LIMINAL

To live in our world today is to sit with the heaviness of the many contexts of oppression, violence and injustice that exist. It can feel overwhelming and even disempowering, especially for those who want to drive change.How can we see the light during such painful times? How can we take pause amidst chaos and hurt to stay curious? Who can we turn to and where can we go to find our common humanity?To grapple with these questions, this LIMINAL podcast offers you an insightful conversation with Simran Jeet Singh, a national leader in the areas of equity, inclusion, and social justice. Growing up in South Texas as the son of Indian immigrants, Simran is a self described “turban-wearing, brown-skinned, beard-loving Sikh,” who, despite continually facing racism and discrimination, chooses to find humanity and light in the world. ” Simran is also the Executive Director for the Aspen Institute's Religion & Society Program and the author of national bestseller The Light We Give: How Sikh Wisdom Can Transform Your Life, from which he shares guiding principles and practices in this conversation. This episode was recorded on the 20th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York City. The attacks not only disrupted Simran's understanding of safety with death threats and emotional abuse from his neighbors, but also shattered his identity in society as people saw him differently than how he perceived himself. He shares how instead of being consumed by anger and judgment, he embraced the Sikh teachings of love, compassion, optimism, and service to navigate the shadows of bigotry. Tune in as Simran shares practical wisdom for seeing our common humanity in the darkest of times and sustaining ourselves as leaders in the long journey of social change. Related Resources:In addition to his work at the Religion and Society Program at the Institute, Simran regularly writes for major media publications like CNN, TIME Magazine, The Washington Post and the Harvard Business Review and has been featured on stages like SXSW. Interested in delving deeper into Simran's wisdom? Here are some resources you might enjoy exploring:Video: Simran Jeet Singh at SXSW 2023Book: The Light We Give: How Sikh Wisdom Can Transform Your LifeArticle | TIME Magazine: The Sikh Idea of Seva Is an Antidote to Our Current MalaiseArticle | Harvard Business Review: Boards Need Real Diversity, Not TokenismChildren's Picture Book: Fauja Singh Keeps Going: The True Story of the Oldest Person to Ever Run a MarathonMore on the Aspen Institute's Religion and Society ProgramThis conversation was originally recorded for a staff gathering at the Aspen Institute led by the People and Culture team. Thank you to the People and Culture team, the Women of Color Affinity Group, and the Men of Color Affinity Group, for hosting this conversation and allowing us to share it widely on LIMINAL. 

Suzanne Biegel (Catto Fellow), a beloved member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network was diagnosed with incurable lung cancer in 2022. In confronting the end of her life, Suzanne has found a clarified vision around how to spend her time, live into her purpose, and speak truth. It's with gratitude that Suzanne joins us on LIMINAL to explore how we might all allow the shortness of life to shape how we show up for the better.Suzanne's Legacy: Heading for ChangeSuzanne is renowned for her ability to foster collaboration and drive change. Leading at the intersection of gender-smart and climate investment, she has spent her 22-year career making finance more inclusive and impactful. She's championed the idea that combining gender and climate investment can yield powerful results in both mitigating climate change and promoting gender equality. As her legacy project, Suzanne and her husband Daniel recently launched Heading for Change - a donor advised fund aimed at making catalytic investments that are both gender and climate smart. Starting with their own $1MM endowment, the fund will demonstrate what these types of investments look like, and, when combined, achieve greater impact on both climate mitigation and adaptation and gender equality. They are actively raising funds and looking for partnership. If you're someone who can support fund managers at the intersection of climate and gender equity work or are interested in learning about neurodivergent thinking, go to headingforchange.org to learn how to get involved. Hear more about Suzanne's impact and reflections on this time in her life in a special video conversation between her and AGLN moderator Betsy Flemming. Special thanks to Be Inspired Films for producing the dialogue. Music and PoetryThroughout this episode, we share poetry and music. Explore what we mentioned: Playlist: Check out this playlist to hear some of Suzanne's favorite “pink” tunesPoem: The Ponds by Mary OliverPoem: Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude by Ross Gay

How many times have you heard the cliche “the children are our future.'' If you consider it seriously, it's actually a profound statement. If we were to truly center children - and the people that raise them - how would our systems, structures and cultures change?  At first blush, childcare seems to only be relevant if you need it for your family, but it's actually foundational to a functioning society. Care for our youngest children enables parents to work and provides children the foundation for achievement as they grow. It's an investment in creating stronger communities. When you look around the world, the idea that children are a collective responsibility shows up in both policy and community norms. Yet, in the United States, this work continues to fall on individuals.What are the cultural agreements we've accepted that hide this collective responsibility? And after witnessing the clashing of homelife and work life during every Zoom call in the pandemic, why haven't our actions kept pace with our awareness?Jessica Sager is a Pahara Fellow and co-founder and CEO of All Our Kin, an organization that supports the people providing the care: early childhood educators. Jessica has seen that by uplifting caregivers, parents and children can thrive. Bernadette Ngho is a university professor turned early childhood educator. After a year at home with her newborn sons, she began considering going back to work. However, she struggled to find the type of care she was seeking for her boys. In response, she created the space herself and now owns and operates a family child care program called Trusted Care in West Haven, CT.  On this episode of LIMINAL, we are in conversation with Jessica and Bernadette on questions of what caregiving means to our culture and why we aren't paying enough attention. 

Massive transformation is underway in the way we work and our relationship to work. Many people felt this shift when we left our offices to indefinitely work from home in 2020. The change continues, with exponential technology and AI reshaping how we define work altogether. The United States is also experiencing an economic downturn, with labor shortage being one of the biggest drivers, particularly in low-wage industries where jobs lack basic benefits and livable pay.At the same time, there has been an undeniable resurgence of the organized labor movement in the US. This coalition looks different from past waves in both its composition and approach. This provides an opportunity to re-think some key questions:What does it mean to be a worker? What does it mean to be a leader? And could our relationships to the organizations in which we work and lead advance a more just society?To explore these questions, we're in conversation with Roy Bahat and Liba Rubenstein from Bloomberg Beta - an early-stage venture firm backed by Bloomberg that invests in companies broadly focused on the future of work. They also lead the Aspen Institute's Business Round Table on Organized Labor, an initiative from the Aspen Institute's Economic Opportunities Program and MIT that brings together business and labor leaders to innovate and share learnings on what a thriving workplace with more organized labor might look like.Roy and Liba invite us to rethink how ideas of power and our relationship to work and the workplace could help inform better decision-making and ultimately create prosperity for everyone.Resources:Get Connected: Learn more about joining an upcoming Business Roundtable on Organized Labor by connecting with Liba at liba.rubenstein@aspeninsitute.org. Article: Could organized labor be good for business?Article: How Businesses Should (and Shouldn't) Respond to Union OrganizingVideo: Bloomberg's Bahat on Organized Labor in the Tech Industry

Climate change poses one of the most existential threats of our time. It is a complex and overwhelming problem that requires a diverse set of solutions. We also know that at its core, this crisis, like many, is a moral challenge, rather than a technical one. In this episode of LIMINAL, we invite you to think  less about the “what” of climate work and more about the “who” and “who” we need to be in order to create the transformational change required to combat the warming planet.On this episode, Dar Vanderbeck is in conversation with two climate leaders  - Dr. Katharine Wilkinson, Executive Director of the All We Can Save Project and author of Drawdown  and Brett Jenks, CEO of Rare and an Aspen Institute Catto Fellow, to explore their unique paths into climate work and invite you to think about the ways you might show up. Learn more about All We Can Save: https://www.allwecansave.earth/ Learn more about Rare's behavior change work: https://rare.org/program/climate-culture/ Follow the AGLN on across social media at @AspenAGLN and if you liked this episode, subscribe and give the show five stars. A new episode will be hitting your feed in April. 

The Groundwater Institute helps people make sense of our society is organized by race - and how that organization causes racial inequity.On the premiere of LIMINAL, Dar Vanderbeck is in conversation with the Groundwater team on their analysis and how they work with leaders to propel their anti-racism journeys. Who you'll hear from:Deena Hayes-Greene is a partner at Impactive and the founder and Managing Director of the Racial Equity Institute. Deena is nationally renowned as a trainer and institutional leader in racial equity, chairs the boards of Guilford County Schools and the International Civil Rights Center and Museum, and holds a BA from Guilford College.Bayard “Bay” Love's work is dedicated to ending structural racism by building successful campaigns, strong organizations, and empowered leaders. He is an organizer and facilitator at the Racial Equity Institute and a former Consultant at the Boston Consulting Group. Bayard has a MPP from Duke University, an MBA from University of North Carolina and a BA from Wesleyan University.Ellen Hunter is the Founder and CEO of Impactive, a consulting firm that works toward racial equity and social justice by focusing on strategy and leadership development. She was previously a Principal at the Boston Consulting Group. Ellen has an MBA from Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and a BA from Brown University.Monica Walker is a veteran organizer, artist, trainer, speaker and social activist who has spent the better part of her career addressing issues of race, equity, and inclusion while organizing for social justice on every front. She was previously the Executive Director of the Office for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion for Guilford County Schools, where she led the district's efforts to eliminate racially disparate outcomes and all other forms of bias and discrimination.LEARN MORE ABOUT THE GROUNDWATER INSTITUTE: https://www.groundwaterinstitute.com/ 

 In 2020, there were 600 mass shootings across the U.S., up from 461 in 2019. Every day it seems our phones buzz with a new report of a gun-related incident or death. What is it going to take to prevent gun violence in the United States?On this episode of the Value of Leadership, hear from two leaders, Arne Duncan (Henry Crown Fellow) and Megan Ranney (Health Innovators Fellow) who are bringing unique approaches to gun violence prevention. While they both come at the issue from different angles, the ingredient they've both found to be effective is inclusion. Links for Continued Reading on This TopicChicago Cred: https://www.chicagocred.org/Reaching and Connecting: Preliminary Results from Chicago: CRED's Impact on Gun Violence Involvement (Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University): https://www.ipr.northwestern.edu/documents/reports/ipr-n3-rapid-research-reports-cred-impact-aug-25-2021.pdfAFFIRM at the Aspen Institute: https://www.aspeninstitute.org/programs/health-medicine-and-society-program/affirm-the-american-foundation-for-the-firearm-injury-reduction-in-medicine/Amid a Series of Mass Shootings in the U.S., Gun Policy Remains Deeply Divisive - Pew ReportProtests and Pandemic Spark Record Gun Sales - NPR

Disrupters. Weavers. Visionaries. Caregivers. Storytellers. These are just a few of the roles that make up the "Social Change Ecosystem Map" - a tool that took social media by storm last summer as more people found their way into the racial justice movement. On this episode of the Value of Leadership, we'll hear from the designer of the map: Deepa Iyer. Deepa is a writer, activist, and movement builder. She designed the Social Ecosystem Map to help all kinds of individuals, networks, and organizations find roles in alignment with their values and unique skills and abilities that can be leveraged to create effective social change. Check out the map here on buildingmovement.org. And listen to this episode to learn to use this tool to discover - or re-discover - how you fit into the mosaic of change-making. This conversation was originally recorded from the stage of the 2021 Resnick Aspen Action Forum and is moderated Adria Goodson, Pahara-Aspen Education Fellow and Director of the Ford Global Fellowship at the Ford Foundation.To learn more about Deepa's work, check out her website and follow her on Instagram and Twitter @deepaiyer. And if you enjoyed this conversation, check out others from the Resnick Aspen Action Forum on topics including trust building, overcoming polarization, collective leadership, and more on the Aspen Institute's website.

A 2019 study by the Pew Research Center, surveyed Americans' attitudes across 30 political values such as guns, race, climate, immigration, and foreign policy. The average gap between Democrats and Republicans on these hot button issues was 39 percentage points. And things don't seem to be getting any better when it comes to finding common ground. In the summer of 2020, another study by Pew reported that 77% of Americans said the country was now more divided than before the COVID-19 pandemic began.But division isn't an issue solely owned by the United States. The rise in populism, old and new cultural conflicts, and economic hardships have all intensified polarization and conflict across the world. What led us to these deep divisions? Is it human nature or a product of systems we've created? How are social media and information echo chambers contributing? One thing is clear - to solve our greatest challenges people need to work together across differences.To discuss how we get there, we're turning to experts on how people and communities transcend divides. Amanda Ripley is an investigative journalist and New York Times best-selling author. Her latest book High Conflict is an exploration of what happens when people get locked in seemingly intractable feuds and how they've broken free. Amanda is joined by Eric Liu, co-founder and CEO of Citizen University. He also directs the Aspen Institute's Citizenship & American Identity Program: home to an initiative that trains people in how to have what they call: “better arguments.” To learn more about High Conflict and Amanda's other work visit amandaripley.com and for more on the Better Arguments project, visit betterarguments.org. This conversation comes from the stage at the Resnick Aspen Action Forum. It is moderated by Rima Maktabi, London Bureau Chief of Al Arabiya news, and Fellow of the Middle East Leadership Initiative - Over the past 20 years, Rima's covered conflicts across the Middle East, making her no stranger to the topic of this dialogue. Download the Episode Transcript HereFor more conversations from the Resnick Aspen Action Forum, click here. 

As the new Executive Director of the Aspen Institute's Finance Leaders Fellowship, Kara Gustafson is mobilizing a global community of finance industry leaders for a journey that ignites their passion and directs their skills and talents toward solving some of society's most complex challenges. Fellows include people like the CEO of S&P Dow Jones Indices, CFO of General Mills, a Managing Director at Morgan Stanley, the recently nominated Director of the CyberSecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency for the White House, and the Head of Enforcement at the New York Stock Exchange - just to name a few.So, what does the finance industry - a sector often knocked for causing harm and distrust - and the leaders of it, have to do with catalyzing positive social change? Kara says: a lot. And she knows first hand what the potential is as a member of the founding team of Goldman Sachs' corporate philanthropy work: A role she held for fifteen years that transformed the way the big banks made philanthropic investments. On this episode of the Value of Leadership, Kara shares what it was like to lead in this new movement that prioritized social return alongside financial return, and what continues to call her to this work.You can learn more about the Finance Leaders Fellowship at agln.aspeninstitute.org/fellowships/financeleaders. 

The racial wealth gap in the United States is a wide and persistent gap between the median household income of different races – most greatly visible between Black and white households. The country's history of systemic racism has weakened Black Americans' ability to achieve economic security. With financial services systems and policies built to keep communities of color out, four Aspen Global Leadership Network Fellows are stepping up to find a way in. The key? Revitalizing Black-owned banks.By bringing together their diverse expertise from across the legal, nonprofit, financial, and government sectors, Fellows Ashley Bell (Civil Society Fellow: a Partnership of ADL and the Aspen Institute), Yolanda Daniel (Finance Leaders Fellow), Lauren McCann (Civil Society Fellow), and Tishaura Jones (Rodel Fellow) collaborated to launch the National Black Bank Fund and Foundation (NBBF). At the center of their impact is their relationships: to one another and to other bold leaders who are literally putting their money where their mouths are when it comes to commitments made to center diversity and equity in business operations. The group was recently awarded by the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth and the Aspen Institute with an inaugural Global Inclusive Growth Spark Grant for their innovative work. Listen to this episode of the Value of Leadership podcast to learn why nurturing Black-owned financial institutions is so closely aligned to the success of Black communities, how NBBF shepherded a $30 million deal with the NBA's Atlanta Hawks, and what it takes to step into the arena and join the fight for racial justice in America. Learn more about the work of the National Black Bank Fund and Foundation at blackbankfund.com.

Many are now asking: what will it take to bring the country together? The Civil Society Fellowship - a partnership of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Aspen Institute - answers that question by engaging the next generation of community and civic leaders, activists, and problem-solvers across these divisions to build deeper relationships with one another and tackle pressing issues head-on. In this special two-part episode of the Value of Leadership, we talk to two of those Fellows - Jenifer Sarver, Founder of Sarver Strategies in Austin, Texas, and Isaiah Oliver, President and CEO of the Community Foundation of Greater Flint in Michigan. These are two leaders are engaged in very different work. They come from very different parts of the country and hold very different identities. Yet, they've built a relationship of respect and understanding. We caught up with Jenifer and Isaiah after their week-long virtual retreat - called an UnSeminar - with their Civil Society Fellowship class, named “Mission: Redemption”,  and a digital town hall where they engaged with community leaders from across the United States. During the UnSeminar, the Fellows reflected on readings and speeches from leaders of past and present like Martin Luther King Jr. and President Dwight Eisenhower. The experience prompted them to further explore their personal roles in creating a more civil society today. In part two of this conversation, where we talk about how exercising grace and leveraging one's individual power - at any level - can aid in reconciliation to create a better country for all Americans. Jenifer and Isaiah also reflect on what values all Americans still share. Before you jump in, be sure to listen to part one,  listen in on part one to hear how these two leaders came to find friendship and respect for one another and gain insight into how you might do the same with people in your community.--To learn more about the Aspen Global Leadership Network and the work of our Fellows, visit agln.aspeninstitute.org. And explore more episodes of the Value of Leadership here.

Many are now asking: what will it take to bring the country together? The Civil Society Fellowship - a partnership of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Aspen Institute - answers that question by engaging the next generation of community and civic leaders, activists, and problem-solvers across these divisions to build deeper relationships with one another and tackle pressing issues head-on. In this special two-part episode of the Value of Leadership, we talk to two of those Fellows - Jenifer Sarver, Founder of Sarver Strategies in Austin, Texas, and Isaiah Oliver, President and CEO of the Community Foundation of Greater Flint in Michigan. These are two leaders are engaged in very different work. They come from very different parts of the country and hold very different identities. Yet, they've built a relationship of respect and understanding. We caught up with Jenifer and Isaiah after their week-long virtual retreat - called an UnSeminar - with their Civil Society Fellowship class, named “Mission: Redemption”,  and a digital town hall where they engaged with community leaders from across the United States. During the UnSeminar, the Fellows reflected on readings and speeches from leaders of past and present like Martin Luther King Jr. and President Dwight Eisenhower. The experience prompted them to further explore their personal roles in creating a more civil society today. In part one of this conversation, Jenifer and Isaiah reflect on discovering their commonalities and how lessons from their experience could be a model for how other Americans can find common truth. Could the key be to infuse wonder when we enter into these deeply divided spaces? Go deeper into this conversation with part two, where we talk about how exercising grace and leveraging one's individual power - at any level - can aid in reconciliation to create a better country for all Americans. Jenifer and Isaiah also reflect on what values all Americans still share. --To learn more about the Aspen Global Leadership Network and the work of our Fellows, visit agln.aspeninstitute.org. And explore more episodes of the Value of Leadership here.

A tragic explosion. Economic collapse. COVID-19. A revolution. Some of the latest challenges in Lebanon – a country wracked by decades of them – serve as a poignant reminder that we each have a role to play to ensure our leaders lead well, that our citizens stay engaged, and that we don't get too comfortable in our own leadership while our world is falling apart. In this episode, listen in on a dialogue with poignant and honest reflections from Aspen Global Leadership Network Fellows in Lebanon on their experience living through the compounding crises the country is experiencing. The Fellows' share reflections on their roles, leadership, and failures up to these latest challenges, as well as how they're moving forward.  As we all try to navigate roles in an increasingly unstable and uncertain world – where fundamental decisions are being taken every day by governments and stakeholders that shape our systems and our lives – these insights are all the more relevant regardless of where you live. This conversation features Chadia El Meouchi Naoum, co-founder of the Middle East Leadership Initiative and Managing Partner, Badri and Salim El Meouchi Law Firm, Walid Maalouf, co-founder of the Lebanese Food Bank, Rima Maktabi, journalist and Bureau Chief in London at Al Arabiya, and Ramez Shehadi, managing director for the MENA region at Facebook. It is moderated by Stace Lindsay, president of Fusion Venture Partners and Aspen Institute moderator. More on the Featured Fellows: Chadia El Meouchi Naoum, is co-founder of the Middle East Leadership Initiative and Managing Partner, Badri and Salim El Meouchi Law Firm. The explosion in Beirut's port on August 4 altered her life. Her husband suffered a severe cranial injury, her children still struggle with trauma, and their home was completely destroyed. Since the blast, Chadia has been struggling with her role and responsibility in the situation that led to that fatal day, with her decisions that led to her family's suffering, with the meaning of resilience and collaboration in leadership, and with how to find hope and strength to rebuild in an uncertain, violent, and chaotic environment. Chadia is a 2008 Henry Crown Fellow.Walid Maalouf is the board general secretary and the chair of fundraising and expansion at the Lebanese Food Bank (LFB) – his Fellowship venture – an NGO aiming to eradicate hunger in Lebanon by saving what would be food waste. The organization has acted swiftly throughout the COVID-19 crisis and the aftermath of the Beirut port explosion. LFB, in partnership with other NGOs, raised over $1 million and distributed more than 35,000 food relief boxes throughout the country, effectively helping about 140,000 of the most vulnerable citizens. Walid is a Middle East Leadership Initiative Fellow of Class I.Rima Maktabi is the Bureau Chief in London at Al Arabiya. From 2012-2015, Rima extensively covered the war in Syria and showcased the emergence of ISIS in Iraq's Mosul. Rima was given the Al Maktoum award for her work covering the 2006 Israeli-Lebanese conflict. August 4, 2020 and the April 26,1980 are dates that have marked her life. On the latter, her father was killed, and she lost what was left of her dreams in Lebanon. In between, she worked, dreamed and built a life that would lead her one day back home. In the recent Beirut blast, many close family members were injured, and her brand new home was in ruins within minutes. Rima lived through the war in Lebanon, but the Beirut blast changed her forever. She is a Middle East Leadership Initiative Fellow of Class VI.Ramez Shehadi is managing director for the MENA region at Facebook. Ramez was less than a kilometer away sitting in a meeting outside by the sea facing the port when the explosion hit, and he survived when others around did not. While the explosion shattered so much for so many, helping others, and in particular, small and medium enterprises, has helped him to heal. Ramez is a Middle East Leadership Initiative Fellow of Class II.Moderator: Stace Lindsay, is president of Fusion Venture Partners, a firm he started in order to bring together: people of great vision who inspire change, engender trust, and are moved deeply to make a difference; insights that have the power to improve our quality of life, protect that which is in danger, or to fix what is broken in our world; and capital that can be deployed with foresight, patience, and commitment to finding ways to be leveraged for economic and social good. He is a 2002 Henry Crown Fellow.

In the height of the 2020 U.S. election cycle, election security has been dominating the headlines. Our public institutions are being put to the test, trust in the voting process has waivered. This begs the question… how do we make elections free and fair, and in the midst of a pandemic, safe? And who are the types of leaders we need guiding our voting system.In this episode we talk with Central America Leadership Initiative Fellow Jorge Garcia. He is a tech innovator and entrepreneur. He's co-Founder & CTO of Iconic an app Development & Design studio that works with Fortune 500 companies and startups alike creating apps loved by millions of users across the globe. Now, he's working on a new venture called Ballotted, a simple, secure, fully auditable, legally defensible e-voting platform that people can trust. And we need that now more than ever. Today, he shares the story behind creating this app, his thoughts on leadership and how activating his own values has influenced his actions – especially in the face of unique challenges that come with operating in the political space.More on Jorge GarciaJorge started thinking about Ballotted after creating with some of his friends a crowdsourced auditing platform named VotoSocial.org for the contested 2013 Honduras elections for which he won the prestigious MIT Technology Review Innovators under 35 award. Jorge has been featured in Forbes, is member of the Young Entrepreneurs Council and member of the Latino Business Action Network. He holds a B.Eng. in Computer Systems from UNITEC, Honduras and a M.Sc. in Intelligent Systems Design from Chalmers, Sweden. Jorge is a class 2016 CALI Fellow and member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network at the Aspen Institute.