BFP: What do you do?
JR: I work on a few communications consulting projects, but my primary work is through UnSectored, an organization I founded. UnSectored is a community platform for re-thinking social change. We host online and offline conversations to help our partners engage deeply with audiences, establish thought leadership in a specific area of social innovation and discover new ideas and perspectives on their work. Our conversations include a wide variety of ideas to surface all possible angles of the topic of interest.
BFP: What is the best part about your job?
JR: I really enjoy critical thinking. At its core, that is what UnSectored is all about: Taking a critical look at our world and determining what is working and what isn’t, as well as what we can do better. I enjoy meeting new people and talking to them about what they are doing, and each month on UnSectored we have a whole new issue to discuss with a new group of people to talk with. It’s great to meet all these interesting people and learn about why they are passionate about what they do. Ultimately, we hope that with UnSectored, by bringing together all these different people in the same place, we can redefine what change means and create a more sustainable and just society.
BFP: What have been your greatest challenges?
JR: Our biggest challenge has been to show people the value of conversation. In today’s world, people are too busy to do anything but talk and think about the specific issue they are working on. UnSectored tries to bring people out of their comfort zones and get them to consider different perspectives on their work and the world they live in.
Our society is driven primarily by ego. It is hard for people to recognize that maybe what they are doing isn’t the full picture, and that others have something to say that could improve their work.
BFP: How have you overcome these challenges? / What advice, would you give to others?
JR: It is a constant struggle to continually bring people together around different topics related to social change. It requires high-quality content that piques people’s interest, as well as a foundation in respectful dialogue and understanding. By creating a safe space for conversation, we can bring in people we may not have been able to otherwise.
BFP: If someone wants to do what you do, where should they start?
JR: I got a great piece of advice recently: Figure out the question you are most passionate about answering, and do everything you can to find that answer. I am not sure yet exactly what that question is for me, but has to do with why we don’t work together more as a society. My advice to anyone is to find your question and pursue the answer in any way you can.
BFP: Finally; what do you hope to get out of being part of the BFP community?
JR: I hope to connect with BFP’s diverse community and bring them into our conversations. If you want to check out what we’re doing, visit us over at http://www.UnSectored.net.
Editor’s Note:
Thank you to Jeff Raderstrong for taking the time to do this interview.
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