I used to teach photography to blind students.

One student made photographs of the cracked sidewalks at her school and sent them to the superintendent as “proof” of the damage. She included a letter asking for them to be fixed. “Since you are sighted,” she wrote, “you may not notice these cracks. They are a big problem since my walking cane gets stuck.”

I want to notice all the cracks in my world – the prejudice I still have about cultures I don’t understand, the arrogance that I know anything with certainty, and the privilege I have by virtue of my skin color, gender, and education. Sometimes the cracks seem small and easy to overlook – saying people’s names incorrectly, not giving thanks before a meal, forgetting my mom’s birthday (she’d say that was a big crack), and being too judgmental of others. Sometimes the cracks are obvious – if I pay attention.

My "calling" in life is to use my skills across different disciplines - business, social enterprise, art, media, religion, social justice to notice the cracks and help others notice them too. There are many – and the more we pay attention, the more we can work together to make the world whole again.

In Spring 2007, Chronicle Books will publish a book about this project. It called Seeing Beyond Sight: Photographs by Blind Teenagers.

- Here is one of the pictures, but see some of their other photographs.

Buy a copy now - and support the project.

MY WORK

I was on the founding board of KaBOOM! in 1996 and joined the senior management team in 2004 as the Chief Strategist.

KaBOOM! envisions a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America.

KaBOOM! works towards this vision by building playgrounds, skateparks and fields with the leadership and participation of communities. It has built over 1,000 PlaySpaces in all 50 states with over 175,000 volunteers, and renovated 1,300 others. It’s an old-fashioned barn raising with an urban twist. Very simple. Very amazing.

MY LOVE

I live in the Mission District of SF with my wife, Mardie Oakes, whom I love with all my might.

She is an awesome social entrepreneur, Executive Director of a new nonprofit that is building 60 units of housing in the Bay Area for people with developmental disabilities, and an echoing green fellow.