In this time of intense reckoning with our nation's history of racially motivated violence and discrimination against America's immigrants, one Oregon non-profit is working tirelessly to confront such intolerance by telling the stories of Oregon's immigrants. In this episode of the GlobalPDX Podcast we welcome Sankar Raman (Founder and Board President of The Immigrant Story) who expresses his motivation for sharing the voices of immigrant people, connecting a community through storytelling, and how the beautifully crafted narratives can be at once art and activism.

April is genocide awareness month, creating a particularly poignant moment for appreciating our neighbors who are brave enough to share their stories that are at once precious, private, and painful.

Learn more about Sankar's history

A lifelong resident of Portland, Oregon, Congressman Earl Blumenauer is one of Oregon’s innovative leaders.  Raised in SE Portland, Earl attended Centennial High School.  While still a college student at Lewis and Clark College, he led the campaign in Oregon to lower the voting age. He was a key player just two years later as one of the youngest legislators in Oregon’s history in a landmark session for school funding, ethics reform and Oregon’s groundbreaking land use laws...

Read a Transcript of this Episode (Spanish Transcript available here)

From a concerned citizen, to regional planner, to elected official, Jackie Dingfelder walks us through her multi-faceted perspective on Oregon's natural resources. As a former Oregon Legislator Jackie shares her “pracidemic” stance on natural resource use and abuse, and how precious commodities like water came to be so under valued. Jackie also touches on her belief that while Oregon’s leadership is not as enshrined as it used to be (with regards to climate change), and how Oregonians could reclaim our status as environmental leaders. Jackie also shares her sources of hope for Oregon: from the energy of young people, to local efforts, to collaboration amongst leaders. With these pieces in place, can we tackle the wicked problems of our time?

A full transcript of this podcast episode can be accessed here. 

Recorded on a momentous Inauguration Day (2021), Andrea speaks with Susan Sygall (of Mobility International USA) on the future of the disability-inclusion movement. Susan shares clear guidelines that even small organizations can utilize to boost their inclusiveness, speaks about the history of disabilities on both a national and global stage, and puts this particular movement in context with other equity/inclusion movements of 2020-2021.

• Mobility International USA (MIUSA) website: www.miusa.org 
• Excellence in Development and Disability Inclusion (EDDI), MIUSA's membership initiative: https://www.miusa.org/membership
• Jobs and Internships with MIUSA: https://www.miusa.org/engage-us/employment 
• Loud, Proud, and Passionate music video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxxomUVsSik
• The Power of WILD video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDHFrJs0pYA

A full transcript of this podcast episode can be accessed here. 

Very special guest Cameron Whitten (of Brown Hope and the Black Resilience Fund) speaks about Oregon's inability to shake its racist roots, white culture that is largely detached from Black experiences, and the best future for every NGO.

Volunteer opportunities: https://www.brownhope.org/volunteer

Upcoming Power Hours: https://www.brownhope.org/powerhour

Brown Hope’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brownhopeorg/

We are joined by Jennifer Martinez of Repatriate our Patriots to expose the rampant injustice of deporting US Veterans. Jennifer is a Public Affairs & Policy Doctoral Candidate at Portland State University and is a sister of a deported Veteran herself.

A full transcript of this episode is available in English, and Spanish.

Guest Clarence Edwards speaks to Andrea from Washington DC about power dynamics, inconsistencies in Aid organizations, and anti-racism momentum.

Check out our GlobalPDX Article on Clarence Edwards here

Long time GlobalPDX-friend Noor Trienekens calls in from Indonesia to discuss radical listening, lessons from COVID, and planetary health (it's the cure!).

Andrea opens up with Brooke Galloway on trauma and empowerment, and how global organizations can improve their systems inside and out.

Resources for Survivors of Violence:

Pathways to Safety International 

RAINN Rape and Incest National Network

The National Domestic Violence Hotline

Links:

SAPRI Consulting

Trauma-Informed Definition

Tufts, Feinstein International Center, Stop the Sexual Assault Against Humanitarian and Development AID Workers 

Andrea talks global engineering, GlobalPDX's inception, and the trials of astronaut with Evan Thomas in GlobalPDX's inaugural podcast.

To access the books recommended in this podcast, go to the GlobalPDX Literature Library. (Login to Member Portal Required)

A full transcript of this episode can be accessed here.