My personal story of shifting from professional singer to changemaker through media and the arts illuminates the critical life choices and crossroads many people face.

Find the right role models to inspire your own social change actions. I created a series of award-winning projects about women leaders from Chicago’s 1893 World’s Fair – Susan B. Anthony, Ida B. Wells, and Jane Addams – for the Fair’s 100-year anniversary celebrations.

We produced innovative programs to showcase composers and artists from different races, nationalities, and gender identities for Noteworthy Women, Public Radio’s first national radio series about women and music.

Here Ann Feldman shares her harrowing experience in a restrictive political regime: China. After the women she interviewed there for a national public radio series revealed their political and religious protests, she was forcibly “exited” from the country.

Dominant culture plays a role in defining us, as do our chosen community and we ourselves. We produced a series of “Eternal Feminine” projects including roundtable discussions, concerts, a Grammy-nominated CD, and a nationally syndicated radio program.

Following the tragedy of 9/11, we built real connections among female religious leaders and their Muslim, Catholic, Jewish, Latino Protestant, and Black Evangelical communities, along with corporate diversity groups, to create the award-winning Ties That Bind video documentary.

A critical dynamic is playing out at the intersection of class and global water sustainability. We explore this major world issue through our personal experience building partnerships between a desert village in Rajasthan, India, and multiple Northwestern University programs and students, with corporate, government, NGO, and community support.

When too many obstacles appear in your life and work, decide what you do and don’t need, and walk away from unproductive stressors. Ann Feldman was diagnosed with late-stage cancer while creating a documentary on trauma and mindfulness.