Erin Norman has been a Heart+Minder for several years, and last year we were excited to welcome her back to Heart+Mind (we love boomerangers) to head up our Public Policy + Issues Practice. We figure it’s high time to dig a little deeper into Erin’s heart and mind and see what our Q+A can uncover.
Q: What is your dream research project?
A: A deep look at the political attitudes of GenZ. I think they are getting boiled down to “Right” or “Left” but are actually much deeper and more thoughtful than youth generations (in their youth years) have been in a long time.
Q: What current trends in your area of expertise do you find most interesting or surprising?
A: How quickly political views change and how quickly we forget what we used to believe. The University of California has an archive of Presidential Platforms, and you do not have to go that far back to have “wait, [insert party] wanted what???” We just went through a very volatile period in that regard, and I believe another one is coming on the other side of the Trump years.
Q: What is a quality you most admire in others?
A: The ability to admit when you don’t know something and/or are wrong.
Q: You are secretly really good at…
A: Seeing. I have 20/15 eyesight and didn’t know it until I was in my late 30s and watching my kid do an eye test at the pediatrician.
Q: What fandom do you belong to?
A: I married an Englishman so I am now apparently into English football – national team and Arsenal.
Q: What is your current obsession?
A: Since it’s summer, it’s my garden, capped off by my most perfectly imperfect fig tree. I didn’t prune it, or prune it correctly, for almost a decade, but it still produces amazing fruit, even if the tree is a weird shape and very much leaning into the side of the house.
Q: Do you have a favorite blog or podcast? Tell us about it.
A: I am working my way through the French Revolution in the Revolutions Podcast. Revolutionary history is an amazing reminder of how quickly the tides (or mobs) turn.
Q: What question are you dying to answer that we haven’t asked?
A: What’s something you’re looking forward to this year?
Q: What’s the answer?
A: Attempting Moab Run the Rocks – 47.2 trail miles through the desert over 3 days.