“Legislators often don't understand the context: these women are our military partners. They were recruited, trained, deployed and put in harm's way under our operational direction.”
The organization knew that Barry was valuable to them achieving their advocacy goals, because he had lived experience as a veteran—as well as a passion for the desert that spans more than five decades.
“I’ve found that one of the best ways to encourage people in making healthy choices is to understand the story they are telling themselves about their lives.”
“By shifting my focus from anger to persuasion, I began to see more people engaging with the issue. Conversations became more productive. Skeptics weren’t just pushed away or ignored; they were invited to understand.”
“Youth need to be at that table, sitting with executive leaders, emphasizing that we have a very different perspective and they can't be making decisions for us.”
Without taking the time to reflect and explore, I might have forgotten that memory and missed the connection it holds to one of my deep beliefs about the value of museums (or all encounters with art and artifact, for that matter).