ALF's The Dialogue Podcast

In this episode of The Dialogue Podcast, we hear from ALF Senior Fellow and Chief Growth Officer at Launch Your First, Tony Lam, of Class XLII.

Tony tells the story of his family's arrival in the US after the fall of Saigon, talks about his experience bridging his life as an entrepreneur, and shares his drive to bring change and opportunity to the autistic community with the launch of Andy's Cafe.

Tony also shares his reaction to being approached by a colleague who encouraged him to consider joining the Fellows Program.

In this episode of The Dialogue Podcast, we're revisiting our interview with American Leadership Forum Senior Fellow Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins, of Class XVI.

Suzanne St. John-Crane, ALF Silicon Valley CEO and The Dialogue Podcast Executive Producer, sat down with Phaedra in 2019 to discuss the leadership roles that catapulted her to the work of creating a more just, equitable, and inclusive world.

Phaedra's eclectic career path included leading the South Bay Labor Council, representing more than 110,000 union members, working to expand universal healthcare for children, to working with Prince in reclaiming ownership of his music catalog.

Her latest venture, Promise, is a "decarceration startup" that uses technology to reduce recidivism, minimize costs and promote public safety.

In this episode of The Dialogue Podcast, we're revisiting the incredibly inspirational story of Silicon Valley tech pioneer and American Leadership Forum Senior Fellow from Class III, Ken Coleman.

Ken is the recipient of numerous honors, including The Ohio State University Distinguished Service Award and the National Alliance of Black School Educators Living Legend Award. In 1999, Ken was named one of the ten most influential African Americans in the San Francisco Bay Area, and in 2001, one of the top 25 Black executives in technology by Black Enterprise magazine.

Ken talks about his early life in a small town in southern Illinois, lessons learned from serving as a Second Lieutenant in the US Air Force, and his eventual move to the Bay Area, where he began a storied career starting with HP in 1972.

In this episode of The Dialogue Podcast, we're featuring American Leadership Forum Senior Fellow Cynthia Bright. Cynthia is a member of Class XLIII and serves as the Deputy General Counsel and Global Head of Litigation Ethics and Compliance at HP Inc.

Cynthia shares the story of what led her to accept the invitation to the fellows program, and how the experience evolved her view of her own leadership. She also gives us insight into how the bond between classmates fueled a strong spirit of collaboration that has led to countless joint efforts since even before the group completed their year-long journey.

In this episode of the dialogue podcast, we're featuring ALF Senior Fellow Usha Srinivasan of Class XLII.

Usha shares a reading of her contribution to Making Waves—AAPI Voices, a project of ALF Silicon Valley's AAPI Caucus. Through this project, the group hopes to share the experiences of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders with the ALF network and broader community.

Usha Srinivasan is the Founding CEO and President of Mosaic America, a nonprofit organization that aims to strengthen diverse communities through collaborative multicultural arts.

Usha is a trained Bharatanatyam (Classical Indian) dancer who is passionate about using the arts to strengthen the community. She is a Knight Foundation Creative Community Fellow (2016-17) and a member of the Multicultural Arts Leadership Institute (MALI) Cohort (2015-16) in San Jose. She has served on the boards of World Arts West, Wildlife Rescue Palo Alto, and the City of Santa Clara's Cultural Commission.

Usha holds a master's degree in Electrical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY, and an MBA from Stanford University's Graduate School of Business.

In this episode of The Dialogue Podcast, ALF Silicon Valley CEO Suzanne St. John-Crane sits down with author, activist, and faith leader Rev. Ben McBride for a one-on-one, in-depth conversation about his new book, Troubling the Water: The Urgent Work of Radical Belonging, the division that seems to permeate every sector of society, and the work of widening the circle of inclusion and belonging.

Ben posits that radical belonging means looking at our implicit biases, faulty understandings of power, and how we "other"—or "same"—people. Sometimes, it even means troubling the waters—speaking hard truths in situations that appear calm but that cloak injustice.

Rev. Ben McBride is an internationally recognized faith leader, activist, and sought-after speaker who has spoken to large audiences in the US, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the Middle East. McBride is the founder of the Empower Initiative and the Bring the HEAT campaign, and he served as director of PICO California.

McBride was featured in the Sundance Film Festival Award-winner The Force, and in 2020, the Center for American Progress listed him as one of the top faith leaders to watch. McBride lives in Oakland, California, with his wife, Gynelle, and their three daughters.

For Senior Fellow Vandana Kumar (Class XXXIX), storytelling is integral to life. From the stories told to her by her maternal grandmother about protecting their property under the British Raj to her mother’s telling of the non-violent resistance formed in her grandfather’s house, inspiration came early. With the confidence and valuable life lessons sparked by these two women, Vandana came to the U.S. to embark on her own journey of storytelling.

Today, Vandana Kumar is a publishing executive with a 35-year track record in the industry. She leads the India Currents Foundation as President and CEO. As a new immigrant, she co-founded India Currents magazine in 1987 and published an award-winning print magazine from April 1987 to Dec 2017. Fully digital today, India Currents has the largest following among Indians in the United States and recently won the California News Publishers Association award for General Excellence in Digital Publishing.

In this episode of The Dialogue Podcast, Vandana shares a reading of a piece she wrote for Making Waves – AAPI Voices, a project of ALF Silicon Valley’s AAPI Caucus. Through this project, the group looks to share the experiences of Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) with the ALF network and broader community.

The title of this project, Making Waves – AAPI Voices, is inspired by the book Making Waves, An Anthology of Writings By and About Asian American Women. We thank editor Dr. Elaine Kim and Asian Women United of California for their groundbreaking work and permission to use the title.

Learn more about ALF Silicon Valley's AAPI Caucus and the Making Waves | AAPI Voices project here: alfsv.org/blog/making-waves-aapi-voices

In this episode of ALF's The Dialogue Podcast, host and ALF Silicon Valley CEO Suzanne St. John-Crane is joined by Carin Taylor and Eureka Daye. Carin and Eureka are members of Class XLII, the current Fellows Program class, now in the final months of their yearlong Fellows Program journey.

Carin and Eureka discuss their experience going into the Fellows Program, reflecting on their fears, apprehensions, and ultimate takeaways from their weeklong wilderness trip, a central part of the annual Fellows Program experience.

Carin is the Chief Diversity Officer at Workday and has global responsibility for the development and execution of Workday's inclusion and diversity strategy.

Eureka is the Director of Custody Health & Custody Behavioral Healthcare for the Santa Clara Valley Health & Hospital System.

About The Dialogue Podcast

ALF's The Dialogue Podcast was made possible by the ALF Silicon Valley Network, with special thanks to our Leadership Circle members and the 2023 Exemplary Leadership Celebration premier sponsors.

The Host and Executive Producer of the ALF's The Dialogue Podcast is Suzanne St. John-Crane.

The show's creative director, audio engineer, and production manager is Richard Ángel Vega.

Our guest in this episode of The Dialogue is author, entrepreneur, public servant, retired executive, and ALF Class XVIII Senior Fellow, Eddie García.

Eddie's new book, Summer in the Waiting Room: Faith, Hope, Love, tells the incredible story of his journey to overcome his fear of failure, his drive to succeed, and the sudden heart attack that left him clinging to life in the ICU.

Eddie joins ALF Marketing & Communications Director Richard Ángel Vega via Zoom to give a first-hand account of his health crisis and describes how the love of his family and a journey of faith led him to share his story.

Eddie García is the former Vice President of Local Government Affairs for Comcast of California, Founder of the Latino Leadership Alliance Leadership Academy, past Board Trustee for the East Side Union High School District, and Founder of García Strategies Leadership Development.

Summer In The Waiting Room - Faith, Hope, Love: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09ZFC5HFX?ref_=pe_3052080_276849420

About The Dialogue Podcast

ALF's The Dialogue Podcast was made possible by the ALF Silicon Valley Network, with special thanks to our Leadership Circle members and the 2023 Exemplary Leadership Celebration premier sponsors.

The host and Executive Producer of the ALF's The Dialogue Podcast is Suzanne St. John-Crane.

The show's creative director, audio engineer, and production manager is Richard Ángel Vega.

On June 24, 2022, ALF Senior Fellows and Fellows from our national network joined together to learn and share about our roles and opportunities to think and act in new ways to make and keep our communities safe.

This ALF National event featured local and national leaders in law enforcement and civil rights from California, North Carolina, Texas, and Washington. The panel was moderated by ALF Silicon Valley Fellows Program Co-Facilitator, Rick Williams (Class XXXIII).

Panelists:

-Louis Cooper, Sr. Director of Security & Corporate Social Responsibility, Port of Tacoma, and member, Tacoma Police Advisory Committee (ALF Tacoma, Class XX)

-Officer James Gonzales, San Jose Police Department and co-leader, ALF Justice & Safety Learning Community (ALF Silicon Valley, Class XXVII)

-Darcie Green, Executive Director, Latinas Contra Cancer, and co-leader, ALF Justice & Safety Learning Community (ALF Silicon Valley, Class XXVIII)

-Chief Jeffrey Ledford, Shelby Police Department (ALF Charlotte Region, Class XV)

-Chief Sheryl Victorian, Waco Police Department (ALF Houston, Class XLVII)