A Passion to Serve

A Passion to Serve host Don Kuchnicki speaks with Veronica Depotty, Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Grant Manager & Housing Education Specialist with the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA).  During the interview they discuss housing counseling services, client success stories, a recent grant award and access to national and state interactive dashboards that highlight data trends for housing counseling agencies and stakeholders

1:35 What led Veronica on her path to assisting others with housing counseling services

5:50 Discussion about MSHDA program services

9:27 MSHDA awarded largest ever housing counseling grant

11:51 Interagency Mentoring Program

16.00 Housing Counseling Impact Data Access

To learn more about MISHDA services and other relevant information please go to following sites:

https://www.michigan.gov/mshda

https://www.michigan.gov/mshda/homeownership/housing-education

Housing Counseling Agency Locator

A Passion to Serve host Don Kuchnicki speaks with Dr. Isabel Montemayor-Vazquez. Executive Director with the Hispanic Latino Commission of Michigan (HLCOM).  During the interview they discuss HLCOM's 2022 strategic planning goals and objectives, including the 6th Annual Hispanic/Latino Statewide Graduation Ceremony, which is taking place on Friday, April 22, 2022. 

Podcast Highlights:

1:16 Discussion about 2022 strategic planning goals & objectives

4:29 Annual Graduation Ceremony discussion

9:16 Hispanic/ Latino Commission's ongoing Collaboration with LLEAD

14:06 Where to find additional information about the Hispanic/Latino Commission of Michigan

HLCOM Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/hlcommission

HLCOM Website: https://www.michigan.gov/ogm/commissions/hlcom

A Passion to Serve host Don Kuchnicki speaks with Ilda Martinez, Program Manager for the National Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Association.  During the interview Ilda talks about her family's experiences as farmworkers in the United States, the importance of education and her current work with the National Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Association.  

During this episode of A Passion to Serve, host Don Kuchnicki speaks with Alma Cooper, a 2019 Okemos High School graduate in the State of Michigan and current West Point cadet.  During the interview Alma discusses the desire to give back to her community and country.

Alma is currently serving in student leadership at West Point, is a Truman Scholarship candidate, and will also be competing for the Rhodes Scholarship. In 2022 Alma is traveling to Israel and representing West Point on a joint trip with Yale University representatives to study and better understand the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and peace initiatives. 

A Passion to Serve host Don Kuchnicki speaks with Regional Director Elizabeth Kerwin of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).  During the interview they discuss the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 and how it protect the rights of employees and employers, encourages collective bargaining, and curtails certain private sector labor and management practices, which can harm the general welfare of workers, businesses and the U.S. economy.  To learn more, please go to http://www.nlrb.gov.

A Passion to Serve host Don Kuchnicki speaks with Lily Salas, outgoing director of the College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) at Western Michigan University.  During the interview they discuss her work administering CAMP services as well as her new role as Community Investment Officer at the Kalamazoo Community Foundation.  

The Kalamazoo Community Foundation provides essential funding to programs that ensure children have an equitable chance for success in school, that nurture and prepare young people for life beyond school, that support individuals and families from all walks of life, that enhance community prosperity in every corner of Kalamazoo County, and make life better for all.  To learn more, please go to http://www.kalfound.org.  

A Passion to Serve host Don Kuchnicki speaks with Cleo Rodriguez, Executive Director of the National Migrant & Seasonal Head Start Association. During the interview they discuss a variety of ongoing initiatives such as the Vaccine Project, the Summer Internship Program and the Healing Voices Project. 

The National Migrant & Seasonal Head Start Association (NMSHSA) is made up of Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Directors, Staff, Parents, and Friends that meets regularly to discuss issues and concerns unique to Migrant & Seasonal Head Start children and their families.

To learn more about the National Migrant & Season Head Start Association, go to http://www.nmshsa.org.

A Passion to Serve host Don Kuchnicki speaks with David Muraskin, Senior Litigation Attorney with the Public Justice Food Project.  During the interview we discuss the lawsuit that was recently filed in the State of Michigan to ensure undocumented workers have access to workers compensation insurance.

The Public Justice Food Project envisions a future where our food chain results in healthy, empowered communities and sustainable livelihoods and a just animal agriculture system that is transparent and accountable to people, not profit.  They are the only legal project in the country that is focused solely on dismantling the structures that enable the consolidation of corporate power and extractive practices in our food system and supporting a vision of animal agriculture that is regenerative, humane and owned by independent farmers.  To learn more, please go to http://food.publicjustice.net.  

A Passion to Serve host Don Kuchnicki speaks with outgoing director Dr. Ruben Martinez about his work and career with the Julian Samora Research Institute. The Julian Samora Research Institute is the Midwest’s Premier Latino Research Center, with a history of research on Latino communities, farm workers and their families, farmers and youth. Dr. Martínez shares examples of his work and advocacy efforts that have encompassed his life. As he stated during our interview together: “Political sociology gave me a sense of how power is used, maintained and also how it can be used to change society for the better.”