Matheos Mesfin is the Founder and Executive Director of the Institute for East African Councils of Higher Education. The IEA Councils specializes in college access for immigrant (and first-generation immigrant) students of East African heritage. They are strong advocates of higher educational access and persistence. Matheos tells host Andy Ockershausen that their mantra is “there’s no growth in comfort.” Take a listen to see how it applies. Following is a summary of what you’ll hear:

• From Ethiopia to Our Town to Grinnell College in Iowa and back to Our Town

• On Founding the Institute for East African Councils on Higher Education

• There’s No Growth in Comfort

• On IEA Councils’ Students Coming Back to Our Town After College to Make an Impact

• Speaking Their Language Can Make All the Difference in a Young Person’s Life

• Our Town has the Largest Ethiopian Population Outside Ethiopia

• Collective Effort to Make Sure Your Neighbor is as Accomplished As You Are

• IEA Councils’ Students at Ivy League Schools

• Appreciating the Basic Necessities of Life

• On IEA Councils’ Students Becoming Doctors and Nurses – They Can Change Their Minds

• On IEA Councils’ Students and Their Families

• The Institute of East African Councils Higher Education Program | How to Navigate the College Admissions Process

• Blain – One Intern’s Experience

• On Objectively Assessing a College or University and Acclimating to a New Environment (Potential for Culture Shock)

• How to Support IEA Councils and its Students

The entire transcript for this podcast episode can be found on our website here:

https://ourtowndc.com/matheos-mesfin-iea-councils/

A special thanks to Our Town sponsors Attorney Mike Collins, The Eric Stewart Group, Tony & Joe's Seafood Restaurant and Nicks Riverside Grill.

Jimmy Lynn is an entrepreneur, college professor and servant leader. He’s spent a career in communications and marketing and a lifetime giving back to the community. He and Andy revel in each having the biggest “rolodex” and how that helps them connect the dots all for the good of the Our Town community. Be inspired to do good while listening to this interview. Following is a summary of what you’ll hear:

• Doing Business in Our Town – Big Fish, Medium Pond

• Andy O, Jr.

• American University Communications and Marketing

• Surround Yourself with Good People

• The Importance of Internships

• On the Greater Washington Sports Alliance and Olympics

• On the Importance of Giving Back to the Community and Board Service

• Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School

• Co-Founding Kiswe with Jeong Kim | Mobile Video

• Teaching at Georgetown University and the McDonough School of Business

• On AOL Sports Team | Built Largest Internet Sports Site in World

• WMAL | Tony Bennett and Marvin Hamlisch

• Community Service and Mentoring

• “Playing It Forward” Georgetown Hoyas’ Women’s Basketball Day Camps

• Professional Sports in Our Town Involved in Community

• Interactive Mobile Video | Kiswe

• Always Innovating - From Home Team Sports to AOL

The entire transcript for this podcast episode can be found on our website here:

https://ourtowndc.com/jimmy-lynn-entrepreneur-kiswe/

A special thanks to Our Town sponsors Attorney Mike Collins, The Eric Stewart Group, Tony & Joe's Seafood Restaurant and Nicks Riverside Grill.

Phil Hochberg, former “Voice of the Redskins” for 37 years and lawyer to major sports leagues, talks about his work both as a lawyer and sports announcer in and around Our Town. Hochberg discusses some of the influence he’s had on regulation and legislation impacting sports and the changes he’s seen especially as it relates to money flowing through sports today. Hochberg discusses the following with Ockershausen:

• Wilson High School | American University | Syracuse | George Washington Law School | Federal Communications Commission Career Start

• Practicing Law 54 Years | Member of Firm to Sole Practitioner | NFL, NBA, NHL, Nascar

• Hochberg 1969 Article on Cable Television in Sports Got NHL's Attention at the Time

• Stadium Announcer for Washington Senators - 1962 – 1968

• To Boston with Westinghouse then back to DC and Private Practice

• Law Practice: Administrative Law, Regulations and Legislation| Senator Pastore and Anti-Blackout Legislation

• On Developing Legal Representation of Sports in Washington DC

• On Passage of Copyright Bill in 1976 | Tax Exemption for Priority Seating Plan Contribution to Colleges

• On What College Coaches Get Paid Today

• Major League Baseball Making More Money Than Ever Despite Attendance Losses

• Jack Kent Cook and LA Kings

• "Voice of the Redskins" for 37 Years - Some Benefits

• Size Matters

• Player Representation

• Baseball's Salary Cap and the "Luxury Tax"

The entire transcript for this podcast episode can be found on our website here:

https://ourtowndc.com/phil-hochberg-lawyer/

A special thanks to Our Town sponsors Attorney Mike Collins, The Eric Stewart Group, Tony & Joe's Seafood Restaurant and Nicks Riverside Grill.

Lisa Baden, Traffic Reporter and Radio Personality, has been reporting traffic in Our Town for 27 years. She is a favorite radio personality of host Andy Ockershausen, as well as many drivers she’s helped navigate traffic over the years. She’s been on mornings, afternoons, and overnights. She worked at University of Maryland’s radio station while working full time and going to school part time to obtain the experience she needed to be hired on radio and the rest is history. She is grateful for the opportunity to provide such a service and even more so to be able to do it a way that is true to her personality and it works! This upbeat interview touches on the following:

• Captain Dan

• Evolution of Traffic Reporting in Our Town

• Evolving as a Traffic Reporter into Radio Personality Who Reports Traffic

• Success: How You Perceive, and Approach, an Opportunity

• Remembering Stacey Binn

• Native Washingtonian Born to be on Radio

• Growing Up in Our Town

• Baden’s Signature and Radio Programming and Commercials

• No Bathrooms on the “Traffic” Plane and Metro Traffic

• Rush Hour Changes Construction Start Time the Same

• University of Maryland Radio Experience Part of the Plan

• Washington DC Sniper

• 911

• Tar Truck and Journalism 101 – Journalistic Integrity

• Loving Her Career

• Traffic Reporting: Evolution of Information Resources Over the Years

• Radio Personality Reporting Traffic

• Reporting Traffic on 911

• Making it Personal to Listeners

• Up at 2:30AM to Avoid Traffic

• Family

• The Amish | Tobacco and Traffic Reports

• A Passion: Always Learning | Can’t Imagine it Ending

The entire transcript for this podcast episode can be found on our website here:

https://ourtowndc.com/lisa-baden-traffic-radio-personality/

A special thanks to Our Town sponsors Attorney Mike Collins, The Eric Stewart Group, Tony & Joe's Seafood Restaurant and Nicks Riverside Grill.

Marianne Haney Brennan is a fifth generation Washingtonian. She founded Mrs. Brennan’s School of Etiquette and is doing what she loves – teaching school children manners. She also does private training and works with corporations. Andy O and Marianne discuss Marianne’s various career experiences and what’s she’s learned about her beloved community over the years. Following are topics discussed in this new Our Town podcast interview:

• Fifth Generation Washingtonian, Etiquette Coach | Custom Classes for Schools and Corporations

• Epidemic of Undisciplined Children

• Family | Uncle Ray Krouse Former Washington Pro Football Player

• On Becoming a Member of the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington DC

• On Experiencing Changes to Our Town While Working the Beat as a Police Officer

• Marianne Haney Brennan | Biggest Regret

• Georgetown | Past and Present Personal Observations

• On the Impetus for Teaching Etiquette

• On Working with Seniors and Help of Our Town Citizens

• Georgetown’s Senior Center Needs Help

• Shining Shoes – More Lucrative Than You’d Think

• Retirement Not in Marianne’s Vocabulary

• Legacy of John Carroll, Georgetown University

• “I want to teach these children.” | Manners | Etiquette

The entire transcript for this podcast episode can be found on our website here:

https://ourtowndc.com/marianne-haney-brennan-etiquette-coach/

A special thanks to Our Town sponsors Attorney Mike Collins, The Eric Stewart Group, Tony & Joe's Seafood Restaurant and Nicks Riverside Grill.

Tom Davis, retired US Congressman for Virginia’s 11th District, is currently Rector of George Mason University. He had an impact on Virginia during the 80s, through the 90s and the first part of the new century. He and Andy talk politics, then and now, as well as a little about Tom's background and reason for retiring from his Congressional seat.Following are topics discussed in this new Our Town podcast interview:

• Tom Davis – 29 Years of Public Service | Former United States Congressman and Fairfax County Board

Member

• Reminiscing – Local Political Races

• On Growing Up | Family and Education | Full Scholarship to Amerherst

• Middle School and High School – Page Boy for the U.S. Senate

• Impact on County Board | Won Chairman Seat from Incumbent

• Rector, George Mason University | Life After Congress

• On Writing DC Control Board Legislation

• On Leaving Congress Undefeated and Unindicted | It Was Time to Move On and College Tuition

• DC and Virginia’s “Destinies Interwined” | Davis Worked to Bring People Together

• Republicans in Northern Virginia on Endangered Species List

• Virginia Political History

• Frank Wolf – Sui Generis

• Northern Virginia has Changed for the Good

• Changes in Urban and Rural America

• On Donald Trump

• “It’s a Cultural Gap”

• It’s Social Media

• New Balance of Power Exists Today – Not Fairing Very Well Right Now

• Whole Foods or Cracker Barrel – Democrats or Republicans – It’s a Great Country

• Little League Baseball Player and Clayton Kirby

• Marshall Hall Amusement Park

The entire transcript for this podcast episode can be found on our website here:

https://ourtowndc.com/tom-davis-retired-congressman/

A special thanks to Our Town sponsors Attorney Mike Collins, The Eric Stewart Group, Tony & Joe's Seafood Restaurant and Nicks Riverside Grill.

Mahan Tavakoli, CEO of Strategic Leadership Ventures and Leadership Greater Washington Chair, has a servant leadership attitude which he acquired from his Dad. He speaks with Our Town host Andy Ockershausen about his personal background and career experience, as well as his love for his family and the region in which he lives and works – Our Town. Following are topics discussed in this new Our Town podcast interview:

• Mahan Tavakoli: A Washingtonian from Iran

• Mahan’s Dad – A Servant Leadership Attitude

• On Growing Up in Our Town

• Our Town Business Leaders Espouse Responsibility to Give Back to Community

• On Becoming Chair of Leadership of Greater Washington

• Critical to Bring People to the Table from Across Region to Address Issues Together

• Relationship Building is Priority for Leadership Greater Washington Participants

• To Impact the Region You Must Connect with Other Like Minded People in the Region

• The Amazon Rule and Fundraising

• Tavakoli’s Dale Carnegie Experience

• Family – On Making it a Priority

• Genesys Works

• Important to Get Out of Our Daily Bubble and Recognize the Poverty Pockets that Exist Around Us in Our Town

• This Podcast is a Story for Today as Much as it is of the Past

• Leadership Greater Washington Provides Pathway to Success by Bringing People with Varied Backgrounds to the Same Table

The entire transcript for this podcast episode can be found on our website here:

https://ourtowndc.com/mahan-tavakoli-servant-leadership/

A special thanks to Our Town sponsors Attorney Mike Collins, The Eric Stewart Group, Tony & Joe's Seafood Restaurant and Nicks Riverside Grill.

Deborah Marriott Harrison and host Andy Ockershausen have an easy conversation about the impact of the Marriott company on Our Town over the last 92 years. You’ll find the impact and Our Town history are interwined. Debbie and Andy also discuss how after 27 years of raising her family, along with her husband, she went back to work in the family business. Debbie and Andy’s conversation include:

• Marriott’s First Two Hotels – Twin Bridges and Key Bridge Hotels – A Bit of Our Town History

• Marriott Started with in the Hotel Business with Motor Hotels

• True Partners - J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Started with a Nine Stool Root Beer Stand

• How J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Came to Our Town and Hot Shops

• Marriott – One of the First Big Businesses in Our Town

• Growing the Hotel Business

• Marriott’s Philanthropy in Our Town

• Today Marriott Opens a Hotel Every 14 Hours Around the World

• Growing Up, Creating a Life with Family, and Having a Career in Our Town

• Marriott’s People First Culture

• Hot Shops Hot Fudge Cakes | Mighty Moe’s, Onion Rings and Orange Freezes | Pappy Parker Fried Chicken

• Marriott’s Old Commissary 13th and Rittenhouse

• J. Willard Marriott Instrumental in Land Acquisition for the Washington DC Temple Located in Silver Spring, Maryland

• J. Willard Marriott and President Eisenhower

• Home and Business Headquarters are Washington DC and Montgomery County

• Debbie Marriott Harrison – DC College Access Program Board Member

• Travelling and Favorite Activity – Interviewing Dad

• Restaurants – The View and Sirloin & Saddle

• Husband Ron Harrison – 37 Years with Company

• Bill Marriott Outfitted Kitchen at Boys and Girls Club Special Camp

The entire transcript for this podcast episode can be found on our website here:

https://ourtowndc.com/deborah-marriott-harrison-marriott-international/ A special thanks to Our Town sponsors Attorney Mike Collins, The Eric Stewart Group, Tony & Joe's Seafood Restaurant and Nicks Riverside Grill.

Caroline Carter, Founder and CEO of Done in a Day, Inc. and Author of Smart Moves, has a passion for helping her clients transition from home to home. She and host Andy Ockershausen talk about the process and its three components – emotional, financial and physical. Caroline and Andy also talk a bit about her personal life – Rutgers grad, many moves across country, divorce and her own transition afterward. Caroline may just be that someone you want in your corner as you start thinking about moving from your home into a new one. Take a listen. Andy and Caroline’s conversation includes:

• Smart Moves – Demystifying the Moving Process

• Moving is a Strain on the Entire Family

• On Partnering with Real Estate Agents

• Staging a Home is Just One Part of the Process

• The Devil is in the Details

• Proud Rutgers Alumna

• Proliferation for Moving Around the Country After Rutgers

• Different Aspects of Moving to Think About – Emotional, Financial and Physical

• “Emotional Ivy”

• Understanding What It Will Take to Maximize Your Asset

• Founding Done in a Day, Inc.

• Practicing What She Preaches

• “The Sound of Time”

• On Moving Day You Need an Advocate

• How to Allow Your Movers to Stay On-Site

• Short-Term Storage is Another Thing

• Smart Moves - Why You Need an Advocate to Transition from Home to Home

The entire transcript for this podcast episode can be found on our website here:

https://ourtowndc.com/caroline-carter-smart-moves/ A special thanks to Our Town sponsors Attorney Mike Collins, The Eric Stewart Group, Tony & Joe's Seafood Restaurant and Nicks Riverside Grill.

Tom Sherwood, an analyst on WAMU's Politics Hour on The Kojo Nnamdi Show, and former long-time WRC TV politics reporter, was born and raised in Atlanta and started his career working as a copy boy for the Atlanta Journal Constitution in 1964 right out of high school. He remembers then AJC Publisher Robert McGill who “confronted all of the Civil Rights demons.”, and that “the paper led on Civil Rights.” Sherwood continued his career at The Washington Post until 1989 when he left to join WRC TV as their politics reporter until recently. Andy and Tom Sherwood’s conversation includes:

• Atlanta and South Carolina | Tom Sherwood’s Southern Family

• Tom Sherwood’s Distinct Voice

• On Growing Up in Atlanta, Georgia and Working for the Atlanta Journal Constitution

• Ralph McGill – The AJC and Civil Rights

• Advice to Journalism Students About Being a Journalist: “it opens doors to everything and anything that you want to see and do.”

• Why Tom Sherwood Left The Post for WRC

• On Starting in TV

• In the Navy at the Navy Yard – A Yeoman’s Life

• On Moving to Southwest DC Before it Became The Wharf

• Too Many People and Too Much Traffic

• On Covering Our Town as a Reporter Today

• No “One Man Band” Reporting for Sherwood – Focus on the Technical or the Story

• The Kojo Nnamdi Show and Friday’s Politics Hour

• Dream City: Race, Power, and the Decline of Washington, D.C.

• Sherwood’s Analogy of DC’s Structure: A Wedding Cake

• An Out of Towner’s Misconception of DC May Impact Voting Rights for the City