805conversations

In this episode, we talk with Dan Hamilton, Associate Professor in the School of Management at California Lutheran University, where he is the Director of Economics for the CLU Center for Economic Research and Forecasting (CERF) and the Director of CLU's Master of Science in Quantitative Economics (MSQE). In partnership with CERF Director Matthew Fienup (previously on the podcast), he is a member of the Wall Street Journal's Economic Forecasting Survey and has more than 22 years of experience in economic forecasting. We had a lively conversation about forecasting, how you present data to decision makers and how 'data can be tricky.' Dan believes that we are in the Golden era of forecasting. Luckily for us, he has deep experience in the topic and was able to present Patrick and Mark with a Master's Class worth of information in under an hour. Dan joined CLU in 2009 and in three months, established CERF and MSQE. CERF has computed economic forecasts for the United States, California, Oregon, Los Angeles County, the San Fernando Valley, Ventura County, and for various other counties in California. The MSQE program focuses on teaching the application of quantitative methods in applied economic and financial analysis, including economic forecasting. Before CLU, Hamilton joined the UCSB Economic Forecast Project in 2000 where he worked with well-known regional organizations including Vandenberg Air Force Base, the County of Santa Barbara, the County of Ventura, The Towbes Group, the Sares-Regis Group, among many others. Before UCSB, Dan worked for three years for the Wharton Econometric Forecasting Associates (WEFA Group) where he produced and interpreted forecasts for a wide variety of clients including Visa International, the Panama Canal Authority, and the United States government. He also conducted intensive forecast training programs for both internal and external clients at the WEFA Group.

This conversation with storyteller, award-winning journalist, author, and professor, Starshine Roshell takes us into the world of writing, storytelling and interviewing, and as Starshine is usually the one doing the interviewing, the show has a certain meta quality to it. Starshine has written several books, produces a regular column for the Santa Barbara Independent, is the Associate Director of Media and Communications at Fielding Graduate University, all while being a busy Mom. Clearly, she's got more than one superpower. She teaches people how to interview, so I was a bit on edge and made sure I brought my A-game to the table for this conversation. As you'll learn in the show, I didn't need to worry at all. We settled into a nice groove taking us from her coming from a family of storytellers, to being an instructor for Lynda.com (Now LinkedIn Learning). Along her long and winding road, she's discovered many tricks of writing she freely shared with us. As a student of interviewing and crafting the best questions to ask, I jumped on the chance to ask the expert about how she approaches interviews. Of course, she actually has a class in Interviewing. (Note to self: Must take this class.) I won't give away my favorite part, where she used an analogy to explain how music and messaging are more similar than you might think at first. We had a lot of laughs as will you when you listen. Please feel free to share this with someone who wants to be a better communicator. ps. The title of this episode, Talk more about that, is one of the tricks she explained that she uses to dig deeper into the answer she hears during an interview.

In this episode, we meet two amazing women, both winners in their respective categories of the 2018 Spirit of Entrepreneurship Awards. We've been partners with SOE for some time now, and love having these conversations. Both women are remarkably accomplished as you will learn in this spirited episode. Nirasha, the winner in the Hospitality and Tourism category, has built a thriving business based on her passion for food. She outlines how she went from attending Brooks Institute with a degree in photojournalism to starting The Food Liason with her husband and growing it to be able to feed 4,000 people a day. Zdena, the winner in the Retail category, has grown her passion for art glass that comes her home country in Eastern Europe, into a business based in Solvang, California. She and her husband have grown the business from art glass and jewelry to include a shop featuring olive oils and a new shop called Flavors, which is an artisanal cafe and gelateria. I loved the eclectic nature of our conversation, as will you. Next time you're in Carpinteria (during lunch) stop in at The Food Liason's counter for a treat, then when you're in Solvang, stop into Flavors, after visiting Zfolio's Gallery to see the art glass.

Jan Campbell is the Executive Director of Santa Barbara-based non-profit, Domestic Violence Solutions. Jan gave us a quick update on DVS's history, having been founded with their first shelter in 1977. She also introduced us to a new term: Intimate Partner Violence. She says that the #MeToo movement has raised awareness of this epidemic. Her statistics show that there are more than 6,000 calls a day nationally to organizations that provide support like DVS. DVS relies extensively on volunteers, with a 40-hour training for each of them, as there are more sensitive issues to consider than you'd first think. For instance, the actual location of the shelters is a secret known only to staff and law enforcement. Makes sense once you think about it. Another term she taught us was Intergenerational Violence, here's a link to a white paper on this topic for those of you that want to dive deeper after you listen to this episode. We talked at length about early warning signs, prevention and how to help. She said, "Be an upstander, not a bystander." Agreed. There are many challenges facing our community and this is one she rightfully called a Silent Epidemic. If you're interested in helping DVS be successful in their mission, check them out here. Listeners will remember Jan as the first guest on this podcast. Welcome back. (J.C. Corliss / Noozhawk photo)

I step in when you want to double and triple growth. Diana Pereira is committed to her clients in a way that's inspiring. She's one of the Founders of the Impact Hub in Santa Barbara, and the Founder of Balance Financial Management, located in the Funk Zone of Santa Barbara. We know her from the early days of the Impact Hub when it was still a dream, and she presented the vision at the Santa Barbara Library, several years ago. Since then, the Hub has grown into a center for entrepreneurship in Santa Barbara. Her work at the Impact Hub was recognized with a highly coveted Spirit of Entrepreneurship Award in 2018 in the Green and Entrepreneurship category. Note: We're going to interviewing the 2018 winners over a period of months, to help celebrate the work that the organization is doing. Diana sees her company's role at Balance as the backbone to startups and non-profits. She said she's been doing payroll and accounting since she was eleven years old and has been a CFO for over 15 years. She lights up when you ask her about success stories at the Impact Hub. Her current favorite is Cognixion, founded by Andreas Forsland. They're on the cutting edge of AI, creating products that accelerate and enrich human communication and connection. One of the things that I appreciate about Diana is that she sees herself as a part of the team. If you poke a view into her office in the Funk Zone, you'll see an excellent brick room, windows on two walls, and a shelf that wraps around the room that has computers, that everyone stands up to work on. It's cool, and if they need to sit or take a meeting, they're in the Impact Hub, with plenty of room to spread out when they need to. Congratulations to Diana, and the rest of the 2018 SOE Winners.

We recently had the opportunity to talk with Stephanie Caldwell, a seasoned Chamber of Commerce executive about Ventura and her vision for Main Street. Stephanie understands the small town nature of Ventura and the high percentage of mom and pop businesses. She's also got a lot to say about Growth vs. No Growth conversations and how they affect Ventura. Stephanie came to Ventura from The San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce three years ago, where she was the Chief Operating Officer. Stephanie says there are five main areas of focus: Economic Development, Networking and Visibility, Community Building (especially for non-profits), Advocacy and Political Action, especially as it relates to her board. We mention the board, as one of our sponsors, Greg Van Ness; also a guest on the podcast is Vice-Chair of Governmental Affairs at the Chamber. Ventura has a vibrant startup scene as well, and she quoted another 805conversations guest and Board Chair of the Chamber, John Silva, who said, "Joining the Chamber is one of the best ways to grow your business." Our conversation also touched on the Thomas Fire and the impact it had on an already tight housing marketing. With only 2% availability (much like most of the communities in the 805) it's a challenge when, as a business, you're trying to attract talent from outside the region. Her mantra is in three areas: attract, retain and grow. She's also not blind to the changing economy, and the impact technology has on brick and mortar businesses, especially the sharing economy. She's also recognized a generational shift in membership and is excited about the Young Professionals Group and their positive impact on the organization. Stephanie says the most significant ongoing challenge is communications and how to bridge the growth vs. no growth politics.

This conversation with Dr. Roger Dunham, who lives here in Santa Barbara, focused on a life well led. He's had three interesting careers; doctor, author, and crewmember aboard a Navy submarine. From medicine to underwater survival aboard a nuclear submarine, from the terrorism of piracy in the South China Sea to survival against the medical forces of nature, Roger Dunham. M.D. has crafted a series of intriguing books defining the ultimate in human challenge: Survival. His latest book, Rogue Captain, came out last month. The book blurb says the Navy tried to block publication, and his other submarine novel, Spy Sub, chronicled the search for a missing Russian sub at the bottom of the sea. Fascinating tale when you hear it from Roger in-person, there's a lot of controversy around both books. Roger was an Internal Medicine doctor here in Santa Barbara for 40 years until he retired. His ability to bring real-life experiences into his novels produced one medical thriller, Final Diagnosis, and after seeing so many patients facing end of life issues, he wrote Surviving Mortality.

Ashley is an avid sports enthusiast and is an athlete for life. It's no surprise she has remained in the sports industry for over 17 years. Her experience has ranged from Collegiate Volleyball Coach and Youth Development and Program Director to most recently General Manager and her current role as Director of Corporate Development at Sports Academy in Ventura County. We had a chance to catch up with her and talk about the wide-ranging offerings at Sports Academy and how they're impacting lives from small kids and families, local school sports teams all the way to professional athletes. Ashley explained how the founder of Sports Academy, Chad Faulkner, has an enlightened view of the definition of sports. It includes eSports - they have a cool room dedicated to it, a close-quarters defense course for first responders and even competitions for entrepreneurs. Ashley is an inspirational leader to be sure, and we're sure she and the team at Sports Academy make a difference in the lives of the athletes that train there. She explained their ALPHA motto - A = Athletes, L = Learning, P = Positive, H = healthy and A = Attitude. Love it. They recently hosted a Startup Weekend at their 96,000 square foot facility. Thanks to Mike Panesis, a friend of the pod, and past guest from California Lutheran University for the introduction.

In this candid interview with Dina Landi, the managing partner of Riskin Partners, we learn about the local real estate market and the attraction of people to the region. She explains how the market is complicated and how our coastal lifestyle is one of the main attractors to people in the area. You'll learn what's it's like to be a realtor who focuses on properties of distinction. She gives tips for meeting new people and how to get beyond just thinking about square footage when representing a home. My biggest surprise was when we talked about real estate technology and how realtors tend to be early adopters, and she said, "Yes, we have our own drone." Of course, she does. This conversation had a bit of sadness to it as well. Riskin Partners was founded by Rebecca Riskin, who perished in the Montecito Debris Flow in January 2019. Dina told us briefly about her story that day and wanted to dedicate this episode to her memory.

Miguel DeCoste, CPP, has worked in the field of security for over 25 years. He is the founder of Coast Executive Services. His background includes domestic and international Executive Protection, Security Consulting, and Event Security assignments in the private sector – including working in coordination with the USSS and State and Local law enforcement to provide client protection and site security during the 2012/2016 Republican and Democratic National Conventions. In addition to his 15 years of Public Events Management for the University of California, he is also the host of The Tao of the Velvet Rope, a podcast examining the myths, truths, and guiding principles of Nightclub Security. Our conversation covered a wide range of topics to get a civilian's view of the realm of security professionals. We talked about specific events in the news and his take on them, and how situational awareness is one of the most important skills you can have. I love his explanation of how he works a room when auditing the security at a nightclub, paying attention to things none of us ever consider. I'm glad that he has a podcast that other professionals can listen to and up their game, and keep us safe.