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The Iowa Idea: Andre Wright

“The foundation of it is creativity and art.”

In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with Andre Wright. Andre is a father, husband, creative, fashion activist, author, entrepreneur, and Iowa native. He is the co-founder of Humanize My Hoodie. Along with Jason Sole, the Humanize My Hoodie Movement originated from a demand to end the killing of Black and Indigenous People across the world. Their mission is to debunk stereotypes by designing an elegant and revolutionary campaign for Black and Indigenous People of Color to be HUMANIZED, not criminalized.

Andre and I discuss, his creative journey from Waterloo to creating hip hop comics and the launch of Humanize My Hoodie, and how Andre has embraced creativity throughout his life. We talk about his entrepreneurial approach to developing and scaling Humanize My Hoodie.

I really appreciated Andre’s energy, insight, and helping keep the interview spicy. It was an honor to have him on the show. I’d like to thank Andre for joining me. I hope you enjoy the episode.

About Andre

Andre Wright is an entrepreneur and fashion activist. He has created a number of fashion lines including Born Leaders United (BLU) and Humanize My Hoodie.

Humanize My Ally Workshop: www.humanizemyhoodie.com/allyworkshop

Humanize My Hoodie Documentary: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/hmh

Become an ally by texting Allies to 33777

Credits

Episode produce by Spark Consulting Group (www.inspiredbyspark.com) in Iowa City, with support from Executive Podcast Solutions (https://www.executivepodcastsolutions.com/)

The Iowa Idea Podcast music written and performed by Paisley Bible (https://paisleybible.bandcamp.com/).

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The Iowa Idea: Bob Kasenchak

“In a lot of ways, as soon as you name something and classify it, you’ve ruined it.”

In this, the 25^th episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with Bob Kasenchak, perhaps my favorite taxonomist in the world. Bob is a taxonomist and Senior Manager of Client Solutions at Synaptica, living in Albuquerque, New Mexico. After early training in philosophy and a decade studying and teaching music, Bob spent eight years designing and developing information projects before joining Synaptica in 2019. His current interests include knowledge graphs, gamelan, and soup.

Bob and I discuss the importance of taxonomy and ontology, as they relate to categorizing, organizing, and making sense of the informational world around us. Pushing along the edge of axiology, we talk about the ethics of labeling and categorizing. We also dig into more fun and interesting taxonomy issues such as the categorization and debate of calling hot dog a sandwich. We also try to understand where the hell grocery stores display pine nuts. Finally, we cover humans in the loop, and why the last mile of AI is still a ways away.

I really appreciated Bob’s advice “let the example generate the prose.” It was an honor having Bob on the podcast. I’d like to thank him for joining me. I hope you enjoy the episode.

About Bob

Bob Kasenchak is a taxonomist and Senior Manager of Client Solutions at Synaptica living in Albuquerque, New Mexico. After early training in philosophy and a decade studying and teaching music, Bob spent 8 years designing and developing information projects at a leading taxonomy firm before joining Synaptica in 2019. His current interests include knowledge graphs, gamelan, and soup.

Recent and Upcoming Talks:

• Taxonomy Boot Camp 2019, “Strategies for Scoping Taxonomy Projects”
• Taxonomy Boot Camp London 2019, “I’m a Taxonomist – and So Can You!”
• Text Analytics Forum 2018
• Taxonomy Boot Camp 2018, “Ethics of Naming”
• Taxonomy Boot Camp London 2018, “Is a Hot Dog a Sandwich?”
• SLA 2018: All-day Taxonomy Fundamentals Workshop
• IA Summit 2018: “Is a Hot Dog a Sandwich? The Ethics of Appellomancy”
• Taxonomy Boot Camp 2017: “Taxonomy 101”
• Text Analytics Forum 2017, “Leveraging Text Analytics for Taxonomy Construction”
• Taxonomy Boot Camp London 2017, “Practical Strategies and Techniques for Taxonomy Development”
• ISKO UK 2017, “Beyond Search: Novel Implementations of Taxonomies”
• IA Summit 2017, “Taxonomic Irony”
• NFAIS 2017, “Scholarly Triage: Advances in Peer Review”
• Taxonomy Boot Camp 2016, “Discover Thousands of Terms Using This One Weird Trick!”
• Taxonomy Boot Camp London 2016, “Care and Feeding of Your Controlled Vocabulary”
• SLA 2016, All-day Taxonomy Fundamentals Workshop
• STM 2016, “Text Mining for Term Discovery for Taxonomy Construction”
• Enterprise Data World 2016, “Investing in Semantics”
• Data Harmony User Group 2016, “Linked Data and Taxonomies”
• Taxonomy Boot Camp 2015, “Linked Data Case Study”
• Library of Congress FEDLINK series 2015, “Make Your Thesaurus Smart!”
• Taxonomy Boot Camp 2014, “Taxonomy-Based Disambiguation Processes”
• Taxonomy Boot Camp 2013, “Indexing Images”

Credits

Episode produce by Spark Consulting Group (www.inspiredbyspark.com) in Iowa City, with support from Executive Podcast Solutions (https://www.executivepodcastsolutions.com/)

The Iowa Idea Podcast music written and performed by Paisley Bible (https://paisleybible.bandcamp.com/).

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The Iowa Idea: Chris Bernat

“Let’s make art!”

In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with Chris Bernat. Chris is the lead singer and sometimes rhythm guitarist for the bands Tripmaster Monkey and Chrash. Over the past 20-plus years, I’ve been able to catch Tripmaster Monkey – Chris, Jamie Toal, Wes Haas, and Marty Reyhons. They’ve always put on great shows and have been fun guys to hangout with off stage. So, it was a joy to have Chris talk about creativity and collaboration.

Chris and I discuss his journey from high school talent show – saying he had a band, before he had a band; to being signed to a major label, to creating and collaborating and finding joy in creating music and art for over 30 years. We discussed how the music industry has changed along the way and how that impacts the creative process. I appreciated Chris highlighting the power of collaboration as an essential part of the creative process.

It was an honor having Chris on the podcast. I’d like to thank him for joining me.  I hope you enjoy the episode.

About Chris

Lead singer & sometimes rhythm guitarist Chris Bernat took what he gleaned from the 10 years spent in TM — and what equipment he had acquired in the amicable dissolution — and began doing experimental recordings under the ever-changing moniker “Chrash.” His first release, the 1999 EP The Comedian, featured contributions from ex-Monkeys Jamie Toal and Marty Reyhons. During this time, Bernat created a performance art character/mockery, the legendary straw comic (and literally made-of-straw), Fiesta Dummy.

Chrash continued, releasing The Party LP in 2003 (once again featuring Jamie and Marty), with TM bassist Wes Haas co-arranging, producing, and appearing on nearly every track.  Audio Feng Shui followed in 2006 — the first record with the current lineup of Paul Blomquist (The Winter Blanket) on drums and Kim Murray (Darling, The Winter Blanket) on bass.

The band remained prolific, releasing the EP See Through Music* in 2011, and LPs The Name They Change in 2013, Things My Friends Say in 2015, and 2017: The Music on the night of the 2019 Primary Elections.

“I’ve always kept at my pursuit — to write the perfect song and album — while maintaining a full-time sales job. Chrash performs regularly and is always working on new material. It’s an extremely satisfying endeavor of three friends who love to work on and perform weird art rock, but Tripmaster Monkey will always be my first musical romance.”

*The 2011 EP See Through Music, saw Eric Stone (The Multiple Cat) join the lineup on guitars, keys, and backing vocals, a role he reprised on the following release The Name They Change. Eric departed Chrash in 2012, but lent guitar, keyboard, and backing vocals to several TM reunion shows in the ensuing years. He officially joined the TM lineup in the same capacity in early 2018 for My East Is Your West.

Credits

Episode produce by Spark Consulting Group (www.inspiredbyspark.com) in Iowa City, with support from Executive Podcast Solutions (https://www.executivepodcastsolutions.com/)

The Iowa Idea Podcast music written and performed by Paisley Bible (https://paisleybible.bandcamp.com/).

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The Iowa Idea: Aarron Walter

“It’s about emotion. Our full range of emotions.”

In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with Aarron Walter. Aarron is the VP of design publishing at InVision, drawing upon fifteen years of experience running product teams and teaching design to help companies enact design best practices. Aarron founded the UX practice at MailChimp. He is the co-host of the Webby nominated podcast, Design Better, and the author of Designing for Emotion.

Aarron and I discuss his journey from studying art at The University of Iowa, to becoming a design practitioner, a design educator, and author. We explore the importance and power of emotion in design. We talk about the problems in the design space when we ignore emotion, including the weaponization of platforms and unintended consequences.

It was an honor having Aarron on the podcast. I’d like to thank him for joining me.  I hope you enjoy the episode.

About Aarron

Aarron Walter is VP of design publishing at InVision, drawing upon fifteen years of experience running product teams and teaching design to help companies enact design best practices. Aarron founded the UX practice at MailChimp and helped grow the product from a few thousand users to more than 10 million. His design guidance has helped the White House, the US Department of State, and dozens of major corporations, startups and venture capitalist firms. You’ll find Aarron sharing thoughts about design on Twitter @aarron, and as the cohost of the Webby nominated Design Better podcast.

You can find out more about Aarron’s latest book Designing for Emotion (2^nd edition) at https://abookapart.com/products/designing-for-emotion  and on his personal website https://www.aarronwalter.com/

Credits

Episode produce by Spark Consulting Group (www.inspiredbyspark.com) in Iowa City, with support from Executive Podcast Solutions (https://www.executivepodcastsolutions.com/)

The Iowa Idea Podcast music written and performed by Paisley Bible (https://paisleybible.bandcamp.com/).

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The Iowa Idea: Howard Allen

Hopefully, you’re listening, learning, and making adjustments.

In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with Howard Allen. Howard is the founder and owner of the Caribbean-inspired brand Maroon Sausage Company in Brooklyn, NY. Prior to creating Maroon, Howard spent almost twenty years as a graphic designer and brand strategist developing corporate branding and marketing campaigns.

Howard and I discuss his path from growing up in the Midwest, going to school in Iowa to his move to the East Coast. Including his early influences from Kiss and Parliament Funkadelic album covers. His professional journey includes graphic design, design management, teaching design management, and entrepreneurship, including his founding of the socially conscious Maroon Sausage Company. I enjoyed hearing how Howard utilized design management and brand research principles in prototyping and iterating on Maroon Sausage.

I’d like to thank Howard for joining me on the podcast, I hope you enjoy the episode.

About Howard

Howard Allen is the founder and owner of the Caribbean-inspired brand Maroon Sausage Company which has developed a dedicated following of individuals who have an appetite for spicy flavorful food. Prior to creating Maroon Howard spent almost twenty years as a graphic designer and brand strategist developing corporate branding and marketing campaigns.

You can find out more about Maroon Sausage Company at their website – http://www.maroonsausage.com/

Credits

Episode produce by Spark Consulting Group (www.inspiredbyspark.com) in Iowa City, with support from Executive Podcast Solutions (https://www.executivepodcastsolutions.com/)

The Iowa Idea Podcast music written and performed by Paisley Bible (https://paisleybible.bandcamp.com/).

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The Iowa Idea: Andy Joynt

It’s really a team effort.

In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with Andy Joynt. Andy is the Head Brewer at Big Grove. As a beer nerd and fan of Big Grove, it was a joy to talk with Andy and discuss his craft and approach. Andy has been the head brewer at Big Grove since 2016 and over saw the build out of the production brewery at their Iowa City location. When we recorded this episode Andy and team were in the middle of another major production expansion.

Andy and I explore his path to becoming a brewer and the experience of being the Head Brewer in a time of rapid expansion. We cover learning, creativity, craft, and collaboration, a modern extension of the Iowa Idea. I appreciated Andy’s approach to testing and feedback early in his journey to improve his craft; as well as his descriptions of the collaborative, team approach at Big Grove.

I’d like to thank Andy for joining me on the podcast, I hope you enjoy the episode.

About Andy

After graduating from Colorado State University in 2005 and spending a few years as a ski bum, Andy found his way back to Iowa City to pursue his brewing passion. Andy has been the Head Brewer at Big Grove since 2016 and oversaw the buildout of the production brewery at the Iowa City location.

You can find out more about Big Grove on their website – https://biggrovebrewery.com/

Credits

Episode produce by Spark Consulting Group (www.inspiredbyspark.com) in Iowa City, with support from Executive Podcast Solutions (https://www.executivepodcastsolutions.com/)

The Iowa Idea Podcast music written and performed by Paisley Bible (https://paisleybible.bandcamp.com/).

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The Iowa Idea: Jonas Dupuich.

In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with Jonas Dupuich. Jonas…

About Jonas

Jonas Dupuich runs a Northern California bonsai nursery where he teaches and writes about bonsai. He is the author of The Little Book of Bonsai and the Bonsai Tonight blog, a twice-weekly publication featuring how-to articles and photographs of bonsai around the world. His trees have been selected for display in local and regional exhibits, including the US National Bonsai Exhibition. Jonas grows a variety of different species and specializes in developing black pine bonsai from seed. Learn more at bonsaitonight.com.

Credits

Episode produce by Spark Consulting Group (www.inspiredbyspark.com) in Iowa City, with support from Executive Podcast Solutions (https://www.executivepodcastsolutions.com/)

The Iowa Idea Podcast music written and performed by Paisley Bible (https://paisleybible.bandcamp.com/).

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The Iowa Idea: Gino Chirio

Chop wood, carry water.

In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with Gino Chirio. Gino is an

Executive Vice President with the insights-driven growth consultancy Maddock Douglas, where he helps organizations develop strategies and solutions to maintain relevance and realize competitive advantage. From creating, launching and redefining brands to developing strategies for continually delivering new value, he uses a human-centered approach to focus organizations’ efforts based on who they are, what they can leverage to win, and where they can uniquely deliver on market needs — now and into their future. His work on innovation and growth has been published in Harvard Business Review.

Gino and I talk about the struggles organization have when it comes to remaining competitive and maintaining growth strategies in a complex environment.

We recorded this episode on Gino’s 50th birthday and I appreciate him giving me the gifts of time and insight in our conversation. I’ve been lucky enough to collaborate on a number of innovation and design projects. I’d like to thank Gino for joining me on the podcast and I hope you enjoy the episode.

About Gino

Gino is a life-long Chicagoan who lives in the Northwest side neighborhood of Avondale with his beautiful and talented wife Kim and two ridiculously amazing kids, Claudia 21 and Vincent 18.

He is currently an Executive Vice President with the insights-driven growth consultancy Maddock Douglas, where he has been helping organizations develop strategies and solutions to maintain relevance, create competitive advantage and realize growth for 20 years. From creating, launching and redefining brands to developing strategies for continually delivering new value, he uses a human-centered approach to focus organizations’ efforts based on who they are, what they can leverage to have a reason to win and where they can uniquely deliver on market needs now and into their future.

Gino believes that resilient, well-intentioned people can find a way to do anything, provided they stand up again after inevitably being knocked down. His “why” is to empower and encourage these purposeful individuals to keep going so that they continue to uncover more ways to make positive change.

He’s a proud graduate from Oakton Community College and DePaul University, a devout White Sox and Bears fan, and lover of learning anything new. His article “6 Ways to Grow a Company” was published in Harvard Business Review in 2018.

Maddock Douglas – https://www.maddockdouglas.com/

6 Ways to Grow a Company – https://hbr.org/2018/06/the-6-ways-to-grow-a-company

Credits

Episode produce by Spark Consulting Group (www.inspiredbyspark.com) in Iowa City, with support from Executive Podcast Solutions (https://www.executivepodcastsolutions.com/)

The Iowa Idea Podcast music written and performed by Paisley Bible (https://paisleybible.bandcamp.com/).

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The Iowa Idea: Kate Moreland

The value of owning one’s voice.

In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with Kate Moreland. Kate is the President of ICAD (Iowa City Area Development Group). She is also the co-founder of Her Experience, and certified Strategic Doing practitioner. ICAD’s mission is to create, collaborate and lead regional economic development initiatives that contribute to the creation and growth of companies, wealth and quality jobs through a spirit of innovation and a culture of sharing that transforms knowledge into economic opportunity. Her Experience is a gathering of strong women from diverse backgrounds who come together to replenish mind, body, and spirit in a day of reflection, procurement of joy, and outstanding personal and professional opportunities.

We talked about Kate’s journey and experience and how she has embraced empathy, creativity and collaboration to help make her community more resilient, as well as the importance of gratitude. Kate is involved in important, transformative work and am honored she took the time to join me for this discussion.

I’d like to thank Kate for joining me on the podcast. I hope you enjoy the episode.

About Kate

Kate Moreland is the President of the Iowa City Area Development Group (ICAD) and has been working to help our community for nearly 23 years.  A native of Iowa, Kate is inspired by the opportunities to drive innovation in all areas of economic and community development and believes collaboration is the new competition. Kate and her team work on issues such as workforce development, supporting existing industry and entrepreneurial development.

She graduated from the University of Iowa Law School in 1997 and worked as an attorney until 2005.  Kate has been an adjunct faculty member at Kirkwood Community College and the University of Iowa College of Law and worked as Director of Community Relations for the Iowa City Community School District.

Kate is a certified coach and a co-founder of Her Experience, a revolutionary women’s empowerment retreat.  Kate serves on a number of community boards. She received an ISPRA Communication Award in 2013 and was awarded the Corridor Business Journal Forty Under 40 in 2011.  She received recognition as an Immigrant Champion statewide in 2016 and received an Ovation Award from the Iowa Women’s Foundation in 2020.

ICAD – https://iowacityareadevelopment.com/

Her Experience – https://www.herexperience.org/

Better Together – https://icareatogether.com/

Credits

Episode produce by Spark Consulting Group (www.inspiredbyspark.com) in Iowa City, with support from Executive Podcast Solutions (https://www.executivepodcastsolutions.com/)

The Iowa Idea Podcast music written and performed by Paisley Bible (https://paisleybible.bandcamp.com/).

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“If you’re functioning, it’s there.”

In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with artist Joe Tait. I first met Joe at The University of Iowa, where we worked on the award-winning sketch comedy show, Eggplant. Most of that last sentence was true. After 20-plus years, Joe and I catch up to talk about his approach to art and creativity.

Joe Tait makes Art; he’s always doing that. Sometimes he writes. Sometimes he does both at the same time. After a twenty year career teaching Art to children in and around Cleveland, Ohio, he now works as the Librarian/Archivist at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. It’s a career jump that might appear incongruous, except that it marks a return to an institution that helped to direct his earliest creative impulses– as a child who wished to be a dinosaur.

I appreciated Joe talking about the importance of audience, constraints, and context in his approach to art.

I’d like to thank Joe for joining me on the podcast. I hope you enjoy the episode.

About Joe

Joe Tait makes Art; he’s always doing that. Sometimes he writes. Sometimes he does both at the same time. After a twenty year career teaching Art to children in and around Cleveland, Ohio, he now works as the Librarian/Archivist at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. It’s a career jump that might appear incongruous, except that it marks a return to an institution that helped to direct his earliest creative impulses– as a child who wished to be a dinosaur. Joe came to the University of Iowa in 1989 from Cleveland, in an attempt to articulate why he was always making stuff. By then he was determined to be an Army officer and attend the Writers’ Workshop.

Having chosen, in the end, to do neither of these things, he graduated from the University, and lived and worked in Iowa City for a pleasant couple of years. His experience of Iowa and its Ideal gave him the essential inkling that it was more important for him to live in Creativity than to make a living as a creative. Creativity for Joe is a universal inclination of intelligence to manipulate resources toward a purpose. When applied to visual and verbal communication, creativity affords Joe the opportunity to connect to, illuminate, and, on occasion, articulate a sense of the currents in which he and everybody and everything are always adrift.

Website link:

Joe’s website: https://joetaitart.com/

Social Media:

You can find Joe and his art on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/joetaitart/

https://www.instagram.com/taitjoe/

and on Facebook – “Joe Tait” and “Joe Tait Art Page” on Facebook

Credits

Episode produce by Spark Consulting Group (www.inspiredbyspark.com) in Iowa City, with support from Executive Podcast Solutions (https://www.executivepodcastsolutions.com/)

The Iowa Idea Podcast music written and performed by Paisley Bible (https://paisleybible.bandcamp.com/).