Bubar runs a litigation, business and communications law practice. Jim previously worked at Kaye Scholer (now Arnold & Porter) and was Special Assistant US Attorney. He is admitted to practice law in California, Maryland and the District of Columbia.

Bubar served five terms as co-chair and was a member of the Steering Committee of the DC Bar Affairs Community. The DC Bar awarded him "Lawyer of the Year" in 2024. Jim currently serves on the Communities Committee of the DC Bar and is a member of the Federal Communications Bar Association. He served on the Board of Governors of University of California Hastings College of Law (now UC Law) Alumni where the Democratic Nominee also attended.

He is a triathlete and coaches triathlon at the Anthony Bowen YMCA. He was also a DC Babe Ruth baseball commissioner. Websites for Community Access TV in the United States 

Patrice, a creative activist and thought leader, established The Project Foundation in 2012. In 2014, Malyneath joined forces to further the foundation's mission. Together, their approach encompasses education, arts, media, and community involvement. Over the last 12 years, they've forged successful partnerships with faith groups, businesses, educational institutions, parents, and youth leaders to combat grave social issues. They are committed to empowering victims, aiding survivors, and safeguarding future generations from sexual exploitation, to halt trafficking altogether.

We are a non-profit organization, passionate about ending this heinous crime. Our primary focus is prevention and finding solutions in order to eradicate sex trafficking and exploitation of women and children.

We work to educate parents, minors, and others to bring awareness that trafficking and exploitation exists everywhere.  We collaborate with local faith communities, businesses, schools, and youth leaders for the main purposes of ending this social injustice.

My guest, Daniel Kaiya Fuson is a psychic medium, holistic healer, and spiritual teacher with over 14 years of experience communicating with Thoth (Hermes) and other Divine Guides, including Michael, Shiva, Mary Magdalene, and Gaia. Guided by Thoth, Daniel’s unique spiritual practice, focuses on activating the 12 chakras within the body, and employs a harmonic approach called the ‘Key Ring’ cycle, which balances energy flow across the chakras. Through his Wildflowerfire Community, Daniel offers a space for sharing insights on deep energetic transformation. In collaboration with Ascended Masters, Daniel teaches the Sacred Knowledge of Elemental Spiritual Fire, providing transformational medicine for both humanity and the planet. Daniel offers private sessions, weekly classes, and semester-long courses. He is also the author of “The Chakra Keys: The Holistic Art of Wildflowerfire” and shares his wisdom through a popular YouTube channel. 

Josh Horwitz is currently a Distinguished Professor of the Practice at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Horwitz works to reduce gun violence by utilizing public health research and health equity analysis to build advocacy campaigns that meet critical opportunities in the policy development process.
 

The team at the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions includes highly experienced researchers and public health-trained advocates to address gun violence as an epidemic-level public health emergency. Because gun violence disproportionately impacts communities of color, they ground their work in equity and seek insights from those most impacted on appropriate solutions. This approach combines evidence-based solutions and effective advocacy to save lives.

Josh earned a BA at the University of Michigan in 1985 and a JD at the George Washington University in 1988.

"We don’t have to live with gun violence as a normal part of American life."

Emile “Joe” Henwood the oldest of nine children from Southwest Philadelphia. His business career included the founding, development, and successful sale of six diverse companies providing industrial equipment rebuilding services and sales, equipment leasing, property management, software development and fundraising services. He served in the U.S. military as a naval aviator, lieutenant, achieving Pilot In Command designations in several multi-engine anti-submarine warfare and transportation aircraft. He was certified as a cryptology/top secret control officer and programmer/analyst at the Naval Command Systems Support Activity in Washington, D.C. He holds an FAA Commercial Pilot license with single, multi-engine and instrument ratings.

While a member of the crew team at West Philadelphia Catholic Boys High School, he rowed a single scull winning two high school national championships, and as a member of Vesper Boat Club, he repeatedly earned seats on four United States’ National Rowing Team boats representing our country in Canada and Europe, winning two gold and two silver medals in international competition. The recipient of a full scholarship for rowing, he captained the crew team at St. Joseph’s University where he earned a B.S. in Marketing / Management and was inducted into the St. Joe’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2000. He and his wife, Penny, are now “empty-nesters” with two grown sons and four grandchildren. They reside in Upper Providence Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania where he served as Judge of Elections for 10 years.

As the founder of Francis Development Inc., Mitch developed shopping centers, office buildings and condominium projects. He continues to own and manage commercial properties throughout the US. He was a Real Estate major at the University of Colorado and has a California Real Estate Broker license he doesn’t use, (like everyone in California).

Mitch was the founder, Chairman and CEO of a small publicly-traded company for nearly 30 years. The company was initially involved in creating and operating 3-D motion simulator attractions in the US and Canada, utilizing the most advanced technologies of the day. Subsequently, the company became the largest ticket broker in Las Vegas, selling more than $1 billion in show tickets, attractions and dining.

Mitch is an innovative business leader whose inventions have yielded four United States patents, with another three inventions currently patent-pending. All of these inventions have contributed to the successes of his unique businesses. Mitch believes that the two most important ingredients for success as a serial entrepreneur are superior skills in problem-solving and unshakable tenacity.

Mitch has been a founding director of two charitable organizations and remains on those boards. Though important, neither organization deals with the twenty topics addressed in Bad-Ass Solutions.

Mitch grew up in Denver, Colorado and of course had a love affair with skiing. He was on the Vail ski team specializing in downhill racing. He taught skiing on weekends and holidays while at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Picture him studying on the chairlifts….

Mitch lives in Los Angeles with his amazing wife Sandy. He found her lost, skiing in a white-out. She says he saved her life, so she was obligated to marry him. It’s working out – 41 years!

The Heart of the Community Engagement & Opportunity Council
CEOC Founder and CEO Scott Turner has always had a heart for helping people, as shown by his long history of serving others. He and his wife Robin created their family foundation in 2021 with the mission to help those living in impoverished communities by providing life-giving, sustainable resources and opportunities.

Immediate effect & long term sustainability
The formation of CEOC came shortly after Scott returned from his role as Executive Director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council (WHORC). Here, he initiated the revitalization process in areas that have been deeply affected by poverty and hopelessness for generations. Under his leadership, private entities invested more than $75 billion in under-resourced communities located in Federally designated Opportunity Zones. The results of his efforts have been life-changing, showing both immediate effects and long-term sustainability for so many people.
Prior to his work in the White House, Scott served two terms in the Texas House of Representatives and most recently, he held the longstanding title of Chief Inspiration Officer for nearly 17 years at Systemware, Inc.

Scott currently operates as Chief Visionary Officer at JPI and CEO of Scott Turner Consulting Group. He is also a Senior Advisor to the EVP of Football Operations at the National Football League (NFL) and serves as an associate pastor at Prestonwood Baptist Church.

Additionally, Scott is a nationally recognized motivational speaker and serves on numerous boards including:
America First Policy Institute's Center for Education Opportunity
America Cornerstone Institute
Baylor Scott & White
Dallas Baptist University
The Master Cares Foundation

Christopher Ruddy, is CEO of Newsmax Media, Inc., the parent company of NEWSMAX, America’s fastest-growing cable news channel. He is a noted journalist and entrepreneur, is CEO and president of Newsmax Media Inc., one of the nation's leading news media companies. 
In 1998, Ruddy founded Newsmax, a multimedia publishing company that publishes online and offline content in the fields of news, politics, health and finance. Newsmax.com ranks consistently as one of the country's most trafficked news Web sites.

As a journalist, Ruddy previously worked at the New York Post and the Pittsburgh Tribune Review.

A Newsweek cover story named him as one of America's top 20 most influential news media personalities. He also studied as a Media Fellow at the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace at Stanford University.

Ruddy sits on the Board of Directors of the Financial Publishers Association, the industry organization representing investment publications that reach 25 million Americans monthly.

He holds a B.A. summa cum laude in history from St. John's University in New York and a master's in Public Policy from the London School of Economics.

Josh Horwitz, JD, works to reduce gun violence by utilizing public health research and health equity analysis to build advocacy campaigns that meet critical opportunities in the policy development process.

After fifteen years designing the interiors of beautiful homes and offices, Alejandra found herself missing something. She took a break from work and focused on her most important client – herself. Her mental and emotional interior needed a reboot. She found that in Feng Shui.

Working with and studying under a Feng Shui master practitioner helped Alejandra unlock a new and wonderful set of principles to combine with years of high-end design success. With these combined experiences, Alejandra delivers beautifully designed spaces that improve the lives of her clients, their employees, and their families.

Alejandra experiences true inner joy when she sees the impact of her service on the lives of her clients. Her mission is to enhance far more than the appearance of their home or office, but to improve their well-being and lifestyle in a way they had not imagined.

Alejandra holds the follow accreditations:
Certification in the BTB style of Feng Shui and Bau-Biology under Karen Rauch Carter and the Academy of Exquisite Living
Professional Member of the International Feng Shui Guild (IFSG)
Certified in Biophilic Design from the Luminous
Spaces Feng Shui School. This is an IFSG Approved Gold School.
Certified Crystal Healer

Born in Austin, Texas, Alejandra was adopted at just five weeks old and raised in a Mexican-American family culture in Laredo. She is fluent in both English and Spanish, graduating from the University of Notre Dame with a Bachelor of Arts Degree. Notre Dame was where Alejandra met her future husband, Art Brady. She and Art married and gave birth to their son Ryan.

At age 50, Alejandra began her spiritual journey. Coupled with the training she experienced in Feng Shui, her awakening brought her new insight into the mystical world of infinite possibilities and abundance. Her book I Just Can’t Make This Sh!t Up: Overcoming Fear and Accepting My Spiritual Gifts is the result of that journey.

Andrew McGregor has an eclectic background in the not-for-profit and social enterprise worlds drawing from his expertise as a filmmaker, Grammy nominated bagpiper, inventor, writer, chess-boxing champion, entrepreneur, frequent TEDx speaker, mentor, Highlands games athlete, photojournalist, magician, Curator of MindshareLA, and a founder of The Tiziano Project.

He was named one of ‘LA’s 40 Most Interesting People’ by LA Weekly, was part of a team that won the SXSW Interactive Award for Activism, won the ‘Foreigner’ division of an Independence Day Chess Tournament in Kazakhstan, and he has been featured in the Sports Section of the ‘NY Times’.

Jeremy Ferguson is the placemaking director in Santa Monica’s Downtown. He is deeply involved in professional and community activities centered around placemaking, including general, creative, and tactical placemaking projects. Jeremy is also on the Board of Directors for the Santa Monica History Museum and works closely with children’s programs such as the YMCA, PAL, and the Boys and Girls Clubs. As an Ambassador for the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce, he actively participates in various initiatives to promote community engagement and development.

Jeremy’s interest in Route 66, especially its terminus in Santa Monica, ties into his professional expertise in civil infrastructure. He is focused on the history and placemaking elements along Route 66 as it approaches its centennial in 2026.

He is committed to equity and supports LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, and Women’s rights communities. Jeremy’s dedication to sustainability, community building, and high-quality, locally sourced foods aligns with his health choices. He aims to establish his professional brand to spearhead discussions on placemaking and community building while generating revenue to support nonprofits such as Heal the Bay and the Santa Monica History Museum.

Alan is a contemporary violinist hailing from Washington, DC., who at the age of 5 announced to his parents that he wanted to learn to play the violin after visiting a music “petting zoo.” After attending the Duke Ellington School of the Arts he continued his education at Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA, and Valencia, Spain.

Alan toured in Spain and he has traveled to Bolivia where he performed the Bolivian National Anthem with other musicians on the Salarde Uyuni, (world’s largest Salt Flat). He has performed at the White House for former first Lady Michelle Obama and led Patti Labelle’s orchestra as concert- master at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D. C.

Alan has interest in film and has arranged and played strings for a major film. Presently Alan is enjoying performing throughout Los Angeles,California and is recording his first solo album.

Versed in classical, hip-hop, river dance and jazz. Alan brings his background in violin training and skills in music production to create a unique music style whether performing solo or with a group.

Alan is grateful for all of his teachers/mentors. Music is inspiring for Ala and he enjoys bringing happiness to others thru his music, and envisions his future working with big names in the music industry and performing his original compositions internationally.

In his spare time he enjoys hiking, traveling, cooking, holistic living, listening to music and spending time with family and friends.

Bob Ramirez, DBA, MBA, DACFP | Faculty Chair, Academic Excellence/Professor of Business and Management, Author and Speaker

Dr. Robert Ramirez is an investing and business expert, author, educator, and speaker. He has dedicated his career to helping people achieve financial security. 

Through his books, speeches, and podcast interviews, Dr. Ramirez shares valuable insights on investment options and discusses important topics in today's financial marketplace. 

His commitment to financial education has helped many people take control of their financial futures.

Alan H McGowan, selected as 2019’s Top Science and Technical Expert by the International Association of Top Professionals, also received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Marquis Who’s Who that same year. Now a Lecturer at The New School, he served first as chair of the Science, Technology, and Society Program (now called the Interdisciplinary Science Program) then as chair of the Environmental Studies Program, where he developed several new initiatives, including a newsletter going to four hundred leaders in global environmental studies, and an internal “Friday Letter” going to interested staff and faculty.

After graduating Yale University with an engineering degree, and a two-year stint at American Electric Power, a public utility, Mr. McGowan left to pursue graduate work in physics, then taught science and mathematics at private schools for ten years, winning the Teacher Recognition Award from the American Association of Physics Teachers in 1968. Following that, after serving for five years as Scientific Administrator of the Center for the Biology of Natural Systems, an interdisciplinary environmental research, and training program at Washington University in St. Louis, he became president of the Scientists’ Institute for Public Information (SIPI), which under his leadership became a major bridge between the scientific and journalist communities. Board Chairs of SIPI included such people as Margaret Mead, Lewis Thomas, and David Baltimore. SIPI’s Media Resource Service, its signature program of which Walter Cronkite was the Honorary Chair, fielded up to fifty calls a day from journalists connecting them to expert sources. Another important program was “TV News: The Cutting Edge,” weekend gatherings of local and national television news directors and leading scientists, including Nobel Laureates.

When changing foundation priorities forced SIPI to close, he founded and ran The Gene Media Forum, part of the Newhouse School of Journalism of Syracuse University, which served as a bridge among geneticists, ethicists, and journalists. Highlights of the program included a major conference in South Africa on genetically modified organisms funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, a session on race, genes, and intelligence which aired on ABC News, and a session on genetics and injuries featuring Christopher Reeves.

Mr. McGowan was a member of both the New York State and the New York City Advisory Committees on Energy Policy and was for twenty years the scientist member of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. He has served on many boards and advisory committees, including the Center for the Advancement of Health, the Organization of Tropical Studies, and the Metcalf Institute of the Oceanography School of the University of Rhode Island. He chaired the board of Student Pugwash, USA, an offshoot of the Pugwash Conference on Science and Public Affairs; the organization focuses on ethical issues in science and technology. He currently serves on the board and executive committee of the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences, where he chairs the Legal and Governance Committee. He is also one of six Executive Editors of Environment magazine, now published by Taylor and Francis.

He is the author of over one hundred articles focusing on the interconnections among science, society, and technology, both in peer-reviewed journals and the popular press. They have appeared in Jewish Currents, Christian Science Monitor, PTA Magazine, Think magazine, World Book Encyclopedia, and many others. He has presented his research on Franz Boas, ethical issues in science and innovative course in science at scientific and education conferences around the world, and in seminars at Columbia and Princeton Universities as well as at The New School. In addition, he has written over one hundred editorials for Environment magazine over a forty-year period, including one in 1978 warning of the perils of global climate change.

My guest, Freddy Silva is a bestselling author, and leading researcher of ancient civilizations, restricted history, sacred sites and their interaction with consciousness. He has published nine books in six languages and produced fifteen documentaries. Freddy’s most recent book is Portals: Energetic Doorways to Mystical Experiences Between Worlds. Described by one CEO as "perhaps the best metaphysical speaker in the world right now,” he leads sell-out tours to sacred sites worldwide, and for two decades he has been an international keynote speaker, in addition to appearances on Gaia TV, History Channel, BBC, and countless radio shows. 

Freddy Silva

Freddy Silva is a bestselling author, and leading researcher of ancient civilizations, restricted history, sacred sites and their interaction with consciousness. He has published nine books in six languages and produced fifteen documentaries. Freddy’s most recent book is Portals: Energetic Doorways to Mystical Experiences Between Worlds.

Described by one CEO as "perhaps the best metaphysical speaker in the world right now,” he leads sell-out tours to sacred sites worldwide, and for two decades he has been an international keynote speaker, in addition to appearances on Gaia TV, History Channel, BBC, and countless radio shows. Website invisibletemple.com

Freddy Silva does a brilliant job of taking us into the mysterious world of portals and breaking down how these powerful energy centers interact with our bodies and consciousness, enhancing our awareness and connection to Self and the infinite.

- Regina Meredith, award-winning documentarian and host of Gaia.com's Open Minds
 

Brimming with personal experiences, Portals is a fascinating exploration of these enigmatic doorways. Traversing the globe, scouring folklore and historical record alike, Freddy leaves no rock unturned in his search for answers. A highly readable guide from one of our most gifted and eloquent researchers!

- Stephen Gawtry, Managing Editor, Watkins Mind Body Spirit Magazine

lCuneyt Dil is a co-author of the daily Axios DC local newsletter. Dil reports a weekly column on local politics and power called Town Talker. Previously, Cuneyt was covering California and West Virginia state government for The Associated Press. He has also reported on DC politics and government for the Washington City Paper, TheDCLine.org, The Current Newspapers, DCist.com and Capital Community News. In 2015, Dil founded District Links, the local DC politics newsletter.