Author name: Patti Talbot

This is the final episode of four from my conversation with Changemaker Penny Franklin.  You’ll want to be sure you caught the first three parts where she talks about her work with people across differences to create homegrown solutions to racial injustices in her community.  In this last piece, you will hear Penny talk about the “ripple effects” of this work that are starting to radiate outward to communities beyond Montgomery County, Virginia. She also […]

This is Part 3 of a four-part series centering on Penny Franklin’s Changemaker Journey.  In this portion of our conversation, Penny focuses on the “Patchwork” quadrant of our Changemaker Framework that emphasizes the beauty and importance, as well as the challenges, of working across cultures and human diversity to address the issues we must face together. https://vimeo.com/397470880 As she ponders the patchwork in the Changemaker Journey, Penny begins by reflecting on recollections from her childhood.

This is Part I of a four-part series from my Changemaker Interview with community leader and activist Penny Franklin.  Though she doesn’t really like to be called a “leader”, she has clearly led her community in some very important initiatives to address racial injustice.  This first part of the series centers on quadrant 1 of the “Homegrown Solutions for a Patchwork World” framework.  You will learn about Penny’s early life and motivations for change.  Please

I’ve had the honor of working with Brad Bizzell for over twenty years.  We were principal colleagues together in Montgomery County, Virginia and later worked together in the Educational Leadership Program at Radford University preparing school leaders. I was grateful for this opportunity to sit down and learn about his Changemaker Journey using the “Homegrown Solutions for a Patchwork World” framework as our guide.   I continue to learn so much from him about how to

Blacksburg, Virginia’s Chief of Police, Anthony Wilson, joined me to share his changemaker journey using our four-part framework “Homegrown Solutions for a Patchwork World”.  You can view the inspiring 25-minute conversation below and read on to learn how this community leader, who was first on the scene as a SWAT team officer during the horrific 2007 Virginia Tech shootings, has worked to create triumph out of tragedy.  We won’t dwell on that incident here, but

It was clear to me really from the time I was three in the arms of a brown woman … if I have an image of mother Mary, the mother of God, I always talk about Sarah Cunningham …She embodied that great maternal God love.  Leaf Seligman refers to herself as a “translator of metaphors”. The descriptor speaks to her unique gifts as restorative practitioner, teacher, preacher, and author finding words that bring understanding to

This is the second installment in our Changemaker Series centered on conversations with individuals who exemplify the four quadrants of the Blue Roads Changemaker Journey.  By asking questions related to the guiding theme for our work, “Homegrown Solutions for a Patchwork World,” we highlight the unique attributes and practices of change-making in the lives of leaders who are making significant contributions to the world we share.  Read on for a summary of our interview with

Today, we are kicking off a series of blogs and videos focused on conversations with amazing people from various walks of life who embody the characteristics and practices of changemaking in their lives.  These interviews are structured with the Blue Roads “Changemaker Journey” in mind.  Each conversation centers roughly around four question categories that echo our slogan “Homegrown Solutions for a Patchwork World”:   Homegrown: Who are you and how have your home and your