Dr. Joy Hogge is the executive director of Families as Allies, a nonprofit organization based here in Jackson. Joy Hogge has a master’s degree and a Ph.D in counseling psychology from Texas A&M University. She’s been the executive director of Families as Allies since 2011, where she oversees the development, implementation and assessment of family-driven, community-based services that support children with mental health challenges and their families.

Let's Talk Jackson: Jackson, Mississippi

LTJ 8.08: Joy Hogge

Our guest this episode is Dr. Robert Luckett, a Jackson native who graduated from Richland Public Schools, left for Yale University, earned his PhD in history from the University of Georgia and returned to Jackson 12 years ago to be a history professor at Jackson State University and the director of the Margaret Walker Center at JSU. Dr. Luckett is a member of the Jackson Public Schools school board, was part of a team involved in the Mississippi History Museum and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, and the author of the book "Joe T. Patterson and the White South’s Dilemma: Evolving Resistance to Black Advancement."

LTJ 8.07 Robert Luckett

Nashlie Sephus is a Jackson native who graduated from Jackson Public Schools to ultimately go on to earn a PhD in Computer Science from Georgia Tech. She worked in Atlanta as a co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of a startup company, Partpic, that was ultimately acquired by one of the world’s largest technology companies. Her Jackson-based nonprofit, the Bean Path, is celebrating it’s two-year anniversary soon, and she’s working on a new live-work development near downtown Jackson that promises maker spaces, restaurants and an unprecedented creative environment in Jackson. https://thebeanpath.org/ https://twitter.com/phenomenashlie http://www.phenomenash.org/

LTJ 8x06 Nashlie Sephus

Our guest in this episode is Betsy Bradley is the director of the Mississippi Museum of Art. Originally from Greenville, Miss. https://msmuseumart.org/index.php/ This was actually the second time we recording this interview — the first was right before the coronavirus pandemic hit, and things changed so rapidly that we had to pull the episode. We spoke about the launch of a new exhibition featuring works by Van Gogh, Monet, and Degas, as well as the protocols for visiting the museum and some plans for outdoor events and exhibitions this fall.

LTJ 8x05 Betsy Bradley

In this special edition of Let’s Talk Jackson, Todd Stauffer spoke with Mr. Timothy Rush, who is Director of Reemployment Assistance at the Mississippi Department of Employment Security. Todd spoke with Mr. Rush about the current state of the MDES system, what they’ve gone through to deal with tens of thousands of suddenly unemployed people, including questions of who is getting federal stimulus dollars and what it means when you get a debit card with no money on it. We recorded the interview via Zoom during a busy day, so please excuse the sound quality. https://www.mdes.ms.gov/

LTJ 8x04 Timothy Rush - Mississippi Department of Employment Security

In this special edition of Let’s Talk Jackson, state report Nick Judin spoke with Dr. Thomas Dobbs. Dr. Dobbs is leading the public-health response to the COVID-19 crisis, directing the State Department of Health and serving as Gov. Tate Reeves’ chief health adviser on the virus and the state’s attempts to stem its spread. https://msdh.ms.gov/ https://msdh.ms.gov/msdhsite/_static/19,19972,161.html Nick spoke with Dr. Dobbs specifically about the racial disparities that are appearing in the COVID-19 numbers—both the number of cases and the number of deaths, as well as what the Health Department is trying to do about it.

LTJ 8x03 Dr. Thomas Dobbs

Show links: - https://covid19relief.sba.gov/#/ - https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/coronavirus-relief-options/paycheck-protection-program-ppp - https://www.uschamber.com/report/covid-19-emergency-loans-small-business-guide - https://www.thecarsonlawgroup.com/ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_BZdKX_Luc In this special edition of Let’s Talk Jackson, Todd Stauffer talks with David Humphreys, a local attorney with the Carson Law Group who has two decades of commercial law and litigation experience.  David earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of Mississippi School of Law. He also holds a Master’s Degree in Accounting, and Bachelor’s Degrees in both Economics and Business Administration, all from Rhodes College. We talked about issues that small businesses in Jackson are facing because of the COVID-19 pandemic, including some loans and grants that you can apply for thanks to the CARES Act that passed in late March. We also talked about employment issues, unemployment issues and some legal questions that we’ve been fielding through this trying time.

LTJ 8x02 David Humphreys - COVID-19 Local Business Advice

Alesha Judkins is the State Director for Criminal Justice Reform at Fwd.us, a bipartisan group founded by leaders in the technology and business communities seeking meaningful reform in the areas of immigration and criminal justice. She spoke with Jackson Free Press editor-in-chief Donna Ladd about the fact that Mississippi has the third highest level of incarceration, and how that’s affecting public safety and crime rates. https://www.fwd.us/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/alesha-judkins-46a373101/

8x01 Alesha Judkins

Merritt Baria is a 23-year-old political strategist in Mississippi who grew up in Jackson and on the Gulf Coast, and is now living back in the capital city. The daughter of outgoing Mississippi House Minority Leader David Baria, Merritt talks with Donna Ladd about the need for more women to run for office in the state and for strategists to take a wider view of who is a “viable” candidate or not. She plans to help more women, in particular, run for and win office as she did with incoming House Rep. Shanda Yates. Merritt Baria on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/merritt-baria-73b426a3/

LTJ 7x21 Merritt Baria

Dr. Mukesh Kumar is an associate professor at Jackson State University who recently finished a two-year stint as the director of planning and development for the City of Jackson. He sat down with Todd Stauffer to discuss his time with the City and both what the discipline of planning can and can't do to improve the quality of life in a place like Jackson. https://www.jxnplanning.com/ http://www.jsums.edu/planning/

LTJ 7x20 Mukesh Kumar

Arekia Bennett is Executive Director of Mississippi Votes, which works to get young people involved in voting. Arekia graduated from Bailey Magnet High School and got her bachelors degree in Physics from Jackson State University. While at JSU, she got heavily involved in activism and advocacy, largely around women’s reproductive issues and issues affecting women of color. She spoke with editor-in-chief Donna Ladd about her work in getting young people and people of color engaged in the democratic process. https://msvotes.org/

LTJ 7x19 Arekia Bennett

Shanda Yates is a 38-year old attorney and mother who surprised a lot of people this year by winning the Mississippi House seat in district 64 over long-time Republican incumbent Bill Denny. One of Mississippi Democrats only bright spots on election night, Shanda knocked on thousands of doors and focused on issues important to her as a Millennial, a woman, a mother and as a product of public schools. She talked about how it all came together with Jackson Free Press’ editor in chief, Donna Ladd. https://www.facebook.com/shanda.yates.7

LTJ 7x18 Shanda Yates

Dr. Karla McCullough graduated from Callaway High School in Jackson in the mid-1990s and then immediately left the state, getting her undergraduate degree from Tuskegee University in Psychology and a masters in public administration from Auburn University. After having a son and feeling the tug of home, she return to Mississippi, where she got a PhD in Urban Higher Education from Jackson State University. She’s the executive director of the Juanita Simms Doty Foundation, which offers, among other initiatives, the Evers Academy for African American Males, which is a program to inspire young men of color to honor the life and legacy of slain civil rights work Medgar Evers as they interact with a “village” of role models and mentors. http://jsdfoundation.com/

LTJ 7x17 Karla McCullough

In this episode of Let's Talk Jackson Politics, Donna Ladd speaks with Mike Morgan, Hinds County Supervisor from District 4, who is running as an Independent to retain his seat against Democratic candidate Vern Gavin. He spoke with Donna about his corporate experience at WorldCom and Bomgar Corporation, his transition to politics, his experience as a Hinds County supervisor and what he feels the city and county need going forward. https://www.facebook.com/MikeMorganforHindsCounty https://www.jacksonfreepress.com/politics/

LTJPx15 Mike Morgan

Jackson City Council President Virgi Lindsay is the only woman among Jackson’s elected officials who are facing massive challenges with the capital city’s infrastructure, budget, zoo and loss of residents. In this episode of Let’s Talk Jackson, she spoke candidly about these issues as well as about growing up among rocket scientists, being a woman leader and her time as a Clarion-Ledger reporter back when it won a Pulitzer Prize. She spoke with JFP’s Donna Ladd about the challenges in her ward of the City of Jackson, which extends from her neighborhood Belhaven into parts of west and south Jackson. Here’s Donna. Virgi Lindsay's City of Jackson page: https://www.jacksonms.gov/index.aspx?nid=531

LTJ Virgi Lindsey 7x16

Conversations from the Capital City and beyond! Tune in every other week to hear the stories of Mississippi’s artists, activists, entrepreneurs, musicians, and more!

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Let's Talk Jackson: Jackson, Mississippi

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