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Featuring Molly Burhans, environmental advocate and Founder of GoodLands Imagine harnessing the vast resources of one of the world's largest landowners to combat climate change and promote social justice. This is precisely the visionary work of Molly Burhans, an American cartographer, data scientist, and environmental activist who is transforming how the Catholic Church—and potentially other major landholders—responds to our planet's most pressing sustainability challenges. At just 26, Molly founded GoodLands, an organization dedicated to mobilizing the Church's extensive landholdings for ecological conservation and community benefit.She spearheaded the creation of the first unified digital global map of the Catholic Church, a groundbreaking project unveiled at the Vatican in 2016, which revealed the immense potential for environmental stewardship embedded within the Church's properties—estimated to exceed the combined size of France and Spain. Molly's innovative use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology has not only illuminated the Church's carbon footprint and conservation opportunities but also set the stage for strategic, mission-aligned land use on a global scale. Her extraordinary contributions have earned her numerous accolades including: being named a United Nations Young Champion of the Earth, an Ashoka Fellow, National Geographic Emerging Explorer, Sierra Club Earth Care Laureate, one of Encyclopædia Britannica's “20 Under 40 Shapers of the Future” and many more. In addition to a Master's in Ecological Design from the Conway School and her work on projects, advocacy, and creative initiatives, Molly is an adjunct professor of Urban Design at Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation. With a deep personal commitment to her faith, Molly embodies a new generation of leaders who are leveraging technology, data, and visionary thinking to create sustainable solutions.Today, she stands at the intersection of ecology, technology, and spirituality, demonstrating how innovative approaches to land management can have profound implications for environmental sustainability and social justice worldwide.
In this episode of 'The Biggest Table,' hosted by Andrew Camp, culinary historian Michael Twitty shares insights into how food serves as a medium for exploring cultural identity, heritage, and spirituality. Twitty, the creator of the blog Afroculinaria and author of award-winning books like 'The Cooking Gene' and 'Kosher Soul,' delves into his journey of connecting African American and Jewish food traditions. He discusses profound themes around the biblical narrative of Exodus, the legacy of slavery, and the importance of storytelling and memory in food. The episode also touches on the significance of Juneteenth, addressing intergenerational trauma and resilience, and the sacredness of food in cultural practices, offering listeners a rich, multifaceted conversation about identity, history, and liberation.Michael Twitty is a culinary historian, living history interpreter, and Judaics teacher. He is the creator of Afroculinaria, the first blog devoted to African American historic foodways and their legacy. In 2018, his book The Cooking Gene won both the James Beard Foundation Book of the Year Award and Best Writing Award. He is the first Revolutionary in Residence at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, a TED Fellow, and was named to The Forward's list of influential Jews in 2020 and a National Geographic Emerging Explorer in 2021. He is also the author of Koshersoul: The Faith and Food Journey of an African American Jew, which was released in 2022. He lives in Fredericksburg, Virginia.Follow Michael Twitty on Instagram: @thecookinggeneThis episode of the Biggest Table is brought to you in part by Wild Goose Coffee. Since 2008, Wild Goose has sought to build better communities through coffee. For our listeners, Wild Goose is offering a special promotion of 20% off a one time order using the code TABLE at checkout. To learn more and to order coffee, please visit wildgoosecoffee.com.
Episode 72 of Messy Jesus Business podcast, with Sister Julia Walsh. Podcast: Play in new window | Download Subscribe: Email | RSS | More “We have to understand the environment and appreciate it, both aesthetically and scientifically --as well as historically. And so it means taking all of the modalities of exploration and understanding that God has given us and bringing those together.” -Molly Burhans IN THIS EPISODE This episode of Messy Jesus Business podcast is the second of two featuring Sister Julia Walsh's conversation with Catholic cartographer Molly Burhans. In this episode, Burhans and Sister Julia explore the mess of restorative land practices and using data for good. Burhans shares how her team was the first to make a global projection map of Catholic Church jurisdictions since 1801. Sister Julia asks Burhans to comment on what stewardship means to her and what Catholics are meant to be doing in movement spaces related to land justice. They also discuss the complexities of Catholic identity and devotion in a messy Church whose structural sins have caused injustice and abuse. Regarding persisting in faith, Burhans encourages, "we have to be brave. And if we are the kingdom of God, we can build it. And I'll map it, if you need any help." ABOUT THE GUEST Molly Burhans is an award-winning Catholic environmentalist, cartographer and social entrepreneur. She is the founder of GoodLands, an organization whose mission is to mobilize the Catholic Church to use its landholdings for environmental and humanitarian good. Burhans was the chief cartographer for the first unified global map of the Church, which premiered at the Vatican in 2016. She was named one of Encyclopedia Britannica's 2022 “20 Under 40,” is a winner of the Sierra Club's EarthCare Award, a U.N. Young Champion of the Earth, a National Geographic Emerging Explorer and an Ashoka Fellow. Molly is a visiting professor at Canisius College and adjunct professor of urban design at Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. In 2021 The New Yorker published a profile of her entitled How a Young Activist Is Helping Pope Francis Battle Climate Change. MESSY JESUS BUSINESS is hosted by Sister Julia Walsh. Produced and edited by Colin Wambsgans. Email us at messyjesusbusiness@gmail.com BE SOCIAL:https://www.facebook.com/MessyJesusBusiness Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MessyJesusBusiness Twitter: @messyjesusbiz Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/messyjesusbusiness SUPPORT US: https://www.patreon.com/messyjesusbusiness
Episode 71 of Messy Jesus Business podcast, with Sister Julia Walsh. Podcast: Play in new window | Download Subscribe: Email | RSS | More “There's always a freedom, though, that I feel... even if I was totally wrong about everything, I have full faith that Christ and God still love me and are still there.” -Molly Burhans IN THIS EPISODE This episode of Messy Jesus Business podcast is the first of two featuring Sister Julia Walsh's conversation with Molly Burhans. In this episode Burhans, a cartographer, shares the intertwined stories of how she came to find her Catholic faith in her twenties while developing a love for maps and the power they hold for social and environmental change. Together Burhans and Sister Julia explore how Burhans' appreciation for life and living brought her to environmentalism through a passion for regenerative land usage. Her love for the planet and devotion to the Catholic Church led her to look for something that wasn't yet there — institutions devoted to conservation within the global Catholic Church. She then tells the incredible story of how all these interests — her faith, cartography and environmentalism — brought her into what was almost a cold-call to the Vatican in an attempt to inspire the usage of the Church's landholdings for good. ABOUT THE GUEST Molly Burhans is an award-winning Catholic environmentalist, cartographer and social entrepreneur. She is the founder of GoodLands, an organization whose mission is to mobilize the Catholic Church to use its landholdings for environmental and humanitarian good. Burhans was the chief cartographer for the first unified global map of the Church, which premiered at the Vatican in 2016. She was named one of Encyclopedia Britannica's 2022 “20 Under 40,” is a winner of the Sierra Club's EarthCare Award, a U.N. Young Champion of the Earth, a National Geographic Emerging Explorer and an Ashoka Fellow. Molly is a visiting professor at Canisius College and adjunct professor of urban design at Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. In 2021 The New Yorker published a profile of her entitled How a Young Activist Is Helping Pope Francis Battle Climate Change. MESSY JESUS BUSINESS is hosted by Sister Julia Walsh. Produced and edited by Colin Wambsgans. Email us at messyjesusbusiness@gmail.com BE SOCIAL:https://www.facebook.com/MessyJesusBusiness Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MessyJesusBusiness Twitter: @messyjesusbiz Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/messyjesusbusiness SUPPORT US: https://www.patreon.com/messyjesusbusiness
Are you curious about what it is like being a National Geographic explorer venturing into the deep sea? Kristel Bauer sat down with Dr. Diva Amon to discuss the wonders of the ocean, her experience filming National Geographic's Welcome to Earth with Will Smith as well as a look into some of the most interesting creatures and unexpected challenges that can arise on deep sea expeditions. Tune in now! Key Takeaways from This Episode: - A look into why Dr. Diva Amon started exploring the Deep Sea - What is it like swimming with sea animals - An inside look at what is it like being in the deep sea - Big lessons and wisdom gained from the ocean - Why is the deep ocean important for human life - A look into filming National Geographic's Welcome to Earth with Will Smith - How Diva became a National Geographic Explorer - Some surprising challenges when going on submarine expeditions - How can people make a positive difference with ocean conservation - What Diva thinks needs to happen to really move the needle for positive change - Diva's favorite animal encounters About Dr. Diva Amon: Dr. Diva Amon is a Caribbean marine biologist focused on the little-known habitats and animals of the deep ocean, and how our actions are impacting them. She works at the nexus of science, policy and communication and has a deep desire to see stewardship measures applied to the deep ocean as well as the engagement of a broader group of global stakeholders towards this effort. In 2013, she completed her PhD at the University of Southampton, UK, after which, she spent three years at the University of Hawai'i, USA. Diva then undertook a Marie Skłodowska-Curie research fellowship at the Natural History Museum in London. She has participated in scientific expeditions around the world, regularly advises governments on ocean policy, and has recently spoken at the United Nations and the Nobel Prize, as well as filmed with National Geographic's Welcome To Earth, BBC and CNN, to name just a few. Diva is also a 2020 National Geographic Emerging Explorer, a World Economic Forum Friend of Ocean Action, and a founder and director of SpeSeas, an NGO dedicated to marine science, education, and advocacy in home country of Trinidad and Tobago. Website: https://divaamon.com/ https://www.nationalgeographic.com/pages/topic/welcome-to-earth LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/diva-amon/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/diva_amon/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/divaamon About the Host of the Live Greatly podcast, Kristel Bauer: Kristel, the Founder of Live Greatly, is on a mission to help people thrive personally and professionally. Kristel is a corporate wellness expert, Integrative Medicine Fellow, Top Keynote Speaker, TEDx speaker & contributing writer for Entrepreneur. Kristel brings her expertise & extensive experience in Corporate Wellness, Emotional Intelligence, Leadership, Mindset, Resilience, Self-Care, and Stress Management to in-person and virtual events as Professional Keynote Speaker. If you are looking for a female motivational speaker to inspire and empower your audience to reclaim their well-being, inner motivation and happiness, Kristel's message will leave a lasting impression. Kristel would be happy to discuss partnering with you to make your next event one to remember! Speaking Topics can be tailored to fit the needs of your group. To Book Kristel as a speaker for your next event, click here. Website: www.livegreatly.co Follow Kristel Bauer on: Instagram: @livegreatly_co LinkedIn: Kristel Bauer Twitter: @livegreatly_co Facebook: @livegreatly.co Youtube: Live Greatly, Kristel Bauer To Watch Kristel Bauer's TEDx talk of Redefining Work/Life Balance in a COVID-19 World click here. Disclaimer: The contents of this podcast are intended for informational and educational purposes only. Always seek the guidance of your physician for any recommendations specific to you or for any questions regarding your specific health, your sleep patterns changes to diet and exercise, or any medical conditions. Always consult your physician before starting any supplements or new lifestyle programs. All information, views and statements shared on the Live Greatly podcast are purely the opinions of the authors, and are not medical advice or treatment recommendations. They have not been evaluated by the food and drug administration. Opinions of guests are their own and Kristel Bauer & this podcast does not endorse or accept responsibility for statements made by guests. Neither Kristel Bauer nor this podcast takes responsibility for possible health consequences of a person or persons following the information in this educational content. Always consult your physician for recommendations specific to you.
Amber Case studies the interaction between humans and computers and how technology is changing everyday life. Case is currently a 2021 Mozilla Fellow working on the future of money, alternative business models for the web, and creator compensation. Case is an internationally recognized design advocate and speaker, and the author of four books, including Calm Technology and A Kids Book About Technology. She spent two years as a fellow at MIT's Center for Civic Media and Harvard's Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society. Named one of Inc. Magazine's 30 under 30 and Fast Company's Most Influential Women in Technology, Case was named a National Geographic Emerging Explorer in 2012 and received the Claude Shannon Innovation Award from Bell Labs. She was also the co-founder and CEO of Geoloqi, a location-based software company acquired by Esri. Twitter: https://twitter.com/caseorganic LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caseorganic/ Case Organic website: http://caseorganic.com Calm Technology: https://calmtech.com/ To learn more about Aigora, please visit www.aigora.com
For many, archaeology means digging up historical artifacts from beneath the ground. But to some, that framework is also violent and colonial. What would it mean to leave ancestors and belongings where they're found? In this episode, Gabrielle Miller, a PhD student studying African Diaspora Archaeology at the University of Tulsa shares a story about excavations in St. Croix. And Dr. Ayana Flewellen and Dr. Justin Dunnavant discuss how black archaeologists began uncovering sunken slave ships. (00:02:26) What parts of Archaeology as we know it should be preserved? And what needs to be destroyed? (00:02:51) Introduction. (00:03:24) Gabrielle Miller explains their research on the Free Black Community in St. Croix. (00:07:07) Meet, A ship called the Guerriero. (00:08:43) How Diving with a Purpose originated. (00:09:39) Justin Dunnavant and Ayana Flewellen create The Society of Black Archaeologists. 00:12:25) A guide to underwater, or maritime archaeology. 00:16:09) What Black Feminist archaeology is adding to the field. (00:21:29) How learning from artists can help stretch the academic container. (00:25:17) Credits. SAPIENS: A Podcast for Everything Human, is produced by House of Pod and supported by the Wenner-Gren Foundation. SAPIENS is also part of the American Anthropological Association Podcast Library. This season was created in collaboration with the Indigenous Archaeology Collective and Society of Black Archaeologists, with art by Carla Keaton, and music from Jobii, _91nova, and Justnormal. This episode was also sponsored by the Scripps Center for Marine Archaeology at the University of California, San Diego - https://scma.ucsd.edu and The Imago Mundi Fund at Foundation for the Carolinas - https://www.fftc.org/. For more information and transcripts, visit https://www.sapiens.org/. Additional Resources: Diving with a Purpose- https://divingwithapurpose.org/ Cornell University's RadioCIAMS - https://soundcloud.com/user-664136257 Gabrielle Civil, an American performance artist - https://blackartstory.org/2020/05/30/profile-gabrielle-civil La Vaughn Belle artist statement - http://www.lavaughnbelle.com/info Guests: Gabrille Miller is a PhD student at the University of Tulsa studying African Diaspora Archaeology. Her current research engages the expressions and legacies of freedom and resistance in an eighteenth-and-nineteenth-century free Black community in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands in collaboration with the heritage practitioners, artisans, historians, and descendants of that community. Another extension of her work is with the organization Diving with a Purpose as an Instructor Candidate and in Youth Diving with a Purpose (YDWP)/National Park Service as an underwater archaeology intern, educator and mentor. For more information about Gabrielle, visit https://utulsa.academia.edu/GabrielleMiller. Dr. Justin Dunnavant is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at UCLA. His current research in the US Virgin Islands investigates the relationship between ecology and enslavement in the former Danish West Indies. In addition to his archaeological research, Justin is co-founder of the Society of Black Archaeologists and an AAUS Scientific SCUBA Diver. In 2021, he was named a National Geographic Emerging Explorer and inducted into The Explorers Club as one of “Fifty People Changing the World that You Need to Know About,” and has been featured on Netflix's "Explained," Hulu's "Your Attention Please" and in print in American Archaeology and Science Magazine. For more information about Dr. Justin Dunnavant, visit https://justindunnavant.com/. Dr. Ayana Omilade Flewellen (they/she) is a Black Feminist, an archaeologist, a storyteller, and an artist. Flewellen is the co-founder and current President of the Society of Black Archaeologists and sits on the Board of Diving With A Purpose. They are an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Riverside. Her research and teaching interests address Black Feminist Theory, historical archaeology, maritime heritage conservation, public and community-engaged archaeology, processes of identity formations, and representations of slavery. Flewellen has been featured in National Geographic, Science Magazine, PBS, and CNN; and regularly presents her work at institutions including The National Museum for Women in the Arts. For more information on Dr. Ayana Flewellen, visit https://www.ayanaflewellen.com/.
Gregg founded Adventure Scientists in 2011 with a strong passion for both scientific discovery and exploration. National Geographic named Gregg an Adventurer of the Year in 2008 when he and a friend completed a 7,800-mile trek along the spine of the Andes Mountain Range. He was included on the Christian Science Monitor's 30 under 30 list in 2012, and the following year became a National Geographic Emerging Explorer for his work with Adventure Scientists. In 2013, he was named a Backpacker Magazine "hero", in 2015, a Draper Richards Kaplan Entrepreneur and one of Men's Journal's "50 Most Adventurous Men." In 2017, he was named an Ashoka Fellow and in 2018 one of the Grist 50 "Fixers." Gregg was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2020 and is a member of their Global Futures Council on Sustainable Tourism. Gregg holds a biology degree from Montana State University and a sociology degree from CU-Boulder. He thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2004. Please Support this Podcast by checking out our Sponsors: Mad River Botanticals 100% certified organic CBD products. The product is controlled from seed to end product by it's owners. Use code: EDGE22 to get 10% off all your orders. Shop here>>> EPISODE LINKS: Adventure Scientists PODCAST INFO: Apple Podcasts: EDGE on Apple Podcasts Spotify: EDGE on Spotify RSS Feed: EDGE's RSS Feed SUPPORT & CONNECT Twitter: Follow Brandon on Twitter Instagram: Follow Brandon on Instagram LinkedIn: Follow Brandon on LinkedIn
Kenny Broad has participated in extreme scientific and filmmaking expeditions on every continent to gather information and samples that shed light on little-known environmental and cultural subjects. Broad and the late Wes Skiles received the National Geographic Explorer of the Year award in 2011. He regularly collaborates with ecologists, climatologists, hydrologists, psychologists, and a range of other strange ‘-ologists' and has published dozens of scientific articles on topics ranging from risk perception to venomous snakes to natural resource management. Broad is a licensed U.S. Coast Guard captain, a commercial helicopter pilot, and he holds multiple diving ratings. He is currently a Professor at the University of Miami where he directs the Abess Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy. He is also co-director of the Center for Research on Environmental Decisions at Columbia University, where he received his Ph.D. in 1999. Broad was elected a Fellow National of the Explorers Club in 2009 and was named a National Geographic Emerging Explorer in 2006.
This week's Eye on Travel Podcast with Peter Greenberg covers the way we travel post-pandemic, the reality about masks and over-tourism and the reason why although the price hasn't changed for flights and hotels, you're still getting less with Author & National Geographic Emerging Explorer Aziz Abu Sarah, ViewFromtheWing.com Founder Gary Leff and Author & Travel Writer Doug Lansky.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
This week's Eye on Travel Podcast with Peter Greenberg covers the way we travel post-pandemic, the reality about masks and over-tourism and the reason why although the price hasn't changed for flights and hotels, you're still getting less with Author & National Geographic Emerging Explorer Aziz Abu Sarah, ViewFromtheWing.com Founder Gary Leff and Author & Travel Writer Doug Lansky.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Dr. Aparajita Datta leads The Nature Conservation Foundation's Eastern Himalaya programme, under which research and community-based conservation with hornbills as a flagship have been carried out for over two decades. She completed her PhD on hornbill biology and their role in seed dispersal in 2000. Since then, she along with her team have worked all over the North East on a variety of hornbill-related projects. She has received several awards including the National Geographic Emerging Explorer award (2010) and the Whitley Fund for Nature award (2013), and the Women in Discovery award. Her interests include plant–animal interactions in rainforests, understanding human impacts on wildlife, and engaging with tribal communities for conservation. She is also currently the Co-Chair (Asia) for the IUCN SSC Hornbill Specialist Group. In this episode, Aparajita talks about hornbills and their ecosystem. She writes and speaks regularly about conservation and her take on nature. Dr. Datta's work has encompassed long-term research on hornbill biology in north-east India (breeding biology, roosting, diet), hornbill movement and seed dispersal using telemetry, long-term monitoring of tree phenology, hunting & logging impacts, biological exploration in Arunachal Pradesh & new mammal species discoveries, seed dispersal & seed predation; established community-based conservation interventions with tribal communities (health, education, rural energy), conservation education, a citizen science initiative for hornbills. A Hornbill Nest Adoption Program set up in 2011 protects hornbill nests in forests outside a Protected Area, while providing income to people. We have contributed to this programme. You can too by donating here. Questions and Timeline 1:30 She lays out the contours of your work with hornbills. Nesting biology of hornbills. Their breeding is very unique. They are secondary cavity nesters. Females imprison themselves inside the cavity for up to 4 months. They seal the nest with their own droppings. The male is the sole provider. 6:30 Varities of hornbills. She talks about the majesty of hornbills. 62 species in the world. Africa- 30, Asia- 32, India-9. The casque atop their bills. Rhinoceros hornbills. Casque is hollow. Fused neck vertebrae. Epitome of monogamous birds. 10:30 The connection between plants and animals explained through hornbills. The specialist seed dispersals of hornbills. Terrestrial forest rodents. Scatter disperser. Generalist plants and trees and specialized seed dispersal by frugivores. Complex connections between species in a tropical forest. Talks about the laurel trees, Phoebe cooperiana-- called Sanchar in Nyishi. They love the fruits. 14:00 Have you seen all the nine hornbill species found in India? Can you talk about them for those who are not as lucky as you? How are they similar and how are they different? Larger tend to be frugivorous in their diet. Smaller ones eat animal matter. Great hornbill: Northeast India. Disjunct population-- in Uttarakhand, UP. Also Wreathed hornbill: Northeast India Rufuous necked hornbill-- Northeast, higher elevation, Brown hornbill-- Northeast, cooperative breeding system. In the others, you have the male feeding the female inside the cave. In Brown hornbill, the adult male is helped by juvenile males from the previous years in both nest feeding and defense. Oriental pied hornbill-- wider distribution, Northern, Eastern and Central India Malabar pied hornbill-- western ghats, central India, Malabar gray hornbill-- endemic, Western ghats, smallest of all hornbills, in the Malabar area, Narcondam hornbill-- restricted to a six square kilometre Narcondam island in the Andaman-Nicobar islands. Gray hornbill. 21:00 Talks about her research on the functional role that forest hornbills play as seed dispersers. How hornbills are great seed dispersers. All seeds except the ficus (which are defecated) are regurgitated. How to measure the quality of seed dispersal. 27:00 What is recruitment? Rohit Naniwadekar's work in Namdapha. Scatter dispersing seeds. 30: 00 You have worked with the local Nishi tribes in the area of hornbill conservation. Tell us about the complexity of this. What is roost monitoring and how do you do it? She talks about partnerships that they have crea 38:00 Talks about nesting trees. Tetramelis nudiflora. Altingia 42:00 What are your favourite species of birds? Indian pitta, Blythe's reed warbler, Paradis flycatcher, yellow-wattled lapwing. Talks about her neighbourhood birds. 44:00 Her favourite is the rufous necked hornbill. Final thoughts?
For show notes and transcript visit: http://kk.org/cooltools/amber-case-2021-mozilla-fellow/ If you're enjoying the Cool Tools podcast, check out our paperback book Four Favorite Tools: Fantastic tools by 150 notable creators, available in both Color or B&W on Amazon: https://geni.us/fourfavoritetools Our guest this week is Amber Case. Amber studies the interaction between humans and computers and how technology is changing everyday life. Amber was named one of Inc. Magazine's 30 under 30, and Fast Company's Most Influential Women in Technology. She was named the National Geographic Emerging Explorer. She won the Claude Shannon Innovation Award from Bell Labs. She was the co-founder and CEO of Geoloqi, a location-based software company. Right now she's a 2021 Mozilla Fellow and she's working on the future of money, alternative business models for the web, and creator compensation. She's an advisor to Unlock Protocol and Puma Browser. You can follow her work on Medium: https://medium.com/@caseorganic and Twitter: https://twitter.com/caseorganic.
BGBS 070: Gregg Treinish | Adventure Scientists | Moving at a Human PaceGregg founded Adventure Scientists in 2011 with a strong passion for both scientific discovery and exploration. National Geographic named Gregg an Adventurer of the Year in 2008 when he and a friend completed a 7,800-mile trek along the spine of the Andes Mountain Range. He was included on the Christian Science Monitor's 30 under 30 list in 2012, and the following year became a National Geographic Emerging Explorer for his work with Adventure Scientists. In 2013, he was named a Backpacker Magazine “hero”, in 2015, a Draper Richards Kaplan Entrepreneur and one of Men's Journal's “50 Most Adventurous Men.” In 2017, he was named an Ashoka Fellow and in 2018 one of the Grist 50 “Fixers.” Gregg was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2020 and is a member of their Global Futures Council on Sustainable Tourism. Gregg holds a biology degree from Montana State University and a sociology degree from CU-Boulder. He thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2004. In this episode, you'll learn…The creativity, optimism, and persistence required of expeditions translate very well into entrepreneurship and keeping a business profitable over time. Adventure is pursuing passion and pushing your personal boundaries in the outdoors. Quotes[31:05] Adventure is pursuing passion in the outdoors. It's certainly outdoor sport based, but that can be hiking for some people and just adventuring into a place you haven't been before to look at birds, or it can be climbing peaks and skiing down. It's pursuing your own boundaries in the outdoors. [41:08] The cool thing about expeditions for me is not like this, “Ooh, adrenaline-seeking.” That's not my type of Expedition. It's persistence, it's creativity, it's problem-solving. It's “you're in this sh!tty situation, how you can get yourself out?” And it's avoiding those situations to begin with. I think that is exactly what running a business is. [44:09] We've had a tremendous impact on a number of different fields, from antibiotic resistance to microplastics, to improving crop yields, to helping to restore and preserve species that are extirpated from ecosystems. And it's been amazing what we've been able to accomplish in 10 short years, and I'm so proud of the impacts that we've already had. But I'm always thinking about how we do that on a bigger scale, and how we make sure that the data we've collected and the data we will collect are going to have as much impact on as many lives, human and otherwise as possible. ResourcesWebsite: www.adventurescientists.org LinkedIn: Gregg Treinish Instagram: @adventurescientists Facebook: Adventure Scientists Have a Brand Problem? We can help.Book your no-obligation, 15-minute Wildstory Brand Clarity Call now. Learn about our Brand Audit and Strategy process Identify if you need a new logo or just a refresh Determine if your business has a branding problem See examples of our work and get relevant case studies See if branding is holding your business back and can help you get to the next level Book Your FREE Brand Clarity Call Podcast TranscriptGregg Treinish 0:02 So we got a call. Three weeks after we gave that presentation in a parking lot. It's in Salt Lake City at a hotel that since burned down the city Creek in and they were like, can you be in Washington and a month or whatever it was there like Why? And he said if you've been selected as adventure of the Year by natgeo, and we went there and Andy skorpa had gotten it the year before. So he was on stage presenting and talking about it, you know, his year of adventure the year and then looked at us and just said, this will change your life. And I had no idea what he meant that but it did. Marc Gutman 0:45 podcasting from Boulder, Colorado, this is the baby got backstory podcast, we dive into the story behind the story of today's most inspiring storytellers, creators and entrepreneurs. I like to think back stories and I cannot lie. I am your host, Marc Gutman. What if you could help scientists cure cancer, or develop medicines that save lives? Or find answers to some of our biggest crises that face us today? All while doing what you love doing anyway. I'm Marc Gutman, and on today's episode of Baby got backstory, we are talking about adventure in science, and how one adventure brings the two to work together to collect data at scale. And before we get into this episode, I want you to live at scale to adventure and truly feel alive. And that all starts by heading over to Apple podcasts or Spotify and giving us a five star review and rating. By this point in our lives. We all know that algorithms rule the world. And as such apple and Spotify use these ratings as part of the algorithm that determines ratings on their charts. But look, we're humans, not robots. So go show that algo that the humans are in control, and rate this podcast. Thank you for your reviews. I do appreciate it. Today's guest is Greg rhenish, founder and CEO of adventure scientists. And as you'll hear, Greg founded adventure scientists in 2011, with a strong passion for both scientific discovery and exploration of helping scientists solve the world's problems wasn't enough. National Geographic named Greg and adventure of the Year in 2008 when he and a friend completed a 7800 mile trek along the spine of the Andes mountain range. He was included on the Christian Science monitors 30 under 30 list in 2012, and the following year became a national geographic emerging Explorer for his work with adventure scientists. In 2013. He was named a backpacker magazine hero in 2015 at Draper Richards, Kaplan entrepreneur, and one of men journals 50 most adventurous men. In 2017, he was named in a shoka fellow, and in 2018, one of the grist 50 fixers. Greg was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2020. And as a member of their global futures Council on sustainable tourism. Oh, yeah. And he hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2004. And this is his story. I am here with Greg trennis, the founder and CEO of adventure scientist, Greg, welcome to the show. Hey, thanks so much for having me. Yeah. So Greg, let's just get right into it. Like what is adventure sciences? sounds really cool. But like, what is it? Yeah, we're Gregg Treinish 3:57 a nonprofit organization. We're based in Bozeman, Montana. And the idea here is that we want to be the world's greatest field data collectors at scale. So we look for opportunities where we can amplify and accelerate scientists impact and getting them to solutions for the environment. So examples of that are everything from we're creating genetic and chemical reference libraries for trees, so that they can be used by law enforcement to compare seizures or shipments that they think were illegally sourced with the standing trees across a range of species. So you can use genetics to actually compare wood with trees, and it's being used for all kinds of things. And we collected the largest data set on earth for microplastics. We've collected plant life up at 20,000 feet on Mount Everest, which 22,000 feet which was the highest known plant life on Earth, that is being used to inoculate crops and improve crop yields around the world. So we look for these projects where there's a solution tied to it, where data can unlock some solution. And we deploy volunteers from the onshore community to go and get those data. Marc Gutman 5:15 Yeah, and this is the part that I think is really interesting. And I want to make really clear to our listeners is that there are there are these projects where scientists and please correct me if I get this wrong, because I want to, I want to make sure that I put it in, in simple terms, but there's these projects where scientists are like, hey, it would be really cool to grab this plant life from Everest, but there's no way that I can get up there, or I'm not going there. Or it's restrictive, restrictive. And then there's all these adventurers who are like, I'm going to Everest, or I'm going into the Amazon, or I'm going down to Antarctica. And what you're really doing is matching these two parties so that adventurers can help out in this collection of scientific data, wherever they're going. I mean, do I have that right? Is that the what this this is all about? Gregg Treinish 6:00 Yeah, it is, it's a lot more detailed and nuanced than that we've spent a ton of time building these projects and designing them. That's something that is so essential for success of the volunteers as they're out there. But yeah, at the end of the day, there's this army of people who love the outdoors are traveling around the world and have the skill set that can be really useful. And we find them we give them the mission, we train them, and then we deploy them. Marc Gutman 6:29 That is an adventure myself, I mean, I can't think of anything greater than having a purpose behind, you know, beyond just the achievement of whatever we do. And we like to get out and, and, and hit our goals, to have a purpose and to be helping other other scientists and potentially furthering humankind. Gregg Treinish 6:47 That's exactly right. And it's the same for me when I was that on my expeditions. And the reason I started this organization is because of that. It will I had a selfish feeling. I felt really, when I was out hiking the Appalachian Trail, which I did in 2000, for a walk the length of the Andes in 2006, through eight. And on those expeditions, I was just like, Man, I'm spending so much time and couldn't be doing something much more meaningful with this time. How can I get back to these places and really longed for a way that I can make a difference while I get after it? And and that's what adventure scientist is. Marc Gutman 7:24 Yeah, so let's talk about a little bit let's go way back to the younger egg. And have you always as a kid, have you always had a penchant for adventuring? and science or did one come before the other? Gregg Treinish 7:36 I was always fascinated by wildlife and nature, like you know, like most kids are think catching fireflies and Willy bugs and that kind of thing. My family didn't go camping. We didn't like we weren't an outdoors family at all. And it wasn't until I went on a backpacking trip when I was 16 to British Columbia to the Provincial Park, Garibaldi Provincial Park there. And that was where I really fell in love with outdoors and adventure. And it was the first trip and then you know, I did some more backpacking trips and a few things but it wasn't until the Appalachian Trail that I really had a big adventure like that. Marc Gutman 8:20 Yeah. And so you said you didn't grow up camping? What was life like for you? Where did you grow up? Gregg Treinish 8:25 I grew up in the suburbs of Cleveland, East Cleveland and a lot of mountains. No, no, we hills we I grew up skiing on a garbage dump on a covered over garments down. Marc Gutman 8:34 I did too. I grew up in Detroit. So Maui pine knob, you know, inverted trash heaps. That's how I learned to ski as well. Gregg Treinish 8:42 That's right. Ours are called Boston Mills. The coolest adventure from my kid days was those probably 10 years old and skiing at a place called Boston mills and Glen plake, at the time was on his like World Tour or North American tour trying to hit every ski resort across the US and there's this run called tiger and I skied it with Glen plake, when I was like 10, which was the coolest thing ever. And then, years later, after I had become a natgeo adventure of the year, and I met Glenn again at the Outdoor Retailer show in Salt Lake where it was back then. And he remembered me he remembered skiing with me at Boston Mills is like coolest thing ever. For me. Marc Gutman 9:27 That is the coolest thing ever. I love that. And so, you know at 10 years old, you know, skiena, Boston mills and hanging out in Cleveland, did you think that you were gonna make a life and a career out of adventure? If you wouldn't have told Gregg Treinish 9:40 me that I was gonna do that. I had to believe i'd figure out some way to do that. But I would have been surprised that I would have chosen a life of adventure and, and nature and you know, I, I think I was I love Jacques Cousteau and and Jane Goodall. I actually have named my daughter after age. Didn't get all of my son after john Muir. Their middle names anyway. But back then, like, I think I saw him on TV and I, you know, loved that they were doing good by those animals. I used to have a little statues of whales and wolves. But it wasn't like, it wasn't my. I didn't know I was gonna go into wildlife biology or conservation or adventure. It was cool to me, but it wasn't like Michael Jordan was cooler to me than Glen plake at that time. Marc Gutman 10:31 Oh, absolutely. Those were the days. And Jordan was was was a figure against the calves. And so what did you think you were gonna do? Like, what was the plan? Like you're, you know, you're in Cleveland, and you're, you're starting to get older. What do you what do you what was your plan? Yeah, we're Gregg Treinish 10:47 going way back here. I don't know. Let me think like, after I got out of the firefighter astronauts age, I probably didn't want to be an astronaut at some point for sure. I didn't used to, I realized I just said that. It wasn't like my obsession, or anything I did used to think wildlife or marine biologists were incredibly cool. And I did have a period of time when I said I'd be a marine biologist, for sure. I don't know, a lawyer, like my dad's a lawyer. Maybe I was gonna be aware. I don't know. I don't know. I think I always knew I would run my own business that I would probably start something or run something. I never really took direction. Well, which is what that's probably about. I definitely had a period of marine biologist, I think that was pretty consistent. I can't remember what those ages were. Or why even other than maybe TV shows about the ocean and thinking that was super cool. I had a big cousin who was a surfer, and maybe that was part of it. I have a big cousin who's a surfer? Maybe that was part of it. I don't know. Marc Gutman 11:58 Yeah, you know, my father's a lawyer, too, out of the Midwest. And all I got out of that was Don't be a lawyer. That's what he was told me. He was like, Don't do this. And he loved it. He was just like, there's too many lawyers and go do something. Go do something different with yourself. But so when you when you left Cleveland, when you when you when you left high school, would you go do? Yeah, Gregg Treinish 12:16 I actually got I went to Boulder. And was a junior because I had gotten kicked out of high school and started going to junior college in Cleveland when I was 16. And so I got a two year headstart and went out to Boulder as a junior and had just two and a half years there, moved up to Breckenridge from there and started being a ski instructor raft guide, live in the ski bum lifestyle for a while. And then when I went and hiked the Appalachian Trail, there wasn't this moment that I've talked about frequently, but it was halfway through. And I was pretty low. I'm just asking myself like, what the hell am I doing out here and worn down and it had rained for God knows how many street days. And I just had this one moment where I picked up a rock constructed at a tree and just started sobbing and fell down in frustration and kind of vowed a life of service in that moment. That was where I really decided that I was really fortunate growing up, you know, we weren't, we certainly weren't living in bel air or anything, but we were fine. And my dad did well, and my mom was a teacher and did well. And I just think that living a life of purpose really matters. And it was kind of that moment that helped me see that it had been building up to that, obviously. So I went and worked in wilderness therapy and worked with kids who had struggled and I was I struggled as a teenager, for sure, and was labeled an at risk youth and all kinds of things. And so I thought that would be my passion. But the more I was in the outdoors, exploring the more I I realized how much I wanted to understand what I was seeing and understand the ecology around me. But that my passion is really for representing all those creatures that don't have a voice and representing nature and wildlife and the environment. Because I think it's one of the greatest atrocities what our species is ever has done to every other species on the planet. I think every other species who were here in many cases before us have been completely disrupted by humans. And I'd really love us to find ways to live in more balance with the rest of the species on this planet. Yeah. And in getting Marc Gutman 14:36 back to that moment of frustration on the 80 what do you think triggered that? What what brought that all about? Like, where would your life been going? Gregg Treinish 14:45 Yeah, I mean, I did have the opportunity to go and spend some time in South Africa when I was a kid and I traveled a little bit and just saw poverty and saw how other people live and realize that my life is not like everybody else's in the world. And I even saw that in the Appalachians, right. Like in the southern Appalachians, man, like, they're that lifestyle is different than suburbia in Cleveland. And so I just was exposed to that. And it really struck me like, Man, I'm so lucky. The fact that I can go hiking for six months, I feel really lucky, you know, I worked my butt off to receive up enough money to be able to pay for it and, and have always had a really strong work ethic. And yet I was given such a head start at life, when I think I realized that then and, and I just felt like, as I said, selfish for being out there and not doing anything beneficial. I was maybe inspiring a few people to get off the couch. But that wasn't what I meant by living a life of purpose. And I think it was a combination of exhaustion and being out physically exhausting myself every day mentally exhausting myself. And when you hike like that, when you're on an expedition, and this is still true for me today is is 99% of what you're doing is just this mental gymnastics, you're constantly looking at relationships and interactions you've had, and it's reflective by nature, because you're you're just you're brought down to the core, right? Like, you're depleted and your and your emotional. And so it was a lot of that. And it was it was thinking about that privilege, combined with the exhaustion, I was feeling that I had a pretty low point at that moment. And decided that that what mattered to me most at that point in my life was that my life mattered, and that my life was gonna be about others. And not just myself. Marc Gutman 16:56 Yeah, and so you had some time in wilderness therapy, and I'm familiar with how that works, and what that's all about. And, you know, for people that don't know, that's where a lot of times at risk are other other kids that are working through things go. And it's in a therapy environment. So there are therapists, and it's in using kind of the, the everything, Greg just talking about getting outside really, really revealing yourself, and figuring some things out. So it's great, great programs, and you're doing that. But there comes a point where you and a friend go on a massive trek across the Andes. How does that come about? And what's what's the purpose behind that? Yeah. Gregg Treinish 17:37 So on the Appalachian Trail I just absolutely fell in love with with going at a human pace. You know, when you're on a bike, you got to get off that bike to go and talk to somebody, same thing on a horse, same same thing with really any other mode of travel. But when you're on foot, you just, you're there in the moment, right, like you're moving at the way our brains evolved to move. So something about that really captured me. And then this idea of Expedition travel like long distances, you know, the Appalachian trails Georgia domain, which is quite a large distance and the topography changes so much that the ecosystems changed so much. So, I just fell in love with that. After about two and a half years working wilderness therapy, I really wanted more of that I really wanted some more personal adventure and more introspection and, and I wanted to do it in a place where I was going to be exposed to new languages to new 20,000 feet. It wasn't and we looked all around the world, right? Like I looked at, there's a long trail in New Zealand, there's this trail of the Great Divide trail, which I'd still love to do someday up in Canada, but Marc Gutman 18:55 none of them were Gregg Treinish 18:57 as enticing as the Andes because the Andes was, again 20,000 feet, the Amazon ketua Myra, the Incan history that was there. expanish. Obviously, throughout it, the Atacama Desert really intrigued me. And it was just this. There was so much I just finished reading into thin air, which takes place in the quarter whitewash. And obviously didn't want to have that kind of experience there. But it was just this this one thing after another and then at some point, I'm sure there was just a confirmation bias taking over where that was where we had to go. And so I've researched it and we researched it and and I reached out to about 10 friends and in the end, there was just the one friend Dale who was last who is like, yeah, I'll go and it was excited to go. And yeah, we thought there would be hundreds of people doing it. We thought there would be so many and it turns Marc Gutman 19:56 out we were the first to ever do it. And how long did that Taking is that how then you were recognized as adventure of the year because you were the first to to make that Trek. Gregg Treinish 20:07 Yeah, it was 667 days or 22 months that it took us to do it straight, straight, with the exception of three weeks when I came home with typhoid fever to recover from typhoid fever. So I flew home. And then we went right back after about three weeks. And, and I had other diseases along the way that I probably should have come home for, but I did. So yeah. And then the recognition from natgeo was for that track. I don't know if it was as much because we were the first or just because how we did it, we kind of went down with no plan. And the plan was just to go to the equator and head south. And and we did, we thought we would probably have to skip the Atacama Desert, we figured out a way to do that. We again didn't know we would be the first to do it, we just kind of along the way realize that nobody else had done it. There was no information about it. There was three other guys who had done heights, the length of South America, Kyle Busch, B. We actually did it through all the Americas and then got arrested in Russia, once he crossed the Bering Strait. But he had done it on on frontcountry. Really with cart, George meegan in the 70s had done it with a card and then Ian Reeves had just finished it hiking mostly on roads and knowing known pathways. So we were the first to really do it off trail off. We were on trails as much as possible. There's aren't that many trails. And we were trying to stay as close to the spine of the Andes as we could without Marc Gutman 21:46 relying on roads. And so what what happens when your adventure of the year like what don't mean now Gregg Treinish 21:54 you get a call. So that happened because I gave a presentation in a parking lot at that Outdoor Retailer. So that I mentioned earlier for granite gear, who was a sponsor, a sponsor, they gave us some free packs. To me, that was a sponsor that I wrote like 300 letters to companies and three wrote back and I was like kotula steri pen and granite gear. So we got a call. Three weeks after we gave that presentation in a parking lot. It's in Salt Lake City at a hotel that since burned down the city Creek in and they were like, can you be in Washington in a month or whatever it was. And we're like, why? And he said, You've been selected as adventure of the Year by natgeo. And we went there and Andy skorpa had gotten it the year before. So he was on stage presenting and talking about, you know, his year of adventure the year and then looked at us and just said this will change your life. And I had no idea what he meant then, but it did. It was amazing. Marc Gutman 23:00 In what ways I mean, I'm sure you can't say all of them, but like, how did it change your life? Like, like what happened? Yeah, Gregg Treinish 23:07 right. Like I can't say all cuz I don't know, like, I don't know what my life would have been the other way right without that. But what it did is give me access to World Class explorers, it gave me a credential to be able to really have some momentum behind what I wanted to do and and my path from there. I hadn't known that I was gonna start this when I got adventure year by any means. But it gave me the, I guess the credibility to be able to start adventure scientists. And yeah, it was from deepening the relationship in that geo and being able to lead expeditions around the world to having some public awareness about what we had done, being featured in magazines and stuff like that really gave us the the, again, the opportunity to then go out and get additional sponsorship to do biological expeditions, which we started doing after that. And it just, it was just the opportunity. It was a stepping stone for sure. Marc Gutman 24:16 A common question I get all the time is Mark, can you help me with our brand? Yes, we help companies solve branding problems. And the first step would be to schedule a no obligation brand clarity call, we'll link to that in the show notes or head over to wild story comm and send us an email, we'll get you booked right away. So whether you're just getting started with a new business, or whether you've done some work and need a refresh, or whether you're a brand that's high performing and wants to stay there, we can help. After you book your brand clarity call, you'll learn about our brand audit and strategy process will identify if you need it. A new logo or just a refresh, will determine if your business has a branding problem. And you'll see examples of our work and get relevant case studies. We'll also see if branding is holding your business back, and can help you get to the next level. So what are you waiting for? Build the brand you've always dreamed of. Again, we'll link to that in the show notes, or head over to wildstorm comm and send us an email. Now back to the show. Yeah, and that's, that's a great segue. So like, what was the impetus or the inspiration or the lightbulb moment for adventure scientists, because your things are going good, right? Like why? Why why start this business? Yeah, so Gregg Treinish 25:46 I totally kill it, I think just continued doing mega expeditions and, and live that life and now would have been incredibly fun. But as I said, like, purpose was what really mattered to me and the enemies. You know, ostensibly, we're, we are trying to learn about sustainability and and we're really passionate about human sustainability. Even then, you know, we learned a lot we saw people who had been living with traditional methods of light of agriculture and and solar cookers and all kinds of things, we learned a ton there, how to treat water with just the pop bottle, throw it up on your roof, and UV light works like pretty cool. So there was some purpose there. And we had hoped to share some of the lessons we learned. I think we were in our early 20s. And, and still, like a new adventure, and a little naive as to how real change happens in the world. But anyway, on that trip, I was asking myself like what's next, and really fell even deeper into the ecology space and thought I would work with lions and learn how to save lion some way and wrote a professor Scott Creel, who's here and asked if I could come study, how to save lions with him, and came up here and started working on my second degree, which was in wildlife ecology. And started before I ever made it to Africa with Scott, I started tracking links, and Wolverines, and grizzly bears here. So I'd go out on my boss's truck and take his snowmobiles out and would park as far as we could go. And then I'd hop on my skis, and go for two or three days following Wolverine tracks and documenting their behavior and collecting DNA samples. And it was awesome. What a fun trip, or projects really. And then we were I started working on owls in California, and I worked with other species, and just really felt like I was making a difference. And using my outdoor skill set to do it. In my outdoor skill set, let's be clear, I'm not a world class climber. I'm not a I'm not really good at any sports, I just have persistence and creativity and optimism was, is so translatable to the business world and what I do now. But anyway, yeah, I was doing those things and feeling good about it. But it just occurred to me that if we could rally, others who love the outdoors and get them to do it, the impact would be so much bigger. I had also been taking biological expedition. So I've worked with some scientists. In the course of my degree, they actually used it for part of my degree and developed a protocol to put my brain in the in the headspace of a grizzly bear Wolverine and make decisions like they would make as they moved across large landscapes. And so I walked from the eastern end of Yellowstone to the western end of Idaho, which is about 600 miles and a month, and tested these least cost path analyses or predictions on how wildlife will move across the ecosystem and documented how many fences they have to cross and got a lot of information that way. And then went on to do expeditions in Mongolia tracking Wolverines. And, and I just saw that that there was this real opportunity to mobilize people who wish there was a way they could give back, we thought it would be cool to do that, at least, maybe they didn't have the same selfish feeling I did, but they thought it would be meaningful and cool to do that. And then I was doing these things as a scientist that I didn't know much about, like, take seven years of training to learn how to track hours and it didn't take seven years of training to learn how to identify Wolverine tracks. So I just knew that that possibility was there and I googled how do you start a nonprofit and reached out to Conrad Anker, who's one of the world's greatest mountaineers here in Bozeman and he said he joined my board and then it was just one thing after another with Conrad, I was able to get Celine Cousteau and john Bower master and and Ross savage who's the first person to row across all three oceans and first woman to row across the Pacific and Atlantic. And I just got these heroes of mine together and and started doing started figuring out how do you run a nonprofit? Marc Gutman 30:15 It's incredible. And, and I want to pick that up there. But as you're talking, it also really dawned on me. And you may have a different definition than most people have two words. And so I'd like you to think about, like, how do you define adventure or an adventure? And then how do you define science or scientist? Because you were just talking like, to me, a scientist is someone with a bazillion years of training and they wear a lab coat and they you know, and they do all this stuff. But clearly, you found sort of a different definition. Yeah, Gregg Treinish 30:53 so adventure. First of all, like, I think it's more traditional than than not, I don't know, Explorer is a different term and is pushing any boundary in my mind. But adventure is is pursuing passion in the outdoors. It's it's like, it's certainly outdoor sport bass, but that can be hiking for some people and just like, adventuring into a place you haven't been before to look at birds, or it can be climbing peaks and, and skiing down or whatever. Yeah, it's pursuing your own boundaries in the outdoors is my definition of adventure adventure. People who volunteer for us are everything from day hikers to World Class climbers. So it's a huge spectrum. Scientists are scientific, you know, I do think it takes training, I do think it takes method and following a scientific process. But man, there are field technicians, which is what I was a field technician that are doing real science and really important science and our volunteers are doing science and really important science. So would they call themselves scientists? No. What a lot of people allow me to call myself a scientist, absolutely not. No way. Any PhDs who are listening to this, like, I get it, you guys are scientists. I am a wannabe for sure. But it's like I hang around a lot of scientists and I've learned a lot about science and how science works. And, and it's exploration, right, it's under, it's pushing boundaries. It's looking at things with a new lens, it's looking at things with innovation and technology and entrepreneurial spirit behind it. You know, at the end of the day, I'm not really an adventure. Most I'm an adventure, but I'm not a scientist, I am an entrepreneur, I'm a community organizer. I bring people together with a common purpose and a common goal. And make sure they have the skills that they need to be successful. In order to go out and pick up animals, cats so that a Harvard Medical School can read research, I can look at them for antibiotic resistance, you don't have to be a PhD, you have to know how to identify scat. Like say this is poop, you don't even have to know whose poop it is. And you have to be trained how to properly pick it up. So you don't can't contaminate the sample. That's not rocket science. It's important, it's meaningful. It's contributing to science. But you know, so you're a citizen scientists or community scientists you're not a you're not a PhD Nobel Prize winning scientists for doing that though. Marc Gutman 33:38 No and and I wouldn't make that assertion right but the the idea that we can be additive that we can use our day hiking our adventures these things that you know, I have the same feeling I feel self for sometimes when I'm up in a helicopter going through a mountain or you know, doing whatever, it's, it's really an amazing opportunity. And, you know, a moment of confession, my 11 year old daughter and I last night we were doing a word game around poop yet it's a different word for poop. And scat was one that you know, I had that helped to stump her but to think that you know, us having this like, you know, how many words can we come up with poop? that we could go out and be additive to a harvard medical researchers project is really empowering and really amazing. So when you started this business, you googled it you got Connor at anchor, you got some other famous people to help me your board and give you some visibility. I mean, was it an immediate success? Did it take off or what happened? Gregg Treinish 34:36 Yeah, it was pretty cool. Like so that was in January or February maybe it was late January, and then by May, we have collected the highest known plant life on Earth, up to 22,000 feet and we started that got a bunch of press. And then it was like one thing after another there was people rolling across the Arctic Ocean and we met up we connected them with a researcher looking at whale olfaction and playing plankton and trying to understand how whales track points and and then we, we had projects that would just build back then it was actually the adventurers who were saying, like, I'm going here, I'm doing this, I'm going there, what do you have for me to do? And then I would find a researcher and put them together, we realized after some time that the impact, there's tough, you've got these one off expeditions, in many cases, yeah, you get some great samples for scientists. But what we do now is everything is driven by the scientists. So the scientists come to us and they say, I need samples from here, I need this many samples over this period of time. And the real value proposition is scale, they can't get the temporal or spatial scale that we can get, and certainly access to these places, too. But there's a lot of scientists, scientists go into this because they love the or these field scientists do. Science is a huge, huge category, obviously, everything from solving the pandemic to field biologist studying tree kangaroos and Papa New Guinea. But so a lot of them do have outdoor skills. But the reality is, is you can go to one peak, and you raise a ton of money and to be to be able to do that you get a grant to be able to do that. And it's $40,000 expedition and go climb one of these Himalayan peaks. And what we do is, it's like, oh, you need data from every 8000 meter peak on the planet, or in the Himalaya, you need data from everything above 6000 meters on the planet, it's just not possible any other way. And so when we flipped it and started being scientist driven, the impact really became clear and what this organization can be really started to crystallize. Marc Gutman 36:46 Yeah, and what is your sort of day to day in life? Like is the CEO and founder Are you just off on expeditions hanging out? Like just you know, hanging off a mountain being cool? Or like, what's what's your day to day? Like? Gregg Treinish 36:59 Yeah, no, I am doing that I, I try to do at least one awesome adventure every year. And and I have two small kids. So admittedly have have slacked at that a bit. I've had to do Alaska on attended packraft this year, in the Brooks Range. But those are the exception. Those are the most fun parts of my job, for sure. I raise money, I manage a team, I set vision and strategy. I work on developing new projects and finding leads working with our networks, through the World Economic Forum, or TED or National Geographic, to come up with new projects, and what's going to be the most impactful work with our donors on understanding the opportunities that their connections could provide on partnering with them to build these projects and actually get them off the ground. I spend a lot of time managing the team and dealing with the, the ups and downs of that. And yeah, and and thinking strategically about what's next what the chess pieces are, and what the moves are, that are going to help grow this organization and help it reach its potential. Marc Gutman 38:18 Yeah. And so is there anything that you didn't share? that reveals like, what's hard about this, like, what's hard about running a nonprofit that not only just a nonprofit, but that one that deals with kind of this idea of adventure in science and putting it all together? Like, what, what's hard about this thing? Gregg Treinish 38:36 Yeah, there's the kind of the basic layers of everything that any business owner or entrepreneur deals with, right? It's like, you got to sell your idea, you got to market your idea, you got to have proof of concept. You have to, you know, have good market strategy and all this. So it's those basic things for sure. I think nonprofit is not always taken as seriously in the business community. I think there's challenges with that. Yet, we have a fee for service revenue stream, too. So I've had to build out the business model on the business as well. We also have philanthropic support, which has been essential to our success. With a with a for profit, you take on investment, and you know, and that really to get it off the ground. You can't do that with a nonprofit, you can't sell equity in the company. And so you have to be profitable from day one. That that's a huge challenge. You have to be in the black every year, unless you've got a reserve fund, which we now do, but you've got to build that up and it's taken a decade to be able to even think about spending more than we make in a year. So that's a huge challenge. I think that the the competition with for profit for getting talented individuals is real. You know, by being able to take on that debt and can offer bigger salaries right away, it's hard to compete with those salaries, though, I'm really proud of what we can offer our staff now. But it's taken a long time to get there, I spent the first nine months doing this selling bumper stickers. So I would like I brought those three letter like BGN, bumper stickers to Bozeman, and nobody was selling me here. So I print off a bunch. And then I'd walk around to the people who sell bumper stickers and then say, Hey, you know, I didn't tell him this, but it was, Hey, I just bought these for 30 cents, you want them for $1. And they would sell them for $4. And it was like, that's how I had enough money to eat. So it took starting the second business to be able to do that. And I didn't pay myself until probably September of that first year. And that was eight bucks an hour. So it was it was a long slog to do that. And then I think by March, I was able to hire my first employee. So it's it's been slow incremental growth. And, you know, it's no different than adventure and expeditions to like, the cool thing about expeditions for me is not like this, like, ooh, adrenaline seeking. That's not my type of Expedition. It's its persistence, its creativity, its problem solving. It's you're in this shitty situation, how you can get yourself out. And it's avoiding those situations to begin with. I think that is exactly what running a business is. It's looking ahead and coming up with where you're headed and your route or your strategy, and it's avoiding pitfalls and trying to see around corners, and then inevitably, you're in shitty situations that you didn't foresee. And it's using creativity, optimism and persistence, navigate around those things. And keeping a clear head while you're doing it and making sure that you're looking at all options, getting advice where you can, can't always do that on expeditions, but you can sometimes, and and looking at people who have been there before you so that you're not reinventing the wheel all the time. So it translates really well. Absolutely. And you must be doing something right, because I'm doing the math correctly. Marc Gutman 42:14 Your business is coming up on 10 years, or did you just celebrate 10 years of Yeah, January Gregg Treinish 42:20 this year was our 10th anniversary, and we're using the whole year to celebrate our 10th Marc Gutman 42:25 year anniversary. Congratulations. That's an amazing accomplishment. Most businesses don't make it to like year two. So to make it 10 years is huge. So 10 years for adventure scientists, what you mentioned a big part of your, your job is thinking about the future, thinking about the future vision. What What's next? What's the future for adventure scientists? What's that look like? Yeah, we Gregg Treinish 42:47 want to be the greatest data collectors at scale on the planet. And we've got some work to make that true. We want to gain experience internationally and are exploring projects in many different fields, but in timber and, and in wildlife connectivity and in agriculture, and really helping to improve crop yields using natural nature based solutions is the field. And we're looking at how to really do that, with this organization. And what we've built here has incredible potential to accelerate impact accelerate the ability for our species to operate with less impacts with less negative impact on the planet. And I there's this line in a Bronx tale, which is great movie from God knows when in the 90s I think and Robert De Niro's in it, and he's talking to his son, and it's, there's nothing worse than wasted potential. And that's what this organization is, isn't certainly not wasted potential, but so much potential, and is just look forward to the future of us becoming a real resource for problem solvers to get there quickly, more quickly than they otherwise would. And we're not we already there. And it's important to recognize the accomplishments already. And it's important to recognize that we've had a tremendous impact on on a number of different fields, from antibiotic resistance to microplastics, to improving crop yields to helping to restore and preserve species that are extirpated from ecosystems. And it's been amazing what we've been able to accomplish in 10, short years, and I'm so proud of our impacts that we've already had. But I'm always thinking about how we do that on a bigger scale and how we make sure that the data we've collected and the data we will collect are going to have as much impact on as many lives human and otherwise as possible. Marc Gutman 44:47 Yeah. And so with that in mind, if people want to help you collect data at scale, how do they get involved? How do they learn more about adventure scientists? Gregg Treinish 44:56 Yeah, adventure. scientists.org is a great place to go where on all the social media channels on adventure scientists, as well, you know, we need a lot of people, this is a movement, and we need a lot of people working together to make it happen. It's the volunteers. Absolutely. If you like being in the outdoors, we don't always have project everywhere on Earth, we are working towards that, and hope for that to be true at some point. But we have great opportunities to use your outdoor skills to further a number of different fields. And we need money to do what we do. We need that through philanthropy and and also through projects. If you're scientists who could benefit from data collection at scale, you got to reach out to us talk to us, we also really need a lot of business acumen that like I said, we're building the fee for service revenue stream at the same time that we're learning how to market our overall mission and overall organization better, as well as marketing these projects better. So we need support like that as well. advice, and, and connections. So we welcome everybody to come and reach out through the website. And I'm Greg and adventure scientists.org. So people can email me as well. Marc Gutman 46:17 Fantastic. And we'll make sure to link to all those resources in the show notes. So it makes it really easy for people to click and be able to, to contact you and either volunteer, donate or help in other ways. So Greg, as we come to the end of our time here, I'd love you and I, we kind of touched on this, but I'd love you to think back to that that young version of yourself whose skin at eight years old and living in Cleveland, and, you know, what do you think he would say, if he saw you today? See, cool, do more. Gregg Treinish 46:51 I don't know. He'd say, that's pretty cool, man. I think he would be proud of me. You know, more importantly, I think I've got an amazing wife and two amazing kids and the organization is is great. But I think that those other things matter as much to me and, and my family, my parents are still with me. And I'm amazing. And my brothers, my little brothers just had a baby two days ago. And I'm really close with both my brothers. And I think those are the things that matters much to me as anything I've built at work, and it's just one part of a much broader picture for me. So I think he would be proud that all those things are true for me today too. Marc Gutman 47:37 And that is Greg reinisch, founder and CEO of adventure scientists. I love this idea that we as those that love the outdoors can help contribute to science by doing what we love. I want to stress that you can be an Everest mountaineer, or a day hiker or anything in between. Adventure scientist probably has a project for you. Congratulations to Greg and the entire team that adventure scientists is they celebrate their 10th anniversary this year. Here's the 10 more 10 more years of creating impact. This is truly the entrepreneurial spirit, rewriting the script and impacting our world. The big thank you to Greg trench and the team it adventure scientists. We will link to all things Greg and adventure scientists in the show notes. If you know of a guest who should appear on our show, please drop me a line that podcast@wildstorm.com our best guests like Greg come from referrals from past guests and our listeners. Well that's the show. Until next time, make sure to visit our website www.wildstorm.com where you can subscribe to the show in iTunes, Stitcher or via RSS so you'll never miss an episode. A lot big stories and I cannot lie to you other storytellers can't deny
Ken Banks built the first version of FrontlineSMS over 5 weeks while unemployed at the home of his in-laws. Just a few years later, it was in use by development and conservation organizations in more than half of the countries in the world. He's described himself as a "scrappy" man who enjoys building his own websites and living out of a camper van for two years. And yet the world knows him as an authority on mobile technology for positive social and environmental change, as an adventurer and National Geographic Emerging Explorer, and as someone who's brushed shoulders with and won the support of people as diverse as Desmond Tutu and Peter Gabriel. In our conversation, Ken describes the unlikely beginnings of FrontlineSMS - including how little it was used in the first two years after it was built. He shares how he started out running a primate sanctuary in Nigeria, and his initial work in conservation before global health and development really entered his life. He shares the surprising chain of events that led him to specialise in mobile technology for positive social and environmental change. And he also opens up about the stress of running a global, mission-critical piece of software, as well as the challenges he's faced within the aid and development industry. Finally we talk about his move into the private sector in 2018, to work on digital identity with Yoti as its Head of Social Purpose. To find out more, download the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com Let us know what you think of this episode on Twitter (@AidEvolved) or by email (hello@AidEvolved.com)
This week we doing something different. Today we share an episode from our friends at The Future City Podcast, where our CEO Louka Parry and his co-host Eyal Halamish speak with Daniel Raven-Ellison. Dan is a Guerrilla Geographer, National Geographic Emerging Explorer and led the campaign to make London the world's first National Park City. A former secondary school Head of Geography, Daniel's work focuses on exploring and thinking about places in creative ways. Daniel shares brilliant insights from his adventures having explored some of the world's largest cities to understand critical themes about the way we live, how we learn best, and how we all be a part of positive change. The Future City is a podcast with individuals about how our cities are changing. With interviews from cocktail artists to urban planners, green thumbs to financial analysts, we will share stories about how these creative thinkers and doers are shaping the city you live in. We'll be back next week with another episode of The Learning Future Podcast.
“We live in a very dynamic world. We can't be doing the same things we have done for years in the name of staying true to the mission. You know, you move and adapt and change as things present themselves.” Thandiwe Mweetwa, Project Manager, Zambian Carnivore Programme. It has been a long time, but the podcast is finally back and there are a lot of conversations to share from the last 5 months of remote travel through Zambia. Thank you for your constant support, especially to our Patreon supporters who make this podcast possible. This week’s conversation is with Thandiwe Mweeta. Thandiwe joined us on the Walk Luangwa expedition on day 12 on behalf of the Zambian Carnivore Programme which was one of the direct beneficiaries for the proceeds that are being raised from the walk. "Thandiwe is the Project Manager for the Luangwa work and also manages the organisation’s Conservation Education Program. She grew up in Mfuwe and was a former conservation club member. She joined ZCP as an intern in 2009. Thandiwe holds a Master’s degree from the University of Arizona and her thesis focused on lion demographic response to conservation policies in the Luangwa Valley. As a supporter of community-based conservation, Thandiwe is dedicated to exploring effective ways of integrating local communities in wildlife conservation and increasing the representation of women in the field. Her future research interests include human-carnivore interaction in a changing landscape. In 2016, Thandiwe was named a National Geographic Emerging Explorer for her efforts to protect lions in Zambia." (https://bit.ly/3qbrRyw) If you would like to contribute to the conservation organisations that are working with the wildlife and the communities of the Luangwa Valley, please follow the link below. Every little bit helps. Zambian Carnivore Programme: https://bit.ly/39t7gjw Walk Luangwa 2020: https://bit.ly/3fOlXhU Support these podcasts: bit.ly/3dCLzf7 Find me on social media: @therustymokoro Our Website: bit.ly/3eCaosO
Daniel Raven-Ellison is a Guerrilla Geographer, National Geographic Emerging Explorer and is leading the campaign to make London the world's first National Park City. A former secondary school Head of Geography, Daniel's work focuses on exploring and thinking about places in creative ways, including our urban environments. Daniel shares brilliant insights from his adventures having explored some of the world's largest cities to understand critical themes including violence, depression and green space. He walked the height of Mount Everest over 10 days by only using London's buildings and also completed an expedition with National Geographic and Cisco to explore the internet of everything, where he walked 1,686km across national parks and cities wearing an EEG that tracked his emotions.
Today's guest is the magnificent Alexandra Cousteau, a third generation member of the legendary Cousteau family who explore and explain the natural world. She is captivating.Continuing the work of her world renowned grandfather Jacques-Yves Cousteau and her father Philippe Cousteau, Sr., Alexandra is a National Geographic "Emerging Explorer," filmmaker and globally recognized advocate on water issues. She is a masterful storyteller dedicated to advocating the importance of conservation and sustainable management of water in order to preserve a healthy planet. Alexandra is the co-founder of OCEANS 2050, a global program of ocean afforestation aiming to restore abundance to the oceans in one generation. She is also a Senior Advisor to OCEANA and is deeply involved in its campaigns to curb overfishing. I had so many questions for her: What's it like to live as an explorer? And be a mother? What is your happiness? Are people meant to live among nature? What I got was an incredible series of stories, a wealth of wisdom on the state of our world's oceans and environment, and a whole lot of reasons to finally be optimistic about the future of our planet. Her words are essential listening.Listen as we discuss:How Alexandra exposed her "city boy" husband to natureWhy she avoids field missions and instead focuses on advocacy and activismThe pain of leading a mission you believe will help the world, only to face oppositionHer mindblowing OCEANS 2050 initiativeThe shocking state of our oceans (with horrifying statistics)Whether humans are meant to live in nature or cities (I'm feeling the itch)How the current generation is making her optimisticDid COVID-19 help the environment? The answer isn't so simple.Her amazing thoughts on happiness: "I'm aligning my beliefs with my actions for the first time in my life, and I feel like I'm leaving a better world for my children"How her father, who died when she was a child, left a lasting guide for herDoes Alexandra want her children to be explorers? - "I just want them to be happy."Instagram: @solve.for.happy, @onebillionhappy, @mo_gawdatFacebook: Slo Mo, onebillionhappyLinkedIn: /in/mogawdatConnect with Alexandra Cousteau on Instagram @acousteau, on Twitter @acousteau, on Linkedin @alexandracousteau, and on Facebook @AlexandraCousteauThanks to our friends at Aurum Speakers Bureau for connecting us to AlexandraDon't forget to subscribe to Slo Mo for new episodes every Monday and Thursday. Only with your help can we reach One Billion Happy #onebillionhappy.
Tristram Stuart is an international award-winning author, speaker, campaigner and expert on the environmental and social impacts of food. His books have been described as "a genuinely revelatory contribution to the history of human ideas” (The Times). The environmental organisation he founded, Feedback (www.feedbackglobal.org), works to regenerate nature by transforming our food system. He is also the founder of Toast Ale (www.toastale.com) which upcycles unsold fresh bread into award-winning craft beer. 100% of Toast's distributable profits go to Feedback and other aligned charities worldwide. After 3 years of operations, Toast saved more than 1 million slices of bread from going to waste. Tristram is an official UN Champion of SDG 12.3 to halve food waste by 2030. He won the international environmental award in 2011, The Sophie Prize. He is an Ashoka Fellow, a National Geographic Emerging Explorer and a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader.
Paul D. Miller, aka DJ Spooky, is a composer, multimedia artist, and writer whose work immerses audiences in a blend of genres, global culture, and environmental and social issues. He has collaborated with Metallica, Chuck D, Steve Reich, Yoko Ono; his 2018 album, DJ Spooky Presents: Phantom Dancehall, debuted at #3 on Billboard Reggae; his books include the award-winning Rhythm Science; he was named National Geographic Emerging Explorer; and performs large-scale, multimedia pieces including “Rebirth of a Nation.” http://djspooky.com FB ► https://facebook.com/DJSpooky Twitter ► https://twitter.com/djspooky Partner ► https://newwestsummit.com Welcome ✌
Studying primates offers insight into human evolution and behavior. Primatologist Elizabeth Lonsdorf shares her ongoing work with wild chimpanzees and gorillas: a unique long-term project that extends the seminal research by Jane Goodall and colleagues into the 21st century. Modern humans wean years earlier than African apes, a fact that is associated with several unique behaviors of being human (involving fertility, brain development, and life span). But our understanding of weaning in apes is actually quite limited. Dr Lonsdorf uses new technology and tools to better understand chimpanzee and gorilla development, and in the process learn more about us. Elizabeth V. Lonsdorf is an Associate Professor of Psychology and the Biological Foundations of Behavior Program at Franklin & Marshall College. She began studying primates as an undergraduate at Duke University where she conducted research on percussive foraging in the endangered aye-aye. She completed her Ph.D. at the Jane Goodall Institute's Center for Primate Studies at the University of Minnesota, and was founding director of the Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago. She directs Franklin & Marshall’s primate research laboratory, is a National Geographic Emerging Explorer, and serves on the board of directors for Chimp Haven and the National Chimpanzee Sanctuary. She returns annually to Gombe to maintain a research program focused on chimpanzee health and infant development in collaboration with the Jane Goodall Institute and other collaborators. She is a 02018-19 fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) at Stanford University.
In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara speaks with Dr. Jeffrey Marlow, a science journalist, National Geographic Emerging Explorer, and Geobiologist at Harvard University who studies deep sea microbes. They talk about the importance of innovative technology to the scientific process, as well as the curious link between marine microbial communities and potential life on other worlds. Follow Jeffrey: @jj_marlow.
In this episode of Talk Nerdy, Cara speaks with Dr. Jeffrey Marlow, a science journalist, National Geographic Emerging Explorer, and Geobiologist at Harvard University who studies deep-sea microbes. They talk about the importance of innovative technology to the scientific process, as well as the curious link between marine microbial communities and potential life on other worlds. Follow Jeffrey: @jj_marlow.
Maria Fadiman – Coming Out On The Other Side of Your Autoimmune ReactionsAired Friday, 19 April 2019, 7:00 PM ETIn this fascinating, raw, and real chat, we explore the absurdity of ‘all-of-this' along with what to do with the all too common statement “It's all in your head” with mycotoxins autoimmune thriver, National Geographic explorer and FAU professor, Maria Fadiman.Maria Fadiman works to make a difference in the world (really, the whole world) and embraces the challenges that come with the explorer kind of life. She is the creator of a compelling and funny one-woman show about discovering her autoimmune disorder, dealing with it, and getting back to being a “badass international explorer” even with an autoimmune condition. Just some of what she shares with us is:• The freedom when you discover ‘It's a crazy reaction, AND I'm not crazy…' • How to find the humor and uncover happiness within your diagnosis, • Why it is essential to have someone who “helps you think it out…” • The mindset tips that keep this international explorer continuing her adventures, plus so much more.Our guest Maria Fadiman is an associate professor in the Geosciences at Florida Atlantic University and a National Geographic Emerging Explorer. She researches the human/environmental aspect of conservation, focusing on ethnobotany, the study of the relationship between people and plants, and has given two TEDx talks. In addition to her academic publications, she writes adventure essays and is one of the invited contributors to the book, Global Chorus, along with others such as the Dalai Lama and Jane Goodall.Listen to this revealing episode first, Friday, April 19th at 7 PM ET at www.UnderstandingAutoimmune.com/Maria and later in podcast and video.
In this fascinating, raw, and real chat, we explore the absurdity of 'all-of-this' along with what to do with the all too common statement "It's all in your head" with mycotoxins autoimmune thriver, National Geographic explorer and FAU professor, Maria Fadiman. Maria Fadiman works to make a difference in the world (really, the whole world) and embraces the challenges that come with the explorer kind of life. She is the creator of a compelling and funny one-woman show about discovering her autoimmune disorder, dealing with it, and getting back to being a "badass international explorer" even with an autoimmune condition. Just some of what she shares with us is:• The freedom when you discover 'It's a crazy reaction, AND I'm not crazy...'• How to find the humor and uncover happiness within your diagnosis, • Why it is essential to have someone who "helps you think it out…" • The mindset tips that keep this international explorer continuing her adventures, plus so much more. Our guest Maria Fadiman is an associate professor in the Geosciences at Florida Atlantic University and a National Geographic Emerging Explorer. She researches the human/environmental aspect of conservation, focusing on ethnobotany, the study of the relationship between people and plants, and has given two TEDx talks. In addition to her academic publications, she writes adventure essays and is one of the invited contributors to the book, Global Chorus, along with others such as the Dalai Lama and Jane Goodall. Listen to this revealing episode first, Friday, April 19th at 7 PM ET at www.UnderstandingAutoimmune.com/Maria and later in podcast and video.
Ken Banks, Head of Social Impact at Yoti, developer of FrontlineSMS, and a National Geographic Emerging Explorer talks about the technology underpinning the emergence of digital identity, centralized versus decentralized systems and how tech has the potential to change our approach to identification. Find out more about Good ID here: https://www.good-id.org/en/ Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/goodid Brought to you by Omidyar Network, Caribou Digital and Unfold Stories.
Raghava has been named by CNN as one of the 10 most remarkable people in 2010, is a multidisciplinary artist and entrepreneur working at the intersection of art, science technology, and education. Raghava is a National Geographic Emerging Explorer and a multiple-time TED speaker. Show Notes: Happy New Year and welcome to the first episode of The Entrepreneurial You podcast for 2019. While many of us at most devise a 10 year plan, Raghava has established his 200-year plan because, rather than pursuing happiness, he is chasing meaning. A snippet from one of his Ted Talks says, "Netra (wife) and I don't write our 200-year plan for someone else to come and execute it in 150 years...we actually write it only to set our attitudes right." Purpose of a Plan Raghava describes a plan as a loose framework and attitude seeing the universe an intent. The purpose of a plan is that it forces you to articulate what success means to you. Interestingly, he believes you can only plan your attitude to what happens to you. Your attitude changes when you plan for 200 years. It becomes more about meaning than accomplishing something for yourself. There are so many other great nuggets from this conversation with Raghava. As a listener, here a just a few: -In the traditional way of thinking about a plan you chase happiness rather than chasing meaning -Ideology is the opposite of pragmatism. You can use ideology as framework to live meaningfully in the moment. Intent + guide force -Raghava belief system is based on: Myth - something that you deeply believe in, a narrative; Art - a symbol that you associate with the myth - design a space; Ritual - how people behave on a daily basis with art; transformative storytelling -We can eliminate our fear by helping others to remove their fears. Make sure your human capital is really solid Tune in to listen to the wisdom and insight of this multiple Ted Speaker. Connect with Raghava Website Facebook Twitter Instagram Book your spot for Leadercast Kingston 2019 - 40% OFF Visit our Sponsor: Jamaica Stock Exchange Email: Heneka Watkis-Porter
Tonight we talk to Jack Andraka, a recent 2018 Truman Scholar, National Geographic Emerging Explorer, researcher and Smithsonian American Ingenuity Award winner. We talk to him about initiatives aimed at increasing the representation of LGBTQ+ populations in health data and open existing data to encourage more research on health disparities, rethinking the role of engineers and scientists to position them as advocates for social justice via use of their talents and position to address structural inequalities and injustices, and more! My panel tonight includes Gabriel Hudson and Brody Levesque.
Tonight we talk to Jack Andraka, a recent 2018 Truman Scholar, National Geographic Emerging Explorer, researcher and Smithsonian American Ingenuity Award winner. We talk to him about initiatives aimed at increasing the representation of LGBTQ+ populations in health data and open existing data to encourage more research on health disparities, rethinking the role of engineers and scientists to position them as advocates for social justice via use of their talents and position to address structural inequalities and injustices, and more! My panel tonight includes Gabriel Hudson and Brody Levesque.
Today our conversation is with Jack Andraka about his love of science, how persistence paid off for him, and about the future of medicine. Prepare to be charmed by the 20-year-old wunderkind, who was only 15 years old when he invented groundbreaking cancer-detecting technology. Jack is also the author of the book Breakthrough, on the faculty at Silicon Valley’s Singularity University, a TED speaker, and a National Geographic Emerging Explorer. Listen in to this thought provoking episode. Find Out More About Jack Here: jackandraka.com@jackandraka on TwitterJack Andraka on InstagramJack Andraka on Facebook In This Episode: [01:35] - What spurred Jack’s discovery, and how was he able to pull it off as a teenager? [02:21] - Jack explains his invention in more detail. [03:17] - Because it takes a while to get medical technology on the market, Jack’s invention isn’t yet fully in use. [03:53] - There are several other tests currently under development, but Jack hasn’t heard of any that can detect cancer as early and accurately as his. [04:41] - Jack talks more about the process of developing his invention and finding a lab and mentor. He then describes going through the interview process at the lab, as well as how the funding worked. [07:51] - Jack discusses the Intel ISEF, in terms of what it is as well as his own experience there. [09:37] - We hear about Jack’s experience speaking at TED. [10:33] - Jack talks about Singularity University, which he describes as “probably one of the coolest places in all of Silicon Valley.” [12:56] - Jack shares some stories about his at-home experiences with science and the experiments he’s done with his brother -- including the time he accidentally gave his family food poisoning, and the fact that he and his brother got his mom onto the FBI watch list. [17:30] - Stephan shares a quote by George Bernard Shaw: “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” [18:37] - We learn more about nanorobots, what they are, and what they can do. [21:47] - What is CRISPR, and how is it being used? In his answer, Jack explores just how incredibly powerful this tool is. [25:15] - Stephan brings up the functions of genes, which Jack then explains in his own words, clarifying how DNA works. [28:16] - Jack touches on the ethical debate over whether we should have “designer babies” by modifying an embryo’s DNA. [30:13] - Are we able to connect these nanorobots to the internet, in the sense of the Internet of Things? [31:36] - We return to biosensors, with Jack talking about the project he’s working on right now that can test for biocontamination. [34:01] - Jack talks about how his technology can be expanded to various diseases. [34:37] - Why did Jack choose Tanzania as the place to launch his test? [35:57] - Jack explores how his technology dovetails with water filtration systems and helps people lift themselves out of poverty. [36:59] - Jack describes a big current trend in disease diagnostics for moving from symptom-based diagnostics toward molecular-based diagnostics. [39:53] - Stephan and Jack talk about what the term “proteomic” means. [40:28] - Why does Jack’s biosensor work with pancreatic, lung, and ovarian cancer, but not with breast cancer, for example? [42:35] - Jack gives a loose timeline for when he hopes his biomarker panels will be generally available. [43:34] - Is the test available outside the USA, where the FDA regulations don’t apply? [44:36] - Jack discusses the other research he’s working on, then explains how he got the idea for the topic. [48:14] - Beyond what has already been discussed, where does Jack see the future of medicine heading? [49:32] - Jack discusses whether surgical skills will still be relevant in ten years, or whether it will become the realm of robots by then. [50:55] - Where can people find out more about Jack? He suggests his website or his Twitter. Links and Resources: jackandraka.com@jackandraka on TwitterJack Andraka on InstagramJack Andraka on FacebookIntel ISEFBreakthrough Singularity UniversityNational Geographic Emerging ExploreCarbon nanotubesDr. Anirban MaitraClinton Global InitiativeTEDE.coliCholeraGeorge Bernard ShawNanorobots CRISPRHuntington’s RNADNACystic fibrosisBRCA mutationInternet of ThingsBiosensorsBiocontamination GenomicsProteonicsBiomarker MucinsMesothelinEconometrics Freakonomics Ebola
Even though Thandi Mweetwa grew up in one of the most wildlife rich countries on the planet, her first memory of that wildlife was from watching TV and hearing the stories of her mother’s childhood. Those stories had such a profound impact that Thandi worked hard to create her dream job and became an integral part of the Zambian Carnivore Program.In this episode of MHP Thandi (along with a very loud cricket), chats about Canadian anatomy classes, the reproductive life of lions, the joy of heading up the ZCP’s education program when she’s not out in the field, and her deep love of wild dogs. Thandiwe Mweetwa is a wildlife biologist, educator and senior ecologist with the Zambian Carnivore Program. She has a BSc in Animal Science from the University of British Columbia and a Masters from the University of Arizona. She was named a 2016 National Geographic Emerging Explorer. You can find out more about Thandi and the ZCP at www. http://www.zambiacarnivores.orgwww.myhomeplanet.org
I had an incredible time interviewing one of my personal heroes Ken Banks. He is the Founder of kiwanja.net and creator of messaging platform FrontlineSMS. He is a PopTech Fellow, a Tech Awards Laureate, an Ashoka Fellow and a National Geographic Emerging Explorer, and has been internationally recognized for his technology-based work. In 2013 he was nominated for the TED Prize, and in 2015 Ken was appointed CARE International’s first Entrepreneur in Residence and is also a published author, with his first edited book, “The Rise of the Reluctant Innovator.” In today’s episode, we cover different topics including finding one’s purpose in life, the power of paying attention, starting an organization and much more! If you’re interested in social entrepreneurship or starting your own organization then you have to listen to this man! He has some of the most genuine and practical advice I have ever heard! TEN THINGS TO LOOK OUT FOR 1. Some of the lessons Ken learned from one of the lowest points in his life! 2. His initial reaction when he first got National Geographic explorers award 3. His friendship with the Nobel prize winner Desmond tutu 4. How can one find their purpose in life 5. Importance of being humble 6. Why he decided to create an app called “app for my children” 7. Advice for young entrepreneurs 8. Working with the U.K. Prime minister’s delegation to Africa 9. What does Kiwanja mean and what is he doing with the platform. 10. What does it mean to be a reluctant innovator! Ken’s Favorite Movie: The Green Mile Ken’s Favorite Books: 1. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens 2. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer Connect with Ken: Website: http://www.kiwanja.net/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/search?q=ken%20banks&src=typd Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kiwanja/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ken.banks Connect with Shristi Website: limitlessgrit.com Email: limitlessgrit@gmail.com instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shristigajurel/?hl=en Twitter: https://twitter.com/search?q=shristi%20gajurel&src=typd Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shristi.gajurel1
Growing up in South L.A, Juan Martinez never envisioned what a sky full of stars looked like without the bright urban lights to mask them, or what birds chirping sounded like without the sounds of sirens and car horns.Yet today, this environmentalist, educator and National Geographic Emerging Explorer shares his love of nature with youth- just like him as the founder of the Natural Leaders Network.In this episode of My Home Planet, Juan explains how growing jalapeños and the determination of one teacher took him out of Compton and into the Grand Tetons; his steadfast belief in the interconnectedness of everything; why he’s dedicating his life to empowering and creating leaders for the planet, and why his day job is actually not a job at all.Juan Martinez is a National Geographic explorer and director of the Children & Nature Network’s Natural Leaders Network. Working with strategic partners and grassroots leaders, he strives to empower the next generation of conservation and nature leaders to create positive change.You can find out more about Juan and the Natural leaders network at:http://www.childrenandnature.org/initiatives/natural-leaders/http://www.juandmartinez.com/www.myhomeplanet.org
Dr. Pardis Sabeti is an Associate Professor at the Center for Systems Biology and Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University and the Department of Immunology and Infectious Disease at the Harvard School of Public Health, and an Institute Member of the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, and a Howard Hughes Investigator. Dr. Sabeti is a computational geneticist with expertise developing algorithms to detect genetic signatures of adaption in humans and the microbial organisms that infect humans. Her lab’s key research areas include: (1) Developing analytical methods to detect and investigate evolution in the genomes of humans and other species (2) Examining host and viral genetic factors driving disease susceptibility to the devastating and deadly diseases in West Africa, Ebola Virus Disease and Lassa hemorrhagic fever. (3) Investigating the genomes of microbes, including Lassa virus, Ebola virus, Plasmodium falciparum malaria, Vibrio cholera, and Mycobacterioum tuberculosis to help in the development of intervention strategies. (4) Determining the microbial cause of undiagnosed acute febrile illness. Dr. Sabeti completed her undergraduate degree at MIT, her graduate work at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, and her medical degree summa cum laude from Harvard Medical School as a Soros Fellow. Dr. Sabeti is a World Economic Forum (WEF) Young Global Leader and a National Geographic Emerging Explorer, and was named a TIME magazine ‘Person of the Year’ as one of the Ebola fighters. Her awards included the Smithsonian American Ingenuity Award for Natural Science, the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise, the NIH Innovator Award, the Packard Fellowship, and an Ellis Island Medal of Honor. She has served on the MIT Board of Trustees and the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Women in Science, Medicine, and Engineering. Dr. Sabeti is also the lead singer and co-song writer of the rock band Thousand Days.
Ken Banks is the founder of kiwanja.net and creator of FrontlineSMS. He devotes himself to the application of mobile technology for positive social and environmental change in the developing world. He has worked at the intersection of technology, anthropology, conservation and development for the past twenty years and, during that time, has lived and worked across the African continent. He is a PopTech Fellow, a Tech Awards Laureate, an Ashoka Fellow and a National Geographic Emerging Explorer, and has been internationally recognised for his technology-based work. In 2013 he was nominated for the TED Prize. Ken is also a published author, with his first edited book, “The Rise of the Reluctant Innovator”, released in late 2013. His latest project, Means of Exchange, looks at how everyday technologies can be used to democratize opportunities for economic self-sufficiency, rebuild local community and promote a return to local resource use.
Beth Shapiro is far from a giddy enthusiast about de-extinction. She knows more than nearly anyone about the subject because she is a highly regarded biologist in the middle of the two leading efforts in the new field—to resurrect extinct woolly mammoths and passenger pigeons. She knows exactly how challenging the whole process will be and how imperfect the later stages of success might appear. An evolutionary biologist who created and runs the paleogenomics lab at UC Santa Cruz, Shapiro is a careful skeptic, a great story teller and explainer, and an extremely productive scientist. In this talk she spans the full de-extinction narrative from DNA editing all the way to revived populations in the wild—from lab work with CRISPR Cas 9 and primordial germ cells through to the ethical and practical issues of restoring a long-absent keystone species in its former ecosystem. “The goal of de-extinction,” she points out, “is to restore ecosystems; to reinstate interactions between species that no longer exist because one or more of those species are extinct. We don’t need to create exact replicas of extinct species to achieve this goal.” She concludes, “De-extinction uses awesome, exciting, cutting-edge technology to take a giant step forward. De-extinction is a process that allows us to actively create a future that is really better than today, not just one that is less bad than what we anticipate.” Beth Shapiro is a MacArthur Fellow, a National Geographic Emerging Explorer, and author of the new book from Princeton University Press, How to Clone a Mammoth: The Science of De-extinction.”
Dr. Sasha Kramer is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods (SOIL). Sasha is an ecologist and human rights advocate who has been living and working in Haiti since 2004. She received her Ph.D. in Ecology from Stanford University in 2006 and co-founded SOIL that same year while completing a postdoctoral research position with the Collaboratory for Research on Global Projects at Stanford. Sasha is currently an Adjunct Professor of International Studies and a Visiting Scholar at the Center for Latin American Studies at the University of Miami. She is also a National Geographic Emerging Explorer and an Architect of the Future with the Waldzell Institute and a member of the Clinton Global Initiative. This program has been sponsored by Hearst Ranch. “The goal of our organization is to take things that are considered waste and turn them into resources.” [3:00] “Often, the Caribbean is often left our of larger networks.” [12:00] — Dr. Sasha Kramer on Greenhorn Radio