“Buffalo Homecoming” Featuring Jack Connors on Talking Cities with Matt Enstice Podcast

BNMC’s CEO, Matt Enstice, was hwp-contenty to lead a tour of the Medical Campus for 25 expats attending the Buffalo Homecoming event, which included stops at the Jacobs School of Medicine, the Jacobs Institute, and dig at the Innovation Center. Matt also introduced the Buffalo Health Care Panel facilitated by Tom Beecher, and featuring Dr. Candace Johnson, Jody Lomeo, Michael Cain, and Mark Sullivan as panelists.

Listen in on Matt’s recent conversation with Jack Connors, Buffalo Homecoming co-director and former president and publisher of Buffalo Business First. We cover everything from Jack’s long career in the news business and the story behind launching Buffalo Business First to his latest gig spurring investment in the city he loves.

Priced Out, Pushed Out, or Stuck In: Talking Cities with Bridget Niland

In this episode, Matt talks with Bridget Niland, Director of Project Play, about the impact of youth sports and how they help prepare kids for the 21st century economy; ways to encourage youth in the city to think about their play spaces differently, particularly through “free play”; and her thoughts on the role of technology and the future of sports.

If You Can’t Move, You’re Stuck

Matt talks with Sean Tuohey, self-described operator & dreamer, about bringing people together through sports and food. Sean grew up playing basketball in Washington, DC, and around the world, which led him to co-found PeacePlayers International, uniting people through sports. Sean currently owns a popular restaurant/gathering place in Buffalo, NY and is still working to help reimagine therapy through sport.

Small But Mighty Dollars

This week’s Talking Cities guest is Marnie LaVigne, CEO of LaunchNY, one of the most active seed funds in the country. Matt and Marnie talk about the importance of “small but mighty dollars” to help companies and attract other investors, the need to help everyone build their networks, and teaching entrepreneurship at a younger age.

Theater is Art

Michael Murphy is the president of Shea’s Performing Arts Center, the only Tiffany-designed theater left in the U.S. He talks with Matt about knowing from the age of five that he wanted to be in the theater business. They also talk about how shows like “Hamilton” are helping to build a more inclusive theater community; how technology is changing the industry; and what it means to be launching shows here in Buffalo – including Mean Girls with Tina Fey this fall.

Theater is Art

Michael Murphy is the president of Shea’s Performing Arts Center, the only Tiffany-designed theater left in the U.S. He talks with Matt about knowing from the age of five that he wanted to be in the theater business. They also talk about how shows like “Hamilton” are helping to build a more inclusive theater community; how technology is changing the industry; and what it means to be launching shows here in Buffalo – including Mean Girls with Tina Fey this fall.

Talking Cities: The Right to Food with Paul Taylor

Paul Taylor is the Executive Director of FoodShare Toronto, a non-profit organization that works with communities and schools to deliver healthy food and food education. Paul believes that “food is not the answer to food insecurity,” in fact, there is “more than enough food in Canada to feed all of its inhabitants.” Hear his thoughts on food equity and how Canada is shifting the conversation away from poverty and towards health and educational outcomes.

Talking Cities: The Future of Work with Pablo Pinto

Product Specialist may be the title on Pablo Pinto’s business card, but his impact extends far beyond his role at tech startup and 43North winner, TARA.ai. Car-less since 2012, Pablo credits Buffalo as a great place for cyclists, and believes cities should stop thinking about streets in terms of vehicles, but rather people. A holistic thinker with a passion for giving back, he talks about his travels across the globe, spending time in New York City, Boston, Ecuador, South Korea, Silicon Valley, Albany, NY, and Buffalo, NY, and the major ways he’s seen technology transform cities and the future of work.

Talking Cities: Buffalo Keeps Getting Better with Dottie Gallagher

Hear from Dottie Gallagher, President & CEO of the Buffalo Niagara Partnership, the regional chamber of commerce. They talk about the worldwide competition for talent, and the importance of the need for skilled immigration reform and policies around border issues; using Buffalo Niagara’s location as an asset to be globally competitive; tying the talent attraction wp-contentroach to regional tourism; and the need for more women in leadership roles.

In this episode of #TalkingCities, Matt sits down with Holly Gagnon, President and CEO of Seneca Gaming Corporation. They speak on characteristics of a successful team, the gaming industry’s development and what it means to be a female leader in a traditionally male dominated industry. As a founding member of Global Gaming Women, Holly expresses her passion for encouraging and empowering the growth of women leaders within gaming world-wide.

Learning How to Learn (Quickly)

Will you answer his call at 3am? If so, you might be the kind of person Raj Suchak is looking for. A self-described “technical geek who likes to tinker,” after working at Salesforce for several years Raj started Cloud62, later acquired by Huron Consulting, to help companies get the most out of their investment in Salesforce. As he built his team, he got more and more interested in finding top talent. Instead of hiring on resumes or work experiences, he hired based on character, customer service skills, hunger and grit – and taught them how to do the tasks he had needed. He is now working on a new start-up called Grit Seed, a software platform to enable companies to find and evaluate talent by cultivating opportunities and having generational impact, as well as bringing RoboThink (a STEM program for kids) to Buffalo. Raj tells Matt about being raised in Tanzania, Africa and how he was influenced by his entrepreneurial father who constantly asked Raj “the big why” questions.

From Reactive to Operationally Excellent

Luis talks about his transition into government after spending his entire career working in the public sector; how he’s transforming city hall from a reactive organization to one that’s “operationally excellent”; and his thoughts on Open Data Buffalo and how a new Data 101 course will teach the public how to use the data provided to make a meaningful impact on their lives.

This week on #TalkingCities we are joined by Patrick Kaler, chief Buffalo booster. Patrick moved to Buffalo several years ago to head up Visit Buffalo Niagara after spending time in Chicago, Lake Tahoe, and Loudon County (or “DC’s wine country”). He talks about becoming the youngest executive director of a destination marketing organization in the state of Illinois, and how he reacted when a headhunter pitched him a job in Buffalo, NY. He highlights his pride in how his team worked to get Buffalo named on the NY Times 52 Places to Travel in 2018 and the challenges behind the Buffalo Convention Center, the oldest convention center without a significant expansion or renovation in the country.
 

Talking Cities: Creating a Digital Disruption

This week, Matt talks with Lorenz Gan, Chief Information Officer at New Era Cap. Lorenz is responsible for the strategy and execution behind the digital revolution at the iconic 98 year old global brand.  They talk about his move from Australia in search of the “Big Smoke” – first London and then New York City. He played a leading role at luxury fashion house Burberry when its goal was to become the #1 digital luxury brand in the world, and he led the company through a number of fashion “firsts,” including being the first to live stream fashion shows and utilize augmented reality. He talks about how he was recruited to Buffalo from NYC (in January!), and why it was the right move for his career and his family. They also discuss the importance of integrating technology to grow a global brand and the role of sports to a city’s psyche.

News Where You Are

Hear from Warren Colville, President of The Buffalo News, and self-described family man, army brat and wine connoisseur. Warren talks about the changing media landscape in the world of fake news; how to navigate the tides of technology by innovating and diversifying revenue streams; and his thoughts on the future of the newspaper business.

Talking Cities with Matt EnsticeProblem Solving with Music

In this episode, Matt talks with JoAnn Falletta, Music Director of Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, about falling in love with music as a little girl and what it felt like to play her first guitar; her travels around the country and world as a Conductor, and the role music plays in cities; and music’s powerful affect on the brain and our lives.

Embrace the Next Generation

Jeremy M. Jacobs, Chairman of Delaware North and Owner/Governor of the Boston Bruins, joined Matt for a wide-ranging Talking Cities this week. He spoke about taking over the family-owned company, started by his father, at age 28, and how his children and grandchildren are now leading the company into the future. He purchased the Boston Bruins and Boston Gardens in 1975, joking, “ignorance helped” in taking such a major leap. They talk about the role of sports in community development, as Delaware North is undertaking one of the largest projects in Boston right now to reimagine the area around TD Garden. Jacobs and his wife recently gave a significant gift to advance the University at Buffalo’s medical school, which has been renamed for his family, and they discuss his role as a passionate philanthropist for higher education, health care, and the future of medicine. He touches on the importance of instincts (“If you don’t have the instincts, you shouldn’t do it”), seeking out opinions, and the role of a company within a community.

Equity and Equality Are Not the Same: Episode 51

Assemblywoman Crystal Peoples Stokes is all things Buffalo. Crystal is a proud graduate of the Buffalo Public Schools and Buffalo State College and a former educator at B.U.I.L.D Academy. In this episode, Matt and Crystal talk about her passions for health care and education, the successes she’s had in government fighting for diversity and MWBE contracts, and the ways in which Buffalo’s Community Schools are acting as a model for other cities sin New York and around the country.

Matt Enstice, president and CEO of the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus & host of “Talking Cities,” stops by Bell Ringer to talk cities– Buffalo to be exact. Hear an update from Matt on how the BNMC continues to drive innovation and job creation in our region. Bell Ringer is a podcast by Invest Buffalo Niagara, our region’s economic development agency charged with supporting business attraction, expansion and entrepreneurship.

In this episode, Matt talks with Eric Reich, co-founder of Campus Labs, an integrated software and cloud-based assessment tool that helps its nearly 1,400 higher education Member Campuses make informed decisions though strategic data and insights. Eric shares his thoughts on the future of higher education and how real change occurs when leadership isn’t afraid to take risks and pivot when provided with valuable data.
 

Hear from Megan McNally, executive director of the Foundry, a not-for-profit small business incubator and makerspace in Buffalo, NY. Megan talks about how being a woman in a male-dominated field of woodworking inspired her to help others pursue their dreams and celebrate their differences. Her work at the Foundry has helped grow countless businesses, build community, and provide opportunity and access in a low-income neighborhood.