S5E15: Where Does Beauty Live? Stephanie Acker's Case for Refugee-Led Change

Stephanie Acker always believed she was called to help refugees — until a Muslim immigrant neighbor named Zuleika invited her in for tea and quietly rewrote everything she thought she knew. Now, as founder of Everyplace, Stephanie partners with refugee-led organizations across nine countries to ask one disarming question: where does beauty live here?

In this conversation, Morenike and Stephanie talk about the difference between helping and partnering, why beauty is treated as dignity rather than decoration, the "white savior" question Stephanie wrestles with as a white American doing this work, and what it looks like to let displaced communities lead the response to their own displacement. Stephanie considers Boston home, but is from Southern California, the drawn-out "heyyy" never leaving her vocabulary.

She moved to Florence, Italy, in 2021 for one year, and five years later is still there, where she lives with her much calmer and tidier husband Brian, their three kids, Nora (9), Otto (6) and Hugo (7 months), and their seven bikes. CONNECT WITH STEPHANIE ACKER Website: Instagram: @everyplace_org @steph_acker Donate: The Paintbox, a monthly giving community LinkedIn: Facebook: CONNECT WITH ELEVATING GOOD PODCAST Elevating Good is a podcast for women of faith who refuse to give up on people.

Hosted by Morenike Ogebe — attorney, bridge builder, and people-centered leader — each episode shines light on the good God is doing in the world. Substack (subscribe to bonus content): https://elevatinggood.substack.com Instagram: Facebook: NEW!

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CONNECT WITH STEPHANIE ACKER Website: Instagram: @everyplace_org @steph_acker Donate: The Paintbox, a monthly giving community LinkedIn: Facebook: