Collective Power Podcast

In this episode, my host Diane Little and I, have a discussion about running for school board as service to every single child, with Anita Galliano. Anita shares with her how her parents' unique sense of family and community--three generations of educators--along with being raised on a reservation in Nebraska and South Dakota informs her sense of family, community, work, and everything she does. She uses this sense of community to face the DEI attacks on the school board in her predominantly white community--standing for every single child, "ruthlessly and relentlessly."This week, our guest is Anita Williams Galiano who is a seasoned professional in executive operations and strategic development, with a specialty in healthcare technology and international supply chain management at Johnson & Johnson. An alumna of the University of Iowa, her BA in Communication, focusing on Organizational Design, underpins her success in strategic facilitation, fundraising, and project management. Anita's deep-rooted commitment to community building is inspired by her family's legacy in education and conservation, including her mother Harriette, a fourth-generation educator, and her father Rufus, a dedicated soil conservationist. Spending more time in the public and non-profit sectors in recent years, Anita was recently named the Interim Executive Director of the Stoutsburg Sourland African America Museum as well as serving a second term on her local school board. Resources: Anita Galliano's email: awilliamsgaliano@ssamu.orgStoutsbug Sourland African American Museum websiteOriginally recorded on July 3, 2024Support the Show.To recomend a guest contact us at: media@FierroConsultingllc.com To support Collective Power join our Patreon

In this episode, Diane Little and Dr. Rita interview a pioneer of public service in North Carolina Surluta Anthony was the first Black woman elected to Monroe City Council—despite Monroe has a majority Black population. Now elected for the third turn, Ms. Anthony provides valuable insights and advice on what it means to be in public service and how to do it well. Miss Anthony shares how she ran for office to “be at the table” of decision-making and how she stayed through her principles of “Service before self' along with a great dose of courage and political savviness. She was influenced by Robert F. Williams' activism, also a local to Monroe. She speaks about how she thrived in public service, how it's her purpose, how she found that out and how she brought DEI work to Monroe.A personal favorite: she shared what is missing from our current discourse on public service: feeling valued and capable of making a difference. Surluta Belton Anthony was born October 4, 1947 at home on Winchester Ave to educators Dr. Edward and Mrs. Christine Belton. She had a happy nurturing childhood in a Christian, socially and civic aware household. She talked early and read well at four. She had an early love of community fostered by her parents. She attended the segregated Winchester Ave School from first to twelfth grades , serving as class President in the sixth, eighth, tenth and twelfth grades. Her leadership skills extended to North Carolina Central University where she was president of the Annie Day Shepherd Freshman Women's Dorm and representative to student government. Surluta is a graduate of Anson Community College, Pfeiffer University and the Sure Theological Institute.Taking office in 2013, Surluta was the first Black woman elected to Monroe City Council; she is currently serving her third term. Resources: Surluta Anthony's email: sulutaanthony@gmail.comOriginally recorded on June 25, 2024.Support the Show.To recomend a guest contact us at: media@FierroConsultingllc.com To support Collective Power join our Patreon

My co-host Diane Little and I interview our guest who speaks about how his large-scale activism started from small acts of kindness: first as a seed investor for a expungement firm and then as a resident of a changing neighborhood in North Carolina. As a white resident of a predominantly Black neighborhood he used his professional and investment skills to counter the gentrification process across two communities. Jason Groenewold joined the Board of Directors of ARISE (All Redeeming Incarcerated Souls of Esteem) because he is committed to a world that is harmonious and just, where all delight in the wonder and miracle of life. For returning citizens, the transition home is often filled with challenges and adversity. Jason was inspired by the mission of ARISE to support men in successfully reintegrating to society and restoring relationships with their family and community.Jason currently lives in Charlotte, NC and is a commercial real estate developer and entrepreneur. He previously led solar development for one of the largest Investor Owned Utilities in the United States.  During his time in renewable energy development, he was directly responsible for over $1B of capital being invested in wind and solar projects.Earlier in his career, Jason co-founded the Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah and served as its Executive Director for eight years. Among other accomplishments, HEAL Utah prevented the nation's nuclear waste from being disposed of on a small, impoverished Native American reservation outside of Salt Lake City. Afterward, Jason enrolled at the University of Utah where he obtained his law degree and M.B.A.Resources: Jason's Email: jason.groenewold@gmail.com Countries who remove right to vote list. States who remove right to vote list.Article about nuclear testing:Rasa's websiteARISE All Redeeming Incarcerated Souls of Esteem websiteOriginally recorded on May 20, 2024. Support the Show.To recomend a guest contact us at: media@FierroConsultingllc.com To support Collective Power join our Patreon

In this episode, Co-host Diane Little and Dr. Rita interview Robert Dawkins political director and organizer and Robert Dawkins of Action NC. Robert sheds tremendous insight on why the solutions we find to social issues seem to always miss the mark: there is the disconnect between people in communities, academics, donors, and legislators that results in ineffective solutions birthed from bad research. In a refreshing conversation about real lives, data, and laws, Robert puts in lay terms the importance of trauma-informed research (stop asking us to tell the same traumatizing stories), the importance of lived experience (no parachuting researchers and donors), and mixed-method approaches (we need experiences and stories). He also offers up the disconnect that many Black men feel with the Democratic party: its fixation on incarceration alienates everyday Black men who would like to focus on something else. Our political moment: Robert also shares some of the good things about Preemption and Dillon law--State standards that are generally wielded by conservatives to constrain progressive cities but that have some perks for progressives as well. Robert Dawkins is the founder & State Organizer for SAFE Coalition NC which is a project of Action NC and made up of over 15 community-based advocacy groups working to end discriminatory profiling and promote civil liberty protections for all North Carolina residents. Before starting SAFE Coalition NC, Robert worked for 7 year with Democracy North Carolina as the Western NC Field Organizer where his work centered on organizing communities of color on the issues of voter rights, voter access and ending voter disenfranchisement.  Robert was the Head Organizer for the Charlotte chapter of ACORN for 3 years where he worked in low to moderate income neighborhoods building neighborhood capacity, neighborhood power and on leadership development. Robert has a B.A in Political Science from the University of South Carolina and a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management from the University of North Carolina Charlotte. Robert was a selected as a Charlottean of the Year in 2019 by Charlotte Magazine. ResourcesDillon law and preemption Robert Dawkins and Defund the police podcast  Podcast with Rep Autry Robert's organization Action NC Originally recorded on April 23, 2024.Support the Show.To recomend a guest contact us at: media@FierroConsultingllc.com To support Collective Power join our Patreon

In this episode, my co-Host Diane Little and I interview PA State House Representative Chris Rabb (called Rep Rabb). This episode is a provides profound insight into the ethic of public service--for Rep Rabb insists on not being called a politician--because it's service, not a profession. His service spans, Agriculture & Rural Affairs, Commerce, Finance,  Veterans affairs, and the Judiciary. Join us as we take a walk in his world of advocacy through, agrivoltaics, sustainability, electoral reform, innovation, and some political successes. Through it all Rep Rabb tells us he draws strength from his ancestors for his successes: renaming landmarks, prohibition from police officers assaulting people in custody, and a state interdepartmental interstate database that makes it harder for suspended police in one district to serve in another (among others). PA House Representative Christopher Rabb (known as Rep Rabb) is the most senior progressive state legislator in Pennsylvania, State Rep. Chris Rabb, the four-term incumbent for northwest Philadelphia's 200th legislative district, has dedicated his tenure to public service. His legislative priorities include taxing the excessively wealthy, repealing the death penalty, full and fair funding of public education, climate action, safer communities and raising the minimum wage to a true living wage. He has authored over 100 bills and resolutions, centering the most-impacted populations in his legislative work. Some of his boldest bills include his Fair Share Tax Plan, and a bill to transition Pennsylvania to 100% renewable energy by 2050.RepRabb is a co-founder of the Progressive Legislators Working Group, the antecedent to the PA Progressive Caucus on whose founding board he serves.ResourcesRep Rabb's websiteRep Rabb's track record accomplishmentsRep Rabb's instagramRep Rabb's twitterMore on AgrivoltaicsSupport the showTo recomend a guest contact us at: media@FierroConsultingllc.com To support Collective Power join our Patreon

In this episode our Hosts Dr. Rita and Diane Little welcome our guest, Michael posits that the Democratic Party is always in crises, by its inclusive nature, because it tends to fold within it, the crises of the communities it attempts to represent. We review the variety and intent of Caucuses: their history, purpose and relevance: the Black caucus, African American Caucus, Women's Caucus, Young Dem's Caucus, Rural Caucus, County caucuses, and district caucuses, etc.We identify a breakdown in the intent and the trust in the relationship between caucuses and the Democratic party. Caucuses were born to inform the party of the issues among voters in exchange for the party's commitment to addressing these issues. Bringing issues to the party would strengthen the party because the solutions would strengthen the communities. Instead, today, it seems that identity politics has proliferated the diversity of caucuses who pull the party in multiple directions--weakening it,  not strengthening it. What's missing is a building of collective will beyond the individual agendas--so the party can move beyond priority-setting to building collective will.  Today's guest is Michael Lawson. Michael is Originally from Brooklyn New York. He moved to Queens  some years later.  For the last 33 years Michael has lived in Charlotte NC. And  has been a true leader and innovator in Charlotte Democratic politics. He has served as: The President of the Democratic Party's African American Caucus for Mecklenburg county. The  8th district Dem chairperson, a former State Executive Committee member for 10 years, and currently serves in his favorite role as the Democratic Chairman for Precinct 4 in Charlotte NC. Michael  has taught media literacy  at  the North West school of theArts for nine years and at Johnson C Smith  University in Charlotte, NC. For the last 13 years, Michael has Hosted a blog Talk Radio Show  called "The Last Word" (pre-dating the show on MSNBC) a weekly Political Talk Radio Show on Fridays, 3-6 pm on www.blogtalkradio.com. The show covers more than Political Talk it covers the gambit, from Politics, Education, Health Care, Sports, Music and the Movies, most any and everything.Michael is married to Penny a wonderful lady. for 44 yrs. He has 2 daughters  who have given him  3 grandsons. Michael Lawson is considered  a Fierce  advocate for democracy.Resources:Black Caucus websiteAfrican American Caucus, North Carolina Democratic Party websiteMichael Lawson's podcastEpisode Originally recorded on March 19, 2024.Support the showTo recomend a guest contact us at: media@FierroConsultingllc.com To support Collective Power join our Patreon

In this episode, current town manager and former Mayor of Marshville, NC of 14 years Franklin Deese discusses with our co-hosts Dr. Rita and Diane Little tells the riveting experience from incarceration to become his town's mayor. He talks passionately about the importance of public service and how truth and trust led his journey. Even if things don't turn out quite as we expect them to, public service, Franklin says, is always worth it! Franklin D. Deese is presently serving his fifth year as city manager, after serving fourteen years as Mayor to the town of Marshville, NC. He is the first and only African American elected to serve any Union County Municipality in that capacity Mayor or Manager in the County's 150+ years history. He was first elected to the office of Mayor in 2005. By applying the powerful lessons of faith, focus and perseverance that he outlines in his best-selling book “From Inmate To Mayor,” Franklin Deese has proven that there is no mountain too high to overcome. Today he is the only African American in the Nation to serve over 10 years in the prison system and then be elected mayor in the same city. Mayor Deese is a two-time recipient of the prestigious Governor's Award. He received the Union County Minority Entrepreneur of the Year and was nomination for the WSOC Nine Who Care Award. He was chosen as the 2012 citizen of the year in Union County and is the recipient of the History Maker Award. Former Mayor Deese speaks all over the nation, sharing his message of achievement and helping people overcome their own personal prisons.Resources:Franklin Deese's websiteFranklin's Memoire: From Inmate to MayorCity Manager Position description in Marshville, NC.Franklin's Twitter AccountFranklin Deese's Linkedin AccountSupport the showTo recomend a guest contact us at: media@FierroConsultingllc.com To support Collective Power join our Patreon

In this episode, Hosts Dr. Rita and Diane Little interview  interview Joel Ford, former North Carolina State Senator.   We talk about his disappointment with the Democrat party and his concerns with progressive approaches to change. With economic freedom as his primary goal, he unpacks his approach to  questions about school choice, vouchers, education, and voting rights. He also explains his major concern:  too many elected officials are more concerned with fighting than working; and our liberal/progression expectations set the bar too low. Joel joined the Sentinel team in 2022 as a Client Executive and is responsible for theoversight, management, and implementation of all strategies as they relate to themanagement and servicing of an account.Originally from Belmont, NC, Joel is a former North Carolina State Senator who represented Mecklenburg County for six years. In March of 2021, Joel was appointed by the Senate to the University of North Carolina System Board of Governors. A self-described “serial entrepreneur”, Joel began his professional career with Waste Management of Atlanta, GA, and later launched his own waste management services company in Charlotte. Joel has owned several businesses including a restaurant (Juniors Chicken & Waffles) and a barbershop and salon (Premier Barbershop & Salon).Joel's background as a business owner provides an understanding of risk management from a client's perspective. His knowledge and experience enable him to serve as a true advisor to his clients, safeguarding their success in an ever-changing business environment.Resources: Research on the added economic value of a college education. Support the showTo recomend a guest contact us at: media@FierroConsultingllc.com To support Collective Power join our Patreon

In this episode, Dr. Rita and Diane Little we talk with NC House Rep. John Autry. We talk about the difference between governing and ruling and share examples of how polarization in government and  opposition towards anything the other party does gets the democratic process stuck and frustrates legislators themselves. In the face of the challenges of voting rights and redistricting, the House Rep. offers glimmers of hope in his ability to work across the aisle, still leveraging the basic fundamentals of negotiation: humanity and understanding. He draws his strength from common folk and sees public service as sometimes rewarding, if challenging, work. Our guest, Johnnie Newton Autry (born March 16, 1953) is an American politician. He was elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives in 2016. A Democrat, he serves the 100th district. He previously served on the Charlotte City Council.Born in Fayetteville, Autry studied theatre at California State University-Fullerton. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1972 to 1976 and has been the chief technology officer and partner at eMitigate, an organization focused on legal, financial and operating risk mitigation. Resources:John Autry's Linkedin pageDiane Little's LinkedIn pageBipartisan Psychedelica NC legislationOriginally recorded on February 6, 2024.Support the showTo recomend a guest contact us at: media@FierroConsultingllc.com To support Collective Power join our Patreon

In this episode, consultant and author Jill Nagle join us for a discussion on the book she's writing —Skin in the game: how white people benefit from dismantling white supremacy. We face the question: Why should white people want change? What do we get out of it? We look at whiteness as a system that has created a set of mindsets with negative consequences—similarly to how family dynamics can create repeated, unhealthy dynamics and expectations that diminish our humanity, our health, and our capacity for truth.   Jill offers many insights, tools, and practices to face and heal white supremacy mythology in ourselves and in our society as we heal from other traumas as well. Jill Nagle began her study of interpersonal communication at age eight when she read Haim Ginott's Between Parent and Child and attempted to teach her father how to talk to her. Since then, she has aimed her offerings at more receptive audiences.​A longtime student and teacher of transformation and evolution, Jill Nagle's background includes Untraining White Liberal Racism with Robert Horton, Challenging White Supremacy with Sharon Martinas, and multicultural alliance building with the National Coalition Building Institute.She founded Evolutionary Workplace, and Wisdom of The Body: Beyond Talk Therapy, and cofounded of Awake Parent Perspectives. She coaches, counsels, and trains individuals, couples and groups. Her multidimensional approach draws on and synthesizes cognitive, emotional, somatic, interpersonal, and energy-based methods. She is currently working on two books: One about the benefit to white people of dismantling white supremacy, and the other about reclaiming clarity from the default English language fog.​She is also a writer, and has been published or reviewed more than 150 times in the genres of business, personal growth, fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and social commentary, including American Book Review, The Women's Review of Books, Zendesk, and many more. Her user experience writing and content strategies appear in websites of companies such as Apple, eBay, and Symantec. She is  a multiply-patented inventor, and brings her creativity, strategic thinking, and gift of connection-making to her coaching and consulting clients.Resources:Jill Nagle's website Jill Nagle's LinkedIn Dr. Rita's book: Digging Up the Seeds of white Supremacy. Family System theory definitions and basicsReichian Character Structure explanation Dying of whiteness bookCleo Manago Black ActivistKillers of the Dream bookCognitive Dissonance definitionDaryl Davis helps 200 KKK turn over their robesFirst recorded oSupport the showTo recomend a guest contact us at: media@FierroConsultingllc.com To support Collective Power join our Patreon

In this episode, we zoom in on the journey of a trailblazing leader and her passage from being a corporate writer to full-time antiracism professional.  We explore how a personal calling can shift from  side-kick to a way of being that doesn't allow us to walk any other way in the world. As for the antiracism conversation, we touch upon self-care, global whiteness, and lexicon--and most importantly where the field is going. Our guest, Sharon Hurley Hall is an anti-racism activist, writer, and educator. Firmly committed to doing her part to eliminate racism, she is the Founder and Curator-in-Chief of Sharon's Anti-Racism Newsletter. In this twice-weekly online publication, Sharon writes about existing while Black in majority-white spaces, and amplifies the voices of other anti-racism activists. She has written and ghostwritten articles for companies and non-profits looking to show up authentically with their DEIB and JEDI content. Sharon is also the Head of Anti-Racism & Special Advisor for Anti-Racist Leaders.Resources mentioned on the show: Sharon's websiteAntiracism Newsletter websiteOriginally recorded on 7/8/2022.Support the show

In this episode,  we look at the Church's participation in white supremacy as the complete opposite of Jesus' tradition as a community organizer, himself. We look into religious concepts such as mercy and grace as they inform our personal, relational, and social way of organizing our society. Two GenXers in conversation about relationships, connections, and healing for the generation of latchkey kids who didn't feel tended to. "A lot of churches have resources, but they don't have the hearts of the people." --Pastor Daniel Hughes "Choose to Risk something for love!" --Pastor Daniel Hughes Our guest, Daniel Hughes is a gifted speaker, poet, leadership coach, and community organizer. Connected to the marginalized, he co-creates and uses his gifts in communication and organizing for the AMOS project in partnership with the Hamilton County Office of Reentry.  Daniel works to reduce gun violence and deaths, mass incarceration, and recidivism in the county while leading inter-faith organizations to create real change for good in their communities. Resources: Originally recorded on May 20, 2022.Support the show

In this episode, we talk about our bodies play a crucial role in requiring us to shift from unsustainable social justice organizing from fear, anxiety, hyper-vigilance, and chaos  to organizing from the more sustainable  care, trust, love, and even joy.  We also talk about the how organizational dynamics such as perceived leadership, funding, and results strengthen fear, too. Our guest invites us to "build our capacity to enter into new relationship with white supremacy, patriarchy, and sexism.""Freedom is both personal and collective."-Robin Wright-PierceOur guest, Robin Wright-Pierce is a coach and facilitator of individual and collective liberation with more than a decade of experience cultivating race equity in organizations and in social change efforts.  She is the founder of The Wright Institute for Transformative Change which partners with individuals and organizations to build their capacity to advance courageous change.  Robin has worked on issues related to community re-entry and rights for returning citizens, education justice, voting rights, LGBTQ rights, immigration justice, and ending anti-Black police brutality. Her approaches to change spanned formal and informal pursuits involving policy and legislative change, community organizing, design thinking and inclusive facilitation, research and advocacy, and field training and development.Robin is a thought leader. Her insight and perspective has been captured in NPR's WBEZ Chicago, KCUR, and WVXU. Her wisdom has been captured in The New York Times, Diversity Issues in Higher Education and in the documentary This Changes Everything now available on Netflix. Recently, she was named one of the top 22 leaders in the country to learn from by Bunch, a coaching company.  She is a proud alumnus of both The Ohio State University where she received her Master of Public Administration from the John Glenn College of Public Affairs and Kent State University where she obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Pan-African Studies. Resources:Robin Wright's website The Wright Institute . Originally recorded on May 12 , 2022.Support the show

In this episode, we look at examples of  educational excellence throughout African American history in the face of tremendous challenges. Two deeply committed educators challenge us to think about the educational system more broadly given the many ways we learn. They offer examples of questioning language and reconnecting to self, community, and land bring forth healing.Our guest, Ishmail Conway Ph.D., is a “public intellectual” and “catalyst.” Dr. Conway is a third-generation educator, professional dramatist, father and activist.  His youth was spent in Southside Richmond, Bronx, New York and Philadelphia. As a youth, he performed with Duke Ellington in the Concert of Sacred Music, Ahmal and the Night Visitors and several other operas. He co-founded Soweto Stage company in Richmond and has appeared in films and performed for the Colonial Williamsburg, Valley Forge Foundation. Conway's work as a theatrical director is critically acclaimed including two world premiere plays and a produced premiere opera on Richmond's Churchill. Dr. Conway worked on interview projects for the nation's 50th celebration of the Brown Decision. Many of the interviews were published in the book The Unfinished Agenda of Brown v. Board of Education.  At the National Archives, he presented a lecture on his research model for the kickoff of the National Archives year-long research of Brown thru May 2004. Last year, his work interviewing teachers and activists, over the past 20 years was noted in Harvard's History of Education Quarterly. The Association of College Unions-International selected Ishmail as the Multicultural Educator of the Year.Our other guest, Rodney Hopson is the first born of two passionate and lifelong learners and teachers, blessed to inherit a spirit of resolve and perseverance, an unwavering commitment to his fellow (wo)man, and an increased desire to leave the world a better place than the one into which he was born.  Hopson currently serves as a professor of Evaluation in the Department of Educational Psychology, College of Education, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign where he holds appointments/affiliations in the Department of Educational Policy, Organization, & Leadership and the Center of African Studies.  Nearly 25 years as a university professor, Hopson has received funding from the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Robert Woods Johnson Foundation, W. K Kellogg Foundation, and other local and international funders in support of his evolving research and evaluation that lie in understanding factors that contribute to the optimal aspirational and academic success of underserved and underrepresented groups in social and natural sciences.  His post-doctoral/sabbatical studies included academic positions at the University of Namibia (as Fulbright Scholar), the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Hygiene and Centre of African Studies, Cambridge University.Resources mentioned on the showAfrican American evaluators articleEducation of Blacks in the South 1860-1935 bookContact Dr. Ishmail Conway email: ishmail.conway@gmail.comContact Dr. Rodney Hopson email: hopson@illinois.edu Originally recorded on 4.30.2022. Support the show

In this episode, we review ways in which fear can be not a stop sign, but an invitation into deeper practice. We need others to be the mirror with us, and liberation is in community and in relationship ,  so as we build a deeper relationship with each other, through fear, we discover that the system is not separate from us,  but we uphold it with our culture. As we transform, the System will, too. This happens both in relationship and in  our personal work. Our guest, invites us to show up more whole, by inviting fear to be a guide, embracing our awkward moments, and seeing reconciliation as the way. Our guest,  amy j howton is a healer, facilitator, story weaver, and writer who holds holds an MA in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and a doctorate in Ecological Counseling. amy is a licensed professional counselor in the state of Ohio, experienced in participatory action research and human-centered design and trained in the Art of Hosting.. amy believes there is powerful medicine in the sharing of our stories. her work over the past twenty years has focused in the areas of trauma response, racial + gender justice, spiritual leadership, community building, and social change + communal healing. communities of practice as a model for transformative change have been a focus of my research and practice throughout my work and i continue to believe in the power of bringing people together through intentional cycles of action and reflection. amy Resources: Sonia Renee Taylor podcastamy's website Wild RootsOriginally recorded on May 2. 2022.Support the show

In this episode, we navigate the importance of intention as the fuel that mobilizes life. We look into how intention helps direct the flow of life and face the unknown, but also how we must release control for it to show its full power. We also discuss some current events such as war that tend to disempower--and reveal how we can indeed stand in our own power no matter what is happening in the rest of the world.  Our guest, Yvonne DeVastey, is a Reiki Master teacher with a wealth of experience in the mental health field as a family therapist and administrator shares her experiences. We navigate the differences between the services our systems provide, and sometimes pay for, and actual journeys of healing. We explore definitions of health and healing, how healing journeys impact changes of direction in our personal lives and sometimes the lives of our families, too. A variety of healing practices and some insights on how to value your intuition on which one is for you. In this episode we connect journeys of personal and family healing, with the way our health systems do, or don't address healing.Resources mentioned on the show: Seat of the Soul book Yvonne's email: cloudsunlimited@aol.comOriginally recorded on April 6, 2022. Support the show

In this episode, we look at data on racial bias in the child welfare system, and on the case for family preservation against the current family policing system and its biases, since COVID-19. We also talk about data collected in NYC, on how COVID-19 activated local networks and how the child welfare system can be changed to suit the data we know.Our guest, Richard Wexler, is Executive Director of NCCPR. His interest in child welfare grew out of 19 years of work as a reporter for newspapers, public radio and public television. During that time, he won more than two dozen awards, many of them for stories about child abuse and foster care. He is the author of Wounded Innocents: The Real Victims of the War Against Child Abuse (Prometheus Books: 1990, 1995). Wexler has testified before Congress and State Legislatures and advised the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Children and Families in its 1995 rewrite of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act. Wexler's writing about the child welfare system has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune and other major newspapers, and he has been interviewed by The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, Time, the Associated Press, USA Today, 60 Minutes, National Public Radio, CNN, Good Morning America, Today, CBS This Morning, ABC World News Tonight, the CBS Evening News, and other media. Wexler is a graduate of Richmond College of the City University of New York and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, where he was awarded the school's highest honor, a Pulitzer Traveling Fellowship. He was formerly Assistant Professor of Communications at The Pennsylvania State University — Beaver Campus.Resources mentioned on the show:National Coalition for Child Protection Reform websiteIssue paper 1: Foster Care vs. Family Preservation: The Track Record on SafetyIssue paper 7: Family Policing and RaceIssue paper 11: Does Family Preservation Work?New York's positive data on its 'unintended abolition'Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/posts/35274155)

 In this episode, Attorney Karla Cruel walks us through the components of the legal system for criminal law and the ways in which these different processes are flawed. "The very fact that we know there are frequent innocent convictions, in and of itself, tells us the system is flawed," she says. She walks us through various stages of bias and misjudgment, and how the are compounded over time.Our guest, Karla L. Cruel, Esq. is a former educator, now social entrepreneur who launched Legal Empowerment Group to educate and support lower-to-middle income individuals. She worked as staff attorney for Tenant Union Representative Network (TURN), assisting with Philadelphia's Eviction Prevention Project. Having grown up in West Philadelphia, attending academic programs created to help poor minority children go to college, now she holds three degrees. Throughout her schooling, she has been promoting social equality and racial and religious reconciliation. After living in Japan for 4.5 years, Ms. Cruel returned to the US to have a greater impact on the community in which she was raised. Through the encouragement of her students, Ms. Cruel attended and graduated from Drexel University's Thomas Kline School of Law. She has practiced law in various areas including criminal law, family law, landlordtenant law, business law, charter school law and other civil transactional and litigation. Karla L. Cruel is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania. Ms. Cruel also holds a master's degree from Saint Joseph's University in criminal justice is a mentor, speaker, educator and community advocate. Karla has also given back to her community through volunteering with and serving as a member of Christian Legal Services' Board of Directors, teaching at Temple University's Pan-African Studies Community Education Program, serving on the Board of Directors of Imhotep Charter School, and teaching legal education workshops at Imhotep's Communiversity. Even ran for a Philadelphia District City Council seat in 2019. She is the recipient of the Outstanding Law Student Award from the National Association of Women Lawyers and the Pro Bono Award from Drexel University Law School and First Judicial District in 2019 for her working in Landlord-Tenant court.Resources mentioned on the show.Overview of the Legal system book:Scheb, J. M., & Sharma, H. (2020). An introduction to the American legal system. Wolters KluwerOrganizations: Innocence ProjectEqual Justice InitiativeData:Wrongful ConvictionsExonerationInnocent Convictions Plea System Jury BiasOriginally recorded on 3/10Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/posts/35274155)

In this episode, we take a systems look at the music industry and how it sets up artists and composers to be in constant debt through the lack of fair and transparent contracts and the restrictions in regulations and contract terms. We envision a music industry where artists and composers are more informed about their contracts, their rights, and their fans.  Andrae is a Grammy-Nominated musician and professor who moved to Los Angeles in 2009 from Maryland and is a faculty member at the University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music in the Music Industry Department, and is completing a PhD. in Leadership Studies . He is also a veteran of the United States Marine Corps and the United States Navy Band of Washington, D.C. He is also an Amazon best-selling author of the book, Build Your Music Career from Scratch, which is in its second edition, and has multiple Billboard #1s. An internationally traveled musician and clinician on the subjects of Music Business, Music for Film and Television, and Music Production, Andrae has been to over 40 countries.  Andrae holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music, a Master of Arts in Music Industry Administration. Andrae is currently a voting member of the Recording Academy, member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, a Songwriters of North America board member, a co-founder of the Songrise NFT PlatformAs a musician, composer, and consultant, Andrae has worked on projects such as Empire, Detroit the movie, and The Birth of a Nation soundtrack. Some of the artists he has worked with include NeYo, BlackBear, George Drakoulias, Swae Lee, Mellissa Ethridge, Allee Willis, Meek Mills, Pusha-T, Kanye West, Jesse J., Rodney Jerkins, Lamont Dozier, No I.D. and more. Before teaching at USC, Andrae taught courses on Music Business, Music Production for Media, and Music Composition and Programming at the Los Angeles Film School in Hollywood.Get in touch with Andrae: Musicindustryencyclopedia.com  instagram.com/andraealexanderhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/iamandraealexander/Songrise.ioResources mentioned on the show: Organizations: Songwriters of North America - https://www.wearesona.com/Articles:Music Publishing in the US $6.4 BillionMajor Label Music Production in the US $9bOnly 2% on Spotify make over 1000 dollars a year, 870 artists make $1m229 streams of Spotify to get $13 major labels. Warner, Sony, Universal - https://www.liveabout.com/top-major-pop-record-labels-3246997Discrimination of Black artists articleOriginally recorded on February 28, 2022. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/posts/35274155)

In this episode, we look at how the technology innovation happens pipeline happens from research, to industry, to community. We look at how these relationships are typically extractive and how they can become more sustainable. How high levels of collaboration and collective intelligence and emergence work can enrich the way we think about nature and problem-solving: ocean memory, gentle accountability, human heart-work, and valuing the contribution of all. Our guest, Anne is the founder of Lean-to Collaborations.  Her experience spans 20 years of working across disciplines and sectors in the US and Canada.  Lean-to Collaborations helps purpose-driven teams build the mindset, structures, and processes they need to address complex social, environmental, and technical challenges.  This work extends her 12-year career as a Senior Program Director and Program Officer at the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineer, and Medicine. Anne is a facilitator, team consultant, and former internal program evaluator. She's co-author of the book Collaborations of Consequence and current membership chair for the International Network for the Science of Team Science (INSciTS).  The lean-to in her company logo pays homage to her lifelong love of hiking and the power of shared purpose, wonder, and open structures to help teams traverse the sometimes difficult terrain from finding each other to funding to flourishing.Contact Anne Heberger MarinoTwitter handle: @LeanToCollabsLinkedIn page Resources mentioned on the show: Articles/BookDiversity Innovation Paradox in Science (PNAS)Outperforming yet undervalued  (PLOS One)Science's Diversity Problem (Stanford Social Innovation Review)10 Simple Rules for an Anti-racist Lab (PLOS Computational Biology)Collaborations of Consequence (NAKFI)Organizations, Projects, ProgramsGulf of Maine Research Institute (NSF Convergence Accelerator Project)Ocean Memory ProjectPresencing Institute6 Team ConditionsInternational Network for the Science of Team ScienceNSF Funding StreamsNSF Convergence ResearchNSF EPSCoROriginally recorded on February 18, 2022.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/posts/35274155)

This episode looks at the relationship between Program Evaluation and philanthropy as a system, one that allocates small monies to communities in need while controlling the definitions and management of standards of success. We propose engaging stakeholders more, shifting what we measure, and .....Dr. Audrey Jordan is the Jerry D. Campbell Professor and DEI Specialist at Claremont Lincoln University, and is a certified executive life coach, focused on “accompanying social justice leaders and teams to unchain power for transformation.”  Audrey is also currently an independent consultant with her own practice – ADJ Consulting and Coaching: capacity building for constituent-centered, place-based community change; cultivating community democracy; strengthening organizational and collaborative partnership capacities for learning and accountability; and teaching about and facilitating conversations to promote racial equity and social justice.  Audrey currently lives in Fontana, CA and enjoys the company of her siblings and their spouses, her two sons, nieces and nephews, and the most recent family addition - her amazing grandniece, Eloise.Resources mentioned on the show:Get in touch with Dr. Audrey Jordan Linked in PageRace Forward: From Seed to Harvest: A Toolkit for Collaborative Racial Equity Strategies. Rosa Gonzalez at Facilitating Power, Spectrum of Community Engagement to Ownership frameworkTargeted Universalism, Othering and Belonging InstituteKiller Mike quoteWinners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World book.Originally recorded on 2/07/2022.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/posts/35274155)

In this show, three experts of health systems data bring us insights into how racism and bias contribute to all points of health data collection, from uncovering old assumptions--like assuming lower thresholds of pain for African Americans, competition among groups, inappropriate diagnoses for bodies of color. Our guests invite us to  recommend engaging diverse stakeholders in problem-solving, centering narratives on the direct experience of patients, disrupting and questioning the norm of whiteness in all aspects of health systems.  Our guests are Sharon Attipoe-Dorcoo, Janice Tufte and Rachel Dungan.Sharon Attipoe-Dorcoo, Ph.D., MPH is Principal of Tersha LLC, is grounded in her cultural identity as a Ghanaian-American who embraces the intersectional facets of being a wife and mom in her work. As a community scholar activist, she found her path from engineering into public health. The vision for her work is rooted in culturally responsive and equitable tools for co-designing research and evaluation initiatives with communities, for national and international research and evaluation projects.Janice Tufte, Seattle, WA., identifies as a #PatientPartner involved in Health Systems/ Services Research (HSSR). Her focus of work is within the social determinants of health (SDoH), addressing disparities and building community partnerships. Janice served on a Patient Centered Outcomes Institute (PCORI) Learning Health Systems (LHS/SDoH) clinic-community liaison project as a Patient Co-Investigator in 2012 and this was pioneering for research projects to include patients directly in research proccesses ten years ago. Multi-stakeholder collaboration is a priority when starting any project as this is a recipe component to ensuring success.Rachel Dungan works at the intersection of sectors and stakeholder groups, to advance health policy and systems research (HPSR) and enhance its impact. Rachel's portfolio of work, as Director at AcademyHealth, focuses on engagement science: how to conduct and measure the impact of meaningful, equitable stakeholder engagement in health research, policy, and practice. She also oversees projects focused on best practices for collaboration and codesign, and for building the health data infrastructure to support patient-centered research. Rachel recently completed a Fulbright Public Policy Fellowship (FPPF) in Côte d'Ivoire, while studying local approaches to community-informed national health policymaking. She earned a Master of Science in Social Policy (MSSP) from the University of Pennsylvania, and her Bachelor of Science (BS) and Bachelor of Music (BM) degrees from the Pennsylvania State University Schreyer Honors College. She serves as an active speaker and patient advocate in the vision research and disability communities Resources mentioned on the show (and more!) link to document Contact: Sharon Attipoe-Dorcoo, Ph.D.Author of the children's book; Koli and Bosco "the Dog": Rescue from the Fire: https://youtu.be/f6XhV0sjnlMFacebook: KoliBoscoTwitter: @KoliBoscoInstagram: koli.boscoLinkedIn pageJanice TufteWebsite:  https://www.janicetufte.com Twitter: @Hassanah2017Rachel DunganTwitter: @RedunganEmail: racheledungan@gmail.comLinkedIn pageOriginally recorded on  2/2/2022.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/posts/35274155)

This episode is an exploration of what gets in the way of partnerships between Black women and white women: control, superiority, power struggles, and plantation narrative. We also talk about the white wounds that we unwillingly bring into the work and what's possible when we heal and move beyond the wounds. Dr. Audrey Jordan is the Jerry D. Campbell Professor and DEI Specialist at Claremont Lincoln University, and is a certified executive life coach, focused on “accompanying social justice leaders and teams to unchain power for transformation.”  Audrey is also currently an independent consultant with her own practice – ADJ Consulting and Coaching: capacity building for constituent-centered, place-based community change; cultivating community democracy; strengthening organizational and collaborative partnership capacities for learning and accountability; and teaching about and facilitating conversations to promote racial equity and social justice.  Audrey currently lives in Fontana, CA and enjoys the company of her siblings and their spouses, her two sons, nieces and nephews, and the most recent family addition - her amazing grandniece, Eloise. Correction: W.E.B. DuBois's Talented Tenth was intended to be 10% of the African American population that 4 million African Americans, 41 million is the total number of American American in the United States.Resources mentioned on the show:Get in touch with Dr. Audrey Jordan Linked in PageBook: The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B.DuBois  Book: How the word is passed by Clint SmithBook: Emergent Strategy adrienne maree brownBook: The Politics of Trauma Staci HainesMargaret Wheatley Islands of SanityOriginally recorded on 1/26/2022.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/posts/35274155)

In this episode, we look at some data as relates the the juvenile (In)justice system and ways in which our systems perpetuate disproportional representation of youth of color and don't support what we know works. Our guest invites us to look at how our system is based on society having deprived youth of opportunities to grieve. Programs that provide space to grieve have been successful. Are we punishing youth who are just grieving?Our guest, Deven (he/him) is the Managing Partner of Viable Insights. Through collaboratively designed and implemented methods, and interpersonal effectiveness, Deven facilitates dialogue to support a space conducive to community-led transformation. Deven has also taught Organizational Behavior and Psychology of Leadership at the University of Arizona. Deven serves as the 2021-2022 Past-President Elect of the Arizona Evaluation Network. Bringing all of this together, Deven co-hosts Radical (Re)Imagining, a podcast intent on setting a collaborative reflective space for co-creating a collective vision for being more human in our work lives through reflective practice, interpersonal development, and embodied healing.Get in touch with Deven Wisner: on his LinkedIn page or on is Twitter pageResources mentioned on the show:Data: 1. Annie E. Casey Foundation's JDAI2. Pre-Trial Justice InstituteRelationship-based work:1. Emergent Strategy Book by Adrienne M. Brown: Systems work:1. Part of the work includes Yosso's Cultural Wealth model (from my perspective), even though we see the ultimate solution as burning it all down.2. Appreciate Andreotti et al.'s approach to hospicing systems, and this idea of learning from them. On page 8, I see some grief aspects, too.Originally recorded on January 20, 2022. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/posts/35274155)

In this episode, we discuss how higher education reinforces white supremacy by design. We highlight the data that exposes these contradictions. In particular, we talk about three ways higher education enforces white supremacy: 1) Quality of life for millennials will not higher than parents' generations; 2) There is a gap between white students and students of color and no meaningful attempts really close that gap; and 3) Data are often collected as a diversion. Our guest, Libby Smith (she/they) is an organizational healing facilitator, as an experienced and holistic evaluator and educator who has worked for several years in higher education. She excels at the human component of evaluation and organizational change. Never one to shy away from crucial conversations, Libby deftly balances accountability and compassion. Their work focuses on building equity and  accessibility through personal growth & embodiment practices. Libby has an MS in Applied Psychology and serves as Program Director for the MS Applied Psychology program at her alma mater where she provides guidance and professional development to emerging evaluators. She supports individuals and organizations in navigating hard conversations that will lead them towards transformative change. She has been practicing breathwork since 2018, and politicized somatics since 2020; using both in service of clients realizing their purpose, finding their worth, and building human connection.Resources mentioned on the show:You can contact libby through her website. You can check out her podcast Radical (Re)Imagining here.Apologies for the audio gaps and delays. Show recorded inside of fallacies of a spotty internet connection. Recorded on January 11, 2022; aired on  January 14, 2022.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/posts/35274155)

In this episode, we discuss how parents who have been targeted by the family policing system (child protective services) experience all the systems, together, allied to the detriment of their own families. By sharing her powerful-first hand experience, Jeannette Vega inspires a life beyond fear and shame, where the experiences of parents who had their children removed are honored and become the core to support system transformation.Our guest, Jeanette Vega is a proud mother of four boys and a proud parent advocate in NYC. Jeannette my own personal experience with child welfare in 1999 and it was over in 2002. Jeanette started contributing to Rise in 2008 and began as a Training Director in 2018. She is now the Assistant Director for Training and Policy at Rise. Jeanette specializes in presenting parents’ perspectives to child welfare professionals and training other parents to become advocates. Jeanette leads Rise’s work consulting with the Administration for Children’s Services and other agencies on their internal staff trainings. Jeanette graduated from the Child Welfare Organizing Project’s Parent Leadership Training in 2005 and was one of the first parent advocates to staff Child Safety Conferences in New York City. Jeannette is also the Equity and Parent Advocacy Chair for Home for Good Coalition.Resources mentioned on the show: Rise WebsiteHome for Good Coalition WebsiteOriginally aired on 02/25/2021Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/posts/35274155)

In this episode, we use the mathematical definition of a "system" as a set of rules that preserve a certain result, to look at the ways that the System as a whole preserves itself. Our guest, Attorney Karla Cruel, walks us through her approach to re-write the constitution--laid out in a new article she co-wrote with Rita Fierro on Medium (link below). Rewriting the constitution is a strategy designed to bring out the purple majority and overcome the dialectic of blue against red that we've become accustomed that keeps our country oppressing many to the benefit of the 1%. Karla L. Cruel, Esq., is an educator, now social entrepreneur who launched Legal Empowerment Group to educate and support lower-to-middle income individuals. She worked as staff attorney for Tenant Union Representative Network (TURN), assisting with Philadelphia’s Eviction Prevention Project. Throughout her schooling, she has been promoting social equality and racial and religious reconciliation. Ms. Cruel attended and graduated from Drexel University’s Thomas Kline School of Law. She has practiced law in various areas including criminal law, family law, landlord-tenant law, business law, charter school law and other civil transactional and litigation. Karla L. Cruel is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania. Ms. Cruel also holds a master’s degree from Saint Joseph’s University in criminal justice is a mentor, speaker, educator and community advocate. Resources mentioned on the show:It's time to re-write the Constitution article Charles Hamilton Houston history Brown vs. board of Education 1954 case historyMost Americans live in Purple America Washington Post ArticleGeorge Orwell's 1984 bookAttorney Karla's instagram pageAttorney Karla's Twitter pageOriginally recorded on February 11, 2021.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/posts/35274155)

In this episode we engage in conversations with three expert facilitators on their personal stories that led them to experience, understand, and value how white supremacy is stored in our bodies and how healing in community is an essential way for what's next. By healing together, we can shift from inherited fear through being witnessed and being curious. There are ways for us to come to the table together. There are ways for us to strengthen our relationships, re-embrace consistency, joy and trust and let go, releasing ourselves to not knowing.Resources Mentioned on the show:Lisa Jo's websiteBernadette's websiteRoslyn's email: rosaroo1@live.com400 years: Unlearning racism through the body, storytelling and deep listeningOriginally Recorded on January 29, 2021.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/posts/35274155)

In this episode, through storytelling and reflection, we review the somatic experience that people of color have of how the System can unleash itself against them at any time. We highlight how bodies of people of color retain memories of traumatic events and how the retriggering is unlikely for white people to understand. We offer ways to weave the gap across different experiences and pave the way for unlearning racism, healing, and mutual understanding.Our guest, Bernadette is a fiery sensual Speaker, Somatic Healer, Sacred Grief Ritual Facilitator, Creator of The Emotional Institute and Femme!, a mind-body wellness program. With certifications in Somatic Healing Modalities and Sensual Movement, Reiki, and Integrated Energy Therapy—and studies in African, Tribal, and Free Dance—Bernadette promotes emotional freedom through movement and empowerment. Resources mentioned on the show: Bernadette Pleasant's website400 years: Unlearning racism through the body, storytelling and deep listeningOriginally recorded on January 25, 2021.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/posts/35274155)

In this episode we break down several aspects of internalized white supremacy: perfectionism, conflict as danger, defensiveness, not-good-enough story, and obsession with product over process and doing the right thing. We also highlight how the discomfort and dissonance between our perception of ourselves and the realties we are confronted with are key to healing internal white supremacy and freeing ourselves from the inner tyranny that keeps us separate and isolated. Healing the inner tyranny is possible when allow ourselves to take our proper place as one piece in a bigger puzzle: one piece with both it's importance and its limitations."How can we have a multi racial democracy if the water we’re drinking is still white supremacy? “--Lisa Jo Epstein Ph.D.Our guest, Lisa Jo Epstein Ph.D., is the Executive & Artistic Director of Just Act, and an accomplished theatre director, educator, Theatre of the Oppressed trainer and facilitator. Dr. Lisa Jo works at the intersection of theatre, social justice, anti-oppression facilitation and community-based engagement, and integrates her unique background and facilitation skills into creative social justice diversity training, education, capacity building, community-based planning, development, expression and activism. In the 1990s, she trained for 3 years with Augusto Boal, creator of Theatre of the Oppressed, and interned with Ariane Mnouchkine of the renowned Théâtre du Soleil in Paris France. Dr Lisa Jo founded Just Act in 2015, serving as a catalyst for change and activism to build a just world. Resources mentioned on the show: Augusto Boal also hereTheatre of the OppressedLisa Jo Epstein bioJust ActOriginally recorded on 1/14/2021Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/posts/35274155)

In this show, we talk about how racism assaults the body and stores emotions and pains for decades. By walking through some key concepts of Resam Menakem's My Grandmother's Hands, we highlight some ways that meditation, dance, exercise, expressing clean pain, and releasing grief, can help release trauma from the body providing a way to lighten up, ground, and be more fully our true selves. Choosing clean pain daily, requires courage, and the awareness of choosing responsibility over fragility, self-compassion over dishonesty.Our guest, Roslyn Thomas is a radioshow host, trainer, and food activist with a focus on social justice and healing. As a certified instructor for Femme! She leads groups through healing journey by releasing tensions and emotions from our bodies. As a radioshow and food activist, she builds partnerships and insights around issues of food justice, social justice, and personal healing. Roslyn has a background in finance and a plethora of experiences in both New York City and Philadelphia. As an apprentice trainer for Home for Good Coalition, Roz contributes to building community and transforming systemic racism nation-wide.Resources mentioned on the show: Roz's Email: rosaroo1@live.comsFemme! technique400 years: Unlearning racism through the body, storytelling and deep listeningMy Grandmother's HandsOriginally aired on January 7, 2021.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/posts/35274155)

In this provocative episode, we move beyond the definitions of capitalism, socialism, and communism, through the assumptions of inequality as the backbone of our system, to a vision for a new economy. Our guests have knowledge of and insights from different corners of the economic world. Wayne Armitstead having authored Capitalism Perverted, as a prior stockbroker, sees a system that is too unstable to serve even the richer among us. Matt Birkhold has studied the history of capitalism and is an organizer and movement-builder who sees the power of collectives to create alternatives to the mainstream. David Caplan is an accountant with vast experience in State Government who sees the limitations to how our electoral process influence the economy. Erick Murillo Ramos served in national and international economic institutions: the Central bank of Mexico, the IMF, and the World Bank. Gagan Oberoi is a marketing specialist who trained staff in large international corporations around the increase of consumption. Together, they envision an economy that serves humanity, the earth, and profits, and begin to consider what supports are needed to fulfill that vision.Resources mentioned on the show: Wayne's book Capitalism PervertedTo Contact our Guests: Wayne Armitstead Facebook, Book Facebook, LinkedInMatt Birkhold, BizTwitter, BizFacebook, Personal TwitterDavid Caplan, FacebookErick Murillo Ramos, LinkedinGagan Oberoir, Linkedin Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/posts/35274155)

In this episode, we review the basic concepts of the economic system that we mostly take for granted: money, economy, accounting, transactions, growth. Our Guest, Gagandeep Oberoi is a global citizen, currently living in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. who stands for ‘everyone winning’ with a possibility of love and happiness for all. Gagan believes that we are working from wrong assumptions about the economy, and those wrong assumptions are what disempower us most. Instead, Gagan has us note how limiting beliefs about lack are baked into our system through the law of supply and demand and simple mathematics. He also proposes how we can envision and move towards an economic system that serves everyone in the world. Gagan has two decades of well-earned success in accomplishing breakthrough sales & marketing objectives for leading retail businesses, FMCG, Advertising, and Modern Trade organizations. he also has expertise in creating unique strategies encompassing profit&loss, responsibility, business portfolio, brand & product strategy, identification of new avenues, visual merchandising & go-to-market through a collaborative management style.Resources mentioned on the show: Contact Gagan on his Linkedin Page: Originally Recorded on December 8, 2020. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/posts/35274155)

In this episode we review many of the mechanisms that keeps the economy stuck in bubble growths and bursts. From the uncovering the fake economic boost of right now, to the dark money in politics, and the elimination of the gold reserve, we walk from what has become morn in our current economic system and what we can actually shift for the world we want. Breaking up trusts, full employment, and increased regulation are some of the options offered by economist Heiman Minsky. Our guest, Wayne Armitstead, is author of the book Capitalism Perverted, grounded in his experience as a Financial advisor and an educator. Wayne is dedicated to teaching younger generations about the economic and societal issues they are inheriting and how they can create change and prevent economic crisis. Resources mentioned on the show: Buy Wayne's book hereMintsky MomentMitsky's BookTo contact Wayne: Wayne's Facebook pageBook Facebook pageLinkedIn pageOriginally recorded on 12/3/2020.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/posts/35274155)

In this episode, an old colleague of mine and I meander on the importance of Love in overcoming the restraints of racism and the economy in the USA. We discuss how knowledge won't set us free, how healing is essential, and how we can build our economic power in the face of capitalism--a very knew system in the history of humanity, despite we think of it as rigid and unchangeable. Our guest, Matt Birkhold, takes seriously his and others' ability and responsibility to create and foster the emergence of a world in which human beings can become more fully human and sustain themselves without damage to the planet and each other. To pursue this practice, Matt has founded Visionary Organizing Lab, and educational laboratory supporting people to become more fully human by creating sustainable and dignity affirming economies, institutions, and cultural practices. He has a PhD in historical sociology and resides in Washington DC.Resources mentioned on the show: Grace Boggs School https://www.boggsschool.orgRedefine Safety Detroit https://www.redefinesafety.orgSouladarity https://www.soulardarity.comFeedom Freedom http://www.findglocal.com/US/Detroit/342164122363/Feedom-FreedomTo connect with Matt: http://www.visionaryorganizinglab.orgVisionary Organizing Lab's Twitter https://twitter.com/visionary_labVisionary Organizing Lab's Facebook https://web.facebook.com/visionaryorganizinglabMatt's Twitter :https://twitter.com/@birklyn1Originally Recorded on November 25, 2020.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/posts/35274155)

In this episode, we look at international economic and some somecreen dynamics to inequality: the GDP, disparities, and fake choices. Our guest, Erick Ramos Murillo, is an economist and entrepreneur with wide experience serving as a strategist and consultant for a number of private companies, government and multinational organizations. Mr. Ramos was co-founder of PointSpectrum and CEO of RemesaTel Corporation, a company focused on solving end-user financial needs by developing proprietary Mobile Technology Systems. He successfully coordinated engineering (India, US) and business development efforts (Mexico) to raise government grants and achieve consulting, and technology deployment contracts. He has also played a fundamental role in devising, designing, and executing strategic and financial nation-wide decisions for the Central Bank of Mexico. Erick Ramos Murillo also represented Mexico in the Executive Board of the IMF and as part of the World Bank has advised more than 40 city governments around the world. He received his B.S. in Economics (finance concentration) from Universidad Iberoamericana, a Master in Economic Development from Harvard University (business concentration) and a Graduate degree in Entrepreneurial Management from Boston University.Erick's LinkedinOriginally Recorded on November 19, 2020.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/posts/35274155)

In this episode, we explore some misperceptions of the economic system: trickle down economics, trade deficits, and managing countries like businesses. We also look at how our states are different and how the Federal and Commonwealth structures were established to maintain differences, too. Our guest, David A. Caplan, has been a sole practitioner since purchasing an accounting practice in 1992. His client base and services offered are diverse, encompassing everything from tax returns to financial statements, investment advice and management consulting. Caplan is a strong advocate for tax reform, and in 2012, he was presented with the Champion Award from the Greater Philadelphia chapter of PICPA for his continuing effort to simplify local taxes in Pennsylvania. He was also named Best Accountant by Philadelphia Magazine in its 2012 “Best of Philly” issue and was a finalist for the Centers of Influence award from SmartCEO Magazine in 2016. He is a former Chairman of the Montgomery County Tax Collection Committee, which is responsible for choosing a tax collector for earned income tax (EIT) for the county, and was instrumental in the passage and implementation of Act 32, as well as Act 18 of 2018, the most recent EIT legislation. From 2005 to 2012, Caplan was the Treasurer for his state representative’s re-election campaign. He is also a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. David's article about Trump's taxes in the Inquirer: 4 questions about Trump’s tax returns from a CPADavid's Facebook pageDavid's email: dactyl@caplancpa.comOriginally aired on 11/12/2020Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/posts/35274155)

This episode was recorded when the results of the election were clear, but not yet declared. We engage in a conversation beyond the angst of the results by discussion what the elections say about where our country is and what's next. What would it be like if we built systems that all across the country would connect people instead of separating us? Our Guest Raphael Freeman is a political scientist by training and the lenses of politics and political history shape his view of the world. He combines the tools of political game theory with latest insights from positive psychology and neuropsychology to help people make their greatest contribution and live a life of purpose. Everything he does revolves around a core belief: that everyone has something to offer; everyone has a unique gift to offer the world that no one else can. Raphael's mission is to help remove the barriers to human thriving and human connection and empower people so that everyone may contribute their unique talents and gifts to the greater human community. As a personal growth coach, he works with people who want to get the most out of this ONE life—whether they feel they’ve made some missteps or have made what was seemingly all of the right moves. "Some people have an unshakable desire to become something greater, to offer something more to the world, or to shed the feeling of being in a rut or “stuck”. Whatever the impetus, I help people to engage more fully and move the needle to where it needs to be."Resources Mentioned on the show: Heterodox Americana Podcast websiteEmail: post@HeterodoxAmericana.comInstagram: Heterodox AmericanaRecorded on November, 5, 2020.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/posts/35274155)

In this episode, we talk about breaking the silence by sharing our deepest fears and how transformative that can be for ourselves, but also breaking down barriers within our families and in our society establishing more authentic relationships. We also talk about the failures of the liberal/progressive movement to address the visceral fears of extinction of white men. Our guest, Dove, is my yoga teacher, a humanist, a dad, a gay man, and a humanist.Dove: humanistic Dove: dadDove: born 1950 ariesDove: rhymes with loveYou can contact Dove by email: dove613@gmail.com Photography website: www.Dovography.comSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/posts/35274155)

In this show we envision how our Juvenile (In)Justice system could be humanizing, instead of detrimental to youth and society. It's shifting a system from an approach that breaks youth's will by having them cave-in, give up, or get tough and instead align the system with what we know about youth, about learning, and about life.We have two guests: Sousan is the mom of youth in the Juvenile (In)Justice system and school counsellor, Michael is the Director of Youth Programs at the Village for Arts and Humanities in Philadelphia.Resources mentioned on the show: Village of Arts and Humanities websiteYouth Art & Self-Empowerment Project websiteJuvenile Law Center websiteYouth Sentencing Re-entry Project websiteDefender Association of Philadelphia websiteParticipatory Defense Hubs networks website Michael's email: mike@villagearts.orgOriginally aired on September 18, 2020.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/posts/35274155)

In this episode, we talk with two advocates for juveniles who have been working intensely to end youth sentenced to life without parole. They also support other youth to get out of the juvenile justice system, once and for all. John Pace is the Juvenile Life Without Parole (“JLWOP”) Reentry Coordinator with the Youth Sentencing & Reentry Project. In this role he coordinates efforts to garner the necessary resources to support former juvenile lifers returning home. As a former juvenile lifer himself–John spent 31 years in prison, beginning at age 17–he was actively involved in numerous initiatives while incarcerated to help support his personal transition back to the community and that of other juvenile lifers. John is a certified paralegal and a former member of the Para Professional Law Clinic (PPLC) at Graterford prison. In 2014, he became a certified instructor in the Inside-Out Pedagogy, which teaches the art of facilitating dialogue. While incarcerated, John earned his Associates Degree and Bachelor’s Degree from Villanova University, with minors in sociology and criminal justice. John Pace was named the first-ever recipient of the Raymond Pace Alexander Reentry Star of the Year Award in June 2018 in recognition of his tremendous accomplishments since returning home from prison.Contact: jpace@ysrp.org; 267-703-8053Joanna Visser Adjoian, Esq. is co-founder and Co-Director of the Youth Sentencing & Reentry Project. At YSRP, she leads the reentry team for youth and Juvenile Lifers, does policy advocacy work, and works with her Co-Director and Director of Operations on fundraising, communications and other aspects of the organization’s operations.Prior to co-founding YSRP, Joanna served as Associate Director and Staff Attorney of the Toll Public Interest Center at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where she oversaw the Center’s 26 student pro bono projects, offered guidance to more than 100 student leaders, and directly supervised students in new and existing pro bono initiatives. Before joining the Toll Center, Joanna she advanced efforts to end the practice of sentencing children to life in prison without parole, including co-authoring an Amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in the landmark case of Miller v. Alabama. Joanna is a 2014 Echoing Green Fellow, a 2016 Claneil Emerging Leader Fellow, a 2016 recipient of the Penn Law Young Alumni Award, and a 2017 recipient of the Penn Law Alan Lerner Rising Star Award. She was honored to receive the 2018 Shepherd of Peace Award from Good Shepherd Mediation Program, the 2019 Haddon, McClellan, and Richardson Award from the Temple University Black Law Students Association, and the 2019 F. Sean Peretta Service Award from the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Young Lawyer Division. Along with Lauren Fine, she is the 2018 recipient of the American Constitution Society David Carliner Public Interest Award. Joanna is a published author, including articles in The ChampSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/posts/35274155)

In this episode, we talk with a youth worker who provides sobering insights on the importance of caring for our youth and having compassion for the ones who go astray.Michael O’Bryan is an expert practitioner and budding researcher in the fields of community development, organizational culture, and human wellbeing. Mike has spent more than a decade working directly with resilient yet underserved populations —including veterans, adults in recovery, returning citizens, and families experiencing homelessness. He is currently an Innovation Fellow at Drexel University’s Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation and was recently a Corzo Fellow at The Corzo Center for The Creative Economy at The University of the Arts. He is the founder of Humanature, a consultancy working with nonprofits, businesses, local government agencies and their employees to transform how they understand and support human development, interaction, and performance. Clients include NeighborWorks America, ArtistYear, New Jersey Community Capital, and The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. O’Bryan has spoken nationally about his work, including convenings at Cornell University, The Vera List Center for Arts and Politics at The New School, SPECTRUM/SOCAP, and the famed Apollo Theatre in New York.O’Bryan holds a Bachelor’s degree in music from the University of the Arts and a graduate certificate in Childhood Trauma Studies from Jefferson University. He is a faculty member of the Career Studies Department at The Curtis Institute of Music and serves on The American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Commission on The Arts. He currently serves on the boards of two philanthropic institutions, The Samuel S. Fels Fund and The Philadelphia Cultural Fund, and is every day inspired by exploring the science of our humanity.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/posts/35274155)

In this episode, we discover the limitations of juvenile justice reform due to the data that is reported and the data that isn't. Our guest, is Adam Serlin who currently serves as a Stoneleigh Fellow with The Center for Government Excellence at Johns Hopkins University. In this role, he is helping Philadelphia’s juvenile justice stakeholders use data to drive more efficient, responsive, and cost-effective services for justice-involved youth. Prior to his fellowship, Adam spent twelve years at NorthEast Treatment Centers (NET) where he helped to design, implement, and manage various community-based juvenile justice and anti-violence programs. Adam is also the founder and principal member of Independent Variable LLC, a consulting service designed to help organizations better achieve social innovation & impact. Beyond his work as a practitioner, Adam has been a speaker and presenter across various forums and platforms and participated on numerous local and state committees focused on juvenile justice, violence prevention, and education issues.Adam holds a BA from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and an MPA and Certificate in Economic Development from the University of Pennsylvania’s Fels Institute of Government. He also received an Executive Certificate in Innovation and Design Thinking from the Carey Business School at Johns Hopkins University. Adam can be contacted by email or web at:aserlin@bethevariable.com orhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-serlin-88b17ab/Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/posts/35274155)

Trigger warning: this episode has vivid references to physical violence.In this episode, we talk with a prior youth in the juvenile justice system about how the cycle of violence started in his own life and what it took him to break it and become a peacemaker for himself, his family, and his community. Our guest, Iran was a foster child in the custody of DCF in his childhood who then immersed himself in to the violent street culture of gang membership and prison though his twenties. In the1990’s he began to repurpose himself to helping youth avoid his childhood path and in the early 2000’s he began leading organizations working to reduce violence across the State of Connecticut. He has worked in the program management, gang prevention, youth outreach, youth engagement and support field for 30 years. He is an expert in Gang Prevention and Mediation and provides training to many groups serving youth who are deemed in risk. Working in partnership with the Hartford Connecticut Police Department in June of 2015 Iran was “Badged” by the department to serve as a community/law enforcement partner. In this role Iran is to serve as an intermediary in city wide crisis situations under President Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper Initiative.In 2016 he Founded the Peace Center of Connecticut where he serves as President/CEO. He is the recipient of numerous recognitions including the 2014 “Meet the Peacemaker Award and in 2017 was appointed as the International Peace Ambassador for the NYC Peace Museum.Resources mentioned on the show: Peace Center of Connecticut websiteOriginally aired on July 10, 2020.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/posts/35274155)

...will burn it down to feel its warmth" An African Wisdom Saying--that Sousan mentions on the show. In this episode, we talk with a mother who has seen all three of her children in the juvenile justice system. We talk about personal power, race, and the split between how the private juvenile "injustice" facilities offer high quality services--to predominantly white children, while the state facilities are youth prisons with predominantly children of color. Sousan also describes the soul-crushing experience of juvenile court.Our guest, Sousan is the mother of 3 children age 30, 18 and 16 and grandmother of 3. She was widowed last May when her childhood sweetheart died suddenly of a heart attack. She works for the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit where she serves as a school counselor for several schools in the county. She is currently completing the requirements to become a Licensed Professional Counselor. Sousan considers herself a healer and cares deeply about helping others to remember who they are, to re-claim their power and to use their incarnation in a mighty way. Sousan is a Certified Family Recovery Specialist and serves as a peer support to other parents who have children with substance-use disorder. She is involved in and deeply committed to the recovery community. Sousan regularly attends parent support groups and continues to educate herself about the disease of addiction. She volunteers at a Women’s Treatment Center as part of a Mom’s group for mothers of addicted children, lovingly referred to as the Mama Bears. Sousan is also a member of Power, an interfaith organization and movement committed to building power within communities and creating a more just and loving world. Her focus and passion is police reform, ending mass incarceration and systematic racism and overall systems change.The guiding force of Sousan’ life is the divine presence. She believes that we are all emanations of the most-high. Sousan is known to carry index cards of affirmations to give out to others and she frequently writes herself reminders, applied with a sharpie to her hand, of how she intends to walk thru life, in order to guide her through each day. Her highest intention is to be in a state of: Reverence Grace Humility and ThanksgivingResources mentioned on the show: Contact sousan: krisou000@gmail.comAn article on Crossover YouthFirst aired on July 3, 2020Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/posts/35274155)

In this episode, we look at the law enforcement system from two different perspectives, a correctional executive and a lawyer activist provide insights into how the system is, and how it needs to change. Our guests are Louis Molina and Karla Cruel: bios below. Louis Molina is a second generation, decorated veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, with over twenty years of experience in the public sector, namely in the criminal justice arena having uniquely worked in policing, the District Attorney’s office and corrections. His current role has allowed him to operationalize sustainable criminal justice reform practices that advance the principles of social justice in an effort to break the cycle of poverty, crime and abuse. Louis believes that in order to improve the criminal justice system and enhance the impact of social services, these systems need strategic disruption in how they are managed in order to address today’s challenges. Louis is currently the First Deputy Commissioner, Westchester County Department of Correction and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from Chaminade University, a Master in Public Administration degree from Marist College School of Management, Master of Arts degree in Human Rights Studies from Columbia University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, studied abroad at University of Cambridge, United Kingdom and was a United States Department of Justice/Office of Justice Programs National Institute of Justice Scholar for Law Enforcement, advancing the infusion of research and evidence into policing policy and practice from 2014 to 2017. Karla L. Cruel, Esq., a former educator, now social entrepreneur who launched Legal Empowerment Group to educate and support lower-to-middle income individuals. She worked as staff attorney for Tenant Union Representative Network (TURN), assisting with Philadelphia’s Eviction Prevention Project. Having grown up in West Philadelphia, attending academic programs created to help poor minority children go to college, now she holds three degrees. Throughout her schooling, she has been promoting social equality and racial and religious reconciliation. After living in Japan for 4.5 years, Ms. Cruel returned to the US to have a greater impact on the community in which she was raised. Through the encouragement of her students, Ms. Cruel attended and graduated from Drexel University’s Thomas Kline School of Law. She has practiced law in various areas including criminal law, family law, landlord-tenant law, business law, charter school law and other civil transactional and litigation. Karla L. Cruel is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania. Ms. Cruel also holds a master’s degree from Saint Joseph’s University in criminal justice is a mentor, speaker, educator and community advocate. Karla has also given back to her community through volunteering with and serving as a member of Christian Legal Services’ Board of Directors, teaching at Temple University’s Pan-African Studies Community Education Program, serving on the Board of Directors of Imhotep Charter School, and teaching legal education workshops at Imhotep’s Communiversity. Even ran for a Philadelphia District City Council seat in 2019. She is the recipient of the Outstanding Law Student Award from the National Association of Women Lawyers and the Pro Bono Award from Drexel University Law School and First Judicial District in 2019 for her working in Landlord-Tenant court.Resources mentioned on the show: Contact: Louis Molinawww.LouisMolina.comKarla Cruel email: kcruel@legalempowermentgroup.net Originally aired on June 19, 2020.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/posts/35274155)

In this really phenomenal show (if I say so myself) we talk about how we can leverage our collective power to envision and create a system for liberty and justice for all. We talk about the need for a truth and reconciliation commission, legislative activism, and even a new constitution! It's an explosive episode. Let's go! Our guests from this month come back in this show: Damon K Jones, Louis Molina, and Karla Cruel.Contact information: Damon K Jones: Blacks in Law Enforcement Facebook pageDamon K Jones on Twitter pageLouis Molina: websiteKarla Cruel: Kcruel@legalempowermentgroup.comResources mentioned on the show:Originally aired on June 27, 2020Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/posts/35274155)

In this episode, a foster parent talks about how she was the "perfect victim" who entered the system to save children only to discover she was complicit in a brutal system that perpetuates psychological abuse against both foster parents and birth parents.Jazmin S. Banks was a “Family and Community Inclusion Specialist” at the Department of Behavioral Health (a.k.a. DBH), for 14 years. She worked tirelessly to bridge the gaps between large Serving Systems, Community Based Organizations (CBOs), Non-Profit Organizations, Faith and Family-run organizations, to help family members and other marginalized populations to gain “access” to resources and opportunities. She was a “servant leader” that constantly enhanced supports and services, while serving as a “bridge” and impromptu “resource coordinator” by partnering with Cross-Systems Staff and community partners. She coordinated and facilitated the county-run “Family Member Storytelling Training” for about 13 years, and for 5-6 years, she coordinated and hosted “inclusive” Community Meetings where hundreds of community members, service recipient and family members attended monthly. For outstanding dedication and commitment to family and community service, Jazmin won a Commissioner, Dr. Arthur C. Evans (ACE) “Trailblazer” award in 2017. About 30 years ago, Jazmin followed her heart, her love of children and curiosity and compassion and ended up becoming a Foster Parent to multiple children (15) with various disabilities. She later adopted 5 older sons (but only had two adoptions: four sons the first time and adopted one son the 2nd time.) Two of her sons currently live at home - her youngest, now 24, who lives with Autism and an Intellectual disability & her eldest son, now 33, who lives with a learning difference, as well as physical and mental health challenges. Jazmin is currently finishing up a ground breaking, tell-all memoir to share intimate details about the tragedies of at-risk parenting in America, and will be offering suggestions for positive and meaningful change.Resources mentioned on this show:Video hereEvery Mother's a Working Mother's websiteOriginally aired on February 14, 2020.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/posts/35274155)

In this episode, a journalist who has been covering child welfare since 1990, highlights how much about the system hasn't changed, and how it's rooted in seeds of profound bigotry against catholics, that has not been extended to people of color: racism as the backbone of the system. Richard Wexler is Executive Director of NCCPR. His interest in child welfare grew out of 19 years of work as a reporter for newspapers, public radio and public television. During that time, he won more than two dozen awards, many of them for stories about child abuse and foster care. He is the author of Wounded Innocents: The Real Victims of the War Against Child Abuse (Prometheus Books: 1990, 1995). Wexler has testified before Congress and State Legislatures and advised the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Children and Families in its 1995 rewrite of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act. Wexler’s writing about the child welfare system has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune and other major newspapers, and he has been interviewed by The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, Time, the Associated Press, USA Today, 60 Minutes, National Public Radio, CNN, Good Morning America, Today, CBS This Morning, ABC World News Tonight, the CBS Evening News, and other media. Wexler is a graduate of Richmond College of the City University of New York and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, where he was awarded the school’s highest honor, a Pulitzer Traveling Fellowship. He was formerly Assistant Professor of Communications at The Pennsylvania State University — Beaver Campus.Resources shared on this show:Community Legal Services websiteEvery Mother's a Working mother WebsiteOriginally aired on February 21, 2020Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/posts/35274155)

In this episode, by talking with a birth parent, foster parent, a journalist, and a researcher, we look at the way the different mechanism of trauma and family separation work together. We also begin to envision what it would take to overcome the denial of how racism works within these systems and what it would take for us to organize together to change them. Resources mentioned on the show: National Coalition for Child Protection Reform websiteOriginally Aired on February 28, 2020Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/posts/35274155)

In this episode we hear from a birth parent who lost one of her children to foster care how daunting the experience with DHS was an how, the more she advocated for her child's needs, the worse the experience became. Our guest, Lawanda, is a single mother of three. "I'm college educated and hard working. I'm a survivor of DHS. My story is a little different, you see DHS wasn't always the beast they became. In the beginning they were a source of help. I can't explain how or why they changed but one day I was enemy and all eyes were on me. I went from being a concerned, kind, caring parent to someone who was unstable and a risk to her own children. There were lies told to paint a picture of someone I wasn't. However, I was smart cookie and no one's fool. I found a different set of resources and fought back. In the end of I was victorious and cleared my good name. I wouldn't wish what happened to me on my worst enemy but I came out on the other side."Resources mentioned on the show:Video hereEvery Mother's a Working Mother's websiteOriginally aired on February 7, 2020Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/posts/35274155)