Emerald City Echoes

Joined by Dr. Mandelkorn from the Mercer Island Historical Society, this episode of Emerald City Echoes takes us through his career specialized in adolescent behavioral medicine. A veteran of Mercer Island Pediatrics who later pioneered opening his own clinic, Dr. Mandelkorn has bettered the lives of many adolescents in the greater Seattle area.

Joined by the University of Washington's Dean of Public Health, Hilary Godwin walks the walk in the public health field. In this podcast, she discusses the many challenges facing healthcare today, including the more prevalent public health concerns locally in Seattle. 

Michael Byun, executive director of ACRS, joins Emerald City Echoes to discuss the implications of cultural mores and biases in healthcare practice, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on youth and elderly Asians, and policy changes enacted by the President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to provide more accurate and inclusive legislation in the United States. Asian Counseling and Referral Service is home of Washington state's only food bank catering to AAPI diets, and is a leading social justice organization working to provide accessible, supportive healthcare and civic engagement programs in Seattle's King County. 

Engaged intellectually. Connected socially. Distracted minimally. Beginning in the 2024-2025 school year, Mercer Island School District's high school and middle school will implement a new policy on cell phone usage during the school day. Superintendent Rundle joins the podcast to talk through the process and reasoning of going phone-free, an effort known as MI-Phone Free Schools. Rooting the decision in data from the Healthy Youth Survey, this decision aims to promote healthy social and emotional development with the assistance of Yondr phone pouches. 

Michelle Ritter, Prevention Programs Coordinator of the City of Mercer Island's Youth and Family Services, joins Emerald City Echoes to discuss the recent events, programs, and campaigns promoting healthy living on the island. With the main focus on students, the Healthy Youth Initiative provides numerous programs tailored by district-specific student survey data to support youth physical and mental well-being. 

Einer Handleland worked as a design civil engineer at Tudor Engineering Company, a firm that was involved in many majortransportation projects in the Seattle area. Specializing in project and traffic design, he was involved with many roads, bridges, and hospitals throughout the region. On Mercer Island, he assisted in the conceptual designs of I-90 dating back to 1970, and collaborated on design of Island Crest Way from SE 40th to 68th Ave, 40th to West Mercer Way, and Gallagher Hill Road from I-90 to SE 40th. 

Divided. With many divisions prevalent in society today--war, politics, healthcare, and more--Bill Radke from KUOW joins Emerald City Echoes' Chloe Yang to discuss the direction society is quickly heading towards. Radke's original play, "Live from Liberty," discusses exactly that: can society get along despite global conflict, or would it be more convenient to disengage and distance from those with differing opinions? 

4 women rowing the Pacific Ocean, completely unassisted, will be taking on the World’s Toughest Row, navigating 2800 miles from Monterey, California to Kauai, Hawaii. Hannah Byrd, one of the rowers, and her teammates will take off this summer on June 12th and expect to reach their destination in Hawaii in mid July. Fierce competition, dangerous situations, and a harsh sleep schedule lie ahead for Byrd as she and her team hope to defeat the current world record. You can learn more about the challenge by following this link: https://www.rowingoceans4women.com/ 

Oh, la la! Ciscoe Morris, host of King5's segment Gardening with Ciscoe, is a well known Master Gardener in the Pacific Northwest. He gives gardening tips on how to best maintain outdoor plants, and travels the globe to give gardening presentations. Tune in to this episode of Emerald City Echoes to hear Ciscoe talk about bees, trees, and apple disease.

Treehouse enthusiast Pete Nelson was host of the Animal Planet hit show Treehouse Masters for 11 seasons. Pete's love for treehouses came about as a child building backyard tree forts with his father in New Jersey, and in 2006, he opened Treehouse Point in Fall City, WA: an overnight oasis consisting of 7 treehouses. Nelson Treehouse and Supply has built 350+ treehouses across the globe, allowing nature lovers like himself to experience life up in the trees. 

From 889 The Bridge, this is a story about Mercer Island’s Betty Tonglao who served as principal of the Seattle Chinese School from 1981-1985 when it was located on the island. The school's new direction under Betty’s leadership focuses on oral language, immersing individuals through cultural activities, and engaging students to further their Chinese language skills.

This is the untold story of how 120 young scholars were sent to the United States to help modernize the Qing Dynasty (now modern day China). One of these boys, Tang Shaoyi, was sent to New England and assimilated to daily American life to fulfill the government's educational mission, ultimately helping with the transformation from dynasty to republic. For historical context, the group of 120 boys sent to America to study, called the "Chinese Educational Mission" (CEM), was completely funded by the Qing Government and dated from 1872 to 1881. Author Dori Jones Yang was fascinated by the lives of these well-adjusted boys while living with their host families and attending school in New England, so out came the novel, "The Forbidden Temptation of Baseball." Names mentioned:Zhan Tianyou (a CEM student) - went on to study civil engineering at Yale, wildly known as "the father of Chinese railroad"Tang Shaoyi (a CEM student) - the chief negotiator for the Qing Emperor and later served as the first Prime Minister of the Republic of China 1911 Dr. Sun Yet-Sen - led the revolution to overthrown Qing Emperor, and the founder of the Republic of ChinaPeter Tonglao - (related to Tang Shaoyi) was a Mercer Island resident from 1972 to 2012. After retiring as a Boeing EE engineer, he was an active volunteer and bus driver for the Senior Program at the community center, and the first recipient of Flash Family Inspirational Award in 2009.

Joined by Mercer Island Historical Society's Lola Deane, the history and significance of the island's parks is unpacked throughout this interview. The foresight and dedication of Deane has impacted generations of Islanders, as many of the parks available today continue to provide a connection of space for the community.

Seattle local, Judy Kusakabe, shares the stories of friends and family during the Japanese-American incarceration during WWII in response to the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941.

Land acknowledgement: The city of Mercer Island resides on the ancestral territory and land of the Duwamish Tribe. We appreciate and honor the land of our community.Ms. Susan Blake of Mercer Island High School’s graduating class of 1960 shares the true impact of community whilst growing up on Mercer Island. Her many leadership positions and involvement within the city is foundational to the philosophy she lives by today—community is more than just a group of people, it’s an extension of family.

A man's mission to create opportunities through accessible education. Adanu is an NGO that focuses on transforming the Ghanaian education system throughout underserved communities. Brick by brick, community members and volunteers collaborate to create a sustainable solution for the education disparity faced in the outskirt villages of Ghana.New York Times Podcast Competition Honorable Mention.