Wise Women Interviews

Susan Burgess-Lent interviews Tracey Williams, Director of Urban University in Oakland, CA.Tracey founded the non-profit Urban University in 1998 to improve the socioeconomic status of impoverished individuals. The organization delivers  culturally competent workforce development training, coaching services for low-income individuals, and housing and employment for single mothers departing from poverty and homelessness.

In this first episode of Season 3, WCI's Executive Director Susan Burgess-Lent interviews Tracey Nails Bell, Founder and CEO of A Diamond in the Ruff, a non-profit that provides transitional housing for single women and single moms with children in Oakland, California.Tracey tells powerful stories about the inspiration for A Diamond in the Ruff, and the amazing evolution of the organization, especially during the pandemic.  She shares three fundamental bits of wisdom hard-won during more than two decades of helping women transform their lives out of poverty.

In this episode, Dr. Vivian Smith-Del Toro interviews Susan Burgess-Lent, Executive Director of WCI and from Nairobi, Kenya Wanjiru Ngigi, Program Director of Baraka Women’s Center, and Alice Awuor, a young mom and member of Baraka Women’s Center.The interview offers some fascinating insights into the challenging social and economic realities of motherhood in Kenya.

In this episode, Dr. Vivian Smith-Del Toro interviews Jill Hofmann, a 40-year veteran of American Red Cross domestic and international interventions, and Susan Burgess-Lent, Executive Director of Women's Centers International, about the role of women in responding to war, forced migration, and natural disasters.

This episode features an interview with Regina Shipman, creator of Healing Circles,  about the tradition of Kente and the need for healing among women of color.  We also discuss how Black and White women can collaborate in this important process.

In this episode, Dr. Vivian Smith-Del Toro moderates a discussion with WCI Executive Director Susan Burgess-Lent and special guest Daria Sievers, a Licensed Clinical and Forensic Social Worker with expertise in Trauma Informed Therapy.They discuss the meaning and value of Trauma Informed Therapy, and how the Women's Centers incorporate this service for women.This is the final episode of the Season One interviews.Our second season begins in August.  Stay tuned.

In this episode, Dr. Vivian Smith-Del Toro talks with WCI Executive Director Susan Burgess-Lent and Grant Williams, a major donor to WCI, about what it takes to keep a non-profit, especially one devoted to women's advancement, on track with necessary funding.

This episode includes a guest interview with Iris Corina, a former member of Oakland Women's Center (OWC), discussing how her involvement with OWC changed her life.  WCI's  Executive Director Susan Burgess-Lent discusses plans to reopen Oakland Women's Center as a virtual service in 2021.

Hear the story of Baraka Women's Centers founding in Kenya, and the challenges the Center continues to face down to serve over 1,100 women from Nairobi's slums.

This episode is an interview with Susan Burgess-Lent, Founder and Executive Director of Women's Centers International (WCI).  It traces the roots of her inspiration to begin the organization that serves the needs of women living in the most challenging circumstances.

Wise Women:  Sylvia BaffourSusan Burgess-Lent interviews Sylvia Baffour, author of I Dare You to Care.  Sylvia is an expert on emotional intelligence, a business coach, and a keynote speaker.  Her insights offer new ways to sustain gracious and vibrant relationships, both personal and professional.www.SylviaSpeaks.com

In this episode Susan Burgess-Lent interviews Susan O'Connell, a Zen priest with the San Francisco Zen Center, about Truth, Zen-off-the-cushion, collaborating, and her fifteen year effort to create Enso Village, a Zen-inspired senior living facility in California. Wonderful insights!