“Trouble is, Charlie That's what everyone does Blames the way it is On the way it was On the way it never Ever Was” - Like It Was,  Stephen Sondheim How does your past shape you? How do you keep your memories? How do your memories keep you? What is the story you tell yourself, good, bad, ugly, that may keep you stuck in the past? How does this impact who you are for yourself? Who you are as a leader? No matter who we are, stories shape and navigate who we become for ourselves and for others....

Several years ago, I volunteered at the LGBTQ+ Youth Center in Seattle. One of the youth who often showed up during our walk-in hours asked me for some support on a speech she planned to give to her local school board. Given I knew she felt challenges with anxiety and would often begin to stutter when she felt under pressure, I was happy to help and provided some thoughts, insights, and perspectives. At the end of working with her that evening, she invited me to come and attend the school...

As we "honor" Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the question isn't whether we're living his dream, but how we allowed it to become a waking nightmare of systemic violence and relentless division. The blood on our streets, the shouts unheard - these are not mere events; they are indictments. It's time to rip open the uncomfortable truth about where we truly stand. "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The BRUTAL Truth We Refuse to See Watching Nicole...