Meet Michael O’Heaney

When Annie Leonard transitioned to leading Greenpeace USA, many of you wondered, who would take the reins at the Story of Stuff Project?

The answer: Michael O’Heaney. Michael works tirelessly to grow the power of this amazing Community and has been with the Project for over five years. We recently sat down with Michael to talk about where we’ve been and where we’re going.

 SOS: What’s your role at The Story of Stuff Project?

Michael: I became Executive Director in 2013, after serving as Co-Director with our founder, Annie Leonard, for a number of years. I joined the team back in 2009 to help Annie figure out how to respond to the incredible (and thoroughly unexpected!) success of The Story of Stuff. That’s meant being involved in everything from developing movie concepts and creating programming for our incredible Community members to fundraising and recruiting staff.

SOS: What drew you to social change work… and what led you here to The Story of Stuff Project?

Michael: I’m very lucky to have parents who are socially-engaged and sensitive to the world around them and encouraged me to be as well. I’ve also traveled internationally quite a bit, including to many places that had been or were in conflict with the United States, and those opportunities to learn about my country and my place in the world from different perspectives had an enormous impact on me. I think that’s at least partly why I found The Story of Stuff so compelling and jumped at the opportunity to help Annie develop the Project. Her movie took a pretty universalist view of the economy and our society and politics and how they work (and in a lot of ways don’t work for us and others!). The Story of Stuff lifted a lot of veils for folks and helped to start meaningful conversations about the world we actually want, two things that had been central to my life’s work up to that point. I’m doubly inspired in this work: both because we’re still inspiring new conversations every single day, and, because the conversations we inspire are leading to real, concrete change in people’s lives and communities. And that’s pretty awesome!

SOS: What was your Changemaker Personality Quiz result – did it feel true?

Michael: I’m a ‘Nurturer.’ At first that kind of surprised me; most folks would say I’m a pretty analytical person and, yes, ‘nurturer’ seemed kind of soft to me! But a couple of my teammates here at the Project pointed out that a lot of what I do is aimed at bringing out the best in others, whether that’s my colleagues, our partners, or Community members. The truth is, I’ve never felt personally drawn to the spotlight; I much prefer working behind the scenes to help a team succeed. And I guess that makes me a proud nurturer!

SOS: What do you hope individual changemakers in the SOS Community will achieve?

Michael: ‘Total consciousness.’ (Bad 1980s movie reference, sorry!)

A stronger sense of their own power. We hear from a lot of folks that they’re “only one person” or “the only one who cares about this” or “you can’t fight city hall.” I hope the Citizen Muscle Boot Camp helps folks get in touch with their purpose and the unique skills they can to contribute to rewriting the Story of Stuff and that our campaigns and other Community programming help them see that there are millions of folks like them joining in as well.

Big majorities in our country and elsewhere want action on global warming, agree that workers should receive a fair wage, and believe that everyone should have a say in a democracy. I’m convinced that if we’re able to get more oars in the water we’ll be able to achieve all that and much more.

SOS: What is one highlight from your time at The Story of Stuff Project?

Michael: Hard to say! I used to get excited at the big viewcounts on the day of a movie launch, or a prominent media mention, like Annie’s appearance on The Colbert Report. But really, the big highlight for me has always been the personal stories we receive weekly from around the world about how our movies and other programming have changed folks’ lives. And even better, the ways in which we’ve inspired others to create something new: a community garden, a city ordinance, a great video or some other cool project. We love that so many folks credit our Project with playing a small role in their own successes.

SOS: How does your family – and being a dad – impact your perspective?

Michael: I draw a huge amount of joy, encouragement and perspective from family and friends. My wife works in the labor movement, so she really grounds in our family a respect for hard work and how that work should be justly rewarded. My daughter, who is eight, is a daily reminder that I do this work so that she and her peers, regardless of whether they live in California or Kathmandu, grow up in a safer, more healthy and just world. But she’s also been a great teacher. Children have a pretty straightforward reaction to injustice; they cut out the rationalizations we adults become accustomed to. That innocence is a really helpful reminder to be true to your values and ideals.

SOS: Where do you see The Story of Stuff Project in one year? Five years?

Michael: I’m really excited about the new projects we’re rolling out: the Citizen Muscle Boot Camp, our expanded campaigning, and the new videos we’re making, each of which responds to a need our Community members identified. In a year, I hope we look back and say that listening to our Community paid off, that thousands of folks are energized and working together to build solutions, whether that’s participating in one of our campaigns or leading a project where they live.

Five years? Whoa! Well, its always been my goal that our members take on more and more of the work and responsibility for the Community that our small team has helped to build and nurture. Our Community members – not Annie or me or any of us staff – are the real heroes in this story. I’m not sure we know exactly what that looks like yet, but that is the north star by which I’m guided.

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