October 30, 2023

Lynsey Farrell

Grandma's Enchanted Legacy: Unraveling the Magic of Generational Wisdom

Key Points About Our Chat

• Lynsey Farrell's background in youth-focused work and her transition to advocating for the role of grandmothers in youth development.

• The concept of "Grandma Magic," which encompasses the unique qualities and wisdom that older women, particularly grandmothers, bring to social change efforts.

• The importance of recognizing the transition into elderhood as a significant life stage and preparing for it throughout one's life.

• The role of spirituality and a more humane approach in Lynsey's work, focusing on values such as love, trust, and connection.

• Encouragement for spiritual innovators to let go of labels and expectations, embrace vulnerability, and slow down in a fast-paced world.

“You can’t exclude grandmothers if you want young women to be empowered.”

Meet Lynsey 

Dr. Lynsey Farrell is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Grandmother Collective. Over the last two decades, Dr. Farrell’s work has focused on the intersections of youth, international development, urbanization, and informality in sub-Saharan Africa. She completed extensive field research among youth-self-help groups in the Kibera settlement of Nairobi, Kenya while directing American University’s Kenya program on Sustainable International Development. A scholar-practitioner, Dr. Farrell worked with Ashoka: Innovators for the Public on numerous knowledge and learning efforts. As program director of a $6.6 million Mastercard Foundation funded grant on Innovations in Youth Employment in Africa, she curated and facilitated the Future of Work in Africa course, co-authored an innovation guide called Youth Unstuck: Innovations in Youth Livelihoods and Leadership in Africa, and pioneered the Ashoka Emerging Insights report, which showcases the latest trends in social innovation around the world. She received her PhD in Cultural Anthropology from Boston University. 

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