Ep. 21
“Getting humans to build systems that are precautionary or that are preventive is probably the largest task in humanity. But we can do it.”
From Nuclear Weapons to Modernizing Congress: A Funny, Down to Earth and Expert Perspective on How Regular People Can Build Systems of Change. In today’s episode, I sit down with a true renaissance woman who always inspires and challenges my way of thinking. Lorelei Kelly is an expert on inclusive and informed democratic systems and her work explores how data, technology, and new participation methods can increase civic voice in the lawmaking process. She is the founder of the Resilient Democracy Coalition (RDC) based at the Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation at Georgetown University where she leads research on modernizing the US Congress. Lorelei got her start in Washington DC as a nuclear weapons expert and now turns her attention to how to better incorporate local expertise and voices in the political process. She attended Grinnell College, Stanford University and the Air Command and Staff College of the US Air Force. She has co-authored two books, both free and available online. We talk about the problems of climate change, how an engaged and inclusive political process can help, the power people have in organizing and banding together, and why we have to act now. We also talk about her many diverse experiences including transitioning from high school in Berkeley, CA to the desert in New Mexico to an underground library in Berlin during a historical revolution. We also talk about the shift the pandemic has had on thinking and actions for so many. Lorelei’s diverse experiences lead the way to an open dialogue and give an intimate, informed look at the impact of climate change on local, federal, and international levels.