WURD Radio

Omar Sabir is the Chair fore city commissioner of Philadelphia. Omar Sabir was elected on November 5, 2019 and sworn in as City Commissioner of the County of Philadelphia on January 6, 2020.

Commissioner Sabir joins the show to share some important information about mail in ballots in regard to the May 20th election date, as well as some important dates people need to know of in regard to the election.

Leigh Owens is the director of Education & Advocacy at the Pennsylvania Prison Society. The Pennsylvania Prison Society, established in 1787, is the nation's oldest organization dedicated to advocating for humane treatment within the criminal justice system. Founded by prominent Philadelphians, including Quakers, it has a long-standing history of promoting the health, safety, and dignity of incarcerated individuals and their families.

Leigh joins the show to talk about the importance of fighting for the citizenship rights of US prisoners under this current administration.

Steve Jones is the author of the book: “Hollywood Confidential: 12 Secrets to Becoming the Star of Your Own Life”. In this book, Steve shares his twelve secrets to success accrued from working alongside some of today's most powerful voices in entertainment. Steve also shares practical suggestions for silencing your inner critic, making the most of failures, and giving yourself permission to shine.

Steve joins the show to further discuss the context of his book, and what inspired him to write it.

Dominique London is the Executive Director of the nonprofit Tree Tender group UC Green, which helps create a path to a greener Philadelphia. Ms. London is a volunteer tree tender, part of the city’s planning group for the tree plan, and has a passion for economic development and anti-displacement strategies such as cooperatives and cooperative land use models.

She joined Dr. Peterson for the Citizen WURD segment to discuss a recent Philadelphia Citizen article titled, "Where are the trees we were promised?”

Article Link: https://thephiladelphiacitizen.org/tree-plan-canopy-static/

Marianne Fray is the President and CEO of Maternity Care Coalition (MCC), which is a nonprofit organization serving Delaware, and Southeastern Pennsylvania to improve maternal and child health and early education. Dr. Daniel R. Taylor is the Director of Community Pediatrics of Child Advocacy at St. Children’s Hospital for Children. They both joined Dr. Peterson to discuss MCC's annual Celebrating Mothers Brunch this Saturday, May 10th, 2025 at the Loews Hotel in Center City Philadelphia where Dr. Taylor is receiving the Strengthening Families Award.

Dr. Andrea M. Kane is the first African American Superintendent for Queen Anne’s County Public Schools in Maryland, and someone who specializes in education leadership and is dedicated to improving black, brown and economically challenged students.

As a Professor of Practice in Education Leadership at University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education, Dr. Kane’s courses concentrate on Policy, Organizations, Leadership and Systems Division. She joined Dr. Peterson for the Tuesday teach-in segment to discuss a New York Times article titled, "Black Lives Matter, She Wrote. Then ‘Everything Just Imploded.’"

Jamie Gauthier is an American Democratic politician and member of the Philadelphia City Council. In 2019, she was elected to represent the Third District, which covers much of West Philadelphia and Southwest Philadelphia.

Councilwoman Gauthier joins the show to will talk about a question that will be on the ballot on the May 20th elections, “Should the Home Rule Charter be amended to increase the minimum amount that must be appropriated for spending on Housing Trust Fund purposes in the City’s operating budget each year?”. Councilwoman Gauthier is urging people to vote yes on this question.

Oshunbumi Fernandez-West is the CEO of ODUNDE, the largest African American street festival in the USA. The festival’s economic impact on the State of Pennsylvania is $30 million dollars and on the City of Philadelphia $28 million dollars. ODUNDE is a world-renowned cultural organization whose mission is to educate the public on the African and African-American culture

Oshunbumi joins the show to talk about the historic significance of the Odunde festival, what people can expect from it this year, and why it’s so important to the city of Philadelphia.

George Dines is the host of the podcast, "The Common Sense Millionaire": a podcast that gives listeners financial tips on how to be smarter from a financial and investment perspective.

George joins the show to further talk about the health of the United States Economy, especially as it pertains' to the Gross Domestic Product of this country.

Michael Tillery is a sports reporter. He has written for SLAM magazine, New York Times, Sportskeeda, Bleacher Report, The Nation, Sacramento Mag, The Shadow League, and Landscape — which was formerly The Undefeated.

Michael joins the show to give his take on what has transpired the NBA Playoffs so far: The Golden State Warriors beating the Houston Rockets in seven games, whether he believes Lakers star, LeBron James, will retire, The Indiana Pacers beating the 1-Seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semi-finals, and more.