I’ve been on “vacation” in Ecuador almost two weeks now, and it’s largely been great. I’ve been able to do a ton of hiking, some horseback riding, some rafting, and some reading. But along the way, I have not done a great job of letting go of work. At all. Part of this is that… Continue reading Let’s Go Chasing Waterfalls
Category: Blog
Let’s Have an Identity Crisis
In the midst of a trip throughout Ecuador, re-connecting with the country where I graduated high school, I had the opportunity yesterday to speak at my high school, Academia Cotopaxi, addressing a mix of 6th-10th graders. My speech consisted of two main themes. The first focused on Generation Citizen – the reason I created it… Continue reading Let’s Have an Identity Crisis
Youth Voters in the NYC Mayoral Election
The primary election for the NYC mayoral race is scheduled for September 2013 and from the most recent polls, it looks like we can expect competitive primary elections. In the Democratic primary elections alone, there will be at least 8 candidates in the running. With so many candidates on the ballot, it may not take… Continue reading Youth Voters in the NYC Mayoral Election
Being a Good Citizen…and a Good Person
Fron a speech I gave at this year’s Civics Days: My speech today was going to be about the theme of Generation Citizen, the notion of being an active citizen. The notion of working in your communities, using the democratic process, to make change. To make things better. This, after all, is what you did… Continue reading Being a Good Citizen…and a Good Person
DCs of the Month
Looking back at April, a big month for us at GC as classes go deep into taking action, we’d like to recognize the following Democracy Coaches for their empowering work and dedication. NEW YORK DC OF THE MONTH: RINA KATTAN, STUDENT AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY What brought you to GC? After Rocky Solomon, a former… Continue reading DCs of the Month
My Obsession With The West Wing
I was biting my nails to see if President Bartlet would run for a second term or not. I cling to each word of Sam Seaborn’s speeches. I am definitely a Josh Lyman and Donna Moss fan. I am with CJ Cregg each time she steps up in front of the press corps. I did all of these… Continue reading My Obsession With The West Wing
Redefining American Power
One of the most fun parts about traveling, for me, is learning about other nations’ image of the United States. They range from the amusing (nobody uses plastic bags for grocery shopping, only blank brown paper bags) to the alarming (nearly everybody in Texas walks around with a gun in his or her back pocket).… Continue reading Redefining American Power
Boston is not Powerless
Everyone in Boston feels pretty powerless right now. We are stuck inside our homes. We can’t take the T. We can’t go to work. We can’t get a coffee. We don’t know if we are safe. As the Boston manager of an organization that specializes in empowering the powerless, I have a few thoughts about our powerlessness… Continue reading Boston is not Powerless
It’s Up to Us to Save Congress
Being the Executive Director of a non-profit that prides itself of non-partisanship, I take care to never be overtly partisan or political in public spaces, like this blog. But I am pretty pissed off about Congress voting down the gun control bill. And, actually, I think it is completely a non-partisan issue. Universal background checks… Continue reading It’s Up to Us to Save Congress
Disparate Leadership
Disparate Leadership A few weeks ago, at a conference for Draper Richards Kaplan Fellows, we were asked to define our own leadership styles. We were then told that if we really wanted to know what we were like as leaders, we should ask our employees, who would have a better sense of our strengths and… Continue reading Disparate Leadership