Connection is Key

About Connection is Key

Connection is Key is where neighbors come together to learn, connect, and take action. Hosted by Gini B, this podcast makes civic engagement accessible and meaningful by blending real stories, local issues, and opportunities to get involved. From housing and land use to neighborhood history and community organizing, we break down what’s happening in San Jose—and how we can shape its future together. Because an engaged community isn’t just stronger—it’s more joyful, more empathetic, and more connected.

Publisher

Gini

Category

society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

20 Mar 2025

Latest episode

27 Aug 2026

Latest episodes

22 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   27 Aug 2026

   College and Career Readiness - Supporting Our Students

   What does it actually take to get kids ready for life after high school? In this episode, I talk with Meredith "Mer" Curry Nuñez about college and career readiness and what our schools are (and aren't) doing to prepare students for what comes after graduation. We explore the gap between A-G requirements and graduation requirements, access to courses, and what tools like CaliforniaColleges.edu mean for equity in college and career planning. Mer shares insights from her years of work in college access and equity and offers her perspective on what it will take to close these gaps for our kids. This episode's What I'm Learning covers the history of San Jose’s school districting, new state testing data on where our students stand in math, and the gaps between graduating high school and being college ready. Our Community Spotlight reminds us we’re in election season. For Take Action, I encourage you to check your student's A-G plan on CaliforniaColleges.edu and look up your own trustee area ahead of November. LINKS & RESOURCES What I'm Learning Sources: California Dept. of Education, 2025 Assessment Data Release FAQ (2024-25 CAASPP results) - https://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/ca/assessmentreleasefaq2025.asp (https://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/ca/assessmentreleasefaq2025.asp) SchoolScope, "2026 CAASPP Scores: Ranges, Levels, and When Results Arrive" (grade 11 math achievement level breakdown) - https://schoolscope.co/blog/understanding-caaspp-scores-parent-guide (https://schoolscope.co/blog/understanding-caaspp-scores-parent-guide) Community Spotlight: Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, Look Up Your District - https://vote.santaclaracounty.gov (https://vote.santaclaracounty.gov/) "2026 marks another busy election year for San Jose," San José Spotlight - https://sanjosespotlight.com/2026-marks-another-busy-election-year-for-san-jose/ (https://sanjosespotlight.com/2026-marks-another-busy-election-year-for-san-jose/) Guest Information: Mer Curry Nuñez for East Side Union High School District, Trustee Area 1 - https://merforeastside.com (https://merforeastside.com/) Take Action: Create your student's account at CaliforniaColleges.edu and explore their A-G course plan - https://www.californiacolleges.edu (https://www.californiacolleges.edu/) Look up your trustee area and city council district races at the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters - https://vote.santaclaracounty.gov (https://vote.santaclaracounty.gov/) Check Mer's campaign page for upcoming events - https://merforeastside.com (https://merforeastside.com/)

2. 

   14 Aug 2026

   What Does a School Board Actually Do?

   What does a school board actually do, and why should it matter to you? I sit down with East Side Union High School District candidate Mer Curry Nuñez to find out. This week I'm digging into something a lot of us think we understand until we're actually asked to explain it: what a school board does, and where their power starts and stops. Mer Curry Nuñez joins me for the conversation. She's spent years in college and career access work and is now running for her first elected office as a candidate for the East Side Union High School District board. We talk through the difference between governing and managing, why board seats are structured in a way that can actually shrink who gets to run, and how she's come to believe that tracking outcomes instead of just intentions truly ripple out into something bigger than any one classroom. After our conversation, I sit with what stuck with me most: that a board's job is to advise and set vision, not to do the day to day work, and that the vision should actually show up in the budget if you know where to look. I also get personal about something Mer and I both circled during the interview, the way board pay (or the lack of it) can quietly narrow who's even able to run. For Community Spotlight, I'm highlighting Californians for Justice, the youth led San Jose organization behind the AI workshop Mer mentioned during our talk. This is the first of two conversations with Mer, the second digs into college and career readiness. Stay tuned for another great conversation with Mer next week. What I'm Learning Sources: Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, Look Up Your District tool (vote.santaclaracounty.gov/look-your-district) List of Candidates (https://vote.santaclaracounty.gov/november-3-2026-general-election-resources) (find "Unofficial List of Local Candidates") East Side Union High School District, By-District Trustee Elections (esuhsd.org/By-District-Trustee-Elections/) Community Spotlight: Californians for Justice, San Jose (caljustice.org/our-work/san-jose/) Guest Information: Meredith "Mer" Curry Nuñez is a dedicated community leader advancing college and career access and equity through coalition building and youth centered programs. This year she is running for office for the first time to serve as a board member for the East Side Union High School District. A 2023 East Side Hall of Famer, Mer grew up in the Philippines and East San Jose, graduated from Piedmont Hills High School, and is a product of the CA Community Colleges, California State University, and the University of California. Website - meredithcurry.com Advanced Consulting - advancedconsulting.org Mer for Eastside - merforeastside.com LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/meredithdcurry) Facebook (facebook.com/meredith.curry) Instagram (instagram.com/mercurrynunez) Mentioned in the Episode: California School Boards Association, "What It Takes to Lead" (csba.org/-/media/CSBA/Files/GovernanceResources/EffectiveGovernance/What-it-Takes-to-Lead-2024.ashx) San José Spotlight, "Editorial: South Bay school district boards should move to term limits," April 2026 (csba.org/-/media/CSBA/Files/GovernanceResources/EffectiveGovernance/What-it-Takes-to-Lead-2024.ashx) Melissa Got-Lopez, Trustee, Mount Pleasant Elementary School District, credited by Mer for helping her understand how school boards work Patrice Berry, Board Director, Oakland Unified School District, referenced by Mer as a model for keeping the public informed through regular updates Ballotpedia (ballotpedia.org) Take Action: Look up your own trustee area and see who's running near you: vote.santaclaracounty.gov/look-your-district Attend or livestream your local school board meeting Look up your district's official vision statement and compare it to the budget to see if they actually match Election Day is November 3, 2026. East Side Union High School and San Jose Unified both have trustee area seats on the ballot

3. 

   3 Jun 2026

   Schools of Tomorrow...

   San Jose Unified called it Schools of Tomorrow, but in the end it meant closing five elementary schools, so I sat down with three parents to understand how it happened and what it means for our community. In this episode, I talk with Nigel Jahn, Michael Melillo, and David Friedlander about the San Jose Unified school closures that came out of the Schools of Tomorrow process. We explore how all five schools closing are Title I schools serving predominantly Latino and low-income students, the district's long-standing communication and transparency problems, and how a handful of engaged parents turned a quiet process into a standing-room-only fight. Nigel, Michael, and David each got pulled into this from different starting points, and they offer a grounded, honest perspective on how we build the kind of sustained community engagement that holds a district accountable, not just in a crisis but all year long. This episode's What I'm Learning covers how Schools of Tomorrow became five school closures, what it means that San Jose Unified is a basic aid district funded by property taxes rather than attendance, and what the 2024 civil grand jury report found about trust and leadership. Our Community Spotlight features Pride Month across San Jose and Santa Clara County, including 17-year-old Nova Jayaraj's year-long effort to raise a Progress Pride flag in Los Gatos for the first time. For Take Action, I encourage you to pay attention to this fall's school board race and to support an organization doing LGBTQ+ work in our community this month. LINKS & RESOURCES What I'm Learning Sources: District Adrift: Leadership Issues at San Jose Unified School District (Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury, June 2024) - Read the report (PDF) (https://santaclara.courts.ca.gov/system/files/civil/district-adrift-san-jose-unified-school-district.pdf) San Jose Unified votes to close five elementary schools (San Jose Spotlight) - sanjosespotlight.com (https://sanjosespotlight.com/san-joses-largest-district-school-closes-five-schools/) San Jose Unified plans to close 5 schools (KQED) - kqed.org (https://www.kqed.org/news/12078479/san-jose-unified-plans-to-close-5-schools) Community Spotlight: Los Gatos raises first-ever Progress Pride flag after student-led push (KTVU) - ktvu.com (https://www.ktvu.com/news/los-gatos-raises-progress-pride-flag-first-time-after-student-led-push) Silicon Valley Pride 5K and 10K, Saturday June 20 at Hellyer County Park, 9 a.m., ages 8+ - svpride.com/events (https://www.svpride.com/events/3rd-annual-5k10k) Silicon Valley Pride Festival and Parade, August 29 and 30, downtown San Jose - svpride.com/festival (https://www.svpride.com/festival) Guest Information: Nigel Jahn-Hansen - parent of two in San Jose Unified, Thousand Oaks Neighborhood Association president, and a candidate for the San Jose Unified school board Michael Melillo - 10 years working on public education in San Jose, former San Jose Unified board member (appointed 2018), chaired the Citizens Bond Oversight Committee, co-chaired the Measure R bond campaign, and a school board candidate this fall David Friedlander - parent of two in San Jose Unified, school site council chair, and an advocate for equitable public schools Mentioned in the Episode: Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury (independent watchdog body, currently recruiting members) - santaclara.courts.ca.gov/CGJ (https://santaclara.courts.ca.gov/CGJ) Billy DeFrank LGBTQ+ Community Center, 938 The Alameda, celebrating 45 years - defrank.org (https://www.defrank.org/) Silicon Valley Pride (501c3 nonprofit, 51 years) - svpride.com (https://www.svpride.com/) BAYMEC, Bay Area Municipal Elections Committee (LGBTQ+ political action since 1984) - baymec.org (https://www.baymec.org/) Take Action: Look up your trustee area and the candidates, then vote in November (Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters) - sccvote.sccgov.org (https://sccvote.sccgov.org/) Have a story from the closure process you want to share? Email connectioniskeypodcast@gmail.com. This is part one of a series Pick one LGBTQ+ organization to support this month with your time, dollars, or presence: the Billy DeFrank Center, Silicon Valley Pride, or BAYMEC

Who has been a guest on Connection is Key

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Claudine Sipili
• Elizabeth Colorado
• Hannah Jayne
• Janikke Klem

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

3 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 17 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

35

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

0

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Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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