Power Station

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#103 Scott Simpson, Muslim Advocates Feb 24, 2020

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How is it possible for laws that determine the fate of Muslim Americans to be decided without them having a seat at the decision-making table? That is the power imbalance that motivated the launch of Muslim Advocates by Farhana Khera in 2005. Muslim Advocates works "in communities, the courts and in Congress", to address discriminatory public policies and corporate practices impacting the lives of our nation's over 400 Muslim Americans. The challenges faced by Muslim Americans require more than legal and legislative solutions. Our news media needs to tell the stories of who Muslim Americans are and how their lives have been impacted by misguided policy actions. Those include Mayor Bloomberg's surveillance of community members simply for being Muslim and President Trump's recently expanded Muslim Travel Ban. As Scott Simpson, Muslim Advocates Director of Policy Advocacy explains, working in partnership with other civil rights champions is critical to raising the profile of Muslim Americans and the hateful policies and rhetoric that harm them. Muslim Americans are standing up for themselves, their families and communities and all of us need to stand with them.

#102 Brian Bond, PFLAG Feb 17, 2020

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PFLAG may not be the most high-profile LGBTQ+ organization, but it is the oldest, largest and the first, in 1973, to create a safe space for the parents, friends and families of LGBTQ+ youth. It was organized by Jeanne Manford, after seeing her son Morty, a young gay man, beaten at a demonstration covered on the nightly news. She became his advocate, joining him at a gay rights rally wearing a sign that read, Parents of Gays United in Support for Our Children. She was applauded by young people appreciative of her support. From this experience, PFLAG was founded and is now powered by 400 volunteer chapters across the country. Its pillars of support, education and advocacy describe their chapters as places to be heard, learn, and stand up for loved ones. Advocacy takes place in hearings on Capitol Hill and in state capitols, where hostile political environments are generating punitive legislation, often aimed at transgender youth. The work is challenging but executive director Brian Bond remains positive, he says, because of the love and commitment of parents to their children. Hear Brian speak about his own journey and the path forward for PFLAG.

#101 Erin Hustings, NALEO Feb 10, 2020

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Some of the most effective nonprofits are designed to both help individuals in need and build collective community power. This is the case with NALEO-the National Association for Latino Elected Officials, founded in 1977 by Rep Edward Roybal, then one of just 5 Latinos elected to Congress. In 2020, NALEO supports 38 Latino congressional members and a bi-partisan bench of over 6,800 Latinos serving in municipal, state, and federal level positions. Consider the potential of a cohort of powerful leaders organized around the common aspirations of their communities. NALEO deploys its resources to meet 3 primary goals. First, it offers training that deepens the capacity of members to effectively serve their constituencies on topics ranging from emergency management and water conservation to census participation. Second, it provides direct services to community members, encouraging them to civically engage and become change makers themselves. Third, it advocates for public policies that promote citizenship, even in the face of anti-immigrant rhetoric and policy. NALEO's Legislative Counsel, Erin Hustings, considers herself the community's lobbyist, an advocate with clout, speaking for and with grassroots communities across the country.

#100 Ron Hantz, NDCC Feb 03, 2020

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Ron Hantz, a great friend of Power Station, and our first guest returns for Episode 100. Ron is back to talk about a current threat that has been largely obscured by the presidential impeachment hearing. At another congressional hearing, Comptroller of the Currency and Trump appointee, Joseph Otting, testified before the House Financial Services Committee, feeling the heat of Congresswoman Maxine Waters, as he attempted to rationalize dismantling the Community Reinvestment Act. Ron takes us back to an era when banks refused to serve African Americans and other people of color, leaving whole communities without access to credit and capital. The practice of redlining used maps drawn to exclude whole neighborhoods from banking services. And this practice became policy, leading to the rise of predatory lenders. It took organizing and engagement at the local and national levels to move the US Congress to enact the Community Reinvestment Act in 1977. The CRA, overseen by bank regulators, the FDIC and the OCC, requires banks to meet lending and investment obligations in order to pursue mergers and acquisitions. This is a seminal moment for those committed to investment in underserved urban and rural communities.

#99 Alma Couverthie, League of Women Voters Jan 27, 2020

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It took a century long struggle for American women to "win" the right to vote in 1920. And win does not accurately reflect a struggle in which women were jailed and beaten in pursuit of that right. This victory led suffragist Carrie Chapman Cott to establish the League of Women Voters (LWV), a non-partisan champion of voting rights. Now, LWV is convening national conversations about issues from the census to voting to the environment and immigration. And LWV is vigilant about local threats to voting access and rights. It works to prevent gerrymandering, the intentional dilution of political power by one party over another and by majorities over minorities. The LWV is making the structural changes needed to remain powerful and relevant into the future. It is retooling itself into a more inclusive and diverse organization and Alma Couverthie, the new National Organizing Director, is an important part of its evolution. A longtime community organizer, Alma is opening doors to new participants while honoring the contributions of veteran members. When you hear her, you will want to head to LWV.org and get involved. With LWV's 100 Anniversary just around the corner, the time is now!

#98 Anjan Chaudhry, National CAPACD Jan 21, 2020

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National CAPACD is painfully aware of gentrification and displacement hurts its AAPI membership. They look at the challenge through an historical lens, starting with colonialism to more recent strategies for driving renters and homeowners out of their homes based on rising prices, tax liens, intimidation and buy-outs. Anjan Chaudhry, Director of Community Empowerment, reviews the legacy of colonialism within AAPI communities in their home countries and explains how that experience shaped a new and important resource, National CAPACD's Our Neighborhoods Anti-Displacement Toolkit. The Toolkit is guide for people and organizations challenged by public agencies and private developers whose proposed plans would destroy Chinatowns and other established neighborhoods. It is also a pro-active tool for generating the resources that many communities lack, from affordable housing to grocery stores. Chhaya CDC in Queens, and ACT LA are just some of the organizations that are leading effective campaigns, some of which are youth led, to create the change they want to see.

#97 Francella Ochillo, Next Century Cities Jan 13, 2020

Show notes

We rely on access to high-speed internet to meet the demands of everyday life. We pay bills, apply for jobs, look up children's school assignments, and get real-time updates on bus arrivals. But at least 20 million Americans live without digital access. They are our neighbors and family members from cities and rural regions who lack the infrastructure (physical wires) and/or the financial means to afford internet connectivity. How do we solve this opportunity gap? Francella Ochillo leads Next Century Cities, a resource to a growing cohort of mayors from 200 cities and counties in 40 states that are building out broadband infrastructure and getting constituents connected. NCC is also at the forefront of a movement to ensure that those without digital access participate in the 2020 Census. So much is at stake, from federal resources to political representation, that NCC published a census toolkit and is working with local leaders to make Wi-Fi enabled kiosks available to those without connectivity. Francella opens minds and hearts about our collective responsibility to become stewards for those who are disenfranchised from our digital world.

#96 Marco Davis, Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Jan 06, 2020

Show notes

In our first Power Station episode of 2020, we welcome celebrated advocate Marco Davis, eight months into his role as President & CEO of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI). Marco shares his vision for deepening the impacts of CHCI's programs, known for the powerful pipeline of talented Latino leaders they generate. He explains how it all began in 1976, when the first 5 members of Congress of Hispanic descent, came together to support each other and to grow their numbers. Now, 44 years later, the Caucus is comprised of 38 members and is growing. Its nonprofit arm, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, operates Fellowships and Internships that engage participants in the public policy process. As Marco explains, that knowledge is carried into their careers in public service, nonprofits and corporate America. We talk about what is at stake at a time when Latinos have been demonized and under siege. And Marco identifies a more benign form of bias, a profound lack of appreciation for who Latinos are that persists in the media and the public at large.

Power Station: A conversation with Anne Pasmanick & Rob Ford Dec 30, 2019

Show notes

Join me for an entirely different kind of Power Station episode. This is a look back, with the very talented audio engineer and producer Rob Ford, at why I created Power Station, how personal experience shaped my vision for nonprofit advocacy, the under-reported role of nonprofits in crafting policy solutions to seemingly intractable societal problems and how our guests are thriving in unimaginably challenging times. We talk through the defining characteristics shared by Power Station guests, including their lived experience with the communities they serve and ability to pivot when political circumstances require it. And we credit their influence on democratic candidates whose policy positions on issues ranging from climate change to housing are based in research, data and analysis generated by local and national nonprofits. I express my gratitude to friends and colleagues, including Luis Granados and John Holdsclaw, who have been advisors and supporters since I first thought of creating Power Station as a platform for amplifying the voices of nonprofit change makers. There are many more stories to tell and Power Station intends to tell them. I am grateful to my guests for sharing their vision and to Podcast Village for making it possible.

#94 Orson Aguilar, UnidosUS Dec 23, 2019

Show notes

So much is at stake in America in the year ahead. The 2020 presidential election and decennial census will be markers in history, a time for communities to stand up and be counted or a perilous step backward. For low-income, immigrant and communities of color, in particular, the stakes are tremendously high and civic engagement is an imperative. Latinos have suffered because of the President's hateful rhetoric and policies, and the violence, including the massacre in El Paso, his leadership has inspired. It will require nonprofit organizations with deep ties to these communities, to mobilize. This is the work that UnidosUS, the nation's largest Latino civil rights and advocacy organization, and UnidosUS Action Fund, its sister nonprofit, which focuses on political action, are leading. Orson Aguilar, the new executive director of the Action Fund, is energized for the challenge. Contrary to the media's perception that Latinos are moved to action exclusively on immigration, survey results tell a different story. It turns out that the top 4 issues of interest to Latinos are: jobs and the economy; health, immigration and climate change. Much great work is ahead.

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