As I blow out the 82 candles on my birthday cake today, I will be, yet again, making the birthday wish I’ve made often since 1972 — equal rights for women in the US Constitution — a wish many American women leaders first launched as a public policy campaign before I was born!
Read MoreThe Ring of Fire — Reflections and Response
For me, personally searching for some perspective that would ease the feelings of helplessness and despair, I turned to science and literature, going first to one of my favorite writers, Joan Didion, who in her 1968 collection of essays, Slouching Towards Bethlehem, wrote about her experiences living in Southern California in the 1960s.
Read MoreA Worthy Mantra for 2025: President Carter's words to live by
Like so many millions of others around the world this week, I am reflecting, with an expected mixture of sadness and joy, on my personal experiences with President Jimmy Carter, a great man. We grew up about 150 miles apart, both on small family farms in rural Georgia, but we first met in Washington, DC, on January 20, 1977, when he was being inaugurated as the 39th president of the United States.
Read MoreSeeding a Sustainable Future — A New Year's Resolution for Everyone
As one of the founders of Project Dandelion, I am pleased to share some reflections on what we observed and responded to in 2024 and how we envision our work in the new year. We’ve spent 2024 proving something powerful: the appetite for meaningful action at the intersection of climate and nature has never been greater. This is about what we can do together. It’s about connecting the people and resources needed to tip the scales toward a livable, just world.
Read MoreAll I Want for Christmas Is Equal Rights!
Urge President Biden to do everything he can to publish the Equal Rights Amendment as the 28th Amendment to the Constitution to ensure his legacy includes enshrining gender equality. Let’s not lose this historic opportunity to make history. Your call or text just might be the one that secures action here.
Read MoreWomen's History Is American History
A self evident truth, right? And yet, only 11% of the stories in US history textbooks are about women and less than 10% of public monuments across the US are of women — a statistic which includes mermaids! But finally, after decades of advocacy from women leaders, there will be such a museum in the Nation’s Capital… hopefully, in my lifetime!
Read MoreBold Seeds of Change
Committed as I am to using this platform to lift up good work and share information and inspiration, this week’s post is a re-post from an organization I greatly admire — the IBU Movement.
Read MoreIndigenous Wisdom: Crucial for Climate Action
As the world grapples with the climate crisis, the knowledge and sustainable practices that Indigenous communities possess are crucial for protecting biodiversity and the fragile ecosystems necessary for sustaining life on earth.
Read More“There is no time for despair...’
As Americans try to prepare for what’s ahead with the re-election of Donald Trump, I am sharing some facts this week on one of the many areas of concern for pushback — the nature and climate crisis.
Read More‘Struggle is a never-ending process.’
The time for mourning and heartfelt disappointment is ending and the time for organizing and activating in response to the potential dangers of a Trump presidency (again) is now. As the great civil rights leader, Coretta Scott King observed, “Struggle is a never-ending process. Freedom is never really won, you earn it and win it in every generation.”
Read MoreReflections on Biodiversity COP
Along with Project Dandelion Executive Director Ronda Carnegie, I attended what is known as the BioCOP, and wanted to share, in brief, what I would describe generally as a learning journey that gave both of us a clearer understanding of the fact that there can be no solution to the climate crisis without solutions to the nature crisis.
Read MoreWhat Is Your Leadership Legacy?
I am thinking a lot about leadership as faithful readers know, and assuming you are, too, given that we, as citizens of a democracy, are electing our most important leaders, nationally and in states and communities. I’ve written a lot already in this weekly post about the historic nature of this US election, and I felt that profoundly this week when I voted with my 18-year-old granddaughters who are first-time voters.
Read MoreRevising History in Real Time
In this post-truth world, there are just too many lies leading to too many conspiracy theories to keep up with rebuttals based on facts… and apparently, the facts have become much less popular than the lies that travel much faster online.
Read MoreDo you remember the first time you voted?
I do…and that was some decades ago! The memory of standing in line in my small hometown in Georgia — a much shorter line than the ones I stand in today in Atlanta — and being handed a paper ballot with boxes next to a long list of names is one that I will never forget.
Read MoreThere is still time to get this right.
We have the solutions. What is needed is public pressure to get the solutions implemented at scale. We can halt the progression of climate change and reverse some of the damage by accelerating the phase down and eventual phase out of fossil fuels, by investing in and adapting to renewable energy sources, and by turning away from the extractive policies and mindset that have depleted our natural resources. We must begin thinking, living, and working regeneratively.
Read MoreJoin Me for a Mobilization for Women's Rights and the Planet Happening in NYC on Saturday
Come together to show solidarity for women’s rights and the right to a habitable planet — both of which are under threat.
Read MoreStorytelling for a better world
Stories crafted with care and intention have the power to inform and inspire. This week, I want to tell you about a social enterprise in Brazil with a unique leadership model and a mission for creating stories that impact social change.
Read MoreThe Violence Against Women Act Turns 30 Today
This landmark legislation was a “turning point” for America, but we are far from realizing a future without violence towards women in this country and around the world.
Read MoreWill American women rock the system and elect our first woman president?
Women in the US have the opportunity to unify around the imperatives for reproductive rights and access to health care — imperatives, that I believe and the polls indicate, might lead to a new solidarity with an outcome that could be history making and transformative.
Read MoreIMAGINE Is a Global Community For Impact
This week I recount my experience at IMAGINE leader’s biannual gathering in April at Oxford University where we explored the difference that trusted partnerships between corporate executives, innovators, investors, policy makers, and political leaders can make towards more positive outcomes from companies, organizations and communities.
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