Power Station

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#23 Marion McFadden and Sarah Mickelson, Enterprise Community Partners and NLIHC Aug 06, 2018

Show notes

When Hurricane Maria landed, it wreaked havoc on an already economically unstable Puerto Rico. Since then, nonprofit groups have worked tirelessly to recover homes, rebuild "resilient housing" and move Congress to enact needed policy reform, including operationalizing FEMA's Disaster Housing Assistance Program. Marion McFadden, Enterprise Community Partners, and Sarah Mickelson, National Low Income Housing Coalition, talk to Power Station about the challenge and opportunity of helping people rebuild homes and lives. An expert on disaster recovery, Marion brings years of experience at HUD and with FEMA to push for policies that will embed best practices and accountability measures into these public-serving agencies. Sarah, NLIHC's highly effective public policy director advocates for equitable reforms to systems in need of change. Their breakdown of NLIHC's Disaster Recovery Coalition is both urgent and hopeful.

#22 Renata Soto, Conexion Americas Jul 30, 2018

Show notes

Renata Soto is the dynamic executive director of Conexion Americas, an immigrant serving nonprofit in Nashville, Tennessee. She spoke to Power Station, at the 2018 UnidosUS Conference, about how she balances the provision of programs and services for Latino families with their engagement in policy advocacy. The Escalera Program, a UnidosUS initiative, helps immigrant children succeed educationally and teaches their parents how to hold schools accountable for their children's educational and social experience. The Culinary Incubator is a resource for parents with entrepreneurial aspirations. And Casa Azafran is a consortia of progressive and immigrant serving organizations that provide a welcoming community in Nashville. Renata provides a lesson in how to grow, empower and elevate an inclusive immigrant powered organization. Listen, learn and be inspired.

#21 Rob Randhava, Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights Jul 23, 2018

Show notes

Rob Randhava is Senior Counsel to the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, which brings together our nation's leading progressive organizational voices on education, housing, labor and immigration and advocates for policies that create equity and opportunity in marginalized and communities of color. Rob brings his legal expertise and commitment to justice to LCCR's network of advocacy groups and to members of Congress. And he is legendary for his pursuit of fairness in our nation's financial services systems. He is a quiet force of Capitol Hill and somehow remains resilient, funny and a force to be reckoned with.

#20 Maria Mottola, New York Foundation Jul 16, 2018

Show notes

The New York Foundation is a singular resource for neighborhood based organizations in NYC, often start-ups, that prioritize organizing and community engagement. These groups may have modest resources but their voice, impact and influence is growing. They are identifying problems and solutions within failing systems, from housing to schools to immigration. As executive director Maria Mottola explains, NYF's theory of change making is rooted in its values and history. Whether funding Nepalese women in Jackson Heights, Queens, or tenant organizers in the Bronx, NYF is expanding on the legacy of believing in, and building the capacity of, community members to make the change they want to see. Maria and the New York Foundation are engaged where it matters most, supporting neighborhood leaders and developing community infrastructure.

#19 Amy Petkovsek, Meaghan McDermott, Maryland Legal Aid Bureau Jul 09, 2018

Show notes

Maryland Legal Aid is a lifeline for low-income people facing eviction, living with substandard housing conditions, seeking veteran's benefits and overcoming domestic abuse. MLAB, under the leadership of bridge-builder and advocate Wilhelm Joseph, is a robust nonprofit organization with 12 offices across the state. The newest program innovation, The Community Lawyering Initiative, is a mobile resource that partners lawyers with libraries, offering people help in non-threatening and comfortable surroundings within their neighborhoods. Having decades old convictions expunged from their records is transformative in ways that are both pragmatic and psychological. They are now able to access employment, housing and benefits. Amy and Meaghan's make transformation possible in real time.

talk about their innovative approach to helping low-income residents of Baltimore County expunge old criminal charges from their records.

#18 Alejandra Castillo, YWCA Jul 02, 2018

Show notes

Alejandra Castillo has been a Special Advisor in the Clinton administration and National Director of the Department of Commerce Minority Business Development Agency under President Obama. Even so, she says that being CEO of the YWCA National is the hardest job she's ever had. Now celebrating its 160th year, the YWCA, this nation's first fully integrated institution has an explicit mission to eliminate racism and empower women. In addition to providing day to day programs and services for women and children impacted by domestic violence and trauma, the YWCA advocates for progressive policies in state houses and on Capital Hill. And, as Alexandra points out, there is the ongoing challenge of raising foundation dollars and seeking new forms of revenue that allow for innovation. Whether meeting with members of Congress or engaging with separated families in McAllen, Texas, Alejandra is a change maker. Stay tuned for more information abut the YWCA's Exchange Traded Fund!

#17 Monica Kamen, Fair Budget Coalition Jun 25, 2018

Show notes

Washington, DC is not only our nation's capital, it is a city of neighborhoods, rich in African American arts and culture. In this episode of Power Station, Fair Budget co-director Monica Kamen, explains how shifting demographics and significant public and private investment in affluent communities, have made citizen engagement in policy and budgetary decisions all the more critical. Monica and co-director Stephanie Sneed, train local nonprofits and their grassroots constituencies in how to engage with the City Council budget process, testify at public hearings and advocate for their own policy and budget positions. The Fair Budget Coalition has developed a network of 60 nonprofit members who collaborate to demand a Fair Budget process that prioritizes racial justice. They are creating capacity and shaping better, and more, transparent, policy decisions.

#16 Isabel Rubio, Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama Jun 18, 2018

Show notes

Isabel Rubio, executive director of Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama, which serves the Latino immigrant community, explains the push and pull between progressiveness and regressiveness in Birmingham. In 2011, the passage of HB 56, allowed law enforcement to detain and arrest people for "reasonable suspicion" of unlawful status, creating profound fear in the community. More recently, the Latino community was an essential part of electing Randall Woodfin, a former Board member as Mayor of Birmingham and Doug Wood as US Senator. Isabel underscores the importance of organizing, advocacy, capital and assets in building community, influence and power. And, as always, Isabel advocates for the building of capacity to make all of the above possible.

#15 Evelyn Brito, My Bodega Makeover Jun 11, 2018

Show notes

For Evelyn Brito, access to healthy food is more than an abstract policy goal. It is a driving motivation for her new web-based series, My Bodega Makeover, which documents her collaboration with bodega owners and customers in her own neighborhood of Lynn, Massachusetts. The goals are ambitious. She is confident that bodegas can be a source of healthy foods if struggling owners can access produce, compete for city grants and improve store design. The series is both entertaining and education, encouraging healthy food choices and showing how bodegas cab building cohesive communities. How is Evelyn pulling off this innovative strategy? She is an independent producer, whose company, Keep it Simple Productions, explores social justice themes from a community perspective. Do you want to bring My Bodega Makeover to your community? Evelyn would love to help!

#14 Mike Koprowski, NLIHC, & Eric Rodriguez, UnidosUS Jun 06, 2018

Show notes

An important sea-change is underway in the housing and community development field. Opportunity Starts at Home, a new campaign launched by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, has drawn our nation's leading civil rights, education, economic mobility, housing, homelessness and health nonprofits into a multi-sector effort to support the expansion of rental housing for lowest income Americans. Mike Koprowski, National Director, Opportunity Starts at Home and Eric Rodriguez, Vice President, Policy, at UnidosUS, the nation's largest Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization, tell the story of this Campaign and the committed organizations that are moving it forward. Funders for Housing & Opportunity, a collaborative including the Ford Foundation, Melville Charitable Trust and the Kresge Foundation share the vision and are all-in supporters of this new and promising model.

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