Progress, Potential, and Possibilities Podcast / Show

Send us Fan MailCaptain Benjamin Van Buskirk is the Director of NavalX (https://www.secnav.navy.mil/agility/Pages/default.aspx), a fascinating organization that serves the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps as an innovation and agility cell, supporting and connecting initiatives across the Department of Defense, connecting different teams with tools, training, and resources, enabling people to think differently and deliver more effective solutions to the warfighter. Captain Van Buskirk joined NavalX after helping establish the Strategic Warfighting Innovation Cell within the Navy’s Warfighting Development Directorate where as a founding member, he designed and executed SWIC’s strategic priorities and engagement plan. Captain Van Buskirk was also a former secretary of defense executive fellow at cloud computing company VMware, where he was one of four Navy officers selected for the fellowship and was tasked with helping the company’s senior executives in areas such as business strategy and technology innovation with areas of focus including AI, ML, IoT, Mobile, and Cloud Computing. Captain Van Buskirk also has many years of active duty experience including, but not limited to, serving as a squadron commanding and executive officer for the U.S. Navy , and serving as a U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Strike Advisor, trusted to provide accurate and timely advice to the President of the United States for employment of strategic nuclear weapons and ensuring nuclear command and control execution messages are property sent to forces. Captain Van Buskirk has a BS in Finance from University of Arizona, and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) with a focus on Defense, from the Naval Postgraduate School.Support the show

Send us Fan MailCommissioner Kenneth G. Hodder (https://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/who-we-are/#hodder) serves as the National Commander for The Salvation Army in the United States, where he leads what is the largest social services organization in the country, with more than 7,600 centers of operations across the country, serving 23 million people annually to overcome poverty, addiction and economic hardships through a range of their social services, including, but not limited to, providing food for the hungry, emergency relief for disaster survivors, rehabilitation for those suffering from drug and alcohol abuse, and clothing and shelter for people in need. A sixth-generation Salvationist, Commissioner Hodder is a graduate of Harvard College (A.B. magna cum laude, 1980) and Harvard Law School (J.D., 1983). In 1986, after several years in the practice of corporate and real estate law, Commissioner Hodder and his wife, Commissioner Jolene K. Hodder, responded to God’s call to service as Salvation Army officers. Commissioned in 1988, they served in corps appointments in Glendale and Torrance, as instructors at the School for Officers Training, and later as staff officers at USA Western Territorial Headquarters. They also served in divisional leadership roles in both Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon. Commissioner Hodder was appointed in March, 2006 to serve as Chief Secretary in the Kenya Territory, where he had primary operational responsibility for the creation of two Salvation Army territories. Three years later, the Hodders were appointed to International Headquarters in London, where Commissioner Kenneth Hodder served in dual roles as International Secretary for Personnel and as Legal and Constitutional Adviser to the General. They were subsequently appointed in 2013 to lead the Kenya West Territory, from which they returned in January of 2017 to lead the USA Western Territory. Commissioner Hodder was appointed by the General to take up his current role as National Commander on July 1, 2020. Commissioner Jolene Hodder will run The Salvation Army’s Women’s Ministries, whose goal is to empower and equip women in all facets of life.Support the show

Send us Fan MailDr. Aletta Schnitzler, PhD. is the Chief Scientific Officer at TurtleTree Labs (https://turtletree.com/) where she leads the R&D teams and spearheads an innovation roadmap to bring nutritious cell-based dairy and meat alternatives to market. TurtleTree is a biotech company dedicated to producing a new generation of nutrition—one that’s better for the planet, better for the animals, and better for people everywhere. Utilizing its proprietary, cell-based technology, the company is creating "better-for-you" milk ingredients sustainably and affordably, with benefits that extend beyond the dining table and into the heart of humanity. Previous to joining TurtleTree, Dr. Schnitzler co-founded Merck KGaA’s Cultured Meat Innovation program and directed technology development to advance platforms enabling rapid development, validation and manufacture of cell-based meat products. Focus areas included formulating cost-effective cell culture media, understanding cell line requirements, and envisioning new process templates for biomass generation and structured products. Additionally, Dr. Schnitzler was Head of Cell Therapy Bioprocess R&D at MilliporeSigma, honing expertise in media optimization and single-use bioreactor systems for use in a complex regulatory environment. She also held technical and marketing roles supporting small-scale chromatography devices and cell culture products for monoclonal antibody production. Dr. Schnitzler has her B.S. in Biology from University of Massachusetts Amherst, received her Ph.D. from Boston University School of Medicine in the fields of immunology and neuroscience, and is an editorial board member of Stem Cells Translational Medicine.Support the show

Send us Fan MailDr. Nag Vaidyanathan, Ph.D. is Chief Technology Officer and EVP at Duck Creek Technologies (https://www.duckcreek.com/), a leading provider of core system solutions to the Property and Casualty and general insurance industries, where via the company’s enterprise software-as-a-service solution, pioneering digital transformation, insurance carriers are able to navigate uncertainty and capture market opportunities faster than their competitors. Dr. Vaidyanathan is responsible for the execution of Duck Creek’s current and emerging product roadmaps while ensuring the adoption of proven software development patterns, architecture standards and frameworks. He is a senior IT leader who loves to work in the intersection of diversity of people and what they bring to work, ways of working, infrastructure, and different technology landscapes. Previously, Dr. Vaidyanathan was accountable for all application delivery and operations, digital transformation, infrastructure, IT security, and data at OneMain Financial as part of their Executive team. He also served roles at both Allstate and Dansk Bank. Dr. Vaidyanathan serves as a Board advisor for the Indo-American Community services organization to run programs serving the Indo-American community across the country, and as a member of the Board of Pratham, Chicago chapter, serving underprivileged kids in India. Dr. Vaidyanathan also serves as a mentor via the Menttium Corporation and engages in different mentoring events as a way of giving back. Dr. Vaidyanathan has his PhD from Copenhagen Business School, Department of Digitalization, an MTech in Engineering Management form Manipal Institute of Technology, and an MBA, in Finance and Strategy, from DePaul University.Support the show

Send us Fan MailDr. Maria Van Kerkhove, Ph.D., (https://www.imperial.ac.uk/people/m.vankerkhove) is an infectious disease epidemiologist who serves as the technical lead for the COVID-19 response at the World Health Organization (https://www.who.int/en/), where she develops guidance, training programs, and information products for the continuously evolving state of the pandemic, as well serving as the Emerging Diseases and Zoonoses Unit Head. Dr. Van Kerkhove began her journey in global health given her interest in viruses and how they infect and impact both humans and animals. She received her undergraduate degree in biological sciences from Cornell University, her master’s degree in epidemiology from Stanford University, and a PhD in infectious disease epidemiology from the London School of Tropical Hygiene and Medicine where she authored her PhD on pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 in Cambodia. Following her PhD, Dr. Van Kerkhove was a postdoctoral researcher with the WHO and acted as a liaison for the Imperial College London’s Medical Research Council Centre for Outbreak Analysis. Dr. Van Kerkhove continued working with the WHO and prior to COVID-19, was serving as the MERS-CoV Technical Lead in addition to being the Unit Head for the Emerging Disease and Zoonoses Unit. Her focus in these areas includes developing prevention and control programs around high threat respiratory pathogens.Support the show

Send us Fan MailDr. Cesar de la Fuente, Ph.D. (https://www.med.upenn.edu/apps/faculty/index.php/g275/p9151622) is a Presidential Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, where he leads the Machine Biology Group (https://delafuentelab.seas.upenn.edu/) whose goal is to combine the power of machines and biology to help prevent, detect, and treat infectious diseases. Specifically, he pioneered the development of the first antibiotic designed by a computer with efficacy in animals, designed algorithms for antibiotic discovery, has reprogrammed venoms into antimicrobials, created novel resistance-proof antimicrobial materials, and invented rapid low-cost diagnostics for COVID-19 and other infections. He has a M.Sc. (Biotechnology) University of Leon, and Ph.D. (Microbiology & Immunology) University of British Columbia. Dr. de la Fuente is an NIH Maximizing Investigators' Research Award investigator and has received recognition and research funding from numerous other groups. Dr. de la Fuente has received over 50 awards including being recognized by MIT Technology Review as one of the world's top innovators for "digitizing evolution to make better antibiotics". He was selected as the inaugural recipient of the Langer Prize, an ACS Kavli Emerging Leader in Chemistry, and received the American Institute of Chemical Engineers 's 35 Under 35 Award and the ACS Infectious Diseases Young Investigator Award. In 2021, he received the Thermo Fisher Award, and the Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society Academic Early Career Achievement Award "For the pioneering development of novel antibiotics designed using principles from computation, engineering and biology". Most recently, Dr. de la Fuente was awarded the prestigious Princess of Girona Prize for Scientific Research and the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Award for Early Career Applied and Biotechnological Research. Dr. de la Fuente has given over 150 invited lectures and his scientific discoveries have yielded around 100 publications, including papers in Nature Biomedical Engineering, Nature Communications, PNAS, ACS Nano, Cell, Nature Chemical Biology, Advanced Materials, and multiple patents.Support the show

Send us Fan MailColonel Nathan P. Diller (https://www.afrl.af.mil/About-Us/Biographies/Display/Article/2856964/nathan-p-diller/) is the Director of AFWERX (https://www.afwerx.af.mil/), a United States Air Force program with the goal of fostering a culture of innovation within the service, and developing effective solutions to the challenges facing the service through partnerships with private sector business entities, with particular emphasis being placed on collaboration with technology startups. Colonel Diller received his commission from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 2000. After simultaneous Masters’ at Harvard (in International Security Policy) and MIT (in Aerospace Engineering), he attended Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training and flew F-16s for two Combat Air Force assignments, becoming an instructor pilot. He was selected for the French Test Pilot school and then completed his first test tour at Edwards AFB, supporting B-1, B-2, F-16, F-22 and F-35 flight test and instructing at the Test Pilot School. He served as an Executive Officer to the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board and as a Defense Advanced Research Project Agency Service Chiefs Fellow. Upon completing a program management tour at the Space and Missile Center, Colonel Diller took command of the 586th Flight Test Squadron, supervising classified flight test for joint, interagency and international clients. After graduating from the National Defense University, Eisenhower School Senior Acquisition Course, Colonel Diller served as the Chief of the Air and Space Branch, Force Application Division, then Chief of the Joint Force Integration Cell, Joint Staff J8. Following that assignment, he was the Air Force Advisor to Office of the Secretary of Defense Strategic Capabilities and Rapid Capabilities Office. Additionally, he was detailed as the Assistant Director of Aeronautics at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Colonel Diller is a member of the Acquisition Corps and is certified as a Level III Program Manager and Test professional. He is a senior pilot with over 2,700 hours in more than 60 aircraft.Support the show

Send us Fan MailDr. Dumazedier Kabasele, MD, is the Founder of the Dumazedier Kabasele Foundation, a non-profit organization with a goal to raise awareness, and prevent, treat and beat stroke in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Dr. Kabasele earned his medical degree from the International Christian University in DRC, completed a special training fellowship in Neurology / Electro-Neurophysiology from the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuroscience in India, studied and trained in specialty stroke care at Hopistal Du Cinquantenaire (http://www.padiyathmedicitykinshasa.com/) in Kinshasa, DRC, where he currently practices care, and is completing a degree in Applied Health and Public Health at Brigham Young University (Idaho). Dr. Kabasele is highly passionate about vascular neurology and paralytic stroke care. He has appeared in various TV shows and talks to raise awareness about various neurological disorders in the DRC and believes strongly in transforming the world by giving hope to people and help them to have a better health and life.Support the show

Send us Fan MailDr. Elizabeth Fowler, Ph.D., J.D., (https://www.cms.gov/about-cms/leadership/center-medicare-medicaid-innovation) is the Deputy Administrator and Director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), a federal agency within the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that administers the Medicare program and works in partnership with state governments to administer Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and health insurance portability standards. Dr. Fowler has over 25 years of experience in both health policy and health services research. She previously served as Executive Vice President of programs at The Commonwealth Fund and Vice President for Global Health Policy at Johnson & Johnson, where she focused on health care delivery system and payment reform in the U.S. and health care systems and reform in emerging markets. She was also special assistant to President Obama on health care and economic policy at the National Economic Council. In 2008-2010, Dr. Fowler was Chief Health Counsel to Senate Finance Committee Chair, Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), where she played a critical role developing the Senate version of the Affordable Care Act. She also played a key role drafting the 2003 Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act (MMA). She also served as Vice President of Public Policy and External Affairs for WellPoint, Inc. (now Anthem), as an attorney with the Washington law firm Hogan & Hartson, and five years as a health services researcher with Park Nicollet Foundation in Minnesota. Dr. Fowler earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania, where she studied the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology, a Ph.D. from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where her research focused on risk adjustment, and a law degree (J.D.) from the University of Minnesota. She is admitted to the bar in Maryland, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Supreme Court. Dr. Fowler is a Fellow of the inaugural class of the Aspen Health Innovators Fellowship and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.Support the show

Send us Fan MailDr. Holly Ganz, Ph.D. is Chief Science Officer And Co-Founder of AnimalBiome (https://animalbiome.com/home), a company with a goal of helping cats and dogs lead longer, happier lives by using science to unlock the mysteries of the pet gut microbiome, providing access to genetic data on the health of the gut microbiome, better ways to log health and diet records, and offering remedies to treat chronic digestive disorders. Dr. Ganz received her PhD from UC Davis Entomology and Evolutionary Ecology, an MS from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in Marine Biology, UC San Diego and a BS in Biology from George Washington University and has studied the interaction between microbes and their hosts for over 20 years. After receiving her doctorate, she was awarded an international postdoctoral fellowship from the National Science Foundation to study how genetics affects the spread of fungal infections in animal populations in Switzerland. Subsequently she was a postdoctoral fellow at UC Berkeley studying how bacterial pathogens survive in soil to infect African wildlife. Dr. Ganz has published more than 20 papers in the peer-reviewed scientific literature.Support the show