blog

A faded color photo of an older man cooking in a sunny kitchen

Fifteen years

Fifteen years with no Nurn in the world. That’s what we called him. A silly, loving name for a silly, loving man. Dan Kalikow, 3/2/43-2/26/09. But of course it’s not true that there’s no Nurn left. There is so much of him in me - I see him often in ...
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/ Personal philosophy
Photo of a computer screen showing a powerpoint slide. It's a cover slide showing the name of the law firm (Foley Hoag) and the presenters on the topic of "SFFA v. Harvard College and UNC: The Decision, the Aftermath, and Strategies for DEI Leaders."

SCOTUS and DEI and you and me

I'm not a lawyer, and this isn't legal advice, BUT: daaaang y'all, this morning's YW Boston webinar on "Navigating DEI Challenges: Legal Insights for Moving Forward in the Face of Resistance" was fricking FIIIIIIRE. Sharing my quick takeaways here because I'm involved with at least 3 organizations that need this ...
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Photo of a huge bronze statue titled "The Embrace" honoring Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King, located on Boston Common on a sunny blue-sky day.

These are the times that try men’s souls

My lovely friends. Most of you look pretty much like me and share my lived experience as a white-identified woman. Dude friends, you've got one less intersection with me, but most of us still have the bond of shared whiteness, and that's some powerful stuff nevertheless. Plus, we've mostly all ...
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Stick-figure doodle of my alter ego Curly Girl. She is holding a megaphone and standing on a wooden box labeled SOAP.

Do not blame DEI for the backlash

Listen up. I just hit my limit. One too many articles and conversations about funders and companies who are turning away from their "commitments" to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Because it's too controversial, or because it's "not working." It's soapbox time. Just for a minute. Here goes: Yes, it's appropriate ...
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In my pink raincoat, speaking at a recent Lowell Parks & Conservation Trust riverwalk about how much I ❤️ this organization

Make new friends and keep the old

In my pink raincoat, speaking at a recent Lowell Parks & Conservation Trust riverwalk about how much I ❤️ this organization A couple of weeks back, something beautiful happened to me on Facebook. A long-ago "friend" who was really only an acquaintance through my very-ex-husband reached out privately. "I've been ...
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Sunrise over a leaf-strewn path through the forest

Thanksgiving

Coffeewalk in Rogers Fort Hill Park, 11/23/23 Thanksgiving. I am so grateful for all the time I get to spend in the beauty of nature. And. My coffeewalk isn’t exactly “natural,” is it? I mean, sure, the trees are real. The chirping birds are real. The blue sky is real ...
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A mirror-smooth river falls over a dam, reflecting trees and sky.

My coffeewalk loves me back

Wamesit Falls along the Concord River Greenway, Lowell MA Oh, my friends. Amazing, heart-filling news. This riverside path has helped to heal me. Slowly, literally step by step, for almost two years that I’ve walked it nearly every day with my travel mug of coffee… watched the waters flow and ...
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/ Nonprofit and philanthropy

Bystander to upstander

SCENE: Commuter bus to Logan Airport, Sunday 7:48 a.m., a couple dozen passengers and one Jovial Driver. He is an older gent, looks like Einstein with a crew cut. He’s been complaining entertainingly since we boarded. Massachusetts drivers! This bizarrely warm autumn! Unspecified politicians! His one-man show gradually turns into ...
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Photo of a green folder on a wooden desktop. The folder contains lots of dog-eared sheets of paper, with a post-it note sticking off the side that says "2017 Training."

And you may ask yourself, “Well, how did I get here?”

Recently, a friend asked me to put on my consultant hat and talk with her team of grantwriters about how to get better at centering equity in their writing. As part of preparing for this conversation-style training, I started jotting down a few ideas about how to introduce myself and ...
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I promise that I will honor the beauty of this place where I am so privileged to live today. ❤️

Loving the land of “my” new home

I figure: if we do land acknowledgments to start something as small as a meeting, shouldn’t I incorporate one into my new life here in the home I just moved into? I found this secondhand mirror that speaks to me of my name for this place, wrote this message and ...
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Image of two silhouetted heads, one black and one white, with an orange starburst in between them indicating speech or maybe conflict.

More learning for me: new critiques of the classic article I quoted

Hi, my name is Andie and I am learning in real-time! Remember a couple of days ago I did a long post tying one of my past organizational experiences to Tema Okun's classic "White Supremacy Culture" article? Grateful to a couple of friends who pointed me towards the re-appraisal of ...
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Once upon a time on Juneteenth

Once upon a time, not too long ago, I was a new member on the DEI Committee for a nonprofit I still love. It was a beautiful early-June day, and we -- the almost all-white staff and volunteer committee members -- were debating how the organization should honor Juneteenth for ...
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