Explore every episode of the podcast Inspiring People: Stories of Innovation and Service
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 112. Foster Care and Trash Bags | 18 Aug 2025 | 00:31:28 | |
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: | |||
| 111. Transformative AI | 11 Aug 2025 | 00:30:30 | |
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/village | |||
| 102. How the Greater Good Helps Workplaces Thrive | 09 Jun 2025 | 00:31:59 | |
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 | |||
| 12. Thinking Huts: 3D Printed Schools in Madagascar (video) | 18 Sep 2023 | 00:24:36 | |
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:
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Podcast and Zoom Host: Rushton Hurley Podcast Producer: Elton Sherwin Audio edited and enhanced with: Descript Studio Sound #PositiveChange #Inspiration #Rotary | |||
| 11. Sustainable and Biodegradable Products from Algae (video) | 11 Sep 2023 | 00:29:16 | |
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:
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Podcast and Zoom Host: Rushton Hurley Podcast Producer: Elton Sherwin Audio edited and enhanced with: Descript Studio Sound #PositiveChange #Inspiration #Rotary | |||
| 10. Using Games to Provide a Child Centered Learning for Ugandan Refugees Children (video) | 04 Sep 2023 | 00:30:52 | |
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/
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Podcast and Zoom Host: Rushton Hurley Podcast Producer: Elton Sherwin Audio edited and enhanced with: Descript Studio Sound #PositiveChange #Inspiration #Rotary | |||
| 9. Problems with Ravens...From Biologist to Eco-technologist: a 21st Century Conservation Tale (video) | 28 Aug 2023 | 00:29:46 | |
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
More about Rotary International:
Podcast and Zoom Host: Rushton Hurley Podcast Producer: Elton Sherwin Audio edited and enhanced with: Descript Studio Sound #PositiveChange #Inspiration #Rotary | |||
| 8. Tan José No More: Building Vibrant Cities With Artists (video) | 21 Aug 2023 | 00:29:44 | |
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.
To learn more about or support Local Color:
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Podcast and Zoom Host: Rushton Hurley Podcast Producer: Elton Sherwin Audio edited and enhanced with: Descript Studio Sound #PositiveChange #Inspiration #Rotary | |||
| 7. How Photography Can Be an Access to Social-Emotional Learning (video) | 14 Aug 2023 | 00:31:50 | |
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.
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Podcast and Zoom Host: Rushton Hurley Podcast Producer: Elton Sherwin Audio edited and enhanced with: Descript Studio Sound #PositiveChange #Inspiration #Rotary | |||
| 6. Breaking Poverty Cycles: Empowering Children Through Education & Dreaming | 07 Aug 2023 | 00:33:39 | |
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.
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.
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Podcast and Zoom Host: Rushton Hurley Podcast Producer: Elton Sherwin Audio edited and enhanced with: Descript Studio Sound #PositiveChange #Inspiration #Rotary | |||
| 5. Solving Community Problems with what3words | 31 Jul 2023 | 00:31:29 | |
Innovation - With Addresses?
In 2022, Khongoroo relocated to London to join the what3words team at its headquarters, and drawing on extensive experience in establishing partnerships in different parts of the world, she now works with humanitarian organizations, government authorities, emergency services, and small and medium-sized businesses as part of her work with what3words.
More about Rotary International:
Podcast and Zoom Host: Rushton Hurley Podcast Producer: Elton Sherwin Audio edited and enhanced with: Descript Studio Sound #PositiveChange #Inspiration #Rotary | |||
| 4. Mural Diplomacy for Iran in Israel | 24 Jul 2023 | 00:27:51 | |
Some events described are disturbing. Hooman has done mission work all over the world. In South Africa with Bruce Wilkinson’s team, and independently in Costa Rica, Armenia, Bali, Honk Kong, South Korea, Mexico, Germany, Greece, Uganda, and South Sudan. Hooman's main mission field over the past 20 years has been San Francisco, where he serves the homeless. Hooman was the choir director of St. Nicholas Antiochian Orthodox Church in San Francisco under Father Gregory Ofiesh. Now, Hooman serves terminally ill children suffering from cancer by creating movies with them in their hospital rooms with the mission of spreading joy and igniting their imaginations.
After using the art form of murals in San Francisco to bring awareness to what is happening in Iran, Hooman was asked by the Vice Mayor of Jerusalem to create a mural to be displayed in Jerusalem. In less than a month, the first mural was unveiled in the Holy Land. As of early May, there are five murals in Israel that have been displayed as part of this project. In this talk Hooman will discuss the process of making this happen - as well as how many more murals for Iran he will create throughout Israel and the Middle East. Hooman Khalili was a morning show radio personality in the San Francisco Bay Area on Alice Radio 97.3 FM (CBS Radio). He has been part of the Sarah and Vinnie morning show for the past 21 years. Hooman’s job at the station encompasses phone screening, movie reviews, and celebrity interviewer for the show. He has interviewed countless celebrities including Dwayne The Rock Johnson, Donald Trump, Tom Hanks, Robert Downey Jr., Harrison Ford, Jerry Seinfeld, George Lucas, Maroon 5, 50 Cent, and Hooman was the last person to interview Hunter S. Thompson before he died. Hooman’s Red carpet interviews include The Grammys, MTV Video Music Awards, the CBS Fall Television Lineup from 2003 – 2010, the Sundance Film Festival, and Super Bowl 50.
More about Rotary International:
Podcast and Zoom Host: Rushton Hurley Podcast Producer: Elton Sherwin Audio edited and enhanced with: Descript Studio Sound #PositiveChange #Inspiration #Rotary | |||
| 3. Women Can Also Serve: The Lawsuit That Changed Everything | 17 Jul 2023 | 00:36:33 | |
Sylvia Whitlock, was born in New York City but educated in Kingston, Jamaica. Sylvia worked for the United Nations, before moving to California to start a career in education. Along the way, she earned her Ph.D., cum laude, from Claremont Graduate School. Subsequently, she earned another masters degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Azusa Pacific University, and began a second career as a therapist. She is licensed by the Board of Behavioral Sciences in California.
More about Rotary International:
Podcast and Zoom Host: Rushton Hurley Podcast Producer: Elton Sherwin Audio edited and enhanced with: Descript Studio Sound #PositiveChange #Inspiration #Rotary | |||
| 101. eClub Fellowship - a "Go To" Resource for Online Clubs | 02 Jun 2025 | 00:30:55 | |
The Rotarian eClub Fellowship is a springboard for eClubs and online Rotary clubs to connect, communicate and collaborate by sharing best practice and discussing ideas to develop Rotary in the future. Our speaker, Martin Brocklebank, introduces himself this way: I have been a Rotarian for too many years to count. Ten years ago I was instrumental in creating the third eClub in the UK. I have been a District Officer for Membership, Public Imager and Youth over a 12 year period - I now focus on the eClub of Innovation as secretary and the Rotarian eClub Fellowship as the chairman. I live with my wife Trish in Norwich just outside a National Heritage Parkland called the Norfolk Broads - which is a network of beautiful rivers and lakes. To learn more about the eClub Fellowship, go to: https://rotarianeclubfellowship.org | |||
| 2. Operation Pollination - A 7th Area of Focus Environmental Framework | 10 Jul 2023 | 00:39:06 | |
Rotary Operation Pollination is a growing movement led by the Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group (ESRAG). During this presentation, you will learn about the simple framework and receive an update.
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Podcast and Zoom Host: Rushton Hurley Podcast Producer: Elton Sherwin Audio edited and enhanced with: Descript Studio Sound #PositiveChange #Inspiration #Rotary | |||
| 1. Welcome Our New Club President : Nick LaGarde | 03 Jul 2023 | 00:34:34 | |
Today we thank Immediate Past President Angelica for her work in '22-'23, and welcome President Nick and his plans for '23-'24. President Nick is excited to bring his leadership to the eClub while continuing the initiatives set forth under Immediate Past President Angelica's guidance. Nick wants to continue to grow the eClub community and support additional connections with our club members, district and communities. Nick LaGarde is an Account Director at Cloud for Good where he helps nonprofits use Salesforce to make the most of their mission of helping others.
More about Rotary International:
Podcast and Zoom Host: Rushton Hurley Podcast Producer: Elton Sherwin Audio edited and enhanced with: Descript Studio Sound #PositiveChange #Inspiration #Rotary | |||
| 100. Heartbeats of Hope: Interact D5170 International Project 2025 | 26 May 2025 | 00:31:52 | |
Heartbeats of Hope is the 2025 International Project for Interact District 5170, focused on making a meaningful impact in Vietnam. This year, Interact District 5170 is partnering with the VinaCapital Foundation’s Heartbeat Vietnam initiative to help provide life-saving heart surgeries for children born with congenital heart defects. High school students from Interact clubs across the San Francisco Bay Area are working together on fundraising efforts, to support medical treatment that can transform the lives of these young children. Through their collective efforts, these students are not only raising funds but also raising awareness about the critical need for healthcare access in underserved communities. By collaborating with Heartbeat Vietnam, Interact District 5170 hopes to bring hope and healing to children in need, creating a lasting impact in the lives of both the recipients and the students involved. Our speaker, Chloe Nguyen, is a graduating senior at Dr. TJ Owens Gilroy Early College Academy. She currently serves as the International Project Coordinator for Interact District 5170, collaborating with over 20 individuals as part of the Daydream District Council 2025. Chloe is the founder of the Heartbeats of Hope Initiative, which aims to bring positive humanitarian change through healthcare. With a deep passion for the medical field, she plans to pursue a career in nursing and eventually specialize as a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA). To learn more about Heartbeats of Hope, watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGyDqNupJ3w | |||
| 99. Cyclarity Therapeutics: Revolutionizing Age-Related Disease Treatment through Unique Drug Design | 19 May 2025 | 00:34:03 | |
This episode refers to a number of visuals that are in the video version which can be seen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3fbnO3K6fxKt9pfaTp8mYn or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/24FR5Knwvfs We believe the message is an important one, even if you do not watch the video, and hope that you will enjoy this and every episode of our series. Dr. Matthew O'Connor, was awarded his master’s degree in neuroscience from Northwestern Medical in 1999 and his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Baylor College of Medicine in 2005. His doctoral and postdoctoral research includes work at Baylor College of Medicine and UC Berkeley on telomeres and muscle stem cells in aging. He is the former VP of Research at SENS Research Foundation (now Lifespan Research Institute), where he oversaw a broad swath of research projects spanning many aspects of rejuvenation biotechnology, from which he authored many papers and patents. Dr. O'Connor co-founded Cyclarity Therapeutics in 2019 to develop drugs targeting molecular toxins that accumulate with age in various cells and tissues. Their first drug product targets oxidized cholesterol in cardiovascular disease. Cyclarity Therapeutics is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical startup committed to developing drugs to prevent and treat age-related diseases by addressing root causes - the buildup of toxic molecules that accumulate in the body over time. Their current target is atherosclerosis, the culprit behind most cardiovascular disease and stroke deaths worldwide. The company's first product, UDP-003, is a novel therapeutic which is able to bind and extract oxidized cholesterol from cells and tissues to restore their function. This therapeutic has the potential to not only prevent the accumulation of atherosclerotic plaque, but also to reduce plaque which has already accumulated - an ability never before achieved with drug treatment. It also has applications in a range of additional age-related conditions, including neurodegenerative diseases, stroke, age-related macular degeneration, and liver disease. Cyclarity recently launched its first-in-human Phase 1 Clinical Trial in Australia. Cyclarity has also developed a computational platform for the design of specialized molecules to bind any target of interest. This platform was used to design UDP-003. The company incorporates AI and ML with the goal of automating the process of designing molecules for a range of uses, including anesthesia reversal in surgery, nanoplastic removal, and nutritional modifications for food products. The goal is to use this technology to design molecules to help people across various industries, from medicine to food to the environment, and beyond. To learn more, go to: https://cyclaritytx.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/cyclarity/ https://m.facebook.com/Cyclarity/ | |||
| 98. Robots that Behave Like a Material, Why and How | 12 May 2025 | 00:39:43 | |
This episode refers to a number of visuals that are in the video version which can be seen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3fbnO3K6fxKt9pfaTp8mYn or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Ml1lSxKQix8 When we look to science fiction, there are many examples of impossibly smart materials. The T-1000 from Terminator 2 comes to mind, being able to have a body that can heal and reshape at will. Or, much friendlier, the "nanobots" from Big Hero 6, a large collective of small robots that can create any shape at will. In real life, embryonic tissue is the closest thing to these fantastical materials. It can change its shape, create complex structures, and even change its internal strength, able to melt and flow like a liquid. In a collaboration of roboticists and embryo physicists, the speaker and his co-authors made a collective of robots that embeds these principles, hopefully representing the first step toward uncovering the physics that could govern these sci-fi robotic materials. Our speaker, Dr Matthew Devlin, is a mechanical engineer from UC Santa Barbara who has recently published a paper called "Material-like robotic collectives with spatiotemporal control of strength and shape" in the journal Science. A small team made up of robotics engineers and embryo physicists were able to distill some of the key principles of embryonic tissue and demonstrate them in robots. He believes it is a key piece of the puzzle for a Big Hero 6 or Terminator-like robotic material. To learn more, go to this paper published in the Journal Science: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ads7942 A news article written by UCSB giving a high-level explanation: https://news.ucsb.edu/2025/021769/how-get-robot-collective-act-smart-material | |||
| 97. It Feels Like Freedom: Philosophy and Literature Behind Bars | 05 May 2025 | 00:33:55 | |
The Philosophy and Literature Circle provides learning opportunities for scholars incarcerated in prisons and jails in South-Central Texas to engage with and create works of literature and philosophy. The program draws on the strengths of humanistic inquiry and engagement to redress the isolation and exclusion central to U.S. punishment cultures. The mission of the Circle is to cultivate collaborative learning communities so that people in prison and beyond can thrive and build trust across divides. The vision of the Circle is to foster a world filled with thriving communities of trust and accountability that embody commitments to justice, peace, and freedom. Program content and structure seek to bring such a world about through critical, compassionate, and creative engagement with texts, ourselves, one another, and our worlds. Our speaker, Judith Norman, has been engaged with community organizing for 20 years. She has worked with movements for economic justice, anti-militarization, educational justice, and the liberation of Palestine as a member of Jewish Voice for Peace. In 2020 she helped start the Philosophy and Literature Circle at the Torres Unit, a learning circle that brings undergraduate students together with incarcerated scholars to read, write, and discuss works of philosophy and literature. Judith is a Murchison Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Philosophy at Trinity University. Her research focuses on the history of philosophy, and German philosophy in particular, and she has published numerous articles on the subject. She has translated the works of Schopenhauer and Nietzsche and teaches classes in the history of philosophy as well as indigenous philosophy and the philosophy of art. To make a donation to the Classroom on the Inside program (UTSA): https://giving.utsa.edu/thecircle To learn more, go to: https://www.trinity.edu/news/classroom-inside To read Mary Oliver's Wild Geese: https://www.empoweredstl.org/courageinactionblog/k8yuhtr76c6s58w3368kamhw0mxit2 The Formerly Incarcerated College Graduates Network and the words we use: https://ficgn.org/our-pledge | |||
| 96 Making My House Choices Fit My Life Choices | 28 Apr 2025 | 00:32:49 | |
A little over seven years ago, we had a program from this week's speaker that is one of the most-watched programs our club has shared with the world. It's focused on the fascinating topic of tiny homes. Today we'll have a chat about how Ariel's life has grown and changed since the last program with our club. Was living in a tiny house the right decision for her circumstances? What is she doing now? How many of the things she was doing then have stayed the same? What has changed over the years? Are there choices she regrets or would do differently in hindsight? How has she worked to make her housing choices fit pursuing what is important to her larger life goals? Our speaker is Ariel McGlothin. Ariel, along with her husband Clay, their dogs, cats, bees, and poultry, strive to live a simple and regenerative life in the mountains of western Wyoming on their little homestead. They collect and split wood for heating, gravity feed water from a natural spring, use a composting toilet, do laundry by hand and dry it with the latest in solar & wind technology, store some crops in a root cellar, can/ferment/dehydrate/freeze others, and attempt to grow, hunt, or forage as much of their own food as possible between the weather and wildlife. Ariel loves to share the skills she has learned with others. She tries to share real life around their place. The good and the bad. The ups and the downs. What works, and what doesn't. The parts she loves (most of it!), and the things she doesn't. Not just the romantic idea of "homesteading" or a more self-sufficient life, but the everyday details of this lifestyle. She hopes to help others learn from her mistakes and make life just a little easier for anyone else interested in pursuing a similar lifestyle. They live in a somewhat harsh and cold climate at a little over 6000 feet above sea level tucked into the mountains, but enjoy the stunning scenery and wildlife that they are surrounded by on a daily basis. When not busy in the garden, taking care of the animals, or cooking something, Ariel really enjoys spending time reading, hiking, and photographing the natural world around her. Find Ariel, wildlife & nature photography at any of these spots: https://arielcelestephotography.zenfolio.com https://youtube.com/fynyth https://odysee.com/@FyNyth:d https://rumble.com/c/c-5592588 Lots of info from my first years in the tiny house: https://fynyth.blogspot.com | |||
| 95. A Young Innovator's Mission to End Plastic Waste | 21 Apr 2025 | 00:27:56 | |
Our speaker, Steffek Rainey, is an innovator deeply committed to sustainability, with a focus on developing ventures that encourage everyday people to participate in impactful environmental change. A student at Harvard, Steffek is exploring cutting-edge design and engineering principles to create solutions to significant societal challenges like plastic pollution and climate change. Before joining Harvard, he founded an award-winning company dedicated to reducing plastic waste through innovative product design. Steffek’s designs have been recognized by the US President and EPA and he has been twice voted a People’s Choice Student Entrepreneur. Steffek Rainey’s journey is not just about creating a product—it’s about creating change. He shares with us how a single idea turned into Evera Bottle, a sustainable alternative to single-use plastics, and how his advocacy for a cleaner world has challenged industries, inspired communities, and redefined what it means to be a young innovator. With stories of struggle, resilience, and breakthrough moments, this talk is a call to action for everyone to think about how they could change the world with one simple idea. Because the future doesn’t belong to those who accept the world as it is—it belongs to those bold enough to change it. To learn more, go to: https://www.everabottle.com/ | |||
| 94. How Rotary Can Eliminate Cervical Cancer | 14 Apr 2025 | 00:37:55 | |
Rotary Clubs around the world have successfully united toward the eradication of polio. Now, we, Rotarians, have the opportunity to use the same strategies, the same tools, the same determination to eliminate cervical cancer. From prevention to treatment, there are many entry points to intervene ranging from preventive HPV vaccination, promotion of screening and follow-up, and social mobilization. This presentation will focus on why cervical cancer elimination is an achievable goal, and lessons learned from small actions that are leading to major impact. Our speaker, Dr Isabel C. Scarinci, is a professor and Vice-Chair for Global and Rural Health at the University of Alabama at Birmingham's Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. She is a member of the Rotary Club of Birmingham, Alabama. Professionally, she has dedicated her career to the development, implementation, and evaluation of evidence-based programs in cervical cancer prevention and control among underserved populations. As a Rotarian, she has partnered with the Rotary Club of Colombo (Sri Lanka), and more recently with the Rotary Club of Guatemala-Sur, toward the elimination of cervical cancer in these countries. In 2023 Alabama became the first and only state in the U.S. to launch a statewide plan to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health problem through a partnership between the Rotary Club of Birmingham and other organizations. In 2021, Dr Scarinci was chosen as one of the six champions of health worldwide by Rotary International for her work in cervical cancer. To learn more, go to: https://operationwipeout.org/ | |||
| 93. Reimagining Historic Cemeteries For Community Engagement | 07 Apr 2025 | 00:30:37 | |
The Constellation of Living Memorials (CLM) represents a groundbreaking approach to redefining community engagement in historic cemeteries. Rapid urbanization has caused populations to lose touch with an authentic sense of place, including the memories of our ancestors and the surrounding natural environment. By reimagining these spaces as mixed-use areas, CLM creates a tapestry that educates about local culture and highlights the importance of restoring native ecosystems, bridging the gap between humanity and nature, one cemetery at a time. Fostering a sense of renewal, rediscovery, and nurturing the soul, CLM addresses climate adaptation, environmental justice, human health, biodiversity conservation, and equity. It is a constellation of interwoven landscapes, connecting the heart of cities to their rural environs and even to oceans. In a country where more than 85% of Americans are urbanites, CLM creates an opportunity to partner with spirit, reverse nature deficit disorder, and drive unity. Our speaker this week is Julie Ann Fineman, the president of Friends of the Warren Ferris Cemetery, and Founder of Constellation of Living Memorials. After thirty years as an award-winning Hollywood photographer, Fineman’s photographic legacy is now housed in the permanent collection of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Library. Subsequently, she re-envisioned her life’s focus through a year’s internship on an organic farm in upstate New York. She now advocates for wildlife conservation through multiple programs that she has developed. To learn more, go to: https://www.constellationoflivingmemorials.org | |||
| 110. India's Free Library Movement | 04 Aug 2025 | 00:36:28 | |
This episode has a number of visuals that are in the video version which can be seen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3fbnO3K6fxKt9pfaTp8mYn or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/W-gSoOwsBOY We believe the message is an important one, even if you do not watch the video, and hope that you will enjoy this and every episode of our series. Public libraries are an essential institution in the educational, cultural and literary life of its people. By definition, public libraries democratize knowledge and learning by welcoming all, without prejudice. However in India, caste, class and gender are powerful barriers that have kept a majority of the people outside the doors of the library. The public library system, which should have democratized knowledge, has become a means by which it is gatekept. Now, across India, a group of grassroots individuals are working against tremendous odds to create libraries for the people which are free, anti-caste, and inclusive of all. This collective is proving that reading is not dead, physical books and reading spaces are urgently needed, and that if there is a threat to reading, it is lack of libraries, not interest in the community. Today's presentation will tell the story of this grassroots library movement, its history, and the exciting way ahead. Purnima Rao is a library activist from India and the first director of Free Libraries Network. After spending 15 years making documentary films, in 2015, she became involved with a group of educator activists that built free public libraries for marginalized and historically excluded communities in India. This was a radical grassroots initiative in a country where caste, class, and gender prevent millions of Indians from accessing books, reading programs, and finding opportunities for lifelong learning. In 2020, the pandemic brought much of the country's education system to its knees, and nowhere was this more apparent than in India's poorest and most disenfranchised communities. Purnima was then tasked by a group of librarians to develop and drive a pan-India collective that would shed light on the vital role that informal, grassroots, community-led libraries play across the country. Shivam Singh, aka Kranti Ke, has been a member of the community library project since 2014 and has handled various roles along his journey. Shivam is also a rapper and a part of a duo rap band called 10TAKK, which means ""knock."" He has written songs for the community, and loves the chance to serve in this way. Shivam is a BTech student and likes working on cool projects with the help of AI. To learn more, go to: Official Website: https://www.fln.org.in YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@freelibrariesnetworkfln3274 | |||
| 92. Magical Bridge - Playgrounds for Every Body | 31 Mar 2025 | 00:32:47 | |
Celebrating 10 years since their first Magical Bridge playground opened in 2015, the foundation just completed its 10th custom playground this year. It's a child's first outdoor classroom, yet it's incredible that today's public playgrounds do not serve the needs of most children and their families. About 25% of us live with a visible or invisible disability, and data continues to show more outdoor time is critical to our mental health. So why aren't playgrounds built to be places of community connections that serve today's families, from the youngest to the oldest? As the only design that considers the whole family, Magical Bridge is committed to creating more inclusive communities through its truly magical playgrounds and multi-generational programs. Learn how we are different and we invite you to understand why "accessible" is no longer enough, and a Magical Bridge means every"body." Our speaker, Olenka Villarreal, is founder and CEO of Magical Bridge Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating the world's most inclusive playgrounds for guests of all ages and all abilities, far surpassing what is typically known as "accessible." With a passion for community-building, Olenka leads the foundation's efforts to create a more inclusive world through these innovative spaces coupled with their multi-generational programs. To learn more, go to: https://www.magicalbridge.org/ | |||
| 91. Revolutionizing Maternal and Infant Healthcare Provider Training in Nepal | 24 Mar 2025 | 00:32:49 | |
This week's speaker, Margaux Charpentier, is the Grants Manager for One Heart Worldwide, an NGO whose mission is to make pregnancy and childbirth safer for all, with a particular emphasis on the underserved women and infants of Nepal. Margaux has a background in anthropology and is currently completing a Master's in International Development from University College Dublin in Ireland. At OHW, she is in charge of communication with donors, providing grant reports for partners, and researching new funding opportunities. Each year in Nepal, 1,500 mothers and 12,000 newborns die from preventable causes related to pregnancy or childbirth. Many health workers lack the specialized skills to deliver quality maternal and newborn care, and even those who participate in government programs such as the official certification training to become Skilled Birth Attendants lack follow-up or opportunities to gain new information or updated techniques. Further complicating these factors, health providers, particularly in rural areas, frequently cite isolation and lack of opportunities as impacting their overall satisfaction and, ultimately, a loss of skills retention. To better address the training needs of maternal and neonatal healthcare (MNH) service providers and improve the quality of essential obstetric and newborn care services in rural Nepal, One Heart Worldwide developed, piloted and is now deploying an innovative simulation-based training and mentorship program (SBMP) for rural healthcare providers. Simulation-based approaches create rich learning environments by providing MNH providers with opportunities to practice their clinical and decision-making skills through various real-life situational experiences. Practicing in realistic scenarios builds competencies to manage emergencies and rare adverse events, directly impacting patient outcomes. OHW, with support from a Rotary Global Grant, is currently expanding the SBMP into each of our active program implementation districts as an integral part of our intervention. To learn more, go to: https://oneheartworldwide.org/ | |||
| 90. Flipping the Model: Innovating to Center Indigenous Wisdom in Guatemala | 17 Mar 2025 | 00:30:46 | |
Natün Guatemala is a majority Maya-led organization passionate about elevating Indigenous leadership, rights and capacity. They equip local change agents and use existing local resources to effectively and sustainably build healthy, vibrant Maya communities. Natün has been through a period of intense transition in the last few years, moving from a problematic model of external intervention, hand-outs, and short-term thinking, to embody a locally-led, long-term systemic change model which centers Indigenous culture and expertise. Along the way, they have failed, learned, evolved, and ultimately stepped into doing impactful development work. Our speaker, Elena Wason, has been Natün Guatemala’s Executive Director since 2023, after having worked in leadership in the organization for four years. Prior to leading Natün, Elena served as Programs Director and Strategy and Operations Director in nonprofits in Guatemala, spent two years working on the ground in Honduras as a Field Facilitator, as well as multiple years in the UK’s non-profit sector and think tanks in roles ranging from fundraising to policy. Elena holds a Masters’ degree in Governance, Development and Public Policy from the Institute of Development Studies as part of the University of Sussex. She has published a book and numerous articles about the development struggles faced by communities in Central America. They post regular updates on our Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn pages, where you can find out how to get involved: https://www.facebook.com/gtnatun https://www.instagram.com/natunguatemala/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/natunguatemala | |||
| 89. Powering Economic Progress For Rural Indian Women Through Entrepreneurship Training | 10 Mar 2025 | 00:30:09 | |
Empowering Women Entrepreneurs with Sankalp Sankalp, named after the Hindi word for ""resolution,"" is dedicated to empowering marginalized women in small businesses. Through over 100 hours of entrepreneurship skills training, mentorship from industry experts, access to credit support, and connections with a robust alumni network, our program provides women with the tools and opportunities they need to thrive. We also assist in establishing market linkages, helping them scale their businesses and overcome the unique challenges they face. Our mission is to close the gender gaps in business and create a sustainable, inclusive environment for women entrepreneurs. Breaking Barriers for Women's Economic Empowerment Women worldwide face significant barriers—gender disparities, lower labor market participation, and higher unemployment rates—that hinder their economic growth. In India, women-owned businesses represent only 14% of enterprises, with many operating in the informal sector. Sankalp addresses these challenges by offering essential training, financial support, and access to key networks, promoting not just economic empowerment but also social upliftment. By supporting women entrepreneurs, we help foster gender equality and contribute to broader economic growth. "We believe that when women thrive, economies grow." – UN Women Our speaker, Aishwarya Rai, has been actively involved in supporting women's entrepreneurship projects, focusing on the implementation of a project backed by the German Embassy in Delhi and the NCR region. She holds a Master's degree in Social Work with a specialization in Criminology and Justice from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, and a Bachelor's in Social Work from the University of Delhi. As a social work trainee, Aishwarya contributed to the implementation of various initiatives in education, urban policy management, health support, youth skilling, and gender-related issues. Her primary areas of interest include addressing gender inequalities and tackling climate change, with a strong commitment to pro"To learn more, go to: https://empowerfoundation.net/sankalp/ or send an email to: info@empowerfoundation.net Stories about the women Rai's group has empowered - "Karishma's Triumph: Breaking Stereotypes and Redefining Boundaries"" https://youtu.be/urz02Z_6IZQ?si=rK0HobVpL7D3Fo5E "Vasheela's Journey: Transcending Social Constructs and Redefining Identity" https://youtu.be/cawU7syYpFc?si=YOyZgKL36wRMLOnx To learn more about the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley, go to: http://rotary.cool"moting social justice and empowering women. | |||
| 88. Talking Art and Film with Lyndon, from Gum Wrappers to The Matrix | 03 Mar 2025 | 00:35:45 | |
Lyndon Barrois' works as an artist in the commercial, exhibition, and feature film visual effects world, as well as in the patronage space. We'll expand the artistic umbrella and its many disciplines' impact on culture, commerce and society as a historical tool or mirror that reflects our world. Lyndon J Barrois, Sr is based in Los Angeles, and is an artist, animation director, and filmmaker. An AMPAS VFX Executive Branch member, Lyndon boasts a long career in art and animation. His film credits include The Matrix Trilogy, Happy Feet, and The Thing, where he directed pivotal character animation sequences in those features and many others. He regularly wins accolades for his unique gum wrapper sculptures and stop-motion animations of contemporary and historic figures and events, whose portrait and Sportrait films are produced entirely on iPhones. Within the art world, his work has been featured in major institutions like the Pérez Art Museum Miami, the MOCA Los Angeles, the Massachusetts MOCA, The Hammer, the SFMOMA in San Francisco, and most recently added to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s permanent collection, and the SR Foundation in Seoul, Korea. His subject matters range from gender inclusion and excellence in the FIFA World Cup and Olympics, America’s Covid-19 crisis, to past racial uprisings & achievements, and current political or social climates. A New Orleans native and HBCU graduate of Xavier University of Louisiana, Lyndon serves on the boards of The Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, California Institute of the Arts (his MFA Alma mater), YA/YA (Young Aspirations/Young Artists), Inc., the Academy Museum’s Inclusion Advisory Committee, the Smithsonian’s Regents Advancement Committee, and a member of the Black Trustees Alliance, fostering programs and supporting exhibitions. See and learn more about Lyndon's work at: https://www.instagram.com/itsawrapper/ https://itsawrapper.com/ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0057624/ | |||
| 87. The State of Maternal and Reproductive Health in the U.S. | 24 Feb 2025 | 00:37:59 | |
Dr. Donna Adams-Pickett (PhD, MD, FACOG) is the CEO and owner of Augusta Women's Health & Wellness Center. Dr Adams-Pickett's message to us: It's called a miracle for a reason. Any pregnancy that ends in a healthy baby and mother reaches that outcome through a miraculous culmination of science, medical know-how, genetic fortune and most of all, luck. Unfortunately, in the United States, because of varying legislative measures, access barriers, and rapidly diminishing resources, the luck for many women in our country is vanishing. As we continue to outpace other industrialized countries in astounding technological advances, we also continue to outpace those countries in our maternal morbidity and mortality rates. How did we find ourselves here? Is there anything we can do to change this trajectory or does the current political landscape leave us to believe that we are destined to less than greatness when it comes to women's health? For those of us who have dedicated our lives to their health and well-being our roles remain clear--protect birthing women. However, navigating our ability to do so successfully has now taken on a new level of complexity. Are we truly prepared for the challenge? Dr. Adams-Pickett is a graduate of Howard University, the Medical College of Georgia where she earned a PhD in Microbiology and Immunology, and Emory University, where she earned her Doctor of Medicine degree. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology from the Medical College of Georgia. Dr. Adams-Pickett is board certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. As a tireless advocate for women's health concerns, her expertise has been featured in the New York Times, NPR, The Laura Coates Show, Vice Media and the PBS Newshour. She was most recently featured in the documentary "Birthing Justice," a look at the Black maternal mortality crisis facing the United States. Dr. Adams-Pickett is dedicated to community advocacy and education. She is the author of two books on puberty, Big Sis' Guide to Growing Up and Buddy's Big Guy Guidebook. Dr. Adams-Pickett is the founder of McStuffin Mommies, a collective of over 1400 physician mothers of color. She is also the founder of Mocha OB, a community of over 800 OB/GYN physicians of color. She has dedicated her life to increasing health education in and about historically marginalized communities. "To learn more, go to: PBS News Hour: ""Brief, But Spectacular Take on Being A Women’s Health Care Warrior"" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3suzU2RFrM Vice Media: "Inside Georgia’s Maternal Mortality Crisis"" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dT0rL4TvX-I The New York Times: Unwanted Epidurals, Untreated Pain: Black Women Tell Their Birth Stories https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/06/upshot/black-births-maternal-mortality.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare | |||
| 86. Wetland Superpowers | 17 Feb 2025 | 00:31:03 | |
The Superpowers of salt marshes as a vehicle of hope for our climate. You'll learn about the Steart Marshes of England and their impact globally, covering history, design, and management, as well as how the work being done in the marshes influences policy and has become recognized as a solution to the challenges we all face. Our speaker is Alys Laver, who has always had a passion for nature, and growing up on Somerset's Levels and Moors inspired a particular love for wetlands. After completing her Zoology Degree at Cardiff University, she went on to work for the University at the research field center. This involved working on a wide variety of research projects, the biggest being a countywide river improvement project. After this, Alys started working on areas of conservation all around Somerset, delivering works to improve wetland habitats and supporting the species that use them. Alys was then hired as part of the Somerset Wildlife Trust as a Reserve Warden and was responsible for managing some of the rarest and most valuable areas of the United Kingdom. In 2013 Alys started working for the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) on one of the largest habitat creation schemes in Europe. Taking on the management of a site with a whole new direction for the organisation didn't come without its challenges. But since its completion the WWT Steart Marshes coastal project has developed into an exemplar for landscape scale habitat creation, a hub for cutting edge research and a demonstration site to showcase what wetlands can do for people and wildlife. In 2022 Alys assisted with the delivery of a £1.5 million government-funded scheme, getting Steart Marshes designated as a National Nature Reserve. To learn more, go to: https://wetland-data-explorer.wwt.org.uk/ https://www.wwt.org.uk/wetland-centres/steart-marshes/ To learn more about the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley, go to: http://rotary.cool | |||
| 85. Solving Maternal Mortality with Language, Culture, and Smartphones | 10 Feb 2025 | 00:28:24 | |
In the mountains of Guatemala, many indigenous women prefer to give birth at home with a midwife who speaks their language and understands them. Yet, sometimes, high risk complications occur. How can we lower maternal mortality that is 16 times higher than the United States when women live hours from the hospital and do not speak the language of the doctors? Wuqu’ Kawoq | Maya Health Alliance is eliminating avoidable maternal and neonatal deaths by repairing the disconnects that prevent mothers from receiving timely hospital care. Video showing our maternal-infant health app in action: https://vimeo.com/824788956 The Mobile Maternal Health Program equips indigenous midwives in the highlands of Guatemala with a checklist-based smartphone application to detect high-risk complications early and provides Maya care navigators to accompany mothers when hospital services are required. Midwives get the tools and clinical support they need to make timely referrals and mothers benefit from the security of having a knowledgeable advocate who speaks her language by her side. This solution, from the phone app to the navigation strategies, was co-designed and continues to be run by the communities it serves: indigenous Guatemalan women. Since the Program began as a pilot in 2016, successful hospital referrals among the approximately 800 births attended annually by participating midwives have increased by more than 50% and maternal deaths in the pilot region have dropped from 8 a year to 0-2 a year. Wuqu' Kawoq is a community-led organization created in 2007 to transform healthcare and foster health equity in rural Guatemala. As one of the only organizations in Guatemala providing comprehensive healthcare in indigenous Mayan languages, it serves more than 11,000 patients in over 35,000 visits annually in seven languages. More than 80% of the staff is indigenous, 85% are women and 95% are Guatemalan. Our speaker, Anne Kraemer, is an anthropologist and a co-founder of Maya Health Alliance | Wuqu’ Kawoq, an organization created in 2007 to transform health in rural Guatemala. She has served as Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer since 2009. Her passion is amplifying the voices of women and girls to foster community-driven, high-impact, culturally and linguistically appropriate programs that promote health and reproductive rights in underserved indigenous Maya communities. Anne trained as a cultural anthropologist at the University of Kansas, where she received her master’s degree and completed doctoral coursework. She received a Fulbright scholarship in 2007. Anne lives in Guatemala with her daughters. She speaks Kaqchikel and Spanish. To learn more: The research page: https://www.mayahealth.org/research/ Maternal-infant health page: https://www.mayahealth.org/maternal-health/ Video showing our maternal-infant health app in action: https://vimeo.com/824788956 | |||
| 84. The Pill Smart Dispenser 2.0 | 02 Feb 2025 | 00:31:28 | |
Dementia is a neurodegenerative disease impacting tens of millions globally, and the number is expected to triple by 2050. Common symptoms of dementia include poor recollection, confusion and paranoia. Although there are medications to alleviate some of these symptoms, remembering to adhere to the medication is often a challenge for seniors with dementia. Seeing this, our speaker, Joy Akinkunmi, created the Pill Smart. The Pill Smart is an automatic pill dispenser for seniors with mild and moderate dementia. Designed with adaptive features, such as reminder settings, the device aims to increase medication adherence among this demographic. The Pill Smart is completed with an app for a caregiver to track device activity. Hopefully, the Pill Smart will be the future of assistive devices for medication adherence in people with dementia. Joy is a high school student and an aspiring doctor and innovative thinker dedicated to enhancing healthcare through technology. Inspired by her experience caring for her grandmother with dementia, she developed "The Pill Smart," an automatic pill dispenser complemented by an app tailored for seniors. In addition to her project work, Joy is deeply committed to her community. Her passion for healthcare extends to leading "Healthcare Horizons," a club at her school that offers workshops and insights into the healthcare system, empowering her peers with knowledge and skills. Joy also plays an active role in student governance on the Student Advisory Council and serves on the RCMP National Advisory Youth Council. Outside of STEM, Joy enjoys playing basketball at her school and volunteering at her local library. In the future, Joy plans to pursue a post-secondary education focused on medicine and biomedical engineering. She aims to continue developing healthcare devices that improve the quality of life for patients, particularly those with cognitive impairments. Joy’s commitment to innovation and community leadership reflects her dedication to making a meaningful impact in the field of healthcare. To learn more about the Pill Smart 2.0, go to: https://partner.projectboard.world/ysc/project/pill-smart-2-0 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/inspired-by-family-member-with-dementia-n-s-teen-creates-automated-pill-dispenser-1.7410835 To learn more about Imhotep’s Legacy Academy (the mentorship group from Dalhousie University that Joy mentioned), go to: https://www.imhotep.ca/en/ To learn more about the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley, go to: http://rotary.cool | |||
| 83. It Starts with the Mindset | 27 Jan 2025 | 00:29:21 | |
Why does it seem that so many issues just don’t seem to be getting any better? We think of issues with healthcare, climate change, pollution, education, standards of living, immigration, inequality, and more - does the list end? Our speaker, Mitch Weisburgh, contends that no real progress in any of these areas is going to happen until we have a critical mass of people who understand mindsets and what he calls "Mindshifting." Since 2018 Mitch has been curating concepts and techniques from diverse fields, including psychology, neuroscience, business strategy, education, coaching, economics, cognitive science, and military strategy, among others. He will show how this comprehensive set of Mindshifting tools can be the foundation for real progress and transforming the world. Mindshifting is how we can learn to enroll each other instead of enraging each other. Mitch Weisburgh co-founded Academic Business Advisors in 2005, which helps organizations that want to make a difference reach more students in US schools, and started various nonprofit organizations in education such as Games4Ed and Edchat Interactive. Since 2018, Mitch has been creating content and teaching Mindshifting and Sensemaking and has started a Mindshifting Community for educators. Mitch writes a newsletter at Mindshifting Educators about ways to inspire the mind to learn, centered on his goal is to grow a critical mass of people who understand the Mindshifting techniques, and who can be resilient and resourceful in the face of obstacles, adversaries, and unintended outcomes. Find Mitch's Mindshifting Newsletter at: https://blog.mindshiftingeducators.org/ Background info on Mindshifting and Mindshifting courses: https://gamma.app/docs/Mindshifting-yxxkbmv122p5bzw?mode=doc Short video: Stop Your Brain from Sabotaging Your Happiness and Success: https://us02web.zoom.us/clips/share/a7su0KAZXEmUo22aXuUGGms5cU6acyzOxhgy1xtGpzUosDVv6JMKpPS4InRTJMUgy_wXaD4i9f5k5gOllzbrvi_N.JF6hRArXRiIMTqST "You can't? Maybe you can!" short video: https://youtu.be/4giFVzTDAUg?si=j1xMQqv0I-lZFtU3 | |||
| 109. Rural is Resilient | 28 Jul 2025 | 00:29:17 | |
"Rural is Resilient: Rebuilding the Appalachian Economy from the Ground Up" is a presentation by Coalfield Development that explores how community-driven innovation, workforce development, and social enterprise are transforming central Appalachia. Once a region known for powering the nation through coal and industry (yet often left behind in terms of reinvestment and opportunity), Appalachia now faces deep economic, environmental, and health disparities. Coalfield Development reverse-engineers solutions to these challenges by empowering people who have been cast aside, revitalizing places that have been left behind, and building long-term prosperity. This presentation outlines Coalfield’s workforce development model, which integrates on-the-job training, personal development, and business incubation. Through training and employment initiatives like PATH and WRAPS, social enterprise development, and partnerships with organizations replicating their approach across the region, Coalfield has created over 1,000 jobs, supported 91 new businesses, and attracted more than $178 million in new investment. By turning abandoned mine lands and buildings once considered liabilities into assets to serve their communities, and equipping individuals with the tools to secure gainful, stable employment in a variety of industries, Coalfield is proving that rural communities can, and are, rebuilding the Appalachian economy from the ground up. Our speaker, Jacob Israel Hannah, began work as Coalfield Development’s new CEO in January of 2024. Previously, Jacob held the role of Chief Conservation Officer at Coalfield Development with over five years in the organization. With three generations of coal mining in his family, and as a 5th generation West Virginian, Jacob integrates an empathetic and grounded approach to the strategy of triple-bottom line sustainability; balancing People, Planet, and Prosperity in harmony with each other with a lens towards a fair and just transition. Jacob’s work intersects the through line of environmental considerations with social wellbeing and economic development. This primarily revolves around bringing renewable energy to underserved and coal-impacted communities, reclaiming abandoned mine lands, supporting a regional network of upcycling and reuse, and remediating brownfields and protecting water systems, all while centering this work around the people of Appalachia. | |||
| 82. Peace Portraits | 20 Jan 2025 | 00:37:05 | |
Christine has been a German Rotarian since 1995, elected to become a member of the Rotary International Board of directors for the period of 2025-27. Her passions are peace in all its meanings and Rotary as a network to promote Rotarians to become role models in their communities and join forces to create knowledge and understanding internationally. Claudia is a new member of the eClub of Silicon Valley from Berlin, Germany. As a photographer she has worked internationally and has accompanied Christine since 2016 in Rotary events. Together they search for a new imagining of Rotarians in an ever-changing world. Pictures of Rotarians from several Middle East countries were taken by Claudia during the District 2452 conference in Amman, Jordan. Christine interviewed all participants on the questions, "What is peace for you?" and, "What can Rotary do to help seed peace?" This work is planned to be the foundation of playful peace conversations in local communities, schools or Rotary Clubs in Germany and hopefully in other countries, too. To see these portraits, go to: https://rotary.de/fotostrecke/502 | |||
| 81. Concrete "Battery": Pioneering the Future of Energy Storage | 13 Jan 2025 | 00:26:40 | |
This week, we delve into the innovative realm of electron-conducting carbon concrete (EC^3), a revolutionary material that marries the structural capabilities of traditional concrete with advanced energy storage functions. This next-generation concrete employs a unique blend of hydrophobic nano-carbons, binder, aggregate, and water, resulting in electron-conducting carbon network within the cement matrix. The EC^3 technology not only mitigates CO2 emissions typically associated with conventional battery and concrete production but also repurposes carbon black, a prevalent byproduct from, e.g., hydrogen production, thus contributing to a circular economy. The presentation will showcase the practical applications of EC^3, from powering small electronic devices to its potential in large-scale energy storage solutions. We will highlight its crucial electro-chemical properties and explore its future applications. By integrating energy storage directly into construction materials, EC^3 technology paves the way for energy-autarkic shelters, self-charging roads, and more resilient power grids, fundamentally transforming how we approach sustainable construction and energy management. Dr. Damian Stefaniuk serves as a Research Scientist within the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, the MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub (CSHub), and the MIT Electron-conductive Cement-based Materials Hub (EC^3 Hub). He is a structural and materials engineering scientist specializing in the development of sustainable construction materials and structures. In his research he focuses on science-enabled engineering of sustainable cement-based materials, with applications ranging from designing corrosion-resistant prestressed bridge structures to exploring chemically induced pre-cure carbonation for carbon storage and developing electron-conductive carbon concrete for renewable energy storage. The overall goal of his research is to make civil engineering infrastructure part of the solution of the urgently needed energy transition while mitigating greenhouse gas emissions associated with cement production. | |||
| 80. Clearbot for Cleaning Waterways: AI for Good | 06 Jan 2025 | 00:30:28 | |
Protecting our oceans is vital, and robotics paired with AI is making a real impact. Advanced robotic systems tackle pollution, clean hard-to-reach areas, and collect important data on water quality. These technologies empower communities to organize effective cleanup efforts with less manpower. By leveraging innovation, we’re moving toward a sustainable future where our oceans are clean and full of life. Hailing from Bangalore, India, our speaker, Sidhant Gupta, is the founder of Clearbot, an AI-powered, self-navigating boat that can automate marine cleanup, oil clearing, foam removal and other critical maritime tasks without any pollution or manpower requirement. The company is backed by Alibaba, Razer, and Microsoft. Sidhant holds a Guinness World record for building the fastest robotic fish, done at the University of Hong Kong in 2020. He has spoken at TEDx and started 2 companies prior to Clearbot. Combining his love for robotics and desire to change the world, Sidhant is determined to pioneer a sustainable future for ocean mobility. To learn more, see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2loLpBhlSw - An introduction Clearbot https://clearbot.org/ - Website Watch the video to learn more about Clearbot products: https://youtu.be/q2loLpBhlSw?si=tNeaXlicAJK_RS2F | |||
| 79. Textile Coatings for Personal Cooling | 30 Dec 2024 | 00:43:39 | |
As the effects of climate change become more severe and widespread, maintaining personal thermal homeostasis becomes both necessary for survival and increasingly energy intensive. In principle, advanced textiles and garments have the ability to leverage light absorption, transmission and/or reflection, in addition to straightforward convection, to heat or cool bodies in extreme temperature conditions. For cooling, in particular, surfaces adept at selectively reflecting or refracting high-energy incident light (200 nm - 2.5 microns) from the sun while transmitting or emitting infrared light (8-13 microns) from radiant body heat boast the ability to maintain cooler body temperatures, even when exposed to direct sunlight and the open sky. I will detail the materials science and engineering advances made in my research lab to develop a durable textile coating that transforms common clothing into implements for passive personal cooling. A polyester poplin fabric finished with a microstructured, lamellar coating comprised of calcium carbonate and barium sulfate shows a cooling ability of up to 8°C compared to an unfinished sample, achieving a maximum cooling of 3.4°C below ambient temperature in optically-complex built environments. Wash and durability testing of the lamellar coating revealed no mechanical degradation and no evident attenuation in the material's performance, affirming its resilience and long-term effectiveness as a functional textile coating for personal cooling. Professor Trisha L. Andrew (she/her/hers) is a Professor of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science & Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She directs the Wearable Electronics Lab, a multi-disciplinary research team that uses chemical vapor deposition to create a variety of functional coatings on unconventional substrates, such as textiles, yarns and plants, and demonstrates the uses of these coated samples in energy harvesting/storage and integrated sensing systems. Trisha began her independent career at the University of Wisconsin-Madison after receiving her Ph.D. from MIT in 2012, and moved her research program to UMass Amherst in 2016. She has unconventional training in the disparate fields of synthetic organic chemistry and microelectronic device fabrication that inform her unique problem-solving skills and varied research interests. Trisha is a David and Lucille Packard Foundation Fellow, a National Academy of Sciences Kavli Fellow, an Air Force Office of Scientific Research Young Investigator, a L’Oréal USA For Women in Science Fellow, a 3M Nontenured Faculty Award winner, and was named as one Forbes’ magazine “30 Under 30” Innovators in Energy. To learn more, go to: https://welab.umass.edu | |||
| 78. A High School Robotics Club | 23 Dec 2024 | 00:30:31 | |
Team 3482 Arrowbotics is a completely student-led after-school robotics club based out of Westmont High School in Campbell, California. The team competes in FIRST Robotics Competitions against hundreds of other teams with a robot they build in just 8-10 weeks. Members join the club with little-to-no experience, and by the time the robot needs to be designed, these students are skilled in engineering, communication, and problem-solving. Mia is the Vice President of Westmont Arrowbotics. She is a Junior at Westmont High School and has been on the team for three years. To learn more, go to: Website: team-3482.github.io Instagram: instagram.com/team_3482 | |||
| 77. How California Wines Changed the World | 16 Dec 2024 | 00:26:31 | |
Almost 50 years ago, in the world of wine, there were just three categories: the good stuff (French), the very good stuff (also French), and everything else. Few doubted that anything could be finer than the vines in Burgundy and Bordeaux, and those at the upper end of wine snobbery were unshakable Francophiles. And then an event on May 24, 1976—a notable event that would come to be known by the mythical name “The Judgement of Paris”—dramatically changed the way wines were seen and sought. A highly respected British wine seller and educator, Steven Spurrier, organized a blind tasting that put unlabeled French and California whites and reds in front of nine French experts. This is the story of the changed world since. Our speaker, George Vierra, spent 45 years in the Napa Valley, the heart of the California wine industry. He started wineries, managed wineries, consulted around the world, and spent over 35 years as an Adjunct Professor in the Dept. of Viticulture & Winery Technology at Napa Valley College. He created a website with lectures, papers and research you can see via the links below. To learn more about George's work, go to: https://napavalley.academia.edu/GeorgeVierraWine Here is the script of this talk: https://tinyurl.com/DrinkingStandingUp | |||
| 76. Unity Water: Drop by drop, we can… | 09 Dec 2024 | 00:31:02 | |
200 million hours are spent by women and children every day collecting water. UN reports tell how in some countries with crippling water scarcity, girls are spending up to 8 hours a day on the long walk for water. Unity Water is deploying innovative common-sense solutions to reduce the time spent collecting water and to deliver opportunities for sustainable growth and development. By adding the power of technology, the Unity Water GIS team creates vast StoryMaps that chart, not just the stories of each individual, but allow donors, sponsors and the public to see where every cent is spent, while learning more about the communities that have been helped. This is how Unity Water challenges global water enslavement. Our speaker, Sarah van Heerden, is a creative professional committed to purpose-driven work and ethical storytelling. Drawing on her 16+ years of NGO and media experience, Sarah is the CEO and Co-Founder of The Unity Water Foundation, a movement focused on addressing global water insecurity and providing development opportunities for communities, especially women and youth, by blending common-sense solutions with the opportunities offered by technology. Sarah believes in the power of NGOs as sustainable investment hubs, and is passionate about realigning the narrative in the NGO space from one of sensationalized despair to one of proactive and empowering citizenship. She is also the Editor in Chief of the Rotary Africa magazine, where she creatively engages volunteers and aspiring writers to help produce content that resonates with diverse audiences. Sarah has no hobbies as she has yet to learn that she can't save the world, and she keeps volunteering to help on committees and projects which have caught her attention. For more information: admin@unitywater.life Rolling with Hope campaign: https://donorbox.org/rolling-with-hope Website: https://www.unitywater.life Hippo Hub: https://www.hipporollerusa.org/pages/learning | |||
| 75. Unforgettable Stories: Writing about Rotarians | 02 Dec 2024 | 00:29:31 | |
In 2021, freelance journalist Kate Silver got her first assignment for Rotary Magazine: to write about the power of music when it comes to memory, even in those who have Alzheimer’s and dementia. In the years since, Rotary has become a favorite outlet for Kate, because of the rich, inspiring stories and characters she gets to meet, who also happen to be Rotarians. In this Q and A with Rushton Hurley, Kate will talk about some of the more memorable stories she’s written for the magazine, and why it’s admirable that Rotary invests in good journalism to share the work of its members. Kate Silver has been writing professionally for more than 20 years. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post, O the Oprah Magazine, Bloomberg Businessweek, Men’s Health, Chicago Tribune and Rotary Magazine. In addition, she works with businesses, non-profits and universities to write content that brings their work—and their mission—to life. Silver has also ghostwritten several books about individuals and their legacies. Some of her work can be found at www.thekatesilver.com. | |||
| 74. Unearthing History: 3D Modeling of Japanese-style Gardens in Incarceration Camps | 25 Nov 2024 | 00:34:37 | |
Following the outbreak of World War II, most Japanese and Japanese Americans were sent to one of ten incarceration (internment) camps, one of which was Amache, located in the High Plains of Colorado. Inmates there planted trees and created hundreds of gardens to improve the stark institutional landscape. This presentation focuses on two Japanese-style gardens created in the public spaces of the Amache incarceration camp, exploring the prospects and application of 3D modeling visualization for these gardens. The presentation was shared at the North American Japanese Garden Association conference in March 2024. Sayaka, a former Rotary Global Grant Scholar (2019-2022) hosted by the Eugene Metro Rotary Club, was from the Rotary Club of Oita Capital in District 2720, Japan. During her time in Oregon, she pursued a Master's degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of Oregon. Currently, Sayaka serves as a Landscape Designer at Pland Collaborative in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she applies her expertise in landscape architecture. Sayaka holds Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Environmental Science from Nagasaki University and is currently pursuing a Doctoral degree remotely from the same institution, furthering her research and dedication to Japanese gardens in incarceration camps during WWII. To learn more, go to: An article titled "Exploration of the Value of Japanese-Style Gardens in Incarceration Camps During World War II: The Case of Amache, Colorado, U.S.," which incorporates the work shared in this presentation, was recently published in the International Journal of Heritage Studies. This article explores the significance of the Japanese-style gardens in the Amache incarceration camp, revealing the value and role these gardens played among Japanese detainees. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13527258.2024.2369549 | |||
| 73. The Sinking of the Suchiate in Mexico | 18 Nov 2024 | 00:31:43 | |
How did two Rotary clubs come together to sink a Mexican Navy ship to create an artificial reef in the Sea of Cortez? The Rotary clubs of Puebla Gente de Accion and Prescott, Arizona overcame numerous obstacles, created a network of strategic partnerships and implemented a Rotary global grant to improve the health of this vital natural resource. The story is one that centers around friendship. Kevin Pitts joined the Rotary Club of Prescott, Arizona, in 2004 and has been an active member since, both at the club and district levels. He served as Rotary International District 5495 Governor in 2023-2024. His experience living in Mexico City over 12 years gives him ties to that country and he has followed that passion, serving as international service chair for his club and as the co-chair of the Mexico USA Friendship Conference and Global Grants Exchange. Kevin and his wife, Elizabeth, are Rotary Foundation major donors and benefactors. His passion for the Rotary Foundation is focused mostly on global grants and he has participated in numerous projects, often as a technical advisor with his club serving as the international sponsor club. Kevin believes in active participation in grant projects and has visited various project sites in Mexico and Kenya. To learn more about this story, go to: https://www.rotary5495.org/stories/rotary-club-of-prescott-participates-in-the-sinking-of-the-suchiate-near-guaymas | |||
| 108. Let Your Voice be Heard | 21 Jul 2025 | 00:34:24 | |
What do you know about stuttering? If you aren't someone who stutters, do you know the things you should do when you meet a person who does? Today you'll hear from someone who can explain from his own experiences what stuttering is, the characteristics of one who stutters, and common myths about stuttering. Our speaker, Jeff Olevson, is the current president of the Sunnyvale Rotary Club and has been a Rotarian for almost twelve years. Outside of Rotary, Jeff has been involved with the National Stuttering Association (NSA) for over twenty-four years. The NSA is the largest self-help group in the country for people who stutter. Locally, Jeff is the co-leader of the San Jose Chapter of the NSA (a monthly support group for people who stutter) and is also the Regional Chapter Coordinator (RCC) of the Southwest. Members of the chapter share experiences about their stuttering journeys and seek support to guide them along the way. Jeff has a passion for sharing the NSA and helping others better understand stuttering. To learn more, go to: | |||
| 72. Entertainment Media's Role in Achieving Sustainability and Equal Rights | 11 Nov 2024 | 00:30:05 | |
Some of the world's most intractable problems – like poor reproductive health and violence against women – are now being addressed through the medium of prime-time serialized dramas. Population Media Center (PMC) uses a special type of serialized melodrama (like telenovelas) for changing behavior on such issues as family planning, elevation of women's status, girls' education, stopping child marriage, protection of children, and protection of the environment. Characters in locally written and produced programs on radio, television, and social media evolve into positive role models for the audience and, in the process, lead to population-wide changes in behavior. Bill Ryerson is founder and president of Population Media Center (PMC). He has a 52-year history of working in the field of reproductive health, including four decades of experience adapting the Sabido methodology of entertainment-education for behavior change communications to various cultural settings worldwide. PMC has broadcast its programs in 57 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the U.S. Bill will speak about the importance and effectiveness of PMC's work, including that of the shows. Bill is Founder and President of Population Media Center (PMC) (www.populationmedia.org), an organization that strives to improve the health and wellbeing of people around the world through the use of entertainment-education strategies. He also serves as Chair of The Population Institute in Washington, DC (www.populationinstitute.org), which works in partnership with Population Media Center. PMC creates long-running serialized dramas on radio and television, in which characters evolve into role models for the audience resulting in positive behavior change. The emphasis of the organization's work is to educate people about the benefits of small families, encourage the use of effective family planning methods, elevate women's status, prevent exploitation of children, promote avoidance of HIV infection, and promote environmentally sustainable behaviors. He received a B.A. in Biology (Magna Cum Laude) from Amherst College and an M.Phil. in Biology from Yale University (with specialization in Ecology and Evolution). He served as Director of the Population Institute's Youth and Student Division, Development Director of Planned Parenthood Southeastern Pennsylvania, Associate Director of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England and Executive Vice President of Population Communications International before founding Population Media Center in 1998. To learn more, go to: https://www.populationmedia.org/ Bill's slides: https://tinyurl.com/2fp82fpd | |||
| 71. From Living in Guatemala on $1/day to Leading an Award-winning Social Impact Documentary Studio | 04 Nov 2024 | 00:35:02 | |
First he survived for two months on $1 a day in Guatemala. Soon after, he lived in a tent in a Syrian refugee camp, then spent 10 years documenting the journey of an undocumented boy in New York City. Chris Temple is an award-winning filmmaker and activist who demystifies some of the world's most complex situations, leaving audiences more connected and empowered to make a difference. In this conversation, Chris will share his journey as a filmmaker and changemaker, and the philosophy that has guided him through everything: actionable optimism, the idea that we all have the capacity to imagine and help manifest a more equitable and empathetic future. Chris is a film director and the founder of Optimist, a non-profit studio in Los Angeles. He's best known for directing the feature documentaries Living On One Dollar, Salam Neighbor, and Five Years North. His films have been released globally by Netflix, HBO, Hulu, and PBS, and have premiered at Tribeca, DOCNYC, Full Frame, AFI Docs, & MountainFilm. His work has helped raise over $91 million dollars for poverty alleviation and refugee support efforts. He's been honored with the 2016 Muslim Public Affairs Council Annual Media Award; recognized alongside Bill Gates and Angelina Jolie as one of the top 100 visionary leaders of 2015 by YPO's Real Leaders Magazine; and accepted by the U.S. State Department into the American Film Showcase. His work at Optimist has won 1 Gold Telly Award, 4 Shorty Awards, 2 ADDY Awards, 1 Webby Award, and 2 AVA Digital Awards. He was also recognized as one of the 40 under 40 top documentary filmmakers of 2023 by DOC NYC and HBO. Chris recently directed the feature film This Is Not Financial Advice with XTR and Cinetic exploring the psychology of investing in the modern digital era. Currently, he is making an as-yet untitled feature film about Ethereum and its founder Vitalik Buterin. You can find his full filmography on IMDB. He loves the outdoors and is a founding individual member of 1% for the Planet. To learn more, go to: Optimist's Website: https://optimist.co/ Join the Monthly Doc Club (think book club, but for documentaries!): https://optimist.co/doc-club/ Review our 10-year Impact Report: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JGUp_JKaQDm095x2n9HTnyS6ZYhBRx5W/view Donate/Get Involved: https://creative-visions.networkforgood.com/projects/207642-optimist | |||
| 70. How Harvest Against Hunger uses Ripple Effect Mapping to build impactful programs | 28 Oct 2024 | 00:37:12 | |
David Bobanick is the Executive Director of Harvest Against Hunger (HAH) and member of the Rotary Club of Seattle. Since David joined HAH in 2001, the organization has continued to expand its impact at the local, national, and international levels, resulting in the delivery of more than half a billion healthy servings of produce for those in need. Ripple Effect Mapping (REM) is an appreciative inquiry model that helps to reveal long-term impacts of programs and investments in communities. Harvest Against Hunger, a program of Rotary District 5030, uses REM sessions to learn how to effectively leverage its programs and resources (Harvest VISTA, Farm to Community, Capacity-building grants, WA Gleaning Network and other collaborations) to create sustainable models to reduce hunger and food waste, while strengthening food systems across Washington state and beyond. David Bobanick has led the creation and development of the national Harvest VISTA program, as well as innovative and award-winning programs focusing on shortening the connections from farm to community. In addition, David and the HAH team continue to build and scale nationally recognized programs with partners like AmeriCorps, USDA, WSDA, Washington State University, the University of Washington and other partners to enhance food systems in communities across the United States. David has a degree in communications from Penn State University and has studied at the Non-Profit Executive Leadership Institute at the University of Washington's Evans School of Public Policy and Governance, as well as the Non-Profit Management Institute at Stanford University. David was also recently named a "Food Waste Innovator" by ReFED, served on the Rotary Zone 26/27 leadership team, and currently serves on the King County Regional Food Policy Advisory Council and as a board officer for four local, statewide, and regional non-profit organizations. To learn more, go to: https://www.harvestagainsthunger.org https://www.rotary.org/en/farm-food-pantry https://rotaryfirstharvest.sharepoint.com/:b:/g/EWV1zIMdBmRAiz-N-aIChOQB6cRe2bT0a-rYQlROb0Zmtw?e=J6Pvf9 | |||