Fresh Dialogues

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues In Part III of my Bloom Energy interview with CEO KR Sridhar, we discuss the affordability of the Bloom Box and what barriers to entry make the fuel cell sector difficult to penetrate. As CNET’s Brooke Crothers emphasized in his recent article there are many fuel cell manufacturers with...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Like most ambitious entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley Bloom Energy CEO KR Sridhar wants to change the world. Now where have we heard that line before? It’s the ubiquitous rally cry for thousands of Google/ Facebook/eBay wannabes around the world.  But what makes KR Sridhar different? How about...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Bloom Energy CEO KR Sridhar is a man with a mission to change the world. His fuel cell company is already powering Google, so that should make any skeptic take note. A former NASA advisor who developed technologies to sustain life on Mars, this earnest scientist is...

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By Alison van Diggelen, Host of Fresh Dialogues Rolf Papsdorf, President of the Alternative Energy Development Corporation was a recipient of the 2009 Tech Awards in Silicon Valley, for bringing renewable energy (zinc fuel cells) and empowerment to a small community in South Africa. Check out this exclusive interview with Mr....

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues The Obama administration ought to have sent an envoy to the FountainBlue State of Clean Green Conference on January 29, 2010. A panel of Silicon Valley clean tech experts had much to share in response to Moderator Greentech Media’s Eric Wesoff’s question…if you had...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Laurie Yoler, a managing director of Growth Point Technology Partners, was a founding board member of Tesla Motors and currently serves on its advisory board. I met with her at the FountainBlue Clean Green Annual Conference on Friday January 29th, the day Tesla...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Robert Ballard, the ocean explorer of Titanic fame sat down with me in Silicon Valley to discuss his expeditions, global warming, and alternative energy. This respected scientist spoke candidly about global warming -”I’ll be honest, it’s too late, all the ice is going...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Check out this audio-only version which captures Emmett Carson’s off-camera exuberance and humor. Last week, I sat down with Emmett Carson, President and CEO of the  Silicon Valley Community Foundation. In a wide ranging conversation on green jobs, the Obama White House, education and...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Elise Zoli, a partner with Goodwin Procter, is a specialist in energy  and clean tech law; and teaches at MIT. I caught up with her at a Fountain Blue Green Transport Event where we discussed two hot areas in clean tech: energy...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Rolf Papsdorf is bringing green power to the people of Africa. Thanks to the Silicon Valley based Tech Awards 2009, the rest of the world is hearing about it. His company Alternative Energy Development Corporation manufactures zinc-air fuel cells to generate off the...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host Fresh Dialogues This month Bloom Energy CEO, KR Sridhar was picked as one of Time Magazine’s   Tech Pioneers Who Will Change Your Life The Time article references a recent Fresh Dialogues feature, Power to the People Read the transcript and listen to this exclusive Fresh Dialogues interview - KR...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Silicon Valley’s Kevin Surace has just achieved Rock Star status – of the Green Biz variety. The CEO of Serious Materials was picked as Entrepreneur of the Year by Inc. Magazine and joined Time Magazine’s list of Tech Pioneers Who Will Change Your Life, along with...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues The catchy title “Cows to Kilowatts” certainly won the attention of the crowds at the 2009 Tech Awards Gala in Silicon Valley, but the project won accolades for more than mere words. Dr. Joseph Adelegan, an Ashoka Fellow is a charismatic engineer who has found an...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues As delegates gather in Copenhagen this week to thrash out a global treaty on climate change, the shrill from skeptics intensifies. It’s useful to listen to wisdom from Nobel Prize winning economist, Paul Krugman. In a recent interview, I asked Paul the question...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues On November 17, I attended the CleanTech Open Awards Gala at the Masonic Center in San Francisco and enjoyed keynotes from Lesa Mitchell from the Kaufman Foundation, Bill Weihl, Google’s Energy Czar and Nancy Pfund, of DBL Investors. Minutes after his company was picked...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues (Note: I had the opportunity to talk briefly to Vice President Al Gore off mic, before his speech and look forward to interviewing him for Fresh Dialogues in the new year. These audio and video links feature highlights from his rousing speech.) Here’s the...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Here’s the transcript.  SEE VIDEO of Part One (Part Two coming soon) In advance of Obama’s trip to China this week, Nobel Prize winner, Paul Krugman gave a short, sharp economics lesson on climate change and China during our exclusive interview in Silicon Valley, November...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues On Thursday November 12, I had an exclusive interview with Nobel Prize winning economist, Paul Krugman. Just hours after President Obama announced the Job Summit, I sought out Krugman’s wisdom and he gave some radical advice to the President. Emphasising that “the Job Summit can’t...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues I sat down with Pulitzer prize winning Tom Friedman to discuss his book and the upcoming Climate Summit in Copenhagen. In this part of the interview, we discuss what we can learn from Denmark - dubbed the greenest country in the world; the role of Silicon Valley...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Bloom Energy has been in stealth mode since 2003 and little has been released about the fuel cell company’s technology and timeline. KR Sridhar, CEO of Bloom Energy agreed to sit down with me to discuss the company’s technology and team. We explore the...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues This week, we feature an interview with Apple evangelist and venture capitalist at Garage Technology Ventures, Guy Kawasaki. He shares his candid thoughts on the venture capital industry; the fragile economy and why he sees light at the end of the tunnel. On the stock market and VC...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues I caught up with Pulitzer Prize winner, Tom Friedman, at the Foothill College Celebrity Forum lecture series last month, where he delivered a spirited argument for why the United States must embrace a green economy. In this second part of our interview, we explore his part in driving...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues I caught up with David Chen, an executive director at Morgan Stanley, while attending the AlwaysOn Going Green Conference 2009 in Sausalito. Chen, a specialist in the green tech investment sector, discussed the morale of investors; and why he’s expecting a bumpy ride ahead. He...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Bloom Energy CEO KR Sridhar is a man with a mission to change the world. A former NASA advisor who developed technologies to sustain life on Mars, this earnest scientist is now harnessing his visionary skills and a large team of engineers to solve the energy crisis. His ambitious...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Vinod Khosla, the green investment guru, was asked to name the company with the greatest chance of becoming the next Green Microsoft  while onstage at the GoingGreen Conference in Sausalito.  He declined to name his “favorite child” but did praise Calera, the green cement maker he’s...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues I caught up with Tony Perkins, founder of AlwaysOn and Red Herring Magazine, just before he opened the third annual GoingGreen Conference in Sausalito, California. He agreed to talk for five minutes but well, we got talking…about what’s hot in the green sector, the...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Last week, I sat down with Pulitzer Prize winner, Tom Friedman, just before he delivered a lecture to an expectant Foothill College Celebrity Forum audience at the Flint Center in Silicon Valley.  We discussed his bestselling book, Hot, Flat, and Crowded and why he thinks it’s imperative that the...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Earlier this year, I met with Linda Holroyd, CEO of FountainBlue, a Silicon Valley based forum that brings together top experts and entrepreneurs in green tech. We discussed why her company is thriving because of the down economy; and why she has faith in...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues In this interview with Pulitzer Prize winning columnist, Maureen Dowd, we discuss her unique take on the Obamas; what Barack’s pop culture preferences reveal about him; and how Michelle is embracing the First Lady role in a refreshing way. Maureen explains her saucy...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Apple evangelist and venture capitalist, Guy Kawasaki discusses the aesthetics of hybrid cars, Tesla Motors, and nuclear power. He also delivers a very memorable lesson about keeping on the good side of the media in this Fresh Dialogues interview.  While discussing the relative...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Lena Wilson has been described as one of the most powerful women in Scotland. She’s CEO of both Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Development International, two publicly funded organizations focused on stimulating sustainable growth in Scotland. The country has an ambitious target to provide 50% of...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Earlier this year, I had the chance to turn the tables on celebrated Forum Host, Michael Krasny, and interview him for Fresh Dialogues. He was surprisingly candid about how how he fights feelings of inadequacy and is driven to prepare thoroughly for each interview....

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Here are the highlights of my discussion with Rob Lamkin, CEO of Cool Earth Solar, a concentrated photovoltaic startup based in Livermore. Why is solar the solution to global warming and energy security? “Solar energy is the only thing we have in near enough abundance...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues I caught up with Twitter officianado, Adam Jackson at SDForum’s Teens Plugged in Conference. He talks about how Twitter is going green and how his new book, 140 Characters, a style guide to Twitter, will be released as an iPhone App – a...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues I caught up with Elise Zoli at FountainBlue’s Forum on Clean Green Transportation this month. Elise is a Boston based partner with law firm, Goodwin Procter, but is a frequently in Silicon Valley to serve her local clients. She specializes in energy, climate change and...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Kevin Surace is serious about tackling global warming and argues that producing energy saving building materials can go a long way to cutting down CO2 emissions and reducing energy consumption in the United States. He’s CEO of Serious Materials, a Sunnyvale based maker...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues   Judy Estrin is an influential tech entrepreneur, CEO of JLabs, and author of Closing the Innovation Gap. I caught up with her at SD Forum’s 12th annual Visionary Awards in Atherton, where she was one of four recipients. We talked about whether clean energy solutions can...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Our Green Mayor was in fine form at SD Forum’s Visionary Awards on June 25th. He made a convincing pitch about why innovators  and visionaries should locate in San Jose. In this photo,  he’s pointing out his Economic Development team to the high profile crowd...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues I caught up with Vinod Khosla at SD Forum’s Visionary Awards. In this exclusive interview, Vinod, a pioneer in clean tech investment, describes how in 2000, he started “looking for something new, something difficult and something large to invest in.” He found his...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues I talked to acclaimed actor and activist, Martin Sheen about how he chooses which causes to support and why he thinks we all have a responsibility to do something about the environment.  His views are especially topical today in light of the historic Climate...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues I talked to Alltop cofounder, Guy Kawasaki at his Garage Technology Partners office in downtown Palo Alto and we discussed Amazon’s Kindle. Although he’s not yet a Kindle user, he can see the attraction to users, especially for reference books. What would persuade him to...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Paul O’Brien, renewable energy expert at Scottish Development International discusses details of the Saltire Prize, a Ten Million Pound Prize for the best marine energy technology. “It’s not so much about the money, it’s about the kudos of winning the prize; the recognition from the...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues I met with Rob Bernard, Microsoft’s Chief Environmental Strategist, at – appropriately enough – Green’s Restaurant in San Francisco to discuss the company’s green strategy and why it was late to embrace its green credentials. What motivated Microsoft to appoint a Green Czar? Why isn’t...

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by Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Laurie Yoler was an early enthusiast and angel investor for  Tesla Motors, the pioneering electric car maker. She talked to me about her rationale for backing green technology and Tesla. Laurie doesn’t believe we should be green at any cost. Instead she focuses on the great opportunity to...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues   Matthew Smith of Greenbox, a maker of web-based energy management systems for homes, sat down with me at the company’s San Bruno based headquarters to discuss how his team plans to change our energy consumption habits, save us money and save the planet. By providing...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Pulitzer Prize winning New York Times columnist, Maureen Dowd, talked to me about her green inspiration – fellow columnist and green energy advocate, Tom Friedman. We had an animated discussion about his book (Hot, Flat and Crowded), his solar house and why she calls...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues In this interview, Mayor Chuck Reed, the Green Mayor, describes how the City of San Jose is helping clean tech startups and established companies grow and thrive in Silicon Valley.  Why should a clean tech startup relocate to Silicon Valley? What are the key elements of the...

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By Alison van Diggelen   In the fourth in our series, Fresh Green Minute, we feature Charlie Rose - the acclaimed interviewer and host of the nightly PBS program, Charlie Rose. We discussed Tom Friedman’s book, Hot Flat and Crowded and why Charlie thinks that the United States can reassert its leadership in the world...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Andres Wydler is a clean tech executive based in San Francisco, formerly with BPL Global, a smart grid company. He cofounded the Constellation Investment Group of angel investors. In January, he delivered a sold out lecture series on clean tech entrepreneurship at Stanford University and will...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues In the third in our series of Fresh Green Minute, Apple evangelist and Alltop cofounder, Guy Kawasaki gives some insights into how to become a Green Revolutionary. He’s author of the book, Rules for Revolutionaries and I asked him how these rules apply to...

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By Alison van Diggelen Catherine Cook was a big draw at SDForum’s Tech Titans of Tomorrow: Teens Plugged In Conference last Wednesday at the Hewlett Packard Auditorium in Palo Alto. She is cofounder of MyYearbook a social media network for teens which has raised almost $17 million in funding. She talked to...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Adam Jackson is social media expert and coauthor of the upcoming style guide for Twitter fans - “140 Characters, A Style Guide For The Short Form” which was recently reviewed in the New York Times I met him at the energetic SDForum Teens Plugged In Conference at...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Martin Sheen sat down with me backstage at the Flint Center in Cupertino to talk about what motivates him to be green and actively involved in environmental causes. He supports projects like the Sea Water Foundation, which is using seawater to create  rich agriculture...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues New on Fresh Dialogues: Fresh Green Minute- one minute bytes of green inspiration First up: Legendary business leader of General Electric, Jack Welch   Interview Transcript Alison van Diggelen: “Why is going green so important for business?” Jack Welch: “From a business standpoint, you’ve got a consumer now who...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues On the eve of Earth Day, I sat down with Forum host, Michael Krasny, at the KQED studios in San Francisco to discuss his journey from scrappy youth to celebrated interviewer, professor, and author. We talked about his book “Off Mike: A Memoir of Talk Radio...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues I met with Guy Kawasaki at his Garage Technology Partners office in Palo Alto earlier this month to explore his role as a Macintosh evangelist and how he’s since become a successful entrepreneur and marketing guru.  What a fun personality: Guy laughs easily and rarely...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Celebrity Forum founder, Dick Henning is a hero of Silicon Valley. He’s brought every U.S. president* since Richard Nixon; world leaders like Mikhail Gorbachev and Margaret Thatcher; and cultural icons like Jane Goodall, Robert Ballard, Cary Grant and Lauren Bacall to Silicon Valley for...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Yesterday, I met with the enchanting Pulitzer Prize winning columnist Maureen Dowd. We had an animated conversation during a green-themed morning in downtown San Jose. Over cups of delicious mint tea, we discussed Maureen’s Irish heritage and how that inspires her fiery prose....

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues On Monday, I was invited to Greens Restaurant in San Francisco to meet Microsoft’s Chief Environmental Strategist, Rob Bernard. We then joined a small group of  researchers and media to discuss  Microsoft’s efforts to lower its carbon footprint and leverage information technology globally...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Last month, during a lecture trip to Scotland, I sat down for tea at Scottish Development International in Glasgow with Paul O’Brien,  senior executive of Renewable Energy Development. We discussed how Scotland is leveraging its expertise and natural resources in the renewable energy sector. Claiming up to 25% of...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues On Thursday, I had the pleasure of interviewing Charlie Rose, the acclaimed journalist and host of  Charlie Rose, the nightly PBS program. Charlie has interviewed everyone who is anyone, from Barack Obama to Bono; from Madeleine Albright to Meryl Streep. We had a lively...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues In Part Two of our interview with Mayor Chuck Reed, the Green Mayor discusses how the city is changing its rules and practices to move “at the speed of business” to attract clean tech companies like Tesla Motors to Silicon Valley. The interview includes: Why the...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Listen to Fresh Dialogues with Anna Jaeger, TechSoup I caught up with Anna Jaeger, Director of the GreenTech Program at TechSoup Global, during  The Green Enterprise UnConference at The Computer History Museum in Mountain View, December 3, 2008. San Francisco-based TechSoup partners with many...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Listen to Fresh Dialogues with Heidi Roizen, part two In this second part of Heidi Roizen’s interview, she talks about her Silicon Valley career and her new venture; she has some good advice for entrepreneurs. Working at Apple in the 90’s, the work/family balance How she...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues (12 minutes) Download Fresh Dialogues with Ann Winblad I talked to celebrated tech leader and VC  Ann Winblad at Hummer Winblad on December 5th. New jobless figures had just been released, and were reminiscent of the mid 1970’s. Yet, despite that gloom, the views over the Embarcadero to San...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Former Sun Microsytems Executive, Mary Vincent chaired a panel of green venture capital and entrepreneur experts at the 2008 Women in Technology International (WITI) Conference in Silicon Valley. She talked to me afterwards about the key moment that inspired her to give up...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Firoozeh Dumas, bestselling author of “Funny in Farsi” is not only hilarious on the page, she’s a hoot in person.  Yet she wants to do more than tickle our funny bones; this Thurber Prize for American Humor nominee wants to focus on the...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues I had the pleasure of interviewing Martin Sheen who was visiting Silicon Valley as a guest of Dick Henning’s Foothill College Celebrity Forum Series.  In this first part of our Fresh Dialogues interview, Martin talks about the roots of his social activism, his faith,...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues Celebrated Silicon Valley entrepreneur and venture capitalist Heidi Roizen invited me to her home to talk about her career and her new venture: Skinny Songs. A former executive at Mobius Venture Capital, Heidi has recently been featured on the Martha Stewart Show, Oprah & Friends...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues I met with San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed at his swanky corner office on the 18th floor of the gleaming City Hall just three days after Barack Obama was elected President of the United States. We discuss what this historic election means for Chuck...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues In part two of my interview with Laurie Yoler of Growth Point Technologies we explore the historic role Tesla Motors has played in changing the way consumers and car manufacturers view alternative energy vehicles. Tesla founder, Elon Musk says he wants to make...

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By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues I met with Growth Point Technology Partners Managing Director, Laurie Yoler just 12 days after the historic bailout of the US financial system was signed into law. She’s a seasoned investor in emerging technology, a specialist in clean tech and serves on the board...

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by Alison van Diggelen, Host of Fresh Dialogues I interviewed LinkedIn director, April Kelly, at the Women In Technology International (WITI) conference in Silicon Valley.  She’s a former PayPal executive who describes herself as an effervescent leader and energetic coach. I asked her: - why is it worth joining a (biz) social networking site like LinkedIn? -...

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by Alison van Diggelen, Host of Fresh Dialogues Fresh Dialogues talks to Alison Jeske of Beauty.com about the use of online video in marketing products to women. What is the optimum length of video and what gets women engaged and excited about their products? Click here for the audio   Download Alison Jeske’s Fresh...

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