Radical leadership: To truly embrace resistance (to fascism and far right ideology), we must be willing to welcome radical leadership. Not “radical”, the noun. I mean “radical”, the adjective. Radical, meaning essential, fundamental and profound: a model that fully embraces the ideology of being broad-minded, open to new opinions and ideas, willing to discard outdated modes of thinking and acting. Radical leadership elevates the voices of others; making space as we learn and practice how to stand together—when it’s uncomfortable, even when we’re unsure of the outcome.
Becca Balint is the Majority Leader in the Vermont State Senate and represents Windham County. She was just re-elected to her fourth term and is poised to become the first woman to become Senate President Pro Tempore and the first openly gay person to lead either legislative chamber. Before entering politics, Becca had a career in education, teaching in both public and private schools, and at the Community College of Vermont. She’s written a popular weekly editorial column in the Brattleboro Reformer for the past 8 years. Becca’s an avid outdoorswoman and runner, and in the last few years, she’s also taken up trumpet and bought a motorcycle. She lives in Brattleboro with her spouse, Elizabeth Wohl, and their two children. She’s promised all of them she will not play trumpet while riding her motorcycle.