Innovation For All - Diversity in Tech and Business

Jimmy Chen is the Founder and CEO of Propel, a software company that aims to fight poverty through technology. They are the creators of the Fresh EBT mobile app, which enables EBT cardholders to manage their benefits, save money through grocery coupons, and find jobs. Fresh EBT is used by over 2 million low-income Americans across the country. In this episode of Innovation For All Podcast, Sheana learns why Jimmy decided to start Propel and use the tools of Silicon Valley to address social issues around poverty.

In this episode you will learn:

• Why Jimmy Chen decided to focus on building tech for low income families
• What is Propel and Fresh EBT
• Why start with the food stamp program to battle poverty
• How does Propel get the experience and empathy to solve problems they might not understand
• What is the process for getting usable information from users
• What are the logistical and general obstacles faced by Propel and how are they overcome
• What are some misconceptions about the food stamp program
• Where else can the private sector make a difference and what are the challenges

Get show notes for this an every episode at innovationforallcast.com or find us on Twitter @inforallpodcast.

Original air date: 8/21/19

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In this episode of the Innovation For All Podcast, Sheana Ahlqvist talks to Dr. Sherry Hamby, a Research Professor of Psychology at the University of the South and a Director of the Life Paths Research Center (LPRC). They talk about the role of technology in peoples daily lives. They discuss Appalachian attitudes and values, ResilienceCon and how different societies operate in a technology-centric environment.
IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL HEAR:

The culture of values and skepticism that makes Appalachian resistant to technology
What are the attitudes and stereotypes about Appalachia?
How are low income regions like Appalachia portrayed?
How different forms of violence are shifting online, for instance Cyber bullying
The negative effects on relationships from technology
How do people feel about Privacy invasion, data protection and cyber-crimes?
Is protecting our own privacy equally distributed among the rich and the poor?
What are the differences between how rural and urban societies operate?
How do regulations fit in all this?
The importance of consent in letting technology earn the trust of people.

Get show notes for this an every episode at innovationforallcast.com or find us on Twitter @inforallpodcast.
Original air date: 2/6/19

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Erica Stone works at the intersection of writing, teaching, and community organizing. Through collaborative projects, she creates opportunities for scholars, students, and community members to engage in conversations and civic problem-solving with the hope of building a more equitable and participatory democracy. As a researcher, Erica is passionate about making academic scholarship free and accessible. In her 2016 TED talk, she critiques the academic publishing industry, urging academics to engage with popular media and include communities in their research. Erica is a doctoral candidate in the Technical Communication and Rhetoric program at Texas Tech University. Her research centers on public engagement in composition classrooms and academics’ role in their surrounding communities.

In this episode you will learn:

• The reality of who has access to academic research
• Erica’s experience during her TEDx audition process
• What engaging in academia means beyond teaching
• What the publication process looks like from start to finish for academic research
• The cost of academic subscriptions
• The concerns Erica has about popular culture publications translating academic research
• How different TED chapters and franchises operate
• How academics are trained to make things complicated and how that impacts public understanding
• The historical reasoning for tenure and complications of tenure today
• How to include open access publications to count toward tenure
• Resources for democratizing and translating research
• How for-profit companies are hopping on the idea of open access research

Get shownotes for this an every episode at innovationforallcast.com or find us on Twitter @inforallpodcast.

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Paul Tasner, Co-founder and CEO of PulpWorks and more recently, Co-founder of Sort, has more than 40 years of operations experience. He has held leadership positions in ventures ranging from start-up to Fortune 100. For the past decade, his focus has been on sustainability. Paul’s corporate affiliations include The Clorox Company, Clif Bar, Method Products, and Hepagen Vaccines. He has authored numerous papers and presentations on supply chain sustainability and currently lectures on this subject in the MBA Programs at San Francisco State University and Golden Gate University as well as the Packaging Engineering Department at San Jose State University. He holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in Mathematics from Boston University.

In this episode you will learn:

• How PulpWorks manufactures packaging for consumer goods using fiber waste
• The story of Paul Tasner starting his first business at age 66
• The perks of being your own boss as an entrepreneur
• The specific challenges PulpWorks faces in securing new customers
• How to pursue investors in the competitive city of San Francisco
• Critical questions to consider for people nearing retirement that want to start a business
• How recycling is an answer but not the answer
• Why Paul is envious of the millennial mindset
• How rejecting plastic can make a difference
• What Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is and how EPR regulations could impact society
• Paul’s new tech-based recycling business

Get shownotes for this an every episode at innovationforallcast.com or find us on Twitter @inforallpodcast.

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Learn how Vantage Point is using VR to reduce sexual harassment at work through way, way better training. In this episode of Innovation For All, Sheana Ahlqvist speaks with Morgan Mercer, founder and CEO of Vantage Point. In this episode, you’ll learn: How Vantage Point leverages the benefits VR to combat sexual harassment; Examples of subtle & aggressive sexual harassment situations in the workplace; Why they take a bystander approach to training; Morgan (@themorganmercer) is product-enthusiast and idealist who founded the Virtual Reality immersive training company Vantage Point in 2017. Prior to founding Vantage Point, she concurrently served as the Head of Digital for an e-commerce startup and an Analyst for a digital agency where she has worked on high-profile contracts focused on attitude change and behavior change within the domain of complex social issues. Get shownotes for this and every episode at innovationforallcast.com. (Original Airdate: 11/30/18)
Do you support Innovation For All? Help others find us easily by reviewing us on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcasting platform. Season 2 of Innovation For All will return May 29th, 2019!

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