Nourishing The Community Podcast · STP Productionss

Empowering Communities: Dani Miller & Working Mission

·41 min·2 clips

Dani describes a three-part mission: relationships, food insecurity, and free English classes.

1. Nourishing the Community Podcast centers this conversation on Working Mission and Dani Miller’s work with refugees and immigrants in Rutherford County. 2. Norman Hanks hosts Dani Miller, who says she and her husband Billy usually run Working Mission together and that Billy is absent for this interview. 3. The episode asks what Working Mission does, why it began, and why Rutherford County has become a focus for refugee and immigrant support. 4. Dani says the organization started after a friend named Shannon emailed from work with refugees in Middle Tennessee. 5. Dani says Shannon told her she had started working with Working Mission and had noticed how many refugees and immigrants were in Tennessee. 6. Dani says Billy researched the need, found that the numbers in Tennessee were growing, and helped confirm the idea of starting Working Mission. 7. Dani says she and Billy had lived in Papua New Guinea for a little over a year with their three daughters before returning to the United States. 8. Dani says their daughters were in fourth grade, second grade, and kindergarten when the family moved to Papua New Guinea in 2021 during COVID. 9. Dani says they had been living the American dream with jobs at Amazon and Vanderbilt before deciding they wanted to serve more. 10. Dani says the move to Papua New Guinea was life-changing, hard, and beautiful, and that they wanted their children to experience life differently. 11. Dani says Working Mission is focused on relationships, food insecurity, and free English classes with citizenship preparation. 12. Dani says relationships matter because the organization wants to keep up with people after class and walk alongside them over time. 13. Dani says many families face food insecurity, and the organization wants to provide high-quality food through agricultural projects. 14. Dani says the farm work currently centers on chickens for eggs and meat, with plans for lamb, pork, beef, and other crops. 15. Dani says English classes use Burlington English, a curriculum that meets standards and costs money to provide. 16. Dani says citizenship preparation can change a family’s future, and learning English can also improve job options and quality of life. 17. Dani says the group has a strong need to explain the difference between refugees, asylum seekers, visa holders, lottery recipients, and illegal immigration. 18. Dani says many Egyptians in the area arrived through legal pathways, including a lottery program, visas, and asylum requests. 19. Dani’s tone is direct and personal, with several moments of laughter, plainspoken examples, and long explanations about local needs. 20. People interested in refugee support, ESL work, and local food insecurity would likely want this conversation; listeners looking for short general interviews may skip it.

As heard by us

A grounded look at community aid that stays close to the work.

Dani Miller's work here is practical and unglamorous: English classes, referrals, job connections, and the slow trust building that makes it easier for refugees and immigrants in Middle Tennessee to ask for better work.

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Why you'd press play

Listen if you want to hear how practical help starts with trust.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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