Gabrielle was born in Fresno, grew up and went to college in Southern California, and moved back to Fresno in 2014. She has worked with churches and non-profits in Fresno, where she developed an interest in Christian Community Development and what God is doing in Fresno. She has since made Fresno her home alongside her husband Jordan and their son. She enjoys reading, traveling, and spending time with family and friends.
Andrew sits down with Mariana Diaz, of Mennonite Central Committee West Coast, to talk about not only her personal story of immigration, but local immigration policies, ways to navigate and learn the system, and how to be a better neighbor to our local undocumented community.
Check out the various job openings and resources from ENP partners.
Considering our current cultural moment, Andrew and Grace process the current administration’s philosophy on immigration in light of ENP values and point of view.
The two discuss how their personal faith is intersecting with the issue of immigration, and frame up for listeners why we’re taking a pause to learn from experts who have dedicated their lives or careers to people who live in the shadows of citizenship.
On this final episode in our series, For the Long Haul, Andrew and Grace sit down with Julie and Jaeden from Central Valley Community Foundation to discuss the issue of racism and how it has impacted our city long term. The four discuss our community’s prejudices, assumptions, and biases and what we can all do to join the conversation around changing the course of the future.
Today, Andrew and Grace picked the brains of Natalie Caples and Jennifer Rhoden, two people who tackle a very large question every day in their work – How do we get food into the hands of people who are food insecure?
Natalie has served as Nutrition Education Coordinator, Programs Supervisor, Programs Manager, Director of Programs, and Chief Operations Officer since joining Central California Food Bank in 2008, and was appointed co-Chief Executive Officer in June 2020. She graduated from San Jose State University with a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition with a concentration in Dietetics and a minor in Business Administration.
Jennifer is the Program Manager for the Nutrition Education Department with Fresno Metro Ministry.
Grace and Andrew sit down with two local CEOs, AP Armour and Mark Ford. AP and Mark share learned insights around job readiness, job development, and the power of a job. The 4 chat about the different models and perspectives they implement in order to hire people who may be on their 2nd or 3rd chance in order to develop incredible employees. If you want to learn more about barriers to employment, hiring those that live on the edges of society, and the amazing benefits that it brings to businesses, you will love this conversation!
On this episode of WGITN, Grace and Andrew sit down and talk with Nolen Burchett and Ahmad Bahrami. Nolen and Ahmad come from two different edges of the mental health and addiction solution spectrum, and yet were able to find common ground about the drugs, addictions, and hurdles that plague our county and country, as well as the long term solutions. Grace also shares a bit of her personal experience navigating recovery options as a family member.
Richard and Tumani work with kids in urban environments in Fresno that have every odd stacked against them – the foster care system, homelessness, abuse, and trafficking to name a few. But these two have dedicated their lives to not only provide safe environments, but also to offer kids in crisis the opportunity to plan, dream, and execute the life they want. Join us today on What’s Good to talk about what it takes to engage kids who need support, how you can get involved, and what it means to be a person who provides access and hope.
On this episode, we talk with two people operating from 2 different ends of the homelessness crisis who have chosen to partner together; McKenna Gilman of KuppaCares, who provides a hot cup of coffee and a kind conversation to the homeless of Fresno, and Zack Darrah, CEO of Poverello House, a full service homelessness center providing temporary shelter, addiction and recovery services, a church, and a “free” restaurant. The two discuss interacting with the homeless, the issues they’re seeing on the street, having faith centered conversations, and why both of their roles are a call to serve the least of these.
In our new series, For the Long Run, we’re tackling big issues that won’t be fixed overnight. Today, we talk with Esther Carver and Dan Zack to discuss the obstacles facing affordable housing, the creativity needed to offer different options to people, and the exciting solutions that folks are working on to bring change to the space. This episode is Fresno heavy, and discusses in detail the specific issues we face here in the valley.
