Recap: Upswell 2020 / Day 3

Upswell’s final day began with a Main Stage moment that might have seemed implausible a few years ago. Stephen Heintz – who as the head of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund represents one of the most influential philanthropic organizations in the country,  resourced by the accumulated wealth of one of the…

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Recap: Upswell 2020 / Day 2

As this year has reminded us so frequently, there’s no substitute for being together in person. Yet there is a silver lining to Upswell 2020 being entirely virtual: we can record things. Day 2 of Upswell felt like an experience of hardwiring oneself directly into the collective mind of the…

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Recap: Upswell 2020 / Day 1

How do you begin an experience like Upswell 2020 – one that is designed to both wrestle with the painful truths our society faces and embrace the optimism required to heal our communities and nation? It turns out the answer is straightforward: by getting comfortable with that deeply uncomfortable dichotomy.…

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Upswell 2020 Is About These Two Things

2020 has been an unexpected year. It shouldn’t have been, of course, because the writing has been on the wall. The fatal flaws in our systems – lack of trust, lack of empathy, lack of leadership, lack of preparedness — are not new. The racial injustice that has consistently and…

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