Sal Martinez is chief executive officer of Employment Connection (https://www.employmentstl.org/) in St. Louis. In today's interview, Sal discusses his journey to become a community leader, as well as what he understands to be the challenges and opportunities for growth in St. Louis.

Today’s podcast is part 2 of an interview with Nikki Doughty. Nikki is the associate director of strategic initiatives at the Institute for School Partnerships at Washington University in St. Louis. In this position, Doughty supports the work of the institute to develop stronger educators, improve student outcomes and address educational inequalities in the region. She also leads an effort to establish Networked Improvement Communities (NIC) through with Washington University and its partners will create, test and scale solutions for shared challenges at schools that lack sufficient resources.

Prior to working at Washington University in St. Louis, Ms. Doughty was the Head of School at City Academy in north St. Louis City.

In today’s episode, Nikki discusses challenges and opportunities related to education in the St. Louis region.

Today’s podcast is part 1 of a 2-part interview where I talk to Nikki Doughty. Nikki is the associate director of strategic initiatives at the Institute for School Partnerships at Washington University in St. Louis. In this position, Doughty supports the work of the institute to develop stronger educators, improve student outcomes and address educational inequalities in the region. She also leads an effort to establish Networked Improvement Communities (NIC) through with Washington University and its partners will create, test and scale solutions for shared challenges at schools that lack sufficient resources.

Prior to working at Washington University in St. Louis, Ms. Doughty was the Head of School at City Academy in north St. Louis City.

In today’s episode, Nikki discusses the state of education in the St. Louis region.

On this episode of the podcast, I interview Bruce Reyes-Chow, who lives in Palo Alto, California. Bruce is an author, speaker, parent, consultant, coach, podcaster, and pastor. He speaks and writes on issues of faith, technology, race, parenting, and church culture.

Bruce has written multiple books and his most recent is titled In Defense of Kindness: Why It Matters, How It Changes Our Lives, and How It Can Save the World.

In the interview, we discuss that book and the significance of kindness and the possibilities of positively impacting culture.

You can learn more about Bruce at his website https://reyes-chow.com/about/.

Part 2 of our interview with Michael McMillan, president and ceo of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis. In this episode, Michael talks about the challenges he believes St. Louis will need to overcome to be a better city, as well as opportunities for people to make an impact in their neighborhoods.

On part 1 of a 2 part episode, we talk to Michael McMillan, President and CEO of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis. He discusses  upbringing in St. Louis as well as his commitment to making life better for St. Louis and its residents through community-based service and political action. 

On the first episode of the podcast, Terrell interviews Colleen Hafner about the importance of community development organizations within the St. Louis region, as well as the challenges and opportunities experienced by women within the community development industry.

Colleen Hafner joined Rise in 2018 as a Project Manager, but has recently moved into a full-time role as Director of Rise's Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI). Prior to joining Rise, Colleen was Asset Manager – Compliance for St. Louis Equity Fund, and Vice President of its affiliate, Gateway Community Development Fund, a certified CDFI. Colleen has over 11 years of experience in the housing and community development finance field.