Yes! We Rise

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.

In this episode of the We Rise Podcast, Christine sits down with Lou Ann Wallace. From Southwest Virginia, Lou Ann has spent twenty years focused on the empowerment of counties and towns to thrive environmentally, as a community, and economically.

Lou Ann started her work with a non-profit called St. Paul Tomorrow and also as a member of the St. Paul town council. She then moved into a board position with Virginia's Soil and Water Conservation Districts. She now works with the Russell County Board of Supervisors in Virginia, overseeing District 2, and helping towns including St. Paul, Dante, Castlewood, and more.

Learn what it takes for a community to create change for itself as Lou Ann shares her methods for success and seeing individuals and towns thrive.

Links and Resources:

Heart of Appalachia Tourism Authority

Clinch River Valley Initiative

Russell County Virginia

Town of St. Paul Virginia

Virginia's Soil and Water Conservation District

The Nature Conservancy in Virginia

Spearhead Trails

Western Front Hotel in Saint Paul Virginia

Virginia Main Street

Department of Housing and Community Development

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 3 of the We Rise Podcast, Christine welcomes Ivy Brashear to share about her passion for using storytelling to cultivate change in a community.

Ivy has been the Appalachian Transition Director of the Mountain Association in Berea since 2013 and is a 10th generation native to central Appalachia. Starting a career in journalism, her current position incorporates storytelling, narrative change, and policy education.

Links and Resources:

Mountain Association

Nicole Breazeale

What's Next East Kentucky

To Live Here You Have To Fight by: Jessica Wilkerson

The STAY Project at The Highlander Center

It's Good To Be Young In The Mountains

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 to the second episode of the We Rise Podcast. Today, Tony Skrelunas of Tribe Awaken joins Christine to share words of wisdom about community, resilience, traditional Navajo ways, the importance of ancestral wisdom, and rethinking the future.

Tony helps communities move forward while rooting into their history. Holding an MBA and a partner of Navajo Power, a utilities solar company, Tony is also a motivational speaker, inviting people to look back at their values and teachings to help overcome challenges.

In this conversation, we explore how traditional communities are transitioning their economies, morning rituals, and the importance of rekindling longevity in a modern world. Enjoy.

Links and Resources:

To learn more about Tony and the work he is doing, go to the Tribe Awaken Website

Navajo Nation Government Website

Navajo Power

Blue Zones Website

The School of Greatness: Interview with Rob Murgatroud

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.