Stories
Telling stories may surpass even sex in intimacy: telling necessitates vulnerability, and listening entails receptivity. The stories you’ll discover in this collection include vignettes about people working, ponderings on the impact of our jobs, and–a recent addition that requires me to step out from the safe background of editing and into exposure–my own personal stories of work and life. Join me…
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The book MY JOB is a collection of stories, told by real people in their own voices, about their work and lives across the U.S. and around the world. Their stories range from a coffee farmer in Nicaragua, a horse therapist in Kentucky, a slack-rock guitarist in...
Banking with a Conscience?
At 24 years, old Misozi Mkandawire is a Zambian millionaire who doesn’t believe in cash. Well not hard cash at least- instead, Misozi has built a successful career on mobile banking.
The My JOB Book Cover Reveal!
The My JOB Team and I are delighted to reveal our new cover! Our team strove to weave together the pieces that make a concept into bound book.
Events: One Author in an Ocean of Possibilities: Book Expo America and the World of Publishing
My first experience with the planet’s largest book trade show, Book Expo America (BEA), held in Chicago in May, left me dazed and dazzled.
Realizing Her Potential in Real Estate: Melony’s Story
Melony Swasey’s story shows one way a first-generation American has made her way in a world very different from that of her parents.
Writing a Book: 10 Survival Tips
1. Just say no. Say no to everything and everybody. This includes your significant other, your buddies, your colleagues, even your publisher.
A Survivor Recruits Rwandan Girls for A Better Future
Nadine Niyitegeka’s chapter in the My JOB book provides an in-depth view into the life of a Rwandan survivor who now uses her experience to help others.
Do the Candidates Care About American Jobs?
As the U.S. Presidential race approaches the nominating conventions, we take a look at each remaining candidate’s positions on the issues important to the American worker.
Defining the Concept of “Work”
Today, our culture defines a job as work that we do for pay. To many Americans, however, a job means more than a paycheck.
The Power of Work: Why We Fund Jobs
Our “MY JOB” community believes the quickest way to achieve equitable global prosperity is to create dignified, reliable jobs.
Announcing our new MY JOB publishing deal!
After several months of careful deliberation and vetting, The MY JOBS team is proud to announce a partnership with a publishing house who…
This Life Coach Made Each Day Count
Tyke Crowley achieved several lifetimes worth of dreams in his tragically short life. Yet, from scholar to policymaker, his greatest dream was to help others…
My First Job
As the holiday rush brings more people- many of them young- into the workforce, Suzanne reflects on the job experiences which shaped her young career.
Mideast Diplomat Greg: Seeking the Peace in Everyone
The story of a MY JOB narrator on the latest conflict in the Mideast, and why he refuses to give up hope for peace.
Her Job is to Bring Us Closer to Death
From Seattle, Katrina Spade hopes to modernize the way we think about death to make it a less frightening and altogether more growthful endeavor.
African Warrior: To Get His Job, He Had to Kill a Lion
To become a Warrior of the Maasai Tribe, Wantay had the most difficult interview imaginable.
What’s a Job to Millennials?
For a long time, what people did defined their lives, with occupation serving as identity. Will the Millennial Generation change that?
A Roof Overhead is a Fighting Chance in Nicaragua
In Nicaragua, HABITAR finances affordable housing for the working poor because they believe the key to escaping poverty is having a place from which to do so.
Saving Appalachian Peaks from Coal-Hungry Headhunters in West Virginia
In West Virginia, Coal River Mountain Watch leads the fight against destructive coal mining practices. It’s Junior Walk’s job to ensure that everyone knows why.
Event: Telling Stories to Connect People to Your Cause; San Francisco, CA
At the Northern California Grantmakers and Exponent Philanthropy workshop, Author Suzanne Skees taught an interactive workshop on how to identify core stories for nonprofits and funders, and how to build elements of engaging stories to connect your audience with your cause. She used several Skees Foundation “Seeds of Hope” stories and the MY JOB book to dissect what she terms “connective tissue” yoking narrator to reader in empathy that creates community and inspires empathic action.
West African Midwife Takes Care of Her Patients—with Her Mobile Phone
In Ghana, Nurse Midwife Monica is at the cutting edge of her field by using mobile phone technology to network with mothers in need of quality natal care.
Kevin the Architect: “No Two Days Are the Same”
In Cincinnati, an architect supports a nonprofit benefitting pediatric cancer patients.
How Can Jobs End Poverty?
In India, Suzanne meets Arindam, who worked with Upaya Social Ventures to found the Tamul Plate factory and provide well-paying jobs to impoverished…
Learning to Lead from the Inside-Out: Program Trains Via Head, Heart, and Hands
In Guatemala, Suzanne explores the importance of leadership development and interviews leading journalist and human rights activist, Alva Batres.
Beating the Odds: Overcoming Gangs and Jail in Chicago
Suzanne learns firsthand about privilege and hope visiting with leaders at the PBMR Center determined to bring peace to the city’s youth.
Imodium in Cambodia
Suzanne powers through traveler’s tummy and still manages to snag an amazing interview with Srey Pouv, a tenacious microlender in Cambodia.
Finding My Ancestral Home and Horse Heaven in Kentucky
Meandering around the Midwest I find myself back in the land of my father’s farm-boy roots and in the middle of what I call “horse heaven.”
Does Our Job = Our Self? With George, It’s Complicated
Grammy-award winning Hawaiian musician George Kahumoku on his job: “I’m a farmer,” he says. “My music is just what I do to support my farming habit.”
Event: Panel on Storytelling for Social Change; San Francisco, CA
A high-impact group of global philanthropists from The Philanthropy Workshop gathered for a series on using the arts to promote social justice; the weekend included music and dancing as well as talks by bestselling novelist Dave Eggers on his publishing company Voice of Witness as well as MY JOB author Suzanne Skees
Behind the scenes with Muhammad, Bangladeshi Rickshaw Puller
Muhammad is still starving. “I pull the rickshaw for my next meal,” he told me. “If I don’t ride, we don’t eat that day.”
The Birth of My Job
The idea of a book about jobs came to me one afternoon over a Thai noodle lunch in San Jose, California.
Event: Harvard Divinity School “Divinity Dialogues: Stories of Care;” San Francisco, CA
“Active listening that leads to action: There is no greater act of care than listening to someone’s story,” Skees told the audience of about fifty people gathered in the Embarcadero Center. “I believe the greatest form of intimacy is sharing our stories. It’s when we tell each other the stories of who we are that we reveal the layers below our surface and truly become close.“
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Books that create jobs: The MY JOB book series builds community, shares stories, and funds job-creation programs to end poverty.
