A Few Things with Jim Barrood

We discussed a few things including:

1. Their career journeys  

2. AI and education

3. AI and talent/workforce

4. Amber's book  

5. Trends, challenges and opportunities re AI and education/talent

Alex Swartsel is managing director of Jobs for the Future (JFF) Labs' Insights practice, a growing team that helps decision-makers across the  education-to-career landscape understand and prepare for the emerging trends, technologies, and innovations shaping the future of work and  learning.  

JFFLabs’s rapid insights process and transformative trends research agenda focus on core areas impacting the future of work and learning—including AI, the metaverse, climate resilience, lifelong learning, aerospace, robotics, and other emerging fields. Alex is also leading the launch of JFF’s new Center for Artificial Intelligence & the Future of Work.

Before joining JFFLabs, Alex served as chief of development, finance, and external affairs for Teach for America’s Washington, DC, region and as a senior advisor to U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, co-designed global strategic planning at the Motion Picture Association, and built and led the communications team for then-first-term U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse.

Alex chairs the board of directors of Capital City Symphony and is also a longtime member and former chorus president of the Choral Arts Society of Washington. She holds a BA summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa from Wellesley College and an MBA from the Yale School of Management.

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Amber Ivey “AI” is currently a Vice President at a non-profit where she leads a team that helps governments drive impact. In her prior role, as the Senior Director for the Bloomberg Philanthropies Center for Government Excellence at Johns Hopkins University, she led a team that assisted governments in utilizing data and performance management for decision-making.  

Furthermore, she played a key role in the design and launch of the Bloomberg Philanthropies City Data Alliance. The program aims to train 100 mayors and their senior leaders throughout the Americas on utilizing data to achieve better outcomes.  

Formerly, she worked at The Pew Charitable Trust—a nonprofit focused on solving today's challenges by using data-driven, nonpartisan analysis. Here, Amber led the data collection and organization efforts of a first-of-its-kind research study on how all 50 states and the District of Columbia use data to solve complex problems, improve the delivery of government services, manage resources, and evaluate effectiveness.  

Before joining Pew, Amber served at Maryland StateStat, a performance-measurement and management office established by former Governor Martin O'Malley (D). Following the change in administration, she helped facilitate the transition by demonstrating the effectiveness of data-driven decision-making through StateStat. Additionally, she played a key role in the establishment of the Governor's Office of Performance Improvement under Governor Larry Hogan (R).  

Before joining the State of Maryland, Amber was a logistics manager for a Fortune 50 company where she used data to drive efficiency, productivity, and profits. She switched from private to the public sector to use her skills in service of government efficiency. She has her MPA and J.D. and is excited to serve at the intersection of data, technology, public policy, and law.  

She is also the creator of the AI for Kids podcast–which breaks down AI for kids–and the author of "AI... Meets...AI."

#podcast #afewthingspodcast 

We discussed a few things including:

1. Jordan's career journey

2.  Historical progress

3. Latest AI developments

4. How we can leverage AI

5. Trends, challenges and opportunities re AI

Jordan is an AI strategist and founder and host of Everyday AI. Everyday AI is a fast-growing media company helping everyday professionals grow their companies and careers with Generative AI through its daily livestream, podcast and newsletter.

Everyday AI is a Top 10 tech podcast on Spotify, and Jordan has taught prompt engineering basics to thousands of people, from entrepreneurs and small business owners to software engineers and Fortune 100 execs. He's been a featured keynote speaker on GenAI, as well as a Coursera instructor for GenAI.

Previously, Jordan was an award-winning multimedia journalist and also worked with companies like Nike and Jordan Brand before starting his own Chicago-based digital strategy company called Accelerant Agency.

#podcast #AFewThingsPodcast

We discussed  a few things including:

1. Guy's amazing career journey

2. His perspectives on the latest technology 

3. Insights on entrepreneurship

4. Guy's new book, Think Remarkable

5. Trends, challenges and opportunities re startup landscape, tech, etc.
 

Guy Kawasaki is the chief evangelist of Canva and host of the Remarkable People podcast. He was the chief evangelist of Apple, trustee of the Wikimedia Foundation, Mercedes-Benz brand ambassador, and special assistant to the Motorola Division of Google. 

Kawasaki has a BA from Stanford University, an MBA from UCLA, and an honorary doctorate from Babson College. He lives in Watsonville, California.

#podcast #AFewThingsPodcast

We discussed a few things including:

1. Their career journeys  

2. Gen AI and education

3. Nihat's iLearn schools

4. Jason's teaching and AI journey

5. Trends, challenges and opportunities re tech and education

Nihat Guvercin is an educational administrator passionate about enhancing public education through technology. He holds a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership, a Master of Education in Administration, and a Bachelor of Science in Physics, providing him with a solid educational foundation and diverse experience.  

He has been recognized for his accomplishments, notably as the Administrator of the Year by the NJ Charter Schools Association in 2010. Guvercin is well-versed in current educational trends and best practices, having spoken at numerous Ed-Tech and leadership conferences.

Since 2008, Guvercin has been the CEO of iLearn Schools Inc., where he has showcased his visionary leadership. He is dedicated to creating student success opportunities, firmly believing in education's transformative power. His commitment to excellence is evident in all his endeavors.

At iLearn Schools, Guvercin's leadership and vision drive the commitment to innovative education that equips students for success in the digital age.

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Jason Gulya is an English professor and Chair of the Artificial Intelligence Council at Berkeley College in New York. He is also an AI consultant and Keynote speaker. A prolific content creator and social media influencer, Jason is vocal about the use of AI in education.  

He has earned a significant following through his practical and balanced advice. Jason has worked with thousands of educators, students and administrators to leverage AI. He has been featured in Insider and Forbes for his approach to education and AI.

He holds a B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. in English from Rutgers University.  

#podcast #afewthingspodcast 

We discussed a few things including:

1. Their career journeys  

2. The startup/funding landscape

3. TJ's heathcare fintech venture

4. Garnet's fund/thesis

5. Trends, challenges and opportunities re new ventures and funding

Garnet Heraman is a serial entrepreneur and investor with 25 years experience at the intersection of innovation + technology. Originally from the island nation of Trinidad & Tobago, he was educated at Columbia University (BA), NYU (MBA) and The London School of Economics.

As a dotcom entrepreneur Garnet had 3 exits, 1 of which was to a publicly traded company. As an investor, he is co-founder and managing partner of Aperture® Venture Capital, a seed stage fintech fund backed by 7 different Fortune 500 corporations. He is also an LP in other VC funds such as NY InsurTech Fund II and the Berkeley Skydeck Fund, as well as a prolific angel investor.

Garnet is highly sought after as a startup technology expert, appearing in over 30 business publications and at events on 5 continents. He is currently finishing his first book, due out in early 2025.

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TJ Ademiluyi is the CEO & Co-Founder of Alaffia Health, a healthtech company that uses AI to detect overcharges in health insurance claims. After gaining first-hand insight from working at his family's medical billing company, TJ is striving to reduce healthcare costs by tackling a $300 billion medical billing error and waste problem.  

TJ has led Alaffia to save its clients nearly $40M to date, and due to his achievements, was named a Forbes 30 under 30 honoree.

#podcast #AFewThingsPodcast

We discussed a few things including:

1. Thier career journeys

2. The startup landscape

3. Matt's investments, entrepreneurial ventures and defense industry

4. Ryan's drone company

5. Discuss trends, challenges and opportunities re new ventures and defense industry 
 

Matt Higgins is a noted serial entrepreneur, growth equity investor as Co-founder and CEO of private investment firm, RSE Ventures, and Wall Street Journal best-selling author of Burn The Boats.

He is also an Executive Fellow at the Harvard Business School where he co-teaches the course “Moving Beyond Direct-to-Consumer.”  Mr. Higgins’ deep operating experience spans multiple industries over his 25-year career, which he draws upon to help founders navigate complex situations in order to reach their full potential.

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Ryan Gury is the CEO & Co-Founder of PDW, a drone technology company revolutionizing small robotics for the DoD. The drones fit in a servicemember’s backpack and allow them to call in their own air support – precisely the same kind of tactics being employed with great effect in Ukraine. PDW also won a Guinness World Record for their C100 drone.

#podcast #AFewThingsPodcast

On June 27, 2024 we discussed AI in Life Sciences with Jot Chahal, Johnson & Johnson, Patricia Leuchten, Diligent Pharma and V. "Bala" Balasubramanian, PhD, MBA, Orion Innovation

Jot Chahal is Vice President, Global Digital Health at Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine, where he is accelerating the commercialization of digital health assets across the pharmaceutical business.

Partnering with our regions, technology, and R&D leaders across the globe to build digital health (SaMD, DTx) capabilities and drive business growth across all therapy areas.

He is an entrepreneurial and results-driven health technology executive with twenty years of experience in driving top-line profitable growth through innovation, and data-driven strategies across industries, services, and markets globally.

Patti Leuchten is a pharma industry leader and entrepreneur with a focus on driving improvements in clinical trial execution, at scale, through innovative solutions.

In 1999, she founded The Avoca Group, whose Avoca Quality Consortium paved the way for Diligent Pharma and the Diligent Qualification Platform.

Dr. V. “Bala” Balasubramanian is currently SVP and Global Head of Industry Solutions Group for Healthcare and Life Sciences at Orion Innovation.

He is responsible for defining the GTM strategy, solution and service offerings for the HLS division, exploring digital transformation initiatives to further the needs of clients, and providing thought leadership to the industry.

It has resulted in Orion being featured in Gartner and Everest Peak Matrix Benchmark Reports in 2022 and 2023. He has recently written about opportunities and challenges with respect to GenAI in Life Sciences.

Prior to Orion, Bala was the Co-Founder and CEO of Cabeus where he was responsible for strategy, leadership and vision for both service offerings and a cloud platform to transform the regulatory value chain for Life Sciences.

#ai #drugdiscovery #clinicaltrials

#podcast #AFewThingsPodcast

We discussed a few things including:

1. Their career journeys  

2. Mental health crisis

3. Karin's startup and product

4. Harvey's work relating to #AI in #Healthcare

5. Trends, challenges and opportunities re AI and health

Karin Andrea Stephan is a visionary leader and serial entrepreneur with over three decades of business experience. Her passion for empowering people to reach their true potential led her to co-found Earkick, an AI-powered companion that measures, assesses, and improves mental health in real-time.  

With degrees in music, management psychology, and digital management, she leverages technology to serve humanity. Having spent most of her life abroad, Karin continuously picks up new languages and thrives on outdoor sports while striving to decode human behavior.

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Dr. Harvey Castro is a multifaceted medical professional, entrepreneur, and AI futurist dedicated to revolutionizing healthcare through innovative technology. With over 20 years of experience as an ER physician, he has been recognized multiple times as ER Doctor of the Year by D Magazine and has consistently been named a "Best Doctor" since 2014. In 2024, he was named one of the top 30 Healthcare IT Influencers Worth a Follow.

Dr. Castro holds an MD from The University of Texas Medical Branch and an MBA from the University of Tennessee. His medical training includes a residency in Emergency Medicine at St. Luke's University Health Network. Beyond his clinical expertise, he has served as an E4 Specialist & Dental Assistant in the United States Army Reserve.

An active thought leader in AI and healthcare, Dr. Castro is the Chief Medical AI Officer at Helpp.ai, focusing on AI-driven fall prevention and workflow automation. He is also the CEO of Medical Intelligence Ops, which integrates Large Language Models into healthcare. Additionally, Dr. Castro holds advisory roles at PONS and Cellotex, and serves as a Strategic Advisor for ChatGPT & Healthcare, the Singapore Ministry of Health, and the Texas Medical Association.

Dr. Castro is a prolific author, with notable works including "Bing Copilot and Other LLM: Revolutionizing Healthcare With AI" and "ChatGPT-5 and Healthcare: Revolutionizing Modern Medicine." He is also finalizing his book, "The Unofficial Guide to AI Mastery: Key Insights from 54 Pioneering TED Talks on Artificial Intelligence," which delves into the transformative impact of AI on healthcare.

Dr. Castro leverages his extensive expertise to educate and inspire, offering courses on AI in healthcare and success reinvention. His digital presence includes a cloned podcast on gptpodcast.com and AI products on convowithgpt.com. Through his work, Dr. Castro aims to bridge the gap between cutting-edge technology and practical healthcare applications, ensuring ethical integration and a focus on the human elements in AI.

#podcast #AFewThingsPodcast

We discussed a few things including:  

1. Their career journeys  

2. The mental health crisis

3. Kara's research and new book, Over the Influence

4. Lauren's practice

5. Trends, challenges and opportunities re social media and mental health

Kara Alaimo, PhD, is a communication professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University, where she created the university’s academic programs in social media.  

Her book Over the Influence: Why Social Media is Toxic for Women and Girls – And How We Can Take It Back, which explains how social media is affecting every aspect of the lives of women and girls and what we can do about it, was published in March. She has been writing for CNN Opinion about the social impact of social media and issues affecting women and girls since 2016.  

She is a former spokesperson in the Obama administration and communicator at the United Nations and speaks frequently to parents and students in schools about how to handle kids’ social media use.  

For more information, visit www.karaalaimo.com and follow her on Instagram, Facebook and X.

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Lauren Tetenbaum, LCSW, JD, PMH-C is a mother of two, a writer, a former lawyer, and a social worker specializing in supporting millennial moms and young women through life transitions.  

Through her counseling practice, Lauren facilitates psychoeducational groups and coaching workshops to empower postpartum and other women in corporate settings, provides therapy to individuals and couples in New York, Connecticut, and Florida, and contributes thought leadership on topics like maternal mental health, gender equity, and working parenthood.  

Learn more about Lauren at www.TheCounseLaur.com or connect with her on Instagram (@thecounselaur) or LinkedIn.

#mentalhealth #socialmedia  

#podcast #afewthingspodcast 

We discussed Steve's impressive journalistic background and then  the state of the battery and electric vehicle industries, domestically and globally. 

Steve LeVine is Editor of The Electric, a publication on the future of batteries, electric vehicles, and the new mobility.  The Electric is owned by The Information. Sign up for the pilot: https://www.theinformation.com/newsletters/the-electric  

Steve is a senior fellow with the Atlantic Council's Foresight, Strategy and Risks Initiative, and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. Previously, Steve was a foreign correspondent for eighteen years in the former Soviet Union, Pakistan and the Philippines, running a bureau for The Wall Street Journal, and before that writing for The New York Times, the Financial Times and Newsweek.  

In recent years, Steve conceived and launched the Future newsletter at Axios, The Mobilist, a blog published at Medium, and before that was on the launch team at Quartz, where he was Washington Correspondent.  

Steve has written three books. The most recent is The Powerhouse: America, China and the Great Battery War, which was long-listed for the FT-McKinsey book-of-the-year prize in 2016. In 2007, Random House published The Oil and the Glory, which chronicled the struggle for fortune and power on the Caspian Sea. BusinessWeek magazine selected it as a Top 10 book for the year. In 2008, Random House published Putin's Labyrinth, a profile of Russia through the life and death of a half-dozen Russians. 

#EV #electricvehicles #autonomousvehicles #tesla #byd #ford #kia #mercedes #BMW #VW #GM #podcast #afewthingspodcast