We are back with our second episode of Public Hearing’s mini-season on Early Childhood Education & Care. This week, our guest is Amy O’Leary, the Executive Director at Strategies for Children, an advocacy and policy organization that works to ensure that Massachusetts invests the resources needed for all children, from birth to age five, to access high-quality early education programs. In this episode, Josh and Amy take a further look into the lives and experiences of parents/guardians and children throughout the COVID-19 pandemic as well as discuss the importance of continuing to advocate for resources and funding for early education and care workers. To follow Amy and the work of Strategies for Children, check out their website and follow them on Facebook and Instagram!Listen to Public Hearing wherever you get your podcasts and on WICN 90.5FM, Worcester’s NPR affiliate station. Public Hearing is a podcast from Action! by Design. Action! by Design’s vision is a world where all people are valued and have access to opportunities that enable them to live healthy and fulfilled lives on a sustainable planet. We’re a social innovation and change agency that uses facilitation and design to address complex problems facing communities. In his book Designs for the Pluriverse,  Arturo Escobar, an author and anthropologist, defines design as a “space for linking theory, practice, and purpose, connecting vision and reality.” This is how we approach our work; we use design thinking and an equity-centered framework as a mindset to inform how we approach and address problems. We use facilitation to ensure we’re centering the voices of those most impacted by the challenges we’re addressing. Want to learn more? Let’s chat. Reach out to our team at [email protected] Share our show with a friend!

Public Hearing, our podcast and radio show about creating equitable, just, and joy-filled communities is back! We’re going to be taking a closer look into issues facing our communities with the production of mini-seasons that work alongside people doing the work. Our first topic: Early Childhood Education & Care with Kim Davenport of Edward Street. In this episode, Kim and Josh discuss the importance of the early childhood development period and some of the challenges and opportunities that are being addressed by advocates for quality early childhood education and care both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.To follow Kim and the work of Edward Street, check out their website and follow them on Facebook! Listen to Public Hearing wherever you get your podcasts and on WICN 90.5FM, Worcester’s NPR affiliate station. Share our show with a friend!

Happy Nonbinary People’s Day folx (7.19.21)! This week, Josh dives into conversation with Thu Nguyen about nonbinary identity, running for local office, and the power of community.Thu Nguyen is a proud Vietnamese refugee, an artist, a youth worker, and the first non-binary candidate for Worcester City Council At-Large. Over the last decade, Thu has dedicated their career to serving our young people, from facilitating after school programming at the Worcester Youth Center to hiring young people for Recreation Worcester to work at our local parks and schools across the city. Thu currently works at the Southeast Asian Coalition working with and supporting small businesses, promoting civic engagement, and strengthening communities. Most recently, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Thu helped build Mutual Aid Worcester, which has raised nearly $75,000 to support families in Worcester and tackled food insecurity by starting an immigrant and refugee pantry and hot meals program. Listen to Public Hearing wherever you get your podcasts and on WICN 90.5FM, Worcester’s NPR affiliate station. And, while we celebrate women all year round, our guests for the month of March are all women who live, influence, and/or impact the City of Worcester, MA. Learn more about our show at PublicHearing.coShare our show with a friend!

What do pancakes have in common with pushing for food equity? Doughboyz and Justin Amevor, that’s what! This week, Josh talks with Justin about an idea inspired by a dorm room joke that set him on a path to support folx in Worcester achieve food security. Listen to Public Hearing wherever you get your podcasts and on WICN 90.5FM, Worcester’s NPR affiliate station. And, while we celebrate women all year round, our guests for the month of March are all women who live, influence, and/or impact the City of Worcester, MA. Learn more about our show at PublicHearing.coShare our show with a friend!

Happy Pride! This month, we’re centering queer voices in our community and the challenges, joys, opportunities, and hopes we face in our cities and our world. This week, Josh dives into Worcester LGBTQ+ history with Bill Wallace, the Executive Director of the Worcester Historical Museum. From gay bars to Worcester’s first Pride Parade, Josh & Bill explore the importance of sharing stories from our past to inform our future.Listen to Public Hearing wherever you get your podcasts and on WICN 90.5FM, Worcester’s NPR affiliate station. And, while we celebrate women all year round, our guests for the month of March are all women who live, influence, and/or impact the City of Worcester, MA. Learn more about our show at PublicHearing.coShare our show with a friend!

Josh talks with Deb Hall, recently appointed Executive Director of the YWCA of Central Mass, about pride, race, being queer, and intersectionality. We explore the concept of urgency, what is needed in this moment, and how we might look to the future.Listen to Public Hearing wherever you get your podcasts and on WICN 90.5FM, Worcester’s NPR affiliate station. And, while we celebrate women all year round, our guests for the month of March are all women who live, influence, and/or impact the City of Worcester, MA. Learn more about our show at PublicHearing.coShare our show with a friend!

Happy Pride! This month, we’re centering queer voices in our community and the challenges, joys, opportunities, and hopes we face in our cities and our world. This week, Al Green, the Ministry Director for the LGBT Asylum Task Force, talks with Josh about the hurdles in seeking asylum, accessing community-based and social services, and the intersectional challenges that being queer add to finding resources and support in Worcester and the United States.Listen to Public Hearing wherever you get your podcasts and on WICN 90.5FM, Worcester’s NPR affiliate station. And, while we celebrate women all year round, our guests for the month of March are all women who live, influence, and/or impact the City of Worcester, MA. Learn more about our show at PublicHearing.coShare our show with a friend!

This week on Public Hearing, Josh dives into topics surrounding youth justice, comprehensive sex ed, and achieving equitable outcomes for youth with Dr. Laurie Ross from Clark University.Listen to Public Hearing wherever you get your podcasts and on WICN 90.5FM, Worcester’s NPR affiliate station. And, while we celebrate women all year round, our guests for the month of March are all women who live, influence, and/or impact the City of Worcester, MA. Learn more about our show at PublicHearing.coShare our show with a friend!

How might we design sustainable innovation ecosystems centered around inclusion & equity? This week’s episode of Public Hearing dives into the complexity of economics and empathy. Josh and our guest, Randal Meraki, talk about innovation and possible pathways for realizing a more equitable and inclusive future. Randal is the CEO and Co-Owner of The WorcShop, a 54,000 square foot makerspace & business incubator focused on manufacturing and industrial arts. Listen to Public Hearing wherever you get your podcasts and on WICN 90.5FM, Worcester’s NPR affiliate station. And, while we celebrate women all year round, our guests for the month of March are all women who live, influence, and/or impact the City of Worcester, MA. Learn more about our show at PublicHearing.coShare our show with a friend!

This week’s guest on Public Hearing, Ellie Gilmore, and Josh ask the question, “How might we make zoning sexy and easy to understand?”, and talk about the negative impact that development projects can have on cities when the local community is not involved in important conversations about the decision making process. The local community is a crucial resource that must be utilized in every step of the process to create equitable and valuable change for all residents.Listen to Public Hearing wherever you get your podcasts and on WICN 90.5FM, Worcester’s NPR affiliate station. And, while we celebrate women all year round, our guests for the month of March are all women who live, influence, and/or impact the City of Worcester, MA. Learn more about our show at PublicHearing.coShare our show with a friend!