Mar 29I think the comparison to the Jews under Hitler is apt.702Ann WilliamsThank you for your thoughtful response, Ann.Thank you for your thoughtful response, Ann. Like you, I'm increasingly horrified by the speed and precision of these coordinated attacks on trans folks. …2 min read2 min read
Mar 26Member-onlyKeeping Those Sparkly Dresses Off the Boys in TexasHow canceling a student drag show highlights fundamental questions of human rights — As a professor of leadership, I find myself living inside an unfolding case study at my university. The repercussions of our President’s unilateral decision to cancel a student-organized drag fundraiser for the nonprofit Trevor Project continue reverberating under every meeting and conversation. The wording of his email sent to all…Higher Education6 min readHigher Education6 min read
Mar 26Member-onlyNever Quite Good EnoughThe Impostor Phenomenon And Its Effects My father, like a boozy Old Testament patriarch, pronounced what he believed were blessings upon my sisters and me. We were complaining about something one afternoon in our tiny Texas town, the smell of sulfur and oily rags from chemicals at the refinery making…Perfectionism4 min readPerfectionism4 min read
Published inCurious·Aug 16, 2020Member-onlyDriving With a Drunk During the ApocalypseThere really is no panic quite like the panic of being belted into the backseat of a speeding, swerving car with a confident drunk at the wheel. First, the sense of denial: “we’re not that far from home and we’ve made it there before.” …Politics4 min readPolitics4 min read
Published inMind Cafe·Dec 11, 2019Member-onlyYou Don’t See What’s Wrong With You, But Everyone Else DoesFeedback matters: Specific, actionable strategies for collecting it in a way that’s helpful and not traumatizing. — The title of this post is a paraphrase of a line from Season 4 of Mad Men where Don Draper listens as his niece tells him a version of the words above, but he doesn’t really hear her. …Leadership6 min readLeadership6 min read
Published inThe Startup·Dec 8, 2019Member-onlyOn Waiting For A SignIndecision and loneliness are the only two things I can be sure are there for me. — The rent for all the anxiety that lives in my head is cheap, but I have to pay by the hour. Writing looks like work and it entertains the noonday demon well enough that it retreats for a while. And so. I am in this small room in this big…Self4 min readSelf4 min read
Published inThe Startup·Oct 21, 2019Member-onlyAnxiety Is a SuperpowerAnxiety made me who I am. It’s made me empathetic to others because anxious people learn to quickly scan faces and body language, to read emotions. — You can’t see it on my face, but I’m almost barking with panic in the photo at the top of this piece. And not just because I was on a stage in front of hundreds of people who I was sure would soon walk out. The other reason I’m terrified…Mental Health7 min readMental Health7 min read
Published inGEN·Sep 16, 2019Member-onlyThe Importance of an Out Teacher for LGBTQ YouthHaving an out teacher can significantly affect the school experience for LGBTQ students, yet there are few protections for queer teachers brave enough to be out — “Well, they can’t fire me now.” That was my first thought upon being selected as the 2015 National Teacher of the Year. …LGBTQ4 min readLGBTQ4 min read
May 5, 2019Member-onlyWho Gets To Tell Your Story?My instinct to find and finesse emotion began when I was a student journalist and later perfected as a working reporter/features writer. Front pages, if you wanted them, were built out of gore: if it bleeds, it leads. …Education6 min readEducation6 min read
Mar 27, 2019Member-onlySilence & Self-ProtectionIf you’re comfortable with talking, try getting comfortable with not talking. If you’re comfortable with not talking, try getting comfortable with talking.— via Marshall Ganz The hardest class I’ve taken, the one that’s prompted me to fall silent, to doubt my ability to think, rendering me incapable of writing anything…Education5 min readEducation5 min read
