Kathleen Durham practiced business and employment law in California and New York before relocating to Savannah, Georgia.
And it was in Savannah where this Ajijic resident first got hold of Eleanor Roosevelt’s autobiography – a story that had a huge impact on her.
Years later, in her 10-year role as executive director of the Eleanor Roosevelt Center at Val-Kill, a National Historic Site in Hyde Park, New York, Durham successfully delivered on the Center’s mission of what the former First Lady practiced, in the areas of social justice, human rights and socially responsible leadership.
Says Durham, “Today, if someone went through the trauma that Eleanor Roosevelt did, living with a drug-and alcoholic-addicted father and a mother who called her an ‘ugly duckling,’ and who died when she was only eight years old, they’d be on every conceivable drug. This is the stuff that people go to therapy for and sometimes never get over. Yet, Eleanor turned into an extraordinary human being.”
The center at Val-Kill was Eleanor Roosevelt’s home after the death of her husband and 32nd U.S. President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Prior to that, the property had been a family retreat. Although the center is located on a national park site, it functions as an independent non-profit organization.
“The Center began after Eleanor Roosevelt died in 1962, at the age of 78,” Durham said “Her son sold everything she owned while real estate developers had plans to turn the property in Hyde Park, New York, into a condominium complex. That action spurred a group of people to get together to save the site. They raised the money and the property was declared a National Historic Site. Eleanor is probably the only First Lady to have a national historic site named after her.”
As executive director, Durham raised the needed funds to deliver on the center’s mission, including its premier program, Girls’ Leadership Worldwide. This ten-day, international program was developed for girls aged 14 to 17, teaching them how to lead, as demonstrated by Eleanor Roosevelt.
“The program’s goal,” says Durham, “is to develop transformational/socially responsible leaders empowered to shape their lives and the lives of others. During the ten days, girls learn who they really are and how best to use their highest skills within their communities.”
She continues: “If one doesn’t know who they are, there’s not much they can do. Yet, if they can come to this knowledge, with programs such as this demographically diverse one, they can make a difference in their community.
“What I believe I ended up achieving as executive director was providing an environment where girls could discover who they were and use that knowledge for the good of others.”
One such example of a girl who made an impact is Lexi Kennard from Iowa, whose passion was to expose sex trafficking to the world. After completing the program, and while still in high school, Kennard managed to get a bill passed making sex trafficking unlawful in Iowa. She then went on to start the non-profit, Teens Against Trafficking.
“Before Lexi, no one paid much attention to these young victims of international sex trafficking in Iowa.”
Last year, during their 2017 award ceremony, Durham was awarded the Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Medal for being a solution maker, promoter of Eleanor Roosevelt’s legacy, and an igniter of possibilities. Past recipients of the medal who demonstrated Eleanor Roosevelt’s leadership and attributes include Gloria Steinem, Mr. Rogers, Ruby Dee, James Earl Jones, Hillary Clinton and Harry Belafonte.
Durham’s last day of work at the center was nearly one year ago, on October 17, 2017.
“I left one week later for Mexico, on October 24,” she says. “It was an insane week, having to wrap up everything in both my work and my home. I realized at that point that I’m no superwoman.”
Coming up on a full year of living in Ajijic, Durham still feels like she’s settling in. “I adore my quiet home, the beautiful surroundings and the Mexican culture. I’ve made good friends and feel I’ve chosen the right place for my next chapter. I’m now in the process of setting up a creative space on my property to write. Yes, writing is my next goal.”
She goes on: “The fact that Eleanor’s uncle and 26th President, Theodore Roosevelt, was into social justice, is what most likely fueled Eleanor’s passion. When she chaired the committee for the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, there was much turmoil in the world. This document, which turns 70 on December 10, is what Eleanor considered to be her greatest achievement. I want to show people how this ordinary woman became an extraordinary woman, known as the First Lady of the World.”
Kathleen Durham will speak about Eleanor Roosevelt and her impact on the world and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at Open Circle, October 14, 10:30 a.m., at Lake Chapala Society.