Shows
Let’s Hear ItEloy Ortiz Oakley of the College Futures Foundation on the Power of Community CollegesHey folks, we’re back after a quick summer break. Hope you missed us!
As many parents pack their kids off to college this month, it’s important to remember that almost two out of five college students in the U.S. attends a community college. These are students who are often working full time, caring for family members, or going back to school to learn new skills. Oh, and another thing, community colleges don’t brag about how “selective” they are – all are welcome.
Our guest on this episode of Let’s Hear It is Eloy Ortiz...2024-09-0357 min
Let’s Hear ItEsteban Gast, Climate Comedian - Yes, You Read That RightSometimes it's okay to take a moment away from the massive challenges and simply laugh. Thanks to Esteban Gast and the organization he works for, Generation 180, we can even laugh about climate. Well, actually, Esteban helps us better understand how we can take actions that matter, understand that we're not alone, and have a little fun along the way.
Eric and Esteban giggle, chortle, and guffaw through this episode, reminding us all that there are SO many ways to communicate and not all of them involve PowerPoint and statistics.
2024-07-1646 min
Let’s Hear ItComNet24 is Coming! - With Sean Gibbons, Carrie Clyne, and Tristan MohabirWe are so excited about ComNet24 in Kansas City!
When Sean Gibbons joined the Communications Network as its new leader a decade ago, he was tasked with leading an organization with 400 members and a staff of, um, himself and a ham sandwich. Today, the Network boasts over 4,000 members and a team of eight, reflecting Sean's infectious enthusiasm and vision for bringing communications professionals together.
And together we’ll be – in Kansas City from October 16-18.
Sean joins Chief of Staff Tristan Mohabir and VP of Community Carrie Clyne to talk with Eric about why...2024-06-2749 min
Let’s Hear ItSuzanne Ehlers of USA for UNHCR Gives Us Hope on World Refugee DayAs we approach World Refugee Day, it’s so good to know that there are people like Suzanne Ehlers who are making an extraordinary difference and people’s lives and providing real hope for the future.
Suzanne is the Executive Director and CEO of USA for UNHCR, a nonprofit organization that supports the United Nations Refugee Agency. It helps raise awareness and makes funds available to aid refugees around the world, providing them with the resources and support they need to rebuild their lives after being forced to flee their homes due to conflict, persecution, or disaster.
2024-06-1154 min
Let’s Hear ItFatima Angeles of the Levi Strauss Foundation Challenges Foundations to Fund their Partners "Like We Want Them to Win"A huge thank you to Fatima Angeles, the Executive Director of the Levi Strauss Foundation, for joining us on the latest episode of Let’s Hear It. Fatima talks with Eric about the Levi Strauss Foundation's groundbreaking work in areas like reproductive justice, worker rights, immigrant rights, and democracy.
Fatima discusses her 24-year tenure at Cal Wellness, where she gained invaluable experience in strategic grantmaking, evaluation, and program direction under foundation legends Judy Belk and Gary Yates. She reflects on how these roles prepared her for leading a very different kind of corporate foundation.
She ch...2024-05-2851 min
Let’s Hear ItInside Philanthropy’s David Callahan Gets All Carrot-y Stick-y With ItEleven years ago, David Callahan launched a most audacious project – a new publication that was going to get under the hood of philanthropy (to borrow from that great philosopher, Ross Perot) and expose the good, the bad, and the meh.
Some folks chortled, some scoffed, and some cast their eyes heavenward in the hope that he would shed a little light on the seemingly byzantine and obscure world of philanthropy.
Well, friends, Inside Philanthropy is bigger, better, and badder than ever and David speaks with us in a funny, fascinating, and terrifically candid conversation about th...2024-05-1454 min
Let’s Hear ItHeather McGhee Talks About the Amazing Future that the Multiracial Governing Coalition Will BringJoin us for a truly extraordinary conversation with the amazing Heather McGhee, the author of The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together.
Heather exposes the lie of so-called zero-sum thinking—where one person's gain is seen as another's loss—and flips it on its head by explaining how diverse coalitions can produce a solidarity dividend that makes things better for everyone.
Heather is warm, funny, and just plain brilliant and we are so grateful to her for speaking with us on an episode that we promise you will love...2024-05-0159 min
Let’s Hear ItRobert Pérez and the Genius of Upstairs, DownstairsWe’ve been doing this show for a while, and every so often the pieces just elegantly slide into place. In thirtyish minutes, Robert Pérez does this for us. Robert is the founder and Chief Exploration Officer of Wonder: Strategies for Good, a network of experts in messaging, storytelling, psychology and public-opinion research that works with foundations, nonprofits, activists, and advocates to advance progressive causes across the country and around the world.
Wonder has an incredibly exciting framework for message and strategy, called Heartwired, which helps communicators understand how to connect people’s emotions, values, beliefs, ident...2024-04-1652 min
Let’s Hear ItKristen Grimm of Spitfire Strategies Takes on the Trust ChallengeSocieties can’t thrive without sufficient levels of trust – trust in our elected officials, in our major institutions, the value of the dollar bill in our wallet, and even in our belief that our fellow motorists will abide by the traffic laws when we enter an intersection.
You know where this is going, don’t you? We have a trust problem that threatens every organization in our country. Kristen Grimm and her colleagues Claire De Leon, Michael Crawford, and Diana Chun at Spitfire Strategies have created a resource called Replenishing Trust: Civil Society’s Guide to Reversing the Trus...2024-04-0257 min
Let’s Hear ItChris DeCardy, the President of the Heinz Endowments, Convinces us that Pittsburgh is the Center of the UniverseWhen Chris DeCardy took the reins of the Heinz Endowments last year, he was one of the very few former foundation communications directors to ascend to the lofty heights of president. And Chris has dived in with the energy of a teenager. Indeed, if there is a more energetic – nay, ebullient – foundation president in the land, we haven’t met them.
Chris makes an extremely compelling case about how crucial western Pennsylvania is to our national and even international politics, and while he’s at it he reminds us how important intelligent communications strategies will be to build on...2024-03-191h 00
Let’s Hear ItA Marriage Made in Heaven! - Elena Chavez Quezada of Gov. Newsom’s Office and Don Howard of the Irvine Foundation Talk PartnershipsGovernments have money and foundations can take risks. Shouldn’t these be marriages made in heaven? Amazingly they’re not, but in California, we’re starting to see partnerships that are bucking the trend, which can be spectacularly good examples of how to make great collaborations work.
On this episode of Let’s Hear It, Eric speaks with Elena Chavez Quezada, Senior Advisor for Social Innovation in the Office of California Governor Gavin Newsom, and Don Howard, president and CEO of The James Irvine Foundation, who are working together to create government/foundation partnerships that are making a real d...2024-03-0558 min
Let’s Hear ItOscar Nominee John Hoffman Tackles the Racial Wealth Gap with his Amazing Film, “The Barber of Little Rock”Academy Award season is here, but while the rest of the world may be debating which half of the Barbenheimer phenomenon will take home the most trophies, at Let’s Hear It we’re putting all our chips on Best Documentary Short nominee “The Barber of Little Rock,” co-directed by Christine Turner and our dear friend John Hoffman.
Eric and John reunite to talk about the extraordinary film John has co-directed. They appeal to foundations to fund more documentary films, and they marvel at the movie’s amazing protagonist Arlo Washington as he opens a Community Development Financial...2024-02-2042 min
Let’s Hear ItEd Begley, Jr. and Eric Go Way BackIn this episode of Let’s Hear It, our guest is none other than one of Hollywood’s most passionate and entertaining environmentalists – the amazing Ed Begley, Jr.
As it happens, Ed and Eric go way, way, back, having worked together in Hollywood in the last millennium.
Today, they’re both working in environmental communications, after a fashion, and Ed talks about how he was inspired to become an environmental activist on the first Earth Day in 1970, and how he has used his position as a celebrity to preach a message of sustainability ever since.
We...2024-02-0652 min
Let’s Hear ItAnat Shenker-Osorio – The Magical Message Whisperer of Progressive CausesWe are so delighted to present the legendary Anat Shenker-Osorio. Yes, that’s right, that Anat Shenker-Osorio. Maybe you’ve heard her on Ezra Klein, MSNBC, on her excellent podcast Words to Win By, or read her work in the New York Times, the Guardian, and more. On our latest episode of Let’s Hear It, Anat goes deep on how to create messages that will help progressive causes succeed.
Anat is a political strategist and progressive messaging genius. She is founder and Principal of ASO Communications, author of Don’t Buy It: The Trouble with Talking Nonsense...2024-01-231h 07
Let’s Hear ItDon Chen of the Surdna Foundation Kicks off Season Six of Let’s Hear ItHow many of us in the nonprofit world can track our interest in climate to nightmares we had about natural disasters at age ten? Anyone? Oh, right, just Don Chen, President of the Surdna Foundation, former director of the Cities and States program at the Ford Foundation, former CEO (and founder!) of Smart Growth America, and this week’s guest on Let’s Hear It.
Don is a fabulous guest to start our new year and sixth season – he is uncommonly thoughtful, optimistic, and soulful, and his ideas on how to run a foundation will have you fillin...2024-01-0957 min
Let’s Hear ItHoliday Re-Release - Shanelle Matthews of the Radical Communicators NetworkHere is another one of our favorite interviews - Shanelle Matthews, founder of the Radical Communicators Network, former communications director for the Movement for Black Lives, and now Distinguished Lecturer at the Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership at City College at the City University of New York.
Shanelle is simply amazing and we loved this conversation.
2023-12-2851 min
Let’s Hear ItHoliday re-release - the Great Jim CanalesToday, we offer another one of our favorite interviews - a blast from the past with the inimitable Jim Canales, President and Trustee of the Barr Foundation. Jim is charming, funny, and one of they absolute nicest people in philanthropy. If you didn't get a chance to hear this conversation the first time, you're in for a treat.
2023-12-2253 min
Let’s Hear ItHoliday re-release Trabian Shorters!This holiday season we're re-releasing some of our favorite and most popular episodes. Today - Trabian Shorters, one of our leading thinkers on asset framing - defining people by what they're hopes and dreams and what they have to offer. He has been such an important influence on so many of us.
2023-12-1959 min
Let’s Hear ItAlison Smart is Changing How We Talk About Climate ChangeIn our latest episode, we offer a fascinating conversation with Alison Smart, the Executive Director of Probable Futures - a nonprofit climate literacy initiative. Alison shares her organization's approach to democratizing climate science, making climate predictions accessible, and providing practical educational resources for anyone, anywhere, for free.
Eric and Alison discuss how we can better tackle the grand challenge of climate change, the role of local governments, and how we have to stop raising awareness already. Alison also reminds us that we can still do well in a changing climate and that our planet is still way b...2023-12-1257 min
Let’s Hear ItLarry Kramer’s Hewlett Foundation Exit InterviewWhen Larry Kramer announced recently that he was leaving the Hewlett Foundation to run the London School of Economics, it marked the end of an extraordinarily productive tenure as the head of one of the world’s largest and most influential charitable foundations.
In Larry’s nearly twelve years at Hewlett, he helped lead a new era of climate philanthropy, and launched initiatives in transparency, cybersecurity, democracy, racial justice, and economy and society. The guy’s been busy.
He’s also candid, funny, and ridiculously smart. Five years after he last interviewed Larry (for the very fir...2023-11-281h 02
Let’s Hear ItJen Carnig, the Brand-Spanking-New Head of Spitfire StrategiesAs the new president of the groundbreaking consulting firm Spitfire Strategies, Jen Carnig, who succeeds the legendary Kristen Grimm, might feel a little like whoever takes Megan Rapinoe’s place. It might seem a little daunting and very hard on your hamstrings, but think of the possibilities! Jen may have big shoes to fill, but she’s obviously ready to get busy.
A champion strategist in the areas of advocating for police accountability, community safety, human rights, and exposing the perils of artificial intelligence, Jen has big plans for Spitfire. In addition to her impressive resume, she clea...2023-11-1454 min
Let’s Hear ItAshwath Narayanan is Proof That There’s Hope for the FutureWhen our guest, Ashwath Narayanan, was 22, he launched Social Currant, a creative agency that is helping nonprofits and issue organizations use social media to reach audiences more effectively. By contrast, when co-host Eric was 22, he was working as a production assistant on low budget horror movies. So there’s that.
Ashwath and his team of six fulltime staffers are working with TikTok and Instagram influencers to encourage young people to drive social movements and inspire political campaigns. In his conversation with Eric, he spoke about how Social Currant uses really sophisticated tools to create and test messages an...2023-10-2453 min
Let’s Hear ItStacy Palmer of the Chronicle of Philanthropy Reflects on Thirty Five Years as a Watchdog and Cheerleader for the FieldOn our latest episode of Let’s Hear It, we’ve snagged a giant in philanthropy. Our guest this week may well know more about philanthropy than any human walking the planet. Stacy Palmer created the Chronicle of Philanthropy thirty-five years ago, and since then her publication has simultaneously been philanthropy’s watchdog and its cheerleader (as it has served as a dating app of sorts between fundraisers and grantmakers).
Stacy speaks with Eric about what she’s learned over this time, what philanthropy does well, and how it can improve. Eric and Stacy discuss the shift...2023-10-1052 min
Let’s Hear ItDena Kimball and David Brotherton on the Kendeda Fund’s Epic JourneySpending out, spending down, sunsetting – whatever you call it, it’s a tricky business.
This year the Kendeda Fund will close its doors, having provided over one billion dollars in funding over the past thirty years. Their causes included girls’ rights, preventing gun violence, environmental sustainability, advancing racial equity, and supporting veterans, among others.
Kendeda began as an anonymous grantmaking effort by Diana Blank, who eventually decided to turn the reins over to her daughter Dena Kimball and to allow the foundation to communicate freely about its work. To do this, they turned to David Brothe...2023-09-271h 02
Let’s Hear ItGoing Commando with Nima Shirazi of Spitfire Strategies and Citations NeededGoing Commando with Nima Shirazi of Spitfire Strategies and Citations Needed
This week on Let’s Hear It, cynical-ish and salty-tongued Nima Shirazi of Spitfire Strategies and the hit podcast Citations Needed endures a slightly arduous, minorly torturous time behind the mic with Eric.
Nima’s career is full of exciting experiences, including his current job as a vice president at Spitfire Strategies and drumming in rock bands, and especially Citations Needed. Nima and his co-host Adam Johnson set up shop at the intersection of power, politics, propaganda, and the press (pretty peppy party, Pete) – no sma...2023-09-1247 min
Let’s Hear ItTony Proscio Deconstructs Word Salad in the Philanthropic Jargon SpaceWe have an impactful episode deep-diving into how Tony Proscio, a thought leader in this space, has moved the needle on the innovation of language in nonprofit and foundation work. He and Eric partner to get granular on staying transparent with folks from the donor pipeline to the board room.
*record scratch* Just kidding!
This week on Let’s Hear It, Eric and legendary former strategic planning consultant and jargon denouncer Tony Proscio sit down to grouch about why foundations and nonprofits can’t just say what they mean. Tony, a personal hero of Eric’s, sho...2023-08-2350 min
Let’s Hear ItTara Dorabji on the Power of Art and the Art of PowerAs long as there has been art, there have been artists using their creativity to try to transform society for the better.
On the latest episode of Let’s Hear It, Eric speaks with Tara Dorabji, Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer at the Center for Cultural Power, an organization dedicated to harnessing the power of creativity.
Tara Dorabji and her colleagues Erin Potts and Dr. Melanie Meinzer have crafted an extraordinary new report – Building Narratives of Joy: Experimenting with Transformational Narratives – that digs into the intricacies of shifting mindsets and fostering belonging through art.
...2023-08-0849 min
Let’s Hear ItMaking Reparations a Reality: Blazing a Trail to Racial Repair with Trevor SmithJoin us in this thought-provoking and inspiring episode as we welcome Trevor Smith, the Director of Narrative Change at Liberation Ventures, an organization helping to strengthen the movement for Black-led racial repair.
Trevor is a writer, researcher, and strategist focused on the topics of racial inequality, wealth inequality, reparations, and narrative change. He is also the creator, curator, and editor of an amazing newsletter – Reparations Daily (ish).
Trevor talks with Eric about the growing movement calling for reparations as a catalyst for true racial repair. He invites us to reflect on how we can all wor...2023-07-1956 min
Let’s Hear ItDesigning the Office Space for the Aftertimes - Emily Krone Phillips of the Spencer Foundation and Francis Court of WondersphereLet’s face it, most of us will never work the way we did before COVID. The office is different, and how we learn, share, and connect are different. So what are we going to do about it?
Emily Krone Phillips, the Communications Director at the Spencer Foundation, working with her colleague Francis Court of the design firm Wondersphere, decided to revolutionize the Spencer Foundation's office space to adapt to the post-COVID work world.
Join us for a really fun and lively discussion about space, communications, and work in the Aftertimes as Eric int...2023-05-2457 min
Let’s Hear ItAlan Jenkins asks, “What if the 1/6 Insurrection Succeeded? – in a Comic BookHarvard Law professor Alan Jenkins has argued cases before the Supreme Court, made grants at the Ford Foundation, co-founded a national narrative change nonprofit, and now has co-authored...a comic book.
But not just any comic book. 1/6: The Graphic Novel is a powerful and chilling reminder that great communications and great advocacy takes many forms. He and his co-author Gan Golan and artist Will Rosado give us a dramatic new look into what happened on that terrible day and what might have happened had the insurrectionists prevailed.
Alan speaks with Eric about his love of...2023-04-1353 min
Let’s Hear ItMarta Tellado of Consumer Reports – Our Privacy is a Setting, and it Needs to be a RightMarta Tellado’s new book Buyer Aware: Harnessing our Consumer Power for a Safe, Fair, and Transparent Marketplace is both an amazingly useful tool for today’s consumer to navigate the rat’s nest that is the modern marketplace and a manifesto for consumer freedom in the age of digital everything.
Marta talks with Eric about the dangers of the lack of standards in today’s digital world and how we can reawaken the “sleeping giant” of collective consumer power.
And for you nonprofits and foundations professionals out there, your audiences and your constituents are actually con...2023-03-1559 min
Let’s Hear ItJacob Harold’s New Book Will Make Your Head Hurt (in a good way)!Many of us spend a career doing something, gathering stories, ideas, skills, and things like that and think to ourselves, “Hmmm. All this stuff I’ve learned might make a good book,” and then go right back to the brewpub for another Hazy IPA.
Not Jacob Harold. Mind you, Jacob has had quite a rather distinguished career – he’s been a community organizer, a Bridgespan consultant, a Hewlett Foundation grantmaker, the CEO of Guidestar, and the co-founder of Candid, among other things. After stepping down from Candid, Jacob endeavored to write it all down – not in a self-congrat...2023-02-1555 min
Let’s Hear ItUsing The Science of Storytelling to Change the Narrative on Poverty and Wealth: Shanelle Matthews of Radcomms and Annie Neimand of Third SectorIf you aren't at the table, you’re on the menu, Shanelle Matthews and Annie Neimand remind us. In their new report, Broke: How the Nonprofit and Philanthropic Sectors Are Talking About Poverty—And How We Can Do Better, they note, “The stories we’re currently told about how the rich got rich, why the poor stay poor, and why people can’t “move up” place the blame on individuals instead of systems. This creates a vast network of oppression, propping up business as usual and allowing the rich to remain rich, while others suffer.”
Shanelle and Annie resolved t...2023-01-251h 04
Let’s Hear ItKen Weine of the Metropolitan Museum of Art Has a Very Important Person on the LineKen Weine blows our mind. As the Chief Communications Officer and Senior Vice President for External Affairs at one of the most famous and (dare we say it?) important cultural, social, and historical institutions on the planet, he oversees the marketing and media for 43 exhibitions a year, not to mention the famous Costume Gala, debates around cultural appropriation, the challenge of removing donors’ names from the museum, regular protests on the steps of the museum, and on the day we spoke, a very important visitor. And that’s a semi-normal day.
Ken spoke with Eric about how he k...2022-11-2254 min
Let’s Hear ItJenn Hoos Rothberg of Einhorn Collaborative Dares You to HopeIf you work in the social sector, you know how hard this moment is.
You would be forgiven for feeling that our social and political world is spinning hopelessly out of control. Go ahead, belly up to the bar, or the ice cream section of your local supermarket, or whatever you do when you get that feeling.
On the other hand, Jenn Hoos Rothberg, the Executive Director of Einhorn Collaborative – a charitable foundation based in New York – might just give you a bit of hope.
She’s not naïve. She knows that things...2022-08-2557 min
Let’s Hear ItRace Forward’s Jeff Chang: A Cultural Wing Walker and Oracle of the Zeitgeist Talks about Hip Hop, Chris Rock, and Moving ForwardJeff Chang has such a special view of race and culture in America that it’s almost impossible to do him justice. He draws on his Hawaiian/Chinese roots and his background as a hip hop DJ and indie label founder to help us better understand culture, politics, the arts, and music.
Jeff was formerly the Vice President of Narrative, Arts, and Culture at Race Forward. He now serves as a Senior Advisor and leads the Butterfly Lab for Immigrant Narrative Strategy. Jeff also served as the Executive Director of the Institute for Diversity in the Arts at...2022-07-2751 min
Let’s Hear ItDisability Rights Advocate Emily Ladau Blows Our Minds Wide OpenWhen Emily Ladau appeared on Sesame Street at the age of ten, she probably didn’t realize that she was beginning a lifetime of advocacy for people living with disabilities. Emily is the author of Demystifying Disability: What to Know, What to Say, and How to Be An Ally, the Digital Content and Community Manager for the Disability & Philanthropy Forum, and a highly sought-after public speaker.
In a country were one in four people has some kind of disability, Emily has dedicated her life to providing a starting point and a safe space for people to learn ab...2022-05-1144 min
Let’s Hear ItAaron Belkin is a Stone-Cold Communications GeniusWe don’t bandy about terms like these, but Aaron Belkin is a stone-cold communications genius. He was a leader of the communications strategy that helped end the so-called “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that prevented gay and lesbian soldiers from serving openly in the military, and he followed that with a successful campaign to allow transgender individuals in the military to serve openly and have access to gender-affirming medical and psychological care.
Aaron’s book How We Won: Progressive Lessons from the Repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ should be required reading in every communicati...2022-04-061h 00
Let’s Hear ItStupski Foundation‘s Glen Galaich Offers the Best Idea Yet for How Philanthropy Should Measure SuccessDid you miss us? We missed you! Let’s Hear It has been on a brief hiatus but we’re thrilled to be back with what we think is a cracking great conversation with Glen Galaich, the CEO of the Stupski Foundation in San Francisco. Eric sits down (in person!) with Glen to discuss Glen’s colorful career as a drive time talk radio host, his full-throated endorsement of limited life philanthropy, and the ulcers he causes his communications director.
Glen also offers our favorite recommendation for how philanthropy should measure success. We think it’s just plain ge...2021-12-1554 min
Let’s Hear ItJasmine Banks of UnKoch My Campus is UnafraidJasmine Banks is unafraid. As the Executive Director of UnKoch My Campus, she is fighting to preserve democracy and protect higher education from undue corporate donor influence. She and her colleagues are taking on a nationwide network of think tanks, "action" groups, and academics funded by Koch Industries and its many subsidiaries. And you think your day job is challenging.
Most recently, Jasmine's organization published a report that reveals a coordinated attempt to ban education about systemic racism in public schools and the teaching of what has come to be known as Critical Race Theory. J...2021-10-2047 min
Let’s Hear ItEdgar Villanueva’s Quest to Decolonize PhilanthropyEdgar Villanueva is an author, activist, and expert on issues of race, wealth, and philanthropy. He is the Principal of the Decolonizing Wealth Project and Liberated Capital and author of the bestselling book Decolonizing Wealth, whose second edition was just released in August.
He advises a range of organizations including national and global philanthropies, Fortune 500 companies, and entertainment on social impact strategies to advance racial equity.
As a Native American who has worked in philanthropy for nearly two decades, Edgar has an important vantage point to analyze what works, what doesn’t, a...2021-09-2947 min
Let’s Hear ItIf You Are Very Lucky, Rich Neimand Will Make You Some SoupRich Neimand has spent his long career using his considerable marketing chops to advance important social causes.
His firm, Neimand Collaborative, has worked on a wide range of issues to improve education, protect the environment, improve people’s health, and promote financial inclusion, among many, many others.
At the center is his focus on uniting different audiences around common objectives using a creative approach that goes far beyond focus groups and polling (and includes time spent at the stove or performing personal ablutions).
Rich speaks with Eric about his life, politics, his colorful fa...2021-08-2553 min
Let’s Hear ItRinku Sen of the Narrative Initiative Shows Us Why What We Say MattersIt’s not easy to describe a guest as dynamic as Rinku Sen, but we’ll give it a shot. Rinku is the executive director of Narrative Initiative, co-president of the Women’s March Board, and author of two incredible books. As a political strategist, she has worked with the ACLU and PolicyLink, and her work on the “Drop the I Word” campaign has revolutionized the way media outlets talk about immigrants. As you can imagine, having Rinku on Let’s Hear It is a treat.
In this exceptionally fun and interesting conversation, Rinku talks about her expe...2021-08-1149 min
Let’s Hear ItLiving the Work: Precious Stroud of the BlackFemaleProjectPrecious Stroud is a Let’s Hear It guest like no other. With a career that unites communication, higher education, and storytelling, she has created spaces where there weren’t spaces before and asked questions few have thought to ask. We’re very lucky to have her on the show.
Precious’s CV, like so many remarkable guests we’ve had on the podcast, is a doozy. She founded PJS Consultants to provide much-needed services to do-gooding organizations. Her work on Love Action Reaction focuses on community wellbeing and COVID-19 safety, and, just because she can, she also found...2021-07-2150 min
Let’s Hear ItKris Putnam-Walkerly: News Flash – Philanthropy is Messed UpMaybe working in philanthropy is like attending a large Thanksgiving family gathering. There are folks you dearly love, folks you put up with, and folks who need a bit of a talking to. Kris Putnam-Walkerly knows this as well as anyone. She is a philanthropic advisor with a long history in the field, and she isn’t afraid to tell Uncle Irving that he needs to straighten up and fly right (so to speak).
Kris’s new book Delusional Altruism: Why Philanthropists Fail To Achieve Change and What They Can Do To Transform Giving addresses the long list...2021-06-3051 min
Let’s Hear ItLowell Weiss Got Yelled at by the President and Other Tales of Derring-DoSometimes we need a little breath of fresh air during the workday. This week’s guest on Let’s Hear It might just do the trick. Lowell Weiss, President of Cascade Philanthropy Advisors, is probably one of the most genial guests we’ve had the pleasure of speaking with.
From his behind-the-scenes perches at the Atlantic Monthly, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the White House, Lowell has seen it all, done it all, and kept a marvelously cheerful attitude throughout – even after getting a talking to from the President of the United States.
2021-06-0950 min
Let’s Hear ItSF Foundation's Valerie Goode Has Never Seen Her OfficeValerie Goode has been the Vice President of Marketing and Communications at the San Francisco Foundation for a year now, but she has yet to set foot in her office. She has also led communications at a community foundation dedicated to advancing racial equity and economic inclusion at a moment when the challenges and opportunities have never felt more powerful.
Valerie has done it all with extraordinary aplomb and good humor. Eric spoke with her about her fascinating career (she was once in charge of background checks for the Governor of Massachusetts!), growing up as a Black...2021-05-051h 05
Let’s Hear ItAndy Goodman - Why Bad Zoom Calls Happen to Good CausesThis week, it is our pleasure to share Eric’s conversation with Andy Goodman – a master storyteller, writer, and communications Swiss Army knife. Andy is Director of the Goodman Center and he is the author of a very helpful new resource – Unmuted: What Works, What Doesn’t, and How We Can All Do Better When Working Together Online. Just in time, huh?
Andy and Eric have worked together since the 20th Century, if you can believe it. After this discussion, you will also feel like you’ve known Andy since Destiny’s Child was on the pop charts. Andy...2021-04-2155 min
Let’s Hear ItThere's News About Young People and Democracy - And It's a Little ScaryWe’re back at Let’s Hear It with a great interview from Kirk! We had the remarkable pleasure (mixed with a little pain) of hearing Dr. Roberto Stefan Foa and Daniella Wenger from the University of Cambridge talk about their study of the future of democracy and young peoples’ involvement in it. What may seem like another dive into Kirk’s deepest, darkest fears actually is a thoughtful analysis of all the ways democracy has been failing young people in this country, especially after the 2008 economic collapse, during the mass unemployment of 2020, and in light of the racism built in...2021-04-0140 min
Let’s Hear ItTrabian Shorters and the Genius of "Asset Framing"We are incredibly excited to have Trabian Shorters as our guest this week. Trabian, who runs BMe Community, has helped change the way so many of us communicate. He has drawn upon an amazing combination of brain science and good old hacking to help people across the nonprofit world understand the power of defining people by their aspirations and talents rather than their challenges.
We really hope you’ll enjoy this amazing conversation as much as we did.
2021-02-2558 min
Let’s Hear ItLet's Hear It is Back with Season Three!Welcome back to Season Three of Let's Hear It!
Kirk and Eric take a brief look back at that crazy year and discuss what they're looking forward to in the year ahead.
2021-01-2717 min
Let’s Hear ItWe will emerge from this wounding – Joy Harjo, the first Indigenous Poet LaureateIn this week’s show, we have a really special treat - Joy Harjo, the first indigenous Poet Laureate of the United States. Joy is in conversation with Rebecca Arno, the Chief Operating Officer of the Barton Insitute for Community Action at the University of Denver in a session recorded as part of ComnetV, the virtual gathering of the Communications Network, which was held earlier this year.
Joy Harjo is the author of nine books of poetry, including her most recent, An American Sunrise. Her memoir, Crazy Brave, was awarded the PEN...2020-12-091h 01
Let’s Hear ItThe Antidote – A Movie About Kindness and Caring in America Comes Along in the Nick of TimeKahane Cooperman and John Hoffman may be just what we need to soothe America’s ragged soul. They have created a documentary film about kindness and caring called The Antidote, which explores how nine communities across the country are building bridges across difference and finding ways to take care of each other in the face of extraordinary challenges.
Eric talks with John and Kahane about this truly remarkable film, now streaming on Amazon Prime, which started with a single word written on a cocktail napkin.
If you need a little boost this holiday season, this co...2020-11-2556 min
Let’s Hear ItDaniel Lee of the Levi Strauss Foundation Will Warm the Cockles of Your HeartWe’re back! It’s been an exhausting couple of weeks, and if you’re looking for a podcast to soothe your stressed-out soul, look no further than this episode featuring Daniel Lee, the Executive Director of the Levi Strauss Foundation. Daniel was raised in South Dakota, where his was only the second Korean family in the history of the state. His experience as an “insider and outsider” working with issues as potentially divisive as religion and LGBTQ+ rights is informed by the curiosity, empathy, and caring he brings to his work.
We are very excited to bring y...2020-11-1853 min
Let’s Hear ItDavid Roberts of Vox - A Beacon in the SmogWe have a doozy for you this week. Kirk sits down with David Roberts, the outspoken energy and climate change writer for Vox, to talk about power, climate, and (Kirk’s favorite) conspiracy theories. David started writing in 2000 when he answered a Craigslist ad for a new environmental publication called Grist, and he has been blowing our minds ever since with his engaging writing on energy and climate – a “beacon in the smog”, as Grist used to say.
David has some amazing takes on how to inspire the left and on the shortcomings of philanthropy. His words might sca...2020-10-2154 min
Let’s Hear ItPlanned Parenthood CEO Alexis McGill Johnson at ComNetworkVIf you missed ComnetworkV or if you would like to revisit that truly exciting week, you’re in luck. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be posting some of the highlights of the conference.
We begin this week with a fascinating conversation with Alexis McGill Johnson, the President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Alexis sits down with Kristen Mack, Managing Communications Director at the MacArthur Foundation (and previous Let’s Hear It! guest).
Alexis and Kristen have a candid discussion about RBG, hope, and the urgency of this moment in history.
...2020-10-021h 02
Let’s Hear ItComNet’s Clarence B. Jones Award Winner Susan Vandergriff of A Step Ahead ChattanoogaSusan Vandergriff walked away from a seventeen-year career as a banker because something was missing in her life. She went back to school, studied social work, and ended up with a part-time office manager job at a new organization called A Step Ahead Chattanooga, whose mission was to provide free reproductive health care to women who weren’t ready to become pregnant.
In just a few years she was running the organization. This week she takes the virtual stage at the Communications Network’s virtual gathering ComNetworkV to accept the Clarence B. Jones Impact Award which is give...2020-09-2242 min
Let’s Hear ItComNetworkV - A Preview of This Year's Virtual GatheringThere are no excuses not to make it to ComNet this year – it’s free and it’s virtual. So you don’t have to leave the house and you can attend in your pajamas.
Eric speaks with the Communications Network’s CEO Sean Gibbons about all the amazing keynotes, breakouts, and the annual Day of Service, which will give participants the opportunity to support a fair count of the US Census.
And if you haven’t signed up yet, it’s not too late – go to comnetworkvirtual.org until September 21. Did we mention that it’s free?
2020-09-1637 min
Let’s Hear ItThe opening of the American mind - Javier Torres-Campos of the Surdna Foundation talks about culture, equity, and the state of the American theaterOur cultural institutions shape how we view the world, and Javier Torres-Campos, the Director of the Thriving Cultures Program at the Surdna Foundation, is doing his part to help shape those cultural institutions for the better. Javier doesn’t just fund the arts, either. He is looking at how changes in city planning, design, and even architecture can help build a more equitable society.
Javier and Eric had a freewheeling conversation about the role cultural institutions can play in helping open up the American mind. They also had a fascinating exchange about a document called “We See You...2020-09-0948 min
Let’s Hear ItIdeas for Days: Career Karma’s CEO and co-Founder Ruben Harris Tells Us How Business and Nonprofits Can Learn From Each OtherWith so many people out of work and low on hope, we look to the leaders who are blazing new trails to success. Eric had the incredible luck to connect with Ruben Harris, co-founder of Career Karma, a startup that helps people network, learn, and find employment in tech. Ruben might as well be listed under the word “trailblazer” in the dictionary; in the wake of mass unemployment that has left this country reeling, he’s started a campaign called Reskill America, which provides laptops to underestimated folks (a term borrowed with gratitude from a venture capital trailblazer in her ow...2020-08-2645 min
Let’s Hear ItRenée DiResta - Disinformation in the Age of COVIDThis week, Disinformation King Kirk Brown sits down with Renée DiResta, Technical Research Manager at the Stanford Internet Observatory, a multidisciplinary research center that works on understanding how information moves on the internet. Renée has written extensively on the topic of disinformation, much to the chagrin (or delight?) of comment trolls, and has recently done fascinating work on disinformation as it pertains to COVID-19 responses.
Renée and Kirk’s conversation runs the gamut of topics from the power of the internet to the effect of malign narratives, with lots in between. This is a conve...2020-08-0541 min
Let’s Hear ItSabeel Rahman of Demos is the Optimist We All Need to Hear FromSabeel Rahman is a leading progressive thinker, movement builder, convener, and collaborator whose specialty is linking big ideas to social change strategies.
Since 2018, he has been the president of Demos, an organization that was started in 2000 by progressive foundations that wanted to respond to right wing think tanks with a focus on progressive policy development and advocacy. One of its early board members was a State Senator from Illinois named Barack Obama.
Under Sabeel’s leadership, Demos has built on its reputation as an essential voice in the movement for a just...2020-07-2246 min
Let’s Hear ItSwimming in a Sea of Disinformation: Author Nina Jankowicz on How to Lose the Information WarUnless you've been living under an extremely large rock for the past four years, by now you are well aware that the information we receive on a daily basis isn't always what it seems to be.
This week, Kirk interviews Nina Jankowicz, whose new book, How to Lose the Information War: Russia, Fake News, and the Future of Conflict is a stark reminder that American democracy is under siege.
And if you are doing communications today, you are doing it in a sea of disinformation that has been designed to create ch...2020-07-081h 00
Let’s Hear ItThaler Pekar and the Magic of Sharing StoriesIn the past month, nonprofits and foundations across the country have made strong statements of commitment to racial justice, in particular to support the Movement for Black Lives. At the center of this work is an understanding that we need to create new narratives about what we want our future to look like and how we move forward.
As we create these narratives, we will need to harness the power of stories. Our guest this week is Thaler Pekar, who specializes in gathering stories of foundations, nonprofits, and companies. Among her many achievements, Thaler traveled around the...2020-06-2452 min
Let’s Hear ItRevisiting our Conversation with Ben McBrideWe hope that you are staying well and healthy and safe.
As we were thinking this week about what show to share with you, we kept returning to this conversation with Ben McBride that aired last year.
Ben is a pastor and activist who has devoted his career to healing and reconciliation. He lives in Oakland, California where he's the co-director of PICO California.
We’ve been looking to Ben for wisdom and inspiration a lot these days – especially his work at Bring the H.E.A.T., which is an effort to incre...2020-06-1037 min
Let’s Hear ItDominique Derbigny on Closing the Women's Wealth GapWelcome to another episode of Let’s Hear It. We hope you are staying as physically distanced and emotionally connected as you can! This week, we had the honor of speaking with Dominique Derbigny, the Deputy Director of the Closing the Women’s Wealth Gap initiative and author of an extraordinary piece on the inequity of aid policy in the time of COVID. Dominique has previously worked with Prosperity Now and United Way of Greater Richmond and Petersburg, and contributes regularly to the publication #BlackHer on issues facing Black women.
Dominique’s report, On the Margins: Economic Securi...2020-05-2751 min
Let’s Hear ItAlexis Madrigal of the COVID Tracking Project Outdoes the CDCYou know that old saying “see a problem, it’s yours”? Alexis Madrigal and his colleagues at The Atlantic have taken that to extremes.
As the coronavirus story was developing in early March, Alexis, a staff writer at The Atlantic, had trouble getting good data about COVID-19, so he and a few colleagues started the COVID Tracking Project. Little did he know that it would become one of the most reliable sources of data about COVID-19 in the country. In fact, even the White House is citing their data.
Alexis has also partnered with the Antira...2020-05-1347 min
Let’s Hear ItAnn Christiano Builds a Field Where There Never Was a FieldAnn Christiano, the Frank Karel Chair in Public Interest Communications at the University of Florida at Gainesville, did not set out to be an academic. Before she came to the University of Florida, Ann spent more than a decade as a senior communications officer at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. But she has now truly made her mark in academia. She has helped build a discipline in public interest communications, leading new research, writing in a wide variety of publications, and now launching the Center for Public Interest Communications at UF.
In this episode (a flashback to...2020-04-2946 min
Let’s Hear It“Make Your Content Like a Twinkie” - Talking Presentation Design with One of the Greats – Nolan HaimsFor those folks who are fortunate enough to be able to work in these challenging times, much of their time is spent staring at a screen in “meetings.” Many of these “meetings” involve what we can charitably call “presentations.” The chilling fact is that far too many folks are forced to endure presentations that look as if they were designed by sadistic engineers in a bunker in Seattle. The poor souls subjected to these onslaughts of bullet points, charts, and statistics almost invariably come away from those experiences neither smarter nor more inspired, just older and a bit sadder.
If mos...2020-04-1548 min
Let’s Hear ItSaru Jayaraman and One Fair Wage: Making the Restaurant Industry Work for WorkersEric sat down with Saru Jayaraman five weeks and a lifetime ago. Few of us fully appreciated the implications of the COVID crisis at the time, but the conversation centers on the very issues the crisis has raised around service workers and equity.
Saru is an attorney and activist who is changing the way our country treats workers who are forced to rely on tips to make a living.
Saru’s CV is about twelve pages long. She is president of One Fair Wage, which fights for one fair minimum wage for all workers in th...2020-04-0159 min
Let’s Hear ItLeadership in a Crisis - A ComNet Webinar wtih Joanne Krell of Defy CommunicationsJoanne Krell is the kind of communications expert you want in your corner when it matters most. She has led communications at the WK Kellogg Foundation AND General Motors, and when she talks, we listen.
Joanne, who is the co-founder and Managing Partner of Defy Communications in Ann Arbor, Michigan, led a webinar hosted by the Communications Network that should be its own college course on how you lead in a crisis. It's packed with really useful information on how to connect with your colleagues, your constituents, and how to focus on what really matters when it...2020-03-281h 06
Let’s Hear ItSeasoned Voices During Difficult Times - A COVID-19 Special EditionWe hope that all of our Let’s Hear It listeners are staying safe and socially connected while heeding prudent calls from public health experts to practice physical distancing.
With the rush of news related to COVID-19, we checked in with two experts who have tremendous experience communicating during epidemics - Dr. Barbara Reynolds and Thomson Prentice. Both have impressive public health communications credentials, Dr. Reynolds with the Centers for Disease Control, Mr. Prentice with the World Health Organization, and have written extensively on crisis, risk, epidemic, and public health communications.
We were reminded during ou...2020-03-2055 min
Let’s Hear ItShanelle Matthews - The Radical Communicator of Our TimeIf you are ready for just a minor departure from COVID-related communications, we offer an interview with Shanelle Matthews, the founder of the Radical Communicators Network. In the aftermath of the 2016 election, Shanelle founded the Radical Communicators Network, an organization that connects progressive communicators with research, meetings, and even an old-school listserv. She is also in the process of writing the kind of radical guide to social change communications that we all wish we’d all had when we got started in the field.
Shanelle is a multi-hyphenate strategic communications pro whose extensive credits also include work at...2020-03-1851 min
Let’s Hear ItSuper Tuesday Special - Bernie Sanders' Pollster Ben TulchinNo matter what you think of Bernie Sanders, there’s no question that he has become a powerful force in American politics. Near the center of that juggernaut is Ben Tulchin, the President of Tulchin Research, and our guest on this week’s episode of Let’s Hear It. Ben felt the Bern early in 2016, helping to turn the Vermont Socialist by way of Brooklyn – who was given to 90-minute stemwinding speeches about Norway and oligarchs – into a progressive populist who somehow managed to win the hearts of college students (and others) across the country and nearly snatch the Democratic...2020-03-0459 min
Let’s Hear ItAnnenberg Foundation's Cinny Kennard and the Civic Duty of PhilanthropyEric interviews a truly great interviewer: Cinny Kennard, Executive Director of the Annenberg Foundation in Los Angeles.
Cinny has had a long and fascinating career in the world of radio and television journalism. Her work includes coverage of the Anita Hill - Clarence Thomas sexual harassment controversy, the 1992 U.S. presidential election, the Persian Gulf War, and hundreds upon hundreds of interviews with the Royal Family, notable politicians, and world leaders, among many others. Her work has taken her from CBS to NPR to Annenberg, with some other exciting stops along the way.
Now the ex...2020-02-1936 min
Let’s Hear ItProfessor john a. powell will change your lifeThere are people who come along who don’t just change the way you think or how you do your job, but who just change you – they change the chemical makeup of your body. Professor john a. powell is one of those people.
john a. powell is an internationally recognized expert in the areas of civil rights and civil liberties and a wide range of issues including race, structural racism, ethnicity, housing, poverty, and democracy. He is the Director of the Othering & Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley (formerly Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society), which supp...2020-02-051h 05
Let’s Hear ItSeason Two is Here!Thank you so much for listening to Let's Hear It. It's been a wonderful year, and we're so excited to kick off our second season.
In this special episode, Eric and Kirk sit down to talk about their favorite Let's Hear It moments in 2019, what they've learned hosting and recording, and what they're looking forward to in this next year of podcasting. If you've ever had any questions about the podcast process, or just like hearing Eric and Kirk banter like two old biddies from the Upper West Side, this fireside-ish chat is worth the listen.
2020-01-2925 min
Let’s Hear ItPICO's Ben McBride Practices What He PreachesAfter spending a number of years in Oakland as a pastor, Ben McBride decided to move his family into a part of Oakland that was known for its challenges in order to better understand the lives of the people he hoped to serve. What happened next, as Ben tells Eric in our latest episode of Let’s Hear It, is not just great storytelling, it’s what makes Ben such a powerful AND delightful advocate for social justice. (We won’t give away the ending, but it’s a GREAT story.)
Ben is now the co-director of PICO Cal...2019-12-1154 min
Let’s Hear ItApolitical’s Lisa Witter Teaches Us That Bureaucrats Are People Too, and Much MoreLisa Witter has always played to win. Since coming into the world "with a bang" after her mother went into labor at a demolition derby, she has focused on the intersection of politics and communications. Running for president on Showtime's American Candidate, writing The She-Spot: Why Women are the Market For Changing the World and How to Reach Them with Lisa Chen, becoming the head of Fenton Communications at age 25. These are just a few of her wins.
As Co-founder and Executive Chairman of Apolitical, she has married behavioral science with public policy and created a peer-based...2019-11-2654 min
Let’s Hear ItDrew Altman of the Kaiser Foundation Pens a Love Letter to CommunicationsDrew Altman took a relatively small grantmaking foundation and transformed it into a media powerhouse. As the President and CEO of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, better known as KFF, Drew has turned his organization into one of the most influential and valuable non-partisan sources of health news in the country. What other foundation can say that about their field of interest?
Drew sat down with Eric to talk about how Kaiser has charted new territory in the field of news media at a time when in-depth coverage of a host of important issues is becoming...2019-11-131h 01
Let’s Hear ItVilly Wang Blazes a TrailVilly Wang's mother wanted her to be a corporate lawyer. Raised by a single mother in public housing in New York, she was supposed to be a hard-charging, successful professional - a leader in her field. And she certainly is, but what she created is not quite what her mother had in mind.
Villy is the Founder, President, and CEO of BAYCAT, a non-profit organization that takes youth development and education, media production, marketing and advertising, social entrepreneurship, job training, economic and community development, arts, music and urban culture, and throws it in a blender.
...2019-10-3159 min
Let’s Hear ItTrabian Shorters Takes Us To School at ComNet 2019This is the third in our bonus series of keynote speeches from ComNet 2019.
Trabian Shorters is the CEO and Founder of BMe Community, which provides fellowships for Black leaders in the US, and which trains organizations in matters of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Trabian’s amazing talk explains his work to promote what he calls “asset framing” – describing people by their aspirations and talents rather than a perceived challenge or stereotype. If you are working in social justice in any way, shape, or form, you simply MUST listen to this incredibly valuable lesson in effective communic...2019-10-241h 16
Let’s Hear ItDesmond Meade Unites the Voters of Florida in the Cause of JusticeIn 2018, Desmond Meade helped pull off the unthinkable. He united Florida voters by leading the campaign to pass Amendment 4, a grassroots citizen’s initiative that restored voting rights to over 1.4 million Floridians with past felony convictions. The initiative passed by nearly thirty percentage points – a rout in a state that is famous for being split down the middle.
The following year Desmond was named one of Time Magazine's 100 most influential people in the world. In October of 2019, Desmond received the Clarence B. Jones Impact Award from the Communications Network. The award is presented to a leader who has...2019-10-2234 min
Let’s Hear ItStacey Abrams at ComNet 2019 – Let’s Get to WorkStacey Abrams is one of the most exciting and inspiring leaders of our time. Last week, she came to the Communications Network conference and gave the kind of speech that reminds us why we're in this business. Then she sat down with Communications Network CEO Sean Gibbons and took questions from the audience of a thousand people who had listened with rapt attention punctuated by explosions of laughter, applause, and gratitude.
If you missed this amazing event, we've captured it here for you. If you heard it and were blown away like so many others, you might...2019-10-091h 04
Let’s Hear ItA bonus edition of Let’s Hear It – ComNet 19 Preview with Carrie Clyne and Tristan MohabirWe couldn’t resist – ComNet 19 is next week and we’re so excited that we’re bringing you a bonus edition of Let’s Hear It!
Eric spoke with two of the staff from the Communications Network who are helping to make it all happen this year - Carrie Clyne, Deputy Director of Events and Community, and Tristan Mohabir, who is Director of Operations and Editorial.
Carrie and Tristan talk about how they are helping everyone make connections and make the most out of this year’s ComNet – from first-timers like Carrie to seventeenth-timers like Eric. If you’r...2019-09-2531 min
Let’s Hear ItDavid Morse – A Giant Among Foundation CommunicatorsIf you worked in foundation communications in the past thirty years, chances are that David Morse helped you – directly or indirectly. At the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and then the Atlantic Philanthropies, David helped advance the field of strategic communications like few others. Many of the modern concepts of communications strategy were born in his office or through the work of his consultants.
David sits down with Eric to talk about the legacy of Frank Karel, his predecessor at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, how the field has developed over time, and he’ll g...2019-09-1845 min
Let’s Hear ItComNet 19 - The Most Exciting Event of the Year!If you are interested in using communications for social change, the Communications Network Annual Conference is the single most exciting event of the year. From October 2-4, over a thousand foundation and nonprofit professionals will gather in Austin, Texas to learn from each other about how to use communications to make a difference.
Stefan Lanfer of the Barr Foundation and Jade Floyd of the Case Foundation are chair and co-chair, respectively, of ComNet, and they spoke to Eric about their lives, their work, barbeque, Lycra, Spiderman, Pose, and why they’re so excited about this year’s even...2019-09-0453 min
Let’s Hear ItHunter Johansson of Solar Responders Makes His Famous Twin Sister ProudHunter Johansson could have easily traded on his twin sister Scarlett's fame for all kinds of rotten purposes. Instead, he co-founded a nonprofit to put solar panels on the roofs of first responder stations in Puerto Rico to save lives and protect the planet.
Hunter sat down with Eric to talk about why he co-founded Solar Responders, he speaks about the opportunities and challenges of having shared a womb with one of the planet's most recognizable people, and he explains the deep rewards that await people who are interested in dedicating themselves to the service of others.2019-08-1444 min
Let’s Hear ItFred Blackwell of the San Francisco Foundation Talks About Equity, Optimism, and Trying to Pass his Grandmother’s “Smirk Test.”In five years as CEO of the San Francisco Foundation, Fred Blackwell has emerged as one of philanthropy’s foremost leaders dedicated to advancing racial and economic equity.
As a community foundation, the San Francisco Foundation is able to raise money, make grants, and do the kind of political advocacy that private foundations cannot. Fred and his colleagues have used these tools to focus on housing, jobs, protecting communities, and a host of related issues.
If all that responsibility seems intimidating, you’d never know it from talking with Fred, who never seems to break a sw...2019-07-3149 min
Let’s Hear ItDoniece Sandoval Might Just Change the Way You See – Taking “Radical Hospitality” to the StreetsDoniece Sandoval took a bit of time off from her career as a marketing and communications leader to take stock of her life and her future. Little did she know that she would be soon leading one of the most extraordinary social service organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area, and that she would use her many skills to find new ways to connect with that region’s unhoused population.
Doniece launched an organization called Lava Mae, which provides mobile showers for some of the Bay Area’s most marginalized residents. By giving people a chan...2019-07-1753 min
Let’s Hear ItCronies in Bars Having Cocktails - Alfred Ironside, Ford Foundation's International Man of MysteryBy the time Alfred Ironside arrived at the Ford Foundation in 2006, he had already had a career that most of us could hardly imagine – from leading disaster communications at the Red Cross to media relations at UNICEF, with stints in advertising in Bulgaria to a newspaper in Jerusalem to boot – Alfred Ironside may be the James Bond of communications.
As the Vice President for Global Communications at the Ford Foundation, Alfred is rolling all those skills and experiences into one exciting, strategic bundle. Alfred and Eric sit down at Mollie’s Pub in New York’s Gramercy Park nei...2019-07-0255 min
Let’s Hear ItWho Wants $100 Million? MacFound's Kristen Mack and Common Pool's Jaison Morgan Discuss 100&ChangeIn June of 2016, the MacArthur Foundation announced that it would award a single $100 million grant to a single organization that was making a difference on a specific solution. They opened up a competition to allow organizations to vie for the award in a campaign they called 100&Change. The winner was the Sesame Workshop and the International Rescue Committee, which created a project to help refugee children living in conflict areas in the Middle East.
Now, MacArthur is back with its second competition. In this episode of Let’s Hear It! we speak with Kristen Mack, Se...2019-06-1952 min
Let’s Hear ItThe re- re- re-invention of Beth KanterBeth Kanter became a nonprofit social media phenomenon because she used a new technology – blogging – to take and share notes about her work. She became an expert on what makes a healthy workplace because she wasn’t feeling 100% and decided to write a book about how feeling good contributes to better functioning organizations. She was scared by math, so she wrote a book about how to measure results to slay that dragon and help others learn. Some people play Angry Birds on their phone in their spare time, and some people write best-selling books.
Let’s face it, Beth...2019-06-0546 min
Let’s Hear ItJim Canales, President of the Barr Foundation - Need We Say More?It’s hard to talk about Jim Canales without getting a little gushy. He’s generous, funny, and way too modest for someone who has spent more than two decades as an amazing leader in our field. And as the president of the Irvine president from 2003-2014 and the Barr Foundation since then, Jim has established himself as one of philanthropy’s very best communicators. Oh, and he’s also just incredibly nice.
Jim sits down with Eric (in a very fancy studio, we might add) to discuss his journey from high school English teacher to foundation executiv...2019-05-2253 min
Let’s Hear ItNa'ilah Suad Nasir of the Spencer Foundation Shakes Up the AcademyNa’ilah Suad Nasir once wanted to be a first-grade teacher, and she ended up as President of the Spencer Foundation – the country’s largest foundation dedicated solely to education research.
Along the way, she served on the faculty in the Education Department at Stanford, she was chair of the African American Studies Department at UC Berkeley (go Bears!), and she went on to be Vice Chancellor for Equity and Inclusion there. She still holds a faculty appointment in Education and African American Studies at Berkeley.
Na’ilah has been shaking up the academy for years, a...2019-05-0832 min
Let’s Hear ItPhil Buchanan of the Center for Effective Philanthropy Takes on the NaysayersPhil Buchanan, the President of the Center for Effective Philanthropy, has been helping foundations do their work better for almost two decades. But given that philanthropy is one step removed from the action, does that mean that Phil is helping people to help people who help people? What role do foundations and the organizations that support them play in improving people’s lives? And maybe most important, how can donors of all kinds figure out how to make sure their funding is as effective as possible?
In this episode of Let’s Hear It, Phil talks with Eric...2019-04-2453 min
Let’s Hear ItKristen Grimm of Spitfire Strategies Tells AllFor anyone who works in the field of nonprofit or foundation communications, the name Kristen Grimm looms large. She started as an intern at Fenton and within just a few years she was running the company, at age 28.
She launched Spitfire Strategies when she was in her early thirties, and in the intervening decade and a half she has built the organization into one of the most highly respected nonprofit communications firms in the country.
All the while, Kristen has managed to keep learning and she has maintained an infectious sense of humor. In this...2019-04-101h 00
Let’s Hear ItJesse Salazar - Communications Network Chair Emeritus and so much more!Jesse Salazar is one of the most thoughtful and intelligent people you will ever be lucky enough to meet. If Jesse sounds wise beyond his years, it’s not just his soothing baritone – it might also be a result of his incredibly interesting background.
Living in the only Hispanic household in his rural Pennsylvania community, he learned how different perspectives inform each other. As the youngest civil rights commissioner in Pennsylvania history, he was forced to address a dramatic surge of hate crimes against immigrants in the aftermath of 9/11. Since then, he has gone on to run a re...2019-03-2749 min
Let’s Hear ItConsultants in Bars Having Cocktails - Minna JungMinna Jung has had a varied and wonderful career in nonprofit and foundation communications. She has run communications at a large foundation (Packard), a national non-profit (Earth Justice), and she’s even a published author (a children’s book called William’s Ninth Life).
Minna talks about the pitfalls of professional ambition, the challenge of being creative while still getting the day-to-day work done, and even about how to facilitate a meeting.
This wide-ranging conversation between Minna and co-host Eric Brown takes place at the Lone Palm, a dive-ish bar in San Francisco’s Mission District...2019-03-1347 min
Let’s Hear ItHeinz Endowments President Grant Oliphant
If anyone knows how foundations can and should use communications, it’s Grant Oliphant. Grant, who was formerly communications director at the Heinz Endowments, now runs the organization as its president. As a former board chair of the Communications Network, the national organization of foundation and nonprofit communications professionals, Grant may be one of the country’s great champions for our field. But Grant isn’t satisfied.
As Grant tells Eric in this episode of Let’s Hear It, “Many of the issues we care about are losing or at least deeply embattled.” Grant says that foundations have a “sacr...2019-02-2742 min