2021 GlobalMindED
The Future of Work is Diverse, Inclusive, Just and Equitable
GlobalMindED closes the equity gap by creating a capable, diverse talent pipeline through connections to role models, mentors, internships for low-income students, returning adults, First Gen to college and inclusive leaders who teach them, work with them and hire them.
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As we celebrate International Women this month, we feature outstanding women every day. Today, we introduce Alexandria Ritchie, 2018 OZY Genius Award Winner and Co-Founder of DuraSafe, a device that has promised to improve the delivery of epidurals. Besides being an inventor, she is also a clinical operations manager and active in her community. Alexandria is passionate about empowering a team with diversified talents and challenges. By her family's example, she learned about healthcare and "the value of finding opportunities amidst uncertainty" as she put it, which led to her leadership alleviating barriers to patient care.
Please ask your students to apply for the OZY Genius Awards through April 30, 2021. All information to apply is below Alexandria's amazing story below.
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Upcoming March Equity Events Celebrating Inclusive Women- 2:00 MST/4:00 EST click link to register, details below:
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As an inventor, Co-Founder of Dura Safe, and clinical operations manager, can you share your personal story, and how you got to where you are?
When I was 12, my parents spoke with me about my older brother Oliver who was born with Trisomy 13 and ultimately did not survive beyond a day. Oliver, like me, also had characteristics of Microtia, a chromosome disorder typically impacting the formation of the ear. As my parents shared this with me, I remember touching where my own ear should be and feeling connected to Oliver in some distant, yet personal way. As I grew up and began exploring my career interests, I realized that I was captivated by everything about this shared quality, especially the bold ideas to correct it. I came to be inspired by the sense of possibility that exists in the field of healthcare. For many years, I had a very direct and uncomplicated plan for my life which included studying biology at a university and then immediately attending medical school without any obstacles or uncertainties. I was initially under the impression that this was the only way to be an effective leader in healthcare while making a difference for others. Years after the loss of Oliver, my family went through several difficult transitions which dismantled my original plans, and I ended up at community college studying engineering instead. With this pivot in my education, I was given the chance to appreciate the value of finding opportunity amidst uncertainty.
While at VCU, I had the chance to explore my passions further by merging engineering design with the need for a safer epidural, to bring that sense of possibility to mothers like my own who experience the complications of misplaced epidurals. Through this, I have come to learn that at the core of healthcare is an intentional hunger for disruptive innovation and compassionate relationship-building with those you are serving. As the epidural project grew into DuraSafe LLC, I was challenged to manage a team towards our goal of making the epidural safer. As we remained resilient despite the obstacles of introducing new technology, I have had the honor of witnessing the field of medicine from the perspective of clinician, patient, and innovator. These perspectives have reiterated the value of listening to understand and approaching those we are serving with kindness and empathy. Through this lens, we are able to develop relevant and sustainable innovations that accurately meet the needs of our service population.
Today, I implement these lessons as Clinical Operations Manager at Crossen Family Practice where I develop innovative infrastructure based on needs assessment to support a COVID-19 transition to telemedicine. These experiences emphasize the value of authentically empowering a team with diverse talents and challenges to find the best version of themselves while improving the overall function of healthcare delivery. Engaging in truly collaborative leadership allows us to sustainably innovate and remove barriers to patient care. I have fallen in love with healthcare administration in the process. These efforts have allowed me to realize that despite the uncertainties, I will arrive at the destination where I can do the most good for patients like my mother and my brother Oliver.
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What did winning the OZY Genius Award mean to you and your work?
The OZY Genius Award was instrumental for our DuraSafe team being able to begin our technical feasibility assessment and start the pursuit of initial proof-of-concept which we continue to work on today. With the award, we were able to work with our engineering advisors to build a more robust prototype and improve our benchtop testing environment that allows us to modify the device functionality and test it out in real-time. The award is a true honor for us and it really supported our clinical exploration of the device potential- it allowed us to assess the true relevance and potential market value which is such a key first step towards innovation that is relevant and has true potential to change lives. In addition, the OZY Genius Award gave us much-needed access to mentorship. This collaboration was key for us as young entrepreneurs that were just beginning to learn about effective stakeholder and partnership management, as well as developing a long-term strategy. That one-on-one support from a successful innovator was absolutely key for us.
The OZY community also represents such a supportive atmosphere that celebrates a wide variety of ideas, journeys, and perspectives all contributing meaningfully to make the world around us better and more efficient. This opportunity gave our newer team the encouragement and energy to proceed on our path. OZY made it possible for us to take next steps towards helping patients like my mom and so many others out there that are in serious need of a safer, more consistent epidural process.
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What do you most want to accomplish through Dura Safe?
Our primary goal is to revolutionize the way that epidurals are administered both in the United States and across the globe to provide a new dimension of safety and efficacy for both the patient and the provider in order to create a deeper sense of confidence in the epidural administration process. In addition, it would mean the world to my team and myself to be able to inspire further innovative dialogue in the field of healthcare. We hope that our path will encourage other medical innovators from all backgrounds and journeys to take a leap of faith and propose an idea that may be bold, disruptive, or unpopular at first because this bravery can lead to sustainable improvement for patients everywhere.
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What do you want to share with younger students who want to become a changemaker like you?
I would like to share with my peers and future innovators a note of encouragement, hope, and empowerment. There is more than one way to get to the place of impact that you envision and dream about. Along the way, there are likely to be more downs than ups, more challenges than you originally anticipated, and more “nos” than “yeses”. We are called to persevere despite these challenges. I encourage all of us to keep in mind that surrounding ourselves with dreamers, creative activists, and cheerleaders that will support us and push us onward always is the key to success in the journey. Remember that we are stronger together when we embrace collaborative partnerships and elevate the diverse visions of one another. True innovation is often rooted in removing barriers to allow you, your team, and others the chance to dream, create, and develop solutions to seemingly impossible challenges like epidurals or Microtia. So continue to tell your genuine story, support one another, and embrace every part of your adventure on the path to implementing change, shattering barriers, and inspiring others.
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Are You An OZY Genius?
GlobalMindED is proud to partner to share about the OZY Genius Awards (www.OZY.com/Genius). This is a terrific program to award 10 creative college students (including international students who study in the US) up to $10K each to bring a bold idea alive? It's the same one that Amanda Gorman won four years ago. Please see a poster of the judges below. Applications are being accepted until April 30, 2021 11:59 p.m. (PST). Students not only get the time, and capital but also mentors to help guide them while they work on their great projects throughout the summer. GlobalMindED college students are encouraged to apply for this life changing opportunity.
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Click below to watch the Inclusive Leader Award Ceremony featuring inspirational messages from the diverse Award Winners
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GlobalMindED and the SDG Impact Fund are delighted to announce GlobalMindED's Donor Advised Fund. 2020 is the 75th Anniversary of the United Nations and the 25th Anniversary of the Beijing Women's Declaration and Action Platform. Many from around the world are thinking of 2020 as the gateway to our most vital decade for delivering equity, the Sustainable Development Goals, and a world where all can thrive. Our key time for these outcomes is 2020-2030.
GlobalMindED DAF and the SDG Impact Fund are a powerful combined force for good as the 2019 year comes to a close and we reflect on the gratitude and the commitments we make to the causes we care most about. The DAF offers immense power and flexibility for giving prior to the year's end as you plant seeds of generous intention for 2020 and the decade ahead.
When you contribute to GlobalMindED, you support First Gen students. We have served more than 400 students by connecting them to role models, mentors, internships and jobs. Your generous support will allow us to take our work 10x and reach these talented students at scale who lack the resources and support we provide. Your support also helps teachers who can't afford the conference fees, faculty at colleges which are under resourced and students who persist at those universities despite food insecurity and/or housing insecurity.
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Links to read about Inclusive Leaders, many of whom are African American and people of color:
Curated sessions from GlobalMindED 2020 YouTube channel:
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From the Center for Positive Organizations:
From the Economist:
From Forbes:
From Harvard Business Review:
From the World Academy of Art & Science and UN; Geneva Global Leadership in the 21st Century econference:
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Listen here for an interview with Pam Newkirk, GlobalMindED speaker and author of Diversity Inc.: The Failed Promise of a Billion- Dollar Business.
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Meet GlobalMindED Founder, Carol Carter as interviewed by Tim Moore on his podcast Success Made to Last: From Success to Significance
Listen to Part 1 of Carol's interview
Listen to Part 2 of Carol's interview
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Recent GlobalMindED Newsletter Profiles:
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Since 2006 when the flagship TGR Learning Lab opened its doors in Anaheim, CA, TGR Foundation has had a lot to celebrate, including its most recent milestone of one million students impacted by TGR EDU: Explore, alone.
Developed in partnership with Discovery Education, TGR EDU: Explore is a free digital resource library that offers interactive web experiences, lesson plans, training videos and tools for educators, students and families to explore new disciplines and gain skills for a modern and expanding workforce.
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As you start the New Year, are you looking for ways to re-engineer your classroom culture? Check out Designing the Future: How Engineering Builds Creative Critical Thinking in the Classroom. The associated website has lots of activities, projects, and resources you can implement immediately. Our fall workshops using the book as a roadmap for change have been highly successful. Start designing the future today - try using the customized Study Guide for a book study in your PLC. Or contact ProjectEngin or Solution Tree to learn how you can bring professional development based on Ann's book to your school, district, or conference.
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THE FLYOVER NATION
Energy's Role in a Troubled Heartland
By J.C. Whorton
A unique and timely discussion of the challenging issues facing the country’s troubled Heartland.
Since the beginning of westward expansion into the Heartland’s vast regions, natural resource development has played a historic role in shaping its communities. Today, domestic oil and gas development offers one of the strongest prospects for the Heartland’s present and future prosperity as well as the nation’s re-emergence as a dominant player in the global energy economy.
The U.S. is now the world’s largest producer of crude oil and natural gas, two circumstances that are universally disrupting international geopolitical order. The earth has a finite supply of natural resources and a rapidly growing and over consuming population.
As America positions itself for a very uncertain and constantly evolving global marketplace, will the Heartland become America’s “great connector” or “great divide”?
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J.C. Whorton is a senior level energy and financial professional with over forty years of essential experience. Having a ranching and Native American heritage, Mr. Whorton is a strong advocate for rural education and economic development initiatives.
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