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Philly Who? — Society & Culture
Philly Who?

Telling the stories of the doers, thinkers, and performers of Philadelphia. From up-and-coming game-changers to well-known legends, you’ll dive into their past, present, future, and how it all contributes to The City of Brotherly Love. Hosted by Kevin Chemidlin.

Latest Episodes:

Jane Golden: Making Philly a Public Art Gallery through MuralArts Dec 20, 2018

Show notes

Jane is the Executive Director of Mural Arts Philadelphia, the nation’s largest public art program that employs over 300 artists annually . Over that past 30 years, Jane has lead Mural Arts to become an internationally-renowned program that has made Philadelphia one of the Mural capitals of the world.

In this episode, you’ll hear how Jane got her start as a Mural Artist while living in LA after college, and how she made waves fast by asking forgiveness rather than permission.

After a surprise Lupus diagnosis, she came to a graffiti-ridden Philly for treatment. Here, she stayed in the public art space, and got involved in the Anti-Graffiti Network.

What follows is the story of how Jane and her team grew Mural Arts into a world-class program that has made Philly an international mural destination.

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Josh Kopelman: Founder of First Round Capital & Early Investor in Uber, Blue Apron, and Mint Dec 12, 2018

Show notes

Josh Kopelman has been an active entrepreneur and investor in the Internet industry since its commercialization.

In 1992, while he was a student at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Josh co-founded Infonautics Corporation – and took it public on the NASDAQ stock exchange in 1996.

July of 1999, Josh co-founded Half.com, and led it to become one of the largest sellers of used books, movies and music in the world. Half.com was acquired by eBay in July 2000.

In late 2003, Josh helped to found TurnTide, an anti-spam company that created the world's first anti-spam router. TurnTide was acquired by Symantec just six months later.

Josh then founded First Round Capital in 2004 to reinvent seed-stage investing. Since that time, the firm has invested in over 200 emerging technology startups, including Uber, Mint, and Blue Apron.

Josh was ranked fourth on Forbes 2015 “Midas List” of the top 100 tech investors, he’s been awarded Ernst and Young’s prestigious “Entrepreneur of the Year” award, and is an inventor on thirteen U.S. Patents for his work in Internet technology.

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Governor Ed Rendell: Rescuing Philly from Bankruptcy as Mayor Dec 04, 2018

Show notes

Governor Ed Rendell is a lawyer, author, and politician. From 1992 until 2000, he served as the Mayor of Philadelphia. Shortly after that, in 2001, he was elected 45th Governor of Pennsylvania, and would go on to serve two terms.

In this episode, we’ll hear how he got his start in public service as Philadelphia District Attorney in the early 80s. He'll share how representing everyday Philadelphians inspired him to devote his career to Philly.

We’ll talk about his time as mayor, when he inherited a city on the brink of bankruptcy. He managed to balance the budget, achieve a surplus for 5 years, and set in motion the renaissance that created the city we know today.

And, we’ll talk about how, in the 80s, Governor Rendell almost quit politics altogether after his first two attempts at public office.

@GovEdRendell on Twitter

1993 NY Times Article - "Philadelphia Climbs Out of Fiscal Depths and Builds by Sharing Sacrifices"

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Max Tuttleman: Fighting the Opioid Epidemic through Philanthropy and CBD Oil Nov 29, 2018

Show notes

Max Tuttleman is an investor, entrepreneur, and philanthropist who’s focused on studying and developing cannabis products. He’s currently a fellow at Thomas Jefferson University, where he studies how cannabis can be used to treat withdrawal symptoms from opiates and alcohol, and his brand Bouquet CBD recently released hemp oil ice cream.

In this episode, for the first time publicly, Max shares his story as a former opiate addict, and how a simple painkiller prescription thrust him into addiction.

He’ll take us through what it’s like to have your brain chemistry rewired by opiates, and how after getting sober, he immediately made it his mission to help others trapped by these drugs.

And, you’ll hear what he’s doing now to combat the crisis including funding city initiatives, advocating for programs, and even just going to the library and researching it himself.

Support Philly Who?

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Jesse Ito: 30 Under 30 Sushi Chef of Royal Izakaya & Sushi Nov 20, 2018

Show notes

Jesse Ito is the Co-owner and chef of Royal Izakaya and Royal Sushi, a 2-in-one restaurant combo in Queen Village. Jesse’s claim to fame is his exclusive 10-seat omakase sushi bar, which is one of the very few restaurant experiences in Philly to get a 4-bell rating from the Inquirer. In 2017, Jesse was honored by Eater as a Young Guns Award Winner and made Zagat's 30 Under 30 list.

In this episode you’ll hear how Jesse got his start as a sushi chef working at Fuji, his father’s restaurant in south Jersey. When he was 24, Jesse and his family would sell Fuji and go all-in on bringing the omakase and izakaya experience to Philly. That bet would pay off, as 3 years later they’ve received the covered Philly Inquirer restaurant rating of 4 bells.

Support Philly Who?

Donate via Paypal,

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Nisiar Smith: Empowering Philly Through Free Financial Literacy Education Nov 14, 2018

Show notes

Nisiar Smith is the CEO and Founder of The People’s Innovation Movement, a nonprofit that provides free financial literacy classes to Philadelphians. Nisiar also founded Philly Phinancial Literacy Week, which recently received a resolution from City Council making it an official annual city event.

Nisiar got his start in finance by walking into a bank when he was 18 and asking for a job. He worked his way up to being a credit analyst, and when he saw the data on Philly credit scores, he was taken aback. He came up with a plan to educate the masses about credit and empower them financially. When he pitched it to his bosses, they said no, because it wasn't profitable. So, he left the bank, and created a nonprofit organization from scratch.

In this episode, you'll hear the ups and downs of his journey, and he'll tell the story of how he’s made huge impact on the city before even graduating college.

Support Philly Who?

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Lyonzo Vargas: Bringing Wellness to Urban Communities via the Global Village Nov 08, 2018

Show notes

Lyonzo Vargas is the CEO of GLBL VLLG (pronounced "Global Village"), an entertainment and wellness company whose mission is to redefine urban wellness by bringing wellness to minority and underserved urban communities. GLBL VLLG’s flagship event is the VLLG JAM, a monthly jam concert where the headliner is the audience. The first VLLG JAM featured only 5 people in 2016, but today, they draw hundreds monthly in Philly, DC, Brooklyn, Austin, Houston, and London.

In this episode, you’ll hear how this unique mix of music, wellness, and community was inspired when Lyonzo, who was born, raised, and hardly ever left the Bronx, visited his heritage country of Honduras and saw a different path to happiness.

He’ll share how, after years of struggling to find success in a rap career, he finally found his purpose when he held the first VLLG JAM.

And, you’ll hear how he’s working to bring peace and wellness to underserved urban communities across the world.

Support Philly Who?

Donate via Paypal,

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Nicole Purvy: How She Became Better Than Success Nov 01, 2018

Show notes

Nicole Purvy is the founder of Better Than Success, a multi-faceted business which includes a digital marketing agency, a real estate investment league, and a podcast. She’s also the founder of Philly Real Estate Week, an annual citywide summit that celebrates real estate planning, development, and wealth building. Before founding Better Than Success, Nicole was a rising star investment banker. But she felt restless in the corporate world, and when she started a YouTube channel making financial education videos, she got fired.

In this episode you’ll hear how she would spend a decade bouncing between different careers and businesses, and while each one found success, she would finally find her true calling in building a community around real estate through the Better Than Success Real Estate League.

And, you’ll hear how, even though she grew up in Philly, at first she swore off of living here. But eventually, she’d come back, and find it to be exactly what she wanted.

Support Philly Who?

Donate via Paypal,

Venmo: @podphillywho,

Become a Monthly Patron,

Purchase a T-Shirt or Hat,

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Emily Smith: Showcasing and Preserving Isaiah Zagar's Art at Philly Magic Gardens Oct 23, 2018

Show notes

Emily Smith is the Executive Director of Philly’s Magic Gardens, an immersive art environment on South Street that receives over 150,00 visitors per year and showcases the mosaic work of Isaiah Zagar. After spending her early 20s as an artist in New York, Emily came to Philadelphia in 2009 just one year after the Magic Gardens opened to the public. She would get a job there working the front desk, stay for about a year, then move on to North Carolina. But, it wasn’t too long until Philly and the Gardens called her back.

She became the Executive Director of the gardens in 2011, and since then the mosaic labyrinth has become one of Philly’s top tourist destinations. In this episode, we’ll talk about how, for the first few years as the gardens soared in popularity, Emily’s personal art career fell by the wayside. But, in 2015, she was violently assaulted, and she turned to painting to cope.

And, we’ll talk about her mission to protect the art of Isaiah Zagar, who over the past 50 years has created over 220 public art pieces across the city, and how many of which are in danger.

phillymagicgardens.org

Support Philly Who?

Donate via Paypal,

Venmo: @podphillywho,

Become a Monthly Patron,

Purchase a T-Shirt or Hat,

Become a Sponsor

Michael Lerman: Curating Film Festivals in Philly, Palm Springs, and Toronto Oct 17, 2018

Show notes

Michael Lerman is the Artistic Director of the Philadelphia Film Festival, and has been for the last 8 years. He’s also the Artistic Director of the Palm Springs Film Festival, and is a Programmer for the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). In this episode, you’ll hear how Michael, who was born and raised in Philly, got his start in film curation as a college student who just really loved movies.

He’ll share the story of how he worked his way into programming at the world’s biggest film festivals, including one of the most prestigious ones in Toronto.

And, we’ll talk about how, in the new world of Netflix, there’s still nothing quite like seeing a film in a sold-out theater.

Support Philly Who?

Donate via Paypal,

Venmo: @podphillywho,

Become a Monthly Patron,

Purchase a T-Shirt or Hat,

Become a Sponsor

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