Podcasts about executive office

Board-certified psychiatrist, researcher, and award-winning content creator Dr. Judith Joseph joins Google to discuss her book, “High Functioning: Overcome Your Hidden Depression and Reclaim Your Joy.” Dr. Joseph draws on original research, client cases, and her own personal struggles with high-functioning depression to demystify this poorly understood condition. Her five simple tools – The Five V's – will help you understand the science of your happiness and empower you to reclaim your life and joy. Dr. Joseph is the chair of the Women in Medicine initiative at Columbia University, a Clinical Assistant Professor in child and adolescent psychiatry at NYU, and Principal Investigator at Manhattan Behavioral Medicine. She was awarded with the Congress Proclamation Award by the US House of Representatives in 2023 for her social media advocacy and mental health research. In 2024, she taught a Workplace Mental Health Course to the Executive Office of the President of the United States. She uses her platform of over 1 million followers to educate her community about mental health topics. She also trains doctors at NYU about how to use various forms of media to educate the public about mental health issues. Watch this episode at youtube.com/TalksAtGoogle.

MA State Auditor Diana DiZoglio completed an audit into the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, which oversees the state's emergency shelter system. The 74-page report came out with findings that include "mismanagement" and "failing to assess" the surging numbers" of migrants, and bungling oversight of spending on food, transportation, and housing costs. In addition to handing out no-bid contracts. State Auditor Diana DiZoglio joined us to discuss her report.Listen to WBZ NewsRadio on the NEW iHeart Radio app and be sure to set WBZ NewsRadio as your #1 preset!

Children often face a wide range of struggles like social challenges, difficulties at school, substance use, and so much more. As any parent or caregiver knows, helping a child can be overwhelming at times. Where can one turn for help?  In this episode, Ashley Gingerella O'Shea, director of strategic communications at Rhode Island's Executive Office of Health and Human Services joins Dr. Philip Chan to discuss a new and much-needed resource to help parents navigate children's behavioral health.  For parents and caregivers, please visit kids.ri.gov/behavioral-health for information to guide you in finding support, resources, and answers to many of your questions.

​Judicial Watch has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) for allegedly failing to comply with multiple Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests concerning Jeffrey Epstein's associates and clients. The conservative watchdog group submitted four FOIA requests between February and March 2025 to various DOJ components, including the Office of Information Policy, the Criminal Division, the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, and the FBI. These requests sought records related to Epstein's activities and communications involving Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel regarding the handling and potential release of Epstein-related documents. Despite acknowledgments and assigned tracking numbers, Judicial Watch claims the DOJ has failed to provide the requested information or justify any withholdings, prompting the lawsuit filed on April 8, 2025, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.The lawsuit references a February 24, 2025, Fox News report in which Attorney General Bondi stated that Epstein's client list was "sitting on [her] desk." However, a subsequent DOJ document release on February 27, 2025, was criticized for lacking substantive revelations, as it primarily listed already known associates of Epstein. Judicial Watch argues that the DOJ's actions violate FOIA and hinder public transparency regarding Epstein's network. The organization seeks a court order compelling the DOJ to conduct thorough searches for responsive records, produce all non-exempt documents, and provide explanations for any withholdings. Additionally, Judicial Watch requests that the court enjoin the DOJ from further withholding non-exempt records and award attorney's fees and litigation costs incurred due to the DOJ's non-compliance.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comsource:DOJ allegedly violating FOIA over Jeffrey Epstein files

​Judicial Watch has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) for allegedly failing to comply with multiple Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests concerning Jeffrey Epstein's associates and clients. The conservative watchdog group submitted four FOIA requests between February and March 2025 to various DOJ components, including the Office of Information Policy, the Criminal Division, the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, and the FBI. These requests sought records related to Epstein's activities and communications involving Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel regarding the handling and potential release of Epstein-related documents. Despite acknowledgments and assigned tracking numbers, Judicial Watch claims the DOJ has failed to provide the requested information or justify any withholdings, prompting the lawsuit filed on April 8, 2025, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.The lawsuit references a February 24, 2025, Fox News report in which Attorney General Bondi stated that Epstein's client list was "sitting on [her] desk." However, a subsequent DOJ document release on February 27, 2025, was criticized for lacking substantive revelations, as it primarily listed already known associates of Epstein. Judicial Watch argues that the DOJ's actions violate FOIA and hinder public transparency regarding Epstein's network. The organization seeks a court order compelling the DOJ to conduct thorough searches for responsive records, produce all non-exempt documents, and provide explanations for any withholdings. Additionally, Judicial Watch requests that the court enjoin the DOJ from further withholding non-exempt records and award attorney's fees and litigation costs incurred due to the DOJ's non-compliance.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comsource:DOJ allegedly violating FOIA over Jeffrey Epstein filesBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-epstein-chronicles--5003294/support.

​Judicial Watch has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) for allegedly failing to comply with multiple Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests concerning Jeffrey Epstein's associates and clients. The conservative watchdog group submitted four FOIA requests between February and March 2025 to various DOJ components, including the Office of Information Policy, the Criminal Division, the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, and the FBI. These requests sought records related to Epstein's activities and communications involving Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel regarding the handling and potential release of Epstein-related documents. Despite acknowledgments and assigned tracking numbers, Judicial Watch claims the DOJ has failed to provide the requested information or justify any withholdings, prompting the lawsuit filed on April 8, 2025, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.The lawsuit references a February 24, 2025, Fox News report in which Attorney General Bondi stated that Epstein's client list was "sitting on [her] desk." However, a subsequent DOJ document release on February 27, 2025, was criticized for lacking substantive revelations, as it primarily listed already known associates of Epstein. Judicial Watch argues that the DOJ's actions violate FOIA and hinder public transparency regarding Epstein's network. The organization seeks a court order compelling the DOJ to conduct thorough searches for responsive records, produce all non-exempt documents, and provide explanations for any withholdings. Additionally, Judicial Watch requests that the court enjoin the DOJ from further withholding non-exempt records and award attorney's fees and litigation costs incurred due to the DOJ's non-compliance.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comsource:DOJ allegedly violating FOIA over Jeffrey Epstein filesBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-moscow-murders-and-more--5852883/support.

President Trump's February 18 “Ensuring Accountability for All Agencies” Executive Order directs independent regulatory agencies to submit for review all proposed and final significant regulatory actions to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) within the Executive Office of the President. This joint webinar, sponsored by the Administrative Law and the Corporations, Securities & […]

President Trump’s February 18 “Ensuring Accountability for All Agencies” Executive Order directs independent regulatory agencies to submit for review all proposed and final significant regulatory actions to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) within the Executive Office of the President. This joint webinar, sponsored by the Administrative Law and the Corporations, Securities & Antitrust Practice Groups, will discuss the real-world implications of this order for independent agencies, including the Federal Communications Committee and the Federal Trade Commission.Featuring:J. Howard Beales, III, Professor Emeritus of Strategic Management and Public Policy, School of Business, The George Washington UniversityHon. Susan E. Dudley, Founder, GW Regulatory Studies Center & Distinguished Professor of Practice, Trachtenberg School of Public Policy & Public Administration, The George Washington UniversityThomas M. Johnson, Jr. Partner, Wiley Rein LLPProf. Adam White, Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute; Co-Director, Antonin Scalia Law School’s C. Boyden Gray Center for the Study of the Administrative StateModerator: Svetlana Gans, Partner, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher--To register, click the link above.

Kilah Walters-Clinton, Director of Race, Equity, and Community Engagement for the Executive Office of Health and Human Services in Rhode Island, explains how ASTHO's Building Capacity to Advance Health Certificate Program has helped dozens across the country; Dr. Christine Muganda, Data and Analytics Team Leader at County Health Rankings and Roadmaps, details a new 2025 Model of Health; and the Navigating AI-Enabled Community Inclusive Preparedness webinar will occur on Thursday, April 17th at 2 p.m. E.T. ASTHO Web Page: Building Capacity to Advance Health Certificate Program County Health Ranking & Roadmaps Web Page: Explore health topics ASTHO Webinar: INSPIRE – Readiness – Navigating AI-Enabled Community-Inclusive Preparedness ASTHO Web Page: Subscribe  

CareQuest Institute for Oral Health is a national nonprofit dedicated to creating an oral health care system that is accessible, equitable, and integrated. Learn more about how their advocacy, philanthropy, research, and education are creating a better oral health system at carequest.org/turnonthelights How do we scale proven solutions in health care, climate resilience, and public health to create lasting impact? In this episode,  Joe McCannon, former Director of Sustainability for the Council on Environmental Quality in the Executive Office of the President of the United States, discusses scaling impactful solutions in public health, climate change, and health care resilience. Joe highlights three key challenges: providing clinical guidance for climate-related health issues, keeping health care facilities operational during disasters, and reducing healthcare's environmental impact. He emphasizes the importance of showcasing successful sustainability efforts and leveraging policies like the Inflation Reduction Act to drive change. To tackle large-scale problems, he advocates for understanding harm and solutions, fostering collective action, leading with strong values, setting clear goals, and rejecting powerlessness. Despite challenges, Joe urges bold, proactive action, emphasizing that this is a moment for courage and innovation. Tune in for an eye-opening conversation with Joe McCannon on the strategies, challenges, and innovations needed to drive large-scale change and build a healthier, more resilient future! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

US President Donald Trump promises a significant tariff announcement on April 2. We gathered a team of experts to discuss how the looming threats of tariffs from the Trump administration may affect Brazil and reshape relations between the United States and Brazil — not just in the short-term future but also in the long run. Panelists:Tony Harrington, former US ambassador to Brazil. Founding Principal of Albright Stonebridge. He was previously Chair of the President's Intelligence Oversight Board and currently serves as Chair of the Wilson Center Brazil Institute. Kellie Meiman Hock, senior counselor at McLarty Associates and a board member of the Inter-American Dialogue. A former US Foreign Service Officer, she served in Porto Alegre, São Paulo and Recife in Brazil, as well as at the Office of the US Trade Representative in the Executive Office of the President as Director for Brazil and the Southern Cone.Welber Barral, founding partner of BMJ, is an expert in international trade and investment with over 30 years of experience. He served as Brazil's Secretary of Foreign Trade between 2007 and 2011 and has acted as an arbitrator in Mercosur and WTO disputes. He currently advises Fiesp and presides over IBCI, the Brazilian Institute of Foreign Trade.This episode is exclusive for premium subscribers and subscribers of Explaining Brazil Plus on Apple Podcasts.Support the show

Time to round up the latest in lawsuits against the Trump administration. The trans military ban is blocked. Renditioning Venezuelans to El Salvador without due process is blocked. The shutdown of the CFPB is blocked. The shutdown of the US Inst of Peace … not blocked. Yet! Liz and Andrew run down a bunch of the Trump cases and explain why it seems like every day brings another restraining order. (Hint: It's because Trump wants to do lots of illegal stuff in a hurry.)   Links: Name & Shame https://www.lawandchaospod.com/p/name-and-shame   Shilling v. Trump Docket https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69617888/shilling-v-trump/   Jenner & Block v. DOJ Docket https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69807126/jenner-block-llp-v-us-department-of-justice/   WilmerHale v. Executive Office of the President  Docket https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69807328/wilmer-cutler-pickering-hale-and-dorr-llp-v-executive-office-of-the/   Georgetown students' letter to Skadden https://bsky.app/profile/heidilifeldman.bsky.social/post/3llon26enmc2o   US v. Sanders (5th Cir. 2025) https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/15/15-31114-CR0.pdf   Eakin v. Adams County Board of Elections Docket https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/65738841/eakin-v-adams-county-board-of-elections/   J.G.G. v. Trump (D.D.C. - Judge Boasberg - Alien Enemies Act) docket https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69741724/jgg-v-trump/   Trump v. JGG (SCOTUS Docket) https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/24a931.html   US Institute for Peace v. Jackson Docket https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69754533/united-states-institute-of-peace-v-jackson/    NTEU v. Vought (DDC docket) https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69624423/national-treasury-employees-union-v-vought/?   NTEU v. Vought (DC Cir Appeal) https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69821739/national-treasury-employees-union-v-russell-vought/ Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod  

Welcome to North Port Now! In this episode, we're joined by City Manager Jerome Fletcher to discuss key topics impacting our community. We talk about the upcoming town hall for the referendum, how the city is working with the Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO), updates on the Price Boulevard Widening Project, and a look ahead at the upcoming budget. Stay informed about city projects and decisions that matter to you. For more details and links to everything mentioned, check out the show notes. Don't forget to subscribe and follow us for the latest updates—thanks for tuning in!Click here to view the City's Youtube channelTo read the City's letter to the Executive Office of the Governor's DOGE team, visit NorthPortFL.gov/DOGETo learn more about the Price Blvd Widening Project, head to NorthPortFL.gov/PriceRead more about the FY 26 budget, visit NorthPortFL.gov/Budget  

Leaders and decision makers in government, industry and education have convened at Hillsborough Castle for a landmark gathering set to shape Northern Ireland's strategic approach to artificial intelligence implementation, adoption, and governance for the next decade. Hosted by the Artificial Intelligence Collaboration Centre (AICC), the inaugural AI Castle Conversation was addressed by Head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service Jayne Brady MBE, Chief Scientific and Technology Adviser Professor Helen McCarthy, Department for the Economy Permanent Secretary Ian Snowden and Ulster University Vice Chancellor Professor Paul Bartholomew. In a defining moment for AI policy and adoption in Northern Ireland, the deep dialogue event serves as a critical precursor to the formation of a new AI Taskforce under The Executive Office and forthcoming Office of AI and Digital, announced in the recent Northern Ireland Programme for Government. David Crozier CBE, AICC Director, said: "The conversations held this week will directly inform strategic priorities and policy developments, not least the creation of a comprehensive AI Action Plan for Northern Ireland. The Prime Minister has recently outlined his national vision for AI implementation, stating that no person should spend time on a task where digital or AI can do it better, quicker, and to the same high quality and standard. While work is required to address the complex implications of the technology, our ambition for Northern Ireland aligns directly. "This region is uniquely positioned, with our strong academic institutions, growing technology sector and cross-border collaboration opportunities to harness the transformative potential of AI. By convening senior officials to establish a shared vision and coordinated approach to AI adoption and governance, the AI Castle Conversation will be instrumental in shaping Northern Ireland's AI journey." Sponsored by Accenture, Analytics Engines, AWS, Deloitte, Microsoft and Version 1, the AI Castle Conversation is the first of six 'Deep Dialogues' due to take place at the historic royal palace. Hillsborough Castle has, throughout history, played host to countless discussions and negotiations aimed at fostering understanding and peace. This facilitation of dialogues that shape and advance societal issues on the island of Ireland, in a place that inspires worlds and minds to meet, continued with the inaugural AI Castle Conversation. Aligning with the five key sub-groups of the AI Taskforce, the event examined AI governance, infrastructure, data, skills and public sector transformation. With each session structured to understand where we are now, where we need to get to with clear targets and objectives, and how we get there via a practical roadmap for implementation. The AI summit at Hillsborough Castle was a series of focused discussions covering the following: · AI Tech: Donnacha Kirk, Deputy Director of AI Technology & Research Services, AICC. · AI Ethics, Governance and Responsibility: Tadhg Hickey, Head of AI & Digital Ethics Policy, AICC. · AI Skills: Michaela Black, Professor of Artificial Intelligence, Ulster University. · Real-world use cases for Public Sector Transformation through AI. · Live interactive roundtable engagement on areas to inform the AI Strategy. · Fireside chat with Thom Kenney, Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University, hosted by journalist and presenter Jim Fitzpatrick. In a modern take on conferencing, an instant, comprehensive report was developed in real-time during the engagement and distributed to all participants to provide public sector officials with a summary of actions for the implementation of an AI strategy for Northern Ireland. The AICC, an Ulster University-led initiative in partnership with Queen's University Belfast, was established in March 2024 as part of a £16.3 million investment by Invest Northern Ireland and the Department for the Economy. Their mission is to advance awareness and adoption o...

A lawyer who's said to have played a central role in the Department of Government Efficiency's attempted takeover of at least one federal organization is now defending in court the DOGE email system used to send email blasts to the entire U.S. government workforce. During a Feb. 6 hearing, Jacob Altik joined the defense in the ongoing lawsuit where pseudonymous federal workers have accused the Office of Personnel Management of standing up its new governmentwide email system with inadequate privacy and security protections in place. While the defense introduced him at the time as being “from OPM,” counsel for the plaintiffs filed a new notice early Monday essentially connecting the dots that Altik, through other lawsuits and public reports, has played a hands-on role in supporting the DOGE. Altik was first identified as a DOGE lawyer with an official DOGE email address hosted by the Executive Office of the President in a ProPublica article from early February, the Monday legal notice notes. Then, Altik was identified in a separate ongoing lawsuit as working hand-in-hand with DOGE associates in the organization's attempt to dismantle the U.S. African Development Foundation. The DOGE is also in the spotlight in another case where state attorneys general have sued President Donald Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent challenging DOGE access to Treasury records. In the latest development in that litigation, DOGE staffer Marko Elez, who resigned in February after racist social media posts surfaced, is said to have shared personally identifiable information in a spreadsheet with two General Services Administration officials, according to the filing from a witness in the case. The testiomony explains that Elez shared names in the spreadsheet that are considered low risk PII because the names are not accompanied by more specific identifiers, such as social security numbers or birth dates. Still, the distribution of this spreadsheet was contrary to BFS policies, in that it was not sent encrypted, and he did not obtain prior approval of the transmission as required. The Daily Scoop Podcast is available every Monday-Friday afternoon. If you want to hear more of the latest from Washington, subscribe to The Daily Scoop Podcast  on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify and YouTube.

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Join us for a PRessing On in Public Relations conversation with Brenda Duran, a highly accomplished public relations specialist with a notable decade-long tenure in Los Angeles County. Listen in as we dig deep into the influence of women and Latinas in public relations. Her career has been marked by significant contributions in key roles, including Communications Director for the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder County Clerk and Deputy Executive Officer of Communications and Creative Services at the Executive Office of the LA County Board of Supervisors. In these positions, she played a pivotal role in initiating and expanding the social media presence of both departments and significantly enhancing their public outreach and engagement. Currently, Brenda holds the position of Director of External Affairs for the newly established Los Angeles County Justice, Care, and Opportunities Department. Brenda's expertise lies in crafting strategic and concise messaging for a wide array of Los Angeles County public programs and initiatives. Her portfolio includes the successful launch of numerous multimedia campaigns spanning various mediums, such as editorial and TV spots, social media engagement, outdoor billboards, and public service announcements endorsed by notable public figures. She has also excelled in developing comprehensive communication plans and directing social media strategy. To connect with Brenda, track her down at: Instagram: @bduran5 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/brendaduran ------------------------------------------------------------------ For more information visit ⁠⁠⁠PressingOnPodcast.com⁠ RMGComm.com DeGravePR.com

Ethan Klein, an emerging technology policy adviser during the first Trump administration, has been nominated to be the White House's chief technology officer, the Office of Science and Technology Policy confirmed Tuesday. After serving in the first Trump White House, Klein completed a PhD in nuclear science and engineering at MIT, where he worked to develop nuclear tech for arms control and nonproliferation with funds from a fellowship through the National Nuclear Security Administration. Klein also spent time at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, which is operated for the NNSA and focuses on weapons development, stewardship and national security. Klein has been pursuing an MBA at Stanford, while working as a summer associate for the Aerospace and Defense group within Lazard, a financial advisory and asset management firm. If confirmed as CTO, Klein would fill the same role that Michael Kratsios did during the first Trump administration, which went unfilled for the entirety of the Biden administration. The Department of Government Efficiency's increasingly vast power across the government likely makes it subject to U.S. records law, a federal judge said Monday in a ruling that ordered the Elon Musk-led group to begin processing requests on an expedited timeline. In a 37-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper concluded that DOGE — the rebranded U.S. Digital Service — “is likely exercising substantial independent authority much greater than” other components within the Executive Office of the President that are covered by the Freedom of Information Act, subjecting it to the same rules. Cooper noted as examples that the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy and the Council on Environmental Quality are both covered by FOIA due to the substantial independent authority they wield when it comes to the evaluation of federal programs. The Daily Scoop Podcast is available every Monday-Friday afternoon. If you want to hear more of the latest from Washington, subscribe to The Daily Scoop Podcast  on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify and YouTube.

Summary:  The rapid rise of AI is transforming industries at an unprecedented pace, creating both challenges and opportunities for innovation. With technology this powerful, pure progress is not enough. We have a responsibility to be intentional about about how we build it, power it, and use it, to ensure it drives positive outcomes and a more sustainable future. Today, we're sitting down with Rahul Mewawalla, the President and CEO of Mawson Infrastructure Group, a rapidly evolving digital infrastructure services company that trades on NASDAQ under the symbol MIGI. Rahul has been a CEO for over a decade, leading numerous technology companies, including household names like Yahoo, Nokia, and General Electric. Rahul has served on the boards of six NASDAQ-listed companies, two of which he chaired. He led San Francisco's Innovation and Technology Program in collaboration with the White House and the Executive Office of the President, served as a Special Government Employee with the U.S. Department of Defense, and was an advisor to Stanford University's Persuasive Technology Lab. Rahul has had a front-row seat to four major technology waves—the internet, mobile, cloud, and AI—giving him tremendous perspective on today's rapidly evolving landscape In this episode, Rahul explores how companies are joining forces to address AI's soaring energy demands—and what it means for the future of digital infrastructure. He delves into the evolving partnership between technology firms and energy providers, the growing role of nuclear and carbon-neutral power in sustaining AI's expansion, and why cross-industry collaboration is essential for long-term success.Highlights:Rahul discusses what initially drew him to digital infrastructure (3:18)Mawson's strategic shift from cryptocurrency mining to AI infrastructure (6:01)Key components and functions in an AI technology stack (8:34)Rahul's perspective on the transformative AI wave and growing investment around it (11:29)Rahul describes what the PJM market is (13:44)Investment in nuclear energy (15:30)Rahul discusses Mawson's management team and leadership strategy (17:50)Mawson's announcement of a major AI co-location agreement (19:51)Rahul explains why industry collaboration is essential for scaling AI infrastructure (21:49)Mawson's total addressable market and maintaining a competitive edge (23:25)How Rahul balances leadership and innovation (24:58)The future innovations and business opportunities Rahul sees for Mawson (26:53)Links:Rahul Mewawalla on LinkedInMawson Infrastructure on LinkedInMawson Infrastructure WebsiteICR LinkedIn ICR Twitter ICR Website Feedback:If you have questions about the show, or have a topic in mind you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producer, marion@lowerstreet.co.

Andrew Arthur is Resident Fellow in Law and Policy for the Center for Immigration Studies. He began his legal career through the Attorney General's Honors Program as a clerk to an administrative law judge in the Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer at the United States Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review.This past Saturday, President Trump declared that through the month of February, his first full month in office, we saw the lowest number of illegal immigrants trying to enter the U.S. in history. Then there's also the quest to deport those already here illegally, with the primary focus on those who committed heinous crimes. Sadly, there are activists who have doxed ICE agents and revealed their whereabouts. Some within the media have also become involved by providing warning. Members of Congress have provided guidelines regarding what illegals should do if they are stopped by immigration officials. Then there are the states that are fighting the Trump administration in an effort to shield those who are breaking the laws of our nation. Review this broadcast and hear how President Trump has legally been able to get control of the border in ways other presidents chose not to, the effect of migrants on America's welfare/social programs, why you can be a Christian and believe in strong border control, what responsibilities our troops have on the border, the latest on fentanyl seizures and much more, including input from callers on this important issue.

Andrew Arthur is Resident Fellow in Law and Policy for the Center for Immigration Studies. He began his legal career through the Attorney General's Honors Program as a clerk to an administrative law judge in the Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer at the United States Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review.This past Saturday, President Trump declared that through the month of February, his first full month in office, we saw the lowest number of illegal immigrants trying to enter the U.S. in history. Then there's also the quest to deport those already here illegally, with the primary focus on those who committed heinous crimes. Sadly, there are activists who have doxed ICE agents and revealed their whereabouts. Some within the media have also become involved by providing warning. Members of Congress have provided guidelines regarding what illegals should do if they are stopped by immigration officials. Then there are the states that are fighting the Trump administration in an effort to shield those who are breaking the laws of our nation. Review this broadcast and hear how President Trump has legally been able to get control of the border in ways other presidents chose not to, the effect of migrants on America's welfare/social programs, why you can be a Christian and believe in strong border control, what responsibilities our troops have on the border, the latest on fentanyl seizures and much more, including input from callers on this important issue.

Struggling to stand out to allocators? Wondering why your pitch isn't landing?Kristof Gleich has sat on both sides of the table. Today, he's the President & CIO of $50B Harbor Capital, but before that? He spent 8+ years leading manager selection at JP Morgan, fielding pitches from managers just like you.In this episode, he and Stacy dive into:Kristof's path from physics to finance—how he went from studying physics to landing his first finance job at Goldman Sachs right after 9/11What actually makes a fund manager stand out (hint: it's not tweaking a model or slapping “contrarian” on your deck)Why it pays to celebrate even the smallest wins as you grow your fund Harbor Capital's approach to backing emerging managers early (and why he believes more allocators should follow suit) About Kristof Gleich:Kristof Gleich joined Harbor in 2018 and in 2020 was appointed CIO of Harbor Capital Advisors, Inc. He has oversight responsibility for our Investment, Distribution & Marketing and Executive Office functions. He provides insight while helping lead Harbor's strategic growth plan. Prior to joining Harbor, Kristof was a managing director and global head of manager selection at JPMorgan Chase & Co. He earned a B.S. in Physics from University of Bristol. Kristof is a CFA charterholder. - - -Make The Boutique Investment Collective part of your Billion Dollar Backstory. Gain access to invaluable resources, expert coaches, and a supportive community of other boutique founders, fund managers, and investment pros. Join Havener Capital's exclusive membership

Why should our next generation of farmers – and just about everyone who eats – care about the Farm Bill? Celize Christy, an Organizer at HEAL Food Alliance explains the basic details on what's in the legislation, how it gets written, and how it impacts you. Then, Young Farmers' Policy Campaigns Co-Director Vanessa Garcia Polanco lays out the path forward in terms of the most important issues this time around. And we talk to farmers KD Randall and Matt Hollenbeck about what they need from their policymakers in D.C. Celize Christy, Organizer, HEAL Food AllianceAs an Organizer at HEAL Food Alliance, Celize facilitates connections among members, campaigns, and programs building collective power through HEAL's multi-sector, multi-racial coalition. Celize comes to HEAL's campaign and policy work by coordinating farmer-led education programming, advocating for BIPOC farmers in Iowa, and coalition building and organizing with sustainable agriculture organizations. At HEAL, Celize isn't just an organizer; she's a passionate agent of change, weaving connections and networks that celebrate the multifaceted voices of our food and farm systems. Read her full bio.Vanessa Garcí­a Polanco, Policy Campaigns Co-Director, National Young Farmers CoalitionVanessa García Polanco co-designs the strategy and implementation of Young Farmers' policy campaigns, ensuring we are pursuing and advocating for equity-driven, farmer-centric research, policy, and programmatic interventions. She serves as the organizational council member and co-chair of the Farming Opportunities & Fair Competition Committee of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition. She has previously worked with Food Solutions New England, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems, University of Rhode Island Cooperative Extension, and the Executive Office of Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. She is an alumna of Michigan State University and the University of Rhode Island. She is a James Beard Foundation Scholar, AFHVS Innovation Leader, and an Emerging Leader in Food and Agriculture. As an Afro-Dominican immigrant, she brings her experiences and identities to her policy and advocacy activities.KD Randall, Farmer, Home Grown Farm + Young Farmers Land FellowKD is a returning generation farmer who developed a deep appreciation for the land and the ways that it constantly care for us. Inspired by the stories of their family, KD decided to pursue a career in agriculture, determined to contribute to the legacy and sustainability of southern rural agriculture. Recently, KD's work has focused on healing and fostering remembrance, reconnection, and growth in all of the places they call home, grounding in their southern rural agrarian roots. This passion has inspired them to create Home Grown Farms, a small rural farm that is still blooming into its first form. A component of KD's long-term vision is to explore ways to offer a diversity of wellness experiences through food, recreation, and spiritual services.Follow KD @farmerinthekells.Matt Hollenbeck, Hollenbeck's Cider Mill + Young Farmers Land FellowMatt Hollenbeck lives and farms in Virgil, NY, and is the 4th generation steward of Hollenbeck's Cider Mill. He has been a factory worker, cubicle jockey, geologist, outdoor adventure guide, worked on a small organic CSA farm, a butcher shop, and many other varied jobs before settling into continuing his family's 90+-year-old ag processing business. He's a first-generation orchardist with impostor syndrome, a staunch and vocal advocate for rural issues, smallholder agriculture, and appropriate technology. Matt is also a firm believer that family is the most important part of a family business. And a Luddite to boot! Check out HEAL Food Alliance's farm bill priorities here.Learn more about Hollenbeck's Cider Mill here.Follow KD Randle @farmerinthekellsLearn more about the USDA's EQIP program here, and the NRCS program here.The Farm Report is hosted by Leigh Ollman and Alita Kelly, produced by Leigh Ollman, Evan Flom and H Conley, and edited by Hannah Beal and H Conley. Audio engineering is by Armen Spendjian and H Conley. Music in the original episode is by Breakmaster Cylinder and JangwaLearn more about the National Young Farmers Coalition here and consider becoming a member. Click here to take action on the farm bill and other important policy issues. The Farm Report was originally air by HRN and is Powered by Simplecast.

On today's episode of The Executive Appeal Podcast join Alex D. Tremble (CEO of GPS Leadership Solutions & #KeynoteSpeaker) and Kevin M. Sligh Sr, MBA (Founder and CEO of Promethean Global Consulting Group) as they share expert insights on navigating high-stakes interviews, building leadership presence, and positioning yourself for top-tier opportunities. Whether you're aiming for the C-suite or a senior government role, these proven strategies will help you stand out. GUEST BIOKevin Sligh supports clients working in disaster/crisis management and the energy sector, particularly within the offshore renewable and conventional energy space, including leading efforts in diversity, equity, Inclusion, and accessibility at all levels. Prior to starting his consultancy (Promethean Global Consulting Group), Mr. Sligh served as a Biden-Harris political appointee as the Director of the Bureau of Safety & Environmental Enforcement, leading its offshore wind market businesses. Previously, he served in numerous career roles as the Deputy Regional Administrator for FEMA Region 5 and, subsequently, as Deputy of the Coast Guard's Office of Marine Environmental Response at Coast Guard Headquarters. He also served as the Director for Response policy in 2017 for the White House National Security Council. His responsibilities included shaping the nation's response and recovery efforts to Hurricanes HARVEY, IRMA, and MARIA by leading the Executive Office of the President's headquarters-level response. During his 2-year assignment as the FEMA Region 5 Acting Regional Administrator, he was instrumental in providing over 6 billion dollars in Stafford Act funding to disaster survivors. In addition, he has also deployed multiple times to Hurricanes KATRINA, RITA, and GUSTAV in various senior leadership roles. Last, he served 13 years between the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard within the enlisted corps. During his last 10 years on active duty, he served as a commissioned officer, where he deployed multiple times in support of the Coast Guard's response to the DEEPWATER HORIZON tragedy in 2010. At the height of the response, he led over 40,000 responders.

Connect to John Gilroy on LinkedIn   https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-gilroy/ Want to listen to other episodes? www.Federaltechpodcast.com A recent SAS report shows that 84% of government decision-makers plan to invest in Generative AI in the next fiscal year. During today's interview, Reggie Townsend details some of the precautions federal leaders must take to leverage this innovative technology. We begin the interview by mentioning that, in a governmental setting, technology cannot go beyond what is necessary to achieve a legitimate aim.  Although that is a noble concept, it can be futile because we are in the incipient stage of this technology. We do not have any laws about using AI; we have a patchwork of national and international regulations on the ethical application of AI. We can start with the Executive Office of the President. In addition to other Executive Orders, President Biden released further guidelines his last week in office. While well-meaning, these guidelines are not practical when put into perspective of what is going on in other countries. Reggie Townsend indicates that AI Safety Institutes can promote consistency and a proper ethical response to using data from citizens to feed AI.

This Manager Minute episode spotlights how the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind and MassAbility are leveraging AI to improve service delivery. Host Carol Pankow discusses innovative AI applications with guests Lola Akinlapa, Nathan Skrocki, and John Oliveira. They explore an AI-assisted intake platform designed to streamline processes, enhance multilingual support, and enable faster access to services. The conversation also highlights AI-powered tools like policy lookup systems and data visualization platforms like Tableau. Emphasizing accessibility and transparency, the episode showcases AI's potential to alleviate administrative bottlenecks, support staff, and empower consumers while preserving the human touch in service delivery.   Listen Here   Full Transcript:   {Music} John: We were looking for items that might be helpful to our staff. As many of our veteran counselors move on to retirement, it became imperative that we find a way that the newer counselors could find access to information quickly.   Lola: We're not looking to reduce workforce. We're not looking to reduce your day to day operations, right. We're looking to streamline and to make the consumer's journey at MassAbility more accessible to them.   Nate: What we're doing is just enhancing and streamlining the process to better understand and strengthen their policy knowledge, to make their jobs a little bit easier.   Intro Voice: Manager Minute brought to you by the VRTAC for Quality Management, Conversations powered by VR, one manager at a time, one minute at a time. Here is your host Carol Pankow.   Carol: Well, welcome to the manager minute. Today joining me in the studio is Lola Akinlapa, director of strategic initiatives in Massachusetts. Nathan Skrocki, Policy director at the Massachusetts Commission for the blind. And John Oliveira, Commissioner for the Mass Commission for the blind. So how goes it, Lola?   Lola: Oh, everything is good. Thank you for having me, Carol. I think this is a really great forum to kind of spread the word on what we've been doing at the state of Massachusetts.   Carol: Excellent. How about you, Nate? How are you doing today?   Nate: Happy new year. Doing well. Glad to be here. Thank you.   Carol: Excellent. And last but not least, John, how is it? How are things? You got a new role.   John: Everything is great. A very cold day today, but we'll get through it. Uh, it's close to zero wind chill. So very cold day here.   Carol: Ah, it's like you guys are in Minnesota...   John: Yeah, I think so.   Carol:  Joining Jeff and I...   John: I think so.   Carol: Yeah. We were three below today. It was fabulous. Well I'm super excited about our topic. So artificial intelligence, although it's really not a new concept, it's gained significant attention in the recent years and the field of AI research was officially established during a workshop at Dartmouth College in 1956, where researchers optimistically predicted that human level intelligence machines would be achieved within a generation. However, it became clear the challenge was really greater than anticipated. But today, you know, we have AI everywhere seamlessly integrated into our life. You know, we've got Siri and Alexa. I rely on them all the time to your biometric scanning at the airports and the list goes on. And I had the good fortune to find out that Massachusetts is really standing out as a state that has embraced the broad implementation of AI and incorporating it extensively across various aspects of daily life and governance. So I want to dig in and learn some more from you guys. So I'd like to start out because our listeners like to get a little insight into all of you. If you could tell us about yourself and your role. And for our my two friends from the Blind agency a little bit. How you got into VR? And Lola, I'm going to start with you first.   Lola: Thank you, Carol. So a little bit about myself, as you mentioned, Lola Akinlapa, I am Director of Strategic Initiatives at now, formerly what used to be the Mass Rehab Commission and now known as MassAbility. I came into the agency back in 2014. I actually started in research and development, doing a lot of the analytic work. I actually was voluntold, I would say, to assist in a new project that we were implementing. It was a statewide case management system for our different divisions at MassAbility. Through that process, I was able to kind of take a step back to say, well, what do we need at this agency to push us toward the future?   Carol: Yeah, Lola, it is great being voluntold, because that leads to some of the best things when you're working on different things. So, Nate, how about you? How did you land at Mass Commission for the Blind?   Nate: I landed at MCB about eight years ago. At this point. I've been a manager within state government for many years and ended up at MCB. Hopefully this is where I'll be staying for many more years. I really like the mission of MCB and the work that we do as an agency to provide services to residents of Massachusetts.   Carol: Good stuff, good stuff. And John, you've switched roles, so I've known you for a while. But tell our listeners a little bit about yourself.   John: All right. Carol, I've been with the agency for, wow, 37 years.   Carol: Oh my gosh.   John: And started out in services and worked with the senior staff, senior consumers, and was in vocational rehab for a while, worked as director of staff development and training for a while. I headed up the assistive technology program for a while. I was deputy commissioner for something like 12 years, oversaw the programs, and I've been commissioner now for a year and a half.   Carol: Good for you. Well, sure good to see you again. So in the fall, I had the had the chance to attend an AI convening with Tony Wolf, who is the MassAbility Commissioner. And Tony was mentioning she kept talking about all these really cool things happening in Massachusetts. And I just I needed to learn more. So now, Lola, like, how is MassAbility moving in this AI space? And I know you're doing some things that are helping the consumer experience be quicker and easier. What's that look like?   Lola: Oh my God. It's been quite a journey to say the least. At our agency, we as many other agencies identified bottlenecks, identified issues with maybe the bureaucratic side of things where it takes longer to get someone from point A to point B. It was through, actually, our centralized intake unit where we discovered there's area for improvement here. And that area of improvement could be resolved through an assisted intake form. So at MassAbility, we're developing an AI assisted intake platform that's meant to support our staff at MassAbility, who are doing the intakes to allow them to have more leeway on doing what's more important to the work, which is getting our folks to the services they need. Through this intake form, we're actually removing the repetitive task. We're looking at some speech to text technology and then also some guided workflows. And we're also able to get multilingual support. And through the intake, it's meant to guide a lot of our consumers to feel a little bit more empowered to get from I'm stuck here, how do I get services that I need, whether I'm going to work or looking to live or transition into the community, instead of waiting months before someone can speak to you to get you through the process.   In this platform, we're actually able to allow our staff to have more time to be dedicated to more personalized interactions with our clients. So it's been a journey to kind of develop what that roadmap looks like. But we are super excited about this. We actually will be going live early this year through our MassAbility site, through our consumer portal, where it will be housed, and individuals will be able to go in, log in and fill out the form, and the form would guide them through the entire process without human interaction. And for us, I think it's really important to take a step back and really understand the purpose of this. Right. It's not to remove the individual from their work, right. It's to make some processes a little bit more streamlined, but then have our staff, our counselors, our case managers be able to focus on more of the human interaction. It's been quite a journey for us, to say the least.   Carol: So, Lola, are you working on that with your own state IT folk or who kind of is helping you mastermind all this?   Lola: So this is in collaboration with our IT folks at Executive Office of Technology. Also, we're working with a contractor who's been helping us build this platform out. They've been super great. It's been a very collaborative effort across the board. I would even have to throw in Microsoft because there's some work that they're assisting us doing, and it's been a team effort to get it to where it is today. And we're actually very proud of what we've done in such a short period of time.   Carol: Very cool, I like it. I know Lola, you had talked to me too, you were interested in doing something kind of in this data realm because I know data isn't cool always. But you were trying to do some stuff with Tableau and AI. So what does that look like?   Lola: Tableau. For folks that don't know, it's a visual data tool that we've been using at MassAbility for a little bit over four years now. The really cool thing about technology is as the years go on, the tools get better. Tableau was another way that we were using to kind of drive our data decision making at the agency. You know, things that are really core to the MassAbility beliefs in our missions. With Tableau, we're able to have a chatbot, and the chatbot would be utilized something similar like ChatGPT, where you could say, show me how many individuals are getting X services, or show me how many individuals are served in certain parts of the region. Right?   Carol: Yeah.   Lola: very cool things like that where you don't have to be a data analyst or a data science...   Carol: right.   Lola: to use Tableau. It kind of makes it more user friendly and at your fingertips. I think of it like on demand data. So that's something that we've been looking at that is in collaboration with an initiative that we have over at Northeastern. And we've submitted a proposal for that. So we haven't started, but we're looking forward to some of the cool and innovative things, because I think many state agencies will agree. Data is really, really interesting to look at, especially when you're looking to tell a story, when you're looking to improve just the overall outcomes of your agency, depending on what you're looking to achieve. So it's really been something great that we're looking forward to getting started. And then also on the back end, kind of showing and empowering our own staff as to what this data means, right? Because not everyone is a data scientist. Not everyone enjoys. It's a very dry subject, but I think this is a way to keep folks engaged in terms of what's really going on at the agency, and it kind of tells a story without having to truly understand the data to tell the story.   Carol: I love that. I think you'll find if you guys can make that all happen, there's going to be a lot of folks across the country that are going to be super interested in that piece because data has been so critical, especially as WIOA passed, and we're looking at so much more of the data and what really is happening for individuals with disabilities and getting into employment. And so I feel like sometimes we're data rich, but we're analysis poor. And people are like, I don't know what all this means. You get a little bit overwhelmed by the data. So I think that would be great for people to be able to do the old ChatGPT kind of thing and just ask a question and get the answer.   Lola: Absolutely.   Carol: I love that, that's very cool. So when you look at AI, there really has been considerable impact, too, for individuals who are blind and visually impaired. And Nathan and John, I mean, what are you guys seeing with the customers you serve? Just in general, when you think about AI and the work you're doing now?   John: Well, obviously in the assistive technology field, there's always been a lot of talk about incorporating AI to serve consumers. And over the past 4 or 5 years, many of the wearables have become very popular. And every year when you see these items, they get better and better. And that's benefiting a lot of our consumers tremendously. I'm sure that you've all heard about the meta glasses. Tremendous assistance for our consumers. You put on this pair of glasses, you can take pictures of the environment you're walking through. You can use it with description services such as Aira and Be My Eyes. And it works great for someone who doesn't know the area. For someone who's trying to do some work and needs to access print immediately, a great way to do this. Many other things are coming down the pipeline, but we were looking for items that might be helpful to our staff. As many of our veteran counselors move on to retirement, it became imperative that we find a way that the newer counselors could find access to information quickly. We do the trainings the usual way, but that takes quite a bit of time. And if you have questions and you want answers right away, we were looking for a solution and we came across this solution in Outlook Insight. I read about it somewhere, I called them, I spoke to an individual at the company and we agreed that we would meet at the NCSAB Conference. And I turned them on to Nate and his policy team. And he can give you more of the story about that journey going forward here.   Carol: So what do you know, Nate?   Nate: Thanks, John.   Carol: John is the idea guy and he's like, Nate, go do the thing.   Nate: And it works out great. So what we did was we connected with Outlook Insight, and we wanted a tool that would allow kind of a quick reference lookup for our case managers. So it could be that they have questions themselves and the policy or procedures. And making sure a case is executed properly or consumer may have a question and they want a quick reference for that. So what we did with Outlook Insight is develop a tool that takes all of our internal policies and all of the other policies that govern us, and kind of housed it all in one place and very similar to ChatGPT or some of these other AIs out there. You can ask it a question and it will provide a response. And when it provides a response, we have the ability to really take a look at where it's coming from. So it will include all the resources that it's pulling from with the response. So it will cite the documentation. So it might be some direction from RSA or some of our internal policies or another piece of policy that is out there, another piece of guidance that is out there. And it will cite that particular piece of policy where it's coming from. You can click on it. When you click on it, it will bring that policy up and you can read further, but it will also provide that response. So if you ask it what form is needed at this step of a case procedure, it will bring up what form is needed. Bring up the form and you can go from there.   Carol: Nice. So where are you at in the process with this rolling out?   Nate: We have rolled it out to some staff. It's not officially rolled out yet as an agency. It's something we're still testing. But we did roll it out to some staff to test to really kind of understand what they're using it for. Another piece of it is we're allowed to add tiles to this particular system. We can create these buttons or tiles above the search bar that will have preloaded questions. So say a consumer is going to college and we you know we might have a button that has the question on it. What is college reimbursement for a student at MCB. You can click on that and we'll bring up all the information about what's appropriate for college reimbursement, how much that college investment can be, so on and so forth. We wanted to get an idea of what people were asking it. We wanted to get an idea of what they're using it for, so we can kind of load in those different tiles on the top as well. And as we go through certain cycles in case management, those will change over the year, in the future when we do roll this out. And we also just were curious on what people were looking up for quick reference. And people are using it. It is a very good tool. It's been helpful for us in the policy unit. We're not getting as many questions for people that are using it, because they're going to that first to see if they can look up the policies on their own and get a response on their own. We do caution people though, because it is AI, so sometimes it does not provide the full picture. I guess is the best way to put it. It might give a partial answer. We haven't seen where it's giving any wrong answers yet, but sometimes it doesn't fill in the whole picture. So that's why we include the policies with the response, because people can go in and search further within that policy if they need to formulate a decision a little bit better.   Carol: Yeah, you bring up a really good point. You always have to trust but verify, even ChatGPT you throw something in there. And I use it a lot because it's super helpful and it'll be going along. It's really great. It gives this response and then you have some kind of wacky line comes in there and you go, I don't really know where that came from, but that isn't right. So you can't just turn it all over to the bot. You still have to use your own kind of critical thinking skills and take a look to apply it.   Nate: For sure. The advantage that we have, as opposed to like an open source AI, is we control what goes in and out of where it's pulling from. So we're the ones putting the policies in. Or as Lola had mentioned before, if you want statistics or something like that, you can put it in a document with certain statistics and it can pull from that. But we control everything in there. So it's not pulling from this open source where it might recognize something as helpful, but it really isn't. It's everything in there. We've kind of vetted and we understand it's something that is needed by the agency.   Lola: Absolutely. And just to Nathan's point, open source, we're talking about like Google, you know, you can get millions of results back and very true at MassAibility. Similarly, we obviously have regulations that we're following with RSA. And there are things that we have to control just to make sure the language is correct. So we're putting in what needs to be said at the bot kind of just follows that logic. So that's kind of the nice thing where you can still have that control, even if it is kind of AI, but it's still guarded. It's not as loose as just an open source would be.   Carol: Yeah, absolutely. It's a great point, Lola. And I know for the both of you, you know you're doing things that are impacting the staff. So staff can definitely have a reaction to this. Sometimes positive, sometimes not. Like we're all super excited. I see your smiling faces like, yay, we're doing the thing. And then they're like, you know, people feel like back what I was saying in the beginning, like, we're going to replace everybody with robots or something. And so staff can get concerned. So I'm going to kick this to you first, Lola, what's been kind of the response from staff about the things that you guys are trying to do?   Lola: Well, I'm very fortunate to work at an agency where folks are very open minded. Change is a little different, but we're very open minded at MassAbility. I think it's all about the messaging and the purpose on why we're doing certain things right. For sure. There are people that are going to have, you know, pros and cons about it, but I think how we message it is we're not looking to reduce workforce...   Carol: right.   Lola: We're not looking to reduce your day to day operations, right? We're looking to streamline and to make the consumer's Consumers journey at MassAbility more accessible to them. The option that we have right now and how we've messaged it to staff is it's an option, right? We're not removing the human aspect of it, but it's an option for individuals who are in certain circumstances that need to get something done a little bit faster, right? It takes a little bit longer to talk to individuals, but if it's something that they feel like, you know, I'm just going in and I'm looking for a job, I know everything I need to have. This is another outlet that they can use where the system itself is like, I'm not a person, but I can guide you like an individual, right? At the end of it, you will be meeting with a person. You will have that personalized experience, that interaction, but mostly for the admin and the data entry, right? We can repurpose that. We can shift that burden to some of the tools that we have available to us, like the AI assisted intake form. So that's really the messaging behind it, right? The messaging is not to impact staff. It's not to scare staff.   Carol: Right.   Lola: But it's more to help think of allowing people to have different options to come into the agency that aren't so impactful or don't feel like a bottleneck.   Carol: Yeah, I love that. I love that point. How about you guys, Nate or John? Have you seen any initial responses from staff, maybe different than you thought or how has it been going?   Nate: I think for us it's a little bit different too, because we're providing human services, so we're not replacing that in any way with an AI tool. We're not going to be replacing us, going out and sitting with a consumer and meeting them where they're at and providing the services that they need to be successful. What we're doing is really just enhancing and, like Lola said, streamlining the process to better understand and strengthen their policy knowledge to make their jobs a little bit easier. We haven't really explored any type of AI that would help with case management work or anything like that, and it's really tough because like I said, in the human service field and in Lola can probably also agree with this. Every consumer is so different. We're meeting with them a lot of times in person, especially at our agency, and providing the services that they need. A lot of it's hands on services, something that we're not going to be able to do with AI. What we're really looking at is how do we enhance their ability to provide and streamline services and make the experience better for the consumers and for our workers. And that's what we've done with this first policy tool. And I think it's been successful. I don't know if you have anything to add there, John.   John: Yeah, we're supporting the staff at this point. So it's not that we're trying to take staff out of the process. We're making it easier for you to do your job and for you to answer questions that you may have about the process of moving the client through the system, or even questions that a consumer may ask you, and you can explain to them. And if you're missing any of that data, you can pull it up on your laptop. And that tool is always with you. You can ask it at that point, or you can refer to other resources we have on that machine. So you could certainly help them get the information they need faster and help yourself process the information they've given you faster.   Carol: Well, having done technical assistance for years with state agencies, and I see the hundreds of pages in all your policy manuals and all this craziness, I'm sure staff will greatly appreciate anything that streamlines some of that work that they have to do, and all the things they have to retain. And you've got your policy and your procedure and your desk and your 14 other directions. It's a lot. I mean, it's a lot to keep track of, as well as just paying attention to the individual that's sitting before you. And so I think anything you can do to streamline that is great. I'm wondering if you all have other ideas. I know Lola, when I talked to you before, you are full of lots of thoughts. Do you have any next steps for accessibility that you're thinking about?   Lola: I have a couple of next steps right now. I have to rein myself in. We're for sure right now really focused on getting our automated intake form out. We're at the tail end of testing and everything has been looking great on the up and up. So we've been really trying to get our messaging around what that looks like, especially to our constituents that are looking for services. So folks just understand the purpose, the why and how we're trying to make this a little bit better. I'm hoping eventually one day I can take this to phase two where the eligibility pieces may come into play, but we're not there yet. Right. We're taking baby steps.   Carol: Yeah.   Lola: I'm really excited we've gotten this far. I know Nathan and I have had conversations a few months back about looking at something similar to what they're doing with the policy, because we have our own policies, right, that are kind of everywhere. They need to be updated and staff need to reference them or individuals are looking for them. So I think definitely what MCB has been doing has been in the back of our minds a little bit. But like we said, we're taking baby steps and hopefully we can get there. But I think across the board, these are all great initiatives.   Carol: Yeah, absolutely. How about you Nate and John are you guys looking at, you thinking a 2.0 on anything or some other areas you'd like to dabble in with AI?   Nate: I think it's rolling this out first and kind of once we get this completely rolled out to staff and kind of understand how well it's working, I think we can take those next steps. We're always keeping our finger on the pulse of technology and how it's advancing, and if it can assist us in any way, and we'll continue to do that. I think an interesting, it kind of fits in with AI is, you know, one of the biggest barriers for our consumers is transportation. And as far as AI goes, one of the big conversations in that community is automated cars and those type of things. And we have in the past provided some input about automation. And when they're creating those type of things for transportation, how to think about how it would benefit people with disabilities and those type of things. It's a long way off, but it's something interesting and something I personally get asked about a lot when I'm out speaking in different areas is, where is that? You know how close that is?   Carol: Yeah.   Nate: That's nothing we'll ever do as an agency. We're never going to be providing, you know, services. But we have provided some just some input in the past on that. But as far as like case management and service to consumers and those type of things, like Lola says, eligibility is something that's very interesting. If there's something that can help with that, it's for different programs within our agency. You know, when you're coming to MCB, we're a little bit different than MassAbility. By law, you have to be registered with us if you reach the threshold of legal blindness in Massachusetts. So you're registered with us. It's the law. But depending on what services you're receiving and what programs you're in and those type of things and maybe something interesting to look at in the future.   Carol: Yeah, definitely. Blind agencies have a lot of moving parts and pieces. So how about any advice you all might have for states that are starting to think about this? Because states are in all different, you know, places and people are kind of, their administrations. Some are very proactive, some are not. Do you have any advice, as you've been working through these projects that might help other people that are starting to dabble? Lola, I'll kick that to you first.   Lola: Yeah, I think that's all dependent just on where you are as a state agency, right? It's taken us a while to come to the realization, like, maybe there's something more we can do to kind of help the process that we're in. And it just so happened some of the things that we've identified as pain points, it looks like AI and technology would really help alleviate. And I'm not going to say remove because we're always going to have issues, but it would help alleviate some of those pain points. I think one of the things that would be insightful for folks to know, and just because the disability community loves the community, it's just when it comes to technology, we have to be very careful, right? We need to be mindful of some of the biases that come along with that. We need to make sure that the accessibility is actually accessible. It's usable, right? To Nathan's point, we serve various consumers ranging from different types of disability. And I think sometimes that gets lost in the conversation because we're so much let's get it to the next level and let's make it work for us and automate it. And I think we forget to take a step back and remember who we're doing it for, right? We're doing it for the folks that maybe don't have mobility, the folks that can't always read or have low vision, or the deaf or hard of hearing individuals. We really try to make this form all about the people. So I think as agencies are probably trying to embark on technology, those are some of the things that they might want to keep in mind. And it depends just where you are in the process. Just it was great timing for us, and I'm sure Nathan would agree. It was probably great timing for his agency to start some of the discovery process around how we can utilize AI.   Carol: Good advice. John, do you have anything you want to add?   John: Yeah. When you're going down this road, be prepared that you understand the process that your state has, because there's many other departments that come in and want to take a look at what you're doing and ask for a lot of different documentation. And so that all has to be done before any product can be deployed. And depending how bureaucratic the state is, it can be different. A large state might have a whole bunch of departments Moving in and wanting to take a look in a smaller state may not be as complicated or as cumbersome process as it can be. So just be aware. Once you understand the idea and you think of a potential product, make sure that you've understood all the steps you have to do at the state level to be able to deploy that product and not have it pulled when you're halfway through, or you've spent money on development so that it gets scrapped in the development stage. So just be very aware of how to get that process through the state.   Carol: Yeah, that's  very good advice. Nate you get the last word on this.   Nate: Patience. For a lot of reasons and pointing at both what Lola and Commissioner Olivera talked about here. You got to have patience to go through the process. But you also have to have patience to make sure that it is accessible. Here at MCB, we obviously have a myriad of different folks using it and with different abilities and ways that they approach the system. We got to make sure it works for all those different ways. And that wasn't easy either, but more so for the process. It's a long process. We're still in the middle of that process, but it's worth it. I do want to say that have the patience, but it is definitely worth it. AI is extraordinarily able to just provide a way to save time. You know, a question that may come up to us where we research a question, decide on what the answer is, reach back out to a worker, give them the answer and they go to a consumer. Give them the answer. It could be days. This is seconds. The time that it saves. And maybe even if you, depending on how it's deployed, the cost it could save in the long run. It's extraordinary and worth the time put in.   Carol: I love that you would mention that. There used to be something that I compared every year that came out from RSA, and I'd compare to the previous year, and so I'd always look at, you know, I'd do this side by side, kind of mark up what all change, what language changed. And it used to take me hours, you know, just to look through the document. Now I send it through a tool and literally in a minute it highlights everything that changed from one year to the next. I'm like, boom, done. You have it. People always are asking us questions as a TA provider, and I'm like able to immediately tell them what change they're like. How'd you do that analysis so fast? Well, I used my friend, you know, an AI tool that was able to do it. It really is an amazing Time saver. So how can our listeners find you guys? Could you leave us with like, an email address or something? Lola, would you mind saying your email address for the listeners in case somebody wants to reach out to what you're doing there?   Lola: Yeah, absolutely. I can be reached at Oluwafunke.Akinlapa@mass.gov. The spelling is o l u w a f u n k e dot a k I n l a p a at mass.gov.   Carol: Oh that's great. And then Nate or  John, do you both want to give your email or who's the contact there.   Nate: It's Nathan.w. Skrocki@mass.gov and I'll spell that out. It's n a t h a n dot w dot s k r o c k I at mass.gov.   Carol: Oh, that is awesome you guys! I really am looking forward to seeing your stuff roll out. You need to give me an update. I am super happy about this. In fact, we were having an AI conversation the other day on our GW team and I said, hey, I'm doing a podcast this week and they're like, you got to give us the names of the people, because some folks are working on something, they like, they're gathering up information from across the country. So I said I'd be happy to share. So thanks so much. And please do keep in touch. I wish you the very best with your projects.   Lola: Awesome. Thank you Carol.   John: Thank you Carol.   Nate: Thanks.   {Music} Outro Voice: Conversations powered by VR, one manager at a time, one minute at a time, brought to you by the VR TAC for Quality Management. Catch all of our podcast episodes by subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts. Thanks for listening!

The U.S. border chaos is mirrored to some extent in the court system that deals with immigration. A congressional audit has found that the Justice Department which operates immigration courts lacks data on whether non-citizens have shown up for their mandatory hearings. The case management system of the Executive Office for Immigration Review doesn't track it. We get more now from the Government Accountability Office's Rebecca Gambler. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The U.S. border chaos is mirrored to some extent in the court system that deals with immigration. A congressional audit has found that the Justice Department which operates immigration courts lacks data on whether non-citizens have shown up for their mandatory hearings. The case management system of the Executive Office for Immigration Review doesn't track it. We get more now from the Government Accountability Office's Rebecca Gambler. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Artem Arefyev is the current Director of Member Services for the Executive Office of Sigma Lambda Beta International Fraternity Inc. and the Conference Manager for The Harbor Institute. He graduated with a Bachelors from the University of South Carolina, and also got his Masters in Higher Education Administration from there as well. In episode 528 of the Fraternity Foodie Podcast, we find out why Artem chose the University of South Carolina, why he decided to join Sigma Lambda Beta International Fraternity as a white man, what are his job responsibilities as Director of Member Services for the national fraternity, why college students should not avoid conflict, how we can handle conflict in our student organizations, what is implicit bias, how college students can talk about race and racism without being combative, how we can build diverse student organizations in college, how our organizations can better support marginalized students, how we can make an impact with DEI in our organizations, and what books we can read on DEI. Enjoy!

As the Federation of American Hospitals (FAH) prepares for a pivotal year ahead, this special episode takes a moment to reflect on the progress made in health care policy and the challenges and opportunities on the horizon. Join host Chip Kahn as he sits down with retiring Executive Vice President of Policy, Steve Speil, to discuss his nearly four decades of experience in health care policy and his reflections on his remarkable 27-year tenure at FAH.Steve's career has spanned transformative decades in health care, from his early days in Massachusetts state health planning to tackling the evolving complexities of hospital policy in Washington, D.C. His insights in health care policy and the hospital community's resilience shine a light on how far we've come—and the work still ahead to ensure patients have access to 24/7 care.In this episode, Chip and Steve discuss: Steve's Career Journey Leading to FAH: From a Master in Public Health to law school and a career spanning Massachusetts state health planning, the Dukakis administration, AdvaMed, and ultimately the Federation of American Hospitals.Early Days at FAH: A look back at the early years of Steve's time at FAH, navigating key regulations like IPPS and legislation including the Balanced Budget Act.Changing Landscape of Health Policy: Steve reflects on accomplishments during his tenure and insights into how hospital policy has evolved, now facing increased burdens.Opportunities Ahead: Steve discusses the continued resilience of hospitals in the face of challenges and the critical role of organizations like FAH in supporting hospitals and the communities they serve.Guest bio: In his capacity as Executive Vice President of Policy, Steve Speil manages the Federation's broad portfolio of payment policy issues. He serves as the association's chief liaison on these issues with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission. Working closely with the senior finance and policy executives in the Federation's member companies, Steve develops and carries out both issue-specific and general strategic plans designed to advance the finance and payment related regulatory and legislative interests of the FAH.Prior to joining the Federation, Steve served as Associate Vice President, Policy Coordination and Communication for the Health Industry Manufacturers Association (now AdvaMed), the national trade group representing the medical technology industry. Before moving to Washington, Steve held a succession of increasingly senior management and policy positions in Massachusetts. During his time in the Bay State, Steve served as Legal Counsel to the Lieutenant Governor, Legislative Counsel for the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, Executive Director of the Disabled Persons Protection Commission, and Legal Counsel and Policy Director in the Office of State Health Planning. Steve also taught health law and policy as an Assistant Professor at Simmons College Graduate Program of Health Administration.At the federal level, Steve served in the Food and Drug Administration's Office of Legislative and Congressional Affairs. He also worked in the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of General Counsel.Steve earned a J.D. degree from American University's Washington College of Law; a Master in Public Health degree in Health Administration from the University of North Carolina School of Public Health; and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology/Zoology from the University of Michigan.

The latest episode of ABI's "Party in Interest" podcast features ABI Executive Director Amy Quackenboss talking with Tara Twomey, the director of the Executive Office for U.S. Trustees (EOUST). How did Twomey develop a passion for consumers and businesses being able to access a financial fresh start in bankruptcy? What steps led her to a career in the restructuring industry? What does she do to decompress? Find out the answers to these questions and more on the latest episode!

Congress had a UFO hearing, and suddenly, we're not the crazy ones.



Welcome back to UNBIASED. In today's episode: Trump Selects More People for Executive Office and Cabinet (0:26) Elon Musk/Vivek Ramaswamy (0:55) John Ratcliffe (4:05) Pete Hegseth (4:45) Answering Your Questions About the Future of LGBTQ Rights Under Trump's Next Administration (7:15) Quick Hitters: Sen. John Thune Elected as Senate Majority Leader, Jack Teixeira Sentenced, Biden and Trump Meet in Oval Office, Consumer Price Index Shows Increase, Jack Smith to Step Down (22:23) Listen/Watch this episode AD-FREE on Patreon. Watch this episode on YouTube. Follow Jordan on Instagram and TikTok. All sources for this episode can be found here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome back to UNBIASED. In today's episode: Trump's First Cabinet Nominations and Executive Office Appointments (2:25) Chief of Staff: Susie Wiles (5:20) Border Czar: Tom Homan (7:41) DHS Secretary: Gov. Kristi Noem (12:15) Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy: Stephen Miller (13:43) Secretary of State: Sen. Marco Rubio (15:28) How Trump's Picks Will Affect Congress (18:33) Quick Hitters: Louisiana 'Ten Commandments' Law Blocked, Judge Merchan Delays Ruling in Trump's 'Hush Money' Case, EPA Finalizes Rule Requiring Fee for Released Methane Gas, FAA Blocks US Flight to Haiti for 30 Days (20:07) Listen/Watch this episode AD-FREE on Patreon. Watch this episode on YouTube. Follow Jordan on Instagram and TikTok. All sources for this episode can be found here.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cory Alpert is a PhD researcher at the University of Melbourne looking at the impact of AI on democracy - but he has a wealth of experience in the world of American politics. He served for three years in the White House during the Biden-Harris Administration working in the Executive Office of the President. He's worked on three Presidential campaigns, including for Hillary Clinton in 2016. and as regional chief of staff for Pete Buttigieg's historic 2020 campaign. He has also had senior staff and advisory roles on Senate, House, Gubernatorial, mayoral, and state legislative races across the United States. So with just a couple of days before the US Presidential Election, SBS's Deborah Groarke asked him about how the campaigning strategies are put together:

This election has featured a lot of talk about ‘immigration' and ‘the border' but has been short on specifics. In this episode, you'll get those specifics. Specifically, you'll learn what was in H.R. 2, a Republican bill passed by the House, and you'll learn what was in the so-called bipartisan border bill which was killed by Donald Trump's loyalists in the Senate and which Kamala Harris has promised to revive as President. Which bill would actually solve the problems? Please Support Congressional Dish – Quick Links Contribute monthly or a lump sum via Support Congressional Dish via (donations per episode) Send Zelle payments to: Donation@congressionaldish.com Send Venmo payments to: @Jennifer-Briney Send Cash App payments to: $CongressionalDish or Donation@congressionaldish.com Use your bank's online bill pay function to mail contributions to: Please make checks payable to Congressional Dish Thank you for supporting truly independent media! Background Sources Recommended Congressional Dish Episodes Current Immigration Process Visas Accessed October 22, 2024. U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs. Accessed October 22, 2024. Boundless. Accessed October 22, 2024. Boundless. October 22, 2024. USAGov. September 3, 2024. U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs. Asylum August 1, 2024. USAFacts. Ted Hesson and Mica Rosenberg. June 5, 2024. Reuters. Accessed October 22, 2024. Migration Policy Institute. Unauthorized Immigration John Gramlich. October 1, 2024. Pew Research Center. Jeffrey S. Passel and Jens Manuel Krogstad. July 22, 2024. Pew Research Center. Backlog December 18, 2023. TRAC Immigration. Immigrant Detention Eunice Cho. August 7, 2023. American Civil Liberties Union. Irwin County Detention Center November 15, 2022. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Jonathan Raymond. November 15, 2022. 11 ALIVE. May 20, 2021. WABE. Molly O'Toole. May 20, 2021. The LA Times. C. Carlos Carreiro Immigration Detention Center in Bristol County, MA Ben Berke. May 21, 2021. The Public's Radio. December 15, 2020. Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General Civil Rights Division. Etowah County Detention Center in Gadsden, Alabama Erin Wise. April 15, 2022. ABC 33 40 News. Ted Hesson and Mica Rosenberg. March 25, 2022. Reuters. March 25, 2022. BirminghamWatch. March 25, 2022. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Paul Moses. June 8, 2018. The Daily Beast. Glades County Detention Center in Moore Haven, Florida February 2, 2022. Freedom for Immigrants. Debbie Wasserman Schultz et al. February 1, 2022. South Texas Family Residential Center Accessed October 22, 2024. OpenSecrets. Sandra Sanchez. Updated June 24, 2024. Border Report. Ted Hesson. June 10, 2024. Reuters. Penalties for Illegally Entering Countries World Population Review. Bipartisan Border Bill Failure Ariana Figueroa. May 24, 2024. Missouri Independent. Catherine Rampell. May 23, 2024. The Washington Post. Mary Clare Jalonick and Stephen Groves. February 7, 2024. AP News. Mary Clare Jalonick and Stephen Groves. February 7, 2024. AP News. The Bills H.R. 2 Outline Division A - Border Wall Would require the Secretary of Homeland Security to resume “all activities” related to constructing a border wall between the US and Mexico that were planned by the Trump administration. Wall would have to be at least 900 miles long, and include not only a physical wall, but also surveillance towers, radars, seismic acoustic detection sensors, and 24 hour drone monitoring. Would require killing all carrizo cane and salt cedar plants along the Rio Grande River by releasing non-stinging wasps imported from Spain and France into the area. Would waive “all legal requirements” that would stand in the way of of building the wall. Division B - Immigration Enforcement and Foreign Affairs Would make it illegal to process asylum claims of individuals who: do not enter at official ports of entry. crossed through another country on their way to the US and did not apply to live there and receive an official denial in each country they entered before entering the US. have been convicted of misdemeanor offenses, allowing the Secretary of Homeland Security or Attorney General to add disqualifying acts without approval from Congress and no court reviews allowed. Would allow the Secretary of Homeland Security to take away the authorization for an individual who has been accepted into the US through the asylum process to work legally in the US. Work permits would only be authorized for 6 months at a time. Would reopen detention centers that were closed by the Biden Administration. Title V - Protection of Children Would require the DHS Secretary to return unaccompanied children back to their home countries if they are not trafficking victims and do not have a fear of Return. Would authorize immigration officers to withdraw a child's application to be admitted into the United States regardless of the child's ability or desire to do so. Would require the DHS to collect information - name, social security number, DOB, address, contact info, and immigration status - of people who will be taking custody of immigrant children. Within 30 days of receiving that information, if they determine that individual is not legally in the United States, must initiate removal proceedings. Would change the law so that these people have “access” to lawyers instead of having lawyers to represent them. Title VI - Visa Overstay Penalties Would Increase fines for illegally entering the United States from $50-250 to $500-1000 Would create new penalties for overstaying visas: First offense: fines up to $1,000 or up to 6 months in prison, or both Repeat offenses: fines up to $2,000 or up to 2 years in prison, or both S.4361 Outline Division A - Border Security & Combatting Fentanyl Supplemental Appropriations $6.3 billion to border patrol. $6 billion to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ~$2.4 billion for deportations. ~$1.6 billion for prisons (the goal in the bill is for ICE to be able to detain 46,500 humans at all times). ~$1.2 billion for services to help people navigate the immigration and asylum system, and to help people leave the country if denied visas (). ~$415 million to hire more ICE agents (goal is to hire 800 more agents). ~$200 million for counter fentanyl investigations. ~$4 billion to US Citizenship and Immigration Services with most going towards hiring more staff. ~ $1.2 billion to the State Department $850 million for “humanitarian needs in the Western Hemisphere” to reduce migration (with the idea being that if their home countries are less dangerous, then people won't want to come here as often) $230 million to pay other countries to accept deported individuals. $440 million, most of which would be spent on Immigration Judge Teams which include lawyers, court administrators, staff, and court costs. Would expand the number of border patrol and ICE officers authorized to issue a notice to appear, reducing the workload of the judges. Would allow protection determination proceedings to take place in any federally owned or leased building that is not property owned, leased or managed by ICE or border patrol and is “a reasonable distance” from the migrants current residence, expanding the locations where the cases can be heard beyond the already too crowded court buildings. Division B - Border Act Title I - Capacity Building For five years: would give the Secretary of Homeland Security the authority to appoint people to positions within the Refugee, Asylum, and International Operation Directorate, the Field Operations Directorate, and the Service Center Operations Directorate of US Citizenship and Immigration Services if the Secretary determines that a critical hiring need exists. would give the Secretary of Homeland Security the authority to appoint ICE deportation officers if the Secretary determines that a critical hiring need exists. Would provide a permanent authority for the DHS Secretary to re-hire a former employee to any position in ICE, Border Patrol, or US Citizenship & Immigration Services. Would give asylum officers a 15% pay raise. Would require annual training for border patrol officers about the law, de- escalation techniques, and migrant and agent safety measures. Title III - Securing America For three years, the Secretary of Homeland Security would be given the authority “in the Secretary's sole and unreviewable discretion” to declare a “border emergency” and remove any migrant who doesn't have pre-determined permission to enter the United States or doesn't present themselves at a port of entry in accordance with a process approved by the DHS Secretary. Title IV - Promoting Legal Immigration Would set up a special process to more easily admit no more than 10,000 refugees who worked with the United States from Afghanistan. Would allow the spouse, fiancé, or child of an admitted migrant to join them in the United States and receive employment authorizations. Would slightly increase the number of visas for family members that would be issued in years 2025 through 2029 (512,000 instead of 480,000 = ~ 6% increase). Audio Sources August 22, 2024 29:45 Vice President Kamala Harris: And let me be clear. After decades in law enforcement, I know the importance of safety and security, especially at our border. Last year, Joe and I brought together Democrats and conservative Republicans to write the strongest border bill in decades. The Border Patrol endorsed it. But Donald Trump believes a border deal would hurt his campaign. So he ordered his allies in Congress to kill the deal. Well, I refuse to play politics with our security. Here is my pledge to you: As President, I will bring back the bipartisan border security bill that he killed. And I will sign it into law. July 18, 2024 April 18, 2018 Senate Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Border Security and Immigration Witness: James McHenry, Director, Executive Office for Immigration Review, U.S. Department of Justice Clips 2:42 Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX): Earlier administrations, both Republican and Democrat, have struggled with how to reduce the case backlogs in the immigration courts. And, unfortunately, Congress has never provided the full extent of immigration judges and support staff truly needed to eliminate the backlogs. As a result, backlogs continue to grow, from 129,000 cases in fiscal 1998 to a staggering 684,000 as of February 2018. 3:27 Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX): Aliens in removal proceedings sometimes wait for years before they ever appear before an immigration judge. For example, as of February 2018 courts in Colorado have the longest time for cases sitting on their docket more than 1,000 days -- almost three years. In my home state of Texas, the current wait is 884 days -- almost two and a half years. 28:45 James McHenry: A typical immigration court proceeding has two stages, or two parts. The first is the determination of removability. The Department of Homeland Security brings charges and allegations that an alien has violated the immigration laws. The judge, the immigration judge, first has to determine whether that charge is sustained, and that will be based on the factual allegations that are brought, so the judge will make determinations on that. If there is a finding that the alien is removable, then the case proceeds to a second phase. If the judge finds the alien is not removable, then the case is terminated. At the second phase, the immigration judge gives the alien an opportunity to apply for any protection or relief from removal that he or she may be eligible for under the Immigration and Nationality Act. This will involve the setting of a separate hearing at which the respondent may present evidence, they may present witnesses, they have the right to cross-examine witnesses brought by the department, and they will bring up whatever factual bases there is for their claim of relief or protection. At the end of that hearing, the immigration judge will assess the evidence, will assess the testimony, will look at the law, and will render a decision. The judge may either grant the application, in which case the respondent will get to remain in the United States. The judge may deny the application but give the respondent an opportunity to voluntarily depart at their own expense and sometimes after paying a bond, or the immigration judge may order the alien removed. 41:50 Senator Mike Lee (R-UT): I believe you recently testified in front of the House Judiciary Committee that it would take about 700 immigration judges in order to be able to address the backlog and address the current case load. Is that correct? James McHenry: Yeah, last fall the president proposed adding additional immigration judges, up to a number of 700. If we can get 700 on board, especially with our performance measures, we could complete over 450,000 cases a year. That would eviscerate the backlog. Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT): So, 700 would do it…. End of Episode Announcements Andrew Heaton's New Book: Music by Editing Production Assistance

Novelist John David Bethel was a speechwriter to Cabinet Secretaries at the Departments of Commerce and Education during the Bush 41 and 43 administrations. He also served as a press secretary and speechwriter to members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. Additionally, David worked as a communications strategist for a number of national and international public relations firms, including Burson Marsteller and Cohn & Wolfe.He began his career in government and politics in 1972 as a speechwriter for the Legacy of Parks program in the Executive Office of the President in the Nixon Administration. He joined the staff of California Congressman Burt Talcott and later Nevada Senator Paul Laxalt as his Press Secretary and speechwriter.  He helped craft the speech Senator Laxalt gave nominating Ronald Reagan to be President. David also wrote the lead article celebrating the second inauguration of President Reagan called We the People, An American Celebration.David also spent many years in the world of business as a writer in various capacities, writing books, speeches, opinion pieces and white papers for such companies as Monsanto, the Sheraton Corporation, UniRoyal as well as the Urban Land Institute, the American Forest and Paper Association, and others. David is an award-winning novelist whose books include Evil Town, Hotel Hell, Unheard Of, Holding Back the Dark and A Washington Trilogy. Recently, he published Mapping the Night, which I've read and can tell you is a terrifically exciting murder mystery thriller set in New York City and featuring characters more comfortable in the night than the day, with wonderful twists that include government intrigue. www.johndavidbethel.com

If you missed FedTalks last month, you missed a fantastic panel on how federal agencies are preparing for the age of quantum. Fresh off of NIST's release of new post-quantum cryptography standards, Nick Polk, Branch Director for Federal Cybersecurity, Executive Office of the President; Ann Dunkin, CIO of the Department of Energy; and Michael Hayduk, Deputy Director, Information Directorate, Quantum, Air Force Research Laboratory discussed what's ahead as they look to secure federal systems and information from attacks powered by quantum computers. The National Institute of Standards and Technology's Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute is seeking information on the development of chemical and biology-focused artificial intelligence models. In a Federal Register posting, the AISI said it is specifically interested in potential benchmarks and evaluation tools for understanding these models, as well as guidance on mitigating the kind of security risks they might raise. As the Department of Defense experiments with biometric devices to better track the health and wellness of personnel, it issued a $96 million award last week to Finnish health technology company Oura to put its smart rings and services in the hands of service members. While the department didn't specify in the award announcement how many rings would be purchased under the firm-fixed-price contract — the rings retail for $299-$349 — it explains that the contract will also provide a suite of data analytics services the Pentagon's health arm can use to take action on the biometric information generated by the devices. The Daily Scoop Podcast is available every Monday-Friday afternoon. If you want to hear more of the latest from Washington, subscribe to The Daily Scoop Podcast on on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify and YouTube.

“It's not just a problem of filling the pulpit and getting somebody who could come in and pastor; it's actually a survival issue.” Dr. Paul Harrison discusses the critical shortage of pastors and the challenge churches face when searching for a pastor. He also describes the model Paul laid out in the New Testament of raising up leaders within the church to pastor when he left. The Executive Office offers help and resources to churches who are without a pastor through the Pastor Placement Program and The Shepherding Initiative. #NAFWB #BetterTogether #Church #Pastor #PastoralSearch #PastorShortage

In an election season marked by chaos and division, Interfaith America's Faith in Elections podcast cuts through the noise and deepens the conversation, highlighting the remarkable stories of everyday faith leaders who are working to build bridges and uphold democracy.Join hosts Jenan Mohajir and Adam Phillips as they speak with Interfaith America Faith in Elections grantees about how faith convictions motivate their civic engagement and service. The Faith in Elections Podcast is part of the Voices of Interfaith America Podcast network. Episodes will be released each Thursday leading up to the 2024 presidential election. Host Bios: Jenan Mohajir is the Vice President of External Affairs at Interfaith America. Inspired by faith and family to work for change at the intersections of gender, sexuality, race, and religion, Jenan has served in leadership at IA for 15 years where she as has trained hundreds of interfaith leaders from diverse backgrounds to foster a vision and practice of civically engaged interfaith leadership. Jenan completed undergraduate work at DePaul University and is pursuing her MA in religious studies at Chicago Theological Seminary. As a natural storyteller, she performs with 2nd Story, Chicago's premier storytelling company. Jenan proudly lives on the south side of Chicago with her children and loves to collect vintage children's books.Adam Phillips is the Chief Strategy Officer & Chief of Staff at Interfaith America. Adam serves as the senior lead in the Executive Office by managing internal and external inquiries from the President's office and leads the organization's narrative strategy, ensuring the advancement of Interfaith America's mission and vision. Having spent two decades at the intersection of faith and public life, Adam most recently served as a Biden Administration appointee leading Localization and Faith-based efforts at the United States Agency for International Development. Working closely with the White House and Department of State, in his role at USAID Adam oversaw development policy, new and non-traditional partnerships, as well as democracy and diplomacy initiatives in nearly 100 countries. Adam has been a TEDx speaker, his work has also been featured in The Atlantic, CNN, Washington Post, NPR, Huffington Post, Relevant Magazine and the Christian Broadcasting Network's 700 Club.Visit Interfaith America to learn more about the organization and our podcast. Learn more about how you can support your community this election season with Interfaith America's Faith in Elections Playbook. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram to stay up to date with new episodes, interfaith stories, and our programs.

Yvonne Hao, Secretary of the Executive Office of Economic Development for Massachusetts, joins the Boston Speaks Up podcast live on stage at Startup Boston Week 2024.

In the latest episode, Jon Fansmith and Sarah Spreitzer kick off the sixth season with a deep dive into the key issues shaping higher education this fall. With Congress in a monthlong sprint, they explore a flurry of messaging bills along with the legislation lawmakers actually need to accomplish before heading out for full-time campaigning. They also discuss the Biden administration's push to cement its higher education legacy. Finally, the conversation shifts to the 2024 presidential race, examining Kamala Harris and Donald Trump's higher education agendas. Tweet suggestions, links, and questions to @ACEducation or podcast@acenet.edu.  Here are some of the links and references from this week's show: Speaker Mike Johnson Yanks Government Funding Bill Amid Growing GOP Defections NBC News | Sept. 11, 2024 H.R.8281 - SAVE Act Congress.gov Republicans Seek to Revive China Initiative Inside Higher Ed | Sept. 11, 2024 Letter to House Leadership on China Legislation ACE | Sept. 9, 2024 Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 1398 – Protect America's Innovation and Economic Security from CCP Act of 2024 Executive Office of the President | Sept. 10, 2024 H.R.7683 - Respecting the First Amendment on Campus Act Congress.gov Federal Anti-Hazing Bill Moves One Step Closer to Becoming Law Inside Higher Ed | Sept. 12, 2024 Letter on the Stop Campus Hazing Act ACE | Sept. 10, 2024 College Cost Reduction Act: By the Numbers ACE SAVE Repayment Plan Federal Student Aid 20 Senators Ask Cardona to Delay Gainful Employment, Financial Value Transparency Deadline Higher Ed Dive | Sept. 11, 2024 ACE Policy Recommendations to 2024 Presidential Candidates ACE | Sept. 11, 2024

If there's one thing everyone is talking about these days, it's JD Vance's affinity for couches. But if there are two things everyone is talking about, it's Vance's couches and Project 2025. You may be wondering, what is this mysterious project, and what does it have to do with me? Well, it turns out, a lot! Project 2025 is the right-wing map to a terrifying future, and if its proponents have their way, the future of healthcare is especially grim. Today, we're doing a deep dive into what this thing is and how it could change healthcare as we know it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4kYQ-Hh5pY Show Notes Gillian Mason, Healthcare-NOW's Executive Director, has read Project 2025 so you don't have to. P25 is the brainchild of the Heritage Foundation, the think tank founded in 1973 because conservative businessmen thought Richard Nixon was too liberal (remember that Nixon created the EPA and advocated for a better national health plan than Obamacare, so they weren't all wrong). They really hit their stride during the Reagan administration when they wrote his policy playbook, which they called the “Mandate for Leadership” — Reagan implemented or initiated about 60 percent of the 2,000 policy changes they recommended. They do this Mandate for Leadership report now every presidential cycle, and it's been pretty influential whenever a Republican wins. These people are unabashed fascists. We use that term a lot kind of casually but these guys literally fit the Merriam-Webster Webster dictionary definition: “a political philosophy, movement, or regime that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition.” The Heritage Foundation's whole deal is consolidating all authority in the office of the president so he can implement severe economic and social regimentation based on nationalism and barely-veiled-when-it's-not-just-blatant racism. Project 2025 It's the “Mandate for Leadership” for this election season, so it's supposed to be a template for Trump's next four years. Although reading Project 2025 would make you think it was a room full of monkeys at typewriters type situation, it was actually written by a room full of Trump's cronies. Hundreds of people contributed to writing and researching this thing, and a hefty percentage were former Trump appointees and employees of the administration. Also, VP pick JD Vance just wrote the foreword for an upcoming book by Kevin Roberts, the head of the P25 team. Vance has also been a mouthpiece for some of the wilder shit in P25. Trump claims he really doesn't know much about P25. But it's still worth talking about because COINCIDENTALLY it turns out that a lot of his policies are the same as the ones in P25. The Premise: The liberals in Washington, in cahoots with Chinese Communists and the  “totalitarian cult known today as ‘The Great Awokening'” have put “the very moral foundations of our society are in peril.” (This is not an exaggeration— it's literally all on the first page) P25 has 4 main goals: Restore the family as the centerpiece of American life and protect our children. Dismantle the administrative state and return self-governance to the American people. Defend our nation's sovereignty, borders, and bounty against global threats. Secure our God-given individual rights to live freely—what our Constitution calls ‘the Blessings of Liberty.'” All the recommendations are laid out systematically according to the different areas of the federal government they want to control (The Executive Office, Department of Homeland Security, Intelligence Services, Media Agencies, etc.) We'll mainly be focusing on healthcare today but context is important so here are a few highlights of what they're planning to give you some flavor: Reclassify most federal employees as appointees

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Michael Sobolik chats with Alex Gray, former Deputy Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff of the White House National Security Council, about "America First," President Trump's foreign policy, and America's relationship with the People's Republic of China (PRC). Guest biography Alexander B. Gray is the Chief Executive Officer of American Global Strategies LLC, an international strategic advisory firm that he co-founded with former U.S. National Security Advisor Robert C. O'Brien. In addition to the day-to-day management of the firm, Mr. Gray's wide-ranging practice includes the defense, aerospace, maritime, and technology sectors. Mr. Gray most recently served as Deputy Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff of the White House National Security Council (NSC), where he directed the daily operations of the National Security Advisor's immediate office, as well as the budget, personnel, and security functions of the NSC. Previously, he served in the White House as Special Assistant to the President for the Defense Industrial Base at the National Economic Council (NEC), the principal Executive Office of the President (EOP) official responsible for matters impacting the defense and manufacturing industrial base, and as the first-ever Director for Oceania and Indo-Pacific Security at the NSC. Mr. Gray is a Senior Fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council (AFPC). Resources from the conversation Follow Alex on X Read Michael's new book, Countering China's Great Game: A Strategy for American Dominance

Two years ago, no one could imagine the impact generative AI would have on our world, and most of us can't even begin to imagine the impact the next generation of AI will have on our world two years from now. The only thing that is certain is uncertainty.But that uncertainty brings with it great opportunities and choices. We can choose to sit back and let the future of AI play out in front of us or engage with this new technology and shape the future of AI and the world as we know it.In this episode, Dr Eric Daimler joins Dr Genevieve Hayes to discuss his extraordinary work in shaping the future of AI and what that future might look like.Guest BioDr. Eric Daimler is the Chair, CEO and Co-Founder of Conexus AI and has previously co-founded five other companies in the technology space. He served under the Obama Administration as a Presidential Innovation Fellow for AI and Robotics in the Executive Office of President, as the sole authority driving the agenda for U.S. leadership in research, commercialization, and public adoption of AI & Robotics. He is also the author of the upcoming book The Future is Formal: The Roadmap for Using Technology to Solve Society's Biggest Problems.Highlights(00:00) Meet Dr. Eric Daimler(01:46) Eric's role in the Obama Administration(06:32) Challenges in government data integration(10:31) The importance of technical expertise in policy(16:06) Founding Connexus AI(18:09) Understanding category theory(20:51) Applications of Conexus AI(27:16) The future of AI: safe and symbolic(38:35) Insights from Eric's upcoming book(47:49) Advice for data scientists and final thoughtsLinksConnect with Eric on LinkedInConexus AI websiteConnect with Genevieve on LinkedInBe among the first to hear about the release of each new podcast episode by signing up HERE

Genevieve Hayes Consulting Episode 43: Shaping the Future of AI Two years ago, no one could imagine the impact generative AI would have on our world, and most of us can't even begin to imagine the impact the next generation of AI will have on our world two years from now. The only thing that is certain is uncertainty.But that uncertainty brings with it great opportunities and choices. We can choose to sit back and let the future of AI play out in front of us or engage with this new technology and shape the future of AI and the world as we know it.In this episode, Dr Eric Daimler joins Dr Genevieve Hayes to discuss his extraordinary work in shaping the future of AI and what that future might look like. Guest Bio Dr. Eric Daimler is the Chair, CEO and Co-Founder of Conexus AI and has previously co-founded five other companies in the technology space. He served under the Obama Administration as a Presidential Innovation Fellow for AI and Robotics in the Executive Office of President, as the sole authority driving the agenda for U.S. leadership in research, commercialization, and public adoption of AI & Robotics. He is also the author of the upcoming book The Future is Formal: The Roadmap for Using Technology to Solve Society's Biggest Problems. Highlights (00:00) Meet Dr. Eric Daimler(01:46) Eric’s role in the Obama Administration(06:32) Challenges in government data integration(10:31) The importance of technical expertise in policy(16:06) Founding Connexus AI(18:09) Understanding category theory(20:51) Applications of Conexus AI(27:16) The future of AI: safe and symbolic(38:35) Insights from Eric’s upcoming book(47:49) Advice for data scientists and final thoughts Links Connect with Eric on LinkedInConexus AI website Connect with Genevieve on LinkedInBe among the first to hear about the release of each new podcast episode by signing up HERE The post Episode 43: Shaping the Future of AI first appeared on Genevieve Hayes Consulting and is written by Dr Genevieve Hayes.

Recording of our July 25, 2024 webinar with Rebecca Abou-Chedid. This conversation was hosted by Hadar Susskind. Hadar Susskind and Rebecca Abou-Chedid analyze Netanyahu's visit to DC (and his address to Congress on July 24th). They delve into the impact on American and international politics, the American Jewish community, and the Arab American community. Rebecca Abou-Chedid serves on the board of directors of the IMEU Policy Project, Anera, the Foundation for Middle East Peace, and SEED for Change. Rebecca also served for five years as co-chair of the board of directors of Just Vision. She is a partner in the Projects group at Norton Rose Fulbright and previously served as a law clerk in the Executive Office for Immigration Review at the US Department of Justice, as National Political Director at the Arab American Institute, and the Director of Outreach at the New America Foundation's Middle East Task Force. 

MAGICAL CUSTOMER EXPERIENCEDoes creating a magical customer experience sound like a bunch of marketing pie in the sky?Well, today's Summer Classic guest is a Disney management alum, and he says that you don't need a roller coaster or nightly fireworks to create a magical customer experience. What You'll Discover About the Magical Customer Experience:* How to adopt the magical customer experience for your business* How small gifts create a magical customer experience and increase revenue* How to get ideas for making your own magical customer experience* How Disney's Law of Unlimited Abundance fits into the magical customer experience* How to keep new hires from ruining the magic* Salvaging the magical customer experience when things go wrong* 2 ways businesses diminish the magical customer experience* And MUCH more. Guest: Vance MorrisVance spent 10 years working for the mouse at Walt Disney World in Orlando Florida. He started his career at Disney on the Opening Team of the Yacht & Beach Club Resorts, and progressed through the management ranks as a Night Club Manager at Pleasure Island, Service Trainer aboard the Empress Lily, and on the revitalization team of the Contemporary Resort in the mid-90's. It was at the Contemporary that Vance got his crowning achievement, Designing, Opening and Operating Chef Mickey's, Disney's flagship Character Dining Experience.After leaving Disney, (yes people do leave) he utilized his skills to rescue or improve many of America's companies and government agencies. His clients included Legal Seafoods, Tyson, NASA, Rain Forest Café, Compass Group, The Executive Office of the President of the United States, The Smithsonian and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.Tiring of corporate life, Vance opened his own Bricks & Mortar Business in 2007. After meteoric growth of his service business, other entrepreneurs began to seek him out for advice and counsel. This spawned his next business, Deliver Service Now!, consulting and coaching other companies on how to create and implement Disney style service and then apply Direct Response Marketing to profit from it.Vance Morris has shared the stage with many of the premier marketers and service professional in the world; Dan Kennedy, Joe Polish, Bob Brown, Lou Ferrigno, Dean Jackson, Charles Henning, Lee Cockerell, and Meg Crofton.2015-2019 Longest Reigning Marketer of the Year, GKIC & Dan Kennedy Award WinnerRelated Resources:If you liked this interview, you might also enjoy our other Customer Satisfaction episodes.Contact Vance and connect with him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.Join, Rate and Review:Rating and reviewing the show helps us grow our audience and allows us to bring you more of the rich information you need to succeed from our high powered guests. Leave a review at Lovethepodcast.com/BusinessConfidential.Joining the Business Confidential Now family is easy and lets you have instant access to the latest tactics, strategies and tips to make your business more successful.Follow on your...

CEO and Founder of KeyCaliber, Roselle Safran, takes us on her circuitous career journey from startup to White House and back to startup again. With a degree in civil engineering, Roselle veered off into a more technical role at a startup and she says "caught the startup bug." After convincing a hiring manager that she could learn on the job, she transitioned to computer forensics and started on the path of cybersecurity. Roselle worked in government for the Department of Homeland Security and then to the Executive Office of the President leading all of the security operations. She jumped back into the world of startups and has stayed there. Roselle tells people interested in a career in cybersecurity to just apply. Learn as much as you can and go for it. We thank Roselle for sharing her story with us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Jordan B Peterson sits down with the Secretary General of Great Arab Minds, His Excellency Saeed Al Nazari. They discuss the origins of the United Arab Emirates, how the Abraham Accords and a Tri-Faith system have taken effect and opened dialogue, the projects spearheaded by Saeed for the education, entrepreneurialism and empowerment of young Emiratees, and why the unique vision and strong values of the UAE have lifted the country to unimaginable heights in only half a century. ​​His Excellency Saeed Al Nazari is the Secretary General of Great Arab Minds. He is also spearheading Transformational Projects and Creative Affairs at the Executive Office of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, in addition to the Mohammed bin Rashid Leadership Development Center and the Arab Strategy Forum.  - Links - For His Excellency Saeed Al Nazari: On Instagram https://instagram.com/saeedalnazari?igshid=NzZlODBkYWE4Ng== On X https://x.com/SaeedAlnazari?s=20 On LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/saeedalnazari?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app