Fairfield County Thrives

American Housing Month and National Healthy Homes Month are celebrated in June, and for this episode, we delved into realities and misconceptions around affordable housing, and public housing specifically, through the eyes of a long-time Fairfield County resident.

December 18th is recognized by the U.N. as International Migrants' Day, raising awareness for human rights and saluting the efforts of migrants and communities to build better futures together. In this episode of Fairfield County Thrives, our President & CEO Juanita James talked with John Moore, a Senior Staff Photographer and Special Correspondent at Getty Images who focuses on immigration and border issues, about critical issues impacting migrants and their families in Fairfield County. Moore, who has worked in 75 countries on six continents, has received numerous awards for his work, including a Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography.

In this episode of Fairfield County Thrives, we’re talking about the importance of voting, especially this November in the midst of Covid… and what voting could look like in post-Covid.

Guest(s) include: Gail Melanson of Child Guidance Center of Mid-Fairfield County

March is designated as Women’s History Month, an invitation to explore and reflect on the often-overlooked contributions of women to American history. FCCF President & CEO Juanita James talked with Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame Executive Director Sarah Smith Labarsky and Founding President and Board Member Geena Clonan to learn how women of our state blazed new trails – and continue to inspire our next generation of women leaders.

Discovering the impact of the Amistad with Kai M. Perry, Board member of Discovering Amistad. 

For our first episode in 2020, we are very excited to welcome Connecticut Lt. Governor, Susan Bysiewicz, Census Expert, Terri Lowenthal, and Barbara Lopez of Make the Road CT to Fairfield County Thrives!  Their conversation focuses around Census 2020 and the impact it will have locally, state-wide, and nationally over the next decade. 

This month, we are very excited to welcome Vu Le to Fairfield County Thrives. Vu is a writer, speaker, vegan, and nonprofit leader who has spent over 13 years as an executive director with a lens of equity, diversity, inclusion, and social justice. He was named a “Writer with an Attitude” by The Chronicle of Philanthropy, and was selected as one of the “Power and Influence 50” in 2019 by The Nonprofit Times. Well-known in nonprofit circles for his no-BS approach and irreverent sense of humor, Vu has an ability to bring some fun to the serious work being done by nonprofits to make the world a better place.

In episode 2 of Fairfield County Thrives, we are joined by the President of SoundWaters, Leigh Shemitz.  SoundWaters is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting the Long Island Sound through education, action and closing the opportunity gap.  For over 25 years, they have innovated programs that bring together youth, educators, businesses, and political leaders in protecting this vital natural resource. SoundWaters was also recently inducted to Fairfield County’s Community Foundation’s Center for Nonprofit Excellence Hall of Fame.

Fairfield County's Community Foundation's President & CEO, Juanita James, sits down with Actress, Producer, and Activist, Tracee Ellis Ross at the Community Foundation’s Fund for Women & Girls Annual Luncheon to discuss topics including inclusivity and equity for women & girls in our County and beyond.