Atkinson Field Notes

Learning in Action

News, presentations and reflections from Atkinson’s Chief Executive Officer Colette Murphy and the rest of the Atkinson team.


20 May 20
ICYMI, in celebration of the one-year anniversary of the drive to unionize Foodora’s delivery workers, the corporation announced it’s exiting the Canadian market and has declared bankruptcy with $4.7 million in debt. Read more >
27 Mar 20
As we settle into life under public health orders in light of COVID-19, I’ve spent a lot of time on the phone these past two weeks. And walking. And on the phone while walking. Read more >
21 Feb 20
Twenty years of shareholder research and education. Twenty years of building an organization known world-wide as SHARE, an acronym that communicates a timeless and urgent mission with uncommon simplicity. Twenty years of doing one’s duty -- demonstrating what prudence, loyalty and care look like when investing in a sustainable, inclusive and productive economy. Read more >
20 Feb 20
“I wasn’t a failed DJ. I was pre-successful.” This is just one of the flashes of brilliance that made me a true fan of The Good Place, a wildly funny, philosophical sitcom about life, death, good, evil, redemption and frozen yogurt that premiered in 2016. The series finale aired late last month. Read more >
3 Jul 19
Is it possible to have a competitive economy that is also fair? This question was on my mind when I moderated a panel on economic democracy at the Progress Summit earlier this year. Economist Rocío Martínez-Sampere, sociologist Julia Posca and workers’ rights organizer Deena Ladd joined me for what turned out to be an inspiring economic myth-busting session. Read more >
30 Apr 19
Growing up, my dad, older brother and sister were amateur astronomers. As the youngest at the time, I naturally wanted to be in on the exploration. Summer holidays at the planetarium. Summer nights with the telescope, star maps, and naming constellations. What fascinated me most was that the night sky, the heavens, were shared -- around the globe and through time -- and I had a lot of questions. Read more >
25 Apr 19
I turned 30 last year. As my birthday approached, my loved ones gently asked  “and how are you feeling about it?” Any important date - a birthday, an anniversary, a milestone - is a moment to ask hard existential and practical questions. Read more >
1 Apr 19
This weekend we learned Donna Wood died a couple of weeks ago in Victoria, British Columbia after a long illness. Donna was a private person about her health, but a fiercely public person when it came to the health of Canadian society. That’s why only a few of us had any idea that the paper we published together on Employment Insurance at the end of January would be one of her last. Read more >
18 Mar 19
When I am asked how I first became interested in social justice, I share my memory of being 10 years old and tagging along with my parents to community meetings. Born and raised in Montréal to Afro-Peruvian parents with little family in Canada, I went where they went; to someone’s living room or community centre. Read more >
17 Jan 19
Last fall, I was extremely lucky to have the opportunity to hear Gloria Steinem speak. In a panel discussion, she was asked about the challenge of right wing populism and the threat to social justice. Read more >
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