Progress, Potential, and Possibilities Podcast / Show

Send us a textDr. Hamed Faridi, Ph.D. is the founder of Faridi Strategy Group LLC and serves as the Executive Director of the McCormick Science Institute (https://www.mccormickscienceinstitute.com/). Hamed is renowned as an innovative food industry leader, business executive, strategist, and board director. He is a visionary leader who conceives and implements innovative approaches - often using technology - to create and sustain business growth in the highly competitive food manufacturing industry. Hamed is known as someone who creates “momentum” and superior customer intimacy. Hamed is a sought-after consultant and frequent industry speaker with valuable perspectives on the food industry and the “future of food”. He has a reputation for developing strong and trusting relationships with CEOs, executive leaders, industry peers, and board directors. He is considered an effective communicator, a good listener, and a team-mate whose insights are valued. He has significant experience in the technology, health care, and food / flavor industries. Hamed has served on boards of directors of several organizations including Maryland University of Integrative Health, St. Joseph Medical Center, and the International Association of Cereal Chemists. He has been a director and president of both the Flavor & Extract Manufacturers Association and the American Association of Cereal Chemists. He has served on the partnership committee of a McCormick joint venture and on the advisory boards of the food science departments of four different universities. Hamed retired in 2020 as the Chief Science Officer at McCormick & Company (https://www.mccormick.com/) - a $5.5B global manufacturer and marketer of flavors, spices, seasoning and condiments to the entire food industry – since 2011. Reporting to the CEO, Hamed led a global team of over 500 scientists and flavorists with responsibility for thought leadership, scientific research, product development, sustainability as well as the company’s health and wellness initiative. Since joining McCormick in 1997, Hamed has built, transformed, and led a research and development program that is regarded by investors as well as by customers as one of the most innovative in the food industry. Hamed led the creation of the McCormick Science Institute - an independent organization that advances scientific understanding of the role of culinary spices and herbs on healthy eating and public health. A truly transformative initiative aligning with USDA, FDA, HHS, and the White House. In partnership with IBM, Hamed has also created the first artificial intelligence (AI) platform for food and flavor product development. By using AI, he reduced product development time and significantly increased product success rates. This cutting-edge technology has set McCormick apart from its competitors, ushered in a new era of flavor innovation, and has the potential to change the course of the industry. He has been featured in Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Baltimore Sun and on BBC radio. Support the show

Send us a textDr. Ken Paller, Ph.D. (hhttps://psychology.northwestern.edu/people/faculty/core/profiles/ken-paller.html) is Professor of Psychology and James Padilla Chair in Arts & Sciences, Director of the Cognitive Neuroscience Program and the Training Program in the Neuroscience of Human Cognition, Fellow of the Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease Center, and Fellow of the Center for Sleep and Circadian Biology, at Northwestern University, Department of Psychology. Dr. Paller’s collaborative research with his students and colleagues focuses on human memory, consciousness, and related issues, and recent research publications have examined various themes including sleep’s role in memory and memory dysfunction, sensory processing during sleep to reinforce prior learning, the neural substrates of conscious memory experiences, and the juxtaposition of those memory experiences with various ways in which memory can influence our behavior in the absence of awareness of memory retrieval, such as in the case of intuition. His investigations make use of various behavioral measures of memory, analyses of brain electrical activity from the EEG, patterns of cognitive deficits in neurological patients, and MRI methods. Dr. Paller received a PhD in Neurosciences from UC San Diego following undergraduate training at UCLA. He held postdoctoral positions at Yale, Manchester, and Berkeley. He is a Fellow of the Mind and Life Institute, a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science, journal editor at Neuropsychologia, and program committee chair for the Cognitive Neuroscience Society. He received the Senator Mark Hatfield Award from the Alzheimer’s Association, and research funding from the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and other federal agencies and private foundations.Support the show

Send us a textMr. Kim Nazel (also known by his stage names "Arabian Prince" or "Professor X") is a rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, DJ, founding member of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame rap group N.W.A., as well as burgeoning, technologist, venture capitalist, startup mentor, and business advisor. Mr. Nazel has wide ranging interests in Animation, 3D FX, Music and Computer Digital Technologies. He is CEO of Mik Lezan Music, Owner of Hypnotic FX and One Fader, President of LA First Tech Challenge Southern California Robotics Competition, and Founder / Chief Innovator at Inov8 Next (https://www.inov8next.com/), a Silicon Beach, CA based product innovation incubator and technology center designed to empower the brightest inventors by leveraging the power of industry experience, strategic resources and advanced mentoring. Additionally, Mr. Nazel is also President of Gametime Brownies and Founder/CEO of the Streaming PC Manufacturer - Fear The GGGOAT! Some of the other publically disclosed investments in Mr. Nazel's portfolio include Streoapp, a live streaming app from nightclubs, bars & festivals, Advrtas, an AI (artificial intelligence) driven VR/AR/360 video ad platform, and Covitech, a cloud-based suite of apps helping small-to-medium size businesses access to COVID-19 screening, testing resources and often hard-to-procure protective equipment. His passion for technology led to him create a 3D animation and special effects studio in the 90’s working with companies like Saban Entertainment and Fox; including 100+ video game titles for Fox interactive and Vivendi Universal. Mr. Nazel also produced the hit single and album for J.J. Fad, "Supersonic" - The single was certified gold by Recording Industry Association of America, and also got nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance in 1989, making them the first all-female rap group to be nominated for a Grammy award. Silicon Beach is part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area, which is home to 00’s of technology startup companies, becoming known as one of the most prominent technology hubs in the world, as well as home to many major technology companies in the region including Google, Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Snapchat and Tinder. Support the show

Send us a textAnita Hazenberg is Director of the Innovation Centre Directorate at INTERPOL (https://www.interpol.int/en), also known as the International Criminal Police Organization, an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime control. Headquartered in Lyon, France, INTERPOL is the world's largest international police organization, with six regional bureaus worldwide and a National Central Bureau in all 195 member countries. From their location in Singapore, Ms. Hazenberg leads various innovation initiatives at INTERPOL’s Innovation Centre Directorate Global Complex for Innovation (IGCI). With three masters degrees, in public administration (from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam), social work (from Hogeschool van Arnhem en Nijmegen), and in change management (SIOO), Ms. Hazenberg started her career with a decade in the State Police of the Netherlands, in various policing functions (patrol, vice & detective work), taught for over a decade at the Police Academy of The Netherlands (Director School for Police Leadership), as well as in the role of Program Manager, Police and Human Rights, at the Council of Europe, before assuming her current role in 2017. Ms. Hazenberg also served as Chief Superintendent and Coordinator, International Strategic Alliances and Deployment, National Police of the Netherlands, Former Director of the European Network of Policewomen, and Former Conference Director of the global law enforcement think-tank “Pearls in Policing”.Support the show

Send us a textKerry Kennedy is President of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights (https://rfkhumanrights.org/), a human rights advocacy organization, founded by her mother Ethel Kennedy and named after her father United States Senator Robert F. Kennedy in 1968, and which is dedicated to creating a more just and peaceful world, working alongside local human rights activists to ensure lasting positive change in governments and corporations. Kerry has devoted more than 40 years to the pursuit of equal justice, the promotion and protection of basic rights, and the preservation of the rule of law, working on a range of issues, including child labor, women’s rights, disappearances, indigenous land rights, judicial independence, freedom of expression, ethnic violence, criminal justice reform, immigration, impunity, and environmental justice. She has led hundreds of human rights delegations in support of these causes. Kerry is the author of multiple books, including Speak Truth to Power: Human Rights Defenders Who Are Changing Our World, Robert F. Kennedy: Ripples of Hope, and the New York Times Bestseller Being Catholic Now. She appears regularly as a commentator on national and worldwide television networks, and is a frequent contributor to newspapers and magazines. Kerry served as Chair of the Amnesty International USA Leadership Council for over a decade, serves on the board of directors of the United States Institute of Peace, Human Rights First, Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation, Laureate and Leaders, Nizami Ganjavi International Center, HealthEVillages, as well as RFK Human Rights’ numerous international chapters. She is on the Advisory Committee for the Association of American Indian Affairs, the Albert Schweitzer Institute, Sankofa, San Patrignano, and the Center for Victims of Torture. Kerry has received high honors from President Lech Walesa of Poland for aiding the Solidarity movement, The Humanitarian award from the Congress of Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, and many other honors. A member of the Massachusetts and District of Columbia bars, Kerry is a graduate of Brown University and Boston College Law School. She holds honorary doctorates of law from Le Moyne College, University of San Francisco Law School, and University of New Caledonia, and honorary doctorates of Humane Letters from Bay Path College and the Albany College of Pharmacy.Support the show

Send us a textThe United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC - https://www.ohchr.org/en/hrbodies/hrc/pages/aboutcouncil.aspx) is a United Nations (https://www.un.org/en/) body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council investigates allegations of breaches of human rights in United Nations member states, and addresses thematic human rights issues such as freedom of association and assembly, freedom of expression, freedom of belief and religion, women's rights, LGBT rights, and the rights of racial and ethnic minorities. In recent years, there have been significant advocacy efforts calling for enhanced international thinking and action on the human rights of older persons, and the four main challenges older persons are facing, in terms of human rights as discrimination, poverty, violence and abuse, as well as the lack of specific measures and services to remedy these issues. Dr. Claudia Mahler (https://www.ohchr.org/en/issues/olderpersons/ie/pages/ieolderpersons.aspx) currently serves as an Independent Expert on the human rights of older persons at the United Nations Human Rights Council. Dr. Mahler has been working for the German Institute for Human Rights as a senior researcher in the field of economic, social and cultural rights since 2010. She is also a visiting professor at the Alice Salomon University of Applied Sciences Berlin. From 2001 to 2009, Dr. Mahler conducted research at the Human Rights Centre of the University of Potsdam where her main fields were in human rights education, minority rights and the law of asylum. In 2000, she was appointed as Vice President of the Human Rights Commission for Tyrol and Vorarlberg. Dr. Mahler has also worked as a lecturer in the field of human rights law and as a consultant to Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR - https://www.ohchr.org/EN/pages/home.aspx) in Geneva. From 1997-2001, Dr. Mahler held the position of an assistant at the Leopold-Franzens-University Innsbruck, Austria in the field of Criminal Law and Criminal Procedures. Dr. Mahler received her doctoral degree in 2000.Support the show

Send us a textDr. Anthony Atala, MD, (https://school.wakehealth.edu/Faculty/A/Anthony-Atala) is the G. Link Professor and Director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, and the W. Boyce Professor and Chair of Urology. A practicing surgeon and a researcher in the area of regenerative medicine, fifteen applications of technologies developed Dr. Atala’s laboratory have been used clinically. He is Editor of 25 books and 3 journals, has published over 800 journal articles, and has received over 250 national and international patents. Dr. Atala was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Sciences, to the National Academy of Inventors as a Charter Fellow, and to the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. Dr. Atala is a recipient of the US Congress funded Christopher Columbus Foundation Award, bestowed on a living American who is currently working on a discovery that will significantly affect society; the World Technology Award in Health and Medicine, for achieving significant and lasting progress; the Edison Science/Medical Award for innovation, the R&D Innovator of the Year Award, and the Smithsonian Ingenuity Award for Bioprinting Tissue and Organs. Dr. Atala’s work was listed twice as Time Magazine’s Top 10 medical breakthroughs of the year, and once as one of 5 discoveries that will change the future of organ transplants. He was named by Scientific American as one of the world’s most influential people in biotechnology, by U.S. News & World Report as one of 14 Pioneers of Medical Progress in the 21st Century, by Life Sciences Intellectual Property Review as one of the top key influencers in the life sciences intellectual property arena, and by Nature Biotechnology as one of the top 10 translational researchers in the world. Dr. Atala has led or served several national professional and government committees, including the National Institutes of Health working group on Cells and Developmental Biology, the National Institutes of Health Bioengineering Consortium, and the National Cancer Institute’s Advisory Board. He is a founding member of the Tissue Engineering Society, Regenerative Medicine Foundation, Regenerative Medicine Manufacturing Innovation Consortium, Regenerative Medicine Development Organization, and Regenerative Medicine Manufacturing Society.Support the show

Send us a textDr. Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen, DVM, DSc., Ph.D., is the CEO of the Novo Nordisk Foundation (https://novonordiskfonden.dk/), an international foundation with a dual objective: to provide a stable basis for the commercial and research activities conducted by the companies within the Novo Group (of which Novo Nordisk A/S is the largest holdings) and to support scientific, humanitarian and social purposes. In 2020, the Novo Nordisk Foundation had a net worth of US$73.1 billion, making it the largest financial endowment in the world. Novo Nordisk Foundation owns Novo Holdings A/S, a holding company and majority shareholder of Novo Nordisk, as well as Novozymes, a global biotechnology company focused on the research, development and production of industrial enzymes, microorganisms, and biopharmaceutical ingredients. The foundation is also a major shareholder in more than 75 other companies. Originally, trained as a veterinarian / DVM at The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University (now part of the University of Copenhagen), where he also holds a DSc. in this domain, Dr. Thomsen started his career as a PhD pharmacology student at the University of Copenhagen, after which he worked three years as a researcher at LEO Pharma. Thirty years ago, he joined Novo Nordisk, initially as Head of Growth Hormone Research and subsequently as Senior Vice President of Diabetes R&D. In 1995, he was appointed Senior Vice President of Discovery and in 2000, he became Executive Vice President of Research & Development/Chief Scientific Officer. Over the years, he has headed the development of 20 medical drugs, especially within diabetes treatment and the groundbreaking development of GLP-1 technologies. Dr. Thomsen has served as President of the Danish Academy of Technical Sciences and Chairman of the Board of the University of Copenhagen, where he is also an adjunct professor of Pharmacology.Support the show

Send us a textAtalaya Sergi (https://americorps.gov/leadership/director-americorps-seniors) is Director, AmeriCorps Seniors, AmeriCorps (officially the U.S. Corporation for National and Community Service or CNCS) which is an independent agency of the United States government that engages more than five million Americans in service through it's various programs including AmeriCorps VISTA, AmeriCorps NCCC, AmeriCorps State and National, AmeriCorps Seniors, the Volunteer Generation Fund, and other national service initiatives. The agency's mission is "to improve lives, strengthen communities, and foster civic engagement through service and volunteering." While a government agency, AmeriCorps acts much like a foundation and is the nation's largest annual grant maker supporting service and volunteering. It was created by the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993. Ms. Sergi brings 20 years of experience in service, community engagement, and education to this role. She has worked in public school districts and the nonprofit sector, bringing private and public organizations together to ensure citizens of all ages, and those in under-served communities, thrive. Ms. Sergi most recently served as the vice president of strategic partnerships & programming at Jumpstart for Young Children, Inc. There she managed AmeriCorps State and National and AmeriCorps Seniors programs from the grantee level, launching her former organization’s only Foster Grandparent program. Ms. Sergi has been a member of several advisory committees, councils, and coalitions, including as a founder of Los Angeles Generation to Generation, which focused on engaging older adults to support young children across Los Angeles County. She was also selected as an Encore Fellow, using her time to write about the positive impact seniors can have in educational settings. Ms. Sergi earned a master’s degree in social work from Virginia Commonwealth University and a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Virginia.Support the show

Send us a textDr. Nikos Loutas, Ph.D. is Head of Data & ArtificiaI Intelligence (AI) Policy at NATO Headquarters in Belgium (https://www.nato.int/), where he has responsibility for policy development, coordination and implementation of NATO's data exploitation policy and AI strategy. Dr. Loutas has his B.S. in Computer Science and his M.S. in Information Systems from Athens University of Economics and Business, and his Ph.D. from University of Macedonia. Prior to this role at NATO, Dr. Loutas served as a Policy Officer - Corporate Data Governance, at the European Commission, as a Data and Analytics Director at PricewaterhouseCoopers / PwC Belgium (helping organizations respond to data management and analytics challenges in order to improve their products and services, and use emerging technology mega-trends to transform), as well as a Researcher at both the Digital Enterprise Research Institute and Centre for Research and Technology Hellas in the Semantic Web / Web 3.0 field.Support the show