Visionkeepers

The Equine Assisted Growth And Learning Association (EAGALA) incorporates horses to address mental health and personal development needs. “Non-verbal is 90% of all communication, and that’s what the horses respond to.” The horse may become an aspect of a person’s personality, reflected back to them. Lynn/EAGALA provide a space for that person to interact with the horse and in turn the lessons learned from the experience translate into better relationships with others and more enjoyment in life within themselves. Website

Dustin Morin explains the process of land reclamation, in which he updates and maintains Alabama’s state inventory of abandoned mine land features and conducts environmental assessments prior to the undertaking of mine reclamation projects. Learn what makes Alabama unique, the positive impacts in safety, and how the landscape is being improved. “I think we’ve made a positive impact for the safety of the citizens of Alabama while also improving the landscape and environment of the state, but even with the tens of millions of dollars, we’ve done in reclamation work, we’ve reclaimed approximately 89 miles of dangerous high walls in the state. We’ve closed over 1600 dangerous mine openings and reclaimed thousands of acres of abandoned mines, but that’s really only a fraction of the inventory that we have.” For more from VisionKeepers™, visit our website www.VisionKeepersTV.com and @VisionKeepersTV (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter). Using #leaveaprint, share with us the ways you and others are leaving a positive pri

Marty Williams shares his experience with family-owned shrimp farming and the importance of location and environment to providing a high quality product. Working on saving the mangroves, maintaining water quality, and helping out in the local communities – Sahlman Seafoods has a product they are proud of. The farm has 44 ponds with room for expansion. The processing plant has a capacity to process 120,000 pounds of shrimp per day. Sahlman Seasfoods received Ace award in 2011, the American Corporate Excellence award, presented by Secretay of State, Hillary Clinton. The poverty Marty saw in Nicaragua really affected him - and the people, the employees, and their desire to work is infectious. Website

Jake Danehy, Founder of Fair Harbor Clothing, shares how a beach where he and his sister, Caroline, spent their summers inspired the innovative creation of swim wear made from recycled plastics. Fair Harbor’s mission is to reduce and promote the mitigation of single use plastics is successfully being accomplished through an integral board of advisors and a passion for the cause. Full range of stylish swimwear made using post-consumer recycled plastic bottles, transformed into functional fabric at factories we visit personally and regularly. The brand was started by the brother-sister duo Jake and Caroline Danehy. Both are in their 20s and on a mission to create better bathing suits and a cleaner planet. The two are inspired by their home of Fire Island, where the waves are near and the dress code is barefoot. Website

Christina Bicchieri, S. J. Patterson Harvie Professor of Social Thought and Comparative Ethics at the University of Pennsylvania and author of “Norms in the Wild,” explores decision theory and all it involves, including fundamental attribution bias, confirmation bias, pluralistic ignorance, time discounting, and the foundational beliefs that shape societies. Working with UNICEF, the Gates Foundation, and the World Bank, Dr. Bicchieri hopes to influence developing countries to adopt small changes that will benefit their communities. “How we make decisions and how we interact with other people is very much determined by psychological factors, not just social factors.” Christina’s Bio: My intellectual affinities lie at the border between philosophy, game theory and psychology. My primary research focus is on judgment and decision making with special interest in decisions about fairness, trust, and cooperation, and how expectations affect behavior. A second research focus examines the nature and evolution of soci

Cassie Slone, who started The Foster Care Council in 2012, heads up Studio Thrifty for the Kids with her colleague, Lindy Hester. Many children arrive at foster homes with nothing but the clothes are their back, so Studio Thrifty for offers them an individualized personal shopping experience where everything is free, they feel like celebrities, and they can get the supplies and clothing they need. A non-profit, boutique-style store where foster parents can bring their foster children to shop for clothing and other basic necessities at no cost to the families. The goal of Studio Thriftyfor the Kids is to provide a sense of normalcy to foster children by sending them home with basic needs to set them up for success. Cassie Slone, who started The Foster Care Council in 2012, heads up Studio Thriftyfor the Kids with her colleague, Lindy Hester. Many children arrive at foster homes with nothing but the clothes are their back, so Studio Thrifty for offers them an individualized personal shopping experience where ev

Jim Ziolkowski shares how BuildOn empowers youth from some of America’s toughest neighborhoods to be the change they want to see in the world through acts of service with homeless, seniors, and children in their communities. BuildOn lights a fire in the hearts and minds of these youth, who go in search of more opportunities to serve and ultimately achieve their high school diplomas – something that only 60% in these communities accomplish outside of the program. BuildOn has built over 1400 schools in Mali, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Malawi, Nepal, Haiti, and Nicaragua. BuildOn Mission: “BuildOn is not a charity, it’s a movement. We build hope. We buildOn.” Headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, but has programs across the nation and internationally. Working in solidarity with impoverished kids and impoverished communities to empower and learn from them. The BuildOn youth have contributed over 2.4 million hours of service in their communities. In areas that are ground zero for high school drop outs, the kids who

Helen Lowman is the president and CEO of Keep America Beautiful, an organization that has been around for 65 years and is well known for its iconic PSAs about litter and pollution. Helen learned at an early age the importance of recycling, so it’s natural for her to be leading an organization dedicated to the cause of waste reduction. Keep America Beautiful, originally started by companies to combat litter, has expanded its operation to include education about proper recycling techniques and the beautification of America. It has 630 affiliates across the U.S. and 5 million volunteers. Keep America Beautiful utilizes social, private, and public organizations to accomplish its goal of reducing America’s garbage output in a consumer culture.

Veronica Rajadnya enlightens us on the innovative options available to recycle what we might have thought we couldn’t recycle. Offering many free recycling programs to raise money for non profits and easy solutions for every day individuals – Terracycle is bridging the gaps. Veronica Rajadnya – TerraCycle: As Writer and Publicist at TerraCycle, the Trenton, New Jersey-based recycling company on a mission to eliminate the idea of waste, Veronica works on media outreach, content and execution of campaigns for TerraCycle and its 25+ brand partners such as Colgate-Palmolive, L’Oreal and Procter & Gamble. Creating connections through storytelling, she strives to empower individuals, communities and brands to rethink how and why we buy for a less wasteful world with more to go around. Website

Amy Sohner is the Executive Director of Bluegrass Greensource, a nonprofit environmental education organization serving Central Kentucky. Bluegrass Greensource works to empower the citizens of Central Kentucky to create a sustainable environment by encouraging small steps that can make a big impact toward a greener future for our communities. Since 2001, Bluegrass Greensource has provided outreach to schools, community groups, businesses, local governments, and citizens throughout the region. One program Amy shares on this episode is Kentucky Energy for Youth (KEY). KEY works with 12 schools each year in the after school program educating children about coal mining and alternative energy. They read Saving Wonder, by Mary Knight – a story about a boy their age, from Kentucky, who works to save a mountaintop from being removed. “Small changes, big impact” is the motto for Main Street Clean Up Project, which is another project Bluegrass Greensource runs each year on Earth Day, where 1,000 volunteers pick up over

Lawrence Sheffield, Magic City Woodworks, shares his journey from teenage entrepreneur, professional firefighter by the age of 19, significant loss of a loved one, a nontraditional educational path, to now Founder of a social impact company in Birmingham, Alabama. Magic City Woodworks teaches the art of work to young men who are stuck in a rut; giving them a paid apprenticeship where they will learn to create quality goods, partake in brotherhood, build confidence and character, and have a good time. Lawrence’s team’s mission is to help young men bridge the intimidating gap between unemployment and meaningful employment. “I want to continue to create opportunities and have a diverse group of people to be able to come in and benefit from vocation. Work can have deep meaning and there can be fulfillment. It can be a way to support our families and change the world at the same time.” Launched August 2018, Impact Kits are seven pieces of lumber that can change lives. A parent or mentor can order a kit, spend 30-4

Ely Folk School brings young and old together to teach and be taught traditional skills passed down from the ancestors who founded their beloved town. Paul draws from his lifelong interest in outdoor adventure to remind us that our daily encumbrances pale in comparison to the magnificence of the natural world around us. During his 40-year career in outdoor leadership, Paul Schurke has led over 60 adventurers throughout the Arctic, including 6 dogsled & ski treks to North Pole plus ski mountaineering treks in Siberia, Greenland and Antarctica. He has worked with numerous outdoor programs including non-profit Wilderness Inquiry (co-founder), Will Steger’s Lynx Track Winter School, Voyageur Outward Bound, and Paul Petzoldt’s Wilderness Education Association. Paul’s & Sue’s adventure business, Wintergreen Dogsled Lodge, is the nation’s oldest and largest recreational mushing center and provides lodge-based dogsledding vacations and dogsled camping adventures. Author of two books, Paul received the Explore

iO is a nationally recognized hub of creativity for K-12 students in Detroit who are curious about exploring their worlds through the power of poetry. Since 1995, iO has helped to amplify the voices of thousands of students by dispatching established and emerging poets and writers into classrooms. The writers conduct creative workshops and work side-by-side with students over the course of the year, helping them to create poems, stories, artwork and stage-ready performance pieces. Students contribute to their school’s literary journal, which is published and presented by iO at the end of each year during in-school galas. Website

Steve Nygren, chats about how a farm purchased near Atlanta, Georgia inspired a community filled with hope to live out life comprised of free range children, home grown food, butterfly bushes, edible gardens, and diverse community – welcome to Serenbe. Each of Serenbe’s four hamlets have complementary commercial centers focused on the elements of a well-lived life: arts for inspiration, agriculture for nourishment, health for wellbeing and education for awareness. Fresh food is another of Serenbe’s natural assets, with a 25-acre organic farm, seasonal Saturday Farmer’s Market, thriving CSA program and edible landscaping, including blueberry bushes along paths and sidewalks. Year-round cultural events include outdoor theater from Serenbe Playhouse, culinary workshops and festivals, music events, films and lectures, boutique shopping, art galleries, a spa and trail riding, plus a robust Artist in Residence program featuring dinners and talks. Serenbe Website

Lynn Thomas, LCSW is Eagala’s founder and CEO. Under her leadership, Eagala advanced the first professionalized standards for equine-assisted psychotherapy, developing Eagala’s certification program into the industry’s global standard. Her efforts developing the Eagala Model, while spearheading operations both domestically and abroad, have augmented Eagala’s global presence. Lynn Thomas received her Master’s of Social Work from the University of Utah and has over 16 years’ experience working with adolescents, families, individuals, and groups in various settings including youth corrections, wilderness and ranch programs, private practice, and mental health agencies. Lynn served as Executive Director for the Aspen Achievement Academy, a wilderness therapy program.
 She first developed a program integrating horses as the primary treatment component as Executive Director for Aspen Ranch, a residential boarding school for troubled adolescents. In 1999, recognizing the efficacy of the experiential learning approac

Colin Tomkins-Bergh educates consumers and businesses on the issues at the nexus of food and sustainability by working with startups across the country. He has an education in sociology, entrepreneurship and scientific communication with a specific focus on sustainability throughout the food value chain. Colin’s career demonstrates his ability to bring innovative ideas to market to make a more equitable and sustainable food system. Colin joined Copia in January of 2018 to decrease food waste at food businesses and expand market operations into Denver and Austin. He is responsible for business development and customer success in both markets. Colin enjoys creating value from the process of reducing food waste, increasing food donations to local non-profits and decreasing the emission of green house gasses. Website

Amanda is a college biology instructor living in Savannah, GA who began picking up litter in September, 2017 in an effort to mitigate flooding from oncoming Hurricane Irma. Amanda continued removing litter from Savannah streets, sidewalks, and parking lots after the 2017 hurricane season ended. Her goals include single-handedly clearing 200 thirteen-gallon bags of litter from her community every year and increasing scientific literacy via social media. Amanda's Instagram Account

Highly driven and articulate biomedical scientist and educator with expert knowledge in HIV/AIDS virology, clinical disease/pathogenicity, drug treatments and drug resistance development. Exceptionally gifted in communicating abstract concepts to audiences of diverse education backgrounds whilst effectively advocating an idea, product and/or organization. Strongly pursued for advisory, communication and training skills throughout career with success targeting large groups impacting direction and perception of new HIV infection prevention strategies and technologies. Skilled writer as demonstrated by impressive publication record with an intrinsic passion to empower others with knowledge. Website

Brynne MacCann joined Southern Research in 2016. She is responsible for providing administrative and tactical support associated with the organization’s fundraising strategy, in addition to public relations responsibilities associated with the fund development activities. Her philanthropic career began at the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, where she managed volunteers and fundraising events such as the MS Walks, MS 150 Bike Tour, and MS Wine Auction. Her fundraising background also includes six years of events and development experience at the Birmingham Museum of Art. Prior to joining Southern Research, she served as the vice president for development at McWane Science Center, where she raised funds to support science education in the state of Alabama and funding to support the Science Center’s exhibits and public programming. She also completed a capital campaign to build Birmingham’s Itty Bitty Magic City, an early childhood center within McWane Science Center. MacCann is an active member of the Alab

Dr. Vinod Namboodiri graduated with a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. His research interests have been in the design, analysis and evaluation of systems that solve challenges in Mobile Computing, Wireless Networks, and Smart Electric Power Grids. Dr. Namboodiri's current research interests are in the design and application of technology to make communities more accessible for those with disabilities. To foster and make an impact with this research interest, he holds a joint position at the Envision Research Institute as a Senior Scientist. At WSU I direct the Wireless, Networking, and Systems (WiNeS) Research Laboratory at Wichita State University. Dr. Namboodiri also serves as the PI and Site Director for the NSF REU site at WSU on Networked Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS). Website