Advocating for justice while conserving your energy with Levonne Abshire
How do you sustain activism when you cannot unsee the injustice?
Join us in this conversation with Levonne Abshire, Educator, Disability Advocate, Coach, and Director of health equity, promotion, and education at the University of British Columbia.
Together, we explore the intersection of advocacy in motherhood and leadership.
As a mother of a racialized teen with autism grounded in servant leadership and wise compassion, Levonne highlights the importance of dignity, human rights, and belonging as core principles to uphold. Uncovering the dance of reciprocity in sisterhood, we discuss how women of colour navigate loneliness and trust-building while highlighting practical advice to sustain oneself in work that often intersects with compassion, identity, and advocacy that is never “the flavor of the month.”
Listen to the episode here.
04:02 – Levonne shares her leadership journey with us, which has evolved from servant leadership rooted in her family's immigrant background and Filipino culture to a more nuanced, wise, compassionate leadership style.
12:40 – Raising an incredible racialized teen with autism, Levonne highlights the principles that guide her advocacy work – promoting dignity, worthiness, belonging, and human rights – all of which increase sustainable impact for vulnerable and underserved communities.
18:08 – Levonne acknowledges the risks, loneliness and isolation women of colour face. We discuss the cautious efforts to find community and the dance of reciprocity in sisterhood by sharing practical considerations.
32:33 – We end the episode with Levonne's advice for women of colour not to carry the advocacy load alone and conserve their energy.
African Proverb: “Once you carry your own water, you will learn the value of every drop.”
What is one thing you need to do to hydrate and nourish yourself today?
