A digital documentary series about the local leaders who make up the District of Columbia. Interviews with people creating art, business, and life and what they want to say to the community.
Patricia Stamper: Showing Up for DC
Patricia Stamper is a Ward 7 mom, educator, and community advocate. She talks about how her years teaching and refereeing youth sports led her to believe that bringing every DC resident to an eighth grade reading level could transform the city. She debriefs DC politics, from the latest local happenings to her honest opinion on how campaigning works. The conversation closes out with the bigger picture: the continued fight for DC statehood and the value of staying civically engaged.
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Ryan Tobin Schaefer: Don't Dream It, Be It
Ryan is a self-taught film photographer based in DC who focuses on portraying the queer community. He looks back on his photography journey and shares what queer culture looks like through his lens: camp, color, emotion, movement, drama. The trust that his subjects place in him means that he prepares extensively for each photoshoot and deploys different styles, including his exploration into black-and-white portraiture.
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KT Beckman-Gotrich: Organizing at the Speed of Trust
KT has lived in DC for almost 15 years and has been a local organizer for almost as long. They talk about why authentic relationships are the foundation of any impactful movement and walk through some of the campaigns they have helped grow. KT is now a Ward 5 Co-chair for Free DC and works at the Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA) to make the city safer and more interconnected.
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Herbert Robinson: From Growing Pains to Growing Solutions
Herbert is a native Washingtonian and entrepreneur who's working to change how we think about incarceration and reentry. He shares about his organizations Growing Pain Solutions and AGG Transportation, driven by his own experience with the justice system. He talks about what has changed for him, how to change mindsets both inside prisons and in the broader community, and what he believes DC still needs to understand about the people coming home from incarceration.
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