Podcasts about Waldron

In this episode, Sam Waldron contrasts the New Perspective on Paul with the historic Reformed understanding of Sola Fide. Dr. Waldron references multiple resources authored by Jeff Smith and himself in this conversation. These resources can be found here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JUIdshIzeXoeHhycsTPi320rdxLvu2Ex/view?usp=sharing https://drive.google.com/file/d/1y0jY9PCCVa4zSDZomcIbfLBi1a3DmdFg/view?usp=sharing For more information about CBTS visit: https://cbtseminary.org  

Carl Waldron shares the lengths he went to getting a copy of Final Fantasy VII

What's up everyone, today we have the pleasure of sitting down with Rich Waldron, Co-founder and CEO at Tray.ai. Summary: Marketing ops folks stand at a crossroads where iPaaS platforms and AI agents are colliding in crazy ways. Rich pulls back the curtain on what happens when workflows become agent "skills": Imagine your carefully built automations transformed into autonomous assistants that diagnose tech issues, provision applications, and manage complex Salesforce campaigns without manual intervention. Your marketing stack could suddenly act like a "junior admin" on demand, while you focus on strategy. The explosion of AI features has turned martech leaders into "AI referees" juggling competing vendor tools, yet those who master both fundamentals and experimental curiosity become "10X automation heroes" - the first teammates that are called when problems need solving. As Rich explains, career security comes from momentum, not stability.About RichAfter University, Rich spent several years building different projects in the UK which included a web agency, a media company and a mobile app for social gatheringsTray was officially founded in 2013, bootstrapped by selling Wellington boots on eBay – the early product idea was email automation but pivoted to enabling less technical people to utilize APIs to integrate their tech stackAlongside his 2 co-founders, they spent the better part of 4 years building the product and raising a seed round in 2015. Between 2018 and 2020, Tray grew from $500k to $20M ARRToday, Tray processes Billions of transactions across the platform every month and they've gone all in on the composable AI integration and automation movementThe Rise iPaaS and AI OrchestrationiPaaS exploded because enterprise suites were too slow to open up their integration capabilities. CDPs made similar mistakes with rigid architectures, birthing today's composable alternatives. Every software system eventually faces the same primal challenge: intercommunication. Rich recounts how this pattern also repeats throughout computing history with startling consistency. Monolithic ERPs dominated early landscapes, where engineers cobbled together custom connections between internal components. These hand-built bridges crumbled easily, leaving teams scrambling for standardized frameworks that could withstand daily operational stress.As specialized software proliferated around these central systems, integration pressure mounted. "We're still not that far through on adopting the cloud," Rich points out, puncturing the tech bubble many of us live in. While cloud technologies feel omnipresent to industry veterans, countless organizations remain firmly planted on physical servers. This reality created distinct evolutionary phases for iPaaS:On-premise to on-premise connections (the original integration challenge)On-premise to cloud bridges (MuleSoft's territory)  Cloud-to-cloud orchestration (where Tray focused)Each phase demanded fundamentally different architecture. Cloud applications introduced unique payload structures, execution patterns, and API designs that rendered previous integration approaches obsolete. "Every application now has an API," Rich explains, describing how this technical shift triggered organizational transformation. Marketing departments grew increasingly technical, with marketing ops professionals discovering they could craft custom experiences by tapping into these newly accessible APIs.> "iPaaS has to evolve because if your iPaaS was built purely for an era when AI wasn't a consideration and your customers are now suddenly saying, 'We're looking at how we infuse AI in these processes,' the requirements have changed again."You've likely witnessed this evolution in your own organization. Remember when connecting two systems required an IT ticket and weeks of waiting? Now your marketing team builds automations while the sales team creates their own customer journey orchestrations. Technical power diffused across departments, democratizing integration capabilities previously locked behind developer expertise.Today's iPaaS platforms face their greatest evolutionary pressure yet: AI integration. Rich describes how existing processes built on traditional platforms now crumble under AI's weight. Semantic analysis, novel reasoning models, and entirely new integration approaches have rewritten the rules. iPaaS vendors who built for the pre-AI era now race to adapt as customers demand intelligent workflows. The platforms that flourish will embrace AI as a core architectural principle rather than a bolted-on feature.Key takeaway: Evaluate your integration platform based on whether it was (re)designed for today's AI-centric landscape or simply patched to accommodate it. The most effective iPaaS solutions evolve alongside major architectural shifts rather than struggling to catch up after they've occurred.What Makes an Agent Truly "Agentic" Beyond the Marketing HypeThe AI agent landscape is blurring with contradictions and wild claims and it's only going to get crazier. While vendors plaster "agent" labels on everything with an algorithm, Rich isn't worried about definition. The terminology matters far less than what these systems actually do. > "The AI isn't just reasoning over a set of data, but it's actually going and taking action on a user's behalf... I've done the response for you and I've handled the follow up and I've gone and filed this over here, and it's actually carrying out a series of actions based on the reasoning that occurred in the first place."AI agents take autonomous action. They handle support tickets end-to-end. They file documents. They complete multi-step processes without human intervention. They execute rather than suggest.Tray's team experienced genuine goosebump moments when they combined their connector infrastructure with LLM reasoning. You could almost hear the click as puzzle pieces fell into place. Their ten-year vision suddenly materialized before their eyes:Semi-technical staff performing complex cross-organizational tasksTeams breaking free from application limitationsWorkers escaping data accessibility problemsAI executing the best next steps, not just recommending themThis capability triggered an immediate "holy shit" reaction during internal testing. Everything changed in that moment. The strategic implications struck like lightning: adapt or die. Many category leaders fail exactly here, at this precipice of change, clinging to outdated paradigms while disruptive innovation rewrites the rules.The adoption curve is also likely to be shockingly steep. Century-old enterprises with conservative DNA are already running AI workloads in production using Tray. Some skipped entire technological generations, leapfrogging directly into AI implementation. They've dumped their data into databases, layered AI analysis on top, and built reactive systems around the outputs. The comfort level with these technologies has accelerated across industries at a pace that defies conventional adoption timelines.When Tray rebranded from tray.io to tray.ai, they acknowledged that connection alone provides insufficient value in this new world. The platforms that enable autonomous action through AI will dominate the future landscape. The rest will fade into technological obscurity, remembered only as stepping stones.Key takeaway: The future competitive advantage in your martech stack is going to come from AI that acts on your behalf, not just analyzes and recommends. When you implement systems where AI executes complex workflows based on reasoning, you empower your teams to achieve broader impact with fewer technic...

Born in Elmhood, Michigan, Sam Waldron was raised by parents who converted to Christ shortly before his birth. Though still young in the faith, they were the biggest influences on his life, regularly reading the Bible as a family and attending church together, and faithfully disciplining him for misbehavior. After confessing Christ and being baptized at age 7, Sam struggled with assurance of salvation for years until he came to understand that salvation was by God's free grace alone. Since then, God has raised him up as a leading Reformed Baptist pastor whose passion for sound doctrine and the importance of the local church has blessed many.

Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-32 Gary reviews a new book by Dr. Sam Waldron about eschatology called The Doctrine of Last Things. Waldon basically follows John Murray's amillennialism and doesn't really deal with much of the material that presents a different view. While Dr. Waldron offers his views on preterism, he doesn't actually interact with any of their writings and dismisses it as a Catholic heresy.

When you are evaluating a church, what should you keep in mind? Dr. Sam Waldron and Pastor Steve lay out the groundwork for things you should be looking for. We hope and pray that Grounded has become a useful and regular part of your Christian learning and growth! - the Grounded team Would you like to know one of the best ways to help our ministry? Telling others about Grounded, it's one of the very best ways to help us to grow!

Carl has his own mark on the Podcasting world, but many of us know him as the driving force behind Dadstiny, a parent-centric group of Destiny players. Come hear Carl chat about games from his past including Final Fantasy VII, Destiny 2, and Metal Gear Solid.You can find all of Carl's links at c3.gg/carlwaldronOur hosts' links can be found at⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ c3.gg/rey ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠and⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ c3.gg/dan⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The show is Executive Produced by Channel 3 Founder Joel Willis who can be found at⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ c3.gg/joel⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Our theme song is provided by Castor Garden. Find all of their tracks on Spotify by simply going to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠c3.gg/castorgardenmusic⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or find all of their links at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠c3.gg/castorgarden⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ALSO!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://adam-evalt.itch.io/neoclassical-mystery⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ is a music package that our own castorgarden put together for game developers. Go check it out or contact Castor Garden for your own custom music package.About Channel3.gg: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠channel3.gg⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ is social networking built from the ground up for gamers. Sure you can do all the stuff like on the old social medias like post pictures, videos, comments and the like. Channel 3 is so much more than that though. It takes the social media experience and game-ifies it. Made a great post that someone likes (1-ups) or respawns? You earn XP experience points that level you up. New levels mean chances to win tickets for physical prizes, earn digital flair for your profile, and more. Additionally there are weekly events hosted by Channel 3 that let the community unwind and kick back with a little friendly competition. Sure, you want to win but it's more about hanging out and the vibes. These events are hosted on C3's Twitch Channel and also earn XP for participants. XP can also be earned for completing quests-questions related to games and being a gamer, challenges where you go forth and complete a task in a game, rating & reviewing games and systems, creating specifically themed lists of games and more. You can find Channel 3 in both the Android and Apple App Stores or at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠c3.gg/app⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Dora Zhang interviews Shiven Shah, CFO at Libra Solutions, on the "Weinberg in the World" podcast. Shiven discusses his extensive career in finance, including roles at Merrill Lynch, Citi, Peak6, ABN AMRO Clearing Group, and OppFi, where he helped take the company public. He emphasizes the importance of flexibility and teamwork, and highlights the supportive community and lasting relationships he formed at Northwestern University. Transcript:  Dora: Welcome to the Weinberg in the World podcast, where we bring stories of interdisciplinary's thinking in today's complex world. My name is Dora Zhang and I'm your student host of the special episode of the podcast. I'm currently a junior studying economics, psychology with an IMC certificate. And today, I'm very excited to be speaking with Mr. Shiven Shah, who is a CFO at Libra Solutions, a PE-backed specialty finance company. Mr. Shiven, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me today. So to start off, do you mind introducing yourself? Shiven: Yeah, it's a pleasure to be here. Thank you Dora, for having me on the podcast. My name, as you mentioned, is Shiven Shah. I graduated in Northwestern, the class of '99. So I've just had my 25th year reunion recently, which was great to see a lot of old faces and friends and colleagues from many years ago. So I have had a really tight connection with the Northwestern community. I'm a member of the NULC, helped with admissions committee, and also with some mentoring projects as well. Background wise, I grew up in the Chicago area, right outside of Oak Park, Illinois, which is a western suburb, very similar to Evanston in a lot of ways, a diverse community. And my first choice was Northwestern and I ended up being fortunate enough to be accepted in, and studied economics and minored in statistics. And then I ended up going into a career in finance, starting right after undergrad in New York City at Merrill Lynch in investment banking. I did that for a few years, and then went to business school. I ended up in a financial management program during the financial crisis, and it was really interesting times 2007, 2008, where we had to bail Citi out with the too big to fail and the credit derivatives and the swaps. So it was a very interesting time to be there. So I ended up staying at Citi in a variety of finance roles for about eight years. And then ended up coming back to Chicago, and then worked at a trading company called Peak6, which was a diversified company. They had several investments in small private equity type investments, private placements, and also had bought a couple other companies and sold a couple of companies while I was there. So really, really great experience. And then I ended up going into another CFO role at ABN AMRO Clearing Group running the Americas business for trading clients. And then I really, really found my footing in 2017 when I joined a company called OppFi, which is a mission-driven company to help the hundreds of millions of Americans that live paycheck to paycheck and with 70% of America having savings of less than a thousand dollars. We tried to provide an alternative to payday loans and other high interest rate products, with a fully amortizing product that really gave people an opportunity to withstand an emergency situation. We ended up building the company up over a five year period from startup and then we ended up taking the company public via the SPAC process in 2021. I stayed with the company one year post public and then I joined another company, similar space, similar mission to help those in an emergency situation. In this case, Libra Solution is responsible for consumer litigation funding, so mostly personal injury. So when people get into a car accident, a motor vehicle accident, we help them out by providing an advance against the case settlement. So while they wait on a case which can last anywhere from an average of a year and a half to sometimes more than five years, we provide... And also have relationships with providers and attorneys to help them get the right care. So that's my background. Really excited to be here, as I said. I'm looking forward to the questions. Dora: Yeah, thank you so much for sharing your background. Because you've previously talked about your recent reunion with the Northwestern community, do you want to talk a little bit about the Northwestern alumni network? How would you describe the network? And are you in touch with any of the alumni? Shiven: Yeah, I think some of my best friends are from Northwestern, who I still keep in touch with, talk to on a daily basis really, and spend a lot of time. I think the greatest thing from my experience at Northwestern, were definitely the relationships that I formed there. I think the friendships are long lasting, lifelong and genuine. And the best part about the Northwestern alumni network, is that people really are out there to help each other. And I think whether it's a more recent alum or somebody that's more seasoned, or that's been out of school for a longer period of time, I think the ability to leverage the network and leverage the relationships and the friendships, I think is one of the best things ever. So yeah, not just the reunion, but again, on an ongoing basis, having that connectivity with the school and the university is very important to me. Dora: Is there any other resources you remember taking advantage of at school? Shiven: Yeah, so I think there's a lot of resources at the school, the career network, I think the student clubs are great as well, to network into different companies. The relationships that the co-op program that I wasn't a part of, but a lot of friends were, is another great opportunity. And I think, just the number of organizations, I was in the Greek system, so I had joined a fraternity there and a lot of the relationships I had from there continue to last for years post Northwestern. So I had a really good experience there. I was involved with cultural groups and affinity groups, the South Asian Student Association. And was involved with some of the dances and the performances and the festivals that we celebrated. So I think that that diversity is also super important with so many people from so many different backgrounds. That's what makes Northwestern really unique. Dora: Yeah, absolutely. And going back to your career, were you thinking about doing a career or jobs in finance when you first came to Northwestern? Or how was that process of choosing what career? Shiven: Yeah, no, I came in thinking like a lot of the Asian and Indian parents want their kids to be doctors. So I came in being told that I should be a doctor. And unfortunately, after about a year and a half and struggling through organic chemistry, I realized that it wasn't my calling to do medicine. And to the disappointment of making that phone call, I'll never forget to my parents, they were very disappointed that I decided not to go. And I got a very long lecture about why my career and my life is going the wrong direction. And they thought I was just goofing around the whole time during Northwestern, which is partially true, but not fully. I ended up with Northwestern really realizing that math was my calling in life, and I like the business side and how using mathematics and data to solve business problems, I thought it was what I wanted to do. And so over the course of a couple of years really by my junior year I thought I wanted to do something more in financial services and where I can do something that I'm more passionate about. So yeah, I feel like it was the right decision and I feel good about where we are. Dora: Yeah, thank you for sharing that. Is there any particular skills or habits do you think is important for your career? Shiven: Yeah, I think the most important characteristic one can have, and my advice is to be flexible in a company and be versatile. Not just do something that this is your immediate job, but offer perspectives, offer out of the box thinking. And I think that the other piece is be a team player. There should be no job that's too menial. Whatever you're told to do, view it as a service to your company and try to do the best, not for yourself, but for the broader and the greater organization. Be a culture champion, make it a positive experience, help other people out. I think it's super important. I think the other piece is as a leader, is care about your people, really care about the individual, care about their development and make it an environment where people want to work. They're not just there to collect a paycheck, but they're having a fun time there and really making an impact and really fulfilling the mission of what that company is. So I think it's go for what you're interested in rather than trying to check boxes. Dora: Yeah. And another question I have, is that during your academic or professional journey, is there anything that you regret or wish you could do differently? Shiven: Yeah, I think what I would have said, is I would have been more honest with myself in what I really wanted, what my passions were. And I think the other piece of it, is be who you are, even who you spend time with. And I would say, early on in my college career I was trying to like fit in as opposed to being myself, both with my family at home and trying to be a doctor. And also with the people I associated with, I was trying to, adhere to what I thought what people liked. And then as you get older you're like, "You know what? You are who you are, be yourself, be a good human being, but don't try to be somebody you're not and be true to yourself." Dora: Yeah. And also I feel like as a college student sometimes we'll meet some obstacles in school and also in recruiting and stuff. So is there any advice you can give the students to keep them motivated? Shiven: Yeah, I think my biggest advice is I think there's no substitute for hard work. And whether that's in recruiting, whether that's in your schoolwork, whether that's in as you look for a job or decide on a career path in general, I think you got to spend the time, right? So for example, if you're looking for a job, people aren't going to reach out to you, and there's so many qualified individuals, so how do you differentiate yourself? One, is you make an effort. You go to these career fairs but also start to figure out who's in your network? Who's at Northwestern? Have introductory coffees together and try to learn from them and seek help. And you may reach out to a hundred people and only one or two people respond, but it's one or two more than you would've had if you didn't make any effort. And if you look at like how people get to where they are, a lot of it is really based on the people you know and the people that have helped you out. As a society we help each other out, but you have to seek that help. And so don't be afraid to ask for help and not do it all on your own, but get guidance of those that have done it in the past. Dora: And I think you've already touched a little bit about this, but is there any specific tips for networking for students in college or after graduation? Shiven: Yeah, I think it's important to be part of the student organizations that are connected to the field of study that you want to do or the career that you want to pursue. And also, I think using job networks like LinkedIn and the Northwestern alumni network, there are thousands of alum all over the world, tens of thousands of alum. It's just a question of finding them, right? And so I think using those resources, going through databases and reaching out, and just asking like, "I'm a Northwestern student seeking advice," you will get responses. And it's not going to be a hundred percent as I said, but find and make a point each week to meet at least two new people. That I would say, would be a goal. Have conversations with two new people each week in your field of study. Dora: And just for students who are interested in financial services or finance, do you have any general advice for the students to do in school or in recruiting? Shiven: Yeah, for finance in general, I think a lot of the skills with a liberal arts background are transferable. You don't need to have been in an undergraduate in business school to be successful. I think it's the way of thinking. Take classes that involve critical thinking, that involve data and numbers and analytics. So I think statistics, science courses are very helpful, math courses, computer science. The other thing in finance is that there are two ways to go about it. You're going to go into finance right out of undergrad, or you work in a company, like let's say, you're interested in science and you go work at a biotech company. Or you're interested in art or whatever it may be, or you're an engineer, develop skills that are problem solving skills and analytical. Then you can go back, get your MBA and then do more of a finance specialty. So there's a couple of paths to go on that. Dora: And I know a lot of students, they didn't know what to do for their career when they were in college. So do you think it's important for them to decide what to do before graduation? Or do you think it's okay for them to just navigate and figure it out through their journey in Northwestern? Shiven: I think it is important to have some idea prior to graduating in the first couple of years. I think it's important to explore, keep your options open. But by junior year, like having a path of where you want to go I think is important and having a focus, because you want to hit the ground running out of college. And I think the more you wait to figure that out, the bigger issues that you'll have. And use the time by speaking to others, that have been in different fields and getting a feel for what people do. Go to different companies, go to company visits, go to career fairs and that's how you learn and talk to people. But I think it is important to figure it out before you graduate. Dora: Perfect. Thank you so much for speaking with us today. I think that is all the questions I have. It was really wonderful getting to know you. And thank you again for joining us today. Shiven: Yeah, absolutely. It's a pleasure to be on here and I'm happy to speak to other individuals that have questions on their career. And as I said, use the network and use the opportunity that you have at Northwestern in a positive way. Dora: And thank you for listening to this special episode of Weinberg in the World podcast. We hope you have a great weekend, and go Cats.  

What if the key to a thriving metabolism lies deep inside your cells? In this episode, I sit down with nutritional therapist Dawn Waldron, whose personal journey as a breast cancer survivor has led her to explore metabolism through the fascinating world of mitochondrial health. We dive into the real reasons why fasting, exercise, and gut health are so essential—not just for weight management, but for energy, longevity, and disease prevention. Plus, we explore emerging research, including the intriguing concept of reverse Krebs and its potential role in chronic health conditions. Whether you're a health enthusiast or a professional, this conversation will change how you think about metabolism and what it really means to fuel your body for lifelong health.

In this episode of 100% Real with Ruby, I'm joined by Max Waldron, a coach, strength expert, and gym owner who has navigated multiple dimensions of the fitness industry. Together, we dive deep into the often-misunderstood differences between coaching and training, the mental and emotional barriers holding people back, and why fat loss isn't sustainable as a lifestyle. Max brings his no-BS approach to challenge the fitness myths that keep you stuck, while providing a fresh perspective on building the body and life you truly want. This conversation is packed with actionable insights, powerful mindset shifts, and tools to help you break free from frustration and step into progress. Whether you're a coach, a client, or someone who's been spinning their wheels for years, this episode will make you think differently about what it means to succeed in your health and fitness journey. Don't miss it!Most of us already know what to do. Eat better, move more, be consistent—right? But if it were that simple, why would so many still feel stuck? The truth is, it's not about knowledge; it's about what's stopping you from following through.Fat loss isn't sustainable long-term, and trying to balance it with life often leads to frustration. Fat loss should be viewed as a temporary phase, followed by maintenance or building phases.Measure What MattersObsessively tracking every metric can detract from focusing on meaningful progress. Measure the variables that truly align with goals, such as consistency and effort, rather than arbitrary metrics like scale weight.Many clients fail to appreciate their progress because they live in a scarcity mindset, focusing on what they lack instead of what they've achieved.Muscle is not bulky; it is sculpted and compact. Building muscle creates a leaner, stronger look, and achieving this requires fueling the body and training effectively. Addressing common fears of looking "too bulky" helps educate clients on the value of strength training and adequate nutritionCreating the Right EnvironmentSuccess often stems from a supportive environment, such as meal prepping, structuring workouts, and reducing decision fatigue.The Danger of Focusing Solely on Scale Weight or trying to make fat loss sustainableOver-reliance on the scale as a measure of success can undermine progress. Shifting focus to performance, strength, and habits is more productive.Key Insight: Addressing the emotional attachment to the scale helps clients find fulfillment in non-scale victories.Even perceived setbacks provide valuable insights for future progress. Clients are never truly starting over—they're building on past experiences. Reframe "failure" as an opportunity to learn and grow, fostering resilience and a growth mindset.Sustainability isn't achieved through perfect plans but by aligning mindset with actions and focusing on intrinsic motivation.Strength training fosters intrinsic motivation by creating enjoyment in the process and measurable progress beyond aesthetics.Further Knowledge: Strength training also provides a tangible sense of accomplishment, reinforcing clients' commitment to their goals.Sacrifices and Realistic Expectations (1:03:59-1:07:42):Achieving goals often requires more effort and sacrifice than initially expected. However, the trade-offs must align with what the client values most.Insight: Helping clients evaluate their willingness to make sacrifices ensures alignment with their deeper goals and life priorities.Training Intensity and FocusMany don't train with enough intensity to see significant progress. Simplified, structured programs with a focus on effort can yield better results. prioritize progressive overload in their training and focus on quality over quantity.

Theonomy, also known as Christian Reconstructionism, has seen a revival in recent decades. The early movement, led by R.J. Rushdoony, Gary North, and Greg Bahnsen, taught what Bahnsen described as “the abiding validity of the Mosaic law in exhaustive detail.” But how does this teaching align with Scripture and the Reformed tradition?In this video, Scott sits down with Dr. Sam Waldron and Dr. Tom Hicks to discuss their new book, Theonomy Old and New: A Reformed Baptist Assessment. They examine the historical roots of Theonomy, its postmillennial and ethical distinctives, and the modern rebranding as “General Equity Theonomy.”

Sammy and Skraby talked about the Padres and A's game happening in Mesa, Arizona. They also talked about a minor league catcher who was unofficially banned, and Ben & Woods talk to Jackson Merrill!

“We can all make a positive difference to help tackle the climate crisis. We can all be climate champions.”If you're interested in in what is being done to help climate change, and you want to be more pro-actively pro planet and climate change aware, then listen to my guest this week Sangeeta Waldron founder of Serendipity PR and author of ‘What will Your Legacy Be' in which she interviews 36 brilliant minds who generously share their knowledge and perspective from science to food, global politics, business, to the media, arts and music, communities about the climate crisis and sustainability.Sangeeta shares about her book which is a blueprint of ideas for how each and everyone of us can contribute to reversing the impact of humans on nature and on the planet, so that we do indeed leave the legacy of a sustainable and bountiful Life on Earth for future generations to come.She shows that we all count when it comes to climate change and every one of our actions matters for the legacy of a planet that is still liveable for humans in the not too distant future.You can find out more about Sangeeta's work on https://serendipitypr.co.uk/Buy her book ‘What will Your Legacy Be' at all book vendorsAnd follow her on Linkedin @SangeetaWaldron  You can follow Host Lou Hamilton on Instagram @brave_newgirl and on Linkedin @LouHamiltoncreatelabPS. Lou helps you transform your health & wellbeing: LOU'S LIFE LAB SERVICES HEREFor Lou's creative transformation and art practice go to ART HIVE or LOUHAMILTONARTJoin our Brave New Girls retreats to reset and reconnect with what really matters to you. HEREMusic licensed from Melody Loops.Support the showBrave New Girls podcast is an Audio Archive Art Project with pioneering, creative & entrepreneurial women at the head of the curve, who are inspiring us on the airwaves, to work towards the health & wellbeing of ourselves and the planet. Brave New Girls podcast ranks in top 2.5% globally, and No 7 in the "45 Best UK Women's Podcasts to Listen to, in 2024", with Host Lou Hamilton, artist, author & wellbeing coach. Thank you for listening and please subscribe to keep up to date on new episodes as they're released.Lou is the founder of Brave New Girl Media- bringing you inspiration, support and growth. 1. INSPIRATION from courageous, creative women on Brave New Girls podcast working for the benefit of people and the planet. ️2. SUPPORT with 1:1 creative transformation coaching and our holistic, healthy, creative wellbeing retreats www.bravenewgirlmedia.com/wellbeing-retreat 3. GROWTH blogs to help you THRIVE.Sign up to our emails for inspiration, support & growth and LOU'S LIFE LAB free downloadable guide https://bravenewgirlmedia.comInsta @brave_newgirlBooks: Dare to Share- bestselling guide to podcast guesting FEAR LESS- coaching guide to living more bravely Brave New Girl- How to be Fearless Paintings & Public Art www.LouHamiltonArt.comInsta @LouHamiltonArt

April Wang, a second-year student studying physics and integrated science, hosts the “Weinberg in the World” podcast and interviews Mike Forman, a 2012 Northwestern graduate and senior managing director at Blackstone. Mike shares how his studies in MMSS and economics, along with his involvement in a fraternity and the Kellogg Certificate Program, were formative experiences. He discusses how these experiences, along with internships and networking, led him to a career in finance and his current role at Blackstone. Transcript: April: Welcome to the Weinberg in the World Podcast, where we bring stories of interdisciplinary thinking in today's complex world. My name is April and I am your student host of this special episode of the podcast. I'm a second-year student studying physics and integrated science, and I'm looking forward to learning more about our guest's career. Today I'm excited to be speaking with Mike Forman, who graduated from Northwestern in 2012 and is now senior managing director at Blackstone. Thank you, Mike, for taking the time to speak with me today. Mike Forman: Thank you so much for having me, April. Northwestern is a near-and-dear place to my heart, so I'm excited to chat with you. April: Excellent. To start us off today, I'm wondering if you could tell us more about your time at Northwestern as an undergrad. What did you study, and what were some impactful experiences for you that led to your current career path? Mike Forman: Yeah, yeah. Good question. I went to Northwestern from 2008 to 2012. I majored in MMSS and economics, and I also did the Kellogg Certificate Program. I was in a fraternity and made a bunch of lifelong friends who I'm still very close to today, so those were super impactful and formative. I would say MMSS definitely was the hardest academic experience I ever had. I think I learned a bunch of things from that. First of all, it was hard but it was also incredibly rewarding. I think maybe another reminder or one of the better lessons I've learned along the way of most things that were really difficult that I went through, I looked back on fondly and are pretty formative experiences that help you become who you are. That was definitely the case with MMSS. It gave me a really interesting framework to interpret the world. What else was impactful experiences? Well, hugely impactful in terms of how I ended up on my career path. I went to Northwestern, and I knew I wanted to work in business after school. But it was that vague, in terms of what I ... That was as crystallized as the idea was in my mind. I went to school, and some friends and friends of friends, I started to appreciate a number of the people who felt like were thoughtful and focused on the career they were going to have after school, started to see what they were interested in and what they were doing. A number of those people were going into either finance or consulting. That got me just interested in the finance world and investing, understanding what they did, they gave me a bunch of books to read, things like that. I ended up doing two internships my sophomore year for a prop trading firm in Chicago and also UBS. Then my junior year, I was planning on going into investment banking because that's what I think a lot of, I don't know, the people I respected and looked up, that's what they were going and doing after school. I think I was looking on it, it was called Career CAD at the time, which was Northwestern, where you used to find jobs, whatever. April: Okay. Mike Forman: I don't know what it's called today. I saw a posting for a job at Blackstone as an intern in their real estate group. I actually remembered one of my friends, he was a couple of years older than me who was also in the same fraternity as me, or had been, was working at Blackstone. Oh, I'll give him a call. I called my friend Dave Levine. I was like, "Hey, do you like your job? Do you think I would like your job?" He laughed and he was like, "Yeah, I think you would. You should apply." I had this vision in my mind of going and working in investment banking and this opportunity popped up with Blackstone, which is a real estate private equity role. I ended up interviewing, getting a job offer. I wasn't specifically interested in real estate, but I felt like everyone I had met really enjoyed what they were doing. They were super active, getting things done. They were good people. I decided to try it out. I was an intern in 2011. Then I ended up joining full-time since 2012. Actually, I've been here since I graduated, so I've been here for almost 13 years now. That was not exactly my plan coming out of school, but it's been a really fun adventure. It's changed a lot over time, too. April: Yeah. It's really tricky to figure out what you want to do, especially in college, but I'm glad it worked out. Mike Forman: Totally. April: Yeah. Mike Forman: Totally. April: Then you spoke a little bit about some of your biggest challenges turning out to be the most rewarding, which I think leads well into the next question. Which is what are the most challenging and rewarding aspects of your current job? Mike Forman: I'll start with maybe some of the most rewarding aspects, and maybe I'll tie it back to some of the challenging equals rewarding later. I would say the most fun part of my job, and this organization, and the people we get to work with both inside and outside of Blackstone are getting to work with really talented, smart, hard-working, but also kind and considerate people. That's why I'm still here I think and that's pretty special. That's the most rewarding aspect, call it the people element or the human element. Besides that, look, I think investing is super fun. It's a combination of, I don't know, treasure hunting and building things. It definitely scratches my curiosity itch. I love to learn, I love to read about new things, trying to understand and form a view around where the world is going. Investing definitely, definitely scratches that itch. I've always loved technology, so my career, what I focused on has evolved a little bit over time. I now oversee our digital infrastructure investing around the world on behalf of our real estate business. We're building a bunch of really large data center businesses. By getting to focus on technology and really understand it deeply is fascinating and super fun. It feels like we're building the future, building the brain if you will. Dynamics have changed a ton. Okay, let's tie it back to the challenging part. I think one thing I came to appreciate working here is to be excellent is hard. Even if you're smart and capable, and whatever, you also just have to try really hard. Not just for a year or two, for many years. That is, I don't know, just getting a little bit tougher almost. And actually embracing that and leaning into it, maybe that's the most challenging aspect is just the hard work it takes to do a good job. But it's also something I really love about this place. I feel like there's a lot of people around me, they're smart, kind people, like I said, but they also work super hard. It's invigorating but it's not easy. April: That's great. Yeah, I totally agree with that. Speaking of challenging aspects of your job, how well did college prepare you for those aspects and for your career in general? What would you say was the most important skill or lesson that you learned from undergrad? Mike Forman: I would say the most important lesson, it was the toolkit. It was learning how to learn. I guess I've come to appreciate why a liberal arts education is amazing more as time has gone on. It's funny. I told you I wanted to go into business. At a certain part I was like, "Oh, I should go to a business school," undergrad. I'm so glad I didn't because I've been in business school since I graduated in a way. I'm really happy that I had the opportunity during college to, yes, take some economics class. But also, classes like game theory and strategic interaction, a framework to think about strategic interactions. And also, classes like Russian literature that are philosophy and pull your brain in a different direction, and give you a totally different lens to look at and think about the world. I think really, just the skillset, the tools to learn, that was a really important one. Then the second one is, I would say when I first went to Northwestern ... I would say before I went to college, I had a bad habit of procrastinating. April: Me, too. Mike Forman: Which I'm sure everyone can relate to a bit. But I realized that if I wanted to do well in school, and have a social life, and be able to do a bunch of other things, I needed to get organized and not procrastinate, and make the best use of time. That was a really important skill that I learned in undergrad that I'm appreciative I got a little bit of a wake-up call there almost to really be efficient and figure out how to make the most of my minutes. April: Yeah, definitely. That Russian literature class you mentioned, it's actually still really popular here. I've heard a couple people that are in it and they really enjoy it still. Mike Forman: Oh, it's incredible. April: That's really interesting. Yeah. Mike Forman: It's incredible. It's one of my favorite classes I ever took in school. April: What was the biggest adjustment that you had to make going from college to industry? Mike Forman: It's funny. I guess I just said something similar, but I think time is probably the big one. Making the most of your time. It's funny. I say I went to school and I had to start getting a little bit more organized, not procrastinate, really get my work done, et cetera. At times, it feels like you're almost short on time, I guess especially during finals week or whatever, when you're cramming for whatever's coming up. When you start working, you have a lot less time. I guess with the benefit of hindsight you're like, "Oh wow, I actually had a lot of free time during college." You just have a little bit more time and space, et cetera. That I think really changes and it forces you to make even better use of your minutes. Become more efficient, become more focused. And also, just appreciate the time that you have. For example, I think you have more time just to have fun and go enjoy yourself during school. One thing I appreciate is okay, maybe I'll only go do things with my friends during the weekend or not as often during the week, but I actually really savor them. That's a little bit of, I guess a tweak mentally, that is definitely an adjustment going from college to industry afterwards. I'm trying to think what else? That's probably the biggest. That's probably the biggest. April: Just out of curiosity, what were some of the fun moments you had with your friends or some things that you look back at fondly now? Mike Forman: Oh my God, there's so many. It's funny, I have this video reel playing in my head right now. It was everything from literally first days at school, I made a handful of friends through whatever random adventures we were up to, and a number of those stuck for forever. I still work with some of this people, which is kind of cool. One of my best friends from school who I lived with for a couple years works at Blackstone nowadays, which is pretty cool. I would say everything from we checked out a ton of music, we explored Chicago. We ran all over Northwestern, I don't know, playing Frisbee in the great lawn, or whatever adventures around the lake we got up to. I don't know, there's almost too many to count. But I would say I got to meet and know a number of people, they were both smart and hard-working, but also really interesting and fun. I almost feel like previously in my life, I had to choose one or the other a little bit. I don't know, that was my favorite part of school, probably. April: Definitely. Friends are great. Mike Forman: Yeah, friends are good. April: Yeah. Mike Forman: A lot of good music and food in Chicago too, so that's always nice. April: Yeah. Well, how have you approached that worklife balance, like balancing friends and going out and having fun and then school work? Or now that you're in industry, how are you balancing worklife balance in your career? Mike Forman: Yeah. I guess it comes back to, I feel like I'm talking about time a lot, but just being focused and trying to make the best use of your minutes, that's key. Okay, if you're going to be working, be focused, get it done, do the things that you need to do. But also, I think you need to make space for fun in your life. Working hard is very fun, and also super rewarding and energizing. But also, making time for the other things that you love to do is super nourishing and makes it all really sustainable, and I don't know, ties it all together. For example, I love to surf. Even though I got lots of stuff going on, I've always been able to find a way to fit that into my life, go on cool trips, and get better over time. I love to do yoga and meditate. If you make sure you prioritize and make space for the things that you care about and make you happy, first of all, you can fit them in. But also, if you are happy and you are enjoying yourself, it's infectious. It's the point almost of everything we do. I think you need to prioritize it. By the way, also just spending quality time with family and friends. That's, I don't know, super important. Look, there's this tension. I guess I've come to appreciate hard work is actually pretty cool because as you keep at it, you get more knowledgeable, you get better at it. That's this feedback loop, it's a little bit of a flywheel that's rewarding. If you make no space for the other things that you enjoy and your family and friends, I don't know, what's the point of that? I think you do need to prioritize and make space for it, but then try to keep it all in balance and trying to squeeze the most juice you can out of the time you have I guess is what it all comes down to. I will say, I think that, as you have to make more of the time or as you feel more and more stretch, I do actually feel like you come to appreciate things a little bit more deeply, which is pretty cool. April: Yeah, definitely. Are there any things that you wish you had done more or, or maybe even less of in college? Mike Forman: That's a good question. What do I wish I did more of? I would say, look, what would I tell myself then? I would say this time in school and in academic setting with all these incredible intellectuals, it's like a wide menu of things that you can go to a bunch of subject matter experts to and really learning a ton about. And actually, more time to go be curious and see what interests you, or learn about this thing or that thing. I would say really push yourself and take the hard classes that stretch your brain or that intrigue you. I think sometimes there is a little bit of this tension where it's like, "Okay, I'm going to take these hard classes I have to, and then I have some space here, I'm going to take something that is a little easier." Maybe there's a couple cases I could point to for myself where I was like, "Shoot, I actually wish I took that really hard foundational science class," or whatever, because I'll never take it now. It's actually pretty cool if you have a good, good foundational understanding of some of these topics. By the way, I don't know, I guess personally I wish I took more classes on philosophy. Maybe that was one of the things I loved the most about the Russian literature classes. April: Yeah. Mike Forman: I think it's what interests you, and then really go for it. Don't try and take the easy path, I guess. April: Well, I guess we've talked a lot about your college time and things that you wish you had done differently. What's one specific piece of advice that you would give your past undergraduate self? Mike Forman: I would say ... What advice would I give myself? Look, I guess I've said this already, but really take advantage of a liberal arts education. Do not focus on one thing. By the way, it is such a good opportunity to get this broad understanding of the world, and again, a bunch of different ways to look at it. Really take advantage of that and don't get sucked into a vortex of being like, "Okay, I need to do exactly this thing." Then also, be a little bit flexible in terms of what it is you think you want to do after school. I had a little bit of a sense, but I let the exploration path of trying to find a job shape what it was that I wanted to do a bit. Just be receptive to, I don't know, friends. I don't know, just be receptive to where the process guides you a little bit. The most important thing is what you do and where you do it matters, but who you do it with is so important. Probably more important. Really being excited about the people that you get to work with is totally key longterm. By the way, keep in touch with your friends from Northwestern. I know it's easy, but they go on and do pretty cool things. They've got a lot of really smart people. By the way, it builds on itself over time as their careers go on. Stay in touch with people and understand what they're up to. And by the way, stay in touch with the school. I'm so grateful for the experiences I had at Northwestern and how it set me up for the rest of my life. It's super fun and rewarding to, A, go visit campus. B, spend time with students when I can, understand what's going on at the school. I don't know, I guess that's a couple pieces of advice, but it's what comes off ... April: Yeah, Northwestern has a great alumni network. We get to talk to people like, so that's pretty great. Mike Forman: Oh, it's awesome. Yeah. April: Yeah. Mike Forman: When I was looking for a job for example, Northwestern's alums, they were so helpful. They dropped whatever they were doing and be happy to help and provide advice, et cetera. Then afterwards, there's lots of cool things that I've been able to get involved with over the years. April: What's something that you are looking forward to going forward, now that you're working and out of college? Something exciting? Mike Forman: What's exciting that's coming up? I would say personal life, I got married- April: Congrats. Mike Forman: ... last January. April: Wow! Mike Forman: Thank you. Thank you. It was actually our one-year anniversary yesterday, which was pretty cool to celebrate. April: Oh, wow. That's so fun. Mike Forman: I think that's something that's exciting. Family life I guess, that'll be a fun adventure ahead. That's one area. Then in terms of work, I love getting to spend a ton of time in the technology world and the companies we're getting to build. We've got the largest and fastest-growing data center platform around the world, which is an awesome opportunity to learn, to build, and to get to work with some super fascinating people. I'm really excited for what's in store for this year, and getting to travel around the world and learn a ton about different markets, different cultures, all that good stuff. I've always loved to travel. Traveling in a work context, sometimes it can be a little intense and the timezone changes are tricky. What a cool way to understand other cultures and get a true experience. When you go and visit somewhere as a tourist, you check out the sights, try the restaurants, which is awesome. But that's not really what people who live there do every day. They go to work and do things. It's a pretty cool and authentic way to get a taste for different places around the world. April: What are some of your favorite places that you visited? Mike Forman: Last year, I got to spend a bunch of time in Tokyo and Australia, which were both incredible places. Totally different, but both pretty incredible and really fun to visit. Those were up there. I always love going to California. April: Yeah. Mike Forman: I'd say Europe as well, there's a bunch of pretty cool ... There's so much history and the cities are beautiful, and a little bit cleaner than New York which is nice, too. April: That's pretty exciting, getting to travel. That's fun. Mike Forman: Yeah, it's super fun. It's awesome. April: Yeah. Okay. Well, thank you so much for talking with us, and for sharing your advice and your experience in undergrad. Yeah, just thank you for joining us today. Mike Forman: Thank you for having me. Thank you for having me and be well. April: Of course. Okay, thank you for listening to this special episode of the Weinberg in the World Podcast. We hope you have a great day, and go Cats! Mike Forman: Go Cats. Bye-bye.

South Decatur vs Waldron Girls BB Sect., Feb. 7, 2025

Tom Waldron is a Pilates teacher, Bio-mechanics coach and Franklin Method educator.In this conversation, Tom and Matt discuss:What the pelvic floor actually isCommon pelvic floor dysfunctions and the impact on quality of lifeThe fact men have a pelvic floor and why a healthy pelvic floor is so important for themStrategies to improve functionTips for movement teachers looking to improve function of their clients Link to Tom's 6 week pelvic floor course starting February 10th 2025http://www.fitfloorsupportforlife.com/ Want to connect with Tom? See details below:Website – www.tomwaldronmovementtherapy.co.uk Email – tom@tomwaldronmove.co.ukInstagram: @tomwaldron.moveFacebook: tomwaldronmove If you have a question for the podcast or are interested in working with Matt, you can reach out at:Email: info@wellnesseducationdubai.comWebsite: www.wellnesseducationdubai.comInstagram: @wellness_education_dubaiFacebook: @mattmarneyfitnessLinkedIn: Matt Marney (Wellness Education Dubai) 

We continue our episodes of the Auto Remarketing Podcast originating from Used Car Week 2024 in Scottsdale, Ariz., with a keynote presentation featuring James Waldron, who is president of 1st Adjusters. Waldron identified several growing trends in fraud and how collections and repossessions are being impacted by these illicit activities.

Preena Shroff, a third-year student at Northwestern, hosts the “Weinberg in the World” podcast and interviews Joel Meek, a 2001 graduate. Joel, who recently served as VP of finance and operations at Reddit, discusses how his studies in economics and mathematical methods shaped his career. He emphasizes the value of a broad education, mentioning impactful classes in astronomy, psychology, and Japanese. Preena and Joel highlight how Northwestern's interdisciplinary approach teaches students to think critically and approach problems creatively. Transcript: Preena Shroff: Welcome to Weinberg in the World podcast where we bring stories of interdisciplinary thinking in today's complex world. My name is Preena Shroff, and I'm your student host of this special Weinberg in the World episode. I'm a third year student majoring in neuroscience and global health with a minor in data science, and today I have the pleasure of speaking with Joel Meek, who graduated from Weinberg College in 2001 with a bachelor of arts in economics and mathematical methods in the social sciences. Joel most recently was the VP of finance and operations at Reddit, a community platform where users submit content and share advice for other members. Throughout his technology career, Joel has led functions across sales, operations, business development and finance. Joel, thank you so much for being here with us today. Joel Meek: Very excited to be here. Thanks for having me. Preena Shroff: We are so excited to learn about your work in technology, but would love to start out with how your career path was shaped by your time at Northwestern. So maybe if you can tell us more about your undergraduate experience. What were some impactful classes, extracurriculars or maybe even mentorship experiences that you had, which impacted your postgraduate career? Joel Meek: Of course. Yeah, so I think as you mentioned, my major at Northwestern was economics and mathematical methods in the social sciences. I'll start with the economics. Actually, it was really helpful for me in studying both macro and microeconomics to just get a broad view of how the economy works. How does things like the money supply affect inflation, employment, GDP growth? Why are some industries more fragmented than others like the restaurant industry or why are some products more price sensitive than others? I can't say that I use sort of economic theory directly in my day-to-day career, but it definitely shaped my perspective when thinking about different business challenges in my business career. And then with mathematical methods in social sciences, this is really a very data centric major where you're looking to apply your knowledge of math to a social science. And so actually my senior year I did a thesis that was similar to the movie Moneyball with Brad Pitt and I looked at which baseball players yielded the best bang for the buck. So really bringing that sort of background to the business world and being able to break down problems was really helpful. And then I think last, just being part of the College of Arts and Sciences, it was awesome to really just get a broad exposure to a wide array of topics. I still remember taking my astronomy class and just learning about the universe and how it was formed or taking a psychology class, which has helped me better understand the inner workings of the mind and how people work. And I took Japanese, which eventually led me to go living in Japan for a year after college. So I think in total, when I really think back about Northwestern, it was building that curiosity and that love of learning that's really helped me take on new challenges once I graduated. Preena Shroff: Wow. Yeah. Thank you. And I think something that a lot of students here at Northwestern maybe aren't able to experience just yet but kind of have an idea is that these classes are teaching students how to think as opposed to exactly what you're going to require in your career. It's more about how to approach problems and how to develop from that. So thank you for sharing that. Joel Meek: Of course. Preena Shroff: So now moving forward a little bit beyond Northwestern, what led you on your career path? So which skills would that be, interactions or experiences that you were able to build up that have been critical in your field today? Joel Meek: Yeah, so when I graduated Northwestern, I honestly didn't really know. I knew I wanted to do business, but I didn't really know what type of business I wanted to do. So I ended up choosing banking and consulting as my first two jobs out of college. And it was actually a really good first couple jobs to do out of college because you really get a 30,000-foot view of the business world. I got to work across a ton of different industries and work on a ton of different problems, and I learned a lot about myself. I learned that I really liked numbers and finance, but I wasn't really into the 80-hour weeks of the finance world. In consulting I loved the business problem solving of consulting, but I really wanted to be the decision maker actually owning the decisions. And so I ended up transitioning into technology, which was really exciting because all the innovation that was happening, and I moved into more of an operator role, which I ended up doing for the past 16, 17 years in technology. I think the skill that was probably most important that I got from Northwestern that I was able to apply to my career was really just, I mean you mentioned it, just problem solving. In the technology space in particular, things are moving very quickly and often there is not a blueprint for how to solve a problem because it maybe hasn't been solved before. I can think of a time when I was at Pinterest and we had millions of users on the site and we had a challenge with a lot of spammy content on the site, people that were trying to get click baited into clicking through the links and then trying to take advantage of people. And so we only had a small team because Pinterest was, when I joined, was still less than a hundred people, and we had to figure out how to clean up this site that had millions of users so that they didn't have a bad experience. So there was really no playbook for how to do that, and you just had to really approach the problem from first principles and break it down. And I think that building that skill set through really helped me later on in my career. Preena Shroff: Yeah, absolutely. And I think actually I wanted to ask you for a follow-up on your discussion about that pivot point from investment banking into the tech industry. I know students nowadays go in with a mindset of whichever career they're looking to get into, they want to make sure they're very well-prepared beforehand. And sometimes I guess a pivot isn't something you can always plan for. My question is, do you think a student today who might encounter this sort of pivot or maybe is trying to plan one thing and ends up might changing? Do you think it's still possible to have that kind of career switch today? Or what advice would you give to a student who's maybe unsure about that decision? Joel Meek: You can definitely make career switches. I probably made four or five career switches in my career from right out of college. I was in banking, then I went to consulting. I ended up jumping to work for Google where I worked in their Google cloud division when cloud computing was taking hold in an operational role. And then my boss gave me an opportunity to move into sales, and then I jumped into some startups. I went to Pinterest, I went to Reddit, eventually ended up running finance at Reddit, was my last job. I would say that if I think about just my path, I would do a lot of moonlighting. I would do a lot of just researching the place where I wanted to go or the new function I wanted to go into. I would meet with people, I would just try to be a sponge and soak things up as much as possible. And what I learned was that it can be difficult to make a career switch, because people will look at your background and say, "Well, how are you relevant for this job?" But what I learned is it only takes one. You only need one person to be willing to give you a chance. And I was fortunate to have a few moments in my career where someone was willing to take a chance on me, and then it's up to you to prove that you can do it. So I definitely would not hesitate if you're interested in making a career change. Just go for it. Just start learning as much as you can about that path that you want to go. Eventually, if you keep trying, you'll get there. Preena Shroff: Yeah, thank you. That's great advice. And I know you brought up Pinterest and Google. I actually wanted to ask you, having been closely involved with building up a developing company or at least a department within each of these last three companies, Google, Pinterest, and Reddit, how do you manage conflicting priorities between growth and sustainability? So by that I mean just company growth and also making sure it's economically stable, everything's on track. Joel Meek: Yeah, it's a great question. I think it's really going to be very company dependent, and it's also probably going to be dependent upon the stage of the industry in which the company operates in. I can start off with Google. I joined in 2007, and this is when cloud computing was the buzzword. Before that everyone was using Microsoft Office, Windows, Excel, PowerPoint on a desktop, and we were providing that all in the cloud at a much more affordable price. And we knew we had a critical window where we could get market share. And so really the focus was really on, at that point, growth. We had our eye on profitability and sustainability always, but really we felt like this was important enough for Google as a company that we wanted to grab market share. When I was at Pinterest, I joined in 2012. Again, it was about less than a hundred people at the time, the giants were Facebook and Twitter, and they had many more users, a lot more employees, a lot more capital. And we knew, again, we had a short window to get market share. And so our focus was really on growing our users and growing our revenue. We had our eye on the unit economics and we wanted to make sure that we could get there and we knew we did, but we were willing to pull forward some investment and be less profitable in the short term to get growth in the longer term. And I'd say the same thing was true at my experience at Reddit as well. So in all three of my experiences, it was really around growth in the short term and then flipping the profitability in the long term. Preena Shroff: Okay. Yeah, for sure. And thinking about how would you make that kind of decision? What about a company and where it is in development lets you decide between profit and making that shift? Joel Meek: Yeah, I think it's going to be a function of the industry that you're in. What is the competitive landscape look like and how important is scale? And we knew that it was only going to be a handful of players in this cloud computing space really serving these wholesale applications like email, docs and calendar. And so it was our moment to really sort be that option that people went to, and then if we didn't, someone else was going to go there first. So I think in other industries, maybe it's more fragmented, maybe there's less competition. Maybe you have a competitive advantage over the competition where you're able to charge more and you can focus a little bit more on profitability. But it's just going to be, I think, specific to each company and industry that they're in. Preena Shroff: Is there any job that you've felt gave you a full circle moment back to your time at Northwestern? Maybe any experiences like that? Joel Meek: Yeah. When I was at Google, one of the first things I was asked to do is to help bring Gmail calendar, Google Docs to the universities throughout the United States. Preena Shroff: Oh, wow. Joel Meek: And so we were looking for a few brave souls to be some of our initial customers. And actually Northwestern was one, I think maybe the first university, if not one of the first five universities to use Gmail calendar and Docs. I remember we had a whole campaign to get the students motivated to switch over. We called it Kid on the Bus and we painted a school bus and we drove it to Evanston and I sat, I think in front of the Rock, it was handing out flyers to tell people all about Gmail calendar and docs. Credit to Northwestern. They were pioneers in adopting new technology. And that was a really cool full circle moment to bring that stuff that I was passionate about back to the campus. Preena Shroff: That's a great memory. And I know you mentioned earlier that you wanted to get or be more of the decision maker in your role. And so I was wondering, since Northwestern from graduating from Northwestern to all the way to today, how has your leadership style evolved over time, whether it be decision making or just working in a group setting? Joel Meek: So directly out of college, I think I was much more of an informal leader. I was an individual contributor. So it was more about leading through example, working hard, being a part of a team, prioritizing integrity in everything that I did. It wasn't really until I entered the tech industry that I became more of a formal leader. I was actually quite fortunate. The division in Google I joined was led by Sheryl Sandberg, who later became the chief operating officer at Facebook. And she placed a really high premium on attracting talented leaders as well as investing in leadership training for junior managers like myself. So it was really valuable. I got frameworks around how do you hire A players, how do you organize and structure your team? How do you set strategy and goals? How do you execute? How do you run one-on-ones, deliver feedback, how do you promote, how do you fire people? I didn't know any of that. And I got a really good education in my first job in technology at Google. And then through that, I over time learned what kind of leader I was. I learned about what I was good at, and actually I learned about what I was not good at. And from there I learned to play to my strengths and then build a team around me where I was weaker. For example, I was always really good at structuring problems and creating process for us to scale things to really, really large numbers. But I wasn't the most creative person in the world, so I'd always make sure there was people on my team that would be able to bring new ideas. I think it's really when I understood who I was as a leader and what I was good at, that's when I was actually most successful in my career. Preena Shroff: And I think it's really incredible that you've been able to find so many mentors along the way. And even within Northwestern, I know students are always seeking mentorship, whether that be from alumni, their professors, anyone in the industry they're interested in. Do you have any advice for finding mentorship or is it something you seek out or something that can just develop over time? Joel Meek: Whenever I was choosing a new job, whether it was in banking or in technology at Google, Pinterest or Reddit, I was not just looking at the job I was going to be taking, but I was looking at who I'd be working for because your boss is someone you're going to spend a lot of time with. And I was very fortunate to have a few really great bosses across my time at specifically Google, Pinterest, and Reddit. And I learned a ton from them, and it really shaped who I was as a leader. So I would just say as you're jumping into the working world, have a really focused eye for who your boss is going to be. Make sure that you gel with that person. Make sure you think about, "Okay, what can I learn from this person? How can I grow with that person?" That will be almost as important as the job that you pick. Preena Shroff: Okay. Yeah, for sure. And then taking a pivot here, I guess for those of our listeners who are interested in working in the tech industry, what is the common misconception about working in the industry that you would like to debunk? Joel Meek: Maybe a common misperception is that either it's like everyone's working on the next big thing or everyone's going to get rich quick. The reality is that even for the next big thing, there is a lot of very routine day-to-day mundane stuff that's required to make that happen. And it ends up adding up to something amazing, but it's just like every other job, there's going to be that methodical day-to-day work that you got to do. And then in getting rich quick, most companies, most startups don't succeed just statistically speaking. And so I think it's an amazing experience. It's where I've pursued most of my career, but I think if you're doing it just for the money alone, it's probably not going to work out. You got to really just love technology and love being a part of that startup culture. I think that's going to probably breed more success than just going there to try to make money. Preena Shroff: Yes, for sure. That's great advice. And then I actually have one more question and then I might do some follow-ups based on everything. But I guess in terms of career overall, are there any obstacles or challenges that you've overcome? I remember you mentioned in Pinterest there was difficulty dealing with scammers or something like that. So anything like that, like a challenge, an obstacle, and then did your time at Northwestern impact your approach to solving this problem? Joel Meek: Yeah, honestly, I would speak to my career. I think the biggest obstacle really was just getting doors opened. And I still remember at Northwestern, applying for those, for example, banking and consulting jobs. Thankfully there was an amazing career center at Northwestern, but I think I ended up doing 30 to 40 interviews. And I can't say that my success rate was good, but it only takes one. And thankfully I was able to get the job that I eventually took and had a good experience from that. So I would just say be very entrepreneurial and opportunistic about going for the thing that you really want. And I think building up an ability to take rejection is actually a really important skill because I probably was rejected way more times than I was accepted to things. But what I found was whatever the next thing I wanted to do in my career is that as long as I kept swinging, eventually a door would open and I'd be able to jump through it and have success. Preena Shroff: Yeah, it seems like a theme. Only one door, only one person, and then you can get to where you are. Joel Meek: Exactly. Preena Shroff: Yeah. No, that's really great, and this is really insightful and super helpful I'm sure to all the students who are a little bit nervous about starting their careers as I am in my third year, just kind of looking towards the future. It's very daunting just to be like, "It's about to happen now." So it was really nice speaking with you about that. Joel Meek: Thank you. It was really nice talking with you as well. Preena Shroff: Thanks so much for joining us today. Have a wonderful day, everyone. Thank you for tuning in to this episode of Weinberg in the World.  

Aimee Resnick, a senior at Northwestern University, interviews Steven Preston, CEO of Goodwill Industries International, on the “Weinberg in the World” podcast. Steven reflects on his time at Northwestern, highlighting his major in political science and his transformative junior year in Munich. He also shares how his unexpected passion for statistics influenced his career in investment banking and leadership roles.  Transcript: Aimee Resnick: Welcome to the Weinberg in the World podcast, where we bring stories of interdisciplinary thinking in today's complex world. My name is Aimee Resnick and I'm your student host of the special podcast episode. I am a senior studying social policy at Northwestern University who plans to pursue public administration in my home state of Colorado. Today, I'm excited to be speaking with Steven Preston, who is the CEO at Goodwill Industries International. Thank you, Steven, for taking the time to speak with me today. Steven Preston: Yeah, thank you for having me. I'm looking forward to it. Aimee Resnick: Me too. To start us off today, I was wondering if you can tell us a little bit more about your time at Northwestern as an undergraduate in terms of what did you study and what were the most impactful experiences for you that led you to your current career path? Steven Preston: Yeah, so I was a political science major. And Northwestern, it was kind of a big thing for me. I kind of grown up in a medium-sized town up in Wisconsin and going to Northwestern kind of introduced me to a whole new world that I didn't even know existed of people from different places and that type of thing. I'd say there are two things, a couple of things that were really important. Number one is I was actually a poli-sci major with an international politics focus. So number one, it gave me a perspective on the world and how the world operates, which is something I didn't have as an 18-year-old coming to college. Number two, I took that further and I actually did a junior year in Munich program, and this was before the wall had come down, so east, west. International relations were what really defined kind of the global dynamic. So it was just a remarkable opportunity to study with different people in a different language right on the border of what was kind of definitional for international politics. And that year, I felt like I kind just burgeoned intellectually and academically and personally. The other thing I would say, that may not be what most people would expect, but I took a statistics class and I loved it. And I took more and I took more and I took graduate statistics classes and I became kind of like a quant poli-sci major. And that really was valuable for me because it was a way through which I could marry a topic that we think of as not being very quantitative and do a lot of research within political science using statistics, whether it was voter trends or national expenditures and how that relates to different government structures. And that became really important to me when I went into investment banking. I got an MBA in finance and [inaudible 00:02:38] Wall Street, and the ability to connect data with what felt like qualitative issues was really definitional to my path forward. Later, I became a CFO and a CEO and for the rest of my life, I really connected those two concepts in a way that was really powerful for what I was able to do professionally. Aimee Resnick: Absolutely. Thank you so much for sharing your response. And I think it's really fascinating how you were able to take a lot of the skills that you gained at Northwestern in your more non-traditional courses like statistics and apply them to a more impactful career pivot later in your life like we typically encourage at Weinberg. So thank you for sharing that experience. Steven Preston: Yeah. Well, I'll tell you, it's one of the requirements I have for my kids is they all have to have some proficiency in statistics now. So yeah, it's become multigenerational. Aimee Resnick: I'm sure they love that requirement. I say as someone who's not the biggest math person ever. But I'd love to hear a little bit more about your current career right now as well, as the CEO of Goodwill Industries. And I noted in your video introduction to the 2023 annual report for Goodwill, you mentioned that Goodwill is about possibilities of hope for the people who receive services. And in that same report, you described how over 140,000 people found new employment after receiving services through your organization in workforce development. So I was wondering if you could just tell us a little bit more about how Goodwill promotes economic opportunity across the United States and why that mission particularly resonates with you. Steven Preston: Yeah, so the people we serve are not the people that you're going to college with right now. 83% of the people we serve are people with a high school degree or less. In fact, about a third of the people never finished high school. And many of these people have other challenges in life. Some of them have gone down very difficult pathways, people coming out of incarceration, people who are experiencing poverty, even people who are experiencing homelessness. And what we often do in society is make assumptions about those people and make assumptions about what's possible. And we sort of relegate them, in many cases, into a category of, well, that's kind of who they are and that's what their life is going to be like. But the truth is that embedded in every one of those people is a massive amount of potential and talent. And in most cases, and I really say in most cases, those are people who, because of opportunities they've been given or not given, because of their circumstances in life, because of their pathways, have never been able to develop those capabilities. And in fact, have never really known how to, because they didn't have access to good education, they weren't surrounded by people who could give them advice. They didn't really know what the possibilities were. So what we do is we work with people to sit with them and say, "What are the possibilities for your life? And how do we help you get there?" So one of the most important things we do when somebody comes to us is really do an assessment of what their skills are, what their hopes are, but also what their challenges are. A lot of times, their challenges might be training or skills related, but they also may have challenges with behavioral issues. They may be, many of them don't have housing or have insecure housing. Many of them don't have core financial skills, so they know even how to get through life with a small amount of income. So if we can work with people to help them stabilize those sort of personal aspects of their life, at the same time that we can provide them with skills that are attractive to employers, we can help them move from a very difficult place to a place where they are flourishing and where they have a fundamentally different future, and a future that allows them to take care of themselves and grow and learn much more. What we often find is once we've supported somebody and they land that first job and they're successful and they see the people they work with and what the possibilities are, it's not just that their lives have changed to get to that job, it's that the trajectory of their life has changed because many of those people begin investing themselves, learning more, getting better jobs. And then the other great thing is it's often multi-generational because their kids benefit, or if they don't have kids and they had them later, they benefit. And it really breaks a cycle of poverty and brokenness that's very difficult to break. And that's why we talk about the possibilities and we talk about hope because that's really where we live. For me personally, I came from what I would call pretty humble background. So I think just in a couple of generations, I've seen what education and opportunity has done for me. But I think on a bigger scale, I've lived in a number of major cities early on, when I was in my 20s, I spent a lot of time in tough neighborhoods in New York working with kids in difficult situations and trying to help them move on. So I feel like I've seen it up front in what's possible. And then when I worked in the government, I was the secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and that is really the federal agency that deals mostly with poverty issues. And seeing intergenerational poverty and seeing people unable to do something about it is a sort of a dispiriting situation, and I believe we can do something about it. And really, Goodwill I think is, well, I know Goodwill is the largest nonprofit that is trying to change the landscape for many of those people, and hundreds of thousands of people find a different opportunity because of us. Aimee Resnick: I think that's a really excellent transition because I actually do want to talk to you a little bit more about your experience with housing and urban development. So for context, in 2008, you were nominated by President George W. Bush to serve as the secretary of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. And I'd just like to hear a little bit more about how you started this large career in public service, and then a little bit potentially about how your public sector experiences under George W. Bush have shaped your approach to private sector leadership in your current career. Steven Preston: Yeah. So I think one of the important things was I spent almost 25 years in the private sector before I went into the government. So I had been an investment banker, I had been a CFO, I had been a corporate leader. And I say that because many times, young people coming out of college will say, "I want to go into nonprofit, what do I do?" And one of the first things I say to people when they come to me is, "Think about the early part of your career especially as a time where you are learning and growing and developing and getting the skills you need to be effective later in your career." And many kids, many people will go in a nonprofit and have a wonderful career. But I had 25 years in the private sector to prepare before going into the government and later into nonprofit. And those skills, both as somebody with an MBA and somebody who grew up through the corporate world, have been incredibly valuable for me in my career. So I want to mention that. So the first thing I did when I went into the government is I ran the Small Business Administration and the Small Business Administration makes loans to people who've lost their homes in a national disaster. And I came in after Katrina and most people hadn't gotten their loans yet. So I applied those skills from the private sector to figure out how to fix the operational and technology and financial issues to accelerate loans to people who needed to rebuild after the disaster. So toward the end of my tenure at the SBA, the housing and financial crisis was mushrooming. And because of the experiences I had as a banker and a CFO and the experiences I had in working in a federal disaster, the president asked me to go to Housing and Urban Development to work on the housing crisis. I give you the background because that's how I got there. I got there because my experience and my background were sort of uniquely prepared me to be able to do that. I would not be a typical HUD secretary because I didn't have a poverty housing background, but I understood financial markets. I understood operational fixes. I understood national crises and media by that point because you do a lot of... You're on television a lot, you're dealing with Congress. So I was uniquely qualified to do this for that time in history, which was the financial crisis. So one of the greatest things about serving in these situations was the, and I really do, I think it was incredible blessing to be able to serve in a crisis because when you're in the middle of a crisis, people need leadership, they need people who can pull them together to fix the problems. People want to be part of a team that's doing something great. And if you're successful, a ton of people have seen their lives improved, whether it's an ability to rebuild their home after Katrina, in the financial crisis, whether it's the ability to stay in your home if you're being foreclosed, or we were able to rebuild public housing in New Orleans, and sort of the two came together. The public housing had been destroyed in Katrina. And when I came to HUD, we worked on rebuilding it. So if you have that opportunity, even though it's extremely stressful to work in a crisis, you also have an opportunity to have a very big impact. And you have an opportunity to have sort of restorative or a kind of healing impact on an organization that's in stress. So it really hits on a number of different levels. It comes with stress, but it also comes with what I would say great blessing and great opportunity, both for the people you're serving with and the people who benefit from this service. So that was really what that felt like. And then the other part of that is it wasn't just about housing. Some people who know about that era of history will know what the acronym TARP stands for. TARP was a large allocation of capital that the federal government made to support housing and the financial system. That money ended up going into financial institutions to save them. And I was on the board of the TARP with Secretary Paulson and the head of the Fed, Ben Bernanke and two other people, which sort of put me right in the center of seeing what was happening across the financial sector around the world and how we were going to work to save it. And that was just, it was a remarkable time. I think it was terrifying for many people because we saw what could happen if the world financial system was going to break down. And thankfully, it was averted, although there was just a massive impact from the financial fallout, really from early to mid 2008 going into well into 2009 before things started to recover. Aimee Resnick: Absolutely. And that actually brings me to something I'm very curious about, bringing you back to your poli-sci roots. A lot of young people today kind of feel a large sense of distrust in the government, especially on campus at this time, which I've seen some people describe as a new type of political crisis, almost like that you experienced back in the Katrina era. And I'm curious, what steps did you concretely take to rebuild trust, and in particular with the Small Business Administration, because it was somewhat disoriented when you began? And how do you think that can be applied to the current context? Steven Preston: Well, so first of all, yeah, trust has been declining in federal government for a long time, and I think we're absolutely at a nadir right now. And for me, it's very distressing to see, because I think there are good reasons for people's concern. But it's also really important for people to believe that if they go into it, they can make a difference. What I did when I went to the SBA, I found... One of the biggest benefits I had is I'd never been in the government, I didn't really know how it worked. They brought me in because I knew finance and I knew operational change and they wanted things fixed. And I got brought in and sometimes I would say, "How do I do this?" Or, "We want to fix this and this is how we're going to do it." And people would say, "No, you can't because there's a regulation or a law and you got to do it this way." And I'd say, "That can't possibly be true." There's nothing logical about my having to do that to make this decision. But yeah, well, it's a law that's been on the books for a long time. So one of the benefits I had is I came in and I needed to know how it worked, but I didn't need to be overly shackled in how I did this. So when I first got nominated, so before I even got to Washington, I was in the George Bush administration and a lot of Republicans were kind of briefing me. And the Democrat head on my oversight committee was John Kerry at the time. He had just lost the election for president. And they were the committee that the Senate does the nomination, they were the ones who were going to approve my nomination. And I just said, "Well, nobody... I'm not talking to any Democrats. Why..." So I called up the people briefing me and I said, "I want to talk to John Kerry's chief of staff." And they're like, "Why?" I said, "Because I'm hearing what you guys are saying, but I don't..." I know I'm a Republican nominee, but I'm not like a super partisan guy and we're all trying to fix this problem. I want to hear what they're saying. And as a business person, the first thing I'm thinking is you hear from all your customers, you hear from all your stakeholders, you want to build the first... So I talked to her and she was really surprised, and she kind of gave me her thinking on it. Once I got to the administration, I said to my team, "We're all about transparency. I'm going to invite the Democrats to do briefings on how we're doing fixing this problem." And they said, "Well, no, you're going to give them fodder to come against you in the press," and blah, blah, blah. I'm like, "We all want to fix it, right?" So I started holding briefings at the SBA office on the measures we were taking to fix the problem, the data that we were seeing on how big the problem was, once we started fixing it, the improvements. And I actually became very friendly with the teams on both sides of the aisle. When I got nominated for the HUD job, I needed to get confirmed by the Senate. By that time, the Senate was Democrat and I was a Republican nominee. The two most important reasons I got through that nomination process quickly were John Kerry and Dick Durbin, who was the number two person in the Senate. He was head of my appropriations committee. And the reason was because we were completely transparent with their teams. We worked with them very closely. We had them over for briefings. And we developed those relationships because they trusted us. So what I would say is you can be somebody who works both sides of the aisle. And by the way, most of the time, as an agency head, most of the time, you're going to be working on issues that aren't necessarily big political issues. You're serving people, you're trying to improve something. You've got a program that you maybe want to tweak to make it better. And when we go into a situation assuming that people are going to attack us and be against us, sometimes there's a reason for that, right? It is pretty fiery. But I think we have to go into it saying, "Let's win them over." Let's help them understand that we're all trying to get to the same place. We might disagree on the best way to get there. And most of those people just want to do their jobs really well and be part of something good. So some of my fondest memories were working with people really on both sides of the aisle. And I'm very grateful I had the opportunity to do that. And we probably see less, it felt like it was really kind of fighting all the time back then, but oh my goodness, it's at a whole different level now. And I also think President Bush was very focused on bipartisanism. He did a lot of work with people on the other side of the aisle. The financial rescue package was very much negotiated with both sides. Believe it or not, back then, he had negotiated an immigration bill that was more heavily supported by Democrats and Republicans. But because of an impending election, a lot of people didn't feel comfortable supporting it because they were concerned about winning re-election. But many of those things were worked on with both sides of the aisle, even though there were plenty of partisan politics at the time as well. Aimee Resnick: Really, I like that idea of having optimistic view towards bipartisanship and hopefully seeing that expand into the future in the next decades as a way to build public trust. I absolutely agree, that's critical. And I think we'll move on to our last question because I recognize we're coming up on our time, but I want to ask you, what do you wish you could tell yourself when you were me, a senior who's interested in public service and policy, who's about to graduate? What do you wish you could say to that 22-year-old version of you? Steven Preston: So yeah, it's what I tell people. I've had a chance to talk to students at Northwestern a couple of times, not recently, but I've talked to a couple of classes with Diane Schanzenbach who's on the policy side there. And I've spoken at a couple of other schools. And I tell them, one of the pieces of advice I give is very consistent. You all are really smart. You are getting a great education. You are learning critical thinking skills. But our society is very much about groupthink. And when we see the political divide or the divide on policies, you don't hear a lot of talk about the deep research on one side of the policy or the other. And we see it actually in Congress. I think we've seen fewer deep policy thinkers than we did 10 years ago, or certainly 20 or 30 years ago. So my encouragement is, even if you have strong views on something, challenge them, look at the data. And in the area that we focus on is a perfect issue. Why do we have intergenerational poverty? What will change it? What really has to happen? And when you think about where that debate lies, it's pretty fiery, and you've got all sorts of people fighting about these issues. But we don't have nearly enough people saying, "Let's look at the data on what really helps somebody." You guys are in Chicago. What really helps somebody who's a little boy or girl who's born in the Austin neighborhood of Chicago or some other tough neighborhood? What are the factors that make it very difficult for them to have the kind of life that most of the people you go to college have? And what can we change in that person's life? Whether it's the kind of schooling they get, whether it is the kind of family support they have, whether it's the protections we give them. Whether it's when they come out of high school, if they do need a little bit of support to get on the right track, how do we do that? What kind of youth... What truly does it take to help a person flourish in society? Or in our world, somebody who's coming out of prison? We have all these big narratives. You guys are the ones, because you're super smart, you got a fantastic education, you're taking statistics, like I recommended, you can dig deep. And when you see something where you say, "I need to challenge my thinking. I know I've been telling myself this, but I actually don't see this. Or I think I need to understand it deeper." We need deep policy thinkers. And the other thing is, if you're going into business, everybody's going to say find the right solution and see the data. But in the policy world, a lot of times that stuff doesn't happen to the degree that it needs to. So use that great education and be rigorous, be tough thinkers, ask tough questions, even if it takes you to a place that maybe doesn't align with what you think is the case today, because that's what's going to help us have a better world. And you know what? Those are the conversations we need to be having across the table from each other. We can be having rigorous arguments about the right policy decision, but if we're going to do it, let's look at the facts and let's really pressure test those because that's what's going to help us all have a better world. Aimee Resnick: Thank you, I really appreciate that idea of having Northwestern graduates go out into the world and just make it a better place. That's very encouraging. Steven Preston: Well, I love Northwestern, and I don't live in Chicago anymore, so I'm sad that I can't go to those games and go to the concerts on campus and talk to students as easily as I used to. But I just think it's a terrific place, and thank you for giving me an opportunity to chat with students indirectly. Aimee Resnick: Oh, of course. I think with that, I will say thank you to our listeners for listening to this special episode of the Weinberg in the World podcast. We hope you have a good day. And as Steven just mentioned, go Cats. Steven Preston: Go Cats. Take care.  

FH JBAY | VISION WEEK 1 | Maretha Waldron | 12 January 2025 by Father's House SA

FH JBAY | VISION WEEK 2 | Maretha Waldron | 19 January 2025 by Father's House SA

In this episode of the “Weinberg in the World” podcast, student host Smera Dwivedi interviews Katrina Gentile, VP and head of global strategy at Wella Company. Katrina, a Northwestern alum, shares her career journey from consulting at BCG to various roles in the beauty industry, including a long tenure at Estée Lauder and her current role at Wella. She discusses her passion for problem-solving, her transition from consulting to corporate strategy, and her interest in the emotionally driven beauty industry.  Transcript: Smera: Okay. Welcome to the Weinberg in the World Podcast, where we bring stories of interdisciplinary thinking in today's complex world. My name is Smera Dwivedi, and I'm your student host of this special episode of the podcast. I'm a second-year student studying chemistry on the pre-medical path, and today I'm excited to be speaking with Ms. Katrina Gentile who is the VP and head of global strategy at Wella Company. Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me today. Katrina: Oh, it's my pleasure. Happy to be here. Smera: To start off with today, I would just like you to go ahead and introduce yourself. Katrina: So, hi. I'm Katrina Gentile. I am a proud Northwestern alum. I graduated class of 2008. I have spent my career in various business fields. I was an econ and math double major at Northwestern, and I started my career in consulting at BCG right out of undergrad. After that, I've spent the rest of my career in the beauty industry, so from consulting, went to Estée Lauder in a corporate strategy role for two years, and then after that, spent about eight years operating at Estée Lauder. In between, I got my MBA. And after Estée Lauder, spent a couple of years in startup land at a couple of indie brands in the beauty space before joining Wella at the beginning of this year as the head of strategy. So really thrilled to be a part of the Wella Company journey. It's a long history, a 140-year company, but only four years as an independent company so we're trying to figure out not just, we're grown up, but we're still trying to figure out what we want to be when we grow up, and that's a large part of my role. That's me personally. I have a mom, I have two little kids, six and three, and most of my free time is with them on whatever it is they want to do. Smera: That's adorable. So how did you end up picking Wella or end up being where you are now? Katrina: Well, where I am now is a bigger question than Wella. Maybe I'll start with the bigger question and then get to Wella. I ended up where I am now for two reasons. One, I've always loved solving problems. I remember doing word searches as a kid, math books, and it sounds corny, but it was always something like puzzles and games and crosswords and things like that was just always something that kept my mind busy. And that's actually what really led me to consulting because consulting is all about solving problems for companies. And I truly believe BCG is the best job, first job for any person. And not just BCG, but consulting in general. I had a really incredible formative experience there. I use those skills every day, not just in this role, but in every role I've had. And I ended up using that BCG platform to go to Estée Lauder and start in corporate strategy and then ultimately operate. Beauty has always been something I've been interested in personally as a consumer, but more because I find beauty to be a very emotionally driven category, and it's about making someone feel good, and I love that. I love that about what I do. And so when the opportunity arose to go to Estée Lauder, I jumped at it and I had a very long career at Estée Lauder that really brought me to Wella. And I think doing my detour in startup land, Wella is a happy medium, and that's why I joined the company. I'm excited about this role and continue to be excited about this role. We are a mid-sized, I would say, company. We're not as big as Estée Lauder, but we're not as small as a startup. We're somewhere in the middle and we're trying to establish what the future looks like for our company. Right now we're owned by a private equity firm called KKR. And KKR doesn't want to own us forever. No private equity wants to own any asset forever. So it's a really exciting journey to say, "Okay, what does our company look like in a post-KKR world? What do we want to be? How do we want to establish ourselves? What capabilities do we need to build to get there?" And from a strategy perspective, for someone like me who likes solving problems, there's a lot of them to solve. So that's been the common thread in my career, and that's ultimately what brought me to Wella company. Smera: Got you. Okay, that makes sense solving problems. How did you end up deciding on Wella, or how did you find BCG or Estée Lauder as a position or a company that you could be a part of? Katrina: So look, it was very different in my day when I went to Northwestern. I understand now that people apply for summer internships a long time before the internship happened. When I was in college, that was not a thing. So I remember going through recruiting for my BCG summer internship through campus recruiting. I think I went through it in January and my summer started in June. It was not a long gap, and I found it just by knowing that consulting was of interest and going to the campus recruiting sessions and signing up for the campus interviews and then doing a campus interview. So it was a very straightforward path for me at BCG. And from BCG, again, I am going to date myself here, but finding my first job at Estée Lauder was just a, it was a very similar process. Lauder posted a job on BCG's job board. I applied for it, and I interviewed for it. But in a lot of ways, I think things are more difficult today. I mean, I watch people going through consulting interview processes, and I hear people talking about how much farther in advance it is and how fewer spots there are, or I guess more people applying for more spots so the take rate is lower. So I fully recognize that my journey is a little bit different, but that was my path, at least to BCG and Lauder. From Lauder, it's been much more about my network. And that's one piece of advice that I really give to everybody is this concept of a network seems so theoretical, I think, and it did to me too, until you have to use it. And when I left Estée Lauder and was looking for what I wanted to do next, I was senior enough in my career that it was no longer like a job gets posted, you apply for it and you get interview and you get it. A lot of these, especially in beauty and especially in some of these industries that are a little more tight-knit, a lot of positions aren't posted. A lot of positions are done through someone who knows someone who knows someone or private equity companies who have this network of executives that they place in roles. And what I found actually is that when I left Estée Lauder, both of the startups I worked for were people I'd worked for at Estée Lauder or worked with at Estée Lauder, worked alongside at Estée Lauder who were looking for someone, and neither of the jobs I had were posted publicly. They were both word of mouth through my network that I ended up working there. And Wella was similar. So my old boss at Lauder is now at KKR who owns Wella Company, and she introduced me to my now boss at Wella. So all of that to say, I think I can't stress enough how every person you interact with may come back somewhere. Just today I was talking to our new head of HR, and it turns out she's also a Northwestern alum and we overlapped when we were there. And it's really crazy how we didn't know each other at Northwestern, but it's really crazy how small the world is and so my best advice to people is it's never too soon to start making genuine connections. It's never too soon to start engaging with people and asking them what they're interested in and talking to them about what you're interested in because you never know when it'll come back and when you'll be looking for something or someone that they might have something or someone for. Smera: Right. Okay, this makes sense. So you said your advice is to expand your network, make sure you are networking. What's the best way you can ensure you're doing that because it's nice to say, but that putting it into- Katrina: You know what? I don't actually actively network. I don't go to networking events. Well, I guess sometimes I do, but always because I'm genuinely interested in the event, not because I want to broaden my network. My network has been built by genuinely engaging with people that I meet and I work with. So I didn't go to a networking event and meet people, though I know that that is a viable way. I'm a little bit of an introvert in some ways, and I'm not very good in those situations where I don't know anyone and I'm like, it's hard for me to find my way. I actually find I do best just by talking to people in confined settings that I know. So every job, every internship I've had, I've really stayed in touch with people, even if it's just quick emails or texts or following them on Instagram and DM-ing them sometimes. And to me, that feels much more authentic. It's something that I do because I choose to, not because I have any sort of motive. And what I realized when I was looking to leave Lauder and then when I was looking for this new role at Wella about a year ago, is that even people that I hadn't done that or spoken to or texted with in the last three or four years, because I had genuinely invested them in them at the time that I worked with them, when I reached back out of the blue, they were always willing to help, always willing to answer an email, always willing to answer a call. And a couple of those people ended up helping me find really meaningful opportunities. And I had an advisory role at a company that came to me through someone that I worked with at BCG who I haven't spoken to probably since 2012, 2013. But because I reached out to her with a question on something else, she was like, "Oh, hey, actually there's something that maybe you could be interested in," and she followed up. So it's about figuring out what works for you. Somebody who's really outgoing and has no social anxiety or anything might like going to networking events. For me personally, I prefer the one-on-one connections, and I just encourage people to do what feels genuine to them because other people can tell when it's not authentic, right? Smera: Got it, understood. It's good advice that I will have to take part of. So with all your roles and your career, what's something you wish you did differently or regret or wish you took a different approach in? Katrina: That's a great question. I think everybody needs to trust their gut and not what somebody else defines for you as you should do for your career or should be a path for your career. For me personally, I went and worked in a couple of startups, and I think I knew to be honest with you in my gut that startup life wasn't necessarily for me. I think I knew that I preferred the security and the safety of a big company, but everybody in my business school class was going to startups and so I was like, yeah, I should do that too. I learned a ton. I mean, it was probably the biggest two-year learning experience in my life, but it wasn't for me and I think I knew that at the beginning, but I felt like that's what an HBS grad should do so that's what I did. And at the end, it ended up being two years that it could have been better served somewhere else for me, if I'm honest. So I think trusting your gut is a big thing, knowing what works for you personally and not being swayed is a big thing. And I would say the other thing is, at least when I graduated, and I don't know how it is today, there was a lot of pressure to have a very linear path. Like you did two years in consulting, then you went to HBS, then you did this, then you did that, then you did this, and I had that mindset for myself to be a CEO someday that this is what I had to do and it was very linear. And I realized, somebody said to me a couple years ago when I was not super happy in startups that if you look at people with linear career paths, they're usually pretty boring careers, and that has stuck with me since someone that advice was given to me because at the end of the day, I want to do work that I feel happy doing and that has meaning. Smera: Right. Katrina: And yeah, I don't think that doing something linearly always gets you there. Smera: Understood. I think in undergrad especially, it's easier to think of your future career as being pretty linear, but it's usually not going to be like that, so that's great to hear. That's very reassuring. Okay, so you said you started BCG with a career fair of some sort at Northwestern? Katrina: Yeah, they did a campus recruiting event. Smera: Okay, okay. Did you ever look into anything else other than BCG? Katrina: Well, I applied to all the consulting firms. Smera: [inaudible 00:13:07]. Katrina: BCG, Bain, McKinsey, there were some others I applied to at the time. But I had done a summer in investment banking my sophomore year summer, and then I applied to BCG in consulting for my junior year summer. Smera: Okay. Katrina: I was super fortunate that I hadn't offered to go back to Citigroup my junior year summer, so I worked there as a sophomore. They had a sophomore program at that time, and they made me an offer to come back as an IB intern my junior summer. So I was very lucky in the sense that I had a fallback that was very, very good, and I didn't do a lot of summer recruiting, but I was very lucky to get an internship at BCG. And then I came back to BCG full-time after I graduated. Smera: Got you. And so then when you started college, did you know you wanted to go into consulting or investment banking of some sort? Katrina: Yes and no. I knew I was interested in business, so I knew that I wanted to study economics. I tested that hypothesis a little bit, but I thought that's what I wanted to study. I didn't know what that would mean. And I think a lot of eighteen-year-olds don't, quite honestly. Other than people who say with confidence that they want to be pre-med or that they want to be a very specialized field, I think a lot of people, at least in my experience, were exploring at that time. So I think that there was, I sort of knew, but not really. I didn't know what it would look like. That really was crystallized for me when I did my summer in banking, which I took it as I have this cool opportunity, let me just try it out. And the summer prior, I had worked in city government in Boston where I'm from in the Economic Development Council Office. And so I knew a little bit about what public service could look like or government could look like, and then I figured I'd go the extreme other direction in banking and consulting actually was somewhere in the middle. Smera: Understood. Actually just speaking of your time in undergrad, do you remember what was probably the hardest thing to understand as an undergrad or hardest class or something social that was just difficult to overcome or to deal with? Katrina: Say it one more time. I'm not sure I followed the question. Smera: Well, when you were in undergrad, what would be the hardest thing you faced that was aside from just academics? Katrina: Oh, in undergrad, that's a great question. I think, and look, I acknowledge that this is a very privileged thing to be able to say, but I don't think I struggled with too much in undergrad only in the sense that I found my group at Northwestern, my people really early, and I think that that is something that I don't undervalue. I was very fortunate. I lived in Allison Hall and my freshman year roommate is still my best friend to this day. My kids call her Auntie Janelle. She is fantastic. And I lived down the hall from a group of individuals, four or five guys, and Janelle and I just became super close, and they're still, all of them are still in my life today. And that group really got me through Northwestern. So no matter what I was struggling with, no matter what I faced, I had this close group of six or seven people that I leaned on. And it wasn't to say that I had a easy-breezy ride. There were definitely drama moments and things that I didn't do as well as I wanted to do, but if I really take a step back and look at it, I don't feel like there was something where I would say, "Yeah, I really had a tough time with that particular thing," right? Smera: Right. Katrina: It was more just there was the initial adjustment to college and then making sure I stayed on top of my grades and stayed on top of the extracurriculars and all of those sorts of things. But truly for me, the people that came out of Northwestern really helped me through a lot of it. So, yeah. Smera: That's good to know. And it's good to know that you're still friends with her. That's- Katrina: Oh yeah, and not just her. I mean, all of them are still in my life. One of my friends has three children, two of them are about the same age as two of my kids, and they come once a year and spend a weekend with us in New York. We go and see them in Massachusetts a lot. These are lifelong people for me, and I can't stress enough how grateful I am to Northwestern for giving me that community. Smera: That makes sense. Then speaking of your friends, how often do you, you just mentioned you ran into a Northwestern alum in your company and you guys actually overlapped. How often does that happen? Katrina: Somewhat frequently, I would say. As much as you'd think. I think the community of Northwestern and New York community is maybe a little bit less concentrated, and then Northwestern and New York and beauty community is maybe a little less concentrated. There were definitely a couple of us in my class at business school and every so often there's so-and-so who knows so-and-so who knows so-and-so. But I think that the people that I've stayed in touch with from Northwestern are the ones, and that are in my life from Northwestern, are the ones that I knew in college. There have been a couple new ones, but maybe not as often as you'd think, at least in my particular city industry combo. Smera: That's wonderful to know. You said not very much in New York. Would you ever consider going back to Boston? Katrina: That's a loaded question. If my parents are watching this, absolutely because they still live there. No, honestly, the answer is probably no, unless there was some real reason for it. I love New York City. I live in Brooklyn and Park Slope. I love Park Slope. My kids love it here. My husband's very happy here. I don't see any world that we leave before our kids go to college, and then when I leave, I'm not going somewhere cold. Smera: Makes sense. That makes a lot of sense. Do you think the alumni community is bigger in Boston or in New York? Katrina: Probably in New York, but I think in Chicago is where it's probably most prominent. Smera: Right, it's going to be the most concentrated. Katrina: The other thing I would say is just for me also because I did go to graduate school, I have two alumni communities. And the HBS community is very, very strong here in New York so that might be a part of it too for me is just having those two different elements. Smera: That makes sense. That makes a lot of sense. So what kind of skills or habits did you pick up on, or talents did you pick up on that have helped you in your career? Like stuff you learned at whether it was BCG that's helped you now, at Wella or even other types of skills or talents or abilities? Katrina: I would say that the biggest capability build I had was at BCG. And I'll tell you that the couple of things that I still carry with me from my BCG days because I believe that they are the reason I've been able to make it this far. Number one is a really robust analytical toolkit, so being able to work quickly in Excel. Some of that is just I am a mathematical person by nature, I was a math major, but I can build models, I can use Excel. I'm not the best, but I can do well enough to get me through, and that I think if number one. Number two is the ability to learn quickly. It's something that when you're a consultant is really important because you're not on a client project for two years. You're on a client project sometimes as short as six weeks, and you need to be able to learn that client's business and speak about it with confidence really, really fast. So the first week of any client engagement, you are really learning that client's business. And if on week two you're expected to know at least the industry and the category and the dynamics. And so the ability to learn and digest information quickly is something that in every job I've had since BCG has been called out as one of my strengths, and I really attribute that to BCG. The third thing is the ability to see both big and small. And it's another thing that when I look at folks, especially in beauty who have grown up in beauty, a lot of times it's really hard for them to step back and see the bigger picture. And that's something that consulting really teaches you from a very, very junior age or a junior tenure that I think has helped me tremendously. The ability to take a step back and say, okay, what is the actual story here? What is actually going on? Distill a complex problem, make it seem simple, and then really walk through the action items that could get us to where we need to be. I would say the last thing is the confidence to work with senior people, even when you're junior, to speak up to express your mind in a way that is not arrogant, that's not seen as overstepping, but that's additive and that shows it really is inquisitive and adds value. So those are the things I would say I learned at BCG. Smera: Okay, and then similarly, I'm not as familiar with the field of consulting. I've always been in the medical path. What's a big misconception people have about the field or the people or the work? Katrina: I mean, I think all those consulting movies are actually a misconception. There is some element of you come in, you tell people what to do and you leave. That is sort of true. You don't actually do it yourself. There is a little bit of truth to it, but I think that consultants really can be thought partners if business leaders let them be. And I do believe that people who have a couple of years of consulting experience can go and do, not everything, we can't go be a doctor, but learning how to tackle a problem and learning how to learn quickly can allow you to be successful in a range of jobs beyond being a consultant. Smera: Right. And so similarly, it feels like you have a lot of skills and abilities that you were able to pick up through this career, but how does that help you balance between your personal interests? Like you said, you're a mother, you have two kids. How are you balancing that with your lifestyle? Katrina: There is no balance. There is no balance. There's only trying, right? Smera: Okay. Katrina: And I think that I tell myself all the time that there will be a day that my kids don't want to sit down and have dinner with me, but right now they do and I need to take advantage of that. And I think 80% of balance is mental. 80% of it is acknowledging that you won't be able to do something for work because you're going to do something for your kids and making that choice and being okay with making that choice and letting it go. And that's taken me a long time to figure that out. My daughter is almost seven, and I think I'm just now figuring it out. And I'll probably keep figuring it out as she gets older, my older one. But I think if we strive for balance, we'll never get there. We just have to strive for doing our best and acknowledge that our best will never be good enough on everything and that's okay, as long as it's good enough on some things at the right times. Smera: Exactly. And then when it's not good enough, how do you stay motivated? How do you [inaudible 00:24:15]? Katrina: I had a boss once who whenever she would see someone starting a spiral, she'd start singing, "Let it Go" from Frozen, just break out in song and just start singing it. And I hear her singing in my head sometimes when I start to get myself down a path like that and I just let it go. I have to force myself to let it go. You have to because otherwise the anxiety will drive you crazy. No one person can do it all. This concept of having it all, you can have it all at the right times and different times, but I have yet, at least anyway, to meet anyone who has it all in that very traditional excels in all areas at all times in all ways concept. You can excel in some areas. I can excel at work this year, and maybe next year I'll excel at my family life and do okay at work, but it's hard to keep every ball equally high in the air at all times. I personally haven't found the solution. If you do, you let me know. Smera: Oh, no. Especially I feel like going to Northwestern, it seems like everybody's at there all at all times and that's just not true, so it's definitely good advice. And then speaking up, how do you determine whether you take a risk or you play it safe in something like your career? Katrina: I don't think you can determine each. You got to trust your gut. Smera: Right, okay. Katrina: You got to trust your gut. You got to know. I always ask myself what's the worst thing that can happen? I get fired and I find another job. What's the worst thing that happen if the company goes under? I find another job. What's the worst thing that can happen? I've been sharing a lot of past boss anecdotes. Another one, I had a past boss who used to say, "It's just lipstick. We just sell lipstick. We don't cure cancer." And I think the perspective is important. What is truly the worst thing that could happen? If this decision that I'm making fails, we sell a little less lipstick, we'll probably still be okay. So I think that it's just about, it's not easy. I'm making light of what is a very difficult thing because I too can second guess every decision I make all the time, but I think over time I've just had to force myself to just make a call and trust my gut. Smera: Well, that's really good advice. And then speaking of what's a time where you might've not done as well as you'd liked or you failed at something and how did you grow from it if it was something like that? Katrina: I mean, look, there are tons of times I can point to where I haven't done as well as I'd hoped, and I said it, nobody's perfect. Nobody excels all the time. I think one that comes to mind is I can't, obviously confidentiality I can't go into too many details, but the startups I worked at, neither one of them flew off the shelves. There were times where we had launches that didn't work. There were times where the business was struggling. There were times, and I think that's part of being a startup. That's part of working at a small company that doesn't do billions of dollars or even hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. There are things that you do that don't work. I think what I have to remind myself in those moments is this is how companies are built. This is how people are built. This is how people learn. This is how people grow. No company, no person, no project hits it out of the park every time. And it's about what you do with the learning rather than being perfect at all times. Because if you're perfect at all times, you never learn. You just keep doing the same thing. So I think that's the mindset you have to have. To me it's all mental and it's all what you make of it, and it's all how you take that learning and don't do it again and use it to do something else that's even better that's important. Smera: For sure. So to close us off because I don't want the Zoom to cut me off, but just to close us off, what is the best piece of general advice you could give to somebody in your position? Katrina: In my position or at Northwestern? Smera: I mean, both. Let's say both. Katrina: Okay. So if I were talking to current students, my best advice is don't do the thing that you think you're supposed to do. Do the thing that you think you'll be good at. Smera: Okay. Katrina: And I think I see too many people saying, "Well, I'm supposed to do X. I should do Y. My parents think I should do Z. I always wanted to do X, so I'm going to do it." That's a recipe in my opinion, for being unhappy in whatever it is you choose to do. You spend more time at work than you do with your family. You spend more years working than you do in school. Pick the thing that's really you're going to enjoy and that makes you happy and do it. And if you don't want to do X, Y, and Z, don't do it just because your parents think you should, or your friends or your career counselor or your teacher or your brother or whomever. It's not just parents. It's any number of people. So that's my best advice to students. I would say to people in my position or who are looking to do what I do or who are mid to later in their careers, the advice I give is the advice I gave earlier, which is don't underestimate the power of talking to people and building genuine relationships with people because you never know when someone's going to need someone like you. And if they don't think of you or they think of you in a negative light, that won't be you. So that's the advice that I would give to people. Smera: Definitely heavy on the first one. My parents pushed me towards a medical path. I wasn't sure if I wanted to so we'll see how that ends up being. Katrina: Look, it's a long life. It's a long life. Whatever you choose, you're going to keep doing it and you got to love it, especially medicine. My sister and brother-in-law are both doctors, and I see it firsthand. You've really got to love it. Smera: You have to love it, for sure. And the second one, for sure. Just don't burn bridges, I guess. Katrina: It's not just that. It's not just don't burn bridges. It's really truly invest in people because you want to. Smera: That makes sense. Okay, thank you so much for speaking with us. Katrina: My pleasure. It was lovely getting to know you. Smera: It was wonderful getting to know you too. Thank you for listening to this special episode of Weinberg in the World Podcast. We hope you have a great day, and go Cats.  

The Doctrine of Last Things: An Optimistic Amillennial View is the culmination of Dr. Sam Waldron's pastoral heart on eschatology, which spans over thirty years. This book aims to clarify the often contentious and complex discussions surrounding the doctrine of last things (eschatology). Waldron even-handedly addresses various eschatological views, including premillennialism, postmillennialism, and amillennialism, while emphasizing the importance of understanding the relationship between Christ's return and the millennium. Beneficial to all believers, regardless of eschatological position, lay readers and theologians alike will revitalize their hope in these last days and behold clearly the exalted-Christ. Order a copy here: https://freegracepress.com/products/the-doctrine-of-last-things-an-optimistic-millennial-view For more information about CBTS visit: https://cbtseminary.org  

The Doctrine of Last Things: An Optimistic Amillennial View is the culmination of Dr. Sam Waldron's pastoral heart on eschatology, which spans over thirty years. This book aims to clarify the often contentious and complex discussions surrounding the doctrine of last things (eschatology). Waldron even-handedly addresses various eschatological views, including premillennialism, postmillennialism, and amillennialism, while emphasizing the importance of understanding the relationship between Christ's return and the millennium. Beneficial to all believers, regardless of eschatological position, lay readers and theologians alike will revitalize their hope in these last days and behold clearly the exalted-Christ. Order a copy here: https://freegracepress.com/products/the-doctrine-of-last-things-an-optimistic-millennial-view For more information about CBTS visit: https://cbtseminary.org  

This episode of Home Care Heroes and Day Service Stars features Jen Waldron from Augusta Software, addressing the prevalent issue of caregiver job applicants ghosting employers. Jen identifies key challenges in the hiring process and offers insights into optimizing caregiver recruitment.The episode begins with a discussion of a common question: "Where are the good caregivers?" Jen dispels the myth of hidden talent pools, emphasizing that 84% of caregiver hires originate from Indeed.com. This highlights the need for agencies to focus on optimizing Indeed as a recruitment platform. She notes that applicants coming directly from agency websites, though fewer in number, tend to be highly motivated and convert to hires at a higher rate.Jen explains the reasons behind caregiver ghosting, including the ease of applying to multiple jobs with one click on platforms like Indeed, leading to applicant burnout and miscommunication. She encourages agency owners to experience the application process firsthand to understand the frustrations caregivers face.To combat ghosting, Jen advises agencies to:Evaluate the quality of information gathered during the application process.Use clear qualifying standards to ensure only suitable candidates progress.Offer flexible interview formats, especially for candidates applying from distant locations.Respond to applicants quickly, ideally within four days, as delays significantly reduce interview attendance.Jen highlights the importance of measuring recruitment metrics correctly, suggesting that agencies should assess no-show rates based on the total volume of applicants, rather than just scheduled interviews.Augusta Software's platform offers solutions tailored to these challenges. It streamlines the hiring funnel by matching caregiver applicants to agencies using AI-driven processes. The platform ensures that candidates provide comprehensive, home care-specific information during the application, including previously overlooked experience like family caregiving. In return, applicants receive tailored job details, such as location, pay, and flexibility, enhancing their confidence and commitment.A key innovation of Augusta is its caregiver-centric design, featuring simple interfaces optimized for older mobile devices. The platform gamifies the application process, encouraging engagement while reinforcing the job's relevance to candidates. Augusta also addresses a common caregiver need—flexible hours—helping agencies identify and highlight benefits that align with caregiver priorities.The episode concludes with Jen providing practical advice for agencies not yet using Augusta, such as using built-in messaging tools on job boards to engage applicants promptly and asking additional screening questions to gauge suitability. For those interested, she invites listeners to learn more about Augusta Software at its website, www.augusta.care.This episode offers actionable strategies for home care agencies to improve caregiver recruitment, reduce ghosting, and ultimately strengthen their teams.Home Care Heroes and Day Service Stars is produced and sponsored by Ankota - If you provide services that enable older or disabled people to continue living at home , Ankota can provide you the software to successfully run your agency. Visit us at https://www.ankota.com. 

Metro districts are a key part of new housing development in Colorado. Tune in as Brownstein's Corey Zurbuch speaks with Robert Rogers, shareholder at White Bear Ankele Tanaka & Waldron, about the challenges and opportunities that come with metro districts.

In this illuminating episode, I'm joined by Tammy Waldron, founder of Towanda Wellbeing and a seasoned Advanced ThetaHealing® Teacher and Practitioner, to explore the transformative power of intuition in healing. Tammy shares her profound insights on connecting to Source energy (Self/Higher Self energy) and how intuitive abilities—often expressed through the "claires" (clairvoyance, clairaudience, etc.)—can deepen our healing journeys. We discuss how parts in Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy can sometimes block intuition, and Tammy provides practical strategies for unblending from these parts to reconnect with intuitive wisdom. Learn how to strengthen your intuition through daily practices, discernment, and muscle testing to bridge the subconscious and the body. Tammy and I also reveal ways to integrate intuition into IFS work, creating stronger connections to yourself and others while preventing burnout through intentional intuition practices. This episode culminates in a special guided meditation led by Tammy to help you tap into your own intuitive abilities and connect with your higher Self. Whether you're an IFS practitioner, someone curious about ThetaHealing®, or seeking new ways to deepen your personal healing journey, this episode is filled with actionable insights and inspiration.   About Tammy Waldron:   Meet Tammy Waldron, founder of Towanda Wellbeing and a passionate guide for wellness practitioners, healers, and truth-seekers looking to align with their True Selves. With over a decade of experience, Tammy leads the transformative R.I.S.E. Program (Reignite Intuition & Self-Expression), a year-long integrative certification that blends powerful modalities like ThetaHealing®, Silent Counseling, and Gene Keys. Through this holistic program, participants learn to release limiting beliefs, heal emotional wounds, and reconnect with their intuition, offering tools to create lasting transformation. Tammy empowers individuals to move from trauma to freedom, overwhelm to clarity, and stagnation to harmony, fostering deep healing, intuitive growth, and an aligned life of purpose. __________________________________ Topics Covered: Connecting to Source energy (Self/Higher Self energy) Exploring intuitive abilities through the "claires" When parts block intuition and how to work through it Strengthening discernment and practicing intuition Muscle testing to connect with the subconscious and body Integrating intuition into IFS work to deepen self-connection Preventing burnout with intuitive practices A guided meditation to connect with your intuition Tune in for an episode that blends spirituality, intuition, and evidence-based practices to empower your journey toward healing and connection. ______________________________________ Tammy Waldron Resources:   Schedule a 30-minute discovery call here: https://calendly.com/towandawellbeing/30min    Website: https://www.towandawellbeing.com/    Email: tammy@towandawellbeing.com    Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tammy-waldron/    Linktree: https://linktr.ee/towandawellbeing    I hope you can join my FREE Monthly Healing Circle—https://www.towandawellbeing.com/healing-circles    ___________________________________ Want to work with Natalie? Contact her below   Website: https://www.ndwellnessservices.com/   Contact: https://www.ndwellnessservices.com/contact    Instagram: @nataliedeering _____________________________   Donate to the podcast Here!    Interested in sponsoring an episode of the podcast? Upgrade your business and let more people know about your amazing services or products by reaching hundreds to thousands of people by sponsoring an episode for only $100!  Please email ndwellness.services@therapysecure.com for more information.  Thank you for the support!    *Please support the podcast by following, rating, and leaving a review*

In this special episode, Tammy Waldron, founder of Towanda Wellbeing, leads a calming and transformative guided meditation designed to help you connect with your intuition for deep healing. Tammy invites you to tap into your inner wisdom, quiet the mind, and align with your True Self. Whether you're new to intuitive practices or looking to deepen your connection, this meditation offers a supportive space to release blocks, cultivate clarity, and harness the healing power within. Take a moment, find a quiet space, and allow Tammy to guide you on this journey to reconnect with your intuition. ______________________________________ Connect with Tammy Waldron:   Schedule a 30-minute discovery call here: https://calendly.com/towandawellbeing/30min    Website: https://www.towandawellbeing.com/    Email: tammy@towandawellbeing.com    Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tammy-waldron/    Linktree: https://linktr.ee/towandawellbeing    _________________________________________ Want to work with Natalie? Contact her below   Website: https://www.ndwellnessservices.com/   Contact: https://www.ndwellnessservices.com/contact    Instagram: @nataliedeering  

This week on Save it for the Blind, Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard sit down with Capt. R.J. Waldron, owner of North Wind Outfitters, to explore the life of a seasoned waterfowl guide and boat captain. Capt. Waldron shares his journey from inspiration to success, diving into his love for guiding both waterfowl hunts and salmon fishing adventures in California.The conversation touches on his favorite aspects of salmon guiding, thoughts on the future of California's iconic fisheries, and his advice for hunters navigating the unique challenges of bay hunting. Plus, he shares insider tips on what makes hunters more successful in the field and what he's most excited about as the waterfowl season approaches.Tune in, subscribe to Save it for the Blind wherever you get your podcasts, and join the conversation! Don't forget to leave a review and share this episode with fellow duck enthusiasts. Together, we can raise awareness and support the future of waterfowl conservation.

This week on The Bears Talk Underground!!!What a roller coaster the last six weeks have been for our Beloved Chicago Bears and for us the actual Chicago Bears fans!!We have all been through a lot and there has been a lot of change in those six weeks. And Lorin Cox is here to help us make sense of it all. Larry and Lorin talk the last six games, the firing of Waldron and Eberflus and so much more on the Mid-Season Review episode of The Bears Talk Underground!!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode, therapist Keisha Saunders Waldron discusses various topics related to stress, therapy, and emotional well-being. She emphasizes the importance of emotional awareness in children and the need for adults to create safe spaces for them. Keisha also explores the differences in how stress manifests in men and women, highlighting the importance of setting boundaries and practicing self-care.Guest Spotlight: Keisha Saunders-Waldron LCMHC, is a licensed professional counselor supervisor who works with individuals and families to improve their quality of life through the use of counseling and holistic approaches. Keisha holds a Master's degree in Science and Service Agency Counseling from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke as well as a Bachelor's degree in Arts and Science in Psychology with a minor in Sociology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.Want to get in touch? Maybe you have an AITA you need solving or a recommendation for On My Radar? Get in touch at hello@editaud.io with Be Well Sis in the subject line! Be Well Sis is hosted by Dr Cassandre Dunbar. The show is edited, mixed and produced by Megan Hayward and Reem Elmaghraby. Our Production Manager is Kathleen Speckert. Be Well Sis is an editaudio collaboration. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

JMToWin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ from One Week Season walks us through the Week 11 DFS slate from a GPP perspective, including top plays at each position, and then builds a DraftKings lineup with Pete using some of his favorite building blocks. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Watch the show on YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.⁠⁠

From 'Take The North' (subscribe here): Dan Wiederer and Mark Grote hear from Bears veteran receiver Keenan Allen, who takes us inside why Shane Waldron was not effective enough as offensive coordinator. Apparently, Waldron was "too nice." To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Waldron is out! George Ofman and Joey talk about the firing and what happens now. Is Trace Armstrong fleecing the Bears? #bearsfootball MVP Injury Law https://mvpinjurylaw.com/

Alex Shapiro returns to the podcast with Ruthie Polinsky. Alex gives his perspective on the Bears' recent struggles. They talk about Thomas Brown bringing a different approach and focus to the offense. They look back at the hiring process that landed Shane Waldron in Chicago. Matt Eberflus acknowledging his struggles to identify a play-caller. Injury updates and more!

We discuss Micah Parsons' comments about Mike McCarthy, CeeDee Lamb blaming Jerry Jones for not fixing the AT&T Stadium windows to avoid glare coming into the stadium, the Bears firing offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, and the report that Waldron and several Bears players wanted them to bench #1 overall pick Caleb Williams. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/world-wide-sports-radio-n/support

Buffone is back and mad! He was at the Bear Pats game ... and the Commanders game. He's paying the price of witnessing the debacles. Alyssa, Danny and Aldo all jump in.

In the third hour, Dave Softy Mahler and Dick Fain chat with Jon Wilner about UW's loss at Penn State and UCLA next, plus more college football, then the guys revisit Softy's comments on Chicago radio about Shane Waldron before previewing Seahawks-49ers.

In the first hour, Dave Softy Mahler and Dick Fain discuss Shane Waldron being fired by the Chicago Bears today, look ahead to Washington facing UCLA this Saturday at home then share today's Fact or Fiction pick before listening and reacting to Fun with Audio.

Bran and Pat react to all the NFL news and notes from Week 10 and provide their unrivaled, top tier fantasy football analysis 

Nick Kostos reacts to the Chicago Bears firing Shane Waldron. Plus, Nick and Femi break down the Rams chances of making the NFL Playoffs. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

(0:00) Felger, Mazz & Murray discuss reports that the Patriots are researching how to handle a young quarterback. (14:47) The Bears fired Shane Waldron - should Alex Van Pelt be next? (22:10) Callers weigh in on rumors that the Patriots are looking for a new offensive coordinator. (31:01) Does history show that the Patriots are likely to mess up the offense?

Joe Ostrowski and Sam Panyotovich continue to react to this morning's breaking news of the Bears firing Offensive Coordinator Shane Waldron, and how this will effect the way we bet Chicago going forward. Plus, some of our favorite team futures to bet right now, including if anyone can anyone challenge the Lions in the NFC. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Reaction as the Bears part ways with Shane Waldron.

Seth and Sean react to breaking news of the Bears firing OC Shane Waldron and discuss if having a defensive-minded head coach has a tendency to put teams in purgatory in terms of their team's offense.

HOUR 3 - Seth and Sean get petty about Micah Parsons and more in the PettyCast, react to the Bears firing their Offensive Coordinator, explore the conundrum that comes with having a defensive-minded head coach, and assess if the Pro Football Focus scores for the Texans in their loss on Sunday night match what they saw out there.

In the final hour, Mike Mulligan and David Haugh were joined by WGN sports anchor Jarrett Payton to discuss the Bears' firing of offensive coordinator Shane Waldron. Later, Mully and Haugh took calls from Score listeners about Waldron's exit.

Tom Waldron grew up in Garden Grove, California. He served in the Cebu Philippines mission. Tom attended Golden West college and BYU-Idaho Pathway Connect before he received a Bachelor of Science in Automotive Technology Management from BYU-Idaho and a Master of Science in Management and Leadership from Western Governors University. Tom was a technician for Coast Cadillac and a master diagnostic technician for Toyota. He currently is a faculty member for the Automotive Technology program here at BYU-Idaho. Tom is married to his sweetheart, Rolayne, and they have seven children. He enjoys outdoor activities such as mountain biking, snow skiing, surfing, and water skiing. Tom has served in many callings in his life, including various Young Men's callings, elders quorum presidencies, and as a stake clerk. He is currently serving in a bishopric as first counselor in the Rexburg YSA 32nd Ward on campus.

Transition | Spiegel: 'This thing is over for Eberflus and Waldron' full 1047 Mon, 04 Nov 2024 20:42:02 +0000 IIFwso4uOGd5UKIaOaVnEV6aIG3j5Jub sports Bernstein & Harris sports Transition | Spiegel: 'This thing is over for Eberflus and Waldron' Dan Bernstein and Marshall Harris bring you fun, smart and compelling Chicago sports talk with great listener interaction. The show features discussion of the Bears, Blackhawks, Bulls, Cubs and White Sox as well as the biggest sports headlines beyond Chicago. Leila Rahimi joins the show as a co-host on Wednesdays. Recurring guests include Bears linebacker T.J. Edwards, Pro Football Talk founder Mike Florio, Cubs outfielder Ian Happ and Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer. Catch the show live Monday through Friday (10 a.m.- 2 p.m. CT) on 670 The Score, the exclusive audio home of the Cubs and the Bulls, or on the Audacy app. 2024 © 2021 Audacy, Inc. Sports False https://player.amperwavepodcasting.com?feed-link=https%3A%2F%2Frss.amperwave.net%