Edgar Villanueva didn’t plan on starting a movement. If it wasn’t for his boss telling him that he was getting “too big for his britches,” he’d likely still be knee-deep in big philanthropy. Instead of leaving, however, he was spurred on to write his book Decolonizing Wealth. On this week’s show, we talk about the problems he saw in philanthropy, how his take on the industry set a fire under people longing for change, and how to continue having authentic conversations with love.

Natalie Burke is back with us today for a conversation that addresses one central question: how does racism harm us all? It’s a deceivingly simple question that is achingly difficult to answer. Natalie’s efforts to create what she calls “constructive discomfort” goes a long way toward helping us all adapt to the pain that can come through learning and change. When we can face our discomfort in trust we all win through transformation.

This week on Mission Forward, we bring you a conversation from 2017 with two guests who boldly challenge assumptions we hold in our everyday lives. They stand unafraid to say the things many of us think, using their words and ideas as waves cresting in and over us, then receding, laying bare our understanding of ourselves and how we relate to the world around us a little more clearly.

We’re exploring the work of the Center for Common Ground this week with founding board member, Andrea Miller. When it comes to racial justice and equity, she’s an incredible fighter, a noted leader in Virginia working to turn the tide on compressed voter access, and a firebrand when it comes to elected leaders working against the will of the people of her state.