SPARK Archive
SPARK events are designed to ignite your thinking about change and how it happens. Through interviews, book talks, field trips, film screenings, and more, you'll get to know the women and non-binary people leading change in a wide range of areas, and learn more about the hard, but important, work of building a better future.
Below is an archive of SPARK events and associated resources. If you would like to recommend additional resources for any of these topics, please email athenacenter@barnard.edu.
2021-2022 SPARK
September 30, 2021
To view the SPARK video, click here.
On September 1, 2021, Texas' Senate Bill 8, which effectively bans abortions after 6 weeks of pregnancy, went into effect. Click above to see our conversation with co-authors Kathryn Kolbert and Julie F. Kay about reproductive freedom - the threats and more importantly, what we can do about them. This conversation was moderated by Gaby Goldstein, Co-Founder of Sister District.
If you are interested in learning more about what you can do NOW to save reproductive freedom, please review the following list of resources (compiled by Anna Kohlasch BC '22):
- Purchase Kathryn and Julie's book here: https://www.hachettebooks.com/titles/kathryn-kolbert/controlling-women/9780306925634/
- Op ed by Gaby for folks interested in the TX abortion law: https://msmagazine.com/2021/09/02/abortion-texas-state-house-legislature-local-politics-women/
- List of organizations fighting the Texas abotion ban: https://nymag.com/strategist/2021/09/texas-abortion-ban-2021-where-to-donate.html
- NPR Podcast summarizing the situation in Texas: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5lXSBdwD0hxzml1n02kAsh?si=8Atsfoa_THaDEhWEHRXwRQ&dl_branch=1
- New Yorker article summarizing the upcoming Supreme Court cases and current situation: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/09/27/the-supreme-court-and-the-future-of-roe-v-wade
- Volunteer at Planned Parenthood NY: https://www.plannedparenthood.org/planned-parenthood-greater-new-york/get-involved/volunteer-intern
October 12, 2021
To view the SPARK video, click here.
How do you turn a hobby into a business? And how can that business lift up other women? Click above to see our conversation with Barnard alumna and entrepreneur Kaylin Marcotte ’12. Kaylin is the founder & CEO of JIGGY, a direct-to-consumer jigsaw puzzle brand on a mission to modernize and elevate the humble jigsaw, and support female artists around the world.
This event was held in partnership with the Francine A. LeFrak Foundation Center for Well-Being.
If you are interested in learning more about women's entrepreneurship, please review the following list of resources (compiled by Anna Kohlasch BC '22):
- Jiggy Puzzles: https://jiggypuzzles.com/collections/all?utm_source=google&utm_campaign=11655261022&adgroupid=118680515412&utm_content=525875941627&utm_term=jiggy%20puzzles&gclid=CjwKCAjw4qCKBhAVEiwAkTYsPJ5maSijhZL_v-mYYmbxNBToVhr68FnzYXxVFOkBTM9xj18geFJjfxoC5zsQAvD_BwE
- Village Strategic: https://www.villagestrategic.com/
- Barnard Entrepreneurs Network (Bnet): https://our.barnard.edu/s/1133/16/index.aspx?sid=1133&gid=1&pgid=3032
- Athena Entrepreneurs: https://barnard.edu/eship
- WENYC: https://we.nyc/about-we-nyc/
- SCORE NYC: https://newyorkcity.score.org/about-score-new-york-city
October 18, 2021
To view the SPARK video, click here.
Black Americans have never owned more than a disproportionately small fraction of the nation’s wealth. In her book, The Color of Money, Mehrsa Baradaran highlights how credit policies and housing policies have embedded inequalities that have become self-perpetuating and challenges the notion that black banks and community self-help -- championed by activists and presidents alike -- can meaningfully reduce the racial wealth gap. Click above to see our conversation with Mehrsa about how we got here and what a path to real economic justice might look like. Merhsa was in conversation with Angela Simms, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Urban Studies at Barnard College.
This event was held in partnership with the Francine A. LeFrak Foundation Center for Well-Being as well as Undesign The Redline @ Barnard.
If you are interested in learning more about the racial wealth gap, please review the following list of resources (compiled by Anna Kohlasch BC '22):
- Mehsra’s interview with PBS: https://www.pbs.org/wnet/amanpour-and-company/video/the-racial-wealth-gap-it-all-comes-down-to-black-banks/
- Mehsra’s book: https://bookshop.org/books/the-color-of-money-black-banks-and-the-racial-wealth-gap-9780674970953/9780674237476
- Barnard's Undesign The Redline Exhibit: https://barnard.edu/undesign-redline
- The black feminist podcast of your dreams hosted by Roxane Gay & Tressie McMillan Cottom: https://www.heartoslay.com/
- The Limits of Whiteness: https://www.amazon.com/Limits-Whiteness-Americans-Everyday-Politics/dp/1503603377
- From bi-racial to tri-racial: Towards a new system of racial stratification in the USA: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0141987042000268530
November 11, 2021
To view the SPARK video, click here.
Is the way you spend your money aligned with your values? Whether you're buying yourself a coffee or investing, the choices you make with your money matter. Click above to watch our conversation with Barnard alumna and entrepreneur Eva Yazhari ‘06 in which we discuss what conscious investing looks like and, for the entrepreneurs among us, how to build a business that attracts the attention of conscious investors.
This event was held in partnership with the Francine A. LeFrak Foundation Center for Well-Being.
If you are interested in learning more about the the good your money can do, please review the following list of resources (compiled by Anna Kohlasch BC '22):
- Link to purchase Eva’s book: https://www.thegoodyourmoneycando.com/
- Eva’s personal story: https://www.behindherempire.com/episode/eva-yazhari
- The Conscious Investor: https://www.theconsciousinvestor.co/
- Beyond Capital Fund: https://www.beyondcapitalfund.org/
- Beyond Capital Podcast: https://www.beyondcapitalpodcast.com/
December 2, 2021
To view the SPARK video, click here. (starts at 6.20)
Click above to watch this conversation with Akoto Ofori-Atta, Cofounder and Chief Audience Officer of Capital B, a Black-led, nonprofit local and national news organization reporting for Black communities across the country, launching early 2022.
Akoto and Lauren Williams, formerly SVP and Editor in Chief of Vox, have teamed up to create a first-of-its kind, local-national hybrid nonprofit news organization for Black Americans: Capital B. For too long, news organizations have failed to recognize the contributions of Black Americans and address the issues facing their communities. Newsrooms are still majority white and male and this influences what news is reported and how it’s communicated.
We were thrilled to be in conversation with Akoto and learn more about what journalism for underserved audiences can and should look like, and her journey to launch Capital B.
If you're interested in learning more, please review the following list of resources (compiled by Anna Kohlasch BC '22):
- Capital B: https://capitalbnews.org/
- BOSS: https://www.facebook.com/BarnardOrganizationofSoulNSolidarity/
- History of BOSS: https://barnard.edu/magazine/winter-2019/soul-providers
- Akoto’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/akotoo/
- Akoto’s Podcast, My 90s Playlist: https://www.my90splaylist.com/index.html#home
- Lenfest Institute interview with Akoto: https://www.lenfestinstitute.org/solution-set/women-in-journalism-qa-with-akoto-ofori-atta/
- NYT Op-ed by Lauren Williams, CEO & Co-Founder of Capital B: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/05/opinion/ozy-black-media-support.html