All About Change

Kristin Henning is a Professor of Law at Georgetown University and the Director of the Juvenile Justice Clinic. She has been representing children accused of crimes for over 25 years. 

Kristin Henning has been representing children accused of crime for more than 25 years, and in all that time she only represented 4 white kids. The many thousands of kids she represented have all been Black and Latinx. She spent her life trying to ensure that children whose families did not have the means to defend them against a criminal justice system steeped in bias had someone to speak up for them.

In her book, The Rage of Innocence, Kris weaves together powerful narratives and persuasive data. She explores the criminalization of normal adolescence and makes a compelling case that racial disparities in the juvenile and criminal legal systems are rooted in America’s unfounded, and sometimes intentionally manufactured, fears of youth of color.

In this conversation with Jay, she weaves together powerful narratives and persuasive data to expose the criminalization of normal adolescent behavior and discriminatory incarceration of American youth of color. 

Please find a transcription of this episode: https://allaboutchangepodcast.com/podcast-episode/kris-henning

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Olivier Bernier is an award-winning director and documentary filmmaker who lives and breathes to tell stories that explore the human condition.

When Olivier and his wife Hilda’s son was born with down syndrome they were entirely unprepared. Inspired, Olivier Bernier decided to document his family experience so he applied and won grant money to make a film about inclusive education. However, his family’s experiences with Emilio’s journey took the film in a slightly different direction. Forget Me Not became a documentary film that shares a family’s fight to have their son with Down syndrome included in the country’s most segregated school system in the country, the New York City public school system. 

Forget Me Not offers a rare look at what a truly inclusive education can look like and how it can lead to a more inclusive society so that everyone has the opportunity to achieve their full potential. The production crew also included several young people with disabilities, as seen in the closing credits of the film.

In this conversation with Jay, he talks about his journey as a father advocating for his child’s inclusive education in one of the most segregated school districts in the US - New York City. Please find a transcription of this episode: https://allaboutchangepodcast.com/podcast-episode/olivier-bernier

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Meggie Palmer is a confidence creator and globally renowned speaker, facilitator, executive coach as well as the founder and CEO of PepTalkHer.

While still finding success as an award-winning journalist, Meggie was surprised to realize that she was facing pay discrimination. This opened her eyes to pay inequality and inspired her to take action not just for herself but for all women around the world. 

She left journalism to embark on a path of activism. She started her own organization - PepTalkHer - with the mission of closing the gender pay gap. ‘PepTalkHerr App’ is described as ‘fitbit for your career’, helping professionals track success and navigate their pathway to promotion. Meggie now runs a community of 60,000 professional women focused on elevating performance and supercharging their career success. 

In conversation with Jay, they discuss the importance of proactive and positive storytelling and  how her life put her on a mission to close the gender pay gap.

Please find a transcription of this episode: 

https://allaboutchangepodcast.com/podcast-episode/meggie-palmer

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Deborah Lipstadt is an Award-Winning Author & a Professor of Modern Jewish and Holocaust Studies at Emory University.

Originally part I of a special series on confronting antisemitism, please join us as we revisit this timely episode of On All-Inclusive with Jay Ruderman. And, we’ll be back in two weeks with a brand new episode. 

For decades, Deborah Lipstadt has been a leading figure in writing about and combating antisemitism. She is most well-known for defeating Holocaust denier David Irving when he sued her for defamation. However, Deborah’s accomplishments span far beyond the trial that made her infamous. She is currently the Dorot Professor of Modern Jewish History and Holocaust Studies at Emory University and recently received a nomination by President Biden as Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism. 

In conversation with Jay, they discuss the history of antisemitism, why there has been an uprise in hate recently, and what we can do to combat it.

Please find a transcription of this episode: 

https://allaboutchangepodcast.com/podcast-episode/deborah-lipstat

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Meg is the CEO of Unsilenced, a grassroots organization dedicated to speaking out against institutionalized child abuse in the troubled teen and youth mental health industry.

After being sexually assaulted and expelled from school for drinking at 15, Meg's parents spoke to an educational consultant and forcibly sent her to a children's facility and boarding school. For the next 17 years, Meg dedicated herself to non-profit work before eventually coming to the realization that she had been abused and brainwashed throughout her time in the troubled teen industry. Having already done extensive work in the non-profit sector, Meg eventually founded Unsilenced and has been working since then to transform the troubled teen industry.

In conversation with Jay, they discuss her experiences, why parents and children fall victim to this industry, and how Unsilenced is forcing transparency into an industry where, not only is it not encouraged, but it literally doesn't exist.

Please find a transcription of this episode: 

https://allaboutchangepodcast.com/podcast-episode/meg-appelgate

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Dr. Lise Deguire is a psychologist, burn survivor, speaker, and author. 

At the age of 4, Lise was severely burned in an accidental yet careless fire caused by her mother.  Lise spent years in the hospital recovering, undergoing multiple reconstructive surgeries, experiencing bullying, and navigating the world in a house run by parents who she describes as outrageously flawed, gifted, and iconoclastic. 

In spite of her beginnings and losing 4 family members to suicide,  Lise continually found resilience, becoming a psychologist, mother of two daughters, and disfigurement advocate. In the multiple-award-winning memoir Flashback Girl: Lessons on Resilience from a Burn Survivor, Lise tells her story of survival and shares life lessons that will help us also find the silver linings and resilience we need to come back from the brink. 

In conversation with Jay, they discuss her experiences and why she’s on a mission to help people find pathways toward resilience and create a paradigm shift around disfigurement.

Please find a transcription of this episode: 

https://allaboutchangepodcast.com/podcast-episode/lise-deguire

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 **TRIGGER WARNING. This episode contains conversations about suicide and other mental health issues. If you are triggered or would like to talk to a confidential advocate, please dial the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. If you want to learn more about mental health and find possible resources, please visit this Ruderman Family Foundation link. 

Jason Docton is the CEO and founder of Rise Above The Disorder (RAD) a nonprofit promoting mental health in the gaming world and beyond. 

Not realizing he was experiencing agoraphobia, Jason dropped out of med school and became increasingly isolated besides being an avid player of World of Warcraft. On the brink of suicide, he decided to do one last final act - save someone else's life first. Jason began crowd-fundraising for mental healthcare via his gaming guild, Anxiety Gaming. 

Since then, Jason and his organization, which is now Rise Above The Disorder have helped over 40,000 people from across 135 countries receive free mental health care. 

In conversation with Jay, they discuss his incredible personal journey into activism and how creating RAD taught him that mental healthcare is a basic human right.

Please find a transcription of this episode: https://allaboutchangepodcast.com/podcast-episode/jason-docton

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Katy Sullivan is an award-winning actress, producer, writer, athlete, bilateral above-the-knee amputee and is the first actress who is an amputee to ever star on Broadway.

Raised by parents who encouraged her to try everything and decided to become an actress. After she got her first pair of running prosthetics at 25, she discovered a love of running and became a four-time US Champion. She was among the first bilateral above-the-knee amputees to compete in the Paralympics in ambulatory track when she ran in the London 2012 Paralympic Games. However, she never lost sight of her dream to become an actor. Among her many acting accolades, Katy has recently made history again. she developed and starred as Annie in the hit show “The Cost of Living” - turning her into the first female amputee to star on Broadway. 

In conversation with Jay, they discuss inclusivity and diversity in theatre, TV, and film and Katy talks about how living with a disability gave her a higher level of adaptation and how her family helped to teach her to believe that “can’t is just four letter word.”

Please find a transcription of this episode: https://allaboutchangepodcast.com/podcast-episode/katy-sullivan

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Eleanor Reissa is a Broadway/television actress, director, prize-winning playwright, author, and host of the Yale University/Fortunoff Video Archive podcast: Those Who Were There: Voices from the Holocaust.

A Brooklyn-born native and daughter of what she now calls Holocaust fighters, Eleanor embraced her Jewish identity and channeled that into her artistic expression. When her mother died at 64 in 1986, her father having died 10 years earlier, she discovered 56 letters written to her mother from her father in the years after the war and between his move to America.

Unable to read them, she kept them for many years until she decided to have them translated. What she discovered changed her whole perception of her family’s life and began a journey to uncover her parents' past, which she turned into her memoir, THE LETTERS PROJECT: A Daughter’s Journey. 

In conversation with Jay, she talks about her life growing up in Brooklyn, the many discoveries that she made while researching her family, and how studying the anti-semitism of the past can help counteract the growing antisemitism and identity-based intolerance that we're facing today.

Please find a transcription of this episode: https://allaboutchangepodcast.com/podcast-episode/eleanor-reissa/

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Becky Margiotta is an author, change-maker, leader, veteran, and host of the Unleashing Social Change Podcast. Becky is also the co-founder and owner of The Billions Institute which has trained thousands of leaders from every corner of the globe and from every sector of social change in designing and leading large-scale change.

The 100,000 Homes Campaign for Community Solutions, where Becky served as director,  mobilized 186 cities to permanently house more than 100,000 people who had previously been living on their streets in just under four years. Most recently, Becky authored Impact with Integrity: Repairing the World Without Breaking Yourself, a call to action for change makers that provides a step-by-step framework for doing the inner work that is necessary for advancing social change. 

In this conversation with Jay, she talks about life in the military under Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, recounts her incredible career in social activism, and explains why if you want to change the world, the most important work you should be doing is on yourself. 

Please find a transcription of this episode: https://allaboutchangepodcast.com/podcast-episode/becky-margiotta/ 

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As we take time to reflect on the work of Martin Luther King, Jr, we would like to share an encore of this important episode that discusses inequalities in the American justice system and social justice movements that are responding to it.

“What is it we need to do as a society to lift up our most vulnerable population?” asks Niambe McIntosh, daughter of Peter Tosh and fierce advocate for prison reform, cannabis legalization, and justice everywhere.

Peter Tosh is the legendary Grammy Award-winning reggae musician and, along with Bob Marley, founding member of The Wailers. Known for the passionate political and social messaging in his songs, Tosh was tragically killed during a home invasion in 1987 when Niambe was only five-years-old.

Today, Niambe is head of the Peter Tosh Legacy & Brand and founder of the Peter Tosh Foundation, where she carries on her father’s message and memory. In 2017, her brother Jawara was incarcerated for cannabis possession in New Jersey. After a brutal attack in prison led to Jawara’s death, Niambe threw herself into the world of prison reform.

Listen to the latest episode of All About Change as Niambe discusses preserving the legacy and work of her father, her passion for prison reform, and the necessity of legalizing cannabis nationwide.

Please find a transcription of this episode here.

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Geena Davis is an actor, archer, advocate, and all-around badass! She made her feature film debut starring opposite Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie. She went on to star in many films including The Fly, Beetlejuice, The Long Kiss Goodnight, Stuart Little, A League of Their Own, and The Accidental Tourist for which she won her first Academy Award. She was again nominated for an Academy Award and Golden Globe for her performance in Thelma & Louise.

Geena is also the Founder and Chair of the non-profit Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, which engages film and television creators to dramatically increase the percentage of female characters and reduce gender stereotyping in media made for children 11 and under. In 2019, Geena was honored with a second Oscar, this time the Academy’s Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, in recognition of the work Geena has done over the decades to achieve gender parity on screen in film and television. She is now recognized for her tireless advocacy of women and girls nearly as much as for her acting accomplishments. 

In this conversation with Jay, Geena discusses her activism in Hollywood, as well as her latest book, Dying of Politeness: A Memoir, where she chronicles her "journey to badassery" and makes a powerful case for why Hollywood has a crucial role to play in promoting women's rights around the globe. 

Please find a transcription of this episode: https://allaboutchangepodcast.com/podcast-episode/geena-davis/ 

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Ben M. Freeman is an author, internationally renowned educator, and is among the founders of the modern Jewish Pride movement, for which he created the Jewish Pride manifesto, Jewish Pride: Rebuilding a People. Ben’s second book Reclaiming Our Story: The Pursuit of Jewish Pride looks at internalized Jew-hate and ways to overcome it. Throughout his work, Ben seeks to educate and empower Jewish people to reject the shame of antisemitism imposed on Jews by the non-Jewish world.

In this conversation with Jay, Ben discusses his youth in Glasgow, Scotland as formative in building that Jewish Pride. He also addresses the role of Zionism in Jewish Pride, as well as the historical context and misinformation around anti-Zionism as it relates to antisemitism. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, Ben relates his experiences coming out as gay to his developing and continuing Jewish Pride.

Please find a transcription of this episode: https://allaboutchangepodcast.com/podcast-episode/benfreeman/

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Join us for the latest episode of All About Change as Hadi Ghaemi, Executive Director of the independent Center for Human Rights in Iran, discusses the reaction of Iranians within Iran and around the world to the death of Mahsa Amini. Women and students are leading this protest movement that doesn’t seem to be slowing down. How does it fit into the recent history of protest in Iran, what is different about this wave of protests that Ghaemi calls an “evolution,” and what does it mean for Iranians who live there and in the diaspora? 

Hadi Ghaemi is an internationally recognized expert on Iran and human rights. In 2008, he founded the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI), a leading organization documenting human rights violations in Iran and building international coalitions to support human rights. Born in Iran, Ghaemi came to the United States in 1983 as a student, and later became a professor of physics at CUNY as an expert in nanophysics. His other past work focused international attention on the plight of migrant workers in Dubai, as well as the repression of civil society in Iran. 

Please find a transcription of this episode:  https://allaboutchangepodcast.com/podcast-episode/hadi-ghaemi/ ‎

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Zack Gottsagen is an American actor who made his debut in the film The Peanut Butter Falcon. He is the first person with Down Syndrome to be a presenter at the Academy Awards. Zack was discovered at a summer camp for people with and without disabilities and has appeared in several projects since Peanut Butter Falcon, including God Save the Queens. He is continuing to pursue a career in acting.

Join us for the latest episode of All About Change as Zack discusses his experiences on set during the production of Peanut Butter Falcon, working with big Hollywood stars like Dakota Johnson & Shia LaBeouf, growing up with a disability, dealing with bullies, and more. Zack is proving day after day that when given opportunities, people with disabilities can and should tell their own stories in the film industry.

Please find a transcription of this episode: https://allaboutchangepodcast.com/podcast-episode/zack-gottsagen-conquering-hollywood/

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Gloria Feldt, the CEO of Planned Parenthood from 1996-2005, is a bestselling author and life-long feminist activist. Raised by Jewish immigrants in rural Texas, Gloria became a teen mom at 16 and had three children by the time she was 20. After the birth of her third child, she decided to pursue her dream of getting a college degree. The pursuit of education ended up completely altering her life path.  

Join us for the latest episode of All About Change as Gloria discusses her career - empowering women of all ages and how we can continue to rally forces even as the recent overturn of Roe v. Wade threatens to unravel years of progress.

Please find a transcription of this episode: https://allaboutchangepodcast.com/podcast-episode/gloria-feldt-feminist-icon/.

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 **TRIGGER WARNING. This episode contains conversations about attempted suicide. If you are triggered or would like to talk to a confidential advocate, please dial the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. If you want to learn more about mental health and find possible resources, please visit this Ruderman Family Foundation link.

On September 24, 2000, 19-year-old Kevin Hines attempted to take his own life by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Miraculously, he survived the 220 ft jump thanks to a series of contributing factors. Today, Kevin is an award-winning mental health activist, a best-selling author, and a documentarian with an inspirational motto of “#BeHereTomorrow and every day after that”.

Join us for a special episode marking the upcoming World Mental Health Day as Kevin shares his remarkable story of hope, healing, and recovery.

Please find a transcription of this episode here: https://allaboutchangepodcast.com/podcast-episode/kevin-hines-surviving-thriving/. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

**TRIGGER WARNING. This episode contains conversations about suicide, eating disorders, and other mental health issues. If you are triggered or would like to talk to a confidential advocate, please dial the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. If you want to learn more about mental health and find possible resources, please visit this Ruderman Family Foundation link.

Anastasia Vlasova was a rising tennis star and social media influencer when she started to develop an eating disorder. As an immigrant from Russia, Anastasia experienced a lot of stigma surrounding mental health from her family. After receiving some misguided advice from a school counselor, Anastasia realized how many adults don’t know how to talk to kids about mental health. She started sharing her experiences with anxiety and her eating disorder, and after being chosen as the keynote speaker at Our Minds Matter’s Annual Ball, Anastasia realized the power of storytelling. Since then, she has teamed up with This is My Brave, a nonprofit that uses performances to combat the stigma against mental health to help others share their stories. Today, Anastasia is an NYU student and host of the podcast Our Turn to Talk. She is also the subject of a documentary of the same name from Principal Pictures, being released this fall.

Listen to the latest episode of All About Change, as Anastasia discusses the pitfalls of social media, how parents can better support their kids, and stories of young people who are changing the mental health conversation.

You can learn more about Our Turn to Talk the podcast and documentary here.

Please find a transcription of this episode here.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

 **TRIGGER WARNING. This episode contains conversations about suicide, PTSD, and other mental health issues. If you are triggered or would like to talk to a confidential advocate, please dial the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. If you want to learn more about mental health and find possible resources, please visit this Ruderman Family Foundation link.

In 2008, Jason Kander was an honorably discharged Army Captain and a Democratic rising star. That year, he was elected to the Missouri state legislature and in 2012 as Missouri Secretary of State, making him the first American millennial elected to statewide office. Though he narrowly lost a Senate race against incumbent Roy Blunt, he then publicly acknowledged that he was considering a 2020 presidential campaign with the blessing of President Obama. From the outside, Jason seemed to have it all together. However, on the inside, it was a very different story, as Jason was suffering from undiagnosed PTSD. 

Join us for the latest episode of All About Change, as Jason discusses his powerful memoir Invisible Storm: A Soldier's Memoir of Politics and PTSD, the importance of therapy, and his work with the Veterans Community Project. 

Please find a transcription of this episode here.

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In the late 1980s, there were an estimated 200 lesbian bars across the United States. Now, there are only 21 remaining. These bars, often the only safe spaces for lesbians and other members of the LGBTQ community, are disappearing at an alarming rate. Erica Rose, along with fellow Director Elina Street, immediately jumped into action and created The Lesbian Bar Project. What resulted was a viral fundraiser, with hundreds of thousands of dollars raised, and a documentary to celebrate, support, and preserve the remaining lesbian bars in the United States. This October, The Lesbian Bar Project docuseries for Roku will also be released. 

Listen to the latest episode of All About Change as Erica discusses why LGBTQ spaces are so important and her mission to save the last remaining bars.

Please find a transcription of this episode here.

Photo credit: Jackie Abbott 

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