2025-07-28-gary-sheng-sofia-sunaga-david-chang-conversation

"--- id: 2025-07-28-gary-sheng-sofia-sunaga-david-chang-conversation related_people: ["sofia-sunaga", "david-chang"]

Transcript Summary: Gary Sheng, Sofia Sunaga, and David Chang Conversation - 2025-07-28

Date: 2025-07-28
Participants: Gary Sheng, Sofia Sunaga, David Chang
Format: Phone call
Key Themes: Travel plans, career transitions, faith-based collaboration, bipartisan policy initiatives, personal support, exhaustion recovery

Overview

This morning phone conversation focused on Gary updating Sofia and David about his upcoming travel to Atlanta and potential move, his career shift from Alpha Schools to supporting inventor Dr. Lael Alexander in Tulsa, and discussions about potential collaborations on bipartisan policy initiatives through the Center for Collaborative Democracy. The dialogue emphasized spiritual support, addressing Gary's exhaustion, and exploring mutual referrals for civic engagement projects.

Gary's Travel and Life Updates

Gary shared his immediate plans and reasons for relocating.

Gary: "I might be leaving as early as Wednesday... to this gospel music type event in Atlanta... I thought I might leave on Friday, but I think I might leave a bit earlier."

He discussed packing up his Austin base:

Gary: "I'm pretty rapidly packing things up... I promised my roommate that I'd be out by the end of the month."

Sofia and David offered logistical help:

Sofia: "We could potentially help out with things."
David: "We have our storage unit in Texas. We're more in a nomadic space right now."

Career Transition and Project Reflections

Gary recapped his recent professional journey and current calling.

Past Projects:

Gary: "About a year ago, I was fully engaged in a project with the Vatican... But ultimately, I think with Pope Francis' health declining... had to wind that down."
Gary: "Got a consulting gig with this K-12 system... overall, it's generally been pretty exhausting working with people that work on their self-engineered timelines versus God's timelines."

Critique of Alpha Schools:

Gary: "My critique with the school system that I'm consulting for is that it's making a lot of rushed decisions out of fear and FOMO... it's going to compromise the quality of student instruction."

New Direction with Dr. Alexander:

Gary: "I reconnected with this inventor friend of mine... they've just got some financing to basically build out factory towns for manufacturing... I feel called to support this inventor and his family... Helping commercialize a lot of his inventions. And build out factory towns, industrial towns. In, for example, Alabama. And then probably a lot of stuff will happen in Tulsa too."

Gary emphasized faith alignment:

Gary: "If you don't even attempt to try to put faith at the foundation, it's hard for me to really work with you anymore... it's like two different beings. If you're really walking in faith."

Personal Support and Exhaustion Discussion

The group addressed Gary's exhaustion with empathy and spiritual insight.

David: "We primarily wanted to be of support on a personal level... as people on the path together with you who understand the challenge when the world has different metrics and measurements and values."
Sofia: "It's a different cosmology, right? It's a different world view. We understand the challenge that that brings."

Sofia noted energetic shifts:

Sofia: "I'm coming, myself, coming back from recovering from exhaustion... I would like to relate to Gary in ways that would energize him or would support his reenergization."
Sofia: "Did you feel a little bit more energized by us acknowledging the exhaustion?"
Gary: "Yeah. I definitely appreciate that."

Spiritual advice on recovery:

Sofia: "The exhaustion is not as much physical as it may be at this deeper soul level... finding those spaces will then give you that energy that you will need for this next chapter."

Bipartisan Collaboration and Referrals

David and Sofia pitched involvement in the Center for Collaborative Democracy.

Initiative Overview:

David: "A policy to bridge Republicans and Democrats... education, economic development, reducing the deficit, fair tax code, clean energy and health care... now they have the attention of the problem-solvers caucus at Congressional."
Sofia: "The emergency... emerges as this emergence of the civic infrastructure ecosystem... the system to recognize itself is becoming more and more obvious."

Potential Role for Gary:

David: "They may be hiring for an engagement director... You'd probably be the first to receive it."
Gary: "I think it would have to be a very part-time thing."

Mutual Referrals:

David: "If there are folks that you think in general would be interested in these themes of bipartisan collaboration... it'd be great to just have a sample."
Gary: "The person that I'm with right now... he's a black man of faith... that helped Shenzhen industrialize... he has a lot of the keys to America's re-industrialization."
Gary: "Let me give it some thought."

Mentions of specific people:

• Debbie Lynn Molyneux: Enthusiastic about reconnecting with Gary.
• Jonah: Offering connections, focused on Amazon Rainforest.
• Cindy Mercer: Offering to host events at her ranches.
• Zach: Potential interest, focused on ranch fundraising.

Gary's Political Reflections:

Gary: "I feel a little bit of guilt for voting for Trump in 2024... we get the leaders we deserve... We can't have a reality show president anymore."

Closing and Future Coordination

The call ended with plans to stay in touch via text.

Sofia: "We'll assume you're not coming back and then we'll maybe just continue texting."
Gary: "Yep. Sounds good."

They discussed potential West Coast coordination:

Sofia: "We're going to be heading towards the West coast... let us know."

Overall Tone and Outcomes

The conversation was supportive and collaborative, blending personal care with professional opportunities. Gary expressed appreciation for being heard about his exhaustion and openness to thoughtful collaborations, while prioritizing his new faith-aligned path with Dr. Alexander. No immediate commitments were made, with follow-ups planned via text and potential job listing sharing."