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Creativity and rigor require excellent company, there’s just no two ways about it. Our recent gathering in Charlotte was combustible, glorious fuel for the fire I have to think about, design, and make ways for people to live great lives. Even in the most dynamic places, folks tend to confine our imagination of a great […]

We are in the midst of a profound crisis in men’s mental health — and it is one many of us are too uncomfortable to acknowledge. Men account for nearly three out of four “deaths of despair” in the United States — suicides, drug overdoses, and alcohol-related fatalities​. That is not a statistic that can […]

Discernment: finding where your talents best meet the needs of the world. In my young(er) years, I spent a lot of time exploring this, even discerning the priesthood. Maybe I would have been an ok priest, but I remember the moment when I fully knew that God had given me the divine talent of design […]

The Gambrell Foundation is deeply invested in supporting our young people and our communities. Our partnership with the American Institute for Boys and Men supports shifting policy and public conversation that will ultimately enhance the wellbeing of boys and men, and therefore enhance the resilience of all our communities.

As we prepare to launch the new Gambrell Foundation website, I've come to think of it as our own digital version of that practice—a digital space to organize fragments of ideas and projects into something meaningful.

I’ve spent my entire adult life working on issues of economic disparity. Guided by a passion for social justice coupled with an affinity for law, I began my career as a Legal Aid lawyer representing very low-income families on issues spanning from racial discrimination and housing evictions to the right to education and health care. […]

Imagine if our cities went beyond meeting our basic needs. What if they made us feel supported, valued and cared for? How would our lives change if streets weren’t just for movement but for moments of spontaneous discovery? What if our city’s public spaces didn’t simply tolerate people using them but were designed to inspire, spark social connection, and strengthen bonds between neighbors?

Purpose. A word that sparks reaction and emotion, opinions and theories, and hope as well as dread. Lately, I’ve been having a lot of conversations about purpose with high school students, college students, mentors, executive directors of youth programs, staff of youth programs, researchers, funders, parents, my grandmother, and so many more. Purpose has been […]

Visualization capturing insights exploring the ideation of purpose at a 2022 “purpose jam” hosted by Purpose Commons’ co-founders. Photo/art by Rio Holaday. I’ve always believed that great ideas often start when like-minded people come together to build community. It’s in community that collaboration takes root and real progress happens. That’s why I think it’s important for […]

A new report by Tommi Laitio recommends a path to ensuring that every child in Charlotte has something in their life that makes their eyes light up: a hobby. Last August, my husband and I had to empty the attic of our Helsinki apartment. We discovered a dozen broken suitcases, a box of old notebooks, a coffee […]