Future On Deck

A lot of conversations in child welfare and human services begin with reform. How do we reduce harm? How do we address disparities? How do we improve policies, practices, training, accountability, and outcomes? Samantha Mellerson and Tshaka Barrows, Co-Executive Directors of the Haywood Burns Institute, bring decades of experience working with communities and systems to address racial and ethnic d...

Building a future world means we have to be ready to adapt. But our adaptability isn't limited to pivoting in the moment - there is also a process of unlearning that must happen. Shedding what's no longer needed and updating our mental models, while uncomfortable, are necessary components of building a better future. Transformative change isn't just about creating new systems and st...

Have you thought about doing a podcast, but found it difficult to get started? So did we! In this episode, Sam Mellerson and Tshaka Barrows bring in their producer Nathan Fink, to have an honest conversation about the decision to do a podcast and what they are learning along the way. Each of them shares how the podcast has created moments of growth, discomfort and vulnerability while also providin...

What happens when a community refuses to accept the system as it is, and starts imagining something better in its place? In this episode, Sam Mellerson and Tshaka Barrows sit down with David Carroll, Director of the Department of Youth Development in Los Angeles County. Together they trace the journey from outrage to imagination to infrastructure: how decades of LA being the country's largest...

What if creativity isn't a luxury, but the very thing that frees us? In this episode, Sam Mellerson and Tshaka Barrows explore creativity as the soul of social innovation and the engine of building what does not yet exist. From Tshaka's first meeting with BI founder James Bell at a backyard barbecue in Oakland, to Sam's journey of finding her people across continents, they reflect o...

How do we unlock our greatest human potential? Integrity is our key. In this episode, Sam Mellerson and Tshaka Barrows of the Haywood Burns Institute return to the value that anchors everything else: integrity. They explore why integrity is not just a personal virtue but the foundation of trust,consistency, innovation, and the difficult conversations this moment demands. From the quiet compromises...

What if the future isn't something that happens to us, but something we build together? In this debut episode, Sam Mellerson and Tshaka Barrows of the Haywood Burns Institute introduce Future on Deck — a space where social innovation, human potential, and radical imagination collide. This is their first conversation, their first question, and an open invitation to dream out loud and co-create...

Future on Deck Season 1 Trailer 1