Andy shares what it's like to be one of the older dads in the room. This contains stories both hilarious and moving. Youtube: https://youtu.be/DMbDyPM4cjg Join the semi-private whatsapp group: https://chat.whatsapp.com/BLHYMo48pKrGVxlVfx71eH Music: Anders GurdaBy Luke Bonney & Mike Williams

Jesse is a divorced father of 3 kids. At the time of recording, he'd just dropped his middle son off at college. So we start there, then move on to his experience fathering 3 kids. Youtube: https://youtu.be/FvQwQ08cx0U Join the semi-private whatsapp group: https://chat.whatsapp.com/BLHYMo48pKrGVxlVfx71eH Music: Anders Gurda…

Dave's a dad and entrepreneur turned CEO coach. I would say he relentlessly shared insights on this one. He starts hot and doesn't let up. Dave Kashen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davekashen/ Youtube: https://youtu.be/To9bMPyarws Join the semi-private whatsapp group: https://chat.whatsapp.com/BLHYMo48pKrGVxlVfx71eH Music: Anders Gurda…

Raju immigrated from India as a young child. Today, he has 4 kids (ages ~15 - 25) that love each other and take trips without him. Raju Rishi: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajurishi/ Full episode on Youtube: https://youtu.be/QcBbVKM9iuo Join the semi-private whatsapp group: https://chat.whatsapp.com/BLHYMo48pKrGVxlVfx71eH Music: Anders Gurda Infract…

Jeffrey grew up in 1960's Mississippi to black parents active in the civil rights movement. Today, he's father to a teenage daughter. He shares stories and reflections. Jeffrey Thomas: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreydavidthomas/ Jeffrey's Mandella Yoga Project: https://www.mandelayogaproject.org/ Full episode on Youtube: https://youtu.be/SvhGE3…

DB has a wife and 2yo son. He grew up in rural Appalachia to sharecropper parents. He discusses how he has taken on fatherhood after an abusive and challenging childhood. Youtube: https://youtu.be/oyF83WxFzuk Join the semi-private whatsapp group: https://chat.whatsapp.com/BLHYMo48pKrGVxlVfx71eH Music: Anders Gurda Infraction…

In this episode we talk to Matt Hermann, a venture capitalist with 2 adult daughters. He shares his lessons & reflections after a couple decades as a dad. New! Watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/Ap_zLchgZjU Matt Hermann: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewhermann1/ Music: Anders Gurda InfractionBy Luke Bonney & Mike Williams

TC discusses what it's like to experience 3 miscarriages and how it influenced him as a father. Music: Anders GurdaBy Luke Bonney & Mike Williams

Izaz was born in Bangladesh, immigrated to New York City as a kid, and is now raising 4 kids outside Atlanta. Music: Anders GurdaBy Luke Bonney & Mike Williams

Ted discusses what divorce taught him as a husband a dad. And: - When to consider mediation, therapy or couples coaching instead of divorce - red flags for men whose relationship could be deteriorating toward divorce and how to start pulling things back - His method to quickly calm down from a moment of rage Music: Anders Gurda…

Surya's parents grew up in India. He grew up in Nigera. Now he's raising a son in the United States. The International Man discusses what that's like. Music: Anders GurdaBy Luke Bonney & Mike Williams

Adam discusses: - how they manage long-distance travel with 2 kids, without going insane - his experience raising an autistic son Music: Anders GurdaBy Luke Bonney & Mike Williams

This was a fun one. In terms of parenting & family-management, Devin uses some of the more unique strategies & tactics. In this episode he covers it all, along with: - his experience being a dad while going through therapy and mental health challenges - how do you teach spirituality to your kids when your own spirituality is transforming? - how the…

Kevin's high school daughter got huge on TikTok. He shares: - what they did to avoid the bad stuff that can come with that - the surprising benefits and how the family worked together to maximize them. (This goes deeper than simply free swag.) - specific techniques he and his wife used to parent their way through this - his biggest insights after r…

Trent's first few years of fatherhood are some of the most difficult we know of. He covers: - His approach to surviving intense parenting challenges, financial stress, and wild fires... all at the same time. Without much community support to lean on. - His experience wading through 12 months of sleep deprivation while still trying to perform well a…

Dave discusses: - "They're not giving you a hard time, they're having a hard time." A grenade to the brain. - His family's method to resolve any conversation or argument that gets stuck. - How his family applies extreme honesty & transparency. V interesting, kinda scary. - What it's like to have a parent who's not that interested in your kids. Real…

The first episode, baby! Listen to Niko discuss: How Niko's dad & their complex relationship influenced the way he fathers his son What it's like to be a dad going through a divorce And have your own parents divorcing at the same time as you Trying to create an environment of 2 loving households instead of just 1 Parenting as a community and organi…

We’ve reached the end of Go Cultivate! Season 3! To wrap us up, Kevin details the impacts that the suburban experiment has had on our country and asks the question: what does ‘quality of life’ really mean, and does an auto-centric lifestyle support these outcomes? After defining actionable steps to take in order to address the challenges posed by t…

In this episode we are sitting down with Matt Meals, the newest addition to Verdunity’s engineering team. He and Kevin discuss Matt’s journey to Verdunity, and his perspective on how land use fiscal analysis gives cities the education they need to plan for communities to take root, as well as how it empowers citizens to take active roles in shaping…

In this episode, AJ interviews Dr. Kaye Monk-Morgan and Shaun Rojas of the Kansas Leadership Center (KLC) where Kaye is the President and CEO, and Shaun is the Senior Director of Civic Engagement. Their discussion emphasizes the importance of building a culture of civic leadership and engaging with community members to address their concerns and bu…

Time to roll out some new Meet the Verdooners episodes to introduce y'all to the newest members of our team! In this episode, Kevin sits down with Maddie Bonney, our new Planner, and they discuss her personal motivations for pursuing a career in planning, including her desire to improve quality of life and promote self-sustaining economic developme…

Moving communities beyond status quo is hard. Entrenched practices in zoning, transportation planning, and road design have created places that are unsafe, unhealthy, and inequitable for many, while others who have benefitted from these systems staunchly defend them. In this episode, “Plangineers” Andy Boenau and Kevin Shepherd discuss how their ca…

There are a number of bills working their way through this year’s session of the Texas Legislature that will impact cities’ ability to guide development in a manner that ensures fiscal sustainability and affordability. Proposed bills address topics like: annexation/deannexation; prohibiting cities from requiring development value and infrastructure…

Rural communities are a focus for us here at Verdunity. In this episode, AJ interviews Julianna Dodson, Deputy Executive Director, and Radically Rural Director for the Hannah Grimes Center for Entrepreneurship. Prior to her work with Hannah Grimes, she was primarily in the financial services industry (which according to her is a lot more vibrant an…

William Fulton is one of America’s most established thought leaders in urban planning. From 2014 to 2022, he served as Director of Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research. Prior to moving to Houston, he served as Mayor of Ventura, CA and Director of Planning and Development for San Diego. He’s the author of multiple papers and books, …

Whether you're a long time follower of our Go Cultivate! podcast or just started listening, we'd love some feedback. This annual survey guides our team in creating content you actually want! As a thank you, all submissions will be entered into a drawing to win a $50 Amazon gift card - winner will be announced in our May 2nd podcast episode! Link: v…

Melissa Milton-Pung is a Policy Research Labs program manager at the Michigan Municipal League. As a Federally-qualified architectural historian, her expertise is in place-based economic development initiatives, historic rehabilitation, and heritage tourism. She holds a BA in Public History from Western Michigan University and a Master of Historic …

Fiscal policy, municipal finance, thoughtful budgeting, and infrastructure maintenance. If you ever wanted to know where and why your city's money gets spent, you'll want to hear this. Mark Funkhouser, former mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, with decades of experience in municipal finance, and Liz Farmer, a writer, thinker, and consultant on policy …

We’re kicking off 2023 with an interview with Mara Mintzer, a co-founder and the Executive Director of Growing Up Boulder, an initiative to engage with city children and youth and offer them opportunities to affect change within their community. In 2017, Mara hosted a TEDx talk on including young people in city planning—which has amassed nearly 2 m…

Kevin Shepherd, the founder and CEO of Verdunity is here to talk about where the company has been, where it might be going in the future, and what gifts your city-focused friends might enjoy. Spoiler alert: he loves books. Kevin is an engineer, but as is usually pretty obvious, not your typical engineer, and its interesting to hear from him some of…

Episode 5 of “Meet the Verdooners” introduces us to AJ Fawver, who leads Verdunity’s Community Consulting Program. In this episode we learn what initially brought AJ into the planning world and what element of community building she is most concerned about. AJ is a firm believer that we serve communities best when we remember that people are at the…

Tim Wright's work spans the gamut from missing middle housing to incremental development and infrastructure right-sizing. He has been an engineer on the kinds of projects that can transform a place into a more sustainable, connected community. Hailing from the great state of Louisiana (Shreveport to be exact) and proudly lacking on sleep (as he's a…

Mari Austin is Verdunity's Process and Communications Coordinator. Her work is too varied to adequately explain in a podcast blurb – but it ranges from process improvement to multimedia production (including this very podcast), to fostering a positive and forward-looking company culture here in-house. Mari comes from outside the world of municipal …

Episode 2 of "Meet the Verdooners is back with Karina Castillo, a planner here at Verdunity. If you are a young planner, ready to go out and change the world, there is some interesting backstory you might enjoy from Karina. There are some real gems of knowledge here when it comes to trying to get good work done – who really makes the big decisions …