Pack Health

This week on Birmingham Shines my guests are Uma Srivastava, who is the product development manager for Pack Health, and M’kayl Lewis, health adviser manager for Pack Health.

Pack Health is a Birmingham startup founded by Mazi Rasulnia & Will Wright with a mission to help individuals suffering from chronic medical conditions take ownership of health and achieve positive outcomes through health advisers and condition management kits.

Episode Sponsor

Episode 39 of Birmingham Shines is sponsored by Vulcan Security Systems, a Birmingham company that offers customized commercial IP video surveillance services in the greater Birmingham metro area.

Owner Jason Maddox and his team offer video surveillance system sales and installation and monitoring through an IP-delivered video system for commercial property, churches and daycare facilities, private schools, manufacturing facilities, warehouses, and related commercial/industrial enterprises.

If you are a business owner, facilities manager, church trustee, daycare operator and would like more information on how video surveillance can be an added part of your risk management program, visit https://birminghamshines.com/vss to learn more about Vulcan Security Systems and schedule your free consultation today.

Happy 1-Year Birthday

And I also want to mention that this episode is coming out on the 1-year anniversary of the launch of Birmingham Shines. So Happy Birthday to the podcast!

 

TEDxBirmingham 2016 – Ideas Shared

TEDxBirmingham 2016 was March 12 at the Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center on the UAB Campus.

This episode features a recap of the ideas shared by speakers, through performances, and in a few short films interspersed throughout the event.

The theme was Pure Imagination and the speakers and performances were curated into three sessions:

Take a Breath, Make a Wish, Change the World

TEDxBirmingham with Matthew Hamilton

Matthew Hamilton, TEDxBirmingham, guest on Episode 29 of Birmingham Shines podcast, released January 29, 2016

Welcome to episode 29 of Birmingham Shines. I’m your host and producer Sheree Martin  and this week’s show is about TEDxBirmingham: what it is, why it matters, who it’s for and more. We also talk about what makes Birmingham Shine and what makes a person shine.

My guest is Matthew Hamilton, someone I’ve been trying to have on the show since last summer and we finally had a chance to sit down just before the beginning of the year to talk about TEDxBirmingham. I’m a huge fan of TED talks and TEDx talks and use them to learn, find inspiration and spark my own innovation and creativity.

TEDxBirmingham 4th edition is set for March 12 and the leadership team just announced this year’s speakers a few weeks ago.

Matthew and I talk about the importance of TEDx events in the life of a community and the goals of TEDxBirmingham in particular. I ask Matthew to highlight a few of his favorite speakers from past TEDxBirmingham events and you can find videos of those talks on the Birmingham Shines blog. He also gives us a preview of this year’s speaker line-up.

You can apply for tickets right now through tedxbirmingham.org and Matthew explains the selection process in our conversation around the 43 minute mark. The deadline to submit your application is January 31, so only a few days left to apply for tickets. But you can also participate via the free livestream if you can’t attend in person.

Why does TEDx matter? Matthew says it creates a forum in a community where a diverse group of people can come together and share ideas. The TEDx event can be a spark or catalyst for innovation. Tt’s the sharing of ideas and bringing people together to connect that is the service TEDx events provide to a community.

The focus or mission of TED is to bring to light Ideas Worth Spreading. I like to think that my hero Benjamin Franklin would have been one of the forces to bring a TED-type of event to life. His Junto is probably the closest thing to a TED-type of event that existed in the colonies in the first half of the 18th century.

Matthew is a co-organizer with Dr. Sarah Parcak of UAB, who’s a TED Fellow. In curating the speakers for TEDxBirmingham events they try to focus on ideas that matter coming OUT of Birmingham, more than ideas about Birmingham.

“We want to share ideas that are originating in this city, out to the world,” Hamilton said.

One of the criteria used by the TEDxBirmingham organizers for speaker selections is that the idea is one that would be relevant to someone regardless of geography. The idea is not specific to Birmingham or relevant only to people in our city or region.

Matthew used the example of Dr. Pat Hymel’s TEDxBirmingham talk from 2013, which focused on how we grow and learn from our mistakes.

This year’s TEDxBirmingham has the theme of Pure Imagination. In curating speakers for this theme, Hamilton says the idea was to find speakers who consider the possibilities for the future with an emphasis on WHEN, not if.

Once we finish talking about TEDxBirmingham, past and present. Matthew shares some of his thoughts on how and why Birmingham Shines: It really comes down to the people.

We talk about two books Matthew recommends:

  • Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
  • How Will You Measure Your Life by Clay Christiansen

 

What makes someone shine personally? A similar theme echoed by other guests: A willingness to step out and do the thing you’re passionate about.

Scott Doty – The Power of Design

Industrial designer Scott Doty is the guest on episode 25 of Birmingham Shines.

We talk about the power of and importance of design in all facets of life and business.

We also get into tips and resources to help boost creativity and innovation, regardless of skill or experience.

Episode 25 was released October 15, 2015.

August 2018 Update: Scott and his wife, Jess, moved away from Birmingham in 2017.

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