Illumination

We want to amplify voices that are not always heard, and to shine a light on ideas that are not always seen, joined together by a vision of a regenerative and just economy. In the Illumination series, we invite members of our community to share their thoughts, to describe their Good Work, and to provide an inside view of what Just Transition looks like in action. We believe in the life-affirming, connecting, inspiring power of hearing each other’s stories. Please get in touch if you’d like to submit an idea for an article about your Good Work.

In Conversation with Curtis Dozier

By Susan

10.12.26

Curtis is an internationally recognized expert on how extremists and hate groups invoke Greco-Roman antiquity to promote their politics. He’s been documenting examples of this for the past decade on his award-winning website Pharos: Doing Justice to the Classics, and earlier this year published The White Pedestal based on his research.

The Ripple Effects of Leading with Solidarity

By Chelsea Miller

07.29.26

Hi, I'm Chelsea, and I was part of the inaugural cohort of the Good Work Institute's Solidarity Leaders Lab. When Micah welcomed our cohort at our first in-person gathering, he said, "If you're here, you were meant to be here." I’ll come back to this...

Creative Instigation: The Art & Strategy of Authentic Community Engagement with Fern Tiger

By Micah

05.06.26

In April 2026, Good Work Institute welcomed Fern Tiger to the GWI Greenhouse for an author talk. Fern Tiger is the founder and creative director of Fern Tiger Associates (FTA), based in Oakland, California. The firm is grounded in the belief that “with reflective strategy and innovative design, positive and constructive social change is not only possible—it is inevitable.”

In Conversation with Báyò Akómoláfé

By Micah

03.24.26

A posthumanist polymath and “trans-public” intellectual, Báyò Akómoláfé has produced a vast body of work that presents a startling picture of the world in perpetual process and radical relation.

The Right of the People with Osita Nwanevu

By Micah

03.02.26

In February 2026, we welcomed author & journalist Osita Nwanevu for a talk highlighting his book, The Right of the People: Democracy and the Case for a New American Founding.

An Evening with Dr. Resmaa Menakem & T. Mychael Rambo

By Micah

10.21.24

In what I can only describe as a gift to the community, on Oct. 9th 2024, Dr. Resmaa Menakem & T. Mychael Rambo spoke at Rough Draft Bar & Books. Watch the video!

The Spells You’re Spinning

By Dr. Kelly Jennings

02.28.24

Language frames our relationship and perspective with the world around and within us.

Personally Response-able

by Maria Reidelbach

07.20.21

I had a revelation a few years ago, after a lifetime of political and social activism.

Sometimes I Don’t Know What to Say

by Lisa Taranto

05.25.21

Sometimes I don’t know what to say. What matters anymore, as we are all witness to [...]

What is your role?

By Nejla Liias

03.18.21

In a vast forest, a fire is raging and it is consuming everything. All of the animals [...]

Throwing Myself into the Realm of the Greater Good

by Vanessa Bertozzi

01.06.21

I never thought I'd run for public office. I'm a pretty private person. I have no [...]

Retaining and Restoring Ancestral Jewish Land-based Ritual

by Lila Glenn Rimalovski

12.22.20

I’m standing before a row of blazing fires, eight of them, each encircled in rocks from [...]