Ear Hustle – A podcast about prison life that builds bridges between us and them

You can’t hate someone whose story you know. I recently discovered the Ear Hustle podcast. “Ear Hustle brings you the stories of life inside prison, shared and produced by those living it. The podcast is a partnership between Nigel Poor, a Bay Area visual artist and Earlonne Woods, formerly incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison, and was co-founded with […]

The technological future of conflict management is a mixed bag of goodies: My 2018 findings

Having spent many years in the information technology business, I retain a soft spot for technology. Once I thought technology was the Holy Grail for furthering social justice. That dream has faded somewhat over the decades. Nevertheless, promise holds external… here are ten of my favourite technology-oriented conflict management findings of 2018: Are men talking […]

Black and White: The Colours of Conflict [A Poem]

[Last Thursday night I attended Poems of Colour, an evening of local poetry, where I live, that celebrates diversity and explores the themes of race and ethnicity. There were many young poets reading. The MC was Victoria’s Youth Poet Laureate, Argutu Ali. The event was sponsored by the City of Victoria, and held at at […]

Apply the Science of Friendship to your next Community Collaboration

Work, and life, is more rewarding when it happens with friends. Reflecting back on my four decades (and counting) in the workforce, many of my most treasured work memories are time spent with co-workers who were also friends. We didn’t start out as friends. It happened organically, over time. Whether over coffee breaks, lunch hour […]

Collaborative relationships are the foundation of Pacifica Housing’s Private Market Partnerships program

As property values have skyrocketed the last few years where I live, affordable housing has risen to the top of social issues. One of the more progressive local agencies tackling the issue, in a collaborative fashion, is Pacifica Housing. Their mission “is to be a leading innovative provider of affordable and support services that contribute […]