Meet Kim Charlson! She's the Executive Director of the Braille and Talking Book Library at the Perkins School for the Blind as well as the Chair of the Commission on Disability here in Watertown. In this conversation we discuss her journey into disability advocacy, from being one of the first totally blind people to get a master's degree in library science to serving as the first woman president of the American Council of the Blind from 2013-2019 to recent issues and topics being discussed. We also talk about her work as chair of the Commission on Disability in Watertown and the amazing breadth of services offered at the Perkins School for the Blind including teaching blind kids the skills to navigate the world, helping establish international training programs in 20 countries, managing a library of 80,000 braille volumes and 600,000 audiobooks, and even a manufacturing plant that produces the Perkins Brailler, the world's best-selling mechanical braille writing device. 

Find out more about the Perkins School for the Blind at perkins.org

Find out more about the Watertown Commission on Disability here: www.watertown-ma.gov/351/Commission-on-Disability

Support the show

Head on over to www.littlelocalconversations.com to check out all the episodes, events, and everything else going on.

Sign up for the Little Local Conversations email newsletter

Follow on Instagram: @littlelocalconversations

Thank you podcast sponsor Arsenal Financial! Listen to some Watertown Trivia on the podcast with Arsenal Financial's Doug Orifice.

This program is supported in part by a grant from the Watertown Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.

Thanks to podcast promotional partners, the Watertown Business Coalition and Watertown News.

This is a recording from a series for the podcast at the Mosesian Center for the Arts called Creative Chats. This conversation was with painter, printmaker, and collage artist Julie Fei-Fan Balzer. The topic revolved around meaning and identity in art. 

Find out more about Julie and her art at juliebalzer.com

Come join us for the last Creative Chats event of the season on Friday, June 20th with guest Arto Vaun!

Support the show

Head on over to www.littlelocalconversations.com to check out all the episodes, events, and everything else going on.

Sign up for the Little Local Conversations email newsletter

Follow on Instagram: @littlelocalconversations

Thank you podcast sponsor Arsenal Financial! Listen to some Watertown Trivia on the podcast with Arsenal Financial's Doug Orifice.

This program is supported in part by a grant from the Watertown Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.

Thanks to podcast promotional partners, the Watertown Business Coalition and Watertown News.

This is a recording from a series for the podcast at the Mosesian Center for the Arts called Creative Chats. This conversation was with guest Cat Bennett, whose career spans making animated spots for children’s television, illustrations for many publishing clients, and now art for exhibition as well as teaching art to adults. The topic for the conversation revolved around how she weaved her artistic path and how an artist figures out what to do next.

Find out more about Cat and her art at catbennett.net

Come join us for the last Creative Chats event of the season on Friday, June 20th with guest Arto Vaun!

Support the show

Head on over to www.littlelocalconversations.com to check out all the episodes, events, and everything else going on.

Sign up for the Little Local Conversations email newsletter

Follow on Instagram: @littlelocalconversations

Thank you podcast sponsor Arsenal Financial! Listen to some Watertown Trivia on the podcast with Arsenal Financial's Doug Orifice.

This program is supported in part by a grant from the Watertown Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.

Thanks to podcast promotional partners, the Watertown Business Coalition and Watertown News.

Meet Drew Rollert! He's the founder of Wada Hoppah, an all-electric, wakeless, shallow draft water shuttle and commuter service coming soon to the Charles River (and Watertown Square!). In this conversation we dig into the history of ferries on the Charles, what inspired him to design (an award-winning) modern ferry for the river, all the challenges, thinking, and planning that goes into this kind of thing, and we end with some thoughts on Watertown's water future.

Find out more about Wada Hoppah as Drew plans to get things rolling this summer: wadahoppah.com

Support the show

Head on over to www.littlelocalconversations.com to check out all the episodes, events, and everything else going on.

Sign up for the Little Local Conversations email newsletter

Follow on Instagram: @littlelocalconversations

Thank you podcast sponsor Arsenal Financial! Listen to some Watertown Trivia on the podcast with Arsenal Financial's Doug Orifice.

This program is supported in part by a grant from the Watertown Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.

Thanks to podcast promotional partners, the Watertown Business Coalition and Watertown News.

This is a conversation with Tyler Cote, the Community Engagement Specialist for the City of Watertown, and Victoria Weichel from WCA-TV to discuss things that have happened during the past month in Watertown through key moments, success stories, and important numbers.

Links:

Fair Housing in Watertown Meeting

Second Ambulance Meeting

Climate Leader Community: WCA-TV segment | Watertown News article

City's Forestry Webpage

Read Submitted Budget

Watch Budget Presentation

City Council - April 8th

Watertown Square Website

WCA-TV Ascertainment Hearing

Watertown Porchfest, Saturday, May 17th (With Public Arts and Culture Community Sculpture Walk at 11am, starting at Linear Path behind City Hall and Library)

DPW Open House, Tuesday, May 20th

Memorial Day Parade, Monday, May 27th

Watertown Pride, Sunday, June 1st

Watertown Helps Out Food Drive

Watertown Helps Out, Volunteer Throughout May

Community STEM night

Support the show

Head on over to www.littlelocalconversations.com to check out all the episodes, events, and everything else going on.

Sign up for the Little Local Conversations email newsletter

Follow on Instagram: @littlelocalconversations

Thank you podcast sponsor Arsenal Financial! Listen to some Watertown Trivia on the podcast with Arsenal Financial's Doug Orifice.

This program is supported in part by a grant from the Watertown Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.

Thanks to podcast promotional partners, the Watertown Business Coalition and Watertown News.

Meet Jen Nicholson! She's the sales and events coordinator at the Commander's Mansion which also includes being a part of the Watertown City Events Team. In this conversation we dig into her experience growing up in Watertown, her years of teaching, stay-at-home parenting, and volunteering, then we get into all the aspects of the mansion from the (scandalous) story of its creation and its unique features to its private functions and now growing assortment of community events, then we finish with some thoughts on the future of the mansion and its role in Watertown.

Find all the upcoming community events organized by the Commander's Mansion team here!

Join in the May 15th walk to visit the Mosesian Center for the Arts and the Commander's Mansion

Support the show

Head on over to www.littlelocalconversations.com to check out all the episodes, events, and everything else going on.

Sign up for the Little Local Conversations email newsletter

Follow on Instagram: @littlelocalconversations

Thank you podcast sponsor Arsenal Financial! Listen to some Watertown Trivia on the podcast with Arsenal Financial's Doug Orifice.

This program is supported in part by a grant from the Watertown Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.

Thanks to podcast promotional partners, the Watertown Business Coalition and Watertown News.

Meet Steve Magoon! He's the Assistant City Manager for Community Development and Planning for the City of Watertown. In this conversation we dig into his career journey in planning, the role of public input in decision making, some things that make New England unique for planning, current and future projects in Watertown, and more.

City's Community Development and Planning Website

Support the show

Head on over to www.littlelocalconversations.com to check out all the episodes, events, and everything else going on.

Sign up for the Little Local Conversations email newsletter

Follow on Instagram: @littlelocalconversations

Thank you podcast sponsor Arsenal Financial! Listen to some Watertown Trivia on the podcast with Arsenal Financial's Doug Orifice.

This program is supported in part by a grant from the Watertown Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.

Thanks to podcast promotional partners, the Watertown Business Coalition and Watertown News.

This is a recording from a series for the podcast at the Mosesian Center for the Arts called Creative Chats. This conversation was with guest Kristen Kenny,  artist, arts organizer, and Chair of the Watertown Cultural District, where the topic revolved around finding/building/cultivating spaces for artists and musicians.

Come  join us at the next Creative Chats event on Friday, May 16th at 830am  with guest Jule Fei-Fan Balzer!

Support the show

Head on over to www.littlelocalconversations.com to check out all the episodes, events, and everything else going on.

Sign up for the Little Local Conversations email newsletter

Follow on Instagram: @littlelocalconversations

Thank you podcast sponsor Arsenal Financial! Listen to some Watertown Trivia on the podcast with Arsenal Financial's Doug Orifice.

This program is supported in part by a grant from the Watertown Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.

Thanks to podcast promotional partners, the Watertown Business Coalition and Watertown News.

Meet Ora Grodsky and Larry Raskin! They're co-founders of Watertown Community Conversations (see full bios below). In this conversation, we talk about how they got interested in the field of facilitation, the tools and techniques important to the work, the creation of Watertown Community Conversations and what it does, and more.

Watertown Community Conversations website

Ora's book - Justice, Love, and Organizational Healing

Larry's bio:

Larry is a retired leadership and organizational effectiveness consultant and a community volunteer. Professionally he helped organizations define their missions, overcome challenges, gain commitments, develop team and leadership skills, and implement strategies to achieve their objectives. Larry is a co-founder and former Chair of World in Watertown, an organization that promotes diversity, fair treatment and equal rights. He is also a co-founder of Watertown Community Conversations. Larry is a certified facilitator, workshop leader, trainer and coach. He and his wife have lived in Watertown since 1994.

Ora's bio:

Ora Grodsky is a mission-driven consultant with over 25 years of experience and success working with hundreds of social justice-oriented organizations. Ora is a holistic practitioner who combines training in acupuncture, non-profit management expertise, extensive study of organizational development and commitment to compassion and justice to facilitate transformation change with the organizations who are transforming our world. Ora’s new book, Justice, Love, and Organizational Healing offers insights and wisdom from her deep experience partnering with organizations and individuals to foster health and healing, and aligning and integrating their values, aspirations, and operations to more effectively meet their important missions. Ora is a co-founder of Watertown Community Conversation. She and her husband have lived in Watertown since 1989.

Support the show

Head on over to www.littlelocalconversations.com to check out all the episodes, events, and everything else going on.

Sign up for the Little Local Conversations email newsletter

Follow on Instagram: @littlelocalconversations

Thank you podcast sponsor Arsenal Financial! Listen to some Watertown Trivia on the podcast with Arsenal Financial's Doug Orifice.

This program is supported in part by a grant from the Watertown Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.

Thanks to podcast promotional partners, the Watertown Business Coalition and Watertown News.

Meet Melissa Hresko! She's the Director and Teacher at the Russell Cooperative Preschool here in Watertown. In this conversation we dig into how she got into the field of early education, what a play-based and cooperative school system looks like, the surprising nature in their environment right in the center of town, the challenges facing early education, and more.

Learn more about Russell at: russellpreschool.org

Support the show

Head on over to www.littlelocalconversations.com to check out all the episodes, events, and everything else going on.

Sign up for the Little Local Conversations email newsletter

Follow on Instagram: @littlelocalconversations

Thank you podcast sponsor Arsenal Financial! Listen to some Watertown Trivia on the podcast with Arsenal Financial's Doug Orifice.

This program is supported in part by a grant from the Watertown Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.

Thanks to podcast promotional partners, the Watertown Business Coalition and Watertown News.