To start, I should introduce myself;

For 20 years I worked in the field of international justice and human rights, for organizations with grandiose mission statements like Find Common Ground, Open Society, Information Changes Lives and End Impunity. I never asked myself if I was doing enough because I went to work every day to Save the World. Even as I grew more cognizant (with age) that the big problems we tried to tackle sometimes got worse and more, not less, entrenched as the years rolled on - I could count individual success stories and I believed that I was working, at least in a small way, for positive change.

After I met my husband (on an airplane!) and returned to the US after living abroad for almost two decades I looked forward to a quiet first-world life. I opened a small bakery for French pastries and embarked on the joyful challenge of introducing the French macaron to my new neighbors in small-town Maryland. That was a fun adventure, though much harder on my middle-aged feet and hips than I could have imagined! I'm proud that after six years of turning a modest profit I sold my small confectionery to a wonderfully talented baker with the youth and ambition needed to continue and grow the business.

Which brings me to today and this blog. During the years I've been back in the US I've increasingly noticed trends that worry me, downright scare me, and make me question what I can do in response. Our food is arguably among the most contaminated of the developed world - we have far less regulations on what we grow, produce and put in our mouths than the European Union, Scandinavia or Canada. While pesticide-use is rising, so is evidence (and lawsuits) proving that it causes health problems, including hormonal development irregularities and cancer. Climate change is our new reality - the floods and fires we're witnessing are nothing short of disastrous and scientists say it's only going to get worse if we don't make serious changes in how we live right now. And, Americans are more divided politically than ever yet still have one of the lowest levels of civic engagement (roughly half of our country even votes) for a developed and democratically governed nation. These problems are both outside my sphere of influence and completely relevant to my life and the lives of my friends and family.

I have been carrying around the Margaret Mead quote above for most of my adult life - it inspired me when I worked in Russia and Kazakhstan, when I was unemployed and studying in London, working in Tanzania, Rwanda, The Netherlands, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic and Cambodia. I would mull over this quote, sitting in my Paris apartment, preparing for a trip to one of the conflict zones where I worked. And I found it recently, faded but intact, and thought to myself : "Yes, even in the enormous, developed, high-tech and complicated United States, a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."

What can a woman in the suburbs do to help? I don't know. But I wanted to start a conversation with others who also care about these issues to find out. This is what this blog and sister podcast are about and I am really looking forward to learning from readers and listeners about how you're thinking about these issues too and how you are trying to Save the World (our world) Every Day.

Here are the subjects I will research and share about: