Dream Big

Michael Deem is an experienced senior professional who has operated in senior management, Board, and advisor capacities with companies ranging from start-up, to rapid growth, to large multi-national companies. His intellectual bandwidth has benefited companies from a wide cross section of industries that include Life Sciences, Artificial Intelligence, Genomics, Data Science, Biotechnology, Energy, and Cancer Research. Michael recently finished his term as Department Chair of Bioengineering at Rice University. In this capacity, he oversaw a department with 20 tenure track faculty, 5 non-tenure track faculty and instructors, 20 support and research staff, 200 undergraduate and 125 graduate students, and an annual research and operating budget of approximately $27 million. The faculty represent a broad range of disciplines in bioengineering: basic physics of biology and cancer, synthetic and systems biology, multimodal imaging, machine learning, tissue engineering, and biomaterials. The department is consistentl

James is the Chief Executive Officer at FJ Holdings and Khuri Enterprises. James Khuri is an American businessman, social media influencer, and wildly successful entrepreneur who have been developing successful, innovative businesses and business models for more than 20 years. His groundbreaking work in restructuring e-commerce platforms has propelled him into the spotlight in recent years as he works tirelessly to build a better e-commerce business model that has a more consumer-friendly global impact. James Khuri is the CEO of nine firms that center on a variety of industries from retail shops to real estate to e-commerce platforms to manufacturing goods and distribution. His strong drive to not only achieve personal success but also make the world a better place, sets him apart from so many garden variety businessmen who are more focused on building their empires than helping build a world that is more inclusive and nurturing for all. And that is what sets James Khuri apart. Attached Things/Links Menti

Marc is a high energy, high caliber Sales Leader and Sales Training Professional with over 22 years of broad commercial experience and a strong history of success in the pharmaceutical industry. I am experienced in the traditional pharmaceutical, buy and bill, and specialty pharmacy business models. He has been recognized as an exemplary leader at the National and Regional level who is skilled in achieving sales and business objectives through strategic planning, attention to people, and a focus on execution. He is also a highly skilled facilitator and experienced in both on-boarding and building out continuous training platforms and the ability to diagnose training needs and build and implement training curriculum that incorporates adult learning principles for live, on-demand, and virtual formats.  He has been able to gain diverse product and subject matter expertise in multiple disease states, and have a proven ability to drive organizational effectiveness and revenue growth through strong communicati

Kevin has immense professional experience in the marketing and management field spanning nearly 30 years. He started his career immediately after college by joining a governmental relations firm and then went on to establish ‘Beer Drinkers of America’–an advocacy organization sponsored by Anheuser Busch and Miller Brewing. Thereafter, Kevin served as an Executive Vice President of Marketing for the Birmingham Fire (NFL’s World League of American Football) and served as Vice President of Marketing for First National Bank of Albuquerque. After accomplishing great achievements by 30 years of age, Kevin decided to establish and start his own business. By July 1994, he established his first successful company - Promotion Dynamics - a Sports Marketing, Sales and Event Management company. Seven years later by August 2002, Kevin started another business and established Coaching Charities. Attached Things/Links Mentioned: HBCU Legacy Bowl Sports Non-Profits Setting Up Successful Events Life Lessons Leadership Creativ

Rene Pardo is an inventor, creator and entrepreneur. A visionary driven by innovating world firsts to impact and help people, his entire life he has been supporting advanced R&D and building tech companies around exceptional, bright people. He is most recognized for co-inventing and developing the world's first electronic spreadsheet (1969), as well as Forward Referencing, the cornerstone functionality of modern spreadsheets and reactive programming. The spreadsheet was licensed to and used by the budgeting department of AT&T and every telephone company in North America throughout the early 1970’s, including Bell Canada, as well as by General Motors in Warren, Michigan. A pioneer in Human-Computer interactions and interfaces, he is also recognized for his advancements and major contributions to education and multimedia.    Norman McLaren (National Film Board in Montreal, Quebec) and Ken Knowlton (Bell Labs in Murray Hill, New Jersey) became Pardo's role models. Inspired by the environment of

Eric Weinberger is a media executive who specializes in live production, long-form storytelling, launching new businesses, leadership of large teams and content monetization and innovation. During his 20 years in media Eric has been a key member of teams that started Fox Sports, built and developed NFL Network and created the digital and linear assets for Bill Simmons Media Group and HBO. Eric has his own Podcast Network, the first of which is now up and running and consists of a podcast for each NFL team. The hosts are related to or from each NFL team. With the knowledge Eric has in the media realm, this is just the beginning of Eric Weinberger Productions - which has been alive and running for 4+ years now. Attached Things/Links Mentioned: The State of Professional Athletes Post-Career Eric's Journey from PA to Executive Producer Day to Day Operations for Live Production Television Categories to Live Television Networks Tony Romo as an Analyst Example What Aspiring Media Talent and Persons Could Learn from

James is the Chief Executive Officer at FJ Holdings and Khuri Enterprises James Khuri is an American businessman, social media influencer, and wildly successful entrepreneur who have been developing successful, innovative businesses and business models for more than 20 years. His groundbreaking work in restructuring e-commerce platforms has propelled him into the spotlight in recent years as he works tirelessly to build a better e-commerce business model that has a more consumer-friendly global impact. James Khuri is the CEO of nine firms that center on a variety of industries from retail shops to real estate to e-commerce platforms to manufacturing goods and distribution. His strong drive to not only achieve personal success but also make the world a better place, sets him apart from so many garden variety businessmen who are more focused on building their empires than helping build a world that is more inclusive and nurturing for all. And that is what sets James Khuri apart. Attached Things/Links Mentio

15+ years as a real estate entrepreneur, business angel, and venture capitalist. Traveling the world seeking business opportunities and cultural growth, in this process founded several successful companies. Currently Chairman of Real Capital Caribe and American Wise Investment and also the President of Real Capital Ventures. Simultaneously, these investment groups have several companies, from real estate and construction management to finance services. Antonio’s ideas and guidance always represent a differential value to the market. Antonio’s Website Antonio’s LinkedIn Antonio’s Twitter #DreamBIG #ImproveYourselfImpactLives To see what we are up to and what is going on around the Dream BIG & Co community you can follow us on the following platforms: Website Instagram Twitter Facebook Vimeo Snapchat Tik Tok LinkedIn Medium Our Spotify Playlist Our Amazon Alexa Skill - Dream BIG Daily Our Amazon Alexa Skill - Dream BIG Quotes

Poonam Rahman is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of two international 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations designed to provide free resources to historically marginalized communities. Observing the lack of access to mental health and S.T.E.A.M. resources within my local community, she felt propelled to create organizations to lower the barrier to such vital resources needed to succeed. She has also written a book called "Shattering Bias In S.T.E.A.M." which focuses on bridging gender gaps within the field of S.T.E.M. and creating a more inclusive work environment for all women. Her areas of expertise and interest include combating gender inequality, promoting mental health accessibility, and providing resources and opportunities for students in underprivileged communities. Attached Things/Links Mentioned: Poonam's Journey Poonam's Background Shattering Bias In S.T.E.A.M. Education Non-profit Writing a Book And much more.... Poonam's LinkedIn #DreamBIG #ImproveYourselfImpactLives To see what we are

Robert H. Forrester’s career spanned 50 years of service to the global philanthropic sector. From 1980-2008, Bob was the Founder and CEO of Payne Forrester, LLC, an international consulting firm providing planning, management, fundraising, and governance advisory services to non-profit organizations (i.e. clients included - American University of Beirut during the hostilities of the civil war in Lebanon, The United Nations Foundation and Global Polio Eradication Initiative, and at the request of Mr. Nelson Mandela, Bob played a crucial role in developing and managing the South African Free Elections Fund leading up to the first free elections in South Africa’s) In September 2008, he succeeded Paul Newman as Chief Executive Officer of the food company, Newman’s Own, Inc., and its parent, Newman’s Own Foundation. Bob’s tenure as CEO of the parent corporation lasted for 10.5 years. During that time, Newman’s Own donated over $286 million in profits supporting charitable purposes, exceeding by over 10% the total

Jason Mars is an inventor, scientist, professor, entrepreneur, and author. He currently works as a professor of computer science at the University of Michigan where he directs, one of the best places in the world to be trained in topics spanning artificial intelligence, large scale computing, and programming languages. In 2017, Jason was named Bank Innovations #2 Most Innovative CEO in Banking and in 2019 he was named into Crain’s Detroit Business’ 40 under 40. Jason is one of the most adept people in the field of engineering and AI that I have ever met. He is breaking bots and breaking bounds in conversational AI and machine learning. He has even started building his own programming language with a group of people called Jack (which currently has 3 different products built from it now). His new book “Breaking Bots” can be found here: https://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Bots-Inventing-Voice-Revolution/dp/1946633399 Learn about Jason for yourself using this link: https://www.jasonmars.org/_bio_/ Attached Things/L

Abe Issa is a Lebanese-born entrepreneur who has concentrated his business efforts on green energy and sustainability. After graduating from the Texas Christian University with a finance degree, he started a real estate investment company, redeveloping over 500 homes and commercial properties in Dallas, Fort Worth, and South Texas between 2005 and 2010. His desire to be proactive and drive social change along with environmental regeneration led him into the home improvement and energy efficiency industry, where he spent five years experimenting with energy retrofits. Applying the knowledge gained and drawing on his background in finance and real estate, Abe Issa launched EnviroSolar in 2016, creating a company that has received numerous accolades for its contributions to green energy and sustainability. The entrepreneur himself has been recognized through multiple awards, among them one gold and two silver Stevie Awards, EY Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist, and CEO World Award as Environmental Sustainability

David Walker Green Beret is the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of GrowthLine Capital. GrowthLine Capital is a long-biased, high return-seeking equity long/short hedge fund that invests in companies benefiting from the innovation-driven disruptive change that can become multiples of their current size. David is a Financial Services Executive and Former US Army Special Forces Commander (“Green Beret”) with exceptional ability to lead under pressure. David Walker Green Beret has over 17 years of experience in all aspects of running a hedge fund. Equally successful managing start-up, turnaround, or rapid growth organizations, David’s expertise spans the front, middle and back-office operations and network of industry contacts includes institutional and high net worth investors, prime brokers, broker/dealers, technology firms, accountants, administrators, auditors, attorneys, banks, exchanges, ECNs, and government agencies (SEC, FINRA, CFTC, FSA, etc). Attached Things/Links Mentioned: David’s Journey Lead

Miles Taylor is a public policy leader, recent CNN Contributor, and the former U.S Lead for Advanced Technology and Security Strategy at Google. Miles is also the former Chief of Staff at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. He oversaw the government's third-largest department's day-to-day operations, including nearly 250,000 employees and a $60 billion annual budget. He has also co-founded the Washington Leadership Academy, a four-year high school in Washington, D.C. Attached Things/Links Mentioned: Washington, D.C. Miles’s Time at Google Technology Policy Public Policy Technology Quantum Computing AI AR/VR AI Principles EV Batteries National Security “Nature, to be commanded, it must be obeyed.” (Francis Bacon) Civics, Public Policy Remington Model 5 Typewriter “What we’ve seen happen with technology computing power will be eclipsed in just a few years in the quantum computing domain.” (Miles) The Future of Technology Development Miles’s Website Miles’s Twitter #DreamBIG #ImproveYourselfImpactLives

Josh Cutler was a teacher for many, many years in New York City. During that time, he learned how to foster a great classroom environment and the details to the educational system. From there he went on to develop his knowledge in the educational realm and training space. He is now a Learning and Development/Training Strategy Consultant. Also, Josh is an Executive Coach at Teach the Trainer.  This conversation has a deep pull on my life because proper education is super important to me. Josh Cutler is one of the most intellectually clear thinkers on this topic of education. If you watch and/or listen to this episode, I truly think you’ll get great value out of it. Attached Things/Links Mentioned: Josh's Journey Education Education Reform Teaching Yuri Kruman Company Training “Education is the only industry where labor gets blamed for failures of management.” (Josh) Josh’s LinkedIn #DreamBIG #ImproveYourselfImpactLives To see what we are up to and what is going on around the Dream BIG & Co communit

Ashley Olafsen is an author, TEDx speaker, and Forbes entrepreneur. As a 3x business owner and social entrepreneur and Startup Coach at IFundWomen, Ashley has great knowledge about the business world. She started her first company in 2013, called MOVE, and from there has inspired many young women to forge a life they would be fulfilled with.   She has some of the best business acumen I know of…. So enjoy this deep dive with Ashley. Attached Things/Links Mentioned: Ashley's Journey Business Business From a Young Age Entrepreneurship Learning from Relationships Writing Books MOVE Startup Resources IFundWomen Ashley's Goals Ashley’s Instagram Ashley’s LinkedIn Ashley’s Website #DreamBIG #ImproveYourselfImpactLives To see what we are up to and what is going on around the Dream BIG & Co community you can follow us on the following platforms: Website Instagram Twitter Facebook Vimeo Snapchat Tik Tok LinkedIn Medium Our Spotify Playlist Our Amazon Alexa Skill - Dream BIG Daily Our Amazon Alexa Skill - Dr

Cameron Dower is an entrepreneur, content strategist, and a genius ideator and maker of branding and content. At 20 years old, Cameron has created 5 businesses thus far (the first of which at 9). He brings great value to his social media platforms and has grown his personal brand extremely well. With all his knowledge, he founded and created a social media content agency (SMCA) in 2020. Alongside that, he now also works as a project manager at FanBytes. Cameron Dower and I met on Twitter last year. So, I’m super happy this conversation came to be. Enjoy! Attached Things/Links Mentioned: Business Entrepreneurship Starting Off Young Social Media Content Strategy Content Creation Best Brands Cameron's Goals Lifestyle Design Cameron’s Website Cameron’s Twitter Cameron’s LinkedIn #DreamBIG #ImproveYourselfImpactLives To see what we are up to and what is going on around the Dream BIG & Co community you can follow us on the following platforms: Website Instagram Twitter Facebook Vimeo Snapchat Tik Tok LinkedI

Emily Padan is the creator of Bloom Class, Co-Owner of Hinter Company and Hinter House, and host of Finding You Wave Podcast. Emily was a teacher for many, many years and has even created her own educational tutoring company called Bloom Class. Along the way, she decided to co-create Hinter Company with her husband Mauricio. Hinter Company builds cabins and rents them out to people for unique experiences. Check out their information below if you’re interested in what Emily is doing, has done, or want to say thanks in any way. Enjoy! Attached Things/Links Mentioned: Emily's Journey Teaching Entrepreneurship Learning from Relationships Healing Bloom Class Hinter Company Sustainability Emily’s Email: emily@bloomclass.co Emily’s Instagram Hinter Company Instagram Hinter House Instagram Bloom Class & Hinter Website #DreamBIG #ImproveYourselfImpactLives To see what we are up to and what is going on around the Dream BIG & Co community you can follow us on the following platforms: Website Instagram Twitter

Taylor is the Co-Founder and CEO of Toucan, which is a free Chrome extension that helps you learn a language without even trying. In the past, she has worked for Fair, Headspace, and Science. Taylor comes from a sports background, taught herself to code, and has always been on an ambitious road of business and personal development since young. Toucan currently supports seven languages — Spanish, Korean, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Japanese. English is coming soon (and is probably live by the time this episode is too). They have 60,000 organic, monthly active users.  Toucan also recently raised $4.5 million dollars from their next round of funding. Attached Things/Links Mentioned: Taylor's Background Entrepreneurship Learning How to Code Business Startups The Toucan Team Raising Money Daily Routines Toucan Website Taylor’s Crunchbase Profile Taylor’s Twitter Taylor’s LinkedIn #DreamBIG #ImproveYourselfImpactLives To see what we are up to and what is going on around the Dream BIG & Co co

Neil Heritage is a motivational speaker and disabled Army veteran. He has definitely inspired me. From the first day I heard of his story to now interviewing him, I am astounded by Neil’s courage and perseverance.   Neil served in the British Army for 11 years on the bomb disposal team in Bosnia, Northern Ireland, and Iraq. He lost his legs in Iraq in 2004 where he was clearing a route for IEDs and a suicide bomber got through the cordon and detonated. After the initial recovery from his injuries and adaptation to his new lifestyle, Neil tried all types of challenges: from triathlons to rowing across the Atlantic ocean to becoming the 1st below-the-knee double amputee to scale Matterhorn. Neil has a foundation called Climb 2 Recovery. C2R supports wounded soldiers in their rehabilitation using climbing and adventurous challenges as a springboard to recovery. No better episode to release on this day. Enjoy! Attached Things/Links Mentioned: Neil's Journey Serving in the British Army Story of Becoming "Dis