Tuesday, March 28, 2023

Gov Christine Todd Whitman and The Forward Party: Let Every Voice Be Heard

 Gov Christine Todd Whitman and The Forward Party: Let Every Voice Be Heard

Wikipedia

Let Every Voice Be Heard


It's probably a measure of how deeply divided politics has become that when Former Florida Republican Congressman David Jolly, former Pennsylvania Democratic Representative Joe Sestak, 2020 Presidential candidate Andrew Yang, and Governor Christine Todd Whitman joined forces to found the Forward Party in 2021 they had to hone the issues on which they would work down to a few very basic goals. They took some heat for that from both ends of the political spectrum but they have persisted. Largely because they all knew something was deeply wrong with the system and that some fundamental reforms around voting - like instituting ranked-choice voting - would be required to really kick start their efforts. Reforms that the current party system, mired in the past and completely corrupted by money and power, were not going to do anything about.


So their primary goals are the reduction of partisan polarization and implementation of electoral reforms.

But here's the thing . . . they didn't just complain about how things were, they took action and today they are the third largest "party" in terms of numbers in the US. That alone is a testament to the power of their message with a lot of Americans who are feeling disenfranchised by the political system but determined not to allow that to come between them and their civic responsibility and their patriotic beliefs.

Interestingly enough, the net result of this has been to create a true big-tent political party where people of goodwill can join together and work for change.

Dance of the Lupine and Birch
Christine Todd Whitman served as the 50th governor of New Jersey from 1994 to 2001 and as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency in the administration of President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2003.



Whitman graduated from Wheaton College in 1968 and began her political career in the Nixon administration Office of Economic Opportunity. Before being elected Governor of New Jersey, she founded the Republican advocacy organization Committee for Responsible Government in 1993. As of 2022, she is the only woman to have served as governor of New Jersey.


During the 2020 presidential election, Whitman endorsed Democratic nominee Joe Biden over Republican nominee Donald Trump. in 2022 She joined former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang to create the Forward Party, a centrist third party.



Forward was officially formed as a political action committee (PAC) on October 5, 2021. The PAC intends to seek recognition from the Federal Election Commission as a political party to achieve its stated goal of providing an alternative to the two major U.S. political parties.

Forward Party Website
https://www.forwardparty.com/


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christine_Todd_Whitman





Blue and Gold Icefall - Metal Print Limited Edition




Albert Camus Quote

"In the depth of winter 
I finally learned 
that there was in me 
an invincible summer."
~ Albert Camus


Webster's Confidence

Friday, March 17, 2023

EP 53 Tom Wessels: Relocalizing Communities

 This podcast is part of our "Rediscovering Our Song" series

Tom Wessels:  Relocalizing Communities

Tom Wessels 


Tom is a terrestrial ecologist and professor emeritus at Antioch University New England where he founded the master’s degree program in Conservation Biology. His  interest range from forest, desert, arctic, and alpine ecosystems,  geomorphology, evolutionary ecology, complex systems science, to the interface of landscape , culture, and economy.

Show Notes: https://centristchange.blogspot.com/2023/03/tom-wessells-relocalizing-communities.html


Tom calls himself a terrestrial ecologist. But he is also a philosopher and an astute observer of all kinds of communities, including human ones.

Highland Storm #1 - Dreams of the Storm
Signed Original Edition of 5
Open edition print - unsigned

He has conducted workshops on ecology and sustainability throughout the country for over three decades and he is the author of numerous books including his Reading the Forested Landscape series.  His book The Myth of Progress is now in its third printing.

More than 15 years ago Tom Wessels gave an address at Antioch titled "Restorying  America".

Inspired by Author Robin Kimmerer, writer of the best-selling book "Braiding Sweetgrass", who had used the phrase in an address she had given at Antioch herself.

Tom makes a forceful case that the change we need begins - right where he did - at the grassroots.

Crimson Spring
By focusing on the health, stability, and sustainability of communities, and re-localizing our focus, he contends, we will not only strengthen our economy but also help to overcome the ideological silos that have placed so many Americans at odds with one another today.  Forces that have permitted a "Radical Individualism" to eclipse our common humanity.

Despite the fact that his own scientific specialization has evolved to what has come to be known as Complex systems science,  Tom believes that our salvation lies in our civic and biological grassroots. He believes that the majority of Americans share a core of values around community and family that have the potential to unite us.

I've said it before, Tom Wessels is a national treasure. In years to come I believe he will be remembered among the most important environmental and civic leaders of our generation. Mentioned in the same breath as John Muir or Aldo Leopold, or Rachel Carson. 

This podcast is part of our special series "Rediscovering Our Song" focusing on speaking with national opinion makers who are helping us to explore avenues for building common ground among people of goodwill who have diverse opinions and beliefs. My thanks to Tom for being a part of this important effort.


 
To Restory America (Tom Wessels) - Part 1 
Tom Wessels, core faculty in the Antioch University New England Department of Environmental Studies, spoke about the need to reclaim the story the nation's founders told about the kind of country the United States should be. The story has shifted from thrift and community to consumption and the individual. The myriad problems we face today cannot truly begin to be addressed until we frame the story differently.

 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 


    



Wednesday, March 15, 2023

Nadine Hack: The Long Relay Race toward Justice - Focusing on The Human Element of Change


LinkedIn Photo

 Nadine Hack


The Long Relay Race toward Justice
Focusing on The Human Element of Change


Nadine Hack is the CEO of CEO of beCause Global Consulting  (https://www.because.net/ ); globally ranked one of the Top 100 Thought Leaders on Trustworthy Business Behavior.

If I were to take the time to share with you the hundreds of accolades she has received during the course of her illustrious career it would take up the entire podcast. Suffice it to say that photographs and letters from the likes of Nelson Mendella, Bishop Tutu, Andrew Young, Gloria Steinham, and an entire range of business and nonprofit executives worldwide adorn her walls.

She is a graduate of Harvard and the New School and was chosen as the very first  woman to be Executive-in-Residence at IMD Business School in Switzerland where she continues to maintain an affiliation. 

Highland Storm #3 - The Etherial Lupine


From cutting her teeth on the first state assembly campaign of Shirley Chisholm, later the first African-American candidate for President, to enduring the slings and arrows from all sides to bridge the divide between Loggers and environmentalists in California, to working to bring an end to the horrors of Apartheid in South Africa, and sectarian and religious strife in Northern Ireland, just to name a few of her causes,  Nadine has established herself among the most preeminent thought leaders internationally, specializing in the challenges of bringing together adversaries and enemies, and she has done so for more than 60 years with no signs of slowing down. 

Uncle Harry Gathering Sap


She has been an envoy to the UN,  and she is currently working on a book: likely titled "The Power of Connectedness" - with a forward written by the late Rev Bishop Desmond Tutu with whom she served as the Board Chair of the Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation.
She has also served as a director on both for-profit and not-for-profit boards internationally. One of those Boards - of which she is exceedingly proud - is Global Citizens Circle, co-founded by her husband Jerry Dunfey. If you are a longtime listener to the Radical Centrist Podcast you may remember that in the very early days of the podcast, I interviewed the newest Executive director of Global Citizen's Circle Theo Dunfey Spanos and we'll put a link to that podcast as well as a few other related podcasts in the show notes of this podcast.

Her company has 33 Senior Associates internationally, each with their own teams and networks.
As I said, Nadine volunteered on Shirley's first 1964 race for NYS Assembly. As a mentor, she taught Nadine that racism, sexism, classism, militarism, and environmental degradation are inextricably intertwined: what today we call intersectionalism. 



Still keeping hope alive all these decades later, it is my great privilege to bring you a conversation with Nadine Dunfey-Hack.

More information below:

Nadine is Currently working on a book: "The Power of Connectedness" - Forward by Rev Bishop Desmond Tutu 





Most recently Nadine was the recipient of the "Catalyst for Change Award" from the Shirley Chisholm Cultural Institute https://www.shirleychisholminstitute.org in celebration of 50th anniversary of Chisholm's 1972 US presidential campaign.

In 2013 she was named one of the Top 100 Thought Leaders on Trustworthy Business Behavior.
Nadine Hack has advised leaders of Fortune 500 companies, heads of state, and other organizations globally on clarifying and achieving their goals. She has served as a non-executive director on for- and not-for-profit boards, including as chair, vice chair and committee chair for governance and nominating.

She was Executive-in-Residence at IMD Business School and continues to work in executive education programs providing guidance to senior executives in many capacities.  She distilled decades of her work with clients on engagement leadership and its framework Strategic Relational Engagement (SRE™) into teachable lessons on improving stakeholder engagement within organizations and among sectors to increase productivity, profitability and sustainability.  



Hack has advanced degrees from Harvard and The New School and has received numerous awards including International Outstanding Achievement, Woman of the Year, and Inspiration Award for lifetime achievement presented at Säid Business School Oxford University. She is a Fellow at New Westminster College, created and taught graduate courses at NYU and SNHU and has guest lectured at many other universities.  





She has been a speaker at meetings and conferences globally. She’s had articles written about or published by her including in The Financial Times, Forbes, Huffington Post, ReWiring Business, The New York Times and UN Chronicle. She’s appeared on television, radio, Internet, at a TEDx event and is on an international on-line database of women experts, SheSource.


She is a Senior Advisor, Global Citizens Circle

She was the first female Executive-in-Residence, IMD Business School

Most recently the recipient of the Catalyst for Change Award from the Shirley Chisholm Cultural Institute https://www.shirleychisholminstitute.org in celebration of 50th anniversary of Chisholm's 1972 US presidential campaign.

Nadine volunteered on Shirley's first 1964 race for NYS Assembly. As a mentor, she taught Nadine that racism, sexism, classism, militarism, environmental degradation are inextricably intertwined: what today we call intersectional organizing. Still keeping hope alive all these decades later.

" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85tmasM7KQ0 "


"None of us are free until all of us are free"
~ Fannie Lou Hammer


------------------------------------
Nadine B. Hack | CEO, beCause Global Consulting<https://www.because.net/>

Senior Advisor, Global Citizens Circle<https://globalcitizenscircle.org/> |


Read her articles on Forbes<https://bit.ly/35rRBOT>;

TEDx Talk: Adversaries to Allies, <http://bit.ly/2LYhCxG

Responsible CEO of Year video <http://bit.ly/2epgjnQ> |

Connect on Facebook<http://www.facebook.com/nadinehack>,


References and Tributes:

The Honorable Nelson Mandela“When I was in prison it was very good to know I had powerful friends like Nadine Hack working on behalf of South Africa’s freedom. Now that South Africa is engaged in the arduous process of reconstruction and development, my colleagues and I regularly rely upon the perceptive guidance provided by Nadine.”





Janet Riccio, Executive Vice President, Omnicom Group Of Companies“Nadine B. Hack mesmerized every group we had her speak in front of and provided the strategic leadership that guided our complex process of developing powerful branding and message delivery for a client with multiple stakeholders holding extremely divergent views. We could not have done it without her.” 

Portal to Mystical Past


Richard Matzke, Board Vice Chairman, Chevron Texaco Corporation“Nadine Hack understands the importance of corporate social responsibility goals that companies seek to achieve. She is strategic in her approach and thorough in her implementation to help clients distill and achieve objectives that are consistent with their core business model. It has always been a pleasure to work with her and I am always enchanted by her scintillating presentations.”

Michael Schlein, President Of International Franchise Management, Citigroup“Early in my professional career, I learned so much about how to organize and run a meeting from Nadine Hack. She hired me to be the executive director of a committee she chaired. The co-chairs she recruited included Bob Rubin, Arthur Levitt and Roger Altman, all who later were in the US Cabinet. Her presence as a speaker is remarkable. She masterfully led this group in a crisp weekly meeting that accomplished extraordinary results.”

Ambassador Andrew Young, Chairman, Goodworks International“Nadine Hack has an extraordinary network of people domestic and abroad who trust her judgment and follow her guidance. Her friends and acquaintances include heads of state, members of cabinets and parliaments, other senior government officials, as well as corporate and civic leaders.”


Ingrid Saunders Jones, Senior Vice President, Coca Cola“The need for companies to work in partnership with viable nonprofit organizations and to support governmental initiatives has become ever more important. Nadine knows that relationships you create with other sectors can provide important values for your company including employee volunteerism and strategic community, national or global input in decisions affecting business.”

Huey Johnson, 2001 UNEP Sasakawa Environmental Prize Laureate“I have relied on the visionary counsel of Nadine Hack for decades, since she first helped me in the 1970s formulate and implement many renewable resource concepts that still thrive today. These early cutting-edge initiatives and her ongoing insights clarified the principles and informed the blueprint for Global Green Plans worldwide. She can help others expand into the global arena.”

Jerilyn Asher, Chairman, Rainmaker Consulting Group“My years of experience as a corporate executive have taught me how critical it is for companies to make use of the best strategic thinkers to become positioned as leaders in their market. I know of no one more capable than Nadine Hack and beCause to help companies do this, particularly with innovative organizational change management and cause related marketing initiatives.”

Washday in Amsterdam

Gloria Steinem, Founder, MS Magazine“Nadine Hack is the organizer extraordinaire! She has the uncanny ability to assemble exactly the right people and bring together unique partnerships. Her exceptionally clear ability to envision what doesn’t yet exist, but should, goes in advance of reality, and changes reality.”

Peggy Dulany, Chair, Synergos Institute“Working with Nadine and her company has helped us formulate and bring to life some of our most innovative ideas. beCause under her leadership is creative, knowledgeable, entrepreneurial, collaborative, organized and diligent. I respect her special capacity to be idealistic and realistic simultaneously, allowing us to dream big and then translate that vision into achievable projects.” 

Peacock Thru a Window - Originals


Tokuo Kassai, President, Aprica Kassai Inc, Japan“We are indebted to the invaluable services provided by Nadine Hack, CEO beCause Global Consulting. She helped introduce our company and its Childcare Institute to a very significant audience of distinguished American and international leaders. It was highly productive and a pleasure to work with her.”

Maresa Wischenbart-Backhaus, Vice President, Volkswagen, Germany“It is particularly gratifying to Volkswagen when we have a successful corporate partnership as we had with the United Nations at Expo 2000. This was the result of the sensitive leadership provided by beCause CEO Nadine Hack, who from the beginning carefully listened to our desires and, by assembling and guiding an international team, oversaw production and operation of a multi-media high-tech pavilion with which we were very proud to be affiliated as a key corporate sponsor.”
Desmond Tutu, Archbishop Emeritus, Nobel Laureate“Nadine Hack, a splendid friend, has over a long period of time been deeply involved with and extremely successful at promoting issues of peace, justice and human rights in the developed and developing countries. Hearing her speak is pure inspiration. She is dedicated, intelligent and among those wonderful people who have done so much to make the world a better place. Do you have your sunglasses on? She’s a star!”

Paul Cobb, Publisher, Post News Group“Nadine has a unique insight to draw together those that might not be able on their own to see the benefits of working together to get the most difficult things done. I was amazed as she convened US congressional leaders, the California governor, Oakland mayor, CEOs of Clorox and other key CA-based companies along with disparate citizen activists — Daughters of the American Revolution and Black Panthers — motivating them to work together for statewide urban renewal that benefited all.” 
The Door to Carol and Ricks Washline Original


Benjamin Zander, Conductor, Boston Philharmonic“Our gratitude to Nadine Hack for what she created for us in Carnegie Hall has no measure. Nadine, in her unstinting efforts to turn the event into a fitting memorial to victims of September 11th, revealed a passionate, visionary, organizational genius that left us in awe.”

Susan Taylor, Senior Vice President and Editorial Director, Essence Magazine“As I prepared to present Nadine a prestigious award, a UN Under-Secretary General wrote to me, ‘Nadine belongs to that rare group of people who is as effective at all levels, dealing with a local community issue, a national challenge or a global initiative.’ A NYC official told me, ‘Nadine is the only person I know who is as comfortable in the boardroom as in the barrio.’ These strikingly similar remarks from people of quite different walks of life say something very powerful about Nadine. This is a woman who walks the walk wherever she is and with whomever she is with: she’s the real deal.”


She was the first woman to be Executive-in-Residence at IMD Business School where she maintains an affiliation.




Global Citizens Circle Website

Global Citizen's Circle Podcast

Remembering Jack Dunfey