The Gap Minders

In this excellent episode, Nancy and Jose are joined in studio by Khea and Cynthia Pollard, the mother-daughter owner duo of Cafe X: By Any Beans Necessary. Both Khea and Cynthia live their lives with an emphasis on the importance of giving back to the community. Their passion is driven by their pride in their identity as black women and the legacy of changemakers in their community who came befor...

In this excellent episode, Nancy and Jose are joined in studio by Neville Billimoria, the Senior Vice President of Membership & Community Relations at Mission Federal Credit Union. Since moving to the United States from India at the age of 14, Neville has had to juggle his eastern and western identities. This idea that different parts of someones lived experience contribute to their whole iden...

In this excellent episode, Nancy and Jose are joined in studio by Elizabeth Schott, the CEO of Accessity, a 30 year old organization which provides much needed capital to both start-up and established businesses. The CEO for nine years, Elizabeth leads a team with an incredible mission to open doors of financial opportunity to those historically with less access to capital and business support - e...

In this outstanding episode, the first of 2023, Nancy and Jose are joined in studio by Sidd Vivek, the President & CEO of Junior Achievement of San Diego County, a position he has held since January 2019. Sidd, a Boston native, leads an organization which works in very innovative ways to prepare our youth for economic independence and an entrepreneurial mindset. Sidd and the team he leads, alo...

In this multi-faceted episode discussing leadership, Nancy and Jose are joined in studio by Janine Mason, the Founder of Fieldstone Leadership Network San Diego. With respect to leadership development in the non-profit space, Fieldstone is a bellwether in providing a continuum of programs and services to strengthen the nonprofit community by developing executive leadership, increasing agency capac...

In this excellent episode, Nancy and Jose are joined in studio by Greg Anglea, the CEO of Interfaith Community Services, which started in 1979 to empower people in need to stabilize and improve their lives through comprehensive programs, in partnership with diverse faith communities and people of compassion. Greg, who joined Interfaith in 2006 and became CEO in 2014, leads this unique organization...

In this absolutely eye-opening episode, Nancy and Jose are joined in studio by Daphne Russell, a 28 year former teacher and author of the 2018 book "Read or Die" as well as the Founder and Director of Book Save Lives. Having failed at retirement, Daphne is completely focused on building a model to take any student to a promising future by way of reading! Her view is that it is easy to turn any stu...

In this episode, a broad ranging discussion takes place between our two hosts - two friends, two colleagues and two impactful leaders on literacy - Nancy Sasaki, the CEO of the United Way of San Diego County, and Jose Cruz, the CEO of the San Diego Council On Literacy. Nancy and Jose, who are so very instrumental in helping lead the charge for a more literate San Diego, speak about everything from...

In this excellent episode touching upon the healthcare challenges in delivering services to urban, suburban and rural areas, Nancy and Jose are joined in studio by Christian Wallis, the CEO of the Grossmont Healthcare District, which started in 1952, with Grossmont Hospital having opened in 1955. Christian, the CEO since May 2021, brings a long and deep reservoir of expertise to Grossmont, includi...

In this absolutely incredible episode touching upon so many gaps and issues, Nancy and Jose are joined in studio by Nick Macchione, the Agency Director for the Health & Human Services Agency (HHSA). In leading HHSA and its $3 billion budget and 8,000 employees, we learn that Nick, an immigrant from Italy, leads from where he started in life. His immigrant family, hard-working yet also in need...

In yet another excellent episode, Nancy and Jose are joined in studio by Dr. William Tseng, the Assistant Area Medical Director for Kaiser Permanente. Dr. Tseng currently serves as a practicing board certified internal medicine physician, President of Professional Staff, and is a physician ambassador to the corporate community. Dr. Tseng is a member of the American Board of Internal Medicine, Amer...

In this very enjoyable episode, Nancy and Jose are joined in studio by Veronica Dela Rosa, the Executive Vice President of Operations for San Ysidro Health, an essential healthcare backbone serving San Diego since 1969. Now serving San Diego from the border to the south, Campo to the east and Oceanside to the north, San Ysidro's over 2000 employees deliver top tier healthcare from 27 different loc...

In this episode of The Gap Minders, Nancy and Jose are joined in studio by the public face of San Diego's flagship newspaper, Luis Cruz. As the Community and Public Relations Director, Luis knows the ins and outs of San Diego perhaps better than anyone. Newspapers, at their core, are all about community and Luis lives and breathes this ethos on a daily basis. His excellence after 30+ years in jour...

In this very enjoyable episode, Nancy and Jose are joined in studio by a very impressive leader of an incredibly important organization, Gloria Corral, the President & CEO of PIQE (Parent Institute for Quality Education). Her passion for K-12 and higher education spans more than 25 years and includes work at the U.S. Department of Education, the House of Representatives and the Senate. Her exp...

In this very enjoyable episode, Nancy and Jose are joined in studio by a passionate champion of women, children and an advocate for health - Idara Inwek Ogunsaju, the CEO of the Antorge Group. Fused from the first names of her parents, Antorge is an organization focused on building self-confidence in women and helping organizations build and foster a confidence of culture. And where does Idara's s...

In this very special episode, Nancy and Jose are joined in studio by a true gap minder, Shane Harris, the CEO of S. Harris Communications and the Founder of the People's Association of Justice Advocates. A man who works tirelessly, shaped by his own very challenging life experiences, to give a hand-up to citizens with real needs, while also being a catalyst for societal change. And, when we say a...

In this episode, one framed by a story of ascent and access, Nancy and Jose are joined in studio by Dr. James Cruz, the Chief Medical Officer of the Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan, a position which puts him front and center in providing high-quality and accessible healthcare to many Californians. Whether it is Medicare or Medicaid eligible residents, Blue Shield serves all while foc...

In this absolutely incredible and timely episode, Nancy and Jose are joined in studio by Dr. Pradeep Gidwani, a leader with such broad impact on early childhood development in San Diego that it seems somewhat of an injustice to say that he is the Medical Director for both Healthy Development Services and First Steps, two life changing programs funded by First 5 San Diego. Where do we begin with an...

In this important episode, Nancy and Jose are joined in studio by one of San Diego's true leaders, Peter Callstrom, the CEO of the San Diego Workforce Partnership, an organization which lives and breathes the world of work and the world of opportunities on a daily basis. We learn of the interesting arc of Peter's life from his early readings of Steinback classics to his lifelong work dedicated to...

What a great Episode #25! In this wonderful episode, Nancy and Jose are joined in studio by one of California's and San Diego's leaders, Toni Atkins, the President pro tempore of the California State Senate. We learn so much about Toni in this episode, including her humble beginnings in southwestern Virginia, the daughter of a miner and a seamstress, living in a home without running water but over...

In this fun, thoughtful, and great episode, Nancy and Jose are joined in studio by one of San Diego's leaders, Raul Campillo, the Councilmember for District 7, a diverse district spanning from the 5 to the 125! Born and raised in Calexico, Raul learned at a young age the importance of morality, family, the immigrant experience, and small business. He went on to apply all of these principles as he...

In this fun episode which covers terrain from the beaches of Alabama to the neighborhoods of San Diego, Nancy and Jose are joined in studio by Misty Jones, the passionate leader of the 37 branches of the San Diego Public Library. Misty has been the City Librarian for eight years and was on point during what turned out to be major transformational moment for libraries - the pandemic. We learn first...

In this incredible episode which you'll want to enjoy while being outdoors or visiting the Zoo, Nancy and Jose are joined in studio by Georgeanne Irvine, the unparalleled author and Director of Publishing for the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. Also joining Georgeanne was her amazingly bright intern, Malia Chin (expect great things from this young woman!). What comes through loud and clear from G...

In this incredibly fun, thought provoking and visionary episode, Nancy and Jose are joined in studio by Mark Stuart, the President & CEO of one of the most important community organizations - the San Diego Foundation. Mark, the son of preachers and teachers, shares his journey to San Diego and enlightens all with the story of how his opportunity to "pet a panda" brought him to the San Diego Zo...

In this incredibly insightful episode, Nancy and Jose are joined in studio by Dr. Paul Gothold, the Superintendent of the San Diego County Office of Education - the de facto leader for one of the largest educational regions in the United States. The son of two music educators, he resisted the call to education until a fateful call to become a water polo coach for which he gave up a well-paying job...