Welcome to Good People Talk, a Podcast where social entrepreneurs and visionaries –those who are changing and uplifting lives and communities in the U.S., Israel, and elsewhere around the world – describe what it is that drives and motivates them to tackle seemingly intractable challenges and generate deep impact. Their stories frame how change-makers, often informed by their Jewish values and in partnership with philanthropy, can change the narrative. To learn more, go to goodpeoplefund.org.
Guest: Gavi Welbel, Co-Founder of Zumwalt Acres
About Zumwalt Acres: Zumwalt Acres is an ecological farm in Sheldon, Illinois, founded by twin sisters Gavi and Remi Welbel in 2020. As sixth-generation stewards of their family’s land, they’ve transformed a conventional farm into a regenerative agriculture hub rooted in Jewish values and climate-forward practices. The farm grows food regeneratively for farmers’ markets and local food pantries, hosts an annual apprenticeship program for young people aged 18-27, and conducts climate research on carbon sequestration methods. They also cultivate specialty mushrooms, bridge conventional and regenerative farming communities in rural Illinois, and honor Jewish agricultural traditions.
Learn More: Visit Zumwalt Acres (https://www.zumwaltacres.org/) online to learn about their work, apprenticeship opportunities, and research initiatives.
Zumwalt Acres is supported by the Good People Fund (https://www.goodpeoplefund.org), which invests in innovative grassroots organizations making a difference in their communities.
24 Mar 2026
Bearing Witness: From Prison to Purpose
Evie Litwok walked out of federal prison in 2014 with $30 and a Greyhound ticket. The daughter of Holocaust survivors, Evie founded Witness to Mass Incarceration to help formerly incarcerated people rebuild their lives with dignity and support. Her work is deeply informed by her family’s experience of survival and her commitment to bearing witness to injustice. Witness to Mass Incarceration provides practical reentry support like laptops and phones for newly released individuals, offers vocational training, documents the stories of incarcerated people, connects formerly incarcerated business owners to build economic empowerment, and advocates to change conditions inside prisons, particularly around sexual violence and abuse. The Good People Fund gave Evie her very first grant, making this transformative work possible.
Witness to Mass Incarceration is supported by the Good People Fund, which invests in innovative grassroots organizations making a difference in their communities.
23 Feb 2026
Building Bridges: Art for Social Change
In this final episode of our Building Bridges series on Good People Talk, Naomi Eisenberger, The Good People Fund’s Founder and Executive Director, speaks with Jon Adam Ross, founder of Inheritance Theater Project, a Good People Fund grantee that uses performance art to build bridges between community members in cities across the country. Growing up in Memphis, Tennessee, Jon’s family considered civic engagement and belief in a civil society to be of paramount importance in one’s life. Going on to study at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, Jon was exposed to a wide range of performance art, eventually building his life’s work which combines those talents with his early lessons in creating and maintaining a civil society. Today, Inheritance Theater Project has created programs in more than 20 states, as well as for prestigious programs at Harvard Divinity School, the Obama Foundation and other entities. Jon shares stories of hope that have sprung up in the cities where ITP has appeared and believes that we, as a country, can go beyond the current unrest shaking the core beliefs of our shared society.
The Good People Fund relies on the generosity of supporters like you to continue this work. Visit goodpeoplefund.org/donate (https://www.goodpeoplefund.org/how-can-you-help/mitzvah-donate/) to make a gift today.
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