What if you didn’t have to work just to make a living? I faced a crossroad in 2001. What life would you chose? After spending my entire adult life focused on my career as a designer, creative director, writer, strategist working to fulfill my clients’ needs, working 60 hour weeks, I was suddenly free to rethink how I spent my time.

I didn’t win the Lottery I had an epiphany: I wanted to be happy. Having more money would not make me happier nor would that make me more useful or fulfilled. Probably the opposite. So I rid myself of my cute little VW Beetle and bought a bicycle. I detached myself from my prestigious Manhattan design firm. Said good bye to my employees and my business partner. I started to focus on how I could (in an admittedly small way) apply my values, talents and expertise to have a more positive effect in my communitiies.

Fast forward

By 2014 I arrived at a new focus: As a founding partner of Inquiring Minds Institute. And if you see little activity on this site its because I’m thoroughly immersed in developing ways to encourage kids to be curious and courageous about their futures: In particular, a future in which they play active roles in their lives and grow to become innovators, critical thiinking and engaged citizens. In the photo above,

I’m on the stage at TED giving a talk about the 3rd, 4th and 5th graders I worked with in 2016 creating councils (run by the kids themselves) at (what was then) a high poverty public elementary school in Brooklyn. For more on this work, please visit me at Inquiring Minds.