Philadelphia Community Podcast

Today we talk about AIDs Walk Philly marking its 30th year raising awareness about HIV/AIDS and providing life sustaining mini grants for those who are living with HIV. I speak with Robb Reichard, Executive Director of the AIDS Fund Philadelphia. AIDS Walk Philly takes place October 17th at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. https://www.aidswalkphilly.org/ I lost a friend and colleague to early onset...

Today we talk about AIDs Walk Philly marking its 30th year raising awareness about HIV/AIDS and providing life sustaining mini grants for those who are living with HIV. I speak with Robb Reichard, Executive Director of the AIDS Fund Philadelphia. AIDS Walk Philly takes place October 17th at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. https://www.aidswalkphilly.org/ I lost a friend and colleague to early onset...

2RevsNoChurch is a podcast with a visual component, led by 2 Queer women of color. I speak with hosts Rev. DaSaint and Rev. Meagan McLeod who believe that faith doesn’t need to be contained inside the four walls of a church. They Preach, Pray and Play. https://2revsnochurch.com/ https://www.instagram.com/2revsnochurch/?hl=en

Everyone loves a beautiful garden, but did you know that green spaces can make a community more connected and safer? You may know the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society for their Annual Flower Show, but the organization is a whole lot more with resources to support community gardens, transform vacant lots and workforce development. I spoke with the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s Julianne Sch...

I speak with award winning author Kelly Starling Lyons about her appearance during READby4th’s Reading Promise Week, Philly’s citywide family literacy festival. All events are free, open to everyone and organized for and by the community with over 10,000 new children’s books and 150,000 literacy-boosting giveaways! https://www.readingpromise.org/festival Sheryll Cashin, an acclaimed author, George...

Guest Host Vanesse Lloyd Sgambati chats with Dave Wooley, who along with David Heilbroner produced a documentary about iconic singer and legend Dionne Warwick. Vanesse also speaks to Pheralyn Dove, poet, artist and photographer about an upcoming event featuring her work. Pheralyn is also the subject of the monthly feature “What Is Philadelphia Reading?”

You probably know Matt Iseman best as host of American Ninja Warriors. But this multitalented, actor, comedian and doctor is also a champion for the Arthritis Foundation. Matt is living with rheumatoid arthritis. He shares his story and the great resources available through the Arthritis Foundation. https://www.arthritis.org/ Everyone either knows someone who suffers from migraine, or struggles wi...

Access to quality education is key to achieving social justice and we know that preschool education is the first step. FREE preschool education is available to every Camden child who turns 3 or 4 before October 1st. I speak with Markeeta Nesmith is Director of the Camden City School District’s Office of Early Childhood Education about the critical importance of preschool and how to sign up. Contac...

The HIGHER Ground Women’s Leadership Development Program at the Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute at Virginia Commonwealth University, L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs, is a five-month leadership development experience for current and emerging women leaders who are committed to investing in themselves and their organizations. This year the program will be offered virtua...

One of my high school classmates took his life during his junior year. He was class president and a track star. We all wondered – what did we miss? What could we have done to help him? We know so much more about suicide now than we did back then. I speak to Dr. Jill Bowen, Commissioner of the of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services about the warning signs of suicide and what we c...

Kimmel Cultural Campus partnering with The Philadelphia Orchestra just celebrated the return of in person arts with Arts Launch 2021 offering free performances by more than 50 diverse arts organizations from across the region. I speak with Matías Tarnopolsky, President and CEO of The Philadelphia Orchestra and soon-to-be President and CEO of new parent company, The Philadelphia Orchestra and Kimme...

I’m excited to share my interview with Sabrina Brooks Workforce Development, Sr. Manager at PECO. I believe job opportunities are a critical factor in building healthy, vibrant and safe communities. PECO is offering training programs that don’t require a college education but could be a path to life sustaining careers. Questions can be directed to pecowfdinquiries@exeloncorp.com . Additional resou...

Drug overdose deaths are at a record high nationwide and a true crisis here in Philadelphia. One problem is that so many don’t know where they can go for help. We talk with Hector Melendez who is in recovery and with Steve Wick, CEO of the Recovery Centers of America at Devon, the organization that helped Hector in his recovery journey. https://recoverycentersofamerica.com/locations/devon/ You won...

The Philadelphia Children’s alliance reported nearly 2400 reports of children sexual abuse in 2020. As horrific as the numbers are we know that’s just the tip of the iceberg. I speak with Benita Williams, the new Executive Director of Philadelphia Children’s Alliance who tells us how PCA works to advocate for these kids. https://www.philachildrensalliance.org/ You won’t want to miss B.PHL Innovati...

I’m re-airing an interview from last year with Kahran and Regis Bethencourt, authors of GLORY: Magical Visions of Black Beauty, a spectacular book with stunning images children with natural hair and gorgeous, inventive visual storytelling, GLORY has more than 100 breathtaking photographs and a collection of powerful essays about the children. http://creativesoulphoto.com/glory/

We’re coming up on the 20th anniversary of 9-11. Renowned author James Reston Jr. has written a remarkable essay covering content about September 11th that’s never been seen before. Reston talks about Flight 93 which crashed in Shanksville, PA and Reston’s new book, The 19th Hijacker: A Novel of 9/11, which “exposes the horribly misguided motivations behind the terror attack—and helps answer the q...

The City of Philadelphia and PHDC have announced a new pilot program to help address the lack of diversity in the Philadelphia real estate development and construction industry. I speak with David Thomas, CEO, PHDC about PHDC’s Minority Developer Program (MDP). Here’s the link for more information and to apply: https://tinyurl.com/PHDC-MDP We are marking the 20th university of 9-11. Rev. Rasool Be...

Guest Host Vanesse Lloyd Sgambati speaks with Jean Ciborowski Fahey, Champion of Early Childhood Literacy. Fahey is also the award winning author of I'll Build You A Book Case which is designed to help infants start their love of reading. Simone Partridge Director of Communications for READby4th is her guest for the monthly feature “What Is Philadelphia Reading?” She also shares information about...

Are you in danger of eviction or foreclosure? We’ll speak to State Senator Sharif Street about outreach on eviction and foreclosure prevention. https://www.senatorsharifstreet.com/events Ever want to change someone’s mind but just can’t figure out how? We’ll talk to an expert on persuasion. First, the news about COVID 19 and Vaccines is evolving and to update us on the latest news I interview Came...

Eric Riddick was wrongfully convicted of murder and spent over 29 years in prison, Thanks to mentors inside the walls, grassroots support, the backing of Meek Mill and his own tenacity, Riddick was released. We’ll hear his story. First, I speak to State Senator Sharif Street about outreach on eviction and foreclosure prevention. https://www.senatorsharifstreet.com/events

The news about COVID 19 and Vaccines is evolving and to update us on the latest news I interview Cameron Webb, White House COVID-19 Response Team. Angel Aviles is a former actress who shares with us her journey to wellness.

The City has millions of dollars to spend on anti-violence programs. CeaseFirePA wants to make sure the community has input on how the money is spent with a special emphasis on promoting employment as an anti-violence strategy. They’re hosting a community forum in partnership with Billy Penn about how jobs prevent violence on Tuesday August 24th starting at 5:00 p.m. at Siddiq's Real Fruit Water I...

The City has millions of dollars to spend on anti-violence programs. CeaseFirePA wants to make sure the community has input on how the money is spent with a special emphasis on promoting employment as an anti-violence strategy. They’re hosting a community forum in partnership with Billy Penn about how jobs prevent violence on Tuesday August 24th starting at 5:00 p.m. at Siddiq's Real Fruit Water I...

Three bestselling expert psychologists, are talking about gun violence, how parents can speak to their children about shootings ,stereotypes about "black-on-black" violence, and more, in a graphic novel called SOMETHING HAPPENED IN OUR PARK. I speak to two of its authors Dr. Marietta Collins Dr. Marianne Chelano.

When you hear the name Kensington – you probably have an opinion about this neighborhood that is known as a center of the opioid crisis. I invite you to look a little deeper as I speak with Adriana Abizadeh, Executive Director of Kensington Corridor Trust, an organization with a unique strategy for creating affordable commercial and residential spaces on Kensington Avenue through neighborhood gove...