Maddie – an African-American woman living with her family in New Hanover County – is part of the American middle-class. But, as we talk, you’ll hear the reality of her every day from just making rent to overcoming systemic racism. The hope is these conversations will entertain and inform and give you another perspective to consider when you look at our community.

On this episode, we’re talking to Linda Thompson. She was selected by New Hanover County to lead its new Office of Diversity and Equity. The new department was announced in June. Thompson came from the Wilmington Police Department where she last served as Diversity and Inclusion Officer. We talk about the meaning of equity, how she feels like she was called to the job and her plan to build the department’s goals around feedback from the county’s employees and citizens.

On this episode of Collective Voice we’re talking to Andre Brown, a local attorney and community leader, about growing up as a Black man in Wilmington. During our conversation, we talk about how he felt isolated growing up in a working middle class neighborhood, how moving to Houston for law school changed his life and if he thinks race relations in our country will be better 10 years from now.

On this episode of the Collective Voice, we see the Confederate monuments through the eyes of three people. Terri Everett, a Wilmington resident who grew up in the region when it was segregated and is now running for Congress, Andre Brown, a local attorney and member of the African American Business Council and Chris Fonvielle, a historian and one of the region's experts on the Civil War.

This is community voice. My name is Kevin Maurer, director of community engagement for the Cape Fear Collective. In this episode, I’m talking to Terri Everett, a Wilmington resident and write-in candidate for the 7th Congressional District. Before retiring to the Cape Fear, she worked in the intelligence community. This podcast came after Terri wrote an email about her upbringing. She agreed to sit down and talk about growing up in a segregated society, the daily stresses of being Black in...

On this episode, we’re talking to Audrey Hart, director of the New Hanover Disaster Coalition, a collaborative group of faith communities, non-profit organizations, businesses and governmental agencies working toward long term hurricane recovery and disaster preparedness. Audrey and I talk about the uptick in COVID-19 cases, what we might expect over the summer and how to prepare for hurricane season in the midst of a pandemic.

On this episode, we’re talking to Kemp Burdette, the Cape Fear River Keeper. We talk about how the pandemic is impacting the river, how the byproducts of commercial farming is one of the biggest threats and how being out on the river gives Kemp some perspective on the pandemic.

In this episode of Community Voice we're talking with Tracey and Girard Newkirk about the opening of Genesis Block. Genesis Block will be located in downtown Wilmington providing startup and small business support services and a forum for community, collaboration, and creativity. We talk about the pending opening, how the pandemic has transformed their services and developing the next generation of entrepreneurs.

Maddie – an African-American woman living with her family in New Hanover County – is part of the American middle-class. But, as we talk, you’ll hear the reality of her every day from just making rent to overcoming systemic racism. The hope is these conversations will entertain and inform and give you another perspective to consider when you look at our community. On this episode, Maddie turns the tables and wonders why I haven’t talked to my kids about racism.

Maddie – an African-American woman living with her family in New Hanover County – is part of the American middle-class. But, as we talk, you’ll hear the reality of her every day from just making rent to overcoming systemic racism. The hope is these conversations will entertain and inform and give you another perspective to consider when you look at our community. On this episode, we see the shooting of Ahmaud Arbery through Maddie’s eyes.

Maddie – an African-American woman living with her family in New Hanover County – is part of the American middle-class. But, as we talk, you’ll hear the reality of her every day from just making rent to overcoming systemic racism. The hope is these conversations will entertain and inform and give you another perspective to consider when you look at our community. On this episode, we pulled census tract data and compared and contrasted what the numbers say and what Maddie saw on the ground.

Maddie – an African-American woman living with her family in New Hanover County – is part of the American middle-class. But, as we talk, you’ll hear the reality of her every day from just making rent to overcoming systemic racism. The hope is these conversations will entertain and inform and give you another perspective to consider when you look at our community. On this episode, we check in on Maddie’s new normal, her first stop after getting her stimulus check and the things she took for...

On this episode, we’re talking to Sarah Daniels with the Cape Fear Food Council. The council began in 2016 as an informal collaboration between Wilmington organizations and community members but has grown into having a regional approach to food systems particularly in Southeastern North Carolina’s rural counties. In this episode, we talk about food insecurity, how the food system is impacted by the coronavirus pandemic and what kinds of societal changes Daniels’ anticipates after the crisis...

In this episode, we’re talking to Sean Bynum, operations director for Step Up Wilmington, a nonprofit helping folks find jobs and build skills to create a vibrant workforce. We talk about how the pandemic is impacting their work, how essential jobs are some of the lowest paid and with the least benefits and how Step Up is preparing for the end of the pandemic and future disasters.

Maddi – an African-American woman living with her family in New Hanover County - is part of the American middle-class. But, as we talk, you’ll hear the reality of her every day from just making rent to overcoming systemic racism. The hope is these conversations will entertain and inform and give you another perspective to consider when you look at our community. This episode was recorded at the start of the pandemic. We talk about how she doesn’t really know what to tell her children about...

Maddi – an African-American woman living with her family in New Hanover County - is part of the American middle-class. But, as we talk, you’ll hear the reality of her every day from just making rent to overcoming systemic racism. The hope is these conversations will entertain and inform and give you another perspective to consider when you look at our community. On this episode, we talk about her son and how Black and White students are treated differently.

Maddi – an African-American woman living with her family in New Hanover County - is part of the American middle-class. But, as we talk, you’ll hear the reality of her every day from just making rent to overcoming systemic racism. The hope is these conversations will entertain and inform and give you another perspective to consider when you look at our community. This episode is mostly about “getting by.” We talk about why Maddi decided to move her family from Wilmington to the county,...

Maddi – an African-American woman living with her family in New Hanover County - is part of the American middle-class. But, as we talk, you’ll hear the reality of her every day from just making rent to overcoming systemic racism. The hope is these conversations will entertain and inform and give you another perspective to consider when you look at our community. This episode is an introduction to Maddi and her family. We talk about first impressions, growing up bi-racial and why she...

On this episode of Community Voice we're talking with Natalie English President & CEO of the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce on how the business community is coping with Governor Cooper's stay at home order. As you know, many businesses have had to respond with layoffs while still others are ramping up services in response to the pandemic, including food suppliers, manufacturing, and distribution and logistics among others. We highlight in this episode the COVID-19 response survey launched...

On this episode of Community Voice we're talking with Stephanie Adams. Stephanie is a member of the Board of Education which is in the middle of their search for the next superintendent of New Hanover County Schools. The Board is partnering with the NC School Boards Association on the search and requesting community feedback. We talk about traits considered important in the next leader of NHCS.

In this episode, we’re talking to New Hanover Commissioner Woody White and Dr. Paul Kamitsuka, chief epidemiologist at New Hanover Regional Medical Center. We start with Commissioner White. We talk about his concerns about the impact of the broad social distancing restrictions, how his criticism is being received by the community and how the pandemic is influencing the ongoing debate of the sale of the hospital. Next, we talk with Dr. Kamitsuka, who gives us a rundown on how the hospital is...

On this episode, we’re talking to Tommy Taylor, interim CEO of the United Way of the Cape Fear Area. We jump right into conversation starting with the United Way’s 211 data and the importance of capturing it. Then we talk about how the United Way is positioning itself to help with the recovery after the pandemic.

One this episode, we check in again with Dr. Robert J. Sherertz, an infectious disease expert who is working right now as a teaching physician at a hospital in Myrtle Beach. We talk about how the coronavirus is impacting New York and what that means for the rest of the country, his assessment of COVID-19 cases in North Carolina and South Carolina and how the virus is impacting our marginalized populations. We also get his prognosis for the state and what he anticipates life will be like when...

In this episode, we’re talking to Katrina Knight, director of the Good Shepherd Center and then Tony McEwen, assistant to the Wilmington city manager for legislative affairs, about a $100,000 fund to pay for housing in local hotels for the most vulnerable of the city’s homeless population. The City of Wilmington, New Hanover County, the United Way and Live Oak Bank and nCino contributed. New Hanover Regional Medical Center’s Dr. Philip Brown said the program would have a “positive effect on...