The Hive Collective Podcast: Shifting Power in Nonprofits · Beth Ellen Holimon

Building Community Power: From Trauma to Transformation with Camryn Smith and Jen Zuckerman

·1 hr 7 min·5 clips

Karen Smith describes the moment a $175,000 house sale in their neighborhood alerted them to impending gentrification and systemic displacement.

This episode features host Beth Ellen Holliman in conversation with Karen "Cameron" Smith, co-founder of Communities in Partnership, and Jen Zuckerman, a consultant and the organization's advisory board member. Cameron is an anti-racism activist who coined the term "community-rooted," while Jen brings a perspective from her background in philanthropy at the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation and Duke University. Communities in Partnership formed in 2011 after a drive-by shooting traumatized their historically redlined neighborhood in Durham, North Carolina. The founders rejected a large nonprofit's advice to board up windows, instead initiating monthly community potlucks that grew into block parties, cleanups, and a youth-run farm. The organization observed early gentrification when a renovated house on Driver Street sold for over $40,000 above its $175,000 asking price, with city officials present at the open house. They formally became a 501(c)(3) in 2016 to better address systemic issues like economic displacement and disproportionate police contact. Cameron explains that "community-rooted" means the organization is created by, accountable to, and owned by directly impacted community members, primarily Black and materially poor residents. The board includes a spectrum of residents from professors to people on food stamps, while an advisory board of external professionals provides counsel without final decision-making power. Jen describes her initial approach as a "well-meaning white woman" with resources, aiming to make Durham a "model food community" until Cameron challenged her on whose model that would serve. A pivotal moment in their relationship occurred when Jen, during a conflict involving a white student and Cameron's daughters, initially aligned with and protected the white woman, exacerbating harm. Jen requested a meeting with Cameron's daughters to hear the impact of her actions without expecting forgiveness, framing it as the start of a healing process she alone must work on. Cameron emphasizes that their cross-racial partnership is built on loving each other's humanity and not centering white discomfort over Black well-being during difficult conversations. The organization's philosophy is rooted in Asset-Based Community Development, a methodology that identifies a community's existing strengths rather than its deficits. Cameron cites data showing Black women with higher education and healthcare still die at higher rates during childbirth than white women with only high school diplomas, with race being a persistent factor. The tone is deeply personal, reflective, and educational, weaving narrative storytelling with frameworks for organizational change. Listeners interested in practical models for community-led development, authentic cross-racial partnership, and critiques of traditional nonprofit structures will find this episode compelling. Those seeking quick, tactical advice without a relational or historical context might find the conversation less immediately applicable.

As heard by us

A grounded look at nonprofit power-sharing, accountability, and the harm that exposes both.

The episode keeps its attention on shifting and sharing power in nonprofits, and it does that best when Beth Ellen Holliman stays close to concrete work rather than theory.

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Why you'd press play

Hear how power shifts when a nonprofit conversation gets real about harm and repair.

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