Chris Holland and Lawrence James

11/19/20 • 67 min

Lawrence James, President and CEO of Connexus Technology, is passionate about serving in his community. He has spent countless hours volunteering his time to serve at Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility (CFCS) in North Philadelphia, providing spiritual and emotional support to inmates. He currently leads a team of men and women who bring hope to those who are incarcerated at George Hill Correctional Facility in Delaware County. Besides giving hope, this weekly program for inmates includes spiritual guidance and community re-entry support. Lawrence also volunteers his time at universities in Philadelphia, providing business expertise to young adults. Currently he serves on the Board of Directors for the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce. Additionally, he was a member of the Board of Directors for Drexel Neumann Academy (DNA), a free Catholic School in Chester, PA, for under-served students, where he introduced the students to drone flight and the technology behind it. Drexel Neumann Academy has since adopted the curriculum, and the course is being taught to students throughout the school. Lawrence’s service underscores his passion and interest in youth, criminal justice reform, and bridging the digital divide. This spirit of service permeates throughout the Connexus organization and is an essential component of the Connexus culture.

Rev. Christopher J Holland II serves as Executive Pastor of Salt and Light Community Church and the Executive Director of The Common Place (a not for profit ) in the Southwest section of Philadelphia. He is an entrepreneur and the Co-founder/COO of Connexus Technology, a leading-edge technology consulting firm in Philadelphia since 2003. He is a native of Philadelphia, and holds a Bachelor of Science and Engineering degree in Computer Science from Drexel University. After co-founding the technology startup, he obtained his Master of Divinity degree from Palmer Theological Seminary. As a member of The Common Place leadership team, Pastor Chris brings his gifts of strategic planning, pastoral care, community engagement and passion for family advocacy to fulfill the mission of The Common Place and uplift the Southwest Philadelphia Community. He is happily married to Ime, and they are blessed to be parents of six children.

Connexus Technology provides IT staffing and IT managed services for mid to large sized organizations in need of a dedicated IT partner. For more than 17 years, Connexus has been helping customers across the globe in a wide variety of industries to improve operations and profitability with innovative software solutions, and with expert on/offsite consultants. Connexus’ leadership team extends their skills and knowledge to serve the Philadelphia and surrounding communities through civic engagement. This spirit of service permeates throughout the Connexus organization and is an essential component of the Connexus culture.

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Music courtesy of Dan Rodriguez:
"The Allies Theme" by Dan Rodriguez

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Music courtesy of Dan Rodriguez:
"The Allies Theme" by Dan Rodriguez

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Meet the Producer

Anthony Sergi is producer of the Allies podcast, a show he co-created with host and long time friend and colleague, Carmen Ferrigno. He also produces the podcast A Guest in the House, co-hosted by rapper and journalist, David "Traum Diggs" Shanks, and author and professor of English, Dr. Mickey Hess. His first podcast, now archived, was Writers Latitude, hosted by author, Joe Samuel Starnes.

While the podcasts Anthony produces differ in style and content, they share a common goal: to express stories and perspectives of diverse lived and learned experiences in hopes of finding common ground in the ways we relate to each other. It's what inspired him to start podcasting, and what drives him to help provide an outlet for other great hosts and their shows.

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Music courtesy of Dan Rodriguez:
"The Allies Theme" by Dan Rodriguez

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Dina Silver Pokedoff

Dina Silver Pokedoff, APR is a driven and results-oriented senior brand and communications executive and an empowered female leader in the marketing and communications industry. Most recently, Dina was Director of Brand, Reputation and Influence at Saint-Gobain North America, one of the world’s largest building materials companies and manufacturers of innovative material solutions.

At Saint-Gobain she implemented strategic initiatives for internal and external communications, and was instrumental in developing the long-term strategy for external philanthropic partnerships, brand strategy and external relations activities including media relations, social media, website and reputation/crisis management. As a visionary, she forged a path forward for the marketing and communications team that was only established within the last 10 years and demonstrated the value that communications adds for a company whose roots date back to 1665.

For these efforts, Dina most recently was recognized with Ragan’s/PR Daily Top Women in Communications 2020 and PR News Top Women in PR 2018.

Prior to Saint-Gobain, Dina developed and executed metrics-driven, award-winning campaigns in a range of industries including manufacturing, higher education, healthcare, financial, insurance, telecommunications, not-for-profits and more.

Dina gives back to her profession as a member of the Public Relations Society of America and to the community as an active member of her synagogue, Beth Or. She also serves as a fundraiser for the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Cardiac Unit, and has supported fund raising efforts for the Pancreatic Cancer Network and local non-profit Run for Jenna.

Dina lives in Chalfont, Pennsylvania with her husband Mark and their two beautiful children Benjamin (12) and Ava (6). When not working she loves keeping fit by riding on her Peloton bike, as well as running, performing in musicals with the Temple Sinai Players, enjoying Broadway, and reading.

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Music courtesy of Dan Rodriguez:
"The Allies Theme" by Dan Rodriguez