I feel truly lucky to have met Diane Miller through the Fielding University Certificate Program in Dialogue, Deliberation, and Public Engagement. Diane is a thoughtful, down to earth, and inspiring leader in the Dialogue and Deliberation field. At the end of 2010, I had a chance to record a conversation with Diane, partly prompted by my great interest in one of her most recent projects - heading up the organizing committee for the 2010 US National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation workshop in Austin Texas. We, happily, covered many other topics as well. I hope you enjoy listening. (I also take responsibility for some of the strange background noises on the recording. I think they have something to do with skype, but am not sure)

Here are the topics we covered:

 

  - what is the big deal about dialogue and deliberation for Diane.

  - is dialogue and deliberation starting to be an accepted method in our highest levels of leadership? How can we promote it more effectively?

 - looking at issues from different points of views (eg. elected officials, government staff members, and citizens)

 - about Austin Texas and Diane's workplace, Envision Central Texas

 

 - how Diane first got involved with the National Coaliton for Dialogue and Deliberation (NCDD)

 

 - Diane talks about managing the NCDD national conference in 2008

 

 - the genesis of the NCDD Austin workshop in 2010

 

 - Diane's wisdom on the most effective factors in conference planning

 - some conference planning challenges, also some strengths

 

-  The 2010 NCDD Austin workshop agenda

- some interactive technology used at conference. More info, photos, videos, etc available at http://www.ncdd.org/events/austin.php

- Diane's experiences taking the 2009 Fielding Dialogue, Deliberation, and Public Engagement program

for the Canadian Community for Dialogue and Deliberation.

***Apologies to Your Kamloops Radio listeners...podcasting hosting service has made changes, and I need to really figure out how to split itunes feeds....

Kamloops needs more doctors. I learnt more today about a solid initiative to attract more of the right types of doctors to town.

Venture Kamloops Executive Director Dan Sulz gave a great talk to the Kamloops Rotary Club this afternoon. In front of a membership made up of local business people and professionals, Dan presented about the Red Carpet program for physicians thinking about locating / relocating to Kamloops.

The Red Carpet program is designed to provide a warm welcome to doctors, their spouses, and families. It also allow them to experience the many amenities Kamloops has to offer.

The program also offers reputable local businesses the opportunity to provide products  and services as part of the Red Carpet welcome packages. 

So far, since November 2009, twelve doctors have been attracted to Kamloops through the program. I am so glad that Venture Kamloops is targeting and measuring its programs. I wrote about my thinking about this here.

Venture Kamloops has more information about the Red Carpet program.

One of the organizers of the Kamloops Energy Fair, and former BC Wildlife Park manager Rob Purdy, spoke to me about some big picture sustainability issues. Recorded at the 2010 Kamloops Energy Fair on June 19th 2010. Almost 7 minutes.

Audio Map

00:00  - big picture of sustainability 00:22 - problems with oil based economy 01:03 - contribution of the Kamloops Energy Fair 02:06 - momentum towards transitioning to a cleaner energy society - key number is 13%. 03:55 - women another potential driver to greener world           - green economy huge potential.

I've been impressed with the work of the BC Grasslands Conservation Council (GCC). The GCC is based in Kamloops and, over the past years, they have worked cooperatively with governments and citizens to preserve what I now know to be quite a valuable resource.

At the 2010 Kamloops Energy Fair, as part of my podcast booth, I had the great opportunity to speak with Tasha Sargent, stewardship planner with the GCC, to find out more about the work of the GCC and its value to the province. The audio runs about 11 minutes and, I think, provides a good primer on the importance of the GCC.

 

 

 00:08 - what is the Grasslands Conservation Council and why grasslands are important
 01:50 - working closely with ranching industry, created monitoring manual for ranchers
 02:10 - how the GCC is funded, offer opportunity for membership
 03:16 - working with different levels of government (eg. City of Kamloops)
 04:13 - why should we care if species ( eg.that depend on grasslands) die out?
 06:14 - current grasslands conservation philosophy
 07:30 - how can people help conserve grasslands when using them for recreational purposes
 10:14 - pocket book for motorized users

  www.bcgrasslands.org

Since I met Grant almost six years ago, I've been a great admirer of his mind and of his style. In other words, he is not only a forward thinker, he also has a knack for getting across his thoughts well.

In this conversation at Cowboy Coffee on the North Shore, we talk about:

00:45 - creosote gasification proposal 04:10 - airshed management plan 06:20 - Green Party / Green issues 08:45 - state of discussion on environmental issues in Canada 09:47 - impressions of the North Shore.

 

 

I sound pretty goofy in my intro to this podcast. Dale, by contrast, sounds ever her intelligent and engaging self.

 

01:21 - Creosote Tie Gasification Proposal

04:35 - Kudos to School District Public Engagement

07:27 - Journalist and/versus Community Member

09:00 - Kudos for Mayor Peter Milobar

09:14 - General Impressions at Start of 2010 Vancouver Olympic

I'm planning a great year of Your Kamloops Radio...

A trailblazer in using social media for news reporting in Kamloops, Melissa Lampman graduated from journalism school at TRU. Find her at Kamloops This Week Online or on twitter (@mlampy):

 - 01:26 - Melissa's social media and the use of social media at Kamloops This Week
 - 02:23 - web first content at Kamloops This Week - twitter, facebook, web site
 - 02:55 - Melissa's use of twitter, Kamloops use of twitter
 - 06:50 - What Kamloops is like for a young journalist
 - 07:42 - big stories in Kamloops, Aug 2009
 - 08:17 - details on proposed cuts to arts funding
 - 10:02 - lots of interesting news in Kamloops
 - 11:40 - getting behind the issues of the day
 - 13:17 - importance of bringing positive, community content
 - 14:42 - journalistic input at Kamloops This Week
 - 16:04 - online at kamloopsthisweek.com

I'm very pleased to bring to you a conversation I had with one of Canada's most successful arts administrators, the executive director of the Kamloops Arts Gallery, Jann Bailey.

Jann has led the Gallery in all of its most significant projects - the creation of a new, modern gallery space and the curation of the Canadian  entry in the Venice Bienalle, known as the Olympics of culture and the arts.

Jann is the very definition of a community leader, and I am so appreciative she shared some of her time with me...


01:11 - how Jann became the Executive Director of the Art Gallery
03:19 - Jann arrived at time of waterfront development proposal referendum
           wanted to build a new gallery, took 10 more years
04:33 - history behind the creation of the Art Gallery
05:43 - is Kamloops a community that values the arts? if so, why and how?
06:44 - were there tough times?
07:22 - the importance of arts even in economically tough times
09:00 - the mandates and artistic vision of the Art Gallery: quite varied
10:56 - building the present Art Gallery
12:19 - Gallery membership base
13:20 - featured Gallery programs
16:48 - factors contributing to the success of the Gallery
17:50 - life lessons from Jann Bailey
19:09 - the incredible experience of curating at the Venice Biennale.
23:29 - upcoming Gallery events