Can we talk about...? A podcast on leading for racial equity in philanthropy

Season 4 Trailer: Journeying Through Equity-Centered Board Service

Season 4 is here! And no, you’re not experiencing déjà vu. Mares is back, and so is the very first topic we tackled together on this podcast: foundation boards and govern

Valériana Chikoti-Bandua Estes and Maya Thornell-Sandifor on Stepping Into Our Power As Audacious Funders

Valériana Chikoti-Bandua Estes, executive director of Social Justice Fund Northwest and Maya Thornell Sandifor, managing director of the Kataly Foundation, join Mares for

Katie Carter and Mindie Reule on unpacking the "A" word in philanthropy

Katie Carter, President of Pride Foundation, and Mindie Reule, President & CEO, Community Foundation of South Puget Sound, sit down with Mares to discuss tangible ways th

Aisha Al-Amin, Heidi Pelletier and Musu Bakoto Sawo on saying ‘no’ to donors when values don’t align, and building equitable long-term giving strategies

In episode 6 of our season on community philanthropy, Aisha Al-Amin (Development Director, Social Justice Fund), Heidi Pelletier (Chief Development Officer, Yakima Valley

Mauri Ingram and Esra Khalil on moving from scarcity to abundance

Mauri Ingram (CEO, Whatcom Community Foundation) and Esra Khalil (Senior Program Officer, Community Foundation of Southwest Washington) join our podcast to counter a narr

Lilliane Ballesteros and Lindsay Boswell on getting creative (while staying in compliance!) to show up for community

Lilliane Ballesteros (Executive Director, Latino Community Fund) and Lindsay Boswell (Chief Program Officer, Yakima Valley Community Foundation) join us to challenge phil

Seth Kirby and Sharon Miracle on real vs perceived risk and how funders can mitigate risk for their community

Seth Kirby (Chief Impact Officer, Greater Tacoma Community Foundation) and Sharon Miracle (President and CEO, Yakima Valley Community Foundation) sit down with Mares for

Karri Matau and Matt Morton on leaders clearing the path for staff to build an organizational culture that advances equity

Karri Matau (CEO, Community Foundation of Snohomish County) returns to the podcast alongside Matt Morton (President, Community Foundation for Southwest Washington) to exp

Katie Carter and Karri Matau on tackling the “Pacific Northwest nice” culture and embracing disruption with community philanthropy boards

Katie Carter (CEO, Pride Foundation) and Karri Matau (CEO, Community Foundation of Snohomish County) join us to kick off Season 3, where we’re uplifting reflections and s

Season 3 Trailer

Hosted by Mares Asfaha, this season dives deep into the evolving world of community philanthropy — featuring honest conversations with leaders from community foundations,

Katie Hong and Abby Sarmac on their 'why' for engaging in racial equity work and themes from season 2

In our final episode of Season 2, Katie Hong and Abby Sarmac sit down to recap the season, recount their ‘why’ for engaging in racial equity work, and celebrate achieving

Se-ah-dom Edmo and Esperanza Tervalon on funding the movement, what’s really “radical” and wooden clogs

Executive Director of Seeding Justice Se-ah-dom Edmo and Board Chair Esperanza Tervalon sit down with us to reflect on the foundation’s nearly 50-year history of convenin

Gloria Dixon on People Helping People

Gloria Dixon, the director of philanthropy at BECU and the executive director of BECU Foundation joins Katie for a discussion on how corporate funders can show up for com

Carmen James Randolf on championing our unsung heroes with Women’s Foundation of the South

Carmen James Randolf, CEO of Women’s Foundation of the South (WFS) comes onto our show to introduce the four-year-old foundation and its vision of health, wealth and powe

D’Artagnan Caliman and Juma Sei on how 1803 Fund is advancing long-term investments for a rooted, prosperous Black Portland

Join D’Artagnan Caliman, Vice President of Community Partnerships, and Juma Sei, Communications Manager, at 1803 Fund as they introduce the capital investment fund’s appr

Susan Taylor Batten and Lyle Matthew Kan on Moving Beyond Fear Together to Take Action for Racial Equity

One month into President Trump's second presidency, Susan Taylor Batten, the President and CEO of ABFE and Lyle Matthew Kan, interim President and CEO of AAPIP (Asia

Kent McGuire and Zoe Stemm-Calderon on Building an Inclusive Public Education

Kent McGuire of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Zoe Stemm-Calderon from the Raikes Foundation sit down with Katie Hong to discuss their work on advancing equ

Pearl Lujan and Abby Sarmac on Going Back to Our Roots with the Kindle Project's Indigenous Women's Flow Fund

Abby Sarmac hosts a conversation with Pearl Lujan from the Kindle Project’s Indigenous Women’s Flow Fund. Together, they discuss their work as intermediaries and donors t

Eddy Zheng on Breath, Hope and Healing with New Breath Foundation

President and Founder of New Breath Foundation Eddy Zheng shares his personal story and experiences navigating incarceration and detention for 21 years, and how hope, hea

Chris Nanni on Operationalizing Equity in Fragmented Communities with the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham

Listen in as President and CEO of the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham Chris Nanni weaves together personal and organizational reflections on driving equity in