Dear ones,

Speaking alongside fellow honorees the Honorable Willie Brown, Kate Boyle, and Yvonne Thomas, I drew on more than 25 years as a lawyer, organizational consultant, and Fulbright specialist in peacemaking to make a case I'm not sure many in the room had heard framed quite this way before: that America's founding democratic spirit — the one worth restoring — has matriarchal roots far older than the country itself.

I spoke about time I've spent alongside Haudenosaunee peacemakers and grandmothers, and about the matriarchal traditions of my own Latvian heritage, tracing a thread between them: governance built on power-sharing, accountability, and decisions made with the next seven generations in mind. I offered three starting points for anyone in a position to lead — beginning with something as simple as trusting what your own body tells you when you're in a room where power is being wielded over you rather than shared.

Watch the full speech below: