Have you ever wished you could hear what others are doing to make a difference in their world? This podcast will give you the opportunity to hear from amazing creators of change from all walks of life. The goal of the Organizing for Change Podcast is to equip coalitions, organizations, and individua…
If you would like to be an insider to the Organizing for Change Podcast, join our email list. You will be the first to know about upcoming episodes and you will get a summary after each episode with links to anything we have talked about emailed right to your inbox. Just click on the link in the notes to join our community today! Join the Organizing for Change Community: http://eepurl.com/dGJgp9
If you would like to be an insider to the Organizing for Change Podcast, join our email list. You will be the first to know about upcoming episodes and you will get a summary after each episode with links to anything we have talked about emailed right to your inbox. Just click on the link in the notes to join our community today! Join the Organizing for Change Community: http://eepurl.com/dGJgp9
If you would like to be an insider to the Organizing for Change Podcast, join our email list. You will be the first to know about upcoming episodes and you will get a summary after each episode with links to anything we have talked about emailed right to your inbox. Just click on the link in the notes to join our community today! Join the Organizing for Change Community: http://eepurl.com/dGJgp9
To connect with Dr. Talusan, check out the website here: http://www.lizatalusan.com/ If you would like to be an insider to the Organizing for Change Podcast, join our email list. You will be the first to know about upcoming episodes and you will get a summary after each episode with links to anything we have talked about emailed right to your inbox. Just click on the link in the notes to join our community today! Join the Organizing for Change Community: http://eepurl.com/dGJgp9
If you would like to be an insider to the Organizing for Change Podcast, join our email list. You will be the first to know about upcoming episodes and you will get a summary after each episode with links to anything we have talked about emailed right to your inbox. Just click on the link in the notes to join our community today! Join the Organizing for Change Community: http://eepurl.com/dGJgp9
If you would like to be an insider to the Organizing for Change Podcast, join our email list. You will be the first to know about upcoming episodes and you will get a summary after each episode with links to anything we have talked about emailed right to your inbox. Just click on the link in the notes to join our community today! Join the Organizing for Change Community: http://eepurl.com/dGJgp9
If you would like to be an insider to the Organizing for Change Podcast, join our email list. You will be the first to know about upcoming episodes and you will get a summary after each episode with links to anything we have talked about emailed right to your inbox. Just click on the link in the notes to join our community today! Join the Organizing for Change Community: http://eepurl.com/dGJgp9
If you would like to be an insider to the Organizing for Change Podcast, join our email list. You will be the first to know about upcoming episodes and you will get a summary after each episode with links to anything we have talked about emailed right to your inbox. Just click on the link in the notes to join our community today! Join the Organizing for Change Community: http://eepurl.com/dGJgp9
If you would like to be an insider to the Organizing for Change Podcast, join our email list. You will be the first to know about upcoming episodes and you will get a summary after each episode with links to anything we have talked about emailed right to your inbox. Just click on the link in the notes to join our community today! Join the Organizing for Change Community: http://eepurl.com/dGJgp9
If you would like to be an insider to the Organizing for Change Podcast, join our email list. You will be the first to know about upcoming episodes and you will get a summary after each episode with links to anything we have talked about emailed right to your inbox. Just click on the link in the notes to join our community today! Join the Organizing for Change Community: http://eepurl.com/dGJgp9
If you would like to be an insider to the Organizing for Change Podcast, join our email list. You will be the first to know about upcoming episodes and you will get a summary after each episode with links to anything we have talked about emailed right to your inbox. Just click on the link in the notes to join our community today! Join the Organizing for Change Community: http://eepurl.com/dGJgp9
If you would like to be an insider to the Organizing for Change Podcast, join our email list. You will be the first to know about upcoming episodes and you will get a summary after each episode with links to anything we have talked about emailed right to your inbox. Just click on the link in the notes to join our community today! Join the Organizing for Change Community: http://eepurl.com/dGJgp9
"If you look around your dinner table and everyone looks like you, you need a bigger table." -Dr. Yvonne Spicer, Mayor of Framingham MA. Join me as I talk with Jamiah Tappin and Erica Pike about culture, equity, and celebrating and recognizing the strength that already lies within your community. Get a copy of the show notes delivered to your inbox by signing up for the FREE Organizing for Change Email List: http://eepurl.com/dGJgp9
Get a copy of the show notes delivered to your inbox by signing up for the FREE Organizing for Change Email List: http://eepurl.com/dGJgp9
Get a copy of the show notes delivered to your inbox by signing up for the FREE Organizing for Change Email List: http://eepurl.com/dGJgp9
Get a copy of the show notes delivered to your inbox by signing up for the FREE Organizing for Change Email List: http://eepurl.com/dGJgp9
Get a copy of the show notes delivered to your inbox by signing up for the FREE Organizing for Change Email List: http://eepurl.com/dGJgp9
Get a copy of the show notes delivered to your inbox by signing up for the FREE Organizing for Change Email List: http://eepurl.com/dGJgp9
Organizing for Change Podcast - Episode 29 Show Notes Goal: “to equip coalitions, organizations, and individuals to bring change to their community” It is amazing to continue to see this podcast grow, and that would not be possible without all of you sharing and getting the word out. Thank you so much for your support! Join Us on Facebook!! A new resource for all of you is our new FaceBook group simply called Coalition Coordinators. The group is designed as a resource for Substance Use Prevention Coalition Coordinators. We hope you join us and other Substance Use Prevention Coordinators around the globe for ideas, discussion and support! Shout Out! Shoutout to Kristen from the Lakes Area Community Coalition in Michigan for her idea to have a podcast around coalition recruitment where there is some role play around how to recruit a potential member and what are some suggestions to recruit specific sectors. I love this idea and we will follow up on it! Thanks for leaving us feedback. If any of you have other suggestions for an episode, we would love to hear from you. Please join the facebook group or leave us a review on itunes! You help make this podcast a better resource! ___________________________________________________________________ Host, Amanda Decker joins Jamie Comstock and Robin Carr, founders of Info Inspired. Jamie and Robin have been been where you are – charged with creating presentations (written or verbal) as part of their job with no training about what makes a great presentation or keeps an audience engaged. Their work has been primarily in the nonprofit and public sectors. Essentially, people working in the these fields are expected to accomplish a lot with very little and they’re incredibly good at it. However, if there is one exception to this rule it’s probably in the presentation arena. We have a tendency to do things like get very excited about our data, schedule a three hour presentation to share it, and then attempt to explain it using a series of complicated graphs and hieroglyphics. Jamie and Robin both admit, they are guilty! To make a long story short, after many years of putting people to sleep with these methods, Jamie & Robin thought it was time to make some changes. And so their journey began. Together, they have spent the last several years researching and testing ways to not only capture and hold an audience’s attention, but to inspire audiences. They have also spent countless hours refining the presentation planning process, identifying free resources, and learning how to maximize the tools they already had. It’s also important to know they aren’t graphic designers, artists, or especially tech savvy. Everything that they do, you can do too. They say their high point – the point we knew we they on to something – was when people told them their presentation about logic models (yes, logic models) was the best presentation they’d ever seen! And after having some presentation successes, they started to get requests to provide tips and assist others. This conversation was amazing, and I hope you find it a great resource for your work! As always If you find this episode helpful, would you please help us get the word out by sharing it with a friend or colleague? And please leave a review. That is the best way to make sure other folks can find out about the podcast. Welcome to Episode 029 of the Podcast: Guest: Jamie Comstock and Robin Carr, Founders- Info Inspired Info Inspired Website: http://infoinspired.us/ Info Inspired Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/infoinspiredus/ Jamie and Robin’s Contact Information: robin@infoinspired.us jamie@infoinspired.us Organizing for Change Website: https://organizing4change.podbean.com/ Organizing for Change Twitter: @organizing4chng Insights from This Episode: Jamie & Robin Give (4) Steps to Remember when Creating a Presentation! Define it: First you need to define your presentation. Here are some questions to help: What is your goal? Who is your audience? What do you want them to remember? Refine it: Once you have defined your presentation, refine it. Brainstorm until you come up with 3-6 main key points. If you have too many points, your audience will not remember what you said. Make sure you refine your presentation to make it as concise as possible. If you don’t edit your presentation, the audience will edit it for themselves, and not in a way that you would want. Align it: Bring your content alive with stories and data, images or video. Match them to your points in a way that makes them stick. Brain science tells that we remember things that are shiny and sticky - story images video activity (make data come alive - different) Design it: Save your design for the last step. Jamie and Robin talk about places to get images for free to make your presentation more interesting. One helpful tip is to NEVER USE 12 point font on your powerpoint. If the audience can’t read it, don’t use it on a slide. Try your presentation out on a few people before you actually do it live. Trying it out and giving room for feedback will make your presentation better. Next Episode: Subscribe now for free and you won’t miss episode 030
Organizing for Change Podcast - Episode 28 Show Notes Goal: “to equip coalitions, organizations, and individuals to bring change to their community” Thank you all so much for your support! You all have helped this show grow into reaching people in every state and now over 40 countries! ______________________________________________________________________ Host, Amanda Decker joins Prevention Solutions at EDC Director, Carol Oliver. A certified prevention specialist, Carol Oliver directs, designs, and provides substance abuse prevention training and technical assistance activities that build national capacity to advance the Strategic Prevention Framework of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). With more than 20 years of experience in the field of substance abuse prevention, Oliver specializes in translating research into innovative, evidence-based, and culturally appropriate prevention programs. She skillfully builds relationships with colleagues at the national, state, and community levels to facilitate program planning, coalition development, and training design and implementation, fostering systems-level change. Oliver is an experienced instructional designer who has developed curriculum, virtual learning events, and in-person trainings for prevention professionals across the country. Oliver is the former manager of a Massachusetts regional substance abuse prevention center. She holds an MA in teaching from Boston University. As always If you find this episode helpful, would you please help us get the word out by sharing it with a friend or colleague? And please leave a review. That is the best way to make sure other folks can find out about the podcast. Welcome to Episode 028 of the Podcast: Guest: Carol Oliver, Prevention Solutions at EDC website: https://preventionsolutions.edc.org/ EDC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/edc.worldwide Carol’s Contact Information: COliver@edc.org Organizing for Change Website: https://organizing4change.podbean.com/ Organizing for Change Twitter: @organizing4chng 4 Insights from This Episode: 1. Is your community ready? You may know the policy that needs to change to make things better in your community, but your community may not be ready for it. Carol talks about taking the time to do your homework, find out who the key players are, and lay the groundwork before you move forward. Make sure it’s the right time for your policy change. 2. Get fresh eyes to observe your coalition. It is always helpful to have someone who has not been part of the coalition for a long time, to give fresh perspective. Invite in other people to give you a different viewpoint. Coalitions are fluid, they are made of people, so it is important to regularly assess where your coalition is at. Coalition leaders often make the mistake of seeing the issues in their coalition and trying to fix it themselves. Carol says this often leads to more issues. 3. If you are stuck, you might be experiencing growing pains. Sometimes when a coalition is growing, it will come across as if it struggling. Carol talks about leading coalitions through a process when they seem “stuck”, but by using facilitated activities, the coalition finds its story and where it is ready to grow. Using a facilitative process helps the coalition discover the solutions they need. 4. Is your coalition ready to grow? Is your coalition ready for new members? You may think yes, but you might not actually be ready. Carol talks about helping the coalition reflect on who they are. Are they open? What kind of personalities are in the coalition? Are you a visionary? Are you a processor? Are you a doer? Check out episode 24 for more on this! Next Episode: Subscribe now for free and you won’t miss episode 029
Organizing for Change Podcast - Episode 27 Show Notes Goal: “to equip coalitions, organizations, and individuals to bring change to their community” Thank you all so much for your support! You all have helped this show grow into reaching people in every state and now over 40 countries! ____________________________________________________________ Today's episode is brought to you by the Montana Institute: http://www.montanainstitute.com/montana-summer-institute There are so many reasons for HOPE! This year the theme for the annual MONTANA SUMMER INSTITUTE is Reasons for HOPE: Building Positive, Healthy, Resilient Communities. This fantastic event will be held June 25th-28th in Big Sky, Montana. Participants will hear Dr. Jeff Linkenbach and the dynamic Montana Summer Institute faculty share cutting-edge science, tools and resources for building healthy, resilient communities. The 2019 Institute will focus on how Science of the Positive, Positive Community Norms, and Health Outcomes from Positive Experience (H.O.P.E) are creating new opportunities in prevention and driving community transformation on a wide range of health and safety issues. Join them in Big Sky to learn how positive, norms-based approaches can power up your public health and prevention practices, improve your leadership skills, and increase the effectiveness and sustainability of your projects. ____________________________________________________________ Host, Amanda Decker joins Mercer County WV, Commissioner, Greg Puckett. A native southern West Virginian with a passion for prevention, Greg Puckett has worked tirelessly to bring special projects and initiatives to the area in the hopes of preventing the use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs amongst youth. As Executive Director of Community Connections, a community based 501(c)(3) non-profit, he advocates for strong public policy, and leads others to combat the addiction epidemic and community revitalization/stabilization efforts. He currently serves on several state committees including the Governor’s Committee on Crime, Delinquency and Corrections: Juvenile Justice Subcommittee, and serves on the Board of Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA), where he is a past recipient of CADCA’s National Advocate of the Year award. In 2010, Puckett also assisted CADCA in securing funds to host the first-ever, statewide National Youth Leadership Initiative. On this episode we discuss changing the look of a community to change how people act in the community, the importance of the media and the value of having coalition "events". As always If you find this episode helpful, would you please help us get the word out by sharing it with a friend or colleague? And please leave a review. That is the best way to make sure other folks can find out about the podcast. Welcome to Episode 027 of the Podcast: Guest: Greg Puckett, County Commissioner, Mercer County, WV CADCA Website: https://www.cadca.org/team/gregory-puckett Greg Puckett Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gregpuckettwv Greg’s Contact Information: Greg.puckett@mercercountywv.org Organizing for Change Website: https://organizing4change.podbean.com/ Organizing for Change Twitter: @organizing4chng 4 Insights from This Episode: Community Coalitions have a lifespan. Don’t keep a coalition going “just because”. Greg explains how his coalition became stale and stagnant. The group had done some significant work in the community and now did not have new momentum for the future. The coalition was shut down, and a new coalition emerged within 6 months and was energized to take on new initiatives to reduce substance use. Understand the culture of your community, not just the statistics. If you can change the way a community looks, you can change the way a community feels, and if you change the way it feels, you will change the way it acts. Speak “Hope” into your community. Change starts with you. Take some time as a coalition to think about what each of you are saying about your community. Are you reinforcing the positive or the negative? “If you want disease in your community, promote disease, but if you want hope, promote hope” -Dr. Jeff Linkenbach Events are not evil.Policy work can take a long time and although it is the most effective in reducing substance use, it can be tough for people to stay involved in your coalition during the process. Holding events that rally the community together and keep them engaged, can bring momentum to your coalition and keep the work moving forward. Next Episode: Subscribe now for free and you won’t miss episode 028
Organizing for Change Podcast - Episode 26 Show Notes Goal: “to equip coalitions, organizations, and individuals to bring change to their community” Host, Amanda Decker joins Jason Anderson, trainer for the Montana Institute. Upon his discharge from the United States Army, Jason obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice (Minor in Psychology) at Moorhead State University. He has worked in the field of probation since 1998 – spending a decade as an adult felony probation/parole agent and 5 years as an Evidence-Based Practices project manager/trainer for the MN Dept. of Corrections. Jason became the Director of the Itasca County Probation Department in 2013. In addition to his duties as a probation officer and manager, he has served as a trainer of various topics including Motivational Interviewing since 2001. He is an active member of 2 school-based substance abuse prevention coalitions in his community. Jason began curriculum development and training delivery for The Montana Institute in 2016. A father of 2 boys (ages 15 and 17), he enjoys spending time outdoors with his family, singing in his church choir, community theater and running an occasional race. On this episode we talked about the reason why we do this work. Why does your why matter? Jason breaks down discovering your why and how it can motivate your community to change. We also talked about changing our approach in communication to create change in your community. This is one of my all time favorite episodes and I think it will be one of yours too. As always If you find this episode helpful, would you please help us get the word out by sharing it with a friend or colleague? And please leave a review. That is the best way to make sure other folks can find out about the podcast. Welcome to Episode 026 of the Podcast: Guest: Jason Anderson Montana Institute Website: http://www.montanainstitute.com/ Organizing for Change Website: https://organizing4change.podbean.com/ Organizing for Change Twitter: @organizing4chng 3 Insights from This Episode: Your Why Matters. Most people are not motivated by facts, they are motivated by an emotional tug. This is why your “why” matters. If your coalition is stuck, remind them of the why. If you are stuck, remind yourself of the why. It’s not always about “what is in it for us.” Appreciate and Understand Someone Else’s Perspective. Even though you may disagree with someone else’s perspective, it is important to have empathy and understand where someone is coming from. Just being willing to hear where someone is coming from and to express and acknowledge their perspective, can open the door for communication. Don’t Be the Expert. We obviously know a lot about our field, or we wouldn’t be in it. But, our attitude of approach matters. If we come across as the “expert”, people tend to be defensive and shut down. Instead, Jason talks about having a curiosity and engaging people in the solution as a better method and approach to getting results. Next Episode: Subscribe now for free and you won’t miss episode 027
Organizing for Change Podcast - Bonus Episode #1 Show Notes Goal: “to equip coalitions, organizations, and individuals to bring change to their community” Host, Amanda Decker joins Co-Worker, Allie Zajac on a bonus episode to talk about sticking to your goals in 2019. On this episode we talk about some tips and tricks to making sure your goals get crushed this year! As always If you find this episode helpful, would you please help us get the word out by sharing it with a friend or colleague? And please leave a review. That is the best way to make sure other folks can find out about the podcast. Welcome to Our First Bonus Episode! Organizing for Change Website: https://organizing4change.podbean.com/ Organizing for Change Twitter: @organizing4chng 2 Insights from This Episode: Make the Healthy Choice the Easy Choice. Amanda and Allie talk about helping your goals by making the healthy choice for you and your community, easier. If the negative choice is easily accessible and available it will make your goal that much harder to accomplish. Figure out Your Habit Loop. Allie talks about how we all have habits. We have cues (things that we can not change) and they cause a response which brings us some sort of reward. Allie talks about learning your cues so you can input a healthy response which will still give a reward, but one that will benefit you. Next Episode: Subscribe now for free and you won’t miss our next episode!
Organizing for Change Podcast - Episode 25 Show Notes Goal: “to equip coalitions, organizations, and individuals to bring change to their community” Host, Amanda Decker joins Tom Vega, leadership coach, and change consultant trained in the areas of Strategic Management and Leadership Effectiveness.Tom offers individuals and teams a complete continuum of skills and solutions in areas of relationship management, process improvement, problem-solving, change awareness, and execution. He does this by combining emotional awareness techniques with contemporary change and process analysis methods that other folks may not even be aware of. If you are sitting with people at your table who are not fully engaged, or who are tough to work with, I really think this episode will help you out! If you find this episode helpful, would you please help us get the word out by sharing it with a friend or colleague? Welcome to Episode 025 of the Podcast: Guest: Tom Vega Tom Vega Consulting Website: https://www.tommvega.com/ Book Tom Mentions: Emotional Intelligence 2.0 by Travis Bradberry & Jean Greaves http://www.talentsmart.com/test/ Organizing for Change Website: https://organizing4change.podbean.com/ Organizing for Change Twitter: @organizing4chng 4 Insights from This Episode: Explain the why. Help people understand why you are asking for information before you ask. Judge the idea, not the person. As a facilitator, help the ideas be the item that is evaluated, not the person. Ask questions like: why do you have this idea? Where did you get this idea from? Lack of emotional intelligence equals a decrease in profit and outcomes. Often times, leaders can thing emotional intelligence is silly and too “touchy feely”. Tom talks about communicating with leaders about the importance of emotional intelligence by connecting it to something the leader cares about. (Such as profit and outcomes) Leaders inspire. It is crucial to tell a story in a way that inspires action. Most people know how to do a task, but you need to give them the inspiration to motivate them to actually do the task. Next Episode: Subscribe now for free and you won’t miss episode 026
Goal: “to equip coalitions, organizations, and individuals to bring change to their community” Host, Amanda Decker joins Les McKeown who is the President & CEO of Predictable Success. In this role, he advises CEOs and senior leaders of organizations on how to achieve scalable, sustainable growth and speaks to Fortune 500 companies about his breakthrough strategies. Prior to founding Predictable Success, Les established himself as a serial founder/owner in the global business spectrum, starting more than 40 companies, in addition to being the founding partner of an incubation consulting company that advised on the creation and growth of hundreds more organizations worldwide. It is through this experience that he aids businesses in different size and scope as an in-demand speaker, sought-after advisor and bestselling author of Predictable Success: getting Your Organization on the Growth Track - And Keeping it There. Based in Marblehead MA, Les now spends his time consulting, writing, teaching, and speaking. Les has appeared on CNN, ABC, BBC, Inc, Entrepreneur magazine, USA Today and The New York Times. If you find this episode helpful, would you please help us get the word out by sharing it with a friend or colleague? Welcome to Episode 024 of the Podcast: The Synergist: Leading Your Team to Predictable Success Guest: Les McKeown, President and CEO of Predictable Success Predictable Success Website: https://predictablesuccess.com/ Predictable Success Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/predictablesuccess/ Les McKeowen Twitter: https://twitter.com/lesmckeown The Synergist Quiz http://synergistquiz.com/ Organizing for Change Website: https://organizing4change.podbean.com/ Organizing for Change Twitter: @organizing4chng 3 Insights from This Episode: What got you to where you are, will not get you to where you need to go. Les breaks down what is Predictable Success and what is needed to get your team to grow for the next level. The Synergist is a learned style that says “We are all here to do what is best for the whole”. We all have styles of working together that we are best at, but sometimes we need to learn a new style in order to make our organization the best it can be. ACES uses the synergist quiz to determine coalition member styles and learn to put them in the roles that would suit them best. Know what you want to do. Les talks about how he left his large organization because he liked the flexibility and freedom a small organization could offer. Next Episode: Subscribe now for free and you won’t miss episode 025
Organizing for Change Podcast - Episode 23 - Creatively Sharing Your Message Show Notes Goal: “to equip coalitions, organizations, and individuals to bring change to their community” Welcome to episode 23 of the podcast. In this month’s episode; Amanda talks with Kendra McLaughlin about the work she is doing in her community of Garrett County, Maryland. Kendra’s group did an awesome viral PSA and they are working hard to get accurate information out surrounding marijuana. You can find the PSA and more information at their website; www.spreadthefacts.com. If this episode helps you in any way, would you consider sharing with a colleague or friend and help us to continue to share these messages? That would mean so much to us! Guest: Kendra McLaughlin Organizing for Change Website: https://organizing4change.podbean.com/ Organizing for Change Twitter: @organizing4chng We love getting feedback from you! If you have any feedback or have an idea for an episode, email us at organizing4change@gmail.com Next Episode: Subscribe now for free and you won’t miss episode 024
Organizing for Change Podcast - Episode 22 - Leading Yourself Show Notes Goal: “to equip coalitions, organizations, and individuals to bring change to their community” Welcome to episode 22 of the podcast. I just want to take a moment to thank each one of you for listening to the podcast and for sharing it. We now have listeners in 49 states and 23 countries. Wow. You all are amazing. Also, we wanted to Thank everyone who has taken time to give us feedback and write a review! If you haven’t done so, it would really mean a lot and would help other coalition leaders find us on spaces like itunes. I am so excited to bring you this episode today with Jim Trick, coach, consultant for That Life, author and musician to talk about creating personal change. Jim Trick has overcome morbid obesity, turned a freelance consultancy into a six figure income and helped to build a million dollar small business, but Jim’s ultimate passion is working with people who want to personally and professionally live with greater freedom, fulfillment and success. Jim was trained by the prestigious Coach Training Institute and certified by the International Coach Federation. Along with his work as a coach/consultant, Jim is also a professional musician and speaker. He has traveled all over the country teaching high-level executives the fine art of collaboration with Banding People Together, and is a frequent guest speaker at the Berklee College of Music. Jim was featured alongside American Idol’s Alex Preston, by Berklee for a performance entitled, “An Evening with New England’s top songwriters” and his latest album was fully crowd funded in under four weeks. A life-changing trip to a Central American refugee village in 1993 prompted Jim to start two inner city food outreach programs in the U.S., one of which served the local homeless community by candlelight with classical music and table service. Jim Trick knows what it’s like to swim frantically across the alligator riddled Belize river and how it feels to share the stage with a young Katy Perry. One of those experiences was terrifying. The other involved alligators. If this episode helps you in any way, would you consider sharing with a colleague or friend and help us to continue to share these messages? That would mean so much to us! Guest: Jim Trick That Life Website: https://www.thatlife.com/ Organizing for Change Website: https://organizing4change.podbean.com/ Organizing for Change Twitter: @organizing4chng 4 Insights from This Episode: Core values are essential to make change. Jim talks about being a slave to our feelings, however values are much more reliable for healthy and powerful decision making. This is true for a community as well. Helping a community identify its values, can help it overcome its negative feelings to create community level change and creates buy in for a community. There is a leader in everyone. Leadership starts with leading yourself. People have their best answers inside themselves. People are way more likely to follow through on change they have discovered themselves, instead of change they have been prescribed. When a person has a voice, they can contribute. When a person sees how their contribution fits the bigger picture, they have purpose. And, when they have purpose, they are engaged. We love getting feedback from you! If you have any feedback or have an idea for an episode, email us at organizing4change@gmail.com Next Episode: Subscribe now for free and you won’t miss episode 023
Organizing for Change Podcast - Episode 21 Show Notes Goal: “to equip coalitions, organizations, and individuals to bring change to their community” Host, Amanda Decker joins ROBERT SEGE, MD, PHD, Co-Director, Stakeholder and Community Engagement; Interim Lead Navigator Tufts CTSI Robert Sege, MD, PhD is a Professor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine, where he directs a new Center for Community-engaged Medicine. Dr. Sege is nationally known for his research on effective health systems approaches that directly address the social determinants of health. He is a Senior Fellow at the Center for the Study of Social Policy in Washington and serves on the boards of the Massachusetts Children’s Trust and Prevent Child Abuse America. He has served on the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect, and on its Committee on Injury, Violence, and Poisoning Prevention. He is a graduate of Yale College, and received his PhD in Biology from MIT and his MD from Harvard Medical School. Bob lives in the Boston area, where he and his wife Karen have raised three young adult children. Welcome to Episode 021 of the Podcast: ACES with HOPE Study Guest: Robert Sege, MD, PHD Tufts CTSI Website https://www.tuftsctsi.org/people/robert-sege/ ACES with HOPE Study: https://www.cssp.org/publications/documents/Balancing-ACEs-with-HOPE-FINAL.pdf Organizing for Change Website: https://organizing4change.podbean.com/ Organizing for Change Twitter: @organizing4chng 3 Insights from This Episode: We are not just a collection of all the bad experiences we had. Dr. Sege talks about how he doesn’t deny the problems his patients have, but that he tries to view them in the best light and address them as a whole person, not just their struggles. Our children are our future and the future of our communities. The overwhelming majority of people already have protective factors for their children in place. It is important to build on those protective factors in a community to help parents who may not have these protective factors in place. Teenagers have to feel like they matter. Dr. Sege talks about the importance of setting up opportunities in a community for a young person to realize they matter. If a young person feels like they don’t matter and what they do doesn’t matter increases their likelihood to use drugs and alcohol. We love getting feedback from you! If you have any feedback or have an idea for an episode, email us at organizing4change@gmail.com Next Episode: Subscribe now for free and you won’t miss episode 022
Organizing for Change Podcast - Episode 20 Show Notes Goal: “to equip coalitions, organizations, and individuals to bring change to their community” Host, Amanda Decker joins Nick Adams, Planning & Implementation Grant Coordinator, Minnesota Department of Human Services Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division. Nick is a native of Minnesota and wanted to make a difference in his community. After interning with a local non profit in college, he was exposed to the Minnesota Department of Human Services Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division and secured a job working to reduce underage drinking. Nick is a huge fan of Dr. Jeff Linkenbach and the Positive Community Norms framework which you will hear all about in this episode. Welcome to Episode 020 of the Podcast: Guest: Nick Adams, Planning & Implementation Grant Coordinator, Minnesota Department of Human Services Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division Rapids Rising Website: https://www.rapidsrising.com/ Rapids Rising Twitter: https://twitter.com/RapidsRising Nick’s Email nadams@isd318.org The Montana Institute http://www.montanainstitute.com/pcn/ The ACES with HOPE Study https://www.cssp.org/publications/documents/Balancing-ACEs-with-HOPE-FINAL.pdf Organizing for Change Website: https://organizing4change.podbean.com/ Organizing for Change Twitter: https://twitter.com/organizing4chng 3 Insights from This Episode: “If you want health, you have got to promote health. If you promote illness, you will get more illness.” -Jeff Linkenbach Perceptions become behaviors. Nick talks about correcting misperceptions around youth alcohol and drug use to help reduce and prevent youth use. Slow down and start from scratch. Nick talks about how the tendency to move quickly in coalition work is tempting, but in order to build capacity and have long term impact, you need to slow down and do the hard work of getting people on the same page. Next Episode: Subscribe now for free and you won’t miss episode 021
Organizing for Change Podcast - Episode 19 Show Notes Goal: “to equip coalitions, organizations, and individuals to bring change to their community” Host, Amanda Decker joins Michelle Merritt, President and CEO of New Futures, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that advocates, educates and collaborates to improve the health and wellness of all New Hampshire residents through policy change. Michele has overall leadership and management responsibility for New Futures. With the Board of Directors, she establishes the strategic priorities for the organization. She leads the organization in advancing its mission by creating new possibilities for project initiatives and grants, fostering innovation, leveraging resources, establishing partnerships, and coordinating staff activities. In addition, she seeks to identify opportunities for collaboration between and among New Futures and public and nonprofit entities on policy and legislative issues of mutual concern such as public funding for treatment services and improving access to community-based supports for New Hampshire’s children and families. Welcome to Episode 019 of the Podcast: Public Health and Policy Change Guest: Michele Merritt, President and CEO of New Futures New Futures Website: https://www.new-futures.org/ New Futures Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NewFuturesNH New Futures Twitter: https://twitter.com/newfuturesnh New Futures YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/NewFuturesNHMedia Organizing for Change Website: https://organizing4change.podbean.com/ Organizing for Change Twitter: @organizing4chng 3 Insights from This Episode: Michelle talks about the power that just one person can make when it comes to policy change. So often, people do not get involved in contacting their elected officials because they do not think their input will matter. Michelle explains that even a few phone calls or letters can have a powerful impact. It is important to define why you exist as an organization or agency so that you don't say "yes" to everything and spread yourselves too thin. Limited resources aren't always bad. They can force us to come up with solutions that we may never have thought of otherwise. Next Episode: Subscribe now for free and you won’t miss episode 020
Goal: “to equip coalitions, organizations, and individuals to bring change to their community” Host, Amanda Decker joins Deb Naro, Executive Director of CADY (Communities for Alcohol and Drug Free Youth). For the last 17 years, CADY has been dedicated to improving the lives of children and youth through innovative programming and evidence-based strategies that deter alcohol, tobacco and other drug use; that engage and strengthen families, schools and communities; and that promote healthy environments, resiliency building, and promising futures for our youth. On this Episode, Deb talks about sustaining the work of the coalition, how to think outside the box and get parents to come to the table, and why the media is so important in creating change! Welcome to Episode 018 of the Podcast: Sustaining Your Work, Engaging Parents, Involving the Media and More! Guest: Deb Naro CADY Website: http://cadyinc.org/ CADY Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cadyinc/ CADY Twitter: https://twitter.com/the_cady_yaac Organizing for Change Website: https://organizing4change.podbean.com/ Organizing for Change Twitter: @organizing4chng 3 Insights from This Episode: 1. You Need to Plan For Sustainability at the Beginning. Deb talks about how thinking about sustainability at the beginning of a funding stream is so important. She talks about building support and creating champions that will ensure the work continues long after the grant is done. 2. Think Outside the Box to Reach Parents. Too often coalitions and organizations invite key stakeholders (such as parents) to the table, and find the table is empty. Deb talks about ways she worked to engage parents and think outside the box. 3. Get the Media Involved. How can anyone support your group or help sustain it if they don’t know about it? Deb talks about why she and her team created the Prevention Accelerator Media campaign and how it was used to build credibility for her coalition. (The Media campaigns are also for sale on the CADY website if this is something your coalition could use!) Next Episode: Subscribe now for free and you won’t miss episode 019
Organizing for Change Podcast - Episode 17 Show Notes Goal: “to equip coalitions, organizations, and individuals to bring change to their community” Host, Amanda Decker joins Ben Cort from Cort Consulting. Ben has been part of the recovery movement in almost every way imaginable from a recipient of services to a spokesperson to a respected professional inside of the treatment industry. Sober since 6/15/96 he has seen the devastation that substance use disorder can bring first hand as well as the joy that is recovery. Ben began his career inside of Human Resources and was a Director at an S&P 500 firm by 27. He left that position to help start the Colorado based non-profit Phoenix Multisport, an organization that provides pro-social activities that are primarily athletic in nature to those living sober lives. As an original Board member and the first full-time employee Ben was instrumental in building an organization that still receives frequent national attention for its innovative approach to fighting addiction through sport and the community that surrounds sport. In May of 2012, he left Phoenix Multisport to join the opposition campaign for Amendment 64, the constitutional amendment that would ultimately allow for the commercialization of marijuana in Colorado. Following that campaign Cort joined the University of Colorado Hospital (UCH) where he ran marketing, business development and admissions for their substance abuse treatment service line known as CeDAR. He left that role in January 2017. Throughout his time with UCH Ben remained active in the discussion around marijuana, assisting several states in their efforts to hold back Big Marijuana and always advocating for recovery. These efforts kept him close to the national discussion and made him a frequent guest in the media. Ben has earned a reputation as being pro-logic and recovery rather than anti anything. His direct and honest approach has made him a sought after speaker and respected voice in this national conversation. Welcome to Episode 017 of the Podcast: Guest: Ben Cort, CEO - Cort Consulting Cort Consulting Website: https://www.cortconsult.com/ Organizing for Change Website: https://organizing4change.podbean.com/ Organizing for Change Twitter: @organizing4chng Insights from This Episode: Big "Marijuana, Tobacco, Alcohol, Pharma" targets those strugling with a substance use disorder. Ben talks about how he as a person in recovery stood up to Big Addiction in his state...... Next Episode: Subscribe now for free and you won’t miss episode 018
Organizing for Change Podcast - Episode 15 Show Notes Goal: “to equip coalitions, organizations, and individuals to bring change to their community” Host, Amanda Decker joins Carol Read, Certified Prevention Specialist and former Director of the Needham Coalition for Youth Substance Abuse Prevention and a Drug Free Communities grantee to talk about the role of Public Health in Substance use prevention. Welcome to Episode 015 of the Podcast: Public Health and Prevention. Guest: Carol Read M. Ed., CAGS, CPS Needham Public Health Substance Abuse, Prevention & Education Website: http://www.needhamma.gov/index.aspx?NID=2124 Organizing for Change Website: https://organizing4change.podbean.com/ Organizing for Change Twitter: @organizing4chng 3 Insights from This Episode: When communities work to reduce stigma about substance use disorder by educating the community about health, those who need treatment are more likely to get it. Carol speaks about how their community (Needham MA) worked to educate people that addiction is a disease of the brain and that the disease can be treated. Education alone is not enough to make change. Over the recent years, the United States has seen a dramatic decrease in tobacco use. Although many people were aware that smoking was bad for your health, that knowledge did little to change behavior. It wasn’t till there were major changes in policy (banning indoor smoking, smoking on planes, increasing taxes) that tobacco use began to decline. Carol talks about how these changes affected youth use of these products, and how communities need to continue to think of ways to limit access to youth. The community where Carol works (Needham MA) was the first to raise the age of purchasing tobacco to age 21. Prevention of substance use doesn’t happen by engaging just one group. Carol talks about engaging different sectors of the community and educating them about what we know about substance use to encourage sectors to support policy to keep communities healthy. A healthy fish living in a polluted pond will still be unhealthy. Next Episode: Subscribe now for free and you won’t miss episode 016
Organizing for Change Podcast - Episode 14 Show Notes Goal: “to equip coalitions, organizations, and individuals to bring change to their community” Host, Amanda Decker joins her husband, Pastor Loren Decker of LifeHouse Church in Middleboro Massachusetts to talk about the Faith Community and working with coalitions. Pastor Loren was a founding member of Middleboro Youth Advocates, a substance use prevention coalition in Middleboro MA. He also founded a youth mentoring agency (called the JAIRUS agency) to work with at risk youth, pairing them with mentors and meaningful community service opportunities. He also shares on this episode his encounter having dinner with the late Reverend Billy Graham and the impact Dr. Graham had on his life. Welcome to Episode 014 of the Podcast: The Faith Community and Coalition Work Guest: Pastor Loren Decker, Senior Pastor of LifeHouse Church, Middleboro MA Organizing for Change Website: https://organizing4change.podbean.com/ Organizing for Change Twitter: @organizing4chng 3 Insights from This Episode: Ask what you can do to help. Pastor Loren shares a great agenda for the faith community is to go to community leaders and ask what can be done to help. Usually community leaders are asked to help, and not offered help. Pastor Loren shares his personal story of how his agency was able to fill a need in the community by providing youth with meaningful community service opportunities. Faith Community- You have more in common then you think. Often the faith community is hesitant to get involved with coalition work because they think they will be forced to compromise their values or change their beliefs. By asking for ways you can serve the community, you will find that there is a respect for the clergy and a willingness to work together in most communities even if there can be differences in values or beliefs. Coalition Community- You have more in common then you think. The coalition community can be hesitant because they think the faith community will try to push their agenda on the coalition. Research the faith leaders in your community and do some homework to find out about their beliefs and traditions. Look for things you have in common and offer to meet with them to explain the commonalities and ways you can partner together. Next Episode: Subscribe now for free and you won’t miss episode 015
Organizing for Change Podcast - Episode 13 Show Notes Goal: “to equip coalitions, organizations, and individuals to bring change to their community” Host, Amanda Decker and Producer, Ed Rand of the Organizing for Change Podcast sit down to talk about Vision and Mission and why it is so important to coalitions and organizations. Welcome to Episode 013 of the Podcast: Vision and Mission Organizing for Change Website: https://organizing4change.podbean.com/ Organizing for Change Twitter: @organizing4chng 3 Insights from This Episode: Vision and Mission statements can help your coalition focus on what is really important. Although your coalition knows what you are trying to do to improve your community, it's easy to lose sight of this when dealing with the day-to-day hassles that plague all coalitions. Your vision and mission statements help members remember what is important as you go about doing your daily work. These statements let other individuals and coalitions have a snapshot view of whom your group is and what it wants to do. When your vision and mission statements are easily visible (for example, if they are on the letterhead of your stationary), people can learn about your coalition without having to work hard for the information. Then, those with common interests can take the time necessary to learn more. Clearly, this can be very helpful when you are recruiting other people and coalitions to join in your effort. These statements are also very helpful in having members who are focused and bound together in common purpose. Not only do the statements themselves serve as a constant reminder of what is important to your coalition, the process of developing them allows people to see the coalition as "theirs." It's common sense: people will believe in something more completely if they had a hand in developing it. Resources Amanda Mentions: Community Toolbox: https://ctb.ku.edu/en Key Differences Chart: http://keydifferences.com/difference-between-vision-statement-and-mission-statement.html#ComparisonChart Next Episode: Subscribe now for free and you won’t miss episode 014
Organizing for Change Podcast - Episode 12 Show Notes Goal: “to equip coalitions, organizations, and individuals to bring change to their community” Host, Amanda Decker joins Jennifer Rowe, Assistant District Attorney for the Norfolk County District Attorney’s office. Welcome to Episode 012 of the Podcast: A Champion for Change Guest: Jennifer Rowe, Assistant District Attorney for the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office Norfolk County District Attorney Website: http://www.mass.gov/norfolkda/ Organizing for Change Website: https://organizing4change.podbean.com/ Organizing for Change Twitter: @organizing4chng 3 Insights from This Episode: Find a Champion. The District Attorney’s Office had credibility and relationships with many diverse partners. They are champions for change, leveraging this influence to address gaps in information sharing around Rx prescribing (due to things like HIPPA,) by bringing people who do not traditionally work together to share information and create change. One of these ideas was to put on a conference for safe prescribing of medication. During this conference, medical prescribers (nurse practitioners, doctors, dentists etc), state officials, law enforcement (both local and national), educators, parents, and coalition members were able to talk about different experiences and realize how they were all connected to each other and were trained in their role how to prevent over prescribing. There is Nothing Like the Power of the Personal Story. In Norfolk County, any one is supposed to be able to get naloxone (the opioid reversal drug) from their pharmacy. Due to a number of circumstances, a number of people who try to pick up naloxone for their loved one are met with negative experiences. When Jen and the team wanted to talk to pharmacists about what the person getting naloxone experienced, they made a video with people’s actually experiences with attempting to obtain naloxone. This video was eye opening to everyone at the safe prescribing conference. A first hand experience that details the problem, has incredible power to create change. Identify the Right People. Jen and her team worked to find people who had the right information, resources and motives and put them to the task of mentoring other starting coalitions in Norfolk County. The DA’s office leveraged their influence to give credibility to other voices in the prevention field to create community change. Today, almost every community in Norfolk County has a Substance Use Prevention coalition (despite many of these coalition not having funding) and the DA’s office serves as a connector to provide ongoing training for coalitions. Off air insight from Jen: Although HIPPA does not allow doctors to talk to someone other than the patient (without a waiver), this does not prevent the parent (spouse, grandparent etc) from talking to the doctor and giving them information. Many people do not understand that HIPPA does not prevent them from calling their loved ones doctor. Although the conversation will be a “one way street”, a “one way street” is still better than a “no way” street. Next Episode: Subscribe now for free and you won’t miss episode 013
Organizing for Change Podcast - Episode 11 Show Notes Goal: “to equip coalitions, organizations, and individuals to bring change to their community” In this episode we feature Dr. J. David Hawkins, Endowed Professor of Prevention Emeritus and Founding Director of the Social Development Research Group. Delivered as a Ted Talk style presentation, this recording was taken with permission at the 2017 Massachusetts Statewide Conference for Substance Use Prevention. Dr. Hawkins research focuses on understanding and preventing child and adolescent health and behavior problems. He seeks to identify risk and protective factors for health and behavior problems across multiple domains; to understand how these factors interact in the development of healthy behavior and the prevention of problem behaviors. He develops and tests prevention strategies which seek to reduce risk through the enhancement of strengths and protective factors in families, schools, and communities. He is principal investigator of the Community Youth Development Study, a randomized field experiment involving 24 communities across seven states testing the effectiveness of the Communities That Care prevention system developed by Hawkins and Richard F. Catalano. He has authored numerous articles and several books as well as prevention programs for parents and families, including Guiding Good Choices, Parents Who Care, and Supporting School Success. His prevention work is guided by the social development model, his theory of human behavior. Welcome to Episode 011 of the Podcast: Unleashing the Power of Prevention Guest: Dr. J David Hawkins, Endowed Professor of Prevention Emeritus and Founding Director of the Social Development Research Group. Website: https://socialwork.uw.edu/faculty/j-david-hawkins Slides for presentation: http://edc.adobeconnect.com/p3ai7al0dlx8/?OWASP_CSRFTOKEN=7814175d80d0b9e3718de1b578b36ff27f2993a16a358be150f3aa94de7aae66 Organizing for Change Website: https://organizing4change.podbean.com/ Organizing for Change Twitter: @organizing4chng 4 Insights from This Episode: Untested good ideas can make things worse. Dr. Hawkins speaks about prevention efforts of the past, which were untested. These efforts sounded good at the time, but were not effective and some even caused more harm than good. Use good ideas, but test them. Bonding provides the motivation for youth to live up to the standards. Dr. Hawkins says that street gangs understand bonding better than we do. He speaks about the power of bonding and how this protective factor makes youth more likely to embrace our message. We can promote healthy development of young people. We have over 70 tested effective preventive programs now to reduce and prevent alcohol and drug addiction. Use the resources and tools that are tested and proven. We will not solve the opioid epidemic unless we invest seriously in prevention. Dr. Hawkins talks about proven programs that reduce opioid use and how implementing them in our communities will address the opioid epidemic. Website Resources Dr. Hawkins mentions: Blueprints Programs: http://blueprintsprograms.com/ (University of Colorado) Surgeon General's Report: Effective Policies to Prevent Substance Use Disorder: https://addiction.surgeongeneral.gov/key-findings/prevention-programs Washington State Institute for Public Policy: (Cost Benefit Analysis of Prevention): http://www.wsipp.wa.gov/BenefitCost?topicId=7 Programs Dr. Hawkins mentions: Botvin LifeSkills: http://lifeskillstraining.com/ Strengthening Families: https://www.extension.iastate.edu/sfp10-14/ Prosper: http://evidencebasedprograms.org/prosper Communities that Care: https://www.communitiesthatcare.net/ If you found this helpful, share this episode with a coalition member, colleague or friend! Next Episode: Subscribe now for free and you won’t miss episode 012
Organizing for Change Podcast - Episode 10 Show Notes Goal: “to equip coalitions, organizations, and individuals to bring change to their community” Host, Amanda Decker joins Larissa Swenson of the Greater Boston Tobacco Free Community Partnership Program. For those working with Drug Free Communities funding, this sector fills the role of “Other Organization Working to Reduce Substance Disorder” Larissa engage stakeholders/organizations to increase community capacity and builds support for local tobacco control policies and regulations. She also partners with individuals and community coalitions to raise awareness about health issues related to tobacco use and serves as a liaison between the program and the program’s funder, the Massachusetts Tobacco Cessation and Prevention Program/Department of Public Health. Welcome to Episode 010 of the Podcast: Changing the Landscape of Smoking Guest: Larissa Swenson of the Greater Boston Tobacco Free Community Partnership Website: http://makesmokinghistory.org Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/MTFCP/ Organizing for Change Website: https://organizing4change.podbean.com/ Organizing for Change Twitter: @organizing4chng 3 Insights from This Episode: Ask Youth What They See. Larissa says when working to reduce you tobacco use, talk to youth and ask them what they see in their community. When making any type of change, asking questions is the best place to start. Build Partnerships. Look for people and groups who can support what you are looking to do. There are people who have the same goals in mind as you and will want to help. Support your efforts with data. Do your homework and back your efforts to create change with data. Larissa speaks about collecting data to reduce youth tobacco use and creating strategies around that data. Upcoming event: November 16th Every year, on the third Thursday of November, smokers across the nation take part in the American Cancer Society Great American Smokeout event. Encourage someone you know to use the date to make a plan to quit, or plan in advance and then quit smoking that day. By quitting – even for 1 day – smokers will be taking an important step toward a healthier life and reducing their cancer risk. For more information: https://www.cancer.org/healthy/stay-away-from-tobacco/great-american-smokeout.html Next Episode: Subscribe now for free and you won’t miss episode 011
Organizing for Change Podcast - Episode 09 Show Notes Goal: “to equip coalitions, organizations, and individuals to bring change to their community” Host, Amanda Decker joins the youth from the Ashland's Decisions at Every Turn (DAET) Coalition to talk about engaging youth in creating change. If you have questions about how to get more youth involved, what to have them do in your coalition and how to keep them engaged, this is the episode for you. Welcome to Episode 009 of the Podcast: Empowering Youth Guest: Youth Members of the Ashland Decisions at Every Turn Coalition The DAET coalition is a community-based group with stakeholders from many organizations throughout Ashland. The group is dedicated to creating a safe and healthy Ashland by working as a community to prevent, reduce, and solve the problems that can lead to youth substance abuse. The coalition was awarded the Drug Free communities grant in 2013. DAET Website: http://www.ashlanddecisions.org/ DAET Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ashlanddecisions/ Organizing for Change Website: https://organizing4change.podbean.com/ Organizing for Change Twitter: @organizing4chng 3 Insights from This Episode: Empower your youth. If you are making decisions in your organization, agency or community that affect youth, it is important to have youth involved in the process. Give youth real leadership roles. Empower youth to have real decision making authority. Often adults are hesitant to give youth authority when decision making because they are worried they will not make a great choice for their coalition or agency. This results in tokenism of youth (just having a youth at the table because you are supposed to). Train your youth. How do you increase the likelihood that youth will make a great choice for their coalition or agency? Train them. The DAET invested funds and time in training youth by sending them to the National Leadership forum put on by CADCA. This training for youth helps them to understand the process of change and breaks things down so the youth were able to put their knowledge to work in helping create their coalition's action plan for the next year. When the DAET youth were trained, they understood what needed to happen in order to create a working plan for their community. It is so important to regularly train your youth. When youth have the good training to make an informed decision, they can be a powerful asset to the coalition. Support your youth. Youth need to be valued and advocated for. Not every adult will believe youth are capable of working with your organization or coalition to make change. Having adult supporters to make sure the youth voice is heard and valued will make a big impact. Next Episode: Subscribe now for free and you won’t miss episode 010
Organizing for Change Podcast - Episode 8 Show Notes Goal: “to equip coalitions, organizations, and individuals to bring change to their community” Host, Amanda Decker joins Holly Wehde, the CEO of Trades of Hope to talk about leadership and its importance when creating change. Welcome to Episode 008 of the Podcast: Community Change and Leadership Guest: Holly Wehde, CEO Trades of Hope Holly is a visionary, a church planter, pastor’s wife, speaker, and Missional Entrepreneur. Whether it’s helping the hurting, starting Trades of Hope, mentoring leaders or helping marriages and families, her passion is helping people live with passion and purpose. Trades of Hope helps women in desperate places by selling their fair trade products through the party plan model. This creates a dignified partnership empowering women out of the sex industry, slums and sweatshops and extreme poverty. Holly talks to us today about creating trades of hope and the importance of leading and bring her company from a start up to five years later employing women all over the world. Trades of Hope Website: http://www.tradesofhope.com/ Trades of Hope Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Tradesofhope/ Holly Wehde: http://mikeandhollylife.com/ Organizing for Change Website: https://organizing4change.podbean.com/ Organizing for Change Twitter: @organizing4chng 3 Insights from This Episode: Remember why you began. Holly speaks about crunching numbers late into the night and getting an email at 3am that told a story of a person that was deeply impacted by her organization. She says this really reminded her why she was putting in the long hours to make a difference. It is important to remember why you began the work and to communicate change stories to the team of people you are working with. Don’t be afraid of failure. Failure paves the way to success. If you have a dream, don’t be afraid to fail. Anybody who has ever done something truly great in this world, has failed multiple times. Be realistic. Sometimes our emotions get too attached to the cause and we make decisions based off emotion that are not the best for the organization. It is important to thoughtfully make decisions that are based on reality and not emotion. Books Holly recommends: Hustle: The Power to Charge Your Life with Money, Meaning, and Momentum by Neil Patel, Patrick Vlaskovits, Jonas Koffler Winning with People by John Maxwell Cool technology Holly is using these days: “Basecamp” https://basecamp.com/ Next Episode: Subscribe now for free and you won’t miss episode 009
Goal: “to equip coalitions, organizations, and individuals to bring change to their community” Welcome to Episode 007 of the Podcast: Using Data to Advance Your Mission In this episode you will hear why it is so important to use data to advance your mission. Guests: Lyn Frano & Stephanie Patton - from the OASIS Coalition Bio- Lyn Frano: Lyn Frano is a Licensed Social Worker with over 27 years of experience working with children, youth, and families. Lyn currently works for the OASIS coalition to coordinate 4 Massachusetts communities to address substance use disorder by using the coalition model. Lyn formerly worked in the Weymouth Health Department and coordinated the efforts of the 5 year federal Drug Free Communities Support Program grant and Mayor Kay’s Opiate Task Force Bio- Stephanie Patton: Stephanie Patton, MPH is seen as a prevention leader in the state of Massachusetts by her peers. She has been the Prevention Coordinator for Organizing Against Substances in Stoughton (OASIS) in Stoughton, Massachusetts since 2012, but has been involved with OASIS since its inception in 2004. A primary focus of her work has been policy change at the local, regional and state level. Prior to this role, Stephanie served as the Program Director for the Southeast Center for Healthy Communities, where she provided technical assistance to substance abuse prevention coalitions throughout Southeastern MA. Stephanie brings over 15 years of experience in public health, substance abuse prevention and coalition building. She has presented nationally on coalition development and other topics and has extensive experience in developing and leading trainings. Stephanie has a Master’s Degree in Public Health from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and a Bachelor’s Degree from Wellesley College. Host, Amanda Decker joins Steve Wright from R&R Partners to talk about how good communication creates effective change. OASIS Website: http://stoughtonoasis.org/ OASIS on Twitter: @stoughtonoasis OASIS on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stoughtonoasis/ CADCA Website: www.cadca.org MassTapp Website and Planning Tools: http://masstapp.edc.org/sapc-planning-tool Organizing for Change Website: https://organizing4change.podbean.com/ Organizing for Change Twitter: @organizing4chng Insights from This Episode: Using data ensures you are accurately targeting your approach. Programs and solutions can cause more harm than good if data is not collected to make sure the actual issue is being addressed. Lyn shares a prevention parable to show how data collection is important in both talking about the issues in the community and coming up with solutions to address the issues. Qualitative and Quantitative Data: To paint a realistic picture of what is happening in your community, you will need to collect both qualitative and quantitative data. Collect Quantitative Data: Even if you don’t have funding to complete a survey or hire someone to collect data, your community has data available! Look for groups that are already collecting data such as police, hospitals, schools and encourage data sharing. Collect Qualitative Data: A great way to start (regardless of funding) is to conduct “key stakeholder interviews” with key members of your community. These conversations will help you find out what is happening in your community. Next Episode: Subscribe now for free and you won’t miss episode 008
Goal: “to equip coalitions, organizations, and individuals to bring change to their community” Host, Amanda Decker has a conversation with Chief Dave Martineau and Deputy Chief Jeffrey Bukunt from the Avon Police Department in Avon MA. Welcome to Episode 006 of the Podcast: Partnering with Law Enforcement. Guests: Chief Dave Martineau and Deputy Chief Jeffrey Bukunt from the Avon Police Department in Avon MA Avon Police Department Website: https://www.avon-ma.gov/police-department ACES (Avon Coalition for Every Student) Website: www.acesavon.com Organizing for Change Website: https://organizing4change.podbean.com/ Organizing for Change Twitter: @organizing4chng About this Episode: Building relationships are one of the keys to creating community level change. The Avon coalition (ACES) is located in Avon MA about 20 minutes south of Boston. In 2009, the Youth Risk and Behavior Survey data came back with the report that 47% of Avon High School youth were engaged in underage drinking. As a community Avon decided to mobilize to address this community problem with community solutions. The community formed the ACES coalition and created a strategic plan using data to address multiple issues. As a result of the hard work in the community, eight years later, underage drinking has been significantly reduced down to 18%. One of the key partners in addressing this issue was and continues to be the Avon Police Department. You will hear in this episode the importance of building relationships both the police with the community (including youth) and the community with the police. As you listen in on our conversation, I hope it will inspire you and give you some ideas as to what change is possible when everyone works together for a common cause. Key Points: 1. Use the facts when you talk to youth about drug use. Youth can fact check whatever you tell them at a rapid pace. It is important to use accurate facts when speaking about underage drinking and drug use. 2. Police are an ally. Chief Martineau talks about how sometimes parents will use the police as a scare tactic for their child. “Don’t do xyz or the police will “get” you. This reinforces in a child’s mind that the police are the “bad guys”. Police would rather see themselves as allies to parents. The Chief also talks about how they “can’t arrest their way out of the problem of substance abuse disorder”. Police want to help people get the help they need. Dept. Chief Bukunt speaks about doing things in the community in a non enforcement manner to continue to build that positive view of the police from the community perspective. 3. Education has to begin early. Teaching youth good decision making early, is key to educating youth about drugs and alcohol. (Many studies show waiting to speak to youth about drugs and alcohol till middle school is often too late.) **What is carfentanil? http://boston.cbslocal.com/2017/06/07/carfentanil-massachusetts-brockton-quincy/ Next Episode: Subscribe now for free and you won’t miss episode 007
Organizing for Change Podcast - Show Notes Goal: “to equip coalitions, organizations, and individuals to bring change to their community” Host, Amanda Decker has a conversation with Doctor Jerry Schultz, Professor at the University of Kansas, and key developer of the Community Tool Box. Welcome to Episode 005 of the Podcast: Using the Community Tool Box to create change. Guest: Jerry Schultz PH.D, Professor at the University of Kansas Professor Jerry Schultz Ph.D Bio Page: https://communityhealth.ku.edu/jerry-schultz-phd Community Toolbox Website: http://ctb.ku.edu/en CADCA Leadership Forum: http://www.cadca.org/events/26th-national-leadership-forum-samhsas-12th-prevention-day Organizing for Change Website: https://organizing4change.podbean.com/ Organizing for Change Twitter: @organizing4chng Bio: Dr. Schultz holds a Ph.D. in anthropology and an M.A. in medical anthropology from the University of Kansas. He works primarily with issues involving building capacity of urban neighborhoods to solve local problems, understanding systems change, evaluating community health and development initiatives, and qualitative methodologies. He is part of the Community Tool Box (CTB) development team, a global online resource for community building. His responsibility includes both content and design development for the CTB. Dr. Schultz has co-authored numerous articles on evaluation, empowerment, and community development. He has been a consultant to several foundations, community coalitions, and state agencies. The Community Tool Box: The Community Tool Box is a free, online resource for those working to build healthier communities and bring about social change. It offers thousands of pages of tips and tools for taking action in communities. Want to learn about community assessment, planning, intervention, evaluation, advocacy, and other aspects of community practice? Then help yourself to over 300 educational modules and other free tools. Under continuous development since 1994, the Community Tool Box is widely used in teaching, training, and technical support. Currently available in English, Spanish, and Arabic and with millions of user sessions annually, it has reached those working in over 230 countries around the world. WHY THE COMMUNITY TOOL BOX? The vision behind the Community Tool Box is that people — locally and globally — are better prepared to work together to change conditions that affect their lives. Our mission is to promote community health and development by connecting people, ideas, and resources. With the belief that people can change their communities for the better, and informed by disciplines including applied behavior analysis, public health, and community psychology, partners at the University of Kansas and collaborating organizations developed the Community Tool Box as a public service. Next Episode: Subscribe now for free and you won’t miss episode 006
Goal: “to equip coalitions, organizations, and individuals to bring change to their community” Host, Amanda Decker joins Steve Wright from R&R Partners to talk about how good communication creates effective change. Welcome to Episode 004 of the Podcast: Communicating Your Message Guest: Steve Wright, R&R Partners Steve’s Blog with R&R Partners: http://www.rrpartnersblog.com/author/steve-wright-director-of-strategic-communications/ Parents Empowered Montage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aq0C36EQcdc Parents Empowered Website: http://parentsempowered.org/ Parents Empowered Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ParentsEmpowered/ Organizing for Change Website: https://organizing4change.podbean.com/ Organizing for Change Twitter: @organizing4chng 3 Insights from This Episode: Research your audience: Steve and his team used research to test and evaluate every part of their campaign. Steve shares an example of how his team used focus groups with both parents and youth to determine what to name their campaign. Too often people put out a message without doing the homework to test their message out to make sure the right audience is being reached with their message and that their message is having the response they are looking for. You are not alone: There are many people and organizations in your community who would love to partner with you to help share your message. Steve talks about how they were able to involved unlikely partners such as the Waste Removal companies to help spread their message. Keep your message simple: Don’t pick many messages to send to your community. Really narrow your message down to be as simple as possible. You can’t do everything, so focus on one issue and do what you do...well. One message heard 10 times is more effective than 10 messages heard once. Next Episode: Subscribe now for free and you won’t miss episode 005
Organizing for Change Podcast - Show Notes Goal: “to equip coalitions, organizations, and individuals to bring change to their community” Host, Amanda Decker joins the Paul Zinni, Superintendent of Avon Public Schools to talk about how the education sector can be involved in community change! Welcome to Episode 003 of the Podcast: The Education Sector and Community Change Guest: Paul Zinni, Superintendent of Avon Public Schools Avon Public Schools Website: http://www.avon.k12.ma.us/ Organizing for Change Website: https://organizing4change.podbean.com/ Organizing for Change Twitter: @organizing4chng 3 Insights from This Episode: 1. Invest in Relationships: Investing in relationships allows you to have buy in when creating community change. Change is complex and relationships give you the opportunity to problem solve issues and create solutions beforehand. When people feel like they have a voice, and that voice has been heard, they are more likely buy into the change. 2. Look at the Why: There can be many reasons why a sector is hesitant to join the coalition. It is important to do your homework and find out “the why”, and not make assumptions. Once you have “the why” figured out, it important to give the sectors who have barriers opportunity to talk about their barrier and brainstorm solutions. Don’t jump to the solution before you analyze the problem. 3. Make Small “Asks”: Don’t come in asking for a big commitment such as coming to all of your meetings. Find something small and something specific a sector can do to “get their feet wet”. When they are involved in something that is successful, they will see the benefit and be willing to give more. Seeing the successes will make people want to do more. Next Episode: Subscribe now for free and you won’t miss episode 004
Goal: “to equip coalitions, organizations, and individuals to bring change to their community” Host, Amanda Decker joins the youth from SRSLY Chelsea to talk about how to engage youth in community change! Welcome to Episode 002 of the Podcast: Engaging Youth in Community Change Guests: Abbie Dobos gr. 8, Riley Thorburn gr. 8, Jessie Ligi gr. 12, Allison Hughes gr. 10, Natalie Gofton gr. 10, Ben Schwarz gr. 8, Jessie Kauffman (Coalition Director) Guest Links: SRSLY Chelsea (SRSLY stands for Seriously. This spelling of SRSLY is used when people are texting each other on their cell phones.) SRSLY Website: http://www.srslychelsea.org/ SRSLY on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SRSLYchelsea SRSLY on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/srslychelsea Links Mentioned: CADCA www.cadca.org NYLI (CADCA’s National Youth Leadership Initiative) http://www.cadca.org/nyli What is minecraft? Ben speaks about involving the community in a minecraft server building project. Minecraft is a computer game that enables players to build constructions out of textured cubes in a 3D generated world. This project was Ben’s idea to provide a fun, drug free activity for youth after school. Words of advice from youth for youth who are interested in joining a coalition: Don’t be afraid to step up. You have a voice and it matters. You don’t have to jump in right away, just show up and see what it is about. Joining a coalition is a way to make your voice heard. If it is something you believe in, do it. You can make a difference. Words of advice from a youth leader to the adults about youth involvement in a coalition: Youth are waiting for you! Give you opportunities to reach for more and to reach their goals. 3 Insights from This Episode: 1. Fun: Make what you do “fun”. SRSLY ideas to make your meeting “fun” for youth: Bring Food Make it a place where youth will want to invite a friend. Inviting a friend is the most popular way that SRSLY grew their youth base. Play an icebreaker at the beginning Separate into two groups during a meeting so that youth can choose what level of intensity they wish to be involved in. An example would be: planning fun drug free events, or something a little more intense like sorting out data to determine what the issues in your community are. 2. Start Young: Involve youth BEFORE high school. If you can start at 5th grade, youth will have an easier time getting involved and will most likely continue with the coalition into high school. 3. Be Flexible: Be flexible with youth schedules. You don’t have to have the same youth at the table all of the time. If you can get a core of youth to the table, additional youth can join them when their schedules permit. Don’t guilt a youth for not coming to every meeting. Next Episode: Subscribe now for free and you won’t miss episode 003
Have you ever wished you could hear what others are doing to make a difference in their world? This podcast will give you the opportunity to hear from amazing creators of change from all walks of life. The goal of the Organizing for Change Podcast is to equip coalitions, organizations, and individuals to bring change to their community. Welcome to episode 001 of the podcast. Host: Amanda Decker, Coalition Coordinator for ACES (Avon Coalition for Every Student) Producer: Ed Rand, Youth Liaison for Avon Coalition for Every Student Where to Find Us: Organizing for Change Twitter: @organizing4chng Organizing for Change Website: http://organizing4change.podbean.com/ Organizing for Change Email: organizing4change@gmail.com Links Mentioned: ACES website: www.acesavon.com CADCA (Community Anti Drug Coalitions of America) website: www.cadca.org Community Toolbox: http://ctb.ku.edu/en Definitions: Coalition: a method used to address and prevent substance use disorder, a method to bring change to an organization, community etc. The dictionary defines it as: an alliance for combined action Instaparent: Our made-up word for becoming a stepparent 3 Insights from This Episode: It is important to discover what is happening at the “root” of an issue in order to create change and address the issue. Amanda talks about youth substance use disorder prevention by using the analogy about “looking up the river” in order to address what is “down the river”. Prevention is slowing down or stopping something before it starts. The host talks about how “scare tactics” are not the most efficient way to reduce youth substance use disorder today. The tobacco rates in the US did not decline because people were “scared” into changing, but because of the policies enacted around tobacco such as “no smoking” in certain location. The goal is to help make the healthy choice, the easy choice. It is important to make sure you clarify your goal. If you do not communicate your coalition goals often, people may join your coalition with different goals in mind which can sabotage your efforts to create change. Appreciate This? Rate the podcast Did this episode help to equip you to bring change? Please let us know! The best way you can do that is to rate the podcast on iTunes and leave us a review. Your ratings and reviews help us place the podcast in front of new change makers and listeners. Next Episode: DC Join us as we visit the Capital – Washington D.C. and interview some amazing creators of change! Subscribe for free now and you won’t miss Episode 002
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