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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This week has been heart-breaking, with our second mass shooting in the state of Colorado in a supermarket on the heels of the Atlanta shootings, killing precious Asian women-moms, daughters, parents, friends and community leaders. March madness is not just the treasured basketball season, it is the literal state of our country which is in need of deep and deliberate healing from COVID, from loss of lives, livelihood and from the emotional wounds so many suffer with silently and sometimes violently. Our hearts go out to all those suffering from mental illness, a dis-ease no one asks for but many have.
Our 2021 GlobalMindED Conference this year is Reboot Resilience: Rebound Remarkable. Every session will show how we can come out of the challenges of the last year stronger, better, tougher and more capable than before. Our special feature story today is a remarkable woman who can show us that deep strength: Claudine Humere. After her parents were both killed, she was raised in a Rwanda orphanage, survived cancer at the age of 12, lost her leg and went on to become an innovator, advocate and designer of prosthetics. Like Amanda Gorman, she is also an OZY Genius winner, which has nominations open for current college students through April 30. These role models show all of us what we are made of when tested with life’s toughest difficulties. Read her story below as part of our series on outstanding women this month and feel yourself, the country, and the world heal in the brilliance of her strength, gifts and talents. Let’s reboot resilience and be the best that we can be now and always.
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, health-rights advocate, and Orthotists/Prosthetists convener from Rwanda, can you share your personal story, and how you got to where you are? (If a First Gen student, please mention that).
I like to joke with my family that I am what we would call "it takes a village" because I genuinely believe that I am where I am today because of the helping hands of so many people. I was born and raised in Rwanda. At the age of five, a family member took my two siblings and me to an orphanage in Western Rwanda after losing our parents as a result of Rwanda's 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi. The orphanage became our home for many years, and there we met our new family. At the age of 12, I was diagnosed with cancer, which resulted in the loss of my right leg above the knee. My journey as an amputee introduced me to the world of prosthetics and orthotics, first as a prosthetic user and then as an amputee mentor, prosthetic researcher, designer, inventor, and advocate. This journey introduced me to various prosthetics and rehabilitation experts from MIT, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Next Step Bionics, and Prosthetics, to name a few. As an amputee who has lived in both the United States and Rwanda, I have had the privilege of being exposed to the realities of life in both high and low-income countries. I have seen the burden amputees of Rwanda and surrounding countries have to go through every day due to a lack of representation and support from the healthcare and political sectors. This observation, along with my diverse array of experiences, inspired me to pursue a career in Prosthetics and Orthotics in hopes of opening a Prosthetics Clinic to serve the amputees of Rwanda and beyond. Today, I am first and foremost an advocate for amputees in developing countries before I am anything else.
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What did winning the OZY Genius Award mean to you and your work?
The OZY Genius Award came at the right time in my life. I was a senior at Wheaton College in Norton, MA, where I graduated in 2017 when I received the Award. At the time, my Adjustable Prosthetic Socket Project, which earned me the OZY Genius Award, was far from finished. In this project, I was designing an above-the-knee prosthetic socket for amputees in developing countries. Among many things, the Award enabled me to travel back to Rwanda following graduation to explore the situation of amputees living in the country. As a designer, it is always critical to learn of the first-hand experiences of the people you are designing for. The experience of meeting amputees in developing countries and learning of their living situations helped me improve the project, and in the process, I discovered the power of using my voice to advocate for the less fortunate to make a more meaningful impact. Thanks to OZY, since returning to Rwanda in July 2017, I have visited five prosthetic clinics around the country. I have also presented at and helped organize conferences in an effort to raise awareness and generate knowledge around amputee and prosthetic care in Rwanda. My most recent project was the Transforming Amputation and Prosthetic Services Globally Conference, which took place virtually on Dec 5-6, 2020. The conference brought together experts from the Global Health and the Prosthetics & Orthotics fields to discuss what we can do better to serve the amputee community.
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What do you most want to accomplish and learn in your master’s program?
Starting this fall, I will be attending the University of Washington in Seattle for a Master's degree in Prosthetics and Orthotics. Many things are lacking in the Rwanda Prosthetics & Orthotics (P&O) community, such as interdisciplinary collaboration, a follow-up system for new amputees, etc. I hope this master's program will equip me with the right tools to bridge these gaps in order to improve the P&O field. I also hope to gain clinical skills that will allow me to contribute the most to improving the lives of amputees in Rwanda. I believe that if amputees in Rwanda were given the same quality of care as amputees in the Western World, their opportunities for a better life - both physically and mentally - would be manifold. As a professional prosthetist, I know that I could help restore confidence, dreams, hopes, and a sense of belonging to the physically disabled community in the country and beyond. Overall, I am looking forward to the prospect of what I will learn at UW and how the program's core educational aspects will contribute to my personal and professional growth.
What do you want to share with younger students who want to become a changemaker like you?
To the young and upcoming changemakers, I say, hold on to your dreams. Also, keep in mind that you can read all the books in the world about achieving dreams or making the most money, but nothing will get you to your goals faster than having the faith that you can do it and working hard every day to get to where you want to be. So, practice making the most of every opportunity and always believe in the impossible.
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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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