Podcasts about joining forces

Food insecurity strikes all corners of American life including the lives of military families. For the currently serving military families there is a barrier that makes it more difficult for them to qualify for needed assistance from the SNAP program. A person who knows a great deal about this is Josh Protas, Vice President of Public Policy at MAZON, A Jewish Response to Hunger, which is a national advocacy organization working to end hunger among people of all faiths and backgrounds in the United States and in Israel. This is the third in our series of episodes on food insecurity, done in partnership with MAZON.   Interview Summary     So, let's dive in and begin by talking about hunger and food insecurity in military families. So, when did you first learn about the phenomenon in this population?   So, let's just start by recognizing how shocking it is to talk about military families and food insecurity in the same sentence. It's remarkable that we even have to have this conversation. MAZON learned about these issues about a decade ago. We started to hear from a number of our partner agencies, food banks and food pantries around the country about an uptick in the number of military families that they were seeing coming, really out of desperation, for emergency assistance. Around that time also, there was a session at the National Anti-Hunger Policy Conference on military and veteran food insecurity and MAZON'S President and CEO, Abby Leibman and Mia Hubbard, our Vice President of Programs, were at that session and heard about some of the issues that came up. And then people left the session and that was it. Food pantries and food banks were doing important work, serving military families with emergency assistance, but there were some policy issues that were being ignored. And MAZON started looking into these issues to understand what was going on and recognized that there are some separate, and somewhat related issues, for currently serving military families and then the veteran population as well. For the currently serving military families there is actually a barrier that still exists, that makes it more difficult for them to qualify for needed assistance from the SNAP program.   You know, you're right. It's discouraging and depressing that this problem exists, but of course it exists in such a widespread manner, that it's all over. So, what are the challenges and the circumstances that military families face, that can lead to food insecurity in the first place? I mean, I assume not having enough money is the biggest problem, but what else?   So, not having enough money is part of the picture. I think some historical perspective is important here because the composition of our armed forces has changed. Historically it was single individuals who enlisted in the military, and single men really, And the housing for those single men was primarily on-base housing. The composition of our military has changed over time and also the way that we house our troops has changed. So, we have many more military families that serve. It's not just the individual, but it's a spouse and children that serve with them in a way. And at the same time that that's been happening, the majority of our military housing has moved to either off-base, or privatized housing. The reason that this is an issue is because those who live off-base, or in privatized housing receive a basic allowance for housing benefit from the military. The issue around food insecurity is that that BAH, the Basic Allowance for Housing, which is not treated as income for federal income tax purposes and for determining the eligibility for most federal assistance programs, the BAH is treated as income for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. And as a result, when you take the base pay, which is often low for a junior enlisted service member and you add on top of that their BAH, it makes them ineligible to qualify for SNAP. And the added complications for military families are exceptionally high rates of spousal unemployment. Before the pandemic, the rates were hovering around 22 to 24% and that didn't even take into account underemployment, or employment that was below professional training. Since the pandemic, those rates have been spiking. Close to a third of military spouses that want to work are unemployed. And so, when you just have a single source of income, that low rate of base pay for junior enlisted personnel, it can be really tough to make ends meet.   Well, what a remarkable set of challenges those families face and you can see why food insecurity would be such a big problem. So, can you tell us how MAZON is addressing this issue?   MAZON has really focused on the policy challenges and policy solutions that can make a difference around military food insecurity. Trying to remove that barrier to federal program has been the core of that work. We've approached it on a number of different fronts, both in the Obama administration and in the Trump administration and now in the Biden administration. We've been pushing for administrative changes to get the U.S. Department of Agriculture to exclude the BAH as counted income, so to remove that barrier to access SNAP for military families that really need that help. We've run into a number of obstacles through that administrative course of action, so we've also been addressing this legislatively and have pushed for proposals in the farm bill process. And most recently, the farm bill that was signed into law in 2018, unfortunately did not include a fix for this. As a result, we've gone through the National Defense Authorization Act, which is must-pass annual legislation. MAZON was instrumental in crafting a proposal that would be a bit of a workaround. It wouldn't address SNAP specifically, but the Military Family Basic Needs Allowance, which we helped to write as a provision, is part of the NDAA process that would give some added cash assistance to junior enlisted personnel whose households are at, or below 130% of the federal poverty level. We've had bipartisan support for this provision. It was included in the House version of the NDAA bills the past two years. Unfortunately, there's been some Pentagon opposition to this and the Senate did not include the provision in their version of the bill and it has not been signed into law yet. So, we're continuing to push for that in the current NDAA process and also working on engaging the administration. We've met with the First Lady's senior staff and staff from the Domestic Policy Council and National Security Council. The First Lady has re-instituted the Joining Forces initiative to focus on military families and their unique needs and challenges. So, we're hopeful that there's a growing awareness about this issue and a growing commitment to take some common sense targeted actions to really help those who are serving our country, to make sure that they never have to struggle to put food on the table.   I'm impressed with how sophisticated and persistent your policy efforts have been in both on the administrative and legislative fronts. Are you optimistic that things will eventually change?   I've been working on this issue personally for the past eight years. I've put a lot of time and energy into it. It's been a major area of work for MAZON, so, I'll feel comfortable and comforted when we get it done. I don't want to get too optimistic. This issue is common sense, as it is to address it has been so stubborn, finally get resolved. So, I don't want to be complacent at all. There are some reasons to be more optimistic that we'll be able to push this further. Certainly the change in the Senate, the new administration, signal some better opportunities, so I'm hopeful on that front.   Now, have been some recent stories about food pantries and other charitable organizations providing emergency relief to military families. And this is something you alluded to earlier. How adequately, do you think, they're addressing the issue?   So, the food pantries and food banks that are addressing this issue are really doing that at a surface level and they're doing very important work to respond to emergency needs. But for military hunger and for hunger in this country, in general, the charitable sector does not have the capacity nor was it set up to have the capacity, to fully address food insecurity issues in this country. Only the federal government has that capacity, has the resources, has the breadth and leadership to really address hunger. And we need policy solutions to deal with this. There are food pantries operating on, or near, almost every single military base in this country and there's no reason that should happen. Those who are serving our country bravely should never have to worry about meeting their basic needs. They should be paid adequately and they should be able to access resources in federal programs that are available, to provide some extra assistance if they need it. So, turning to a food pantry out of desperation shouldn't be a routine case. The pantries that are operating near these bases are serving the same families month in, month out, hundreds, sometimes thousands of families, at different installations. And that shouldn't happen. We should be able to make sure that those households, either get additional pay to make sure that they can meet their basic needs, or able to get benefits like SNAP, so that they don't have to turn to the charitable sector. And food pantries are already spread thin. They can't pick up any more slack. Certainly the needs have been spiking because of COVID-19 and the economic downturn. Our federal government needs to step up. The ARP that recently was signed into law is a huge step forward with the, SNAP benefits, but that's time limited and eventually that will expire, so more robust support for our federal safety net programs is critical. And certainly for military families, we need to remove those barriers and fill that gap.   You've been speaking, in a very detailed way, about food insecurity in military families. What is the scope of the problem among America's veterans?   Great question. And the issue for veterans is different than for currently serving families, but related. So, MAZON has been working on this issue, veteran food insecurity, for a number of years as well. We held the first ever Congressional Briefing on veteran food insecurity back in 2015 and invited leadership from the United States Department of Agriculture and the Department of Veterans Affairs to join us. And we learned, at that time, that the VA system was not doing food insecurity screenings as a standard practice. And if you're not asking the question and you're not screening to see who might be struggling, then you can't address the problem. So at that time, MAZON pushed really hard to get the VA system to start asking the questions, to start doing the food insecurity screenings that were so critical to identify those who are at risk in order to be able to connect them with available help. Really pleased to say that couple of years ago now, VA system has started doing these food insecurity screenings which has been an enormous step forward. The screenings that they were doing were just a single question, which probably were insufficient for fully capturing the scope of the problem and identifying all who might be at risk. It looks like the VA system is moving towards a question panel as part of its Clinical Reminder system, the hunger vital signs, which is a validated instrument that includes two questions to really identify who may be at risk of food insecurity and the severity of that food insecurity. Where there's a need now is connecting those veterans who are at risk of food insecurity with programs like SNAP and that's not happening as a routine practice through the VA system. And there's also a need to connect veterans who do not receive care and services through the VA system with resources like SNAP.   MAZON has been working with the VA. We assigned a memorandum of agreement with the VA system this past year and we've also worked with veterans service organizational partners to create resources and trainings. We created an online training course with the PsychArmor Institute, aimed at service providers who work with veterans to make them better aware of food insecurity among the veteran population. Some of the unique challenges, including shame and stigma that might make veterans reluctant to seek help and to direct them towards their state's SNAP agency, so that those who might be struggling in resources that they're eligible for and entitled to. A recent study about veterans who are food insecure, found that of those who are eligible for SNAP, only about one in three actually participate in the program. So, that means that two thirds of veterans who are dealing with food insecurity, are eligible for SNAP, are leaving those benefits on the table and are struggling needlessly. So, there's a real need to help close that SNAP gap for veterans. It's the right thing to do. It will help support better health. It'll realize long-term healthcare savings and it'll help those veterans who are trying to support their families, better able to take care of them.   Bio:   Josh Protas is the Vice President of Public Policy and heads the Washington, D.C. office for MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger. In this role, which he assumed in 2012, Josh coordinates and implements MAZON's advocacy agenda, including efforts to protect and strengthen the federal nutrition safety net, with particular emphasis on the food security needs for seniors, veterans, and military families. Josh has extensive experience working at Jewish communal agencies at both the local and national level including as Director of the Jewish Community Relations Council at the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona and as Vice President and Washington Director for the Jewish Council for Public Affairs. He previously served as a member of the board of directors for the Coalition on Human Needs and currently participates as part of the Vote Advisory Council for Food Policy Action. Josh earned his M.A. in Western American History and Public History from Arizona State University and his B.A. in American Studies and French Literature from Wesleyan University.  

The best laid plans of mice and aliens... “Translate This” was originally published in the science fiction magazine, Polar Borealis, issue 6 (2018). Other recent published fiction includes: “The Last of the Shamrocks” in Aethlon the sports literature magazine, issue 36-1, (2020); and “One Day in Tom’s Life with Ice Cream,” in Neo-opsis science fiction magazine, issue 30, (2019). Upcoming fiction will be found in Neo-opsis science fiction: “The Day the Earth Didn’t Stand Still” issue 32, expected Summer 2021; and a story in the JayHenge science fiction anthology on Joining Forces, expected in the Fall of 2021. Craig H. Bowlsby’s other works include the hockey history books: “Empire of Ice, the Rise and Fall of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association, 1911-1926,” and “1913, the Year They Invented the Future of Hockey,” for which Craig won the 2014 Brian McFarlane award from the Society for International Hockey Research. __ Craig is currently working on a detective/thriller novel that takes place in 1917 in Shanghai. Stay tuned! ---- Story Submission ---- Got a short story you'd like to submit? Submission guidelines can be found at TallTaleTV.com ---- About Tall Tale TV ---- My name is Chris Herron, and I narrate audiobooks. In 2015, poor control of my diabetes left me legally blind for the better part of a year. The doctors predicted an 80% chance I would never see again, but I changed the way I was living and through sheer willpower beat the odds. During this time I couldn't read or write. Two things that I had been turning to for comfort since I was a small child. With the sheer amount of stress I was under, this was devastating. My wife took me by the arm, lead me into the local library, and read out titles of audiobooks to me. I chose the audiobook versions of books I had loved such as the Disc World series, Name of the Wind, Harry Potter, and more. They brought my favorite stories to life in ways I never thought possible and helped me through the darkest time of my life. Once my vision recovered, I maintained a love for audiobooks. I decided I would turn my focus from being a writer to becoming a narrator. I devised Tall Tale TV as a way to help out all the amazing authors in the writing communities I had come to love before my ordeal. I created Tall Tale TV to help aspiring authors by providing them with a promotional audiobook video. A way to showcase their skills with the written word. They say the strongest form of advertisement is word of mouth, so I provide a video to a platform of readers to help get people talking. Help them spread the word. Click the share button and let the world know about this author. ---- legal ---- All images used in this video are either original or Royalty and Attribution free. Most stock images used are provided by http://www.pixabay.com . Image attribution will be declared only when required by the copyright owner. All stories on Tall Tale TV have been submitted in accordance with the terms of service provided on http://www.talltaletv.com or obtained with permission by the author. Common Affiliates are: Amazon, Smashwords

- A New Netflix Special Turns the Spotlight on BIBLICAL VALUES as an Alternative to the World's Standards - A Former Neo-Nazi Shares how a Black Parole Officer Changed His Life Through Faith - CHARLES MARTIN: "Living for Christ Post-Resurrection" - 10 Bible Translation Groups are Joining Forces to 'End Bible Poverty' by 2033! - Firefighter Recounts How God Saved Him from Hell on Earth - J. WARNER WALLACE: "How Can We Be CERTAIN that the RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST is TRUE?"

On March 26th, 2021 from 9:00am - 12:00pm, Oklahoma Family Network will host our 14th Annual Joining Forces Conference, with Keynote Speakers, Dr. Jennifer Jones and Dr. Kami Gallus (from Oklahoma State University) and we are excited to host them on the podcast today.  After a brief introduction, sharing their mission and professional vision, they provide us a glimpse into their keynote address for the Joining Forces Conference. We follow up Dr. Jones and Dr. Gallus' interview with Oklahoma Family Network Associate Director, Heather Pike, who answers some frequently asked questions about Joining Forces. Join us for the 14th Annual Joining Forces Family & Professional Partnership Conference! MISSION -- To provide learning opportunities for supporting individuals and families through partnerships of community members, agencies, and organizations throughout Oklahoma. OVERVIEW -- Joining Forces: Family & Professional Partnership Conference brings together local, state, and national leaders to discuss best practices and promising practices in the area of family-professional partnerships. Come join us as we learn together from some amazing Oklahoman's and how we can all Foster Belonging with HOPE and working together in community. This is where you "belong". #JoiningForcesConference #FamilyProfessionalPartnerships #Belong #HowToBelong #Inclusion #IBelong #OthersBelong #Diversity #OklahomaFamilyNetwork #OklahomaStateUniversity

Join us for the episode that is everything Star Wars but...not Star Wars in Battle Beyond the Stars. A young farmer sets out to recruit mercenaries to defend his peaceful planet, which is under threat of invasion by the evil tyrant Sador and his armada of aggressors.

Marvel’s third victim of the Anime Serum is Professor Xavier’s gifted teen brigade, the X-Men! We needed Truong “The Gumdrop Duke” Nguyen’s mutant knowledge to help us decipher this abject madness into something resembling a podcast.This week on Saturday Morning Tuesdays:Truong smuggles fresh mangas into Andy’s prison food • Hank McCoy’s deep sea teaching assistant is stern but fair • Rory goes full Matlock defending Emma Frost • Professor X refuses to commit to an English accentToday’s Episode Sponsor: Millionaire Draculas™THIS WEEK'S EPISODESX-Men (Anime) Episode 1, “Joining Forces”X-Men (Anime) Episode 2, “Mutant Hunting”The Hosts: Andrew Eric Davison, Austin Bridges, Rory VoieFabulous Guest: Truong NguyenAudio Production: Andrew Eric Davison

Today we have a discussion of COVID-19 Memorials with Chris Kocher, Joanna Hutchinson, Katherine Fugate, and Madeleine FugateChris Kocher is the founder and executive director of COVID Survivors for Change.  He is also the co-creator of a project, National COVID-19 Remembrance, an art installation and memorial to victims of COVID-19 that involved 20,000 empty seats on the Ellipse in Washington, D.C., and several statewide Remembrance events also featuring empty chairs.  He previously launched and led the Everytown Survivor Network, a part of Everytown for Gun Safety, which is the nation’s largest community of gun violence survivors working together to end gun violence. Based in West Philly, Joanna Hutchinson is a part-time sculptor, avid crafter, and enjoys a career in finance. Joanna is the artist behind 100,000 Folds: a community sculpture project honoring COVID victims in the United States and worldwide. She likes bringing people together: for friendship, community, and art making. 100,000 Folds is a way for the artist, and others, to mourn and reflect around the coronavirus crisis.MADELEINE FUGATE is 13 years old and an 8th grade student at The Buckley School in Sherman Oaks, California. When Madeleine was in the 7th grade, she was given a Community Action Project with the theme "Young Changemakers in a Covid-19 World." After hearing stories from her mother, who worked on the AIDS Memorial Quilt in the 1980s and told her healing it was at the time, Madeleine created the Covid Memorial Quilt to honor and remember all those who have died of COVID-19. Word has spread of the Covid Memorial Quilt and Madeleine has now received over 100 Memorial Squares from the US and from around the world.KATHERINE FUGATE is a screenwriter, best known for creating, writing and executive producing the TV series ARMY WIVES. She was honored to work with First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden on the "Joining Forces" campaign shining a light on the sacrifices of our military families. Katherine served 8 years on the Board of Directors of the Writers Guild of America, West. Katherine is the proud mother of Madeleine.

Jill Biden, esposa del presidente electo de Estados Unidos, Joe Biden, bpodría hacer historia al mantener un traajo de tiempo completo a la par de su cargo en la Casa Blanca, algo que no se ha visto en 231 años de funciones de dicho rol. La Primera Dama, una profesora universitaria de inglés con cuatro títulos, incluido un doctorado, planea mantener su trabajo diario después de mudarse a la Casa Blanca para acompañar a su esposo una vez que asuma la presidencia de la nación norteamericana. Biden ha dejado claro en el pasado lo importante que son para ella la educación y su profesión, pues anteriormente continuó enseñando en el Northern Virginia Community College durante los ocho años que se desempeñó como segunda dama, cuando Joe Biden era vicepresidente, recuerda USA Today. “Realmente llevará el papel de primera dama al siglo XXI”, dijo a ese medio la historiadora Katherine Jellison. “Los estadounidenses históricamente han querido que sus primeras damas estén en la Casa Blanca y al lado del presidente siempre que sea posible”, explicó. “Quizás ha llegado el momento en que los estadounidenses acepten más la idea de que la esposa de un presidente puede ser simultáneamente una primera dama y una profesional en activo”, expresó. Jill y Joe Biden están casados desde 1977, y su esposo continuamente la ha apoyado en su profesión, por la que ha confesado en varias ocasiones su compromiso. Se espera que Jill rompa con la tradición del rol en la Casa Blanca, al tiempo que se sumerge en la política educativa, lo que sería igualmente un movimiento inusual. “Para los educadores estadounidenses, este es un gran día para todos ustedes”, dijo Biden en su discurso de victoria el sábado. “Vas a tener uno propio en la Casa Blanca. Y Jill será una gran primera dama. Estoy muy orgulloso de ella”, agregó. De 59 años, Jill ha mantenido un perfil relativamente bajo considerando que su cónyuge fue senador de Estados Unidos durante casi cuatro décadas y pasó dos mandatos como vicepresidente de Barack Obama. La pareja vivía a tres millas de la Casa Blanca en el Observatorio Naval en Washington DC, la misma mansión a la que se espera que se muden la vicepresidenta electa Kamala Harris y su esposo. Sin embargo, durante la administración demócrata anterior, Jill trabajó estrechamente con la primera dama de entonces, Michelle Obama, viajando juntas y trabajando en su proyecto de familias militares Joining Forces. Ambas familias sostienen actualmente una buena relación. Michelle Obama consideró a Jill Biden una "querida amiga", que aporta "amabilidad, empatía y humor incluso en las situaciones más difíciles". “Va a ser una excelente Primera Dama”, dijo Obama en un comunicado a USA TODAY. Debido a su experiencia en el ámbito, la primera dama podría darle prioridad en la agenda de Washington a la educación, junto con la defensa de las familias militares y la conciencia sobre el cáncer (su hijo Beau Biden murió de cáncer cerebral en 2015). “La belleza de (ser primera dama) es que puedes definirlo como quieras”, le dijo Jill a la revista Vogue en julio de 2019. “Y eso es lo que hice como segunda dama: definí ese papel de la manera que quería que fuera. Seguiría trabajando en los mismos problemas. La educación estaría a la altura y las familias militares. Viajaría por todo el país tratando de conseguir un colegio comunitario gratuito”, expuso. Las elecciones presidenciales de Estados Unidos este año, consideradas de carácter histórico, se han visto atravesadas por las tensiones entre demócratas y republicanos, en medio de la pandemia del coronavirus. Donald Trump, actual mandatario en funciones, insistió en plantear demandas contra varios estados, alegando presuntas irregularidades en el conteo de boletas, algo que ha sido repetido por sus seguidores, aunque sin ningún elemento concreto.

Jill Biden gave an emotional speech about her husband, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, at the party’s virtual national convention, connecting the personal losses he has endured to his commitment to public service Jill Tracy Jacobs Biden born June 3, 1951) is an American educator who was second lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She is married to Joe Biden, the 47th vice president of the United States, and the Democratic Party presidential nominee for the 2020 election. Born in Hammonton, New Jersey, she grew up in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. Biden married Joe Biden in 1977, becoming stepmother to his two young sons from his first marriage, Beau and Hunter, whose mother and baby sister died in a car accident in 1972. Joe and Jill Biden have a daughter, Ashley, born in 1981. Biden has a bachelor's degree from the University of Delaware, master's degrees from West Chester University and Villanova University, and a doctoral degree from the University of Delaware. She taught English and reading in high schools for thirteen years, and also taught adolescents with emotional disabilities at a psychiatric hospital. From 1993 to 2008, she was an English and writing instructor at Delaware Technical & Community College. Since 2009, she has been a professor of English at Northern Virginia Community College and is thought to be the first second lady to hold a paying job while her husband was vice president. She is the founder of the Biden Breast Health Initiative non-profit organization, co-founder of the Book Buddies program, co-founder of the Biden Foundation, is active in Delaware Boots on the Ground, and is co-founder of Joining Forces with Michelle Obama.

On this episode we have on our playa patna Velvet Vibez!!! This our first time interviewing a fellow podcaster. He drops gems in this episode all while trying to not let his towel drop!The goal this season will be for us to have guest that inspire and motivate you. We gave ya'll a 100+ episodes of us last season. So this season we will be using our platform to share knowledge with you all. Hopefully some of it benefit you in your everyday life. There's no telling who would be on so check back every week to see. If your listening to this episode we have the actually the video on Youtube as well!!In this episode... 1. Who is Velvet?2. His journey with online radio3. Memories of starting his podcast4. Guest on his showPlus more...If you want to listen to Velvethttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/velvet-vibez-podcast/id1377834934https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzAESbC_ggzhKdK6Dhr6u7AVideo produced by S.Martin (253)-234-7149 Hit your boys up and leave a message.Don't forget to subscribe to us however you listen or watch us also.CHECK OUT OUR MERCH LINE...https://teespring.com/stores/from-da-...E-mail us at:Fromdabottom504@gmail.comLet's get it!!!Nothing on this podcast should be considered specific, personal, or professional advice. Please consult an appropriate tax, legal, real estate, financial, or business professional for individual advice. Opinion of guests are their own. Information is not guaranteed. All potential investment strategies have the potential for profit or loss.

On this episode we have on our playa patna Velvet Vibez!!! This our first time interviewing a fellow podcaster. He drops gems in this episode all while trying to not let his towel drop!The goal this season will be for us to have guest that inspire and motivate you. We gave ya'll a 100+ episodes of us last season. So this season we will be using our platform to share knowledge with you all. Hopefully some of it benefit you in your everyday life. There's no telling who would be on so check back every week to see. If your listening to this episode we have the actually the video on Youtube as well!!In this episode... 1. Who is Velvet?2. His journey with online radio3. Memories of starting his podcast4. Guest on his showPlus more...If you want to listen to Velvethttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/velvet-vibez-podcast/id1377834934https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzAESbC_ggzhKdK6Dhr6u7AVideo produced by S.Martin (253)-234-7149 Hit your boys up and leave a message.Don't forget to subscribe to us however you listen or watch us also.CHECK OUT OUR MERCH LINE...https://teespring.com/stores/from-da-...E-mail us at:Fromdabottom504@gmail.comLet's get it!!!Nothing on this podcast should be considered specific, personal, or professional advice. Please consult an appropriate tax, legal, real estate, financial, or business professional for individual advice. Opinion of guests are their own. Information is not guaranteed. All potential investment strategies have the potential for profit or loss.

Dr. Sharon K. Inouye discusses her paper entitled, "Joining Forces against Delirium — From Organ-System Care to Whole-Human Care". You can read the full paper here: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1910499     

Ira Pastor, ideaXme life sciences ambassador, interviews Dr. Sharon K. Inouye, Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Director of the Aging Brain Center at the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research at Hebrew Senior Life. Ira comments: Today we are going to touch on a topic that we have not yet discussed on previous episodes, and that’s the topic of delirium, a serious disturbance in mental abilities that results in confused thinking and reduced awareness of the environment, which in contrast to dementia, which is a very chronic and progressive condition, delirium is a very acute, emergent condition, and it can be very shocking for loved ones and medical practitioners alike. Recent studies indicate that delirium is common for older persons in the hospital setting, with occurrence rates ranging from 29-64%. Delirium is associated with: increased morbidity and mortality, functional and cognitive decline, increased rates of dementia, institutionalization, caregiver burden, and extreme costs in the hundreds of billions. Most shockingly, delirium is often unrecognized. Studies have shown that in affected persons, that delirium is only recognized by about only 1/3 of physicians and nurses. Today on the show, we are joined by Dr. Sharon K. Inouye, Director of the Aging Brain Center at the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research, Hebrew Senior Life, in Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Inouye has an M.D., from University of California San Francisco, and an M.P.H. from Yale, currently holds the Milton and Shirley F. Levy Family Chair and is a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center). Her research focuses on delirium and functional decline in hospitalized older patients, resulting in more than 300 peer-reviewed original articles to date. Dr. Inouye's Work Currently, Dr. Inouye is the principal investigator of the Successful Aging after Elective Surgery(SAGES) study, an $11 million project on delirium funded by the National Institute on Aging, whose purpose is to examine the interface of delirium and dementia, whether delirium alters the course of dementia, and whether delirium leads to long standing cognitive impairment and pathologic changes in the brain. Dr. Inouye developed and validated theConfusion Assessment Method (CAM), the most widely used instrument for the identification of delirium. She conceptualized the multi-factorial model for delirium, which focuses on identification of predisposing and precipitating factors for delirium, and her work involves translating theories of clinical investigation into practical applications that directly improve the quality of life for older adults. She has also developed the Hospital Elder Life Program (HELP), a multi-component intervention strategy designed to prevent delirium by targeting six delirium risk factors. HELP was successful in reducing delirium by 40 percent and was published in a landmark study in the New England Journal of Medicine. This study was the first to show that a substantial proportion of delirium is preventable. Additionally, HELP has been shown to reduce falls, functional decline, and hospital costs, and to improve patient, family, and nursing satisfaction. The HELP program has been adopted by hundreds of hospitals worldwide. Dr. Inouye has been awarded many of the highest accolades in her field, including being elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. On this show we will hear from Dr. Inouye about: Her background, how she became interested in medicine, in public health and how she became interested in this widely un-diagnosed area of brain aging. Her recent paper “Joining Forces against Delirium — From Organ-System Care to Whole-Human Care” in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) where she describes her own personal findings with her father in a hospital with delirium following a collapse and emergency surgery, where specialty teams overseeing his care did not work with a unified approach. An overview of the HELP protocol in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) - "A Multicomponent Intervention to Prevent Delirium in Hospitalized Older Patients." A discussion of the delirium – Alzheimer’s connection. An overview of the state of pharmacological intervention for delirium. A discussion of the "end-of-life" states of terminal lucidity and terminal agitation / delirium. Credits: Ira Pastor Follow Ira Pastor on Twitter:@IraSamuelPastor Follow ideaXme on Twitter:@ideaxm On Instagram:@ideaxme Sponsor ideaXme on Patreon! Find ideaXme across the internet including on iTunes,SoundCloud,Radio Public,TuneIn Radio,I Heart Radio, Google Podcasts, Spotify and more. ideaXme is a global podcast, creator series and mentor programme. Our mission: Move the human story forward!™ ideaXme Ltd.

In this week's episode of Reboot we discuss music and activism and how to create real change. This panel was a part of Joining Forces, a day long women's summit hosted by Women In Music, She Is the Music, Her Music Club and Community Reboot. Moderated by Zoila Darton from the Word Agency and Maria Egan, Co-Founder of Reboot and President of Pulse Music Group. Panelists: MILCK - Singer/Songwriter Michelle Lewis - Co-Founder of SONA Doris Munoz - Founder of MIJA Management Allison Begalman - Founder of Young Entertainment Activists 

On this week’s episode of Secure The Seat, I interview Kristin Jones. We discuss learning how to own your growth as you build your career. Kristin spent seven and a half years working alongside former First Lady Michelle Obama as special assistant and director of special projects. Over the course of her tenure at the White House, her projects and responsibilities ranged from planning international travel and domestic events in service of the First Lady's priorities and cultural vision, to developing creative content and campaigns for Michelle Obama's signature initiatives: Let's Move!; Joining Forces; Reach Higher, and Let Girls Learn. In this capacity, she has developed an expertise in identifying how the intersections of branding, policy, and creative strategy can be used as a means to create cultural shifts in society. In 2018, she co-founded the strategic brand firm, Inside Projects with a client roster that includes Mrs. Obama and The Wing amongst many others. Connect with Kristin at www.insideprojects.co

Joining Forces for Unity

Join me and my good friend Elizabeth Locey as we learn about Dragons and Mermaids and Elves, Oh My! - Joining Forces with the Fae to Foster True Prosperity. Another powerful call with Elizabeth and the Mythic Companions and your Legendary Self, the energies and wisdom were extremely powerful, listen to the replay to connect and create that relationship!

Mark Hattas has, amongst other accomplishments, started, built and sold a $20M/yr tech company. He was later diagnosed with Bipolar I Disorder and told there was no cure.  Mark didn't believe the prognosis and through study, faith, and practice, Mark lived into his faith that he could be well.  He is so thankful to all who have helped, and to God.  He is committed to help others and give them hope and paths to success as well.  This inspiration in 2012 led him to pursue and eventually co-found HSI and Journey's Dream.  The dream will be realized when all people can find hope and well-being. More information at http://journeysdream.org Transcript of the Interview   Hugh: Welcome to this edition of The Nonprofit Exchange. We always have special people, but these people are really special because they invited me to participate in the foundational strategy building for their vision for bringing amazing resources to others. I want to introduce these two people. Russell, say hello from Denver, Colorado. Russell: It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood and a beautiful day to be here with Mark and Mitzi. I look forward to a wonderful chat today. They are doing great work here. Hugh: Russell and I co-host this, and we have some fascinating conversations with people that are doing amazing things. This particular chain of interviews is about people who are doing real things in the real world. The ones we have done previously have been organizations that have been in existence for a while. This one is a young organization, but they are really making some traction. They are doing some really good stuff. I wanted to interview them about how they got started and what kind of traction they are making and what their plans are and how they impact lives. Mark, let's start with Mark Hattas. You tell us a little bit about your journey, who you are, and why you're doing this. Then throw it to Mitzi and let her introduce herself and her role in this. Welcome to The Nonprofit Exchange, Mark. Mark: Thank you so much. Great to be her with both of you, good friends, and Mitzi. *audio cut* My revenue stream, or one of them, one of the things that I had the pleasure of doing early in my career is I built and sold a tech company. About nine months after that, I had a very unique experience where I started experiencing the world much differently than I had previously. I went into what is commonly called mania. I was diagnosed bipolar I, and I was in and out of the hospital three times over a three-year period. I was told right away that I would not get well, and I would be on medication the rest of my life. Most of what we know about the brain we learned in the 1990s, and the world of psychology was still navigating what was really going on. The hospital with that kind of prognosis. It was inspired maybe two months after that, after I had an unusual experience where I was terrified that I was going to have to live my life with my brain in the mode that it was in. So I started to seek solutions, and thank God there were solutions out there. There are amazing practitioners, amazing resources, and I applied them, I practiced them, and I got well. For over three years, I have been off all medication and have been very healthy. Over that course of a period of time, I met Mitzi and her husband Rex and her daughter Brea and learned about what was happening in their lives. We joined together to start what's called Hattas Shay International Foundation, which its project is called Journey's Dream, to help those with mental health challenges find resources and get to a place where they could really believe again that they could get well and then have the strength and the tools to start to go out and navigate their health and well-being with the best support mechanisms that can serve them. We are a hub that creates that environment. We are still building, but we have had some great traction so far. Mitzi? Mitzi: My name is Mitzi Montague-Bauer. My son Journey is symptomatic in his senior year at University of Michigan. At first, we thought it was his quirky behavior or something. We didn't really understand the magnitude of what was happening until he graduated and came home. There were several diagnoses as they didn't present the same way each time. The first doctor thought he had schizophrenia. After that, he was diagnosed with bipolar and depression and manic disorder and a lot of them actually. He was told the same thing that Mark was told: that he would never get well. There was no cure. The best we could hope for was to manage the symptoms and that would be a lifetime of medication. I didn't want to believe that. I didn't believe it. It seemed that the more he heard it, the more he began to believe it. During that time, I spent countless hours looking for the solution that we now know is available, but they were difficult to find. I spent a lot of time searching for any solution that had a different prognosis. By the time I felt confident with the solutions and the collection of modalities that I had collected, Journey was no longer interested. In the beginning, he was open to help. By the time I felt like I had the answers, he had isolated himself, and didn't seem to trust anyone. It became apparent to me that if we had had these solutions in the beginning, perhaps there would have been a different outcome. Journey, after three and a half years of struggling with his mental health and being told he would not get well, he stepped off of a building and ended his life. Because of the lack of- Well, the solutions were there, but they were difficult to find, and there wasn't really one place to find them. The vision that we share is that there would be a place, if a family member or a loved one or someone who is struggling landed on our site, that they would have a whole collection of solutions, possibilities to meet them where they were. Those solutions could be medication. There is a place for medication. A whole slew of other opportunities. Hugh: Thank you for sharing that. That is an important message. Mark, to declare that SynerVision has been working with this project from the onset. We started putting together the pieces in Mitzi's basement with Mitzi, her husband, her daughter, you, and me. We worked really hard for a couple of days getting our heads around what this looks like. That was not really the starting point, but it was the launchpoint where you were able to then say we are doing this for real and we are moving ahead. Why did you decide to put this in the framework of a tax-exempt charity? Mark: I'd built the for-profit organization. When I started to learn about the power of the tax-exempt organizations, it allows for people to give to a cause that they believe in and the way that they can and have tax benefits. It gives an opportunity to donate funds, provide in-kind services—for example, there is an organization helping us with our technology for the practitioner network. They are donating all the framework and developing even. That would have cost us quite a lot of money otherwise. Because it is for the greater good of the broader population, we didn't really see a need for any one of us or any group to own it. We wanted it to be available for all, and we are the stewards of it. So we really looked from the beginning at this organization being something that is a gift to all of those people who were in a situation like Journey's situation, or my situation, and the many that exist out there. Tax-exempt has made a whole lot of sense. When we spoke with Sherita Herring, she helped us set that up and reeducated me, retooled my brain, along with you, on what the power of tax-exempt is and how much funding is actually out there and available, and support. We took advantage of your expertise and knowledge to set this up right from the beginning. Hugh: There is a lot of power in philanthropic giving, both in individual donors. We were on a call with Sherita last night. She is one of our partners in SynerVision. Actually, she helped me create my foundation years ago. She is a queen of nonprofit information. She knows the right stuff. We have been on a journey equipping the culture to then step up to where you need to be. I have been impressed with how systematic you have been. You have tried not to short-cycle everything. You have taken things in stride, in sequence, and really let the different stages of this play out and mature without cutting it short. I commend you for that. So many people starting organizations like this want to get there and want to get it done. They leave a lot of stuff in the garbage on the side of the road on the way. You have been very systematic in developing this. I commend you for that. Russell, I know a little more about this because I have been involved with him for a year and a half. We decided we worked together for 365 non-continuous days. It's been a pace that's been very logical. Mark, you've created some programs, and you have done some beta tests on the programs. Talk a little bit about who those programs are for and the impact that program has had and will have on people's lives. Mark: The intent long-term is to have a whole hub of many programs. We have a few through affiliate partners, but we also- One of the things that we co-created with Rookha Group is a program called the Optimal Being program. The Optimal Being program is absolutely by far the core of what I did to navigate the brain dynamics that were spinning around in me and get to a place where I could start to navigate the world in a more healthy way. There are three things that occur in the Optimal Beam program. One is the awakening of the inner guidance system. It's really incredible that every human being innately has an inner guidance system, but so many people have conflicts within it and their programming that has them doing things on automatic decision-making that is not really constructive for their lives. What this does is help to soften that, release those beliefs and ideas that aren't really serving us anymore, and get to a place where the inner guidance system is listened to and it comes alive in us and it really leaves us to what's optimal for us. Mitzi mentioned sometimes medication is the optimal thing for someone in the beginning stages, so go for it and do it. Listen to those doctors. Believe the diagnosis they give you, but don't believe the prognosis if they are not telling you you can get well. Allowing for that inner guidance system to come on gives people confidence. It gives them courage. It's a healthy courage. It realigns their personal code of decision-making from one that could be negative and destructive to one that is always constructive. That is a key thing with the Optimal Being program. Another thing that happens there is community. Here is people that come together who are also going through life's challenges. To learn these tools together and to come to a community where people are in a like situation or like-minded, they are seeking solutions, that accelerates everyone's health and wellbeing. Ideas are shared in there that the facilitators may have never thought of. One of the people who are participating is contributing as well. People are both giving to the group and receiving from the group. It's a combination of self-instructional programs as well as a weekly online part of the program. The other thing is there is metrics. At the beginning of the Optimal Being program, we allow someone to go into ten categories of their human behavior. These are things that are like self-love. How is that going for someone? If love of self is really low, maintaining love while thinking about themselves is really low. There are some tools that we teach to support increasing that. Maintaining love while thinking of others, maintaining love while actually approaching truth. There is ten of these categories. We measure them in the beginning, and at the end of the 13-week program online, we measure it again. It is fascinating to see how dramatically people change. These are core human development skills that could be taught to a fifth grader or even younger. When someone integrates them into their life, whenever they face something that is a challenge, instead of going to historical patterns of coping mechanisms, they start to have tools that are foundational human tools to start to realize what potential lies within them and have it start to come out in the world. The transformations we have seen in corporate leaders, people who thought they were actually doing fine but wanted to get to the next level, and people who have challenges is profound. Hugh: It's not just for people who are having—I forget how to title it—severe emotional issues. It's not just for people in that profile. Mark: No, it could be someone who is going through a breakup from a relationship and they are sad. It could be a loss of a loved one, and they are going through that grieving process. It could be any number of things that creates in someone the desire to seek something where they are going to feel better. When people feel better and they get to a joyous, and Mitzi knows well about this, place in life, one of the things that starts to occur is their life self-perpetuates in a positive direction. We want to help people navigate through that, so we teach the opposite of the way they were taught in the world when they were growing up. It's like a rewiring of some of the processes they had been using. Mitzi, I don't know if you want to ask anything to that part. Mitzi: I thought you did a beautiful job summarizing. Hugh: Mark, what is the name of that program? The Optimal Bean program? Mark: It's called the Optimal Being Program. Hugh: It's my age and mental condition. Mark: We have tools and technologies. There is an app online that is actually free. People can go download- If they do a search on their phone on “Rookha Group,” they will find the Optimal Being app. It is a powerful app that helps to heal relationships with the commitments tool and to practice maintaining love and the breathing properly as they face a challenging situation. That alone is healing. Hugh: Spell Rookha. Mark: R-o-o-k-h-a. Hugh: R-o-o-k-h-a. Mark: You might be able to type in Optimal Being and get it at this point, too. It's been up there long enough I think you could type in either one. Hugh: Optimal Being. O-p-t-i-m-a-l B-e-i-n-g. So Mark, this is not coaching. It's not counseling. It's not therapy. What is it? Mark: We're like a group of people who have been there and have navigated this. We are educated mentors. I am someone who has gone into it and out of it. When someone does that, they develop a certain set of skills and support others in getting to a place of hope. I don't think anybody in our organization—Mitzi, correct me if I'm wrong—but I think every single person in our organization sees the human beingness in a person. Never have we seen any kind of diagnosis or some kind of illness. It's not the way we look at it. We look at it more like- There is a great analogy of the caterpillar to butterfly. Imagine that the caterpillar goes in to the chrysalis, and then everyone starts to say how awful they are because they don't look like a caterpillar anymore and they are stupid and can't do this and can't do that. The caterpillar is transforming. If we suppress that transformation, we are going to have some funky-looking caterpillars. If they didn't allow the chrysalis process, they are going to be angry, frustrated, grumpy, and eventually fall into depression because they are denying that natural, innate, transformative state. When somebody actually goes into who it is they truly are and they do it with the tools that exist in many different forms, we happen to give them in the way that we learned them. It supports someone having the courage to do what they are innately guided to do. That is why when I was mentioning inner guidance systems it's like listening to yourself, but letting go of all the noise that was in the way, creating conflict within a person. Hugh: I love it. Mitzi, I have appreciated you on our team calls and live work together. You ask really good questions when everybody else is letting it fly by and wondering what that meant. You say, “Wait a minute.” Your attention to detail is very acute. But you always ask it in a very generous and kind way. Instead of putting anybody down, you say, “Would you explain that again? Is it this or that?” First off, talk about your son. This project is named Journey's Dream. Why did you step up to want to be in this core team of four people? I guess it's four people. This core team of champions that are really making it happen. Talk about yourself, and then talk about the other two that aren't here, Rex and Brea. Mitzi: That inner guidance system that Mark was just talking about was what led me to be one of the founders. I again saw a deficit when I looked at the mental health situation on the planet. The suicide attempts and the actual suicides and the message that people hear when they get a diagnosis is one that we wonder why is a stigma. When you get that diagnosis, if you get a diagnosis of schizophrenia and went home and Googled that, that would put you right in the depression, I think. You probably wouldn't want to talk about it. The prognosis is awful. I would love to see the core messaging changing around mental illness. What would have happened with Journey if he was told that he was in a transformational process or that he could get well? That is a different message. A lot of people who are experiencing these states of mania are brilliant. They are on a genius spectrum. They are navigating different things than we are. I think if they had these tools that are available, it would be a different outcome entirely. I was motivated by that, and this is what I was being guided by, too. The other two founders are Rex Montague-Bauer, my husband and Journey's father. Rex and I have been students of these principles that are a lot of the core principles of the Optimal Being. We have been students for a while of that and do our best to practice those in our lives. Our daughter Brea is the fourth founder, Journey's sister. She is a brilliant human being, compassionate. We are all inspired by the same thing: to see a different outcome for people who receive a mental health diagnosis or who are just challenged in general. Hugh: This is a high-functioning team. You all work really well together. That is not the case for every team. Russell, I met Mark at the very first ever SynerVision Leadership Empowerment Symposium. I think it was called Leadership Excellence then. It was in Chicago. Mark met me at a CEO Space gathering the week or two before, and he decided he'd sign up and come. We got connected there. We had conversations. He checked me out for about a year before he- He wanted to make sure I wasn't a flake and was there to stay. Then we started working together. We have had some very deep conversations over time. I am really a fan of Mark and Mitzi and the team as well as what they are doing. So we have been on a journey ourselves. Mark, thank you for inviting me on the journey. It has been a pleasure to be there with you. It has touched me in many ways I hadn't realized I could be touched. It has been an important journey for me just to watch and participate. Russell, what do you see and hear that you want to comment on? I'm sure you have found a couple questions you'd like to throw back at our guests. Russell: I'd like to thank you both for coming here and sharing your story. We have powerful why's, and that is critical to everything. The idea of paying it forward. What we are talking about is raising our level of consciousness. This is something that everybody can do. There is a lot of power in interacting with people who get it. There is a lot of fear and stigma around the idea of a mental diagnosis, but a diagnosis does not define you. Just looking at the alternative complementary types of solutions is critical because it's not all about poppin' a pill. It's about a mental and emotional and spiritual connection and going within and finding that thing that is inside you that can make all things better. To be fair, I think Hugh scared you off with- Mark is probably in earshot when you let loose one of the age and mental condition things. He does that every once in a while, but he is a brilliant man. I know that you had a long journey to figuring out that the idea of raising your consciousness and being around other people who experience the same thing, how did you come to the conclusion that this was the actual solution? Tell me about how that journey took place. Mark: First, I don't know that it would be fair to say that it was the actual solution meaning if you are referring- Are you referring to my own health or the creation of Journey's Dream? Russell: The creation of Journey's Dream as a way to move forward is really- That is my term for raising your level of consciousness, connecting with that is strong and valuable. Mark: I apologize. I misunderstood the question at first. With regard to- How did we discover that Journey's Dream was the solution? It goes back to trusting that inner guidance system and listening. One of the things that we discovered along the way is we want to be very collaborative with other organizations. We want to be inclusive. We believe that there is a place for medication, and there are many organizations who have gone through mental health recovery processes who are against the medication. If I didn't have the medication, I'm not sure I'd still be here. It served me well while it served me. It was more that there was more, and it stopped serving me at some point in a way that I felt like I could really achieve my heart's desire. We wanted to give people access to programs like the Optimal Being program, where they could tap in and tune in and get to that higher consciousness that is going to optimally serve them and give them other tools that could meet them where they are today. They may not be seeking that today; they might just be feeling really miserable and not want to get out of bed. They would like to wake up one day and feel a little better. They are not seeking some lofty thing, but to them, that is very lofty. To get back in touch with who is it that they really are and what is it they are really here to do? We had a belief that if we as a group take care of the stuff that was in our system that was not going to serve Journey's Dream, that we would always know the optimal next step and the optimal step we were in would have the proper attention and focus to be executed optimally. We just did an event in November at Soldier Field. Our first event ever was at Soldier Field in the Midway Room there. There were a couple hundred people there. More than that, it was the BDSA, the Bipolar Depression Support Alliance was there supporting this. Nami Metro were bringing in- They do stuff with the arts. I am not a big art kind of person, but to see what they are doing to give people who are struggling with mental health the opportunity to sing and play music and explore what it is that is going on inside them in a different way, that is extraordinary. There was a faith-based counseling organization that came and supported called Sumeric Care. I am not going to remember them all right now, but they all came together and collaborated to realize a vision. There is a VA organization in Illinois, Joining Forces, and the Illinois Department of Human Services was even there. That is unheard of in my world before that to see these groups come together and say, “You know what? We are going to stand for something, which is we believe that there is a path for all people to get well.” We may not know it today. There might not be a cookbook recipe that is on the shelf. But when we start to bring resources together and collaborate, that is when solutions can be found. That is when the optimal support can come out. We had a half dozen practitioners that committed to come. They spoke and changed people's lives, just by letting people know that these doctors who see patients every day were telling them something different than what they had heard in the hospital, which is you can get well. Just to hear that from another doctor, all of a sudden, all the belief systems around what their condition is collapsed. They had to walk out of there with a remodeled and reconfigured belief system. If they say I can get well, then I can. That is a huge thing. Then we had a few celebrities there who were extraordinary, too. David Stanley, who is Elvis Presley's brother, was there sharing his story and the story of Elvis and the opioids and that process and giving people hope that they can get to the other side of that, and his own depression and stuff he has been going through. The founder of Make-a-Wish Foundation talking about how he had PTSD early on in his career, and his partner who had taken his life. Because Frank Shankwitz dealt with it in a different way and found a solution for him, Make-a-Wish Foundation exists today, one of the most successful not-for-profits. That was another reason we wanted him there, to let people know that there is hope for people struggling, but also we wanted him to express that Journey's Dream might be at the beginning just like Make-a-Wish was after he was going through his recovery process and had the opportunity to do something pretty cool. These not-for-profit organizations can be run like real companies and provide real services, real value, create income streams that produce impact that is huge. Make-a-Wish is doing a few hundred million a year in their overall umbrella. That is the kind of organization we see building. A global organization that can have that impact. That is why we hired Hugh. If we are going to build a sustainable, real organization, we waned someone who has been there and done that. Hugh Ballou helps not-for-profits all over the planet to do and set up for success. If you have something that you really believe in and you have a passion behind it, trust yourself and hire the resources that are truly going to help you in your situation set up for success. Hugh: Thank you for that. I certainly have had enough rehearsal doing this. Mark and Mitzi, tell people where they can go to find out more information. Mitzi: You can go to our website, which is journeysdream.org. That would be the place to begin. Hugh: Journeysdream.org. What will people find there? Mitzi: They will find our website, which we are going through the process of making some changes to now as we have grown in the four months since we first launched the website. They will find a beginning of a practitioner's network. They will find the Optimal Being and other resources we are offering. There will also be a place for practitioners where we are inviting practitioners to join us if they see fit. There is a place for practitioners, and there is a place for family members or people who are struggling looking for solutions. They will see what solutions we have, and they will see the vision for what we have for our future. Hugh: Did you think when we were in your basement putting stickies on the boards that this would go here in this period of time? Mitzi: No, sir, I did not. Mark: One more thing. From a context standpoint, we have grown within a handful of weeks to over 600 followers on Facebook. If you go to the Journey's Dream page on Facebook and follow us, you will not only be getting things about Journey's Dream, but things about mental health and innovative approaches and solutions over time. Encourage people to do that as well. Hugh: What's next, Mark? What's next in your radar of accomplishments for 2018? Mark: In a week, December 4th, we are launching another Optimal Being program. Anyone who is interested in that, it's a 13-week program. You can go to the website under Educational Programs and click on Optimal Being. You can read more about it and sign up and register if you like. That's one thing. 2018 is going to be a year of automating that program so we can get it to a lower cost; forming additional partners and building out the practitioner network; and building a fund so that people who can't get the kinds of care that insurance doesn't cover that they can get some additional support in paying for those services. Some of those services that I have had the benefit of don't take insurance, so we want to educate people about those but also be good stewards of funds that come in so that part of those funds get allocated to address one of the biggest issues in mental health, which is it's really expensive to get the good care that is going to help someone navigate their own life to a healthy state of being. Hugh: Awesome. Journeysdream.org. There is resources now, and there is resources that are coming. The Facebook page is also called Journey's Dream? Mark: Yes. Hugh: Russell, what are you thinking? Russell: I am thinking I love what you're doing. It's wonderful. I'd like to say that I have looked at the website. There is something there for everyone who has been touched in some way with a diagnosis of a mental illness. Having to face that fear, there is a lot of fear, a lot of stigma around that. But it's important to connect with people who get it. Mark and Mitzi get it. If it's you, if it's a loved one, go to Journeysdream.org and get connected. Talk with somebody. Happy Giving Tuesday by the way. It is Giving Tuesday. Take a few minutes after this broadcast and go to that site and plug in. If you do nothing else, subscribe to the email list, get the information, and give it a listen because a lot of the things that can be seen as solutions here are not the conventional things. They are not the things people tell you, things like mindfulness. Some of this stuff might seem like it's touchy-feely, but it saves lives. Take a minute to consider something a little bit different than what you have been taught because your life's on the line. These are folks who have been there and they get it. It's facing that fear and knowing that yeah, there are some other solutions but they are only solutions if you take time to plug in and do it. Go to Facebook. Go to the web. Get plugged in. Make a donation. Sign up. This is a gift to give yourself and maybe a loved one for Giving Tuesday. That is my two cents. Again, thank you so much Mark and Mitzi for what you're doing here because you're saving lives. This is going to grow beyond anything you've ever imagined. Mark: Thank you, Russell. Thank you, Hugh. Mitzi: Thank you. Hugh: That is really good. I'd like to ask you to think about a closing thought. I'll ask Mitzi to go first, then Mark. As we wrap up here in this really good story that you guys have shared, Mitzi, what is your closing thought for our listeners? Mitzi: I guess I would like for everyone to challenge themselves when they see a homeless person or someone who looks different than them on the street or on the bus or in your community, don't make an assumption that you know anything about that person. They may have a Ph. D. My son had a degree in economics. Mark, who is brilliant. Extend compassion. Look them in the eyes as a fellow traveler who is sometimes on a challenging path. Offer some compassion. That would be my thought. It is something that has changed in me since Journey's experience, and I would love to see more of it. Hugh: Great. Thank you. Mark? Mark: If you could think of one person in your life who is struggling now or who has struggled in the past, I would say just reach out to them and give them the URL. Say this podcast, this Facebook live, it looked interesting. Let them know it exists. One of the things that I experienced early on is people don't know how to talk to people who are going through a challenge. We want to change that. We want to give them those tools. Whether it's a mother or a father or a son or a daughter or a friend or spouse, what is it we can do to support? One thing you can do is let them know you are thinking about them, whether it's saying Journeysdream.org website or Facebook page. That is not the point. The point is let them know you're thinking about them. Send them things that can be constructive, that could really help them. If they deny that they are able to be helped, they may not like it. But you know what? Someday they will remember it because all people can find a path to health and well-being. Allow yourself to be in the face of those experiences. Be the presence of love. We are all called to be. If someone does come at you and say, “Hey, you shouldn't have done this or that,” and they are triggered, recognize what is going on inside them, but do it from love, not because you want to heal them or get them better. Do it from love. As you think about them, think about what it is you could do to really be of service. Hugh: Awesome words. Awesome words. Russell, thanks for being here. It is such a consistent supporter. Mitzi, Mark, thank you for sharing your story. It has been powerful indeed. Mitzi: My pleasure. Mark: Thank you so much for having us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Coming up on Biotechnology Focus Radio: The launch of a new Canadian Regenerative Medicine Alliance, Canada’s House of Commons passes the Genetic Discrimination Act Bill S-201, and a One-Two Punch that May Floor the Worst Infections by stopping antibiotic drug resistance. Welcome to another episode of Biotechnology Focus Radio. I’m your host Shawn Lawrence, here to give you a rundown of this week’s top stories on the Canadian biotech scene. Our first story this week takes us to Toronto, where Antibe Therapeutics Inc. reports it has signed an exclusive licensing and distribution agreement with a pharmaceutical company, Laboratories Acbel SA (Acbel), for its lead product ATB-346. ATB-346 is an anti-inflammatory drug, designed to spare the gastrointestinal tract of the ulcers and bleeding normally associated with NSAIDs. The agreement covers distribution in Greece, Romania, Serbia, Bulgaria, Albania, Algeria and Jordan. Antibe will receive an upfront, non-dilutive payment of $1.1 million, and is entitled to receive a 5 per cent royalty on net sales of ATB-346 in these countries. The agreement has a 30-year term with contemplated renewals thereafter. Acbel, through its affiliates and partners, is the largest seller of naproxen in this region, which represents approximately one per cent of the global market for nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). The global market for NSAIDs is in excess of US$12 billion (Evaluate Pharma). In a recent Phase 2 clinical trial, ATB-346 was found to be highly effective in reducing the pain associated with osteoarthritis of the knee. Antibe says it will now initiate two larger Phase 2 double-blind trials: a placebo-controlled dose-ranging study to determine the go-to-market dose, and an active comparator trial to demonstrate superior GI safety. Antibe also has two other therapeutic candidates in development: ATB-352 and ATB-340. ATB-352 is a non-addictive analgesic for treating severe acute pain and ATB-340 is a GI-safe derivative of aspirin. Antibe intends to leverage data across its programs to secure licensing agreements whenever possible. In regulatory news Canada’s House of Commons has passed Bill S-201 (An Act to Prohibit and Prevent Genetic Discrimination in Canada), as it was presented, by the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights on Wednesday March 8, 2017. According to Bev Heim-Myers, chair of the Coalition for Genetic Fairness and CEO of the Huntington Society of Canada (HSC), while the Bill will still have to go to the Senate, all indications point to it being fully supported. Heim-Myers adds that Canada has finally caught up to other western jurisdictions in regards to protection of genetic information and Canadian legislation has caught up to science. Since the Genome Project was launched in the early 1990s, Canada had been the only G7 country that had not taken steps to prevent genetic discrimination. With this decision, this changes. Qu Biologics Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing Site Specific Immunomodulators (SSIs) that aim to “reboot” the body’s innate immune system, has reported positive genetic analyses of their recently completed Phase 2 clinical studies in Crohn’s Disease (CD) and Ulcerative Colitis (UC). These findings suggest that, for the first time in the field of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), personalized medicine and the application of genetic testing may identify patients highly likely to respond and go into remission with treatment. The analyses identified common IBD-related genotypes with a high likelihood of response to SSI, suggesting that genetic testing may identify a large subset of CD patients (representing approximately 60% of the CD population) with a greater than 80% likelihood of responding to QBECO treatment, the large majority of which achieved remission on SSI treatment. Dr. Hal Gunn, CEO of Qu Biologics, stated, “We are very excited about the possibility of identifying CD and UC patients highly likely to respond to SSI treatment, which would substantially de-risk future trials and be an important advance for patients who currently face the uncertainty of knowing whether current immunosuppressive IBD treatments, which can be associated with significant side effects, will work for them or not.” Dr. Shirin Kalyan, Qu’s Director of Scientific Innovation, added, “Unlike current IBD treatments that suppress immune function, we believe that SSIs, which restore innate immune function, treat the underlying cause of IBD. Consequently, unlike other treatments, we were able to identify IBD-related genotypes highly responsive to SSI therapy. It is exciting that the genotypes correlated with SSI response are highly relevant to SSIs’ mechanism of action.” Based on the promising results of Qu Biologics’ recently completed Phase 2 study in CD, a follow-on Phase 2 study in moderate to severe CD is planned to confirm these findings. Study initiation is anticipated in late 2017. If the genetic analysis results are confirmed in follow-on studies, Qu Biologics’ QBECO SSI has the potential to become first-line therapy for a majority of IBD patients. In funding news, the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) is providing TechAlliance of Southwestern Ontario with up to $1.32 million to deliver on a new incubation program, called BURST, which will provide 30 innovative technology entrepreneurs in southwestern Ontario with mentoring and business guidance, seed funding, exposure to potential investors and access to a dedicated working space in Western University's Discovery Park. As entrepreneurs establish and grow their businesses with help from this program, it is expected that up to 45 new full-time jobs will be created. Building on London's history of innovation in health sciences, a unique partnership with the London Medical Network will also be established to help eligible medical technology companies receive funding. The announcement was made on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Minister responsible for FedDev Ontario. In Hamilton, ON, McMaster University researchers say they have found a new way to treat the world’s worst infectious diseases, the superbugs that are resistant to all known antibiotics. The McMaster team published their findings in the journal Nature Microbiology last week. Eric Brown, senior author of the paper, a professor of biochemistry and biomedical science at McMaster’s Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine and a scientist of the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for infectious Disease Research says his team looked for compounds that would mess with these antibiotic resistant bacteria, focusing on Gram-negative bacteria which are resistant to all antibiotics including last resort drugs, such as colistin, and lead to pneumonia, wound or surgical site and bloodstream infections, as well as meningitis in healthcare settings. Brown explains that Gram-negative bacteria have an intrinsically impenetrable outer shell that is a barrier to many otherwise effective antibiotics, and this makes these infections deadly, particularly in hospital settings. His team tested a collection of 1,440 off-patent drugs in search of one that might compromise that barrier in the superbugs. “These pathogens are really hard nuts to crack, but we found a molecule that shreds that shell and allows antibiotics to enter and be effective,” Brown said. The scientists discovered the antiprotozoal drug pentamidine disrupts the cell surface of Gram-negative bacteria, even the most resistant. The anti-fungal medication was particularly potent when used with antibiotics against multidrug resistant bacteria. Moreover, Pentamidine, when used with other antibiotics, was found to be particularly effective against two of the three pathogens which the WHO has identified as having the most critical priority for development of new antibiotics. Those were Acinetobacter baumannii and the enterobacteriaceae. The combo therapy also had some impact on the third most critical bacteria, Pseudomonas aeruginosa according to Brown. Brown continued saying These discoveries were found to be effective in the lab and in mice, but more work is needed to offset potential side effects and ensure human safety. Brown adds that his lab is continuing to test more compounds as well. “One of the things we want to pursue further is why this is working so well,” he said. The study was supported by grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council and Cystic Fibrosis Canada, among others. http://bit.ly/2m3hZq2   In our final story , a group of Canadian Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine Leaders have announced that they are Joining Forces to Advance Canada’s Position in the Field, with the launch late last week of a new national group called the Regenerative Medicine Alliance of Canada. The founding members include: CCRM; The Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD); CellCan; Medicine by Design; Ontario Institute for Regenerative Medicine; ThéCell; Canadian Stem Cell Foundation, and Stem Cell Network. The goal of this new Regenerative Medicine Alliance of Canada or (RMAC) will be to advance Canada’s stem cell science and regenerative medicine sector by aligning national activity in the field. Its members say they plan to work collaboratively to share information and identify strategies that will benefit the growth of Canada’s regenerative medice expertise. The initial concept for this alliance was conceived by members of the regenerative medicine community during a workshop on the state of regenerative medicine in Canada. The workshop was held by the Council of Canadian Academies in 2016. Their newly released report notes the importance of strategic coordination amongst the stem cell and regenerative medicine community. Bolstering and aligning programs, training, policy and communication will also be central themes addressed by RMAC. According to the Alliance, With the global market for regenerative medicine iexpected to exceed US$49 billion by 2021, the need to keep Canada well positioned to compete by moving its innovative treatments and therapies out of the lab and into the clinic has never been greater. Countries around the world, including the U.S., Japan and the U.K., have already taken bold steps through investment and regulatory modernization to capture a significant piece of the market. RMAC will serve as a mechanism to support strategic activity across the regenerative medicine sector in Canada. The RMAC will act voluntary organization comprised of national, provincial and regional organizations. All members have mandates relevant to stem cell research and/or regenerative medicine. Well that wraps up another episode of the Biotechnology Focus Podcast. We hope you enjoyed it. Be sure to let us know what you think, and we’re also always looking for story ideas and suggestions for future shows, and of course we’d love to hear from you as well, simply reach out to us via twitter @biotechfocus, or by email at the following email address press@promotivemedia.ca. And

We started today's show by JOINING FORCES with the excellent Cravings program on Joy FM - host Pete Dillon visited the studio to talk about the new Pozible campaign we've created to raise money for the trader's at the Little Saigon Market after this week's fire. Donate here: https://pozible.com/project/little-saigon-fire-relief-fundNext up we had our final market report for 2016 with John at the Queen Vic.Syracuse's grande chef Philippa Sibley joined us to talk about the hectic Christmas season, stonefruit, and the challenges of cooking in a teeny tiny space.We finished 2016 with a drink from Sebastian Reaburn, who also spoke about the various batches of his Artemis Gin.

Looking for another college option? Rob Aeschbach swings by our show to share his personal military experience and how that impacts financial planning and paying for college. “Although it is a dangerous job in a lot of ways, it isn’t like that all the time,” notes Aeschbach. His father was in the Navy, and that inspired him to pursue attending a military academy after high school. By enlisting after graduation, he was able to attend a prestigious college with a fantastic education FOR FREE! Read More... The post THCC101 – Joining Forces with the Military to Cover the Cost of College Interview with Rob Aeschbach, Retired Marine and Financial Planner appeared first on Taming The High Cost of College.

Looking for another college option? Rob Aeschbach swings by our show to share his personal military experience and how that impacts financial planning and paying for college. “Although it is a dangerous job in a lot of ways, it isn’t like that all the time,” notes Aeschbach. His father was in the Navy, and that inspired him to pursue attending a military academy after high school. By enlisting after graduation, he was able to attend a prestigious college with a fantastic education FOR FREE! Read More... The post THCC101 – Joining Forces with the Military to Cover the Cost of College Interview with Rob Aeschbach, Retired Marine and Financial Planner appeared first on Taming The High Cost of College.

July Sponsors: Plan Your Gram: Plan Your Gram is a powerful social media tool for visually planning + scheduling your instagram feed. Drag and drop images before you post and schedule the best time to post them. Best of all, no on-going monthly fees, it’s just a one time purchase for the life of your business. Unlike other schedulers that lock you into $10-$50 a month, Plan Your Gram is just $15.99, once. Plan Your Gram is brand new Instagram planning tool, for iOS and Android. Learn more at planyourgram.com Sign up for Amazon Prime! Free Two-Day Shipping, unlimited photo storage, plus exclusive access to movies, music and Kindle books. shepercolates.com/amazonprime   Vivian Greentree, Ph.D., joined First Data as a Senior Vice President and Head of Military and Veteran Affairs in February 2014. In this role Vivian created First Data Salutes, a company-wide military engagement strategy to provide the military community with access to career opportunities and best-in-class education resources, while offering premier business solutions to veteran-owned businesses. Before joining First Data, Vivian helped to found Blue Star Families, the largest chapter-based military support organization in the country, where she most recently served Director of Research and Policy. While at BSF, Vivian created and oversaw BSF’s groundbreaking Military Family Lifestyle Survey, which examines a broad spectrum of issues affecting modern-day military families. The survey was referenced in Presidential Directive-9 “Strengthening Our Military Families,” the precursor to the Obama Administration’s Joining Forces initiative and continues to be cited in military policy discussions nationally. She is also the creator of the Blue Star Spouse Employment Toolkit, the first of its kind military spouse employment resource, written and tested based on the unique career needs of military spouses. The Spouse Employment Toolkit has since evolved into a suite of military spouse professional development initiatives known as Blue Star Careers, including educational, employment, and mentoring programming and has been adapted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce into an online military spouse resume engine, Career Spark. Before joining BSF, Vivian served as a Supply Corps officer in the Navy, on active duty and in the Reserves. After serving in the Navy, she used her G.I. Bill to attain her Ph.D. in Public Administration and Urban Policy from Old Dominion University, where she earned several awards, including Ph.D. Outstanding Student of the Year, Phi Kappa Phi, The Pindur and the Ted Constant Scholarships, and a University Fellowship. She holds a masters degree from the University of Maryland University College and undergraduate degrees in Journalism and Public and International Affairs from the University of Georgia. Vivian’s research on civic engagement, the military community, and public policy has been published in peer-reviewed journals like Public Administration Review and the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, along with mainstream media outlets. She has appeared as a subject matter expert on panels, advisory boards, conferences, and national media outlets, including CNN, MSNBC, FOX News, and NPR. And, she is a Senior Research Fellow of the Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University. In 2012, Vivian was named a Daily Point of Light by the Points of Light Institute for recognition of her volunteer work and a "Top 40 Under 40” alumni by the University of Georgia’s Alumni Association. In 2013, she was appointed to the University of Georgia’s Alumni Association Board of Directors and designated as an Ally Spouse by the Military Partners and Families Coalition. A strong supporter of civic engagement, Vivian serves on the selection committee for the prestigious Lincoln Awards and is the Quality of Life Sub-Committee chair for the Virginia Military Advisory Council, a position she was appointed to by Governor Terry McAuliffe in 2014. Vivian is married to a Naval Officer and they have two young boys, ages 9 and 12. Vivian's definition of success: personal success is rooted in knowing each day I've used my skills and my resources to help at least one person and then get to go home to a family where I know we are raising our children to have empathy and sociological imagination. Things we chat about with Vivian Greentree: Success and growth wasn't a straight line Being a realist, believing in the best of humanity Doing a Ph.D program at night while husband was deployed for a year and having 2 kids under 3. opportunities are often wrapped up in a disguise. Helping found a non-profit for military families because there was a need in the military community for a military family group empowering others Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges by Amy Cutty

Author, Poet and Associate Editor of TeleRead   Interview starts at 22:08 and ends at 43:10   This [Kindle Oasis] basically gives Amazon its BMW or its Mercedes Benz, which is a pretty powerful draw for the entire range. It has produced a very fine, high-end E Ink eBook reader which caters very well to really serious readers.   News Amazon's First Quarter earnings report - April 28, 2016 Motley Fool Money podcast on Amazon earnings - April 29, 2016 (Thanks to David Enzel for the link) "Amazon was profitable for four quarters in a row" by Jason Del Rey at re/code - April 28, 2016 “Jeff Bezos Sells $671 Million of Amazon Stock in Biggest Sale Ever” by Aaron Pressman at Forune.com - May 6, 2016 “Jeff Bezos to personally match up to $1M in donations to Mary's Place homeless nonprofit” by Todd Bishop at GeekWire - May 2, 2016 “Mary's Place receives $2 million thanks to matching donations from Amazon's Jeff Bezos” by John Knicely at KIRO7 - May 4, 2016 Mary's Place link for Amazon wish list “Video: Jeff Bezos at the White House promotes plan to hire 25,000 veterans and military spouses at Amazon” by Kurt Schlosser at GeekWire - May 5, 2016 Joining Forces web site   Tech Tip How I am using Amazon Tap   Interview with Paul St John Mackintosh Amazon Author's Page and Facebook page Project Gutenberg The Musical Box of Wonders by Paul St John Mackintosh (paperback only) published by H. Harksen Producitons Following is the complete text of the poem recited by Paul St John Mackintosh at the end of the interview:      Mackintoshes   I'm writing this to tell my baby daughter —who took my pen to chew just now—about her rambunctious forebears, Papists or Dissenters, before they were Glasgow artists or inventors: nine hundred years of sanguinary glories, blood-fuelled vendettas, feuding feudatories, feral mosstroopers, breekless in the heather, sleeping out plaid-wrapped through all Highland weather; conveniently detained during Flodden, second at Bannockburn, first at Culloden; Jacobite malcontents, staunch in lost causes, schooled by reverses and misfortune's tawses; clan wildcat totem for crest and supporters, red lion, boar's head, heart in hand, ship quarters; proud bearings passed through gentleman and peasant, from those ancestral mountains to the present ludicrous days of raincoats and galoshes: ferocious, feckless, fearless Mackintoshes.   Next Week's Guest Peter Korn, accessibility architect at Amazon   Music for my podcast is from an original Thelonius Monk composition named "Well, You Needn't." This version is "Ra-Monk" by Eval Manigat on the "Variations in Time: A Jazz Persepctive" CD by Public Transit Recording" CD.    Please Join the Kindle Chronicles group at Goodreads!

Host: Jennifer Caudle, DO Dr. Jennifer Caudle welcomes Dr./Col. William Bograkos, Clinical Professor of Military Science, Family Medicine, and Emergency Medicine at the University Of New England College Of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr. Bograkos is also Assistant Professor in Military & Emergency Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, and currently serves as President-Elect for the American Osteopathic Academy of Addiction Medicine. He discusses the importance of having active conversations with patients who are veterans, with special emphasis on their unique physical and mental health needs. He then talks about efforts to support Joining Forces, a nationwide initiative helping service members, veterans, and their families receive wellness, education, and employment opportunities.

A one-of-a-kind commander with a remarkable record of achievement, General Stan McChrystal is widely known for developing and implementing the counter-insurgency strategy in Afghanistan and for creating a comprehensive counter-terrorism organization that revolutionized the way military agencies interact and operate. In 2002, General McChrystal was appointed chief of staff of military operations in Afghanistan. Two years later, McChrystal was selected to deliver the nationally televised Pentagon briefings about military operations in Iraq. From 2003–2008, he commanded JSOC and was responsible for leading the nation’s deployed military counter-terrorism efforts around the globe, assuming command of all international forces in Afghanistan in June 2009. President Obama’s order for an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan was based on McChrystal’s assessment of the war. General McChrystal is a four-star general, the former commander of U.S. and international forces in Afghanistan and the former leader of Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), which oversees the military’s most sensitive forces. His leadership of JSOC is credited with the 2003 capture of Saddam Hussein and the 2006 location and killing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq. General McChrystal retired from the military in 2010. He now serves on the board of directors for JetBlue Airways, Navistar, and the Yellow Ribbon Fund. He is also the chairman of the board for Siemens Government Technologies. In 2011, McChrystal returned to public service after the Obama administration invited him to oversee Joining Forces, a high-profile initiative that supports military families. McChrystal is a part of its three-member advisory board. He is also a senior fellow at Yale University’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, where he teaches a popular course on leadership. General McChrystal co-founded the McChrystal Group in January 2011. The mission of the McChrystal Group is to deliver innovative leadership solutions to organizations, which help them transform and succeed in challenging and dynamic environments. To do this, the group teaches McChrystal’s leadership methodology CrossLead, whose principles and operational structure are based on his military successes. CrossLead also addresses key leadership principles such as transparency and inclusion, leveraging the power of teams, and sharing a clear vision. The son and grandson of Army officers, McChrystal graduated from West Point in 1976 and trained at the Special Forces School in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

We hear it all the time: teachers feel disrespected by principals; principals feel disrespected by superintendents; superintendents feel dissed by local school boards; school boards feel discounted by the feds; early child- hood educators feel dismissed by the rest of the education community; and parents feel marginalized by all levels of professional educators. - Why do so many educators feel disrespected? What can be done about it? We start with principals and teachers. Gail Connelly is Executive Director of the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP). Kathleen Hoffman is Teacher & Spokesperson for the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). Stephen Sawchuk is an assistant editor for Education Week. He is the senior writer of Joining Forces, a recent special report on the topic of labor-management collaboration.

On this episode we feature Best Buy's Geek Squad Tech Camps for military kids as part of the Joining Forces initiative. Geek Squad will host a series of seminars focused on educating military families about using technology to communicate with loved ones at military bases across the country, as well as Geek Squad Summer Academy sessions to educate military children about technology and inspire interest in technology careers. Other topics: Sears Heroes at Home Wish Registry 2011 and more. Listen in today!! Laugh, Learn, Relate.

Check this exclusive near 20 minute full sampler of the Hitfarmers brand new album. Hitfarmers "Conquering The Throne" - released March 10th 2010 Tracklist and Feature-list 1. Prelude To A Sequel (feat. Rasul & Chinch 33) 2. The Tables Turn (feat. Adlib, Kasper & W.A.R.P.A.T.H.) 3. Joining Forces (featuring L.I.F.E. Long, IDE, Respect The God, Critical, Alucard & Jise Of The Arsonists) 4. Game Time (feat. The Underclassmen) 5. International Selection (feat. Emskee) 6. Chapter 1 Skit 7. One Shot (feat. EQ, Jugganaut & Sick Since) 8. My Word (feat. Block McCloud of Brooklyn Academy) 9. This Is Hip Hop (feat. Ciph Barker) 10. U Don`t Know Me (feat. Mr. Malchau) 11. Once Again (feat. Mesidge) 12. Classic Hits (feat. Randam Luck) 13. Quiet Storm (feat. Braille) 14. By Any Means (feat. J-Spliff) 15. Storming The Castle (feat. Nervous Wreck & Blak Philly) 16. Chapter 2 Skit 17. Hustlers Wish (feat. Mar`z & Big Left of La Coka Nostra) 18. Motivate (feat. Brown Bag Allstars) 19. Sound Of Invasion (feat. Contribution X) 20. Doap Sick (feat. Doap Nixon of AOTP & Sick Six) 21. Pitch Black (feat. W.A.R.P.A.T.H.) The full album drops March 10th 2010 and is set to be a MUST PURCHASE! Watch a 5 minute snippet video here - http://www.youtube.com/v/_Ylc52pTLCs&hl=de_DE&fs=1& Pre order the whole thing at http://www.allhiphopshop.com/product_info.php/products_id/418?osCsid=7fb0c0cb5285156b589c8f083d81f3ba Be sure to add these immensely talented guys up on Myspace at http://www.myspace.com/hitfarmers Contact us at - conspiracyworldwide@gmail.com Enjoy and Support! [Click PLAY to stream or Download to get as an mp3 file]