The Gap Minders

The Gap Minders

The show taking the lead on catalytic conversations spurring listeners to think critically about some of our world’s most pressing issues and be compelled to take action. We have plenty of gaps in America and right here in San Diego—educational, racial, wealth, health, literacy, and more. Welcome to The Gap Minders, the podcast taking on these GAPS—one conversation at a time. To tackle these gaps and lift lives, United Way of San Diego County and the San Diego Council on Literacy have joined forces. The Gap Minders weekly episodes will inform, inspire, and illuminate the gaps and the solutions. Through insightful conversations with a range of notable and engaging guests, including education experts, political figures dedicated to improving our region, and influential changemakers passionate about equity for all children and families, we will make a difference. Thank you for your time, attention, heart, and mind.

Episodes

September 18, 2023 34 mins
In this excellent episode, Nancy and Jose are joined in the studio by Walter Philips, the CEO of San Diego Youth Services. San Diego Youth Services was founded in 1970 by John Whittemier and his wife. John, a graduate student of the Master's in Social Work program, saw the need to provide shelter to homeless youth in San Diego and opened his own home as the city's first runaway and homeless shelter. Over the years, San Diego Youth ...
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In this excellent episode, Nancy and Jose are joined in the studio by Tamara Craver, the CEO of Reality Changers.

Reality Changers is an organization dedicated to helping first-generation students become first-generation college graduates. Listen as Tamara explains that they primarily work with students starting in the 8th grade who often have lower GPAs. Their goal is to provide support, mentorship, and resources to help these stud...
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In this episode's great conversation, Nancy and Jose are joined by Ed Becerra, the Founder of Education Begins In The Home, a non-profit started in 2015 to improve latino literacy by providing free books to familes. Eight years later, they have provided free books to over 54,000 children! Fueled by a belief that opening a book changes lives. To say the least, Ed is a man of passion and commitment.

Known as the "Book Man of North ...
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In this episode's great conversation, Nancy and Jose are joined by Sara Boquin, the CEO of the nationally renowned Barrio Logan College Institute. BLCI has created a college readiness model that has positive, proven outcomes in enrolling students in college and helping them be successful while there. To date, 100% of BLCI students enroll in college. A statistic like that is almost impossible to achieve given the social and economic...
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In this special episode celebrating books, Nancy and Jose are joined by Dorcy Rose, the Manager of Events & Programming, and Fiona Leung, the Director of Events, for the San Diego Union- Tribune. Dorcy and Fiona joined the show to discuss the upcoming Festival of Books on August 19th at the University of San Diego.

During the episode you'll hear about the over 80 local and national authors appearing live and virtually at the ...
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In another excellent episode focused on food insecurity, Nancy and Jose are joined by Vince Hall, the Chief Government Relations Officer for Feeding America. As Chief Government Relations Officer, Vince Hall leads the development and execution of Feeding America’s public policy, legislative and advocacy strategies to empower communities and improve food security. He helps lead efforts to end hunger by advocating for policy changes,...
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In this excellent episode, Nancy and Jose are joined in the studio by Jen Nation, the Executive Director of Olivewood Gardens and Learning Center.

Hear Jen talk about the importance of maintaining good health and environmental stewardship. Jen shares how the organization's programs, such as Cooking for Salud and Kitchenistas, have had a positive impact on the community. Cooking for Salud is an eight-week program teaching healthy eat...
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In this important episode on hunger, Nancy and Jose are joined in the studio by Casey Castillo, the CEO of The Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank, the largest hunger-relief organization in San Diego County. Casey, who has been with this essential social impact organization since 2008, led the team last year to the distribution of over 44 million pounds of food and service to 400,000 people per month in San Diego County.

An ex...
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In this eye and ear opening episode, Nancy and Jose are joined in the studio by Anahid Brakke, the President & CEO of the San Diego Hunger Coalition.

Hunger isn't visible. That one point from Anahid is powerful. And it's a point that helps drive the mission of the San Diego Hunger Coalition.

Started in 1974 by concerned citizens, the San Diego Hunger Coalition serves as behind-the-scenes backbone organization supporting man...
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In this excellent episode, Nancy and Jose are joined in the studio by Vino Pajanor, the CEO of Catholic Charities Diocese of San Diego.

Hear Vino discuss a book that impacted him heavily which was, Mahatma Gandhi's autobiography, "The Story of My Experiments with Truth." This read taught him about the evolving nature of truth and inspiring his work. Vino then shares his journey at Catholic Charities, a 103-year-old organization that...
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In this excellent episode, Nancy and Jose are joined in the studio by Sean Spear, President and CEO at Community HousingWorks. Hear Sean discuss childhood memories of memorizing and reciting literature and his background and experience in acting classes and how it helped him with presentations.

The Community HousingWorks focuses on providing affordable housing and resident services. These services include education programs for chil...
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In this excellent episode, Nancy and Jose are joined in the studio by Stacey Roberts, the Founder of Stacey Roberts Entertains Kids.

Throughout his career, Stacey has had several mentors who have steered him toward the place he is now. Hear Stacey talk about the impact that each one of these people had on his life. Each one of these people instilled in him lessons in the importance of self-respect, adaptability, perseverance, and de...
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In this excellent episode, Nancy and Jose are joined in the studio by Jessica Baron, the Founder, and Executive Director of Guitars and Ukes In The Classroom. Guitars and Ukes in the Classroom is a non-profit organization that aims to blend different areas of education with music.

One of the missions of Guitars and Ukes in the Classroom is to bring music and the ability to play music to everyone. Recognizing that music is so import...
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In this excellent episode, Nancy and Jose are joined in the studio by Emily Moberly, the Founder, and CEO of Traveling Stories. Traveling Stories is a non-profit organization that aims to spread the passion for reading to children not only in San Diego but also all over the world.

Emily grew up loving books. Even before she could read, she always wanted to stay up later to keep reading. When Emily went to teach English in Honduras a...
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In yet another stellar episode, Nancy and Jose are joined in the studio by Todd Tibbits, the President and CEO of the YMCA of San Diego County. With 31 years of service to the YMCA, Todd became the CEO in 2021, joining what he referred to as the "jackpot" of YMCAs. We learn a great deal from Todd, from the formation of the YMCA in 1844 in London, England, to the evolution of the YMCA here in San Diego.

In Todd's typically atypical ...
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In this excellent episode, Nancy and Jose are joined in the studio by Ed Hidalgo, the Chief Innovation and Engagement Officer at the Cajon Valley Union School District. As a part of his position, Ed's main responsibility is to help other districts integrate career development frameworks similar to the one pioneered by the Cajon Valley Union School District (CVUSD). CVUSD created its framework based on a theory of change and action ...
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In this excellent episode, Nancy and Jose are joined in the studio by Nora Briggs, the Executive Director of the Dollywood Foundation. The Dollywood Foundation is a non-profit organization that was created by Dolly Parton. One of the programs that the foundation runs is called the imagination library which aims to spread the love of reading to kids under the age of five.

Inspired by her father who couldn't read, Dolly Parton created...
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In this excellent episode, Nancy and Jose are joined in the studio by Reem Zubaidi, the co-facilitator of the San Diego Refugee Communities Coalition. Made up of 12 member organizations serving a variety of refugee communities, the San Diego Refugee Communities Coalition aims to address gaps for refugees and new immigrants.

Hear Reem talk about some of the biggest gaps in refugee communities like lack of health services, lack of tru...
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In this excellent episode, Nancy and Jose are joined in the studio by Sitara Sethi, the CEO of the Foundation for Developmental Disabilities. Starting in 1986, the Foundation for Developmental Disabilities has always worked towards helping those with developmental disabilities. In the past 10 years, they have shifted more towards a nonprofit model to help grow services for those with developmental disabilities.

What exactly is a dev...
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In this excellent episode, Nancy and Jose are joined in the studio by Monica Emery, the Executive Director at the Center for World Music. The Center for World Music is an organization that aims to bring musicians to audiences, reaching as many people of all backgrounds as possible. They recognize that there are many musicians in the community who are masters of their craft and who can share their culture and talents through their m...
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