Advancing Women’s Voices

What does it mean to make space for women, to bolster and advance the voice of women?

Since our founding in October 2015, we have made space for women of all ages and backgrounds to have a voice. Through our events, from small dialogues to larger public programs related to our initiatives, women from the arts to technology have come together at Grace Farms to pursue pathways of action toward pursuing good and sustaining change.

In celebration of Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day, here are some of the many women Grace Farms has invited over the years to join us in advancing good and creating new outcomes. They have contributed to our stewardship of nature, expanded our world perspective through the arts, pursued justice through the Design for Freedom movement, built change by fostering community, and inspired us to to consider life’s most enduring questions.

Sharon Prince, CEO and Founder of Grace Farms Foundation, is honored by Fast Company as among the most innovative creatives in 2022.

Innovating to Advance Good

Our diverse programing and place of Grace Farms, nearly 80 acres of biodiverse habitats, from woodlands to wetlands, not only ignites the awe and wonder in each of us, but is meant to inspire social change. How do we collectively create a better and more equitable world for all? What tools do we have to accelerate change such as AI and machine learning?

Left to right: Liz Grennan, Mia Shah-Dand, and Stephanie Dinkins

To answer those questions, in March 2024, we invited Liz Grennan, Global Co-Lead for McKinsey’s Digital Trust service line, Mia Shah-Dand, Founder of Women in AI Ethics and Lighthouse3, a consultancy focusing on responsible AI and data governance, and Stephanie Dinkins, Kusama Endowed Chair in Art at Stony Brook University and advocate for inclusive AI. Moderated by Karen Kariuki, Grace Farms West Coast Program Officer, this panel discussion explores the vast field of AI as a tool for fostering positive outcomes and advancing equity.

Connecting with Nature

Over the years, we have invited notable female environmentalists including Edwina von Gal, Founder of the Perfect Earth Project and acclaimed landscape designer who creates landscapes with a focus on simplicity and sustainability. She collaborated with Grace Farms at our Earth Equity and Design for Freedom Landscapes Forum, as well as conducted educational tours on the importance of native meadows and how they support biodiversity.

Edwina von Gal giving a tour of our expansive meadows.

We welcomed Joy Harjo, the internationally renowned performer and writer, who served three terms as the 23^rd Poet Laureate of the United States, to share her poetry with us. Her work reminds us about our inseparable and important relationship with nature. Similarly,  Karenna Gore, the founder and executive director of the Center for Earth Ethics, addressed how inaction prolongs injustices, and action is the only pathway to resolve them.

Joy Harjo speaking at Grace Farms’ Sanctuary.

Acclaimed explorer filmmaker and environmentalist, Céline Cousteau, and granddaughter of the legendary Jacques Cousteau, presented an exclusive screening of her new film Tribes on the Edge, a raw and evocative documentary that reveals the daily struggles of the last few remaining tribes fighting for survival in the Amazon.

These conversations with these women leaders, invite us to connect and with nature, inspiring us to take part in protecting the Earth and all its inhabitants.

”It is not the Earth that needs fixing, it is our relationship to it.”  Karenna Gore 

Expanding Our Perspectives 

“Weems has long been one of our most effective visual and verbal rhetoricians. When she tackles complex subjects in complex ways, the results are … deeply stirring.” – The New York Times

In 2019,  distinguished artist Carrie Mae Weems presented two public programs at Grace Farms, including Past Tense, a performance-based work exploring enduring themes including social justice, power structures, and cultural identity.

Carrie Mae Weems, far right, during Past Tense performance in our Sanctuary.

Weems is considered one of the most influential contemporary American artists of our time, investigating family relationships, cultural identity, sexism, class, political systems, and the consequences of power.

She received numerous awards, grants, and fellowships, including the prestigious Prix de Roma, The National Endowment of the Arts, The Alpert, The Anonymous was a Woman, and The Tiffany Award. In 2012, Weems was presented with one of the first U.S. Department of State’s Medals of Arts in recognition of her commitment to the State Department’s Art in Embassies program.

In 2013, Weems received the MacArthur “Genius” grant as well as the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

In March 2021, our CEO and Founder Sharon Prince linked arms with Weems to partner on her artist-driven education campaign Resist COVID/ Take 6! Together we donated and delivered 44,000 PPE to healthcare centers in Arizona, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Utah that served Native communities in desperate need of PPE. In 2020, Weems contributed to the launch of the Design for Freedom Report with an original piece of writing, joining dozens of leaders and visionaries, who contributed to this groundbreaking report.

Grace Farms CEO and Founder Sharon Prince welcomes hundreds of attendees to the 2023 Design for Freedom Summit. Credit: Jacek Dolata

Designing a More Human Future 

We are not just in agreement that forced labor in the building materials supply chain is unethical and immoral. We are in agreement that now is the time for action and true market transformation to design and build more humanely. – Sharon Prince

As Grace Farms was also addressing the overwhelming needs of the pandemic, we launched Design for Freedom, a new and ambitious movement to eradicate forced labor from the built environment. We were initially joined by more than 60 industry leaders and experts, many of them women leaders in their respective fields, to launch the movement with the groundbreaking Design for Freedom Report, a dedicated website, and an initial Working Group of more than 60 leaders committed to removing forced labor from the built environment.

Since then, we’ve held two Design for Freedom Summits. In 2023, we brought together more than 500 leaders from the ecosystem of the built environment for in-depth discussions, stimulating roundtables, and presentations that explored solutions to remove forced labor from the global materials supply chain. Our third annual Summit will be held on March 26. A featured speaker this year is Lisa Kristine, Humanitarian Photographer & Activist, and Founder of Human Thread Foundation.

Lisa Kristine, photo credit Lisa Kristine

Her work has documented the wisdom of indigenous communities, as well as the men, women, and children trapped in modern slavery. Kristine has the unique ability to bring the observer into the lives of the nearly 28 million people laboring under forced labor conditions.

Since the launch of Design for Freedom, we have initiated eight Design for Freedom Pilot Projects across three continents, with more announcements slated for this Summit.

Pilot Projects such as The Grain Market, in Jodhpur, India, is a special collaboration with Design for Freedom and Diana Kellogg, founder of her award-winning firm Diana Kellogg Associates. Kellogg is working with JDH Urban Regeneration Project, which is restoring the historic walled city of Jodhpur. Together, they will restore a historic grain market, transforming it into a world-class farmer’s market with dining.

The new Harriet Tubman Monument in Newark, NJ, designed by architect, artist, and United States Artists Fellow Nina Cooke John, opened to the public on March 9, 2023. The two-story monument, Shadow of a Face, encourages visitors to connect with Harriet Tubman, her story, and her extraordinary legacy.

Nina Cooke John

Design for Freedom worked with Cooke John on the transparent sourcing of materials for the monument, demonstrating her commitment to design and build with materials that are free of forced labor. Cooke John is designing the new Grace Farms exhibit opening in May, With Every Fiber, curated by Chelsea Thatcher, Grace Farms’ Founding Creative Director.

Also contributing to the exhibit is Anna Dyson, Founding Director, Yale CEA, and Design for Freedom Working member. As one of the lead authors of the groundbreaking report, Building Materials and the Climate: Constructing a New Future, Dyson addresses how the construction industry could play a major role in addressing climate change. It was also the first time that the embedded suffering of forced labor in the building materials supply chain was linked to the climate crisis. The report was published by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Yale Center for Ecosystems + Architecture, and the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC).

“This is a rare and promising time to initialize ‘ethical decarbonization’ to assess and lower both embodied carbon and embodied suffering in an opaque weighty marketplace that will have significant humanitarian impact.” – Sharon Prince

Fostering Change Through Community 

When we closed to the public on March 9, 2020, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we quickly pivoted and turned Grace Farms into a humanitarian hub to address two intersecting and pressing humanitarian crises, a critical lack of PPE state-wide and soaring food insecurity. We have addressed food insecurity since our founding, and at the start of the pandemic, we dedicated considerable resources and efforts to combat rising food insecurity in our community. In 2020 alone, we donated and delivered 169,276 pounds of nutritious meals and pantry staples to 67,897 with the help of our food equity partners. To date, that number has grown to more than 150,000 meals to those in need. This crisis and our commitment to food equity led to our Against the Grain video series, which featured women visionaries who delved into innovative strategies and collaborative models to advance sustainable food systems.

The women included Sara Farley, Managing Director of the Rockefeller Foundation’s Food Initiative, and Sarah Naseer, CEO of FEED.  “Our mission is to advance the wellbeing of humanity or advancing the frontiers of science, of policy, innovation, market innovation, and doing all that so we can transform the world,” Farley said.

Another significant outcome that emerged from this crisis is closing the acute state-wide PPE gap within weeks. Grace Farms sourced, donated, and distributed 2 million PPE to 55 organizations in 27 towns across Connecticut and New York. In 2021, we launched Common Good Through Crisis, that documented this historic time and the Foundation’s efforts to provide critical PPE to frontline healthcare workers and hundreds of thousands of nutritious meals to our neighbors in need. Many of the frontline workers featured in this exhibit were women.

Innovators of Change

“Companies can be a force for good, if you come together and say I want to do something to improve society.” – Indra Nooyi, former chair and CEO of PepsiCo

Indra Nooyi, who consistently ranked as one of the most powerful women in the world, former chair and CEO of PepsiCo, one of Forbes Top 100 America’s Self-Made Women of 2021, and New York Times bestselling author, discussed innovation, leadership, and new perspectives at a panel of innovators at Grace Farms. Also joining her was Brooke Baldwin, former CNN anchor, and author of Huddle: How Women Unlock Their Collective Power, and Elizabeth Davis, Principal at the Female Innovators Lab by Barclays and Anthemis Group. They discussed their experiences as trailblazers in their respective industries and explored how their innovative strategies, approaches, and models are driving change and fostering empowerment for women.

Fostering More Inclusive Communities

“Do not be afraid. This is your time in history. Keep your eyes on the prize. And at all costs, stay united.” – Ruby Bridges, American civil rights leader

Over 12,000 people engaged in a discussion with civil rights activist Ruby Bridges in a program produced by Grace Farms. Released during Black History Month, Then and Now, was a catalyst for change in New Canaan and the surrounding community. A local eight-year-old boy, motivated by a racial incident that happened to him, wrote a letter to Ruby Bridges asking her to come speak to his community and help “kids like you and me.” This action resulted in Grace Farms Foundation’s production of Then and Now.

Left to right: Ruby Bridges and Karen Kariuki in the production of Then and Now.

The 45-minute film, which reached thousands of students, teachers, and community members, was also possible with the support of more than two dozen individuals and institutions from across the educational, faith, business, and private philanthropy sectors throughout Fairfield County. The production, developed by Karen Kariuki, Senior Program Officer, demonstrated the importance of using our voices.

Creating Inclusive Spaces

In 2023, we convened visionaries in higher education whose transformational leadership is moving education systems forward. They included Sian Leah Beilock, then President of Barnard College and President-Elect of Dartmouth; Frances Bronet, President of Pratt Institute; Helene Gayle, MD, President of Spelman College; and Laura Sparks, President of The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. The panel, moderated by Grace Farms CEO and Founder, Sharon Prince, discussed how women leaders are fostering inclusive education systems through space, admissions, and connections to the workforce.

From left to right: Sharon Prince, Helene Gayle, MD, Sian Leah Beilock, Frances Bronet, Laura Sparks, and Karen Kariuki, in the River building’s Library at Grace Farms. In the background is Thomas Demand’s photographic works Farm 56 and Farm 88, models of the River building created at the SANAA office during the design process. Photo by Melani Lust

In our Perspectives, Madam President: Women Leaders in Higher Education, these leaders discussed the importance of space as a lever for change and a vehicle to address our most pressing issues. Below are excerpts from the conversation.

Cognition is in our head but also distributed in our environment. And that’s really the idea around embodied cognition. And we now know that space has a huge impact on how we think and feel. – Sian Leah Beilock

When you think about space, how can you design it so you can have unpredictable ways of using it? – Frances Bronet

It [Sanctuary] seats 700, but it feels intimate, but it was so intentional because this [stage] is half the height of a Broadway stage so we can [equally] see. It’s intentional. It’s also a sense of being equal. And the space itself, breaking down barriers, creating, piquing your curiosity, all those things matter. And as you move through the spaces you feel like you belong. – Sharon Prince

I think you come up with something different when people are in that space together and have a chance to think in different parts of their brains all together. – Helene Gayle

As we think about spaces and the tone that we set in them and the way that we set up the ability for people to interact in them, it’s critical to how learning takes place. – Laura Sparks

Supporting Women Around the World

In September 2022, Grace Farms Foods received its Certified B Corp Certified status, joining a select group of companies held to high standards of verified performance, accountability, and transparency. In 2021, Grace Farms Foods, a public benefit LLC, and a Certified B Corp, 100% owned by Grace Farms Foundation, was launched. The aim was to demonstrate that the sourcing of tea and coffee free of forced labor was possible and to be able to educate the public about ethical supply chains through accessible products that people use every day, tea and coffee.

For more than a year, we searched to identify the best ethically sourced coffees from around the world and found our signature blend, River Roast, a perfectly balanced blended coffee sourced exclusively from women-led co-ops in Ethiopia, Colombia, and Indonesia. By partnering with these co-ops every cup of coffee invests in female entrepreneurs and empowers women through financial independence. 100% of the profits from Grace Farms Foods support Design for Freedom to eliminate forced labor worldwide.

As we continue to invite women of all ages and backgrounds to continue to work with us, putting them in proximity to each other and with some of the most pressing humanitarian issues of our time, we can continue to take action toward sustained social impact.

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About Grace Farms

Grace Farms is a center for culture and collaboration in New Canaan, Connecticut. We bring together people across sectors to explore nature, arts, justice, community, and faith at the SANAA-designed River building and Barns on 80 acres of publicly accessible, preserved natural landscape. Our humanitarian work to end modern slavery and foster more grace and peace in our local and global community includes leading the Design for Freedom movement to eliminate forced labor in the building materials supply chain.

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Grace Farms members enjoy special access to member-only events, experiential activities, and thought-provoking programs — and the opportunity to be a part of our mission to pursue a more peaceful world.

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