Women With Impact #38 - Esther Dyson
Welcome back to Women With Impact, a newsletter all about the journeys of mission-driven women and how they have a positive impact in our world.
I’m Clara Richter and this is the 38th edition of Women With Impact. If you enjoy this issue, please share it with a friend and like it above.
For this edition, I interviewed Esther Dyson, Founder of Wellville. Wellville is a US-wide non-profit project to achieve equitable wellbeing, in which US communities are coached as they improve their health and wellbeing - in areas such as maternal care, early childhood development, and diabetes reduction. She is an active angel investor, journalist, best-selling author, board member and advisor in emerging markets and technologies, new space and health. Esther is a Harvard alumna and earned a certificate of completion from the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Institute in Star City outside Moscow. She formerly sat on the boards of 23andMe, Meetup, WPP Group and Yandex, among others. She is currently on the boards of Avanlee Care, Charity Navigator, PressReader and The Long Now Foundation, among others.
Wishing you a pleasant read!
Best,
Clara
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The Journey
Who are you and how do you spend your time?
I am the founder of Wellville, a 10-year non-profit project focused on helping five small US communities to build sustainable, equitable institutions that will make their communities healthier places to live. More broadly, I started out life as a journalist (and the daughter of two scientists), so my basic motivation is curiosity – plus a sense of justice!
What do you think is most important in creating positive change?
It’s inspiring other people’s intrinsic motivation, rather than telling them what to do. I plan to do that based on everything I have learned from Wellville. Just as people get addicted to drugs (or food or Facebook), so do VCs get addicted to exits, and community organisations often get addicted to short-term grants. I’m trying to get people to understand the value of long-term thinking, of investing rather than spending, and raising a future generation of leaders that has more patience and persistence. And I love introducing people to collaborate instead of compete. If both sides go for 60 percent of the work and 40 percent of the glory, the total results are greater and everyone is better off.
What is a recent success you are proud of?
An article I recently published under the title “Don’t Fuss About Training AIs. Train Our Kids” at The Information.
The Lessons
What has been the most rewarding experience on your journey?
This is impossible to predict. I’m not done yet, and I continue to learn, so I am not ready to answer this question. I have visited more than 80 countries, and not as a tourist, but in some way as an observer or participant, whether as a journalist, an investor, a member of some visiting team… For example, I started visiting Russia in 1989 and I like to say that I have learned so much about the US from my many visits to Russia, observing the US from outside. I have advised the President of South Africa (Thabo Mbeki) on IT issues, and I have ridden through the slums of Beijing (now gone) in a pedicab. And in each of these many countries, I have swum in a swimming pool, which often leads to interesting encounters when the pools aren’t conveniently located in my hotel (including “gifts” to various people to gain admission to which I was not formally entitled).
What’s a challenge you have encountered most often and how did you tackle it?
My big challenges are shortage of time and an excess of intriguing opportunities. Honestly, I have been very lucky and privileged – so my big challenge is to make use of those opportunities.
Right now, as Wellville ends (this coming December), my challenge is to get back into writing. I love it! But it’s slow…. Writing actually makes you think, and ask more questions. But of course that’s why it’s so deeply satisfying.
If you’re going to go around touting curiosity, you have to have the courage to question and abandon your own assumptions as well. One of my favourite moments recently was talking with a data analyst about “bad police.”
“They come in clusters,” he told me.
“Ah yes,” I said wisely, “the bad ones infect the good ones.”
“No,” he said. “The bad ones find bad neighbourhoods, where they can exploit the local people with impunity.” Yes, that sounds more likely!
What is the best advice you have been given recently?
Write *two* books! One about yourself, to gain visibility, and then use that visibility to get people to read your second, more thought-provoking book. Due in a couple of years, they will be “Present Without Leave,” about my experiences throughout life, and “Don’t rent your (community’s) health from an absentee landlord,” about how to make the US a healthier place (mentally and social) for the next generation.
The Inspiration
What resource do you think more people should make use of?
Their ears and eyes, vs. their mouths – and cell phones.
Who inspires you?
Katharine Graham. She was a fierce advocate of journalism and truth. I met her shortly before my first book came out, in the 90s, and somehow we clicked; she held a book party for me. I hope I am passing it forward now to some of the young women I meet these days.
Enjoyed this or have any feedback? Let me know in the comments!
If you know someone who fits my mission and should absolutely be featured on Women With Impact, please nominate them here.