Voices of Santa Clara Podcast

Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Elon Musk are just three of the names that Larry Sonsini has advised. Larry Sonsini is the founding partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Silicon Valley’s premier law firm, founded in 1961. Sonsini personally worked with legendary companies including Sun Microsystems, Intel, Google, HP, LinkedIn, Netflix, Salesforce, Dropbox, Twitter and hundreds more. Sonsini...

Eileen Elrod is a Professor of English and Women’s and Gender Studies, currently serving as Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Development. Her scholarly interests focus on religion, race and gender in early American literature, especially on contested notions of American identity and autobiographical writing. Dr. Elrod has been a member of the SCU faculty since 1992 and won the Brutocao Award for...

Steve Sordello is the CFO of LinkedIn and serves on Santa Clara’s Board of Trustees. Prior to LinkedIn, Steve was CFO of TiVo, CFO of Ask Jeeves, and held senior management roles at Adobe Systems and Syntex (now part of Roche). Steve holds a MBA from Santa Clara and a degree in business administration. Raised in the Bay Area, Steve grew up working amid his parents’ apricot, prune and walnut orchar...

Heather started at LifeMoves over 6 years ago as a Case Manager. She now serves as Director of Santa Clara County Shelters & Services. Before LifeMoves, Heather worked at Crider Health Center and served in the Peace Corps for two years in Belize. LifeMoves is a nonprofit dedicated to finding solutions to homelessness in Silicon Valley. They operate 23 shelter locations from Daly City to San Jo...

John Michael Sobrato is Chair of the Board of Trustees at Santa Clara and Chairman of The Sobrato Organization. There are a few different parts of the Sobrato organization that we cover in this conversation. First is the real estate business, which has developed over 21 million square feet of office, R&D and multifamily complexes since the 1960s. A few of the company’s notable office buildings...

Tonya Nilsson (lovingly known as Dr. T) is a Civil Engineering lecturer at Santa Clara. She teaches structural and materials courses and develops hands-on, interactive methods of engineering instruction. Dr. T has a Ph. D. from UC Davis, a Masters from Stanford and a Bachelors from Cal Poly. She also advises the Engineers Without Borders club. In this conversation, we discuss the social impact of...

Chris Norris is the Director of the Ciocca Center for Entrepreneurship at Santa Clara, a new interdisciplinary center created to advance innovation and entrepreneurship on campus. Chris serves on boards at Efinix (quantum programmable technology), Solar Ear (solar hearing aids), St. Anthony’s foundation, Elevated Honey and Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship. Before joining Santa Clara, Chri...

This episode was released Thursday, March 19—three days after Santa Clara county joined five other Bay Area counties issued shelter-in-place mandates and Santa Clara University announced all spring quarter classes would be online. Besides the obvious public health measures and precautions, this change will bring about many spiritual, emotional and relational issues that will require reflection and...

Brian Buckley is a senior lecturer in the philosophy department and has taught at Santa Clara since 2007. His research focuses on the philosophy of law, political philosophy and applied ethics. In this conversation, we touch on the importance of studying philosophy and the impact philosophy can make on everyday life. Brian shares his perspectives on how philosophy can help you rethink your behavio...

Dr. Sherry Wang is an assistant professor of Counseling Psychology at Santa Clara. She was recently featured in a SF Chronicle article about the social effects of coronavirus. Her research focuses on cultural factors in ethnic minority health disparities, such as the role of acculturation, stigma and oppression in risky behaviors or looking at barriers to care for African Americans living in the D...

Norman Paris is a lecturer of physics and mathematics at Santa Clara. He has a Ph. D. in Physics from UC Davis. In this conversation, we cover why someone should study advanced math, why he loves teaching, and his career journey. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bonita Banducci teaches Gender and Engineering for Santa Clara University’s School of Engineering Graduate Program Core Curriculum. She was named a Silicon Valley Woman of Influence 2014 by the Silicon Valley Business Journal. Banducci's original research in one of Silicon Valley's Fortune 500 companies “What is the Contribution Women Make that Could be the Strategic Advantage in the Global Market...

 Miah Jeffra is a writer, artist, curator and faculty in the English/Theater departments. A military brat, Jeffra moved throughout their childhood, but most identifies the South as home. Jeffra teaches Writing, Drama, Media and Cultural Studies at Santa Clara University and The San Francisco Art Institute, and is Founding Editor and Production Designer for queer literary collaborative, Foglifter...

Andrew Ishak 's (pronounced Isaac) work is focused on communication of teams and organizations that work in high-pressure situations, such as tactical police units, fire crews, and sports teams. His recent research is aimed at understanding organizational training for lifesaving critical teams (e.g., wildland fire crews, SWAT teams). He has also conducted research projects on various topics within...

Hear from faculty and students about the impetus behind the efforts among adjunct faculty to unionize to receive better pay, job stability, and participation in university governance. This episode features conversations with Dr. Maggie Levantovskaya, Dr. Diane Hart, and student leaders Ciara Moezidis and Kyle de la Fuente.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Three of my good friends, Rachael Han , Nick Fazio , and Emma Hokoda reflect on their college involvements and share stories from their experience in the Global Social Benefit Fellowship through Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship at Santa Clara last year. Rachael was my partner in India working with Three Wheels United , Nick was with PICO Rwanda , and Emma worked with Solar Sister in Tanza...

What are the 6 things? Suffering: Is suffering necessary for growth? Mental Health Awareness: includes a story about blind men and the color green Poetry: one of Mark Nepo's and one of mine Friendship: How to make friends in college? A new political spectrum (a vertical one) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Enrique Pumar is a sociology professor and the department chair. He has written over 50 publications on immigration, class, various social conflicts in Latin American countries, economic development and public policy. ​ In this conversation, we begin with Dr. Pumar’s upbringing in Cuba, then turn to the relevance of conflicts in Latin America. We also discuss myths around immigration, public polic...

Huda Al-Marashi is a 1997 Santa Clara graduate and author of First Comes Marriage: My Not-So-Typical American Love Story , a memoir the Washington Post called "a charming, funny, heartbreaking memoir of faith, family, and the journey to love." She visited the staff at the Santa Clara Review in Fall 2019 to share her process for writing her memoir and answer staff questions. Whether or not you’re a...

What leads to educational, career, spiritual, or personal transformation? 2019 has been a big year of personal growth and change for me, and many of my guests from this year have a unique perspective on the ingredients and journey of personal transformation. Top 5 Episodes of 2019: A Day in the Life: Four Students Share their Stories President Kevin O’Brien: Questions Define an Adventure Jo G...

Kristin Kusonovich is a senior lecturer in the Theater and Dance department. She has produced, choreographed and directed over 100 works in dance, drama, musical theatre, opera, film, and video. She has been a curriculum developer, teacher mentor, movement and vocal coach, and master teaching artist for 30 years in the professional sector as well is in PreK-12 grades at over 50 diverse school site...

Shane Hughes is a senior political science major and entrepreneurship minor. He plays on the men’s water polo team, is a Markkula Center for Applied Ethics Hackworth Fellow, and is an Embrace diversity training leader. Last summer, he interned at Google in Austin Texas, and he will be joining Visa full-time after graduation in a rotational program. In this conversation, we discuss Shane’s journey...

Jo-Ellen Pozner is an assistant professor of management at Santa Clara’s Leavey School of Business. She has an impressive set of degrees: a PhD in Management and Organizations from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University; an MBA from New York University; a Masters in Economics from Johns Hopkins University; and a BSFS in International Economics from Georgetown University. Her r...

Anthony Hazard is an ethnic studies professor who researches and teaches about race relations and African American history. Dr. Hazard earned a Ph. D. in History at Temple University and a Bachelor's in African American Studies at Arizona State University.   This conversation is both fascinating and critically important. We first discuss how Dr. Hazard found his career vocation, then turn to...

Elaine Scott is the new Dean of the School of Engineering. Prior to Santa Clara, she served as the founding Dean of the School of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics at the University of Washington in Bothell. There, she focused her energy on charting the school’s mission and vision, hiring and supporting distinguished faculty scholars, developing innovative degree programs, growing e...