By Sara Veltkamp, Minerva Goddess-on-sabbatical — “Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.” —Anne Lamott According to the U.S. Travel Association, American workers left 705 million vacation days on the table in 2017. 705 million days that could have been used to relax, connect with family…
Minerva Musings
Sara Veltkamp Jordan Kercheval, Minerva Intern — Time flies when you’re having fun. I can attest that a truer statement has never been said, because I can’t believe my 12 weeks with Minerva Strategies is coming to an end. I’ve learned a lot over the past four months and so much goes beyond communication. Of course, I…
Minerva Strategies By Joy Portella Cyclone Idai is devastating. As of this writing, the death toll across Mozambique, Malawi, and Zimbabwe has reached 750 and the final count will surely be higher. As always with disasters, the work of recovery and rebuilding will stretch on for months and years – long after journalists have stopped transmitting images…
By Sara Veltkamp, Minerva Strategies – A couple of years ago, I was waiting for a flight in the Addis Ababa airport, when I struck up a conversation with a white South African. About 15 minutes into a conversation that was not about race, he blurted out: “I’m not racist or anything. I have…
By Jordan Kercheval, Minerva intern— My diet used to consist of Kraft mac and cheese and corn dog baskets from the local bar in my college town. McDonald’s chicken nuggets? Give me a 20-piece. But then I started to pay attention to the ways diet interacts with some of our world’s most pressing…
By Sara Veltkamp, Minerva Strategies — I’m not a particularly fearful person. I’ve been accused of being the opposite – doing things just for the sake of doing them without enough fear of the consequences. But a recent run-in with award-winning journalist Ira Glass revealed how fear has played a role in my decision-making, and…
By Joy Portella Minerva’s long-time client the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) cranks out comprehensive, almost real-time data to help people make better decisions about health policies, investments, and everyday choices. IHME has had a big month. Minerva’s Global Team partnered with them to roll out findings from two groundbreaking studies published…
(HINT: That’s a real thing) By Joy Portella I’ve never been a journalist, and I have definite Fourth Estate envy. I’ve been oddly flattered the dozen or so times in my career when someone’s asked me: You used to be a journalist, right? That’s why I was almost giddy to spend a gorgeous…
Malia Mackey – Cornell student, gymnast, and overall amazing lady – served as Minerva’s goddess-in-training and intern this summer. We were thrilled to have her. She left us with parting words of wisdom. We hope you enjoy them. 1. Words matter. Minerva’s business is built on the principle that words matter. They should be consistent,…
by Sara Veltkamp I recently had the privilege of being in the field with the Ethiopian team of our client Dignity Period and photographer Joni Kabana. We visited rural schools in the Tigray and Afar regions in north and northeastern Ethiopia. Our goal was to get photos of and stories about the girls, boys, and…