Minerva Musings

In 2008, I moved to Syria to study Arabic. I left in 2011. During the 13 years of war that followed, I watched from a distance, through headlines and messages from friends, and I didn’t expect to see it end in a way I could feel good about. Then, in December 2024, the ruling regime…

Women of all ages wrapped in colorful blankets gathered around the baby, caressing his pudgy arms and cooing in the universal language of infants. I was in the maternity ward of Hamlin Fistula Hospital in Ethiopia. I didn’t know who the child’s mother was, as each cared for the baby boy like he was her…

Summer has come and gone and something about September makes us want to get cozy, pick up a book, queue up a podcast, or sink into a good series. So, in the spirit of the season, we polled the Minerva team on our collective syllabus this fall. Here’s what we’re reading, watching, and listening to—no…

I recently mentioned to a friend how great it is that Trader Joe’s is right across the street from the Spanish class I attend every Saturday. I can run into the store after class and buy tasty treats and cheap skin care products. She said, “Just so you know, Trader Joe’s supports Israel.”  That gave…

We’ve permanently rolled out a four-day workweek at Minerva Strategies! As described in a previous blog post, we dedicated the first half of the year to a pilot phase where we explored a four-day week and our strategies for testing it with our team, assessing the impact on our clients, and thinking through whether this…

The Minerva team works hard to build a culture where everyone feels supported, well positioned to use their skills and talents, and comfortable being their authentic selves. Building the Minerva culture—and living it with our team—has been a largely joyful experience. But not every day is great, and sometimes less-than-optimal life and work experiences collide…

During the summer of 2020, I hit a burnout-related wall—and I have a feeling I’m not the only one. Time was elusive; my schedule felt out of my control. I was afraid that if I took a vacation—the standard cure for burnout—it would pass by without benefit, especially because I couldn’t safely travel. I decided…

When I graduated from the University of Washington one year ago, I had no idea where I was headed. I had earned a meaningful, well-rounded education having studied anthropology, international studies, and English. I didn’t doubt the value of my knowledge; I just didn’t know where it would lead me. Compared to my peers in…

Minerva Strategies is in its tenth year of collaborating with social good organizations to bring their stories to life. But the initial impetus for Minerva was much more straightforward: “I just wanted to do good work with good people,” said Minerva’s Founding Partner and President Joy Portella.   Good work, in her mind, meant strategizing and…

One thing we can likely agree on about the last few years is they haven’t been predictable. Many people experienced job loss, burnout, or a transition to work-from-home that blurred the lines between work and home. A global pandemic overwhelmed our medical system, heightened feelings of fear and isolation, and changed our ways of being.…