Elephant Stories

Wrapping up a challenging Season 2. Great guests but a tough personal haul…#blackwomanchronicillness#spoonlife Explore Topics in this Episode:David Johns: Omnipresent Yet Hyper-InvisibleDaniel Dawes: Political Determinants of HealthThe MightyInvisible Disabilities AssociationFind us at:Podcast URL: Elephant StoriesTwitter: @StoriesElephantEmail: twestbrook@elephant-stories.com

What happens when people stop being polite … and start getting real?The CEO Circle hosted the Community Development for Liberation conference to bring together experts from multiple academic and professional backgrounds to focus on one issue: community development. Six of those experts share their insights and experiences with me. In order of appearanceNelson Colon, President & CEO of the Puerto Rico Community Foundation Tony Pickett, CEO of the Grounded Solutions Network Michael McAfee, President and CEO of PolicyLink Jeremy Moore, Director, Community Health Programs, Spectrum HealthJanelle Williams, leader in community economic developmentAkilah Watkins, founder of the CEO Circle Explore Topics in This Episode:Season 1: Dr. Akilah WatkinsIn Loiza the Fight for Property Rights Has a Long HistoryShelterforce: Getting Competitive Health Care Systems to Work Together For the Community Find us at:Podcast URL: Elephant StoriesTwitter: @StoriesElephantEmail: twestbrook@elephant-stories.com 

Daniel Dawes, executive director of the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at the Morehouse School of Medicine, has a lot to say about health inequities in the U.S. This lawyer who spends his day with doctors is uniquely qualified to talk about how the law and medicine can pair up to be a force of evolution or of destruction. Mr. Dawes takes us through the cultural and political history that forms the foundation of our current healthcare system as well as the unfortunate disparities, intended and unintended.Resources Referenced in this Episode:Reprint of 1973 Article: “Does Race Interfere With the Doctor-Patient Relationship? (2021). JAMA: Journal of the American Medical Association, 326(7), 679–680. https://doi-org.ezproxy.umgc.edu/10.1001/jama.2021.10464The Political Determinants of Health by Daniel Dawes150 Years of Obamacare by Daniel Dawes    Agent Orange Exposure and VA Disability CompensationExplore Topics from the Episode:Satcher Health Leadership Institute (SHLI)Harvard School of Public Health, Voices in Leadership, David Satcher Intervie             Rebecca Lee CrumpterFind us at:Podcast URL: Elephant StoriesTwitter: @StoriesElephantEmail: twestbrook@elephant-stories.com

The COVID Pandemic brought new light to many existing fissures in U.S. society. One of those is the disconnect between declarations of our children being our future and the lack of attention paid to their early care and education. Taking care of children and taking care of their caregivers – whether professional, family, friend, or neighbor – is fundamental to a healthy future for our children and our community and or world. Come along as Dr. Leah Austin, President & CEO of NBCDI (National Black Child Development Institute) connects the dots and takes us on a ride from children's classrooms to Afrofuturism to Global Citizenry.Elephant Stories Episodes Referenced in Show:Jhumpa Bhattacharya: Centering BlacknessIheoma Iruka: Journey of Discovery Resources Referenced in Show:NBCDI (National Black Child Development Institute) Responsible Transformation of the Early Childhood Education WorkforceMoynihan, Daniel P. 1965. The Negro family: The case for national action. Washington, DC: Office of Policy Planning and Research, U.S. Department of Labor.Targeted Universalism Primer Explore Topics from this Episode:AfrofuturismEssence Magazine - A Beginner's Guide To Afrofuturism: 7 Titles To Watch And ReadGrace Gibson chapter "Creating and Imagining Black Futures through Afrofuturism" in  #identity: Hashtagging Race, Gender, Sexuality, and NationFind us at:Podcast URL: Elephant StoriesTwitter: @StoriesElephantEmail: twestbrook@elephant-stories.com

We're finishing up the final episodes of the season. Watch this space.

We're talking about babies! Babies are my favorite! And Iheoma Iruka, PhD, founding director of the Equity Research Action Coalition specializes in babies. We talk about babies, families, society and all the beautiful complexity we love here at Elephant Stories.Explore Topics in the Episode:NY Times: Trying to Solve a Covid Mystery: Africa's Low Death RatesGov. Cox: Why I'm Vetoing HB11Tara J. Yosso: Whose culture has capital? A critical race theory discussion of community cultural wealthFind us at:Podcast URL: Elephant StoriesTwitter: @StoriesElephantEmail: twestbrook@elephant-stories.com

On this episode…I talk with Marcella Middleton, co-director of A Way Home America, a leading organization in the movement to end youth homelessness. Marcella's story could be framed as “a foster kid who made it.” Or even “someone who's experience with the system motivated them to work on behalf of others coming up through societal systems.” Both of these are true. Marcella is killing it and she is leveraging her own experiences in service of others. But she is so much more. Explore these topics:A Way Home AmericaThe New Deal to End Youth HomelessnessSaySo Find us at:Podcast URL: Elephant StoriesTwitter: @StoriesElephantEmail: twestbrook@elephant-stories.com 

David Johns, Executive Director of the National Black Justice Coalition, is a social justice crusader, educator, scholar, and fashionista (check out his nails if you ever get the chance). Yes, he fights for LGBTQIA+/SGL folks in his current professional role, but it doesn't take long to realize that he is fighting for all of us. In this episode, David takes us to school with an impromptu master class on gender identity, cultural competency and responsivity, and how bills get made. Explore topics in this episode:National Black Justice CoalitionHow Model Bills Work and Why You Should CareBostock v. Clayton County, GeorgiaThe New Jim Crow

Just a few thoughts as we say goodbye to Season 1 and start preparing for Season 2.Find us at:Web: Elephant StoriesTwitter: @StoriesElephantEmail: twestbrook@elephant-stories.com

Hiewet Senghor is the founder and CEO of Black Teacher Collaborative, a non-profit organization aimed at improving educational outcomes for Black children by building on the assets of Black teachers.  Her passion is contagious, her commitment is inspiring, and her foundation is solid. To borrow a phrase from Hiewet herself - "This woman is baaad! Just baaad!"Explore Topics in this episode:Black Teacher CollaborativeTeach For AmericaNa'im AkbarHoward FullerFind us at:Web: Elephant StoriesTwitter: @StoriesElephantEmail: twestbrook@elephant-stories.com

Corinne Cannon, Founder and Executive Director of the Greater DC Diaper Bank, doesn't shy away from the truth. Whether it is the truth about motherhood (it can be scary), the truth about funders (they can make life miserable), or the truth about what babies need  (they need something on their butts to collect the poop and pee!).  In this episode, we talk about how the "little things" aren't so little when you don't have them. Privilege is insidious and you don't always see what surrounds you. We throw around data, theory, and personal stories to break right through those blind spots.Explore topics in this episode:Greater DC Diaper BankNational Diaper Bank NetworkHomeless Children's Playtime ProjectDecolonizing Wealth ProjectFind us at:Web: Elephant StoriesTwitter: @StoriesElephantEmail: twestbrook@elephant-stories.com

Jhumpa Bhattacharya of the Insight Center For Community Economic Development (a non-profit focused on building economic inclusion and racial equity for people of color, women, immigrants, and marginalized families in the US) is a national expert on racial wealth inequality and gender issues. Ms. Bhattacharya and the Insight Center have doubled down on dismantling racist, sexist systems by changing the narratives of power, disparity, and history that support them. Centering Blackness is a framework that strikes at, what they say, is the root cause of a multitude of societal ills. On this episode, Ms. Bhattacharya talks with me about the Centering Blackness framework, patriarchal status quo, the power of narrative, and how Asian Americans experience white supremacy. Such serious topics, yet somehow the episode is filled with audio distorting laughter. Weird… Explore topics in this episode: Insight CenterCentering Blackness: The Path to Economic Liberation for AllAmerican Rescue Plan Fact SheetThe Accidental Asian: Notes of a Native Speaker by Eric LiuThe Karma of Brown Folk by Vijay PrashadThroughline: The Real Black Panthers Find us at: Web: Elephant Stories Twitter: @StoriesElephant Email: twestbrook@elephant-stories.com

Akilah Watkins, PhD is the President and CEO of the Center for Community Progress,  the leading national, nonprofit resource for urban, suburban, and rural communities seeking to address the full cycle of property revitalization. In this conversation we discuss what's ahead for community development and affordable housing, the value of diverse perspectives (racial diversity but also professional diversity, experiential diversity, etc.), and what it is like being a women in a leader position and, specifically, a woman of color.Explore topics in this episode:Center for Community ProgressPeople in Place: The Case for Bridging Place-Based and People-Based Interventions to Disrupt Intergenerational PovertyProfessor Patricia Hill CollinsWebinar: Bold Leadership for Racial Justice: A National CEO of Color ForumFind us at:Web: Elephant StoriesTwitter: @StoriesElephantEmail: twestbrook@elephant-stories.com

Nicole Lynn Lewis is the founder and CEO of Generation Hope, a non-profit that supports young parents pursuing college degrees. Generation Hope Scholars (i.e. student parents) have a degree completion rate that outpaces the national average. The Scholars' children are all "on track" according to developmental assessments. Nicole tells her own story in her new book, Pregnant Girl: A Story of Teen Motherhood, College, and Creating a Better Future for Young Families. It is a story of teen parenthood, homelessness,  despair,  resilience, triumph, and paying it forward.Explore topics in this episode:Pregnant Girl: A Story of Teen Motherhood, College, and Creating a Better Future for Young Families (available at all major booksellers)Generation HopeHope Center for College, Community, and JusticeFind us at:Elephant Stories@StoriesElephanttwestbrook@elephant-stories.com

Allison Meisch, PhD,  Senior Research Associate at James Bell Associates, joins us to talk about early childhood home visiting, equitable evaluation practices, and acknowledging white privilege as an anti-poverty researcher.Explore topics in this episode:Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting ProgramHome Visiting Applied Research CollaborativeHome Visiting Yearbook Find us at:Elephant Stories@StoriesElephanttwestbrook@elephant-stories.com