Featured Posts


Chief Strategy Officer, ChangeLab Solutions
When the city of Roanoke received federal HUD funds, Shauneequa Owusu, Chief Strategy Officer at ChangeLab Solutions, along with the NY Academy of Medicine, supported the city through a public deliberation process to empower residents to shape the investment decisions. As we look towards rehabbing sectors hit hard by the ongoing pandemic, Shauneequa’s experiences shed light on how we can ensure that the use of the American Rescue Plan Act funds could lead to equitable and community driven investments.


CEO and President for the Palm Health Foundation in Palm Beach, Florida.
In times of crisis, organizations can resort to top-down responses. But when his community faced COVID-19, Pat McNamara threw that playbook out the window. What if local leaders were the ones naming their needs and aspirations? In the first episode of #UnsungStewards, Pat shares how his team shifted to a hyperlocal approach.


CEO and President of The Forbes Funds in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many health systems did not prioritize Black and Brown communities. When faced with this reality in Pittsburgh, Fred Brown founded the Black COVID-19 Equity Coalition to increase COVID-19 testing and address the social determinants of health for his community. From a self-defined “street kid” to school teacher to probation officer, Brown’s range of life experiences shaped how he approaches systemic change.


Executive Director of the Center for Child and Family Achievement (CCFA)
When COVID-19 hit, many schools across the country were unprepared for remote learning. Wanda Stansbury worked to equip families in Trenton, New Jersey with the resources children needed to continue to reach their educational potential while learning from home. From the interfaith student protest movement in the sixties to remote learning inequities during the pandemic, Wanda shares her stewardship journey on many different levels: the street level, the scholarly level, the systems level, and the spiritual level. Wanda Webster Stansbury is the executive director of the Center for Child and Family Achievement.


Loyola University and Proviso Partners for Health
Best of Proviso Township
Nehemiah Community Project
When Covid-19 hit the village of Maywood, Randy, Chris, and Lena mobilized community relationships to address food insecurity, mental health, and other needs exacerbated by the pandemic. The three share poignant stories of the experiences of individual community members in Maywood, which has a history and legacy of grassroots advocacy. This effort has also led to unconventional collaborations between residents and Loyola Medicine, the large local hospital, that has inspired change agents to take positive action in the community.


Loyola University and Proviso Partners for Health
Best of Proviso Township
Nehemiah Community Project
When Covid-19 hit the village of Maywood, Randy, Chris, and Lena mobilized community relationships to address food insecurity, mental health, and other needs exacerbated by the pandemic. The three share poignant stories of the experiences of individual community members in Maywood, which has a history and legacy of grassroots advocacy. Part 2 explores the unconventional collaborations between residents and Loyola Medicine, the large local hospital, that has inspired change agents to take positive action in the community.
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The views and opinions expressed by the individuals who are interviewed in these podcasts are theirs alone and do not necessarily reflect the view or position of The Rippel Foundation. The Rippel Foundation is nonpartisan and does not support or oppose any candidates for public office.