If I Could Change One Thing: Cara Mears and Ending Homelessness One Name at a Time
If I Could Change One Thing
In this episode of If I Could Change One Thing, Dr. Brittnie Bloom and podcast team member Alexis Greenfield sit down with Cara Mears, Director of Corporate & Foundation Relations at the San Diego Rescue Mission (SDRM), to explore innovative and compassionate approaches to addressing homelessness. Cara shares her powerful career journey, from decades in sales to answering a personal calling sparked by a life-changing encounter with a man experiencing homelessness. She explains the SDRM’s holistic model, which prioritizes rehabilitation, mental health, sobriety, job training, and...
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If I Could Change One Thing: Robert Browning and Sheva Carr on The Heart of Healing
If I Could Change One Thing
If I Could Change One Thing host Dr. Brittnie Bloom and co-host Lesley Lopez welcome Robert Browning and Sheva Carr to the podcast for a conversation on heart intelligence, healing, and human caring. As Co-Directors of Healthcare and Senior Master Trainers at HeartMath, Robert and Sheva bring more than three decades of experience working in healthcare, education, public policy, and global peacebuilding. Their work spans major health systems including Kaiser Permanente, Stanford, and the VA, as well as global initiatives with the United Nations and the World Health Organization. Together, they...
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If I Could Change One Thing: Chrissy Cmorik on Sex Ed, Advocacy, and Reproductive Justice
If I Could Change One Thing
If I Could Change One Thing host Dr. Brittnie Bloom and co-host Yucef Bouzina speak with Chrissy Cmorik, Senior Director of Education for Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest, SDSU Adjunct Professor, and SART Advocate with the Center for Community Solutions, about sexual health, education, and reproductive justice. Chrissy takes us from her start as a SART advocate, sitting with survivors in their most vulnerable hours, to her work creating Planned Parenthood’s free online platform Sex Ed To Go. We grapple with how to reach people when politics and stigma get in the way and why...
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If I Could Change One Thing: Darbi Berry on the Climate Connection and Public Health Resilience
If I Could Change One Thing
On this episode of the If I Could Change One Thing Podcast, Dr. Brittnie Bloom and student co-host Karsen Caroll welcome Darbi Berry, Director of the San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative Nonprofit and Professor at San Diego State University. In this episode, we learn how social structures within our environmental systems can perpetuate climate change and environmental vulnerability. Darbi offers us ways to adapt and create an “equity first” approach to learning how climate change impacts our planet and how we can be mindful about our contributions to climate change. Darbi has worked on...
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If I Could Change One Thing: Dr. Megan Ebor on Storytelling and Sexual Health (Season 11 Episode 3)
If I Could Change One Thing
In this episode of the If I Could Change One Thing podcast, Dr. Brittnie Bloom and her cohost Sophia Valdez speak with scholar, filmmaker, and public health advocate Dr. Megan Ebor to explore her work in the intersection of race, aging, and sexual health. Dr. Ebor shares her own creative journey from her beginnings in the music industry to academia and filmmaking as a tool for advocacy and change. Together, they discuss taboos around sexual health and aging, the power of storytelling, and the importance of leading with compassion and humanity in both research and teaching. En este episodio del...
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If I Could Change One Thing: Dr. Shunling Tsang on Blue Zones and Rethinking How We Build (Healthier) Communities
If I Could Change One Thing
On this episode of If I Could Change One Thing, host Dr. Brittnie Bloom welcomes Dr. Shunling Tsang—Family Medicine Chair and Deputy Public Health Officer for Riverside County—to explore how upstream, community-driven strategies can power better health. Dr. Tsang shares her winding path from event planning to public health and medicine, and why blending clinical care with prevention matters. We dive into Riverside County’s Blue Zones Project—from “Power 9” habits that we all can benefit from to local policies that help make “the healthy choice the easy choice”, like increasing...
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If I Could Change One Thing: Brynn Carrigan on Public Health Leadership and Valley Fever
If I Could Change One Thing
In this episode, Dr. Brittnie Bloom speaks with Brynn Carrigan, Director of Public Health for Kern County, California. Carrigan, who stepped into the Director role in 2021 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, has spearheaded community-driven initiatives to address Kern County’s most pressing health challenges, which include education attainment, diabetes and other chronic health conditions, and access to care. Tune in to hear how her unique personal and professional experiences have shaped her mission to build a healthier future for all – only on If I Could Change One Thing, San...
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If I Could Change One Thing: Huy Tran on Community, Policy, and the Pursuit of Equity
If I Could Change One Thing
In this episode of If I Could Change One Thing, our guest speaker Huy Tran is interviewed by Dr. Brittnie Bloom and two members of the SDSU podcast team, Serena Payne and Jaeden Howard. Together, they explore the power of lived experience in shaping public health and policy. Huy shares his personal journey from working in accounting to advocacy, a move that was fueled by the death of his brother and the unmet needs he has seen within the Vietnamese community. Also discussed are the systemic barriers that refugees and immigrants from Vietnam experience, and Huy's work to build a nonprofit that...
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If I Could Change One Thing: Dr. Michael Grillo on Fighting HIV Across Borders, Prevention, Policy and Partnership
If I Could Change One Thing
On this episode of If I Could Change One Thing, Dr. Michael Grillo joins Dr. Brittnie Bloom and co-host Chris Sanchez to explore HIV prevention, education, policy, and partnerships in the U.S. and abroad. They discuss the value of cultural humility, flexibility in the field, and people-first strategies when addressing deeply personal public health issues like HIV/AIDS. Dr. Grillo shares insights from his research and military service, including progress and challenges in reaching the UNAIDS 2030 95-95-95 goal. Tune in for a compelling conversation on the impact of public health and how...
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If I Could Change One Thing: Dr. Kari Sant on How Environment Shapes Health (Season 10 Episode 2)
If I Could Change One Thing
In this episode of If I Could Change One Thing, Dr. Kari Sant and Dr. Brittnie Bloom dive into the intersection of environmental justice, public health, and personal responsibility. From the impact of air pollution in Southern California to water quality concerns in scarce regions like the Tijuana River, they discuss how small, everyday changes—like using air purifiers and water filters—can contribute to a healthier environment. Dr. Sant also shares insights from her research on contamination events and advocacy for affected communities, as well as the role of zebrafish in toxicology...
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