Letters

June 2023
Read full Newsletter

“What have you done today to make you feel proud?
It’s never too late to try
What have you done today to make you feel proud?
You could be so many people
If you make that break for freedom
What have you done today to make you feel prouder?”
~”Proud” ~ Heather Small

Hello WIS Community –

A couple of weeks ago, a few of us community leaders met to discuss ways we could support one another. As part of the intro, we had to talk about ourselves, not what we do, since most of us already knew each other. Whew. How many people struggle with that? I found it challenging to introduce “me” and not what I do. (Note I still found myself talking about the “do”, which I 100% got called out for!)  

So that got me thinking about identities and how we show up in life in different places. So I did a journal exercise and started writing down, “Who Am I”?

I am an entrepreneur. I am a Connector. I am a friend. I am a Significant Other. I am a Rheumatoid Arthritis warrior. I am an activist. I am a Buckeye. I am a hockey fan. I am a trash talker and waste lover. I am a speaker. I am an educator. I am a hiker. I am an environmentalist. I am a cat mom. I am a “Second Act” woman. I am a volunteer. I am a (reggae) music lover. I am a community organizer. I am a learner. I am a PAL (Pledgettes Accountability League). I am an event planner. I am a party host. I am a Woman in Sustainability. And more …

In addition, I have shed some “I am” titles to make way for new and better titles. (Ex: I am a smoker … today it is I am an EX-smoker! 😳 Yup, I’m not always proud of that, but it’s still part of my life story. I am PROUD that I learned to overcome that challenge and open my life up to better health and environmental choices. Also, sorry Mom!)  

I have many “titles” in this life and they can show up in many ways and places. This exercise forced me to realize that I am a person with many layers. It made me realize that I am PROUD of all those layers that make me unique. When I show up in a space, I try to show up as me – no matter who “I am” at that moment. It’s not always easy to share everything about myself. Some days I want to stay hidden. Some days, I don’t want to reveal specifics about myself and find it challenging to show up. I want to blend in. Some titles are easier to say than others. However, I find that when I share the hidden layers, I do feel more free. I get to be me to discover authentic, honest and genuine connections with others. I remind myself that with all the “titles” I carry, there is usually one that helps me connect with another person. This can lead to at least a meaningful conversation, if not something more. Sometimes, we think we have to talk about what we do and not who we are. Perhaps, we can make the world a better place if we start sharing more about our lesser known “titles” in life. Who knows – maybe someone will change your life. Let’s be PROUD of all our titles. I know I am (even if embarrassed by a few too). I challenge you to go outside your comfort zone and connect in a different way this month.

I also want to acknowledge my privilege and that my titles don’t have the same weight as some others. This PRIDE month, I stand with everyone in the LGBTQIA+ Community. I see you. I love you. You can always share your “titles” with us and I work to create a safe space for you (and marginalized communities). I challenge myself to speak out against hate so that you can shine your light and love for all to see. I challenge our legislators to ensure a safe future for you. Your love lifts me and I am thankful for all those that can show up as their true selves. We all deserve to be ourselves in this crazy thing called life.

And always, be PROUD of you! We are! Thank you for showing up as your authentic self, even on days when it’s hard. We are here for you on those days too,

If you’re looking for connections this month, we have several opportunities including volunteer events . Volunteering is an excellent way to spend time with others and give back to the community! It’s something to help you feel PROUD. In addition, we are partnering with CohoUS for our June networking event. We’ll talk about co-housing and how it benefits the planet. This will be a great conversation that truly embraces community! Plus, we’ll wrap up the month with our book club and learn how to bridge the gaps to truly be inclusive in our lives at this month’s Community Voices webinar.

Oh, and we couldn’t be more PROUD to partner with our friends at CampExperience and The Pledgettes to host the first-ever BetterTogetherFest! This event is about collaboration, community, friendship, learning, and more! A huge shout out to Lara and the Smedley Events team for bringing this idea to life. We hope you’ll join us to spend time together and learn from our excellent speakers throughout the day. More info is below and check out BetterTogetherFestCO.com to join us on June 24!

We look forward to connecting with you soon. Thank you for all you do and we’re so PROUD of you.

If you have a moment, share with us your “titles” in the comment section. Who are YOU? We want to know! Be Proud of YOU!

“the idea that when everybody is equal, we are all more free.” ~ Barack Obama

with CARE,
Becky
Chief CARE Connector / Founder

April 2023
Read full Newsletter

“And the daffodils look lovely today!”
~ “Daffodil Lament” by The Cranberries

As I write this note, the sun is shining and yesterday’s snow is slowly melting away. This past week I loved being able to get outside and enjoy the warmer days. I went for walks in my neighborhood where I saw the daffodils popping up and showing their bright yellow smiles. The second I see a cluster of daffodils, I take a deep breath and take in their sweet scent. I always did this growing up and it floods my mind with memories. The smell brings me so much JOY and a reminder that spring is here (even if we did get snow in CO yesterday) and that like the spring, my world is ready to for renewal as this new quarter begins. It’s a reminder that we can ebb and flow with Mother Earth as she shows us signs of growth these next few month. I love that she gives us these subtle signs at the start of Earth Month. It’s a reminder that we are connected to her and that we too experience seasons throughout our life, but growth is always right around the corner. It’s a reminder to find JOY in the small things. These past few weeks, I’ve been finding moments of JOY from extra snuggles with my cat, to finding my great grandmother’s engagement ring that I thought I lost forever, to connecting with WIS members, friends and getting ready for our annual tradition of opening weekend at the ballpark. As people in sustainability, we sometimes forget to take in moments of JOY throughout the month as it is our time to shine. It’s when the world is paying attention to our voices and words that we scream from the mountaintops every day. However, I encourage you this Earth Month, to take moments for YOU. Find some time to take in your favorite experiences in the spring – smelling the flowers, feeling the sun on your face, dancing in the rain or connecting with your community. Whatever it is, find those moments of JOY throughout this month as a reminder why you work so hard every day to strive for a better planet for all of us.

How will you find JOY this Earth Month?
Share with us here!

We will be finding JOY this month through our events from your bundle of joy to celebrating all of YOU with our annual EarthYAY Celebration at Odell Brewing Sloan’s Lake on May 4. This is our big celebration that we throw in YOUR honor. It brings us JOY to take the time to celebrate YOUR hard work and accomplishments. It’s a time for you to find JOY by letting us take CARE of you for an evening! We hope you will join us.

Oh and don’t miss our special announcement below for our new annual fundraiser – it’s gonna be F-U-N!! (I also know this is bringing our board chair, Beth, a lot of joy in planning it for you.)

I hope that you have a JOY-filled Earth Month and find time for you to enJOY too! Thank you from all of us at Women in Sustainability for your dedication, passion, commitment and CARE to this world. We are so grateful for you.

with CARE,
Becky
Chief CARE Connector / Founder
becky@womeninsustainability.org
My virtual door is always open – Calendly

“Earth teach me to forget myself as melted snow forgets its life. Earth teach me resignation as the leaves which die in the fall. Earth teach me courage as the Tree which stands all alone. Earth teach me regeneration as the seed which rises in the spring.” ~ William Alexander

March 2023
Read full Newsletter

“Girls, just wanna have fun!”
~ Cyndi Lauper

Hello WIS Community –

Happy March and Women’s History Month. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to tell February (and this winter) goodbye! As we head into the spring and look ahead to sustainability experts’ busiest month (hello Earth Month), I’m reminding myself to take a moment and LAUGH. While this past month found many challenges from sickness to snow (and more snow), I have felt 10 steps behind the whole way. I suppose it doesn’t help that we had 8 events in 7 days, but hey who needs sleep anyways, right?! (I’m just kidding. Please sleep; it’s good for your health.)

While the days seemed long, I was always given reminders to relieve stress along the way. Our Book Swap on February 22 brought me back to COMMUNITY and a reminder that when all in life seems tough, COMMUNITY just makes it better. I walked in that evening in a funk and left with my heart so full. I am so thankful for all who joined us – you didn’t know it at the time, but you were healing my soul. My other reminder was from my friend (and pastor) Rev. Emily to LAUGH — laugh at yourself, laugh at the world, laugh just to laugh … however you do it, remember to not take life so seriously and laugh. I am REEAALLY bad at this. Ask anyone close to me. It’s even a running joke in our house that I can be at a comedy show and not know it was comedy. I take life seriously. Sometimes (okay, a lot of times) too seriously. So this month, as I look ahead to April and May (extremely busy months for all of us), I’m reminding myself to LAUGH and not take life so seriously. (PS you can call me out when I’m being too serious too! 😉 )

According to the Mayo Clinic, laughter is good for you – physically and mentally! It can help improve organ function, relieve stress, and improve your immune system. It can even help relieve pain! It turns out that you can learn how to laugh, too!

So how am I learning laughter this month? By kicking up my heels and looking a little silly to bring me back to my roots. I’ve always wanted to try polka dancing (I’m Slovak and polka is in my bones. My Dad even produces one of the largest polka fests in the U.S.) and I’ve convinced my partner to do it with me. Even the thought of that is making me laugh. Yes, pictures and videos are to come. Now is a great time to step back from oh-so-serious life to enjoy some time for not-so-serious fun, lean into laughing about it and maybe learn something new. Remember, we all look silly learning new things, so laugh at yourself and be proud of taking the steps to look silly!

I’m also excited to spend time with the WIS Community this month as we celebrate Women’s History Month. Every time I’m with this community there are tough, real, honest conversations, and yet there always seems to be a sigh of relief as we end the evening and we all leave laughing, smiling and hugging one another. While we know the world of climate and sustainability can be tough and exhausting, we lean into one another for support. It’s a reminder that we don’t have to walk this path alone. We can do it together through tears, frustration, love and LAUGHTER! Before life gets too serious in April, I hope you take time to LAUGH this month. Do something outside of your comfort zone, see a comedy show, or find a friend and just laugh for no reason. Maybe turn up the stereo and blast “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” and badly sing over Cyndi Lauper as you dance around the room. While I may not have the jokes, I’m still always willing to help you laugh and hope you will join us this month as we celebrate all those identifying as women who work hard to make our world a better place, like you!

What are you doing to LAUGH this month? Share with us or tell us a joke (keep it clean) here!

Becky
Chief CARE Connector / Founder
becky@womeninsustainability.org
Calendly

February 2023
Read full Newsletter

“You can count on me like one, two, three
I’ll be there
And I know when I need it, I can count on you like four, three, two
And you’ll be there
‘Cause that’s what friends are supposed to do”
~ Count on Me by Bruno Mars

Hello WIS Community –

Happy February! I’m hoping that your month is going well and treating you kind. While we know that February is full of love with Valentine’s Day, did you also know that February 17 is Random Acts of Kindness Day? This is a great reminder that big and even small gestures (a smile, holding the door open, letting a person merge in traffic, etc) are easy ways for people to connect. It’s also about being KIND to yourself as we continue to navigate a continuously changing world.

KINDNESS is my word for this month. I’ve been thinking lately, can acts of kindness help us create a more sustainable world? When we practice kindness to others, or kindness towards ourselves, there are countless positive outcomes. We create a ripple effect of kindness that goes beyond the person it was intended for, creating compassion within our communities and beyond. When we can count on each other and kindness is shown everywhere from the rooftop to the workplace to our personal groups and even amongst strangers on the streets – then, kindness starts to become collective effort with infinitely repayable results!

We use so many words when it comes to sustainability (carbon offsets, climate neutral, etc) that the average person can feel lost in the conversation. What if we moved towards more messaging around well-being instead of statistics for a positive and motivated reason to CARE? Let’s try it this month! What are ways that you can provide random acts of (green ) kindness into your routine? (Remember this doesn’t require spending a lot of money or time.) Need some ideas? Check out RAK’s website or this list here. Share with us how you plan to incorporate KINDNESS into your month. How does it make you feel? Do you think we can change the world with one small act of kindness at a time? Let us know!

We hope you will be KIND to yourself and join us this month at an upcoming event. We have a lot going on from book club, swaps to webinars about money and diversity, equity and inclusion. we are excited to partake in CO Environmental Film Fest as we support our members‘ world premiere of “A Good Neighbor” based on environmental justice in Commerce City, CO. We are also looking forward to partnering with Let Em Have It Salon for our unique networking event to kick off Women’s History Month on March 1. Check out all the information below.

““We live in a world in which we need to share responsibility. It’s easy to say ‘It’s not my child, not my community, not my world, not my problem.’ Then there are those who see the need and respond. I consider those people my heroes.”” ~ Fred Rogers

Becky
Chief CARE Connector / Founder
becky@womeninsustainability.org
Calendly

January 2023
Read full Newsletter

“Meet me in the crowd, people, people
Throw your love around, love me, love me
Take it into town, happy, happy
Put it in the ground where the flowers grow
Gold and silver shine

Shiny happy people holding hands”
~ Shiny Happy People by R.E.M.

Hello WIS –

Happy new year and welcome to 2023! I hope it’s been a riveting start to the year, or perhaps (like me), you’re just tip-toeing into it. Either way, I hope the first ten days have been amazing for each of you! Over the past few weeks there has been one word that seems to keep circling around me. That word is HAPPINESS. What does it mean? How do we achieve it? This past Sunday I was watching CBS Sunday Morning and a segment came on titled “Friendships, the key to Happiness”. Is that the answer? Then I read an excerpt from “Adrift: America in 100 Charts” that gloomily noted, “Community connections are fraying. Friendships are fading. In 1990, 40 percent of men and 28 percent of women reported having ten or more friends. By 2021, deep into the age of social media, a staggeringly low 15 percent of men and 11 percent of women said they had that many friends.” Galloway provides hope in his book and his first key idea is to find COMMUNITY by joining a club or organization. That’s why I’m SO excited to kick off our year with a “Just Be-Cause Happiness Hour” event on February 1 at Raices Brewing Company. Raices Brewing Co is rooted in COMMUNITY so a perfect spot to gather. Maybe together, we can find the key to happiness (hand holding not required) as we continue to navigate our daily lives in this strange world. I hope that each of you can find your happiness this year, whether it’s within the WIS community or elsewhere. We all deserve to find it!

We had so much fun in December wrapping up the year at our Holiday Beach Celebration at Wah Gwaan Brewing Company (photos below). We laughed, sang, ate and had merry ole time. Thanks to everyone that joined us. We’ll be bringing back this celebration again this year with even more beachin’ vibes!

We will also be bringing back our monthly Community Voices Webinar Series. This is a series that highlights our members and the work they are doing in sustainability. It’s a great way to get to know more about the WIS Community members and learn something new. We hope you’ll join us at one (or more) throughout the year. Who didn’t love recess as a kid? (That was my happiness!) Have you ever thought about the importance of recess as an adult? Well, Ashley DePaulis can tell you why recess is still important in our lives and some tips to incorporating it into your busy schedules. Join us as we kickoff this series with Ashley’s talk “Give Your Mind A Rest With Recess: Purposeful Play to Thrive in Business & in Life” on Wednesday, January 25 at 12:30pm MT.

We are finalizing our volunteer schedule with We Don’t Waste and other opportunities throughout the year so stay tuned. These are great events to gather in COMMUNITY and give back to those in need. (Fun Fact: Researchers have found a connection between happiness and the performance of selfless acts.)

Does money bring happiness? That’s for you to determine, but there is an importance of understanding your relationship with money to be (feel?) financially well. Meghan Lape with Conscious Impact Financial Planning will be taking us through a “Money Mindfulness” conversation and providing us with some tools we need to have a good relationship with money and why it’s important in our lives. According to The Pledgettes, “when more women take individual action or make money moves, our collective impact grows, leading to healthier, wealthier communities.” Financial health is a key priority for me this year, which is why I’m excited to be a member of The Pledgettes too. Want to learn about financial health? RSVP for this webinar and check out The Pledgettes. Oh and please do hold me accountable! I think more women should ask “how’s your investment portfolio” instead of “how’s the weather”.

Finally, this year is about books! Did you know that “people who read books regularly are on average more satisfied with life, happier, and more likely to feel the things they do in life are worthwhile” according to a 2013 survey by the Book Trust. Plus, it’s much more fun to read a book and share your insights with a COMMUNITY! That’s why we’re launching our quarterly WIS Book Club (thanks Zhuli for supporting this effort.) We’ll read 1 book a quarter but have opportunities to meet monthly to hold each other accountable and discuss our viewpoints. Our first book is “Braiding Sweetgrass” which is one of my favs! We’re also teaming up with Stephanie Vail and Jacki Carr for our first book swap on February 22. Bring a book, take a book and maybe find a little happiness (and friendships) along the way! Check out all of our book information below.

I keep saying I’ll keep these shorts, but we just have so much to share and I’m so excited (and happy) to be in this COMMUNITY with all of you. Thank you! The Board and I are working up great plans to bring you more ways to CARE this year. We can’t wait to share with all of you. Stay tuned for more events, resources, and so much more.

As always, my virtual door is open and I love to connect with this community. If you have ideas, thoughts or just need to chat, feel free to set up a time on my calendar. And remember to take care of YOU, too!

Wishing you all health, wealth and HAPPINESS this year!

Becky
Chief CARE Connector / Founder
becky@womeninsustainability.org
Calendly