Homegrown Solutions for a Patchwork World - The Skills, Talents, and Mindsets of Changemakers

Every effort to create a better world takes substantial energy as well as resources.  Lisa Riggs has come up with a creative solution to fundraising that is helping CHANGEMAKERS reach their goals in a fun and engaging manner by selling something everyone needs at one time or another – SOCKS!  Her socks are designed in collaboration with the organizations she serves to project the message and align with their goals.  While her socks can represent […]

I had the great good fortune of rooming with Elizabeth Hummer during a study trip to Ecuador in 2015 as part of a field experience through World Savvy’s Global Competence Certificate Program.  Not only did she help me get by because of the Spanish language proficiency I do not possess, but throughout the trip, I was fascinated by her ability to connect with everyone we encountered.  Every where we went, people were drawn to her […]

Today we welcome Dr. Ashley Taylor Repisky,  Director of Education and Lecturer at Rice 360 Institute for Global Health.  I first met Ashley in the summer of 2016 when we traveled together to Malawi for a month of working and learning with and from educators and healthcare workers there. Ashley was working on finding solutions to equipment shortages to address health challenges in hospital settings in and around Zomba while I accompanied university students learning […]

When Danielle Coughlin talks about being “twice exceptional”, she’s talking about kids who are both gifted and experiencing some kind of learning challenge.  She readily admits that this category describes her own experience of the world as well.  I met Danielle as a student at Radford University who traveled with a group I was supervising to Malawi to work in a village school there.  Her gifts for deep reflection and critical thinking were immediately apparent […]

This is Part 2 of a two part series featuring educator Angela Clevinger from Pulaski Virginia.  You’ll remember we left off after she talked about her homegrown roots as the daughter of a Klansman who changed her loyalties in her fifth grade year where she was inspired and motivated by her African American teacher, Mr. John Hocker.  She grew up to be a teacher working for equity and active in her local and state education […]

This is Part 1 of a two-part series featuring Changemaker Educator, Angie Clevinger.  I was fortunate to meet Angie at Radford University when I was teaching in the Educational Leadership Program there.  She was working on her licensure to be a school principal at the time and I could tell right away that she was something special. But when I read her writing, I knew that she was way beyond “special”.  Magical would be the […]

In this episode of our Changemaker Series, I had the great privilege of talking with my changemaker friend, Sandra Lima Argo.  I call her a “chameleon” because she has an amazing ability to adapt well to any circumstance and to help others do so.   Much has changed in the world since we sat down for this interview back in the spring, but as you will see, as always, Sandra has embraced the challenge as an […]

Carol Crawford Smith is the first changemaker representing the arts in this series that celebrates the work and lives of changemakers through the lens of our framework “Homegrown Solutions for a Patchwork World”.  You’ll remember that I interviewed her amazing son, Garland Smith, founder of the Omushana Company, a few weeks back.   When you read Carol’s story, you’ll fully understand where Garland got his ability to live his life to the fullest with purpose and […]

This latest episode in the Blue Roads Changemaker Series features Phyllis Albritton who I have long called “Blacksburg’s best-known citizen”.  Now, I don’t know if it’s true, but it is certainly true to me.  I’ve been in Blacksburg for more than 40 years and I don’t seem to know a single person who doesn’t know Phyllis, too.  She’s a big presence, and an important one, in our community. Until her recent vision problems began to […]

Featuring High School Seniors Kolby Brown and Molly McPherson It’s never too soon to be a Changemaker! In my first two-person interview for the Changemaker Series, I welcomed two rising high school seniors, Kolby Brown and Molly McPherson, to talk about their work for racial justice in our community.  These two young leaders recently organized a protest that took place prior to a meeting of the Montgomery County School Board on June 16th.   I wanted […]