Rebecca Weaver is on a mission to level the playing field and end workplace harassment. Nearly 2 decades of corporate HR experience under her belt, and her own personal journey with workplace discrimination, along with cultural shift lead to the launch of HRUprise. A platform where she helps build inclusive, respectful environments, using modern strategies and #MeToo-era approaches that put the humanity of your team first. We dig in to better approaches to the interview process, managing...

Erin A. Simon is a host on Cheddar Esports, co-host of the Grass Routes Podcast and has extensive experience in journalism, which in today's landscape inherently includes being an excellent content strategist. Erin walks me through how her perspective has shifted on the value of time and vetting how she spends her time and what she commits to, her approach to mentoring and being mentored, and some of her favorite reads (links below) Episode of Music Business Podcast with Erin that we...

Director and Creative Producer Catherine Millais & I dig in to what ideal relationships with agencies & clients look like, brief preferences, negotiating raises, navigating in male-dominated spaces, and life in a creative pursuit.  Catherine Millais is a director at Chuck Studios, a creative production studio that specializes in Tabletop Content, headquartered in Amsterdam. "Tabletop direction" means that Catherine has worked on a plethora of food commercials, including McDonalds,...

Irène Winterkorn is the Connectiors Director at futurefactor, a reputation management agency. We recorded this episode shortly after ADE, where she moderated a panel on Article 17. Prior to her role at futurefactor, she was Head of the AI and Robotics Segment at Management Events. She shares detailed observations from her experience in booking speakers, connect people, and relationship building. We discuss successful roundtables, building and curating events, and being a woman in...

Corey Kindberg is a senior strategist at R/GA and was the voice behind the viral & admirable AXE tweets during PRIDE. We discuss strategy, the importance and value of good community managers, agency life,  Twitter, organizational tips, and who we love to follow for trends & insights. Previous client work of Corey's includes AXE, Ajinomoto, TJ Maxx, eBay, Samsung, Campbells (V8), Martha Stewart Living, & The Cut.  Hear the rest of the strategy episodes & more strategy-relevant...

Amber Tamm is a farmer and horticulturist based in New York. She’s worked as a migrant farmer, the better part of her work experience has been agriculture but in the last 4 years she has come to gain experience and knowledge in cannabis, farm education, permaculture, tropical agriculture, agroforestry, urban farming, floral arrangements and the healing powers of the Earth. Some of my favorite quotes from our conversation: On how mainstream American culture largely does not respect farming:...

Dr. Brian Keating is a cosmologist,  Chancellor’s Professor of Physics at UCSD, author of "Losing the Noble Prize: A Story of Cosmology, Ambition, and the Perils of Science's Highest Honor." We took a break from San Diego Comic Con to record at UCSD, where we dove in to funding research, peer reviews, flaws in the current system of how we recognize achievement, his work as a professor, involvement with comic con, the Arthur C. Clark Foundation podcast he hosts, and how he does all of this...

Licensed mental health counselor & pschyotherapist Ryan Lewis, i.e. my therapist joined me on #BTSPodcast. He’s so great and I appreciate him so much which is why I asked him to be on. We discuss the emotional toll of his work, how he fell in to counseling/therapy, learned to set healthy boundaries for himself, selecting a counseling program, making a living as a therapist… including everyone’s favorite subject: insurance! Ryan is a Seattle University alum, and I really appreciate him...

Van der Pop started as a cannabis accessories company, with beautifully-designed accessories made specifically for women. Over time, founder April Pride saw a need for education with her customers and pivoted to women-focused cannabis education. As Van der pop grew, eventually being acquired by Tokyo Smoke, which was later acquired by Canopy Growth, April’s role changed quite a bit. We discuss how she grappled with handing over the reigns and embracing her new role. April’s new company, Of...

Erika Dalya Massaquoi is a curator, educator, and entrepreneur. Erika’s curatorial work includes shows for the Frye Art Museum, the Seattle Art Museum, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) List Visual Arts Center, and the Studio Museum in Harlem. She has held curatorial positions at the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Museum of the Moving Image. She has taught new media, cinema, and contemporary art classes at Yale University, New York University, and The New School for...

“I never say ‘I’m sorry for your loss.’ All I say, as a funeral home director, is ‘I am here for you.’” Amy Cunningham shares the details surrounding her training and work as a funeral home director in the latest episode of #BTSPodcast, hosted by Lynae Cook.  Amy Cunningham is progressive funeral home owner, licensed director and celebrant who collaborates with New York City families to help them create the best funerals and memorial services possible. She specializes in green burials in...

Megan Murray leads the strategy group for the US at AnalogFolk, which is an independent creative agency. She’s the former Director of Marketing at Oiselle, and we met several years ago working together at Possible. We discuss advertising-specific topics such as creative briefs, agency structure, the most important conversations to have with clients, flaws in studies and research, the impact of ephemeral content on society, her appreciation for Mark Pollard, & strategist-specific...

Walter Powell’s goal with Politiscope is to be the most trustworthy source for political information, that is a goal I think we can all support. On this episode of #BTSPodcast, Walter shares how co-founder roles and responsibilities are divided across the team, what being in the NFL taught him, his favorite reads, meditations, and how his upbringing has shaped his approach to entrepreneurship and social responsibility. Download Politiscope to get actual, reliable, and easy-to-understand...

Genevieve Ascencio is a VP at Golin, a public relations agency, where she heads up their Mountain Dew account. She has a deep background in strategy, as the former VP of Digital at Factory PR, where she focused largely on public relations, influencer activations, and digital marketing for fashion and retail brands. Genevieve is a social media and digital marketing specialist with a propensity for building agile online marketing campaigns that encourage interaction with target consumers. She...

Today's policy research methods are outdated and inefficient – but they don't have to be. Civic Eagle equips policy professionals with the tools they need to research and track legislation more effectively. By using a SaaS platform that’s powered by artificial intelligence to make legislative research smarter, faster, and less expensive, Civic Eagle helps organizations spend less time in front of a computer and more time advocating for important progressive issues. Over $35 billion are spent...

 Melissa Stratton is a parent, wife, sister, daughter, and friend. I've known Melissa (Missy) for over 20 years, and in those years I've learned so much from her about showing up in relationships, being emotionally responsive, and how to approach difficult conversations in a loving way, while having boundaries. I have so much respect for her relationship with her kids and her family, and have seen her raise three kids who were all born at very different times at her life, and all have varying...

Filmmaker and journalist Meredith Alloway shares the “behind the scenes” of being an independent filmmaker, a journalist, submitting to film festivals and so much more.  She’s contributed to Film Maker Magazine, Playboy, and Vanity Fair to name a few, and has had films at SXSW, Indy Film Fest, The Overlook Festival, and Montclair Film Festival. Her film Deep Tissue was at SXSW 2019’s Midnight Shorts Competition. She talks about reaching out to festival programmers, etiquette, explains film...

Video Dave is a hip hop and visual artist who also has worked in the reality television industry for some time. He was at SXSW 2019 with Open Mike Eagle for the StubHub event, and we caught up and discussed the “behind the scenes” of reality TV, the wellness of reality TV cast/crew, how it’s changed over the years, and his work as an artist.  Follow Video Dave Twitter: https://twitter.com/video_dave Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/video_dave/ YouTube:...

Antonio Roberts is a New Media artist and Curator based in Birmingham, UK. He uses uses technology-driven processes to explore issues surrounding open source software, free culture and collaborative practices.We discuss how he gets funding, in kind support, connecting with artists, building community, and much more. His art is often created through programming, he is a part of Algorave, where he and other DJs code music live for an audience (see videos HERE). They host specific workshops on...

Jessica Couch is the founder of the consulting agency Luxor & Finch, where she works with brands, advising them on strategic, data-driven planning. She has worked with numerous companies in the fit technology space and has published over 60 articles on the matter of fit and fit tech, a thesis on fit and perception,  and values corporate responsibility as a whole, emphasizing inclusion, sustainability, and improved practices around fit. She is also the co-creator (along with previous guest...

Brittany Hicks shares her learnings from years of experience in supply chain management in the fashion and retail industry. She has a breadth of insights surrounding where the industry has room for improvement in business practices, planning, and inclusion. Brittany is the founder of Girls in Fashion and Tech (GiFT), the co-founder of the WOC #FashTech Brunch, co-creator of Slash Seattle, and the co-creator of the WTF?! Fashion Podcast (launching in March 2019), is an adjunct professor at...

   JHawk is a music producer, best known for Cat Daddy, and work with E-40, Chris Brown, Iggy Azalea, Chippy Nonstop, Kitty Pryde and so many others. We discuss the behind-the-scenes of how producers/indepdent artists do their jobs, make money, get their music distributed, and diversify their income in the 21st century. Topics include licensing, how to send beats, how to sell beats, ASCAP, publishing deals, and the science of how a song goes Platinum. Follow JHawk on social: Instagram:...

Almex USA specializes in aluminum casthouse equipment, what does that mean? Exactly. We engage with aluminum as a finished product on a daily basis, millions of people do. It's found in our kitchens, vehicles, landing equipment, and more, but we have no idea about where it came from to get here. Kedar and Lynae discuss the "farm to table" lifecycle of aluminum, as well as elements of sustainability, nuance within the aluminum industry, and how Kedar's perspective on working in aluminum has...

Touring guitarist and executive producer Dru Decaro and I met years ago through a project with DJ Skee. Dru is a Grammy-nominated artist, and the executive producer of Vic Mensa’s HOOLIGANS album, as well Christian French’s Natural Colors record. Dru’s has performed with Vic Mensa, Andy Grammar, Miguel, Snoop Dogg, Chrisette Michele, Faith Hill, and many more. We go deep on the ins and outs of what it is to represent yourself, how it feels to be your own product, the business of his work as...

#HappyPeriod founder Chelsea VonChaz discusses the ins and outs of founding and running a non-profit. #HappyPeriod aims to eliminate the stigma and reshape the conversation around periods. Chelsea shares tools and resources for those looking to gain 501(c)3 status, running a small business, and discusses the loneliness that comes with being an entrepreneur at times. Chelsea dives in to how she pushed forward with #HappyPeriod to make an impact. In short: you don't need anyone's permission...