VoyageMinnesota has named World Savvy’s CEO and Co-founder Dana Mortenson a “Rising Star.” Dana was interviewed about her work with World Savvy – a national K-12 nonprofit organization – and the path she took with fellow co-founder Madiha Murshed to help change the world in light of the xenophobic backlash following 9/11. “We knew this targeting was a product of fear and, to some degree, a lack of knowledge and understanding about the world,” Dana recalled. In 2002, World Savvy was born with the intention of partnering with schools to transform learning environments into inclusive, adaptive, and future-ready schools in a fast-changing and increasingly diverse world.
When asked about some of the recent challenges she’s faced Dana responded, “Education has become more politicized in this polarized culture, with efforts like anti-CRT and banned books on the rise. There is a larger and more vocal group of school leaders, educators, and community members who understand the critical nature of this work to sustain our democracy. This is different from years past and has propelled the work forward profoundly.”
When asked about lessons learned in this work, Dana responded, “We’ve learned that there is no quick-fix in education, no one-size-fits-all solution you can rapidly scale, and no single program that changes things overnight. It is complex, messy, and takes time, resources, and intention.” She added, “We have learned that models providing holistic, well-rounded, and comprehensive support — frameworks for learning that are pendulum-proof — are the best opportunity for creating and sustaining change.”
Read Dana Mortenson’s full interview on the VoyageMinnesota website.
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