In this excellent episode, Nancy and Jose are joined in the studio by James Halliday, the Executive Director of A Reason To Survive (ARTS). This organization aims to use a connection to the arts to foster creativity, resilience, and trust to strengthen the community and the individuals within it. Through ARTS, James has realized the importance of meeting the needs of young people and respecting their voices.

After spending time overseas immersing himself in international cultures and working in journalism in Eastern Europe, Turkey, and the Middle East, as well as system building in high education James returned to San Diego. Wanting to make the biggest impact with his work, he refocused on education and youth development. ARTS was one of the organizations that James found and was where James felt like he was meeting his "destiny."

One of his focuses upon returning to San Diego was to build a strong network. His background in creating systems really benefitted him when it came to bringing a group of people together to accomplish a mission.

An excellent episode on filling gaps in the community with James Halliday. Here are some other takeaways from the interview:

• James' early career and how he found ARTS
• The importance of networks
• James' most impactful book
• The impact of ARTS and the biggest challenges that they see in young people
• How to improve learning for young people and allowing young people to create change
• The answer to the rapid-fire questions

An excellent interview from a passionate gap minder. Thank you, James, for your contributions in San Diego, and for joining us on The Gap Minders.

Enjoy this episode and be sure to subscribe to the show.

If you have any questions or want to contact Nancy or Jose, please send an email to podcast@uwsd.org. Thank you for listening.

To learn more about the two social impact organizations making The Gap Minders possible, please visit www.TheGapMinders.org.