Inside this episode, I had the pleasure to find out what helps make Tony Gareri, the CEO of Roma Moulding, tick. Tony has built Roma's brand into an industry-leading brand synonymous with quality and luxury while fostering a family-like corporate culture that resonates deeply with his customers. Their commitment to giving back and sustainability further cements Roma as an organization worth modeling. 

During our roughly one-hour conversation, Tony glows with an exuberance only someone deeply in love with what he does can display. 

A brief background on Tony Gareri from his personal brand's website - 

"Tony is a family man, a curious CEO, a prolific speaker, and a culture & leadership junkie. He lives in gratitude daily and as such, has a passion for making a positive impact around the world. 

As the CEO of Roma Moulding, a frame manufacturer that is world-renowned for its iconic design, Tony laid the foundations for a culture shift when he was appointed in 2011. He implemented a progressive strategy that prioritizes the happiness of his team. This transformation would profoundly reframe the way Roma Moulding would do business. 

By establishing a clear mission, vision, and a series of core values, he constructed a strong framework for effective leadership. During the last decade, Roma Moulding has achieved a number of accolades including Manufacturer of the Year and Most Admired Company Culture to name a few. Tony is a frequent guest on numerous podcasts, a lecturer at universities across Canada, and featured on blogs; all of which are focused on his passions: business, leadership, mission work, culture, and employee happiness. He’s been acknowledged for his work in notable publications such as Forbes, Toastmasters, Inc.com, and The Drive." 

Tony can be found at
- Website - https://www.tonygareri.com
- Company Website - https://www.romamoulding.com
- Instagram - @tonygareri

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Check out https://www.dereknielsen.com/listen/ for more episodes with fascinating people around the world trying to make an actual change outside themselves to make this planet a better place to live. Photography For Change

Inside this episode, Katherine Mason shares with us her love for painting but a deeper love for helping others. How her faith guides her life and how she wants her legacy to be more about art but how well she treated others.  

From an early age, Katherine was a talented painter excelling in advanced art classes in high school.  In called she lost motivation by being pushed through the system without challenge. Her love for art began to fade when a favorite professor pulled her aside to help her refocus. For all of us, we are thankful he did. Her work delicately touches the soul as does her mission. 

A word from Katherine - 

I started my Lipstick Series in order to support women who have battled, or are currently battling, Breast Cancer. When asking women what the hardest part of their journey with cancer had been, they had a shockingly similar answer:

They didn't feel beautiful anymore.

After finding out a good friend was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer, I had the opportunity to sit down with her and try to better understand the battle she was fighting. She told me that before her chemotherapy treatments, she would apply lipstick because it was the only thing that made her feel strong and beautiful again. From then on, I decided to create this series entirely out of lipstick.

My series continues to grow thanks to the generosity of those who have donated lipstick in honor and in memory of their loved ones. I’m privileged to be able to incorporate these people into my work, keeping their spirits alive!

This body of work will be sold to raise money for The Rose clinic and the National Breast Cancer Foundation in hopes of finding a cure, and in the meantime, reminding women just how beautiful they truly are.

  If you are inspired by this podcast and want to get involved please check out
- Website - https://paintedwithlipstick.com
- Instagram - @paintedwithlipstick
- Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/paintedwithlipstick
- Tick Tock - @paintedwithlipstick

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Check out https://www.dereknielsen.com/listen/ for more episodes with fascinating people around the world trying to make an actual change outside themselves to make this planet a better place to live. Photography For Change

Inside this episode, Priya Shah opens our eyes to the connection between art, community and healing. Her organization The Simple Good (TSG) was created out of a blog started in March 2011 on the need to share what people found to be their "happy" from around the world. The blog quickly went viral. 

By April 2013 TSG’s first pilot youth arts program took place in Auburn Gresham, Chicago, and resulted in an incredible wave of interest from schools across Chicago. The Simple Good had arrived, and became an official non-profit organization on August 2014.

In 2015 TSG continued their global reach by facilitating a photography exchange between high school students in Roseland, Chicago and students in Moshi, Tanzania.

TSG formalized our SEL & Mindfulness-based Arts Residency curriculum, and expanded their projects into the programs they currently teach in schools and community organizations.

Its mission is to connect the meaning of good from around the world to empower youth to become positive activists through art and discussion.

Through mindfulness and social-emotional learning (SEL) based art programming and public art projects, their mission is to transcend the message that no matter where you go in the world, good means the same to all of us and that is what connects us as human beings.

TSG BUSINESS SERIES
This series of workshops and training programs help corporate partners create space for more empathetic and inclusive workplaces using our expertise in Social Emotional Learning and experience working in diverse communities. It is through these conversations that we empower those in positions of influence to recognize and address what is dividing them to uncover the commonalities that build bridges of community, hope and positive connection.

My conversation with Priya reminded me how necessary it is to remain open to others and to find what makes us happy.


City Of Big Creams Fundraiser

Thursday, September 29th

VIP Pre-Dinner: 5:30 – 7:00 PM

City of Big Dreams: 7:00 – 11:00 PM

The Simple Good invites you to their 10 year anniversary celebration, City of Big Dreams Fundraiser – the only immersive arts experience celebrating the simple good of Chicago and a one of a kind evening of music, visual arts, dance, and poetry complete with interactive experiences to take you on a journey to celebrate the dreams that we can make a reality together.

As guests of their intimate evening, you will connect with Chicago’s diverse and vibrant arts culture, while intentionally engaging with arts activism to support The Simple Good youth. 

If you are inspired by this podcast and want to get involved please check out
- Website - https://thesimplegood.org
- Instagram - @thesimplegood
- Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/thesimplegood
- Twitter - https://twitter.com/TheSimpleGood

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If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a rating and review. Share this with anyone you feel would be inclined to help or even just become more educated on the topic.

Check out https://www.dereknielsen.com/listen/ for more episodes with fascinating people around the world trying to make an actual change outside themselves to make this planet a better place to live. Photography For Change

Inside this episode, Rachel Wood dives deep into the world of solo travel, photography, NFTs, and van life.

Rachel spent most of her childhood and early adult life traveling the world. Early on, her parents would bring Rachel on Habitat For Humanity mission trips through church creating a love for exploration and adventure. Now in her late twenties, Rachel continues to value real-life experiences over possessions as she works her way around the globe. 

Just 3 years ago Rachel was traveling in South America exploring her new love for photography where she landed her first paid photography job. Since then, Rachel has built an impressive library of photography while amassing tens of thousands of Twitter followers all around their love for art and travel.

Rachel has become a growing force to be reconed with in the NFT space selling everything from traditional landscape pieces, abstract, cultural images to composites.  She now mentors other artist and individuals who are looking to make a change in their lives toward persuing their passions.

In the summer of 2022, Rachel launched the Artverse. A platform connecting digital artist to collectors. Here digital artist can display 1 or 1 works or editions linking back to their chosen auction platform for purchase.  Web 3 is coming and Rachel is outfront of the curve with understanding monitization and community inside this space.   

I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did. Her energy, smile and personality quickly make you fall in love with her and her work.       

If you are inspired by this podcast and want to get involved please check out
- Instagram - thetravelingelf
- Open Sea - Macroni Penguin Lovers
- Foundation - @ray.thetravelingelf
- Sloika - Rachelwood.eth

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If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a rating and review. Share this with anyone you feel would be inclined to help or even just become more educated on the topic.

Check out https://www.dereknielsen.com/listen/ for more episodes with fascinating people around the world trying to make an actual change outside themselves to make this planet a better place to live. Photography For Change

Inside this episode, Richard Tumusiime and I have an in-depth conversation about the past, current, and future state of conservation in Uganda.  As a boy growing up in the mountains of Uganda, Richard was always fascinated with wildlife and the people who traveled the world to see them. He admired foreign travelers and knew at an early age he wanted to be a part of the tourism industry in his country.

After training to be a field ranger and completing years of conservation education Richard was ready to make the transition into his dream role as a tour operator. Wildlife tourism is one of the main economic supporters of people throughout Africa and particularly in Uganda where endangered species can be found throughout the country.

Richard is part of an organization called Friends of Wildlife Uganda. This organization educates locals on the importance of wildlife. In a region where wild animals could kill their livestock or destroy their crops, it is important for people not to retaliate against them.  These wild animals support so much of Uganda's economy. Friends of Wildlife Uganda is also installing flash strobe systems across conflict regions but they need our help and funding to make a difference.  Please check out their go-fund-me page and donate what you can to this important cause. 

In my short time with Richard, I learned so many interesting facts about ecotourism, East Africa, and the wildlife driving our shared passion.  I am honored to call him a friend and a colleague devoted to conservation.       

If you are inspired by this podcast and want to get involved please check out
- Facebook - Friends Of Wildlife Uganda

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Check out https://www.dereknielsen.com/listen/ for more episodes with fascinating people around the world trying to make an actual change outside themselves to make this planet a better place to live. Photography For Change

Inside this special episode I have the honor of speaking with Robb Telfer about what is happening with the Bell Bowl Prairie at the Chicago - Rockford International Airport.

Under new leadership, the several thousand year old prairie is under threat to be bulldozed to make way for a new road. To our understanding, this road is essentially pointless and only adds to shave off a small amount of time to the shipping route. This ecosystem only exists in a few small pockets left on earth and is home to several rare and endangered species. Robb expresses his hope for the right decision to be made by the powers at large. He educates us on  just how important these last remaining natural places are for Illinois and the world.  He equates this as our "rainforest" or "coral reefs" that need protecting.

If you are inspired by this podcast and want to get involved please check out
- https://www.savebellbowlprairie.org 
- https://www.instagram.com/bellbowlprairie/
- https://www.facebook.com/groups/savebellbowlprairie

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Check out https://www.dereknielsen.com/listen/ for more episodes with fascinating people around the world trying to make an actual change outside themselves to make this planet a better place to live. 

Inside this episode, Gwen Obermeyer and I dive into the potential career paths inside the conservation industry.  She shares with us her own career journey and lessons she wished she had known when she was just staring out. We dive into the current state of our planets health. Cover ways anyone can get involved in conservation and so much more.



To find out more about the work she has been involved in check out:
- The Nature Conservancy -www.tnc.org
- Tompkins Conservation @https://www.tompkinsconservation.org
- Instagram - @gwenobermeyer
-www.tumalocreekpartners.org
-www.prairy.org
-www.adastrafoodanddrink.com

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Check out http://www.dereknielsen.com/listen/ for more episodes with fascinating people around the world trying to make an actual change. 

Inside this episode Tracy Strandness of Barefoot Eco Outfitters opens up about the sustainable fashion industry. The pros and cons the industry has to offer and why the pros far outweigh the cons. She shares the intimate details about her very personal encounter with domestic abuse. How through the painful process she managed to strengthen her relationship with her children through nature. How the entire ordeal lead her and her children to start a sustainable fashion line. We both open up to each other about our own journey as survivors and how therapy, reflection and determination has lead us both to unforeseen positions of strength.

If you are triggered by conversations about domestic abuse or sexual assault please hold off on listening to this episode until you're are ready.

Tracy and Barefoot Eco Outfitters can be found at :

Website - https://barefooteco.com

Instagram - Barefootecooutfitters  https://www.instagram.com/barefootecooutfitters/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/BarefootEcoOutfitters

Twitter - @BFecooutfitters  https://twitter.com/BFecooutfitters

Etsy - https://www.etsy.com/shop/BarefootEcoOutfitter?ref=seller-platform-mcnav


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Check out http://www.dereknielsen.com/listen/ for more episodes with fascinating people around the world trying to make an actual change.