Thriving Forward

In this episode Sarah talks with Jennifer Muniga, the Executive Director of Cameron Community Ministries.   Cameron Community Ministries is an Urban Outreach Community Center in the Lyell-Otis Neighborhood of Rochester, NY.  Their mission is to work with neighborhood residents and partners to create a vibrant and thriving community through empowerment and advocacy while meeting basic needs.  Progr...

In this episode Megan speaks to the Co-Owners of Hipocampo Books. Hipocampo Children's Books, LLC is an independent Woman/Latinx owned children's bookstore in Rochester, NY! They are located in the South Wedge, close to downtown. They have a varied collection of books that represent the rich cultures and languages of western NY as well as toys and children's apparel. They host child...

In this episode Sarah talks with Mitch Gruber, Chief Strategy Officer at Foodlink.  Mitch graduated from SUNY Binghamton and worked at ABC Head Start before joining Foodlink in 2008.  He earned his PhD in American history at the University of Rochester, focusing his dissertation on the decline of urban food access in Rochester.  He also serves as a Rochester City Council Member. For more than 40 y...

In this episode Megan interviews Otto Harnischfeger the Executive Director of The Pirate Toy Fund. The Pirate Toy Fund is the only nonprofit organization in the country dedicated to distributing new toys year-round to children-in-need throughout the Greater Rochester region. Co-Founded by local children's entertainer, Gary the Happy Pirate and Dave and Lorrie Simonetti, the Pirate Toy Fund ha...

In this episode Megan speaks with Deb Turner, Program Director for Fingerlakes 2-1-1 Lifeline. 211/LIFE LINE, a mission program of Goodwill of the Finger Lakes, and is an accredited program through the Alliance of Information and Referral Systems , American Association of Suicidology , and International Council for Helplines for Online Emotional Support.   211/LIFE LINE is here for everyone, every...

November is Prematurity Awareness Month. On this episode of the podcast we welcome Carla LeVant. She has been a social worker at the Golisano Children’s Hospital at Strong for 34 years and in the NICU for the past 15. Carla has a Bachelors in Social Work from Syracuse University and a Masters in Social Work from New York University.  Her graduate placement was at  NYU Medical Center on the Acute P...

 In this episode Sarah interviews Lisa Nolan, Director of Prevention Education at Willow Domestic Violence Center, to learn about their services and how the pandemic has affected domestic violence in our area.  To learn more about Willow, go to: www.willowcenterny.org  Domestic Violence hotline:  585-222-SAFE (7233)  Domestic Violence textline:  585-348-SAFE (7233) Support the show

In this episode Sarah talks with Dr. Sandy Jee, co-director of the Finger Lakes Children's Environmental Health Center. The Finger Lakes Children’s Environmental Health Center’s mission is to prevent, diagnose, and treat environmentally related conditions for families in their 15 county region.  Funded by NYS Department of Health, FLCEHC is part of the first state-based model for pediatric en...

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Locally Golisano Children’s Hospital at Strong provides phenomenal care for children and families dealing with cancer diagnoses. On this episode podcast we welcome Dr. Carol Fries from URMC’s Pediatric Hematology and Oncology group as well as Dr. Katie Rice, the Division’s Pediatric Psychologist.  Dr. Rice specializes in helping children and teens wit...

In this episode Sarah interviews Dr. LeKeyah Wilson.  Dr. Wilson is the Medical Director of School-Based Health Centers for Rochester Regional Health as well as a practicing pediatrician and adolescent medicine specialist.  The RRH School-Based Health Centers are located in the following schools:  Charlotte High School, The Edison School, Freddie Thomas Learning Center, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr....

Megan and Aaron discuss the Rochester Summer Meals program, its community partners, and changes in the era of COVID. Aaron Lattanzio is a senior program manager at Causewave Community Partners, Aaron has supported strategy, outreach and coordination efforts of the Summer Meals Partnership of Rochester since 2014. While working with the partnership Aaron has also worked on a variety of other youth-...

As part of the celebration of International Breastfeeding Month, Megan spoke with the outgoing Co-Presidents of the Rochester Regional Breastfeeding Coalition, Kate Lyness and Julie O’Hehir. They discuss the local options for breastfeeding support and the different levels of certification. If you are interested in learning more about this topic, check out this week's episode! https://rocheste...

In this episode Megan interviews Dr. Yvette Conyers, Assistant Professor of Community Health Nursing at St. John Fisher College's Wegmans School of Nursing.   Dr. Conyers is a Family Nurse Practitioner who specializes in completing in home risk assessments for Medicare Advantage consumers.  She received her associate degree from Monroe Community College, her RN-BS completion degree from the U...

In this episode Megan interviews Matt Fico, Community Outreach Coordinator at The Arc of Monroe.  Matt has been with The Arc since January 2019.  His job there is to provide information and drive community interest in The Arc’s Programs and Services. He works with area schools, care coordination organizations, community partners, families and people The Arc supports to educate and provide more det...

In this episode Sarah interviews Katelin Pellett, the Vice President of Programs at Causewave Community Partners.  Katelin leads a team that works with 200+ nonprofit partners on marketing and behavior change efforts in order to make the community a better place. She is also charged with partnership development, campaign and capacity building program development, strategic initiatives and organiza...

In this episode Sarah interviews Dr. Jan Schriefer from the Department of Pediatrics at URMC.  As the Director of Quality Improvement (QI) for the Department of Pediatrics, Dr. Schriefer oversees and facilitates quality initiatives to improve processes of care and outcomes.  She is also the Quality Assurance Liaison (QAL), and as such is integrally involved in quality assurance efforts, helping to...

In this episode Sarah interviews Erick Stephens, the Parent Engagement Coordinator for Healthi Kids at Common Ground Health.  In his role, Erick provides technical assistance and support to schools to strengthen and improve parent engagement efforts. He also works directly with parents training them on advocacy and connecting them to opportunities to impact policy, systems, and environmental chang...

In this episode, Sarah interviews Jackie Dozier from Trillium Health.   Jackie Dozier has a BS in Healthcare Administration, and currently manages the Women’s Prevention Program, Innovation Institute at Trillium Health.  Jackie has many ties with the African American and Latino communities in Rochester.  Jackie’s purpose is to raise awareness to women and their families on prevention of HIV/AIDS/S...

In this episode Megan interviews Jennifer Johnson the Director of Family and Community Outreach at Golisano Children’s Hospital at Strong. Jennifer works within the Children's Hospital to help connect families with needed resources during and after their hospital stays. This episode will shed light on this amazing new role within our local hospital and how this work will help local children a...

In this episode Megan interviews Deb Rosen, the Executive Director of Bivona Child Advocacy Center. Bivona Child Advocacy Center delivers excellence in child abuse response, healing and prevention through collaborative service, awareness, education and leadership. Support the show

In this episode Megan interviews Shawn Brown. Shawn is the Program Director for Teen Empowerment in Rochester . He is a Rochester native who has worked for multiple non-profits in his career including the Boys & Girls Club of Rochester and Teen Empowerment. The mission of Teen Empowerment is to: employ, train, and empower youth to create peace, equity, and justice, in collaboration with adults...

In this episode Sarah interviews Alice McAdam, the Program Manager of the Parents as Teachers (PAT) program at Hillside Children's Center.  They are joined by Vanessa Lespier and Nicole Pope, two parents who are enrolled in the program. To learn more about Hillside's Parents as Teachers Program, you can contact Alice at: 585-436-0370, ext. 308 Alice McAdam is the Program Manager of the P...

David Topa, MD spent his childhood in Pittsburgh and Cleveland before attending the University of Dayton, from which he graduated Magna Cum Laude. He attended the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and served as a national board member to the student section of the Association of American Medical Colleges. Serving as Chief Resident of Outpatient Pediatrics during his third year of...

In this episode Sarah talks with Rebecca Russo, a supervising attorney at Legal Assistance of Western NY (LawNY), about the medical legal partnership model, where doctors and lawyers partner together to help patients.  Learn more about LawNY: https://www.lawny.org/ Support the show

In 1990, Master Kim’s arrived in Rochester and opened the same day and across the street from the Irondequoit Mall. It was an instant success as they enrolled 100 active members in the first 20 days! In 1992, Grandmaster Sung Kim at the age of 19 opened the Penfield location which has been remodeled twice due to growth. In 1993, Master Kim’s Taekwondo introduced our character building martial arts...