Welcome to my Journal, a place where I hope to connect the dots between the amazing people and projects I have the privilege of encountering in my work and travels, in a way that shares information, raises awareness, increases their impact and, hopefully, inspires you. 

Connecting to Catalyze Change

For a long time now, I’ve wanted a better way to stay connected to the many women and supporters of women in my network — to keep them apprised of opportunities and good works that I encounter, not merely as an FYI, but also to help catalyze action and support. 

Just last month, for example, I was privileged to meet with two heroic African leaders: Dr. Joyce Banda (@DrJoyceBanda), the former president of Malawi, and Hafsat Abiola-Costella (@hafsatKIND), a true champion for Nigerian women and girls and the subject of the documentary, The Supreme Price.

We talked about their work, different in focus and scope, but both of them committed to further educating and empowering the women in their communities.

When Hafsat met President Banda, she kneeled and hugged her around the waist. That gesture, they explained, is how African women show respect for leaders and mentors and pass the torch, generation to generation.

It was a deeply inspiring encounter, one of many such encounters with remarkable women I met while participating in the Women’s Learning Partnership global summit.

I shared some of that experience on Twitter, but there is always so much more to be said — hence, this Journal, where I hope to provide additional context and continue the connections, the learning, the inspiration.

More Ways to Connect

I will be publishing reflections on my travels and meetings on at least a monthly basis. And with the help of my producer, Amanda Hirsch (@amanda_hirsch), I’ll be posting more frequent updates, as well, with news from the organizations with which I am most intimately involved — organizations you can read about in the Causes & Projects section of my website. I’m also becoming more active on social media, going beyond my Twitter account and private Facebook page to maintain a just-launched public Facebook page, as well as a new presence on LinkedIn.

I hope that together, these efforts will exponentially increase my ability to support and advocate for women all over the world who, like me, are driven by a sense of purpose and a desire to make the world a better place by providing connections to new ideas, people and opportunities.

Email. Easy.

I know many of you reading this probably prefer to stay connected via email, so please feel free to sign up for my newsletter, and you’ll get my Journal entries in your inbox. Signing up will also get you exclusive access to the series of interviews I’ll be conducting with powerful women — those who are famous, and those who should be. One of my favorite parts of curating TEDWomen is giving relatively unknown women doing profoundly important work a platform for sharing their world-changing ideas, and I look forward to doing that here, as well. We’ll explore what power looks like, how to get it, and how to use it — all critical topics for women in the 21st century.

I hope you’ll continue to connect with me online, here and in all the ways I describe above. And I hope that you’ll share the news and links and ideas you discover with the other women you know who are passionate about further empowering women. Together, we can continue to make important contributions and use our unique perspectives, as well as our personal and collective power, to shape a more sustainable, peaceful and equitable world.

Links to explore:

• Watch a preview of The Supreme Price, which the New York Times called “a doorway to Africa’s recent history”
• Learn about KIND, the organization whose board Abiola-Costella chairs that is creating a better world for the girls of Nigeria
• Explore Dr. Banda’s work to empower Malawi women 
• Discover Women’s Learning Partnership's efforts to promote social justice around the world.

With admiration and gratitude for all that you do,
Pat