Critical Mass Business Talk Show | Orange County’s Longest-Running Business Talk Show

Brenda Rodriguez has served as Executive Director of Affordable Housing Clearinghouse (AHC) since 2009. This is her fourteenth year with the organization which is celebrating over 30 years of addressing the evolving affordable housing needs of the community. Some of her responsibilities include identifying business opportunities to sustain the organization, overseeing fee-for-service programs/contracts, managing housing developments (both rental and for sale), financial literacy and counseling, and representing the organization at various community events, cultivating relationships between nonprofits, lenders, and other community groups to facilitate Community Reinvestment activities.

Although homeownership continues to be a challenge in Southern California, Brenda is steadfast in ensuring the community is educated on the process and benefits of this long-term investment through support and collaboration of lenders, nonprofits, and various partners. Under her leadership, AHC successfully made homeownership a reality for families throughout southern California; a geography with significant barriers to first-time homebuyers. She secured National Stabilization Funds (NSP 1 & 2) and currently oversees monitoring for the remaining portfolio. She maintains relationships with contacts at US Department of Housing and Urban Development as well as the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco and the Federal Reserve.

Brenda is dedicated to the Orange County community and serves on several Boards focused on housing and uplifting families with very little means. Some of these boards include the Kennedy Commission, Orange County Community Housing Corporation (Chairwoman) and Hope Through Housing Foundation. She is passionate about helping the underserved, low-income families, educational programs, and the veteran community. She facilitated the 2016 Veterans Symposium on Housing in Orange County and has previously served as the Chair for Orange County Military and Veterans Families Collaborative Steering Committee for Housing. Her speaking engagements include participating as a guest on the Ron Siegel broadcast in January 2016, Radio Santa Ana (Spanish broadcast), and Telemundo Canal 52 promoting of down payment assistance program for working families. Brenda also established the organization’s relationship with the Veterans Administration and partners with them to offer life skills. The focus of the series ranges from tax savings, credit information to homeownership and other topics.

Lastly, Brenda served as a Board Director of the Southern CA Association of Nonprofit Housing for six years where she also volunteered as part of the Fundraising and Recruitment Committees. Brenda previously held positions in both the private sector at companies like Czarnowski Exhibit Services, IBM as well as in the Public Sector (County of Orange Housing & Community Services).

Brenda earned a BA in Social Work from UC Berkeley and an MSPPM from the Heinz School of Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University. She studied at the University of Padua, Italy and is fluent in both Italian and Spanish. Brenda was born and raised in South Central Los Angeles, CA.

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Critical Mass Business Talk Show is Orange County, CA's longest-running business talk show, focused on offering value and insight to middle-market business leaders in the OC and beyond. Hosted by Ric Franzi, business partner at Renaissance Executive Forums Orange County. Learn more about Ric at www.ricfranzi.com.

Catch up on past Critical Mass Business Talk Show interviews...

YouTube: https://lnkd.in/gHKT2gmF

LinkedIn: https://lnkd.in/g2PzRhjQ

Podbean: https://lnkd.in/eWpNVRi

Apple Podcasts: https://lnkd.in/gRd_863w

Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gruexU6m

#orangecountyca #mastermind #ceopeergroups #peergroups #peerlearning

Johnlery Cruz is the founder and CEO of Carbon Fiber Cabinets, a company with a mission to craft exclusive carbon fiber cabinets and architectural pieces while also serving as the Director of Operations and business development for PCW Millworks. The carbon fiber brand represents luxury craftsmanship showcasing the perfect backdrop within the automotive industry and car enthusiasts.

Johnlery has ten years of experience in the construction industry ranging from cradle-to-grave large commercial buildings to small retrofits. He has a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Chico State University, and started his construction internships during his last two years of college. His career started at the largest Mechanical Firm on the West Coast and has transitioned to luxury craftsmanship in the carpentry industry.

In his free time, Johnlery loves to play golf and spend time with his family.

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Critical Mass Business Talk Show is Orange County, CA's longest-running business talk show, focused on offering value and insight to middle-market business leaders in the OC and beyond. Hosted by Ric Franzi, business partner at Renaissance Executive Forums Orange County. Learn more about Ric at www.ricfranzi.com.

Catch up on past Critical Mass Business Talk Show interviews...

YouTube: https://lnkd.in/gHKT2gmF

LinkedIn: https://lnkd.in/g2PzRhjQ

Podbean: https://lnkd.in/eWpNVRi

Apple Podcasts: https://lnkd.in/gRd_863w

Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gruexU6m

#orangecountyca #mastermind #ceopeergroups #peergroups #peerlearning

Braelyn Davis is the CEO and co-founder of Planet Based Foods, the first company to develop plant-based meat and dairy products with hemp as a key ingredient. The brand represents the culmination of six years of research and development around how to utilize hemp seed in delicious plant-based food applications. Davis has enjoyed more than a decade in the space, backed by training as a nutritionist.

Prior to founding Planet Based Foods, Davis introduced a range of retail products using hemp and CBD. He is responsible for building the brand as it expands its consumer product innovation. Davis is on a mission to establish hemp as a superfood protein source that can feed the world sustainably for generations to come.

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Critical Mass Business Talk Show is Orange County, CA's longest-running business talk show, focused on offering value and insight to middle-market business leaders in the OC and beyond. Hosted by Ric Franzi, business partner at Renaissance Executive Forums Orange County. Learn more about Ric at www.ricfranzi.com.

Catch up on past Critical Mass Business Talk Show interviews...

YouTube: https://lnkd.in/gHKT2gmF

LinkedIn: https://lnkd.in/g2PzRhjQ

Podbean: https://lnkd.in/eWpNVRi

Apple Podcasts: https://lnkd.in/gRd_863w

Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gruexU6m

#orangecountyca #mastermind #ceopeergroups #peergroups #peerlearning

Sherri Snelling is a corporate gerontologist, “authorpreneur” and founder/CEO of Caregiving Club, a strategic consulting and educational content creation firm with an expertise in caregiver wellness, well-home design and brain health/Alzheimer’s.

Her new book, Me Time Monday – The Weekly Wellness Plan to Find Balance and Joy for a Busy Life, is a creative non-fiction, self-help book released August 22, 2023. Her first book, A Cast of Caregivers – Celebrity Stories to Help You Prepare to Care, was a top-selling book in Amazon’s family and relationships category.

Sherri is also the host of the podcast, “Caregiving Club On Air,” writes articles for various online news outlets including PBS Next Avenue, Forbes.com and USA Today, and serves as an on-air aging wellness expert for TV and radio news.

Snelling has a master’s degree in gerontology from USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology a a master’s certification from MIT Sloan School of Management on Shaping the Jobs of the Future and a master’s certification from Harvard University in “Happiness Psychology.” She lives in Newport Beach, California.

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Critical Mass Business Talk Show is Orange County, CA's longest-running business talk show, focused on offering value and insight to middle-market business leaders in the OC and beyond. Hosted by Ric Franzi, business partner at Renaissance Executive Forums Orange County. Learn more about Ric at www.ricfranzi.com.

Catch up on past Critical Mass Business Talk Show interviews...

YouTube: https://lnkd.in/gHKT2gmF

LinkedIn: https://lnkd.in/g2PzRhjQ

Podbean: https://lnkd.in/eWpNVRi

Apple Podcasts: https://lnkd.in/gRd_863w

Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gruexU6m

#orangecountyca #mastermind #ceopeergroups #peergroups #peerlearning

Suzy Engwall is the CEO and President of HealthTech Strategies, LLC as well as the VP of Early Medtech Development at Alira Health. She is a healthcare innovation leader, speaker, startup advisor and mentor who has been working to make change in healthcare for over 17 years spending the last 7 in the healthcare innovation space.

In her current roles, Suzy works with early-stage startups to help them navigate the challenging landscape of bringing a product to market in the highly regulated healthcare space. Independently, she consults with healthcare organizations to set up their corporate innovation programs and assist them in the commercialization of new product. She also serves as a leader for the Founder Institute HealthTech chapter, a pre-seed accelerator, and is a long-time board member for GameChanger Charity – a 501c3 that helps deliver joy and distraction therapy to hospitalized children.

Suzy is a graduate of Arizona State University, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Health Entrepreneurship and Innovation from the Edson School of Nursing and Health Innovation where she is also an Alumni Board Member.

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Critical Mass Business Talk Show is Orange County, CA's longest-running business talk show, focused on offering value and insight to middle-market business leaders in the OC and beyond. Hosted by Ric Franzi, business partner at Renaissance Executive Forums Orange County. Learn more about Ric at www.ricfranzi.com.

Catch up on past Critical Mass Business Talk Show interviews...

YouTube: https://lnkd.in/gHKT2gmF

LinkedIn: https://lnkd.in/g2PzRhjQ

Podbean: https://lnkd.in/eWpNVRi

Apple Podcasts: https://lnkd.in/gRd_863w

Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gruexU6m

#orangecountyca #mastermind #ceopeergroups #peergroups #peerlearning

Manuel N. Gómez is the Producer & Founder of OC World. Manuel N. Gómez, Ph.D. served as Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs at the University of California, Irvine from 1995 to 2010. He began his work as a counselor in the Educational Opportunity Program, was a program officer with the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education in Washington D.C., and he served as Interim Vice President for Educational Partnerships in the University of California Office of the President.

Manuel also served as a member of the Children First, Paul Merage Foundation, on the Board of Trustees for the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and the Board of Governors for the Orange County Community Foundation. Currently, he is an Advisory Committee member of the UC Berkeley Institute for the Study of Higher Education.

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Critical Mass Business Talk Show is Orange County, CA's longest-running business talk show, focused on offering value and insight to middle-market business leaders in the OC and beyond. Hosted by Ric Franzi, business partner at Renaissance Executive Forums Orange County. Learn more about Ric at www.ricfranzi.com.

Catch up on past Critical Mass Business Talk Show interviews...

YouTube: https://lnkd.in/gHKT2gmF

LinkedIn: https://lnkd.in/g2PzRhjQ

Podbean: https://lnkd.in/eWpNVRi

Apple Podcasts: https://lnkd.in/gRd_863w

Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gruexU6m

#orangecountyca #mastermind #ceopeergroups #peergroups #peerlearning

Lori A. Torres is the founder and prior CEO of Parcel Pending, the nation’s leading provider of innovative package management solutions. She is a successful entrepreneur with more than 25 years of real estate experience. Additionally, she has been recognized on multiple occasions for her leadership and was named 2017 “Innovator of the Year” by the Orange County Business Journal. Lori has also been chosen as one of the 13 entrepreneurs admitted into the EY Entrepreneurial Winning WomenTM 2017 North America class and was a Regional EY Entrepreneur of the Year winner in 2019.

Lori founded Parcel Pending in 2013 to provide seamless package management solutions to property managers, residents and couriers alike. She served as the company’s CEO since its inception until leaving in August 2021. Today, Parcel Pending is the global package management industry leader in the multi-family, commercial, retail and universities space with over 200+ employees and serves tens of thousands of customers across North America. Lori sold the company to Neopost/Quadient in 2019 and remained CEO for over two years.

During her 13-year tenure at The Irvine Company, Lori held various senior positions, including SVP of property operations. Lori was responsible for the operational oversight of the company’s entire multifamily portfolio, consisting of 1,200 property management associates operating over 44,000 apartment homes. In addition to the Irvine Company, Lori served as senior regional manager at BRE Properties, Inc. from 1996 to 2000, and regional manager at McNeil Real Estate Management Company from 1986 to 1996.

She has also served as president of the South Coast Apartment Association, Orange County in 2009, board member of California Apartment Association from 2010 to 2012 and board member of the CAA South Coast Apartment Association, Orange County from 2005 to 2011. Lori held a board position at both UCI Beall Applied Innovation and Families Forward, a non-profit helping families avoid homelessness. Lori is now advising companies in both the real estate space and entrepreneurs.

Lori holds a Master of Business Administration from Pepperdine University. She is a Certified Property Manager, (CPM), IREM.

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Critical Mass Business Talk Show is Orange County, CA's longest-running business talk show, focused on offering value and insight to middle-market business leaders in the OC and beyond. Hosted by Ric Franzi, business partner at Renaissance Executive Forums Orange County. Learn more about Ric at www.ricfranzi.com.

Catch up on past Critical Mass Business Talk Show interviews...

YouTube: https://lnkd.in/gHKT2gmF

LinkedIn: https://lnkd.in/g2PzRhjQ

Podbean: https://lnkd.in/eWpNVRi

Apple Podcasts: https://lnkd.in/gRd_863w

Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gruexU6m

#orangecountyca #mastermind #ceopeergroups #peergroups #peerlearning

For more than two decades, Lynne Sebastian has been focused on building and protecting the wealth of high-net-worth individuals and families across the country.

She specializes in working with people in transitional periods of their lives, such as newly retired, divorced, widowed, or those who have recently come into an inheritance. She delivers comprehensive financial planning including budget analysis, investment management, legacy planning, retirement income and long-term care solutions. Lynne enjoys educating the next generation of her clients and stresses the importance of financial independence.

A graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara, Lynne earned the Chartered Retirement Planning CounselorSM® designation from the College of Financial Planning, and holds Series 7, 63, and 65 securities licenses as well as life, annuity, and long-term care licenses. Lynne is one of a select number of investment professionals at UBS who holds the Private Wealth Advisor designation as well as the Certified Exit Planning Advisor for Companies. CA Insurance License #0B62029. 

Lynne holds the Forbes America Top Women Wealth Advisors Best-In-State 2023 & Top Women Wealth Advisor 2020-2022 designations. Lynne has been an active public speaker for companies and non-profit organizations on topics such as retirement planning, wealth preservation and raising responsible children of wealth. She has been a contributor to articles featured in The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones News, and Bizwomen.

Lynne is an active participant in the community, advocating and volunteering for organizations such as Leashes of Love Animal Rescue, Second Harvest Food Bank, and UCI Lifevest financial literacy program. Lynne and her husband Chris reside in Newport Beach with their two rescue dogs, Penelope and Dudley.

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Critical Mass Business Talk Show is Orange County, CA's longest-running business talk show, focused on offering value and insight to middle-market business leaders in the OC and beyond. Hosted by Ric Franzi, business partner at Renaissance Executive Forums Orange County. Learn more about Ric at www.ricfranzi.com.

Catch up on past Critical Mass Business Talk Show interviews...

YouTube: https://lnkd.in/gHKT2gmF

LinkedIn: https://lnkd.in/g2PzRhjQ

Podbean: https://lnkd.in/eWpNVRi

Apple Podcasts: https://lnkd.in/gRd_863w

Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gruexU6m

#orangecountyca #mastermind #ceopeergroups #peergroups #peerlearning

Anton Komarow is the Founder & CEO of B2Storefront, a cross-platform SEO-friendly, high-performance storefront fully integrated with Shopify, BigCommerce and Swell.

With 20 years of experience as a web developer, Anton launched first web portal in 2003, and is dedicated to working on making eCommerce fast, both in terms of loading time and when it comes to the speed of implementation of new features and sections.

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Critical Mass Business Talk Show is Orange County, CA's longest-running business talk show, focused on offering value and insight to middle-market business leaders in the OC and beyond. Hosted by Ric Franzi, business partner at Renaissance Executive Forums Orange County. Learn more about Ric at www.ricfranzi.com.

Catch up on past Critical Mass Business Talk Show interviews...

YouTube: https://lnkd.in/gHKT2gmF

LinkedIn: https://lnkd.in/g2PzRhjQ

Podbean: https://lnkd.in/eWpNVRi

Apple Podcasts: https://lnkd.in/gRd_863w

Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gruexU6m

#orangecountyca #mastermind #ceopeergroups #peergroups #peerlearning

Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey are the Founders of Barefoot, now the world’s largest wine brand. Since their successful acquisition by E&J Gallo, they have dedicated their lives to helping other entrepreneurs with the lessons they learned in the process. They are popular keynote speakers, writers, teachers, and regular media guests on the subject of entrepreneurship and business culture including several previous interviews on Critical Mass.

Over the past year, Michael and Bonnie have spoken at Oxford, Cambridge, Nanyang University in Singapore, and Keynoted at several events including the Antrepreneurial Center at UCI.   

They adopted their New York Times bestseller, The Barefoot Spirit, into a theatrically performed audioplay that was recognized as a 2020 Business Audie Award Finalist by the Audiobook Publisher’s Association. That success gave rise to their new project, Business Audio Theatre where they dramatize founder’s startup stories in an effort to preserve their legacy and attract, retain, and engage their people. Their Hollywood audio productions are reminiscent of pre-television 1940s radio dramas, complete with actors voicing parts in seminal scenes that demonstrate business principles, complete with sound effects and music.

Their most recent production, The Brain Savers, How a Scrappy Startup Transformed Telemedicine and Patient Care chronicles the entrepreneurial journey of Dr Colin McDonald as he and his team overcome financial, technical, and legal obstacles to create a pioneer, interstate, telemedicine company in the early 2000s.

Michael and Bonnie created Business Audio Theatre to address the increasing trend in resignations and lack of engagement. They believe that entertaining and gripping stories help listeners identify with the founder’s principles and pull for their success.

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Critical Mass Business Talk Show is Orange County, CA's longest-running business talk show, focused on offering value and insight to middle-market business leaders in the OC and beyond. Hosted by Ric Franzi, business partner at Renaissance Executive Forums Orange County. Learn more about Ric at www.ricfranzi.com.

Catch up on past Critical Mass Business Talk Show interviews...

YouTube: https://lnkd.in/gHKT2gmF

LinkedIn: https://lnkd.in/g2PzRhjQ

Podbean: https://lnkd.in/eWpNVRi

Apple Podcasts: https://lnkd.in/gRd_863w

Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gruexU6m

#orangecountyca #mastermind #ceopeergroups #peergroups #peerlearning