Lives Radio Show With Stuart Chittenden

Chanda Chacón is the https://www.childrensomaha.org/chanda-chacon/ (President and Chief Executive Officer of Children’s Hospital and Medical Center) in Omaha. In the show Chacon shares how a car accident as a child influenced her life and stoked a passion to serve in the healthcare field. Chacon also talks about leading an organization during the pandemic and energizing its commitment to caring for every child and for the whole child, within the hospital walls and outside. Chanda Chacón has devoted her career to pediatric health care, focused on the patients receiving care and the people and organizations providing it. Prior to joining Children’s, Chacon had progressive leadership positions at Arkansas Children’s Hospital and before that at Texas Children’s Hospital. Chacón earned undergraduate degrees in Biology and Spanish from Vanderbilt University and a Master’s Degree in Public Health Management from Yale University. She is a Fellow in the American College of Health Care Executives. Her community engagem

Jay Warren Teamer is an Omaha native who has spent her personal and professional life serving our community. In August 2020, she was appointed as the inaugural Director of Diversity and Inclusion at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska, where she drives the diversity, equity and inclusion strategy for the company and also oversees the company’s corporate social responsibility and wellness efforts. In our conversation, Jay shares how she came into the new role, how her personal experiences inform her professional endeavors, and how her larger family context shaped who she is today and aspires to be tomorrow. Jay has worked in the non-profit/philanthropic sector for the last ten years, with previous roles at Partnership 4 Kids, United Way of the Midlands, and Mutual of Omaha. With her childhood friend, Ashlei Spivey, Jay co-founded I Be Black Girl and leads the groups’ giving circle, IBBGives. As a highly engaged community advocate, Jay has served on numerous nonprofit boards and been honored with several com

Since Lives launched in January 2017, its focus has been on authentic conversations with fascinating people covering a diverse range of issues. This summer, the show will evolve in terms of content and broadcast platform. Season three will focus on the art of living, asking questions like, what is a good life? Why are we here? How might we feel more connected? These and other big questions about how we live will be considered each week through intimate conversations with intriguing guests sharing their spiritual, philosophical, artistic, and cultural exploration of the wonders of our human experience. Listen every Sunday beginning July 3 as we delve into the practical and profound possibilities of living well.

A thread running through Dr. Jonathan Benjamin-Alvarado’s life is a desire to leave the world better, whether or not his involvement is visible to others. As well as discussing his long career as an educator, nuclear non-proliferation analyst, and community activist, we talk about inclusion, identity, his experience growing up as the son of migrant Mexican farm workers, joining the Navy, and much more. In June 2022 Dr. Jonathan Benjamin-Alvarado begins his new role as senior advisor to the chancellor and as the chief inclusion officer at Texas Christian University. He was formerly assistant vice chancellor of student success at the University of Nebraska Omaha. Benjamin-Alvarado is also the former president of the Latino Caucus in Political Science of the American Political Science Association. He additionally served as the director for the University of Nebraska Omaha's Office of Latino and Latin American Studies. Benjamin-Alvarado earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from Middlebury Institute of Inte

Billy Estes is the executive director of the historic Midwest Theater and of the Midwest Skyview Drive-in Theater in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. We talk about the historic theater and its role in the community during COVID, Billy’s love for the arts and the creative spark of Burning Man, entrepreneurship and his other life as a farmer, and much more. Billy Estes has been part of the Friends of the Midwest Theater team for 21 years starting as a technician and projectionist until he became Executive Director in 2013. Since then, he has managed three capital campaigns and is now in the middle of a major Marquee restoration project due to be completed Fall of 2022. These major projects total $1.4 million in work and fundraising. During COVID-19 Billy was responsible for pivoting the organization, offering a free pop-up outdoor screening. This has led to the opening of a permanent drive-in theater, The SkyView. When Billy is not at the theater he enjoys spending time on the tractor tending to crops on his organic far

Pam Alfrey Hernandez is the entrepreneur and leader who created https://therightreflection.com/ (The Right Reflection) in February 2015 after a distinguished and groundbreaking career at Omaha-based Woodmen Life, a non-profit financial services organization with $10 billion in assets and 1500+ employees/sales agents. We talk about her current work and the coaching needs she observes in the leaders she supports and about her role as a senior female executive in a national business organization. We also talk about the three chapters of her life, with love and loss along the way, including Pam losing her mother early to breast cancer and overcoming that in later life herself.

https://www.unomaha.edu/about-uno/chancellor/index.php (Chancellor Joanne Li) talks with me about being a maverick, her epiphany about the larger opportunities in the world, being a first generation college student and how that shapes her empathy for students today, her plans for the https://www.unomaha.edu/index.php (University of Nebraska at Omaha) as an urban college, and much more. Dr. Li is the first woman of color to serve as UNO's chancellor and the first Asian-American in the history of the University of Nebraska System to hold an executive leadership role. Originally from Hong Kong, Dr. Li is a first-generation college student, earning bachelor’s and doctoral degrees in finance from Florida State University and is a Chartered Financial Analyst. Dr. Li most recently served as dean of the College of Business at Florida International University, the nation’s fourth-largest public university, and served at other universities prior to that. She brings to UNO 15 years of progressive leadership experience i

Omaha native Tony Veland is not just a two-time National Champion and Superbowl Champion as a trophy winning former Nebraska Cornhusker and a Denver Bronco, he is a committed advocate for community and youth. Tony talks with me about how his experiences on and off the field have shaped who he is today, his commitment to community, and his work supporting opportunity for youth. Tony is the Director of Business Development for the https://aiminstitute.org/ (AIM Institute). Although known for his past accomplishments in the sports arena, having experienced success at the highest levels, he loves to use his platform, experience, and talents to encourage the next generation to be successful in life beyond the areas of athletics. 

Poet and editor Lindsey Anne Baker talks with me about her most recent book of poems, "This Is Bad," which artfully and pointedly addresses her exploration of life with Graves disease and Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, as well as love, desire, and hunger for existence. Lindsey talks candidly about life with a degenerative nerve disease and the impact on her family and her writing. She also reads selections of her poetry. Lindsey Anne Baker is a copy editor for The Atlantic, where she works on web features, poetry published online and in print, podcast copy, promotional materials, social-media copy, exclusive newsletters, and more. She also assists in soliciting and selecting poetry for publication online. Prior to her role at The Atlantic, Lindsey served as editor-in-chief of Quest Magazine, the nationally distributed flagship print publication of the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Lindsey earned a bachelor’s degree in news-editorial journalism from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2004 and has written an

Keith Station is the first ever Deputy Chief of Staff for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Mayor’s Office at the https://www.cityofomaha.org/ (City of Omaha). We talk about the aspirations and frustrations of his DEI work, a little of his life journey in coming to this calling, his emergence as a community leader, and more. Keith Station's role is to develop and lead a strategic plan for Diversity & Inclusion in city government. Keith was previously Director of Business Relations at Heartland Workforce Solutions and led the YMCA of Greater Omaha. He earned his degree in Business Administration at the University of Nebraska and his Masters in Management at Indiana University-Bloomington. He lives in Omaha with his family.

In my conversation with chef and entrepreneur, Nina Sodji, we talk about her innovative take on traditional west African cuisine at https://okraafricangrill.com/ (Okra African Grill), her business ups and downs, and her passion for food and community. Nina Sodji first immigrated to America in 1994 with a business visa, hailing from Togo, a west Africa nation. She began her career as a nurse who had a growing passion for cooking. Nina ran with her heart, opened an African grocery market in Omaha in 2004, and later added a restaurant and was successful until the 2008 Great Recession. She went on to achieve a culinary degree from Metropolitan Community College, and a bachelor’s in business management from Bellevue University. It was at MCC Nina that noticed the foods she grew up enjoying in Togo were derived from lots of cultures: French, Spanish, German, Indian and neighboring African countries. The flavors she grew up loving were a result of her country's complicated history of colonialization, invasion, and p

Soul woman Mary Elizabeth Jo Dixen Pelenaise Kapi’olani Lawson is the heart and artist behind Mesonjixx. In our conversation – featuring a tiny desk concert – Mary shares her growth as an artist, some tough lessons and choices that came with that journey, and how she uses her musical artistry to explore her lived experiences. Mary also talks about the new live album being released on March 11 and her mini tour starting March 15, as well as playing a couple of songs live in the studio!

Born and raised in Mexico, when she was 12 years old Itzel and her family moved to Omaha, where she is currently VP of Advancement & Community Relations at the AIM Institute. In our conversation, we talk about bravery, her journey as an undocumented immigrant, the "glass mountain" of leadership, and her unquenchable energy for community and entrepreneurship. An active member of the Hispanic and broader community, Itzel has played a key role in the growth of the annual Cinco de Mayo Omaha festivities. She is a recent graduate of the Non-Profit Leadership Institute and Leadership Omaha and is currently participating in the inaugural class of Opportunity Corps 2022, a professional development and entrepreneurship mentorship program for Women in STEAM through the UNeTech Institute and Bio Nebraska.

Author and poet https://kassandramontag.com/ (Kassandra Montag) uses her poetry as a way into vulnerability and a means to explore challenging experiences. In our conversation, she talks about some of the issues she confronts in her new collection of poetry https://dundee-book-company.square.site/product/chorus-of-the-underground-sea-poems/2566?cp=true&sa=false&sbp=false&q=true (“Chorus of the Underground Sea,”) and reads a couple of poems from that book. We also talk about themes such as motherhood, sacrifice, and our relationship with nature that Kassandra addresses in her first novel “After the Flood,” which has been published in fifteen languages and optioned for TV and film. Kassandra also shares a little about her creative origins and process and teases her forthcoming novel “Those Who Return.”

Marjorie Maas serves as the inaugural executive director of https://shareomaha.org/ (SHARE Omaha), whose mission is to help nonprofits fulfill theirs by offering the giving public opportunities to connect with metro nonprofits through donations, volunteering, and fulfilling "wish lists." In our conversation, Marjorie talks about how SHARE Omaha has grown substantially since its founding in 2019 and the lessons she has learned, as a leader, during that period. We also talk about Marjorie's personal calling and the family context and experiences that lead her on. Whether as a marketer, fund developer, advocate or consultant, Marjorie Maas has helped initiatives and organizations in the Omaha metro area and across Nebraska for nearly 20 years. Roles have included Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska’s director of corporate social responsibility, development officer for College Possible Omaha and director of Nebraskans for the Arts. She is a 2010 Ten Outstanding Young Omahan winner and

Casey Putney’s 20 year career in the US Air Force sparked his passion for leadership and making an impact in people’s lives, an ethos he takes into his current role with Omaha's Business Ethics Alliance. As well as his career journey, in our conversation Casey shares how his life was shaped by childhood poverty and the example of a hard-working single mom. He also shares the ethical and values-based lessons he has drawn from his own recent health challenges. Casey Putney is the Vice President of Leadership Development for the Business Ethics Alliance, which seeks to build leadership, strengthen organizations, and elevate Greater Omaha by catalyzing an environment where the discussion and practice of ethics is encouraged and expected in the local community. Casey is a John Maxwell certified leadership speaker, coach, and trainer with a master’s degree in Organizational Leadership from Bellevue University, a certification in Business Ethics from Duke University, as well as certifications in Diversity, Equity an

John Jeanetta is the president and CEO of https://www.heartlandfamilyservice.org/ (Heartland Family Service). In this show, John talks about the history and purpose of the agency in tackling social challenges and inequities, as well as his own life experiences and calling. As well as leading Heartland Family Service’s remarkable growth over the last decade, John serves on several nonprofit and community boards, including the Leadership Council for HueSpring, a leadership development program tailored to LGBTQIA+ early career professionals, and the U.S. - Ukraine Foundation Board of Advisors. Under John’s leadership, the 146-year-old Heartland Family Service agency has grown tremendously, with operating revenue up by 140 percent, program growth of 77 percent and several large capital projects recently completed, including the $32 million North Omaha Intergenerational Campus, a collaborative effort of Heartland Family Service and Holy Name Housing Corporation. This growth has enabled Heartland Family Service to

https://www.israelgreene.com/ (Israel Greene) is a highly sought after speaker, trainer, and coach with a focus on DEI and belonging. A wonderful human being who has lived a rich, unexpected life, we talk about his work helping to transform corporate cultures and communities. We also talk about his life story, including the recent discovery that he was adopted, which prompted a search for connection with his biological family. Listen as Israel shares his experiences, disappointments, and hopes, and much more. Passionate about helping leaders transform their company culture, Israel Greene has been listed as one of the “Top Ten Trending DE&I Training Experts” by All American Entertainment. In addition to being the founder of Greene Consulting Group, he is also a Senior Consultant with Envisioning Equity and a contributing member to “A World Without Suicide.”

Esther Mejia is the President and CCO of https://ecreativeinc.com/ (E Creative), a brand strategy and communications firm she founded in 2011. In our conversation, we talk about her upbringing in rural Nebraska, her early exploration in fine art and design, and the leap of faith she made in starting her own business, including lessons learned and challenges overcome along the way. Esther was born into a large, close-knit family, to parents who emigrated to Nebraska from Mexico. She has served on several boards to fulfill her commitment to her community and to honor her family’s tradition of service. After ten years as an entrepreneur, Esther remains focused on her passion – helping community-driven organizations to connect with their clients. Esther’s leadership efforts focus on organizations that serve immigrants, women, girls and LGBTQIA+ as communities she identifies with most, serving where she knows she can represent others like her and ensure that the voices of diverse populations are heard. 

Sara Martin is CEO of the https://www.welcoa.org/ (Wellness Council of America) (WELCOA). In our conversation, she talks about intentions for well-being in 2022, WELCOA's efforts during the pandemic and its efforts for the year ahead. Sara observes how the last two years have provided space for "more beautiful questions" about the wellness industry and how we might embrace a fresh, more honest approach to well-being. Sara also talks about her own family story and how that motivated her lifelong focus on well-being and the workplace.