From Curious 2 Learners

In this first episode of several with Dell Birch, Ph.D., we discuss his background as a consultant, business strategist, and ministry leader. Dell takes us on a journey from childhood to adulthood where he overcame childhood adversity to become truly a trusted advisor to leaders in business and ministry alike. This episode is enlightening and inciteful and a must listen to both the believer and non-believing leader alike.Dell's Background:Dell is currently an executive in the automotive industry.  He is responsible for strategy and strategic development for the division including market intelligence, industry research and outlook.  Previously, Dell served as a senior consultant for many firms across multiple industries globally.  He has held executive roles in software development, high tech firms, and service industries.  Dell has also served in bi-vocational aspects including ministerial leadership.  In ministry, Dell has led the design and development of campus development globally, new church launches, church expansions, and ministry development on a strategic and tactical level.  He is also an ordained pastor and has served in pastoral leadership roles.  He is also chairman of the board of a non-profit agency that provides afterschool support and development for middle school and high school students in Zimbabwe. Dell holds a Ph.D. in Organization and Management, an M.S., and a B.S. in Technology Management.  He holds a Lean Master, Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt certification, and an Airframe and PowerPlant license.  He has developed a curriculum on soft skills for STEM leaders and has co-authored articles on mentoring, leadership, and small business development.  He also serves as a visiting professor for business and global supply chain management courses at DeVry University and Keller Graduate School of Management.

Many high performing student-athletes envision the day that they get the call with that high-level offer for a college scholarship. Many view the high-level college career as a stepping stone to a professional career. Very few find themselves in the very enviable position where they have a choice between a full college scholarship OR a contract to play professional ball.This podcast explores the life of Adam Godwin, Head men's soccer coach at Randolph College. We delve into Adams's progression and how he found himself with the opportunity to achieve his life's ambition of playing professional soccer. What led Adam to choose college over pro sports you may ask? Listen to this podcast in its entirety and share it to hear his story, go on the journey with him, and see how ultimately he found his way smack dab in the will of God.

In honor of our 20th episode, I wanted to take on a serious topic today. Today I discuss some of the lingering effects of Covid-19 from the perspective of a survivor. That survivor is none other than my youngest son Malik Abraham. Malik contracted the virus in June, was given a clean COVID free clearance by the doctor on July 1st, but has still dealt with lingering symptoms.Malik lost his sense of taste and smell as many have with COVID and today he talks to us about the psychological impact of dealing with that. Parents, you want to make sure that your college-age kids listen to this episode.Visit my website for the video tomorrow at www.curious2learners.comFollow me on Twitter: @Pastor_A_B_EFollow Malik on Twitter: @_MalikAbraham

This is an absolutely fun episode to listen to. This conversation has a lot of "throw back" feel to it as we discuss everything from AOL, Novel Netware, Atari 2600, and much much more. The entire discussion leads up to Charles introducing us to a new BSD based PenTesting OS called SecBSD. If you are a gamer, you really want to listen to this and see how Charles got his early start as a gamer which lead to system administration, and ultimately to a threat hunter/offensive security researcher. Follow Me: @Pastor_A_B_EVisit My Website for past episodes: www.curious2learners.comFollow Charles: @bsdbanditLearn about SecBSD: secbsd.org

We are BACK!!This is a fun episode with 2 returning guests, Jalen and Malik Abraham.We discuss:Show off some "heat on our feet"Discuss Miami Heat rise in the EastSteve Nash landing Nets coaching jobWho are the top 5 point guards?Who are the top 5 players?In between, we watch clips of Game 6 between Boston and TorontoSubscribe to the PodcastVisit our website at www.curious2learners.comThe video of this podcast will be shown on the website tomorrow.

Episode 17 of From Curious 2 Learners explores topics of interest to those who are curious about coding for offensive and defensive security solutions. This is an engaging yet sometimes technical discussion as our guest, Mark Baggett, inspires us with personal anecdotes which are sure to please.Mark is a Senior SANS Instructor, author, lecturer, former CISO, and all-around friend of geek. Mark is the author of the SANS SEC573 course which is Pentesting with Python. I HIGHLY encourage everyone to use your training budget to take this course. You can register for this course at sans.org. Follow me on Twitter: @Pastor_A_B_EVisit my website at www.curious2learners.comFollow Mark on Twitter: @MarkBaggettSUBSCRIBE -- LIKE -- SHARE

If you are a developer, coder, software engineer, or if you aspire to be this episode is for you. We talk to none other than Kelsey Hightower from Google to gain some real insight into what it takes to make it in this industry. Kelsey shares his journey to becoming a sought after conference lecturer, author, and avid coder in multiple languages and systems. Kelsey explains the mindset that it takes to thrive and grow with personal anecdotes and pearls of wisdom that must be heard more than once.The video portion of this podcast will be released later in the day on Wednesday.BIO:@kelseyhightower - TwitterKelsey Hightower has worn every hat possible throughout his career in tech but most enjoys leadership roles focused on making things happen and shipping software. Kelsey is a strong open source advocate focused on building simple tools that make people smile. When he is not slinging Go code, you can catch him giving technical workshops covering everything from programming and system administration to his favorite Linux distro of the month.Follow Me:@Pastor_A_B_E -- TwitterPlease consider supporting this podcast by subscribing, sharing, and telling your friends about From Curious 2 Learners. 

Are you curious about digital transformation in government contracting? Listen to this episode to become a learner in this area.In this episode, our guest is Brian Chidester and we engaged in a wide-ranging discussion culminating in an insightful talk about digital transformation with the public sector and government contracting space. Topics Include:Brief Ice BreakerBrian's BIOBrian's BackgroundBecoming a Professional AthleteDiscipline over MotivationDigital Transformation in Government ContractingBIO:https://www.linkedin.com/in/abchidester/@ChidesterABPublic Sector SME and Marketing ExecutiveFormer Professional Soccer PlayerHas run at least 3 MarathonsAward-winning, industry marketing executive, and expert integrated messaging strategist. Results-driven public sector executive with experience in content marketing and automation, public relations, advertising, branding, and market research. Strengths include marketing automation, lead generation, and integrated marketing communications strategy development and execution. Listen to the Government Huddle Podcast Show on all major podcast platforms.Follow Me on Twitter: @Pastor_A_B_E

CEO Angela Weathers of Train Up A Champion and her husband Ray Weathers who serves as Executive Director sits down for a very engaging conversation. Angela shares with us the origin of Train Up A Champion which is a vision that she gave birth to 13 years ago. Angela and Ray are supreme examples of professional athletes who successfully make the transition from sports to business. This conversation is filled with incredible anecdotes and stories from their days competing and the journey that it took to get them there. Lessons learned along the way and from athlete, sports agent, and educator gave Angela the insight and wisdom needed to found TUAC or Train Up A Champion.BIO:Angela Weathers Certified Digital Specialist for EdPuzzle, Canvas Learning Management, &        UofMN Creative Problem Solving/Google Educator 1 TrainedSkyline Education Eagle Award WinnerNational Association of Professional Women Business Woman of the YearSouthland Conference Women's Basketball 2X Nominee and Player of the Year, Named All Decades 2000's WBB TeamWold Champion Super Cup/NWBL World ChampionRay Weathers CEO Ray Weathers EnterprisesTUACSports Leadership Executive DirectorSkyline Education Eagle Award WinnerFormer 13 Year NBA/EURO ProTUAC Mission: The mission of TUAC is to provide participants with distinct, relatable performance-based institutional varieties of courses, experiences, and programs to prepare, equip, grow and enhance them in servant leadershipEmail TUAC at  trainupachampionli@gmail.com Website:  http://www.trainupachampion.net/Follow Me on Twitter @Pastor_A_B_EFollow Me on Instragram @Pastor_A.B.ESubscribe to my YouTube Channel: Five Minutes of Faith With Pastor ABE  

Taiye Lambo is a visionary, thought leader, lecturer, serial entrepreneur and now he adds author to that long list of attributes and titles. Taiye was the very first CISO for the City of Atlanta and now serves as Virtual CISO for select organizations. Taiye is also the founder of the Holistic Information Security Practitioners Institute or HISPI.In this fun and engaging conversation, Taiye takes us on a journey spanning four continents enabling us to peek into his thought process and how he became the visionary and leader that he is today. Taiye shares with us the expectation that his parents, both professionals placed on all of the Lambo children to succeed. Taiye has a new blog post up at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/life-after-ciso-vciso-service-provider-taiye-lambo.. HISPI can be found at www.hispi.org. Check the website for upcoming training events.

This is for the geeks, strictly for the geeks. This is for the geeks, strictly for the geeks. I probably should put that to music but this truly is engaging, thought-provoking, and geeky wide-ranging conversation. In this episode, I had the pleasure of sitting for almost 2 full hours with Michael A. McNair, Co-Founder of Simpa Inc. This conversation was inspirational, it was moving, it was informative and enlightening. Michael will really stir you with his captivating story-telling style.In this episode, Michael also gives a very effective demo of the Simpa.io platform that you just don't want to miss. The video portion of this podcast will be uploaded on Tuesday 7/14.About Michael:Michael is the Co-founder of Simpa “A personal health advocate” He has worked on projects in Virtual, Augmented, and Xtended reality technologies.  Michael worked in Virtual Reality back in 2016 and ended up winning the MIT Hackathon for best Vive. Michael built a healthcare product to help elderly patients rehabilitate while in the hospital.Michael moved more to Augmented Reality & Artificial Intelligence where he wanted to help people around the world connect at networking events therefore,  he worked on building a computer vision platform for event spaces to see real-time people's Linkedin profiles. Michael released his first product in 2018 called Codey. Codey is reporting and analyst’s platform to help C-Level executives keep a pulse on their companies culture using Artificial Intelligence. Codey was then combined to a larger suite of products as Michael and his co-founder started to build on their nutrition application. Simpa.io is a staple of nutrition information and will be key for uncovering behavioral patterns of the foods we eat and possibly predict health problems down the road.You can connect with Michael via email at michael@simpa.io

Mike Respert is a seasoned sales leader for a major technology company and has emerged as an incredible success story given his background. As a young kid, Mike had a stuttering impediment that he was able to overcome through sheer determination. Mike got into his fair share of life challenges while growing up as a youth in Detroit, even one incident that seemed to have him question his choices of peer interactions regarding survival. This incident turned out to be a catalyst to propel Mike to embrace the changes that he needed in order to survive and prosper.In this second part of the interview, Mike really gets detailed in explaining HOW to succeed in sales. Mike shares detailed information on”What is a QBR(Quarterly Business Review)How to approach a QBR and get favorable outcomesHow to prepare for the QBR and what are expected outcomesHow to use the STAR method in approaching sales communicationsHow to use a SWOT analysis to drive and improve outcomesHow focusing on helping others can actually help increase your sales outcomesMike is a mentor and is planning a virtual enrichment program for men called LIFE Retreat. LIFE is an acronym which stands for Living In Faith Every Day. If you would like to contact Mike, you may email him at mprespert@gmail.com. 

Mike Respert is a seasoned sales leader for a major technology company and has emerged as an incredible success story given his background. As a young kid, Mike had a stuttering impediment that he was able to overcome through sheer determination. Mike got into his fair share of life challenges while growing up as a youth in Detroit, even one incident that seemed to have him question his choices of peer interactions regarding survival. This incident turned out to be a catalyst to propel Mike to embrace the changes that he needed in order to survive and prosper.In this first in a 2 part interview series, Mike shares wisdom and insights gained from his journey to becoming a very successful sales leader. Mike's journey is one that will encourage and empower us all to not settle for what the mistakes of our past have wrought in our lives. Mike is a mentor and is planning a virtual enrichment program for men called LIFE Retreat. LIFE is an acronym which stands for Living In Faith Every day. If you would like to contact Mike, you may email him at mprespert@gmail.com. 

Ministering is hard, it becomes increasingly difficult when you are a woman pastoring a rural church. These unique challenges are even more significant than most pastors will face especially during this pandemic, the economic downturn, and the social unrest. Pastor Richards is a Powerful Woman of God and an inspirational leader with a great passion for leading God's people. In this very "preachy" and "teachy" discussion, she shares with our learners her journey to becoming Pastor Richards framed through our familiar exposure, experience, and expectation. She also shares her approach to addressing sensitive topics such as the racial unrest that is sweeping our country. This is a MUST listen interview for women in leadership especially in ministry. However, there is something here for everyone even if this is not a technical or business-related topic. 

The wait is over and the long-awaited interview is here. In this wide-ranging conversation, Mark and I discuss a lot of issues facing business leaders across the globe today. This was a very open and candid discussion that will leave the listener with a clear understanding of how Mark thinks and what has made him so successful as an entrepreneur.Mark founded his very first company at the age of 31 and eventually grew that company to over $100 Million Dollars in revenue! Mark went on to sell that company but repeated that process 3 more times, founding and selling four IT companies in total. Mark is the CEO of two additional companies, ReluTech and NerdRabbit, will he go for a five-peat or a six-peat? Time will tell. But what is certain is that Mark has a perspective when it comes to leadership and is humble enough to admit that his company needs help in the area of diversity. Mark stated that he would give his companies a grade of  "D" for diversity efforts. This was as real and candid as one could get.Subscribe to this podcast, share it with your friends, and let's continue the conversation.

With so many young black Millenials motivated and mobilized, its important to provide a platform where their voices can be heard. In this edition, I talk to my daughter about her feelings, her thoughts, and what she feels about all of this. My wife joins in on the fun and puts my daughter and I both on the hot seat as she asks us some very thought-provoking questions. This is a must listen to episode as the perspectives of black women from two generations are brought into focus. Share this with your daughters, your wives, your mothers, and women in every facet of your life. I want to hear from you. If you are an African American under the age of 30, send an email to me at pastorabefmof@gmail.com. 

This was such a challenging week for everyone around this great country. In this episode I talk to two of my young men, two of my sons to take their temperature on the events that have unfolded this week. Malik and Jalen share with you from the heart their thoughts on what all of this means to them.We discuss unconscious bias and the dichotomy of the halo effect and the horn effect of cognitive bias.(Yea, we get deep sometimes). 

Guest: Malik AbrahamIn this episode, we discuss some current sports events which is exciting given the fact that the NBA is making plans to restart. We also discuss the recent NBA Top 10 Players of all time. Who are your top 10 players?Follow me on Instagram for some behind the scenes footage of the recording of this podcast at https://www.instagram.com/pastor_a.b.e/

In this episode I switch seats from being the interviewer to being the interviewee. My lovely wife Rose put me in the hot seat and subjected me to some very thought-provoking questions. In this very insightful interview, you will discover a great deal about me, how I think, and what motivates me. I introduce in a little detail the concept of my Principle of 3 E's of Elevation those being Exposure, Experience, and Expectation. Over the next few months, every guest on this podcast will address this same topic and share with our viewers how they became who they are. 

This was a very fun and sometimes animated discussion about the week's hot topics in the sports world. This discussion was between all three of my sons and I and it was hilarious! This is the kind of conversation that you would expect to hear in many black barbershops across the country. If you enjoy this episode share it with a friend and pick up these topics of conversations with your own crew. Please remember to leave a review of the episode so that we can continue to improve the topics and deliver meaningful and fun discussions to you.