People are the Answer

Show notes:

In this episode, Shireen and Jeffrey discuss her journey from Pakistan to the US at age 7 and the incredible sacrifices her parents made to make it possible. We also cover the duality she experienced growing up in Palo Alto, the variety of jobs she worked from ages 12-18, when she realized what’s valuable in life vs. in our educational system, transforming education, and much more

Watch this episode on YouTube https://youtu.be/-y4xdKbGgSY

Learn more:

Host: Jeffrey M. Zucker

Producer: Kait Grey

Editor: Nick Case

Recording date: 5/23/24

Shireen:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/shireenjaffer/

https://www.instagram.com/shireenjaffer_/

Skillify:

https://www.linkedin.com/company/skillify/

https://www.skillifynow.com/

https://www.instagram.com/skillifynow/

https://www.facebook.com/Skillify/

https://twitter.com/skillify

Other resources:

https://cosmosinstitute.substack.com/

Bio: 

I'm a people-obsessed product builder based in San Francisco. I was born in Pakistan, won the luck lottery at age 7 and immigrated to Palo Alto, where I was bred to solve real world problems and build my first business at 17.

While attending USC full-time, I bootstrapped my first company Skillify to challenge our societal obsession with college and helped 150,000 high school students get real world exposure via internships and mentors. I focused on impact and profitability from day 1 and scaled Skillify programs to 220 schools by the time I graduated three years later. I'm so proud to have helped hundreds of thousands of students discover what they love, and be recognized as Forbes 30 under 30 for work I love doing.

The longer story? I can tell you live - say hi at [email protected]

Chapters:

0:00 - Intro

1:42 - What Motivates you?

3:46 -  Immigrating

13:06 - Early Life in US

19:08 - Education

25:50 - Skillify

31:02 - Changing People's Lives

44:03 - Life After Skillify

1:10:20 - Education, Vocation

1:16:58 - Most Grateful for

1:18:02 - Snap Your Fingers

Show notes:

In this episode, Rob and Jeffrey discuss Rob’s career journey, including time as a singer-songwriter, creating various software businesses, fighting to bring clean water to people in need, crypto, and much more

Watch this episode on YouTube https://youtu.be/692yswK9-nI

Learn more:

Host: Jeffrey M. Zucker

Producer: Kait Grey

Editor: Nick Case

Recording date: 8/1/24

Rob:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/robkramerpurposelab/

Business:

https://www.purposelab.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/purposelab-llc/

https://www.instagram.com/purposelabs/

https://www.facebook.com/purposelabsonline

https://www.justiceservedcoffee.com/

https://www.justiceservedcoffee.com/

Chapters:

0:00 - Intro

3:51 - What Motivates You?

10:27 - Moving Pixels and Early Career

16:07 - Hip Swap

18:55 - Global Water Trust

23:38 - Purpose Labs

34:51 - Justice Served Coffee

47:21 - Justice Served Process

49:28 - How to Get Justice Served Coffee

52:28 - Coffee Industry

1:03:10 - When Work Affected Change

1:08:50 - Mentor

1:09:57 - Ask Jeff a Question

1:11:49 - Most Grateful for

1:13:49 - Snap Your Fingers

1:15:42 - How to Support

In this episode, Skippy and Jeffrey discuss his upbringing, working in the Obama campaign and other political endeavors, his time filming a travel show in Laos, his love for Aspen and the effort he’s put toward that, the importance of self-awareness and vulnerability.

Watch this episode on YouTube https://youtu.be/yLq9212ki2w

Learn more:

Host: Jeffrey M. Zucker

Producer: Kait Grey

Editor: Nick Case

Recording date: 8/6/24

Skippy Mesirow:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/skippymesirow/

https://www.instagram.com/skippymesirow/

https://www.facebook.com/skippymesirow

Business:

https://www.instagram.com/electedleaderscollective/

Podcast - https://www.healingourpolitics.com/

Gone Gonzo - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbyNgfPUJTM

www.electedleaderscollective.com

https://aspen.skyrun.com/

https://www.healingourpolitics.com/#newsletter

Bio:

Skippy Mesirow is a public to his core. He is the Founder of the Elected Leaders Collective, a Natural Medicine Advisory Board member, and a former Aspen City Councilperson. His life's mission is to heal our politics.

In 2007 Skippy rose from unpaid intern to Deputy Director of home state and a 5-state region for Obama for America 08'. At 23, he ran a state-wide race as Campaign Manager for Jesse White 2010. Turned off by the toxicity of politics in Chicago, Skippy left a promising career and traveled the world, often solo with a backpack and a motorcycle. His perspective began to expand.

Working on an ill-fated start-up, he moved back to his favorite place on Earth, Aspen, CO., where he had previously lived as a competitive skier and collegiate national champion. Here he began to do "the work," diving deeply into his soul, connecting and healing and re-contextualized years of childhood trauma and their resulting expression.

As he did, he re-engaged politically. He co-founded and Chaired Aspen NextGen to give youth a voice. He organized a successful ballot initiative to change Aspen's election day, resulting in the highest-ever voter turnout by 26%. He Chaired the APCHA housing board and the P&Z Comission, going on to serve four years on Aspen’s City Council from 2019-2023.

In his term, Aspen established a net-zero-waste goal and passed a housing strategic plan. Skippy advocated for innovation to improve government function, citizen involvement, and voter turnout and t psychedelic reform. He serves on the Aspen Psychedelic Resource Center board.

During his service, he observed incredible heart-centered leaders try to make change, only to drop out as they faced public hate, misinformation, conflict, and the resulting stress, anxiety, overwhelm, and other mental health challenges of our toxic culture.

Integrating his mental-health journey, he founded the Elected Leaders Collective to "heal our politics." The ELC works with elected officials and public servants to reduce mental health challenges, increase performance, and connect with other heart-centered leaders.

ELC's coaching addresses all five parts of the human experience – mind, body, emotion, unconscious, and spirit. Leaders cultivate awareness, remove internal blocks, and achieve aligned external action to reach their highest self in life and leadership.

Skippy lives with his partner Jamie in Aspen. They travel as much as possible, still on two wheels, to unconventional places. Skippy is an ultra-marathoner, burner, skier, biker, driver, & cook w/"Citizen" tattooed on his right arm.

Chapters:

0:00 - Intro

2:44 - Healing Our Politics Podcast

11:00 - What Motivates You?

17:32 - Where Did You Grow Up?

25:29 - What Drew You to Colorado?

33:44 - Growth at an Impressionable Age

35:47 - Electric Vehicle Start Up

38:02 - Gone Gonzo

45:29 - Political Origin

51:49 - Healing in Politics

1:04:28 - Public Service

1:14:08 - When Work Affected Change

1:19:49 - Ask Jeff a Question

1:22:52 - Most Grateful for

1:24:15 - Snap Your Fingers

1:27:43 -  How to Support

In this episode, Alison and Jeffrey sit down to discuss her journey from stage actor and producer to non-profit administrator, the power of teaching kids to recognize harmful relationships, her folk-rock band, Little Deep, and much more

Watch this episode on YouTube https://youtu.be/6h68_8rMmLM

Learn more:

Host: Jeffrey M. Zucker

Producer: Kait Grey

Editor: Nick Case

Recording date: 7/9/24

Alison:

https://www.instagram.com/iamalisonblair/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/littledeepmusic/?hl=en

Nest Foundation:

https://www.nestfoundation.org/

https://www.facebook.com/NestFoundation/

https://www.instagram.com/nestfoundation/?hl=en

https://twitter.com/NestFoundation

Bio:

Alison joined Nest in the spring of 2021. She brings with her a decade of nonprofit administration experience, in both the arts and law & policy sectors . A non-profit theater producer for five years, she has worked both on- and off-Broadway, regionally, and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, producing festivals, fundraisers, and educational events. She manages programs for Nest, facilitating organizational systems, ensuring program deliverables, managing development and outreach, and providing team support cross-programmatically. In her free time she can be found traveling, reading tarot, and gigging around NYC and the Catskills in her folk-rock band.

Chapters:

0:00 - Intro

2:18 - What Motivates You?

4:16 - Current Role

8:34 - Early Life

13:08 - Early Career

18:48 - Nest Foundation

31:38 - Pushback from Parents

38:13 - The Student Experience

47:46 - Future of Nest

50:38 - How Educators Get Involved

54:18 - Little Deep

56:17 - When Work Affected Change

1:03:00 - Mentor

1:05:02 - Ask Jeff a Question

1:09:31 - Most Grateful for

1:11:47 - Snap Your Fingers

1:14:10 - How to Support

Show notes:

In this episode, Christina and Jeffrey chat about her incredible book, Curious: a foster mom’s discovery of an unexpected solution to drugs and addiction, as well as how End It For Good has evolved since their last conversation and the “staircase to recovery” as well as growing support for different types of recovery journeys.

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/me_HTcqo-P4

Learn more:

Host: Jeffrey M. Zucker

Producer: Kait Grey

Editor: Nick Case

Recording date: 7/30/24

Christina:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinabdent/

https://www.instagram.com/christinabdent/

End It For Good:

https://enditforgood.com/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwl4yyBhAgEiwADSEjeHW4zajtl0os_z-LkzXZ8qiH9Bsg3KCUprRz5cqqGWcIWBgdp7iQQxoCxuYQAvD_BwE

https://www.instagram.com/enditforgoodms/

https://www.facebook.com/EndItForGoodMS/

https://twitter.com/EndItForGoodMS

Contact - [email protected]

Other resources:

Curious: A Foster Mom's Discovery of an Unexpected Solution to Drugs and Addiction - https://www.amazon.com/Curious-Discovery-Unexpected-Solution-Addiction/dp/B0CMCDV8VP/ref=sr_1_1?crid=I74YGFPXBVD9&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.P3QhsNIPa0w36dbtXZtkeddL5vuGou8YhJX21rk2Fp4oIuTI6VB6B2Tl04RrBExAUj3fbibSt7sHFNhbl_PG8WR7g3piyzrNkgBPKsIGP25p3bZt7kTYUwCoM1IFI513gaanjpKxqe-toAexq4Nct3GxwRbmVk3n_VZEyYg_BEwvck3vZ3BGAMh7hMWEV7lOUlkhyIhDk4UndTOYgB9GiniXJgAm_VvaDgpW4ygmPek.C6h21av_RSPCGELOw1AgGMEGPLZtC3j3BRHaRVauIco&dib_tag=se&keywords=Curious%3A+A+Foster+Mom%27s+Discovery+of+an+Unexpected+Solution+to+Drugs+and+Addiction&qid=1715710051&sprefix=curious+a+foster+mom%27s+discovery+of+an+unexpected+solution+to+drugs+and+addiction%2Caps%2C113&sr=8-1

Bio:

Christina is an author, TEDx speaker, and perpetual question-asker. She grew up in a conservative, Christian home and earned a degree in Biblical Studies with an emphasis in Christian Ministry from Belhaven University.

As a young adult, Christina assumed she had a solid understanding of how the world works. That changed when she and her husband became foster parents in 2014. The neat bow she had tied around her mental box of how the world works began to unravel.

What had previously been a category of people in her mind, people addicted to drugs, now had a name, face, and an infant son sleeping in the extra bedroom down the hall. Her foster care experience gave her an up-close look at the realities of addiction, drug use, and the far-reaching impact of our drug laws.

This became the catalyst for months of reading, questions, and listening as she tried to reconcile her beliefs as a Christian with the pain and suffering she saw first-hand. What she learned changed her mind. The laws she thought were the answer to keep people from using drugs she now saw as causing more harm than help to people made in God’s image.

Christina founded End It For Good out of her desire to invite others to listen to the voices directly impacted by our drug laws. She hopes that more people will explore the root causes of drug-related harm and consider a different approach. She wrote the book Curious: A Foster Mom's Discovery of an Unexpected Solution to Drugs and Addiction to share her story and the research and experiences that changed her mind about the best path forward to help people thrive, even in a world where harmful drugs exist.

Christina is married to her college sweetheart Thomas, and they live in Ridgeland, MS, with their three sons. On the weekends, you can find her biking, in a hammock reading a biography, or playing board games with the family.

Chapters:

0:00 - Intro

3:40 - End It For Good

5:47 - How Has EIFG Evolved?

10:33 - Curious

23:17 - Curious on Audio Book

26:16 - Origin Story

32:29 - Life After Publishing Curious

39:39 - Sentencing in Real Time

47:34 - Regulated Vs Street Drugs

52:33 - Rehabbing Yourself

57:53 - Staircase to Recovery

1:04:17 - Transcending Religion

1:12:50 - Engagement Around Curious

1:16:11 - When Work Affected Change

1:20:45 - Snap Your Fingers

1:23:37 - How to Support

In this episode, Steven and Jeffrey discuss his hard-working upbringing in Michigan as a prolific art student, how he got into hockey, his move east in 2000, his hockey story, starting his podcast, and much more.

Watch this episode on YouTube https://youtu.be/iaqvClKaJ-k

Learn more:

Host: Jeffrey M. Zucker

Producer: Kait Grey

Editor: Nick Case

Recording date: 4/30/24

Steve:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/smosier/

https://www.instagram.com/coach_steve94/

Cross Ice Pass & SYP:

https://www.crossicepass.com/

https://www.youtube.com/@CrossIcePassNYC

https://podcasts.apple.com/hu/podcast/cross-ice-pass/id1702436506

https://open.spotify.com/show/0wUaK9BvEU5w1ozAz4xQH8?si=e5b27af44fd74aab&nd=1&dlsi=ed7329adbc1146a8

https://twitter.com/CrossIcePassNYC

https://www.instagram.com/crossicepassnyc/

https://www.instagram.com/sypartners/#

https://www.linkedin.com/company/sypartners/

https://www.sypartners.com/

Bio:

I am a graphic designer that has worn many hats throughout my career as a director, senior, production specialist, and even a brand consultant, among other titles. The art industry has been a large part of my in-house and client focus until I found my current role at a renowned transformation consultancy as a “maker” Senior Studio Designer and Studio Manager of various experiences and printed matter for Fortune 500-based transformation work. As of May, I also manage our department in our New York office.

Recently, I started a passion project to talk about my favorite activity that I coach, play, and enjoy. Hockey has been a big part of my life outside of design, and I have been looking for a platform to talk about all aspects of the sport. So I started a podcast called Cross Ice Pass.

Chapters:

0:00 - Intro

6:18 - S.Y. Partners

10:00 - Education

14:43 - Intro to Hockey

19:21 - Relationship with Hockey

23:42 - Experiencing 9/11

29:49 - Getting Involved in Local Hockey

38:46 - Cross Ice Pass

43:36 - When Hockey Changed Lives

47:33 - Mentor

49:30 - Most Grateful for

54:52 - Snap Your Fingers

57:01 - How to Support

In this episode, Sanjay and Jeffrey discuss his upbringing as the son of two Indian immigrant professors, why college is a waste, moving to NYC to be part spiritual teacher Sri Chinmoy’s community, making films, and much more.

Watch this episode on YouTube https://youtu.be/_Bzue3rFmiQ

Learn more:

Host: Jeffrey M. Zucker

Producer: Kait Grey

Editor: Nick Case

Recording date: 4/24/24

Sanjay:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sanjay-rawal-586108247/

https://www.instagram.com/mrsanjayr/

Illumine:

https://illumine.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/illumine-service-foundation-inc/about/

https://www.instagram.com/illumineservice/

Food Chains - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vw-qTCW8fo

Ocean Monk - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOeB1grhfBc

Gather - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfSGB-aSo6A

Other resources:

https://www.wingsofamerica.org/

https://malaika.org/

Bio:

Film Director with a track record of making feature-length human rights and human interest documentaries, all of which have been distributed on major streaming platforms.

I moonlight as the Executive Director of a small nonprofit just as a way to stay connected to a number of issues.

Past life as a consultant/project developer to governments, nonprofits and large cap private equity firms.

Chapters:

0:00 Intro

5:28 - Education

9:11 - Early life

12:57 - Early Career

19:04 - Documentaries, Food Chains & Ocean Monk

23:13 - Running as a Religion

29:30 - Measuring Success

33:14 - Financing Films

35:50 - Gather

40:38 - What's Next

46:11 - The Late Game Process

48:24 - What's Next for Jeff

50:13 - Volunteer Work

53:09 - When Work Affected Change

55:27 - Most Grateful for

57:33 - Snap Your Fingers

1:03:49 - How to Support

In this episode, Brian and Jeffrey discuss his career path, the evolution of his world view, and approaching all things with curiosity. He shares poignant quotes and references that serve to frame his thought processes

Watch this episode on YouTube https://youtu.be/C0OjL7cq-No

Learn more:

Host: Jeffrey M. Zucker

Producer: Kait Grey

Editor: Nick Case

Recording date: 4/8/24

Brian:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/btabrams/

B Ventures Group:

https://www.bventuresgroup.com/

Bio:

Having managed over $1 billion in assets, seen nearly 10,000 startups, sat on over 15 boards of directors, and generated top-tier returns, I’ve learned that a human-centric approach to investment is not only the right way but also the best way. “Who?” and “Why?” are much more important questions than “What?” and “How?”. At its best, venture capital should be a financial means to a human end, not the other way around.

Today I’m working to discover and connect with great human beings around the world in emerging regions such as Southeast Asia (e.g. Vietnam) and Central/Eastern Europe (e.g. Ukraine, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria) as well as “hot spot” ecosystems (e.g. Tel Aviv, Berlin, Tallinn, Reykjavik, and many others). I also have a passion for peacebuilding and conflict resolution, and I’m exploring ways to apply the venture capital model toward a more peaceful world.

Chapters:

0:00 - Intro

2:20 - What Motivates You?

6:40 - Early Life

9:49 - Education

13:55 - Early Career

28:07 - Shift in Career

31:32 - B Ventures Group

38:31 - AI

43:55 - Peace and Conflict Resolution with AI

47:58 - Sourcing Deals

52:41 - Future of B Ventures Group

55:24 - When Work Affected Change

57:19 - Mentor

59:04 - Ask Jeff a Question

1:11:25 - Most Grateful for

1:13:06 - Snap Your Fingers

1:15:52 - How to Support

In this episode, Stacey and Jeff discuss her upbringing, a brief consideration of journalism, her time as Miss Colorado, and dedicating herself to helping people.

Watch this episode on YouTube https://youtu.be/-FRzTgKLvEA

Learn more:

Host: Jeffrey M. Zucker

Producer: Kait Grey

Editor: Nick Case

Recording date: 4/4/24

Stacey:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/stacey-putka/

https://www.instagram.com/stacey_c_putka/

Breakthrough:

https://www.linkedin.com/company/timetobreakthrough/

https://timetobreakthrough.org/

https://www.facebook.com/TimeToBreakthrough/

https://www.instagram.com/time2breakthrough/

https://www.youtube.com/c/TimetoBreakthrough?sub_confirmation=1

Bio:

Stacey believes fiercely in challenging perceptions and in the power of transformation. Growing up in an entrepreneurial household, with a father who took full advantage of his second chance in life after recovering from addiction, Stacey has always been inspired to facilitate transformation in the lives of others. Stacey received a Bachelor of Science in psychology from Colorado State University and a master’s in social work from the University of Denver. Prior to joining the organization, Stacey provided mental health and substance abuse treatment to men on parole and probation.

Chapters:

0:00 - Intro

7:58 - Education

14:51 - Early Career

29:18 - Breakthrough

37:40 - Continued Involvement

41:12 - When Work Affected Change

46:55 - Mentor

49:47 - Ask Jeff a Question

51:28 - Most Grateful

53:21 - Criminal Legal System

56:32 - Snap Your Fingers

59:08 - How to Support

In this episode Kevin and Jeff discuss his lead up to becoming an entrepreneur, including living in Dubai, his ultimately getting the itch to do his own thing, endless searches for perfect fabrics, the difficulty of getting good sleep as a parent, and so much more!

Watch this episode on Youtube: https://youtu.be/FSwf_RSbvhI

Learn more:

Host: Jeffrey M. Zucker

Producer: Kait Grey

Editor: Nick Case

Recording date: 4/2/24

Kevin:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinlavelle

https://kevinslavelle.com/

https://www.instagram.com/kevinslavelle/

https://twitter.com/kevinslavelle

Harbor:

https://www.linkedin.com/company/harborsleep/

https://harbor.co/

https://www.instagram.com/harborsleep

https://www.facebook.com/HarborSleep/

https://twitter.com/harborsleep

Other resources:

https://www.mizzenandmain.com/

Bio: 

Kevin brings a wealth of experience from his role as the Founder and Chairman of Mizzen+Main, having invented the world’s first performance fabric dress shirt. With a successful growth round raised from L Catterton, partnerships with world-renowned athletes like Phil Mickelson and JJ Watt, and a background in omnichannel retail, Kevin is not only a dedicated entrepreneur but also a loving husband and father of two. 

Chapters: 

0:00 - Intro 

11:00 - What Motivates You? 

18:10 - Early Life 

21:17 - Giving Back 

23:17 - Early Career 

32:53 - Mizzen + Main

48:27 - Stepping Down 

58:29 - Stand Together 

1:03:57 - Harbor

1:21:57 - Future of Harbor

1:27:54 - When Work Affected Change 

1:31:06 - Most Grateful

1:34:56 - Snap Your Fingers 

1:37:45 - How to Support