Monica discusses her path as a social worker and how her work eventually brought her to Casa San Jose. She shares the organization’s beginnings with Sister Janice Vanderneck and its growth from a small operation working out of a church basement into an organization with more than 35 staff members serving communities in Allegheny County and beyond.

The conversation explores an important distinction in Casa San Jose’s mission: advocating not simply “for” the Latino community, but “with” the community. Monica explains why people need the opportunity to speak for themselves and why assumptions about what others need can get in the way of meaningful change.

Jim and Monica also discuss belonging, racism, fear-based thinking, privilege, immigration narratives, and the challenge of deciding when a difficult conversation is worth having. Monica reflects on being both proudly Latina and proudly American, the importance of having a seat at the table, and why changing systems requires people from affected communities to be part of the decisions.

Throughout the conversation, the themes return to ideas at the heart of Fishing Without Bait: human dignity, openness, listening, compassion, and finding ways to move from frustration toward meaningful action.

This is Part 1 of our conversation with Monica Ruiz.

Programming note: We’ll return to the rest of Melissa Carey’s interview in the following weeks.

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Missy and Jim Ellermeyer begin by examining the complicated realities surrounding abortion and the question of what happens after a child is born. Their conversation moves beyond political slogans to consider infertility, adoption, foster care, support systems, special-needs care, financial responsibility, and the difficult decisions families may face.

Missy shares personal experiences that have shaped her perspective, including going through infertility treatments and seeing family members navigate teenage pregnancy and lifelong care needs. The discussion asks whether society is doing enough to educate young people about consequences, critical thinking, emotional decision-making, and personal responsibility.

The conversation then expands into voter education and representative government. Drawing from her work as a Republican committee woman and her experiences at polling locations, Missy discusses the importance of understanding what elected offices actually control rather than voting entirely through party labels or a single issue.

Jim and Missy also consider how political representatives can become disconnected from their constituents, how social media encourages echo chambers, and why people often listen only long enough to prepare their response.

Despite the disagreements and difficult subjects, the episode returns to a simple principle: people should be treated with courtesy and respect. Meaningful progress begins when we stop reducing one another to political labels and begin listening to learn.

This is Part 2 of our conversation with Missy Sorg. The discussion continues in the next episode.

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Do a kindness for yourself. Do a kindness for another. Forgive yourself and forgive another.