Season 1

“If you want to stir up a community,” says the Rev. Tim Smith, CEO of Center of Life and pastor of Keystone Church of Hazelwood, “you have to be willing to be stirred by that community first.” Prepare to be moved by Rev. Smith’s steady passion, and hear how the residents of his neighborhood are lifting the arc of their American story to new heights.

San Juan, Puerto Rico Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz is not afraid to use her voice to call out injustice when she sees it. “That is what power is about,” she says. “It is about ensuring that we all have access to the things that can help us transform our lives.”

As co-founder of 1Hood Media, a collective of socially conscious activists who utilize art to raise awareness about social justice matters, Jasiri X is fostering a new generation of artists and media professionals who use their voices to challenge inequity and unify humanity.

Center for Health, Environment and Justice Founder Lois Gibbs gained international attention and incredible momentum in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s as she led the fight for environmental justice for children and families affected by the environmental disaster identified with the neighborhood where it occurred, Love Canal.  She’s still fighting, stronger than ever.

Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha shares her journey as the child of Iraqi scientists and dissidents who fled Saddam Hussein’s regime, and describes the moment the magnitude of Flint’s water crisis fully hit her. She explains why speaking up was “a choice-less choice.”

“To me, freedom of the press, of speech and assembly, and all of the rest of the rights of the First Amendment are the lynchpin for all of our other freedoms,” says Max King, president of The Pittsburgh Foundation. Hear why he believes we must fight with all our might to preserve the “backbone of our democracy.”

Mustafa Santiago Ali earned his stripes serving in the Environmental Protection Agency for more than two decades, becoming a founding member of the Office of Environmental Justice. He now serves as a senior vice president of the Hip Hop Caucus – and he’s just getting started.

Angela Blanchard has been a longtime gale of positivity in Houston, spending more than two decades leading BakerRipley, which provides $250 million annually for services that make life better for residents of the Texas Gulf Coast. When Hurricane Harvey hit, she faced the storm with grace and powerful resolve.

A changing power dynamic is allowing something altogether new to occur — an extraordinarily different kind of power that is people-centric, participatory-focused and spreading with lightning-fast speed. “If you are able to harness this new power, you are likely to come out on top,” says Henry Timms, co-author of “New Power: How Power Works in Our Hyperconnected World — and How to Make It Work for You.”

Steve Shelton founded the Trade Institute of Pittsburgh in 2009, training men and women — many of whom have been incarcerated — in fields that enable them to make a living wage while resetting their lives. Hear how he and TIP have saved taxpayers an estimated $10 million dollars by reducing recidivism, fostered a 94 percent program graduation rate, and placed more than 300 individuals in jobs at or above a living wage. 

As head of Center for Loving Kindness and Civic Engagement, an initiative of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh, Rabbi Ron Symons is clear in his belief that we have more similarities than we have differences, and therein may lie the secret to advancing a more equitable society.

Illah Nourbakhsh’s amazing journey began with his birth in Iran. Since then, the Carnegie Mellon University robotics professor and director of the Community Robotics, Education and Technology Empowerment (CREATE) Lab has traveled the world as a leader in the field of robotics and artificial intelligence.

Tammy Thompson heads an arm of the national anti-poverty group Circles and is the producer of the documentary film “We Wear the Mask: the Hidden Faces of Women in Poverty.” Hear her moving story, including why going “beyond survival into ‘thrival’ ” should — and must — be our goal.

As founder of YA-NE (Youth Alliance of Networking and Empowerment) at the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh and co-founder of the Light of the Age Mosque, Hamza Perez has made defying perceptions his life’s work. Hear his fascinating, funny and inspiring story.

Janis Burley Wilson leads the August Wilson Cultural Center, a triumphant chapter in the dramatic story of the entity named for the beloved Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright. Hear how this dynamic Wilson is bringing Mr. Wilson to new generations and audiences.

Change Agency Director – and immigration advocate - Betty Cruz joins The Heinz Endowments’ Grant Oliphant on “We Can Be” for a conversation about what it means to truly be a nation — and a community — of “we.”

While Center for Coalfield Justice Executive Director Veronica Coptis’ family raised her to be strong and thoughtful, and have a deep respect for her community, she knows environmental protection and conservation can be a tough sell in rural communities.  Nonetheless, she’s doing it in a big way– and making a difference.

Actor/writer David Conrad discusses why the most striking sound in an industrial town is silence, where his own creative plans will take him next, and the integral role the arts play in the future of our communities and nation.

As executive director of PublicSource, Mila Sanina believes in the power of ideas, words and stories to change our brain chemistry and the character of our interactions with each other and the world.

The Veterans Breakfast Club’s Nick Grimes has guided the organization’s Post-9/11 Storytelling Project to national acclaim for its success in creating listening communities around veterans and their stories. Hear how it’s changing lives, and why post-9/11 veterans may just be the secret to a more perfect union.