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Thank you for your willingness to speak your thoughts here. I appreciate that it is not easy to speak things close to the heart in a public forum where you don't know how your words may be received. I join you in holding the intention to make this communication space safe for any of us to share what we see, trusting that others will "listen" with openness.

I am deeply concerned by the announcement indicating a point of separation within the leadership group for Sophia. I cannot imagine the Sophia Conference moving ahead without the diverse talents and contributions all five founders who have worked so hard to bring us this far. As a member of the Partnership Council and Communication Team, I can speak firsthand about the integrity and dedication of Lauren and Kimberly. The programs they represent are integral to the global reach of Sophia and the gifts and perspectives bring are too valuable to diminish or lose. Each of these five women is needed to make this vision a reality.

Of course disagreements come up in any group. What's meant to be different here in the Sophia work is our collective intention to find a better way of working together and to live it out, model it, as representatives of Sophia wisdom. I think this is the most important work we are doing and in fact it is the only way we will be effective on behalf of women everywhere.

It is not easy to embody true "partnership" values. On planet earth, we humans are all learners here. I think women have some gifts that are particularly suited to moving this learning process along, and we have tools that are readily available--circle principles, conversation, the tools of cooperative work, mediation.

If we can commit to going the distance in partnership with each other, while we will definitely disagree along the way, we will evoke collective wisdom that will generate finer, more comprehensive decisions and achievements than any one of us or any small group of us is even able to conceive.

I read the messages posted here in Light Pages and sense that everyone wants the highest good to happen. There is a deep wish for Sophia’s wisdom to truly show up here in how we do the work of Sophia. I hear a desire for a healthy conversation that allows differences to be resolved in a way that respects each person. I sense the need for us to do this work because this truly is the work of Sophia’s wisdom rising.