Creating the Future

Episode #19 in which Dana Kawaoka-Chen shares the power of aligning social justice actions with shared community vision and values.
As Co-Executive Director of Justice Funders, Dana Kawaoka-Chen partners and guides philanthropy in reimagining practices that advance a thriving and just world. Dana leads with vision and is guided by relationships. As a practitioner, Dana co-authored the “The Choir Book: A Framework for Social Justice Philanthropy,” and was a primary contributor to “Resonance: A Framework for Philanthropic Transformation.” You can find her writing on a Just Transition for Philanthropy in Medium.
As founding Executive Director of Justice Funders, Dana grew the organization by aligning its strategy to the visions of movements working for racial, economic and social justice. Dana’s leadership in facilitating a Just Transition for philanthropy by redistributing wealth, democratizing power and shifting economic control to communities has resulted in millions of philanthropic dollars being mobilized and aligned to build infrastructure for frontline communities to govern themselves. For her work advocating for deeper investments in social movements and grassroots organizing, Dana was recognized by Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy (AAPIP) in 2015 as one of twenty-five national “Leaders in Action.”
Dana has previously served in executive functions for two other non-profit organizations. She has a Masters of Science degree in Organization Development from the University of San Francisco, Bachelor of Arts degrees in American Studies and Visual Art from the University of California at Santa Cruz, and Non-Profit Management Certification from San Jose State University.
You can reach Dana at Justice F unders or on LinkedIn here.

Episode #18 in which Jackie Bradley and Madeline DeMarco show us that seemingly small changes can make a BIG difference in big systems.
Jackie Bradley is a rural organizer, facilitator, and planner. In her role as Community Outreach and Compliance Director at Lenawee Community Mental Health Authority in rural Michigan, Jackie helps organizations and coalitions create values-driven plans and (importantly) implement those plans with intention. Prior to her work in behavioral health, Jackie was the Associate Director at United Way of Monroe and Lenawee Counties, and served as adjunct professor at Siena Heights University. You can reach Jackie at LinkedIn here https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackie-bradley-5544b8134/
Madeline DeMarco finds joy by creating connections, facilitating individuals as they share, learn, and grow together. Her position as Health Promotion Specialist at the University of Michigan focuses on alcohol and other drug prevention and harm reduction. In her prior work as Community Outreach and Prevention Coordinator for Lenawee Community Mental Health Authority, she brought a trauma-informed care approach to facilitating federal grants, collective impact initiatives, and the county-wide substance use prevention coalition. Sharing what she has learned along the way, Madeline has served as an adjunct professor at Adrian College.
You can reach Madline at LinkedIn here https://www.linkedin.com/in/madeline-demarco/

Episode #17 in which Debra Jacobs shares dozens of ways for building and engaging relationships that create change.
Debra Jacobs is the President and CEO of The Patterson Foundation in Sarasota Florida, where she has championed the cause of creative collaboration, steering the foundation to work with partners to accelerate positive change by sharing fresh perspectives, contributing innovative ideas, and providing critical resources.
Before her pivotal role at The Patterson Foundation, Debra served as President of the William G. and Marie Selby Foundation in Sarasota, overseeing its grant-making alongside the management of eight other independent foundations.
The Patterson Foundation strengthens people, organizations, and communities in ways that foster wide participation around shared quality-of-life aspirations. Their work weaves initiatives, to promote well-being in their region, creating relationships that propel people and organizations to collaborate on shared aspirations for their community.
You can reach Debra at [email protected] or on LinkedIn here

Episode #16 in which May Miller-Dawkins talks about the power of questions and curiosity to create change.
May Miller-Dawkins has over 20 years experience working with community groups, organizations, coalitions and social movements. May’s work is all about facilitating catalytic discussions that identify pathways to impact, to support effective long-term social change efforts and build collective leadership capability.
May has a particular talent for cultivating collective leadership, including cross sectoral collaborations. Among her successes, she established the ten-year long Oxfam-Monash Partnership to drive applied action research, and designed and led the Governance and Transparency Initiative of The B Team – a global collective of business and civic leaders.
May has led learning and impact development processes for Open Government Partnership (Washington DC), Transparency International (Berlin), Yuwaya Ngarra-li partnership between the Dharriwaa Elders Group and UNSW (Walgett & Sydney), The B Team (New York), WEDO (New York), Toitū Tahua (Tamaki Makarau/Auckland), White Box Enterprises (Brisbane) and many more.
May is an Adjunct Senior Lecturer at the UNSW and a Fellow of the Centre for Policy Development. She holds a BA (Hons – Politics and International Relations) and LLB from UNSW and an LLM (Legal Theory) from NYU.
May lives in Whakatū (Nelson), Aotearoa (New Zealand) with her partner, two sons and dog.

Episode #15 in which Jeff Yost shows us the power of identifying the assets and gifts that people have to build upon.
Jeff Yost is President and CEO of Nebraska Community Foundation, where his talented team is unleashing abundant local assets, inspiring charitable giving, and connecting ambitious people in 270 hometowns throughout 82 of Nebraska’s 93 counties. Jeff has dedicated the past 27 years of his career to NCF’s mission and community-led, asset-based philosophies. Since 1994, NCF and its affiliated funds have reinvested $553 million in Nebraska hometowns.
Prior to NCF, Jeff worked for the State of Nebraska in the governor’s office. Jeff is a graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and has served on many boards and advisory councils including the University of Nebraska President’s Advisory Council, the University of Nebraska Medical Center, the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, and the Council on Foundations.
Jeff has taught and consulted on philanthropy, public-private partnerships, and asset-based community development (ABCD) throughout the United States and internationally in 15 countries. He and NCF have been featured in numerous publications including Nonprofit Quarterly, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, and The New York Times. He pens a monthly column published in newspapers across Nebraska. Jeff and his wife, Cindy Ryman Yost, are proud parents of three adult children: Elizabeth, Carter, and Harrison.
You can reach Jeff at the Nebraska Community Foundation here https://www.nebcommfound.org/ or connect with him at LinkedIn here https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-yost-5243555/