Local Leaders Have the Solutions: Shared Power and Lifelong Learning

10/05/23 • 20 min

We continue our conversation with Inés Palmarin, a long-time Boston community builder, coalition co-founder, and Vital Village National Advisory Board member dedicated to holding and creating space for mothers to connect and create solutions together. Inés unpacks what collaborative and shared leadership looks like, and shares more about her work with community economic development and other collaborative efforts that seek to ensure local resident leaders and young people not only have a voice but meaningful and authentic decision making power. We explore with Inés the importance of embracing lifelong learning and how to honor grace, hope, and dignity for ourselves, each other, and future generations of leaders to come.

Featured guest:

Inés Palmarin, Co Founder of Boston Mothers Care & Community Weaver /Vital Village Board Member
Host: Ronda Alexander, Director of Operations, NOW at Vital Village Networks

Register for the 10th National Community Leadership Summit: https://www.vitalvillagesummit.org/register
Learn more about Boston Mothers Care: https://www.bostonmotherscare.org/

Produced by: Networks of Opportunity for Child Wellbeing

Music: Want U W/ Me (Instrumental Mix), by Akira Sora, From the Free Music Archive, CC BY 4.0

Edited By: Resonate Recordings

Featured guest:

Inés Palmarin, Co Founder of Boston Mothers Care & Community Weaver /Vital Village Board Member
Host: Ronda Alexander, Director of Operations, NOW at Vital Village Networks

Register for the 10th National Community Leadership Summit: https://www.vitalvillagesummit.org/register
Learn more about Boston Mothers Care: https://www.bostonmotherscare.org/

Produced by: Networks of Opportunity for Child Wellbeing

Music: Want U W/ Me (Instrumental Mix), by Akira Sora, From the Free Music Archive, CC BY 4.0

Edited By: Resonate Recordings

Previous Episode

Finding Hope in Each Other: Centering Trust and “Heart Work” through Collaborative Action

How can we practice collaborative relationships differently? For Inés Palmarin, long-time Boston community builder, coalition leader and Vital Village National Advisory Board member, this starts with building trust and creating intentional spaces to connect around our shared “why” and hopes for our communities. Ines reflects on her own personal journey, the creation of the Boston Mothers Care coalition, and the evolution of collaborative practices that seek to center racial equity. We explore with Inés what it looks like to sustain “heart work” within coalitions to create wellbeing and opportunity for children and families to thrive.

Featured guest:

Inés Palmarin, Co Founder of Boston Mothers Care & Community Weaver /Vital Village Board Member
Host: Ronda Alexander, Director of Operations, NOW at Vital Village Networks

Register for the 10th National Community Leadership Summit: https://www.vitalvillagesummit.org/register
Learn more about Boston Mothers Care: https://www.bostonmotherscare.org/
Additional Resources:
Explore the featured resource from the NOW Resource Library, Building Diverse Community Based Coalitions, here: https://www.networksofopportunity.org/resources/Building-Diverse-Community-Based-Coalitions

Produced by: Networks of Opportunity for Child Wellbeing
Music: Want U W/ Me (Instrumental Mix), by Akira Sora, From the Free Music Archive, CC BY 4.0
Edited By: Resonate Recordings

Next Episode

Writing Our Story: Kiese Laymon on Joy, Justice, and Healing

In this special episode, we tune in from Vital Village Networks’ 10th annual National Community Leadership Summit, where hundreds of grassroots community leaders gathered in Boston in October. Hear opening remarks from Founding Director, Dr. Renee Boynton-Jarrett, followed by an intimate conversation with best-selling author and educator Kiese Laymon and Ronda Alexander, Vital Village’s Director of Partnerships. Delving into the summit theme, Writing Our Story, Kiese reflects on his personal journey growing up in Jackson, Mississippi with radical honesty and vulnerability, sharing insights on racism, family, dignity, and the power of sitting in grief. He explores what joy, healing, and justice look like and the importance of writing, telling, and owning our own narratives.

Featured guest:

Kiese Laymon, Bestselling Author, Social Critic, and Essayist
Host: Ronda Alexander, Director of Operations, NOW at Vital Village Networks

Additional Resources:

Find out more about Kiese Laymon and his work: https://www.lyceumagency.com/speakers/kiese-laymon/
Learn more about 2023 Summit takeaways and coalition building reflections in our latest article by Gabby Cockerham: https://www.networksofopportunity.org/post/coalition-building-key-takeaways-from-the-2023-national-community-leadership-summit

Produced by: Networks of Opportunity for Child Wellbeing
Recorded by: MediaBoss
Music: Want U W/ Me (Instrumental Mix), by Akira Sora, From the Free Music Archive, CC BY 4.0
Edited By: Resonate Recordings
Please note, this episode does contain some adult language.