The Heising-Simons Foundation is proud to regularly see its grantee partners featured in media outlets across the country, providing an expert voice on a timely issue or being highlighted for their accomplishments and hard work. Here are some news items that have featured our grantees in February 2020.

How Philanthropy Can Create Public Systems Change
Stanford Social Innovation Review, Spring 2020
This case study delves into the ways in which the Renewing Communities initiative “transformed access to public higher education for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated Californians.” The article is co-written by Rebecca Silbert and Debbie Mukamal, former co-directors of the initiative, which ended in 2019. Renewing Communities was supported by the Foundation’s Human Rights program.

‘The Zo,’ Where Prison Guards’ Favorite Tactic Is Messing With Your Head.
The Marshall Project and Topic, February 27, 2020
The Marshall Project has teamed up with Topic, a new digital streaming service, to release an animated video series called ‘The Zo’ (prison jargon for The Twilight Zone). The series is based on a 2017 academic paper that examines “a struggle between prisoners and their captors, waged not with fists or weapons but with deliberately disorienting rules and impossible tasks.” The Marshall Project is supported by the Foundation’s Human Rights program.

Report: Each Homicide Costs Stockton $2.5 Million
KCRA Channel 3 Sacramento, February 25, 2020
According to a new report by the National Institute for Criminal Justice Report (NICJR), each homicide in Stockton, CA, costs the city at least $2.5 million. NICJR’s report is part of a series of studies across six cities in the U.S. The report was made possible in part by the Hope and Heal Fund, which is supported by the Foundation’s Community and Opportunity program.

Pressured By Younger Voters and an Election, Republicans Reluctantly Embrace Climate Change
Newsweek, February 21, 2020
This article amplifies recent polling by Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions that showed more than two-thirds of younger Republican voters “feel Republicans need to do more to address climate change.” Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions is supported by the Foundation’s Climate and Clean Energy program.

Ten Things to Know About the Clean Economy Act
Virginia Mercury, February 20, 2020
“[S]wiftly ramping up the use of more cost-effective efficiency and renewable resources will fundamentally change the economics of energy in our commonwealth,” says Harry Godfrey, executive director of Virginia Advanced Energy Economy. The article discusses the Clean Economy Act, a bill that aims to get Virginia to zero carbon emissions by 2050. Advanced Energy Economy is supported by the Foundation’s Climate and Clean Energy program.

Big Telescopes Join the Hunt for Flashes in the Sky
Science magazine, February 14, 2020
The Las Cumbres Observatory (LCO) in Chile and the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) in California were among several telescopes around the world that joined forces to observe “the possible merger of a black hole with a neutron star, an event never seen before.” Both LCO and ZTF are quoted in this article that discusses how new telescopes and other detectors are “creating a need for fast follow-up observations.” LCO and ZTF are supported by the Foundation’s Science program.

Lawmakers Consider Ways to Make Childcare More Affordable
WRBL-CBS, February 10, 2020
“If I had access to quality and affordable childcare from the start, my career and my kids’ lives would have looked very different,” Angelica Gonzalez said at the first U.S. public hearing about child care in six years. Angelica, who is a volunteer member of MomsRising, spoke to the House Education and Labor committee about her struggles to access affordable and high-quality child care, and how it has impacted her family. More than fifty news outlets across the nation covered the story. MomsRising is supported by the Foundation’s Education program.

Everyone Knows About Hollywood’s Lack of Representation. This Woman Fought to Remedy It More Than 50 Years Ago
TIME Magazine, February 5, 2020
Rahsaan Harris, president and CEO of the Emma Bowen Foundation, co-authored this piece that delves into Emma L. Bowen’s pioneering work to increase positive portrayals of minorities in the news and cultural media. The Emma Bowen Foundation is supported by the Foundation’s Community and Opportunity program.