Let’s Hear It

Let’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 t...

Harvard 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 Wil...

Marta 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 ca...

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...

If 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....

Ken 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 dono...

If 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 cha...

Jeff 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...

When 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...

We 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 hav...

Did 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 u...

Jasmine 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, Jas...

Edgar 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 entertain...

Rich 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 usi...

It’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...

Precious 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...

Maybe 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...

Sometimes 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...

Valerie 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 extraor...

This 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 20t...

We’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 a...

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...

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.

In 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 Har...

Kahane 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 tr...