Second Chances

Veteran filmmaker Julia Verdin is a multi hyphenate – she is known as accomplished producer, award-winning Director and has written a number of screenplays. She is also the founder of Artists for Change, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with a mission to create high impact film, television, and multimedia projects to inspire individuals, organizations, and communities to bring about positive social change. Having been in the film business for 30 years, Julia has established herself as one of Hollywood’s leading independent producers, with over 33 critically acclaimed feature films produced to date.  She founded and has been running Rough Diamond Productions since 1995. Currently in post-production is THE UNWILLING starring Dina Meyer, Lance Henriksen and Jake Thomas, and 7 SECONDS directed By Jeffrey Obrow, starring Dwight Yoakam and Christopher Lloyd. Julia’s films have been selected for many major film festivals including Sundance, Toronto, Venice, AFI, Raindance, Vancouver International and London. Juli

Vernon Davis is a former American football tight end. The 15-year NFL veteran played for the San Francisco 49ers, the Denver Broncos, and the Washington Football Team. Even during his playing days, Vernon had his eyes on an acting career. He has already appeared in blockbuster movies such as Baywatch, as well as Hell on the Border. Davis was a celebrity contestant on Dancing with the Stars and serves regularly as a TV Host. Vernon exercises his producing skills by founding not one but two production companies, Reel 85 and Between the Lines Productions. Off the field, Davis navigates through the worlds of entrepreneurship and philanthropy. He created the Vernon Davis Foundation, which services at-risk youth of all interests and demographics.

Cara Lunsford began her nurse career in pediatric oncology at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles in 2008. She first discovered an interest in oncology when she worked as a sign language interpreter at Cal State Northridge, interpreting the Biology of Cancer class two semesters in a row. It was that class that put her on her path to become a nurse. As a nurse she witnessed, and experienced first hand, the level of burnout that was happening in the profession. She worked with her co-workers to create the first Supportive Care Committee aimed at providing a safe and supportive place for caregivers to cope with the stress of their job. Life eventually took Cara into a variety of other nurse professions, including home health, infusion nursing, hospice, private duty and a Director of Nursing role at a concierge home health in Los Angeles. With a wide variety of experience under her belt, she noticed that there were many pain points in the industry; nurses were in need of a supportive community and companies needed he

Christine Peake is a model, writer, publicist, comedian and single mother. She  was born in the North of England and moved to London at the age of 19 and pursued a successful career in modeling for 10 years and also wrote for the top two newspapers in England.  She moved to Los Angeles and founded peakPRgroup, representing celebrities, brands and producing events. In 2020 she entered the world of comedy and had been performing with some of the country's best  comedians. She resides in Santa Monica and is the mother to her 22 year old son Oliver. 

Asher Gottesman is a spiritual entrepreneur, human connection coach and Rabbi in Southern California. Asher was 33 when he lost his multi-million-dollar business, with the resulting bankruptcy destroying what little self-worth he had as a provider to his family – he had hit rock-bottom. Asher found his road to recovery through the rooms of Alcoholics Anonymous. The experience marked the debut of an odyssey of self-discovery, trading ego for vulnerability, and leaving the pursuit of pleasure for the pursuit of meaning. Asher decidedly dedicated the rest of his career to helping others help themselves “restore wholeness” in their lives.

A tireless advocate for long-term recovery, Tim Ryan is no stranger to addiction. Despite a successful business career, Tim found himself in the grips of heroin and, ultimately, was sentenced to seven years in prison for drug-related convictions. Tim got clean and sober behind bars. 

Christine is the Producer and Host of the weekly storytelling podcast Story Worthy… celebrating 11 years in July. And she is also creator and host of the game show, Story Smash the Storytelling Game Show, now played WEEKLY streaming on Facebook and YouTube at 7pm PST Friday nights. She also produces a monthly storytelling show, The Story Worthy Hour of Power, at Flappers Comedy Club, the third Sunday of every month. Find out more at StoryWorthyPodcast.com

Considered one of LA’s finest vocal coaches, Katie Riggs has been teaching voice for over twenty-one years. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Katie grew up at the knee of arguably the most distinguished and successful voice teacher in the business, her father Seth Riggs. His voice training has worked for many of the world’s best singers. It’s been studied by over 200 Grammy winners, including Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Cher, Tina Turner, Josh Groban, Barbara Streisand, Ray Charles, Diana Ross, Julio Iglesias, Michael Bolton, Luther Vandross, and Madonna. Working side-by-side with her father has earned Katie a lifetime of training. It’s given her extraordinary vocal insight, extensive knowledge and instincts second to none.  Katie's clients include Ozzy Osbourne, Brian Wilson (Beach Boys), Dua Lipa, Tobey Maguire, Tiffany Haddish, Bert Kreischer, Bobby Lee, and countless others.

Paul Costabile is a host, comedian, writer, producer and entertainment reporter. He is the newest face on Universal Kids as the host of the iconic revival of Beat The Clock. He also appears on daily segments on NBC's New York Live and is the host of Doodle Wars on NBC’s digital network Bluprint. Most recently, Paul interviewed the band One Republic for The Netflix/NBCU series Once in a Lifetime Sessions and is a brand ambassador and face for Universal Kids. 

“From Life in a Maze, to an Amazing Life” best describes De’Juan “DJ” Verrett. On February 6, 1990 DJ Verrett was arrested on drug charges at the age of 19, and was sentenced to 19 ½ years of imprisonment.  After serving 16 years 10 months and 3 days in some of America’s most notorious federal prisons DJ Verrett was released on November 1, 2006. The day he was released DJ Verrett made the decision to change everything about him. 

JF Harris is a former NY now LA based stand up comic and writer.  You may have seen his stand up on the Late Late Show with James Corden or Bill Burr presents The Ringers on Comedy Central.  JF has written for big stars like Will Smith and shows like Netflix's Magic For Humans.  He tours regularly in arenas with his good friends The Impractical Jokers.  JF also headlines clubs around the world from Hong Kong to Australia, the US and Canada.  He's been part of the NY Comedy Fest, the Kennedy Centers District of Laughs, Just For Laughs Road Shows, Wild West Comedy Festival, Guild's Laugh Fest and many more. If you are in NY you can probably catch him at the Comedy Cellar or NY Comedy Club and if you are visiting Los Angeles hosting Workshop, a new material show at the World Famous Comedy Store the last Tuesday of every month.  JF is also regularly at the Comedy & Magic Club, The Laugh Factory, and the Hollywood Improv.

Kyle Joachim is a third-generation Presbyterian pastor, a recovering alcoholic, and a compulsive people-pleasing do-gooder.   After working with Middle Eastern refugee youth in Berlin, Kyle moved to Los Angeles to study theology at Fuller Seminary.  He served at churches in Hollywood and The Valley, but then took a break from church work to get some sobriety and perspective.  Kyle helped run his father-in-law’s construction business before pivoting back to Christian ministry.   He has now served as the pastor at Silverlake Community Church since 2018.  His church is dedicated to bringing healing to the hurt in their community by meeting the needs of the local unhoused, supporting recovery and social wellness groups, and helping people find hope through God’s promises and the teachings of Jesus. 

Gregg Adams’s life was forever changed in 2015 with the death of his wife, Leslie, from a long-time battle with Lupus. He became a single parent to his teenage son Tyler, who during this same time was also diagnosed with Type I Diabetes.  How he successfully dealt with these hardships and challenges eventually led to Gregg becoming an empowering and inspirational speaker to colleges, police departments, and businesses. In his talks, he shares his incredible story and describes the step-by-step process he used for persevering and overcoming adversity when faced with life’s crossroads.

Jennifer Gimenez is an American model, actress, reality television personality, and addiction recovery advocate. She has appeared in music videos for Tupac Shakur, Babyface and Mick Jagger, in films such as Blow, Vanilla Sky, and Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, and on TV shows such as The Bold and the Beautiful and Karen Sisco. She ranked 77 on Maxim magazine's 2001 Hot 100 list. She has appeared as the sober living House Manager for the VH1 reality television series, Sober House, a spinoff of Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, on which she has appeared as a rehab technician at the Pasadena Recovery Center. She has also been featured on Bravo’s Real Housewives of Beverly Hills as a “friend” of full-time cast member Brandi Granville from seasons 2–5. 

Tamer began his comedy career in Los Angeles and New York, but very quickly began to tour internationally. His over-seas experiences include tours for the troops in Afghanistan, performing at the American University in Cairo (during the Egyptian revolution) and the Edinburgh fringe in Scotland, where he received three 4 star reviews from international press. He was most recently featured on Seth Rogen’s Hilarity for Charity event with Todd Glass and Hannibal Buress, won the 2015 World Series of Comedy, in 2017 won his episode of Comedy Knockout on truTV, 2019 won “Best of Fest” at Big Pine Comedy Festival & 3 weeks later won The Portland Comedy Festival. He has TV & Radio credits on BBC and SkyTV in the UK as well as in the U.S. on Fox, HULU, Netflix, Amazon & truTV.

Jeff Greenstein is a television writer, producer, and director known for his work on Friends, Will and Grace, Desperate Housewives, and countless others. Jeff was one of the writers on the Charmings. After that, he worked on Dream On for five seasons, before becoming a writer on the show Friends. He was the co-creator and co-showrunner of Partners  and also created, produced, wrote for, and was the showrunner on Getting Personal. He was the head writer and showrunner for Will and Grace and also wrote, executive produced and directed for Desperate Housewives.  Jeff is a member of the Writers Guild of America and Directors Guild of America.  He grew up in Atlanta, Georgia and graduated from Tufts University with a major in film and dance.

Megan Holiday has been obsessed with music for as long as she can remember and her record collection varies from Motown and The Beatles to Nirvana and Post Malone. Megan always had a love affair with listening to radio and it was when she first attended a local radio summer concert in college that she realized she could harness that passion into a career.

This episode is different from the past ones. Instead of focusing on our guests' life stories, we focused on one particular event in their lives: Near Death Experiences. Tom Wells and Ken Cross tell their stories of seeing the other side.

Matt Gallagher (comedian, actor, storyteller) has performed thousands of shows in comedy clubs all over New York and Los Angeles and is currently a regular on the Sunset Strip, at the world famous Comedy Store and at The Dojo of Comedy. A Stumble in the Woods, his "sober stand-up special you have to see" (Genius Recovery), is available on Amazon Prime.

Dawn Ritz is an international costume designer, stylist and conceptual artist who interweaves seamlessly between the worlds of music, film, television, commercials, fashion and art. She creates an alchemy of textures, fabrics and emotion across her characters elevating the power of their transformative journeys across multiple mediums be it, live performance, conceptual editorial or abstract experimental landscapes.