Dr. Courtney Hayward: Poverty does not have to exist
Black Oxygen
This season is all about community care. And, quite frankly, how community and collective care is a part of the resistance. Community care is not a charity model—it's a model of solidarity. This season will be amplifying people and organizations that are examples of community care. I have a broad definition of community care—my personal definition includes systems work, democracy, policies, mutual aid, neighborhood centers, meal delivery, caregiving, respite care, and more. During this season I will invite guests to share their personal definition of community care, what they think...
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Black Oxygen Beyond Wisconsin feat. Ayris Scales
Black Oxygen
In this Beyond Wisconsin episode, Angela sits down with Ayris Scales, a tri-sector executive who has navigated government, nonprofit, and corporate worlds with intention and wisdom. Ayris currently serves as SVP of Social Responsibility and Global Initiatives at NAREIT, where she works to expand access to real estate investment opportunities, and runs Able Vision Enterprises, her highly selective consulting practice. This conversation tackles the urgent realities facing Black women professionals in 2025—particularly the 300,000+ who have been pushed out of the workforce in recent months....
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Ali Muldrow - All Things Beautiful - Rebroadcast
Black Oxygen
This week, I'm rebroadcasting a conversation with my dear friend Ali Muldrow. This conversation is all about beauty, joy, and friendship. As we start off 2026, the world continues to feel so heavy and overwhelming. This conversation is all about reclaiming the good in life despite the overwhelm, the noise, the comparison, and the seduction of numbness. It's an invitation to each of us to pause, slow down, to notice and to savor. Noticing beauty isn't about creating new years resolutions - it's not about the performative nature of "new year, new you." It's about noticing beauty as an act of...
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Defining freedom with Dr. Shakkiah Curtis
Black Oxygen
Dr. Curtis shares her complicated relationship with Wisconsin—a "love and hate" dynamic shaped by leaving Milwaukee at 17, experiencing HBCUs and the East Coast, and returning multiple times before finally seeing the opportunity hidden in her home state. She now runs Taylor Nicole Wine and Cupcakes in Madison's Black Business Hub, creating the cultural space she couldn't find as a young woman in the city. Research on Black Women's Success Dr. Curtis's doctoral research followed 14 Black women at CEO level or higher in Fortune 500 companies for two and a half years, uncovering the SCALE...
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Lachrisa Grandberry on Following Your Dreams
Black Oxygen
This week on Black Oxygen, host Angela Russell sits down with the extraordinary Lachrisa Grandberry—singer, actor, writer, speaker, and Milwaukee native whose journey from fifth-grade teacher to professional theater artist is nothing short of inspiring. Lachrisa shares the powerful story of how a fifth-grader named Daniel changed her life by challenging her to chase her own dreams. What started as a promise to audition for one show became a full-time career in theater, supported by a network of Black women mentors who helped her navigate the industry with remarkable success. From opening The...
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Tracy Anderson hustles her way
Black Oxygen
Tracy Anderson returns to Black Oxygen to discuss her unexpected 11-year journey in Madison and a recent career transition. She shares her winding path from theater in Chicago to hotel sales, radio hosting on 93.1 Jams, and community outreach at Big Brothers Big Sisters—where she finally found work she truly loved through service. Tracy opens up about learning to set boundaries, overcoming people-pleasing tendencies, and the challenges of dating as a Black woman in Madison. She reflects on how faith, therapy, and a strong network have helped her navigate this pivot gracefully, and introduces...
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Carla Williams - Beyond Survival
Black Oxygen
In this powerful episode of Black Oxygen, host Angela Russell sits down with Carla Williams, CEO and founder of The View From Here Wellness Collective, for an intimate conversation about self-care, collective care, and what it means for Black women to move from survival to thriving. Carla shares her Wisconsin story—from her family's journey from Chicago to Madison in a car without floors, to building a life rooted in community and care. She opens up about the heartbreak that sparked The View From Here Wellness Collective and her realization that Black women often build their identities...
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Guest Host Ali Muldrow interviews Angela Russell - Rebroadcast
Black Oxygen
On this week’s episode of Black Oxygen, the tables are turned. Regular Black Oxygen guest Ali Muldrow interviews Angela Russell. The friendship vibes are on thick on this episode as they discuss when Angela first started noticing beauty, her relationship with beauty, and travel the 5 senses of beauty. #BlackOxygenPodcast #BlackInMadison #BlackInWisconsin #Friends #DopeBlackPodcasts #BeautyAllAround #Madison #MadisonWI #Madison365
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Debra Gillispie, Mothers Against Gun Violence
Black Oxygen
Debra Gillispie, founder and CEO-President of Mothers Against Gun Violence, is a women of deep faith, resilience, and extraordinary grace and vision. After losing her son Kirk Jr. to gun violence in 2003, Debra transformed her grief into action, creating an organization dedicated to amplifying the voices of families affected by gun violence. In this conversation, she shares her remarkable journey through restorative justice, including meeting the man who killed her son nearly 21 years after her son’s murder. In this episode we discuss practical solutions for gun violence...
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Emily Raclaw - On Your Marq
Black Oxygen
Emily Raclaw is the Director of Marquette University's "On Your Marq” program—one of the nation's top college support programs for neurodiverse students. In this Black Oxygen episode, Emily shares her personal journey of discovering her own ADHD diagnosis in her 30s, and how it shaped her approach to supporting college-bound neurodiverse students. From her unconventional path through German immersion school and living in Germany to becoming a licensed counselor and special education teacher, Emily brings a unique perspective to neurodiversity advocacy, education, and leadership. Key...
info_outlineThis season is all about community care. And, quite frankly, how community and collective care is a part of the resistance. Community care is not a charity model—it's a model of solidarity. This season will be amplifying people and organizations that are examples of community care. I have a broad definition of community care—my personal definition includes systems work, democracy, policies, mutual aid, neighborhood centers, meal delivery, caregiving, respite care, and more. During this season I will invite guests to share their personal definition of community care, what they think is important in this particular moment in time, and provide thoughts and advice on how to get active in community care.
This week, I'm in conversation with Dr. Courtney Hayward, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Community Action Program Association—WISCAP. Courtney, originally from South Florida, shares her journey from being a Head Start kid who grew up using the very programs she now supports, to becoming a registered lobbyist fighting to eradicate poverty across Wisconsin. We dig into some hard truths about covert racism in the Midwest, the shocking reality that 35% of Wisconsinites fall into the ALICE threshold—the working poor who can't meet basic needs despite being employed—and why poverty doesn't have to exist if we actually fund the programs that work. Courtney also breaks down why nonprofits need to stop being afraid of advocacy and her mantra for community care: use your life to make a positive impact on the lives of those who need it most. This is a masterclass in policy, proximity, and the power of showing up for your community.
Key topics in this episode include:
• The reality of poverty in Wisconsin: 11% poverty rate, but 35% of Wisconsinites fall into the ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) threshold
• Covert racism in the Midwest versus overt racism in the South
• The critical role of Community Action Agencies in fighting poverty across 68 of Wisconsin's 72 counties
• Why the "benefits cliff" keeps working families trapped in poverty
• Policy threats facing anti-poverty programs: Community Service Block Grant (CSBG), Head Start, and weatherization funding
• The importance of nonprofit advocacy and holding elected officials accountable
• Community care as collective action, not just individual self-care
#BlackOxygenPodcast #BlackOxygen #PovertyinWisconsin #WISCAP #CommunityAction #CollectiveCare #CommunityActionPrograms #BlackInMadison #BlackWomen #Leadership #MadisonWisconsin #DaneCountyWisconsin #NonProfitLeadership
Resources and links:
WISCAP - https://wiscap.org/
Dr. Courtney Hayward - https://madison365.com/courtney-hayward-named-new-executive-director-of-wiscap/
United for ALICE - https://www.unitedforalice.org/home
The State of ALICE in Wisconsin -
https://www.unitedforalice.org/introducing-ALICE/wisconsin