Claudia Weintraub is the Director of the River Oaks Academy, a Personalized Learning Public Charter School, based in Thousand Oaks, California. We sat down with her to understand changes that are occurring in various proposed laws that are going to affect students in Charter Schools throughout the State.

Dennis Baker is an accomplished marketer and entrepreneur. His latest venture is called POLIS Assist. For the last two years, he and his team have been locating every parking space in Los Angeles County and putting them into an app. Yes, it’s true, need a space, use POLIS to find one.

In this conversation, Kevin talked about how he and the team at Bourke Wealth Management, look at finances from a big picture view, not just isolating their lens on stock portfolios. He calls it the Family Financial Ecosystem.

This conversation with storyteller, award-winning journalist, author, 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.

We had a lively conversation about forecasting, how you present data to decision makers and how ‘data can be tricky.’

In this show, we talk with Mary Olsen who is part of the original team that signed KCLU on the air in 1994. Under her leadership, KCLU has grown from single signal to a network of five stations serving the central coast from Agoura Hills northward to San Luis Obispo. She has thirty years of management and budget experience, with over twenty of them in broadcast management.

Mike Williams has one of the better jobs on the planet. He’s the Getting Things Done Enterprise Architect for Zappos. What the heck kind of job title is that? In this episode, Mike tells about working with Tony Hsieh, the legendary founder of Zappos and being immersed in that fantastic culture.

We met with Gregg Hart, newly minted member of the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors, for a delightful conversation about civic engagement. I’ve known Gregg for a long time, back from my days at Wavefront. Gregg has been involved in just about every significant activity here in Santa Barbara, as a member of multiple organizations over the years.

We had a far-reaching conversation with Max Drucker, the CEO of {Carpe Data, a business located just upstairs from our studio here in downtown Santa Barbara. Max understands data, big data, and the future of how data impacts businesses like few we’ve had on the show.

We invited Tara Jones Haaf back to the show when we heard that her very successful company, Eat This, Shoot That, has expanded into Solvang. For those of you outside the 805, Solvang is a lovely recreation of a Danish town, nestled in the Santa Ynez Valley, just 45 minutes from downtown Santa Barbara.

Will Bellomy is quite a character, in fact, he designs characters for his party game business, Murder Happens. Will joined us in the studio, with guest host, Kimberly Herriman. Kimberly is studying ‘Play’ as a part of her doctoral research at Antioch University.

Glen Derbyshire started taking photographs as a young boy growing up in a military family stationed in Asia. He fell in love with capturing images of events all around him and began his pursuit of lifelong learning, ending up at Brooks Institute here in Santa Barbara.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

In this episode, we meet two amazing women, Nirasha Rodriguez, and Zdena Jiroutova, 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.

Siobhan Holden is a student at Santa Barbara High School and Founder of the Santa Barbara Cookie Company. She brought cookies to her class one day, and everyone fell in love with them. Sometimes that’s all it takes to get that entrepreneurial energy flowing. It turns out that high school kids don’t have enough money to afford organic, handmade cookies, so she turned to a broader market and debuted at last year’s Summer Solstice Festival.

Alex Cicconi-Kasper, CEO of +Charge, is the winner of the recent Startup Weekend, held in February, at UCSB. He’s a second-year College of Creative Studies student and Physicist. He and his team have developed a single-use cell phone charger.

Dr. George Ayoub is an author, scientist, and educator, experienced in medical research and higher education. He has taught over 10,000 students at colleges and universities and is appreciated for his ability to make things clear for all audiences.

Miguel DeCoste, CPP, has worked in the field of security for over 25 years. His background includes domestic and international Executive Protection, Security Consulting, and Event Security assignments. 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.

In this candid interview with Dina Landi, the managing partner of Riskin Partners, we learn about the complicated local real estate market and how our coastal lifestyle is a key reason people flock to our area.You’ll learn what’s it’s like to be a realtor who focuses on properties of distinction. 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 selling or buying 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. 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 selling or buying a home.

Seth Streeter is a community organizer and CEO of Mission Wealth. Over the past two years, he has led the creation of a significant new effort in Santa Barbara called Sustainable Future. His Advisory Council of 24 civic leaders reads like a local Who’s Who.

Emily Barany has a great story to tell about how ThomasFireHelp.org began. It was the day after the Thomas Fire burned to the outskirts of downtown Ventura.

Sabith Khan is an Assistant Professor at the School of Management at California Lutheran University. He’s passionately interested in what drives us to give our hard-earned money to good causes and how this affects civil society, religion, and politics.

Narelle Wickham is a forensic mental health clinician, here visiting Santa Barbara for the summer from Canberra, Australia. This conversation opened up a window into why mental illness is such a driving factor in school violence and how educators can be taught to recognize early warning signs.

Robin Elander is the Executive Director of the Santa Barbara Summer Solstice Celebration. Recently she sat down with Mark and Patrick to talk about the upcoming 3-day festival and the workshop that runs for two months leading up to the big weekend. This year’s celebration is June 22-24 in downtown Santa Barbara, ending up at Alameda Park for a well-attended parade after-party. We talked with Robin about the challenges of running such a creative endeavor and what it was like behind the scenes.

Edgar Terry, President, and CFO of Terry Berries comes from a long line of farmers. He has a lifelong interest in finance and teaching. In this episode, Edgar explains the Food System in a way that helps us understand the process of commercial farming in a way that helps us appreciate the complexities of the business.

Jen Berger is a native Southern Californian and a third generation Realtor. Following the footsteps of her Grandfather, and Mother, Jen began real estate in 1998 while attending UC Santa Barbara. She graduated in 2000 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Spanish and soon after attained her Real Estate License.

Aaron Pick, the Chief Operating Officer of award-winning Allen Construction, in Santa Barbara, had an engaging conversation with us, covering areas from LEED construction, the rebuilding of Montecito to his winding journey to Santa Barbara.

Laura Azzalina Rigali is a bundle of energy, and it must be fun to be one of her students. She is an adjunct professor at California Lutheran University, in the School of Management and in a professional capacity she runs a vibrant consultancy called Illuminate CFO.

Professor Bruce Gillies, PsyD, teaches at the School of Management, California Lutheran University. He came on the show to tell us about his new book, The 21st Century Career Search Program. He discusses how the first 90 days on the job is crucial to make sure there’s a cultural fit for the employee and the workplace.

John Silva is the President and Senior Creative Director of DuPuis Group, based in Ventura, California. They work on branding, innovation and have created several ventures in conjunction with their clients’ brands. John is a veteran with 25 years experience of creative problem-solving. We learned some key aspects of how he approaches problems. Specifically using brand values to connect trends and culture to business goals and strategy.

We had an excellent, wide-ranging conversation with Phillipa Bisou Della Vina, President of the Santa Barbara Transgender Advocacy Network (SBTAN). She’s been deeply involved in this underserved community for the past several years and helped us better appreciate their challenges.

Dane Howard is a designer, a dad and a friend of the show. We asked him back to continue our conversation about the importance of design in the workplace.

In this episode of 805conversations, we talk with Business Giving Roundtable members, Kirsten McLaughlin, Market Vice President, COX Communications and Van Haas, Founder, Accountix.

Karyl Lynn Burns and Jim O’Neil are the co-founders of the Rubicon Theater in downtown Ventura, California. They are celebrating their 20th Anniversary Season with six new shows. They call it “A Season of Enchantment.”

Sara and Garrett are the founders of the afterschool theater program based in Santa Barbara called Collabreations. They teach an ensemble-based creation method rooted in improv techniques. The focus on grades 1-6 and appreciate how much impact they’re making in these young lives.

Marsha Bailey, a resident of Santa Barbara since receiving her Masters in Communication from UCSB, leads an organization that’s making a difference in the lives of hundreds of emerging entrepreneurs in the region. She’s the founder of Women’s Economic Ventures.

Primo Custodio is the Executive in Residence at California Lutheran Univesity’s School of Management. His career of 44 years working in human resources qualifies him to bring real-world experience into the classroom.

Dan Weeks has precisely the type of personality you want in a mentor. Upbeat, optimistic, boundless business savvy and is a committed citizen.

Joanne Kuchera-Morin is the Professor of Media Arts and Technology at UCSB. Her Allosphere project is on the cutting edge of virtual experimentation.

Sean Bhardwaj is the Founder and CEO of Aspire3, based at the Ventura Ventures Technology Center. He sat with Mark and Patrick to talk about his view of what entrepreneurs need to be successful and the program he’s created to deliver the missing pieces.

Yelena Lipovetskaya wants to make an impact in the world. And her company Cospheric is doing just that, one microsphere at a time.

Dusty Stutsman is the co-founder of Nightout.com and SBMenus. One could say they backed into the business when they saw a gap in the market.

Theo Stephan, the life force behind Global Gardens tells us a great story of how she’s brought her Greek culture and passion for food to Los Olivos.

Grandmaster Dave Wheaton, a past guest on the show, joined us to talk about aging and his hero Jack LaLanne. Dave is the founder of Hapkido International.

Doug Margerum was honored as the 2017 Vintner of the Year and recently took time to chat with Mark and Patrick about Santa Barbara County winemaking.

Kerri Murray of ShelterBox USA, was late to our session because she was on the phone all morning with FEMA, planning their response to Hurricane Harvey.

Tyler Lucas and Nathaniel Thompson make a difference in the lives of young students with Start-Up Kids, a project founded by California Lutheran University

Adam Hall’s background is in real estate and investment banking. His focus now is undoing, unthinking, undeveloping, it’s turned into his life’s mission.

The Janik Brothers, both students at CLU, won the 2017 New Venture Competition. They have an unusual secret weapon, they’re magicians and entrepreneurs.

Robin Newman is the founder of Global Egg Donors, an egg donation program, based in Santa Barbara, specializing in the coordination of affordable procedures

Tim Goldstein is a neurodiversity communication specialist. His Aspergers diagnosis answered a lot of questions and changed his life’s work.

Dani Natcher has a fun job. As Community ambassador for Yelp, she helps businesses throw parties to build awareness and introduce their teams to the public.

Jamie DeVries is a teacher and the founder of Kids Helping Kids. He started the San Marcos Entrepreneurship Academy, where they empower young leaders.

Greg Van Ness is the CEO of Tolman & Wiker Insurance Services and one of the show sponsors. This conversation about culture colors most areas of business.

Robert, John and Alexis, won CLU’s Startup Weekend for their RepWatch idea. This included a $10,000 prize, and now it’s off to build and market their idea.

John Goerke loves coffee. He loves it so much he’s dedicated his life to making sure you get the most enjoyment out of every cup of his coffee.

Yonette Thomas, PhD. is an entrepreneur who is moving from a lifetime as an academic research professor to a coach for academics.

Jeremy Goldberg, Ph.D., stopped by to talk about his life’s mission, to make kindness cool. His interest in science vectored him towards human behavior

Matthew Fienup is a Lecturer and the Executive Director of Center for Economic Research and Forecasting at California Lutheran University.

Brett Howlett is the Founder of an innovative new lifestyle company; You Are What You Sleep. His background is in the world of advertising.

Bradley Weber is the founder and CEO of RallyCare, a new app for the healthcare industry.

Sheila Cushman is the Executive Director Emeritus at MOXI, in Santa Barbara, She talked with Mark and Patrick about her 27-year journey to build the museum.

Dr. Sumantra Sengupta, from California Lutheran University (CLU), has an interesting story about his journey to the classroom.

Dr. Tiffany Morse is the Executive Director of Career Education at Ventura County Office of Education. She helps explain the power of this work and it’s importance to our Community.

Jeff Carmody is the founder of Agility Capital in Santa Barbara. This conversation helps to understand how this type of financing works for your business.

Dennis Thompson, Principal at Thompson-Naylor Architects in Santa Barbara, sat with Mark and Patrick to talk about his love of design and the environment.

Ray Estrada has been doing news in Santa Barbara for years. He sat with Mark and Patrick to talk about his new home base, the Impact Hub on State Street.

Vlad Vaiman, Ph.D. and professor at California Lutheran University talked with Mark and Patrick about his life starting in Russia, with many stops along the way to the 805.

Christopher Foley, the founder of PXLPod Web Strategy updated Mark and Patrick on his current thinking about the web, and it’s misperceptions.

Tara Jones, the founder of Santa Barbara’s Eat This, Shoot That. She provided a stimulating and mouth watering conversation with Mark and Patrick.

Geoff Green is CEO of the SBCC Foundation. He talked with Mark & Patrick about his road to SBCC and how Social Justice has become a central theme for him.

Bill Camarillo is the CEO of Agromin; a pioneer in the sustainable management of biodegradable resources. This was a master bio-class for Mark and Patrick.

Charles Barth, the chair of Slow Food Ventura County, met with Mark and Patrick to talk about our local food economy in an enlightening conversation

Ryan Jenkins, Asst. Professor of Ethics at Cal Poly, helped Mark and Patrick explore the paths you can quickly travel down with talking about ethics and just about any busines

Ken Sterling is the EVP at Big Speak & lecturer at UCSB. He met with Mark & Patrick to talk about his passion for business, writing and teaching.

Glenn Wharton, Associate Professor at Museum Studies at NYU sat with Mark and Patrick to talk about art, new media, community & conservation.

Chris Kimball is the president of California Lutheran University. He chatted with Mark and Patrick about his passion for History, Baseball, and Community.

Helen Russell is the Chief People Officer at Atlassian. She had a great conversation with Mark and Patrick about talent, leadership, teams, and learning.

Angel Speier is the co-founder of PackedKits. She met with Mark and Patrick for a candid and funny conversation her husbands first Chemo session.

Burke Franklin, local entrepreneur, writer, and martial artist, sat with Mark and Patrick to talk about his back story and philosophy about business.

Sarah Keas and Haley Pavone, winners of the CIE Elevator Pitch Competition sat with Mark and Patrick to talk about the road leading to the competition.

John Greathouse, Professor of Practice at UCSB and renowned Santa Barbara entrepreneur sat for a conversation about teaching, writing, and coaching.

Kevin Bourke, CFP, founder of Bourke Wealth Management and Author, talked with Mark & Patrick about his practice and his approach to managing finances.

David Kafer, the force behind the Portrait Project 100K, met with Mark and Patrick to talk about the project and his passion for the people he photographs.

Elena Richardson, Director of Grantmaking, at the Fund for Santa Barbara, sat with Mark and Patrick to talk about the progressive movement in the region

Professor Harry Starn Jr, MS, CFA, CFP helped educate Mark and Patrick on how teaching Financial Planners has changed and incorporated storytelling.

Stephen Miles, criminal defense attorney, and part-time Santa Barbara resident spoke with Mark about his legal career in Baltimore, his other home.

Megan Birney, the CEO of Unite to Light, talked with Mark and Patrick about the mission of the project and the big goals she has for the organization.

The 805conversation podcast is a very friendly environment for our guests. Here are simple instructions to give you everything you’ll need to be amazing.

Ray Clem, one of the members of Tolman & Wiker Insurance Services, sat with Mark and Patrick to put a human face and plain talk to the sometimes complex topic of business insurance.

Jill Seltzer, the new Managing Director of the Ensemble Theater at the New Vic met with Mark and Patrick to talk about the organization and the theater

Pia Dorer, Co-Founder, and Managing Partner at Orange Identity, sat with Mark and Patrick to talk about brand strategy and design, her professional passions

Mark Sylvester, host of this show and Executive Producer of TEDxSantaBarbara did a quick recap with Patrick about the recent TEDx

Ravi Sawhney, the founder, and CEO of RKS Design has been contemplating the role of design in our lives for years.

Shaun Tomson, Surfing legend, Entrepreneur, and noted Speaker has a sit-down with Mark and Patrick to talk about his life mission and back story.

Adam benShea, is a lecturer at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and a master at Brazilian Jiujitsu. He talked with the guys about his fascination with stories