Fresno's Best

Today, we have Mark Standriff on the show. A former radio host and a mover in conservative politics, Standriff now directs Beautify Fresno, a campaign to clean up Fresno that you’ve probably seen on Instagram or heard about in the media.

Books: 

The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion Jonathan Haidt 

Our Patreon Page 

Today we have Dr. Karen Crozier on the show. Dr Crozier is a proud native and resident of Fresno and is driving innovation, and change, on racial and environmental  justice in agencies and individuals. Dr. Crozier received her B.A. in Psychology from UCLA in 1991, and her M.A. in Education (Early Childhood) from California State University, Fresno in 1996 along with her multiple-subjects teacher’s credential and cross-cultural language academic development credential in 1994 and 1999, respectively. In 2005, she received her M.A. in religious education and her Ph.D. in theology and personality, or practical theology, in 2006 from Claremont School of Theology.  She is a former associate professor of practical theology and administrator of faculty development and diversity in Christian higher education. In addition, Dr. Crozier is a former early childhood educator and 7th grade Algebra teacher with over 20 years experience in both education and church ministry. Her current community leadership efforts include black reparations, African American infant mortality, and educational equity and justice.  Dr. Crozier is an entrepreneur who brings scholarly activities such as critical thinking, careful analysis, and a radical imagination to engaging racial equity and justice. This was a great conversation and to be completely transparent we get into the weeds of various religious issues here. But we also cover things like Critical Race Theory, gender inclusivity, equitable redevelopment, urban ministry, and much more.

Links

Dr. Crozier's Website

Books

Fannie Lou Hamer's Revolutionary Practical Theology by Dr. Karen Crozier

Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman and Vincent Harding 

Women-Church: Theology and Practice of Feminist Liturgical Communities by Rosemary Ruether

When Women Were Priests: Women's Leadership in the Early Church and the Scandal of Their Subordination in the Rise of Christianity by Karen J. Torjesen 

Our Patreon Page

Today, we have on the show City Councilman Nelson Esparza. Councilman Esparza represents District 7 in Fresno. Born and raised in the central valley, Nelson did his education southern California at UC Riverside and UCLA before returning to the valley to make a difference on city council. We talk about a lot in this podcast and if you enjoyed my conversation with his colleague Tyler Maxwell, you will also enjoy this wide ranging and fascinating conversation.

Books: 

A Promised Land by Barack Obama 

Team of Rivals:The Political Genuis of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin

Our Patreon Page 

Today we have John Gliatta on the show. Mr. Gliatta was appointed in August 2017 as Independent Police Reviewer for the Office of Independent Review, which provides a neutral, third-party review of police policies, procedures, strategies, and internal investigations. He comes to the City of Fresno from the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, where he worked as a Crime Analyst for their Patrol Division.

Before working for the Sheriff’s Department, Mr. Gliatta spent more than 27 years with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, where he was consistently recognized as an outstanding agent and established a national reputation for his exceptional organizational and analytical skills. He was most recently promoted to the Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Sacramento FBI office, where he managed all criminal investigative units, including Civil Rights, and many of the satellite offices within the division, including the Fresno FBI Office.

Mr. Gliatta also served as an Assistant Inspector of the Inspection Division at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. A graduate of West Virginia University Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science in Business Management, Mr. Gliatta also completed training at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia.

This was a fascinating conversation and we cover a wide range of topics around policing, reform, and compliance. Small disclaimer at the front for my listeners who are skeptical about law enforcement reform. I would say this to you if you happen to fall into that camp: don’t sit in your silo, you need talk with people you disagree with. It’s important. You still might arrive at the same conclusions (I certainly hold the same views that I did before having this conversation), but I am better informed to make the case for the changes that I want to see after talking with someone like John.

Links: 

Independent Review City Link

Our Patreon Page 

Today, we have Susie Harder on the show. Susie is a licesnced speech and language pathologist and is an experienced clinician who devotes much of her passion to working with children, teens, and adults who stutter. She works in both private practice and the school setting to help support children who stutter. In addition to direct therapy, Susie trains speech-language pathologists to work more effectively with students who stutter. Susie teaches the graduate-level fluency course at California State University, Fresno. During her time in Fresno Unified School District (2011-2015), Susie designed the framework for a Fluency Consultant role to utilize specialty skills and support Speech-Language Pathologists working with children who stutter. In addition, to a her quote day job, Susie also created the Junior Author’s program in September of 2020, days after the Creek Fire affected Big Creek and Pine Ridge area families. It was developed as an educationally-focused, social-emotional support for children and families feeling loss and grief due to the fire.  Schools across the nation (and world) have joined together to have their students involved in helping our local kids impacted by the fire. This was a great conversation that covered a lot and Susie and I clearly share a love for just one more thing.

Links: 

Junior Author's Program 

Central Valley Stuttering Center

Fresno's Best Patreon Page 

Books: 

The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life by Hal Elrod 

The Joy of Missing Out: Live More by Doing Less by Tanya Dalton 

If I Could Tell You Just One Thing... Encounters with Remarkable People and Their Most Valuable Advice by Richard Reed 

Today we have Dr. Bradley Hart on the show. Dr. Hart has a Masters in Philosophy from St. Andrews and a PhD from Cambridge University. In 2018, he published the book Hitler’s American Friends which won the German Studies Association Sybil Halpern Milton Book Prize. Dr. Hart is currently an associate professor at Fresno State. This is one of those wide-ranging podcasts where we wander intellectually across a variety of topics.

Links: 

Dr. Hart's Website

Our Patreon Page 

Books: 

The Coming of the Third Reich Richard J. Evans 

War and Peace Leo Tolstoy 

Hitler's American Friends Bradley W. Hart 

The Big Fella Jane Leavy

Today our guest is Isabel Machado. Attorney Machado is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), practices exclusively in the area of immigration law with a focus on family-based immigration, employment-based immigration, and complex deportation and removal defense. Like her clients, Machado is a immigrant and those experiences have propelled Machado into helping others pursue citizenship. We talk about a lot of immigration-relation topics, including naturalization, ICE, discourses about immigrants, the situation at the border, and more.

Links:

Isabel's Law Practice

American Immigration Council 

Immigrant Legal Resource Center

Our Patreon Page 

Books: 

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Thunderdog by Michael Hingson

Today, we have Rob Saroyan on the show. Rob is the president of Valley Children’s Foundation and the Guilds of Valley Children’s. Rob has worked with multiple governors and served as the director of development at Fresno State. This was fascinating conversation and we cover topics of philanthropy, development, Armenian food and much more.

Links: 

Valley Children's Foundation 

Our Patreon Page 

Books: 

The Gambler by William C. Rempel 

Speed of Trust by Stephen M.R. Covey 

Today we have Fresno County Superintendant Jim Yovino on the show. Jim attended both California State University, Fresno and Fresno Pacific University. Jim has held positions in education from classroom teacher and coach to principal in Fresno, Dinuba, Central and Clovis unified school districts. Prior to his appointment as the 21st Superintendent of Schools for Fresno County on July 1, 2013, Jim served as Deputy Superintendent. He was elected as the Fresno County Superintendent of Schools in 2014 and in 2018 for his current term. He is a champion for all children by advocating for career technical education and the arts, as well as addressing issues of poverty, intervention, civility, homelessness and the importance of early education.

Links: 

Fresno County Office of Education Website 

Our Patreon Page

Today we have on the show Brynn Saito. Brynn is the author of two books of poetry and co-founder of Yonsei Memory Project (YMP). YMP uses art and storytelling to connect the WWII-era incarceration of the Japanese American community with current struggles for justice. Her poetry has been nominated for a Northern California Book Award and her work has appeared in the New York Times, Vogue, and American Poetry Review. Currently, Brynn is an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing and English at California State University, Fresno, located on Yokuts land. This conversation was great fun and is occasionally or often quite nerdy.

Links

Brynn's Site 

Our Patreon Page 

Books Recommended: 

Kontemporary Amerikan Poetry John Murillo 

Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments Saidiya Hartman 

The World I Leave You Edited by Leah Silvieus and Lee Herrick

Angel Island Erika Lee and Judy Yung  

Nisei Radicals Diane C Fujino