Do you know those people who laugh easily, put you at ease and who seem to recognize you, not as who you necessarily are, but as who you could be? For Episode 009 of The Catalyst, I had the honor of sitting down with such a person: United States Ambassador Swanee Hunt. In conversation with her, one notices that Ambassador Hunt is a woman with a wealth of wisdom and a sense of humor that is clever in its delivery and Texan in its candor. By that, I mean not only will the Ambassador make you smile, but she’ll make you laugh as well.
One has to imagine its her diplomatic background that makes for such a soothing and compelling presence but I reckon it’s a multitude of experiences: from her eight years in seminary—to which Ambassador Hunt remarked, “Good Lord deliver us” to advocating on the world stage for women to be key figures in peacemaking and security in regions that have been ravaged by war and instability to working alongside survivors of sex work, policy makers and law enforcement stakeholders in creating avenues for the complete abolishment of sex exploitation, sex trafficking and prostitution.
Indeed, Ambassador Swanee Hunt is a bonafide diplomat, all-around Changemaker and an advocate for women to be leaders in peacemaking and security—what the Ambassador calls inclusive security. However, don’t take her advocacy for women to lead the way in dicey situations as mere chauvinism: as noted in Episode 009 of The Catalyst, Ambassador Hunt has spent quite some time proving that women can, and should, be looked at as necessary on the road to reconciliation and subsequently invited to have a seat at the table.
As I love to mention, I’m a big student of gratitude and it never escapes me that the Changemakers I’ve hosted on this platform (or I should say, the inspiring people who have agreed to be interviewed by me for The Catalyst) are incredibly busy individuals given their penchant for energizing, electrifying and encouraging impactful moments wherever they go. This episode of The Catalyst serves as a reminder, as all the episodes of The Catalyst do, that it’s an honor to have these Changemakers take me seriously enough to say “yes” for an interview and then be open enough to share their wisdom and personal truths with me and you, the Catalyst Community.
Changemakers, I invite you to listen to Episode 009 of The Catalyst. However, I must warn you: Ambassador Hunt and I touch upon the topics of sex trafficking and prostitution and the subsequent social impacts our choices make on those two issues. If these topics are a bit much for you, no worries! That said, I advise you to skip 28:48 to 47:25 of Episode 009.
Episode 009 of The Catalyst can be listened to by playing the audio player located at the bottom of this post as well as on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. If you enjoyed the conversation with Ambassador Hunt, let me know! I would love to hear from you, Changemakers, so share your comments below on this post or on The Catalyst’s Instagram and Twitter.
As always, Changemakers, be sure to join the conversation by subscribing to our mailing list, located here.
