Rebuilding America

The regular series of Rebuilding America is over, but last month Ken was honored with the HOOAH Award from the National Conference on Citizenship. To celebrate this award, NCoC recorded a live Veteran’s Day panel conversation between Ken and two past winners of the HOOAH Award - Mike Washington and Becky Margiotta. The George A. Smith HOOAH Award is presented annually to a veteran who defines citizenship through service. Becky Margiotta is an Army veteran and principal and owner at the Billions Institute, helping teach and support foundations and non-profit executives leading large-scale social change initiatives. Mike Washington is a retired Marine Corps Master Sgt and Seattle firefighter who works to combat PTSD among veterans and first responders.

What could national service be at its best? If we invest and shift our culture to value service more highly, what could we accomplish and how could we grow as a country? On the last regular episode of Rebuilding America, Ken talks with Barbara Stewart, CEO of AmeriCorps, and Eric Garcetti, the Mayor of Los Angeles - asking them to look forward and think big. The alumni testimonial features Josh Fryday, Chief Service Officer for the state of California.

Could national service be the issue to break through partisan gridlock in Congress? Ken talks with Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth and Republican Congressman Don Bacon to get some insight. The alumni testimonial features Emily Cherniack, AmeriCorps alum and founder of New Politics.

Ken talks to Carrie Hessler-Radelet, the 19th Director of the Peace Corps, about service abroad and whether it is also service to the United States.  The Peace Corps is different from most of the other programs we’ve discussed so far on Rebuilding America. Rather than serving fellow Americans, the Peace Corps sends volunteers abroad to serve communities in other countries. Ken talks with Carrie Hessler-Radelet, former Peace Corps Director and current President and CEO of Project Concern International, about international service and the benefits it has back home. The alumni testimonial features Kareen Sanchez and Adam Greenberg, both Peace Corps alumni.

Our country is deeply divided and we often do not trust one another these days. Ken talks first with Francis Fukuyama, political scientist and author of the 2018 book Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment, about identity and tribalism and how we got here. He then talks with Dave Isay, founder and president of StoryCorps, about how to heal that broken trust through storytelling and listening. The alumni testimonial features Eleanor Vassili, a former facilitator with StoryCorps’ MobileBooth.

The American people have a complicated and often fraught relationship with the media. Can national service help repair that broken trust? Ken talks to Steve Waldman about Report for America, an organization that believes the answer is yes. The alumni testimonial features Yadira Lopez, a current Report for America Corps Member who covers economic mobility at The Miami Herald.

The military is one of the most widely trusted institutions in the United States. Can that deep well of trust be replicated in other forms of national service? What else can the military teach us about service? Ken talks to Service Year Alliance board chair and retired General Stanley McChrystal and former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to find out. The alumni testimonial features Ryan Britch, government affairs associate for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America and a veteran of the US military, AmeriCorps, and the Peace Corps.

Ken explores national service at the local level by talking to Fagan Harris, co-founder and CEO of Baltimore Corps and board president of Lead for America, and Cheri Selby Pearson, Executive Director of Public Allies North Carolina. The alumni testimonial features Raijene Murchison, a current Public Ally at the WELL (the Wade Edwards Learning Lab) in Raleigh and a former City Year Corps Member.

Today, Ken explores national service in education by interviewing Elisa Villanueva Beard, CEO of Teach for America, and Rey Saldaña, CEO of Communities in Schools.  The alumni testimonial features Cristina Flores, AmeriCorps alum who served three years at the Austin-based education non-profit Literacy First. Cristina is now a program officer at the OneStar Foundation in Texas.

Today, Ken explores national service in healthcare by talking to Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, physician, public health expert, and host of the Crooked Media podcast America Dissected, and Dr. Anne Steptoe, founder of the North Carolina-based service fellowship program MedServe.  The alumni testimonial features Shantell McLaggan, who recently completed her MedServe fellowship at Cherokee Indian Hospital, North Carolina.