Riverside Chats

Uhlenbrock is native of Omaha, and her passion for nail art began when her grandmother taught her how to file her nails while they watched the wheel of fortune.    This instilled a passion for nail art, and she currently owns and operates Just Imagine Nails.    Her work was also featured in the exhibition Opulence: Performative Wealth and the Failed American Dream , which showed at the Bemis Cente...

Biga grew up in Omaha and received his bachelor's in journalism from the university of Nebraska Omaha. He is a freelance cultural journalist and non-fiction author, and his work has been recognized by the Omaha Press Club, the Nebraska Press Association and the American Jewish Press Association. He is the author of the books "Alexander Payne: His Journey in Film" and "Crossing B...

My guest today is RIKÉ, a singer songwriter based out of Omaha. His music is influenced by R & B, Rap, and Pop. He also works in public health and is passionate about community advocacy. His artistry and advocacy culminated in 2022 when he created Tilt, an annual arts showcase aimed at providing an inclusive platform for artists in Omaha.

Ramos grew up in Bellevue and is the associate professor in the Department of Health Promotion of the UNMC College of Public Health and is also involved in the School of Public Health's Center for Reducing Health Disparities. Her research interests have an emphasis on Intercultural communication, cultural competency, and coalition-building, and she was given UNMC’s distinguished scientist awar...

Benjamin grew up on the irrigation ditches on the 100th meridian. She received her Bachelors in Arts from Hastings College in 2001 and worked as a studio assistant for Jun Kaneko until 2006. In 2008, I received my M.F.A from Bowling Green State University, Ohio. Benjamin fuses water drought data with monumental, scaled ceramics, and her work has been featured  at the Joslyn Art Museum, Museum of N...

My guest today is Khenda Mustafa.  Mustafa was born in Iraq and grew up in Texas. She attended the University of Nebraska Lincoln, where she studied global studies. She is the director of community engagement at CIRA, the center for immigrant & refugee advance in Omaha.  CIRA (Center for Immigrant & Refugee Advancement) in Omaha is a nonprofit organization formed in 2022 by the merger of I...

Jerde was born and raised on the high plains of northwestern South Dakota. She is the director of the Radio Talking Book Service, a nonprofit serving Nebraska and southwest Iowa with a mission to connect individuals who are blind, low vision, or print impaired to news, information, arts, and culture through the human voice and technology.   Additionally, Jerde is a photographer whose work has been...

My guest today is Pablo Arza, aka DJ Arza.  Arza graduated from Ralston High School and received training in jazz at the Berklee College of Music and Tribeca Jazz Institute. In Omaha, you can catch him performing at The Red Lion Lounge, The North Omaha Music and Arts (NOMA Omaha) and other venues around Omaha.  

Alamdari grew up in Texas before attending the University of Missouri-Columbia and receiving her bachelors and master's in journalism.  Currently, she is the senior reporter and Secreast Greater Nebraska reporting at the Flatwater Free Press, Nebraska’s first independent nonprofit newsroom. Her reporting on Nebraska prisons won a 2023 Great Plains Journalism Award.  We’re discussing the power...

Payne is a native to St. Louis, and is completing a doctoral program in educational administration at the University of Nebraska Omaha.  He works at the Metropolitan Community College and is the Director of College Success and Career Readiness partnership, in addition to the assistant director for career pathway scholarship programs that focus on the trades. Additionally, Payne is the co-owner of...

Bush grew up in North Omaha and has a master's degree in Nonprofit Administration as well as a bachelor's degree in behavioral science specializing in homicide grief support, crisis intervention, motivational interviewing & de-escalation.  She created families of the stolen in 2012, a nonprofit that specializes in community centered homicide grief support as well as anti-violence aware...

My guest today is Ella Weber.  Weber received a Bachelor of fine arts from the university of Nebraska Lincoln and Master of Fine Arts with distinction from the University of Kansas, with an emphasis on printmaking and print media. She has had many artistic residencies across the nation, and some of her recent solo shows have included exhibitions at Western Exhibitions (Chicago, IL), Munson (Utica,...

My guest today is Barron Breland.  Breland began singing as a child in the Atlanta Boy’s Choir, and later received his undergraduate in music theory from the University of Georgia and doctorate of music in choral conducting from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.  He is the artistic director of the River City Mixed Chorus,  one of the first GALA (Gay & Lesbian Association of Chorus...

Today, I’m talking with Arturo Aceves Gonzales.  Gonzalez is a native of Mexico, and received his Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from Universidad de Guadalajara. He is the Head of Health Equity and Economic Opportunity at the Latino Economic Development Council.  In our conversation, we talk about upwards mobility for Latinos in Omaha, as well as the nuts and bolts of entrepreneurshi...

My guest today is artist Rachel Mindrup.   Mindrup was raised in Omaha and received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Nebraska Kearney before receiving her Master of Fine Arts from the Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University.  She is an associate professor of drawing and painting and the Richard L. Deming, MD Endowed Chair in Medical Humanities at Creighton University. We’re ta...

My guest today is Jennifer Sheshko Wood.   Wood is a native to Canada, and grew up in Montreal, QB. She came to the states to pursue her MFA in Costume Design from Indiana University. As a costume designer and crafts artisan, her American credits include the Utah Festival Opera & Musical Theatre, Indiana University, Indiana Festival Theatre, the American Players Theatre, and Opera Theatre St....

My guest today is advocate Christopher McCroy.   McCroy was born and raised in North Omaha, and received his Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies from Morehouse College and is completing his PhD in higher education at UCLA. He has been the executive director of 100 Black men of Omaha since the fall of 2023. The 100 Black Men of Omaha, Inc. (100) was established in 1995, an alliance of leading Afr...

My guest today is Drew Newlin.  Newlin grew up in various parts of Omaha, where his passion for skateboarding began after playing some Tony Hawk video games. He attended the University Of Nebraska Omaha, where he received his bachelors in political science. He continued skateboarding along the way, and began incorporating advocacy with his shredding, which led to working at the Bay. The Bay origin...

My guest today is business owner and guitar repairman, John Svatos. Svatos grew up in the Millard area, and was a self identified ‘guitar kid’ in his neighborhood.  As he got older he got more involved in the Omaha music scene, which led to guitar repair work and owning and operating Ground Floor Guitar.  Ground Floor Guitar is a local guitar retail and repair shop that was created in 2016. They o...

My guest today is artist and educator Bart Vargas.  Vargas was raised in Bellevue, where he was the youngest of four brothers.  He began drawing as a young child, and eventually received his bachelor of fine arts from the  University of Nebraska Omaha and then his Master’s of Fine arts from The University of Minnesota.  Vargas’ art explores concepts of salvage, collection, and repetition. He does ...

My guest today is Leo Louis II. Louis has been a community advocate in a multitude of roles, including gang intervention, urban farming and entrepreneurship for over a decade.  Louis began his career in advocacy while a sophomore at North Omaha High School, where he drafted a 10 point  email addressing issues relating to gang violence and CC’d every person in the school, which led to community-cen...

Today, I’m talking with Renzellous Brown, a singer, playwright and actor based out of Omaha.  Brown, a native of Flint Michigan, received their Bachelor of Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management from Midland University, where they participated in multiple ensembles including the Blu Notes, University Choir, and Unforgettable Jazz combo. You can catch them singing at various jazz clubs throughou...

JordantheNinja is a multi-instrumentalist, singer, actor, and dancer. He grew up in North Omaha and attended Northwest High School. He began his music career performing with his older brother, Jared, and got more involved with acting through various gigs at the Omaha Community Playhouse. As a musician, he leads multiple ensembles including Parfait, a multi-genre band that features fresh interpreta...

Yanira Garcia is a community advocate who serves on the Regional Metropolitan Transit Authority, representing District 3. Additionally, she has over a decade of experience in communications, public relations, and advertising. The Transit Authority, also known as Metro, is responsible for running Omaha’s bus system, including ORBT and MOBY services. The elected board has seven non-partisan board me...

Neal Duffy is an audio engineer, DJ, and yoga instructor.  He’s an Omaha native, and  received his education in sound at the School and Audio Workshop in Ohio before transferring to Iowa Western. Afterwards,  he received his yoga certificate while working with Omaha acts before landing his big break with the Neon Trees. Since then, he has worked with diverse national acts including Bright Eyes, Ma...