How to (Not) Kill Your Community

There are many ways to bring joy to a community, but Michelle Freeman has found that the arts are the best way for her community to experience joy. Freeman, the CEO of the Carl M. Freeman Companies, the president and chairperson of the Carl M. Freeman Foundation and the founder and CEO of the Joshua M. Freeman Foundation, sat down with host Stuart Comstock-Gay to discuss how the foundations she ru...

Erin Gruwell, author of the New York Times Bestseller The Freedom Writers' Diary , sits down with host Stuart Comstock-Gay to talk about how she learned to create a community of writers as a fresh-faced English teacher in Room 203. Gruwell discusses how she got her students to better their lives through reading and writing, with her students coining themselves the "Freedom Writers" after the "Free...

Season 5 of Building Opportunity is coming next week! This season, host Stuart Comstock-Gay sits down with community leaders in education, tech, health and the arts to discuss communities, leadership, mentorship and passing the mic to the next generation. The season starts Nov. 1 with episodes available every Wednesday.

We've talked a lot about polarization this season – but what can we do about it? We welcome back all of our guests to each share one actionable thing anyone can do to reduce polarization – in our communities, in our daily lives, and in our interactions with others.

Media is often blamed for polarization – but nonprofit and local news models could offer a solution. Today, we sit down with Allison Taylor Levine, the VP of Marketing and Communications at the DCF, and the founder of the Local Journalism Initiative Delaware. We discuss how local news builds empathy, trust, and understanding, and how solutions-based journalism can move readers from fear and frustr...

Dr. David Tam became the CEO of Beebe Healthcare at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and he's made it his mission to build trust inside the communities Beebe serves, even as polarization has had dramatic consequences to public health. Dr. Tam shares his insights about how healthcare needs to evolve – and how conversations between patients and providers could be a key to bridging the divide.

Dr. Muqtedar Khan is a professor in the Department of Political Science and International Relations and in the Department of Islamic Studies at the University of Delaware. Today, he shares insights on American polarization – its economic, political, and social roots, what's causing it to accelerate, and what we can do to overcome it. Dr. Khan also shares his perspective on the declining freedom of...

Molly Giordano has spent years building a community-oriented space at the Delaware Art Museum, where open dialogues about art flourish. Molly weighs in on how polarization has impacted arts institutions, and pushes back against claims that art and art institutions have become too political.

Don Ward has deep roots in rural Sussex County – and he's seen how polarization has affected communities like his. Don joins us this week here to talk to us about the dangers of judging others solely on their political views, how polarization creates divisions within religious communities, and what happens when development brings new faces into small towns.

Angela Davis. Herschel Walker. Dolly Parton. Dennis Rodman. All have come to the Wilmington Library at the invitation of Library Director Jamar Rahming. He believes libraries can teach us how to listen to opposing viewpoints, distinguish authoritative sources of information, and contextualize the news and stories we hear – helping to light a pathway to intellectual freedom.

Can we take the polarization out of … politics? Delaware State Senator Sarah McBride (a Democrat) and Representative Bryan Shupe (a Republican) say their philosophical differences don't stop them from working together on effective public policies that strengthen our communities. We'll talk about the role of both social media and legacy media in encouraging partisan divides, and the dangers of thin...

Author and journalist M ónica Guzmán joins us to talk about the power of curiosity, and the conversations with her conservative parents which led her to write her book "I Never Thought of it That Way." We'll talk about the do's and don'ts for respectful, productive conversations with people we know we disagree with, and learn about Braver Angels, the nation's largest grassroots organization workin...

Season Four of Building Opportunity in Delaware is coming next week! This season we're speaking with leaders in healthcare, politics, religion, education, and more, all about one thing: Polarization, how it's impacting us, and what we can do to reduce division and build stronger communities. Season Four of Building Opportunity in Delaware begins November 30.

Cynthia Primo Martin retired from her role as the founder and executive director of Trustees of Color in 2019, but she didn't retire from the work. Now, she's back with a book, the "Handbook for Nonprofit Leadership: Recruiting, Training and Engaging Trustees of Color." DCF President & CEO Stuart Comstock-Gay sits down with his friend Cynthia this week to talk about her work, her book, and how tru...

Faye Blake, the founder and executive director of Pathways to Success, joins the podcast this week to talk about how her nonprofit works to build equity in Sussex County by "filling in the gaps" that students can fall through on their way to a high school diploma. DCF President & CEO Stuart Comstock-Gay hosts this conversation about how building trust is an essential first step toward building opp...

Lossie Freeman is the director of corporate partnerships for Zip Code Wilmington, an organization founded to promote equity in Wilmington by building opportunities for people in marginalized communities to enter the workforce as software developers and data engineers. DCF President & CEO Stuart Comstock-Gay is our host for a discussion that details how Zip Code Wilmington has trained almost 500 so...

Chaz Rzewnicki, the president and CEO of Dover Federal Credit Union, joins us for this episode of DCF's Building Opportunity in Delaware podcast to talk about the role credit unions play in advancing equity, inclusion, and diversity in the community.   DCF President & CEO Stuart Comstock-Gay once again hosts a wide-ranging discussion, diving into the subject of unconscious bias and how financial i...

Dr. Annie Norman, Director of the Delaware Division of Libraries , joins us to discuss how libraries build equity by improving access to social services and opening doors of opportunity through education. The built-in infrastructure of libraries across the state makes them the perfect candidate to deliver a multitude of services — education and workforce training, technology and wifi access, youth...

Arreon Harley-Emerson, Director of Music and Operations at the Choir School of Delaware, joins DCF President & CEO Stuart Comstock-Gay for a conversation about how nonprofits and arts organizations can build equity - and opportunity - in the communities they serve. Listen and subscribe to the show on Apple , Spotify , and Google Podcasts . Find all podcast episodes at delcf.org/podcast .

Season 3 of our "Building Opportunity in Delaware" podcast is almost here! This season, we're meeting nonprofit leaders who are working for equity throughout the state, and talking about what it takes to make things right for everyone. Season 3 starts on October 25. Subscribe now, and don't miss a single conversation!

Development Director Debbie Strengari and Sister Cecilia join us from  Little Sisters of the Poor  in Newark to discuss providing community-centric, residential care for the elderly poor.  Little Sisters of the Poor received a $40,000 grant from the  Delaware COVID-19 Strategic Response Fund  to help fund the PPE, cleaning equipment, and staff needed to control the spread of the COVID-19 virus and...

Susan Kent, executive director of  Love INC of Mid-Delmarva , joins us to talk about providing housing and support for the homeless, while building a comprehensive social-service delivery system with a network of churches and nonprofits in Sussex county.   Love INC of Mid-Delmarva received a $50,000 grant from the  Delaware COVID-19 Strategic Response Fund  to provide shelter for the homeless in S...

Carolyn Fredricks, president and CEO of  Modern Maturity , discusses how the largest nonprofit senior center in the state has adapted quickly to provide essential services to seniors across Kent County.   Modern Maturity has received a total of $100,000 in grants from the  Delaware COVID-19 Strategic Response Fund  to deliver meals and provide grocery shopping services for seniors in Kent County w...

Father-and-son team Retired Major Kevin Conley and US Army Specialist Dylan Conley join us this week to discuss Warriors Helping Warriors , a grassroots organization in Middletown that connects veterans to employment opportunities, health care and housing. Warriors Helping Warriors received a $10,000 in grant from the Delaware COVID-19 Strategic Response Fund to continue providing case-management...

Margaret Guy, executive director of Stop the Violence Prayer Chain Foundation , talks about providing educational and social services to children and families who live at or below the poverty level, and who are often impacted by domestic and gun violence. Stop the Violence Prayer Chain Foundation received $2,500 in grants from the Delaware COVID-19 Strategic Response Fund to continue providing ess...