Building Opportunity in Delaware

Markevis Gideon uses the word "intentionality" to describe the work he does at NERDiT NOW. The organization is intentional about giving back and working to bridge the digital and wealth divides in the community. Gideon also discusses how his "life changed because of one computer" and the necessity of computers in today's modern times. Learn more about NERDiT NOW.

Ashley Christopher was working in the Wilmington mayor's office when she was tasked with developing an idea to engage Wilmington's underserved communities. She thought education was the path forward and the idea for HBCU Week came forth. Now the CEO of HBCU Week Foundation, Christopher and the organization have offered thousands of scholarships totaling millions of dollars to students looking to continue their education. She also touches on what it means to be in the HBCU community (as a two-time HBCU alum) and how the institutions can impact young people.

Dr. Rama Peri moved around the medical field when she first arrived in Delaware with her family, working at a local hospital, in private practice and even at a school. However, she wanted to balance her family life with her professional life while also working in the community, so she started The Rosa Health Center in 2015. In this episode, host Stuart Comstock-Gay talks with Dr. Peri about her past, how she got into medicine and also about the future of medicine and how she sees community doctors evolving. The two also briefly talk about the expansion project happening at The Rosa Health Center. 

The influences in one's life can be either positive or negative... For Adam Kramer, he had a lot of negative influences growing up, which led to a life of drug dealing and jail time. After getting out, and getting on the straight path, Kramer, a former felon, teamed up with a former FBI agent to try to bring some positive influences into the lives of young kids in Delaware through the Green Beret Project. He sits down with host Stuart Comstock-Gay to go through it all: his upbringing, his jail time and his path back to being a positive influence in kids' lives. 

India Colon-Diaz is the vice president of Nuestras Raices Delaware (NR Delaware), an organization dedicated to cultural inclusion, building positive connections, distributing resources, and encouraging social growth. She sits down with host Stuart Comstock-Gay to discuss her upbringing in Wilmington and the changes she's seen in the Hispanic community. They also take a deep dive into NR Delaware and the work they're doing to bring new leaders to the table in Delaware. Learn more about Nuestras Raices Delaware. 

Darryl Chambers, also known as "Wolfie" and "The Mayor of Wilmington," has been fighting the inequities in Wilmington to try and make the city better for all of its citizens. In this episode, Wolfie talks about why he started the Center for Structural Equity, the inequities that he sees, such as education, healthcare and employment in Wilmington and across Delaware, and what communities and their people have to do to combat such inequities. Learn more about the Center for Structural Equity. 

There are many ways to bring joy to a community, but Michelle Freeman has found that the arts are the best way for her community to experience joy. Freeman, the CEO of the Carl M. Freeman Companies, the president and chairperson of the Carl M. Freeman Foundation and the founder and CEO of the Joshua M. Freeman Foundation, sat down with host Stuart Comstock-Gay to discuss how the foundations she runs bring joy to the Delmarva area. They also discuss her ascension to these roles, after the passing of her father-in-law and husband, as well as other hardships she's faced in her life and how she's overcome them. Learn more about the Carl M. Freeman Foundation.

Erin Gruwell, author of the New York Times Bestseller The Freedom Writers' Diary, sits down with host Stuart Comstock-Gay to talk about how she learned to create a community of writers as a fresh-faced English teacher in Room 203. Gruwell discusses how she got her students to better their lives through reading and writing, with her students coining themselves the “Freedom Writers” after the “Freedom Riders” group as a way to show they were standing up to the violence and oppression in their lives. Now, over 20 years later, Gruwell continues to teach others how to create communities through storytelling, writing, listening to one another and giving light in dark places. The two also discuss her latest book, Dear Freedom Writer. Find out more information on the Freedom Writers by visiting the Freedom Writers Foundation.

Season 5 of Building Opportunity is coming next week! This season, host Stuart Comstock-Gay sits down with community leaders in education, tech, health and the arts to discuss communities, leadership, mentorship and passing the mic to the next generation. The season starts Nov. 1 with episodes available every Wednesday.

We’ve talked a lot about polarization this season – but what can we do about it? We welcome back all of our guests to each share one actionable thing anyone can do to reduce polarization – in our communities, in our daily lives, and in our interactions with others.

Media is often blamed for polarization – but nonprofit and local news models could offer a solution. Today, we sit down with Allison Taylor Levine, the VP of Marketing and Communications at the DCF, and the founder of the Local Journalism Initiative Delaware. We discuss how local news builds empathy, trust, and understanding, and how solutions-based journalism can move readers from fear and frustration to empowerment and action.

Dr. David Tam became the CEO of Beebe Healthcare at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and he’s made it his mission to build trust inside the communities Beebe serves, even as polarization has had dramatic consequences to public health. Dr. Tam shares his insights about how healthcare needs to evolve – and how conversations between patients and providers could be a key to bridging the divide.

Dr. Muqtedar Khan is a professor in the Department of Political Science and International Relations and in the Department of Islamic Studies at the University of Delaware. Today, he shares insights on American polarization – its economic, political, and social roots, what’s causing it to accelerate, and what we can do to overcome it. Dr. Khan also shares his perspective on the declining freedom of speech within academic institutions – and how identity politics, virtue signaling, and personal moral hierarchies can blind us to our own intolerance and judgment.

Molly Giordano has spent years building a community-oriented space at the Delaware Art Museum, where open dialogues about art flourish. Molly weighs in on how polarization has impacted arts institutions, and pushes back against claims that art and art institutions have become too political.

Don Ward has deep roots in rural Sussex County – and he’s seen how polarization has affected communities like his. Don joins us this week here to talk to us about the dangers of judging others solely on their political views, how polarization creates divisions within religious communities, and what happens when development brings new faces into small towns.

Angela Davis. Herschel Walker. Dolly Parton. Dennis Rodman. All have come to the Wilmington Library at the invitation of Library Director Jamar Rahming. He believes libraries can teach us how to listen to opposing viewpoints, distinguish authoritative sources of information, and contextualize the news and stories we hear – helping to light a pathway to intellectual freedom.

Can we take the polarization out of … politics? Delaware State Senator Sarah McBride (a Democrat) and Representative Bryan Shupe (a Republican) say their philosophical differences don’t stop them from working together on effective public policies that strengthen our communities. We’ll talk about the role of both social media and legacy media in encouraging partisan divides, and the dangers of thinking too selectively when it comes to justice and social change.

Author and journalist Mónica Guzmán joins us to talk about the power of curiosity, and the conversations with her conservative parents which led her to write her book “I Never Thought of it That Way.” We’ll talk about the do’s and don’ts for respectful, productive conversations with people we know we disagree with, and learn about Braver Angels, the nation's largest grassroots organization working to depolarize America.

Cynthia Primo Martin retired from her role as the founder and executive director of Trustees of Color in 2019, but she didn’t retire from the work. Now, she’s back with a book, the “Handbook for Nonprofit Leadership: Recruiting, Training and Engaging Trustees of Color.”

DCF President & CEO Stuart Comstock-Gay sits down with his friend Cynthia this week to talk about her work, her book, and how true equity in the nonprofit sector begins in the boardroom.

“Handbook for Nonprofit Leadership: Recruiting, Training and Engaging Trustees of Color” is published by Cedar Tree Books and available for purchase online.