American Tributaries

Walter Stein lives in Belle Fourche, South Dakota, where he is a paleontologist and owner of Paleo Adventures, which leads clients on dinosaur fossil digs. Walter likes to consider himself a “giant kid in a big sandbox.”

Walter finds hope in the vast majority of reasonable, good people that inhabit the middle ground on many contemporary issues.  You can learn more about Walter’s work at www.PaleoAdventures.com.

Am...

Robin Mazor lives on the Hawaiian island of Kuai, where she has lived for decades and is Executive Director of the nonprofit Reef Guardians, which is dedicated to raising awareness of the marine environment, monitoring its health and educating the next generation of ocean advocates.

Robin finds hope in the kids.

You can learn more about Robin’s work at www.reefguardians.org and more about local marine life by down...

Paul Reeve lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, where he is both a Professor and Chair for History and Mormon Studies at the University of Utah. Paul was connected to the podcast by Michael Green from episode 88.

Paul finds hope in the figures throughout U.S. history who have acted with integrity for the good of the whole rather than for individual needs; e.g., George Washington, John Adams and Frederick Douglass.

Ameri...

Michael Gulotta lives in New Orleans, Louisiana, where he was born and raised and where he is currently chef partner of a group of inventive, acclaimed restaurants: MoPho, Maypop and Tana.

Michael finds hope in seeing the self-correction and the moderation of society against over-stimulation from social media and anxiety about the nation’s identity.

American Tributaries is a podcast sponsored by American Tributari...

Michael Green lives in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he is a professor and department chair for the history department at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.  He specializes in Nevada and Las Vegas history as well as 19th Century American history.  Michael is the rare local Vegas resident who actually grew up there.

Michael finds hope in his students and in the seeming inevitability of progress.

American Tributaries i...

Lori Seibel lives in Lincoln, Nebraska, where she is the President at Community Health Endowment.  She grew up about 75 miles away in a small Nebraska town of approximately 200 people.

Lori finds hope in how people are so willing to help others.

American Tributaries is a podcast sponsored by American Tributaries, Inc., a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit based in Brooklyn, NY, and dedicated to promoting fellowship and unde...

Scott Leonard lives in north-central Connecticut where he retired after working as a State Trooper for approximately twenty years and currently works as an athletic trainer.

Scott finds hope in people’s resilience, today’s youth and conversations like this podcast.

American Tributaries is a podcast sponsored by American Tributaries, Inc., a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit based in Brooklyn, NY, and dedicated to promoting...

Andy Ezard grew up – and still lives – in Jacksonville, Illinois, where he has served as Mayor since 2009.  His prior career included working for Governor Jim Edgar, at the state Board of Natural Resources and as Jacksonville City Clerk.

Andy finds hope in the younger generation.

You can learn more about Jacksonville, Illinois at www.jacksonvilleil.org.

American Tributaries is a podcast sponsored by Ameri...

Pat Keane has spent much of his life in Connecticut, growing up in Waterford and now residing in Suffield.  After serving in the U.S. Navy and having a career in real estate, Pat retired to run with his wife Susi the Rukwa Foundation, which does development work in Tanzania.

Pat finds hope in the next generation rising through the college ranks.

You can find more about Pat’s foundation at www.rukwafoundation.com.<...

Dr. William Richter lives in Manhattan, Kansas, where is a Professor Emeritus at Kansas State University.  He had previously served as, among other things, an Assistant Provost and Head of the Political Science department.

Bill finds hope in the interesting and inspiring people he continues to meet.

You can find more about Kansas Dialogue at www.kansasdialogue.com and Kansas State University’s Institute for Civic ...

Dr. Douglass Teschner lives in the area of West Lebanon, New Hampshire.  He is an active member of Braver Angels, founded  his own consultancy called Growing Leadership, was involved with the Peace Corps for more than a decade and was a legislator in the New Hampshire House of Representatives from 1988 to 2002.  Doug and host Michael Whidden were connected by prior podcast guest Gabbit Timmis from episode 64.

Doug finds ho...

Dr. Seth D. Kaplan lives in the Baltimore / Washington DC area and is a leading expert on fragile states, lectures at Johns Hopkins University and consults for organizations such as the World Bank and U.S. State Department.  In October 2023, he published an amazingly insightful book, “Fragile Neighborhoods”, about how we can repair American society one ZIP code at a time.

Seth finds hope in all the people he meets that wan...

Greg Gerloff lives in Grand Forks, North Dakota, where he raised his family and pursued a career in healthcare, which concluded with him serving as chief executive officer of Altru Health Systems.  Greg and host Michael Whidden were connected by Greg’s nephew Adam, who was an elementary school teacher for two of Michael’s children.

Greg finds hope in his granddaughter...in his belief that people are basically good people.....

Aviva Sussman lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she was a scientist for Los Alamos National Laboratories and Sandia National Laboratories involved with, among things, implementation of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and recently started studies of a new, very different topic: the Torah.

Aviva finds hope in stillness and in our common struggles across the broad breadth of time.

American Tributaries is...

Sara Stahl lives in Port Clinton, Ohio, on the southwest shore of Lake Erie, where she is a social worker in the education system.  Sara grew up in Port Clinton and attended The Ohio State University.

Sara finds hope in her work and the youth and what they can offer the country.

American Tributaries is a podcast sponsored by American Tributaries, Inc., a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit based in Brooklyn, NY, and dedicate...

Vishwesh Bhatt lives in Oxford, Mississippi, where he is executive chef for the city’s acclaimed Snackbar, a Southern brasserie and oyster bar and was recognized, in 2019, as the James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef in the South.  In 2022, he published a book of recipes and stories called “I Am From Here” which was designated as one of NPR’s “Books we Love” for 2022 and one of Garden & Gun’s Best Southern Books of 2022 and receiv...

Reverend Mark Genszler lives in Brooklyn, New York, where he is the rector for Christ Church Cobble Hill, an Episcopal parish first organized in 1835.  Rev. Genszler and host Michael Whidden met this past December at the holiday party of mutual friends.

Mark finds hope in the rising generation’s awareness of the world, in the quiet and stillness of nature and in the enduring power of life on Earth.

American Tribut...

Dr. Ed Tomlinson lives in Morgantown, West Virginia, where he is a Professor of Management at the Chambers College of Business and Economics at West Virginia University, teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in negotiation and compensation and a Ph.D. seminar on groups and teams.  Dr. Tomlinson is also active with Braver Angels, serving, among other things, as red co-chair of the organization’s West Virginia alliance.

Tami Van lives in New York, New York, where she is the Chief Financial Officer of one of New York City’s premier HVAC contractors.

Our discussion covers, among other things:
*her path from Brooklyn Tech High School and New York University into the construction industry
*thoughts on union work
*how she has developed the skills to meticulously manage projects
*the importance of trade work
*shortcomings of...