5 Things / Diversity Stand-Up
5 Things Bernadette Smith 5 Things Bernadette Smith

5 Things / Diversity Stand-Up

This week I’ve been feeling really discouraged about the 650 anti-LGBTQ bills introduced this year. The good vibes can be elusive. One way I’ve kept my energy up is by testing o

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5 Things / A Fair Share
5 Things Bernadette Smith 5 Things Bernadette Smith

5 Things / A Fair Share

This week I learned about a nonprofit organization near Seattle that established a minimum base salary of $70,000. This meant that some of the 24 employees received a $20,000 raise. Many years ago, I worked for nonprofit organizations, and I can say with confidence that valuing employees in this way will go a long way towards keeping them energized, especially since many of them are BIPOC and work two jobs.

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5 Things / rest is revolutionary
5 Things Bernadette Smith 5 Things Bernadette Smith

5 Things / rest is revolutionary

Rest. That's what I needed most this week, and it seemed to be a common theme in my network. Indeed "August is like the Sunday of summer." Long ago I was an aspiring documentarian, so my rest included watching the documentary on Olympians' mental health, the one on WeWork, and all of the 100 Foot Wave. They're all great, although The Weight of Gold was devastating.

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5 Things / if not now
5 Things Bernadette Smith 5 Things Bernadette Smith

5 Things / if not now

This week was my first week giving an in-person keynote in 18 months and it felt amazing to be back on stage. My 10 year old son Patrick came to watch me speak for the first time. He put down his Nintendo Switch and gave me his full attention. He even handed me some post-it notes with thoughtful questions on them after I finished. It was a proud mom moment, and for him, a proud son moment, and definitely my favorite part of the week.

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