Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sami Aaron. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Sami, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

I took a risk in 2018 when, at age 65, I founded the nonprofit, The Resilient Activist. As an activist, I understood the immense pressure environmental activists face in their work to preserve, protect, and nurture a healthy planet. At the time, there was almost no support for the negative emotional impact of the work they do. This understanding came to light after the death of my older son, an environmental activist, who began to feel that his actions would not make any difference in the global and systemic scope of the climate crisis and its interrelated social injustices. We lost him to suicide in 2003. In the intervening years, the words “Resilient Activist” resonated with me with the intent to create a community that provides resources and emotional resilience training and support. Since our incorporation, we have partnered with groups like the newly-formed Climate Psychiatry and Climate Psychology of North America Alliances, Midwest Alliance for Mindfulness, and other related organizations to offer community events, mindfulness and resilience training, and research studies on the emotional impact of the climate crisis on activists. To date, our programs have reached more than 4000 participants. We are in the process of refining our curriculum and broadening our research to wider audiences.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Bringing the nonprofit, The Resilient Activist (TRA), into being has been the most profound and significant accomplishment of my life. Activists, especially environmental activists, are underappreciated heroes who carry the weight of the world in their hearts, minds, and bodies every single day. These gentle souls step into activism based on a fervent desire to right a wrong, heal a pain, or alleviate a grief with the pervasive awareness of the fragility of ecosystems, wildlife, and humanity on this planet. Compassionate and sensitive, many activists struggle with depression, grief, and a sense of impending failure over ongoing ecological destruction.

My older son, Kevin, was one of those activists who was broken by the emotional burden he carried, believing that his personal well-being was of little importance when weighed against the needs of the world. He died by suicide in 2003. He wrote, “Letting go of the passion to work on substantive structural change in favor of personal happiness is not a viable option.” TRA was founded to help activists like him recognize the critical value of self-care and to provide the community, resources, and insight to support long-term resilience in light of the critical work they do.

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

The most important perspective is to carry an abiding acceptance, kindness, and compassion for each person’s unique climate activism journey – including those who do not yet recognize the need for action. Every one of us lived our lives in ignorant bliss about the climate crisis up till the one day, the one incident, the one awareness that finally caught our eye and touched our hearts. Accepting our community’s grief, guilt, and anxiety is paramount to helping them find just the right kind of resilience tools and support that will build emotional stability for the long term.

Any advice for managing a team?

Our nonprofit operates under the model of Sociocracy, a way of management that respects each person – staff, volunteers, vendors, and our audience. We operate under the perspective of “consent” rather than “majority wins” so that each person and their needs are articulated and considered by the community before decisions are made. Under Sociocracy, each person is supported as a leader in their respective circles and is given a wide berth in decision-making and responsibility. It’s a very different way of operating than Roberts of Rules and top-down management.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.theresilientactivist.org/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theresilientactivist/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheResilientActivist/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-resilient-activist/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdMD4_4gzoIMJiJrcQEz3NA