“Jersey Gives A Damn!” Podcast — Conversations with
NJ’s innovators, trailblazers, and changemakers
We aim to inspire our “Jersey Gives a Damn!” listeners with policy ideas, interventions, and solutions that will help them build stronger communities while making the greatest impact on the causes they care about. Aaron Turner, CFNJ’s Chief Philanthropic Officer, hosts our podcast featuring an array of leaders from the business, education, non-profit, and government sectors. It is our honor to partner with hundreds of philanthropically minded New Jerseyans to make a difference.
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Episode 17: The Art of NJ — Can the Arts Actually Improve Our Health?
New Jersey Performing Arts Center
There is growing evidence that expressing ourselves artistically — by singing or crocheting, for example — can improve our mental, physical, and social health. We dig into this phenomenon in the second episode of a three-part series and encourage you to listen to our conversation with Alyson Maier Lokuta, Assistant Vice President of Arts & Well-Being at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.
While part one of the series focused on what makes the state’s art scene special and how the arts uplift and revitalize our communities, part two features a discussion about how arts and health programming improves our well-being.
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Episode 16: The Art of New Jersey
New Jersey Arts & Culture Renewal Fund, ArtPride New Jersey & the Institute of Music for Children
New Jersey has a panoply of cultural institutions, arts organizations, artists and performers, and venues that all contribute to the richness of our lives and the economic health of our state.
We dive into a conversation about what makes our art scene special — and the value it offers economically, mentally, and culturally — as we kick off the third season of our Jersey Gives A Damn! podcast with a three-part series. In this first episode, Lynne Toye of the New Jersey Arts & Culture Renewal Fund, Adam Perle of ArtPride New Jersey, and Alysia Souder of the Institute of Music for Children join our insightful conversation.
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Episode 15: Understanding the Family Homelessness Crisis in NJ
NJ Office of Homelessness Prevention & Monarch Housing Associates
The true face of homelessness is often younger and more vulnerable: Families represent 30% of the overall homeless population nationally. And in New Jersey, the number of children experiencing homelessness with their families continues to skyrocket. Compared to 2023, 14% more families with minors were homeless across our state this year, according to Monarch Housing Associates.
What’s driving family homelessness across our state? Taiisa Kelly, CEO of Monarch Housing Associates, and Michael Callahan, Director of the New Jersey Office of Homelessness Prevention, noted a complex web of challenges are impacting more New Jerseyans and their children who are scrambling to find housing and running out of options.
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Episode 14: How Are Our Veterans Doing?
Patriot Fund & Veterans Multi-Service Center
What if we challenged ourselves to do more than say, “thank you for your service,” on Veterans Day? What kind of difference could we make through our partnerships, advocacy, and philanthropic giving? A meaningful and significant difference according to the guests featured in this episode. Matthew Ellison, Executive Director of Patriot Fund, and Joe Brooks, Executive Director of Veterans Multi-Service Center, spoke extensively about the devastating challenges New Jersey’s veterans are enduring and explained that the scale of need is staggering. We encourage you to tune in to learn about the specific actions the philanthropic community can take to serve and support those who’ve given so much to us.
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Episode 13: Why Are Pet-Friendly Domestic Violence Shelters Vital in NJ?
180 Turning Lives Around, NJ Coalition to End Domestic Violence & Red Rover
With more than 1,000 New Jerseyans living in domestic violence shelters at any given moment, eliminating potential barriers to survivors seeking safety is crucial. One major barrier, being able to house pets together with survivors who are fleeing domestic violence, is front and center in this episode. Liz Graham, CEO of 180 Turning Lives Around; Katie Campbell, President & CEO of RedRover; and Mary Trinity, Associate Director of the New Jersey Coalition to End Domestic Violence, discussed the important role of emergency DV shelters in keeping people safe and how survivors access them in New Jersey. They also shared about the nationwide effort to help more shelters become pet friendly and addressed potential concerns about building infrastructure to accommodate pets.
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Episode 12: How Can We Improve Maternal Health Outcomes for Women of Color in NJ?
Nurture NJ
Thanks to the tireless work of officials and advocates, along with statewide initiatives like Nurture NJ, maternal health outcomes among women of color have improved across New Jersey due to greater access to health care, social supports and more. However, there are many community-based interventions that we can support philanthropically to ensure that New Jersey is a safer, more equitable place to give birth and raise all of our state’s children. Ria N. Rodney, Director of Nurture NJ, joins us in this episode to share how your advocacy, grantmaking, fundraising or philanthropic partnership can help our state improve maternal health outcomes for all women and babies.
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Episode 11: TBT — Are the Kids Alright?
Mental Health Association in NJ & Cornerstone Family Programs
For this Throwback Thursday episode, we’re re-posting a popular episode. Developments at the national and local level affirm the continuing urgency to address the worsening mental health crisis among teens. With a new school year looming for students, along with the potential impact of that transition on their mental health, this 2023 episode remains timely. Robert Kley and Jaime Angelini from the Mental Health Association in NJ, Jackie Looby from Cornerstone Family Programs, and high school students Azaria and Andrea joined our conversation.
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Episode 10: A Closer Look at Foster Care in NJ
CASA NJ & Roots and Wings
New Jersey has had a fraught history with foster care. But over the years, we’ve seen major structural and programmatic shifts — including the hiring of an outside expert to monitor our state’s reform efforts. In our latest episode, we delve into the “out-of-home placement” process, discuss the challenges in the state’s judiciary and child welfare systems, and call out solutions from the legislative to the personal level.
We were joined in our conversation by Edith Villacampa Fiato, Executive Director of Roots and Wings, who talked about the experiences of children who have aged out of the foster care system and Liza Kirschenbaum, Associate Director of Court Appointed Special Advocates NJ.
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Episode 9: The Loss of Local News, Its Impacts and What to Do About It
NJ Civic Information Consortium & the Trenton Journal
Beyond the obvious information vacuum and lost jobs, studies show that the decline in local news leads to increased political polarization, more political corruption, and a greater risk of misinformation filling the void.
We talk about these changes — and ways we might reverse these trends in New Jersey — in our conversation with Chris Daggett from the New Jersey Civic Information Consortium, which provides financial resources for local news and information providers, and Kenny Miles of the Trenton Journal, an independent platform that specifically addresses information gaps and amplifies voices in New Jersey’s capital city.
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Episode 8: A Conversation on Human Trafficking in NJ
NJ Coalition Against Human Trafficking, the Sanar Institute, Covenant House New Jersey, & Legal Services of New Jersey
A CFNJ webinar — presented here as a podcast — focuses on human trafficking, which is a problem globally and in New Jersey. The topic is both heartbreaking and incredibly complex, but our expert guests explain it in understandable terms and provide guidance on how fundholders and citizens can engage on this issue. We were pleased to welcome leaders from the NJ Coalition Against Human Trafficking, the Sanar Institute, Covenant House New Jersey, and Legal Services of New Jersey — a collection of organizations committed to preventing trafficking and supporting survivors.
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Episode 7: What’s Up (or Down) with Literacy?
JerseyCAN
The drop in reading scores of U.S. children post-COVID dominated the headlines in Summer 2023 — with reading scores down in nearly every state. Unfortunately, low reading scores pre-date the pandemic, owing to intractable challenges in too many communities. “Dire,” “jarring,” and “ominous” is how one report talks about reading proficiency in New Jersey.
In this episode, Paula White helps us unpack what’s driving these low reading levels, what the impacts are, and ways to address it. She is Executive Director of JerseyCAN, a leading educational and advocacy organization dedicated to ensuring that all New Jersey families have access to high-quality schools. Central to its mission is ensuring students receive continuous support with appropriate resources and excellent teaching, regardless of their ZIP code, cultural background, or socioeconomic status.
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Episode 6: Are the Kids Alright? A Closer Look at Teen Mental Health in NJ
Mental Health Association in New Jersey & Cornerstone Family Programs
Forty-two percent of New Jersey teens have reported feeling sad or hopeless almost every day for two weeks in a row. Two-thirds of teens in the U.S. who experience a mental health challenge don’t seek help. And suicide is the third leading cause of death among Americans between the ages of 15 and 19. These alarming statistics point to a real problem.
In this episode, we hear from experts on what is driving this epidemic of worsening mental health, what signals to look for, and what can be done to change course. Robert Kley and Jaime Angelini from the Mental Health Association in New Jersey share foundational information around mental health for young people. And Jackie Looby from Cornerstone Family Programs joins us for a deep-dive on an innovative, evidenced-based mental health program. Azaria and Andrea, New Jersey high schoolers, also discuss their training in Teen Mental Health First Aid and its impact on their peers.
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Episode 5: A Conversation on Public Health with Eva Turbiner
Zufall Health
Eva Turbiner is a public health legend who led one of New Jersey’s largest health centers serving the un-insured and under-insured, Zufall Health, for 16 years. In this episode, Eva offers an overview of the population health needs in our state, particularly for those on the margins who are not being served by the larger healthcare system.
During her tenure at Zufall, the organization expanded from a single small health center in Morris County to a network of 11 clinical sites in seven New Jersey counties serving 45,000 patients annually. Eva retired from Zufall earlier this year but continues to lead the Health Center Advisory Board for the National Center for Health in Public Housing, among other distinguished board positions. She has been a leader of note in advancing health justice in New Jersey and nationally and brings a hard-earned perspective as a board member with us at the
Community Foundation of New Jersey.
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Episode 4: A Conversation on Homeless & Trafficked Youth with Jim White
Covenant House New Jersey
Jim White is the Executive Director of Covenant House New Jersey — which has served homeless and trafficked youth between the ages of 18 and 21, in five cities across New Jersey, for 30 years. Its services include providing intermediate and transitional housing for young people, as well as a continuum of care. Covenant House New Jersey also advocates on many policy issues, including foster care, physical and mental health, LGBTQ+ issues, pregnant and parenting youth, affordable housing, employment, and racial discrimination.
In our conversation, Jim discusses the dual challenges of youth homelessness and the trafficking of young people and ways to help youth thrive.
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Episode 3: A Conversation on Youth & Families with Pastor Pam Jones
Communities in Cooperation
Pastor Pam Jones is a force of nature and an advocate for building the resiliency of New Jersey’s youth, the justice-involved, the unemployed, the under-employed, and other underserved populations and fragile families.
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Episode 2: A Conversation on Food Insecurity with Mark Dinglasan
New Jersey Office of the Food Security Advocate
Mark Dinglasan joins us in discussing the main drivers of food insecurity nationally and in New Jersey, common misconceptions around the issue, and the most promising interventions. Mark also shares his personal and professional journey to this important work.
At the end of the episode, Mark offers book recommendations for those interested in social impact work — Tattoos on the Heart by Father Gregory Boyle and The Whole-Brain Child by Daniel J. Siegel, M.D. and Tina Payne Bryson, Ph.D.
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Episode 1: A Conversation on Social Justice with Ryan P. Haygood
New Jersey Institute for Social Justice
Ryan shares about the most challenging social justice issues of the day — in New Jersey and nationally — and how his organization is driving change across the state. He also explains how donors and citizens can engage with this work and make a difference.
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Thank you for listening!
