jeannehuangli
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Posts
- Aug 22, 11
UC Berkeley Trustee Dato' Sri Dr. Tahir has given $1 million to the Haas School for a new endowment fund to provide scholarships to international MBA students primarily from Asia.
The Tahir Fellowship Endowment Fund will enable the business school to attract even more international students to its Full-time Berkeley MBA Program. Since 2008, international students' access to U.S. loans for education has been limited by lenders who now require a U.S. citizen or permanent resident co-signer. Though Haas has mitigated this requirement by securing unique partnerships to provide loans that do not require a co-signer, these programs do not provide full funding.
Tahir joined the Berkeley Board of Trustees as its first trustee from Southeast Asia in 2007. He is chairman and CEO of Mayapada Group, an Indonesia-based conglomerate whose holdings include banks, hospitals, and real estate. Tahir's three daughters graduated from UC Berkeley, with his youngest daughter Victoria an alumna of Haas Undergraduate Program. His son was in the Cal class of 2009 before transferring to National University of Singapore.
"We are deeply grateful for Dr. Tahir's generous contribution to our Haas School," says Dean Rich Lyons. "Top business schools compete intensely to attract the very best students in the market, and diversity, including international student representation, is an important goal. Dr. Tahir's gift will greatly improve our ability to achieve this goal."
Prospective scholarship recipients will be identified by the Berkeley MBA admissions office, and the amount of awards will be flexible and dependent on available funds. The gift will be matched by the UC Berkeley Graduate Fellowships Matching Program.
"UC Berkeley is viewed favorably by Indonesians as one of the top business school destinations. Many of our government officers and private businessmen have graduated from there," says Tahir. "I hope that the fellowship fund will set an example of giving back, especially for students who benefit from the fellowship. When they graduate and become successful in business, I hope they will remember their appreciation for the fellowship and will give to support another fellowship fund."
Tahir earned his business degree from Golden Gate University's satellite location in Indonesia in 1988. While taking classes, he launched a textile manufacturing business called the Mayapada Group, which has since expanded into finance, retail, health care, real estate, and media. One of its main enterprises, Bank Mayapada founded in 1990, has grown steadily and went public on the Jakarta Stock Exchange in 1997. With foreign investment partners from the U.S., United Arab Emirates, and Singapore, the bank now operates more than 170 branches throughout Indonesia.
In addition to its banking business, Mayapada also has interests in the retail industry through a partnership with Duty Free Shoppers, owned by LVMH, with shops in Jakarta and Bali; the property industry with four office towers and additional development projects in Jakarta and Bali; the health-care industry through acquisition of Honoris Hospital and additional hospital developments; and media-related business.
Berkeley Trustee Dato' Sri Dr. Tahir and UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau shake hands at a signing ceremony for Tahir's $1 million gift for international scholarships at the Haas School.
http://www2.haas.berkeley.edu/News/Newsroom/2010-2011/110718tahir.aspx - Aug 22, 11
Haas Board member Hsioh Kwang Wu has given $1 million to the school to create a new fellowship fund for distinguished business graduates from China to study here.
The Hsioh Kwang Wu Family Fellowship Fund, which Wu established on his birthday in April, will be used to support two fellows a year from China to study at the Haas School through its executive education and other programs. Wu is the founder, executive chairman, and CEO of Singapore-based Straco Corp., a developer and operator of tourism-related businesses, including the Shanghai Ocean Aquarium, one of the world's largest indoor aquariums that was built at a cost of $50 million.
Wu joined the Haas Board, the advisory board for the dean and Haas School, in 2009.
"We are deeply grateful for the generosity and dedication that Hsioh Kwang Wu has shown to the Haas School since becoming a board member just one year ago," says Dean Rich Lyons. "His gift will enable Berkeley-Haas to build even richer connections with Asia as the region's importance continues to grow in the business world."
The creation of the Wu Family Fellowship Fund comes as Dean Lyons has made a strategic commitment to expand the Haas School’s global footprint, most immediately in Asia, as a result of Berkeley and the San Francisco Bay Area’s historic ties to the region. Wu has taken an active role in that effort as a member of the Haas School's advisory board, which he joined last year, and as an advisory board member of the school's Asia Business Center, which launched in 2008 and will hold a conference on "Leading Through Innovation in Asia" in Shanghai on March 22, 2011.
“Berkeley has always been for me a byword for excellence in teaching and research. In these recent years, I have been very fortunate to become acquainted with the school through a growing friendship with leaders and members of the Haas community," says Wu.
"I have been especially impressed by the efforts of the Haas School of Business, led by Dean Rich Lyons, to further expand its global footprint by reaching out to the growing talent in Asia," Wu adds. "This Fellowship Fund represents my commitment to that cause and to Dean Lyons’ vision for the school. I am confident that Haas will build on this new beginning to chart new paths for Berkeley in Asia.”
Wu was an early investor in China, beginning in the 1980s. As China began liberalizing trade and investment policies, Wu began developing large-scale tourism projects in such cities as Shanghai, Xi'an, and Xiamen. The projects involved the preservation and reconstruction of famous heritage sites in China.
In 2004, Wu consolidated his tourism projects in China to launch a public-listing company in Singapore. As founder and executive chairman of the company, Straco Corp., he built the first Singapore-listed company whose core business is in tourism-related projects in China.
Wu is a council member of the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the standing committee of the Chinese Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment. He earned a bachelor of commerce degree from Nanyang University, which awarded him the Nanyang Alumni Achievement Award in 2008.
www2.haas.berkeley.edu/News/Newsroom/100612wu.aspx - Aug 22, 11
06/13/2011
Dean Rich Lyons and Adjunct Professor Henry Chesbrough recently traveled to London and Budapest to share the school's vision and the latest thinking on innovation. In addition, Professor David Vogel met alumni in Paris for a discussion on corporate social responsibility.
One highlight of the trip was a Haas symposium June 3 in Budapest, where U.S. Ambassador to Hungary and Haas alumna Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis (right), MBA 92, spoke on innovation in the former communist country.
Speaking at the symposium, titled "Path-bending Leadership in the 21st Century," Kounalakis paid tribute to a variety of Hungarian innovations ranging from the Rubik’s Cube to metal foam. Yet, she acknowledged, "many of the institutions that we sometimes take for granted in the U.S., which allow innovation to flourish, are still taking root” in Hungary. The symposium was held at Corvinus University which Kounalakis noted was known as Karl Marx University until 1989.
Lyons spoke on his vision of path-bending leadership in his opening remarks at the symposium and Chesbrough gave a presentation on open services innovation.
The event also featured a panel discussion with local business leaders in Hungary moderated by alumnus Nimrod Pais, MBA 06, who also served as MC for the symposium. The panel included alumnus Peter Hajdu, MBA 05, of Cisco. Switzerland Haas Alumni Network (HAN) Chapter President Urs Huber, MBA 93, and London Chapter President Jens Dueing, MBA 08, traveled to Budapest for the Haas events there.
Earlier, in London, Lyons and Chesbrough met with alumni at a dinner May 31 hosted by Richard Simmons, MBA 72, and then at a June 1 reception and welcome party, where eight new admits were among the approximately 50 attendees. The welcome party was held in a former estate on the Thames River built in 1895 and hosted by Cal alumna Anna Hohare, BA 99 (Art Hist.), and her husband, Charles.
Separately, about 50 Berkeley and Berkeley-Haas alumni gathered in Paris on May 30 for a lively discussion with Professor Vogel and Daniel Hurstel, a partner at law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher, on corporate social responsibility.
http://www2.haas.berkeley.edu/News/Newsroom/2010-2011/110613haaseurope.aspx - Aug 22, 11
Haas School Dean Rich Lyons just returned from his first official trip to Europe, where he met with alumni, new admits, prospective students, and media in Zurich, London, and Berlin.
Lyons' week-long trip at the beginning of June was part of an effort to continue to expand the school's global presence. "I already knew we have an impressive group of alumni in Europe, but meeting them in person took my respect to a new level," Lyons says. "I look forward to building even stronger ties to Europe in the future."
In Zurich, Lyons gave a lunch presentation on currency markets – his research field as a finance professor – to nearly 50 banking professionals at an event hosted by The Corporate Finance Group and Walder Wyss and Partners Zurich. The event was followed by a reception for alumni and newly admitted students hosted by Baer Karrer, a Swiss law firm.
While in Switzerland Lyons also met with alumnus Joe Jimenez, MBA 84, CEO of pharmaceutical company Novartis, which is headquartered in Basel. Senior Haas Development Director Jeanne HuangLi took a small side trip to Hungary, where she previously served as a Peace Corps volunteer, to meet with alumni in Budapest, including Eleni Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis, MBA 92, who was recently appointed U.S. ambassador to Hungary by President Obama.
In London, Lyons was a featured speaker for a discussion on "21st Century Leadership," a dinner event hosted by Richard Simmons, MBA 72, and sponsored by BPP Holdings. At the event, Lyons had the opportunity to meet members of Parliament, and UK leaders in business, academia, and journalism . Lyons had an interview with the Financial Times.
Lyons also connected with alumni and newly admitted students at an event in London June 4 that was generously hosted by alumna Karen McConnell, BA 75 (Spanish and German), MBA 78, and her husband.
Lyons attended two events in Berlin on June 5. He gave a presentation on "path-bending leadership" to a group of alumni and business professionals. Lyons also participated in a discussion on innovation featuring alumnus Greg Greeley, MBA 98, vice president of European retail at Amazon Europe.
Lyons already has set a date for a return trip to Europe at the same time in June next year. For more information on our international plans, please contact Jeanne HuangLi at jeanne_huangli@haas.berkeley.edu.
Dean in Berlin
Dean Rich Lyons (seated) meets with alumni in Berlin, including Greg Greeley (top right), MBA 98, vice president of European retail at Amazon Europe, who participated in a discussion on innovation.
http://www2.haas.berkeley.edu/News/Newsroom/100614deaneurope.aspx - Aug 22, 11
Dean Rich Lyons will speak about financing in times of crisis Tuesday, Sept. 29, before South American presidents, economic ministers, and business leaders at the Americas Competitiveness Forum in Santiago, Chile.
The dean is attending the forum as part of a trip to Chile and Brazil. The Americas Competitiveness Forum is an annual gathering where top government and business leaders in South America discuss economic challenges and opportunities facing the
region that may range from government regulation to leadership development to sustainable energy sources. Lyons will appear on a panel with Dilma Rousseff, chief-minister of Brazil's Presidential Staff Office and Rodney Martin, chairman and CEO of American Life Insurance Company.
The dean will also reconnect with Haas alumni in Chile and attend an MBA information session for prospective applicants in Santiago. Then he will travel to Brazil, where he will host a leadership luncheon with several hundred business leaders and attend another MBA admissions information session, followed by a dinner for Brazilian alumni.
http://www2.haas.berkeley.edu/News/Newsroom/090928lyons.aspx - Aug 22, 11
While working at United Way of Anchorage, I became the founding director of AK Info or the AKInfo Network, ak.org. Using new technologies and the web, we developed a system to provide 1-800 and online information on resources throughout the state of Alaska. The framework created became the backbone for 211 information and referral resources for the state and continues today. The program was supported by a consortium of community partners from United Way, the Municipality, the State, to HUD, and hospital systems. It received the largest single gift ever given at the time by the then-ARCO Foundation to a project.
- Aug 22, 11Lessons from Austin: From Brain Drain to Brain Circulation by Jeanne HuangLi
Written for the Alaska Journal of Commerce, Fall 2002
With a degree from Santa Clara Law in Silicon Valley and through involvement with Alaska InvestNet’s
Entrepreneur-in-Residence Program, I am a visiting scholar this fall at IC2 (Innovation Creativity and Capital) Institute, an
economic research institute at the University of Texas Austin. The idea is to take the lessons learned from exposure to
activities in technologically developed regions such as Silicon Valley and Austin, combined with international development
perspectives, and to be a catalyst for continuing infrastructure development. It is a revelation to listen to Austin’s leaders and
note that their frustrations echo those of Alaska’s leaders: brain drain, lack of leadership, funding concerns and lack of
infrastructure for economic development.
I am at IC2 through the generosity of Dr. George Kozmetsky, a member of both the Alaska Science and Technology
Foundation board and InvestNet’s advisory board. This brilliant self-made Harvard Ph.D., a veteran of World War II, made
his fortune relatively early in his career through Teledyne, an early Silicon Valley company, and then as true civic
entrepreneurs, he and his family have continually sought ways to give back to build community. His vision, intellect, and
willingness to seed fund and actively participate in important programs have been vital components of Austin’s success.
Most Alaskans seem to agree on the following assessment:
A brain drain of vital Alaska talent from the state coupled with an economy heavily reliant on natural resource
industries and government funding severely hinder the state’s ability to compete in a global economy.
Alaskans who return after gaining education outside can do well financially by fitting into comfortable, traditional sector
jobs. They are marketing their educated talent. The problem is the complacency in thinking that one’s small circle is enough.
Conventional thinking regards brain drain as a curse for developing regions. Successful communities create
economic opportunities for their "best and brightest" that other non-competitive regions cannot. Berkeley Professor
AnnaLee Saxenian suggests that "brain circulation" rather than "brain drain" is a more apt description of the trend whereby
immigrants, particularly from Asia, study and work in the U.S. for a certain amount of time and then return or commute
regularly between their Asian homes and the Silicon Valley. These "circulating" immigrants bring back valuable experience
and entrepreneurial know-how to their local economies.
The concept of "brain circulation" has applicability for Alaska’s future and leaders should seek to foster connections
with Alaskans outside and stimulate a continuing two-way street. Rather than assuming that the movement of skill and
talent must benefit outside locations to Alaska’s detriment, immigration would benefit both sides by creating links between
Alaska and outside regions.
Venture capital must be local, with a local VC that knows the infrastructure and is familiar with the local
entrepreneurs, but being able to draw from a global network for high caliber expertise and investment support is crucial. For
every Alaskan in the state, there must be another Alaskan who moved outside due to a lack of opportunities. Is there a way
to use these Alaskan connections outside as a way to transfer technology and know-how and stimulate local
entrepreneurship? Similarly situated regions have seen success by focusing on niche activities, for example, Alaska could
begin diversification by focusing technology development solely on creating efficiencies in its natural resource industries,
and then importing this very specific technology and leveraging success into other areas. The challenge is to adopt an
approach for a win-win climate based on collaborative idea sharing and to stimulate successful local entrepreneurship.
Consider that when Dr. Kozmetsky started in the 1960s as dean of UT Austin’s business school, both the school’s
statute and that of Austin were not anywhere near what it is today. A concerted group of forward-thinking community
leaders mobilized and thought through what it would take to make their region competitive in a global economy. And they
continue to go through this process today to ensure that Austin remains a highly liveable, globally competitive community
known for its innovation. Likewise, being in a time zone that straddles all the major world markets, Alaska has attributes
which make it unique in a global marketplace. We have a lot of work to do.
Consider investment in the Alaska economic development landscape like getting in on the ground level of a
promising start-up. Although the high tech craziness of a few years back has died down, the downtime is the best time for
serious entrepreneurs to be researching and developing business plans. Those that are waiting for things to improve or for
the Silicon Valley-Austin-Seattle progress to trickle up before getting involved could miss out. By the time things are good,
all the big winners have already gotten in on the early round. We are not just talking about financial reward, we are talking
about building an exciting, enviable community and a vibrant future for Alaska.
“Those who say it can’t be done should not get in the way of those who can do it.” William McKnight, CEO &
Chairman, 3M 1944. - Aug 22, 11
We figured out the architect for our house, Paul Hamilton.
As published in the California Book of Homes, 1954:
https://picasaweb.google.com/nathanrogle/HomeAmongTheTrees#.
1. A search of the Orinda property records got us an old copy of a permit with a name, "Paul Hamilton."
2. I then did some Internet sleuthing and found a letter a Paul Hamilton wrote in response to the Oakland Aesthetics article here. (http://www.dwell.com/articles/oakland-aesthetics.html)
3. I found two Paul Hamiltons in Santa Rosa. The first one was not an architect, the second one was. His wife said he used to live in Orinda so it was likely he did design our home. Paul Hamilton, the architect, who designed our home and lived there for two years in the 1950s called us back on Sunday. He is now 91.
He talked about having met Frank Lloyd Wright (a few times). He designed the house and lived in it for two years, circa 1951, and then sold it to Dr. Seagal. He mentioned he also designed the house down the street. He told us that he bought the land in Orinda for $1000 an acre at that time.
According to the information from the letter, he designed the Matanzas Creek Winery.
http://www.matanzascreek.com/index.html
Letter text here (from Dwell, Letters to the Editor, Feb 2009, http://www.zinio.com/reader.jsp?issue=334027029&o=int&prev=sub&p=22):
With great suprise I read your article "Oakland Aesthetics" (September 2008). I was the designer-builder of the Evans House, completed in 1956. At the time, I was 37 years old and without an architectural license--that came at the age of 56, by which time I had already designed a multitude of dwellings in Berkeley, Oakland, Orinda, and San Francisco. Since my licensing in 1975, my practice has ranged from work in Orcas Island and the San Juan Islands of Washington to the tip of Baja California, including my own house south of Todos Santos.
In 1960, I moved to Sonoma County to design countless country properties and the Matanzas Creek Winery. My passion remains and I have enjoyed your magazine, but I do little today since I am overwhelmed by the bureaucratic burdens of proof. At 90 years, maybe it's enough.
The Evans House cost $18,500. Don't blame the white trim on me.
Paul Hamilton
Santa Rosa, California
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Info
- Senior Director, UC Berkeley Haas School of BusinessPhilanthropy | San Francisco Bay Area, USSummaryJeanne is a Senior Director at UC Berkeley Haas handling international outreach and development. Jeanne has worked with a start-up diaspora community foundation aimed at promoting strategic philanthropy and social entrepreneurship; and with The Asia Foundation, an international development organization working in over 20 countries in Asia. She was responsible for helping to develop successful private fundraising initiatives and infrastructure at the Foundation.
Jeanne has also worked as recruiter in major markets in NY and CA and for a venture capital matching program, as well as having over fifteen years of successful non-profit management and development experience.
Jeanne has a B.A. (Asian Studies and English/creative writing) from the University of Michigan; a J.D. from Santa Clara University School of Law; and a stint as a visiting scholar at UT Austin by invitation of Dr. George Kozmetsky, studying high technology community development and social entrepreneurship models. Jeanne served as an education and community development volunteer with the U.S. Peace Corps in Eastern Europe. Active with returned volunteer activities, she participated in the agency’s strategic planning in 1997. Jeanne worked for a United Way system from 1994-1997 in agency relations and helped to manage the annual agency review, Gifts in Kind, and the federal Emergency Food and Shelter programs for Alaska. Her work transitioned into a role as the founding director of an Internet-based start-up technology program, www.ak.org.
Jeanne is active with a handful of international nonprofit and alumni causes. Interests run the pop culture gamut and include creative writing and art to playing ice hockey. Currently, Jeanne is President of the Michigan Alumni Club of Greater San Francisco and on the Centennial Celebration Planning Committee for Santa Clara Law.Specialties: Michigan B.A.; Santa Clara J.D. (licensed in CA); visiting scholar, UT Austin/IC2. Law Degree Over 15 years of non-profit community development and project management experience. Special areas of interests: High technology regional-based community development, international philanthropy and systems.Experience- 2008 - PresentSenior Director, Development - International Major Gifts / UC Berkeley Haas School of Business
- 2006 - 2008Associate Director, Resource Development / The Asia Foundation
- Jan 2004 - Dec 2005Director of Recruiting / American Legal Search
- 2001 - 2003Entrepreneur in Residence/ Consultant / Alaska InvestNet
- 1994 - 1999Dir. Resources & Services/ Director, AKInfo / United Way of Anchorage
- 1992 - 1994Peace Corps Volunteer / U.S. Peace Corps
Education- The University of Texas at Austin
- Santa Clara University School of Law
- University of Michigan
Additional Information-
Websites:
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Honors:1998 Named to the First Group of "Top 40 Under 40" by the Alaska Journal of Commerce.
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Posts
- Our Huangle House
We figured out the architect for our house, Paul Hamilton.
As published in the California Book of Homes, 1954:
https://picasaweb.google.com/nathanrogle/HomeAmongTheTrees#.
1. A search of the Orinda property records got us an old copy of a permit with a name, “Paul Hamilton.”
2. I then did some Internet sleuthing and found a letter a Paul Hamilton wrote in response to the Oakland Aesthetics article here. (http://www.dwell.com/articles/oakland-aesthetics.html)
3. I found two Paul Hamiltons in Santa Rosa. The first one was not an architect, the second one was. His wife said he used to live in Orinda so it was likely he did design our home. Paul Hamilton, the architect, who designed our home and lived there for two years in the 1950s called us back on Sunday. He is now 91.
He talked about having met Frank Lloyd Wright (a few times). He designed the house and lived in it for two years, circa 1951, and then sold it to Dr. Seagal. He mentioned he also designed the house down the street. He told us that he bought the land in Orinda for $1000 an acre at that time.
According to the information from the letter, he designed the Matanzas Creek Winery.
http://www.matanzascreek.com/index.html
Letter text here (from Dwell, Letters to the Editor, Feb 2009, http://www.zinio.com/reader.jsp?issue=334027029&o=int&prev=sub&p=22):
With great suprise I read your article “Oakland Aesthetics” (September 2008). I was the designer-builder of the Evans House, completed in 1956. At the time, I was 37 years old and without an architectural license—that came at the age of 56, by which time I had already designed a multitude of dwellings in Berkeley, Oakland, Orinda, and San Francisco. Since my licensing in 1975, my practice has ranged from work in Orcas Island and the San Juan Islands of Washington to the tip of Baja California, including my own house south of Todos Santos.
In 1960, I moved to Sonoma County to design countless country properties and the Matanzas Creek Winery. My passion remains and I have enjoyed your magazine, but I do little today since I am overwhelmed by the bureaucratic burdens of proof. At 90 years, maybe it’s enough.
The Evans House cost $18,500. Don’t blame the white trim on me.
Paul Hamilton
Santa Rosa, California
http://smartliketractor.blogspot.com/2009/11/our-huangle-house.html I went to a dinner party at a friend’s home last weekend, and met her five-year-old daughter for the first time.
Little Maya was all curly brown hair, doe-like dark eyes, and adorable in her shiny pink nightgown. I wanted to squeal, “Maya, you’re so cute! Look at you! Turn around and model that pretty ruffled gown, you gorgeous thing!”
But I didn’t. I squelched myself. As I always bite my tongue when I meet little girls, restraining myself from my first impulse, which is to tell them how darn cute/ pretty/ beautiful/ well-dressed/ well-manicured/ well-coiffed they are.
What’s wrong with that? It’s our culture’s standard talking-to-little-girls icebreaker, isn’t it? And why not give them a sincere compliment to boost their self-esteem? Because they are so darling I just want to burst when I meet them, honestly.
Hold that thought for just a moment.
This week ABC News reported that nearly half of all three- to six-year-old girls worry about being fat. In my book, Think: Straight Talk for Women to Stay Smart in a Dumbed-Down World, I reveal that 15 to 18 percent of girls under 12 now wear mascara, eyeliner and lipstick regularly; eating disorders are up and self-esteem is down; and 25 percent of young American women would rather win America’s Next Top Model than the Nobel Peace Prize. Even bright, successful college women say they’d rather be hot than smart. A Miami mom just died from cosmetic surgery, leaving behind two teenagers. This keeps happening, and it breaks my heart.
Teaching girls that their appearance is the first thing you notice tells them that looks are more important than anything. It sets them up for dieting at age 5 and foundation at age 11 and boob jobs at 17 and Botox at 23. As our cultural imperative for girls to be hot 24/7 has become the new normal, American women have become increasingly unhappy. What’s missing? A life of meaning, a life of ideas and reading books and being valued for our thoughts and accomplishments.
That’s why I force myself to talk to little girls as follows.
“Maya,” I said, crouching down at her level, looking into her eyes, “very nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too,” she said, in that trained, polite, talking-to-adults good girl voice.
“Hey, what are you reading?” I asked, a twinkle in my eyes. I love books. I’m nuts for them. I let that show.
Her eyes got bigger, and the practiced, polite facial expression gave way to genuine excitement over this topic. She paused, though, a little shy of me, a stranger.
“I LOVE books,” I said. “Do you?”
Most kids do.
“YES,” she said. “And I can read them all by myself now!”
“Wow, amazing!” I said. And it is, for a five-year-old. You go on with your bad self, Maya.
“What’s your favorite book?” I asked.
“I’ll go get it! Can I read it to you?”
Purplicious was Maya’s pick and a new one to me, as Maya snuggled next to me on the sofa and proudly read aloud every word, about our heroine who loves pink but is tormented by a group of girls at school who only wear black. Alas, it was about girls and what they wore, and how their wardrobe choices defined their identities. But after Maya closed the final page, I steered the conversation to the deeper issues in the book: mean girls and peer pressure and not going along with the group. I told her my favorite color in the world is green, because I love nature, and she was down with that.
Not once did we discuss clothes or hair or bodies or who was pretty. It’s surprising how hard it is to stay away from those topics with little girls, but I’m stubborn.
I told her that I’d just written a book, and that I hoped she’d write one too one day. She was fairly psyched about that idea. We were both sad when Maya had to go to bed, but I told her next time to choose another book and we’d read it and talk about it. Oops. That got her too amped up to sleep, and she came down from her bedroom a few times, all jazzed up.
So, one tiny bit of opposition to a culture that sends all the wrong messages to our girls. One tiny nudge towards valuing female brains. One brief moment of intentional role modeling. Will my few minutes with Maya change our multibillion dollar beauty industry, reality shows that demean women, our celebrity-manic culture? No. But I did change Maya’s perspective for at least that evening.
Try this the next time you meet a little girl. She may be surprised and unsure at first, because few ask her about her mind, but be patient and stick with it. Ask her what she’s reading. What does she like and dislike, and why? There are no wrong answers. You’re just generating an intelligent conversation that respects her brain. For older girls, ask her about current events issues: pollution, wars, school budgets slashed. What bothers her out there in the world? How would she fix it if she had a magic wand? You may get some intriguing answers. Tell her about your ideas and accomplishments and your favorite books. Model for her what a thinking woman says and does.
And let me know the response you get at www.Twitter.com/lisabloom and Facebook.
Here’s to changing the world, one little girl at a time.
For many more tips on how keep yourself and your daughter smart, check out my new book, Think: Straight Talk for Women to Stay Smart in a Dumbed-Down World, www.Think.tv.
Follow Lisa Bloom on Twitter: www.twitter.com/LisaBloom
RPCV Net - Info about my Peace Corps experience
Jeanne's website portfolio of travel, school and work experiences--successful approximations of themes that engage me: international, big picture perspectives; social entrepreneurial, relationship- and community building, making a difference.
