Doing What Works

Ashanti Blaize-Hopkins
  • 3.8 (5)
  • CAREERS
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Doing What Works dives into pressing societal and environmental challenges through insightful discussions and expert interviews. Each season brings a fresh, educational perspective on complex issues, empowering listeners to think critically about creating meaningful change

  1. Episode 10: Building the Workforce to End Homelessness with Colleen Murphy

    11/17/2025

    Episode 10: Building the Workforce to End Homelessness with Colleen Murphy

    In this episode of Doing What Works, Colleen Murphy, Principal on the Homeless Solutions team at LeSar Development Consultants, joins host Ashanti Blaize-Hopkins to discuss the urgent need to strengthen LA County’s homeless services workforce. Drawing from the recently developed labor market report in collaboration with Santa Monica College, Colleen explores the root causes of staffing shortages, the skills and training frontline workers need, and strategies to improve retention and career pathways. She also highlights the role of community colleges in creating scalable, equitable workforce development programs—and shares inspiring stories that remind us why this work matters.

    25 min
  2. Episode 9: One Tragedy Away: Overcoming Homelessness and Finding Purpose with SMC Graduate Patricia Kusaba

    08/19/2025

    Episode 9: One Tragedy Away: Overcoming Homelessness and Finding Purpose with SMC Graduate Patricia Kusaba

    In this inspiring conversation, Doing What Works host Ashanti Blaize-Hopkins speaks with Patricia Kusaba, a graduate of Santa Monica College’s Homeless Services Certificate Program. Patricia shares her deeply personal journey—from hidden homelessness and recovery to finding empowerment and purpose through education. She reflects on the support, skills, and community she gained in the program, the living resource toolkit she’s helping to build, and why she believes training programs like this are essential in addressing homelessness with humanity and lasting impact.

    23 min
  3. Episode 8: Beautifully Traumatic: A Student’s Journey Through the Homeless Services Program with Tamyra Simpson

    06/17/2025

    Episode 8: Beautifully Traumatic: A Student’s Journey Through the Homeless Services Program with Tamyra Simpson

    In our Season 2 finale, we flip the mic and hear from someone just beginning their career in homeless services. Meet Tamyra Simpson, a student from the inaugural cohort of Santa Monica College’s Homeless Services Certificate Program. With warmth, candor, and insight, Tamyra reflects on her path into the field—from growing up surrounded by helpers, to discovering the program on LinkedIn, to finding her voice through coursework, community, and a life-changing internship on Skid Row. This episode highlights the transformative potential of education—not only as a professional springboard, but as a way to deepen purpose and reshape lives. It’s a raw, uplifting look at what happens when students are given the right support, the right mentors, and the right chance. Whether you’re curious about the program, considering a career pivot, or just want to hear a powerful story of growth and impact—you’ll want to hear this one.

    25 min
  4. Episode 7: From Experience to Action: A New Vision for Homeless Services with Dr. Ryan Smith

    05/28/2025

    Episode 7: From Experience to Action: A New Vision for Homeless Services with Dr. Ryan Smith

    In this compelling episode of Doing What Works: Innovations in Homeless Services, we sit down with Dr. Ryan Smith, President and CEO of St. Joseph Center in Los Angeles. With a personal history of youth homelessness, Dr. Smith shares how his lived experience shapes his professional mission to create a more compassionate and effective homeless services system. From the formative influence of his mother to his first job as a youth organizer at 15, Dr. Smith recounts the journey that led him to lead one of LA’s most impactful service organizations. He walks us through the four foundational pillars of St. Joseph Center—Housing, Outreach, Mental Health, and Economic Mobility—and explains why investing in frontline workers and replicating community college programs like SMC’s Homeless Services Certificate are essential steps to ending homelessness. This episode is both a call to action and a testament to the power of care, dignity, and workforce development in driving sustainable change.

    30 min
  5. Episode 6: Housing First and Human Dignity with Dr. Sam Tsemberis

    05/22/2025

    Episode 6: Housing First and Human Dignity with Dr. Sam Tsemberis

    In this powerful episode of Doing What Works: Innovations in Homeless Services, we speak with Dr. Sam Tsemberis, founder of the Housing First model and CEO of the Pathways Housing First Institute. He was also on the Distinguished Time Magazine list of 100 Most Influential People of 2024! Drawing from decades of experience in psychology and frontline mental health services, Dr. Tsemberis shares the journey that led him to challenge the status quo of homelessness treatment—shifting from a "treatment first" approach to one that prioritizes permanent housing without preconditions. From his early days at Bellevue Psychiatric Hospital to founding Pathways to Housing, Dr. Tsemberis witnessed firsthand the systemic gaps and human costs of policies that deny housing to those not yet "compliant" with treatment. Through compelling stories, research-backed results, and global replication efforts, this episode explores why Housing First isn’t just effective—it’s a matter of human dignity. Listeners will also hear his thoughts on workforce needs, replication of successful models like SMC's Homeless Services Certificate Program, and why shared public vision is essential to ending homelessness.

    29 min
  6. Episode 5: Human-Centered Innovation in Addiction Recovery with Matt Walton

    05/13/2025

    Episode 5: Human-Centered Innovation in Addiction Recovery with Matt Walton

    In this deeply moving and expansive episode of Doing What Works: Innovations in Homeless Services, host Ashanti Blaize-Hopkins speaks with Matt Walton, Executive Director of Clare Matrix and a longtime innovator in health technology. With a career that spans decades and industries—from DARPA-backed tech startups to pioneering medical record systems—Walton now leads one of the Westside’s most vital behavioral health organizations. Walton shares how a lifetime in systems thinking and entrepreneurial innovation unexpectedly led him to the addiction treatment field. Through personal stories and professional insights, he illustrates the urgent need for integrated care, compassionate infrastructure, and the kind of recovery-focused models that treat people, not just symptoms. This episode examines the role of healthcare interoperability, the societal roots of addiction and homelessness, and how institutions like Clare Matrix—and educational partners like Santa Monica College—can fill critical workforce gaps with heart, purpose, and integrity. Walton’s clear-eyed optimism and deep belief in service challenge listeners to rethink what’s possible when tech, humanity, and mission align.

    40 min
  7. Episode 4: Public Health and Homelessness - A Call to Action with Leepi Shimkhada

    05/06/2025

    Episode 4: Public Health and Homelessness - A Call to Action with Leepi Shimkhada

    In this compelling episode of "Doing What Works: Innovations in Homeless Services," host Ashanti Blaize-Hopkins engages in a profoundly insightful conversation with Leepi Shimkhada, Deputy Director of LA County's Department of Health Services Housing for Health. Shimkhada shares her powerful journey on the front lines, her transition into public policy, and the human impact of her work. This episode illuminates how Housing for Health integrates public health and housing, creating pathways for long-term stability and human dignity for those experiencing homelessness. Shimkhada's experience showcases the significant wins and devastating losses inherent in this work while underlining the importance of a holistic approach, collaboration, and a skilled and passionate workforce in achieving our shared goals. She also underscores the vital need for systemic change to address the root causes of homelessness. Shimkhada's words resonate with a deep sense of purpose, highlighting the urgency of supporting prevention efforts and creating genuinely equitable and inclusive communities. Join us as we explore the critical steps needed for meaningful change in our communities through a public health lens and the crucial role each of us plays in advocating for this change.

    29 min
  8. Episode 3: Community College Homeless Programs with Dr. Nancy Greenstein

    04/24/2025

    Episode 3: Community College Homeless Programs with Dr. Nancy Greenstein

    In this episode of Doing What Works: Innovations in Homeless Services, host Ashanti Blaize-Hopkins speaks with Dr. Nancy Greenstein, a long-serving board trustee at Santa Monica College and a passionate advocate for marginalized communities. Dr. Greenstein shares how her education and social work background, including early experiences teaching in a Navajo Nation community, shaped her perspective on social disparities and inspired her lifelong commitment to social justice. The conversation focuses on the launch of Santa Monica College's new Homeless Services Program, launched in Fall 2024. Dr. Greenstein explains how the program emerged from years of discussions with industry professionals and highlights its goal to provide standardized training and career advancement opportunities for those working in the homeless services sector. She emphasizes the program’s potential to fill workforce gaps, improve service delivery, and create career pathways for students. Dr. Greenstein also expresses excitement about the program’s first cohort, emphasizing the diversity of its students and the program’s long-term goals of expanding to other community colleges. The episode concludes with her vision for the program's future, including potential expansions into degrees in social work and collaborations with municipalities and agencies to address homelessness at a larger scale.

    20 min
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Ratings & Reviews

3.8
out of 5
5 Ratings

About

Doing What Works dives into pressing societal and environmental challenges through insightful discussions and expert interviews. Each season brings a fresh, educational perspective on complex issues, empowering listeners to think critically about creating meaningful change

Information

  • Creator
    Ashanti Blaize-Hopkins
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    19
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Santa Monica College
  • Show Website
    Doing What Works