Most of us have experienced roadblocks along a career path. 

For a university professor, NOT getting tenure is a major roadblock.  It means that the place where you've invested your time and reputation for years now expects you to leave.  Just like that.  There go your job security and income!  So what happens next?

Photographer, educator, and activist Steve Cagan learned this lesson the hard way.  Hear how he used this unexpected setback to delve deeper into activism, and eventually to pursue a long-term relationship and build a powerful portfolio of work to assist the people of El Choco, Colombia.

For more information, please check out these links:

Steve Cagan and his work

Gold Mining in El Choco--the images of Steve Cagan and Mary Kelsey

Steve Cagan discusses "activist photography" in a previous interview

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TRANSCRIPT FOR THIS EPISODE

Passing Through Life podcast                   copyright 2018
Luanne Bole-Becker 

Episode 4:  Tenure Isn't Everything
Steve Cagan interview recorded 7.31.18, podcast published 2.20.19

Introducing our guest—Steve Cagan, activist photographer (00:00:15)

Lu:                                          Today's episode is "Tenure Isn't Everything," episode number four, an interview with Steve Cagan, an award-winning activist photographer. He's won very prestigious awards, including a Fulbright fellowship. So welcome Steve. Thanks for joining us

Steve:                                   Two Fulbrights!

Lu:                                          Ooooh. Two. Whoa ho ho! Okay. But a bit of background. Well, I first saw Steve's photography 30 years ago, which is impossible because we are youngsters!  But it was in an exhibit highlighting factory closings around Cleveland or around the region. We didn't actually meet until 2010 when we collaborated on a project to document the lives of refugee families that were resettling here in northeast Ohio. And I have to say I was a little intimidated because Steve has this long history of exhibits and awards and I was interested in creating a photo exhibit, but I had absolutely no experience as a curator, a gallery owner, a serious photographer, any of those things. But I just knew I wanted refugees’ lives captured in a compelling and visual way. So several people actually referred me to you, Steve, and you're kind of like a perfect fit because you've pretty much dedicated your life to using photography, but using it to advance and support social causes. 

                                                So that leads me to my first question. You call yourself an activist photographer. What the heck is that?

Steve:                                   Well, that's a very good question. It's something that I've been actually developing both as a practice and as a kind of critical understanding. What's at the heart of that notion is that my photography is done in collaboration with organizations or communities that are in struggle for justice-- perhaps around ve<

Having a baby is supposed to be one of the most joyous times of your life!  So when guest Sheila Fell and her husband Joe learned that Sheila was pregnant, they were ecstatic.  In fact, Sheila immersed herself in learning everything she could about pregnancy and new motherhood.  

However, once their son Arthur was born, reality didn’t quite match all those glorious expectations.  The Fells learned firsthand about that dreaded word “colic" when their baby boy began to cry virtually nonstop.  Sheila recounts how she was in a constant state of anxiety as a result.  And despair.  Because those days of unsuccessfully trying to calm an unhappy baby turned into weeks...and then months.  

New moms like Sheila are not only susceptible to postpartum depression, but to a whole range of emotions that can include PTSD and absolute rage.  They are called perinatal mood disorders, and they are very real, affecting roughly 1 in 5 women after childbirth.  They can be life threatening.  

The good news, though, is that there IS help available.  Learn more in this episode.

Here are some great resources that Sheila recommends:

POEM - Perinatal Outreach and Encouragement for Moms  

• Mom-to-mom support over the phone, online, or in groups with a casual, open-session format.
• Referrals to specialized health care providers and community resources
• An unbiased, central source of information and support
• Hotline: 216-282-4569

Postpartum Progress - A great resource for moms struggling with Perinatal Mood Disorders and their families. 

The Fussy Baby Site - Resources and support for moms of babies with colic and high needs. Support group online at www.facebook.com/groups/fussybabysite/.

Connecting for Kids - Resources and support for families of children with special needs.

Help Me Grow - Home-based parent support program to improve maternal and child health and development.

Building Blocks - Play group for families of kids aged 6 months - 3 years with special needs.

Here is a written transcript of this episode!

Passing Through Life podcast                   copyright 2018 Luanne Bole-Becker

 Episode 3:  Mother Never Told Me There’d Be Days Like These

Sheila Fell interview recorded 8.29.18; podcast published 2.6.19

Introducing our guest:  Sheila Fell (00:00)

Lu:            Today's episode is titled "Mother Never Told Me There'd Be Days Like These." It's episode number three, an interview with Sheila Fell, a young mom whose son Arthur was born in August 2016. So welcome, Sheila. Thanks for joining us.

Sheila:     Thank you for having me.

Lu:            Sure. We first met doing refugee work. You were finishing up law school, if I recall, I think you took the bar exam right around the time I met you. Yeah, but you wanted to do some work with immigrants and refugees. And I was running a refugee ministry so you became my right hand person for a while as a volunteer. Thank you so much. Yes. Yay!!!. And you are an amazingly capable woman, so I thank you for that.

Sheila:     Thank you. You were just so much fun to work with and definitely helped me get my feet wet in the nonprofit world, so I appreciate that a 

Michael Byun seems comfortable in his own skin.  Now the Executive Director of Asian Counseling and Referral Service (ACRS) in Seattle, and formerly the long-term director of Ohio’s Asian Services In Action (ASIA, Inc.), it also seems that Byun always knew exactly where his life was heading.

But that was not always the case.  

Byun immigrated to the U.S. from Korea with his parents when he was less than a year old.  His is a story common to many immigrants of the time:  poverty, hard work, and a strong allegiance to their new home country of America.

Asian Americans are often seen as a “model minority;” they are stereotypically expected to excel in math and science, and to become doctors and lawyers.  And if they don’t?  Then they can be made to feel as if they are disappointing their community.  They just aren’t living up to society’s expectations.

So even though Byun’s heart was in community service, he dutifully pursued a path to medical school.  Until—two and a half years into the process – he woke up one morning and thought, “I’ve had enough.  I don’t want to do this.”  And he stopped.

In that light bulb moment, Byun’s new path was set.  In shedding others’ expectations, he gained the freedom to become true to his inner calling, and to have a truly significant impact on the Asian American community.

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Over his 25-career, Michael Byun has worked on issues including health disparities, social justice, and immigrant and refugee issues, particularly among AAPIs (Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders).  In 2014, he was appointed by President Barack Obama to the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.  

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Resource links:

Asian Counseling and Referral Services (ACRS)
Acrs.org

Asian Services In Action (ASIA, Inc.)
Asiaohio.org

Faces of Chinatown—Cleveland Chinatown Photography and Oral History Project http://www.clevelandpeople.com/groups/chinese/2012/faces-chinatown.htm

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A transcript for this interview is now available on the Facebook page "Passing Through Life Podcast."
https://www.facebook.com/passing-through-life-podcast

Graphic designer Katie Melnick had never really failed.  She was accepted into the art school she wanted, won scholarships she sought, and landed a great job at a boutique design studio in Cleveland right out of college. 

And then, the recession hit.  Melnick's job disappeared unexpectedly... and virtually overnight!  (She even toyed with starting a blog called "Will Design for Food.")  Melnick's next job, with a small jewelry company, ended disastrously amid office politics and broken promises.

That's when Melnick decided to change her approach in job hunting.  It was time to figure out where the mismatches were happening.  And how to forge an employee/employer relationship that benefited both of them.

In this premier episode of "Passing Through Life," podcast host Luanne Bole-Becker interviews Melnick to explore how to manage these types of job and life transitions, including advice for others in similar situations.

Melnick is now a successful independent artist working with clients big and small.  She and husband and business partner Jasen Melnick are the owners of Fizz Creative.

Resource links suggested by Katie Melnick:

Fizz Creative
https://hellofizz.com

AIGA, the professional association for design
https://www.aiga.org

Books that helped Melnick get over unemployment

48 Days to the Work you Love
https://www.amazon.com/Days-Work-You-Love-Preparing/dp/1433669331

The Art of Nonconformity
https://www.amazon.com/Art-Non-Conformity-Rules-Change-World/dp/B004BK4I26/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1542838080&sr=1-1&keywords=the+art+of+nonconformity

ReWork
https://www.amazon.com/Rework/dp/B003BLGD06/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1542838155&sr=1-1&keywords=rework

A transcript for this interview is now available on the Facebook page "Passing Through Life Podcast."
https://www.facebook.com/passing-through-life-podcast