Thriving Forward

In this episode Megan interviews Shawn Brown. Shawn is the Program Director for Teen Empowerment in Rochester. He is a Rochester native who has worked for multiple non-profits in his career including the Boys & Girls Club of Rochester and Teen Empowerment. The mission of Teen Empowerment is to: employ, train, and empower youth to create peace, equity, and justice, in collaboration with adults. Shawn speaks passionately about his connection to this program and the teenagers he works with every day.

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In this episode Sarah interviews Alice McAdam, the Program Manager of the Parents as Teachers (PAT) program at Hillside Children's Center.  They are joined by Vanessa Lespier and Nicole Pope, two parents who are enrolled in the program.

To learn more about Hillside's Parents as Teachers Program, you can contact Alice at:
585-436-0370, ext. 308

Alice McAdam is the Program Manager of the Parents as Teachers (PAT) program at Hillside Children's Center. She brings a Child and Families Studies background to her role in the oversight of the evidence-based PAT model. The majority of her 25+ years in the human service field has been spent supporting families and home-based child care providers by employing the strength-based approach that is central to Family Strengthening and Support Work and the PAT model. Most recently the Parents as Teachers program at Hillside Children’s Center earned the status of a Blue Ribbon Affiliate through Parents as Teachers International. 

Vanessa Lespier has been a Parents as Teachers enrolled parent since 2017. She is an active member of the Parents as Teachers Advisory Committee. Vanessa is the mother of 3 children: 2 girls,11 and 6, and a boy who is 2 years old. She works as a Nurse and is a fierce advocate for women and children regarding prenatal and postnatal care. She is currently studying to become a doula and is always encouraging women to advocate for themselves through the healthcare system and to practice mindfulness and self-care. 

Nicole Pope has been enrolled in Parents as Teachers at Hillside Children’s Center since 2018. She is an active member of the Parents as Teachers Advisory Committee. Nicole is looking forward to enrollment at Monroe Community College in the near future. Additionally, Nicole is a Parent Leader with the Parent Leadership Training Institute. Nicole’s introduction to this organization was as a result of her role within the Hillside Parents as Teachers program. Nicole says "Parents as Teachers has helped me to step outside of my comfort zone; and they hear my voice. I truly enjoy “mommyhood”! It is not always easy, but when I look at my son, Willie, Jr., a.k.a. li'l guy, even the hardship of being a single mother is all worth the fight and sacrifices I make daily.”

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David Topa, MD spent his childhood in Pittsburgh and Cleveland before attending the University of Dayton, from which he graduated Magna Cum Laude. He attended the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and served as a national board member to the student section of the Association of American Medical Colleges. Serving as Chief Resident of Outpatient Pediatrics during his third year of residency, he completed his training in Pediatrics at the Golisano Children’s Hospital at Strong (GCHaS) and subsequently joined Pittsford Pediatric Associates. Since joining Pittsford Pediatrics, he has advocated for Monroe County to improve Child Protective Services staffing and increase funding for programs that prevent child abuse. For these efforts, he was presented with a Special Achievement Award by the American Academy of Pediatrics in 2018. He is active in the local chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and teaches child advocacy skills to residents at GCHaS. Outside of the office, he serves as cofounder of Karaoke at the Corner, an annual event that has raised over $40,000 to benefit the Monroe Ave YMCA, Teen Empowerment, and GCHaS. He enjoys running (he completed the Rochester Marathon in 2012), and volunteering at his children's schools. He lives in the Highland Park Neighborhood of Rochester with his wife and three children.

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In this episode Sarah talks with Rebecca Russo, a supervising attorney at Legal Assistance of Western NY (LawNY), about the medical legal partnership model, where doctors and lawyers partner together to help patients. 

Learn more about LawNY:
https://www.lawny.org/

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In 1990, Master Kim’s arrived in Rochester and opened the same day and across the street from the Irondequoit Mall. It was an instant success as they enrolled 100 active members in the first 20 days! In 1992, Grandmaster Sung Kim at the age of 19 opened the Penfield location which has been remodeled twice due to growth. In 1993, Master Kim’s Taekwondo introduced our character building martial arts to the west side of Rochester, in Greece!

Today, Master Kim’s Taekwondo Institute teaches the most martial arts students in Rochester! We are the only martial arts school that offers a direct After School Wrap Around Program and a full day Summer Program. Our staff teaches at all five Doodlebugs Daycares, the Goddard School and a 2 credit Physical Education Taekwondo Class at Monroe Community College. We visit Elementary Schools, we love our towns and libraries and teach our students to “give back” in at least six community service events each year.

Grandmaster Sung Kim is an 8th Degree Black Belt certified by Kukkiwon, is President of MKTKD, and has earned Junior, Collegiate and National titles in Taekwondo. He has taken the best aspects of the traditional martial arts and created a modern character building education program that enhances the lives of individuals. Grandmaster Kim proudly leads an extremely talented group of home grown instructors to bring you the pinnacle of modern Taekwondo curriculum in award winning facilities. Master Jeff DeWilde and Master Edwin Rivera respectively direct the Greece and Irondequoit locations. Master Kim’s Taekwondo is the area’s only Kukkiwon certified school. We are the only Taekwondo school in the area that has staff at each location with their Master Instructor’s License and International Hanmadang Certification, both certified by Kukkiwon, The World Taekwondo Headquarters.

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In this episode, Sarah talks with Dirk Hightower from Children's Institute.  Dirk recently stepped down as the Executive Director at Children's Institute where he continues to work as a Senior Associate.  He discusses the importance of keeping kids developmentally on track throughout childhood and how early childhood screenings can help achieve this goal.  The GROW Rochester program is highlighted as a local collaboration with a unique, multi-disciplinary approach to comprehensive screening for children.

To learn more about Children's Institute, visit:
https://www.childrensinstitute.net/

To learn more about the GROW Rochester program, visit:
https://www.childrensinstitute.net/programs-and-services/grow-rochester

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In this episode Sarah interviews Dr. Andrew Sherman, a local pediatrician and Co-President of Net Life, a non-profit that works to prevent malaria in Africa by addressing barriers that exist to using mosquito nets. 

• Website: https://www.netlifeafrica.org/
• Email: [email protected]

Netlife is tackling malaria by working to address the barriers that exist to using mosquito nets. In 2019, we will be working with Senegalese community leaders and youth groups to develop and implement a program that will provide outdoor sleeping resources and education.

About Netlife
Our founder Andy was a Peace Corps Volunteer from 2000-2002 in this the Bandafassi Region in Senegal. He left at the end of his service with a desire to do more. Both in medical school, he and Jesse, also a returned volunteer started a collaboration to continue their efforts.

They founded Netlife, which works with villages in the Bandafassi region to fight Malaria. This region is the farthest from the capital and it is very underserved from a health perspective. Despite large campaigns to provide mosquito nets, surveys show that people in these villages do not have an adequate supply of nets. When rainy season arrives, this leaves children and adults on unprotected sleeping spaces. Stagnant water is abound with the nearby terrain, breeding mosquitoes to carry the deadly malaria parasites.

About Dr. Sherman
Dr. Sherman earned his Medical Doctorate from Saint Louis University School of Medicine and completed his pediatric residency at the University of Rochester Medical Center. He completed a subsequent academic general pediatric fellowship at URMC while concurrently earning his Masters in Public Health. Dr. Sherman is board certified in general pediatrics.

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In this episode Megan interviews Dr. Andy Aligne from the Hoekelman Center at the University of Rochester Medical Center. 

• Website: www.hoekelmancenter.org
• Phone: (585) 273-3737
• Fax: (585) 276-2566
• Address: 601 Elmwood Ave, Box 777, Rochester, NY 14642

The Hoekelman Center's mission is: Educating, connecting and advocating in our communities to do what works for health. A great deal is known about how to improve health and prevent disease. By doing, teaching and sharing effective examples of community-level health improvement, the Center strives to improve the well-being of children and families in Rochester and beyond. We are fortunate to have numerous wonderful organizations as partners, and we have helped develop several tools that can connect families with useful community-based resources. Please see our website (www.hoekelmancenter.org) for more information.

Professional Background

Dr. Aligne obtained his undergraduate and medical degrees from UCLA. He completed pediatrics residency training at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and after a year in private practice, did the fellowship in Academic General Pediatrics at the University of Rochester, where he also obtained a Master's in Public Health. He is currently director of the Hoekelman Center in the Dept. of Pediatrics.

Research

Dr. Aligne's research interests include evidence-based community health programs, Public Heath training for health care professionals, and environmental and social determinants of health. He is currently engaged in research on various aspects of evidence-based community health, and evidence-based medicine.

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In this episode Megan interviews Mary Tiballi Hoffman the Development Manager for Blackfriars Theatre as they head into their 70th season of bringing local theatre to the Rochester area!

• Website: http://www.blackfriars.org/
• Phone: (585) 454-1260
• Address: 795 E Main St, Rochester, NY 14605

More about Mary:
"Mary Tiballi Hoffman, DEVELOPMENT MANAGER, is a Rochester-based actor, singer and arts fundraiser. Previously, she served as the Institutional Giving Manager at Geva Theatre Center, where she managed a portfolio of over $800,000 in foundation, government and corporate contributions each year. Prior to her time at Geva, she worked as a Grant Writer for The Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre and as the Academy Ball Coordinator for The Academy of Music and The Philadelphia Orchestra Association. Ms. Hoffman’s passion for arts fundraising is deeply rooted in her experiences as an artist. Over the last 10 years, Ms. Hoffman has performed extensively with Rochester Children’s Theatre, JCC CenterStage and Blackfriars Theatre. Blackfriars audiences will recognize her from Debbie Does Dallas: The Musical (Roberta), Sunday in the Park with George (Dot/Marie), The Little Dog Laughed (Ellen) and It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play (Mary Bailey). In 2012, she wrapped filming on her first full-length feature film with Tatum Productions. Ms. Hoffman has also been featured in radio advertisements and jingles, as well as a web series for Free2Play. She spent four years as a performance coach with The Center for Musical Arts in East Rochester, preparing students of all ages for both school and professional auditions. Ms. Hoffman serves on the Board of TheatreROCS, a consortium of Rochester’s finest live theatre organizations. She is a proud graduate of Nazareth College, where she received her BA in Theatre Arts. She lives in East Irondequoit with her husband, Jeff, and their kids, Henry and Greta.:

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In our premier episode of the podcast Sarah Collins-McGowan interviews co-host Megan Callanan Lasaponara about Kids Thrive 585, Inc and the work the organization does to connect children and families in Rochester, NY with local resources.

About Kids Thrive:
Kids Thrive 585 is a child-focused Rochester, NY area non-profit (501c3) organization that highlights good works occurring throughout the community and improves access to resources for children, caregivers and child advocates.  

We have partnered with 2-1-1/LIFE LINE, a 24/7 crisis/suicide intervention program and Information & Referral (I&R) service that serves  Monroe, Wayne, Ontario, Livingston, Cayuga and Seneca Counties. The 2-1-1/LIFE LINE organization has compiled a vast array of community information within their catchment area, including many resources for children and families in Rochester. 

We hope that increased awareness of these local services will allow community projects geared toward children to blossom and thrive.
 

Mission:
Kids Thrive 585, Inc. empowers all those who advocate for children to connect with passionate and committed community-based organizations in the greater Rochester area. Using multimedia approaches, we highlight local resources for children and families, raising awareness and celebrating their good works, and in turn improving access to and use of their services. We promote collaborative outreach focusing on children and families in order to strengthen the local foundation upon which the health and well-being of the community may take root, grow, and thrive.

More on KT585:
Rochester, NY has been celebrated across the country for its wealth of community resources for children and families. It is not uncommon, however, for some of its rich resources to go unnoticed by the very community it serves! 

Executive Director, Megan Callanan Lasaponara, MD, born and raised in Rochester, was awed by the amazing good works taking place right in her back yard. Dr. Lasaponara founded Kids Thrive 585 in 2012 as part of her Community Health and Advocacy Resident Education (CARE) path during her medical training. She soon gained both professional and community followers raising awareness and improving access to local resources with KidsThrive585.org. The Kids Thrive 585 website has accumulated thousands of hits and continues to evolve and grow with the help and support of the local community.

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