There are some young adults who dream of flying freely in the sky. Being a pilot, whether for the military or private sector, can be a tricky career pathway so we are fortunate to have our next guest who is able to speak to both.

Lt. Col Bart Wilbanks does not just fly one plane…he’s flown six different ones which include the F-16, F-35A, T-37, T-38A, AT-38B, and Airbus A320. In addition, he has served as an active duty member in the U.S. Air Force for 10 years and is currently the commander of the 466th Fighter Squadron, the first U.S. Air Force Reserve unit for the F-35A which is the Air Force’s newest fifth-generation fighter. And if that is not enough, he’s a pilot of Delta Airlines.

Bart earned his commission in May 1999 from Baylor University, right down the road from us. He served in active duty assignments in Air Combat Command before entering the Air Force Reserve in 2009, and currently serves as Traditional Reservist. He holds almost 3,500 military flying hours, including 900 combat hours. In his 21 years of service, he has had 11 different assignments which is part of living the life as a pilot in the military, which we will talk about.

We are excited for you to learn about the life of a pilot.

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The career field of Geographic Information Systems or GIS is one that may people don’t put on their radar but is a fascinating career. Think Google maps plus drones and you find a career that is active plus has incredible growth. Once you understand what GIS is, you will see it all around you as it combines information and technology to provide insight to help solve real world problems such as tracking the Coronavirus outbreak, to name only one.

Matt Kitchen has over eleven years of experience in environmental consulting and GIS. He began his career as a GIS Analyst with Adams Environmental, Inc. (AEI) in 2008. While his specialization lies in GIS mapping/modeling, Matt also serves as an environmental scientist and technical writer for AEI. He received his GISP in January 2015 and completed his Master of Natural Resources from Oregon State University in March 2015. His degree in Natural Resources is supplemented with an emphasis in GIS, and upon graduation, Mr. Kitchen received a GIScience Certificate.

Matt focuses his efforts on GIS data and database management as a Project Manager for a contract with the San Antonio River Authority. He also conducts AEI’s geospatial services specific to drone photography and videography as an FAA Part 107 Licensed Drone Pilot. Matt has developed GIS models and scripts for predicting wildlife and plant habitat ranges. Much of Matt’s federal geospatial work history involved federal lands and Department of Defense projects specific to Nellis Air Force Base and the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR).

Website Resources:

ArcGIS: https://www.arcgis.com/index.html

ESRI: https://www.esri.com/en-us/home

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Cyber Security is one of the hottest fields around. Do you have a kid who loves to game? Often young adults do not draw the correlation between this and the cyber field. We have one of the best Cyber Security experts in the field with us today!

David Neuman is the Global Chief Information Security Officer for iHeartMedia, Inc., a $6 billion enterprise that includes iHeartMedia and Clear Channel Outdoor. As Global CISO, Neuman is responsible for all aspects of information security and governance, risk, and compliance for iHeartMedia's businesses, working closely with all divisions to ensure the protection of its multiplatform assets.

Before joining iHeartMedia, he served as the Vice President & Chief Information Security Officer at Rackspace. He was responsible for global information security and cyber defense operations, strategic business alignment, and governance, risk, and compliance to protect the Rackspace $2.5 billion enterprise.

David was an Executive Director and COO for EY’s Americas Cyber Security Practice. He operationalized four sub-competencies and developed a five-year growth plan to meet $500 million growth ambitions. He also advised Audit Committees, C-suites, and operational leaders of Fortune 500 companies on the cyber threat landscape and modern protection methods for business and technology resiliency.

David served in the United States Air Force for 28 years where he commanded the Air Force’s first cyber hunting unit defending key Department of Defense operations against nation-state attack and exploitation. He holds an M.A. degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from Naval War College, an M.S. degree in Security Administration from Bellevue University, and a B.S. degree in Computer Studies from the University of Maryland University College. He is also a Certified Information Systems Security Professional.

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There has never been a more important time to talk about Public Health careers, especially with the current Coronavirus pandemic. It is a career field many don’t truly understand; hence they don’t consider it which is why we are fortunate to have our next guest, Patricia Blevins.

Tricia has over 17 years of experience in public health with concentrations in laboratory services, biosafety/biosecurity, training, and global health. Tricia currently serves as the Laboratory Coordinator for the City of San Antonio Metropolitan Health District. In this role, Tricia oversees the Laboratory Response Network (LRN) Program, influenza surveillance as well as the select agent program where she serves as the Responsible Official.

Prior to joining San Antonio Metro Health District, Tricia served as the Emerging Infectious Diseases Program Manager for the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) where she continues to serve on national public health laboratory committees. As an International Technical Consultant with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Global Influenza Surveillance Program, Tricia has had the opportunity to travel all over the world conducting training workshops and performing laboratory assessments.

Tricia began her public health career as an APHL/CDC Emerging Infectious Diseases Fellow at the New York State Department of Health Wadsworth Center. Tricia received an MPH from the University of North Texas Health Science Center and BS in Microbiology from Texas A&M University.

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We’ve all seen those young children who are natural leaders. They are coordinating groups of kids in productions. They run for student council or positions of leadership in both high school AND college. They are individuals that when you meet them, you instantly know they are going to be in positions of influence. But what career could that include? Our guest Sidney Chapon is in Global operations, leadership and organizational development which have been the cornerstone of Sid’s career.

He’s built a reputation for being a strategic and trusted coach and business advisor at Publicis Groupe, Leo Burnett Worldwide and Deloitte Consulting and has proven positive impact across industries including: professional services, integrated marketing communications, advertising, manufacturing, financial services, telecommunications, consumer-packaged goods, oil & gas and electronics.

Sid is a citizen of the world. He was born in The Netherlands and is currently based in the USA however spends a good portion of his time in Paris, France. He has operations and coaching experience in Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and North America.

Sid currently works for Publicis Groupe - the world’s third largest integrated marketing communications company that owns multiple advertising and media agencies.

In his role he’s helped create the holding company’s corporate university. Sid holds a Master Degree in Organizational Development and is a certified executive coach.

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Do you have young adult who wants to be in the media world? Do they like producing videos or telling stories? I’m very excited about our guest today, Karin Gornick, a graduate of the University of California in Los Angeles, who is an Emmy Award-winning producer who has been creating social impact projects and films for broadcast, nonprofit organizations, and corporations over the past 25 years, including projects for CNN, Discovery Channel, PBS, The Kaufmann Foundation, Hewlett Packard, Microsoft, and Common Sense Media. Several of her projects include a video series for PBS on Youth Entrepreneurship, Screenagers, a film about growing up in the digital age, and now Angst, a documentary on anxiety to help raise awareness about anxiety and lower the stigma of talking about our mental health. I was honored to get to know her during my initiative to bring Angst to San Antonio which has now been show to over 10 different schools, community organizations and churches with more on the schedule. Karin’s passionate about Angst, a film that featured Michael Phelps, was inspired in part by her own journey searching for help with her teenage son’s anxiety disorder and learning how much hope and help there is for treating mental health challenges. Her passion for educating individuals around the stresses our youth are experience has gained her global recognition for change, help and hope.

www.angstmovie.com

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The career field I have most young adults interested in is engineering. Engineering is a demanding field with high paying salaries, and we are very fortunate to have our 7th podcast guest, Terry Welch who is the CEO of Sinclair Belgrave Energy. What engineering degree does he hold? Well, he actually has two! One degree in Electrical Engineering and a second in Chemical Engineering which made him an ideal podcast guest.

Terry has worked for large companies such as Dow Chemical, BP and The Sinclair Group in positions from operations through the ranks to President and CEO. He’s a graduate of Lamar University, has an MBA from Northwood University and is a graduate of the Thunderbird School of Global Management.

He shared he’s not a stereotypical engineer as he loves to be around people. Engineering has taught him to ask “Why?” which has led to his continued success in his field. It’s an honor to have him share his career story and words of wisdom for our future engineers.

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Dr. Neely has worked in the mental health field for over twenty years and has been the chief executive officer of Neely Counseling Center, PLLC, since 2001. She has enjoyed serving in an array of capacities throughout her career, including psychotherapist, professor, consultant, and counselor supervisor. Working with a wide variety of populations and diagnoses has given her a comprehensive range of experience in the mental health field.

She has appeared on national radio and television shows as a guest expert speaking about confidence, self-esteem, anxiety, and relationship satisfaction. Dr. Neely’s children’s’ book titled “Straight Talk” was published in 2014 and won the prestigious Indie Excellence Book award, finalist division. This book is a culmination of Dr. Neely’s groundbreaking qualitative research in the area of hair shaming and self-esteem for girls of color. She has also published numerous articles on this topic.

In 2017 she joined the University of Texas Health Science Center Medical School as a behavioral health consultant. In that role, she speared headed an effort to combat the epidemic of physician suicide and helped to create the medical school’s first physician counseling program. Dr. Neely currently manages the day to day operations of her counseling center and serves as an adjunct professor for St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas. She spends a large portion of her time writing, teaching, and speaking to an audience on issues related to self-esteem and anxiety. Dr. Neely is licensed by the Texas State Board of Professional Counselors and is an approved Counselor Supervisor. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Sam Houston State University, a master’s degree in Counseling from Prairie View A & M University, and a Ph.D. in counselor education from St. Mary’s University. She is supported by her husband and two beautiful daughters. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/drop-the-bs-w-dr-kirleen/id1421859970

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Do you have a child that loves playing with Legos? Do they love Minecraft? Well,

there’s a good probability they have a high spatial ability which is required for

someone who becomes an architect.

We are fortunate to have Robyn Popa as our guest. Robyn has worked for the

Pfluger Architect’s San Antonio office since 2006. Her experience includes master

planning, facility assessment, programming, design, production, and construction

administration. Her recent experience includes projects with Comal ISD, North

East ISD, San Antonio ISD, Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD, and Seguin ISD.

Robyn is passionate about education architecture and has worked on many

award-winning projects, including Pieper Ranch Middle School for Comal ISD

which recently won four TASA | TASB awards for Design, Sustainability, Planning,

School Transformation, and is a finalist for the 2019-20 TASA/TASB Caudill Class.

Robyn served as the 2018-19 President of the South Texas Chapter of A4LE. 

Robyn is a NEISD graduate (Madison HS), and graduated with architecture

degrees from Baylor University and Washington University in St. Louis.  She

currently enjoys spending her free time with her two kids, ages 5 and 7, and

architect husband, thinking of new places to travel (Iceland was the most recent

trip!) and new recipes to try out in the kitchen.

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We have a national crisis on our hands with the lack of teachers in education. On

average, we have 80K positions that need to be filled each year from the

elementary to high school level. Ellie Maxwell is a recently retired public educator

and principal from the Boerne ISD district. Ellie holds a bachelor’s degree in

Elementary Education and a master’s degree in Educational Administration. She

spent 30 years in public education with the last 16 years as an Elementary School

Principal. In 2000 she was selected as Northside ISD’s Educator of the Year.

During her time at Cibolo Creek Elementary school she had a direct staff of 65

people and oversight for 750 students for their educational direction and safety.

She implemented Watch D.O.G.S. an innovative father involvement and

educational initiative, as well as established the “Bully Task Force” to provide a

proactive plan to address bullying to only name a few of her many

accomplishments.

Upon retiring, she transitioned into a new chapter of her life where she’s a

Training Coordinator at Ace Mart Restaurant Supply which is a shining example of

Act 2 in life. She’s a recipient of the Innovative Disruption Scholarship and has

many talents which includes cake and cookie decorating and is passionate about

football.

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