Breaking Down Patriarchy

Amy is joined by Emily Nielsen Jones & Kazi Mghendi to discuss their project -- The Girl Child and Her Long Walk to Freedom -- a faith-based organization seeking to spread awareness, share resources, and organize women and allies to push back against global patriarchy.Emily Nielsen Jones is a donor-activist engaged in promoting human equality, justice, and peace around the world. She is particularly passionate and engaged in the nexus of faith, gender, and development and working to mobilize our faith traditions to more fully and unambiguously embrace gender equality. In her role at the Imago Dei Fund, Emily has helped the foundation to adopt a “gender-lens” in its grantmaking with a particular focus on partnering with inspired female change agents, locally and around the world, to build bridges of peace and create a world where girls and women can thrive and achieve their full human potential. Emily brings a contemplative posture to both faith and philanthropy and is passionate about supporting the inner lives of change agents to lead with love and be their best selves in the challenging work they do.Emily is actively engaged in the women-led philanthropy movement, and is the author of numerous articles. She is the recipient of the Christians for Biblical Equality 2013 Micah Award and was named a 2014 Women’s eNews “21 Leaders of the 21st Century” honoree. Emily has served on various boards including the Boston Women’s Fund, Women Thrive, New England International Donor Network, Girl Rising, Union Theological Seminary, Nomi Network Campaign Leaders Council, and Sojourners Founders’ Circle. Emily has a BA in Government from Dartmouth College and a Master’s in Educational Policy from Boston University. She is a trained Spiritual Director through both the Selah Spiritual Direction Certificate Program and the Still Harbor Spiritual Direction Practicum.Kazi Mghendi is passionate about leadership development at all levels and uses her experience and expertise to identify and support community-led solutions to ending injustices caused by poverty and inequalities. With over 12 years of experience in humanitarian, leadership training, social development, community development, and financial inclusion, she leverages her expertise to solve some of the world’s challenging and complex issues, including improving education standards in rural communities in Kenya. Kazi joins The Girl Child & Her Long Walk to Freedom team as a Project Manager to support the project and its mission to liberate our societies from patriarchal beliefs, values, and cultures that have seen girls and women as lesser humans in society for generations. Her focus and passion is in international development, leadership coaching, fundraising, partnerships/relationship management, project/program management, systems design, and strategic thinking to solve community challenges.Kazi founded Elimu Fanaka, a non-profit organization impacting public primary schools in rural underserved communities in Kenya through improving access to quality education and using systems change to create sustainable communities. She previously worked at Acumen, managing their East Africa Fellows Program and Academy, at Ongoza Institute as Stakeholder Engagement Manager, and at Adaptive Change Advisors as a Project Manager. She holds a bachelor’s degree in International Development with a concentration in Integrated Community Development from Daystar University and a Master’s in International Relations – Diplomacy and Foreign Affairs at the United States International University.

Amy is joined by comedian Natalie Madsen to discuss her career as a woman in comedy, following her from her first stand-up set to the release of her new movie, Go West, exploring gender dynamics and the changing political landscape along the way.Natalie Madsen is an actor, writer, producer, and director. She is best known for her eight years on the sketch comedy show Studio C, where she was an original cast member and writer. She has since co-founded JK! Studios, a creative house and production company that produces TV shows, web series, and feature films. She has three children, one husband, and a slightly concerning caffeine addiction.

Amy is joined by author Monette Chilson to discuss the biblical figures of Sophia, Lilith, and Eve, unpacking these figures as female archetypes and learning how we can reclaim them.Monette Chilson founded WomanSpirit Reclamation to support women in navigating their awakening from patriarchal indoctrination through online courses and community. She's written and spoken about the divine feminine for the past decade, authoring Sophia Rising: Awakening Your Sacred Wisdom Through Yoga, and My Name Is Lilith. Chilson also edited Original Resistance: Reclaiming Lilith, Reclaiming Ourselves, and developed its companion curriculum.Additional ResourcesWomanSpirit ReclamationThe Girl Child & Her Long Walk to FreedomSophia Rising: Awakening Your Sacred Wisdom Through Yoga, by Monette Chilson Original Resistance: Reclaiming Lilith, Reclaiming Ourselves: A Girl God Anthology, edited by Monette Chilson, Trista Hendren and Pat Daly,My Name is Lilith, by Monette Chilson, Illustrated by Arna BaartzEve, Our Mythic Mother: Exposing the Lies of Patriarchy, by Patricia Lynn Reilly 

Amy is joined by school librarian, Casey O'Leary, to confront the alarming increase of book bans and challenges in recent years, exploring where these challenges are coming from, why parents are concerned, and how librarians and authors are pushing back again censorship. Casey O'Leary is a K-12 school media specialist in Indianapolis, Indiana. She has a bachelor of science in elementary education and a master of library science, both from Indiana University. O'Leary served as a public children's librarian and manager for 10 years prior to moving into school librarianship. She is active in the American Library Association and recently served on the Children's Literature Legacy Award Committee and is also a reviewer for School Library Journal.

Amy is joined by sex coach and podcaster Danielle Savory to explore our potential for pleasure, practices for overcoming guilt, and how women can rewire our beliefs and become more present in our magical bodies.Danielle Savory is a master-certified coach, podcast host, and expert in the fields of neuropsychology, mindfulness, sexual pleasure, and intimacy. As the host of the popular podcast, It's My Pleasure, Savory has explored a wide range of topics related to sexuality, relationships, and personal growth, empowering women to embrace their sexuality and prioritize their pleasure. She has over 10 years of experience coaching hundreds of women with her proven process of increasing desire and expanding orgasmic capacity.

Amy is joined by Dr. Kabria Baumgartner to discuss her book, In Pursuit of Knowledge: Black Women and Educational Activism in Antebellum America, and explore the triumphs and struggles of young Black women seeking an education in pre-Civil War America.Dr. Kabria Baumgartner is a historian of the 19th-century United States, specializing in the history of education, African American women's and gender history, and New England studies. She's the author of In Pursuit of Knowledge: Black Women and Educational Activism in Antebellum America, which tells the story of Black girls and women who fought for their educational right in the 19th-century United States. Her book has won four prizes, including the prestigious 2021 American Educational Research Association's Outstanding Book Award.

Amy is joined by Myriam Ben Farhat to discuss her experience of patriarchy and gender roles in Tunisia, Spain, and the United States across her careers in law, art, and beyond.Myriam Ben Farhat is an entrepreneur, originally from Tunisia. She has two master's degrees, one in financial and public law, and one in contemporary art. She also studied professional coaching and got her certification from the International Federation of Coaching. In 2020, Ben Farhat joined the Play Magnus Group to become chief people and culture officer. When the company was acquired in December 2022 by Chess.com, she became Head of L&D and DEI, and currently leads the "Chess is for everyone" initiative.

Amy is joined by sisters Alex Peterson and Bronwen Pugh who share the alarming data surrounding child sexual abuse before telling their own staggering story of survival and offering hope in the form of The Safe Child Project, a new initiative helping to spread awareness and to keep children safe.Alex Peterson serves on the board of Prevent Child Abuse Utah and is the Director of Strategic Development & Impact for The Policy Project. Formerly, Alex worked for a United States Congressman before serving as the National Director of Donor Relations and personal aide to Ann Romney during Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign. Alex graduated from California State University, Long Beach, with honors, followed by an M.Ed. Policy from Harvard University. Alex and her husband Ben reside in Utah with their four children.Bronwen Pugh lives in Marin County, CA with her husband and 3 spunky daughters. Her happy place is in nature with her family. She loves to sail, surf, paddle board, bike, rock climb, and ski/snowboard. Prior to raising her children, Bronwen received her JD from UCLA Law and worked for the ACLU. She is currently Operations Lead for Conduit Tech, a climate-focused software startup.

Amy is joined by Dr. Susan Madsen to discuss the current gender inequality experienced by girls and women in Utah, what we can do to create change, and why we need A Bolder Way Forward.Dr. Susan R. Madsen is the Karen Haight Huntsman endowed professor of leadership in the John M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University. She's also the founding director of the Utah Women in Leadership Project and is leading a statewide social change movement titled A Bolder Way Forward. Professor Madsen and her team have written extensive resources on women's leadership and they host many events each year to support the mission of their work. Susan is also a well-known global scholar, authoring or editing nine books and publishing hundreds of articles, chapters, and reports. Her research has been featured in the U.S. News & World Report, The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and she is a regular contributor to Forbes. She's a well-known speaker in local, national, and international settings, and she's presented at Argentina's Parliament Palace, the House of Commons in England, Lithuania's Presidential Palace, the Costa Rica Parliament, and NGO sessions at the United Nations. She and her husband, Greg, are the proud parents of four adult children and six grandchildren.

Amy is joined by FIDE Grandmaster, Maurice Ashley, to discuss his incredible journey from not making his high school chess team to becoming the world's first Black Grandmaster, plus how patriarchy manifests in the world of competitive chess, and valuable life-lessons we can all take from this remarkable game.Maurice Ashley is an American chess player, author, and commentator. In 1999, he earned the FIDE title of Grandmaster, making him the first Black person to do so. Ashley is well known as a commentator for high profile chess events. He also spent many years teaching chess and is the author of Chess for Success, Move by Move, and a children's book, The Life-Changing Magic of Chess.