All of the changemakers who will gather in Los Angeles at Upswell in November are addressing social challenges — like the environment, or youth development, or homelessness. But each changemaker is unique, and concerns or circumstances that are specific to the communities they serve may or may not make how they address their community’s challenges unique, too.

How do our similarities and differences connect us and the work we do? That’s what the new Upswell Podcast will explore. And what better way to do that than to see what happens when we pose identical questions to changemakers in Detroit – where Upswell was conceived, and changemakers in Los Angeles – Upswell’s inaugural city?

Each week leading up to Upswell, we’ll post a new podcast, comparing the answers of a Detroit and Los Angeles changemaker who are confronting the same social challenge. You’ll find the likenesses and contrasts in their answers quite interesting – about who they are, how they arrived where they are today – and their determination to advance their missions to improve the communities they serve. They also answer fun questions – like what fictional world they would visit, if they could!

Our podcast co-hosts are Christian Clansky and Debra Rainey. They kick off the inaugural podcast with questions for Victor Reinoso, Independent Sector’s Chief Operating Officer, and John Ziraldo, Vice President of Program and Strategy at the Skillman Foundation, which we’re proud to say is the sponsor of our podcast.

We think you’ll find their answers to be similar, different, and fascinating.

The Upswell Podcast is made possible through support from the Skillman Foundation.