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Opportunity Gap

About the podcast

Opportunity Gap is a podcast for families with kids of color who learn and think differently. Kids of color with ADHD and learning differences often face a double stigma. In each episode, host Julian Saavedra talks with parents and experts about topics like IEPs, teacher shortages, and closing the opportunity gap at school.

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Meet the host

Julian Saavedra is an assistant principal at a public school in Philadelphia. He has spent nearly 20 years working in urban settings. His focus is on empowering students and families. He’s also a founding member of a new high school in a low-income area, where he led programs for teacher development.

Learn more about Julian

Kier Gaines

The Opportunity Gap

Supporting kids’ mental health: Kier Gaines on fatherhood, self-care, and social media

In part one of our conversation on mental health, learn about the unique ways a parent’s journey can influence a child’s mental wellness. Get tips on how to support kids’ mental health.

LeDerick Horne

The Opportunity Gap

Wisdom for families from LeDerick Horne, poet with dyslexia

Growing up, LeDerick Horne couldn’t read. Today, he’s a poet, activist, and person thriving with dyslexia. Hear his advice for families of color.

Tim Massaquoi

The Opportunity Gap

Supporting kids’ mental health: Tim Massaquoi on shame, stigma, and asking for help

In Part 2 of our talk about mental health, learn why it’s important for kids to let go of shame and ask for help.

Dr. Tumaini Coker

The Opportunity Gap

ADHD and race: What Black families need to know

Is ADHD more likely to be overlooked in Black kids? Or overdiagnosed? Get tips from pediatrician and health-equity researcher Dr. Tumaini Coker.

Audience reach

Opportunity Gap launched in November 2021, and now averages over 800 downloads per month across all audio platforms. The show has over 14,000 total downloads, with an additional 4,300 views on YouTube. Each new episode gets around 300 downloads within 30 days of publishing.

Who’s listening?

The show’s listeners include families of color, teachers, and people who want to help close the opportunity gap. Most listeners are based in the United States.

Gender (based on Spotify data from 10/12/23)

  • 81% Female

  • 15% Male

  • 4% Not specified

  • 0.63% Nonbinary

Age (based on Spotify data from 10/12/23)

  • 0–17 = 0.63%

  • 18–22 = 4.35%

  • 23–27 = 19.54%

  • 28–34 = 18.12%

  • 35–44 = 34.49%

  • 45–59 = 18.35%

  • 60–150 = 3.48%

Episode promotion: What’s possible 

Each new episode of Opportunity Gap is available across all major podcast platforms. This includes Audible, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. They’re also posted on the Opportunity Gap show page at Understood.org. The Understood.org site gets more than 20 million visitors a year.

Social media marketing

New episodes of Opportunity Gap are shared across all of Understood’s social channels. Worldwide, Understood has 785,000 followers, with 500,000 of those followers coming from the United States.

Email marketing

Opportunity Gap is promoted through Understood’s email marketing. This includes a network of more than 500,000 email subscribers.

How it works

Opportunity Gap’s showrunner and producer work with each confirmed guest to schedule a one-hour recording session. All recordings can be done remotely. We’ll ship an audio kit to any guest who doesn’t already have a USB mic and headphones to use during the recording. Most of our recordings are audio-only. But sometimes, we may invite guests to record video as well. The video element is always optional. All guests are required to sign a release form.

Interested in collaborating with Opportunity Gap?

If you’re interested in sharing your story on the podcast, or if you have any other comments/inquiries, reach out to us at opportunitygap@understood.org.

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