This episode of Power Station tracks the latest news on the lawsuit, filed by Asian Americans Advancing Justice and Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, challenging the inclusion of an untested citizenship question on the decennial U.S. Census. John Yang, President of AAJC, explains what the lawsuit alleges: that adding the question represents collusion by President Trump, Kris Kobach, Steve Bannon and Department of Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, to deprive Asian-American, Pacific...
Feb 04, 2019•40 min
As Mike Koprowski, National Campaign Director of Opportunity Starts at Home says, eyes widen on Capitol Hill when they see the logos on our letterhead . That is because policymakers are not used to seeing powerful nonprofits outside of the housing sector advocate for a housing centered policy agenda. The data makes the case that decent and affordable housing is foundational to the well-being and economic security of all communities. A growing understanding of the intersectionality of social and ...
Jan 28, 2019•41 min
A conversation with Daniel del Pielago, Organizing Director at Empower DC, is a good reminder that public policy change cannot be made or sustained without an organized community. And when the community seeking change is public housing residents, the barriers to becoming organized are considerable and the stakes are extremely high. Daniel tells the story of Berry Farms, a public housing complex beset by deteriorating conditions and a lack of public investment. Berry Farms is slated to be demolis...
Jan 22, 2019•38 min
As Diane Yentel, President of the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) explains, Only 1 in 4 households that need and are eligible for housing assistance, gets it. They are the winners in what is basically a housing lottery. Lowest income Americans who need project-based housing subsidies and public housing are the focus of NLIHC's research, analysis, education and policy advocacy. They are also part of the organizational infrastructure that NLIHC has created to advocate for increased i...
Jan 14, 2019•47 min
New America is a think tank devoted to America's renewal in a time of unprecedented social and technological change. Under the leadership of Anne-Marie Slaughter, it is building a new field of endeavor, known as Public Interest Technology. This emerging sector convenes municipal leaders, public agencies and nonprofits to generate nuanced solutions to systemic problems, from foster care, to opioid abuse and criminal justice. It pairs policy makers with technologists, an area of expertise more clo...
Jan 07, 2019•40 min
Quyen Dinh, Executive Director of Southeast Asia Resource Center (SEARAC), is deeply connected to the Vietnamese, Laotian and Cambodian communities she serves. As the daughter of Vietnamese refugees she knows first hand the challenges faced by new immigrants with limited resources. SEARAC, a national civil rights organization, is energized by a network of 40 community-based nonprofits that advocate for pro-immigrant policies at the state and federal levels. SEARAC trains young people to share th...
Dec 27, 2018•50 min
Bob Friedman has been at the forefront of building wealth in low-income communities for decades. He founded Corporation for Enterprise Development in 1979, (recently renamed Prosperity Now) to develop, test and implement the strategies needed to move low-income people into the economic mainstream. These now fully vetted strategies are the foundation for Prosperity Now's public policy proposals at the local, state and federal levels. Bob joins Power Station to discuss his new book, A Few Thousand...
Dec 17, 2018•43 min
Josh Hoyt explains that the way you make democracy work is by organizing the people who are left out. This is the proposition that guides his leadership of the National Partnership for New Americans, a multi-ethnic and multi-racial organization comprised of the nation’s largest immigrant-serving coalitions, 37 nonprofits in 31 states. These organizations serve both traditional hubs of immigration, such as California and New York, and emerging communities in Minnesota, Alabama, Idaho and Nebraska...
Dec 10, 2018•39 min
Tanya Fiddler (Cheyenne River Sioux), Executive Director of the Native CDFI Network, is a self-proclaimed wayuiyeska , a Lakota word for translator. In her interactions with policy makers, funders and fellow nonprofit leaders, she translates the experience of Native Americans to those of us who do not fully know it. She \explains that, according to Native spirituality and culture, the concept of asset building is based in the idea that, Everything is for us, but we don't have to own it." The Net...
Dec 03, 2018•43 min
How do you create a more just financial marketplace? We explore this question with Diane Standaert, Executive Vice President, Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), a nonprofit dedicated to economic justice and the elimination of predatory lending. As Diane explains, the problem is rooted in racially exclusionary and discriminatory policy making, exacerbated by the 2008 mortgage crisis. Payday lenders prosper by pulling poor people in need of small dollar loans into a debt trap. CRL conducts empi...
Nov 26, 2018•28 min
If you want to know DC as more than the nation's capitol, listen to this conversation with Ed Lazere. As executive director of the DC Fiscal Policy Institute, he has mastered the formula for influencing the City's legislative and budget making process. He and his team of nine use research and data analysis to shape an advocacy agenda around the issues that are most crucial to low-income DC residents: affordable housing, quality schools, economic development, jobs, training and health care. On th...
Nov 19, 2018•36 min
John Holdsclaw, Senior Vice President for Corporate Affairs, National Cooperative Bank, refers to himself as an "accidental banker." In this episode, we discuss his evolution from community development practitioner to public policy advocate to a champion for the financing of affordable housing and worker-owned cooperatives. At Capitol Impact Partners, John became a trusted voice on Capitol Hill, known for his support for Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), which provide capital...
Nov 12, 2018•45 min
Kathy Tran is a change maker and an advocate for all people seeking to fully live the American Dream. Her own journey started as a 2 year old with her family's exodus from Vietnam to America in search of opportunity and freedom. Kathy witnessed her parents perseverance after settling here and making the sacrifices needed to sustain their family. She was inspired to carry on their legacy through her service at the US Department of Labor, where she focused on education and skill building for immig...
Nov 05, 2018•44 min
Ashley Allison, Executive Vice President of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, talks to Power Station about the All Voting is Local Campaign, which is building support for, and tackling systemic barriers to voting in Ohio, Florida, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Arizona. This campaign operates as a collaborative with national partners including the ACLU, the American Constitution Society, and local nonprofit partners. Their collective advocacy, litigation, organizing and where pos...
Oct 29, 2018•36 min
John Yang brings layers of life experience to his leadership of Asian Americans Advancing Justice. His family moved to the US from China when he was a child and coped with losing their documentation, temporarily, after overstaying a work visa. After becoming a lawyer, he litigated for a DC based law firm and was legal director for a fortune 500 company in Shanghai, China. And he served in the Obama Administration as Senior Advisor on Asian issues to US Department of Commerce Secretary Pritzker. ...
Oct 22, 2018•37 min
Joseph Leitmann-Santa Cruz, Associate Director of Capital Area Asset Builders (CAAB), returns to Power Station with news about the expansion of its Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) campaign into Washington DC’s historic Wards 7 and 8. The EITC enables working people, whose employment is low-wage and sporadic, to claim a tax credit through through their annual tax filing. This return can be instrumental in providing savings towards a home, college education or a small business. The challenge is to...
Oct 15, 2018•53 min
Get ready for a dynamic conversation! Becky Belcore, Co-Director, and Jung Woo Kim, Organizer, at National Korean American Service & Educational Consortium (NAKASEC) talk to Power Station about their holistic approach to serving, engaging and advocating for Asian-Americans, this country's fasting growing population. NAKASEC, based in Virginia, has robust affiliates in Chicago and Los Angeles. They help new immigrants and multi-generational AAPI families access services and develop a voice on...
Oct 08, 2018•33 min
Terry Ao Minnis and Angela Manso joined me for a conversation about Census 2020 at Power Station. As you will hear, the stakes for the Census could not be higher. The Census determines the apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives and the allocation of federal dollars to states. And it is an inventory of who lives in this country, vital information for building a just society. It is important and hopeful that these powerhouse nonprofits, are collaborating with other high-level stake...
Oct 01, 2018•45 min
The Congressional Black Caucus, known as the conscience of Congress, has been an unabashed advocate for communities of color since its founding in 1971. As executive director of the CBC, Fabrice Coles serves 48 members, including the Chairman, Cedric Richmond, Congressman from Louisiana's 2nd District. His work informs the CBC's on-the-record responses to the issues of the day, including the current Supreme Court nominations process, and the issuance of new and forward looking legislation. Witne...
Sep 24, 2018•38 min
When Carmen Huertas-Noble was a law student she expected a future in public interest law but she did not expect to excel in contracts. Now a tenured professor at the City University School of Law and Director of the Community and Economic Development Clinic, Carmen uses her business acumen to help workers, often in low-wage industries, to develop worker owned cooperatives. This growing movement to create and scale cooperatives, is supported by resources and pending legislation in New York City a...
Sep 17, 2018•33 min
Ron Hantz is back! Our first Power Station guest returns with updates about the Network for Developing Conscious Communities, and the role of intentionality in community development planning and implementation. Ron reports on an NDCC Conference, held last May in Baltimore, that was rooted in the idea that community development requires not just bricks and mortar and access to capital. It requires the deep engagement of neighborhood people in change making. Ron talks about putting his theory of c...
Sep 10, 2018•32 min
Janis Bowdler's road to the JPMorgan Chase Foundation started with a personal realization. As a child, she saw that her neighborhood did not have the same resources as others and she was determined to change that paradigm. As Policy Director at National Council of La Raza, now UnidosUS, Janis worked with member organizations whose zip codes have been considered pre-determinants for a lack of access to quality housing, education and jobs. She brought those groups to meet with their elected leader...
Sep 03, 2018•37 min
Glenn Cantave, founder of Movers and Shakers NYC, uses virtual reality, augmented reality and performance art to reframe and reclaim the narratives of marginalized communities. His use of technology to inform and provoke conversation is more than innovation; it is revolutionizing how the nonprofit sector engages communities and advocates for policy change. Glenn and his creative cohort at Movers and Shakers are working on several fronts, collaborating with NYC schools on curriculum development, ...
Aug 27, 2018•47 min
Jeremie Greer, VP, Policy and Research, at Prosperity Now, is clear and uncompromising about the state of our nation. He underscores that poverty cannot be overcome by individual will alone. Poverty alleviation requires systemic change, which Prosperity Now's Network of Champions is advancing. These are community-based nonprofits that advocate for reform using original research, data and on-the-ground experience to build their case. Jeremie talk about Catalyst Miami, which is organizing to addre...
Aug 20, 2018•41 min
Haley Griffin guides nonprofit staff and boards of directors through the always challenging process of strategic planning. A Principal in The Raben Group, a leading DC-based national public affairs and strategic communications firm, Haley brings deep experience in organizational development to each interaction with her nonprofit clients. Luckily for them, she also brings rigor, humor and patience. As Haley explains, she frames the experience with her clients by asking what success looks like to ...
Aug 13, 2018•37 min
When Hurricane Maria landed, it wreaked havoc on an already economically unstable Puerto Rico. Since then, nonprofit groups have worked tirelessly to recover homes, rebuild "resilient housing" and move Congress to enact needed policy reform, including operationalizing FEMA's Disaster Housing Assistance Program. Marion McFadden, Enterprise Community Partners, and Sarah Mickelson, National Low Income Housing Coalition, talk to Power Station about the challenge and opportunity of helping people reb...
Aug 06, 2018•34 min
Renata Soto is the dynamic executive director of Conexion Americas, an immigrant serving nonprofit in Nashville, Tennessee. She spoke to Power Station, at the 2018 UnidosUS Conference, about how she balances the provision of programs and services for Latino families with their engagement in policy advocacy. The Escalera Program, a UnidosUS initiative, helps immigrant children succeed educationally and teaches their parents how to hold schools accountable for their children's educational and soci...
Jul 30, 2018•30 min
Rob Randhava is Senior Counsel to the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, which brings together our nation's leading progressive organizational voices on education, housing, labor and immigration and advocates for policies that create equity and opportunity in marginalized and communities of color. Rob brings his legal expertise and commitment to justice to LCCR's network of advocacy groups and to members of Congress. And he is legendary for his pursuit of fairness in our nation's f...
Jul 23, 2018•33 min
The New York Foundation is a singular resource for neighborhood based organizations in NYC, often start-ups, that prioritize organizing and community engagement. These groups may have modest resources but their voice, impact and influence is growing. They are identifying problems and solutions within failing systems, from housing to schools to immigration. As executive director Maria Mottola explains, NYF's theory of change making is rooted in its values and history. Whether funding Nepalese wom...
Jul 16, 2018•31 min
Maryland Legal Aid is a lifeline for low-income people facing eviction, living with substandard housing conditions, seeking veteran's benefits and overcoming domestic abuse. MLAB, under the leadership of bridge-builder and advocate Wilhelm Joseph, is a robust nonprofit organization with 12 offices across the state. The newest program innovation, The Community Lawyering Initiative, is a mobile resource that partners lawyers with libraries, offering people help in non-threatening and comfortable s...
Jul 09, 2018•29 min
