Author: Ben Barker

Just a block away from his home on the north side of Milwaukee, alum Jeremy Triblett (Public Allies Milwaukee ‘10) realized he was being trailed by a police car. “I got into my driveway, stepped onto my grass, and they got out of the car, and it felt like a thousand of them—middle of the Read More

The Holocaust and Genocide Memorial and Education Commission has a new member: Public Allies Cincinnati 2005 alum Sarah Weiss. Having served as CEO of Cincinnati’s Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center since 2007, Sarah uses lessons of the past to make change in the present and future. Her work centers around education about Read More

If you think you’ve had a hectic year, talk to Eric Salcedo. He’s had four jobs since January 2020—all national, public-facing roles (even amidst the global COVID-19 pandemic), and most recently with a little-known organization called the Democratic National Committee. That’s life in politics! Growing up in the relatively homogenous town of Summit, New Jersey Read More

The following is the transcript of an interview conducted by Public Allies Milwaukee with AmeriCorps member Ni’Sea Thurman-Wamubu, who is serving this year with Public Allies at the Victory Garden Initiative (VGI). Public Allies Milwaukee: Congrats on your Seeds of Liberation Gallery opening. The gallery is an inspiring creative project! Tell us the why of Read More

Over 750,000 first time unemployment claims were filed last week, up to a quarter of all small businesses remain closed, and there is growing concern over the increase in substance abuse overdoses and suicide brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.  Yet for one Public Allies staff alum, there has never been a better time for Read More

Whether it be students struggling with education, Black mothers losing babies, or a community beset by any number of issues, Dr. Meredith Shockley-Smith’s proposed solutions always start the same way: Listen to those most impacted. Let them lead.  Simple but true, this asset-based mindset has guided Meredith, an alum of Public Allies Cincinnati (‘07), through Read More

To Garrison Davis, the nature preserve bordering his childhood home was a sanctuary. “It’s where I went to think, relax, and appreciate life,” he says. Now, his mission is to protect that preserve and the environment we all share. Garrison’s service journey started shortly after high school. Joining the Public Allies Delaware AmeriCorps apprenticeship program Read More

Art and human rights: To Marissa Gutiérrez-Vicario, they have always been intertwined. Once a director with Public Allies New York, Marissa went on to start Art and Resistance Through Education (ARTE), which empowers young people to find their voices and advocate for crucial human rights issues—all through the accessible mediums of visual art and design. Read More

As protests for George Floyd erupted in his Minneapolis neighborhood, Public Allies alum Dan Méndez Moore found familiarity in the unrest.  Almost twenty years earlier, in April 2001, Dan’s hometown of Cincinnati was engulfed by similar protests after the police killing of 19-year-old Timothy Thomas. With 15 young Black men having died in police custody Read More

Two weeks after the tragic murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, the global movement for Black lives has been as active as ever. City by city, demands for justice and equity have resulted in tangible policy change—and the sea change is far from over. With a long-standing commitment to dismantling systems of inequity and building Read More