A podcast about what it takes to make transformational social change.
On Almost There, a new podcast from Emerson Collective, poet and lawyer Dwayne Betts talks to creative problem solvers, all [Fellows at Emerson Collective](https://www.emersoncollective.com/programs/#fellowships)—architects, doctors, writers, voyagers, organizers, and artists—about their approach to making meaningful social change. 
\
\
In each episode, we’ll learn about the journeys that have led our guests to the questions driving their work: How do we keep our families and communities healthy? How do we build a fairer immigration system and promote civic participation? How can we stay alert to the beauty around us and harness human ingenuity to protect our planet? The conversations on Almost There will explore these pressing questions and new possibilities.

Almost There Embed Player Background

How do we remember the darkest parts of our collective past—from slavery in the U.S. to the Holocaust in Germany—while moving steadily forward? This question has driven poet and journalist Clint Smith to travel the U.S. and cross oceans in search of places, stories, and public memorials that deepen our shared understanding of what human beings have done to each other, and how we can collectively heal. He is the author of the book How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America, and the new book of poems, Above Ground. 
\
\
In the premiere episode of Almost There, Dwayne and Clint discuss places across the U.S. that successfully—and not-so-successfully—confront the history of slavery; what Clint learned visiting Holocaust memorials in Germany for his Atlantic cover story; and Clint’s formative experience as a high school English teacher. Plus, Dwayne reads one of Clint’s new poems.

Stay Up to Date

[NewsletterSignUp] EC Digest General Newsletter

Almost There - Clint Smith

How to tell ourselves the truth about the history of slavery

https://res.cloudinary.com/dapibcwcy/image/upload/v1687222136/cdn/Podcast/Almost%20There/Transcripts/Almost_There_-_Transcript_-_Clint_Smith.pdf

Before Michael Murphy became an architect, his father was diagnosed with terminal cancer. For the next eighteen months, as his father was treated, they worked together to restore their old family home. When the house was completed, his father’s cancer was in remission, and he told Michael that the project saved his life. 
\
\
Today, as the founder of MASS Design Group and lead designer on projects like the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama, and the Butaro Hospital in Rwanda, Michael is committed to making buildings that can heal, reshaping our understanding of what architecture can do for our health and for the planet. As Michael says, “If architecture can change our health and can keep us alive, it has to be a right.” 
\
\
In this episode, Dwayne and Michael discuss the perverse architecture of prisons and hospitals; their collaboration designing the first-of-its-kind “Freedom Library” bookshelf for prison dormitories; and the lasting impact of the great Dr. Paul Farmer, who co-founded Partners in Health, on Michael’s design thinking.

Almost There - Michael Murphy

Our buildings are making us sick. Can they heal us instead?

https://res.cloudinary.com/dapibcwcy/image/upload/v1687222136/cdn/Podcast/Almost%20There/Transcripts/Almost_There_-_Transcript_-_Michael_Murphy.pdf

Walking is the single most powerful thing a Black woman can do for her health, according to Morgan Dixon and Vanessa Garrison. Black women and girls experience higher rates of hypertension and diabetes, higher maternal mortality, and overall shorter life expectancy than other Americans. As a practical first step to healing and transforming their own lives, members of their organization, GirlTrek, form local groups that walk together in their neighborhoods. Today, GirlTrek has blossomed into a global community of over 1.5 million walkers, making it the nation’s largest nonprofit focused on the health of Black women and girls. “We know that when Black women get involved, everything can change,” Morgan says. 
\
\
In this episode, Dwayne, Morgan, and Vanessa take a walk outside together and discuss the joy of building community through movement; the origin story of GirlTrek; and what’s possible when Black women take to the streets of their neighborhoods.

Almost There - Morgan Dixon and Vanessa Garrison

This profoundly simple act can save the lives of millions of Black women  

https://res.cloudinary.com/dapibcwcy/image/upload/v1687890130/cdn/Podcast/Almost%20There/Transcripts/Almost_There_-_Transcript_-_GirlTrek.pdf

Sailing around the world is very, very hard. But sailing around the world without the help of modern navigation technology? Shouldn’t that be impossible? Not for Lehua Kamalu, who has captained her way across our great oceans as the Voyaging Director for the [Polynesian Voyaging Society](https://www.hokulea.com/), an organization based in Hawaii that perpetuates traditional Polynesian voyaging and the spirit of exploration. Lehua travels the ocean in Hōkūle’a, a double-hulled canoe designed to replicate ancient Polynesian voyaging vessels, powered only by traditional wayfinding methods that rely on the natural elements—the sun, stars, and ocean wildlife.
\
\
In this episode, Lehua tells Dwayne about the valuable leadership lessons she’s learned from captaining her team across thousands of miles of ocean; what she has realized about the beauty of the natural world; and how we should think about humanity’s place on this planet. Plus, she helps coach Dwayne through his fear of the ocean.
\
\
Lehua is currently leading her most important voyage yet—a 4-year, 43,000-mile voyage around the Pacific. Follow her journey.

Almost There - Lehua Kamalu

What you learn when you sail around the world without a compass

https://res.cloudinary.com/dapibcwcy/image/upload/v1689020068/cdn/Podcast/Almost%20There/Transcripts/AT_Lehua_Kamalu_Transcript.pdf

When life-long politics nerd Amanda Litman woke up the day after the 2016 election, and the candidate she had been working for lost, she didn’t wallow. Instead, she launched Run for Something, an organization that helps young people run for office. The organization’s team of experts offers guidance to potential candidates under 40 on everything from selecting a race, to planning a campaign, to what to do after Election Day. (They even help candidates cope with a hard loss.) Since launching, Run for Something has helped more than 750 candidates across the U.S. run for office and win. 
In this episode, Amanda shares with Dwayne the questions any young person should ask themselves before running for office; what it takes to mount a successful campaign; and the unique change that’s possible in local communities when young people are elected.

Almost There - Amanda Litman

Young people: here’s how to run for office—and win

https://res.cloudinary.com/dapibcwcy/image/upload/v1689631215/cdn/Podcast/Almost%20There/Transcripts/AT_Amanda_Litman_Transcript.pdf

Robert Stewart defended his doctoral dissertation almost 11 years to the day after he walked out of prison. Today, as a [sociological criminologist](https://ccjs.umd.edu/facultyprofile/stewart/robert "https://ccjs.umd.edu/facultyprofile/stewart/robert") at the University of Maryland, he researches the experiences and beliefs of people who have also been through the criminal legal system. Asking important questions about civic inclusion, Robert has researched the [startling impact](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1745-9125.12229) of criminal records on college admissions, and today is working to understand the political beliefs of the [4.6 million Americans](https://www.sentencingproject.org/reports/locked-out-2022-estimates-of-people-denied-voting-rights/) who are barred from voting due to a felony conviction. “We have to rethink the labels that we apply to people,” Rob says. “We have to rethink how we reduce people from infinitely complex human beings with views and experiences and likes and dislikes to that one event that happened in their life.”
\
\
In this conversation, Dwayne and Rob talk about their own experiences with the prison system; what it feels like to carry the label of “felon” through life; and what we sacrifice as a society when we punish people by taking away their right to vote.

Almost There - Robert Stewart

How does it feel to be known as a “felon” forever?

https://res.cloudinary.com/dapibcwcy/image/upload/v1689885025/cdn/Podcast/Almost%20There/Transcripts/AT_Robert_Stewart_Transcript.pdf

As the daughter of a Guatemalan immigrant and a Cuban refugee, Conchita Cruz first got involved in immigrants’ rights work to support her own family. Today, she is the co-executive director of the [Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project](https://www.asylumadvocacy.org/ "https://www.asylumadvocacy.org/") (ASAP), the largest organization of asylum seekers in U.S. history, with over 500,000 members. Supporting people who have fled their home countries in search of safety and protection, ASAP provides resources to help their members navigate the legal system and advocates for a more inclusive country through litigation, policy, and storytelling. “Only an organized collective of asylum seekers has the power to fundamentally re-envision the asylum system and create a more welcoming United States,” Conchita says. “Their voices and stories must be centered in order to bring about transformative systemic change.”
\
\
In this episode, Conchita tells Dwayne about her family’s immigrant story and her own journey through law school; what inspired her to start ASAP; and about the change that’s possible when asylum seekers have the chance to tell their own stories. Plus, Dwayne reads a poem he wrote for Conchita.


Almost There - Conchita Cruz

What if we let asylum seekers fix our immigration system?

https://res.cloudinary.com/dapibcwcy/image/upload/v1689885062/cdn/Podcast/Almost%20There/Transcripts/AT_Conchita_Cruz_Transcript.pdf

In 2018, Aisha Nyandoro launched what is today the longest-running guaranteed income program in the U.S. after doing something radical: asking Black women what they needed most. The support of monthly cash payments of $1,000 from the [Magnolia’s Mothers Trust](https://springboardto.org/magnolia-mothers-trust/ "Magnolia’s Mothers Trust") has allowed Black mothers in Jackson, Mississippi to put food on the table, do that long-delayed car repair, enroll a child in their first dance class, or save for a family home. Now, Aisha wants to reimagine the social safety net all together, driven by the insight that what’s most transformative for families is having the financial resources to invest in joy. 
\
\
In this episode, Aisha tells Dwayne the reason she moved back home to Jackson, Mississippi; about the meaning she finds in one of her favorite books, Alice Walker’s The Color Purple; and about the liberatory power of free cash. 


Almost There - Aisha Nyandoro

What’s possible when Black mothers have the financial freedom to dream?

A member of the Crow/Apsáalooke tribe, Wendy Red Star was raised on the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana, which encompasses two million acres. And while she was immersed in Crow culture growing up, she didn’t really learn the broader history of Indigenous people in the U.S. until college. Today as a visual artist, Wendy centers this history, along with Native life and culture, in work that spans imaginative self-portraiture, vivid collage, and site-specific installation. An avid researcher, Wendy re-examines cultural artifacts and historical imagery, using them as inspiration for work that is inquisitive, witty, and thought-provoking. You can find her vibrant work in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, MoMA, the British Museum, and others.
\
\
In this episode, Wendy shares with Dwayne the meaning of her very first art project, in which she set up a tipi in the middle of the football field at Montana State University; what it feels like to find artifacts that belonged to your ancestors in a museum archive; and why she is so drawn to humor in her work.

Almost There - Wendy Red Star

Native life is everywhere. Just look around.

https://res.cloudinary.com/dapibcwcy/image/upload/v1692037316/cdn/Podcast/Almost%20There/Transcripts/AT_Wendy_Red_Star_Transcript.pdf

Work isn’t just the place where we work. It’s also the place where we meet new people who are different from us, which is why Elise Smith thinks the office is the perfect place to start building a more empathetic world. She is the co-founder and CEO of Praxis Labs, an immersive learning startup that is reimagining diversity, equity, and inclusion training for corporate America. Using virtual reality, workers take on new perspectives, experiencing incidents of bias or discrimination from multiple points of view, and get to actually practice responding. The goal: to build empathy and spark behavior change. 
\
\
In this episode, Elise talks to Dwayne about what it is like to raise venture funding as a young, Black founder; the early virtual reality experiences that changed her life; and the surprising similarities between poetry and virtual reality. 


Almost There - Elise Smith

Could virtual reality make us better coworkers?

https://res.cloudinary.com/dapibcwcy/image/upload/v1692308629/cdn/Podcast/Almost%20There/Transcripts/AT_Elise_Smith_Transcript.pdf

Chuck Yarborough is a sixth-generation Mississippian who teaches American history at one of the best high schools in the state, [The Mississippi School of Mathematics and Science](https://themsms.org/ "The Mississippi School of Mathematics and Science"). In the midst of a national debate on how we teach American history to young people, Chuck doesn’t just rely on textbooks. Instead, he sends his students to original sources to research overlooked and untold histories, helping them turn what they learn into vivid public performance for their community. “I try to create spaces where students can engage with difficult topics, in an environment where they can be honest and where all they are going to be met with is love,” Chuck says.
\
\
In this episode, Chuck tells Dwayne about the childhood birthday party that changed his life; the memorable public performances of his students; and his guiding principles as a high school teacher. Plus, hear excerpts of performances from Chuck’s students, Dairian Bowles and Madison Echols.

Almost There - Chuck Yarborough

How to teach history in a divided America? Let students think for themselves.

https://res.cloudinary.com/dapibcwcy/image/upload/v1693274018/cdn/Podcast/Almost%20There/Transcripts/AT_Chuck_Yarborough_Transcript.pdf

You can’t change what you can’t see. And good data, [Amy Bach](https://www.emersoncollective.com/persons/amy-bach "Amy Bach") believes, is one of the keys to surfacing what’s not working in our criminal justice system. She is the founder of [Measures for Justice](https://measuresforjustice.org/ "Measures for Justice"), a nonpartisan, non-profit organization developing data tools to help community advocates and law enforcement work together to reshape the criminal justice system. Amy believes that data on local trends – like racial disparities in diversions – can become tools to help communities advocate for meaningful change, and a way for prosecutors to demonstrate a commitment to reform. “When we can see where things go wrong, we can work to make them right,” Amy says.
\
\
In this episode, Amy and Dwayne talk about what’s possible when data is used to start difficult, community-driven conversations about reform; the story behind Commons, a new criminal justice data platform; and why data can ultimately only ever tell part of the story. Plus, Dwayne reads a Langston Hughes poem to Amy. 


Almost There - Amy Bach

Following the data to a fairer criminal justice system

https://res.cloudinary.com/dapibcwcy/image/upload/v1694455731/cdn/Podcast/Almost%20There/Transcripts/AT_Amy_Bach_Transcript.pdf

[Shari Davis](https://www.emersoncollective.com/persons/shari-davis "Shari Davis") first began dreaming about how to empower young people as a teenager, while serving on the Mayor's Youth Council in Boston. In 2014, the Mayor of Boston asked Shari to launch the country's first youth-focused “participatory budgeting” effort—a democratic process in which community members directly decide how to spend part of a public budget. Today, Shari co-leads the [Participatory Budgeting Project](https://www.participatorybudgeting.org/ "Participatory Budgeting Project"), which has helped more than 700,000 people in over 30 cities directly decide how to spend $400 million in public funds. The process has led to new art walls, park renovations, student centers, and imaginative public safety efforts. 
\
\
In this episode, Shari and Dwayne talk about the key steps in the participatory budgeting process; real-world examples of participatory budgeting in action; and what the Black martial arts tradition taught Shari about how democracy works. Plus, Shari and Dwayne bond over Octavia Butler’s The Parable of the Sower.


Almost There - Shari Davis

You—yes, you—can decide how the government spends money

https://res.cloudinary.com/dapibcwcy/image/upload/v1695137221/cdn/Podcast/Almost%20There/Transcripts/AT_Shari_Davis_Transcript.pdf

Each year, more than 200,000 young people are held in hundreds of juvenile-detention centers across the U.S., many of which do not provide a quality education to the students in their care. [David Domenici](https://www.emersoncollective.com/persons/david-domenici "David Domenici") is working to change that. He co-founded the Maya Angelou Schools, a successful network of alternative schools in Washington, D.C. that includes the Maya Angelou Academy, located inside Washington’s juvenile-correctional facility. In 2011, he founded [BreakFree Education](https://www.breakfree-ed.org/ "BreakFree Education"), which works closely with teachers and incarcerated students to advocate for policy change and advise prison educational programs. “By ensuring young people in prison receive the education they deserve, we can help restore their humanity and dignity, and positively influence the institutions that hold them captive,” David says.

In this episode, David tells Dwayne about [transforming](https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1920774 "What it Takes to Transform a School Inside a Juvenile Facility: The Story of the Maya Angelou Academy") the notorious Oak Hill juvenile facility into the Maya Angelou Academy; the books that have changed the lives of his students; and why it’s so important to see all young people – in and out of prison – as students first. Plus, Dwayne reads an excerpt of James Baldwin’s If Beale Street Could Talk. 


Almost There - David Domenici

Is it possible to build a great school in a prison?

https://res.cloudinary.com/dapibcwcy/image/upload/v1695747372/cdn/Podcast/Almost%20There/Transcripts/AT_David_Domenici_Transcript.pdf

[Sheila Davis](https://www.emersoncollective.com/persons/sheila-davis "Sheila Davis") began her career as a nurse working on the front lines of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Boston. Today, lessons from that experience guide her work as the CEO of [Partners In Health](https://www.pih.org/ "Partners in Health"), the global health nonprofit with nearly 20,000 people, providing care across 11 countries, from Rwanda to Haiti. Building on the legacy of PIH founder and Sheila’s longtime friend Dr. Paul Farmer, who died unexpectedly in 2022, Sheila and her team of doctors, nurses, clinicians, and administrators are working to establish medical centers, educate future generations of health care workers, and directly provide care to those who need it most. “We are fighting for global health equity, boldly and unapologetically,” she says.
\
\
In this episode, Sheila talks to Dwayne about the lessons she carries from her time as a nurse into her leadership role at Partners in Health; why joy and beauty are so important to the healing process; and why you should always listen to your driver when you arrive in a foreign country. 


Almost There - Sheila Davis

What the AIDS epidemic taught this nurse about keeping the world healthy

https://res.cloudinary.com/dapibcwcy/image/upload/v1696352727/cdn/Podcast/Almost%20There/Transcripts/AT_Sheila_Davis_Transcript.pdf

Tonight at dinner, you are likely to eat something that was picked by a farmworker. This is back-breaking work, involving long hours in the hot sun. And yet farmworkers, many of whom are immigrants to the U.S., often do not have basic workplace protections like heat standards or overtime pay. “The cruel irony in this country is that the very people who nourish us often can’t afford to put food on their own table,” says [Diana Tellefson Torres](https://www.emersoncollective.com/persons/diana-tellefson-torres "Diana Tellefson Torres"). The granddaughter of a migrant worker herself, Diana’s work at the [UFW Foundation](https://www.ufwfoundation.org/ "UFW Foundation") is helping ensure farmworkers have a voice in the conversation about their labor and their rights. 
\
\
In this episode, Diana tells Dwayne the story of her own family’s journey to the U.S.; what she has learned from the farmworkers she meets every day; and why we should all know the stories of the people who picked the food on our dinner tables. 


Almost There - Diana Tellefson Torres

If farmworkers pick the food, shouldn’t they get a seat at the table?

https://res.cloudinary.com/dapibcwcy/image/upload/v1696955395/cdn/Podcast/Almost%20There/Transcripts/AT_Diana_Tellefson_Torres_Transcript.pdf

When Hurricane Katrina barreled toward her home stretch of the Gulf Coast, [Sara Zewde](https://www.emersoncollective.com/persons/sara-zewde "Sara Zewde") had not yet decided what she wanted to do professionally. But the aftermath of the storm inspired her to work across ecology, infrastructure, and culture as a landscape architect. Today, she runs [Studio Zewde](https://www.studio-zewde.com/ "Studio Zewde"), a landscape-architecture practice based in New York City, and is an assistant professor at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design. As one of just a few Black female landscape architects, she is dedicated to building culturally-responsive spaces where people experience a sense of belonging. “People walk around Central Park, around landscapes, around sidewalks and street corners, and don’t realize they are living in somebody’s design,” she says. “Every single tree, every single path, all the topography – it’s a complete work of fiction.” 
\
\
In this episode, Sara tells Dwayne about her interest in Frederick Law Olmsted, the father of landscape architecture in the U.S. and the designer of New York’s Central Park, who, she learned, traveled the American South as a journalist and documented the horrors of slavery there – an experience that came to fundamentally shape his approach to park design.


Almost There - Sara Zewde

The anti-slavery roots of America's public parks

https://res.cloudinary.com/dapibcwcy/image/upload/v1697560824/cdn/Podcast/Almost%20There/Transcripts/AT_Sara_Zewde_Transcript.pdf

[Sri Shamasunder](https://www.emersoncollective.com/persons/sriram-shamasunder "Sri Shamasunder") likes to say he was a poet before he was a doctor. His college mentor, the legendary poet and activist June Jordan, passed away from cancer during his first year of medical school, but had a lasting impact on his practice of medicine. She encouraged him to harness righteous anger and to use his voice to fight inequity, inspiring Shamasunder’s work as a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, and as the co-founder and director of the [HEAL Initiative](https://healinitiative.org/ "HEAL Initiative"), an equity-based global health fellowship that provides quality care for communities in need around the world. 
\
\
In this episode, Sri and Dwayne discuss the surprising similarities between poetry and medicine; how the HEAL Initiative cultivates “noble friendships” across cultural divides; and the impact of the mentorship of June Jordan and Dr. Paul Farmer on Sri’s life and career. Plus: so much poetry! Poems mentioned in this episode include: 
\
\
["The Gift" by Li-Young Lee](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43010/the-gift-56d221adc12b8 " "The Gift" by Li-Young Lee")
\
\
["To Walk in Beauty Once Again" by Sri Shamasunder (for Adriann Begay, June 2020)](https://courtney.substack.com/p/to-walk-in-beauty-once-again ""To Walk in Beauty Once Again" by Sri Shamasunder (for Adriann Begay, June 2020)")
\
\
["The Guest House" by Jalaluddin Rumi](https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/guest-house/ ""The Guest House" by Jalaluddin Rumi")
\
\
["In Blackwater Woods" by Mary Oliver](http://www.phys.unm.edu/~tw/fas/yits/archive/oliver_inblackwaterwoods.html ""In Blackwater Woods" by Mary Oliver") 
\
\
["Our Daily Bread" by César Vallejo](https://www.scribd.com/document/324203734/Our-Daily-Bread# ""Our Daily Bread" by César Vallejo")
\
\
["It’s Hard to Keep a Clean Shirt Clean" by June Jordan (poem for Sri Shamasunder)](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48759/its-hard-to-keep-a-clean-shirt-clean ""It’s Hard to Keep a Clean Shirt Clean" by June Jordan (poem for Sri Shamasunder)")


Almost There - Sriram Shamasunder

The marvelous connections between poetry and medicine

https://res.cloudinary.com/dapibcwcy/image/upload/v1698164474/cdn/Podcast/Almost%20There/Transcripts/AT_Sri_Shamasunder_Transcript.pdf

Across the U.S., local election administrators are the unsung heroes of democracy, helping to protect our right to vote. But who is protecting them? Scarce resources and [increasing threats](https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/poll-local-election-officials-finds-safety-fears-colleagues-and "Brennan Center for Justice") of violence are causing many in the profession to find new jobs. Fortunately, [Tiana Epps-Johnson](https://www.emersoncollective.com/persons/tiana-epps-johnson "Tiana Epps-Johnson") has big ideas on how to make their jobs easier. Tiana and her nonpartisan organization, [Center for Tech and Civic Life](https://www.techandciviclife.org/ "Center for Tech and Civic Life"), provide local officials in the U.S. with the funding, technology, and training they need to administer secure, modern elections. “We are laser-focused on a vision where our country’s election officials have the funds, tools, and skills they need to administer professional, inclusive, secure elections for all of us,” Tiana says. 
\
\
In this episode, Tiana reflects on why she considers the 2020 election, which happened in the midst of a global pandemic, so successful; what she has learned about how to help election officials orchestrate successful elections; and what she has learned from her mother and grandmother. Plus, Dwayne reads Tiana his poem, “[White Peonies](https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2022/02/24/white-peonies-reginald-dwayne-betts/ "White Peonies")”.  


Almost There - Tiana Epps-Johnson

Want to protect democracy? Hug an election official.

https://res.cloudinary.com/dapibcwcy/image/upload/v1698769701/cdn/Podcast/Almost%20There/Transcripts/AT_Tiana_Epps-Johnson_Transcript.pdf

[Joan Salwen](https://www.emersoncollective.com/persons/joan-salwen "Joan Salwen") has a thing for cows. After all, she grew up helping her grandfather tend to the livestock on his farm in Iowa. But as an adult, Joan was shocked to learn that cows are pretty terrible for the environment: they burp huge amounts of methane, a destructive greenhouse gas driving climate change. So she built a company, Blue Ocean Barns, around a surprising solution: making feed with a red seaweed native to Hawaii that dramatically reduces cows’ methane emissions when they eat it in small amounts. It’s an innovation that could make farmers like Joan’s Grandpa Mo heroes in the fight to slow climate change. 
\
\
In the Season One finale, Joan tells Dwayne about her many professional pivots, from software engineer to middle school English teacher to startup founder; and shares what she’s learned from farmers about how we can all care for our planet. Plus, Joan shares fun facts about cows!  


Almost There - Joan Salwen

You can do WHAT with seaweed???

https://res.cloudinary.com/dapibcwcy/image/upload/v1699389250/cdn/Podcast/Almost%20There/Transcripts/AT_Joan_Salwen_Transcript.pdf

Almost There Podcast Show Header - Desktop

Almost There Podcast Show Header - Mobile

[Ambient Video] General Newsletter Video Asset

Sunshine (#fff747)

Custom

A podcast about what it takes to make transformational change.

Circular Podcast Show Image - Almost There

Almost There

Capacity Building Offerings

More Capacity Building Offerings

[TextBlock] The Management Center

THE MANAGEMENT CENTER (TMC)

THE MANAGEMENT CENTER

[TextBlock] TMC's courses provide frameworks and ready-to-use ...

[Divider] #ffb600

[TextBlock] FUNDING Emerson Collective will provide one of the...

[TextBlock] NEXT STEPS If you choose Option #1 (5 course regis...

[TextBlock] lifelabs learning

LIFELABS LEARNING

lifelabs learning

[TextBlock] Their public courses focus on small changes a pers...

[TextBlock] FUNDING Emerson Collective will provide funding for up to $1,750 in LifeLabs Learning purchases in 2025. You may select any combination of membership type.

[TextBlock] NEXT STEPS Sign up for the session of most interes...

[TextBlock] executive education programs

EXECUTIVE EDUCATIONS PROGRAMS

executive education programs

[TextBlock] In 2025, you may choose to attend one course from ...

[TextBlock] FUNDING We will provide funding for the tuition co...

[TextBlock] NEXT STEPS Applications are open for these program...

[FeatureCard] Management Training

Management Training

Join our mailing list and follow us on social.

[NewsletterSignUp] Home Mat Newsletter

Demo Day 2024 - Day Of Event Video Thumbnail

We fund select educational courses from: The Management Center, LifeLabs Learning, and the Harvard and Stanford executive education programs

Navigate to our course offerings for Management Training:

BeyondTheGrant_1_1-Thumbnail_ManagementTraining

[TextBlock] OFFICE HOURS WITH JENNIFER MCCREA Jennifer McCrea ...

OFFICE HOURS WITH JENNIFER MCCREA

[TextBlock] Emerson Collective is pleased to offer three advis...

[Divider] #1e482f

[TextBlock] FUNDING Emerson Collective will fund up to three (...

[TextBlock] NEXT STEPS Your Executive Directors and developmen...

[TextBlock] Online Resources from Jennifer McCrea Here are add...

Online Resources from Jennifer McCrea

[FeatureCard] Fund Development

Fund Development

We fund advising sessions with fundraising expert Jennifer McCrea

BeyondTheGrant_1_1-Thumbnail_FundDevelopment

[TextBlock] LEX MUNDI PRO BONO FOUNDATION The Lex Mundi Pro Bo...

LEX MUNDI PRO BONO FOUNDATION

[TextBlock] This organization is best positioned to provide le...

[Divider] #381e43

[TextBlock] FUNDING This is a pro bono service: No payment is ...

[TextBlock] Next Steps If you’d like to set up a project, plea...

[FeatureCard] Legal Support

Legal Support

We provide access to legal guidance from Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation

BeyondTheGrant_1_1-Thumbnail_LegalSupport

[TextBlock] the oped project

THE OPED PROJECT

[TextBlock] Write to Change the World explores the challenges ...

[Divider] #faac8b

[TextBlock] FUNDING Emerson Collective will provide funding fo...

[TextBlock] NEXT STEPS Sign up for one (1) workshop (either Wr...

[TextBlock] The Goodman Center

THE GOODMAN CENTER

[TextBlock] The Goodman Center provides several online courses...

[TextBlock] FUNDING Emerson Collective will provide funding to your organizati...

[TextBlock] NEXT STEPS

[FeatureCard] Voice & Storytelling

Voice & Storytelling

We fund writing workshops with The OpEd Project and The Goodman Center

Navigate to our course offerings for Communications & Storytelling:

BeyondTheGrant_1_1-Thumbnail_Voice_Storytelling

Communications & Storytelling

[TextBlock] With our Data & Technology offerings, we hope to empower our nonprofits partners with the technological tools and knowledge they need to thrive in an increasingly digital world. 

[Divider] #ba682c

[TextBlock] TECH ASSESSMENT

TECH ASSESSMENT

Shape Break - Data & Technology

[Text Block] LIBRARY OF RECOMMENDED TECHNOLOGY TOOLS

LIBRARY OF RECOMMENDED TECHNOLOGY TOOLS

[Text Block] We hope this growing catalog will be helpful as your organization

[HtmlBlock] Emerson Collective Continued Offerings Tool Library

Shape Break - Data & Technology - Slim for Tool

[TextBlock] IT INFRASTRUCTURE: TECHSOUP

TECHSOUP

IT INFRASTRUCTURE: TECHSOUP

[TextBlock] Feel free to browse through the TechSoup catalog. ...

[TextBlock] FUNDING Emerson Collective will provide one-time funding for up to...

[TextBlock] NEXT STEPS Purchase TechSoup products up to $1,500...

[Text Block] PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: COURSERA PLUS

COURSERA PLUS

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: COURSERA PLUS

[Text Block] The platform includes best-in-class courses in data analysis and data science, IT, product management, and software engineering.

[Text Block] You may be especially interested in the following courses recommended by Emerson Collective’s Technology team

FUNDING Emerson Collective will provide funding for up to two (2) Coursera Plus annual subscriptions purchased in

NEXT STEPS Sign up for up to two (2) Coursera Plus annual subscriptions.

[TextBlock] AI Resource Library

AI RESOURCE LIBRARY

AI Resource Library

[TextBlock] OTHER PRO BONO TECHNOLOGY TOOLS

OTHER PRO BONO TECHNOLOGY TOOLS

[TextBlock] NON-PROFIT TECH COMMUNITIES

NON-PROFIT TECH COMMUNITIES

[FeatureCard] Data & Technology

Data & Technology

We fund and recommend product and services for technological transformation


Navigate to our course offerings for Data & Technology:

BeyondTheGrant_1_1-Thumbnail_Analytics_Measurement

[TextBlock] ONLINE RESOURCES

ONLINE RESOURCES

[TextBlock] Board Development, Engagement, and Governance Webi...

[TextBlock] OFFICE HOURS WITH EMERSON COLLECTIVE

OFFICE HOURS WITH EC

OFFICE HOURS WITH EMERSON COLLECTIVE

[TextBlock] Anne Marie leads Emerson Collective’s philanthropic ...

We provide 1:1 brainstorming with Emerson Collective on board-governance strategies

Navigate to our course offerings for Board Governance:

Board Governance

We invited our partners to share ideas for new projects at the intersection of their work and climate change. The following stories show how everyone can find ways to contribute climate solutions.

Almost There

Approach

LATEST EPISODES