Nancy Ramsey

Nancy Ramsey is a Futurist, Author and Entrepreneur. She consults with the Global Business Network as a futurist and co-authored, with Pamela McCorduck, The Futures of Women: Scenarios for the 21st Century, published by Addison-Wesley and in paperback by Time -Warner. She also co-authored, Nuclear Weapons Decision Making published by Macmillan. Ramsey is President of Morning Star Imports,, a small Tiburon, CA based company specializing in ethnic jewelry from the Middle East and North Africa. Ramsey is a popular speaker on a wide range of business and women’s issues.

Ramsey is the former Legislative Director to Senator John Kerry. In addition to directing the legislative staff, Ramsey advised the Senator on a number of issues including the federal budget, space and education. She is knowledgeable about the legislative process as well as the public and private sector.

In 2003 and 2004 Ramsey lived in The Hague, Netherlands with her husband, Rusty Schweickart, on an extended "Senior Year Abroad". Having returned to the San Francisco Bay area, Ramsey recently completed a Report with Pamela McCorduck for the National Science Foundation and the National Center for Women and Information Technology at the University of Colorado entitled, Where are the Women in IT? She has recently consulted with a number of IT start ups on the design of on line learning programs and worked with the National Academy of Engineering’s Task Force on Women and Diversity in Engineering. She serves on the Advisory Board of the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology. She has worked with a number of corporations and interest groups on diversity Scenarios and planning.

In wide ranging travels for her tribal and ethnic jewelry business Ramsey has journeyed to historic trading centers from Timbuktu to Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey and The Golden Triangle. These trips also provide an opportunity to meet with women in business.

Before joining Senator Kerry’s staff in Washington DC Ramsey served as President of Ramsey Associates, a Washington based consulting firm specializing in arms control, international affairs and national security. Ramsey co-founded and directed the Committee for National Security, a non-profit, non-partisan national leadership group created in 1980 to encourage public debate on national security issues. Prior to her involvement with the Committee for National Security, Ramsey served as Director of Americans for SALT, a national citizen's group supporting the SALT II Treaty. She also served as Legislative Director for the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Assistant to the Director of the National Welfare Rights Organization, Staff Assistant to the Governor of Massachusetts and with the Commonwealth Service Corps, organizing community action programs in that state.

Ms. Ramsey has served on a number of boards of directors including the Women's Campaign Fund, the National Peace Academy Campaign, and Peace Links International. She has also been a contributor to In the Public Interest. In 1984 she served as a Distinguished Resource Fellow at the Center for Conflict Resolution at George Mason University.

Nancy Ramsey is a native of West Hartford, Connecticut. She was an American Field Service exchange student to Heilbronn, Germany. Ramsey is a graduate of Colby College and received a Masters Degree in Social Work from the University of Chicago.

Nancy Ramsey possesses the rare ability to evaluate and define situations with honesty and sometimes shocking clarity. As a true believer in the power of one voice, her vision for the future of women and business will undoubtedly continue to strike chords around the world. Thus far, her opinions, goals and insights have successfully defined one of the strongest movements in history…the changing role of women in this century. In universities, the U.S. Senate, world women's organizations and international corporations, her provocative voice rings out strong, heard and embraced by many.

On women's issues from public policy to consumer preferences, there is no better way to express her voice than with her own words, consider this brief sampling of statements published recently in the San Francisco Chronicle, Nancy discusses how the "Common Agenda of Women Will Shape the Future." A few excerpts from her article read: "…The biggest change in the social order of the 20th century is the change in the status of women. Every family, workplace, man and women feels it… Women's priorities are universal, even if not ranked identically… Research shows that women share policy priorities that cut across party lines and past disagreements. These priorities are the outline of what women want for themselves and their families in the 21st century. The top three policy priorities for women are:
1) Healthcare for themselves, senior citizens and children;
2) Education and
3) Gender equity in workplace hiring, promotions, pay, benefits and lending. With a common agenda, increasing economic clout and new, creative forms of effecting change, women are likely to continue building the future and legacy they want."

In consulting with corporations, small business and private voluntary organizations, Nancy's skills in building scenarios as well as examining and understanding the future add depth and vision to challenging dilemmas. For example, Nancy worked with The Conference Board's Work and Family Council and Council on Workforce Diversity to explore the impact different futures could have on Council work and corporate strategies.

Nancy's speeches this year range from Keynote speaker at The National Academy of Engineering's Summit on Women to Luncheon Speaker to a Conference on Information Technology in the Workplace at Creighton University's College of Business in Omaha, Nebraska. Conference sponsors commented "People were impressed and motivated by your talk. You were a big hit at our Conference!" Nancy's ability to speak on a broad range of issues, particularly the future adds new and different perspectives to subjects.

Nancy uses her vision and voice to consult with the Global Business Network as a futurist and co-author, with Pamela McCorduck, The Futures of Women: Scenarios for the 21st Century. The scenarios of the future featured in the book set up a useful base from which to reflect on our world today and establish both communication and real steps forward for the progress of women.

The Futures of Women: Scenarios for the 21st Century
By Pamela McCorduck and Nancy Ramsey

"Spellbinding" is how Fortune Magazine describes The Futures of Women. Scenarios for the 21st Century by Pamela McCorduck and Nancy Ramsey. This exciting, impassioned book tells the compelling stories of four different, possible scenarios for women in the next century. Using scenarios, a methodology first developed for nuclear war gaming and now adapted for business and public interest futures considerations, the book's goal according to the authors is "to examine facts and trends, destroy complacency and provoke thought about the role of women in the next fifteen to twenty years."

The four scenarios include:
1. A Golden Age of gender equality which benefits women and men alike.
2. A worldwide Backlash that puts even Western women behind veils.
3. A Two Step (Two Steps Forward, Two Steps Back) that preserves the status quo.
4. A Separate and Doing Fine, Thanks world of gender separation where women choose to live their lives in women's communities, both formal and informal.

The authors make clear that no one of these Scenarios will come true, but each of them holds a part of the future. One reviewer put it this way, "The authors were able to give flesh and bone to the scenarios they envisioned by projecting striking profiles of women from many cultures and age groups who described in the first person the mileus they inhabit in the year 2015"

Forewarned is forearmed. By knowing the trends, the dangers and the ways of the future, women can make the best choices to bring about the world they want for their themselves, their families and communities.

Scenarios are stories, internally consistent, different stories of possible futures. They are carefully constructed to illustrate and examine how different futures could call for substantially different ways to approach a situation, a product or an outcome. Scenarios explore facts, trends, predetermined elements and driving forces to build stories, which scan the future and instruct the present.

With scenarios as templates, different possibilities can be explored, change anticipated and appropriate responses considered. With alternate, credible futures, it is easier to identify the early indicators of possible change on critical issues. Scenarios are a tool to discover those realities "hidden in plain sight".

The advantage of time to consider options is a significant advantage in today's fast moving, global community. Opportunity lies in options. Considering different possible futures in an orderly, comprehensive story can provide that opportunity.

About Morning Star Imports

Morning Star Imports specializes in unique jewelry and fashions handcrafted in ancient traditions around the world. We travel to desert towns, village souqs and bustling cities in Africa and the Middle East to find the finest antique pieces available. We also work with tribal artisans to recreate traditional designs at their finest. Our goals are to bring customers quality adornments at reasonable prices and support the work of current artisans and traders at fair prices.

The colors, balance and materials of folk jewelry around the world easily compliment today's elegant fashions and simple designs. From single strands of traditional beads to elaborate wedding necklaces and Native American bracelets, we invite you peruse our listings. It is our pleasure to bring you the rich styles of centuries old design at its finest.