Recent Hero of the Month Commentaries

Featured image for “September 2012 Ethical Hero – Samira Ibrahim”
September 2012 Ethical Hero – Samira Ibrahim
In my book, What Do You Stand For?, Holocaust survivor Judy Meisel writes, “We cannot afford to say, ‘What can I do? – I’m only one person?’  One person can do a lot!” I was reminded of that again after reading actress Charlize Theron’s observations regarding Samira Ibrahim who was chosen as one of TIME magazine’s 100 Most Influential People...
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September 12, 2012
Featured image for “June 2012 Ethical Hero – Howard Schultz”
June 2012 Ethical Hero – Howard Schultz
Howard Schultz is not sitting around waiting for Congress to do something about jobs. Credited for making Starbucks the number three restaurant chain in America, last April, Schultz has raised the capitol and consciousness for jobs through an initiative he calls Create Jobs for USA. “My message” Schultz said in an interview on CBS This Morning, “is the following: we...
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June 12, 2012
Featured image for “February 2012 Ethical Hero – Chief Joseph”
February 2012 Ethical Hero – Chief Joseph
Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce tribe of Native Americans was not only a responsible and caring chief to his tribe, but was, perhaps one of the most honorable leaders of peace. Not long after Joseph became chief, settlers began overrunning his land based on the treaty forced upon his people by the U.S. government. While he wanted to protect...
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February 12, 2012
Featured image for “October 2011 Ethical Hero – Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba”
October 2011 Ethical Hero – Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba
Former Mayor of Hiroshima Tadatoshi Akiba is one of the most prominent leaders in the campaign to abolish nuclear weapons. During his three terms as Mayor from 1999 to 2011, he served as President of Mayors for Peace and oversaw its expansion from 440 members to nearly 5,000, uniting mayors in more than 100 countries for the launch of its...
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October 12, 2011
Featured image for “August 2011 Ethical Hero – His Holiness The Dalai Lama”
August 2011 Ethical Hero – His Holiness The Dalai Lama
Tenzin Gyatso is the fourteenth Dalai Lama of Tibet. He is both head of state (in exile) and the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people. He is admired and esteemed worldwide as a man who has championed policies of nonviolence. His consistent compassionate nonviolence, even in the face of great aggression, led to his receiving the Nobel Prize for Peace...
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August 12, 2011
Featured image for “June 2011 Ethical Hero – Reverend Peter J. Gomes”
June 2011 Ethical Hero – Reverend Peter J. Gomes
“He was a thundering black Baptist preacher,” the New York Times writes, “and for much of his life a conservative Republican celebrity who wrote books about the Pilgrims, published volumes of sermons and presided at weddings and funerals of the rich and famous. He gave the benediction at President Ronald Reagan’s second inauguration and delivered the National Cathedral sermon at...
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June 12, 2011
Featured image for “November 2010 Ethical Hero – Reverend James Lawson”
November 2010 Ethical Hero – Reverend James Lawson
On the eve of his assassination in 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr. called his mentor Reverend James Lawson “the leading theorist and strategist of nonviolence in the world.” Reverend Lawson is a deeply religious man, who served in prison for being a conscientious objector during the Korean War.  After servicing in prison, he went to India and studied the Gandhian...
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November 12, 2010
Featured image for “October 2010 Ethical Hero – Mother Teresa”
October 2010 Ethical Hero – Mother Teresa
I cannot think of compassion and unconditional love without thinking of Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, also known as Mother Teresa. It’s hard to imagine that the world has been without the presence of this most selfless of individuals for 13-years this month. In 1928, at the age of 18, Agnes left her home in Skopje, the Republic of Macedonia to join...
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October 12, 2010
Featured image for “May 2010 Ethical Hero – Gordon Massie”
May 2010 Ethical Hero – Gordon Massie
Gordon Massie was your average, guy-next-door, high-yield bond and investment manager who happened to work at… American International Group (AIG). (Whoa, wait-a-second, Jim!  Don’t tell me you’re making one of those high-finance, me-first, Wall Street types Ethical Hero of the Month?) Six months ago I received a call from Gordon and what he told me over the next hour of...
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May 12, 2010
Featured image for “March 2010 Ethical Hero – Dr. William Gallivan”
March 2010 Ethical Hero – Dr. William Gallivan
It began with a phone call. The assistant to my orthopedist asked to change my scheduled appointment.  The reason, “Bill’s detoured his vacation to spend time in Haiti, Jim and help those who are in need of medical help.” After speaking with Bill, he shared the following report – “At twilight on Jan 12, 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake lasting...
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March 12, 2010