Ohio River Valley Institute Executive Director Joanne Kilgour joins host Philip Johnson, the Endowments’ senior program director for Environment & Health, in breaking down the hype around hydrogen hubs and carbon capture.

Hydrogen hubs have as their centerpiece massive pipeline networks that funnel carbon captured from power plants and factories to injection points for underground sequestration. Some present the process as key to our environmental future, but are the promises of jobs and a reduction in global warming real?

Ohio River Valley Institute (ORVI) was founded in 2020 with an aim of providing data-driven environmental research that advances a more prosperous, sustainable and equitable Appalachia. The organization has become a leading voice in researching and communicating what carbon capture and hydrogen hubs would really mean for our country's future.

“Our research shows that not only are hydrogen hubs likely to be costly, taking funding away from more sustainable, long-term solutions,” Joanne says, “but they are also unlikely to deliver on significant job creation or to be an effective climate solution.”

Joanne grew up in Maine, earned degrees at Carnegie Mellon University and University of Pittsburgh, and has held positions with the Center for Coalfield Justice and the Sierra Club. An avid nature advocate, she holds a doctorate in environmental law, and the opportunity to “reveal surprising realities” about Appalachia’s energy future led her to ORVI.

She shares what she has seen about the unwavering sense of pride and place that Appalachians possess; what she has learned about the power of combining data and lived experience in revealing truths; and why she takes care to humanize policy research decisions by keeping the on-the-ground individuals she meets in Appalachian communities front of mind.

“I believe we can be compassionate problem solvers,” Joanne says. Learn how she is doing just that in this episode of “We Can Be.”

This episode of “We Can Be” is hosted by Heinz Endowments Senior Program Director for Environment & Health Philip Johnson and produced by the Endowments, Josh Franzos and Tim Murray. Theme music by Josh Slifkin. Guest inquiries can be made to Scott Roller at sroller@heinz.org. Guest image credit: PA Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources.

Dr. Daniel Perkins, professor, founder and principal scientist of the Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness at Penn State University, leads the largest-ever longitudinal study of post-911 transitioning veterans, “The Veteran Metrics Initiative.”

Danny joins host Megan Andros, the Endowments’ senior program officer for veterans, in diving into the startling findings of his team’s research. Beginning with an initial cohort of 10,000 veterans, the study followed an eventual 6,700 veterans over a three-year period as they transitioned from active military duty to civilian life.

The resulting data has revealed hard truths about the bureaucratic, financial, health and vocational obstacles veterans often face, and provides a basis for asking: Are we failing our veterans at the moment they need us most?

Despite the enormous leadership skills, technical ability, and work ethic veterans bring to our world, the study found that only 34 percent of post-9/11 veterans were deemed successful in transitioning from military to civilian life at the two-and-a-half-year mark.

The research makes clear that while a wealth of organizations provide services to those exiting the military, the navigation of those services can be dauntingly difficult for veterans.

“Transition is a place where things can go wrong, or it can be a place of great opportunity,” Danny says. “This data helps us understand that by taking action early on, we can help our veterans have better outcomes in the civilian world.”

Danny shares how growing up as a son of a military father influenced his dedication to his veterans research; why focusing on coordinated points of contact for service providers is key; and why it is important to remember that behind each data point is a human being who has served our country.

“I think as a country we can be a place where we acknowledge veterans for their service by taking action to support them when they need us most.”

This episode of “We Can Be” is hosted by Heinz Endowments Senior Program Officer for Veterans Megan Andros and produced by the Endowments, Josh Franzos and Tim Murray. Theme music by Josh Slifkin. Guest inquiries can be made to Scott Roller at sroller@heinz.org. Guest image credit: Tim Murray/Treehouse Media.

Raqueeb Bey, the founder and executive director of Black Urban Gardeners and Farmers of Pittsburgh, joins this episode’s host, Endowments Vice President of Sustainability Andrew McElwaine, to discuss food deserts, the healing effects of holistic gardening and the organization’s surprise boost from alt-rock stars Rage Against the Machine.

Raqueeb founded Black Urban Gardeners (BUGS), a collective of Black men and women who use education and gardening experiences to address the food desert challenges that persist in many Black and brown communities, in 2015. As she came to recognize a fraying generational knowledge of how to garden, she was moved to take action through BUGS and Mama Africa's Green Scouts, a youth program she founded that teaches community gardening and sustainability.

“We don’t just grow food,” Raqueeb says. “We grow minds and leaders.”

Raqueeb shares her journey from a career in finance and banking to becoming a prominent figure in the growing food sovereignty movement, as well the the inspiration her godfather gave her that led her to understand the health and healing power of working with the earth.

Her work with BUGS – including running a 31,000-square-foot teaching farm in Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood – has gained national attention in media outlets including Environmental Health News and Good Morning America. BUGS also garnered recent headlines for the recognition that alt-rock stars Rage Against the Machine gave the organization during their current world tour.

Raqueeb is clear about the historical obstacles that Black and brown communities have long faced in their opportunities to own and work their own land, many of which continue to this day, resulting in food insecurity and limited access to healthy food.

As she encourages others to take charge of their food and health, Raqueeb is optimistic about the future of the fight to end food apartheid.

“Every day I see the health benefits, community, and emotional healing power that Black urban gardeners of all ages experience when they work with the earth.”

This episode of “We Can Be” is hosted by Heinz Endowments Vice President of Sustainability Andrew McElwaine and produced by the Endowments, Josh Franzos and Tim Murray. Theme music by Josh Slifkin. Guest inquiries can be made to Scott Roller at sroller@heinz.org. Guest image credit: Brian Cook/Golden Sky Media.