For years, I’ve felt like I’m swimming, doggy paddling, in a giant ocean. I get a gasping breath and then am swept under the surf, rolling with the current under the mirror-like surface. I’m below for far too long. My lungs are pushed to their limits each time, as I flail, wholly at the mercy of the waves. Until randomly, I’m jettisoned into fresh air, able to grab on to a piece of driftwood and stay afloat for a short while. Just long enough to stop panting and catch my breath. And then a sneaker wave comes, and I’m towed back into the suffocating depths once again.

It’s been a while since I’ve penned a blog for NEW. That was on purpose. Blogs are just one of the ways we share our perspectives and work as we strive to influence radical transformation. By having other NEW team members contribute, we rebuff the single-leader, single-voice paradigm. It also helps me and others balance capacity. Sharing this space is one way for me to share and cede power with my dear colleagues – people who inspire me daily. This is especially true since so much of my focus this last year has been on the NEW Center Transformation. (And dammit, we’re gonna make it happen, together!).