Change Makers

#34 - 12.1.21 - Brian Cuban

On this episode of Change Makers we have Brian Cuban. Brian is an attorney, author and mental health awareness and recovery advocate. He is the author of the best-selling book, The Addicted Lawyer, Tales of The Bar, Booze Blow & Redemption. His debut thriller novel, The Ambulance Chaser is set for release December 2021. He has spoken at conferences, non-profit events, colleges and universities across the United States and in Canada. He also writes extensively on these subjects. His columns have appeared on CNN.com, Foxnews.com, The Huffington Post, The New York Times, and in online and print newspapers around the world! We are very excited to have Brian on to talk about his story of change through Redemption!

#33 - 11.3.21 - Brenda Ring Wood

Bren has been an entrepreneur since high school. She has seen many fortunes and knows what the word loss means on so many different levels. She has overcome the pain of loss, incarceration and cancer. She is a biologist who turned her challenges into a need for change. She is an artist, speaker and author that made the necessary changes to achieve success that others only dream of. Success isn’t about money. It’s about overcoming challenges and knowing true happiness. Stepping up to be the person you want to be, changing your actions and thoughts and encouraging others to do it with you. Brenda is hosting an event with the help of Anthony Russo on Friday-Sunday that we encourage everyone to attend! details at comechangeyourlife.com

#32 - 10.1.21 - Dave Dahl

It's been a couple months since our last ChangeMakers and we are really excited to have this man on. He was a guest on a Tony Robbins business mastery and Anthony from #BeTheChange was inspired by his transformation, his story and after a bit of research his patriotism and passion for his country. We are incredibly excited to have this man on as well as even chop it up about the current state of this country. Dave was a four-time loser before I realized I was in the wrong game.” That was the first line of the autobiographical story that appeared on the back of every loaf of Dave’s Killer Bread from 2005 to 2014. “Four-time loser” refers to his four prison sentences for crimes ranging from burglary to armed robbery to drug dealing. He once shared abandoned houses with cockroaches on the streets of Detroit in the dead of winter, and now he lives in a luxurious high-rise penthouse in downtown PDX. His story epitomizes transformation. The story on the bread bag remained unchanged until 2014 after Dahl had a well-publicized mental breakdown. He had to accept that—at least for Dave Dahl—there’s no “happily ever after”. But he finds great satisfaction in “fighting the good fight”, one day at a time. He believes that forgiveness of self and others is essential to inner peace and personal growth. But it’s only one of many lessons he’s come away with through all of his struggles—and triumphs. Dave’s Killer Bread, a family endeavor, was sold to Flowers Foods in 2015, leaving Dave with a void to fill. He spent the next 2-plus years building what is perhaps the largest collection of African tribal art in the world. During this time, he lived a semi-hermetic lifestyle. Now, with a healed heart and mind, he steps back out on a mission to help inspire others to find their own brand of success. Dave: “‘Good Seed’ is much more than a killer bread recipe. Having been a ‘bad seed’ and destroying everything in my path as a troubled young man, I finally found the path of acceptance, humility and teachability. It gives me the courage to fall down 7 times and get up 8.”

#31 - 7.21.21 - Love, Jessica

Love, Jessica was founded by Jennifer Jara on July 1st, 2020. Jennifer and her husband lost their first child, Jessica, at 27 weeks and their hearts were broken. In the weeks following, as they tried to adjust to the loss the medical bills started coming in to add to the pain. It made her think, “this is how everyone who has asked to help could have helped me,” she said. Aside from bringing their baby back to life, the other only thing possible would be to help eliminate the bills, and that's how Love, Jessica was born. This phenomenal organization helps parents going through that loss. Mallory also bears the same story and she works with Love, Jessica to honor her stillborn son Noah. To date they have been able to help 60 families and are just getting started.

#30 - 7.07.21 - John Paul Rice - Producer

YOU DO NOT WANT TO MISS THIS ONE. Super interesting outlook on child trafficking, sex trafficking and all the issues you’ve been wondering about in Hollywood. John Paul Rice began his film career in Georgia working on Jerry Bruckheimer's Remember The Titans and We Were Soldiers, In 2001, John landed a position at the Los Angeles film finance, sales and production company Senator International, a US division of Senator Films in Germany (which later became Mandate Pictures) led by industry veteran Joseph Drake, executive producer of The Hunger Games, Juno, The Grudge, Harold and Kumar among others. Under Joe's leadership, John developed an interest in producing independent feature films. In 2008, Mr. Rice formed No Restrictions Entertainment with filmmaker Edgar Michael Bravo and produced these critically acclaimed films, One Hour Fantasy Girl, The Magic Stone, Memories of a Lost Love, Mark's Secret to Eternal Life, A Nice Quiet Life, and A Child's Voice, a supernatural thriller about a runaway teen who answers a child calling out for help and is sent on a journey to find a human trafficking network run by the child's killer. All six films tell bold, authentic, real-life stories of survival in the face of uncertainty with a hope and love for a better world.