CivicCast

On this episode of CivicCast I chat with our upcoming CivicCon speaker, Coby LefkowitzCoby is the author of Building Optimism, which explores why American communities look the way they do, and offers a series of concrete reforms to make them more beautiful, desirable and affordable through dozens of project vignettes.Trained as an Urban Planner at the University of Virginia, Coby's work explores the intersection of development and urban design to promote more walkable, dynamic and sustainable communities. Coby will give a free CivicCon presentation on Monday, April 14 from 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. at the Wesley Abbey Building of First United Methodist Church. You can register for that event at this link.He will also lead a small group workshop the following morning, Tuesday, April 15 from 8:00 - 9:30 a.m. at Maritime Place. You can email Eduardo Lara at elara@civicconversations.org to be added to that meeting. Click this link to learn more about CivicCon.Click this link to learn more about our CivicCon Supporters or to become a CivicCon Member.

On this episode of CivicCast I chat with our upcoming CivicCon speaker, Rebekah Kik.Rebekah graduated from Andrews University (2003) with a Masters of Architecture and the University of Notre Dame with a Post Graduate degree in Architecture & Urban Design (2007). She began her professional career working in architecture in both the U.S. and the United Kingdom. Rebekah was working as an urban designer prior to joining the city of Kalamazoo in 2014 as the City Planner. She is now the Deputy City Manager and continues to champion building a Kalamazoo for all by leading the city's Strategic Vision – Imagine Kalamazoo 2035.We talk about how even small zoning changes can have big impacts, how to encourage new development without gentrifying and how Rebekah's artistic background shapes her development work. Just in time for Pensacola to re-write the city's land development code, Rebekah will give a free CivicCon presentation on Monday, February 24 from 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. at the Wesley Abbey Building of First United Methodist Church. You can register for that event at this link.She will also lead a small group workshop the following morning, Tuesday, February 25 from 7:30 - 9:00 a.m. at Maritime Place. You can email Eduardo Lara at elara@civicconversations.org to be added to that meeting. Click this link to learn more about CivicCon and become a CivicCon member.Click this link to learn more about our CivicCon Supporters.

On this episode I am joined by Scott Satterwhite, local author, professor, punk historian, and co-executive director and curator of the 309 Punk Project.The 309 Punk Project recently won a CivicCon Award in the placemaking category, which recognizes the work of an individual or organization to create a great public space for anyone in the community to enjoy.Scott shares the history of the 309 Punk House, misconceptions about punk culture, the importance of having inclusive spaces in our community and how the punk ethos works its way into his teaching.Click this link to learn more and get involved with the 309 Punk Project.Click this link to learn more about CivicCon and become a CivicCon member.Click this link to learn more about our CivicCon Supporters. UP THE PUNX!

On this episode of CivicCast, I speak with 2024 Equity Award winner Walter Arrington.We spoke about his background and reasons for getting into community advocacy, the biggest challenges he faces in his work, and how we can change the narrative to build more empathy for our most vulnerable populations. Walter serves as Director of Advocacy at Community Health Northwest Florida, an organization with which he has also held other pivotal roles including Homeless Health Navigator and CORE Navigator. Beyond his professional accomplishments, Walter actively participates in various community organizations and task forces. His roles on boards such as the National Area Health Education Centers Organization, Emerald Coast Equality, and the Mental Health Taskforce of Northwest Florida reflect his commitment to building inclusive and supportive environments for all community members. Learn more about CivicCon at this link.Donate to the Center for Civic Engagement at this link. 

In this episode, we talk with Anna Muessig, director of Gehl's Cities Team.Gehl is a global urban design and architecture firm with locations in Copenhagen, New York and San Francisco. The firm recently partnered with the city of Pensacola to create the new 10-year strategic plan, "Strive to Thrive: Pensacola 2035". Now that the plan is complete, what comes next?We chat with Anna about how communities can benefit from a strategic plan,  balancing data with public input and how average citizens can be a part of the plan's implementation over the next decade.Check out the full 10-year strategic plan at this link. Learn more about Gehl at this link. Learn more about our CivicCon Supporters at this link. 

On this episode of CivicCast, we chat with our upcoming CivicCon speaker, Tom Dahlborg.Tom Dahlborg is an internationally recognized speaker and writer focusing on stopping bullying, amplifying positive childhood experiences, and bringing “love in action” to all we do.Tom's multiple award-winning book, The Big Kid and Basketball … and the lessons he taught his Father and Coach, focusing on bullying and ACES and PCES, has led to significant youth sport and school system improvements and improved child experience and well-being.In the episode, he shares some of the biggest misconceptions about bullying, his history with bullying education and what we can all do to stop bullying together.Tom Dahlborg will be speaking at the Wesley Abbey Building of First United Methodist Church on Monday, October 28, from 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. Wesley Abbey is the white building on the corner of Wright and Palafox. Register for free at this link.He will also be hosting a workshop the following morning in the downstairs training room of Maritime Place (350 W Cedar Street) on Tuesday, October 29 7:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. Please RSVP for this workshop by emailing Eduardo Lara at elara@civicconversations.org.

Our guest today is Caitlin Cerame, transportation planner for the city of Pensacola.She talks about the recent Pensacola Active Transportation Plan, the processes behind making traffic calming measures, updates to Palafox Street and more.Cerame has a master's degree in urban and regional planning and a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Florida, and she also holds the designation of American Institute of Certified Planners from the American Planning Association. She has several years of transportation planning experience in local government from both the Emerald Coast Regional Council and St. Johns County, where she has held a range of planner and program coordinator roles. You can learn read the Pensacola Active Transportation Plan here: https://www.cityofpensacola.com/3392/Active-Transportation-PlanSign up for updates from the city of Pensacola here: https://www.cityofpensacola.com/List.aspxLearn more about our CivicCon Supporters at www.civiccon.org

Joining us for this episode is Dr. Angela Bush, Area Director for Jefferson County Schools in Alabama. During her four years as Principal of Erwin Middle School, Dr. Bush made notable strides to move the school from a low-performing school to a model high-performing educational institution in the school district, city, and state. She addressed and improved issues such as low teacher morale, low test scores, low attendance and high disciplinary infractions. She gives us a preview of how she achieved that.She will be giving a presentation at the REX Theatre in downtown pensacola on Thursday, April 11 from 6 - 7:30 p.m.Register for her free CivicCon presentation here: https://CivicCon-Angela-Bush.eventbrite.com

Today we are joined by Rich Harwood, president and founder of The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation. Richard has devoted his career to revitalizing the nation's hardest-hit communities, transforming the world's largest organizations, and reconnecting institutions like newsrooms and schools to society.Over the past 35 years, he has developed a philosophy and practice of how communities can tackle shared problems, create a culture of shared responsibility, and deepen our civic faith.He has written six books, including the Amazon bestseller Stepping Forward and Unleashed: A Proven Way Communities Can Spread Change and Make Hope Real for All.He's on a nationwide civic campaign called “Enough. Time to Build.” Amid contentious 2024 political campaigns, Rich believes the country needs a civic path forward, not more divisive politics, and that the real change we need is going to start in our local communities. His campaign calls on community leaders and active citizens to reclaim the public square from the most divisive voices and unleash our capacity as builders and doers.Richard will be speaking at the Wesley Abbey building of first united Methodist church, 2 wright street in downtown Pensacola on Wednesday, March 20 starting at 6 p.m.Register for this free CivicCon event here. 

Our guest is Jarah Jacquay, founder of The Bluffline, a grassroots effort to reconnect Pensacola residents with their environment and each other by building a public greenway from UWF to West Pensacola.You'll learn about Jarah's background in walkability, his inspiration to start The Bluffline and next steps for the project.Get involved with the project at www.bluffline.orgTo see any of CivicCon's past speakers on the topic of walkability, such as Jeff Speck or Dan Burden, visit our website at www.civiccon.org.

Welcome to CivicCast, the companion podcast to CivicCon, where we dive deeper into the topics that can move our communities forward, such as mental health, homelessness, walkability and education.For our very first guest,  we have the philanthropist, businessman and founder of the Studer Community Institute and CivicCon: Quint Studer. Join us as he discusses the events that led to the creation of CivicCon.We are always happy to hear from our audience. If you have suggestions for future episodes or CivicCon events, please email me at elara@civicconversations.org.If you are interested in watching footage from any of our speakers over the last six years, you can visit www.civiccon.org.