Changemaker Chat

Neal Powless '98, Changemaker in Athletics

As part of its ongoing Centennial Changemaker Chat podcast, Dr. Beth Paul has a conversation with Neal Powless '98, a former member of the Nazareth lacrosse team and three-time All-American, and an inspiring changemaker who has helped bridge Native American ideals and culture all over the world.

Neal Powless '98 led the Nazareth team to the 1996 Division III National Championship. He later enjoyed a successful professional lacrosse career including a National Lacrosse League Championship in 1997 with the Rochester Knighthawks. He was inducted into the Nazareth Sports Hall of Fame in 2007. A member of the Onondaga Nation Eel Clan, Powless has taught courses and presented across the country regarding Indigenous culture and value systems. He has been involved with several film projects, including Crooked Arrows and the Emmy-nominated The Game of Life: Heart and Spirit of the Onondaga, which explores the significance of lacrosse to the people of the Onondaga Nation.

 

Alicia Borrachero '90, Acting Changemaker

In this episode of Changemaker Chat, Nazareth University President Beth Paul, Ph.D. welcomes Alicia Borrachero '90, a graduate of Nazareth's theater arts program. Borrachero is an accomplished actor whose career in Europe has made her a household name there for many —  most notably for nine seasons starring in the hit Spanish television series Periodistas and the Starz historical drama, The Spanish Princess, among many other roles. During this Changemaker Chat, Borrachero discusses her passion for acting, the story of how a young woman from Madrid ended up studying at Nazareth, and the significant impact the performing arts can have on a rapidly changing world.  

Jeff Van Gundy '85, Changemaker in Sports and Television

Changemaker Chat is a special podcast series honoring Nazareth University's Centennial Celebration, featuring engaging conversations with notable individuals who've changed — and continue to change — their industry, their community, and the world for the better, inspired by their personal connection to Nazareth.

In this episode of Changemaker Chat, Nazareth University President Beth Paul, Ph.D., welcomes former Nazareth basketball standout and Sports Hall of Fame member Jeff Van Gundy '85. Van Gundy discusses his deep appreciation for -- and continued connection with -- Nazareth, and how it prepared him for the ups and downs of an incredible life journey that's included a Nazareth Sports Hall of Fame playing career on the hardwood of Kidera Gymnasium, coaching the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden, broadcasting 17 NBA Finals for ESPN , and working in team management with the Boston Celtics.

Nazareth's Centennial Celebration is presented by Wellington Steele & Associates and the Leva Family.

John Drain '83, Media Changemaker

Changemaker Chat is a special podcast series honoring Nazareth University's Centennial Celebration, featuring engaging conversations with notable individuals who've changed — and continue to change — their industry, their community, and the world for the better, inspired by their personal connection to Nazareth.

The first episode of Changemaker Chat features a conversation between Nazareth University President Beth Paul, Ph.D., and John Drain '83, chief financial officer of Hearst Television, Inc. in New York City, and a fascinating changemaker leader. Hear how Drain has successfully navigated his career — and the organizations he's led — through the dramatically changing media landscape, and how his experience at Nazareth has inspired and informed him along the way.

Nazareth's Centennial Celebration is presented by Wellington Steele & Associates and the Leva Family.

Mental Health Across Campus

Nazareth has long made mental health a priority, and a new federal grant is helping the University expand its commitment to student’s mental health and wellness. Today’s podcast focuses on the new initiatives.

Guests:

• Kim Harvey is associate vice president of student life at Naz with 20 years of experience in higher education in the areas of residential life and student success.
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• John Rigney is assistant director for wellness outreach & education in Health and Counseling Services.

Dance with Impact

Nazareth is a community of changemakers, and senior Kyra Green is a shining example of someone inspiring others every day. Green ‘23 is a dance studies and theater major, and she recently joined President Paul along with Heather Roffe, director of Nazareth’s undergraduate dance program. They discussed the many ways the dance program is a shining example of the Nazareth changemaker education framework.

Guests: 

• Kyra Green  is majoring in dance studies and theater and has a minor in acting. She’s passionate about dance theater and has found ways to use her passion to advocate for children in the education department and also perform dance and theater on and off the Nazareth College campus.

• Heather Roffe is the director of Nazareth’s undergraduate dance program, and has performed nationally and internationally with the Garth Fagan Dance Company and the Bill Evans Dance Company to name only a few. Her choreography has been presented globally, and she is an active scholar in the field of dance presenting on pedagogy, somatics, and dance and feminism.

 

Removing Fear of the Unknown from AI

As ChatGPT makes headlines, how do the latest artificial intelligence breakthroughs affect our lives? Prez Paul talks to Silicon Valley strategist Travis Steffen and Nazareth’s Institute for Technology, Artificial Intelligence, and Society Director Jeff Allan. They address fear of the unknown when it comes to AI.

 

Guests:

• Jeffrey Allan is director of Nazareth’s Institute for Technology, AI, and Society — an AI expert and psychologist with two decades of experience at Fortune 500 companies and Silicon Valley startups, and a proponent of “responsible AI.”
• Travis Steffen is a Silicon Valley strategist, best-selling author, Inc. magazine top 500 CEO, and eight-time successful startup founder who’s on campus April 26 for a presentation revealing the secrets to excel in the dynamic world of AI-driven marketing.

Changemaker Series: Access to Education Includes Inmates

Nazareth College Professor Ed Wiltse taught a unique class this past spring semester, Hitting the Road: Journeys in American literature. Half of the students were campus-based here at Nazareth and half were based at Groveland, a men's prison south of Rochester. Wiltse’s work is part of a growing national movement that advocates for access to higher education for all, as a pathway for equity and social justice. 

Guests on the podcast:

Ed Wiltse, Ph.D., professor of English and communication, who has been teaching at Nazareth for 23 years, and in a variety of local jail and prison settings for 20 years.

Three current students and one past student enrolled in the Hitting the Road course:

Alec Goldammer  is a May 2022 Nazareth graduate with bachelor’s degrees in education and English literature. He is also a part of the student-veteran community, spending five-years in active duty in the United States Marine Corps before coming to Nazareth.

Emily Denzler is a May 2022 Nazareth graduate with a bachelor’s degree in business with a communications minor. She was a social media coordinator for the Center For Life's Work located on campus and is always reading in her spare time. 

Joe Rossi is a former Rochester Education Justice Initiative student who was part of the first combined class in Fall 2020. He was working towards his associate’s degree before being incarcerated. Upon re-entry, he earned his associate's degree from SUNY Herkimer in January 2021. He is now set to graduate with his bachelor’s degree in historical studies from SUNY Empire, and plans on pursuing his master's from SUNY Empire in the near future.

Madeline Dovi is a May 2022 Nazareth graduate with a bachelor’s degree in communication and media major with an English minor. She is a freelance journalist, artist, barista, and founding member of the Nazareth PRSSA Chapter. Dovi recently accepted a full time reporting position with the Daily Caller News Foundation, covering the U.S. Justice Department.

 

Changemaker Series: Mental health focus at Nazareth

In this episode, we are focusing on mental health on our campus and beyond. May is Mental Health Awareness month, and given alarming mental health trends, this issue is a year-round priority for our community. Overcoming the stigma of mental health challenges is an important first step, so people can get support and treatment.  One way to overcome this stigma is for students to talk with each other about mental health, peer-to-peer —  evidence shows this can help significantly to overcome barriers and address mental health challenges. Naz senior Amanda Foster worked hard to bring the nonprofit organization, Morgan's Message, to Nazareth this spring, with the goal of supporting the well-being of Golden Flyers of the present and future. 

 

Guests on the podcast:

Amanda Foster is a senior psychology major with minors in human resources and business. She’s a four-year member of the swimming and diving team, co-chair of the class of 2022's senior class gift campaign, and a talent development intern at a leading energy company. 

 

John Rigney is assistant director for wellness outreach and education at the Health and Counseling Center. John has worked at Nazareth since 2013 and works very closely with the athletics department.  He ran cross country and track at St. Bonaventure University, in his words  “a long time ago.”  

 

Show links:

• Mental Matchup Podcast: podcast affiliated with Morgan’s Message that Amanda refers to in the podcast

• LINK TO Beth’s op-ed on Mental Health and Colleges

• The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255

• Ways to contact Nazareth Morgan’s Message:
  Instagram: @nazarethmorgansmessage

• Email: morgansmessage@mail.naz.edu

Women in Sports and Title IX, Part Two

Here is part two of The Prez Paul Podcast as a group of Nazareth women coaches breakdown women in sports and the 50th anniversary of Title IX, a groundbreaking law that helped create gender equity in sports. The roundtable discussion in this episode starts with the question — do male coaches have a responsibility to bring visibility to women’s sports?

Guests: 

Women’s Field Hockey Coach Tarah Christenson, returned for her sixth season as head field hockey coach in 2021.

Women’s Rowing Coach Emily Farrar, returned for her fourth season as the head rowing coach, second season since they became a varsity sport. 

Women’s Basketball Coach Kelly Dunne, a Nazareth alumna, returned for her seventh season this past winter after capturing an Empire 8 title in the 2020-2021 season. 

Women’s Lacrosse Coach Traci Lian, a Nazareth alum, returned for her fourteenth season as head coach this spring, and she serves as senior woman administrator for Athletics. 

Dr. Wayne Hilson, Nazareth’s associate vice president for Community & Belonging 

Taylor Robey, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) ambassador, is a graduate music education student, undergrad Naz alumna, and a record-breaking swimmer with the Golden Flyers who just finished 5th overall in the finals of the 50-yard freestyle at the NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships.

Maya Cox, DEI ambassador, is a junior inclusive early childhood education, psychology, and community youth development major returning for her third season on the women’s lacrosse team.