Feisworld Podcast

2016 has been an eventful year.  Some good, some not so good.

Via phone calls, text messages, personal emails, I learn about struggles, divorces and illnesses. The worst fear of all is possibly taking of care of a sick spouse or child. Unfortunately, life isn’t without hurdles. And when it rains, it pours.

I don’t come close to knowing all the answers. But having experienced family medical issues with my father back in 2008-2009, I know intimately what it feels like to be desperate and hopeless.  That’s when I sought out a support network – a combination of trusted friends, psychiatrists, activities, software and mobile apps.

For the purpose of this blog post, I’ll focus on mobile apps. These are the most accessible outlets for mild to moderate anxiety. However, they do not replace social networks and medical treatments for severe depression and emotional trauma.

Enjoy,

Fei

Show notes, links and resources: www.feisworld.com/blog/jason-smith

Jason Smith (@jason_smith) is the Manager Director at Founder at OHO Interactive, a thriving, curious team of 30 strategists, creatives, and developers solving business problems in the digital space.

Jason and I connected via LinkedIn since 2012. Over the years, we exchanged ideas on project management, digital strategy and growing talent.

Over the past three months, I grew closer to the entire OHO team and had the opportunity to speak with everyone in the company. I also developed a tremendous appreciation for founders and understanding for the decisions they have to make, the challenges they have to overcome on a regular basis. I welcomed Jason to open up about his philosophy in running the organization, demystify the startup process and share some of the most important lessons learned.

With a degree in English from Brown University and a degree in Design from RISD, Jason can brand, construct and market an experience, or a product that enables him to quickly engage with clients and understand their business objectives. He believes that "Every project brings a myriad of possibilities" and our podcast also speaks to a much-related belief which is Jason believes "Every person brings a unique set of skills and values to the team."

Jason Smith is also known to be "the beacon of clarity". To me, clarity isn't only an ability, but a choice. Clarity, combined with confidence, knowledge, perhaps timing, is a crucial ingredient in any business setting, yet it's often missing.

Last but not least, I invited Jason to talk about his family, his three children who are completely different from one another, and the most important things he wants to pass on.

Anne Spalter (@annespalter / http://annespalter.com/) is a Digital mixed-media artist. Our conversation today, just like the intro of Feisworld Podcast, crosses the boundaries between business, art and the digital world.

Anne is an academic pioneer who founded the original digital fine arts programs at Brown University and The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in the 1990s. In her studio practice, Anne uses custom software to transform source footage—captured by her during multi-sensory experiences such as walking through an open-air flower market in Bangkok, dangling from a helicopter over downtown Dubai—into kaleidoscopic, algorithmically manipulated Modern Landscapes. Her work, Miami Marbles will mark the entrance to the annual contemporary exhibition at PULSE Miami Beach  (December 1-4, 2016).

Anne's work is housed in the permanent collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London; the Albright-Knox Museum in Buffalo, NY; the Rhode Island School of Design Museum in Providence.

Anne's work and her ambition as an artist and an an educator extends much beyond herself.  She has dedicated so much of her career to help young and experienced artists excel in their art careers. She has given talks and presentations at art institutions in the US and around the world. She spent six years working on a book called The Computer in the Visual Arts. Anne joined the Board of Arts Business Initiative (ABI) at New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA)

Together with husband Michael Spalter, they created the Spalter Digital Art Collection that has lent to institutions such as the V&A Museum in London and the MoMA in New York.

I hope you enjoy this episode. If any of your family, friends who are artists and could benefit from Anne's knowledge, please share her wisdom and start a conversation. We believe that through the right channels and support networks, many artists can be successful artistically and financially.

Helen Chong is the founder and principal broker of Haylen Group Inc, a real estate investment services company, located in the San Francisco Bay Area. She raised three young children while building and running her own business.

Helen grew up in Hong Kong. At a very young age, she experienced how difficult life can be. She had gone through numerous financial hardships as a child, recalling days being left home alone while her parents worked in another country. Helen had to quit school from time to time to help her parents’ restaurant business.

When Helen was 18, she made a difficult decision to move to the US on her own despite her parents’ objection. As a result, she had to save every penny and graduated with a degree in Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Seen as a successful business woman today, Helen shares with us how she balances career, relationship, motherhood. 

Helen Chong was introduced to Feisworld by Chris Yen, a previous podcast guest on the show. We hope Helen's voice gives mothers out there, an opportunity to connect and reflect. During our conversation, Helen volunteered to answer some of the most difficult questions including her own struggles with postpartum depression.

Tsering Doma Sherpa is a Communications and Program Coordinator at Daayitwa in Nepal. Daayitwa (translates as ‘self-responsibility’ in English). The organization aims to enable a thriving Nepal where all citizens embrace their responsibilities to collectively transform societal challenges into innovative opportunities.

Instead of chasing after financial advancement and pursuing a comfortable and stable life in the US (Tsering was educated in the US for more than 10 years),  Tsering's wants to help others,  especially people who are underprivileged and underserved. She worked for several organizations including Equal Access Nepal and the United Nations.

In 2014, Tsering became a fellow at Daayitwa. In 2016, she began focusing on a program called WREAP, which stands for Women's Rural Acceleration Enterprise Project. This program didn't exist until recently.  Tsering and her team discovered that out of the 60 applicants who applied to the regular REAP program, only seven were women. When one woman became one of the five finalists, she expressed this very statement in a video: "Now it's not just my turn, but 500 other women in Palpa, Nepal."

With the support of grants and donations today at WREAP, many more female entrepreneurs can participate in leadership programs, technical training, networking, and facilitation of investment.

Visit: https://www.feisworld.com/tsering-dolma-sherpa/ for Show Notes, Quotes, Links and Resources (Bonus: videos of two program finalists who shared their stories)

Please support Feisworld Podcast by subscribing to our channel.

Gordon Lau recently graduated from NYU with a degree in philosophy.

At age five, I took Gordon skating for the first time. He furiously got up after after each fall and didn't want to leave for hours. At age ten, he won a Ping Pong Tournament in Hong Kong, played Rugby for the Hong Kong National Junior Team against some of the most competitive leagues in the world. He's a skateboarder who self started several skate camps to help others learn.

Gordon and his family moved to Toronto when he was three. He didn't speak any English and was enrolled in a Montessori School.  Just before middle school, his family moved back to Hong Kong, when Gordon experienced reverse cultural shock. He then enrolled in the brutally competitive Hong Kong International School (HKIS) through high school.

What will you get out of this interview?

Beyond my own reflections for Gordon's upbringing and recent development, his story isn't unusual for millennials today. Many children grow up in multiple continents as a result of their parents jobs, choice of immigration. I find it interesting and often educational to connect with people like them. They have all faced and overcome fears and struggles at an early age.

When you have to move around constantly as a kid, the lost of friendship and familiarity of the life you once had can be difficult to manage. People who experience these transitions early in life are often more calm and resourceful as they get older.

Feisworld Podcast has tapped into an interesting theme about change, because all of us go through changes frequently. Very few of them are unnoticeable. Many are  uncomfortable and intimidating, or even scary at times. We are not alone in this most human experience. Hearing other people's stories on Feisworld has painted a vivid picture for me to understand just that.

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Feisworld will be releasing a series of eBooks to guide you through the podcasting interview, production and marketing process - no experience required for podcasting or audio engineering. Anyone can do this. 

Good luck! 

Welcome to a special episode of Feisworld, where I interview 5 guests! They are Sue Brooks, an art teacher from the Design and Visual Communications Program at Newton North High School (NNHS), and her four graduating seniors : Marisa Ng, Bradley Trepanier, Sophie Tavolieri and Max Hernadez.

The episode features the latest news and development from Sue's program. Marisa, Bradley, Sophie and Max took turns and talked about their fascinating projects in the past two years (2014-2016). From teaching inner city kids (who don't speak much English) on how to design complex systems, to getting Justin Bieber's attention at TD Garden in Boston (a sold-out, 17,000-seat stadium) when the lights went off.

Lessons learned in Design and Visual Communications?

• "It's OK to fail."
• "You don't notice that you are learning, but you are!"
• "Hold your ideas loosely. Keep it loose and expand your brain."
• "Always challenge myself."

If you are a student, a parent, a relative or a friend who believes in design but not sure how it can be a long term career, this is the episode for you. If you are lucky enough to live in Boston, Newton, I hope you get in touch with Newton North High School to learn more.

This episode is not sponsored by NNHS. Rather it is my personal opinion and observation during the past five years. As a professional in the marketing, design, advertising world, I can say with confidence that design is critical in many areas - visual design, product design, user experience design, illustration, storyboarding and more. If you have questions for either Sue Brooks or myself, please feel free to reach out by leaving a message on this blog, or get in touch with me @feisworld on Facebook.

To learn more about the Newton North High School's Design and Communications Program, please visit their website.

Show Notes:

• [05:50] Guests introduce themselves and mention two relevant things they learned from the Design and Visual Communication course
• [10:00] Students commenting on their experience at Orchid Gardens
• [15:00] How did it hit the students the fact that their teacher was involved in such a big project?
• [17:00] (To Sue Brooks) Did you ever stop to think if this was worth spending your time?
• [20:00] (To Students) Can you comment a bit more on the T-shirt design project?
• [26:45] How is learning within design and visual communication differ from other types of learning or beyond your high school experience?
• [29:15] How does Ms. Brooks grade her students?
• [35:20] Have the students been able to leverage their design and visual communication skills to other areas of their lives?
• [39:00] What does ‘creating your own future’ mean for the students? Career path vs. personal path.
• [46:30] Students’ favorite lessons 
• [50:00] Fei shares her experiences as Project Manager

Lauren Brown (@lobro443 on Instagram) is a Brooklyn-born, Duke grad with a passion for brand insights, digital strategies, and challenging the body and mind through exercise.

She is a retired professional ballerina, who performed with The Pennsylvania Ballet and New York City Ballet at Lincoln Center before receiving her degree in Psychology at Duke. She was also a State and National Yoga Champion (#1 in MA-2015; #21 in USA-2015).

In 2015, she and her team competed in the UBS & OpenIDEO Challenge and was a winner for their project called UnBroke.

So what will you get out of this episode? Inevitably you'll learn a few things about Brand Planning and Marketing. More importantly, this is a story about change. What is it's like for someone to transition from professional ballet (or the performing arts) to a 9-5? Why did Lauren make this decision and how has her life changed since then?

• [05:20] With so many titles attached to yourself, how do you introduce yourself?
• [07:05] How old were you when you worked on the street asking marketing questions and surveys?
• [08:05] What made you decide to stop dancing and pursuing other aspects of life? How was the transition from being a professional dancer to figuring out what's out there?
• [10:00] How prone are you to injuries? How much recovery time did you have between shows?
• [14:50] How does your beauty and your training helped you in the professional world?
• [19:10] How was your transition from being a dancer with a very active lifestyle to a sedentary advertiser? What advice would you share with other people?
• [23:15] What are some of the things a dancer need to watch out for? I.e. setbacks, liabilities, etc.
• [25:15] How has your experience been as a strategist?
• [27:00] What is the IDEO project about  and how it started?
  • [33:15] What was delivered to the IDEO project?
  • [37:50] What's the current status of the project?
• [40:20] How did you get into Yoga and Yoga competition?