Welcome to the Lamorinda Living Podcast
This is a podcast facilitating personal and professional connections for residents of Moraga, Orinda and Lafayette. Take a peek and a listen and find out what your neighbors are thinking about and doing. And if you are a prospective resident, check it out and see if Lamorinda might be a good fit!
THE HOST
Hello! I'm Jennifer LaForce and the host of the Lamorinda Living podcast. I work as a community relations officer for United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. After years of interviewing immigrants for political asylum, I am now trying my hand at interviewing my fellow neighbors. Originally an East Coaster, raised in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, I am a graduate of Colorado College (B.A.) and George Washington University (M.P.P.). I landed in California in 2005 following two years in Kenya where I worked in refugee resettlement. I live with my husband and two elementary school kiddos in Moraga, and I'm a big fan of Lamorinda!
To listen to an interview, click play under the picture below or listen to the podcast on the following podcasting apps: Apple podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, or Stitcher.
Folks in the neighborhood
Season 2
Justin Cole
Co-founder of Moraga's Joy In Motion, shares his love of dance, core values and how to run a dance studio during a pandemic.
Elizabeth La Scala
College & graduate admissions advisor provides updates on what students can expect when attending colleges this Fall.
Coming soon
Ellide Smith
Chair of the Diversity & Inclusion Committee Parents Club at Campolindo HS discusses how the group is organizing and engaging school leaders at this time.
Coming soon
Ellen BEANS
Executive Director of the Moraga Citizens Network shares the mission behind this grassroots community forum.
Coming soon
Season One
ALLISON ANDERMAN
Allison is a mother of two who recently led the charge to pass gun safety storage law in Moraga. She discusses the journey passing this ordinance and navigating a hot topic in her own backyard.
TaNUKA GORDON
Tanuka is an Orinda resident who left corporate America to start a non-profit called Mindful Littles aiming to spark compassion in youth through service learning. Tanuka talks about her journey from corporate America to the non-profit world, and her belief that this was what she was always meant to do.
katie THOMSON KENDALL GLYNN
Katie and Kendall are Orinda moms who were fed up with all the substandard baby food options. They launched Square Baby in Orinda to offer parents a nutrient-packed baby meal system. They share their trials and tribulations as well as the tea leaves pointing to a lot of future successes growing their business!
DAVID WINNAcKER
David is the Moraga Orinda Fire Chief. He talks with us about wildfire management in Lamorinda our risk of future fires.
BRIAN SULLIVAN
Brian Sullivan is a Moraga father and the principal of Rheem Elementary in Moraga. Brian shares the special sauce for making a great school. And how it's not so different from basketball.
Brian T. Nowac
Brian is a Moraga father and a co-founder of the S.F. based creative strategy firm Atomic D. Brian discusses brand strategy and the importance of creating a supportive work culture.
Rebecca LeIMBACH
Rebecca is a Moraga mother who provides interior styling to Lamorinda residents. She talks about her eye for room improvements and how she helps residents without breaking the bank.
BRETT LORIE
Brett is a Moraga resident and teacher at Joaquin Miller Middle School where he launched the 10,000 Lunches program. Students pack lunches that are then provided to the homeless in the East Bay. Brett talks about how the program works and what lessons it conveys.
Billy Blau
Billy is a Moraga father who has been in the tech industry for 25 years, having worked at a startup, Oracle and Salesforce before landing at Dropbox as VP for Business Development. Billy explains his role, skills he relies on to be successful in the tech industry and what he looks for when hiring.
Steve WoEHLEKE
Steve Woehleke is a Moraga resident and town councilman who supported the campaign to Save Painted Rock which provides countless teens a free billboard on Moraga's famous hillside. He speaks about the inner machinations of Town Council and how the sausage is really made!
Dr. Lynnā McPhatter-Harris
Lynna is a Lafayette mother and psychologist who works to assist child welfare agencies improve their services. A program associate for the National Council on Crime and Delinquency, Lynna talks about the challenges of state intervention into families and best practices to keep families intact whenever possible.
Dr. Ann Schiebert
Dr. Ann Schiebert is a Lafayette resident and psychologist who specializes in teens and addiction issues. Author of several books, Ann speaks about her own experience having an addicted child, the signs for parents to look for in a struggling teen and how to respond when addiction comes into the home.
Kristin Oliveira Kraetsch
Kristin is an Orinda Mom and Co-Director of Lamorinda Moms. This organization provides emotional and social support to families in Lamorinda. Kristin talks about their flagship initiatives for new moms who may be feeling overwhelmed.
Owner, Canyon Club Brewery
Kevin Hamilton
Kevin is a Lamorinda dad and co-founder of the new Canyon Club Brewery. Kevin will share how the idea germinated to launch a brewery in a town that misses the old barn and how he hopes this will do to Lamorinda what Sierra Nevada Brewing Company did for the town of Chico.
Policing in San Francisco
Adam P
Adam is a Moraga dad and police sergeant. He discusses police work in a major metropolitan area, use of force issues and what it's like to be photobombed by someone you once arrested.
Ana moon
Moraga’s Ana Moon, volunteer for the Moraga Education Foundation, discusses how despite the fact that California ranks 41st in per pupil funding, Moraga’s schools are excellent thanks to the local commitment to education.
Dr. Daniel Robbins
Dan Robbins works at Lamorinda Pediatrics providing care to many youngsters in the area. Dan discusses his side gig with the JF Kapnek Trust and his role providing health care in Zimbabwe.
MargiE Ryerson
Margie is an Orinda author and Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT). She talks about how minimize pain to the children during a divorce.
Kerry Corcoran
Kerry Corcoran co-owns the Dailey Method in Lafayette. Kerry talks about the community of wellness she is building and why she is a 'barre' believer.
LAUREN HERPICH
Lafayette business owner of Local Food Adventures discusses how she uses food tours to convey history in the East Bay, including a Lafayette Tour.
Stephanie dickerson & Bruce Burns
Moraga parent teamed up with Superintendent Bruce Burns to discuss newly-adopted measure to keep students safe in the schools.
YUKIE FUJIMOTO
Lafayette parent discusses her participation in a cultural proficiency working group and how they are challenging LUSD to do better with race and diversity in schools and curriculum.
HOLLY Jackson
Lafayette business coach gives her suggestions for launching or growing a business including market research, drafting a business plan and scaling up.
Jay LIFSON
Lafayette Chamber of Commerce Exec. Director discusses flagship programs to support local businesses, and pain points, including life in the Covid era.
Ken SHIN
Moraga resident shares insights about working at a scale-up tech company, Drift, and what his past life at SalesForce taught him about sales.
WISH TO SUPPORT THIS PODCAST? LAMORINDA LIVING IS A 501(C)(3). ALL DONATIONS GO DIRECTLY TO THE OPERATING COSTS OF PRODUCTION.
Comments? Share them here!
Staff
In-house (and in-family) musical consultant, David Warren provides the intro and outro "score" titled St. David's Train Station. This song is a nod from his youth growing up on the Main Line outside Philadelphia. Uncle David lives with his wife Sally in Hilton Head Island, SC. Uncle David rocks...
Daughter Gracie serves as Chief Snack Officer and expert on all things related to elementary school fashion.
Daughter Haley provides quality assurance to ensure her mom doesn't sound lame.
Kristina McCann (Tuesday, 04 February 2020 12:53)
Looking forward to hopefully growing with each other. So nice to have met you.
Shirley DeFrancisci (Monday, 14 October 2019 21:34)
These podcasts are terrific! I have enjoyed each one as a way to get to know my neighbors better, and there is definitely a lot of cool stuff happening in Lamorinda! Thank you for creating these!
Kelly Powell (Monday, 15 July 2019 12:56)
I love this! What a great way to learn about local people doing amazing things for/in the community. Makes the depth of the community come through.
Dana (Sunday, 14 July 2019 17:42)
Way to go, Jen! So far I've listened to the podcast with the M-O Fire Chief David Winnacker and it was fantastic! Very interesting and informative. By the way, your choices for Support Staff are top-notch! Everyone keep up the good work!
Kyra Nead (Saturday, 13 July 2019 12:20)
Love this. Fresh and professional. Can't wait to listen to more podcasts.
haley (Thursday, 27 June 2019 00:22)
You did great on this podcast Mom! Your hard work has paid off! Love you!
adam.plantinga@gmail.com (Monday, 24 June 2019 23:54)
great job Allison. we miss you.