Uprising

Sydney Park talks to Avianna about growing up in the entertainment industry - starting on That's So Raven and climbing her way to a leading role in the upcoming Netflix film, There's Someone Inside Your House. She talks about the unexpected audition process for Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists, doing stand-up comedy at a young age & relying on her friends and family during turbulent times. She gets transparent about the expectations & pressures that go along with performing, finding true self acceptance and her desire for a more tolerant, anti-racist world. There's also a guest appearance from her beautiful cat, Chicken, who chimes in with a series of melodic meows.

Guest Links:

https://www.instagram.com/heysydneypark/

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2193008/

https://twitter.com/iamsydneypark

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Park_(actress)

Carol talks to Avianna about her Canadian roots, finding tennis and deciding to leave college to play professionally. She talks about the mental side of the game, rankings and picking a good coach. She explains the day to day of a professional player, dealing with injury and giving everything to your sport. She reveals why the game can feel lonely and how music is her solace. They finish off by playing a sample of Carol's original music.

Guest Links: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_Zhao

https://open.spotify.com/artist/5nqZKHRgwjUkvpXABZiUTo?si=aN-BhvCyRESUByXc5WbMgA

https://www.instagram.com/carolzhao95/?hl=en

https://twitter.com/CarolZhao95?s=20

https://www.linkedin.com/in/carol-zhao-5b4722106/

Houston talks to Avianna about deep kindness, how to practice it daily and his work supplying kindness trainings/curriculums to 2,500 schools nationwide, serving over one million students. He shares the three biggest barriers to kindness and how to approach them. Avianna asks Houston about his first experiences of true kindness, memorable stories from his new book and what he hopes to cultivate in future generations. They discuss kindness in leadership, simple practices to unlock more kindness and how some popularized messages of kindness can be counterproductive. They finish off their conversation relating over their common love of unrestrained dancing and silent discos.

Guest Links:

https://www.houstonkraft.com/

https://www.instagram.com/houstonkraft/

https://twitter.com/houstonkraft

https://www.facebook.com/houstonkraft

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtP8-UfKtfnxuOnc_0MeHuQ?view_as=subscriber

Ali talks to Avianna about her love for love and how that led to creating her new app, Lovewick. They chat about her childhood talking science at the dinner table, studying Human Biology at Stanford University and moving to London to study Service Design at the Royal College of Art. Ali talks about the challenges of being an entrepreneur, her own experiences with love and what she hopes for the future.

Guest Links: 

https://www.lovewick.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/lovewick/

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

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/lovewick-couples-app/id1516199115

Research Links:

https://sfbuild.sfsu.edu/sites/default/files/ST-Workshop-References/Stereotype%20Threat%20Effects%20on%20Black%20and%20White%20Athletic%20Performance.pdf

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022103198913737

https://www.pnas.org/content/116/36/17753

Michael talks to Avianna about working on a TV show during a pandemic, falling in love with performing, making people laugh and finding his way to his most authentic self. They discuss his background in cell biology, his passion for teaching and the 2019 Time Magazine article where he first publicly shared his trans experience. He talks about how to be an ally to the trans community and his desire to continue supporting trans youth. He ends by sharing his hope for a world of authenticity where people feel comfortable being who they truly are.

Guest Links: 

https://www.michaeldcohen.com

https://www.instagram.com/michaeldcohen/

https://www.youtube.com/user/maccohen

https://twitter.com/michaeldsee?s=20

https://www.facebook.com/officialmichaeldcohen

Brendan talks to Avianna about what inspires his photography, the duality in his work and the messages he wants to share with fine art. They touch on technology, the future and the landscape of Los Angeles. Brendan shares some complexities of his field and their impact on his personal life. Then, Avianna reads some of Brendan's original poetry and they finish with a final sentiment about climate change and Brendan's desire for us all to take it more seriously for our planet and generations to come.

Guest Links: 

https://www.brendan-north.com/

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

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdvFVP7-CZTlAuL7FqJcUZg

Nadya gets bravely vulnerable about her childhood dealing with physical & sexual abuse, what she is doing now to navigate those experiences and her mission with the nonprofit she founded at 16 years old - now, the largest youth-led women's health nonprofit called Period. She shares her passion for period education and acceptance and opens up about the recent controversy with her activism. Avianna connects with Nadya over common ground, the privilege and pressures of elite education and how to begin the process of personal growth. As she finishes her education at Harvard, Nadya is working on her next project that she will announce soon. If you want to purchase her book, "Period Power,” it is available now on Amazon.

Guest Links: 

https://www.nadyaokamoto.com/

https://www.instagram.com/nadyaokamoto/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCb7qR-onnkuVTnb3GPkM3gQ

http://twitter.com/nadyaokamoto/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nadya_Okamoto

Ben Uyeda talks to Avianna about his trajectory from the world of high-end architecture to designing for the masses with HomeMadeModern. He explains how he monetizes giving designs away for free and how he approaches creating more affordable housing. He speaks about creating simple, minimalist designs suited to their environment and demystifies 3-d printing. Ben opens up about startup learnings and shares his design hopes for everyone.

Guest Links: 

https://www.benuyeda.com

http://www.homemade-modern.com

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

https://blog.homedepot.com/author/ben-uyeda/

https://twitter.com/benuyeda?lang=en

Chef Anita talks to Avianna about her first experiences with food, studying at a renowned culinary institute in Paris, and working her way up in the kitchens of US restaurants. They discuss Chef Anita's experience opening a restaurant in New York and taking it all the way to the Michelin Star level. Chef Anita shares how she got to compete on Iron Chef, what she did when her restaurant burned down and what it was like cooking for the Obamas at the White House. They finish with a candid conversation about disparity in the restaurant world and what it will take to make our way back to fair wages and living conditions for everyone in the kitchen.

Guest Links: 

https://www.chefanitalo.com 

https://twitter.com/AnitaLoNYC?s=20 

https://www.instagram.com/anitalonyc/ 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anita_Lo 

Avianna chats with Dan Fogler about his early years, when he found the miracle that he was looking for, auditioning for the Harry Potter franchise film, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and his philosophy on acting. They connect over their experience working on The Walking Dead set and finding levity in their work. Dan opens up about fatherhood and what he hopes for his two daughters. They end their conversation hearing about Dan's hopes for the world in the future.

Guest links:

https://www.instagram.com/foglersfictions/ 

https://twitter.com/mrdanfogler?s=20 

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0283945/ 

https://www.danfogler.com/

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Dan+Fogler&aq=f