Shows
Beyond the Megawatt: Data Center Design, Technology Challenges, and Infrastructure InnovationDisrupting the Grid: Veterans, Energy Innovation, and the Future of Modular PowerWhat happens when a Navy submarine veteran challenges everything the data center industry thinks it knows? You get a conversation that's equal parts uncomfortable and essential. Tony Grayson doesn't just question industry assumptions, he dismantles them with the precision of someone who's managed 14-megawatt floating data centers under conditions most of us can't imagine.
Key Insights:
• Why veterans managing submarine IT infrastructure are the data center operators we desperately need but consistently overlook
• The uncomfortable truth about SMR timelines and why most nuclear promises won't deliver until it's too late
•...2025-07-2449 minBeyond the Megawatt: Data Center Design, Technology Challenges, and Infrastructure InnovationNuclear Power by 2026? The Data Center Energy CrisisThe energy conversation in data centers just got real. In this episode, we dive deep with Alison Krager Hahn from the Department of Energy and Rhea Williams from E3 Energy Partners on the hybrid strategies reshaping how we power digital infrastructure. From nuclear timelines that will surprise you to the natural gas bridges we need today, this conversation cuts through the noise to deliver the hard truths about America's power crisis.
Key Insights from This Episode:
• Nuclear deployment is accelerating faster than expected - with concrete 2026 timelines and construction already underway for commercial advanced reactors
• Natural gas represents the crit...2025-07-1739 minBeyond the Megawatt: Data Center Design, Technology Challenges, and Infrastructure InnovationThe Eight-Week Mark: What We’ve Learned, and What Comes NextEight weeks into Beyond the Megawatt, Mara and Val pause to reflect on what they've learned about starting a podcast, challenging industry norms, and amplifying voices that typically don't get heard. This honest conversation reveals the real motivations behind their platform and why non-traditional career paths might be exactly what the data center industry needs.
Key Insights:
• The shame of non-traditional paths - Why many successful professionals hide their unconventional routes into infrastructure and construction
• Breaking conference barriers - How arbitrary rules keep fresh voices off industry panels and what need...2025-07-1050 minBeyond the Megawatt: Data Center Design, Technology Challenges, and Infrastructure InnovationTalent That Scales: Redefining People Strategy in Mission Critical InfrastructureHalf of all data center talent will retire within the next decade. At the same time, we need to double our workforce to meet exploding infrastructure demand. This isn't just another workforce challenge—it's an existential threat to the mission-critical systems that power our digital economy.
Dr. Tracy Brown (Chief of Staff) and Lisa Stevens (Head of HR at CleanArc Data Centers) join Valerie Crafton to tackle the hard truths about talent development in mission-critical infrastructure. From the cultural disconnect veterans face transitioning to corporate environments to the performance review theater that wastes everyone's ti...2025-07-0338 minBeyond the Megawatt: Data Center Design, Technology Challenges, and Infrastructure InnovationCan Data Centers Ever Be Sustainable? These Women Say Yes!What happens when you put three sustainability leaders in one room and ask them to call BS on industry practices? You get the most honest conversation about data center sustainability we've had yet.
Karen Cooper (DLR Group), Jenna Middaugh (Green Building Initiative), and Patricia Leyva (Equinix) didn't hold back. From fear-based pricing to parallel study failures, this episode tackles why sustainability initiatives keep getting blamed for project problems—and what to do about it.
Key Insights From This Episode:
• Sustainability should be code-required, not optional — No one argues...2025-06-2641 minBeyond the Megawatt: Data Center Design, Technology Challenges, and Infrastructure InnovationRedefining Power: Transformational Leadership in a Transactional IndustryLeadership in mission-critical industries isn't broken—it's being measured all wrong. This conversation with executive coach Lori Severson and leadership expert Andrea Janzen exposes the invisible barriers keeping transformational leaders stuck and offers a bold roadmap for change.
Key Revelations:
• Why women's leadership journey feels like "dying by a thousand cuts"—and how those small moments add up to systemic exclusion
• The missing metrics that keep our most effective leaders overlooked while rewarding outdated transactional behaviors
• How to handle "you're too aggressive" criticism in real-time without losing your authentic...2025-06-1948 minBeyond the Megawatt: Data Center Design, Technology Challenges, and Infrastructure InnovationAI, Audacity & the Education Reboot We’re Too Scared to StartWhat if the solution to the data center workforce crisis starts in kindergarten?
Dr. Sharon Jones, founder of the Dottie Rose Foundation, joins us for a conversation that challenges everything you think you know about AI education, workforce development, and the future of technical careers. From her unexpected journey from DJ dreams to computer science advocacy, Sharon reveals why "the power of the blend" - human creativity combined with AI capabilities - is the key to thriving in our rapidly evolving industry.
Key Insights:
• Start AI literacy ea...2025-06-1245 minBeyond the Megawatt: Data Center Design, Technology Challenges, and Infrastructure InnovationDigging Differently: The Hidden Innovation Transforming Data Center ConstructionSometimes the most transformative technology comes from the most unexpected places. In this episode, we go below the surface—literally—to explore how hydro excavation is changing data center construction, winter operations, and workplace culture in ways that extend far beyond digging.
Kristy Black didn't start Black Hydrovac because she discovered a passion for construction equipment. She started it because she wanted to build teams of people who could think, solve problems, and grow in an industry that too often treats skilled workers as interchangeable parts. What emerged is a company that's revolutionizing both exca...2025-06-0540 minBeyond the Megawatt: Data Center Design, Technology Challenges, and Infrastructure InnovationFiber, Foresight, & The future: Solving for scale in the age of AIWhat happens when AI meets data center infrastructure? Dan Molloy—known throughout the industry as "Fiber Dan"—brings decades of networking expertise and bold predictions about the future of mission-critical systems. From his early days discovering the internet in high school to his current role as a fiber infrastructure expert, Dan offers a unique perspective on how artificial intelligence will reshape everything from workforce training to blockchain applications in hyperscale environments.
Key Insights & Bold Takes
• AI isn't coming for technical jobs first—it's targeting middle management decision-making while making hands-on expertise more valuable...2025-05-2930 minBeyond the Megawatt: Data Center Design, Technology Challenges, and Infrastructure InnovationDesign to Handover: Closing the Gap on Commissioning, Workforce, and the Future of OpsWhat happens when you combine decades of commissioning expertise with a vision for transforming how we develop the next generation of infrastructure talent? You get a conversation that challenges everything from when commissioning should start to how we can solve the workforce crisis while building better facilities.
Lillian Rivera and Jim McEnteggart are launching 21st Century Ops with a bold approach that flips traditional commissioning on its head. Instead of bringing operational expertise in at the end of projects, they're advocating for "operationally directed design" that considers the humans who'll operate these systems for...2025-05-2930 minBeyond the Megawatt: Data Center Design, Technology Challenges, and Infrastructure InnovationMic Check: Accountability, Origins, and the Truth Behind the PodcastWelcome to our inaugural episode! Hosts Mara Ervin and Valerie Crafton sit down with psychotherapist and workplace wellbeing consultant Kate Ahl for an honest conversation about inclusion, allyship, and the hidden challenges facing professionals in mission-critical industries.
This isn't your typical diversity discussion. We dig into why women are leaving tech and construction as fast as they're entering, what neurodivergent thinking brings to complex problem-solving, and why creating inclusive workplaces benefits everyone—not just underrepresented groups.
Key Themes Explored:
• The disconnect between conference visibility and job site real...2025-05-2943 minBeyond the Megawatt: Data Center Design, Technology Challenges, and Infrastructure Innovation🎙️ Beyond the Megawatt: Live from the Cloud Run! ☁️Your Co-Hosts Mara Ervin & Valerie Crafton MBA are thrilled to share our latest episode, recorded live at the 3rd Annual Cloud Run hosted by the 7x24 Exchange DC Chapter.
This special edition kicks off with the race start, led by the dynamic Scott Davis with HazTek Safety Management, setting the tone for a day filled with energy and community spirit.
Throughout the event, we posed a seemingly simple question:
“What is or where is the cloud?”
The answers ranged from...2025-05-2208 minBeyond the Megawatt: Data Center Design, Technology Challenges, and Infrastructure InnovationComing Soon: Beyond the Megawatt - The Data Center Podcast You've Been Waiting ForHosts Mara and Val introduce their new podcast "Beyond the Megawatt" from Data Center World, created specifically to amplify the voices of tech leaders who are actually building data centers but rarely get heard at conferences. Tired of the same perspectives week after week, they're digging into the weeds to find the people tackling real pain points and asking the audacious question: "Is it actually working?"
Expect tough conversations, industry callouts, and plenty of laughter as they learn from those building infrastructure right now.
New episodes will drop every Thursday.
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