Come sit by me…

Just a few Saturdays ago, Qualcomm Institute teamed with ArtPower to bring us one kick ass film festival. “VR films are my newest addiction,” I confessed out loud while removing my Samsung Nano VR goggles. Nonetheless, it was 6 minutes of bliss aboard the Crystal Star Voyager and a chance encounter with its co-creator, Doug Nelson, that I’d truly come back for again and again.

For those of you out there who have minds that constantly race, this is your shortcut to sanity. Imagine sinking into a comfy reclining leather chair in a room surrounded by stars. Brings me back to the high school days watching Dark Side of the Moon at the Morrison Planetarium in SF. Never before have I been put in a trance so quickly. Yoga classes are such a mental battle. TV, wine, scotch prove nothing more than unsuccessful solutions. Lying back in this multisensory system, the combination of the sight, sound, smell, and sensation brought me to a place of clarity like no other. As the device was removed from above, I turned to Doug and asked, “Where in the world can I get one of these?”

We talked for several minutes, realizing other anxious voyagers were waiting for their magical mystery tour. So we continued on to the hallway, and finally decided lunch the following day was a must. In a world dominated with the onslaught of visual cues and sensory overload, this guided meditation took me on an instant spiritual journey and I left feeling uplifted and centered. Maybe I should install one of these in my social club? What if they had these devices in waiting rooms for patients? Or at the institutes along the Mesa for our researchers? The possibilities seemed endless. Introductions are in the works. There are so many opportunities to apply this technology in. On the heels of a major design summit, it will be interesting to see what comes of Doug Nelson’s Crystal Star Voyager. If you ask me, they are just another company that needs to move to SD.

Upcoming events (I'll be at the fun table…)

• San Diego Startup Week: The BioTech Track
  June 13-17, Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine

  San Diego Start Up Week hosts back-to-back events for their BioTech Track at the Duane Roth Auditorium on June 13 and 14. Pack a toothbrush and feel free to couch surf on one of our ocean view lounges. Sanford Consortium and the BellaV are going to be poppin’ all day long Monday and well through Tuesday. Check out the schedule here. Talks with Tim Mullen, Paul Roben, and Zachary Zimmerman on starting a bio-tech company, IP Licensing, Minimum Viable Products… You are sure to find a panel worth crashing.

• Giving USA: Annual Report of Philanthropy
  June 14, Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine

  Philanthropy in San Diego and on the Mesa are integral parts of our local economy. Look around Torrey Pines and you can see new buildings going up at an impressive rate… The new Altman building (ACTRI), Jacobs Medical Center, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, Moxie Center, Duane Roth Auditorium, Beyster Auditorium, Sanford Education Center. We are proud and thankful to our San Diego philanthropists who understand the meaning of giving back to communities. We are also indebted to the professionals who build these relationships that lead to their giving. The Association of Fundraising Professionals San Diego Chapter (AFP) and the Phoenix Philanthropy Group will bring us a first look at the 2016 Giving USA Report. Learn what a difference philanthropy makes in our local community from the experts.

• Design Forward Summit
  June 16, UC San Diego Design Lab

  Our brilliant minds on the Mesa are reaching out to connect with the great thinkers downtown and beyond. UC San Diego’s Design Lab is leading the way with their upcoming Design Forward Summit. Our city is pulling together to shape the future of San Diego’s economic growth and global identity, with human-centered design at the forefront. Definitely a huge step forward for our Miracle Coast No Boundaries vision. Big names participating at the Summit? Try Don Norman, former VP of Apple and current Director of the Design Lab; Sam Yen, Chief Design Officer, SAP; Kurt Walecki, VP of Design, Intuit; and Robert Schwartz, GM of Global Design, GE Health, to name a few. Plenary sessions, salons, and multimedia content will go on throughout the summit. What am I most excited for? The session on Next Steps! Enough jibber jabber, it’s time to move our city forward together. Bravo UC San Diego Design Lab for being one of our trailblazers.

Just Mesa'n around…

Sitting in the Beyster Auditorium at the Rady School of Management, I felt pure, unadulterated, limitless inspiration. We had all gathered to watch the story of Peter Diamandis’ unwavering vision and determination to change lives. And there he was on the big screen—one of the world’s biggest thinkers, and one of the world’s most fearless entrepreneurs—Sir Richard Branson. That day I swore I’d meet Diamandis and bring him to the Mesa. I pledged to win an X Prize and set my sights on applying to Singularity University’s Global Solutions Program.

Yes, those are lofty goals, but after watching the documentary Visioneer: The Peter Diamandis Story, who wouldn’t feel that boundless, that free to dream—and dream big? And who would have thought that, just a few months later, I would be sitting front row inside UC San Diego's Great Hall, face to face with the great Sir Richard Branson?

The day's panel was the UCSD Global Health Institute's "Global Drug Decriminalization & Tijuana’s Hiv/Aids Epidemic." My heart was pounding as I stepped up to the mic. My question for the visioneer was twofold: What personal experience married you to the cause of drug decriminalization, and what are our next steps to implement real change? Sir Branson and I locked eyes as he began to reveal his relationship to drugs, rehabilitation, and ultimately his fight to decriminalize drugs worldwide. For Sir Branson, it was witnessing dear friends lose themselves as they spiraled into heroine addiction. Doctors making trips to his home in Oxford to help wean famous rock stars off the poison. It was also his experience watching friends fight to free themselves from addiction and become functioning members of society again that inspired him to get involved in global drug policy. Friends like Keith Richards and Boy George, who are “now doing incredible things.” Branson believes that seeing friends win the battle and reengage in society up close is what drives him.

There is much debate surrounding the decriminalization of drugs. Should we treat addiction as a health problem rather than a criminal offense? Are there programs that can be offered that provide help without leaving families bankrupt? Will governments taking control of drug trade really decrease violence? Will that money made from selling legalized drugs be put back into programs to help prevent and treat drug abuse? They are looking to an evidence-based system like that of Portugal, where the government decriminalized drugs over a decade ago. While we look to other successful models for the answers, it still comes back to the refrain. How do we get those addicted help, reconnected, included, and ultimately thriving again? Perhaps focusing on why these people get lost in society is where we should be concentrating as well, as we seek solutions to global drug policy for the future.

There were several other great speakers on the panel last week whose stories are deserving of their own write-up. While Sir Branson is a global peacemaker, we need to recognize three individual local heroes. Our Mesa’s very own boots on the ground. Jon Cohen, Dr. Steffanie Strathdee, and Dr. Patricia Gonzalez-Zuniga—our city, our country and our world need to hear your stories. Hang tight. I’m coming to sit by you.