Season 2 Wrap-Up

Season 2 of Stop and Talk brought us stories of resilience, creativity, and community action across San Diego. Hosts Grant Oliphant and Crystal Page welcomed guests who are tackling complex challenges, from reimagining public spaces to strengthening community mental health and fostering economic equity. Each conversation offered a glimpse into the powerful work happening in San Diego County—and the people behind it.

In this special season wrap-up, Grant and Crystal revisit standout moments and reflect on the inspiring themes that emerged. They share insights on the importance of narrative, the impact of place, the role of economics, and what drives collective wellness. Whether you’re new to Stop and Talk or have followed every episode, this recap offers a glimpse into the profound insights shared this season and a look at what’s possible when communities work together for a brighter future.

Thank you to all of our fantastic guests this season! 

Revisit all of Season 2:

Episode 1: Micah Parzen - It's About ALL of Us

Episode 2: Diane Moss - Removing Barriers to Good Food Is a Community Effort

Episode 3: Preeti Bhattacharji - Using all a foundations assets to impact social change

Episode 4: Ramel Wallace - Creativity as Care, Reflection, and Connection

Episode 5: Irwin Jacobs - Using What We Have to Strengthen San Diego County

Episode 6: Dr. Constance Carroll - The incredible impact of community colleges

Episode 7: Dr. Mary Walshok - When the world wants to see the future, they look at California

Episode 8: Dr. Benjamin Maxwell - Community can help youth thrive psychologically and flourish

Episode 9: Dan Yates - The Power of Vulnerability in Leadership

Episode 10: Amina Sheik Mohamed -  Health equity and belonging are key to well-being

Episode 11: Dr. Isabel Newton - Centering humanity in all aspects of healthcare

Episode 12: Dr. Sindy Escobar Alvarez - The Intersection of Medical Research and Philanthropy

Episode 13: Omar Blaik - Downtowns should be for everyone

Episode 14: Carol Dedrich - Fun is a critical component of mental health

Episode 15: Thelma Virata de Castro - Expressing Yourself is a Powerful Thing

Credits:

This is a production of the Prebys Foundation.

Hosted by Grant Oliphant

Co-Hosted by Crystal Page

Co-produced by Crystal Page and Adam Greenfield

Engineered by Adam Greenfield

Production Assistance by Tess Karesky

The Stop & Talk Theme song was created by San Diego’s own Mr. Lyrical Groove.

Recorded at the Voice of San Diego Podcast St

Episode Transcript

Grant Oliphant (00:10):
Alright. Crystal?

Crystal Page (00:12):
We've made it through season 2.

Grant Oliphant (00:14):
We have. It's hard to imagine how quickly this
has sped by, and we've had somegreat conversations.

Crystal Page (00:21):
Yeah. We've had some great conversations, great
relationships built off ofmeeting those folks, and I think
even bigger ideas hopefully werehelping to get those out into
the world and into the brains ofpeople who can actualize them.

Grant Oliphant (00:33):
Yeah. Well, and let me tell you how much fun it
is for me to do this with you.I, I've really enjoyed having
you to riff with at thebeginning and the ending of
these interviews, and now whatwe're gonna do is just engage in
conversation about what we thinkwe heard and saw during the
course of this season. And youknow, it's not because we wanna

(00:56):
throw a summary at people, it'sbecause we heard some really
good thoughts, and they it feelslike they are worth sharing, and
reflecting on. And And one ofthe things that's kind of tough
to do in the moment when you'redoing interviews is step back
and actually reflect on them.
We try to do that at the end ofevery episode, and thank you so

(01:19):
much for your ability to to todo that. But this is a chance
for us to maybe go a little bitdeeper in terms of the season as
a whole.

Crystal Page (01:27):
Yeah. 1st, I will also say thank you for inviting
me to be your co host because Iknow I'm newer to the
philanthropic space, but ithelps me think through what are
we really doing here? How dopeople see this world? And based
on the feedback people havegiven me, they're like, oh, I
had the same question as you, soI appreciate the the joint

(01:49):
debrief. I think it's helpingexpand our thought universe of
what are we thinking about anddoing as a foundation, but
hopefully as a region.
Right? So first of all, thankyou, Grant. You're always very
generous. You asked really gooddeep questions for the record.
We do give Grant, like, hey,here's some background on folks,
but he really takes it to townin the moment in the interviews.

(02:09):
I think that's what's makingeach interview so great. And I
know he's now looking awaybecause he doesn't have the
compliments, but he's he'sgreat.

Grant Oliphant (02:17):
But I but I appreciate it, and I, you know,
I do, we love doing this,podcast, both of us I think,
because it's such an opportunityto engage with really
interesting people and sharetheir stories And, help our
community better understandmaybe some of the issues that

(02:37):
that are important right now.

Crystal Page (02:39):
And to add, Grant, I just also wanna say, if people
don't listen to every episode,this is their chance just to get
the quick cliff notes of somethings that stand out. So,
hopefully, going into theholiday season, folks walk away
with, hopefully, some newinspiration or ideas to to take
to heart.

Grant Oliphant (02:54):
So let's start by acknowledging, you know,
we're we're recording this inOctober of 2024, and, it's an
interesting time. Lots of peopleexpressing hope about the
future, lots of peopleexpressing concern about the
future. The world we live in iscomplicated and there are plenty

(03:16):
of people who are willing totell us that we're in trouble as
a society, that we're in troubleas a country, that we're in
trouble as a planet. And in manycases, they're right. But how do
we navigate that?
There's always kind of a athrough line in these podcasts

(03:37):
about finding the path forwardthat can be hopeful and
realistic at the same time. Youknow, keeping us grounded in
what the real challenges are,but also moving us forward and
giving us inspiration to feellike, yeah. We've got this. And
by the way, after theseinterviews in this season, I

(03:58):
believe we've got this. I I Idon't know how you emerged
feeling, but I the more peoplewe talk to, the more I realize
there are some great, amazing,inventive, innovative,
thoughtful people out there, andwe're going to get to the better
future we want to.
It will just be, time consumingand challenging. Yeah. I think

(04:22):
the memo in my head is, oh,we've been here before Right.

Crystal Page (04:25):
And the human cycles, we have to go through
the rage and the rejection andall these things. I wish we
could get there much faster. ButI think all these thought
leaders that we've had in on theshow have taken the time to
identify the struggles theyfaced. Right? And we can learn
from that.
And at least for me personally,it, takes away some of the

(04:47):
discouragement. Like, we'renever gonna get through this.
And it's like, no. They'vebroken through, and we can
surely do the same in thismoment in time.

Grant Oliphant (04:54):
Yeah. Completely agree. So let's dive into some
of the themes that I think youand I and of course we we talked
a little bit before this, beforewe sat down to record this, but,
you know, I think you and Ibroadly see 4 themes that
emerged from the course of theyear. One of them, very powerful

(05:15):
was just the power of narrative.The role of storytelling and of
creativity in helping acommunity and individuals find
their place, discover who theyare, heal from trauma, heal
from, the the issues of thepast, and find their path

(05:38):
forward, or find our collectivepath forward.
I think we heard that themeemerge a number of times and for
me, the place that it began wasin the very first episode of the
season when we were speakingwith Micah Parzen, who's the CEO
of the Museum of Us, who spokewith us then about, his his

(06:00):
project that at that point wasstill under wraps, but just
becoming known, the border wallproject, where he and the museum
worked to save, I think it was20 panels from the original
border wall that were covered ingraffiti and art and messages
from one side of the border tothe other as a form of community

(06:24):
art so that those messageswouldn't be lost as a new more
severe wall gets built along theborder. And, you know, Micah
used that as a jumping off pointin a way to talk about the
reframing of the mission of theMuseum of Us. And I thought that
was a really captivatingconversation because he was

(06:49):
completely committed to theimportance of this institution
that has been around for a longtime, and completely committed
to reinventing it. You know whenwe think about important things
that are happening in San Diego,and we're gonna talk about a lot
of them, you know one of them isdefinitely the willingness to
rethink the role of a museumlike the Museum of Us and its

(07:14):
its ability to lift up stories.

Crystal Page (07:17):
I think, the framing around storytelling and
kicking off the season withMicah is really resonant
because, one, the first thing Ihear about the border wall
preservation, to think of thatas art was not where my brain
first went. But I think it'slike statues and monuments.
Right? To remember that therewas a different time in history
and moment, that we can hold incommunity as it's part of our

(07:39):
DNA. Right?
It makes me think of someoneelse who I'm sure we'll get to
shortly, Ramel Wallace. Butthere's also, you know, a lot of
modern new age therapy is verymuch like, is the narrative
serving you? Right? And evenlistening to Micah talk about,
you know, what does this oldborder wall mean? What's Balboa
Park mean?
Right? He talked about thehistory of the the Kumeyaay in

(08:00):
that unseated land. That historyis not the history I learned
growing up here. So to evenreally think about, like, what
narrative serves us as a regionto move forward that's gonna
promote healing. The healing isto make sure other people are
seen in the work and the livesthey're living.
Right? But then it's also toretell that in a way that's
unifying and that celebrates thebeauty of the region, so I felt

(08:20):
like Micah got me to rethinkabout art and culture in a way
that serves getting San Diego tomove forward together.

Micah Parzen (08:28):
I think it goes back to abundance versus
scarcity, you know, that we'reconstantly creating a zero sum
game. And, the Museum of Us isabout trying to, create a world
of abundance where everybodycan, find a a place that they
belong. You know? And I thinkthe the entire sort of premise

(08:50):
of museums and the idea thatmuseums hold a great degree of
public trust. Right?
They're among the most trustedpublic institutions out there.
The data are always, supportingthat. And I think it's a
problematic house of cards alittle bit that in many ways,
museums emerged in a sort ofelitist mentality to serve a

(09:16):
certain subset of thepopulation. And as we are
maturing and becoming moresophisticated as a larger
society, we realize that it'stime to come up with a new
foundation for trust, thatinstead of a house of cards,
that if you blow on it too hard,it will all come tumbling down

(09:37):
to create a foundation thatreally, centers community voices
and lived experience and honorseverybody and does so from a
perspective of abundance, notfrom scarcity. You know, that
that by making space in the,dominant mainstream narrative,
for new voices and new livedexperience to really inform the

(10:00):
discussion.
We all get better in thatprocess, and so it requires that
sort of pausing and that, momentof humility that, I have a story
to tell and that is importantand it is one story. And the
more I hear from others andtheir lived experience and their
stories and the more we makeroom to center their voices, the

(10:22):
better I become too because Iunderstand the range of what it
means to be human. And goingback to Maya Angelou, you know,
when we know better, we can dobetter. So I think it the museum
and other institutions like ourscan really be beacons of hope in
that way because we're notreproducing the sort of
traditional narrative andstructure and trying to find a

(10:45):
path. You know, Audre Lorde saidthe master's, tools will never
dismantle the master's house.
Right? So we have to kind ofcome together to find out how do
we build a new house togetherusing different kinds of tools,
and creating a different kindsof future.

Grant Oliphant (11:01):
That question that you were asking, I think,
could become a theme for theyear, the whole season in a way,
is the narrative serving you.That certainly came up in the
context of our interview,subsequently with Rommel
Wallace, who you just mentioned.And you brought Rommel to the to

(11:22):
the podcast and suggested thatwe interview him, and what a
great interview. It was just,you know, a really refreshing
opportunity to laugh a littlebit about some of the things
that we believe about ourselvesin this community and to think
about the narrative that wewanna tell in this community.

(11:42):
What for you were the bigtakeaways from that one?

Crystal Page (11:44):
You know, the art is artifacts and my veins, that
whole thing that he said that Iknow I've asked you about, like,
18 different times, I think itreally sticks with me. Right?
The things we do are artifactsfor our community, but he's
intentional in building andleaving behind. It's almost like
love notes. Right?

(12:05):
What I think is when I think ofRommel, I think of someone who
is building the modern historyof our moment. Right? Right now,
he's a part of our south bordernorth, and I have to give our
engineer, Adam, some creditbecause he's like, this guy
Rommel is amazing. You need totalk to him. But he is building
community spaces right now thatpromote healing, arts, and
culture that bring back thestories of, like, the last black

(12:26):
man in Barrio Logan.
But it's also I just think withhim, he's sharing his thoughts
in real time. Right? That thewhole meme set that we joked
about, the we are San Diegans.

Grant Oliphant (12:37):
Yes. Yeah.

Crystal Page (12:38):
You're right. It brings the humor to it. Right?
It makes us laugh at who we areand accept and hopefully love
that, but then it says, it kindacalls into question who we are
and who we wanna be goingforward.

Grant Oliphant (12:48):
You know, I I, I found that interview to be such
a a juxtaposition of the seriousand the humorous, because you're
precisely right. He he talkedabout challenging some some
difficult issues, and he had agreat sense of humor about it,

(13:11):
and it's that that mix was wasvery powerful. I think that's
something that we that we haveseen in interviews with with
artists that they have acapacity to sort of look
sideways at an issue or a story.And again I love your framework
of is the narrative serving you.What I got from Rommel and and I

(13:36):
got from actually all of thefolks connected to arts and
culture that we interviewed thisseason was this sense of, and we
can tell a new story.

Ramel Wallace (13:46):
And so I was discovering this history and
kind of turning that thatmonster into a masterpiece.
Like, how can I flip this storyand learn more about it? And so,
I learned about, the blackcommunity that was in downtown
and the Douglas and the Harlemof the west, and then how people

(14:06):
ended up migrating to BarrioLogan and how that pink church
is, was a black Baptist churchand black folks built that
church. And so, not only talkingabout the black history, but
it's called black Barrio Logan.It's all of those words.
What does that proximity do whenyou can have that intimate

(14:27):
conversation and relationshipand proximity to the Mexican and
Hispanic community? What doesthat look like as well? And so I
take pictures from the church.We're gonna take pictures from
other times as well and give youthat experience as well as a
conversation about housing andredlining and why San Diego is

(14:49):
shaped like this. Because when Idid that viral video, the last
black man in Barrio Logan, I wastelling my story, but it was so
many other people's storiesthat, I was humbled by that. And
that's one of the biggestexperiences. How are other
people gonna gonna interpretthis, and how can it affect and

(15:11):
change their lives?

Grant Oliphant (15:13):
No. This is, I think, what people sometimes
forget where we actually do havethe capacity to write a
different story. So to theextent that we're caught in
despair, or that we're wonderingwhat the future may hold, it is
not self help, and it is nottrivializing, and it's not just
positive thinking to say weactually have the power to

(15:36):
affect that story in the future.

Crystal Page (15:38):
Yeah. I will double click on that as I think
some folks still say. Yes. But Ido think it's

Grant Oliphant (15:44):
like Certainly in later generations.

Crystal Page (15:45):
In our later generation. Right. But it's the
idea and that there's anempowerment and and we can tell
another story, which we alsoknow, Thelma Verrata de Castro
is also doing. Right? She'staking in the healing of what it
is to be a part of the Filipino,Filipina American community and
really looking at what was thepain of the pandemic.

(16:05):
Right? And telling it in a waywhere I think she also uses
humor, and I've noticed with all3 of the first folks we've
mentioned, I think humor can getyou a lot further in life so you
can go deeper

Grant Oliphant (16:17):
Yeah.

Crystal Page (16:17):
And it kind of disarms folks. So so I
appreciate also what she sharedwith us about that disarming
humor tied to healing.

Thelma Virata de Castro (16:26):
I worked with Asian Story Theater.
Mhmm. So we centered the playaround an Asian family, which is
very relatable for thecommunities where the
performances were, and I use alot of humor. Skipping subjects,
I also am a teaching artist

(16:47):
And I was just at Las Colinaslast night for a performance of,
the women's plays that they hadwritten in a residency. I work
with the old globe as a teachingartist for their community
voices program, and they hadsome really funny jokes about
their experience in jail. Sohumor is a way to acknowledge

(17:11):
these things, these toughthings. It just makes us human.
It builds a bridge to putting iton the table.
I love humor because it allowsyou to say things you wouldn't
normally say. It just it makesit easier when for for tough

(17:32):
things to be said if you make ita little funny and if you allow
for that break so that we canlaugh about it. Like, yesterday
at Los Colinas, I made a mistakewith the title of our show. And
so I just said, okay. I messedup already and I just got up and

(17:54):
I had take 2 again.
And so that gave everyone elsepermission. Like, you don't have
to be perfect. Let's just do itthe way we want to and enjoy
ourselves.

Grant Oliphant (18:08):
I also appreciate her willingness to
tell stories from her experienceand about her community. You
know, I think I'm a big fan of,of August Wilson's, and, you
know, if you've ever seen any ofAugust Wilson's plays or read
read his material, it's veryparticular to a time and place,

(18:30):
and and an upbringing, but thestories are so particular that
they become universal. They'rethey're just overwhelmingly
powerful, and I think what wesee in art that tells the story
not in a bland way of all of ourcommunity, of all of humanity,
but about particular people in aparticular place, is that it

(18:54):
ends up telling a poignant storyabout all of our community and
all of humanity, and it's justso much richer.

Crystal Page (19:01):
And you're reminding me Grant what I
appreciate about what you justsaid also is there's the element
of the place and it it'sextracted to be universal, but
each one of these individualsthat we've named, Micah, Ramell,
Thelma, it's all play space.Right? Micah is is focused on
Balboa Park. It's a differenttype of community. Ramell has

(19:22):
the the 2 cultural districts,right, that we just launched in
the city of San Diego.
The one in the convoy districtties to the culture and the rich
background that someone likeThelma brings and then we have
this black cultural districtthat's also coming online,
Rommel's leading in. So I thinkeven the specificity further
expands how we experience andunderstand what is valued here

(19:44):
in San Diego County. So

Grant Oliphant (19:46):
I I I like yeah. That that that is really
important and it it connectswith something that, that
another of our guests, MaryWalshock spoke about. And you
know Mary, was not an artsguest, she is in the category
all by herself, because she hasbeen involved in so much at the

(20:09):
intersection of creativity andinnovation during her years in
San Diego. But that's preciselywhy it connects, you know, what
she spoke about in in thatinterview was how important it
is for a community to becreative.

Dr. Mary Walshok (20:29):
New flora and fauna prosper because of the
synergies and the connections.And for me, I think there's a
social analogy, which is you canbuild a society where everybody
believes the same thing, has thesame set of skills, works in the
same industry, but at its peril,it will go out of business or

(20:55):
lose its relevance. But if youcan create communities that are
more like rainforest. So it'snot just about everybody should
have a chance to get a anexisting education or work for
an existing company. Everybodyhas to get a chance to be a
creative, an innovator, to bumpinto one another because it's in

(21:20):
those collisions that innovationand new ideas happened.
And that's what I think of asthe importance of diversity to
innovation.

Grant Oliphant (21:31):
I think that's so beautifully said. Oh, thank
you. No. It's just sobeautifully said. I think what
stands out for me is that thisis another part of this power of
narrative theme that emerged forus during the season is that we
influence the vitality of thatnarrative by having more people

(21:53):
be creative, have theopportunity to be creative, I
should say, and to expressthemselves and to find outlets
in San Diego.

Crystal Page (22:01):
Yeah. I love that too because we know that Mary is
one of the thinkers behind Parkand Market. Right? And so she
contributed to building thisspace or really led the the
thinking to build a space thatwas inclusive of all these
different ideas that will resultin more innovation. Right?
And I'm thinking about that aseven though Thelma is in

(22:23):
Paradise Hills. Right? The ideasshe brings are now represented
and given an additional specialspace in the convoy district and
it's kinda that same, like, howdo we mirror and collect these
things in a way for us toexperience and celebrate, but
then it generates new ideas. AndI think that's all that doctor
Mary Walschow kept bringing isthis, like, there's new ideas,
new energy, and she's learningfrom her world travels, right,

(22:46):
about how to live differentstyles and connections in unison
with the community and theenvironment. So

Grant Oliphant (22:52):
Yeah. It's that constant bumping up against
different ideas and and the andthe creative energy that can
come from that. You're exactlyexactly right. You know I think,
not to put too fine a point onthis in terms of this power of
narrative theme, but whatemerges for me from all of that

(23:12):
is you know, a question aboutwhose stories get told. And we
are, as a culture and a society,too obsessed sometimes, I think,
with, you know, my story versusyour story versus Adam's story
versus someone else's story.
And and the and the reality isthat when we are when we have a

(23:37):
really richly creativecommunity, We're getting the
perspectives and viewpoints ofeveryone on and we're and
everybody's stories are gettingtold in a way that connect us
all in in ways that we can'tpossibly achieve just through

(23:58):
hanging out together. It has tobe through sharing stories. So I
think this is just a verypowerful part of what we heard,
this season. What's the what'sthe next theme that came up?

Crystal Page (24:15):
I mean, I felt like you were transitioning in
us to our second theme, really,like, these folks who are
building out communities,creating spaces for us to
connect and engage in differentways. And and for me, that comes
in the form of whether it's adeveloper architect or a, woman

(24:36):
who's responding to the need forstronger food systems here.

Grant Oliphant (24:40):
Yeah. So I, I I wasn't preparing for that
transition, but I I think it's agood time to go to that
transition because that was a aa really, pronounced second
theme for us. And, you know, wemight call it the power of
place. You know, if the first isthe power of narrative, the
second was the power of place.And a good place to start on

(25:05):
that one was our interview withOmar Blake, who has been working
with the foundation, and thecity, and the and the, downtown
partnership on rethinking thepossibilities of the civic
center project around city hall.
And, you know, just to remindfolks, the city of San Diego has

(25:28):
a rare opportunity that's kindof unprecedented in a way to
reinvent its downtown in a 6block area and to help answer a
question that is bedevilingcities all across the country,
which is what are downtowns for,you know, in this remote work
era and the post COVID era. So,Omar, we we we had an

(25:52):
opportunity to talk about how,cities designed in ancient times
sort of naturally work in a waythat cities designed more
recently tend not to becausethey were very deliberate about
the creation of public spacesand meeting spaces and

(26:13):
walkability and connections forpeople, elements that bring
people together, elements thatlift them up and lift their
spirits, and quality as ahallmark of of design in those
spaces. And we also talked aboutthe power of art and the power
of culture as a force in adowntown, as something that

(26:37):
keeps people wanting to livethere, gather there, work there,
connect there. And I justthought it was a powerful
conversation as we thought abouthow our unique place, San Diego,
comes together.

Omar Blaik (26:55):
We need to make the Civic Center meaningful to
everybody, every community inSan Diego, and not to a
particular use or a particulartype. And that requires a lot of
engagement to actually translatewhat the what that meaning
means. Mhmm. And, in in manyways, you we cannot make the

(27:18):
same mistake again and replaceone use with another single use.

Grant Oliphant (27:22):
Right.

Omar Blaik (27:23):
And, my my sense is that similar to many other
downtowns that are struggling,we need to really bring rather
than one large type of uses. Weneed to bring in smaller, more
nimble, but diverse set of uses.In many ways, I I always think,

(27:44):
you know, great cities are notmade of one great project, are
made of many small greatprojects. And size matters,
scale matter. And the idea isthat if you can create a a
diversity of uses that areconnected to the community, at
the larger community in SanDiego, then the place will mean

(28:07):
something.

Crystal Page (28:08):
I will probably continue to replay that episode
with Omar because to be crassfor a moment when he said that a
city doesn't have to smell likea bathroom, I said I am all in
on that. Yeah. But moreimportantly, the more pro active
version of that is really a citycan be welcoming and it can be
designed to be that. And I wannacorrect one thing. I don't think

(28:31):
all of the city of San Diegosmells like a bathroom.
Occasionally, there's a there'sa little gift left on the
street. But to build a place inwhich that 6 parcel city area
can feel welcoming, like youwanna walk in, you wanna look
around, see the flowers, theart, you wanna go talk to your
city council member, it promoteswhether it's civic engagement,
arts and culture. And what Ilove about Omar in particular is

(28:55):
similar to all of our guests andthat he wants to learn from
other people, all the differentregions he lived in across the
globe. And I just really thinkhe understands how special San
Diego, the city, and the countyreally are. So how do we feature
those things as assets that drawpeople in and that we can
celebrate and that bring us joy?

Grant Oliphant (29:16):
I think that was an element of all of our
conversations connected withthis theme of the power of
place. We spoke with our boardchair, Dan Yates, and, I know we
we've debated, whether we thinkthat episode was resonant of
this theme over an economicstheme, and it's kind of both.

(29:37):
But I think Dan in in, hisepisode spoke so powerfully
about growing up in San Diegoand what it was like to, be
raised in one one world and thento achieve success and and live

(29:58):
in another and still have it allbe the same world. And and how
it is as a business leader thento think about feeding back into
the civic fabric. I think thatis an element of community that
gets paid too little attentionto but is so important, And in

(30:18):
an era when people are globaland mobile and remote, it can be
so easy to forget that we wegrow up in places and we connect
in specific communities.
And one reason there might bewhat, what the surgeon general
has referred to as an epidemicof loneliness in our country is

(30:42):
that we're not connecting in thesame ways with community. And I
thought Dan just did anincredible job of reminding us
what it's like to view communityin a coherent way.

Crystal Page (30:54):
Yeah. I don't think I had ever heard a banker
talk about the importance ofbeing connected with the
community. To understand thevalue of a community bank from
the perspective of Dan grew uphere, and Paradise Hills, Morse
High School, all of those thingsare part of his fabric of his
life, and he takes that intowanting to lead banks that are

(31:17):
committed to staying in SanDiego. What that means for the
other businesses relying on thisbank for their ability to stay
here, I just felt like, he had avision that's connected to what
is special about this place, butalso the potential when he
invest in other businessesthrough his bank.

Dan Yates (31:38):
What can I do to change that for our community
going forward so we don't seeeach other as different colors
and creeds, but a collection ofwonderful human beings that make
a fabric that lifts up SanDiego? And that is what I've
experienced since high school isconstantly going back to the
community I grew up in andtrying to lift it up. Yeah. And

(31:58):
and really take what I'velearned in the business
community and pay that forward.And it shows up.
Just, the other day, I had achance to do the commencement
exercise for 2nd Chance, whichis not far from, Morse High
School. And these areindividuals who have just
recently come out of prison.

Grant Oliphant (32:13):
Right.

Dan Yates (32:15):
And they have they have the the beauty of looking
at their future, not their pastto define them. And there were
so much joy in just getting toknow them individually, hearing
their stories, hearing, whatthey've done at the 2nd chance
organization to preparethemselves to go back to society
and not to return to prison. Andit's my belief that the majority

(32:37):
of those will live a productivelife. Just being part of that
story and sharing it, the joy itbrings me is is you you really
can't put it into words.

Grant Oliphant (32:48):
For me it was a reminder of how, important
community institutions are, andhow again in a global age we've,
communities all over Americastruggle to find corporate
citizens who will really engagein the way that they once did

(33:09):
with community. And when we whenwe see how it's done and done
well, we recognize the value ofit, and it connects very much
with values that Dan grew upwith and an appreciation of
community that Dan grew up with,and I think we've got to somehow
get back in touch with theimportance of that because I

(33:33):
think we have an illusion thatwe don't need that anymore and
it's wrong. It's very clear thatthe communities that thrive do
so in part because everybodywho's there is invested in their
success. The business leadersare invested, the politicians
are invested, the citizens areinvested, you know everybody is

(33:56):
in it to win it for theircommunity, and I think that's
something that came out. Theother piece of this by the way
that came out in that interviewwith Dan was just an incredible,
I think dissertation onleadership, and an example of
leadership person ification ofvulnerability in talking about

(34:21):
the loss of his son, why hebelieves it's important as a
leader to be able to talk aboutemotions.
And again, if we think about howa any place, be it a community
or a country, you know, howleaders can effectively lead us,
you know, the model I like tobelieve in is the one that Dan

(34:43):
exemplifies, which is that theycan do it by showing us who they
are, and being honest about thechallenges that they have, and
creating common ground that wemight not have known we had.

Crystal Page (34:55):
You're making me think about the part where Dan
mentioned, you know, the factthat he had done an internship.
He was gonna, like, do theinternship or the fellowship and
jump elsewhere, and someonesaid, no, you have to stay for
at least a year. It'd beunethical otherwise, but I think
that puts him in the communityin a way where he understands

(35:16):
what needs to happen for thatcommunity to grow its wealth.
And the same thing happened whenhe lost his son. Right?
He understands what does it meanto lose someone stuck in a
county system, right, in a waythat's not good for anybody. I
think he brings all those thingsto his leadership, and the
community's better because he'sinvested in that way. Exactly.

(35:36):
Which makes me also wanna jumpto Diane

Grant Oliphant (35:39):
Yes. Let's go ahead.

Crystal Page (35:40):
Who is a part of that as well. Right? Diane
spotted a need in community andwas curious and kept asking
questions. In the same way, youtalked about institutions being
invested. Right?
You have these city councilmembers who wanted to see her
work growing produce, providingresources to those who need

(36:01):
food, who need to know how tocook, those resources. If you go
to Mount Hope, you'll see one ofthe gardens she has set up.
You'll see the mobile truckgoing around the community, but
it's also she knows the nuancesof, Hamishaw and Spring Valley
and all these places that justneed support. But also the
longer you stay somewhere withthat connection, remember she

(36:22):
talked about the value of, shekept doing the work and Barrio
Logan saw her as a partner sothey literally rewrote a grant
to be inclusive of her and whatshe was doing with Project New
Village. So I think thatinvested and informed leadership
that's place based andknowledgeable of a place makes a
huge difference.

Grant Oliphant (36:41):
Yeah. I, everything you just said, I
totally agree with. The youknow, for for me, one of the
really powerful takeaways fromthe conversation with Diane was
again on this theme of placereally mattering. Neighborhoods
are real places too. You know,this this what what is true of

(37:03):
communities comes down to theneighborhood.
And if a community does not haveaccess to fresh food and
constantly gets messages ofexclusion or disempowerment,
that spirit will begin topervade that community. And
conversely, what Diane has shownis if that neighborhood is given

(37:26):
opportunities to grow their ownfood, to engage, with the
broader community in a differentway, to empower themselves
differently, then pride creepsin, a new opportunity creeps in,
and a new enthusiasm creeps in.I mean, she shared with us how
as she got started, she gotphone calls and emails saying

(37:49):
thank you for lifting up thecommunity. And that's what she's
done.

Diane Mosss (37:54):
Can I just say the 1st week, just my regular
neighbors, people I work with, Igot phone calls and emails
saying thank you for lifting upour community? Thank you for
representing us well. This Ididn't expect that. I didn't
know who this announcement, whohears what, but that was
overwhelmingly a good thing. Youknow, we're pushing a new

(38:17):
agenda, this urban ag in ourneighborhood

Grant Oliphant (38:19):
Right.

Diane Mosss (38:20):
And everybody's not in favor. So to hear people come
out and say what I was doing forthis geographical space, I just,
I felt good but I also felt Ihave an obligation to move
further. Opportunities arecoming our way and we're taking
advantage of those thoseopportunities to revitalize this
community of Southeastern SanDiego.

Crystal Page (38:43):
I'm on her email list so I actually just saw now
that same community garden, youknow, they have a vision to
build a grocery store but alsonow they do Friday night movies
so people can go to thatcommunity and just gather and
watch whatever movie they'regonna watch. They I think they
had a dance off or something.And so really, I think again, it
actually even comes back to thepower of narrative and that

(39:03):
connection is like she'spromoting healing and connection
through the place, and there'sjust value and fun. It it's that
third space that really matters.

Grant Oliphant (39:12):
And, again, what Diane really conveys is a type
of enthusiasm and commitment inher leadership that, you know,
if we're thinking about thepower of place, then we can look
to leaders like Diane tounderstand how to activate that.

Crystal Page (39:30):
Yeah. And I realized, I just went to Diane
as if everyone hangs out withher, but it's Diane Moss with
project name.

Grant Oliphant (39:36):
Yeah. Yeah. I I I skipped that too.

Crystal Page (39:39):
When they become your connection, your friend,
you know, it's just like, that'sDiane.

Grant Oliphant (39:43):
So Yeah. Well and so, on that score, let's
let's jump to to Amina SheikhMohammed who also has, in a very
different way, but in also somesimilar ways, worked to embody
the power of place and and and,strengthening community by doing

(40:04):
the work that she does.

Crystal Page (40:06):
Amina strikes me in reflecting back on the
podcast interview. Amina's verygood at spotting needs and
asking us

Grant Oliphant (40:14):
questions to invite us in. Right? So she just
said, how do you make someone

Crystal Page (40:14):
feel welcome? Mhmm. Are they getting invite us
in. Right? So she just said, howdo you make someone feel
welcome?
Mhmm. Are they

Grant Oliphant (40:19):
getting the email you're sending out?

Crystal Page (40:19):
Did you ask them specifically to come join you?
And I think she uses she listensto and is in touch with her own
personal experience as someonewho migrated here to make sure
others have a positiveexperience when they come here.
Specifically tied to things likehealthcare and community. It's

(40:42):
culturally adept. It speaks towhat folks who probably share an
identity really want to see hereand and connect, and I just love
what she's doing in that way.

Grant Oliphant (40:52):
So much of what she said was almost like a
master class in how to buildbelonging in a community. And,
you know why that's important interms of the power of place is a
place is only as strong as thepeople who are in it, and her
message is that we have to makeit a community, be a place for

(41:15):
everyone, and there are somesimple ways we can do that. And
she talked, for example, abouttry to connect with the other
person. Try to say somethingasking them about what they're
comfortable with. Talk aboutfood.
You know? Talk about theiraspirations. Open up to some

(41:37):
some, different ways of lookingat the world. And I I I think
her interview is a particularlyuseful interview as we think
about making sure that ourcommunities are gen genuinely
welcoming for everyone.

Crystal Page (41:56):
Yeah. And what I appreciated to to your point of
of that master class is, I thinkshe makes it all feel within
reach. Right?

Grant Oliphant (42:04):
Yeah.

Crystal Page (42:05):
Asking questions, inviting people, these are all
basic steps anyone can take ifwe choose to be thoughtful and
engaging in that way. And Ithink sometimes when we listen
to to folks, at least when Ihear folks, sometimes feel so
big and hard to overcome, butshe's like, no. These are basic
steps and even built a communitygroup around that.

Amina Sheik Mohamed (42:25):
It's really individually should see what
they can do to make people feelwelcome. And this starts from
getting holding the door for theelevator for somebody Right. To
to inviting them to spaces thatthey're not there. You know? So
it's like, we often look aroundother people and other

(42:46):
institutions and other things,but individually, we should be
thinking about what can myself,me, what can I do to make that
happen?
And I think that level is thatstarts there, and then it goes
up to, like, foundations andother partners and other groups
and, you know, as institutions.Right? But I think individually,
there's a lot that can becontributed, and and, that is

(43:08):
someone who may not speak thelanguage or, you know, like
feeling lost or inviting them todifferent meetings and spaces
that they're not there. So it'sreally important, belonging, and
I think people should,understand more.

Crystal Page (43:24):
When we named her as one of our leaders of 2024,
our leaders in belonging, shewas able to to show us what she
does, and it centers around foodand community and connection.
And it makes people more likelyto show up again. Who knew?

Grant Oliphant (43:38):
That's right.

Crystal Page (43:39):
Very practical.

Grant Oliphant (43:40):
That's right. It is it is very practical. And
also very affirming I think forthe foundation in that, you
know, we started a couple ofyears ago talking about the
importance of belonging in ourcommunity and part of what Amina
talks about so well isbelonging. And you know there

(44:01):
are certainly communities thatare exclusionary. Those places
are very different from theplaces that are inviting and
welcoming and inclusive andwhere everyone feels that they
belong.
And I I think a very powerfultakeaway for me was simply that
if we want to really build onthe power of place, the way to

(44:23):
do it is to make sure thateverybody gets to participate in
the joys of that place, ourplace.

Crystal Page (44:30):
Absolutely. And I think Amina, as do all of these
folks, but Amina carries such ajoy in what she does. She even
when she talks about us asPrevice Foundation, she uplifts
the joy in the partnership. So Ithink she's conscious as she's
building relationships. How doI, in this place, build up
friends and neighbors so thatthey feel capable of engaging
and it's just she's verywelcoming I think even to us and

(44:53):
that just means a lot in termsof how we continue to go forth
and say, oh, we are affirmed.
Let's keep doing these things.

Grant Oliphant (45:00):
Yeah. Exactly. Let's move over for a second to
the 3rd theme that you and Iidentified from this season,
which, I think the next one I'mgonna I'm gonna talk suggest we
talk about is economics, and thepower of economics to move the

(45:21):
systems that exist in San Diego.That came up a number of times,
in a variety of different ways.And people might quibble with
economics as the, you know,whether that's actually the
power at play here.
But, well, we'll we'll takecalls on that or comments on it.
But one one very, interestingand powerful episode that we had

(45:46):
on this was with, PritiBadacharjee, who is the head of
sustainable investing atJPMorgan Chase Private Bank, and
has been working with the PrebysFoundation on making sure that
our investments are in alignmentwith, the values of the
foundation, and that we aredoing everything we can through

(46:08):
our investments and not just ourgrants to advance our goals and
mission as a foundation. Thatepisode turned out to be
immensely popular. Lots ofpeople are interested in the
subject of how you aligninvestments to be consistent
with values, and how you investso as to advance your impact in

(46:29):
the world. And I thought her ourconversation with her really
illustrated that we can dothings differently than we
traditionally do, in how we usemoney to try and influence
change.

Crystal Page (46:45):
Just hearing her like, the opening thesis, if
there's a thesis of that podcastis, if an economic system can
hurt, can't it help a community?Right? And that stuck with me
because I think economic systemsfeel so big. And so here is a
woman who is testing, can weinvest in a way that's gonna

(47:06):
help and expedite things that wecare about? And she also
acknowledges every institution,every foundation may have
different interests.
Right? But we know that if we'remaking grants to an
organization, we probably don'twanna undermine the thing we're
making a grant to. Right? Soeven our investments need to
align with that. I also thinkfor a lot of us, we just learned
a lot about, how an institutionmight use their investments.

(47:30):
Not just have the money sittingthere, but seeing this as a
resource that can be used tobetter a community and and and a
future that we all wanna see.Also, it allows us to take risk
to invest in things like healthcare that otherwise might not
get the support they need. Youknow?

Grant Oliphant (47:44):
Yeah. Exactly. The other takeaway for me was
that this is a, a long game. Youknow, it's it's not as simple
as, a single lever. So we'regonna take our money and we're
gonna invest it in the magicalcompany or organization that

(48:04):
allows us to sustain the work ofthe foundation and transforms
the world.
That's the goal. And as wetalked about with Preeti, it's
also rife with controversy, youknow there's backlash against
environmental, social, andgovernance investing that, you

(48:25):
know, there is pushback againstthat, right now, and we're
seeing, a backlash that's partlypolitical in nature, and it's
partly because people are justconfused about what the
standards which remain to bedefined are, and of course
they're new so they're beingdefined. I read, I think in the

(48:47):
last couple of days that we'realso seeing some backsliding
from companies about majorcommitments on climate. So
we're, you know, we're operatingin a very complex environment,
but what I think theconversation with Preeti
underscore underscored for uswas that, we're really looking
at long term goals and values,and trying to invest in ways

(49:12):
that are consistent with ourvalues, that don't undermine our
mission, but actually advanceit, and recognize that this is
an imperfect art that will takesome time to get right.

Preeti Bhattacharji (49:24):
One of the things that gives me hope in the
face of that argument is all ofthe foundations like Prebys that
are being really thoughtfulabout about their privilege and
about allocation, not just ofmoney, but of power. We were
having this conversation earlierabout acknowledging the power
that comes with philanthropy,Facing it, naming it, and

(49:44):
thinking of new structures toreallocate the power alongside
the money. And there's somereally thoughtful, I think,
cutting edge communities ofpractice and foundations that
are thinking about newinvestment committee protocols,
new investment processes thatface that criticism head on and
say we're gonna have communityled investment committees, for

(50:05):
example. We're gonna havecommunity led investment
processes so that we aren't justperpetuating some of the power
structures that have been, butare creating the power
structures that as we want themto be, which I think gets us
closer to the vision yououtlined of a place like San
Diego where you can have broadbased prosperity.

Crystal Page (50:25):
The more I think about the ESG piece, this
environmental sciencegovernance, all the terms. Yes.
The alphabet soup of investing,I think what I also take away
because Prebys Foundation is afoundation is thinking about
resources, you know. I thinkthere's always these fights
about economic systems. Right?

(50:46):
Capitalism, things like that,but it's really this is a tool
of resources that allow us totake a risk to support things
that that we as a foundationvalue. And I think that's what
all of this comes back to.

Grant Oliphant (51:00):
Look, I think this is all about being in more
intentional, and I think thiswas this was part of the theme
of this power of, economics,section or theme that emerged
from our interviews this season.And maybe another terrific
example to talk about is doctorConstance Carroll's work in in

(51:24):
helping students in communitycolleges to gain access to
baccalaureate degrees where theycan meet the needs of of, the
regional and indeed nationalworkforce for professions like
nursing, and to address ashortfall in terms of the

(51:48):
availability of those programs.Simply by changing the rules for
what a community college can dothat, and and and fix, a
shortfall in the market, if youwill, that isn't being addressed
by traditional 4 yearinstitutions. It sounds really
simple or it sounds convoluted.I guess it depends on on your

(52:10):
sense of these.
But, you know, the simple whatshe pointed us to is, and this,
you know, doctor Carroll hasthis Constance has this amazing
background, but she knows that,there are many students who, if
they could gain access to abaccalaureate degree through

(52:32):
their community colleges, couldbecome really robust
contributing members of theregional workforce in areas that
are desperately needed. And ifwe can make an intentional
adjustment like that, we canmake the world better for them
and make the world better forthe regional economy and the

(52:53):
regional workforce. And I what Itook from our conversation with
her was, let's just be smarterabout how we design these
systems. It really is about, youknow, the system is producing
what it's designed to right now,and so we have a shortfall of of
workers in critical industries.We can redesign that system, and

(53:18):
our conversation with herpointed a pathway to how we can
do that.

Crystal Page (53:23):
I recall this moment where she talked about
the work she's doing changesstudents' lives, because it
gives them an entree intogainful employment, and that
benefits the unmet needs.

Dr. Constance Carroll (53:35):
The, decisions made in education
should be about need, studentneed. And in workforce
education, they should be aboutlabor opportunities and unmet
need. They should not be aboutturf Mhmm. And, and who's in
charge of what. We already have,worked to to avoid duplication.

(53:56):
But, let me give you, anexample. Mesa College was the
1st community college in,California to offer a bachelor's
degree. Mhmm. That degree is inhealth information management,
which is the digitization of,of, health records, which is
something that the AffordableCare Act and others, require.

(54:21):
That degree, health informationmanagement, before Mesa offered
it and before Shasta Collegeoffered it the same degree,
there was only one institutionin the whole state of
California, only one thatoffered that degree, and that's
Loma Linda University.
Mhmm. So, should we then saythat, well, because one

(54:44):
institution in the state isoffering a degree that offers
tremendous opportunities in,workforce and employment, that
no one else should offer it? Andthe my answer would be no.

Crystal Page (54:58):
What I think about, doctor Carroll and myself
both being African American,it's drilled into your head from
a very early age that educationis opportunity. Right?

Grant Oliphant (55:07):
Mhmm.

Crystal Page (55:07):
It's hard to get into some of the the University
of California Schools becausethere's such demand and the
community colleges are awonderful resource. So to open
the doors to careers that areneeded, opens doors to other
paths, opens other means todevelop oneself no matter where
you are in your career. And Ijust appreciate that she's

(55:28):
thinking long term about, youknow, there's a demand, but
there's also opportunity. And wetalk about purpose, opportunity,
belonging, and We do. Yeah.
Travis. And we know thatopportunity may not we don't
know what the careers oftomorrow are. We have to go back
to season 1. David Miyashirotold us, we don't know what the
future opportunities are. But ifwe open the door so people can

(55:49):
learn and build the resources

Grant Oliphant (55:51):
Right.

Crystal Page (55:51):
That changes their future. We know from internships
or other grants. Right? Whenpeople have an opportunity for
an internship, long term,they're gonna make more. So,
again, she's opening doors thatstrengthen our economic system
overall.

Grant Oliphant (56:03):
I love that. And I think the message really when
you boil it down is let's besmart about meeting people where
they are and and offer them whatthey need to get to the next
level which benefits all of usagain. You know, it's another
illustration of how we allbenefit by doing that simple
thing of designing systems tomeet people where they are. And

(56:27):
I I just thought her the wholediscussion with her, she's so
self effacing and talking aboutit. A woman of giant
accomplishment and she knowswhat she's talking about, and I
and I and I think well worthlistening to.
Speaking of which, we also hadan incredible conversation with

(56:49):
the philanthropist, ErwinJacobs. And philanthropy is
another part of the regionaleconomy, that I think
illustrates the power of of,again, economics in that
context. Erwin spoke with usabout how he how he came to

(57:10):
learn about philanthropy. Whathis what his interests were, how
he has taken on tough issuesduring his years in
philanthropy. I loved every bitof this conversation with him.
He's lived an extraordinarylife. He has made unbelievable

(57:31):
contributions to this community,And he and his late wife, Jones'
names are all around town, notin a self serving way, but to
express their commitment toeducation and to the arts. And I
I think our conversation withhim really drew out, what it is

(57:53):
like to think about the power ofphilanthropy to change a
community.

Crystal Page (57:58):
Yeah. And to your point about, Dan Yates, I think
with Erwin Jacobs, he could gointo power of place or this idea
of economic systems. Right?Because we know it was his
education that opened doors forhim. He turns around and and
reinvest in other students withwith his, late partner, Joan,
which is beautiful.

(58:19):
But also, his understanding thatinvesting through philanthropy,
contributing throughphilanthropy was gonna open more
doors, make more people wannagrow their family here. That
vision of things like, hey, youknow, every year we're doing
this thing on the waterfront.Why don't we go to the port and
make it permanent? You know,he's expanding the place which

(58:41):
is good for the economy, but italso gives us as residents here
more places to go, spend ourtime, celebrate, and spend our
money. And so I just appreciate,he sort of ties the joy of the
region to the economics of theregion.
Right? It's all the all thethings people love about San

(59:01):
Diego, he's investing in, andhopefully, it keeps attracting
more folks here.

Irwin Jacobs (59:05):
It's sometimes you have to be out there with other
people. Sometimes you have to beable to kind of enjoy it
yourself, your own timeschedule. And so having these
community facilities when peopledo wanna go out, is very
important. The various museums,of course, are very educational

(59:26):
as well as being just an veryinteresting way to spend some
time, see what other people havebeen able to accomplish, how the
museum directors and, put thevarious shows together to to
keep them, interesting. I I findall of that fascinating.
The thing that's fascinated me,we we get to many of the events

(59:48):
there as well as events manyother places, but they're
largely full. It turned out tobe a community need that a
variety of different audiencesare taking advantage of. The
same thing with the show. Greatturnouts down at the show, but
with the different events, yousee pretty much a very different

(01:00:09):
audience. And so it's kind of,in a sense, rewarding to see
that having these facilities,making them available, and
helping others to see thatthey're being used and enjoyed
by so many.

Grant Oliphant (01:00:23):
It was powerful for me that here is this man who
created Qualcomm, and, helped,you know, found this enormous
company that has been such animportant player in this
community, and obviouslynationally and internationally
in terms of its technology. Andyet when I asked him the

(01:00:45):
question about what reallyresonated the most for him in
terms of his philanthropy, and Iexpected him to name, you know,
the Jacobs Music Center, whichis spectacular by the way, or
his contribution to the RadyShell, at Jacobs Park, which is
spectacular also by the way,

(01:01:05):
you know, instead, he didn'tname those. He he talked about
scholarships, and he talkedabout that one on one
philanthropy helping one personfind their potential. It's kind
of a resonant theme actuallyhidden throughout all of these
interviews this season is that,you know, that one on one

(01:01:28):
changing a life. Is pretty muchwhat every single one of our
interviewees talked about atsome point, was the powerful
motivator for them.

Crystal Page (01:01:41):
Absolutely. And I think for Erwin in particular,
these the the giving ofscholarships, but then there's
also this mentorship he has withhis children and grandchildren
who are now taking up their ownphilanthropy. Right? So Yeah.
Each one of those lives ishaving a multiplier effect of
its own.
Right? So whether it's theperson who gets through school

(01:02:02):
in part because of a scholarshipor his children, grandchildren
who are doing amazing things inthe world, they're now thinking
about how do they make their ownphilanthropy relevant in the
future that is to come. And allof those things will continue to
shape our region and and yes, itcomes down to the personal
impacts, which is so beautiful.

Grant Oliphant (01:02:21):
Yeah. It, it really that that conversation
for me is that it's gonna stickwith me for a long time, because
of how how generous he was insharing those thoughts with us.
Alright. Final theme that, onthe season, I would characterize

(01:02:42):
as the power of health, and orwe might call it the power of
wellness. We talked withseveral, guests about health
issues in our community, andwhat it looks like to be not
only a healthy individual, or ahealthy young person, but a
healthy and well community.

(01:03:03):
And so much power came out ofthese conversations. You know,
we we had an amazingconversation with doctor
Benjamin Maxwell from RadyChildren's who talked with us
about his work as apsychiatrist, working with young
people on youth mental healthissues. And I just found his

(01:03:26):
understanding of the complexityof those issues to be really,
helpful, and in a way veryuplifting. You know, what he
got, what he understood, andwhat he shared with us was there
is a clinical problem, orchallenge that has to be

(01:03:47):
addressed at the individualpatient level, but then there's
a broader challenge in terms ofreconnecting young people with
each other and with community,and reconnecting young people
with experiences in nature, andin art, and in sports that allow
them to come alive, in a waythat no amount of therapy alone

(01:04:10):
will ever be able to do. And I Ijust thought his ability to
appreciate the complexity ofthis landscape, actually, in a
in a funny kind of way for me,simplified it.
You know, it may it helped me tosee there are things that we as
a society can do to address thechallenges that we face in youth

(01:04:30):
in youth mental

Crystal Page (01:04:31):
health. The simplification for me also was
resonant because half thepartners he collaborates with
are actually folks that we alsowork with. Outdoor Outreach,
YMCA, but we know it's notnecessarily about taking away a
device, but it's what else whatother opportunities did today's
youth have? Get back out innature.

Grant Oliphant (01:04:52):
Right.

Crystal Page (01:04:52):
Run around. Hang out with your parents when
you're young enough to stillthink that's cool. Right? But
that's what I enjoyed about him,and he's using every tool to get
out there and collaborate andcontribute to that message. But
I also noticed that he makes itvery personal when he talks
about being a dad.
Do I give my kid a phone now?Yeah. Yeah. Or do I wait and

(01:05:16):
engage them while I I still havetheir full attention? And I
thought that that was, you know,health is wealth.
And we know that communityhealth starts with family
health. Right? So he's takingcare of his family, but as a
pediatrician or as a chief ofchild and adolescent psychiatry,
he's really taking what he caresabout for his family and

(01:05:38):
applying it in a way that worksfor an entire medical system.
Right? As we continue toexplore, he's pushing a
conversation.
In fact, when when weinterviewed him, he was here in
studio with his camera crewbecause he's trying to make it
relevant and something that wecan all digest and process as a
community. What does it mean tobe well? What does that look
like? You know?

Grant Oliphant (01:05:57):
Yeah. He he talked to your point, he talked
about how important it is foryoung people to be enveloped in
a community that has therichness of connections and
organizations and opportunitiesto to meet other people and
engage with them in variousways. He also talked about how

(01:06:19):
important it is to have accessto support. And yes, that looks
like family, and yes, it lookslike schools, but it also looks
like community centers, and, andneighborhood centers, and
events, and just opportunitiesto come together.

Dr. Benjamin Maxwell (01:06:35):
What I'm interested in is how do we find
a way to, at every step of theway, create an off ramp so that
people have a place to gotowards psychological
well-being? That includes newparents. Now I was a new parent
not that long ago. You think I'dknow what I was doing when I
took the baby home. I didn'tknow what to do.
We we needed support. And so tofind support early on, help get

(01:06:58):
people off on the right path. Ifpeople fall off that path, have
something in place that they canget back on. And that is places
like, community centers,schools, families, neighborhoods
even just coming together. Youknow, when you have the choice
when you drive home tonight ofwhether you wanna wave at the
person walking the dog or blowby him at 35 miles an hour on

(01:07:21):
your neighborhood street.
You know, I think there's thingsthat we can all do that
ultimately help the kids. Ittrickles down to their
psychological well-being. Ifthey can be enveloped in a
community that has that sort ofrichness, people start to trust
each other and have each other'sback.

Grant Oliphant (01:07:38):
I really thought that that conversation was
powerful, and you're right. It'srooted in the fact that he also
thinks about this as a dad ofyoung children. You know,
obviously, a lot going on onthere Yeah. In understanding
health. You know, we had a wehad a similar kind of experience
with doctor Isabel Newton, whowas a recipient of a leaders in

(01:08:00):
belonging award for thefoundation.
And, Isabel, a extraordinaryresearcher working on some very
important science, and alsokeenly aware of the human side
of the people that she's workingwith, and how important it is

(01:08:21):
for her as a researcher tounderstand the community that
she's anchored in, and make surethat everybody has access to
tools that she's helping toinvent. Otherwise, she's just
creating another elite tool tohelp some people.

Crystal Page (01:08:40):
Yeah. I love that she understood that everything
depends on a patient feelingempowered. You know, they have
to have all the information inlanguage, and hopefully
accessible language that allowsa patient to make a decision
that they're comfortable with,that meets their lifestyle
needs, their community needs.And so I think the idea that,

(01:09:03):
you know, she works in thehospital system, but then also
built out this non profit wherenow they're offering consumer
centered education tools reallybrings the whole picture
together. Because we knowhealthcare systems have gaps,
And the more we can partner andcollaborate and provide those in
in pieces of information, Iimagine it's gonna result in

(01:09:25):
better healthcare outcomes wherepeople feel like their decisions
matter.
They're they have agency withinthe healthcare system.

Grant Oliphant (01:09:30):
Right. I think she she spoke poignantly about
what happens when ruralcommunities lack access, when,
disadvantaged communities lackaccess, and and what that does
to the general fabric ofcommunity wellness let alone
individual wellness. And it'sclear that she's on a mission

(01:09:56):
not only to make discoveries butalso to help the rest of us
appreciate why it's importantthat society open those up, to
everyone.

Dr. Isabel Newton (01:10:08):
First of all, health care is an equity issue
at its at its very core. Thismorning, we had a stunning grand
rounds by my mentor slashmentee, Peter Abraham, who's
published extensively on this,and we published together about
health equity and radiology andthe impact of of the pandemic.
But more fundamentally, whenyou're talking about some of

(01:10:29):
these very cutting edgeprocedures, there's not access
to them in an sort of an evenway across our country. So,
rural areas suffer from loweraccess to minimally invasive
procedures, and then the samegoes for the world. There are
areas of the world where thereis lower access to care simply

(01:10:50):
because they're very cuttingedge procedures that rely on
technology and advanced trainingto, practitioners to be able to
perform them.
And so what we did last May, isa group of us from the
interventional initiative joinedup with a sister organization
called Road to IR, and Road toIR is very cool because they

(01:11:11):
started a training program inSub Saharan Africa, at Muhimbili
National Hospital in Dar esSalaam, and they recognize if we
can train clinicians there, ifwe can train radiologists there
to do minimally invasiveprocedures, we can improve this
access issue.

Crystal Page (01:11:29):
She has made herself a 100% available whether
it's community partners,mentoring folks. She really
understands that to build outthese systems, it requires
partnering with communityclinics. It requires pivoting
based on feedback, and I thinkthe the 2 folks we've mentioned
and probably the other 2 thatwe're likely to mention really
do listen and respond whileproactively pushing the vision

(01:11:50):
that they hold. And that's thedifference in good healthcare,
where people wanna come back andand have their needs supported.
Yeah.
And as it turns out,

Grant Oliphant (01:12:03):
also important for good research. And that's
exactly what yes. One of theother people that, in this who
whose interview embodied thiswas a special episode that we
did with doctor Cindy EscobarAlvarez, who sat down with me in
conversation in front of ourPrebys Research Heroes, also our

(01:12:25):
SHARE recipients. And, we webrought those those various
recipients together to meet eachother and to talk about
opportunities and challengesthey saw in the community in
terms of of health and wellness.And then Cindy Escobar Alvarez
spoke with us about why shethinks it's important that

(01:12:46):
meetings like that happen.
And part of her message was,again, just the importance of
making sure that researchersreflect communities, that they,
that they engage communities,that they listen to communities,
that they listen to each other.Science is not just all about

(01:13:08):
being in the lab, it's alsoabout being in the community.

Dr. Sindy Escobar Alvarez (01:13:12):
It's about better science and better
tools for medicine. I think itis and for health. It is about,
giving the treatment the givingthe health treatment that
everybody deserves and needs.Right? Because what we see right
now is because of how you look,because of how you you may self

(01:13:32):
identify or others may identifyyou in terms of race, you may be
getting differential treatmentthat doesn't further your own
health, especially if you'reblack or brown in America.
And so it is a matter of healthcare and medicine medicine and
research serving people equallyor or equitably, I guess is

(01:13:55):
right? Because right now, we areif if I'm black, my then
depending on the hospital I goto in the US, it might be
underestimated how well mykidneys are functioning. And
that may keep me from gettingcare for kidney function. Right?
And so it is a matter of of ofof health for Americans, you

(01:14:15):
know, especially those who have,inexperienced unequal treatment
for so long.

Crystal Page (01:14:22):
And I forgot Grant before doctor Escobar Alvarez
before she joined thefoundation. She was, in fact, a
researcher herself. Right?

Grant Oliphant (01:14:30):
Yes. She was. Yeah. And and the foundation, by
the way, is not the PrebysFoundation, but the Doris Duke
Foundation. That's where she isThey probably would frown on our
team, but I'd ever hope for herwork.

Crystal Page (01:14:41):
Sorry, Doris Duke.

Grant Oliphant (01:14:43):
Yeah. But she, yes, she comes from that
research world, and so has adistinct personal perspective on
it.

Crystal Page (01:14:50):
Well, and I I I would imagine that makes a huge
difference. Again, it's herpersonal expertise help shape
the way in which they'refunding. And thinking about the
work, I think she had talkedabout her experience as a
researcher struggling to advancethe work she was doing. So
again, it's it's sort of similarto these other folks we've
mentioned where they're bringingtheir lived experience to the

(01:15:11):
table and helping make theresearch better. What's likely
to get funded is better becauseof folks like her.

Grant Oliphant (01:15:18):
Yeah. Yeah. Well, and that's you know,
there's there's one other,person that we spoke with who
also fits in this category, butshe's a very different type of
of interviewee on this subject,CEO of the San Diego Girl
Scouts, who, has steered herorganization to focus on

(01:15:43):
community wellness and to havethis this, really integrated
view of why it's important forthe young women who are
participating in Girl Scouts tothink about community in the way
that they talk about it in thatprogram.

Crystal Page (01:16:01):
Yeah. I was thrilled to have the Girl Scouts
in. I just talked to, one of thekids that had been in in our
care. She just joined the GirlScouts up in Sacramento, and I'm
so thrilled because the GirlScouts, sort of like doctor
Maxwell, are really taking onthe how do we redirect that
energy into things like being innature. You're not thinking

(01:16:22):
about a cell phone if you'rejumping in and out of the pool
all day or you're runningaround, hiking with your
friends.
And so I felt like the pieceshe's adding to well being is
twofold. Right? When you havefun, you're gonna engage and
feel more confident. But thenthere's also this piece where,
there's staff, the parentsinvolved. The kids are going to
be trained to be able to noticewhen maybe someone's not doing

(01:16:46):
so well and how do we supportthat rapid response when someone
is having a mental health need,you know.
And so, just the the overallchoice to be responsible for
community well-being issomething I think the Girl
Scouts are are stepping into anddoing well.

Carol Dedrich (01:17:02):
How do we equip the parents to know that, these
mental health challenges thatare that are occurring with
their their children, theirdaughters, and those of their
friends, it's it's walking intoa conversation and being
available to them withoutworrying about what to do or
what to say or all of that. Andthe way that we're doing that is

(01:17:25):
through the money that wereceive from Prebys, which is
youth mental health first aidand opening up that subject so
parents and caregivers andadults can learn about what do
you say, how do you react, whatdo you not say, what do you not
do in situations, And how do youidentify the signs and symptoms

(01:17:45):
that a child could be instruggle? Right? And hopefully
identify before they go intocrisis mode. Right?
So we all have a part to play inthat, and being able to teach
that and train that in adultswould magnify, and also spread a
ripple effect that could changeour community for the better.

Grant Oliphant (01:18:12):
Unfortunately, we we probably need to end it
there for the sake of time. I Iwould just say, Crystal, so
we've talked about 4 themes, andI I really think they're
important. You know, when wethink about the future of our
work in San Diego and what we'repaying attention to, you know,
we are paying attention to thepower of narrative and

(01:18:36):
creativity, the importance ofthat in community. We're paying
attention to the power of placeand how place matters and how it
gets brought alive and, thewe're we're we're paying it
obvious attention to the powerof health and wellness. It's
such a core theme of thefoundation's work.

(01:18:57):
But we're learning as we do thatwork that it's not simply about
a clinical model. It is aboutnature and about art and about
the way in which we create thefabric of community that
strengthens and supports people.And then we care about the power
of economic systems that drivedifferent types of human

(01:19:20):
behavior and different types ofcommunity results. We didn't
intend to have those be thethemes of the season.

Crystal Page (01:19:27):
We did not.

Grant Oliphant (01:19:28):
Right?

Crystal Page (01:19:28):
We absolutely did not.

Grant Oliphant (01:19:30):
So they emerged, but they you know, and if you
think about it, I just wannareturn this to a very simple
idea. Which is and it came upagain and again and again in
these interviews, which is whosestory gets told? Or whose need
for connection gets met? Orwhose need for support in the

(01:19:52):
community, gets addressed, orwhose health is important. And
what we learn in theseinterviews is that only when we
can answer that question thateveryone's story gets told and
everyone's needs are areimportant, and everyone's need
for connection has to be met,are we ultimately going to

(01:20:16):
achieve the goals that we wantto as a foundation?
I

Crystal Page (01:20:31):
I think we it's so easy to open the paper and get
depressed on any of thesethings. But I think not just the
themes, but I think this seasonof Stop and Talk really shows us
that there are people who seethe big challenges, and every
day, day in, day out, they areaddressing them. And so let's
remember that there are peopleout there trying really hard and

(01:20:52):
getting better at it every day,and so there's no reason for us
I mean, we're gonna despair.We're human. It's gonna happen.
But I think there's a lot ofhope and action out there. So I
just think our future is verypromising.

Grant Oliphant (01:21:04):
Yeah. I just, wanna add an amen to that. You
know, it is we are and and we'llsay this many, many times over,
I'm sure. But, you know, we'rewe're in a moment where, yeah,
news is sometimes dire. Anddepending on what you're
focusing on, it can be verydire.

(01:21:25):
And the algorithms that drive somuch of the news to us through
social media and other onlinemeans have an interest in making
it worse than it is. And, youknow, there is a real negativity
bias to the news, and to theways in which we consume the
news. And yes, there are seriouschallenges, but I think what

(01:21:47):
we're seeing in our work toreally underline your point,
we're seeing that there arepeople who are figuring out
solutions to the problems andwho are giving us every reason
in the world, not only not todespair, but to wanna join in
the fight and to be hopefulabout the future.

Crystal Page (01:22:08):
Yeah. So, Grant, I wanna thank you for season 2,
but also remind our listeners,like, share, comment. That's how
the show gets heard, and we willpost when we're gonna be back.
Probably top of January, we'llbe back with season 3 of Stop
and Talk.

Grant Oliphant (01:22:24):
Awesome. Thank you so much, Crystal.

Crystal Page (01:22:26):
Thank you. Alright.

Grant Oliphant (01:22:30):
This is a production of the Prebys
Foundation, hosted by GrantOliphant, and co hosted by
Crystal Page. The program is coproduced by Crystal Page and
Adam Greenfield, and it'sengineered by Adam Greenfield.
Production assistance isprovided by Tess Kresge, and our

(01:22:52):
new theme song is by misterLyrical Groove, a local San
Diego artist. Download episodesat your favorite podcatcher or
visit us at stop and talkpodcast.org. If you like this
show, and we really hope you do,the best way to support it is to

(01:23:12):
share, subscribe, and review ourpodcast.
Thank you for your support, yourideas, and most of all, for
listening. This program has beenrecorded at The Voice of San
Diego Podcast Studio.