Restarting America

In this episode of Restarting America, Jeremy Greenberg from 97 Switch interviews Promise Phelon, the founder of The Way of the Growth Warrior. Throughout the interview, they discuss the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on business and society. Phelon shares how the current health pandemic has affected her company and how she is adapting to new circumstances.

Before founding The Way of the Growth Warrior, Phelon founded 3 companies, successfully exited 2, and invented multiple patents in HR and career planning workflows. She also is the author of “The Way of the Growth Warrior – How to Win in Uncertain Times.”

The Way of the Growth Warrior gets behind gritty underdogs and nontraditional entrepreneurs to help them disrupt the status quo. Endorsed by luminary Seth Godin, their combination of capital investment and coaching is a system that works.

Phelon earned her MBA at Pepperdine University.

In this episode of Restarting America, Jeremy Greenberg from 97 Switch interviews Elyse Saretsky, the director of the JUF Young Leadership Division. Throughout the interview, they discuss the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on business and society. Saretsky shares how the current health pandemic has affected JUF Young Leadership Division and how she is adapting to new circumstances.

Saretsky has been the director of the JUF Young Leadership Division since the summer of 2018. In this role, she oversees the management of the YLD Board, donor cultivation and stewardship processes, as well as events and programs—all to create positive Jewish experiences for young adults in Chicago.

Saretsky’s career began as a Teach for America corps member in Chicago before joining the JUF Campaign department in 2014 as a campaign associate on the Trades, Industries & Professions team. In 2016, she moved to YLD as the assistant director. Born in the Metro Detroit area, Saretsky graduated from the University of Michigan in 2012 with a dual Bachelor’s degree in American Culture and Art History.

In this episode of Restarting America, Jeremy Greenberg from 97 Switch interviews Loralyn Mears, an author, journalist, and scientist. Throughout the interview, they discuss the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on business and society. Mears shares how the current health pandemic has affected her professional life and how she is adapting to new circumstances.

Mears has been part of the leadership teams for a Fortune 10 business and a couple of Fortune 100 companies, driving market research, innovation, and marketing. She’s also worked for and managed a number of startups and helped many of them launch, including a couple of her own.

Today, Mears ghost-writes for countless clients, helping them tell their stories. In her spare time, she runs a podcast, Women-in-Tech LIKE A BOSS on the Grit Daily News Channel, where she supplies weekly Monday motivation and Friday wine columns, among other content that features femTech and the achievements of its founders plus investors.

Two novels have been published under Mears’ name. Her first, “One Sip at a Time: a Memoir,” won the 2018 US National Indie Book Gold Medal. “Covid-19: The Battle for Humanity” is her second novel.

Mears earned a PhD in molecular biology from Queen’s University and a Masters in physiology from the University of Toronto.

In this episode of Restarting America, Josh Gibbs from 97 Switch interviews the co-owners of Social Light, Sarah Olea and Malena Lloyd. Throughout the interview, they discuss the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on business and society. Olea and Lloyd share how the current health pandemic has affected their company and how they are adapting to new circumstances.

Having founded their boutique social media branding and marketing company in 2017, co-owners Olea and Lloyd have grown exponentially over the last 3 years, with the ability to add services and employees. With Olea's analytic mindset and Lloyd's creative brain, they are two halves of a whole.

Olea has worked in marketing for about 10 years and deals with all things marketing at Social Light. She has an unparalleled history of successful marketing and public relations campaigns. Under the direction of Olea, the careers of an amalgam of clients have been ignited; from artists, authors, and magazine publishers, to medical professionals and athletes.

Lloyd received her MFA in Screenwriting and a BA in Creative Writing and is head of all things branding and creative at Social Light. Outside of Social Light, Malena is a writer and producer for reality TV and sitcoms. You can catch up with Malena's film endeavors on her personal website.

In this episode of Restarting America, Josh Gibbs from 97 Switch interviews Michael Morey, the President and CEO of Bluebird Network since 2012. Throughout the interview, they discuss the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on business and society. Morey shares how the current health pandemic has affected his company and how he is adapting to new circumstances.

With more than 37 years of telecommunications experience, Morey has served as President & CEO of Voxitas, Senior Vice President at NuVox, Regional Vice President of Electric Lightwave, Inc., and held various management positions within his 13 years at AT&T.

During his tenure at Bluebird Network, the company has more than doubled in size and was named as one of the fastest-growing companies in Missouri in 2015. Morey’s experience and strong management skills proved successful when Bluebird Network received INC 5000 in 2013, 2014, 2016, and 2017 as one of the fastest-growing private companies nationally. Voxitas also received INC 5000 recognition in 2007, 2008, and 2009. Morey earned a BS and MBA while attending the University of Southern California.

In this episode of Restarting America, Josh Gibbs from 97 Switch interviews Scott Emalfarb, the founder of Fresh Content Society. Throughout the interview, they discuss the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on business and society. Emalfarb shares how the current health pandemic has affected his company and how he is adapting to new circumstances.

Emalfarb has 10 years of experience in helping local and global businesses design, manage, and grow their social media communities. Living and breathing social media for the past 10 years has allowed him to confidently navigate the complex social media ecosystem and understand how to establish and achieve company goals leveraging the power of social media. In 2019, Fresh Content Society generated over 500,000,000 impressions, 250,000,000 video views, and 150,000,000 engagements for our clients.

In this episode of Restarting America, Jeremy Greenberg from 97 Switch interviews Andrew M. Stroth, the Managing Director of Action Injury Law Group. Throughout the interview, they discuss the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on business and society. Stroth shares how the current health pandemic has affected Action Injury Law Group and how he is adapting to new circumstances.

After spending 20 years as a sports and entertainment agent, Stroth launched a social justice law firm to represent victims of unjustified police shootings, excessive force, and police misconduct. Action Injury Law Group has a team that investigates shootings and excessive force cases, traveling to the scene to preserve evidence and obtain video and eyewitness statements. The firm also handles personal injury and malpractice cases.

In 2016, Stroth created the Truth, Hope & Justice Initiative to share stories of families affected by police violence. He has taught as an adjunct professor in the negotiations program at Northwestern University‘s Pritzker School of Law and serves on the Northwestern Law Board. As a sports agent, he represented professional athletes including Dwyane Wade, Donovan McNabb, and Michael Vick.

In this episode of Restarting America, Jeremy Greenberg from 97 Switch interviews David M. M. Taffet, the co-founder and CEO of Petal, and Christie Zwahlen, co-founder and Executive VP for Social Impact of Petal. Throughout the interview, they discuss the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on business and society. Taffet and Zwahlen share how the current health pandemic has affected Petal—their company that generates zero-odor, germ-freezing waste bins—and how they are adapting to new circumstances.

Taffet has excelled in countless roles: parallel entrepreneur, venture capitalist, investment banker, fund manager, turnaround specialist, mentor, and street photographer. Three descriptive words flow through them all: intrepid, immersed, and inspired. His career has spanned law, investment banking, private equity, not-for-profits, turnarounds, buy-outs, management, and startups, including his newest venture as Petal's CEO.

Taffet has 30-plus years of experience building companies, leading successful teams, raising capital (almost half a billion dollars in total), and developing cross-sector partnerships for commercial and public gain. Along the way, he has had the good fortune of, among other things, working his way through college and law school, building his own businesses, meeting the payroll needs of 100s of employees, raising enormous amounts of debt and equity on behalf of his own ventures and on behalf of others, evaluating the merits of others' ventures, turning others' enterprises around, and working internationally in varied industries with geographically-dispersed operations.

Taffet and his wife, Zwahlen, and their two dogs (Honor and Phoenix) recently made the journey to Fort Worth, Texas, to establish a new home and the headquarters for Petal.

Zwahlen is Petal's heart and soul. She is a civic activist and recognized community engagement practitioner with more than a decade of experience spearheading institutional change across academia, the public, and private sectors. Her authentic commitment to doing the right thing has put her on the frontlines of many public challenges including responsible e-waste recycling, providing community access to technology, creating pathways to science, technology, engineering, arts, and math education (STEAM), and inspiring young people to exercise their agency and become more civically active in their communities.

As Executive Vice President of Social Impact, Zwahlen is driving Petal’s efforts to establish it as a certified B Corporation and force for good with a commitment to sustainability, responsible sourcing, and a true balance between profit and purpose. Prior to Petal, she served as the Director of Community Engagement and Service at Miami University of Ohio, where she raised more than $1 million dollars in leading a significant expansion of the school's civic and community engagement portfolio.

In this episode of Restarting America, Josh Gibbs from 97 Switch interviews Kenneth Bethune, the owner of Coastal Bend Distilling Co. Throughout the interview, they discuss the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on business and society. Bethune shares how the current health pandemic has affected his company and how he is adapting to new circumstances.

Bethune grew up in South Texas and is the oldest child of two small business owners. He graduated from Schreiner University with a BA in History and from Oklahoma City University School of Law. He is licensed to practice law in Oklahoma and Texas. In 2010 he opened a solo law practice in Oklahoma City and is now the managing partner of Bethune Enright PLLC, a law firm with offices in Beeville, Victoria, and Perryton, Texas.

Bethune’s current focus is on rural and small-town entrepreneurship. He invests in residential and commercial real estate, retail, and distilling. Coastal Bend Distilling Co. is a craft distillery producing vodka, gin, and whiskey.

Bethune is a former high school volleyball coach and has an extensive knowledge of useless sports trivia. He lives in Beeville, Texas, with his wife and two children.