Women’s Eye Reflections for the New Year–#2

More ideas and wisdom from the 2010 EYE Interviews to reflect on for the New Year…

Cheryl Dorsey—

“I’ve always walked between two worlds–the inner city and the hallowed halls of Harvard;  my black and white friends;  Wall Street and the social entrepreneurs I give money to.  I try to bring strange bedfellows together to make things better for family and community.”   Photo: Tony Deifill

Amy Ernst—

“It’s chaos in every direction; I truly don’t know how these incredible women wake up every day and keep fighting to survive.  I can say I’m helping them, but in truth, despite being in the midst of such suffering and pain, they’re renewing my faith in the strength and spirit of humanity.”



Rebecca Traister—

“…when most women I know cry, it’s out of anger, frustration or exhaustion…It’s a way of expressing fury, and the reason that fury comes out in tears I’m sure has a lot to do with the way we’ve long been conditioned not to express our fury in other ways –not to yell or throw things.”



Angie Chau—

“Write and keep at it; as you never want to stop growing as a human being, never stop growing as a writer. Be patient with yourself. ..If a girl who arrived in this country with no English can prevail, so can you.”





Susan Burton—

“I never thought I would have ended up at Harvard or a ‘Top Ten Hero’ or have built an organization like ‘A New Way of Life.’  I just wanted to help.  I wanted at end of the day to have done something good.”

Interview: Susan Burton, CNN Hero Of The Year Finalist, On Prisoner Reentry

Susan Burton is the founder of an award-winning reentry program for female ex-offenders in South Los Angeles.   To date,  her non-profit organization “A New Way of  Life” has  helped more than 500 women once incarcerated get back on their feet.

Susan knows how difficult life can be.  After her 5-year-old son was accidentally killed in 1981, she ended up in prison six different times.   She got clean in 1997 and never looked back.

This year she was nominated to be CNN’s Hero of the Year and is now one of the final ten candidates from more than 100 countries.   The winner is decided in November by people who vote online here.   The total prize is $125,000.

I interviewed Susan eight years ago for womensenews.org.  I sensed then she was someone with very special talents.  When I heard about her recent success, I was thrilled for her and wanted to find out about this Hero of the Year nomination and how her reentry program was doing.

” I just thought if I could help a few women like me who were trapped come back home to South LA, that was my goal.  It just sort of took on its own steam and synergy”….     Susan Burton

When I spoke to Susan, she told me she was on her way to Harvard University.    She’ll explain…