DC trip

We went to DC for Teach For America's 20th Anniversary Summit this weekend. It was a fabulous time! I decided to bring Mike and the twins along. TFA is great because if you have a child under 1, they'll pay for 1/2 of the cost to fly a caregiver out with you, and give you a private hotel room. I thought since we have 2 kids, they should pay for Mike's whole ticket (but I'll take what I can get!). We decided to leave Caroline at home with Nana and Papa. It meant being away from her for 2 long weekends in a row, which was hard, but she seemed no worse for wear.

The summit itself was amazing. There was SO much work leading up to it (I was planning our all-day team conference plus another panel during the summit, so I had a lot on my plate), so in a sense I was just relieved it was here. But it was just such an amazing, powerful, inspiring, moving experience. On Friday, the day of our team conference, I finally got to meet all of these people I work with- who I've traded countless e-mails with and been on loads of phone calls with, but never seen face-to-face. We also had a staff lunch that was just incredibly inspiring. They had such a fabulous line up of speakers-- staff members at all levels and on all teams, who each had such a unique and moving story. I shed a few tears (OK, I admit it, I was a hot mess!)

On Saturday, there were almost 11,000 corps members, alumni and staff who came together for loads of panels and speakers. All of the big names in education were there: Arne Duncan, Michelle Rhee, Joel Klein, Kaya Henderson, and of course, Wendy Kopp (who started TFA). Then there were some other big-name folks: Gloria Steinem, Malcom Gladwell, Don Graham, and more. And John Legend, a new board member, played a few songs for us- one with an orchestra from a KIPP school. So awesome! And...even president Obama did a video address. It was such a phenomenal event. Everyone went away feeling like we could change the world, and had a moral obligation to do so. Oh, I wish I could put that energy in a bottle and drink it up on those days I need a jolt.

The trip was also a great chance to catch up with folks. Mike was excited to spend some good time with his brother John. And I was excited to catch up with my Aunt Mad, Uncle Bill and Cousin Sandy. I was just sad that my cousin Betsy and her new baby Charlotte just moved away, so we couldn't see them. We also got to see a few old friends- I had dinner with Barb and Jen from Bridgespan (Barb was 2 days past her due date, but looking fabulous despite). I also ran into several other old friends during the summit, and I'm sure there were lots more there who I didn't even see...

Bill, Sandy, Mad and the twins

John and Julianne


Barb, Jen and the twins

Mike and the girls