![Let’s Hear It](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/4298474/square_no_animationb1vu1.jpg)
Welcome to Let’s Hear It, a podcast about foundation and nonprofit communications (among other things), hosted by non-relatives Eric Brown and Kirk Brown. Let’s Hear It is sponsored through generous contributions from the College Futures Foundation, the Lumina Foundation, the Prebys Foundation, and the Stupski Foundation. On Let’s Hear It, Kirk and Eric speak with leaders in the field about who they are, what makes them tick, and how they think about their work.
Episodes
![Esteban Gast, Climate Comedian - Yes, You Read That Right](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog4298474/esteban-gast-headshot-2_quwzip_300x300.jpg)
Monday Jul 15, 2024
Esteban Gast, Climate Comedian - Yes, You Read That Right
Monday Jul 15, 2024
Monday Jul 15, 2024
Sometimes it's okay to take a moment away from the massive challenges and simply laugh. Thanks to Esteban Gast and the organization he works for, Generation 180, we can even laugh about climate. Well, actually, Esteban helps us better understand how we can take actions that matter, understand that we're not alone, and have a little fun along the way.
Eric and Esteban giggle, chortle, and guffaw through this episode, reminding us all that there are SO many ways to communicate and not all of them involve PowerPoint and statistics.
![ComNet24 is Coming! - With Sean Gibbons, Carrie Clyne, and Tristan Mohabir](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog4298474/Presentation1_j4siat_300x300.jpg)
Wednesday Jun 26, 2024
ComNet24 is Coming! - With Sean Gibbons, Carrie Clyne, and Tristan Mohabir
Wednesday Jun 26, 2024
Wednesday Jun 26, 2024
We are so excited about ComNet24 in Kansas City!
When Sean Gibbons joined the Communications Network as its new leader a decade ago, he was tasked with leading an organization with 400 members and a staff of, um, himself and a ham sandwich. Today, the Network boasts over 4,000 members and a team of eight, reflecting Sean's infectious enthusiasm and vision for bringing communications professionals together.
And together we’ll be – in Kansas City from October 16-18.
Sean joins Chief of Staff Tristan Mohabir and VP of Community Carrie Clyne to talk with Eric about why ComNet 24 in Kansas City this October is a can't-miss event. They remind us how crucial in-person connections are in our increasingly digital world, and while they're at it, they showcase the innovative ways the Network is fostering community year-round through local groups, online Circles, and a bustling Slack workspace.
And stick around for a special opportunity to win dinner with Eric at a storied Kansas City steakhouse! Not kidding!
![Suzanne Ehlers of USA for UNHCR Gives Us Hope on World Refugee Day](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog4298474/suzannepr-800x800_24ik4t_300x300.jpg)
Monday Jun 10, 2024
Suzanne Ehlers of USA for UNHCR Gives Us Hope on World Refugee Day
Monday Jun 10, 2024
Monday Jun 10, 2024
As we approach World Refugee Day, it’s so good to know that there are people like Suzanne Ehlers who are making an extraordinary difference and people’s lives and providing real hope for the future.
Suzanne is the Executive Director and CEO of USA for UNHCR, a nonprofit organization that supports the United Nations Refugee Agency. It helps raise awareness and makes funds available to aid refugees around the world, providing them with the resources and support they need to rebuild their lives after being forced to flee their homes due to conflict, persecution, or disaster.
Previously, Suzanne was CEO of Malala Fund, and before that she was President and CEO of Population Action International. She speaks with Eric about how she parlayed her temp job at the Wallace Global Fund to a career that led to her being named CEO of an organization that aims to raise a billion dollars over the next ten years.
Suzanne speaks with Eric about how she uses storytelling to inspire empathy for the millions of refugees in some 40 crisis hotspots around the globe who desperately need our help.
Oh, and she also happens to be fun, funny, and fabulous.
We hope you enjoy this really delightful conversation as much as we did.
![Fatima Angeles of the Levi Strauss Foundation Challenges Foundations to Fund their Partners "Like We Want Them to Win"](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog4298474/Fatima-Headshot_zv3ef7_300x300.jpg)
Monday May 27, 2024
Monday May 27, 2024
A huge thank you to Fatima Angeles, the Executive Director of the Levi Strauss Foundation, for joining us on the latest episode of Let’s Hear It. Fatima talks with Eric about the Levi Strauss Foundation's groundbreaking work in areas like reproductive justice, worker rights, immigrant rights, and democracy.
Fatima discusses her 24-year tenure at Cal Wellness, where she gained invaluable experience in strategic grantmaking, evaluation, and program direction under foundation legends Judy Belk and Gary Yates. She reflects on how these roles prepared her for leading a very different kind of corporate foundation.
She chats with Eric about about the essential role of communications in philanthropy, the need for reducing administrative burdens (although she calls them "shenanigans"), and the importance of making sure that we fund organizations “like we want them to win.”
Tune in to hear Fatima's inspiring story and learn how the Levi Strauss Foundation is setting a new standard for corporate philanthropy.
![Inside Philanthropy’s David Callahan Gets All Carrot-y Stick-y With It](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog4298474/david_callahan_photo_afpsmm_300x300.jpg)
Monday May 13, 2024
Inside Philanthropy’s David Callahan Gets All Carrot-y Stick-y With It
Monday May 13, 2024
Monday May 13, 2024
Eleven years ago, David Callahan launched a most audacious project – a new publication that was going to get under the hood of philanthropy (to borrow from that great philosopher, Ross Perot) and expose the good, the bad, and the meh.
Some folks chortled, some scoffed, and some cast their eyes heavenward in the hope that he would shed a little light on the seemingly byzantine and obscure world of philanthropy.
Well, friends, Inside Philanthropy is bigger, better, and badder than ever and David speaks with us in a funny, fascinating, and terrifically candid conversation about the promise and perils of a sector that by some accounts represents a half a trillion dollars in annual giving. Think about that for a minute, then tune in to our latest episode of Let’s Hear It.
![Heather McGhee Talks About the Amazing Future that the Multiracial Governing Coalition Will Bring](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog4298474/heather_mcghee_photo_2rdp7h_300x300.jpg)
Tuesday Apr 30, 2024
Tuesday Apr 30, 2024
Join us for a truly extraordinary conversation with the amazing Heather McGhee, the author of The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together.
Heather exposes the lie of so-called zero-sum thinking—where one person's gain is seen as another's loss—and flips it on its head by explaining how diverse coalitions can produce a solidarity dividend that makes things better for everyone.
Heather is warm, funny, and just plain brilliant and we are so grateful to her for speaking with us on an episode that we promise you will love.
![Robert Pérez and the Genius of Upstairs, Downstairs](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog4298474/Robert-Perez_high-res-crop_ypp32t_300x300.jpg)
Monday Apr 15, 2024
Robert Pérez and the Genius of Upstairs, Downstairs
Monday Apr 15, 2024
Monday Apr 15, 2024
We’ve been doing this show for a while, and every so often the pieces just elegantly slide into place. In thirtyish minutes, Robert Pérez does this for us. Robert is the founder and Chief Exploration Officer of Wonder: Strategies for Good, a network of experts in messaging, storytelling, psychology and public-opinion research that works with foundations, nonprofits, activists, and advocates to advance progressive causes across the country and around the world.
Wonder has an incredibly exciting framework for message and strategy, called Heartwired, which helps communicators understand how to connect people’s emotions, values, beliefs, identity, and experiences to help bring about change from the inside out. It helps us understand how the “downstairs brain,” which is emotional and reactive, relates to the “upstairs brain”, which is thoughtful and empathetic. Instead of telling people what to think, he helps organizations connect with their audiences on a deeper level to make progress on challenging social issues.
It is a truly amazing conversation that helps us better understand the deep connections between strategy, narrative, messaging, and movement building. Enjoy!
![Kristen Grimm of Spitfire Strategies Takes on the Trust Challenge](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog4298474/kristen_grimm_6scgn4_300x300.jpg)
Monday Apr 01, 2024
Kristen Grimm of Spitfire Strategies Takes on the Trust Challenge
Monday Apr 01, 2024
Monday Apr 01, 2024
Societies can’t thrive without sufficient levels of trust – trust in our elected officials, in our major institutions, the value of the dollar bill in our wallet, and even in our belief that our fellow motorists will abide by the traffic laws when we enter an intersection.
You know where this is going, don’t you? We have a trust problem that threatens every organization in our country. Kristen Grimm and her colleagues Claire De Leon, Michael Crawford, and Diana Chun at Spitfire Strategies have created a resource called Replenishing Trust: Civil Society’s Guide to Reversing the Trust Deficit™ that is designed to help organizations build trust at a time when it has never been more necessary.
Kristen speaks with Eric about why this matters, and more importantly, how to do it. This is another great resource from one of our field’s true visionaries.
![Chris DeCardy, the President of the Heinz Endowments, Convinces us that Pittsburgh is the Center of the Universe](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog4298474/Pres_Chris_DeCardy_image_credit_Josh_Franzos_for_The_Heinz_Endowments_528gyn_300x300.jpg)
Monday Mar 18, 2024
Monday Mar 18, 2024
When Chris DeCardy took the reins of the Heinz Endowments last year, he was one of the very few former foundation communications directors to ascend to the lofty heights of president. And Chris has dived in with the energy of a teenager. Indeed, if there is a more energetic – nay, ebullient – foundation president in the land, we haven’t met them.
Chris makes an extremely compelling case about how crucial western Pennsylvania is to our national and even international politics, and while he’s at it he reminds us how important intelligent communications strategies will be to build on important victories (like significant advances on climate, for one example).
Don’t miss this conversation between Eric and Chris, whose friendship dates back to the twentieth century, as they talk about how Chris’s background in journalism, environmental communications, and foundation leadership have led him to this place – the center of the universe!
![A Marriage Made in Heaven! - Elena Chavez Quezada of Gov. Newsom’s Office and Don Howard of the Irvine Foundation Talk Partnerships](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog4298474/how-philanthropy-can-partner-with-the-public-sector-to-build-equitable-infrastructure_full_image_fsfbre_300x300.jpg)
Monday Mar 04, 2024
Monday Mar 04, 2024
Governments have money and foundations can take risks. Shouldn’t these be marriages made in heaven? Amazingly they’re not, but in California, we’re starting to see partnerships that are bucking the trend, which can be spectacularly good examples of how to make great collaborations work.
On this episode of Let’s Hear It, Eric speaks with Elena Chavez Quezada, Senior Advisor for Social Innovation in the Office of California Governor Gavin Newsom, and Don Howard, president and CEO of The James Irvine Foundation, who are working together to create government/foundation partnerships that are making a real difference.
Don and Elena recently co-authored a piece for the Philanthropy News Digest called “How Philanthropy Can Partner with the Public Sector to Build Equitable Infrastructure,” which sets the stage for this really lively and fun discussion.
Check out this conversation that shows how governments and foundations can work together to unlock money, ideas, and energy for social good.
![Oscar Nominee John Hoffman Tackles the Racial Wealth Gap with his Amazing Film, “The Barber of Little Rock”](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog4298474/Barber_of_Little_Rock_movie_poster_rhz6vq_300x300.png)
Monday Feb 19, 2024
Monday Feb 19, 2024
Academy Award season is here, but while the rest of the world may be debating which half of the Barbenheimer phenomenon will take home the most trophies, at Let’s Hear It we’re putting all our chips on Best Documentary Short nominee “The Barber of Little Rock,” co-directed by Christine Turner and our dear friend John Hoffman.
Eric and John reunite to talk about the extraordinary film John has co-directed. They appeal to foundations to fund more documentary films, and they marvel at the movie’s amazing protagonist Arlo Washington as he opens a Community Development Financial Institution to create opportunities for members of his community.
Take a few minutes to watch this incredible story, produced in partnership with the New Yorker. You can find the 34-minute documentary on the New Yorker website and on YouTube. And if any of you happen to be members the Academy, well…you know what to do.
Please enjoy the film and the interview and let us know what you thought of The Barber of Little Rock!
![Ed Begley, Jr. and Eric Go Way Back](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog4298474/edbegley_300x300.jpg)
Monday Feb 05, 2024
Ed Begley, Jr. and Eric Go Way Back
Monday Feb 05, 2024
Monday Feb 05, 2024
In this episode of Let’s Hear It, our guest is none other than one of Hollywood’s most passionate and entertaining environmentalists – the amazing Ed Begley, Jr.
As it happens, Ed and Eric go way, way, back, having worked together in Hollywood in the last millennium.
Today, they’re both working in environmental communications, after a fashion, and Ed talks about how he was inspired to become an environmental activist on the first Earth Day in 1970, and how he has used his position as a celebrity to preach a message of sustainability ever since.
We also want to give a plug to his terrific new book, “To the Temple of Tranquility, And Step on It!” from Hachette Books. It’s a great story about a great life.
Ed is a funny, committed, optimistic, and incredibly gracious guest, and we can’t wait for you to listen to this episode.
![Anat Shenker-Osorio – The Magical Message Whisperer of Progressive Causes](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog4298474/anat_square_5snnf2_300x300.jpg)
Monday Jan 22, 2024
Anat Shenker-Osorio – The Magical Message Whisperer of Progressive Causes
Monday Jan 22, 2024
Monday Jan 22, 2024
We are so delighted to present the legendary Anat Shenker-Osorio. Yes, that’s right, that Anat Shenker-Osorio. Maybe you’ve heard her on Ezra Klein, MSNBC, on her excellent podcast Words to Win By, or read her work in the New York Times, the Guardian, and more. On our latest episode of Let’s Hear It, Anat goes deep on how to create messages that will help progressive causes succeed.
Anat is a political strategist and progressive messaging genius. She is founder and Principal of ASO Communications, author of Don’t Buy It: The Trouble with Talking Nonsense about the Economy, and host of the amazingly good podcast Words to Win By.
Her work on messaging and strategy across the globe is at once revolutionary and devastatingly simple, and she is using her gift for gab and sharp-as-a-tack snark to change how politicians, nonprofit leaders, foundation CEOs – and really, anyone with a cause – can use communications to achieve their goals. No easy feat, huh? Well, Anat does it so well that you’ll feel slightly dizzy after listening to her speak. Eric certainly was.
We know we say this every time, but this is a show that you simply must not miss. Please enjoy and then tell your friends, your colleagues, and your boss (as long as they’re cool with a little salty language).
![Don Chen of the Surdna Foundation Kicks off Season Six of Let’s Hear It](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog4298474/don_chen_photo_2_xiy8wn_300x300.jpg)
Monday Jan 08, 2024
Don Chen of the Surdna Foundation Kicks off Season Six of Let’s Hear It
Monday Jan 08, 2024
Monday Jan 08, 2024
How many of us in the nonprofit world can track our interest in climate to nightmares we had about natural disasters at age ten? Anyone? Oh, right, just Don Chen, President of the Surdna Foundation, former director of the Cities and States program at the Ford Foundation, former CEO (and founder!) of Smart Growth America, and this week’s guest on Let’s Hear It.
Don is a fabulous guest to start our new year and sixth season – he is uncommonly thoughtful, optimistic, and soulful, and his ideas on how to run a foundation will have you filling notebooks. Eric and Don put their heads together to discuss how to combine trust-based and strategic philanthropy without having to find a magic wand, what Don learned from being a CEO at age 30, and lots more.
By the way, we are so happy to welcome Don – and you! – to our sixth season of Let’s Hear It. Thank you all, from the bottom of our hearts, for five wonderful years of listening, learning, and building connections in this vast and exciting field. We hope you enjoy this new season, and if you do, please continue to like, follow, and spread the word.
![Holiday Re-Release - Shanelle Matthews of the Radical Communicators Network](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog4298474/Shanelle_cropped_cxra43_300x300.jpg)
Thursday Dec 28, 2023
Holiday Re-Release - Shanelle Matthews of the Radical Communicators Network
Thursday Dec 28, 2023
Thursday Dec 28, 2023
Here is another one of our favorite interviews - Shanelle Matthews, founder of the Radical Communicators Network, former communications director for the Movement for Black Lives, and now Distinguished Lecturer at the Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership at City College at the City University of New York.
Shanelle is simply amazing and we loved this conversation.
![Holiday re-release - the Great Jim Canales](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog4298474/square_crop_ptws92_300x300.jpg)
Friday Dec 22, 2023
Holiday re-release - the Great Jim Canales
Friday Dec 22, 2023
Friday Dec 22, 2023
Today, we offer another one of our favorite interviews - a blast from the past with the inimitable Jim Canales, President and Trustee of the Barr Foundation. Jim is charming, funny, and one of they absolute nicest people in philanthropy. If you didn't get a chance to hear this conversation the first time, you're in for a treat.
![Holiday re-release Trabian Shorters!](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog4298474/trabian-shorters_zgzev4_300x300.jpg)
Tuesday Dec 19, 2023
Holiday re-release Trabian Shorters!
Tuesday Dec 19, 2023
Tuesday Dec 19, 2023
This holiday season we're re-releasing some of our favorite and most popular episodes. Today - Trabian Shorters, one of our leading thinkers on asset framing - defining people by what they're hopes and dreams and what they have to offer. He has been such an important influence on so many of us.
![Alison Smart is Changing How We Talk About Climate Change](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog4298474/AlisonSmart-headshot_ktsha7_300x300.jpg)
Tuesday Dec 12, 2023
Alison Smart is Changing How We Talk About Climate Change
Tuesday Dec 12, 2023
Tuesday Dec 12, 2023
In our latest episode, we offer a fascinating conversation with Alison Smart, the Executive Director of Probable Futures - a nonprofit climate literacy initiative. Alison shares her organization's approach to democratizing climate science, making climate predictions accessible, and providing practical educational resources for anyone, anywhere, for free.
Eric and Alison discuss how we can better tackle the grand challenge of climate change, the role of local governments, and how we have to stop raising awareness already. Alison also reminds us that we can still do well in a changing climate and that our planet is still way better than Mars!
Check out this conversation – we learned a ton about how to communicate about climate and we’ll bet that you do too.
![Larry Kramer’s Hewlett Foundation Exit Interview](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog4298474/Larry_Kramer_headshot_1400_a2r6n2_300x300.jpg)
Monday Nov 27, 2023
Larry Kramer’s Hewlett Foundation Exit Interview
Monday Nov 27, 2023
Monday Nov 27, 2023
When Larry Kramer announced recently that he was leaving the Hewlett Foundation to run the London School of Economics, it marked the end of an extraordinarily productive tenure as the head of one of the world’s largest and most influential charitable foundations.
In Larry’s nearly twelve years at Hewlett, he helped lead a new era of climate philanthropy, and launched initiatives in transparency, cybersecurity, democracy, racial justice, and economy and society. The guy’s been busy.
He’s also candid, funny, and ridiculously smart. Five years after he last interviewed Larry (for the very first episode of Let’s Hear It) Eric made the pilgrimage to Menlo Park to speak with his former boss about what went right and what went wrong during his time at the foundation, as well as his thoughts on the state of philanthropy, foundation communications, democracy, and, of course, the Beatles.
You *seriously* don’t want to miss this episode with one of the field’s most expansive thinkers.
![Jen Carnig, the Brand-Spanking-New Head of Spitfire Strategies](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog4298474/jen_carnig_photo_z59f5n_300x300.jpeg)
Monday Nov 13, 2023
Jen Carnig, the Brand-Spanking-New Head of Spitfire Strategies
Monday Nov 13, 2023
Monday Nov 13, 2023
As the new president of the groundbreaking consulting firm Spitfire Strategies, Jen Carnig, who succeeds the legendary Kristen Grimm, might feel a little like whoever takes Megan Rapinoe’s place. It might seem a little daunting and very hard on your hamstrings, but think of the possibilities! Jen may have big shoes to fill, but she’s obviously ready to get busy.
A champion strategist in the areas of advocating for police accountability, community safety, human rights, and exposing the perils of artificial intelligence, Jen has big plans for Spitfire. In addition to her impressive resume, she clearly has the people skills for the job. She is uncommonly kind, thoughtful, and deeply committed, and Jen chats with Eric about the power of listening, how communications is really about relationships, and how hard Spitfire works so that its clients can succeed in their work. Please join her and Eric as they go deep on how to use communications for good.