Originally published in March 2021. The Biden/Harris administration has a lot going on. Dealing with the pandemic, the economy, climate change, infrastructure, cybersecurity, immigration, a $15 minimum wage….exactly what we call dealing with “complex change.” There are some lessons I […]  »  Read More

I was once asked to come speak at a university in Iowa where my book, Bridging the Class Divide, is taught. I agreed to come, but I asked the professor if they would also organize a visioning day for the […]  »  Read More

Originally published in 2020 Questions for Your Organization– Part 2 “No One Told Me!” Community organizations are frequently working in a reactive and defensive posture, holding back bad things from happening. The challenge is allowing enough time and space to […]  »  Read More

Originally published in 2020 Questions for Your Organization– Part 1 In times of economic turmoil, organizers and activists rarely have the time to think about how to take advantage of the opportunities before us and build on our organization’s strengths. […]  »  Read More

Originally published in 2020 It is with great hope that I write today.  Hope for a better tomorrow and for a better future.  Because of the work I do I get the privilege of seeing huge wins and changes happening […]  »  Read More

Like many people who grew up in poverty in this country, I was embarrassed and ashamed about my background. Not until after I had spent time in Nicaragua in the 1980s, where people understood poverty in a very different way, […]  »  Read More

Originally published in 2020 As we sit here in anticipation of an election that will change our history for generations to come, I feel both excited and afraid of what could happen. The divisiveness of our country, the fear of […]  »  Read More

Not all ways of working for change appeal to everyone. Some organizers disdain reform, which involves changing laws and policies.  In many cases, reform means trying to protect current policies that serve the public. These are what Joanna Macy calls, […]  »  Read More

Whether or not we’re actively engaged with social justice work, most of us know what’s wrong with our world. Yet often we don’t know what we want instead. We just don’t want more of what we’re seeing every day on […]  »  Read More

This is a critical moment for the environmental movement. As we watch in horror the effects of climate change – the catastrophic droughts, floods and fires – grow in severity and frequency, our ability to galvanize a broad-based response has […]  »  Read More