Renegades & Mavericks
Dirigo Collective
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A bi-weekly podcast from Dirigo Collective sharing the stories of people interrupting the status quo and breaking new ground in their field. Renegades & Mavericks features interviews with professionals from a wide spectrum of industries, passions, and talents that are making their mark by doing things differently.
Available episodes
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Aug 24, 2021
The Evolution of College Admission
The argument that has always been an issue is, should students go to college or not?
This episode we speak with Dr. Belinda Leon, a college advisor at Downtown Doral Upper Charter school in Doral, FL.
Dr. Leon shares how the college admission process has evolved over the past 30 years, what schools are looking for now, and how parents can best equip their children for life after graduating high school.
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Aug 10, 2021
The Evolution of Math
As new and exciting (or for some people incredibly scary) artificial intelligence is for the future of technology, it’s rooted in one thing you learned since Kindergarten. *Math.*
Every bit of code and algorithms used to make all the applications & software on the planet all started from you learning basic numbers, addition & subtraction back when you started elementary school, and probably before.
And for some of you that experience was a breeze and you just rocked math all the way through your K-12 experience and beyond, or you may have been someone who struggled really hard with math from the beginning.
We’re going to focus on two stories from opposite ends of the math spectrum, showing how math has evolved, but also where math is today at the elementary level but also used every day in artificial intelligence.
Featuring Chrissy Burr, a Vermont-based 1st grade teacher, & Brian Dolan, founder of Verdant AI.
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To learn more about resources Chrissy Burr utilizes in her classroom AND all about Brian Dolan’s company Verdant AI, you can visit their episode page at renegadesandmavericks.com
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Jul 27, 2021
The Evolution of Physical Education
This episode launches a series where we explore the history of each subject area we were taught in our K-12 education, and seeing it's progression from the mid-1900's to present.
Exploring the evolution of physical education, I speak to Jerry Flora, a pre-K-12 physical education teacher and high school football coach from outside White Plains, NY about currently teaching students and keeping them engaged.
To reflect on the 1960's to today, I interviewed my own father Robert Oates, a retired physical education and dance teacher of 35 years, focusing on how the classroom (or gymnasium) has evolved.
For more information on this episode and our guests, explore today at renegadesandmavericks.com
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Jul 13, 2021
Online vs. Offline Play
The ongoing question that is asked especially with parents and teachers, is at what age is it appropriate to incorporate technology into children’s lives and especially the classroom? Should it start at Kindergarten or before because they are already experiencing it at home, or should the K-5 experience especially be focused on tactile play, imagination, and environmental creativity?
Maria Bradley, an education technology steward and Josh Olins, a 1st grade teacher share their view points on this topic and what it looks like for the K-5 classroom moving forward.
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Jun 29, 2021
The 21st Century Classroom
AR, VR & a virtual autopsy table sound like things you would never expect in a high school classroom. However, welcome to 2021, where these tools are becoming the foundation for student growth.
Kerin Coffey, a biomedical science teacher at Eastside High School in Lancaster, California has discovered what makes a 21st century classroom. From technology in the classroom, to understanding technology & social media outside the classroom, Kerin knows what is necessary for a student to succeed in their K-12 education.
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Jun 22, 2021
Lee Dury & Libre Institute
The LIBRE Institute is a 501c3 nonprofit nonpartisan organization that operates to both engage and inform America’s Hispanic community on the many benefits of a free and open society.
This episode shares the story of Lee Dury, who has been an integral part of the LIBRE Institute. Lee involved himself with LIBRE as a way to help the Hispanic community, paying homage to his own family's immigration history, eventually rallying behind big causes like the impact a zip code does have on a child's education.
Discover and support the LIBRE Institute at thelibreinstitute.org
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Jun 7, 2021
Mental Health from Kindergarten to the NFL
From Kindergarten to the NFL, mental health, wellness & emotions are not just topics that should be discussed and discovered, but actively worked on by anyone and everyone.
For Mental Health Awareness Month we speak with Dr. Carrie Hastings & Brianne Gallagher about the importance of mental health & wellness and the impact it has on us that we don't actively recognize.
Dr. Carrie Hastings is a sports psychologist and is the mental health clinician for the Los Angeles Rams. Brianne Gallagher is a K-5 school counselor at Pond Cove Elementary School in Cape Elizabeth, Maine.
Class is now in session. Time to learn about mental health.
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May 18, 2021
Brandon Kennington of Tutor Cam Pro | BlueKube Brands
Brandon is the founder of BlueKube Brands, a parent company that is home to many products from many different parts of the market, a lot of which are his own creation and ideation. From the Porch Potty, to Flexline Fitness equipment, to the Tutor Cam Pro which you’ll hear a lot about in this episode, Brandon’s background as a mechanical engineer and inventor gives him the tools to bring his ideas to life.
His ability to see a problem and look for solutions really shines in Tutor Cam pro. While his kids were trying to learn remotely at home during the pandemic, he noticed that the teachers couldn’t see his children’s work on their paper from the angle of the camera on their iPad or laptop. With some ingenuity and brainstorming with another engineer, in just a few short months he created a stand that fixes this problem entirely!
The inventions of the Tutor Cam Pro & Tutor Cam Go helped so many students learn from home during a trying time, letting them achieve even more towards their education.
This is Brandon Kennington of BlueKube Brands and Tutor Cam Pro. And he, is a maverick.
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May 4, 2021
Jonathan Barber
Jazz drummer and clinician Jonathan Barber has been helping students approach jazz and playing styles around the world, teaching them applicable skills that they can put into practice in their careers, regardless of age or level.
It’s his resume that backs up his ability to preach what he practices. Barber was voted #1 Up-and-Coming Drummer of 2018 in Modern Drummer magazine, played back-to-back sold out concerts with the Brooklyn Philharmonic featuring Erykah Badu, and is the drummer for legendary jazz guitarist Pat Metheny, a 20-time Grammy award winning artist and composer.
All of this by the age of 30.
Barber shares his story of his father’s influence growing up, his new education program 4ward Motion and also the importance that faith has played in his life as an educator and musician.
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May 4, 2021
Kevin Oates | Host & Orchestra Educator
Season 02 of Renegades & Mavericks is back in session. This season is all about education and what better way to kick off the premiere episode with my story as the host and as an educator.
From growing up in a family of educators to teaching public school, I have experienced the spectrum of education and eager to share stories of those who broke the status quo in the field of education.
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May 4, 2021
Kendra Bostick of Kikori
Kendra Bostick & co-founder Bryn Lottig started Kikori with the mission to create a tool which aligns experiential education activities with teaching and social emotional standards, which educators can use to meet their students' unique needs and transform their classroom.
Additionally this is not just for teachers to share and develop lesson plans and communities, but for parents as well to assist at home with their children's learning.
Learn all about their journey as educators of launching the Kikori app, and what is ahead for the company as it grows and works to serve even more students & teachers.
Available for download on iOS and Android.
Visit Website
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Oct 27, 2020
Katie Sagan & Shirlee Spitzer of VaynerMedia
Katie Sagan and Shirlee Spitzer are all about people at VaynerMedia. Katie Sagan is the Vice President of People & Experience Team at VaynerMedia and Shirlee Spitzer is the Director of People & Experience Team.
Hear their story within VaynerMedia and what the value of appreciating and being empathetic to your employees truly entails.
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Oct 13, 2020
Faizan Bhatty of Halo Cars
Founded in 2018 by Faizan Bhatty and his co-founders, Halo Cars developed hyper-targeted advertising on smart screens that sit on top of ride share cars and taxis. This advertising not only allowed for personalized, local advertising to where your car is driving, but additionally became a safe resource for finding your rides hare car by displaying the license-plate number on top of the car so it can be found more easily and reliably. Additionally, through this smart-screen advertising, Halo Cars is able to provide additional income for ride share drivers, giving them a sustainable wage.
Ahead is the story of how Halo Cars went from an idea at Wharton School of Business to being acquired by Lyft in 2019.
For our listeners, the thoughts and opinions of Faizan Bhatty do not reflect those of Halo Cars, but of his personal journey to where he is today.
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Sep 29, 2020
Paige Roth of REVERB
REVERB is a nonprofit organization that partners with major artists such as Dave Matthews Band, Dispatch, Billie Eillish, Guster, Barenaked Ladies and more to promote environmental activism at concerts & events, but more so how they can take that knowledge and bring that home, helping spread awareness of how we can collectively save our planet.
Founded in 2004 by environmentalist Lauren Sullivan and her husband, Adam Gardner of the band Guster, the two combined their passions to form an organization for good. Here's what REVERB has done since 2004.
-300+ tours greened
-4 million+ fan actions
-120,000 tons of carbon neutralized
-4,200 local nonprofits supported
-$4 million in community giveback dollars raised by fans
-100,000+ volunteer hours
-950,000 gallons of biodiesel used in touring fleets
We interviewed Volunteer Coordinator and Nonprofit Outreach Partner Paige Roth who has been an integral part of the team for almost 8 years. Learn about what REVERB has done for live music and…
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Sep 1, 2020
Arlene Stein | Author of Unbound feat. Ben Shepard
Arlene Stein, a professor of Sociology at Rutgers University and director of the Institute for Research on Women is the author of six books and the recipient of the Ruth Benedict Prize, and has gone outside the box with her most recent book Unbound: Transgender Men and the Remaking of Identity, which is a narrative- based book rather than a scientific, data based book.
We follow the story of four individuals transitioning, one of which, Ben Shepard, we have the opportunity to speak to along with Arlene on this episode.
Discover why Arlene researched and wrote Unbound, and all about the transition process, along with ways you can support the LGBTQ+ community moving forward.* *
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Aug 18, 2020
Phuc Tran | Author of Sigh, Gone
A tattoo artist, latin professor, author, parent of two kids, and self described misfit shares with us some of his biggest life lessons. Phuc shares everything from what he gleaned as a young teenager from classic literature to tattoo culture and confronting racism.
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Aug 4, 2020
Spose
With 12 albums released and featured on 30+ albums in the past decade alone, Spose ( "The King of Maine" ) has been reshaping the genre and approach to what we think of in rap culture.
As a family man with 4 kids and a wife who is an elementary school teacher, not to mention his love for all things literature, his use of the English language and wordplay has helped him find his own lane in rap culture.
In 2017, Spose was the first artist to release an album inside a video game called 'Spose: The King of Maine' which hit no. 2 in the Apple Store for music app downloads when it released.
From leaving Universal Records, to launching his own independent Maine-based label, Spose knows what it takes to be a working artist, how to handle failure and also how to not be anyone but unapologetically you.
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Jul 21, 2020
Shaun Murray | Professional Wakeboarder of 25 Years
*He is a 4-time world champion, has won multiple pro tours, is a National, Masters, and Gravity Games champion, and the only rider to ever hold World, Pro Tour, and National Championship titles at the same time. He even has a video game based on him. Shaun shares with us what it means to do something well, the importance of goal setting, and prioritizing play and having fun in our everyday lives. *
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Jul 7, 2020
Corinne Watson of Tiny Homes of Maine
In 2016, Tiny Homes of Maine was founded by Corinne Watson. A successful Process Engineer, she left her day job to launch Tiny Homes of Maine and has since moved the operation to a WWII airplane hanger in a small town in Northern Maine, Houlton.
Since selling their first tiny home in 2017, Tiny Homes of Maine has been designing and building custom tiny homes and tiny spaces for customers across New England. Corinne shares with us her story and invited us to Houlton to tour where she makes Tiny Homes.
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Jun 23, 2020
Ryan Adams of Better Letter Hand Painted Signs
When we think of American graffiti (the artwork, not the 1973 movie), we tend to associate its origin with the 1970’s and 1980’s. But did you know that the first known modern graffiti writer was in 1967? Living in Philadelphia, a man who went by Cornbread started tagging city walls to get the attention from a girl.
Fast forward to the 1980’s and we started to see graffiti, both lettering and artwork to be considered worthy of being featured in galleries. We’ve seen artists like Banksy, Shepard Fairey and Keith Haring become household names for the graffiti movement, but now with the growth of commercial spaces and buildings being used as blank canvases, artists from all walks of life and styles are being given more of a voice to make artwork, not just a creation, but a public statement.
Ryan Adams, an artist from Portland, Maine was incredibly influenced by the subway artwork of NYC as you’ll soon hear, and he took his love of art and that movement, and brought it to buildi…
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Jun 3, 2020
Kate McAleer of Bixby & Co.
Kate McAleer takes us into the journey of building Bixby & Co., an organic, non-GMO chocolate company based in Rockland, ME. We learn what it takes to become a national distributor and go against the heavy hitters, all without sacrificing your values and mission.
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Jun 2, 2020
JeanMarie Gossard | Backpacker, Activist, Poet
JeanMarie Gossard has been an EMT in Bolivia, a youth empowerment volunteer in Zimbabwe, lead large field teams in the fight for marriage equality in multiple states, peddled her bicycle from Salem, Massachusetts down to New Orleans across the southern United states and ending in San Francisco. In the last three years she has through hiked over 11,000 miles including the AT, CDT, PCT, Hayduke trail, Florida Trail, Ice Age Trail, and soo many others. She shares memories and lessons on how to live the fullest life and never letting others hold you back.
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May 28, 2020
Hugh Thomas of Ugly Drinks
Hugh Thomas shares his story of breaking new ground in the seltzer water industry with Ugly Drinks. A UK-based company that is now worldwide in their distribution, Hugh shares the importance of staying resilient and persistent in our first episode of Renegades & Mavericks.
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