talking to statues
by Seattle’s most recent citywide election happened in 2023. Kshama Sawant, my beloved rabblerousing socialist council member, resigned after a decade on the dais. Many of the more progressive incumbents lost …
Tag: change
transitional leaders and me
As a consultant with a small business, I carefully stock my toolbox of what I can do. I invest in learning skills that could help me do my work better …
the future of food banks
Where do you see yourself in 5 years? The question may be complicated by surges of fascism and ever-looming climate change. When we’re thinking 5 years ahead, we can be …
flinch or fight
I drove to the gym this morning. I turned left onto the main road, taking the turn with cars behind me. A woman nearby was finishing her walk up a …
tipping the scale
Nothing can inspire fear in a project manager like these six little words: “How soon can we scale this?” Or, worse: “Let’s triple the number of sites.” I spent several years working as a grants manager. In theory, we start with a plan to improve things. Funders provide startup costs. We test out our…
decision to leave
I had a situation gnawing at me for the better part of a year. I was working with a group for several months and had a good rapport with almost everyone. One person in particular was stirring conflict in ways I struggled to respond to. He was dismissive of my approach and methods. He…
evolving our DNA
How do organizations change? Why is it that most organizations can set goals for racial justice and then never achieve them? What’s so difficult about doing things in different ways? …
gentlemen’s disagreements
Throughout his term, Barack Obama had a call for the activists agitating for change. He recalled what Franklin Roosevelt told his activists pushing for their own reforms. FDR said, “I …
the destructive nature of self-preservation
Everything in the universe is in a constant state of change. The change can be imperceptible like the flowing water of a river. Or it may be more like the …
what does it mean to put community first?
Some articles get my goat and don’t let go. Last year I read an interview with a roundtable of CEOs at major food banks around the country. The headline quote …