Vita Abundantior

Today, I am speaking with Lourdes Fernandez serves as Assistant Director for Advanced Composition; she teaches composition, advanced composition,  professional and technical writing, and rhetorical theory for the English Department, and she earned her PhD in Writing & Rhetoric from George Mason University. In addition to excelling at teaching and research, she is also a fierce champion for her colleagues and one of the best administrators I’ve ever known. Recently she designed and taught coursework for the new Advanced Technical Writing Certificate/Badge which is designed to help firefighters across the country and around the world improve the writing and communication skills they rely on for their jobs. She also volunteers with FACETS to translate a community survey and at NOVA RAFT which seeks the means to resettle Afghan Refugees.

Learn more about Lourdes' work: https://english.gmu.edu/people/lfernan5

You can also find Lourdes on LinkedIn

Today, I am speaking with Rachel Proffitt, Assistant Professor in the Department of Occupational  Therapy at University of Missouri. She has an impressive list of grants, publications, and awards for her teaching and research in the use of digital technologies for rehabilitation. In addition to this, she is involved locally working on utility-related initiatives in our City as well as Race Matters, Friends. She works to help bring an equity lens to the City's approach to utilities. Other activities that she does include managing the valet consignment arm of the Just Between Friends consignment sale that happens twice a year and participating in a bi-weekly book club called Nice White Parents Book Club in which we read books related to race and equity. Last, but certainly not least, she is also a mother of a school-aged son and soon-to-be mother to a newborn!

Find more about Rachel's work here: 

https://healthprofessions.missouri.edu/personnel/rachel-proffitt/

https://twitter.com/games4rehabot

*She is also on LinkedIn

In this episode, I speak with Kristen Wright - the inaugural Director of Civic Engagement at George Mason University. As a woman with a high-profile job, Kristen has a lot on her plate, but she still finds time to serve others, play with her dogs, and forest bathe. During our conversation, Kristen offers some incredibly astute wisdom about finding balance over achievement, considering perspective as an act of abundance, and making space for other women to be successful. 

Follow Kristen Wright on Twitter: https://twitter.com/kristenewright (@kristenewright)

Learn more about Community Engagement at George Mason University (website launching in April!): https://cecil.gmu.edu 

Dr. Emily Philbrick is a wife, cat mom, teacher, researcher, writer, and sometimes crafty person. She currently teaches first-year and advanced composition at George Mason University, as well as literature, speech communication, and first-year writing courses at Carroll Community College. Her professional research focuses on the science of teaching and learning, equitable assessment practices, community building, Actor-Network Theory, Object-Oriented Ontology, and using maker-movement techniques in the classroom. She also geeks out about global folklore, folk horror, and cryptids.

In this episode we explore how Emily navigates abundance within a professional context that is contingent and oftentimes overabundant in its demands on us. We chat about creativity in teaching, the important role of cats in our lives, and how to use social media in rebellious ways. 

Follow Emily on Twitter: https://twitter.com/eef_philbrick (@eef_philbrick)

Leigha McReynolds, Ph.D. is an academic, business-owner, competitive ballroom dancer, dog mom, and generous friend. In this episode we discuss Leigha's recipe for living an abundant life: variety and joy. She also has some incredibly helpful advice for those of us looking to live more abundantly. You can learn more about her work at https://www.mcreynoldsphd.com She's also on Twitter @LeighaMcR 

Music: Stellar Wind, Unicorn Heads

For today’s inaugural episode, I am interviewing Nancy Novak. Nancy is a world-renowned expert in construction. She started her career in general contracting, building impressive projects such as pad 41 for Lockheed Martin, the Smithsonian Art and Portrait Gallery. Now she is the Chief Innovation Officer at Compass Datacenters where she thinks up new ways to change the construction industry. She also champions women’s equality in the workplace and advocates for progress on the digital divide. You can find her on Twitter @NancyKayNovak and LinkedIn. 

Music: Stellar Winds by the Unicorn Heads