People are the Answer

In this episode, Jeffrey and Reilly discuss life, education, and the state of the world…a little more background noise than preferred in this one, as it was the first in-person recording of PatA, and our children are playing in the room above us, but it’s a great listen nonetheless...

Links: You can reach Reilly via email at reilly at rpcconsult.com; Open Systems Institute

Reilly brings over a decade of experience as a leader in Colorado's education policy landscape. Over the last 10+ years she has worked to develop and advance policy, guide political strategy, build and sustain philanthropic fundraising, support a statewide ballot measure campaign and build and sustain a powerful and thoughtful coalition of partners.

Reilly served as the Colorado Children’s Campaign’s Government Affairs Director from 2009 to 2011, then as the organization’s Vice President of Education Initiatives from 2011 – 2014. Reilly’s work focused on developing statewide political strategy as well as the creation and advancement of education policy.

From 2015 – 2020, Reilly was the President and CEO for Climb Higher Colorado, an education nonprofit. The organization focused on advancing research-based family school partnerships, supporting a robust coalition focused on educational equity and launched an education fellowship program, the Systems Impact Institute.

Reilly now provides consulting services through RPC Consulting. Reilly served as a member on The Colorado Health Foundation's Policy Board from 2015-2020, is a mentor through the Challenge Foundation and is an inaugural fellow with the Open Systems Institute. Reilly was born and raised in Colorado and lives in Denver with her husband, Brett and daughter, Gwen. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Kansas and a Master of Arts in Urban Education Policy from Brown University.

In episode 5, Kim and Jeffrey discuss Kim’s journey to becoming an activist attorney, seeing her future husband speak years before meeting, Massachusetts cannabis, and much more…

LINKS: Kim's Instagram, Vicente Sederberg Law Firm, Trella (winner of BU Competition 3), 5th Annual BU Competition event registration: November 10,

Kim Napoli is the director of diversity, equity & inclusion at Vicente Sederberg LLP. As a member of the firm's new Impact & ESG Practice Group, she is responsible for assisting clients in the creation, implementation, and progress made towards their goals related to diversity, equity and inclusion. She also works to ensure compliance in these areas as they relate to regulations and laws at the state and federal levels, with a focus on plans to positively impact communities. Kim is a deft strategic advisor who works diligently, and with good instinct, for the benefit of her clients and the industry.

Prior to this, Kim worked in a number of roles for a national cannabis company including, senior director of corporate social responsibility and director of diversity programs. Since 2017, Kim has served on the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission’s Cannabis Advisory Board as Governor Charlie Baker’s appointed expert in minority business development. In this role, she helps the Cannabis Control Commission in the development and implementation of the state’s cannabis regulations and policy. She also served as the director of outreach for the successful 2016 campaign to legalize cannabis in Massachusetts. In addition, Kim is a member of the Cannabis Trade Federation’s Diversity Equity and Inclusion Task Force.

Kim holds a Bachelor of Science in Sociology from Suffolk University; College of Arts and Science, and a Juris Doctor from Suffolk University Law School. She is active in her local communities and has served as an appointed member of the Roxbury Strategic Masterplan Oversight Committee and as a member of the Sudbury Public School’s Superintendents Reopening Task Force. Kim is also an elected corporator for Middlesex Saving Bank in Massachusetts.

In episode 4, Christina and Jeffrey talk about why her feelings changed on drugs and addiction, changing minds on drug policy in the deep South, growing up there, and more...

Learn more:

EndItForGood website, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Conference: SHIFT from Drug War to Drug Health; Christina Instagram, Christina Twitter, Christina Tedx Talk; Chasing the Scream book

Christina is a writer, TEDx speaker, and perpetual question asker. She grew up in a conservative, Christian home and earned a degree in Biblical Studies with an emphasis in Christian Ministry from Belhaven University.

As a young adult, Christina assumed she had a solid understanding of how the world works. That changed when she and her husband became foster parents in 2014. The neat bow she had tied around her mental box of how the world works began to unravel.

What had previously been a category of people in her mind, people addicted to drugs, now had a name, face, and an infant son that was sleeping in the extra bedroom down the hall. Her foster care experience gave her an up-close look at the realities of addiction, drug use, and the far-reaching impact of our drug laws.

This became the catalyst for months of reading, questions, and listening as she tried to reconcile her beliefs as a Christian with the pain and suffering she was seeing first-hand. What she learned changed her mind. The laws she thought were the answer to keep people from using drugs she now saw as causing more harm than help to people made in God’s image.

Christina founded End It For Good out of her desire to invite others to listen to the voices directly impacted by our drug laws. Her hope is that more people will explore the root causes of drug-related harm and consider a different approach. She is currently writing a book on the research and experiences that changed her mind about the best path forward to help people thrive, even in a world where harmful drugs exist.

Christina is married to her college sweetheart, Thomas, and they live in Ridgeland, MS with their three sons. On the weekends you can find her biking, in a hammock reading a biography, or playing board games with the family.

In episode 3, Andy and Jeffrey dug into Andy’s fight to conquer Cystic Fibrosis, books he’s written, love of sports, running with the Olympic torch, and more...

Follow Andy and The CF Warrior Project on Twitter: @CFWarriorProj; Instagram: @CFWarriorProject;TikTok: @cf_warrior_project ; and Facebook: Andy-Lipman. Check out Andy’s website at cfwarriorproject.org.

Andy Lipman has cystic fibrosis, but cystic fibrosis will never have him. On his 38th birthday, Andy passed the current median life expectancy for people with cystic fibrosis (CF). At 48, his life expectancy now exceeds the expected. Andy is a positive role model who defied all odds to become a college graduate, Olympic-torch bearer, runner, advocate, author, husband, and father. He is dedicated to finding a cure for this genetic disease.

Andy’s fourth book, The CF Warrior Project: 65 Stories of Triumph Against Cystic Fibrosis, celebrates the people from around the globe who, like him, persevere and live life the fullest every day even though they have a terminal, invisible disease. The book is available on Amazon and other booksellers. Andy is currently working on a second installment of The CF Warrior Project.

The CF Warrior Project is more than a book, it is a movement. Andy, in fact, appeared on The Today Show to discuss his story along with the movement. Andy has two written memoirs telling his story battling the long odds of a CF diagnosis: Alive at 25: How I’m Beating Cystic Fibrosis and The Drive at 35: The Long Road to Beating Cystic Fibrosis. In addition, he wrote A Superhero Needs No Cape about a young person who grows up wanting to play Major League Baseball, but he must do so while fighting cystic fibrosis.

Not just relating stories of survivors, Andy is also dedicated to finding a cure for this terminal disease. He founded the Wish for Wendy Foundation in memory of his older sister, who died from CF after only 16 days of life. In 2017, Andy was the recipient of the Alex Award presented by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. As of 2021, Wish for Wendy has contributed more than $4.5 million to help raise awareness for cystic fibrosis and fund research for a cure.

Andy has spoken all over the US and in Ireland.

Andy adheres to a rigorous daily workout routine. His fitness accomplishments include: running the 10-km Peachtree Road Race every year since 1997, finishing a triathlon, and completing the difficult 90-day workout program P90X.

In 2006 Andy became a father, a miracle for any male with cystic fibrosis because they are nearly all infertile. The Lipmans’ second child, also conceived with the help of IVF, was born in 2008.

Andy holds a degree from the University of Georgia and serves on the Terry College of Business emeritus board. He also has served on the GA Chapter of the CF Foundation board (the first ever CF patient to do so) and was the corporate sponsorship chair for three years at the National CF Foundation.

Andy currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with his wife Andrea and their two children. He began a breakthrough cystic fibrosis drug called Trikafta in November of 2019 and has since seen his lung function skyrocket to levels he has not seen in more than 25 years.

In this episode, Karen and Jeffrey discuss ending the drug war, education, human rights, and Bike advocacy…

As the director of state policies at the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), Karen manages grassroots and direct lobbying efforts in state legislatures for the nation’s leading marijuana policy organization.

Working closely with local allies and lawmakers, her team led the successful advocacy campaigns to pass more than a dozen medical cannabis and decriminalization measures through state legislatures. Her department also spearheaded the campaigns that made Vermont and Illinois the first two states to legalize marijuana for adults’ use legislatively (rather than by voter initiative), as well as the campaign to make Connecticut the most recent state to legalize cannabis.

Karen earned her J.D. from Loyola School of Law, New Orleans, where she received the Gillis Long Public Service Award. She lives in West Hollywood, California, and has been involved in a wide array of community activism and volunteerism, including related to education, bicycling infrastructure, disability rights, peace, and human rights. She also served as an appointment member of the West Hollywood Rent Stabilization Commission from 2018-2021.

Relevant links:

MPP.org, whatiffoundation.org, schoolonwheels.org, wehobike.org

Alex Hodara is the Founder of Rocket Club, "The S.T.E.A.M. and Entrepreneurship Certificate Program for Innovators Ages 7-14." Rocket Club has been an incredible addition to the lives of its students, staff, and others. 

Alex began his career founding Hodara Real Estate Group, an investment and development company started as a brokerage in 2008, when he was a junior business student at Boston University. The success of this student-owned and student-run brokerage led to his being named one of Forbes’ “30 Under 30”. In 2011 Alex bought, renovated, and rented his first building. Today he owns 200 multifamily units between Boston and Jersey City.

In 2018, Alex founded Rocket Club and in 2021 was named as a finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

Alex, who grew up in Westfield, New Jersey, received a B.B.A. from Boston University’s Questrom School of Business. He currently resides in New York City.

For more information go to rocketclub.com 

Preview of episode 1 in which Jeffrey and Alex have an engaging discussion covering entrepreneurship, education innovation and Alex’s program Rocket Club, and why it’s important to build confidence at a young age.