—Systemic change begins with personal change—
Roberta Baskin is a veteran investigative journalist on a radical new career path. She founded AIM2Flourish.com at the Fowler Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit at Case Western Reserve University to find and showcase “good companies†across the globe. The initiative invites business school students to write about scalable innovations aligned with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. The 17 best global innovations are honored with Flourish Prizes. "Real Leaders" Magazine honored Roberta among its “100 Visionary Leadersâ€in 2018.
Roberta’s storied career has earned her more than 75 journalism awards, including prestigious Peabodys, duPont Columbia Awards, and multiple Emmys. As a result of her investigations, she’s made beer healthier, exposed sweatshops in the shoe and soccer industries, uncovered pediatric dental abuses, and succeeded in banning dangerous products.
Roberta served as Executive Director of the Center for Public Integrity, Senior Washington Correspondent for “NOW with Bill Moyers,†Senior Investigative Producer for ABC News “20/20,†and Chief Investigative Correspondent for the CBS News magazine “48 Hours.†Her proudest journalistic achievements have been righting wrongs, especially transforming the way companies do business.
Roberta was named a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University and an Ethics Fellow at the Poynter Institute. She taught a graduate school course on investigative reporting at Georgetown University. She’s actively served on many boards of directors, including the Fund for Investigative Journalism, Investigative Reporters and Editors, the Journalism and Women Symposium, the Center for Public Integrity, the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Journalism Committee, the Nieman Foundation’s Executive Committee, Images & Voices of Hope, the FoolProof Foundation, and the Fowler Center’s Advisory Board.
She has been a guest lecturer internationally from Baku to Budapest, and from Bilbao to Borneo. Roberta’s an avid scuba diver and likes to Baskin' the sun anywhere near warm water.
Roberta and I met last September. Our scheduled time to record came just after the covid-19 situation hit the US. We reflected on the change. The conversation is less scripted but of the moment. I decided to post it in the moment, foregoing editing (I hope you don't mind the sound quality [EDIT: Since posting, my editor worked his magic and improved the audio quality]), gaining poignancy. I don't have to say it, but we're living in a historical time. Everything is changing, but we don't know how or how much. It looks like big things will happen soon in this country. They already have around the world. We don't know what. Many of us are talking like this. I wanted to share Roberta's voice now.