Becky Mendoza was born and raised in Miami, Florida to parents who emigrated from Cuba, it wasn’t until she graduated from the University of Florida and backpacked through Europe, that her desire for an education through travel and adventure, was born. With a Law Degree and Masters in Sports Administration in-hand, she moved to Encinitas, CA and began her career as an action sports and entertainment lawyer, opening up her own firm, Action Sports Law Group (ASLG), in 2009. Through ASLG, Becky works with top companies, artists and athletes in action sports helping them with general contract matters and visas to the US.

As she became more well-traveled, she began to seek more from her adventures. In 2014, she did her first Clean Water Courier trip through Waves for Water to Nicaragua, where she raised funds to purchase and distribute 54 Sawyer water filters on a surf trip. After that, she decided the following year to bring filters to Mainland Mexico, to the remote coastal areas of Jalisco, south of Puerto Vallarta, launching “Clean Mexi-Agua” with fellow CTF board member, Sam Bennett. After a successful first trip, their intent was to return to provide more filters for the surrounding communities. Unfortunately, Hurricane Patricia hit the Clean Mexi-Agua communities head-on just 6 months later and she returned for some very impactful disaster relief work.

Through her work in Nicaragua and Mexico, Becky has realized her calling to help others around the world, which is where the idea for Changing Tides Foundation was born. Her goals are to inspire others to help while they’re on their adventures, because there is no better way to show your appreciation to the places you visit than to give back to its people.

Changing Tides Foundation was born from the simple idea that the world would be a better place if we were all given the opportunity to give back. Established in 2016, by a group of water women and adventurers, they feel it is their calling to help others. They do this by teaming up with local organizations globally to raise awareness and address social, environmental, health and safety concerns in the places they visit, because TOGETHER WE ARE BETTER.

Their mission is to bridge the gap between you, the traveler, and the causes on the ground. They are paving a way for you to SERVE NATURALLY, adding life-changing experiences to your journey.

By collaborating with eco-minded brands,  ADVENTURE CONSCIOUSLY, leaving behind the smallest footprint possible, in an effort to preserve the beauty of the places we travel to.

INSTAGRAM @changingidesfoundation @actionsprtslaw

Links:

Every link discussed can be found on The Changing Tides Foundation website

http://www.changingtidesfoundation.org

Instagram links discussed

Ed Lewis: @enjoyhandplanes and @enjoy_the_farm

Captain Liz Clark: @captainlizclark

Kimi Warner: @kimi_swimmy

Does what we consume for our beloved pets really have an impact on not only their comprehensive wellness but the planet as well? The answer is yes! I found this out first hand after desperately figuring out how to keep my sweet dog Daisy Mae well in her advanced years. I dug deep, read everything and integrated eastern and western medicine. I basically started cooking for her and learned everything about pet nutrition from a local small business pet supply store called Pupologie. She lived to be 18.

This is where I met the heart center of this business Denise and Brendon Clifton. Yes – Denise and Brendon are trailblazers in the holistic pet food arena but their passion for what they do lights and blazes that trail. Brendon even helped me save Daisy’s life at one time – it was a pure and profound experience I will NEVER forget – NEVER! Denise and I even share the experience in this episode.

They are champions of TRUTH and empowering pet parents for a world free of toxic pet brands. They fill the shelves with products that prioritize pet-livelihood over profits. They value transparency and love sharing as much information about their offerings as you care to know. They do the investigating so you don’t have to.

Join me, Denise, Sigmund The Seamonster, Big Lucy and ChaKa the cat for our first home recording. I did not edit out ANY of the pet noise – it is all part of the experience!!!

This Episode is in memory of Daisy Mae who led me to these resources and to all the other animal soulmates that have crossed the rainbow bridge.

Instagram: @pupologie and @denisecliftonofficial

Facebook: Pupologie

Web: http://www.pupologie.com

Other links:

http://sdvoyager.com/interview/meet-denise-clifton-pupologie-north-county/

http://www.na-sd.com/SAND/February-2013/Denise-and-Brendon-Clifton-owners-of-Pupologie-in-Encinitas/

Brittany Catton Kirk is the Founder and Executive Director of the Social Enterprise Sunlight Retreats for Survivors, an accelerator for healing for survivors of rape.

After being attacked overseas in 2012, she struggled in her career, relationships and gained 60 pounds as she tried to recover from her attack and Post Traumatic Stress. She looked for a safe place to go and heal but found nothing so she created Sunlight Retreats for Survivors.

Drawing on her ten years’ experience creating award-winning programming for military families and wounded warriors at the San Diego Armed Services YMCA, she set out to create a tangible in-person program to empower survivors with tools, trauma education, resilience training and peer support.

Sunlight Retreats is a change-making program that gives survivors a better way to heal, so that they can rebuild and empower others. 100 percent of the forty participants from the first two retreats reported via anonymous survey that they would recommend Sunlight Retreats to a fellow survivor, 100 percent said it aided them in their healing, and 100 percent said Sunlight Retreats made them stronger.

To learn more about Sunlight Retreats For Survivors of Rape visit https://www.sunlightretreats.org.

If you are a survivor of rape, please do not think you have to suffer in silence or alone!!! You can get resources straight from the website above or send an email through the contact portion of their site.

You can also contact:

The National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-4673

RAINN25: 1-800-656-HOPE

For individual therapy – resources can be found through Psychology Today: http://www.psychologytoday.com

For on line therapy Talk Space: https://www.talkspace.com/

Please do not think you have to do this alone!!!!

Instagram: @sunlightretreatsforsurvivors

Facebook: Sunlight Retreats For Survivors

Epic recording and sound engineering from Bram Kaprow owner of Arden Rock Studio http://www.ardenrockrecords.com.

Ian Barry, better known as Poods to his friends, was an extremely gifted athlete that found meditation in movement, an unconditionally kind and creative soul that lived by his words “keep doing your thing and keep being who you are”. On September 27 2012, Ian passed away at 22 years old when he accidentally fell from a bluff. Although it is important to know that his death was an accident and that he was in his element being one with nature (adhering to another one of his mantras – less technology and more nature), Ian’s death is not the focus of this conversation and podcast episode. This is a discussion about living….about how Ian lived so fully and how his parents John and Ali and younger sister Kiva continue to live while they process the grief of losing their only son and brother.

Ian was VERY special and made people that he came to know feel like their “best friend”. He had a quiet, humble, disarming charm combined with an attitude of accepting everyone for exactly who they were without judgment. He truly made you feel better when you were around him. According to his family and friends, his personal struggles simply made him more compassionate and accepting. Ian always tried to see the good in people but never understood acts of unkindness.

This is a story about how Ian’s family channeled his spirit into healing energy for the LARGE community of people he touched also grieving the loss of a friend and special soul. This is a story that is infinite and very much ALIVE. This light from Ian’s heart center, that has been stoked and kept alive by his family and community, has lit and fueled the Rollin’ From The Heart Foundation. It is all summed up in their mission statement:

Providing disadvantaged and at-risk youth the opportunity to participate in skateboarding, surfing and camping in an effort to promote a more active lifestyle and encourage positive choices. By teaming with peer/mentors that share our values of kindness, compassion and acceptance we strive to instill confidence in those we serve so that they can overcome personal barriers regardless of their economic, social or mental health status.

It’s pretty simple really – be kind, be yourself and have fun. This organization provides toolboxes and beams light on the futures of infinite young lives. THIS is a vital, living and moving memorial.

This is the story of channeling challenges into positivity that provides us all with hope rollin’ into the future!

Learn more:

http://www.rollinfromtheheart.org and follow @rollinfromtheheart on Instagram for daily doses of smiles and feel goods

Woody Gutherie song “So Long It’s Been Good To Know You” ( one of Ian’s all time favorites) performed and recorded for this podcast by singer/songwriter John Finkbiner. John is an acclaimed and talented musician and visual artist is a native of Southern California, also with roots in Nashville, TN, and currently lives in Leucadia, CA. Check all his projects out at @johnfinkbinerart on Instagram

If you or someone you know is in need of grief support or resources call your local Hospice! For Hospice resources visit The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization: https://www.nhpco.org/

Rollin’ From The Heart supporters are mentioned in the podcast.  To see all their partners visit rollinfromtheheart.org.

Brixton: http://www.brixton.com

Vans: http://www.vans.com

I love that this episode coincides with the release of my friend and fellow Hospice Social Worker, Cheryl Dienes’ book The Final Dance / What The Dying Teach Us About…EMBRACING LIFE!!

Join Cheryl, Kenn and I for a conversation about the dynamics of death and dying. It is interesting that we are taught, as soon as we are born, to navigate through all general passages of life and development. The one passage that is not part of our developmental education and, that we are all going to experience, is death. If we explore our own experiences and feelings about end of life ahead of time, the conversations are not that uncomfortable and are actually quite liberating. When we process our feelings and beliefs ahead of time, we create a clear open space for being present for processing our raw emotions and or being present for our loved ones for their sacred transition. It is the one thing we will experience that is half physical and half metaphysical. I have had many personal and professional experiences with end of life. EVERYTHING I have learned has been a gift to help be present for myself, others, and for healing during and after a transition of life.

From Cheryl’s book:

I have come to see how important it is to turn toward the end of our life and look squarely at it. We need to learn to accept the inevitability of death. Imagine how different out lives would be if we saw death for what it is, accepted it, and embraced it. Until we do, we will continue to cheat ourselves out of the very gifts that death offers us to illuminate the whole of our lives. These are the gift of clarity about what really matters, the gift of courage to follow our life’s calling, the gift of freedom to authentically speak our truth, the gift of wisdom to let go of what hold us back.

We owe it to ourselves to feed our personal imaginations with images that see death as the natural, non-threatening phenomenon that it is.

-The Final Dance

By Cheryl Dienes, MSW

To purchase and learn more about Cheryl’s book The Final Dance visit www.thefinaldance.com.

To find resources for Grief Support contact your local Hospice. You do not have to be a hospice patient or family member to receive grief support and services through hospice will be little to no cost!

Landscape cover art of me in Big Sur By Kirk Fagergren.