In this episode of Open Gov Stories, Zoe and Danielle who are close friends share with each other what led them to working on transparency and accountability in the US and the biggest challenges moving forward. Zoe discusses feeling a strong patriotism from fighting for the values of transparency and integrity that she was taught this country was based on, her pride as a New Yorker, and her mom who was a whistleblower, and the first time she felt "othered." Danielle discuss understanding the emergence of Trump as the result of normalizing "smaller" ethical violations. They end with a vision of what they hope this work will achieve in a few years.

In this episode of Open Gov Stories, Kristi talks about growing up post-9/11 and pushing back against black and white political narratives in rural conservative Ohio. Rebecca talks about growing up with a strong public service, activist/social justice Catholics. Kristi and Rebecca explore how to personally respond to the suffering of those they seek to help/serve, sacrifices for a life of public service, and moments of solidarity and connection.

In this episode of Open Gov Stories, Dalia Mogahed tells her colleague and mentee, Katherine “Kat’ Coplen, about being attacked for her political opinions, her Muslim-American identity, and the origin of the Arab Spring in Egypt. She emphasizes how the data at the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies helped minority communities finally speak for themselves, and how data can aid struggles for social justice in safeguarding the truth and making possible the promise of American pluralism.

In this episode of #OpenGovStories, Jean-Louis Sarbib tells his colleague and mentee, Nada Zohdy, about growing up in a Jewish family in Algeria during the French occupation and war, moving to the U.S. and being part of the student anti-war protest movement in the mid 1960s, and what he considers to be one of his greatest accomplishments as a former executive at the World Bank. Nada talks about her student activism protesting the US invasion of Iraq.

In this episode of Open Gov Stories, Katie Petit and her friend, Jennifer Lentfer, discuss their careers as grassroots organizers. Katie talks about growing up biracial and her transformative experience at Standing Rock and the power of prayer and healing. Jennifer talks about the importance of listening first and the power of global community.

In this episode of Open Gov Stories, fellow global activists Lisa VeneKlasen and Emira Woods talk about becoming aware of unjustice at an early age and what led them to their careers growing up in the United State and Liberia.

Lisa talks about working directly with the Sandinista government in the middle of a revolution. They discuss their shared passion for supporting feminists in social justice struggles. Emira talks about her grandmother growing up in Liberia next to a Firestone rubber plant. They end with their sources of hope.