There is an upcoming event providing potential opportunities for minority, women and disabled owned businesses. City of Philadelphia and the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO) is hosting an industry networking breakfast on Tuesday October 24th providing opportunities to Connect with prime contractors, subcontractors and project owners. Be the first to access the City's new procurement forecast for public works. Meet diverse firms & learn how to become certified as a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) and register as Minority/Women/Disabled Owned Business Enterprise (M/W/DSBE). To tell us more I speak to Lily Reynolds, Director of Federal Infrastructure Strategy in the Mayor's Managing Director Office More information: https://infrastructuremixer.eventbrite.com/
There are few jobs more critical to the future of our children and our country than teachers. but it’s been more challenging than ever for those in the profession. Teach for America is working to provide a pathway to teaching. Anna Shurak, Executive Director, Teach For America – Philadelphia talks about their program’s efforts to train the next generation of teachers.
Website and social media handles and tags
teachforamerica.org/greater-philadelphia
Instagram: @tfaphillypham
X: @tfaphillypham o
FB: https://www.facebook.com/TFAGreaterPhilly/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/teach-for-america-greater-philadelphia/
Want a wonderful day of women's empowerment with workshops, inspiring speakers and shopping Black Women owned businesses? You'll want to check out the She Shines Conference. The focus of this women’s empowerment conference is a foundation of comprehensive topics -- Civic Engagement/Voting Rights, Health/Wellness/Safety, Spiritual Enrichment & Networking Opportunities. I speak to founder Robin Shine Maddox about the event that takes place Saturday, November 4, 2023, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., at
There are few jobs more critical to the future of our children and our country than teachers. but it’s been more challenging than ever for those in the profession. Teach for America is working to provide a pathway to teaching. Anna Shurak, Executive Director, Teach For America – Philadelphia talks about their program’s efforts to train the next generation of teachers.
Website and social media handles and tags
teachforamerica.org/greater-philadelphia
Instagram: @tfaphillypham
X: @tfaphillypham o
FB: https://www.facebook.com/TFAGreaterPhilly/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/teach-for-america-greater-philadelphia/
Want a wonderful day of women's empowerment with workshops, inspiring speakers and shopping Black Women owned businesses? You'll want to check out the She Shines Conference. The focus of this women’s empowerment conference is a foundation of comprehensive topics -- Civic Engagement/Voting Rights, Health/Wellness/Safety, Spiritual Enrichment & Networking Opportunities. I speak to founder Robin Shine Maddox about the event that takes place Saturday, November 4, 2023, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., at
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Good morning. You're listening to Insight, a show about empowering our community.
I'm Lorraine Ballad Moral. What awonderful day of women's empowerment with workshops,
inspiring speakers, and shopping at blackwomen owned businesses. You'll want to check
out, she shines. It's aconference coming up November fourth. Are you
moved to make a difference in achild's life, then Teach for America could
(00:21):
be for you first. A greatopportunity for minority, disabled, and women
owned businesses. Obtaining government contracts isincredibly important for minority owned businesses. Government
contracts and other types of contracts,whether it's cities or other large organizations,
provide a stable and often lucrative sourceof revenue. But a lot of minority
(00:43):
businesses don't know where to go well. Tuesday, October twenty fourth, the
City of Philadelphia and the Conference ofMinority Transportation Officials will be hosting an industry
networking breakfast and to tell us allabout it is City of Philadelphia's Director of
Federal Infratry Director Strategy and the ManagingDirector's Office, Lily Reynolds. Thank you
(01:04):
so much for joining us here todayand tell us about this great opportunity for
minority contractors. Thank you so much, Lauren, it's great to join you.
We are focused on really sharing informationabout upcoming public works contracting opportunities.
So you can think of these asconstruction projects and building projects where we work
(01:27):
with the private sector to do constructionfor things like roads, bridges, parks,
sidewalk sometimes buildings and rec centers,airport facilities, waterway systems, sewer
systems, all sorts of things thatare the infrastructure pieces that make our city
(01:47):
run and function. And right now, we have a lot of money coming
to the city from the federal governmentas well as state and local dollars that
are increasing the amount of public worksprojects that we're undertake, and so we're
really looking to build those projects aswell as provide opportunities for minority owned businesses,
women owned businesses, and really businessesthat are located here in Philadelphia to
(02:12):
be aware of what we're looking forand what opportunities are coming down the pike
so that they can start preparing andgetting themselves ready to be competitive for this
type of performance contracting. Lily,I wonder if you can give us an
idea of what kinds of businesses you'relooking for to come to this mixer.
Yeah, so we really welcome everyone, but our target focus is on construction
(02:35):
companies and companies that do work inconstruction related activities. So often the city
has for public works contracting a primecontractor, sometimes it's referred to as a
general contractor, and those contractors areusually specialized in a certain type of infrastructure,
so whether they are a heavy highwayor a building construction, and then
(03:01):
they really work underneath with their teamwith subcontractors that often have specific specialties.
So some of that could be specialtiesin concrete or masonry, just as an
example, and so we're looking forcompanies in those types of field as well
as folks that are in an adjacentfield. Like we think that there may
(03:22):
be some businesses that are out therein the finishing trades or in interior building
renovations or demolition, and while thatcertainly could be part of an infrastructure project,
we also are interested in talking tothem as well and see if maybe
they do more work on maybe cabinetryor some of the interior finishing trades.
They maybe not have in their portfolioso far a bridge project or a sidewalk
(03:46):
project, but they have a baselinethat they may and they maybe have interest
in learning more about some of theoutdoor what we call horizontal infrastructure construction work.
Lillie, I wonder if you cantalk a bit about some of the
bears that often get in the wayof these minority contractors. Tell us what
are some of the things that theyneed to know, any certifications they need,
(04:08):
any kind of special training that theyneed in order to enter into this.
Yeah, that's such a good question, and for good reason. In
some cases, there are some highbars that businesses do need to pass sometimes
in order to be ready for governmentcontracting. And at least from the government
perspective, you understand that that's becausewe really want to make sure that we
(04:28):
are vetting and are certain that thebusinesses that we're asking to build a bridge
that we're going to have residents usingevery day is a vetted, qualified,
reliable firm that really can perform theservices that they say they can and also
are in good business standing. Socertainly all of the things that you might
think of in terms of just reallymaking sure your business is in order,
(04:51):
your finances are in order, thoseare all basic requirements, but then there's
also specific requirements especially in spaces.If the business wants to get credit for
being a minority owned or women ownedbusiness, there are certain certification processes that
are available to those businesses, andso we'll have information at this event as
(05:12):
well as on our city's website underour Office of Economic Opportunity, where you
can learn about how to become certified. And the reason that that's advante is
to go through that step for aminority or women owned business or disabled owned
business is because we often put goalson our contracts for what percent of participation
we want to see those businesses have. Let's say we're building building a bridge,
(05:35):
we may say we want to havetwenty percent of the prime and some
contractor mix really focus on businesses thatfall into some of those categories. Sometimes
it can be higher, sometimes itcan be lower. And so even if
there's a business that is minority orwomen owned, they won't get sort of
the credit for that unless if they'recurrently certified. So that's why we want
(05:57):
to make sure that they are certified, and that really helped them open up
also future opportunities for work because theycan then be identified by other prime contractors
or by government agencies who are reallylooking to work with them and to make
sure that they have that participation right. So, in other words, there
are minority businesses who may not becertified, may not have everything in place
(06:18):
that they need, but they canstill come to this event because there are
opportunities to learn about certifications and whatare the requirements that they need to fulfill
in order to get these contracts right, that's right. I think another thing
that you asked about barriers a minuteago, and I think another thing that
we're trying to provide at this eventis an opportunity for networking. And what
(06:40):
we see as being a big potentialbarrier or a big you know, if
you overcome it, a way toaccess a lot of work is getting to
know others in this field. Sowhether it's other businesses that perhaps could be
prime contractors that you could be ontheir project with them, or I was
(07:00):
at an event yesterday in North Phillyspeaking to some minority owned businesses in construction,
and one of the takeaway messages wasreally thinking about rather than seeing someone
as your competitor, seeing them assomeone that you can work with, because
there may be a time where youdon't have you have too much work on
your plate, so you want toshare it with somebody else or vice versa.
Navigating all the space is really strengthenedby networking, so that's something that
(07:25):
we'll be providing, as well asopportunities to network with the government agencies cepta
like pen DOT, which is theState Department of Transportation, the Water Department.
A lot of different agencies will bepresent to talk about the upcoming opportunities
they have, so contractors can comeand learn about specific questions and a dialogue
(07:46):
that they may have. Sounds likea great opportunity for any minority contractor or
business that's interested in becoming a contractorgetting these contracts with governmental organizations and entities.
This is a place to go.So it's happening on October twenty fourth.
Where is it going to happen,What time does it start and end?
And also do people need to registerin advance? Yeah, so it's
(08:09):
going to be on Tuesday, Octobertwenty fourth. It will start early.
We know contracting is an early earlyrisert crowd, so it will start at
seven thirty in the morning. We'llhave breakfast for those that register in advance.
It will end by ten am,so folks can get on with their
day and their day of work.And the location is at the Sheet Metal
(08:31):
Workers Hall which is at thirteen zeroone South Columbus Boulevard, so that's near
Columbus Boulevard and Washington Avenue. Andit's free, right, It's absolutely free.
It's open to the public. Wedo ask the people register in advance.
Folks can go to Infrastructuremixer dot eventbright dot com. This sounds like
(08:52):
a wonderful event for anyone interested ingetting a contract with the government. And
this is the City of Philadelphia InfrastructureMixed Networking Event on October twenty fourth.
Lilly Reynolds, director of Federal InfrastructureStrategy in the Mayor's Managing Director's Office,
thank you so much, Thank you. Ran. There is a dwindling number
(09:16):
of qualified educators available to meet thedemands of an expanding student population. Factors
contributing to this shortage include low salaries, challenging working conditions, high burnout rates,
and inadequate resources for professional development.Addressing this issue is crucial to ensuring
that every student has access to aquality education and that the teaching profession remains
(09:39):
attractive and sustainable in the long term. One organization that is working hard to
help make that happen. Is Teachfor America joining us right now as Anna
Shurek, Executive director of Teach forAmerica, thank you so much for joining
us here today. Yes, thankyou so much for having me. Well.
In another life, I was aneducation major and have ever since been
(10:03):
very very committed to bringing to theworld information about education, the importance of
it, and teaching. And soI wonder if you could tell us what
is Teach for America. We workto ensure that all students have the opportunity
for an excellent education, and wework to recruit diverse leaders who are committed
(10:24):
to educational equity. And so werecruit recent college grads and career changers into
our organization. We train them tobe educators. We work with schools and
place our teachers in schools where teachersare needed the most. And then,
as a result of the experience,many of our members stay on in the
(10:48):
teaching profession and or go on towork in other important fields that influence outcomes
for students. And so we're verygrateful to have this opportunity to continue to
serve Surban Philadelphia. We've been herefor twenty years and as a national organization
we've been in existence for thirty threeyears. Very interesting. So I did
(11:09):
touch on some of the challenges thatface the teaching profession, certainly the burnout,
some of the challenges having to dowith violence that's existing in our communities
and the culture wars that are outthere that many teachers are being forced to
resign or have been fired because ofcoming up against that. And I wonder
if we can talk a bit moreabout what are some of the things you
(11:31):
are doing to address some of theseissues and encourage people who might potentially want
to teach, but take a lookat some of the challenges that teachers face.
How do you reach those individuals?Yeah, great question, Laurien.
So you know, first and foremost, at the end of the day,
(11:52):
regardless of what side of the culturewars as you named you sit on,
we need excellent teachers in the classroomfor our students, for our entire world,
in our country to thrive, asour students are really the next leaders
for all of us. And soas we're seeing teacher shortages broadly, there
(12:13):
are really multiple reasons educators are leavingthe workforce, and there are fewer professionals
that are considering teaching as a viablecareer and really the pay hours, increased
politicization that you named has not madeit attractive for the as a profession for
gen Z and gen Z is setto make up more than a quarter of
(12:33):
the workforce by twenty twenty five,and so Teach for America has really focused
on evolving to meet the needs ofthese gen Z individuals alongside the needs of
our students and communities, and justto underscore this gen Z is really the
most diverse generation in history and seekingmeaningful careers that align with their values and
(12:56):
so as a purpose driven generation,they really yearn to address major societal issues
and create a positive impact. Soat Teach for America, that leads us
to really think about the systemic issuesand the structure of the teaching profession that
is increasingly out of step with whatmatters most to this generation of college graduates
and thinking about how as a profession, teaching and education has to evolve to
(13:22):
really reinvent the system and think aboutthings such as teaching compensation conditions, supportive
environments, and how we are settingteachers and educators up to be successful with
students so that we can really experiencethe full potential and impact of our schools
(13:43):
and with our kids. So let'stalk about what need people need to do
in order to become a part ofTeach for America. Who are you looking
forward to sign up and what aretheir qualifications and what steps do they need
to take? Yeah? Thanks somuch. So we are looking for individuals
who are invested in our students,in our communities, and who fundamentally believe
(14:05):
that all students have the potential tolive, grow and thrive in our world.
And so equity based, diverse educatorswho are willing to do this work,
willing to learn, and have thefortitude and experience to know what it
takes and that it's not going tobe easy. As an individual who came
(14:26):
into the program as a two thousandand four core member in Philadelphia, I
never thought that I would still behere twenty years later. In fact,
I had studied political science and policystudies and didn't want to do education policy
till I had taught and quickly learnedthat how policy. Having great policy is
essential, and also having folks doingthe work and willing to implement great policy
(14:50):
is also another key piece of thepuzzle. I bring this up because We're
not looking for folks to come dueto years and lead to do something totally
different. We're looking for folks whofundamentally believe in the potential of our students
and why education is so essential tothe future of Philadelphia. And if people
(15:11):
are interested in applying, there arevarious ways to get involved. You can
apply through our website to learn morethrough our recruitment team and an and or
also contact us directly and we'd loveto be in connection. We also need
a coalition of support and currently areworking with many other organizations because Teach for
(15:33):
America doesn't solve the education problem inisolation. We do it with partners across
the city and so any sort ofinvolvement, whether you're interested in joining,
interested in joining the core, andor just being involved in our efforts to
assure that our students have the opportunitiesthat they deserve, we welcome that sort
of partnership and coalition. If peoplewant more information, what's that website Teach
(15:56):
for America dot org. Fantastic andAssure, Executive director for Teach for America
Philadelphia, Thank you so much,Thank you so much. There is nothing
like getting together some amazing, powerfulwomen in one space, and one of
(16:18):
those spaces coming up very soon isthis She Shines Conference on Saturday, November
fourth, from nine am to fourpm at New Covenant Church of Philadelphia.
And to tell us all about itis Robin Shine Maddox, founder of Celebrating
Sisterhood and the convener of the SheShines Conference. I love it. I
(16:41):
love the title, and it's soappropriate because it's a wonderful convening of some
incredible women talking about all the thingsthat concern us most. Tell us more
about she Shines. First Woman,I want to thank you for the opportunity
to share with you and your listeningaudience about our upcoming She Shines Conference.
Hine's Conference, we say, isPhiladelphia and the Philadelphia Region's premier woman's conference.
(17:07):
It was birth back in twenty eighteenwhen I was diagnosed with breast cancer
and going through the whole recovery andtreatment process, Lorraine, I knew there
was something more. I knew thatGods, this was not my death sentence,
even though I was near death,but nonetheless there was a purpose in
a plan that God had for mylife. And out of, if you
(17:33):
will, this pain that I wasgoing through, and so just like you
know, God said, I'm gonnabring you through this, but you have
work to do. I am establishingyour purpose in life, and believe it
or not, it was like,Ah, this is my purpose and that
is simply to empower, to inspire, and to offer hope to women.
(17:56):
And we do that by bringing inwhat I consider who I consider some amazing
thought leaders, subject matter experts.You know, just aren't girlfriends, you
know who are professionals, those whoare in the grassroots areas throughout Philadelphia and
(18:17):
throughout the nation. And say,you know what, No, I'm the
Connector And I didn't give that nameto myself since I was in high school.
Robbins. I always connected somewhere.The Robin's always connected and for purpose,
and I get excited about it assoon as I said, I'm going
to connect my friends who I knowwho are doing great work with my other
friends who are doing some great workand just you know, wanting to connect.
(18:41):
So that's what it's all about.And we shine through that. That's
how I shine. Well, thatis so true. And I've had the
opportunity and the privilege of being presentat one of your She Shines conferences and
there are so many wonderful workshops withsome very inspired hiring women. Give us
a taste of some of the workshopsand speakers that we can look forward to
(19:04):
at this event. Before I dothat, I want to say that our
conference is based upon three pillars health, wellness and safety, civic engagement,
voting rights, social justice, andthe last one is spiritual enrichment. So
with that we build our workshops andwe invite people to present, to speak,
(19:27):
to engage to those who attend.So I'm excited because we have what
we call take in Charge of yourHealth. So some of the folks who
will be joining us is doctor DeborahWitt, doctor R. G. Allen
Wilson, doctor Delina Delana excuse me, warlof. We also have Deborah Roebuck,
and we have our Mentor Washington.These ladies, they know their craft,
(19:52):
they know they're experts, and soI wanted to mix it up not
just having a medical doctor, butit was someone or on the panel to
talk about menopause, you know,as we go through the stages of menopause
and what that will look like,but also taking care of our mental health.
So I reached out to my girlfriend, doctor Rgie Allen, Wilson.
I said, Argie, you needto be on this panel because we've got
(20:15):
some stuff that we're sorting through,some things that we don't know how to
sort through as we live our dailylives. So we have that as a
panel. We also are Living MyLife Likes Golden. Okay. So yeah,
So we have some amazing folks.We have the I don't know if
you're familiar with the Mendoza group.They're coming in and they're gonna talk about,
(20:38):
you know, this new initiative withMedicare. Also, we have Lisa
Robinson from My Independence at Home.She's gonna talk about adult care and caring
for your family members with disabilities.But that's the part one. The part
two of Living My Life Like isGolden. It's season and we're seniors.
(20:59):
We're sad. See I would saysexy, but I won't see that.
Yes, and we're soaring and shiningin our senior years. We don't have
to say it. Well, Isaid, well, I don't visuit myself
as senior. Seniors. Don't haveto sit around our home and knitting crochere.
I mean that's the hobby, okay, but we want our seniors to
(21:21):
live and live a life that's fulfilling. We're going to have and it's a
much needed discussion facilitated by Marlon DavisBellamy who's with Ceasefire. We're going to
have a town hall discussion violence,looking at violence as a public health crisis.
We have to deal with that,we have to talk about it.
(21:41):
And so she along with Ray Jonesand doctor Dorn Cross and she's a therapist
from out of Harrisbord, she'll bejoining us as well. And in addition
to that, we're blessed to haveJudge Janice Blankly. Many of you may
have no of her in the Philadelphiaarea. She and I were connected by
(22:03):
someone else. The connection again,so she and I were connected. I
was she was about the conference.My heart goes out to the moms and
the grandmoms who unfortunately are going throughthe court systems, you know, because
of their son and daughter, andyou know, it could be such a
(22:25):
challenge, especially for those who don'tunderstand the court system. But in addition
to that, we want to wrapour arms around those moms, you know,
those Auntie Stokes grandparents and say,you know what he says, we
got you. We want to talkabout you know how we can what their
needs are in terms of their selfesteem, right their mental health, and
how we can support them from thatangle. I think that's really important to
(22:49):
let them know that they're not alone. They don't have to walk through this
alone. Even you know, yesit's shameful, you know, embarrassing for
some, but no, no,this is where the love comes in.
This is where it kicks and say, Okay, it's not the best situation,
but we want to let you knowwe care about you. So here
(23:11):
we are and we just want towrap our arms around you and to engage
you. So that particular workshow I'mreally excited about. I don't know.
Perhaps other organizations and the conferences theyfocus on the moms and the grandmoms who
are going through this, but youknow, we too just want to say,
hey, we do care, we'rewith you, and we're supporting you.
(23:34):
Now one of another. Well,really, all the workshops are really
like my favorites and I love andthat is as a breast cancer survivor.
And how this conference came about,we are hosting a cancer forum. I
don't know if you are aware,but back in the spring I was approached
by some producers and I'll share thename Conde Nast Entertainment. They reached out
(23:59):
to me and you are having conversationsabout my breast cancer journey and my advocacy
work, and say, hey,we want to do a short doc like
oh me, you really going tobring out right the lights, camera action
though they we're joking, right,but they weren't joking and it actually came
to Philadelphia. Just Dore's some somefootage about my breast cancer journey and my
(24:22):
advocacy work. Why do I sharethat? It's because again it goes back
what I shared said before. Youknow, as we go through painful situations
and encounters and we don't know ifit is a life or duck situation or
it is a life or duk situation, but somehow we come through it.
Now that pain becomes a story thatwe can share with others because we don't
(24:48):
know who is going through and justneeds some encouragement, right and someone just
to walk a lot alongside of themand just offer hope. So we have
we're hosting a can a forum calledFighters, Survivors and Thrivers, and we're
grateful for those who are will bejoining us. A penthouse. Abramson Cancer
(25:11):
has joined in with us along withFox Chase Cancer. They have joined in
with us to support us in regardsto this. The workshops and Anita Connor,
I'm I'm quite sure you heard AnitaConnor from her yes. And also
the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition, whichI sit on their board. It's the
(25:33):
honor to sit on their board.So, like I said, I'm bringing
the folks together to connect them.And guess what the rain I went to.
I was looking forward to getting myeyebrows, and I was googling different
shops, the spots, and Icame across this one spot, and so
I said, let me try it, and so I went in there.
The owner and I we start talkingand she's an esthetician. That was all
(25:57):
about my breast cancer journey. Andshe said, oh my god. I'm
originally from LA and I had ashop out a spout out in LA.
And she said, a lot ofmy clients were cancer survivors and I specialized
in providing treatment and care as anesthetician to women who are breast cancer survivors.
(26:19):
And I, you know, tellthem about different products that we should
use and not use. That's great, that's what you don't want to be
on my panels? So what panel? So she will be there as well.
How can you say no to toRobin Shine. I don't think anyone
can. And it sounds like you'vegot such an amazing day plan for all
(26:40):
of us who want to participate.And is there a cost to this?
And if so, where do peoplefind out more information about everything? Yes,
they can go straight to our conferencewebsite, which is www. She
Shines conference dot com. There isa cause. And I'm going to put
this out here. I know myboy is going to kill me, but
(27:03):
I'm going to put this out hereand I get this from my dad right
to help as many people as Ipossibly can. Right, So, if
anyone who is listening and they reallyreally really would like to attend, I'm
going to make this appeal and sayto that young lady, the seasoned woman
(27:27):
who's listening, or the adult woman, if you're listening you really want to
attend this conference, I want youto call me. I want I'm getting
teary eyed. I'm sorry. Sincemy heart this is my mission. So
I want to bless people who blessedme. You know I've been blessed.
(27:48):
I'm alive thanks to my family andmy village and my boss and church family.
So this is just my way ofgiving back. I'll just have to
trust God how I'm gona get allthe Well, let me tell you,
yes, please call me and thenumber to call is two sixth seven three
(28:08):
two eight forty five ninety two.That's two sixty seven three two eight forty
five ninety two. Well, thisevent is happening. You don't want to
miss it. It is absolutely uplifting, empowering, and she Shines is a
(28:29):
perfect way to describe it. Youshine in so many ways and you really
bring a lot of love and lightto the world. Robinshine Maddox, founder
of Celebrating Sisterhood and the convenor ofthis She Shines Conference Saturday, November fourth,
from nine am to four pm atNew Covenant Church of Philadelphia, seventy
five hundred Germantown Avenue in Mount Airy. And once again, what is that
(28:53):
website? The website is www dotshe Shine conference dot com. Fantastic.
Well, before we go, Ido have to know the last time I
saw you at the conference, youhad the most unbelievable sneakers going on.
They were so bliney. I meanI was blinded. Are you planning on
(29:15):
something equally spectacular this year? Youknow what, It's funny you should mention
that because last night I was thinkingabout what I'm going to wear, and
I pulled out my sneakers. Isaid, you know what, I'm going
to continue and so I will havesome blamed out. She shines, a
sneaker to wear, So, yes, I certainly will. I think that's
(29:37):
the signature of my outfit. Yeah, you are my sneaker role model.
Robin Shine. Thank you for everythingthat you do, the contributions that you
make to women, to our community, and we hope to see folks out
there checking it out the conference again. She shines November fourth, from nine
(29:59):
am to four pm at New CovenantChurch of Philadelphia, seventy five hundred Germantown
Avenue. Thank you so much,Robin. Thank you Loraine for the opportunity
hope to say you. You canlisten to all of today's interviews by going
to our station website and typing inkeyword Community. You can also listen on
the iHeartRadio app Keyword Lorraine with oneR. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram
(30:19):
at Lorraine Ballard. I'm Lorraine Ballard. Morel and I stand for service to
our community and media that empowers.What will you stand for? You've been
listening to insight and thank you
Good morning. You're listening to Insight, a show about empowering our community.
I'm Lorraine Ballad Moral. What awonderful day of women's empowerment with workshops,
inspiring speakers, and shopping at blackwomen owned businesses. You'll want to check
out, she shines. It's aconference coming up November fourth. Are you
moved to make a difference in achild's life, then Teach for America could
(00:21):
be for you first. A greatopportunity for minority, disabled, and women
owned businesses. Obtaining government contracts isincredibly important for minority owned businesses. Government
contracts and other types of contracts,whether it's cities or other large organizations,
provide a stable and often lucrative sourceof revenue. But a lot of minority
(00:43):
businesses don't know where to go well. Tuesday, October twenty fourth, the
City of Philadelphia and the Conference ofMinority Transportation Officials will be hosting an industry
networking breakfast and to tell us allabout it is City of Philadelphia's Director of
Federal Infratry Director Strategy and the ManagingDirector's Office, Lily Reynolds. Thank you
(01:04):
so much for joining us here todayand tell us about this great opportunity for
minority contractors. Thank you so much, Lauren, it's great to join you.
We are focused on really sharing informationabout upcoming public works contracting opportunities.
So you can think of these asconstruction projects and building projects where we work
(01:27):
with the private sector to do constructionfor things like roads, bridges, parks,
sidewalk sometimes buildings and rec centers,airport facilities, waterway systems, sewer
systems, all sorts of things thatare the infrastructure pieces that make our city
(01:47):
run and function. And right now, we have a lot of money coming
to the city from the federal governmentas well as state and local dollars that
are increasing the amount of public worksprojects that we're undertake, and so we're
really looking to build those projects aswell as provide opportunities for minority owned businesses,
women owned businesses, and really businessesthat are located here in Philadelphia to
(02:12):
be aware of what we're looking forand what opportunities are coming down the pike
so that they can start preparing andgetting themselves ready to be competitive for this
type of performance contracting. Lily,I wonder if you can give us an
idea of what kinds of businesses you'relooking for to come to this mixer.
Yeah, so we really welcome everyone, but our target focus is on construction
(02:35):
companies and companies that do work inconstruction related activities. So often the city
has for public works contracting a primecontractor, sometimes it's referred to as a
general contractor, and those contractors areusually specialized in a certain type of infrastructure,
so whether they are a heavy highwayor a building construction, and then
(03:01):
they really work underneath with their teamwith subcontractors that often have specific specialties.
So some of that could be specialtiesin concrete or masonry, just as an
example, and so we're looking forcompanies in those types of field as well
as folks that are in an adjacentfield. Like we think that there may
(03:22):
be some businesses that are out therein the finishing trades or in interior building
renovations or demolition, and while thatcertainly could be part of an infrastructure project,
we also are interested in talking tothem as well and see if maybe
they do more work on maybe cabinetryor some of the interior finishing trades.
They maybe not have in their portfolioso far a bridge project or a sidewalk
(03:46):
project, but they have a baselinethat they may and they maybe have interest
in learning more about some of theoutdoor what we call horizontal infrastructure construction work.
Lillie, I wonder if you cantalk a bit about some of the
bears that often get in the wayof these minority contractors. Tell us what
are some of the things that theyneed to know, any certifications they need,
(04:08):
any kind of special training that theyneed in order to enter into this.
Yeah, that's such a good question, and for good reason. In
some cases, there are some highbars that businesses do need to pass sometimes
in order to be ready for governmentcontracting. And at least from the government
perspective, you understand that that's becausewe really want to make sure that we
(04:28):
are vetting and are certain that thebusinesses that we're asking to build a bridge
that we're going to have residents usingevery day is a vetted, qualified,
reliable firm that really can perform theservices that they say they can and also
are in good business standing. Socertainly all of the things that you might
think of in terms of just reallymaking sure your business is in order,
(04:51):
your finances are in order, thoseare all basic requirements, but then there's
also specific requirements especially in spaces.If the business wants to get credit for
being a minority owned or women ownedbusiness, there are certain certification processes that
are available to those businesses, andso we'll have information at this event as
(05:12):
well as on our city's website underour Office of Economic Opportunity, where you
can learn about how to become certified. And the reason that that's advante is
to go through that step for aminority or women owned business or disabled owned
business is because we often put goalson our contracts for what percent of participation
we want to see those businesses have. Let's say we're building building a bridge,
(05:35):
we may say we want to havetwenty percent of the prime and some
contractor mix really focus on businesses thatfall into some of those categories. Sometimes
it can be higher, sometimes itcan be lower. And so even if
there's a business that is minority orwomen owned, they won't get sort of
the credit for that unless if they'recurrently certified. So that's why we want
(05:57):
to make sure that they are certified, and that really helped them open up
also future opportunities for work because theycan then be identified by other prime contractors
or by government agencies who are reallylooking to work with them and to make
sure that they have that participation right. So, in other words, there
are minority businesses who may not becertified, may not have everything in place
(06:18):
that they need, but they canstill come to this event because there are
opportunities to learn about certifications and whatare the requirements that they need to fulfill
in order to get these contracts right, that's right. I think another thing
that you asked about barriers a minuteago, and I think another thing that
we're trying to provide at this eventis an opportunity for networking. And what
(06:40):
we see as being a big potentialbarrier or a big you know, if
you overcome it, a way toaccess a lot of work is getting to
know others in this field. Sowhether it's other businesses that perhaps could be
prime contractors that you could be ontheir project with them, or I was
(07:00):
at an event yesterday in North Phillyspeaking to some minority owned businesses in construction,
and one of the takeaway messages wasreally thinking about rather than seeing someone
as your competitor, seeing them assomeone that you can work with, because
there may be a time where youdon't have you have too much work on
your plate, so you want toshare it with somebody else or vice versa.
Navigating all the space is really strengthenedby networking, so that's something that
(07:25):
we'll be providing, as well asopportunities to network with the government agencies cepta
like pen DOT, which is theState Department of Transportation, the Water Department.
A lot of different agencies will bepresent to talk about the upcoming opportunities
they have, so contractors can comeand learn about specific questions and a dialogue
(07:46):
that they may have. Sounds likea great opportunity for any minority contractor or
business that's interested in becoming a contractorgetting these contracts with governmental organizations and entities.
This is a place to go.So it's happening on October twenty fourth.
Where is it going to happen,What time does it start and end?
And also do people need to registerin advance? Yeah, so it's
(08:09):
going to be on Tuesday, Octobertwenty fourth. It will start early.
We know contracting is an early earlyrisert crowd, so it will start at
seven thirty in the morning. We'llhave breakfast for those that register in advance.
It will end by ten am,so folks can get on with their
day and their day of work.And the location is at the Sheet Metal
(08:31):
Workers Hall which is at thirteen zeroone South Columbus Boulevard, so that's near
Columbus Boulevard and Washington Avenue. Andit's free, right, It's absolutely free.
It's open to the public. Wedo ask the people register in advance.
Folks can go to Infrastructuremixer dot eventbright dot com. This sounds like
(08:52):
a wonderful event for anyone interested ingetting a contract with the government. And
this is the City of Philadelphia InfrastructureMixed Networking Event on October twenty fourth.
Lilly Reynolds, director of Federal InfrastructureStrategy in the Mayor's Managing Director's Office,
thank you so much, Thank you. Ran. There is a dwindling number
(09:16):
of qualified educators available to meet thedemands of an expanding student population. Factors
contributing to this shortage include low salaries, challenging working conditions, high burnout rates,
and inadequate resources for professional development.Addressing this issue is crucial to ensuring
that every student has access to aquality education and that the teaching profession remains
(09:39):
attractive and sustainable in the long term. One organization that is working hard to
help make that happen. Is Teachfor America joining us right now as Anna
Shurek, Executive director of Teach forAmerica, thank you so much for joining
us here today. Yes, thankyou so much for having me. Well.
In another life, I was aneducation major and have ever since been
(10:03):
very very committed to bringing to theworld information about education, the importance of
it, and teaching. And soI wonder if you could tell us what
is Teach for America. We workto ensure that all students have the opportunity
for an excellent education, and wework to recruit diverse leaders who are committed
(10:24):
to educational equity. And so werecruit recent college grads and career changers into
our organization. We train them tobe educators. We work with schools and
place our teachers in schools where teachersare needed the most. And then,
as a result of the experience,many of our members stay on in the
(10:48):
teaching profession and or go on towork in other important fields that influence outcomes
for students. And so we're verygrateful to have this opportunity to continue to
serve Surban Philadelphia. We've been herefor twenty years and as a national organization
we've been in existence for thirty threeyears. Very interesting. So I did
(11:09):
touch on some of the challenges thatface the teaching profession, certainly the burnout,
some of the challenges having to dowith violence that's existing in our communities
and the culture wars that are outthere that many teachers are being forced to
resign or have been fired because ofcoming up against that. And I wonder
if we can talk a bit moreabout what are some of the things you
(11:31):
are doing to address some of theseissues and encourage people who might potentially want
to teach, but take a lookat some of the challenges that teachers face.
How do you reach those individuals?Yeah, great question, Laurien.
So you know, first and foremost, at the end of the day,
(11:52):
regardless of what side of the culturewars as you named you sit on,
we need excellent teachers in the classroomfor our students, for our entire world,
in our country to thrive, asour students are really the next leaders
for all of us. And soas we're seeing teacher shortages broadly, there
(12:13):
are really multiple reasons educators are leavingthe workforce, and there are fewer professionals
that are considering teaching as a viablecareer and really the pay hours, increased
politicization that you named has not madeit attractive for the as a profession for
gen Z and gen Z is setto make up more than a quarter of
(12:33):
the workforce by twenty twenty five,and so Teach for America has really focused
on evolving to meet the needs ofthese gen Z individuals alongside the needs of
our students and communities, and justto underscore this gen Z is really the
most diverse generation in history and seekingmeaningful careers that align with their values and
(12:56):
so as a purpose driven generation,they really yearn to address major societal issues
and create a positive impact. Soat Teach for America, that leads us
to really think about the systemic issuesand the structure of the teaching profession that
is increasingly out of step with whatmatters most to this generation of college graduates
and thinking about how as a profession, teaching and education has to evolve to
(13:22):
really reinvent the system and think aboutthings such as teaching compensation conditions, supportive
environments, and how we are settingteachers and educators up to be successful with
students so that we can really experiencethe full potential and impact of our schools
(13:43):
and with our kids. So let'stalk about what need people need to do
in order to become a part ofTeach for America. Who are you looking
forward to sign up and what aretheir qualifications and what steps do they need
to take? Yeah? Thanks somuch. So we are looking for individuals
who are invested in our students,in our communities, and who fundamentally believe
(14:05):
that all students have the potential tolive, grow and thrive in our world.
And so equity based, diverse educatorswho are willing to do this work,
willing to learn, and have thefortitude and experience to know what it
takes and that it's not going tobe easy. As an individual who came
(14:26):
into the program as a two thousandand four core member in Philadelphia, I
never thought that I would still behere twenty years later. In fact,
I had studied political science and policystudies and didn't want to do education policy
till I had taught and quickly learnedthat how policy. Having great policy is
essential, and also having folks doingthe work and willing to implement great policy
(14:50):
is also another key piece of thepuzzle. I bring this up because We're
not looking for folks to come dueto years and lead to do something totally
different. We're looking for folks whofundamentally believe in the potential of our students
and why education is so essential tothe future of Philadelphia. And if people
(15:11):
are interested in applying, there arevarious ways to get involved. You can
apply through our website to learn morethrough our recruitment team and an and or
also contact us directly and we'd loveto be in connection. We also need
a coalition of support and currently areworking with many other organizations because Teach for
(15:33):
America doesn't solve the education problem inisolation. We do it with partners across
the city and so any sort ofinvolvement, whether you're interested in joining,
interested in joining the core, andor just being involved in our efforts to
assure that our students have the opportunitiesthat they deserve, we welcome that sort
of partnership and coalition. If peoplewant more information, what's that website Teach
(15:56):
for America dot org. Fantastic andAssure, Executive director for Teach for America
Philadelphia, Thank you so much,Thank you so much. There is nothing
like getting together some amazing, powerfulwomen in one space, and one of
(16:18):
those spaces coming up very soon isthis She Shines Conference on Saturday, November
fourth, from nine am to fourpm at New Covenant Church of Philadelphia.
And to tell us all about itis Robin Shine Maddox, founder of Celebrating
Sisterhood and the convener of the SheShines Conference. I love it. I
(16:41):
love the title, and it's soappropriate because it's a wonderful convening of some
incredible women talking about all the thingsthat concern us most. Tell us more
about she Shines. First Woman,I want to thank you for the opportunity
to share with you and your listeningaudience about our upcoming She Shines Conference.
Hine's Conference, we say, isPhiladelphia and the Philadelphia Region's premier woman's conference.
(17:07):
It was birth back in twenty eighteenwhen I was diagnosed with breast cancer
and going through the whole recovery andtreatment process, Lorraine, I knew there
was something more. I knew thatGods, this was not my death sentence,
even though I was near death,but nonetheless there was a purpose in
a plan that God had for mylife. And out of, if you
(17:33):
will, this pain that I wasgoing through, and so just like you
know, God said, I'm gonnabring you through this, but you have
work to do. I am establishingyour purpose in life, and believe it
or not, it was like,Ah, this is my purpose and that
is simply to empower, to inspire, and to offer hope to women.
(17:56):
And we do that by bringing inwhat I consider who I consider some amazing
thought leaders, subject matter experts.You know, just aren't girlfriends, you
know who are professionals, those whoare in the grassroots areas throughout Philadelphia and
(18:17):
throughout the nation. And say,you know what, No, I'm the
Connector And I didn't give that nameto myself since I was in high school.
Robbins. I always connected somewhere.The Robin's always connected and for purpose,
and I get excited about it assoon as I said, I'm going
to connect my friends who I knowwho are doing great work with my other
friends who are doing some great workand just you know, wanting to connect.
(18:41):
So that's what it's all about.And we shine through that. That's
how I shine. Well, thatis so true. And I've had the
opportunity and the privilege of being presentat one of your She Shines conferences and
there are so many wonderful workshops withsome very inspired hiring women. Give us
a taste of some of the workshopsand speakers that we can look forward to
(19:04):
at this event. Before I dothat, I want to say that our
conference is based upon three pillars health, wellness and safety, civic engagement,
voting rights, social justice, andthe last one is spiritual enrichment. So
with that we build our workshops andwe invite people to present, to speak,
(19:27):
to engage to those who attend.So I'm excited because we have what
we call take in Charge of yourHealth. So some of the folks who
will be joining us is doctor DeborahWitt, doctor R. G. Allen
Wilson, doctor Delina Delana excuse me, warlof. We also have Deborah Roebuck,
and we have our Mentor Washington.These ladies, they know their craft,
(19:52):
they know they're experts, and soI wanted to mix it up not
just having a medical doctor, butit was someone or on the panel to
talk about menopause, you know,as we go through the stages of menopause
and what that will look like,but also taking care of our mental health.
So I reached out to my girlfriend, doctor Rgie Allen, Wilson.
I said, Argie, you needto be on this panel because we've got
(20:15):
some stuff that we're sorting through,some things that we don't know how to
sort through as we live our dailylives. So we have that as a
panel. We also are Living MyLife Likes Golden. Okay. So yeah,
So we have some amazing folks.We have the I don't know if
you're familiar with the Mendoza group.They're coming in and they're gonna talk about,
(20:38):
you know, this new initiative withMedicare. Also, we have Lisa
Robinson from My Independence at Home.She's gonna talk about adult care and caring
for your family members with disabilities.But that's the part one. The part
two of Living My Life Like isGolden. It's season and we're seniors.
(20:59):
We're sad. See I would saysexy, but I won't see that.
Yes, and we're soaring and shiningin our senior years. We don't have
to say it. Well, Isaid, well, I don't visuit myself
as senior. Seniors. Don't haveto sit around our home and knitting crochere.
I mean that's the hobby, okay, but we want our seniors to
(21:21):
live and live a life that's fulfilling. We're going to have and it's a
much needed discussion facilitated by Marlon DavisBellamy who's with Ceasefire. We're going to
have a town hall discussion violence,looking at violence as a public health crisis.
We have to deal with that,we have to talk about it.
(21:41):
And so she along with Ray Jonesand doctor Dorn Cross and she's a therapist
from out of Harrisbord, she'll bejoining us as well. And in addition
to that, we're blessed to haveJudge Janice Blankly. Many of you may
have no of her in the Philadelphiaarea. She and I were connected by
(22:03):
someone else. The connection again,so she and I were connected. I
was she was about the conference.My heart goes out to the moms and
the grandmoms who unfortunately are going throughthe court systems, you know, because
of their son and daughter, andyou know, it could be such a
(22:25):
challenge, especially for those who don'tunderstand the court system. But in addition
to that, we want to wrapour arms around those moms, you know,
those Auntie Stokes grandparents and say,you know what he says, we
got you. We want to talkabout you know how we can what their
needs are in terms of their selfesteem, right their mental health, and
how we can support them from thatangle. I think that's really important to
(22:49):
let them know that they're not alone. They don't have to walk through this
alone. Even you know, yesit's shameful, you know, embarrassing for
some, but no, no,this is where the love comes in.
This is where it kicks and say, Okay, it's not the best situation,
but we want to let you knowwe care about you. So here
(23:11):
we are and we just want towrap our arms around you and to engage
you. So that particular workshow I'mreally excited about. I don't know.
Perhaps other organizations and the conferences theyfocus on the moms and the grandmoms who
are going through this, but youknow, we too just want to say,
hey, we do care, we'rewith you, and we're supporting you.
(23:34):
Now one of another. Well,really, all the workshops are really
like my favorites and I love andthat is as a breast cancer survivor.
And how this conference came about,we are hosting a cancer forum. I
don't know if you are aware,but back in the spring I was approached
by some producers and I'll share thename Conde Nast Entertainment. They reached out
(23:59):
to me and you are having conversationsabout my breast cancer journey and my advocacy
work, and say, hey,we want to do a short doc like
oh me, you really going tobring out right the lights, camera action
though they we're joking, right,but they weren't joking and it actually came
to Philadelphia. Just Dore's some somefootage about my breast cancer journey and my
(24:22):
advocacy work. Why do I sharethat? It's because again it goes back
what I shared said before. Youknow, as we go through painful situations
and encounters and we don't know ifit is a life or duck situation or
it is a life or duk situation, but somehow we come through it.
Now that pain becomes a story thatwe can share with others because we don't
(24:48):
know who is going through and justneeds some encouragement, right and someone just
to walk a lot alongside of themand just offer hope. So we have
we're hosting a can a forum calledFighters, Survivors and Thrivers, and we're
grateful for those who are will bejoining us. A penthouse. Abramson Cancer
(25:11):
has joined in with us along withFox Chase Cancer. They have joined in
with us to support us in regardsto this. The workshops and Anita Connor,
I'm I'm quite sure you heard AnitaConnor from her yes. And also
the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition, whichI sit on their board. It's the
(25:33):
honor to sit on their board.So, like I said, I'm bringing
the folks together to connect them.And guess what the rain I went to.
I was looking forward to getting myeyebrows, and I was googling different
shops, the spots, and Icame across this one spot, and so
I said, let me try it, and so I went in there.
The owner and I we start talkingand she's an esthetician. That was all
(25:57):
about my breast cancer journey. Andshe said, oh my god. I'm
originally from LA and I had ashop out a spout out in LA.
And she said, a lot ofmy clients were cancer survivors and I specialized
in providing treatment and care as anesthetician to women who are breast cancer survivors.
(26:19):
And I, you know, tellthem about different products that we should
use and not use. That's great, that's what you don't want to be
on my panels? So what panel? So she will be there as well.
How can you say no to toRobin Shine. I don't think anyone
can. And it sounds like you'vegot such an amazing day plan for all
(26:40):
of us who want to participate.And is there a cost to this?
And if so, where do peoplefind out more information about everything? Yes,
they can go straight to our conferencewebsite, which is www. She
Shines conference dot com. There isa cause. And I'm going to put
this out here. I know myboy is going to kill me, but
(27:03):
I'm going to put this out hereand I get this from my dad right
to help as many people as Ipossibly can. Right, So, if
anyone who is listening and they reallyreally really would like to attend, I'm
going to make this appeal and sayto that young lady, the seasoned woman
(27:27):
who's listening, or the adult woman, if you're listening you really want to
attend this conference, I want youto call me. I want I'm getting
teary eyed. I'm sorry. Sincemy heart this is my mission. So
I want to bless people who blessedme. You know I've been blessed.
(27:48):
I'm alive thanks to my family andmy village and my boss and church family.
So this is just my way ofgiving back. I'll just have to
trust God how I'm gona get allthe Well, let me tell you,
yes, please call me and thenumber to call is two sixth seven three
(28:08):
two eight forty five ninety two.That's two sixty seven three two eight forty
five ninety two. Well, thisevent is happening. You don't want to
miss it. It is absolutely uplifting, empowering, and she Shines is a
(28:29):
perfect way to describe it. Youshine in so many ways and you really
bring a lot of love and lightto the world. Robinshine Maddox, founder
of Celebrating Sisterhood and the convenor ofthis She Shines Conference Saturday, November fourth,
from nine am to four pm atNew Covenant Church of Philadelphia, seventy
five hundred Germantown Avenue in Mount Airy. And once again, what is that
(28:53):
website? The website is www dotshe Shine conference dot com. Fantastic.
Well, before we go, Ido have to know the last time I
saw you at the conference, youhad the most unbelievable sneakers going on.
They were so bliney. I meanI was blinded. Are you planning on
(29:15):
something equally spectacular this year? Youknow what, It's funny you should mention
that because last night I was thinkingabout what I'm going to wear, and
I pulled out my sneakers. Isaid, you know what, I'm going
to continue and so I will havesome blamed out. She shines, a
sneaker to wear, So, yes, I certainly will. I think that's
(29:37):
the signature of my outfit. Yeah, you are my sneaker role model.
Robin Shine. Thank you for everythingthat you do, the contributions that you
make to women, to our community, and we hope to see folks out
there checking it out the conference again. She shines November fourth, from nine
(29:59):
am to four pm at New CovenantChurch of Philadelphia, seventy five hundred Germantown
Avenue. Thank you so much,Robin. Thank you Loraine for the opportunity
hope to say you. You canlisten to all of today's interviews by going
to our station website and typing inkeyword Community. You can also listen on
the iHeartRadio app Keyword Lorraine with oneR. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram
(30:19):
at Lorraine Ballard. I'm Lorraine Ballard. Morel and I stand for service to
our community and media that empowers.What will you stand for? You've been
listening to insight and thank you
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