake up every day and just save people's lives. [00:00:42] Lindsey Dinneen: These are extraordinary people doing extraordinary work, and this is The Leading Difference. [00:00:51] Hello, and welcome back to another episode of The Leading Difference podcast. I'm your host Lindsey, and I'm so excited to introduce you to my guest today, Holly Rockweiler. Holly is co-founder and CEO of Madorra, a woman's health company dedicated to changing the treatment paradigm for vaginal atrophy and dryness. She co-founded Madorra as a spin out of the Stanford Biodesign fellowship, where she implemented ethnographic research to identify unmet clinical needs and define user market and product requirements for solutions and women's health, urology, and infectious disease. Prior to Biodesign, she worked as a Senior Research Scientist at Boston Scientific, where she developed therapies to enable more efficient care for patients living with heart failure. Her preclinical and clinical research has led to more than 20 pending and issued patents. Holly holds an MS and a BS in Biomedical Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis. Welcome, Holly. It's so wonderful to have you here today. Thanks so much for joining us. [00:01:49] Holly Rockweiler: Thanks for having me. [00:01:51] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, absolutely. Well, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind starting off by telling us a little bit about yourself and your background and maybe what led you to the medtech industry. [00:02:02] Holly Rockweiler: Sure. So let's see. So my background is in biomedical engineering. I majored in biomedical engineering. Maybe I can say why, like I, I knew that I wanted to be an engineer. I felt like, well, first of all, as a woman in math and science growing up, when I did every teacher told me to be an engineer, but I didn't really know what that meant until I got to college, but I liked it. Pursued engineering and I started undecided, but very quickly found that I was, most just excited about the problems in the biomedical engineering field. I remember one of my classes was like "calculate the torque of a drill on a tooth," I was like, "Wow, that's amazing. I think I found it." [00:02:41] So majored in biomedical engineering, got my master's and bachelor's at Wash U in St. Louis, and then I went to work for Boston Scientific. And so they are a medical device company. And so that's obviously how I got into it, but I did seek that out. When I was thinking about what did I want to do, I thought about... chemistry was never an area I felt very strongly about. I liked stuff I could hold in my hands and really conceptualize. And so I think that's what led me more in the device road and then had a incredible opportunity to work at Boston Scientific. [00:03:15] And so I worked there for several years in their implantable cardiac division. So that's pacemakers and ICDs, working in the research department. So that was also really cool because we were on the front end helping to define the next generation products and was able to also work very cross functionally. So just because research conceived of an idea didn't mean it was going to be in the product development had to help it go forward, and obviously we were keyed in very closely with the marketing team to understand. What were the needs that we were solving. [00:03:45] So it was an incredible introduction to our industry. And then I decided that I wanted to try a smaller company. There was just some broader themes of working in a large company that didn't totally jive for me. And so I was like, "Well, I don't know the first thing about startups." So I had heard about the Stanford Biodesign program, which is where I went next. And the company that I started, Madorra, is a spin out of that program. [00:04:14] Lindsey Dinneen: Wow. Okay, so your path is really cool, and I love that you are an engineer, and I love your passion behind it too, just hearing you talk about that one random problem and your excitement about it. I adore that. I do. Because that is not my leaning. So whenever I hear somebody just get really excited about that kind of thing, I'm like, "Yes, tell me more." [00:04:40] Holly Rockweiler: Well, then you're in the right field too, I would say. [00:04:42] Lindsey Dinneen: Indeed. Indeed. Indeed. So, yeah. I'm just curious. Okay. So, so going back just a little bit, you started off at Boston Scientific and kind of developed this appreciation for the medical device space and innovation. And then with Stanford Biodesign, can you tell me a little bit about being a part of that and then how you were able to spin off into your own company? I mean, that's not, that's like a one sentence thing that you put in there, but I know that it took a lot of work, and I'd just love to hear about that process, and your experience. [00:05:17] Holly Rockweiler: So, absolutely. So, the Stanford Biodesign program has many different facets. I was part of the fellowship, but they also have classes they teach and books and online resources. And then other universities have kind of sister programs around the world, frankly. So I was very interested in joining the program, like I said, to kind of-- what I was telling myself was like a way to dip my toe in the water of what a smaller company would be like. Now that's not at all what Stanford pitches the biodesign program as. Really what it is a an academic training program for an innovation process. And that's what they teach you. Now there are a lot of companies that end up spinning out of it. [00:05:56] And so I thought, "Well, maybe, like I said, this is a way to dip my toe in the water, but also if I decided to come back to a larger company setting, this skill set still would be highly useful given what I want to do in my career. So that's what I set out to do. And so the program I love, I think is fantastic. It's as described initially, it's this innovation process and they teach you that in a very hands on way. So first you start with really understanding and building a list of unmet needs, and so that starts by looking for problems in Stanford Hospital. You kind of have this unfettered access as an engineer. It was the 1st time I had that, you know, observe and ask questions and talk to physicians and patients and other health care professionals and then. you end up with, obviously, a long list of problems that you can find, just like any, anywhere in the world, right? This could happen. But also this, in healthcare, it happens. [00:06:55] And then you translate those problems into what the program calls need statements, to really-- there's a lot packed into that, but once you have those, then you spend the bulk of the program actually learning how to filter that long list of problems down into a couple key top unmet needs that you're working on. And so again, this is their goal is academic. They want to teach them their product is the people. They want to teach people this process and have them go out and share this process and use it to be successful in whatever, you know, vein they end up going down. [00:07:32] And so I was like, I was just having a conversation with my husband this weekend. I was like, we were talking about something interpersonal and I said, "Well, the unmet need here really is..." So it certainly has, you know, I've drank the Kool Aid completely and love to share it. So, but anyways, so, but what happens because you're working hands on these projects you very often, which was the case for myself and my co founders, by the end of the year, you may have something that you're pretty passionate about. [00:08:00] And so what has now become my about me description is working in women's health. I had no idea how passionate I would be about. I feel like I kind of backed my way into it, but now kind of reviewing that history, it's like, "Oh, maybe I was always kind of destined for this given my interest in, in, you know, activism." So kind of combining all of this together is what led us here. So, spinning it out was a consequence of having a lot of hard work with my team throughout the year. And we had other projects too, but this became the one that kind of survived every stage gate. And we ended up spinning out. into the company, Madorra. [00:08:42] Lindsey Dinneen: Wonderful. Well, thank you for sharing a little bit about that. And also, I love the crossover into real life, not that's not real life, but I do your daily life as well. Oh my gosh. That's great. I'm going to start doing that. Okay, so can we talk now a little bit about your company and the product that you've developed and where you're kind of looking to take it in the future? [00:09:05] Holly Rockweiler: Certainly. So, again, being born out of Stanford, we started with an unmet need around creating a treatment for vaginal dryness and atrophy for postmenopausal women that didn't rely on hormones. So this is a problem that I had never heard of before we literally met patients with this problem and talk to providers about this problem. And as we started researching, "Wow, up to 75 percent of all postmenopausal women are dealing with some, you know, degree of this. How have we not heard of this before?" That is a striking number of people. [00:09:39] And so as we continued to do our research, very quickly learned the gold standard treatment here is hormone therapy, but even though this market is huge, only 7 percent of the market is using hormones today. And so that... there's a lot of reasons why, but that's really what motivated us to say, "Wow. There needs to be another option." Because if you don't want hormones right now, the only other FDA cleared product or category for treating this are over the counter lubricants and moisturizers. And those are like, both of the products that exist today are really, those categories are really great, but they're not enough. [00:10:16] And again, with 43 million women in the United States with this problem, like we need more than just those two categories. And it really felt like no one had really looked at this. I mean, hormones, again, are a good solution for the patients who want to or can use them. But for patients who can't, for example, breast cancer survivors, they're stuck with, you know, just kind of subsisting off these over the counter products that really are not enough when your case is more moderate or severe. [00:10:43] And so we said, "Well, let's look at this and see if there's a better way or, you know, something we could combine," and ended up developing the idea for what is now the main product that we're developing at Madorra, which is a home use device that uses ultrasound to really rekindle the body's natural lubricating process. And so our whole goal has been to be very supportive of the other products in this category. We think hormones should be used more often than they are, frankly, but that women shouldn't have to make a compromise. If they don't want to use hormones, then they should have other options, and that's where we come in. [00:11:21] So our product, we will, it's not on the market yet. We're working towards that, but when it's out there, what we envision is a prescription happens from the gynecologist, and then the patient uses the product at home on a regular basis to, like I said, kind of revitalize that natural process. And what patients have told us they like about this is that It is restarting their own natural lubrication rather than some exogenous hormone or chemical. And there's less of a kind of a goop ick factor, you know, than having to use these over the counter things, which again, they like say that not to say that those don't have their place because they absolutely do, but it's not enough. [00:12:01] And so, we're pre FDA clearance, but we have a breakthrough designation from FDA. So that's feather in our cap and will help us get through the agency more expeditiously. And we have done several clinical trials and look forward. We've published one of those trials in our first manuscript, and we look forward to putting more of our data out there to help really lay the foundation to say, "Yeah, ultrasound is an appropriate approach to treating this and has virtually no side effects." So this should be a great option to be available to as many people as possible. [00:12:36] Lindsey Dinneen: Oh, that is incredible. Oh my goodness. Well, yeah, first of all, again, you know, it boggles my mind and it probably shouldn't anymore, but it continues to when you tell me statistics like this, that 75 percent of women who've are in this situation or have this concern or whatnot. And you're just think, you're addressing it in a way that's so innovative. And yet that hasn't really been addressed yet and it happens again and again with healthcare for women. And I'm wondering, you know, you mentioned earlier being very passionate about this. So I'm wondering if you can speak a little bit to fem tech and women's health and how you're involved in helping to push the conversation forward 'cause I know that can be a little challenging at times. [00:13:23] Holly Rockweiler: Absolutely. Yeah. And well, it's super fascinating too, because we spun out of Stanford in 2014. So we're coming up on 10 years here and the conversation is so different today than it was just, well, just 10 years. I mean, it was a decade, but it feels like yesterday. Like a lot has changed. When we first were starting Femtech wasn't a hashtag, like that was not a conversation. And people would say like, "Ooh, that's a niche." Yeah. And that doesn't happen anymore, which is really great. So while that's, that's certainly progress, so we should acknowledge that and be proud of everyone who's worked towards creating that progress. So I think what's been interesting, though, it's like the pace of progress, maybe? [00:14:09] So it's very exciting to know that there are, for instance, obviously I spend a lot of my time fundraising, there are women's health focused venture groups now. They, that's fantastic. That we just need bigger and bigger funds to be focused on that. We just need more and more We need more of everything, right? I mean, one of many things I've been very surprised to learn is how little training physicians get on menopause specifically. And so that has to change. And so there's just like a lot. [00:14:40] And so to the point of activism, like there's a lot to say, and so I think, it's... being raised by parents who are feminists, that helps, I think, me just start by saying, "Well, no, this shouldn't be . We can do better, and we will do better." So that's helpful, and I think that's also what really keeps me going-- obviously, every job is hard, and in our startup world, this is certainly a lot emotional rollercoaster. And so when I think about when I have harder days, it's like, "Wow." We've had patients tell us, for example, "I can't believe you're even paying attention to this. I can't believe you're listening to what I have to say." And so one, that's disturbing that's, as little as it's needed to make someone feel better. Secondly, it's "Wow, we can have such an impact by just being out there." So like the fact that we exists, I always think is helpful and that we do things like this and have open conversations about vaginal health for an aging population. [00:15:39] I will also say that, a year ago at the Super Bowl last year, there was an ad for a hot flash drug. And so that's like, you know, the world stage, menopause is being discussed. That was not happening 10 years ago. There is real progress being made. The last thing I want to say is that one thing I, I have also really appreciate about working in women's health and how supportive everyone is of everyone else. Every, anytime, even like our closest competitor, when I met their CEO, she was wonderful to me and, you know, shook my hand and said, "How can I help you?" And it's like, "Where else does that happen?" That's incredible. I think 'cause we all see there's a lot of work to be done. We can't do it alone. We want to support each other. [00:16:19] Lindsey Dinneen: Oh, I love that. Yeah, that is something that I have really admired and appreciated about the medtech industry. I think because people are curious, and their mindset is very innovation problem solving, "how can I help?" It seems like even with competitors. Yes, we're maybe vying for similar people to sell to. However, there's this idea of camaraderie, which I don't find in a lot of industries. So yeah, to your point, I think it's really helpful to have those allies in the space because that's, it's a little different. [00:16:53] Holly Rockweiler: Totally. [00:16:54] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. So yeah. And I, I love what you were saying about these conversations are happening more and they're becoming more mainstream and less embarrassing or taboo, which sounds hilarious because it's 50 percent of the population or whatever. But anyway, the point being, it is exciting to see this continue to move forward. And I'm wondering, even as a company, obviously your next big hurdle is getting that FDA approval, going to market and whatnot. But as you continue down the road, what other kinds of problems are you looking to solve? Or are you not even there yet? This is just like, "Let's start here. We'll get into that later." [00:17:38] Holly Rockweiler: Yeah. No, it's a great question. I think like what kind of harkening back to the just the prior question about the community of women's health. It's like you can't go a day without finding five other problems that you want to solve. So absolutely. I think that yeah, I mean, like with Madorra, we are very focused obviously on this technology and developing it, but we certainly have a roadmap of where this technology could go and other ideas of where to take it. And then what I find fascinating is that there is no menopause "brand." Like no one owns menopause, which I, if I worked at Procter and Gamble or Kimberly Clark, I would be like, hopefully 15 years ago, I would have said, "Guys, let's do it." So it's very surprising to me. So I think there's a lot of opportunities. [00:18:23] So would Madorra be that brand? I would love that. We would need a lot of other products that come together with us. So what I really see is a roll up in the future of multiple women's health products together. So I think that's exciting. In terms of, also a little bit maybe more broadly speaking, and this is no surprise to you, I'm sure, or your listeners, that reimbursement is an area that needs massive... I don't know, I was gonna say like overhauling, but that sounds pretty drastic. [00:18:53] It just needs to be clearer and cleaner and simpler. In terms of a process. I'm not saying that we should be handing out reimbursement left and right, but any investor conversation I have is, we go there immediately. And it's like, "Okay, what's the path? Well, why do you think that's going to happen?" And when, you know, X, Y, Z, other company had this happen and I can, we have a good strategy. I think I have a good pitch, but, oh, just... it just is an area that is really murky, and given that's a really critical piece in any business is how are you going to get paid? That's an area that I think there's a lot of good work being done. It just moves at a pace that is painfully slow. I don't have anything insightful to say about it except that, thank you to the people who are working on it, and I support you. I think the TCEP program is a step in the right direction, but even that has been very slow, and not without its own issues, so. [00:19:53] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. Still work to be done, but thankful for the work that is being done. [00:19:58] Holly Rockweiler: Well said. Yes. [00:20:00] Lindsey Dinneen: So, yeah, so, okay. So obviously, listening to you speak about your background and about the industry, it's really clear how passionate you are about this. And I, I wonder if there are any moments or series of moments that stand out to you as kind of confirming that, "Yes, I am in the right place at the right time. I'm here for a reason." [00:20:23] Holly Rockweiler: Oh, good question. Yeah. I'm trying to think like, there are plenty. There's plenty of times in the moment where it's like, "Of course, yes." And then there's like quickly like, "Oh, what's the next fire I'm trying to put out?" So it's hard to really think. I wish I had a super answer right away. I'm thinking, I guess I always come back to the patient and so like hearing-- so we've done some clinical trials in Australia and various team members of ours have gone over and been able to support the trials and be a part of them. And just hearing the stories that they bring back, it's just like, "Yes, we have to keep doing this." [00:21:01] One of our employees was there and came back with a couple stories of one of them was just like after the study visit, the patient was speaking to her and was saying, "It's a conspiracy of silence. This is a huge problem. So many of us are suffering. We're so glad you're here." And then it's other things like we did, for instance, a human factors study that was really helpful to us. And we learned a lot from, and in that study, it was like patients came in to do mock use of the device so we could improve our training materials and also, you know, all parts of the user experience. And it was amazing to me. [00:21:38] So patients, you know, participants, I should say, got zero benefit theoretically about being in that study. It was all for us to learn how to do this better. I mean, we did compensate them, but marginally, right? And so many people wanted to be in that study. And even if it was the early on patient who had-- I'm going to make it up. I had like, "Oh, the user manual didn't make sense to them" or something. They were still like, "I'm so glad to be here to help you because this product needs to be out there." And so it's like, " This is incredible. Yes!" And that part is really rewarding to me. [00:22:09] For me, it's the patients and their feedback and just their enthusiasm. And then, I was gonna say also for the healthcare providers too, we have a lot of wonderful physicians that we work with and their support has been helpful. Like for instance, as I mentioned, we put a paper out there and one of our clinical advisors was highlight, or I think a couple of them highlighted to us that like, "We need to do a second paper on a specific subset of that data because it's super valuable and hasn't been out there before," which may be the clinicians do that for everything they do 'cause they, they know the scene and they know what needs to be published, but it just felt like we have a lot of people who really are rowing in the same direction and really want to make an impact like we do. [00:22:49] Lindsey Dinneen: Oh, wow. Yeah, that's incredible. Thank you for sharing those stories. I think, you know, as you alluded to earlier, because your role has so many components, because that's the space you're in and you've got so much going on, I think it's really compelling to have something to hold onto when it gets hard and go, "You know what? I remember that patient who was so thankful just to have the opportunity to be a part of it and just wait until this gets into the hands of so many more." [00:23:15] Holly Rockweiler: Totally. [00:23:17] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And so for you, you know, you obviously have a very strong background in engineering and innovation. How was it for you going from that to also now being an entrepreneur, and having a business, and having to also learn all of those skills as well. How was that transition? [00:23:42] Holly Rockweiler: Fun. I think that-- there's a lot of personal growth, and I've learned a lot about myself and what where I find passion. So I think there's definitely a lot of hard parts too, but what, well, one thing is that I think there's also a heavy dose of naivete that was important. I didn't know what I didn't know. And so here I am 10 years later I think, you know, in the beginning too, I was not... what do I say? I wasn't convinced, yeah, I wasn't convinced that I could be a CEO, that I should be or could be. And so I think that was, and is maybe still a definitely a continuous journey to it. So why is, why did I think that? What does that mean to me? And where am I now? That's been certainly a learning process. [00:24:31] But that's also like why I said fun, because I, I get to do such a variety of, like, I get to have this opportunity to speak to you on this podcast. I get to work with our clinical advisors on a paper. And I also get to apply for grants. And there's a lot of hard things that come with all those things, but I feel like it's been a really, I don't know, just an incredible opportunity to have a job that It requires so many different things. It also requires me to do financial modeling, which I'm terrible-- well, was terrible at-- have learned and much better at, but also don't really love doing. [00:25:04] So it teaches you what, what you might look for in a future chapter of your life as well. But I'm someone who really thrives on, I have a very curious mind. So trying new things and figuring out new things. And that, I think that curiosity is well satiated by an entrepreneur's life. The managing your own psychology is really difficult, but that's why you have a great community of people around you, both within the entrepreneur community and outside of it. [00:25:36] Lindsey Dinneen: Oh my word. I think I just need to take what you just said those last couple of sentences and just make it into a quote because that was so well articulated. [00:25:45] Holly Rockweiler: Oh, thank you. [00:25:47] Lindsey Dinneen: I cannot think of a better way to describe that journey. So thank you for, but also thank you for being vulnerable and willing to share that, because it is such a journey and it is a learning curve, but kudos to you for embracing it with an attitude of fun, like, "Let's just learn something new and it might not go great the first time, but that's okay. I'll try again." [00:26:10] Holly Rockweiler: Yeah, I was thinking, I was like, "Well, if any of my investors are listening, I have gotten really good at a lot of these things, so y'all don't need to worry." But I do think that's maybe the blessing and the curse of being a first time entrepreneur. So I think, you know, there's certainly a lot of benefits for having done it before and knowing exactly what to expect. But I think with anything in maybe any regulated industry, or maybe any startup, really, there's always going to be curveballs. So that keeps you excited. [00:26:41] Lindsey Dinneen: it's never boring. It keeps you on your toes. There's at least that. [00:26:45] Holly Rockweiler: Yes, absolutely. [00:26:47] Lindsey Dinneen: Excellent. Pivoting the conversation just for fun. Imagine that you were to be offered a million dollars to teach a masterclass on anything you want. It can be within your industry, but it doesn't have to be. What would you choose to teach and why? [00:27:04] Holly Rockweiler: Oh, that's interesting too. And that's a nice paycheck. [00:27:08] Lindsey Dinneen: Right? I [00:27:10] Holly Rockweiler: Let's see. It's getting right to what do I think I'm good enough at to teach a class about. So, I mean, I think one thing that I've been thinking about a lot recently is scientific communication and how, how different voices get amplified and how the kind of stereotypical scientific persona is, it's not the one that wants to be necessarily on social media with a gazillion followers and all these TikTok videos. So I think that I would like to teach the class in concert with, I have a lot of ideas of like, who would be a great way, who would be great people to collaborate with in order to teach or really to help promote more scientific discourse in a conversation that's appropriate and approachable for anyone. [00:28:04] I think that obviously our country has faced a lot of division and I don't think that's really true. I think that a lot of that is-- well, there certainly is a lot of division. I don't mean that. I just mean that I think there's a path to human connection via communication and that, wouldn't it be cool if we could help bridge conversations. And obviously I'm, I am a scientist. I think of myself as a scientist, so I want to think about ways to provide other voices out there to be amplified as well, or perhaps amplify the right voices to help promote just a more enriched dialogue than what is often presented as the country's dialogue today. [00:28:48] Lindsey Dinneen: I love that. [00:28:50] Holly Rockweiler: It's kind of rambling. I can get back to you with my course description, but that's probably where I would go. [00:28:56] Lindsey Dinneen: Syllabi due Tuesday. No, I think that is absolutely incredible. And I love that because I think that is something that's missing and there's some translation error that occurs. And one of the things that I'm passionate about is helping to bridge that gap between-- so I'm right on board with you-- but to bridge that gap between maybe taking some what are traditionally considered complex ideas, concepts, whatever, and distilling it down to a more accessible format. And because everyone learns differently, it's just helpful to have a wider range of options. [00:29:35] Holly Rockweiler: Totally. [00:29:36] Lindsey Dinneen: So I love what you would be passionate about sharing. I mean, I would sign up for that masterclass. [00:29:41] Holly Rockweiler: You can help me teach it, I think. [00:29:43] Lindsey Dinneen: Okay. Deal. We'll get back on that. [00:29:45] Holly Rockweiler: Okay. [00:29:47] Lindsey Dinneen: Excellent. Yeah. How would you wish to be remembered after you leave this world? [00:29:53] Holly Rockweiler: You have some great questions. Yeah, let's see. You know, I've honestly never thought about that. I think that I would, what would I want people... well, I think about like what I would want my friends to think. That, like, they were loved and that they hopefully shared that love broadly. But then, well, let's see, that's not really, like, remembering. Yeah, I guess, maybe it is. So, yeah. That I'm a lover, a curious person, and that I, there is a lot of beauty in the everyday, and so there's a lot to be excited about even on the hard days, [00:30:32] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. I love that. And then, final question. What is one thing that makes you smile every time you see or think about it? [00:30:41] Holly Rockweiler: Certainly my family. I have a four year old son and he is, keeps me very present and cracks me up continuously. And so, my husband and I are very lucky to have him. And obviously my husband makes me laugh. A lot. And so I really appreciate them. And so even when, you know, the work day is hard, I feel really fortunate to have a very rich personal life outside of that. So my family and then my friends also. [00:31:09] Lindsey Dinneen: Oh, yes. Of course. That's wonderful. And I'm so glad you have that amazing support system to bring that smile to your face, especially on the tough days. [00:31:19] Holly Rockweiler: Absolutely. [00:31:20] Lindsey Dinneen: Well, Holly, this has been a wonderful conversation. I'm so thankful for you and what you're doing in this space and the fact that you're tackling an issue that affects so many people, and that you're just bringing all this innovation to, and you're so passionate about sharing that in a way that resonates with people. So I just want to first say, you know, thank you so much for the work that you're doing. I know it's not easy and there are probably days where you, you just kind of want to, you know, toss something in the trash, but honestly, thank you for continuing to do the work you're doing. It's not nothing. And I want to appreciate that. [00:31:59] Holly Rockweiler: Well, that is very kind. Thank you. And that means a lot. And thank you for doing what you're doing, too, to give people like me a chance to share, and also us to listen to others sharing their stories. And for asking, I will say, asking questions that are more about me as a whole person too. I think that when I've been in other conversations sometimes are really-- and there's nothing wrong with those, but it's fun to have, we can ask these questions. I'm like, "Wow, I would do some thinking this weekend about how I want to be remembered" because I've never thought about that. [00:32:30] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. There you go. I love it. Well, and we are so honored to be making a donation on your behalf as a thank you for your time today to the Equal Justice Initiative, which provides legal representation to prisoners who may have been wrongly convicted of crimes, poor prisoners without effective representation, and others who may have been denied a fair trial. So thank you for choosing that organization to support, and we just wish you continued success as you work to change lives for a better world. [00:32:59] Holly Rockweiler: Well, thank you. It's been a pleasure. Thank you. [00:33:03] Lindsey Dinneen: Me too. And thank you so much for our listeners for tuning in. And if you're feeling as inspired as I am right now, I would love if you would share this episode with a colleague or two, and we will catch you next time. [00:33:16] Ben Trombold: The Leading Difference is brought to you by Velentium. Velentium is a full-service CDMO with 100% in-house capability to design, develop, and manufacture medical devices from class two wearables to class three active implantable medical devices. Velentium specializes in active implantables, leads, programmers, and accessories across a wide range of indications, such as neuromodulation, deep brain stimulation, cardiac management, and diabetes management. Velentium's core competencies include electrical, firmware, and mechanical design, mobile apps, embedded cybersecurity, human factors and usability, automated test systems, systems engineering, and contract manufacturing. Velentium works with clients worldwide, from startups seeking funding to established Fortune 100 companies. Visit velentium.com to explore your next step in medical device development.

Pop culture and reality TV expert Katie Jones is here to talk about Brats - Andrew McCarthy's ‘Brat Pack' documentary (Hulu). As children of the 80s we know there was nothing cooler than this group of up and coming Hollywood actors - what we didn't know is how many of them hated the name ‘Brat Pack' and the profound impact it had on their lives. If you're into 80s movies and love talking about them - do not miss this ep. Sign up for the Friday Night Movie Newsletter for giveaways, curated episode playlists from the hosts and guests (including our mom), and at MOST one email per month (and probably fewer).  Closed captions for this episode are available via the player on the official Friday Night Movie homepage, the Podbean app and website, and YouTube.  The Friday Night Movie Family supports the following organizations: HIAS | Equal Justice Initiative | Asian American Journalists Association | The Entertainment Community Fund. Subscribe, rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform, including iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Play | Podbean | Overcast. Play along with Friday Night Movie at home! Read the FNM Glossary to learn the about our signature bits (e.g., Buy/Rent/Meh, I Told You Shows, Tradesies, etc). Email us at info@p4tmedia.com or tweet @FriNightMovie, @pancake4table, @chichiKgomez, and/or  @paperBKprincess.  Follow our creations and zany Instagram stories @frinightmovie, @FNMsisters, and @pancake4table. Follow us on Letterboxd (@pancake4table) where we're rating every movie we've EVER watched.  Subscribe to our quarterly newsletter for exclusive giveaways and news! Theme music by What Does It Eat.  Subscribe and leave a review on IOS or Android at frinightmovie.com.

For the first time in nearly 25 years, Russia's President Vladimir Putin is in North Korea to visit its leader, Kim Jong-un. The leaders have signed a new strategic partnership agreement – a reflection of how important this burgeoning alliance has become to both countries, as Putin increasingly relies upon North Korean weaponry to support his war in Ukraine. Correspondent Mike Valerio walks us through the visit so far, joining the show from Seoul.  Also on today's show: Sue Mi Terry, Former CIA Senior Analyst / Senior Fellow for Korea Studies, Council on Foreign Relations; Bryan Stevenson, Executive Director, Equal Justice Initiative; Bryant Terry, James Beard Award-winning Chef / Author, “Black Food: Stories, Art and Recipes from Across the African Diaspora”  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Here are this week's good vibes:SFMOMA's New Exhibit Celebrates InclusionKaylynne Truong Becomes the First Vietnamese Athlete in the WNBAFrontier Co-Op's Values-Driven ApproachLiechtenstein Passes Marriage EqualityApple Products Grow More AccessibleConnect with Bernadette: www.BernadetteSmith.comRead the Stories: https://www.theequalityinstitute.com/equality-insights-blog/5-things-karenThe first 5 Good Vibes podcast subscribers who mention the podcast in their outreach to Lisa Flick at the Radical Optimist Collective will get 20% off an immersive learning journey supported by our team in Montgomery as part of our work with Equal Justice Initiative's Legacy sites. Email us via our website: https://theradicaloptimist.com/contact/This week's Call to Action:Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) was last week. Get your organization a free accessibility assessment by our friends at Ablr, who train visually impaired folks to perform accessibility audits (among other amazing things).  Join thousands of readers by subscribing to the 5 Things newsletter. Enjoy some good vibes in DEI every Saturday morning. https://5thingsdei.com/

In this episode, we visit the Legacy Sites in Montgomery, Alabama, including the newly opened Freedom Monument Sculpture Park, a 17-acre site on the banks of the Alabama River. We interview their founder, the lawyer and civil rights hero, Bryan Stevenson, who says that a founding narrative of racial difference was created in America that “was like an infection. I believe the infection has spread. We've never treated that infection and the consequences of it are still with us today.” The US has never created cultural sites that have “motivated people to say, ‘never again can we tolerate racial bigotry, can we tolerate racial violence, can we tolerate the kind of indifference to these basic human rights'. So, that's what we're trying to achieve.” Hope and resilience inform the Legacy Sites. “I've always argued that hopelessness is the enemy of justice and that hope is an essential feature of what we do. I have to believe things I haven't seen,” Stevenson says. “I think we need an era of truth and justice, truth and reconciliation, truth and restoration, truth and repair,” Stevenson adds. “But we can't skip the truth-telling part.”

In this season of Interactions, Terri Montague and Brandon Paradise, engage with contemporary leaders and social change agents regarding the influence and convergence of Christianity, the law, and racial justice. Today's guest is Bryan Stevenson, the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative in Alabama, and the author of the 2014 memoir Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption.This book was adapted for film in 2019 and features Michael B Jordan. Stevenson is also the creator of the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama, and a winner of a MacArthur Genius Grant. This podcast is produced by the Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University in collaboration with Canopy Forum.‌Bryan Stevenson: Just Mercy by Bryan StevensonCenter for the Study of Law and Religion: Center for the Study of Law and Religion | Emory University School of Law | Atlanta, GACanopy Forum: Canopy Forum

Sometimes it's people outside our industry who have the biggest impact on how we grow and develop our values and our businesses. This is true for me, and this week I'm sharing more about the person who has helped shape how I conduct business and work with clients every day.In this week's episode, I'm sharing how Bryan Stevenson -- the renowned lawyer, activist and author behind Just Mercy and the Equal Justice Initiative -- ended up becoming one of the most influential figures on my financial coaching philosophy and methods.While Stevenson's work confronting injustice in the criminal justice system may seem unrelated to money, his ideas around the power of proximity, leading with empathy, instilling hope in suffering, and fighting for human dignity have transformed how I view my role and approach clients.In the episode, I'm exploring the key lessons from this modern-day hero that became foundational pillars, such as intimately understanding people's struggles for true impact, seeing the full nuanced humanity in each person, and making justice and restoration my driving mission.You'll hear how Stevenson's philosophy allowed me to shed limiting beliefs to find the courage to offer transformative high-level and high-touch support.By the end, you'll understand why this visionary activist, despite having no direct finance ties, became one of my most influential mentors for creating meaningful, lasting impact.Links & Resources:Cash Flow Planning and Control for Small Business Owners (scroll to the bottom)Ten Percent Happier: How to Keep Going When Things Get HardWe Need to Talk About Injustice TED TalkTrue Justice: Bryan Stevenson's Fight for Inequality documentaryThe Power of Proximity CEO InitiativeFinancial Coaches Unite Facebook group

Laura Yecies, CEO of Bone Health Technologies, shares her journey from a tech and marketing background to leading a company that's revolutionizing the treatment of osteoporosis with Osteoboost, a wearable device using NASA-proven vibration technology. Laura's diverse professional experiences highlights her personal motivation to improve people's lives. Her story illustrates a passionate commitment to developing non-pharmacological treatments and fostering better patient support, emphasizing the significance of technology in advancing healthcare. Guest links: www.bonehealthtech.com Charity supported: Equal Justice Initiative Interested in being a guest on the show or have feedback to share? Email us at podcast@velentium.com.  PRODUCTION CREDITS Host: Lindsey Dinneen Editing: Marketing Wise Producer: Velentium   EPISODE TRANSCRIPT Episode 026 - Laura Yecies [00:00:00] Lindsey Dinneen: Hi, I'm Lindsey and I'm talking with MedTech industry leaders on how they change lives for a better world. [00:00:09] Diane Bouis: The inventions and technologies are fascinating and so are the people who work with them. [00:00:15] Frank Jaskulke: There was a period of time where I realized, fundamentally, my job was to go hang out with really smart people that are saving lives and then do work that would help them save more lives. [00:00:28] Diane Bouis: I got into the business to save lives and it is incredibly motivating to work with people who are in that same business, saving or improving lives. [00:00:38] Duane Mancini: What better industry than where I get to wake up every day and just save people's lives. [00:00:42] Lindsey Dinneen: These are extraordinary people doing extraordinary work, and this is The Leading Difference. [00:00:50] Hello, and welcome to The Leading Difference podcast. I'm your host Lindsey, and I'm excited to introduce you to my guests today, Laura Yecies. Laura is the CEO of Bone Health Technologies, makers of Osteoboost, which is the first clinically proven, safe and effective non-pharmacological treatment for low bone density. Osteoboost puts NASA proven vibration in a wearable, comfortable, convenient belt form factor. Laura, thank you so much for being here today. I'm so excited to chat with you. [00:01:23] Laura Yecies: Me too. Really happy to be here. [00:01:25] Lindsey Dinneen: Wonderful. I would love, if you wouldn't mind starting off by telling us a little bit about yourself and your background and maybe what led you to the medtech industry. [00:01:35] Laura Yecies: Sure. My background's in business and tech primarily. I went to college on the east coast and after business school, in 1988, I came to California. I grew up in New York, but my husband was from California and so we decided to give it a shot out here for a little bit. And I started working in tech doing marketing, first in enterprise software, relational databases, and developer tools. And then I moved into consumer softwares, started off at Netscape. And when I was at Netscape, I took on larger roles and responsibilities. I was Vice President of the browser division, managing a group of over 200 engineers, and we were responsible for Netscape 6.1 and 7.0 and the Mozilla spin out. I then led the mail team at Yahoo, when we were sort of the number one email provider. [00:02:30] And then I also worked at a tech startup and spent some time at Checkpoint, which is a large internet security company heading up marketing there as well. And then I was CEO of two different tech startups, Sugar Sink, which is a sink and share company, and that's now owned by J2 Global. And then I became CEO of a small company called Catch. We had a note taking app and we were able to sell that company to Apple and the Catch team became the core part of the Apple Watch team. So that was very exciting. [00:03:03] And after that when I was thinking about what I wanted to do next, I worked on some ideas for my own startup with some colleagues and, some things that happened in my life that really drew my attention to healthcare. And also I grew up in a family of doctors, both my parents, two of my siblings. And then at that point, my two older sons were in medicine, and I'd always been interested in that and had a bit of flexibility because of this exit and decided that, I'm gonna, I'm gonna make a pivot. And so I switched and started looking for roles in the healthcare area. [00:03:40] And everyone sort of wanted me to work in more of the pure software side of healthcare more of the billing and receiving and revenue cycle management and staffing and logistics. And that's interesting and important. But I found that I really wanted to work on something that had directly a health or therapeutic or diagnostic benefit for patients. And so I started consulting. I consulted with companies in the genomics field, MS. And then I was lucky to get my first CEO role at a concussion diagnostic company. And that company, now called NeuroSync had great science. I think they went on to get an FDA clearance for diagnosing concussions. But after a couple years, the board and I had different ideas of what to do. It sometimes happens. [00:04:26] And so I left, I spent a year consulting at Achille Interactive and at Fabric Genomics and a couple of other companies while I was looking for my next CEO role, and I was really excited to have the opportunity, just over three years ago, to join Bone Health Technologies. I knew a marketing consultant that had been there and was connected to the company, and as soon as I saw what they were trying to work on and solve and have, frankly really make a dent in this issue of osteoporosis, I was interested. [00:05:01] I mentioned that my parents were doctors. My dad had been Medical Director of a nursing home, and I worked a couple of summers during college as a nurse's assistant. And people seemed, my recollection was that they were in the nursing home typically for one of two reasons: Alzheimer's, or they broke their hip. And, my grandmother had osteoporosis. I'm a small person. It certainly runs in my family. And so I recognized that it was an important problem, a big problem, an unsolved problem. [00:05:30] And so my really, my only question for the company was, does it work? We had this innovative treatment for osteoporosis and the founders shared the data with me. It was not a sure thing, but I found the data to be very compelling and so I joined and we're three years down the line from that point in time. And one of the most important things that's happened is we finished our pivotal trial and we got the results. Now it takes a while to do a trial for osteoporosis, but we had excellent results from the treatment. [00:06:03] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. First of all, thank you so much for telling us a little bit about your background. You have such an incredibly diverse background. So many questions just emerge from that, but I would love to hear about your current device and the way that it works and whatnot. [00:06:18] Laura Yecies: Sure. So it's a wearable treatment. It's a belt that has a vibration pack that you wear over your lumbar spine, specifically at the sacrum. And so we're applying vibration to the hips and lower back, and those are to the key areas that experience fractures from osteoporosis. So hip fractures are very life impacting, deadly for almost 30% of people. Spine fractures, you can imagine, are very painful and debilitating. And so we're focusing vibration, which has been proven to improve bone density on the vulnerable anatomy. And, there's a body of evidence from NASA where they did whole body vibration to try to reduce bone loss for astronauts. [00:07:05] So when astronauts spend time in space, they lose bone. And what they proved was that standing on a whole body vibration platform can improve bone density. But those companies that make these platforms, they have very good products. I'm a believer in the science, but those products haven't gone mainstream. They're people that tend to not comply very well with them, and the good ones are expensive. And so we're aiming to take this proven science-- and by the way, before NASA did the whole body vibration studies, there's a lot of studies in animals and cellular research showing the same thing. There's really a lot of science to support this. [00:07:45] But our device, we aim to solve the ease of use challenge by making it something wearable. And then most importantly, the vibration is applied locally to the vulnerable anatomy. So that's what we do. And what we showed in our pivotal trial is that we reduced bone loss by over 80%. So we measured the lumbar vertebra with a CT scan at baseline in one year. And the patients who were on the active treatment lost about a half a percent of their bone strength. And those on the placebo or sham treatment lost just under 3%. Our patients, we kept them clinically, essentially stable and slow this bone loss so you don't outlive your bones. [00:08:29] Lindsey Dinneen: Wow. That's incredible. I am. . I . I say this a lot and I know it's used as sort of a more tongue in cheek manner, but for real, what a time to be alive. That is so cool how so much innovation is just constantly coming through and the, there's this, people like you are doing this incredible work to bring new devices that are really impacting patients' lives. So that sounds like incredible results. You guys must have been thrilled with those numbers [00:09:03] Laura Yecies: Yes. And this was really our first attempt. We had done a pilot study, but this was our first one year study and we just applied for a grant to do another study with in basically a longer treatment duration, essentially a higher dose of vibration. So from my point of view, this is a great result, but this is like the beginning. [00:09:26] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. Yes, which is so exciting too, because it just leaves room for so much more as you continue to go down this path. So that is exciting. And so that's your next step. I'm imagining, is this, next level of treatment and what do you envision the company to, to do or be doing in say, three, five years from now? [00:09:50] Laura Yecies: So in three to five years, my goal is first of all, that we have this device very widely used in the market or with patients. So there's 52 million patients with osteopenia and other 12 million with osteoporosis. Our trial was for patients with osteopenia, and so there are a lot of patients out there who I think would benefit from this device. We also want to start to develop a relationship with those patients. Not just sell them a device, but support them in their overall bone health optimization. So we today have created an OsteoBoost application. So we help patients remember and comply and we remind them and give them encouragement to use the device. We help them get the optimum amount of calcium by tracking that exercise. [00:10:41] And then, our vision is to add community and other elements of optimizing bone health and potentially to have other services. We never wanna get in the way of a patient's relationship with their doctor. So if their personal physician is supporting their treatment of their bone density issues, that's great. But in many cases they're not. And so we wanna have services available for that as well. And it's interesting if you look in the app store or look at a lot of startup activity, there's many companies doing these kinds of solutions for diabetes or cardiovascular disease or asthma or depression, but there's really not much out there for bone health. And yet it's really a key part of staying well and independent and living, living healthily, and it's such a common problem. So we're excited, that we have something unique, yet very much needed and not in a, in a small group it's not a rare thing. It's very common. [00:11:46] Lindsey Dinneen: Yes. Yes, absolutely. And is your plan to sell directly to the consumers or will you be going through, insurance companies, doctors, whatnot, or do have you gotten that far yet? [00:12:00] Laura Yecies: We haven't finalized the details of that. So we're not ready to share them. But but what I will say that I think we are quite certain about is first of all, it is a prescription device, so there will be a doctor involved to write prescription and some of the details, and we will certainly have a way where the personal physician can write that prescription. We may have some other options for patients, but a doctor's involved, which is appropriate because they have a condition that puts them at risk of fractures and other health issues. [00:12:34] But the other thing that I am confident about is that we are going to want to appeal to patients to generate interest. We have seen tremendous inbound interest into the company with not a lot of marketing. I mean, I've done things like this podcast and I speak at conferences, but we have not spent money on advertising or things like that because the product's not on the market yet. And I hear from patients all the time, they are searching for an innovative treatment. They're searching for ways safely to slow their bone loss. I, I'm a member of a number of Facebook groups for osteoporosis and hear how patients talk about this, and so I believe there's tremendous interest by patients and that we wanna tap into that to build the business. [00:13:24] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. Yes. And part of the reason I brought it up, the question in the first place was exactly for that reason. I was thinking there's gotta be so many people who are searching for a solution and yours is so innovative and accessible. I'm so excited to see where it leads. Yeah, that's gonna be incredible. And it really struck me, you talked about your background being heavily in marketing back in the day and so obviously those skills are still very present today. So it's fun to see how, elements of things that you've done throughout your life will lead to this success, in this next endeavor. [00:14:01] And I'm actually very curious also. yoU talked about some really amazing positions that you had, and then those led you to have these CEO roles. So I'm curious, how was that transition for you stepping into your first CEO opportunity? Was that exciting, daunting, energizing? How are you feeling in those moments? [00:14:25] Laura Yecies: Those, you captured many of the feelings. So you know, a bit of context. So it was the very end of 2008. And so the world from a financial markets point of view was kind of falling apart. I had led large groups. I had been a general manager, but I'd not been CEO. I had never raised money before, and so I stepped into a company that had been through some trauma. They were supposed to be acquired. The acquisition, the plug got pulled out because of the markets collapsing. The founder had left before I got there. So it was, the company was really in a crisis, I would say. The employees were very afraid for their jobs. We didn't have money and, the financial markets were terrible. It was really challenging to go in and stabilize things and kind of pull the team together and then, build the business in a challenging environment. [00:15:23] Existing investors gave us some runway, but it was limited. They had already kind of been in investing quite a while, and so I had to find outside money, which in 2009 was challenging. But it was exciting. I loved the product that I was working on. I had been a user of it. It was something that was in my wheelhouse of, I had worked quite a bit on productivity tools for workers and business people and consumers. And, and I, we had great technology. So it was exciting. But it was It was intense. But we built that business. When I joined we had essentially zero revenue and we got to essentially in the 20 million run rate in four years. [00:16:07] Lindsey Dinneen: Wow. [00:16:08] Laura Yecies: That was great. [00:16:09] Lindsey Dinneen: Yes. That is great. That is kudos to you and your leadership for being able to step into such a challenging situation and it around. Yeah. [00:16:19] Laura Yecies: You know, one thing I learned then, because we did have all these challenges, but we also had a market where the latent demand and need was growing. It was a rising tide. Just to be specific a bit-- and then I'm gonna give an analogy to bone health technologies. So at that time we had a sink and share solution. We were a little bit more niche, but you could think of it as it was quite similar to a Dropbox or a box.box, what was then box.net, and that was also the time that iPhone sales, laptop, Netbook sales were growing very quickly, and so the need to get your data into the cloud was I mean, you could argue that it was always useful to be able to access your data remotely. And there, there were always kind of some niche solutions like, Go To My PC. [00:17:12] But suddenly, because the environment was changing where people were having these devices the market demand and the market opportunity was growing. Okay, so fast forward, oh, 14 years, 13 years, and osteoporosis and osteopenia is growing. But the other thing that's growing is awareness. And our target demographic, postmenopausal women, I'd say our typical patients are in their sixties. I don't know, what's the joke? Sixties is the new fifties or the new forties. Like these are women who wanna stay active, right? They may be still working if they're not working. They're very involved in the community, they're very involved with their family. They may have, they may be at a point where they've educated their children, they've saved some money, so they have disposable income that they want to take care of their health. And so it's a demographic that spends money on their health. They also are very social and community minded. [00:18:16] Let's imagine a six year old woman with osteopenia and she's going on a hike or a walk with her girlfriends. What are the chances that her female friends also have osteopenia That's probably 80%, right? If similar in age, and so I see this set of patients and who we're going after as being very interested in safe non-pharmacological solutions that are easy to access. You can call it the Amazon effect. They're used to things being convenient and seamless. And they, they want this type of solution to help them stay kind of active and healthy and be in a way preventative of the need for medication. So I see this as in a very different way than Sugar Sink, still a rising tide market. [00:19:08] And oh, by the way, at the same time talking about health concerns related to menopause is suddenly, and as it should be not just socially acceptable. It's a hot topic, right? Oprah, Michelle Obama, Gwyneth Paltrow, they're all talking about menopause symptoms. And by the way, osteopenia is very much a result of menopause. You're losing bone density slowly typically starting your thirties, but in the five years after menopause, there's rapid bone loss, and that's typically when women get into that osteopenia stage. [00:19:44] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, absolutely. [00:19:46] Laura Yecies: Oh, by the way the women who are in their sixties today, when they were going through menopause 10 years ago, or 12 years ago, or 15 years ago, they were told no. Hormone replacement therapy unless you're completely miserable because of findings in the Women's Health Initiative. And that pendulum has now swung back to a more moderate position. But today's 60 somethings are less likely to be on HRT or to have even been on HRT, so they're more likely to have bone loss. [00:20:21] Lindsey Dinneen: . Yeah. And. Speaking of this, and you were talking about thankfully, there's much more awareness, there's much more conversation happening about women and menopause and going through symptoms and whatnot. I've just been reading lately how much it is still a struggle despite that for women founders, especially of medtech companies to get the funding that they need. And I'm curious, what was your experience when you were fundraising, what were your challenges? What were your triumphs and maybe even suggestions for other women founders who are gonna be going through this soon too? [00:21:01] Laura Yecies: There's no controlled experiments on these questions, right? So if my fundraise on a difficulty from zero to 10 was a seven. Right? Would it have been easier or harder if I were a man? I really don't know. I know that women, there's less funding going to women, but I have felt that, at least for this company, I don't have any reason to assume that to be the case. If anything. I believe that investors, many of them, they even talk about this, they're looking for founder product or founder market fit. And I'm not the founder of the company. I was brought in as CEO after it started, but I feel like a founder. I operate that way. This is my adopted child. And I love it no less than if... [00:21:56] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, of course. [00:21:58] Laura Yecies: ...if I gave birth to it. [00:21:59] Lindsey Dinneen: Right, right. [00:22:00] Laura Yecies: I am a user of our product, right? And I empathize with very deeply and connect with our patients. And I think if a, a 25 year old man were sitting in my shoes trying to raise money, maybe he would've even had a harder time. So I, I know. I don't know. Women's health has been under invested in, I believe it still is under invested in. And why is that? It's very hard to tell. I will also say that devices are a harder field to raise money for, independent of gender. There's more investors investing in digital solutions or pharma than devices for a variety of reasons. The size of the device investor market has shrunk. [00:22:51] And I think that's unfortunate and because I think there are a lot of solutions that are less invasive, less systemically invasive. Osteoporosis or osteopenia is one example. But we see devices for other women's health areas like pelvic prolapse or stress urinary incontinence, or a number of things that are of concern to women, but also things that affect everyone like migraine and these device solutions are very safe. They don't completely replace pharmacological solutions, but I think it's really important to have other options and so I do think it has been challenging, especially in the early stages in that field. [00:23:37] Lindsey Dinneen: Yes, exactly. Yeah. But I thank you for your perspective too. It is, I think quite refreshing to hear from somebody who was a woman who went through this raising capital and actually did have a really good experience, 'cause you hear so many of the opposite, so sometimes it's easy to go, "oh gosh, it's not changing fast enough." But it is so encouraging to hear from somebody who has had a really good experience, so I appreciate your telling me about that. [00:24:03] Laura Yecies: Yeah. And for women's health if most of the investors are men, a good investor should be able to appreciate concerns outside of their personal experience. But I think human nature is such that we tend to connect with problems that we've had. And so the fact that most of the VCs and investors are men makes the whole women's health field, I think, more challenging for fundraising. But we'll see. That's changing too. [00:24:35] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. . So what are some things that you are excited about, either personally or professionally in the coming, coming couple of years? What are, what's gonna, what's gonna get you up and ready to just tackle the day? [00:24:52] Laura Yecies: Yeah. It kind of goes back to what we were talking about before that most of my career I've spent more on the commercial and marketing and sales side. And since I've been at BHT, we've been very much in sort of science and research mode, which has been very interesting, fascinating. I've enjoyed it, but I'm really looking forward to this next phase where we can get the product on the market. I mean, I hear from patients multiple times per week. "When is this gonna be available?" And I don't like saying "it's not available today." [00:25:27] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. . Yeah. [00:25:29] Laura Yecies: I wanna say today, and that feels tantalizingly close. I'm very much looking forward to that. And, first doing it at a small scale, we have a waiting list of patients. And I wanna, kind of put a shout out on that. We will first go to the waiting list. To make the product available and people can sign up at bonehealthtech.com and the front of the line are the patients who, the citizen scientists who participated in our pivotal trial, and they're, we have another trial going on. They're first in line. They have contributed so much and did it really out of a total generosity of spirit. They had minimal compensation. And then of course to get to the next level of, hitting the gas and growing the availability and distribution of the product. I'm imagining, I talked about hiking before and that's because I love to hike and I'm imagining, osteo boosting hiking groups or something like that. I know that sounded corny, but. [00:26:27] Lindsey Dinneen: Oh, I love it. . No, it's fun. And that is so exciting. I am really cheering you on as this next phase comes to reality. That's, yeah. That's incredible. Pivoting just for fun, imagine you were to be offered an opportunity to teach a masterclass on any subject you want. It doesn't have to be in your industry, but it can be, and you'd get a million dollars for doing so. What would you choose to teach and why? [00:27:00] Laura Yecies: I think I would want to teach around marketing and commercialization, sort of product management, and then really the full life cycle of bringing products to market. I've been doing it for 35 years. I hate to say that. Sounds like a long time in various formats. I mean, I've, some of it has leaned heavily on the digital marketing. Some of it has been more B2B sales, business development. So I feel like I've spent a lot of time in that area and I have lessons learned to share. I actually enjoy teaching. I spent some time, when I first came out to the Bay Area, I taught marketing at Santa Clara Business School. I enjoyed it, but I enjoyed working in the marketing field more, and I had young kids, and so between a full-time job and kids, there wasn't also time for teaching. But I would love to get back and do more teaching. And I do executive coaching and I informally coach and that's a very rewarding part of my job. [00:28:07] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, absolutely. That sounds like a great masterclass and very needed. So we would sign up for that one. [00:28:13] Laura Yecies: Thank you. [00:28:15] Lindsey Dinneen: And how do you wish to be remembered after you leave this world? [00:28:22] Laura Yecies: Oh I mean, I'm a family first person and I am lucky to have great husband, four kids and today's six grandchildren. And the first thing that goes through my mind when you ask that question is, to have had just a really positive impact on them and the other family members and friends in my life. And then, work-wise if this device or our solution is effective it provoke small changes, but in our field, small changes over time can have big results. And, if we've prevented fractures and help people, I would be really honored to be able to be known for that. [00:29:00] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, of course. And final question. What is one thing that makes you smile every time you see or think about it? [00:29:10] Laura Yecies: My grandchildren getting to play with 'em when they want, when they come through the door every Friday. [00:29:16] Lindsey Dinneen: Aw. [00:29:17] Laura Yecies: We have a family dinner almost every Friday night. And I look forward to it all week and when they walk through the door. So that's my mental image and I for sure smile with that one. [00:29:29] Lindsey Dinneen: Oh, I love that . What a great tradition. And I, it's so lovely that all your families, or at least some of your family, is close enough to be able to do that. How fun. [00:29:40] Laura Yecies: Yes, it's really fun. It's fun. And I grew up with that so I'm trying to continue, with the next generation. [00:29:47] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. Yes. That's fantastic. Laura, thank you so much for joining us and sharing about yourself, your background, and the incredible work that you and your company are doing. I'm so excited to see it come to market and just really impact lives. Thank you for the work you're doing. [00:30:06] Laura Yecies: Oh, my pleasure. And thanks for the chance to share it with people and for inviting me onto your show. [00:30:11] Lindsey Dinneen: Of course, and we're so honored to be making a donation on your behalf as a thank you for your time today to the Equal Justice Initiative, which provides legal representation to prisoners who may have been wrongfully convicted of crimes, poor prisoners without effective representation, and others who may have been denied a fair trial. So thank you so much for choosing that charity to support. We just wish you continued success as you work to change lives for a better world. [00:30:40] Laura Yecies: Thank you very much. [00:30:41] Lindsey Dinneen: Thank you, and thank you also to our listeners for tuning in and if you're feeling as inspired as I am right now, I'd love it if you'd share this episode with a colleague or two, and we will catch you next time. [00:30:55] Ben Trombold: ​ The Leading Difference is brought to you by Velentium. Velentium is a full-service CDMO with 100% in-house capability to design, develop, and manufacture medical devices from class two wearables to class three active implantable medical devices. Velentium specializes in active implantables, leads, programmers, and accessories across a wide range of indications, such as neuromodulation, deep brain stimulation, cardiac management, and diabetes management. Velentium's core competencies include electrical, firmware, and mechanical design, mobile apps, embedded cybersecurity, human factors and usability, automated test systems, systems engineering, and contract manufacturing. Velentium works with clients worldwide, from startups seeking funding to established Fortune 100 companies. Visit velentium.com to explore your next step in medical device development.

This week The Chalks have a showdown! Married couple KD Chalk (Our Deadly Vows) is playing for Endo Black and Chris Chalk (When They See Us) is playing for Equal Justice Initiative. Soul Music, wine variatials and US History from 2014. Listen, playalong and follow us at @youshouldknowbetterpod.

Clarinet Corner presents a special episode with guests Anthony McGill, principal clarinetist with the New York Philharmonic, and Bryan Stevenson, the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative. With Host Tim Phillips, they discuss the impact music has had on their lives, along with the ongoing fight for racial equality.

Have you already bailed on your resolutions? Where are you on your other life goals? This episode is a master class on sticking with it, no matter what.Bryan Stevenson is a public interest lawyer who has dedicated his career to helping the poor, the incarcerated, and the condemned. He is the founder and Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative, based in Montgomery, Alabama—an organization that has won major legal challenges eliminating excessive and unfair sentencing, as well as reversals, relief, or release from prison for over 140 wrongly condemned prisoners on death row. He is the author of the bestselling memoir Just Mercy, which was made into a feature film, and the subject of an HBO documentary, True Justice. He is also a MacArthur “Genius,” a graduate of Harvard Law School, and a recipient of over 50 honorary doctoral degrees from institutions like Yale, Princeton, and Oxford University.In this episode we talk about:Bryan's “non-negotiables,” including exercise, music, and mindfulnessThe necessity of “proximity”How he manages fear, anger, and hatredHow he cultivates hope and faith in the face of overwhelming oddsRelated Episodes:Father Gregory Boyle on Conquering Hatred with LoveEsther Perel, Bill Hader, Jon Kabat-Zinn, and Pema Chödrön's “Non-Negotiables”Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/tph/podcast-episode/bryan-stevensonSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

“Imagine that you, at age fifteen, have been sentenced to social death, life without parole, in a space nine feet by seven—the size of a freight elevator—where for twenty-two to twenty-four hours a day you are trapped; where in a deadly daily routine you sleep, wake up, shit, piss, eat—food slipped through a slot as if you were an animal, where you are denied the possibility of human contact except as physical or mental abuse; where visual and sensory stimuli—the stuff of life—are only a memory or a dream; where who you are is defined only by your willingness or unwillingness to be disciplined and punished. Imagine life without hope in a brutal hellhole of sameness designed to break your spirit and challenge your sanity.” This is an excerpt from Ian Manuel's 2022 memoir “My Time Will Come: A Memoir of Crime, Punishment, Hope and Redemption” where Manuel recounts his real life experience spending 26 years in prison—18 of those years in solitary confinement—before advocacy efforts from the Equal Justice Initiative led to his release in 2016. Since his release, Manuel has made waves as an activist, poet, and motivational speaker. His memoir recounts his journey from his teenage years to the present. He joins us today to talk about juvenile life without parole, solitary confinement, and restorative justice.

Today, we are re-airing one of our favorite episodes.     Bryan Stevenson (founder of the Equal Justice Initiative) is committed to ending mass incarceration and excessive punishment, to challenging racial and economic injustice, and to protecting basic human rights for the most vulnerable among us. In this episode, Kate and Bryan discuss:  The hope that motivates Bryan in this slow, sometimes frustrating work of justice What it means to be a ‘stonecatcher' (and why it serves both the one being condemned and the one doing the condemning) The power of forgiveness, maybe especially toward those who don't deserve it  CW: discussion of slavery, lynching, and other racist violence, death row Looking for the transcript or show notes? Click here. Find Kate on Instagram or Facebook or X. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is a live podcast we recorded at BOA headquarters in Denver, CO. It followed a screening of 26.2 to Life – a new film about the San Quentin 1000 Mile Club premiering this weekend!   26.2 to life is a film about the redemptive and rehabilitative nature of running told through the lens of the 1000 Mile Club at San Quentin State Prison. Dylan moderates a panel featuring volunteer coach Diana Fitzpatrick, club alumni Markelle Taylor, and filmmaker Christine Yoo. 26.2 TO LIFE opens on Friday, September 22, for one week only, in these select theaters: IFC Center (New York, NY) The Roxie (San Francisco, CA) The Rafael (Marin, CA) Rialto Cinemas Elmwood (Berkeley, CA) Rialto Cinemas (Sebastopol, CA) Laemmle's (Los Angeles, CA) SIFF Cinema Uptown (Seattle, WA) - only available Sept 22-24 Oriental Theatre (Milwaukee, WI) - only available Sept 22-24 Coolidge Corner (Brookline, MA) - one screening only October 5   If you can't make a theatre screening, THIS WEEKEND  there will be a 72 hour virtual online event, Sept 29 - Oct 1, which will feature special bonus content including:   A special forward from Bryan Stevenson, Founder and Executive Director of Equal Justice Initiative, “a nonprofit that provides legal representation to prisoners who may have been wrongly convicted of crimes, poor prisoners without effective representation, and others who may have been denied a fair trial.” A Q&A with the 3 main subjects, filmmaker Christine Yoo & head coach Frank Ruona from inside San Quentin during the prion's premiere of the film earlier this year An extended post-screening discussion with Markelle "The Gazelle" Taylor, Head Coach Frank Ruona, Coach Diana Fitzpatrick, and filmmaker Christine Yoo, moderated by Dylan Bowman, a volunteer of 1000 Mile Club.   Sponsors: Use code freetrail10 for 10% off Speedland Footwear Use code freetrail15 for 15% off Gnarly Nutrition Get 30% off your first subscription of Ketone IQ at HVMN.com/FREETRAIL30 Use code freetrail15 for 15% off Roark Apparel Freetrail Links: Website | Freetrail Pro | Patreon | Instagram | YouTube | Freetrail Experts   Dylan Links: Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn | Strava   ________________________   Other Freetrail podcast episodes you might enjoy:   Kilian Jornet | The New NNormal   Tim Tollefson | The Infinite Game   Clare Gallagher | Black Canyon 100k Champion   Jim Walmsley | Engagement, Moving to Europe, Western States, and UTMB

We all have choices about how we think and interact with those around us. In John 8, Jesus shows us how he responds to an adulterous woman who is brought before him by the religious leaders of the day. He says to them in verse 7,  "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." Notice Jesus didn't judge her- although being holy and righteous, he surely could have. Jesus didn't gossip about her. He didn't belittle her. He didn't shame her, or punish her.He didn't throw stones. Instead, he caught the stones that the Pharisees wanted to hurl at her and traded them for grace.Join us this week as we unpack this passage and ask ourselves if we are stone catchers and/or a stone throwers. Inspired by Equal Justice Initiative Founder and Author of Just Mercy Bryan Stevenson, this podcast will be both informative and challenging.Show NotesJust Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan StevensonTo hear the podcast mentioned in this episode:https://katebowler.com/podcast/bryan-stevenson-love-mercy/

Original Air Date: June 12, 2018Oprah continues her extraordinary interview with wrongly convicted death row inmate Anthony Ray Hinton, who shares a remarkable story about an unlikely friendship he formed in prison. He explains how he eventually found his way to freedom through the help of civil rights attorney Bryan Stevenson and the Equal Justice Initiative. Anthony describes how he felt on the day he was finally released in 2015 and how he adjusted to life outside prison. He also shares the powerful lessons he learned on death row: the true meaning of compassion, the root of racism and how we can all overcome our circumstances and learn how to love. Anthony's memoir, "The Sun Does Shine," is the latest selection for Oprah's Book Club.

Original Air Date: June 6, 2018Oprah sits down with Bryan Stevenson, the law professor, civil rights attorney and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, who shares why he has dedicated his life to giving a voice to incarcerated men and women. Bryan has spent more than three decades challenging poverty and racial discrimination within the criminal justice system. He explains why he believes we are not fully evolved as human beings until we care about universal human rights and basic dignity. Bryan has won major legal challenges eliminating excessive and unfair sentencing, exonerating innocent death row prisoners and confronting abuse of the incarcerated. Bryan also discusses his New York Times best-selling book, "Just Mercy," his views on the death penalty, and the transformative power of mercy and forgiveness. Next week,  be sure to download Oprah's two-part podcast interview with one of Bryan Stevenson's most extraordinary clients, Anthony Ray Hinton, a man who wrongfully spent 30 years on death row until Bryan helped him win his freedom. Anthony's new memoir about his experience in prison, "The Sun Does Shine," was just selected for Oprah's Book Club.