Episodes

  • Thrive: Why Childcare is a Basic Need for Young Parents

    Thrive: Why Childcare is a Basic Need for Young Parents
    May 5 2026
    Every young person deserves access to high-quality education and career opportunities. But for young parents, none of that is possible without first solving for the basic need of childcare. In the sixth episode of the Annie E. Casey Foundation's series on what young people need to thrive, host Gloria Riviera talks with Bella Agee, a 21-year-old student, worker, and mom, and Quanic Fullard, Senior Associate of Family and Youth Financial Stability at the Annie E. Casey Foundation, about why access to childcare sets young parents up for success – and benefits the collective good. This episode was made possible with support from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, an organization that develops solutions to build a brighter future for children, youth, families and communities. Learn more at aecf.org.
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    36 mins
  • Thrive: The Power of Youth Apprenticeship

    Thrive: The Power of Youth Apprenticeship
    Apr 28 2026
    What if young people could earn a paycheck, build real skills, and start a career – all before finishing school? Youth apprenticeships make it possible, but too few young people can access these opportunities. In the fifth episode of the Annie E. Casey Foundation's series on what young people need to thrive, host Gloria Riviera speaks with two guests who are making the case for how apprenticeships can open doors to opportunity, mentorship and high-quality career pathways: Laura Burgher, an Annie E. Casey Foundation program associate, and Chris Grant, who started his CareerWise apprenticeship at Mastercard at 16 and is now a full-time product designer there. This episode was made possible with support from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, an organization that develops solutions to build a brighter future for children, youth, families and communities. Learn more at aecf.org.
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    31 mins
  • Thrive: Helping Youth in Foster Care Build Permanent Connections

    Thrive: Helping Youth in Foster Care Build Permanent Connections
    Apr 21 2026
    Every young person needs lasting relationships with caring adults as they navigate their way to adulthood. Too often,young people in the foster care system go with­out this sup­port. In the fourth episode of the Annie E. Casey Foundation's series on what young people need to thrive, host Gloria Riviera sits down with Sandra Gasca, Vice President of the Center for Systems Innovation at the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Together, they explore what's working to help youth in foster care establish and maintain meaningful, lifelong connections. This episode was made possible with support from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, an organization that develops solutions to build a brighter future for children, youth, families and communities. Learn more at aecf.org.
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    33 mins
  • Thrive: Taking Youth Leadership Seriously

    Thrive: Taking Youth Leadership Seriously
    Apr 14 2026
    Young people aren’t just future leaders. They’re already leading in their communities today, as caregivers, workers, and activists. In the third episode of the Annie E. Casey Foundation's series on what young people need to thrive, host Gloria Riviera talks with Jasmine Bernard and Tosca Nance-Jones of BRIDGES, a Memphis-based organization building authentic youth-adult partnerships for social change, and Traci Broady, Senior Associate at the foundation, about what it really looks like to invest in young leaders today. This episode was made possible with support from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, an organization that develops solutions to build a brighter future for children, youth, families and communities. Learn more at aecf.org.
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    37 mins
  • Thrive: Learning to Save and Budget Helps Youth Thrive Into Adulthood

    Thrive: Learning to Save and Budget Helps Youth Thrive Into Adulthood
    Apr 9 2026
    For young people, financial basics like opening a bank account, building credit and saving for the future can be challenging. It’s even harder if you are leaving foster care, and you don’t have a knowledgeable mentor, caregiver or parent to help you learn to manage money. That's where Opportunity Passport® comes in. It’s a program that has helped more than 22,000 young people build financial skills over the past 25 years. In the second episode of the Annie E. Casey Foundation's series on what young people need to thrive, host Gloria Riviera talks with Sandy Wilkie, Senior Fellow at the foundation, and Von Jackson, an Opportunity Passport participant, about how the right education and support can transform a young person's financial future. This episode was made possible with support from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, an organization that develops solutions to build a brighter future for children, youth, families and communities. Learn more and access the free curriculum, The Keys to Your Financial Future at aecf.org.
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    30 mins
  • Thrive: What Adolescents Need to Successfully Cross the Bridge to Adulthood

    Thrive: What Adolescents Need to Successfully Cross the Bridge to Adulthood
    Apr 9 2026
    What does it take for young people to thrive? In this first episode of a six-part series, host Gloria Riviera sits down with Lisa Lawson, President and CEO of the Annie E. Casey Foundation and author of Thrive: How the Science of the Adolescent Brain Helps Us Imagine a Better Future for All Children. Lisa makes the case that adolescence is a powerful period of growth, and shares what the science and on-the-ground work tell us about supporting the 48 million young people in America between the ages of 14 and 24. She also introduces the five pillars shaping the path to adulthood that will guide the rest of the series: basic needs, permanent connections, education and credentials, financial stability and well-being, and youth leadership. This episode was made possible with support from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, an organization that develops solutions to build a brighter future for children, youth, families and communities. Learn more at aecf.org.
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    33 mins
  • What Philanthropy Could (And Should) Look Like

    What Philanthropy Could (And Should) Look Like
    Mar 24 2026
    The Marguerite Casey Foundation recently hit an impressive milestone: 100 percent alignment of their billion-dollar endowment with their mission of building community power and making the government work better for people. That meant screening out harmful investments, investing in diverse managers and ensuring every dollar supports their values. To understand exactly how they made it happen, host Gloria Riviera talks with the Foundation’s President and CEO, Dr. Carmen Rojas, and their Vice President of Investments and Operations, Dan Gould. Together, they make the case for how their accomplishments can be a model for philanthropy more broadly and why aligning the endowment is just the first step. This episode is presented by the Marguerite Casey Foundation. MCF supports leaders who work to shift the balance of power in their communities toward working people and families, and who have the vision and capacity for building a truly representative economy. Learn more at caseygrants.org or visit on social media @caseygrants. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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    37 mins
  • Ohio Citizens Are Standing up for Wind and Solar

    Ohio Citizens Are Standing up for Wind and Solar
    Mar 17 2026
    Richland County, Ohio used to be a major manufacturing hub. Now, as the plants have closed, residents are looking to renewable energy to revive jobs and development. There’s just one problem: their board of county commissioners issued a blanket ban on large-scale solar and wind projects last summer, bringing those efforts to a halt. Now, residents are waging a historic fight to overturn the ban. In this episode, host Gloria Riviera speaks with two locals behind the campaign: Brian McPeek, Business Manager and Financial Secretary of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, and Shayna Fritz, the Executive Director for the Ohio Conservative Energy Forum. Together, they break down what’s at stake, from job development and homegrown energy to the rights of farmers and landowners to earn a living from their property, and how Richland County can be a model for communities across the country to shape their energy futures. To learn more about the campaign to reject the ban on large scale solar and wind in Richland County, visit nobanonpropertyrights.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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    33 mins