American Enough

A year of momentum for movements like #MovingForward…

If 2017 was the year of revelations that roiled the entertainment, news, and tech industry by way of sexual misconduct & workplace harassment coming to light, 2018 has been a year of momentum for movements like #MovingForward. But the technology community, especially with its inherent power imbalance between startup founders and wealthy financiers, has faced a set of unique problems that plague how young innovative companies get off the ground. The Co-Founders of the #MovingForward project detail how their approach to transparent accountability among Venture Capitalists is putting sexual harassers in their place, and build a new ethos for the Silicon Valley.

Cheryl Sew Hoy is a Startup Founder, Advisor, Angel Investor and Board Member, and currently resides in the San Francisco Bay Area. She was listed in TIME’S “2017 Person of the Year,”as one of the 61 women featured in the magazine’s “Silence Breakers.” “Silence Breakers” are the women who’ve spoken out against sexual harassment and sexual assault in the workplace. On March 8, 2018, she launched #MovingForward, which is an open-source directory to highlight VC’s anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policies and reporting contacts. As of July 2018, 100+ VC firms have committed as full participants.

Ginny Fahs is a software engineer and writer committed to making technology’s next chapter more human and inclusive. She lives in San Francisco, where she works as a backend engineer at Uber Eats. Outside of work, Ginny co-founded #MovingForward, rallying 100+ VC firms to share their external discrimination and harassment policies and reporting contacts in the first open-source directory of its kind.

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For as long as there have been babies, there have been debates over how to feed them…

Earlier this week, it was revealed that the Trump administration opposed an international resolution to encourage breastfeeding, stunning maternal health advocates and drawing swift criticism… including from Lucy Sullivan, the Executive Director of 1,000 Days, a non profit focused on maternal health advocacy across the globe. Lucy joins the pod to discuss how corporate interests are reshaping America’s role as a public health leader, and what this may mean for the future of mothers, families, and countries of tomorrow.

Lucy Martinez Sullivan helped found 1,000 Days and serves as its Executive Director. At 1,000 Days, Lucy is proud to lead a team of fierce advocates who work tirelessly on behalf of women and children in the U.S. and throughout the world. Previously Lucy worked on philanthropic partnerships on behalf of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Wildlife Conservation Society, Action Against Hunger and the UN Foundation. Earlier in her career, she worked in senior marketing and brand management roles for a number of Fortune 500 companies, including Merrill Lynch, L’Oréal, and Limited Brands. Lucy holds a Masters of Business Administration from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, and graduated cum laude from the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science.BIO: 

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When Americans vote, many positions on the ballot don’t even make sense to us. A superintendent? A comptroller? However vague they may sound, these “down-ballot” posts can sway everything from the lunch your kids eat at school to the way the subway system runs. New York State candidate for Comptroller Jonathan Trichter joins “American Enough” to tell us what the hell a comptroller is and why he suited up as a Republican to change the game.

BIO:

Jonathan Trichter is an investment banker and expert in public pensions and public finance. He has worked for J.P. Morgan, the restructuring firm MAEVA Group LLC and served on underwriting teams for the largest municipal bond issuers in the country. His work has helped state and local governments identify major long-term liabilities that were previously unaccounted for.

Active in New York government, policy and civic causes for decades, Jonathan spent his early career in New York City government and on political campaigns. He worked for the New York Public Interest Group both in high school and through college.

At J.P. Morgan, Jonathan covered the Office of New York State Comptroller and put together a complete directory of New York’s outstanding bonds to provide the details of the State’s debt profile for the incoming Comptroller, Tom DiNapoli.

In 2010, Jonathan served as policy director on Harry Wilson’s campaign for New York State Comptroller. His work included researching and contributing to white papers on the New York State’s pension system that were covered extensively by the media and helped earn Mr. Wilson the endorsement of every major newspaper in the State, including The New York Times.

Jonathan went on to work for Mr. Wilson’s restructuring firm, MAEVA, where he was a key leader on the largest out-of-court pension consent process in a corporate restructuring in recent years for a private sector workout. He later ran a municipal restructuring subsidiary of MAEVA, which was tapped by the Pew Charitable Trusts to work on public pension restructurings across the county. In this capacity, Jonathan helped lead some of the most meaningful pension reforms implemented by cities and states at that time. In Jacksonville, Florida he worked with Mayor Alvin Brown and the Police and Fire unions to restructure one of the most distressed public-safety pensions in the country; the work ultimately preserved the system’s defined benefit status via a consensual solution that saved the city $1.5 billion while funding the pension plan in a reasonable period without major benefit cuts to its members.

Jonathan spent 2014 working for a venture capital firm owned by his wife’s family. There he managed a digital media startup, serving as its President in preparation for a key round of financing. With his background in communications, Jonathan took monthly traffic from under 2 million “uniques” per month to over 7 million in just 60 days. Afterwards, he worked directly with the VC firm’s chairman on a successful Series A, in which Discovery Communications led the round along with participation from Softbank, RRE Ventures, Greycroft Partners and Sterling.

In 2015, Jonathan returned to MAEVA as a principal.

Jonathan has published numerous articles and op-eds in The New York Times, The New York Post, The Daily News and others. His commentary has appeared on local news and national networks. He served as an adjunct professor at Fordham University in the political science department, and he founded a polling institute at Pace University.

He is a graduate of Emory University and resides in New York City on the Upper East Side of Manhattan with his wife, the Executive Editor of Seventeen Magazine, and son. He is also an ironman triathlete, marathoner and open-water swimmer, but mostly before his son was born.

“American Enough” and MouthMedia Network do not necessarily support nor endorse any specific candidate for elected office.

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The #1 Donald Trump Impersonator in the World, John Di Domenico, on how comedy, satire, and late night TV is dividing, uniting, and trolling America…

John Di Domenico is an American, Emmy Nominated, Actor, Writer, Comedian and Impersonator, he performs many different characters and is best known for his award-winning Donald Trump impersonation.

Di Domenico has been performing Trump since 2004. When Donald Trump announced his presidential run in June of 2015, Di Domenico’s career took off, he became the official Donald Trump for numerous TV shows, making countless appearances on Conan O’Brien, Chelsea Handler, Fox News Redeye, Fox & Friends and many more outlets. Di Domenico also reads the tweets and performs sketches on Slate’s Trumpcast podcast and live shows. Di Domenico is the only Trump impersonator in the world to appear on the This Morning, Britain. Today Show & Sunrise Australia, Today Show Ireland, plus hundreds other international TV, radio and news appearances.

John has made hundreds of live appearances as Donald Trump around the country and internationally he can be seen and heard in videos on Youtube, commercials, animated series, voiceovers, virtual reality, apps and even toys.

John has appeared as Trump in four feature films and the 13 episode Canadian Comedy Awards Winning web series “You’ve Got Trumped” and is the winner of ABC’s The View’s National Trump Contest and The Laugh Factory’s International Trump Competition.

John is originally from the Philadelphia area where he started his acting career, then moved to New York to work in theatre, television, film, standup and was a member of the Improv Company “Some Assembly Required”. He now lives in Las Vegas.

John appeared in the off-Broadway hit Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding, The Line That Picked Up 1000 Babes, Bernie’s Bar Mitzvah and KABOOM directed by BT McNicoll. His off-off Broadway credits include The Execution and Big Blonde. Along with his theatre work John appeared in the comedy feature films Meet The Spartans, Disaster Movie, Purge of Kingdoms, Not Another Celebrity Movie and 30 Nights of Paranormal Activity. John was grateful to be cast as Howie Reinstein in the Heidi and Kennedy episode of The Soprano’s. He has numerous national commercials to his credit including VISA, Olive Garden, Comcast, Miller Beer, and recently shot a commercial in Israel as Jay Leno for the Israeli Lottery.

John attended East Stroudsburg University and graduated from Temple University with a BA in Speech Communications. John spent a year as an Intern for U.S. Senator Arlen Specter. He overcame a severe speech impediment as a child to become a performer.

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Fighting Family Separation at the Border…

While The White House & Congress must act to rescind a policy of cruelty playing at on America’s border with family separation, a number of legal aid services are seeking donations, volunteers, and language experts throughout the country. Find out who needs what and where with this special list of resources compiled by Slate.

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There’s a lot going on in America (and the world) and Vikrum Aiyer — Former White House Senior Economic Policy Advisor (Obama Administration) and Former Chief of Staff of the United States Patent and Trademark Office — has something to say about it all and about what it takes these days to be American enough.

“American Enough™ with Vikrum Aiyer”, is a weekly, town hall-style podcast discussing your questions and comments about current events, politics, and American ideals. As events unfold, Vikrum will share timely commentary wherever he is, as he travels, between meetings, and even en route to the office.

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Bleeding America’s spirit of inclusivity…

Immigrants seeking asylum at the US border are being separated from their children en masse due to new enforcement policies by the Department of Justice. But exactly how many kids can’t be accounted for is being inconsistently reported. The Intercept’s Debbie Nathan joins “American Enough” to clarify what is resulting in a mass separation of families, and how this is bleeding America’s spirit of inclusivity.

Bio:

Debbie Nathan is an investigative reporter for The Intercept. She lives in Brownsville, Texas, on the Mexico border, and has been writing about the border and immigration for over three decades. Those interested in following up with her directly about border patrol politics can email her directly at: [email protected]. 

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There’s a lot going on in America (and the world) and Vikrum Aiyer — Former White House Senior Economic Policy Advisor (Obama Administration) and Former Chief of Staff of the United States Patent and Trademark Office — has something to say about it all and about what it takes these days to be American enough.

“American Enough™ with Vikrum Aiyer”, is a weekly, town hall-style podcast discussing your questions and comments about current events, politics, and American ideals. As events unfold, Vikrum will share timely commentary wherever he is, as he travels, between meetings, and even en route to the office.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Vogue Model, and Instagram celebrity, Richie Shazam Khan joins the pod for a reflection during PRIDE month on how gender non-conformity on the fashion runway has sparked a new brand of queer activism…

Richie Shazam is an Artist, Curator and Model born in New York City and currently based between New York and Berlin. Recent and upcoming performances include “Love Me Installation” New Museum, NY NY (2017), “Blind Audition” at Kunsthalle Basel, Switzerland (2018), Zucca Project Space, Venice, Italy (2018), and “CELL ECHO”, Yuz Museum Shanghai

Shazam’s artistic and curatorial approach investigates subversive radical queer ideologies by deconstructing antiquated notions of gender identity through text, photography and performance. Her work has been featured in publications such as Vogue, Novembre, Cultured Mag, Elephant Journal, i-D, Garage, amongst others.

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There’s a lot going on in America (and the world) and Vikrum Aiyer — Former White House Senior Economic Policy Advisor (Obama Administration) and Former Chief of Staff of the United States Patent and Trademark Office — has something to say about it all and about what it takes these days to be American enough.

“American Enough™ with Vikrum Aiyer”, is a weekly, town hall-style podcast discussing your questions and comments about current events, politics, and American ideals. As events unfold, Vikrum will share timely commentary wherever he is, as he travels, between meetings, and even en route to the office.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At 4pm on June 4th, 2018  — a Monday — the White House issued a statement from the President, and it said:

“The Philadelphia Eagles are unable to come to the White House with their full team to be celebrated tomorrow. They disagree with their president because he insists that they proudly stand for the national anthem. Hand on heart in honor of the great men and women of our military and people of our country.”

To say nothing of the fact that the White House just issued a statement by the President in which he references himself in the third person, the statement actually sets off a new precedent for any Oval Office holder but frankly for the United States Constitution. The very notion of American identity has been rooted in dissent and free expression, in disagreeing with one’s neighbor, by having the right the ability and frankly the marketplace of ideas to have that conversation to debate it to engage in disagreement and to yell at one another — but knowing that the extent of one’s words stopped at the water’s edge of the end of that sentiment. It didn’t get quelled, didn’t get squashed, and get silenced and get banned. It didn’t get disinvited.

The Philadelphia Eagles. It seems ironic — Philadelphia as the birthplace of democracy. The eagle as a national symbol.

For a president to start allocating his measurement of who is or is not American enough — it’s not only dangerous, but it underscores the reason why this podcast is so important.

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There’s a lot going on in America (and the world) and Vikrum Aiyer — Former White House Senior Economic Policy Advisor (Obama Administration) and Former Chief of Staff of the United States Patent and Trademark Office — has something to say about it all and about what it takes these days to be American enough.

“American Enough™ with Vikrum Aiyer”, is a weekly, town hall-style podcast discussing your questions and comments about current events, politics, and American ideals. As events unfold, Vikrum will share timely commentary wherever he is, as he travels, between meetings, and even en route to the office.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

California Democratic Party Chairman Eric Bauman discusses how the state of California’s primaries will shape the future of the nation and reclaim America’s identity…

Polls open @ 7AM (find out where to vote here: www.sos.ca.gov/elections/where-and-how).

GUEST BIO: 

Eric C. Bauman was elected Chair of the California Democratic Party in May, 2017, having previously served as Vice Chair of the CDP (2009-2017). He previously served as Chair of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party, the largest local Democratic Party organization in the nation, for 17 years.Eric has held various senior-level positions in California Government, including serving as Senior Advisor and Los Angeles Director of the Speakers Office of Members Services to Speakers John A. Perez, Toni Atkins and Anthony Rendon; Senior Advisor to Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez; Senior Advisor to Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi, Deputy Insurance Commissioner – overseeing the Community Relations Branch of the California Department of Insurance and as Special Assistant to Governor Gray Davis and Director of the Governor’s Los Angeles Regional Office. He retired from state service upon his election as Chair of the CDP.

Eric is also Registered Nurse with graduate education in Health Care Administration. He spent many years in intensive care and trauma nursing before moving into hospital administration. In 1991, Eric co-founded a health care management consulting firm, Consultants in Nursing Services Administration, specializing in the administrative, staffing and information system needs of hospital nurses.He is a member of the NARAL Pro-Choice Privacy PAC, is the Vice Chair of the LA County Insurance Commission and is on the advisory board of the Medical Reserve Corps of Los Angeles and the LA County Voting Systems Assessment Project Advisory Committee. Until recently, he was on the board of Glendale Memorial Hospital and the Latino Coalition Against AIDS.Eric lives in North Hollywood with his husband of many years, Michael, his late mother’s partner Trisha, and his dog Moe.

“American Enough” and MouthMedia Network do not necessarily support nor endorse any specific candidate for elected office.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The ACLU‘s Director the Racial Justice Program, Dennis Parker, reflects with host Vikrum Aiyer, on the 64th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, the progress we’ve made in racial inclusion, and the setbacks we confront…

Guest bio:

Dennis Parker (@DennisDParker) is director of the ACLU Racial Justice Program, leading its efforts in combating discrimination and addressing other issues with a disproportionate impact on communities of color. Parker oversees work to combat the “School-to-Prison” pipeline, the profiling of airline passengers subjected to searches and wrongfully placed on watch lists and the racial bias in the criminal justice system. Prior to joining the ACLU, Parker was the chief of the Civil Rights Bureau in the Office of New York State Attorney General under Eliot Spitzer. He previously spent 14 years at the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund. Parker has also worked with the New York Legal Aid Society. He teaches Race, Poverty and Constitutional Law at New York Law School. He graduated from Harvard Law School and Middlebury College.

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There’s a lot going on in America (and the world) and Vikrum Aiyer — Former White House Senior Economic Policy Advisor (Obama Administration) and Former Chief of Staff of the United States Patent and Trademark Office — has something to say about it all and about what it takes these days to be American enough.

“American Enough™ with Vikrum Aiyer”, is a weekly, town hall-style podcast discussing your questions and comments about current events, politics, and American ideals. As events unfold, Vikrum will share timely commentary wherever he is, as he travels, between meetings, and even en route to the office.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.