Latest / Be A Global Citizen! / 197. HGSE Global Citizen: Barbara Best: Building healthy ecosystems of care through tight-knit roots

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197. HGSE Global Citizen: Barbara Best: Building healthy ecosystems of care through tight-knit roots · Be A Global Citizen!

0:05
Hi there, and welcome to Be a Global Citizen, the podcast that
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explores the concept of global citizenship through the lens of
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value creating education. My name is Scott Bauer and I'm
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Ahsoka, researcher and educator. I hope you find the discussion,
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stories and insights on this podcast to be valuable and
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inspiring as we strive to become global citizens who are
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committed to living a contributive life.
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Enjoy. I'm Barbara Best, I'm a
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community organizer. I am passionate about building
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ecosystems of care for young people and communities to
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thrive, and I'm so honored to be here today.
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Hi Barbara, thank you so much for joining me on the podcast.
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I'm so happy that one of our mutual friends connected us, you
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know, like minded people and then sharing in this, you know,
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incredible work of educating future generations.
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And this what you just mentioned about ecosystem of care really
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resonates with me. And so I, I really want to to
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learn more about the, the community work that that you're
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doing and then also understand what's really like the driving
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force behind all of these different initiatives that you
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do and, and what what gets you up in the morning.
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I think this, this, this dialogue that we're going to
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have is going to be really powerful and will inspire a lot
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of people listening. So the, the first question is
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really to kind of have you share out what were some of the
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different milestones in your career.
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But it's not just for the professional side of things, but
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also any, any of the personal moments that that helped you to
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kind of understand your own sense of self that motivated you
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to get through maybe a, a tough, a tough patch and whatever else
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that you'd like to share, I'm all ears.
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So please take it away. Thank you so much, Scott.
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Really delighted to be here and I love the stories that you're
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weaving together in this tapestry, a stories of all of us
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serving in the education ecosystem and and the difference
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positive impact we can all make together.
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So I believe in the importance of a clear North star and my
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North Star is healthy interconnectedness.
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And as I mentioned, cultivating ecosystems of care to empower
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youth and communities to thrive, Communities of joy, purpose, and
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connection. I am a community organizer by
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training. I spent many years at the
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Children's Defense Fund in Texas and nationally, and I have seen
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the power of collaborative action.
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When we were in Texas, we were working on health coverage for
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children, and there were 9 million uninsured children in
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the United States and 1.5 million of them lived in Texas,
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and 90% had at least one working parent, but they could not
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afford or didn't receive health coverage through their
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employers. And so we worked on campaigns to
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expand the Children's Health Coverage program to enroll
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uninsured children in health coverage.
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We had an amazing team of servant leaders, brilliant,
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brilliant leaders who I keep in touch with to this day.
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And it was just powerful to see partnerships.
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We partnered with schools to systematically identify
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uninsured children and link them with health coverage at local
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schools. And it was just amazing to see
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the impact. And I appreciated also your
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invitation to share kind of my personal journey.
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So when I was 26, I, I received an emergency phone call after
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routine annual physical that changed the course of my life.
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And it still feels cloudy and the words are a blur, you know,
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large ovarian tumor, emergency surgery.
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I mean, within a few days, I, I was in the hospital my whole
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life turned upside down. And I, I did have to have
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emergency surgery. And, you know, I remember just
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this web of care all around me. You know, my, my mom was in the
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room next door just praying fervently as I was going through
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the medical procedure. This nurses all around, you
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know, leading me through my recovery.
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I mean, friends who put together a calendar every night.
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And this was within six months of my joining the Children's
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Defense Fund. And I poured myself into that
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work because I had seen how health insurance and this web of
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care had changed my life, had saved my life really.
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And I want everyone to have access to, to the support and
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resources that we all need to be to thrive, you know, for
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everyone to be safe, for everyone to be happy, for
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everyone to be healthy, cared for, love protected.
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So having that personal experience of the need for
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health coverage only makes me even more committed to creating
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the conditions for every young person and their communities to
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thrive. You know, that that last piece
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that you shared about how it was through this personal experience
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of yours going through this, this emergency surgery, that was
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quite shocking. But then you received this web
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of care that allowed you to really understand just how
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important and how urgently needed these services are.
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And that you then wanted to repay that debt of gratitude by
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really, like, as you said, pouring into your community.
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I find that when you know, people are at the forefront,
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really doing the work, we ask, how did they get to that point?
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Why? And I think because they have
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that like deeper connection and they are operating from a place
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of, of, of gratitude, right? And understanding that impact,
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that's when you really start to see, you know, this driving
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force kind of at play. And, and I'm so happy that you
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were able to receive those, those resources and then be
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surrounded by friends and family because, you know, it's, it's,
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it can be very traumatizing, right?
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Or very traumatic, let's say the, the notice and then the
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question of like, will I be able to like get through this?
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I think it's a maybe a question that a lot of families that you
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interacted with, we're asking themselves and like, and those
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are moments of vulnerability. Maybe could you speak about like
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how like, you know, we, I'm when I think of like healthcare, it
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seems very like, you know, like policy and just kind of like
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there's numbers and I don't know if I can pay this or that.
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But then I think what the way you're coming at it, like it's
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coming from a heart space. And so like, what's the role
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that like being able to interact with them and like really get to
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a state of like, you know, understanding through
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vulnerability, Like how does that inform the work that you
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do? Thank you so much for that.
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I think a lot about vulnerability and being open and
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responsive to the needs of another and standing in the
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place of care. And I remember when I was in
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Texas, there had been severe cutbacks to the Children's
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Health Insurance program, like 200,000 children had lost health
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coverage. And just the things that people
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were saying about families like CHIP families, Dr. Lexuses and
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Escalades, that kind of just people don't have a lot of
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sympathy for families that can't re enroll every six months.
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These kind of narratives that we're not compassionate.
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And I remember when all of these families and children lost their
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health coverage, We we actually went to hospitals and clinics
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and we mobilized a web of regional coordinators around the
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state and we collected stories and every media market true
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stories. In fact, it's a report that we
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issued that we the people have been asking for in recent days,
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given this moment, true stories of uninsured Texas children.
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And these stories were so powerful of children who had
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lost their health coverage. And at the time, the most
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politically palatable way to cap enrollment was to really force
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families to reapply every six months to keep their coverage.
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And there's one family I will never forget, Tamika Scott and
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her son Devante Johnson. Devante had advanced kidney
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cancer. And you know, his mother did
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everything right. She she filled out all of these
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applications and she could not get him re enrolled in Medicaid
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because of these requirements that families re enroll every
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six months. The state couldn't keep up with
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the paperwork. And so an eligible child was dis
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enrolled and he had to go on to these experimental clinical
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trials. He lost a lot of weight and he
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couldn't walk around. He was in a lot of pain and he
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and he died. And it's just, I will never
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forget that story of Devante Johnson.
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And his mother, Tamika Scott is a very spiritual person.
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You know, she had two other boys and she, she felt this was
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Devante's time. But at the same time, she didn't
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want any other child to have to suffer the way he did.
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And she had two other boys and was also mindful of all the
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other children who, who were struggling and getting health
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coverage. And so she wrote op eds and she
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spoke out and she told her story, and we did get the
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Children's Health Insurance Program restored.
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But it was these family stories that really changed the
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narrative. And it was powerful to see the
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way legislators talked about families differently.
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Like, eligible children should be able to get health coverage.
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We need to remove red tape and make it easier for families to
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get the health coverage that children need and deserve.
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But it was humanizing the stories and putting a face on
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the issue that really made the difference.
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Thank you for sharing that, that story about Devante and Tamika,
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because, yeah, centering, centering the work on like the,
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the real, like, kind of like humanity, right, of the those
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that you're serving is so important and can be lost in
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the, the Bureau, the bureaucracy of it all.
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And, and then there's probably even deeper reasons for why that
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bureaucracy even exists in the 1st place that we may or may not
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get into. But I think that what you shared
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was, I don't know, I'm like, I'm touched by the, the mother's
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actions, though, because, you know, she was like coming from
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the place of a mother, but she was also in a, in a way,
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transcending that because she was now thinking of like not
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only her son, but the, the sons of other mothers, right?
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And she was now engaging in this, this is form of, of
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activism and, and civil service, right?
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Of like, I I need to do this so that no one else, no other
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mother, no other family has to, you know, suffer in the way that
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that we suffered, that, you know, suffering happens and like
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health issues arise and it's kind of part of being a human
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right as in part in terms of like everyone gets sick and then
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everyone does eventually die. But as you said, right, like
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this could have been avoided, right?
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This, you know, like this could have been treated much sooner
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and that would have looked so different.
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So I think that that that is really important to like bring
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to the attention of others. But, you know, one of the things
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that, you know, gets me thinking is like the while the work of
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making sure that there there are families that have this this
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coverage that are eligible and that you were able to reach them
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is so vital. And that's like the like, you
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know, kind of like front lines putting in that work.
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There's still like this part of me that's like, there's, I don't
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know, maybe like, I don't know, there there's something like
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deeper in this, this whole process of like why the, the
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system itself is not working, you know, the way that it should
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or, you know, like in this case, it's with healthcare.
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But I know that you've also, you know, done a lot of work more
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recently in education. So I guess what I'm trying to
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say is like, you know, there's the kind of like there's,
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there's like a short, the short term or more immediate approach
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to it, but then there's like a larger kind of, you know, like
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larger transformational approach.
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I feel when, when it comes to like healthcare, but then also
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when it comes to other, other areas.
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I don't know if this question is making sense, but I'm trying to
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say like, in terms of bridging like your work in like
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healthcare coverage and, and the work that you did in Houston.
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I also know that you've, you've shifted your, your attention and
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work towards more education related efforts.
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So I'm wondering, was there, was there like a reason for that in
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particular? And does it perhaps have to do
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with, like, I don't know, like trying to get to like the deeper
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roots of like how you could support more young families or
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families that are in need? Yeah.
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Yes, thank you so much, Scott for the question.
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And I, I do believe that we have to transform the way we see and
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support our young people. And it's about justice.
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It's about housing justice and education justice and healthcare
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justice and child and family well-being justice and
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immigration justice and transformative justice about
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justice. So I, in terms of my journey, I,
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I was thrust into leadership roles at a very young age.
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And so I came to the Kennedy School to get a master's degree
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in my mid 30s. Our daughter Elena was 4.
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My husband Jaime quit his job as an engineer to help me get
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through school and to take care of Elena.
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So I've always like been so supported.
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It's, it's just so grateful for the love and support of my
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family. I would not be where I am today
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without the love and support of my family and I, I worked at the
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Center for Public leadership and I worked with these amazing
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leaders from all over the world. And so I've seen the power of
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these courage communities and the image I draw a lot of
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inspiration from nature. And I love, I like, I love
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trees. I love Redwood trees.
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And, and I, I think you're, are you in California right now or?
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Yeah, I'm in like the Los Angeles area.
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You're in the Los Angeles area and so in Northern California,
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those Redwood trees, they're amazing.
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They're they, they date back to the time of the dinosaurs, and
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they can live for 2000 years and they're 350 feet tall, but their
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roots are only about 10 to 13 feet deep.
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Like, how is that even possible? How can a tree stand 350 feet
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tall with roots that are only 10 to 13 feet deep?
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The secret of their stability is that the roots are all
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interconnected. A vast network of support exists
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just beneath the surface so that even in the wildest of storms,
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these trees hold each other up. And that really is my view of
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how I see the work building those strong root systems for
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young people and communities to flourish.
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So I had been at the Center for Public Leadership for seven
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years and worked with amazing students who and it really moves
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me how our students continue to support and uplift each other
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all over the globe. But I felt a pull to go back
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into child advocacy and I during the pandemic, I had the honor of
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working at a beautiful nonprofit organization that provided
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community based mentoring for young people impacted by foster
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care. And my biggest joy was our youth
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Advisory Board, 13 young people with 40 years of lived expertise
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in our programs. I went to every meeting and
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there's this one conversation that stays with me and it's
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about what is success as defined by young people.
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And young people had two beautiful insights, brilliant
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insights #1 being in a relationship is a success.
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Number 2. They talked about growth,
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learning goals, having a caring adult mentor reflect back on
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your growth over time, recognizing that every person's
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journey is unique. And that is such precious
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wisdom. And I began wondering, how might
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we infuse this knowledge and like center lived expertise and
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how we design our systems and how might we make impact at
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scale? And schools have unique
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convening power. The education ecosystem has
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unique convening power. So how could we embed practices
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like this into schools? And that's what brought me to
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the Harvard Graduate School of Education to pursue a doctor in
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education leadership. And I took Doctor Gretchen
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Brion, my cells year long course on participatory action research
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for educational justice. I spent two days a week at
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Somerville High School and then my capstone was all about
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cultivating school and community connectedness to empower youth
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to thrive. We did all these listening
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sessions at Reading Memorial High School with different
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affinity groups and it was really moving to listen and
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learn from young people about building communities of, of
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cherished belonging in schools to empower our youth to thrive.
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So that's a little bit about my journey and sort of the path
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I've been on. And it's about centering youth
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and family voice and agency and leadership and decision making.
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Wow. Thank you so much, Barbara.
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There's there's so much there and I I'm almost out like a loss
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as as to where to begin. I maybe let's start with the
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trees because you know, it's, you know, that there's
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definitely this strong connection that you have to
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nature. And I feel like what you shared
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about the Redwood trees was really beautiful in the sense
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that like strong root systems, they, they help anchor right
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the, the tree and allow it to, to continue to thrive for, for
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many, many years. And I also didn't know about
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like the like I, I thought it'd be, but much deeper, but it's
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just like, I guess how like tight knit it is.
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It's not really about the the depth of it, but yeah, could you
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speak about the, I don't know, like, what are your thoughts in
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regards to like the communities that you serve and like how
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maybe like at present their connection to nature is.
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And if it is lacking the the ways in which you think people
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should like, you know, connect more to nature.
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Like what? I guess what's the role of
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connecting with nature as it relates to our own humanity?
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Oh, I love that. Oh, I love that.
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I love connecting to nature as it relates to our own humanity.
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You know, I love, I love books. As you can see.
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I love Braiding Sweetgrass by indigenous scientist Doctor
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Robin Wall Kimmer. This is such a beautiful braid
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of stories to heal our relationship with the world.
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And she imagines a different relationship in which the land
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and the people are good medicine for each other.
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So she talks a lot about how all flourishing is mutual and that
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there's so much wisdom in this in this book.
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But this is our first year of. We have a community garden here
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in Cambridge. And it's been Scott.
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It has been such a joy. And it centers me in this vision
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of vitality, just watching things grow and being in tune
18:19
with the rhythm of the seasons. Like spring is a time of seed
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planting. What are the seeds that we most
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want to embody and act, bring forth in our relationships, in
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our systems, in our communities? Summer is a time of abundance.
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Autumn is a time of harvesting and also a time of letting go
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and trusting in cycles of regeneration.
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And then winter is a time of rest, of storing up energy for
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the journey of head. So I have found it really
18:45
helpful to be attuned being in the garden and just going to the
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garden every day you've all year long, you know, really attunes
18:53
me to cycles of regeneration. And how do we bring that kind of
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wisdom and understanding into our systems and also deepen
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connections of of young people in communities with nature?
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I find nature to be a source of awe, of wonder, of
19:08
transformation. It's, it's just a source of
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wholeness. How do we work towards
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transformative wholeness of living and sort of reclaim
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relationality in our human relations and also with the
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natural world? So I I appreciate the question
19:24
very much. Yeah, no.
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And I appreciate you really like speaking to these, these cycles,
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right, that that happen in nature and that allow us to feel
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a part of something bigger. And what I find very troubling
19:41
about society, you know, currently is that there's this
19:45
growing sense of disconnect, right, That we have not only
19:49
with others, but really with ourselves.
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And and that can sometimes, you know, stifle us or like hinder
19:57
us to to really like really leaning into the the full awe of
20:03
like this present moment, right. Or like the person in front of
20:07
us or the Redwood tree that we're looking at.
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And, and I find that that can also lead to great frustration.
20:15
It could lead to us feeling upset because, you know, I think
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the way that you speak about the like the community garden or,
20:23
you know, the way in which you interact with the seasons and
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and it's just like, you know, this, this wonderful, like
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feeling of appreciation that like I get to be a part of this,
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right? That it's all interconnected.
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But when it comes to like maybe young people in particular,
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since it seems to be the population that you work with
20:41
most closely, how is it that you get, you know, these these young
20:46
people to like fully connect with it?
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Is it just time and like immersion?
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Or is there something more that you do to like kind of bring to
20:54
their attention that gets them to really like put in, you know,
20:59
that much more effort to like have that feeling of like
21:01
wholeness or like belonging that you're speaking to?
21:06
Thank you so much. You know, I've been thinking a
21:09
lot about cultivating more joy and compassion and our
21:15
relationships and our communities and our systems.
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It was interesting in my doctoral studies to learn more
21:20
about the brain research that the brain actually has a
21:22
negativity bias, especially when we're stressed.
21:26
We we can over identify with challenges and overlook aspects
21:31
of our work, our relationships, our lives that bring us joy and
21:35
energy. So one, when I was in the school
21:38
district, you know what, it's a hard time to be in K12.
21:40
You just as a community organizer, I was sort of new to
21:43
K12 and I had a lot of empathy and compassion for the team.
21:47
Like you just never know what's going to hit you.
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So we would intentionally at the beginning of meetings, start
21:53
with a simple question, where are you finding joy?
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And that simple question would change the energy of the meeting
21:59
and shift to a, a sense of possibility.
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I have a practice of joy spotting, which I've been very
22:04
open and sharing with young people, with families, with
22:07
community leaders, the children's cabinet that we
22:09
organized in the community where I was doing my doctoral work to
22:13
savor simple moments of joy and beauty as I go about my day.
22:18
So a beautiful sunset, a beautiful sunrise, moments in
22:21
the garden, a great conversation with someone, very meaningful
22:24
connection, a kind and encouraging note to actually
22:28
savor those moments of joy and positivity.
22:32
I have a 10 breath practice where I will on my belly, count
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10 breaths and take 10 deep breaths in and out.
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That holds a positive experience in my body so that joy becomes a
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resource and I can resource myself.
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And then that builds capacity and resilience for whatever
22:49
challenges I might face in in a day.
22:51
So that's been interesting thinking about how to bring more
22:54
joy and compassion into our system.
22:56
The other is compassion. I've done a lot of work on
23:00
fierce self compassion. Dr. Kristen Ness work at the
23:03
University of Texas at Austin. That compassion has a tender
23:06
side and also a fierce protective side that helps us to
23:10
set healthy boundaries, make positive changes in our lives,
23:13
speak out against injustice. So I've shared with, you know,
23:17
young people, families, communities, educators, embodied
23:20
self compassion practices that with the three components of
23:24
self compassion, mindfulness, awareness of the present moment
23:28
without judgment, common humanity and self kindness.
23:33
So we'll actually call in a moment of difficulty 3 or 4 on a
23:36
10 point scale, nothing too much, it's going to shut you
23:38
down and just acknowledge it. This is a moment of difficulty
23:42
and then we move into common humanity.
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The life's full of difficulties. I'm not the first or the last to
23:48
experience a set back. Others have felt this way too.
23:50
I'm not alone. And then self kindness, using
23:53
soothing touch because that helps us tap into mammalian care
23:56
systems. You can put your hand on your
23:58
heart. I like to do a fist with a palm.
23:59
Strength with love could do this.
24:02
To cultivate a feeling of safety.
24:05
Put your hands on your cheeks. I mean whatever.
24:07
Hold your own hand and offer yourself whatever it is that you
24:11
need. May I have kindness.
24:14
May I be strong, may I live in abundance.
24:17
You got this, I've got your back.
24:19
Together, we're going to make it through.
24:21
So bringing practices like this into our community so that we
24:26
can resource ourselves, I think is a is makes a tremendous
24:29
impact in shifting energy and creating a sense of possibility.
24:34
Undoubtedly I, I love that and, and such positive messaging that
24:38
I think young people like the younger, the better need to
24:40
really engrave in their hearts. And then also there's certain
24:43
like it sounds like tools or practices, right?
24:47
Where they can in a way kind of like just, it's, it sounds
24:51
almost like they're kind of like programming, right?
24:54
This is how I get from one state of maybe negativity to a more
24:58
positive state of, you know, appreciation and joy.
25:03
And I think the society that, you know, we find ourselves in
25:06
seemingly is just more like default mode negativity.
25:11
And, and so, you know, we, you know, experience that, you know,
25:15
I think especially as adults, then bringing that into, into
25:19
their homes, you know, unwittingly, right, because
25:22
it's, it's difficult, the realities of life.
25:25
But I find that, you know, young people like, you know, grow up
25:29
with, you know, these conflicting messages.
25:31
And, and then kind of then it comes down to this like almost
25:35
like rewiring at a certain point where they, they don't give
25:38
themselves that permission to really be kind to themselves.
25:42
They don't take notice of the ways in which their emotions sit
25:46
with their body and they have difficulty taking a full breath
25:51
or feeling that warmth from either a conversation or, you
25:56
know, a, a hug, right? Some kind of like physical
25:58
contact. And so all of that is really
26:02
important work in terms of like what we really provide for young
26:06
people in terms of like words of affirmation, praise, giving them
26:10
hope, joy, and, and then valuable tools like you were
26:14
sharing that help them to really reconnect with themselves so
26:19
that they can then connect with others.
26:22
And then, you know, your, your discussion about compassion, I
26:25
felt was really, really meaningful because, you know,
26:29
again, we, I think we, we tend to really like, gravitate
26:33
towards those who are compassionate, right?
26:36
That there's something about them.
26:38
We can, you know, really confide in them, right?
26:41
Distrust. And, but like, compassion is
26:44
such a, it's a difficult thing or it just, I don't think, you
26:48
know, it's always like a two way street.
26:50
But I, I, I'm thinking about this, this one.
26:54
He's, he's a Japanese educator and reformer.
26:57
And this, this was, you know, in like kind of mid 20th century.
27:01
His name's Jose Toda. And, and he spoke a lot about
27:05
compassion, but from the lens of like, well, you know, if, if
27:09
it's, if it's too difficult to be compassionate, you can
27:12
actually substitute compassion with courage and kind of
27:16
thinking it's, you know, two sides of the same coin.
27:18
But sometimes if you need to have the courage to take those
27:21
actions to really put yourself out there to really, you know,
27:25
you know, to make that cause and that then takes you along the
27:30
pathway towards compassion, right?
27:32
Sometimes there's like this kind of, I don't know, stop, like of
27:35
like, how do I get to that point?
27:37
And so then, you know, I felt like, you know, the way he, he
27:40
framed that was, was really helpful because you know, the
27:43
work that you're doing does require a lot of courage, right?
27:47
As as if, you know, we, we, there's like this kind of stream
27:50
of, you know, negativity and, and we're all just salmon trying
27:53
to swim upstream. When, you know, actually, why
27:56
does that have to be the the case where, you know, we can, we
27:59
can create new streams, you know, through these efforts and
28:03
especially coming at it from the community lens.
28:06
So, you know, you, we, I feel like we know we've been speaking
28:09
a lot about the, the, the importance of like compassion
28:13
within relationships and building these like healthy
28:16
interconnected relationships, right?
28:18
That you mentioned at the start. And there was you, you mentioned
28:21
about like a, a, some kind of like youth poll where you ask
28:25
them the question of like what, what is success?
28:27
And I kind of wanted to, to, to hear a little bit more about
28:30
that because I was really impressed that they came up
28:34
with, you know, being in a relationship and like growth or
28:38
like the learning goals. I, I was hoping if you can maybe
28:41
speak a little bit more to that because.
28:43
And like, so like, what does it mean to be in a healthy
28:46
relationship? Is, is one thing.
28:48
And then also in terms of like, like, what does it mean to like
28:52
grow or to thrive amidst everyone's unique and, and
28:56
difficult realities? Yeah.
28:59
What, how, how did you guys respond to that poll when they
29:02
told you this is what we're struggling with or this is what
29:05
we want? And then how do you respond to
29:07
that as the adults and wanting to empower them to be
29:10
successful? Thank you so much, Scott.
29:13
Thank you for these beautiful reflections.
29:15
And I also love your calling and courage.
29:18
And I believe I've been thinking a lot, what does this moment
29:21
call us to? And I believe we are called to
29:23
be more courageous. And it does a lot of this work
29:27
is, is countercultural and it's having the strength to counter
29:31
to, to. So how do we show up with
29:32
awareness, courage, kindness each day and bring more
29:36
compassion in our communities? Thank you so much for that
29:38
insight. And in terms of it's, I think a
29:41
lot about seed planting. So the work during the pandemic
29:44
at this beautiful organization providing community based
29:48
mentoring for young people impacted by foster care.
29:50
This conversation, What does success look like?
29:54
How is success defined by young people?
29:56
And this beautiful insight, Being in a relationship is a
29:59
success, growth, learning goals, having a caring adult mentor.
30:04
Reflect back on your journey over time, recognizing that
30:06
every person's journey is unique.
30:08
And this nonprofit was a was a beautiful like a bright spot.
30:14
It was just amazing. It was all about it was creating
30:17
those relational connections. It was creating that web to
30:20
surround young peoples with communities of love and joy.
30:23
It was working. It was making a tremendous
30:25
impact in the lives of our young people.
30:28
But there's like 400,000 young people impacted by foster care
30:31
in the United States and, and began wondering how to make
30:34
impact at scale. And how could we embed these
30:37
practices into policies and systems to be youth focused, to
30:41
be trauma inclusive, to be healing center, to be strength
30:45
based, to to model as we are and as you are, generous listening
30:52
and courageous action. So that's really what propelled
30:55
me to go to the doctor in education leadership.
30:57
And I loved working in reading public schools where I was for
31:01
all three years. And the listening sessions work
31:04
was really powerful. And it started with I was
31:07
helping to build a children's cabinet, bringing together 25
31:11
intergenerational cross sector leaders to empower youth to
31:16
thrive. So we'd have business leaders
31:18
and faith leaders and school leaders and teachers and young
31:21
people and parents like a really wide cross section.
31:25
And the we did a needs assessment.
31:26
What are the issues we want to work on together?
31:29
And the two issues identified were #1 accessing resources and
31:33
#2 addressing relational aggression and mean behavior.
31:37
I thought it took tremendous courage to name that.
31:42
And so we started with parent listening sessions.
31:45
There was a group of parents, middle school parents who really
31:47
wanted to be heard. And we did these listening
31:50
sessions at the Public Library in town and it was very deep,
31:54
open hearted listening. Like what are young people
31:57
experiencing? And, and, and for, for parents
32:00
to really speak their authentic truths.
32:02
And parents were saying, like, what is bullying and what is
32:08
kids being kids? And where do I step in and where
32:10
do I hold back? And young people are playing a
32:13
huge role in each other's lives since the pandemic, especially,
32:16
you know, And so supporting our young people navigating
32:19
relationships like what's yours to hold?
32:21
What's not yours to hold? What are the qualities that you
32:23
want to see an authentic trusting relationship?
32:25
So when I moved into my residency, I talked to a number
32:29
of community leaders and parent leaders and young people said,
32:31
this is what our parents are saying.
32:33
So how do we move forward and take action on this?
32:35
And that's where we came up with the idea of these youth
32:37
listening sessions and a multi pronged strategy to cultivate
32:41
school and community connectedness with youth
32:43
listening sessions, with family and community engagement
32:46
strategies, with a community wide strategy to prioritize and
32:51
coordinate youth mental health services and then also healthy
32:56
relationships in the workplace. So like a multi pronged strategy
33:00
at multiple levels of the system and the the listening sessions
33:03
with our young people were amazing.
33:04
So we did maybe 12 listening sessions, reached about 167
33:08
students, different affinity groups and created a really
33:11
youth centered space with a lot of turn and talks time, time to
33:14
connect and started with highs and lows.
33:17
Where do you feel connected? Where do you not feel connected?
33:20
What gets in the way of building a community of belonging and
33:24
what would it look like? What would it feel like to build
33:27
a community of belonging? And it was really powerful, and
33:30
we learned a lot. And one of the things I'm proud
33:33
of is that the work has continued beyond my residency.
33:37
And I think we've introduced a new pattern of changing how the
33:40
community listens to and learns from young people and from
33:43
parents so that when the school district makes a decision or
33:48
pursues a new pathway, they they first go to those who are most
33:51
directly impacted. Just last week, I got an e-mail
33:54
from the Redding Coalition saying they've done a leadership
33:58
town hall, bringing young people together across affinity groups
34:01
across the school community. Like 100 young people came and
34:04
they announced $4500 in mini grants for young people to lead
34:09
projects to cultivate school and community connectedness.
34:11
And they're going to do a youth town hall.
34:13
So I'm, I'm really proud that the work continues.
34:16
And it's about collaborative action and it's about centering
34:19
the voices of of young people and families who breathe life
34:21
into learning. Yeah.
34:24
Thank you so much for sharing that incredible initiative.
34:27
And I'm so happy to hear that not only was there tremendous
34:31
learning and, and collaboration within that immediate cohort
34:36
with all the collaborators, but there was this continuity,
34:39
right? This the sense that like the
34:40
work continues on because of how it was implemented and how
34:46
priorities were set and how people really truly listened and
34:48
understood, you know, each other.
34:51
And I think, you know, the, the, the role that listening plays, I
34:55
think just in, in our current times is that it allows people
34:59
to feel seen in a way. As I say, you're listening to
35:03
someone and they feel seen. But like, it's, it's really a
35:06
powerful message that's being conveyed that what, what you're
35:10
experiencing and what your current reality is truly
35:13
matters. And, and that, you know, when
35:17
someone feels like they've been truly listened to, there's like,
35:21
almost like this kind of like weight that kind of gets lifted
35:23
off that they feel like, OK, you know, like suddenly the, the
35:28
pressures of this world are a little bit more bearable because
35:31
now it's, it's no longer just me dealing with it.
35:35
And so the work of creating a kind of space to to engage
35:39
others, truly understanding where they're at.
35:41
That's so important because, you know, you can't actually make
35:44
any long lasting change if you don't identify and then call out
35:49
what truly is the the biggest issue, right?
35:52
That is is at hand and and yeah and then grounding everything
35:56
and and and they're you know and their voices like the voice.
36:01
I think you you mentioned that how that ties into like building
36:04
stronger relationships moving forward.
36:07
Yeah, all of that. I think it's just, it's really
36:09
like creating the kind of like model that that more
36:12
organization should really strive towards.
36:15
And, and so you know, this, the work that you're, that you're,
36:19
you're describing about like really listening deeply.
36:22
And does does this tie into like the, the work that you're
36:25
currently doing with like I, I, I think I recall there was like
36:29
this, this organization called Convu.
36:31
Is that, is that, like, does that kind of bring us up to like
36:34
where you're currently in terms of like your work?
36:37
Could you maybe speak a little bit about what that organization
36:39
organization does and the role that like listening plays in it
36:43
and how you've been able to also draw from all of these, you
36:46
know, previous experiences of like community organizing and
36:51
yeah, working, I mean, and building kind of like really
36:54
robust and diverse teams to address issues rooted in like,
36:58
you know, justice and belonging. So how does that all kind of
37:01
converge in in this present moment for you?
37:03
Oh, beautiful. Thank you so much for that
37:05
beautiful, beautiful question, Scott, and your beautiful
37:08
reflections. And I love your insight on
37:12
listening. What you said resonates so
37:13
deeply. Listening makes people feel
37:15
seen. Listening makes people feel that
37:16
they matter, that their voices are important.
37:19
And that's absolutely what we're doing at Kombu in our work to
37:23
expand capacity for pure coaching and deep listening that
37:27
we all need to thrive. And so Kombu has had like proof
37:30
of concept. We've made positive community
37:33
impact through the Harvard University Peer Coaching
37:35
Initiative and Mass General Hospital, and now we're excited
37:39
to expand peer coaching in schools, workplaces,
37:43
communities. And it's really about building
37:45
capacity for authentic, trusting relationships that we all need
37:48
to thrive. And I have personally
37:50
experienced the power of peer coaching in the Doctor in
37:53
Education leadership cohort at the Harvard Graduate School of
37:56
Education. We all had peer coaches and it's
37:58
been really moving to me how we continue to support each other
38:01
after graduation and really in this, this moment.
38:04
Micro communities are our life lines and relationships are a
38:07
lifeline in this moment and we can support and uplift one
38:10
another. And in my experience, often the
38:12
challenge doesn't change, but what changes is the sense of
38:16
being listened to and being part of a relationship that has
38:20
reciprocity, where you both listen and are listened to, You
38:24
know, where you can practice listening generously and
38:28
speaking courageously. And we've got a sort of a method
38:31
that walks people through the process of both coaching and
38:35
being coached. So you first open up a gap, let
38:38
a little sunshine in. What's what's the issue that you
38:41
want to focus on? What's coming up for you?
38:43
What's something you'd like to talk about today?
38:46
And then generating insight, what would better look like, You
38:51
know, what, what are you really longing for?
38:52
What are you really looking for? Who and what supports you on
38:56
your unique path? And then taking action.
39:00
And again, it's often the challenge and the context
39:03
remains the same. But what shifts is your mindset
39:05
or your heart set or where possibilities are popping up?
39:09
You know, because what what we focus on expands.
39:12
Where are possibilities popping up?
39:14
You know, where might we shift and, and focus our energy and
39:19
attention? So it's been really beautiful to
39:21
see the power of, of authentic trusting relationships.
39:25
And we're excited to spread these practices.
39:27
And I, I've been moved in my own cohort and then hearing some of
39:31
the testimonials from Massachusetts General Hospital
39:34
that the simple practice of listening is really
39:37
transformative and it's changing people's relationships in all
39:40
aspects of their lives. And that's, that's really moving
39:44
that and in the age of AI believe that human connection is
39:47
precious. And so how do we create these
39:50
spaces where we can listen, learn and connect with each
39:53
other? Yeah, Thank you.
39:56
Thank you for sharing that. This is really important work
39:59
that you're doing truly because you know, I find that the the
40:05
kind of, I mean not to get like. Really political, but it just
40:09
seems like what we see playing out in on the political arena
40:12
are just like, you know, two sides that are just unwilling to
40:15
listen to each other and and that's causing, you know, mayhem
40:20
and destruction. And and so then what you're
40:23
speaking about in terms of like the work of doing peer coaching,
40:26
creating these micro communities and really putting forward this,
40:32
this this value of like to listen to another is to like,
40:37
you didn't frame it this way, but I understand.
40:38
It's like to listen to another is to like respect to the
40:41
other's dignity and really extend to them that kind of
40:46
graciousness that like, yeah, what they say matters.
40:49
You know, one thing that comes to my mind though, is that that
40:54
we're not really taught how to listen well.
40:56
And, and then we kind of, you know, look at like, oh, because
41:00
we're not able to really listen well at this moment.
41:03
Then it's like it, it just seems like it, it's a, it's like,
41:07
almost like a muscle that's like atrophied.
41:09
And then it's just so much more difficult to gain traction, to
41:11
really build that up to sustain that level of concentration or
41:16
focus. And, and you said a phrase that
41:19
I thought was really profound. It's like what we've, what, what
41:22
we focus on expands, I think is what you said.
41:25
And, and then I think of like focus as like attention.
41:28
And we, we kind of live in an, in a world of like the attention
41:31
economy where everything is kind of geared towards like how much
41:35
screen time, you know, various different corporations can get
41:39
us to do. And so, like, what are some of
41:42
the challenges that you face, you know, at convoo in terms of
41:47
like, I don't know if the word is combating that or addressing
41:51
that, but you know, it's an undeniable reliability reality
41:56
for all young people. And so like it, it just seems
42:00
like this behemoth of a, you know, kind of situation where
42:04
like, it's it's like social media that doesn't really want
42:08
us to like, listen, it's just consume.
42:11
And so how how does yeah, I'm wondering where that kind of
42:14
rests with you. How do you wrestle with that?
42:17
Oh, I love that. No, thank you so much.
42:19
Thank you. And I love what you said about
42:20
listening is respecting someone's dignity.
42:22
I, I, I love that. So beautifully said, and I think
42:26
a lot about how do we open up a space in our community because
42:30
there is a lot of noise, there's a lot of divisiveness in the
42:34
world today. So how do we open up a space?
42:38
And I was really moved in these youth listening sessions.
42:41
Young people were very present. And I spoke to, I mean, I spoke
42:45
to a number of groups, Rise Against Cancer, the Politics
42:49
Club, the Gender and Sexuality Alliance, Students of Color and
42:53
Allies for Equity, Inclusion and Justice, the captains of the
42:55
sports teams. I mean, I talked to a wide
42:58
variety of students and they were so present.
43:02
Young people want to be listened to, and my experience is that
43:04
people want to be listened to. And so to create the space, we
43:08
did hold a facilitator training at the Next Practice Institute
43:12
of Mobius Executive Leadership, Next Practice Institute, and it
43:15
was really moving. We had a great group of
43:17
facilitators, you know, ranging from an amazing, amazing
43:21
advocate working with nurses in Main Nurse Flourish to people
43:26
working in higher Ed on transformational dialogue, to
43:29
people working in the private sector and activists and
43:32
organizers. It was a wonderful range.
43:34
And so we went through the facilitator training, which was
43:37
really rich and as you said earlier, to build the muscle,
43:40
like we have these skills within us, but we need to reclaim this
43:44
lost art of listening. So even just giving it some
43:48
attention, what gets in the way of my listening?
43:52
What can I do to be a better listener?
43:55
How do I be more present? What are things I need to work
43:59
on? And we also did work on culture
44:01
transformation, which I really appreciated.
44:04
And I hadn't thought about culture in this way of moving
44:07
from stuck patterns to generative patterns.
44:11
And I find that small gestures can really make a positive
44:15
impact in shaping culture. So I, I was really energized and
44:20
I've, I've been posting that on LinkedIn.
44:21
So people have reached out. I talked to an amazing organizer
44:24
a couple weeks ago and I was really moved by her.
44:26
She, she wants to be trained as a facilitator.
44:28
And she said investing in each other's leadership development
44:31
is an act of resistance. And that really stays with me in
44:35
this moment, that building our capacity, learning to listen,
44:40
learn and connect from each other is, is just a great thing
44:43
that we can be doing in this moment.
44:45
And I think there's a hunger for it and a longer and a longing
44:47
for it. And to do that working community
44:50
that we can, we can. I, I have learned personally
44:53
that we change, learn, heal and grow in relationship.
44:55
And so reclaiming that relationality in the sense that
44:58
we all belong to each other, I think is the ultimate goal
45:01
really. Yeah, Thank you so much for
45:04
that, that really thoughtful response.
45:06
Barbara and I, you know, having those like spaces where people
45:11
can come face to face and really engage and and be heard and feel
45:16
empowered through that process I think is really important.
45:20
And then these opportunities to kind of, I don't know, maybe
45:25
like nudge others in in that kind of like positive direction
45:28
through the kind of sharing out of like, you know, the posts
45:31
that you were talking about. And really kind of making it
45:34
clear like the direction that like, hey, you know, this is
45:37
something that borders on like a kind of movement of really
45:41
reclaiming that sense of listenership or, you know, sense
45:46
of like kind of where you put your attention.
45:49
I think is, is really crucial and, and so the kind of like
45:53
building up of our own kind of like muscles to listen or, you
45:58
know, really deciding connection like with others and building
46:02
relationships is important. I feel like, you know, we've
46:04
kind of, you know, touched upon a lot of different aspects that,
46:08
you know, could potentially qualify as like part of like
46:12
what it means to be a global citizen.
46:13
But I wanted to 1st ask, you know, just in terms of like the
46:16
concept itself, if this is something that you think about
46:21
often, either in the past or more recently or maybe not at
46:25
all, but just wondering kind of how it lands with you at this
46:28
moment, like what it means to be a global citizen.
46:31
Oh, I love the question of what it means to be a global citizen.
46:34
And I, I actually, I love poetry and I love the arts.
46:36
My mom was a a wonder. My mom was a brilliant educator
46:40
and developer of people who had a passion for serving
46:42
multilingual learners and educational freedom.
46:45
And she was a daughter of Italian immigrants.
46:47
And so she would inspire her students with poetry.
46:49
And I, I actually think in poems.
46:51
So when I saw this question about what does it mean to be a
46:55
global citizen, I actually thought of this poem in La
46:57
Queche, which I printed out. It's my and inspired wisdom.
47:02
And it's written by Luis Valdez in 1971.
47:06
In La Queche, I am you or you are me.
47:09
Dueros me Otorio, you are my other me.
47:13
If I do harm to you, may I go Daniel AMI mismo I do harm to
47:17
myself. See the Amo Y resetto.
47:20
If I love and respect you, may Amo Y respect Ojo.
47:24
I love and respect myself. And that to me ultimately is
47:28
what it means to be a global citizen.
47:31
It is to look in the eyes of every other person and see my
47:35
other me. And the way I think about the
47:38
work is how am I honoring in La Kesh in my life?
47:43
Where am I living up to in La Kesh?
47:45
And where am I not living up to in La Kesh?
47:47
And that's where the work is. It's it's in the gap.
47:50
So that to me that this is from an ethnic studies class that I
47:53
took at the Harvard Graduate School of Education with Doctor
47:56
V Doctor Christina Villarreal, a brilliant educator and scholar,
48:00
practitioner, leader. And that really stays with me.
48:03
I think about in La Kesh every day, but that that is what it
48:06
means to be to me, to be a global citizen and and to be
48:10
compassionate, to be open and responsive to the needs of
48:12
another and to stand in the place of care.
48:17
Wow, that's beautiful. I, I love, I love that poem.
48:20
I love how it's also like, you know, bilingual and that like
48:24
there was like two different languages and and that as if it
48:29
was to like to like reinforce the same message, but from like,
48:33
you know, different, different heart spaces, right?
48:36
Like expanding the audience, but also really just kind of
48:39
affirming that this sense that, you know, like, you know, I am,
48:45
I'm, I'm seeing a reflection of, of myself or an aspect of, of
48:49
who I am part of my own humanity.
48:52
And I, I, I need to respect that and, and love that.
48:56
I think is, is really power is really powerful message.
48:58
And, and it's, it's this kind of like wisdom that we see, I think
49:02
in a lot of different cultures. And you know, like I, I think of
49:05
like Ubuntu, right? I think of what else was there
49:12
like Namaste as well. I think, you know, about that,
49:16
Yeah. And then I, you know, I come
49:18
from like a, a Buddhist tradition, from like neutron
49:20
Buddhism where, you know, we, we, we speak a lot about
49:25
everyone's inherent state of, of Buddhahood and that we, you
49:30
know, there's this incredible equality that is preached from
49:32
the, the Lotus Sutra that everyone is a Buddha.
49:36
Yeah. And so, you know, the kind of
49:39
greet from afar, you know, someone as if you're seeing the
49:42
the original Buddha, that's the spirit that we kind of look at
49:45
this. And so, you know, and then the
49:47
interconnectedness piece comes across really strong in in this
49:51
poem. So I really appreciate you for
49:53
for sharing that, for like acting it out as well.
49:56
And it's extra special. And yeah, and this has just been
49:59
a really lovely opportunity to, to learn more about the, the
50:03
important work that you're doing.
50:05
But also like how it's, I think it's very evident, like you, you
50:08
have quite the list of various accomplishments and, and
50:13
successes and community organizing and building out new
50:15
programs. But at the same time, you're,
50:19
you're deep in this reflection of like, like what is the work
50:22
that needs to be done right now? And how can I model that and not
50:26
have it be just, you know, a line on a resume saying this is
50:30
what I do, but this is who I am kind of perspective.
50:33
And I, I really respect that and, and, and for myself try to,
50:37
you know, also embody that, that spirit moving forward.
50:40
And so, you know, the, the last question that I want to ask you
50:43
is actually like a book recommendation or could be a
50:46
movie recommendation. But I know you've already shared
50:49
out one book a little, you know, while back.
50:53
But you know, is there any other books that you'd like to to, to
50:56
share with us? I would, yes I do.
51:00
I love to read so I do love Teachings on Love by by Tiknat
51:05
Hahn, the great teacher and peacebuilder and just thinking
51:08
about the seeds that we can water and cultivate every day of
51:12
love, compassion, joy, equanimity, the interconnected
51:17
dimensions of love. I also love this book.
51:20
Just thinking about being a global citizen.
51:22
I feel very drawn to the idea of spiritual kinship and community.
51:26
So I love this book, Casting Indrasnet by Doctor Pamela Ayo
51:30
Utundi, and she talks about really reclaiming the sense that
51:34
we all belong to each other and that the only hope of our
51:37
survival really is adopting each other formally or informally as
51:42
kin. And that that really moves me.
51:44
And I, as I grow kind of deeper in years in life experience, I,
51:48
I come back to this idea of reclaiming relationality and
51:52
loving kinship, that we all belong to each other and we all
51:55
have shared humanity. We're all part of a vast
51:57
interconnected web. But the web is very delicate
52:00
right now and needs to be handled with care and with love
52:03
and with compassion. And so I'm so thankful to you,
52:06
Scott. This has been a joy.
52:07
And I really appreciate these stories you are weaving together
52:11
and igniting the life force of compassion that connects us all.
52:16
So thank you. Music.