Episodes

In this episode of Carlsbad People, Purpose & Impact, Carlsbad Chamber President & CEO Bret Schanzenbach sits down with Justin Peek, Founder and CEO of Peak Wealth, for a conversation that goes far beyond investments and retirement planning. Justin shares his journey from immigrant roots and entrepreneurial family influences to building a thriving wealth management practice focused on helping clients design and live their ideal lives. He discusses why traditional financial planning often misses...

In this episode of Carlsbad People, Purpose & Impact, Carlsbad Chamber President and CEO Bret Schanzenbach sits down with Anita Boghoussian, Financial Advisor with Edward Jones, to discuss her remarkable journey from an immigrant family upbringing to a successful career in technology leadership and, ultimately, financial advising. Anita shares how her family's pursuit of opportunity brought them from Iraq to Southern California, where she built a 25-year career in technology sales, cybersecurit...

In this episode of Carlsbad: People, Purpose and Impact, Bret Schanzenbach welcomes Michael Campbell, Founder and CEO of Signal Verified. Michael shares his unique journey from the Midwest to Japan and back to California, where he now calls North County home. With a background in global tech leadership and education, Michael brings a fresh perspective to one of today’s biggest challenges: hiring the right talent. Signal Verified is transforming how companies evaluate candidates by focusing on ...

In this episode of Carlsbad: People, Purpose and Impact, host Bret Schanzenbach sits down with Klara Nyari, CEO of TradeMarker International and a leader behind Hemptique. Klara shares her story of growing up in Hungary, moving to the United States, studying fashion design, and building a career in footwear before joining her husband Peter in growing Hemptique. Together, they have created a company rooted in natural fibers, sustainability, craftsmanship, and creativity. The conversation explor...

In this episode of Carlsbad: People, Purpose and Impact, host Bret Schanzenbach sits down with Grace Burch, Accounts Manager at Chamberlain Property Management. Grace brings decades of real estate and property management experience, beginning in the Pacific Northwest in the late 1970s. After building and running successful property management businesses in Washington and Oregon, Grace eventually made her way to North San Diego County, where she found both a new home and a new professional purpo...

On this episode of Carlsbad: People, Purpose and Impact, host Bret Schanzenbach sits down with Alex Ghilarducci, Director of Marketing and Events, and Chad Nelson, CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of Carlsbad. The Boys & Girls Club has been serving Carlsbad youth since 1952, creating safe, supportive, and engaging spaces where kids can learn, grow, and build lasting relationships. Chad shares his personal family connection to the club, including his father’s history as a clubhouse director, while A...

In this episode of Carlsbad: People, Purpose and Impact, host Bret Schanzenbach welcomes JP Witkop, Vice President at Raymond James & Associates. JP shares his journey from Rochester, New York to Carlsbad, California, including his background as a collegiate hockey player and how those connections helped launch his career in financial advising. He discusses his transition from research and corporate finance into building his own advisory practice and now leading the Carlsbad office for Raymond ...

In this episode of Carlsbad: People, Purpose and Impact, Bret Schanzenbach welcomes Laurie Barron, co-founder of Pursu Agency, for a conversation about entrepreneurship, digital strategy, branding, and the evolving world of web development. Laurie shares her unconventional path from accounting and IT to UX, creative agency work, and eventually building Pursu Agency with her longtime business partner, Betsy. Along the way, she reflects on how her background as a collegiate swimmer and coach shap...

In this episode of Carlsbad: People, Purpose and Impact, Bret Schanzenbach welcomes Liam Dunfey, President of Assisting Hands of Carlsbad, for a thoughtful conversation about aging, caregiving, and the resources available to families across North County. Liam shares his journey from Massachusetts to California and how a career in fundraising and healthcare led him into the aging services field. After 15 years of working with older adults in a variety of leadership roles, he made the leap into b...

In this episode of Carlsbad: People, Purpose and Impact, Bret Schanzenbach sits down with Shane Fisher, founder of the American Paragons Foundation, to talk about Shane’s remarkable athletic journey and the mission he’s now pursuing to support Team USA athletes. Shane shares how a lifelong obsession with the Olympics led him from youth sports to tennis, then into track and field, the decathlon, and ultimately the USA bobsled team. Along the way, he experienced firsthand the financial strain tha...

Matthew Eclevia, President of Freehab Therapy, joins Bret Schanzenbach on Carlsbad: People, Purpose and Impact to share how a local nonprofit is changing access to neurological rehabilitation in North County San Diego. Freehab Therapy is a mobile, pro bono rehab organization designed to fill the care gap many patients experience after discharge—especially those recovering from stroke, spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, and chronic neurological conditions like Parkinson’s, MS, and ALS. ...

On this episode of Carlsbad: People, Purpose and Impact, Bret Schanzenbach welcomes Cheryl Dillon, founder and CEO of Wonderful Experiences and creator of Connected Hearts—a membership community for women in their 50s and 60s in North County (Carlsbad-based). Cheryl shares her path from New Jersey to Chicago to San Diego, her early work in corporate roles and IT recruiting, and how she and her husband Joe became entrepreneurs—first running a children’s cooking school franchise, then launching E...

Host Bret Schanzenbach sits down with Teresa Miller, Founder and CEO of 365 Connect, a purpose-driven 501(c)(3) that helps companies build meaningful corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs through employee engagement and volunteerism. Teresa shares her New York upbringing rooted in service, her journey through sports marketing and adaptive sports, and how a parent’s introduction to CSR sparked the creation of 365 Connect. She breaks down CSR’s four pillars (financial, ethical, legal, ph...

LEGOLAND California Resort President Kurt Stocks returns to Carlsbad: People, Purpose and Impact with Bret Schanzenbach to share what’s new, what’s next, and how the resort continues to evolve year-round. Kurt recounts his journey from professional rugby in Australia to leading LEGOLAND Malaysia before arriving in Carlsbad in January 2020—right before the pandemic shutdown. The conversation covers the delayed (but hugely successful) opening of LEGO Movie World in May 2021, plus recent additions...

This episode of Carlsbad: People, Purpose and Impact highlights the Carlsbad Chamber’s 2026 Chamber Travel adventure to Normandy and the Champagne region of France. Host Bret Schanzenbach sits down with Ian Scott of Quest Voyager and Kathy Steffen, the Chamber’s Director of Fun, to preview the unforgettable journey scheduled for October 4–12, with an optional Paris extension. Trip highlights include: • Mont Saint-Michel • Omaha Beach & Pointe du Hoc • Normandy American Cemetery • Rouen (Joan ...

In this episode of Carlsbad: People, Purpose and Impact, host Bret Schanzenbach sits down with Bennett Mann, valuation specialist and business broker with The Chase Group, to talk about what it really takes to build – and successfully sell – a small business. Bennett, a San Diego native and SDSU economics grad with additional business analysis training from UCSD, shares his career path through valuation roles at Bank of America, CoreLogic, and consulting for Fortune 500 companies. He explains h...

Podcast: Carlsbad: People, Purpose and Impact Host: Bret Schanzenbach, President & CEO, Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce Guest: Dr. Gene Ma, President & CEO, Tri-City Medical Center In this episode, Bret welcomes Dr. Gene Ma, a long-time emergency physician and now President & CEO of Tri-City Medical Center, for a candid and hopeful conversation about the future of healthcare in North County San Diego. Dr. Ma traces his journey from a globally mobile childhood (Hawaii, Burma, Japan, Hong Kong) to ...

In this episode, host Bret Schanzenbach, President & CEO of the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce, sits down with Scott Morris, local Encinitas native, serial entrepreneur, and co-founder/general partner of The Bermuda Club. Scott traces his journey from La Costa Canyon High School to UCLA and the University of Chicago Law School, then into big-firm life at Latham & Watkins during the 2008 financial crisis. When litigation work dried up, he leaned into his entrepreneurial side, leaving the firm to b...

In this episode of “Carlsbad: People, Purpose and Impact,” host Bret Schanzenbach sits down with Paola Richard, CEO and founder of Gelato Love in Carlsbad Village. Paola shares her global upbringing in Rome with roots across Europe, her early career as a seven-time Italian national synchronized swimming champion training in California, and her transition into marine biology and science journalism, where she wrote and produced content on conservation for outlets like National Geographic Italy an...

In this episode of Carlsbad: People, Purpose and Impact, host Bret Schanzenbach sits down with Sean Walker and Andy Slip, co-founders of Pickleball Republic. Sean shares his Carlsbad roots and decades in recreational entertainment (from paintball events to operating Camp Pendleton’s park), while Andy describes discovering pickleball on vacation and joining the thriving community at Sean’s Pickleball Club in The Shoppes at Carlsbad. Together they announce Pickleball Republic, a hybrid indoor/out...

On Carlsbad: People, Purpose and Impact, Bret Schanzenbach talks with Audrey Maria Adams, founder of YNSOTM Co (pronounced “yen-SOD-um”), a consultancy grounded in the thesis line “You are Not So Other Than Me.” Audrey shares how studies in political theory, philosophy, and psychology shaped her obsession with human flourishing—and how coaching, education leadership, grief, kindness projects, and unexpected sales roles led her to redesign customer experiences with unreasonable hospitality. What...

In this episode, Bret Schanzenbach talks with Alan Shimamoto, founder of Accelerate Growth Coaching. Alan shares his extraordinary story—from being adopted from a Japanese orphanage to building multimillion-dollar sales organizations and a career helping business owners thrive through leadership and personal growth. He and his wife Louisa relocated from the Pacific Northwest to Carlsbad to be near their daughter and immediately immersed themselves in the community through the Carlsbad Chamber o...

On this episode of Carlsbad: People, Purpose and Impact, host Bret Schanzenbach sits down with Erin Hardin, director of community relations at the Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation. Erin shares her journey from Las Vegas to Encinitas, her passion for nonprofit work, and why Agua Hedionda is her dream role—combining education, animals, kids, and environmental stewardship. They highlight the Foundation’s three marquee fundraisers—Laguna Kahuna Cleanup Challenge (May), the Haunted Corn Maze (October)...

In this episode of Carlsbad People, Purpose, and Impact, Bret Schanzenbach interviews Michael Stinnett, founder and director of Shield Legal Services. Michael shares his journey from serving as a Navy aviation ordnance technician, to studying political science and law, to working with the Department of Justice and National Security Agency, and ultimately finding his calling in veterans’ legal advocacy. After helping veterans in Washington, D.C. navigate housing, disability benefits, and access ...