Michael Byun, executive director of ACRS, joins Emerald City Echoes to discuss the implications of cultural mores and biases in healthcare practice, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on youth and elderly Asians, and policy changes enacted by the President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to provide more accurate and inclusive legislation in the United States.

Asian Counseling and Referral Service is home of Washington state's only food bank catering to AAPI diets, and is a leading social justice organization working to provide accessible, supportive healthcare and civic engagement programs in Seattle's King County.

Engaged intellectually. Connected socially. Distracted minimally.
Beginning in the 2024-2025 school year, Mercer Island School District's high school and middle school will implement a new policy on cell phone usage during the school day. Superintendent Rundle joins the podcast to talk through the process and reasoning of going phone-free, an effort known as MI-Phone Free Schools. Rooting the decision in data from the Healthy Youth Survey, this decision aims to promote healthy social and emotional development with the assistance of Yondr phone pouches.

Michelle Ritter, Prevention Programs Coordinator of the City of Mercer Island's Youth and Family Services, joins Emerald City Echoes to discuss the recent events, programs, and campaigns promoting healthy living on the island. With the main focus on students, the Healthy Youth Initiative provides numerous programs tailored by district-specific student survey data to support youth physical and mental well-being.

Einer Handleland worked as a design civil engineer at Tudor Engineering Company, a firm that was involved in many major

transportation projects in the Seattle area. Specializing in project and traffic design, he was involved with many roads, bridges, and hospitals throughout the region. On Mercer Island, he assisted in the conceptual designs of I-90 dating back to 1970, and collaborated on design of Island Crest Way from SE 40th to 68th Ave, 40th to West Mercer Way, and Gallagher Hill Road from I-90 to SE 40th.

Divided. With many divisions prevalent in society today--war, politics, healthcare, and more--Bill Radke from KUOW joins Emerald City Echoes' Chloe Yang to discuss the direction society is quickly heading towards. Radke's original play, "Live from Liberty," discusses exactly that: can society get along despite global conflict, or would it be more convenient to disengage and distance from those with differing opinions?

4 women rowing the Pacific Ocean, completely unassisted, will be taking on the World’s Toughest Row, navigating 2800 miles from Monterey, California to Kauai, Hawaii. Hannah Byrd, one of the rowers, and her teammates will take off this summer on June 12th and expect to reach their destination in Hawaii in mid July. Fierce competition, dangerous situations, and a harsh sleep schedule lie ahead for Byrd as she and her team hope to defeat the current world record.

You can learn more about the challenge by following this link: https://www.rowingoceans4women.com/

Oh, la la! Ciscoe Morris, host of King5's segment Gardening with Ciscoe, is a well known Master Gardener in the Pacific Northwest. He gives gardening tips on how to best maintain outdoor plants, and travels the globe to give gardening presentations. Tune in to this episode of Emerald City Echoes to hear Ciscoe talk about bees, trees, and apple disease.

Treehouse enthusiast Pete Nelson was host of the Animal Planet hit show Treehouse Masters for 11 seasons. Pete's love for treehouses came about as a child building backyard tree forts with his father in New Jersey, and in 2006, he opened Treehouse Point in Fall City, WA: an overnight oasis consisting of 7 treehouses. Nelson Treehouse and Supply has built 350+ treehouses across the globe, allowing nature lovers like himself to experience life up in the trees.