On this special episode of The Buddy Ruski Show, Justin talks with Mary Hondermann of El Futuro.

El Futuro provides comprehensive mental health services in a bilingual environment to thousands of individuals and families across North Carolina. During the conversation, Mary and Justin talk about the organization's mission, how they've adjusted their work during the COVID-19 pandemic, and some of Mary's favorite client stories.

On Thursday, December 15, in collaboration with Rubies at Five Points, the Buddy Ruski team is hosting a dance party fundraiser to bring awareness and raise funds for El Futuro. This is the second time Buddy Ruski and Rubies have teamed up to raise money for local community organizations. Find out more about the event here.

As always, thank you for listening. If you like what you hear, be sure to share with your friends.

You can always find new episodes of this podcast and so much more at BuddyRuski.com. Make it a part of your regular content digest.

Follow on Twitter and Instagram: @buddyruski

On episode 28 of The Buddy Ruski Show, Justin interviews Victoria Bouloubasis.

Victoria is a journalist and multimedia producer based in Durham, North Carolina. She shares what it's like growing up as the child of immigrants, moving from North Jersey to Clemmons, North Carolina at age 7, and how being a "restaurant kid" shaped her relationship with food and food culture. (3:04)

Victoria would go on to study Journalism and Spanish at UNC-Chapel Hill with ambitions to publish magazine features. She recalls learning the strict publishing standards that she's still a stickler for to this day, and having to pass "the test" that terrified many aspiring journalists. (19:51)

After college, she became a contributing writer, and eventually the Food Editor, at INDY WEEK, a Triangle-based alt-weekly newspaper. Victoria credits her editors with giving her the freedom to explore different aspects of the food industry, including working conditions for farmers and factory employees, and the history behind some of our favorite dishes. (46:01)

When she's not on the search for her next feature, Victoria performs with the DJ collective Mamis and the Papis. (1:13:42) Shout out Bad Bunny!

Victoria publishes stories using a variety of media disciplines including podcasts and documentary film. "Her work aims to dispel myths about the Global South—its people and places—against the backdrop of complex social, political and personal histories." You can find links to her work on her website.

As always, thank you for listening. If you like what you hear, be sure to share with your friends.

You can always find new episodes of this podcast and so much more at BuddyRuski.com. Make it a part of your regular content digest.

Follow on Twitter and Instagram: @buddyruski

Jed Byrne grew up in Baltimore County, Maryland, not the city of Baltimore, which is an important distinction to make, according to Byrne. After reading The Color of Law, which makes specific reference to the history of Baltimore, and Clemson University where he went to college, Byrne says he better understood how place, and the ways they are built, determine how communities thrive or suffer. (5:13)

Byrne graduated from Clemson with a degree in mechanical engineering in 2007, one year before the housing crisis. 5 years later, he would leave his career as an engineer to pursue his MBA at UNC-Chapel Hill in Real Estate Finance and Development. (19:32) After traveling around different communities (The Bay Area, Houston, Atlanta), Byrne began to realize that development is as much about architecture as it is psychology, and that many of us are more YIMBY elsewhere but NIMBY at home. (22:12)

To close out our conversation, Byrne and I walk through the typical development process and where community can, and should, get more involved. (48:04)

You can learn more about Jed's work at oakcityCRE.com.

As always, thank you for listening. If you like what you hear, be sure to share with your friends.

You can always find new episodes of this podcast and so much more at BuddyRuski.com. Make it a part of your regular content digest.

Follow on Twitter and Instagram: @buddyruski