The Do Together Podcast

All I can say is “Wow!” It’s rare in life when you run across someone that’s so creative, he just makes your jaw drop. But, to me, Greg Manley is that guy. Greg is the community outreach specialist for both Friends of the Riverfront in Pittsburg and Allegheny Clean Ways. We had so much fun delving into Greg’s background and resume. Such a unique and special individual.

Greg's history of community activation is amazing.  He is also the creator of the Litter League. It is an 8-week litter collection competition in which teams compete to see who can pick up the most trash. This year’s event is being run on ifUiWill, the app built for people doing things together. This year’s competition is set to far outpace last year’s.

Greg’s story inspired us so much. Check out the litter league competition. Maybe you can come up with a competition for your community and bring people together!

For this podcast, we had the pleasure of interviewing Laura Follis who was the director of communication and partnerships for PAWS (Progressive Animal Welfare Society). This is always an exciting time of year for PAWS, because of their annual PAWSwalk charity challenge. This year, PAWS will be running their challenge on ifUiWill. Be sure to join. For every mile walked, Bone-a-fide dog ranch will donate $1 to PAWS, up to $25,000! You can also go to PAWS yourself and donate to an amazing charity!

Since we have recorded this episode, Laura has announced her retirement from PAWS, but we feel lucky to have had the opportunity to record with Laura before she headed off to the next chapter in her life.

Like many people who end up working for charities, Laura had no plan to work for a non-profit when she started her career. She majored in journalism in college, and started her career working for IBM before transitioning to large agencies, which had always been her intention.

She and her husband decided to move to the Pacific Northwest having heard it was a great place to live. There she started her own business and her passion for purpose-built organizations blossomed. She and her husband got involved with the Big Brother organization as a “Big Couple.” That experience had a big impact on Laura and she decided to go back to school at the University of Washington to get a certificate in digital media.

Laura has always been a crazy animal lover and that passion brought her to PAWS. While most people know that PAWS is a place you can go to adopt a pet, some might not know that they find homes for animals from all over the country and even the world! PAWS also now has a wildlife center where they care for over 200 species from a tiny hummingbird, to bears, and even seals.

Laura talks about her passion for connecting people and creating messages that resonate with people. At PAWS, everything they due revolves their core purpose: “We help animals go home,” whether that home is as part of your family or back to the wild.

One of my favorite parts of this discussion is when I learned that in order to ensure their bear cubs do not become over acclimated to human interaction, someone actually has to put on a bear suit before going in to feed them. The only thing funnier than the picture that conjured in my head is the actual picture that Laura sent. I couldn’t stop laughing.

We discussed lots of different topics with Laura including Covid, partnerships, creative ways of raising money (i.e. launching a challenges). WE also discussed their amazing volunteer community, and the new challenges climate change is creating.

Thanks you so much for your time and wisdom, Laura. You will be missed.

Join the PAWSwalk challenge here!

What a great podcast this was! We had the pleasure of interviewing Diana Goodrich from Chimp Sanctuary Northwest, a charity dedicated to helping chimps that need to be rehomed after a life of testing or entertainment. The chimp sanctuary has a fascinating history. Founder, Keith LaChappelle, was reading a magazine article about the lives of chimps in biomedical research. Keith was so moved by the article, he decided to act. Despite knowing nothing about how to create a sanctuary, he decided to do it anyway. We are always amazed by stories like this. We are in awe of people like Keith find their passion and act to make a difference in the world.

Diana Goodrich has had a passion for primates from a very young age. She was working with kids in Portland and studying psychology. She realized she was only 5 hours away from a chimp named Washoe, that was being trained in sign language. She had also read, Next of Kin by Roger Fouts. Upon visiting with him, he convinced her to go all-in on primates and pursue a graduate degree in Experimental Psychology.

After working at other sanctuaries (and a slight detour working in libraries), she and her partner were toying with the idea of starting a chimp sanctuary. However, upon meeting Keith, they decided to pool their efforts. It took 5 years to launch, Chimp Sanctuary NW, but it was worth it.

Diana explained to us how changes in the NIH and Fish and Wildlife service has left more chimps looking for homes.

She also told use about some of the chimps including Jamie and her obsession with boots and Burrito and his love of kongs.

We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we enjoyed recording it.

When we first recorded this podcast, Chris Charbonneau was the CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawaii, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky. She is a formidable figure in reproductive rights movement for the past 40 years- more than 30 have been at Planned parenthood. She is an inspiration, has an incredible list of accomplishments and is a hero to many people.

Since then, the Board of Planned Parenthood decided to remove Chris from her long-time post. The move came after a donor used a racist term in a meeting referring to Black people, and Charbonneau repeated the word while reporting the incident to VP of Development, Erika Croxton.

At the time of the incident, Chris was caught off-guard and recoiled at the use of the word.  Croxton felt that Chris’s response was insufficient and that she should have reprimanded the donor more.  Another white staff member voiced her outrage and quit after an internal investigation found no wrongdoing, stating that what Chris did was “inexcusable and unforgivable.”  Evidently, the board agreed and shockingly, decided to terminate Chris shortly after.

We at the Do Together Podcast do not condone the use of racist language or racism in any form.  However, we have all been caught off-guard by someone saying something so outlandish that we don’t know how to react in the moment.  Chris self-reported the incident and was appalled by the behavior.

While the right thing to do would have been to immediately and aggressively admonish the donor, Chris was clearly taken aback.  None of us knows how we would react in the seconds following a state of shock. I, myself, have been told to “go back to [my] own country” and responded like a deer caught in headlights. Canceling her for such an incident and trying to ruin her reputation discounts our basic unpredictable humanity.

Is the left eating its own? Appearance over substance? Do we really wipe away a 40-year career professional with a history of fighting for racial justice and making sure Planned Parenthood resources are used for all communities of color?

At a time when we are coming dangerously close to losing the federal abortion protection of Roe v Wade, changing leadership now seems irresponsible. This is a time where strong leadership, continuity, and experience are paramount. This is a time where we needed to come together and focus rather than fraction and distract. This is a gift to those who do not support women’s reproductive rights.

We really enjoyed this session with Chris.  It was a wide-ranging interview where we discussed topics such as sex education, state abortion rights, and the upcoming Supreme Court ruling on increasingly constrictive abortion laws. She discussed how out of the box thinking allowed Planned Parenthood to source their own birth control pills, thereby avoiding pharmaceutical mark-ups. She also discussed how Planned Parenthood is expanding to support male and trans reproductive needs. Thank you for all the great work you have done, Chris.  You will be missed.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments.  Was Chris treated fairly?

There's no such thing as the perfect podcast guest....OK, maybe there is.  Ashley Gardenier is the founder of Southern Paws, and animal organization that helps rescue dogs from the south and gets them adopted in New Jersey (she sometimes cats, but we don't want to spoil it for you).

Ashley was the most brutally honest guest we can remember.  If you think running a non-profit for dogs is all about playing with puppies, then you you haven't factored in being covered in poop and mud on a daily basis.  Her work is definitely a labor of love.

Make sure to check out the ifUiWill app for some great challenges and the Blog for the latest content.  Also check out the Creators Chat Podcast where we talk to Internet creators to learn about how they started, how they create their content, and what drives them.