I am a volunteer for Digital Democracy Project, a civic technology initiative designed to help all Americans track bills, monitor elected officials, and increase government accountability.

I am a contributor to the Northwest Progressive Institute, where I practice political writing, legislative analysis, field reporting, and long-form literary commentary.

I am the creator of Cup of Calculated Curiosity — a Substack, YouTube channel, and civic education platform translating state and local policy into clear, human language so that everyday people can understand how power moves and how it affects their future.

I am the founder of DanceDanceCass, a platform for emotional literacy, movement, and somatic grounding as tools for activism. Blending body regulation, political clarity, and accessible civic participation to widen the path so people who’ve never seen themselves as “political” can engage with confidence.

I am a U.S. Army veteran who marched into Silicon Valley in 2012 and gained 15 years in analytics, operations, and corporate leadership.

I stand in the gap for people consistently shut out of political spaces, blocked from power, and dismissed from social safety nets. My mission is to build systems — emotional, technological, and democratic — that allow people to be more human.

This is your invitation to grab a cup and dance along with me.

📌 I was a child. And like we consistently find out, kids from no money and/or low education often do things they don’t understand to get what they believe will impact their lives for the better.

• Gangs

• Models

• Athletes

• Military

• Epstein “masseuses”

I wanted college more than anything and so I sold my body to Uncle Sam.

Most of the time I was uncomfortable.

• Hot. Cold. Tired. Thirsty. Hungry. Sick.

• Sleeping on the ground, on a cot, on a bunk bed with a mattress the depth of a yoga mat.

• Blisters from marching, bruises from obstacle courses, rashes from brush, abrasions from wearing equipment made for men’s bodies, shin splints from shoes that lacked support, back injuries from carrying medic bags and M16 rifles and patients.

• Oversexualized, disturbingly harassed, and continually preyed upon while kept out of specific missions due to my gender.

Those are things that I didn’t know when I signed up, but again, I was a homeschooled high-schooler.

What I read in a Seventeen Magazine and what I heard from the recruiter was a promise of a way out and a path to higher education.

• The G.I. Bill in 2004 promised to pay 100% for Kentucky In-State tuition.

• Special sign-on bonuses for the 91W MOS as a Combat Field Medic due to it being a “critical job” were around $3,000.

• The monthly paycheck before taxes:

  • $1,104 per month. $13,248 per year. $6.37 per hour.

    • Context in 2004: minimum wage was $5.15. The poverty line in 48 states was an annual earning <$9,310.

    • So on paper, this was a financial win for me at 17 years old. It was guaranteed money compared to $2.13 per hour waitressing when I didn’t even have $150 to my name.

At that time, the military was under Republican control, 1st term G.W. Bush + Dick Cheney, a controversial yet time-in-grade Donald Rumsfeld as Secretary of Defense, and a Department of Defense (DOD) that was desperately looking for recruits post 9/11.

The benefits of joining the military as someone without family money or protection are socialism in action — the kind America funds when the uniform fits its narrative.

American tax dollars paying for each individual in the military to have access to a monthly paycheck, housing, food, healthcare, college funds. And if you stay in long enough, a pension to cover some retirement needs. BONUS: free access to a gym and a trainer!

In exchange, the people in our United States Military will put their lives on the line in the event of a national emergency or foreign and domestic threats.

I did not plan to stay for 20 years. I served 6 years “Initial Active Duty Training, IADT”, drills, and special active duty orders, and 2 years of “Individual Ready Reserve, IRR”. I gave America 8 years and I did not re-enlist once my time was up.

I was offered bonuses to continue as an officer with the Army National Guard, which I declined, because I had gotten what I needed…ish.

• I DID use the G.I. Bill, completing a bachelor’s degree in under 6 years which beat the odds given I was a woman from a rural area and the bill paid for less than 50% of my public undergraduate education because I moved to Texas, and the Texas State National Guard only paid up to 75% of public college tuition.

• I DID travel, I got outside of my very white, southern Baptist, rural Kentucky existence.

• I DID meet amazing humans, some of whom are still friends in my life.

• I DID get a monthly paycheck that allowed me to buy that used 1994 Geo Prizm that moved me to Texas.

• I DID avoid an unplanned pregnancy, unlike 5.5% of women in military service.

• I DID avoid being unalived by myself or someone else, unlike 10% of military service personnel had during these years.

📌 I’m now part of the 1.7 million female veteran population. We have ~15.8 million veterans in the United States today. And the topic of veterans will be a conversation on another day.

I’ve described my military experience as “knowingly banging your head against a concrete wall.” I could not, even as an innovative, optimistic, physical fitness award-winning sergeant, change the old processes or boys club that runs the backbone of the Army. The insecurity of the white male leaders was constantly on full display, as it remains to be 21 years later with our Nazi fan, authoritarian, woman-hating, unqualified Pete Hegseth “leading” the DOD.

The United States Military speaks about smarter or stronger protection, but in reality, it is about bodies on the line.

I did learn how to lead those bodies.

Leadership meant making a decision even when both options had risks, and attempting to prevent the most casualties while not freezing under pressure.

• We trained to be the first person to jump on a grenade if it was tossed into our vicinity to prevent the shrapnel from killing everyone.

• We learned to never go alone. Have a battle buddy with you at all times.

• As a squad leader, they didn’t punish my whole squad for missing the mark; they punished the individual and me as the leader of said squad.

• As a sergeant in charge of a troop medical clinic, issues of not starting on time or lacking supplies wasn’t anyone’s fault but my own.

• Soldiers all wear the same uniform because they are to be seen as the same. We front-leaning-rest-position up to “Attention to detail.” And down to “Teamwork is the key”.

• Every branch of the armed forces has a values code that every soldier must memorize. Mine was “The Army Values”.

Yes, it is cultish and tremendous amounts of personal discipline, excellence, and responsibility are instilled in individuals who join the military.

So hear me as I say this – every trans person in our military has had the same OR more intense training to behave in a way that would ideally protect the most amount of people.

Trans individuals serving in our military have no less discipline, excellence, honor, or truth. They are as responsible as any other soldier. Trans individuals are twice as likely as the general public to want to serve in the military.

So what is this executive order from a draft dodging trust fund clown who never served in the military and a Hitler sympathizing weekend news anchor “heading” the DOD, backed by an un-Supreme Court that would faint if they ever saw combat ***not Sotomayor and Jackson, I’d pick them for my militia any day.

These unworthy to shine soldiers boots stations are declaring that trans troops are no longer allowed to be in the United States Military and must leave. This is not only disrespectful to the military itself and every value system it forces its enlistees to recite, but it is also a national security concern.

As Pete sees himself as a Donald Rumsfeld… and Rumsfeld was famous for using an incomplete framework about “known knowns” and “unknown unknowns” to describe risk, let’s use their own framework on this policy because kicking out trans service members isn’t just political cruelty; it’s a readiness threat we can map.

Known Knowns – What we know we know

• We know there are roughly 4,000 to 15,500 trans service members currently serving.

• We know they’ve been through the same training, discipline, and readiness requirements as anyone else, with many excelling in critical roles.

• We know removing them will create immediate gaps in skills, units, and leadership.

• We know recruitment numbers have been falling for years.

Known Unknowns – What we know we don’t know

• We don’t know how many missions will be compromised because these soldiers aren’t there.

• We don’t know how much institutional knowledge will be lost since many are seasoned leaders.

• We don’t know how long it will take to replace their skill sets, if that is ever possible.

Unknown Unknowns – What we don’t know we don’t know

• We can’t yet measure the second and third order effects on unit cohesion, readiness, morale, and international perception.

• We can’t yet predict what crises might hit where their unique expertise would have saved lives.

• We don’t know what happens when policies like this normalize broader discrimination in public service.

👇🏻 Lastly, the quadrant Don Rumsfeld didn’t talk about and Pistol Pete won’t admit on TV…

Unknown Knowns – What we don’t know we know (refuse to admit / uncomfortable knowledge)

• We know this is about politics, not readiness.

• We know that targeting a tiny percentage of the force will weaken military strength and morale.

• We know discrimination in one area of service opens the door for future purges based on race, religion, gender, or ideology.

📌 The news wants to harp on the US declining birth rate, so let’s push in on the uncomfortable knowledge that we also have a declining enlistment rate.

Enlistment Data:

• Active-duty members in the armed forces has declined by 62% since 1954.

• Military applicants reached a 40-year low in 2022.

• The 2021 COVID-19 vaccine mandate resulted in the loss of roughly 8,200 troops. The Pentagon has since invited them to reapply. Only 113 have as of Feb 2025.

• The propensity to serve and qualified candidates continues to decline.

• Gen Z have been surveyed on their reasons to join and not join and they are more concerned with mental health than potential benefits.

While enlistments in 2023 & 2024 were increased by relaxing standards on tattoos, age limits, and legal records, coupled with more enticements around loan programs, bonuses, and increased pay, there has not been an organic surge in interest.

The internet allows us to have access to more perspectives outside of our home and school bubbles than previous generations and even republican Gen Z Americans are expressing that the United States should focus more on human rights and economic support instead of projecting military strength abroad. Gen Z and Millennials are showing up at protests, not in military recruiters’ offices, over the current state of affairs.

What happens when the military is too small to keep America in the status it has been in? Who do they force to enlist when those who wanted to join are not allowed to?? Will they:

• Make it more difficult to find a job in your community?

• Bring back a national draft?

• Lie about bonuses and benefits?

If all training is equal, who do you want in a combat zone or a tense situation or a 3-month non-stop assignment?

People who want to be there.

📌 It is dangerous to have people in roles that they do NOT want to be in.

And while they’re kicking out highly trained, battle-tested trans soldiers, they’re not going after known sex offenders in uniform.
They’re not removing soldiers who repeatedly fail their Fitness Test. They’re not removing those with documented mental health issues who have already threatened or harmed fellow soldiers.
If “readiness” was truly the goal, those would be the first to go. But readiness isn’t the goal here.

Our United States Military, although 3rd largest in the world for personnel, is still less than 1% of the United States Population.

• Population in the USA: 344 million

  • Military Personnel: 2.07 million

    • 0.62% of the US population

    • 1 in 168 people.

  • Trans individuals in the military: <15,500

    • That is less than 0.72% of our military personnel

    • 0.0043% of our total US population.

    • 1 in 23,000 people.

You, and/or your parent(s), and/or your grandparent(s) paid me to protect you from 2004 to 2010.

Our shared tax dollars pay these 2.07 million bodies to protect us.

Transgender humans who put their lives on the line to BE IN THE MILITARY are the ones showing us what bravery and American patriotism look and act like.

The “Art of the Deal” is this fascist, eugenic, Aryan regime kicking them out. Identifying them via their medical records if they do not self-identify. Stripping them of their EARNED benefits.

This grotesque authoritarian grift, after benefiting from 2, 6, 10, 15+ years of human beings’ military service during a time where America has been under threat *imaginary, created, or real* since its founding, and these soldiers, like myself, have upheld their end of the contract. They are not asking to leave. They would like to stay and continue serving.

The DOD is attacking our soldiers who currently honorably serve in our United States Military. I will not let them stand alone. Not as a former battle buddy, nor as a citizen.

You should sit right down on that flag that you are waving because I will NOT be holding your hand while I say this:

CALL TO ACTION:

You know what time it is. Pour that coffee and get to work.

☕️ Get In The Community:

• If you do not have a trans friend in your life, make one.

• If you are social media able, then find, follow, and listen to a new trans friend on your favorite platform.

☕️ Learn:

Trans Humans have always existed. Learn about their lives using your learning style.

• Reading Articles:

  • The Advocate

  • Trans Equality

• Watching YouTube: Paidia Gaming, Transgender Education

• Scrolling TikTok: LillyTino_

• Browsing IG: @transstudent

• Reading Books: Check out the PFLAG list, then get the book at your local library or independent bookstore

☕️ Donate:

These groups are handling lawsuits! This is how we fight back against this regime.

• Fund Modern Military

• Fund Trans Veteran

• Volunteer with Trans Lifeline

☕️ Show Up:

Find out if there are cases in your state and show up at those public hearings.

• Google: How can I see what my city council is doing (zip code)

• Track: StateScape public policy meetings

• Call: Your Congress Person and request they support policy for Trans Rights, use BallotReady to see them all.

#CoffeeandCalculatedCuriosity #ChangeWithCassie #StayCaffeinated #TransLivesMatter #NationalSecurity

📸 white coffee mug beside a wood railing overlooking the water with the sun rising through clouds in the background

🗺️ Gulf of Mexico

🗓️ December 2021

The rage where my eyes, nose, and back of my neck burn with the intensity of a dragon, maybe three. #Delphyne

The grief knowing Texas — a place I called home for 18 years — has been hit with another tragedy that stemmed from its public infrastructure gutted, its scientific warnings politicized, and its most at-risk residents deprived of safety.

I have floated on the Guadalupe River with friends a half dozen times. I’ve celebrated at baby showers in Hunt. I officiated my best friend's wedding in the Heart of Hill Country. And as the death toll rises in Kerrville, and more reporting reveals that the flood warning systems were broken, ignored, not built, or never sent at all…

I’m reflecting on my Texas-sized rage and the price of sirens.

You won’t find ‘thoughts and prayers’ here.

My heart is with the families and my foot is on the neck of the systems that betrayed them.

Systems built for the most delicate serve us all.
But when we ignore them, the vulnerable suffer first—and most.

I’ve been on active duty orders as a medic (91W to 68W) with the Army National Guard for two devastating hurricanes in our U.S. history:

• 2005: Hurricane Katrina – New Orleans, LA
  Death toll: 1,833

• 2008: Hurricane Ike – Galveston, TX
  Death toll: 112

The devastation was demoralizing. The water damage was grotesque.

The wind and rain weren’t just a storm; they were a flood of loss.
Loss of life.
Loss of pets.
Loss of homes, belongings, memories.
Both physical and metaphorical foundations washed away.

I’ve never forgotten the smell. The night patrols searching for people. The refrigerated trucks transporting those found too late. The quick action of local leaders, government agencies, and volunteers doing what they could to salvage what was left.

I also remember the president at the time had been on vacation for 27 days. And it doesn’t escape me that the president during the Kerr County disaster was out golfing for the 40th time this year.

📌 I’m putting a beloved pin in that one. He’s spent 23% of his time in office on personal days.

📌 If you work 40 hours a week and get three weeks of paid vacation, that’s only 5.77% of your total working time each year.

📌📌📌 pinboard to follow 📌📌📌

So on this topic, if we designed with the most delicate in mind, maybe we’d be less tolerant of leaders who abandon their posts or vacation at a rate that far exceeds our most equitable workforce policies.

Like I said. It is a full Middle-earth Smaug burn today. And as I am up late re-heating coffee I am re-heating the note I shouted to Siri on Sunday while walking across a hot parking lot carrying out a box of Chinese food for 18 people:

“When we design systems with the most delicate in mind, we wind up with a stronger system for everyone.”

Naturally, I felt the statement was right—but I had to ask: “Is that actually true?”
And then I grinned. And cried. In a despairing delight.
Because of course a Black woman had already done the research.

Angela Glover Blackwell gave us the concept of the “curb-cut effect”: policies designed for vulnerable communities often end up benefiting everyone.

• If you build a ramp for wheelchair access, it also helps parents with strollers, travelers with suitcases, and delivery workers with carts.

• The clients who are “squeaky wheels” for better access to data, QBRs, and customer success drive your internal teams to develop features that benefit all accounts.

• When a rural farmer gets access to an extension office, they gain tools to protect their own land, and in doing so, surface insights that shape stronger practices across the entire agricultural system.

• An ambitious team member who demands transparent career paths allows managers a chance to clarify promotion policies, improving retention for the company.

• The dance student struggling with a specific step might reveal to the teacher that the whole class would benefit from multiple methods of demonstrating and drills, enabling a sharper technique for every dancer.

It’s the curb-cut effect: accommodations for one become accelerators for many.

We should see this in government.

• Build alert systems to reach rural, low-connectivity areas first to ensure people in cities get them too.

• Make alerts available in multiple languages and platforms — not just iPhones — and achieve increased comprehension across the board.

• Distribute battery and solar-powered weather radios to those without reliable power and create a national backup system for everyone when towers go down.

• Adjust the alert type and alarm so citizens can understand and verify a growing threat.

• Minimize the unnecessary alerts and prevent alert fatigue. *Receives Blue alert, shuts off ALL emergency alerts on phone, deep dive on reddit.

Designing for the most vulnerable isn’t charity. It is strategy. It creates systems that don’t just work in ideal conditions; they work when it matters most.

If we start with those who have the least access, the least trust, or the least cushion, we build systems that protect all of us when we find ourselves in vulnerable circumstances.

Because at some point — through illness, job loss, aging, caregiving, grief, or disaster — everyone becomes the delicate one.

And if it hasn’t happened to you, Kyle, that is because you are in the most privileged group in America, regardless of your denials, and that is a post for another time.

So I’m curious …

Why aren’t we building public systems this way? And next, why are we continuing to build oppositely?

Money. The budget. The cost. It is too expensive. Time. The process. We need to remain agile.

Better to get something adequate for the “majority/average/every day man” out the door than to wait and do things in a more impactful, inclusive way.

📌 And I do mean “man”.

Most everything that we see and interact with daily, especially in government or public departments, was built for the average man.

The average single, young, white, man at that. Not disabled. Not a parent. Not a veteran. Not a caregiver. Not an elder. Not belonging to the LGBTQ+ community.

📌 Only ~22% of medical products are tested on female biology.
📌 Only ~35% of transportation planning includes caregiving routes or unpaid labor trips.

*sigh*

Let’s get into the pushback: Cost, Time, and Rhetoric.

From the reporting I’ve reviewed, Texas could’ve spent $1 million on a flood alert system that would help prevent deaths.

At the time of this post, we’ve seen 137+ people confirmed dead so far, at least 37 of them children. We have approximately 2 people who are still missing.

What did this Cost? $1,000,000 divided by 137.

***I told you, this is not a ‘thoughts and prayers’ post.

That’s $7,299 per life. Is there anyone you love whose life you would value at only $7,299?

• That is:

  • Less than a hospital bill.

  • Less than a political ad run in prime time.

  • Less than a hot tub.

  • Less than a family of 4 going on a cruise.

  • Slightly more than what some of these gop puppets pitched as “baby bonuses” and that is a conversation for another day. 📌

The state of Texas requires drivers to carry minimum liability auto insurance of $30,000 for partial bodily injury.

The average wrongful death settlement in Texas, minimum, is around $500,000.

So at a minimum, we are looking at a cost to Texas in a loss of life around $69,000,000.

20 days into search and recovery, we are staring at a loss of life that costs nearly 10x as much as putting in those fucking sirens.

As they say, the math doesn’t math.

And then the elected will pull out their straight face and beady eyes and tell the camera: “It is a one hundred year flood”, “We will have to look into it very seriously”, “It is reasonable to find out if we can prevent this from happening again”, “People ignore the alerts”.

Yet our Texas lawmakers, the elected GOP who have held the power of all 3 branches of the Texas government since 2003, and climate activists already knew that this region was behind the times in an alert system…

They knew that this county had been discussing implementing better systems for weather warnings because we’ve already seen the detriment to human life.

Quick Texas history lesson: The Guadalupe River flooded in 1987 and took 10 teenagers' lives at The Pot O' Gold Ranch. The Pot O' Gold Ranch is only 35 miles east of Camp Mystic, along the same river. And even though those 10 tragic deaths were 38 years forgotten, the Guadalupe River still took triple the amount of children's lives on July 4, 2025.

When we fail to design for the most delicate among us, we don't just risk tragedy — we guarantee it.

Which takes me to Time. And failure. Not the start-up “Fail Forward” failure.

The failure of knowing and doing nothing.

Knowing this area required a flood warning system. Knowing this county had funding from ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) to implement the warning system, and knowing there had already been a $1,000,000 loss of life from flooding AND failing to act.

We often say “humans are flawed” to excuse failure. But what if we accepted that being human means needing help, missing alerts, getting tired, falling behind, and we designed systems for that?

Ignoring an alert is human. Governments not having a backup plan isn’t.

Being confused in a storm is human. Defunding sirens and cutting science isn’t.

And there is the Rhetoric safety net of it all. I think humans say things like “It is ‘a 100-year flood.’” to hide from the grief and shame of knowing that the tragedy occurred during their 100 years. And if we get down to the money of it all, I prefer to think they would not defend that a flood every 100 years taking 200+ lives is acceptable when we had the time *and* could have implemented a system at just a tenth of that cost.

To me, this wasn't ignorance. It wasn’t chance.

It was neglect dressed up as pragmatism. And it cost us hundreds of lives.

Poorly designed systems, ones that fail teams, clients, or communities, are the responsibility of the leaders in that vicinity.

Leaders hold power and must hold power accountable. And if the leader says they don’t have the power to change anything…then our calculated curiosity should ask: What exactly are they leading?

We the people determine who our leaders will be.

We are not evil for asking who failed Kerr County.

We are not losers for reviewing the logs.

We are not radicals for wanting systems that are built to care.

We are not sinful for grieving children we didn’t know.

A society built to hold its most fragile members isn’t weaker. It’s wiser. And more resilient.

The responsibility for this avoidable tragedy lies fully with the Texas GOP, which voted against a flood warning system.

It lies with those who poisoned public trust in FEMA, alert systems, and infrastructure support.

It lies with politicians who have traded their last drop of honor to sit silently under a predator's boot and serve at the pleasure of oligarchs.

We the people should expect that when we are the delicate ones, our leaders will have an infrastructure we can stand on, not be the hands removing the ground from under our feet. ☕️

Calls to Action

☕️ Support flood victims in Kerr County.

• Kerr County Flood Relief

☕️ Follow reporting from:

• Progress Texas

• The Texas Tribune

• The Texas Standard

☕️ Call your congress people now. The Texans are attempting to take away other states’ protections too.

• Texas Rafael Edward “Ted” Cancun Cruz removed funding for NOAA in H.R.1, impacting all states.

  • What is in the big bully bill?

• Governor Greg Hot Wheels Abbott is attempting to redistrict and further gerrymander Texas at the behest of the regime.

  • Call your governor’s office, regardless of state, to push back on this political attack.

#CoffeeandCalculatedCuriosity #ReimaginingSystems #ChangeWithCassie #StayCaffeinated #ViveLaRevolution

📸 An Americano in a white porcelain cup, on a dock, overlooking Plage du Ponteil

🗺️ The Royal Beach Restaurant, Antibes, France

🗓️ August 2024

It wasn’t from retirement, parental leave, or FMLA.

It was a choice because I could and I wanted to.

I wasn’t sure what to expect, how long it would last, or how I would fill my time. I thought at least I would have fun exploring the locations I found myself in and I’d have the “free” time to go anywhere.

What I didn’t expect was the realization of changes that had been quietly building for years. Shifts in where and how I want to live, the rhythm of my relationships, and the type of work I feel called to do. This season didn’t create the change, it actualized it.

So this week, as I’m stepping back into ‘professional’ socials, meetings, and consults I’m reflecting on: how I got to here.

Back in November 2024, I left my 13 year career to go on an adventure. *#2025adventure is how I labeled in my budget. It’s not cute but it is functional.

I knew I needed a few guardrails for myself if I was to take a proper break. Three seemed reasonable.

1. Do not apply for jobs until February 🙈

2. Do not take any work-ish meetings 🙉

3. Do not spiral out about not having a job 🙊

   *3 was and still is the toughest

I also had some goals for myself during this time. Three very obtainable goals.

1. Try all the coffee shops you can ☕️

2. Be in a bookstore or library at least once a week 📚

3. Live by your “Non-Negotiables” 🛟

   *yes this is a set up for a callback

During these drip coffee in my cup ponderings throughout my #2025adventure I thought about my future and I found myself marching in the streets, volunteering with SwingLeft and ACLU People Power, helping launch 50501 initiatives, creating a website incubator for Team FEMS, pushing independent content creators on private socials, and generally fighting for democracy in some way every single day.

Was I expecting this? Ha, no and Hell Yes.

• Ha, no – because I had envisioned more naps, I wanted to be back in the Paris Summer Olympics, coconut tree brat vibes, staring at the ocean for an offensive amount of time. ☀️🥥🌴

• Hell Yes – because the only reason I - as an American woman - could be in a position to go to college, join the army, have a career, a bank account, a house that I own, a passport with my maiden name, wearing pants and driving my car WAS BECAUSE SOMEONE MARCHED IN THE STREETS FOR ME. 🪧

I’m about to yap, so let me back up…

I grew up in rural Kentucky. In a large family that didn’t have horses or a trust fund. I joined the United States Army National Guard at 17 to pay for college. Waitressing at $2.13 an hour in a Bible Belt small town below the Mason-Dixon line wasn’t going to provide the funds. *Surprising since at the time I only owned a used 1994 Geo Prizm I bought with cash and it was pre-avocado toast days so what was even tempting my millennial wallet. 🤷‍♀️

I managed to work each day and attend school at night gaining a bachelor’s and master’s through public universities and community colleges. That access to education led to access to technology which led to my career with a Silicon Valley startup called NetBase. *They mashed up “Internet” and “Database” for the name. I thought it was cute. 🤓

Being in a career that paid me a comfortable livable wage afforded me the ability to build a savings account. Pay off student loan debt. Start a retirement account. Live alone, spend time with my friends, AND get my nails done.

This career path also provided the opportunity to travel both in “the States” and abroad. My first international trip was a solo trip to London to consult and onboard a client. Work paid for me to be there, I paid to stay the extra weekend to visit monuments I’d only seen in books. And my amazing exploration of the world continued this way for 13 years across 16 countries and 200+ major cities.

I was given admittance to our globe's largest brands and agencies, shown a subset of problems their teams were facing, and I was asked to help. I was able to pick a team, structure it for best performance, and build a value system that sustained us through the most difficult challenges.

I was able to give back to my community through guidance on boards, in time spent volunteering with local non-profits, and being an official foster mom in the state of Texas.

I paid for therapy to assist me in unraveling the past so my next responses and decisions could be clearer. I maintained connections to leadership that mentored me. I cultivated a circle of love that inspires and sustains me.

Even with all of this in my pocket, in my corner, having my back, and being a blonde woman who happens to be white, I was—and still am—fighting off the anxiety that without codified policies, the things I’ve worked for my whole life could vanish overnight. I see it happening to others. I’ve read about it in books that record our history. A constant theme reeking from the pages: humans tend to oppress humans no matter how hard they work.

To me, that means work won’t save you.

My brain is constantly humming, looping, circling the questions: Why are we living this way? What would it take to change it in a neighborhood, in a city, in a state? Who is already doing this work? How do I use the knowledge I’ve gained to engage in actions that will continue the progress?

I believe problems created by people can be solved by people. Every societal structure we have was built by humans, so it can be rebuilt by humans.

I am curious: What makes us human? Why are we constantly taking away and blocking access to what makes humans, human?

Warning: a decade plus in a fantastical career that both pays you enough to breathe and allows you to work on cutting edge technology that changes the entire landscape of society might just give you the confidence to go after really big problems.

I am from a family of farmers, homemakers, coal miners, cake bakers, mechanics, and seamstresses. We didn’t have the internet until I was 13. Everyone did their own house repairs and everyone worked a side hustle to afford Christmas gifts.

• The blue collar bootstrap society made me.

• The white collar tech evolution held me in a livable present.

• It will be progressive politics for humanity that will provide a future for me.

Yes. I’m going all in on reimagining the status quo: running for public office and working alongside “tech for good”.

I’ll be sharing my journey in my “This Week I’m Reflecting On:” series tackling these puzzles that keep me up at night. As with coffee roasts, these reflections will range in depth and flavor: sometimes bold and heavy, sometimes light and surprising. Variety keeps us awake, curiosity brews differently by the day, and if it is gonna be on the menu, I’m ordering the flight.

I will pose a “what do we/I do with this” challenge and suggestion. My goal is to follow up on YouTube a few days after the Substack post is live to show how I’ve tackled the challenge.

This is your invitation to join me for coffee. Feel free to sip slowly and reflect on your own journey, scroll in peace, or stir the pot with your own thoughts. ☕️

#CupOfCalculatedCuriosity #ReimaginingSystems #ChangeWithCassie #StayCaffeinated

📸 black coffee in a white porcelain cup on a white porcelain saucer, a pinkish lipstick mark on the cup, with a spoon tucked behind the cup

🗺️ Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek, Dallas Texas

🗓️ January 2022