The 92 Report

Show Notes:

Chris Cowell, a computer science major, shares an anecdote about his college experience. He mentioned that the computer science major concentration at Harvard was different from today, and how he worked with paper and pencil more than computers. Chris talks about the multiple paths taken in life after graduating from Harvard, including working for a public service program called Vista, which was started during the Vietnam War as a way for conscientious objectors to provide service to the country.

Chris was assigned to an adult literacy group in Lansing, Michigan, where he was in charge of matching tutors and literacy tutors with students who needed to learn how to read. This experience was unpleasant and lonely, but it was also a good antidote to the occasional preciousness of Harvard.

Through this experience, he was able to understand the struggles of a large portion of the population, including students who struggled with brain problems, mental health issues, and other struggles. This experience helped him understand that life doesn't come easy for many people. Chris shares a few anecdotes from his time in the program, including how the term dyslexia is used, how his experience taught him that there are many reasons an adult may have difficulty learning how to read, and how he would match teachers to students.

Pursuing a Philosophy Degree and Moving into Consulting

Chris initially had a side interest in philosophy and decided to pursue a philosophy degree. He took two years at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, taking more undergraduate philosophy classes and decided to pursue a PhD in philosophy. He went on to Berkeley for grad school and spent six years there, but felt like he was barely hanging on and didn't have much to contribute. He finished the program in 2001 but decided he wouldn't pursue a career in the academic field and decided to go back into computer science. Chris was recruited by Anderson Consulting, a company that had just spun off from Arthur Andersen, which had been involved in the Enron scandal.

Chris' experience with Anderson Consulting was not what he expected. He was assigned to an eight-year in-town project in Sacramento, which was a contract with the government of California to set up a child welfare website, which was unfortunate because, although he had learned theory of computer science, he didn't have the practical coding skills to complete the project. He was given the opportunity to learn programming but later transitioned to Accenture and moved into their research and development lab in Palo Alto during the height of the innovation era in the San Francisco Bay area.

Starting a Technical Training Company

Chris moved to Portland, where he worked for Oracle as a computer programmer. He worked for different companies in the Portland area, specializing in testing programs that test other programs. However, he realized that he had only been promoted once over the course of his 20-year career. This realization led him to change their focus from tech to doing technical training. Chris started a one-person technical training company, teaching people how to use software. He sold classes and in-person training to local companies and had fun building the curriculum. He also enjoyed public speaking. However, the COVID pandemic hit, but he had no marketing savvy and his company was failing. After a few years, he got a job with a real software company, teaching people how to use their software. He recently shifted to another company, and their career now focuses on technical training, building materials, and giving presentations on software usage.

Influential Harvard Courses and Professors

Chris remembers a few courses from college, but he found the core science courses the most interesting. David Lazarus' Space, Time and Motion, the Recent History of Iran course, and Diana Eck's Comparative Religion course. He loved the music appreciation course taught by Louise vos Gershon, who was described as the only faculty member at Harvard without a PhD. The skills learned in music appreciation have been useful in his singing and guitar playing ever since. Chris also values learning basic music theory, which is essential for musicians who want to understand how music theory works. He also joined the Harvard Speech in Parliament and Debate society where he may have debated Ted Cruz.

Timestamps:

03:23 Adult Literacy group in Lansing, Michigan

08:51 How to pick the right student

11:19 How Chris decided to pursue a Phd

15:25 How Chris started his career in tech

22:39 On starting his own technical training company

25:41 Courses and professors that have stayed with him

CONTACT:

Facebook: Cowell-shah

Email. [email protected]

Show Notes:

Margaret Abe-Koga shares her journey since graduating from the university. She returned to the Bay Area and studied American government, eventually volunteered for Anna Eshoo, a San Mateo County Supervisor. She worked for her for six years before deciding to try other things. She ran a small business and started a Leadership Institute for Asian Pacific Americans at a local community college. After getting married, she decided to start a family and had her first daughter in 2001. People encouraged her to run for political office, and she ran for Santa Clara County Board of Education and Mountain View City Council. She was elected in 2006 and served as mayor in 2009 and 2020.

The Crises Mayor and City Council Responsibilities

As a city council member in Mountain View, she is the first AAPI Asian American Pacific Islander female to serve on the council and is currently serving her fourth term and fifteenth year.

The council's main work is land use, planning out city development, and ensuring services for housing and residents. They are responsible for police, fire, public works, parks and recreation, and run a library. They also make land use decisions and allocate funds for services.

Mountain View is home to Google, and over the last 15 years, Margaret has worked with Google to create a business-friendly community and ensure businesses are mindful of the community. Margaret's main responsibility is to attend city council meetings. Recently, she has been working on a general plan to create a vision for the city and align projects with it.

Margaret also serves on several regional boards, including the Air Quality Management District, a clean energy authority. She spends a significant amount of time on these boards, attending meetings and meeting with constituents. She also attends community events, such as ribbon cuttings and neighborhood block parties, to get out to the community.

Dealing with Complex Issues of City Council

Margaret talks about how important it is to listen to different perspectives, from libertarian to democrat, and make decisions without making it too personal. The council has a tradition of treating businesses business and not making it too personal, allowing for deliberate decision-making and voting. Margaret talks about the challenge of handling complex issues like housing impact fees and the Brown Act, which prohibits outside discussions. To sway or persuade colleagues, Margaret works with community groups or constituents to gather their input and provide public comment time.

The Importance of Policy Issues and Raising Minimum Wage

Margaret discusses the importance of policy issues and the politics involved in implementing them. One of her major initiatives was raising the minimum wage in Mountain View, which now has one of the highest minimum wages in the country. However, the council did not have enough votes to pass the increase by ballot initiative. Margaret shares what she did to engage and persuade the public and convince council members to vote for the increase.

Margaret explains that the politics of policy initiatives involve figuring out who the players are, what motivates them, and who they are aligned with. She also discusses the costs and benefits of a minimum wage increase.

Margaret emphasizes the importance of data in decision-making, she also highlights the importance of research, and outreach to the business community and public opinion in addressing the costs and benefits.

Working in Air Quality Management and Clean Energy

Margaret talks about the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, a group of 24 elected officials representing nine counties, responsible for ensuring clean air and pollution control. They regulate oil refineries and other pollutants, but have not set regulations yet. Recently, they banned the replacement of gas appliances in 2020 by 2029, focusing on the link between gas appliances and public health issues like asthma and lung cancer. The district is also working on reducing pollution levels in cars, as lower socioeconomic populations often live near freeways, contributing to poorer health. The district is working to combat and lower pollution levels to create more equitable communities, and to address pollution from automobile exhaust and promote more electrification with funding programs that are also available for lower-income households.

Margaret discusses her experience procuring wholesale clean energy and her journey in the industry. She shares her goal of having her own sources and building new sources of energy to increase the grid. The industry is growing rapidly, and she is excited about the innovation happening. Margaret mentions that she has been involved in the Institute of Politics, which allowed her to intern and receive a stipend for her work.

Influential Courses and Professors at Harvard

Margaret mentions Professor Morris Fiorina at Stanford who taught her in a government class.

She also mentions her involvement with the Asian American Association (AAA) at Harvard, which has been a significant part of her work. She talks about how her identity as an Asian American was shaped by her parents' immigrant background and realized the importance of having a voice in communities and the importance of empowering the Asian American community and communities of color. She believes that everyone has a voice in the political process and that her involvement with AAA at Harvard has helped her understand the importance of empowering communities of color.

Margaret is currently running for the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors and has a website with links to her campaign. She appreciates the interest and support from her peers, and she wishes her the best in her future endeavors.

Timestamps:

04:21 What does the city council do in Mountain View?

09:21 A typical week for a city council member

14:58 Housing Impact fees

19:51 Evolving public sentiment on housing

22:51 The politics of raising the minimum wage

31:10 The impact of the minimum wage increase on housing

35:39 The link between gas stoves and asthma

39:22 What Is the Silicon Valley clean energy authority?

Websites:

https://www.mak4supervisor.com/

http://www.margaretforcouncil.com/

Show Notes:

Virginia Ravenscroft has had a long and winding road since graduating from Harvard in 1992. Her journey has taken her through a diverse range of experiences, including graphic design, teaching, project management, and tech. However, despite her success in these fields, she felt that something was missing. She realized that she wanted to offer a more healing type of work. It's something that she had been learning about, practicing, and pursuing training for over time. Virginia's journey is emblematic of the changing nature of work in the 21st century, where people are no longer expected to have one job for life. Instead, they are encouraged to explore different paths and find work that aligns with their passions and values.

Founder of Two Companies

Virginia's two companies, Offering Abundance and Abolition in the Bones, are the culmination of her journey. Offering Abundance is a company that offers a diverse range of services, including coaching, software development, travel arrangements, especially to places that are off the beaten track, and healing practices. Virginia's goal with Offering Abundance is to provide a one-stop-shop for all of her clients' needs by providing a diverse range of services that can help people in many different ways.

Abolition in the Bones, on the other hand, is a company that focuses on anti-racism coaching. Virginia's journey and her two companies highlight the importance of finding work that aligns with one's values and passions.

Abolition in the Bones

The focus of Abolition in the Bones is anti-racism coaching and support for those who have experienced racism. The company provides a 15-20 session curriculum that is tailored to each individual's needs. Virginia works one-on-one with her clients to help them understand the impact of racism and how to be anti-racist.

Virginia explains that one of the ethical problems with white people in anti-racism coaching is that they don't really know about the impact of racism as a person of color. Virginia is aware of the issue of a white person doing racism coaching, and the blind spots she may encounter. To overcome this, she has an accountability circle of Black women who are the experts that help her shape the curriculum and review her practice.

Virginia's Healing Practice

Virginia's healing practice is one of the many services that she offers through Offering Abundance. She is trained in a modality called Indigenous Focusing Oriented Therapy (I-FOT). I-FOT is a body-based practice that attends to the wisdom within the body. It is a decolonizing practice that is rooted in Indigenous ways of healing. Virginia explains the origin of the practice and the difference between this practice and the traditional western approach to illness. Virginia's approach to healing is focused on helping people become their best selves and understand the wisdom within their bodies. She talks about who this practice serves and why they look for a healing practice outside of the traditional medical industry.

Virginia's journey and her two companies have important implications for the changing nature of work in the 21st century and that it is possible to have a diverse range of experiences and still find work that is fulfilling.

Working in a Healing Practice

Virginia discusses her experiences with healing and anti-racism and the exercises she uses to help clients uncover and address their problems and discover the root cause through paying close attention and focusing on the body's reactions in various situations. She talks about how we perceive intelligence and her education practice. She talks about her work as an end-of-life doula. Her goal is to focus on queer and trans people as they approach the end of their life and how she can help them plan, communicate, and cope with this difficult period.

Working as an Anti-racism Practitioner

Virginia talks about her work in Abolition in the Bones and it helps people with internalized racism, unconscious bias, and problematic attitudes. She talks about the "why exercise," to recognise behavior. As an example, she talks about thinking about a time when they felt like they had to control a situation. Virginia believes that underneath this urge to control or dominate is fear and a desire for safety. She also highlights how this sense of being out of control can be triggered in situations with racial components. She explains how this is used to recognize the trigger and control the response, and how body-based exercises help people recognise unconscious impulsive behaviors. Virginia believes that understanding the interiority and full humanity of people of color is crucial for overcoming racism and promoting inclusivity.

Virginia is passionate about anti-racism and has been working on it since college. She attended an anti-racism workshop led by a black woman, and a presentation by Jacob Holt, a photographer from the Netherlands, who documented racial injustice and counteracted each one with a new photograph which challenged her to work on anti-racism work. She also mentions how she became aware of her own unconscious racial behavior.

Influential Courses and Professors

Virginia discusses her experiences with various courses and professors at Harvard, including Professor Edwin Cranston, who was her advisor throughout her sophomore, junior, and senior year. She was fortunate enough to come into Harvard already speaking Japanese fairly well, and she went into classical Japanese classes with him. She also mentions a course on the art and architecture of Suleiman the Magnificent with Gülru Necipoğlu, Simon Schama's class on art and history in the Baroque era, and Regina Johnson's class on Modern Japanese Women Writers.

Timestamps:

06:46 An introduction to indigenous focusing oriented therapy

14:42 Examples of the body mind connection in holistic healing

16:51 Assisting the healing journey

19:21 Virginia's healing methods

22:15 Virginia's work as an end-of-life doula

27:42 Explaining problematic meanings

30:30 Running abolition in the bones

34:23 Exercises to uncover racism

39:06 The story behind Virginia's focus on racism

49:50 Preparing to live abroad

Links:

https://abolitioninthebones.com/

https://virginiaravenscroft.com/

Brent Chinn, an East Asian Studies and Economics major at Harvard talks about his journey since graduation in 1992. Since he was 12, Brent had a desire to work in the Pacific Rim. After school, he worked in San Francisco but was offered a position in Indonesia by the wife of a fifth-year senior when he was a freshman. At the time, Brent had no idea where Indonesia was but saw it as an opportunity to work in the Pacific Rim. He arrived in Indonesia in 1996 and made every rookie mistake, including overconfidence and underestimating how much he didn't know.

An American in Indonesia

Brent talks about his job in Indonesia. The stock market had just opened, Indonesia was an emerging economy and considered one of the five tigers at the time. His job was not just to work as an analyst but to also recruit talent. Brent had a car and a driver, which was part of the expat package, less enticing was his first lunch delivered to his office. He found it challenging to get settled with utilities and getting an apartment. However, he was fascinated by the country and its culture, and he started learning Bahasa Indonesia, the official language. It was a rockin' time. However, two years later, the Asian financial crisis hit, and everything came tumbling down. Brent made a rookie mistake when he advertised a summer barbecue and invited people to his apartment. He didn't realize that Indonesians didn't have the concept of summer or barbecue, because it's on the equator and don't have the same seasonal shifts, and he struggled to get the briquets and hot dogs. Despite the initial challenges, Brent has been in Indonesia ever since and has been working in various fields.

Indonesia's Democracy

Indonesia is the largest Muslim country in the world, but its constitution is a secular democracy. Its democracy was messy, with demonstrations and volatility, and Americans got evacuated. In 1998, after the financial crisis, President Suharto stepped down, and for the first time, there was a democracy. Indonesia recognized that their country was full of 16,000 islands with thousands of different languages and dialects. They had to get everyone speaking the same language and realize they were better together than apart. They put their differences aside and moved forward, hacking out their differences in a democratic way. Indonesia is considered one of the biggest success stories for democracy. It's also a great growth story. Indonesia has a lot of lessons that they can give to Americans in terms of what happens when you don't have to dominate political parties and how to build consensus to drive a political agenda.

Working in Finance during the Financial Crisis

Brent arrived when Indonesia was a hot market, but Brent's personal experience was challenging, as he had been in the country for only two years when the financial crisis hit, and suddenly, nobody was taking any debt. Brent decided to stick around during the crisis, and the company he worked for became one of the largest issuers of debt. He had to print bearer bonds complete with terms and conditions. He was working with medium-term notes, which were a financial innovation at the time but are now banned. However, when the market changed, the company got into the debt trading business and made more money selling distressed bonds than they did issuing primary debt.

Brent talks about the riots that started during the financial crash and why he decided to stay in the country despite the fact that many Americans were being evacuated. Brent left Indonesia and went to business school at Wharton in 2001 and worked for a start-up in the US in 2004 but later returned to Asia in 2009 where he helped his old company build mobile stock applications.

Building the Startup TimKado

He started his own company in 2017 called TimKado, which makes software tools that fit on top of WhatsApp. The company automates content contact management for different popular chat applications, primarily WhatsApp but also Telegram, and other chat applications. Their major market at the moment is travel agents, but they also serve retailers, ecommerce, and some insurance companies.

WhatsApp is the dominant chat application for 2 billion people, particularly in Indonesia, India, Brazil, and some European countries. The company has its own API, and there are a whole group of third parties that make applications that work with WhatsApp. Chinn's company aims to be the first SaaS-based software platform that can extend beyond Indonesia, but go to other markets like Brazil, Mexico, and Europe. They want to help corporate companies build out their own chat networks and be ready for chat GTP or whatever should come down the pipeline in terms of AI.

Brent's experiences highlight the risks and rewards of working in emerging markets. The market can be volatile, and financial innovation can lead to toxic products. However, there is also potential for high financial rewards. His story also underscores the importance of regulation and the need for caution when investing in emerging markets.

Life in Jakarta

Brent currently lives in Jakarta. He believes that Indonesia has a lot to offer and wants to be an advocate for the country. Despite Jakarta's population of over 30 million people, there are plenty of parks and outdoor spaces to enjoy, and the city has a fantastic food scene with a variety of ethnic foods and organic options at reasonable prices. Jakarta has also experienced significant growth in infrastructure, including malls and public transportation, in the last 10 years. He believes that Jakarta is a safe place with a laid-back atmosphere and good music scene.

Influential Harvard Courses and Professors

Brent reflects on his college experience and how a class on ancient Chinese art has helped him in his current job, where he is trying to use technology in innovative ways to increase productivity. He shares that the biggest lesson he learned from Harvard is to change the paradigm and do something amazing. He invites people to connect with him on LinkedIn to learn more about his work and to explore Indonesia, including Bali, and Komodo Island.

Timestamp:

17:47 Discussion on investment banking and the industries dealt with

18:06 Experience with emerging markets and bearer bonds

20:16 Working with state-owned enterprises and financial innovations

21:39 Explanation of medium-term notes and their downfall

23:38 Personal experience during the financial crisis

24:20 Trading debt after issuing it during the financial crisis

28:17 Working for a startup in the US and returning to Asia in 2009

29:42 Building mobile stock applications and starting his own company

30:41 Information about his current company TimKado

CONTACT:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brent-chinn-125b3a1/

Show Notes:

Shannon Winakur and Will Bachman discuss Shannon's journey since graduating from Harvard. Shannon came to Harvard with the intention of going into politics and running for office in her hometown of Richmond, Virginia.

Pursuing a Career in Medicine

Shannon talks about her experience in politics when working for Doug Wilder influenced her decision to pursue medicine. She decided that medicine would be a better way to help people, thus, she decided to attend medical school, unfortunately, the decision to enter medical school was easier than the process; Shannon shares the many hoops she had to jump through to get there. She finally studied at Bryn Mawr College. Shannon is now a cardiologist. She worked at Hopkins for a year before following Richard Winakur to Maryland for medical school. She went to University of Pennsylvania for her cardiology fellowship. Shannon talks about the process of deciding what medical field to pursue, explaining that the major branch points are deciding to take care of adults or children and choosing internal medicine or surgery specialties.

Dealing with Multiple Sclerosis

Shannon shares her experience of being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), how it progressed, medication she took, how it influenced her career, and how the diagnostic criteria for MS has changed.

Shannon started out in a more traditional medical role, but after several positions, jobs in different locations, and intense schedules, the toll on her health made her reconsider where she was spending the majority of her time especially after the birth of her daughters. She stepped back and found a better work-life balance as she pursued her medical career. Shannon is currently a practicing community cardiologist.

Becoming a Player on the Ice Hockey Team

Shannon's talks about how her medical career and her discovery of women's ice hockey are intertwined.

She discovered women's ice hockey at Harvard and talks about how hockey has helped her throughout her career. In 2010, she quit playing hockey due to the foot drop caused by her Multiple Sclerosis which affected her ability to run. In 2019, she met a woman in Ireland who taught her how to skate and got her in touch with a women's hockey league called the 'Mother Puckers'. Despite her foot drop, she was able to play hockey again and she joined a women's hockey league in Laurel, MD.

Dealing with Depression and the Stigma of Mental Health Issues

She also discusses the difficulties she faced in managing her depression while working part-time and dealing with multiple sclerosis (MS). She found it challenging to juggle the work schedule while also taking care of herself and being a good parent and wife. She talks about the benefits of Integrated Health and her experiences with different diets. She has since done a lot of therapy and has found methods that work for her in order to cope, such as getting enough sleep, diet, and taking care of herself. She also stresses the importance of medications, stating "I completely forgot to mention that I take an antidepressant. Given all the stigma and anti-medication sentiment out there, I think it's important that we publicly discuss the use of these medications."

Shannon talks about mental health in the workplace, and how she had hid her diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) from her professional colleagues because she was fearful of being judged or discriminated against. She explains how the Americans with Disabilities Act protects people in such situations, how mental health is now more openly talked about, and how it has made her a better doctor, as she has a better understanding of what her patients are going through. Shannon also talks about the discrimination and chauvinism she experienced in the healthcare system, and how standing up for herself was necessary to keep her job.

Influential Professors and Classes at Harvard

When asked which courses or professors resonated with Shannon, she mentions the History of Astronomy course, Shakespeare courses, Neil Gorsuch, the 113th justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, and The Constitutional Law class with H.W. Perry, but more than professors and courses, Shannon reflects that it was her friends and the people she met that had the biggest impact.

Timestamps

05:41 How Shannon Winakur Found Her Path to Medical School

13:12 The Effects of Multiple Sclerosis on Career

18:24 Medical Therapy and Ice Hockey

25:42 Health Habits for Managing Multiple Sclerosis and Depression

31:12 Dealing with Depression

35:18 Mental Health Stigma and the Impact on Healthcare Professionals

38:36 Negotiating a Work Situation in the Face of Discrimination in Medicine

39:14 Pursuing a Career in Medicine

41:10 Harvard Coursework and Reflection on Paradigm Shift

44:33 Overcoming Adversity and Thriving

CONTACT INFO:

Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/shannonwinakur/

LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannon-winakur-51634823/

Show Notes:

Elaine Lum MacDonald and Will Bachman have a conversation about Elaine's journey since graduating from Harvard in 1992. Elaine started off her career in management consulting at the Monitor Company in Cambridge. After gaining experience in the field, after that she moved to Asia. She was based in Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, Taiwan, and China for four years, gaining meaningful and memorable experiences. After this, she went to Harvard Business School and graduated in 1998. She spent a decade working for Clorox running million-dollar company's and leading marketing for a division, she went on to launch her own company, the Knowledge Impact Network. This organization focuses on helping leaders and organizations build trust and increase their impact. Elaine also works as a consultant for other organizations that are looking to make a difference in the world.

Working in Indonesia and California

Elaine shares her experiences working in Indonesia and Hong Kong in the 1990s. She describes how she had to take taxis to get around in rural communities and how the retail landscape was changing rapidly. She also shares some of the daunting and scary scenarios she encountered, such as being mistaken for a call girl or not knowing who to trust when taking a taxi. Despite the challenges, she found the experience interesting and eye-opening. She also enjoyed the experience of proving people wrong by breaking stereotypes of a young Asian woman.

Elaine wanted to experience deeper operational management and decided to move to California in the late 1990s to work for Clorox. There was a great exodus of people from the East Coast to Silicon Valley during this time, as it was a land of opportunity with startups. She met her husband and decided to stay in California where she currently lives with her family.

Working as a Strategic Marketing Consultant

Elaine worked part time while her children were young, she and her colleague shared a job and a joint identity where they were known as Elady. Elaine left Clorox to become a strategic marketing consultant, allowing her more flexibility with her time and to do more volunteer work.

Elaine shares her story of finding her passion for volunteer consulting while studying at Harvard Business School. Through the Harvard Business School Community Partners program, she was able to provide pro bono volunteer consulting to local nonprofits. She enjoyed the experience of being able to think through challenges and help organizations, and eventually she took on the role of recruiting organizations and alumni to donate their time. For the following seven years, she worked at HBS Community Partners in Northern California with the goal of inspiring and empowering alumni to use their skills for social good. She found her niche in being a connector and bridge, finding people with bright minds and big hearts and matching them with organizations that could really use their help.

Founder of the Knowledge Impact Network

Elaine became the founder of the Knowledge Impact Network (KIN). KIN is an organization that connects alumni of Harvard Business School (HBS) to nonprofits who need assistance in a variety of areas. Elaine first got the idea for KIN from her experience of helping Bay Area nonprofits while she was working with the Harvard Alumni Association. After the pandemic hit, she noticed the need for more help from alumni and decided to create KIN to allow alumni to provide support to nonprofits virtually. KIN provides a bridge between alumni and nonprofits, allowing the alumni to help with a variety of issues, such as food supply chains, by connecting them to the right experts. Elaine hopes to continue to expand KIN and provide more assistance to nonprofits.

KIN focuses on three areas of impact: core human needs (food, water, health, shelter); educating for workforce readiness; and protecting our planet. Elaine explains how she and the founders of KIN, who are YPO distinguished leaders, hit it off when they discussed how they could bring the power of CEO networks to share their knowledge with positive causes and accelerate impact. KIN is open to social impact organizations, social ventures, and experts from anywhere in the world. Organizations can apply through the KIN website, and experts can sign up to share their knowledge of a specific area. KIN then connects the organizations and experts and facilitates a 90-minute catalyst session to help the organization solve an issue.

The Social Ventures Network

Elaine then expanded the network with the Social Ventures Network, an organization which connects professionals with causes and social ventures they can get involved with. Elaine talks about how easy it is for professionals to leverage their skills for good and how the Social Ventures Network takes away the friction of getting involved. Elaine explains how the Network works with family offices who want to support a specific cause, as well as companies and individuals. The Network helps people figure out how to get involved with social ventures and learn about them, while also advancing a cause they feel passionate about.

Elaine talks about Impact circles and explains that they are a way to bring together a community of social innovators who want to take action in a certain area. An example of an Impact circle was formed when a knowledge partner met a renowned climatologist at UC Santa Barbara's Climate Hazard Center who spoke about the data available to help farmers adjust their crops and improve yields in the face of changing weather. The Impact circle brings together experts, companies, government, and academics to help figure out how to get this data to rural smallholder farmers in places like Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwe Meteorological Services Department agreed that this data would be extremely helpful. The team is now in the process of developing a site with the right type of data to get it into the hands of the farmers.

Influential Professors and Courses at Harvard

Elaine recounts her experience as a Harvard student, mentioning Nancy Kane, Marty Feldstein, and Michael Sandel as two of her most memorable and inspiring professors. Elaine was a history and science major, which was unusual at the time, and enjoyed the challenge and creativity of connecting the dots between different disciplines. Her current project is a great example of how people from different parts of the world can come together to make something happen.

Timestamps:

05:17 Experiences Working in Indonesia and Hong Kong in the 1990s

10:26 From Consulting to Brand Management

13:23 Joint Identity and Strategic Marketing Consulting

17:54 Harvard Alumni Connecting Nonprofits with Expertise During the Pandemic

21:43 Exploring the Knowledge Impact Network: Leveraging Knowledge for Social Impact

26:35 Catalyzed Sessions for Social Ventures

30:05 Leveraging Skills for Social Good

34:00 Harvard Education and Global Development Projects

Links:

Website: https://www.knowledgeimpactnetwork.org/

CONTACT INFO:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elainelmacdonald/

Show Notes:

Ruth Hertzman-Miller, a member of the Harvard and Radcliffe class of 1992, graduated with a degree in biology and went on to a career in medicine, completing a residency in internal medicine at Cambridge City Hospital and a fellowship in health services research in Los Angeles. After returning to the Boston area, she worked as a physician at Cambridge Health Alliance and then at NewBridge, a retirement community. Ruth discussed her journey since graduating, reflecting on the unexpected twists and turns it has taken. Ruth made the difficult decision to switch from medicine to music four or five years ago. She took catch up courses at a conservatory in Boston and is now doing a master's in composition. Ruth is a pianist and choral singer and was inspired to pursue music again when her seven year old daughter joined North Cambridge Family Opera.

An Education and Career in Medicine

She didn't know what she wanted to do with her life when she went to college, but her dad and grandfather were both psychiatrists, so she figured she'd take some premed courses and see what happened since she liked science and helping people, but she also got to take electives in other subjects like music. In medical school at Case Western, she was interested in the clinical aspects of the program where she was assigned to a pregnant woman and followed her through delivery and the baby's first year of life, but along the way, she had many doubts about how much she wanted to be in the program. At the end of her internship year, she went to her residency director and was considering quitting, but he talked her into staying.

Balancing Family Life and Work

After the birth of her first child, she found it difficult to focus on both the intense schedule of work and study and family, but she finished her master's and eventually made the decision to pursue a master's in music and wrap up her medical career. Ruth balanced work and motherhood for many decades. Initially, she worked at Cambridge Health Alliance and then various medical but non-clinical jobs such as the Joslin Diabetes Clinic and the Hearst Company, and then at EBSCO Publishing. While she was in non-clinical positions, she worked clinically one day a week at Cambridge Health Alliance and then at various sites within Hebrew Rehab, finally landing at the NewBridge retirement community. When she decided to cut down on her work and dedicate more time to music, she kept her one day a week job at Hebrew Rehab and started studying for a certificate in music.

Studying Musical Composition and Theory

Ruth discusses her experience studying composition and writing music and what was included in the coursework. As a composer, she is interested in exploring the form of music. She studies what has been done in the past, the many options and choices available, and considers how she can create something new. She refers to Mozart and Haydn, who approached their compositions differently and how they did so. Ruth is not expecting to make a professional career out of her work, as it is difficult for a composer to make money, but instead, is more interested in exploring new forms and having her work performed. Video game music and film music are some of the biggest markets for composers; however, Ruth is not particularly interested in these areas. She is more interested in writing for small ensembles such as string quartets, for which she can find performers without much difficulty. She also talks about the place of AI in composing music, and how it can provide inspiration but needs human intervention to create a finished product.

The Creative Process of Composing Music

When asked if composing music feels three-dimensional, or if it has different mental qualities, Ruth answers that this is subjective and depends on the individual, but it is likely that the experience of composing music entails a combination of physical and mental elements. It requires both the ability to think in abstract terms, as well as the creative ability to visualize and construct musical ideas. It is a process that is both intuitive and analytical, where the creative elements of music are balanced with the technical aspects of composition.

Ruth talks about the creative process behind composition. She explains that she typically has a broad idea, such as writing a piano piece with two players starting at opposite ends of the piano, and then breaks it down into smaller details such as melody and harmony. She then works on generating variations on the material and figuring out the logical progression of the piece. She explains that she usually isn't trying to express something that can be explained in words, but rather it is usually a feeling or an exploration of the music itself. She uses the example of a recent project to explain the process. Ruth also talks about conveying emotions through music. For some pieces of music, the goal is to introduce the theme to the audience and have them understand it through the different changes in the music. At the opposite end of this, there is writing an opera scene where the focus is more on portraying the emotions.

Professors and Courses of Influence

Favorite professors and courses from Harvard include Luise Vosgerchian's course on the Development of the String Quartet and John Stewart's course on Introductory Music Theory. She also talks about her more recent professor, Lyle Davidson, who happens to be in the same tradition of Luise Vosgerchian. Other favorite courses include Biology of Fishes with Karel Liem, Scientific Ethics with George Whitesides, Moral Reasoning with Thomas Scanlon, and Marjorie Garber on Shakespeare.

Timestamps:

01:41 Pursuing Music After a Career in Medicine

05:19 Motivation and Commitment During Medical School

09:57 Medical Training and Fellowship

16:28 The Process of Studying Composition

20:28 Composing and Making a Career in Music

25:32 Reading and Generative AI in Music Composition

28:03 Exploring the Creative Process of Composing Music

36:05 Music Study and Harvard College Professors

Links:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ruthhertzman-miller3349/videos

Show Notes

Mary Dixie Carter, a journalist and author, talks about her journey after graduating from Harvard. She starts with her novel, The Photographer. The novel focuses on Delta Dawn, a disturbed woman who is the subject of the novel. Mary explains that she got the idea for the book when she hired a photographer to take pictures of her kids.

The photographer took photos of the children but the eyes in the photos were unnaturally bright blue. When questioned, the photographer said that there is no real color, which made Mary think about the photographer's point of view, and how the character could make the world whatever she wanted it to be. This later transpired to be a novel about a woman who is an outsider and wants desperately to be part of something.

The character in the novel is a photographer who inserts herself into a wealthy Manhattan family, and over the course of the book she becomes an integral part of the family. Her behavior is considered to be horrible, and it is suggested that her desperate desire to belong and her misplaced idea of what that means is the reason for this. The photographer ends up using the family and the family uses her, forming an awkward and fraught relationship.

Mary talks about how her characters are based on a combination of her own experiences and people she knows. She talks about how the creepiness of the book reflects the dark and disturbing side of human nature. Will and Mary discuss the importance of creating art that reflects a variety of experiences and perspectives.

Mary talks about the media she did for the book and the questions. She explains that she was often asked where she got the idea for the book and the character, in addition to questions about motherhood, and social media. She also talks about lying, why she is so interested in it, and how it is at the core of the book, as Delta Dawn lies to herself and actually believes the stories she makes up. Finally, she notes that we all come into contact with people who lie to themselves.

A Career in Acting and Journalism

Mary has had an interesting journey since graduating college. She moved to New York and auditioned for plays and studied acting, then moved to Los Angeles for a few years where she was cast in plays and classical theater. Eventually she moved back to the East Coast when her husband was accepted to Harvard, and she accepted her father's offer to work for his newspaper, The New York Observer. She worked there for six years until Jared Kushner bought the paper and she left. She started freelancing and wrote for various publications such as The Economist, San Francisco Chronicle and Chicago Tribune.

After becoming pregnant with her first child and her mother passing away, she decided to focus her creative energy on writing. She wrote a novel which was not published, and eventually put it aside before moving on and writing the book that became The Photographer.

Finding an Agent and Focusing on Writing

After a period of struggling to be published, Mary found a wonderful agent and is thrilled with the people at Minotaur Books, St. Martin's Press who published her first book. She is currently writing her second book tentatively called Marguerite by the Lake, which has a bit of a Gothic feel, meanwhile, the first book is being developed into a TV series. Though it has taken longer than she expected, she hopes to have the second book finished by the end of the summer, potentially releasing it in 2024.

Meeting the Trumps

Mary shares a few thoughts on Jared Kushner when he bought the paper from her father. She noted that he was very knowledgeable and charming in the beginning, but changed his direction once the paper was sold. She believes that Jared lacks a moral compass, and does what is convenient and most beneficial to him at the time, rather than being rooted in what is right or good. Mary talks about meeting Donald Trump. Mary speculated that Trump was hoping to get some positive coverage in the newspaper where she was working, but the newspaper had integrity and wouldn't write a puff piece about Trump. Reflections on Professors and Courses When thinking back to Harvard, Mary reflects on two influential teachers, Helen Vendler. She was greatly impacted by Helen's readings of poetry, as she was able to experience the sound of the words and their lyricism. The second teacher, D. A. Miller's unique approach to Jane Austen was also impactful, as he was able to teach the novels in a way that truly allowed her to appreciate the literature. Both of these teachers left a lasting impression on the speaker, and have likely influenced her reading and writing.

Timestamps

00:01 The Inspiration behind The Photographer

07:21 The story behind the main character in her novel

18:44 Acting and Working for the New York Observer

26:34 Writing Process and Upcoming Book Release

27:58 Upcoming TV Series Adaptation

36:23 Donald Trump's Motivations for meeting with the Newspaper

42:34 Reflections on meeting Jared Kushner

47:14 Education and Writing

Links:

Website: MaryDixieCarter.com

Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/marydixiecarter/

Show Notes

Sharif is a vascular surgeon currently living in Manhattan. After graduating from Harvard in 1992, he went to NYU for medical school. He completed his residency and fellowship at Mount Sinai and was on faculty there for 12-13 years before going to Cornell in 2016. Sharif is also a father of two sons, and, throughout the years, he has managed to maintain some of his Harvard friendships and connections to his family in Egypt. He is currently part of the Society for Vascular Surgeries Communication Council to help raise awareness of the field.

The Role and Responsibilites of a Vascular Surgeon

Vascular surgeons are responsible for diseases involving blood vessels outside the heart and brain. Sharif explains how they treat these diseases with open surgical techniques, including bypasses, stents, and balloons. Vascular surgeons also work with orthopedic surgeons, cancer surgeons, neurologists, or any time there is a challenge when dealing with blood vessels. Sharif talks about the diseases he commonly treats and the techniques he uses to perform surgery such as magnification in addition to muscle memory through repetition, and vascular repair techniques.

Sharif discusses his work as the Program Director for the Vascular Surgery Fellowship of New York Presbyterian Hospital, which he has been running since 2016. To further trainees' education, Sharif has been involved in simulation training and runs a boot camp that has been operating since 2017. The boot camp is an in-person course with faculty from across the country and focuses on the technical side of vascular surgery and is designed to teach techniques without putting patients at risk. The program uses endovascular simulator and cadaver workshops to provide trainees with hands-on experience. This also gives them a chance to get to know the wider vascular community.

The Vascular Podcast, Audible Bleedings

Sharif's most proud accomplishment is the podcast he was asked to produce with the trainees. This podcast, Audible Bleedings, which was bought out to be the official podcast for the Society of Vascular Surgery, was trainee-driven and has become increasingly popular in the past couple of years. This is a great way for trainees to develop their content and professional development.

On the podcast, Sharif interviews prominent vascular surgeons, giving listeners insight into the personal life of a vascular surgeon, how they approach the difficulties in their work, and what the process of being a vascular surgeon looks like. During the pandemic, his podcast provided the vascular community with knowledge and insight.

He interviewed two of his colleagues from Seattle, Ben Starnes and Nitin Singh, who are both vascular surgeons and military surgeons, to discuss the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Seattle. He also had another guest, Mel Sheehan, a vascular surgeon at LSU, who had been there during Katrina and stayed throughout the pandemic. The conversation focused on how to respond to unexpected situations and the process of being a vascular surgeon.

Recent Developments in Vascular Surgery

Sharif points out that there are many specialists in the field, and talks about his focus, his practice, and recent developments in vascular surgery, including endovascular simulation and remote access points when the focus is on endovascular repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms. This procedure has revolutionized the treatment of these aneurysms, allowing patients to come in, have the procedure done percutaneously, under local anesthetic, and go home the next day. This technology has allowed for a much less invasive and much more convenient way of treating aneurysms, making it a major development in the field.

He also talks about the limitations of current technology when it comes to repairing aneurysms. He explains that it can be difficult to maintain blood flow to branch vessels, such as the arteries to the kidneys and intestines, while also excluding the aneurysm. To solve this problem, devices have been developed that have branches with holes to maintain blood flow while still excluding the aneurysm. It is also possible to print out a 3D model of the vessel ahead of time to help in designing the device. CAT can be used to create a 3D model of a patient's blood vessels.

Industry Collaboration in Health Innovations

Vascular surgeons continuously need to develop technology to help patients. To do this, they have to partner with industries that have the resources to develop new technology, and that it is important to seek out industry partners to provide necessary support and experience. In order to create solutions for patients, it is essential that vascular surgeons and industry collaborate. He mentions that it is the surgeon's goal to do what is best for the patient and that they must remain aware that the job of industry is to sell the device.

When reflecting on his career, Sharif initially found general surgery attractive because of the dynamic nature of the work and the ability to offer patients medical and surgical therapy. However, he grew to like vascular surgery due to its meticulous nature and the fact that it allows for minimally invasive procedures. He found his mentor, Dr. Michael Marion, Chief of the Vascular Division, and Dr. Larry Hollier to be inspiring and both were a major factor in his decision to pursue the specialty.

Professors and Courses of Influence

Ellozy also recalled his college days at Harvard where he found courses such as Literature Arts where he read Chaucer, and Ethics, and International Relations. However, he found the most impactful course was Cultural Illness and Healing taught by Arthur Kleinman. He specifically remembers a book they read called Forgive and Remember, which was written to help physicians deal with medical errors.

Timestamps:

09:21 Treating Aneurysms, Clots, and Varicose Veins

11:42 Surgical Suturing Techniques

16:38 Audible Bleedings Podcast

19:39 Vascular Surgery and the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic

20:30 Vascular Surgeon's Practice: A Day in the Life

24:46 Endovascular Surgery and Simulation

30:55 Endovascular Repair of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms

34:32 The use of New Technology in Healthcare

37:32 Becoming a Vascular Surgeon and Harvard College Experiences

Links:

Forgive and Remember

AudibleBleeding.com

CONTACT INFO:

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

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharif-ellozy-215a2920/

Show Notes:

Rachel Berger and Will Bachman talk about Rachel's journey since graduating from Harvard. Rachel graduated with a degree in biochemistry and moved to New York City to attend Columbia medical school. She moved to Pittsburgh for her residency and ended up staying for 27 years. After completing her residency, she did a fellowship in general academic pediatrics in Braddock, Pennsylvania.

Rachel took a job at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh in a new division for child advocacy as a child abuse pediatrician. She eventually became board certified in the field when it became a subspecialty. Rachel then advanced in her career to become a tenured professor in 2016. After nine years as the leader of the division of child advocacy, Rachel stepped down in September of 2022 and is now focusing on clinical research and advocacy for children.

Establishing the Child Advocacy Centre

Child abuse work in the United States has been around since the mid-1970s, when laws were passed which mandated reporting of child abuse but it wasn't a subspecialty until 2009. Establishing this subspecialty and law to report was in response to the number of children who were abused and sent back into a situation that was often fatal. The Child Advocacy Center was set up at the hospital and employed physicians, nurses, social workers and forensic interviewers to ensure that this would not happen again. The subspecialty combines expertise in pediatric and orthopedic medicine, as well as knowledge in communicating with criminal courts and family courts to help keep children safe. Unfortunately, it is the most underfunded and understaffed of any pediatric subspecialty in the country. However, there are fellowships and other resources available for medical students and residents interested in this field.

Recognising and Reporting Child Abuse

Rachel explains that there are several different paths a child may take to get to see a child abuse pediatrician. These may include being referred by a hospital, Child Protective Services (CPS) if the child turns up at the Emergency room. Schools are a major source of reports, as teachers often have a close relationship with the children they are supervising, and can be more likely to spot possible abuse. Sometimes a family member may reach out. If abuse is suspected, the school or other responsible body can call the child abuse pediatrician to access their expertise.

Rachel talks about how the specialists determine if abuse is taking or has taken place but they put support and services in place that, hopefully, help the children and family. To help recognise whether a child is the victim of abuse, Rachel suggests checking the TEN-4 FACES P mnemonic to identify any signs of abuse that may be serious.

The Prevalence of Child Abuse

While it is difficult to determine the number of abuse cases since most children don't or won't talk about it until they are adults, the official data states that around one in seven girls say they have been victim of sexual abuse before they reached the age of 18. She also states that there is a myth that you can "tell" the perpetrators of abuse, and that parents who abuse their children don't love them. Sometimes, it's anger control issues, or even discipline gone awry.

Rachel also reflects on the importance of communication between medical experts and child protective services, social workers, attorneys, and police. This can be difficult because they don't understand the medical information.

She talks about how the subspecialty of child abuse pediatrics had developed to advocate for children in court. It was seen as a combination of different elements, such as the increasing evidence base and the need for experts to advocate for children. However, there was a concern that other pediatrician reporters may become less involved if the subspecialty was created.

There is concern that this could lead to a dangerous precedent where the responsibility for reporting child abuse cases is removed from other pediatricians because they don't think it's their job to do so.

The advantages of having a child abuse pediatrics subspecialty is that there has been a growth in high quality research, and that the NIH has now funded a child abuse pediatric research network. However, Rachel is concerned that there are not enough people going into this field and that this could lead to a lack of access to people with expertise in this field. She suggests that the high bar of board certification might be discouraging people from people covering a small area of child abuse. Overall, they believe that the subspecialty has been a benefit to children and research, but that there is still a need for more people in this field.

Rachel has focused her research on how to better identify physical abuse in its early and mildest forms to prevent catastrophic injury. She mentions the Child Abuse Pediatric Research Network (CAP-NET) as a resource for research and noted that it has numerous projects looking into better ways to identify risk, concerning injury, and intervene in cases of physical abuse. Rachel explains how electronic records and machine learning can help track and identify cases of abuse across different hospitals, locations, systems, and services.

Socio Economic Factors in Child Abuse

Rachel discusses policy surrounding child protection and laws established to do so. Research has proven that fatalities from child abuse are far higher than expected and this has led to the need for protective laws to be passed. She goes on to talk about the difficulty of creating laws that protect both the child and the family from maltreatment or misjudgement, and what she offers suggestions on how the systems could be improved.

She cites decreasing childhood poverty as the major factor in reducing abuse. She explains that 30% of kids in the United States are supported by Medicaid, but 70-80% of children involved in child welfare rely on it. While abuse does occur in wealthier families, it is much more common in lower socioeconomic classes, and neglect is the most common form of child maltreatment. To decrease child abuse, Rachel suggests using the earned income tax credit and housing vouchers as two ways to reduce the impacts of childhood poverty.

Rachel shares examples of neglect, such as supervisory neglect, malnourishment, educational neglect, and medical neglect. She discusses physical abuse and sexual abuse, explaining that physical abuse often results in the child being admitted to the hospital for treatment, whereas sexual abuse is seen more often in an outpatient setting. Rachel also noted that sexual abuse often involves someone the child knows and trusts. Overall, the conversation highlighted the prevalence of different forms of child abuse and the need for society to address the issue.

Working on The Obama Commission to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities

Rachel talks about her position as a research lead on the Obama Commission to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities and why she was selected for the commission. The commission traveled to 17 places in the United States, including at least one Indian Reservation, and talked to different child welfare agencies, hospitals, police, and child advocacy centers. The commission's report focused on different types of child abuse and how communities respond to these situations. She was shocked to discover that communities were not seeking out information from other communities on how they were dealing with situations of abuse despite reports sent out from newspapers around the country about children who had died or nearly died of abuse. The commission put together a public report at the end, but it wasn't implemented due to the change in presidential administrations. Some of the recommendations from the commission have been implemented by the Casey Family Programs.

Rachel reflects on how powerful the experience was, how it shaped the next step of her career, and how she learned a lot about politics and how it is involved in an area that should be beyond political machinations of the day.

Courses and Professors of Influence

Professors mentioned by Rachel include Doug Melton.

Timestamps:

07:42 Child Abuse Referrals and Prevalence

15:15 Myths Surrounding Child Abuse and Navigating External Systems

15:39 The Challenges of Communicating Medical Information to Non-Medical Professionals

17:51 The Evolution of Subspecialty in Child Abuse Pediatrics

24:41 Research in the Field of Child Abuse Pediatrics

28:46 Potential for Machine Learning to Identify High Risk Kids in Medical Records

31:07 Exploring the Benefits of Electronic Health Records in Clinical Practice

34:28 Policy Changes to Better Protect Children from Abuse

39:19 Socioeconomic Distribution of Child Abuse

45:15 Child Maltreatment and Presidential Commissions

CONTACT INFO:

[email protected]

[email protected]