Melissa Nemec’s Post

"Too many men are falling behind women academically and economically, and feeling unmoored. Millions are turning to online influencers rather than finding fulfillment in a purposeful life. How do we curb the rise in male loneliness and create gender norms that allow them to thrive?" Watch this panel at the #AspenIdeas Festival featuring Stephanie Ruhle, Richard V. Reeves, Mike Strautmanis, and Governor Wes Moore. #aspenideas

Lesson of this story is what Adam Grant has called the five-minute rule: if helping someone takes less than five minutes, you should always do it. Back when I was working for the Helsingin kaupunki – Helsingfors stad – City of Helsinki, I received an email from Brian Collier, then at The Foundation For The Carolinas. Brian was exploring opportunities to bring a delegation from Charlotte (North Carolina) to Finland to understand what constitutes wellbeing. He was inspired by the book The Nordic Theory of Everything by Anu Partanen. We exchanged a few emails, had a great conversation and I promised to help. Eventually COVID hit and their plan had to be rescheduled. As I started my fellowship in the United States, I reached out to Brian to say hi. He invited me over to Charlotte, him and Melissa Nemec introduced me to fabulous people. A a result, Charlotte-Mecklenburg became one of my case studies on how local governments build partnerships. As Brian moved to The Gambrell Foundation, I got an opportunity to join them on their trip to the Nordics in October 2023 and see the city I love through the eyes of others. One of the things that really stood out to many of the visitors was how Helsinki has set a strategic goal that every child has a hobby. It seemed like an understandable, emotionally engaging, actionably goal. As I started my consulting practice, we agreed on a dream project. I will do an exploratory study for The Gambrell Foundation on what would ensuring a hobby to every child in Charlotte look like and how does the Finnish model actually work. I was fortunate that Oona Frilander from Demos Helsinki agreed to partner up with the Finnish benchmarking. I have done numerous conversations with leaders and actors in Charlotte to understand the roles of civil society, churches, philanthropies, local governments, and schools. I spent most of last week in Charlotte meeting people and understanding how they think about hobbies. I also met for the first time Sophia Gerz-Escandón and Emmanuella Assem, two brilliant UNC Charlotte students, who will work with me on the research and got an opportunity to introduce them to Brian. People like Ricky Singh, Wendolyn Fernandez, Matt Olin, Greg Jackson, Nao Tsurumaki, and Adrianne Hobbs were kind enough to share their wisdom. I love working with Charlotte. There is a culture of coming together that I have seldom witnessed. People talk openly about the opportunities and the challenges. It tells a lot about a city and its people when nearly every person says:"You should talk to X. Let me introduce you." Things come full circle. I came to government to work on youth services. Hobbies are what made me a leader. Hobbies is what I have spent most of my career promoting and enabling. I am so proud of the work that we in Helsinki did on this front and look forward to learning more with Charlotte.

Each one of these leaders has an important perspective on what needs to be done to improve women’s health and wellbeing.     As part of my new $1 billion commitment to advance women’s power globally, these leaders will each receive a $20 million fund to distribute to charitable organizations of their choice. I can’t wait to see the landscape of opportunities to support women and girls through their eyes. 

Charlotte friends, please join The Gambrell Foundation for An Evening with Dacher Keltner next month (May 22, to be exact) at Queens University of Charlotte. Dr. Keltner's book, Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life, has been massively informative to our work at the foundation -- and will continue to be! You won't want to miss this presentation and conversation. Big thanks to both Queens and the CHARLOTTE MECKLENBURG LIBRARY FOUNDATION for their partnership in bringing this event to life. Register here: https://lnkd.in/e3BHcM4u