Inspiring People: Stories of Innovation and Service – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Our foster care system is in need of complete reform in order for children in care to have a more humane experience.

Rob Scheer knows that the first step is for our community to realize there is a problem. There are far too many people who have little to no knowledge of the struggles children in foster care face.

These children are truly invisible in our society. Not only must we raise awareness of their plight, but we must come together to alleviate their suffering. We must ensure that the basic needs of children are being met as they enter into care. Despite the frightening and chaotic transition they are experiencing, these children deserve to have a sense of dignity as they are moved to another home.

We must also realize that we are simply graduating foster children from the foster system to the prison system. We are not providing these children with the educational and life skills required to launch a successful future. If this is correct, we must realize the responsibility that each and every one of us holds to take care of these children and ensure that they have an equal opportunity for success in adulthood.

Rob Scheer, is the founder and CEO of Comfort Cases, an international nonprofit dedicated to bringing dignity and hope to youth in foster care. His and the organization's mission is clear: to eliminate the heartbreaking and dehumanizing practice of children being handed a trash bag to carry their belongings when entering the foster care system.

Since founding Comfort Cases in 2013, Rob and his team have distributed over 260,000 backpacks and duffle bags filled with essential and comforting items to youth in every U.S. state, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, the United Kingdom and The Bahamas.

Rob's passion for this mission is deeply personal. He was once one of those children—a youth in foster care who was given a trash bag. His personal journey runs from experiencing foster care to homelessness to becoming a successful businessman, advocate, and father of five children, all of whom came from that same system.

"To learn more, about Comfort Cases or make a donation, go to:

https://comfortcases.org/

You can also visit their social media pages:

Instagram: @comfortcases @Rob_scheer

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/comfortcases

TikTok: @comfort_cases @robscheer.comfortcases

X / Twitter: @comfortcases @RobScheer6

To listen to the podcast, "Fostering Change," please visit YouTube or any of your favorite podcast channels, or on their website:

https://comfortcases.org/podcasts/

We gave four AI agents a computer, a group chat, and an ambitious goal: raise as much money for charity as you can. Since then we have learned a lot about how AI agents cooperate with each other and the humans around them. Join us to learn more about where they succeeded and where they floundered, and what this might mean for the surprisingly near-term future of human-AI society.

Agent Village: How AI Can Do Good and How It Can Do Better

Our speaker, Shoshannah Tekofsky, has a BSc in Cognitive Science, an MSc in Computer Science, and a PhD in Player Modeling in Video Games. Her past research was at the MIT Media Lab and the European Space Agency. She is an experienced data scientist and manager in large corporate and small startup contexts, with expertise in Video Games, Education, Analytics, and AI. Ms Tekofsky is currently a member of the technical staff at AI Digest.

AI Digest creates demos and explainers of the most important trends in AI, presented visually, and grounded in concrete examples of what AI models can do right now — to help you plan for what’s coming next:

https://theaidigest.org/

https://theaidigest.org/village

UC Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center (GGSC) has translated the science of a meaningful life to audiences around the world for over two decades, reaching a million people a month through its articles, podcast, and online tools.

Today, GGSC is bringing that science directly to the workplace to address the challenges of the multitudes of people who suffer unnecessarily at work. You'll hear about why kind workplaces are more successful, how gratitude can be a game-changer at work, and how you can engage with GGSC to improve your own workplace.

Our speaker, Kia Afcari, is the director of Greater Good Workplaces at GGSC.

He has over twenty years of experience helping leaders, teams, and organizations with collaborative change and has served as a consultant to a wide variety of organizations, including tech, biotech, and fintech companies, health care organizations, universities, NGOs, UN agencies, and nonprofits. Kia grounds his work in the science of well-being, prosociality, and contemplative practices and uses creative methods like "instant dance parties" and Boal-informed theater techniques to achieve results. He is a certified executive coach, an Appreciative Inquiry Facilitator, Zenger Folkman 360 Extraordinary Leader Facilitator, and Core Strengths Facilitator.

Kia's TEDx talk on How We Can Reshape Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Together has over 77,000 views, and for his work supporting major culture change efforts at scale, Kia was awarded Chief Learning Officer Magazine's Silver Award for Innovation for his accomplishments in helping shift the organizational culture of UC Berkeley's 8,000 staff.

To learn more:

Why Kind Workplaces Are More Successful free webinar: https://ggsc.berkeley.edu/what_we_do/event/why_kind_workplaces_are_more_successful

Bring a Greater Good speaker or workshop to your organization: https://ggsc.berkeley.edu/what_we_do/speaking

To learn more about the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley, go to:

https://rotary.cool

This week we'll hear about Thinking Huts, an international NGO that 3D-prints schools. They most recently opened Madagascar's first 3D printed school Bougainvillea and are now in development for their most ambitious project yet, Honeycomb.

Honeycomb is a 3D printed campus on the west coast of Madagascar serving an initial 240 students aged 4-16 from 3 neighboring villages. Primarily involved in project and construction management beyond fundraising, Thinking Huts' work evolves around thoughtful innovation and long-term social impact by creating new supply chains in often challenging regions in the developing world and training local construction teams on printer operations.

Our speaker, Maggie Grout, is the founder and CEO of Thinking Huts, an international NGO that increases access to education by leveraging architectural scale 3D printing to build schools in partnership with communities in developing countries where they are needed. Managing teams based throughout the USA, France, Italy, and Madagascar, Maggie focuses on international project management and supply chain operations in the developing world.

Maggie and Thinking Huts have been featured in domestic and international media, including The Talk on CBS, the World Economic Forum, BBC World News, Forbes, Business Insider, and InStyle. She is also a TEDx speaker. Maggie graduated from CU Boulder, Leeds School of Business with a degree in Management, Strategy and Entrepreneurship and a certificate in Social Responsibility and Ethics.

To learn more:

https://thinkinghuts.org

⁠⁠More about the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley⁠⁠   

• Website: ⁠⁠Rotary.cool⁠
• Meetings’ ⁠⁠Video Archive⁠⁠
• YouTubeChannel⁠⁠ 
• How to become a member in ⁠⁠this online Rotary eClub⁠⁠

⁠⁠More about Rotary International:⁠⁠

• Website: ⁠⁠www.Rotary.org⁠⁠
• Find a ⁠⁠local Rotary club⁠⁠ 
• Find an ⁠⁠online Rotary Club⁠⁠

Podcast and Zoom Host: ⁠⁠Rushton Hurley⁠⁠

Podcast Producer: ⁠⁠Elton Sherwin⁠⁠

Audio edited and enhanced with: ⁠⁠Descript Studio Sound ⁠⁠ 

#PositiveChange

#Inspiration

#Rotary

Algenesis is a bio-materials company that is addressing the problem of plastic pollution with the first biodegradable plant-based alternatives for high performance polyurethanes: bio-based polyurethanes made from plant-based feedstocks.

These bio-based plastics are an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional petroleum-based plastics, which are a major contributor to pollution and climate change. Its mission is to provide cost-competitive, sustainable, and high performance bio-based polyurethane products that meet the demands of consumers and industry, while reducing the environmental impact of plastic pollution.

Our speaker, Stephen Mayfield, is a Distinguished Professor of Molecular Biology at UC San Diego, and CEO of Algenesis Materials. His research focuses on using algae for the production of bio-products, including food and polymers.

Steve received BS degrees in Biochemistry and Plant Biology from Cal Poly State University in San Luis Obispo, and a PhD in Molecular Genetics from UC Berkeley. Following a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Geneva in Switzerland he returned to California as an assistant professor at the Scripps Research Institute where he remained for 22 years, becoming the Dean of Biology before joining UC San Diego in 2009.

In addition to running his research group and university research center, Steve also founded Rincon Pharmaceutical in 2005, Sapphire Energy in 2007, Triton Health and Nutrition in 2013, and Algenesis Materials in 2016.

To learn more, see:
https://www.algenesismaterials.com
https://blueviewfootwear.com

⁠⁠More about the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley⁠⁠   

• Website: ⁠⁠Rotary.cool⁠
• Meetings’ ⁠⁠Video Archive⁠⁠
• YouTubeChannel⁠⁠ 
• How to become a member in ⁠⁠this online Rotary eClub⁠⁠      

⁠⁠More about Rotary International:⁠⁠

• Website: ⁠⁠www.Rotary.org⁠⁠
• Find a ⁠⁠local Rotary club⁠⁠ 
• Find an ⁠⁠online Rotary Club⁠⁠

Podcast and Zoom Host: ⁠⁠Rushton Hurley⁠⁠

Podcast Producer: ⁠⁠Elton Sherwin⁠⁠

Audio edited and enhanced with: ⁠⁠Descript Studio Sound ⁠⁠ 

#PositiveChange #Inspiration #Rotary

Joel Baraka, who grew up and attended school in the Kyangwali Refugee Camp in Uganda is the founder of My Home Stars, a nonprofit with the mission of making education accessible to refugee children.

He designed 5 STAZ, an educational board game that aims to get children excited about learning.

An engineer by profession, Joel was inspired by his father, who learned masonry craftsmanship despite no formal education. In college, Joel pursued a civil engineering degree and currently works as a project engineer with a general contractor in the U.S. midwest.

Joel's hope is that he can combine his two passions in education and construction engineering to re-imagine what better living conditions could look like -- both in terms of better housing and better education for communities such as the Kyangwali refugee camp where he grew up.

Since 2018 his team at My Home Stars has been on a mission to make quality education accessible to every refugee child in Uganda in the most fun and engaging way.

According to Joel, "We strongly believe that if education is to be impactful and meaningful to young refugee children, then it has to be fun and engaging.

Working with teachers we break down the primary school curriculum content into interactive modularized packages that children and teachers can easily engage with while having fun and learning.

To learn more, go to:

https://www.myhomestarsmhs.com/

⁠⁠More about the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley⁠⁠   

• Website: ⁠⁠Rotary.cool⁠
• Meetings’ ⁠⁠Video Archive⁠⁠
• YouTubeChannel⁠⁠ 
• How to become a member in ⁠⁠this online Rotary eClub⁠⁠

⁠⁠More about Rotary International:⁠⁠

• Website: ⁠⁠www.Rotary.org⁠⁠
• Find a ⁠⁠local Rotary club⁠⁠ 
• Find an ⁠⁠online Rotary Club⁠⁠

Podcast and Zoom Host: ⁠⁠Rushton Hurley⁠⁠

Podcast Producer: ⁠⁠Elton Sherwin⁠⁠

Audio edited and enhanced with: ⁠⁠Descript Studio Sound ⁠⁠ 

#PositiveChange #Inspiration #Rotary

Hardshell Labs is working on revolutionary applications of emerging technology to solve difficult conservation problems, largely centered on reducing the conflict between birds, humans and threatened and endangered species.

Our speaker, Tim Shields, will describe these efforts and the conservation successes they have yielded, as well as the surprising benefits of the work for human safety, the reduction of losses to commercial interests and broader social benefits that have emerged. Starting from Hardshell's core mission to attempt to save the Desert Tortoise, he will trace a story of expanding positive results for a broad array of interest groups.

Shields has had a five decade career as a field biologist and has focused throughout on population trends of the threatened Desert Tortoise, the California state reptile and the iconic species of our deserts. In the course of that work he witnessed and helped document a 95% decline in their numbers. In 2011, he switched from being a mere witness to the decline to one searching for tools that can stem the losses. This was how Shields fell into the rabbit hole of conservation technology and ended up being ""Tim in Wonderland.""

Hardshell Labs has developed powerful tools to protect tortoises from a major threat: predation by burgeoning numbers of ravens throughout the desert. These include highly modified lasers, drones and the use of 3D-printed fake baby tortoise lures. The company is integrating AI and internet connections to achieve effective, remote and autonomous operation of these conservation tools. According to Shields, the big surprise has been the alignment of conservation, commercial, and social interests. They are now working on ways to prevent birds from nesting on electrical utility structures. By doing so they will reduce raven and other pest bird reproduction, reduce utility equipment loss to fires, and help prevent catastrophic wildfires. Finding these sorts of shared goals is an active effort by Hardshell and a strong motivator for making a difference in the natural community.

Hardshell Labs: https://hardshelllabs.com
The Patreon page for Hardshell Labs: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=82963386
The Hardshell foundational TEDx Berkeley presentation from 2014:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAhmvXmTDI0

⁠⁠More about the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley⁠⁠   

• Website: ⁠⁠Rotary.cool⁠
• Meetings’ ⁠⁠Video Archive⁠⁠
• YouTubeChannel⁠⁠ 
• How to become a member in ⁠⁠this online Rotary eClub⁠⁠

⁠⁠More about Rotary International:⁠⁠

• Website: ⁠⁠www.Rotary.org⁠⁠
• Find a ⁠⁠local Rotary club⁠⁠ 
• Find an ⁠⁠online Rotary Club⁠⁠

Podcast and Zoom Host: ⁠⁠Rushton Hurley⁠⁠

Podcast Producer: ⁠⁠Elton Sherwin⁠⁠

Audio edited and enhanced with: ⁠⁠Descript Studio Sound ⁠⁠ 

#PositiveChange #Inspiration #Rotary

Local Color builds equitable pathways for artists to thrive.

Based in San Jose, California, Local Color is powered by artists and dedicated to supporting creatives in the area. Local Color is committed to promoting representation and inclusion, with a particular focus on serving communities of color. In fact, 80% of the artists served by Local Color are from communities of color, with most identifying as Latinx, Black/African, Indigenous, or Asian diasporas. Moreover, 68% of the artists identify as women or non-binary. Through its four core programs, Local Color provides affordable, membership-based creative workspaces, public art and creative services opportunities, comprehensive fiscal sponsorship, and corporate and youth workshops.

Despite challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, Local Color has remained steadfast in its mission to serve the creative community. They have provided relief resources and subsidies to members, established new creative jobs, and redistributed funds to BIPOC organizers. Join the Local Color community and learn more about the vibrant and inclusive artistic landscape of San Jose.

Erin Salazar is a multidisciplinary artist, community organizer, curator and dreamer. As the Founder and Executive Director of Local Color, a San José-based artists non-profit, Salazar has been instrumental in championing the creation of hundreds of murals, securing redistributing over $600,000 to artists, and opening thousands of square feet of affordable studios to serve Local Color's mission of building equitable pathways for artists to thrive.

A biracial first-generation college student hailing from the Mojave Desert of Southern California, Salazar moved to San José in 2005 to attend San José State University, where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Practice with an emphasis in Drawing and Painting. Her work and advocacy for artists and public spaces have earned her national and regional recognition, including being selected as one of seven nationwide Public Space Fellows and featured as KQED's "Bay Brilliant: Women to Watch."

Salazar's commitment to the arts community extends beyond San Jose, serving on Silicon Valley's "Cultural New Deal" committee and recently completing a Master of Science in Nonprofit Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania. Through her leadership and unwavering dedication to artists, Salazar continues to make a lasting impact on the cultural landscape of San José.

To learn more about or support Local Color:

• https://www.localcolorsj.org
• https://www.localcolorsj.org/donate
• https://www.instagram.com/localcolorsj/
• https://www.facebook.com/LocalColorSJ
• https://www.linkedin.com/company/localcolor/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/erin-salazar-localcolorsj/

⁠⁠More about the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley⁠⁠   

• Website: ⁠⁠Rotary.cool⁠
• Meetings’ ⁠⁠Video Archive⁠⁠
• YouTubeChannel⁠⁠ 
• How to become a member in ⁠⁠this online Rotary eClub⁠⁠

⁠⁠More about Rotary International:⁠⁠

• Website: ⁠⁠www.Rotary.org⁠⁠
• Find a ⁠⁠local Rotary club⁠⁠ 
• Find an ⁠⁠online Rotary Club⁠⁠

Podcast and Zoom Host: ⁠⁠Rushton Hurley⁠⁠

Podcast Producer: ⁠⁠Elton Sherwin⁠⁠

Audio edited and enhanced with: ⁠⁠Descript Studio Sound ⁠⁠ 

#PositiveChange #Inspiration #Rotary

Today's speaker, JP Pullos, will describe the curriculum he helped to create that is being used by hundreds of teachers around the world.

See more about 100cameras, including images created by young people from around the world: http://100cameras.org

Students participating in 100cameras programs will often think they're simply going to learn about photography basics. What they walk away with is so much more: each student discovers that photography can be a powerful medium for communicating feelings and emotions. Each student experiences being the author of their own stories and the creative voice behind how those stories are shared with the world.
JP Pullos is the Director of Programs at 100cameras. With a background in photography and arts education, he started volunteering with 100cameras in 2012. He has taught photography, storytelling and social-emotional learning to young refugees in Baltimore, to teenagers impacted by gun violence in Chicago, to students in an under-resourced fishing village in Colombia, and to children recovering from trauma inflicted by ISIS in Iraq, among many others. His job now is to teach educators how to teach the 100cameras program to young people in their own communities.

⁠⁠More about the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley⁠⁠   

• Website: ⁠⁠Rotary.cool⁠
• Meetings’ ⁠⁠Video Archive⁠⁠
• YouTubeChannel⁠⁠ 
• How to become a member in ⁠⁠this online Rotary eClub⁠⁠

⁠⁠More about Rotary International:⁠⁠

• Website: ⁠⁠www.Rotary.org⁠⁠
• Find a ⁠⁠local Rotary club⁠⁠ 
• Find an ⁠⁠online Rotary Club⁠⁠

Podcast and Zoom Host: ⁠⁠Rushton Hurley⁠⁠

Podcast Producer: ⁠⁠Elton Sherwin⁠⁠

Audio edited and enhanced with: ⁠⁠Descript Studio Sound ⁠⁠ 

#PositiveChange

#Inspiration

#Rotary

Boundless Foundation empowers impoverished children through education and resources, inspiring them to "learn to dream," helping them rise above their daily struggle for survival and see a brighter future by opening their minds to new possibilities.

The foundation's "Epic Exchange" program offers donors the chance to see the impact of their investments firsthand, experiencing the joy of giving and making a difference in the world. These visits open the hearts of the donor and expand the minds of the children instantly. Join us in transforming individuals and communities locally and globally for generational impact.

Our speaker, Shannon Rizzo, is a humanitarian and social change catalyst with over 25 years of experience as a successful entrepreneur. Shannon consults with change leaders of nonprofit organizations, conscious corporations, and social entrepreneurs globally by advising them on all aspects of how to create a lasting living legacy by building communities with educational opportunities in some of the poorest corners of the world.

Coming from poverty and overcoming the effects of living in survival mode for much of her life, Shannon has taken on the mission of ending generational poverty through education in developing nations in as many underserved communities as she can by uniting communities of compassionate supporters and continuous learners.

To date, Shannon's charity, Boundless Foundation, has built 9 schools in under 2 years and has united over 60 communities both in the US and abroad, introducing them to the power of giving at a higher capacity. Shannon's deepest passion is serving those who serve.

⁠⁠More about the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley⁠⁠   

• Website: ⁠⁠Rotary.cool⁠
• Meetings’ ⁠⁠Video Archive⁠⁠
• YouTubeChannel⁠⁠ 
• How to become a member in ⁠⁠this online Rotary eClub⁠⁠

⁠⁠More about Rotary International:⁠⁠

• Website: ⁠⁠www.Rotary.org⁠⁠
• Find a ⁠⁠local Rotary club⁠⁠ 
• Find an ⁠⁠online Rotary Club⁠⁠

Podcast and Zoom Host: ⁠⁠Rushton Hurley⁠⁠

Podcast Producer: ⁠⁠Elton Sherwin⁠⁠

Audio edited and enhanced with: ⁠⁠Descript Studio Sound ⁠⁠ 

#PositiveChange #Inspiration #Rotary