Mar 8War is never really about what they say it isWar is never really about what the U.S. media says it’s about. After hearing two “good liberal” friends parroting the “no good options” talking point last week, I wrote this for them: It’s about oil and money — imperialism — every time, and a military industrial complex whose shareholders will…Violence5 min read
Nov 15, 2021Why we need to have more fun in global developmentHere’s my invitation to you, and to myself, today: Release yourself fully from the constraints of “professionalism” and dare to consider what might be a bigger, bolder vision of creativity and leadership waiting for you. Ooof, that’s quite the ask, I know. I believe we need to connect to our…Global Development3 min read
May 28, 2021Do I dare a social media-free summer?I have been lamenting the state of the internet for a while, consciously and unconsciously, as I watch my thumb keep the feed rolling past my eyeballs. …Social Media4 min read
May 20, 2021Do you know your “right role”?I dropped the coffee beans container on the floor this morning. They went everywhere. As I sat down on the floor to clean them up, I noticed just how dirty the floor was too. I thought, “I have an option here. I can try to avoid the crumbs, and spend…Global Development4 min read
Apr 22, 2021You FirstIn these times, it may not be the debate nor the plan that’s most important. — My mother always said that I came out of the womb contrary. With so much ire and fear in the air here in Washington, D.C. over the last few months and years, I know that being contrary is no longer what is required of me. Yes, we can argue and…Nonprofit4 min read
Feb 7, 2021Hepburn + TracyWhen I was a teenager, in my “obsession with the 1940s” phase in which I listened to big band music and wore retro a-line skirts and my hair in side-roll victory curls, I was in love with Katharine Hepburn. To me, she was everything I was and wanted to be…Relationships Love Dating3 min read
Dec 22, 2020Taking Action as Impulse“Change happens at the speed of trust.” In the last few weeks in particular, in a year filled with undeniable markers of how systems and institutions must fundamentally change, one of our nonprofit sector’s “automatic defaults” has become very apparent to me: the bias for action. Painfully so, at times. …Global Development3 min read
Nov 7, 2020A story of usPerhaps retold settler family stories can help end the myths of “America, the great” and understand this moment in U.S. history. — The Great Plains of the United States have always signaled one thing to me: possibility. Growing up on flat lands, surrounded at all times by an unencumbered 360 degree view does nothing if not instill a sense of the possible. Fireworks are always a big part of the U.S.’s Independence…Genealogy20 min read
Sep 30, 2020Because we love a “how to”Reflecting on ten years of how-matters.org — If How Matters has made any small contribution, I hope it’s been pointing the global development sector towards indigenous or locally-led movements and groups in the Global South. …Philanthropy8 min read
Sep 27, 2020In defense of the heartI suspect that by most accounts, if you are reading this, you have at some point been considered intelligent. Your brains — they’re working for you. Like many people in our sector, you likely have high regards for “smarts.” Regardless of how bright you are, I also suspect that your…Philanthropy4 min read