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Courtney E. Martin
www.courtneyemartin.com

Courtney E. Martin is the author of “Do It Anyway: The New Generation of Activists (Beacon Press, 2010), a book that profiles eight young people doing social justice work on the ground.  To commit creative acts of kindness, she founded the “Secret Society for Creative Philanthropy” which was profiled in The New York Times. A vocal advocate for the power of microphilanthropy, Martin has presented at TEDWomen. She’s written for Newsweek, The American Prospect, and The Nation, and has appeared on Good Morning America, the TODAY Show, CNN and MSNBC.


Decide to take something personally. A lot of times we walk through our neighborhoods or walk through life and think everything is someone else's problem. I like the idea of deciding "for the next week, whatever I see going on in the public space, in my neighborhood, in my community, on the subway, in the coffee shop, I’m going to take it personally.” That means if someone is being bullied or if there's trash on the ground--all of those things that we can easily pass the buck on if we're not being conscientious--for a week you vow to take those things personally. This can provide opportunities that you never would have been able to plan for in terms of contributing to the community.
  • Project Rebirth
  • Do It Anyway: The New Generation of Activists
  • Click: When We Knew We Were Feminists
  • The Naked Truth: Young, Beautiful, and (HIV) Positive
  • Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters: How the Quest for Perfection is Harming Young Women