The Gap Minders

In this enlightening episode, Nancy and Jose are joined in studio by Kimberly Giardina, the Director of Child Welfare Services for the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency. Kim, a San Diego native, with 22 years of service to children in need, with three years as the Director, has seen the wholesale reimagining of the services of the Agency, with a focus on prevention by way of cre...

In this absolute knockout, tour-de-force of an episode, Nancy and Jose are joined in studio by the legendary leader, visionary and man of impact, the one and only Michael Brunker. A live well lived took him from Detroit, Michigan to San Diego in 1980 and it's safe to say that San Diego is far better off for his presence. From his days of coaching for the Detroit Pistons and SDSU Basketball to his...

In this impactful episode, Nancy and Jose are joined in studio by Pat Libby, the President of Pat Libby Consulting, a management consulting firm, and the Founding Director of the renowned University of San Diego Non-Profit Institute. Pat's footprint on San Diego's social impact organizations - from training and education to leadership and executive search - is vast and immense. Her passion for soc...

In yet another great episode, Nancy and Jose are joined in studio by Migell Acosta, the San Diego County Library Director. When one talks about literacy, library immediately comes to mind and the leader of San Diego's growing hub of physical and digital community services shares his view that being Director is an opportunity to experiment by trying and growing new services for San Diego. And how a...

In this incredible and globetrotting episode, Nancy and Jose are joined in studio by Simona Valanciute, the incredible CEO of San Diego Oasis. The leader of this hidden gem of an organization shares her passion for improving the lives of seniors and children, representing in her mind the two most important generations, reflecting wisdom and knowledge on one end and promise and curiosity on the oth...

In this wonderful episode, Nancy and Jose are joined by Ruben Navarrette, a Washington Post syndicated journalist for the last 21 years, with columns appearing weekly in 150 newspapers reaching nearly 90 million Americans. Ruben is also the host of the podcast "Ruben In The Center." Having started in the middle of the State of California in small town Sanger, we learn of Ruben's journey to Harvard...

In this fun episode, Nancy and Jose are joined by Jennifer Coburn, the best-selling author of "We'll Always Have Paris" and "Cradle Of The Reich." Whether it is writing about a trip to twelve cities with her daughter or learning about oppression by understanding the oppressor, Jennifer approaches her writing with "immense fascination and curiosity." When she first started reading, including her mi...

In this fun episode, Nancy and Jose are joined in studio by the Owner of Libelula Books & Co., Jesi Gutierrez. We hear the passion from this lover of books, art and the fusion of the two as a way to expand appreciation for literacy and comprehension. Jesi, a resident of Barrio Logan, who lost her job as an arts & literacy elementary school teacher during the pandemic, used the opportunity...

In this episode, Nancy and Jose are joined in studio by the man who is likely the longest running podcaster in the country, the one and only Drew Schlosberg, the host of the "Spotlight on the Community Show" since 2007 and the CEO of Xtra Weekly, a newspaper-centered literacy program. A community leader for so many years in San Diego including with the San Diego Union Tribune, Drew has always been...

In this episode, Nancy and Jose are joined in studio by international educational ambassador, former Teacher of the Year, and the current CEO of The Children's Initiative, Sandra McBrayer. From a less than confident first-time teacher to teaching the world about teaching, Sandra shares the story of her Founding of The Monarch School to her current work on improving the lives of children in San Die...

In this whirlwind of episode, Nancy and Jose are joined in studio for an around the world conversation with Chad Stewart, the author and creative mind behind one of the most awarded adventure fiction series for children, the "Britfield" series. With the third book coming out in August 2022, Britfield is well on its way to becoming a multi-media franchise, with a play and movies on the horizon. We...

In this episode, Nancy and Jose are joined in studio for a fun conversation with Lisa Steinke, the co-author with Liz Fenton of seven different successful fiction novels and the co-host of the hit podcast "We Fight So You Don't Have To." We learn all about the process by which Lisa and Liz manage to write together, whether chapter by chapter or by an outline if it is a suspense thriller. A very sp...

In this episode, Nancy and Jose are joined in studio for a great conversation with two passionate literacy advocates: John Corcoran, the author of "The Teacher Who Couldn't Read" as well as the Founder of the John Corcoran Foundation, and Nick Nanton, the 22-time Emmy Award winning director and producer. John and Nick are also partners on the soon to be released documentary, "The Truth About Readi...

In this episode, Nancy and Jose are joined in studio for a great conversation with Dr. Carlos Cortez, the Chancellor of the San Diego Community College District, the 7th largest community college district in the United States. Chosen by the Board of Trustees after a national search, Dr. Cortez brings a life of educational excellence, as a student at Georgetown, NYU and USC, as a Principal, as a Pr...

In this episode, Nancy and Jose are joined by an incredible educational leader, Cindy Marten, the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education. In a career spanning 32 years, Cindy has seen every facet, perspective and opportunity to lift lives and close gaps as a teacher, literacy specialist, Vice Principal, Principal, Superintendent at San Diego Unified and now as the Deputy Secretary un...

In this episode, Nancy and Jose are joined by Nora Vargas, the Vice Chair of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors. Nora, a first-generation immigrant, is the first Latina and first woman of color to serve as County Supervisor in the 171-year history of the County of San Diego. She is currently serving a second term as Vice-Chair of the Board. Nora shares her love of books such as "In The Time...

In this episode, Nancy and Jose are joined by Jeff Light, the Publisher & Editor of the Pulitzer-prize winning The San Diego Union Tribune. Jeff, who entered the world of journalism for his love of writing, shares his thoughts on while there have been sea changes in the world of journalism since he started in 1982, the essence of journalism and the principles of the Union-Tribune have remained...

In this episode, Nancy and Jose enjoy an incredible, all around the world of words conversation with the living legend and tour-de-force, the one and only Richard Lederer. In addition to authoring 55 books, he is also the co-founding host of "A Way With Words" on PBS and a columnist for the San Diego Union Tribune, with "Lederer on Language" appearing weekly. Whether it is palindromes, oxymorons,...

Welcome to the very first episode of The Gap Minders. Trust us, there is no better human, leader and book lover for the very first episode than the one and only Dr. Shirley Weber, the California Secretary of State! In this episode, our co-hosts, Nany Sasaki, the CEO of the United Way of San Diego County, and Jose Cruz, the CEO of the San Diego Council on Literacy, have a funny, enjoyable, insightf...

Welcome to The Gap Minders! In this pilot episode, listen to our co-hosts, Nancy Sasaki, the CEO of the United Way of San Diego County, and Jose Cruz, the CEO of the San Diego Council on Literacy, discuss the purpose for The Gap Minders and the great guests who will be joining the show. You'll even learn a bit more about Nancy and Jose as they ask each other some fun questions during "Rapid Fire"!...