Jalen James Acosta is a Dominican-American creative force — filmmaker, musician, producer, motivational speaker and investor — known for building bridges between culture and commerce. From helping an esports Dominican phenom reclaim Street Fighter world titles in Japan and Saudi Arabia, to rebuilding the most storied basketball franchise in Paris after collapse, Jalen is drawn to underdogs, visionaries, and the spark before the spotlight. He brings ideas to life and brokers the partnerships that transform raw talent into global momentum — always with the belief that individual wins should ripple into community uplift.

His journey is a living testament to resilience, purpose, and the power of manifesting a dream into reality.

Once a kid praying to eat from his own dream, he now helps others set the table — proving that with vision, discipline, and faith, what once felt impossible can become inevitable. His story is one of reinvention, elevation, and choosing impact over ego — a life built not just to succeed, but to awaken others to their own magic.

Marissa Feinberg is a social impact entrepreneur who uses her business and organizational prowess to build movements for positive change. Today she is the Founder of Psychedelics for Climate Action (PSYCA), a pioneering nonprofit exploring how psychedelic experiences can catalyze concrete and effective climate action. In 2008 she founded Green Spaces, a co-working space for sustainability and impact, as these terms themselves were coming into focus. Through her consultancy Triple Bottom Why, she helps brands, nonprofits and research initiatives better align their communities around a common purpose. In this episode, Feinberg speaks to the joys and challenges stewarding the duel, and as she sees it, crucially correlated realms of psychedelics and climate, all through one bold mission.

Tiffiney Davis is a civic entrepreneur and community leader who created an afterschool arts and culture curriculum to fill the gaps within our public education systems. She is the Executive Director and co-founder of Red Hook Art Project, an organization that offers free programming for kids at all stages of their learning journey. Her model helps students feel safe, seen, and heard, which allows them to foster their unique, creative potential. While the program supports students who are pursuing the arts as part of their professional trajectory, Tiffiney shares how arts curriculums in general help students develop their emotional awareness. Art and safe spaces help surface underlying issues that would otherwise be lost in a classroom environment, that are often preventing students from moving forward within the system. A mother herself, Tiffiney's programs bring together neighbors, parents, and students in healthy, positive, healing environments. We believe organizations like Tiffiney’s can and should be replicated in every neighborhood.

Haym Gross is an architect specializing in sustainability and a pioneer in developing community infrastructure to achieve environmental resilience. He is a founding member of the NYC 2030 District, a public-private partnership of stakeholders working to radically reduce carbon emissions and fossil fuel consumption on an urban scale. This initiative is part of a larger network of 26 similar districts across North America (2030districts.org). Haym takes us on his journey—beginning as a sculptor working with organic forms, then designing spaces that mimic nature, and now collaborating with communities to help neighborhoods, cities, and urban environments adapt to a changing climate. He is both an expert and an experimenter, a visionary and a pragmatist. Join us for the second episode of the Good Standing podcast and discover how you can start applying these principles in your own community.

Karen ‘Dawn’ Blondel is a pioneer in civic engagement, with a focus on sustainable economic development and environmental resiliency. She is one of the 2023 recipients of the David Prize, which recognizes New Yorkers with ideas for extraordinary change, a Harvard Loeb Fellow, and the current Executive Director of the Public Housing Civic Association. On a typical week, you can find her boots-on-the-ground liaising with contractors, hosting an affordable housing workshop, attending city council meetings on local laws and spending accountability, or negotiating with real estate developments to increase the benefits they will bring to the local economy. Karen also manages to personally cook for almost all of her local Red Hook, NYCHA resident meetings, where participants are learning about building science and stewardship. Karen’s story gives insights into the consistent practice of being a community leader, as well as investing in the next generation of civic leaders, making their city a better place.

Introducing Good Standing, a social network and new media platform for driving real-world impact. Good Standing is brought to you by Radiical Systems, a venture capital studio based in New York City, led by Ashley Taylor and Kurt McVey. Our first podcast introduces what this platform does, why we built it, and how you can get involved. Future episodes will feature conversations with creators, community leaders, entrepreneurs, and thought-leaders, focusing on constructive, innovative solutions to today’s most pressing challenges. Find us at http://goodstanding.app, or http://radiicalsystems.com, and let us know how you want to get involved or if you have a story to share.