Katie Doyle Myers

Q What about being a mother* brings you the most joy? (*mothers or others who exercise protective care over someone smaller)
A It’s the moment when Finn sneaks up behind me and gives me a giant hug … unconditional love.

Q What 140-character tweet—or ten-word sentence—best describes a mothering skill YOU have that you wish every world leader possessed?
A While not necessarily a skill, I have time to offer to my son; I wish that privilege for every mother everywhere.

Q What would you want to whisper into the ear of every child in the world? 
A “I love you more than a million billion universes.” (The same thing I whisper into my son’s ear every morning.)

Q What issues keep you up at night? How do you respond to these nocturnal musings? 
A A few nights ago I watched a video about children living in slums in Nepal that emphasized how they have no where to go to become warm at night—their homes are slats of wood and a dirt floor. I’ve been kept up about moms and children being wet and cold at night. How do I respond? First, by remembering to be incredibly grateful for what I have. Secondly, by talking and raising awareness about this concern, to my son, to my family, friends, co-workers.

Q How do you stay exuberant when addressing the sobering realities facing children? 
A I am very fortunate in that, in my job, I am able to spend time sitting around kitchen tables, or on stools around open fires, with mothers from different places, countries, cultures. While our discussions are often sobering—I just talked for hours with a women in rural Mexico about the countless miscarriages that she endured—exuberance always prevails when we end with a hug, a mutual sharing and acceptance.

Q Which mother leaders or activists inspire you and why? 
A I am inspired by Gretchen Wallace—an activist and mama to be! Gretchen founded and directs Global Grassroots, an NGO that leads the “Conscious Change Academy” for women in Rwanda. Gretchen is committed to intersecting personal and societal transformation.

Q You have an opportunity to meet with the President on behalf of the world’s children. What single request do you make? What individual or group do you invite to join you, so you’re invincible and win the support of the White House? 
A I would call for access to education for every girl in every corner of the globe. I would invite a girl and her mother from 50 different nations—Guatemala, Uganda, Bangladesh, Democratic Republic of Congo, Afghanistan—I would ask each girl to stand up, to speak her dream, and to tell her truth.

Q What issue are you embarrassed you don’t know more about? 
A Hmmm, that’s a good one. I should certainly know more about the issue of sex trafficking. And climate issues. And land rights. There are lots … I’m not really embarrassed about it though, I try to be honest about what I don’t know, to ask questions, to learn about people’s experiences.

Q You’ve been chosen to be the face of Mothers Acting Up—celebrating mothers taking public action on behalf of the world’s children—to shine from the side of every bus in America. What’s your tag line?
A Be THAT mama!

Q How do you share your activism with the children in your life and how do you think it has shaped them? 
A The biggest thing that I do is lead “100 Book Day” every year with my son, Finn. We founded this event in 2009. The mission of the initiative is to use reading and spending time together as a way to raise awareness, generate resources, promote literacy, and have fun. Finn is shaped in three wonderful ways by this event: he self-identifies as a “reader”; he has a vision beyond his community that there are kids out there who don’t have books to read or someone to read to them; and he knows that he has the power to create change.

Q What moment did you first feel moved to take a public action, and begin your journey as an activist? 
A In all honesty—I am not just saying this because I’m on the MQ—it was during my first Vocal Empowerment Workshop with Beth Osnes. Before that I didn’t know that I could be the one to actually do something to create change. The moment I expressed my most passionate concern—and what I could do about it in the next 4 weeks—I gave myself permission to be the activist, the change-maker that I so admired in other women.

Q A friend leaves an excited message asking you to join her in an action. What do you hope it is? What do you pray it isn’t? 
A I hope it’s something that I can bring my son to … and something that is joyful. I also hope it has something to do with art or literacy. Or women’s rights. I feel terrible about this, but I hope it’s not about climate change. While I am not passionate about this issue, I AM passionate about the people who work on it tirelessly!

Q How do you benefit the world’s children? Does it involve contributing to individual lives or changing systems, or both? 
A I start at home, at my friend’s homes, and at my son’s school by extending compassion to the children that I know and meet—and I try to volunteer in ways that benefit them whenever possible. I am fortunate that my work with the Philanthropiece Foundation allows me to work on programs that support the education, health, and general wellbeing of children in Latin America. As a Global Grassroots Board Member, I am proud to contribute to changing systems for women and children in Rwanda—building their self-sufficiency to create change in their communities for example via a clean water source, domestic violence education, adequate school bathrooms for girls, literacy, etc.

Q What challenges have you encountered in your work that caused you to stumble a bit but taught you a wickedly useful lesson? 
A My biggest challenge is having too many things on my plate—work, life, family, exercise, etc. My most useful lesson: breathe deeply and go snuggle up on the couch with my son and a book. That seems to ease everything.

Q You’ve just been given a $5 million grant to “Change the World For Children’s Sake!” What do you do with it? 
A I would invest $1 million dollars each in five grassroots organizations whose programs focus on sustainability and self-sufficiency. Who would those orgs be? Hmmm … at the moment: Global Grassroots, Reading Village, Limitless Horizons Ixil, El Porvenir and Educate!

Q After reading this, other mothers share your passion! What are the 3 most compelling, creative, blow-your-skirt-up, want-to-do-it-right-now ACTIONS they can take to get involved? 
A 1. Check out 100 Book Day on Facebook and email me for a Toolkit!

2. Support Global Grassroots’ Change Agents by learning about them and donating $15!

3. Tell a mama friend how you feel and get her involved!