Zech Dahms and Aneysha Bhat are doing some incredible work surround culture in the workplace. Their values at Perrenial Culture LLC are human connection, empowerment, and sustainability. Through both of their life and career experiences, they've always searched for community and have enjoyed being a catalyst for community culture development. Zech started Perennial HD a few years ago, and now he and Aneysha are collaborating to bring the power of empathy to the forefront to bring people together. They aim to create long-lasting change through community culture initiatives, cultural evolution, and workshops. Watch the full interview to learn more about Aneysha, biomedical engineer by trade and cultural engineer by choice, and Zech, cultural architect, and what they're doing to help their communities. Check out some of their work at perrenialculture.com.
Life's Not Linear with Michael Hostad
Michael Hostad is a retired IT professional that has used his coding work for some pretty amazing community projects. Michael began building websites at age 14, posting clips from The Simpson for fun. After college, he worked for a financial company, building websites. After realizing this didn't bring him a lot of intrinsic joy, he took an IT position at UW-Milwaukee. This position grew and grew as he said yes and fast forward, he ends up working for a large nonprofit in Milwaukee and then starting a non-profit called The Commons, a free accelerator for students to bring students together across Southeast WI to learn the entrepreneurial mindset, why failure is important, and creative problem-solving. During this time, Michael started a passion project called Light The Hoan. The Hoan Bridge is the Golden Gate of Milwaukee. Michael has worked for 4.5 years on this project with his partner Ian, and at the end of August, the west side will be lit! To top it off, Michael comes full circle in building a coding curriculum for students to program different light patterns so they, too, can Light The Hoan. Michael is a strong advocate of the community and Milwaukee.
Life's Not Linear with Ryan Phillips
SAY YES & SHOW UP! Ryan has had an extremely non-linear but fruitful path as he has always had the mentality of saying yes, showing up, and trying everything. Ryan studied computer science but wasn't the best at school - until he started applying what he learned in class to a startup he was working on. He then joined the University Innovation Fellows program, with only 4 hours to apply (as he heard about it at 8 pm and it was due at midnight) and he decided to say yes anyway. This lead to a series of innovative opportunities where he helped build collaboration and Makerspace at his campus. Ryan decided to go to grad school as he didn't have any job prospects yet, and eventually ended up at Microsoft. He started as a developer, but his heart was set on working with people and not behind a desk. He took a leap of faith and invited many coworkers to a design thinking workshop. Caught up in the business of like, someone called him six months later, inviting him to be on the inclusive design team at Microsoft. Fast forward again, someone Ryan met through the Fellows program 6 years ago stayed connected with him, and now Ryan is at SAP, reimagining the hiring experience and taking out the bias in hiring. Ryan says yes, shows up, leads with love, practices inclusivity, and is a rockstar. Check out the full interview to hear his journey.
Life's Not Linear with Erin Maggenis
Erin had to learn at a young age to advocate for herself and to listen to her body. She went from being a premier athlete to barely being able to walk up the driveway during her freshman year of high school. After some time of tests and doctors, they discovered that Erin has POTS. Since then, Erin has been on a journey of listening to her body and learning what it needs. Through both Western medicine and holistic healing, Erin has become a pro at listening to her body and acting on its needs. Erin went to college for neuroscience with the plans of going to medical school, but one semester before graduating, she decided she wanted to experience the world for herself. She also saw that there's a lot of room for growth in the medical curriculum and it wasn't aligned with what she wanted at the time. Erin is a serial social impact entrepreneur, with many eggs in many baskets. Her personal mission is to help people live a happier, healthier life - and that is exactly what she's doing. Check out her website at erinmagennis.com to connect with her and to learn more about what she's been up to! Watch to learn more!
Life's Not Linear with Elliott Roth
Elliott is filled with wisdom, knowledge, and determination. He shares with us his difficult journey with education in college, how he built a lab in a random garage, and how he survived off eating food waste and algae. Fast forward, algae are now the pillar of his company, Spira. Elliott has negative $17 dollars to his name and decided to try spirulina, algae that are high in protein. Fast forward, now Elliott is using Spira to help others get the nutrition they need. Elliott decided to test his limits early on. There is a standard of living that we want, and a standard that is our basic needs. He tested this as he sacrificed comfort, excess food, and big paychecks to actually increase his opportunities. Elliott turned down his dream job to continue work with Spira and other projects. Watch the full interview to learn how awesome Elliott is, the epic things he has done, and much more. Watch to learn more!
Life's Not Linear with Trish Bonica
Trish is a beautiful source of compassion, empathy and healing. Trish shares with us a pivotal moment at age 22, when she brushed past a woman at the train station in DC, initially thinking nothing of it as people bump into each other all the time. As it came time to board, Trish found herself sitting next to that same woman. By the end of the train ride, the two women had an immense connection and the woman left Trish with these words, "You will most likely not see me again, so pass it on." Trish has spent the last 20+ years figure out what that mean and how to pass it on. Trish is the oldest daughter of a formerly abused woman, so her upbringing and background was one of chaos and violence. Watch to learn more!
Life's Not Linear with Kyle Hagge
Kyle shows us why career plans don't always work and how much power there is in podcasting. Kyle studied political science at the University of Minnesota. He knew he wanted to be of service to others so he signed up for the Peace Corp. While being number 10 on the waiting list to go to Cameroon, Kyle bumped into his friend at a part that was grading ACT papers (best place to grade papers, right?). He struck up a conversation and learned about College Possible, a program with Americorp that helps students who may not have college as an option, become an option. Watch to learn more!
Life's Not Linear with Isabel Sandretti
Isabel (Izzo) has had a pretty non-linear life from the start. From moving cities right before high school started, she learned the politics of relationships. She also went from a predominantly white city and school to an incredibly diverse high school - which was amazing and shocking all at the same time. Izzo went to school on and off for journalism, advertising, and media studies (JAMs), working and busting her butt between semesters to pay for school. She ended up falling in love with the service industry, to no surprise as her dad is a chef! Watch to learn more!
Life's Not Linear with Humera Fasihuddin Pt. 2
In episode 45, we circle back to our FIRST EVER guest, Humera Fasihuddin. In our first episode, when this series was still called "Career Crisis In 10", Humera shared with us her experience of graduating in a recession, working her hardest as a temp, and the different leaps she has made in her career path. Today, on Life's Not Linear, we take a different approach. Humera shares with us her experience of being a woman of color growing up in America, while also rebelling against some cultural norms. Humera grew up in New York, where her parents owned a few shops on Wall Street and owned some properties. While growing up, Humera didn't really acknowledge her difference in color. Watch to learn more!
Life's Not Linear with Amy Clinton
Amy is a pro at turning lemons into lemonade. She has been back and forth, East Coast to West Coast, figuring out what she wants to do in life. Growing up with an alcoholic mother, Amy didn't necessarily have the support she needed as she moved throughout high school and into college. Life has been a series of lemons and lessons for her. From figuring out what she wanted to do in school, to wanting to become a psychologist, working in a group home with young kids, working for a correctional facility, becoming a grant writer, and then starting her own consulting business - she's seen a lot. On top of all these transitions, going in between California and North Carolina, she met her husband on a plane to North Carolina and eventually settled there. After many career twists and turns, working in nonprofit spaces and correctional facilities, she started her consulting business of grant writing for nonprofits, and shortly after, her mother fell ill, and then Amy experienced some health complications. Watch to find out more!