image above | A panel of speakers discusses energy equity at the 2025 ECA conference   Helene McGregor is a 77-year-old Neighborhood Energy Center (NEC) worker at Center in the Park in Germantown. Her work consists of helping Philadelphians in the 19139, 19144, and 19150 zip codes obtain financial help with their energy bills.  She […]

Natasha Oglesby speaking at the 2025 Mayday rally. Photo by the author  It’s been six months since thousands of Philadelphians gathered outside City Hall for the annual May Day rally, commemorating International Workers’ Day. Yet one speaker’s testimony still echoes today. “I was recently evicted from my home a day before my birthday,” SEIU 32BJ […]

Dr. Revati Prasad of the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society and Christopher Wink of Technical.ly deliver the Keynote address at the Tech Learning Collaborative’s 2025 conference.   Zabeehullah Yadgar is an Afghan immigrant who moved to the United States in 2023. He is now in the nine-month Digital Bridge Peer Facilitator program at The […]

Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs)’s impact go beyond loans and capital access. They invest directly in young people through education and wealth-building. These mission-driven organizations, initially known for supporting small businesses and underinvested communities, are now bridging the gap between financial systems and young people who have historically been excluded from them. CDFIs approach financial […]

Image above Michael O’Bryan introducing fellow colleagues and panelists at the Wealth + Work Futures Lab (L-R) Kevin Carter, Alicia Atkinson and Timothy (TJ) Dean at the CommonGround Grief & Workforce event on September 18, 2025. It was a simple and attractive promise: if you study and work hard, you can count on a secure […]

Mental Health Partnership participants Shawn Anderson, Elizabeth Anderson and Quadira Purfoyi at a press conference celebrating the 60th anniversary of Medicare and Medicaid on August 1, 2025  (above image)   For Hannah, who juggles work at a nonprofit, a small business, and seasonal jobs, Medicaid is what allows her to get routine physical, mental, and […]

A service alert for the Route 12 bus line warns commuters of impending cuts. Photo courtesy of SEPTA Faced with a $213M budget crisis, SEPTA announced on August 14 that they would move forward with service cuts after the deadline passed to secure crucial funding from Pennsylvania leaders. Pennsylvania’s Democratic House committee said no to […]

This summer, as budget debates rage in Harrisburg and Philadelphia’s school district reevaluates its physical footprint, the people at the heart of the city’s public education system — families, educators, advocates, and students — are facing yet another turning point. With school closures on the horizon, a strike authorized by the teachers union, and a […]

Beautiful Tashya Vinson, an 11th grader at the Philadelphia High School for Girls, has lived in the shadow of gun violence since her brother’s murder in 2021.  Jabree Oliphant was 18 when he was shot and killed. Oliphant had just returned home from his job at a nearby Target and decided to walk to a […]

Within the lens of human concern, Michael O’Bryan has been focused on the systemic inequities and economic challenges through his Wealth + Work Futures Lab at Drexel University’s Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation. Under his leadership, the Lab is pioneering a holistic approach to economic mobility that goes beyond traditional benchmarks to focus on the […]