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As we reckon with an administration hostile to equal rights, feminists will continue to fight. To help keep hope, we must remember and celebrate recent wins. One of those wins is the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which took effect on June 27, 2023. This is a landmark piece of legislation that prohibits discrimination and ensures workplace accommodations related to pregnancy for workers. But is the PWFA safe, or will it be threatened by the Trump Administration's crusade against reproductive rights and justice?Joining us to discuss the history and significance of the PWFA is our very special guest, Dina Bakst: Dina Bakst is the co-founder and former co-president of A Better Balance, a national nonprofit legal advocacy organization that uses the power of the law to advance justice for workers. Bakst was awarded the prestigious Heinz Award for the Economy for A Better Balance's successful work advancing work-family justice in 2021, and the first-ever Visionary Women Award for Women's Economic Empowerment in 2022. In 2020, she was named one of “16 People and Groups Fighting For a More Equal America” by Time Magazine. Prior to co-founding A Better Balance, Dina was an attorney with the NOW Legal Defense & Education Fund (now Legal Momentum) where she pursued litigation and policy advocacy on a wide range of women's rights issues.Check out this episode's landing page at MsMagazine.com for a full transcript, links to articles referenced in this episode, further reading and ways to take action.Support the show
In this episode, I interviewed Dr. Freeman Hrabowski, the President Emeritus of The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). Per his website: He has given numerous TED talks and chaired the National Academies' committee that produced the report, Expanding Underrepresented Minority Participation: America's Science and Technology Talent at the Crossroads. President Obama named him chair of the President's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for African Americans in 2012. In 1988, he co-founded the Meyerhoff Scholars Program. The program is recognized as a national model in supporting high-achieving students committed to pursuing graduate and professional degrees and research careers in STEM and advancing underrepresented minorities in these fields. In 2022, Dr. Hrabowski was elected to the National Academy of Engineering, and he was also named the inaugural Centennial Fellow by the American Council on Education. In addition, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) launched the Freeman Hrabowski Scholars Program in 2022 with a commitment of $1.5 billion to help build a scientific workforce that more fully reflects our increasingly diverse country. In April 2023, the National Academy of Sciences awarded him the Public Welfare Medal, the Academy's most prestigious award, and inducted him as a member of the Academy, for his extraordinary use of science for the public good. In 2008, he was named one of America's Best Leaders by U.S. News & World Report, which ranked UMBC the nation's #1 “Up and Coming” university for six years (2009-14). For the past nine years (2015-23), U.S. News ranked UMBC in the top ten on a list of the nation's “most innovative” national universities. U.S. News also consistently ranks UMBC among the nation's leading institutions for “Best Undergraduate Teaching.” TIME magazine named Dr. Hrabowski one of America's 10 Best College Presidents in 2009, and one of the“100 Most Influential People in the World” in 2012. In 2011, he received both the TIAA-CREF Theodore M. Hesburgh Award for Leadership Excellence and the Carnegie Corporation of New York's Academic Leadership Award, recognized by many as the nation's highest awards among higher education leaders. Also in 2011, he was named one of seven Top American Leaders by The Washington Post and the Harvard Kennedy School's Center for Public Leadership. In 2012, he received the Heinz Award for his contributions to improving the human condition and was among the inaugural inductees into the U.S. News & World Report STEM Solutions Leadership Hall of Fame. More recently, he received the American Council on Education's Lifetime Achievement Award (2018), the University of California, Berkeley's Clark Kerr Award (2019), the University of California, San Francisco's UCSF Medal (2020), and the New American Colleges and Universities Ernest L. Boyer Award (2021). He serves as a consultant to the NSF, the NIH, the National Academies, and universities and school systems nationally. He has served on many national boards, including the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation He has been elected into the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences (AAAS), the National Academy of Public Administration, and the American Philosophical Society; receiving many awards such as the prestigious McGraw Prize in Education, the U.S. Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring. He also holds honorary degrees from nearly 50 institutions – including Harvard, Princeton, Duke, the University of Michigan, the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, Johns Hopkins University, and Georgetown University.
Heinz Award Winners Amira Diamond & Melinda Kramer – Women's Earth Alliance On today's show, Heinz Award for the Environment recipients Amira Diamond and Melinda Kramer, co-founders and co-executive directors of the Women's Earth Alliance. Women's Earth Alliance WEA empowers women's leadership in the environmental space because women are often most affected by environmental issues, yet are unrecognized for their expertise, underrepresented in decision-making processes and underfunded. Unlike top-down approaches, WEA collaborates directly with women leaders on the ground, leveraging their deep knowledge and expertise. WEA's holistic approach provides funding, communication tools, advocacy training, technical skills, business incubators and an in-country network of trainers and peers. Heinz Award for the Environment Established by Teresa Heinz in 1993 to honor the memory of her late husband, U.S. Senator John Heinz, the Heinz Awards celebrate the accomplishments and spirit of the Senator by recognizing the extraordinary achievements of individuals in the areas of greatest importance to him. The post Heinz Award for the Environment Recipients – Women's Earth Alliance appeared first on KPFA.
In our continuing coverage of the ongoing climate catastrophe, we often ask what we can learn from the experiences of people living on its frontlines. From New Orleans to New York and Seattle to Maine — and from suffocating wildfires to deadly heat waves, drenching rain, hurricanes, floods and saltwater intruding into drinking water —many Americans have experienced the devastating impacts of the climate crisis. Now they have begun asking: How much more can we take? Colette Pichon Battle, an award-winning lawyer and climate justice organizer whose work focuses on creating spaces for frontline communities to gather and advance climate strategies that help to steward the water, energy, and land, has some answers.Pichon Battle is a Louisiana native who began her work in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, when she and so many others lost their homes there. Known as a leading voice in climate justice and Black liberation movements, she founded the Gulf Coast Center for Law & Policy (GCCLP), focused on equitable climate resilience in the Gulf South. Recently she has expanded her vision as the Co-founder and Vision & Initiatives Partner for Taproot Earth that includes work in Appalachia, the global Black diaspora and geographies across the world, with an emphasis on climate migration and global climate reparations. Pichon Battle chaired the 2021-22 Equity Advisory Group of the Louisiana Governor's Climate Initiative Task Force and was a 2019 Obama Fellow. She has also been the recipient of numerous awards for climate justice and the prestigious Heinz Award for the Environment.“If we choose to be our best selves in this moment, if we choose to work through fear in this moment, if we choose courage and each other, we can actually stop not just the oppression of my people, but the oppression of yours.” - Colette Pichon Battle“What I need is white allies learning about whatever ethnicity, whatever cultural tradition they come from, and how did they live with the land and how do we put those things together? . . . Why aren't we fighting together for the sake of this planet?” - Colette Pichon Battle Guest: Colette Pichon Battle, Esq.: Co-founder, Vision & Initiatives Partner for Taproot EarthFull Episode Notes are located HERE. They include related episodes, articles, and more.Music In the Middle: “Do You Actually Care by LifeIsOne. from the Climate Soundtrack Project, produced by DJ's for Climate Action, a global initiative harnessing the power of dance music and DJ culture to power climate solutions and generate action. And additional music included- "Steppin" & "Electric Car" by Podington Bear. April 2024 The Laura Flanders Show is rebranding as ‘Laura Flanders & Friends'.This change marks a new era for the award-winning host, Laura Flanders. The upcoming season will introduce a collaborative hosting format, featuring a diverse array of co-hosts from different backgrounds and different regions of the country. Expect new faces, unique perspectives, and impactful conversations that will leave viewers feeling inspired. The Laura Flanders Show Crew: Laura Flanders, Sabrina Artel, David Neuman, Nat Needham, Rory O'Conner, Janet Hernandez, Sarah Miller and Jeannie Hopper FOLLOW The Laura Flanders ShowTwitter: twitter.com/thelfshowTikTok: tiktok.com/@thelfshowFacebook: facebook.com/theLFshowInstagram: instagram.com/thelfshowYouTube: youtube.com/@thelfshow ACCESSIBILITY - The broadcast edition of this episode is available with closed captioned by clicking here for our YouTube Channel
In this episode of the Libro.fm Podcast, we sat down in person with bestselling author and physician, Dr. Abraham Verghese. His most recent novel ‘The Covenant of Water' was an instant New York Times Bestseller, an Oprah Book Club Pick, and one of Barack Obama's top books of 2023. We discuss his research process, how he auditioned to narrate his own book, how his work as a physician impacts his writing, and his recipe for “bachelor chicken”. Photo credit: Christopher Michel - via CC BY-SA 3 READ FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT Use promo code: LIBROPODCAST when signing up for a Libro.fm membership to get an extra free credit to use on any audiobook. About Abraham Verghese: Abraham Verghese, MD, MACP, is a best-selling author and a physician with a reputation for his focus on healing in an era where technology often overwhelms the human side of medicine. He received the Heinz Award in 2014 and was awarded the National Humanities Medal, presented by President Barack Obama, in 2015. Read Abraham's books: The Covenant of Water The Tennis Partner Cutting for Stone Books discussed on today's episode: Tom Lake by Ann Patchett The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky Disorientation by Elaine Hsieh Chou Whalefall by Daniel Kraus The Fetishist by Katherine Min
Bruce Katz is the Founder of New Localism Associates, a firm that helps cities finance, deliver, and design innovative initiatives that focus on sustainable growth and inclusion. He received the Heinz Award in Public Policy for his contributions to city planning and influences on the community's economy and livability. He authored the book The New Localism, which provides a roadmap for change that begins in the local communities. Bruce is also the Director of the Nowak Metro Finance Lab at Drexel University. Bruce joins us today to describe how the pandemic adversely impacted minority-led businesses. He shares why the “New Normal” doesn't exist despite the buzzword's popularity. He offers his take on the future of diversity and what the workforce will look like. He discusses how every business grows through routines. Bruce also reveals why the US doesn't have a capital problem and what needs to happen for him to say the country is making progress. “Don't waste the crisis—crisis begets innovation.” – Bruce Katz This week on Breaking Barriers: Bruce Katz and his work on inclusion The destructive effect the pandemic had on Black and Latino businesses Why there is no “New Normal” according to Bruce Bruce's observations on the workforce and the future of diversity The difference between contract-driven and collateral-driven financing Why routines are necessary for growing businesses Why we don't have a capital problem in the US What would need to happen for Bruce to say we're making progress Connect with Bruce Katz: The New Localism Drexel University Book: The New Localism: How Cities Can Thrive in the Age of Populism Bruce Katz on LinkedIn This podcast is brought to you by Hire Ground Hire Ground is a technology company whose mission is to bridge the wealth gap through access to procurement opportunities. Hire Ground is making the enterprise ecosystem more viable, profitable, and competitive by clearing the path for minority-led, women-led, LGBT-led, and veteran-led small businesses to contribute to the global economy as suppliers to enterprise organizations. For more information on getting started please visit us @ hireground.io today! If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts. Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media and join us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Dr. Nancy Knowlton is a distinguished coral reef biologist known for her extensive work in marine science. Her academic journey began at Harvard University, from where she graduated before earning her Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. Professionally, she has held esteemed positions in various reputable institutions. Early in her career, she served as a faculty member at Yale University from 1979 to 1984. Post that, she joined the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama as a staff scientist and worked there until 1998. She also had a tenure at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California in San Diego, where she founded the Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation. Dr. Knowlton's most notable position was as the Sant Chair for Marine Science at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C., a role she assumed in 2007 and held till she became emerita. During her illustrious career, she also played a pivotal part as a scientific leader in the Census of Marine Life, a monumental endeavor to catalog and understand marine life species across the globe. A significant highlight of Dr. Knowlton's career is her literary contribution, 'Citizens of the Sea,' published by National Geographic in 2010 to mark the culmination of the Census of Marine Life. This book reflects her deep understanding and appreciation of marine biodiversity. Her dedication and significant contributions to marine science have earned her several accolades, including the Aldo Leopold Leadership Fellow in 1999, the Benchley Award for Science in 2009, and the prestigious Heinz Award with a special focus on the environment in 2011. Additionally, in 2013, she was elected a member of the US National Academy of Sciences, marking her standing in the scientific community. Dr. Knowlton's work has substantially impacted our understanding of marine biodiversity, particularly the ecology, behavior, and conservation of coral reef organisms, laying a strong foundation for future research and conservation efforts in marine science. Follow us @ REEF Roundup Instagram Marine Conservation Podcast (@reefroundup) REEF Roundup Website (reef-roundup.com) REEF Scuba Website (reef-scuba.org) --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/reefroundup/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/reefroundup/support
Leroy Hood, MD, developed the DNA sequencing technology that made possible the Human Genome Project and is cofounder of the Institute for Systems Biology. A pioneer in the fields of systems biology, proteomics, and P4 medicine, he has won the Kyoto Prize, the Lasker Award, the Heinz Award, and the National Medal of Science. He is in all three national academies of science: medicine, engineering and science and falls among 20 who share this honor out of more that 6000 members of these academies. Nathan Price is Chief Science Officer of Thorne HealthTech, helping to architect a scientific wellness company serving millions of people. A longtime professor at the Institute for Systems Biology, he was selected as an Emerging Leader in Health and Medicine by the National Academy of Medicine, receiving the Grace A. Goldsmith Award for his work on scientific wellness and has co-authored over 200 peer-reviewed scientific publications.Topics covered in this episode:Disease PreventionDisease TreatmentAI in HealthcareEthical AIMedical ErrorsP Four MedicineParticipatory In Your HealthcareEducational EffortsDigital TwinDiabetesHealth SpansEconomy of HealthcareBlood AnalysisImmediate ActionsExerciseMicrobiomeReferenced in the episode:The Lindsey Elmore Show Ep 137 | Understanding cognitive decline | Dr. Rana MafeeTo learn more about Leroy Hood and Nathan Price and their work, head over to https://isbscience.org/bio/nathan-price/__________________________________________________________If you haven't been feeling like your best self, maybe you've been struggling with your metabolism and weight loss, or are just not in a good mood and are stressed out all the time, maybe your sex life isn't what it once was. Enter the Amare Happy Hormones Pack.If you wanna get going and try the Happy Hormones pack head to http://www.learnamare.com/hormones between now and the end of July, when you shop the Happy Hormones Pack, you will also receive a free bottle of Omegas. Don't worry. If you're listening to this after the end of July, just go to http://www.lindseyelmore.com/amare to save $10 at any point.__________________________________________________________Wellness Made Simple is my functional medicine education website where you can learn the practical skills that you need to build a healthy lifestyle. If you want to live healthy, but you're over temporary diets and exercises, you don't know where to find reliable health information, you don't know what wellness options are even out there, and you definitely don't have enough time to cook or go to the gym every single day, Wellness Made Simple is for you. When you go to http://www.wellnessmadesimple.us and shop the code "Pod", you can save 20% off a monthly subscription or $100 off an annual subscription to Get access to the site, watch the courses, and feel better as you implement simple daily changes that can positively transform your health!____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________We hope you enjoyed this episode. Come check us out at www.lindseyelmore.com/podcast.
Chapter 1:Summary of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks"The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" is a nonfiction book written by Rebecca Skloot and published in 2010. The book tells the story of Henrietta Lacks, a woman whose cancer cells were taken without her knowledge or consent in 1951 and became the first human cells to grow and multiply indefinitely in a laboratory setting.Skloot explores the impact of Henrietta's cells, known as HeLa cells, on scientific research and medical advancements, as well as the ethical questions raised by their use. She also delves into the history of Henrietta's life, her family's experiences with medical exploitation and racism, and their ongoing struggles to understand and come to terms with her legacy.Through interviews with Henrietta's family members, scientists, and medical professionals, as well as extensive research into medical ethics and the history of medical experimentation on African Americans, Skloot presents a complex and thought-provoking narrative that raises important questions about the intersection of science, race, and ethics.Overall, "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" offers a powerful and insightful look at the lasting impact of one woman's cells on medical science, and the complicated legacy of medical experimentation and exploitation in the United States.Chapter 2:The Writer of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks- Rebecca Skloot Rebecca Skloot is an American science writer and author of the bestselling book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. She was born on September 19, 1972, in Springfield, Illinois. Skloot attended the University of Colorado where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with a focus on creative writing.She began her career as a freelance science writer, contributing articles to numerous publications including The New York Times Magazine, O, The Oprah Magazine, Discover, and others.Her debut book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, was published in 2010 and became an instant bestseller. The book tells the story of Henrietta Lacks, an African American woman whose cancer cells were taken without her permission in 1951 and used for medical research, leading to numerous scientific breakthroughs. The book explores the ethical and social implications of this event and its impact on Lacks' family.Skloot's work has received numerous awards and honors, including the National Academies Communication Award, the Wellcome Trust Book Prize, and the Heinz Award. She is also the founder and president of The Henrietta Lacks Foundation, which supports education and medical research efforts related to ethical issues in medicine.Chapter 3:5 Deep and Insightful Quotes From The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks1 "Black scientists and technicians, many of them women, used cells from a black woman to help save the lives of millions of Americans, most of whom were white. And they did so on the same campus—and at the very same time—that state officials were conducting the infamous Tuskegee syphilis studies."This quote highlights the irony and injustice of how Henrietta Lacks' cells were used to advance medicine while Black people were being treated unjustly in the medical field.2 "No one had ever asked the Lackses for their consent, and now researchers didn't have to. For scientific purposes, cell lines were considered commodities, and could be bought and sold like factory-made products."This quote exposes the unethical practices of the medical community during Henrietta's time and raises questions about consent and ownership in medical research.3 "If our mother is so important to science, why can't we get health insurance?"This quote shows the personal impact that Henrietta's contribution to science had on her family and raises...
Abraham Verghese, MD, MACP, is Professor and Linda R. Meier and Joan F. Lane Provostial Professor, and Vice Chair for the Theory and Practice of Medicine at the School of Medicine at Stanford University. He is also a best-selling author and a physician with a reputation for his focus on healing in an era where technology often overwhelms the human side of medicine. He received the Heinz Award in 2014 and was awarded the National Humanities Medal, presented by President Barack Obama, in 2015. His new novel is The Covenant of Water. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Taking us to the cutting edge of the new frontier of medicine, a visionary biotechnologist and a pathbreaking researcher show how we can optimize our health in ways that were previously unimaginable. They say we are on the cusp of a major transformation in health care—yet few people know it. At top hospitals and a few innovative health-tech startups, scientists are working closely with patients to dramatically extend their "healthspan"—the number of healthy years before disease sets in. Using information gleaned from our blood and genes and tapping into the data revolution made possible by AI, doctors can catch the onset of disease years before symptoms arise, revolutionizing prevention. Current applications have shown startling results: diabetes reversed, cancers eliminated, Alzheimer's avoided, autoimmune conditions kept at bay. This is not a future fantasy: it is already happening, but only for a few patients and at high cost. Proponents say it is time to make this gold standard of care more widely available. MLF ORGANIZER Robert Lee Kilpatrick SPEAKERS Leroy Hood M.D., Ph.D., Founder and CEO, Phenome Health; Co-founder, The Institute for Systems Biology; Recipient, the Kyoto Prize, the Lasker Award, the Heinz Award, and the National Medal of Science Nathan Price Ph.D., Chief Science Officer, Thorne HealthTech; Professor, The Institute for Systems Biology; Recipient, Grace A. Goldsmith Award Robert Lee Kilpatrick Ph.D., Chief Strategic Development Officer, Phenome Health; Visiting Academic, Oxford Martin School Research Institute, University of Oxford; Chair, Health & Medicine Member-led Forum, The Commonwealth Club of California—Moderator In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on April 5th, 2023 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this episode of Flanigan's Eco-Logic, Ted speaks with Ralph Cavanagh, senior attorney and co-director of Natural Resources Defense Council's energy program. Ralph joined the Natural Resources Defense Council in 1979 and has had an illustrious career focusing on removing barriers to cost-effective energy efficiency, and on the role that electric and natural gas utilities can play in leading a clean energy transition.Ralph and Ted discuss his studies at Yale College and the Yale Law School, and becoming a member of the US Secretary of Energy's Advisory Board (SEAB) from 1993 - 2003. They also dig into performance-based rate paying, revenue decoupling, NRDC's stance on net-energy metering in California, and current decarbonization works. Ralph has been a visiting professor at the Stanford and UC Berkeley Law Schools and a lecturer on law at Harvard, and he is a long-time faculty member at the University of Idaho's Energy Executive Course. He chairs the advisory board of the Energy and Efficiency Institute at the University of California at Davis, and he serves on the boards of the Bipartisan Policy Center and BPC Action. He has received the Heinz Award for Public Policy, the BPA Administrator's Award for Exceptional Public Service, the Alliance to Save Energy's Charles H. Percy Award for Public Service, and the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners' Mary Kilmarx Award.
Bruce Katz is the Founder of New Localism Associates, a firm that helps cities finance, deliver, and design innovative initiatives that focus on sustainable growth and inclusion. He received the Heinz Award in Public Policy for his contributions to city planning and influences on the community's economy and livability. He authored the book The New Localism, which provides a roadmap for change that begins in the local communities. Bruce is also the Director of the Nowak Metro Finance Lab at Drexel University. Bruce joins us today to describe how the pandemic adversely impacted minority-led businesses. He shares why the “New Normal” doesn't exist despite the buzzword's popularity. He offers his take on the future of diversity and what the workforce will look like. He discusses how every business grows through routines. Bruce also reveals why the US doesn't have a capital problem and what needs to happen for him to say the country is making progress. “Don't waste the crisis—crisis begets innovation.” - Bruce Katz This week on Breaking Barriers: ● Bruce Katz and his work on inclusion● The destructive effect the pandemic had on Black and Latino businesses● Why there is no “New Normal,” according to Bruce● Bruce's observations on the workforce and the future of diversity● The difference between contract-driven and collateral-driven financing● Why routines are necessary for growing businesses● Why we don't have a capital problem in the US● What would need to happen for Bruce to say we're making progress Connect with Bruce Katz: ● The New Localism● Drexel University● Book: The New Localism: How Cities Can Thrive in the Age of Populism● Bruce Katz on LinkedIn This podcast is brought to you by Hire Ground Hire Ground is a technology company whose mission is to bridge the wealth gap through access to procurement opportunities. Hire Ground is making the enterprise ecosystem more viable, profitable, and competitive by clearing the path for minority-led, women-led, LGBT-led, and veteran-led small businesses to contribute to the global economy as suppliers to enterprise organizations. For more information on getting started, please visit us @ hireground.io today! If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts. Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media and join us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
A few years ago, Hal Harvey, an acclaimed energy advisor and Justin Gillis, an award winning New York Times climate reporter, discussed the health of our planet over steaks. By the end of that dinner, they decided to write a book together on the principles individuals can rely on to help save the planet. (Sound familiar?) That book became THE BIG FIX: 7 Practical Steps to Save Our Planet. And over the course of the book, Hal and Justin provide readers with seven essential changes communities must enact to bring greenhouse gas emissions down to zero. Today, Hal and Justin join The Net Zero Life to break down The Big Fix in detail, and as always, I ask them to share their climate origin stories and climate role models. Hal is a Stanford trained engineer, and CEO of Energy Innovation. He is the recipient of the UN Climate and Clean Air Award, the Heinz Award for the Environment, and the State of California's Haagen-Smit Clean Air Award. Presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush both called on Hal to Serve on national and international climate panels. Justin is an award-winning journalist with four decades of experience with major daily newspapers, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Miami Herald. As the lead reporter on climate science at The Times for nearly a decade, Justin won the John B. Oakes Award for Distinguished Environmental Journalism for a series of front-page articles exploring the basics of the climate crisis. You can keep up with Hal and Justin on Twitter, @Hal_Harvey and @JustinHGillis. You can buy The Big Fix wherever you get your books, and here's a link to where I got my copy. Keep up with the show by following The Net Zero Life on Twitter and Instagram (@thenetzerolife). You can also get in touch at www.thenetzerolife.com or via email at nathan@thenetzerolife.com. Other show notes: Orsted's green energy transformation Half-Earth by E.O. Wilson
Bruce Katz is the Founder of New Localism Associates, a firm that helps cities finance, deliver, and design innovative initiatives that focus on sustainable growth and inclusion. He received the Heinz Award in Public Policy for his contributions to city planning and influences on the community's economy and livability. He authored the book The New Localism, which provides a roadmap for change that begins in the local communities. Bruce is also the Director of the Nowak Metro Finance Lab at Drexel University. Bruce joins us today to describe how the pandemic adversely impacted minority-led businesses. He shares why the “New Normal” doesn't exist despite the buzzword's popularity. He offers his take on the future of diversity and what the workforce will look like. He discusses how every business grows through routines. Bruce also reveals why the US doesn't have a capital problem and what needs to happen for him to say the country is making progress. “Don't waste the crisis—crisis begets innovation.” - Bruce Katz This week on Breaking Barriers: ● Bruce Katz and his work on inclusion● The destructive effect the pandemic had on Black and Latino businesses● Why there is no “New Normal,” according to Bruce● Bruce's observations on the workforce and the future of diversity● The difference between contract-driven and collateral-driven financing● Why routines are necessary for growing businesses● Why we don't have a capital problem in the US● What would need to happen for Bruce to say we're making progress Connect with Bruce Katz: ● The New Localism● Drexel University● Book: The New Localism: How Cities Can Thrive in the Age of Populism● Bruce Katz on LinkedIn This podcast is brought to you by Hire Ground Hire Ground is a technology company whose mission is to bridge the wealth gap through access to procurement opportunities. Hire Ground is making the enterprise ecosystem more viable, profitable, and competitive by clearing the path for minority-led, women-led, LGBT-led, and veteran-led small businesses to contribute to the global economy as suppliers to enterprise organizations. For more information on getting started, please visit us @ hireground.io today! If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts. Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media and join us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
In this fourth episode of our five-part series on the future of investing in rural prosperity, produced in collaboration with the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, Michael chats with the following experts on achieving rural prosperity in America: Chrystel Cornelius, President and CEO of the Oweesta Corporation; Nikki Foster, Program Officer at the Northwest Area Foundation; Jonelle Yearout, Executive Director of the Nimiipuu Community Development Fund; and Stacia Morfin, Owner of Nez Perce Tourism and Traditional Gift Shop. Together, they discuss efforts in advancing rural and, specifically, Native prosperity, increased investment in Native community growth, the value of partnerships in working toward rural and Native prosperity, and much more. This episode, and the entire five-part series, is sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. For more information, visit www.stlouisfed.org. This episode's guests can be reached at their respective email addresses, as follows: Chrystel Cornelius: chrystel@oweesta.org Nikki Foster: nfoster@nwaf.org Jonelle Yearout: jonelle@nimiipuufund.org Stacia Morfin: nezpercetourism@gmail.com Congratulations to Chrystel Cornelius for being honored as a Heinz Award winner in the Economy category! Each year, the Heinz Awards recognize individuals making contributions to the arts, the economy, and the environment. Cornelius is one of this year's six awardees and is being recognized “for her work to return wealth and financial independence to Native lands and people, addressing centuries of disenfranchisement that have led to profound socioeconomic disparities for Native communities.” To read more about Cornelius' accomplishment, visit www.heinzawards.org/pages/chrystel-cornelius. The views stated by podcast guests do not necessarily reflect those of our sponsors.
Dr. Jonathan Foley is a world-renowned environmental scientist, sustainability expert, author and public speaker, and the executive director of Drawdown. Drawdown's mission is to help the world reach the point in the future when levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere stop climbing and start to decline as quickly, safely and equitably as possible. Dr. Foley's work focused on understanding the changing planet and finding solutions to sustain climate, ecosystems, and natural resources. He has been a trusted advisor to governments, foundations, NGOs, and business leaders globally. He has published over 130 peer-reviewed scientific articles and, in 2014, was named a Highly Cited Researcher in ecology and environmental science. He has also presented at the Aspen Institute, the World Bank, the National Geographic Society and more. He's taught at major universities on climate change, global sustainability solutions, the food system and other major world challenges. Dr. Foley has won numerous awards and honors for his work, including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, awarded by President Clinton; the J.S. McDonnell Foundation's 21st Century Science Award; an Aldo Leopold Leadership Fellowship; the Sustainability Science Award from the Ecological Society of America; and the National Science Foundation's Faculty Early Career Development Award. In 2014, he was also named as the winner of the prestigious Heinz Award for the Environment. Prior to joining Drawdown, Dr. Foley launched the Climate, People, and Environment Program (CPEP) at the University of Wisconsin, founded the Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment (SAGE), and served as the first Gaylord Nelson Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies. He was the founding director of the Institute on the Environment(IonE) at the University of Minnesota, where he was also McKnight Presidential Chair of Global Environment and Sustainability. And he also served as the executive director of the California Academy of Sciences, the greenest and more forward-thinking science museum on the planet. In this podcast, Sonya and Dr. Foley talk about climate solutions, food and agriculture, deforestation and how you can make a difference. Key Takeaways: Where do greenhouse gases come from The five sectors of climate solutions How to feel empowered with climate solutions The food and agriculture sector Deforestation Methane from cows/ruminants Fertilizers Things you can do at home
We discussed a number of things including:1. Alfa's entrepreneurial journey and vision for Rising Tide Capital2. State of the small business sector across the state and region3. Funding outlook for startups and underserved entrepreneurs4. Alfa's vision for Future Tide PartnersBorn and raised in Ethiopia, Alfa lives in New Jersey with her husband and two boys. She is the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Rising Tide Capital, a non-profit organization that provides underserved entrepreneurs with the resources they need to launch and grow successful businesses. Since 2005 the organization has operated the Community Business Academy, a 12-week course that provides intensive business management training coupled with year-round coaching and mentorship, now serving a network of more than 3,000 entrepreneurs in New Jersey as well as Illinois, South Carolina and North Carolina, with more in planning stages.Corporate, foundation, and government funders underwrite the cost of tuition and services for all participants; 70% are women of color. By building successful businesses, entrepreneurs meet their families' basic needs, create opportunities for social mobility, and help transform their local communities into thriving economies.Alfa is also the Co-Founder of Future Tide Partners, which equips cross-sector leaders to shift capital, policy and culture in a rapidly changing world of work towards an inclusive, flourishing future economy. She was named a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader in 2015 and has appeared in leading media outlets including CNN, O the Oprah Magazine, Essence Magazine, Bloomberg, Inc. Magazine, the Suze Orman show, BusinessWeek and Entrepreneur Magazine.She has been recognized by President Barack Obama; received the prestigious 25th Heinz Award in the Technology, the Economy and Employment category; and was named a CNN Hero and one of the Most Powerful Women Changing the World in Forbes. She currently serves as a Commissioner on the New Jersey Future of Work Task Force and is a board member of the New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund.
Coalfield Development CEO Brandon Dennison & his team are rebuilding the Appalachian economy one job at a time, with gumption, grit & grace as their guide. The wide valleys, imposing mountains and steep ridges that make up the topography of Appalachia wind across all or parts of 12 states, stretching from New York to portions of Mississippi and Alabama. In the middle this impressive terrain is Huntington, West Virginia, the home of both Brandon and Coalfield Development, which he co-founded in 2010 with his high school best friend. Brandon and his team bridge the divide between those dedicated to a declining fossil fuel economy and those who believe in the family-sustaining jobs that a renewable energy economy provides. That's just one of the reasons he was honored with a 2019 Heinz Award and has been interviewed by the BBC, CNBC and the New York Times. He has led Coalfield Development in the revitalization of 200,000 square feet of formerly dilapidated property, helped create 300 new jobs, and brought $20 million in new regional investment to Appalachian communities. As Brandon tells host Grant Oliphant: “Change is hard,” and the coal industry “uses fear with incredible precision.” He and the Coalfield Development family counter that fear with fact-based data, comprehensive job and life-skills programs, and—most of all—heartfelt dedication to the long-term health and economic well-being of the Appalachian communities they call home. “Bridging divides is about human interaction,” Brandon says, “and when that happens, barriers go down.” “We Can Be” is hosted by Heinz Endowments President Grant Oliphant, and produced by the Endowments, Josh Franzos and Tim Murray. Theme music by Josh Slifkin. Guest inquiries can be made to Scott Roller at sroller@heinz.org.
Linda Behnken is a Heinz-Award winning Ocean-Warrior based in Sitka, Alaska. Teresa Heinz, Chairman of the Heinz Family Foundation said about her: “Linda's success in achieving collaboration between scientists, industry, and the fishermen who work the ocean for their livelihood is a model for effective environmental change. Her efforts to drive policy and practices that protect the stability of Alaska's coastal fishing communities and the ocean ecosystem on which they depend not only give us hope, they demonstrate what is possible when seemingly competing interests work together.” In today's episode we talk about fishermen as citizen scientists; 30 by 30; her work as a leader in Salmon Nation and bringing Alaska's treasured seafood to those who need it around the bioregion. Read this article written by Linda, to learn more about her work.
Links of interest:Zero to One - Notes on Startups, or How to Build the FutureTED talk - The CEO of Carbon3D, Joseph DeSimone has made breakthrough contributions to the field of 3D printing. The perfect fit: Carbon + adidas collaborate to upend athletic footwear - full storyLinkedIn profile → Joe co-founded Carbon in 2013. Under his direction, Carbon is marrying the intricacies of molecular science with hardware and software technologies to advance the 3D printing industry beyond basic prototyping to 3D manufacturing. Throughout his career, Joe has published over 350 scientific articles and has nearly 200 issued patents in his name — with more than an additional 200 patents pending. Joe also previously co-founded several companies including Micell Technologies, Bioabsorbable Vascular Solutions, and Liquidia Technologies.As Board Chair, Joe is currently on leave from his roles as Chancellor's Eminent Professor of Chemistry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and William R. Kenan, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering at North Carolina State University and of Chemistry at the University of North Carolina. He received his BS in Chemistry from Ursinus College, and his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Virginia Tech.Joe is one of only roughly 20 individuals who have been elected to all three branches of the U.S. National Academies: the National Academy of Medicine (2014), the National Academy of Sciences (2012) and the National Academy of Engineering (2005). During his career he has received over 50 major awards and recognitions, including the 2018 National Academy of Sciences Award for Convergent Science; the 2017 $250,000 Heinz Award for Technology, the Economy and Employment; the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, awarded by President Barack Obama in 2016; the inaugural $250,000 Kabiller Prize in Nanoscience and Nanomedicine; 2015 Dickson Prize from Carnegie Mellon University; 2014 Kathryn C. Hach Award for Entrepreneurial Success from the ACS; the 2010 AAAS Mentor Award in recognition of his efforts to advance diversity in the chemistry PhD workforce; the 2007 Collaboration Success Award from the Council for Chemical Research; and the 2002 Engineering Excellence Award by DuPont.
Welcome to episode 27 of the Today is the Day Changemakers Podcast. This week my incredible guest is Alfa Demmellash. Alfa is the the CEO and Co-founder of Rising Tide Capital and Future Tide Partners. Rising Tide Capital is a non-profit, or as I say for impact organization, that provides underserved entrepreneurs with the resources they need to launch and grow successful businesses. Since 2005 the organization has operated the Community Business Academy. Please visit Rising Tide Capital | A non-profit organization for more information about the services they provide. Alfa was born in Ethiopia. Upon wanting greater opportunities for her and her daughter, Alfa's mom came to the U.S. where she worked as a waitress, went back to school for fashion design, and then was able to start a side business. While Alfa was still in Ethiopia she was getting a great education and surrounded by family, and her community which helped to keep her spirits lifted. After Alfa's mom was more settled she brought Alfa over to live with her in the U.S. At that point Alfa was almost a teenager. Listen to Alfa's version of what she thought coming to America from Ethiopia was going to be like. Alfa's mom wanted her daughter to know that anything is possible. So, Alfa worked hard, graduated from Harvard, and became an entrepreneur just like her mom. When we talked about leadership, Alfa shared that when we are calling for women's leadership, we are not calling for masculine leadership being shared by a woman. There is something special about feminine leadership and it is needed and necessary throughout the world. Alfa and her partner Alex saw that there is economic poverty in NJ being experienced amongst profound wealth. Their goal was to build bridges to change that multigenerational story. They wanted to disrupt cultural barriers and create economic opportunities and they are doing that through the incredible work at Rising Tide Capital. As she says they are helping people make their dreams as accessible as possible through entrepreneurship. During COVID Rising Tide Capital graduated a class of 121 entrepreneurs from 40 cities and towns. There were some students who took their classes from hospital beds or behind the fryer at work. This was a very special class that graduated through an unprecedented time. We talked a lot about racism, changes that need to be made, and the importance of having inter-sectional leadership. A message we can all learn from - 100% of the shots you don't take, you don't make. Alfa's has appeared in leading media outlets including CNN, O the Oprah Magazine, Essence Magazine Bloomberg, Inc. Magazine, BusinessWeek and Entrepreneur Magazine to name a few. She has been recognized by President Barack Obama; received the prestigious 25th Heinz Award; was named a CNN Hero, and one of the Most Powerful Women Changing the World in Forbes. Here is the best part she is an incredible human who truly cares about people and making a difference in this world. Download the podcast on all streaming sites, watch the video via the Today is the Day Changemakers YouTube Channel - Jodi Grinwald - Today is the Day Changemakers - YouTube. Follow on social media at Today is the Day Live it. I hope you enjoy listening to this conversation as much as I enjoyed having it. On the next episode, I welcome Adam Philipson, CEO & President, Count Basie Center for the Arts. We have a fabulous conversation about lessons learned from going from being on the stage to leading the entire theater experience and beyond. Have a fabulous week!
The twenty-first episode of GREAT PODVERSATIONS features best-selling writer Elizabeth Kolbert speaking with journalist Kate Aronoff about Ms. Kolbert's book, “Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future,” and other timely topics. Elizabeth Kolbert is a staff writer for The New Yorker. Her most recent book, “Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future,” was published in February. In it, Kolbert explores whether we can change nature to save it, in Earth's new geological epoch: the Anthropocene. She meets biologists who are trying to preserve the world’s rarest fish, which lives in a single tiny pool in the middle of the Mojave; engineers who are turning carbon emissions to stone in Iceland; Australian researchers who are trying to develop a “super coral” that can survive on a hotter globe; and physicists who are contemplating shooting tiny diamonds into the stratosphere to cool the earth. The New York Times praises “Under a White Sky” as: "...important, necessary, urgent, and phenomenally interesting." Kolbert is also the author of “The Sixth Extinction,” which received the Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction in 2015, and “Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change.” She is a two-time National Magazine Award winner, and has received a Heinz Award , a Guggenheim Fellowship, and a National Academies communications award. Kolbert is a visiting fellow at the Center for Environmental Studies at Williams College, and was recently elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Kate Aronoff is a staff writer at The New Republic and the author of “Overheated: How Capitalism Broke The Planet—And How We Fight Back.” Her work has appeared in The Intercept, The New York Times, The Nation, Rolling Stone, and The Guardian, among other outlets. Aronoff is the co-editor of “We Own the Future: Democratic Socialism, American Style and the co-author of A Planet to Win: Why We Need a Green New Deal.” She sits on the editorial board of Dissent and the advisory board of Jewish Currents.
This episode focuses on popular education, discussing what it is and why it's key to good democratic organizing with Ernesto Cortes, Jr. Alongside organized money, organized people, and organized action, building power to effect change requires organized knowledge. Organized knowledge generates the frameworks of analysis and understanding through which to re-narrate and reimagine the world, destabilizing the dominant scripts and ideas that legitimate oppression. But rather than be driven by ideological concerns, popular education as an approach to organizing knowledge begins with addressing and seeking to solve real problems people face where they live and work. This entails informal, self-organized forms of learning. Another way to frame popular education is as a grounded approach to addressing the epistemic or knowledge-based dimensions of injustice and creating policies that put people before top-down programs of social engineering (whether of the left or the right).GuestErnesto Cortes, Jr. is currently National Co-Director of the Industrial Areas Foundation and executive director of its West / Southwest regional network. Beginning in the United Farmworker Movement, he has been organizing in one form or another for nearly half a century, helping to organize or initiate innumerable organizing efforts and campaigns. The organizing work he did in San Antonia in the 1970s in many ways set the template for community organizing coalitions in the IAF thereafter. The fruits of his work have been much studied and he has been recognized with numerous awards and academic fellowships, including a MacArther Fellowship in 1984, a Heinz Award in public policy in 1999, and an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Princeton University in 2009.Resources for Going DeeperSaul Alinsky, “Popular Education,” Reveille for Radicals (various editions), Ch. 9; Charles Payne, I've Got the Light of Freedom: the Organizing Tradition and the Mississippi Freedom Struggle(University of California Press, 1995), Ch. 3. Details the organizing and popular educational work of Septima Clark, Ella Baker, and Myles Horton in the formation of the civil rights movement; Myles Horton and Paulo Freire, We Make the Road by Walking: Conversations on Education and Social Change (Temple University Press, 1990); Stephen Brookfield and Stephen Presskill, Learning as a Way of Leading: Lessons from the Struggle for Social Justice (Jossey-Bass, 2008), see especially Chapters 4 & 5;Michael Oakshott, “Political Education,” The Voice of Liberal Learning (Yale University Press, 1989), 159-188.
Barbara Gohn Day Memorial Lecture In conversation with Tracey Matisak, award-winning broadcaster and journalist ''An astute observer, excellent explainer, and superb synthesizer'' (Seattle Times), Elizabeth Kolbert is the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History. An amalgam of field reporting, scientific discovery, and natural history, it follows the ongoing legacy of the manmade global cataclysm that threatens the very existence of life on earth. A longtime staff writer at the New Yorker and a member of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists' Science and Security Board, she has earned a Guggenheim Fellowship, two National Magazine Awards, and a Heinz Award, among other honors. In Under a White Sky, Kolbert returns to her study of humanity's impact on the world to examine how we might change nature in order to save it. For Book-with-Ticket purchases please allow 2 - 3 weeks for delivery Books with signed book plates will ship after the event (recorded 2/10/2021)
Tonight on the KRBD Evening Report: Hundreds took advantage of a flu shot clinic in Ketchikan. The event helps public health prepare in the event of mass vaccinations or medication distribution, a working group looking to make the Alaska Marine Highway System more efficient recommends cutting the size of the fleet, and the director of a fisherman’s association in Alaska is selected for a prestigious Heinz Award.
Dr. Jonathan Foley, world-renowned environmental scientist, sustainability expert, author, and executive director of Project Drawdown, joins host Grant Oliphant to talk about why – despite seemingly insurmountable political and cultural obstacles - he believes tackling climate change is “absolutely doable.” Regardless of climate science deniers, Jonathan says there is no contesting the reality of what we are facing. “Climate change is real,” he says. “Mother Nature is slapping us in the face about it.” Jonathan earned his doctoral degree in atmospheric sciences from the University of Wisconsin, where he launched the Climate, People, and Environment Program and founded the Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment. He has served as the founding director of the Institute on the Environment at the University of Minnesota and as the executive director of the California Academy of Sciences, widely regarded as the greenest and most forward-thinking science museum on the planet. Jonathan was honored with a 2014 Heinz Award in the environmental category, and in 2018 took the reigns as the executive director of San Francisco-based Project Drawdown, which bills itself as ““the world’s leading resource for climate solutions.” Jonathan shares surprising facts about the history of climate change, why he believes the world-wide education of girls plays a key part in the future of the movement, and the invaluable advice his mother instilled in him about the importance of active listening: “You’re born with two ears and one mouth, and you should use them in that ratio.” Listen to Jonathan’s honest, straight climate talk on this episode of “We Can Be.” “We Can Be” is hosted by Heinz Endowments President Grant Oliphant, and produced by the Endowments, Josh Franzos and Tim Murray. Theme music by Josh Slifkin. Guest image: Josh Franzos. Guest inquiries can be made to Scott Roller at sroller@heinz.org.
What the Eyes Don't See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City" (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42040559-what-the-eyes-don-t-see), which was named one of the New York Time's 100 most notable books of the year in 2018. Dr. Mona is the Director of the Pediatric residency program at Hurley Medical Center in Flint, Michigan. In 2016 she was named one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world (https://time.com/collection-post/4301337/marc-edwards-and-mona-hanna-attisha-2016-time-100/). She was also awarded the Heinz Award in Public Policy (2017), was named one of Politico's 50 most important people in 2016 and won the James C. Goodall Freedom of Expression Award in the same year. In this conversation we discuss what factors gave rise to this crisis and what we can learn from it, her role as an activist and how this provides an example to other change-makers, the invisible forces, especially policies, that shaped this crisis and our society, how anti-democratic laws directly precipitated this crisis, the dark age of science (https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/attacks-on-science) we are living through and its implications, the state of environmental injustice in Michigan and America, the resilience of Flint and its people, and many other topics. Background reading: I’m Sick of Asking Children to Be Resilient (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/12/opinion/sunday/flint-inequality-race-coronavirus.html)(Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, New York Times) Flint Water Crisis shows dangers of "Dark Age of Science (https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/14/opinions/flint-water-myths-scientific-dark-age-roy-edwards/index.html)" (Marc Edwards, CNN) The Devastating Impacts of Air Pollution on Children (https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-11-22/pm2-5-air-pollution-harms-human-health-reduces-iq-in-children) (Bloomberg) A written plus audio transcript of this episode is available here (https://app.podscribe.ai/episode/48346487) Support this podcast
Physician and professor Abraham Verghese joins Paul Holdengräber for a rich discussion around storytelling as a means of survival and how this current moment in America requires more than just a change in legislation, but a transformation of the human heart.Abraham Verghese MD, MACP, DSc (Hon), FRCP (Edin)Professor of Medicine, Stanford University Linda R. Meier and Joan F. Lane Provostial Professor Vice Chair for the Theory and Practice of Medicine. Abraham Verghese is a critically acclaimed author and a prominent voice in medicine. His books have sold millions of copies and are broadly translated. His gifts as a storyteller give him powerful appeal for healthcare professionals and non-medical audiences alike.He sees a future for healthcare that marries technological innovation with hands-on physical diagnosis, and has a deep faith in patients’ stories and the power of touch in providing what patients most want – healing, if not curing. Dr. Verghese’s novel, Cutting for Stone, topped the New York Times bestseller list for over two years and My Own Country, was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and made into a movie. The Tennis Partner was a New York Times Notable Book. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Granta, and The Wall Street Journal.He has served on the Board of Directors of the American Board of Internal Medicine. He is a Master of the American College of Physicians, elected to the Association of American Physicians, as well as, notably in 2011, to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. He is a 2014 recipient of the Heinz Award for Arts and Humanities, and in 2016 he was honored with a National Humanities Medal in a ceremony at the White House with President Barack Obama.
Chemistry has given the world the incredible diversity of fuels, pharmaceuticals, and household products that we rely on every day, along with tremendous advances in fighting infectious diseases and ensuring an abundant food supply. But the products of chemistry also include tens of thousands of toxic compounds that compromise human health, degrade the environment, and drive species to extinction. The advent of the modern environmental movement in the 1960s and 1970s produced a new field of chemistry dedicated to providing for the needs of society with less toxic and less environmentally damaging alternatives. This intellectual endeavor coalesced into the field of green chemistry. My guest, Terry Collins, is a leading green chemist and one of the founders of the field. His education includes a bachelor of science in 1974 and a PhD in 1978, both from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. He held a faculty position at the California Institute of Technology in the 1980s before joining the faculty at Carnegie Mellon University in 1988, where he is now the Director of the Institute for Green Science and the Teresa Heinz Professor of Green Chemistry. Terry is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award in 1998 and the Heinz Award for the Environment in 2010. He is also a Fellow of the American Chemical Society.
The only thing spreading faster in America than coronavirus, is stupid. It started inside the White House, spread to Fox News, into Congress, out to Governors nationwide. And now, the infection has spread to a new group: the United States Navy. Thousands of brave sailors on the USS Theodore Roosevelt are the epicenter of an American military struggling globally to respond to COVID-19. Scores on the ship have tested positive, their commander, Captain Bret Crozier, was fired for standing up for their health-only to test positive himself, and Acting Navy Secretary Modly flew thousands of miles to disrespectfully lecture them, only to be forced to resign himself. While America is at war against the virus our the Navy rank-and-file are at war with their disconnected civilian leadership. @PaulRieckhoff breaks it all down, analyzes how the Department of Veterans Affairs is also flailing to respond to outbreaks and deaths nationwide, digs into what Bernie Sanders dropping out means for independent and national defense voters, and reports from the center of the front lines in New York City. It’s the hottest pod in America for politics, news and culture. When disasters do hit, #LookForTheHelpers. [56:20] And our guest this pod is one of America’s greatest: Jake Wood (@JakeWoodTR), CEO and Co-Founder of Team Rubicon--the most innovative disaster response organization in the world. Jake served in the Marine Corps as a Scout-Sniper, with tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, is a nationally recognized social entrepreneur and keynote speaker whose awards include being named a CNN Hero, the Heinz Award, Goldman Sachs' 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs, The Grinnell Prize, and the Chronicle of Philanthropy Forty Under 40. He is also the author of Take Command: Lessons in Leadership: How to Be a First Responder in Business. Jake is a master of disasters. When others run out, he runs in. For the last decade, he’s led Team Rubicon in deploying over 100,000 veterans with medical and rescue skills to disasters around the world. Now, they are building field hospitals, testing for COVID-19 and helping the needy in over 70 locations across the United States. Jake will tell you what it’s like to operate in a disaster zone and fight the coronavirus. He’ll share how he’s right now leading forces on the ground in communities nationwide, tell you what’s getting in his way, and give you some hope. It’s an inspiring and important conversation everyone should hear right now. It’ll prepare you to survive and thrive in the face of the virus. Angry Americans is powered by BRAVO SIERRA. BRAVO SIERRA (@BravoSierra_USA) is the military-native performance wellness company. They deliver high-quality grooming essentials, formulated with clean ingredients and made in the USA with local partners. And 5% of sales go to the Morale, Welfare and Recreation quality of life programs for active-duty U.S. Military service members, veterans and their families. Go to www.BravoSierra.com/AngryAmericans to get a FREE trial set of their products now. And Angry Americans listeners can use the special discount code ANGRY at checkout for 15% off on all orders. Every episode of Angry Americans offers ways to turn your righteous anger into positive impact. This time, it’s supporting Team Rubicon’s urgent call to action. It’s a powerful episode of the pod that’s been recently featured in Variety, NPR, The New York Times and CNN. For video of the conversation in this episode with Jake Wood --and for past conversations with Chris Cuomo, Rosie Perez, Henry Rollins, Rachel Maddow, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Samantha Bee and more-- join the Angry Americans community now. Angry Americans is connecting, uniting and empowering people nationwide--and is powered by Righteous Media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
BE SURE TO SEE THE SHOWNOTES AND LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE HERE. Eve Picker: [00:00:08] Hi there. Thanks so much for joining me today for the latest episode of Impact Real Estate Investing. [00:00:15] My guest today is Brandon Dennison, a young creative powerhouse working to bring an economy to mid-Appalachia. As a young adult, Brandon noticed the poverty and lack of jobs in the town he grew up in. That early memory stayed with him through his college years. While still at school, he launched Coalfield Development, which is focused on workforce development to counter the generational poverty and lack of economic opportunities in Western Virginia. While workforce development is the center of Brandon's focus, that has also spilled over into creative, sustainable and community-centric real estate development. Brandon's work has been recognized with a Heinz Award, and a $1 million grant from the Rockefeller Foundation/Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. You are going to want to hear all about it. [00:01:24] Be sure to go to EvePicker.com to find out more about Brandon on the show notes page for this episode. And be sure to sign up for my newsletter so you can access information about impact real estate investing and get the latest news about the exciting projects on my crowdfunding platform, Small Change. Eve: [00:01:58] Thanks so much for joining me today, Brandon. Brandon Dennison: [00:02:01] Happy to be here. Thanks for having me. Eve: [00:02:03] So, we are rebuilding the Appalachian economy from the ground up. That statement is front and center on the home page of Coalfield Development, the organization you founded and lead. Well, I'd love you to tell me exactly what that means. Brandon: [00:02:20] Well, it is a bold statement. There's no doubt about that. And we are trying to model and pioneer what a whole new and better and fairer and more sustainable economy can look like for our region. This is a region that's been overdependent on coal for far too long and that overdependence has left us economically vulnerable. It's also left our environment in a difficult situation, not as clean as it should be and it's hurt, it's ultimately hurt the fabric of our societies and our communities, as you can see with the growing opioid and addiction crisis that we're in. So, at Coalfield, we know that we can't re-employ every single unemployed person that's out there in Appalachia, but we can model what a newer and better way of doing things can look like. Eve: [00:03:13] So, you know, what does that modeling look like? Have you developed programs? What are you working on? Brandon: [00:03:18] Yeah. So, we incubate, mostly from scratch, but also in partnership with other entrepreneurs, we incubate what we call social enterprises. These are business models that blend the compassion of the nonprofit world with the efficiencies of the for-profit world. And the enterprises are in new sectors of the economy where we can innovate and show what a more sustainable economy can look like. So, for example, we've helped start the first solar installation company in southern West Virginia. We have an organic agriculture company. We make t-shirts out of recycled plastics. We make wood furniture out of reclaimed lumber from dilapidated buildings, some very innovative businesses. And we use those businesses to put people back to work, and then to support their lifelong learning and development. Eve: [00:04:06] And so how many businesses like that have you developed to date? Brandon: [00:04:09] From scratch, we've helped start 11 new social enterprises that we own and operate. And then we've also invested in more than 50 other social enterprises throughout the region. Eve: [00:04:21] That's a lot. That's over 60, already. Brandon: [00:04:25] Yeah. Eve: [00:04:26] And so that creates a lot of jobs. How many jobs have those enterprises created? Brandon: [00:04:32] We've created more than 250 new jobs. And those are permanent positions. And we've trained over 1,000 people through our training programs. Eve: [00:04:41] That's that's pretty amazing. So, tell me a little bit about the programs that you've developed, as well. Brandon: [00:04:47] When we hire a person onto these social enterprises, we hire them according to what we call our 33, 6 and 3 model. This is how we organize the work week, 33 hours of paid work each week, six hours of classroom time. All of our crew members are working towards an associates degree at the local community college. And three hours a week of personal development, which is, essentially, it's life stuff ... Eve: [00:05:15] Yeh. Brandon: [00:05:15] ... to help our people overcome the challenges that are getting in the way of their quality of life. So, it's a very holistic model. And what we found is, whether it's in agriculture or construction or manufacturing, the model's replicable across different sectors of the economy. Eve: [00:05:31] So, you're also providing, I think, a lot of support services in a variety of programs, like you, you say you train people. How do you do that? What resources you provide them with? Brandon: [00:05:43] So, this is a paid experience. The 33 hours, it's paid work, it's a real job. And then we do a scholarship for the "6" and the "3," so none of our college students have student debt. And then we layer on some additional life support. We have a zero interest emergency loan program that folks can tap if they have an unexpected emergency. And we facilitate a personal development program, which is really its reflection, where part of those three hours we're creating time for folks to really evaluate where they're at in life, and sometimes for the first time, assess a future and how to attain that future. Eve: [00:06:22] So, it sounds like you have a huge amount of support, I think you're just probably telling me little pieces of it, for a lot of people. And what impact has that had? I mean, how are you measuring success? What does that look like to you? Brandon: [00:06:40] Well, there are some easy ways to do that. And then there are some deeper ways to do that. What excites us is really the deep human development. When we see a person who's been able to calm chaos in their life, and they're now able to develop a life plan and goals and start to achieve those goals, and start to have a quality of life they never thought attainable. That's why this organization really exists. So, we measure our success by jobs created, and businesses created, and people trained. But then we also, internally, every crew member has a monthly evaluation by which we track their professional development. And then every week we also have a personal reflection which actually monitors and tracks the improvements in the well-being of the person themselves. So, we can measure this through peer-reviewed surveys on things such as optimism and self-confidence and sense of self-agency and self-worth. And that's harder to measure. but that's really the magic of this organization, I think, are those deeper human, really, transformation is not too strong a word for what we see happen in people's lives. We've seen people go from struggling with addiction to, all the way to becoming entrepreneurs. Folks who have been couch surfing and homeless to first time homeowners and opening savings accounts. So, I don't think transformation would be too dramatic a word. Eve: [00:08:10] No, absolutely not. That's pretty remarkable. Tell me, how does real estate development fit into your model? Brandon: [00:08:19] Yep. So, we have a niche with real estate where we take on older historic buildings. We use our locally hired construction crews to revitalize those buildings into mixed use, mixed income hubs for economic development. So, what I mean by mixed use, there's usually an affordable housing component. We do the housing green and sustainable upstairs, and then downstairs there's usually a small business component where we're creating new space for new businesses to come into the communities. New social enterprises to open up shop. And then by mixed income, you know, we're creating assets that are really accessible for people of all different incomes. And so, the real estate component really supports the personal development and the enterprise development strategies that we've already talked about. And it's important for gaining community trust because it's so tangible. I think sometimes there is a lot of cynicism down in southern West Virginia. There've been so many government programs and mission trips and charitable efforts that folks have become really skeptical about what it actually means for their lives. I think part of the reason our real estate component is so popular is it's tangible. People see an empty building coming back to life. They see their neighbors moving in there, having a great place to live. They see new businesses opening and putting people to work. And it's hard to deny that positive momentum. Eve: [00:09:44] Yeah, that's true. I think real estate is pretty fabulous that way. It's sort of visible proof of change, right? Brandon: [00:09:50] Yup, exactly. Eve: [00:09:51] Yeah. How many projects have you completed? Brandon: [00:09:55] I would have to add that up, exactly, but I'd say at least about a dozen. We have another three or four in our in our pipeline, right now. Eve: [00:10:03] And your role in these projects, are you the developer, or do you help someone else who's developing the project? Brandon: [00:10:11] We are almost always the developer. So, we have the competency as an organization to put the finances together, to lead the community engagement, the community visioning. We're usually the contractor. We're a licensed general contractor. So, that creates local jobs through which we can use that 33, 6 and 3 model that I referenced earlier. Sometimes we're the owner and manager, but not always. Eve: [00:10:35] So, I have to ask if there's something you don't do? Brandon: [00:10:40] (Laughter) That's a fair question. Eve: [00:10:41] Because you're rattling off, like, an extraordinary number of accomplishments, and I'm sure there's more tucked away that you're not talking about. Brandon: [00:10:48] So, I studied nonprofit management in graduate school, so I know the term "mission drift" and it's always a concern. But kind of our theory of change for southern West Virginia is that things had gotten so stagnant and so, sometimes hopeless feeling, that what was needed were really were some bold experiments. And that it wasn't enough to just pick one area and say, this is what we do and this is all we do. And so, we are into a lot of different things, but it's actually kind of on purpose. Eve: [00:11:19] Yeah, it sounds like you're pretty happy about it, too, Brandon. Brandon: [00:11:23] Yes. Because of those transformations, that I realize, it's hard not to wake up excited about what we're doing. This is where I'm born and raised. So, I love this place. I'm committed to this place. And to get to see people transform their lives and communities transform, you know, literally empty buildings transformed into new places of business. It's inspiring to be a part of it. Eve: [00:11:46] So, let me let me ask you, are you working in one town, city, or are you working all over the state? Brandon: [00:11:55] We have partnerships all over the state now, and even a few outside of our state borders. But most of our work is focused in southern West Virginia, kind of near the Kentucky border. Eve: [00:12:07] Okay. And tell me again what sort of problems? You, I know, there's an opioid crisis, I mean, what sort of unemployment are you dealing with there? What's happening economically in that part of the state? Brandon: [00:12:21] Well, I've had to learn the hard way the difference between generational poverty and circumstantial poverty. Eve: [00:12:28] Yeh. Brandon: [00:12:28] Circumstantial poverty, you have folks who have had stable income, have had good jobs and lose those jobs, and it is very scary. But there's kind of a base or a foundation for them to rebuild off of. Whereas, with generational poverty, you've got several generations gone by without wealth and assets accumulating. And it's just a deeper, more complex sort of challenge. And that's the kind of challenge we're facing in Central Appalachia and have been for generations. And so, that's why our work goes so deep and long. You know, we're creating actual jobs. These are two and a half year contracts. We're sticking with people all the way through the end of their associates degree, which is, usually takes two and a half years. So, it's more expensive, it takes longer, but it's what's required, given the complex generational challenges we're staring down. Eve: [00:13:20] What is unemployment like there? Brandon: [00:13:23] Unemployment is, it's always above the national average. But what actually stresses me out even more is the labor participation rate. Unemployment measures people who are out of the workforce, but are actively trying to get back into it. Eve: [00:13:36] Right. Brandon: [00:13:36] Whereas labor participation, that measures the number of folks who are trying to be in the workforce versus those who have totally given up. And we have a lot of counties where less than 50 percent of the working age population is in, actively in the workforce. And that, frightening. You can't build a modern, healthy economy with a number like that. Eve: [00:13:56] No. So, then what is your and your organization's long term goal? What do you hope things will look like in 10 years? Brandon: [00:14:03] This is why we're so committed to starting new businesses ourselves. It's not enough to just train a workforce for the businesses that exist because there's just not enough economic activity happening right now to really build an economy for the future. And so, this is why the startup component of our work is so important. Eve: [00:14:24] Yes. So, out of everything you've done, what do you think's been most successful and perhaps what's been least successful? Brandon: [00:14:32] Well, one of our social enterprises was a coffee shop in a small town in southern West Virginia that we were very proud of. It was in a formerly vacant building. It was a beautiful project. It filled a need and a gap that wasn't being met in the community. The idea for the coffee shop came out of community charrettes, But ultimately the coffee shop, it just didn't make it financially. And I think what that reinforced for me, you know, retail businesses are going to struggle until we've rebuilt that economy to have outside investment coming in, to have businesses, like manufacturers or construction companies that really generate a multiplier effect, it's gonna be tough for a retailer-type businesses to take hold. So, it was so sad to close the coffee shop, but we learned so much from that. And on the success side, I mean, I think of the human beings whose lives have transformed, the 250 new jobs that we've created. And ultimately, what those people as part of social enterprises have achieved, is they've modeled what a whole new and better economy can look like, especially when you think about that solar company. Eve: [00:15:41] Yes. Brandon: [00:15:41] To think that we've grown a solar installation company. It's totally for-profit now. No grant money needed. We did that right in the heart of coal country. That's a pretty bold accomplishment. Eve: [00:15:51] That's pretty bold. Yeah. Just going back to real estate a little bit. Brandon: [00:15:56] Sure. Eve: [00:15:57] I've done this sort of real estate project myself, and I'm wondering how you fund your projects. Brandon: [00:16:03] It's always a mix. We never like to do a project that can't sustain at least some debt. You know, we feel like if it has to be 100 percent grant-funded, that's probably not a good sign that it's viable. And yet in our distressed communities, to expect a property to handle 100 percent debt service is not fair either. Eve: [00:16:23] I don't think you can expect that in too many places anymore, so, especially if you're trying to build affordable housing where, you know, affordability depends on keeping debt down. So, it's very tough. Yeah. Brandon: [00:16:36] So, we almost always have a bank loan that, anywhere between 10 to 20 percent of the projects, sometimes more. And then we fundraise. And for the housing piece, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh has been a fantastic funding partner for us. And on the commercial side, we've had some good luck with the United States Economic Development Administration. Eve: [00:16:59] Ok, creeping up to 40 percent would be a good thing, right? Brandon: [00:17:03] Yeah. Eve: [00:17:04] Yeah. I think given in Pittsburgh, projects that are in underserved neighborhoods typically need, maybe 40 percent of subsidy, and the market's gotten pretty strong here. So, it's very difficult. What you're doing is very, very difficult. And what role does the community around you play in the funding of these projects? Brandon: [00:17:24] Part of the problem with the generational breakdowns that I was referencing earlier, that means there's not been an accumulation of wealth over the generations. And so we do not have a philanthropic base like what many urban areas have. Eve: [00:17:40] Right. Brandon: [00:17:41] Our local community foundation can really only do grants of five to ten thousand a pop. One in Charleston that can do a little bit better. So, we are really forced to look to the public sector for funding help and we're forced to look outside of our region for folks who understand the oppression and the divestment that's happened here, and are willing to help us try and rebuild a stronger base. Eve: [00:18:06] Yes. So, that brings me to the question. You know, I have an equity crowdfunding platform. Do you think that could play a role in building communities for everyone where you work? Brandon: [00:18:16] I think so. I think it's a brilliant model. And I think, you know, to answer your question more directly from before, about the role of the community, what makes our projects really go is this the sense of community ownership. So, we start every project with multiple community town halls, and charrettes, and the community members actually sit down with the architects and help design these projects. So, we often times, even though Coalfield is technically the owner and the developer, there is a wide sense of connection and ownership to these buildings from community members themselves. And so I think that sort of approach that we take might very well make us a good fit for your crowdfunding approach. Eve: [00:19:00] What community engagement tools have you use that have worked best? Brandon: [00:19:05] We used to start with a charrette right out of the gate. We realized the charrettes go better when there's more knowledge built up of the history of the building, and what's possible and what's not, given the funding source. And so, we start with the town hall, sometimes two or three, just to build the awareness of the history of the building and the funding sources at play. Brandon: [00:19:26] Then we have a charrette, and sometimes more than one charrette, to actually let the community members sit down with the architects and have their fingerprints on the actual blueprints for these projects. And then we continue to engage the community once the properties are up and running. We hire local community members to staff these facilities. And we continue to lead community engagement efforts well into the future operations of the buildings. Eve: [00:19:52] So, community engagement from beginning to end, right? Brandon: [00:19:56] Yeah, absolutely. Eve: [00:19:58] Going back to you. I'm just wondering what your background has been that's led you down this path, creating this pretty amazing organization. Brandon: [00:20:06] I was born and raised in southern West Virginia. I had a happy middle-class upbringing, but I knew all around me there was a lot of pain and suffering. I went away to school about six hours east of here, and I got very involved with a progressive Presbyterian church. I loved the youth group and I would take the group on service trips, all over, mainly to learn and to do a little bit of service. And I had some amazing experiences, but everywhere I went, I felt like, where I belong was back home in my own backyard because I knew that's where I could probably have the biggest impact. I understood that place the most. And then the very last service trip I led was to Mingo County right back in southern West Virginia. And we had this experience where we were doing service work on a house. And these two young guys approached us and they had tool belts slung over their shoulders, and they asked us if we have work available. And I explained we were volunteers, and they went on their way, and it was just a brief, brief interaction. But I felt like that brief moment really summed up the situation in southern West Virginia, which is, we have people who want to work and want to learn and want to be a part of something, but our economies stagnated so badly that there's nowhere for that gumption to really be applied. So, that was the seed that really started me thinking about Coalfield Development. Eve: [00:21:30] And then after that, how did you get it off the ground? Brandon: [00:21:33] I went to graduate school to study nonprofit management with the Indiana University. I knew that I wanted to move back home but Indiana had a great program. And while I was there, the business school actually was helping start this new program in social entrepreneurship. And that was a phrase I'd never heard before, but it really caught my attention. The more I learned, the more I felt like, here was something different, and new and potentially more effective than some of the other public and nonprofit programs that have been tried back home. I had an internship in the summer of 2010 to kind of listen and learn. And then I took the whole second year of graduate school and just threw myself into the business plan for Coalfield Development. And then I, when I was done with school, I moved back in with Mom and Dad and they gave me financial cover and shelter to make a try at this thing. Eve: [00:22:26] (Laughter) Very good. Have you moved out? I have to ask. Brandon: [00:22:30] (Laughter) I did finally make it out. I'm married and we have two boys now. Eve: [00:22:34] Thank goodness. Your parents are probably saying thank goodness too. Right? Brandon: [00:22:38] Yeah, probably so. It's kind of, like, the millennial thing to do, you know. (Laughter) Eve: [00:22:42] It's a very millennial thing to do. Really. It's been a tough 10 years, right? Brandon: [00:22:49] It has been. Eve: [00:22:49] So, then, do you think socially responsible real estate is necessary in today's development landscape? Brandon: [00:22:56] I think it's critical and I think it's too often overlooked. You know, we organize our organization by what we call three core capabilities. It's the personal professional development. It's the incubating of the social enterprises. And then it's the community based real estate. And the community based real estate in many instances is what's making the first two possible. You know, it can be complex. There's many different funding sources. It takes years for these projects to get pulled off. And so sometimes it's not the easiest ... kind of sexiest piece of our work to talk about. But it's a critical component. Eve: [00:23:31] Yes. Yep. And are there any current trends in real estate development that interest you the most that you think could be relevant, too? Brandon: [00:23:39] Well, I think the American small town is poised for a comeback. Rural has challenges, but I think more and more, people are looking for a good quality of life. They're looking for outdoor recreation opportunities and clean air and clean water and peace and quiet. And with some historic buildings. When you think about sustainability, I think, historic preservation gets overlooked. But one of the best things we can do to build new housing in a sustainable manner is to preserve our current building stock rather than knock it over and put it all in a landfill. So, I think there, the future of the market might be good for rural small towns. I hope so. Eve: [00:24:18] Yeah, I think you're probably right. I was in Australia recently and I travelled to Hobart, which is in Tasmania, to the south of it. And it was fascinating because Melbourne is the closest city to the north and it's one of the most expensive cities in the world and growing really, really quickly. But it was this tiny little city. I hesitate to call it a city, it's very small. And it had really had a huge influx of young people who were experimenting, and building businesses in exactly the way you've described. Just trying to, kind of, build up a new place for themselves where they could afford it. It was pretty dramatic. Brandon: [00:24:59] Very cool. Eve: [00:24:59] Yeah, very cool. Yeah. Brandon: [00:25:00] I think that's the future. Eve: [00:25:01] Yeah. I think, you know, people have to find their way out of some of our cities which have become just too expensive for most people. How do we think about our cities, towns and neighborhoods so that we can build better places for everyone? Brandon: [00:25:17] I think historic preservation, again, is a key part of that conversation. I think that mixed use, mixed income projects are important. The reason the mixed income, you know, if you look at affordable housing development in years past, it's often, it's taken low-income people and shoved them in a corner of the city and kind of consolidated all the challenges that come with poverty. It really cut people out of pathways and avenues and access to opportunity. The mixed income is important, and the mixed use is important as well, so that we're not just creating affordable housing, but really, we're building up communities that include small businesses and recreation opportunities and community engagement opportunities that contribute to a whole quality of life. Eve: [00:26:07] So, I think basically you're saying we should just keep mixing it up, right? Brandon: [00:26:11] I think so. Eve: [00:26:12] Just mix it up. Well, thank you very, very much for your time. I really enjoyed talking with you and all the best for this pretty fabulous organization that you've built. Brandon: [00:26:22] This was a great conversation. I love the work that you're doing as well. And I hope we can find a way to work together. Eve: [00:26:28] Absolutely. That was Brandon Dennison of Coalfield Development. Brandon measures success in the lives he helps to transform, from poverty stricken and jobless to optimistic and confident. Each participant in the 33-6-3 program that he developed works for 33 hours, studies towards an educational degree for six hours, and works on personal development for three hours, each and every week. While workforce development is the center of Brandon's focus, that has spilled over into creative, sustainable and community-centric real estate development as well. Historic preservation, community engagement and job creation all come together in a very holistic real estate development program. Eve: [00:27:30] You can find out more about impact real estate investing and access the show notes for today's episode at my website, Eve.Picker.com. While you're there, sign up for my newsletter to find out more about how to make money in real estate while building better cities. Thank you so much for spending your time with me today. And thank you, Brandon, for sharing your thoughts with me. We'll talk again soon, but for now, this is Eve Picker signing off to go make some change.
Today's guest is Dr. Jonathan Foley, Executive Director of Project Drawdown. Project Drawdown is a world-class research organization that reviews, analyzes, and identifies the most viable global climate solutions, and shares these findings with the world. Their book, Drawdown, has sold hundreds of thousands of copies and describes the hundred most substantive solutions to global warming. For each one, describes its history, its carbon impact, the relative cost and savings, path to adoption, and how it works.Dr. Foley is a world-renowned environmental scientist, sustainability expert, author, and public speaker. His work is focused on understanding our changing planet, and finding new solutions to sustain the climate, ecosystems, and natural resources we all depend on.Foley’s groundbreaking research and insights have led him to become a trusted advisor to governments, foundations, non-governmental organizations, and business leaders around the world. He and his colleagues have made major contributions to our understanding of global ecosystems, food security and the environment, climate change, and the sustainability of the world’s resources. He has published over 130 peer-reviewed scientific articles, including many highly cited works in Science, Nature, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In 2014, Thomson Reuters named him a Highly Cited Researcher in ecology and environmental science, placing him among the top 1 percent most cited global scientists.A noted science communicator, his presentations have been featured at hundreds of international venues, including the Aspen Institute, the World Bank, the National Geographic Society, the Chautauqua Institution, the Commonwealth Club, the National Science March in Washington, D.C., and TED.com. He has taught at several major universities on topics ranging from climate change, global sustainability solutions, the future of the food system, and addressing the world’s “grand challenges”. He has also written many popular pieces in publications like National Geographic, the New York Times, the Guardian, and Scientific American. He is also frequently interviewed by international media outlets, and has appeared on National Public Radio, the PBS NewsHour, the BBC, CNN, and in the New York Times, the Guardian, the Washington Post, Salon, WIRED, the HBO documentary on climate change “Too Hot Not to Handle”, and the upcoming film series “Let Science Speak”.Foley has won numerous awards and honors for his work, including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, awarded by President Clinton; the J.S. McDonnell Foundation’s 21st Century Science Award; an Aldo Leopold Leadership Fellowship; the Sustainability Science Award from the Ecological Society of America; and the National Science Foundation’s Faculty Early Career Development Award. In 2014, he was also named as the winner of the prestigious Heinz Award for the Environment.Before joining Project Drawdown, Foley led a number of world-leading environmental science and sustainability organizations. From 1993 to 2008, he was based at the University of Wisconsin, where he launched the Climate, People, and Environment Program (CPEP), founded the Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment (SAGE), and served as the first Gaylord Nelson Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies. From 2008 and 2014, he was the founding director of the Institute on the Environment(IonE) at the University of Minnesota, where he was also McKnight Presidential Chair of Global Environment and Sustainability. Then, between 2014 and 2018, he served as the Executive Director of the California Academy of Sciences, the greenest and more forward-thinking science museum on the planet.In today’s episode, we cover:Overview and origin story of Project DrawdownDr. Foley’s background and experience leading up to his time at DrawdownSome of the challenges that come with being a scientist focused on this areaThe nature of the climate problem, and what the scientists have gotten very rightWhat kind of leadership will be needed to solve itWhat are the biggest levers to solve itWhere Drawdown 2.0 fits in, and how it can helpHow Dr. Foley would allocate a big pot of money, to maximize its impact on decarbonizationHis advice for others looking to find their lane to helpLinks to topics discussed in this episode:Project Drawdown: https://www.drawdown.org/California Academy of Sciences: https://www.calacademy.org/Merchants of Doubt: https://www.merchantsofdoubt.org/Naomi Oreskes: https://histsci.fas.harvard.edu/people/naomi-oreskesKatharine Hayhoe: http://katharinehayhoe.com/wp2016/Michael Mann: https://www.michaelmann.net/Montreal Protocol: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreal_ProtocolCAFE Standards: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_average_fuel_economyTED talk by Katharine Wilkinson: https://www.ted.com/talks/katharine_wilkinson_how_empowering_women_and_girls_can_help_stop_global_warming?language=enTED talk by Chad Frischmann: https://www.ted.com/talks/chad_frischmann_100_solutions_to_climate_change?language=enClimate Take Back Program: https://www.interface.com/US/en-US/sustainability/climate-take-back-en_USCitizens United: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_United_(organization)Mary Robinson: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_RobinsonYou can find me on twitter @jjacobs22 or @mcjpod and email at info@myclimatejourney.co, where I encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests.Enjoy the show!
Rue Mapp founded Outdoor Afro, a “social media community that introduces African Americans to the Great Outdoors” because she remembers the exhilaration she felt as a child in the run from the car to the creek when her parents pulled into the driveway of the family’s ranch in the Northern California woodlands. “I want everyone to have that opportunity to feel that rush of joy and sense of belonging in nature.” Started as a blog in 2009, Outdoor Afro quickly gained national attention, spreading across the country and garnering national attention and garnering media profiles of Rue on CNN and NPR, and in The Wall Street Journal, National Geographic, and – proving that she has definitely captured the zeitgeist – Oprah Magazine. The success of Outdoor Afro gained Rue a seat in the organization of Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” initiative; a National Wildlife Federation’s Communication Award; and a 2019 Heinz Award in the environment category. Host Grant Oliphant and Rue talk about the deeply rooted trauma that causes many African Americans to have an unconscious wariness of outdoor spaces; the time she says she “opened my mouth, and my life fell out;” and who she considers the “original outdoor afro.” “Nature doesn’t judge anyone,” says Rue. “The outdoors is a refuge from all the ‘isms.’” Experience the charismatic, thoughtful, joyful and – considering her infectious love of parks, trails and nature – appropriately named Rue Mapp on this episode of “We Can Be.” Listen today at heinz.org/podcast, or on leading podcast sites including Stitcher, Podbean, GooglePlay, iTunes and Spotify. “We Can Be” is hosted by Heinz Endowments President Grant Oliphant, and produced by the Endowments and Treehouse Media. Theme and incidental music by Josh Slifkin. Guest image by Josh Franzos. Guest inquiries can be made to Scott Roller at sroller@heinz.org.
What is the power of using the Internet to lift 30,000 people out of poverty through the creation of jobs? That is what did with SamaSource and that is just the beginning. She is the Founder and CEO of Sama Group and Laxmi and an award-winning social entrepreneur. She created an international nonprofit that is now a consortium of three organizations, created jobs, crowdfunds medical procedures, and trains employees at job centers in the US and in Kenya. Join us as she shares her growth from nonprofit to for-profit, the challenges, and risks of entrepreneurship, and the lessons she has learned along the way. About Leila Janah: Leila Janah is the founder and CEO of Sama Group and an award-winning social entrepreneur. Prior to Sama Group, Leila was a visiting scholar with the Stanford Program on Global Justice and Australian National University's Center for Applied Philosophy and Public ethics. She was a founding director of Incentives for Global Health, an initiative to increase R&D spending on diseases of the poor, and a management consultant at Katzenbach Partners (now Booz & Co.). She has also worked at the World Bank and as a travel writer for Let's Go Mozambique, Brazil, and Borneo. Leila is a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum, a Director of CARE USA, a 2012 TechFellow, recipient of the inaugural Club de Madrid Young Leadership Award, and in 2014, was the youngest person to win a Heinz Award. She received a BA from Harvard and lives in San Francisco. Links: Follow Leila on | | | Find Powerful Conversations on | | |
**This is the English version of Episode 60 of Revolution Digitale** Leila Janah is the Founder and CEO of Samasource and LXMI, two companies that go beyond charity to #givework to low-income people around the world using cutting-edge social enterprise models. She is a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum, a former Board Director of CARE USA, a 2012 TechFellow, recipient of the inaugural Club de Madrid Young Leadership Award, and the youngest person to win a Heinz Award in 2014. She was named one of Fortune’s Most Promising Entrepreneurs in 2014 and was the subject of cover stories in Entrepreneur, Fast Company, and Conscious Company Magazines. She is also the author of the book Give Work, where she literally shows us how it’s possible to build a successful business that lifts people out of poverty! Visitez RevolutionDigitale.fr pour les comptes rendus complets de chaque épisode ! Suivez-nous sur: Instagram - www.instagram.com/revodigitale/ Facebook - www.facebook.com/revolutiondigitale Twitter - www.twitter.com/revodigitale Youtube - www.youtube.com/channel/UCQWyIhIUtihUmvpphJ2pzmA
In 1978, Lois Gibbs was a young mother with a child in a school that was found to be built over a toxic chemical waste dump site. Lois gained international attention and incredible momentum in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s as she led the fight for environmental justice for children and families affected by the environmental disaster identified with the neighborhood where it occurred, Love Canal. “I was waiting on someone to knock on my door and tell me what to do, to explain how I could help,” says Lois of the early days of revelations about the infamous Love Canal dump. “But no one ever came to my door. So I did something on my own.” Her persistent activism led to passage of the “Superfund” toxic waste site cleanup legislation. Lois went on to found the Center for Health, Environment and Justice, which has helped more than 10,000 grassroots organizations with technical, organizational or environmental education. She appears in the 2018 HBO movie Atomic Homeland and was named a “top environmentalist of the past century” by Newsweek magazine. She has been honored with a Heinz Award and the Goldman Prize for her groundbreaking environmental work. On this 40th anniversary of the Love Canal tragedy, Lois shares how she dealt with being called “a hysterical mother with a sickly child," shares the moment she most clearly saw democracy at its best and the key to success for today’s environmental activists. "Average people and the average community can change the world,” Lois says. Hear how she did it - and how you can, too - on this episode of “We Can Be.” “We Can Be” is hosted by The Heinz Endowments’ Grant Oliphant and produced by the Endowments and Treehouse Media. Theme music is composed by John Dziuban, with incidental music by Josh Slifkin.
“Flint is a story about what happens when the very people that are charged with keeping us safe care more about money or power than they do about you or your children,” says Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha. Known as “Dr. Mona,” the pediatrician came to national prominence for exposing the water crisis in Flint, Mich., caused by high lead levels, and standing up to government officials who tried to downplay the seriousness of the contamination. In the aftermath, she become a passionate voice for speaking out against what she – and many others – have accurately termed “environmental racism.” “We know what lead does to our kids,” she says, “and it affects our most vulnerable children, be it in Flint, or Detroit, Pittsburgh, Philly or Baltimore or Chicago.” Rachel Maddow has called Dr. Mona a “badass” for her unwavering commitment to the people of Flint, and she is the recipient a Heinz Award for her work in public policy. The author of “What the Eyes Don't See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City,” she was named one of Time magazine’s “100 Most Influential People.” Dr. Mona shares her journey as the child of Iraqi scientists and dissidents who fled Saddam Hussein’s regime, and describes the moment the magnitude of Flint’s water crisis fully hit her and why speaking up was “a choice-less choice.” Hear the story behind one of the most passionate public health advocates of our time, Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, on this episode of “We Can Be.” “We Can Be” is hosted by The Heinz Endowments’ Grant Oliphant and produced by the Endowments and Treehouse Media. Theme music is composed by John Dziuban, with incidental music by Josh Slifkindental music by Josh Slifkin.
Nadine Burke Harris is a pediatrician and advocate for children’s health. She is the founder of the Center for Youth Wellness, which researches the impact of adverse childhood experiences on long-term health, behavior, and learning. She has shared her findings at the Mayo Clinic, American Academy of Pediatrics, Google Zeitgeist, and Dreamforce. An advisor to the Too Small to Fail initiative, which promotes the importance of early brain and language development in children, she is the author of the new book The Deepest Well: Healing the Long-Term Effects of Childhood Adversity. She is the recipient of the Arnold P. Gold Foundation’s Humanism in Medicine Award and the Heinz Award for the Human Condition.
Renowned pediatrician Nadine Burke Harris, MD took our stage to discuss new research that illustrates a deep connection between toxic stress during childhood and the likelihood of lifelong illnesses. In her book, The Deepest Well, Burke Harris relates findings from her survey of more than 17,000 adult patients and illuminates us on an astonishing breakthrough: childhood stress changes our neural systems and lasts a lifetime. Town Hall’s own Kristin Leong moderated the conversation, leading us through Burke Harris’ journey of discovery—from her own pediatric practice to research labs across the nation. Join Burke Harris and Leong for an exploration of the impact of early-life trauma and adversity (with vital hope for change) in an essential discussion for anyone who has faced a difficult childhood or feels compassion for the millions of children who do. Nadine Burke Harris, MD is the founder and CEO of the Center for Youth Wellness in San Francisco’s Bayview-Hunters Point. She is the subject of a New Yorker profile and was the recent recipient of a prestigious Heinz Award in 2016, among many other honors. Her TED talk, “I Was Thinking Too Small,” previewed the subject of The Deepest Well, her first book. A pioneer in the field of medicine, pediatrician Dr. Nadine Burke Harris is a leader in the movement to transform how we respond to early childhood adversity and the resulting toxic stress that dramatically impacts our health and longevity. By exploring the science behind childhood adversity, she offers a new way to understand the adverse events that affect all of us throughout our lifetimes. She has brought these scientific discoveries and her new approach to audiences at the Mayo Clinic, American Academy of Pediatrics, Google Zeitgeist and Dreamforce. Kristin Leong is Town Hall’s Community Programs Curator. She is a speaker, essayist, and education activist, and the photographer and project designer for equity projects such as Half, Roll Call, and #EducationSoWhite. These projects explore the racial divides between educators and students and celebrate identities of biracial students and citizens.
Interview Notes, Resources, & LinksGet the book, The Deepest Well: Healing the Long-Term Effects of Childhood AdversityRead the New Yorker profile on Dr. Burke Harris by Paul ToughTake the ACE quiz on the NPR websiteVisit the Center for Youth Wellness website Listen to Chris and Courtney Daikos on Principal Center RadioAbout Dr. Nadine Burke HarrisNadine Burke Harris, M.D., is founder and CEO of the Center for Youth Wellness in San Francisco’s Bayview-Hunters Point. She is the subject of a New Yorker profile and was the recent recipient of a prestigious Heinz Award in 2016, among many other honors. Her TED talk, “I Was Thinking Too Small,” has been viewed more than 3 million times, and she's the author of the new book, The Deepest Well: Healing the Long-Term Effects of Childhood Adversity
Nadine Burke Harris is a passionate advocate for children's health, with four boys of her own. She is the founder and CEO of the Center for Youth Wellness in San Francisco's Bayview Hunters Point. She is the subject of a New Yorker profile and the recipient of a Heinz Award. Her TED talk, “How Childhood Trauma Affects Health Across the Lifetime” has been viewed over three million times. Dr. Burke Harris' new book is The Deepest Well: Healing the Long-Term Effects of Childhood Adversity. Follow her @DrBurkeHarris
On this episode we dive into cutting-edge remote sensing technologies invented by Heinz Award-winner Greg Asner, the Carnegie Airborne Observatory, which his team uses to monitor ecosystems like rainforests and coral reefs. This airborne laser-guided lab can even see underwater to map reefs, find record-breaking individual rainforest trees that have escaped detection, and more. We also listen to bioacoustic recordings that are used to analyze species richness in tropical forests with a researcher from the University of Puerto Rico, Dr. Mitch Aide. Plus we round up the recent top environmental & conservation science news! Please help us improve the Mongabay Newscast by leaving a review on its page at Android, Google Play, iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn, or wherever you subscribe to it. And if you like what you hear, please subscribe and tell a friend about the show!
The Greatest Invention in Human History is Aging - Dr. Bill ThomasAired Wednesday, 13 April 2016, 4:00 PM ETIn 1991, Dr. Thomas went from being an emergency room physician to the medical director of a nursing home in upstate New York. “The place was depressing, with old people parked in wheelchairs like frogs on a log, bored with nothing to do, just waiting for death to finally reach them. It was horrible,” Dr. Thomas recalls.So he did the unthinkable.He persuaded the facility and staff to get two dogs, four cats, several hens and rabbits, and 100 parakeets, along with hundreds of plants, a vegetable and flower garden, and a day-care site for staffers’ kids. At the time, there were laws prohibiting animals in nursing homes. They went ahead anyway.Listen to the rest of Dr. Thomas’ story and find out how we can change our misconceptions about aging, being older and why we don’t need to fear our “elderhood.”About the Guest Dr. Bill ThomasDr. Bill Thomas is an internationally recognized expert on aging. He is an Ashoka Fellow and winner of the Heinz Award for the Human Condition. He co-created The Eden Alternative, an international nonprofit, and The Green House Project, both models to revolutionize nursing home care. In addition to teaching, speaking, and consulting internationally, he is currently a Senior Fellow of AARP’s Life Reimagined Institute. A graduate of the State University of New York and Harvard Medical School, he lives in Ithaca, New York with his family.About Lisa K.Lisa K., PhD, is a teacher, author and speaker specializing in intuition. Founder of Developing Your Intuition, Lisa teaches people how to connect to their inner divine guidance. Considered intuition expert, Lisa has taught hundreds of people intuition and psychic development in workshops and seminars. Her public appearances reach people around the world through guest speaking, online media and her popular radio show, “Between Heaven and Earth” on every day spirituality. Learn more about Lisa K. and receive a free Intuition eBook at: http://www.LMK88.com
Daniel Sperling is a Professor of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science and Policy, and founding Director of the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Davis (ITS-Davis). In February 2007, Governor Schwarzenegger appointed Daniel to the "automotive engineering" seat on the California Air Resources Board. In this position he focuses on climate policy, low carbon fuels and vehicles, and reducing vehicle travel and land use. Daniel is recognized as a leading international expert on transportation technology assessment, energy and environmental aspects of transportation, and transportation policy. He was co-director of the 2007 study that designed California's landmark low carbon fuel standard and co-director of a follow-up 2012 national study. In 2008 he was appointed the first chair of the "Future of Transportation" Council of the Davos World Economic Forum. Alongside authoring "Two Billion Cars", he was a lead author of the transportation chapter on the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with former Vice President Al Gore. In 2010 he received a Heinz Award for his "achievements in the research of alternative transportation fuels and his responsibility for the adoption of cleaner transportation policies in California and across the United States." In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)
How can the relationship between scientists and politicians be improved, and how can an improved relationship benefit public policy? NPR Science Friday host and award-winning journalist Ira Flatow, Melvin and Joan Lane Professor for Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies and Heinz Award winning global ecologist Chris Field, co-founder/chief greenskeeper of Method home-care products and former climate scientist Adam Lowry, and former administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and MacArthur Fellowship recipient Jane Lubchenco discuss how public perception of the authority and reliability of science and scientists influence national and global policy, and how these perceptions can be reshaped.
Four distinguished environmental scientists discuss the impact of four decades of seminal work at Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve, and how to increase opportunities for JRBP to make unique contributions in the future. Panelists include Christopher Field, Melvin and Joan Lane Professor for Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies and Heinz Award-winning global ecologist; Gretchen Daily, Bing Professor of Biology and Co-Director of the Natural Capital Project; Paul Ehrlich, Bing Professor of Population Studies and MacArthur Fellow; Barton "Buzz” Thompson, Robert E. Paradise Professor of Natural Resources Law and Co-Director of the Woods Institute for the Environment; and Erika Zavaleta, Associate Professor, Environmental Studies Department, UC Santa Cruz.
Christopher Field, JRBP Faculty Director, Stanford's Melvin and Joan Lane Professor for Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies and a Heinz Award winning global ecologist, welcomes speakers and attendees to the daylong conference celebrating 40 years of path-breaking research and policy impact at Stanford's Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve.
Paul Gorman The National Religious Partnership for the Environment Join Michael Lerner in conversation with Paul Gorman, founder and executive director of the National Religious Partnership for the Environment since 1993. Paul Gorman Paul is founder and executive director of the National Religious Partnership for the Environment since 1993, received the Heinz Award for the Environment in 1999. A graduate of Yale and Oxford University, Paul worked in the U.S. Congress and served as press secretary and speechwriter to Senator Eugene McCarthy in the 1968 presidential campaign. He taught at the City University of New York, Sarah Lawrence College and Adelphi University, hosted a public radio program for 29 years and co-authoredHow Can I Help? From 1985-91, Paul served as the Cathedral of St. John the Divine’s vice president for program, overseeing community-based initiatives and helping organize international conferences on religious and environment in Assisi, Oxford, and Moscow. Find out more about The New School at tns.commonweal.org.
Paul Gorman The National Religious Partnership for the Environment Join Michael Lerner in conversation with Paul Gorman, founder and executive director of the National Religious Partnership for the Environment since 1993. Paul Gorman Paul is founder and executive director of the National Religious Partnership for the Environment since 1993, received the Heinz Award for the Environment in 1999. A graduate of Yale and Oxford University, Paul worked in the U.S. Congress and served as press secretary and speechwriter to Senator Eugene McCarthy in the 1968 presidential campaign. He taught at the City University of New York, Sarah Lawrence College and Adelphi University, hosted a public radio program for 29 years and co-authoredHow Can I Help? From 1985-91, Paul served as the Cathedral of St. John the Divine’s vice president for program, overseeing community-based initiatives and helping organize international conferences on religious and environment in Assisi, Oxford, and Moscow. Find out more about The New School at tns.commonweal.org.
Dean Kamen has literally changed the world by turning breakthrough ideas into practical products. In this audio interview with Globeshakers host Tim Zak, Kamen discusses the power of technology to change society. He also talks about what it takes to persevere in the face of public and professional resistance toward inventions and technology that can actually make people's lives better. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/dean_kamen_-_heinz_award_winner_series