Aaron Goldzimer
FROM:
San Diego
HEROES:
Aung San Suu Kyi
The Dalai Lama
Some of my friends and family: Andrew Malk, Jordan Meranus, etc.
PROUDEST ACCOMPLISHMENT:
My mom passed away two years ago. She had been sick for a year - cancer. I was devoted to her for that year. I had a chance to return a small fraction of the love that she had always shone on me since my very first memories. I know I helped her in so many ways, loved her, helped her be much more comfortable, and made a big difference in her last year of life. That is what I am most proud of.
SOMETHING YOU MIGHT TEACH AT THE SUMMIT:
Oh my, I'm going to have to give this some more thought. I have plenty of "ideas" that I'm excited about, but I don't put a lot of faith in "ideas"; I think they are figments of the mind that can be useful but are not fundamental. And if I only have a half an hour, I want to try to get at the fundamental. Thus, my initial thinking goes along the lines of something more immediate and experiential. In Zen, we have something called dokusan, which is a kind of spiritual test, or encounter, between student and teacher. Experiential and symbolic, not literal. It is usually in private, but on occasion in public. It can be like serving up your heart, unvarnished, in a moment.
That's what I'd like to go for. But we won't really have the safety and set of common assumptions and structure that are necessary.... (plus, I'm not really qualified!)
So what, then?
I can introduce a pet framework I have for social change - to see if it's a useful way to conceptualize and strategize about "legacy-leaving". It is essentially this:
Policy |
(environmental, health, foreign, education, economic, national security, social, etc.) |
People
|
(Obama or Bush? - it matters) |
Structure |
(institutions/systems/rules of elections and policy-making, e.g. campaign finance, electoral college, Senate filibuster, etc.) |
Culture
|
(worldviews, norms, and values) |
It really should be more of a pyramid, with the lower levels more fundamental, more durable, and more determinative of the upper levels. People work at all of these different levels to effect change, but we can easily get too focused on trying to influence the waves (policies) and forget about the oceans that are producing them. Maybe introducing that as a framework that might be useful in our further discussions over the weekend - and leading a quick discussion to get the juices flowing in terms of at what level(s) and how people think it will be most strategic to intervene, and in what ways.
Another idea is a big interest I have in the "brokenness" of our politics - which means, essentially, the lower rungs of this table. We are seeing this most clearly right now in the healthcare debate. If we can't address a problem (healthcare) that is literally bankrupting our country and not giving us any better health outcomes - even when we have the most propitious environment (and people in office) ever - how are we ever going to be able to address any truly difficult problem as a country? In other words, rather than just focus on how we can better educate our children; or balance liberty and security; or position our economy; or address poverty, climate change, or disease - I think we need to focus on the basic preparedness and ability of our political systems and institutions to address *any* difficult problem. What can we do to buttress our essential ability to meet the challenges before us as a country, rather than be choked at every turn by demagoguery, partisanship, and special interests? Part of this is social/cultural/spiritual - but it's also the structure and incentives of our political institutions and systems themselves.
Lastly, on a slightly more self-interested note, I am brainstorming an idea for an organization (or maybe a shop within another organization) that would play a role similar to a foundation or a think tank but be more opportunistic and strategic: Not having any in-house capacity or programs but rather identifying policy windows of opportunity, convening the right people, and getting things out there at the right moment. I could put out some of those kinds of ideas and ask for feedback, thoughts, ideas (and to be shot down if necessary!).
So those are some thoughts.... as you can see, I haven't gotten very far! Would love your thoughts and suggestions...
SOMETHING YOU HOPE TO LEARN AT THE SUMMIT:
- How to balance "work" on our future and legacy with "living". I don't want my legacy to be *just* a bunch of (hopefully) positive changes in the world; there is more.
- Connect with some cool people and possibly life-long friends and co-conspirators!
SOMETHING YOU ARE STRUGGLING WITH IN YOUR WORK:
How not to be so absorbed into what I'm trying to *do* that I miss *being*.
Being better at time management, prioritization, the 80/20 rule, etc.
I need to be more sensitive to and proactive with regards to relationship and group dynamics -- preventing conflicts, putting aside ego, giving others credit, generally attending more to other people's feelings and perceptions, etc...
Certainty and doubt. As with any high-stakes endeavour - but especially international work that takes place in another culture, language, and political environment - you can *never* know enough, be sure enough, or cover enough bases. How to know when to go ahead and take the leaps -- not too soon, but not letting the perfect be the enemy of the good either.
SOMETHING THAT MAKES YOU HAPPY:
Love, friends, uncontrollable laughter, and nature - the plunk-plunk of raindrops at dawn, floating face-up as the sun sets over Cameroonian waves, a monk saki monkey's fingers and hands as he or she eats a fruit.
SOMETHING THAT MAKES YOU ANGRY:
When things are just not right. The last time I felt anger was last night when thinking about the unintended effects of so much of what we do in modern society without even knowing or meaning or wanting to -- and how impossible we make it for someone to live responsibly and consciously, particularly for those with little time and capacity to do things like research product lifecycles. Think of all the shrimp you have eaten - 90% of the shrimp sold in the U.S. comes from Southeast Asia and Latin America, where *3.7 million* acres of tropical coastal mangroves have been converted to shrimp farms, most of which then become too toxic and polluted for any productive activity, much less the *most* productive activity... which would have been mangroves!
TELL US ABOUT YOUR FAMILY:
Father: Ed, retired physician and current day-trader and watcher of the Lifetime Channel.
Mother: Linda, "first woman to" do many things in government, media, and finance, champion of civil and women's rights, loving mother and grandmother, now deceased.
Step-father: Oral surgeon, great guy.
Step-mother: Recruiter, wonder-woman (family wouldn't function without her), deluded believer in Obama's euthanasia and the End of Times.
Step-brother: Founder of Jumpstart, partner at New Schools, skilled and effective and balances it with being a great father to three kids.
Step-sister: Great mother.
Step-brother: Working his way up from the assembly line, great father to five kids.
AN IDEA TO MAKE THE 30SUMMIT EVEN BETTER:
Probably too late for this, and might be more demanding than is feasible for preparation, but I thought it would be great if, rather than ˝ hour for each of us, there were some online process of engagement and agenda-setting before the weekend - where we could pitch ideas, bounce things off of each other, determine areas of greatest collective interest and energy, perhaps begin some collaborations on topics...
BIOGRAPHY:
Aaron Goldzimer leads strategies for achieving far-reaching policy and institutional change in developing countries and international institutions, focusing on natural resources, energy, infrastructure, corruption, the environment, and vulnerable and marginalized groups. He is an expert in international financial and development institutions and works to develop policy in international arenas such as the OECD and G8. He works with grassroots non-governmental partners on campaigns in Latin America, Africa, Asia, and Europe. His efforts have helped lead to, among other things, the saving of 2.5 million acres of national parks and uncontacted indigenous peoples' territory in the Amazon from oil and gas exploration and development; and the establishment of the first-ever Environment Ministry in Peru. At Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, Aaron was awarded the Dean's Fellowship, the highest honor that the school can bestow on a student; founded the Progressive Caucus; and led grass-roots efforts that helped lead to the founding of Harvard University's Carr Center for Human Rights Policy. Aaron is a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
