Spectrum Designs is no ordinary custom apparel and promotional items business. A company with a cause, Spectrum Designs (along with Spectrum Bakes and Spectrum Suds) have a social mission - to create meaningful and inclusive employment opportunities for people on the autism spectrum. As a non-profit, 100% of their profits go directly back to their mission. With over 13 years of experience working with adults on the autism spectrum, Patrick Bardsley is the organization’s Co-Founder and CEO who has created more than 50 jobs in a neurodiverse workforce.  

It’s been said that one’s trash is another’s treasure. This is certainly the case in Maui. The ‘Art of Trash’ Exhibition and Trashion Show are annual, juried events that inspire community members to reimagine previously used resources as elements for creative inspiration. Presented by Malama Maui Nui, the nonprofit led by Executive Director, Gabrielle Schuerger, these events educate and empower residents and visitors to nurture the environment.  

Uncovering revelations through conversations, Paul makes people comfortable with being uncomfortable. The creator and host of AwareNow Unplugged, Paul S. Rogers taps into people’s truths, providing permission to be raw and real through comically prompted but completely unscripted dialogue.   

Saving the planet from plastic one carton at a time, Boxed Water is a small team taking on a big plastic industry. More than 10 years ago (in 2009), they were the first to offer a sustainable alternative to plastic water bottles. Obsessed with providing the purest water in the most sustainable way, Boxed Water is led by CEO, Daryn Kuipers, who joins us to share the brilliance behind the box.  

Gustavo ‘Gusper’ Vera is from a small city in Ecuador. He was born with a congenital disease called Osteogenesis Imperfecta – a very rare condition also known as ‘glass bones disease’. Gustavo is a talented illustrator, designer, architect and writer that is all heart with a style as smooth as glass and a story worth raising your glass to.

I didn’t speak at all until I was almost four years old. Before that my parents made sure I could communicate by learning to sign key words so I could request the things I wanted, and later I used picture cards to string together short sentences. I don’t remember this, but I’ve seen the home movies. I had choices based on the words I knew and the cards that were printed, but I had to work within those limits to communicate. When I started speaking, I started to read at the same time. I could speak words, but my ability to converse was almost non-existent. I could respond or request things but I had to be prompted with what my mom called “scripts.”

For years, Barry Oberholzer worked across the Middle East and behind the scenes as a confidential informant making connections, extracting valuable intelligence, and facing off against America's greatest enemy at every turn. The focus of this interview is not about Barry’s work as an informant. Rather, this is a conversation about his work as a philanthropist – an unbridled humanitarian saving people everyday with ‘the power of one’.  

#upperwoodfoundation #barryoberholzer

The prophetic boy walked along the beach, wreathed in thought, so much so that he almost missed the dark form sprawled on the sand. It was a young pilot whale, breathing heavily.

“Don’t panic, my brother, “ the boy said.

“I’ll run back to the village and return with enough people to push you back into the water.”

“No.” a voice sounded in the boy’s head. “No, let me stay here.”

“But surely you will die.”

“I am sacrificing myself,” the whale said.

“Why?” asked the shaman.

“My people are dying,” said the whale.

“Our only salvation lies in becoming land animals again. Each time the dolphins and we beach ourselves, we get a little farther inland. I’ve gone past where my father got and he outdistanced his own father. Eventually we will walk upon the Earth once more.”

The boy pondered this. He dug into his medicine pouch, extracted a few leaves and chewed them. Soon he was flying through the spirit world in search of the Master of Swimming Things, whom he found in a watery grotto.

The boy explained the plight of the whales and dolphins. The Master listened intently, then began speaking. In an instant the traveling youth found himself back in his body on the beach.

“It will take far too many generations for you to become land animals again,” he told the pilot whale.

“The seas are growing poisonous quickly.”

The whale moaned.

“But,” the boy continued, “the Master of Swimming Things says if your people can’t come upon the land, he will send the sea to take its place. One day whales and dolphins will glide through submerged cities and other works of men. You will tell new stories and sing new songs of happiness.”

“But what will happen to you?” the whale asked.

“We will either grow wise or cease.”

The whale pondered the words of the far-seeing youth.

“Perhaps I’ll take you up on your offer to return me to my home then.”

The boy used the hem of his garment to wipe away the animal’s huge tear and ran off to summon his people.

Even as a child, Laura loved manifesting her ideas and bringing them to life. An entrepreneur since the age of 8 when she began selling newspapers, in elementary school Laura created and sold bead jewelry. As an adult, her career as an upcycling artist began 7 years ago with the introduction of her own line of eco-friendly accessories crafted from used bicycle tires. Bringing sustainable style to a whole new level, her eclectic collections are both sensual and sensible.  

PADNOS, a recycling and scrap management company, has gone from rags to riches by finding value in the things others discard or take for granted, by seeing possibility where others see expendability, by turning hubcaps into art and raw talent into valued expertise. Kari Bliss leads the development and execution of strategic customer experience & sustainability initiatives at PADNOS. She ensures these initiatives effectively enhance business performance and support the long-term interests of those she serves.