THE MCPHERSON MEMO

ON OUR MINDS

Brought to you by Social Impact Fellow, Gallant Zhuangli Silverglade, who first learned to pack a punch at her grandfather’s Gleason’s Boxing Gym in Brooklyn, NY. Hector Roca gave her speed bag and life lessons: power, potential and purpose.

Power: 5/1 is International Workers’ Day
Workers continued to advocate and protest against unfair representation and conditions across the country this week. While the outcry provoked by Florida’s controversial so-called “Don’t Say Gay” legislation shed light on the power of people mobilizing to protect LGBTQIA+ rights, retaliatory measures taken to stifle corporate action on the issue also raised deep concern. Employees at two American corporations are protesting their leaders’ failure to support a multiplicity of identities and issues. Disney workers staged walkouts nationwide and mobilized an online campaign in opposition to CEO Bob Chapek’s lackluster response to Florida’s restrictive LGBTQIA+ education bill last month. ExxonMobil employees responded to their company’s new ban on external Black Lives Matter and rainbow flags in a similar manner, refusing to represent the oil giant in Houston’s upcoming Pride Celebration. Florida Governor DeSantis’ punitive response against Disney for denouncing the state’s discriminatory, not to menton harmful, new law is part of a larger trend toward retaliation against companies for exercising their right to free speech; as McP client and Leadership Now Project CEO, Daniella Ballou-Aares, underscores, it is a tactic often deployed in autocracies, not democracies. Although Chapek apologized to his staff and paused state political donations, it remains to be seen whether Exxon will resume supporting its employees’ spectrum of identities as well. The workforce is, for the most part, as persuasive now as it was during the Second Industrial Revolution. 

ROI Potential: Our Planet
This year’s Earth Day theme, “Invest in Our Planet,” demonstrated how funding environmental conservation offers a high ROI for consumers, companies and nonprofits alike. Several McP clients, including iDesign and Persefoni, are pushing for greater adoption of ESG practices. iDesign’s newest line of kitchen organization bins, for example, are made exclusively from post-consumer recycled plastic. The housewares innovator knows its audience: a 2021 Simon-Kucher study found that sixty-one percent of U.S. consumers regard eco consciousness as an important variable in their purchase decision-making. Persefoni’s Chief Sustainability Officer, Tim Mohin, and Deputy General Counsel, Kristina Wyatt, urged companies to see the SEC’s new Climate-Related Disclosure Regulations as an opportunity to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy. Even a “134-Year-Old Start-Up,” the National Geographic Society, recently built a college-like fundraising operation to boost philanthropic giving. “We’re trying to raise a billion dollars as fast as we can because we’re trying to save the planet,” affirmed the Society’s CEO Jill Tiefenthaler. 

Purpose? Now Elon Musk Owns Twitter
Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, took the internet by storm with his latest purse-uit: free-range Twitter. The $44 billion buyout, described as a hostile takeover, leaves us more than a little on edge. Lasting implications for the spread of misinformation are, to say the least, grave; this man actively wields 280-character sentiments to discredit public health officials, gaslight victims of racism and giddily sexualize women. Now, he pledges to deregulate the world’s “de facto public town square.” ​​Editorial writer, Greg Bensinger’s, dire conclusion: “Mr. Musk’s reasons for taking control of Twitter aren’t about free speech; it’s about controlling a megaphone.”
 
ON OUR RADAR

Read:

• Heightened fear drives more people of color than ever to buy guns. However, the Second Amendment provides people of color less protection than it does white Americans.
• With the onslaught of abortion bans nationwide, Gloria Steinem reminds us of the overarching, upward trajectory of America’s reproductive rights movement.
• Reduce period stigma and poverty by participating in the Desai Foundation’s “Pledge Your Period” social media campaign throughout the month of May. Support the cause further by attending “A Panel on Menstrual Empowerment!”, hosted by the foundation, on May 26th.
• New York City’s Brooklyn "Books UnBanned Initiative" offers young readers across the country free library cards and digital access to literature that is censured elsewhere.
• Soraya Darabi credits a close personal network of mentors with guiding her leadership journey at TMV, an early stage venture firm, in the latest edition of Connected.

Lead:

• CNBC Senior Media and Tech Correspondent, Julia Boorstin, identifies key commonalities that allowed sixty female phenoms to grow their businesses and navigate crises in her upcoming story collection: When Women Lead.
• Jeanine Liburd, a Black woman spearheading Social Impact at BET, leads initiatives that aim to measurably empower and support the Black community. 
• Fortune’s CEO Alan Murray shares best practices for staying in tune with changing social, political, and economic moves in Tomorrow's Capitalist: My Search for the Soul of Business.
• McP friend and Lebec Consulting CEO, Alix Lebec, tells TriplePundit: companies that uphold ESG criteria concurrently generate long-term profits and manage risk while supporting equity and inclusion goals on a global scale.
• Mallory McMorrow “defended herself, and she did so in a way that came across as wholly authentic.” Democrats should follow the Michigan state senator’s example, and tell personal stories to find common ground with voters.
• US heads of state pay tribute to Madeleine Albright’s lifelong fight for freedom and democratic ideals at the former secretary of state’s funeral.

Attend:

• The Conduit will convene a virtual panel of shareholder activists on May 3rd to discuss driving positive social and environmental change in business.
• 22 For ’22: Visions For a Feminist Future, a virtual global summit on May 9th hosted by The Meteor and presented in partnership with Gucci’s Chime for Change.
• Support Bruce Silverglade’s boxing nonprofit - Give a Kid a Dream - by registering for Gleason’s Gym’s 20th Anniversary FANTASY Camp. Train with Hall of Famers in Atlantic City, NJ, August 11th-14th, this summer.

Listen: 

• Our “Connector in Chief” discusses the importance of being an intentional and authentic businessperson with executive educator and author Dorie Clark. Dorie reflects on takeaways from their conversation here.
• The Daily’s two-part series, “When Texas Went After Transgender Care,” explores how transitioning youth and their parents experience the state’s latest restrictions.
• Susan breaks down her “Gather, Ask, Do,” effective networking method for Laura Cox Kaplan on “She Said/She Said.”

Cheer:

• Our friends at Hueman Group Media just won a well-deserved Webby Award for one of their “Public Service and Activism” podcasts. “Finding Humanity” features real-life stories of courageous individuals contending with worldwide challenges, such as the refugee crisis, climate change, and LGBTQ rights.
• The Muhammad Ali Center invites you to celebrate The Greatest’s legacy at its Sixth Annual Ali Festival, June 3rd-9th, in Louisville, KY.

• To the Newsette-letter, an X-chromosome centric daily newsletter with a cheeky twist.

Apply:

• Leadership Now Project, a membership organization of business and thought leaders committed to renewing American democracy, is looking for an Impact Associate. 
• ​​IRIS, a dynamic refugee resettlement agency in CT, is looking  to fill roles in development, education, case management and healthcare.
• Grist is looking for an investigative staff writer, focusing on environmental and climate issues.
• Golden State Opportunity, a poverty-ending nonprofit that provides financial resources to millions of low-income people in 13 languages, seeks a seasoned and savvy Head of Development.