The Bottom-Up Revolution podcast

26:18

How do you know when it’s time to make your next big career move? With International Women’s Day around the corner, we are excited to feature Avni Patel Thompson, Founder and CEO of Milo. Avni is building technology that directly supports the often overlooked emotional and logistical labor that falls on parents—especially women. Milo is an AI assistant designed to help families manage that invisible load more efficiently. In this episode, Avni shares her journey from studying chemistry to holding leadership roles at global brands like Adidas and Starbucks, to launching her own ventures. She discusses how she approaches career transitions, the importance of unpleasant experiences, and why she’s focused on making everyday life easier for parents. [01:26] Avni's University Days and Early Career [04:36] Non-Linear Career Paths [05:16] Pursuing Steep Learning Curves [11:51] Entrepreneurship and Safety Nets [15:22] Lived Experiences and Milo [19:55] Avni’s In Her Ellement Moment [20:03] Reflections Links: Avni Patel Thompson on LinkedIn Suchi Srinivasan on LinkedIn Kamila Rakhimova on LinkedIn Ipsos report on the future of parenting About In Her Ellement: In Her Ellement highlights the women and allies leading the charge in digital, business, and technology innovation. Through engaging conversations, the podcast explores their journeys—celebrating successes and acknowledging the balance between work and family. Most importantly, it asks: when was the moment you realized you hadn’t just arrived—you were truly in your element? About The Hosts: Suchi Srinivasan is an expert in AI and digital transformation. Originally from India, her career includes roles at trailblazing organizations like Bell Labs and Microsoft. In 2011, she co-founded the Cleanweb Hackathon, a global initiative driving IT-powered climate solutions with over 10,000 members across 25+ countries. She also advises Women in Cloud, aiming to create $1B in economic opportunities for women entrepreneurs by 2030. Kamila Rakhimova is a fintech leader whose journey took her from Tajikistan to the U.S., where she built a career on her own terms. Leveraging her English proficiency and international relations expertise, she discovered the power of microfinance and moved to the U.S., eventually leading Amazon's Alexa Fund to support underrepresented founders. Subscribe to In Her Ellement on your podcast app of choice to hear meaningful conversations with women in digital, business, and technology.…

The Bottom-Up Revolution

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This podcast features stories of the Strong Towns movement in action. Hosted by Tiffany Owens Reed, it’s all about how regular people have stepped up to make their communities more economically resilient, and how others can implement these ideas in their own places. We’ll talk about taking concrete action steps, connecting with fellow advocates to build power, and surviving the bumps along the way—all in the pursuit of creating stronger towns.

113 επεισόδια

#Strong Towns #Society

The Bottom-Up Revolution

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updated πριν 3 μέρες

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113 επεισόδια

#Strong Towns #Society

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1
Montana Gau: Empowering a Network of Advocates 40:17

πριν 3 μέρες40:17

40:17

Montana Gau is the founder of Strong Denver, a Local Conversation in Colorado. A software engineer by trade, he built the group into a registered nonprofit with a board of directors and several hundred members. Now, city officials are reaching out to the group for collaboration on a variety of initiatives. In this episode of the The Bottom-Up Revolution, Gau joins Tiffany to discuss Strong Denver’s origins and where the group is now. He talks about how his role shifted as the group grew, from advocating “on the ground” to creating a space where others can more effectively advocate, and the new challenges and opportunities he has because of it. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Local Recommendations: Rino Neighborhood South Broadway Washington Park Irish Rover Pub Strong Denver (Twitter/X) Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram) Do you know someone who would make for a great The Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!…

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Bottom-Up Shorts: How Decorah, Iowa, Is Becoming a Strong Town 15:39

πριν 5 μέρες15:39

15:39

Travis Goedken is the city manager of Decorah, Iowa. In this Bottom-Up Short, he joins Norm to talk about a few of the practices and reforms that are making Decorah strong, including making its budgeting easier to understand for residents, embracing a highly collaborative planning process, and opening up new housing options by finding creative loopholes in restrictive state laws. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Feeling inspired? Vote for Decorah in the Strongest Town Contest! Travis Goedken (LinkedIn) Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn) Do you know someone who would make for a great The Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!…

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Ryan Andrews: Re-Localizing the Benefits of Housing Development 1:06:09

πριν 10 μέρες1:06:09

1:06:09

Ryan Andrews is the CFO of Hiatus Homes, a small-scale development company in Bend, Oregon. He is also the CFO of the Hiatus Capital Fund, which helps Bend locals invest in development projects in their own community. He’s managed more than 20 investment funds and syndications across real estate debt, equity and venture capital, and he specializes in capitalizing construction and development projects. In this episode of The Bottom-Up Revolution, Andrews discusses the importance of local investment and explains how to fund small-scale development in a way that channels profits back to locals, instead of outside investors. He and Tiffany discuss the success this model is having in Bend and how it could be replicated in other cities. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Feeling inspired? Vote for Bend in the Strongest Town Contest! Local Recommendations: Crosscut Pub Mount Bachelor Community Inc. Hear more about Hiatus Homes: “ The Bottom-Up Revolution Is...Making a Big Impact With Tiny Homes ” (podcast) Hiatus Homes (website) Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram) Do you know someone who would make for a great The Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!…

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Bottom-Up Shorts: How To Make Your City’s Finances More Accessible 17:54

πριν 12 μέρες17:54

17:54

David Jenkins is a city councilor in La Plata, Maryland, as well as the city’s Local Conversation leader. He joins Norm on this episode of Bottom-Up Shorts to discuss his work with the city’s budget, particularly his efforts to share the city’s financial information with the community in a way that’s easy to understand and actually allows residents to participate in the budgeting process. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES La Plata Financial Sustainability podcast The Local-Motive session that inspired Jenkins: “ Parsing Through Your Local Budget to Find Some Real Answers ” “ You’ll Pay for This! How We Can Afford a Great City for Everyone, Forever ” by Michel Durand-Wood Learn more about: Finance in a Strong Town Local Conversations Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn) Do you know someone who would make for a great The Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!…

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Dr. Jonathan Gingrich: A Better Way To Teach Transportation Engineering 50:18

πριν 17 μέρες50:18

50:18

Dr. Jonathan Gingrich is a professor of engineering at Dordt College in Iowa. A trained chemical and environmental engineer, he started teaching transportation engineering due to staffing shortages. Unsatisfied with the standard materials required for the class, he incorporated the book "Confessions of a Recovering Engineer" by Chuck Marohn into his curriculum and had his class conduct a Crash Analysis Studio. In this episode of The Bottom-Up Revolution, Dr. Gingrich shares how his unusual background helped him see past engineering codes and look for a better way to design streets. He explains the logistics of incorporating crash analysis and safe street design into the classroom, as well as the benefits it had for his students. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Local Recommendations: Dordt College The Fruited Plain Casey’s Bakery Learn more: Crash Analysis Studio " Confessions of a Recovering Engineer " by Chuck Marohn “ How One Professor is Inspiring the Next Generation of Transportation Engineers ” Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram) Do you know someone who would make for a great The Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!…

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Bottom-Up Shorts: How a Personal Loss Can Drive Public Change 21:10

πριν 19 μέρες21:10

21:10

Josh Stewart is an advocate from Littleton, Colorado. A year ago, his 12-year-old son was struck and killed by a car while biking to school. Since then, Josh has been relentlessly pushing for safer streets in his community. He joins Norm in this Bottom-Up Short to share his story and what he’s learned over the last year of advocacy work. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES “ The Cost of an Extra Foot ” (article) “ Large Trucks Need Better Street Design ” (article) Learn more about the Crash Analysis Studio model for responding to and preventing car crashes. Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn) Do you know someone who would make for a great The Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here! Subscribe to The Bottom-Up Revolution on iTunes , Google Podcasts , Podbean or via RSS .…

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Jesse Russell: Making a Big Impact With Tiny Homes 51:38

πριν 24 μέρες51:38

51:38

Jesse Russell is the founder and CEO of Hiatus Homes, a development company in Bend, Oregon, that specializes in small home design and cottage community development. In 2019, he introduced Bend’s first small-scale housing community. He’s also been involved in citywide policy and incentive reform for small-scale development and urban infill. Russell joins Tiffany on today’s episode of The Bottom-Up Revolution to discuss his journey from Los Angeles TV producer to small-scale developer. They talk about how to navigate the challenges of building small homes, including city policies and project financing, and how this kind of development can benefit communities. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Local Recommendations: Deschutes Bar Boneyard Brewery Hayden Homes Amphitheatre Whitewater Park Surf Wave Hiatus Homes (website) Learn how to bring more housing to your city: “ The Housing-Ready City: A Toolkit for Local Code Reform ” Accelerator program, spring session: Get expert guidance in making your community housing ready. Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram) Do you know someone who would make for a great The Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here! Subscribe to The Bottom-Up Revolution on iTunes , Google Podcasts , Podbean or via RSS .…

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Bottom-Up Shorts: How to Build Momentum as a Local Advocate 13:59

πριν 26 μέρες13:59

13:59

In this Bottom-Up Short, Norm is joined by Christian Schick, the leader of Strong Towns RVA, a Local Conversation in Richmond, Virginia. The group has built a lot of momentum in the past year, and Schick talks about how they did that in a productive and helpful way, particularly while juggling local elections. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Strong Towns RVA (Linktree). Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn). Do you know someone who would make for a great The Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!…

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Mike Christensen: Bringing the Benefits of Passenger Rail to Utah 1:09:13

πριν 4 weeks1:09:13

1:09:13

Mike Christensen is the executive director of the Utah Rail Passenger Association, where he works to educate the public and policy makers about the value of investing in passenger rail. He also serves on Salt Lake City’s planning commission, as well as the boards of the Utah chapter of the Congress for the New Urbanism, the Utah Transit Riders Union and the national Rail Passengers Association. Christensen joins Tiffany Owens Reed on this episode of The Bottom-Up Revolution to discuss the benefits of passenger rail, including how it can lead to more productive land use, as well as his work advocating for better public transit outside of metropolitan areas. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Local Recommendations: Temple Square Red Iguana Park Cafe Mike Christensen (Twitter/X) Utah Rail Passenger Association (website) Amtrak Long Distance Study Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram) Do you know someone who would make for a great The Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!…

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Bottom-Up Shorts: How To Capture the Rhythm of a City 12:51

πριν 5 weeks12:51

12:51

Varsha Gopal is an architect from Chennai, India. She is putting Strong Towns ideas into action by starting conversations about what makes places thrive — what makes them special, sustainable and prosperous. On this episode of Bottom-Up Shorts , she joins Norm to discuss two research projects she recently conducted in her city and what they taught her about thriving cities, urban design and community engagement. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn) . Do you know someone who would make for a great The Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here! Subscribe to The Bottom-Up Revolution on iTunes , Google Podcasts , Podbean or via RSS .…

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Maricela Sanchez: Applying Big City Lessons to a Small Town 59:33

πριν 5 weeks59:33

59:33

Maricela Sanchez is a city council member and anesthesiologist from Prosser, Washington. She has lived in major cities all over the U.S., including Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York City. In today’s episode, she joins Tiffany to discuss how her travels and profession molded her perspective on what makes a town safe and resilient. They also discuss Sanchez’s role as a councilor, where she focuses on creating safe, walkable neighborhoods and improving active transportation. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Local Recommendations: Historic Mercer Building Princess Theatre Brewminatti Coffee Shop Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram) Do you know someone who would make for a great The Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!…

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Stanis Moody Roberts: Rallying a Community To Fight Highway Expansion 1:03:25

πριν 6 weeks1:03:25

1:03:25

Stanis Moody Roberts is a business owner from the Portland, Maine area. For the past year he has been organizing locals to oppose a highway expansion that would have claimed eight acres of his land. He joins Tiffany on today’s episode of The Bottom-Up Revolution to discuss this journey and the progress his community has made — including how they convinced their town council to rescind support for the project and delayed construction by several years. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Local Recommendations: Mr. Tuna Bubba’s Sulky Lounge Smiling Hill Farm Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram). Do you know someone who would make for a great The Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!…

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Bottom-Up Shorts: How To Build Credibility and Effectivity as an Advocate 15:31

πριν 7 weeks15:31

15:31

Welcome to this episode of Bottom Up Shorts ! Today, Norm is joined by Andrew and Anna Carley, the leaders of Strong Towns Grand Rapids, a Local Conversation in Michigan. They discuss the progress they’ve made in advocating for policy changes in their city and how they became one of the go-to groups that city officials turn to when they’re considering policy changes. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Strong Towns Grand Rapids (site). Want to hear more from the Carleys? Hop on the Spring Local Motive Tour , where they’ll share their tactics for regional organizing and letter-writing campaigns. Norm Van Eeden Petersman (LinkedIn) . Do you know someone who would make for a great The Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!…

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Emily Hutcheson: Building a Culture of Bicycling 32:09

πριν 7 weeks32:09

32:09

Emily Hutcheson is a bike advocate in San Antonio, Texas, and a mom of three. She joins Tiffany on this episode of The Bottom-Up Revolution to discuss her work improving bike infrastructure in her city. They discuss her path to advocacy, some of the initiatives she’s spearheaded, including a bike club and bike bus, and the response from the public and local officials. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Local Recommendations: Bright Coffee . Copper Rose Winebar . SoHill Café . Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram). Do you know someone who would make for a great The Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here!…

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Bottom-Up Shorts: How To Incrementally Improve Your City's Zoning Laws 15:20

πριν 8 weeks15:20