The Impossible Network

This week we have a follow-up to our recent interview with Sana Mustafa. When I interviewed Sana back in November 2021, we could not have imagined the Ukrainian refugee crisis.  So I wanted to hear Sana’s perspective as Director of Partnership and Engagement at Asylum Access, on the mass migration from Ukraine that has resulted from the Russian invasion and to understand the broader impactions on how the world will deal with future mass migrations as climate change forces people North. 

This is a shorter than normal episode but Sana’s insight and experience make this well worth a listen.

• Sana's perspective on the crisis
• The impact on the host nations
• The new standard set for welcoming the displaced
• The institutional racism and bigotry that exists in the system  

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From his inspiring film scores, and globally recognized audio branding to creating music as medicine, creativity through sound has powered Walter’s life journey.

I met Walter at SXSW 2022,  through an old colleague from McCann NYC, on heading his inspiring story I had to interview him.

Walter’s story is powered by his curiosity, creativity, and unwavering persistence. Also, we cover striving for balance, focusing on the present, and the power of embracing your difference.(Ref ep 53 Emily Oberman.)

Show Summary 

• Walter describes the impact of hearing rock-n-roll for the first time. 
• The serendipitous cycle of events from purchasing a keyboard and discovering his mentor.
• The serendipity of landing a role composing music for Disney movie trailers and the schooling it gave him. 
• Walter recounts early experiences of composing for films like the Terminator, working with R/GA, and the joy and gratification of the creative process. 
• The genesis of the Intel Inside audio pneumonic and how his idea emerged and the months of sound design work to create the final approved version.
• Walter explains to me the technical reasons for why the quality of the music sound file is important to our health and well-being. 
• Walter Werzowa describes the Audio start-up he launched called Health Tunes and explains the therapeutic impact it is having on different medical conditions. 
• Walter describes the in-the-field work being done in over 300 hospitals with supplementary music therapy. 
• We discuss the corporate application of music therapy. 
• Walter recounts the events that led to him working on the completion of Beethoven’s 10th Unfinished Symphony which combines AI and creativity to complete the work
• We also get some great answers from the quick-fire questions. 

Social Links 

Linkedin

Health Tunes 

Musikvergnuegan

Twitter 

Show Links 

Otto M Zykan

Kyle Cooper 

Garson Yu

Giorgio Moroder 

The Creativity Code 

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This week's guest is Sana Mustafa.  Although Sana’s moving story is bound up in the Syrian conflict, her journey, courage, fortitude, and the work she is doing in her role as Director of Partnership and Engagement at Asylum Access, force us to confront what is an anachronistic approach to dealing with displaced peoples, Sana is focused empower them with agency and help them retain their dignity.  In this moving interview, Sana recounts her upbringing under the Assad dictatorship, the jubilation of the Arab spring, the trauma of being thrust into civil war, and being forcibly displaced at age 22. However, Sana’s story is one of resilience, inner belief, the power of community, and the kindness of strangers. 

Sana is a founding member of The Global Refugee-Led Network, a coalition working to increase refugees’ engagement with the international community to pursue inclusive, sustainable, and effective refugee and immigration policy. something many nations must confront as they integrate millions of displaced Ukrainian citizens.

• The historical context of Syria’s ethnic-cultural makeup.
• Sana describes the foundational impact of her father and mother.
• Her Father’s willingness to be an active decenter to the regime.
• Her memories of the indoctrination of the Soviet-influenced Syrian education system. 
•  The influence of the intifada and the broader political make-up of the middle east.
• Living under the oppressive surveillance of the regime.
• Sana recounts the experience of living through the Arab Spring, explaining the historical events that precipitated the uprising, and her gratitude for being able to witness that moment in history.  
• She describes the danger of protesting and the violence, detention, and murder inflicted by the regime’s ‘thugs’. 
• We discuss Sana’s experience of being thrust into the center of the resulting multilayered conflict that emerged from the people's revolution, that ultimately led to the complex civil war with the influence of external actors to create a proxy ‘global’ war. 
• Sana explains the detention of her father and the human rights violations occurring. 
• Giving voice to the voiceless refugees and conviction to be part of a collective effort and action. 
• She describes escaping Syrian, her journey, arriving in the US with nothing other than her values, the kindness of strangers, and studying political science to establish herself as Director of Partnership at Asylum Access. 
• Finally, Sana discusses the broader issues facing dealing with funding a refugee-run organization, her vision, and her work to create refugee rights and build agency for refugees around the world. 
• Her hopes for Syria. 

Social Links 

Linkedin 

Links

Ismaili

Asylum Access 

The Network For Refugee Voices

Larsen Lam Impact Award 

Pose 

White Tears Brown Scars

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Guest overview

Kathryn Finney defies norms, conventions, and stereotypes. For this powerhouse of a human, there is no glass ceiling. From epidemiologist to entrepreneur, to investor, author, and mentor,  Kathryn is changing what is considered possible for a generation of marginalized and underrepresented Black and LatinX entrepreneurs. 

In this episode, recorded in two parts, we cover

• The impact of her parents and extended family
• Her father’s life pivot from brewing to coding in his 30’s which led her at aged eight to move from Milwaukee to Minneapolis.
• The early experiences of racism.     
• Her grandmother's role in nurturing her entrepreneurial spirit and exposure to fashion. 
• Her educational journey and impact
• The serendipity of illness in Ghana that led her to epidemiology at Yale 
• The life transition in her mid-twenties and setting up her fashion blog Budget Fashionista in 2004
• Being the first blogger invited to New York fashion week
• How her blogging opened the path to her first book deal
• Becoming a correspondent for the Today Show. 
• The shift that occurred in fashion blogging as the category grew in 2008/9.
• Joining an incubator program and confronting racial prejudice.
• Creating a Women’s Entrepreneurs Event Focus 100  
• Exiting her business in 2013.
• Creating the Project Diane a database of Black and LatinX women startups
• The genesis of her Digital Undivided 
• How Covid accelerated a life transition and the creation of her micro grant Doonie Fund
• Receiving funding from Pivotal Ventures for the creation of Genius Guild
• Building a coalition of like-minded change agents 
• Creating her Podcast and Book Build The Damn Thing, her ‘a battle-tested guide for every entrepreneur who the establishment has excluded’ 
• Her 2030 vision 
• Who we interview next?

Social Links

Instagram 

Linkedin 

Twitter 

Podcast 

Show Links 

Donor-Advised Funds 

Genius Guild

Doonie Fund 

Digital Undivided 

Project Diane

Build the Damn Thing - How to start a successful business if you are not a rich white guy 

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Guest Overview

If you ever need to appreciate the positive influence and impact parents have on a child’s worldview and sense of self, look no further than this week's guest, social entrepreneur, Sebastián Martín. 

In the first part of this interview, Sebastian discusses being born in Washington DC as the child of Chilean - Bolivian immigrant parents, growing up in the Bush era, in the wake of 9/11 and forming his socio-political conscience through his expansive education and international travel experiences. 

At 30 min in Sebastian explains the genesis of his social-entrepreneurial journey, how serendipity combined with his educational curiosity led him to shanghai China to form his social impact business Cambio Coffee, sourcing his coffee directly from farmers in Bolivia, managing the whole supply chain, and sharing in the profits with the farmers. 

Sebastian then discusses how, since returning to New York,  innovating education has become his central life focus and how his new venture Cambio Labs is confronting inequality in education By creating pathways through STEM programs targeting children and youth from disadvantaged neighborhoods, Sebastian describes his, gamified Ed-tech platform, Journey and his ambitions to scale it beyond the US.

Sebastian combines an expansive vision, with a deep social conscience and applies creativity with design thinking to reimagine educational opportunities. 

I challenge you not to be inspired by the passion and purpose of Sebastian Martin. 

 Thanks to Abby Lehman for the connection.

Social Links 

Instagram 

Linkedin 

Link in the show 

Cambio Labs 

Eric Holthaus Future Earth 

NYcha New York 

Naomi Klien On Fire 

History of the US Oliver Stone 

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Sometimes circumstances beyond our control set us on a path we could never have conceived. This was the case for this week’s guest, social entrepreneur Natasha Freidus when during the Syrian refugee crisis in 2015, she witnessed the chaos of crisis response first hand. While most donate money and time, Natasha instead formed a tech start-up to match those in need with those able to give and deliver goods and supplies locally through an online marketplace, initially hacked together using Wedding registry software.

Now almost six years on Natasha’s startup NeedsList is bringing efficiency and intelligence to the NGO and philanthropic sector and in doing so is delivering more accountability and transparency.

In this interview, Natasha describes her backstory, the vital steps along her life path that prepared her to be able to execute and lead such a start-up, the innovations she is now driving, and her vision to leverage AI and huge data sets to enable better preparation for relief before a crisis even hits.

I hope Natasha’s story inspires someone else to take on what others may consider impossible.

Social Links 

Instagram 

Facebook

Twitter 

Links in the Show 

Needslist 

Brown

ESL 

Paulo Freire 

Saul Alinsky

Creative Narrations

Decathlon 

Public Benefit Corp

IRC 

David Milliband

Fema

Fabrice Grinda 

 Winners Take All 

Only Murders In the Building

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This week sees the return of one of our favorite and most popular guests, industrial designer Lucia DeRespinis. 

With a career spanning seven decades, Lucia retired last year at the age of ninety-three. Now ninety-four Lucia was recently recognized for her outstanding contributions to Industrial design by the IDSA  - Industrial Designers Society of America.  Therefore we felt we needed to hear from Lucia about the accolade but also have Lucia reflect on her stellar career. 

In what was a novel interview we met Lucia in the marvelous secret gardens of her iconic Manhattan apartment complex where she’s lived since the 1960s. 

We ask Lucia to pass on her advice for the upcoming generation of Industrial designers to prepare them for the world they are entering. 

Lucia and I discuss the standards of Industrial Design today, the public's awareness of design, and where design standards have fallen, as she shares her perspective on the role of industrial designers in organizations today. 

Lucia reflects on the enduring memories of her career, her life lessons, and the traits she respects and deplores in herself and others. And we discuss her favorite New York design icon and the designer she wishes she’d worked with but didn’t and what she’d study if she was starting out today. 

Her body of work, lifetime achievements, and career in teaching cement her legacy as not only a torchbearer for women in Industrial Design but as one of America’s most iconic industrial designers.  

If you listen to her first interview, you’ll learn Lucia’s successful life was full of struggle and sacrifice. 

At 94 Lucia’s physical endurance, alacrity, wit, and grace should serve as an inspiration to anyone struggling with life and its challenges.  

Please enjoy this hour-long interview with Lucia N DeRespinis

Links in show

Pratt Institute

George Nelson

Dunkin Donuts Logo

Corey Cambridge Silent Giants

Lucia’s Designs

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This week's guest is native New Yorker Abby Lehman, a natural storyteller, connector, and social entrepreneur working at the intersection of community, government, and business. As a fourth-generation New Yorker, from a family of East European migrants, Abby is living evidence of the value and impact of immigration on a city and nation's success. 

Abby explains how her social impact NGO, Photo Start, uses photography as a gateway for under-privileged youth in Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, and the United States, to open up educational, vocational, or professional pathways so as to equip them with problem-solving, entrepreneurial, and financial skills necessary to create transformative economic opportunities for them as individuals, for their families and their communities.  

We discuss the transformative impact of her new rural and urban regeneration innovation program, Syzygy Cities, which aligns community needs with Government initiatives and business interests to stimulate economic and social development. Abby breaks down her current live initiative, Invest Southwest, working with the city of Chicago, national and local commercial partners, and local NGOs to provide the infrastructure, services, and solutions to create more economically and socially resilient communities.  

Abby is an inspirational female leader, a driving force for positive socio-economic change, forged through her clarity of strategic thought, collaborative spirit, and forceful and eloquent voice. 

I hope you feel uplifted by the power and passion of Abby Lehman

Social Links

Photo Start  

PS In Focus

Success Stories-

Instagram:   

@photostartgo  

YouTube:

In The News

Media Kit

Donate Gear

Volunteer

Syzygy Cities 

Syzygy Insta 

Show Links 

L2

The Tenement Museum

This is Eighteen

Akili Dada

Peggy Lee Fever 

Hail Satan?

Mans Search For Meaning

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This week's guest Michael McElroy is an actor, singer, musical director, educator, and founder of the Tony award-winning Broadway Inspirational Voices, the multi-racial gospel choir, 'united in changing lives through the power of music and service.’' 

In this shorter than normal interview, Michael explains how being immersed in the fusion of gospel music, musical theatre, and R&B as a child developed his love and appreciation of music. He also discusses how his Grandmother instilled in him a lifelong commitment to service and giving back. 

Although acutely aware of racism, Michael felt insulted; being surrounded by black excellence helped him develop a personal sense of limitless possibilities for anything if prepared to invest in the work. 

Michael discusses his journey through education, developing his sense of identity, and how he resolved to overcome the barriers he encountered, to reinforce his self-belief, and conviction to succeed. 

We discuss how serendipity played a pivotal part in landing his first Broadway role in Miss Saigon.     

Michael explains what led him to create the social impact organization, Broadway Inspirational Voices, to create an impact and welcoming space that has evolved over 25 years to become a platform where artists change lives through the power of music. 

Michael also discusses how he and his fellow artists responded to the pandemic's lockdown and the murders of George Floyd and other victims of race crimes by creating virtual outreach programs for Broadway inspirational Voices and Covenant House. 

Michael discusses how Broadway has been responding to the last eighteen months, addressing its institutional inequities to become more inclusive, diverse, and accessible by embracing New Deal proposed through Musicians United For Social Equity and Black Theatre United. 

Finally, Michael describes the steps he is taking to empower faculty and students in DE&I and create systemic change through his new role as Chair at the University of Michigan's Department of Musical Theatre. 

Thanks to Tom Kitt for the connection. 

Social Links

Wikipedia 

Instagram 

Show Links 

BIV - About Michael 

Carnegie Mellon

Miss Saigon 

Broadway Inspirational Voices 

Broadway Cares

Equity Fights Aids 

Covenant House 

Musicians United for Social Equity 

Black Theatre United

Summer of Soul

Schele Williams

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We’ve had to take an extended break in recent weeks due to moving home from New York to Austin Texas. However, we’re back now with Season 4 and some fabulous guests lined up in the coming weeks. 

We kick off this season with an interview I did just before leaving NYC with fellow Brooklyn resident, Geof Rochester, a highly successful entrepreneur and respected thought leader and strategic advisor on corporate sustainability and responsibility, NGOs, philanthropy, and social entrepreneurship. Geof is a trusted advisor to some of the world’s leading conservation NGOs, media companies, and consumer goods brands.

Born in Barbados and raised in Brooklyn the cultural diversity of his upbringing defined his worldview. His Diplomat Father and an empowering mother ingrained in him the importance of having empathy for the plight of others, a ‘Lead, Follow or get out of the way’ mentality, and a strong work ethic.

Taking the lead and embracing early leadership roles at School helped him develop a sense of responsibility and accountability and the ability to execute a vision at an early age. 

Discovering the importance of branding and marketing at an early age, set Geof on a path to a stellar career in Marketing working for both challenger and champion brands, including CMO of Nature Conservancy and senior marketing roles at Showtime, WWE, Comcast, and Radisson.  Geof is also the founder of GRC Advising, a consulting firm that provides clients with comprehensive strategies to integrate sustainability and social purpose.

Geof and I have a lively discussion about his motivations, mindset, and marketing mentality, dealing with the fear of failure, curiosity, confronting conventions, and his theory of change on climate and sustainability. Geof also provides his perspective on food insecurity and innovations in preventative healthcare and why he is hopeful about prospects for climate innovation. 

I hope you enjoy the pragmatic leadership thinking and passion of Geof Rochester.

Social Links 

Linkedin 

GRC Consulting

Show Notes 

Caricom 

Coach Thompson Georgetown 

WWE 

Nature Conservancy 

Project Drawdown

Sustainable Ocean Alliance 

Eric Adams 

The Courier

Barstool sports

Rich Dad Poor Dad 

7 Habits of Highly Effective People 

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