The Normal Life Podcast

A fan of Nina Simone? Okay, that's a great place to start for an interview! Growing up as a "military kid", Kayla was used to not being overly attached to any particular place. After spending the last 8 months becoming involved in her new community, mentoring students through The Front Porch, and connecting on public policy with the Deep Center, Kayla has started calling Savannah "her home".

We started 2026 with Alonzo Truitt and today we end the year with him. Alonzo loves chess, despises pumpkin pie, and believes strongly that serving others is the key to happiness. He also runs the non-profit "I Is We" with his wife. Check them out at iiswe.org

Angela became a mother while she was in high school. She was able to embrace the responsibility and move forward as a new mom and student. The path had many challenges along the way, but Angela was able to persevere and create meaningful opportunities for her family, herself, and she youth she works with through her non-profit, the T.I.P. Organization.

Daphne Coffee-Roberts has taken a challenging childhood, learned to forgive those who contributed to it, and grown into a self-reflective adult who isn't afriad to makes changes and say, "I'm sorry". Since 2020, Daphne has been the director of the non-profit, The Coffee Foundation, that is dedicated to cultivating leadership, fostering mentorship, and promoting meaningful collaborations to support youth.

In today's episode, we revisit our conversation with "Cheesesteak Jack" from earlier this year. Topics range from setting up shop in tough areas of New Jersey, to bicycle clubs, to how his faith guides his choices, to the ways food can changes a young person's life.

We runnin' it back! Last week went so well, Judge Burke is back for part 2. How did Judge Burke join Da Raiders cult? How was his life guided by "being a nerd"? Why has Jimi Hendrix been such an inspiration? We answer these questions and more...

Today's Savannah Youth Mentoring HUB Podcast features our conversation with Judge LeRoy Burke. From early failed chemistry experiments to passing the Bar - to being a lifelong Raiders fan -to decades spent as a juvenile court judge, LeRoy has had a fulfilling journey that doesn't look to stop any time soon.

This week, we revisit an episode from late 2021 that paid homage to one of my greatest mentors, Wally Fox. There’s a small handful of people who I consider to have been a mentor in my life. Coach Fox was one of the very first, and even though it was an honor to have known him for almost 30 years, his recent passing from COVID was way too soon and tragic. In this weeks episode, a few friends join in to share some stories as we pay tribute to a man who was our mentor, friend, teacher, coach, spiritual leader, and so many other things.

Okay, professional wrestling isn't everyone's "cup of tea" but I've been drinking it down since the late 80's. Mentors, or managers, have been a big part of the wrasslin' game since the 1940's...so today's topic kind of fits our usual youth mentoring focus. Today. I'm spilling the tea on my favorite "baby faces" and most despised "heels".

Jazmine has formed a life of fitness through athletic pursuits, youth mentoring, and parenthood. She aims to be the mentor she had growing up, and the one she didn't get the chance to meet in her early years.

This week's Savannah Youth Mentoring HUB Radio Podcast features our conversation with Winsphere Jones (aka Tim Wright) from the City of Savannah Government's ONSE office. From comic book doodles - to college playwrights - to writing full-length plays that focus on ending gun violence, Winsphere's journey of art and mentoring has been wide and varied.

An almost yearly trip to Ireland leads to a different kind of podcast episode this week. So thankful for these trips that started as a way to process the loss of my childhood friend Stacy. Six years later, Ireland is still a magical place that is teaching me lessons and reminding me of what I cherish the most.

Growing up in Gary, Indiana, Armand was drawn to the music of Michael Jackson, couldn't help but become a big fan of nearby Chicago professional sports teams, and found out firsthand how youth mentoring happens on the field and in the classroom.

So often, we come to the end of our week with more personal, local, and national tragedies clinging to us. How do these situations motivate us? Today's episode touches on that dynamic, we get a surprise co-host, and we revisit a previous conversation with Ambria Berksteiner

This is part 2 of the discussion with Geoffrey Alls. We continue our conversation about the way Geoffrey's life was forever changed when unspeakable tragedy stuck him at the age of 15. He shares about the ways he stays involved in mentoring youth. And, we also talk about the joy and pain of being lifelong Atlanta Braves and Falcons fans.

When unspeakable tragedy stuck at the age of 15, Geoffrey's life was forever changed. During this week's episode, we talk with him about that moment, how it's impact affected his family, and how it fueled him to pursue a career in seeking justice for others. We also talk about the joy and pain of being an Atlanta Braves and Falcons fan.

Important questions on the show this week: Are our youth actively involved in guiding the experiences, events, and programs that we want them to be a part of? How much of their voice is being considered and incorporated into the things that we are asking (or oftentimes forcing) them do? Also, we revisit an earlier conversation with Tharros Place’s Gabriella Maravaldi.

You may know Justin Bristol from his work with the LIVE OAK Library location on Bull Street, but did you know he also once had a promising punk rock career? This bit of history was just one of the hidden chapters we uncovered on this week’s episode, along with the many surprising programs that the library is offering to Chatham County youth every day of the week.

This week, we get to sit down with Jimmie Johnson (no, not that one) to talk about his newfound love of Savannah, his passion for Memphis, and his desire to be the type of mentor that he had during his teenage years. Since Jimmie is involved with vital youth work through the ONSE (Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement) office, we will let it slide that he is a fan of the Dallas Cowboys.

A New York native, Bill Monroe, grew up surrounded by various ethnic communities within a stone's throw of his family's Bronx-area home. One day, while at his father's store, Bill stepped outside to hear Malcolm X deliver a speech to a group of onlookers, not knowing what he had just witnessed. In the early 2000's, Bill and his wife and kids moved to Savannah in hopes of "slowing down" and easing into an early retirement. While he found the pace of Savannah to be conducive to retiring, Bill soon found himself actively engaged with something he never thought he would be...a tutor for elementary students. This was the start of an over 20-year commitment to mentoring and tutoring younger learners through Bill's involvement with Love Mentors. 107.5FM https://youtu.be/QdQ5oV98w9Y https://www.wruu.org/shows/savannah-youth-mentoring-hub https://www.savyouthmentoring.org/