We are literally led by the people we have the privilege of serving
Power Station
Whatever challenges you navigate during your day there is tremendous comfort in knowing where you will lay your head at night. For too many Americans, that safe place is out of reach, a consequence of failed housing policies and artificially low wages that perpetuate the racial wealth gap. In Montgomery County, Maryland, one of our nation’s wealthiest counties, there is a deep well of poverty that pervades the region’s prosperity. In this episode of Power Station, Courtney Hall, the invincible CEO of Interfaith Works, a champion of low-income communities since 1974, talks about the...
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An America without poverty is possible
Power Station
Origin stories are powerful in shaping both people and organizations. In this episode of Power Station, Lelaine Bigelow, the outstanding executive director of the Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality, shares how her family inspired her all-in career as an advocate for racial, economic and gender equity. She credits civil rights champion and Georgetown University Law Professor Peter Edelman for founding GCPI and continuing to advance its mission to study, inform and act. As Lelaine explains, GCPI operates from a belief that an America without poverty is possible. Its small staff of...
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We need films and books that talk about us, that dispel myths about our culture and history and how we exist in the world
Power Station
In the Ghanaian culture, a mythical bird called Sankofa honors the African Diaspora, symbolizing the need to look to the past and carry forward the truth and wisdom found there to benefit future generations. The image is so powerful that filmmakers, educators and entrepreneurs Shirikiana and Haile Gerima named both their groundbreaking 1993 movie and their incomparable bookstore, Sankofa. It was an honor to interview Shirikiana on Power Station, the final episode of a 4-part series produced in partnership with Rochdale Capital. Sankofa Video Books and Café is a vital cultural...
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The music industry is dependent on underpaid workers
Power Station
Music not only feeds the soul it has also been, throughout history, a vital means of creative expression and resistance against social and political repression. While some musicians become chart-topping bestsellers, most are with small labels or are entirely independent. And while we may view digital platforms like Spotify as providing access to less well-known musicians they do not feature or compensate all artists equally. Simon Vansinjan is in the business of creating economic equity and opportunity for musicians who want to be heard and compensated and for listeners who want engagement...
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We are pulling back the curtain to see how the cooperative functions
Power Station
If you doubt the power of cooperatives to build community and generate economic equity you need to know the Cooperative Purchasing Alliance (CPA) story. It emerged from an energy deregulation crisis in Washington DC that burdened houses of workshop with utility costs that exceeded clergy’s salaries. The Washington Interfaith Network came together to find a solution, which they achieved through a collective energy purchase, producing a savings of over $100,000. Their success led to the launch of the CPA, a cooperative that is wholly owned by its nonprofit member-owners, including churches,...
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Comic books, particularly the superheroes, in their DNA have always been about fighting for democracy and combatting bigotry
Power Station
Here is the hard reality: In 2024, a majority of voters can no longer distinguish between fact and fiction. This truth is disturbing and dangerous but not that surprising. As a recent Pew Research Center study reveals, most voters cite friends and families, not newspapers, television or academic studies as their primary source of news and information. We are all subject to a deluge of misinformation on social media but microtargeting, a campaign of disinformation warfare on an unsuspecting public, was a hallmark of the GOP’s presidential campaign. As Gal Golan and Alan Jenkins share on this...
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There is a lot to unpack with cooperative ownership, it is like a marriage
Power Station
Our news feeds are brimming with stories about America as a divided nation which cannot agree on who deserves to live here or whether to ensure that families do not go hungry. But there is a different vision for America, one that Power Station guests strive every day to bring to life. They are overcoming disinvestment and disenfranchisement with community power-building and capital. Many of them view cooperative ownership and shared equity as essential to that vision. My guest for this week’s episode (the first in a series produced in partnership with Rochdale Capital) is Dominic Hosack, a...
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We know that in the world there is an abundance of capital
Power Station
America has a complicated relationship with those who leave behind their families, culture and countries of origin to pursue a greater future in ours. Throughout U.S. history we have both celebrated the risk-taking and resilience of our own descendants in making a new life here and reviled, in the grip of nationalistic political forces, migrants fleeing poverty, violence and a lack of opportunity. In this episode of Power Station, Paty Funegra demonstrates what is possible if we reimagine our current immigration system by supporting would-be migrants’ right to stay at home and prosper. Paty...
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As Sikhs, we want to have a country where everybody can be who they are without fear or restriction
Power Station
It is rare to feel enlightened, deeply distressed and optimistic during a single conversation. I experienced all of that with Manjit Singh, co-founder of the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, (SALDEF), my guest on this episode of Power Station. His formative years in India during the 1980s were shaped by conflict and violence against Sikhs, a faith that values and practices humility, service, equality and social justice. Sikhism originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent in the 15th century A.D. and is practiced by 25 million adherents globally. Since its founding...
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Every week I learn something that moves me, changes me and informs me about how to act in support of democracy
Power Station
I invite compelling people to be my guests on Power Station, the podcast I created to amplify the voices, solutions and stories of accomplished nonprofit leaders. Most know that a 40 minute episode can move and influence allies, policy makers and funders and are onboard. We break down the social, racial and economic injustices their organizations confront and the under-reported yet meaningful systemic changes they generate through community building and legislative advocacy. When an episode goes live I promote it and assume my guest does as well. Posts and reposts elevate the leader and...
info_outlineThe next time you visit your local farmers market take a moment to consider who produced the bounty of just-harvested fruits and vegetables and brought them with care to your urban neighborhood. As Hugo Mogollon shares on this episode of Power Station every farmer, from new entries in the sector to Black farmers carrying the toll of historical exclusion from federal resources to immigrants managing farms until they have land of their own, has a story. Their stories inform Hugo’s leadership of FreshFarm, a nonprofit that is building a more equitable food system in the Mid-Atlantic region. It expands economic opportunities for the 250 farmers, ranchers and producers who sell their products in FreshFarm’s 27 markets in Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia and makes fresh food accessible to underserved communities through food hubs and matched public funds. And it is building a fresh food culture among children, teaching them to grow gardens and prepare recipes. This complex but seamless web of strategies is generating millions in revenue for small farmers, making food distribution more just and boosting health outcomes for families. This is how, with transparency and intention, transformational change is made.