ACHiEVE

Sneha Shah was born in Mumbai, India and soon discovered her passion for art. She attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago for her BFA and managed the foundation of a leading art collector in India. She attended University College London for her Master's and recently launched Curaty, an online platform bringing artwork to work and home spaces through purchase and rental options. Hosted by Aseem Giri. https://achievepodcast.com.

Conni Biesalski was born in Germany and showed an early passion for writing and other creative pursuits, such as photography and video production. She coupled these endeavors with her love of travel and became a digital nomad, capturing her experiences around the globe in a blog, which would become Germany's number one travel blog site. She is an avid practitioner of yoga, meditation and is focusing more specifically as of late on breathwork. She has recently launched a podcast called Breath Circle and authored a book releasing in Germany called "Find Your Magic". Hosted by Aseem Giri. https://achievepodcast.com.

Jessica Chin Foo was born in the US but migrated back with her family to French Polynesia and grew up on the island of Tahiti. She studied in the US and staying true to the entrepreneurial lineage of her family, has been involved in a number of different activities that embrace her passion. These include being advisor to Ministers in the French Polynesian Government, hosting cleantech conferences, running a vineyard and also managing a non-profit called Freedom From Hunger that took her to Mali in Africa where she was trapped for ten days in a coup d'etat and witnessed mass casualties prior to her escape. She turned to her love of painting and yoga in order to heal from PTSD. Hosted by Aseem Giri. https://achievepodcast.com.

Mathew Lazarus studied Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. The year he graduated, he lost his father to Multiple Sclerosis. This has impacted his life in terms of seeking a professional and personal journey full of intention decision making forged by a socially conscious framework. He has worked as a consultant, has developed apps for startups and is now co-founder of Heal Ventures, a startup studio building and investing in the mental health and wellness verticals. Hosted by Aseem Giri. https://achievepodcast.com.

Mike Maizels began college at USC intent on becoming an artist. During the course of his study, he realized that his passion was more being a participant in the art ecosystem and not as an artist. He pursued a Master's and a Doctorate in Art History and became a curator for a number of years at Wellesley College and then began an Assistant Professorship post at the University of Arkansas. He recently has been a Visiting Researcher at Harvard's metallab and while in Boston, he has completed an MBA at MIT's Sloan School. He is a published author with additional titles to be released imminently. His research interests focus on creativity, technology and commerce. Hosted by Aseem Giri. https://achievepodcast.com.

Sunjya Schweig was born to parents of Western-origin but spent most of his youth until the age of 11 in India. His family then migrated back to Northern CA and he attended Berkeley to study medical anthropology and religious studies. He followed his passion to study medicine, yet had it in mind at the outset to approach the traditional study of medicine through a functional lens. Several years after graduating he founded the CA Center for Functional Medicine. Hosted by Aseem Giri. https://achievepodcast.com.

Joshua Binder grew up in NY to parents in the entertainment space with a writer/director father and choreographer mother. He studied English at UCLA intent on joining the family lineage but an EMT course he took spawned dual life pursuits. Josh has built a career as an EMT, written episodic television, appeared in feature films, and completed voice over work, all before joining the LA County Fire Department and working his way up to Battalion Chief. His two paths coincided recently when he directed Harrison Ford in a firefighter training series. Hosted by Aseem Giri. https://achievepodcast.com.

Susanna Harwood Rubin is an artist, writer, yoga instructor and speaker. She co-authored the exhibition companion entitled Looking at Matisse and Picasso while she worked as a writer and lecturer at the Museum of Modern Art. She is also the author of Yoga 365: Daily Wisdom On and Off the Mat, a book of readings related to yoga. In addition, she teaches a series of classes online where she guides students on writing, yoga and yogic philosophy. Hosted by Aseem Giri. https://achievepodcast.com.

Yasue Maetake was born in Japan and came to the US for her MFA at Columbia University. She developed an early interest in materials. Her work centers on the creation of evocative sculptures that grapple with non-controllable forces of nature and serve as a proxy for the human body. She also "prints" metal corrosion onto handmade paper, the latter of which she learned during an artist-in-residence program in Ghana under famed artist El Anatsui. Hosted by Aseem Giri. https://achievepodcast.com.

Michelle Martin started her career as a journalist and then shifted to corporate communications and speech writing. She became impassioned about social justice and community building and launched an artist-friendly site called Arts Ally that connected several ecosystem participants on a digital platform to support art sales. She sold that business and during the launch of another initiative, succumbed to a catastrophic health issue. After her recovery she continues to focus on health and wellness areas, launching a wellness product site called 7wow.co. Hosted by Aseem Giri. https://achievepodcast.com.