Voices of the Community

George Koster

Welcome to Voices of the Community, we strive to amplify solutions facing where we live through featuring residents like you, along with change makers, and thought leaders to support our fellow residents and people visiting or working in our area. “Our goal is to feature the unheard comments and stories from communities across our region in hopes to create dialogues to address our common problems and support the change of the status quo.” - George Koster, Creator/Host read less
Society & CultureSociety & Culture

Episodes

Discover the Artist Space Trust: Unlocking the Future of Housing for Creatives!
Apr 3 2024
Discover the Artist Space Trust: Unlocking the Future of Housing for Creatives!
"The interesting thing about a Land Trust is that it's a split title, we'll split the title and the land trust will own the land forever. And then we'll either sell or lease the housing or creative space on top of it to artists" - Meg ShifflerWelcome to the finale of our series on affordable housing for the creative workforce, brought to you in partnership with Arts for a Better Bay Area and the State of the Arts Summit. This episode is the culmination of our journey, featuring innovative solutions and inspirational figures from the creative world.Join us as we delve into the heart of the ABBA summit with “Housing for the Artist Workforce: Revisiting Artists’ Housing Solutions.” Discover a pioneering pilot program that empowers artist property owners to leave a lasting legacy for the artistic community through a novel real estate trust model.Meg Shiffler, the esteemed Director of the Artist Space Trust, graces us once again with her presence, offering profound insights into the Trust’s mission, its vital role in protecting artists’ legacies, and how creatives can actively participate in shaping their futures.But that’s not all! Our exclusive interviews from the ABBA summit, conducted by our insightful reporters Isa Nakazawa and Eric Estrada, will transport you to the heart of the action. We’ll revisit conversations with influential figures like Kathryn Reasoner, a visionary in the arts, and Chun Yu, a poet and co-founder of the Two Languages One Community project, who infuse the summit with their innovative spirits and groundbreaking work.Don't miss out on this captivating conclusion to our series – our co-production with Arts for a Better Bay Area through their State of the Arts Summit. a tribute to the power of creativity and collaboration in building sustainable futures for artists.To discover more about our guests and their impactful work, including programs, services, volunteer opportunities, and donation options, visit Voices Of The Community dot com. Navigate to the Arts and Culture Series page and locate Episode Ten. For additional insights on housing, revisit Episode Four of the arts and culture series to hear Meg and Kathryn discuss affordable housing for the creative workforce. You can explore the initiatives of Vital Arts and The Northern California Land Trust in Episode Seventy, from our special series focusing on the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on our nonprofit sector. And Don't miss Chun Yu's captivating poetry in Episode Two of our arts and culture series.Throughout this series, co-produced with Arts for a Better Bay Area, we've immersed ourselves in the challenges and triumphs of our arts and culture sector. From the lingering effects of the pandemic to inspiring stories of resilience, we've seen the struggles and the incredible solutions being forged.We hope you've gained a deeper understanding of the issues artists and organizations face: rising housing costs, lack of workforce support, and persistent undervaluing of their work. But we've also witnessed the power of creativity in driving economic revitalization, promoting health and well-being, and building stronger communities.The good news is, YOU can be a part of the solution. Here's how:Support Arts Organizations: Attend performances, exhibitions, and events. Spread the word about the incredible work they do.Advocate for Artists: Contact your elected officials and let them know that supporting the creative workforce is vital to a thriving community.Donate or Volunteer: Offer your time or resources to organizations making a difference in the arts and culture sector.Spread the Word: Use your voice on social media to amplify arts events and initiatives.The State of the Arts Summit sparked powerful dialogues. Let's keep the conversation going and work together to create a vibrant future for arts and culture in our communities. Because when the arts thrive, we all thrive. Thank you for joining us on this journey. Together, we can make a difference.We welcome your participation in our next virtual and live in-person community dialogue event. You can also watch this episode on our YouTube Channel and please Sign Up for our Newsletter to stay up to date on future episodes and to participate in our next live show. We would love to hear from you with feedback and show ideas, so send us an email to george@georgekoster.com.Please consider donating to Voices of the Community - Voices of the Community is fiscally sponsored by Intersection for the Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, that allows us to offer you tax deductions for your contributions. Please consider making a donation to help us provide future shows just like this one. Dive Into More Information on Each Episode, Speakers, Organizations and Resources at our Voices of the Community’s Special Arts & Culture Series Web Landing Page
How to Buy Your Performance Space | CAST & CounterPulse Real Estate Model
Mar 16 2024
How to Buy Your Performance Space | CAST & CounterPulse Real Estate Model
"The resilience that we have to live through booms and busts and pandemics and continue to serve the community, continue to drive foot traffic, continue to create economic opportunities for local people to have jobs and work and express themselves is just incredible. So if you're struggling with a storefront or a vacancy or empty space, just remember to think about the arts” - Julie PhelpsIn this episode, we delve into our special series that charts the resurgence of the arts and culture sector from the shadows of the COVID-19 pandemic. We're bringing together insights from the Co-Production of Arts for A Better Bay Area State of The Arts Summit, an event that unfolded at the Strand Theatre in San Francisco on June 28th, 2023. The summit cast a spotlight on revitalizing our communities through the lens of the arts. A standout session at the summit tackled a pressing issue: securing affordable housing for our artistic community.Emerging from the discussions at the ABBA summit on affordable housing and real estate was a captivating dialogue on utilizing the shifts in the market post-pandemic to enable arts and cultural organizations to secure their own venues for performances.To shed light on this promising avenue, we're joined by Julie Phelps, the Artistic and Executive Director of CounterPulse, and Joshua Simon, a Senior Advisor at the Community Arts Stabilization Trust. They will unpack an inventive real estate strategy that empowered CounterPulse to purchase their performance space—an approach that holds transformative potential for the arts sector across the country. Welcome to Voices of the Community, a platform where every conversation spark innovation, and every voice is valued.To find out more information about our guests and their respective organization’s programs, and services, how to volunteer and make a donation please visit our episode landing page with links to resources for the arts and culture sector. And if you have been enjoying the show, please leave us a rating and review on the podcast platform of your choiceWe welcome your participation in our next virtual and live in-person community dialogue event. You can also watch this episode on our YouTube Channel and please Sign Up for our Newsletter to stay up to date on future episodes and to participate in our next live show. We would love to hear from you with feedback and show ideas, so send us an email to george@georgekoster.com.Please consider donating to Voices of the Community - Voices of the Community is fiscally sponsored by Intersection for the Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, that allows us to offer you tax deductions for your contributions. Please consider making a donation to help us provide future shows just like this one. Dive Into More Information on Each Episode, Speakers, Organizations and Resources at our Voices of the Community’s Special Arts & Culture Series Web Landing Page
REP-SF’s Citywide People’s Plan for Affordable Housing
Feb 22 2024
REP-SF’s Citywide People’s Plan for Affordable Housing
“It's about forcing the city to make sure that they build affordable housing. And there's lots of, programs that we have in the Citywide People's Plan that can make, huge steps towards, building affordable housing” - Dyan RuizThis episode is part of our ongoing Special Series on How the Arts and Culture sector is coming back from the covid 19 pandemic. In our co-production of Arts for A Better Bay Area’s [ABBA] State of the Arts Summit on June 28th 2023 one of the breakout sessions was focused on the work in our community to develop affordable housing for our creative workforce.The summit breakout panel discussion on “Housing for the Artist Workforce: Revisiting Artists’ Housing” is featured in episode four of this series. We received a lot of feedback from ABBA's State of the Arts Summit attendees that they wished the session on affordable housing was longer and they could spend more time diving into the work being done. Based on this feedback we have created three follow up episodes focused on three of the topics that were discussed in the arts for a better bay area’s state of the arts summit affordable housing session. This episode is focused on the Race & Equity in all Planning of San Francisco [REP-SF] coalition’s work to create the Citywide People’s Plan for affordable housing in San Francisco and features the voices of ​​the co-founder and reporter of people power media Dyan Ruiz and the President and Resident Chair of Calle 24 Latino Cultural District Erick Arguello.To find out more information about our guests and their respective organization’s programs, and services, how to volunteer and make a donation please visit our episode landing page with links to resources for the arts and culture sector. And if you have been enjoying the show, please leave us a rating and review on the podcast platform of your choiceWe welcome your participation in our next virtual and live in-person community dialogue event. You can also watch this episode on our YouTube Channel and please Sign Up for our Newsletter to stay up to date on future episodes and to participate in our next live show. We would love to hear from you with feedback and show ideas, so send us an email to george@georgekoster.com.Please consider donating to Voices of the Community - Voices of the Community is fiscally sponsored by Intersection for the Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, that allows us to offer you tax deductions for your contributions. Please consider making a donation to help us provide future shows just like this one. Dive Into More Information on Each Episode, Speakers, Organizations and Resources at our Voices of the Community’s Special Arts & Culture Series Web Landing Page
Proposition E, 2018 & Arts Impact Endowment Update & Discussion & Grants For The Arts
Jan 27 2024
Proposition E, 2018 & Arts Impact Endowment Update & Discussion & Grants For The Arts
"I think the action and the continuity of the coalition from Prop S to Prop E went from 40 organizations to 140 organizations. That was something that was huge” - Vin SeamanIn this seventh episode of our series focusing on the arts and culture sector's recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, we bring you highlights from the Co-Production of Arts For A Better Bay Area (ABBA) State of The Arts Summit, held at the Strand Theatre in San Francisco on June 28th, 2023. The summit centered around rebuilding communities through the arts.This episode features a community conversation from the ABBA Summit, discussing the status of Proposition E from 2018, the Arts Impact Endowment, and Grants for the Arts. Our panel includes voices from:- Joe Landini, Founder and Director of Giving at Safe House Arts- Vinay Patel, Executive Director of the Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center- Denise Pate, Director of Community Investments for the San Francisco Arts CommissionThe second part of our discussion features an interview with ABBA Summit attendee, Shrey Purohit an artist and cultural worker at Arts Span; Along with a One on One Interview with Vallie Brown, the Director of the City of San Francisco’s Grants For The Arts, along with our wonderful co-host Isa Nakazawa, the Director of Community Engagement of BAVC Media.To find out more information about our guests and their respective organization’s programs, and services, how to volunteer and make a donation please visit our episode landing page with links to resources for the arts and culture sector. And if you have been enjoying the show, please leave us a rating and review on the podcast platform of your choiceWe welcome your participation in our next virtual and live in-person community dialogue event. You can also watch this episode on our YouTube Channel and please Sign Up for our Newsletter to stay up to date on future episodes and to participate in our next live show. We would love to hear from you with feedback and show ideas, so send us an email to george@georgekoster.com.Please consider donating to Voices of the Community - Voices of the Community is fiscally sponsored by Intersection for the Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, that allows us to offer you tax deductions for your contributions. Please consider making a donation to help us provide future shows just like this one. Dive Into More Information on Each Episode, Speakers, Organizations and Resources at our Voices of the Community’s Special Arts & Culture Series Web Landing Page
How Do Community Based Arts Orgs Secure Sustainable Funding?
Dec 20 2023
How Do Community Based Arts Orgs Secure Sustainable Funding?
“Bringing the scale of human life to the community again so that we can kind of start seeing our humanity and our everyday Experiences” - Melissa AbercrombieThis episode is from our November 4th 2023 live event co-production with the Petaluma Arts Center, our broadcast partners KPCA 103.3fm and Petaluma Community Access TV and BAVC Media. This special event was focused on exploring the question, “How Do Community Based Arts Organizations Secure Sustainable Funding?”  Our wonderful panel and audience members covered sub topics such as Exploring Different Business Models, Hybrid Productions - Live and Streaming, bringing arts organizations and government committees to support artists along with ideas around creating a fund endowment. The event included our panel conversation along with questions and lively conversation with our audience, all with the focus of bringing our community together in support of the arts. The panel features the voices of:- Llisa Demtrios, the President of the Board Petaluma Arts Center;- Melissa Abercrombie, the Chair of the Petaluma Pubic Art Committee;- Diane Dragoine, the Executive Director of Cinnabar Theatre;- Juliet Pokorny, the co-founder of West Side Stories PetalumaTo find out more information about our guests and their respective organization’s programs, and services, how to volunteer and make a donation please visit our episode landing page with links to resources for the arts and culture sector. And if you have been enjoying the show, please leave us a rating and review on the podcast platform of your choiceWe welcome your participation in our next virtual and live in-person community dialogue event. You can also watch this episode and please Sign Up for our Newsletter to stay up to date on future episodes and to participate in our next live show. We would love to hear from you with feedback and show ideas, so send us an email to george@georgekoster.com.Please consider donating to Voices of the Community - Voices of the Community is fiscally sponsored by Intersection for the Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, that allows us to offer you tax deductions for your contributions. Please consider making a donation to help us provide future shows just like this one. Dive Into More Information on Each Episode, Speakers, Organizations and Resources at our Voices of the Community’s Special Arts & Culture Series Web Landing Page
Meredith Winner - Paint the Void & Lyzette Wanzer - Author of Trauma, Tresses & Truth
Dec 6 2023
Meredith Winner - Paint the Void & Lyzette Wanzer - Author of Trauma, Tresses & Truth
“I think really being open minded and also really trusting artists is a really big, important factor because. Artists know what they're doing, at least when it comes to making the artwork, that's why people hire them and allow them to have the most creative freedom as possible, really. Usually allows the project to be as best as it can be or as good as it can be” - Meredith WinnerThis episode is the long form of our one-on-one interview with Meredith Winner the COO and Co-Founder of Building 180 and Managing Director and Co-Founder of Paint the Void. Meredith shares how her team at Building 180 provides support agency services to artists to provide projects and good-paying work as well as through Paint the Void works with artists and local government to utilize art as economic and community development change agents. As part of our great roving reporter team of Isa Nakazawa and Eric Estrada at the Arts For A Better Bay Area State of The Arts Summit; this episode includes an interview with Lyzette Wanzer the author of Trauma, Tresses & Truth "Untangling our Hair Through Personal Narrative". Lyzette also was part of the planning and production team of the ABBA State of the Arts Summit. Lyzette shares with us about the planning of the Summit along with her insights into how both artists and arts organizations need the support of our government, funders, and each other. To find out more information about our guests and their respective organization’s programs, and services, how to volunteer and make a donation please visit our episode landing page with links to resources for the arts and culture sector. And if you have been enjoying the show, please leave us a rating and review on the podcast platform of your choiceWe welcome your participation in our next virtual and live in-person community dialogue event. You can also watch this episode and please Sign Up for our Newsletter to stay up to date on future episodes and to participate in our next live show. We would love to hear from you with feedback and show ideas, so send us an email to george@georgekoster.com.Please consider donating to Voices of the Community - Voices of the Community is fiscally sponsored by Intersection for the Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, that allows us to offer you tax deductions for your contributions. Please consider making a donation to help us provide future shows just like this one. Dive Into More Information on Each Episode, Speakers, Organizations and Resources at our Voices of the Community’s Special Arts & Culture Series Web Landing Page
Fernando Pujals  & Rachel Osajima- How their using the Arts for Economic & Community Development
Nov 29 2023
Fernando Pujals & Rachel Osajima- How their using the Arts for Economic & Community Development
"So of course, the pandemic was a struggle for all of us, and so we all know the arts organizations are the first to close and last open, especially the performing arts are really still struggling" - Rachel OsajimaThis episode is the long form of our one-on-one interview with Fernando Pujals, the Deputy Director of the Mid-Market Business Association & Foundation and a great deep dive into how he and his team our supporting artists, arts organizations and leveraging the power of the arts to help bring back the Mid-Market neighborhood in our post pandemic world. As part of our great roving reporter team of Isa Nakazawa and Eric Estrada at the Arts For A Better Bay Area State of The Arts Summit; this episode includes an interview with Rachel Osajima who serves as the Executive Director of the Alameda County Arts Commission, which is a division of the County of Alameda. Rachel provides us with some wonderful insights into how a funder has continued to support artists and arts organizations through the pandemic and in the post pandemic marketplace.To find out more information about our guests and their respective organization’s programs, and services, how to volunteer and make a donation please visit our episode landing page with links to resources for the arts and culture sector. And if you have been enjoying the show please leave us a rating and review on the podcast platform of your choiceWe welcome your participation in our next virtual and live in-person community dialogue event. You can also watch this episode and please Sign Up for our Newsletter to stay up to date on future episodes and to participate in our next live show. We would love to hear from you with feedback and show ideas, so send us an email to george@georgekoster.com.Please consider donating to Voices of the Community - Voices of the Community is fiscally sponsored by Intersection for the Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, that allows us to offer you tax deductions for your contributions. Please consider making a donation to help us provide future shows just like this one. Dive Into More Information on Each Episode, Speakers, Organizations and Resources at our Voices of the Community’s Special Arts & Culture Series Web Landing Page
Regional Economic Recovery Through the Arts
Nov 22 2023
Regional Economic Recovery Through the Arts
"There's been a lot of talk about, how do you make this sustainable, and there's not one answer, but one piece that is core to that, is really galvanizing and cementing around this notion that arts and culture is already right here and we need to lean into it and value it and uplift it. And in that way it won't be able to be ignored'“ - Fernando PujasThis episode is part of our special series on how the arts and culture sector is coming back from the covid 19 pandemic and features voices from the Co-Production of Arts For A Better Bay Area State of The Arts Summit held at the Strand Theatre in San Francisco on June 28th 2023. The focus of the summit was on rebuilding our communities through the arts. This episode features panelists from our breakout panel discussion “Regional Economic Recovery Through the Arts" on how the Arts are being utilized in economic and community development coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic. The panel features the voices of Laura Poppiti, the Deputy Director of the Center for Cultural Innovation, Richard Raya, the Chief Strategy Officer at Mission Economic Development Agency, Fernando Pujals, the Deputy Director of the Mid-Market Business Association & Foundation, Meredith Winner, the co-founder and COO of Building 180 and Managing Director and Co-Founder of Paint the Voice, and Jacob Bintliff, the Manager of Economic Recovery Initiatives at the City of San Francisco’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development along with our co-host Susie McKinnon a Steward at Arts for a Better Bay Area.To find out more information about our guests and their respective organization’s programs, and services, how to volunteer and make a donation please visit our episode landing page with links to resources for the arts and culture sector. And if you have been enjoying the show please leave us a rating and review on the podcast platform of your choiceWe welcome your participation in our next virtual and live in-person community dialogue event. You can also watch this episode and please Sign Up for our Newsletter to stay up to date on future episodes and to participate in our next live show. We would love to hear from you with feedback and show ideas, so send us an email to george@georgekoster.com.Please consider donating to Voices of the Community - Voices of the Community is fiscally sponsored by Intersection for the Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, that allows us to offer you tax deductions for your contributions. Please consider making a donation to help us provide future shows just like this one. Dive Into More Information on Each Episode, Speakers, Organizations and Resources at our Voices of the Community’s Special Arts & Culture Series Web Landing Page
Revisiting Artists’ Housing Solutions
Oct 31 2023
Revisiting Artists’ Housing Solutions
"So looking at how do we build an ecology where affordable housing isn't just a place you stay, it's a place you stay and work and build a business and raise a family and, you know, build the economic resources,for the next step. " - Josh SimonThis episode is part of our special series on how the arts and culture sector is coming back from the Covid 19 pandemic and features voices from our co-production of Arts For a Better Bay Area’s State Of The Arts Summit on June 28th 2023. The focus of the summit was how artists and arts organizations are adapting in a post pandemic marketplace along with the economic developmental power of our arts and culture economy in rebuilding our communities. This episode features our panelists from our breakout session “Housing for the Artist Workforce: Revisiting Artists’ Housing Solutions” Kathryn Reasoner, Executive Consultant with Vital Arts, Mark Morrisette, the Facilities Director at Berkeley Repertory Theater, Joshua Simon, a Senior Advisor at the Community Arts Stabilization Trust, Ian Winters, the Director of Incubation and Special Projects at the Northern California Land Trust, and Meg Shiffler, the Director of Artists Space Trust, along with Julie Baker, the CEO of Californians for the Arts and California Arts Advocates.To find out more information about our guests and their respective organization’s programs, and services, how to volunteer and make a donation please visit our episode landing page with links to resources for the arts and culture sector. We hope that you enjoyed episode four of our new seven-part series highlighting the issues and solutions of our arts and culture organizations and their workforce as they innovate to come back from the pandemic along with addressing the systemic racism in our performing arts ecosystem.,We welcome your participation in our next virtual and live in-person community dialogue event on November 4th at the Petaluma Arts Center from 2pm to 4pm. Register for FREE Y2 pm4 pmou can tune into our usual radio show, podcast, and television show with our friends at BAVC Media. Sign Up for our Newsletter to participate in our next live showPlease consider donating to Voices of the Community - Voices of the Community is fiscally sponsored by Intersection for the Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, that allows us to offer you tax deductions for your contributions. Please consider making a donation to help us provide future shows just like this one. Dive Into More Information on Each Episode, Speakers, Organizations and Resources at our Voices of the Community’s Special Arts & Culture Series Web Landing Page
Ralph Remington of San Francisco Arts Commission - Interview at Arts for a Better Bay Area State of the Arts Summit
Sep 22 2023
Ralph Remington of San Francisco Arts Commission - Interview at Arts for a Better Bay Area State of the Arts Summit
“One of the things that I, would say to this community coming from a repressed community is let’s turn to each other, not on each other. Let’s bond together, and find our commonality, not our differences. Because the enemy, I’ve seen the enemy in Arizona, and it is not us. So when we have small differences with each other, let’s recognize them for what that is, and let’s stop this San Francisco bickering that we’re famous for, and killing each other over really tiny differences. And let’s bond together over the big stuff because the big stuff is coming and it’s here and it’s big and hairy and gross and we need everybody’s power and participation to disrupt these evil forces.” - Ralph RemingtonThis interview with Ralph Remington is part of our co-production with Arts for a Better Bay Area of the re-launch of the State of the Arts Summit on June 28th, 2023. You can watch the wonderful interview conducted by our roaming reporter team of Isa Nakazawa our co-host and associate producer Eric Estrada.You can listen to the full episode features the opening and keynote speakers made up of community leaders, poets, artists, administrators, government officials, and representatives from arts and culture organizations; who share their wonderful insights and recommendations on the rebuilding of our communities through the arts. With Arts for a Better Bay Area's State of the Arts Summit theme, "Rebuilding Our Communities," our opening and keynote speakers below explore collective ways the arts community can develop and bridge supportive connections as we emerge from the pandemic. To find out more information about our guests and their respective organization’s programs, and services, how to volunteer and make a donation please visit our episode landing page with links to resources for the arts and culture sector. We hope that you enjoyed episode two of our new six-part series highlighting the issues and solutions of our arts and culture organizations and their workforce as they innovate to come back from the pandemic along with addressing the systemic racism in our performing arts ecosystem.We welcome your participation in our next virtual and live in-person community dialogue event. Our next community dialogue will be streamed as well as you can tune into our usual radio show, podcast, and television show with our friends at BAVC Media. Sign Up for our Newsletter to participate in our next live showPlease consider donating to Voices of the Community - Voices of the Community is fiscally sponsored by Intersection for the Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, that allows us to offer you tax deductions for your contributions. Please consider making a donation to help us provide future shows just like this one. Dive Into More Information on Each Episode, Speakers, Organizations and Resources at our Voices of the Community’s Special Arts & Culture Series Web Landing Page
Arts for a Better Bay Area State of the Arts Summit – “Economic Recovery in the Arts: Regaining Patrons and Artistic Engagement” Ep 3
Sep 9 2023
Arts for a Better Bay Area State of the Arts Summit – “Economic Recovery in the Arts: Regaining Patrons and Artistic Engagement” Ep 3
"It's all about partnering artists with small businesses to create site specific installations and that way create more exposure both for the business and for the artists and also to revitalize those corridors" - Vanessa WilsonThis is our second episode from the co-production with Arts for a Better Bay Area of the re-launch of the State of the Arts Summit "Rebuilding Our Communities," on June 28th, 2023.The COVID-19 pandemic shined a spotlight on the importance of arts and culture and its impact on our communities and economy, as well as the under-funding and fragility of our sector. Our second episode is focused on how governmental support, funding, artists, and audiences have changed and what arts and cultural organizations are doing to support, reinvent, and invigorate the sector. Join us to learn about various angles of this work and how you can get engaged.This episode features Julie Baker, CEO - of Californians for the Arts; Vanessa Wilson, Deputy Director - of ArtSpan; Lauren Macmadu, Head of External Relations - of YBCA;  Jenny Cohn, Client Success Manager - of TRG Arts along with Cary McClelland, Chief Operating Officer - of YBCA.You can watch this episode as part of our television show with our friends at BAVC Media. To receive more information on the State of the Arts Series please Sign Up for our Newsletter to find out more about each episode as well as to participate in our next live show.We hope that you enjoyed episode three of our new six-part series highlighting the issues and solutions of our arts and culture organizations and their workforce as they innovate to come back from the pandemic along with addressing the systemic racism in our performing arts ecosystem. Please consider donating to Voices of the Community - Voices of the Community is fiscally sponsored by Intersection for the Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, that allows us to offer you tax deductions for your contributions. Please consider making a donation to help us provide future shows just like this one.If you've been enjoying the show please leave us a rating and review on the podcast platform of your choice and we’d love to hear from you with feedback and show ideas, so send us an email to george@georgekoster.com Dive Into More Information on Each Episode, Speakers, Organizations and Resources at our Voices of the Community’s Special Arts & Culture Series Web Landing Page
Maria Jensen of SOMARTS Cultural Center - Interview at Arts for a Better Bay Area State of the Arts Summit
Aug 30 2023
Maria Jensen of SOMARTS Cultural Center - Interview at Arts for a Better Bay Area State of the Arts Summit
“This is a time when the art community's creative expertise and skills and talents are being relied upon. And finally, really seen as major contributors to the local economy.” – Maria JensenThis interview with Maria Jensen is part of our co-production with Arts for a Better Bay Area of the re-launch of the State of the Arts Summit on June 28th, 2023. You can watch the wonderful interview conducted by our roaming reporter team of Isa NakazawaJensen Jensenand Eric Estrada. You can listen to the full episode features the opening and keynote speakers made up of community leaders, poets, artists, administrators, government officials, and representatives from arts and culture organizations; who share their wonderful insights and recommendations on the rebuilding of our communities through the arts. With Arts for a Better Bay Area's State of the Arts Summit theme, "Rebuilding Our Communities," our opening and keynote speakers below explore collective ways the arts community can develop and bridge supportive connections as we emerge from the pandemic. To find out more information about our guests and their respective organization’s programs, and services, how to volunteer and make a donation please visit our episode landing page with links to resources for the arts and culture sector. We hope that you enjoyed episode two of our new six-part series highlighting the issues and solutions of our arts and culture organizations and their workforce as they innovate to come back from the pandemic along with addressing the systemic racism in our performing arts ecosystem.We welcome your participation in our next virtual and live in-person community dialogue event. Our next community dialogue will be streamed as well as you can tune into our usual radio show, podcast, and television show with our friends atBAVC Media. Sign Up for our Newsletter to participate in our next live showPlease consider donating to Voices of the Community - Voices of the Community is fiscally sponsored by Intersection for the Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, which allows us to offer you tax deductions for your contributions. Please consider making a donation to help us provide future shows just like this one.that Dive Into More Information on Each Episode, Speakers, Organizations and Resources at our Voices of the Community’s Special Arts & Culture Series Web Landing Page
Jonathan Moscone Interview at Arts for a Better Bay Area State of the Arts Summit
Aug 16 2023
Jonathan Moscone Interview at Arts for a Better Bay Area State of the Arts Summit
"A clean city is not what San Francisco is. San Francisco is a messy city. It’s politically messy, it’s diverse. It fights amongst itself. It is San Francisco and it’s never not gonna be. So, let’s lean into the right kind of messy of San Francisco and artists can get messy. So, let’s get messy." — Jonathan Moscone, Executive Director,California Arts CouncilThis interview with Jonathan Moscone is part of our co-production with Arts for a Better Bay Area of the re-launch of the State of the Arts Summit on June 28th, 2023. You can watch the wonderful interview conducted by our roaming reporter team of Isa Nakazawa  and Eric Estrada. You can listen to the full episode features the opening and keynote speakers made up of community leaders, poets, artists, administrators, government officials, and representatives from arts and culture organizations; who share their wonderful insights and recommendations on the rebuilding of our communities through the arts. With Arts for a Better Bay Area's State of the Arts Summit theme, "Rebuilding Our Communities," our opening and keynote speakers below explore collective ways the arts community can develop and bridge supportive connections as we emerge from the pandemic. To find out more information about our guests and their respective organization’s programs, and services, how to volunteer and make a donation please visit our episode landing page with links to resources for the arts and culture sector. We hope that you enjoyed episode two of our new six-part series highlighting the issues and solutions of our arts and culture organizations and their workforce as they innovate to come back from the pandemic along with addressing the systemic racism in our performing arts ecosystem.We welcome your participation in our next virtual and live in-person community dialogue event. Our next community dialogue will be streamed as well as you can tune into our usual radio show, podcast, and television show with our friends atBAVC Media. Sign Up for our Newsletter to participate in our next live showPlease consider donating to Voices of the Community - Voices of the Community is fiscally sponsored by Intersection for the Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, which allows us to offer you tax deductions for your contributions. Please consider making a donation to help us provide future shows just like this one. Dive Into More Information on Each Episode, Speakers, Organizations and Resources at our Voices of the Community’s Special Arts & Culture Series Web Landing Page
Arts for a Better Bay Area State of the Arts Summit - Opening & Keynotes Ep 2
Aug 5 2023
Arts for a Better Bay Area State of the Arts Summit - Opening & Keynotes Ep 2
“This is a time when the art community's creative expertise and skills and talents are being relied upon. And finally, really seen as major contributors to the local economy.” – Maria JensenThis is our first episode from the co-production with Arts for a Better Bay Area of the re-launch of the State of the Arts Summit on June 28th, 2023 . This episode features the opening and keynote speakers made up of community leaders, poets, artists, administrators, government officials, and representatives from arts and culture organizations; who share their wonderful insights and recommendations on the rebuilding of our communities through the arts. With Arts for a Better Bay Area's State of the Arts Summit theme, "Rebuilding Our Communities," our opening and keynote speakers below explore collective ways the arts community can develop and bridge supportive connections as we emerge from the pandemic. To find out more information about our guests and their respective organization’s programs, and services, how to volunteer and make a donation please visit our episode landing page with links to resources for the arts and culture sector. Show GuestsHoney Mahoney / Co-Founder Compton’s Transgender Cultural DistrictLyzette Wanzer / Writer/AuthorMichael Warr & Chun Yu/ PoetsSusie McKinnon/ Executive Director/ ABBAMaria Jenson / Creative and Executive Director, SOMArts Cultural CenterRalph Remington / Director of Cultural Affairs, SFACJonathan Moscone, Executive Director, California Arts CouncilWe hope that you enjoyed episode two of our new six-part series highlighting the issues and solutions of our arts and culture organizations and their workforce as they innovate to come back from the pandemic along with addressing the systemic racism in our performing arts ecosystem.We welcome your participation in our next virtual and live in-person community dialogue event. Our next community dialogue will be streamed as well as you can tune into our usual radio show, podcast, and television show with our friends at BAVC Media. Sign Up for our Newsletter to participate in our next live showPlease consider donating to Voices of the Community - Voices of the Community is fiscally sponsored by Intersection for the Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, which allows us to offer you tax deductions for your contributions. Please consider making a donation to help us provide future shows just like this one. Dive Into More Information on Each Episode, Speakers, Organizations and Resources at our Voices of the Community’s Special Arts & Culture Series Web Landing Page
“The State of Our Arts & Culture Organizations” - Ep 1 Board & Governance
Apr 15 2023
“The State of Our Arts & Culture Organizations” - Ep 1 Board & Governance
"We wanna incentivize and give board love too. I think the board is often like the scary people or viewed as the scary people behind the curtains that are doing the work or maybe overseeing or assessing” - Michelle “Mush” Lee, Youth SpeaksOur first episode of the special series titled "Insights for Building Your Nonprofit Arts and Culture Board" features these three exceptional nonprofit arts and culture leaders, doing big ambitious things with their Boards:• Michelle "Mush" Lee, Executive Director, Youth Speaks• Julie Phelps, Executive Director, Counterpulse• Meredith Suttles, Managing Director/CEO,Marin Theatre CompanyIn addition, this episode also features Jay Mitchell, professor of law and the founding director of the Organizations and Transactions Clinic at Stanford Law School who shares his expert insights and advice on the best practices of nonprofit governance and my co-host Paula Arrigoni the Executive Director of BAVC MediaTo find out more information about our guests and their respective organization’s programs, and services, how to volunteer and make a donation please visit their websites for Youth Speaks go to youth speaks dot org for Counter Pulse go to counterpulse dot org for Marin Theater go to marin theatre dot org and for the Organizations and Transactions Clinic at Stanford Law School go to law dot stanford dot eduWe hope that you enjoyed episode one of our new six-part series highlighting the issues and solutions of our arts and culture organizations and their workforce as they innovate to come back from the pandemic along with addressing the systemic racism in our performing arts ecosystem.We welcome your participation in our next virtual and live in-person community dialogue event that will be focused on audience development through exploring new and different business models that have come out of the pandemic. Our next community dialogue will be streamed as well as you can tune into our usual radio show, podcast, and television show with our friends at BAVC Media. Sign Up for our Newsletter to participate in our next live showPlease consider donating to Voices of the Community - Voices of the Community is fiscally sponsored by Intersection for the Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, which allows us to offer you tax deductions for your contributions. Please consider making a donation to help us provide future shows just like this one. Dive Into More Information on Each Episode, Speakers, Organizations and Resources at our Voices of the Community’s Special Arts & Culture Series Web Landing Page
Foundations for Social Change
Jan 25 2023
Foundations for Social Change
"There's still a lot of public resistance to the idea of giving people in homelessness cash, because, the public doesn't trust people in poverty or people in homelessness, I think that has to be corrected and addressed" - Dr. Jiaying ZhaoOne of the topics we have focused on through our special Covid-19 series is our unhoused neighbors' lives by organizations and governments experimenting with providing cash transfers to unhoused community members. We are finishing up our special series on Covid-19’s impact on our nonprofits, small businesses, and local governments with this very informative and insightful interview with Foundations for Social Change.  Foundations for Social Change were the first organization in North America to develop a research project to study the impact on our unhoused neighbors' lives by providing cash transfers to un-housed community members.In this episode, we feature the voices of the Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in the Department of Psychology Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability at the University of British Columbia Dr. Jiaying Zhao, along with the Director of the New Leaf Project Heather Hay and the LEAP Co-Chair and Peer Coordinator Ray BonnetrougeTo review the first study and to find out more and support the work of Foundations For Social Change please go to for social change dot org  You can find out more about the work of nonprofits working with our unhoused neighbors featured over the last 3 years in this series by going to our Covid-19 and San Francisco Nonprofits series. And to find out more information about the first program to provide cash transfers to community members in the United States the City of Stockton please go to our Stockton’s Rise From Bankruptcy and go to Episode 12 The Rose that Grew from ConcretePlease consider donating to Voices of the Community - Voices of the Community is fiscally sponsored by Intersection for the Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, which allows us to offer you tax deductions for your contributions. Please consider making a donation to help us provide future shows just like this one. Dive Into More Information on Each Episode, Speakers, Organizations and Resources at our Voices of the Community’s Special Arts & Culture Series Web Landing Page
San Francisco's Department of Homelessness & Supportive Housing
Jan 14 2023
San Francisco's Department of Homelessness & Supportive Housing
“I volunteer at a safe sober space. I serve on the board of a retreat for healing that happens once a year. I serve on the Board of StartOut which helps LGBTQ + entrepreneurs gain access to mentorship and resources and fundraising to increase our representation as founders of companies. I will always do this work, because these are the same kind of organizations that empowered me to have the life I lead today.” Jugal Patel Throughout this special series on covid-19’s impact on our nonprofits, small businesses and local governments we have heard from numerous voices who continue to show up in a pandemic to support our unhoused community members. They have shared with you all the wonderful solutions that our nonprofits and local governments are working on to help reduce the number of our neighbors who find themselves un-housed.As we enter 2023 and the third year of the covid-19 pandemic we wanted to hear from one of our government departments about the housing and wrap around support services they are providing to our unhoused neighbors. In this episode we feature the voices of the executive director of the  Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing for the City and County of San Francisco, Shireen McSpadden, the Manager of Housing Subsidy Programs at the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, Alan Guttirez along with a participant in the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing Flex Housing Pool program Jugal Patel as well as the Executive Director of Episcopal Community Services of San Francisco, Beth Stokes.To find out more about the flex housing pool program along with other housing and wrap around support services that the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing for the City and County of San Francisco provides please go to h s h dot org And for more information about all of the wrap around services that the Episcopal Community Services of San Francisco provides and to make a donation please go to e c s dash s f dot orgPlease consider donating to Voices of the Community - Voices of the Community is fiscally sponsored by Intersection for the Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, which allows us to offer you tax deductions for your contributions. Please consider making a donation to help us provide future shows just like this one. Dive Into More Information on Each Episode, Speakers, Organizations and Resources at our Voices of the Community’s Special Arts & Culture Series Web Landing Page
Miracle Money Pilot Program Update
Dec 7 2022
Miracle Money Pilot Program Update
“It breaks my heart as a mother and a teacher almost the, majority of people who are unhoused are families with children. Sleeping in cars, sleeping in garages, and that these families, these moms and dads, aunts and uncles, they work, but again, they can't get enough together to secure safe and affordable housing”-Elizabeth SoftkyWelcome to our annual holiday show and fundraiser. As we bring this year and our special series on Covid-19’s impact on nonprofits to a close, we wanted to go back to Episode One in the series when we introduced you to Miracle Messages and in Episode 75 when we introduced you to Miracle Message’s Miracle Money.In our 102 episode of this special Covid-19 series we are featuring the voices of the CEO of Miracle Messages, Kevin Adler, and Miracle Messages general manager of Los Angeles Jenni Taylor along with Miracle Money Program participant Elizabeth Softky. Photo of Episode Note: The photo is Elizabeth and her Miracle Messages Phone Buddy JoanTo donate to the holiday miracle money fund to provide funds directly to our unhoused community members please go to miracle messages dot org forward slash donate and remember I'm matching up to $2,500.00, so you can double your donationYou can listen back to episode one in our special series to hear about the background of Miracle Messages with Kevin and to find out more about the success of the Miracle Money program and its impact on our unhoused community members please listen back to episode seventy-five of this series where we feature the voices of Ray, Jen and Kevin. Please consider donating to Voices of the Community - Voices of the Community is fiscally sponsored by Intersection for the Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, which allows us to offer you tax deductions for your contributions. Please consider making a donation to help us provide future shows just like this one. Dive Into More Information on Each Episode, Speakers, Organizations and Resources at our Voices of the Community’s Special Arts & Culture Series Web Landing Page
Election 2022 - California & San Francisco Propositions Explained
Oct 30 2022
Election 2022 - California & San Francisco Propositions Explained
“We provide education to encourage people to vote and participate in government”-Michelle MoritzWelcome to our 2022 Election Show. Given all the propositions on both a State of California level as well as the usual too many propositions to understand on the City of San Francisco level we wanted to bring together two wonderful subject matter experts to help us better understand both the Pros and Cons of both State and City propositions. Our Elections 2022 show features the voices of two wonderful subject matter experts to help us better understand both the Pros and Cons of both State and City propositions - Michelle Moritz the Speakers Bureau Chair of the League of Women Voters of San Francisco and Madison Alvarado a Reporter and the Co-Creator of the San Francisco Public Press Election Guide.In support of the wonderful insights of both Michelle and Madison we wanted to make sure you all had the following Election 2022 Resources to deep dive into the dozens of State of California and City/County of San Francisco PropositionsLeague of Women Voters - Resources -According to Michelle the League of Women Voters has provided a series of tools to help you get ready to vote for both the State of California and the City and County of San Francisco propositions. Please do a deep dive into these great resources to get out and vote.+ City and County of San Francisco Pro and Con Guide+ State of California Voters Edge Tool - Just type in your zip code or your address and provides information about propositions, candidates and allows you to create a test ballot to get organized and ready to actually fill out your real ballot.The San Francisco Public Press - Resources -According to Madison The San Francisco Public Press team has both written and audio versions of in-depth analysis of every San Francisco measure that's on the ballot. Please do a deep dive into these great resources to get out and vote.+ Nonpartisan Voter Guide Overview+ Voter Guide with audio interviewsPlease consider donating to Voices of the Community - Voices of the Community is fiscally sponsored by Intersection for the Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, which allows us to offer you tax deductions for your contributions. Please consider making a donation to help us provide future shows just like this one. Dive Into More Information on Each Episode, Speakers, Organizations and Resources at our Voices of the Community’s Special Arts & Culture Series Web Landing Page