State of Inclusion

If you're concerned about the state of equity and inclusion in your community and across the country, this episode is for you. And if you're wondering what to do in the face of all the attacks and uncertainty, this episode is for you. We don't pretend to have all the answers to these big questions, but in this episode, we will hear from five guests about how they are feeling, about their big concerns, and what keeps them hopeful. I'll also share my own perspectives on this challenging time and what it means for me and for the work of State of Inclusion.Find a full transcript and show notes HERE.Sign up for our newsletter and join us at The Inclusive Community to discover conversations, insights, and practices to encourage and support each of us working to build a more inclusive and equitable community.If you would like to help continue and grow our work please visit our Support Us page. 

In this episode, we'll dig into the idea of civic health--what it is, how you can measure it, and what North Carolina has learned from measuring their state's civic health. Along the way, we'll also discover an approach to create a breakthrough on issues that divide us by using a tool called deliberative dialog, and we'll learn how North Carolina is developing their next generation of citizens and civic leaders. Find a full transcript and show notes HERE.Sign up for our newsletter and join us at The Inclusive Community to discover conversations, insights, and practices to encourage and support each of us working to build a more inclusive and equitable community.If you would like to help continue and grow our work please visit our Support Us page. 

In this episode, we'll hear about one person's journey to nurture connection and community in their hometown and about using Civic Saturdays as a vehicle to bring people together. Along the way, we'll explore stories and insights that remind us all just how important a sense of community can be. We'll also share a few ideas about what we can do to foster and grow community in our own backyard. Find a full transcript and show notes HERE.Sign up for our newsletter and join us at The Inclusive Community to discover conversations, insights, and practices to encourage and support each of us working to build a more inclusive and equitable community.If you would like to help continue and grow our work please visit our Support Us page. 

In November, Emma Winiski and I led a breakout session at the Government Alliance on Race and Equity annual conference in St. Louis, Missouri. Our Session was titled Building for All: Connecting Inclusive Practices to Improve the Built Environment and Beyond. In this episode, you'll hear an overview of our Six Practices for Building a More Inclusive Community, and Emma will share how Oklahoma City applies Inclusive Practices to its built environment. If you link to the detailed show notes, there is also a video version of our presentation that includes the slides.Find a full transcript and show notes HERE.Sign up for our newsletter and join us at The Inclusive Community to discover conversations, insights, and practices to encourage and support each of us working to build a more inclusive and equitable community.If you would like to help us continue to grow our work, please visit our Support Us page.  

Over 2024, we had so many rich discussions here at the State of Inclusion Podcast. Join me as we take a few minutes to reflect on our main themes and the wisdom my guests have shared across the year.If you'd like to help us refine our work on equity ecosystem mapping, reach out to me at amesanders@stateofinclusion.com.Find a full transcript and show notes HERE.Sign up for our newsletter and join us at The Inclusive Community to discover conversations, insights, and practices to encourage and support each of us working to build a more inclusive and equitable community.If you would like to help continue and grow our work please visit our Support Us page.  

Have you wondered how we can create a local economy that works for everyone? I believe it happens when we make different choices. Different choices in how we show up in our communities, in how and where we shop, what we buy, what we build, and how we invest. This episode is about someone who decided to show up and make a difference in their community by choosing to put their time and money where their heart is and creating a way for others to join them in that work. Note: This interview was previously published on Next Economy Now.Find a full transcript and show notes HERE.Sign up for our newsletter and join us at The Inclusive Community to discover conversations, insights, and practices to encourage and support each of us working to build a more inclusive and equitable community.If you would like to help continue and grow our work please visit our Support Us page. 

If you wonder how to build a stronger and more cohesive community in these divided times, this episode is for you. In this episode, we will discuss the role community libraries can and do play as a key part of our social infrastructure. Our community library is one of the last free places where we are all welcome. We will explore how the library can be a place for both community bridging and bonding, as well as a place to grow civic engagement. The simple invitation to "Meet Me at the Library" is an invitation to a specific place, but it can be so much more.Find a full transcript and show notes HERE.Sign up for our newsletter and join us at The Inclusive Community to discover conversations, insights, and practices to encourage and support each of us working to build a more inclusive and equitable community.If you would like to help continue and grow our work please visit our Support Us page. 

How can we co-create a more just, compassionate, vibrant, and inclusive economy? In this interview, Judy Wicks shares how the Circle of Aunts and Uncles in Philadelphia does just that as they invest in and support local entrepreneurs. In our discussion, Judy goes even further to help us understand how supporting local businesses can build a more sustainable future for our community. Find a full transcript and show notes HERE.Sign up for our newsletter and join us at The Inclusive Community to discover conversations, insights, and practices to encourage and support each of us working to build a more inclusive and equitable community.If you would like to help continue and grow our work please visit our Support Us page. 

Join me as we talk with Darryl Heller, the chair of the South Bend Reparatory Justice Commission. We will discuss how the commission is bringing a restorative justice lens to its approach to reparations in South Bend, Indiana. This conversation offers practical and insightful ways to consider the very important and complex subject of reparations at a local level.  Find a full transcript and show notes HERE.Sign up for our newsletter and join us at The Inclusive Community to discover conversations, insights, and practices to encourage and support each of us working to build a more inclusive and equitable community.If you would like to help continue and grow our work please visit our Support Us page.  

We believe in the transformative power of art. It's a potent tool that can be used to touch hearts and open minds and contribute to the creation of a more inclusive and equitable community. Over the years, we've talked with artists, but this conversation is different. It is about street art, or what I might call guerilla art. Work that lives at the intersection of art and activism. It's about a troupe of artists who engage in activism, support other activists, and use their art to, as they say, "surprise you out of your normal routine." Find a full transcript and show notes HERE.Sign up for our newsletter and join us at The Inclusive Community to discover conversations, insights, and practices to encourage and support each of us working to build a more inclusive and equitable community.If you would like to help continue and grow our work please visit our Support Us page. 

Today, the richest 10% of households own 70% of the country's wealth, including 90% of the wealth from business ownership. We know this wealth gap is felt most acutely by everyday workers and people of color. So, how do we fix this very deep, widespread, systemic problem? In this episode, we hear about tangible and practical ways that communities and businesses can contribute to closing that wealth gap. Find a full transcript and show notes HERE.Sign up for our newsletter and join us at The Inclusive Community to discover conversations, insights, and practices to encourage and support each of us working to build a more inclusive and equitable community.If you would like to help continue and grow our work please visit our Support Us page. 

For those of you who are already doing advocacy and coalition work in your communities, this episode is for you. If you are trying to find a way to ensure your community's needs are respected in the face of significant building and development, this episode is for you. We'll hear how to use coalitions to build power and how neighborhoods and communities of color can come together to advocate for what they need. Join us as we welcome Joo Hee Pomplun, the executive director of The Alliance, a coalition of community based organizations working in the Minnesota Twin Cities region and beyond.Find a full transcript and show notes HERE.Sign up for our newsletter and join us at The Inclusive Community to discover conversations, insights, and practices to encourage and support each of us working to build a more inclusive and equitable community.If you would like to help continue and grow our work please visit our Support Us page. 

Our work of Equity and Inclusion requires us to think multi-dimensionally, to think about ourselves, but also about those with whom we interact and about the structures in our environment, whether those are systems or physical spaces. My guest, Lori Weitzner, helps us explore the importance of our physical spaces on both a personal and a group level. Lori shares how we can use color and a multi-sensory approach to the design of our spaces and events to help make people feel more welcome, more included, and more grounded. Lori will also discuss how each of us can use color and design in our personal spaces to help us recharge, recenter, and energize for the work ahead. While we're going to talk a lot about color, Lori and I will not talk about colorism. That is an important subject, a separate and significant subject, but one for another day.Find a full transcript and show notes HERE.Sign up for our newsletter and join us at The Inclusive Community to discover conversations, insights, and practices to encourage and support each of us working to build a more inclusive and equitable community.If you would like to help continue and grow our work please visit our Support Us page. 

This conversation reminds us that the current systems that keep us from achieving equity and inclusion weren't just an accident of evolution. They were designed—intentionally designed. These past designs and their artifacts also persist in our everyday lives, even when we have stopped many of the harmful practices. Today's guest, Braden Cooks of Designing the We, will share how we can undesign our current systems of inequity and separation and imagine new ways for our communities to design and build a more equitable future.Find a full transcript and show notes HERE.Sign up for our newsletter and join us at The Inclusive Community to discover conversations, insights, and practices to encourage and support each of us working to build a more inclusive and equitable community.If you would like to help continue and grow our work please visit our Support Us page. 

Today's guest is Tawanna Black, founder of the Center for Economic Inclusion. Tawanna makes a clear and compelling case for community leaders to work together with a focus on building a thriving, growing economy that works for everyone in their community. Tawanna also shares how her team has worked directly with communities to help inform, guide, and facilitate that kind of broad cross-sector collaboration. You'll hear her describe how their work gives businesses and governments the tools to do drastically different work, get drastically different results, and do so in shared accountability. If you feel your community could benefit from this kind of cross-sector collaboration, this episode is for you. Find a full transcript and show notes HERE.Sign up for our newsletter and join us at The Inclusive Community to discover conversations, insights, and practices to encourage and support each of us working to build a more inclusive and equitable community.If you would like to help continue and grow our work please visit our Support Us page.     

In this episode, we take a moment to reflect on the State of Inclusion Podcast for 2023 and look ahead to 2024. While DEI may be under assault on many fronts, I'll share why I remain optimistic about this work of equity and inclusion. We'll also listen to and reflect on a few pearls of wisdom from our 2023 interviews.See full transcript HERE.

Our guest, Nick Cotter, has dedicated his life to educating others on the causes and reality of persistent racial and economic segregation and working to address its consequences in his hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. While Nick's work is clearly focused on Pittsburgh, the insights and lessons reach much farther. In our discussion with Nick, we'll come to understand that many of the keys to building a more inclusive and equitable community can be found in our neighborhoods.Access the full transcript and show notes HERESign up for our newsletter and join us at The Inclusive Community to discover conversations, insights, and practices to encourage and support each of us working to build a more inclusive and equitable community. 

If you want to discover how to become a better listener and learn techniques to help you listen with greater respect and love, this episode is for you. In this episode, Victoria Chance and Mary Anne Inglis of My Neighbor's Voice offer an approach to strengthen our listening skills and, at the same time, build community with our neighbors. Access the full transcript and show notes HERESign up for our newsletter and join us at The Inclusive Community, to discover conversations, insights, and practices to encourage and support each of us working to build a more inclusive and equitable community.Newsletter GIVEAWAY ALERT!!  Anyone who is signed up for our newsletter on or before November 30, 2023, will be entered for a chance to win a free book.  A winner will be randomly selected from all subscribers and will win one book of their choice from our State of Inclusion bookshop.Current subscribers are already entered.   

As part of this work of equity and inclusion, we are each on our own journey of growth. Sometimes, a moment of growth is structured and intentional, but sometimes, it catches us completely unaware. After it happens, we're never the same. In today's episode, I asked three more of my previous guests to share about a moment they grew in their own journey of equity and inclusion. We hear from Paul McCormack, Director of the South Carolina State Parks System, Janeen Bryant, Executive Director of the Community Building Initiative, and Chris Sparrow, adaptive athlete, disability advocate, and Program Director with the Barbara Stone Foundation. Listening to their responses can inspire a moment of growth and learning for us all. I really want you to be able to hear each guest as they speak from their heart. As a result, you'll hear me refer to this as "our unplugged series." Their responses are only lightly edited. You'll hear more pauses and ums, and the sound may not be quite as polished. These episodes will be shorter as well to give you a little more room to sit with and reflect on each of the stories you hear. Access full transcript and show notes HERE

As part of this work of equity and inclusion, we are each on our own journey of growth. Sometimes, a moment of growth is structured and intentional, but sometimes, it catches us completely unaware. After it happens, we're never the same.In today's episode, I asked three of my previous guests to share about a moment they grew in their own journey of equity and inclusion. We hear from Rose Lane of Conserving Carolina, Jerry Hawkins from Dallas Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation, and Dr. Kathleen Yang-Clayton from the University of Illinois-Chicago. Listening to their responses can inspire a moment of growth and learning for us all.I really want you to be able to hear each guest as they speak from their heart. As a result, you'll hear me refer to this as "our unplugged series." Their responses are only lightly edited. You'll hear more pauses and ums, and the sound may not be quite as polished. These episodes will be shorter as well to give you a little more room to sit with and reflect on each of the stories you hear.  You can find the full show notes and transcript HERE.

In this episode we learn about using the power of community truth-telling as a springboard for systemic change and equity in Cincinnati, Ohio. We talk with Kim Rodgers from the Center for Community Resilience at George Washington University and learn how they provide on-the-ground support to communities, like Cincinnati, to advance progress toward resilience and equity.Access shownotes and full transcript HERE.

In this episode, we hear from an organization that has come to realize equity and inclusion are integral to its mission. As we talk with Rose Lane of Conserving Carolina, she shares how her organization adapted its strategic plan and value statements and how they formally ensure social justice, equity, and inclusion are part of their everyday work. As Rose tells us, "Conservation is part of social justice, and social justice is a part of preservation." Find show notes and full transcript HERE. 

Join us as Jerry Hawkins shares what it means to imagine a radically inclusive Dallas and Fort Worth. Along the way, Jerry also talks about how his organization delivers on its mission of truth, racial healing, and transformation for the communities it serves.Book Giveaway AlertWe love books on community, equity, and inclusion. We think you might too! We're running a book giveaway promotion this week. Anyone who is signed up for our newsletter, The Inclusive Community, on or before September 4, 2023, will be entered for a chance to win.  A winner will be randomly selected from all subscribers and will win one book of their choice from the State of Inclusion bookshop.Please sign up and join us at The Inclusive Community.Find show notes and full transcript HERE.

Hear from Paul McCormack, the South Carolina State Parks Director, as we talk about the actions he and his team are taking to make South Carolina's parks more accessible and inclusive. Along the way, Paul shares a little about what drives his commitment to inclusion and how he came to love the outdoors. This interview with Paul grew out of our 10-week Inclusive Community Outdoor Challenge. Head over to theinclusivecommunity.com to learn more about the challenge and join in.Access the transcript and show notes for this episode HERE.

Join me as we hear from adaptive athlete and disability activist, Chris Sparrow. Chris will share what it has meant for him to get outdoors and re-engage with the sports he loves following a spinal cord injury. Along the way, he'll challenge us all to open our minds to what is possible and step up to help build a more inclusive outdoors. This episode was also part of our 10-week Inclusive Community Outdoor Challenge.Find detailed show notes and the full transcript for this episode HERE. 

Real and lasting community change is about broad community engagement, commitment, and change. That doesn't just happen. It has to be cultivated. Join us in this episode as your co-hosts, Emma Winiski and Ame Sanders, talk about the practice we call GroundWork. It's about reaching across the community and preparing the community soil for the seeds of equity and inclusion to germinate, take root, and grow. This is the third episode in the series: The Practice of Building a More Inclusive Community.Find detailed show notes and full transcript HERE. 

Sign up for our newsletter, The Inclusive Community, and join us for the 10-week Inclusive Community Outdoor Challenge. The outdoors has a diversity problem. It is time we noticed and did something about it. Journey along with me, Ame Sanders, as I complete each week's challenge in my own life and community. Together, we'll get outside more, have some fun, experience our public spaces, and do a little Self Work together.Learn more and sign up to follow along with The Inclusive Community Outdoor Challenge HERE.  

Many communities undertake a coordinated program of actions and initiatives to strengthen inclusion and reduce disparities. If you want to see that type of results-focused action in your community or are already part of such a program, this episode is for you. This episode is part of our series of discussions where my colleague, Emma Winiski, and I discuss the Practice of Building a More Inclusive Community. We've identified six practice areas. In this episode, we focus on the practice of Program Work.Find a full transcript HERE.Signup for our newsletter: The Inclusive Community.Other Episodes in this Series:The Practice of Building a More Inclusive Community - Intro Part 1The Practice of Building a More Inclusive Community - Intro Part 2First episode in this series, focused on the practice of Self Work: Inclusion Starts Here  Interviews That Informed Our Thinking:An interview with Krystal Reyes, Chief Resilience Officer for the city of Tulsa, OK:  Tulsa, Where Urban Resilience and Equity Intersect and their Equality Indicators.An interview with Sherri Chisolm and her work at Leading on Opportunity in Charlotte, NC:  Achieving Economic Mobility for CharlotteAn interview with Rev. Stacey Mills about the Racial Equity and Economic Mobility program that he leads in Greenville, SC:   Getting to Better in My Hometown and their Racial Equity IndexAn interview with Gery Paredes Vásquez, the Director of Racial and Gender Justice at the YWCA Madison, WI: Values-Driven Racial Justice with the YWCAAn interview with Kristy Kumar, Equity and Social Justice Manager for the city of Madison, WI: Finding Joy in Working Toward EquityAn interview with Judith Mowry, Senior Policy Advisor on Equity Strategies and Initiatives for the city of Portland: Toward Equitable Community ServicesAn interview with the MORE Justice Team in Columbia, SC: More Justice Books We Referenced:My bookshop.org link to Community: The Structure of Belonging, by Peter BlockMy bookshop.org link to The Connected Community: Discovering the Health, Wealth, and Power of Neighborhoods, by Cormac Russell and John McKnightAmazon link to Building Communities from the Inside Out: A Path Toward Finding and Mobilizing a Community's Assets, by John P. Kretzmann and John L. McKnightMy bookshop.org link to The Practice of Adaptive Leadership: Tools and Tactics for Changing Your Organization and the World, by Marty Linsky , Alexander Grashow , and Ronald Heifetz Bio Emma Winiski:Emma Winiski is a recent graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School, where she worked extensively with city governments to address the opioid overdose epidemic and develop 911 alternative response programs. Previously, she was a Research Analyst in the Health Policy Center at the Urban Institute. Emma has been working with Ame at State of Inclusion since 2018 when she was an undergraduate at Furman University.  

If you have ever wondered what nature has to teach us about diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, this episode is for you. In our discussion with Dan Kriesberg and Camille Simone Edwards, we'll explore how learning about and getting in touch with the diversity in the outer world will help us better embrace diversity in our inner world and in our community. This episode is an interview by host Tania Marien, originally aired on her podcast, Talaterra. Find a full transcript HERE.Sign up for our Newsletter, The Inclusive Community.Additional Links:Learn more about Diversity Education in Nature (DEIN)Contact Dan or Camille at DEINConsulting@gmail.comRead the text of An Invitation to a Brave Space.Learn more about Radical Empathy and author Terri Givens.Visit the Talaterra website, learn more about Tania's work, and listen to more episodes there.Dan's Bio:Dan Kriesberg is the author of two books for teachers, as well as over 100 articles on environmental education and essays about his experiences in the outdoors. He lives on Long Island with his wife, Karen. Ever since a young age, whenever possible, Dan spends his time in wild places backpacking, hiking, and hanging out. You can view more of his work at Witness to the Wild   https://www.dankriesberg.com/Camille's Bio:Learn more about Camille by visiting: Camille Simone Consulting.  

Vicki Meath, and her team at Just Economics, are working to build an economy in Western North Carolina that works better for everyone. In this episode, we learn about the creative and practical steps they are taking toward economic justice.  If you are working on economic justice, equity, or inclusion in a smaller city or rural community, this episode is for you. If you're part of a community where state and local policies aren't friendly to economic justice, inclusion, or equity, this episode is also for you. Join us as we learn how Just Economics is leading and empowering change in the communities they serve.Full Transcript HERE.Learn more about Just Economics.Learn more about Tompkins County Workers' Center.Learn about the Center for the Study of Economic Mobility at Winston-Salem State University.Vicki's Bio:Vicki comes to Just Economics with a background in community organizing. She has worked on environmental, social, and economic justice issues ranging from responsible oil and gas drilling to protecting health and human services in the Ohio state budget. In 2006, Vicki worked with Let Justice Roll and Cleveland Jobs with Justice on the successful campaign to raise the state minimum wage and continued to work with Jobs with Justice on the Cuyahoga County Living Wage Campaign and other worker justice issues. Vicki has a strong commitment to and passion for economic justice work. Vicki has a teenage daughter and has lived in the Asheville area since 2007. Vicki has been involved in a variety of community activities and lives in West Asheville. 

At the State of Inclusion Podcast, we are on a journey to discover what it takes to build more inclusive communities. There are few communities working harder at this than Charlotte, NC. In this episode, we talk with Janeen Bryant, Executive Director of Charlotte's Community Building Initiative. Join us as we learn how they are building community in Charlotte, NC.Full Transcript HERE.Learn more about the Community Building Initiative.A Few Additional Charlotte Economic Mobility, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives:Leading on OpportunityCharlotte's Office of Equity, Mobility, and Immigrant IntegrationThe Mayor's Racial Equity InitiativeCharlotte-Mecklenburg Diversity, Equity & Inclusion ConferenceCharlotte Alliance FoundationMore episodes about Charlotte. Learn about Leading on Opportunity by listening to our interview, Achieving Economic Mobility for Charlotte - with Sherri Chisolm.Listen to the TED Talk that Janeen mentioned, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The Danger of a Single Story.Janeen mentioned Somatic Literacy during our discussion. If you're a little curious about that concept, you might enjoy this article/interview with Adrienne Maree Brown, What your Body Has to Do with Social Change.We also discussed the book, Turning to One Another: Simple Conversations to Restore Hope to the Future, by Margaret J. Wheatley. Check out a brief overview of the book here. Janeen's Bio:Janeen Bryant is the Executive Director for Community Building Initiative (CBI). An advocate and catalyst for building organizational capacity, Janeen Bryant is an inter-sectional educator, facilitator, and community engagement consultant. Most recently, Janeen worked as the Founder and Principal Consultant for Facilitate Movement, LLC where she and her team specialized in crafting proactive strategies that guided institutions to address shifting demographics with responsive leadership to strengthen long-term vision, cultural competency, and empathy. Janeen also served as a liaison and Community Catalyst Coach for twelve communities in the Southeast through her work with My Brother's Keeper Alliance, an initiative of the Obama Foundation. She has served on the boards of MeckEd and the Brenda H. Tapia Family Foundation. 

Inclusion starts with each of us.This episode is part of the series: The Practice of Building a More Inclusive Community. In this episode, we explore the practice area we call Self Work. Along the way, Emma Winiski and I will discuss and share ideas for how each of us can progress on our personal journey toward inclusion and equity and why our practice of Self Work is essential to building a more inclusive community. Full transcript HERE. Related State of Inclusion Podcasts:The Practice of Building a More Inclusive Community: Part 1 (an overview)The Practice of Building a More Inclusive Community: Part 2 (an overview) Additional Resources:Do the Work! An Anti-Racist Activity Book, by W. Kamau Bell and Kate Schatz (Links to my Bookshop.org site)Explore your own biases at Project Implicit.Belonging: A Weekly Practice  This is a weekly practice session over ZOOM that is sponsored by the Othering & Belonging Institute.Resources for White Allies, from the University of Wisconsin - MadisonLearn more about Life After Hate.The End of Bias: A Beginning, by Jesica Nordell (Links to my Bookshop.org site)Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People, by Mahzarin R. Banaji and Anthony G. Greenwald (Links to my Bookshop.org site)Inclusion Starts With I: Eight Steps to Inclusion: The Personal Journey, by Dr. Mary-Frances Winters (Links to Amazon.com, Please note this is a tiny book. I bought my copy used, given the current pricing.)The Essentials of Theory U: Core Principles and Application, by Otto Scharmer (Links to my Bookshop.org site)Inner Development Goals Model, developed in partnership with the UN. Emma's Bio:Emma Winiski is a second-year Master in Public Policy candidate at the Harvard Kennedy School. Previously, she worked as a researcher in the Health Policy Center at the Urban Institute, where her work focused on substance use disorders. In 2018, Emma started working with Ame at State of Inclusion as she finished her undergraduate degree at Furman University.

If you are working in city or county government or trying to find a way to engage your broader community in resilience, immigration, or equity work, this episode is for you. If you're trying to understand how work at the intersection of resilience and equity can come together, this episode is also for you. Join me as we talk with Krystal Reyes to learn more about Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the hard work and progress taking place in her city.Full Transcript HERE.Learn more about the Mayor's Office on Resilience and Equity.Explore Tulsa's 2018 Resilience Strategy, follow their progress in the latest progress update, and check out their Equality Indicators.Krystal mentioned a key fact about life expectancy differences within Tulsa. If you want to learn more about life expectancy gaps across the country and in your community, here are additional sources of information for you to explore.The National Center for Health Statistics - Interactive MapNational Equity Atlas Life Expectancy by Race/Ethnicity.Explore Blue Zones Data and Analysis of Zip Code Effect HERE.Learn more about the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.Learn more about the Resilient Cities Network.Learn more about the Government Alliance on Race and Equity.Learn more about the Welcoming America Network.Learn more about Bloomberg Philanthropies' initiative to establish Financial Empowerment Centers.Check out our interview, Moving from Talk to Action, with fellow Tulsan, Representative Monroe Nichols.If this episode really interested you, you might want to check out our City Collection. A collection of our interviews that focuses on change at the city or county level.To get the best of our learning delivered straight to your inbox, signup for our newsletter, The Inclusive Community.  Krystal Reyes' Bio:Krystal currently serves as Chief Resilience Officer for the City of Tulsa. In this role, she leads the Mayor's Office of Resilience Equity, which is charged with implementing city-wide strategies to advance resilience, equity and inclusion, community partnerships, human rights, and financial empowerment efforts. Previously, Krystal held various leadership positions in local government and non-profit sectors in New York City, coordinating multi-disciplinary, community-led, and city-wide efforts to address disparities in health and well-being. Throughout her career, Krystal has focused on improving the quality and quantity of early education opportunities for children, improving supports for families and immigrant communities, and developing meaningful community partnerships.  Krystal has a Bachelor of Arts in politics and Spanish literature, as well as a master's degree in public administration from New York University.Krystal was born and raised in Moline, IL, and lived in New York City for 19 years before moving to Tulsa, Oklahoma in 2019. Her parents, both immigrants from Mexico instilled in her a strong work ethic and the belief in the value of education. As a high school student Krystal participated in Upward Bound, a federal TRIO program for first generation college-bound low-income students. She credits that program and the supportive staff with giving her the head start she needed to apply to college, enroll, and succeed in higher education and her career. In her free time, Krystal enjoys listening to Bob Dylan, astronomy, and constantly walking her blue heeler dog, Venetia.Contact: kreyes@cityoftulsa.org

In this episode, we'll learn more about a city's journey toward racial conciliation. We talk with a team from Charleston, South Carolina, working to advance equity and inclusion in their city.  Our guests share their hopes and vision for this work, but also candidly share some of their challenges. Join us as we learn more about a 350-year-old city's struggle with race, one that started centuries ago with a legacy of slavery, traveled through the crucible that was the tragedy of the Mother Emanuel shooting, which led the city to formally apologize for slavery. We'll hear how that journey now leads them into the very real and challenging task of defining and achieving racial conciliation. You can find a full transcript HERE.Learn more about Charleston's Human Affairs and Racial Conciliation Commission.Learn more about the original Special Commission that was formed, the City's apology for slavery, and the earlier work that informed the creation of HARCC. Download the Special Commission on Equity, Inclusion, and Racial Conciliation Report - August 2021.If you enjoyed this episode, you might also enjoy these past episodes:Getting to Better in My Hometown - an interview with Rev. Stacey Mills about Greenville, South Carolina's Racial Equity and Economic Mobility initiative.Achieving Economic Mobility for Charlotte - an interview with Sherri Chisolm of the Leading on Opportunity Initiative in Charlotte, N.C. Guest Bios:Jerome C. Harris JR (retired)Jerry holds a BA in Sociology and an MS in Urban Planning and Public Policy Analysis from Rutgers University.  He has had over 50 years of professional experience in government, organization development, community and economic development, public policy analysis, and advocacy.  He has taught at both the graduate and undergraduate level. Mr. Harris is the former: CEO/President of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice; Chief Operating Office of the Shiloh Community Development Corporation; Business Administrator and Director of the Department of Housing and Economic Development for the City of Trenton, NJ; Executive Director of the Urban and Public Policy Institute at Rowan University of New Jersey; Assistant Secretary of State and Assistant State Treasurer for the State of  New Jersey.  He has also served as the Essex County NJ Administrator, City Administrator for the City of Plainfield NJ, and the Vice President for Government Affairs for the Metro Newark Chamber of Commerce.Jerry is Co-Chairperson of the City of Charleston Human Affairs and Racial Conciliation Commission. He is President of the Charleston Area Branch of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. He is also active with the Low Country African American Giving Circle, The Charleston Area Justice Ministry, and serves on the Board of Salvation and Social Justice Inc.Jerry is married to Dr. Gwendolyn Long Harris and is the proud father of two sons Rahsaan Harris PhD and Jamal Harris (MD) and grandfather of Langston, Avery, and Ellison. Jason Sakran, Charleston City Council MemberJason currently serves as the Director of Expanded Learning for the Charleston County School District, where he leads a team of 350 to oversee the delivery of the best after-school and summer programs in Charleston County. During his tenure with the Department, they have increased quality, streamlined operations, and increased access to free and/or reduced after-school and summer opportunities for thousands of students each year. He is also co-owner of Bon Banh Mi Southeast Asian Kitchen, which is home to 3 locations in the Charleston Lowcountry. He was elected to Charleston City Council in 2019. Jason was co-chair of the Special Commission on Equity, Inclusion, and Racial Conciliation and is the current co-chair of the Human Affairs and Racial Conciliation Commission. Jason currently serves as Mayor Pro Tempore for the City of Charleston. Jason is an alum of the Chamber of Commerce's Leadership Charleston Program as well as a past Riley Diversity Leaders Fellow.      

Our guest for this episode, Dr. Kathleen Yang-Clayton, is focused on transforming public organizations and rebuilding trust in government through operationalizing racial equity. We'll hear about her diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work with communities across Illinois through her partnership with the Great Cities Institute. Full transcript HERE.Learn more about the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE).Learn more about Great Cities and their initiative for Operationalizing DEI.Learn more about Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Chicago.Kathleen's Bio:Dr. Kathleen Yang-Clayton joined the faculty in the Department of Public Administration, College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois-Chicago in 2017 after extensive experience in legislative advocacy and voter education, engagement and mobilization. Prior to joining UIC, she led voting rights and voter mobilization work for Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Chicago where she helped to pass landmark legislation expanding voting rights and strengthening election systems in Illinois. She is a Research Fellow at the Great Cities Institute and a member of several national initiatives that integrate public administration and racial equity together from the Kettering Foundation, National League of Cities and the International City/County Management Association. Her current work focuses on the operationalization of racial equity practices inside of large public organizations that increase the public's trust in government and improves government performance, especially but not exclusively in historically marginalized communities. She was appointed associate dean for diversity, equity and inclusion at her college in 2021.

We again examine diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) at the intersection of business and community. In today's episode, we speak with Tiffane Davis, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, for Michelin North America. Tiffane brings a perspective from inside a company where DEI has been a way of life for decades. Where the approach to DEI is an outgrowth of the company values and where they are also intentional about reaching out into the community. Let's hear how equity and inclusion comes to life at Michelin. Full Transcript HERE.Learn more about Michelin N.A. and shop for tires.Listen to an earlier related episode: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the Intersection of Community and Business - With Dr. Nika White Tiffane's Bio:Tiffane Thompson Davis is the Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer for Michelin North America, which encompasses approximately 22,500 employees across Canada and the United States. In this role, Tiffane provides strategic and programmatic leadership for diversity and inclusion initiatives, leveraging internal and external resources and best practices.Tiffane is no stranger to strategy and execution, having spent 20 years as a marketing specialist and leader at a diverse range of companies including 3M, Gartner, Newell Rubbermaid, Tempur-Pedic and Michelin.  She has a track record of collaborating and building teams to develop, launch and grow customer-centric products and services by leveraging insights to build go-to-market plans.  Tiffane is passionate about helping others build their self-image and confidence to unlock their potential. With her husband Charles, Tiffane recently co-authored a children's book and launched a men's accessories store. Both endeavors are meant to instill confidence in men and boys, leveraging fashion to express themselves and build their personal brands.Committed to helping people thrive and be their authentic selves, Tiffane is excited to be a part of the community ready to do the work of inclusion.Tiffane holds degrees from North Carolina A&T State University, where she earned a degree in Business Management, and the University of Georgia, where she earned her MBA. Follow Tiffane on LinkedIn to learn more about her thoughts on leadership for diversity and inclusion, and building personal brands. 

In today's episode, we speak with Don Williams of JUMPSTART. In our interview, we explore the topic of community inclusion and belonging for individuals returning from prison. In this episode, we'll learn about the systemic barriers in many communities that make it difficult for individuals returning from prison to succeed. This episode will touch on at least two aspects of what we call The Practice of Building a More Inclusive Community. The first is the practice of Groundwork which is about preparing our hearts and shifting our community culture to be open and welcoming to everyone and build a community of belonging. The second is the practice of Systems Work.Full Transcript HERE.Learn more about JUMPSTART.Voices of The Returned: Life After Incarceration hasn't published new episodes in a while, but their content still resonated with me. Their episodes offer an excellent opportunity to hear directly from individuals about their experience with incarceration and beyond. Through this podcast, I also learned that April is National Second Chance month.Don's Bio:True Restoration, Mind Transformation and Personal Elevation. These are the three facets that encompass the life's work, mission and purpose of Determined Don Williams. Don's heartfelt desire to help individuals tap into their “True Potential” is the driving force that pushes him to equip returning citizens to become productive and fulfilled in the mission God has called them to. Don's passion for assisting those who were incarcerated is dear to his heart. He knows all too well how difficult this can be- as he personally endured this journey- and now speaks to youth and adults about making the right choices and living a life committed to giving themselves away. Don has been the keynote speaker and trained numerous organizations about the value of effective communication, customer service, team building, professionalism. Don Williams is an innovative force as well as a visionary enhancing the professional and personal lives of the masses “one life at a time”.  

Working across the community, achieving collective impact, building civic infrastructure, and moving from talk to action. Those things are at the heart of our discussion today.  In this episode, we talk with Monroe Nichols from StriveTogether. StriveTogether animates a network of over 70 communities, reaching around 14 million students with a focus on improving cradle-to-career education outcomes. Based on his experience, Monroe shares with us what it takes for communities to be successful at the changes they wish to see. Find the full episode transcript HERE.Learn more about StriveTogether and their network HERE.If you enjoyed this episode, you might also find our interview with Kalika Curry from Eastside Pathways of interest. Eastside Pathways is a member of the StriveTogether Network. Listen HERE.If you're interested in more episodes focused on equity in education, you might also enjoy The Leading Equity Podcast with Dr. Sheldon L Eakins.Learn more about Impact Tulsa HEREMonroe Nichols Bio:In 2016, Representative Monroe Nichols became the first African American elected to represent House District 72 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. During his time in the Legislature, Representative Nichols has authored legislation focused on providing all students with a high-quality education, all Oklahomans with access to health care services, ensuring Oklahoma's economy works for everyone, revitalizing neighborhoods, and reforming the justice system. Currently serving as Vice Chair of both the Oklahoma House Democratic Caucus and the Oklahoma Legislative Black Caucus, Representative Nichols is the incoming Chair of the Oklahoma Legislative Black Caucus and will assume that office in April of 2023.Prior to being elected, Representative Nichols spent his career in government, private business, higher education, and the non-profit sector, serving as a mayoral aide, chief of staff in the president's office at the University of Oklahoma-Tulsa, and an economic development director. In 2014, he co-founded ImpactTulsa, a collective impact organization aimed at improving education for all Tulsa area students. From 2014 – 2016, Representative Nichols also served on the Tulsa Technology Center Board of Education.In addition to his legislative service, Representative Nichols is the Director of Policy and Partnerships for StriveTogether, leading the organization's state policy strategy focused on advancing equity to improve student outcomes in communities across the country.Over the course of his career, Representative Nichols has been the recipient of several awards including the United States Department of Justice Award for Public Service. Monroe holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science from the University of Tulsa and a Master's in Public Administration from the University of Oklahoma. 

In today's episode, we explore the topic of building an equitable entrpreneurial ecosystem. Our guest is Magalie Yacinthe. Magalie is a social innovator and an entrepreneur who also works at the community- and systems-level to make the entrepreneurial ecosystem work for everyone.  Along the way, we will learn about an initiative in North Carolina to build out Black Wall Streets across the state. In our Practice of Building a More Inclusive Community, this discussion aligns well with our sixth area of practice, the practice of systems work. Full Transcript Here.Learn more about the Black Wall Street Forward Initiative.Learn more about Hustle Winston-Salem.Magalie mentioned some individuals that inspired her. Learn more about:Paulo Gregory and CohadoSherrell Dorsey and her organization The PlugLearn more about Magalie and explore some of her writing.Listen to Anika Horn's interview with Forward Cities CEO, Fay Horwitt.Listen at Shades and Layers.Magalie Yacinthe Bio:Magalie Yacinthe, an alumnus of Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University, is a conscious entrepreneur and community leader that has a passion for social enterprises. Magalie currently serves as Executive Director of HUSTLE Winston-Salem, an organization dedicated to leveling the playing field for entrepreneurs with a focus on people of color, women, and marginalized business districts. She also leads the statewide Black Wall Street Forward initiative with Forward Cities, alongside other ecosystem work as Director of Ecosystem Engagement.Magalie is also the CEO of YES Strategies & Solutions, a cost-effective event consulting firm helping nonprofits and corporations accomplish successful programming to carry out their missions. Giving back to the community even through her businesses is essential to the core of who she is. Magalie serves as Board Chair of Forsyth Futures and Board Communications Chair for Winston-Salem Delta Fine Arts, Inc. She is an active member of the Winston-Salem Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and the Charlotte-Metro Chapter of the FAMU National Alumni Association. Magalie is a 2018 graduate of Leadership Winston-Salem, 2018 City of Winston-Salem Martin Luther King Jr. Young Dreamers Award recipient, 2020 Winston-Salem Chronicle Business of the Month, 2020 Winston Under 40 Awardee, 2020 HOPE Outreach MLK Women's Day Awardee, the 2020 recipient of the Winston-Salem Forsyth County Arts Council R. Phillip Hanes, Jr. Young Leader Award, 2021 Triad Business 40 Under 40 Honoree, Black Business Ink's 40 under 40 most influential African-Americans in the Triad, a 2022 Awardee of the Institute for Emerging Issues that recognized 22 inspiring leaders who are making North Carolina better by building coalitions and momentum for issues they are passionate about, and was most recently named a 2022 Triad Business Journal Power Player.

When you are part of a large coalition, how do you ensure the participants are centering equity in their work? Listen in on this episode as Kalika Curry, of Eastside Pathways, shares how her organization centers equity in all they do and how they align members in their coalition to the same goals. Along the way, we'll discuss targeted universalism and the four dimensions of racism. Full Transcript HereAdditional Exploration:Learn more about Eastside Pathways and their work in Washington.Learn more about Strive Together and their national network of communities.Learn more about Courageous Conversations equity training.Explore the writings and offerings of Claudia Horwitz.Learn more about systems change and the work of Donella Meadows.Kalika's Bio:Kalika Curry, Community Impact Manager, with Collective Impact organization Eastside Pathways supports Racial Equity and youth initiatives in East King County. Over the last 15 years Kalika has established her practice as a racial equity adaptive leaders, facilitator, and collective convener to reshape relationships and community. Kalika is also a member of the Right to Breathe Association, founder of Pono Pursuit LLC and a volunteer for several local non-profits. Outside of work Kalika enjoys the arts, yoga, being in nature and spending time with her family.

In today's episode, I'll be talking with Nick Cave and Bob Faust, two very well-known artists, art entrepreneurs, and social innovators based in Chicago. Nick and Bob use their art and their platform to advance racial justice and as a way to create and co-create community conversations. One of their installations, Making #AMENDS: Letters to the World Toward the Eradication of Racism, was the spark for our discussion. Full Transcript HereLearn more about MAKING #AMENDS: LETTERS TO THE WORLD TOWARD THE ERADICATION OF RACISMLearn about Nick's career retrospective at the MCA Chicago. Nick Cave: Forothermore Related episodes:Design Matters with Debbie Millman, Interview with Nick Cave and Bob FaustInclusion in Art - with Suzanne ThomasBuilding Community Equity Through Art - with Monique Davis Guest Bios:Bob FaustDescribed as "part artist, part designer and part mediator,” Bob Faust is the principal and creative director for Faust, a Chicago-based art and design studio focused on cultural articulation. He is also the partner and design collaborator of artist Nick Cave, who together founded the dynamic, multi-use creative space called Facility. As an entity, it believes that art and design can create peace, build power, and change the world ... that by fostering an environment and community built from your dreams you will wake up daily within your destiny. NewCity magazine honored Faust as "Best Breakthrough Design Artist" in 2017 and followed up in 2020 naming he and partner Nick Cave "Designers of the Moment." He has also been recognized as a design leader nationally and internationally by publications and institutions such as Communication Arts, NBC5 Chicago, the Society of Typographic Arts and Under Consideration. Faust also serves on the Cultural Advisory Council for the City of Chicago, as well as Chicago Dancemakers Forum Board of Directors and the School of the Art Institute's Fashion Council.Nick CaveNick Cave (b. 1959, Fulton, MO; lives and works in Chicago, IL) is an artist, educator and foremost a messenger, working between the visual and performing arts through a wide range of mediums including sculpture, installation, video, sound and performance. Cave is well known for his Soundsuits, sculptural forms based on the scale of his body, initially created in direct response to the police beating of Rodney King in 1991. Soundsuits camouflage the body, masking and creating a second skin that conceals race, gender and class, forcing the viewer to look without judgment. They serve as a visual embodiment of social justice that represent both brutality and empowerment.Throughout his practice, Cave has created spaces of memorial through combining found historical objects with contemporary dialogues on gun violence and death, underscoring the anxiety of severe trauma brought on by catastrophic loss. The figure remains central as Cave casts his own body in bronze, an extension of the performative work so critical to his oeuvre. Cave reminds us, however, that while there may be despair, there remains space for hope and renewal. From dismembered body parts stem delicate metal flowers, affirming the potential of new growth. Cave encourages a profound and compassionate analysis of violence and its effects as the path towards an ultimate metamorphosis. While Cave's works are rooted in our current societal moment, when progress on issues of global warming, racism and gun violence (both at the hands of citizens and law enforcement) seem maddeningly stalled, he asks how we may reposition ourselves to recognize the issues, come together on a global scale, instigate change, and ultimately, heal.

In this episode we talk with Stephen Piggott, of the Western States Center. We will discuss a resource that he and his colleagues produced: A Community Guide for Opposing Hate. We'll hear more about what motivates anti-democratic groups, how they work, and talk about what communities can do to oppose hate.Full TranscriptDownload the toolkit: A Community Guide for Opposing HateDownload the toolkit:  Confronting Conspiracy Theories and Bigotry at HomeLearn more about the Western States CenterLearn more about the Bard Center for the Study of HateLearn more about Montana Human Rights NetworkLink to action plan, materials, and toolkit from the recent United We Stand Summit, held at the White House.If you enjoyed this episode, you might also enjoy our earlier episode: Not in Our Town - With Patrice O'NeillGuest Bio:Stephen Piggott is a Program Analyst & Trainer/Organizer with Western States Center. Stephen is an expert on various forms of right-wing extremism, including white nationalism and the organized anti-immigrant/anti-Muslim movements. Stephen has spent the past decade monitoring and exposing the far-right and previously worked for both the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League. He began his work in this field with the Center for New Community. He received his BA in political science with minors in Islamic and Irish studies from DePaul University in Chicago.  

In this episode, we learn about the racial and gender justice mission of the YWCA and how the YWCA in Madison, Wisconsin, uses their values to deliver on that mission in their community. Join me as we talk with Gery Paredes Vásquez, the Director of Racial and Gender Justice at the YWCA Madison. Gery reminds us that we must first acknowledge each other as human beings in our full complexity and then build relationships as a practice and container where growth, healing, transformation, and liberation can happen.Full Transcript Here.Learn more about the YWCA MadisonLearn more about their Summit and purchase tickets. Dates for the next summit are 28-30 September, 2022.To learn more about equity work in Madison, you can also listen to our episode: Finding Joy in Working Toward Equity - with Kristy Kumar.Books mentioned in our discussion:Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds, by Adrienne Maree Brown (Links to my Bookshop.org site)When Blood and Bones Cry Out: Journeys Through the Soundscape of Healing and Reflection, by John Paul Lederach & Angela Jill Lederach (Links to my Bookshop.org site) Gery Paredes Vásquez Bio:Gery Paredes Vásquez (ella, tu, she, her) is a lifelong practitioner and collaborator for intersectional justice, healing and collective liberation. She is currently the Race and Gender Equity Director at YWCA Madison, in which role she collaborates with her beloved team and a growing community of artists, advocates, organizers, educators and practitioners in the co-creation of offerings such as the Racial Justice Series Community Series, YWCA Madison's annual Racial Justice Summit, as well as intersectional race-based offerings such as the BIPOC Healing Justice and Co-Liberation Series. In her work, she also provides collaborative consulting services for equity to organizations via YWCA Madison's Creating Equitable Organizations partnership program.As many Latinx people, Gery was born to families of mixed ethnicities and races due to colonization: Indigenous Quechua, Aymara and Guarani with Spanish. This reality shapes her personal journey of learning, unlearning and healing as well as continues to inspire her work for intersectional justice and collective liberation every day.

Here at State of Inclusion, we are working on a capstone project of sorts. We are using all that we've learned from our conversations and research to suggest an approach, a practice for building a more inclusive world one community at a time. We will initially publish these ideas as a podcast series. We've created a new page on our website, which will house these episodes along with other assets and resources we will share. New episodes in this series will be released over the coming months. We've started by sharing two introductory episodes that provide an overview of The Practice of Building a More Inclusive Community.   Link to Introduction Part 1 and Part 2 of The Practice of Building a More Inclusive Community We are very interested in hearing your feedback on these episodes. Also, we are actively looking for a few communities that might be interested in exploring these ideas further and perhaps working with us to help test and tune some of these concepts. If you have comments, feedback, or are interested in learning more - email us at info@stateofinclusion.com      

Intro Part 2 - In this new State of Inclusion podcast sub-series, we will use what we've learned from all of our conversations, along with our research, to suggest an approach, a practice for building a more inclusive world one community at a time. In this second episode, my partner, Emma Winiski, and I will give a summary of the six areas of practice that are included in The Practice of Building a More Inclusive Community.We are very interested in hearing your feedback on these intro episodes. Also, we are actively looking for a few communities that might be interested in exploring these ideas further and perhaps working with us to help test and tune some of these concepts. If you have comments, feedback, or are interested in learning more - email us at info@stateofinclusion.com Additional Resources:Government Alliance on Race and EquityThe Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together, by Heather McGhee (Links to my Bookshop.org site) Related State of Inclusion Podcasts:Toward Equitable Community Services - with Judith MowryCreating Community Conversations - with Davelyn Hill Bio Emma Winiski:Emma Winiski is a second year Master in Public Policy candidate at the Harvard Kennedy School. Previously, she worked as a researcher in the Health Policy Center at the Urban Institute, where her work focused on substance use disorders. In 2018, Emma started working with Ame at State of Inclusion as she finished her undergraduate degree at Furman University. Full Transcript:Ame Sanders  00:10Hi. This is Ame Sanders from State of Inclusion. If you've been listening for a while, or maybe even if you just discovered the State of Inclusion podcast, you may know that for the last several years we've been on a journey--a journey of research, discovery, and most importantly of conversation. In these conversations, we've heard how individuals all across the country are working to make their communities more equitable, more inclusive, and more just. In this new State of Inclusion podcast series, we will use what we've learned from these conversations along with our research to suggest an approach, a practice for building a more inclusive world one community at a time. Today, I'm joined by Emma Winiski. Welcome.  Emma Winiski  01:06Thank you! Happy to be here.  Ame Sanders  01:07In our last episode, we introduced you to four cornerstone or foundational elements. We discussed how these four elements underpinned the six areas of practice. As a reminder, those four foundational elements were that our work is community centered. We recognize the work of making a community more inclusive and equitable is a wicked problem, requiring specific types of approaches. Our solutions will have both technical and adaptive elements, but most importantly, as leaders, we will need to bring our adaptive leadership skills to this work. Fourth, we will always strive to begin and build from the assets that exist within our specific community.  Now, in this episode, we want to share the six areas of practice that make up the practice of building a more inclusive community. Within these areas of practice, Emma and I can't begin to tell you what your community should do. You know what your community needs. You know what your history is. You know where you are and you know what your assets are. But what we can do is give you some areas to consider and some areas to work in as some tool. Emma, you reminded me of this when we last talked. Maybe I'll turn it over to you to talk about the fact that the six areas of practice are not really independent areas and they're certainly not linear. Emma Winiski  02:27Yeah. I like areas of practice as just the general name because it doesn't lend itself to any type of sequence or mutual exclusivity between the two. I think once we describe them it's pretty clear that you and/or folks in your community are likely going to be working in each of these six areas and many of them at the same time. Ame Sanders  02:50Yeah. I would also say that it's pretty clear. They're not mutually exclusive as Emma just said. They are not isolated from one another; they are interdependent with each other. They are iterative, evolving, and they're also not controlled generally by a single entity. So, the idea as we began to talk about this that you would have one organization that would solve all of this, that's just not a realistic assumption. So, the idea is to find all of the assets, all of the work that's going on in your community, and how you can bring that together to advance this work.  So, let's start with the first one. The first one, honestly, is my favorite one, because it's the one I started with. It's what I would call Self Work. It's the idea that you have to look inward before you look outward. Bill Bradley, who was a senator and a basketball player has a quote that says, "A lot of people want to change the world, but only a few people want to change themselves. When it comes to the issue of race in America, we have to do both." I would say that's a very important part of this work--recognizing that each of us are on our own personal journey, have our own personal work to do to make us better citizens in our community, better allies, better people, but also better suited for this work.  It also something that the adaptive leadership framework brings out as well is that you should diagnose yourself and develop some changes for yourself and path for yourself. I would include in there things like learning, reflecting, diagnosing, acknowledging, accepting (so being kind to yourself as well), managing yourself, being willing to evolve and embodying what you want to see in your community with the idea that you're going to open yourself up and prepare yourself for this work. Emma Winiski   04:54I think that Self Work is incredibly important. Ongoing. No finish line, which you mentioned earlier. I also think that sometimes people feel like it's an individual thing. It's easy to do that and a lot of work is individual. But, if you have blind spots and implicit biases, which we all have, you can't necessarily see them. So, reading more, listening to more podcasts, or I don't know, just trying to learn more doesn't always work.  So, I have found that sometimes the most stretching experiences for me have been in conversation with other people. I remember in high school, I went to an event by Speaking Down Barriers (you spoke with their organization earlier) and I was just really surprised and encouraged by that conversation that we had. I was also in a room with people who otherwise I would not have interacted with. I think a large part of Self Work is putting yourself in situations and in a mindset where you are able to learn from other people. Ame Sanders  05:58Absolutely. That's great, great point. Emma Winiski   06:00I want to add one caveat and kind of play devil's advocate with myself. I sometimes think that people who are trying to learn and grow expect others to educate them. So, I want to be clear that that's not what I'm saying, when I say "Oh, go put yourself out in different communities." Don't expect that someone, especially a person of color, owes it to you, to educate you. You should also be doing your homework. If you go into those spaces, you should be compensating these people for their time and their expertise. You also should come in with a learning mindset, right from the beginning, a growth mindset that I think will seem less transactional or maybe extractive. So, I just want to be clear that I'm not saying that you should go expect others to educate you. It's a both-and. Ame Sanders  06:47Absolutely. That's a really great distinction to make and important for us to think about--that it is not someone else's responsibility to teach us what we should already know and what we can learn on our own. It's a great additional point. So, the first one we've talked about is Self Work.  So the second one I want to talk about, Emma and I are still going back and forth on what to call this, but I'm going to call it for the moment Groundwork. It's where you prepare the community soil for this work. Think about it is reaching and touching the hearts of people all across your community, because it isn't just about facts and numbers. This is about how do you motivate people to move forward with you and be part of this change? Also, how do you help people heal from past hurts? How do you help your community to build the kind of trust that's necessary, that we were talking about earlier? So, it's really about preparing the community soil. There are some techniques for that, and as we go into each one of these in subsequent episodes, we'll talk more about what you can do to do this work. But, it is really about touching the hearts across the communities. I did an interview and the lady that I talked with at the end said, "We need to do more heart work and less head work." Now her space was art, so it was very easy to understand where she came from that perspective. But, it was an important reminder to me that we need to balance our efforts in this and be sure that we are doing heart work and that we are preparing the soil for our community. Emma Winiski   08:27I want to add that I think a lot of Groundwork involves also seeing what else is out there, because it's likely that other people have been working on at least something related to equity and inclusion, maybe in a particular subject area or within their company or other community. So, I think part of the groundwork is taking a second to look around and see who else was doing this work. I'm guessing part of the adaptive leadership means knowing when to step up and step back, and how to support and elevate people who are already doing this work as well and seeing how you can sort of piece together some of the efforts that are already happening.  Ame Sanders  09:10I think one of the things that you can say when this part of the work is going really well is that you have increased the breadth of individual and collective ownership and engagement in this work. So, you can see that by looking across as Emma was just saying, at others who are doing this work, valuing the work they're doing and joining in with them and collaborating with them on their on the work to move the community forward.  So, the third area I would call Program Work. I already told you that I spent a lot of my career as a project manager and a program manager. So, what I'm thinking of here when I talk about program work, it's not the same thing that you might think of in nonprofit program delivery. It is really in projects and initiatives and those coming together to build a program or system of change. So, a lot of communities--and we've talked to a couple who have been doing this--have created separate organizations, new organizations within their community, who have a set of initiatives or projects that they are pursuing to make their community more inclusive and equitable. They're acting as a catalyst, as a change maker. They are building capacity and building capabilities that the community did not have before. That has a certain mindset and a certain approach to do that kind of program work. It's very structured. It's also where you would find a lot of your data analysis or your assessment of where the community is today. That's where you would find that kind of work. So, the fourth area that I want to talk about is Coalition Work. This is where you bridge across organizations and entities. The idea here is that you want to begin to build and develop the collective capacity of your community. So, things that I might put in here would be, for example, leadership development initiatives that help the leaders across the communities and all kinds of organizations become more inclusive and equitable. Also, the other thing that's important here with this, and one of the outcomes that I think you would want to work towards, is building community resilience. So, one of the things I used to say when I was an executive manager and corporate world is, we knew incidents were going to happen. No large corporation is going to go through years without incidents, in terms of equity and inclusion. They're going to happen. But the question is, how do you respond to that? Do you know what to do? Do you know how to respond? Do you have a process for that? Do you have the resources necessary to minimize the likelihood that that will occur and then to address it as soon as it does? What does that look like for our community?  So, in this area is where you would work on that kind of aspect of what a community needs. So, it's building that collective capacity, and what I would call social resilience. I would define that as the ability to withstand and respond to shocks and adversity. I know we've seen this across communities in the country over the last several years, for sure. It seems to be happening, unfortunately, all too frequently. But how are those communities prepared to respond to those situations and those shocks and those adverse situations? So the other thing that I would say about this is just like the groundwork builds the breadth of individual-collective ownership. Here, what you would hope to happen in this work is that you would build the breadth of institutional ownership and engagement across the community. Not just individual ownership, engagement, but institutional ownership and engagement.  Emma Winiski  13:07You described how Coalition Work and developing collective capacity might look within a corporate world and that sounded almost like a technical solution. How do we mitigate risk? How do we monitor and evaluate how things are going? How do we respond? For these types of events or issues, community resilience seems much more difficult to define. Thinking about some of those coalitions who, as we are trying to build coalitions to increase equity, there are definitely people who are indifferent or working in other directions. Do you have any advice about? How does coalition work in the DEI space not just play defense, but play a little bit of offense? First acknowledging that there are people who don't share the same vision as you, and then also try and be proactive in anticipating what that might mean for your own coalition's work. Ame Sanders  14:12So, you are a good straight person, Emma. That brings me to another aspect of this work, which I have called competitive work. So, I think we can all understand that there is some type of battle or a competition for the hearts and minds and values of our community. There isn't a straight line, and we don't all agree of what that should be.  There is some competition for that, just as you talked about, and not everybody is working in the same direction that we're working in. One of the areas of practice that I think a community needs to focus on is this question of what are the other groups that are working in your community who might be working in a different direction? What are their ambitions? What are their needs?  Try to find a way to empathize with them and understand what their fears are, their anxieties are, and to understand what's driving and motivating their work, and to think ahead and anticipate, just like we did in the corporate world. We never introduced new products without anticipating our competitor's reaction. We also knew that competitors were not just reacting to us. They had their own game plan that they were working against. We also did scenario gaming where we mapped out what might happen in the future 5-10 scenarios of things that might happen in the future, including us and people who were competing with us in our space for our customers. So, I think while that's a bit unusual to think about in the DEI space, I do believe that it's fundamental to be thinking about that, because every action we take affects people and will bring some reaction. But, we need to also understand that there are people out there who have an entirely different game plan. We need to understand that and anticipate that and build our actions in response to that as well. Does that answer where you were headed? Emma Winiski   16:16Yeah, it does. I dislike that that even has to be an area of practice. I mean, we spent time defining community and I was very much "Team Interdependent Organism." But, I think you're right. It just doesn't feel great, which doesn't mean that it doesn't exist. So, just because it doesn't feel like I don't want to think about it as a competition doesn't mean that there shouldn't be this level of strategy and organization for this work as well. I think we've both read The Sum of Us Heather McGee. Thinking about racial equity as not some zero-sum game. We're either all doing better or we're all doing worse. The fundamental issue in what Heather McGee is talking about is that we've been sort of conditioned to think if someone else gets something that has to be at my expense. It's just not true. So while I feel like competitive as far as DEI work just sounds bad, it does exist or at least that ethos very much is prevalent. Ame Sanders  16:57I'll be honest with you, I haven't talked to people who are working in this space yet. But, I do think that if we fail to think about work in this area of practice--however we frame it, maybe we don't frame it as competitive at all--but however we frame it, if we fail to do this, we are going to miss a lot of opportunity. We're going to be blindsided by things that other people are doing. So, there's a level of anticipation and strategy, as you're saying, that has to take place. This is long-term, complicated work. Many stakeholders across an entire community. So, it requires that level of thinking and strategy. Emma Winiski   18:15You mentioned this earlier that this work is dangerous, and it's more dangerous for certain populations than others. So I think, also a piece of the competitive work is understanding that your physical well-being, if you're demonstrating if you're protesting, if you're speaking out about these things could be jeopardized, depending on the community you live in, and what other groups are doing. Realistically thinking about the safety of your community is an important part of this work as well. So, you know literally physical safety, psychological and emotional safety are other ways as well that we should be considering and might fall into this competitive work and some of the groundwork as well. It touches a lot of the areas of practice. Ame Sanders  19:04Yeah. I think when we get to the episode where we devote the episode to this section, it's gonna be some interesting discussion, because it's obviously generating some interesting discussion with us here. I will just wrap up this section by saying that when you look at the adaptive leadership practice, that you introduced me to, Emma, one of the things they talk about is the need as an adaptive leader to manage conflict. To be able to in some cases generate conflict and be able to manage it and that you can't shy away from it. That's an important part of being an adaptive leader as well. So, I think it plays into the work that is necessary in a lot of these areas of practice, but particularly in this area as well.  I'm going to wrap up with the last area of practice, what I would call Systems Work. In systems work, what I'm really saying is, if you think about program work as transforming the community or systems or organizations from the outside in, you create an entity outside of the area that you want changed and they go about maybe engaging with those folks and involving those folks in the change, but they are still changing from the outside in. In the systems work, what I'm talking about is change from the inside out. What I would suggest is that the equity and inclusion work will not be lasting, or permanent, or continually evolving and getting stronger, if you don't also do work from the inside out. What that means is that you embed, you place inside organizations and systems, the ability for them to evolve and grow and learn and become increasingly more inclusive and equitable.  A great example of this is when I think about GARE, the Governmental Alliance on Race and Equity. That group actually does DEI work inside municipal government, cities and county governments, even the port system, for example. So, they are creating organizations inside the city government, the county government, and their employees and doing DEI work for the city, both for their employees who work there, but also for the as members that they serve. That's example of what I mean by this idea of inside out. So, I think it's really important that there's also some amount of work that happens in key areas to make sure that these institutions begin to learn and evolve in a positive way themselves.  So, that's our six areas of practice. Let me just run back through those.  We have Self Work: looking inward, before we look outward.  We have Groundwork: preparing the community soil and touching the community hearts.  We have Program Work: where we catalyze and make movement to change and build the capabilities that the community needs.  We have Coalition Work: where we work with partners across the community, to build capacity and social resilience.  We have this topic of Competitive Work:  where we look at the people who may be working in a different direction than we're working, and who have other messaging and other ideas, and how we work either with them, or how we counter and anticipate some of those.  Then we have Systems Work: the idea that we build a lasting ability for the community to continue to evolve towards equity and inclusion in the long term. Emma Winiski   22:53I'm excited to dive into the interplay between the program work and the systems work that inside out idea, because I think oftentimes, really effective leaders and organizers know when to be within institutions (whether that's government) or outside and can sort of assess the conflict or the scope of the problem, and then strategize about it. Is this going to be more impactful putting pressure on institutions to change? Or are we at a point where we need something a bit more formalized within the institution?  I also think systems work, when it's done well, establishes a channel by which they can be informed from folks on the outside, so it's not reliant on people on the "inside"  coming to some revelation and then putting something stone in law and policy and being like, "Nice! We did it." It seems to be sharing power, creating ways for folks in the community and beyond to provide feedback and to bring fresh ideas. Then, the systems that were put into place, creating those be flexible enough to hold all of those insights from other people so they actually can be something that is evolving and improving, ideally. Ame Sanders  24:18Absolutely. So, those systems and institutions need to be learning systems and institutions. Your point about sharing power is a really key word to bring out as well. So in the coming episodes, our plan, our mission, if Emma will join me for this, is to take each one of these six areas of practice, and delve more deeply into it, give you some examples of what's going on in different communities around that, link it back to some of the podcast interviews that we've had so if you want to listen to people who are doing this type of work. So Emma, are you game to keep going on this? Emma Winiski  24:56I'm definitely game. Can't wait. Ame Sanders  24:57Thank you. So, I guess I'm gonna wrap have now and say, I believe that this work is for all of us who love our communities. Even more, I believe it's the work of our generation. Now, there's a big age difference between Emma and myself, but let's just take it for what it is--our generation. Emma Winiski  25:16I'm a grandma at heart. Ame Sanders  25:18Maybe you are. It's the work of our generation to confront the challenges, to change our systems, to reweave the fabric of our communities to be more inclusive and equitable. I hope you'll join us for the next episodes in the series. With that, I'll close with the words of Clarissa Pinkola Estes: "Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world all at once, but of reaching out to mend the part of the world that is within our range." Thanks so much for joining me on this.  Emma Winiski  25:52Thanks for having me.  Ame Sanders  25:53We'll see you next time. This has been the State of Inclusion podcast. Join us again next time and if you enjoyed this episode, the best compliment for our work is your willingness to share these ideas with others or eave us a review. We'd love your comments. Thanks so much for listening.

Intro Part 1 - In this new State of Inclusion podcast sub-series, we will use what we've learned from all of our conversations, along with our research, to suggest an approach, a practice for building a more inclusive world one community at a time. In this first episode I'll introduce you to Emma Winiski, my partner in this work and this series. We will also introduce four foundational or cornerstone concepts that underly The Practice of Building a More Inclusive Community.We are very interested in hearing your feedback on these intro episodes. Also, we are actively looking for a few communities that might be interested in exploring these ideas further and perhaps working with us to help test and tune some of these concepts. If you have comments, feedback, or are interested in learning more - email us at info@stateofinclusion.com Related State of Inclusion Podcast Episodes:Getting to Better in My HometownBuilding a Practice of Community Abundance - with De'Amon HargesEquity Warriors - Emma Winiski Find additional resources on Adaptive Leadership.There are many great resources about wicked problems, but this site has a good introduction.Find resources for asset based community development at the ABCD Institute, at DePaul University. Bio Emma Winiski:Emma Winiski is a second year Master in Public Policy candidate at the Harvard Kennedy School. Previously, she worked as a researcher in the Health Policy Center at the Urban Institute, where her work focused on substance use disorders. In 2018, Emma started working with Ame at State of Inclusion as she finished her undergraduate degree at Furman University. TranscriptAme Sanders  00:11Hi. This is Ame Sanders from State of Inclusion. If you've been listening for a while, or maybe even if you just discovered the State of Inclusion podcast, you may know that for the last several years we've been on a journey-- a journey of research, discovery, and most importantly of conversation. In these conversations, we've heard how individuals all across the country are working to make their communities more equitable, more inclusive, and more just. We've talked with people who are working with and within their city governments, in museums, in nonprofits. We've talked with people who are working across their faith community. We've talked with artists, librarians, filmmakers, and we've talked with people who are acknowledging the past and are focused on remembrance and healing, as well as people who come at this work with a decidedly forward-looking orientation.In this new State of Inclusion podcast series, we will use what we've learned from these conversations along with our research to suggest an approach, a practice for building a more inclusive world one community at a time. I'm joined today on the first episode of this new podcast series by Emma Winiski. Welcome, Emma. Emma Winiski  01:32Thank you! Happy to be here. Ame Sanders  01:34So, Emma works behind the scenes to help me put the podcast together and today she's going to join me on the audio portion of the podcast as a thought partner, a collaborator, and join in the conversation. So Emma, tell us a little bit about yourself.Emma Winiski  01:51Yeah. So, my name is Emma Winiski. I'm the Podcast Coordinator here, but I've been with Ame and with State of Inclusion since 2018 when I was a senior at Furman. So, we've been working for many years togethe and I've really, really enjoyed this work. Outside of this, I just finished my first year of the Master's in Public Policy Program at Harvard, and before then I was a researcher in the Health Policy Center at the Urban Institute in DC. Ame Sanders  02:20Yeah, so Emma has been working with me since 2018. So, she's been part of our research and part of all of our podcasts that we've done. In fact, she was my first podcast interview. And, I guess I should admit to the audience that you're the reason we even have this new series, because I remember there was a point in the process where I was trying to figure out what direction to go next and what interviews to line up and you help me line up our interviews and I asked you about that. Do you remember what you told me? Emma Winiski  02:54Probably not verbatim, but I'm guessing it was something like, "You've talked to a lot of really, really interesting people doing really, really important work. And I think for the listeners, sort of distilling those down into something that is more actionable, is probably a good idea at this point." Ame Sanders  03:11That sounds a lot like what you told me. Maybe not verbatim but really close. So, it is what prompted me to work on this series and to put down some of the ideas from the conversations that we've had with all these wonderful people. There has been a lot of wisdom in these conversations that we've had. So, I hope that we can do some justice to it in terms of summarizing and synthesizing what we've learned and putting it in some sort of order for people to be able to consume. I just want to thank you for being a thought partner, as we've gone along in this and I'm looking forward to talking to you about these things that we found so far in the in the podcast. Emma Winiski  03:48Yeah, thank you. I really, really enjoy this work. Ame Sanders  03:52Okay, so let's talk about this new podcast series. In the coming episodes together, Emma and I will synthesize and share the ideas that we've heard from our conversations and found in our research. But what it is not is it's not finished, it's not tested, it's not proven. All of those kinds of things that you would hope eventually we would be able to do. What was clear to me before, but I would say is even more clear to me now, is that there is no formula, no recipe for making a community more inclusive and equitable. You know, every community is unique and different. Every community has their own set of resources, their own starting point, their own history, and has their own ambition. So again, there's no recipe or formula, but I believe it's somewhere between this idea of a recipe or formula, and just random acts of inclusion and equity, there is something for us to talk about. I think there's something that we can lay out and share together that can help us approach this work in a smarter way. So, I don't have to tell you guys who are listening, this work is complicated. It's difficult and it's often unclear. In some cases, and especially for some people, it can be dangerous. The amount of work that you put in doesn't immediately translate to the same amount or equal amounts of output. So, progress seems to come in fits and spurts. Sometimes you work really hard and you don't see any progress. In fact, you feel like you may be backing up. But then all of a sudden, you see your community take a big step forward. The work of building a more inclusive and equitable community also requires trust. And Stephen Covey is credited with saying that "change moves at the speed of trust." Sometimes in a community, that means the trust has to be built or it has to be rebuilt if it has been broken. We also have to realize that this work is multi-generational. This is something that has been going on long before Emma and I started working, or any of the folks that we've talked to started working. We can build on the things that have gone on before. This work exists in a context of people who are working alongside us in different ways towards the same objectives and people who are working towards entirely different objectives. This work will also continue long after we're gone. So, I don't know if this intimidates you or scares you a little bit but it does me sometimes. But I think it's shouldn't stop us. It shouldn't stop us at all. So, if it is our goal to build a more inclusive and equitable community, then where do we start? In this new podcast series, we will introduce you to six areas of practice that make up the practice of building a more inclusive community. Before we start, it's important to share four common foundational or cornerstone concepts. These inform and shape the nature of each of the practices. You could say they are the foundation the practices are built on. So, first is the domain or where we're going to work. Emma, we had a lot of conversations--I don't know if you remember this--about whether we should work at the community level, the state level, the federal level. Do you remember our discussions around that? Emma Winiski  07:10I remember going through and providing feedback on some potential interview questions for an interviewee and I kept saying, "More federal. More federal. Like, where's the policy?" I think I was very much influenced by my location in DC. But, the answer is it's everything. It's not one or the other. I think the beauty and the importance of the podcast is its giving voice for people who are working in their local communities with all of the unique aspects and challenges that they have.  But, the podcast provides a format to draw some themes that folks across the country and in different sectors who are committed to this type of work are still facing. So, you can see some of the specific things that only someone really embedded in a community can discover. And then you can say, "Oh, we had a similar type of problem in my community. We approached to different ways, maybe the outcome was different." Obviously, community work is so important, and you need some federal policy to back it up as well. Ame Sanders  08:16Yeah. So, it's clear you need work in all different levels. This work that we're doing at State of Inclusion, though, as you've alluded to, is community-centered. That doesn't mean that there isn't work that's needed at federal level or in the regional level. But this conversation is a local and community-based conversation. I want to be clear to about what we mean by community. So, I picked up a definition of community that says a group of interdependent organisms inhabiting the same region and interacting with each other (so interdependent) and interacting with each other. So, I think that's really important. The other thing about communities and the reason I focus on those is it is where our hearts are, that's where our families are, and it's where we make our lives every day. And it is where, as Emma suggested earlier, you can discover things at the community level that you can never see at the national level. So, there's an opportunity to make certain types of changes that cannot be made anywhere else. We are all part of a community and we all bear some responsibility for making it better. We also bear responsibility for it being less than it could be. The other thing about community is when you're local, you can't blame it on someone else. You can't say someone else didn't do this, somebody should have done this. It is your community and it is your responsibility. Emma Winiski  09:42The part of that definition that I really like is "interdependent organisms." I think that sometimes, even at the community level, or you know, city town level, it can sometimes feel like your life or your actions are very, very separate from your neighbors, your neighbors across town or people who go to a different church or school than you. This definition is very explicit about the fact that whether you realize it or not, the choices that you're making do have an impact on those around you. So, the quicker that we can acknowledge that, yes, our wellbeing is tied to the wellbeing of others and our lack thereof is also tied to the less than thriving situations of others, we can get this collective mindset, that I think is really foundational for this type of work. Ame Sanders  10:32Yeah, that's really well said. So, the first foundational element is that this work is community-centered. The second foundational element is how we view the problem because how you view a problem or challenge determines how you organize yourself and how you go about addressing it. When thinking about this challenge of building a more inclusive and equitable community, and yes, let's say combating racism and bias, I would put forth that this is a wicked problem. If you haven't studied this, wicked problems have a few defining characteristics. First, the solution depends on how the problem is framed and vice versa. So, the solution and problem are intertwined with one another in terms of the frame or the lens that you take to consider it. The stakeholders that are involved in a wicked problem can have wildly disparate worldviews and different values that help them evaluate alternatives in different ways, the constraints that the problem has, and the resources that are needed to solve it may change and evolve over time. Also, wicked problems have this notion that there isn't really a definitive solution. So, a wicked problem is really never completely solved. So, as I said, I believe this challenge of building community inclusion and equity is a wicked problem. Approaching a wicked problem requires a broad-based, iterative, experimental, and evolving set of solutions. It will not be solved through a one and done approach or through a command and control approach. There is in most cases, not a right or wrong answer or solution, only what Reverend Mills in my interview with him called "getting to better." It is work without a clear finish line and where you must always watch for unintended consequences. The third foundational element that I want to talk about is about the leadership style that is required for this work. Emma brought this to the table for us when we were pulling our thoughts together. And it's the concept of adaptive leadership from Ronald Heifetz and Marty Linsky. In their analysis, problems can require two types of solution. On one hand, there are technical solutions, meaning that the solution is known and can be applied to a situation to get known or predictable results. In that case, the problem definition is pretty clear. They say for those kinds of problems, the power or the locus of power that you need in order to address those types of problems, or bring about those types of solutions is authority. I worked in the corporate world and I saw a lot of these kinds of problems in my work, and you may have too. The second type of solution that they talk about are adaptive solutions. Adaptive solutions require learning. The solution requires learning and the locus of power are the stakeholders that are involved in the situation. And basically, adaptive solutions require leadership and leadership is required when logic is not the answer. When you need to have people make a change or do something different, but they're not being swayed by logic or facts or data. It's in situations where people need more. They need more in order to move forward, and adaptive leadership suggests that you connect with the values, beliefs, and anxieties of the people that you want to move. So, Emma, I know this one you brought to me and I was really excited to have the opportunity to study this. Do you have some things you want to share? Emma Winiski  14:14Yeah. I think that sometimes this distinction isn't even mutually exclusive. So, I do a lot of work with substance use disorders. Thinking about that as a technical challenge, we know that low-threshold access to health care, to medications to treat opioid use disorder or other substance use disorders, stable housing, other social safety net things, are evidence-informed practices that do help folks. So, I think sometimes there's a technical solution to thinking about how might we reduce opioid overdoses in a city. There's also the adaptive part. There's a ton of stigma. Some people might not feel as if they should seek treatment, or that maybe it's a moral issue. Even something that is backed by evidence might not be politically popular or publicly popular. When a problem requires adaptive leadership, it means that they should be working in both of those planes--acknowledging that there's probably some technical solution or there's learning where you can draw from but also realizing that that's not the singular answer to the problem. Ame Sanders  15:32I think that's really important to bring out. So, in this work that we are focused on in trying to help communities become more inclusive and equitable, there are technical solutions in some areas, but there is also a lot of adaptive work to be done. The fourth foundational element I want to put out there is about the belief system or lens through which we will tackle this work. I want to challenge you guys, as I challenge myself, that we focus less on gaps or what's missing or what's not working, and focus more on assets. I had a great interview with DeAmon Harges some time ago. DeAmon works in the asset-based community development space. It was really encouraging for me to talk with him about how things can change when you look around you and you recognize all the talents and assets that are available to you right in your own backyard, in your community, and you begin to think of your work and those positive opportunity and opportunity-oriented things, rather than just as barriers, gaps, or problems. So again, our four foundational elements are that: Our work is community-centered, We recognize the work of making a community more inclusive and equitable is a wicked problem requiring specific types of approaches, Our solutions will have both technical and adaptive elements, but most importantly, as leaders, we will need to bring our adaptive leadership skills to this work, And then fourth, that we will always strive to begin and build from the assets that exist within our specific community.It is so important to keep these in mind as we move into our next episode, where Emma and I will introduce you to the six areas of practice that make up the practice of building a more inclusive community. Thanks for joining us today. This has been the State of Inclusion podcast. Join us again next time, and if you enjoyed this episode, the best compliment for our work is your willingness to share these ideas with others or leave us a review. We'd love your comments. Thanks so much for listening.

In this episode, we will learn how leaders in Greenville, SC have come together to make a difference in racial equity and economic mobility. We'll hear how the murder of George Floyd  served to inspire and motivate a strong group of leaders to take action and work towards lasting change across the community.Full transcript HERE.If you're interested in more interviews from the Greenville area, check out these recent episodes:Organizing the Interfaith Community for Equity and Justice - In this episode we speak with Reverend Kendra Plating and Rabbi Sam Rose from the Greenville County Interfaith Justice Network.Eco-Justice - Justice for Whom? In this episode we talk with conservationist, Rebecca Bolich-Wade, about how we can use eco-justice, environmental justice, and the community commons to build more inclusive and equitable communities.And nearby, in Columbia, S.C.:More Justice - Learn how powerful an ally the interfaith community can be in the fight for justice and equity as we discover how More Justice is working to transform the Midlands of South Carolina. Learn more about Greenville's Racial Equity and Economic Mobility Commission HERE.See the United Way of Greenville's Racial Equity Index HERE.Learn more about Economic Mobility and see how your community stacks up at Opportunity Insights.Partner Organizations in REEM GVL:United Way of Greenville CountyUrban League of the UpstateGreenville Chamber of Commerce Rev. Stacey Mills' Bio:Stacey D. Mills is the Executive Director of Greenville's Race Equity and Economic Mobility Commission and  has served as Senior Pastor to the historic Mountain View Baptist Church in Downtown Greenville, South Carolina for the past 25 years. The third pastor in the 114 year history of Mountain View, Mills is a bridge-builder within his multigenerational and multiethnic congregation, as well as a vehicle to community development, partnerships and growth. Reverend Mills served as Assistant Pastor at the Mount Moriah Baptist Church in Spartanburg, South Carolina prior to being called to lead the Mountain View Baptist Church in Greenville. Pastor Mills has been bi-vocational for eighteen of his twenty-five years in the pastorate, a fact that he values and sees as an extension of his ministry. In this way, he taught students who were at risk for dropping out of high school in the Jobs for America's Graduates, a program of the South Carolina Department of Commerce at Woodmont International Baccalaureate High School, from 2004 to 2009. He earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies (English and Secondary Education) from the University of South Carolina Spartanburg (USC Upstate) in 1996.Mills returned to USC Upstate in July 2009 as the assistant director of Student Life responsible for Multicultural Student Services, Leadership Programs, Non-Traditional Student Services, and NPHC Greek Life. In April 2016 he was named Vice Chancellor for Regional Engagement and Executive Director of USC Upstate Greenville Campuses, leading the USC Upstate Greenville team in an effort to adapt academic programs to the needs of the area's workforce.In addition to serving Mountain View and REEMGVL, Pastor Mills represents in several community initiatives to include the United Way of Greenville County; chairman of the Urban League of the Upstate Board of Directors, Boy Scouts of America Blue Ridge Council Board of Directors; the Rotary Club of Greenville; graduate of Leadership Greenville Class 40 and the Riley Institute at Furman's South Carolina Diversity Leaders Initiative. Reverend Mills is married to the former Jacqueline Burton of Johnston, South Carolina and together, with their children, Harrison, Kiersten and Zion, have made Greenville their home. 

Eco-Justice and Environmental Justice...What do those terms mean and how they inform our thinking about the question: Justice for Whom? Join us today as we learn more about these terms and talk with conservationist, Rebecca Bolich-Wade, about how communities can use eco-justice, environmental justice, and the community commons to build more inclusive and equitable communities.Full TranscriptRebecca Bolich-Wade Bio:With experience ranging from wildlife research to environmental education, Rebecca is presently utilizing her knowledge to expand Clean Water conservation at Upstate Forever, a conservation organization representing the Upstate of South Carolina. Rebecca holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Furman University where she studied conservation biology and philosophy. During her undergraduate studies and following her graduation, Rebecca had opportunities to work in research pertaining to mountain lions, bobcats, Mexican grey wolves, Bolson tortoises, and bats in states ranging from New York to New Mexico. Since the summer of 2020, Rebecca has been in pursuit of her Masters of Natural Science and Environmental Education from Hamline University. During this graduate program, Rebecca has had a keen focus on inclusion and diversity within environmental education and ecojustice.  Additional References:Athens Land TrustWelcome to Living Cully : Living CullyHome - Urban Waters Learning Network We mentioned these books in our discussion. You can purchase them from the State of Inclusion Bookstore at bookshop.orgBraiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall KimmererThe Practice of Adaptive Leadership: Tools and Tactics for Changing Your Organization and the World, by Heifetz, Grashow, and Linsky   

In this episode we speak with Reverend Kendra Plating and Rabbi Sam Rose from the Greenville County Interfaith Justice Network, which is in my hometown of Greenville, South Carolina. In today's conversation, we will explore what the beginning of this type of journey looks like for a community and keys to their early successes.  Full Transcript HERE. Reverend Kendra PlatingRev. Kendra G. Plating serves as minister of pastoral care and counseling at First Baptist Church of Greenville, S.C. She is a graduate of Wake Forest University and Harvard Divinity School and is currently working toward her D.Min at Candler School of Theology. She previously worked as a hospice and hospital chaplain in Boston. Rabbi Samuel RoseRabbi Samuel Rose serves as the rabbi of Temple of Israel in Greenville. Prior to joining the Temple of Israel family, he served as associate rabbi at Congregation Beth Israel in Austin, TX. While attending seminary at Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion, in Cincinnati, OH, he served as student rabbi for Congregation Gates of Prayer in New Iberia, LA, and B'nai Sholom in Quincy, IL, and The Valley Temple in Cincinnati, OH. He spent a summer as a rabbinic intern in the San Francisco Bay Area working with the Bay Area Organizing Committee and the Marin Organizing Committee. He was ordained in 2012.Additional Links:Charleston Area Justice MinistryMore JusticeThe DART CenterJust Faith Ministries If you enjoyed this episode, you might also enjoy these previous episodes:More JusticeEmpowering Youth for EquityAwaken Compassion in Your Community - with Kory Wilcoxson      

Full Transcript Here Reverend Dianna DeaderickThe Reverend Deacon Dianna LaMance Deaderick is a deacon in the Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina (EDUSC) and currently serves as the deacon at St. Martin's-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church in Columbia, SC.  She is a retired National Board Certified Teacher and received a BA in elementary education and a MA in family literacy.While at St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Deacon Deaderick was instrumental in the church being recognized by the National Episcopal AIDS Coalition as the first HIV/AIDS Welcoming Parish in the country.  She served as the Executive Director of the Fresh Start Ministry, an outreach ministry of St. Luke's which provides free laundry services, showers, food, clothing, and free HIV testing to those living in poverty in the Waverly Community of Columbia, which began in October 2016. Reverend Jackie UtleyThe Reverend Jacqueline Utley (fondly called Jackie) serves as Pastor of Ascension Lutheran Church in Eau Claire North Columbia. A native of Lake View, SC, she became a resident of Columbia in 2011. Whereas Jackie is energetic, passionate, and has a heart for God and God's people, her greatest ambition is that of playing a vital part in God's mission in the world. For Jackie, serving as a member of the MORE Justice ministry is the fulfilling of God's mission in keeping the biblical mandate of Micah 6:8. Lizzy Van HarnLizzy Van Harn has been the Lead Organizer of MORE Justice since 2021. After graduating from Hope College in Holland, MI with a degree in Social Work and Spanish, she wanted to be part of changing unfair and hurtful systems at the root. This brought her to MORE Justice in Columbia, SC in the fall of 2019 to be part of a community that is working to do just that. She believes that faith-based community organizing is one of the greatest hopes we have for transforming our communities. Additional Links:More JusticeThe DART CenterBackground music by Reid Chapel AME Choir.Episode closing comments by Dr. Ivory Thigpen were recorded during the More Justice Nehemiah Action Assembly. News coverage of the Nehemiah Action Assembly:WLTX News 19 If you enjoyed this episode, you might also enjoy these previous episodes:Empowering Youth for EquityAwaken Compassion in Your Community - with Kory Wilcoxson        

Full Episode TranscriptDenise Webb is a senior at North Clayton High School and a Youth Staff of Partnership for Southern Equity's YES! for Equity. Her advocacy journey began in 8th grade when she joined a county youth council. Since then, Denise has worked with the Sunrise Movement, the Annie. E Casey Foundation, United Way, and with Our Turn. While actively changing the community, Denise has an interest in creating short films, writing articles, and organizing protests and actions to transform systems. Rachel McBride is an 18-year-old senior youth staff of Partnership for Southern Equity's YES! For Equity. She is a community organizer that works in multiple equity spaces, including PSE's racial equity space and the climate equity space. She's the co-founder of a Clayton County youth council, called the Brighter Future Youth Leadership council that focuses on housing inequities in the Clayton County area.Katie Spears Warner, MA, was the Director of YES! for Equity at the Partnership for Southern Equity. Investing in historically marginalized young people and supporting their leadership is the path forward. Katie, a co-founder of Youth Empowered Solutions (YES!) which was acquired by the Partnership for Southern Equity in 2020, worked for 13 years supporting the leadership of youth and advocacy efforts to address systemic injustices and advance health equity. Katie also is the founder of the KSW Collective, a consulting and training entity working with organizations such as NC Child, CADCA, Renewed Pathways LLC, and the NC Governor's Institute, to change policies and practices to center racial equity and improve the lives of communities across the country. Katie holds a B.A. in physical education and health/community health from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, and a M.A. in health education and promotion from East Carolina University.Note:  Since this episode was recorded, Katie has left her role as Director, but the work of YES! for Equity continues. Additional Links:Partnership for Southern EquityYes! for Equity