They're back! The 2026 election season has host Bessie Alcantara back in conversation with the co-authors of Girl I Guess, Stephanie Skora and Reaghn Draper.

Stephanie Skora (she/her)

She is the Director of Development and Strategic Priorities for Chicago Therapy Collective, is on the Board of One Roof Chicago, and does several other things, as well.

Reaghn Draper (they/them)

is a pro-labor, queer, Black, non-binary babe who is bisexual only because they like the flag colors better than the ones for the pansexual flag. They are the Communications Manager for the Center for Third World Organizing, a co-founder of the CHAAD Project, a community organizer, painter, and writer.

Most recent Girl I Guess Guide: Girl, I Guess Progressive Voter Guide 2026 General

NCN Voter Engagement Toolkit: https://www.councilofnonprofits.org/files/media/documents/2026/NCN_Voter_Engagement_Toolkit_2026_V12.pdf

In this episode of Broken Office Chair, host Bessie Alcantara meets again with Amanda Hwu. Amanda directs ILCPF’s strategies to create new philanthropic structures that are genuinely accountable to the Illinois organizing ecosystem. Her work is driven by the belief that how we fund organizing is a critical site for practicing the discipline and interdependence needed for transforming our world.

Amanda was born and raised in East Central Illinois. Prior to ILCPF, she served as the founding Director of Neighborhood Funders Group’s Midwest Organizing Infrastructure Funders where she built the region’s only program dedicated to training and coordinating funders to resource organizing. Her past work also includes managing an equity initiative within a family foundation, facilitating participatory grantmaking processes to fund Asian and Pacific Islander-led power building, building data systems for violence prevention programs, coordinating youth organizing programs, and supporting racial and environmental justice campaigns.

Amanda holds a Bachelor's degree in Social Work from the University of Illinois and Master's degree in Social Administration from the University of Chicago.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-hwu/

Introducing Broken Office Chair, a new podcast produced by Alternatives, a Chicago-based nonprofit. Broken Office Chair is hosted by Alternatives’ Executive Director, Bessie Alcantara, a Chicago native and a first-generation Salvadoran-Mexican American who’s passionate about dismantling systemic racism.In each episode, Bessie will be joined by friends and colleagues who are ready to talk frankly about the most important issues within the nonprofit sector. Topics range from challenges for women of color in nonprofit leadership to the cost of being poor.To learn more, visit our website: www.alternativesyouth.org/brokenofficechair

In this episode of Broken Office Chair, our host Bessie Alcantara is joined by Dakarai Larriatt. They discuss Dakarai's experience at the hands of Michigan State Police in 2024 and his advocacy work.

Dakarai Larriett, a proud Alabama native, is the son of a U.S. Army veteran and a dedicated public school teacher. Dakarai began his career in corporate leadership roles in New York before launching his own pet-care business in 2012. His debut memoir, Don’t Flush!, shares the story of his wrongful arrest in 2024 and serves as a powerful call to civic engagement and reform.

You can find Dakarai at: www.dakarailarriatt.com

Broken Office Chair host, Bessie Alcantara is joined by Adela Carlin, Senior Director of Advocacy at Illinois Partners for Human Service and Sarah Daniels, Chief Of Staff at ICOY for a special live recording of Cocktails & Complicity. This event was recorded on March 12th, 2026, This is Part 1 of a series related to Community of Care. Speakers touched on how true community is defined by mutual accountability and restorative connection, standing in direct opposition to the modern shift toward transactional, isolationist, and work-centric lifestyles. As rising costs, diminishing social spaces, and digital distractions erode our collective "free time," the nonprofit sector, and society at large, risks prioritizing capitalistic productivity over the essential human need to care for one another. To reclaim our well-being, we must dismantle the systems that frame social obligations as "unprofessional" and instead prioritize the relational ties that allow diverse communities to truly thrive.

Adela Carlin is a Latina community lawyer with more than 20 years of experience advancing equity and justice alongside individuals, families, and community groups. She serves as Senior Director of Advocacy, co-leading the Living Wages, Thriving Communities Campaign to advance sustainable, equitable investments in the human services workforce. In her senior advocacy role, she mobilizes and supports partners to engage in strategic, values-driven advocacy that centers community voice and lived experience.

Adela develops equity-focused training for coalition partners and is a Racial Justice Institute Fellow, national facilitator with Reframing Aging, and member of the National Health Equity Collective. She serves on the boards of Solutions for Care, Forefront, and AMPT Chicago.

Adela grew up in Little Village, is bilingual in English and Spanish, and earned her law degree from the University of Illinois College of Law at Urbana-Champaign.

Sarah Daniels received her BA in Communication/Public Relations from Millikin University. While debating on whether grad school would be the next best thing, she decided to stay at Millikin as an AmeriCorps*VISTA, where she focused on economic development and education for one school year. Many of her duties entailed creating service-learning opportunities, grant management for voter engagement, solidifying and maintaining partnerships with community organizations. She then went on to complete her Master of Public Administration degree at the University of Illinois- Springfield.

At the start of a global pandemic, she joined ICOY as a Policy Analyst. A year into her role, she was promoted to Assistant Executive Director. She represents ICOY and its members on policy commissions, committees, and various workgroups. As a public servant, Sarah is someone who wishes to always teach and give back to those in the community, especially as it relates to regaining power in underserved areas by extending resources and opportunities for growth.

When she is not “working”, she can be found selling real estate in the Chicagoland area, traveling with friends and family, binge-watching the latest TV shows, or enjoying brunch and creating content for her socials.

Broken Office Chair host, Bessie Alcantara is joined by Ald. Jessie Fuentes, Alderperson of the 26th Ward and a queer Latina grassroots organizer, educator, and public policy advocate.

Growing up in Humboldt Park amidst the generational traumas of parental substance use, mental illness, and job instability, Jessie resorted to dealing with her own struggles of resentment and anger with the juvenile justice system, as experienced by far too many young Chicagoans.

Jessie found a home at Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos High School, an alternative high school in the heart of Humboldt Park. Jessie was politicized by educators who understood her life experiences. She graduated high school, earned a degree from NEIU, and returned home to Humboldt Park to serve as the Dean of Students of both Roberto Clemente Community Academy and her alma mater, ensuring Black and Latine students had the resources to transcend trauma and pursue their aspirations. As Director of Policy and Youth Advocacy at the Puerto Rican Cultural Center, she championed community-driven solutions that address violence, housing affordability, and re-entry for returning citizens.

Now she utilizes her past experiences to serve as the Alderperson of the 26th Ward, bringing over a decade of experience in education, criminal justice reform, affordable housing, community development, and sustainability to give back to the community that shaped her.

@Jessiefor26th

@26thwardchicago

www.the26thward.org

In part 2 of their conversation, Broken Office Chair host, Bessie Alcantara is joined by Sufyan Sohel, Chair of Cook County Commission on Human Rights - Consultant Social Impact, board member of ACLU, whose career centers on combating hate and advancing justice for marginalized communities, and he is the Founder of Globalize Good, where he advises leaders and supports nonprofits, foundations, and social enterprises in navigating internal conflict, building strategic capacity, and scaling equity-centered solutions. He also leads CAIR-Chicago’s Travelers Assistance Project, providing critical guidance and support to individuals and families facing challenges at airports and borders. In part 1 of this conversation, Bessie and Sufyan talk about privilege, values, politics and cancel culture.

Sufyan currently chairs the Cook County Commission on Human Rights, serves as Equity Officer for the ACLU of Illinois, co-chairs the DePaul Law Diversity Council, is Board Chair of the South Asian American Coalition to Renew Democracy (SACRED), and facilitates anti-hate and bystander intervention trainings with Right To Be. A trained facilitator, storyteller, and poet, he uses public narrative, media, and movement-building to uplift impacted communities and inspire collective action rooted in justice, dignity, and belonging.

You can follow Sufyan here:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sufyansohel

https://www.instagram.com/sufyansohel/

https://www.threads.com/@sufyansohel

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CAIR-Chicago provides information and legal services free of charge.

For EMERGENCIES AT THE AIRPORT ONLY, please text (630) 930-2987 with the traveler’s full name, passport number, nationality, flight departure/arrival/airline details, visa details, and emergency contact person’s details.

Broken Office Chair host, Bessie Alcantara is joined by Sufyan Sohel, Chair of Cook County Commission on Human Rights - Consultant Social Impact, board member of ACLU, whose career centers on combating hate and advancing justice for marginalized communities, and he is the Founder of Globalize Good, where he advises leaders and supports nonprofits, foundations, and social enterprises in navigating internal conflict, building strategic capacity, and scaling equity-centered solutions. He also leads CAIR-Chicago’s Travelers Assistance Project, providing critical guidance and support to individuals and families facing challenges at airports and borders. In part 1 of this conversation, Bessie and Sufyan talk about privilege, values, politics and cancel culture.

Sufyan currently chairs the Cook County Commission on Human Rights, serves as Equity Officer for the ACLU of Illinois, co-chairs the DePaul Law Diversity Council, is Board Chair of the South Asian American Coalition to Renew Democracy (SACRED), and facilitates anti-hate and bystander intervention trainings with Right To Be. A trained facilitator, storyteller, and poet, he uses public narrative, media, and movement-building to uplift impacted communities and inspire collective action rooted in justice, dignity, and belonging.

You can follow Sufyan here:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sufyansohel

https://www.instagram.com/sufyansohel/

https://www.threads.com/@sufyansohel

----------------------------------------------------------

CAIR-Chicago provides information and legal services free of charge.

For EMERGENCIES AT THE AIRPORT ONLY, please text (630) 930-2987 with the traveler’s full name, passport number, nationality, flight departure/arrival/airline details, visa details, and emergency contact person’s details.