The Zag

2022 NLC South Texas Frontera Fellow Marcella Juarez is the owner of Palo Blanco Farm & Ranch and a proponent of responsible agriculture. Tune in to hear more about her story and how it is positively impacting communities across Texas. 

2021 NLC Kentucky Fellow Missy Spears shares the story of a NLC capstone project that has come to life in the community. Tune in to hear how a community fridge has brought folks together in inspiring ways. Don't miss it.

Having been elected to the Bell Gardens City Council in November 2020, Jorgel Chavez, 2022 NLC Los Angeles Fellow, is the youngest councilmember serving throughout Los Angeles County. He stops by The Zag to talk about campaigning during Covid, priorities for his community as an elected, and what meetings are like. Check it out!

Asha Castleberry-Hernandez, 2010 NLC New York Fellow, joins The Zag to discuss her work on foreign policy with the Biden Administration. Tune in to learn some new ways to stay updated on what's happening around the world and America's approach to these geopolitical current events.

Usha Tewari, 2017 NLC Orlando, is a first-generation Indian American, passionate advocate, and congressional ambassador. She worked full time and was the sole caregiver for her mother who had Alzheimer’s disease. Usha understands what it takes to advocate for individuals, and she shares her passion and caregiving journey on social media on her own podcast. Check them out below. Instagram- @TheIndi...

2021 NLC Chicago Fellow Tonyisha Harris joins The Zag to talk about climate justice and organizing youth in this country and worldwide to create the change we need. Learn more at the site below about  Action For the Climate Emergency. https://acespace.org/

Nick Guthman, 2022 NLC Los Angeles Fellow, is a progressive political organizer based in his hometown of Los Angeles. Nick consults on various projects as a Partner at Democracy Partners, a national progressive political consulting firm, including digital and social media organizing, cultural organizing & creative advocacy, policy research and communications, community outreach and coalition b...

Ever wondered how campaigns and progressive movement-building organizations get their data? Or what do they do with it once they have it? More importantly, how does all this strengthen our democracy, help achieve progressive electoral victories, and build power for Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color, other marginalized groups, and working-class Americans? Matt Mawhinney, 2016 NLC Mi...

Rhiannon Cook, 2015 NLC Pittsburgh Fellows, returns to The Zag to share more about her latest venture: working on  Black Maternal Health through a program called Spora Mommas. The organization is a virtual doula-led maternal support service designed to center Black joy and well-being throughout the maternal journey. Check it out!

Anna Gouker, NLC Wisconsin alumni and founder of The Rage Fund, was born with spinal muscular atrophy, a genetic condition that requires them to use motorized wheelchairs and ventilators. In 2011 Anna earned her Master’s degree in rehabilitation psychology from University of Wisconsin-Madison. Today she serves as the Outreach Coordinator for AchieveAbilities, whose mission is to empower people to...

2017 NLC Atlanta Fellow Brenda Lopez Romero joins The Zag to share her memories of NLC Institute and more. Brenda is Senior Assistant District Attorney for the Gwinnett Judicial Circuit leading the Justice and Community Initiative. Brenda was the first American Latina elected to the Georgia General Assembly where she sat on the Education, Retirement, and State Planning and Community Affairs commit...

2022 NLC San Antonio Fellow Zachary Espericueta stops by to talk about his increasingly popular podcast network. Amplifying the Voices of the Alamo City through insightful interviews and candid discussions, The SA Talk series provides local happenings, candid conversations and thought-provoking discussions that are relevant to San Antonio. Guests are occasionally invited to share their insight and...

Activist, writer, and speaker Emily Ladau, 2021 NLC New York Fellow, joins The Zag to talk about her work as a disability advocate. Author of the book Demystifying Disability: What to Know, What to Say, and How to be an Ally, Emily talks about why it was important to her to write an approachable guide to being a thoughtful, informed ally to disabled people and to write actionable steps for what to...

We caught up with Ernest Levert Jr, a 2021 NLC Columbus Fellow, to learn more about what he created for his NLC Capstone project. Called the Cooperative Chess Cultural Center (4C- "the fork"), his project focuses on the art of chess making while using the wisdom of chess to protect, heal, and build community. Youth and community members  have the opportunity to not only learn and play chess, but a...

Renée Menart, 2021 NLC San Francisco Fellow, is a passionate advocate for youth impacted by the legal system. She serves as a policy analyst at the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice (CJCJ), a local community-based organization whose mission is to reduce reliance on incarceration as a solution to social problems. She's also a recently published children's book author. Demetri Makes a Memory Q...

2019 NLC Kentucky Fellow Donald Mason joins The Zag to share more about his work in cultural programming, historical preservation and community engagement. In January 2020, Donald was named the first full-time Executive Director for the Classical Music Institute, based in San Antonio, TX. He details his work during the pandemic and how important it is for all of us to reconnect with the arts and w...

We continue our series featuring NLC alums serving as LEAD Facilitators for our new 2022 NLC Fellows. Tune in to hear more from David Rozen, 2013 NLC NY Capital District Fellow, about why he still contributes to NLC years after his fellowship.

Our series featuring NLC alumni serving as LEAD Facilitators continues as we catch up with Stephanie Moniz from NLC Rhode Island. Tune in to hear what she remembers from her LEAD experience in 2019 and how she's approaching facilitation in these strange times.

2020 NLC Maine Fellow Belle Bocal joins The Zag to talk about your upcoming LEAD Facilitation adventures. LEAD is the key training experience for the NLC Institute and kicks off this month. Tune in to hear more!

The Zag is back after the new year. Excited to feature several of our alumni who are serving as LEAD Facilitators for our new 2022 Fellows. We're joined by 2009 NLC Los Angeles Fellow Igor Treub, who shares details about how meaningful the LEAD experience is and why he's serving as a facilitator again this year.

Stephanie Castellanos, 2018 NLC LA Engaged Fellow, is an Inglewood-grown talent leader whose lifework is centered around decolonizing career development and the workplace. She's a Talent Advisor at Offor, helping company's find and keep c-level executives, and the Creator of The Purpose Hustle Network, a job board and digital community with thousands of leaders of color in social impact. She joins...

Karlo Marcelo, 2010 NLC Chicago, returns to The Zag. He shares details behind the concept of a newly created impact fund designed to support the food, health, and tourism sector. Tune in to learn more.

Excited to be joined by NLC Los Angeles Fellow Cheryl Leahy. She shares more about a just released investigation conducted by the organization she leads called Animal Outlook. In 2021, a brave Animal Outlook investigator took a hidden camera inside a North Carolina chicken hatchery owned by Case Farms that processes more than 200,000 chicks daily. Their investigation reveals the torment these frag...

2019 NLC Sacramento Fellow Michael Lemus join The Zag on our latest episode. He is the Program Outreach and Marketing Manager for the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC), the largest statewide student financial aid administer  in the country. He's also the Founder/CEO of his own business and platform, Reclaiming Your Happiness with Lemus LLC. In this space he is  a life coach, strategic brand...

We're talking the cannabis industry today on The Zag. 2017 NLC New York Fellow Michael Zaytsev. He is the author of The Cannabis Business Book, Founder of High NY, one of the world's largest Cannabis meetup groups, and recently became a Professor at CUNY Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn where he is teaching the first ever Cannabis class at CUNY. The Cannabis Business Book - amzn.to/30dyyDQ High NY...