Power Station

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#73 Tameka Montgomery Jul 29, 2019

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Have you ever wished that a public agency official understood the problem you are trying to solve as a nonprofit leader? Tameka Montgomery, appointed by President Obama as Associate Administrator to the Small Business Administration's Office of Entrepreneurial Development, understands. She came to the position after creating a business incubator in Denver and leading its award-winning Small Business Center. During her tenure, she launched the Main Street Mentor Walk, a 5k that swapped out running for walking and matched new entries into the business sector with experienced business leaders. And she started the first Latino Small Business Summit to provide entrepreneurs with culturally specific resources and guidance. While at the SBA, Tameka elevated training and technical assistance resources for formerly incarcerated people seeking jobs. She founded Core Strategy Partners to help those working at the intersection of business value and social impact. And she hosts a wonderful podcast, Raising Entrepreneurs, that helps parents to foster entrepreneurship in their children. Did I mention that she is also the mother of 3 boys, 9, 11 and 13? You can hear them all here.

#72 Karma Cottman, DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence Jul 22, 2019

Show notes

Domestic violence, as Karma Cottman explains, is motivated by a drive to maintain power and control within an intimate partner relationship. It is abuse of power that is conveyed in many forms: physical, psychological, economic and coercion. Domestic upends families and traumatizes victims, including children who witness violence within their own households. And It is pervasive across boundaries of race and class. DCADV is where everyday heroes, counselors, lawyers and organizers. work in support of survivors. advocate for systems change. It hosts Listening Sessions where survivors tell their stories, trains teachers to support students impacted by domestic violence, and engages young men in changing our nation's culture of violence. It is also a winning advocate for policy change at both the local and national levels. DCADV won passage of the School Safety Act by the DC City Council and is now a leader in national advocacy as well. Its sister nonprofit, UJIMA, focuses on violence against African-American, African Immigrant, Afro-Caribbean and Afro-Latino communities. DCADV is home to a remarkable collection of change makers and Karma is the leader they need and truly deserve to have.

#71 Lisa Rice, National Fair Housing Alliance Jul 15, 2019

Show notes

What does it take to eliminate housing discrimination and ensure equal housing opportunity? According to Lisa Rice, President of the National Fair Housing Alliance, (NHFA) it starts with recognizing that discrimination and inequity are rooted in federal policies, most fundamentally, residential segregation. The legacy of racist policies, from redlining to unequal access to credit, persists in communities of color. Disinvestment creates desperation for those seeking credit, a vacuum that has been filled by payday lenders and other predatory actors. NFHA is dedicated to the equal and fair access of all people to live in the housing and community of their choice. And while NFHA advocates for just policies no matter who is in the White House, the extreme actions of the current administration have created unforeseen circumstances. They include the US Department of Housing and Urban Development's eradication of the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Rule, which NFHA legally challenged and was able to restore, but without the tool that enables municipalities to meet fair housing act requirements. We are all responsible to raise our voices in the name of justice.

#70 Yasmeen Pauling, Sunrise Movement Jul 08, 2019

Show notes

Sunrise Movement is changing the conversation about this nation's climate crisis and what can be done to turn it around. It builds on the work of scientists and advocates who have long warned about the consequences of our reliance on fossil fuels, the inevitability of environmental degradation, and the influence of industry lobbyists on our elected representatives. And a surge of devastating wildfires and floods due to rising sea levels, which displaced whole communities, has shifted our collective consciousness about the change that needs to happen. College student Yasmeen Pauling is devoting her considerable talents and energy to Sunrise Movement as a Policy Fellow. In the wake of the 2018 mid-term elections, Sunrise Movement, led by the dynamic Varshini Prakash, and powered by a legion of young organizers, convened scores of town halls and meetings with policy makers on Capitol Hill. They are building support for the Green New Deal, an ambitious plan to end our dependence on fossil fuels and create a clean energy economy. And while some political detractors dismiss their credibility, Sunrise has formidable champions as well. And it is not stopping.

#69 Jeremie Greer, Liberation in a Generation Jul 01, 2019

Show notes

Liberation in a Generation is a new organization that takes a fresh, laser-focused and unapologetic approach to breaking down systems that oppress people of color and building an economy that raises them up. It is co-directed by Jeremie Greer and Solana Rice, whose vision for change is informed by their collective experiences as community and political organizers, researchers and policy advocates. They are reimagining how policy change at the intersection of race and economics is made and opening the door to engage new partners in the journey. It starts by working directly with local organizing networks, including PICO, Faith in Action and Center for Popular Democracy, that build power in communities of color. Jeremie and Solana are asking us to challenge the elite systems, from corporations to academia to the media, that perpetuate institutionalized racism and create a new and more just system. And they are inviting philanthropy to invest in organizations led by people of color that are at the forefront of a movement for economic and racial justice.

#68 David Lipsetz, Housing Assistance Council Jun 24, 2019

Show notes

Let's start with this statistic: One in five Americans lives in rural America. And these communities are far more diverse than the archetypical bucolic New England town. They include tribal lands, the Mississippi Delta, border Colonias, and Appalachia where the legacies of injustice include barriers to the capital needed to build homes and multi-family housing. As David Lipsetz, CEO of Housing Assistance Council (HAC), says, these communities are home to rich histories, assets and opportunities. But in many cases, they are also epicenters, over decades, of persistent poverty. A product of rural towns, David has spent his career focused on changing the fortunes of rural Americans. Before leading Housing Assistance Council, he worked in the Obama Administration at both HUD and USDA. He knows first-hand, the difference federal investment can make in struggling communities. HAC is well-known as a fierce champion for rural America. And as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), HAC is a lender in places that traditional banks do not serve.

# 67 Paty Funegra, La Cocina VA Jun 17, 2019

Show notes

When Paty Funegra was on Power Station one year ago, she told La Cocina VA's founding story and promised to return with an update on a new capital campaign. La Cocina VA was already training and certifying unemployed Latino immigrants as food industry professionals. The next step was to scale up the model, teach entrepreneurship, and serve a growing refugee population. La Cocina VA is now recognized as a model for workforce development both nationally and internationally. It is a disruptor in a sector and field that needed this burst of energy and innovation. Which brings us to this latest conversation about La Cocina VA. Its capitol campaign generated over $2 million for construction costs and ground has been broken for the Zero Barriers Training Center. It will include include a training center, kitchen incubator, Café, and technology center and promises to be a beacon for a immigrants, refugees, friends and neighbors. There is so much more to this conversation. Don't miss it.

#66 Brian Smedley, National Collaborative for healthy Equity Jun 10, 2019

Show notes

What makes health equity, the opportunity for all people to be healthy and thrive, possible? According to Dr. Brian Smedley, it starts with recognizing our nation's profound health disparities and the role of place and race in determining health outcomes. Data shows higher rates of mortality in communities of color where food options, quality of air, soil and the physical state of schools and housing, including exposure to lead, endanger residents. And people in rural areas are compromised by a lack of access to health resources and care. As executive director of National Collaborative for Health Equity, Brian Smedley believes that until we grapple with the injustice of these disparities we cannot change the conditions that marginalize whole communities. The Collaborative harnesses the talents of communities and health professionals, to transform systems and change lives.

#65 Kim Ford, Martha's Table Jun 03, 2019

Show notes

Two dynamic forces have come together to create opportunity and equity in Washington DC's historically underserved Black neighborhoods. One is Martha's Table, a nonprofit whose mission is to support strong children, strong families and strong communities. It transforms the lives of Ward 5, 6, 7 and 8 residents through high-quality education programs, access to healthy food, and family support services. Most recently, it opened The Commons, a 43,000 square foot facility in Ward 8, where babies are cared for, children learn to read, and parents shop in markets, at no cost, for delicious and healthy fruit and vegetables. The other factor is Kim Ford, an accomplished leader and DC native, who recently signed on as the new executive director. Kim, a veteran of the Obama Administration and the former Dean of Workforce Development at the University of the District of Columbia Community College, is a relentless champion of DC families. She sees herself as a partner to the residents that Martha's Table serves and rejects the notion of organizations as saviors and providers of second chances. This is the model of development that our communities need and deserve.

#64 David Johns, National Black Justice Coalition May 28, 2019

Show notes

What does it take to unapologetically and intentionally show up in the world as your authentic self? How do you generate the cultural shifts required for all people to be free? These are thoughts that motivate David Johns in his leadership of the National Black Justice Coalition. David lives and works at the intersection of the Black and LGBTQ experience where these questions are fundamental to the everyday experience. He and his team advocate for public policies in housing, health, schools and criminal justice that are essential to the safety and security of African-American lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender people. David came to NBJC after serving, during the administration of President Barack Obama, as the first executive director of the White House Initiative for Educational Excellence. David is an unrelenting advocate who views the world as the kindergarten teacher he once was. He passionately pursues a better future for his students.

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