Journal

“It is very hard to teach your kids something you’re not living.” Ericka Symonette has the kind of personality that is magnetic. She has, as anyone interested in the impact of ethical fashion can attest, an exceptionally important job. She is a high school fashion marketing teacher. As such, she has the opportunity to equip young people not only to have a marvelous sense of style, but to make ethical fashion a baseline for what they will one day bring into the industry. Her classroom itself is a hint of the kind of teacher her students will experience. The room...

“An education is like a gate; the door to opportunity.” Jub and Cori grew up a world apart. Literally. Cori in Idaho on a large farm, Jub in a small village in rural Thailand. Yet, for having such different cultural backgrounds, they share a strikingly similar heartbeat. They’ve spent the past 5 years in a village in rural Thailand developing a trafficking and exploitation prevention program around three basic principles: Developing strong family units, creating economic opportunity, and keeping kids in school through 12th grade. They sat down with me one hot day in February at Jub’s home to chat...

As a parent, I am constantly amazed by how many things are vying for my children's attention. We live in a culture that screams "me first," and it can be a significant challenge to raise children who are people of compassion rather than simply consumers of the culture. For many years, my father served as the COO of a multi-site program for homeless individuals and families. Visiting him at his "office" meant going to the various shelters and spending time with the people he served. My mother faithfully worked alongside him at the program's women's shelter. My parents were and...