Discovering the unique character of Lyon in the world of food was an eye-opening experience for us. Well, a mouth-watering experience, too. And a tasting trip of refined simplicity, although much of it was so elegantly presented that the simplicity of the ingredients could easily have been missed. And we discovered, too, the strange and somewhat deceptive history of the famed “Mères de Lyon” (Mothers of Lyon).
Reflections on Inclusiveness in Five Segments
Reflections are all about the mosaic of experiences that Katherine is piecing together for her book on inclusiveness in international politics, much like a patchwork quilt of scattered images that are linked together to portray a common theme. This preliminary phase offers a glimpse into the collection of lessons learned from the strikingly diverse segments of Katherine’s professional career. They are five separate segments, with links to each one as noted, but they also appear in this Reflections page as a sequence of five reverse chronological posts.
Elective Politics and Long-Lasting People Networks
The Reach of the White House Fellowships
The Role of Public Policy in the Corporate World
International Organizations Delivering Norms, Information and Capacity
Learning about Entrepreneurship and Civil Society Activism
Elective Politics and Long-Lasting People Networks
Katherine was elected for three terms in the North Carolina Senate as a member of the delegation representing Guilford County, including the Cities of High Point and Greensboro. She was the first woman to be elected to the State Senate from this district. She was in the forefront of bringing the women’s movement into the mainstream in American politics. Her success in the NC Senate also showed the importance of teamwork and community outreach. Continue reading “Elective Politics and Long-Lasting People Networks”
The Reach of the White House Fellowships
The White House Fellowship has been operating as a one-year program at the highest levels of the executive branch since the 1960s. It is intended for individuals at mid-career to provide first-hand experiences on how American federal governance works in order to integrate a better understanding of the role of government into their continuing career development outside government. Candidates are selected on a non-partisan basis using three criteria – academic achievements, career successes and civic service impact. Katherine was invited to serve as a White House Fellow in 1979 and worked in the Carter Administration as a Special Assistant to the Director of the Office of Personnel Management. Others in her class worked with other agency heads or key White House offices. Continue reading “The Reach of the White House Fellowships”
The Role of Public Policy in the Corporate World
Katherine was recruited to join a subsidiary of AT&T just as the monopoly of the famous Bell System, otherwise known as AT&T, was breaking up. The court order mandated the formation of seven “Baby Bells” for the delivery of local phone services and one patchwork combination at the national level of the long distance business, the prestigious Bell Laboratories and a manufacturing entity known as Western Electric. The transition of this combination from these three disparate parts of the old Bell System into a newly constituted AT&T was a strategic challenge – transitioning from a monopoly in control of its telecommunications products and services to a competitive business world while retaining an enlightened human resources policy. When the dust settled, Katherine was working as a government relations executive for the entire (and new) AT&T in Washington, DC. Continue reading “The Role of Public Policy in the Corporate World”
International Organizations Delivering Norms, Information and Capacity
Katherine’s involvement with international organizations dates back to her teaching and research on the United Nations system as a college professor, fresh out of graduate school. Her career path took a domestic turn as she played a leading role in her community on women’s rights and in elective politics, but she returned to her interest in international organizations when she was invited to join the International Labor Organization (ILO) as Deputy Director-General.
Continue reading “International Organizations Delivering Norms, Information and Capacity”
Marrakech Man at Sunrise
A Pair of Storks at Badii Palace Marrakech
Click here for more photos of storks at Badii Palace
Full Blood Wolf Moon Over Villa Ndio
Winter Solstice Moonrise Over Villa Ndio
