Gathering Ground

Mary sits down with Karla Estela Rivera and Shannon Downey to discuss how they used their creative practices to stay connected with others and continue their activism efforts despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

Karla's Instagram: @kestelarivera
Shannon's Instagram: @badasscrossstitch

This month, we’re thrilled to debut Inside MG, a new series on “Gathering Ground” that will give you an inside look into how we do what we do. Every Morten Group team member is essential in collaborating with our client partners in their vital work, and we want to introduce you to some of them!

For our first Inside MG conversation, Mary was thrilled to be joined by Morten Group’s Senior Project Director Geneva Porter and Client Relations and Project Management Director Sarah Menke, to hear all about executive placement at Morten Group.

In the second half of our episode, Mary, Geneva, and Sarah discuss their top five tips for jobseekers ahead of Morten Group's upcoming workshop, Finding the Right Fit: Do’s and Don’t’s for Job Seekers. Subscribe to Morten Group's newsletter today to be among the first to sign up when registration opens!

Take a look back into the “Gathering Ground” archives this month to a conversation Mary had with Janine Hill (SOAR Strategies) and Amina Dickerson (Dickerson Global Advisors). January is a month of intention-setting and resolution, and there is no better place to start than being intentional about self-care.

In this June 2020 episode of “Gathering Ground,” the three discuss their philosophies and strategies around coaching, offer advice on choosing a mentor that is a good fit, and the importance of self-care as a regular practice.

On this episode of “Gathering Ground,” Mary sat down with Illinois State Representative Kelly Cassidy, Chicago Alderwoman Maria Hadden, and Minneapolis City Council President Andrea Jenkins to talk about some of this year's hot-button voter issues and how citizens can participate in making a change in their communities.

Visit the main podcast page: gatheringgroundpodcast.com

On this episode of “Gathering Ground,” Mary was thrilled to talk to Rahnee Patrick, Director of the Division of Rehabilitation Services for the Illinois Department of Human Services, and artist Sandie Yi. They discussed Rahnee’s experience at Access Living and the Department of Human Services and Sandie’s experience as an artist and disability culture worker.

In response to the Supreme Court's 5-4 decision to strike down Roe v. Wade, limiting access to safe and legal abortion across the country, Mary sits down with three women who continue to advocate for the individuals most impacted: Marie Khan, Director of Programs at Midwest Access Coalition; Natalie Moore, WBEZ journalist and playwright of The Billboard: A Play About Abortion, and activist and co-founder of SisterSong Loretta Ross.

Mary was thrilled to be joined once again by Tracie Hall and Angelique Power for another fireside chat — this time recorded on location in Detroit at the beautiful Motown Motivated Studios! Since missing last year's conversation, both of these powerhouses have continued to thrive in their work — Tracie as Executive Director of the American Library Association and Angelique as President and CEO of Skillman Foundation in Detroit.

If you missed part one of this episode, you can find it at gatheringgroundpodcast.com or wherever you listen to podcasts. Please enjoy the conclusion of this phenomenal conversation between these equally phenomenal women.

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“Gathering Ground” will be taking a brief hiatus as we line up some exciting new guests for the fall. Thank you for tuning in for another season of “Gathering Ground.” We'll see you in September!

Mary was thrilled to be joined once again by Tracie Hall and Angelique Power for another fireside chat — this time recorded on location in Detroit at the beautiful Motown Motivated Studios! Since missing last year's conversation, both of these powerhouses have continued to thrive in their work — Tracie as Executive Director of the American Library Association, and Angelique as President and CEO of Skillman Foundation in Detroit.

As is often the case with Angelique and Tracie, our time together was so rich and meaningful that it couldn't fit into just one episode. Tune in on July 19 for part two of this amazing conversation!

This time on “Gathering Ground,” Mary meets with Dr. Diana N. Derige, Vice President of Health Equity Strategy & Development at the American Medical Association’s Center for Health Equity, to discuss her role and the health disparities that are impacting Latinx and intersecting identities. Recently, alongside two of her colleagues, Diana edited and contributed to April's volume of the AMA Journal of Ethics titled Health Equity in US Latinx Communities. This issue of the Journal includes articles like "Should Clinicians be Activists?" "Latino Invisibility in the Pandemic," and "Language and Health (In)Equity in US Latinx Communities."

It’s no secret that the last couple of years threw workplaces across industries into an unexpected spin as we began to find ways to take care of their teams amid social reckonings and a global pandemic. Despite these efforts, many employers have started seeing the effects of what many refer to as The Great Resignation.

If you’ve ever partnered with us, you know that Morten Group does all of our work through an asset-based equity lens, so we encourage our client partners to flip the script and consider this an opportunity for a Great Retention. The time has come for us to ask, how can we foster organizational cultures that encourage our team members to feel they can succeed where they are?

In this month’s episode of “Gathering Ground,” Mary talks to two leaders in the executive placement field to get their take on this trend and find out how their experience compares to what we’ve seen in our work at Morten Group.

Don’t miss this great conversation with Kittleman’s Managing Director and Principal Michelle Saddler and NonprofitHR’s CEO Lisa Brown Alexander!