Where and Why

Welcome to Where & Why, the podcast that asks the question: How does location inform mission? Today, we're in conversation with Roger Smith, a native Savannian, and the founder and director of The Learning Center, the premiere lifelong learning program in Coastal Georgia. Next year, the Center will celebrate its 20th year as part of Senior Citizens, Inc. His resume reveals his deep ties t...

Our conversation today is with Cecilia Arango, the host of TEDx Savannah on May 15 of this year, her second time bringing continuity to a program whose purpose is to showcase a broad range of ideas - each of which is powerful and potentially impactful.  That same description could be applied to Arango herself. She is the synthesis of many good ideas, to which she brings energy and optimism. Her da...

Thank you for downloading Where & Why, the Savannah podcast that surfaces the origin stories of newsmakers and asks them to define what success looks like to them.  Our conversation this time is with Amy Paige Condon, the former editor of the Savannah Morning News, the co-author of roots-driven cook books, and founder of the Refinery Writing Studio, a creative writing space for both emerging a...

We're back for another season of Where & Why, the podcast that surfaces the origin stories of local heroes and asks them to define what success looks like to them.  Just a quick reminder, Dan has Parkinson’s disease, which sometimes slurs his words but doesn’t slow him down. Our first guest this season is Rachael Shaner, leader of the Folk/Blues/Punk band, Lulu the Giant. She is the answe...

When Brynn Grant grew up in Liberty County, she didn’t think much of Savannah.  It was where you went to the doctors or to go to the mall to buy a new coat.  Since then, wherever she goes, growth seems to follow. She had a key role in the birth of what is now the Savannah Music Festival, in JCB bringing 500 jobs to the area, and in leading the United Way through COVID.  Recently, Brynn returned ho...

Welcome to Where & Why, a podcast where we surface the origin stories of community leaders and influencers. Today, we brought back two guests who have something a bit unusual in common. They both have attended Burning Man - a week-long, large-scale event focused on "community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance.” It is held annually in the Nevada desert, about 100 miles from Reno. Th...

Today we are in conversation with Clinton Edminister, an Oregon native who ended up in Savannah via Homer, Alaska. Of course, SCAD was the draw for a pioneering videographer, but Savannah also gave Clinton the chance to become a true Renaissance man. He is an artist and art advocate, he has started two successful small businesses - Starlandia and Waters Street Cafe, was appointed to the Chatham Ar...

Today we are in conversation with Peter Roberts, gallery manager at Location Gallery on Bull Street. It is a joint project with Austin Hill Realty to promote Savannah artists and raise money for local charities. To date, the project has  donated around $300,000. Peter is a Connecticut native who 30 years ago came to Savannah for a year at SCAD. And he's still here. Join the conversation!

Today we are in conversation with the Rev. Michael White, the retiring rector of historic Christ Church Episcopal on Johnson Square. Michael came to Savannah in 2008 to navigate the church through some of its most turbulent times in a history that dates back to 1733.  The congregation was divided by the Episcopal Church's acceptance of gay and lesbian clergy and same sex marriages. One group...

Welcome to Where & Why, a podcast where we surface the origin stories of community leaders and influencers. Science and Writing have always competed for space in the brain of Dr. Mark Murphy. He is a noted gastroenterologist AND he writes a column for the Savannah Morning News. His first focus was on research, while his first book, Shadow Man, was a well-received thriller. He is now writing th...

Welcome to Where & Why, a podcast where we surface the origin stories of community leaders and influencers.  Today we are in conversation with Wade Herring, whose day job is as an employment lawyer with the storied Savannah firm Hunter McClean.  Wade, whose mentors included former mayor Malcom McClean, has served on and advised numerous community boards. But most people know Wade for when he s...

Welcome to Where & Why, a podcast where we surface the origin stories of community leaders and influencers.  Today our guest is Ivy Council. She is chairman of the board of Goodwill of Southeast Georgia, a member of the board of directors for the Savannah Book Festival and the YMCA. Council recently retired from CitiTrends, a Savannah-based urban clothing retailer where she spent the last 16 y...

Welcome to Where & Why, a podcast dedicated to cultivating the science of conversation. Today, our guest is Rexanna Lester. Rexanna's first job was as a tractor parts salesperson in Garber, Oklahoma. Her love of words led her to be a teacher in Germany, and her ambition led her to become the first woman editor of the Savannah Morning News.  Since leaving the paper she has been an ESL teac...

Today we are talking with Molly Carrott Taylor, executive director of the Hidden Gem that is Savannah's Ships of the Sea museum.  Taylor came to Savannah after growing up in Kansas, spending summers in Michigan, and going to school in the Northeast. Her love of museums and art traces back to her grandmother, of whom she has vivid memories. While Covid interrupted Taylor's professional jo...

Today we are in conversation with Christi Hester, a certified massage therapist at Savannah’s Temple Day Spa. Hester comes from a family of well-known Savannah performers. Her mom and dad were Broadway actors before her father, Billy Hester, was ordained as a Methodist pastor and moved back to Savannah. Christi started off wanting to be an opera singer or a dancer, then an injury caused her to swi...

Today we’re in conversation with Sidney Lance, the founder and CEO of Rhoot Man Beverage Company. Sidney was a small town South Carolina boy who went out to see the world, first with his father the preacher and then serving in the U.S. Army. Sidney was voted the city’s best bartender before branching out on his own as a maker of mixers, known in the business as shrubs. Join the conversation!

When a hurricane washed away her acupuncture practice in the Florida Keys, Candice Nelms followed her gut, and her partner, to Savannah. It was yet another risky move that paid off for this Renaissance woman. Candice has followed “a feeling” throughout her life. She was born and raised in Texas and Florida.  Became a nationally-ranked college tennis player, an oriental medicine specialist, an herb...

Today, we are in conversation with A.L. Addington. He is former dean of the business schools at Valdosta State University. After a long and successful academic career at schools in Tennessee, Georgia, and Ohio, Addington worked with churches across Georgia matching congregations and priests. He is retired and spending time with family and God. Join the conversation!

Today, we are in conversation with Ariana Berksteiner, executive director of Emmaus House, which daily serves between 100 and 300 homeless people in downtown Savannah.  When she moved to Savannah more than a decade ago, Berksteiner helped new restaurants get up and running. Today, she helps the city’s homeless get through each day by serving a meal, offering a shower and a place to do laundry and...

Citizen Advocacy founder Tom Kohler talks about growing up in Savannah and witnessing how parents of special needs children came together, black and white, to keep and evolve services.  To talk with Tom through Coffee and Consulting, you can email him at tkbiggerwe@gmail.com. Join the conversation!

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You can find Brittany Curry at inkybrittany.com Join the conversation!

You can find out more about Mae at www.repurposesavannah.org Join the conversation!