Afleveringen
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Ohio River Valley Institute Executive Director Joanne Kilgour joins host Philip Johnson, the Endowmentsâ senior program director for Environment & Health, in breaking down the hype around hydrogen hubs and carbon capture.
Hydrogen hubs have as their centerpiece massive pipeline networks that funnel carbon captured from power plants and factories to injection points for underground sequestration. Some present the process as key to our environmental future, but are the promises of jobs and a reduction in global warming real?
Ohio River Valley Institute (ORVI) was founded in 2020 with an aim of providing data-driven environmental research that advances a more prosperous, sustainable and equitable Appalachia. The organization has become a leading voice in researching and communicating what carbon capture and hydrogen hubs would really mean for our country's future.
âOur research shows that not only are hydrogen hubs likely to be costly, taking funding away from more sustainable, long-term solutions,â Joanne says, âbut they are also unlikely to deliver on significant job creation or to be an effective climate solution.â
Joanne grew up in Maine, earned degrees at Carnegie Mellon University and University of Pittsburgh, and has held positions with the Center for Coalfield Justice and the Sierra Club. An avid nature advocate, she holds a doctorate in environmental law, and the opportunity to âreveal surprising realitiesâ about Appalachiaâs energy future led her to ORVI.
She shares what she has seen about the unwavering sense of pride and place that Appalachians possess; what she has learned about the power of combining data and lived experience in revealing truths; and why she takes care to humanize policy research decisions by keeping the on-the-ground individuals she meets in Appalachian communities front of mind.
âI believe we can be compassionate problem solvers,â Joanne says. Learn how she is doing just that in this episode of âWe Can Be.â
This episode of âWe Can Beâ is hosted by Heinz Endowments Senior Program Director for Environment & Health Philip Johnson and produced by the Endowments, Josh Franzos and Tim Murray. Theme music by Josh Slifkin. Guest inquiries can be made to Scott Roller at [email protected]. Guest image credit: PA Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources.
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Dr. Daniel Perkins, professor, founder and principal scientist of the Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness at Penn State University, leads the largest-ever longitudinal study of post-911 transitioning veterans, âThe Veteran Metrics Initiative.â
Danny joins host Megan Andros, the Endowmentsâ senior program officer for veterans, in diving into the startling findings of his teamâs research. Beginning with an initial cohort of 10,000 veterans, the study followed an eventual 6,700 veterans over a three-year period as they transitioned from active military duty to civilian life.
The resulting data has revealed hard truths about the bureaucratic, financial, health and vocational obstacles veterans often face, and provides a basis for asking: Are we failing our veterans at the moment they need us most?
Despite the enormous leadership skills, technical ability, and work ethic veterans bring to our world, the study found that only 34 percent of post-9/11 veterans were deemed successful in transitioning from military to civilian life at the two-and-a-half-year mark.
The research makes clear that while a wealth of organizations provide services to those exiting the military, the navigation of those services can be dauntingly difficult for veterans.
âTransition is a place where things can go wrong, or it can be a place of great opportunity,â Danny says. âThis data helps us understand that by taking action early on, we can help our veterans have better outcomes in the civilian world.â
Danny shares how growing up as a son of a military father influenced his dedication to his veterans research; why focusing on coordinated points of contact for service providers is key; and why it is important to remember that behind each data point is a human being who has served our country.
âI think as a country we can be a place where we acknowledge veterans for their service by taking action to support them when they need us most.â
This episode of âWe Can Beâ is hosted by Heinz Endowments Senior Program Officer for Veterans Megan Andros and produced by the Endowments, Josh Franzos and Tim Murray. Theme music by Josh Slifkin. Guest inquiries can be made to Scott Roller at [email protected]. Guest image credit: Tim Murray/Treehouse Media.
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Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
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Raqueeb Bey, the founder and executive director of Black Urban Gardeners and Farmers of Pittsburgh, joins this episodeâs host, Endowments Vice President of Sustainability Andrew McElwaine, to discuss food deserts, the healing effects of holistic gardening and the organizationâs surprise boost from alt-rock stars Rage Against the Machine.
Raqueeb founded Black Urban Gardeners (BUGS), a collective of Black men and women who use education and gardening experiences to address the food desert challenges that persist in many Black and brown communities, in 2015. As she came to recognize a fraying generational knowledge of how to garden, she was moved to take action through BUGS and Mama Africa's Green Scouts, a youth program she founded that teaches community gardening and sustainability.
âWe donât just grow food,â Raqueeb says. âWe grow minds and leaders.â
Raqueeb shares her journey from a career in finance and banking to becoming a prominent figure in the growing food sovereignty movement, as well the the inspiration her godfather gave her that led her to understand the health and healing power of working with the earth.
Her work with BUGS â including running a 31,000-square-foot teaching farm in Pittsburghâs Homewood neighborhood â has gained national attention in media outlets including Environmental Health News and Good Morning America. BUGS also garnered recent headlines for the recognition that alt-rock stars Rage Against the Machine gave the organization during their current world tour.
Raqueeb is clear about the historical obstacles that Black and brown communities have long faced in their opportunities to own and work their own land, many of which continue to this day, resulting in food insecurity and limited access to healthy food.
As she encourages others to take charge of their food and health, Raqueeb is optimistic about the future of the fight to end food apartheid.
âEvery day I see the health benefits, community, and emotional healing power that Black urban gardeners of all ages experience when they work with the earth.â
This episode of âWe Can Beâ is hosted by Heinz Endowments Vice President of Sustainability Andrew McElwaine and produced by the Endowments, Josh Franzos and Tim Murray. Theme music by Josh Slifkin. Guest inquiries can be made to Scott Roller at [email protected]. Guest image credit: Brian Cook/Golden Sky Media.
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Jeffrey Brown, PBS NewsHour chief correspondent for arts, culture and society, joins âWe Can Beâ host Janet Sarbaugh, The Heinz Endowmentsâ vice president of Creativity, as they tackle one of the creative realmâs big questions: Are the arts essential?
âArt matters because it shows us a bit of the world we might not otherwise see,â Jeffrey says. âIt takes us places we might not go because it makes us think, because it makes us know other people, because it makes us laugh and cry.â
In his more than 20 years with PBS NewsHour, Jeffrey has reported on a wide range of national and international arts- and culture-related issues. He created PBS NewsHour's online "Art Beatâ segments and its monthly book club, "Now Read This," a collaboration with The New York Times.
An Emmy and Peabody award-winner, Jeffrey is a talented creative in his own right, too. He wrote the well-received poetry collection âThe Newsâ and contributed to a newly released collection of essays titled âAre the Arts Essential?â
From the impressive security detail of an interview with Angelina Jolie and the eloquent warmth of Patti Smith to being moved by the Dallas Street Choir, whose members are without permanent homes, Jeffrey shares meaningful behind-the-scenes moments in his storied career. Those moments have cemented his dedication not only to tell stories of art and culture, but also to consider our individual roles in critical societal issues.
âReporting on the arts in a global community matters,â he says. âIt matters because it offers a truer and fuller version of the world.â
This episode of âWe Can Beâ is hosted by Heinz Endowments Vice President of Creativity Janet Sarbaugh, and produced by the Endowments, Josh Franzos and Tim Murray. Theme music by Josh Slifkin. Guest inquiries can be made to Scott Roller at [email protected].
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âIâve had letters from young Black girls saying âI now know this is possible,ââ Carlow Universityâs groundbreaking president Dr. Kathy Humphrey, tells âWe Can Beâ host Michelle Figlar, The Heinz Endowmentsâ vice president of Learning.
As the first Black president in Carlowâs nearly 100-year history, Dr. Humphrey brings a life-long love of teaching and a wealth of experience, including positions at the University of Pittsburgh and St. Louis University.
From playing school in her free time when she was a child to an ongoing belief that we must âtreat teachers like the gold they are,â she has dedicated her professional life to helping students understand their true worth. âItâs important that students know: âYou are somebody. Your dreams are possible,ââ she says.
Renowned for her efforts to âbuild the whole studentâ through programs that foster leadership, communication, social and âreal world skills,â Dr. Humphreyâs dedication to young people comes naturally: She has 107 nieces and nephews, as well as twin sons of her own.
Dr. Humphrey believes in both the moral and financial importance of a progressive, equitable and diversity-focused higher education curriculum, and in the long-term benefits of mentoring students who are the first in their family to attend college.
âWhen you change the life of a first-time student, you are changing generations,â she says.
Experience her vibrant energy and learn about her inspiring, life-changing work in this episode of âWe Can Be.â
This episode of âWe Can Beâ is hosted by Heinz Endowments Vice President of Learning Michelle Figlar, and produced by the Endowments, Josh Franzos and Tim Murray. Theme music by Josh Slifkin. Guest inquiries can be made to Scott Roller at [email protected].
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The importance of gratitude, what makes a community great, & his hope for what the future holds for the social change realm are among subjects Grant Oliphant covers as his tenure as president of The Heinz Endowments â & as host of âWe Can Beâ â comes to an end.
While the âWe Can Beâ podcast will continue with new episodes and hosts in the coming months, this episode includes Grantâs reflections on the 70-plus guests he hosted over the past four seasons and spotlights why supporting those who speak truth to power is crucial.
âChallenging the conventional trains of thought takes bravery,â he said. âSometimes advocates make people in power uncomfortable, and I think thatâs OK.â
Grant shared the deep gratitude he feels toward the Heinz family and why the work of those in the social change community is critical to our country.
âPhilanthropy does what government canât and wonât do,â he said. âGovernment doesnât invest in innovation and risk-taking, and philanthropy can â and does. It is an important part of making sure our communities continue to thrive.â
Helping envision â and build â a more innovative, inclusive and sustainable community was a cornerstone of Grantâs accomplishments while with the Endowments and will inform his upcoming work on the West Coast with the Conrad Prebys Foundation.
âA great community is one that makes room, in a conscious and deliberate way, for everyone.â
âWe Can Beâ has been hosted by Grant Oliphant, former president of The Heinz Endowments, and produced by the Endowments, Josh Franzos and Tim Murray. Theme music by Josh Slifkin. Guest inquiries can be made to Scott Roller at [email protected].
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âThe circle of concern has to be wide enough for all of us to fit inside,â Jenn Hoos Rothberg tells host Grant Oliphant on this episode of âWe Can Be.â
Jenn is executive director of the Einhorn Collaborative, a nonprofit foundation dedicated to addressing Americaâs crisis of connection by increasing opportunities for empathy and civility.
Her work is especially needed in these times. This past summer, a U.S. News and World Report piece reported that out of 17 countries surveyed, the U.S. had the highest percentage â 88 percent â of respondents say that they felt our society was more divided now that it was prior to the start of the pandemic.
Jenn is clear that such findings are not the whole story, however, and is doing her part to elevate examples of everyday humans building bridges and fostering deep, meaningful relationships with those different from themselves.
Sheâs doing just that as a co-producer of the documentary feature film âThe Antidote,â which centers on the moving stories of real-life people who are making the intentional choice to lift others up, and is now available on Amazon Prime.
She breaks the âkindness equals weaknessâ myth, and shares the âthree Bâsâ â bonding, bridging and building - that may be the key to keeping both our society and democracy functionable.
âWhat we do is just as important as how we do it,â Jenn says. âWhat weâre in need of is not simply the ritual of acting kind. We can can dig deeper and be kind.â
Be kind and listen â and share â this episode of âWe Can Be.â
âWe Can Beâ is hosted by Heinz Endowments President Grant Oliphant, and produced by the Endowments, Josh Franzos and Tim Murray. Theme music by Josh Slifkin. Guest inquiries can be made to Scott Roller at [email protected].
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Michael Mann, one of the worldâs preeminent experts on climate change, said in a Boston Globe editorial published shortly after the devastating storm made landfall in Sept. '21: âHurricane Ida was a shot across the Earthâs bow."
Michael is distinguished professor of atmospheric science at Penn State University, with joint appointments in the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute and the Department of Geosciences and the Earth.
He is the author of five best-selling books, including the recently published âThe New Climate War: The Fight to Take Back Our Planetâ as well as âThe Tantrum that Saved the World: A Carbon Neutral Kidsâ Bookâ and âThe Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars.â
In 2019, Michael received the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, often called the âNobel Prize for the Environment,â and in 2020, he was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.
He has written or co-written more than 230 climate-focused academic papers, and is a widely sought-after commentator on the science, societal and political aspects of climate change.
Michael tells podcast host Grant Oliphant that it is indeed still possible to avert the most devastating impacts of climate change, and believes indisputable science and a burgeoning youth environmental movement are key to our future.
âThe forces for action have now aligned,â he said.
Learn what we need to do next on this episode of âWe Can Be.â
âWe Can Beâ is hosted by Heinz Endowments President Grant Oliphant, and produced by the Endowments, Josh Franzos and Tim Murray. Theme music by Josh Slifkin. Guest inquiries may be made to Scott Roller at [email protected]. Guest image by Joshua Yospyn, courtesy michaelmann.net.
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Energy industry researcher and âThe State of My Stateâ author Sean OâLeary zeroes in on the role of coal, natural gas and petrochemicals in the economies of Appalachia.
He does it with with a deep respect for the region where he grew up, and an understanding that with the beauty and grandeur of that region also comes unfulfilled promises of hydraulic fracturing-related prosperity.
Sean was born and raised in West Virginia, and is a senior researcher and writer with the Ohio River Valley Institute. The Institute was founded in 2020 with an aim of providing sound research that will help promote a more sustainable, equitable, democratic and prosperous Appalachia.
His book, newspaper column and blogâall titled âThe State of My Stateââhave been widely shared and cited, and have captured the attention of the U.S. Department of Energy, where Sean was asked to present earlier this year.
Sean shares with host Grant Oliphant the painful battle regarding âwish and hopeâ that he has heard families in Appalachia express. He says that while they often âwish their kids and grandchildren would stay when they are grown and have families of their own, the lack of opportunity makes them also hope they donât.â
Hear about eye-opening data and the post-fossil fuel economic plan playing out now in a community in Washington state that is giving hope that a similar blueprint for Appalachia is possibleâall on this new episode of âWe Can Be.â
âWe Can Beâ is hosted by Heinz Endowments President Grant Oliphant, and produced by the Endowments, Josh Franzos and Tim Murray. Theme music by Josh Slifkin. Guest inquiries can be made to Scott Roller at [email protected]. Guest image: Steve Stolee.
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Kristina Marusic is an investigative reporter covering environmental health & justice issues for Environmental Health News, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization dedicated to driving science into public discussion and policy.
In early 2021, Environmental Health News published Kristinaâs âFractured: The body burden of living near fracking,â a four-part series that revealed the health impacts of shale hydraulic fracturingâor frackingâon families living near fracking sites. Research for the series, conducted in the summer of 2019, included a nine-week collection of air, water, and urine samples from five southwestern Pennsylvania households, all including at least one child.
Kristinaâs âFracturedâ series garnered national attention, and has become a key piece of evidence for lawmakers urging action on environmental health issues.
Prior to joining the Environmental Health News team in 2018, Kristina gained national acclaim for her work as a staff writer for MTV news, and has had bylines on stories in The Washington Post, CNN, Slate, Vice, Women's Health, and The Advocate.
Kristinaâs journalism is, as she tells host Grant Oliphant, âa way of reporting that helps society learn how to fix itself. It's not advocacy or fluff or good news, it's forward-looking, serious and critical.â
Of her reporting on environmental topics, including climate change, the health risks of fracking, and âsuper pollutionâ air events, Kristina says: âI believe that true, well-told stories have the power to change the world for good.â
Listen to how she is doing just that on this episode of âWe Can Be.â
âWe Can Beâ is hosted by Heinz Endowments President Grant Oliphant, and produced by the Endowments, Josh Franzos and Tim Murray. Theme music by Josh Slifkin. Guest inquiries can be made to Scott Roller at [email protected].
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Thomas Brennan is Founder and Exec. Director of The War Horse, a nonprofit newsroom that has gained international respect for reporting on the often-unspoken human impacts of military service.
A former Marine Corps sergeant who served as an infantryman in Iraq and Afghanistan, Thomas joins host Grant Oliphant for a timely conversation about his journey from active duty service in Afghanistan to being honored with a Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award for his resolute reporting on sexual assault in the military.
Thomas first gained widespread journalistic acclaim for a series of self-penned pieces in The New York Times that chronicled what he has called the âmental health and moral injuryâ â including what was eventually diagnosed as a traumatic brain injury - caused by an attack in Afghanistanâs Helmand Province when he was 24.
Thomas went on to found The War Horse in 2016, and the following year co-authored the well-received Shooting GhostsâA U.S. Marine, a Combat Photographer, and Their Journey Back from War with Finbarr O'Reilly.
âWhen reading my reporting, I donât want people to think that itâs âpoor me,â or âwoe is me,â because veterans donât want pity,â Thomas says. âWe want to have a conversation.â
Aiming to bridge the military â civilian divide through well-researched stories that hold truth to power, Thomas and The War Horse team have done just that, publishing investigative pieces that have served as catalysts for significant national policy change.
Thomas says: âWe aim to strengthen our democracy by improving our countryâs understanding of the true cost of military service.â
âWe Can Beâ is hosted by Heinz Endowments President Grant Oliphant, and produced by the Endowments, Josh Franzos and Tim Murray. Theme music by Josh Slifkin. Guest inquiries can be made to Scott Roller at [email protected]. Guest image credit: The Carey Institute for Global Good.
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Nell Edgington, author of âReinventing Social Change: Embrace Abundance to Create a Healthier and more Equitable World,â has traveled coast to coast in her quest to guide social-change warriors in realizing their full power and capability.
Social change movements have been part of our countryâs DNA for hundreds of years, encompassing the abolitionist movement of the 1800s, the suffragist movement that culminated in women gaining the right to vote in 1920, and the civil rights movement that gained widespread support in the 1960s and whose work continues to this day.
Whether you are a social change activist, involved in the nonprofit or philanthropic world, or just have an interest in what it takes for the arc of justice to bend, Nellâs conversation with host Grant Oliphant will inspire and re-energize.
Born and raised in Minnesota, with a professional background that includes time at PBS national headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, and at the Central Texas Food Bank in Austin, Nell has been president of the Austin-based management consultant group Social Velocity since its founding in 2008. âReinventing Social Changeâ was published in 2021.
A fan of Janelle MonĂĄe and Robert Frost, Nell brings a sense of joy and optimism to her work, which she encourages in others:
âWe are infinitely more powerful â in creating social change, or really in doing anything â when we approach it from a place of joy.â
âWe Can Beâ is hosted by Heinz Endowments President Grant Oliphant, and produced by the Endowments, Josh Franzos and Tim Murray. Theme music by Josh Slifkin. Guest inquiries can be made to Scott Roller at [email protected]. Image: Justin Edgington
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Dr. Barry Kerzin is foremost a kind, giving, smart and all-around inspirational human being.
And if that were all he was, it would be more than enough.
But Barry is also a Buddhist monk, a personal physician to the Dalai Lama, and the founder of both the Human Values Institute in Japan and the United States-based Altruism in Medicine Institute, which teaches resilience to health care workers through training in compassion and mindfulness.
He shares his fascinating and moving journey with âWe Can Beâ host Grant Oliphant, including how the Dalai Lama told him that his path would be â50-50âone half medicine and the other half spreading love and compassion.â Barry listened and has followed that auspicious path for more than three decades.
âIf we can learn to focus our mind even a little bit, we will be more successful in training our minds to be more compassionateâand therefore happier,â Barry says of his work teaching mindfulness to nurses, doctors and police forces in an effort to help them cope with the stress and trauma of their professions.
He has been profiled in media outlets around the world, including PBS and CNN, and shared his wisdom with audiences throughout Europe and North America, as well as in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Russia, and Mongolia, to name but a few.
Barry, whose brain has been studied by both Princeton University and the University of Wisconsin as part of their quests to understand the effects of long-term meditation, believes that âsocially engaged Buddhismâ has enormous potential for all of us.
âWhen youâre being compassionate, âhe says, âyou feel good.â
âWe Can Beâ is hosted by Heinz Endowments President Grant Oliphant, and produced by the Endowments, Josh Franzos and Tim Murray. Theme music by Josh Slifkin. Guest inquiries can be made to Scott Roller at [email protected].
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Coalfield Development CEO Brandon Dennison & his team are rebuilding the Appalachian economy one job at a time, with gumption, grit & grace as their guide.
The wide valleys, imposing mountains and steep ridges that make up the topography of Appalachia wind across all or parts of 12 states, stretching from New York to portions of Mississippi and Alabama.
In the middle this impressive terrain is Huntington, West Virginia, the home of both Brandon and Coalfield Development, which he co-founded in 2010 with his high school best friend.
Brandon and his team bridge the divide between those dedicated to a declining fossil fuel economy and those who believe in the family-sustaining jobs that a renewable energy economy provides.
Thatâs just one of the reasons he was honored with a 2019 Heinz Award and has been interviewed by the BBC, CNBC and the New York Times.
He has led Coalfield Development in the revitalization of 200,000 square feet of formerly dilapidated property, helped create 300 new jobs, and brought $20 million in new regional investment to Appalachian communities.
As Brandon tells host Grant Oliphant: âChange is hard,â and the coal industry âuses fear with incredible precision.â
He and the Coalfield Development family counter that fear with fact-based data, comprehensive job and life-skills programs, andâmost of allâheartfelt dedication to the long-term health and economic well-being of the Appalachian communities they call home.
âBridging divides is about human interaction,â Brandon says, âand when that happens, barriers go down.â
âWe Can Beâ is hosted by Heinz Endowments President Grant Oliphant, and produced by the Endowments, Josh Franzos and Tim Murray. Theme music by Josh Slifkin. Guest inquiries can be made to Scott Roller at [email protected].
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GivingTuesday co-founder Asha Curran has been key in producing 20 billion social media impressions & raising nearly $2.5 billion dollars to help others in a single year.
Digital generosity platform GivingTuesday was created in 2012 to be, in her words, âan antidote to Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the two days right after Thanksgiving that shamelessly celebrate mass consumption.â
Instead, Asha and co-founder Henry Timms envisioned a simple, open-source, customizable digital giving campaign that could help thousands of nonprofits raise funds in a unified day of giving.
Now, nearly a decade on, GivingTuesday (originally launched as part of New York Cityâs 92nd Street Y cultural center) has become a worldwide success, proving that Ashaâs concept of what she calls âradical generosityâ is more than simply a possibilityâit is reality.
Born in India and raised on the Lower East Side of New York City with a uniquely non-linear life path, Asha brings a world of experience to her role as the CEO of GivingTuesday.
As Asha tells host Grant Oliphant: âI focus on things that I find interesting and meaningful, and I immerse myself deeply in them.â
Hear about her meaningful, ground-breaking work in digital generosity on this episode of âWe Can Be.â
âWe Can Beâ is hosted by Heinz Endowments President Grant Oliphant, and produced by the Endowments, Josh Franzos and Tim Murray. Theme music by Josh Slifkin. Guest inquiries can be made to Scott Roller at [email protected].
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William H. Frey (âDiversity Explosion: How New Racial Demographics are Remaking Americaâ) joins host Grant Oliphant in diving into new census data - and shares what it could mean for the future of our nation.
The internationally renowned demographer and senior fellow in the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institute is acutely skilled at taking complicated data and helping us understand what it says about who we are and where we are going as a country.
William is also is a research professor with the University of Michiganâs Institute for Social Research and Population Studies Center, has authored more than 200 publications, and has been a consultant to the U.S. Census Bureau. His work has been covered in dozens of media outlets, including The Economist, Forbes, The New Yorker, NPRâs âAll Things Considered,â NBC, CBS, ABC, and The Washington Post.
His current research agenda involves examining 2020 U.S. census practices and results, tracking voting trends associated with the 2020 presidential primary and general election, and monitoring demographic aspects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
âBlack and brown citizens, and an increasingly progressive young population will dominate spending power, population increases, and, eventually, the care of our older citizens,â William says of the latest census data.
Having this data is just the first step, however. âIt will take political leadershipâon both national and regional levelsâto help educate us as to why this is so important, and why this is good for us.â
We Can Beâ is hosted by Heinz Endowments President Grant Oliphant, and produced by the Endowments, Josh Franzos and Tim Murray. Theme music by Josh Slifkin. Guest inquiries can be made to Scott Roller at [email protected].
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Carnegie Mellon Universityâs CREATE Lab leader Illah Nourbakhsh, & Raqueeb Bey, exec. dir. of Black Urban Gardeners & Farmers of Pittsburgh join host & Endowments Pres. Grant Oliphant as they dive into the fascinating backstory of the new & innovative Center for Shared Prosperity.
One of the great anomalies of modern American society is the disconnect between the intellectual capital, innovation, and wealth creation associated with its leading research universities and the persistent challenges and inequality confronting the communities in which those centers of innovation reside.
There is a better way â one in which universities focus their research and problem-solving expertise on those challenges that surrounding communities identify as most urgent. Itâs a way that includes deep and long-term partnerships between community representatives, universities and philanthropy.
Funded by The Heinz Endowments with its largest-ever single grant and guided by a committee of community leaders, the newly launched Center for Shared Prosperity at Carnegie Mellon University is creating a template for that better way.
Illah is the K&L Gates Professor of Ethics and Computational Technologies at Carnegie Mellonâs Robotics Institute, the author of âRobot Futures,â and co-author of âAI and Humanity,â both from MIT Press.
In addition to heading Black Urban Gardeners and Farmers of Pittsburgh, Raqueeb also leads Mama Africaâs Green Scouts, a grassroots organization that works with black youth in underserved communities to encourage awareness of green education, environmental sustainability and social justice.
Illah and Raqueeb share what they believe the Center for Shared Prosperity could mean for both the university and surrounding communities, and how other cities across the nation with major research institutions may use the initiative as a guide for systemic change.
âI see this as the opportunity for all of us to come together in a genuine, long-term way to make permanent change in the structure of the system,â says Raqueeb.
Illah agrees: âI believe that we can be pioneers for justice together.â
âWe Can Beâ is hosted by Heinz Endowments President Grant Oliphant, and produced by the Endowments, Josh Franzos and Tim Murray. Theme music by Josh Slifkin; incidental music by Giuseppe Capolupa. Guest inquiries can be made to Scott Roller at [email protected].
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Toni Griffin, head of the Harvard Graduate School of Designâs Just City Lab and co-editor of âPatterned Justice,â joins host Grant Oliphant for this episode of âWe Can Be.â
Our country has perpetuated structural race and class inequities for more than two centuries. But what if we could design cities â their structures, infrastructures and public spaces â in ways that lessen that inequity and foster a more just community?
Toni Griffin has been studying, teaching and putting into action this concept of âjust citiesâ for the past decade, most notably with the Just City Lab, a research platform for developing community-informed and values-based planning methodologies and tools.
Toni is the co-editor of the 2020 book âPatterned Justice,â a fascinating look at the process communities can take in identifying the unique values, assets and opportunities that they can enlist in making their neighborhoods more just. Through her New York City-based UrbanAC consulting firm, she has led trans-disciplinary planning and urban design projects for clients in cities with long histories of spatial and social injustice.
In 2016, President Barack Obama appointed Toni to the United States Commission of Fine Arts, and she is a trusted advisor of mayors and civic leaders in several cities, including Washington, D.C., Memphis, St. Louis and Pittsburgh.
Toni shares how she came to recognize patterns of injustice common in cities around the United States; what Pittsburghâs porches, stairs and playgrounds can tell us about inequity; the importance of a common âpatterned languageâ; and why we must consider how spaces affect our mind, body and soul when creating equity-centered city and neighborhood design.
âThoughtful, community-informed design,â Toni says, âcan have a role in dismantling â and facilitating â solutions to the physical, social, economic or environmental systems and structures that are at play in making our cities unjust.â
âWe Can Beâ is taking a brief break, and will return in the coming weeks with new episodes. Our podcast is hosted by Heinz Endowments President Grant Oliphant, and produced by the Endowments, Josh Franzos and Tim Murray. Theme music by Josh Slifkin. Guest inquiries can be made to Scott Roller at [email protected].
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Trabian Shorters, international expert on the cognitive structure of âasset framingâ and co-founder and CEO of the Miami, Florida-based BMe, joins host Grant Oliphant for this episode of âWe Can Be.â
Trabian is a former vice president of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, retired tech entrepreneur, New York Times best-selling author of âReach: 40 Black Men Speak on Living, Leading and Succeeding,â and â in his words â âa doting father of two brilliant, Black twin girls who will live in a better world that we are making together for them.â
Throughout his impressive career, Trabian has considered how the assessments we make of others are often built on the inherently biased negative attributes that we perceive them to have, missing their positive traits and ignoring their enormous potential.
Since 2013, he has guided BMeâs network of innovators, leaders and champions who invest in the promise of their communities. The success of BMeâs leadership fellowship program for Black men and women is proving the transformational power of asset framing, and has in the process helped more than 2 million families secure educational, economic, human rights, and health and wellness opportunities.
Trabian shares with Grant the ways asset framing can inform the national dialogue on police violence against people of color, how John Legendâs contribution to âReachâ inspired him, and why he believes we can truly be a land of liberty and justice for all.
âI sincerely believe that we can embody and exemplify fully realized liberty and justice,â Trabian says. âWe have a duty and responsibility to model the type of behavior that we want to see in the world.â
âWe Can Beâ is hosted by Heinz Endowments President Grant Oliphant, and produced by the Endowments, Josh Franzos and Tim Murray. Theme music by Josh Slifkin. Guest inquiries can be made to Scott Roller at [email protected].
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Robin DiAngeloâs âWhite Fragility: Why Itâs So Hard For White People to Talk About Racism,â began an 85-week run on The New York Times Bestseller List upon its release in 2018.
It has since been published in five languages, and as the Black Lives Matter movement swelled in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police this past spring, âWhite Fragilityâ again topped the bestseller lists.
Robin challenges us to consider the deeply embedded racism that many white people have, and the âwhite fragilityâ that they must overcome for substantial progress on personal and societal racism to happen.
In recent months, she has been a sought-after guest on nearly every major networkâs news programs, a culmination of her two decades of work as an educator, facilitator, consultant and anti-racism advocate.
Robin is much more than one book, though. She earned her doctorate in multicultural education from the University of Washington â where she earned tenure and is now an affiliate associate professor â and has written several other books, including 2012âs âIs Everyone Really Equal?â and 2016âs âWhat Does it Mean to Be White: Developing White Racial Literacy.â
She joins host Grant Oliphant for this episode of âWe Can Be,â and shares the most puzzling reasons she hears from white activists about why they feel they arenât racist; the ways white progressives unknowingly hinder our nationâs racial progress; and changes that need to happen in our criminal justice institutions.
âWe donât need to overhaul our criminal justice system,â Robin says. âWe need to revolutionize it.â
âWe Can Beâ is hosted by Heinz Endowments President Grant Oliphant, and produced by the Endowments, Josh Franzos and Tim Murray. Theme music by Josh Slifkin. Guest image by Gabriel Solis. Guest inquiries can be made to Scott Roller at [email protected].
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