Stories of Connection
This collection is founded by one of our ambassadors, Andrew, who is seeking out the stories of leaders in the community as well as exploring the connections between stories that have been shared with us.
Community Engagement, Civic Renewal, and the Work of Belonging With these recent developments: ➡️ The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on the Voting Rights Act that seriously curtails voting rights and protections especially for Black Americans… ...
I had a dream about shining shoes. In the dream, I had a profound vision of shining a pair of brown dress shoes. And no matter how hard I tried, I could not get a ...
This is the first year in a very long time — decades — where the end of the year didn’t cause me to feel deeply anxious. When it was corporate life, I felt the pressure ...
A National Storytelling Initiative to Help Us Listen More Deeply, Reconnect More Honestly, and Imagine a Future Where We All Belong America has always been a nation of stories. And clearly, for some time now, ...
The Power of Vulnerability A year ago, I made a choice that changed me: I decided to trust more. Trust my intuition, trust my team, and trust the journey I’m on — to trust the ...
By definition, trauma is something that happens TO us: a deeply distressing or disturbing personal experience, or a severe injury that causes significant harm. I believe much of the trauma we experience occurs due to ...
I have been afraid to share this story for some time, but now I know that means that I must, because we are not bound by our terrible past; we are not constrained by our ...
The following essay is adapted from a talk I gave at the YMCA of Greater Richmond 2023 DEI Symposium on May 19, 2023, and is part of my Sojourn, America series of stories and essays. ...
Faith. A word instantly comforting to some and off-putting to others, because it can be deeply intertwined with our upbringings. Some of us enjoyed the faith traditions we experienced growing up, others ran away from ...
She said, “Can we go to the beach?” I hadn’t realized it at the time, but a picture I recently shared of my sister and me was of a time we went to the beach ...
