Video game director Jennifer Estaris talks about how the role of women in the development of games has changed - and where it’s headed.

Jennifer Estaris (she/her) is a game director at ustwo games, a B Corp studio known for Monument Valley and Alba: A Wildlife Adventure. At ustwo games she directed Monument Valley 2's DLC The Lost Forest and is game directing the next Monument Valley. She has worked in the game industry for the past 15 years at SYBO, Nickelodeon, and Disney, among others, and has spoken at a number of conferences (GDC, SXSW, PGC, Gamescom Congress, Women in Games Conference, etc) about social impact in games. Jennifer is an active member of the UN’s Playing for the Planet and the IGDA Climate SIG, and a mom to a lovely 9 year old.

Playing for the Planet

https://playing4theplanet.org/

ustwo games

https://www.ustwogames.co.uk/
Jennifer’s team is hiring! so would love to note that (job openings link here)

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Carla Carlisle fell in love with her son in an instant, but he was placed back with his birth mother and for several years suffered in traumatic situations.
The process led her to write and speak about her work.

In this interview she talks about how everybody can benefit from being trauma informed.

Carla Carlisle is TEDx speaker, multiple award-winning author, trauma expert, and child advocate. A proud boy mom, she has dedicated her life to informing the world about the impact of trauma and how we can excel beyond it.   Carla is a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. She earned her B.A. in sociology from Indiana University. She earned an M.S. in human resources management from American University and another in organizational development from Johns Hopkins University. Carla obtained a graduate certificate in change management from Johns Hopkins University.  Recently named TIAA’s Working Mother of the Year (2022), Carla provides keynotes and workshops to support our communities becoming trauma informed. She incorporates her experiences penned in her memoir, Journey to the Son as well her son, JC’s, in My Big Notebookto drive home how to thrive beyond trauma.  Her third book, The Compassionate Companion, is a supportive guide for anyone interested in foster care and/or adoption. 

For more info:

https://carlaacarlisle.com/ 

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The legend, the myth, the theory - whatever you want to call it - of  Big Foot has captivated our imaginations for generations.

In her new book journalist, podcast host and author Laura Krantz breaks down  the science and the myth of the legendary creature for the middle school set (or anyone else who is just curious…)

https://www.foxtopus.ink/wildthing

https://www.npr.org/2022/10/11/1127485114/bigfoot-book-searching-for-sasquatch

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John Dabrowski is co-creator of  Local, Eat, Drink, Celebrate, a Pawley’s Island, SC restaurant noted for creating inspired dishes using local sourced ingredients served in an inclusive environment.

That welcoming nature to all people has its detractors.. as Dabrowski talks about in this interview.

https://www.pawleyslocal.com/

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Kelly Dunbar is the Gilder Lehrman American History Teacher of the Year, representing North Carolina.

Kelly Dunbar comes on the show to talk about her area of research and fascination  - Black women pioneers  in North Carolina right after the American Civil War.

Dunbar’s Research Presentation:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Wgds3aOKSYxvKzQ6m3zW_AgVNmfASurJDAQZiU-6b2c/edit

Must Reads from Dunbar:
Mary Othella Burnette, Lige of the Black Walnut Tree

Darwin J. Waters, "Life Beneath the Veneer:  The Black Community in Asheville,
North Carolina from 1793 to 1900". (He is an amazing historian and has a radio show called "The Harvey and Waters Show".

Diana Ramey Berry and Kali Nicole Gross, A Black Woman's History of the United States

Sarah Judson, "Civil Rights and Civic Health:  African American Women's Public Health Work in Early Twentieth-Century Atlanta" NWSA Journal

https://mountainx.com/arts/midwives-and-doulas-past-and-present-in-wnc/

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It’s well known among people of color, type 2 diabetes runs in our families.  Often thought to be due to diet or lack of exercise, now research shows that if your ancestors faced famine or food insecurity you may be at risk.

In this interview Dr. Ananya Banerjee, Assistant Professor and Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism (EDIAR) Lead at the Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health School of Population and Global Health at McGill University talks about her work in the field.  She helped create the South Asian Health Research Hub.

www.southasianhealthresearchhub.com

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Doula and co-founder of SistasCaring4Sistas Cindy McMillan talks about her experience losing an infant in an extreme act of medical neglicance that is too common for Black patients.

Cindy McMillan was born in Chicago, Ill and spent most of her teenage and adulthood in the Sunshine State of Florida. Cindy became a resident of Asheville NC in 2012. She’s an amazing mother of four who has experienced infant loss, trauma, PTSD, and SDOH shortly after the birth of her twin boys in 2002 and the death of her husband in 2018. She is currently a DONA Certified Birth Doula, Lamaze Trained Childbirth Educator, Certified breastfeeding Peer Counselor, Certified North Carolina Peer Support Specialist, Trained Death and Bereavement Doula; Black Maternal Health Advocate and Community Partner as well as the newly appointed Executive Director of Sistas Caring 4 Sistas Community Based Doulas for Social Justice in Asheville NC.

Cindy’s personal experience with loss, traumatic childbirth, and maternal health inequities has made her a strong ally, advocate, and leader among those who advocate and fight for Justice and equality within Black Maternal Health to increase better outcomes through equitable methods of care and support.

 The platform afforded through Sistas Caring 4 Sistas, has made inroads for Cindy McMillan to dedicate her birth work journey towards creating  policy change, clinical shift, and pathways to successfully support birthing individuals and their families affected by adverse birthing practices and outcomes.

https://www.sistascaring4sistas.org/
https://mountainx.com/arts/midwives-and-doulas-past-and-present-in-wnc/

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Dr. Benjamin Gilmer takes over a rural medical practice, replacing Dr. Vince Gilmer who is serving time for killing his father.

It doesn’t take long for the new Dr. Gilmer to start wondering what happened to the other Dr. Gilmer, what caused him to snap?

In this 3 part look into the case, journalist Charu Kumarhia re-examines her own encounter with Vince Gilmer and Benjamin Gilmer talks about his relationship with a man suffering the effects of Huntingdon’s disease.

More info:

https://benjamingilmer.com

https://www.gofundme.com/f/rescue-vince-gilmer-a-free-man-still-in-prison

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/27/books/review/new-true-crime-books.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/08/06/northam-gilmer-doctors-murder-pardon/

https://www.thisamericanlife.org/492/dr-gilmer-and-mr-hyde

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