Meet Zena Harris Mark Rabin

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Zena Harris Mark Rabin. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Zena Harris below.

Hi Zena Harris, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

When thinking about resilience, our team associates the many wonderful people in our lives. Building strong relationships helps us feel protected in the face of uncertainty. Our individual superpowers can only do so much after all, awesome as they are; it takes radical collaboration. A few hours ago, “The Tie-In” had a Zoom meeting with our media team, Picnic Social, and AY Young, the sustainable superstar behind “The Battery Tour.” He mentioned the difficulties of maintaining creative freedom over live music events, and this is a common experience for all kinds of climate influencers. His music endeavors against the odds so that he can promote positive messages of sustainability at amazing shows. This is not something all people are comfortable with, as you can imagine, but it’s this passion and drive to forge a better future that truly inspires us here at “The Tie-In.” People like AY are who we strive to work with. They uplift and validate the work we’re doing, and we hope to do the same for them. This mutual support and respect is what drives our resilience.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

Over the years that we’ve worked in entertainment, we’ve met a lot of interesting and inspiring people who problem solve against all odds. We have also noticed a lack of peer to peer storytelling to advance the innovation and sustainability. So, we created “The Tie-In” podcast to fill that void. We discuss media innovation with a special focus on sharing the stories of sustainably-focused creatives in the world of entertainment. Zena Harris, President of Green Spark Group, and Mark Rabin, Founder of Portable Electric, are presenting viewers and listeners with a window into how innovators and creatives approach their work and how they are incorporating sustainability. Proud creative, tech and science nerds won’t want to miss an episode. Tune in and experience revolutionary minds like Dr. Ryan Wartena, the CEO of Southern Beams, a company developing the impressive solar panels used at huge events like “Burning Man.” Moreover, people interested in filmmaking will receive a wealth of insight from trailblazers like Lydia Dean Pilcher, the Producer and Director of the 2018 film, “Radium Girls.” Our show highlights the voices of the people behind the scenes doing great work. In light of recent events like the devastating LA fires, it’s clear climate communication needs visibility now more than ever. “The Tie-In” seeks to open the eyes of the public every Tuesday morning, and from the Sustainable Production Forum in Canada to SXSW in Texas, we’re capturing the stories to inspire an industry transformation.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Communication, problem-solving, and adaptability are three traits that our team shares with every guest we’ve interviewed for the show. We’d like to think that these three traits are essential pillars for a properly stretched cranium. One word that comes up again and again in our conversations is sustainability, and embracing all three of the above traits is essential for implementing it as a practice. Without clear communication, you’re hard-pressed to raise awareness about environmental issues, engage stakeholders, motivate action towards sustainable practices, or build trust by being transparent about efforts. Problem-solving allows individuals and organizations to identify, analyze, and develop innovative solutions to complex environmental, social, and economic challenges. While the jobs and titles of our guests vary, their mindsets remain relatively similar. Every struggle is an opportunity to learn. Lastly, individuals, communities, and systems will most effectively respond to the ever-changing and often unpredictable challenges posed by environmental issues if we remain ready to reinvigorate our behavior. Rigidity and sustainability don’t mix.

How can folks who want to work with you connect?

“The Tie-In,” by name, is all about connection. We’ve been lucky enough to chat with many brilliant people who are doing work incredible enough to comprise a documentary. Gaffer Todd Lapp, Founder Neel Vasavada, Climate Influencer Andrea Learned, CEO Andre Champagne, and authors Steve Willis and Genevieve Hilton are just a few of the fabulous voices our show has shared with the world. We’re always looking for people who are doing cool and revolutionary projects somewhere in the arts, music, fashion, sports, etc. Our ideal collaborators are tend setters, stepping out ahead of the noise, taking a chance in what they believe in, their truth. We want to reinvigorate the world’s love affair with the exciting processes involved in making the entertainment we love. It just so happens that sustainable, climate technology and preparations are often proving to be the best and most awe-inspiring methods of doing so. If you are interested in telling us a story from your time on set or backstage, then please email us. You, or anyone else you think we should hang out with, can message us here: [email protected]

You can also get in touch with us on Instagram any old time: @The_Tie_In_Pod

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Zena Harris, Mark Rabin, Collin Miller, Andre Champagne, Paul Schurink, Liz Rubin, Melanie Windle, The Sustainable Production Forum Crew

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