Who Do You Love?

Who Do You Love?
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In a time when independence is glorified, but interdependence is what sustains us, Who Do You Love? invites us to reimagine freedom through relationship. It’s a space to explore how freedom, resilience, equity, sustainability, and power are all shaped by how we show up for each other. "Who do you love?" isn’t just a question — it’s a community organizing principle. The more we expand our circle of who we love, the more we expand our circle of who we’re willing to act on behalf of. Through intimate conversations, host Whitney Buchmann explores how love — in its most collective sense — can shape the systems, relationships, and choices that define our shared future. Whitney is a social innovation strategist, facilitator, and social entrepreneur. She brings stories from the field, lessons from practitioners, and moments from her own life as a nomad and community weaver — all to ask one question: Who do you love? And how might that answer change the world we build together?

Episodes

  1. 3d ago

    7: Another Way Forward - with Clinton Drees

    Clinton Drees has spent his career building the very thing this episode is about: proof that another way of living is possible. A social worker who is dedicating his life to mentorship, leadership development, and LGBTQ+ youth advocacy, Clinton helped launch mentorship programs that bring safe, vetted adults into schools to meet LGBTQ+ youth where they are — because, as he puts it, every kid deserves someone who's already walked the road ahead of them. Whitney and Clinton trace resilience from the deeply personal — a closeted childhood, a Tuesday-night ritual with two restaurant coworkers who became lifelines, a partner who taught him how to receive love — out to the systemic: record numbers of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, the defunding of youth crisis resources, and what happens to a community when institutional support disappears. Clinton offers a clear-eyed, hopeful answer: resilience isn't about finding one person to be your everything, it's about collecting small, real data points that prove people show up. As you listen, consider — who in your life offered you proof that there was another way to live, and who might be waiting on you to do the same for them? Links to engage with this week’s episode Connect with Clinton: Clinton Drees on LinkedIn  Connect with organizations or leaders we mentioned: Big Brothers Big Sisters of America — The national mentoring model Clinton drew on when building his mentorship program.The Trevor Project — Non-profit suicide prevention organization that provides 24/7 crisis support services, research, and advocacy for LGBTQ+ young people.Human Rights Campaign — The nation’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve LGBTQ+ equality.American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) — Non-profit, non-partisan organization founded to defend and preserve individual rights and constitutional liberties guaranteed by the US Constitution. Engage with ideas we raised: 2024 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People — The source for stats Whitney cites about the "90% of youth affected by anti-LGBTQ+ policy" and "one-third suicide attempt rate"Mapping Attacks on LGBTQ Rights in 2026 — The source for the "500+ bills tracked in 2026" figure discussedLGBTQ+ Youth Reports — The "annual youth HRC report" Clinton references as a resource he's used in his own program researchParis is Burning - A documentary recommended by Clinton in a follow-up to his comment about a read/watch list.The Velvet Rage - A book recommended by Clinton in a follow-up to his comment about a read/watch list.

  2. Aug 17

    6: Power to Build Bridges - with Evelyne Kane

    Evelyne Kane is a public health professional and longtime advocate for health equity and authentic community engagement, currently leading national programs centered on people with lived experience. A former teammate of Whitney's at the Camden Coalition, Evelyne has spent her career at the intersection of service delivery and systems change — work she describes not as standing in the spotlight, but as opening doors: connecting the people closest to a problem with the people who hold the power to solve it. That role as a bridge, a liaison, an amplifier, becomes the episode's central image. The conversation moves from Evelyne's own rabbit hole on what love and freedom actually cost her, into the Camden Coalition's practice of "authentic healing relationships" and what it would take to build that kind of genuine responsibility into our healthcare systems rather than leaving it to individual goodwill. From there, Evelyne and Whitney get concrete: the elimination of federal research and data, and the new Medicaid work requirements under HR1. Evelyne closes with a challenge drawn from her own life: take an honest inventory of who's actually in your circle, and notice who gets excluded the farther you get from the people it's easy to have compassion for. Links to engage with this week’s episode Connect with Evelyne: Register for the monthly Community Engagement Learning Network conversations that Evelyne facilitatesFollow Evelyne Kane on LinkedIn Engage with ideas we raised: The Strength of Weak Ties - Evelyne references this article in her early reflection on love that is freeing.What is value-based care? - this is a concept that Evelyne references as one of the ways of holding our healthcare institutions accountable to genuine care for patient outcomes and wellbeingThe Social Change Ecosystem framework was created by Deepa Iyer at Building Movement Project. Whitney and Evelyne discuss how there are various roles to play in the ecosystem and we need all of them.NIH guts its first and largest study centered on women - ScienceInsider article that Whitney referenced for the numbers about NIH funding cutsElimination of Federal Diversity Initiatives: Updates and Current Status - KFF article that Whitney referenced for specific programs impacted by the cutsA Summary of Federal Medicaid Work Requirements - Find out more about the changes to healthcare accessibility that are a result of HR1 (sometimes referred to as the “Big Beautiful Bill”) and take effect on July 31, 2026

  3. Aug 10

    5: Erasure, Existence, Equity - with Maria Camila Velasquez

    In this episode of Who Do You Love?, Whitney sits down with Maria Camila Velasquez — political refugee from Colombia, former undocumented resident, and now president and CEO of a social services agency serving thousands of children and families — to unpack what equity actually requires of us. Drawing on a training exercise that stuck with her for years, Maria Camila reframes equity not as picking winners but as taking collective responsibility for a track that was never built level to begin with: the weights people carry, the charges that get filed differently for the same crime, the families judged by a system that was never designed around their strengths. The conversation moves from personal to systemic and back again — from Maria Camila's own family, which she calls "brothers and sisters in arms," to her work building trust with Afro-Colombian community leaders, to the coordinated, multi-layered attacks she's watching unfold against immigrant communities in Lake County, Illinois. What emerges is a harder truth than equity alone can hold: for the communities she serves, the fight right now isn't about reaching the same finish line. It's about being allowed to keep breathing at all. This episode asks listeners to sit with a question Whitney can't shake: who in your life might be fighting just to exist — and would you know it if they were? Links to engage with this week’s episode: Connect with Maria Camila Velasquez: Instagram @camilastinticoLinkedIn Connect with organizations or leaders we mentioned: Arden Shore Child & Family Services (where Maria Camila serves as President & CEO)Radiante Strategy Group (founded by Maria Camila)Casa Innovation (a non-profit that supports underestimated social entrepreneurs, founded by Maria)Othering & Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley, home of john a. powell's equity framework Whitney references in her opening Donate On July 10th, a fire tore through barrio Pablo Sexto in Quibdó — destroying more than 30 homes, displacing nearly 120 people, and taking two lives: a grandmother and her six-year-old grandson. Support survivors and displaced people from the fires in Quibdó at gofund.me/5f067e05b (organized by Casa Innovation and Liseth Martinez) Further reading on ideas we raised “First They Came” – by Pastor Martin Niemöller (original poem that Whitney adapted)Whitney’s adaptation of “First They Came” referenced by Maria

  4. Aug 3

    4: Level Up Your Freedom - with Darrie Matthew Burrage

    Darrie Matthew Burrage is an innovation consultant who treats every relationship like a friendship — diving in deep, building trust fast, and refusing the small talk. He brings that same approach to this conversation. Darrie Matthew unpacks the difference between what he calls exploitive interdependence — where people need each other, but the power between them is wildly unequal — and something more equitable, more dignified. He traces that idea from garden plots to workplaces to the wealthy, arguing that freedom isn't just about what you have, but what you're willing to be free from: scarcity thinking, blame, the exhausting hustle of going it alone. Along the way, he and Whitney talk about Fannie Lou Hamer, Martin Luther King Jr.'s indictment of America, and what it costs — and what it opens up — to keep showing up for people, especially across lines of race and gender, even when it's uncomfortable. By the end, Darrie Matthew's advice is disarmingly simple: get curious about the people already in your life. Most of us don't actually know what our friends do, what they're building, or what they need — and that ignorance, he says, is quietly limiting our freedom. So this week: who in your circle could you go one level deeper with? What might become possible if you did? Links to engage with this week’s episode: Connect with Darrie Matthew LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/darrie-matthew-burrageFurther reading on ideas we raised “Nobody's free until everybody's free." - Fannie Lou Hamer, during her speech at the founding meeting of the National Women's Political Caucus in Washington, D.C. on July 10, 1971. "I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land.” - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., during his "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech. He delivered this speech in support of the striking sanitation workers at Mason Temple in Memphis, TN on April 3, 1968 — the day before he was assassinated.

  5. Jul 27

    3: Power With, Not Over - with Selena Chávez

    In this episode of Who Do You Love?, Whitney sits down with Selena Chávez — photojournalist, executive director of Fuerza Democrats Tennessee, and proud daughter of Colombian immigrants — to explore what it actually looks like to build power with a community rather than over it. Selena shares how she's organizing in one of the country's toughest political landscapes for immigrant communities, leading language justice work, poll safety efforts, and a first-of-its-kind support system for Latino candidates in Tennessee. The conversation moves from the personal to the systemic: Selena's own journey with imposter syndrome and self-acceptance, growing up as one of the only Latina kids with curly hair in Chattanooga, and how her father's sacrifices as a refugee shaped her belief in showing up for people she'll never meet. Whitney and Selena dig into what collective power actually requires — listening before assuming, defining success beyond the obvious win, and holding urgency alongside the patience that real coalition-building demands. This episode is a reminder that power isn't something you hoard at the head of the table — it's something you build by bringing more people to it. Don’t forget to prepare for upcoming election dates in your area. For those in Tennessee with Selena, make sure to vote on August 6 for State and Federal Primary races, along with the General Election for open state judicial seats and certain county offices. Links to engage with this week’s episode: Selena's photography work — Instagram @MiradaBySelena Fuerza Democrats Tennessee — Instagram @FuerzaDemsTN or www.fuerzatn.orgCommunity Land Trust background — Whitney references this example of collective power building. For more information, read this Brookings article.287(g) agreement — Selena references this ICE/local law enforcement agreement. Read a bit about it from this MIRA Coalition explainer.Festival of the Diaspora — Whitney and Selena first met volunteering at this annual gathering. Instagram @festival_diaspora

  6. Jul 20

    2: Keep Going...with Support - with Asad Bandeali

    What happens when resilience isn't something you build alone, but something a whole community hands you, piece by piece? In this episode of Who Do You Love?, host Whitney Buchmann sits down with Asad Bandeali, founder and lead strategic consultant of A Spark Consulting, to explore resilience as a lifelong, communal practice rather than a solo pursuit. Asad traces resilience across his own life — from immigrating to the U.S. as a teenager and quietly answering to the wrong name for two years, to becoming a father and learning that raising a child "takes a village" of perspectives, not just one. The conversation moves from the personal to the systemic: how funding instability is reshaping the nonprofit sector, how faith communities model showing up for people regardless of shared belief, and how designing for resilience means designing for everyone — introverts, non-English speakers, people who find solace in a pet or a book instead of a crowd. Along the way, Asad and Whitney dig into what it really means to build interdependent communities on purpose — through mentorship, local "champions" models used during COVID-era outreach, and the discipline of stepping back so communities can lead themselves. It's a conversation about self-love as the foundation of showing up for others, and a reminder that no one — including Asad himself — has to go it alone. Links to engage with this week’s episode:Asad's LinkedInA Spark Consulting website Asad's personal websiteFamily Rise Together — the BIPOC-led, Northeast Minnesota fatherhood-focused organization Asad mentioned supportingUMMA Health (Los Angeles) - the faith-based clinic Asad mentions that was build to improve health access regardless of a person’s faith traditionTRS Health (Houston) — the mobile health clinic organization Asad’s friends run

  7. Jul 13

    Sustainability is for People - with Kristen Kerr

    What does it actually mean to live sustainably? In this first episode of Who Do You Love?, host Whitney Buchmann sits down with Kristen Kerr, founder of Cultivate the Creative and CEO of Creating Resilient Solutions, to explore how sustainability shows up far beyond recycling and clean energy. From a shared snowblower in a Nebraska cul-de-sac to extension cords strung across a Florida hurricane-hit neighborhood, Kristen and Whitney trace how community — not individual ownership — is what actually sustains us. The conversation moves from the personal to the structural: Kristen shares how burnout taught her that sustaining a nonprofit means sustaining herself first, how tribal communities she works with model interdependence through shared energy sovereignty and intergenerational wisdom, and how grant funding rollbacks are leaving the most vulnerable communities further out of the conversation. Along the way, they talk about thrifting, Sagrada Família, Braiding Sweetgrass, and why "just found a nonprofit" isn't always the answer. This episode asks a hard question: who are we leaving out of sustainability, and what would it actually ask of us to include them? Kristen's answer: usually just time, patience, and a little discomfort — the same price of any real relationship. Links to engage with this week’s episode:Cultivate the Creative (Kristen's nonprofit) Instagram: @Cultivate_The_Creative Website: cultivatethecreative.orgEmail: connect@cultivatethecreative.orgFollow Kristen on LinkedIn to see more about her consulting work as the CEO Creating Resilient SolutionsThe Hub —a program offering St Petersburg, FL residents free therapy sessions and other support services to create a healthier, more resilient community.Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer (the book Whitney references)Sagrada Família — if you want a quick visual reference of this amazing nature-inspired architectural feat that Kristen references

  8. Trailer

    Trailer: Interdependence Day

    Host, Whitney Buchmann, introduces the podcast and shares a story about why these topics matter from her personal life before reflecting on how these themes intersect with the July 4th celebration in the United States. Subscribe now to know when the first episode drops.

Trailer

About

In a time when independence is glorified, but interdependence is what sustains us, Who Do You Love? invites us to reimagine freedom through relationship. It’s a space to explore how freedom, resilience, equity, sustainability, and power are all shaped by how we show up for each other. "Who do you love?" isn’t just a question — it’s a community organizing principle. The more we expand our circle of who we love, the more we expand our circle of who we’re willing to act on behalf of. Through intimate conversations, host Whitney Buchmann explores how love — in its most collective sense — can shape the systems, relationships, and choices that define our shared future. Whitney is a social innovation strategist, facilitator, and social entrepreneur. She brings stories from the field, lessons from practitioners, and moments from her own life as a nomad and community weaver — all to ask one question: Who do you love? And how might that answer change the world we build together?

Information

  • Creator
    Who Do You Love?
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    8
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Who Do You Love?
  • Show Website
    Who Do You Love?