Joan Henry of Mill Street Loft and some of the young women of Project AWARE (Adolescent Women Are Realizing Empowerment) join us.

Whitney Bonura of the Crime Victims Assistance Program, a program of Family Services of NY.

Peter Muir, co-founder and co-director of the Institute for Music and Health (IMH). IMH is a center based in New York’s Hudson Valley providing specialized training and service for those interested in using music for wellness. If you can’t listen to the whole interview, be sure not to miss the completely heart-felt version of Over the Rainbow sung by an autistic boy that starts at about 50 minutes in.

Dorothy Albertini discusses her work with the Bard Prison Initiative and reads some of her own poetry and fiction. By the way, the word is “ucalegon.”

George Kaufman, the resource development director for Omega, tells us about the Omega Center for Sustainable Living, and about his own journey from “fat, dumb & happy” to integrating his life & work into one meaningful activity.

Kristian Gustavson, co-founder of Below the Surface, a coast to coast exploration of America’s waterways. Kristian is an activist, conservationist, and adventurer among other things. This summer he is taking his second small-watercraft trip down the Mississippi River from its headwaters to the Gulf of Mexico. His trip will serve to bring attention to issues of water pollution and river recovery.

Elly Wininger joins Julie in discussion with Dave Conover, education director at Clearwater. Dave tells us about Clearwater’s youth environmental stewardship initiative, and we join him in singing a couple of sea chanties.

Meghan Casey, a teacher at the Sullivan County BOCES GED program, and two of her students, Jen and Ayla, discuss their experiences in the GED program and the choices that led them there.

Melissa Everett, Executive Director of Sustainable Hudson Valley, talks about programs and tactics to create green collor jobs for rebuilding the economy while restoring the environment. Taking responsibility for our methods of production and our waste allows us to grow in a healthy balance like nature does.

We interview Katherine Arnoldi, author of several books including the graphic novel The Amazing “True” Story of a Teenage Single Mom. Arnoldi has developed the organization CollegeMomMagazine.org to provide information about how to navigate the challenges of continuing one’s education while mothering. In as many venues as possible, including homeless shelters, she spreads the magical words that changed her life as a teenage single mom — “financial aid.” Arnoldi describes her favorite cartoon of a mother dressed in graduation robes holding her daughter. The caption reads, “Thank you, Mom, for taking me to your graduation so I could imagine it for myself.”

Several mothers who went back to school later in life call in and share their experiences of being role models for their children simply by their example of curiosity, perseverance, and enjoyment of learning.