The Ednium Podcast

Ednium family we welcome you to July, the best month of the year! The fellas are back with a great conversation with the Executive Director for the Latino Cultural Arts Center of Colorado, Alfredo Reyes. In this episode we get to learn about and from a man that has navigated an array of feelings and experiences. Alfredo talk about his relationship with his parents, indigeneity, the importance of l...

Happy belated Fathers day to all our dad's across the ednium community! While there may not be any fathers (yet) in this episode, we do have a great conversation between 3 young men as the fellas have a sit down with Ednium program participant member Joshua Magallanes. Josh is currently involved with both The Leadership Launchpad and Denver Deep Dive. There is some real vulnerability around educat...

Our first official mailbag episode! Check out this week's question found in the 59:00 mark. How are you pushing through the nerves of speaking your truth because the moment calls for it? Email us at Podcast@ednium.org This episode the fellas get together with a godo friend, Alexis Salas to talk Serverance, public service, and what means to have the people you trust believe in you and give you hope...

Episode 82 is full of game just like the course of an NBA season. The fellas have an Ednium OG, Elijah Huff stop by and drop some gems. Around his journey from his first time on the podcast back on Episode 2. To now his official role as Research & Action Initiatives Manager for Ednium. To his evolution as a son & a man and now as father & leader. Please take a second, tune in and give...

81 Episodes like a Kobe game... This episode the fellas are back with a wonderful conversation with Vallerie Bustamante! Val is a mother and a true leader within her community that is consistently seeking out opportunities to grow and be better. The conversation finds its way navigating grief and how that fuel us and drain us. We learn about Vallerie's perspective and experience with commitment an...

Were BACK!! Spring has sprung and the fellas have returned to share in the fun. Welcome to Ednium Presents: Backyard Brilliance. This is the first episode of many to come that will be illustrating the living/breathing evolution of the podcast. Episode 80 brings us a wonderful conversation wit Stephanie Lopez a College Success Program Manager with DSF. The 2024 Dream Investor Homegrown award winner...

Episode 79 brings us the dawn of a new era. With fellas having the privilege of reintroducing Richard Maez to the podcast but now as Executive Director of Ednium: The Alumni Collective. We invite our community to join us in tapping into a conversation where not only do we get to learn about Richard's vision for leadership in this new role but we get to learn more about the evolution of leaders...

Happy New Year to everyone! To kick off 2025 we are excited to bring you the first of the five Ednium Homegrown awards winners from 2024. This week we have the wonderful Cristina Chacon joining the fellas, as the recipient of the Table Builder award. Cristina has spent time in the classroom as a teacher and in the non-profit space. Currently, she is a master facilitator of all things wellness, wit...

Lucky number 77 of the Ednium Podcast has the fellas expressing and living in gratitude with their guest; Storyteller, Trendsetter, and Mother Lesley Del Rio. Lesley Joins us this post-thanksgiving holiday episode where the conversation focuses in on the transformation of identity and our environment. The interconnectedness that happens as growth and evolution can occur in both of those spaces sep...

Episode 76 of the Ednium Podcast, we are proud to share the conversation we had with Mom, Educator, and Activist Myka Petit. Coming fresh off the heels of the 2024 national election, David & Langston find themselves in conversation with a woman that is walking in tune with her educational destiny, aligned in her political values, and someone who is strategizing how best to keep hope alive for...

Episode 75 brings us our 2nd episode under our new stewardship for the podcast where we meet our guest Kellsie Forfar-Jones. A friend, a planner, and a silly soul of a human being.  Throughout this episode, we learn how Kellsie’s relationships with Denver and her family & friends fuels her passion as an urban planner. We get to learn about how her journey through DPS shaped her post-secondary...

Welcome to the newest iteration of The Ednium Podcast! New hosts, Langston Mayo & David Martinez add their seasoning to the podcast that historically has held intimate conversations with leaders around the Denver Metro Area. The esteemed guest for this podcast is TeRay Esquibel, a father, husband, and leader that does the courageous action of being vulnerable with some homies. This episode int...

Tashan Montgomery is an educator and youth council liaison for Young and Aspiring Americans for Social and Political Activism (YAASPA). Born and raised in Denver, Colorado, Tashan has felt a strong connection to community building and community education. He was recently awarded with Ednium's Game Giver award, and hopes to continue his work on the ground.

Our guest this week is Brayan Montez-Terrazas, the winner of 'The Creator of the Year' award at our 2023 Homegrown Awards. Denver-based artist, Brayan Montes-Terrazas is better known by his alias YAMZ. Under his brand, YAMZ, Brayan’s unwavering identity-driven art stresses the importance of putting marginalized voices at the forefront of our conversations and the stories we tell. He is dri...

In this podcast episode, TeRay speaks with Dwight Jones, the Executive Director for the Office of Children Affairs in Denver. Dwight Jones boasts a distinguished career spanning education and the private sector. He has served as Interim Superintendent and Senior Deputy Superintendent of Denver Public Schools, Senior Vice President at McGraw-Hill Education, and offered strategic guidance at Discove...

Our guest this week is Liloni Ramos, the winner of 'The Leader of the Year' award at our Ednium 2023 Homegrown Awards. Liloni is a 4th generation Coloradoan and 3rd generation Denverite who grew up in Denver’s Harvey Park neighborhood. Being raised by her mother and grandmother, Liloni understood the power of education, service, and human connection at a young age. Having attended Denver P...

For this week's episode, we had with the opportunity to sit down and talk with Dianne Myles, the CEO of Dope Mom Life. Dianne found her passion for storytelling and community. Her team fulfills the company's mission daily to tell authentic, impactful stories that shift viewers' perspectives and garner engagement. Dianne's life experiences have given her a unique opportunity to be a...

This week, our podcast features Dr. Jamal Bowen, winner of 'The Dream Investor' award at the Ednium 2023 Homegrown Awards. Dr. Bowen, a dedicated father and community advocate, founded "Empowering Community Entrepreneurs" in 2016 to mentor young adults in business. He played a key role in the Women’s Situation Room during elections in Liberia and Côte d'Ivoire in 2017, promot...

Welcome to the New Year edition of the Ednium podcast! Tune in as the Ednium team reflects on the numerous triumphs and shifts of 2023, and dive into the new aspirations we've established for our growing team and Ednium in 2024!

John Youngquist has been an educator for 35 years in Denver, Aurora, Breckenridge, and Cherry Creek schools. He is a Denver Public Schools graduate, parent, volunteer, former teacher, principal, and assistant superintendent, and is running for a seat on the DPS Board of Education. In his heart he is a principal. He has been a principal for 18 years and for every day of those 18 years he walked up...

Kwame’s roots in Denver run deep. He was born at Rose Hospital on Denver’s east side and was raised in the Montclair neighborhood.   Kwame attributes his successes to Denver Public Schools.  His mom has worked with Denver Public Schools as a Teacher, Principal, and Assistant Superintendent for over 37 years. Kwame is also a graduate of Denver Public Schools.  He attended Montclair Elementary, Smil...

Charmaine has volunteered many hours to teach reading to elementary school children below grade level. When her grandchildren fell behind during the pandemic, she read the encyclopedia out loud with them every night. They each took turns picking a topic. She started this because they could not identify the United States on a map. Charmaine sees reading as a child’s most crucial skill because it ca...

Adam Slutzker is a father of 3 school age children who all attend their neighborhood school—Columbian Elementary. Adam has served the last 2 years as the chairperson of the Columbian Elementary Collaborative School Committee. Adam and his family have lived in northwest Denver since 2019 but have been Denver residents since 2009.  Adam has a Master's in Education (emphasis in elementary math and sc...

Marlene De La Rosa is a 4th generation Denverite and mother of two DPS graduates who is running for the Denver Public School Board to bring focus back where it belongs - on the kids. Marlene has lived in Northwest Denver for almost 30 years with her family going back four generations. Marlene raised her two twin children as a single mom - TaShina and LaPhonso Salas - who graduated from East and No...

We are excited to release the first episodes in the DPS Board Candidate Series! This week we are sitting down with the candidates looking to represent District 1 (Southeast Denver). The community has the opportunity to hear the vision and the stories of Scott Baldermann and Kimberly Sia. Whether you live in District 1 or not, we hope you give both candidates the time to hear from them in more dept...