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Settle the debt: school lunch debt relief non-profit provides attorney meaningful ork

About this episode:

“In 2017, I was just driving down the street and I heard this interview on NPR and it was about this child in New Mexico who had gone to get a school lunch. And he walked up to the cash register with his meal in his hands, and it turned out that he didn’t have enough money in his account to pay for the lunch. So, the lunch lady took the meal out of his hands and threw it in the trash right in front of him, and, gave him an alternative meal like a cold cheese sandwich instead of the healthy meal—one that had already been served that they couldn’t give to anybody else. And instead of letting that child eat that meal, they threw it away. And they did it in front of him. You know, of course, that the child is going to be traumatized by that.”

-Adelle Settle, Founder of Settle The Debt

She already does meaningful work as an attorney for a federal government agency.

But as mom to an elementary school-aged child in Virginia’s second-largest school system, Adelle Settle discovered that thousands of kids in her community often go hungry, because they, their parents, or caregivers cannot afford to re-pay their outstanding student lunch debt.

Adelle could not sit idly by; she founded Settle the Debt, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that pays off the unpaid school lunch accounts in her community.

In this episode, Adelle describes:

• How, as a very young child, she developed a strong social conscience [starts at 2:27]
• The mission of Settle the Debt [starts at 19:57]
• What happens to a student who lacks proper nutrition [starts at 27:19]
• Her work with elected officials to pass “anti-food shaming” legislation [starts at 34:36]

About our guest:

Adelle Settle is a Senior Attorney Analyst with the Social Security Administration in Washington, D.C. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Albion College, and a Juris Doctorate from George Mason University. Adelle and her family live in Prince William County, Virginia.

EPISODE DATE: December 27, 2019

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Bravery Part 2, an episode about the superpower that people need.

About this episode:

“When you heard the process that they went through to get there, it was painful and it was my process, too. It’s like putting aside everything you’ve ever been taught and saying: I’m really good at this. And, it all came down really to the biggest problem people have which is self-doubt.”

– Public relations executive Aimee Stern

By all measures, she was successful in ways that mattered most in the professional world: her business portfolio was profitable and scaling.

But Aimee Stern discovered that her work, while effective in its strategy and execution, was done for people that she didn’t always respect. Aimee lamented that her focus was directed to [not messing up], rather than to making her work meaningful.

As a single mother of two kids, she couldn’t just “blow up” her career to do something else. But Aimee made a bargain with herself, to continue to scale her PR practice, but do it on her own terms.

And, that’s when Aimee Stern channeled bravery to do good and do well in her professional career.

In Bravery Part 2 episode of the podcast, Aimee describes:

• The first act of bravery [starts at 2:30]
• Why many people are not brave [starts at 4:40]
• How GenZ, a generation exposed to existential crises, is our bravest cohort [starts at 9:57]
• The impact of bravery on a meaningful work career [starts at 17:48]

About our guest:

Aimee Stern is the Chief Bravery Officer of Brave NOW PR based in Washington, D.C. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Education from the State University of New York Oswego.

EPISODE DATE: December 20, 2019

Social media:

Brave NOW PR Website

Brave NOW Courageous Content Website

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 30:20 — 34.7MB)

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Bravery Part 1: the superpower people need to do meaningful work.

About this episode:

“When you are 26-years-old and being thrown into boardrooms to interview the CEO of Pepsi and General Foods and places like that, you really have to learn how to talk to people and to be a little differential, but still to be yourself. Otherwise, [they] won’t tell you anything.”

– Public relations executive Aimee Stern

By all measures, she was successful in ways that mattered most in the professional world: her business portfolio was profitable and scaling.

But Aimee Stern discovered that her work, while effective in its strategy and execution, was done for people that she didn’t always respect. Aimee lamented that her focus was directed to [not messing up], rather than to making her work meaningful.

As a single mother of two kids, she couldn’t just “blow up” her career to do something else. But Aimee made a bargain with herself, to continue to scale her PR practice, but do it on her own terms.

And, that’s when Aimee Stern channeled bravery to do good and do well in her professional career.

In the podcast episode Bravery Part 1, Aimee describes:

• A childhood informed by fear and the loss of her mom [starts at 2:34]
• Developing a social conscience [starts at 5:19]
• The importance of writing in her life [starts at 10:40]
• Her first job in advertising and dealing with sexual harassment [starts at 14:07]
• An act of bravery that changed her career for the better [starts at 22:26]

About our guest:

Aimee Stern is the Chief Bravery Officer of Brave NOW PR based in Washington, D.C. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Education from the State University of New York Oswego.

EPISODE DATE: December 13, 2019

Social media:

Brave NOW PR Website

Brave NOW Courageous Content Website

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 55:54 — 64.0MB)

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Courtroom to Screening Room: A Lawyer Finds Purpose as a Filmmaker

About this episode:

“Let me say it, again. Matt Weiss, a traffic lawyer from New York with no experience whatsoever, got to direct an Oscar winning actress. I mean, how cool is that?”

– Attorney and Filmmaker Matthew Weiss

Matthew Weiss is a successful attorney and a restless dreamer. He built a formidable New York City-based private law practice that helps thousands of people. And yet, he yearned for greater purpose in his life and career.

A chance meeting with the father of a fallen 9/11 hero would radically change Matthew’s life and unexpectedly pivot his career in a new and meaningful direction as a filmmaker.

Matthew’s debut film, the documentary called Man in Red Bandana, memorializes the life of Welles Crowther, a 24-year-old equities trader who worked in the World Trade Center. On September 11, 2001, as the Twin Towers burned, Welles escorted at least 10 people to safety before losing his own life when the South Tower he was in collapsed. Man in Red Bandana debuted in September 2017 and won critical acclaim.

Soon after, he co-produced his first feature film, Vault, which stars Chazz Palminteri and Don Johnson. The movie recalls the true story of one of the largest heists in American history.

In this episode, Courtroom to Screening Room. Matthew describes his:

• Childhood dreams of work and early entrepreneurial experiences [starts at 2:30]
• Success building one of the largest traffic law practices in New York [starts at 8:10]
• Chance encounter with the father of fallen 9/11 hero Welles Crowther that led him to produce the documentary, Man in Red Bandana [starts at 20:37]
• Second project, the feature film Vault [starts at 39:00]
• Work as a film producer [starts at 42:10]

About our guest:

Matthew Weiss grew up in New York City’s Long Island suburbs. While he dreamed of becoming an entrepreneur, his early career led him to the law and founding the New York City-based firm Weiss & Associates, PC, and, the 888-Red-Light traffic law brand. He is CEO and executive producer at RDZ, a film production company. Matthew earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Philosophy from Brandeis University and a Juris Doctorate (Law) Degree from Hofstra University. He and his family live in South Florida.

EPISODE DATE: December 6, 2019

Social Media:

Facebook – Man in Red Bandana

IMDB Page

LinkedIn Page

Man in Red Bandana – Trailer

Vault – Trailer

TED Talk