Ever since I was a child, I’ve loved to fix things. When something needed fixing around my house, I’d follow my dad into his workshop and he’d teach me how to use every tool – from a drill to a soldering iron. He would always find projects for us to do together. One year, we built a radio from scratch. He still has it – and it still works. I’m pretty sure I was the only girl to show up to college freshman year with a toolbox.

 

Dad taught me more than just fixing physical things. He taught me that if you see a problem, you do your part to try to fix it. He was always there for anyone who needed help. Whether it was caring for his aging parents, helping out an employee’s family, shoveling a neighbor’s driveway, or a random act of kindness towards a complete stranger, my dad could never walk away from someone in need.

 

So, it’s no surprise I was drawn to work in social justice. I’m a dreamer, an idealist, a fighter – and for someone like me, it’s impossible to look around and see so much injustice in the world and not want to fix it.

 

For more than 20 years, I’ve been helping people find their voice and become agents of change. I’ve worked to build support for social justice issues by telling stories.

 

Stories change the world. They connect us. They teach us. They move us to action.

 

But a story is only as good as the storyteller. Being able to engage an audience and make them feel, not just think, is the magic ingredient to building social change movements.

 

It’s what led me to work with people who need abortion care later in pregnancy, survivors of gun violence, families who’ve lost their health insurance, people who are stuck in jail for low level drug offenses because they can’t make bail, and citizens who have been impacted by fracking. I’ve trained hundreds of individuals on how to tell their stories to inspire action. I’ve earned their trust because I value authenticity above all else. I help them find the connection points, so the audience can see themselves in the story, and create a narrative that leaves them wanting to be a part of the solution. Wanting to change the world.

 

Everyone has a story to tell. And your story can inspire others to stand up, speak out, and fight for what is right. Our world is in crisis on so many levels. No matter your cause, there is so much at stake. And it’s on us to fix it.