Tradition Breakers Episode 6 with Ryan Letada

“Who do I really want to become?” This is a question that can cause some of us to take on the challenge of going into the unknown to find the answer or to retreat to the world we already know.

In today’s episode, I sit down with Ryan Letada—a dad, serial entrepreneur, immigrant, and human migration futurist. Ryan’s story begins in the Middle East, where his family immigrated from the Philippines, driven by the pursuit of a better life. Raised in New York City, Ryan’s journey has taken him through various roles and ventures, each one preparing him for his current work as the founder of Next Day Better, an award-winning innovation agency. Through this work, Ryan is at the forefront of redefining what it means to lead in a borderless world of work, commerce, and communities.

But beyond his professional achievements, this conversation is about much more. Ryan opens up about how, as a parent and entrepreneur, he realized the need to break free from living up to the expectations of his family, society, as well as from the never-ending pursuit of accolades . He began asking himself a powerful question: "Who do I really want to become?" This question led him to embrace his curiosities, which he believes is the key to self-discovery.

In our discussion, Ryan shares how following his curiosities brought him clarity on not just who he is, but who he wants to be. It’s a powerful message about trusting the unknown and allowing curiosity to guide you, and I think you’ll find inspiration in his story, especially if you’re in the process of figuring out your own path. So, without further ado, here’s my conversation with Ryan Letada.

LINKS:

Schedule a free marketing consultation with Tasty Directives.

Follow Tradition Breakers on Instagram.

Follow Mary Vallarta on Instagram. 

Learn more about Ryan's work at Next Day Better.

Transcript:

Mary (00:04):

Hello everyone. Welcome back to another episode of Tradition Breakers, where we share the stories of API individuals who chose to break free from tradition to follow their own creative, spiritual, or entrepreneurial paths. I'm your host, Mary Vallarta, and today I'm excited to bring you a conversation that starts from the question of who do I really want to be? That is a question that can cause some of us to take two routes. One route is to go on the path into the unknown, where we'll encounter challenges and twists and turns to find out the answer to our question, who do I really want to become? And then the other path, or the other route is

(01:19):

To stay where we are, where we feel comfortable, where we know what to expect. Now, some might think that the second path is without any challenges, but I think that the second path has its own unique set of challenges, the challenge of having to face ourselves every day in the mirror and wonder what would have happened if I took the leap, right? So I think either paths come with our own unique set of challenges. That's the theme of today's episode. I explore this theme with my guest, Ryan Ada. He is a dad, a serial entrepreneur, an immigrant, and a human migration futurist. Ryan's story begins in the Middle East where his family immigrated from the Philippines, driven by the pursuit of a better life raised in New York City. Ryan's journey has taken him through various roles and ventures, each one preparing him for his current work as the founder of next Day Better, an award-winning innovation agency.

(02:31):

Through his work, Ryan is at the forefront of redefining what it means to lead in a borderless world of work, commerce, and communities. But beyond his professional achievement, this conversation is about so much more. Ryan opens up about how as a parent and entrepreneur, he realized the need to break free from living up to the expectations of his family from society, as well as from the never ending pursuit of accolades. He began asking himself that question that I was just talking about, that powerful question, who do I really want to become? This question led him to embrace his curiosities, which he believes is the key to self-discovery. In our discussion, Ryan shares how following his curiosities brought him clarity on not just who he is, but who he wants to be. It's a powerful message about trusting the unknown and allowing curiosity to guide you. And I think you'll find inspiration in his story, especially if you're in the process of figuring out your own path. So without further ado, here's my conversation with Ryan.

(03:49):

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Ryan (05:03):

I'm good. I feel alive. I've been awake since 4:30 AM I'm going off at two hours of sleep, and we had a false alarm. We thought our baby was going to come out today, so I'm coming from the hospital.

Mary (05:17):

Oh my God, it makes me even more grateful for you. Yeah, for you being here and joining us. Thank you so much.

Ryan (05:26):

No, it's going to be great. That means you're getting so much raw energy and feel free to ask whatever, and let's go for it.

Mary (05:33):

Let's go for it. Let's express it all here. Love that. Well, my first question to you, and this is something that I'm actually trying, I want to really frame the point and the idea of the podcast, which is all about breaking tradition to follow your own path. So looking back in your life, how do you think you've done that?

Ryan (05:57):

I appreciate it. My parents, I was born in Kuwait, parents became refugees. We are Filipinos and we were in Kuwait as a, and they created so much opportunities and privileges for us through their sacrifice and hard work and through their migration journey. And because of all that investment, because of all the risks that they've taken, they've kind of projected this desire or their dream that we as their children don't have to be as risk takers like that. So we were really the Asian story or the immigrant story. Filipino wants to be the nurse, right? I'm like, how can I be a nurse when I'm like, I'm scared of blood. How's that going to happen?

(06:59):

And then to the point where, okay, if I can't be a healthcare professional, then be an investment banker. And so I became that, and then the 2008 financial crisis happened and got laid off, and that was the year I graduated and I was supposed to have this investment banking job and no longer had it. And so all these things, the universe is telling me this is not for you. And it took a depression and a financial crisis for that to happen. And so that tradition of living up to the expectations of your parents, the universe, once I was listening or once the universe forced me to search what I'm looking for and what will make me feel alive, that's when I was like, Ooh, am I living up to my parents' expectations and dreams?

Mary (08:04):

Wow. What did you do next when you asked yourself that question?

Ryan (08:11):

Well, then I followed, A lot of it is you're young, right? 2008, just the year I graduated, I didn't

Mary (08:20):

Really, I hear I graduated too,

Ryan (08:27):

And it's like, oh, do I really know who I want to become or who I want to be? My ego tells me I need to be what my parents want me to be, or I want to make them proud, or I want these accolades. I want to be recognized as such and live up to other people's expectations. And I'm like, well, I know that's not my truth. And so luckily, I was awarded a Fulbright that brought me back to the Philippines fellowship, which gave me, basically the US government gave me money to study whatever I want to study. It fueled my curiosity. And so that was when, whoa, I can't get this finance job. Let me just be curious. And that was the journey.

Mary (09:19):

What a gift that was. It allowed you to follow your curiosities and clues that led you to where you are. I bet. I'm assuming.

Ryan (09:30):

Yeah. And it's like what happens when you follow your curiosity?

(09:35):

What

(09:35):

Happens when you actually, instead of having the answer of who you want to become or who you want to be, you're allowed to just ask the questions and just face them. And that just gave me the fuel encouraged to explore what that is.

Mary (09:54):

So does that lead you then to what you're doing now, which is your, I guess how you describe yourself right now is a human migration futurist? Is that accurate?

Ryan (10:10):

That is accurate, but it took a while to get there. So because I am Filipino, because I am immigrant, because my parents have all these expectations of me to carry the torch, achieve generational health and wealth, and provide for the family, take over that torch, you're still in that discovery of like, well, how am I going to do that? How am I going to problem solve for that?

Mary (10:43):

Yes,

Ryan (10:45):

But that's their prerogative, not necessarily mine. What I did was I tried to find a solution for both worlds. What are my desires and what are their desires? Yeah. That path took me to co-founding one laptop or child, what is that initiative? Mi t Media Lab. They were the inventors of the low cost quote unquote $100 laptops. And when I was being super curious, my Fulbright Fellowship, I started this nonprofit that brought digital learning and laptops to rural classrooms across rural communities in the Philippines. So in that case, my mom wanted me to be in, my parents wanted me to be a breadwinner, to give forward to the Philippines, to make them proud. I was shaking hands with the secretaries of education, with the mayors, taking photo ops, et cetera, so much media coverage. My ego was like, boom, I was super broke. And so that was that moment of, okay, I made them proud and they think I'm succeeding, but they don't really know I was hiding that I was financially in ruins, even though I did so much for the community and created so much change in the Philippines.

(12:25):

And

(12:25):

So all that to say is like, Ooh, here's a universe telling me you cannot put yourself on fire to keep other people warm. You cannot put yourself on fire to go after validation from your parents

Mary (12:43):

Who expect

Ryan (12:44):

The traditional rep for you

Mary (12:47):

At that point. At that point, you were fulfilling their vision for you. Is that right?

Ryan (12:54):

I was fulfilling, attempting to figure out who I wanted to become. I think at the same time kind of trying to force fit whatever their mold was they wanted and expected from me.

Mary (13:11):

So then after that, which it sounds like was that your introduction to the world of entrepreneurship and creating things? So what happened after that when you had that moment of realization?

Ryan (13:24):

So yeah, that was the realization. It's like you pick up all these nuggets of life or wisdom that eventually gets you to your highest frequency or where you feel most alive or most aligned in terms of what you do for work and what you do in life. I went back with all these accolades, Fulbright fellowships, all these photos with all these government officials, this pride that I created change for these communities. And then I went back home because I had no money and I worked at Republic.

Mary (14:02):

And where was home at that point in your life?

Ryan (14:06):

New Jersey.

Mary (14:06):

New Jersey, okay.

Ryan (14:08):

Jersey.

Mary (14:08):

How was that for you? That must have been, was it tough from the outside looking in? It seems like it would be tough.

Ryan (14:18):

It is tough because I didn't know the insecurity, the ego, all these accolades I've received, scholarships, fellowships, I still felt empty or not worthy, and that's in my twenties. And I found myself still wanting validation from my parents, but then now also from the community around you. And so all these media coverage, it is addictive that dopamine hit is real.

Mary (15:02):

Yes.

Ryan (15:03):

And you equate the likes or the followers that you have on social media to your self worth. And I'm like, that's not it. I don't think I've landed where I want it to be in terms of my profession and my career. So after Banana Republic, after this humbling moment and this lesson of don't put yourself on fire to keep other people warm, I started next day better. And so on our website it says, we are an impact agency and innovation agency, et cetera, for a borderless world. In reality, it was my sandbox to do whatever cool thing I want and get paid for it.

Mary (16:01):

That's cool. So what were some of the cool projects that you started working on? I guess what the, were the curiosities that were present at that time?

Ryan (16:12):

Yeah. What was present at that time, at the height of it was 2014 or, well, a version of it, it's still running now, but I spent 10% of my time on this company. What were some of the curiosity? Filipino. I'm Filipino. And you're Filipino as well.

Mary (16:33):

I am Filipino, yes. Oh,

Ryan (16:35):

There you go. Yeah. I was like, where are the Filipinos in the Ted Talk circuit? I was like, I don't see folks that look like me who are immigrant or who are brown or Filipinos, because I don't see that on their stages. I'm just going to create these stages myself. And so with a partnership with MailChimp, we actually launched a speaker series that reached nine cities across four countries around the world that featured mostly Filipino and immigrant folks.

Mary (17:08):

That is awesome.

Ryan (17:10):

So that was my curiosity. What would it look like to have a Filipino inspired Ted talk? That's like one, then I was like, oh, doctors without Borders, they tackle a lot of access to affordable healthcare and pneumonia vaccination. And I asked myself, I was like, oh, if Filipinos are the bedrock or the infrastructure that hold up global public health where our voices in there.

(17:45):

And

(17:46):

So we solved that using storytelling and data and innovation and design, and we were able to launch a global campaign that helped reduce the price of pneumonia vaccination and confidently say that Filipinos played a big role in that. So that was another one. At some point, I had a massive fascination with creating algorithm ready storytelling for impact. I mean, it ranges. I could go on and on. But the story here is that when you feel like you are playing, you'll get paid.

Mary (18:27):

Right. I totally agree. And for me, when you describe all these different projects, the word borders has multiple meanings to me now. One meaning is the fact that there are no clear lines about what you can do in the world and the projects that you wanted to do. So you have the freedom to decide what you want to be curious about and what you want to explore. And then the other meaning of borders to me is actual territorial borders, because those territorial borders seem to have been crossed by people throughout time, throughout history. And Filipinos, specifically in your story, seem to cross many different borders, whether that's where they live or their profession and so on.

Ryan (19:21):

100%. So that's how we have to certainly take a look at it, is that if we date back to 70,000 years of human history and where our ancestors come from East Africa, we literally learned dating back to 50,000 years ago, how to circumvent the himalayans in Mount Everest to get to the Philippines. That is where our lineage and our power comes from. You have that long-term view that is what is in our genetic, in the epigenetics. It will say that yes, we have trauma, but yes, we have strength. And that's what it looks like.

Mary (20:04):

Yes. And it definitely seems like strength continues to win. We're still here. There's obviously, I think more than us, more of us now than before, I'm assuming. And now I live in a time where we get to play not just in the physical world, but in the digital space as well.

Ryan (20:27):

Right, right. We're involved and we're claiming who we are. Yes, for sure.

Mary (20:35):

So going back to your work as a human migration futurist, can you explain to us what that is and what it means in the context of your work?

Ryan (20:47):

Yeah, for sure. So what does a human migration T is? What does that exactly mean? So there's two things. What will define the future of humanity? Right now? All the conversations about artificial intelligence, 100%. It will redefine how we work, live, play or contribute in this world moving forward. The other thing that is unstoppable similar to the force of AI is human migration. Why? Because it's been the case for 70,000 years. Again, we learned how to bypass Mount Everest. Do you think a wall will stop us? And so you kind of think about that aspect, and as we move, we also define the communities or redefine and influence and shape and evolve the communities that we move into. So as an immigrant, I lived in, I got my haircuts from Dominican barbers or Puerto Rican barbers, and to me, the Music of America is fto meringue and reggaton, right? So it literally movement has shaped my senses and it will continue to do so given that human migration is not going to stop, it's only going to accelerate. We have to figure out how do we harness human migration as an asset, not as a liability to humanity.

(22:37):

Right now, all the storytelling and all the generalization of that is anti-immigrant is actually hurting the national security and prosperity of the United States. That is a fact. There are lower births, especially after the 2008 financial crisis. Lower births mean lower less people. Less people means less workers, and lower birth means less students. And that's why universities and liberal arts colleges across the country are shutting down. There are not enough students. What will prop them up are actually immigrants. And so we have to take a look at that. You have to take a look at the human migration trends even internally within the United States. So you're looking at, for example, rural America, Montana,

(23:43):

Where

(23:44):

Young people are leaving to the coast to coastal cities

(23:50):

Because

(23:50):

Of lack of opportunity in that town. So for those who are left behind who are teaching them, what are they doing to solve for that teacher shortage? They are actually outsourcing and recruiting from the Philippines.

Mary (24:05):

Oh, wow.

Ryan (24:07):

Yeah.

Mary (24:07):

That's interesting.

Ryan (24:09):

Yeah. This is the future of cross border work. The United States is at a disadvantage because the competition for global talent is increasing. Japan is literally giving away real estate.

Mary (24:31):

I know

Ryan (24:34):

Recruit folks because of their aging population of their country. And then Spain is literally developing dual citizenship programs that will attract people from countries that they've colonized. So this is just going to rapidly increase the need for people, and this means that competition will increase. And so what I mean by a futurist is that is a fact. Elon Musk is talking about becoming a multi-planetary species. And Elon, why do you sound xenophobic and anti-immigrants when you are literally talking an immigrant? Yeah, immigrant to Mars.

Mary (25:32):

Well, he is also an immigrant. He is from South Africa. He that's what I heard about Elon. But where do you think all this anti-immigration rhetoric is coming from right now? Because obviously the United States has had immigration for so long. Why is there this anti-immigration rhetoric that is, you're saying very strong and apparent currently in our society today, and I, why is it that many people think that there's too many immigrants when it sounds like there's still a need for more people to fill certain jobs that we can't fill on our own?

Ryan (26:26):

Yeah, for sure. I mean, what human migration trends will tell you is that when civilization and societies become too comfortable, birth rate actually goes down and that is the case. But then it fluctuates, right? When birth rate goes down, that means less people uplifting society or upholding society. And so now you need more people. So now America needs to attract more talent, but America is not ready to recruit, retain, and honor that talent that is actually coming in. So where's this rhetoric coming from? The rhetoric is coming from one because of poor planning or poor infrastructure, why there's so much actually anti-Asian hate or Asian hate out there, or conflict against immigrants is tension and tension and fighting for limited resources. So in the case of the US or the border communities, there's not enough affordable housing. So when you say, oh, immigrants are taking away jobs, what they're really saying is they're taking away my comfort and they're also taking away my sense of security

Mary (28:01):

Because now

Ryan (28:02):

I don't have a home or a house that I could afford.

Mary (28:07):

So they're competing for that. That's just one thing that they're competing

Ryan (28:11):

One thing, services, education, but that's not the issue of the people itself. It's a government issue.

Mary (28:22):

Oh, for sure. Yes. Infrastructure. Yeah,

Ryan (28:26):

Infrastructure. So reallocate from, anyways, we could talk about the whole reallocating budgets, but this is about political will and building the right infrastructure so that people can live in harmony so that we are not fighting for resources or our Maslow hierarchy of needs, housing, shelter, food, et cetera. So that's one thing. The second thing is culture shock. We have to redefine culture shock. I'm an immigrant. Are you an immigrant here, Mary, or your

Mary (29:01):

Parents? Yeah, I actually was born in the Philippines. I came here when I was four. My dad was already living here. So yeah, my formative years were here. So I treat more America as my home more than the Philippines, just because this is where most of my support and the people that I spend the most time with are.

Ryan (29:25):

Got it. And where did your family originally move to? Into United States, and what is your internal migration story?

Mary (29:37):

Oh, good question. So after the Philippines, my mom and I moved in with my dad and his family to New Jersey.

Ryan (29:47):

Oh, New Jersey.

Mary (29:48):

I know, I know. So when you said New Jersey, I'm like, oh, I have to fit this in somewhere. Yeah. So we lived there from, I think from the time I was four to 10 or 11. And then we moved back to the Philippines for a brief year. I went to school there for about a year, hated it. It was a tough transition for me because I didn't know how to read or write the language, and you must be familiar with this, or maybe not, but in the Philippines, there's no middle school, so their elementary school is a lot quicker of a process. So there was a big learning curve for me. And then just the cultural aspect of it too. My peers and I were just kind of not seeing eye to eye. Same thing with the teachers. So I begged my parents like, please, let's come back. So then at that point, we went back to New Jersey again, but then a year after we moved to la, so I lived in LA from middle school until I graduated from college, and then I moved to San Francisco, and then I was there for about two years, and then I came back to la. So that's my story.

Ryan (31:14):

You're everywhere. So it is proven. We are people that who move.

Mary (31:21):

We move a lot,

Ryan (31:23):

Move either to survive, live and thrive. And so

Mary (31:28):

When

Ryan (31:28):

You moved to these different places, did you feel culture shock?

Mary (31:32):

Yeah, for sure. I think the most culture shock I felt ironically was the Philippines because I felt like I wasn't welcomed by people outside of my family, especially the adults. I felt a lot of jealousy from the adults, specifically my teachers, which I am sure influenced why I didn't really have a good time when I went to school there.

Ryan (32:06):

Why do you think there were jealous?

Mary (32:09):

It was very clear. The teacher basically told me that just because I was from America doesn't mean I can do whatever I want.

Ryan (32:22):

There was all that perception that they brought into the mix or that

Mary (32:28):

Yes, and saying that to a, I think I was a fourth grader at the time. I was very confused at that point.

Ryan (32:36):

Wow.

Mary (32:37):

Yeah. So till this day, and I'm glad I do because it reminds me how important it is to not project my own beliefs on other people and to know that you're talking to a human. This is a human, this is a child especially. So yeah, I'm grateful for that lesson.

Ryan (33:08):

Going back to this notion of culture shock, because yeah, when I went back to the Philippines, I could tell that one, there was this perception of me of being more privileged or thinking about my status in terms of class, financial privilege because of my dual citizenship or whatever it is. And we think about culture shock as only inwards of how are we feeling? Culture

(33:41):

Shock.

(33:42):

But in reality, culture shock is a shared experience.

Mary (33:48):

Have you thought of it that way?

Ryan (33:49):

So we have to reimagine culture shock. And so the challenge is, and I don't want to generalize this, but partly I think it's true, is I think that folks feel that they have a sense of ownership of culture shock as a word, and as an idea and as an experience,

Mary (34:18):

Having been a manager, director and head of marketing for several national brands, I've seen firsthand the unique needs of businesses from the inside. I also had the opportunity to work with a lot of agencies, and one thing stood out so clearly to me, a lot of them are more concerned with providing a service rather than creating value. That's why when I founded Tasty Directives, I made sure that creating value for our clients is our top priority. We understand your goals, dive deep into your market, tailor integrated strategies and execute them flawlessly to deliver real measurable results. So if you're ready to see real growth, let's connect. Visit ww tasty directives.com/contact to schedule a free marketing consultation. Let's scale your business with taste, not hassle. Now, back to the show.

Ryan (35:08):

But if you think about the white folks who are scared about their Maslow hierarchy of needs, because leadership, government leadership is not really taking care of them, there's this sense of culture shock of like, oh my gosh, not only are you taking away my job, but you're also different and I'm scared of you. I don't know how to make sense of you,

Mary (35:33):

Just

Ryan (35:34):

How I don't know how to make sense of a group that I've never had an experience with.

Mary (35:40):

Yeah. What that reminds me of is a lot of white people, specifically white men, feeling like they can't express an opinion. And I'm not trying to say that people of color, women of color do not experience any struggle or challenges. We most certainly do, but that shouldn't take away someone else's experience or struggles because we all have them. And I think it's actually really helpful and valuable to give everyone space. You don't have to listen to them, but it's important to give everyone the freedom and the space to be able to express these things because otherwise it can manifest into other expressions that might not be helpful for everybody.

Ryan (36:37):

Right?

Mary (36:38):

Yeah,

Ryan (36:40):

I mean that's such a beautiful point because us, they feel culture shock too.

Mary (36:46):

Yes.

Ryan (36:48):

And so I think this is a challenge of in the midst of our Maslow hierarchy of needs are being challenged. And it seems as if we're fighting for the small piece of Crumb, it's about empathy, right? If you think about the white male in America who lives in Appalachia, they are experiencing a decrease in their longevity, and it's just like, whoa, I get it. And so that's

Mary (37:26):

Real for them. It's real, right?

Ryan (37:29):

Yeah. So the big challenge as a human migration and futurist is how do we solve for culture shock and understand and build pathways for us to build a sense of belonging, considering where we come from and what we bring in terms of our identity nationalities or our countries of origin and make belonging a frictionless experience.

Mary (38:04):

Right? Oh my gosh, this totally reminds me of the shock that kids feel when they're about to have a new sibling or they just got a new sibling as an only child, let's just say you are an only child and you have a new sibling. That shock of finding out that your mom and your dad's attention just isn't yours anymore, could be hard for certain kids. It certainly was for me, even though I wanted a sibling, it was still a big shock. And now that I'm in that place in my life where I am pregnant and my child who's nine is going to go through that one day, I'm very aware of the kind of experience that I want her to have, which is I want her to feel like our love and our attention isn't like this finite resource. So I'm thinking of ways already for her to see her sibling, not as competition, but as an entry point to get more love and more time.

Ryan (39:20):

Wow.

Mary (39:20):

Yeah.

Ryan (39:24):

No, I mean I love it. I love that we're both parents. I mean, that's the humbling part, I guess, of being a parent. It's we are trying to model this.

Mary (39:35):

We are. And it's very easy to, and this is what I've gone through growing up, it's very easy for parents to say, and it's because of the midst of all the chaos that's happening. When you're bringing a new life into this world, it's very easy to kind of say like, oh, they're younger, they need me more. But at the same time, that kind of also subconsciously discounts their need for you because there's still a child when that's happening. So it's tough. I'm sure I'm not going to be perfect at it, but Dr. Ali, who's this parenting expert and this psychologist for children and for parents, really helped me realize that and how I want to do things a little differently and make sure that I don't create this dynamic with my two children where my oldest feels like she's trying to compete with the other.

Ryan (40:40):

Yeah.

Mary (40:41):

Wow.

Ryan (40:43):

Anytime we go, I go into conversations of parenting, it's like I just get so humbled with so much, I don't know. And then at the same time, it's like when I think I know that's the one I quickly understand, I

Mary (40:56):

Really, it's so true. And it relates to your work. That's even why it clicked for me, because this concept of limited resources, that's why there's that culture shock. Like, oh, what does this mean for me? Instead of what does this mean for me? They're very different.

Ryan (41:19):

And it goes, I think pulling on that thread is when you create a family of belonging and make that frictionless and say that it's adding another kid or human being as part of this tribe doesn't take away, but adds. That is the story of the movement of people we have, but it is our responsibility to position them to thrive, to belong, so that they are adding as part of their truest potential.

Mary (41:57):

And that's where the infrastructure, I think element comes into play. What are we doing governmentally policies, whatever? What are we doing as a society to create that infrastructure of belonging of not fighting for resources?

Ryan (42:17):

Because at the crux of this, and my understanding with a three-year-old is that we are all children. We are all kids. We are all just learning.

Mary (42:31):

We are.

Ryan (42:33):

And it is about the stories that we tell ourselves that helps us reinforce how to feel a sense of belonging or how to think about others.

Mary (42:42):

Yes.

(42:43):

Which is why I think it's really important to learn from different groups of people, from different civilizations that have been around for longer than others. They've most likely have learned certain things about day-to-day life or governing that you might want to use or leave whatever it is that you do with it. But I think as, because when you think about it, the US government isn't that old as a country. We're not that old. So we're kind of teenagers in a sense, when you look at it that way compared to these other civilizations that are around. And you can break that down even further as a group. You were talking about life started in Africa. There's a lot of knowledge there from that lineage. Anyway, I might be going off topic. That's very interesting to me.

Ryan (43:56):

No, it's exactly it. And I think this may be a good way to introduce what lights me up.

Mary (44:05):

Yes, please.

Ryan (44:07):

My fullness. And so about breaking tradition. To me, what that means at this stage of my life is to be my full authentic self where I follow my curiosity, where I feel like my work, it feels like I'm dancing and playing. And when I find that highest alignment, the money comes or all these things

(44:36):

Comes through. I mean, we can talk about that and break that down. But the project that we're working on now is about actually capturing the wisdom and knowledge of 70,000 years of human migration data, of human migration. And so what we are doing is we have embarked on using AI and ML to collect and organize and make accessible human, this infinite library of human migration data that is remittances to flight patterns, to genealogy data, genomic data that dates back to thousands of years ago to thinking about climate change and how native Hawaiians are moving to Las Vegas because climate change is making affordable housing less affordable and pushing to Vegas. And so we are amassing all of this and imagine because of AI and ml, what are the prescriptive and predictive intelligence that we could use? And when I say intelligence, it's just really kind of knowledge that will make us a better human or better.

Mary (45:57):

Well question for you. What is ML number one, machine learning, and then number two, what are some of the use cases of this knowledge that you envision? How do you want it to be used

Ryan (46:17):

For Sure. So one use case is using human migration data to prevent the outflow of Hawaiians to Vegas post Maui wildfires. So for example, because of the Maui wildfires, insurance rates went up by 400%, which made housing less affordable,

(46:44):

Which

(46:45):

Means as a native Hawaiian, they're moving out in droves. So the whole goal is how might we use their data of why, what motivated them or what pushed them to move and really cut those and create surgical interventions to keep them there. So we're going to create, use this intelligence for policy planning to map out communities where they're going to set up affordable housing infrastructure for native Hawaiians that are climate change resistant. And so that's one particular case. The other use case is, for example, as at the border folks are governments are busing undocumented folks out of the country. I mean into, sorry, there are busing undocumented individuals into metropolitan areas like New York City and all these places. The reason that is actually happening is not because of anti immigrant rhetoric. That's just a story. The reality of it is that hospital systems are losing 20% of their revenue because they don't have enough infrastructure to accommodate this undocumented population. So if you take a look at the different migration patterns where they undocumented folks are moving towards, what would it look like to invest more in the hospital system so that there's more healthcare for everyone?

Mary (48:38):

So question about that. And I'm not very well versed in what happens at the border and what they're doing with the undocumented people who are trying to enter the United States. So the process, it sounds like if there was room, they would bring them to hospitals instead of metropolitan areas. But since there aren't room, then they're busing them to different neighborhoods and urban cities instead.

Ryan (49:15):

So it's just like, oh, you know what? We're not going to burden this cost. We're not going to take over this cost. You take this cost.

Mary (49:22):

Okay, so the state then takes the cost.

Ryan (49:27):

Yeah, the other state where they bust them to.

Mary (49:29):

Yes. Okay. And you're proposing that perhaps instead of doing that, the federal government invests money in the healthcare system that can serve everyone who comes in, whether or not they come in as undocumented or as documented immigrants?

Ryan (49:51):

That's one part of it. The second part of it is how can we use predictive human migration intelligence to actually understand who is crossing the border, who are the asylum seekers, et cetera.

(50:05):

So

(50:06):

One thing that's really critical, speak to your taxi driver and ask them if they are an immigrant, ask them what did they do in their country of origin? I bet you many of them will be like, I was a professor, I was a doctor, I was a nurse. There is a shortage of educators and healthcare professionals, especially in the United States. So why is it that we are not tracking their education and their skillset? And at the border we are saying a swath and just saying this generalized policy, you are not welcome when we desperately need you. So the human migration intelligence that we're creating will allow us to surgically provide insights that will allow them to say, okay, this is why we need to improve our policies so that we are more inclusive and more thoughtful about our asylum seeking or our refugee policy or immigration policies.

Mary (51:15):

Yeah. Wow. I definitely understand that way of thinking, and I can also anticipate the level of resistance that a lot of Americans will have with that.

Ryan (51:31):

Yeah. The interesting thing is we're looking at many use cases outside of United States. We're actually looking at Canada, Abu Dhabi, and Japan. So for example, in Japan, because of their aging workforce and population and not enough students or high skilled workers, they are looking for talent. And in the United States, we have many under unemployed, fresh graduates,

Mary (52:08):

So

Ryan (52:08):

Many who are deeply talented. And so because we as a country have not really paid enough policy to make sure that graduates are actually employed well, if we don't want immigrant students or these fresh graduates, Japan wants them, Spain wants them, Tonio wants them. So the US is not the only place where dreams can happen.

Mary (52:42):

Oh, for sure. Especially now the world is much smaller and so many Americans, specifically younger folks, are open to moving, living elsewhere. So I'm excited to see your work really come to life even more. I think it's very fascinating and interesting. So looking ahead, what are your hopes for the future of global migration?

Ryan (53:17):

What are my hopes? My hope is that we win this global PR battle around what it means to be a human being, which is actually really, we are humans that who move 70,000 years of history has proven that that is part of our DNA. And so it's about winning that global PR battle because if we continue this conversation that is so emotionally charged and driven, we forget the possibilities and the evolution and the innovation that took place because of human migration in the first place. And maybe we shouldn't be so shortsighted and look back 70,000 years to remind ourselves the power of that.

Mary (54:21):

That's a lot. This is, like I said, very fascinating conversation. Human migration wasn't even a topic that was in the ether for me. So thank you for bringing that to me. To our audience, if anyone is interested in learning more about you, learning more about your work, maybe even working with you, how do they get ahold of you?

Ryan (54:49):

Yeah, find me socials. Actually, that's not true. I'm rarely on a social media. Just contact me at Ryan at next day. better.com. And yeah, I think we're going to be working with really powerful thinkers, AI specialists, social scientists, storytellers, to see the possibilities of what would you do with 70,000 years worth of human migration data. We have more questions than answers, and we need folks that are just going to be bold in helping us answer them.

Mary (55:29):

Love it. Well, I'm now curious about how this is all going to look like marketing wise, storytelling wise, all the things,

Ryan (55:40):

Just ad tech applications to what we're doing. I didn't even go into that.

Mary (55:45):

Yeah, we got to get into that next time in marketing, and I'm very curious to see what this work will do and can do to influence that world and vice versa. So rooting for you. Thank you for being here. Thank you all everyone for joining us, and we'll see you next time.

Ryan (56:08):

Thanks everyone. Thanks Mary.

Mary (56:09):

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