In 2025 we turn our attention towards “Community Engagement and the Grassroots of Change.”

Throughout the year we explore the stories, strategies, and successes of community-driven movements making a difference.

From Self to Solidarity: How Personal Empowerment Fuels Cooperative Economics
A Conversation with Alana Griffin, Ambassador of Ujamaa Collective 

In Ep 86, we started a conversation about Personal Empowerment and Cooperative Economics through the lens of Ujamaa Collective, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. The Ujamaa collective acts as a catalyst to advance Africana Women by providing a fair trade marketplace for cultural, artistic and entrepreneurial exchange through cooperative economics. In this episode we continue the conversation with Alana Griffin, Ambassador of Ujamaa Collective.
Join us as we explore the process from participation to power by reimagining the power of we.
The point is to shift the perspective; to take action and create new possibilties with a different measuring stick.

Personal Empowerment begins with individuals recognizing their inherent worth, capabilities, and power to make choices that impact their life and community.
Personal empowerment cultivates self-awareness, responsibility, and action. 
Cooperative Economics channels that personal power into collective agency by providing structures—like cooperatives, credit unions, and mutual aid networks—that allow individuals to pool resources, share risks, and make collective decisions for mutual benefit.

 Watch: https://youtu.be/QIUEccdGpkA