Ready: Leaders to Know, with Bill Graves

Bill Graves
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Ready: Leaders to Know, with Bill Graves

Welcome to ‘Ready: Leaders to Know’ My name is Bill Graves and for almost 10 years now, I’ve led my family’s foundation, working with nonprofits, electeds and leaders making a difference in the Twin Cities. I’ve been moved by their stories - every one unique, but all sharing a common theme of stepping into the unknown. How do everyday people, our neighbors and friends, step up to help us navigate challenging times–how do they learn and hone leadership skills? With ‘Ready: Leaders to Know,’ I’ll bring those stories to you.

  1. Erin Murphy

    11/26/2024

    Erin Murphy

    For today’s podcast, Bill is joined live at Metro State’s Great Hall by Minnesota State Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy.  A past Executive Director of the Minnesota Nurses Association, Erin was selected as the Senate Majority Leader in February of 2024, after the health-related resignation of Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic. They discuss Erin’s time growing up in Wisconsin, what she learned as a surgical nurse, and how navigating the health care system on behalf of her ailing mother helped her find her ‘why’ to enter political life.

    35 min
  2. Hamse Warfa

    11/19/2024

    Hamse Warfa

    Today on the podcast, Bill talks live with Hamse Warfa, best selling author, U.S. presidential appointee and Somali refugee. This conversation takes place at the International Institute of Minnesota, in celebration of the launch of Hamse’s second book The Transformational Leader: Twelve Practices for Driving Lasting Change. They discuss how his family helped shape his approach to leadership, his path from refugee camp to presidential appointee, and his reflections on leadership at the non-profit, state, and national level.

    24 min
  3. Williametta “Piso” Saydee-Tarr

    11/12/2024

    Williametta “Piso” Saydee-Tarr

    In this episode of "Ready: Leaders to Know," we’ll meet Williametta Piso Saydee-Tarr. Piso shares her fascinating journey from her childhood in Liberia, through civil war and her experiences as a refugee to her work as the Deputy National Campaign Manager on Media and Communications for Candidate George Weah in the 2017 Liberian Presidential Election and her appointment as Minister of Gender, Children & Social Protection.

    51 min
  4. Shannon Glenn

    11/05/2024

    Shannon Glenn

    On this episode of "Ready: Leaders to Know," Bill talks to Shannon Glenn about her work to keep people and pets together. Shannon has been a long time advocate of pet-friendly shelter policies, helping people who are experiencing homelessness stay connected to pets that are often a key source of connection and comfort. She learned leadership from her mother, a nurse who worked on behalf of patients and caregivers. Shannon exercises that leadership in her current role as executive director of My Pit Bull is Family, working with families to push back on restrictive pet policies in rental housing.

    21 min
  5. Ben Goldfarb

    10/29/2024

    Ben Goldfarb

    On this episode of "Ready: Leaders to Know," Bill’s guest is Ben Goldfarb. Ben’s leadership journey began with his parents’ commitment to civic advocacy and activism and continued through his discovery of “organizing” as a field. His organizing has spanned work with indigenous communities in Montana to election campaigns in Ireland. He’s run the Klobuchar campaign and Wellstone Action and is currently working with the McKnight Foundation and excited about their bold shifts on climate and democracy.

    37 min
  6. Beirut Abafogi

    10/22/2024

    Beirut Abafogi

    On this episode, Bill talks with Beirut Abafogi, Director of Operations at the Senator Klobuchar for MN campaign office. Beirut’s journey to leadership was guided by a family that valued education. Her father led schools in Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia, and encouraged his daughter in her pursuit of law school, laying a foundation for her future work advocating for women’s rights in Saudi Arabia, at the United Nations Human Rights Agency, and finally in political organizing and campaign management in the US.

    33 min
  7. Shannon Watson

    10/15/2024

    Shannon Watson

    On this episode of "Ready: Leaders to Know," Bill talks with Shannon Watson. As the oldest daughter of the chief of police in Wichita, KS, and the founder of Wichita Women’s magazine who were in a bi-partisan marriage, Shannon says she learned bi-partisanship at the dinner table. In recent years that experience inspired her to found Majority in the Middle, an organization that brings people of different political persuasions together for conversation, highlighting where we overlap and agree.

    37 min
  8. Sumair Sheikh

    10/08/2024

    Sumair Sheikh

    In this episode, Bill speaks with Sumair Sheikh, Executive Director of LISC Duluth. As the son of Indian and Pakistani immigrants, Sumair’s family found community in the upper Midwest. Sumair studied biology but ultimately decided to become a teacher and taught in classrooms in Michigan, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Minnesota. He became involved in education policy, advocating for teachers of color in Minnesota public schools. His degree in public policy led him to his current position as Executive Director of LISC Duluth and leading their efforts in community development.

    31 min
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About

Welcome to ‘Ready: Leaders to Know’ My name is Bill Graves and for almost 10 years now, I’ve led my family’s foundation, working with nonprofits, electeds and leaders making a difference in the Twin Cities. I’ve been moved by their stories - every one unique, but all sharing a common theme of stepping into the unknown. How do everyday people, our neighbors and friends, step up to help us navigate challenging times–how do they learn and hone leadership skills? With ‘Ready: Leaders to Know,’ I’ll bring those stories to you.

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