Philadelphia Community Podcast

My athletic abilities were not pretty but I was happy to join the 7th Annual NRG Media Charity Flag Football Game that also marked the Five-Year Anniversary of NRG’s Choose to Give program. Each team represented four Philly area founding Choose to Give partner nonprofits: Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Nemours, Philabundance, and Big Brothers Big Sisters Independence. I spoke to Keri Mursche...

Philadelphia has a shameful rate of black maternal death and infant mortality. Family Practice and Counseling Network is working to turn this around with a Women’s Birth Center. LaQuesha C. Garland, Director of Development & Social Innovations for FPCN tells us about plans to build the Birth Center to insure the health of women and babies and their 30th Anniversary Celebration taking place Friday,...

The Philadelphia Union is a team we can root for not only for their excellence on the playing field but also for the impact they're having on the region with community service that listens to the community. I speak to Philadelphia Union Foundation Executive Director Paul Howard about their work making soccer or football as the rest of the world calls it - accessible to our youth and creating mento...

I speak to members of the team that received a Pulitzer Prize for “Suave” - a seven-part podcast series about the criminal justice system that sentences juveniles to life in prison —particularly young men of color— and what happens when, decades later, they’re suddenly granted one more chance at freedom. The story follows David Luis ‘Suave’ Gonzalez from boy to man, exploring incarceration, redemp...

I speak to members of the team that received a Pulitzer Prize for “Suave” - a seven-part podcast series about the criminal justice system that sentences juveniles to life in prison —particularly young men of color— and what happens when, decades later, they’re suddenly granted one more chance at freedom. The story follows David Luis ‘Suave’ Gonzalez from boy to man, exploring incarceration, redemp...

Psychedelics are reemerging as one potential solution in the treatment of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and substance use disorders. However, the research and use of this approach has largely excluded communities of color. I speak to Ifetayo Harvey, one of the founders of the People of Color Psychedelic Collective about their efforts to educate communities about psych...

Newly appointed Philadelphia School Superintendent Dr. Tony Watlington has some huge challenges ahead including increasing high school graduation rates, supporting students in achieving reading and math skills at grade level and addressing the violence that impacts so many of our kids. I had a chance to speak with Dr. Watlington about plans for his first 100 days which include a “listening and lea...

Newly appointed Philadelphia School Superintendent Dr. Tony Watlington has some huge challenges ahead including increasing high school graduation rates, supporting students in achieving reading and math skills at grade level and addressing the violence that impacts so many of our kids. I had a chance to speak with Dr. Watlington about plans for his first 100 days which include a “listening and lea...

Guest Host Vanesse Lloyd-Sgambati interviews award winning children’s book author Carole Boston Weatherford about Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom. Vanesse also chats with Kelly Lee, Chief Cultural Officer and Director of Philadelphia’s Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy which is inviting Philadelphians to participate in the development of Philadelphia’s permanent...

I'm going to guess that you know someone who has type two diabetes. I have a close family member who's currently on dialysis and another dealing with pre-diabetes. It's an epidemic - but you know what? it's doesn't have to be that way. with the right kind of lifestyle changes a person with pre-diabetes and prevent the disease from becoming full blown. Diabetes is serious stuff- not only does it in...

I'm going to guess that you know someone who has type two diabetes. I have a close family member who's currently on dialysis and another dealing with pre-diabetes. It's an epidemic - but you know what? it's doesn't have to be that way. with the right kind of lifestyle changes a person with pre-diabetes and prevent the disease from becoming full blown. Diabetes is serious stuff- not only does it in...

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the Constitution does not guarantee the right to abortion, setting the stage for abortion access to be stripped away in much of the country, as states are left to decide whether and when people can terminate a pregnancy. I speak with political analyst, partner at Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoades Law Firm and former Chief Defender of the Defenders Associat...

Men have traditionally dominated skilled trades like carpentry and plumbing. I talk with Sue Hoffman, Program Manager for Women in Nontraditional Careers (WINC), a project of Philadelphia Works about a project to encourage more women to enter a career in the skilled trades. We also discuss a free six-week summer tradeswomen readiness program. Email wincproject@philaworks.org www. Wincproject.org F...

Fatherhood isn’t about having kids but about the man you become because of your kids. I highlight a program called Focus on Fathers sponsored by Health Promotion Council - a community-based parenting education and support program that provides services to fathers to help them to create and maintain healthy, positive involvement in their children’s lives. I speak with Larry Woody, Program Manager f...

Men have traditionally dominated skilled trades like carpentry and plumbing. I talk with Sue Hoffman, Program Manager for Women in Nontraditional Careers (WINC), a project of Philadelphia Works about a project to encourage more women to enter a career in the skilled trades. We also discuss a free six-week summer tradeswomen readiness program. Email wincproject@philaworks.org www. Wincproject.org F...

We all know about First aid - for physical injuries and ailments but what about Mental Health First AID? The Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual Disability Services has a training that allows everyday citizens the right tools to identify, understand and respond to signs and symptoms of a mental health or substance use challenge. I am a stan for Girl Scouts. I was a Girl Scout, and you...

We all know about First AID for physical injuries and ailments but what about Mental Health First AID? The Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual Disability Services has a training that gives everyday citizens the tools to identify, understand and respond to signs and symptoms of a mental health or substance use challenge. I speak to Malik Gray, Health Program Analyst Supervisor, for the...

I'll be talking about the how Community College of Philadelphia is transforming lives and how you can help. I speak to student Brian Walsh who went from homelessness to achieving a 4.0 average at CCP. I also speak with Dr. Mellissia Zanjani, College Vice President for Institutional Advancement and Executive Director of the Community College of Philadelphia Foundation and President of the Foundatio...

The PHS Philadelphia Flower Show returns to FDR Park in Philadelphia for the second year, taking place outdoors from Saturday, June 11 through Sunday, June 19, 2022. Sam Lemheney, Chief of Shows and Events, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society shares all the details of the nation’s largest and longest-running horticultural event. https://phsonline.org/the-flower-show On June 16th GayBINGO celebrates...

Have you ever heard of Bayard Rustin? Thanks to a new musical at People's Light "Bayard Rustin Inside Ashland" – we find out more about the relatively little-known individual who was a major figure in organizing the 1963 March on Washington and a pioneer for LGBTQ rights. I speak to the lead actor, Reggie D. White who shares what it was like to portray Rustin during a transformative moment for the...

Guest host Vanesse Lloyd-Sgambati interviews Kelly Richards, the newly appointed President and CEO of the Free Library of Philadelphia. Richards talks about his unique journey from Police officer to librarian and the importance of libraries to the community. Richards is also the subject of the monthly feature "What is Philadelphia Reading?" https://www.freelibrary.org/

We begin with an interview with Tyree Wallace, who is serving a life sentence at SCI Phoenix. Wallace is the founder of MANN UP Association a peer support and empowerment group that does work both inside the walls of SCI Phoenix and on the outside. We talk about his case which has been taken up by the Innocence Project, whose investigation uncovered police misconduct and evidence that undermines t...

We begin with an interview with Tyree Wallace, who is serving a life sentence at SCI Phoenix. Wallace is the founder of MANN UP Association a peer support and empowerment group that does work both inside the walls of SCI Phoenix and on the outside. We talk about his case which has been taken up by the Innocence Project, whose investigation uncovered police misconduct and evidence that undermines t...

The ODUNDE Festival, the nation’s largest African American street festival, will return to South Street on Sunday, June 12, 2022. After a two-year absence due to the COVID pandemic I speak to ODUNDE CEO Oshunbumi Fernandez-West about the event the covers more than 15 blocks of vendors, displays, international cuisine, drumming and entertainment. To find out more or to register as a vender call (26...

Democratic US Senatorial Candidate John Fetterman was hit with a stroke and atrial fibrillation on the eve of the PA Primary. What better time to raise our awareness about stroke during May Stroke Awareness Month? I speak to Dr. Deborah Crabbe, Cardiologist at Temple University Hospital and Professor at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University about warning signs of stroke, treatment...