Talking Cities With Matt Enstice

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.

Matt talks with Bill Maggio, a health care, medical diagnostics, and business development executive from Buffalo, New York. They talk about the Jacobs Institute’s recently released landmark report on The Future of Medicine, and the role of health care systems in transforming how care is delivered. Bill highlights his role as an investor as well as a leader in the local start-up community as past chair of 43North business competition to spur economic development in Buffalo. They touch on his lifelong love of music as a classically-trained pianist as well as the impact rowing has had on his life.

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.

In this episode, Matt talks with Nic Perez, Chief Technologist at Booz Allen Hamilton, about his journey with crowdsourcing and how he's seen technology develop over the years with companies like Netscape Communications, Charles Schwab and America Online; his passion for using technology for the greater good and the lives he's impacted working as the web technical architect for American Red Cross; and his views on the the power of the gig economy and its ability to allow people to work on whatever they want, wherever they want.

In this week’s #TalkingCities, hear from Holberton School cofounders Julien Barbier, Sylvain Kalache, and Julien Cyr, pioneers changing the way education is delivered. Just named one of Business Insiders 19 Hottest San Francisco Startups to Watch in 2018, Holberton is a project-based college alternative for the next generation of software engineers seeking to diversify the tech industry.

Matt talks with Asi Burak, CEO of Power Play NYC, about the growing popularity of e-sports over traditional sports among millennials and women; Asi's role as the producer for the largest industry-facing gaming festival in NYC, the Games for Change Festival and how games impact education, healthcare, research, civics, and social issues;  and new research on neurogaming and the ways in which it can improve health, fitness and cognitive skills.

Matt talks with New York State Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul about how humble beginnings with her very socially-conscious family pulled her toward public service at a very young age; her start in politics working with legendary Buffalonian Tim Russert and longtime Senator of New York Daniel Patrick Moynahan; her enthusiasm around Buffalo’s burgeoning tech scene as seen on the BNMC; and her pride in her role to support Governor Cuomo's laser focus on bringing back upstate New York by turning upside the typical economic development model.   Lt. Gov. Hochul has been an elected official at the town, county, state, and federal levels, providing her with an extraordinarily unique perspective of how government can truly work for the people. She view her ability to find common issues to “cross the aisle” as a hallmark of her success in Washington. She notes the importance of collaboration among women of different parties to enact great positive change.   She is chairing the NYS Women’s Suffrage Commission an

Matt talks with Sam Marrazzo, the BNMC’s new Chief Innovation Officer. Sam talks about why he sees himself as a connector of technology, people, and places. He also touches on how being stationed on the U.S.S. Independence kicked off his career in technology; the importance of strong university alignment to drive innovation within cities; his longtime partnership with Topcoder; and why we should all “run to math”. 

In this episode, we say a special goodbye to Michelle Levitt, founder of Too Much Neon, the podcasting business that took ground at BNMC's Innovation Center. Michelle is moving back home to St. Louis, MI to continue her career at Heil Sound, the family-owned business she's spent the past 13 years. Michelle talks about her experience moving to Buffalo and what it was like as an entrepreneur who started her own business; how technology is changing the media industry and her thoughts on why youth and millennials have gravitated towards podcasting. Oh, and we get hear how the name of her business, Too Much Neon, came to be. 

Matt talks with Dean Seavers, Executive Director of National Grid US, an international electricity and gas company. Dean talks about his role leading the company's 15,000 employees across the northeastern US, the importance of advocating for their customers, and what it will take to get to a clean energy future.  Matt and Dean also highlight the longtime partnership between National Grid and the BNMC in Buffalo, and how this can serve as an innovative model for how energy companies support economic development in their local communities.

In this episode, Matt talks with University at Buffalo President, Satish Tripathi, about how a UB education prepares students to respond to community needs and global issues; the research that UB is conducting that is making an impact locally and around the world; and the University's efforts to attract millennial learners to campus and keep them here in Western New York.

Today we're highlighting Candace Johnson, CEO of Roswell Park Cancer Institute, who was recently named #1 of the Power 100 ranking by Buffalo Business First. In this episode, Candace talks with Matt about their innovative partnership with Cuba, the surprising ease of recruiting stellar researchers & physicians to Buffalo, Roswell's role as an economic driver for the region, and why patients should be the center of the universe. If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like Episode 19 "Finding the Right People" with Norma Nowak, founder of Empire Genomics and fellow Power 100 nominee. 

Matt talks with Dr. Adnan Siddiqui about how rebellion and family experiences led him to become a world-renowned neurosurgeon; growing up & training in Pakistan; and the incredible partnerships and medical innovation happening right here in Buffalo.

In this episode, Matt talks with Landscape Architect, Joy Kuebler, about the nonprofit she started called Popup Park Buffalo that encourages kids through play; Joy's definition of 'placemaking' and how to create communities of value for everyone from ages 8 to 80; and what her ideal place would look and feel like. 

Matt talks with Leslie Zemsky, Director of Fun for Larkin Square, a dynamic public space in Buffalo, NY. Dubbed “Larkinville,” the neighborhood became a true destination when Leslie and her family began developing the area that, in the late 1800s, was home to the Larkin Soap Company, a mail-order conglomerate that was the Amazon of its day. Leslie talks about the common sense component of placemaking, turning a huge vacant lot into the heart of a neighborhood, and how her early career planning the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade prepared her for it all.

We're throwing it back this week to an episode we released earlier this year featuring Buffalo's #1 Ambassador, Mayor Tony Masiello.  Matt talks with Tony about the opportunities and challenges that elected officials face in transforming cities. They discuss what led Tony to develop creative solutions to the difficult economic situation facing Buffalo during the 80s and 90s, much like many other Rust Belt cities at that time. Tony spent 35 years working in government on behalf of Western New York. He is a college Hall of Fame basketball player, drafted by the Indiana Pacers in 1969. Today Tony is the president of Masiello Martucci Calabrese & Associates.

Linda Hunt, CEO of Dignity Health Arizona, visited the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus last week on a benchmarking trip with the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce where we invited her as a guest on Talking Cities. On the show, Linda discusses opportunities in Phoenix to leverage Dignity Health, as well as challenges facing the area and other southwestern cities. A nurse with aspirations to lead from early on her career, Linda climbed the corporate ladder of health care, seeing and experiencing the profession from all angles and defining what it means to be a transformational leader along the way.

Matt talks with Mike Morris, CEO @TopCoder, about going from a developer to an entrepreneur; starting the number one community of software developers on the planet more than 15 years ago; TopCoder’s model of assigning co-pilots to help find solutions to complex problems; and the explosion of the gig economy to support the TopCoder community.

In this special 1-hour episode, Matt has a conversation with Bishop Tommy Reid and Pastor William Gillison about the role of the church in reviving cities; how technology and the media have changed ministry through the years; and what the two pastors with over 100 years of ministry have to say for our listeners about fulfilling your dreams and sustaining hope.