Mar 18, 2015
Celebrate Women's History: Lily Ledbetter
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Celebrate Women's History: Lily Ledbetter
Val Demings: First Female Chief of Police, Orlando, FL
#LikeAGirl Makes a Super Impression
My daughter and I couldn't have been more excited to see Always' #LikeAGirl commercial during Sunday's Super Bowl. Last June, I wrote about #LikeAGirl, which you can check out here.
There were some great articles about the Super Bowl ad.
http://www.msnbc.com/the-cycle/likeagirl-commercial-encourages-all-girls-be-themselves
http://www.self.com/flash/beauty-blog/2015/01/pg-like-girl-super-bowl-commercial/
However, there were some that were not inspired by this ad. In fact, they thought it was insulting. These men decided that this commercial was unfair.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/super-bowl-likeaboy-trends-as-769015?utm_source=twitter
These men are wrong. Very wrong. Our society is still struggling for equality. Congress, an entity that lacks any genuine diversity, can't even vote on the Lily Ledbetter Act for equal pay without making it political. This commercial is about empowering girls, like my three year old daughter. Saying someone did something "like a girl" is still considered an insult. The men who complained about this ad need to understand that commercials and movements like these are still necessary. Until we stop blaming women for their own rapes, they are necessary. Until we stop primarily judging women by their looks, they are necessary.
I want commercials like this not just for my daughter, who is not at all hurt by reminders that she can dream big. I want them also for me. As a man, it is important to be reminded that I have advantages that my wife, daughter, and mother do not. So, I will use my voice to make it clear that I am an advocate for equality.
This was another fantastic commercial that might have been overlooked.
Suzanne Walsh, Director of CAA (Creative Arts and Athletics)
I hoped that when I started Advice for My Daughter I would be able to interview Suzanne Walsh.
Suzanne Walsh is a remarkable woman. I am thankful to have known her for nearly 30 years. Suzanne has run a summer program in New York City, Creative Arts and Athletics, for 33 years. Students can take a variety of arts based classes in music, visual arts, and theater, while also working those athletic muscles. The camp truly empowers its students to not only become accomplished in the arts, but to also become thoughtful, concerned leaders and citizens. I attended this camp for two summers. The camp played a major role in my maturation as an adolescent. I dabbled in photography and animation, provided the voice of the Church Lady in a play, lip synced to Robert Palmer, teamed up to create two of the most ridiculous (but totally funny at the time) movies, won ribbons in track, and even met my first ever girlfriend. Suzanne also gave me my first job as a Counselor in Training. Not much seems to be able to slow down this amazingly resilient woman as she is still going strong as the camp's director. Suzanne was kind enough to offer her time recently to share her story and some Advice For My Daughter.
Suzanne told me she owes her career in education to her father. "As a young kid I had a father who was in education, and I always wanted to work with kids in theater. I always knew exactly what I wanted to do." She continued to develop a love of theater in college, and she was really inspired by a unit on educational theater during her sophomore year at Connecticut College. "Once I found theater in school, everything else just started getting better." She eventually spent some time working at a creative arts program at Charles River School, which became the model for Creative Arts and Athletics. "I want to do that summer creative arts program down here." She thankfully found the right home.
Suzanne started teaching at Convent of the Sacred Heart 38 years ago while she was finishing her Masters. She ran the idea of this creative arts based summer program by her administration and they gave her the green light. Suzanne remains grateful for the school's amazing support for such a visionary concept. She's never wanted to move the program somewhere else, although the program has had to relocate a few times due to renovations at Sacred Heart. Why does she remain dedicated to a program that runs during the summer? Suzanne replies, "My job is so fun. I get to think of summer year round! I don't want a whole summer off." What is the program all about? It's a place to experiment and grow. "Witnessing a child say, 'I did it' as they figure out something for the first time. Seeing that joy is worthwhile. I don't believe in that final, finished, polished stuff. Never did."
A major part of Suzanne's job continues to be fundraising, as she spends much of the year trying to secure money from companies. Why does she work so hard on fundraising? Suzanne genuinely believes that anyone and everyone should have access to this type of creative arts based program. Most of her efforts go towards The Hatter's Ball, which is CAA’s primary event to raise scholarship funds for campers in lower income families. It features a live band, cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, a 50/50 raffle and a silent auction. This year, Hatter’s Ball award recipient is musician Rosanne Cash. In addition, I am proud to have supported the recent Laurence Smith Memorial Basketball Game, which raised nearly $3000 for a scholarship in honor of Laurence Smith, a former camper. Laurence was also the youngest brother of one of my good friends and classmates, a former student of mine, and a friend. Not surprisingly, Suzanne's work raising scholarship money is what makes her most proud. "I've offered over 1500 kids scholarships. I do it for the kids. I really do."
Suzanne's advice for someone who wants a career in education? "Get your hands dirty. Do practical work. Anything." Her life's motto is "Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today. Even if it's asking for a large amount of money. You just feel that much better if you do it, even if the answer is no."
Thank you to Suzanne for contributing to this project, but more importantly thank you for all you have done to provide opportunities to young children like me to attend such a fun and warm place.
Check out what CAA is all about here.
http://creativeartsnyc.org
Dove's Curly Hair Campaign
A few months back, I tried to launch a project that I'd hoped would empower young girls, like my daughter, with curly hair. I'll put aside my disappointment on that failed project to give kudos, once again, to Dove, for a wonderful Love Your Curls campaign. They have produced a video that shows a number of young girls discussing their curly hair. The first girl makes this clip even more powerful to me. Check out this video below.
Give, but don't allow yourself to be used. Love, but don't allow your heart to be abused. Trust, but don't be naive. Listen to others but don't lose your own voice.
2014 Year in Review: Advice For My Daughter
I am really proud of what has become a true labor of love: Advice For My Daughter. This project began quite simply as a way to hopefully inspire the future version of my daughter with advice from some fantastic women. I am still in shock that so many people decided to participate. I have been able to include women who are truly accomplished, inspirational role models. One of my observations was that several of the women had career reinventions, which speaks to me on a personal level since I have embarked on that path. Among the people who have participated are journalists, Olympic Gold Medalists, CEO's, non-profit directors, authors, an artist, a Reverend, a sexologist, and several of my former classmates. Here's to some equally fantastic participants in 2015.
Here are highlights from 2014.
An interview with basketball legend Swin Cash.
"The great thing is you have a young mind to shape. I love talking to my daughters about things I've learned and knowing that they're not going to hear me until they have the dilemma that I faced. It will come back and ring in their ears at some point. But, I keep saying the things that I learned. Treat people the way you want to be treated. That's one of my messages, and they haven't heard it yet. But, they will."
- Yvette Campbell, President & CEO of the Harlem School of the Arts
"It's never too late to turn the car around and take a completely different road."
- Jacoba Urist, Journalist
"I have always believed that I have been fortunate enough to be raised with privilege in a lot of different capacities. I believe that when you have privilege it is your responsibility to put yourself out there and use that privilege to benefit the greater good. So I really am happy to work through the adversity, because if I don't do it, I'm not sure who is going to."
- Dr. Logan Levkoff, Sexologist, Sexuality Educator, and Author
"Sports can teach people so many different life lessons, including (but not limited to!) dedication, perseverance, grit, determination, learning to be a good teammate, learning to take orders from a coach, among so many others."
- AJ Mlescko Griswold, Olympic Gold Medalist and TV Broadcaster
"The truth is life can be difficult, but I feel fear is not a place from which we make healthy decisions."
- Reverend Yejide Peters, Rector of All Saints Episcopal Church
"You will need to have a thick skin, though, because there are a lot of other writers out there, which is not to say there’s not room for more. It simply means there’s a lot of competition for attention, so try as hard as you can not to let attention be your primary goal. The most successful writers are the oneswho write because they enjoy it and because they feel they have something important to say, and I do believe that before your work can mean something to others, it has to mean something, truly, to you."
- Lara Bergen, Author
"My advice for anyone considering starting a business is to follow your gut! Choose to work with amazing people who you’ll learn from and whom you trust. Don’t get too hung up on others’ expectations of you, and instead choose the path that’s really right for you, even if it’s winding or seemingly nonsensical at times."
- Sara Sutton Fell, CEO and Founder of FlexJobs
"One of the biggest things I'm learning is that the inspiration doesn't usually come first--it's the reverse, the work causes the inspiration."
- Jenny Ziomek: Painter and Illustrator
"To me, what is most rewarding is to share the things I love with them. Every morning when they wake up, my room faces east, so we have a great view of the sunrise. Every morning, we watch the sunrise and read books together. Especially given my situation and not having Todd to share that with, there is something so magical about sharing it with the boys and really imparting that love of nature and our environment and where we live with them. It's really beautiful. I don't take one second for granted."
- Amanda Costanzo McGovern, Director of Seas It
"And finally my mother always said to me when I was fussing about my appearance, "Honey, it is more important what's in your head, than what's on it." Concentrate on the important things and don't get distracted by the little dumb things in life, which sometimes masquerade as something meaningful."
- Alison Stewart, Journalist and Author
Great people do things before they're ready. They do things before they know they can do it...