In this episode of Doing What Works: Innovations in Homeless Services, host Ashanti Blaze Hopkins speaks with Dr. Nancy Greenstein, a long-serving board trustee at Santa Monica College and a passionate advocate for marginalized communities. Dr. Greenstein shares how her education and social work background, including early experiences teaching in a Navajo Nation community, shaped her perspective on social disparities and inspired her lifelong commitment to social justice.
The conversation focuses on the launch of Santa Monica College's new Homeless Services Program, set to begin in fall 2024. Dr. Greenstein explains how the program emerged from years of discussions with industry professionals and highlights its goal to provide standardized training and career advancement opportunities for those working in the homeless services sector. She emphasizes the program’s potential to fill workforce gaps, improve service delivery, and create career pathways for students.
Dr. Greenstein also expresses excitement about the program’s first cohort, emphasizing the diversity of its students and the program’s long-term goals of expanding to other community colleges. The episode concludes with her vision for the program's future, including potential expansions into degrees in social work and collaborations with municipalities and agencies to address homelessness at a larger scale.
What You'll Learn in This Episode
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The development and vision behind Santa Monica College’s new Homeless Services Program.
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The importance of standardized training and career pathways in the homeless services sector.
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How educational institutions can help tackle social issues like homelessness.
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The potential to expand specialized training programs across community colleges.
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How personal experiences can inspire a commitment to social justice and community work.
About Our Guest
Dr. Nancy Greenstein was elected to the Board of Trustees in November 2002 and re-elected twice. Previously, she served as vice chair in 2005 and 2011 and chair in 2013 and 2006.
Dr. Greenstein is the City of Santa Monica representative and the 2008 Chair of the Los Angeles County West Vector District Board. Previously she served as Chair of the Santa Monica Pier Restoration Corporation and the Santa Monica Charter Review Commission and as a board member of the Santa Monica Convention and Visitors Bureau. She is co-chair emeritus of Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights and active in a number of community organizations. She is a current board member and past president of the Southern California ACLU. She also serves on the Santa Monica UCLA Medical Center Board of Advisors Hospital, Inglewood-based Social Justice Learning Institute, which is dedicated to improving educational institutions and opportunities for underserved populations and the Broad Stage boards. With such varied expertise, she is routinely called upon to consult with local governmental agencies, law enforcement and community groups regarding public safety, community partnerships, community relationships and problem-solving.
Dr. Greenstein received her bachelor’s degree in education from Boston University, masters of social work with a community organizing specialty from UCLA and a doctorate in education from UCLA.
Impactful Quotes
"Economic rights include, but are not limited to, the right to food, clothing, housing, healthcare, jobs, and support."
"Santa Monica College is an innovative college. We're not afraid to take risks, and I thought this was the right place for the program's first home."
— Dr. Nancy Greenstein
"Nobody has to reinvent the wheel, particularly since it's already approved by the state chancellor's office. This is a program that's ready to go."
"Besides addressing the problem, the people in the program will gain career paths, new jobs, and further education. It’s going to change lives and hopefully be part of the solution in our community."
"You're the innovators, and you're significant. The first cohort will teach us a lot, and we’re counting on the students to do that."
