Community Voices: We're Listening

The 10th episode of Community Voices: We're Listening was recorded live by Dan Matthews and the Arlington Young Democrats at an event called Immigrant Voices, which took place on Sunday, July 22nd, 2018 in Arlington, VA. The purpose of the event was to listen to personal stories directly from immigrants and help spread understanding, awareness, and empathy. Four speakers shared their immigration stories, and then there was an audience Q&A session. For information about this event and the Arlington Young Democrats, please visit arlingtonyoungdems.org and danielmatthews.org. You can find/follow the Community Voices podcast on the following platforms: Website: https://www.communityvoicespod.com Email: communityvoicespod@gmail.com Instagram: @communityvoicespod

The Community Voices: We're Listening podcast is BACK with our conversation with Annie Killefer! On this episode, we discuss Annie's career in emergency response and humanitarian aid and what it's like to be a female manager in war-torn countries with different cultures. You can find/follow the Community Voices podcast on the following platforms: Website: https://www.communityvoicespod.com Email: communityvoicespod@gmail.com Instagram: @communityvoicespod

Our guest this week is Bill Rice! Bill currently works as a government consultant/contractor and has completed projects for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). On this episode, we discuss Bill's international activism with the Yazidis and Kurds and his local activism with criminal justice reform, including helping to raise Virginia's felony larceny threshold. If you would like to donate to Yazidi relief efforts, please visit the following websites: -Yazidi American Women Organization: http://www.saveyazidis.org/ -Yazda: https://www.yazda.org/ If you would like more information about the topics discussed on this episode, check out Bill's publications at the links below: -Richmond Public Interest Law Review, "A Reform Long Overdue: Raising Virginia's Felony Larceny Threshold" https://scholarship.richmond.edu/pilr/vol21/iss1/3/ -Washington Kurdish Institute, "Turkey's Invasion of Afrin" http://dckurd.org/2018/03/18/turkeys-invasion-of-afrin/ You can find/follow the Community Voices podcast on the following platforms: Website: https://www.communityvoicespod.com Email: communityvoicespod@gmail.com Instagram: @communityvoicespod

This week's episode features Pablo Moulden! On this episode, we discuss Pablo's coming out experience, his HIV status, and his journey towards becoming a strong advocate for sex education reform in Virginia. Check out Pablo's advocacy work, including the organization he founded called Arlington Parents for Sex Education Reform (APSER), on his website at https://apositivevoice.com/. You can find/follow the Community Voices podcast on the following platforms: Website: https://www.communityvoicespod.com Email: communityvoicespod@gmail.com Instagram: @communityvoicespod

Our guest this week is Howard Ross! Howard is a nationally recognized consultant, focusing on diversity, leadership, and organizational change. He is the Founding Partner of Cook Ross, a diversity consulting company, and he is the author of 3 books, including: Reinventing Diversity, Everyday Bias, and his latest book entitled Our Search for Belonging: How Our Need to Connect is Tearing Us Apart. On this episode, we discuss how Howard's study of the brain, unconscious bias, and fear relates to our current political climate and ways to listen/empathize with those we disagree with.  You can find/follow the Community Voices podcast on the following platforms:  Website: https://www.communityvoicespod.com Email: communityvoicespod@gmail.com Instagram: @communityvoicespod 

This week Adil and Kayla talk to Thomas Spencer about his views regarding guns. The purpose of our conversation was not to debate each other or try to change each other's minds. Rather, the purpose was to listen to Thomas' stance, develop some empathy for his position, and look for some common ground.  You can find/follow the Community Voices podcast on the following platforms: Website: https://www.communityvoicespod.com Email: communityvoicespod@gmail.com Instagram: @communityvoicespod

Our guest on the podcast this week is Jan Canterbury! Our conversation spans many topics, including her coming out process, her environmental policy work at the EPA, and her thoughts on polarization in America.  Jan co-founded Building Bridges and Ascent Virginia along with our previous guest, Vivek Patil. Check them out at https://www.buildingbridgesva.com/ and https://www.ascentvirginia.org/!  You can find/follow the Community Voices podcast on the following platforms: Website: https://www.communityvoicespod.com Email: communityvoicespod@gmail.com Instagram: @communityvoicespod

We had our first guest join us on the podcast this week - Vivek Patil! We cover many topics in this episode, including the environment, immigration, refugees, and LGBTQ issues. Also, Vivek tells some really great stories about finding common ground in places he least expected. Vivek mentions two organizations that he co-founded during the episode. They are both fantastic, so check them out at the links below: Building Bridges: https://www.buildingbridgesva.com/ Ascent Virginia: https://www.ascentvirginia.org/ You can find/follow the Community Voices podcast on the following platforms: Website: https://www.communityvoicespod.com Email: communityvoicespod@gmail.com Instagram: @communityvoicespod

We are back a bit early with an update episode where Adil and I discuss his immigration status and advice for folks who may be in a similar position.

In this episode, Adil (co-host) interviews Kayla (co-host) about her background (growing up in Richmond, attending Virginia Tech), and her experience coming out to her family and friends.

In this episode, Kayla (co-host) interviews Adil (co-host) about his experience immigrating to the U.S. from Pakistan, including why he decided to come to the U.S., the immigration application and approval process he went through, and how his experience directly relates to his viewpoints on the current U.S. political climate.