Investing in youth and education aligns directly with Sustainable Development Goal # 4 (Quality Education) and indirectly fuels several others like Decent Work and Economic Growth (goal # 8) and Reduced Inequalities (goal # 10). This perspective reinforces how crucial it is to view sustainability as not just environmental, but deeply tied to social and economic development.

It takes a village is a common e...

Two very smart women saw a pattern developing in their midwestern city of St. Louis, my hometown actually, after one attended a meet-up group organized by  Susan Gobbo one of these smart women, who is Brazilian, and who experienced the loneliness of a trailing spouse, herself when she moved to St. Louis in 2008. Years later, she formed a meetup group for other foreign wives. Annie Schlafly, the other very smart woman, ...

What a beautiful and thoughtful reflection on places of connection and spiritual significance. It’s fascinating how certain spaces, whether physical or emotional, provide that sense of peace, clarity, or even healing, just like the one I described as a child under the bush in your yard. Weaving the idea of being open to the present moment, and to the connections we share with others can be spiritual...

Loss is something we all experience and I think if you ask the average person about loss, you may get an answer about missing someone who was very special to them, and is no longer here, but loss can take on so much more meaning; it can be loss of an opportunity, loss of an existing relationship, because that relationship has shifted or no longer exists in its original construct; it can be loss of abilities or facultie...

Dr. Charity Dean, the public health leader who helped guide the strategic response to Covid-19 in California and elsewhere, shared her incredible personal story of being very poor, born on the side of the tracks in rural Oregon where the kids are never encouraged to seek college or any higher educational degree; in fact, Dr. Dean shared that she shou...

Mosaics are defined as a picture or pattern produced by arranging together small colored pieces of hard material, such as stone, tile, or glass, resulting in the creation of something often ornate and beautiful. Sometimes, mosaics tell the story of what was, what is, or what can be…. Each mosaic is uniquely different and yet shares a common history - simply created from something else. As I was putting together this po...

Su Casa in Spanish simply means your home - which if I take a little poetic license, could mean this space is your home or the contraction you’re, you are home - let’s go with you are home… The concept of home is something many of us often take for granted! Home can mean we can breathe, let down our hair, and be ourselves, and in general, we are in charge of our own lives, decisions we make, etc..for many, though this ...

What does the phrase, “education should be a right, not a privilege” mean to you? If you believe that access to education is not a privilege, but a right as is the human rights law guarantees, then, why are  61 million children not in school, and most of them girls? Educating children no matter where they are is one of the biggest factors toward ending extreme poverty.

Education is not a privilege. It is, ...

Let’s take a moment and define community, particularly in today’s very divided and extraordinary divisive environment where community and, in many cases, democracy is misunderstood and missused. Community in its simplest form is often defined as a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals; upon further elaboration, it can include a joint ownership or liability - no...

When the typical person thinks of Hollywood, they think of fame & fortune, the whirlwind of celebrities, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the celebrity hand and foot cement impressions, Groman’s Chinese theatre, The Hollywood sign, and many more iconic symbols of glamor, representing the rich and famous…there is another part of Hollywood though, the real people who live there, and some of those real people are disadvantaged...

Being the mother of 5 children, my 5th one, adopted later in his life and mine, the thought of losing any one of them, is unimaginable. This episode is about the unimaginable - a mother, a family, who lost a beautiful, funny, feisty, smart, caring, courageous 7-year-old to cancer. As many of you know, I have had my personal battle with cancer and currently, my younger brother is facing his - unless you have been throug...

Armed with a 225,000 lb WWII- era wooden sailing craft, Greg Nichols, his wife, Nina and two kids, who actually live on this very unique and special vessel, serve as the catalyst in creating a  learning environment that alters individuals’ mindsets forever by exposing them to the beauty and magic of learning through nature & community. This creates a lasting impression that being part of something bigger than oneself o...

If you’ve ever been pregnant or been in the process of adopting or engaging in a surrogacy, you know the milestones set for each month of that journey and the belief of trusting the process, medical and emotional, that everything will work out as it should, meaning you will have a beautiful little life to whom you will love, cherish, and tend forever; that amazing feeling of anticipation just before the arrival, making...

Did you know that Black Youth are Almost Five Times As Likely To Be Incarcerated As their White Peers?

The following are some data points from the Sentencing Project, captured by Josh Rovner and Ashley Nellis

For a decade, incarceration disparities between Black and white youth have remained stubbornly high. As of 2021, Black youth were 4.7 times as likely to be placed, meaning detained or com...