Freedom to Rise
From school superintendents to elected officials and business leaders, learn more about the people making a difference in the community with this informative and engaging podcast that highlights United Way Suncoast's lasting impact.
Episodes
51 episodes
Employer Provided Childcare with Molly Grant and Madeleine Thankur
In this episode of the Freedom to Rise Podcast, host Bronwyn Beightol welcomes Molly Grant, Executive Director of the Association of Early Learning Coalitions, and Madeleine Thakur, President and CEO of The Children’s Movement of Flori...
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Season 5
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Episode 9
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32:57
The 2025 Regional Competitiveness Report with Sarah Burgoyne
In this episode of Freedom to Rise, we dive into the data that shapes Tampa Bay’s future. Each year, the Tampa Bay Partnership and the University of South Florida’s Muma College of Business, with support from the Community Foundation o...
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Season 5
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Episode 8
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24:42
Navigating Hurricane Relief with FEMA
In this episode of the Freedom to Rise Podcast, Bronwyn discusses key disaster recovery questions with Brady Penn, a FEMA External Affairs Officer working clsesly with the relief efforts from Hurricanes Helene and Milton. With over $1....
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Season 5
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Episode 7
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37:30
Bank On Suncoast
A significant number of the communities in our area live without the conveniences and advantages banking accounts offer. Bronwyn invites Mark Smith, Financial Stability Manager and Bank On lead for United Way Suncoast and Patrick Eichholt...
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Season 5
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Episode 6
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44:39
The 2024 ALICE Report with Community Impact Vice Presidents Nicole Brown and Doug Griesenauer.
The new 2024 ALICE Report illuminates the plight of families living paycheck to paycheck, and highlights the fact that the household survival budget for a family of four in Pinellas County now ranks as the highest in the state. On this episode ...
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Season 5
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Episode 5
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28:43
The Regional Competitiveness Report with Dr. Lucia Farriss
In framing the findings of its latest Regional Competitiveness Report, the Tampa Bay Partnership used the term The Allure of Sunshine. The report highlights the fact that for Tampa Bay to maximize its potential, it has to go beyond warm weather...
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Season 5
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Episode 4
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23:38
Advocacy With Naomi Lett, United Way Worldwide
United Way Worldwide Senior Director of State Policy and Advocacy, often asks United Way advocates "to find the person in each of the representatives" they meet and set aside partisan differences. It’s key, she said, to removing the invisible w...
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Season 5
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Episode 3
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32:56
The State of the Florida Economy with Florida Trend's Mike Brassfield & United Way Suncoast's Aaron Neal
Some present a rosy picture of the Florida economy, but on the latest episode of the Freedom To Rise podcast, we delve deeper into the data and explain why all is not well for the state's ALICE families. Florida Trend associate editor Mike Bras...
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23:19
Get Centennialized with CEO Jessica Muroff
In our region, only a handful of philanthropic organizations have thrived over the course of decades, marching with time and evolving to keep pace. At United Way Suncoast, we're proud to be in that group and eager to celebrate our success as we...
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Season 5
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Episode 1
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24:55
The Impact of Suncoast 2-1-1
The Sarasota Board of County Commissioners recently voted to slash its funding for Suncoast 2-1-1, a vital service that provides a 24/7 path to support for community members in Sarasota, Manatee and DeSoto. What's the potential impact of losing...
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Season 4
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Episode 15
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29:32
US Congresswoman Laurel Lee
All politics is local, but much can be done on the Federal level to affect us here on the Suncoast. Congresswoman Laurel Lee joins the Freedom to Rise Podcast as a lifelong public servant who has experience as a federal prosecutor, a circuit ju...
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Season 4
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Episode 14
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25:24
Florida Center for Early Childhood CEO Kristie Skoglund
All across the Suncoast region, early learning educators and parents find themselves dealing with a crisis within a crisis: children acting out the emotional trauma of their lives, disrupting learning and creating an issue that results in paren...
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Season 4
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Episode 13
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29:56
Empowering Communities with St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch
In this episode of the Freedom to Rise Podcast, Bronwyn welcomes St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch, a distinguished public servant with over 20 years of experience. Mayor Welch made history by becoming the first commissioner to represe...
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Season 4
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Episode 12
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28:15
Metropolitan Ministries' NeighborHope Project
Metropolitan Ministries' latest effort can be summed up in two words: Come Together. MetMin's NeighborHope Project focuses on zip codes disproportionately suffering from childhood poverty. The Florida Chamber's Prosperity Project identified the...
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Season 4
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Episode 11
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29:44
The Florida Policy Project with Jeff Brandes
Jeff Brandes makes his second appearance on the Freedom To Rise podcast, but his first after ending a 12-year run in Tallahassee. The former senator and state representative from St. Petersburg has launched the Florida Policy Project, a policy ...
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Season 4
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Episode 10
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30:50
Youth Success Research with Career Source Tampa Bay Chief of Sector Partnerships Dr. Byron Clayton
United Way Suncoast has selected Career Source Tampa Bay to conduct research into the factors that drive youth success in the region. To discuss more about their research Bronwyn welcomes Dr. Byron Clayton to the Freedom to Rise Podcast. Dr. Cl...
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Season 4
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Episode 9
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41:06
The ALICE Report
The number of Florida and Suncoast Region families living paycheck-to-paycheck continues to rise during the first two years of COVID-19, and the loss of pandemic relief programs, may create even more barriers. The 2023 ALICE Report from UWS rev...
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Season 4
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Episode 8
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30:35
CEO of The Florida Housing Coalition Ashon Nesbitt
People who run headfirst into challenges are intent upon making a difference. CEO of The Florida Housing Coalition Ashon Nesbitt joins the Freedom to Rise Podcast discussing why he thinks “everyone should have affordable housing of their choosi...
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Season 4
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Episode 7
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38:25
Atlanta Federal Reserve's Community and Economic Director Brittany Birken
Brittany Birken, the Atlanta Federal Reserve's Community and Economic Director, joins United Way Suncoast Chief Impact Officer Bronwyn Beightol for a deep dive into the fiscal benefits cliff issue, the sudden and often unexpected decrease in pu...
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Season 4
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Episode 6
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34:09
Tampa Bay Partnership CEO Bemetra Simmons
What gets measured is what gets done. This is the mantra that drives the Tampa Bay Partnership to produce the regional competitiveness report, a data-driven account of how Tampa Bay compares to 19 other like-sized communities in more than 60 di...
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Season 4
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Episode 5
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21:06
CEO of the Women’s Resource Center Ashley Brown
Advocacy represents a cornerstone of our work at United Way Suncoast. We believe government plays a critical role in creating change that can improve people's lives, but government cannot do it alone. Neither can United Way and the rest of our ...
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Season 4
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Episode 4
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37:28
The Best of the Freedom to Rise Podcast: Early Learning
In our region, the average annual cost of childcare for a toddler is greater than the annual cost of tuition for a University of South Florida student. Only 50% of the students in our five-county footprint enter Kindergarten ready to learn. And...
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33:38
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor
Since being elected in 2019 she's guided the city through the pandemic, social justice, protests, and now economic challenges. Yet, she's managed to navigate all of that while creating a number of improvements. On this exciting episode of the F...
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Season 4
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Episode 3
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29:16
Florida Chamber Foundation Senior VP of Economic Opportunity & Early Learning Kyle Baltuch
At United Way Suncoast, we root our work in research. We dive into data points to determine best practices, and we dig up numbers to support our advocacy; but don't mistake our mathematical machinations for a lack of passion.On this epi...
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Season 4
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Episode 2
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33:15
The Aftermath of Hurricane Ian with United Way of Florida CEO Melissa Nelson
The devastation left in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian leaves all of us heartbroken. We hope that recovery efforts bring comfort to those impacted by the storm, but as we've said before - hope requires more than empathetic emotions, it requires...
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Season 4
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Episode 1
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19:20