Revel Revel

Interview with Vanessa Garrison.

Vanessa says many cool things such as: "in the mindset to receive the message of the book" ... "take the time to learn yourself"... "one divine order of things"... "the universe has lined my life up in a beautiful way" ... "this is so much bigger than the politics of the United States" ... "you cannot heal what you cannot feel" that made it hard to pick one title for this episode. But since it was recorded a week after the 2020 election and I'm publishing at the beginning of 2021...here's another: "we can't move forward as a country until we have these discussions". 
It made the naming of this ep very difficult but wow! If this isn't the 'perfect ending 2020, figuring out how to make 2021 a better year and world't type of message for us all!!!

Vanessa Garrison: Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer

Vanessa Garrison is a passionate advocate of social justice issues and has focused her work
on improving health outcomes and quality of life for Black women and girls.
Prior to co-founding GirlTrek, Vanessa worked as a Program Coordinator for Our Place DC, a
nonprofit organization that provides services to currently and formerly incarcerated women.
Vanessa began her career working in digital media with Turner Broadcasting System. Inc. in
Atlanta, GA. where she managed digital media projects for some the world’s most recognizable news and entertainment brands,
including, CNN, TNT and Sports Illustrated.
With GirlTrek, Vanessa has been a featured on CNN, in The Washington Post,
The New York Times and named a "Health Hero" by Essence Magazine.
Vanessa has received social innovations fellowships from Teach For America
(2012), Echoing Green (2013), and the Aspen Institute (2015). Vanessa earned a
Bachelor of Arts in World Arts and Cultures from the University of California, Los Angeles.

https://www.girltrek.org/

and here's the 2020 recap for Girl Trek: https://wakelet.com/wake/jUZZ5HvtNQZ8u-yQiXSBJ

Stuff we mention: (note we did a good job of promoting black female authors ;-) )

https://blacklivesmatter.com/

Nikki Giovanni. https://bookshop.org/contributors/nikki-giovanni-83c47496-43e8-4dce-b144-ad21d50446b1

Colin Kaepernick: https://www.usresistnews.org/civil-rights/

Zora Neal Hurston: https://www.azquotes.com/author/7096-Zora_Neale_Hurston
Shirley Chisholm: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirley_Chisholm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fannie_Lou_Hamer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Garvey
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stokely_Carmichael

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harriet_Tubman

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ida_B._Wells

https://bookshop.org/a/8901/9781400033423

Half of a Yellow Sun and Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

https://bookshop.org/a/8901/9781616208684

Jesmyn Ward https://bookshop.org/contributors/jesmyn-ward   and her essay on losing her husband's death in 2020:
https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2020/08/jesmyn-ward-on-husbands-death-and-grief-during-covid
(this article has a link inside so you can hear Jesmyn read the article too)

https://bookshop.org/contributors/yaa-gyasi

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucille_Clifton

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angela_Davis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL2qsU2_-00

and while this did not explicitly come up, since we focus on mental health issues in general and what Girl Trek is doing specifically, I think it needs to be added to this list: http://www.forharriet.com/2012/05/mules-of-world-on-black-womens-mental.html

Interview with Dianne Koehler.

Listen to Dianne, 2 Ns, and I reconnect after 20+ years. You won't believe how she's pivotal in my life and how we reconnected. TOTAL small world story! As they say in German: glücklicher Zufall!  We discuss her life and how everything just keeps falling into place for her. She's not on social media, so this is where you can find her online. Dianne is so down to earth sees things that others may not see. She's picked up a German accent after all this time, and brings another worldly outlook to our little pod. This is the second person I've had on who now lives overseas. She's extremely well-read on international lit so check out her recs below. Before I get to her bio etc. you'll definitely want to learn the history of the word serendipity (and I just learned it has an opposite and no, it isn't German! I thought the Germans had words for everything even if it is just 3 words put together. ;-) Anyway, I like this so much, I'm putting this link on the landing page for Revel Revel too. https://interestingliterature.com/2015/01/a-short-history-of-the-word-serendipity/

Dianne's bio: "Originally from MI and studied in TN – now living in Germany for more over 20 years. I met Lauren doing my second year of National Service in Americorps and the idea of service to your community is one I still value. I enjoy trying new recipes and I promote having a plant based diet and have been vegetarian/vegan since 1988. Do yourself and the planet a favour and simply eat less meat! I have a passion for travel and enjoy getting to know other cultures and histories of the people around the world. I love reading and getting book recommendations (which your pod cast is great for!) and only wish I had more time to read them all. I am married to a wonderful man and proud mom of a lovely 11 year old daughter."

Here is a short list of books that I have either influenced me or I have simply enjoyed reading:

The China Study by T.Colin Campbell, PD and Thomas M. Campbell II, MD. https://bookshop.org/a/8901/9781941631560

My Year in Meats by Ruth Ozeki https://bookshop.org/a/8901/9780140280463

The Sympathizer by Viet Thang Nguyen https://bookshop.org/a/8901/9780802124944

Sacred Games by Vikram Chandra https://bookshop.org/books?keywords=sacred+games

The Sellout by Paul Beatty https://bookshop.org/a/8901/9781250083258

There There by Tommy Orange https://bookshop.org/books?keywords=there+there

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand https://bookshop.org/a/8901/9780451191151

The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak. https://bookshop.org/a/8901/9780143118527

The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton. https://bookshop.org/a/8901/9780316074292

Other topics that we covered:
Americorps, and YES, it is still around! (national) https://americorps.gov/

Though our focus on water quality has evolved to just environmental issues: (our team) https://cacamericorps.org/program-environmental/

Urban Waterways and why we worked on them/why they are important: https://www.epa.gov/urbanwaters/why-urban-waters

And, as always, my sponsor is BetterHelp.com

Left to right wedding photo:
My Dad, my mom, Simon's mom, Simon's dad, our son Josh, me, Simon, Sean Krause, Helen Krause, Paul Vachon(where are you dude?) and the guest Dianne Holbrook Kohler

Such a European photo

Red Rocks on the day it all happened...maybe Dianne is somewhere in the background. Maybe. It isn't often that we have pix of such fateful days. Maybe that will change as we all live with our phones and document everything. Why we didn't take a photo of the reunion I don't know!

Interview with Remy Meraz.

Remy (also Remedios or Ding!) Meraz is a fighter! She's a searcher, a student, a hero, a mom, an entrepeneur, and a woman who cannot be stopped.  This episode could also be called Manifest Destiny.  If you don't typically listen to the end...please do on this one. Special Thanksgiving ending!

She has done the work on herself and come out the other side to make the world a better place. Come along with us and hear how she's connected the dots in her life which might help you connect yours.  She's my Taurus sistah and sometimes it feels like we are almost the same person. Our paths have crossed and crossed over each other and back and forth and zig zagged. Remy is a powerhouse but in a way she embodies Mr. Rogers motto of "find the helpers".  There is always someone there to help. Sometimes they actually say "I'm here to help you." There is always someone in your life or who wants to be in your life to help you. Remy is the second person to mention being part of the Latina Business Women's Association.

The concept for Me Tyme was born from life-altering incidents she encountered while growing up and throughout her career where she witnessed challenges plaguing companies and communities of color surrounding mental health. She credits a mental health disorder diagnosis, Oprah, and her daughter as the driving forces behind her life work to remove cost and stigma as primary roadblocks for those seeking professional help and access to personal development training. 

In her spare time, you can find her eating her way through the city one restaurant at a time or running the streets, beaches, and trails of Southern California. 

Get on board MeTyme! You won't regret it! After we make MeTyme the success it so deserves to be, I'll have Remy back to talk more about it and also give you closure on her reconciliation with her dad.
Contact Remy: M  619.977.9626  E [email protected]  W http://metyme.ioSkype Ms.Remy

Other topics we covered:

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/cognitive-behavioral-therapy

Remy mentions Shakti and that reminded me of our alumnus Shannon Thompson's non-profit called Shakti Rising. https://www.shaktirising.org/

Learn about High Vibrations with this episode and this supplemental info:

Books:

Celestine Prophecy https://bookshop.org/a/8901/9781538730263

four agreements https://bookshop.org/a/8901/9781878424310

purpose driven life https://bookshop.org/a/8901/9780762416844

The alchemist https://bookshop.org/a/8901/9780062315007

Conversations with God https://bookshop.org/a/8901/9780399142789

The Secret https://bookshop.org/a/8901/9781582701707

Upstream by Dan Heath https://bookshop.org/a/8901/9781982134723

Interview with Tristan Higgins.

I got to talk to Tris and blow her perception of herself. We expose how inappropriate the 80s were. I mention this classic video that you might want to check out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyNa-ReeZc8
Anyway, I think we were awesome and just ahead of the times!

Regardless, Tristan is an accomplished speaker, dj, attorney, and a long time friend and she's a joy to the world. If you have not listened to the RBG and Pam Martin episode first, you really should BEFORE listening to this one as we reference it a lot and is the foundation for this one.

Tristan E.H. Higgins is a highly trained and internationally recognized speaker on diversity and inclusion. She speaks with humor and sincerity, which allows her to reach audiences of any age, nationality, and profession. She founded Metaclusive LLC to help organizations shift their focus to belonging. “Metaclusive” means a sense of belonging that transcends diversity and inclusion where all are represented, valued, and accepted. Tristan has a Bachelor of Arts in Theater from the University of California, San Diego and went to California Western School of Law for her Juris Doctor. She began her career as a prosecutor for the San Diego City Attorney and went on to practice entertainment law for the Screen Actors Guild (SAG- AFTRA) in Los Angeles. After advising SAG-AFTRA in video game contract negotiations, she joined Sega of America in San Francisco, where she oversaw Sega’s legal needs for North America. She left Sega to join Sony Electronics in San Diego, where she helped establish the digital cinema business worldwide, and advised the component sales divisions in Silicon Valley, Novi, Tel Aviv, and Tokyo on high tech licensing and sales. Tristan lives with her wife, two kids, one dog, and three cats. In her pre-pandemic spare time, she served the community as a volunteer DJ for non-profit events and traveled the world as often as possible. Now, she is trying to make the world a better place from her home and hoping she doesn’t forget how to socialize.

Besides all the links below, this is the one to click on! YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Metaclusive

Interview with Ineta Lukosius.

Whoa. BIG Autumn of 2020! How time has flown since I actually got to sit down in the same room with Ineta.

https://mailchi.mp/554ce569fae8/self-growth-101

Books and other references of things we talked about:

mom's etsy store https://www.etsy.com/shop/LLCraftingStore

Again, Glennon Doyle's Untamed (might be neck and neck with Brene now!) https://bookshop.org/a/8901/9781984801258

Again, Stamped from the Beginning, the big full version: https://bookshop.org/a/8901/9781568585987

Trevor Noah's Born a Crime, again. ;-) https://bookshop.org/a/8901/9780399588198

New to the pod:
Jen Sincero's: You are a Badass: https://bookshop.org/a/8901/9780762447695

Regena Thomashauer's Pussy: A Reclamation: https://bookshop.org/a/8901/9781401950262

Barack Obama's Dreams From My Father: https://bookshop.org/a/8901/9781400082773

https://bookshop.org/a/8901/9781492679011

Sponsored by Better Help! Check out Better Help by using the url and discount code of Revel Revel https://betterhelp.com/revelrevel

Interview with Annette Mason Gregg.

Nettie is so good at including your name and in warm ways to include you. Her way makes you feel special. This quote from Maya Angelou came up but also embodies Nettie: “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."
(To help you feel clued in, if you haven't listed to the Pam Martin episode, you'll want to go back and hear it first. Starting with Merrill on ep 1 we find out that we are all hurting and that no where, not even perfect San Diego is as idyllic as it seemed.)

Annette Gregg, CMM, MBA is Senior Vice President, Experience for Meeting Professionals International (MPI), leading its community engagement, events and education teams and delivering programs for its 16,000 members worldwide. She has an extensive background in the meeting and hospitality industry, serving in executive level positions for corporations, associations and non-profits. Her experience includes marketing and event leadership positions at LPL Financial, University of California Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Convention Center, San Diego and Monterey tourism bureaus, and several business event agencies. She regularly delivers keynotes on topics including diversity and unconscious bias, promoting women in the workplace, and a variety of professional development topics, Annette has taught at several universities including leading San Diego State University’s Meeting and Event Certificate Program. She was elected Instructor of the Year at SDSU, and inducted into the Center for Business Intelligence’s Circle of Excellence for her training and speaking. She is an honoree for Women in Tourism and Hospitality, and has won the Coach Award for the Association of Women in Events and Planner of the Year for MPI San Diego. Annette served on MPI’s Board of Directors, the board for the Kim Center for Gender Equity, and San Diego Commission for Women and Girls. She was named to the MeetingsNet Changemakers list for her work in women’s empowerment. Annette received her undergraduate degree in International Relations at the University of California, Berkeley and later received her MBA from California Miramar University in San Diego. When she's not busy playing volleyball with her husband and son at Moonlight Beach, Nettie still does speaking and consulting via her company Difference Makers Consulting, learn more at differencemakersconsulting.com

Brene Brown mentioned, again. Nettie specifically mentioned her book: https://bookshop.org/a/8901/9780812985801
And Glennon Doyle's Untamed, https://bookshop.org/a/8901/9781984801258 was mentioned again. And just today I finished listening to Love Warrior by her too. https://bookshop.org/a/8901/9781250075734.

Powerful women of our times just keep resonating through many, many episodes.

We also discussed how beneficial failure is. That reminded me of this, which is why is is only a partial joke: https://shopscreenbid.com/products/prop66

Melinda Gates: https://bookshop.org/a/8901/9781250313577

The TV show The Good Place--now all done and on streaming things like Netflix to binge the whole thing! SOOO good! But I'm not going to link anything because you might see some spoilers--Avoid any info on it like the Covid!

Much more music was discussed on this one. If you want to go here the music somewhere, I hope you do, but don't want to prescribe somewhere to listen.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folklore_(Taylor_Swift_album) Specifically the My Tears Ricochet song.

Damien Rice, U2, Switchfoot, Need to Breathe, Paul Weller, the Style Council and the Jam, Everything But the Girl, the English Beat and Mumford and Sons

And how one song can ruin an otherwise perfect album. Nettie is looking at you Mother on the Police's Synchronicity! Send all comments about this to either the facebook or twitter Revel Revel feed/page. ;-) Can't wait to hear it!

NEW SPONSOR AS OF 10/20/20 BETTER HELP! Because mental health is important to me and my listeners, I sought out and became an affiliate partner with Better Help. I hope if you are thinking of talking to a therapist you contact Better Help and if you use this link you get a discount!  https://betterhelp.com/revelrevel

Interview with Christina Tracey.

Perfect to get you ready for Halloween and to support the arts year round! Crying at the sight of the white walker in GOT!? Who does that? Well, this guest does! She is truly moved by the power of the arts.

What do creepy underground tours, blood and guts and prosthetics have to do with peaceful, easy feelings? Listen to Christina Tracey weave the story of her life into such a beautiful thing. Breathe along with us in this covid ugliness to find beauty.

This episode could have been called many, many, other things. Circle of Life. My Theatre Heart, How Am I Going to Fly? I don't think that anyone typifies "Follow Your Bliss" more than Christina. But since she is such a light of pure joy and embraced all opportunities and like a sponge learned everything, which propelled her to the next thing, these lines from Wicked, just seemed to capture her life. Others taught her so much and then she in turn shares her joy with the world. (But of course Sara Bareilles' Brave or She Used To Be Mine could work too.)  Christina urges us to create and take the "HALF HOUR CALL" approach to solving the challenges of today.

Her bio:

Interview with Phil Factor. Phil and I cried and cried on the episode. Yay for catharsis!

You may have noticed that I broke with tradition for the naming convention of this episode. After talking to Nettie while editing Factor, the only title that resonated with me was this line from Mumford and Sons.

Instead of changing his first person write up of himself, I decided to c&p so you can hear his love and pride and hopefully it helps you decide to vote for him if you are in his county.

"I, Phil Factor, came to Poway California in 1976 to teach, counsel, coach, and advise in the Poway Unified School District. I made up my mind that Poway was where I wanted raise my family, work, and provide community service.

For 38 years I helped Poway become one best school districts in the United States. I taught with high powered enthusiasm and passion to empower my students  to become champions for life. I always claimed that students were our most important resources we have on earth. Each student has a gift; that of intelligence, personality, and abilities. I was able to motivate students to do their best, inside and outside of the classroom. I loved facilitating discussions and activities. Being a life long learner I learned from my  students. I retired in 2014.

My Family:

In 1969, I was 16 years old, a junior at Granada Hills High School when I met Laurel. We went to school together. That was our first time we discussed politics. We married in 1974 and just celebrated our 46 wedding anniversary. We have two adult sons Josh and Lucas. Six grand children and a great grandson.

One of greatest impacting challenges our family faced,  was when Laurel went back to school, University of Southern California,  to become a Physician Assistant. My parenting responsibility suddenly changed, and I lived the life as a single father with children. Although we made many sacrifices at time, it payed off. My sons and I bonded into a life time relationship of love and friendship. 

Josh has been happily married for 16 years with two kids, Kaycee and Cody.  They are now grandparents. They all live in Missouri, where he teaches and coaches wrestling. Lucas is a fireman/inspector. He got married 4 years ago and became a  parent to three children, Ivan 16, and twin girls Lizzie and Robin are 11years old. Lucas and his family live with us on Iron Mountain. Laurel and I are getting the full grandparenting experience and loving it.

Too many service and other awards to mention! I am a  HUMANIST. Currently I am running for
Poway City Counsel District 2  FactorForPoway.com.    

Books/Authors we discussed: 


The Little Engine That Could:  https://bookshop.org/a/8901/9780448400419

https://bookshop.org/a/8901/9781611451351

Phil regrets talking so much about Skinner.  He doesn't believe Skinner is on the right path. Phil instead wants to promote his favorite, Leo Buscaglia: https://bookshop.org/a/8901/9780449901816

Two photos again. One for now for his counsel run and one of my faves from 1987! I love how many people in this photo I'm still in touch with. I wish I still had that sweatshirt!!!! :(

Interview with Pam Martin Johnston. 

Besides going to school with Pam Martin at MCHS, we worked together for years and years at the Rancho Bernardo Inn. In fact she trained me in my first position in the Food and Beverage Department. We still wonder why we didn't run away to Mexico with over 30K when we were 18! https://www.ranchobernardoinn.com/

Pamela is an accomplished interior designer with a diverse set of skills and experience. In addition to her career in design, Pamela worked for many years in the luxury hospitality industry.  This experience afforded her a strong foundation in high level service and an understanding of how to create comfortable, luxurious surroundings. Pamela graduated with honors from San Diego State’s FIDER accredited Interior Design Program, earning a BA in Applied Arts & Sciences with an emphasis in Interior Design.  She has worked in the design-build industry for over 15 years as a Senior Interior Designer, Director of Design, Project Manager and independent designer in the San Diego and surrounding areas specializing in high end custom home design. Pamela is well-versed in all aspects of residential design and construction, including architectural planning, energy-efficient design, kitchen and bath design, custom cabinetry, and project management.

Helping clients achieve a vision for their homes and bringing that vision to life is a passion for Pam, who has dedicated much of her career to extraordinary client care. Pam is committed to building strong relationships with clients, vendors, team members and her community. Pam’s abilities to guide, inspire and create help clients to imagine new creative and functional possibilities for their homes.

Outside of work, Pam enjoys a rich life full of family, friends, dogs, travel, laughter and great food and wine. She is highly involved in volunteer work on board a faith based non-profit team that strives to create community and a sense of belonging, Uncommon Good.

Interview with Vanessa Waters Kassir.

OK, Vanessa and I packed a LOT in! There are many, many topics and links here.

LOTS of discussion about the THEATRE! Support your local theatre! Many/Most are struggling/dying due to covid so please contact your local theatres if you are in a position to donate. For example, Vanessa mentioned that she worked for a time at the Poway Center for the Arts. If you look them up it says Closed. But dig deeper and you'll find ways to give: https://www.powaycenter.com/

My local non-profit Bailey Theatre Company (BTC) has a night of readings coming up and tickets are available at eventbrite for October 17th: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bailey-theatre-company-dinner-and-readings-fundraiser-tickets-116471652849

Vanessa Waters, also known to Lauren as Vanessa Wasylczenko, and on social media as Vanessa Waters Kassir lives in Topanga, California with her husband John and two dogs: Fig and Emmett.  Topanga is a wonderful canyon town just south of Malibu, six miles from the ocean, and surrounded by California oak trees and gorgeous mountain hiking.  And about a forty-minute drive from Los Angeles.  After living in West Hollywood for twenty years, Topanga is a dream come true.  

Vanessa is an actor, director, voiceover artist, who makes most of her income as a substitute elementary school teacher.  She’s been fortunate to perform on stage in LA many, many times with great actors and directors.  She’s worked in film and television as well and finds that work challenging and exciting too.  However, theatre will always be her first love.  She loves to teach and has been with the Los Angeles Unified School District for twenty-one years.  She teaches improvisation and theater games to children when she gets the opportunity and did so with teenagers at a drop in center for homeless teens in LA called My Friend’s Place, for seven years.  

Vanessa is a graduate of the Pacific Conservatory of Performing Arts (PCPA Theaterfest) and holds a B.F.A. in theater from Ithaca College.  

You can find more specific actor credits on her IMDB page:  imdb.me/vanessawaters
However, it is not complete. For example, this and other loopings are missing: Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018) 
You might want to check out John Kassir's imdb page too:
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0440885/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0

PLAYS we mentioned:  Apologia by Alexi Kaye Campbell, August Osage County by Traci Letts, Angels in America parts 1 and 2 by Tony Kushner, Richard III by William Shakespeare.

Vanessa directed:  Sister Cities by Colette Freedman and Bus Stop by William Inge

Books Discussed:
Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run. (and the Netflix show comes up again but at the time I did not know it was the same show that Pacilio was talking about!) https://bookshop.org/a/8901/9781501141522

Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe https://bookshop.org/a/8901/9780307279286

Natural Death and Burial movement and books by Caitlin Doughty:  http://caitlindoughty.com/

https://www.cnn.com/2017/05/03/world/eco-solutions-capsula-mundi/index.html

Mama's Boy by Dustin Lance Black https://bookshop.org/a/8901/9781524733278

other stuff....like where we all used to work

ranchobernardoinn.com