Podcasts about msonormalcxspfirst

Notwithstanding the pandemic and remote working arrangements, the Securities and Exchange Commission is continuing to bring FCPA enforcement actions.  In its latest action, the SEC settled with Alexion Pharmaceuticals for $21 million for foreign bribery and books and records violations. In this Episode, Michael Volkov reviews the Alexion FCPA enforcement action and the lessons learned for compliance professionals.

Even during this difficult time of the pandemic, economic uncertainty and social unrest, the Justice Department and the SEC have concluded a major FCPA enforcement action. Novartis and Alcon (which was a Novartis subsidiary at the time of the misconduct) agreed to pay a total of $345 million in criminal and civil penalties.  Novartis spun off Alcon in 2019. Under the DOJ settlement, Novartis and Alcon each entered into a deferred prosecution agreement; Novartis agreed to pay a fine of $225 million and Alcon agreed to pay $8.9 million in criminal penalties.  Novartis also entered into a settlement with the SEC under which they agreed to pay a total of $112 million. In this Episode, Michael Volkov reviews the FCPA settlement and the lessons learned.

Entrevues avec: Marc Joncas – Vice-Président Exécutif d’Eurovia Québec François Lussier – chargé de carrières et industries Eurovia Québec Marie-Ève Vaillancourt de Place à l’emploi Alexandra Valle d’Alliance Carrière Travail  

Imam Azhar Subedar was born and raised in the West.  Imam Azhar Subedar has served on the US White House Faith Based Initaitves, worked in hurricane Charlie relief efforts, and was the first Muslim to give an opening prayer at the Florida State Capitol.   This is an important podcast about his response to the Pulse Night Club shooting in Orlando, Florida. More from Religica at https://religica.org Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Religica.org/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/religica YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPuwufds6gAu2u6xmm8SBuw Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-religica Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3CZwIO4uGP1voqiVpYdMas?si=0k2-TSmwTkuTQC2rgdGObQ iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/religica/id1448005061?mt=2 Religica is a comprehensive online platform at the axis of religion and society that provides non-sectarian, coherent, integrated and accessible awareness about the role of religion in society, with a focus on strengthening local communities.

Karsten Kohout is a Junior at Seattle University pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Humanities with a concentration in Communication and Media.  He has been a part of the Religica team since the beginning serving as a Podcast Producer and Editor and has been working with Religica Co-Founder Dr. Michael Reid Trice since fall of 2017. More from Religica at https://religica.org Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Religica.org/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/religica YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPuwufds6gAu2u6xmm8SBuw Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-religica Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3CZwIO4uGP1voqiVpYdMas?si=0k2-TSmwTkuTQC2rgdGObQ iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/religica/id1448005061?mt=2 Religica is a comprehensive online platform at the axis of religion and society that provides non-sectarian, coherent, integrated and accessible awareness about the role of religion in society, with a focus on strengthening local communities.

Orthodox Rabbi David Rosen, is the former Chief Rabbi of Ireland, is the International Director of Interreligious Affairs of AJC and Director of its Heilbrunn Institute for International Interreligious Understanding. Today he talks about climate change as a pragmatic and religious issue of major concern on a cosmological scale. We start with David’s self-introduction. You won’t want to miss this podcast. More from Religica at https://religica.org Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Religica.org/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/religica YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPuwufds6gAu2u6xmm8SBuw Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-religica Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3CZwIO4uGP1voqiVpYdMas?si=0k2-TSmwTkuTQC2rgdGObQ iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/religica/id1448005061?mt=2 Religica is a comprehensive online platform at the axis of religion and society that provides non-sectarian, coherent, integrated and accessible awareness about the role of religion in society, with a focus on strengthening local communities.

Lisa Levinson organizes Vegan Spirituality groups, retreats, and online gatherings across the country as part of In Defense of Animals’ Sustainable Activism Campaign, offering emotional and spiritual resources for animal activists. Religica’s Steve Wilhelm recently sat down with Lisa to discuss Vegan Spirituality and this is what she said. More from Religica at https://religica.org Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Religica.org/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/religica YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPuwufds6gAu2u6xmm8SBuw Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-religica Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3CZwIO4uGP1voqiVpYdMas?si=0k2-TSmwTkuTQC2rgdGObQ iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/religica/id1448005061?mt=2 Religica is a comprehensive online platform at the axis of religion and society that provides non-sectarian, coherent, integrated and accessible awareness about the role of religion in society, with a focus on strengthening local communities.

Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji’s motto in life is, “In the Service of God and humanity.” Selflessly dedicated to the welfare of all, He leads, directs and inspires numerous, wide-scale service initiatives. Pujya Swamiji's religion is unity, and he has been a leader in numerous international, inter-faith summits and parliaments, including at the United Nations, the World Bank, and the World Economic Forum. He is also a leader of frequent world peace pilgrimages across the world. More from Religica at https://religica.org Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Religica.org/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/religica YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPuwufds6gAu2u6xmm8SBuw Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-religica Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3CZwIO4uGP1voqiVpYdMas?si=0k2-TSmwTkuTQC2rgdGObQ iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/religica/id1448005061?mt=2 Religica is a comprehensive online platform at the axis of religion and society that provides non-sectarian, coherent, integrated and accessible awareness about the role of religion in society, with a focus on strengthening local communities.

Carolyn King is the former elected Chief of the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation and has served in Canada's Political Offices. King puts an emphasis on public outreach and built her career around using said outreach to benefit her community. More from Religica at https://religica.org Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Religica.org/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/religica YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPuwufds6gAu2u6xmm8SBuw Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-religica Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3CZwIO4uGP1voqiVpYdMas?si=0k2-TSmwTkuTQC2rgdGObQ iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/religica/id1448005061?mt=2 Religica is a comprehensive online platform at the axis of religion and society that provides non-sectarian, coherent, integrated and accessible awareness about the role of religion in society, with a focus on strengthening local communities.

Medvirkende: Heidi Højmark Helvej, advokat og partner hos Integra Law og Hanne Marie Motzfeldt, lektor og ph.d. i digital forvaltning hos Københavns Universitet. Folkemødet på Bornholm har i år særligt fokus på FN’s 17 Verdensmål. Verdensmålene blev defineret i 2015 og forpligter FN’s 193 lande til at arbejde målrettet for at skabe en bedre verden ud fra nogle 17 definerede indsatsområder. FN opfordrer til at alle instanser, fra virksomheder til offentlige myndigheder, privatpersoner og organisation forholder sig til verdensmålene, når vi agere i alle dele af vores hverdag. Og det betyder også, at FN’s Verdensmål automatisk bør være en del af advokaternes hverdag. For én ting er energioptimering og bekæmpelse af madspild nævnt de store advokathuses CSR-rapporter. Noget andet er at tænke verdensmålene ind som en aktiv del af advokatfirmaernes forretningsmodeller.

Wilton Littlechild has led a life full of experience with law, politics, and athletics. He served a five-year term from 1988 to 1993 in the Canadian Parliament as the first Treaty Indian Member and has worked constantly to promote human rights, particularly in relation to indigenous peoples. More on Wilton Littlechild here: https://www.lieutenantgovernor.ab.ca/Aoe/athletics/willie-littlechild/index.html More from Religica at https://religica.org Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Religica.org/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/religica YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPuwufds6gAu2u6xmm8SBuw Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-religica Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3CZwIO4uGP1voqiVpYdMas?si=0k2-TSmwTkuTQC2rgdGObQ iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/religica/id1448005061?mt=2 Religica is a comprehensive online platform at the axis of religion and society that provides non-sectarian, coherent, integrated and accessible awareness about the role of religion in society, with a focus on strengthening local communities.

Pastor Paul Hoffman’s professional life has spanned over 30 years of tumultuous changes in the American religious context. He is a seasoned practical guide to how and why contemporary communities are formed today. More on Pastor Paul Hoffman here: http://www.faithformingfaith.com/ More from Religica at https://religica.org Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Religica.org/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/religica YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPuwufds6gAu2u6xmm8SBuw Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-religica Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3CZwIO4uGP1voqiVpYdMas?si=0k2-TSmwTkuTQC2rgdGObQ iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/religica/id1448005061?mt=2 Religica is a comprehensive online platform at the axis of religion and society that provides non-sectarian, coherent, integrated and accessible awareness about the role of religion in society, with a focus on strengthening local communities.  

Rev. Dr. Rachel Mash is the Environmental Coordinator of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa and currently resides in Cape Town. Her Green Anglican movement has pushed the importance of conservation within the greater faith community. More on Rachel Mash here: http://climatereality.co.za/meet-rachel-mash-a-pillar-of-the-green-anglicans-movement/ More from Religica at https://religica.org Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Religica.org/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/religica YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPuwufds6gAu2u6xmm8SBuw Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-religica Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3CZwIO4uGP1voqiVpYdMas?si=0k2-TSmwTkuTQC2rgdGObQ iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/religica/id1448005061?mt=2 Religica is a comprehensive online platform at the axis of religion and society that provides non-sectarian, coherent, integrated and accessible awareness about the role of religion in society, with a focus on strengthening local communities.  

Karma Lekshe Tsomo has been a beacon of hope for women within the Buddhist tradition. Through respecting tradition while also pushing on interpretations she has made inspiring headway for the rights of Buddhist nuns within the faith. More on Karma Lekshe Tsomo here: http://www.dakinipower.com/karmalekshetsomo More from Religica at https://religica.org Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Religica.org/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/religica YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPuwufds6gAu2u6xmm8SBuw Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-religica Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3CZwIO4uGP1voqiVpYdMas?si=0k2-TSmwTkuTQC2rgdGObQ iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/religica/id1448005061?mt=2 Religica is a comprehensive online platform at the axis of religion and society that provides non-sectarian, coherent, integrated and accessible awareness about the role of religion in society, with a focus on strengthening local communities.

The Cinema For All Podcast is a celebration of going to the cinema. In this sixth, full length episode Jaq and Abi delve into this month’s theme: comedy! In this episode, we welcome the dynamic duo Linnea Pettersson and Mikaela Smith who are part of the programming team at Showroom Cinema. We talk about the season of comedy films they have put together, how they welcome audiences into their venue, and some of their own favourite comedy films. Jaq and Abi also share their comedy heroes, chat about upcoming cinema releases and preview some of the amazing screening happening across the country as part of the BFI Comedy season. To find out about activity near you, head to https://www.bficomedy.co.uk. The Cinema For All proud to be supported by the BFI, awarding funds from the National Lottery. HOSTS: Jaq Chell and Abi Standish GUESTS: Linnea Pettersson and Mikaela Smith from the Showroom Cinema PRODUCER: Jay Platt Thanks for listening! Please subscribe and rate and review our podcast – it really helps other listeners find us! For more on Cinema For All head to www.cinemaforall.org.uk or follow us on Twitter/ Instagram on @cinemaforall

  The Cinema For All Podcast is a celebration of going to the cinema. In this fifth, full length episode Jaq and Abi chat about new film releases (Widows, Some Like It Hot, Peterloo, Nae Pasaran and 9-5) and delve into this month’s theme: queer cinema. In this episode, we welcome the marvellous Rico Johnson-Sinclair from CineQ to talk about films that have been important to him such as Tongues Untied, the difficulty around accessing queer films, particular featuring queer people of colour and about his fantastic work screening films. We talk in depth about representation on screen of queer people, in particular queer people of colour, the difference it can make when films are made by queer people, building audiences for these films and much more!   We are proud to be supported by the BFI, awarding funds from the National Lottery.   HOSTS: Jaq Chell and Abi Standish GUESTS: Rico Johnson-Sinclair from CineQ (www.twitter.com/cineqbrum) PRODUCER: Jay Platt   Thanks for listening! Please subscribe and rate and review our podcast – it really helps other listeners find us!   For more on Cinema For All head to www.cinemaforall.org.uk or follow us on Twitter/ Instagram on @cinemaforall   We thought it would be good to include a list of the films mentioned in this podcast in case you want to seek them out and watch them!   Films Rico mentions in this podcast episode: Tongues Untied Check It Rafiki Hearts Beat Loud The Cakemaker Those People Kiki Paris is Burning   Films Jaq and Abi mention in this podcast episode: Gangs of New York Goodfellas Halloween (2018) Bramstoker’s Dracula Grey Gardens Beach Rats Princess Cyd Widows Some Like It Hot Peterloo Nuts in May Abigail’s Party Nae Pasaran! 9-5 Birdcage Priscilla Queen of the Desert To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar Hedwig and the Angry Inch But I’m A Cheerleader Moonlight Call Me By Your Name Beach Rats The Way He Looks 120 Beats Per Minute Love Simon Carol Blue is the Warmest Colour Miseducation of Cameron Post Appropriate Behaviour Tangerine A Fantastic Woman Portrait of Jason Muriel’s Wedding Blockers  

Sometimes, we’ll have a guest on the #WeGotGoals podcast who doesn’t actually like or set goals (I’m looking at you, Dawn Jackson Blatner and Josh Katt). For whatever reason, they don’t connect to the term, or they’ve employed a different paradigm to accomplish great things. Which is fantastic—one of the best things about the show, in our humble opinions, is the glimpse at the wide variety of paths high achievers have taken to reach success. But this week’s guest, Nicole Bernard Dawes, has the opposite perspective. Goals drive nearly everything the founder and CEO does. She aims to set both ambitious aspirations—say, starting an organic snack company, Late July Snacks, that hit $100 million in sales this year—and small mini-targets, including what she wants to get out of each business meeting. And she’s not afraid to lay them all on the line. “If you don’t even know what you want, you’re definitely not going to get it,” she says. “And I think clearly articulating what you want helps people. Setting goals helped Dawes recover from an incredibly difficult year in 2009. First there was the recession. Then her father Steve Bernard—her co-founder (and, before that, the founder of Cape Cod Potato Chips)—passed away from pancreatic cancer. When he died, the bank called the loan, leaving Dawes and her husband/business partner Peter scrambling to raise cash. “Through that, it forced my husband and I to take a hard look at kind of who we were at Late July and what we wanted this company to really become,” Dawes says. What did they decide and how did they pull through? In our interview, Dawes shares seven lessons that kept her moving forward. Find the right people … One of the most critical changes Late July made the following year was to the hiring process. Being qualified to work at the company, they decided, meant more than just having the right education and experience. Dawes began looking for people who’d make a positive addition to the environment, and spent a significant amount of time having multiple team members interview each candidate. In some cases, that meant positions went unfilled for years, a stressor in a fast-growing company. However, the result was worth it: “I truly believe today that we have the most wonderful team in our industry,” she says. “We have a group of people that wakes up every day ready to support each other and believes in the company and believes in the products.” … and a purpose you’re passionate about. Dawes made another big decision in the wake of her father’s passing: to leave cookies behind and enter the tortilla chip market. That was no small shift—cookies made up $2 million of the company’s $9 million in sales at the time. However, Dawes felt strongly she wanted to steer the company in a healthier direction. Of course, she wasn’t satisfied with just any crunchy nibble. She aimed to create the number-one tortilla chip in the natural-food business. “Singular focus on being number one requires all your effort, and all your team’s effort,” she says. “No matter what our team was doing, we always kept that goal in the back of our mind. Start new things small and build. It took a year to perfect and introduce the tortilla chips, and they got off to a rocky start. “That was a little bit scary because we had just bet our entire company's future on this launch,” Dawes says. That taught her Late July needed to build brand awareness in this new space. So, they spent the next year concentrating on a few key accounts, securing a foothold there before spreading their wings to the larger marketplace. That focus helped them course correct quickly. “I think we might have become the number three in the first year,” Dawes says. Deliver quality. That rapid rise was built on superior flavor. As the daughter of a potato-chip mogul father and a mother who owned a health food store in Cape Cod, Dawes prioritizes making food that’s both nutritious and delicious. “I’ve always believed that as a natural products brand, we have an obligation for the entire industry to make our products taste great,” she says. “When a consumer has a bad experience with one natural product, they make an assumption about everything.” And to succeed in the highly competitive salty snack realm requires repeat business: “No consumer is ever going to buy a snack twice if they don't like the way it tastes.” Stay open to feedback. How, exactly, does Late July makes its chips so scrumptious? Besides constant comparison to competitors and making sure the whole team is eating—and loving—them, Dawes says they stay alert for constructive criticism. She applies this philosophy to all areas of her life and business; it’s a key component of her overall positive outlook. “We’re all just kind of learning and growing, and none of us are perfect. The more receptive you are to hearing things that could be done better, the more likely you are to improve faster,” she says. Set goals outside the boardroom, too. Looking to the future, Dawes is aiming for Late July to dominate the salsa category too (they’re in the midst of launching that line, and popcorn, right now). However, she also gives her personal life high priority by setting goals there, too. Her big goal is to be available to her two sons, now ages 16 and almost 12. She puts it in practice by working from home more and eating family dinner together four or five nights a week. And, she encourages her employees to take similar steps. “We all have lives, and when you’re a high-achieving person, you have to not hide that,” she says. “It’s OK—it doesn’t make you less of a productive person to prioritize your private life.” Sweat it out. “I manage stress, I think, weirdly well,” Dawes says. Some of that may come naturally, but she also finds a solid fitness routine enables her to perform her best (a sentiment that makes us smile here at aSweatLife). A couple of years ago, Dawes got a Peloton bike—and thinks they should be standard issue for any entrepreneur. Now, she has no excuse not to knock out a 20-minute ride, even on her busiest days. Listen to Nicole Benard Dawes’ full episode anywhere you get your podcasts—including, now, on Spotify! If you like what you hear, please help us spread the word by leaving a rating or a review. And stick around until the end of the episode, where you’ll hear a goal from one of you, our listeners. (Want to be featured on a future episode? Send a voice memo with a goal you’ve crushed, a goal you’re eyeing, or your best goal-getting tip to cindy@asweatlife.com.)   --- Begin transcript: Jeana: Welcome to #WeGotGoals a podcast by aSweatLife.com on which we talk to high-achievers about their goals. I’m Jeana Anderson Cohen. With me I have Cindy Kuzma and Maggie Umberger. Maggie: Morning Jeana! Cindy: Good morning Jeana! Jeana: Good Morning! And Cindy, this week you to Nicole. Cindy: I did! I interviewed Nicole Bernard Dawes who is the founder and CEO of Late July, an organic snack food company. We have some people on the podcast who are actually not a big fan of goals. Nicole loves goals! She thinks you should set them in every part of your life. And so it was a joy to talk to her for this podcast. Jeana: And her goals are shifting, I know she had big goals built around business but her future goals are built more around her family life. Right? Cindy: Right, and I think she still has a lot of big business goals too. But I was really struck by the way she talked about her intentionality with her family. Her kids are actually a little bit older. Her boys are teenagers now and she’s realizing that they kind of require a different level of energy. Like when kids are little, you have to be around them, you have to take them places, you’re coordinating logistics. But when they get to like the age that which they’re they’re kind of becoming self-sufficient people, they have deep questions about the world. She was realizing that she needs to preserve her energy. She wants to be there for them as they kind of navigate the world and answer those questions for them and be a person who’s present in their life. And she realizes that just like you have to set a goal to reach a dollar amount in sales for your business. If you want that, if it’s a priority for you, you have to set that goal. And then you have to figure out how to make the rest of your life work with that. So she’s done things like work from home more often or structure her day in different ways so that she can make sure that she’s there for them in enough quantity and quality of time to be the kind of mother that she wants to be. Jeana: And as she’s managing all of these areas of her life and continuing to grow this already fast growing company, she’s under a lot of stress as is easy to imagine. But she is pretty good at managing that stress. And one of her key tools to going after her big accomplishments and continuing to manage her stress is buying a Peloton bike, right? Cindy: Yeah, this makes all of our hearts happy at a Sweat Life to hear her talk about how important fitness has been in achieving her goals and maintaining a balance to her lifestyle. Well I say balance, she doesn’t believe in that word balance which is something I think we can all relate to a little bit. Because she doesn’t feel like the person who goes into the office is a different person then the person who sits down at the dinner table with her family. That said, she did notice that when things got really busy, one thing that kind of slipped by the wasteside was her fitness routine. And she started to realize that was affecting her productivity, her mood, her state of mind and eventually would affect her health which would be extra bad for someone who runs essentially a health food company. So she was trying to figure out how to make that work again. She set that goal and worked backward to figure out how to achieve it. And realized that having a bike in her home where she had no excuse to not do a 20 minute ride any day of the week was really important to her. So it was kind of a treat to hear that. In fact, she said she thinks a Peloton bike should be given to every entrepreneur. It should just be like standard equipment when you start your own business. So that was great to hear. Jeana: I’ll take one of those please. What a delight to hear from such a great entrepreneur about her goals and how they’ve shifted over the years. Here is Cindy with Nicole. And stick around, at the end of the episode we’re hearing from you, listeners! Cindy: This is Cindy Kuzma and I’m here on the #WeGotGoals podcast with Nicole Bernard Dawes who’s the founder and CEO of Late July. Nicole, thank you so much for joining us today. Nicole: Oh Cindy, thank you so much for having me. I’m really excited about this podcast. Cindy: Well, I’m glad to hear it! We’re excited too. So most of our listeners are people who are conscious about what they eat and who love a good snack so they probably already know your brand. But just in case, can you tell us just a little bit about Late July and the products you sell? Nicole: Sure, Late July organic snacks is a predominately a tortilla chip company. Right now we make several varieties of organic tortilla chips and range from our most healthy which is a multigrain tortilla chip that has all sorts of wonderful grains and seeds in it. To our more seasoned jalapeno lime tortilla chips which are one of my personal favorites and my kids personal favorites. They’re super delicious and they are a great snack any time. We also make a line of crackers and sandwich crackers. Cindy: And that’s kind of how it all started, right? Way back in 2001 because you couldn’t find a way to fulfill your pregnancy cravings with organic real ingredients. Am I getting that right? Nicole: That is correct. I was pregnant, I actually started this company when I was pregnant with my first son which is one of those things that at the time seemed like a really good idea because you haven’t had a child yet. But I grew up in sort of a unique situation. My mom had a health food store and my dad owned a potato chip company. So I think that I’m the natural product of when those two people have a child, you’re bound to have somebody who could create a natural product that is a little bit more delicious. And that was my experience with my mom’s health food store in the 1970s was that all of the products, you know had the right idea but they really tasted bad. I mean, it was a pretty sad shelf full of crackers that I had in my childhood. But because my father was really into food and he loved to cook and he also started a potato chip company, K Pop Potato Chips. You know, food and health food, in particular, because of my mom was a big focus of my life. But even back then I knew that health food stores could do better. So when I was pregnant with my first son, I was actually living in New York City at the time. And I really desperately wanted a saltine cracker. It was early in my pregnancy. Because I was highly determined to find one, I went to like six natural food stores. And I couldn’t find anything. I mean, all of the crackers were very similar to what my mom had back in the 70s. I mean, that part of the health food store hadn’t evolved at all. I think it’s like people stereotype natural foods, you know they taste like the cardboard box that they’re packed in. That was very true of what I was finding when I was walking around those New York City health food stores back in 2002. So it dawned on me that even though other parts of the health food store had evolved since my mom’s. That part of the store was very much stuck in the 70s and I knew that I had to do something about it. Cindy: So, you’ve come a long way since then. I know you have something like 30 employees and the number one tortilla chip in that natural and organic aisle where you were looking for it before. And a chance to hit $100 million in sales for the year. And that's just professionally. Personally, I know you have the family, the sons that you mentioned and a husband who's your business partner. So I presume that you have a lot of accomplishments to choose from. But as we always do on #WeGotGoals, we’re going to ask you to narrow it down today. We ask everyone two big questions and the first one is the one I’m going to pose right now. Nicole, what’s a big goal you’ve achieved, why was it important to you and how did you get there? Nicole: I just want to mention one thing, we did already pass $100 million in sales. Cindy: Oh, wonderful. Nicole: You know, I love goal-setting. I think it’s a really important part of achieving. And understanding really what you’re trying to achieve is very, very important I think how we got where we are today. And you know those goals have changed so much since I first started the company and I'm kind of constantly checking and updating those goals. You know there's so many that have been a part of getting us to where we are. But you know just narrowing down a couple that I particularly think helped us. One is way back I mean I'm going to stay back in 2010, my husband and I we run the company together and we set a goal for our team. We discovered that one of the things that we love the most about our company was kind of the way our team work together. But we had a couple of people that we really felt weren't as positive members of the team. So we decided that we were going to revamp the entire way that we did hiring and set a goal to have our entire company be the kind of people that we really wanted to be around. That was supportive of each other just to make our company one of the best places to work that we possibly could. What made that goal a little bit harder back in 2010 is we didn't have as much money back then to pay what you needed to pay. There was a lot of challenges to kind of reaching that goal. But ultimately it also meant that would have to leave positions unfilled potentially until we kind of found that perfect fit. And so what we decided to do was instead of just hiring for a position, we started hiring for cultural fit. And completely changed the way that we interviewed people so instead of just posting a position, looking for a set of criteria, having one or two people interview that person and then hiring the most qualified candidate we decided that the term qualified had a lot of other meanings. And you know that stretched far beyond just hitting the the check boxes of right school major, right past experience and for some of the positions it required us leaving them open for a couple of years actually. And I would say that, I can officially say we met this goal about 4 years after we set it. It took that long to finally get all the open positions filled the way that we wanted to fill them. And I truly believe today that we have the most wonderful team in our industry. I mean everybody thoroughly enjoys working together, we have a group of people that that wakes up everyday ready to support each other and believes in the company and believes in the products. Cindy: That's so interesting because so often people think of goals and really hard, tangible, data-driven terms and that's such an interesting one to set. How did you sort of check, you talked about kind of checking for a progress against those things. How did it, I mean other than just filling those positions. Like what are some ways that you sort of really gauged how successful that effort was? Nicole: I think just employee morale and job satisfaction. Just seeing how our team worked together and also it mean really it's it a tangible filling open positions. I mean at the time when we set it we had the open positions that we needed to fill and under our like new new approach. So once those positions were filled and you know all future positions were done that way. It just became our way of life. Cindy: I’d imagine that was a bit of a struggle at first with your existing employees trying to communicate that message and explain to them why it might take a little bit longer to get the help that you needed. But ultimately I'm sure they could come to understand to how important this was for the health of the whole team how did you kind of navigate that transitional period. Nicole: It is, it actually is very hard. I mean still because it typically took us longer to fill positions than we did in the past and when you’re growing fast that can be a huge problem. But I think what everyone came to realize very quickly was it was much better to have a team that we all enjoyed being around and you know really truly supported each other, than just filling a position. And you know, people became believers in the process. Because they were all part of it too. You know, when somebody joined the company they were typically interviewed by five or six people versus just one or two. Anybody that they might potentially be working with and even a few people they wouldn’t be working with on a day to day process. So everyone kind of bought into it and plus they saw the results. Cindy: And when you think about how that affects your day to day business any can you think of some examples where the team has worked together in a way that you think they might not have been able to before Nicole: Yeah. One of the things that I think is really interesting is when I look at I mean our sales team. We, our sales team works very differently than most sales teams. We have a team that completely doesn't compete against each other. Which I think makes us ultimately more powerful. Our sales team isn't kind of bonused individually. We really look at it as we're all in this together. And what that has meant for some members of that team is they might have something come up like a family emergency, for example. And they can’t go to, this is a true life story, it actually happened. They can’t go to like the most important meeting for their most important customer of the year. And so one of their peers will step in and go to that meeting. Now, in a typical company that might be a threat because if that person performs and does well and then there's a chance that that could kind of come back to impact. Particularly in sales where people tend to be a little bit possessive of their customers. And in our case, the way that we work that’s just one co-worker helping another. Cindy: How do you sort of structure things, so that requires both kind of a different attitude and also like a really different incentive system as you say, right? How are some of the, what are some of the ways that plays out in the way that you kind of actually structure the company? Nicole: Well I think it, one of ways that plays out is you know we encourage a lot of cross functionality. People to kind of understand not just their role but how their role impacts the rest of the company. And particularly team members that they work with all the time but even team members that they just sort of brush up against [...] with like the various things that they’re working on. Because I think when you understand your role in greater context you understand how your choices and your decisions affect the people that you're working with versus when you are very siloed you really don't understand and you don't have a lot of concern for how your choices impact the people that you work with. Cindy: So where do you think all of these ideas came from for you? I mean when you talk about it now it it strikes me that some of this must have come out of the very difficult year that that you had in 2009. Which I mean first of all I'm very sorry for the loss of your father, I know that that was a tough time. And that you went through some learnings in terms of getting comfortable with areas of the business that you didn't know much about before that you weren't as involved in before. Is that something that kind of informed the way you've set up this newer hiring structure? Nicole: I mean it is, I mean really as you mentioned 2009 was just an incredibly difficult year. I mean personally, professionally, really in every way. It was the death of my father somebody who you know, hero, mentor, somebody who I kind of looked up to and felt I really needed. To his death resulting in our bank triggering a death of a member clause in our loan agreement. And forcing us in the height of the recession to replace debt and the significant amount of debt for the company. And ultimately kind of through that it forced my husband I to take a hard look at who we were at Late July and what we wanted this company to really become. And a couple of interesting things happened. One, we decided life is short you just don't, you really as an entrepreneur I have an incredibly positive outlook and usually my brain can't even compute failure. I mean it just doesn’t go there and I actually, I manage stress I think kind of weirdly well but kind of even given all that we just took a hard look at who we wanted to be and how we wanted to feel and how we wanted our team members to feel. And out of that we just really needed late July to be a place that. People were passionate about our mission already. But just that people were passionate about the work experience they were having. And I think bigger than that even for Peter and I was deciding who Late July wanted to be as a company. And part of kind of our early days in the cracker side of our business was something that I think was really important to building our foundation and discovering what we cared about from a mission standpoint. But the products were I think, they tasted great but I just I didn't have the passion that I needed to for where our company was headed and we made a lot of difficult decisions that year in addition to revamping the personality side of our company and the culture side of our company. We decided that as a brand we wanted to stand for something a little bit more in terms of health. And we actually decided to get out of cookies which was a significant amount of our business at that time. We were doing probably $9 million in sales and cookies were $2 million of them. So it was a big deal. And go into tortilla chips which was something both my husband and I really really were passionate about. I tried to get my father to launch them at K Pop Potato Chips but he felt pretty strongly that they were a potato chip company and that was sort of out of their area of expertise. But I felt really strongly about them and so did my husband. And this kind of comes to our next goal which I think is really probably a crazier one. But as a cracker company, we decided we wanted to become the number one tortilla chip in the natural business, in the natural aisle. And coming out of this incredibly difficult year, that was what we had decided to become. And in 2010, we started working on tortilla chips. And taking our company in this completely new direction. Cindy: Once you had finally decided this. What were some of the steps along the way that took you from okay we're going to go this whole new way to achieving that success? To being the number one tortilla chip in this aisle? Nicole: Well step one was just launching the tortilla chips, which took us almost the full year. And they officially hit shelves in December of 2010. And they were not off to the greatest start. You know, which I think was a little bit scary because we had just bet our entire company’s future on this launch. You know, and I think that was kind of the first big learning for us. Was okay, we’re going into this new category, it’s much more competitive. You know, you have to sell a lot more tortilla chips to succeed than you do crackers. So you know we kind of dug in to really understand what was causing that and we realized that because we were kind of new to this category we needed to build our brand awareness. So we just picked a couple of accounts, really built up our brand in those before kind of spreading our wings into a broader amount of stores. So we spent that full year just succeeding in the couple of accounts that we were in. And in relatively short order, I think when you kind of put your mind to it like that, we were. I think we might have become the number 3 or something in the first year. So we right away, in the accounts we were in got a high degree of success. And I attribute that to the taste of our products. It’s one thing you really need the repeat consumers and I’ve always believed that as a natural products brand, we have an obligation for the entire industry to make our products taste great. Because when the consumer has a bad experience with one natural product they make an assumption about everything. And in addition to the obligation to the greater industry, no consumer is ever going to buy a snack twice if they don’t like the way it tastes. Cindy: Right, right. So how do you go about making sure that they do taste great? Nicole: You know, I think in addition to constantly testing our products versus our competitors and making sure that everyone in our company's eating them and loving them. It's being really ready to hear criticisms and understand how to make things better. Until you're 100% satisfied never launch a product. So many people launch just to meet deadlines or they need a new item. We've never done that at Late July. Until something is 100% ready it will not be for sale. No matter what. Cindy: That’s interesting to hear you say. And also its interesting to kind of hear you say how you set about launching the tortilla chips. That you really did go deep into a couple markets because one of the things that I was wondering was. You know you haven't necessarily launched a new line since then until now or a major new product anyway. And that seems like different from the way many food companies operate. It seems like for you it’s been kind of an intentional strategy to go slow and to focus more on taste and perfection. Than on just chasing the next new thing. Would you say that’s been part of your success? Nicole: Absolutely, I mean you know the tortilla market is huge and for us there was really no need to expand past that. You know, particularly for the early days of our launch. Singular focus on kind of becoming the number one requires all of your effort and your team's effort. When we felt like spreading ourselves too thin would just kind of deal reaching that goal. Cindy: Are there kind of practical ways as you as went along this route that you kind of reinforce that focus within your team and to your employees? Nicole: I mean, I think it's interesting is that the name of this podcast as #WeGotGoals. And you know I think every meeting should have a goal. And, you know, no matter what our team was doing, we always kept that goal in the back of our mind. In particular, when it came to the tortilla chips. I think that understanding how you’re tracking versus your goal too. So you know in an account or in a retailer, where do you rank? And how are you doing? And making sure that every time you're meeting with someone, you're understanding what you're hoping to get out of that meeting. That sounds very simple but it's also very very important. Cindy: Right, I remember reading an example of one of your early sales calls where someone asked you what is there anything else you want to talk about. And you said yeah I actually just what your answer. It’s so simple but as you say really effective, right? That you just knew what you wanted and you put it on the line and and then you ended up getting what you needed out of that meeting, right? Nicole: Yeah, I mean that’s an excellent example. A lot of that came from just sheer desperation in that meeting. But if you don't even know what you want your definitely not going to get it. And I think clearly articulating what you want helps people. It helps. We’re all in this together, in our industry. And certainly within the company and understanding kind of what your objectives are and how that other person can help you achieve them is really a great step in actually achieving them. Cindy: Right, and it seems like that kind of mindset shift can also help with what you were just talking about in terms of responding to criticism too, right? That if you keep in mind that your ultimate goal, what you really want, is to improve your product. Then you can sort of start to see people who are giving you that feedback even if it's somewhat negative as people who are helping you along the way versus people who are sort of out to get you, right? It seems like that would be a much more optimistic way to look at that. Nicole: Well I think that’s absolutely true and I mean I think that's true for everything. We're all just kind of learning and growing and none of us are perfect. So you know the more receptive you are too kind of hearing things that could be done better, the more likely you are to improve faster. Cindy: So now you are in the middle of launching two new product lines - salsa and popcorn. Why did you decide that now was the time to do that and why these particular products? Nicole: Well the salsa I think is an obvious choice for a tortilla chip company. We're constantly being asked to partner with salsas and plus they're just like right next to the tortilla chips in the store. And I love making salsa at home but it’s not always practical. Sometimes you just need a shelf-stable salsa that you can take with you wherever you’re going. And this is again something that we worked on for many, many years because I was very reluctant to get into salsa because fresh salsa just tastes so much better than jar salsa. But ultimately we determine that there was enough of a need for having a shelf-stable salsa that you can just take with you anywhere that didn't require refrigeration and we were able to come up with one that we were proud of. So we felt it was time to launch it. And I think also with the salsa it’s interesting, not a lot of people are doing certified organic in salsa. And sometimes we feel that that’s our role in a category too. To kind of push people towards certified organic, certainly in tortilla chips. Us coming in as a certified organic tortilla chip has really shifted the category. We’re seeing more and more people experimenting with organic particularly now that we are the number one tortilla in both the natural aisle and the natural aisle of grocery stores. We’re number one in both. People are realizing that the number one can be organic. There are enough consumers out there that do want that, that do care about that. As long as it tastes great, I think in salsa that’s something that people weren’t really pushing that envelope. The majority of salsa out there isn’t certified organic. Cindy: So, this may or may not lead to the next question but it is about the future. What is a big goal that you have for the future and how do you plan to achieve that whether that's salsa related or are completely different? Nicole: I think it’s interesting, I also feel like as an entrepreneur it's important to have goals outside of work as well. And you know as I look to my future, my kids are getting older. I have an almost 16 year old, an almost 12 year old. I feel like kind of stepping back a little bit and looking at my family for personal inspiration for my goals. Is how can I balance a little bit better kind of my two worlds. And the whole idea of work-life balance I feel like is a little bit of a sham. Particularly for entrepreneurs. I never unplug or turn off. Even on vacation but I do feel like it’s interesting. You know you think when your kids get older, it requires a little bit less for parents. But I’m finding the opposite is actually true. That you really do need to be more to available and more present for them as they’re getting into their teenage years. So trying to kind of figure out how to balance everything. And I almost hate to use the word balance just because it’s kind of an unreachable goal. But that’s something that I’ve been personally working on as far as future. And I know that’s not work related but I think it’s very important for entrepreneurs. To kind of have personal goals too. And some of the things I’ve been experimenting with are working from home some days. We have the company set up so that it allows flexibility so that other people can do that too. Making sure that we’re eating dinner as a family if not five, at least four nights out of the week. Kind of mini goals I’ve set along the way for us and with the ultimate goal of making sure that I am present and available as my kids kind of enter this next phase of their life. Cindy: I'm actually really glad to hear you say that. Something that does strike me. I actually don't have kids but when I think about kids growing from small children where they have a lot of physical needs and then when they need to be driven places at cetera to now. Where maybe they have as you're saying like sort of higher-level needs that take more of your brain power to, to serve. Even if they don't always take as much actual time in terms of transit or cooking or or whatever those physical needs are. So I think it's really interesting the way you're thinking about how to make all of this this fit. Nicole: You know, I think it's interesting that even for our employees that don't have kids. I think it's just kind of learning too. That is okay, doesn't make you less successful of a person to kind of prioritize your private life. And that not to make that a conversation that should be hidden away. I know that when we have people who join Late July that come from much, much larger companies,, it’s a conversation people are reluctant to have. People don’t want to say we’ll I’m not available then because I have to go to my kids school or I’m not available because I have to help like an elderly parent. Or I have to take my dog to the vet. Whatever it is, we all have lives and when you’re a high achieving person you have to not hide that. I think we all have to be okay with putting that out front and having open conversations about it. Because the reality is everybody has obligations outside of work and you know it’s not something to be ashamed of. I think it’s something that as long as you’re achieving and getting your job done and it’s not impacting co-workers negatively, we should learn how to accommodate each other in a healthy way. Cindy: And you have sort of some different factors in your particular situation too because, you know, you started this as a family business. An

In this episode we discuss the extensive library on the HMS Beagle that was created by Charles Darwin and Robert Fitzroy.  Over 400 books were in the ship's library and the catalog had a heavy emphasis on travel accounts (travelogues), natural history and geology.  We discussed Humboldt and his influence on Darwin and Jeremy told the story about the dragon tree and Darwin's wish to travel the lands of Humboldt to see the same sights as Humboldt.Dragon trees in the canary islands (picture from http://pixdaus.com/canary-islands-dragon-tree-or-drago-tree/items/view/267293/)Here is Humboldt's description of the dragon tree-Although we were acquainted, from the narratives of so many travellers, with the dragon-tree of the garden of Mr. Franqui, we were not the less struck with it's enormous magnitude. We were told, that the trunk of this tree, which is mentioned in several very ancient documents as marking the boundaries of a field, was as gigantic in the fifteenth century, as it is at the present moment. It's height appeared to us to be about 50 or 60 feet; it's circumference near the roots is 45 feet. We could not measure higher, but Sir George Staunton found, that, 10 feet from the ground, the diameter of the trunk is still 12 English feet; which corresponds perfectly with the assertion of Borda, who found it's mean circumference 33 feet 8 inches, French measure. The trunk is divided into a great number of branches, which rise in the form of a candelabrum, and are terminated by tufts of leaves, like the yucca which adorns the valley of Mexico. It is this division, which gives it a very different appearance from that of the palm-tree*. [Humboldt, Alexander von. 1814-1829. Personal narrative of travels to the equinoctial regions of the New Continent, during the years 1799-1804. pgs 144-145]Since 36% of the books in the Beagle library were travelogues, and Darwin's own Voyage of the Beagle is a travelogue, we invited Dr. Jeremy Paden, professor of Spanish Literature at Transylvania University, to discuss with us the role of travelogues in the 16th-19th century as a literature form.During our discussion Jeremy highlighted Thomas Falkner as an influential travelogue writer who wrote  A description of Patagonia, and the adjoining parts of South America (1774).  Falkner described the region of Patagonia, a rugged area at the tip of of South America that also encompassed the Streights of Magellan.Straits of MagellanUnlike the map above which show the Straits of Magellan as a simple channel, the real Straits of Magellan are quite complex and convoluted as seen in the Google map below. Notice the large number of cul-de-sac inlets and waterways that can easy lead you astray.We noted that the tip of South America looks more like a spongiform brain that has mad cow disease as shown in the image below, left image is a brain with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and brain on the right is normal brain.James highlighted an unusual book in the collection - Werner's Colours, a small book that includes colour swatches that Darwin used as reference when he was taking notes of specimens.Excerpt from Werner's ColoursYou can peruse the entire Beagle library at the Darwin Online website.At the end of the podcast we spoke with Dr. Paden about his own research and interest in poetry. James mentioned his appreciation of Jeremy's poem on the liver fluke parasite and we reprint it here-CompulsionFalling from the masticating jaws of ungulatesthat clip the tips of grass blades, the black antescapes this evening’s immolationand the circuitous route of cud-balls,from stomach to teeth, stomach to teeth.Ignorant of why it leaves the sweet feastof slime balls secreted by common land snails,come dusk, the ant climbs again the broad greenleaf to spend the night in sirshasana​,​pinschers clamped ​to the end of a grass blade.Larval lancet liver flukes, encystedin snail-trail droppings, once eaten,​ move to​the ganglion below the gullet,​ and force ​​Formica fusca to climb​ the blade​ andwait for the grazing cattle to come home.If you are interested in reading more of Jeremy Paden's poems you can find his published book of poems concerning mining in Chile here or here.The opening and closing theme to Discovering Darwin is "May" by Jared C. Balogh. Interlude music was Procreation by Little Glass Men

Episode Download LinkShow Notes!00.00   Ways to Get Your Geekin’!00.22   Intro02.02   Lyesmith discusses the Firefly fan film – Browncoats: Independence War!Also Discussed: Our interview with the director, Francis Hamada, can be found HERE!For additional Browncoats news, please visit their FACEBOOK PAGE and BROWNCOATS UNIVERSE 14.30   The Internet and the Rise of Fan Films!16:34   Retinax 5 recommends STAR TREK: AXANAR20:38   Lyesmith mourns the loss of the Batgirl fan film series, SPOILEDFirst episode can be found HERE!Also Discussed: The short sightedness of Warner Bros. attorneys! Audio dramas from Pendant Productions. Is Around Comics the godfather of Geek Culture podcasts?27:30   Retinax 5 recommends THE PUNISHER: DIRTY LAUNDRY31:30   Lyesmith recommends HELLBLAZER: JOHN CONSTANTINEAlso Discussed: Retinax 5 makes the most childish joke in the history of Geekin’32:44   Retinax 5 and Lyesmith discuss BATMAN: DEAD ENDAlso Discussed: The Boys of Geekin’ discuss their favorite Jokers!39:30   Lyesmith recommends BORDERLANDS: FIREFIGHT41:20   Retinax 5 recommends RvD2: RYAN VS DORKMAN 244:34   Retinax 5 recommends TROOPS!47:48   The Honorable MentionsSUPERPOWER BEATDOWN STAR WARS: CONTRACT OF EVILFANFILMS.NETSTAR TREK: PHASE IIISSUESBATMAN BEYOND: BEYOND THE SENSESRED HOOD SERIES IN PRODUCTION57:55   A Very Special Ringtone!58:25   Outro BlogTwitterFacebook

Episode Download LinkRetinax-5 & Lyesmith discuss the Weekery in Geekery, favorite Superman story arcs, the Man of Steel movie, and Geekin' After Dark for the lady listeners in Malaysia!Geekin Issue 2 Show Notes0:00            Intro Music (Big Damn Heroes)0:40            This Week on the Blog: Harley Quinn #03:08            This Week on the Blog: Uncanny X-Men #146:40            This Week on the Blog: Voice in the Dark #18:37In the News: Batman vs. Superman Discussion.Lyesmith and Retinax-5 attempt to deduce the entire plot of the film based on a single tweet by a Warner Brothers producer.15:15In the News: Terrence Howard really hates Robert Downey Jr.Lyesmith and Retinax-5 offer Howard some much needed career advice.24:30Man of Steel Special Superman Comic ReviewsRetinax-5 reviews Superman: Red Son (and mistakes a scythe for a sickle on the Soviet emblem: Bad Historian).Lyesmith reviews All Star Superman.40:30            Lyesmith and Retinax-5 derail the podcast and decide to hold a production meeting on the air and discuss doing a New52 episode sometime in the future.42:40The “Death of Superman” story and its cultural impact is discussed.Lyesmith channels his inner Terrence Howard and hates the Superman: Doomsday DC animated film.Retinax-5 recommends the “Death of Superman” documentary that was packaged with Doomsday.51:58            At long last – The Man of Steel film review!! SPOILERS!!2:15:30Geekin Announcements:The Geekin Blog has moved out of the projects that is Wordpress and can now be found at its new uptown digs: geekinpodcast.blogspot.com.The blog is a hit in Malaysia.2:18:08            Not knowing how to properly end a podcast, Lyesmith and Retinax-5 opt to continue the previous on-air production meeting.Such scintillating topics as Wednesday night recording sessions and what the hell next week’s episode is going to be about are discussed.#MetropolisNeverForget#VoteLex2:23:40            Exit Notes2:25:30            Outro Musicwww.geekinpodcast.blogspot.comwww.twitter.com/geekinpodcastwww.facebook.com/geekinpodcasthttp://www.facebook.com/bigdamnheroesband

Steve Dekler @ SoloTrance Day (Madrid-Spain) 05-08-2014Tracklist:1.- Gareth Emery - Long Way Home (Original Mix) [Garuda Music]2.- Beat Service & Ana Criado - So Much Of Me Is You (Origina Mix) [Beat Service Audio]3.- Estiva & Justin Oh Ft. Abby Rae - Reach For The Sky (Original Mix) [Enhanced Recordings]4.- Andrew Bayer - Once Lydian (Original Mix) [Ajunabeats]5.- Tritonal & Paris Blohm ft. Sterling Fox - Colors [Protocol Recordings]6.- Above & Beyond Ft. Alex Vargas - Sticky Fingers (Original Mix) [Ajunabeats]7.- Wrechiski - Starchild (Original Mix) [Monster Tunes]8.- Conjure One Ft. Aruna - Still Holding On (Mike Shiver Remix) [S107 Recordings]9.- Rank 1 & Dennis Sheperd - Freudenrausch (Original Mix) [High Contrast Recordings]10.- Heatbeat Rodrigo Deem - Felina (Original Mix) [Captivating Sounds]11.- Steve Dekler - Atom (Original Mix) [Dirt, Lies & Audio]12.- Araya - Perception (Original Mix) [Alwaysalive Recordings]13.- Orjan Nilsen feat. Jonathan Mendelsohn - Apart (Mike Shiver Remix) [In My Opinion]) [G(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/es_ES/all.js#xfbml=1&appId=344299965594090"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));

Time For You Sessions with Steve Dekler: 19-07-14Time For You Sessions with Steve Dekler offers news from the best dj's and producers in the Trance scene in the world. Listeners can stop time and focus to perceive waves of this style. Listen to our latest Steve Dekler Podcast and will be updated in the best electronic dance music! TRACKLIST:1.- Nitro Fun - Soldiers (Original Mix) [Monstercat] 2.- Eddie Thoneick & Abel Ramos feat. James Walsh - Love Will Never Let You Down (Original Mix) [Size Records] 3.- Sander Kleinenberg - We-R-Superstars (Original Mix) [Spinnin Records] 4.- Syn Cole - Bright Lights (Original Mix) [ICONS] 5.- Damian William - Knightrider(Original Mix) [In My Opinion] 6.- Fehrplay - Everywhere You Go (Club Mix) [Ultra] 7.- Andrew Bayer - Bullet Catch (Original Mix) [Anjunabeats] 8.- Oliver Smith - Evermore (Original Mix) [Anjunabeats] 9.- Genix - Run (Original Mix) [Anjunabeats] 10.- Husman - Who We Are (Original Mix) [Mainstage Music] 11.- Zeed ft. Matthew Koma feat. Miriam Bryant - Find You (Tritonal Remix) [Universal Music] 12.- Andy Moor - Fade To Light (Original Mix) [AVA Recordings] 13.- Above & Beyond feat. Oceanlab - Satellite (Ilan Bluestone Remix) [Anjunabeats] 14.- Alex Sonata - Hybrid (Original Mix) [GARUDA] (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/es_ES/all.js#xfbml=1&appId=344299965594090"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));

When do we pronounce plural nouns with an /ɪz/ sound?Hi. My name is Enrique and I am the creator of Say it in English...!Thanks for listening to our weekly podcasts. They are available for free on iTunes store. So, download them when you’ve got the chance.In today’s program we will talk about sibilants and affricates and how these consonants affect the pronunciation of plural nouns in English. Let’s start from the beginning. First, we have to check basic phonetic concepts in order to help you understand how both sibilants and affricates work in the production of the plural form of certain nouns.What is a sibilant?A sibilant can be either a voiceless  or  a voiced consonant sound. It means that its articulation can be made without or with vibration of the vocal cords. Let’s take, for example the voiceless consonant sound /s/ and the voiced consonant sound /z/.Put gently your fingers on your throat and repeat the next sound three times after me:s…, s…, s…You can feel clearly the lack of vibration when articulating this consonant sound. It is a voiceless  consonant sound.Now, put gently your fingers on your throat again and repeat this other sound three times after me:z…, z…, z…You can feel the strong vibration of this consonant sound while it is articulated. It is a voiced  consonant sound.Another characteristic of a sibilant is that it is a continuous sound. It means that we can prolong voluntarily the length of the sound.Listen:sssssssszzzzzzz Now,  let’s check the consonant sounds /s/ and  /z/ with other sibilants all together:  Listen and repeat after me. Put your fingers on your throat and notice both the lack of vibration in some of them and the strong vibration on the others. Notice the control that we have over their length too.szʃʒOk. This is just an introduction in the understanding of how the plural nouns are articulated in English. So, be patient. We are going to get into the point in a few minutes. What are affricates? Other pair of consonant sounds that are important to learn in today`s episode are the affricates.Affricates are a sort of two mixed consonantal sounds that come together and are articulated simultaneously as one single sound.Listen and repeat three times after me:tʃ..., tʃ...., tʃ...This consonant sound is voiceless and it is the result of pronouncing  /t/ and /S/ together.t  +  ʃ  =  tʃNow, listen and repeat three times after me this other affricate:dʒ..., dʒ..., dʒ...This consonant sound is voiced and it is the result of pronouncing /d/ and /Z/ together.d  +  ʒ  =  dʒWith this said, let’s start showing you how the pronunciation of plural nouns are done when a word ends either in a sibilant or in an affricate consonant sound.Notice how the singular forms of the next words get an extra syllable when they are pronounced in their plural form.  The added sound is not just a /z/ sound, but an /Iz/ sound.I will pronounce the singular form followed by the plural form of every single word.Listen and repeat. SINGULAR FORM PLURAL FORM Consonantal types Ending sound One to three syllable words One more syllable is added Added sound sibilants s 1 vasecase 2 vasescases Iz z 1 praisephrase 2 praisesphrases Iz ʃ 1 wishdish 2 wishesdishes Iz ʒ 2 massage 3 massages Iz 3 arbitrage 4 arbitrages affricates

Time For You Sessions with Steve Dekler: MARCH 2014Time For You Sessions with Steve Dekler offers news from the best dj's and producers in the Trance scene in the world. Listeners can stop time and focus to perceive waves of this style. Listen to our latest Steve Dekler Podcast and will be updated in the best electronic dance music! TRACKLIST MARCH 20141.- Sound Quelle - Sphere (Original Mix) [Enhanced Recordings]2.- Savid - Quorra (Original Mix) [Always Alive Recordings]3.- Soundprank - Squared (Original Mix) [Enhanced Recordings]4.- Tommy Baynen – TomB Raider (Original Mix) [Enhanced Recordings]5.- Andrew Bayer - Once Lydian (Original Mix) [Ajunabeats]6.- Johan Vilborg - Sky Grinder (Original Mix) [Enhanced Recordings]7.- W&W Bigfoot (Original Mix) [Mainstage Music]8.- Taurus & Vaggeli - Fubar (Original Mix) [Harem Records]9.- Matt Caseli, OLIC, Amy Chase Sunrise (Follow Me) feat. Amy Chase (Jerome Isma-Ae & Ilan Bluestone Remix) [Sirup Records]10.- Wrechiski - Starchild (Original Mix) [Monster Tunes]11.- Lange feat. Stine Grove - Crossroads (Estiva Remix) [Lange Recordings]12.- Adam Kancerski & High 5 - Divine (Original Mix) [Infrasonic Records]13.- Ben Gold - Thriller (Original Mix) [Garuda]14.- Heatbeat Rodrigo Deem - Felina (Original Mix) [Captivating Sounds]15.- Ben Gold - Vortex (Original Mix) [Garuda]16.- Giuseppe Ottaviani featuring Alana Aldea - Heal This Empty Heart (Extended Mix) [Black Hole Recordings]17.- Driftmoon - Bittersweet (Original Mix) [Always Alive Recordings]18.- Kaimo K & Ellie Lawson - Never Dared To Start Again (Original Mix) [Amsterdam Trance]19.- Paul Trainer - Receptor (Original Mix) [Vandit Records]20.- Solarstone with Aly & Fila - Fireisland (Suncatcher Remix) [Black Hole Recordings](function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/es_ES/all.js#xfbml=1&appId=344299965594090"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));

Time For You Sessions with Steve Dekler: FEBRUARY 2014Time For You Sessions with Steve Dekler offers news from the best dj's and producers in the Trance scene in the world. Listeners can stop time and focus to perceive waves of this style. Listen to our latest Steve Dekler Podcast and will be updated in the best electronic dance music! TRACKLIST FEBRUARY 20141.- Gareth Emery feat. Bo Bruce - U [Garuda]2.- Ilan Bluestone - Spheres (Original Mix) [Anjunabeats]3.- Estiva & Justin Oh Ft. Abby Rae - Reach For The Sky (Original Mix) [Enhanced Recordings]4.- Kevin Charm - Sydneysider (Original Mix) [Enhanced Recordings]5.- Kyau & Albert - Do You Still Know (Joseph Areas Dirty Rock Mix) [Euphonic]6.- Rafael Frost - New York (Original Mix) [Frost Recordings]7.- Andy Jaar feat. Leusin - Morning Light (Andy Duguid Remix) [Black Hole Recordings]8.- Justin Oh feat. Jonny Rose - City Lights (Original Mix) [Arrival]9.- Dan Stone - Hermana (Original Mix) [Enhanced Recordings]10.- Sunset Slave - Free Ride (Original Mix) [Silent Shore White]11.- Araya & Mark Dreamer - Go On! (Original Mix) [Infrasonic Recordings]12.- David Forbes - Tjikko (Original Mix) [LW Recordings]13.- Steve Dekler - Atom (Original Mix) [Dirt, Lies & Audio]14.- Eximinds - Phoenix (Original Mix) [A State of Trance]15.- Tangle & Mateusz - Omega (Original Mix) [Lange Recordings]16.- Damian Wasse feat. Irina Makosh - Under The Sky (Original Mix) [Lange Recordings]17.- Max Graham vs Maarten de Jong - Lekker (Original Mix) [A State of Trance]18.- Craig Connelly - Decibels (Original Mix) [Garuda]19.- Greg Downey - Vivid Intent (Will Atkinson Dreamy Mix) [Global Code]20.- Jimmy Chou - Madison (NoMosk Remix) [INOV8 Recordings](function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/es_ES/all.js#xfbml=1&appId=344299965594090"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));

Time For You Sessions with Steve Dekler: JANUARY 2014Time For You Sessions with Steve Dekler offers news from the best dj's and producers in the Trance scene in the world. Listeners can stop time and focus to perceive waves of this style. Listen to our latest Steve Dekler Podcast and will be updated in the best electronic dance music! TRACKLIST JANUARY 20141.- Kerry Leva - Proud (Juventa Remix) [Enhanced Music]2.- Araya - Perception (Original Mix) [Enhanced Music]3.- Shawn Mitiska & Sedi - Double Tap (Original Mix) [Silk Royal]4.- Sebjak - Feel You (Extended Mix) [Ultra]5.- AWD - Summer's End (Original Mix) [Enhanced Music]6.- Tritonal feat. Phoebe Ryan - Now Or Never (Estiva vs. Juventa Remix) [Enhanced Music]7.- Syn Cole - Miami 82 (Avicii Edit) [LE7ELS]8.- Lence & Pluton - Maybe Day [Alter Ego Records]9.- Essonita - Cambodia (Original Mix) [Shah-Music Digital]10.- Tom Swoon & Paris Blohm feat. Hadouken - Synchronize (Original Mix) [Ultra]11.- Klauss Goulart - Absolute Chaos (Original Mix) [Coldharbour Recordings]12.- Gabriel & Dresden feat. Molly Bancroft - Tracking Treasure Down (Dyro Remix) [Organized Nature]13.- Shogun - Abduction (Original Mix) [Armind]14.- Rafaël Frost & Jennifer Rene - Higher (Original Mix) [Frost Recordings]15.- Johnny Yono & Mike Danis - Blast (Original Mix) [Garuda]16.- Conjure One feat. Aruna - Still Holding On (Mike Shiver Remix) [107 Recordings]17.- Stoneface & Terminal - Skyfall [Euphonic Records]18.- Solarstone & Lemon - Lovers (Pure Mix Edit) [Black Hole Recordings]19.- Amine Maxwell - Never Ending (Original Mix) [AEZ Recordings]20.- Sunset & Alpha Force feat. Robin Vane - With You [A State Of Trance](function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/es_ES/all.js#xfbml=1&appId=344299965594090"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));

Time For You Sessions with Steve Dekler: DECEMBER 2013Time For You Sessions with Steve Dekler offers news from the best dj's and producers in the Trance scene in the world. Listeners can stop time and focus to perceive waves of this style. Listen to our latest Steve Dekler Podcast and will be updated in the best electronic dance music! TRACKLIST DECEMBER 20131.- Adam Szabo & Johan Vilborg Feat. Johnny Norberg - Two To One (Original Vocal Mix) [Enhanced Recordings]2.- D-Mad - Taffy (Original Tune) [Monster Tunes]3.- Juventa feat. Erica Curran - Move Into Light (Toby Hedges Remix) [Enhanced Music]4.- Leo (USA) - She's The One (Original Mix) [Enhanced Recordings]5.- Essonita feat. Irina Makosh - Letter To Angel (Spark7 Vocal Mix) [Club family records]6.- Deadmau5 - Suckfest9001 (Original Mix) [Mau5trap]7.- Ferry Corsten feat. Jenny Wahlstrom - Many Ways (Original Mix) [Flashover Recordings]8.- Kat Krazy feat. elkka - Siren (Extended Mix) [Armada Music]9.- Johan Vilborg Feat. Charlie Bath - Inside (Original Mix) [Enhanced Music]10.- Avii - Slamming The Beats (Original Mix) [Alter Ego Records]11.- Tritonal Feat. Skyler Stonestreet -Electric Glow  (Original Mix) [Enhanced Records]12.- Sean Tyas & Noah Neiman with Fisher - Lose My Logic [Black Hole Recording]13.- Omnia feat. Everything By Electricity - Bones (Original Mix) [Armada Music]14.- Tygris - Scarlett Silva (Original Mix) [Enhanced Music]15.- Aruna - Reason To Believe (Speed Limits Remix) [Enhanced Records]16.- Vast Vision - Ardente (Original Mix) [Future Sound Of Egypt]17.- Mark Sixma - Character (Original Mix) [Armada Music]18.- Kaimo K feat. Jess Morgan - Draw The Line (Original Mix) [Adrian&RazRecordings]19.- Araya & Mark Dreamer - Pirates from Zoo [Alter Ego Records]20.- Bluskay  - Burning Skylines ( Original Mix ) [AEZ Recordings](function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/es_ES/all.js#xfbml=1&appId=344299965594090"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));

Time For You Sessions with Steve Dekler: NOVEMBER 2013Time For You Sessions with Steve Dekler offers news from the best dj's and producers in the Trance scene in the world. Listeners can stop time and focus to perceive waves of this style. Listen to our latest Steve Dekler Podcast and will be updated in the best electronic dance music! TRACKLIST NOVEMBER 20131.- Tritonal feat. Phoebe Ryan - Now Or Never (Original Mix) [Enhanced Music]2.- Mike Sonar - Blink (Original Mix) [Enhanced Music]3.- MuseArtic - Stellar Theme (Alternative Mix) [Alter Ego Progressive]4.- Airsoul - All Will Be Well [Alter Ego Progressive]5.- Estiva & Johan Vilborg - Mondays (Original Mix) [Enhanced Music]6.- Mat Zo - Lucid Dreams (Original Mix) [EasyLove Records]7.- Gal Abutbul - Activate (Original Mix) [Armada Music]8.- Tristan D & Tangle pres. Nu-State - VERTIGO (Original Mix) [VANDIT]9.- Speed Limits - Puesta del Sol (Original Mix) [Enhanced Music]10.- CE3SAR – Lakota (Ilan Bluestone Remix) [Armind (Armada)]11.- Speed Limits - My Personal Sunrise (Original Mix) [Enhanced Music]12.- Alekzander & Sky 9 - Chimera (Original Mix) [Sorcery Records]13.- Signum - Second Wave (Sied Van Riel Remix) [Captivating Sounds]14.-Nikhil Prakash - Release Night (Original Mix) [Future Focus Recordings]15.- Alex M.O.R.P.H. feat. Natalie Gioia - Dreams (Original Club Mix) [A State Of Trance]16.- Steve Dekler - Paradoxa (Original Mix) [West Drift Records]17.- Blugazer - Elvirica [Alter Ego Progressive]18.- Denis Kenzo feat. Sveta B. - Lullaby For Two (Progressive Mix) [Armind (Armada)]19.- Driftmoon - Drifter (Original Mix) [Enhanced Music]20.- Bobina feat. Ana Criado - For Who I Am (Beat Service Remix) [Magik Muzic](function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/es_ES/all.js#xfbml=1&appId=344299965594090"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));

Time For You Sessions with Steve Dekler: OCTOBER 2013Time For You Sessions with Steve Dekler offers news from the best dj's and producers in the Trance scene in the world. Listeners can stop time and focus to perceive waves of this style. Listen to our latest Steve Dekler Podcast and will be updated in the best electronic dance music! TRACKLIST OCTOBER 20131.- Timur Shafiev - Take Everything (Original Mix) [Enhanced Music]2.- Morvan - Only Forever (Hanski Remix) [Alter Ego Records]3.- Ost & Meyer - Gandhi (Original Mix) [Enhanced Music]4.- Tangle - All I See [Alter Ego Progressive]5.- Reverse - Absolute Reality (Arty Remix) [ARVA]6.- Dash Berlin feat. Sarah Howells - Go It Alone (Andrew Rayel Remix) [Aropa records]7.- Nic Toms - Velvet (Original Mix) [Enhanced Music]8.- Bauer & Lanford - Leave Me Behind (Original Mix) ([Columbia Sony]9.- Project 46 - Motionless (feat. Seri) [Monstercat Release]10.- The Aston Shuffle - Can't Stop Now (Matisse & Sadko Remix) [Spinnin' Records]11.- Luke Bond - Reflections (Tomas Heredia Remix) [FSOE]12.- Accendo - Ledra (Original Mix) [Infrasonic Records]13.- Terry Da Libra & David Broaders - Loss Aversion (Original Mix) [Ebhanced recordings]14.- Store N Forward - Schnitzel (Original Mix) [Enhanced Recordings]15.- Jonas Hornblad - Paraglider (Colonial One Remix) [Alter Ego]16.- Rob Naylor - Head North [Garuda]17.- Ronski Speed Ft. Lucy Saunders - Rise Again (Omnia Remix) [Euphonic]18.- Arisen Flame - Gladius (Original Mix) [ASOT]19.- Ferry Corsten - Diss! (Original Mix) [Flashover Recordings]20.- Venom One feat. Adina Butar - Crashed & Burned (Rafael Frost Remix) [Coldharbour Recordings](function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/es_ES/all.js#xfbml=1&appId=344299965594090"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));

Time For You Sessions with Steve Dekler: AUGUST 2013Time For You Sessions with Steve Dekler offers news from the best dj's and producers in the Trance scene in the world. Listeners can stop time and focus to perceive waves of this style. Listen to our latest Steve Dekler Podcast and will be updated in the best electronic dance music! TRACKLIST AUGUST 20131.- Karanda - Whopper (Original Mix)2.- Chris Forward - Fireworks (Original Mix)3.- Two & One feat. Kimberly Hale - Siren Song (Original Mix)4.- Audien - Iris (Original Mix)5.- Dash Berlin & Alexander Popov feat. Jonathan Mendelsohn - Steal You Away (Original Mix)6.- Alexander Popov - Moscow Subway (Original Mix)7.- Nicky Romero vs Krewella - Legacy (Original Mix)8.- Andrew Benson - More  (Original Mix)9.- Benny Benassi feat. John Legend - Dance The Pain Away (Extended Mix)10.- Rehab & Bassjackers - Raise Those Hands (Original Mix)11.- Kevin Wild - Break The Rules (Original Mix)12.- Ari Kyle & Audioscape feat. Christina Rivera - I Want To Stay (Original Mix)13.- Andy Moor - I Be (Original Mix)14.- Richard Durand & Neev Kennedy - Running On Empty (Two & One Remix)15.- Illuminor - Sonar (Eximinds Remix)16.- Andy Duguid and Audrey Gallagher - In This Momen (Original Mix)17.- Lele Troniq feat. Simona Barbieri - Sirio (Original Mix)18.- Boom Jinx Maor Levi & Ashley Tomberlin - When You Loved Me (Juventa & Toby Hedges Remix)19.- Giuseppe Ottaviani & Ferry Corsten - Magenta (MIKE Remix)20.- Roger Shah & JES & Brian Laruso - Higher Than The Sun (Aly & Fila Remix)(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/es_ES/all.js#xfbml=1&appId=344299965594090"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));

Time For You Sessions with Steve Dekler: SEPTEMBER 2013Time For You Sessions with Steve Dekler offers news from the best dj's and producers in the Trance scene in the world. Listeners can stop time and focus to perceive waves of this style. Listen to our latest Steve Dekler Podcast and will be updated in the best electronic dance music! TRACKLIST SEPTEMBER 20131.- Christian Burns & Paul van Dyk - We Are Tonight (Original Mix)2.- Binary Finary & Alan Crown - Escherian (Original Mix)3.- Juventa ft Erica Curran - Move Into Light (Original Mix)4.- AWD  -New Memories (Original Mix)5.- Aruna - Reason To Believe (Steve Kaetzel Original Mix)6.- Photographer - Airport (Wrechiski Remix)7.- Javah feat. Claire Willis - Let Me Show You (Original Mix)8.- Myon & Shane 54 feat. Natalie Peris - Outshine (Myon & Shane 54 In Search Of Sunrise Mix)9.- Naden - Kelevra (Original Mix)10.- Super8 & Tab - The Way You Want (Original Mix)11.- Nicole McKenna feat. Amir Afargan - Shape The Invisible (Denis Sender Remix)12.- Lange pres. LNG - Brandalism (Noah Neiman Remix)13.- Avi - Number 7 (Original Mix)14.- Lange - Imagineer (Original Mix)15.- Mark Sixma & Faruk Sabanci - Tripod (Original Mix)16.- Nifra - Waves (Original Mix)17.- Tilt & Paul Van Dyk - Rendezvous (Orkidea Remix)18.- Amir Hussain - Vesuvius (Original Mix)19.- Richard Durand & Eximinds - Las Vegas (Organic Mix)20.- Type 41 - Destination (Original Mix)(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/es_ES/all.js#xfbml=1&appId=344299965594090"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));

Ms. Shannon “Simply Unique” Nicole is 27 years old and resides in her hometown Greensboro, North Carolina. As a military child she was given an opportunity to travel, she’s lived in Savannah, Georgia, started school in Germany, completed elementary in Lawton, Oklahoma, middle school in Fort Stewart, Georgia and came back to Greensboro, NC to complete high school in 2003 at Northeast Guilford High. In 2007 she went to ECPI College of Technology to pursue education in the healthcare field as a Medical Assistant major. After graduating in 2009 with an Applied Associates Degree in Health Science, she joined the American Medical Technologist (AMT) and received her certification as a Registered Medical Assistant. From 2009 till the end of 2010 she fought with a lot of determination to land a position in her field of study but kept coming home empty handed and disappointed.  Her past history with a criminal record taunted her daily, causing her to re-evaluate her career goals. As most would believe, having a criminal record stops you from getting ahead, but such a statement to Shannon only challenged her to push towards a different, more personal avenue.  She is a found believer in Jesus Christ and knows by faith her life history is no mistake. Through trust she’ll tell you His been leading the way. In the summer of 2010, the aspiration for medical assisting went out the window and she decided to listen to her guided given voice and began a much needed journey for healing. For twelve years Shannon has fought to discover her identity, after being repeatedly sexually molested since age 12 and experiences with other devastating traumatic events from the ages of 16 to 23 ranging from alcohol/drugs, death of parents, rejection, and domestic violence.   Determined to mold the pieces of shattered life, she decided to continue her education at Guilford College, majoring in Psychology with a minor in Sociology. Fall of 2011 before entering college, she found hope and comfort in a local Journey Group of 6 women whom also suffered with childhood sexual abuse. She also participated at workshops facilitated at the Mental Health Association in Greensboro, NC, thru the Wellness Academy. By the time she started school in Spring of 2012 and her second season with the Journey Group, she knew without any doubt, her career destination would be in her walk towards healing. Previous years of networking with like-minded entrepreneurs thru events, workshops, and social gatherings, awarded her opportunities to step into the community and spread awareness by sharing her story. Organizations such as Toastmasters, Beauty from Head to Toe, I Will Live and Women in Bloom were just the beginning. As a full-time student, wife to be, and Americorps Spirit of Excellence Tutor with Black Child Development, she finds time to work on launching Simply Unique Breaking the Silence. Simply Unique is a Sexual Assault Awareness and Empowerment movement she is creating to encourage victims/survivors to break their silence and help other such as family and friends understand the importance of a healthy support system. Shannon has been spreading the word for the past year and a half and in April of 2013 she plans to launch further into the community with a unique approach on such a devastating topic. In her words, “It’s not easy, the days are heavy and overwhelming at times, but each step of the way my hand is being held tightly and reassurance from God and the awesome people his brought into my life keep me grounded. This is my destiny.” Please click here to listen to this podcast on iTunes, or click here to listen to the podcast in your Internet browser.