A Podcast To

Power Up

Change-Makers

Connect with the Frontline Non‑Profit Leaders Who Inspire You

Photography by Hannah Colen

Power Station: The Social Activism Podcast for Progressive Non-Profits

Stay Informed

On forward-looking ideas from progressive non-profit leaders

Network With Other Leaders

On social media to ask questions and offer ideas:

Gain Leadership Insight

By connecting to leaders with real-world experience creating change

Not nearly enough

media platforms showcase progressive non-profit leaders, which minimizes their role in change-making and can leave them feeling isolated and disconnected.

Let’s inspire and learn from each other.

All progressive change-makers benefit from connecting with peers and amplifying each others’ voices.

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Power Station logo by Yadira Gonzales

Get Inspired to

Make Social Change

Listen to Power Station now wherever you download podcasts.

Young Power Brokers
Sep 1, 2025
38 min
#387 Ty-Hobson Powell

Where To Listen

For Ty Hobson-Powell, being a child of Washington DC goes deeper than living with the United States Capital and the White House as a backdrop. It is not just that politics is in his bones and that he has worked in national campaigns and in District government to generate policy change for people and communities. What motivates his fight for justice is the unique experience of living in the seat of this nation’s federal government while being one of 700,000 Washingtonians who raise families, work and build communities, all without statehood or full representation in Congress. In this episode of Power Station, Ty shares what his activism looks like now, his call for less apathy and more care for others and how his book, The Fire This Time memorializes his message, especially for young people of color about leadership, courage and using your voice with purpose and power. At a time when our nation’s democratic principles and institutions are under assault and DC is under federal control this conversation brings, at least for me, urgency, clarity and a plan of action. Ty is building the world he wants his 4 year old daughter, who is his inspiration, to inherit.

Building Community Clout
Aug 25, 2025
34 min
#386 Social Web Foundation

Where To Listen

The advent of the internet changed how we interact with friends, our nation and the world. We are all there now, accessing news and popular culture through social media apps, attending school, working and connecting with friends. At our best we are also engaging, as nonprofits and political campaigns, in mobilizing voters and organizing public policy campaigns that advance equity and strengthen democracy. All of this exists while social media companies profit from disseminating hate-based disinformation peddled by authoritarian politicians and their surrogates. In this episode of Power Station, the awesome public interest technologist and social justice activist Mallory Knodel poses a vital question. What if we looked at the internet and social media apps not as the final arbiter of politics and culture but as a tool over which we, collectively and individually have choice and agency? What if the technical design of the platform we uses supported human rights and democracy? Mallory and her co-creators at the Social Web Foundation are building the infrastructure needed to make our connectivity more intentional, purposeful and creative. The are envisioning and implementing a Fediverse and ActivityPub as an open space for everyone. Hear her and share!

Defending Democracy
Aug 18, 2025
42 min
#385 League of Women Voters

Where To Listen

At the highest levels of government our elected officials are violating the Constitution, ignoring court orders and trampling societal norms to undermine decades of progress in America. They are demonizing schools, corporations and nonprofits that practice diversity, equity and inclusion, taking back federal grants intended for housing and climate change mitigation in communities of color and cutting nutrition programs in public schools. In this episode of Power Station I speak with Celina Stewart, the inspiring and unstoppable CEO of The League of Women Voters who is making history of her own. Celina, an expert in redistricting, the Census and voting rights is the League’s second African American CEO. She describes leading during a constitutional crisis, pushing back against harmful executive orders while supporting members tackling hyperlocal threats to their communities. The League of Women is fueled by people power, those who join school boards, testify at city council hearings, and stand with immigrants against unfounded deportations. The League’s newest initiative, Unite and Rise, 8.5. seeks to protect and preserve our democracy by mobilizing 8.5 million voters. This is the powerful non-partisan movement, centered in 700+ local leagues, that can change the course of history.

Why This Podcast?

We have firsthand experience

with tackling inequitable conditions in non-profits with limited resources and recognition.

We created a podcast to amplify the voices of those building power and making change.

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Your Host
Anne Pasmanick

Changing the Country One Story at a Time

How are you powering up your non-profit?

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Power Up Your Progressive Non-Profit

You don’t have to be limited by the way things have always been done. Instead be empowered to take on big, bold policy change.

Listen

to Power Station guests tell their stories

Engage

with the community on social media

Get Inspired

to push through barriers in your own organization

Share

how you are powering up your non-profit

Connect With Leaders On
About Anne Pasmanick

I was propelled into community organizing when I was illegally evicted 30 years ago. I understand the challenges and potential of working for social justice in non-profits with finite resources and support.

Anne Pasmanick

I was launched into nonprofit policy advocacy 30+ years ago when my landlord, looking to maximize his profits in a gentrifying Brooklyn neighborhood harassed, robbed and illegally evicted me from a property he owned. I quickly found neighborhood and statewide nonprofits, learned about tenant’s rights and how to advocate for policy change at city hall and the state capitol. Most importantly, I joined my neighbors who waged a successful years-long battle to stay in their homes.

Since then, I have worked in nonprofits with a social change mission as an organizer, fundraiser, policy advocate, program developer and executive director. I understand what it takes to be effective, stay solvent, and improve the lives of underinvested people and communities. I care, deeply, profoundly about the systemic and racial injustices that have marked public policy making and I know that nonprofits are critical to reimagining what can be. I started Power Station to amplify the voices of leaders who build community, influence and power. They are our pathway to progressive change.

Want to share your expertise with change-makers like you?
Join the nearly 200 leaders who have already shared their stories.

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