Missing Conversations

Today, our hosts, Amy Vodarek and Dan Winter, are speaking with a special guest, Nicole Stibbe, the founder and CEO of the consulting organization Soulwork Alliance. Soulwork helps develop forward-thinking organizations committed to advancing their companies by prioritizing the diversity of thought background and capabilities of their people.   While Nicole enjoyed her early work as a consultant,...

This week, hosts Steven Jones and Amy Vodarek delve into the topic of medical racism and its impact on marginalized communities.  Our guest, Kaytura Felix, is a distinguished scholar in the Department of Health Management at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, focusing on structural racism and health justice. She's a medical doctor trained in health services & community-based particip...

Today, our hosts, Steven E. Jones and Amy Vodarek talk with Martha "Marty" Swaim, founder and retired Executive Director of Challenging Racism. Challenging Racism educates and trains people to face and effectively engage in conversations about racism to address inequities of personal, institutional, and systemic racism. Challenging Racism conversations build knowledge and allow participants to use...

How can care help us navigate and lead teams innovating for the future?  Our hosts Amy Vodarek and Steven Jones, welcome Jason Kessler, the program executive for NASA's Small Business Innovation Research & Small Business Technology Transfer Program. Kessler's team engages small business entrepreneurs and innovators to deliver cutting-edge technology to support NASA missions. He combines his experi...

In this episode, Dan Winter and Amy Vodarek discuss how Cake4Kids makes birthdays memorable for kids across the U.S.  Alison Bakewell is the executive director for Cake4Kids, a multistate volunteer-powered organization that delivers free custom birthday cakes to at-risk children and youth around the country.  Cake4kids' unique business model ensures birthday cakes are baked and delivered to kids i...

Your hosts, Kobe Bogaert and Dan Winter, have a conversation with Jason about how he and his team transformed their organization from a small alternative financing venture into a thriving and growing business. As an executive in a commercial bank, Jason was not thinking of transforming an alternative finance business when he joined Primary Funding Corporation (PFC) as President in 2012. Even thoug...

Your hosts, Dan Winter and Steven E. Jones, speak with Almaz Negash, named one of Silicon Valley's Top 100 Women of Influence for her work in social innovation. Almaz shares her incredible story, from the beginnings of her leadership journey in a new country to her vision and mission for the African Diaspora Network.  In 2010, Almaz founded the African Diaspora Network (ADN) to inform and engage A...

Today's discussion is about decision-making and ensuring we make the right choices for our businesses. Our hosts, Dan Winter, and Amy Vodarek speak with Sheldon Bernard, a champion of applied decision sciences and founder of A440 Management, a consultancy dedicated to improving decision-making under uncertainty.  Sheldon discusses the role of bias in decision-making, including survivorship bias, w...

Today's episode discusses how personal passion and a great business idea led to a spot on Oprah's Favorite Things list while raising awareness of diversity among our young ones.  Our guest, Matthew Goins, created Puzzle Huddle in January 2018 with his wife's support. Since childhood, Matthew has always had an itch for crafts, building things, and putting things together, so this comes naturally to...