Out Of The Margins

The last episode of our podcast series Organizing for Abolition. Envisioning Liberation. featured two leading voices in the family policing abolitionist movement, Kristen Weber of the National Center for Youth Law and Alan Dettlaff of upEND Movement. In our new bonus episode, ​Kristen and Alan continue the conversation on the abolition of family policing systems — sharing alternative policy and advocacy strategies that can hold family policing systems accountable while ending harm and improving conditions for families. The extended conversation features questions from our board members and a discussion on achieving long-term goals. Listen here, or watch the conversation on our YouTube channel.  Learn more about National Center for Youth Law:youthlaw.orgLinkedInInstagramFacebookTwitterLearn more about upEND Movement:upendmovement.orgInstagramTwitterMusic by Bre Stoves, "Untold Story" from Care, Not Control (The Album)Learn more about AFF:affund.orgLinkedInInstagramFacebookThis podcast is produced by Sol Design.

We close our podcast series, Organizing for Abolition. Envisioning Liberation., with a very special episode. Recorded in person at our annual board meeting, we're joined by two of the leading voices in the family policing abolitionist movement. Kristen Weber of the National Center for Youth Law and Alan Dettlaff of upEND Movement discuss family policing through the lens of racial justice and how our current system is an extension of slavery — in which Black families continue to be disproportionately separated and criminalized. Listen to the full episode to hear more about how family policing fits into the broader abolitionist movement. Learn more about National Center for Youth Law:youthlaw.orgLinkedInInstagramFacebookTwitterLearn more about upEND Movement:upendmovement.orgInstagramTwitterMusic by Bre Stoves, "Untold Story" from Care, Not Control (The Album)Learn more about AFF:affund.orgLinkedInInstagramFacebookThis podcast is produced by Sol Design.

In this episode of Organizing Abolition. Envisioning Liberation. we hear from Erin Miles Cloud, co-founder of Movement for Family Power and Joyce McMillan, founder and executive director of Just Making a Change for Families. They share what led them to creating organizations where they could have autonomy to challenge the status quo, and discuss their vision of abolition and the next steps to achieving it. Erin and Joyce also touch on the need for more support,  highlighting the first in-person convening for family policing abolition hosted by upEND Movement. Learn more about JMACforFamilies:JMACforfamilies.orgLinkedInInstagramFacebookTwitterLearn more about MFP:movementforfamilypower.orgInstagramFacebookTwitterMusic by Bre Stoves, "Untold Story" from Care, Not Control (The Album)Learn more about AFF:affund.orgLinkedInInstagramFacebookThis podcast is produced by Sol Design.

In the third episode of Organizing for Abolition. Envisioning Liberation. we hear from Jaime Koppel of Communities for Just Schools Fund and Geoffrey Winder of the Alliance for Educational Justice. They discuss abolition in the context of educational justice, and why dismantling schools' policing infrastructure, culture and practice is crucial to that justice. Jaime and Geoffrey also touch on why creating the environment for schools to be safe spaces can enable individual students to thrive and lead to the liberation of whole communities. Learn more about our grantee partner, Communities for Just Schools Fund:cjsfund.orgLinkedInInstagramFacebookLearn more about the Alliance for Educational Justice:policefreeschools.orgFacebookMusic by Bre Stoves, "Untold Story" from Care, Not Control (The Album)Learn more about AFF:affund.orgLinkedInInstagramFacebookThis podcast is produced by Sol Design.

In the second episode of Organizing for Abolition. Envisioning Liberation. we hear from Michelle Ruiz and Jayden Huerta of Puente Human Rights Movement in Phoenix, AZ. They discuss their experiences as youth organizers including advocating for the removal of police in schools, educating their community and empowering other students. They also address why police are not the answer to keep students safe and propose a restorative justice approach as an alternative.Learn more about Puente:puenteaz.orgTwitterFacebookInstagramMusic by Bre Stoves, "Untold Story" from Care, Not Control (The Album)Learn more about AFF:affund.orgLinkedInInstagramFacebookThis podcast is produced by Sol Design.

A new season of our podcast kicks off with a brand new series that centers youth in the movement to abolish harmful systems: Organizing for Abolition. Envisioning Liberation. Hosted by AFF Director Mishi Faruqee, each episode in this limited series will feature grantee partners, youth leaders and/or allies who share their visions for community-centered approaches that support youth and families.    In this first episode, we hear from Brenda Gomez and Xochtil Larios of Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice (CURYJ) in Oakland, CA. They discuss their journey from being incarcerated as teenagers and being empowered by CURYJ to their continued evolution as youth leaders in the abolition movement and how CURYJ continues to support young people to #DreamBeyondBars.  Learn more about CURYJ:curyj.orgTwitterFacebookInstagramMusic by Bre Stoves, "Untold Story" from Care, Not Control (The Album)Learn more about AFF:affund.orgLinkedInInstagramFacebookThis podcast is produced by Sol Design.

In this episode of Out Of The Margins, we close our series on what it takes to MANIFEST change with Marcy Mistrett and Billy Harris, previously with the Campaign for Youth Justice. After 15 years of impact, the campaign came to a close on December 31st, 2020. Marcy and Billy speak to us about what it took to achieve substantial wins for the broader field of youth justice and why the work is far from done.Some of these wins include:A 70% drop in youth prosecuted as adults. Changing over 100 laws in 40 states and Washington DC that make it harder to send children to adult court.Narrowing or ending automatic transfer laws in 22 states. Permanently closing the door to the adult system for more than 100,000 children every year by raising the age of criminal responsibility to 18 years old.An update on our guests:Marcy Mistrett is now the Director of Youth Justice at The Sentencing Project. Billy Harris continues to be a Youth Justice Advocate based in California.

In this episode, Alejandra Ruiz of the Youth Engagement Fund (YEF) joins us to discuss the voting power of people of color. She reflects on the organizing wins of the 2020 election and how YEF is building on that momentum to fight back against new voter suppression laws that have recently been enacted  in battleground states.  Learn more about YEF's 2021 Summer Docket, which lays out its grantmaking strategy that includes multi-year funding  to a cohort of regional, youth of color-led organizations. This episode was recorded in early 2021.

In this very special episode of Out Of The Margins, we discuss the Visionary Freedom Fund (VFF), an initiative launched by the Andrus Family Fund. We speak with members of VFF's Power Table, including one of its youth leaders, to learn about the importance of funding youth-led organizing, the grantmaking process and lessons learned along the way in advance of its inaugural cohort of grant  recipients. Learn more about VFF: affund.org/VisionaryFreedomFundGuests:Jemima Abalogu, VFF Youth LeaderJessica Pierce and Bryan Perlmutter, VFF Project CoordinatorsHosted by Manuela Arciniegas, AFF Director and VFF Philanthropic Partner

In this episode, Juniperangelica (Gia) Cordova of the Transgender Law Center explains how the organization manifests change through its organizing and advocacy work. She discusses the unique challenges trans youth face, how the trans rights movement intersects with other social justice movements, the importance of building intergenerational power and why the movement should follow the lead of Black trans women and femmes. Read TLC's community-led demands in the Trans Agenda for Liberation, which lifts up the following pillars:Black Trans Women and Black Trans Femmes Leading and Living FiercelyBeloved HomeIntergenerational Connection and Lifelong CareDefining OurselvesFreedom to ThriveFollow TLC on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

We continue our series that unpacks what it takes to manifest change. In this episode, we hear from Monica Cordova, Co-Executive Director of Funders' Collaborative on Youth Organizing (FCYO). She discusses the power of youth organizing and why it's critical for philanthropy to support it "in big ways." Plus, we take a look at the field of youth organizing and how it's evolved over the last two decades. Find FCYO's 20th Anniversary resources here. Attend FCYO's upcoming webinar here.

We kick off a new series that unpacks what it takes to manifest change. Our first episode of the series features Anna Gennari, Deputy Director of Foster Youth in Action. She connects the dots between various disruptive systems, and how they intersect with the child welfare system. Additionally, we discuss how youth organizing is the key driver in lifting up the demands of foster youth in order to implement real policy changes across the country.

To close our Dream series, we speak with Jessica Nowlan, Executive Director of the Young Women's Freedom Center. In this episode, she reflects on her lived experience — from being on the streets and incarcerated to finding sisterhood and stepping into a leadership position at the Young Women's Freedom Center. Jessica also lifts up the fact that youth have already articulated their vision for transformation, and our work is to support their brilliance and follow their lead as they build power and advance alternatives to incarceration and punishment, and instead, promote investment, healing, economic and political power.Download YWFC's latest report, Through Their Eyes: Stories of Reflection, Resistance, and Resilience on Juvenile Incarceration from San Francisco Cis and Trans Young Women, Trans Young Men and Gender-Expansive Youth.*This episode was recorded in 2020. 

Our Dream series continues with Danielle Sered, Executive Director of Common Justice. In this episode, she unpacks the drivers of violence and how divesting from law enforcement and incarceration has actually made communities safer. By investing in restorative healing, alternatives to incarceration and transformative justice, Common Justice's radical approach to advance healing and accountability without incarceration centers survivors of crime and builds an entirely new way of addressing and preventing future harm in the community. Common Justice also has a podcast. Listen to it here.

Our Dream series continues with Wakumi Douglas, the co-founder and former executive director of S.O.U.L. Sisters Leadership Collective. In this episode, she reflects on the arduous demands movement work has on directly impacted Black women, girls and gender nonconforming youth; how dismantling the toxic culture of the nonprofit industrial complex is key to advancing healing justice and liberatory practices; and why we must have faith and unconditional love for Black people in order to radically transform our communities.

We continue our series on the importance of making space to dream in the youth justice movement with Francisca Porchas Coronado of Resilient Strategies. In this episode, we'll dig into the subject of healing justice through the lens of indigenous culture, wellbeing and building power. Francisca shares her organizing journey, the importance of addressing trauma and looking for wisdom in our ancestors as well as finding joy in the work as a means to liberation. Out Of The Margins is a podcast of the Andrus Family Fund. Hosted by Manuela Arciniegas, Director of Andrus Family Fund.Produced by Sol Design Co. Theme music by Peace Poets.

In this episode, we asked our grantee partners from Youth First Initiative about their dreams for youth justice, reinvesting in communities of color and reimagining a world without youth prisons. 

We conclude our conversation about investing in communities by exploring what equitable outcomes look like and how philanthropy can better invest in community safety.  If you missed the first part of the discussion, go back and listen to part 1 now.Host:Manuela Arciniegas, Andrus Family FundGuests:Jenny Arwade, Communities UnitedDeVone Boggan, Advance PeacePastor Mike McBride, LIVE FREE CampaignZach Norris, Ella Baker CenterThis episode was recorded in September 2020.

What happens when we divest from harmful systems? In our new podcast series, our guests passionately discuss how public and private dollars can be equitably invested in communities. Tune in to hear the first episode of this two-part conversation. Host:Manuela Arciniegas, Andrus Family FundGuests:Jenny Arwade, Communities United Devone Boggan, Advance PeacePastor Mike McBride, LIVE FREE CampaignZach Norris, Ella Baker CenterThis episode was recorded in September 2020.

To conclude our first series of 2021, our guests break down how divesting from police could enhance safety for communities of color and why philanthropy should shift their funding from reform to abolition. Listen now. Host:Manuela Arciniegas, Andrus Family FundGuests:Anand Subramanian, Policy LinkJoo-Hyun Kang, Communities United for Police ReformLorraine Ramirez, Funders for JusticeThis episode was recorded in 2020.

We kick off our first episode of the year with a series on what it really means when organizers say "defund the police." We're joined by leaders in the movement who dig into topics such as redefining public safety, police accountability, why reform isn't the answer and how divesting funds from law enforcement could impact communities of color.Host:Manuela Arciniegas, Andrus Family FundGuests: Anand Subramanian, Policy LinkJoo-Hyun Kang, Communities United for Police Reform Lorraine Ramirez, Funders for JusticeThis episode was recorded in 2020.

We conclude our conversation with current and former board members about trust-based philanthropy. Tune in to hear them dispel myths that are common in philanthropy and why they urge trustees to let go of control and shift power to grantee partners. Read the AFF board's recommendations to fellow trustees about how they can show up for racial justice here: affund.org/MeetTheMomentHosted by Manuela Arciniegas, Director of AFFGuests: Lindsey Griffith, Member of AFF Board (Former Chair)Molly Thorpe, Member of AFF Board (Former Chair)Stephanie Cardon, Former Member of AFF Board (Former Vice Chair)Kelly Nowlin, Former Member of AFF Board (Founding Member; Currently serves on Surdna Board)

Current and former board members reflect on their time serving on the board and how foundation trustees can shift power to push for anti-racist grantmaking practices. Read the AFF board's recommendations to fellow trustees about how they can show up for racial justice here: affund.org/MeetTheMomentHosted by Manuela Arciniegas, Director of AFFGuests: Lindsey Griffith, Member of AFF Board (Former Chair)Molly Thorpe, Member of AFF Board (Former Chair)Stephanie Cardon, Former Member of AFF Board (Former Vice Chair)Kelly Nowlin, Former Member of AFF Board (Founding Member; Currently serves on Surdna Board)

We conclude our episode on realizing police free schools in Rochester, NY by speaking directly with youth on the impact of #PoliceFreeSchools and organizers share what more needs to be done to create a positive school climate. Tune in to hear the conversation. Guests:Iman Abid, NYCLURicardo Adams, RCSD School Board MemberJennifer Banister, Center for Teen EmpowermentTali Beckwith, Teen Activist ProjectBeautiful Destiny Ford, RocResponderRosemary Rivera, Citizen Action New YorkRuth Turner, Former RCSD Chief of Student Support ServicesStevie Vargas, Citizen Action New YorkAs organizations in Rochester continue to call for defunding the police, we want to lift the demands of Free the People Roc, a community-led effort that many people on this podcast are members of.

AFF's Program Officer, Nyoka Acevedo, co-hosts this very special episode of Out Of The Margins along with Jaime Koppel of the Communities for Just Schools Fund. Together, they engage in a rich conversation with organizers in Rochester, NY who were successfully able to remove police from their schools. Tune in to learn about about their journey to #PoliceFreeSchools. Guests:Iman Abid, NYCLURicardo Adams, RCSD School Board MemberJennifer Banister, Center for Teen EmpowermentTali Beckwith, Teen Activist ProjectBeautiful Destiny Ford, RocResponderRosemary Rivera, Citizen Action New YorkRuth Turner, Former RCSD Chief of Student Support ServicesStevie Vargas, Citizen Action New YorkAs organizations in Rochester continue to call for defunding the police, we want to lift the demands of Free the People Roc, a community-led effort that many people on this podcast are members of.

We conclude our conversation with George Galvis, Executive Director of CURYJ and Erik Stegman, Executive Director of Native Americans in Philanthropy about Native Solidarity in the Movement for Black Lives. In this episode, they clearly define what activists on the frontlines need right now and what philanthropy's role should be in supporting the movement.Hosted by Manuela Arciniegas, Director of Andrus Family Fund.Music by Peace Poets.

The conversation continues with George Galvis, Executive Director of CURYJ and Erik Stegman, Executive Director of Native Americans in Philanthropy about Native Solidarity in the Movement for Black Lives. In this episode, they dig into how defunding and dismantling systems of oppression (especially law enforcement) can help Black and Native communities create a future where they thrive. Hosted by Manuela Arciniegas, Director of Andrus Family Fund. Music by Peace Poets.

#TapIn Part 1 of our series: Native Solidarity in the Movement for Black Lives, is live. During this three part conversation we speak with George Galvis, Executive Director of CURYJ and Erik Stegman, Executive Director of Native Americans in Philanthropy, to discuss the toll the COVID-19 pandemic has taken on their communities, compounded by ongoing inequity and police brutality, and the powerful response delivered by Native youth. Press play to hear the story unfold.

Jwan Moore, a Youth Leader at RISE for Youth, and Hernan Carvente, Youth Partnership Strategist at Youth First Initiative, speak about the power of youth organizing to close youth prisons in Virginia and across the country.Theme music by The Peace Poets.

#PressPlay. On this episode of Out of the Margins, Manuela Arciniegas sits down with Monique Miles, Director of the Opportunity Youth Incentive Fund and Deputy Director of the Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions. Miles breaks down the relationships that exist between "disconnected youth" and the systems that fail to serve them, while simultaneously offering a framework for effective social justice organizing with healing at the foundation of each strategy.

On this episode of #OOTM, Manuela Arciniegas sits down with Youth Sentencing and Reentry Project (YSRP) staff to discuss the program's evolution as they approach their five year anniversary mark. The humble beginnings of YSRP's advocacy began at the grassroots level with advocates, lawyers, students and families working to address the disproportionate percentage of imprisoned youth in Pennsylvania's adult jails. #Pressplay to learn why YRSP leads with humanity and how the lived experience of youth affected by imprisonment fuels the change necessary to eradicate these systems.

Silver Lining Mentoring is the only youth mentorship program in Massachusetts exclusively focused on supporting the unique needs of children in foster care. During this episode of #OutOfTheMargins Manuela Arciniegas taps into SLM’s process for developing leaders and mentors who sustain deeply connected relationships, often lasting six times longer than the national average for mentor/mentee relationships. #PressPlay

Manuela Arciniegas, Interim Director of AFF, kicks off a new season of Out of the Margins with a brand new episode.On this episode, Manuela sits down with the Juvenile Law Center in Philadelphia, PA to hear about their motivation for doing this work, obstacles to overcome and the 10 year celebration of their Youth Advocacy Program.

On this special edition of #OutOfTheMargins, healer Alex Lasalle takes us on a journey of Bambola during the final days of Education Anew: Shifting Justice 2018. Alex dives into the invaluable lessons his heritage provides while invoking the voice of his ancestors. He helps us to remember that staying grounded and knowing our roots is the foundation needed to #elevatethegenius.

In this episode, we speak with Xiomara Caro Díaz, Director of New Organizing Projects at the Center for Popular Democracy and Advisory Committee member of the Maria Fund. Hear how Díaz, a "community connector," works to support individuals and social movements struggling against broken systems and policies in Puerto Rico, pre- and post-Hurricane Maria. Visit MariaFund.org to learn how you can equitably support Puerto Ricans affected by Hurricane Maria.

If culture is the pursuit of truth, then young people need a platform to speak their truth. In this episode we speak with Jabari Gray, Executive Director of Youth Radio— which offers young people in Oakland a chance to amplify their own narratives with powerful multi-media storytelling. Follow us on Twitter! Andrus Family Fund @AndrusFamFund Leticia Peguero @LetiPeguero Youth Radio @youthradioSubscribe to Out Of The Margins on iTunes, Stitcher and Soundcloud.Produced by: SolDesign Co. Music by: Legacy Women

At least 35,000 children immigrate to the United States every year as unaccompanied minors. Many of those children end up in New York state. In this episode, we're joined by Javier Valdes from Make the Road NY and Rich Leimsider of Safe Passage Project. They speak to us about their organizations' unique approaches to helping the most vulnerable immigrant population—children. Follow us on Twitter! Andrus Family Fund @AndrusFamFund Leticia Peguero @LetiPeguero Safe Passage Project @SafePassageProj Make the Road NY @MaketheRoadNYSubscribe to Out Of The Margins on iTunes, Stitcher and Soundcloud.Produced by: SolDesign Co. Music by: Legacy Women

We speak with immigration advocates Rose Cahn of the Immigrant Legal Resource Center and Marielena Hincapié of the National Immigration Law Center about the intersectionality of immigration justice, criminal justice and racial justice.Follow us on Twitter! Andrus Family Fund @AndrusFamFund Leticia Peguero @LetiPeguero Immigrant Legal Resource Center @ILRC_SF National Immigration Law Center @NILC_orgSubscribe to Out Of The Margins on iTunes, Stitcher and Soundcloud.Produced by: SolDesign Co. Music by: Legacy Women

Frederick Douglass told us that “if there is no struggle, there is no progress.” Our guests in this episode of Out Of The Margins embody that sentiment. Join us as we speak with Ernesto Lopez and Leidy Robledo of Puente Movement as they fight for the humanity of immigrants in Arizona.Follow us on Twitter! Andrus Family Fund @AndrusFamFund Leticia Peguero @LetiPeguero Puente Movement @PuenteAZSubscribe to Out Of The Margins on iTunes, Stitcher and Soundcloud.Produced by: SolDesign Co. Music by: Legacy Women

The United States is the only country in the world that sentences children to life without the possibility of parole. Today's guest is Xavier McElrath-Bey who, at just 13 years old, was sentenced to a 25-year prison sentence. McElrath-Bey is now Senior Advisor and National Advocate for The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth, working to dismantle extreme sentences for children. He shares with us his upbringing, the circumstances that contributed to his arrest, his story of redemption, and the healing power of facing those he harmed.Follow us on Twitter! Andrus Family Fund @AndrusFamFund Leticia Peguero @LetiPeguero The Center for the Fair Sentencing of Youth @theCFSYSubscribe to Out Of The Margins on iTunes and Stitcher.Produced by: SolDesign Co. Music by: Legacy Women

Today's guest on Out Of The Margins is Danielle Sered. She and Leticia discuss how Danielle's organization, Common Justice, develops and advances solutions to violence that transform the lives of those harmed while fostering racial equity without relying on incarceration.Follow us on Twitter! Andrus Family Fund @AndrusFamFund Leticia Peguero @LetiPeguero Danielle Sered @danielleseredSubscribe to Out Of The Margins on iTunes and Stitcher.Produced by: SolDesign Co. Music by: Legacy Women

In 2012, the Supreme Court ruled that mandatory life-without-parole sentences for children are unconstitutional, yet, more than a dozen states still sentence kids to live the rest of their lives in prison.In this episode of Out Of The Margins, AFF Executive Director Leticia Peguero is joined by Jody Kent Lavy, Executive Director of The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth to discuss why holding kids accountable for the crimes they commit doesn't mean life in prison.Follow us on Twitter! Andrus Family Fund @AndrusFamFund Leticia Peguero @LetiPeguero Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth @theCFSY Jody Kent Lavy @jkentlavySubscribe to Out Of The Margins on iTunes and Stitcher.Produced by: SolDesign Co. Music by: Legacy Women

Recorded on October 6, 2017 - Two weeks after Hurricane Maria ravaged the United States territory of Puerto Rico, the island is experiencing a humanitarian crisis of historic proportion. In this episode, we explore the crisis facing the island before the storm hit and what needs to be done to rebuild Puerto Rico in the best interest of its citizens.Leticia Peguero, Andrus Family Fund's Executive Director (and proud Boriqua)is joined by New York State Senator Gustavo Rivera, Boys & Girls of Puerto Rico President Eduardo Carrera and Amanda Rivera, Executive Director of the Youth Development Institute in Puerto Rico.Subscribe to Out Of The Margins on iTunes and Stitcher.

Andrus Family Fund Executive Director Leticia Peguero speaks with Liz Ryan of Youth First about her advocacy work to close youth prisons and realize justice for America's incarcerated children. Share this podcast and follow us on Twitter! @AndrusFamFund @LetiPeguero @LizRyanYJ @NoKidsInPrison Music by: Legacy Women Produced by: Sol

Andrus Family Fund Executive Director Leticia Peguero speaks with Allison Brown, Executive Director of the Communities for Just Schools Fund about the injustices that disproportionately impact children of color in the U.S. education system. Share this podcast, tag and follow us on Twitter! @AndrusFamFund @LetiPeguero @allisonrbrown Music by: Legacy Women Produced by: Sol

Andrus Family Fund Executive Director Leticia Peguero speaks with Board Chair Kim Kaupe about the intersection of philanthropy and business, living your mission and how AFF is breaking the family fund mold. Share this podcast, tag and follow us on Twitter! @AndrusFamFund @LetiPeguero @kimkaupe Produced by: Sol Design Co. Music by: Legacy Women