Freedom to Rise
Podcast
From school superintendents to elected officials and business leaders, learn more about the people making a difference in the community with this informative and engaging podcast that highlights United Way Suncoast’s lasting impact.
Hurricane season officially begins June 1st; and if you're feeling almost prepared, you're not alone. In this special episode of the Freedom to Rise Podcast, we’re leaning into hurricane preparedness and the power of community partnerships.
Thanks to a grant from Verizon through United Way Worldwide, we're amplifying our efforts during National Hurricane Preparedness Month to ensure that our neighbors are ready. Not just to face storms, but to recover from them stronger than before.
Bronwyn welcomes Vice President of Investments and Partnership Strategies Josh Dunn and Disaster Resilience Officer Heather Koester to discuss getting better prepared, how United Way Suncoast supports long-term recovery, the lessons learned from Hurricanes Debbie, Helene, and Milton, and why resilience starts before the storm hits.
Host Bronwyn Beightol, United Way Suncoast’s Chief Impact Officer, takes listeners into a deeper dive about the work of our organization and the pertinent issues revolving around our mission, from early learning to affordable housing to disaster recovery. The podcast continues to attract legislative leaders, statewide policy makers, local elected officials and key business leaders. Everyone wants an opportunity to sit with Bronwyn and share their thoughts on how we can amplify the work of United Way Suncoast and enhance the community. The podcast is available on all platforms including Apple, Spotify, iHeart and Stitcher.
Your Host
Bronwyn Beightol
As United Way Suncoast’s Chief Impact Officer, Bronwyn Beightol provides vision, strategy and oversight for the organization’s community impact work. Yet she also adds thoughtful leadership to United Way Suncoast’s programmatic success in its five-county footprint, the single largest population service area among Florida’s local United Ways. She guides her team with an emphasis on process and systemic change, but for Bronwyn, dignity, equity and access matter as much as intelligent efforts. People take precedence over percentages. She eschews “us helping them” attitudes for true partnership approaches that allow every community member to create the life they imagine for themselves. A mother of two favorites and proud Grammie to three, Bronwyn has spent more than two decades in the social impact sector leading innovative, community-level change initiatives to advance the common good. She ends each podcast with “Bronwyn’s Big Takeaway,” a closing commentary.
