In this episode we have the pleasure of chatting with Mary Beth Collins, the Executive Director at the Center for Community and Nonprofit Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Human Ecology. Her work involves utilizing university assets alongside community partners to promote and prepare change agents to create a better Wisconsin, and a better world.

Mary Beth’s primary responsibilities focus on developing coursework educational experiences including Community and Nonprofit Leadership, Nonprofit Operations and Infrastructure and service learning opportunities.

With previous experience in the civic engagement sector, education and further community-based work surrounding non-profit leadership, Mary Beth brings a lens of community, understanding, and improvement to her work everyday.

In this episode of GridgeFridge, we sit down with Esther Kang, an assistant professor of design studies in the School of Human Ecology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

With a background in art, and social and civic design, Kang has built a career rooted in exploring how design shapes communities, public participation and the systems people interact with every day.

Before coming to UW–Madison, Kang spent over a decade working as a civic designer, strategist and researcher on projects with the federal government and other organizations. Today, she brings those experiences with her into her teaching and community-engaged research.

Kang's current research focuses on hyperscale data center proposals in Wisconsin and how they impact rural and low-income communities. Her work looks at how these projects and proposals take shape, who participates in the decision-making process and how communities experience and respond to changes in their surrounding environments.

In the first episode of GridgeFridge Season 7, we sit down with Dua Ci Khang, the lead for the Pre-Health Professional Development Programming at the Center for Pre-Health Advising at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

With a background in secondary education, multicultural affairs and educator training, Khang has built a career centered on community care, advocacy and social justice. As the proud daughter of two immigrants, her personal experiences and professional journey have shaped her commitment to creating more equitable opportunities for students and the communities they serve.

At UW–Madison, Khang works to prepare aspiring healthcare professionals through collaborative programming with campus and community partners. Her work includes initiatives such as the EMT Experience program and the Health Professions Shadowing Program, which provide students with opportunities to explore healthcare careers and gain firsthand experience in the field before graduation.

In this episode of GridgeFridge, we dive into how one local agricultural nonprofit organization, Rooted, runs its multifaceted mission to build community-led food systems, making fresh, quality food accessible to everyone.

Urban farms, community gardens and a neighborhood center are just some of the cornerstones to how Rooted strengthens its community outreach and development. Education is a pillar of Rooted’s efforts to integrate community-led food systems, and one of their partnerships is with Badger Rock Middle School, a project-based charter school. Rooted provides the middle school students with gardening and culinary lessons and works with Slowfood UW to get connected with college volunteers to help at the middle school.

We spoke with Rooted’s Director of Urban Agriculture Education at its Madison South locations and two UW students who previously worked at Badger Rock Middle School, Kiley Ystenes and Addy Von Bernthal, who now work as executive directors for Slowfood UW.

Their unique perspectives offer insight into how community assets, needs and ideas are essential to strengthening food access for all populations.

Together, they offer not just a visualized goal of a community-led food system, but the steps a community can take to make fresh, affordable and sustainable food a lasting part of its livelihood.

In this episode of GridgeFridge, we explore the burgeoning housing crisis in Madison and the ways in which it intersects with health and well-being for students and community members alike.

Through conversations with UW students and staff, affordable housing advocates, mental health professionals, and community leaders, we examine how rising rents, limited availability, and unstable living conditions are reshaping life on and off the UW–Madison campus.

From students navigating lease pressure and luxury apartment “affordable housing” units, to longtime Madison residents witnessing the impacts of housing insecurity, we explore how housing instability impacts far more than where someone rests their head at night. It affects physical and mental health, academic and professional success, and someone's sense of stability and belonging.

This episode features perspectives from UW–Madison student Angel Delgado, University Health Services Director of Mental Health Services Dr. Ellen Marks, Porchlight Executive Director Karla Thennes, realtor and business owner Tiffany Malone, former Madison alderperson and current Odyssey Project Success Coach Brian Benford, career journalist and professor Sue Robinson, and real estate faculty member Paul Aylesworth.

And together, they offer their thoughts and reflections on the pressures, tradeoffs, and systemic challenges that continue to shape who is able to live, stay, and thrive in Madison.

As the city continues to grow, the question becomes not just how to build more housing, but how to create housing that is truly affordable, accessible, and sustainable for the people who call Madison home.

In our final episode of the semester, we are joined by two Morgridge Center interns, Preet Talwar and Estrella Garza.

These two soon-to-be graduates have made a substantial impact on the Morgridge and Madison community, working to fulfill the center’s mission every day.

Preet is studying psychology and consumer behavior & marketplace studies with certificates in criminal justice and entrepreneurship, and Estrella is studying elementary education and educational policy studies with minors in early childhood education and English as a second language.

In this episode of GridgeFridge, we sit down with Dr. Ellen Marks, director of Mental Health Services at University Health Services (UHS) at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Ellen first came to UW–Madison as part of a one-year internship for her doctoral training. Ten years later, she’s still here, sustained by her family, the campus community and the ability to build a life here.

Now, she is an emerging mental health leader, managing clinical care, crisis response and program development–all while continuing to counsel students.

In her time at UHS, Ellen has witnessed the evolving mental health landscape for college students, one shaped by academic pressure, isolation, identity development and broader societal pressures.

In this episode of GridgeFridge, we are joined by Amy Liang, a junior at UW–Madison and a Wisconsin Idea Fellow working in partnership with the Literacy Network of Dane County. Amy’s fellowship project focuses on improving health literacy for immigrant and ESL communities in Madison.

Through tailored workshops offered in English, Spanish, and Hmong, Amy’s work helps people learn how to navigate healthcare systems, understand medical instructions, and access local resources, giving them confidence and freedom in spaces that often feel inaccessible.