Wilmette Institute

In this episode of the Wilmette Institute's Changing Course Podcast Series, we explore the power of relationships in public discourse and how building trust, openness, and genuine connection can create opportunities for mutual learning, collective action, and social transformation.

Host Emily Chou sits down with Bob Blecher—educator, former attorney, and graduate of Wilmette Institute's Social Transformation Certificate Program—to reflect on how relationships have shaped his engagement with organizations working in education, community building, and social change. Together, they discuss how meaningful relationships can move beyond connection toward mutual growth, how conversations can inspire service and action, and how ideas from the Wilmette Institute's framework for learning can contribute naturally to public discourse.

This episode is part of our ongoing exploration of the themes at the heart of the Social Transformation Certificate program.

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In this episode of the Wilmette Institute's Changing Course Podcast Series, we explore the concept of humanity's movement toward collective maturity and what it means for our personal lives and efforts to contribute to social transformation.

Host Emily Chou sits down with Bob Blecher—educator, former attorney, and graduate of Wilmette Institute's Social Transformation Certificate Program—to reflect on his journey of learning and service. Together, they discuss how expanding our understanding of reality, engaging in meaningful discourse, and generating new knowledge can help us move beyond inherited patterns and contribute to the advancement of our communities.

This episode is part of our ongoing exploration of the themes at the heart of the Social Transformation Certificate program.

Subscribe and join the conversation.

In this episode of the Wilmette Institute’s Changing Course Podcast Series, we explore what it means to see learning as a mode of operation—not simply as something that happens in classrooms, but as a way of navigating life itself.

Host Emily Chou sits down with Gelareh Eslami—curriculum development specialist and educator—to reflect on how transformative learning reshapes the way we approach relationships, service, work, and personal growth. Together, they discuss learning through action and reflection, the importance of reciprocal relationships, and how embracing a learner's mindset can lead to lasting individual and social transformation.

This episode is part of our ongoing exploration of the themes at the heart of the Social Transformation Certificate program.

Subscribe and join the conversation.

In this episode of the Wilmette Institute’s Changing Course Podcast Series, we explore multiple ways of knowing and being through a thoughtful and reflective conversation.

Host Emily Chou sits down with Julia Berger—curriculum development specialist, educator, and researcher—to reflect on transformative education, relational learning, and research as a sacred act. Together, they discuss how knowledge can emerge through the heart, relationships, lived experience, and community, and how these perspectives can reshape education and social transformation.

This episode is part of our ongoing exploration of the themes at the heart of the Social Transformation Certificate program.

Subscribe and join the conversation.

In this episode of the Wilmette Institute Podcast Series, we explore the relationship between Oneness and Justice through a rich and reflective conversation.

Host Emily Cho sits down with Chloé Greene—liberation historian, cultural worker, and “love sower”—to reflect on love as an active practice that can transform how we relate to one another and build more just communities. Together, they discuss the power of connection, the role of the soul in social change, and how practicing love can deepen our understanding of unity across difference.

This episode is part of our ongoing exploration of the themes at the heart of the Social Transformation Certificate program.

Subscribe and join the conversation.

In the first episode of the Wilmette Institute Podcast Series, host Emily Chou sits down with educator Nika Esmailizadeh to explore the meaning of universal participation in education and community life.

What does it truly mean to create spaces where every voice matters? How can teachers cultivate classrooms in which students are not passive recipients of knowledge, but active contributors to learning and collective progress?

Drawing from lived experience and reflection, this conversation examines participation not simply as inclusion, but as a shared responsibility — one that calls forth the capacity of every individual to contribute to the advancement of a more just and unified society.

This episode is part of our ongoing exploration of the themes at the heart of the Social Transformation Certificate program.

Subscribe and join the conversation.

This webinar will offer insights into evolving efforts to address racial inequality in the US, comparing sixty years ago (during the Civil Rights era) to the present day. Dr. Thomas, who has written about her family’s lived experiences during the civil rights era, established an academic career based on training urban planners who were socially aware and capable of supporting community development, and she has written extensively about these topics and the need for racial and social justice in U.S. cities. In a question-and-answer discussion with an interviewer, Dr. Chitra Golestani, she will consider how the challenge of racial inequality has evolved over the last decades, and how Bahá’í teachings offer important insights into possible strategies for the present and the future.

A conversation with Dr. Richard Thomas on his recently published book chapter “How the Bahá’í Teachings on Racial Unity Influenced My Academic Focus on Race Relations in the United States.”

The Bahá’í Faith and African American Studies: Perspectives on Racial Justice, edited by Loni Bramson and Layli Maparyan – Contributions by Layli Maparyan; Richard Hollinger; June Thomas; Richard W. Thomas; Loni Bramson; Michael McMullen and Gwen Etter-Lewis

From the 1800s through the 1950s, North Nashville’s 37208 zip code flourished as a vibrant Black community. Despite systemic segregation and redlining, residents established institutions, including schools, businesses, historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), and a lively entertainment scene that attracted renowned Black artists. In the 1960s, federal and local policies resulted in the construction of Interstate 40, which bisected this thriving neighborhood, leading to the demolition of homes and businesses. This disruption transformed a once-prosperous area into one plagued by poverty—a condition from which it has yet to recover. Today, North Nashville faces challenges such as high child poverty rates, food insecurity, and mass incarceration and confronts the additional threat of gentrification, further endangering its rich cultural heritage.

In the face of crises, there must always be hope. This presentation highlights North Nashville’s legacy of resilience in the face of structural racism and explores how community building restores that legacy. This two-part webinar will engage participants in thinking about the power of race unity and justice, community building, and insights from the Bahá’í framework for action.

Note: This is part two of a two-part series.

From the 1800s through the 1950s, North Nashville’s 37208 zip code flourished as a vibrant Black community. Despite systemic segregation and redlining, residents established institutions, including schools, businesses, historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), and a lively entertainment scene that attracted renowned Black artists. In the 1960s, federal and local policies resulted in the construction of Interstate 40, which bisected this thriving neighborhood, leading to the demolition of homes and businesses. This disruption transformed a once-prosperous area into one plagued by poverty—a condition from which it has yet to recover. Today, North Nashville faces challenges such as high child poverty rates, food insecurity, and mass incarceration and confronts the additional threat of gentrification, further endangering its rich cultural heritage.

In the face of crises, there must always be hope. This presentation highlights North Nashville’s legacy of resilience in the face of structural racism and explores how community building restores that legacy. This two-part webinar will engage participants in thinking about the power of race unity and justice, community building, and insights from the Bahá’í framework for action.

Note: This is part one of a two-part series.