Our Ways of Being
A Personal Reflection
The greatest teachers in my life have come from many places and many walks of life. Each carried a different story, a different perspective, and a different way of understanding the world. Over time, they helped me discover something both simple and profound: while our lives are beautifully different, our humanity is beautifully shared.
That realization continues to shape the heart of The Power of One. I have come to believe that meaningful change grows through the relationships we nurture, the stories we are willing to share, and the wisdom we discover when we truly listen to one another.
Relationship is the context. Healing is the work. Flourishing is the fruit. These words have become more than a guiding philosophy; they have become a daily practice. They remind me that each of us carries a story. Each of us carries a piece of truth. And none of us carries the whole of it alone. My hope is that this community becomes a place where we remember that we belong not only to ourselves, but also to one another.
The Journey to Now
Betsy Valnes
Betsy Valnes, Čhaŋté Akíčhita (Heart Warrior), is a human rights practitioner, community builder, and healing-centered leader whose work is rooted in social justice, ethical responsibility, and cultivating communities where all people can thrive. Guided by a belief in our shared humanity, she works alongside individuals and communities to foster healing, strengthen relationships, and create inclusive, sustainable pathways toward collective well-being. Throughout her work, Betsy has remained committed to ensuring that people with lived experience are trusted partners in shaping the solutions that affect their lives.
For more than two decades, Betsy has partnered with communities—from local initiatives to international collaborations—to advance human rights through leadership development, community-led change, and cross-cultural partnership. She served as the founding Executive Director of the National Youth Leadership Network (NYLN), an organization led by and for young people with disabilities, and later worked as an international consultant supporting community-driven initiatives across fourteen countries. Her collaborations have included the United Nations, the World Bank, the National Council on Disability, Rehabilitation International, and the Council on Quality and Leadership.
Betsy believes that lasting transformation begins by honoring both our inner lives and the generations that came before us. She is deeply interested in the ways personal healing, ancestral connection, and collective responsibility can strengthen individuals and communities alike. This perspective has informed her work and volunteer service with organizations including the World Disability Union (WDU), the U.S. International Council on Disability (USICD), the National Council on Disability and Exchange through Mobility International USA, Keepers of the Sacred Tradition of Pipemakers, and All Nations Gathering Center.
Grounded in interdependence, deep listening, cultural humility, and shared responsibility, Betsy seeks to accompany individuals and communities as they rediscover their inherent wisdom, cultivate meaningful relationships, and translate shared values into compassionate action. She holds a Master's degree in Ethics, Peace, and Human Rights from American University in Washington, DC, and a Bachelor's degree in Religion with an emphasis in cultural ethics from Augustana University in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Betsy resides on and cherishes the ancestral and unceded lands of the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ, specifically the Iháŋktȟuŋwaŋ (Yankton) Dakota Oyate in southeastern South Dakota.
Honoring Our Humanity
Every person carries inherent worth, unique attributes, and wisdom shaped by lived experience and the generations that came before us. While our stories, cultures, abilities, identities, and experiences are wonderfully diverse, our shared humanity is the one truth that connects us all. We believe our humanity is not something to be earned or measured, but honored and nurtured throughout our lives.
As we grow in understanding of ourselves and embrace the fullness of who we are, we discover that our greatest gifts naturally find expression in relationship with others.
Through compassion, curiosity, and a willingness to learn, we each contribute something uniquely valuable to the wellbeing of the whole.
Community begins with relationships rooted in trust, respect, and mutual care. We believe belonging is strengthened when we listen deeply, welcome diverse lived experiences, and recognize that our wellbeing is inseparable from the wellbeing of one another.
Living in relationship invites us to share responsibility for the communities we create. Rather than waiting until injustice reaches our own doorstep, we choose to stand alongside one another with compassion and courage, helping cultivate places where every person is welcomed, valued, respected, and able to flourish.
Cultivating Community
Practicing Stewardship
Stewardship is an expression of gratitude for all that has been entrusted to us—our relationships, our communities, the living world, and the generations that connect us across time. We recognize that the choices we make today help shape the future inherited by those who follow.
Through everyday acts of kindness, generosity, and shared responsibility, we seek to leave the world more compassionate, more connected, and more hopeful than we found it. In caring for one another and for the world we share, we cultivate a legacy that continues to grow far beyond ourselves.