Power Station

Latest Episodes:

Capacity + Capital = Power Mar 17, 2025

Show notes

How do you stay hopeful and motivated when entire communities, immigrants, LGBTQ and people with disabilities among many others, are being demonized and targeted for punitive action by our nation's leaders? For Lucy Arellano Baglieri it is by keeping her eyes on the long game, building in the most difficult of times for a more just future. As Lucy shares on this episode of Power Station, this administration's freezing of federal grants to nonprofits and efforts to revoke their tax exempt status is a defensive reaction to decades of progress in advancing civil rights and economic justice. In this episode of Power Station, Lucy shares how her family's experience as immigrants who persisted through broken systems to thrive as entrepreneurs is at the core of everything she does. It guides her work at Luz Impact Strategies, the consultancy she founded to help nonprofits in strenghthening internal systems and tackling external barriers to maximizing their impacts in the communities they serve. The formula of capacity plus capital equals power has been foundational to Lucy's accomplishments at the community and C-Suite levels and it undergirds her leadership and voice at Luz Impact Strategies now.

One of the stories I heard was I just really want to take my child to a theme park Mar 10, 2025

Show notes

We are living in a moment of turmoil. Many communities feel targeted, and nonprofits are under pressure to quiet their voices. LIFT, a Washington DC based national nonprofit with offices in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles is undaunted in its support for and belief in Black and Brown parents seeking to break cycles of poverty and achieve economic mobility. In this episode of Power Station, Neils Ribeiro-Yemofio, the incomparable executive director of LIFT DC shares how just listening to parents about their aspirations for their families can be transformative. At LIFT DC, financial coaches are matched with parents, guiding parents through a 2 year process to increase their incomes, attain higher education and alleviate debt. As Neils says, it is an investment in hope, money and love. The results are stunning and unimpeachable. Parents are not only generating economic benefits for their families they are advocating for public policies that make life more equitable for their communities. Parents at LIFT DC have testified before the City Council and were instrumental in the enactment of the Child Tax Credit. And their advocacy is far from done. Hope lies here. Listen!

They are coming for people experiencing homelessness but we are not backing down Mar 03, 2025

Show notes

Do we believe in forcing people experiencing homelessness into detention camps? The president of the United States does, and it is happening now, including in New Orleans where 100 people were removed from an encampment and placed in a detention camp in the lead up to the Super Bowl. As Jesse Rabinowitz, Director of Campaign and Communications at the National Homelessness Law Center shares on this episode of Power Station, America remains locked into a narrative shaped by President Ronald Reagan who asserted that poverty and homelessness is a choice. Jesse is working toward a new narrative that recognizes the role of racism and corporate interests in creating our housing crisis and perpetuating homelessness. He breaks down how the Center's holistic approach, from litigation to advocating for policy solutions to grassroots coalition building is essential to ending homelessness.This model matters greatly in a moment when all levels of government are criminalizing not only those whose are living with homelessness but also the nonprofits and community leaders who support them. Jesse is devoted to building the community power and political will needed to create a more just America where everyone has the housing they need to thrive.

Young people are internalizing the messages they hear about themselves Feb 24, 2025

Show notes

It is not news, but it remains unacceptable, that young people in America experience life distinctly differently based on their race, class and geography. In Washington DC, children from low-income families attend schools that are deeply under-resourced, a stark contrast to their peers in more affluent and white communities. Academics and think tanks have long documented these disparities and elected leaders sometimes advance policies to lessen inequities. But the voices we seldom seek out for their views are young people themselves. In this episode of Power Station, the ebullient Nicole Newman shares how Critical Exposure, the nonprofit she leads, listens to Black and Latinx young people so that they are heard, seen and taken seriously as advocates for change, particularly within the schools they attend. Critical Exposure's talented staff teaches them to use photography to tell stories about their lived experiences. And they teach them about the power of organizing, a skill that positions them to transform their schools and become advocates for equity over a lifetime. These young people are taxed with much responsibility. We can all, at least, listen to them. Nicole does, she is their wholly committed champion.

Something that disabled people in the South have is power, it just isn't recognized Feb 17, 2025

Show notes

An organization's origin story reveals so much about its founders' principles and vision for generating transformational change. In the case of New Disabled South, co-founders Dom Kelly and Kehsi Iman Wilson knew that they were creating a space that didn't exist, a movement for disability justice in the American South. They focused first on their internal infrastructure, developing human resources and operational policies that support the sustainability of staff, all of whom are disabled, as is the board of directors, as they conduct research, build coalitions and advocate for policy change in city halls and states houses across 14 states. In this episode of Power Station, I am joined by the exceptional movement builder e.k. hoffman who leads New Disabled South Rising, the 501c4 advocacy companion to NDS. E.k shares how punishing asset limits, failure by states to expand Medicaid and government hearings that are inaccessible diminish civil liberties. And as a disabled person who is also trans, e.k. navigates the realities of intersectionality. We talk about the rise of horrible rhetoric coming from the White and the necessity of experiencing disabled joy. New Disabled South is an essential space we should all see, hear and support.

We do not want nonprofits losing their 501c3 status because of any unfounded implications Feb 10, 2025

Show notes

What is the charitable sector and why is vital to our nation? It refers to organizations that exist to create social value over financial profit. It is an IRS designation that affords a tax-exempt status to nonprofits and the philanthropies that support them in meeting human needs and advancing policy solutions to social and economic inequality. Do not underestimate nonprofits, this country's third largest employer, accounting for a workforce of 14 million Americans. In this episode of Power Station, I talk to the incomparable Dr. Akilah Watkins, President and CEO of Independent Sector, the only national membership organization comprised of both nonprofits and foundations. She shares what happens when they bring their diverse perspectives to a common table to tackle challenges to an independent sector that is both crucial to our nation's future and under assault in the current moment. Akilah has been in the sector since becoming a community organizer at 14 and she brings that spirit to her leadership at Independent Sector where grassroots and more institutional nonprofits connect, engage and build a collective identity. We talk about the state of advocacy and public trust in the sector too. Hear us!

We are getting very close to a litmus test on what makes you an American Feb 03, 2025

Show notes

Deportations of immigrants in the United States did not start with the Trump administration. And virtually no one would disagree that our U.S. immigration system is deeply dysfunctional and requires an overhaul. What is new is how this administration's explicit racism and xenophobia is deploying the blunt instrument of deportation to upend the lives of Latinos and other immigrants whose hard work fuels our economy, including citizens with generational roots in America. On this episode of Power Station, Abel Nunez, Executive Director of CARECEN DC, founded in the 1980s to help El Salvadorians fleeing civil war to integrate into this city, shares how the administration is pushing the use of the word illegal instead of undocumented, targeting nonprofits that teach financial literacy and encouraging neighbors to report those perceived to be "illegal" to a government hotline. As this administration wages a war on diversity and pushes the limits of civility, CARECEN DC continues to stand firm as an invaluable resource for people who simply want to be Americans. We have the power of fellowship within us and Abel asks us act on it. We must be in it, together, for the long haul.

The perception of risk in CDFIs and Community Development Banks has always been far greater than the reality Jan 27, 2025

Show notes

In the first week of a presidential administration marked by executive actions banning the education of Air Force members about the Tuskegee airmen, freezing scientific research grants at the NIH, immigration raids intended to fast-track deportation and the purging of DEI programs across federal agencies, remember that it is the nonprofit sector that continues to move democracy forward. In this episode of Power Station, we speak to Amir Kirkwood, CEO of Justice Climate Fund and a leader in the movement for climate and community-centered financing. Justice Climate Fund was awarded $940m, as part of President Biden's 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, to ensure the deployment of capital, primarily through CDFIs and nonprofit loan funds into communities plagued by generational disinvestment in housing, community facilities and public water systems. Amir brings deep experience, from executive positions in CDFIs, national and global banks to now leading the deployment and leveraging of capital into vulnerable communities. He shares how Justice Climate Fund and its community partners are meeting the moment to invest equitably and purposefully. As Amir says, this is forward-looking work with stories of success that need to be told. Let's amplify these stories whenever and wherever we can.

There is a part of Washington DC that the nation doesn't know exists Jan 20, 2025

Show notes

Innovation, disruption and problem-solving, these are words often used to describe how technology impacts society. But the sector does not center those powers on equity, ensuring that all people can access housing, livable wages, healthcare and education. That work is the business of the nonprofit sector, which is particularly potent in local nonprofits with deep community roots. Too often these groups are underfunded and uncredited for policy win and community building. In this episode of Power Station, the remarkable Marla Dean, Senior Director of the Greater Washington Community Foundation's Health Equity Fund, introduces us to its $26m Demonstration Project. It is a powerhouse set of initiatives designed to redress historical wrongs against communities of color by overcoming economic and social disparities in what she calls, "the Washington DC the nation doesn't know exists." The Greater Washington Community Foundation is investing in the highly effective community-based nnprofits who conceived of these solutions and, with the Foundation's support, are bringing them to life. It starts with recognizing that overcoming health disparities requires economic mobility and that removing barriers to career aspirations, family reconnection and participating in building a green economy is a public service.

In the Jewish community, 15-25% are Jews of color and we are not seeing that racial diversity reflected in our congregations Jan 13, 2025

Show notes

We are at moment in which grappling with America's history of racism, recognizing the impacts of generational injustice and creating solutions to those harms is being met with fury by our president elect and his allies. including Elon Musk, a ceaseless purveyor of misinformation. Trump has memorialized his plans to eradicate DEI-Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives within federal agencies and public universities in the right-wing playbook Project 2025 and he demonizes organizations that advocate for the redress of social and economic inequities. He even blamed the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles on DEI, a nonsensical claim that seeks to stir up outrage among his supporters. In this episode of Power Station, Dr. Deitra Reiser shares how her company, Transform for Equity, guides organizations in examining how racism, sexism and ableism shows up in their workplaces and engages them in shaping policies and behaviors that make a culture of inclusive belonging for everyone possible. She partners with synagogues to identify why more Jews of color, accounting for 15-25% of the community are not joining their congregations or being hired as staff. This is crucial work and the outcomes are heartening. Deitra tells the story powerfully.

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