Anne Pasmanick’s Post

"You read the headlines but we meet the people who are impacted by the conflict. The circumstances that bring people to our office are incredibly diverse. We support human rights advocates from Nigeria, members of the LGBTQ community from El Salvador, political dissidents from Russia speaking out against the war in Ukraine. The one thing they have in common is they are eligible to pursue legal action that would allow them to make the United States their permanent home." Joan Hodges-Wu, MA, LGSW brings a deep belief in what is possible to her leadership of AsylumWorks, the nonprofit she founded in 2016 with $4000 raised in a GoFundMe campaign. As a social worker who had spent years working with survivors of torture from around the globe she had, as she shares in this episode of Power Station Podcast, "a front row seat to the dystopian nightmare that is the US immigration system." In founding AsylumWorks, Joan has developed an organizational model that extends beyond legal services, which are essential, to health, wellness, cultural connections, training and jobs. Today AsylumWorks has 23 full time staff, several of whom are former clients, who are fluent in 15 languages, serving individuals and families from more than 50 countries. This episode is a story about how systemic change is made, lives are changed and we can create the America we want to live in. Listen, comment and share. http://bit.ly/3UbStjI

"I believe there is a correlation between hopefulness and homelessness. People in shelters or those who are forced to live outside feel disconnected from everything. Certainly politics is not at the top of the list. So we have to be present. There is a huge percentage of people who are more likely to vote and be engaged when registered by a nonprofit. We are now doing a tour of 9 battleground states plus Maryland, registering people in shelters to vote." If you know Donald Whitehead you are aware that he brings his full humanity and lived experience to his leadership of the National Coalition for the Homeless. From its Lived Experience Training Academy to its technical assistance to federal agencies, which brings people experiencing homelessness to policy development and decision making tables, the Coalition is on the front lines of societal change making. That includes the movement to stop the criminalization of homelessness, the direct engagement of people experiencing homelessness in creating programmatic and solutions and collaboration across sectors to produce housing and end homelessness. Donald leads with empathy and hopefulness and a deep understanding of the profound racism in policy making that generated this crisis. There is so much more to get from this conversation! And the Coalition produces an important podcast, Voices of Homelessness, which I encourage you to check out. Please listen, comment and share!! bit.ly/47U8Zu

"We have been on a journey to educate our philanthropic members that the best intervention, in line with programmatic funding, is funding grassroots and grasstops advocacy, organizing, activism, narrative change, creating an ecosystem where all can exist through community and coalition building. And we say to our members that you have to build the muscle to do all of these." If you know Amanda Andere, CEO of Funders Together to End Homelessness you know that she is a rare combination of truth teller, visionary, strategist and community builder. She brings those talents to mobilizing philanthropy to become informed and engaged champions of ending homelessness and generating housing for all. Our housing crisis disproportionately impacts Black and Indigenous people who have been locked out of economic and housing opportunities by decades of racism in policymaking. In this episode of Power Station Podcast, Amanda shares the journey that her members, philanthropic grant makers, are on and speaks to the challenges of a growing pushback to prioritizing racial equity in philanthropic goals. In. additional to deeply committed philanthropic members, Funders Together to End Homelessness is powered by essential nonprofit partners, including National Alliance to End Homelessness, National Low Income Housing Coalition, and Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. And we talk about the thrill of hearing Gov. Walz talk about housing as a human right! Listen, comment and share! https://bit.ly/4ep47zN

"We don't want to be a fake equity organization. We believe strongly that equity matters. I'll be in some rooms where I talk about shared equity and they say. 'we don't talk about equity anymore, it tends to turn people off, to make them uncomfortable.' I feel that the highest level of learning happens during discomfort." OF COURSE you know John Holdsclaw IV (jhiv), President and CEO of Rochdale Capital, a community development loan fund dedicated to growing shared equity and cooperative ownership in under-resourced communities of color. He is also my first guest on Power Hour, a Power Station Podcast series that invites social change leaders to share what concerns and animates them, beyond their organizational roles, in the nonprofit sector and our society. In this episode, John talks about the literal removal of equity as an investment and policy imperative and its real-life consequences, including the failure of nonprofit Boards of Directors to support new leadership of color. John speaks to the trauma that Black Americans often experience in relation to financial services, a wrong that he is deeply committed to overcoming. There is so much here, you will need to LISTEN to capture it all! Once you do, please repost and share! https://bit.ly/4ewbIMl

"One woman raised her hand and asked, who gave you permission to start the Women's Foundation of the South? I said nobody did, we gave ourselves permission to do what was needed as we collectively agreed it should be done. Here we are three years later and we have supported 95 nonprofits led by women of color in Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi and Georgia. These leaders are deeply under-resourced. I have met leaders who have liquidated their retirement funds to support their nonprofit. I know leaders who work without pay. They make great sacrifices to do the work that communities desperately need. And the cost for them doing that, personally, is incredibly high. Do you know Carmen James Randolph, the indefatigable and joyful champion of women of color who are leading under-resourced nonprofits in the American south? She founded the Women's Foundation of the South with a kitchen cabinet of women philanthropists who set out to invest in organizations at the forefront of meeting human needs and advancing change in southern states. Together they are creating a new path for philanthropy, one that recognizes and lifts up nonprofit leaders who are often overlooked. And they are gaining traction every day, both in communities and with foundations that are stepping up to support them, including: The Kresge Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation and Annie E. Casey Foundation. A conversation that moves and informs. Please share! https://bit.ly/3ZsNxu6

"What @dcpave is centered in is good policy married with good community married with a lot of Good Trouble." Do you know Maya Martin Cadogan, whose passion for children and education and belief in the potential of parents to create the schools we want to see led her to launch PAVE (Parents Amplifying Voices in Education)? As Executive Director of PAVE she shares the power of leadership with parents of children enrolled in Washington DC's public schools. Parents take the lead in choosing which policy issues, from mental health supports to getting to and from school safely, to focus on and they advocate directly with policymakers, from City Council Members to the Mayor. PAVE (Parents Amplifying Voices in Education) demonstrates what is possible when systemic challenges are tackled with all stakeholders engaged as equals. Maya Martin Cadogan and her team teach parents about the policy process in the same way that she was taught at Harvard. As Maya says, they deserve that and more. An instructive and optimistic conversation which I hope that you will love and share! bit.ly/47rAkUj

There was SO MUCH energy, learning and community power building at #ProsperitySummit2024!! I had the good fortune to make an awesome new friend, Liv Smith of LifeStyles of Maryland and to reconnect with a wonderful longtime friend, Shawna Nelms of Housing Options & Planning Enterprises. Congratulations Prosperity Now!!

"For small business owners and entrepreneurs you cannot overlook the need for access to networks. There is access that some people secure through formal education or wealthy family members but many underserved entrepreneurs of color do not have that access. What CAMEO Network does is to build that thriving eco-system of support." Do you know Carolina Martinez, the dynamic and mission-driven CEO of CAMEO Network? She demonstrates what it possible when 400 CDFIs, community-based lenders, women's and small business centers in California, leverage their collective talents to provide micro enterprises led by people of color with access to capital, coaching, training and community. CAMEO Network is so successful in developing strategies for meeting the needs of people and communities who are not well served by traditional lenders that they are now advising CDFIs from other states. And the work extends to working with its robust and diverse membership to develop and advocate for public policies that meet critical needs. We explore Carolina's call to action for the media, philanthropic partners and all of us who have an opportunity to support micro enterprises in our own communities. Such a great conversation! Please listen, comment (really) and share. http://bit.ly/3X7YK0h

"At the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities we approach the work from a justice framework. Each of our teams, whether it is the state policy work, food assistance, health or housing, we think about what justice means to us and the values we want to hold on to so we can judge ourselves against them" Do you know the highly accomplished and all-in advocate Peggy Bailey? She is an expert on the impacts of systemic racism on the housing, healthcare and income needs of low income Americans. As Executive VP of Policy and Programs at Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, she collaborates across departments and with leaders informed by lived experience to develop federal policies that enable people and communities to thrive. In this episode of Power Station Podcast, Peggy shares how the policy process is never linear and requires both incremental steps and visionary change making. We talk about balancing the need for more housing with the reality that rental assistance is key to keeping people housed. And Peggy shares how her tenure working for Marcia Fudge at U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development at a crucial moment has enriched her work at the Center. We shared ideas, had fun and I was left feeling impressed and hopeful. Please listen, share and comment!! bit.ly/470G2wa

"Every week someone is discovering something new at our farmers markets. Someone is going to eat a peach just picked by a farmer. Every time we open a new market, teach in a classroom, bring produce to a community without access to fresh food, we are actually helping to transform lives." Do you know the dynamic social innovator and food equity advocate Hugo Mogollon? As executive director of FRESHFARM, he leads a talented team who are revolutionizing our food ecosystem in the Mid-Atlantic region. It starts with FRESHFARM's robust network of 250 farmers, ranchers and producers, 20% of whom are Black, Indigenous and other people of color. Each week they are able to bring their wares to 27 urban markets, generating $25 million in revenue for the farmers. The markets also create access to fresh produce for families that lack quality or any grocery stores in their neighborhood. And FRESHFARM teaches children to grow fruits and vegetable and prepare delicious meals. As Hugo, says, every farmer has a story to tell and he shares some of them, on this very inspiring and forward looking episode of Power Station Podcast. Listen, like, comment and share!! http://bit.ly/46RUI0t Big shout out to DC Department of Health for its highly impactful partnership with FRESHFARM on #ProducePlus. #FoodEquity #BlackFarmers #FarmersMarkets