Minneapolis is hosting the NCAA Women’s Final Four next weekend, and we can’t wait to celebrate women’s sports and be part of some seriously joyful energy in downtown Minneapolis. We are also excited that Essence Magazine will be in town for the Final Four, joining our whole community as we showcase the best of Minneapolis for a national audience. To celebrate, this week we’re revisiting an oldie-but-goodie from our podcast archives: Chanda’s conversation with Caroline Wanga, a charismatic powerhouse who served as Target’s Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer before assuming her current role as CEO of Essence. In this August 2019 episode, Caroline shares how she developed grit and resilience as a young mother, her journey to self-acceptance, and how who you are is non-negotiable.

This episode of Conversations with Chanda dives deep into policing with Tracey L. Meares, the Walton Hale Hamilton Professor and Founding Director of the Justice Collaboratory at Yale Law School. Chanda and Tracey discuss the challenges police departments face as they work to ensure public safety while also building public trust.

Bo Thao-Urabe founded the Coalition of Asian American Leaders in 2013. After almost a decade of leading the organization, she's taking a step back to find a new path. Chanda sat down with Bo to talk about moments of transition, the keys to measuring impact work, and the systematic approach needed in anti-racism work.

Repa Mekha has more than 30 years of experience in community building and systems change work. Currently, he is the President & CEO of Nexus Community Partners. In this episode, Chanda talks with Repa about the weight of leadership, the critical moments in his life, and their work together on the Philanthropic Collective to Combat Anti-Blackness & Realize Racial Justice.

We are flipping the script for this episode of Conversations with Chanda. Instead of hosting, Chanda answers questions from the Minneapolis Foundation’s Senior Director of Impact and Collective Giving, Patrice Relerford. Chanda opens up about her personal story, approach to philanthropy, and what the podcast has meant to her.

Brett Carter, Executive Vice President and Chief Customer and Innovation Officer at Xcel Energy, believes that within a growing economy there is an abundance of opportunity in which everyone should have the chance to participate. Chanda also spoke with Brett about critical wealth building in diverse communities.

The last year was a time that forced many of us to reflect on ourselves, the world, and what it means to be strong. In this episode of Conversations with Chanda, we look back at 2021 with some of our dynamic guests who helped us bring some sense into a year that felt so senseless. Hear from the family of George Floyd, Eddie Glaude Jr., Kim Foxx, and many others as we remember our past in order to better understand our future.

As we continue into the season of giving, we wanted to look back at guests whose work is centered around transforming systems and thinking critically about the power of philanthropy. Hear insights from our episodes featuring Jen Ford Reedy, Toya Randall, Isaiah Oliver, Vu Le, and Shannon Smith Jones. Each guest has dedicated themselves to improving their community and the lives of others.

Tonya Allen, president of the McKnight Foundation, is all about being bold. Chanda spoke with Tonya about building and sharing power, and how that relates to one’s ability to rewrite the rules.

Hubert Joly, former CEO of Best Buy, and Piyumi Samaratunga , a partner at the law firm Constangy, believe that diversity is a business imperative. In this episode, Chanda connected with these two business leaders to talk about the importance of diverse and inclusive teams, the dangers of tokenism, and the power of leading with purpose.