[Rewind] Future Proofing the World through Play

Summary

In this audience-favorite rewind episode, we explore the power of play, joy, and inclusive storytelling for driving transformative social change with Ada Williams Prince. 

Known widely for her work with Melinda French Gates and Pivotal Ventures, our guest is a visionary nonprofit leader who has stepped out on her own, continuing to champion the voices and experiences of women and girls of color to build a more just and equitable world. She shares how protecting spaces for marginalized communities to dream, imagine, and express their authentic selves is essential for unlocking innovative solutions to complex social issues. 

We discuss the pivotal role of play in fostering creativity, flexibility, and joy, key ingredients for envisioning alternative futures and reframing perceived weaknesses as strengths. Our guest opens up about how her mother's playful spirit inspired a lifelong commitment to community activism and engagement, and how a summer camp at the YMCA sparked her passion for policy and systems change. 

She highlights the importance of embracing vulnerability, intersectionality, and intergenerational collaboration to dismantle systemic barriers and drive meaningful structural change through initiatives focused on economic justice, women's rights, and transformative philanthropy.

Key Takeaways:

• Vulnerability is a superpower
• The only thing that future-proofs the world is imagination
• The “adultification” of girls of color robs them of the opportunity to fully explore joy and play
• Therefore, designing spaces for girls of color to dream, play, and tap their full potential is the ultimate “curb cut” strategy – it benefits everyone
• Scaling for impact without play leaves you at risk of “getting there,” but without the people, voices, and communities you need around the table

Key Quotes

"If there's no joy in it, you're not changing anything." - Ada Williams Prince  

"If you've ever been in a room of black women, there is no stopping them from building joy and being playful. There's no way, not, not ever, ever, ever, ever. So we never stop being joyful and playful in the midst of all kinds of darkness." - Ada Williams Prince 

"Scale doesn't always mean linear and scale doesn't always mean up. I think scale can also mean broad. Scale can also mean digging deep." - Ada Williams Prince

"The only thing that future proofs the world is imagination, and being able to explore that imagination for all of us." — Ada Williams Prince

About Ada Williams Prince: A creative leader at the cutting edge of global and domestic philanthropy. Ada has worked for two decades to advance the power and influence of women and girls of color around the world, She has conceived groundbreaking disruptions to philanthropic norms and scalable models to transform the field along the way. By championing the formation of the first 'Women and Girls of Color Design Council' within a premium philanthropic and venture organization, she has envisioned a future in philanthropy and investment built around silo-busting investment strategies and fundamental trust in women and girls at the intersection of gender, race/ethnicity, and economics. Ada is leading a growing community of funders committed to transforming capital and decision-making.

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