Who we are &
why we do this
We are educators, healers, artists, and dreamers united by a single question asked by a student in 1992 — and still working to answer it every day.
Fostering the beloved community
What Better Looks Like fosters the development of beloved community by helping individuals imagine, articulate, and create visions for a better world. The intentional infusion of love into our interactions has the power to create the radical changes necessary to make the world better.
WORKING DEFINITION
BETTER: There are several ways to talk about things being better. When we visualize a better world, we do not mean, “slightly less bad than it was yesterday,” but rather better as in healed and whole again. This formulation for better asks people to create their greatest vision for the world.
Founding Principles
We ask people to think about what community they would like to impact - family, school, town, world, and ask them to imagine a vision for better.
For change to be effective and longlasting, the solutions have to be created by the people who are affected by the problem
We invite people to ask themselves, "What did you come to heal or create and teach?", and use that vision to better your community.
— The Question That Started It All
"This is how the world is. If you want me to make it better — what would that look like?"
How a student's question changed everything
In 1992, while teaching an 8th Grade Social Studies class, Liz offered her students the following challenge: “You are the future — it is up to you to make the world a better place.”
“This is how the world is. If you want me to make it better, what would that look like?”
— JESSICA, AGE 13For the last twenty years, Jessica’s question became Liz’s North Star. When it came time to incorporate, Liz found Jessica online — and twenty years after that unforgettable question, had the honor of attending her wedding.
What Better Looks Like, through films, public service announcements, education programs, and creative projects, opens a dialogue into the question — inviting people to seek positive answers together.
Peace Across Continents
In September 2007, six founding members attended a conference on Women, Power and Peace at the Omega Institute. Among the attendees was Christine Schuler Deschryver, who works with women who have been victims of extreme violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“After witnessing how well the genocide was planned, I came to realize — the same energy we use to plan war can be used to plan peace.”
— MARIE GORETTI UKEYE
In 2010, the team traveled to Rwanda and the D.R. Congo. They visited the Heal Africa Hospital in Goma, helped fund nine safe houses, donated to the Imbabazi Orphanage, and began supporting what would become the Village of Hope in Nyarugunga — a community of genocide survivors now known as “the poorest of the poor.”
Amahoro means “peace” in Kinyarwandan — and peace, built person by person, community by community, is what we’re working toward.
The people who said yes
Seven extraordinary women who, in the face of a world that needed changing, chose to show up — and kept showing up, for decades.
Liz Gannon-Graydon is a co-founder of What Better Looks Like. Her work and world view were inspired by her parents. Her Dad was a college professor and activist who taught her the vision of Dr. King’s Beloved Community.
Liz Gannon-Graydon
Co-Founder, What Better Looks Like
Liz Gannon-Graydon is a co-founder of What Better Looks Like. Her work and world view were inspired by her parents. Her Dad was a college professor and activist who taught her the vision of Dr. King's Beloved Community. Her mother was an emergency room nurse in NYC, who taught her the importance of caring for the person right in front of her.
Liz taught middle school in NYC for 16 years. It was there that a young student changed the course of her life. In response to Miss Gannon's observation that they were the future and it would be up to them to make the world a better place, her student responded, "This is how the world is. If you want me to make it better, what would better look like?" Liz has spent the last three decades of her life devoted to answering that question.
As an educator, storyteller, and public speaker, she believes that the fastest way to change the world is to change the stories that we tell — and that the most important story is in each of us. Liz is the former chairperson of The Peace Alliance and recently completed a training in Nonviolence365® Masterclass Edition through The King Center.
"For me, taking the time to notice the people around you, and treating them with kindness is what BETTER looks like."
Marie Goretti Ukeye was born and raised in Rwanda, where she lived through the 1994 genocide. The profound loss of family members, friends, and community left a lasting impact on her life.
Marie Goretti Ukeye
Co-Founder, What Better Looks Like
Marie Goretti Ukeye was born and raised in Rwanda, where she lived through the 1994 genocide. The profound loss of family members, friends, and community left a lasting impact on her life. Rather than letting tragedy define her, Marie chose to let it shape a deeper sense of compassion, purpose, and commitment to others.
From those painful experiences, Marie learned the value of empathy, resilience, and hope. Today, she is dedicated to creating a more caring world — especially for vulnerable children — using the lessons of her past to guide her path forward.
"To help extend to orphaned children what is offered to me in the USA — the guarantee of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, to find joy in children's laughter and to help them live in a more peaceful world — that's what BETTER looks like for me."
Chris has a broad base of leadership and training experience in the educational and healthcare fields, as well as an expertise in development of program models.
Chris Clarke
Co-Founder, What Better Looks Like
Chris has a broad base of leadership and training experience in the educational and healthcare fields, as well as an expertise in development of program models. Her career focused on improving the lives of children and their families through work as a teacher, school administrator, college professor and foster parent.
She has developed and managed several statewide quality assurance initiatives of the NY State Department of Health, including Early Intervention for very young children with disabilities and their families, School-based Health Clinics, School-based Dental Clinics, and Family Planning Clinics. Chris loves to inspire others to explore their own new ways of seeing life and has volunteered on behalf of families in crisis, children with disabilities, and those experiencing extreme poverty both locally and in developing countries.
"Connecting with spirit, and inspiring others to remember truth and joy, is what BETTER looks like to me."
Robin DeLuca-Acconi, Ph.D., LCSW Clinical Associate Professor, is currently the Director of School Social Work programming school partnerships in the School of Social Welfare at Stony Brook University.
Robin DeLuca-Acconi
Co-Founder, What Better Looks Like
Robin DeLuca-Acconi, Ph.D., LCSW is currently the Director of School Social Work programming and school partnerships in the School of Social Welfare at Stony Brook University. She has been consulting with Long Island school districts on trauma-sensitive schools, school avoidance and anxiety, and the impact of empathetic distress on school personnel. She served as Assistant Dean for the School of Social Welfare from 2019 until she created the school social work program in 2024.
She was a school social worker for twenty years from 1999–2019 and is on the board of the NYS School Social Work Association representing Nassau and Suffolk counties. Her research surrounds educational equity and increasing positive outcomes for public school students. She has co-authored "School Made Easier: A Kid's Guide to Study Strategies and Anxiety-Busting Tools" and contributed chapters to two books published by Oxford University Press.
"For me, what BETTER looks like is a world in which we all are aware of our inter-connectiveness — a world in which we all become aware about how the choices we make impact one another, the environment and all living things. We need to use this awareness to make improved decisions."
Eileen has been a health-care professional, in the field of Dental Hygiene, for over twenty years. She has trained in various modalities as a life coach, emotional release work, primary trauma recovery facilitation, non-violent communication and community advocacy.
Eileen Ilardo
Co-Founder, What Better Looks Like
Eileen has been a health-care professional in the field of Dental Hygiene for over twenty years. She has trained in various modalities as a life coach, emotional release work, primary trauma recovery facilitation, non-violent communication, and community advocacy. Additionally, she monitored school-based dental clinics throughout New York.
Eileen has years of commitment to women's issues and has participated as a co-facilitator of women's groups and retreats. She is a dedicated peace activist and is passionate about environmental issues, having served with Sierra Club, Habitat for Humanity, and Remote Area Medical/Dental clinic. Eileen was blessed to be the mother of two beautiful children. Having lost her son to addiction, her path now includes connecting and bonding with others to navigate the grief journey.
"What BETTER Looks Like to me is connecting and finding commonality with each other by sharing our stories and strengths."
Norma’s passion is in healing the disconnectedness among people. An avid activist for peace, women and the elderly, her key focus is connecting with others to discover what is most important to them as individuals and honoring them as such.
Norma Loeb
Co-Founder, What Better Looks Like
Norma's passion is in healing the disconnectedness among people. An avid activist for peace, women and the elderly, her key focus is connecting with others to discover what is most important to them as individuals and honoring them as such. An essential part of her community-based work, both locally and globally, is meeting in circles as equals to achieve vital connection and inspiration.
Affected and inspired by the caregiving to her Mom, Lillian, who had Lewy body dementia, Norma is the founder of the Lewy Body Dementia Resource Center — which has the only live helpline in the United States for LBD, facilitates support groups nationwide, and has vast resources on their website. Norma was executive assistant to the CFO of The New York Times Company where she worked for over 25 years.
"What BETTER looks like to me is feeling the joy of a loving voice, hand, hug, or song. Most importantly, it is about having time available when someone is in need."
Born and raised in Canada, Kathleen is an ordained Interfaith minister, addictions specialist, End of Life Doula, and spiritual counselor. She brings her experience in facilitation of women’s circles, team building retreats, spiritual retreats for women, Emotional Release, and other groups.
Kathleen Casserly
Co-Founder, What Better Looks Like
Born and raised in Canada, Kathleen is an ordained Interfaith minister, addictions specialist, End of Life Doula, and spiritual counselor. She brings her experience in facilitation of women's circles, team building retreats, spiritual retreats for women, Emotional Release, and other groups.
For eleven years she hosted women's circles on Long Island, New York, in Connecticut, and in Vermont, inspired by Jean Shinoda Bolen's Millionth Circle. Her work combines Non-Violent Communication and various energy and body-centered practices. Kathleen is committed to healing trauma within individuals, families, and communities with a wholistic approach — body, mind, spirit, and emotions. She is the mother of two grown children and is active in civic, beautification, and environmental projects in her home city of Montpelier, Vermont.
"What BETTER looks like to me is balance: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual — in myself, in relationships, in my family, in communities, and globally, including a healthy relationship with Mother Earth."
The team behind the mission
Our board brings together expertise in law, finance, education, healthcare, and the arts — all united by a shared belief in the power of community
Deputy Executive Secretary at CEPGL. A survivor of the 1994 genocide and advocate for women and genocide prevention. Based in Rwanda.
Liliane Gashumba
Deputy Executive Secretary, Administration & Finance — CEPGL
Liliane Gashumba is Deputy Executive Secretary responsible for Administration and Finance at Communauté Economique des Pays des Grands Lacs (CEPGL) — a regional organization between Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Management from the National University of Rwanda and a Master of Business Administration in Project Management from Maastricht School of Management in collaboration with Rwanda School of Finance and Banking.
Outside of her professional life, Ms. Gashumba, a survivor of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, works with various organizations speaking out for women, victims and survivors of genocide as well as for prevention of HIV in Rwanda. Ms. Gashumba resides in Rwanda with her husband and three daughters.
Regional Director of Special Events at the American Heart Association since 2001. Expert fundraiser and community partnership builder across NYC and Long Island.
Michele Gervat
Regional Director of Special Events — American Heart Association
Michele Gervat has been Regional Director of Special Events at the American Heart Association in Plainview, New York since 2001. She is responsible for fundraising and has continually generated new partnerships with individuals and corporations in the New York City/Long Island region.
Michele promotes wellness to help improve the health of Long Island communities adhering to the 20/20 Goal of the American Heart Association: improving the cardiovascular health of all Americans by 20% and reducing death and disability from cardiovascular diseases and stroke. She oversees the Long Island Heart Ball and the AHA Golf Classic, a Joel Hamroff Memorial Tribute.
Prior to her career at AHA, Michele was a paraprofessional at Western Suffolk BOCES for ten years, working with emotionally challenged students from third grade through high school. She is a member of the Huntington Chamber of Commerce and the Melville Chamber of Commerce.
Partner at Wingman63. Associate Producer of the documentary "Jump Shot: The Kenny Sailors Story" (exec. produced by Steph Curry). Former senior roles at Foot Locker and Taubman Centers.
David Goldberg
Partner — Wingman63
A partner at Wingman63, a sports and entertainment content boutique specializing in "content with a cause," David Goldberg has held senior marketing positions at public companies including Foot Locker and Taubman Centers. A prolific ghost-author, he is also Associate Producer (for Executive Producer Steph Curry) of the 2019 documentary feature "Jump Shot: The Kenny Sailors Story" and the creator of the 1990s sports culture phenomenon "The Foot Locker Slam Fest."
A resident of Long Island and graduate of LIU Post, he also serves on the boards of the WVI Dolphin Foundation, Fathers Incorporated, and Vin Baker's Bouncing Back Foundation.
Attorney in private practice in Jamaica Estates, NY. Member of the Queens County and NYS Bar Associations. Former Board member of Forestdale, Inc.
Joseph Ledwidge
Attorney — Private Practice, Jamaica Estates, NY
Joseph is an attorney with his own private practice in Jamaica Estates, New York. He studied business and finance and earned his LL.B. in London, UK. He is a member of the Queens County Bar Association and the New York State Bar Association.
Joseph wrote and lectured on "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Litigating a Case in Probate Court," hosted by the New York City Bar Association. Outside of his law practice, Mr. Ledwidge is active in the local community and previously served on the Board of Forestdale, Inc., a child welfare agency based in Queens.
Taught in the NY State Department of Education for 32 years. Now a life coach helping clients live authentically — with a belief that everyone holds their own answers within.
Laura Leonard
Life Coach & Former NY State Educator
Laura Leonard was a teacher in the New York State Department of Education for thirty-two years. She loved connecting with each child, encouraging them, and letting them know she believed in them to succeed.
As a life coach, Laura listens deeply to her clients. She encourages them to live authentically and provides strategies to enable them to make positive and lasting changes in their lives. The premise of her work is that everyone has their own answers within, and that others can often help them access those answers. Laura is committed to self-growth and lifelong learning. Her deeply held belief that everyone is worthy and valuable in their unique way leads her to continually find ways to promote others.
Retired VP and tax professional from Esselte Corporation (a $1B+ multinational). Now runs his own tax practice. Married with three daughters.
Tom Leonard
Tax Professional — Retired VP, Esselte Corporation
Tom Leonard is a recently retired Vice President and tax professional from Esselte Corporation, a multinational office supply manufacturer with sales in excess of $1 billion. He worked at Esselte for 25 years and was responsible for all U.S. tax filings, compliance, and audits.
Tom presently has his own small tax practice with 2 corporate and 15 individual clients. He is married and has three daughters.
Former VP & CFO of The New York Times newspaper after a distinguished 32-year career. Also served as CFO of About.com and NYTimes.com. CPA, Adelphi University honors graduate.
Karen Messineo
Former VP & CFO — The New York Times
Before retiring in July 2016, Karen was Divisional Controller of Finance and Insurance Solutions for Dealertrack Technologies in Lake Success, New York. Prior to that, Karen worked at The New York Times Company where she enjoyed a distinguished 32-year career.
She was Vice President & Chief Financial Officer of The New York Times newspaper for many years after having served as Controller. She was also Chief Financial Officer for About.com and held the positions of CFO at New York Times Digital and Vice President of Finance of NYTimes.com.
Karen started her career at the accounting firm now known as Deloitte & Touche after graduating with honors from Adelphi University, and became a New York State Certified Public Accountant.
Allison Hickey
Allison was a valued member of the Board of Directors for several years before her unexpected passing. A dynamic, skilled businesswoman and force of energy, she propelled What Better Looks Like in positive directions at every turn. She was a rare individual who used both her head and her heart to make decisions.
At one board meeting, upon hearing of a very aged woman in the Village of Hope who was barely subsisting, Allison immediately offered to sponsor a food delivery to her every month — and continued until Mukecucu passed away. She also sponsored a sewing program enabling 12 women to receive vocational training, and paid tuition for a young man to complete his four-year university degree.
In October 2018, the Allison Hickey Memorial Scholarship Fund was established in her name — continuing the work she so compassionately and courageously believed in.
Be part of something better
Whether you donate, volunteer, or simply show up — there is a place for you in this community.
Creating a better world for ourselves and others — from Bryant Park, NYC to Nyarugunga, Rwanda.