Voices of the Community

“Really there's nothing that's going to stop the revolving door of clients that have very severe psychiatric conditions, periodically because these are chronic conditions where people do have relapses from time to time” - Jennifer In this episode, our featured voice is Jennifer Baity, a therapist in private practice who does training on motivational interviewing and other topics for various agenci...

"When the private equity money comes in, that's when unfortunately you see the human equity and the cultural equity and the racial equity tends to disappear. Suddenly it's equitable only for the people that have brought the billions of dollars to play." - Ian Winters With the health and financial impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and a low inventory of housing, especially live work and warehouse sp...

"Our families are still facing a collective total of about a million dollars in back rent, which is profoundly stressful” – Mary Kate Bacalao Our featured voice in this episode is the Director of External Affairs & Policy of Compass Family Services Mary Kate Bacalao. The focus of this week’s show is on how the covid-19 pandemic is impacting our un-housed and low-income children and families. We he...

“My joy is seeing the families as they first walked through the door and that support that they feel and that relief that they feel that, finally they have a place that for now they can call home until their real next home is achieved”- Marc Slater Our featured voices in this episode are Cecilia Ferber the Director of Family Services and Marc Slater the Executive Director, of Raphael House. With o...

"We made the commitment that even with an expected deficit, we want to give this  gift to the city.  It's so necessary for the community to come back together" - Ilan Vasconcelos In this episode we feature the voice of the Director of Development of Stern Grove Festival Ilana Vasconcelos. With the State of California officially reopening on June 15th of 2021 and performing arts organizations worki...

"There's become a recognition again, internally that artists are seeing themselves as laborers and essential workers and that it is okay to proclaim that doesn't take away of the integrity of your work and your creation" - Julie Baker In this episode we feature the voice of the Executive Director of Californians for the Arts Julie Baker. Julie shares with us how the covid-19 pandemic is impacting...

"So we see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm trying not to use the word pivot anymore. I feel like I've pivoted so many times that I'm just pivoting in a big circle right now" - Tracey Sylvester Welcome to our one-hour special panel discussion on small businesses. In today’s special episode we wanted to provide a broader understanding of the status of our small businesses by bringing togethe...

"We do whatever it takes to strengthen and advocate for children, families, and adults to realize their hopes, behavior, health, and well being"- Faith Jackson In this episode, our featured voice is the Transitional Housing Program Supervisor of Uplift Family Services Faith Jackson. The focus of this week’s show is on how the covid-19 pandemic is impacting our youth and the nonprofit organizations...

We talk about all the pollution and all the issues that surround the Bayview and all the history such as the shipyard and all the changes in land  that has happened in the Southeast - Alex Velasco In this episode our featured voices are Executive Director Justice Patrick Marley Rump, Senior Development Consultant LeeAndrea Morton, and Community Program Coordinator Alex Velasco of Literacy for Envi...

You don’t need a building to provide library services to your community - Jayanti In this episode our featured voices are the founder of Common Knowledge Susan Stuart Clark, the Director of Library Services, of the Hayward Public Library Jayanti Addleman and the Library Director of the Redwood City Library Derek Wolfgram Welcome to our one-hour special on the importance of public libraries to our...

"Our mantras for the whole course of the pandemic has been trying to get as many resources to nonprofits as possible"-Lucy Salcido Carter In this episode our featured voices are Public Policy Director Lucy Salcido Carter and Christina Dragonetti the Outreach and Communications Director at CalNonprofits. Over this past 13 months of producing this special series on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemi...

“How you get an entire sector back on its feet after 18 months of closure is really difficult and we're going to need support for years”-Brad Erickson In this episode our featured voice is the Executive Director of Theater Bay Area, Brad Erickson. We wanted to host Theater Bay Area because they are another one of our long-time performing arts organizations that are focused on the incubation and su...

“They tried to bury us, but they didn't know we were seeds." "I hope people recognize that we are continuing to fight and uprise against the injustices that are happening on all levels.” - Jasmine Dellafosse Today’s convening and conversation with community leaders is our final follow up conversation from both our The Townhall Event we hosted in May of 2019 and the original 12 episode documentary...

"Harriet's Spirit is using the spirit of Harriet Tubman as an inspiration to a young girl to overcome bullying in school" - Nicole Paiement In this episode our featured voice is the Artistic and General Director of Opera Parallele Nicole Paiement. “I started this company because I was very eager to not only collaborate with a lot of artists in the area, but specifically with living composers, and...

“I look forward to seeing how sort of the general public reviews, how they look at artists. And go, Oh, this is a valid life choice”-Erica Andracchio In this episode our featured voice is Playwriter, actress and Executive Director of the Left Coast Theater Company. Erica Andracchio who describes herself as, the lady with many hats for a number of years now. "I started off acting and you know, when...

I think the challenge for us is that we live and breathe this pain daily. And that's hard as this is to hear my aunt in pain. I carry that every single day. How the hell do they expect us to respond to a police officer who is biased against us to act professional and appropriate and kind when we know the one thing this cop wants to do is to hurt us. And  it's not easy. It's not easy because people...

I think that some of the most innovative, if not the only innovative programs that we saw to be successful was because the City listened to communities and neighbors and residents who had all the ideas quickly and your small business, entrepreneurs like your restaurants who were like, we got to figure something out of we're closed down.- Joaquin Torres Our featured voice in this episode is Joaquin...

We think that part of recovering at a grand scale in this country and in communities is actually going to be specifically about the performing arts. Because there’s something there that can be delivered to people to say, okay, we're on the other side, we made it. - Meg Friedman In this episode our featured voices are Meg Friedman a senior consultant at AMS planning and research and David McGraw th...

Less than 5% of the people that are creating all of the things that make up the soundtrack to our lives every day are women or gender nonconforming folks or gender diverse - Elena Botkin-Levy In this episode we feature the voices of Managing Director Elena Bot Kin–Levy and the Director of Education Leah King of Women’s Audio Mission Women’s Audio Mission is another one of our unique nonprofits tha...

“We are very committed to having honest, open conversations about mental health and that there is nothing to be ashamed about having that discussion or saying that you need help” - Gregg Biggs Our featured voices in this episode are Justine Underhill the Chief Program Officer and Gregg Biggs the Director of Advancement from Edgewood Center for Children and Families. The harm on our mental health f...

"I’ve just seen real ingenuity and perseverance, and also because of this, it’s connected to community in a much different way. That sense that all boats rise has really come through for this, I’d say” - Cory Combs In this episode our featured voice is Executive Director of InterMusic SF Cory Combs. We wanted to host InterMusicSF because they are another one of our long time performing arts organi...

"Small businesses, obviously the life blood of a town like San Francisco, we give so much in taxes and so much to schools and so much in donations. Because it's maybe not that much money as an individual, it's not recognized, but it's a huge thing. And San Francisco wouldn't be the same without all of those places." - Lisa Sherratt   In this episode our featured voice is Lisa Sherratt the owner of...

"The essence of what we do, providing stability, providing homes, you know, showing our youth that they are, they have value" – Sakeenah El-Amin Our featured voices in this episode are Lyslynn Lacoste the Executive Director of BMagic and Sakeenah El-Ami the Deputy Director of the Third Street Youth Center and Clinic.  One of the biggest unintended consequences of our yearlong school closures, on a...

    In this episode, we feature the voices of cofounder of CivicMakers Judi Brown, Assistant Director of Human Resources at the City of San Jose Kelli Parmley and former Director of Digital Services and Open Government for the City of San Rafael, Rebecca Woodbury In today’s show we wanted to focus on the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic and economic meltdown have and are continuing to have on our...

Now we're seeing that through our programs and programs of other organizations that there's really this emphasis, that these are essential services that artists are providing for business owners, communities, and people, students, and anyone really, you can think of it's really important work - Karim Zelenka Our featured voices are Justin Hoover the Director of Programs, and Karim Zelenka the Chie...