We recorded this episode as Twenty Minute Collaborations was just a concept.  It was brunch and Gregg was enjoying good food and yummy mimosas with two of his good friends.  We thought it would be fun to record a couple episodes but didn't know when we would release them. So, we are giving them to you now; both at the same time. This story about car trouble also deals with lake effect snow. We will not explain it to you. If you are dying to know, we imagine you know how to Google.  Alex and Dan  are very courageous with sharing their stories.

Alexander Miranda is a pediatric eye surgeon. There is probably a more scientific name for what he does because he primarily works on infants and toddlers.  You hear in the story that he is from Cleveland, Ohio. We did not tell you where Dan is from, but if you'd like to know, he is from Central, Illinois. They both live in Madison, Wisconsin. Alex is also a singer, love trivia, and, as you'll hear, is really great at puns.  

So much comes up in these two conversations. We hope you enjoy. 

We recorded this episode as Twenty Minute Collaborations was just a concept.  It was brunch and Gregg was enjoying good food and yummy mimosas with two of his good friends.  We thought it would be fun to record a couple episodes but didn't know when we would release them. So, we are giving them to you now; both at the same time. 

Part 1 is a story from Dan Lutz. Dan has a background in finance and spent a large portion of his professional career working in insurance.  When he turned 30, he wanted to change paths and find ways to create a larger positive impact. Dan became a team lead for AmeriCorps NCCC and that experience changes his entire trajectory. His story comes from his year with AmeriCorps. Dan now works in nonprofit fundraising for United Way. 

We hope you enjoy these episodes as much as we had recording them. It might help to grab a mimosa while listening. 

We've been holding this conversation until now. It was Gregg's birthday week and it was the perfect time to share this birthday story. Our brilliant guest this week was the force, Carolina Bailey. Carolina is a professor at Madison College. With her drive and talents, Carolina received a PhD from the University of Wisconsin Madison for Second Language Acquisition and Linguistics. She is also one of the owners and lead facilitators of Step Up Equity Matters.  She was born in Colombia and lives in Madison with her husband and daughter. 

Carolina Bailey is always full of so many surprises.  Come join in on this wild ride with birthday empanadas. 

We are so excited to share this late night conversation with Michele Caputo and Gregg. They sip their drinks and dive into a story about greatness coming out of a good collaboration.  They examine the importance of listening and when emotion is important and when it should be removed from the collaboration. 

Michele is a "long-time worker."  She knows the corporate world extremely well but what she knows best is people. She has also had incredible side projects such as Travel in the 2nd Degree and is currently working on Half the National Average (@halfthenationalaverage). 

We hope you enjoy this as much as we did editing it. 

This episode takes us out of the country and looks at how do we create teams with great relationships.  Eugenia Podesta is the co-owner  and founder of Synergy Coworking and sits on the leadership of a large international nonprofit. Her history of collaborating is long and wide and we are so thankful to have her join us. She shares a story during this episode with some surprises that come with egos and individuals that have their own agenda.  This conversation dives into empowerment, trust, why a facilitator is important and so much more. And, what happens to a collaboration when things don't go as planned? 

**Thank you for keeping in there with us as we get into the routine of this new podcast.  We have so much love for you and really appreciate your support. 

Gregg gets vulnerable on this episode with Clinical Psychologist Chantal Fowler. Chantal lives in Cape Town, South Africa, loves to surf, and dances in a burlesque troop.  She also works in sex therapy and is currently getting her PhD in adolescent sexuality. This episode is jam packed with goodies that we can add to our collaborations. Enjoy! 

Also, Gregg creates a new word. Let us know if you hear it. he he.

For the first episode of Twenty Minute Collaborations, we invite one of Gregg's besties, Dina Nina Martinez. Dina is a comedian, actress, speaker, entrepreneur, and activist.  Dina has received many accolades for her work and because of it, is known as one of the top trans-comedians working today. 

The story she shares is definitely an action most of us have had to do multiple times in our life. The collaboration lessons pulled out of the story are definitely a surprise to Dina.  

Follow Dina:

We're so excited you're here! 

***Twenty Minute Collaborations is focused on finding ways that we can all collaborate better together.  These are adult conversations and will occasionally have language that could be unsuitable for children. Listen with occasional caution.