The Visibility Project

01/12/2023

Thank you for your support in 2022!
This is just a reminder that this page is now inactive, and if you want to stay up to date on the latest episodes of The Visibility Project to please follow Midland Area Cultural Awareness Coalition on Facebook and Instagram!

09/02/2022

Thank you for 5K!! 🎉🎉🎉
Be sure to follow us online at our new home the Midland Area Cultural Awareness Coalition page to stay up to date on all the lastest from on The Visibility Project podcast.

The Visibility Project podcast has officially hit 5,000 downloads! This milestone reflects the hard work we have done as a community to become more inclusive. Thank you for listening Midland. 🎙❤️

Check the comments section to learn more and listen to all episodes!

08/08/2022

Episode 023 is live! Be sure to follow the Midland Area Cultural Awareness Coalition page to stay up to date on the latest from The Visibility Project podcast!

Check out the latest episode of The Visibility Project Podcast today: https://www.midlandfoundation.org/thevisibilityproject/

Love makes a family—learn from Jenna & DeLois about the power and importance of adoption and fostering.

Jenna is from Bay City, MI and has been married to her husband Bryon since 2018. She has two daughters. Her stepdaughter, Harmony, is 13 and their adopted daughter, Zoey, is 6. Jenna notes that however motherhood comes to you, it is a miracle, and she continues to share her adoption journey in hopes of igniting a spark in others’ hearts.

DeLois is the founder of Adoption Option Inc. She first became licensed to practice law in the State of Indiana in 1982 and has practiced law in the State of Michigan since 1983. She has published several articles on topics such as adoption and business law. With the help of a talented group of employees, contractors, volunteers, collaborators, and donors, she endeavors to help improve the lives of children and families primarily in the Great Lakes Bay Region and the Mid-Michigan area.

07/28/2022

Episode 023, looking at adoption and fostering, is now live!

Be sure to follow us at our new home on the Midland Area Cultural Awareness Coalition page to stay up to date with all the latest on The Visibility Project Podcast.

06/06/2022

Don’t forget to follow us at our new home on the Midland Area Cultural Awareness Coalition page. This is where we are dropping all future episodes!

The latest episode of The Visibility Project is available now!

TW: 2020 Sanford/Midland Flood

In this episode, we speak with two residents who were (and continue to be) impacted by the flood in 2020. The long-term impact of this experience is physical, emotional, and financial and two years later many of our friends and neighbors are struggling.

Vanessa Maxson is originally from Sanford, MI and currently lives in Midland, MI. She spends her time with her two children and previously owned a cleaning company prior to the Sanford flood. She is now the home caretaker as they continue to recover from the flood which destroyed their home.

Christie McDonald was born and raised in Sanford, MI where she lives with her husband Matt and 17-year-old son Owen. She has been employed at Northwood University for the past 19 years and will be the Associate Dean of Student Success starting in June 2022. Christie owns and operates Creations by Christie, LLC which started as a small side business to fund her community service efforts after the flood. After the flood, Christie created Homecooked Tuesday. Christie, along with many volunteers and generous people, fed families impacted by the flood for 22 weeks serving over 2500 meals to families.

Listen:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1930580

The Visibility Project is brought to you by Midland Area Cultural Awareness Coalition, which is an initiative of Midland Area Community Foundation.

04/29/2022

Listen to Episode 21 today: https://www.midlandfoundation.org/thevisibilityproject/

Be sure to follow us over on our new home page: Midland Area Cultural Awareness Coalition, before this page is no longer in use.

Child abuse is not something people want to talk about, but it’s necessary to have the awareness and tools to protect our kiddos.

Listen to Episode 021 of The Visibility Project, featuring Desirea Woodworth of Safe and Sound and Tabitha Spencer with the Midland Prosecutor’s office.
https://www.midlandfoundation.org/thevisibilityproject/

More about our guests:

Tabitha Spencer is a Victims Rights Coordinator with the Midland County Prosecutor’s Office. She started with the Prosecutors Office in July of 2019 as a Victim Rights Advocate just recently taking the Victim Rights Coordinator role. Tabitha will tell you it is more than a job, it is her passion to provide assistance and support to victims. Her education is in Social Work, receiving her Bachelors Degree from Saginaw Valley State University. In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her 2 fur babies and traveling to the nearby lakes with her husband to enjoy their boat.

Desirea Woodworth graduated from Central Michigan University with a Bachelor of Science in Child Development and Family Studies. She was first introduced to the world of CAC’s as an intern at the NMMCAC before graduating and spending some time as a Head Start/GSRP preschool teacher. She soon found her way back to the Child Advocacy world when she was hired as the Child Abuse Prevention Education Specialist at Safe and Sound. Desirea spent 3 years in Prevention before recently transitioning to the role of Forensic Interviewer. She brings a wealth of knowledge concerning child development and experience with family partnership to the agency. She is a nationally certified Darkness to Light® Facilitator and Child Passenger Safety Technician who is dedicated to keeping our children safe and continuing to advocate for children and families in our community.

Safe and Sound Child Advocacy Center

04/01/2022

Episode 20 is now live!

Please be sure to follow us at our new home on the Midland Area Cultural Awareness Coalition page, as this page will be deactivated in the near future.

The Visibility Project is an initiative of the Midland Area Cultural Awareness Coalition.

Death and grief are complex and deeply personal, often lonely and confusing.

Patty shares her personal story of loss and how the Children’s Grief Center was a place of belonging and understanding for their family. Camille shares the origin story for the Center and her passion and calling for building the organization and the important work they do.

Listen now to Episode 20 now:
https://soundcloud.com/thevisibilityprj

Children's Grief Center of the Great Lakes Bay Region

02/23/2022

Episode 19 is now live!

Be sure to like the Midland Area Cultural Awareness Coalition page to stay up to date, as this separate page will be not be updated moving forward. Thank you.

This is a tough one, but you won’t want to miss this important conversation helping destigmatize mental health, raising awareness about su***de, and supporting families impacted by su***de.

Listen now: https://www.midlandfoundation.org/thevisibilityproject/

Our guests are Adam Muszynski and Barb Smith.

Adam was born and raised in Metro Detroit and is a graduate of Central Michigan University. He currently resides in Saginaw with his wife and two young boys. He describes himself as a Mental Health Warrior, working to End the Stigma around Mental Health and advocate for those who are looking for support by sharing his own experiences.

Barb is the founder and Executive Director of the Barb Smith Su***de Resource & Response Network, recognized at the state and national level for its work in training individuals in su***de prevention and the role played in aftercare for those who have been impacted by su***de.

The Visibility Project is an initiative of the Cultural Awareness Coalition.

***deawareness ***deprevention

02/02/2022

Don’t forget to follow us at our new home: Midland Area Cultural Awareness Coalition!

All new episodes and resources will announced there moving forward.

We've been taking a look at body image on The Visibility Project recently. Here are some additional thoughts and resources to continue to learn more about this important subject.

NOTE: We are not medical professionals, always discuss your total health and wellbeing with trained professionals.

Did you know that the original BMI was created in the 1800s and only based on white European males? And, that its sole purpose was to identify the average male body size at that time. Then in the late 20th century this same calculation was adopted primarily by insurance companies to classify health and build coverage and life expectancy models…

Studies have continued to show that BMI alone is not a conclusive determinant of health and has, in fact, created bias in the health care system. There are many health factors including race and ethnicity, body composition, lifestyle, family history, and more--which have sometimes been overlooked or undervalued in favor of the simple height/weight ratio.

Here are a few articles to help you dig into BMI:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/wellness/why-bmi-isn-t-an-accurate-measure-of-health/ar-AARe0hT

https://www.nature.com/articles/ijo201617

https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/diet-nutrition/a35047103/bmi-racist-history/

https://www.nice.org.uk/News/Article/consider-lower-bmi-risk-thresholds-for-people-from-black-asian-and-minority-groups

Listen to the latest episode of The Visibility Project here: https://m.soundcloud.com/thevisibilityprj/epi-018

01/20/2022

This is your friendly reminder this page will soon be inactive. Please follow us at our new home on the Midland Area Cultural Awareness Coalition page to say up to date with all the latest episodes of The Visibility Podcast!

Also, Episode 18 is now LIVE!!

January is often a time where people are focused on health—appearance—a little of both. Our guests, JodiAnn and Liz, share their stories and experiences with health, body image, and disordered eating. They discuss how we are hardwired in so many unhealthy ways to talk about each other’s bodies, are influenced by diet culture, and how we can work toward are more inclusive society for people of all shapes and sizes.

Episode 18 is LIVE, listen now: https://m.soundcloud.com/thevisibilityprj/epi-018

JodiAnn Stevenson is a Body Liberation -oriented Health Coach & Personal Trainer as well as a doctoral student of Transformative Studies researching colonialism’s and capitalism’s effect on our cultural understanding of health with particular emphasis on weight stigma in health care. She lives in Northern Michigan with her husband and younger of two daughters as well as their dog, Princess Leia and their cat, Luke Skywalker.

Elizabeth (Liz) Westerman has her degree from The University of Wisconsin-Madison in Chemical and Biological Engineering and currently works at Dow as an Operations Leader in Michigan Operations. At work, she is very involved in Employee Resource Groups and has a passion for mentoring and is an advocate for mental health. Outside of work, Liz lives with her husband, three-year-old daughter, and ten-month-old son as well as their two dogs. She enjoys yoga, cycling, reading, and spending lots of time outdoors.