PathBreakers

Dr. Bridget Burns is Fostering Inter-Institutional Problem Solving at Colleges Across the Country

After a challenging experience of her own as a low-income, first-gen college student, Dr. Bridget Burns understood that higher education was not “user-friendly” for everyone. And from that, her career mission became clear: transform colleges and universities into places where low-income, first-generation and students of color could not just navigate, but thrive. Dr. Bridget Burns is the CEO of the University Innovation Alliance, a multi-campus laboratory for student success innovation. In this episode, Dr. Burns shares her approach to fostering trust and openness in a competitive community and discusses how empathy is the first step in design. She discusses the UIA Listening Lab model for collecting student feedback and also reflects how the principles of improv theater inform her approach to problem-solving. Read more about the University Innovation Alliance Find free resources from the UIA Watch the documentary Unlikely featuring Dr. Burns

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Cardell Orrin is Catalyzing Community to Support Education in Tennessee

Cardell Orrin spent years as a high-level IT strategist and engineer. Now, as the executive director of Stand for Children Tennessee, he is “debugging” the processes by which parents and community members in Tennessee engage with their local school boards and state representatives. It’s a debugging that’s needed across America’s school systems. In this conversation, Cardell reflects on a childhood of being “dragged around to school board meetings” by his mother, and the “cynical optimist” problem-solving mindset it helped him develop. Cardell also discusses the specific ways Stand for Children Tennessee helps connect the dots for citizens who want to get involved in education advocacy, and what is at risk when a state proposes taking over a local school district. Read more about Stand for Children Tennessee Learn more about the 901 Moral Budget Coalition

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Samantha Hamilton is Bringing Community Voices to Climate Response in Western Massachusetts

The natural topography and the social geography of Springfield, Massachusetts make it a place especially vulnerable to climate change. Samantha Hamilton is bringing Springfield residents together to develop climate solutions for their city. Samantha Hamilton is the Director of Coalition Building and Community Engagement at the Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts in Springfield, MA. In this episode she explains how diverse coalitions – including a broad spectrum of residents, nonprofits, and municipal organizations – are best equipped to tackle complex and interconnected issues like air quality, housing, education, and health disparities. She also talks about her strategies for cultivating commitment in community participation, and how resident-guided problem solving can inform and impact local and state policy.

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Quetzal Flores is Centering Culture in East LA Community Powerbuilding

Quetzal Flores is a Grammy-winning musician who combines his immense creative skillset and his deep knowledge of cultural traditions to ignite community participation in resistance and resilience. In this conversation, Quetzal recounts growing up “in movement” with parents who were deeply involved in the civil rights organizing of the Chicano Movement. He describes East LA's historical significance, its current cultural landscape, and what's at stake in the neighborhood today. Quetzal also reflects on the musical and cultural experiences that have shaped his approach to community powerbuilding. Learn more about the Community Power Collective Hear music from the band Quetzal Watch some beautiful music videos from Quetzal and his band

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Richard Burrell is Making Space for Healing in Fresno, California

As a kid, Richard Burrell lived in the motels along Parkway Drive in Fresno, California. As an adult he founded and runs an organization that supports the wellbeing of the kids who live there now. Richard Burrell is the founder and executive director of Live Again Fresno, a nonprofit after-school and community support organization that “co-powers” children and families in Fresno’s most vulnerable communities by providing mentorship, education, and holistic support to break cycles of poverty and build brighter futures. In this conversation, Richard reflects on his own childhood growing up on “Motel Drive” and the day he informally started what has now formally grown into Live Again Fresno. Richard’s work exemplifies the healing powers of trauma-informed frameworks and the importance of organizational leadership living in deep relationship with the community it serves. Learn more about Live Again Fresno Read more about the documentary Richard was part of called Motel Drive

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Dr. Mona Hanna is Writing Cash Prescriptions for Families in Michigan

Dr. Mona Hanna, affectionately known as “Dr. Mona”, is best known as the pediatrician who exposed the Flint water crisis. She is also the associate dean for Public Health at Michigan State University and now the founder of RxKids – a cash prescriptions program for expectant mothers in Michigan and currently the largest cash-transfer program in the country. In this episode, Dr. Mona reflects on how her experience in medical school and her experience navigating the Flint water crisis inform her approach to public health. She also discusses the impact and financial efficiency of RxKids, and how a program like RxKids – which centers love and trust by design – significantly improves health outcomes for babies and new mothers. Find Dr. Hanna’s book, What the Eyes Don’t See, and learn more about RxKids: https://rxkids.org/ What the Eyes Don't See

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Marcia Black is Archiving Detroit’s Black History to Help Heal Injustice

Marcia Black is a Detroit-based archivist, curator, and cultural preservationist whose work focuses on preserving the histories of Black women, Black Detroit, and the Black radical tradition. Guided by her education at Marygrove College and inspired by her entrepreneurial grandmother who was a beauty salon owner, computer worker, and reverend, Marcia has dedicated herself to archival work with a purpose. In this episode, Marcia reflects on her approach to collecting oral histories with Detroit’s Black elders, and ways those elders and their stories can inform a reimagining of Detroit’s future. This discussion also explores ideas around archiving, pushing back against cultural erasure, and the opportunities for community-led reparations efforts through projects like the I-375 Reparative Roundtable – a group of 20 stakeholders addressing the historical injustice of Detroit’s interstate construction in the 1960s. Learn more about Marcia, the Black Bottom Archives, and the Detroit Reparative Roundtable https://www.blackbottomarchives.com/ https://detroitisdifferent.com/keeping-the-flame-marcia-black-on-black-women-archives-and-the-legacy-of-black-detroit/ https://www.michigan.gov/mdot/projects-studies/special-construction/i-375-reconnecting-communities-project

Damien Wilson is Directing Critical Resources to HBCUs

Damien Wilson is the Senior Director of the HBCU Brilliance Initiative at Reinvestment Fund, where he leads efforts to provide technical and financial support to Historically Black Colleges and Universities. In this episode, Damien discusses how his career on Wall Street, his love for his hometown, and his own HBCU experience all inform his approach as a financial advisor working to ensure these institutions become strong community anchors. This discussion explores the financial challenges and opportunities facing HBCUs in this moment and highlights the importance of debt as leverage in securing the futures of these schools. This conversation also explores the need for innovative and business-minded leadership and the ways HBCUs can holistically serve their communities. Learn more about Damien and the HBCU Brilliance Initiative https://www.reinvestment.com/grants/hbcu-brilliance-initiative/ https://www.reinvestment.com/people/damien-wilson/ https://pathbreakers.kresge.org/story/damien-wilson/