FLM: Compare how your involvement with communities/outreach/activism has changed since you became a mother.
DF: Before having children my involvement with communities, outreach and activism was simply about doing good. That was mostly because that was what I was taught to do. As a mom my perspective vastly changed. Wisdom started to set in and understood that my involvement in any of these things are not just about doing good or just what’s right, but these things matter because they impact the future and world for my children.
FLM: Explain how your personal life has impacted your role in What’s Your Forte Foundation (WYFF).
DF: Initially WYFF was not intentionally focused on boys. I began to think about how self-esteem and wavering identity in girls impact them so much. I remember thinking how having a lot of confidence as a young girl and as a young woman still did not make my own self-esteem falter at times. I was talking to Matt and said we need to make it clear and expand our reach. I also was an arts kid. I graduated from Columbia College Chicago and was always reminded while there that you never had to be pigeonholed to one specific thing. You can also tap into other talents. I asked Matt “what would it look like to really dig in with these kids and find out what their forte was?” Everyone is not an athlete or an artsy kid. We all are so uniquely and beautifully made. How can we tap into that? Hence it being true to the “What’s Your Forte?” For boys and girls.