Stop & Talk

In this episode of Stop & Talk, we're joined by Sidd Vivek, the President and CEO of Junior Achievement (JA) in San Diego County. Originally hailing from Boston, MA, Sidd now calls San Diego home and plays a crucial role in empowering young people to secure a stable and hopeful future. Sidd dives into the pressing challenges confronting today's youth, the significance of fostering inclusivity...

Megan Thomas is the President & CEO of Catalyst of San Diego and Imperial Counties. Hailing from San Diego, Megan has traveled the country and discovered just how much San Diego has to offer compared to other cities. Because of this, her passion for philanthropic endeavors is strong. In this episode of Stop & Talk, Megan discusses the landscape of philanthropy in San Diego, the pulse of no...

Rafael Payare is the Music Director for the San Diego Symphony. Born in Venezuela and having studied in the acclaimed El Sistema music program, Rafael soon found himself traveling the globe playing the horn before eventually becoming a conductor himself and finding a home here in San Diego. In this episode, Rafael discusses the role of the conductor as a storyteller and program director, how a sym...

In this episode of Stop & Talk with Grant Oliphant, john powell discusses how to apply the concept of belonging without othering. Dubbed the father of belonging, john encourages San Diego County to become a "region of belonging" to further a future where everyone belongs. This episode is a precursor to the community panel where local leaders discuss how they are building belonging within their...

David Miyashiro is the Superintendent of Cajon Valley Union School District . The district consists of more than 17,000 students in Kindergarten through 8th grade. Under David’s leadership, The White House recognized Cajon Valley School District as one of the “Top 35 District Leaders in Personalized Learning.” As a self-described educator and public servant, David and his team identify opportuniti...

Felicia Shaw is the Executive Director of the San Diego Regional Arts and Culture Coalition (SDRACC). In this episode of Stop & Talk, Felicia uplifts the labor of artists and how they make our communities safer and more dynamic while contributing to a more robust economy. She makes the case that artists deserve to be a line item in any budget. She believes artists express the human experience...

Dr. Daniel “Dan” Calac is the Chief Medical Officer at the Indian Health Council . As a boy, he grew up on the Pauma Indian Reservation, the community he serves today. In this episode of Stop & Talk, Dan recalls waiting in the car while his mother, a nurse, performed exams for residents of the reservation before returning to the Indian Health Clinic. With a dad who was a community health repre...

Dr. Svasti Haricharan is a scientist at the Sanford Burnham Prebys in La Jolla. Her lab focuses on the role of DNA damage repair in inducing resistance to endocrine therapy in breast cancer. Early in her career, she would have to present her research over IPA beers in the UK. (She learned to love beer as she connected with her scientific community.) While completing her postdoctoral training in Te...

Stop and Talk is a new weekly, placed-based, podcast hosted by Grant Oliphant (CEO of the Conrad Prebys Foundation). A veteran of both podcasting and philanthropy – Grant invites us on a journey to explore building an intentional culture of deeper connection to advance wellness in the greater San Diego region. In this introductory teaser, Grant discusses how the foundation will use the podcast as...