Welcome to RISE: The United Independent Podcast. Together, we’re rising above the division and fear of our current political landscape towards a civic culture of unity, stewardship and effective care for the places we call home.

On today’s episode I’m joined by Karla Ballard.
Karla is the founder and CEO of YING, a P2P Group Skillsharing™ platform. In 2020, Karla ran on the Independent ticket as a VP candidate alongside blockchain activist and philanthropist Brock Pierce in the 2020 Presidential election.
Prior to that, Karla has served in high level roles across several industries, serving as SVP of Participant Media’s TAG division, a social-action agency that drove impact through media campaigns in vulnerable communities. At One Economy Corporation she led a $51 million grant focused on broadband adoption and became an appointee to the Federal Communications Committee on Diversity in Media.
Karla is also the co-founder of the first Urban League in the state of Delaware, The Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League, and served as the first female national president of the National Urban League Young Professionals.
But more than her credentials, Karla is a powerful heart-centered leader whose voice speaks from and through a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. In this episode, she speaks to the soul of America, how she came to find her Independent Voice, and what it takes for us to rewire polarization in service to fighting for love.=
Along with Christopher Life, she is the co-host of the 2022 Independent National Convention.