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Gabrielle Lyon

What would you like to accomplish within the next 5 years?

Id like to have established a physical home for Project Exploration that will enable us to bring our youth programs, school services, and public programs under one roof. This home would provide a new national model for meaningful access to science, enable regular people to have extraordinary experiences with science and scientists for low- to- no cost, and showcase the impact of our work on kids lives. Id like to see Project Exploration become the "Metromix for science" in our region. Our online presence would provide a clearinghouse for learning about opportunities with science and scientists for students, families, teachers, adults. If were not providing the program ourselves, well be able to connect you with the people who are.

I'd like to have three-months of full summer programs run for a broad, diverse audience at our new Lost inTime field camp in eastern Montana. Id like to have a significant cash reserve established to relive the organization of the stress of dynamic cash flow. Id like to have Project Explorations evaluation tools and the results we achieve to be transparent, online and available to anyone to see at anytime be they staff, participants, funders, or colleagues. Id like help establish a city-level advisory council to the mayors office that would engage area science, medical and biology corporations to leverage their resources in support of a regional public science literacy agenda.Id like to have helped build an effective, well-run organization with a national reputation for creating innovative model programs.

What do you think are the biggest issues facing your generation?

a) The gap is growing, not getting smaller. Inequality is increasing; access to what should be basic rights (quality education, healthcare) is becoming more and more difficult. We are living a time when our national emphasis increasingly provides opportunity for people who already have access to it at the expense of the standard of living for the majority of the population. The people who make laws often arent affected by the laws. People who are affected by laws are increasingly disenfranchised; the most basic measure of civic impact voting continues to decrease. Compromise in the interest of the many, protection for the most fragile amongst us (elderly, poor, young, sick), access to education and opportunity for everyone ought to be a shared agenda by all.

In a recent editorial Congressman John Lewis from Georgia described this issue in another way I think is very powerful. "democracy is not a state; it is an act. It is a series of conscious choices that lead successively to a continually more enlightened society. Every action we make as American citizens, every policy of government, every tactic of business, every step we take collectively and individually affects our ability to meet our highest destiny as a nation. there is a point of compromise where economy meets justice, where careful spending enables fairness." I wish this was the country we were living in. This is the place Im trying to help work towards.

b) global warming. The next 10 years are fundamental to what happens to our planet (on land and under the water). Many of the conflicts we see in places like Sudan are, at their heart, not essentially political (the way we mostly hear about them in the media) but occur because groups of people are losing access to traditional water sources, grazing lands, and populations have to go on the move in search of increasingly limited resources.

c) xenophobic foreign policy our generation, and our childrens generation, will be doing damage control for the entirety of our collective lives with most of the rest of the world thanks to what a small group of people has wrought in less than a decade.

d) leadership in the face of apathy - I am excited and honored to be recognized by the Community Renewal Society because I think many young people ARE working for change in disparate arenas but its hard to see the impact of our work because agendas are fractured and the media presents an incredibly limited picture of what can be different about the world and what it takes to make it happen. Often I am not sure where to look for models and I am excited about this program.

What do you hope to learn from more established leaders?

How to work well and have fun while doing it.
Who we should be telling our story to
How to raise more money
How to raise our profile

What is the most gratifying aspect of your work?

Knowing that (for better or worse) without Project Exploration most of our students would never have the chance to participate in the kinds of experiences they are having because we exist. This becomes most real at moments when the impact of our work is tangible when a student tells us they have decided they want to graduate high school, or apply for a summer science program, or go to college, or call us after we havent heard from them for a while just to say "hi." When a student becomes the first person in their family to go to college AND then chooses to pursue science as a major, its a dramatic illustration that something is working. These unexpected, unpredictable events are a testament to the power of our philosophy that learning is based on relationships. (Also, it was pretty amazing when one of our long-time students came in and had tattooed our logo on his forearm now THATs dedication to a cause!)

What are the biggest obstacles in your work?

Having the resources we need to meet the demand for our work and our vision for the future. Balancing the challenges of daily operations of a non-profit with moving the organization forward strategically. Getting the word out about the work were doing and the impact were having. Defining access to science as a critical issue in an articulate, compelling way and raising awareness about why access to science is a social justice issue. Also, we need our own space to offer our programs. Weve worked nomadically in venues and schools across the city through collaborations with terrific organizations but were ready to have a space of our own.

How do you work around those obstacles?

Trying to be surrounded by a great team of staff and board members to share the responsibilities of moving work forward. Trying to be open to criticism and suggestions. Asking for advice from more experienced people. Trying to stay opportunistic, seeing the forest for the trees, and keeping an open mind even when resources (cash, time, staff) might be immediately lacking. Saying "yes" carefully and saying "no" more often than I get to say "yes".

What tools or resources do you need to help you continue your work?

Money and connections. We need money to continue and expand the work we are trying to accomplish. We need connections to help us make the most out of the resources we DO have and to help us use those resources to take our work to the next level.

What advice would you give to younger folks wanting to impact social justice issues?

Figure out what matters to you personally and find a way to work that enables you to do things you enjoy (writing, speaking, working with your hands, creating art, whatever). Also, you dont need to do one thing for your entire life. Issues, people, organizations are incredibly interrelated. Choose to be intentional about what you do with your time and the rest can follow. Also we NEED YOU TO BE INVOLVED!

Define leadership.

A leader needs to have a big vision perhaps bigger than what is possible in the short term but certainly big enough to inspire others and set a direction for forward movement over the long term. How are we doing and how do we know? I think a leader needs to pose these questions, know what they need to answer these questions, know who to share the information with and when. A leader needs to be comfortable with ambiguity. I think a leader needs to understand the work of the organization in a larger context and share that perspective with others. A good leader should be able to help others develop a vision for themselves of what needs to be done and how to do it.