In this episode, Montana State University Professor of Sustainable Food Systems Selena Ahmed PhD notes that “tea is the plant that’s carried me through my career.”  Selena shares insights about the connection between taste and environment, the launch of her business providing education around tea and bitters, the magic of the 3rd infusion of pu’er, and her research around climate change’s impact on tea.''Selena’s bio:Selena Ahmed, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Sustainable Food Systems at Montana State University where she co-leads the Food and Health Lab and serves as the Director for the Translational Biomarkers Core of the Center for American Indian and Rural Health Equity. Her research focuses on identifying the socio-ecological determinants of wellbeing in the food system with a focus on wild and cultivated food environments in rural and Indigenous communities. The ultimate translational goal of her collaborative research program is to transform food systems through evidence-based innovations that support human and planetary health. She serves as an Advisory Committee Member of People & Plants International; Consultant for the United States Agency for International Development Advancing Nutrition; Committee Member of the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusivity Task Force of the American Nutrition Association; Co-Founder of Shoots & Roots Bitters; Research Partner for the Real Food Campaign of the Bionutrient Food Association and; Associate Editor for the journals Elementa, Food Security, Frontiers of Sustainable Food Systems and Frontiers of Nutrition. Selena is the co-author of two popular culture books, Tea Horse Road: China’s Ancient Trade to Tibet and Botany at the Bar: The Art and Science of Making Bitters. She has co-authored over 65 peer-reviewed research articles and two dozen book chapters, technical briefs, and general audience publications.  Resources:NSF CNH Tea and Climate ProjectShoots & Roots BittersBotany at the Bar Tea Horse Road Selena’s recommended books:Tales of a Shaman’s Apprentice (Plotkin)The Art of Not Being Governed (Scott)Why Some Like it Hot: Food, Genes, and Cultural Diversity (Nabhan)

Chef Matt Colgan found his way into a kitchen as a cook and dishwasher at age 14 and never left.  Matt is a native of the Bay Area and has cooked in several restaurants here and everywhere else he has lived and traveled.  Matt has a degree in philosophy having studied at UC Santa Cruz, CA and UC Galway in Ireland.  His travels brought him to cooking stages in Europe with an extended stay at L’Albergaccio Restaurant in the heart of Tuscany, Italy.  There, Matt learned much of what has shaped him today; cook with quality seasonal ingredients, respect those ingredients, and put copious amounts of love in your food.  Matt was the Executive Chef of À Côté Restaurant in Oakland for 15 years where he was a SF Chronicle Rising Star Chef and longtime resident of their Top 100 Restaurant list.  With the same owners, Matt later opened Rumbo al Sur of Oakland and The Chapel food and music venue in San Francisco as well.  Looking for a change to spend more time with his kids, Matt transitioned to corporate dining where he worked for Guckenheimer overseeing Google’s food and beverage program in San Francisco.  Matt was very involved in Google’s expansion which led to a role as the Director of Culinary overseeing Google cafe operations in San Francisco, Redwood City, Irvine, Venice Beach, Playa Vista (all CA), Austin TX and Boulder CO. This included 17 cafes feeding 13k+ Googlers per day.Matt is now the Director of Culinary for Mixt and Split where he is very excited to bring together all his experience to create delicious and healthy food for everyone.  Resources:MixtBCorpsL’Albergaccio Restaurant À Côté Restaurant (Oakland, CA)Ooni pizza ovenSt Vincent de Paul (Oakland)- The Kitchen of Champions programMatt’s book recommendations:Dirt (Buford)Born to Run (McDougall)Why We Sleep (Walker)

Darcy Winslow is the co-founder and President (2010-2020) of the Academy for Systems Change, an organization focused on advancing the field of awareness-based systemic change in order to achieve economic, social, and ecological well being. The Academy designs, develops and delivers a range of programs to support, coach and build community among emerging and existing leaders who are at the pioneering edge of systems change work. Unlike conventional leadership training organizations, the Academy’s approach fosters deep understandingof the powerful connection between change within the individual and changing the systemsin which they work. The Academy was in part founded to create a network of networks to contribute to the growth of the emerging field of ‘awareness based systems change’, thus accelerating our impact on the critical global ecosystems we rely on to thrive.Darcy also founded the recently launched Magnolia Moonshot 2030 (MM2030), a project within the Academy, which is a new narrative for women’s leadership, creating the conditions to activate our collective power to address the greatest challenges we face today. By convening networks of women leaders who are urgently addressing the climate crisis, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, deep equity, conscious leadership and the divine feminine, MM2030 amplifies our collective ability for positive impact.Darcy also worked at Nike, Inc. for 21 years. She led large scale systems change efforts within Nike, and held several senior management positions, most notably starting the Sustainable Business Strategies in 1999, Global Director for Research Design and Development, General Manager/VP for Nike’s Global Women’s Footwear, Apparel and Equipment division, and Senior Advisor to the Nike Foundation.Darcy participates as a Board Member for The Carbon Underground, The Cloud Institute for Sustainability Education, and Advisory Board for Regenerative Earth. She is an avid athlete and draws inspiration from her time in nature.Resources:Academy for Systems ChangeMagnolia Moonshot 2030Generative CouncilOregon Coast TrailClubhouse app- drop-in audio chatSwimply app- to rent a local pool by the hourWay of Nature | Sacred PassageDarcy’s recommended books:Presence: Human Purpose and the the Field of the Future  (Senge, Scharmer, Jaworski, Flowers)The Residence (Brower)A Promised Land (Obama)Morning Altars (Schildkret)The Great Disruption (Gilding)

Jud Brewer MD PhD (“Dr. Jud”) is a thought leader in the field of habit change and the “science of self-mastery”, having combined over 20 years of experience with mindfulness training with his scientific research therein. He is the Director of Research and Innovation at the Mindfulness Center and associate professor in Behavioral and Social Sciences and Psychiatry at the Schools of Public Health & Medicine at Brown University. He is also the executive medical director of behavioral health at Sharecare Inc. and a research affiliate at MIT. A psychiatrist and internationally known expert in mindfulness training for addictions, Brewer has developed and tested novel mindfulness programs for habit change, including both in-person and app-based treatments for smoking, emotional eating, and anxiety. He has also studied the underlying neural mechanisms of mindfulness using standard and real-time fMRI and EEG neurofeedback. He has trained US Olympic athletes and coaches, foreign government ministers, and his work has been featured on 60 Minutes, TED (4th most viewed talk of 2016, with 16 Million views), the New York Times, Time magazine (top 100 new health discoveries of 2013), Forbes, BBC, NPR, Al Jazeera (documentary about his research), Businessweek and others. His work has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, American Heart Association, among others. Dr. Brewer founded MindSciences to move his discoveries of clinical evidence behind mindfulness for anxiety, eating, smoking and other behavior change into the hands of consumers (see www.drjud.com for more information). He is the author of The Craving Mind: from cigarettes to smartphones to love, why we get hooked and how we can break bad habits  and Unwinding Anxiety: New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your Mind. Follow him on twitter @judbrewer.Resources:Jud’s website  A Simple Way to Break a Bad Habit (Jud’s TedTalk)See Anderson Cooper Unwind Anxiety with Dr. JudBooks Jud recommends:Barbarian Days (Finnegan)Becoming (M. Obama)The Underground Railroad (Whitehead)The Art of Racing in the Rain (Stein)

Suzan is an Hispana-Latina-American and was born and raised in the Caribbean. Her films have been shown on Independent Lens, World Channel, Pivot TV and on the Documentary Channel, at Lincoln Center, and at many festivals. Her first film, BAG IT, was a winner of the Britdoc Impact Award in Berlin and has been televised in over fifty countries. URANIUM DRIVE-IN was a recipient of Sundance Institute and Chicken and Egg funding and was featured at Good Pitch and at Hot Docs Pitch Forum. The film was awarded the Big Sky Award, was honored for documentary excellence by the Alliance of Women Film Journalists, and was part of the American Film Showcase, an international film program of the U.S. State Department. Her most recent film, MASSACRE RIVER: The Woman Without a Country aired on PBS in 2019, is the recipient of ITVS funding, and was selected for the Latino Media Market, Camden International Film Festival Points North Fellowship, and IFP Spotlight on Documentaries. Suzan became Festival Director for Mountainfilm festival in Telluride, Colorado in 2017, and is currently Chair of New Day Films’ Steering Committee.Suzan’s films:Bag It | vimeoThe Last Plastic Straw  Environmental Working Group: verified personal care + cleaning productsUranium Drive-In Massacre River | watch pageSuzan’s film recommendations:Close to Eden (original title: Urga). (1991) Directed by Nikita Mikhalkov. American Factory (2019) Oscar winner directed by Julia Reichert and Steven BognarMinding the Gap (2018)  Audience Choice and Best Doc Winner at Mountainfilm. Directed by Bing Liu.  (on Hulu)Film festivals recommended by Suzan:Mountainfilm | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram   (Telluride, CO)Telluride Film Festival (Telluride, CO)Big Sky Documentary Film Festival (Missoula, MT)Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival (Arkansas)Hot Docs (Toronto)Camden International Film Festival (Maine)Sundance Film Festival  (Utah)Additional Resources:Protect Our WintersNew Day Films

Andrew Towne is an endurance athlete, speaker, lawyer and international business consultant.Andrew holds 5 world records in ocean rowing, US national championships in collegiate rowing and club running, and a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. He has also climbed the tallest mountain on every continent (including Mt Everest).Passionate about international relations, Andrew advises multi-national corporations on strategic and organizational issues as a Principal in the Boston Consulting Group's Minneapolis office. Andrew has lived/worked in 8 countries, promotes intercultural exchange as the Board Chair of Youth For Understanding USA and has served the US government in a variety of foreign policy roles.Andrew earned his JD/MBA from The Wharton School and the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he was a Morgenthau Scholar, Friedman Scholar, and Institute of Law and Economics Scholar. Andrew holds a bachelor's degree in political science with honors from Yale University and studied for a year at the University of Nairobi as an NSEP Boren Scholar. Resources:Andrew’s Instagram accountAndrew’s Wikipedia pageThe Impossible Row - 14 short videos about the tripThe Impossible Row - feature-length documentary available by signing up for a free 7-day trial of Discovery+ and searching within its streaming content for “The Impossible Row”Articles:“6 Men Successfully Cross Drake Passage in a Rowboat” (National Public Radio Morning Edition)  “Minneapolis resident among rowers who were first to cross Drake Passage” (Minnesota Public Radio All Things Considered)Andrew’s recommended books:Boys in the Boat (Daniel James Brown)Profiles in Courage (JF Kennedy)A Grief Observed (CS Lewis)

Violinist Angella Ahn of the Ahn Trio shares her experience growing up in two cultures- in Korea and the US; studying at Juilliard; performing with her two sisters as the Ahn Trio all over the world including at the White House; teaching at Montana State University in Bozeman; and redefining her relationship with her violin during COVID.Resources:Ahn Trio: website 11th and Grant | Angella Ahn & Friends Ahn Trio: Facebook page Ahn Trio: InstagramAhn Trio: Twitter Ahn Trio: TEDWomen2010Tippet Rise: "The Hive"Ahn Trio: Nuvole BiancheBravo! Big Sky Montana Chamber Music SocietyBozeman SymphonyMontana Arts CouncilFilms mentioned:  Whiplash | YouTube trailerBohemian RhapsodyRocketmanOnce Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson & The BandAngella’s book recommendations:Becoming (Michelle Obama)The Island of Sea Women (Lisa See)A Gentleman in Moscow (Amor Towles)

Dr. Stuart Brown is a medical doctor, psychiatrist, clinical researcher, founder of the National institute for Play, and author of the book Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul. From his research on young murderers to animals in the wild, Dr. Brown addresses why he calls play “a public health necessity.”   Resources:National Institute for Play  PlayCore | Stuart’s blogPlay is more than just fun (TedTalk, 2008, 26 mins)Why is Play Important? (2016)The Neuroscience of Play (The Aspen Institute, 2015The Promise of Play- PBS series “Taking Play Seriously” New York Times Magazine (2008)Play Doesn’t End with Childhood: Why Adults Need Recess Too (NPR, 2014)How Does Play Shape Our Environment? (NPR, 2015)American Journal of PlayInternational Journal of Play Animals at Play, (National Geographic magazine, Dec 1994) Stuart’s book recommendations:PLAY:  How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul.  (Stuart Brown, MD)Animal Play Behavior (Robert Fagan)The Ambiguity of Play (Brian Sutton-Smith)The Playful Classroom (Jed Dearybury + Julie P. Jones)

Stephanie was most recently on the Biden 2020 campaign, leading the product team for Fundraising to help elect our next president. Previously, she was at Netflix's animation studio building out tools and technology to create original animated content. Prior to these experiences, she worked at Hillary for America building products such as the Hillary 2016 mobile app and a live debate fact checker, DreamWorks Animation designing production tools, and her own game company, Kooapps, building immersive mobile games.  She loves building products for spaces that are historically untouched by technology, and is passionate about using game design to increase user engagement and retention across other industries. Stephanie has a BA from Stanford University in Psychology and an MBA from MIT Sloan. She loves mythology, Motown, and eating staggering quantities of food.Resources:Stephanie’s site  Press on Hillary mobile app: CNN, Wired Kooapps- Stephanie’s game companyThe Alicia Foundation Ferran Adria on Transforming El Bulli from a restaurant into a legacy (Eater)El Bulli: Cooking in Progress (US trailer on YouTube)El Bulli: the moviewww.JoeBiden.comStephanie’s recommended animated films:Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse How to Train Your DragonThe IncrediblesStephanie’s recommended multiplayer games:Alone TogetherA Way OutStephanie’s book recommendations:Who Ordered This Truckload of Dung? (Ajahn Brahm)The Art of Choosing (Sheena Iyengar)Behave (Robert M. Sapolsky)

Calvin D. Sun, MD is a currently practicing Attending Physician and Clinical Assistant Professor in Emergency Medicine, a public speaker, phoblographer, activist, choreographer, and entrepreneur based in NYC.Calvin is also the Founder & CEO of The Monsoon Diaries: a blog-turned-travel community that has taken hundreds of readers to 190+ countries and territories in the past 10 years including North Korea, Nauru, Iraq, and Antarctica. The Monsoon Diaries has since been featured on BBC News, ABC News, MSNBC, TED, National Geographic, and USA Today.He completed his residency training at Jacobi Medical Center in 2018 where he served as the Director of Resident Wellness. Calvin now practices as an attending physician at multiple underserved emergency departments and large-scale events around the country, including having been designated as the supervising medical captain at the finish line of the annual NYC Marathon.Calvin has been most recently notable for his first-hand reporting on the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic in New York City emergency rooms. Finally, he has been a prolific nationwide public speaker since 2008, and continues to be one of the most active Public Speakers in the Asian American speaking circuit. Resources:Calvin D. Sun, MD https://www.linkedin.com/in/calvindsun/Calvin on Wikipediawww.monsoondiaries.comMonsoon diaries on InstagramMonsoon Diaries on FacebookTake the Path of More Resistance (Calvin Sun) TedX Talk (2015)COVID-related articles + interviews with Calvin:Emergency room doctor gives inside look at supply shortage in New York City   (CNN)An ER Doctor Shares Heartbreaking Stories from the Front Lines of COVID-19 (Katie Couric)Lisa Ling on Instagram (interviewing Calvin)ER doctor in NYC shares what it's like to work in dozens of hospitals during pandemic (NBC news)Scrolling the Pandemic: Silenced Frontliners (Fox)LIVEMEDAID: Dr. James Maskalyk and Dr. Calvin D. SunCalvin’s book recommendations:The Alchemist (Coelho)  & Life of Pi (Martel)Fight Club (Palahniuk)The Year of Magical Thinking (Didion)   “This is Water”  (David Foster Wallace)