We are super proud of our leader Laurie Meadoff and the work she does for #humanity. She has only just begun! #humanity #planet #heracity
My mother, Joyce, had a delightful way of expressing her pride. She would often exclaim, “My daughter Laurie does amazing work!” Then she’d turn to me and ask, “But what is it exactly that you do?” This question echoes in my life even now, as many of you have asked me the same thing over the years. Recently, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Bill Cleveland on his podcast, Change the Story / Change the World. To my surprise, this conversation turned into a beautiful retrospective of my journey. As my dear friend Lesli Linka Glatter wisely says, “I feel like I am only halfway through my career.” So, I invite you to take a walk with me as I speak about Youth and Community, Diversity and Creativity, Art and Activism, and share highlights from my path—and what lies ahead. From my early work in Appalachia—like Honky Tonk Road in Sugar Creek to engaging with gangs in prisons in LA and the South Bronx; from finding my mentor, Jenny Harris, at the Albany Empire in London, supported by Lady Diana; to creating the largest freestanding Keith Haring masterpiece (90ft x 30ft) on Liberty with 1,000 young people. I’ve collaborated with incredible partners like Kate Hillis, Sheryl Leach, Michael D. & Duncan Irvine to co-create Chat the Planet, which reached 380 million people. Now, I’m part of building TBTM (Take Back the Media), a new film studio and award-winning TV series in Africa with Derrick Ashong & Mary Pagano at Hera Media Group. My work spans health disparities with BodiMetrics, peacebuilding in Israel and Palestine with Project Rozana Health Diplomacy, and leadership training alongside Deepak Chopra MD (official) Gabriella Wright, Poonacha Machaiah & Kunal Sood. And of course, Impact investing in both business and community work to move the social needle forward is my passion! Perhaps my mother was onto something! What do I actually do and why? What I know to be true is that my DNA rests in years of bringing diverse communities together where humanity walks in the room and pulls up a chair. I’ve witnessed this repeatedly through my ongoing work with The CityKids Foundation, here we create safe spaces where we transform pain into purpose, training agents of social change while addressing issues of Mental Health. Our alumni lead this organization, and now some of their children are part of our programs. And all of this while I'm still just 26 years old! As CityKids approaches its 40th anniversary in 2025, I invite you to join us as we envision the next 40 years as we launch our Global School of Artivism. Let's build together! Some of my amazing collaborators include Jamal Joseph, Dr. Malik Yoba, Yosi Sergant Simon Isaacs, Tony Krantz Ben Metz, Shari Foos, Siobhan Kavanagh (Ní Chiobháin) Global Mental Health Task Force Jacqueline Novogratz Terry Hummel Geoversity Nathan Gray Cynthia Schneider Terry Torok Herbie Hancock Please support CityKids work: https://lnkd.in/e-2c35cu To listen to the podcast: https://lnkd.in/ezykB-aH