Ariana González

Ariana González is the host of The Common Good, a weekly public radio conversation that engages the people, places and ideas that build up, or tear apart, collective well-being. Ariana grew up shuffling between the southern Hudson Valley, the South Bronx and Puerto Rico. She attended Bard and Columbia University, earning a PhD in Philosophy and Education, eventually returning to the Hudson Valley and Bard, where she presently works.

Ariana is also a teacher, artist and a mother. A writer and scholar, Gonzalez has been on an intellectual journey of understanding and discovery that has most recently brought her to the study of Latin American and Caribbean Philosophy, or what she describes as her “decolonization moment”. Her professional life has been dedicated to working for greater access and equity in education, where she enacts her commitment to the public good.

Early life experiences in schools, museums and churches, taught her to see the value and importance of community. Working in public and private educational settings further emphasized her desire to protect, build, imagine and support the public sphere. Her belief in the common good is firmly rooted in principals of justice; if we practice fairness, equity and mutual respect for difference, a stronger, healthier and more peaceful society is possible.