Champions of the Lost Causes

Host Marvin Stockwell talks to Alicia Lehrer, executive director of the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council at her office in Providence, RI. The two discuss the group's origins, how their work to clean up the river and surrounding land has progressed, and how it evolved into the collection of connected parks, bike paths, and greenspaces that improve the quality of life for thousands of residents.

For more information about the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council, visit wrwc.org

For more episodes of this podcast, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠championsofthelostcauses.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Host Marvin Stockwell talks to Friends of The High Line's Chief Program and Engagement Officer Asima Jansveld about The High Line's earliest days, facing down demolition threats, working through adversity and, finally, persevering! The two also talk about the new challenges that came from The High Line's success, and The High Line Network, a learning cohort of people engaged in best-practices infrastructure-reuse work.

For more information about The High Line, visit thehighline.org

For more episodes of this podcast, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠championsofthelostcauses.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

For other fine podcasts, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠backtothelight.net

Host Marvin Stockwell talks to Rochelle Joseph, board chair of Support The Pink House, a group working to preserve the historic landmark, which has drawn countless photographers to capture its unique beauty. The 10-year fight to save it has had many twists and turns and it's not over yet. The Pink House is once again under demolition threat.

For more information about The Pink House, visit supportthepinkhouse.com

For more episodes visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠championsofthelostcauses.org⁠⁠⁠⁠

For other fine podcasts, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠backtothelight.net

Host Marvin Stockwell talks with ioby CEO Nupur Chaudhury at the Sheraton Hotel lounge in Brooklyn. The two discuss how ioby has grown and changed over the years to help fund neighborhood-level change all over the country, which include Marvin's own causes - saving the Mid-South Coliseum and the summer road trips for the podcast. They also talk about ioby's improved site functionality, and what the future may hold for peer-to-peer learning among ioby project leaders.

For more information about ioby, visit ioby.org

For more episodes visit ⁠⁠⁠championsofthelostcauses.org⁠⁠⁠

For other fine podcasts, visit ⁠⁠⁠backtothelight.net

Host Marvin Stockwell talks to Kim Yim, president of the Pleasant Village Community Garden in East Harlem. What began as people seed-bombing vacant lots in the early 1970s to beautify their neighborhood grew into a community garden that serves as a place to build community, grow food, share meals and, through composting, reduce waste and improve the environment. The two talk about how the garden grew, the challenges they've faced, and how Kim and her community work to solve problems and continue to improve the space and welcome newcomers.

For more information about the Pleasant Village Community Garden, visit pleasantvillagecommunitygarden.com

For more episodes visit ⁠⁠championsofthelostcauses.org⁠⁠

For other fine podcasts, visit ⁠⁠backtothelight.net

Host Marvin Stockwell talks to Feed More President and CEO Doug Pick about the organization's efforts to collect, prepare and distribute food to people facing hunger across 34 Central Virginia cities and counties. The two talk about Feed More's origins and explore why people champion causes and give of themselves to help others.

For more information about Feed More, visit feedmore.org

For more episodes visit ⁠championsofthelostcauses.org⁠

For other fine podcasts, visit ⁠backtothelight.net

Host Marvin Stockwell talks to two of his fellow co-founders of Baron Von Opperbean and the River of Time (BVO), Chief Visionary Officer Christopher Reyes and Chief of Games and Technology Kathryn Hicks, on location at the former site of the Mississippi River Museum at Mud Island Park in downtown Memphis. BVO is an immersive playground experience being built inside the long unused space. For Marvin, the adaptive-reuse project represents a new chapter in his life as a Champion, alongside his Coliseum work that is still ongoing. For Christopher Reyes, it's the opportunity to build a BVO fifteen times bigger than his 2020 proof-of-concept pop-up. For Kathryn Hicks, it's a chance to leverage her AR/VR and game-building experience to make the BVO experience all the more engaging.

Invest in Baron Von Opperbean and the River of Time at wefunder.com/bvo

For more episodes visit championsofthelostcauses.org

For other fine podcasts, visit backtothelight.net

Host Marvin Stockwell talks to City Leadership executive director John Carroll at his Crosstown Concourse office. The two explore how the nonprofit helps recruit, catalyze and develop leaders at every level to help Memphis grow and thrive.

Guest host/producer J.D. Reager interviews Champions of the Lost Causes founder Marvin Stockwell at the Memphis Listening Lab. They discuss last summer's podcast road trip, what's next for the show, the Mid-South Coliseum, and more.

Host Marvin Stockwell talks to Libby Crimmings, president of Atlas Community Studios, at her office in Des Moines, Iowa. The pandemic showed everyone just how portable some types of work can be, and that was an advantage to small to midsize cities looking to attract and retain creative professionals who can do their job from anywhere. Marvin and Libby talk about how adaptive reuse of old buildings is helping renovate downtowns and neighborhoods across the United States, and how Libby’s work is helping communities adapt to meet evolving quality-of-life expectations.