Welcome back to the We Rise Podcast! In today's episode, Christine focuses on women leading and centering women's voices, both a key component to building community and creating transformation. Be inspired by the progress of women, including trans and non binary folks, occupying more places of power. Hear stories of Wahleah Johns and Nicole Horseherder, leaders in the transition around coal and renewables in the Navajo Nation. From the power of story to connecting women to one another’s stories, this episode is about empowerment and hope.

LINKS/RESOURCES MENTIONED

Rachael Rogers of Hello Seven and author of We Should All Be Millionaires

Find out more about Wahleah Johns and the work of Native Renewables.

Learn more about Nicole Horseherder and incredible work of her and her husband’s non-profit, Tó Nizhóní Ání.

Read more from “‘The End of Men’ and Rise of Women In The High Skilled Labor Market”, as reported by The National Bureau of Economic Research.

Tune in to Episode 4 of the Collective Resilience: We Rise Podcast with Lou Ann Wallace.

Tune in to Episode Episode 9 of the Collective Resilience: We Rise Podcast with Mayor Horne.

Collective Resilience: We Rise is produced by Dialogue + Design Associates, Podcasting For Creatives, with music by Drishti Beats.

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Please rate, review, and subscribe to the podcast so we can continue spreading our message far and wide. Find our email list at the website: www.yeswerise.org. Thanks for listening.

Joined with two incredible women of Dante, Virginia, Christine shares a lively conversation with Pat Gibson and Catherine Pratt. Sharing about their upbringing in Dante and reminiscing about the past, Pat and Cat share their passion for revitalizing the community-oriented town of Dante, Virginia. Learn about the optimism it takes to rekindle the past for the youth of tomorrow, finding hope in others’ success, and the value of community. Welcome to another episode of the Collective Resilience: We Rise Podcast! 

Catherine Pratt was born and raised in Dante, Virginia, coming from a family of coal miners. In 2004, she helped create the nonprofit, Dante Lives On, which led to the creation of the Dante Coal Mining and Railroad Museum. She is now the Treasurer of the Dante Community Association.

Pat Gibson was born in Dante, but grew up in the town of Castlewood. Moving back to Dante in 1975, she is now the Chair of the Dante Community Association. With a passion to see Dante revitalized, she has her own vision of turning her home into a bed and breakfast for travelers.

LINKS/RESOURCES MENTIONED

Learn more about the town of Dante and the work being done by the Dante Community Association.

Learn more about the Dante Coal and Railroad Museum created by Dante Lives On.

Learn about the towns and opportunities inspiring Dante: St. Paul, Cleveland, Clinch River, Spearhead Trails.

Collective Resilience: We Rise is produced by Dialogue + Design Associates, Podcasting For Creatives, with music by Drishti Beats.

Follow Collective Resilience: We Rise on Facebook and Instagram.

Please rate, review, and subscribe to the podcast so we can continue spreading our message far and wide. Find our email list at the website: www.yeswerise.org. Thanks for listening.

Welcome back to the We Rise Podcast. In today’s episode, Christine has a lively conversation with Amanda Workman-Scott, the Director of Community Engagement at the West Virginia Community Development Hub. Amanda shares the importance of building trust, empowering communities, and overcoming fear of change. She also dives into the importance of work-life balance and preventing burnout. Join in as they talk communication, trust, and networking, which are key components to helping communities create the change they want to see.

Amanda is married with three children and originally from West Virginia. Moving away after college, she lived in St. Louis, Chicago, and Richmond. But after returning to West Virginia to help her parents with their farmers market, she was instantly reminded of the incredible community and sense of home she felt in her home state. Wanting that same experience for her children, her family made the decision to stay.

This was an incredibly rich conversation with so many tangible takeaways. We can’t wait to hear your feedback.

LINKS/RESOURCES MENTIONED

Learn more about the work Amanda Workman-Scott is doing at the West Virginia Community Development Hub

Learn more about the Bridgeport Farmers Market.

Collective Resilience: We Rise is produced by Dialogue + Design Associates, Podcasting For Creatives, with music by Drishti Beats.

Follow Collective Resilience: We Rise on Facebook and Instagram.

Please rate, review, and subscribe to the podcast so we can continue spreading our message far and wide. Find our email list at the website: www.yeswerise.org. Thanks for listening.

What is deep listening? Why is it so important? In this episode of the We Rise Podcast, Christine Gyovai dives into the power of listening and the impact of being heard. Learn helpful tips to be an active listener and its role in fostering deep connections, honoring a person’s worth, and creating possibility.

LINKS/RESOURCES MENTIONED

Find out more about the Crossroads Youth Summit hosted by the International Storytelling Center taking place September 12th, 2021.

“How Important is Listening Really?” by Christina Holbrook McEntee

“Tell Me More: On The Fine Art of Listening”, an essay by Brenda Ueland

The Power of Deep Listening, a talk by Tara Brach

Collective Resilience: We Rise is produced by Dialogue + Design Associates, Podcasting For Creatives, with music by Drishti Beats.

Follow Collective Resilience: We Rise on Facebook and Instagram.

Please rate, review, and subscribe to the podcast so we can continue spreading our message far and wide. Find our email list at the website: www.yeswerise.org. Thanks for listening.

In today’s episode of the We Rise Podcast, Christine is joined by Fritz Boettner of Turnrow Appalachian Farm Collective. Fritz is the director of Food Systems Development at West Virginia University Center for Resilient Communities, a learning laboratory for community transformation. Learn about the value of failure as feedback, the importance of building a firm foundation to turn an idea into reality, and the need for cooperation over competition. What does it take to change the food industry paradigm so it works in favor of all? 

Passionate about farming and agriculture, Fritz approaches his work from an economic, nutritional, and community perspective. His current work includes the development of Sprouting Farms, a farm training center in Talcott, WV and the Turnrow Appalachian Farm Collective, a regional cooperative food hub designed to grow wholesale agricultural markets.

LINKS/RESOURCES MENTIONED

Learn more about Fritz Boettner and his work at West Virginia University Center for Resilient Communities

Learn more about Sprouting Farms and Turnrow Appalachian Farm Collective

Check out some of the farms and cooperatives partnering with Turnrow Appalachian Farm Collective: Grow Ohio Valley, Garret Growers, and New Roots Community Farm

Some of the programs partnering with West Virginia University Center for Resilient Communities include: The Food Justice Lab and SNAP Stretch

Collective Resilience: We Rise is produced by Dialogue + Design Associates, Podcasting For Creatives, with music by Drishti Beats.

Follow Collective Resilience: We Rise on Facebook and Instagram.

Please rate, review, and subscribe to the podcast so we can continue spreading our message far and wide. Find our email list at the website: www.yeswerise.org. Thanks for listening.

In this episode of the Collective Resilience: We Rise Podcast, Christine connects with Mayor Horne of Dungannon, VA. Mayor Horne talks about letting love lead in creating change, and is a strong point of inspiration for the We Rise Podcast and for Christine. Mayor Horne shares how community members have joined to revitalize the town -- often through working regionally, creating safe and enjoyable spaces for youth, and pursuing growth through networking. Coming up against struggles and hardships, Dungannon has shown resilience and perseverance in creating new opportunities and generating the support they need to transform their town.

LINKS/RESOURCES MENTIONED

Learn more about the Town of Dungannon.

Learn more about the organizations that have helped fund and support the revitalization of Dungannon: LENOWISCO, High Knob Enhancement Corporation, CDBG funding.

Learn more about some of the towns inspiring Mayor Horne: Dante, Cleveland, St. Paul

Collective Resilience: We Rise is produced by Dialogue + Design Associates, Podcasting For Creatives, with music by Drishti Beats.

Follow Collective Resilience: We Rise on Facebook and Instagram.

Please rate, review, and subscribe to the podcast so we can continue spreading our message far and wide. Find our email list at the website: www.yeswerise.org. Thanks for listening.

In Episode 8 of the We Rise Podcast, Christine connects with Christopher Rashad Green for a deeply inspiring conversation fueled by resilience, empowerment, and a story of transformation and connection. Christopher spent sixteen years incarcerated. Since his release in August of 2013, he has transformed his life as a motivational speaker, mentor, and advocate for change in communities in Virginia. He shares the power of keeping hope alive in cultivating change, the importance of healing from past trauma, and the role of trust, empathy, and passion as a catalyst for change.

Christopher is the founder of Free*Dome Unlimited and an organizer for New Virginia Majority where he leads the Court Watch of Central Virginia. He works in the Richmond region and also works as Community Organizer at the Legal Aid Justice Center of Virginia in Petersburg. His work addresses systemic issues affecting families and community members, from incarceration to youth justice.

LINKS/RESOURCES MENTIONED

Learn more about Christopher Rashad Green, founder of Free*Dome Unlimited and employee at the Legal Aid Justice Center of Virginia

Learn more about New Virginia Majority and the Court Watch of Central Virginia

Learn more about Bryan Stevenson, author of Just Mercy

Learn more about trauma in the body through the documentary: Resilience

Collective Resilience: We Rise is produced by Dialogue + Design Associates, Podcasting For Creatives, with music by Drishti Beats.

Follow Collective Resilience: We Rise on Facebook and Instagram.

Please rate, review, and subscribe to the podcast so we can continue spreading our message far and wide. Find our email list at the website: www.yeswerise.org. Thanks for listening.

In this episode of the We Rise Podcast, Christine interviews Peter Hille, President of The Mountain Association.  Peter shares what it takes to create a new economy and the empowerment of seeing progress. Learn about a “just transition” and the importance of starting at the local level to create lasting and sustainable change for a community.

The Mountain Association

Some organizations collaborating with The Mountain Association include: The Brushy Fork Institute, Appalshop, Kentuckians for the Commonwealth.

Learn more about Gwen Christon and her store, Isom IGA.

Collective Resilience: We Rise is produced by Dialogue + Design Associates, Podcasting For Creatives, with music by Drishti Beats.

Follow Collective Resilience: We Rise on Facebook and Instagram.

Please rate, review, and subscribe to the podcast so we can continue spreading our message far and wide. Find our email list at the website: www.yeswerise.org. Thanks for listening.

In Episode 6 of the We Rise Podcast, Christine Gyovai speaks with Theresa Burriss about the resilience of coal mining communities, building momentum, and the creative way artists are leading change around the globe. Learn about the incredible transformations happening locally and internationally, and what it takes to create something new.

Theresa is the Director of Appalachian Studies at Radford University, the Director of the  Appalachian Regional and Rural Study Center, and the Director of Academic Outreach at the Higher Ed Center in Abington for Radford. She is a teacher, a wife, a mother, and a runner.

Growing up in Bristol, Tennessee, Theresa attended Emory University in Atlanta for her undergraduate studies, followed by time in DC working on Capitol Hill and a year in law school. After a stroke in 2012, Theresa and her family made the decision to move back to her roots. They live near Bristol and Abingdon, TN on 123 wooded acres preserving the land, fauna, and flora.

Links and Resources:

Theresa Burriss, Director of:-Appalachian Studies at Radford University -Appalachian Regional and Rural Study Center -Academic Outreach at the Higher Ed Center in Abington

Learn more about:-The Harm Reduction Program in the LENOWISCO district of VA-The Southwest Virginia Workforce Development and their R.O.P.E.S. program-Appalachian Sustainable Development and their Groundwork program-Robert Gipe and the Higher Ground Community Theatre -Opportunity Southwest Virginia -Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy -Appalachian Voices

Book and Media Resources:-Women in the Mines: Stories of Life and Work by Marat Moore-Rising: Dispatches from the New American Shore by Elizabeth Rush -Planeta Petrila (Official Trailer)

Collective Resilience: We Rise is produced by Dialogue + Design Associates, Podcasting For Creatives, with music by Drishti Beats.

Follow Collective Resilience: We Rise on Facebook and Instagram.

Please rate, review, and subscribe to the podcast so we can continue spreading our message far and wide. Find our email list at the website: www.yeswerise.org. Thanks for listening.

In this episode of the We Rise Podcast, Christine is joined by Adam Wells, sharing the resilience of many Appalachian communities. Adam dives into the importance of reckoning with pain to create a new future and the importance of listening and sharing all voices and experiences when creating a new vision. Adam shares what it takes for a community to truly succeed.

Adam is the Regional Director of Community and Economic Development for Appalachian Voices, and his career has included environmental justice, activism, new economy, and solutions-based work. He and his wife Emily live in Southwest Virginia, raising their two young children, Ruby and Sawyer.

Links and Resources:

Appalachian Voices

Learn about the New Economy Program, Impacts of the Coal Industry, and Appalachian Voices commitment to Racial Justice and Equity.

Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards

Wise County, Virginia

St. Paul, Virginia

Norton, Virginia

Dante, Virginia Community Association

MountainRose Vineyard in Wise, Virginia

Collective Resilience: We Rise is produced by Dialogue + Design Associates, Podcasting For Creatives, with music by Drishti Beats.

Follow Collective Resilience: We Rise on Facebook and Instagram.

Please rate, review, and subscribe to the podcast so we can continue spreading our message far and wide. Find our email list at the website: www.yeswerise.org. Thanks for listening.