Philly Who?

Jane is the Executive Director of Mural Arts Philadelphia, the nation’s largest public art program that employs over 300 artists annually . Over that past 30 years, Jane has lead Mural Arts to become an internationally-renowned program that has made Philadelphia one of the Mural capitals of the world. In this episode, you’ll hear how Jane got her start as a Mural Artist while living in LA after college, and how she made waves fast by asking forgiveness rather than permission. After a surprise Lupus diagnosis, she came to a graffiti-ridden Philly for treatment. Here, she stayed in the public art space, and got involved in the Anti-Graffiti Network. What follows is the story of how Jane and her team grew Mural Arts into a world-class program that has made Philly an international mural destination. Support Philly Who? Donate via Paypal, Venmo: @podphillywho, Become a Monthly Patron, Purchase a T-Shirt or Hat, Become a Sponsor

Josh Kopelman has been an active entrepreneur and investor in the Internet industry since its commercialization. In 1992, while he was a student at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Josh co-founded Infonautics Corporation – and took it public on the NASDAQ stock exchange in 1996.  July of 1999, Josh co-founded Half.com, and led it to become one of the largest sellers of used books, movies and music in the world. Half.com was acquired by eBay in July 2000. In late 2003, Josh helped to found TurnTide, an anti-spam company that created the world's first anti-spam router. TurnTide was acquired by Symantec just six months later. Josh then founded First Round Capital in 2004 to reinvent seed-stage investing. Since that time, the firm has invested in over 200 emerging technology startups, including Uber, Mint, and Blue Apron.  Josh was ranked fourth on Forbes 2015 “Midas List” of the top 100 tech investors, he’s been awarded Ernst and Young’s prestigious “Entrepreneur of the Year” award, and is a

Governor Ed Rendell is a lawyer, author, and politician. From 1992 until 2000, he served as the Mayor of Philadelphia. Shortly after that, in 2001, he was elected 45th Governor of Pennsylvania, and would go on to serve two terms. In this episode, we’ll hear how he got his start in public service as Philadelphia District Attorney in the early 80s. He'll share how representing everyday Philadelphians inspired him to devote his career to Philly. We’ll talk about his time as mayor, when he inherited a city on the brink of bankruptcy. He managed to balance the budget, achieve a surplus for 5 years, and set in motion the renaissance that created the city we know today. And, we’ll talk about how, in the 80s, Governor Rendell almost quit politics altogether after his first two attempts at public office. @GovEdRendell on Twitter 1993 NY Times Article - "Philadelphia Climbs Out of Fiscal Depths and Builds by Sharing Sacrifices" Support Philly Who? Donate via Paypal, Venmo: @podphillywho, Become a Monthly Patron, Purch

Max Tuttleman is an investor, entrepreneur, and philanthropist who’s focused on studying and developing cannabis products. He’s currently a fellow at Thomas Jefferson University, where he studies how cannabis can be used to treat withdrawal symptoms from opiates and alcohol, and his brand Bouquet CBD recently released hemp oil ice cream. In this episode, for the first time publicly, Max shares his story as a former opiate addict, and how a simple painkiller prescription thrust him into addiction. He’ll take us through what it’s like to have your brain chemistry rewired by opiates, and how after getting sober, he immediately made it his mission to help others trapped by these drugs. And, you’ll hear what he’s doing now to combat the crisis including funding city initiatives, advocating for programs, and even just going to the library and researching it himself. Support Philly Who? Donate via Paypal, Venmo: @podphillywho, Become a Monthly Patron, Purchase a T-Shirt or Hat, Become a Sponsor

Jesse Ito is the Co-owner and chef of Royal Izakaya and Royal Sushi, a 2-in-one restaurant combo in Queen Village. Jesse’s claim to fame is his exclusive 10-seat omakase sushi bar, which is one of the very few restaurant experiences in Philly to get a 4-bell rating from the Inquirer. In 2017, Jesse was honored by Eater as a Young Guns Award Winner and made Zagat's 30 Under 30 list. In this episode you’ll hear how Jesse got his start as a sushi chef working at Fuji, his father’s restaurant in south Jersey. When he was 24, Jesse and his family would sell Fuji and go all-in on bringing the omakase and izakaya experience to Philly. That bet would pay off, as 3 years later they’ve received the covered Philly Inquirer restaurant rating of 4 bells. Support Philly Who? Donate via Paypal, Venmo: @podphillywho, Become a Monthly Patron, Purchase a T-Shirt or Hat, Become a Sponsor

Nisiar Smith is the CEO and Founder of The People’s Innovation Movement, a nonprofit that provides free financial literacy classes to Philadelphians. Nisiar also founded Philly Phinancial Literacy Week, which recently received a resolution from City Council making it an official annual city event. Nisiar got his start in finance by walking into a bank when he was 18 and asking for a job. He worked his way up to being a credit analyst, and when he saw the data on Philly credit scores, he was taken aback. He came up with a plan to educate the masses about credit and empower them financially. When he pitched it to his bosses, they said no, because it wasn't profitable. So, he left the bank, and created a nonprofit organization from scratch. In this episode, you'll hear the ups and downs of his journey, and he'll tell the story of how he’s made huge impact on the city before even graduating college. Support Philly Who? Donate via Paypal, Venmo: @podphillywho, Become a Monthly Patron, Purchase a T-Shirt or Hat, B

Lyonzo Vargas is the CEO of GLBL VLLG (pronounced "Global Village"), an entertainment and wellness company whose mission is to redefine urban wellness by bringing wellness to minority and underserved urban communities. GLBL VLLG’s flagship event is the VLLG JAM, a monthly jam concert where the headliner is the audience. The first VLLG JAM featured only 5 people in 2016, but today, they draw hundreds monthly in Philly, DC, Brooklyn, Austin, Houston, and London. In this episode, you’ll hear how this unique mix of music, wellness, and community was inspired when Lyonzo, who was born, raised, and hardly ever left the Bronx, visited his heritage country of Honduras and saw a different path to happiness. He’ll share how, after years of struggling to find success in a rap career, he finally found his purpose when he held the first VLLG JAM. And, you’ll hear how he’s working to bring peace and wellness to underserved urban communities across the world. Support Philly Who? Donate via Paypal, Venmo: @podphillywho, Bec

Nicole Purvy is the founder of Better Than Success, a multi-faceted business which includes a digital marketing agency, a real estate investment league, and a podcast. She’s also the founder of Philly Real Estate Week, an annual citywide summit that celebrates real estate planning, development, and wealth building. Before founding Better Than Success, Nicole was a rising star investment banker. But she felt restless in the corporate world, and when she started a YouTube channel making financial education videos, she got fired.  In this episode you’ll hear how she would spend a decade bouncing between different careers and businesses, and while each one found success, she would finally find her true calling in building a community around real estate through the Better Than Success Real Estate League. And, you’ll hear how, even though she grew up in Philly, at first she swore off of living here. But eventually, she’d come back, and find it to be exactly what she wanted. Support Philly Who? Donate via Paypal, V

Emily Smith is the Executive Director of Philly’s Magic Gardens, an immersive art environment on South Street that receives over 150,00 visitors per year and showcases the mosaic work of Isaiah Zagar. After spending her early 20s as an artist in New York, Emily came to Philadelphia in 2009 just one year after the Magic Gardens opened to the public. She would get a job there working the front desk, stay for about a year, then move on to North Carolina. But, it wasn’t too long until Philly and the Gardens called her back. She became the Executive Director of the gardens in 2011, and since then the mosaic labyrinth has become one of Philly’s top tourist destinations. In this episode, we’ll talk about how, for the first few years as the gardens soared in popularity, Emily’s personal art career fell by the wayside. But, in 2015, she was violently assaulted, and she turned to painting to cope. And, we’ll talk about her mission to protect the art of Isaiah Zagar, who over the past 50 years has created over 220 publi

Michael Lerman is the Artistic Director of the Philadelphia Film Festival, and has been for the last 8 years. He’s also the Artistic Director of the Palm Springs Film Festival, and is a Programmer for the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). In this episode, you’ll hear how Michael, who was born and raised in Philly, got his start in film curation as a college student who just really loved movies. He’ll share the story of how he worked his way into programming at the world’s biggest film festivals, including one of the most prestigious ones in Toronto. And, we’ll talk about how, in the new world of Netflix, there’s still nothing quite like seeing a film in a sold-out theater. Support Philly Who? Donate via Paypal, Venmo: @podphillywho, Become a Monthly Patron, Purchase a T-Shirt or Hat, Become a Sponsor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Keith Wallace is the founder of the Wine School of Philadelphia, which for almost 20 years has offered wine education courses for casual drinkers and seasoned sommeliers alike. In this episode, you’ll hear how Keith started his adult life as a journalist in Baltimore, but one seemingly average morning commute with his fiancee would change his life forever. After spending a few years recovering, he decided to abandon journalism and move to Napa to pursue his passion of winemaking, all while keeping his condition a secret. He would become a renowned wine expert, consulting clients in California and Italy, and one day, he was asked to teach a class. He would fall immediately in love with teaching, and thus the Wine School of Philadelphia was born. Support Philly Who? Donate via Paypal, Venmo: @podphillywho, Become a Monthly Patron, Purchase a T-Shirt or Hat, Become a Sponsor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Judy Wicks is the founder of the White Dog Cafe, a restaurant in University City that she started in the first floor of her house in 1983. What started as a muffin shop quickly grew into a renowned 200-seat restaurant that was among the first to feature farm-to-table local food.  In this episode, Judy will share how before starting White Dog, she and her then-husband opened Free People, a general store specifically for people under 30. The store would find quick success, but, as a woman, she wasn’t being taken seriously, so she left the business and her marriage and literally crashed the restaurant industry. She would become a community and sustainability leader for four decades, and here she’ll share what we can do to ensure a happy, healthy Philadelphia. Judy's Memoir: Good Morning, Beautiful Business judywicks.com @jwicks333 on Twitter Support Philly Who? Donate via Paypal, Venmo: @podphillywho, Become a Monthly Patron, Purchase a T-Shirt or Hat, Become a Sponsor

Steven Grasse is the founder of Quaker City Mercantile, a Philly branding agency that focuses on spirits. He and his company have invented tons of products and brands, including Hendrick’s Gin, and Sailor Jerry Rum, Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. In this episode, you’ll hear how before settling down in Philadelphia, Steve started out in the advertisement industry by creating ad campaigns while living all over the globe. Not long after that, he would create Gyro Worldwide, an ad agency that would quickly establish itself with in-your-face, controversial campaigns that garnered national attention. And, we’ll talk about how some of Quaker City’s biggest spirits brands came to be, and how they made their way into pretty much every bar of the western world. Support Philly Who? Donate via Paypal, Venmo: @podphillywho, Become a Monthly Patron, Purchase a T-Shirt or Hat, Become a Sponsor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nick Stuccio is the President and Producing Director of FringeArts, and the creator of the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, an annual city-wide celebration of thought-provoking progressive performance arts. In this episode, you’ll hear how Nick started his performance career as a ballet dancer, and how despite the fact that he didn’t take ballet seriously until he was 18, he quickly found himself thrust into a dance career. He’ll share the moment his perspective on performance was totally turned upside down, and how he went from valuing tradition and technique to becoming obsessed with contemporary art . And, you’ll hear the story of how FringeArts went from a small weekend of performances in 1997 to one of Philadelphia’s biggest and most well-known art organizations, featuring a 3-week festival, world-class performances, and a year-round beer garden. Support Philly Who? Donate via Paypal, Venmo: @podphillywho, Become a Monthly Patron, Purchase a T-Shirt or Hat, Become a Sponsor Learn more about your ad choices

Christopher Wink is the Publisher and CEO of Technically Media, which publishes local tech news network Technical.ly and nonprofit news site Generocity.org. He’s a lead organizer of Philly Tech Week and Baltimore Innovation Week, and in 2017 Folio magazine listed him as one of the 100 most innovative media leaders in the country. In this episode, you’ll hear how in 2008, right as the economy collapsed, Technically started as a tech blog between 3 friends who were looking to get experience in an industry that wasn’t hiring. Chris will share how they would weather the storm, and how over the past 10 years they’ve built a company that not only reports but also offers events, conferences, and a hiring platform. And, we’ll dive into the mindset of an entrepreneur, and how the line between huge success and catastrophic failure is often invisible. Support Philly Who? Donate via Paypal, Venmo: @podphillywho, Become a Monthly Patron, Purchase a T-Shirt or Hat, Become a Sponsor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit

Chrisostomos Argerakis is the head of the music program at Andrew Jackson Elementary school, a K-8 public school in South Philly. With no curriculum and no funding in place when he took the job, Chris managed to crowdfund enough money to purchase 30 guitars. The kids loved it so much that some started coming to school early to play. It wasn’t too long until this group started to evolve into something bigger. That group would become a real-life School of Rock band, which plays shows year-round, has been featured in a documentary, and has even played cover songs alongside the original band. Stay tuned for the story of how ‘Home,’ an elementary school rock band, became internet famous and gave an invaluable musical outlet to inner city kids. Support Philly Who? Donate via Paypal, Venmo: @podphillywho, Become a Monthly Patron, Purchase a T-Shirt or Hat, Become a Sponsor

William Tyrone Toms is the Founder and Head of Strategy at REC Philly, a creative agency and incubator for local artists and creative entrepreneurs. In this episode, you’ll hear how Will and his cofounder, Dave Silver, would make a name for themselves throwing concerts as Broad Street Music Group. That is, until Will started to see a bigger need: artists could put on a great show, but had no idea how to network and market themselves. What follows is the story of how REC Philly would be born to provide creatives with the tools and network they need to build a business around their creative craft. The community quickly grew to serve over 200 creatives, some of whom would immediately find life-changing opportunities.  And, for the first time, you’ll hear how Will has recently opened up about his troubled family past, and how he looks to set an example for those like him who are born into adversity. Support Philly Who? Donate via Paypal, Venmo: @podphillywho, Become a Monthly Patron, Purchase a T-Shirt or Hat, B

Brendan Lowry is the founder of Rory Creative and one of the biggest social media influencers in Philadelphia. He is best-known for the Instagram account he created, Peopledelphia, which has over 85 thousand followers. He is also a part of the founding team of Curalate, one of Philly ’s fastest growing startups. In this episode, we’ll chat about his beginnings at Curalate, which originally was an “AirBnb for parking and storage” called Storably. But after that idea failed, Brendan and the Curalate team found a much more successful business in social media marketing services. We’ll also talk about how Peopledelphia began, and how, as it grew, Brendan had to find ways to ensure it actually represented all Philadelphians. We also discuss his departure from Curalate, what he's doing now with Rory, and what life is like as one of the internet's sought-after "influencers." Support Philly Who? Donate via Paypal, Venmo: @podphillywho, Become a Monthly Patron, Purchase a T-Shirt or Hat, Become a Sponsor Learn more ab

Alex Hillman is the cofounder of Indy Hall, one of Philly's first ever coworking spaces. Indy Hall today features around 350 independent entrepreneurs and freelancers. But, back in 2006, when Alex was a freelancer himself, freelancing wasn’t so common and could be pretty lonely. Alex loved the independent life, but he missed the camaraderie found in the workplace. So, he set out to find his peers. In this episode, you’ll hear how his group of fellow independents grew, and how they had the crazy idea to actually do their work in the same place. Alex will share how he and the community built Indy Hall from the ground up, and how they lead the coworking revolution. Support Philly Who? Donate via Paypal, Venmo: @podphillywho, Become a Monthly Patron, Purchase a T-Shirt or Hat, Become a Sponsor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lindsey Scannapieco is the Managing Partner of Scout, an urban design collective that specializes in repurposing vacant and underutilized spaces. Their claim to fame so far is the Bok building, a giant, 8-story vocational school that takes up an entire city block in South Philly. The Bok School was closed in 2012, but in 2014 Lindsey bought the building with a grand vision - she would lease pieces of it to creatives, who would use the building’s maker spaces for their original purpose, rather than just turning the building into condos. Today, Bok has 130 businesses operating out of the building, but, the most famous one is Bok Bar, the rooftop beer garden with an unmatched view of the skyline. Bok Bar opened to a bit of controversy in 2015, but since then has become a Philly summer staple. Support Philly Who? Donate via Paypal, Venmo: @podphillywho, Become a Monthly Patron, Purchase a T-Shirt or Hat, Become a Sponsor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices