Conversations with Chanda isn’t just a podcast — it’s a movement. Hosted by powerhouse CEO, philanthropist, and unapologetic truth-teller Chanda Smith Baker, this award-winning show cuts through the noise to confront the issues that shape our world: race, power, leadership, justice, and philanthropy. With a fearless voice and a deeply personal lens, Chanda brings listeners into raw, unfiltered conversations with national changemakers like, Robin DiAngelo, PhD, Luvvie Ajayi Jones, Caroline Wanga,…
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Dr. Marcheta Evans is the 12th president of St. Catherine University — and the institution's first African American president — after nearly 30 years in higher education leadership, including as Chancellor and President of Bloomfield College of Montclair State University. In this conversation, she and Chanda talk about what it means to be "the first," why finding your community matters, and how…
Recorded live for the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation's launch of the Power of Possible Giving Circle, Hali Lee — author of The Big We — joins Chanda Smith Baker to talk collective giving, "Big Phil," and why relationships are infrastructure. Find us: https://conversationswithchanda.com/ IG @chandasbaker & @conversationswithchanda https://spmcf.org/
Marlene Johnson was Minnesota's first woman lieutenant governor, a founder of NAWBO, and a leader who believes the only time you can't move forward is when you stop listening. In this conversation, she shares what it really means to be the first—and why that responsibility is ultimately about creating opportunities for others. Drawing from her new memoir, Rise to the Challenge , Marlene reflects…
Cathy ten Broeke, Assistant Commissioner and Executive Director of the Minnesota Interagency Council on Homelessness, has spent more than 30 years working to end homelessness — long enough to know it isn't a problem any one person, agency, or shelter solves alone. She started at 24, working overnight shifts at a Minneapolis shelter, certain she had nothing to offer a conversation about policy.…
Recorded live at the Stewardverse Business Forum on Earth Day, Chanda sits down with Bill George — author of Authentic Leadership and True North , former CEO of Medtronic, and longtime Harvard Business School professor — for a conversation that becomes, in her words, a master class. Bill tells the story of an executive who confessed on the verge of retirement: "Bill, without a title, I'm nothing."…
Ramsey County Commissioner Mai Chong Xiong grew up as a first-generation Hmong American, navigating government systems for her parents as a child. Now she sits on the county board — shaping housing policy, stewarding public dollars, and governing for all 78,000 people in her district. In this conversation with the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation Senior Vice President Alfonso Wenker, Commissioner…
In this episode, Chanda is joined by Dr. Patricia Virella, an Assistant Professor of Urban Educational Leadership at Montclair State University, to explore the role of belief in education, leadership, and identity. Patricia shares her journey from being underestimated in school to becoming a principal and professor, and how those experiences shaped her approach to advocating for students and…
In this conversation, Senior Vice President of Impact Alfonso Wenker of the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation sits down with Marcus Owens, Director of the Office of Financial Empowerment for the City of Saint Paul. Marcus shares how financial empowerment is about more than money—it’s about dignity, access, and creating real pathways for people to move forward. From leadership to systems change,…
In this episode, Chanda Smith Baker sits down with Henry Jiménez, CEO of Propel Nonprofits and a longtime nonprofit leader in Minnesota, for a conversation about what it really takes to support organizations doing the work closest to community. Drawing from decades of leadership, Henry reflects on the growing demands nonprofits face, from reporting requirements to short-term funding cycles, and…
In this episode of Conversations with Chanda , Senior Vice President of Impact Alfonso Wenker interviews Jamie Verbrugge, President & CEO of Catholic Charities Twin Cities, about nonprofit leadership, housing stability, and leading with dignity in complex times. Catholic Charities Twin Cities is one of the largest social service providers in Minnesota, serving people experiencing homelessness…
