Woodbury Voice!

This may be the most excited I’ve ever been about a guest! I sat down with Yasmin Velazquez, owner of El Manantial Restaurant - the premier and authentic Mexican restaurant & grocery store right downtown at the old Nut Shop store (17 S. Broad Street)

We're right in the middle of Hispanic Heritage Month – celebrated between September 15th and October 15th – and I want to make sure that our Hispanic & Latino communities in Woodbury know que este podcast celebra la inmensa diversidad y es lo que nos hace tan especiales como ciudad. Si este es el primer episodio que está escuchando, agradezco profundamente su apoyo y sé que cuando digo que la voz de Woodbury es importante, eso significa todas nuestras voces.

Enjoy listening! ¡Espero que disfrutes!

Hope you're all enjoying your summer and gearing up for fall right around the corner!

I'm so excited about this long-awaited episode with Chris Mazzone, co-founder of Eight & Sand brewery right on N. Evergreen Ave.

Chris and I chatted about all things beer, history, and Woodbury so be sure your volume is up and your listening well because the information and history we share on this episode will easily make a fan-favorite for sure!

As Chris would say, quick & safe travels!

So very excited to be kicking off season 3 in a super special way. As most folks not, but if you didn’t know, I’ve been the Program Director for a local community development program in the City called Woodbury Heart & Soul. I’d been kicking around the idea for almost a year about how to discuss our work on this podcast and I think we’ve finally found the perfect way to do it.

I asked a few folks from our leadership team to join me in a chat about the program AND about our newly approved logo which we’re unveiling today along with this podcast episode.

And as an extra treat, we’ve made this the first episode where I am actually a guest and none other than my wonderful girlfriend Ashley is steering the ship! 

We hope you enjoy listening!

Grateful to be closing out Season 2 with a very special guest - Chief of the Woodbury Police Department, Tom Ryan! 

We started Season 2 with Terry Collins to discuss the Black Lives Matter movement and the historic rally that took place in the City last June. To wrap up the season Chief Ryan and I chat about the work under his leadership this last six years to improve the Department, and how he hopes to connect more with the community no matter the circumstances. 

It's opportunities like this, and many others, that make Woodbury such a special place - hope you enjoy listening!

Excited to kick off 2021 with an amazing nonprofit here in the City – the PTAH Initiative. PTAH stands for Professional Trainers Advancing Humanity, and they provide professional services, programs, and initiatives to Woodbury youth to support their mental, physical, emotional, and social health.

They’ve got a great storefront at 232 S. Broad right next to the police station and I encourage anyone looking for a great community space to learn, grow, and connect as community to stop by. Coach Ptah and Danielle are looking to make their place in the community like a Big Mom’s house and I know we all need that more than ever.

Enjoy listening

I got to sit down with Kyle Batie, site coordinator for the HFC Woodbury location on Delaware Street, to chat quickly about some of the most important aspect of HFC’s work.

The services HFC provides are open to the entire Woodbury and regional community, and Kyle has a great vision for expanding the Center further out into the community. So keep your eyes peeled for new great stuff on the horizon coming from the Hispanic Center in 2021!

You can find more information about the Woodbury HFC on their Facebook page at https://m.facebook.com/hispanicfamilycenter/

Excited to share this next episode to spotlight a new business with a familiar address – The Cultural Collective. Sadia and Anitra are business partners who will be re-opening the building that once house the MADE. Artisan Marketplace at 65 N. Broad Street downtown.

I sat down with both of these wonderful entrepreneurs to talk about their venture into a new collaborative business model focused on emphasizing Black owned business and work. 

I hope you enjoy listening!

So excited to share this conversation I had with an amazing Woodbury leader and friend of mine, Dr. Melinda Johnson!

Dr. Johnson is long-time Woodbury resident with incredible knowledge about and excitement to transform our communities for the better. She’s been doing this through joining various committees like Heart & Soul and the Neighborhood Preservation Program, she was recently elected to the Woodbury school board, and even more recently she started the journey of establishing a nonprofit organization – the Johnson Manor of Faith and Education.

This conversation was so deep and passionate, it’s going to one that I certainly listen to at least once a week for some inspiration and excitement moving into the fall.

To round out our "Proven Everywhere" series we got to sit down with the phenomenal Mayank Amin (PharmD '09). 

Mayank has had such an amazing career since graduating ten years ago and we were so excited to sit down with him and chat about that career. Mayank is the owner and operator of Skippack Pharmacy and Platinum Dream Events - a wedding planning company he started after finishing up business school. 

Mayank has also been a cast double for Dev Patel in M. Night Shyamalan's "The Last Airbender" so his career has spanned at least three different major industry, probably more. 

Excited for you all to hear about his #proveneverywhere USciences experience!

This is a very special and exciting episode of Woodbury Voice! because I got to do some live recording at Wing Dickerson for Celebrating Families Day on Saturday, August 15th.

This was an event hosted by Success 1st and the 21st Century Learning Center to uplift our City’s families as they prepare to start the school year once again and to bring our communities just a little bit closer in a time where we really need some unity and support.

I got to sit down with some of the all-time greatest guests this podcast will ever hear from: our City’s youth! So many families came out to attend the event so I naturally had to hear from the biggest and brightest minds of the generation and I hope that you enjoy listening to them actively engaging with their community.

I’ll be jumping in and out of this episode with a few interludes so I truly hope that you enjoy listening!