Episodes

I would love to hear your thoughts on this episode. Please send me a text... An omelet might seem like a simple breakfast. At GiGi’s Playhouse Sacramento, it can also be a lesson in reading, communication, independence, and leadership. And Jasmine, one of my guests in this episode, knows a thing or two about making them. I’m joined by Missy Okelberry, Site Manager and Nicole Harrigan, Board President, along with Jasmine and her mother, Misha, to explore this Down syndrome achievement center i...

I would love to hear your thoughts on this episode. Please send me a text... Having a story to tell is one thing. Having the skills, equipment, and support to share it is another. I’m joined by Joe Barr, Executive Director of Access Sacramento, to explore how this nonprofit helps people turn their ideas into community programming, films, podcasts, and new possibilities. Many people know Access Sacramento through public access television. What they may not know is how much happens behind the s...

I would love to hear your thoughts on this episode. Please send me a text... Five nonprofits. Five $100,000 grants. One remarkable demonstration of what women can accomplish through collective giving. In this NewsPod, I reconnect with Impact100 Greater Sacramento President Sarina Paulson to celebrate the organization’s biggest grant awards year yet. In just four years, Impact100 has awarded nearly $1.5 million to local nonprofits, reaching its $500,000 annual giving goal a full year ahead of ...

I would love to hear your thoughts on this episode. Please send me a text... What would you do if tonight you had nowhere to sleep, no idea where your next meal would come from, and no way to charge your phone? That’s where my conversation with Joe Pacheco of First Step Communities begins, and it puts the realities of homelessness into immediate perspective. I was surprised by the depth of this Sacramento nonprofit’s work. With four shelters and 415 beds, First Step Communities provides a saf...

I would love to hear your thoughts on this episode. Please send me a text... For many of us, Sacramento Ballet means The Nutcracker and a treasured holiday tradition. After visiting the organization’s home at The Clara, I realized how much more there is to discover. In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Kiera Anderson to explore an organization that has been part of Sacramento’s cultural life since 1954 and continues to create new opportunities for people to experience dance. We talk about a s...

I would love to hear your thoughts on this episode. Please send me a text... What happens when an older adult outlives their savings or faces an unexpected medical expense? In this NewsPod, Nicole Zamora, Director of the Eskaton Foundation, talks about the support that helps older adults remain safely housed. Nicole explains the difference between Eskaton’s residential and affordable housing communities and the foundation’s role in providing help when residents need it. We then highlight Eska...

I would love to hear your thoughts on this episode. Please send me a text... What does it take to create lasting recovery? In this episode, I'm speaking with Josh Levine, Executive Director of Powerhouse Ministries, to explore an organization that began nearly 35 years ago with his mother Nancy’s desire to help families visiting loved ones at Folsom Prison. That initial act of compassion has grown into a comprehensive network of residential recovery programs, counseling services, crisis suppo...

I would love to hear your thoughts on this episode. Please send me a text... More than 600 nonprofit leaders, funders, business professionals and community members gathered for the third annual Philanthropy Summit presented by the Sacramento Region Community Foundation. In this NewsPod, I sit down with Kelly Siefkin, Chief Philanthropy Officer for the Foundation, to reflect on the day and the extraordinary amount of planning required to create such a valuable regional gathering. Kelly shares ...

I would love to hear your thoughts on this episode. Please send me a text... What happens when a young person has the potential, but hasn’t had access to the opportunities, relationships or professional networks that can help reveal it? That’s at the heart of my conversation with FITRAH founder and CEO Nadia Buron and Stallion King, who first came to the organization looking for a paid opportunity and ultimately discovered something much bigger. FITRAH primarily works with young people ages 1...

I would love to hear your thoughts on this episode. Please send me a text... In this NewsPod, I’m joined by Kat Maudru, Director of Public Relations at PRIDE Industries, to talk about the fourth annual I Am Able Disability Job Fair, happening Wednesday, October 14, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center in Sacramento. What makes this job fair different is that it was created by people with disabilities, for people with disabilities. PRIDE Industries’ accessibi...

I would love to hear your thoughts on this episode. Please send me a text... When most of us think about high school, we think about teenagers. Highlands Community Charter and Technical Schools is challenging that assumption by providing public high school education to adults 22 and older who are ready for another opportunity. My guest is Jonathan Raymond, CEO and Executive Director of Highlands Charter Schools and a familiar name in Sacramento education. The average Highlands student is over...

I would love to hear your thoughts on this episode. Please send me a text... The 2026 Philanthropy Summit is officially sold out, with more than 600 people expected at Cal Expo on September 15. I’m joined again by Kelly Siefkin, Chief Philanthropy Officer at the Sacramento Region Community Foundation, for one final update before the big day. We talk about what attendees can expect, from the keynote and breakout sessions to networking, celebration, parking, food and some practical advice for m...

I would love to hear your thoughts on this episode. Please send me a text... I thought I knew Fairytale Town. I didn’t. Like a lot of people who have spent years in Sacramento, I knew the familiar storybook park in William Land Park. The slides, the play structures, the animals and generations of families who have grown up visiting it. What I didn’t fully appreciate was everything happening behind those gates. My guest is Fairytale Town Executive Director Kevin Smith-Fagan, and we explore why...

I would love to hear your thoughts on this episode. Please send me a text... Sacramento Venture Philanthropy’s Fast Pitch is back for its 11th year—and it’s going to be bigger than ever. I’m joined by SVP Chief Operating Officer Drew Hayes to reveal the 16 nonprofits selected for the 2026 Fast Pitch cohort and take a closer look at what happens before anyone ever steps onto the stage. From nearly 100 applicants to intensive coaching, workshops and pitch development, Fast Pitch is designed to ...

I would love to hear your thoughts on this episode. Please send me a text... Sacramento Splash has spent 27 years connecting children with nature through hands-on, science-based environmental education—and their upcoming Backyard Bash for Sacramento Splash is helping ensure that work continues. In this NewsPod, I’m joined by Gina Fleming, Director of Development at Sacramento Splash, to talk about the organization’s impact, the importance of getting kids outdoors, and what’s planned for this ...

I would love to hear your thoughts on this episode. Please send me a text... In this episode, I'm speaking with Jenny Davidson, founder and CEO of Academy Stay, to talk about one of the most difficult transitions a young person can face: aging out of foster care without a stable place to live or a dependable family safety net. Jenny’s journey to Academy Stay is deeply personal. After losing her youngest son, Jordan, in 2005, she returned to college in her late 30s, earned both an undergraduat...

I would love to hear your thoughts on this episode. Please send me a text... The Sacramento Region Community Foundation’s third annual Philanthropy Summit is coming to Cal Expo on September 15, and if the first two years are any indication, you’ll want to make plans early. I’m joined by Kelly Siefkin, Chief Philanthropy Officer at the Sacramento Region Community Foundation, for a NewsPod update on what attendees can expect from this year’s gathering. The Summit brings together nonprofit profe...

I would love to hear your thoughts on this episode. Please send me a text... What happens when students who may have never seen a river, a deer or the Sierra's are given the chance to learn outside the four walls of a classroom? In this episode, I sit down with Sean Hill, CEO of Sierra Nevada Journeys, and Advancement Officer Corrie Calderon to talk about the life-changing power of outdoor education. Sierra Nevada Journeys is approaching 20 years of service and now reaches more than 30,000 yo...

I would love to hear your thoughts on this episode. Please send me a text... Violence prevention doesn’t begin when someone enters a shelter, calls law enforcement or asks for a restraining order. It begins much earlier, with awareness, education, relationships and people recognizing when something isn’t right. In this special continuation of a conversation I began at My Sister’s House’s Preventing Violence event late June, I bring together four extraordinary Sacramento-area leaders working e...

I would love to hear your thoughts on this episode. Please send me a text... For decades, local musician Clemon Charles has shared his talent throughout Sacramento, frequently performing at nonprofit fundraisers, community celebrations and events, often simply because he wanted to help. Now, Clemon needs some help of his own. I’m joined by my longtime friend and KFBK personality Kitty O’Neal, who shares what happened after Clemon suffered a serious stroke earlier this year and the difficult r...

I would love to hear your thoughts on this episode. Please send me a text... What happens to a child when a parent goes to prison? For Dawn Adams, that question isn’t theoretical. Her father was incarcerated when she was just 12 years old, and she remembers the shame, isolation, uncertainty, and adult responsibilities that came with growing up without him. Years later, Dawn began recognizing those same experiences in friends of her own daughters—and eventually decided something needed to exis...

I would love to hear your thoughts on this episode. Please send me a text... The Sacramento Region Community Foundation’s Philanthropy Summit returns September 15, 2026, bringing together nonprofit professionals, board members, donors, and community leaders for a full day of learning, connection, and celebration at Cal Expo. In this NewsPod, I talk with Kelly Siefkin, Chief Philanthropy Officer at the Sacramento Region Community Foundation, about what attendees can expect from the third annua...

I would love to hear your thoughts on this episode. Please send me a text... I’ve known Derrell Roberts for over 25 years, and somehow it has taken over a year to get him into the studio. I’m glad we finally made it happen. Derrell and his wife, Tina, founded Roberts Family Development Center 25 years ago with a philosophy shaped by their own lives: children have a much better opportunity to succeed when they are surrounded by caring families, mentors and community support. That belief contin...

I would love to hear your thoughts on this episode. Please send me a text... California CareForce does not wait for patients to find their way to a traditional clinic. It loads nearly $1 million in dental, vision and medical equipment into trucks and brings an entire temporary healthcare operation directly into communities across California. In this episode, I sit down with Executive Director Cyndi Ankiewicz to learn how California CareForce transforms fairgrounds and other large venues into ...