Gender Equity

Dare to Think Purple – Leadership Lessons from Women in Social Entrepreneurship Book Talk

March 2, 2021  • Forum on Women and Girls & Anne Mosle

Dare to Think Purple Book Talk (Full Recording) from Ascend at the Aspen Institute on Vimeo.

Let’s kick-off Women’s History Month together. Join us for an engaging virtual book talk with Danielle Kristine Toussaint, author of the new book, Dare to Think Purple—A Survival Guide from Women in Social Entrepreneurship, and the inaugural Morgridge Communicator in Residence for Ascend at The Aspen Institute. During this conversation, moderated by Anne Mosle, vice president at the Aspen Institute and co-chair of the Aspen Institute Forum on Women and Girls, you will gain inspiration and leadership insights from the still-in-progress success stories of real women who have launched and scaled social ventures. You’re also invited to stick around after the talk for an author meet and greet, where you will have an opportunity to engage with Danielle and maybe even win a special prize.

About the Author

Danielle Kristine Toussaint is the inaugural Morgridge Communicator in Residence for Ascend at Aspen Institute, where she leads brand strategy and innovation, storytelling, and executive communications initiatives. She joins the team with more than 15 years of experience in social enterprise and nonprofit leadership.

Most recently, as founder and chief storyteller at She Thinks Purple, a women-powered creative agency, she has partnered with impact-driven entrepreneurs and nonprofit leaders to tell inspiring brand stories. She has previously served tenures as Managing Director, Marketing and Communications for both KID Museum, a pioneering experiential museum and educational makerspace located in Bethesda, MD, and iMentor, a leading national college success organization based in New York, NY.

Danielle has been the writing pen behind op-eds and speeches for Huffington Post, Forbes.com, and TEDx. She’s also author of the book Dare to Think Purple, which will be published by New Degrees Press in December 2020.

A proud alumna and mentor to first-generation students, Danielle holds a B.A. in Political Science and African American Studies from Yale University and a M.S.Ed from the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education. With Caribbean family roots, she speaks Haitian Creole, Spanish, French, and Jamaican Patois (all to varying degrees of fluency depending on the day).

About the Moderator

Anne Mosle is a vice president at the Aspen Institute and executive director of Ascend at the Aspen Institute. She is an innovative and inclusive leader in building pathways to opportunity for low-income children, women and families. With more than 20 years of experience in philanthropy, policy, and practice, Mosle is a nationally recognized leader in bringing those sectors together to build pathways to opportunity for children, women, and families with low incomes. Mosle has achieved numerous awards including Washingtonian of the Year, APHSA’s 2017 Jerry W. Friedman Health and Human Services Impact Award, and Visionary Philanthropist.

Mosle founded and leads Ascend, a policy program of the Aspen Institute. Ascend serves as the national hub for breakthrough ideas and proven solutions that move low-income children and their parents towards educational success, economic security, and health and well-being. Under her leadership, Ascend at the Aspen Institute has guided the national two-generation field to new heights and catalyzed action and investments for children and families around the world. Mosle led the design and launch of the Ascend Fellowship, a national fellowship program that identifies and amplifies the impact of multi-sector leaders with “quantum leap” ideas to break the cycle of poverty, and the first national Two-Generation Innovation Fund and national network focused on policy and practice innovations, which now comprises over 300 partners reaching 3.5 million people.