About Beth Hossfeld

This is how Beth is a Changemaker:
I go beyond my comfort zone, listen to other's perspectives and experiences, and act on what I really desire. I have always had empathy for teens and children who live without safety, belonging, or security, and objected to injustice and neglect. With co-founder Giovanna Taormina, we've partnered with thousands of men, women, and teens and trained on the circle model with others who share this commitment to turn systems, institutions, and environments away from inadequate and ineffective structures, and to stand up for and provide opportunities for good relationships. Teens and adults respond immediately to safe and caring connections. The Boys Council approach is a natural extension of what's already begun with Girls Circle. Facilitators working with boys: bringing consistency, offering safe and considerate choices, believing in boys' and girls' wise and fun capacities, challenging unsafe, abusive, violent, or disrespectful conditions. It's been working. Girls say "We love Girls Circle because we get to talk", and "Nobody puts anybody down here; I can open up and be real." Boys say "I hope we have more Boys Council groups" and "I found out I wasn't so different from other dudes." Change begins with a the actions of showing up and listening in safe places.

The place for which Beth feels a fondness or connection:
Oakland A's baseball games with my son and husband; hiking Mt. Tam toward the top or over toward the Pacific Ocean; driving over the Golden Gate Bridge and viewing San Francisco and the Bay Area; being with my parents and all of their 28 grandchildren; listening to the choir at St. Andrew's Church in Marin City. It's the Bay Area!

The change Beth passionately wants to happen:
I want young men -and young women- to find healthy and safe connections within their communities, and, in doing so, to realize: their inherent worth, their individual and collective strength and power to find pathways into sustainable lives and livelihoods, to resist oppressive forces, to reject violence while standing up for rights, respect, and relationships. I want boys and young men to experience strengths in their connections as a community, the foundation for hope.