My focus on resilience began during my tenure at The Berkana Institute, where I worked to support pioneering leaders who were walking out of organizations and systems that were failing to contribute to the common good—and walking on to build resilient communities. These leaders are the subject of my award-winning book, Walk Out Walk On: A Learning Journey into Communities Daring to Live the Future Now, co-authored with Margaret Wheatley.

During my book tour, I found myself telling stories again and again about how it is through intimacy with place that we create the conditions for lasting change. Nearly every time, someone would ask, “So what are you doing at home?” And I had no answer to give.

All that changed in 2013 when I returned to Boston to build an urban learning center modeled after the pioneering leaders I wrote about. The Old Oak Dojo in Jamaica Plain, MA, is now my home and host to many friends, neighbors, organizers and activists who share a commitment to creating equitable and inclusive communities. In that same year, I co-founded the Boston Impact Initiative, an impact investing fund working to build a future where entrepreneurs of color and their communities have the financial, social and political power to create a sustainable, inclusive and equitable economy for generations to come.

I am happy to report that I completed the process of founder succession a decade later in December 2023. The organization is today in the incredibly capable and caring hands of the BII team. I spent a few years teaching what we learned at BII about Community-Based Investing as a Professor of the Practice at Tufts University through its Certificate of Impact and Sustainable Investing. I also co-founded Unlock Ownership, a multi-donor DAF (donor advised fund) that accelerates the development of equitable asset ownership through grants and investments.

And when I’m not thinking about systems change and resilient communities, you can find me hiking with my dog, backcountry skiing, writing songs or tango dancing.