Impact Interview: Dana Gulley

Name: Dana Gulley

Role/Function: Founder & Host, Decade Of Courage

What They’re Currently Working On: 

I am working on a new project, Decade of Courage, which is primarily a podcast to dive into the nonbinary spaces where we can draw inspiration for a transformed economy that, in the words of political philosopher Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò, prioritizes "outcomes, not sides." In this case, the outcome we are striving for at Decade of Courage is an economy that centers the wellbeing of individuals, communities and our inextricably connected natural world.

1. What was the “aha” moment that sparked your interest in social impact? 

In the early 2000s, when I was 15 years old, I was awarded a need-based scholarship to attend a semester abroad program for high school students, The Island School, located on the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas. Everything about those 3+ months was simultaneously improbable and impactful. The school taught environmental sustainability through immersion. In other words, the entire campus was "off the grid." We had electricity thanks to a wind turbine and solar panels. The fleet of school vehicles were fueled with biodiesel, which was made on site using the waste cooking oil from cruise ships that visited the island. Our drinking, cooking and bathing water came from rainwater collected in cisterns, which had serious practical implications. To ensure the next semester of students, who would arrive during the dry season, would also have water, we carefully conserved and measured the cisterns each day to make share we were meeting our goals.

This deep connection with place and the harmony it created within our community and between our community and the immediate environment were very meaningful to me.

The biggest "aha" moment came as part of our immersion in the local community, Deep Creek. While I was researching the ways that overfishing had impacted commercially viable fish species in the waters surrounding Eleuthera, it would have been easy to begin proposing natural resource management tools, such as Marine Protected Areas, as a way of addressing the "problem" through a narrow lens. Instead, the Island School didn't shy away from complexities, and by placing us in homestays and in the local community schools, we had the opportunity to also learn from the fishermen and their families. To me, the takeaways were profound, even if I couldn't quite articulate them back then: first, communities hold deep wisdom about their own economies and natural environments that should be respected. Second, environmental protection work is inextricable from issues of equity and wellbeing.

I have taken these lessons with me in the nearly twenty years since attending the Island School, and my passion for living in harmony with the natural world persists.

2. How did you break into the social impact space? 

I have worked on environmental protection within the state and federal government as a congressional staffer and National Park Service employee, in the non-profit space as the Director of Community Engagement for Riverkeeper and an organizational development consultant, and in the private sector as a strategy consultant for mission-driven companies.

The transition from government to non-profit felt like an easy one to make. The pivot from the non-profit to the private sector felt like crossing a substantial chasm – especially considering that I knew absolutely nothing about business. I chose to pursue an MBA degree that was focused on environmental and social impact because I wanted to understand business fundamentals, not to mention how we could leverage the private sector to protect ecosystems and biodiversity and tackle climate change. This degree and the doors it opened to new relationships were all critical in helping me to launch my own consulting practice upon graduating.

Since the MBA route is not necessarily interesting or accessible to everyone, I would say that folks who are committed and ambitious can utilize free and low-cost programs like Acumen Academy to learn specific skills, get introduced to certain topics, or get a feel for the "social impact" ecosystem. Then I would say, just jump in, whatever your background. Instead of thinking there is something you need to "fit into" the social impact space, I would argue that the non-business parts of your background and skills will set you apart and be critical to businesses as they realize they need more diversity of thinking on their teams.

3. What most excites you about the social impact space right now?

I'm most excited by those social impact efforts that result in a tangible redistribution of wealth, power and resources. I read an interesting perspective recently that we may be at "peak incrementalism," which in my mind means we are at quite a precarious moment. While more of us are working to galvanize systems change, there is also more attention (and thus resources) than ever focused on ideas that may look, sound and feel good, but don't actually lead to the systemic change we need to, for example, achieve a 1.5 degree Celsius climate scenario that is just and equitable. As a queer, nonbinary person, I find that these shiny objects, while important, can be distracting from the bigger changes we can and must make to dismantle white supremacy and center wellbeing for all.

I've been grateful for Baratunde's podcast "How to Citizen," which I have used as a frame for how we can and must democratize our economic system. And I'm heartened by many of the topics that the Social Venture Circle & American Sustainable Business Council have been convening in their NEXT Economy LIVE series, such as transforming business ownership into cooperative models and new tools for restorative investing.

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