Just a Good Conversation

Originally from the U.K., Simon Bruty now lives in Washington D.C. During his career, Simon has traveled extensively to work on large sporting events such as World Cup Soccer, Super Bowls, and the Olympics. His feature stories are as diverse as golfers in Greenland, soccer in Zambia, and badminton in Indonesia. Somewhere along the way Simon learned how to make people sit still and has created portraits of some of today's most memorable athletes. His editorial and commercial clients include the International Olympic Committee, Sports Illustrated, the All England Lawn and Tennis Club, ESPN, and Canon. He received a Lucie Award in 2016 for Achievement in Sports Photography. He has also received awards from the World Press Foundation, Pictures of the Year, and the International Olympic Committee. The London Observer chose one of Simon's photographs to be included in their list of the World's 50 Greatest Sports Photographs.

Lori Grace Bailey is a professional photographer who also enjoys chasing extreme weather and extraordinary skies. Lori was featured on CBS Sunday Morning in 2024 in a story about the science of lightning. Her work has appeared in major publications and television outlets including the 2022 Issue 3 of Cosmopolitan Magazine as well as the March/June 2021 issue of Backpacker Magazine.  Her work has been published in several books on weather and lightning. Whether chasing supercells and tornados in the Midwest, giant dust storm in the southwest, or elusive sprites when conditions are right, Lori’s passionate dedication of pursuing extreme weather allows her to consistently capture vivid and evocative imagery unique to her craft.  Lori is also the director of Monsoon Con, an annual convention in Tucson, Arizona that brings together photographers and weather enthusiasts alike with an emphasis on storm chasing with success.  Lori is a lightning strike survivor after being nearly killed by a bolt in 1998 in Arizona.  Lori now hosts a podcast called “The Storm Before the Calm.” Thrill seeking adventurers, including storm chasers, extreme athletes, and weekend warriors,  who often find themselves pushing the boundaries of life , all share a collective narrative about the surprising tranquility encountered when teetering on the edge.   But many of these individuals fought the bitter battle of of profound adversities, almost losing their lives in the process.   These narratives often remain untold in favor of sensationalized  soundbites that only highlight the thrill of the chase rather than the long, unpaved roads they've traveled.  Lori believes it’s time to tell the rest of their story.  Lori’s podcast can be found on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, as well as a video version on her YouTube channel.

Dr. William Franklin is an energetic, experienced, and accomplished professional with a proven record of intuitive and insightful leadership that fosters inclusion, team building, fiscal accountability, and dynamic problem-solving. He has been acknowledged throughout his career as a collaborative, transformative, and inspirational leader with a reputation for advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice. Dr. Franklin has the unique experience of serving students as an innovative Assistant and Associate Professor and accomplished Student Affairs administrator. He is a strategic thinker and adept at providing creative solutions to complex problems impacting first-generation students. Dr. Franklin holds a Ph.D. in Psychological Studies in Education with an emphasis on Child and Adolescent Development from Stanford University. Before transitioning to Stanford, Dr. Franklin completed graduate studies in Educational Psychology and attained his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at California State University, Northridge. His teaching interests include adolescent development, child development, the Black family, early childhood themes and life cycle issues, Black and Latinx males, teenage risk and resilience, juvenile justice, and positive youth development.  Dr. Franklin is the Vice President for Student Affairs at California State University, Dominguez Hills, and is the former Associate Vice President of Student Success.  Dr. Franklin leads divisional planning, and policy formulation and collaborates with the broader campus community and the South Bay community on issues related to equity, access, student learning, assessment, retention, and graduation.  While at CSU Dominguez Hills, Dr. Franklin has secured over $50 million in federal, corporate, and private grants to design and implement student success initiatives for low-income, first-generation students of color.  Dr. Franklin served as an Associate Professor in Child and Family Studies at California State University, Los Angeles, and Associate Professor of Human Development at the Center of Collaborative Education and Professional Studies at California State University, Monterey Bay. While there, he was also the Interim Director of the Liberal Studies Institute. He has also served as a lecturer at Santa Clara University and Stanford University.  Dr. Franklin was honored in 2015 with The Wang Family Excellence Award. The award recognizes four outstanding faculty members and one outstanding administrator who, through extraordinary commitment and dedication, have distinguished themselves by exemplary contributions and achievements. Dr. Franklin was awarded the Outstanding Administrator out of the 23 campuses in the CSU. Dr. Franklin also received the NIMH Family Research Consortium III Post-Doctoral Fellowship and served as a Research Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania.  Dr. Franklin's research focuses on risk and resilience in young African American and Latinx adolescents. He specifically examines individual variations in response to risk factors and the antecedents and correlates of healthy outcomes in individuals whose "lifespace" in low-income, urban environments pose heightened risks. For his work in this area, he received the Spencer Dissertation Fellowship. Dr. Franklin continues to explore risk and resilience factors in youth of color by examining family, school, and community factors. He is involved with several initiatives to increase college admission, retention, and graduation among youth in Los Angeles.  Dr. Franklin founded one of the nation's most successful young men of color initiatives, called the Male Success Alliance. Community-based organizations, schools, juvenile justice facilities, and universities often call Dr. Franklin to give motivational talks and conduct workshops to encourage, inspire, confront, challenge, and move youth to a higher level.

OC Rover owner Gerry Barragan is one of a kind. He was raised around an automotive shop. He was working at an early age under his father's tutelage. As his father moved to from shop to shop Gerry followed and picked up more work as he got older. At just 14 years old he was working along side seasoned automotive mechanics. First working on British cars, then Jaguars and later Land Rover. We talk about the learning process, racing, becoming an owner of his very own shop and how he guides workers.

OC Rover owner Gerry Barragan is one of a kind. He was raised around an automotive shop. He was working at an early age under his father's tutelage. As his father moved to from shop to shop Gerry followed and picked up more work as he got older. At just 14 years old he was working along side seasoned automotive mechanics. First working on British cars, then Jaguars and later Land Rover. We talk about the learning process, racing, becoming an owner of his very own shop and how he guides workers.