This past spring, a volunteer from the Digital Democracy Project reached out to me about its founder and this week’s guest, Ramon Perez. I’d never heard of the project and as a podcast about the many dimensions of citizenship, this was a very necessary conversation exploring innovative ways to enhance citizen participation and reform democracy using technology like AI, blockchain, and mobile voting. As an AI technology executive and US military veteran, Ramon founded the Digital Democracy Project as an accountability system and mobile voting platform that connects voters directly with their legislative representatives to address systemic problems in the electoral system that result in hyper-partisanship and widespread voter alienation. To achieve better outcomes, he believes technology can be used as a catalyst for building a more modern, representative system of government giving greater control directly to voters. #Listenandlearn more as we discuss systemic challenges in US politics and how technology can create a more transparent, accountable, and inclusive democratic process.

Where to find Ramon and the Digital Democracy Project?
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On Facebook
On Bluesky
On YouTube

What’s Ramon Listening to?
The Lord of the Rings Series Audiobooks
Empire Podcast

Other topics of interest:
On the Enduring Legacy of 9/11
About OneVirginia21
What is Gerrymandering?
About ranked-choice voting
What is Hyperledger Fabric?
Homomorphic encryption explained

Chapters
00:06 Intro and Guest Bio
01:54 Ramon Perez's Background and Motivation
03:14 Defining Democracy in the 21st Century
03:22 Limitations of Current Electoral Systems
05:30 Civic Responsibility and Voter Engagement
07:16 Educating Voters with Technology
09:50 AI's Role in Legislative Summaries
13:57 Systemic Problems in US Elections
16:16 Verifiability, Accountability, and Transparency
17:54 Ramon Perez's Career Path and Transition to AI
20:06 Public Perception of AI and Ethical Use
21:14 Tools and Innovations in Digital Voting
26:07 Global Examples of Democratic Success
35:34 Glocal Speak: Transparency as a Key Value
37:19 Organizing and Operating a Nonprofit Project
42:51 Historical Progress of Voting Rights
44:34 Future Goals and Expansion of the Project
46:44 Ramon Perez's Leisure and Personal Interests
47:42 Reflections on the Evolution of AI and Democracy

Special Guest: Ramon Perez.

A native New Yorker by way of Panama, Jamaica, and Virginia, Tai’s life story is filled with a history of progressive stands. From his mother’s family being among those that contributed to the suit that integrated schools across the United States—Brown vs. The Board of Education of Topeka to his father’s influential network of academics and thought leaders, his craft was in the making for his entire upbringing—without him necessarily knowing it. #Listenandlearn more!

Where to find Tai?
https://taiallen.com/
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On Facebook
On YouTube
On Soundcloud

Other topics of interest:
About Yonkers, New York
Perspective on Jamaican Migration to Panama
About Colón and Panama City in Panama
About Saint Ann and Saint Elizabeth Jamaica
The Maroons of Jamaica
How Scots became a presence in Jamaica…
Flyght Tyme, the band
About Tai’s connection to Roots Author, Alex Palmer Haley and Palmer Family Ancestry
The Five Cases that lead to Brown v. Board
About recently shuttered community hotspot, The Brooklyn Moon Cafe and Michael Thompson
What was Real Player?
The Last Poets
Amiri Baraka
Yosef Ben-Jochannan “Dr. Ben”
About Leonard Jeffries
Who is Chi Ossé?
Revisit Anna Malaika Tubbs on Glocal Citizens
CBC - Congressional Black Caucus
What’s happening in policy in Utah?
A timeline of policing, law enforcement and resistance in the US

Special Guest: Tai Allen.

A native New Yorker by way of Panama, Jamaica, and Virginia, Tai’s life story is filled with a history of progressive stands. From his mother’s family being among those that contributed to the suit that integrated schools across the United States—Brown vs. The Board of Education of Topeka to his father’s influential network of academics and thought leaders, his craft was in the making for his entire upbringing—without him necessarily knowing it. #Listenandlearn more!

Where to find Tai?
https://taiallen.com/
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On Facebook
On YouTube
On Soundcloud

Other topics of interest:
About Yonkers, New York
Perspective on Jamaican Migration to Panama
About Colón and Panama City in Panama
About Saint Ann and Saint Elizabeth Jamaica
The Maroons of Jamaica
How Scots became a presence in Jamaica…
Flyght Tyme, the band
About Tai’s connection to Roots Author, Alex Palmer Haley and Palmer Family Ancestry
The Five Cases that lead to Brown v. Board
About recently shuttered community hotspot, The Brooklyn Moon Cafe and Michael Thompson
What was Real Player?
The Last Poets
Amiri Baraka
Yosef Ben-Jochannan “Dr. Ben”
About Leonard Jeffries
Who is Chi Ossé?
Revisit Anna Malaika Tubbs on Glocal Citizens
CBC - Congressional Black Caucus
What’s happening in policy in Utah?
A timeline of policing, law enforcement and resistance in the US

Special Guest: Tai Allen.

It’s a season of transformation from the vibrancy of summer sun to the rest, retreat and make ready energy of winter. Here on the podcast we’re taking this time to explore new collaborations in conjunction with events happening in the coming months. First up is a collaboration with the Women of Africa Post-Pandemic Empowerment and Advocacy Programme which is an intitaitve of Glocal Citizen Adebisi Bright’s LiveWell Initiative based in Lagos Nigeria. This series of conversations with the practitioners partcipating in the progamme is a sneak preview of the upcoming dialogues.
My guest this week, Egyptian pharmacist and entrpreneur, Dr. Wael Ali is a distinguished leader in pharmacy and public health with nearly 25 years of experience spanning clinical research, healthcare management, and international collaboration. As the President of the PharmaHelp Foundation Inc. and the Egyptian Organization of Pharmacy, he drives pharmacy practice transformation and workforce development. His roles as Vice President of FIP’s EMROpharm Forum and Executive Committee Consultant at the University of Sharjah highlight his commitment to advancing pharmaceutical education and practice. He also has extensive pharmaceutical manufacturing experience as a CEO of American Pharmaceutical Industries based in Farifax, Virginia. His expertise spans community, hospital, military and emergency pharmacy practices as well as social and administrative pharmacy functions across Egypt, the Gulf Cooperation Council or GCC, and the USA.

If you ever wondered about what goes on behind the counter in your local pharmacy, this conversation will help shine a light on the many roles and responsibilities your neighborhood pharmacist often takes on. As an added bonus, Wael give us a crash course on the ins and outs of manufacturing and exporting made in the USA products.

Where to find Wael?
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On Facebook
On YouTube

Other topics of interest:
Historic Cairo, Egypt
Gulf Cooperation Council
On [Liposome Manufacturing](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169409X20300788#:~:text=Liposomes are manufactured either by,manipulated for size (Section 2.1.)
About Medwatch
CIF vs FOP Shipping
International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP)
WHO facts on Hepatitis

Special Guests: Adebisi Bright and Wael Ali.