Access To Democracy

Susie Brown, president of the Minnesota Council on Foundations (MCF) sits down with host Steve Francisco to discuss how MCF works to strengthen the power of philanthropy.

Susie traces the history of Minnesota’s long-established tradition of corporate and private philanthropy and how it has improved the lives of all Minnesotans. Some 170 foundation are current members of MCF. An important part of MCF’s mission is working in coalition with Independent Sector, the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, and other organizations to advance the public policy priorities of philanthropy and nonprofits.

Guild, Inc. CEO Trish Thacker joins host Steve Francisco to discuss how Guild works to empower people living with mental illness, long-term homelessness and unemployment.

Trish’s experience as a therapist for 25 years provides her with valuable understanding in leading Guild’s dedicated staff and volunteers in serving the needs of their clients. Treating all people with dignity and respect is at the core of Guild’s life-changing and life-saving work.

Learn how Guild has grown from a meeting of the Guild of Catholic Women to a highly successful nonprofit that is making a difference in peoples’ lives and in our community.

In this edition of the program, we learn about Humanistic Judaism, as guest Rabbi Eva Cohen, talks with host Bill Raker.

Rabbi Eva shares her personal journey of why and how she prepared to be the leader of the Or Emet Congregation. She explains what it’s like for her and her family to be the first Humanistic Rabbi in Minnesota. You’ll enjoy her story for it being both interesting and inspiring.

More information about Humanistic Judaism, Or Emet Congregation, and Rabbi Eva is available at info@oremet.org and 612-787-7812.

Journalist and Author Dane Smith, returns to our program with host Steve Francisco to complete a three-part interview about his MinnPost series, “Reappraising the ‘Good Life’ in Minnesota.”

The series was inspired by a Time magazine cover story in 1973 highlighting Minnesota’s national leadership in education, health care, environmental protection, and social justice.

Dane observes that while Minnesota continues to score highly in many quality of life indicators, there has been some slippage, particularly for people of color who now constitute nearly a quarter of the state’s population. Dane shares his recommendations for a “To Do” list in several key areas of concern.

While it will not be easy, Dane expresses his hope that Minnesota will continue to embrace its legacy of maintaining an egalitarian culture for all Minnesotans.

In this interesting interview, ProfessorRichard Logan, joins host Steve Francisco to discuss his experiences as a teacher in Kenya during Kenya’s formative post-independence years in the early 1970s.

With degrees from Harvard and the University of Chicago, Richard developed an insatiable appetite for international travel and learning about life in village Africa. Richard describes himself as a cultural anthropologist who was inspired by his students and many other people he met in Africa, including a Masai tribal elder.

Professor Logan presents several examples of African art work and explains his admiration for the strong social bonds of tribal communities. He also explains why he believes that there are lessons from African village life that would benefit American and Western societies.