In this moment we...

As Season 2 of Our WellSpring comes to a close, join us for a powerful recap celebrating the leaders we spoke with and their dynamic, often uncertain, but deeply important moments of change. We're grateful to all our guests who shared the diversity and complexity of their work and leadership learnings. This season began with Krista Tippett on redefining vocation, navigating an "in-between era," and practicing deep listening and curiosity for authentic connection and healing. We heard from Rodney McKenzie Jr. on bringing soulfulness into professional spaces, the necessity of inner healing for collective work, and the power of unshakeable hope rooted in his personal history. Markita Morris-Louis, Esq. explored her commitment to ending asset poverty, rooting her leadership in the Great Migration, and modeling sustainable engagement over burnout. Peter Gonzales, Esq. shared lessons on leadership transition, the art of reinventing oneself, and the critical importance of board governance and organizational maturity cycles. Finally, we gained insights from Rachel Lopez on participatory law scholarship, lending authorship credibility to those impacted by legal systems, and her continuous fight to elevate underrepresented voices. 

The Soul of Leadership: Building Spaces with Heart and Hope

In this moving episode of Our WellSpring, we sit with Rodney McKenzie Jr.—faith leader, organizer, and Vice President of Strategic Development at Freedom Together Foundation—to explore how love, hope, and spirit can shape the way we lead, fund, and build community.

Rodney shares how his upbringing taught him the enduring power of hope and instilled a deep calling to honor the people often made invisible. His work in philanthropy invites us to fundraise and lead not just with strategy, but with values rooted in faith, soulfulness, and care.

With wisdom and vulnerability, he reflects on what it means to bring the spirit of our ancestors and loved ones into the rooms we occupy—to design businesses and missions that remember the who and why at their core. We talk about the urgency culture that plagues our systems, the invitation to slow down, and how healing journeys—personal and collective—can become the foundation for social change. This episode is an offering for anyone seeking to reconnect to the heart of their work and lead from a place of wholeness.

Guest/s 

Rodney McKenzie Jr., Vice President of Strategic Partnerships

Rodney is the Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at the Freedom Together Foundation, where he forges bold, values-driven alliances with philanthropic leaders, grassroots organizers, and institutional partners to advance a shared vision of liberation, justice, and belonging. With more than two decades of experience at the nexus of movement building, philanthropy, and spiritual leadership, Rodney is guided by the belief that partnerships rooted in trust, love, and integrity are essential to lasting systemic change. Before joining Freedom Together, Rodney served as Vice President of Ally Development at the Fetzer Institute, where he nurtured transformative relationships with donors and funders committed to the role of faith and spirituality in social change. His leadership journey includes senior roles at Demos, the National LGBTQ Task Force, and Resource Generation—each grounded in the work of deepening democracy, challenging injustice, and building political and spiritual homes for those on the margins. An ordained minister and out person of faith, Rodney’s work is a powerful weaving of radical spirituality, strategic action, and moral imagination. He holds a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary and began his path as a community organizer in Dallas, Texas

Our WellSpring Host

Uva Coles, Chief Learning Officer

Uva Coles serves as Chief Learning Officer for Spring Point Partners. As the organization's external communications and  learning steward, Uva’s leadership ensures that inclusion, human-centered leadership, and narrative change are woven through every aspect of SPP’s partner-based learning deliveries. A writer, speaker, inclusive organizational strategist, and lifelong learner, Uva believes every room we step into is a classroom. Sometimes we are teachers; but always, we are students. 

How to connect with us 

• Spring Point Partners 

In this episode of Our WellSpring, we sit down with Rachel López, James E. Beasley Professor of Law at Temple University, to explore what it means to reimagine legal scholarship—and justice itself—through a human rights lens.

Rachel shares her unexpected journey into the legal academy, her early awakening to global injustice, and her belief that the law becomes most powerful when informed by diverse vantage points—including those with lived experience of legal systems’ failures.

She introduces us to Participatory Law Scholarship (PLS), a groundbreaking approach that centers the voices of those without formal legal training but with profound expertise in the law’s inequities. Through her work, Rachel is not only reframing who is seen as a legal thinker but also advocating for a more compassionate and just legal system—one that recognizes people’s capacity for change and affirms the right to redemption.

This conversation invites us to expand our definition of scholarship, leadership, and justice—and to imagine a future where the law reflects both accountability and humanity.

Guest/s
Rachel López is the James E. Beasley Professor of Law at Temple Law. She has also held visiting fellowships at research institutions around the world, including at the Harvard Kennedy School, Yale Law School, University of Cambridge, Princeton University, and the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, and been a Fulbright Scholar in Guatemala and Spain.

She is a recognized expert in criminal law, human rights law, and public international law. She is a Special Advisor of the Latin American and Caribbean Law Council for the American Bar Association. From 2015 to 2019, she served as a Commissioner on the Pennsylvania Sentencing Commission, as an appointee of then Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf. Professor López recently joined leading human rights experts as a co-author of the first law school textbook focused on domestic human rights in the United States. 

Her most recent research critically examines the carceral state from a human rights perspective.She is also pioneering a new genre of legal scholarship called Participatory Law Scholarship (PLS), which is written in collaboration with authors who have no formal legal training, but rather expertise in law’s injustice through lived experience. One of these works, Redeeming Justice, was awarded the 2022 Law and Society Association Article Prize. In 2024, the Virginia Law Review selected PLS as the theme of their Sixth Annual Symposium.

Our WellSpring Host
Uva Coles, Chief Learning Officer

Uva Coles serves as Chief Learning Officer for Spring Point Partners. As the organization's external communications and  learning steward, Uva’s leadership ensures that inclusion, human-centered leadership, and narrative change are woven through every aspect of SPP’s partner-based learning deliveries. A writer, speaker, inclusive organizational strategist, and lifelong learner, Uva believes every room we step into is a classroom. Sometimes we are teachers; but always, we are students. 

How to connect with us
Spring Point Partners 

In this episode, Uva sits down with Peter Gonzales, Esq., a visionary social entrepreneur, attorney, and strategic consultant, for a powerful conversation on navigating transitions. Peter shares invaluable insights into the dynamic interplay of governance and stewardship during pivotal moments of organizational change. He also shares his experiences and learnings on leadership reinvention as careers evolve,  and opens up about the importance of prioritizing self-care (something he’s still learning as a leader) and  finding inspiration in new experiences.

The discussion sheds light on  the importance of initiating transition processes–both organizational and personal– early on, and how genuine collaboration with board members and staff can forge a stronger, more resilient outcome.  

Whether you're embarking on a personal career shift or guiding your organization through a period of evolution, Peter's wisdom offers practical strategies for embracing change, fostering innovation, ensuring organizational and personal well-being, and ultimately, helping individuals and institutions flourish.

Guest/s
Peter Gonzales, Esq. is a social entrepreneur, attorney, and strategic consultant with more than 30 years of professional experience in the nonprofit, public and private sectors in the U.S. and abroad. He believes in the power of people from diverse backgrounds coming together to share their skills, knowledge, and networks to achieve equitable growth.

After serving as President and CEO of the Welcoming Center for New Pennsylvanians from 2012 to 2023, Peter partnered with Dafan Zhang to launch ShopPhilly, a hyperlocal, community-based, eCommerce platform that enables business owners to

increase sales and participate in the economic growth of the city, regardless of their location, language proficiency, or digital literacy.

In addition to launching ShopPhilly, most recently Peter helped develop a strategic plan for the Greater Cleveland Area to grow their economy by attracting and retaining more immigrants, refugees and secondary migrants. He also helped launch AccessoCare, a for-profit workforce development initiative designed to improve immigrant integration into healthcare jobs, and he taught an Intro to the U.S. Legal System course for foreign- trained lawyers at his alma mater, Temple University Law School.

Peter is board chair of The Merchants Fund, a 170-year-old charitable organization that provides grants and technical assistance to small businesses in underserved communities in Philadelphia. He is also a founding board member of Greenline Access Capital, which specializes in character-based micro-lending to BIPOC and immigrant- owned businesses.

Our WellSpring Host
Uva Coles, Chief Learning Officer

Uva Coles serves as Chief Learning Officer for Spring Point Partners. As the organization's external communications and  learning steward, Uva’s leadership ensures that inclusion, human-centered leadership, and narrative change are woven through every aspect of SPP’s partner-based learning deliveries. A writer, speaker, inclusive organizational strategist, and lifelong learner, Uva believes every room we step into is a classroom. Sometimes we are teachers; but always, we are students. 

Resource List

• AccessoCare
• The Welcoming Center 
• shopphilly.com 

How to connect with us 

• Spring Point Partners 

In this episode of Our WellSpring, we sit down with Markita Morris-Louis, Esq. to explore her deep commitment to ending asset poverty for families with low incomes through her body of work including her current role as CEO at Compass Working Capital. Markita reflects on the pivotal moments that shaped her career path and sheds light on the critical turning point in her life that redefined her leadership and purpose.

As she navigates a fundamental transition within her organization, Markita shares insights on the importance of proximity—staying close to the communities we serve—and the readiness required to embrace new opportunities when the timing is right. She discusses the role of intuition and discernment as essential leadership competencies, unpacking how self-trust influences decision-making at every level.

A remarkable leader, strategist and storyteller, Markita offers a powerful perspective on modeling the behaviors we expect from our teams and leading with authenticity. Whether you're a leader or board member in transition, a champion for economic justice, or someone seeking to deepen your leadership practice, this conversation will leave you inspired to listen to and lean on the voice of your own intuition, embrace change, and lead with purpose.

Tune in for a conversation about transformational leadership, self-trust, and the power of being in the right place at the right time when you are optimally prepared.

Guest/s
Markita Morris-Louis, Esq., proudly serves as Chief Executive Officer for Compass Working Capital, a national nonprofit engaging in policy advocacy, direct service, and capacity building to end asset poverty for families with low-incomes and to narrow the racial and gender wealth divides. Markita leads a dynamic team that reflects the diversity and vibrancy of the families Compass serves. Her leadership is focused on centering equity in every aspect of Compass’ work, leveraging asset building as a pathway out of poverty, and amplifying the voices of those Compass serves to shift narratives about communities experiencing poverty and financial challenge. Prior to becoming CEO, Markita was Compass’ founding Chief Strategy Officer, leading the organization’s national strategy for scale and impact.

Before Compass, Markita served as Interim Executive Director of the Arts + Business Council for Greater Philadelphia where she brought a data and outcomes-driven framework to the organization’s work connecting Philadelphia’s business and arts communities to grow the region’s creative economy.

Markita gained significant financial capability experience while serving as Senior Vice President and General Counsel at Clarifi, a nonprofit housing and financial counseling agency. At Clarifi, Markita led a team of financial and housing counselors serving 15,000 clients annually and built and managed multiple strategic alliances and partnerships.

Before Clarifi, Markita spent a dozen years in roles related to real estate law, impact litigation and community development, including several years advocating for fair lending, housing and employment practices and supporting affordable housing transactions.

Our WellSpring Host
Uva Coles, Chief Learning Officer

Uva Coles serves as Chief Learning Officer for Spring Point Partners. As the organization's external communications and  learning steward, Uva’s leadership ensures that inclusion, human-centered leadership, and narrative change are woven through every aspect of SPP’s partner-based learning deliveries. A writer, speaker, inclusive organizational strategist, and lifelong learner, Uva believes every room we step into is a classroom. Sometimes we are teachers; but always, we are students. 

Resource List

• Poetry by Langston Hughes
• Fear - Kahlil Gibran
• Home - Compass Working Capital

How to connect with us 

• Spring Point Partners 

Dive deep into the heart of what it means to live with purpose in a time of transition and transformation.  In a live fireside chat hosted in Philadelphia, Uva and guest Krista Trippett explore the many callings we hold as humans—not just within the construct of our leadership roles, but the ways we show up for ourselves, each other, and the world around us. This conversation which closed out Spring Point Partners’ Learning agenda in December of 2024, touched on so many of the themes leaders are grappling through “in this moment,” in 2025,  we are sharing it over our first two episodes to kick-off Our WellSpring’s Season 2.

Krista helps us navigate the tension of living in an “in-between” era, reflecting on what’s broken, what’s worth rebuilding, and how listening—truly listening—can create spaces for healing and connection. She also reminds us to  flex the moral muscle of curiosity, daring us to hope for surprise, even when we are stretched apart by fear or division. 

With insights into biomimicry and the wisdom of the natural world, this two part discussion invites us to rethink what it means to live with intention, courage, and hope and to occupy the untapped spaces where difference meets understanding. 

Join us as we redefine vocation, embrace curiosity, and imagine new ways to care for and stabilize each other at a time of constant shifts, change, and opportunity.. 

Guest/s
Krista Tippett is a Peabody-award winning broadcaster, National Humanities Medalist, and New York Times bestselling author. She created and hosts On Being, which has won the highest honors in broadcast, Internet and podcasting. She leads The On Being Project, which produces a second successful podcast, Poetry Unbound, and is evolving to meet the callings of the post-2020 world.

Emergent in 2024 is the Lab for the Art of Living, alongside gatherings and “quiet conversations” to accompany the generative people and possibilities within this tender, tumultuous time to be alive. Krista grew up in a small town in Oklahoma, attended Brown University, worked as a young journalist and diplomat in Cold War Berlin, and later received a Master of Divinity from Yale. Her books are Speaking of Faith, Einstein’s God and, most recently, Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living.

Our WellSpring Host
Uva Coles, Chief Learning Officer

Uva Coles serves as Chief Learning Officer for Spring Point Partners. As the organization's external communications and  learning steward, Uva’s leadership ensures that inclusion, human-centered leadership, and narrative change are woven through every aspect of SPP’s partner-based learning deliveries. A writer, speaker, inclusive organizational strategist, and lifelong learner, Uva believes every room we step into is a classroom. Sometimes we are teachers; but always, we are students. 

Resource List

• Finding the Mother Tree by Suzanne Simard

How to connect with us 

Spring Point Partners 

Dive deep into the heart of what it means to live with purpose in a time of transition and transformation.  In a live fireside chat hosted in Philadelphia, Uva and guest Krista Trippett explore the many callings we hold as humans—not just within the construct of our leadership roles, but the ways we show up for ourselves, each other, and the world around us. This conversation which closed out Spring Point Partners’ Learning agenda in December of 2024, touched on so many of the themes leaders are grappling through “in this moment,” in 2025,  we are sharing it over our first two episodes to kick-off Our WellSpring’s Season 2.

Krista helps us navigate the tension of living in an “in-between” era, reflecting on what’s broken, what’s worth rebuilding, and how listening—truly listening—can create spaces for healing and connection. She also reminds us to  flex the moral muscle of curiosity, daring us to hope for surprise, even when we are stretched apart by fear or division. 

With insights into biomimicry and the wisdom of the natural world, this two part discussion invites us to rethink what it means to live with intention, courage, and hope and to occupy the untapped spaces where difference meets understanding. 

Join us as we redefine vocation, embrace curiosity, and imagine new ways to care for and stabilize each other at a time of constant shifts, change, and opportunity.. 

Guest/s
Krista Tippett is a Peabody-award winning broadcaster, National Humanities Medalist, and New York Times bestselling author. She created and hosts On Being, which has won the highest honors in broadcast, Internet and podcasting. She leads The On Being Project, which produces a second successful podcast, Poetry Unbound, and is evolving to meet the callings of the post-2020 world.

Emergent in 2024 is the Lab for the Art of Living, alongside gatherings and “quiet conversations” to accompany the generative people and possibilities within this tender, tumultuous time to be alive. Krista grew up in a small town in Oklahoma, attended Brown University, worked as a young journalist and diplomat in Cold War Berlin, and later received a Master of Divinity from Yale. Her books are Speaking of Faith, Einstein’s God and, most recently, Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living.

Our WellSpring Host
Uva Coles, Chief Learning Officer

Uva Coles serves as Chief Learning Officer for Spring Point Partners. As the organization's external communications and  learning steward, Uva’s leadership ensures that inclusion, human-centered leadership, and narrative change are woven through every aspect of SPP’s partner-based learning deliveries. A writer, speaker, inclusive organizational strategist, and lifelong learner, Uva believes every room we step into is a classroom. Sometimes we are teachers; but always, we are students. 

Resource List

• Finding the Mother Tree by Suzanne Simard

How to connect with us 

Spring Point Partners 

Welcome back to Our WellSpring. If you're new to us, this is a space where we explore the power of community, connection, and courageous leadership. Last season, we delved into the origin stories of remarkable leaders connected to Spring Point Partners. They shared how their experiences shaped their lens and impact. 

In this season as the world continues to shift as, as policies evolve or devolve, and as we get stretched, divided, and sometimes separated, we're taking a deeper dive into the mindset needed to navigate change, and to stay connected to what matters most. We will lift the prompt: "In this moment, I...", to hear from diverse leaders across many organizations, sectors and social impact areas, as they talk about the reflections, vulnerabilities, and visions for a more thoughtful, just, and inclusive collective future. 

The responses reveal the interconnectedness of our work, wellbeing, and impact and how they are navigating new landscapes, re-imagining their roles and authoring new narratives that can better serve us. Join us as we learn from their bold and inspiring insights. 

In this episode, Alicia Smith, Executive Director of The Junction Coalition, joins our host Uva Coles. Junction Coalition supports communities for a better quality of life built on four pillars - economic justice, social justice, environmental justice, and peace education. Alicia shares her lived experience, beliefs, and core values centered in healing and peace. We can all learn a lot from Junction and Alicia’s approach to legacy building, authenticity, and freedom.   

Our Guests

Alicia Smith is a proud native of Detroit, Michigan, and mother of three. She and her family currently reside in Toledo, Ohio, where Alicia serves as the Executive Director for Junction Coalition. She lives, works, and enjoys the Junction community’s natural social environment with  neighbors, friends, family, and visitors. Alicia’s passion flows from her belief that all citizens need information to thrive. As such, she works to build the capacity of each family. She believes that Justice work is not limited to the Environment but touches on issues of Social and Economic Justice with the goal of promoting Peace, Public Health and a better quality of life for all citizens. To reach these goals in the community, the Junction Coalition created the Junction Neighborhood Master Plan in 2018, the first of its kind since 1968.

In 2020, Alicia was awarded the UWLN Environmental Justice and Equity Expert Award. For the past year, she’s also been an invaluable member of the UWLN Equitable Development and Anti-Displacement Collaborative, hosting the Community Wealth Building as an Anti Displacement Strategy Peer Call in April 2021.

Our WellSpring Host

Uva Coles, Chief Learning Officer

Uva Coles serves as Chief Learning Officer for Spring Point Partners. As the organization’s external learning steward, Uva’s leadership ensures that equity, human-centered leadership, and narrative change are woven through every aspect of SPP’s partner-based learning deliveries. A writer, speaker, inclusive organizational strategist, and lifelong learner, Uva believes every room we step into is a classroom. Sometimes we are teachers; sometimes we are students. Our best learning happens, she believes, when we can be both.

Takeaways:

• Public deliberation and discourse are part of democracy.
• If you want to fix something, find those spaces and people who are most tattered and harmed. When you prioritize and address their needs, you address the whole.
• Pay attention to the children and the elders. The coming into life and the going out of life. Pay attention. Pay attention to the beginning and the end. It makes a difference for the middle.

*Episode Notes: Alicia's mentor is Fania Davis. Also, when Alicia referenced conversations with community members, she was referring to Ms. Bush and a 96-year-old woman who supported her along her journey. 

Resources:

• “Today, I believe there is nothing more subversive than helping to midwife a new evolutionary shift of the human species into an era where we will no longer be entranced with socioeconomic formations and ways of being and thinking that produce disconnection, domination, and devastation. Instead, we can be present upon the Earth in ways that bring healing, wholeness, and a sense of the sacred in our connection with one another and with all of creation." - Fania E. Davis (quote)
• Young Sheldon (TV)
• I Am Enough by Grace Byers (book)
• Dr. Imani Michelle Scott (scholar and consultant)
• Joel Spring (author)
• Frankie Beverly (music)
• Indie Arie (music)
• King George (music) 

Kersy Azocar, President and CEO of Greenline Access Capital, joins our host Uva Coles in this episode of Our WellSpring. With over 16 years of experience in the financial industry, Kersy has grown into her leadership agency, voice, and strength through experience, training, and by learning from other leaders along the way. Kersy leverages her passion and a commitment  to support and lift immigrant businesses, especially in the Latino community, to level the playing field for more women-led and BIPOC businesses in Philadelphia. In this episode, Kersy shares her origin story: her truths, her vulnerabilities, and the values that inform her work and leadership.

Guest/s

Kersy Azocar is the President and CEO of Greenline Access Capital, a mission-driven nonprofit financial institution that works to address the continued and persistent gap in access to capital for financially underserved people by providing customized lending products and services.

Greenline has served more than 250 people and has helped over 48 clients connect with $5.3 Million in Grants and Loans, including 23 Loans from Greenline’s funds.

Prior to joining Greenline, Kersy worked for 13 years at a Philadelphia-based Community Financial Development Institution (CDFI) where she managed a microlending department with a national scope leading the organization to become the #1 SBA microlender in the region and top

10 in the nation for over 7 years. In 2021, Kersy was the Project Manager of the Pennsylvania COVID-19 Hospitality Industry Recovery Program (CHIRP), a $17 Million dollar grant program created by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to support businesses in the hospitality industry. The program was managed by the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC).

Originally from the Dominican Republic, Kersy prides herself on being able to address the needs of emerging and existing entrepreneurs providing a hands-on approach rarely encountered in the industry. She is nationally recognized, and able to leverage her expertise in the microlending and financial industries.

Our WellSpring Host

Uva Coles, Chief Learning Officer

Uva Coles serves as Chief Learning Officer for Spring Point Partners. As the organization’s external learning steward, Uva’s leadership ensures that equity, human-centered leadership, and narrative change are woven through every aspect of SPP’s partner-based learning deliveries. A writer, speaker, inclusive organizational strategist, and lifelong learner, Uva believes every room we step into is a classroom. Sometimes we are teachers; sometimes we are students. Our best learning happens, she believes, when we can be both.

Takeaways:

• Our relationship with leadership is fluid and often evolves over time.
• When designing our work and approaches for those we aim to serve, it is important to consider demographics, cultural norms and needs, and identity. 
• We should know our value and understand the importance of exercising agency. 
• Some of us are trained to simply do our work and let it speak for itself, but often, if we don’t ask for what we want, we may not get what we deserve. 
• We ought to examine and reflect on the impact of  love as a leadership competency.

Resources:

• Greenline Access Capital 
• SBA 
• Pew Foundation - 75 years in Philadelphia