This new book by Syrian architect Marwa al-Sabouni, seeks to understand how cities and buildings—scarred by conflict, blight, and pandemic—can be healed through design and urban mindfulness. When Marwa al-Sabouni published Battle for Home in 2016, she was a little-known architect, living in battle-ravaged Homs, Syria, unable to practice her profession. She turned her fierce intelligence to chronicling how her city and country were undone through decades of architectural mismanagement and mistakes. Once published, Marwa al-Sabouni’s book and story attracted the attention of international media—CNN, The New York Times—and received critical acclaim worldwide. The United Nations called on her for insights and expertise. She became a TED fellow, was invited to speak to audiences around the world, and some suggested she be nominated for architecture’s highest honor, the Pritzker Prize. Al-Sabouni’s deep understanding of Middle Eastern heritage and architecture gives her insight into a wide range of cities, informing her views on how cities work best, how they might fail, and what can be done to harmonize the lives of all their inhabitants. In this compelling new book, al-Sabouni draws together several narratives: her personal and professional observations of some of the world’s most fascinating cities, from Detroit to Helsinki; the lessons that Western societies might learn from Islamic culture and design; and philosophical reflections on how our personal and communal spaces can provide the basic foundations for happiness. Through this tapestry of personal experience, unblinking perspective, and insight, al-Sabouni offers real-world solutions—and hope—for how peace might be created through mindful urban planning.

Building Hope tells, from the trenches, what it's like to lead and manage a nonprofit agency. Filled with insights, tips, lessons learned, and poignant stories, this book will help nonprofit executives, board members, and volunteers alike leave work at the end of each day knowing they made a difference in the lives of others. With nearly twenty-seven years in the nonprofit sector, John Bateson, executive director of a busy crisis center, has seen it all. Eager to share his knowledge, he explains what it takes to lead employees and volunteers, as well as how to satisfy the other stakeholders: donors, government officials, board members and, of course, service recipients. As Bateson demonstrates so eloquently, the relationship between nonprofit organizations and all these stakeholders is built on trust, need, compassion, and—above all else—hope. Building Hope tells, from the trenches, what it's like to lead and manage a nonprofit agency. Filled with insights, tips, lessons learned, and poignant stories, this book will help nonprofit executives, board members, and volunteers alike leave work at the end of each day knowing they made a difference in the lives of others. With nearly twenty-seven years in the nonprofit sector, John Bateson, executive director of a busy crisis center, has seen it all. Eager to share his knowledge, he explains what it takes to lead employees and volunteers, as well as how to satisfy the other stakeholders: donors, government officials, board members and, of course, service recipients. As Bateson demonstrates so eloquently, the relationship between nonprofit organizations and all these stakeholders is built on trust, need, compassion, and—above all else—hope. But stakeholders expect a lot in return, like competence and evidence that the organization is making a difference in the community and the lives of others. Leading nonprofits competently is what this book is all about. Each chapter focuses on a different facet of nonprofit leadership: how to build a strong and effective governing board, manage and inspire staff, develop efficient and effective programs, raise money, recruit and retain talented volunteers, market the agency, manage finances, and plan for the future. Best of all, each chapter is laced with stories that hammer home a point: What happens (and what to do) when a major gift solicitation goes horribly wrong, why cultural competency is critical, and what unusual interview questions can uncover the most promising potential employees. The workload can be crushing and the stress level high in the nonprofit world. Yet being able to look around a community and see tangible evidence of success makes it all worthwhile. This book will help provide the skills—and the heart—nonprofit managers need to make a difference and build the hope that will sustain others for years to come.

After a twenty-five-year career spent fighting for women’s rights around the globe at the expense of time with her family, Karen Sherman looked around and realized she didn’t really know her children and felt little connection to her husband. With her world—work, marriage, family—crashing down, she made the rash decision to move to Rwanda with her three sons. While her boys attended the international school, she worked to better the lives of women survivors of war. But as the survivors—Josephine, Ange, Grace, Euphraise, Debora, Yvette, and Teresa—shared their stories of grit and determination, building lives and raising families despite the brutal challenges of war, genocide, and inequality, Karen began to see how her work was connected to the abuse in her own past, and how it was preventing her from becoming the woman she wanted to be. The struggles of these survivors, she realized, were the struggles of women everywhere, regardless of place or circumstance: striving to balance work and family, fighting for real options and choices, trying to make their voices heard. The strength of these women helped Karen find her own way through conflict zones and battles with corrupt politicians. In the end, the journey brings her home to her family and to a renewed commitment to fighting for women around the world to live free from violence and abuse, in peace and with dignity.

Research demonstrates that children of poverty need more than just academic instruction to succeed. Discover a blueprint for turning low-performing schools into Cultures of Hope! The authors draw from their own experiences working with high-poverty, high-achieving schools to illustrate how to support students with an approach that considers social as well as emotional factors in education.

A moving portrait of school reform in New Orleans through the eyes of the students and educators living it.

An easy-to-use guide for local leaders working to engage their community in growing a more equitable, healthy, and sustainable future Building Community is the easy-to-use guide that distills the success of healthy thriving communities from around the world into twelve universally applicable principles that transcend cultures and locations. Exploring how community building can be approached by local citizens and their local leaders, Building Community features: A chapter on each of the 12 Guiding Principles, based on research in 27 countries Over 30 knowledgeable contributing author-practitioners Critical practical leadership tools Notes from the field – with practical dos and don'ts A wealth of 25 case studies of communities that have learned to thrive, including towns and villages, inner-city neighborhoods, Indigenous groups, nonprofits, women's empowerment groups, and a school, business, and faith community. Building Community is essential reading for community leaders, activists, planners, policy makers, and students looking to help their communities thrive. Strong local communities are the foundation of a healthy, participatory, and resilient society. Rather than looking to national governments, corporations, or new technologies to solve environmental and social problems, we can learn and apply the successes of thriving communities to protect the environment, enhance local livelihood, and grow social vitality.