The Walk of Life project is a unique and inspiring initiative aimed at improving literacy in India and about promoting education of Indian culture and heritage in the world.

Even in a world of electronic communication, the best communication happens when we meet people in person. By Walk of Life, the primary intention is to connect with the people and motivate them to acquire education and adopt practices conducive to healthy living.

Our speaker, Vijay Rajvaidya, serves as the Managing Director and CFO of India Currents, an award-winning publication that has served the Indian American community for 37 years.

He brings over three decades of experience in Silicon Valley's high-tech and IT industry to his role at the helm of this nonprofit organization. His deep-rooted passion lies in India's rich culture, heritage, and civilizational history, which he is dedicated to sharing with his fellow Americans.

Beyond his professional endeavors, Vijay is an active member of his Rotary club, the Evergreen Valley Rotary Club, where he contributes to literacy projects in India.

In a remarkable undertaking, Vijay has embarked on a transformative project—walking through India on foot. This extraordinary journey covers the twelve Jyotirling temples, spanning approximately 6000 miles/9000 kilometers.

Vijay's educational background includes an MBA in finance and multiple graduate degrees in engineering. In his leisure moments, he wears many hats, from being a theater actor and a licensed pilot to a mountaineer and a certified scuba diver.

To learn more go to Vijay's Rotary club page:

https://portal.clubrunner.ca/15155

Or to the project page (still in development):

http://knowingindia.org/

Diane Shader Smith, has had a vibrant career as a writer, speaker, publicist, and fundraiser with an extensive roster of clients during her multi-decade career.

When Diane’s daughter Mallory died at the age of 25, she brought Mallory’s memoir to publication as Salt in My Soul (Random House 2019), which led to the documentary of the same name (3Arts Entertainment).

Using Mallory’s words, Diane has given 250+ talks worldwide about patient insights, the global health crisis called AMR, and phage therapy - everything Mallory wrote about and stood for.

In May of 2024, Random House published an adaptation of Mallory’s first memoir under the title, Diary of a Dying Girl, that shifts the lens towards the emotional hurdles and mental health challenges of living with resistant bacteria.

Two months before publication, Diane, a recent graduate of the Narrative Medicine CPA Program at Columbia University, conceived of the idea to create The Global AMR Diary: Collective Storytelling to Shift Perspectives and Shape Policy.

The World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and many other public health organizations agreed to be part of this important global initiative. Diane has been interviewed by many major media outlets and written an Op-ed for USA Today and for the CDC.

In her talk, Diane Shader Smith will delve into the global crisis of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), illuminated through the powerful narrative of her daughter Mallory’s experience as captured in "Diary of a Dying Girl." Diane will explore how storytelling can be a transformative force in shifting perspectives and shaping health policies. She will showcase compelling slides that bring to life the urgent need for action, emphasizing the critical role of narrative medicine in public health advocacy. Drawing on her extensive experience and the impactful work of The Global AMR Diary, Diane’s presentation will not only highlight the personal stakes of AMR but also mobilize stakeholders to commit to meaningful change. This talk promises to leave audiences armed with knowledge and a renewed drive to tackle this pressing health challenge.

YouTube of this presentation: https://youtu.be/XReY3B161Qw

To learn more, go to:

https://diaryofadyinggirl.com/

https://www.globalamrdiary.org/

https://www.calfund.org/mallorys-legacy-fund/

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” – George Santayana, The Life of Reason, 1905.

Our speaker, Tim Allen, joined Wharton Research Data Services in 2008, after working for local companies and starting a few of his own. He began programming at age six during a summer camp his mother won in a raffle. Tim currently serves as an organizer of the Philadelphia Python Users Group, DjangoCon US, and as a member of the Python Software Foundation and Django Software Foundation.

Tim is an avid hockey fan, was the first person to sell real world items for virtual microcurrency long before Bitcoin, is an avid open-source contributor, and enjoys beating his head against brick walls (as demonstrated by his passion for coding, cycling in Philadelphia, and never-ending quest to get his cat to behave). A life-long Philadelphia resident, he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1996 with an individualized major, "Computer Aided Information Acquisition."

Congratulations, technologists! We have reached a new record for the height of the peak of inflated expectations with the hype surrounding "A.I."

If you believe the recent press, "A.I." is going to be capable of everything, with some even talking of immortality. It is wonderful to be excited about new technology available to us, but this is at a level I have never seen in my career. There have been numerous lessons from the past that illustrate why we should avoid these levels of hype.

Is "A.I." going to change everything? Tim doesn’t buy it, and in this talk, he’ll explain why.

This presentation on YouTube: https://youtu.be/SZ0k0IFqmZw

To learn more, go to: https://github.com/flipperpa/

Family history is the biggest risk factor for many cancers, especially ovarian, the deadliest gynecologic cancer.

The use of genetic information is becoming increasingly important in the detection and treatment of cancer. This talk explores the familial and genetic risk factors for ovarian, breast and other related cancers.

Learn how genomics and genetics can guide proactive testing as well as treatment options for many cancers.

Our speaker, Jodie Shagrin Kavensky, will discuss assessing risk, exploring risk-reduction strategies, recognizing cancer's subtle symptoms, and seeking medical attention for the best outcome. Sisterly Advice is a talk to empower the audience to assess their risk for ovarian and related cancers, including breast cancer. This program can save your life or the life of someone you love.

Jodie Shagrin Kavensky is a native of Youngstown, Ohio. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism/Public Relations from The Ohio State University and her Master of Science in Advertising from Northwestern University. Jodie spent seven years working in healthcare marketing in Chicago where her clients included Mayo Clinic and Michael Reese Hospital. Jodie is a board member of the Illinois Arts Council Agency, a sustaining member of Junior League of the Quad Cities and sits on the City of Rock Island Arts & Beautification Commission.

Jodie spent three years being a caregiver for her mother, Norma, who died of ovarian cancer.

It was her mother’s dying wish that Jodie become a voice for all the women who have been silenced by this disease. In her mother and aunt’s honor, Jodie founded the NormaLeah Ovarian Cancer Initiative. She is an advocate for risk assessment and early detection education and shares her unique perspective on inheriting her mother's BRCA gene mutation. As the founder and volunteer CEO of NormaLeah since 2008 Jodie is a health educator and has developed several initiatives aimed at creating better health outcomes.

YouTube: https://youtu.be/CPDWvlqA32k

To learn more, go to:

https://www.normaleah.org

https://www.facebook.com/NormaLeahOvarianCancerInitiative

https://instagram.com/normaleahinitiative

Dateability is the only dating app designed for the disabled and chronically ill communities.

People with disabilities and chronic illness often encounter ableism on other dating apps. We understand the unique circumstances that present when dating with a disability, which is why we created a safe and accepting space to create meaningful connections for people with physical, intellectual, and psychiatric disabilities.
Our speakers are Alexa and Jacqueline Child. Alexa graduated from College of the Holy Cross in 2012 and Georgetown University Law Center in 2015. After law school, she began her career in public service and is currently a public interest attorney. Alexa and her sister collaborated on Dateability after Jacqueline’s negative experiences dating with chronic illness. She enjoys all the typical Colorado things—hiking and skiing—but also loves to cook and binge watch TV.
After becoming disabled due to chronic illnesses as a teenager, Jacqueline’s life was forever changed. She was quickly exposed to the ableist behaviors and expectations perpetuated by society. She found dating challenging and would always fear disclosing her disability. She constantly wished she could meet someone else who understood life with chronic illness and disabilities. Since there wasn’t an app to do that, Jacqueline and Alexa decided they would make one.
Jacqueline Child graduated from Colorado College in 2016 with a degree in Psychology and received her master’s degree in Family and Human Development in 2017. She spends her free time playing music, volunteering at the local animal shelter, and hanging with family and her dog, Luna.

Download Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/dateability/id6443474660

Download Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dateabilityapp&hl=en&gl=US

https://youtu.be/hDgujMoalf0

Our speaker this week is Emily Drabinski, the current president of the American Library Association.

She is Associate Professor at the Queens College Graduate School of Library and Information Studies, and publishes and presents widely on topics related to knowledge organization, information literacy, and critical perspectives in librarianship.

Drabinski edits Gender and Sexuality in Information Studies, a book series from Library Juice Press/Litwin Books. She is a contributing writer at Truthout.

Professor Drabinski holds an MLIS from Syracuse University, a BA in political science from Columbia University and an MA in composition and rhetoric from Long Island University, Brooklyn.

With her work in the American Library Association, Professor Drabinski has encountered all manner of fascinating and innovative programs libraries have launched to serve their communities.

In this interview-format recording, you'll learn about the many ways libraries can and do make a difference in their communities.

To learn more, go to:

https://www.emilydrabinski.com/

Black and brown communities generally do not possess the built-up generational wealth of their white peers.

The Federal Bank of St. Louis performed analysis of that data using the most recent data available from the Federal Reserve Board's Survey of Consumer Finance. For white families, that median amount was $184,000. Contrast that with a typical Black and Latine family, for which the median amounts were $23,000 and $38,000 respectively.

As a result, and this is admittedly but one of the factors, they do not have the same capacity to "pay their dues" by accepting unpaid internships within their dream careers.

Though some argue that it is not feasible to pay interns and that it's a rite of passage to focus on learning versus earning, Oakland-based YR Media has spent 30 years proving that theory wrong. From the time students enroll in their training to when they emerge six months later to take on paid internships, they are provided stipends and then compensated for their work. This is particularly important as they serve 14-to-24 year olds from underrepresented communities, including BIPOC, producing journalism, music, graphic design, podcasts, and documentaries that disrupt and shape the mainstream narrative.

Our speaker, Kyra Kyles, is the CEO at YR Media, an award-winning national nonprofit serving youth storytellers. Among her media roles, Kyra served as EBONY Editor-in-Chief and Senior Vice President, Head of Digital Editorial and while at sibling pub, JET, launched the iconic brand’s first-ever app. Earlier in her career, Kyra was a columnist and broadcast correspondent for the Tribune RedEye. A contributor to outlets ranging from NPR's WBEZ to the BBC to Bustle, this Chicago-native-turned Bay Area resident has been named to the Folio magazine Top 100 Media Executives, WVON and Ariel Capital's “Top 40 Under 40 Game Changers” lists.

https://youtu.be/Gq6LKdymyh0

To learn more, go to: https://www.yrmedia.org/

⁠⁠More about the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley⁠⁠   

⁠⁠More about Rotary International:⁠⁠

Podcast and Zoom Host, ⁠⁠Rushton Hurley⁠⁠: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rushtonhurley/

Podcast Producer, ⁠⁠Elton Sherwin⁠⁠: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eltonsherwin/

Audio edited and enhanced with ⁠⁠Descript Studio Sound ⁠⁠ 

#PositiveChange #Inspiration #Rotary

Cathy Zhao is a stand-up comedian and a sit-down entrepreneur based in San Francisco.

She's opened and hosted for Margaret Cho 4 times; Second Place in the First North America Standup Comedy Competition in Chinese Mandarin; performed at the Laugh Factory, SF Punchline, Cobb's, San Jose Improv, SF Comedy Day, Detroit Women Comedy Festival etc.

She co-founded Laughitouthub.org, a 501(c)3 non-profit to empower the mental well-being of teenagers with humor in the format of standup comedy and improvisation.

Today, she will tell us about her personal journey:

In 2018, Cathy took the comedy stage at Stanford University, sharing her experiences as an international student in a brief, five-minute set. To her surprise, the audience not only understood what she calls her heavily accented English, but also erupted in laughter. This marked the beginning of her journey as a stand-up comedian, taking her around the world for comedy gigs.

Connecting with audience members who shared immigration backgrounds, she found resonance in addressing challenges faced by immigrants. Many approached her post-show, expressing gratitude for humorously highlighting the dismissive attitudes of some native English speakers, and this realization fueled her belief that humor is not only a cathartic release but also an empowering force for those on similar journeys—be it international students navigating language barriers, immigrant workers withholding ideas, or Asian women defying cultural stereotypes.

During the pandemic, Cathy and her best friend Bethany from Stanford founded Laugh It Out Hub, a non-profit providing comedy workshops to underprivileged teens and minority groups, aiming to enhance mental well-being. Collaborating with organizations like Boys and Girls Club, Palo Alto High School, Oasis for Girls, and more, they have made a positive impact.

Through her journey, she hopes to encourage you to find strength and expression through humor—because sometimes, laughter is the best way to navigate life's complexities.

YouTube of this presentation: https://youtu.be/I4P8T1rK2ME

To learn more about Cathy, go to:

Nonprofit: https://laughitouthub.org

Personal Website: https://www.cathyzhaolaugh.com/

Instagram: @cathyzbitch

⁠⁠More about the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley⁠⁠   

⁠⁠More about Rotary International:⁠⁠

Podcast and Zoom Host, ⁠⁠Rushton Hurley⁠⁠: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rushtonhurley/

Podcast Producer, ⁠⁠Elton Sherwin⁠⁠: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eltonsherwin/

Audio edited and enhanced with ⁠⁠Descript Studio Sound ⁠⁠ 

#PositiveChange #Inspiration #Rotary

This week, we explore possibilities for supporting the sustainability of nonprofit leaders and the organizations they serve.

The speaker's organization, CEN, has adopted IDEAL values (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Access and Liberation) that ground its approach to ensure more just and impactful outcomes for the sector. This session will explore the challenges and opportunities CEN and its community members face and ways to get involved and support their efforts.

Shana Peete serves as the current Chief Executive Officer for the Center for Excellence in Nonprofits (CEN).

Prior to joining CEN in 2019, she was the founding executive director of a Tri-Valley nonprofit dedicated to offering individuals and families a hand up from poverty. She has a Bachelor of Science in international business and a Doctor of Jurisprudence.

Before moving to the Bay Area, Shana practiced law for eight years. In addition, she has professional experience that includes managing the Excel Child Development Center, serving as a program coordinator for Read Aloud America, and managing a 30-person customer fulfillment team for Amazon.

In her spare time, she enjoys teaching the game of tennis to students of all ages and using her gift of communication—in English and Spanish—to bring people together.

YouTube of this Presentation: https://youtu.be/dHjKsF522-o

To learn more, go to:

https://www.cen.org/mission.html

https://www.cen.org/calendar.html

https://www.linkedin.com/company/center-for-excellence-in-nonprofits/

⁠⁠More about the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley⁠⁠   

⁠⁠More about Rotary International:⁠⁠

Podcast and Zoom Host, ⁠⁠Rushton Hurley⁠⁠: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rushtonhurley/

Podcast Producer, ⁠⁠Elton Sherwin⁠⁠: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eltonsherwin/

Audio edited and enhanced with ⁠⁠Descript Studio Sound ⁠⁠ 

#PositiveChange #Inspiration #Rotary

Machine Learning has tremendous potential to help us better understand a variety of domains and build tools for automated decision-making. Such tools carry the promise of more accurate predictions and higher efficiency than might be achievable without them.

However, machine learning also has the potential to lead to outcomes that reinforce biases, disproportionately impact particular subpopulations, and violate notions of privacy.

In this talk, we examine some of the promise and perils that arise from work in machine learning to understand both the ethical issues and competing value trade-offs at stake.

Our speaker, Mehran Sahami, is the James and Ellenor Chesebrough Professor and Tencent Chair of the Computer Science department at Stanford University.

Prior to joining the Stanford faculty in 2007, he was a Senior Research Scientist at Google. Mehran's research interests include computer science education, machine learning, and ethics. He has published numerous research papers and holds more than 20 patents, including work related to web search, recommendation engines, and email spam filtering that have been deployed in commercial applications.

He served as co-chair of the ACM/IEEE-CS joint task force on Computer Science Curricula 2013 (CS2013), which created curricular guidelines for college programs in Computer Science at an international level.

He was appointed by California Governor Jerry Brown to the state's Computer Science Strategic Implementation Plan Advisory Panel. And, he is a co-author with Rob Reich and Jeremy Weinstein of the book ""System Error: Where Big Tech Went Wrong and How We Can Reboot."

To learn more about the book System Error, go to: https://systemerrorbook.com/

YouTube Video: https://youtu.be/us30TDEORv0

⁠⁠More about the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley⁠⁠   

⁠⁠More about Rotary International:⁠⁠

Podcast and Zoom Host, ⁠⁠Rushton Hurley⁠⁠: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rushtonhurley/

Podcast Producer, ⁠⁠Elton Sherwin⁠⁠: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eltonsherwin/

Audio edited and enhanced with ⁠⁠Descript Studio Sound ⁠⁠ 

#PositiveChange #Inspiration #Rotary