In the twentieth episode of The Idealists (formerly Grit & Grace), Melissa interviews Stefanie Mach, a former congresswoman who served as a Democratic member of the Arizona House of Representatives from 2013 to 2017. Stefanie and Melissa recorded this interview a week after the siege on the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. and in true Stefanie style, she reorients the focus back to the bigger picture of democracy and its potential.

“And when you’re broken, when you’re fragmented, when you’re tired, and exhausted, and ready to give up… that’s where inspiration comes from. That’s where necessity comes from. That’s where creation is born. And I know this from having had an accident when I was 17. I was burned over 65% of my body, I lost my right arm, I lost my vision for a while and it just completely tore me down, and I had to rebuild myself in a different image.”

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#19: Irene Ikomu
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#17: Julee Wilson