Guest OverviewThis week we go back to Episode 30 with Co-founder of the Masters in Branding program at New York’s School of Visual Arts and host of one of the most popular and longest-running podcasts, Design Matters, Debbie Millman. We pick up the interview at 20 min where Debbie discusses the serendipitous events that have effects her path in life and we go from there. If you missed this one last year, Debbie’s great strength is her candor and vulnerability. Be inspired by this short insight into the life design of Debbie Millman. What We DiscussDebbie’s innate curiosityHow she interviews for attitudeThe transformative impact of coming out in her 50’s Her perspective on courageWe discuss Debbie’s periods of depression and despair We cover her principles Her views on failure The hard choices she has madeHer answer to our impossible questionWho we interview nextOn Social Twitter FacebookInstagram LinkedinLinks In The Show Debbie Millman Milton Glaser School of Visual Arts One of Us movie SUNY AlbanyProfessor Helen Regueiro Elam Speak Up Blog Hacking the American Mind Robert LustigAIGA Print Magazine Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Guest Overview B Corp evangelist Lorna Davis is a transformational thinker, leader, and visionary for why and how organizations can combine social, and environmental priorities with their financial imperatives to deliver improved business performance. As a highly respected coach, international speaker Lorna also serves on a number of boards to help them embrace meaning and purpose.Born in South Africa in the age of Apartheid, her education, parental guidance, curiosity, and worldly ambitions set her on the path to a stellar career in international business and marketing and finally leading Danone to become the first billion-dollar entity to become a public benefit corporation - welcome this week’s guest Lorna Davis.In this short bonus episode we discuss serendipity, education, diversity, divine intelligence, the joy of being human and how she uses curiosity as an antidote to pain, and her perspective on how humanity works.Oh and the quick-fire questions.I hope you’re inspired by the leadership values, heart, the humanity of Lorna Davis. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Guest Overview Ecuadorian born, she became an undocumented migrant at 13, founded United We Dream, the largest youth-led US organization, fighting to protect and defend the rights of undocumented immigrants at 23, a MacArthur Fellow at 33; welcome this week/s guest, social justice activist Cristina Jiménez In this double length episode, Cristina recounts the story of her upbringing, being born in Ecuador, her early memories of living through the political and economic turmoil of Ecuador in the 90’s.She describes her father’s athleticism and how his mental fortitude instilled resilience and determination at an early age and how her mothers empathy became a characteristic she embraced. She reflects growing up with an abundance of love and being unaware of the economic challenges her parents faced.Cristina discusses arriving in Queens New York as an undocumented migrant child unable to speak English in the summer of 1998. Early on she experienced the shame, discrimination and exploitation immigrants encounter and we discuss the anxiety and fear that exist for immigrants with no status. She discusses the added pressure and racial profiling she experienced following 9/11 and the hatred and discrimination that ensued. Cristina sets out how the narrative shifts and changes in the policy and politics of immigration led her to begin her social justice fight. She also describes the challenges she faced accessing further education, how her advocacy began using her pseudonym Sandra and how this experience gave her a taste of the power of community action. At 1 hour into the interview, Cristina begins to discuss the beginning of her United We Dream movement and it’s interconnectedness with other movements like Black Lives Matter. She discusses congressional inaction, detention camps, the lack of progress to create pathways to fix immigration status and why both parties are responsible for the impasse She discusses how she and her teams campaigning and public shaming of the Obama administration led to Obama to sign an executive order to protect dreamers in 2012We then cover the damaging effect of Covid19 on the indigenous, black, brown and immigrant communities, why they have been impacted more, the systems of discrimination and Cristina uses the example of Elmhurst hospital in Queens to emphasize the inequity and injustice facing minority communities. Cristina explains why her fight is a battle for the soul of the country, the possibility of change, her hopes for undocumented immigrants, her evolving role, and the future of democracy. We end with all our quick fire questions. I hope you are uplifted by the vitality, vision and courage of Cristina JiménezSocial LinksInstagram FacebookTwitter Cristina's personal Social LinksInstagramTwitterLinks in The Show United We DreamHomeland Security 9/11 Elmhurst Hospital  A house of my Own Sandra Cisneros Bon Jovi When they see usGreisa Martinez    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Guest Overview Whether a startup founder, someone with a good idea that can’t get taken seriously due to gender, sex, or race, or if you're feeling jaded by the lack of passion and purpose in business; you’ll be uplifted by this weeks interview with Mark Gilmour, Allyn Shaw, and John Basnage.John, Allyn, and Mark recently joined forces to launch a new purpose-driven investment firm and fuse their diverse skills in Marketing and Branding, Corporate Finance, Law, and Technology.In Part One of the joint discussion, we cover their collective yet wildly diverse upbringings on their path to purpose.All three guests discuss their first memories of their emerging sexual identities, their self-awareness and discovery, early ambitions, influences, motivations, goals and the serendipity or happenstance that set them on their life journeys.In Part Two, Mark, Allyn and John dive deep into their path to purpose with their new venture, focused on recognizing, celebrating, embracing, difference through investing in the under-invested and under-represented minorities. They discuss the alchemy and untapped power of difference, why true innovation will be born from diversity, and why they are reimagining the very core of their business model to break the traditional corporate structure.Mark discusses investing in purpose-driven businesses, common unity delivering for the three P’s of people, planet, and profit.Mark, Allyn, and John discuss the exciting opportunity to invest in new business ideas that will emerge post-Covid to solve the problems that have emerged, how new networks and communities will emerge.We also discuss the positive value of procrastination, their life mottos and we cover all our quick-fire questionsI hope you enjoy the ego-free honesty, passion, and purpose and common unity of Mark Gilmour, Allyn Shaw, and John Basnage.Social LinksMark’s LinkedinJohn’s LinkedinAllyn’s Linkedin Allyn’s Twitter Links In ShowBritish Airways Heathers Zoom PBS Hob-nobs Maya Angelou Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Guest Overview Whether a startup founder, someone with a good idea that can’t get taken seriously due to gender, sex, or race, or if you're feeling jaded by the lack of passion and purpose in business; you’ll be uplifted by this weeks interview with Mark Gilmour, Allyn Shaw, and John Basnage. John, Allyn, and Mark recently joined forces to launch a new purpose-driven investment firm and fuse their diverse skills in Marketing and Branding, Corporate Finance, Law, and Technology.In Part one the joint discussion, we cover their collective yet wildly diverse upbringings on their path to purpose. Allyn was born in the notorious Compton neighborhood of LA, grew up in a poor but loving family who nurtured and guided him to an education that enabled him to escape being another statistic.  Mark describes being born in Canada as a ‘welcome baby’. Moving to the UK at an early age, growing up in the private schooling system, his volatile and loud home environment conditioned him to ensure his voice was heard and prepared him to thrive in chaotic volatile work environments. John discusses being born into a loving quirky family and describes his upbringing as a container of abundance, scarcity, and boredom and how his early interest in academia. All three guests discuss their first memories of their emerging sexual identities, their self-awareness and discovery, early ambitions, influences, motivations, goals and the serendipity or happenstance that set them on their life journeys.In Part Two, Mark, Allyn and John dive deep into their path to purpose with their new venture, focused on recognizing, celebrating, embracing, difference through investing in the under-invested and under-represented minorities. They discuss the alchemy and untapped power of difference, why true innovation will be born from diversity, and why they are reimagining the very core of their business model to break the traditional corporate structure. Mark discusses investing in purpose-driven businesses, common unity delivering for the three P’s of people, planet, and profit. Mark, Allyn, and John discuss the exciting opportunity to invest in new business ideas that will emerge post-Covid to solve the problems that have emerged, how new networks and communities will emerge. We also discuss the positive value of procrastination, their life mottos and we cover all our quick-fire questionsI hope you enjoy the ego-free honesty, passion, and purpose and common unity of Mark Gilmour, Allyn Shaw, and John Basnage. Social LinksMark’s LinkedinJohn’s LinkedinAllyn’s Linkedin Allyn’s Twitter Links In ShowBritish Airways Heathers Zoom PBS Hob-nobs Maya Angelou Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Guest Overview Simon Wheatcroft is living proof that resilience is born from adversity, accepting that things will go wrong, not go to plan, and being prepared to embrace failure without fear. Having lost his sight at an early age Simon used running solo as his foundation to building an abundant life as a runner, motivational speaker, and now teacher.  In part one Simon discusses the impact of growing up in the 80’s, in a small coal-mining town in the North of England, and the devastating social and economic impact of the coal mine closures. He then takes us through his early life and journey to where he met the founders of Haptic Technology company Wear Works.In this episode Simon explains how he discovered the Haptic technology company Wear Works and how the combination of sensors enabled him to run races and sense people around himWe discuss the future advances using Lidar technology to create 3 depth maps of spaces and object recognition technology that will transform the lives of people with visual impairmentsSimon explains the serendipitous moments that enabled him to study clinical psychology, computational neuroscience, and AI in later life and led him onto the motivational-speaking stage. Simon covers resilience, dealing with adversity, fear, failure, and managing pain. Simon discusses the appalling and enduring employment discrimination against blind or partially blind people and reveals why he is changing his career to teaching and explains his passion to provide visually impaired children with computer science skills to live an equal opportunity life.Simon and I discuss accessibility and how web page metadata and hierarchies work.Simon also reflects on his wife’s enduring support.  And of course all our quick-fire questions I am sure you will feel uplifted, inspired and energized by the life story of Simon Wheatcroft.Social Links Linkedin Twitter Website Links in the show RunkeeperThe voice of Runkeeper Mind Hacks Book Tom Stafford Lidar technology Ghost in the WiresRNIB Employment Report Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Guest Overview Simon Wheatcroft is living proof that resilience is born from adversity, accepting that things will go wrong, not go to plan, and being prepared to embrace failure without fear. Having lost his sight at an early age Simon used running solo as his foundation to building an abundant life as a runner, motivational speaker, and now teacher.  In part one Simon discusses the impact of growing up in the 80’s, in a small coal-mining town in the North of England, and the devastating social and economic impact of the coal mine closures Simon recounts the experience of growing up suffering from a degenerative eye disorder that ultimately resulted in his loss of sight by his late teens. Simon discusses how this impacted his ambitions, his education but how the degeneration of his site did help him develop spatial, memory, and mental acuity skills that prepared him to confront the challenges of living without sight.Having lived many years in a state of denial, Simon explains the pivotal point in his life when he accepted his condition and embraced running as a means of creating a new pathway in the world. We discuss the many challenges he faced in those early days, the value of the voice direction of the Runkeeper app, and his ability to sense what was underfoot. He discusses the daily challenge and stress of running solo without site, confronting the fear of not seeing oncoming obstacles or cars.  We then cover his boundary-pushing attitude, that led him to the US and running 200 miles from Boston to New York to line up for his first New York marathon. Simon explains the serendipitous moment he met the voice of the Runkeeper app in a running store in Boston and the power her voice had in giving him the belief he could run solo. In part two Simon explains how he discovered the Haptic technology company Wear Works and how the combination of sensors enabled him to run races and sense people around himWe discuss the future advances using Liidar technology to create 3 depth maps of spaces and object recognition technology that will transform the lives of people with visual impairmentsSimon explains the serendipitous moments in life that led him to that enabled him to study clinical psychology, computational neuroscience, and AI in later life and led him on a motivational public speaking stage. Simon discusses resilience, dealing with adversity, fear, failure, and managing pain. Simon reveals how he is changing his career to teaching and explains his passion to provide visually impaired children with computer science skills to live an equal opportunity to life.  Simon and I discuss accessibility and how web page metadata and hierarchies work.Simon also reflects on his wife’s enduring support.  And of course all our quick-fire questions I am sure you will feel uplifted, inspired and energized by the life story of Simon Wheatcroft Social Links Linkedin Twitter Website Links in the show RunkeeperThe voice of Runkeeper Mind Hacks Book Tom Stafford Lidar technology Ghost in the Wires Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Guest OverviewThis week's guest was named as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, was featured in WIRED's Smart List and Founder of Fine Acts a global creative activist platform. Welcome Yana Buhrer Tavanier. We cover a lot of ground in this episode. Yana discusses the impact of being born in Communist Bulgaria, being driven at an early age to confront injustice using words and recounts the influence and inspiration of her Aunt who resisted the regime through art and humor but was tortured by the and imprisoned in a mental institution leading her to ultimately to take her own life at 37. Yana describes how her family conditioned her to live by values and not by the rules imposed by the state and how this led her to investigative journalism exposing social and human rights abuses, using her writing as a weapon against injustice. Yana explains how her work to expose the inhumane and degrading treatment in mental institutions resulted in her being nominated as a World Economic Forum Young Global leaderYana explains why she evolved from journalism to activism. She recounts her early collaborations with artists to use art as a powerful communication tool to generate empathy. She explains how this led to her forming her activism organization Fine Acts, a non profit creative studio for social impact that leverages the power of play in the process of creating their campaigns. Yana describes her team fuse this with Hope-Based Communication and the shifts that are taking place in campaigning for human rights. Yana discusses the latest thinking and how neuroscience insights are changing the way activists operate and why they are releasing their artworks as open source. I ask Yana to reflect on the state of political leadership and the evolution of leadership around the world. We also discuss education, curiosity, creativity and procrastination before we jump into our quick-fire questions. There's a lot of inspiration in this episode but I was struck by how lack of experience never stopped Yana, how persistence and acceptance of failure spurred her one to achieve extraordinary impact. I hope you enjoy the heart, humanity and humility of Yana Tavanier.Social LinksInstagram Twitter FacebookBeat – her creative social experiment, exploring the ominous silence surrounding domestic violence.Fakery – Yana’s project fighting fake news through beautiful but horribly tasting cupcakes. Labs - their open format bridging art and tech in support of human rights.Spring of Hope – their campaign on hope during the pandemic, where she collaborated with 80 artists from 30 countries to create over 100 free to use and adapt uplifting illustrations.12 Black artists / 24 protest posters – recently, in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, Yana teamed up with 12 Black typographers and lettering artists from around the world on an open pack of 24 protest posters – all free to print and share, and ready to be used in actionSurviving Blackness – our current campaign, where we collaborated with Lee Mokobe – an award-winning Black trans slam poet – on a spoken word poem on systemic racism towards Black people.Her TED Talk on Playtivism.Links in the show Time HeroesBulgarian Helsinki CommitteeWorld Economic Forum Fine Acts Dr Stuart Brown Hope based communications Thomas Coomes Fulbright ScholarAmplifier Shepard Fairy AfterLife Ricky Gervais Figuring Maria Popova Brainpickings Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Guest Overview This week’s guest Julia Black is at the forefront of innovation in education, designing an educational approach that unleashes the talent, and unlocks the passion and true potential of every child.   As the founder and CEO of Explorium, Julia’s Lights On methodology is changing the way we think about education.Julia explains that when becoming a mother, the values of her own mother, and her first daughter starting school created an inner conflict that led her to pivot away from film-making to focus on education reform. She discusses how the serendipity of creating a circus as a school fund-raiser opened her eyes to the potential in children, unleashed her boldness to confront the educational status quo, research innovations in education to create a vision to disrupt educational norms. Starting with a creative learning center in a pub, Julia describers why having a clear vision enables her to thrive on risk-taking, ambiguity and trusting that events will fall into place.Julia explains how she partnered with her father to transform her future vision into a social business reality. Julia breaks down the methodology and the impact Lights On is having on children and parents alike. Julia also reflects on why in the time of Covid parents can now witness their children’s disconnection from learning its mental health impact and why Light’s On provides the path forward for education. I hope you enjoy the vision, vitality and unfolding story of Julia Black.Social Links Explorium Facebook Instagram Links in the Show Marie Stopes Channel4 BAFTA Neurohacking Ministry of Sound Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Guest Overview Over the course of the series, we have often asked our guests about what they would change to education to equip a generation of children with the skills they need to survive and thrive in our AI-driven future.   This week’s guest Julia Black is at the forefront of innovation in education, designing an educational approach that unleashes the talent, and unlocks the passion and true potential of every child.   As the founder and CEO of Explorium, Julia’s Lights On methodology is changing the way we think about education.In part one we discuss how finding her purpose in life was always on her mind.  Julia discusses the huge impact of her parents; her father’s influence in her seeking a life in social impact, believing anything you set your mind to was possible, and being true to your authentic self. Julia also reflects how her fathers adventurous spirit was balanced by her mother’s more cautious influence in creating a stable and secure home environment. Julia explains her father’s story, being written off as a dyslexic, neurodiverse child to becoming a doctor and being one of the UK’s first social entrepreneurs forming the Maria Stopes foundation for female reproductive rights.  Julia recounts how her father pushed her to confront fear, live outside her comfort zone, and embrace failure and its enduring value. We also cover her own educational experience, seeking out her purpose in early life. Discovering the power of storytelling to create a social impact during a year in South America, returning to the UK, persisting in pitching ideas to the UK broadcast Channel 4 that led her to become an award-winning documentary filmmaker. In part two we focus on Julia discovering her true purpose in her 40’s, her immersion in education reform, creating her Lights On platform, serendipity, and how the pandemic is providing the opportunity to scale the platform globally.  I hope you enjoy the vision, vitality and unfolding story of Julia Black.Social Links Explorium Facebook Instagram Links in the Show Marie Stopes Channel4 BAFTA Neurohacking Ministry of SoundDr Tim Black Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.