9th Laureate During #9YearsOfChangingLives: UCLA Pritzker Emerging Environmental Genius Award Winner

9th Laureate During #9YearsOfChangingLives: UCLA Pritzker Emerging Environmental Genius Award Winner
They called my name. 
UCLA Pritzker Emerging Environmental Genius Award winner.
And I froze.
 
Even as Tony Pritzker opened the envelope, my hands were shaking.
My heartbeat was loud—but my thoughts were louder.
 
You don’t belong here.
You’re not enough.
 
That voice has followed me for years.
Told by others. Repeated by me.
Through rooms I never thought I’d enter.
Through building something from nothing.
Through trying to do things differently—when the world kept telling me to stay small.

And still, I almost didn’t believe it.
Watching through a screen from the other side of the world, I nearly cried.
 
As I tried to find words for an acceptance speech, one thing came to mind:
The Ibus.
 
Their hands—weaving, planting, teaching.
Rising before the sun.
Bringing life back to land, and dignity back to women.
 
I remembered who this is really for.
Who taught me what it means to lead.
Who carries the kind of genius this world keeps overlooking.
 
Ibu Srikanthi once shared a phrase that changed my life:
Urip Iku Urup.

A Javanese wisdom: We live to bring light.

That light has guided every step of this journey.
And that day—for the first time—I let myself feel it fully:
 
I belong.
Not in spite of where I come from—
but because of it.
 
We belong.
 
This award isn’t mine.
It’s for every woman who’s ever been told her wisdom doesn’t count.
For every quiet changemaker still showing up.
For anyone learning to trust the light inside—even when the world tries to dim it.
 
We belong.
 
So please—listen to that inner light.
It knows the way.
 
We don’t need permission to shine.
We carry the light already.
Let’s keep passing it on.

P.S. Thank you, Bertram—my partner in life and purpose—for flying to LA and standing on that stage for those who couldn't be there. More on why I couldn't travel soon. 😉

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