Carry As You Climb

As Mayor of her hometown, Muriel Bowser is committed to building pathways to the middle class and making sure every Washingtonian gets a fair shot. Washington, DC is a growing and prospering city—now more than 700,000 residents strong. To keep up with this growth, the Bowser Administration remains focused on making DC’s prosperity more inclusive, […]

Tamera Luzzatto leads government relations at The Pew Charitable Trusts. She ensures that Pew’s wide range of nonpartisan policy work at the state, federal and international levels is effectively and accurately communicated to policy makers. Luzzatto served as then-Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s chief of staff  from 2001 to 2009. Prior to her service with Senator […]

Heather Booth is one of the leading strategists about progressive issue campaigns and driving issues in elections in the United States. She has been an organizer starting in the civil rights, anti-Vietnam war and women’s movements of the 1960s. She was the founding Director and is now President of the Midwest Academy, training social change […]

Dr. Karen Donfried is president of the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF), a nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening transatlantic cooperation through policy analysis, fellowships for next generation leaders, and support for civil society. GMF is headquartered in Washington, DC, and has seven offices in Europe. Before assuming her current role in April […]

Leirion Gaylor Baird is the Mayor of Lincoln, Nebraska. She was elected in May 2019.She was previously elected to the Lincoln City Council in May 2013 and was re-elected to a second term in May 2017. Prior to her election to City Council, Leirion was a Lincoln/Lancaster County Planning Commissioner and helped produce the 2040 […]

Ohio House Democratic Leader Emilia Sykes represents her hometown of Akron. She was elected in 2014 to the legislature and elected by her peers in 2019 to be the caucus leader. Her passion for social justice extends to issues such as voter rights, criminal justice reform, a more efficient social safety net for struggling Ohioans, […]

Seema Nanda is the Chief Executive Officer of the Democratic National Committee. Previously, she served as Chief of Staff at the US Department of Labor. Seema has a background in labor and employment law and has worked in the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice. She is an alumna of Brown University and […]

Elissa McBride is the Secretary-Treasurer of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) International. Elissa joined the labor movement as a member of the United Auto Workers District 65 in 1989. In 1991, she was recruited to the AFL-CIO Organizing Institute where she worked with factory workers to form unions and win […]

Christine Hunschofsky is the Mayor of Parkland, Florida. She was elected as District 2 Commissioner in 2013 and Mayor in 2016. She was re-elected in 2018. She is only the second woman to be Mayor of Parkland and the first in over 30 years. I want to personally thank Mayor Hunschofsky for the support she […]

Mayor Michelle De La Isla is the Mayor of Topeka, Kansas. She was elected to City Council in 2013 and served as Deputy Mayor in 2016. Mayor De La Isla previously served as the Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity where she established Topeka’s first ReStore office. 

This week, Nan speaks with Congresswoman Joyce Beatty of Ohio’s third district. Congresswoman Beatty was elected in 2013 and serves on the Financial Services Committee. Prior to being elected to Congress, Congresswoman Beatty was Senior Vice President of Outreach and Engagement at The Ohio State University and served five terms in the Ohio House of […]

Neenah Ellis is the general manager at WYSO, the public radio station in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Neenah came to WYSO in 2009 after 30 years as a radio documentary producer in Washington, D.C. She’ s been a producer for “ All Things Considered” at NPR and has won three Peabody Awards, broadcasting’s highest honor, for […]

This week Nan Whaley talks to Liz Shuler,  Secretary-Treasurer of the AFL-CIO. As secretary-treasurer, the second-highest position in the labor movement, Shuler serves as the chief financial officer of the federation and oversees operations.

This week, Nan Whaley speaks to Annise Parker. Annise is the former mayor of Houston, Texas and is currently the President & CEO of the Victory Fund and Victory Institute. In 2010 Time magazine named Mayor Parker one of the 100 most influential people ...

This week, Nan Whaley speaks with Maura Keefe. Keefe was most recently the Chief of Staff to U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH). For the last two decades, Keefe has held a variety of positions in both politics and government.

On this special Mother’s Day edition of Carry As You Climb, Nan interviews her mother Ann Whaley. Ann shares great stories about working for a young elected, becoming a local elected, and running for statewide office in Indiana.

This week Nan Whaley’s talking to Lela Klein, the executive director and founder of Co-op Dayton. Founded in 2015, Co-op Dayton is committed to incubating worker-owned cooperative businesses that meet the community’s social and economic needs.

This week we’re talking to Melissa Cropper – the president of the Ohio Federation of Teachers. The Ohio Federation of Teachers represents 20,000 members in 55 locals across the state, including public school educators and support staff,

This week we’re talking to former Ohio Supreme Court Justice Yvette McGee Brown. Yvette’s career has been distinguished by her commitment to public service – particularly as Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge and a Justice on the Ohio Supreme Court.   Click here to more about Carry As You Climb.