Essential Voices with Wilmer Valderrama

Latest Episodes:

Fighting Fires For California Mar 01, 2022

Show notes

California’s fire seasons have become more like year-round fire years. For firefighters on the frontlines, safety is the number one priority when wildfires erupt. When these fires strike, there’s often a shortage of civilian firefighters to stop the spread. California has a long history of using incarcerated labor to supplement industries in need of additional assistance- including firefighting. For Gabriel Perez, a formerly incarcerated firefighter, his passion to serve his community by protecting it from fires began while he was incarcerated, and continues every day while he works to keep his community fire safe, even during a pandemic. Roundtable guests: Brandon Smith, co-founder of the Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program, and Jaime Lowe, author of Breathing Fire: Female Inmate Firefighters on the Front Lines of California's Wildfires.

Learn more about FFRP:https://www.forestryfirerp.org/

Learn more about Breathing Fire: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374116187/breathingfire

Episode Transcript:https://app.trint.com/public/3627988c-df1f-4c16-8705-2eeb7ee757db

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To The Loved Ones We've Lost Feb 22, 2022

Show notes

Shawn Troy is a family man whose commitment to care extends not just to his relatives, but his community as well. As funeral director at Troy’s Funeral Home in Mullins, South Carolina, he cares for the deceased and their loved ones. With the pandemic, Shawn had to grapple not only with a rising number of deaths due to COVID, but also how to properly honor those losses with social distancing in place. Roundtable guests: Reporter, Producer & host of the Better Together podcast, Maria Menounos, and author and founder of the Faith Matters Network, Reverend Jen Bailey.

Learn more about Better Together with Maria Menounos: https://mariamenounos.com

Learn more about To My Beloveds and Faith Matters Network: https://www.reverendjen.com

Episode Transcript: https://app.trint.com/editor/mKl9aAooRP-8f1bR_-zOeA

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We’re All Superheroes When We Wear Masks Feb 15, 2022

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Carolina Reyes always wanted to work with children and started the Arco Iris Bilingual Children’s Center so they could get the best possible early education in both English and Spanish. When the pandemic hit, it was harder to keep the center open, but Carolina didn’t waiver and pushed forward to ensure her students could continue learning and her teachers could continue teaching. Now open again, Arco Iris is a safe haven for the youngest of our community to learn how to thrive. Roundtable guests: Model, divemaster, and mother Amanda Pacheco and Dr. Lynette Fraga, CEO of Child Care Aware of America.

Learn more about Arco Iris Bilingual Children’s Center: https://arcoirisbcc.com/about-us/

Learn more about Child Care Aware of America: https://www.childcareaware.org

Episode Transcript: https://app.trint.com/editor/G3zWZskuSp-Xkfx-JGYtJA

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When Six Feet Is Too Far Nov 30, 2021

Show notes

Rachel Barstow works every day to provide quality and caring education to students with disabilities and while promoting disability visibility. When the pandemic hit, Rachel’s center had to figure out how to adapt a tactile learning environment to a virtual setting. Rachel and the center were able to work in person even before vaccines thanks to the extraordinary efforts they took to keep their students and staff safe. Round table guests: Model, producer and Deaf advocate Nyle DiMarco and Shawn Ullman, Senior Director of National Initiatives at the Arc.

Learn more about Children’s Center for Communication: https://cccbsd.org

Learn more about The Nyle DiMarco Foundation: https://nyledimarcofoundation.com

Learn more about The Arc: https://thearc.org

Episode transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Pc7-VVf6-SWw90z8l4ESYq2h1YfqxUmSXNhZcMopUD4/edit?usp=sharing

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Una Casa De Arcoiris - Part II Nov 09, 2021

Show notes

Roundtable guests Lindsay Toczylowski and Emem DuPuis Maurus elaborate on part-one of the “Casa de Arcoiris” mini-series. As immigration attorneys, Lindsay and Emem work together to support migrants on both sides of the US/Mexico border, oftentimes working directly with migrants who have stayed at Casa Arcoiris with director Cristina Franco Abundis, from part-one of the mini-series. When the pandemic hit and the border closed, Cristina, Emem, And Lindsay continued working to provide legal aid, safe housing, mental health resources, and joy to the migrants they support.

Learn more about Casa Arco Iris: https://casaarcoiris.org/en/, https://www.instagram.com/alberguecasaarcoiris/?hl=en

Learn more about Immigrant Defenders Law Center: https://www.immdef.org/

Learn more about Transgender Law Center: https://transgenderlawcenter.org/

Learn more about the Border Butterflies Project: https://borderbutterfliesproject.org/

Episode Transcript: https://app.trint.com/public/65d79f8e-968d-4d1c-ab24-153320f3c720

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Una Casa De Arcoiris - Part I Nov 02, 2021

Show notes

When the US/Mexico border closed during the pandemic, migrants were forced to wait indefinitely as their asylum cases were put on hold. For LGBTQ+ migrants, finding safe, non-discriminatory housing while waiting at the border is a challenge. In 2018, Casa Arcoiris was founded in Tijuana to be a temporary, safe housing space for LGBTQ+ migrants. At Casa Arcoiris, Director Cristina Franco Abundis takes care of her community members, providing medical care, legal aid, mental healthcare, and joy through the arts. During the pandemic, Cristina and her team found creative ways to continue bringing joy to their residents, and kept their residents healthy while the house was on lockdown. Part one of a two-part mini series: "Una Casa De Arcoiris."

Learn more about Casa Arco Iris: https://casaarcoiris.org/en/, https://www.instagram.com/alberguecasaarcoiris/?hl=en

Episode Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VSEUall1C2pPYDQ-o30wBTnSS1bFyTDuXOOOq2vSIxs/edit?usp=sharing

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The Future of Journalism Oct 26, 2021

Show notes

When the pandemic began, journalist Ashton Pittman began working at the Mississippi Free Press, a new nonprofit media outlet, not realizing what the future would hold. At a time when local, national, and global communities relied heavily on news outlets for an accurate portrayal of the Covid pandemic, Ashton’s work to provide fair and accurate journalism became essential. Not only reporting on Covid-19 but also on the Black Lives Matter protests in Mississippi, Ashton came face to face with combating misinformation and vaccine hesitancy, all the while uplifting stories of Mississipians in a media desert. Roundtable guests: Award-winning journalists Maria Hinojosa from Latino USA on NPR and Julio Ricardo Varela from Latino Rebels, both produced by the Futuro Media Group.

Learn more about the Mississippi Free Press: http://mississippifreepress.org/

Learn more about Maria and Julio’s podcast, In The Thick: https://www.inthethick.org

Learn more about Futuro Media: https://www.futuromediagroup.org

Learn more about Latino Rebels: https://www.latinorebels.com

Episode Transcript: https://app.trint.com/public/bb77b0f4-77a8-4888-bd34-0da794a592ae

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Coming Together At The Grocery Store Oct 19, 2021

Show notes

Ben Hess and his grocery store co-workers did not know they would be on the frontlines of a pandemic when they took their jobs. Not only did they have to worry daily about getting sick, they also had to manage customers frustrated at following safety protocols and deal with empty shelves. While Ben continued working hard, the pandemic took a big toll on his physical and mental health. Roundtable guests: Actress and activist Sophia Bush, and Jim Araby, the Director of Strategic Campaigns at United Food and Commercial Workers Local 5 Union.

Learn more about United Food and Commercial Workers Local 5 Union:https://ufcw5.org/

Learn more about Work in Progress, Sophia Bush’s podcast:apple.co/workinprogress

Episode Transcript: https://app.trint.com/public/63286a75-3040-45a9-b11c-3d97ef4a46e5

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Fighting Modern Day Monsters Oct 12, 2021

Show notes

Despite the risks, there is no place Dr. Lance Whitehair would rather be than the hospital. A family doctor for the Indian Health Service, Dr. Whitehair has been on the frontlines fighting COVID from the onset. As frightening as that fight has been, he has also borne witness to the incredible resilience of his Navajo community. On this week’s episode, Dr. Whitehair shares his passion for medicine along with the love he has for his patients. Roundtable guests: President of the Navajo Nation, Jonathan Nez, and Allie Young of Protect the Sacred.

Learn more about Protect the Sacred: https://www.protectthesacred.care/

Learn more about Harness:https://iwillharness.com/

Learn more about President Nez: https://www.opvp.navajo-nsn.gov/About-Us/Office-of-the-President-and-Vice-President

Episode Transcript: https://app.trint.com/public/3434f00e-80f9-4eff-bb9e-51a28682f87c

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Forty Acres Fresh Market Oct 05, 2021

Show notes

When Liz Abunaw saw the lack of grocery stores and other basic services on the West Side of Chicago, she used her MBA background to start a community-centered grocery service that not only pays tribute to the United States’ first farmers, but also ensures healthy produce is available on the West Side. 2020 brought not only the pandemic to affect Liz’s business, but also brought a national outcry for racial justice. And in the Spring/Summer of 2020 when Black Lives Matter protests were happening around the country in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, Liz saw an uptick of sales in tandem with national campaigns to support Black-owned businesses. Roundtable guests: Pinky Cole, creator of Slutty Vegan and Keshia Knight Pulliam- actor and co-founder of the Fearless Fund.

Learn more about 40 Acres Fresh Market: https://www.fortyacresfreshmarket.com/

Learn more about Pinky Cole, Slutty Vegan and the Pinky Cole Foundation: https://sluttyveganatl.com/about/ ; https://pinkygivesback.com/

Learn more about Keshia Knight Pulliam’s Kamp Kizzy and the Fearless Fund: http://kampkizzy.org/about-us/ ; https://www.fearless.fund/

Episode Transcript: https://app.trint.com/public/b30416d0-0715-4233-a449-6e7237fd2960

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