In this episode, Co-host Diane Little and Dr. Rita interview Robert Dawkins political director and organizer and Robert Dawkins of Action NC. Robert sheds tremendous insight on why the solutions we find to social issues seem to always miss the mark: there is the disconnect between people in communities, academics, donors, and legislators that results in ineffective solutions birthed from bad research. In a refreshing conversation about real lives, data, and laws, Robert puts in lay terms the importance of trauma-informed research (stop asking us to tell the same traumatizing stories), the importance of lived experience (no parachuting researchers and donors), and mixed-method approaches (we need experiences and stories). He also offers up the disconnect that many Black men feel with the Democratic party: its fixation on incarceration alienates everyday Black men who would like to focus on something else. Our political moment: Robert also shares some of the good things about Preemption and Dillon law--State standards that are generally wielded by conservatives to constrain progressive cities but that have some perks for progressives as well. Robert Dawkins is the founder & State Organizer for SAFE Coalition NC which is a project of Action NC and made up of over 15 community-based advocacy groups working to end discriminatory profiling and promote civil liberty protections for all North Carolina residents. Before starting SAFE Coalition NC, Robert worked for 7 year with Democracy North Carolina as the Western NC Field Organizer where his work centered on organizing communities of color on the issues of voter rights, voter access and ending voter disenfranchisement.  Robert was the Head Organizer for the Charlotte chapter of ACORN for 3 years where he worked in low to moderate income neighborhoods building neighborhood capacity, neighborhood power and on leadership development. Robert has a B.A in Political Science from the University of South Carolina and a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management from the University of North Carolina Charlotte. Robert was a selected as a Charlottean of the Year in 2019 by Charlotte Magazine. ResourcesDillon law and preemption Robert Dawkins and Defund the police podcast  Podcast with Rep Autry Robert's organization Action NC Originally recorded on April 23, 2024.Support the Show.To recomend a guest contact us at: media@FierroConsultingllc.com To support Collective Power join our Patreon

In this episode, my co-Host Diane Little and I interview PA State House Representative Chris Rabb (called Rep Rabb). This episode is a provides profound insight into the ethic of public service--for Rep Rabb insists on not being called a politician--because it's service, not a profession. His service spans, Agriculture & Rural Affairs, Commerce, Finance,  Veterans affairs, and the Judiciary. Join us as we take a walk in his world of advocacy through, agrivoltaics, sustainability, electoral reform, innovation, and some political successes. Through it all Rep Rabb tells us he draws strength from his ancestors for his successes: renaming landmarks, prohibition from police officers assaulting people in custody, and a state interdepartmental interstate database that makes it harder for suspended police in one district to serve in another (among others). PA House Representative Christopher Rabb (known as Rep Rabb) is the most senior progressive state legislator in Pennsylvania, State Rep. Chris Rabb, the four-term incumbent for northwest Philadelphia’s 200th legislative district, has dedicated his tenure to public service. His legislative priorities include taxing the excessively wealthy, repealing the death penalty, full and fair funding of public education, climate action, safer communities and raising the minimum wage to a true living wage. He has authored over 100 bills and resolutions, centering the most-impacted populations in his legislative work. Some of his boldest bills include his Fair Share Tax Plan, and a bill to transition Pennsylvania to 100% renewable energy by 2050.RepRabb is a co-founder of the Progressive Legislators Working Group, the antecedent to the PA Progressive Caucus on whose founding board he serves.ResourcesRep Rabb's websiteRep Rabb's track record accomplishmentsRep Rabb's instagramRep Rabb's twitterMore on AgrivoltaicsSupport the Show.To recomend a guest contact us at: media@FierroConsultingllc.com To support Collective Power join our Patreon

In this episode our Hosts Dr. Rita and Diane Little welcome our guest, Michael posits that the Democratic Party is always in crises, by its inclusive nature, because it tends to fold within it, the crises of the communities it attempts to represent. We review the variety and intent of Caucuses: their history, purpose and relevance: the Black caucus, African American Caucus, Women's Caucus, Young Dem's Caucus, Rural Caucus, County caucuses, and district caucuses, etc.We identify a breakdown in the intent and the trust in the relationship between caucuses and the Democratic party. Caucuses were born to inform the party of the issues among voters in exchange for the party's commitment to addressing these issues. Bringing issues to the party would strengthen the party because the solutions would strengthen the communities. Instead, today, it seems that identity politics has proliferated the diversity of caucuses who pull the party in multiple directions--weakening it,  not strengthening it. What's missing is a building of collective will beyond the individual agendas--so the party can move beyond priority-setting to building collective will.  Today's guest is Michael Lawson. Michael is Originally from Brooklyn New York. He moved to Queens  some years later.  For the last 33 years Michael has lived in Charlotte NC. And  has been a true leader and innovator in Charlotte Democratic politics. He has served as: The President of the Democratic Party's African American Caucus for Mecklenburg county. The  8th district Dem chairperson, a former State Executive Committee member for 10 years, and currently serves in his favorite role as the Democratic Chairman for Precinct 4 in Charlotte NC. Michael  has taught media literacy  at  the North West school of theArts for nine years and at Johnson C Smith  University in Charlotte, NC. For the last 13 years, Michael has Hosted a blog Talk Radio Show  called "The Last Word" (pre-dating the show on MSNBC) a weekly Political Talk Radio Show on Fridays, 3-6 pm on www.blogtalkradio.com. The show covers more than Political Talk it covers the gambit, from Politics, Education, Health Care, Sports, Music and the Movies, most any and everything.Michael is married to Penny a wonderful lady. for 44 yrs. He has 2 daughters  who have given him  3 grandsons. Michael Lawson is considered  a Fierce  advocate for democracy.Resources:Black Caucus websiteAfrican American Caucus, North Carolina Democratic Party websiteMichael Lawson's podcastEpisode Originally recorded on March 19, 2024.Support the Show.To recomend a guest contact us at: media@FierroConsultingllc.com To support Collective Power join our Patreon

In this episode, current town manager and former Mayor of Marshville, NC of 14 years Franklin Deese discusses with our co-hosts Dr. Rita and Diane Little tells the riveting experience from incarceration to become his town's mayor. He talks passionately about the importance of public service and how truth and trust led his journey. Even if things don't turn out quite as we expect them to, public service, Franklin says, is always worth it! Franklin D. Deese is presently serving his fifth year as city manager, after serving fourteen years as Mayor to the town of Marshville, NC. He is the first and only African American elected to serve any Union County Municipality in that capacity Mayor or Manager in the County’s 150+ years history. He was first elected to the office of Mayor in 2005. By applying the powerful lessons of faith, focus and perseverance that he outlines in his best-selling book “From Inmate To Mayor,” Franklin Deese has proven that there is no mountain too high to overcome. Today he is the only African American in the Nation to serve over 10 years in the prison system and then be elected mayor in the same city. Mayor Deese is a two-time recipient of the prestigious Governor’s Award. He received the Union County Minority Entrepreneur of the Year and was nomination for the WSOC Nine Who Care Award. He was chosen as the 2012 citizen of the year in Union County and is the recipient of the History Maker Award. Former Mayor Deese speaks all over the nation, sharing his message of achievement and helping people overcome their own personal prisons.Resources:Franklin Deese's websiteFranklin's Memoire: From Inmate to MayorCity Manager Position description in Marshville, NC.Franklin's Twitter AccountFranklin Deese's Linkedin AccountSupport the Show.To recomend a guest contact us at: media@FierroConsultingllc.com To support Collective Power join our Patreon

In this episode, Hosts Dr. Rita and Diane Little interview  interview Joel Ford, former North Carolina State Senator.   We talk about his disappointment with the Democrat party and his concerns with progressive approaches to change. With economic freedom as his primary goal, he unpacks his approach to  questions about school choice, vouchers, education, and voting rights. He also explains his major concern:  too many elected officials are more concerned with fighting than working; and our liberal/progression expectations set the bar too low. Joel joined the Sentinel team in 2022 as a Client Executive and is responsible for theoversight, management, and implementation of all strategies as they relate to themanagement and servicing of an account.Originally from Belmont, NC, Joel is a former North Carolina State Senator who represented Mecklenburg County for six years. In March of 2021, Joel was appointed by the Senate to the University of North Carolina System Board of Governors. A self-described “serial entrepreneur”, Joel began his professional career with Waste Management of Atlanta, GA, and later launched his own waste management services company in Charlotte. Joel has owned several businesses including a restaurant (Juniors Chicken & Waffles) and a barbershop and salon (Premier Barbershop & Salon).Joel’s background as a business owner provides an understanding of risk management from a client’s perspective. His knowledge and experience enable him to serve as a true advisor to his clients, safeguarding their success in an ever-changing business environment.Resources: Research on the added economic value of a college education. Support the Show.To recomend a guest contact us at: media@FierroConsultingllc.com To support Collective Power join our Patreon

In this episode, Dr. Rita and Diane Little we talk with NC House Rep. John Autry. We talk about the difference between governing and ruling and share examples of how polarization in government and  opposition towards anything the other party does gets the democratic process stuck and frustrates legislators themselves. In the face of the challenges of voting rights and redistricting, the House Rep. offers glimmers of hope in his ability to work across the aisle, still leveraging the basic fundamentals of negotiation: humanity and understanding. He draws his strength from common folk and sees public service as sometimes rewarding, if challenging, work. Our guest, Johnnie Newton Autry (born March 16, 1953) is an American politician. He was elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives in 2016. A Democrat, he serves the 100th district. He previously served on the Charlotte City Council.Born in Fayetteville, Autry studied theatre at California State University-Fullerton. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1972 to 1976 and has been the chief technology officer and partner at eMitigate, an organization focused on legal, financial and operating risk mitigation. Resources:John Autry's Linkedin pageDiane Little's LinkedIn pageBipartisan Psychedelica NC legislationOriginally recorded on February 6, 2024.Support the Show.To recomend a guest contact us at: media@FierroConsultingllc.com To support Collective Power join our Patreon

In this episode, consultant and author Jill Nagle join us for a discussion on the book she’s writing —Skin in the game: how white people benefit from dismantling white supremacy. We face the question: Why should white people want change? What do we get out of it? We look at whiteness as a system that has created a set of mindsets with negative consequences—similarly to how family dynamics can create repeated, unhealthy dynamics and expectations that diminish our humanity, our health, and our capacity for truth.   Jill offers many insights, tools, and practices to face and heal white supremacy mythology in ourselves and in our society as we heal from other traumas as well. Jill Nagle began her study of interpersonal communication at age eight when she read Haim Ginott's Between Parent and Child and attempted to teach her father how to talk to her. Since then, she has aimed her offerings at more receptive audiences.​A longtime student and teacher of transformation and evolution, Jill Nagle's background includes Untraining White Liberal Racism with Robert Horton, Challenging White Supremacy with Sharon Martinas, and multicultural alliance building with the National Coalition Building Institute.She founded Evolutionary Workplace, and Wisdom of The Body: Beyond Talk Therapy, and cofounded of Awake Parent Perspectives. She coaches, counsels, and trains individuals, couples and groups. Her multidimensional approach draws on and synthesizes cognitive, emotional, somatic, interpersonal, and energy-based methods. She is currently working on two books: One about the benefit to white people of dismantling white supremacy, and the other about reclaiming clarity from the default English language fog.​She is also a writer, and has been published or reviewed more than 150 times in the genres of business, personal growth, fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and social commentary, including American Book Review, The Women’s Review of Books, Zendesk, and many more. Her user experience writing and content strategies appear in websites of companies such as Apple, eBay, and Symantec. She is  a multiply-patented inventor, and brings her creativity, strategic thinking, and gift of connection-making to her coaching and consulting clients.Resources:Jill Nagle’s website Jill Nagle’s LinkedIn Dr. Rita’s book: Digging Up the Seeds of white Supremacy. Family System theory definitions and basicsReichian Character Structure explanation Dying of whiteness bookCleo Manago Black ActivistKillers of the Dream bookCognitive Dissonance definitionDaryl Davis helps 200 KKK turn over their robesFirst reSupport the Show.To recomend a guest contact us at: media@FierroConsultingllc.com To support Collective Power join our Patreon

In this episode, we zoom in on the journey of a trailblazing leader and her passage from being a corporate writer to full-time antiracism professional.  We explore how a personal calling can shift from  side-kick to a way of being that doesn't allow us to walk any other way in the world. As for the antiracism conversation, we touch upon self-care, global whiteness, and lexicon--and most importantly where the field is going. Our guest, Sharon Hurley Hall is an anti-racism activist, writer, and educator. Firmly committed to doing her part to eliminate racism, she is the Founder and Curator-in-Chief of Sharon’s Anti-Racism Newsletter. In this twice-weekly online publication, Sharon writes about existing while Black in majority-white spaces, and amplifies the voices of other anti-racism activists. She has written and ghostwritten articles for companies and non-profits looking to show up authentically with their DEIB and JEDI content. Sharon is also the Head of Anti-Racism & Special Advisor for Anti-Racist Leaders.Resources mentioned on the show: Sharon's websiteAntiracism Newsletter websiteOriginally recorded on 7/8/2022.Support the Show.To recomend a guest contact us at: media@FierroConsultingllc.com To support Collective Power join our Patreon

In this episode,  we look at the Church's participation in white supremacy as the complete opposite of Jesus' tradition as a community organizer, himself. We look into religious concepts such as mercy and grace as they inform our personal, relational, and social way of organizing our society. Two GenXers in conversation about relationships, connections, and healing for the generation of latchkey kids who didn't feel tended to. "A lot of churches have resources, but they don't have the hearts of the people." --Pastor Daniel Hughes "Choose to Risk something for love!" --Pastor Daniel Hughes Our guest, Daniel Hughes is a gifted speaker, poet, leadership coach, and community organizer. Connected to the marginalized, he co-creates and uses his gifts in communication and organizing for the AMOS project in partnership with the Hamilton County Office of Reentry.  Daniel works to reduce gun violence and deaths, mass incarceration, and recidivism in the county while leading inter-faith organizations to create real change for good in their communities. Resources: Originally recorded on May 20, 2022.Support the Show.To recomend a guest contact us at: media@FierroConsultingllc.com To support Collective Power join our Patreon

In this episode, we talk about our bodies play a crucial role in requiring us to shift from unsustainable social justice organizing from fear, anxiety, hyper-vigilance, and chaos  to organizing from the more sustainable  care, trust, love, and even joy.  We also talk about the how organizational dynamics such as perceived leadership, funding, and results strengthen fear, too. Our guest invites us to "build our capacity to enter into new relationship with white supremacy, patriarchy, and sexism.""Freedom is both personal and collective."-Robin Wright-PierceOur guest, Robin Wright-Pierce is a coach and facilitator of individual and collective liberation with more than a decade of experience cultivating race equity in organizations and in social change efforts.  She is the founder of The Wright Institute for Transformative Change which partners with individuals and organizations to build their capacity to advance courageous change.  Robin has worked on issues related to community re-entry and rights for returning citizens, education justice, voting rights, LGBTQ rights, immigration justice, and ending anti-Black police brutality. Her approaches to change spanned formal and informal pursuits involving policy and legislative change, community organizing, design thinking and inclusive facilitation, research and advocacy, and field training and development.Robin is a thought leader. Her insight and perspective has been captured in NPR’s WBEZ Chicago, KCUR, and WVXU. Her wisdom has been captured in The New York Times, Diversity Issues in Higher Education and in the documentary This Changes Everything now available on Netflix. Recently, she was named one of the top 22 leaders in the country to learn from by Bunch, a coaching company.  She is a proud alumnus of both The Ohio State University where she received her Master of Public Administration from the John Glenn College of Public Affairs and Kent State University where she obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Pan-African Studies. Resources:Robin Wright's website The Wright Institute . Originally recorded on May 12 , 2022.Support the Show.To recomend a guest contact us at: media@FierroConsultingllc.com To support Collective Power join our Patreon

In this episode, we look at examples of  educational excellence throughout African American history in the face of tremendous challenges. Two deeply committed educators challenge us to think about the educational system more broadly given the many ways we learn. They offer examples of questioning language and reconnecting to self, community, and land bring forth healing.Our guest, Ishmail Conway Ph.D., is a “public intellectual” and “catalyst.” Dr. Conway is a third-generation educator, professional dramatist, father and activist.  His youth was spent in Southside Richmond, Bronx, New York and Philadelphia. As a youth, he performed with Duke Ellington in the Concert of Sacred Music, Ahmal and the Night Visitors and several other operas. He co-founded Soweto Stage company in Richmond and has appeared in films and performed for the Colonial Williamsburg, Valley Forge Foundation. Conway’s work as a theatrical director is critically acclaimed including two world premiere plays and a produced premiere opera on Richmond’s Churchill. Dr. Conway worked on interview projects for the nation’s 50th celebration of the Brown Decision. Many of the interviews were published in the book The Unfinished Agenda of Brown v. Board of Education.  At the National Archives, he presented a lecture on his research model for the kickoff of the National Archives year-long research of Brown thru May 2004. Last year, his work interviewing teachers and activists, over the past 20 years was noted in Harvard’s History of Education Quarterly. The Association of College Unions-International selected Ishmail as the Multicultural Educator of the Year.Our other guest, Rodney Hopson is the first born of two passionate and lifelong learners and teachers, blessed to inherit a spirit of resolve and perseverance, an unwavering commitment to his fellow (wo)man, and an increased desire to leave the world a better place than the one into which he was born.  Hopson currently serves as a professor of Evaluation in the Department of Educational Psychology, College of Education, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign where he holds appointments/affiliations in the Department of Educational Policy, Organization, & Leadership and the Center of African Studies.  Nearly 25 years as a university professor, Hopson has received funding from the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Robert Woods Johnson Foundation, W. K Kellogg Foundation, and other local and international funders in support of his evolving research and evaluation that lie in understanding factors that contribute to the optimal aspirational and academic success of underserved and underrepresented groups in social and natural sciences.  His post-doctoral/sabbatical studies included academic positions at the University of Namibia (as Fulbright Scholar), the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Hygiene and Centre of African Studies, Cambridge University.Resources mentioned on the showAfrican American evaluators articleEducation of Blacks in the South 1860-1935 bookContact Dr. Ishmail Conway email: ishmail.conway@gmail.comContaSupport the Show.To recomend a guest contact us at: media@FierroConsultingllc.com To support Collective Power join our Patreon

In this episode, we review ways in which fear can be not a stop sign, but an invitation into deeper practice. We need others to be the mirror with us, and liberation is in community and in relationship ,  so as we build a deeper relationship with each other, through fear, we discover that the system is not separate from us,  but we uphold it with our culture. As we transform, the System will, too. This happens both in relationship and in  our personal work. Our guest, invites us to show up more whole, by inviting fear to be a guide, embracing our awkward moments, and seeing reconciliation as the way. Our guest,  amy j howton is a healer, facilitator, story weaver, and writer who holds holds an MA in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and a doctorate in Ecological Counseling. amy is a licensed professional counselor in the state of Ohio, experienced in participatory action research and human-centered design and trained in the Art of Hosting.. amy believes there is powerful medicine in the sharing of our stories. her work over the past twenty years has focused in the areas of trauma response, racial + gender justice, spiritual leadership, community building, and social change + communal healing. communities of practice as a model for transformative change have been a focus of my research and practice throughout my work and i continue to believe in the power of bringing people together through intentional cycles of action and reflection. amy Resources: Sonia Renee Taylor podcastamy's website Wild RootsOriginally recorded on May 2. 2022.Support the Show.To recomend a guest contact us at: media@FierroConsultingllc.com To support Collective Power join our Patreon

In this episode, we navigate the importance of intention as the fuel that mobilizes life. We look into how intention helps direct the flow of life and face the unknown, but also how we must release control for it to show its full power. We also discuss some current events such as war that tend to disempower--and reveal how we can indeed stand in our own power no matter what is happening in the rest of the world.  Our guest, Yvonne DeVastey, is a Reiki Master teacher with a wealth of experience in the mental health field as a family therapist and administrator shares her experiences. We navigate the differences between the services our systems provide, and sometimes pay for, and actual journeys of healing. We explore definitions of health and healing, how healing journeys impact changes of direction in our personal lives and sometimes the lives of our families, too. A variety of healing practices and some insights on how to value your intuition on which one is for you. In this episode we connect journeys of personal and family healing, with the way our health systems do, or don't address healing.Resources mentioned on the show: Seat of the Soul book Yvonne's email: cloudsunlimited@aol.comOriginally recorded on April 6, 2022. Support the Show.To recomend a guest contact us at: media@FierroConsultingllc.com To support Collective Power join our Patreon

In this episode, we look at data on racial bias in the child welfare system, and on the case for family preservation against the current family policing system and its biases, since COVID-19. We also talk about data collected in NYC, on how COVID-19 activated local networks and how the child welfare system can be changed to suit the data we know.Our guest, Richard Wexler, is Executive Director of NCCPR. His interest in child welfare grew out of 19 years of work as a reporter for newspapers, public radio and public television. During that time, he won more than two dozen awards, many of them for stories about child abuse and foster care. He is the author of Wounded Innocents: The Real Victims of the War Against Child Abuse (Prometheus Books: 1990, 1995). Wexler has testified before Congress and State Legislatures and advised the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Children and Families in its 1995 rewrite of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act. Wexler’s writing about the child welfare system has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune and other major newspapers, and he has been interviewed by The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, Time, the Associated Press, USA Today, 60 Minutes, National Public Radio, CNN, Good Morning America, Today, CBS This Morning, ABC World News Tonight, the CBS Evening News, and other media. Wexler is a graduate of Richmond College of the City University of New York and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, where he was awarded the school’s highest honor, a Pulitzer Traveling Fellowship. He was formerly Assistant Professor of Communications at The Pennsylvania State University — Beaver Campus.Resources mentioned on the show:National Coalition for Child Protection Reform websiteIssue paper 1: Foster Care vs. Family Preservation: The Track Record on SafetyIssue paper 7: Family Policing and RaceIssue paper 11: Does Family Preservation Work?New York's positive data on its 'unintended abolition'Support the Show.To recomend a guest contact us at: media@FierroConsultingllc.com To support Collective Power join our Patreon

In this episode, Attorney Karla Cruel walks us through the components of the legal system for criminal law and the ways in which these different processes are flawed. "The very fact that we know there are frequent innocent convictions, in and of itself, tells us the system is flawed," she says. She walks us through various stages of bias and misjudgment, and how the are compounded over time.Our guest, Karla L. Cruel, Esq. is a former educator, now social entrepreneur who launched Legal Empowerment Group to educate and support lower-to-middle income individuals. She worked as staff attorney for Tenant Union Representative Network (TURN), assisting with Philadelphia’s Eviction Prevention Project. Having grown up in West Philadelphia, attending academic programs created to help poor minority children go to college, now she holds three degrees. Throughout her schooling, she has been promoting social equality and racial and religious reconciliation. After living in Japan for 4.5 years, Ms. Cruel returned to the US to have a greater impact on the community in which she was raised. Through the encouragement of her students, Ms. Cruel attended and graduated from Drexel University’s Thomas Kline School of Law. She has practiced law in various areas including criminal law, family law, landlordtenant law, business law, charter school law and other civil transactional and litigation. Karla L. Cruel is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania. Ms. Cruel also holds a master’s degree from Saint Joseph’s University in criminal justice is a mentor, speaker, educator and community advocate. Karla has also given back to her community through volunteering with and serving as a member of Christian Legal Services’ Board of Directors, teaching at Temple University’s Pan-African Studies Community Education Program, serving on the Board of Directors of Imhotep Charter School, and teaching legal education workshops at Imhotep’s Communiversity. Even ran for a Philadelphia District City Council seat in 2019. She is the recipient of the Outstanding Law Student Award from the National Association of Women Lawyers and the Pro Bono Award from Drexel University Law School and First Judicial District in 2019 for her working in Landlord-Tenant court.Resources mentioned on the show.Overview of the Legal system book:Scheb, J. M., & Sharma, H. (2020). An introduction to the American legal system. Wolters KluwerOrganizations: Innocence ProjectEqual Justice InitiativeData:Wrongful ConvictionsExonerationInnocent Convictions Plea System Support the Show.To recomend a guest contact us at: media@FierroConsultingllc.com To support Collective Power join our Patreon

In this episode, we take a systems look at the music industry and how it sets up artists and composers to be in constant debt through the lack of fair and transparent contracts and the restrictions in regulations and contract terms. We envision a music industry where artists and composers are more informed about their contracts, their rights, and their fans.  Andrae is a Grammy-Nominated musician and professor who moved to Los Angeles in 2009 from Maryland and is a faculty member at the University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music in the Music Industry Department, and is completing a PhD. in Leadership Studies . He is also a veteran of the United States Marine Corps and the United States Navy Band of Washington, D.C. He is also an Amazon best-selling author of the book, Build Your Music Career from Scratch, which is in its second edition, and has multiple Billboard #1s. An internationally traveled musician and clinician on the subjects of Music Business, Music for Film and Television, and Music Production, Andrae has been to over 40 countries.  Andrae holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music, a Master of Arts in Music Industry Administration. Andrae is currently a voting member of the Recording Academy, member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, a Songwriters of North America board member, a co-founder of the Songrise NFT PlatformAs a musician, composer, and consultant, Andrae has worked on projects such as Empire, Detroit the movie, and The Birth of a Nation soundtrack. Some of the artists he has worked with include NeYo, BlackBear, George Drakoulias, Swae Lee, Mellissa Ethridge, Allee Willis, Meek Mills, Pusha-T, Kanye West, Jesse J., Rodney Jerkins, Lamont Dozier, No I.D. and more. Before teaching at USC, Andrae taught courses on Music Business, Music Production for Media, and Music Composition and Programming at the Los Angeles Film School in Hollywood.Get in touch with Andrae: Musicindustryencyclopedia.com  instagram.com/andraealexanderhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/iamandraealexander/Songrise.ioResources mentioned on the show: Organizations: Songwriters of North America - https://www.wearesona.com/Articles:Music Publishing in the US $6.4 BillionMajor Label Music Production in the US $9bOnly 2% on Spotify make over 1000 dollars a year, 870 artists make $1m229 streams of Spotify to get $13 major labels. Warner, Sony, Universal - https://www.liveabout.com/top-major-pop-record-labels-3246997Discrimination of Black artists Support the Show.To recomend a guest contact us at: media@FierroConsultingllc.com To support Collective Power join our Patreon

In this episode, we look at how the technology innovation happens pipeline happens from research, to industry, to community. We look at how these relationships are typically extractive and how they can become more sustainable. How high levels of collaboration and collective intelligence and emergence work can enrich the way we think about nature and problem-solving: ocean memory, gentle accountability, human heart-work, and valuing the contribution of all. Our guest, Anne is the founder of Lean-to Collaborations.  Her experience spans 20 years of working across disciplines and sectors in the US and Canada.  Lean-to Collaborations helps purpose-driven teams build the mindset, structures, and processes they need to address complex social, environmental, and technical challenges.  This work extends her 12-year career as a Senior Program Director and Program Officer at the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineer, and Medicine. Anne is a facilitator, team consultant, and former internal program evaluator. She's co-author of the book Collaborations of Consequence and current membership chair for the International Network for the Science of Team Science (INSciTS).  The lean-to in her company logo pays homage to her lifelong love of hiking and the power of shared purpose, wonder, and open structures to help teams traverse the sometimes difficult terrain from finding each other to funding to flourishing.Contact Anne Heberger MarinoTwitter handle: @LeanToCollabsLinkedIn page Resources mentioned on the show: Articles/BookDiversity Innovation Paradox in Science (PNAS)Outperforming yet undervalued  (PLOS One)Science's Diversity Problem (Stanford Social Innovation Review)10 Simple Rules for an Anti-racist Lab (PLOS Computational Biology)Collaborations of Consequence (NAKFI)Organizations, Projects, ProgramsGulf of Maine Research Institute (NSF Convergence Accelerator Project)Ocean Memory ProjectPresencing Institute6 Team ConditionsInternational Network for the Science of Team ScienceNSF Funding StreamsNSF Convergence ResearchNSF EPSCoROriginally recorded on February 18, 2022.Support the Show.To recomend a guest contact us at: media@FierroConsultingllc.com To support Collective Power join our Patreon

This episode looks at the relationship between Program Evaluation and philanthropy as a system, one that allocates small monies to communities in need while controlling the definitions and management of standards of success. We propose engaging stakeholders more, shifting what we measure, and .....Dr. Audrey Jordan is the Jerry D. Campbell Professor and DEI Specialist at Claremont Lincoln University, and is a certified executive life coach, focused on “accompanying social justice leaders and teams to unchain power for transformation.”  Audrey is also currently an independent consultant with her own practice – ADJ Consulting and Coaching: capacity building for constituent-centered, place-based community change; cultivating community democracy; strengthening organizational and collaborative partnership capacities for learning and accountability; and teaching about and facilitating conversations to promote racial equity and social justice.  Audrey currently lives in Fontana, CA and enjoys the company of her siblings and their spouses, her two sons, nieces and nephews, and the most recent family addition - her amazing grandniece, Eloise.Resources mentioned on the show:Get in touch with Dr. Audrey Jordan Linked in PageRace Forward: From Seed to Harvest: A Toolkit for Collaborative Racial Equity Strategies. Rosa Gonzalez at Facilitating Power, Spectrum of Community Engagement to Ownership frameworkTargeted Universalism, Othering and Belonging InstituteKiller Mike quoteWinners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World book.Originally recorded on 2/07/2022.Support the Show.To recomend a guest contact us at: media@FierroConsultingllc.com To support Collective Power join our Patreon

In this show, three experts of health systems data bring us insights into how racism and bias contribute to all points of health data collection, from uncovering old assumptions--like assuming lower thresholds of pain for African Americans, competition among groups, inappropriate diagnoses for bodies of color. Our guests invite us to  recommend engaging diverse stakeholders in problem-solving, centering narratives on the direct experience of patients, disrupting and questioning the norm of whiteness in all aspects of health systems.  Our guests are Sharon Attipoe-Dorcoo, Janice Tufte and Rachel Dungan.Sharon Attipoe-Dorcoo, Ph.D., MPH is Principal of Tersha LLC, is grounded in her cultural identity as a Ghanaian-American who embraces the intersectional facets of being a wife and mom in her work. As a community scholar activist, she found her path from engineering into public health. The vision for her work is rooted in culturally responsive and equitable tools for co-designing research and evaluation initiatives with communities, for national and international research and evaluation projects.Janice Tufte, Seattle, WA., identifies as a #PatientPartner involved in Health Systems/ Services Research (HSSR). Her focus of work is within the social determinants of health (SDoH), addressing disparities and building community partnerships. Janice served on a Patient Centered Outcomes Institute (PCORI) Learning Health Systems (LHS/SDoH) clinic-community liaison project as a Patient Co-Investigator in 2012 and this was pioneering for research projects to include patients directly in research proccesses ten years ago. Multi-stakeholder collaboration is a priority when starting any project as this is a recipe component to ensuring success.Rachel Dungan works at the intersection of sectors and stakeholder groups, to advance health policy and systems research (HPSR) and enhance its impact. Rachel’s portfolio of work, as Director at AcademyHealth, focuses on engagement science: how to conduct and measure the impact of meaningful, equitable stakeholder engagement in health research, policy, and practice. She also oversees projects focused on best practices for collaboration and codesign, and for building the health data infrastructure to support patient-centered research. Rachel recently completed a Fulbright Public Policy Fellowship (FPPF) in Côte d’Ivoire, while studying local approaches to community-informed national health policymaking. She earned a Master of Science in Social Policy (MSSP) from the University of Pennsylvania, and her Bachelor of Science (BS) and Bachelor of Music (BM) degrees from the Pennsylvania State University Schreyer Honors College. She serves as an active speaker and patient advocate in the vision research and disability communities Resources mentioned on the show (and more!) link to document Contact: Sharon Attipoe-Dorcoo, Ph.D.Author of the children's book; Koli and Bosco "the Dog": Rescue from the Fire: https://youtu.be/f6XhV0sjnlMFacebook: KoliBoscoTwitter: @KoliBoscoInstagram: koli.boscoLinkedIn pageJanice TufteWebsite:  https://www.janicetufte.com Twitter: @Hassanah2017Rachel DunganTwitter: @RedunganEmail: racheledungan@gmail.comLinkedIn Support the Show.To recomend a guest contact us at: media@FierroConsultingllc.com To support Collective Power join our Patreon

This episode is an exploration of what gets in the way of partnerships between Black women and white women: control, superiority, power struggles, and plantation narrative. We also talk about the white wounds that we unwillingly bring into the work and what's possible when we heal and move beyond the wounds. Dr. Audrey Jordan is the Jerry D. Campbell Professor and DEI Specialist at Claremont Lincoln University, and is a certified executive life coach, focused on “accompanying social justice leaders and teams to unchain power for transformation.”  Audrey is also currently an independent consultant with her own practice – ADJ Consulting and Coaching: capacity building for constituent-centered, place-based community change; cultivating community democracy; strengthening organizational and collaborative partnership capacities for learning and accountability; and teaching about and facilitating conversations to promote racial equity and social justice.  Audrey currently lives in Fontana, CA and enjoys the company of her siblings and their spouses, her two sons, nieces and nephews, and the most recent family addition - her amazing grandniece, Eloise. Correction: W.E.B. DuBois's Talented Tenth was intended to be 10% of the African American population that 4 million African Americans, 41 million is the total number of American American in the United States.Resources mentioned on the show:Get in touch with Dr. Audrey Jordan Linked in PageBook: The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B.DuBois  Book: How the word is passed by Clint SmithBook: Emergent Strategy adrienne maree brownBook: The Politics of Trauma Staci HainesMargaret Wheatley Islands of SanityOriginally recorded on 1/26/2022.Support the Show.To recomend a guest contact us at: media@FierroConsultingllc.com To support Collective Power join our Patreon