Justine Geldmeyer

Whispers of the Northwoods

Society EN ↓ 3 episodes

This podcast is dedicated to amplifying the quiet voices and unheard stories of rural northern Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Community leaders, advocates, and everyday residents will be featured to explore what it means to build opportunity, equity, and connection with a primary focus on healthcare and education access. However, all topics are pertinent are fair game to be featured in order to listen closely to the people, challenges, and possibilities that shape life across this region because in the Northwoods, every voice matters, and every whisper tells a story worth hearing.

Author

Justine Geldmeyer

Episodes

Mini Episode 1: An Insight into Rural Healthcare 01.05.2026 14:26

This first mini episode provides an overview of rural health disparities drawn from my own research into this topic during a summer course. Together we will examine my relationship to healthcare, common factors and themes that affect healthcare in rural settings, and how disability is woven into all of these already unaccommodating, complex systems. Below you can find links to the articles discuss...

Episode 2: Rural Healthcare Through a Community Health Worker Perspective 17.04.2026 33:15

This episode dives into some of the general healthcare disparities faced by residents in the Upper Peninsula in relation to the Center for Rural Health at Northern Michigan University, and their role in training Community Health Workers (CHWs). Joining the episode is Elise Bur, the director of Northern Michigan University's Center for Rural Health and Alie Obradovich a Disability Advocate at S...

Episode One: Reimagining Rural Education through Rising Phoenix 03.04.2026 32:39

This episode looks to introduce listeners to the idea and person behind Whispers of the Northwoods as well as what is to be accomplished through this podcast. As mentioned in the episode, UWGB's Rising Phoenix program is a fitting topic for the first episode as it propelled the host, Justine, to her current position that has allowed her to begin this process. Rising Phoenix is a college degree...