SUMMER RAYNE OAKES CONVERSATIONS

Cameron Sinclair currently works for the Jolie-Pitt Foundation. Previously Sinclair co-founded and ran Architecture for Humanity, a charitable organization which builds architecture and design solutions to humanitarian crises. During his 14 year tenure the organization worked in forty eight countries and raised over $50M for humanitarian initiatives. Projects ranged from schools, health clinics, affordable housing and long term sustainable reconstruction after natural and man-made disasters. Sinclair and Architecture for Humanity co-founder Kate Stohr compiled the bestselling books Design Like You Give A Damn 1 and 2. As a teacher and visiting professor is heavily involved in bringing socially relevant design into academia and holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Westminster. Sinclair was a recipient of the TED prize and a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum. In 2008 Sinclair and Stohr were named as recipients of the National Design Awards and the following year jointly awarded the Bicentenary Medal by the Royal Society of Arts for increasing people’s resourcefulness. In 2011 Sinclair was made a Senior Fellow of the Design Futures Council and took an advisory role at USAID. This year he and Stohr received the Currystone Vision Award and the Building Peace award.

On the 31st episode of SRO Conversations, Creative Director of The IOU Project, Kavita Parmar reflects on entrepreneurship, friendship, family, travel and falling in love. "Can we have it all?" asks Kavita, "I think you can have it all. It's just is reflected in percentages."  Having left home at 16 years of age, Kavita developed a fiery sense of independence and personal identity. "I think the one thing in society that we do so wrong is that we convince people that loving what you do is not priority #1," she insists. Though it may be unconventional thinking now that she is both a wife and mother she says it has to be about her first in terms of who she is. "Then I'm other things," she adds. "I'm a wife and a mother...[but] I don't want my son to know me just as his mother, I want him to know me as a person, to know what I believe, to know what I do." Tune in to all SRO Conversations at www.summerrayne.net/podcast. Follow @sroakes and Kavita at @TheIOUProject.

"Everyone carries hope inside of them," says humanitarian photographer Esther Havens. "That is what I search for." After traveling on a joint trip with the host to Mozambique, Esther's ideas around photography began to shift. She didn't want to be a photojournalist any longer - away from her subjects, but wanted to be close to them to learn their story. When that shifted, her whole worldview changed. "The way that I photography is to interact with people first," she states. "I don't think people should be disrespectful and take a photo first." On the 30th episode of SRO Conversations, Esther talks about gaining trust with her subjects; reflecting on a new life stage; and traveling and working as a woman. To view all conversations, including this one, visit www.summerrayne.net/podcast/. Direct any comments/questions for this episode on Twitter @sroakes with #SROConvo You may also follow Esther on Twitter @estherhavens.

Actress Alysia Reiner may play the hard-assed assistant warden, "Fig," on the Netflix hit series, Orange is the New Black, but the character can't be further away the real Alysia.  "It's kind of delightful playing the opposite of me," she says. But now a mother of Liv, her five-year old daughter, Alysia has become far more selective of her roles. "You can't help but carry over your character [in real life]," she says of her and her actor husband David Alan Basche. It's easier to psychologically process the character but physically - it can be a little more challenging. When asked about any similarities between parenting and taking on a new character, Alysia says that you have to have "a beginner's mind" and "the ability to wonder." It's that "beginner's mind" that has helped Alysia move beyond some of the harder, unexpected aspects of being a mom. "Conscious parenting is the hardest job on the planet," she affirms. In the 29th episode of SRO Conversations, Alysia opens up about the "unspoken" aspects of parenting, muses over her character roles over the year and tells us how why her husband, David Alan Basche, was everything she told herself she didn't want. Orange Is the New Black's second season premieres on June 6, 2014. To watch this podcast and others, visit: www.summerrayne.net/podcast/. Follow the Conversations @sroakes. Or follow Orange is the New Black, Alysia @alysiareiner and David Basche @DavidABasche.

"If I didn't pay attention to nutrition, I wouldn't have had a pro-career as an athlete," remarks former ironman triathlete Brendan Brazier and co-founder of the nutrition food brand Vega. Having kept extensive nutrition journals when in training, Brendan was shocked to discover that he was gaining a pound of fat every three weeks. Every doctor he turned to said the same thing: You're putting more calories in than you're burning. But with 40 hours of training a week and a strict vegan-based diet, he couldn't see how that was possible. On the 28th episode of SRO Conversations, Brendan discusses mindful nutrition, talks about how he was able to listen to his own body needs, achieve rapid recovery after intensive training, and achieve optimal health in everyday life even when not training.   "The goal of eating is not to get more calories, it's to get more nutrition," he says.  "You can be overfed and undernourished. Take white bread, you can feel full but you're really not because you're not getting any nutrients." Tune in to all SRO Conversations at www.summerrayne.net/podcast. Follow @sroakes, @brendan_brazier and @vegateam.

When Ron Gonen, co-founder of RecycleBank stepped down as CEO of his company, he had to determine his next move. It wasn't until he was approached by Michael Bloomberg, the 108th Mayor of NYC, that it all became clear what his next steps should be. Now as the Deputy Commissioner of Sanitation, Recycling and Sustainability, Ron is working on developing and implementing a plan to divert 30% of New York's waste stream from landfills by 2017. "If we can figure out what to do with our waste stream here in the city," he says, "it can act as a model for the rest of the country because our waste stream is the most complex in North America." In the 27th episode of SRO Conversations, Ron discusses some surprising facts when it comes to NYC's waste stream; dives into how working in the world of politics differs from the familiar world of entrepreneurship; how to motivate people through meaning; and living one's life with integrity.   For more conversations, visit: www.summerrayne.net/podcast/ To follow the conversation, look for us @sroakes and check out New York City's recycling and composting scene through @NYCRecycles.

On the 26th episode of SRO Conversations, we talk trash - both literally and figuratively with 30-year old entrepreneur, Tom Szaky, the Founder and CEO of TerraCycle, Inc. The company, which started off making compost from worm poop (now only 5% of the company's sales) has not branched out into other forms of trash, recycling 150 different types of waste across 23 countries. "It breaks down to around 40 million people collecting about 1 million pieces of trash every hour that would normally go to landfill," Szaky says.On this week's episode, we discuss the concept of waste, the lack of competition in waste management, the future of trash, degrowth, population and fundamental issues with "sustainability."For more conversations, visit: www.summerrayne.net/podcast/To follow the conversation, look for us @sroakes and you can follow Tom @Terracycle.

Dan Richfield doesn't consider himself a hippie or a hipster - but his organizations in Brooklyn - including Re-Co Brooklyn  and Off the Grid Build may have "hippie-ish tendencies" so he says. As an entrepreneur, handyman, and house builder, Dan's personal and professional mission is to help people go off the grid and build their homes practically and sustainably. In the 25th Episode of SRO Conversations, Dan talks about his time building Earthships, starting his company in Brooklyn from the ground up, manufacturing in urban centers, and how to practically go off the grid. To view more podcasts, visit: www.summerrayne.net/podcasts/ To follow this and more on Twitter, go to @sroakes. Or follow Re-Co Brooklyn at: @recobklyn.

Jonny Dubowsky may have appeared on shows like The Today Show and The Late Show with Conan O'Brien rocking out with his band Jonny Lives! but that doesn't take away from the fact that this rocker is serious about the environment. So serious, as a matter of fact, that Jonny has no problem getting his hands dirty...quite literally. After three years of development, Jonny has co-founded Kama ‘Aina Earth Products, a company focused on locally-produced, biodynamic soil amendments using a 3,000-year old ancient technique of composting. In addition to this he is the Director of the Rock ‘n Renew Foundation, a non-profit which teaches sustainability skills to students across the United States. Dubowsky, as you'll hear, effortlessly discusses across his varied interests, gives us tips on how he stays organized, and even brings out his guitar and belts out a few tunes on the 24th Episode of SRO Conversations. To view more podcasts, visit: www.summerrayne.net/podcasts/ To follow this and more on Twitter, go to @sroakes. Or follow Jonny @JonnyDubowsky.

In the 23rd episode of SRO Conversations, Lisa Linhardt, the Founder and Creative Director of Linhardt Design, a custom and ready-made jewelry gallery located New York City, discusses the art of jewelry creation and the discipline around design. "I think it's become a quick culture," she says. "We're used to making things quickly" but that may be why the artisan nature of design is more highly appreciated.Since opening the Linhardt Gallery in May of 2008, Lisa has been coined the "green jeweler" by New York Magazine; who also named Linhardt Design a "Critics' Pick" for the East Village. Lisa's jewelry has been showcased in Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week NYC for three seasons in a row. The jewelry has also been featured in magazines such as Vogue, Numero Paris, and Harper's Bazaar. Lisa's unique, sculptural creations have also caught the attention of many notable celebrities - from Alicia Keys and Jennifer Lopez to Gisele Bundchen and Kerry Washington. Her highly sought-after label features sustainable metals and ethically-sourced stones.This December 5, 2013, her work will be featured at the Ibu Gallery at the Palais Royal in Paris. Her label is available at 211 Mott Street in New York. http://www.linhardtdesign.com/To view all conversations, including this one, visit www.summerrayne.net.Direct any comments/questions for this episode on Twitter @sroakes with #SROConvoYou may also follow Lisa on Twitter @linhardtdesign

"My job is killing me!" isn't an unusual phrase. Best-selling author of Start With Why and one of the most-watched TED speakers, Simon Sinek talks about the themes around his second soon-to-be-released book, Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don't. The book largely focuses on course-correcting our organizations to make them safe, happy and collaborative working environments. "Humans are naturally cooperative animals. We need to cooperate to survive...If the conditions are right, we naturally cooperate and we naturally trust each other. When you look at great organizations the conditions match the conditions that existed 50,000 years ago." The problem, as we find out, however, is that many of the businesses we know today only create conditions that encourage distrust and paranoia, short-circuiting our natural ability to be happy and collaborate. In this 22nd episode of SRO Conversations, we explore the controversial subject of whether our jobs are really killing us.  ?To view all conversations, including this one, visit www.summerrayne.net.?? Direct any comments/questions for this episode on Twitter @sroakes with #SROConvo. ??You may also follow Simon on Twitter @simonsinek.

Photographer Steve McCurry, famous for shooting "The Afghan Girl" and this year's world-renowned Pirelli Calendar, has never tired from taking pictures, "I get energized from working," he says with boyish enthusiasm. Having traveled through war zones to holy lands of wisdom seekers, his myriad experiences only reveal to him more of our similarities as a human race: "Whether you're Muslim, Christian, or Hindu, down deep it's all pretty much the same." In the 21st episode of "SRO Conversations," Steve talks about his life as an itinerant photographer, including his journey capturing the photo of the "Afghan Girl" and finding her once again. A must watch for all photographers and travelers. To view all conversations, including this one, visit www.summerrayne.net/podcast/. Please feel free to direct any comments/questions for this episode on Twitter @sroakes with #SROConvo. You can also check out some of Steve McCurry's photos on his website at http://stevemccurry.com/ or follow him on Twitter @McCurryStudios.

As entrepreneurs, we often learn to project an over-abundance of confidence, feeding into our egos. That doesn't mean we always feel sure of ourselves. On the contrary, sometimes the ego and the perception of always being "on the top of our game" can have a negative impact on our psyches. Entrepreneur Matthew Kochman opens up about his personal journey on finding himself after succumbing to ego. Having been part of the business world since a junior in college upon the founding of M.E.S.S. Express, a bus service that helps reduce DUI's at Cornell University, Matthew has went on to found the start-up Bustr, which allows people to charter buses in a more streamlined fashion. The real interest in this 20th episode of SRO Conversations, however, is not in the operations of his business, but in the opening up of his own personal struggles and insights. "There's...a key difference between goals and expectations," he says. Along his journey, Matt also shares his personal feelings on entrepreneurship in general:  "I'm not going to negotiate my morals and ethics away to make that billion dollars," he says. A must see Conversations for any entrepreneur. To view all conversations, including this one, visit www.summerrayne.net. Please feel free to direct any comments/questions for this episode on Twitter @sroakes with #SROConvo. You may also follow Matt on twitter @mckochman.

This past July, ocean explorer Fabien Cousteau announced that he will submerge himself underwater for 31 days in the name of ocean science - a never-before-done feat callled Mission 31. In this special 19th episode of SRO Conversations, Fabien shares some of his knowledge of our blue planet and even a few laughs ranging from Speedos to dolphin sex. Having grown up in a family of ocean explorers, Fabien Cousteau is continuing the family legacy by devoting himself to the exploration of the ocean and its protection. He has made a number of films about the high seas, founded the organization "Plant A Fish", which encourages communities to restore local water ecosystems, and will now be subjecting himself to life under water in honor of his grandfather, the late Jacques Cousteau. In this Conversation, Cousteau asks, "What's life about if you don't have discoveries?" A not to be missed episode! Direct any comments/questions for this episode on Twitter @sroakes with #SROConvo. And see all 150+ podcasts at www.summerrayne.net/podcast. You may also follow Fabien on twitter @FCousteau, or visit his website.

Sometimes the most insightful, most personal discussions on "SRO Conversations" comes in the after hours and this conversation with journalist Andy Isaacson in the 18th Episode is no exception. Summer Rayne Oakes, Andy Isaacson, and Paul America talk about Andy's unique experience with a shaman's psychedelic truth serum called ayahuasca - a brew of various psychoactive infusions or concoctions prepared with the Banisteriopsis caapi vine of the Amazon. To view the rest of this conversation, visit http://youtu.be/cZpE97KrFjg To view all conversations, including this one, visit www.summerrayne.net. Please feel free to direct any comments/questions for this episode on Twitter @sroakes with #SROConvo. You may also follow Andy on twitter @worldwebeyes or visit his website at andyisaacson.net.