Working Title

James Ford (Educator)

This is an absolute dream episode with someone we deeply admire and love. We were very tempted to title this episode "James Ford (Future President of the United States)". 

James E. Ford is an award-winning educator and consultant on issues of equity in education. He was recently appointed by Gov. Cooper to serve as a member of the North Carolina State Board of Education, representing the Southwest Region. He is the former Program Director at the Public School Forum of North Carolina, an education think-tank and policy advocacy organization. Prior to this, he served as the 2014-15 North Carolina Teacher of the Year and the representative for 95,000 public school teachers throughout the state. For a full year, he traveled the state and country speaking before thousands of teachers, students, business leaders and policymakers about the importance of education.

In Spring 2015, He, along with 54 other state teachers were invited to the White House to be honored by President Obama in the Rose Garden during Teacher Appreciation Week. Ford taught World History at Garinger High School in Charlotte, NC starting in 2010.

He is a civic leader in Charlotte, serving as the co-chair for the Leading on Opportunity Council, an effort change the systemic barriers to economic mobility in the city. He also is the Principal at Filling the Gap Educational Consultants, LLC.

We know you're going to love this episode.

Andy Smith (Arts Writer)

Andy Smith is an arts writer in Charlotte and a great friend of ours. This is the very first podcast we recorded. We hope you love it. 

Chris Green (Professor)

Dr. Chris Green is a professor, author, preacher, and artist. He's been a very important voice in our lives. We hope this wide-ranging conversation means as much to you as it did to us. 

Tim Grant (Filmmaker)

Tim Grant is an Emmy Award winning director and producer based in Los Angeles, California. Self-taught, Tim has produced and directed films that have premiered at Sundance, screened at dozens of film festivals across North America including SxSW, and sold to HBO and Netflix. Tim co-produced 'Finders Keepers', a film he helped complete after production had stalled for three years. 'Finders Keepers' premiered at the 2015 Sundance film festival and gained universal critical acclaim. It would go on to SxSW, Hot Docs, and Traverse City, where it won 'best comedy'. ‘Finders Keepers' is currently playing on Netflix. Tim produced J. Cole’s ‘4 Your Eyez Only’ and 'J. Cole Forest Hills Drive: Homecoming’, both upon completion were acquired by HBO and have been well received by critics and fans alike. Tim currently lives in Los Angeles, California where he develops, produces, and directs documentary feature films, TV shows and docu-style commercials.

Rickey Cotton (Teacher)

Rickey Cotton has been a teacher for over 40 years. He recently retired after teaching literature, creative writing, and spirituality for 31 years at Southeastern University.

He is a deeply significant person in Joseph's life (serving currently as his spiritual director and formerly as his professor).

This conversation shows the magic of Rickey Cotton and we hope it inspires you.

Brian Zahnd (Pastor)

For the first episode of Working Title, we're thrilled to share this conversation with Brian Zahnd with you. He's a pastor, author, outdoors-lover, Bob Dylan fan, and so much more. Don't miss his story at the end. Trust us.