We speak with Kelly Greenwood, founder and CEO of Mind Share Partners, a nonprofit working to change the culture around mental health. We dive into discussion of society’s all-too-common stigma when it comes to recognizing, discussing, and approaching mental health topics; Kelly’s nonprofit seeks to impact this dynamic, specifically by positively shifting perspectives within organizations and workplaces.

In a world in which up to 80 percent of people experience a mental health struggle, Mind Share Partners' mission is particularly imperative. And Kelly herself is no exception to this statistic—she manages a lifelong generalized anxiety disorder with associated depressive episodes. Kelly tells us that, in the past, she perceived her anxiety as a “personal weakness.” She felt ashamed, and was driven to conceal her struggle for fear of professional backlash. Eventually, Kelly had to step away from her job to work toward a healthier headspace.

When, years down the line, she recognized a deficit in organizations attempting to normalize mental health, she decided to pursue an avenue that would provide others with the resources she wishes she’d had at work. What does this entail? According to Kelly: “Ultimately we’re trying to normalize what it looks like to have a mental health challenge at work and reduce the stigma.”

Mind Share does this in three ways: through workplace training and strategic advising, hosting communities to support professionals and employee resource groups, and building public awareness through thought leadership. These efforts, according to Kelly, seek to replicate the three evidence-based ways of alleviating this type of stigma: social contact, peer support, and education.

In working with organizations, Mind Share takes a comprehensive approach, looking at all levels of employment. Kelly references a Mind Share survey that found that “the likelihood that someone in the C-suite had a mental health symptom was just as likely as an entry-level contributor. That really reframes how we think about who has a mental health challenge, right?” This, to Kelly, signals both a “top-down and bottoms up” culture shift at play in the workplace. 

What it comes down to, Kelly says, is people feeling comfortable enough to seek help with what are “extremely treatable” conditions that don’t need to be hidden from view. To her and to Mind Share, preventative action is key.

Special thanks to all who have made SolveCast such a success this year.

We're signing off for 2020. But we wanted to leave you with 16 inspirational quotes from some of the amazing people we interviewed that turned Covid-19 lemons into lemonade.

From an MLB TV announcer discussing the surprising advantages of broadcasting games from home… to a school consultant explaining how Covid-19 can transform education for the better… to a futurist painting a picture of how the pandemic will change our office lives, take a look at these inspiring stories on SolveCast.   

John Ray transforming education during Covid with Stephanie Vaughn
Frank King mental health during Covid w/ Chris Clews
Jason Benetti MLB broadcasting during Covid w/ Connor McKnight
Ben Relles and Good To Vote registers 500k+ people during Covid w/ Connor McKnight
Mark Silberman best business practices and litigation during Covid w/Keri Roberts
Danielle Davis College and Covid w/ Melanie Breunig
Felix Böck on responsible manufacturing and consumerism during Covid w/Andrew Bernier, PhD
Kate Everson on fundraising during Covid w/Stephanie Vaughn
Jeffrey Softcheck on communicating Covid data w/Marc F. Pelletier, PhD
Jay Morris on leadership during Covid w/Linda Hodo
Bruce Thomson on supply chain resiliency during Covid w/ Morten Seja
Rich Kleinman on retail during Covid

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How do we solve for the restoration and preservation of historical pop culture and literary landmarks? We speak with Danny Boy O’Connor—artist, designer, rapper, and founding member of House of Pain—about his drive to do just that with the cultural legacy of the famed 1983 Francis Ford Coppola film, The Outsiders. Danny joins us from Tulsa, Oklahoma where he created and oversees The Outsiders House Museum as executive director.

The film is an iconic one, based on an equally iconic novel written by a fifteen-year-old girl, pen name S.E. Hinton. Think: “Stay gold, Ponyboy.” Its narrative centers on rival teen gangs, class conflict, and the mid-1960s “American outlaw as personified by the brat pack” (in Danny’s words).

Danny first saw The Outsiders in theaters upon its release when he was a teenager. For Danny, the film was a “pivotal” moment and quintessential “coming of age film,” witnessed as he himself was coming of age. It gave him something to relate to, to feel represented by, to escape into, and to help cope with the pain of adolescence in a broken home. As an adult, he honors the impact the film had upon his life through cultural preservation.

What started as a coincidental trip to filming locations in Tulsa during a La Coka Nostra tour turned into a now full-time pursuit to preserve film history. When the opportunity arose to purchase the house featured in the film, Danny jumped in to express his passion for pop culture history. His solution? Starting a museum through collective effort.

The project started with completely rehabilitating the house, which had fallen into extensive disrepair. Realizing the enormity of the task, Danny reached out through online fundraising and over the course of three and a half years got the job done. And once the house was finished, it came time to fill it with film artifacts. He began with one poster, and has since amassed the largest S.E. Hinton and The Outsiders collection in the world.

Past pop cultural moments are, according to Danny, “part and parcel of the making of us.” Both Hinton herself (who turned her academic struggles into widespread literary success) and the film’s characters offered Danny and countless other eighties teens a narrative that framed the underdog as the hero, that placed emphasis on the value in found family, and that gave hope to those with unlikely backgrounds. This is what Danny seeks to appreciate and share with others through his drive to open a crowdfunded, volunteer-run museum that educates and benefits its local community and beyond.

Now, especially in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, Danny recognizes the “warm fuzzy blanket” that nostalgic reflection and historical appreciation can offer in turbulent times. He looks forward to the day the museum can properly resume operations, but in order to do so outside support is needed to keep things rolling. To pitch in, visit the museum’s website here, where you can be included in the house itself by sponsoring a personalized engraved legacy brick.

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We speak to Daniel Ruben, FoodTech advisor to the Rockefeller Foundation and others, about the future of food. Right off the bat, Daniel points out the consequential role food plays in all our lives. First, he specifies that “today, the number one risk factor for disease, disability, and premature death is poor diets.” This translates to roughly one in five deaths, or over ten million people yearly.

Another main concern for global populations and modern food is the environment. According to Daniel, the current food system utilizes “70 percent of fresh water, half of vegetative land, and is responsible for […] a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions.” To move forward from these pitfalls, Daniel says we must focus on creating a system that is “more nourishing, more environmentally sustainable, and more resilient.”

So what needs solving? In our interviewee’s opinion, these three things: increased productivity in emerging markets, reduction of food waste, and creating diets that are both more sustainable and more nourishing. Luckily, there are a cohort of startups looking to solve these problems.

When asked to name a few, Daniel first mentions Impossible Foods in the US, an initiative to offer plant-based meat proxies. He also signals to work being done optimizing alternatives for animal feed habits, and suggests checking out Netherlands-based Protix for their approach to creating a more circular food system. For a company solving for food waste prevention, he points to Apeel Sciences, also in the US. There are, he says, numerous companies beyond these three hard at work on every facet of the food system.

Daniel’s prediction for the future of food is, in short, technology. He specifies increased automation, more sophisticated AI and data capabilities, and agricultural systems that will incorporate satellites, drones, and more. These tech aspects, paired with cultural shifts in food habits and alternative diets, are on the horizon of our current global food systems.

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In this episode of SolveCast, we talk to Kaitlyn Chana. Kaitlyn is founder of Reel Stories Real People, a grassroots organization dedicated to giving a voice to positive causes through video-based media.

In middle school, Kaitlyn fell in love with storytelling, an event which snowballed into her becoming an advocate for untold stories. As a reporter, she often spoke at schools, where she noticed "a disconnect of how we talked about eating disorders and mental illness in the classroom." Kaitlyn was frustrated with the lack of conversations and solutions around eating disorders, a problem with which she herself was all too familiar.

To watch the full video, please visit www.solvecast.com.

Solvecast is now Matters.com

Same mission, new name. We’re here to help people understand what matters and view the world through that lens. The new site launches later this year — thank you to everyone who’s been part of the journey.

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We speak to Professor Johan Wiklund of Syracuse University’s Whitman School of Management about his thoughts on the connection between ADHD and entrepreneurship. With over twenty-five years of research under his belt, he has a lot to share. 

Johan points out that an important distinction to make between the characteristic “inability to focus” for those with ADHD is that, in fact, it’s an inability to focus on things they don’t like.  

One solution? “If you want to be an entrepreneur with ADHD, it’s critically important that you get other people to do those boring tasks.” He tells us this theme has arisen time and again in the ten studies he has conducted throughout six countries worldwide.  

Important too is recognizing that those with ADHD with face unique challenges in life. Schooling can be a struggle and employment options are limited. From this, though, arises a “tenacity” and “level of resilience” that neurotypical people might not develop with as much rigor. The ability to think creatively and productively in the face of adversity is an absolute benefit to entrepreneurship. 

When asked about what the main takeaways for entrepreneurs with ADHD are, Johan had this advice: 
1. Outsource—i.e. get somebody else to do your business books and “boring stuff.” 
2. Schedule—Despite being structure-averse, it can nevertheless be beneficial to incorporate some into your day-to-day to avoid burnout. He says, “Get discipline in terms of eating and sleeping and exercising.” 
3. Self-insight—Know your strengths and weaknesses. 
4. Self-care—Johan’s studies have shown those with ADHD require more self-care than the neurotypical. Specifically, “mindfulness, meditation, and exercise are about as effective as the traditional medicines” prescribed for ADHD. 

For more news that solves, please visit www.solvecast.com

Solvecast is now Matters.com

Same mission, new name. We’re here to help people understand what matters and view the world through that lens. The new site launches later this year — thank you to everyone who’s been part of the journey.

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In this episode of SolveCast, we speak David Timis, Author, Keynote Speaker, and Outgoing Curator at Brussels Global Shapers Hub. The Global Shapers Community is a collective of young people aimed at finding solutions and creating policies to change the world for the better.

There’s no mistaking that stereotypical office life has been turned on its head in these past months. Due to both the pandemic and tech developments, work and education are now "gravitating around technology" more than ever.

David offers his analysis of how the coronavirus has accelerated work life into an entirely new landscape - one that might be here to stay even after the virus is long gone. Whether the greatest changes look like “hybrid-mode” office and home schedules, increased “digital skilling initiatives,” or simply heightened attention to employee mental health, David believes that they reveal something authentic about modern life.

For more information about David, please visit www.davidtimis.com.

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Robert Ferry and Elizabeth Monoian are the founding Co-Directors of The Land Art Generator, a hub for creative competition, education, and research for a renewable energy future. In this episode of SolveCast, they discuss the importance of a cultural revolution on how we view energy, and the small (and big!) steps that we can all take to advance imaginative solutions for the pressing energy problem.

For more news that solves, visit www.solvecast.com.

Solvecast is now Matters.com

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We speak with Pastor Laura Browder about approaches to creating space for the LGBTQIA+ community within religion. Laura’s lifelong aspiration had always been toward church leadership—until she realized she was gay and felt she was “disqualified” from that future. However, after being directed to a queer-affirming church (New Abbey in Los Angeles), Laura has cemented her drive to create a safe space for the queer community. 

For more news that solves, visit www.solvecast.com.

We speak with Gary Kash, President of Gary Kash Marketing Insights, on helping organizations create an emotional connection with their customers using a strong brand strategy.

For more news that solves, visit www.solvecast.com.

Solvecast is now Matters.com

Same mission, new name. We’re here to help people understand what matters and view the world through that lens. The new site launches later this year — thank you to everyone who’s been part of the journey.

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