The Mothers Are Coming

05/01/18 • 25 min

"There is nothing a gun extremist has as much love for as we do for our children." That's the true theory of change behind Moms Demand Action, a 50 state strong movement of over 4 million Americans who demand legislators fix our epidemic of gun violence.

Moms Demand members show up in state legislatures (and my Twitter feed) almost every day, fearless in the face of threats. Founder Shannon Watts says "All credit goes to every talented, Type A, badass moms who breathed life into this movement."

I wanted to know, what is life like as a grassroots organizer working in the perfect storm of a startup and politics? What's the organizing model that allows Moms Demand to function? How does a mom go from social media fan to activist? What kind of social media strategy does the organization employ? How did Shannon create the brand, one that appeals to red and blue state moms alike? And how do Moms Demand volunteers stay above the fray of ad hominem attacks on social media?

Shannon Watts started a Facebook page the day after Sandy Hook; she wanted to start something like Mothers Against Drunk Driving to allow mothers to fight gun violence. Learn how she and a team of dedicated volunteer activists built one of our most powerful grassroots armies.

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Introversion, Leadership, and Patriarchy

Gender, age, perception all color how introverts experience the world and how the world experiences us.

So I was excited to sit down with Jennifer Kahnweiler, "champion of introverts," and ask her expert advice on some of the most frequent questions I've gotten about introversion as host and author of Hiding in the Bathroom. What are the top myths about introverts? What's the best meeting style for an introvert? Dig in for some great and unexpected advice! This is an amazing precis for anyone, introvert or extrovert.

For example: introverts can be great public speakers!! We can sizzle.

The final episode of my season on patriarchy brings things fill circle as we discuss introversion, patriarchy, and leadership.

Coming soon: the next season of HITB. We'll It's going to be about women, digital transformation, and social change and feature the women who are changing our world.

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How Can I Do My Dream Work and Pay the Bills?

If there's one question I get over and over, it's "How can I pursue a dream career as a content creator/artist/inspirational speaker/influencer and still pay the mortgage?"

Is this you? On paper everything is perfect, and yet: you're a talented, well-paid professional seeking a path of much less security, and probably, less income. Or like Karen Walrond, you're waking up decades after Dad said, "You're a math person. You should be an engineer."

My guest Karen Walrond and I rehash our paths from corporate America to new, creative, careers. Karen is a renowned speaker, coach, author, photographer and blogger. Learn about her shift from engineer and corporate lawyer to multi-hyphenate.

We often hear the before story, and the happily ever after story. But what happens in between? How do you make the pivot and build a new path as a creative person? How do you pay the mortgage throughout?

Karen and I talk through the process- and work in progress.