About the Podcast

Now more than ever, our world needs brave, visionary leaders to create positive change on a global scale. We need individuals and community organizers to rise up and build a future that allows our granddaughters and grandsons to thrive.

But where do these leaders come from? What inspires and motivates their impact? And how can the rest of us begin? How do everyday people take practical steps to “create the change they want to see in the world”?

At Yes! We Rise, we have solutions.

After 20 years helping individuals and leaders build a brighter future together, we know for a fact that real change happens based on the local ideas of local leaders.

You already have the power to make a meaningful impact. We’ll get you inspired and show you how.

At Yes! We Rise, we’re on a mission to help community leaders and members learn to forge a new path toward creating resilience and true transformation. One person at a time, one community at a time, one region at a time, the quilt of transformation can grow piece by piece until resilience becomes the norm instead of the exception.

To create change, people like you and me need to feel like we belong and that we are part of a growing movement. You need to know that your voice matters. That you have the agency and ability to transform your life and community. That you are the key to a resilient future.

If you’ve ever wanted to make a bigger difference inside your own community, or you’ve struggled to imagine what it would look like for you to create a more sustainable life and world, the Yes! We Rise podcast is for you.

From the Navajo Nation to the mountains of Appalachia, incredible work is already being done to create a more sustainable future. Community members are no longer waiting for someone else to come and save them. They realize they are the ones they have been waiting for.

On the Yes! We Rise podcast, we share the stories, strategies and tools of these ordinary people making an extraordinary impact.

When you hear and see what others have done to create real, true and lasting change (especially people in similar situations and places to you), you will begin to imagine what’s truly possible for you.

When you listen and learn from their stories and strategies, you’ll feel the spark they do and find new ways to create the change you want to see.

We’re here to help you get fired up to kick some ass, take inspired action, and dream even bigger—for yourself, your community, and the world.

Join us as we build collective resilience and community transformation. Because together, we rise.

Meet our team

Christine Gyovai

Christine Muehlman Gyovai is the Principal of Dialogue + Design Associates, host of the Yes! We Rise podcast, and has over twenty years of experience in creating community transformation and resilience.

Christine’s on a mission to help community members envision a more sustainable future and come together to make that vision a reality. She’s a firm believer that community members are the best guides and advisors for their own lives, and that real change grows out of the local ideas of local leaders.

A recipient of the Paul Dulaney Conservation Award and named by Charlottesville magazine as “a key driver for creating change,” Christine has worked on projects in small towns as well as major regions across the country. She facilitates the Solar Workgroup of Southwest Virginia, the Middle and Upper James Riparian Consortium, the Living Shorelines Collaborative, and several projects in the Chesapeake Bay and Central Appalachia.

The granddaughter of a coal miner and a firefly scientist, Christine holds certificates in design charrettes, coaching, teaching yoga, mediation and permaculture design, and is a member of the National Roster of Environmental Dispute Resolution and Consensus Building Professionals. She received a M.U.E.P. in Urban and Environmental Planning from the University of Virginia and a B.S. in Environmental Studies from Burlington College.

A frequent speaker at conferences and events, Christine has worked with clients including the University of Virginia, the Appalachian Regional Commission, the Virginia Department of Forestry, the Highlander Center and the Just Transition Fund.

When she’s not helping community members actively design the future, she can be found sailing, paddleboarding, or on her yoga mat. Christine lives at the base of the Blue Ridge mountains in Virginia with her architect husband, two remarkable children, and an assortment of bees and chickens.

Emily Carlson

Emily Carlson who works with Dialogue + Design on a variety of different projects in different capacities. She is passionate about connecting people with the earth whether it be through environmental education, landscape architecture, community dialogue, music, or just playing together outside.

Produced by:

Dialogue + Design Associates is a multi-disciplinary, public-interest design firm based in Charlottesville, Virginia, focusing on helping citizens, localities, and organizations build a stronger future through collaboration, architecture, environmental design and community planning.