iBuild America Podcast

Host Tev Grant is back at Arizona State University, home of innovation (and yes, maybe a few legendary parties), for another episode of Street Talks — a new segment of the iBuild America Podcast. This week, Tev chats with Tavai, Sydney, and Aaron, three ASU students with different majors, backgrounds, and bold perspectives on what it really means to build America. From defining the American Dream...

On this episode of the iBuild America Podcast, we sit down in Atlanta, Georgia with Phillip Clark, CEO of Just Say Something and Interim Executive Director of Compass of Carolina. With over 30 years of nonprofit leadership, Phillip has been on the frontlines of substance use prevention, family strengthening, and mental health awareness. From designing statewide and national training programs to le...

In the first-ever episode of Street Talks, a brand-new segment of the iBuild America Podcast, host Tev Grant hits the Arizona State University campus — known as America’s #1 school for innovation — to talk with students about what it really means to build America’s future. This week, Tev sits down with Mason Paddie, a 26-year-old PhD student in mechanical engineering, to dive into the modern Ameri...

Breaking Barriers. Building Wealth. Inspiring Change. In this powerful episode of the iBuild America Podcast we travel to Phoenix, Arizona to sit down with Dr. Velma Trayham, President & CEO of the Black Chamber of Arizona, award-winning businesswoman, philanthropist, best-selling author, and one of the nation’s most influential voices in economic empowerment. From closing the racial wealth ga...

Helen Sneed Principal Partner and Founder Drive The Goal, LLC (Florida) Helen is the Principal Partner and founder of Drive The Goal, LLC. In her various roles, she empowers individuals through career coaching and HR services while helping them achieve their professional goals. Helen has provided internship opportunities through the Polk State College dual enrollment career-based experience progra...

Laura Fautsch VP of Job Corps Operations Serrato Corporation (Illinois) Laura Fautsch is the Vice President of Job Corps Operations for Serrato Corporation. Laura has spent her career in workforce development with several stints as a U.S. Job Corps Center Director and, prior to this role, worked for the U.S. Department of Labor. Laura is a national expert in building workforce-based training progr...

Sean Kelly Technical Director Light Brigade (Pennsylvania) Sean Kelly, RCDD, CFHP, is a 25+ year fiber cable and connectivity professional working in technical, engineering, and business roles. Before joining Light Brigade as Technical Director and Head of Marketing, he spent his career with leading fiber connectivity companies, including TE Connectivity, CommScope, and Rosenberger. He has develop...

Lena Owens Recruiter Agency Accounts TransTech Truck Driver Training School (North Carolina) Lena Owens is an Experienced Recruiting Leader with TransTech Truck Driver Training School based in North Carolina. Trans Tech, Inc. provides comprehensive Class A CDL training programs with modern facilities, small class sizes, late-model equipment, and instruction from professional, certified trainers. T...

Rockson Arnold CEO & Creative Director Rockeagle Pictures (Michigan) Rockson Arnold is an actor and director known for The Good Neighbor, Cinematostrophe, Inferno X - Film Concept (2018), and The Grieving Seeker. Coming from an IT background, he had worked in the Tech industry for a number of years while partly engaging in filmmaking. He made his first documentary film in 2008 as part of a res...

Dr. Jonathan Woods Senior Fellow American Council on Education (Washington D.C.) Jonathan Woods is a Senior Fellow with the American Council on Education. He is a veteran of the U.S. Navy and holds academic degrees in general studies from Reedley College, adult learning from Southern Illinois University, business administration from Jacksonville University, and educational administration from the...

Crystal Odom-McKinney National Director Easterseals (Illinois) As national director of the largest federally funded program for older adults who seek employment and training assistance and civic engagement, Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP), Crystal provides oversight and support to Easterseals multistate partners and territories for workforce programs for people with disabilitie...

Eric Shepard Executive Director Foundation For Talent Transformation (Florida) Eric Shepherd, Author of Talent Transformation, has been in the tech space for decades, from product development to CEO, and now runs a personal and team transformation non-profit organization (Foundation for Talent Transformation). Eric Shepherd’s journey in the computer industry began in the late 80s, when he gained e...

Doug Smith Director of Learning Success XR Guru (Ohio) Doug Smith, MBA, is the Director of Learning Success at XR Guru. Doug has helped hundreds of enterprise organizations and educational institutions incorporate pre-made and custom immersive learning and training modules into organizational processes. As an industry leader, he has presented XR information at conferences globally. XR Guru is the...

Bobby Brown U.S. Job Corps Center Director Serrato Corporation (Texas) Bobby Brown is the Center Director of the North Texas Job Corps facility. With roughly 30 years of experience in Job Corps, he is an established leader who understands the mechanics of operating an effective workforce development program. One of his newest innovative programs was the creation of an Aircraft Sheet Metal Repair pr...

Janina Jacobs - June 2, 2025 Entrepreneur and Investor (Michigan) As an entrepreneur with several businesses in the golf industry, food service (owned a popular Detroit restaurant for 41 years), real estate development, the concert/music arena, and creating events of all kinds, her greatest talent lies in recognizing ways operations can be enhanced while connecting people working in the same direc...

Martin Garsee Executive DirectorNational Association of Publicly Funded Truck Driving Schools (Texas)Martin Garsee serves as the Executive Director of NAPFTDS and the Director of Transportation Training at Houston Community College. The National Association of Publicly Funded Truck Driving Schools (NAPFTDS) is an organization for the promotion of public education for the transportation industry. T...

Jessica Bartnick Founder and CEOFoundation For C.H.O.I.C.E.(Texas)By serving at risk youth through a one-to-one mentoring program, Foundation For C.H.O.I.C.E. (Consider How One Individual Changes Everything) creates opportunities for a college education through professionally supported relationships, inspiring the student to makepositive choices for their future. Through a structured 27-week cours...

John Bones Founder and Executive Director TEAM UP Academy (Michigan) John J. Bones is the Visionary Entrepreneur, Founder and Executive Director of Team Up Academy (TUA) and JJB Sales, LLC. His career has centered on creating programs and opportunities that improve lives and strengthen communities! Early in his own life, he was inspired by the strong work ethics and role models of those who worked...

Maurice Wilson President and Executive Director, National Veterans Transition Services (California) Maurice Wilson is a retired Navy Master Chief Petty Officer with 25 years of service, is the Executive Director of the National Veterans Transition Services, Inc. NVTSI is a nonprofit organization he co-founded with retired Rear Admiral Ronne Froman after serving as an advisory member for the Call of...

Justyn Hornor Co-Founder and CEO I/ONX High Performance Compute (Nevada) Justyn is, among other things, a nerd. He’s a full-stack developer with over 15 years of experience, but he’s also co-founded numerous startups via bootstrap, Seed, and Series A funding rounds. Justyn is a 5th-generation entrepreneur who started his first business at 19 years old. His first exit was in 2006, and since then, h...

Dr. Jonathan Woods Senior Fellow American Council on Education (Washington, D.C.) Jonathan Woods is a Senior Fellow with the American Council on Education. He is a veteran of the U.S. Navy and holds academic degrees in general studies from Reedley College, adult learning from Southern Illinois University, business administration from Jacksonville University, and educational administration from the...

Valde Garcia United States Army Veteran, Former School Educator Former Member, Michigan House of Representatives (Michigan) Valde Garcia formerly served in the U.S. Army and later became a School Teacher before entering as a Member of the Michigan House of Representatives. Valde has over 30 years of experience as a high-performing operations executive in the U.S. military and the State of Michigan...

Maria Posey CEO Viking Impact Advisors (Washington, DC) Maria is the founder and CEO of Viking Impact Advisors, LLC, a small-business consulting firm that specializes in advising nonprofit and government clients on ways to better understand their impact, tell their impact stories, raise funds for impact, and plan for future impact. She is an experienced organizational management professional speci...

Kurtis Taylor Executive Director Bob Barker Foundation (North Carolina) Kurtis Taylor is a person in long-term recovery. For him, this means that he has not used alcohol or any other substance since December 23rd, 2002. Mr. Taylor obtained his bachelor’s degree in social work from Shaw University in May 2019. For many years, Kurtis has been a voice for citizens seeking long-term recovery from subs...

Wendy Perry Managing Director and Founder, Workforce BluePrint (Australia) Wendy Perry is an entrepreneur, innovator, leader, mentor, speaker, and writer on Workforce Planning and Development, Vocational Education and Training (VET) and TVET, International Capability Development, Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Wendy's extensive experience includes management roles within private and public Regis...