We Can Be - The Heinz Endowments

Those living in rural towns where coal has long been the backbone of their economy and culture are often doubly hit with the realities of the shrinking industry: jobs are disappearing while the environmental and health aftereffects of mining adversely affect their mortality.

Veronica Coptis tells her story of being born in Pittsburgh, leaving for rural Greene County in the southwestern-most corner of Pennsylvania when she was in the third grade, and finding a love of the outdoors that to this day fuels her passion for her work as Executive Director of the Center for Coalfield Justice.

Coptis has gained national attention for her work - including a The New Yorker magazine feature "The Future of Coal Country" and speaking engagements like the p4 2018 conference - but is dedicated first and foremost to her beloved Greene County.

Coptis knows it’s a tough sell, but her family raised her to be strong and thoughtful, and with a deep respect for her community she makes a compelling case for holding coal companies accountable. 

We Can Be is hosted by The Heinz Endowments’ Grant Oliphant and produced by the Endowments and Treehouse Media. Theme music is composed by John Dziuban, with incidental music by Josh Slifkin.

Actor/writer David Conrad discusses why the most striking sound in an industrial town is silence, where his own creative plans will take him next and the integral role the arts play in the future of our communities and nation.

Actor (Wedding Crashers, Ghost Whisperer, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) and writer (Pittsburgh Magazine columnist) David Conrad splits his time among a diverse slate of places - Los Angeles, New York City, London and Braddock, Pa., and talks about what made him realize his place, how the identity of a place can change and why knowing a place’s history is the key to its future.

Through his travels David has seen firsthand how the identity of a place – a town, city, state or country – is affected by the culture and history of its people. He shares how that identity can affect how we see ourselves, each other and the world, and its role in forming our politics.

We Can Be is hosted by The Heinz Endowments’ Grant Oliphant and produced by the Endowments and Treehouse Media. Theme music is composed by John Dziuban, with incidental music by Josh Slifkin. For guest consideration, please contact Scott Roller at sroller.heinz.org. 

Born in the Soviet Union and raised in Kazakhstan – with stops at a Wisconsin dairy farm and CNN and PBS News Hour along the way - Mila Sanina’s journey to leadership in the investigative news field is extraordinary.

As Executive Director of PublicSource, Mila believes in the power of ideas, words and stories to change our brain chemistry and the character of our interactions with each other and the world.

Hear her stories of childhood entrepreneurship selling candy on the street in Kazakhstan, the threats against her family during her first reporting job, and how her belief in giving the power of voice to those most affected by a divisive public dialogue keeps her energized.

PublicSource is a non-partisan, nonprofit, digital-first media organization founded in 2011 and dedicated to public service journalism.

We Can Be is hosted by The Heinz Endowments’ Grant Oliphant and produced by the Endowments and Treehouse Media. Theme music is composed by John Dziuban, with incidental music by Josh Slifkin.

The role post-9/11 vets can play in bridging racial and cultural divides comes to light as Veterans' Breakfast Club's Nick Grimes talks about his journey with The Heinz Endowments' Grant Oliphant in the inaugural episode of We Can Be.

Learn about the misconceptions that post-9/11 veterans face, the culture shock they experience when returning home and why saying "thank you for your service" can be discomforting for them. Grimes details his evolution from being a young evangelical conservative from Mobile, Ala., to the open-minded director of The Veterans Breakfast Club's Post-9/11 Veterans Storytelling Project and an advocate for continuing to strive for a "more perfect union."  

The Veterans Breakfast Club has gained national attention for its work in creating communities of listening around veterans and their stories to ensure their living history will never be forgotten.

The role post-9/11 vets can play in bridging racial and cultural divides comes to light as Veterans' Breakfast Club's Nick Grimes talks about his journey with The Heinz Endowments' Grant Oliphant in the inaugural episode of We Can Be.

Learn about the misconceptions that post-9/11 veterans face, the culture shock they experience when returning home and why saying "thank you for your service" can be discomforting for them. Grimes details his evolution from being a young evangelical conservative from Mobile, Ala., to the open-minded director of The Veterans Breakfast Club's Post-9/11 Veterans Storytelling Project and an advocate for continuing to strive for a "more perfect union."  

The Veterans Breakfast Club has gained national attention for its work in creating communities of listening around veterans and their stories to ensure their living history will never be forgotten.