For the Better

In this episode…

Reason One is a full-service digital agency devoted to making life better for the brands and people they work with, providing services such as digital marketing, content strategy, digital strategy, website design, development, accessibility, and more. Nadia Rasul is a Senior Front-End Developer and Accessibility Lead for the Reason One Accessibility Team (r1at). She is leading the charge for web accessibility to help brands build more inclusive websites that everyone can navigate.

What is web accessibility? In short, web accessibility is the usability and navigability of websites for people with diverse abilities and disabilities. It is much like how the ADA requires brick and mortar businesses to be accessible through accommodations like ramps or minimum aisle spacing. Websites also have requirements to ensure that people with impairments have equal access to services and content. Nadia and the Reason One Accessibility Team work with their partners to help them be compliant. 

In this episode of For the Better, host Ben Cash sits down with Nadia Rasul to discuss how and why websites need to be accessible and inclusive and why it is so much more than just compliance. Nadia talks about some of the most common and visible accessibility tools, as well as some less obvious opportunities. She unfolds many of the misconceptions about web accessibility and breaks down what brands can do and how Reason One can help.

In this episode...

Everything can change. Places that once held a dark history can turn into centers of education and inclusion — even a center of slave trade. 

Shockoe Bottom is a neighborhood in Richmond, Virginia. During the 1800s, it was the second-largest slave-trading corridor outside of New Orleans. But rather than focus on the dark side of its history, Ricky Parker set out to make "Shockoe" mean something celebratory — by starting a new brand of wine. Shockoe Wine is on a mission to educate people about African American History and bring them together through good wine. Plus, they support the community by raising money for scholarships to give to graduating high school seniors. So, how did it all get started? 

In this episode of For the Better, host Ben Cash is joined by Ricky Parker, Co-founder of Shockoe Wine, to discuss how he is using wine to educate the community. Ricky talks about the mission of Shockoe Wine, how he found his way into the world of wine and spirits, and the partnerships that helped make his dream a reality. 

In this episode…

Living a sustainable life is for hippies and tree huggers. It's too much work for the average person to make any real difference. 

Thankfully, both those statements are false. Taking care of the planet is for everybody. Of course, sustainability is a journey, not a destination. The important thing is that you start trying in whatever way you can. For some people, that means switching to a reusable coffee cup instead of using plastic or picking up a few pieces of litter on your way to work every day. 

For Eric Henry, President of TS Designs, it meant becoming North Carolina's first B Corp and provider of high-quality printed apparel using a domestic transparent and trackable supply chain. Eric is also heavily involved in downtown revitalization efforts in his hometown of Burlington, North Carolina. He has founded organizations like the Burlington Biodiesel Coop and Burlington Beerworks. Additionally, Eric is developing a permaculture plan for his 12-acre farm and is converting his house into a net-zero energy home. Whatever your efforts look like — sustainability begins with you. 

In this episode, Host Ben Cash sits down with Eric Henry, President of TS Designs, to discuss his passion for sustainability. Eric talks about his journey to become a B Corp business, how he creates a green culture among employees, and ways you can start making a difference today. 

In this episode…

When people think of saving the planet, they tend to start with physical products. They talk about recycling, carpooling to save gas, or conserving water. But do they think about websites? 

Tom and Vineeta Greenwood, Co-founders of Wholegrain Digital, are stirring up the conversation about sustainable web design. They realized that most people don't recognize the carbon footprint of a single website. If there's nothing to throw away or waste, it must not be a problem. But it turns out that websites use a lot more energy than you think. 

The internet lives in giant data centers around the world. Whenever you turn on your phone, stream a show on your TV, or Google something on your computer, the information has to get from the data center to you and back again. Broadband networks use electricity to transmit the data. An individual data center uses roughly the same amount of electricity as a medium-sized town. So, is there any way to conserve energy when we all need to use the internet?

In this episode, Host Ben Cash joins Tom and Vineeta Greenwood, Co-founders of Wholegrain Digital, to discuss how they are making the world a greener place, one website at a time. They talk about their passion for sustainability, why the internet has a bigger carbon footprint than most people realize, and how they find employees and clients aligned with their mission. 

In this episode…

The Green Heart Project builds garden-based, experiential learning projects and school garden programs to educate students, connect people, and cultivate community through growing, eating, and celebrating food. As Executive Director of The Green Heart Project, Jesse Blom provides overall leadership of the Green Heart Project strategy, staff, programs, administration, and finances to ensure the successful execution of the organization's mission.

Schools often have programs to keep kids off the streets and into something more constructive. How about moving them from the street into the dirt? 

Not for sandcastles — for planting gardens. Jesse and The Green Heart Project build school gardens as outdoor classrooms. Kids master the process of growing good food and connect it to what they're teaching in classrooms. They learn how to harvest and cook the food, so they're involved in the growing process from seed to plate. But that's not all — these students become community members who know and care about their health and the environment. They know how to work together to accomplish something positive. In the end, they're not just growing gardens — they're growing minds and hearts. 

In this episode, host Ben Cash sits down with Jesse to discuss how he is changing schools one garden at a time. Jesse talks about discovering a passion for urban agriculture, life skills children learn from gardening, and shares success stories from The Green Heart Project.