S.O.S. (Stories of Service) - Ordinary people who do extraordinary work
From the little league coach to the former addict helping those still struggling, hear from people from all walks of life how they show up as a vessel for service and drive for transformational change. Hosted by Theresa Carpenter, a 29-year active duty U.S. naval officer who found service was the path to unlocking trauma and unleashing your inner potential.
S.O.S. (Stories of Service) - Ordinary people who do extraordinary work
Turning Trauma into Purpose | Lisa Regina S.O.S. #233
A single afternoon changed everything. Lisa Regina—actor, filmmaker, and founder of A Right to Heal—was assaulted by her fiancé, then thrust into a tabloid cyclone that made recovery even harder. What followed wasn’t a rebrand; it was a rebuilding. With a legal pad and a pen, she wrote her way out of shock, turned fragments into a monologue, and found a voice that could lift others who felt alone.
We dive into Lisa’s creative roots, the grind of early set life, and the quiet lessons she learned watching James Gandolfini transform before a take. Then we sit with the hard part: the violence, the ER, the media’s appetite for “the shot,” and the slow, stubborn work of healing. From that crucible came a mission—to use storytelling and film as a path back to agency—and an unexpected bridge to veterans. When Retired Army Captain Leslie Nicole Smith stepped onto Lisa’s set, the room felt like a platoon: clear roles, mutual trust, mission focus. That shared DNA led to a bigger idea.
Enter drones. As a Part 107 pilot, Lisa saw how flight taps veterans’ strengths—systems, calm, precision—and created the Veterans Drone Training Program to deliver real credentials, not platitudes. We talk candidly about funding wins and gaps, why aerial skills open doors in film, real estate, inspection, agriculture, and search and rescue, and how disabled veterans can pilot from a chair and still build a business. You’ll hear stories of lives nudged back on course: an Air Force amputee trading Uber shifts for commercial flights, a Marine captain capturing stunning yacht footage to grow his brand.
All of this momentum feeds Heroic Episodes, Lisa’s scripted series executive produced by Joe Mantegna. Framed around a multigenerational military family’s neighborhood bar, the show adapts true veteran stories with heart and honesty, weaving in resource links and spotlighting veteran‑owned businesses. We discuss why independence matters—crowdfunding five dollars at a time to ensure veterans are hired on set and the storytelling stays authentic.
Listen for the practical takeaways on PTS language and support, for the blueprint that connects art to employment, and for the reminder that community is built one skill, one story, one person at a time.
Visit my website: https://thehello.llc/THERESACARPENTER
Read my writings on my blog: https://www.theresatapestries.com/
Listen to other episodes on my podcast: https://storiesofservice.buzzsprout.com
Watch episodes of my podcast:
https://www.youtube.com/c/TheresaCarpenter76
Sometimes when we go through the most uh difficult issues in life, it helps to understand how we can tell those stories and ways that we can share those with the larger collective so that people know that they are not alone. And that becomes our biggest strength. So sometimes our biggest pain becomes our biggest strength. And here to really talk about how we can use writing and storytelling and film and use that to heal ourselves. I have Lisa Regina. Lisa, how are you doing today? I'm great. Thanks for having me. Well, thank you so much for coming to the Stories of Service Podcast, ordinary people who do extraordinary work. I believe this is episode 233. Welcome to the show. As I always get these shows started, uh introduction from my father, Charlie Pickard.
SPEAKER_00:From the moment we're born and lock eyes with our parents, we are inspiring others. By showing up as a vessel of service, do we not only help others, we help ourselves. Welcome to SOS Stories of Service, hosted by Teresa Carpenter. Here from ordinary people from all walks of life who have transformed their communities by performing extraordinary work.
SPEAKER_01:Anne Lisa is a filmmaker, actress, and founder of A Right to Heal, which I love the play on words, by the way, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering trauma survivors, especially veterans and at-risk youth through storytelling, filmmaking, and career training. Today she'll share her journey as a survivor who turned personal pain into purpose, using the arts as a path to healing. And through her organization, she helps others find their voice and new opportunities in film production and drone technology. We'll also discuss her latest collaboration, Heroic Episodes, a powerful television series created alongside actor Joe Montana, criminal of criminal minds, who brings together real veteran stories to life while connecting audiences to virtual mental health and community resources. Hello again, Lisa.
SPEAKER_02:Hi, thank you so much. Um, that that segment with your dad is really beautiful. I love that.
SPEAKER_01:Thank you. It it sets the tone for the show, and I that's why I do it because every time I hear it, I get happy because I always loved hanging out with my dad. And I really wanted to bring his voice to the podcast. He was a voiceover artist, a DJ uh in the 1960s and 1970s. So he was the voice of like the supermarket that I grew up uh going to, voice for introducing people to my high school, the voiceover where you could put in the numbers to sign up for your classes back in the day at Ohio State when you used to have to sign up for courses. So it was just a really neat way for me to continue that legacy, and so it's it's very personally meaningful to me. So I appreciate that. Nice. So before we get started, as I always do, I always want to know where people were born and raised and what inspired them from where they were born and raised to get into what they're doing now.
SPEAKER_02:Okay. I was born in Philadelphia, so I guess in my heart, I'm a Philly girl. And like most Italian Americans from South Philadelphia, we moved over the bridge to South Jersey, to the suburbs of Philly. And it was very different because, of course, in the burbs, there was a lot of land when we first moved there. So, you know, you feel like a fish out of water coming from the city, uh, city life. But um, I guess what you know, I wouldn't say where I lived really inspired me. I think my mom was uh very nurturing when it came to my art. You know, I would draw and write stories and sometimes draw illustrations to go with the characters and my stories and just always had, you know, a story going on. And um I would uh the kids in the neighborhood, you know, she would tease me and say, Oh, here comes the Pied Piper, because I'd have all the kids following me down the street to the backyard, and we would put on skits, and of course I directed them and told them, you know, what role to play, you know. I love it, yeah. So I guess, you know, at a young age, I just kind of had that desire to create, you know, um, take concept to um create, you know, the I the idea can't go from idea to writing it to performing it or drawing it. So that was just always part of who I was as a kid.
SPEAKER_01:I love it. And I and I think sometimes people have a creative energy inside of them and they don't have somebody there to nurture it, and then it just doesn't go anywhere. And I'm always really grateful when I hear people who had parents or who knew that their child had that gift inside of them to really express themselves and and being able to do that. And we do have uh Bill Brown, he's on the show tonight, and he does say our biggest pain uh becomes our biggest strength. And I I would agree with that. I love that. It's so true. In those moments where we are the most challenged, um, I find we become the the most strong. And so that's it's a very true true statement. So as you're growing up, you're you're doing these kinds of little skits, you're doing things as a kid to sort of show that you had this within you to do it. Was it something when you were about 17 or 18 that you said, I'm gonna, I'm gonna go to Hollywood or I'm gonna go to New York or any no, no, not at all.
SPEAKER_02:That's funny because, like a lot of actors, you know, that you learn that they've done theater in high school. I had a hard time during high school. I was really quiet. Um, I I had a s, you know, maybe a couple friends. Um, I hung out with the guys. I was a tomboy, I didn't like the clicky girl stuff at all, you know. Um, I learned how to ride motorcycles and shoot guns and do all the boy stuff, you know, like in in the country, you know, and um I enjoyed that. I did I didn't want to go to the mall with the girls and chat about everybody, you know, it just turned me off. Um yeah. Can you hear me? I just lost your uh audio there. Your mic was muted. I'm assuming your mic is muted. But hopefully we can hopefully can still be heard. I'll just chat on here, but um my there you go. My dad uh my mom was very supportive, but my dad was um old school Italian, I guess you would say, and you know, um can you hear me? And probably didn't really take acting uh as a serious job. I'm not sure if anyone could hear us. There you go. No, your your mic is muted. There you go. Yes, I can.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, you you can hear me, but I can't hear you at all. So that's odd. What I am going to do, oh, but Darren, you can hear me too. Okay, what I'm gonna do, guys, is I'm gonna put Lisa on full screen just for one moment, and I'm going to join you guys via my phone. I've done this before, and uh it works. And so Lisa, just give me one second and I'm gonna join you guys back uh through my phone. Hold on just a minute. Got it.
SPEAKER_02:Technology. Don't you love it? Yeah, it can drive me crazy. Well, if anyone's listening, are you enjoying the beautiful weather? We love the fall. There's my episodes on my blackboard. I write the title of each episode that I'm writing just so I can see it. I might be talking to myself right now, but that's okay.
SPEAKER_01:All right, can you hear me?
SPEAKER_02:Yes, I can.
SPEAKER_01:Awesome. All right, so we improvise here on the Stories of Service podcast. Sorry about that. So tell me a little bit. I'm gonna go back to right where we were. So when you were in high school, you really didn't do a lot of theater or a lot of any of those uh things, just not at all. But then what happened after high school? Like when did this start to become a thing for you?
SPEAKER_02:I think um probably early 20s, like in high school, there was just I just didn't feel like I fit in there, I didn't like it, I was quiet. Um, like I said, I wasn't I wasn't into the clicky thing. I was a tomboy. Um yeah, and you know, my mom was sick growing up. She would have, you know, these things that most people would probably not survive. So her medical history was astounding, like what she had been through. Two open hard surgeries, brain surgery. She had a stroke that they, you know, after the brain surgery, they didn't think she'd survive. And then ultimately, after that survival and really fighting hard to come back, um, cancer took her. So, you know, I just think that a lot of you know what was going on at home obviously affected me, affected all of us, my brother and sister, you know. Um, so I was late going to New York City to pursue acting. It was late. I was about 29 when I was at New York University studying film and screenwriting, uh, film production, acting, and then I was teaching, so I would say, yeah, 1991. And then I went to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts to teach. My professor sent me over there to interview with the director. She said, You're a teacher, you should be teaching. So I yeah, she she saw that in me. I guess because I was an older student and I had that nurturing, you know, kind of the younger students. So I went over there, I taught. It was, it was um very re-rewarding. It was fun. Um, they were younger, younger actors. Some of them stayed with me and uh, you know, that I coached privately, and they went on to have careers in TV and film. Um, but then I started coaching actors one-on-one um while I was pursuing my acting, my auditions. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:So what was your first as you started to audition? What was kind of that first big thing where you were like, whoa, like I'm gonna be able to make this into a career?
SPEAKER_02:Probably Sopranos, because it was such a hot series, you know, in the beginning. And you know, all the actors wanted to to be on the show, and it was uh so well written. I mean, it, you know, you could tell that it was based on probably a lot of true stories, and um it was it was just something that uh I remember my manager calling me because we we had this love-hate relationship, my manager because like most actors, I would call her and say, What's going on? No auditions, you know, what are we doing here, you know? Um, and then finally one day she called me and she's like, Guess what? You know, I got you an audition on Sopranos, and it was um yeah, Georgia Walken was the uh casting director at the time, and you know, although it was just a couple lines, it was a big deal.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_02:I had been Lorraine Broccco's stand-in for a long time, um, on the pilot and you know, the first season. And as a stand-in, sometimes actors get pigeonholed in in that role because you're a stand-in is basically basically there while they're lighting and setting it for the star or the actor. Sure, sure. So they they don't look at you as an actor, you know. Um, so I was really, really trying to break out of the stand-in work. Not that I love Lorraine, she was great, you know. Jimmy Gandalfini was awesome. Being on set with the two of them uh every day for you know long days was really amazing, but I wanted to act. So when when I, you know, booked that little under five role on Sopranos, it was a big deal, right?
SPEAKER_01:No, that's absolutely incredible. And I'm sure being on that set and learning from some of those real seasoned actors who are just at the top of their game, I think there's probably something that's so valuable about that. Even us in the military, when we serve alongside somebody who's just a real savant at their craft, it's like it's electrifying, you know, there's nothing else like it.
SPEAKER_02:It is, and and being able to observe them work, and you know, Jimmy Gandalfini, as most people refer to him as a big teddy bear, sweet man, he truly, truly was. And I love talking to him. We would talk about family, and you know, he would ask me random questions like, Did you ever go camping as a kid? You know, we we just had great conversations, and he's he's dearly missed, I'm sure, you know, by many, not just myself. But um, I think watching him transition from that sweet man to Tony Soprano, right before he'd walk on set, you know. I could just I could just see that, you know.
SPEAKER_01:That's incredible. Yeah, so it was also during this time too, right? The where the your your your the the thing that has happened that made you a survivor, right? Was around this time as well, correct?
SPEAKER_02:Yes, yes. I never planned on being the poster child for domestic violence, that's for sure. You know, I was pursuing my acting, and like most actors, you start out doing background stand-in, little, you know, you do whatever you have to do to kind of climb the you know the ladder. The uh you do the crappiest acting job sometimes, you know, you don't get paid anything and you're on set long hours and you're mistreated, you know. Sure, your background, you're like furniture, but you know, you pay your dues and you hang in there and you you train hard and you learn the craft and you you know you learn as much as you can. I believe, you know, for me to learn about filmmaking as well was really valuable. Um, and during that time, I got cast in a play, and Tony Lobianco, another another amazing man, God rest his soul. Um, he cast me in a play. It was a play reading with uh a large cast, about 12 actors, and one of the actors was on Sopranos. Um, I had never seen him because I was always at Silver Cup Studios, where Lorraine Dr. Melfi's office was was in that studio. So I was always there with her and Jimmy. I never really got to see many of the other guys, the actors. Um, so he was in that play, and we went to lunch one day, and all the actors were talking, and I had a really bad head cold. And I remember he kept like interrupting me because I was talking to two other actors, and uh you know, he kept saying, How come you're not eating? Why don't you have some soup? Why don't you you know? And I just turned to him and I remember looking at him and going, What are you, my mother? Come on, you know, and you know, he laughed and everybody laughed. And then later on, he came over and he goes, No, seriously, how come you didn't eat lunch? You don't, you know, don't you eat lunch? And I said, I have a great appetite, you know, but I have a bad cold, I don't feel like eating whatever. And then that's when he, I guess he took that opportunity to say, you know, are you an acting coach? Are you any good? And I was like, Yes, and I'm very expensive.
SPEAKER_01:I love it, I absolutely love it.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, so I think he did too, and that's what started, you know, me coaching him, and then that developed into a friendship, and then ultimately relationship, right?
SPEAKER_01:Right. And how long was it after this that you ended up being uh in this incident with him? Like how long were were you guys together before this happened?
SPEAKER_02:Um, I'm gonna say a few years because I was coaching him, we were friends, we were going to film screenings together and events. He would invite me out, and then you know, that led to us getting engaged. And um, so I knew him for a few years, and then uh the day that we were going, April 2nd, 2005, we were going to my family's um to celebrate our engagement. We were having a dinner in South Jersey at a restaurant, and that's the day that we didn't make it out of the city. He he always had um, you know, these mood swings that were very high and low. And he would get really difficult sometimes on film sets. And um, I was always that person, and and I always say that I think I got used to playing the role of a diffuser, you know. I would go and I would say things like, Come on, what's the matter? You know, uh, and he he might say something like, I don't know, the food, the food stinks, you know, the food sucks. And I'm like, Well, they want to accommodate you, you're the celebrity onset here, and just if you want a sandwich or something different, you just have them order it. You don't have to get mad over it and you know, have a fit over it, you know. Um, so that's just one example of his behavior where it would become challenging and difficult. And he would he had a bad mouth, you know. He was he could be really, really uh dangerous with his words and really hurtful. Um, but again, I usually could defuse him. I would, you know, get him to kind of lighten up and come around. And I guess in a way, I got used to playing that role, you know. I maybe in some way that made me feel important. I don't know. You know, I I look back and then really try to be truthful with myself and you know, why you know why did I find the need to defuse him? Like, why didn't I just yeah, I think I've you know, you know what it is, honestly, Teresa. We had uh long conversations about upbringing, and there were a lot of commonalities, and you know, the things that I missed because my mom died when she was 51, she was young, you know, Italian American families, you know, when you get together and you have macaroni on Sundays, you know, gravy, not sauce. Yeah, that that's that's a feeling that you know you you really you miss. And you know, when mom is gone, you know, that's there's a big void. And I miss those dinners and that family and that that feeling, and um, you know, Italian food and all of it. So I think in a way, like I when I met him and became you know intimate and met his family, and it was kind of filling that void that I was missing, that big Italian family, and the loudness and the baldness of it, you know, and everything about it is passion, you know. Um so it was really like a wonderful thing, but at the same time, there it was um dysfunctional, you know, there was and um although he he the day of my assault, April 2nd, 2005, it was the first time that he hit me. There were there were flags. And you know, when I talk to women and who are struggling in domestic violence, we talk, you know, about these flags, these red flags, you know. Like one time he did grab my coat like this in an airport because I left something on the plane and I was gonna run back real quick to get it before they start cleaning the plane. And I remember him like tugging on me and going, What are you doing? You can't, you know, you can't go, you know, like that.
SPEAKER_03:I'm like, get off my, you know, don't don't, you know.
SPEAKER_02:Um, but you know, never uh assaulted me until that day. And he started in the car, he started one of his, you know, temper things, and I tried to defuse him, tried to talk to him, and uh even said I would call my family if he wasn't feeling well, you know, they would understand, you know, they would rearrange the dinner for another time, you know, if things happen, you know, he didn't want to hear it, he was just um out of control, and that's when he grabbed my hair and started ragdolling me into the um the console of the SUV, and he was driving with one hand and just slamming me with the other. Oh god, yeah, and this is 1:30 in the afternoon in New York City, so you know, traffic, horns and taxi cabs, and so I tried to open my door because I figured, well, I'll just jump out. I'd rather jump out than take my chances in this car with him. Um, but he grabbed my arm. I thought he was gonna break it. Um, the detective in the emergency room, I always share this because it really just stunned me when he said it. And he said, you know, if you don't press charges, I will, because this assault happened on my street in New York City. He said, and I could take his fingerprints, I could dust his fingerprints from your bruises. And I remember just like staring at that detective because my arm was so uh badly bruised. Like you could see every every fingerprint where he had my arm, like in this death grip. And I just remember getting nauseous, like I was gonna pass out, and um, I remember thinking he's gonna break my arm, he's gonna break my bone. Um, and then he ultimately threw me from the vehicle on Houston Street, and I um, you know, I hit my temple on the way out, I hit my tailbone, my coccyx was so severely bruised that um when I was released from the hospital, I couldn't even sit. I would just I was in a state of shock, and I would just pace back and forth in my apartment and vomit, vomiting from the uh concussion. And um it was just you know, I'm just terrifying so grateful to be alive, you know. Like when I when I talk about it and go back and see it, it's it's just really of course it's still upsetting, you know. I mean, I'm able to talk about it without getting hysterical, but it makes sense why to this day I still have some anxieties, and um that's why I'm so passionate about what I do because when I was barricaded in my apartment after being released from the hospital, because of who he was, the media wanted to, of course, grab the money shot, my black eye, and you know, they just wanted those photos so they could tell sell their story. And, you know, I always think about that. I'm like, wow, you know, they could care less about me or about domestic violence or about it, it was just he's on a hit show, we're gonna sensationalize this, and they would leave really, really horrific messages. So here I am in a state of shock. The hospital, when they released me, they sent me out the back door in a cab with a bag of drugs, um, highly addictive psychotic drugs, right? Uh, I was still um my pupils were the size of saucers. I was still vomiting, and they just wanted me out of that hospital because the paparazzi and you know, the circus that was on their doorstep. So they just got rid of me after um they had, you know, put me through, of course, x-rays and everything. And I don't even know like how long I was there because I have these blocks of time in the timeline that I can't really remember everything. And I was alone, I was alone in my apartment in New York City with a bag of drugs in a state of shock, vomiting, and pacing back and forth. And I always say, you know, PTSD, you know, it's I I was diagnosed, of course, with PTSD, in addition to my physical injuries, and also ultimately agoraphobic because I had a fear of going outside. Um so a dangerous combination to be alone, to still be in a state of shock, to be um still vomiting from a concussion, and then have a bag of drugs that are going to numb out everything.
SPEAKER_01:And your situation is so unique in the fact that you were a public figure going through this. So many women deal with this, and they can at least go retreat with family or friends, but instead, you not only had to deal with the fact that this just happened, you had to deal with the fact that this person was a public figure, likely had their side of the story, which you had to contend with, whatever it was being said about you at that same time. Yeah, that's just horrifying.
SPEAKER_02:It really is, and you know, Teresa, I don't have children, but my niece and my nephew, like they're I consider them like my own. I mean, they're my family, closest family. And you know, my brother and and my sister was alive at the time. I lost my sister um in 2022 in March. She had battled leukemia many years, but um, yes, he continued to beat me up further in the press. And when you have um clout and you have a name, and um I was not a public figure, he was, and you you have a PR person on your payroll, um, and you get the best Hollywood lawyer. And here's me, you know, like it's like me coming to a baseball game with a whiffle bat, and everybody else has metal, you know, heavy professional bats, you know. Um, so it was very, you know, overwhelming because there was no way I could really heal because everything in the press was just dragging me and my name through the mud. And and that's my family name, you know, my my my brother, my family. Just because my parents are deceased doesn't mean I don't have pride in my family and my family name. Um yeah, he was spinning lies and it was really horrific. Um, you know, and people that um that you know people that knew me well um and that were true friends, they were there. All the other um what did my mom call them? She used to call them fair weather friends.
SPEAKER_01:Fair weather friends, yes, yes. They're there for the good times, but not not when things go bad or when they get rough.
SPEAKER_02:Hell no, hell no. And they were the ones with the script on their their arm asking me to pass it on to him, and they, you know, they just wanted to get to him through me, and they were navigating their own careers and trying to make their own moves, you know. So they were very superficial uh friends and the really true friends, like you know, Barry Morgenstein, um, you know, his wife now Shelly and Michael Mazio, wonderful actor, you know, that they were like family and they are like family to me. And they stood by me, you know. Um, and of course, my sister and my brother. And if it wasn't for my sister calling my friends to come up there to rescue me, I would be dead. I know it. I know it. I if if he would have assaulted me inside the apartment when he first picked me up, I'd be dead because there would be no one there to stop him on the street. The only reason why he stopped was because someone recognized him and they shouted out his character name from the show. And I I remember, you know, I was on the ground and I remember him just going like that, jumping in the truck and taking off. And yeah, maybe that made him realize oh, oh crap, you know, people are recognizing me. And I and there I am laying on Houston Street, and people are just walking over my body, and that that's the other thing that I have this you like really I love the culture of New York, I love the theater and the acting and the filmmaking, and the the energy is amazing, and there's so much art. freedom and it's you know it's an artist playground you know it's amazing um although today you know city's very different you know it's a little bit dangerous but um I was you know really heartbroken that people would just walk over me just step over me and not stop you know I I could I wasn't raised that way I could never do that and um yeah so that still hurts that part of it really hurts that still humanity you know where's the humanity and that's why it's so disturbing today when I see it I just I can't even understand not helping someone that's being beat up or beat down. Um but anyway this one woman stopped and she was from uh east la and um I learned you know a long time later because I I um uh did some research to find her but I found her um and she stopped and as I was coming to I could see a taxi cab I could see a man's feet and the door was open and he was screaming at her he was saying get in the effing cab get in the effing cab now and she said you know she was holding me and she said I I can't leave her and he said you don't know her you don't owe her anything oh my god and I and I remember that clear as day you know a lot of things I might have forgot about but that I remember and I remember seeing the door slam and the cab take off and I heard her say I'm not leaving you um the ambulance is on the way I'm not I'm not leaving you yeah and that that that still like gets to me because I learned you know that here's this woman she's probably dealing with the same thing and maybe that's what compelled her to stop you know and I did have a you know conversation with her and I did kind of ask her that but but I don't you know really want to understand exploit her uh no no I I just pray that she's safe and I pray that she's in a in a really healthy relationship what a wonderful person to do that and and thank god she she did I mean that's really the lesson in that and I I feel what you're saying I I just came back from San Francisco myself and and stayed downtown and had no idea how bad things had gotten in some of our cities and I and it's it's just it's just really sad.
SPEAKER_01:It's really really really sad.
SPEAKER_02:It is New York City Teresa I used to I used to take the subway after a film premiere or screen here or whatever and I would be dressed up in a dress heeled yeah all night and uh you know people on the train would just say hey where were you tonight? Oh you went to that festival my friend has a film in there blah blah blah and it was like a community it was cool it was yeah you know living in New York City as a single woman taking the train now get it no I wouldn't put on the subway I haven't been on the subway and I take Uber everywhere you know or you know Lyft or whatever. Yeah I mean it's it's definitely unfortunate and it's very unfortunate that there were so many people that just walked by I mean people are just afraid they're afraid to get involved they're afraid of what will happen to them and thank God that one woman did stop um after this happened you like you said he had his PR attorneys he had his version of how this went but did the law enforcement work with you to hold him accountable yeah they did but you know and there's even a newspaper I I found you know I have I have boxes and boxes here in my office of you know documents medical documents legal documents you know and over time I'm I'm married now I um three years September 10th congrats thank you yeah it's amazing that that's a story in itself but that that's a blessing that that is definitely that was arranged by you know God um I I I know I know it was because his his he lost his dad right you know before we got married and his dad's birthday my mom's birthday are February 27th same day and yeah I just feel like Josephine and Joseph had a little sit down with God and I love it I love it but yeah you know I go through um old old documents and old stuff and one of the newspaper articles did quote him you know would Judge Coin said did you intend to hurt her just get you know just answer the question you know and he said yes I did and I'm like man it's there in black and white you know his intentions were to hurt me obviously you know he wasn't he wasn't kissing me you know he was right and you had you had the marks you had the bruises you had the proof yeah fractured pelvis that um uh even afterwards the hospital in New York man If I always say to my husband you know don't ever bring me to a New York City hospital and I hate to say that because maybe there are some fine hospitals that I'm unaware of but my experience was so negative and so bad there that um yeah in the emergency room because I was hysterical the nurse here's a woman a professional healthcare right person she comes right up to my face and just screamed shut up to you know and yeah it did snap me out of it uh but it surely didn't help me in a state of shock being screamed at this close to my face you know um yeah it's awful she could have maybe given me something to take the edge off maybe a bow or something instead of doing that that was traumatic in itself but yeah he he got a slap on the wrist you know laws against you know violence against women you know an intimate partner you know you would think it doesn't matter whether it's a stranger on the street that you assault or an intimate partner you know they um slapped him on the wrist gave him a small fine and I did what was right I made him accountable by going after him civilly good good good good yeah wow how long did you go back into acting shortly thereafter or did you take like a couple years off or what what was sort of the trajectory for how you healed from this and moved forward that from that point yes that was a long process of healing and it still is um as I was after being released from the hospital being alone in my apartment barricaded in there I had a legal pad and a pen and I would just write things down and those thoughts those fragmented thoughts you know became a spoken word piece that I shaped into a monologue and um not that I had planned on it at the time I was just trying to purge the pain I was trying to just release you know the emotion of shame and alienated and why and why me why you know why did he do this and um one of the neighbors in the building where I live um said oh it's just an Italian thing Lisa and oh my god yeah and that's so that's so terrible that's such a that's such a shit excuse yeah for for for for being physical there's no reason for anyone to ever be physical with their children with their spouses with anyone there's no reason it's bad enough when people are mentally abusive let alone physically it it is just which it disgusts me just as bad you know which which it is it is just as bad.
SPEAKER_01:I'm a victim of mental abuse and it is just as bad it but it's terrible no matter how you how you abuse others but it just every as I'm listening to this I'm just getting I'm I'm getting mad for you it just irritates me that you didn't have any accountability and that people will just dismiss these things or they'll walk by and that's that's why we need to share these stories.
SPEAKER_02:I mean yeah I totally agree and there's so many stories that's horrible and it's just such a bully you know because I mean I'm a little bit beefier now but I I was probably like 115 pounds you know soaking wet you know and this you know my ex-fiance was probably 290 you know huge big guy big hands like like loaves of bread you know huge hands and I mean it's just such a cowardly cowardly you know um because he sure as hell wouldn't do that to someone that was you know a match for him right right but you know that's yeah when you when you hit a woman or hit a child it's really the lowest form of um behavior you know it really is and I can't even watch the news what's going on you know you see women walking down the street alone just walking from work getting punched in the face knocked out I mean I just it's it's it it's crazy I mean and and that is why like one of the things that I really push on my platforms is polite dissent.
SPEAKER_01:If we could just learn how to not abuse each other with words if we could learn how to keep our emotions in check when we have differing beliefs there there is nothing wrong with being friends and being kind and respecting people who don't agree with us. There's nothing wrong with that.
SPEAKER_02:No there is and it's hard it's hard at times because you get very fueled very emotional when you believe in something and I get that um and I and I've even you know I've even witnessed and experienced myself where you can say look I'm sorry I'm sorry you know like catch yourself check yourself like yeah check yourself we're all human yeah look I'm sorry I shouldn't have said that if I offended you I'm sorry you know like there's nothing wrong with saying you're sorry to someone and just being human and that but it but it's it's not it's out of control now and and the violence is just out of control and it's I um not to go down that rabbit hole but but I I can imagine being a woman in the United States of America not having rights or having to you know um just not having the freedom that we have and we've had for so many decades and that's why I'm so grateful for our veterans and when I met a retired army captain Leslie Nicole Smith who's a Gary Sinise ambassador she's amazing you know she took one of my acting workshops at Barry Morgenstein's photography studio where I would hold my workshops and Barry introduced me to her and he said you know I have a veteran who wants to take your acting workshop is it is it okay he said she's legally blind she's a left leg amputee she'll have her service dog and I'm like I don't care have her call me yeah I would love to have her and um so Captain Smith Leslie took my workshop and blew everyone away she was amazing she was so comfortable on camera she was just uh inspiring to the whole class and of course when she was walking up to the camera you could see everyone looking at each other like is she blind she has a service dog oh my gosh what's she gonna do you know you could just read it on their faces and then when she got on camera and she delivered that commercial she was just stunning really stunning and we became friends after that because we talked uh in depth about my assault about what happened to her with while she was in Bosnia in the army and um PTSD or you know PTS I know a lot of veterans have corrected me lately and say PTS and I like that I like being corrected because I'm so used to it's ingrained in a in my head and I think in probably a lot of people's head that it's PTSD you know but it's not it's PTS um I like that too doesn't have to be a disorder it's it's it's it's post trauma it's after a trauma you have this reoccurring stress that triggers you but it's not a disorder so I agree. Exactly yeah so just being mindful of that and remembering that you know um but Leslie and I talked and I had always felt so uh distant from the military world I mean my dad served in the army but never spoke about it. I have like one little crinkled up picture of him in uniform you know um so I didn't know much about it but when she started talking to me there were a lot of commonalities with the struggles and you know the um PTS you know just her symptoms what she had gone through what I had gone through and that's what really bonded our friendship and our trust I love her dearly and I still talk to her and she's she's a good friend.
SPEAKER_01:And I love that I love that because it that's what it takes sometimes to get you into a new environment or to get your work to go into a new direction. And that's what's so beautiful about meeting new people and surrounding yourself with somebody that you who's not in your world and that's why I'm loving talking to you right now Lisa it's so refreshing to talk to a non-veteran uh because you know most of my shows are with veterans but you're in the inner you're in a different industry and so I just find that fascinating to learn about people's other careers and other businesses and lives.
SPEAKER_02:And so was she the first veteran that you had worked with she she was yeah and that workshop and then um we did some uh um uh what I said to her after I really got to know her I said um I wrote a short film low budget of course you know filmmakers when you're when you're starting out and when you don't really have the clout the big names you know you do things on like five thousand dollar budget ten thousand dollar you know whatever you can sure and you become very ingenious to make it happen you know um so I said I'm doing this short film and um Till Newman is the cinematographer he's amazing award winning you know and I worked on some of Till's films as an actor so we all you know pay back the favors to each other and nurture each other's career you know so I um cast her in that film and she loved it. I cast her in the role of a um a VA counselor and once again she came all the way up from Virginia on the train with her service dog Isaac and then got a volunteer firefighter to bring her out to Queens New York to set where we were filming and and I always tell this story because it's funny I was doting over her like I was like oh do you need some water you know you're get get Leslie water get let you know and she she grabbed my hand she said Lisa I served in the army you don't have to pamper me nah so true I was like yeah okay and then after 14 and a half hours of filming she was she was great she was great in that role she was perfect Dr. Myers and um everyone loved her the actors um I had a room for her you know transportation dinner I wanted to honor her thank her and she was she was overjoyed she was shaking and she had like happy tears in her eyes and she said Lisa I'm going home tonight I'm so on fire I'm so excited I love it she said I haven't felt camaraderie since I served I I love being on your film set your your with your film crew I'm gonna go home tonight you know I'll I'll you know let you know I got in safe and I was like are you sure oh my god you're gonna get home like four in the morning uh yeah and that was my first experience with her being on my film and then I couldn't let go of that experience I kept thinking over and over in my head wow if Leslie felt that way I wonder if other veterans would feel this way so the next two short films I did low budget again you know um I had veterans on set as cast crew um some as consultants for the writing and they were amazing you know they were the best crew I ever had and it makes sense because the military mindset translates so well to the film set right discipline the you know the camaraderie teamwork uh the ability to see the mission through uh not panic when things go wrong and in filmmaking something always goes wrong something always goes wrong just something tonight went wrong you know it's so true it's so true and and I mean that's the thing like in the military you just make do with whatever you have you realize that the unexpected is going to always happen something's always gonna break you're you're just going to find a way to relentlessly fix something or work something until the mission is accomplished it doesn't matter what the mission is you're gonna do it I love that and then I had drones on set I'm a I'm a part 107 drone pilot I use filmmaking and I noticed the vets were really drawn to the drones they were talking about how they used them in the military and you know few of them were interested in flying drones and that's when I started to think okay getting on a film set in the role of cast crew consultants that's important but becoming a drone pilot you can use these hard skills and that commercial license in any field and as we know it's a multi-billion dollar growing industry right um so that's why I said okay I'm gonna start the veterans drone training program because that's something I could do immediately to provide veterans with this you know hard skills drone uh license so they can go off into you know real estate search and rescue agriculture any of those fields and it doesn't have to be just limited to filmmaking um so that's how that started and then in March of 2023 I my nonprofit a right to heal was awarded$150,000 for the Veterans Drone Training Program. And I partnered with the Atlanta County Economic Alliance Atlanta Cape Community College where the class was taught and we were able to put 12 veterans uh through the Veterans Drone Training program um and I think it was 10 out of the 12 graduated with their Part 107 and because we had the budget we were able to give each one of those veterans a really nice Mavic Pro uh drone package. It was a beautiful drone. So they had a great start to their careers.
SPEAKER_01:Congratulations that is amazing I actually put your website there so people can read more about it a right to heal and are you still now doing some more of this type of training or where are you at now with some of this stuff?
SPEAKER_02:Yes of course congressionally funded uh grants we were under the impression I'll say that there would be more to come as we were told by a particular politician. And that never happened so uh we continue to do fundraising any way we can of course we've had some wonderful sponsors like trainers liquors in Marlton New Jersey who was very generous and um we do fundraising in order to put veterans through drone training through an online course. So they're still getting that drone training it's actually the same course I took and that prepared me for my Part 107 exam. So it is a great training course it has quizzes where you can stop along the way and quiz yourself to see what where your strengths and your weaknesses are and you could test yourself see where you are this way you build your confidence to take that exam. So that's what we're doing now. Unfortunately we don't have the budget to give every veteran that graduates from the online drone training a drone but we're working on it and I promise I'm relentless and I will continue to work on it because to me that's you know the ultimate like cherry on top you know like you know for a veteran like okay you got your part 107 now here's a drone a commercial level drone you know so um it are drone operators in high demand in the entertainment industry right now yeah I think so I think with you know the beautiful cinematic drone shots that you see I mean I know I was gonna say they're everywhere every time you watch a TV show now every opener has a drone shot so I would think that that's a real in-demand skill in the film industry at this time. Yeah and I'm sure you know like like most film crews you know you build relationships I mean like any other business and you know like I mentioned Michael Mazzio and Til Newman you know Michael Mazzio and I as actors worked on Til Newman's films back in 1991 or 92 and remain friends and remain colleagues because we admire each other's work but we really like each other and when you're on a film set for 15 20 hours you better like the the people you're watching you really get to know somebody on those things I will tell you I was on a film set for last ship it was a show for USA network and I had no idea how much minutia detail goes into filming a particular scene and how many different ways and angles and times and takes it it takes to get like five minutes of film.
SPEAKER_01:Like it's insane.
SPEAKER_02:The the fifth season premiere episode of Sopranos I mean I have one line there right but the round table was filled with all the lead actors you know you had Jimmy Gandalfini Tony Rico who passed away um Robert Loggio I mean um Stevie Vanzai you had all the lead actors with their girls their gumadas as they call them you know on the show and um that scene took I think it was like like 15 hours something crazy because the the camera has to break down and reset every single time and when you're breaking down and resetting a camera you're resetting sound lighting everything you know so it takes forever.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah but I think are you hearing me with a bit of an echo right now I'm I'm getting a message that I have a little bit of an echo. Are you hearing an echo I don't hear that no okay okay I got it I got a got a message from from from a friend uh saying that we have a little bit of an echo so I do apologize for the tech tonight guys I I always have a phone as a backup here but this is the first time I think I've ever lost my sound uh on a on a show but we will definitely do some do some techie work on on our side to to to get this friend that that sent that message. Oh it was it was Bill Bill Brown. Thanks Bill he's like something's wrong with your audio you've got a little bit of an echo there and I there's oh he says it's fixed now. All right good yeah I um I'm doing all this from a phone right now so it's a little bit little bit different on my end but this is always my backup for my guests too because a lot of times when a guest comes in they'll come in on some of the bad Wi-Fi and I tell them I say if you absolutely have to have your in fact I you know what you're reminding me I'm gonna add to my show notes to always have a phone on standby because it it can be a great backup uh especially when people have slower Wi-Fi but this is fascinating everything that you're doing i i am i am so impressed how you have taken thank you you're inspired you're re-inspiring me well good well you deserve it i mean my god like you've you've taught acting you've you're now teaching these veterans uh have you had more other veterans come in through the program since since your first one we have yeah and it's exciting because like um like uh I have a Marine uh Paul Gage who is in uh Florida and he delivers yachts to rich people that buy yachts you know like he's a captain as well right so for him to get that drone license was really important because he's capturing this amazing stunning footage of like the um tropical waters you know as he's delivering these yachts to St.
SPEAKER_02:Thomas or you know somewhere exclusive like that and that footage really sells his company it really makes his company it's a great marketing tool um to to actually show you know the water the boat where he's going it's amazing so um yes I have had more veterans through the online drone training course and it's you know when I meet with them on Zoom first we meet we get to know each other and then I I ask them questions like why do you want your drone license and you know what are you doing and all this is very important. And I had a a nice 45 minute call with Gary Sinise uh about the Veterans Drone Training Program because of course you know we're hoping that we can nurture that relationship and we're hoping that we can get a sponsor like Gary um to recognize the value and how important it is especially for disabled veterans to get their Part 107 license because you can fly a drone from a wheelchair and still earn a living and um a really great example of this is um Frank Sean Johnson he's an Air Force veteran he was one of the first veterans that I put through the drone training um Frank is an amputee and he was struggling with his prosthetic some days it was painful and he was looking for a new career path I think at the time he was he was driving maybe Uber he was he had an another job that was very unfulfilling and we were talking and I said your air force aviation's in your blood dude you know I'm gonna get you your part 107 and and he was like yeah let's do it and and he is a part 107 commercial drone pilot and to see how it's changed for you know Frank's life and he's he's happy he feels that self-worth he can he can provide for his family and and he loves it he loves you know and he's good he's amazing um so stories like that you know with veterans that's what keeps me going because you know although we're a small nonprofit and we don't have the big fancy sponsors yet it doesn't stop us my entire team on a right to heal are all volunteers my husband my um you know uh Michael Mazio is an ambassador Captain Smith Leslie is an ambassador um everyone that volunteers their time they do it because they see the value in it um Brianna Felice she's a commander at uh the Pittman Post in New Jersey and uh Colonel Schleifer uh just they all recognize the value of the drone training for veterans and how it can really impact and change their lives and give them a quality of life that they deserve you know I love it I absolutely love it and also on your website on Right to Heal um I do encourage people I'm gonna see if I can go to it while we're all while I'm I'm actually controlling the show right now I'm on a cell phone here but I'm still got my big computer over here so I'm able to kind of see how I can present a couple things because I'd love to show people a little bit about what your web your website is just so neat.
SPEAKER_01:Here we go.
SPEAKER_02:Let me see if I can share thanks I built that oh no it's beautiful and as you can see um there's all these different little short films right here that we can you can watch like where it says film industry opportunities now were these veterans for another project that you were working on yes I over uh the past 12 and a half years I've been interviewing veterans of all branches of service all wars I I had the um honor of uh interviewing a World War II veteran so um the reason why I did that is because through my friendship with Captain Smith I really wanted to learn more about military life families spouses of of veterans and through these interviews I became so inspired that I started writing of course writings in my blood right I started writing a a series an episodic heroic episodes because I was finding that you know many of the veterans returned home and they continue to give back to their community and I'm like wow like and they don't do it for the recognition they do it because that's who they are you know and they they provide that service to their community even after they return home from war. And I was just blown away by that and the families and the spouses and just that that whole um military life so that's why I Started adapting the stories to a series. Um, and the way I've written the series is the military family that kicks off the pilot episode is a fiction fictional family. It's based on many families that I've met, and it's generations of military in the family, and they own a bar, and it's kind of like a VFW bar, and that's where you get introduced to all the true stories, all the real characters meet there at this bar um because they're one big family. Um, and that's the way I wrote it. And I'm I I I can't even tell you how inspired I am by I I've written a lot of stuff, but this really like I don't want to stop writing it because every day almost I get an email or I get someone that's saying, I want to tell you about my son, you know, he served in solitary and I lost my son and he was a hero, and they'll tell me a story. And you know, there's just a vast amount of stories, and not all the stories are doom and gloom, you know, war stories, but they're a lot of the stories are inspirational, and like I said, they're giving back to their community and they're still serving their community, still serving us and protecting us. And and I just feel like wow, an episodic is really the only platform that could hold all these stories, and that's why I started writing heroic episodes. And then I met Joe Montana, and what a what an amazing man he is, and what a patriot, and what a genuine down-the-earth guy, and uh met him through a friend, Ronnie Marmo, wonderful actor. Joe directs Ronnie's play, I'm not a comedian on Lenny Bruce, which is an amazing one-man show. Um, if it comes to your area, you have to see it. And Joe, of course, we know him as an award-winning actor, but um I watch him every year with Gary on the PBS Memorial Special. And I mean, he's just um a cool guy, a humanitarian, a good guy. And he recognized the value in the drone training. He was there when I was awarded the grant. He called in from LA um on Zoom, on the big screen to show support and just really um, and then when I told him about heroic episodes, uh, he attached himself to the series as our executive producer.
SPEAKER_01:I love it. Isn't it wonderful how you have an idea and then people just come forward and they do what they can where they can to try to help. I mean, that's just that is what that is what this ecosystem is all about. When you really break this down, this is what we want in our communities is we want an ecosystem where people are giving back, they're of service, and they're doing good work for the community. And you're just such a shining example of somebody who's doing that. And I love doing these kinds of shows. And you're just reminding me, like you just said, not every show is doom and gloom, not every show is a whistleblower. Uh, sometimes you just want to have these shows where you just spotlight people who are doing great things, and you are definitely one of them, Lisa. So thank you. Well, thank you so much.
SPEAKER_02:I I um it's it's definitely not all me, you know. My my husband's amazing because, like anyone else, like any other human, you know, I have those moments where I'm like, I can't do this. Right, you know, um, and he's just like, you're doing it, this is your purpose, this is God's plan for you. Stay on course, you know, and just you know, step away from it, you know, and come back to it tomorrow. You're gonna have a different attitude. And and he's so right, he's always right. And um it's it's not it, the the lift isn't over yet. And that's why I always say I need military muscle. And and that's you know, another reason why I'm I'm grateful that you're allowing me to share. Because if I was a veteran, I might look at someone like me and go, Well, she's a civilian, what does she know? Like, how can she write about us? So I think you know, this is uh an opportunity for me to share. No, I don't know about war, and I don't know what it's like to wear that uniform or to put my life on the line. I surely don't, but I'm very grateful and I'm very, you know, respectful of anyone that can do that, but I'm also extremely inspired, and I do know a little bit about the my battle that I fought, and I believe that Leslie and I meant were meant to meet for a reason because I think the you know, the more I got to know her, the more I I became friends with veterans, the more I felt like, wow, there isn't a gap here. We're human, we're coming together, and whether we both share, you know, trauma stories and healing stories, whatever, it's all hopeful. And to me, that's what it's about anyway: community, and like you said, coming together and creating those bonds and those relationships. And I and I truly have recognized how veterans are mentors in their community and their role models, and there are so many teens in underserved communities, and this is part of the premise of the series that I've worked with, that I've heard their stories and the abuse they're dealing with at home, or the violence in their neighborhoods. And a veteran is such a strong role model for these teens that are at-risk teens. And the the premise of the storyline is uh an injured veteran meets this urban teen who is at risk, he's getting pulled into gang life, and they wind up saving each other, and the whole community has a healing, and that's why I say yes, you know, it's not all doom and gloom, it's about hope and healing. But there are some episodes that are pretty heavy, pretty dramatic because we need those two, obviously. Yeah, and I think, you know, as a as a writer, I believe showing some of that darkness makes you appreciate the light so much more, you know.
SPEAKER_01:Absolutely, absolutely. I knew when I set out to do my show that I was going to do shows that were all kinds, I was going to cover people who have been uh in like in your case, domestic violence or sexual assault survivors. I knew I was going to cover people who've been the subject of a false allegation. I knew I was going to cover people who have just an inspiring story of service to tell. I never wanted to be like that show that was pigeonholed into only these things. It was really whatever spoke to my heart and what I felt at the time with my own personal growth and development that that was of interest to me and an interest to my audience, people that who give me feedback on the show. And so that's just what I've been doing uh for the past, you know, three and a half, four years. So it's it's been a it's been a joy to do it.
SPEAKER_02:You're amazing to do that because you're providing this platform so you know others can share. And and whether you are a survivor of domestic violence or a sexual assault or a survivor of war, um, I just think like you know, the common thread here is healing, and in we never know who you're going to meet and how they're going to touch your life. And and yeah, I just believe, like I said in the beginning, I never planned to be the poster child for domestic violence. You know, I was pursuing my acting and filmmaking, but um now I'm combining everything as an artist with that experience and helping others. And um yeah, it it's been a journey. And you know, in the beginning, I was offered this kind of cheesy reality show after my assault as they wanted to do. Yeah, and I and I remember the conversation with the producer, and I remember just saying, uh, can I talk freely? Like to my lawyer, my lawyer was there, you know, and I said, I said, Look, I said, why don't we do something that where I go into shelters where women are with their families because they fled from you know a violent household, an abuser, and and they're surviving. And let's let's tell these inspirational stories and let's you know raise awareness and let's you know, I was on fire. This was like, of course, a year after my assault when I found out a right to heal, and I wanted to shout it from the rooftops, you know. And um, that producer looked at me and said, Lisa, I used to be a purist too. Now I'm a reality show producer and I'm effing rich. And I went, Oh, it's so sad. And you shave that face every day.
SPEAKER_01:You know what? And and Lisa, he's right. I mean, uh Megan Kelly sadly uh shared something on her podcast not too long ago about how when she went to the Today show, she was so happy to get away from politics because you know, she'd been on Fox, and so she thought this was going to be her opportunity to do the inspirational shows, like you said, somebody who survived cancer, somebody who did this or that. Well, she learned real quick that nobody that those shows didn't didn't didn't um get ratings. He said, and that's no money in education. There's there's no money in inspiring people. I mean, I will tell you the truth. When I do a show that is controversial or that you know half my audience doesn't want me to do, those are my most popular shows. So if I was to cave into what I know would sell, quote unquote sell, I would just have whistleblowers on and people people that were pissing each other off every single night. And and I just I'm not gonna do that. I don't care if if two people tune into my show or 200 people tune in, I don't care. I want to do shows that that tell about the issues that are impacting our community, and sometimes those are controversial issues, sometimes they're not. Right.
SPEAKER_02:No, I get it, and uh that's exactly how I felt. It went against my core values, and and he was he was kind of you know, he was like, Oh, come on, I you have student loans from NYU, don't you want to pay them off? He was like dangling the carrot, and I'm like, Yeah, but not to sell my soul to yeah, not to be a sellout, nope. Come on, no, and he goes, You can have your own clothing line, your own, you're you're really, you know, spicy, you're attractive. I could put you on camera and blue. I was like, he wanted to put me in a house with my ex-fiance who beat me up with three cameras, four cameras, and see what happens. That's how he put it. That's disgusting. Put you both in a house together, see what happens. And I, you know, and I said to him, my lawyer was laughing too. I said, Can I say what I want to say here? Is this a free, you know? And he goes, Go ahead. And I said, Why don't I put you in the house with him and cameras and see what happened? Laughing, you know, seriously, you know, and we we kind of, I mean, I respect the fact that he gave me his time. Okay, he's hot shot, he owns you know, blocks in Manhattan, you know, and he and he's sadly right.
SPEAKER_01:I mean, that's the thing. He's he is sadly right that that's what sells. We know this. I mean, I will put something on LinkedIn and I know for sure that the LinkedIn algorithm is showing it to the people that will disagree ardently with whatever I'm saying. It is it is programmed, like I will see it in my comments that there will be these people who who who just differ with me completely politically, who are just now in my comment section harassing me. And I'm like, this is intentional. Like this is this is we are spreading our own divisiveness through our tech platforms, and I just I won't stand for it. So, but I oh my gosh, Lisa, I could talk to you forever. Uh, Bill's always right about this. He he did this the other day with a few months ago with uh Ricky. Uh I can't remember her last name off the top of my head, but it was another another another uh female guest uh suggestion, and and the same thing happened where I just completely hit it off with her the way I'm hitting it off with you. So it's been such a pleasure talking to you.
SPEAKER_02:Thank you. And if I could just share the um heroic oh, yeah, let me know if there's anything else I haven't covered. Heroikepisodes.org slash donate if you want to donate, but heroikepisodes.org. And the model that we're using right now for fundraising is crowdfundraising, and we're asking veterans, patriots, friends and family, um to donate just five dollars. And I know that seems um very small amount, and it and most people can afford just five dollars, but the way we look at it, myself, my heroic episodes team, and um everyone that's been volunteering their time that believes in heroic episodes, the way we look at it is there are hundreds of thousands of patriots of veterans, and if everyone donates just five dollars, that enables us to produce heroic episodes and to keep it independent. We can keep it independent, which means we could keep our promise to employ veterans, have them on set with us behind the camera, in front of the camera, tell their true stories, honor our fallen, and most importantly provide resources in every episode and spotlight veteran-owned businesses and organizations. So in Danny's pub, which is the central character of the series, you know, we I want to see a veteran's bourbon on that bar, I want to see a veteran's coffee on that bar. So it allows us to do that, and and that is giving back to all these wonderful advocates out there because nonprofits are always, you know, struggling to stay alive, keep the mission alive. So heroic episodes is asking you to support uh producing this independently and keeping it authentic and keeping our promise to employ and give back to veterans and uh veterans organizations.
SPEAKER_01:I love it. I love it. Well, thank you so much, Lisa. I will absolutely I will meet you backstage uh to say goodbye, and I'll probably just try to close out this call on full screen to say goodbye to my audience. But thank you so much for taking the time to come on the stories of service podcast. Thank you. All right, guys, thank you so much uh for joining me tonight. Sorry a little bit about the tech, but I think we worked through it okay. Uh definitely thank you so much for taking the time to be with us this week. I believe I do not have a I do well, I'll give you guys the opposite the um promos of the shows in the next couple days because I can't think off the top of my head. But as I always do to close out these calls, uh please take care of yourselves, please take care of each other. If you're watching me from YouTube, please be sure to hit that subscribe button. And as I always say, enjoy the rest of your evening. Bye bye now.