Dr. Lowell "Chris" Matthews has spent his career proving that education doesn't stop at prison walls, it just needs someone willing to build the bridge. As founder and executive director of MOKSE Educational Services, and an associate professor of Global Business and Leadership at Southern New Hampshire University, he's spent years working to expand access to education for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated learners, and to dismantle the stigma that follows people long after their sentence ends.

In this episode of Better Together, we sit down with Chris to talk about how MOKSE came to be, what it took to build Project AIM, SNHU's initiative bringing higher education into correctional settings, and why he believes education and entrepreneurship are two of the most powerful tools we have for breaking cycles of incarceration. He also talks about the impact teachers have on their students, and why his classes at SNHU were never really about the grade.

For Chris, the real measure of a class is the skill a student walks out with and carries into the world. If you care about second chances, believe education should be a right and not a reward, or just want to hear what it takes to change a system from the inside, this one's for you.

About MOKSE Educational Services: a national nonprofit dedicated to transforming lives through education, empowerment, and entrepreneurship, working with incarcerated and formerly incarcerated learners to break down barriers and stop the stigma associated with incarceration.

Learn More: mokse.org

About Partnership for Public Health: Partnership for Public Health (PPH) exists to lead and partner in public health strategies across the Lakes Region and New Hampshire for safer and healthier communities.

Learn More: pphnh.org

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Andy DeMeo has spent the last couple years proving that optimism isn't naive — it's a strategy. As the founder and host of Granite Goodness, he's built a platform dedicated to surfacing the stories of progress and problem-solving happening all across New Hampshire and New England. In this episode of Better Together, we sit down with Andy to talk about how Granite Goodness came to be, and why he believes finding and sharing good news is actually a public health intervention in its own right. He talks about what it takes to stay substantive and clear-eyed while still choosing hope, and what it means to build community around noticing the good happening around us. If you live in New Hampshire, care about local media that isn't built on outrage, or just need a reminder that things are working somewhere, this one's for you.

About Granite Goodness: a podcast and newsletter sharing optimistic stories of progress, innovation, and problem-solving from across New England. Proudly hosted in the Granite State.

Learn More: granitegoodness.com

About Partnership for Public Health: Partnership for Public Health (PPH) exists to lead and partner in public health strategies across the Lakes Region and New Hampshire for safer and healthier communities.

Learn More: pphnh.org

🔔 Subscribe for more conversations with the people shaping public health in New Hampshire. It's Free... so just do it!

#granitegoodness #bettertogether #pphnh #optimism #publichealth #newhampshire

Equality Health Center has been working years to overcome an oversimplification of the work they do. They are more than just an abortion center on the corner. They offer so many person centered care practices. In this episode of Better Together, we sit down with Jinelle Hall and Sarah Anderson, the Executive Director and Practice Manager respectively, and chat about all of the amazing work they are doing in the community. They talk about how their programs and services put the patient first, and ask them how they can succeed in taking their health seriously. If you live in the Lakes Region or Concord, care about independent clinics, or just want to understand what family planning means, this one's for you. __________________________________________________________________

About Equality Health Center: founded in 1974, Equality Health Center is a dedicated group of humans who are proud to provide community-based, inclusive healthcare for every person with every story. Learn More: equalityhc.org

About Partnership for Public Health: Partnership for Public Health (PPH) exists to lead and partner in public health strategies across the Lakes Region and New Hampshire for safer and healthier communities. Learn More: pphnh.org

🔔 Subscribe for more conversations with the people shaping public health in New Hampshire. It's Free... so just do it!

#equalityheathcenter #bettertogether #pphnh #healthcare #personcentredcare #independenthealthcare

Granite VNA — New Hampshire's largest not-for-profit home health and hospice agency — has a new President and CEO, and he's not exactly new to the building. Jim Culhane spent years working his way up at Granite VNA, left to run Lake Sunapee Region VNA & Hospice for over a decade, and has now come back to lead the whole organization.

In this episode of Better Together, we sit down with Jim to talk about what it actually takes to lead a 125+ year old healthcare nonprofit, how he navigated a major organizational merger at his last agency, what home health and hospice care really look like in rural New Hampshire, and why he came back to Concord to do it all over again — this time in charge.

If you live in the Lakes Region or Central NH, care about nonprofit leadership, or just want to understand what home health and hospice agencies actually do (and why they matter more than most people realize), this one's for you.

About Granite VNA: Granite VNA is New Hampshire's largest not-for-profit home health and hospice agency, serving communities across Central New Hampshire and the Lakes Region since 1899. Learn more: granitevna.org

About Partnership for Public Health: Partnership for Public Health (PPH) exists to lead and partner in public health strategies across the Lakes Region and New Hampshire for safer and healthier communities. Learn more: pphnh.org

🔔 Subscribe for more conversations with the people shaping public health in New Hampshire. It's Free... so just do it!

#GraniteVNA #HomeHealth #Hospice #NewHampshire #PublicHealth #Nonprofit #ConcordNH #LakesRegion #BetterTogetherPodcast #HealthcareLeadership

In the Season 1 finale of Better Together, host Jonathan Lile-Sexton sits down with Laconia City Manager Kirk Beattie to talk about how Laconia became the first city in New Hampshire to launch a social district — and what it actually takes to build one from the ground up. They get into the economics, the public health questions you probably didn't think to ask, and why a former firefighter-turned-city-manager might be exactly the right person to think about what happens when things go sideways. A great conversation to close out the season. Join episode 8 of Better Together now!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Subscribe to stay in the loop! Better Together is a production of Partnership for Public Health, a regional nonprofit serving the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. Learn more at pphnh.org. Follow us online @pphnh ​

In honor of Pride Month, we're talking about HIV — the history, the science, the breakthroughs, and the work that's still happening right here in New Hampshire.

We sit down with Daniel Amato, Executive Director of Merrimack Valley Assistance Program (MVAP), to talk about what HIV testing actually looks like today, why U=U (Undetectable = Untransmittable) is one of the most important things you've never heard of, and what it takes to connect people to care in a rural state.

Join episode 7 of Better Together where Jonathan sits down with Daniel.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Subscribe to stay in the loop! Better Together is a production of Partnership for Public Health, a regional nonprofit serving the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. Learn more at pphnh.org. Follow us online @pphnh ​

Jeff Ladieu ran 222 miles across New Hampshire — one for every veteran lost to suicide each day — to make sure people were paying attention. This conversation is about why he did it, what recovery actually looks like, and why resilience was never supposed to mean carrying it alone. Join episode 6 of Better Together where Jonathan sits down with Jeff from Camp resilience to talk about veteran and first responder mental health.

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Subscribe to stay in the loop! Better Together is a production of Partnership for Public Health, a regional nonprofit serving the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. Learn more at pphnh.org. Follow us online @pphnh ​

Join episode 5 of Better Together where Jonathan sits down with Heather Bishop from Lakes FM to talk about communicating Good News in the heavy news world we live in.

Take the Community Health needs Assessment here: https://survey.jsi.com/s3/2026-concord-lakes-community-health-survey

Subscribe to stay in the loop! Better Together is a production of Partnership for Public Health, a regional nonprofit serving the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. Learn more at pphnh.org. Follow us online @pphnh ​

Join episode 4 of Better Together where Jonathan sits down with the Eve Toth of CAPBM to talk about the housing debate.

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Better Together is a production of Partnership for Public Health, a regional nonprofit serving the Lakes Region of New Hampshire.

Learn more at pphnh.org.

Follow us online @pphnh ​

Join episode 3 of Better Together where Jonathan sits down with the Adam Moulton of Reverence house to talk about the YIMB/NIMB debate?

Subscribe to stay in the loop!

Better Together is a production of Partnership for Public Health, a regional nonprofit serving the Lakes Region of New Hampshire.

Learn more at pphnh.org.

Follow us online @pphnh ​