3 Thoughts On...

Today we continue our series on Resilience and my guest is Airin Avery.  Airin is a national level body builder.  From an early age she was involved in athletics and team level sports.  While playing volleyball in college she found her passion inside the gym instead of at the court.  Since then she embarked on a transformational journey that led her to become  an NPC body builder all while also completing a PhD in materials chemistry.   the path she chose was not easy, But she stuck with it, surrounded herself with likeminded supportive people, followed a process, and now runs a successful coaching business helping women attain their fitness goals.   This series on resilience is not just about doing amazing feats as running across the Sahara desert… it is also about doing great things for your body all while managing a busy life.  I think Airin’s story is inspirational and will resonate with you as we discuss the ups and downs of her journey to become the entrepreneur, coach and body builder she is today.  Three Things led Airin to become a coach: 1. To pass on knowledge to other women so they could feel the same way that she did. 2. To teach women what they are capable of, and that they deserve to take up space 3. That being strong is an incredibly freeing and beautiful thing.    https://www.sheliftsacademy.com/sheliftsacademy https://www.instagram.com/airin_avery/ https://linktr.ee/airin_avery

Today we launch the series on book reviews.  My first guest in this series is Marina Lazaris.  Marina is a British actor, author and relationship coach.  For over 20 years, she worked a corporate career spanning senior sales, training and development, all while also pursuing a career in  professional acting.  During that journey, she recognized a consistent need in her audience, so she decided to pursue studies in psychodynamic counseling and achieved accreditation in mindfulness and hypnosis methodologies.  Marina is a Certified Co-active Coach, and has led entrepreneurs, CEOs and many more back to authentic, fulfilled lives by putting love centre-stage. We discussed her new book titled  Men Need Love Too which is dedicated to men like her father, who lived their lives on the sidelines, ticking off society-approved goals, only to end up waiting for that “one day” to experience unadulterated love that never comes. You can find her by clicking the link below https://marinalazaris.co.uk/about

David Metcalf, Ph.D., is a Senior Researcher and Director at the Mixed Emerging Technology Integration Lab (METIL) at UCF’s Institute for Simulation and Training.  METIL was established in 2006 on Dr. Metcalf’s stated purpose of inspiring innovation.  Specific areas of focus include learning business strategy, performance measurement, operational excellence, outsourcing, blended learning, games/sims and mobile learning.  Dr. Metcalf holds a B.A. in Art/Computer Graphics from the University of Texas, an M.S. in Computer-based Learning and a Ph.D. in Information Systems from Nova Southeastern University.  He is a frequent speaker at major learning and development conferences around the world.  David and I met here in Lake Nona about three years ago and it is an honor to have him as a guest.  We discussed the topic of learning in the age of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, with special emphasis on the role of AI in Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality and Extended Reality.   At a time where many are concerned about the jobs that may disappear as a result of AI, we discuss the other side of that coin, which is, the opportunities that are and will be available as the technology evolves.  I truly hope you enjoy this conversation https://www.ist.ucf.edu/david-metcalf/

The topic of this episode is An Alternative to Assisted Living and my guest is Joshua Wilson.  Joshua was born and raised in West Philadelphia, and attended college at the University of Central Florida in Orlando where he found is passion for basketball officiating.  He dropped out of college to pursue his dream of being an NBA Referee.  He has achieved that goal and now works in the NBA G League.  However, today’s conversation is not about the NBA.  Joshua will share with us how his newfound focus in real estate entrepreneurship led him to path to serving those in need.  Soon after starting investing in real estate, he achieved AirBnb Superhost Ambassador status.  But then, Joshua and his partner found a way to serve individuals and providers who truly deserve to be served better.  Working with his partner he turned their real estate lessons learned toward the world of assisted living.  He is now an owner and operator of a 24/hr medical GroupHome servicing individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.  They are starting small but their impact is far from small.  This is an area that I recognize needs a lot of focused well intentioned help, and I believe Joshua and his partner are doing the work.  I hope you enjoy this conversation.  www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-wilson-bb6b6774

The Lake Nona Fund is an organization that invests in the future of health and sports by investing in early-stage, innovative startups that are shaping the future of sports and health. The Fund builds on the legacies of two truly unique founders, leAD Sports & Health Tech Partners & Tavistock Group.  Thomas Rudy is the Principal for the Lake Nona Fund    Prior to joining as the principal, Thomas Rudy was a mentor to leAD. He is the Co-Founder of WhiteRock, an advisory firm working on M&A transactions and investments in the sports & entertainment sectors. In 2019 and 2020, he was voted one of the Top 25 experts in SportsTech in the North American SportsTech Report.  Rudy’s career in sports investment banking started at Citigroup in New York, where he worked as an Analyst for the firm’s Sports Advisory Group. In this role, he worked with NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, MLS, and European football team owners to buy and sell franchises as well as finance the expansion of their enterprises. He graduated from Columbia University in New York City in 2006 with a B.A. in Economics. https://www.lakenonafund.com/ https://www.leadsports.com/   Music by Ian D. Joseph https://youtu.be/u7lDY0hECfM?si=9UsHA8LYkfoero24

We continue the series on communication.  If you are. Listener of this podcast, you know that I believe we need to do better in how we communicate with ourselves and with each other.  I believe that being able to elegantly, effectively and responsibly craft, convey and consume information is essential for communities to thrive.  Today my guest, Rebecca Roberts, shares with us her insights on how storytelling is a type of communication that goes far beyond traditional entertainment.  Rebecca Roberts is a communication coach and storytelling consultant. For the past 10 years she’s specialised in working with the inner narratives that shape our behaviour, wellbeing and capacity to influence and connect in the professional realm.    She’s the founder of Inner Architecture, and works with teams and individuals to master sense-making through storytelling. Her background as an interior architect and workplace-culture strategist also gives a unique perspective into the critical role that communication plays in the world of personal and professional transformation. The ultimate focus of this work is to increases confidence and mental ease, and create more meaningful impact for both ourselves and in the world around us.   Links: WEBSITE:   https://www.rebeccaroberts.com/ COURSE: https://www.rebeccaroberts.com/powerful-storytelling/ LINKEDIN:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebeccalagarderoberts/ YOUTUBE:   https://www.youtube.com/c/RebeccaRoberts-InnerArchitecture

Today we continue the series on Mental Health by discussing the topic of anxiety.  My guest today is Shannon Rollins who is a Clinical Hypnotherapist and Anxiety Relief Expert.  Shannon has a Master of Science degree in Health Behavior from the University of Florida, and is a Master NLP Practitioner and Anxiety Rapid Relief Specialist.     Shannon has eight years of experience helping men and women improve their mental health and emotional resiliency through hypnosis, one-on-one coaching, group wellness programs, and courses. Her passion is helping people alleviate anxiety and create inner-peace for a healthier life inside and out.    Hypnosis and hypnotherapy are often misunderstood and associated with entertainment shows.  This couldn’t be farther from the truth.  Hypnosis has robust scientific framework, and medical research continues to show use cases for hypnosis as a therapy tool.   Clinical research has shown that it can help relieve pain and anxiety and aid smoking cessation, weight loss, and sleep just to name a few.  It can help individuals better regulate their feelings and behaviors, as well as managing stress, coping with life’s challenges, and improving physical and emotional health.   In short, Hypnotherapy is a genuine psychological therapy process, that under the guidance of a certified clinician, can be be helpful to many.    https://www.shannonrollinshypnosis.com/ Dr Mark Wolynn - It didn’t start with you https://markwolynn.com/it-didnt-start-with-you/ The Power of Habit - https://gdt.stanford.edu/the-habit-loop Andrew Huberman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kpG5sYvrgw https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8773773/ https://www.healthline.com/health/is-hypnosis-real https://time.com/6171844/how-hypnosis-works/ https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320368#what-is-nlp

Ray Kallmeyer is the Co-founder and CEO at Enklu, a company that empowers creators with tools to rediscover our world.  Ray spent the early part of his career in the video game industry, including time at Sony, Fireforge, and KIXEYE. Most recently, he was a studio executive for NCSOFT.  Ray believes technology exists to empower us as storytellers to transform our world, that technology can empower creativity, and that his work explores that boundary between digital and real forms. He works with organic shapes that are reimagined using programmed shaders that combines math with physical forms.    https://enklu.com/ https://www.verseorlando.com/ Music credit: Bittersweet by Ian D. Joseph

In this episode Dexter Hadley M.D., Ph.D., M.S.E. discusses the benefits and challenges of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Medicine.   Dexter is an Assistant Professor of Pathology at University of Central Florida (UCF), and has an M.D., M.S.E. in Systems Engineering, a PhD. in Genomics & Comp. Biology, and a Postdoc in Molecular Ophthalmology all from University of PENN, Philadelphia, PA. Dr. Hadley’s expertise is in translating big data into precision medicine and digital health. He earned his PhD in genomics and computational biology while at medical school at PENN, and he trained in clinical pathology while at residency at Stanford. His research generates, annotates, and ultimately reasons over large multi-modal data stores to develop clinical intelligence, identify novel biomarkers and potential therapeutics for disease. https://med.ucf.edu/person/dexter-hadley-md-phd-m-s-e/

Dr. Jessica Taverniti is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Board Certified Behavior Analyst, The founder of a clinical practice Kula Wellness and NuroLux.  NuroLux a clinical and educational technology company that restores hope for families impacted by Autism. NuroLux supports them with strategies, solutions and community to draft their care plans to maximize outcomes and quality of life for the whole family. .   Kula Wellness is her clinical practice specializing, in assessment and diagnosis of Autism and therapy.  Dr. Taverniti has been working in the field of neurodiversity and TAY (Transitional Aged Youth Population), and young adults in a diversity of settings for many years.  Dr. Taverniti has been conducting and supervising psychological assessment for over a decade, for diagnosis of learning profiles as well as Autism Spectrum Disorder and other Neurodiversity disorders. Similarly, she is a diagnostician of Canvas DX the first ever FDA approved diagnostic for Autism Spectrum Disorder. Prior to her current start up Nurolux and clinical work she was the Clinical Director/ Executive Director of for the Gersh Organization (schools specializing in Neurodiversity). Within this role Dr. Taverniti, supervised Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) programing within the Gersh Academies K-12 and  ABA clinics as well as oversaw training and ABA implementation across all Gersh Organizations. In addition, she developed the Equine Assisted Learning and Equine Therapy program integrated into over 85 student schedules weekly. This program targeted skill development outside of the classroom, promoting life skills, social awareness, communication and social emotional development.  She has also supervised and developed doctoral training programs and worked as an administrator in higher education at the University of San Diego, supporting individuals with difference and their success throughout their educational journey.  References: linkedin.com/in/jessica-taverniti-psy-d-bcba-d-lba-20b86544 www.NuroLux.com   https://cognoa.com/ (First ever FDA approved diagnostic for Autism) https://www.pathfinder.health/ (pediatric milestone tracker)   Therapeutic Solutions:  https://guesswhat.stanford.edu/ (Therapeutic solution) https://floreovr.com/ (Therapeutic solution) https://mysocialoptics.com/ (Therapeutic solution/ For Teens) https://www.attendbehavior.com/ (Parent training) https://www.summithealthservices.org/ (ABA / Parent Consultation)   Equine Therapy:  Equine Therapy Article Benefits of Therapeutic Riding   Research:  Spark Study (Research) Certainly, here is a list of some notable autism research studies and resources that may be of interest to families seeking information and support:1. **Autism Speaks**: Autism Speaks is a well-known autism advocacy organization that also funds research. They have a dedicated section on their website for research updates and resources for families.2. **Interactive Autism Network (IAN)**: IAN is a research initiative that collects information from families affected by autism. Families can participate in various studies and access resources.3. **Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI)**: SFARI supports autism research and provides information about ongoing studies, grants, and resources for families.4. **Autism Research Institute (ARI)**: ARI conducts research and provides resources for individuals and families affected by autism, including information on treatments and therapies.5. **National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)**: NIMH supports research related to autism and offers information on clinical trials and research findings.6. **Autism Science Foundation (ASF)**: ASF funds scientific research and provides resources for families. They also have a blog with updates on the latest research.7. **Autism Spectrum Disorder Research at the CDC**: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conduct research on autism and provide information and resources for families.8. **U