Further Together the ORAU Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Episode 63: Preparedness is in ORAU's DNA Sep 01, 2021

Show notes

September is National Preparedness Month, an observance to raise awareness about the importance of preparing for disasters and emergencies that could happen at any time. Disaster and pandemic preparedness have been among ORAU’s capabilities for decades. In this episode of Further Together, a team of preparedness experts gather to discuss preparedness in the pre-9/11 era, post-9/11 work, pandemic preparedness and so much more. This is the first of a two-part conversation with Freddy Gray, Julie Crumly, Rachel Vasconez, Mary Connelly, Will Artley and Linda Hodges. To learn more about ORAU's preparedness capabilities, visit https://orau.org/preparedness/index.html.

Episode 62: Bearing Witness: Lauren Shaffer recounts her family's escape from Nazi Germany in the 1930s Aug 04, 2021

Show notes

If Lauren Shaffer's 10-year-old brother had not been required to interview someone who lived through the period of history depicted in the book, "Number the Stars," she and the rest of her family may never have heard the story of her great-grandfather's flight from Nazi Germany, or of her grandmother living in hiding for over a year before visas could be secured to get out of the country, or of Uncle Willy, who risked his own life to save a number of Jewish families from the extermination camps. After sharing the story for the first time, her grandmother spoke to classrooms and school groups in Michigan and Florida for years. Now, the torch has been passed to the younger generations of the family to continue to bear witness and keep history from repeating itself. Lauren shared this story as part of ORAU's annual Heritage Day, sponsored by the Diversity Council. We are honored to that she agreed to share the story again for Further Together.

Episode 61: There is no "I" in team, and the team succeeds Jul 06, 2021

Show notes

Keri Cagle, ORAU director of science and technology and ORISE director of scientific technical resource integration, is willing to bet she has the best team in the entire ORAU enterprise. They're close knit, they work hard, and they have experienced loads of successes over the past year and beyond. Leading a team like hers bring her joy, as does the optimism she feels about the anticipated growth of ORAU. She wear two (and probably more) hats at ORAU, while also pursuing a doctoral degree, building a new house and spending time with her family. Learn more about Keri during her conversation with Michael Holtz for this episode of Further Together.

Episode 60: Isaac Clark's Busy Life: ORAU employee writes children's book to support mental health cause Jun 22, 2021

Show notes

Isaac Clark, an ORAU program specialist, leaned into his creative side to write a children's book called Batchy's Busy Day. Batchy spends one very busy day attempting to help his friends with basic chores but ends up causing more problems than he solved. Clark is donating a portion of proceeds from the book to the International OCD Foundation, which helps people with OCD access mental health services and support resources. Clark experiences OCD himself, which he talks about during this conversation with Further Together host Michael Holtz.

Episode 59: Creating a Data Science Consortium for Minority Serving Institutions Jun 08, 2021

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Jason Black, Ph.D., an associate professor of information systems at Florida A&M University, is the apple who didn't fall far from the tree. His mother was a computer scientist for IBM Watson in the 1960s who later taught at FAMU. Because of her work, Dr. Black was around and worked with computers for much of his life, including coding games that he would charge his friends a quarter to play. Today, he is leading a data science consortium for Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority Serving Institutions. Michael Holtz and Dr. Black had a great conversation. Join them for great insights into the world of data science.

Episode 58: The World is Wide Enough: ORISE Mathematical Sciences Graduate Internship May 20, 2021

Show notes

In this episode of the ORISE Featurecast, host Michael Holtz talks about the National Science Foundation Mathematical Sciences Graduate Internship, which is managed by ORISE. The conversation includes Ryleigh Moore, a doctoral candidate and program participant; Marissa Torres, Ryleigh's mentor; and Jennifer Burnette, the program manager. Ryleigh talks about the many avenues she has open to her because of the program and the potential that exists. She says she is excited about the future and wants to do something where she can help the most people.

Episode 57: ISO 9004 and the future of quality standards, a conversation with Kristy Kistner Apr 28, 2021

Show notes

Kristy Kistner, ORAU's Director of Performance Excellence, knows a thing or two million about quality standards and assurance practices. So much so, in fact, that she was one of three United States experts invited to join an international ad hoc group established to examine the feasibility of converting International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9004 into a quality assurance standard with stated requirements for organizations to achieve. Currently, 9004 is a series of best practices for ongoing quality assurance. Michael Holtz and Jenna Harpenau discuss the work of this ad hoc group, Kristy's role and ORAU and how she became the organization's quality expert.

Episode 56: Workforce Solutions: Finding Success in the Midst of the Pandemic Apr 14, 2021

Show notes

When the coronavirus pandemic struck more than a year ago, ORAU Workforce Solutions was poised to help their customers manage the transition from work-from-work to work-from-home. Amanda Hurley, Workforce Solutions section manager, reflects on how the technology her team uses every day set them up for success during a time of incredible change. Virtual career fairs, video interviews and more have long been part of Hurley's team's workflow. In this episode of Further Together, Hurley describes how her team weathered the pandemic for their customers, job candidates and her team.

Episode 55: Organizational Culture in the age of COVID-19 Mar 31, 2021

Show notes

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused all of us to adapt and adjust in some way at the organizational level, the individual level and beyond. How organizations adapt and cope with COVID will impact our organizational culture for five years and perhaps longer. Jeff Miller, Ph.D., ORAU Senior Vice President and Director of ORAU Government Services, presents the evidence for how the stressors of the last 14 months will stay with us for years to come. This is a not-to-be-missed conversation.

Episode 54: Workplace resilience: ORISE experts help customers make the transition to remote workforce Mar 10, 2021

Show notes

Workplaces across the country shifted to remote work to protect people from the fast-spreading coronavirus a year ago, including national laboratories and other federal research agencies. At one point, 80% of ORISE research participation program participants were working remotely. The task to make that shift was enormous, considering RPPs are not designed for remote work. With expert guidance from the ORISE workforce development team and by deploying the technology we've all become used to over the last year, the transition to remote work went smoothly. So did the transition to remote teacher professional development and student STEM education programs, thanks to the K-12 STEM Education team. How did they do it, how will this impact programs for the future, and what happens next? We discuss all of this and more in this extended episode of the ORISE Featurecast.

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