Interested in becoming skillful at realizing Just Transition in your community? If so, Julika von Stackelberg is someone you want to know. On this episode of The Good Work Hour, Terri and Susan talk with Julika, who is launching her newly developed Master Community Builder Program this year through the Cornell Cooperative Extension Orange County. The 10-month program introduces and guides participants to apply concepts that create the conditions for resilience and regenerative well-being. (Join the info session on January 19th!)

Julika von Stackelberg is a credentialed parenting educator and certified parenting coach who focuses on building resilient communities that regenerate well-being as the Family & Community Resilience Educator at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Orange County. Julika facilitates workshops and training for parents, professionals, and community members related to creating nurturing environments and building communities of belonging. Julika co-chairs the Orange County Parenting Coalition and spearheads the Orange County Resilience Project, and she is part of the statewide Resilience Coalition Steering Committee.

Julika holds a BA in African Studies and Development Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London and a Master’s degree in Social Justice and Community Organizing from Prescott College. As a current Ph.D. student in Sustainability Education at Prescott College, AZ, she researches social imaginaries as tools for the transition toward resilience and regenerative communities.

Cceorangecounty.org

The full GWI team (including Caitlin!) co-hosts this end-of-year episode, sharing favorite songs, family traditions, and holiday wishes.

Amanda Cassiday and Chris Woehrle met at GWI’s Rooted Resources festival in May. A short time later, inspired with an idea for an online moneyless marketplace designed to build in-person community, the two collaborated to create Engather, a place where human connections replace cash transactions. On this episode of The Good Work Hour, they join co-hosts Terri and Helene to discuss the meaning of “gift economy”, what we’ve lost by reducing many community-based interactions into financial transactions, and how Engather seeks to be a place where a thriving culture of mutual support grows.

It wasn’t until Amanda Cassiday (she/her) lived in a rural village in Burkina Faso that she experienced the resilient power of community, and learned that positive, abundant outcomes are not possible without cultivating the conditions that allow individuals, teams, and communities to thrive. For 15 years, this approach has been a driving force in Amanda’s personal and professional life, from facilitating a woman-led microfinance group in Takaledougou that continues to operate since 2009, to leading design teams responsible for some of the most successful launches in Johnson & Johnson’s history, bringing purpose and consumer needs to the heart of strategy & innovation. She is also a maker, a student of gardening and permaculture, and a mentor and investor to entrepreneurs.

Chris Woehrle (he/him) is a digital product designer, business founder, and community gardener/organizer. In 2010, he paused his design career to found & run a successful natural foods business. His current focus is finding ways to connect people through meaningful community projects. He also likes to grow vegetables, cook, and build things with wood and stone.

Website: Engather

Hosted by Susan and Terri

In October 2020, our guests recognized the need to address and dismantle systemic racist practices throughout the Arlington Central School District. These two parents of students in the District joined with others and OnPAR (Arlington Partners Against Racism) was born. Our guests share their stories of how this grassroots organization was catalyzed and its many successful initiatives which have branched out to influence other school districts throughout Dutchess County. They also share wisdom from their experience of being committed anti-racist activists. For them, this work is emotional, all in, and ongoing. While it requires a constant push, it also includes moments of possibility, meaning, beauty and joy.    

As a Senior Manager and Notary Public at Dutchess Outreach, Nyhisha Gibbs serves as the “Chief Operating Officer” as she vets, coordinates, and schedules over 1,000 volunteers annually to serve and support Dutchess Outreach’s programs. A native of East New York, Brooklyn, she resides in the Mid-Hudson Valley with her spouse and four sons. Nyhisha earned a BA in Political Science from North Carolina State University in Raleigh and her Master of Public Administration from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in NYC. Nyhisha serves as a member of a number of community organizations.

Eva Woods Peiró is Professor of Hispanic Studies at Vassar College whose teaching and research focus on Iberian and Latin American film and media. Her campus-community work has involved chairing the Engaged Pluralism’s working group, “Bridging Local and Global Communities”; organizing Undoing Racism workshops; teaching Building Inclusive Communities with Latinx Poughkeepsie; working with and serving as a Board of Directors member for Conversations Unbound; co-founding the Poughkeepsie-Oaxaca City Friendship Committee Initiative; and committing herself to ongoing education around racial literacy, Intergroup Dialogue, racially just and equitable spaces, and most recently, the Arc of White Womanhood.

OnPAR

Many decisions we make personally, and collectively as a community, effect how well we will be able to sustain ourselves and our planet over the long term. At The O Zone in Red Hook, community members have the opportunity to learn about community-based and personal options for engaging in sustainability practices, whether through The O Zone’s bulk-refill store, Community Compost CSA program, or product-making workshops. On this episode of The Good Work Hour, Amelia Legare, the founder of the  O Zone shares her journey of establishing a business grounded in partnerships, love of community, and care for the planet.

Amelia Legare owns and operates a plastic-free, bulk-refill market & sustainability center called The O Zone. It is located in the open nature of the Hudson Valley, on Pitcher Lane in Red Hook. The O Zone brings together sustainability, health and education. Amelia has worked toward creating a space for the community to make healthy lifestyle choices, to exchange ideas of how to live in harmony with nature instead of at the expense of it, and welcomes everyone to contribute during a time when we need to protect our environment more than ever. Through The O Zone’s many services & offerings, she hopes to inspire & incentivize sustainable action within her growing community.

Website: theozonehv.com

IG: @theozonecenter

FB: theozonehv