Community as Resistance

Protecting Ourselves and Our Communities by Running Towards Each Other

Howdy folks,

This Monday, Feb 10, 2025 April Doner will be our guest on Redneck Gone Green. As the not-so-slowly moving Trump Administrative Coup continues, it is becoming increasingly clear that neither the Democratic Party leadership nor the Courts are going to save us.

Ordinary people are going to have to come together in our local communities to protect the most vulnerable from the threats posed by the policies and rhetoric of the Trump administration. Marginalized groups, immigrants, People of Color, LGBTQ+ individuals, Muslims (and other religious minorities) are facing increased discrimination and an erosion of their rights. It is absolutely essential to support them and the organizations that advocate for these communities.

We must also lift up our voices in unwavering support of inclusiveness and open dialogue to counter divisive narratives. By standing in solidarity and actively working to uphold democratic principles and human rights, together we can mitigate the risks, while ensuring the safety and dignity of all individuals, regardless of background or identity.

April Doner will take those lofty principles and values and provide some concrete ways to make that real. She is uniquely qualified to engage in this conversation. April is a community connector, artist, and mother who is passionate about igniting the intersection between re-weaving neighbor relationships, strengthening local economies, and healing / reconciling inequities and injustices. Originally from Grant, FL, April has studied and immersed herself in social change and community work since she was 15 years old.

April is a practitioner of Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD), which is a grassroots approach to community building that focuses on discovering and mobilizing the existing strengths and resources within a community rather than focusing on its needs or deficits. By identifying local assets—such as skills, networks, institutions, and physical spaces—ABCD empowers residents to drive their own development and create sustainable change. This approach fosters local leadership, strengthens community ties, and encourages collaborative problem-solving. By leveraging what’s already working well, communities can build a collective vision for the future, tapping into their inherent potential to address challenges and enhance overall well-being from the inside out.

We broadcast live every Monday at 6pm Eastern 3pm Pacific every. You can join the conversation with live comments here on Youtube. And keep an eye out for when we post our livestream 24 hours before our broadcast.

Onward to the world we deserve,
David Cobb (he/him)
Why I put my pronouns in my email signature

Raised among the woods and swamps of Grant, FL April is a connector, storyteller and artist whose greatest joy is uncovering, uplifting and connecting the abundance within neighborhoods and the people who live there. She was influenced early on by her grandmother Polly and mother Kathy, both gifted connectors, and went on to explore community, economy, and equity through neighborhood roving as a child and later intentional communities and activism as a teenager.

April encountered the social change framework Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) while earning her Bachelor’s in Sociology at New College in Sarasota, Florida. She spent four years applying ABCD and other models of change at SCOPE, a small civic engagement nonprofit. Under the mentorship of ABCD Co-Founder John McKnight, April redesigned and led SCOPE’s Neighborhood Initiative. Her work there was highlighted in McKnight & Peter Block's book, The Abundant Community, and she joined the ABCD Institute as a Fellow in 2010.

After leaving SCOPE, she co-founded Uprise Art Collective to connect artists, grow their economic power, and make art more accessible locally. She also built community in her neighborhood city while covering community-based stories as a writer for the online magazine This Week in Sarasota.

In 2013, April moved to Indianapolis to join and learn from the transformative work of De’Amon Harges, Mike Mather and the neighbors and members of Broadway United Methodist Church. From 2018 to 2021, April led a national team of ABCD Stewards in providing coaching, evaluation and documentation for 24 libraries and museums in asset-based community engagement as part of the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services’ Community Catalyst Initiative. She has served on the Board of the ABCD Institute and as Co-Chair of its Communications team. She has provided support and training for a wide variety of organizations and groups including the Kheprw Institute, Public Allies Chicago, the Aspen Institute, AbundantCommunity.com, and the Public Libraries Association.

Currently, April consults, practices, and conducts asset-based workshops as a Steward of the ABCD Institute and as a Facilitator for the Goldin Institute. In 2024, she co-founded Living World Studios, a cooperative company providing narrative, storytelling and strategy support for social change organizations. Through all of her work, April is dedicated to making visible and forging bridges of partnership and mutual learning between her “home field” of ABCD and other networks of changemakers dedicated to building deeply democratic, regenerative and interdependent systems. April serves on the Narrative and Planning working circles within the Resist & Build Network, on the advisory circle for Embrace Communities, and actively practices connectorship in her neighborhood. She recently transitioned from Indianapolis to Chicago with her 6 year old daughter Sophia and two cats, Solomon and Dahlia.

View her writings, portfolio and media appearances here.