In tribute to female mayors, taking the lead

Issue 136 — July 20, 2020

The passing of Civil Rights leader and legend Congressman John Lewis made me deeply sad. A wave of great lions and lionesses of the movement for racial equality is moving on just as the country is at the crossroads. Either we’ll make the systemic change that they visualized, that they risked their very lives for, or we’ll let the elements of xenophobia take us back to pre-Rosa Parks days. As tributes to Lewis fill the media, I became aware that his career in elective office started on the Atlanta City Council.

There’s Power in Naming and Power in Knowing your Name

Issue 134— July 6, 2020

My cousin Elizabeth is making good use of this time of sheltering during the pandemic to dig into our family history. It was rooted in the small town of Birzai, Lithuania for hundreds of years until two world wars either killed them or dispersed them to many corners of the world. One of the most intriguing and yet exasperating parts of this exploration is getting the names right as spellings varied from language to language. Vinn became Vinh or Bein, Henne to Hannah, and even some in the same nuclear family some people spelled their last names differently.

So what is in a name anyway? Identity, Personhood. Justice. Say her name: Breonna Taylor. Say his name: George Floyd.

7 Tips for Networking Even in a Pandemic

Issue 133 — June 29, 2020

One thing COVID-19 has done is make life easier for introverts.

If you break out in a cold sweat at the thought of networking, in the sense of walking into a large room full of people you don’t know and trying to make connections that will be useful to you in your professional life, while balancing a beverage — it might seem in first blush that at least that worry is over.

But the reality is your network is your net worth.

How Do You Become an Intentional Woman?

Issue 131 — June 15, 2020

There is ambition and there is intention. Ambition is I hope, I wish, I want. Intention is I will, I am doing it, there was never a question.

Elma Beganovich’s intention is clear: to win the same size contracts that any of the big four ad agencies would get based on her company’s ability and the talent she and her sister and cofounder Amra bring.

Amra and Elma founded A&E, a digital agency with an impressive client portfolio of Fortune 500 companies like J&J, P&G, Netflix, VF Corp, and Wells Fargo. They are mega influencers with over 2.2 million social followers.

Shock and awe; building a movement for real change

Issue 130 — June 9, 2020

On the day of George Floyd’s funeral, let me just say it. I’m shocked that anyone is shocked about the blatantly obvious systemic racism and discrimination experienced by African Americans. The data has been in front of our noses since — forever. Even if one has never met a Black person, I don’t get how anyone can be oblivious to the rampant injustice unless he or she never consumes news, goes to the movies, or walks about a city. If you read no further, please read this straightforward overview of Black life in America by Julene Allen, CEO of Women of Color in the Workplace. She clearly documents that we are NOT living in a post-racial world.

The SumGloria FeldtJune 9, 2020Comment

Parallel Pandemics, Convergent Solutions

Issue 129 — June 1, 2020

We are in a profoundly disruptive time. A time when just a week ago, I could see many opportunities to reshape a better world post-pandemic. That’s until another pandemic, a pandemic of racism was laid so bare that layered on top of COVID it feels like a leaden blanket we’ll never be able to throw off.

As New York Times contributing editor Roxane Gay says, “Eventually, doctors will find a coronavirus vaccine, but black people will continue to wait, despite the futility of hope, for a cure for racism.”

Yet however difficult the task, we must seek a cure to stop the kind of violence that took the life of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and so many others.

The SumGloria FeldtJune 1, 2020Gender Parity, Black Lives Matter, Covid-19, Leadership, Power ToolsComment

The Sum: Mother’s Day in a Pandemic

Issue 128 — May 10, 2020

The phones are ringing, the texts are buzzing, social media notifications are pinging, and the Zooms and Zoom Rooms are being scheduled throughout the day to connect with family members so we can wish each other Happy Mother’s Day (almost) in person.

Inspirational Role Models, The SumGloria FeldtMay 10, 2020Mother's Day, Motherhood, Women leadership, Take The LeadComment

What’s the matter with Dr. Deborah Birx? 5 Reasons for her epic #Leadershipfail

Issue 127—April 27, 2020

If you’re watching the Mrs. America series starring Cate Blanchett as Phyllis Schlafly, who mobilized the successful opposition to the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s, you might wonder why in the world would a woman oppose equal rights for her own gender?

The SumGloria FeldtApril 27, 2020Leadership, Women Leaders, Take The Lead, Gloria Feldt, Covid-19Comment

What My Grandmother Molly’s Cherry Wine Says About Humanity During COVID-19

Issue 125 — April 6, 2020

Making a grocery store run, I spotted a lone bottle of cherry wine on the shelf. Memories of my paternal grandmother Molly or Malle came flooding in.

I can see her in her small kitchen that smelled of garlic in Temple TX, cooking all day for her bustling household that usually included Granddaddy Isak or Isaac, one or more of their four sons living at home, and on the weekends their daughter Mayme home from her job in Houston, plus on Sundays my parents and maternal grandmother and sometimes other relatives.

How COVID-19 Elevates Anxiety and Opens Possibility for Radical Change

Issue 125 — April 6, 2020

How are you feeling today?

Early in the social distancing, shelter-in-placing, self-quarantining pandemic life, were you enjoying having more time with the family and binge watching your fave series? But now the stress is starting to wear on you?

The SumGloria FeldtApril 6, 2020The Sum, Take The Lead, Women Equality, Gender Parity, Coronavirus, Covid-19Comment

Pandemic or Not, March is Women’s History Month — Here are Women You Probably Never Heard of Who Made Lifesaving Medical Advances

Issue 124 — March 23, 2020

Like just about everyone else, I’ve been consumed with thinking about, worrying about, learning about, and changing my lifestyle because of the COVID-19 pandemic this past few weeks. I’m fortunate to be near a walking path where social distancing remains possible and if I smile at them first, other walkers will smile back at me.

The SumGloria FeldtMarch 23, 2020Take The Lead, Women In Medicine, Women LeadershipComment

How can we help you? 6 Coronavirus survival tips guaranteed to lift your spirits

My daughter brought me a roll of toilet paper wrapped beautifully in purple tissue. We shared a knowing laugh. I wanted to hug her but we elbow bumped.

Even Disneyland is closed for heaven’s sake, so though restaurants in my neighborhood are still packed, we didn’t go out for dinner.