Background Check Podcast

EP 42 ”FLIGHT, The Dance Of Freedom” Susan Slotnick and Jay Dan Gumm

Show Summary: In this episode, Jay Dan talks with Susan Slotnick. We talked about her teaching dance in prison and how it was birthed out of a painful experience in her life. Read more about Susan below and check out the links on our show page.  For the past 25 years, Susan Slotnick has gone behind the walls at correctional facilities every week to bring the joy of modern dance to incarcerated men and boys.  Her choreography dealt with serious themes geared to inspire audiences and students toward social justice activism.  Susan was born to a mother with a borderline personality and a distant autistic father; not the best nurturing environment for a gifted child, so she rebelled, flunked out of school, and befriended those her mother would have considered undesirables.  She basically lived a life completely at odds to the one that would have ordinarily been expected.  Early experiences showed Susan how difficult life was for so many and it instilled in her a passionate zeal to help the marginalized, the forgotten and the disenfranchised.  Her life work and dance company, named "Figures In Flight," has garnered much critical and professional acclaim. Numerous feature articles about her have appeared in dance magazines, she received the Dance Studio Magazine's "Caring Heart Award," celebrated for Women's History Month as Huffington Post's "Greatest Woman of The Day," featured in two radio documentaries and featured in the documentary "The Game Changer" that won Best Documentary Short at both the Harlem and Cannes film festivals. Susan is also the author of the book Flight: The Dance of Freedom.   See videos, paintings, and more at: forgivenfelons.org/backgroundcheck

EP 41 ”Black History Month School Projects” Richard Miles, Jay Dan, and the Gumm Family

Show Summary: In this episode we honor Black History Month by talking about our daughter's school projects. Jessa did her project on Frederick Douglass, and Jessa did her's on Jackie Robinson. My wife and helped them so we learned a lot while doing the project with them.  We also have special guest Richard Miles from episode two and how his exoneration fits into black history as well.  For more information and to see pictures and links, please visit the show page: forgivenfelons.org/backgroundcheck

EP 40 ”$750K To Keep Pigs Cool?” Casey Phillips with Texas Prisons Air-Conditioning Advocates

Show Summary: I thought we’d take a break from our love stories and share what’s going on in our Texas prisons as a result of the Winter Storm of 2021 and talk with Casey Phillips from Texas Prisons Air Conditioning Advocates (TPAA). But as we are talking, I realize that the reason she started TPAA was because of love for her husband. Since then it’s grown into a large group over 2600 members on social media. For the last three years Casey and others, advocate for air conditioning in our prisons. So many men and women die each year from heat exhaustion because there’s no air conditioning in most of the units. Casey talks about the AC in the units and we also talk about the rally’s they do where they set up a mock prison cell where people can sit in it and feel the actual heat the men and women feel in prison during the summer. She also talks about the bills they are working on. We also discuss the affects of covid on visitation and how lack of visitation has had an impact on the mental health of the inmates. We also throw a little Covid vaccination talk in there too. For pics and links to info please visit our show page: forgivenfelons.org/backgroundcheck

EP 39 ”Our Valentines Love Story” Jay Dan, Jessamy, Jessa, and Jemma Gumm

Show Summary: Throughout February we will air love stories that have great redemptive power and where at least one of the persons have been impacted by addiction or incarceration.  Today's episode is Jay Dan and Jessamy's love story. They walk you through the ups and downs, challenges, and sweet moments since the day they began courting each other.  For more info and to see the proposal video, visit the show page at: forgivenfelons.org/backgroundcheck

EP 38 ”Forgiven Felons Core Values” Jay Dan Gumm

Show Summary: Jay Dan share the core values of Forgiven Felons. Core values help us set goals, make decisions, and keep us on track instead of making decisions on emotions.  Forgiveness, Education, Love, Overcome, New Life, Serve.  To hear Jay Dan expound on these values and what they mean to the organization, listen to the full episode.  For more information please visit the show page: forgivenfelons.org/backgroundcheck

EP 37 ”My Covid Chronicles” Jay Dan Gumm

Show Summary: Covid hit my family hard this time. Two days before I turned 50 I tested positive and my wife eventually did too. It was a hard time to trying to balance work from home for my wife, school for the kids, and the devastating affect it had on me.  I talk about my journey and what got me through it as well as how some of our men's experiences in prison.  To watch the videos and see the birthday pic please visit the show page: forgivenfelons.org/backgroundcheck

EP 36 ”The Gift of Sobriety” Cheri Garcia CEO Cornbread Hustle

Show Summary: I’ve known Cheri for a few years now and I’ve enjoyed watching her grow her company and her life. She has a heart to see people bounce back from addiction and anything else in their past. Here’s a little more about her. Cheri Garcia is the Founder of Cornbread Hustle, a staffing agency for second chances. Cheri is passionate about helping people with criminal backgrounds and individuals in recovery find transformation through employment or entrepreneurship. As someone who has re-invented her own life, Cheri wanted to create a company to help others do the same. Before starting Cornbread Hustle, Cheri found her first transformation and recovery through inventing a tanning bed and starting a career in the TV news industry. She later found recovery a second time, but through faith and a sober lifestyle. With a strong background in marketing and PR, Cheri uses the skills she acquired to help individuals getting out of prison re-brand themselves to become the person they want to be and get noticed by the people they want to meet. For more information about Cheri and Cornbread Hustle please visit the show page: forgivenfelons.org/backgroundcheck

EP 35 ”From Wrongfully Convicted to Being A Lawyer” TEDx Speaker Jeff Deskovic

Show Summary: This interview was eye opening. You should check the links below, get Prime Video, and watch the documentary short as well. Jeff is a great guy and to know that he was wrongfully convicted and treated this way breaks my heart and pisses me off. Here’s a short bio of Jeff. The Deskovic Foundation is a New York based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization committed to exonerating the wrongfully convicted both in DNA and non-DNA cases, as well as wrongful conviction prevention. The Foundation was established as a result of Jeffrey Deskovic’s own wrongful conviction at the age of 17 of the rape and murder of a 15 year old girl. Authorities knew his DNA did not match that of the actual perpetrator – who, three years later, went on to murder another young woman and mother of two – but rogue police officers, prosecutors, and other law enforcement personnel knowingly and maliciously accused, prosecuted, and eventually secured his conviction. After his exoneration and release after sixteen years in prison, Deskovic successfully sued the authorities responsible and used a substantial portion of the compensation he was awarded to start the Deskovic Foundation. Deskovic has dedicated himself to helping the wrongfully convicted, and recently graduated from the Elizabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University with a law degree. For pics and all the resources mentioned in the show please visit the showpage: forgivenfelons.org/backgroundcheck

EP 34 ”3 Minutes that Saved a Life” Jesse Paul Smith from World Wide Dance Challenge

Show Summary: This episode was one of the most fun episodes. Having met Jesse at a John Maxwell conference, and seen him perform on stage, it made his journey that much more exciting to listen to. We talk about his childhood when he describes himself as a band geek, his battle with depression that almost ended his life, his rubbing shoulders with other celebrities, and his latest creation, World Wide Dance Challenge. Check out his bio below as well as his links to everything on our show page. Jesse is an established dancer, recording artist and entrepreneur.  Getting his start in the entertainment world when he moved to L.A. in 2005 as a dancer with McDonald Selznick Associates.  There he got an opportunity to work with artists like Justin Timberlake, Rhianna, Mario and more.  Since then he has been using his talents to perform and speak all over the world on stages in front of over 100,000 people in his career. Now Jesse continues to help creatives turn their passion into a thriving business that can make a positive impact on the world through his business My Creative District. Through My Creative District, Jesse cofounded WorldWide Dance Challenge – An online Dance Show/Competition where they bring dancers from around the world and all different styles to compete head to head live online in front of a live audience for a chance to be named the worlds best. For all the resources mentioned in the show please visit our show page: forgivenfelons.org/backgroundcheck For you free trial of Audible and to help out our ministry, click here: audibletrial.com/backgroundcheck

EP 33 ”We Made it OUT of 2020” Happy New Year- Jay Dan Gumm

Show Summary: If you're reading this, you made it out of 2020. Congratulations.  The Gumm family and Forgiven Felons had some hard times because of the virus, but we pivoted (this word is the word of the year) and made it through.  I talk about 3G, not the data speed from 12 years ago, but how I live my life.  1. Get Right 2. Get Out 3. Give Back Some great things happened for the organization in 2020 and we are expecting even greater things to come. We've had some amazing guests and we have even greater guests coming.  Hang on tight! Happy New Year from the Gumm's and Forgiven Felons.  As always, thanks for listening and spreading the word.