Saturday, November 19, 2016

Ep 24: Val Iannitti: "Throw your heart before you, and run after and catch it."

Image result for Val Iannitti
Photo from the Ottawa Citizen (http://ottawacitizen.com/life/food/adding-zest-and-ease-to-daily-family-dinners)
Val Iannitti is the founder of Zestible, an Ottawa based company that makes nutritious and delicious home cooking easy and convenient. "Growing up in an Italian-Canadian family, she was taught that the family dinner was the most important part of the day. And now, as she raises her own young family, she strives to uphold that tradition. Soon after her kids were born she realized what a struggle it is to plan, cook and eat healthy meals every night. Zestible was her solution. Val has always had a personal mission to contribute to making the world a better place. Val spent years working in human rights and international development before going back to school to study business. With this new tool belt of skills, but the same personal mission, she built Zestible to help families have convenient access to healthy, local food every day." (https://zestible.ca/about/)

Listen in to hear what Val has to say about how things worked at her house when her parents cooked meals, what she is doing right now (her company - Zestible), what brought her to start her own business and some history to provide context, the importance of having a supportive partner and how her her needs are being met by running her own business, challenges she faced based on her gender, what motivates/inspires her to do what she is currently doing, how she landed on "food" for her business, reactions to her idea of starting a business, what helped prepare her for what she is experiences today, and what she would say to help someone find motivation/inspiration.

You can listen to the podcast here.

You can connect with Val on Twitter (@ZestibleInc) and or at Zestible.ca.

Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Ep 23 Amy Fadeji: "You need to be where the people are."

Image result for amy fadeji and penngrove elementary school

Amy Fadeji is an Elementary School Principal in Penngrove, California. She was a teacher for 7 years and then moved to Alabama and taught ESL and grade 3. She moved back to California to teach primary for a bit and then jumped into Administration.

Listen in and hear what Amy has to say about the confusion around connecting with people digitally and then meeting them face to face, her journey to becoming a Principal, the relationship between Principals and Teachers, the teaching she did in Alabama, what motivates and inspires her, her time at the school she is currently at, challenges with being a young female in the role of Principal, where she gets her "thick skin" from, her use of Social Media in her work, her work as a presenter, what she would tell someone to help them find motivation,

You can hear the podcast here.

You can connect with Amy through her Twitter account (@mrsfadeji), her school account (@pennpanthers), her Blog, and through email.

Sunday, November 6, 2016

Ep 22 - Chris Cluff: "Do you accept or believe that you can change the course of history by doing your job?"

Chris Cluff

Chris Cluff is currently an educator in an alternative program called Access in York Region - he works with students who have been suspended or expelled. Before becoming an educator, he worked in the Hospitality industry where he started at the bottom and worked his way to the top (Chef/Restaurant Manager). He earned a degree in Theatre Arts from the University of Guelph and then found himself in Teacher's College where he earned his teaching credentials.

Listen in and hear what Chris has to say about his use of social media and face to face meetings, the path that led him to becoming an educator ("this is me"), the students he works with and the program he is part of, his attraction to looking at the fringes and bringing what's out there back to center, questioning to understand (flip your view), his experiences and how they fit in nicely to what he is doing as a teacher, what motivates and inspires him, how he became a chef, what he would say to someone to help motivate them, and the importance of saying more "yes".

You can listen to the podcast here.

You can connect with Chris on Twitter (@beyondbinders). Also, make sure to check out his VLOG on YouTube and his blog.