15
hours into a marathon global coffee chat with SumOfUs members, I
broke down listening to an amazing man named Paul. He lives in
Australia, near the edge of the fires. And he woke up to the
mournful sound of a black cockatoo outside his window, alone. Black
cockatoos are never alone, they are supposed to travel in intimately
connected flocks. But the fires had ravaged this majestic bird’s
home and likely, his family. For Paul, and all of us in that coffee
chat, it was too much. The devastation of Paul’s home country felt
too familiar to all of us facing the very real impact of climate
change on our communities.
But there was so much hope too: Renee, who honors her daughter’s
life, cut short from a car accident when she was 21, by showcasing a
movie they made together about the amazing solutions to climate
change being pioneered by activists and community leaders across the
globe. Or Ing, who used her experience and knowledge from a long
career as an economist to publish a roadmap for a new kind of
economy that regulates corporations and serves human beings. Or Rama
who told us about how India had grown so green from community
tree-planting efforts that it had changed color on satellite images
from space.
Meeting the incredible community that powers SumOfUs, I was
inspired by the deep connection, empathy and intelligence of our
global membership.
And that’s how I know I landed the best job in the world: serving
15 million members who work together to put people at the center of
our global economies and protect against corporate abuses and
exploitation.
As the new Executive Director, I am excited to build on this
movement, to help people make more impact with the time they give,
to ensure the community grows and reaches new kindred spirits and
expands to new languages and new countries. We are, in some ways, at
the beginning of our story.
SumOfUs is coming of age in a world that desperately needs
people-powered solutions to an economic system that, time-and-time
again, fails to serve people. As the climate crisis, the
disinformation crisis, and the economic crisis grow, SumOfUs members
are needed more than ever to insert human and creative possibilities
for change. Together, we must stand as a red line against those who
seek to use moments of instability for profit, violence and
exploitation.
Members play an instrumental part in planning for this critical
moment in our collective story. Over the last few weeks, members
finished a global survey that helps us chart our course for the
coming years, spent countless hours in meetings with me held over an
18 hour period, and shared their campaign ideas and priorities. All
the while not slowing their campaigning — winning an end to Credit
Suisse’s support for toxic ocean dumping, making huge media waves at
Apple’s annual general meeting with a demand for human rights
protections, and working to make Uber a champion for the
environment.
Check
out the video to meet other members of SumOfUs (and see the
amazing experience I got to have in our global coffee chat). Then
scroll down to the graphics on this page to see more results
from our global survey.
I can't wait to change the world together.
