Heller Magazine Summer 2018
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
A MAGAZINE FOR THE HELLER SCHOOL FOR { SOCIAL POLICY AND } Heller MANAGEMENT SIMULATED SOCIETY REAL LESSONS SUMMER 2018 2018 SUMMER Heller Magazine Published by the Heller School Ofce of Communications The Heller School for Social Policy and Management Brandeis University P.O. Box 549110, MS 035 Waltham, MA 02454-9110 heller.brandeis.edu Dean David Weil Board of Overseers Chair Constance Kane, PhD’85 Alumni Association Board President Sarah Emond, MPP’09 Heller Ofce of Communications Bethany Romano, MBA’17 Alexandra Rubington Karen Shih Cover: Photo by Jessica Tanny A SUSTAINABLE COOKSTOVE DEMONSTRATION IN ASSAM, INDIA. FELLOW- SHIP RECIPIENT JARNAIL SINGH, MA SID’13, HAS WORKED FOR OVER A DECADE IN ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION, FROM INSTALLING NEW TECH- NOLOGIES IN RURAL VILLAGES TO ORGANIZING GLOBAL CONFERENCES ON ENERGY ACCESS. PHOTO BY JARNAIL SINGH Ofce of Communications © 5 heller magazine Brandeis University 2018 J172 Heller Contents 06 02 letter from dean weil 03 heller news Anita Hill chairs commission on sexual harassment and advancing equality in the workplace; Heller embraces new Sankofa Community Conversation series; Brandeis University receives $8.4 million bequest 06 simulated society, real lessons COEX Program Director Alain Lempereur uses an eye-opening exercise to shed light on social inequities, from the Congo to his classroom at Heller 12 optimism of the heart Professor Robert Kuttner on his latest book, that infamous phone call from Steve Bannon and a lifetime on the left edge of the possible 20 changing the future through fellowships Critical fnancial support from Heller alumni and friends helps students transform their lives and the communities around them 12 26 a community for life The Eli J. & Phyllis N. Segal Citizen Leadership Program celebrates its 10th anniversary 30 perspectives: maria madison “Excellence Rising”: Equity, Inclusion and Diversity at Heller 34 alumni milestones Anne Douglass, PhD’09, has an innovative approach to early childhood education; Charley Francis, MPP’10, is transforming affordable housing in Rhode Island; Lisette Anzoategui, MA SID/COEX’15, and her dedication to giving back; Rodrigo Moran, MA SID’16, harnesses the power of technology for social change heller magazine 1 20 FROM THE DEAN } FOSTERING BOLD INQUIRY DURING Researchers and faculty at Heller — for example, at our DISORIENTING TIMES Institute on Assets and Social Policy and the Lurie Institute for Disability Policy — examine many of the components of growing inequality and disparities in the U.S. and We live in disorienting times. It can feel like standing on globally. But given the effects of growing inequality on shifting sands to survey the economic, social and political economic, social and political opportunity and outcomes, world in which we live. No statistic encapsulates the changed there has never been a more important moment to redou- world we inhabit more than one closely linked to the aspira- ble our intellectual efforts to understand what President tions of most parents: the hope that our children will do Barack Obama called the “defining challenge of our time.” better than we did, and that as a result they will be happier, We will redouble our efforts at Heller to understand and better educated and more secure. For many in the previous address that challenge going forward. century, that aspiration coincided with reality. U.S. children born in 1940 had a 90 percent chance of earning more than In this edition of the Heller magazine, you will read their parents by the time they arrived at prime working age, stories of how our Heller community is examining and according to a recent Stanford study. These findings are addressing issues related to inequality and disparities. This consistent with the fact that growth in per capita GDP and includes University Professor Anita Hill’s leadership in productivity grew at the same rates as real earnings from the tackling sexual harassment in the entertainment industry end of World War II to the late 1970s. and Robert Kuttner’s new book examining the political economy of global capitalism. You will also read about the That reality changed dramatically in the late 1970s. Pro- inspiring efforts of some of our recent international gradu- ductivity and real per capita GDP continued to grow, but ates who are tackling social justice problems around the real earnings no longer moved upward with that growth. world, as well as about the critical support past and current This separation of economic growth and earnings heralded students have received from members of our community, a change in the prospects facing children in the emerging like Elinor Gollay, MSW’71, PhD’77, and the late Sy new era. Children born in 1980 — a year before the official Bluestone. And you will read about how we are equip- beginning of the millennials’ generation but indicative of ping our current students to engage in the often-difficult their coming challenges — faced a coin toss’s chance of conversations necessary to examine questions at the root doing better than their parents. That’s a reduction from 90 of social inequalities through the initiation of our Sankofa percent to 50 percent in a short span of economic history. Community Conversations. A shift of that magnitude arises from many sources. Yes, we live in disorienting times. But this is precisely the Between the two eras described above, U.S. employment moment that requires our community to probe deeply into moved away from manufacturing and towards hospitality, the roots of questions like inequality, and seek creative, retail, health care and other service-based industries. Tech- bold and tractable approaches to address them. I hope you nologies changed the demand for skills and the structure of will be inspired by what you read in these pages and I look wages. Membership in labor unions declined dramatically. forward to sharing our continuing exploration of such The structure of businesses changed too, particularly fol- fundamental challenges in future editions of the Heller lowing the Great Recession, as leading companies shifted magazine and in the work of our school. work out to contractors, third-party managers and staffing agencies. This often resulted in lower earnings, reduced Sincerely, benefits and workers’ increased exposure to greater risks in the ups and downs of the economy. David Weil Dean and Professor 2 heller magazine { HELLER NEWS University Professor Anita Hill was named the commission anita hill chairs chair, and will lead the organization in an effort to tackle an industry-wide culture of power abuse. The high-profle commission on announcement came from top executives in the entertain- ment industry and workplace equity experts, including sexual harassment Kapor Capital partner and Heller alumna Freada Kapor Klein, PhD’84; Lucasflm president Kathleen Kennedy; and advancing Nike Foundation founder and co-chair Maria Eitel; and equality in the talent attorney Nina Shaw. workplace The commission is charged with leading the entertainment industry in developing workplace norms that are more equitable, accountable and safe for all — especially for BY BETHANY ROMANO, MBA’17 women and other marginalized groups. To do this, it will develop and distribute evidence-based best practices to its Industries across the U.S. grappled with revelations of member organizations and hold them responsible for widespread workplace sexual harassment over the past adhering to those best practices. Through its leadership, year — none more so than the entertainment industry. In the commission hopes to generate an industry-wide response to the many high-profle stories that had fnally culture of respect and equality. become public through the #metoo movement, Hollywood leaders came together in December 2017 to create and fund “I am happy to be working with industry leaders who have the Commission on Sexual Harassment and Advancing stepped up and declared that sexual harassment is unaccept- Equality in the Workplace. able,” Hill says. “The challenges we face include eliminating abusive behavior, transform- ing cultures that foster it and dismantling the structures that allow abuses to go unaddressed. But in this moment of reckoning, we have the opportunity to put into place the policies and practices to rid our work- places of sexual harassment.” Under Professor Hill’s leadership, the commission reconvened after the new year to begin building a staff for its Los Angeles-based offce and to continue defning its mission, scope and priorities. ANITA HILL heller magazine 3 HELLER NEWS } together different generations to share stories of social heller embraces movements from Bostons’ “Tent City” to Brandeis’ Ford Hall. The community welcomed renowned politician, new sankofa writer, community organizer and MIT faculty member emeritus Mel King. A panel joined King on stage, including community special guest and Heller alumnus Christian Perry, MA SID/ conversation MBA’17; Professor Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld; and Associate series Dean for Equity, Inclusion and Diversity Maria Madison. The panel conversation explored King’s many decades of social justice activism in the Boston area, including his BY BETHANY ROMANO, MBA’17 involvement with the 1968 Tent City protests in Boston and the South End Technology Center, which he founded. This year, the Heller Offce of Equity, Inclusion and The conversation then turned to Perry’s experiences as a Diversity launched Sankofa Community Conversations, a Heller student involved with the Ford Hall 2015 protests at new series of semi-structured events to promote dialogue Brandeis. For more information on Ford Hall, please visit across boundaries. bit.ly/HellerFordHall, which chronicles several Brandeis student movements over time. The spirit of Sankofa respects the Ghanaian (Twi) concept of remembering the past to prepare for the future. These Subsequent Sankofa events have examined questions of events provide an opportunity for frank, intimate con- inclusion and representation, the intersection of global versations and can take the form of guest speakers, panel equity and art, and the #metoo movement in response to discussions or peer-led group conversations.