The Point and the Pushback

We will be back real soon with season #2. Stay tuned!

Ladies and Gentlemen (Listeners both new and old): Season 2 of The Point and the Pushback is coming to you real soon! Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcast and STAY TUNED!

Listeners, You've been missed but I want you to know that Season 2 of The Point and the Pushback will be back soon!  Please listen wherever you get your podcasts and do not forget to subscribe.  Stay tuned for Season 2 and a continuation of the journey through my database.

It is week 15 and we are at the end of season one of The Point and the Pushback.  This week's show is a tribute to all of the talented musicians who contribute so much to the sound and character of the show. One of the goals that I had for the show was to do something very different for Washington DC.  I wanted the show to sound like nothing that I was hearing in the "Podcasphere" and I knew that music could help me offer something a little different and help me tell the stories of my guests each week.  So I searched for music that was legal to use and I worked it into the background for every opening of the show.  These hard working artists and musicians deserve to be highlighted so this week I want to bring those musicians to the foreground and highlight their work. In order of appearance on this week's show: 1)  What's Going On -- by: White Bones 2)  Ship -- by: Hara Noda 3)  A Nostalgic Breeze -- by: William Benckert, Johan Tengholm, Jonas Backman 4)  Woke Up With The Sun -- by: William Bencker, Johan Tengholm, Jonas Backman 5)  Brighter Than The Stars -- by: Collin Lim 6)  Pedestrians -- by: Duke Herrington 7)  I'm Gonna Stay -- by: Addie Horner 8)  Leblon -- by: Vendla 9)  Botafoga -- by: Vendla 10) The Lustful Ones -- by: Chalalatas 11) Miss User -- by: Daniel Fridell, Sven Lindrell 12) Lacklustre Foray -- by: Ritchie Everett 13) Gimme Something (Instrumental) -- by: Spring Gang 14) Centaur Decimiter -- by: Sven Lidell, Daniel Fridell 15) Everything (Instrumental) -- by: Tilden Park  Deep appreciation to all of the guests and to all the musical talent. Special thanks to my wife and kids for allowing me the time to produce the show and to the listeners for tuning in each week.  Signing Off Until Season Two!!

On this week’s show we explore the professional journey of one of the many people living and working in Washington as foreign professionals. We hear about the professional journey and experiences of my guest who was born in Malaysia, educated in the United Kingdom and the United States, but has worked her way up the career ladder here in Washington DC. A refreshingly diverse and different perspective on the issues of the day and another important look into professional life here in Washington DC. It is a pleasure to welcome my profile of the week and friend Ms Elina Noor, Director of Political-Security Affairs and Deputy Director of the Washington DC Office of the Asia Society.

This week we travel to Brooklyn to meet my profile of the week, Ms. Nicole M. Lazarre.  She is the General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer for the Urban Resources Institute, the largest domestic violence shelter provider in the United States. Prior to her role at the Urban Resources Institute she served as General Counsel to the National Urban League, one of the legacy civil rights organizations here in the United States. She is always working to make the world a better place and this week we follow her work starting in Houston, Texas working on the front lines for the Houston local Democratic Party.  We follow her to Washington DC and Georgetown Law School and eventually back to the hustle and bustle of New York City law and finance.  We then find her working on the frontlines of the modern civil, women, and human rights movement in her later career. Please help me welcome to this week's show, my good friend and profile of the week -- Ms. Nicole M. Lazarre.

In fiscal year 2019, the US government awarded over $590 billion in federal contracts.  The federal government and all of its many departments and agencies have robust procurement programs used to purchase everything from paper plates to stealth planes, from simple screws to space satellites.  There are many "heavy hitters" who get awarded these lucrative contracts every year but there are also a number of small businesses, "Mom&Pop" shops, women & minority owned businesses who are awarded federal contracts every year. However, if you are new to this space and interested in learning more we strongly suggest seeking out an experienced hand to guide you through the contracts and procurement process.  It is not an easy process to navigate at all. My profile of the week, is one of those experienced hands we would recommend.  She is the founder and principal at Schaus Associates, a government contracts and procurement consultancy.  She is also one of Washington's "great connectors," by that I mean she knows a lot of people and works to actively connect good people who are doing good things.  My kind of person...  Please welcome to this week's show my friend and profile of the week -- Ms. Jennifer Schaus.  

Welcome to Episode 11, “The Producer’s Cut,” a look back at 10 weeks of The Point and the Pushback. We rewind and revisit some of the favorite cuts selected by the producer and host of the show. The “Producer’s Cut” is also a way to say thank you to all of the previous guests and thank you to the committed listeners. It is also a way to allow new listeners to sample the show and encourage them to join us. Let’s hit rewind and hear some choice cuts from the show.

On this week's show we are joined by my profile of the week, Ms. Jenny Town. Jenny is a Senior Fellow at the Stimson Center and the Director of Stimson’s 38 North Program. Her expertise is in North Korea, US-DPRK relations, US-ROK alliance and Northeast Asia regional security. Ms. Town is also an expert reviewer for Freedom House’s Freedom in the World Index, where she previously worked on the Human Rights in North Korea Project; an Associate Fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), a Member of the National Committee on North Korea, and an Associate Member of the Council of Korean Americans. She serves on the Editorial Board for Inkstick, an online foreign policy journal for emerging scholars. Ms. Town (Jenny) is a friend of the host and also his "go to" on all things North Korea, and a long time Washington "Korea hand" who takes us on a journey from a small town in rural Minnesota to small town Iowa, to Seoul, to graduate school in New York, and eventually to Washington DC.  In this episode, Jenny offers us an inside look at her determination and hustle to succeed here in Washington DC. Please tune in to learn more about The Point and the Pushback's profile of the week -- Ms. Jenny Town.  

This week we are joined by my Profile of the Week, Ms. Tonija Hope Navas, Director of the Ralph J. Bunche International Affairs Center at Howard University.  Tonija brings over 20 years of professional and lived experiences in international exchange, international education, and programs management. In Episode 9, her professional and life experiences shine bright throughout our discussion about her career journey, which included living and working in Latin America and time working in the restaurant business for the "chef saving the world" and Founder of World Central Kitchen, Mr. Jose Andres. First, Tonija takes us to St. Paul Minnesota where she attended undergraduate school at Macalester College, she then takes us to South Africa and discusses what it was like helping a professor bridge the cultural divides in the classroom during a challenging time in South African history just after the end of the Apartheid Era. Tonija provides us with insight into her thinking about attending George Washington University and her decision to get a master's degree in Tourism Administration with a focus on International Education. The discussion turns to the importance of foreign language, the importance of increasing the numbers of African-Americans who study abroad, and she also provides the listeners with an excellent assessment of the issues and challenges facing the Afro-descendant populations in Latin America. As the Director of the Ralph Bunche International Affairs Center, she administers four programs that are designed to deal directly with the underrepresentation of people of color in the foreign service and development space.  She speaks about those programs and the goals and the future of all four of them: 1) Charles B. Rangel; 2) Thomas R. Pickering; 3) Donald M. Payne Fellowship; and, 4) APHIS Foreign Service Agriculture Fellowship Program. Please listen to Episode 9 of the Point and the Pushback and hear another fascinating professional and life story of one of our guests.