Making the journey from vision to voice.

In Talking Back, bel hooks wrote,

 
  "It was in the world of women talk (the men were often silent, often 
  absent) that was born in me the craving to speak, to have a voice, 
  and not just any voice but one that could be identified as belonging 
  to me." 

Vision is vital, but to bring transformation it needs to be voiced. Too often women's voices lie dormant, silenced by ineffective strategies or organizational cultures. At the Wisconsin Women in Higher Education Leadership (WWHEL) conference in October, three University of Wisconsin--Eau Claire faculty discussed the journey from vision to voice:

* Dr. Susan Moch, RN, professor of family health nursing.

* Brenda McClellan-Tilson, RNC, MSN, clinical instructor of nursing.

* Marge Hebbring, project director of Gear Up, which focuses on student development and diversity.

"Envision how things would be if the voice and visibility of nursing were commensurate with the size and importance of nursing in health care," Buresh and Gordon wrote in From Silence to Voice. Whatever your field or program, envision how things might be if your voice were on a level with the value of what you're trying to achieve.