Episodes

The Iowa Idea: Robert Hanserd “That’s Why We Have Summer School.” On this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I’m joined by Dr. Robert Hanserd. Robert is an Associate Professor of African and Atlantic History at Columbia College Chicago. West African culture and history and its circulation throughout the Atlantic World serves as his central academic focus. Robert and I discuss his journey from a sense of places and spaces and how his experience in Rockford, Des Moines, Chicago, and West Africa. ...

The Iowa Idea: Hannah Soyer “Listen to those living the experience.” On this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I’m joined by Hannah Soyer. Hannah is a queer disabled writer born and living in the Midwest. Her work explores the representation of “Othered” bodies, and how the arts–in particular storytelling–can be beautiful acts of survival, resistance, and community building. She is the founder of This Body is Worthy, a project aimed at celebrating bodies outside of mainstream societal ideals, a...

The Iowa Idea: Jen Rice “How do we create a more human future of work?” On this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I’m joined by Jen Rice. Jen is the founder and CEO of Groundbreaking LLC, an integrated coaching and strategy firm that nurtures natural growth of impact-driven leaders, brands and businesses, or as Jen describes them “rebels with a cause.” We talk about Jen’s journey from advertising and account planning, with a fascination for what makes humans tick; to management consulting with...

The Iowa Idea: Devin Green “Paint the world with good design.” On this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I’m joined by Devin Green. Devin is a full stack designer working in the space of brand design, digital design, and development. We talk about Devin’s journey from growing up in Detroit and Pontiac, Michigan to moving to Iowa. Devin talks about his love of art combined with his early exploration and experimentation of Photoshop and Linux. With a nudge and inspiration from his uncle, Devin t...

The Iowa Idea: Angela Maiers “You Matter!” On this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I’m joined by Angela Maiers. Angela founded the global movement, Choose2Matter in 2014, with a singular mission to help individuals recognize their value and potential contribution to change both their own lives and the world. The non-profit organization grew out of the impassioned response to a TEDTalk she gave on the power of two simple words: YOU MATTER! An educator for 30 years, Angela has shared her message...

The Iowa Idea: Abena Sankofa Imhotep “Embrace books.” On this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I’m joined by Abena Sankofa Imhotep. Abena is the director of Sankofa Literary & Empowerment Group, which promotes works by black authors and is the principal consultant for Sankofa Strategies Consulting. An active advocate, Abena serves on several boards of directors. She’s a TEDx speaker, a published writer, a podcaster, and an undergrad at Drake University. Abena resides in central Iowa. We talk ...

The Iowa Idea: Bob Nastanovich “Lester P. Jenkins” On this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I’m joined by Bob Nastanovich, a resident of Des Moines, IA. Bob is an American musician and member of the indie rock band Pavement, as well as a former member of Silver Jews. In addition to his career in music, Bob is a thoroughbred enthusiast and works at Prairie Meadows racetrack in Altoona, IA. We talk about Bob’s journey from growing up in Richmond, VA, driving buses in New York City, to touring wi...

The Iowa Idea: Justin Topp “Every day I have to learn something new.” On this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I’m joined by Justin Topp. Justin is an Iowa native and alum of the University of Iowa, graduating with a degree in Biomedical Engineering from the College of Engineering in 2000. After a Ph.D. in Biochemistry post-doctoral fellowship in Molecular Biology, he pursued a career in higher education at liberal arts colleges. Justin taught as an Assistant Professor at North Park University...

The Iowa Idea: Jeff Simmermon “It was like river wearing down rock.” On this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I’m joined by Jeff Simmermon. Jeff is a beautiful creative – a comedian and storyteller who hosts a fantastic podcast called “The Reluctant Phoenix.” His podcast is a series of conversations with a wide variety of people who have rebooted their lives whether or not they really wanted to in the first place. The Reluctant Phoenix is available anywhere quality podcasts are served… So, it ...

The Iowa Idea: Matthew Gilbert “It knew it just required me to continue to learn.” Matthew Gilbert joins me on this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast. Matthew, a native of Waterloo, IA is a descended from generations of servant leaders. he is the founder and President of Iowa C.O.R.E. Inc., Economic Development Chair for the Iowa-Nebraska NAACP, and a servant-leader on local, state, and national boards, commissions, and committees. Matthew enjoys mentoring youth, volunteering, and holistic welln...

The Iowa Idea: Alyx Coble-Frakes “I had to stop being shy about it.” In this episode Iowa Idea Podcast, I’m joined by Alyx Coble-Frakes. Alyx is a Holistic Coach and the CEO and Co-Founder of The Agenda. App who specializes in period empowerment. After returning from the Peace Corps in 2015, she felt out of touch with her own health, so she started on a path of healing. This healing became her passion, and she now works with entrepreneurs to help harness the power of their monthly cycle for max...

The Iowa Idea: John Hagel “I’ve always been attracted to edges.” In this episode Iowa Idea Podcast, I’m joined by John Hagel. John is an author, strategist, management consultant and entrepreneur with more than 40 years’ experience. After retiring as a partner from Deloitte, he released his latest book, The Journey Beyond Fear, that addresses the psychology of change, and he is developing a series of programs to help people navigate through change at many levels. John works with companies and p...

The Iowa Idea: Alan Moore “We can reclaim our dignity.” In this episode Iowa Idea Podcast, I’m joined by Alan Moore. Alan is a designer and business innovator on a mission to help businesses discover their own unique beauty. Alan’s most recent books, 2016’s Do Design: Why beauty is key to everything and this year’s Do Build: How to make and lead a business the world needs, are among my favorite reads of the past year. Alan shares his journey, which includes a somewhat unexpected path into desi...

The Iowa Idea: Dave Hill “It’s a sloppy look.” In this episode Iowa Idea Podcast, Dave Hill, from show business, returns to talk about his creative process and new work that’s he’s launched since our last conversation (May 2020). One of his latest projects is The Bunny Shop, named after Dave’s mom, started by Korri Santillan and Dave, from before, “as a way to make dresses they want to see in the world.” Dave talks about the importance of Vibe Guy to help drive business. We discussed some of Da...

The Iowa Idea: Janna DeVylder & Steve Baty “There’s no hero in solving complex challenges.” In this episode Iowa Idea Podcast, I’m joined by Janna DeVylder and Steve Baty of Meld Studios, an award-winning service design consultancy in Australia.

The Iowa Idea: Jessi Shakarian “Tell people what you’re excited about.” In this episode Iowa Idea Podcast, I’m joined by Jessi Shakarian. Jessi is a developer turned UX designer at DIA Design Guild in Los Angeles, California. She is a UX industry writer and public speaker on usability, design, and chess. Her work has been featured in Prototypr and UX Collective. She also writes for chess publications like Chess Tech News and Chessable. Jessi has built the bridge to the chess industry, where she...

The Iowa Idea: Mohamed Traore “No losses, only lessons.” In this, the 100th episode of the Iowa Idea Podcast, I’m joined by Mohamed Traore. Mo works as a Sales Development Representative for Roboflow, Inc., a computer vision and artificial intelligence startup, based in Des Moines, Iowa. He also works as a freelance web developer, hosts a financial education podcast and serves as Chair of the City of Iowa City’s Truth & Reconciliation Commission. I believe this is a perfect conversation to serv...

The Iowa Idea: Kelly Leonard “Meaning is made in moments.” In this episode of the Iowa Idea Podcast, I’m joined by Kelly Leonard. Kelly is the Executive Director of Learning and Applied Improvisation at Second City Works. His book, “Yes, And: Lessons from The Second City” was released to critical acclaim in 2015 by HarperCollins. Kelly is a popular speaker on the power of improvisation to transform people’s lives. Kelly co-created an initiative with the Center for Decision Research at the Booth ...

The Iowa Idea: Preston So “Hiraeth” In this episode of the Iowa Idea Podcast, I’m joined by Preston So. Preston is a product architect and strategist, digital experience futurist, innovation lead, developer advocate, three-time SXSW speaker, and author of Voice Content and Usability (2021), Gatsby: The Definitive Guide (2021), and Decoupled Drupal in Practice (2018). A product leader at Oracle, Preston has led product, design, engineering, and innovation teams since 2015 at Acquia, Time Inc., ...

The Iowa Idea: L.D. Kidd “100% Over Racism.” In this episode of the Iowa Idea Podcast, I’m joined by Lovar Davis Kidd. Lovar, known by L.D., is a poet, author, dance educator, musician, and fashion activist in Cedar Rapids, IA. He the CEO and Founder of 100% OVER RACISM. L.D. is no stranger to the stage having performed extensively in both dance and musical theatre productions throughout the US and overseas over the last 25 years. He currently serves as a staff member at Nolte Academy, and as ...

The Iowa Idea: Natalie Nixon “Wonder and Rigor.” In this episode of the Iowa Idea Podcast, I’m joined by Natalie Nixon, PhD. Natalie changes lives through ideas so that people build their creative confidence for years to come, make an impact, and get paid their worth. She is a creativity strategist, global keynote speaker and author of the award winning The Creativity Leap: Unleash Curiosity, Improvisation and Intuition at Work, which has been recognized as a game-changing innovation book by Fas...

The Iowa Idea: Jackie Pelland “You’re just not that big of a deal.” In this episode of the Iowa Idea Podcast, I’m joined by Jackie Pelland. Jackie obsesses about leadership. She is a founding partner of the organizational design company, Slingshot25 where she designs and delivers leadership learning programs and provides executive leadership coaching. For 25 years before starting her own company, Jackie was an employee in big telecom and aerospace companies. This means she is no stranger to com...

The Iowa Idea: Miguel Encarnação “Look for the patterns.” In this episode of the Iowa Idea, I’m joined by Miguel Encarnação. Miguel is an innovation thought leader and serial chief innovation officer with experience across industries,

The Iowa Idea: John Morley “Accommodate the richness of different perspectives.” In this episode I’m joined by John Morley. John represents my third interview with Cork natives and reinforcing the strong connections between Cork and Iowa. This Cork troika, Stephen McDonnell, Paidi O’Reilly, and John are phenomenal conversations on collaboration and innovation. Since the late-90’s John led organizations – large, small and medium, urban and rural, public and private – to support self-sustaining i...