Voices That Propel Us: Stories of Justice, Action, and Community

Danise Sugita

Voices That Propel Us: Stories of Justice, Action, and Community is where justice meets action and community voices rise. In each episode, we spotlight changemakers, disruptors, and everyday heroes working at the frontlines of equity and liberation. Through powerful storytelling and candid conversations, we explore what it means to build a more just world—together. This isn’t just a podcast; it’s a call to listen deeply, learn boldly, and move in solidarity. The music for this podcast was provided by Steven Cong and the artwork was provided by Kimberly Li.

  1. Rising Beyond Expectations: Kenneth Kunken on Ability, Advocacy, and Leadership

    1D AGO

    Rising Beyond Expectations: Kenneth Kunken on Ability, Advocacy, and Leadership

    Ken Kunken broke his neck playing football for Cornell University in 1970, leaving him almost totally paralyzed from the shoulders down. After a lengthy hospitalization, Ken returned to Cornell where he completed his undergraduate degree in engineering. Ken then earned a Master of Arts degree at Cornell in education, as well as a Master of Education degree at Columbia University in psychology. Ken became a nationally certified rehabilitation counselor. He worked for more than two years at Abilities Inc., where he provided vocational and placement counseling to severely disabled individuals. Wanting to accomplish still more, Ken enrolled in Hofstra University’s School of Law. Ken then worked for more than 40 years as a Nassau County assistant district attorney, where he became a Deputy Bureau Chief. Ken is married and the father of triplet boys. “I Dream of Things That Never Were: The Ken Kunken Story” was published in 2023. Want to be a guest on Voices That Propel Us: Stories of Justice, Action, and Community? Send Danise Sugita a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1763751693205864f9876416e

    43 min
  2. Amani Roberts on R&B as Resilience, Memory, and Collective Power

    6D AGO

    Amani Roberts on R&B as Resilience, Memory, and Collective Power

    Amani Roberts,award-winning music business professor, international keynote speaker and global performer, is a renowned DJ, entrepreneur,, and USA Today’s best-selling author of “The Quiet Storm.” and “DJs Mean Business”. With over 30 years in hospitality and 17 years in the music industry, he’s worked with global brands like Marriott, 7-11, Calendly, and Chartmetric while generating millions of dollars in revenue. A sought-after speaker and co-host of the podcast Adventures in Business, Amani inspires professionals to unlock creativity, take risks, and remain resilient. His expertise has been featured in Forbes, People Magazine, NBC, and Yahoo! Finance. Want to be a guest on Voices That Propel Us: Stories of Justice, Action, and Community? Send Danise Sugita a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1763751693205864f9876416e

    40 min
  3. From Carnival Owner to Accessibility Advocate: Maxwell Ivey’s (aka The Blind Blogger’s) Journey

    FEB 24

    From Carnival Owner to Accessibility Advocate: Maxwell Ivey’s (aka The Blind Blogger’s) Journey

    Known as The Blind Blogger, Maxwell Ivey is a serial online entrepreneur with almost 2 decades experience educating people about the need for and benefits of improving accessibility.  He has been working with clients for 5 years including serving as the accessibility advisor to PodMatch.  He has been published in Consumer Reports, writes a regular column for PHP Architect called Barrier Free Bytes, and regularly shares his knowledge with online publications.  He also has a great origin story of going from carnival owner to amusement park & carnival ride broker to life goals coach and to podcast guest booker before finding his perfect place in accessibility.  He can share the tools that have allowed him to keep going for so many years. Including inter-dependence, self-determination, determined positivity, honest story telling, and the value of continuing to move forward.  He has also overcome his fear of singing in public, and has written original songs which he often sings during his podcast, when being interviewed, or when doing public speaking.  As founder of The Accessibility Advantage his message is that accessibility isn't just about compliance. It's about reputation, innovation, and growth. Want to be a guest on Voices That Propel Us: Stories of Justice, Action, and Community? Send Danise Sugita a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1763751693205864f9876416e

    53 min
  4. Maya Lilly on Storytelling as a Catalyst for Climate Action

    FEB 19

    Maya Lilly on Storytelling as a Catalyst for Climate Action

    Maya Lilly is a producer, speaker, and climate storyteller leading The Years Project, the Emmy-winning media nonprofit redefining how the world understands climate change. With a background spanning documentary filmmaking, environmental science, and performance, Maya brings a rare blend of creative direction and scientific insight to climate communication. Her mission is bold and clear: to use storytelling as a catalyst for justice, empathy, and measurable climate action. Want to be a guest on Voices That Propel Us: Stories of Justice, Action, and Community? Send Danise Sugita a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1763751693205864f9876416e

    57 min
  5. Ben Zingos on Radical Theater, Living Wages, and Choosing People Over Profit

    FEB 17

    Ben Zingos on Radical Theater, Living Wages, and Choosing People Over Profit

    Ben Zingos (he/him) is a multidisciplinary theatre artist who studied at San Francisco State University where he earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s in Theatre Arts. His main focus is working in found spaces, using an immersive design methodology he codified during his thesis work, that asks designers to find real world spaces that naturally cry out for a specific play to be brought to life in them, inviting audiences to step into a new and unique theatrical experience with each production he mounts. He currently serves as the Executive Director of Space Pirates Theatre Collective, an L.A.-based nonprofit theatre that utilizes his methodology, and in 2026 will make history as the first American theatre to run a full season of plays in which all performances are radically affordable, while simultaneously paying all cast, creative, crew, and front of house staff a living wage. Want to be a guest on Voices That Propel Us: Stories of Justice, Action, and Community? Send Danise Sugita a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1763751693205864f9876416e

    55 min
  6. Justice in Practice: Leadership, Belonging, and Accountability with Melanie Buford

    FEB 12

    Justice in Practice: Leadership, Belonging, and Accountability with Melanie Buford

    Melanie Buford, Ph.D. (she/her) is a Harvard-trained author, consultant, and organizational social scientist. She is committed to making theory useful for leaders, teams, entrepreneurs, and individuals looking to make changes in their careers. She has worked for a variety of non-profits and universities, including University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, University of Cincinnati, Wesleyan University, Points of Light, Year Up United, and Education Pioneers. Melanie has published 2 books: Mapping the Future of Undergraduate Career Education (Routledge) - an international effort to evolve career preparation in higher education - and Beyond the Minor: How to Lead for Social Change. Her work has been featured on EdSurge, Puttylike, Truity, and Happen to Your Career. Melanie received the Kenneth B. Hoyt Career Education Practitioner Award and the Ralph W. Tyler Award for outstanding research and publication in career development. She earned her Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, and her Ed.M. in Human Development and Psychology from Harvard Graduate School of Education. Melanie began her career in public service in Northern California. Want to be a guest on Voices That Propel Us: Stories of Justice, Action, and Community? Send Danise Sugita a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1763751693205864f9876416e

    53 min
  7. Clifford Brown on Trust, Fragile Democracies, and the True Cost of Dismantling Foreign Aid

    FEB 11

    Clifford Brown on Trust, Fragile Democracies, and the True Cost of Dismantling Foreign Aid

    Clifford Brown graduated with honors from Whitman in Economics in 1972, having started in late 1967 but also having taken one year off between his sophomore and junior years. During that year, he worked for the Northern Pacific Railway, as a deckhand on a tugboat on the Columbia river, and as a clerk/typist on an USG oceanographic ship (of the Environmental Science Services Administration (ESSA), NOAA’s predecessor agency) that travelled from Seattle to Tahiti and various ports in South America. The latter experience prompted a lifelong interest in both international affairs and foreign languages. During his senior year, he thus applied for and won a Thomas Watson Fellowship. That allowed him to spend a full year in Latin America, in Central America and in Chile during the time leading up to the 1973 coup which overthrew Salvador Allende. He also learned Spanish well during that year, and would later become professionally fluent in Russian and French. He attended law school at UCLA from 1973 to 1976, and he was the Managing Editor of the Law Review in 1975/1976. He eventually also became a partner of Ervin, Cohen & Jessup in Beverly Hills, California. He had practiced corporate law for over a decade when his involvement in a large Chapter 11 bankruptcy case ended in 1986. He applied for a job with the U.S. Agency for International Development and literally took a 2/3 pay-cut to go into the public sector and start a career in foreign aid. The next 28 years allowed him to live in 11 countries. His last career position was that of a Senior Foreign Service Officer, serving as Mission Director for Guinea and Sierra Leone. He then was offered a [plum] position with USAID, teaching economics at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces in 2009. Partly because even Nobel Prize winning economists disagreed as to what had caused the Great Financial Crisis, he opted instead to retire from USAID and practice law in Richland, Washington. His major achievement in Richland, and his proudest moment, was helping to establish My Friends Place, a licensed shelter for homeless teenagers which is still thriving to this day. Small town law was not what he expected, so he rejoined USAID as a contractor in Peru in 2013. He served in a variety of positions in the Peru Mission for over three years, happily saw two twin daughters born in Lima in 2014, and returned to Maryland in late 2016 where he continues to consult periodically with contractors interested in USAID work. He also took a job for one year with the Rule of Law Initiative of the American Bar Association, covering programs in West Africa. It got his French back in shape. [His Kyrgyz wife does that for his Russian.] Want to be a guest on Voices That Propel Us: Stories of Justice, Action, and Community? Send Danise Sugita a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1763751693205864f9876416e

    48 min
  8. Faith as a Public Good: Confronting Islamophobia with Rev. Dr. Michael Woolf

    FEB 10

    Faith as a Public Good: Confronting Islamophobia with Rev. Dr. Michael Woolf

    Rev. Dr. Michael Woolf is the Senior Minister of Lake Street Church of Evanston and Co-Associate Regional Minister for the American Baptist Churches of Metro Chicago. A pastor, scholar, and activist, he works at the intersection of faith, justice, and interreligious solidarity. His forthcoming book, Confronting Islamophobia in the Church: Liturgical Tools for Justice (Judson Press, 2026), co-authored with Rev. Dr. Anna Piela, equips Christians to resist anti-Muslim prejudice as an expression of discipleship. Through his ministry and writing, Woolf calls faith communities to embody courage, humility, and compassion in building a more just and pluralistic society. You can purchase the book by clicking here.   Want to be a guest on Voices That Propel Us: Stories of Justice, Action, and Community? Send Danise Sugita a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1763751693205864f9876416e

    43 min
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Voices That Propel Us: Stories of Justice, Action, and Community is where justice meets action and community voices rise. In each episode, we spotlight changemakers, disruptors, and everyday heroes working at the frontlines of equity and liberation. Through powerful storytelling and candid conversations, we explore what it means to build a more just world—together. This isn’t just a podcast; it’s a call to listen deeply, learn boldly, and move in solidarity. The music for this podcast was provided by Steven Cong and the artwork was provided by Kimberly Li.

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