Lives Radio Show With Stuart Chittenden

Jannette Taylor is the President and CEO of the Women’s Center for Advancement. In the show Taylor talks about a lifelong commitment to working with marginalized youth, including founding a gang intervention and prevention program, and the work of the Women’s Center for Advancement supporting people experiencing sexual assault, domestic violence, and trafficking. Taylor also shares how this work has not been without her own personal loss, tragedy, and burnout, but how ambition, naiveté, and hopefulness for humanity spur her on.Jannette Taylor is a native of Omaha, Nebraska. As well as leading the Women’s Center for Advancement she is also the owner of Social Impact Outliers, a consulting firm working with businesses, universities and nonprofits throughout the Midwest and South Florida on capacity building, leadership development, fundraising and capital campaigns. Prior to returning to Omaha, Taylor served as the CEO of the United Way in Kansas and ran an international nonprofit in Florida that built schools

Christian Gray, the executive director of inCOMMON Community Development. In the show, we talk about housing as a human right and the nature of the American Dream. Gray also shares how the pursuit of a life of faith and purpose drives his passion for community development and that real meaning in life can be found in contributing to enriching the local and global community of people around us.Christian Gray was born and raised on the sunny beaches of Southern California. For university he moved to Tucson, Arizona where he completed his undergrad in Communications and, more importantly, met his future partner, Sonya. He has worked in the field of national and international community development for 18 years and has served in the role of Executive Director at inCOMMON Community Development since 2006. Gray’s passion for community development led him to pursue advanced studies at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, where he earned a double-Masters in Urban Studies and Public Administration. Gray 

JoAnna LeFlore-Ejike is the executive director of the Malcolm X Memorial Foundation. In the show LeFlore-Ejike talks about the lasting legacy and relevance of Malcolm X, who was born in Omaha in 1925, and his recent induction into the Nebraska Hall of Fame. LeFlore-Ejike also talks about the work of the Malcolm X Memorial Foundation and shares more about her own life as a self-declared black history nerd and a proud daughter of north Omaha.JoAnna LeFlore-Ejike is a young cultural activist raised in the Midwest, activating her community through the cultivation of creative entrepreneurs and arts-based programming. For many years LeFlore-Ejike has prioritized cultural awareness and unification in collaboration with several local non-profits including Film Streams, Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts/Carver Bank, the Greater Omaha Chamber, The Reader Magazine, and Threewalls (Chicago). She continues this mission in her recently accepted position as the Executive Director for the Malcolm X Memorial Foundation after

Artist Catherine Ferguson reflects on her informal pathway into what has become for her a lifetime with an artistic practice. She talks about some of her particular exhibitions and pieces, such as work democratizing everyday objects, her installation in Barcelona, and the aesthetic design of the Opera Omaha production of Aida. Ferguson also talks about her fascination with alchemy and how in exploring that artistically she has also explored that for her own life.Catherine Ferguson is an artist whose work is featured in public and private collections across the region, including major Nebraska museums and at public venues. Ferguson is particularly well known for installations that are transcendent and transformative. Ferguson has also dedicated herself to benefitting the visual arts in the community serving on numerous public bodies and nonprofit boards.

In this New Year’s Day conversation with coach, attorney, and end-of-life doula Susan Koenig, she talks about what she has learned from a life as one of eight children raised on the edges of poverty, experiencing the deaths of several people close to her, and the joy that can be found by being attentive to life. Koenig also shares how we might frame our aspirations for the year ahead in this season of reflection and resolutions.The fifth of eight children and raised a Catholic, Susan Koenig grew up in Little Italy in Omaha. She is an executive coach, attorney, author, and certified end-of-life doula. As an attorney, Koenig is the founder of the divorce law firm, Koenig|Dunne. Her book, Divorce in Nebraska, has been replicated in over 30 states. Koenig’s brother Tim died of AIDS in 1994. Her late husband, John, received a cancer diagnosis with a prognosis of death in two and a half years. With no options for surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy, they embarked on a holistic healing journey of over a decade. Koen

This Christmas Day on Lives a selection of highlights from this past year’s shows that have included guests from the worlds of culture, business, ethics, education, faith, and more. We’ll listen back to a reading from author Dave Mainelli; music from performers Mesonjixx, Edem Garro, and Marcey Yates; art curator Karin Campbell will talk about the emotional impact of contemporary art while guest Meredith Fuller considers the spiritual aspect of her pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago. And there are reflections on growing from life’s challenges with guests Israel Green and Chanda Chacon.

Father Keith Winton is the Rector at Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Omaha. Ordained to the priesthood in 2019 in his late 50’s, Father Keith shares with us his journey in life from the inklings of faith in his childhood in rural Indiana, through his study of mathematics and theology at Wabash College, into his career as a software engineer, to his recent ordination. Father Keith and his wife Lisa, who works in the non-profit sector, have three children, the youngest is a junior at Omaha’s Central High School. In his spare time Father Keith is a musician and a cook.

Poet Trey Moody talks about some of the themes he explores in his poetry, the place of poetry in his and in our lives, and how we might make sense of the world through this craft. Moody also reads some of the poems form his book, Thought That Nature, and some other newer work.This episode of Lives was broadcast live on air on KIOS 91.5FM, Omaha’s NPR station and regular broadcaster of Lives Radio Show & Podcast, and this podcast of my conversation with Trey Moody is the recording of that on air show from Sunday Dec. 11.Trey Moody was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas. His first book, Thought That Nature - published by Sarabande Books in 2014 - won the Kathryn A. Morton Prize in Poetry. His newer poems have appeared in The Atlantic, The Believer, Gulf Coast, Massachusetts Review, and New England Review. He teaches at Creighton University and lives with his daughter in Omaha, Nebraska.

Author and journalist Leo Adam Biga writes stories about people, their passions and their magnificent obsessions. In the show he talks about the craft and the business of writing, what makes for a good story, and what he has learned about others and himself in his long writing career.Author, journalist, blogger, and public speaker Leo Adam Biga is an Omaha native known for his writing-reporting on arts, culture, sports, and social justice subjects. For four decades he has been a regular freelance contributing writer for numerous publications and media platforms. Biga was awarded an international journalism grant for a 2015 reporting trip to Africa and is the author of four nonfiction books, including Alexander Payne: His Journey in Film and Crossing Bridges: A Priest’s Uplifting Life Among the Downtrodden. He is currently working on two new nonfiction books due for 2023 release. One project chronicles the eventful life of Afghan refugee Cyrus Jaffery. The other project explores the extraordinary life story of

Glenn Greet is the entrepreneur behind the British Market and Bakery, Chippy’s, and the first Musical Director of the Nebraska Brass Band. In the show, we talk about his early life in the pastoral landscapes of Yorkshire in England, what it means to be a British expat in America, and bringing some of the Old World to the New World - including the cultural heritage of brass bands and the consumer nostalgia of British foods and products.Hailing from North Yorkshire in England, Glenn Greet moved to America in 2000 and now lives in Omaha with his family. A former British police officer, Greet also studied music education and conducting and has traveled with various brass bands across the world. He is the first Musical Director of the Nebraska Brass Band. In 2021, Greet opened Chippy's. Its success in Omaha has spurred the opening of two other outlets - one in Lincoln, Nebraska, and one in Des Moines, Iowa.

Furniture maker, woodworker, and sculptor, Todd McCollister, talks about his work engaging at the boundary between furniture design and sculptural art. McCollister shares his journey into this passion and business, the questions he explores in his pieces, and how he engages with the natural material. Not only do we chat in the recording studio, but spend some time with McCollister in his wood shop at Omaha’s old Quartermaster Depot.Todd McCollister builds in the zone between Furniture Design and Art, bringing important elements of each into any given object. At times the boundary between the two fields gets thin or hazy. McCollister earned a BFA in Sculpture and Photography in 1996 from Texas Christian University and an MFA in Sculpture in 2000 from Stony Brook University. He then moved to New York City, first pursuing Sculpture and shifting to Furniture in 2006. In 2014 he brought what he learned back to his hometown of Omaha, NE, and founded Long Grain Furniture. An active member of the informal Omaha art c

Meredith Fuller is a psychologist, psychoanalyst, a nationally published poet, and the author of the novel, Quarry. With her husband, Jim Luyten, Fuller recently returned from walking a part of the pilgrimage route, the Camino de Santiago (the Chemin de Saint-Jacques de Compostelle or the Way of Saint James), which Pope Alexander VI declared to be one of the three great pilgrimages of Christendom. In this show, Fuller talks about the physical and spiritual experience of walking this historic European pilgrimage route and how it has informed and influenced her views on life.

Bilgesu Sisman is a philosophy PhD candidate, cinephile, film maker, and community programming manager at https://filmstreams.org/ (Film Streams). Sisman talks about the power of film to influence societal conversations, film’s capacity for expressing her imagination and philosophical questioning, and her intentions on how to live life well through an aesthetic of experience. Originally from Istanbul, Turkey, Bilgesu Sisman is a writer, researcher, and film programmer with a background in the humanities. As a PhD candidate in Philosophy at DePaul University, Chicago, her thesis explores the history of necroviolence, meaning posthumous corporal violence, and its formative role in modern, colonial, and postcolonial state power. Besides political philosophy, she specializes in film theory and philosophy of cinema. Her first feature film, KNOTS – which focuses on a mathematics student seeking truth in the face of repressed trauma – is in pre-production stage. She currently resides in Omaha, NE and works as t

Musician and hip hop artist https://marceyyates.com/ (Marcey Yates) shares his determination to grow as a musician and his own evolution as a leader. He also talks about the founding of https://www.culxr.house/ (Culxr House) as a creative community hub, especially during the 2020 protests after the deaths of George Floyd and James Scurlock, and the album https://saddle-creek.com/products/culxr-house-freedom-summer (“Culxr House: Freedom Summer”) that emerged as a response to the 2020 protests. Marcey Yates is a recording artist, music producer, and sound engineer, and the founder of Culxr House, a creative art and community space where artists and entrepreneurs can grow, create opportunities, and enrich their own artistic talents. In addition to his award winning solo work, Yates is one half of the duo Dilla Kids, and, with collaborator Xoboi, winner of this year’s Omaha Entertainment and Arts Awards' album of the year for, “Culxr House: Freedom Summer.” This show is supported in part by the https://www.omaha

Journalist Sara Gentzler's motto is to “tell complicated stories simply.” Dedicated to opening up our seemingly inaccessible public entities, in the show, Gentzler shares some of the stories she has written holding government accountable to the people it serves and talks about the importance of journalism in her life and in ours. Gentzler's explorations extend into aspects of our lives that we stigmatize yet are part of the common human experience and she shares her passion project about https://www.saragentzler.com/lettering (menstrual cup enlightenment). Gentzler is a reporter who has found her niche in holding government accountable to the people it serves. She will soon be the state government watchdog reporter at https://flatwaterfreepress.org/ (Flatwater Free Press). Most recently, Gentzler worked at the https://omaha.com/ (Omaha World-Herald), where she broke stories on Nebraska footing the bill (and refusing to admit it) for deploying state troopers to the southern border and the State’s practice of i

Singer and performer Enjoli Mitchell shares some of the highs and lows of her life, talks about music as her purpose, how music brought her through the grief of her sister's death, and the energy she gets from performing. Not only will we be in conversation, but Mitchell sings a cappella live in the studio. Raised in north Omaha, Enjoli Mitchell has been singing since she was young, Enjoli is now the lead singer in the group https://www.facebook.com/EnjoliandTimeless (Enjoli & Timeless). Formed in 2017, the band has opened for acts such as CeCe Peniston, Keith Sweat, Juvenile, Angela Winebush, Lecrae, and Twista. With solo albums under her belt and a forthcoming album from Enjoli & Timeless, Enjoli Mitchell has recently been dubbed “The Voice of the City” and “The Voice of the Street.”

Poet Katie Marya talks about the themes explored in her debut full length poetry collection “Sugar Work,” including womanhood, intimate relationships, the body, divorce and desire. Marya also talks about the experiences that have shaped her life and sense of self. As well as discussing the imagery within and the structure of her book Sugar Work, Marya reads some of her poems. Katie Marya is a writer and literary translator. Her award-winning work has appeared in numerous literary publications and she has received fellowship support from the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts and the Nebraska Arts Council. Sugar Work, her first full-length book collection, was the Editor's Choice for the 2020 Alice James Book Award. Originally from Atlanta, she now lives in Nebraska where she is finishing a PhD in Creative Writing at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Rebecca Deterding, President and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Omaha, talks about the YMCA’s history; its intentional culture today of making all feel included; her approach to being a leader, and living up to her purpose in serving others. Rebecca Deterding is the President and CEO of the https://metroymca.org/ (YMCA of Greater Omaha), an organization she had served as CFO since 2015 prior to stepping into the CEO role in March. She is the first woman to lead the organization in its 155-year history. Originally from North Platte, Deterding earned her undergraduate degree in business administration and accounting from the University of Nebraska at Kearney, her MBA from Bellevue University, and she holds a CPA certificate. In the show Deterding talks about the transformation of the YMCA from its origins over a century ago to an intentional culture today of making all feel included; the meaning of leadership and Deterding’s approach to being a CEO, and living up to her purpose in serving others. This sho

Rabbi Batsheva Appel is currently the interim rabbi at Temple Israel in Omaha, Nebraska. In the show Rabbi Appel talks about her journey into the rabbinate, having first studied science and working in the corporate world. Rabbi Appel also talks about the nature of her faith and her own personal passions. Rabbi Batsheva Appel has served congregations in a variety of different roles, as a sabbatical rabbi, rabbi educator, settled rabbi, and interim rabbi, including serving as Director of Rabbinic Services for the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life, located in Jackson, Mississippi. Rabbi Appel is a trained Mussar facilitator and is a certified Interim Rabbi living in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She is passionate about community, especially diversity. A native of Seattle, she graduated from Wellesley College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biological Sciences and Economics, entering the corporate world before her increasing involvement in her faith practice led her to become a rabb

Soprano, musician, performer, and singing teacher https://www.vannordstrandvoice.com/ (Shelby VanNordstrand) shares her love for singing and her passion for expressing stories through music. As well as her classical background, VanNordstrand also creates and performs avant garde music, including r u ok (created with Seth Shafer) which they performed at the 2022 https://www.undertheradaromaha.com/ (Omaha Under the Radar Festival). You can watch a video of that performance via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFNnGY1l0Y0 (this link here). https://www.unomaha.edu/college-of-communication-fine-arts-and-media/about-us/faculty/music/shelby-vannordstrand.php (Shelby VanNordstrand) has appeared as a soloist with a wide range of ensembles and companies; including Lorin Maazel's Castleton Festival, New York Lyric Opera Theatre, Opera Omaha, Omaha Symphony, Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre, and the Simon Estes Young Artist Program.  VanNordstrand is passionate about connecting song and opera repertoire to today’s audience