Staying Lit for Chicago Youth – Village Talks Ep. 40 with Dr. Carol Collum
https://youtu.be/iIIDFkqajd0 Dr. Carol Collum Is Building the Village Chicago’s Young People Deserve When you ask Dr. Carol Collum what she does, she doesn’t start with titles. She starts with responsibility. As founder and executive director of True Believers Community Connections and its youth initiative Stay Lit, Dr. Collum has planted herself on the corner of […]
Making Mentoring a Statewide Movement in Minnesota – Village Talks Ep.39
https://youtu.be/4F2-OC92a8c How Sarah Schaefer Is Making Mentoring a Statewide Movement in Minnesota When Sarah Schaefer talks about mentoring, she isn’t speaking in theory. She’s describing her life. Today, Sarah serves as Executive Director of Mentor Minnesota, supporting around 200 mentoring programs that collectively reach an estimated 130,000 young people across the state. But her commitment […]
Village Talks 36 – Bringing Hidden Youth Struggles to Light with Yolanda Ratliff
https://youtu.be/hvoN-wN4pDo Program Director Yolanda Ratliff is shining a light on a reality many people miss: the South suburbs of Chicago are facing the same youth challenges as the city’s South and West sides – they’re just quieter. In this Village Talks conversation, Yolanda shares how Chicago Wall of Fame, a nonprofit public charity founded in […]
Village Talks Ep. 34 — Kelvin Riddle of Military Mentors on “Beyond The Uniform”
https://youtu.be/_QuPBSRL14I Beyond the Uniform: How Mentorship is Transforming Military Communities Featuring Dr. Kelvin Riddle, Military Mentors There are some conversations that introduce you to a new idea. And then there are conversations that make you realize…we’ve been overlooking something that’s been right in front of us the whole time. That’s what this conversation with Dr. […]
Village Talks Ep. 33 — Marcus Strother with MENTOR California on”Building a Mentoring Ecosystem That Actually Works”
https://youtu.be/s1DAHwvZ5a4 Building a Mentoring Ecosystem That Actually Works Featuring Marcus Strother, Executive Director of MENTOR California There’s something powerful about hearing someone say, “I’m just a kid from Kankakee.” Not because it sounds humble.But because it reminds you that the people leading national movements… often started in the same places as the young people they’re trying […]
Village Talks Ep. 32 — Velez Childress on”From ‘Grandma’ to Movement Builder”
https://youtu.be/mz6vLMhlk4I From “Grandma” to Movement Builder: How Velez Childress Is Reimagining Mentorship There’s a moment in every mentoring journey where young people stop showing up just because they have to… …and start showing up because they want to. For Velez Childress, that moment looked like a group of high school students walking into a room […]
Village Talks Ep. 31 — Isaiah Marshall on “Multiplying Mentorship Through Discipleship”
https://youtu.be/RvTl9dge6iw How Isaiah Marshall Is Multiplying Mentorship Through Discipleship and the Village When Damien Howard sat down with Isaiah Marshall on Village Talks, the conversation didn’t just center on mentoring young people. It went deeper. This was about multiplying impact—not just showing up for youth, but equipping the people who show up for youth every day. Isaiah, Director of Ministry […]
Village Talks Ep. 28 — Tony and Juliana with Youth Mentoring Connection on “Healing Through Connection”
https://youtu.be/lL1Vgv4OBaE #VillageTalks: Tony LoRe & Juliana Wells — Healing Through Connection in South Central LA Sometimes the most powerful work in youth development is not found in curriculum. It is found in connection. That was the heartbeat of this powerful #VillageTalks conversation with Tony LoRe and Juliana Wells of Youth Mentoring Connection. From the very beginning, […]
Village Talks Ep. 27 — Amanda Schneider with Right Moves on “Building Belonging, Access, and Opportunity”
https://youtu.be/8BdhhIHfMso #VillageTalks: Amanda Schneider — Building Belonging, Access, and Opportunity with Right Moves for Youth Sometimes the most powerful work in youth development doesn’t begin after school. It begins during the school day, right where young people already are. That was one of the most powerful takeaways from this #VillageTalks conversation with Amanda Schneider, Director of […]
Village Talks Ep. 26 — Toni Nelson with SAGE on “Protecting Black Girlhood”
https://youtu.be/ElDsZy39GMo # Protecting Black Girlhood: How Toni Nelson and SAGE Are Building a Village in Southeast Raleigh When Toni Nelson talks about her girls, her whole energy shifts. Her voice gets firm. Her pace slows down. Every word is intentional. You can feel that, for Tony, the room where SAGE meets each week is sacred […]