Catherine Alonzo

Catherine Alonzo Everyone can make change | Learn how to start your journey

“Every time I hear you speak, I get something different out of it.”Someone said this to me on Tuesday after I spoke at t...
09/03/2026

“Every time I hear you speak, I get something different out of it.”

Someone said this to me on Tuesday after I spoke at the Greater Phoenix Chamber’s Professional Women’s Alliance. It felt like it hit me right between the eyes.

As a speaker, it’s easy to get focused on the measurable outcomes: How many people attended? How many books did I sell? Did another speaking opportunity come from it?

But none of those things are really why I speak.

I speak because I know what it feels like to sit in an audience and hear a story, an idea, or a tool that stays with me for years. Something that changes the way I lead, the way I approach my work, or even the way I see myself.

The speaker almost certainly never knows the impact they had.

Yesterday reminded me that this is the opportunity every time I step onto a stage: to say something that resonates with someone and helps them make their life, their changemaking, or their corner of the world a little better.

That’s the outcome that matters most. And I’m grateful for the reminder.

Thank you to Greater Phoenix Chamber, Carly Kastner, and Keegan Ewing for bringing together such a wonderful group of women, and to Lauren Smith for getting brave and joining me for a little Core Values Discovery along the way!

I went into this conversation thinking we were going to talk about water policy.We did. But mostly, we talked about peop...
08/31/2026

I went into this conversation thinking we were going to talk about water policy.

We did. But mostly, we talked about people.

People who depend on the Colorado River. People who manage it. Farmers, tribes, cities and communities that all need water to grow and survive.

And the people tasked with making incredibly difficult decisions about how one shared resource gets divided between them.

I was thrilled to be joined on the How to Change the World podcast by . She serves on the board of the Central Arizona Water Conservation District, which oversees the , and she’s spent more than a decade helping make some of those decisions.

One thing Heather said really stayed with me: everyone is making the best decision they can at the time with the information they have.

It can be easy to turn complicated problems into stories with heroes and villains. But when it comes to water in the American West, cities need water. Farmers need water. Tribes need water. Communities need water.

There aren't easy answers when everyone has a legitimate claim and those needs compete with one another.

What you’ll learn from my conversation with Heather:
∙ What it actually looks like to make tough decisions in hard circumstances;
∙ Why she remains hopeful about the future of the Colorado River;
∙ And some surprising ways our individual choices affect water consumption

Our full conversation is on ’s How to Change the World podcast if you haven’t listened yet. You can find the episode wherever you get your podcasts.

It's here! 🎉The full video from the launch of The Changemaker's Toolkit is now online.Writing a book is one thing. Getti...
08/28/2026

It's here! 🎉

The full video from the launch of The Changemaker's Toolkit is now online.

Writing a book is one thing. Getting to celebrate it in a room full of people who care deeply about creating change is something else entirely. It was such a special evening, and I'm so grateful to everyone who came, supported the book, and helped make the launch so memorable.

If you couldn't join us that night – or you'd simply like to watch the conversation – you can now watch the full event below.

Thank you for all of your encouragement along the way. I hope you enjoy it. 💚🧡

🎥 Watch the full book launch here: https://youtu.be/Xkl3nBC3X2M

Every meaningful change begins with the same simple thought: I can do this.Before we take action, tackle the big problem...
08/27/2026

Every meaningful change begins with the same simple thought:

I can do this.

Before we take action, tackle the big problem, pitch the ambitious idea, or try something we've never done before, we have to believe that we're capable of doing it.

And that belief isn't something you either have or you don't. It's something you can build.

That's what I'll be talking about at my upcoming event, How to Believe You Can Do Anything.

This is a brand new workshop, and I am so excited to be sharing it for the first time at !

We'll explore why belief can matter more than talent or experience when it comes to taking action, what strengthens (and undermines) our belief in ourselves, and how we can intentionally build more conviction in ourselves and the people we lead.

If you've ever had an idea you weren't quite sure you could pull off, this conversation is for you.

📍 CO+HOOTS | 221 E Indianola Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85012
📅 Wednesday October 7th, 2026 | 5:30pm - 7:00pm
🔗https://www.eventbrite.com/e/how-to-believe-you-can-do-anything-tickets-1997879059047?aff=oddtdtcreator

I hope you'll join me!

I asked for recs on grief insights/resources, and boy did you deliver. A week ago, I asked this community for recommenda...
08/26/2026

I asked for recs on grief insights/resources, and boy did you deliver.

A week ago, I asked this community for recommendations on books, podcasts, TED Talks, documentaries, and other resources about grief.

I wasn't expecting to walk away with one of the best collections of recommendations I've ever received.

Thank you to everyone who shared the books, podcasts, films, and ideas that have shaped your understanding of grief. But what struck me even more than the recommendations themselves were the stories behind them. So many of you shared not just what has helped you, but why.

I've started working my way through the list already, and I wanted to share some of the incredible recommendations in case they're helpful to someone else.

📚 Books
The Wild Edge of Sorrow, Francis Weller
Crying in H Mart, Michelle Zauner
No Happy Endings, Nora McInerny
The Road to Character, David Brooks
The Social Animal, David Brooks
Man's Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl
The Light of the World, Elizabeth Alexander
The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren
On Death and Dying, Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
Remarkably Bright Creatures, Shelby Van Pelt

🎙️ Podcasts
Hidden Brain
Daily Stoic
It’s Going to Be Okay with Nora McInerny
You're Going to Die
All There Is with Anderson Cooper

🎥 TED Talks & Documentaries
Nora McInerny's TED Talk
When the Revolution Doesn't Come

🌱 Other Resources
David Kessler's work and grief.com
Emily Griffith
Charlene Lam
Deepa Iyer's Social Change Map

More suggestions to add? Drop them in the comments below 👇 I’m still collecting recommendations.

One of the things I've been learning lately is that grief shows up in more places than we often realize, including in the work of changemakers. Many of us are trying to help people navigate change, uncertainty, transition, and loss in one form or another.

I’m so grateful for this community.

We can’t solve the housing crisis without this one thing. This week, I had the opportunity to moderate a panel at the AZ...
08/24/2026

We can’t solve the housing crisis without this one thing.

This week, I had the opportunity to moderate a panel at the AZ Cities Conference on one of the biggest challenges facing communities across the country: housing.

Nogales Mayor Jorge Maldonado, Tucson’s Director of Planning and Development Koren Manning, Gorman & Company’s Director of Development Dan Klocke, and Cavco’s Bill Boor all gave examples of how we can get more housing built in our communities.

The commonality in their answers? Change.

We have to alter zoning laws.
We have to rethink permitting procedures.
We have to transform how we talk about housing.
We have to shift what we think we’re capable of when it comes to building housing.

To change things, you have to build trust.

I love the way Bill Boor put it: “To build trust, you’re looking for footholds.”

You have to start somewhere. Find a beginning. Build a little trust. Use that trust to make a little change. Then build from there.

There is no single solution to the housing crisis. But every solution requires us to make change possible.

And that starts with building trust.

Thank you to the Arizona League of Cities and Towns for bringing together such a thoughtful discussion, and to the panelists for sharing your invaluable perspectives.

Since publishing The Changemaker’s Toolkit, I've had a bunch of incredible changemakers ask me about writing a book.The ...
08/21/2026

Since publishing The Changemaker’s Toolkit, I've had a bunch of incredible changemakers ask me about writing a book.

The publishing path. Finding an agent. Making time to write. Figuring out what the book should actually be about.

What I've realized is that almost every answer comes back to the same two clarifying questions:
What is your goal? And who are you trying to reach?

In this month's newsletter, I'm answering the publishing questions I get asked most often and sharing some of the resources that shaped my own journey.

Read the full article below. 👇

https://www.catherinealonzo.com/newsletter-1/should-you-write-a-book

Just a reminder that I’ll be speaking at the ’s Professional Women’s Alliance on Tuesday, September 1!We’ll be talking a...
08/20/2026

Just a reminder that I’ll be speaking at the ’s Professional Women’s Alliance on Tuesday, September 1!

We’ll be talking about what it takes to keep creating meaningful change when burnout, limited resources, structural barriers, and a lack of hope can make that work feel especially difficult.

I’ll share ideas from The Changemaker’s Toolkit and explore how Vision, Action, Values, and Conviction can help us turn ambitious ideas into meaningful, lasting change.

If you’re in Phoenix and haven’t registered yet, I’d love to see you there! 🧡💚

📅 Tuesday, September 1
📍 Blanco Cocina + Cantina | Biltmore Fashion Park

Registration is available through the Greater Phoenix Chamber.

https://business.phoenixchamber.com/events/details/professional-women-s-alliance-presents-how-to-drive-social-impact-in-a-world-that-needs-hope-8519

How rarely the stories of positive change in our communities get told. Last week, I had the opportunity to speak on a pa...
08/17/2026

How rarely the stories of positive change in our communities get told.

Last week, I had the opportunity to speak on a panel at Arizona Center for Civic Leadership’s Flinn Brown Convention about the Arizona statewide initiative Proposition 479 alongside Deanna Villanueva-Saucedo, Audra Koester Thomas, Kate Morley, Frank McCune, and Kevin Hartke.

Changing the world is often messy, takes ages, and happens behind the scenes.

One of the things I appreciated most about the conversation was that it highlighted how many different pieces have to come together to create meaningful change.

Public engagement.
Legislation.
Advocacy.
Coalition building and collaboration.
An electoral campaign.

I had the chance to talk about the role of storytelling.

It's easy to think of Proposition 479 as a ballot measure. But it's really the story of what can happen when people from different sectors work together over time around a shared vision. (Many of whom happen to be engaged with the Flinn Brown Network 😆).

In this case, that vision was simple: making it easier for people to move throughout our community so they can spend more time doing the things they value.

That vision helped align people, sustain the work, overcome a bunch of hurdles, and ultimately create change at the local level.

Thank you to Arizona Center for Civic Leadership’s Flinn Brown Convention for bringing us together for such a thoughtful conversation.

London, I’m coming your way! 🇬🇧In just one month, I’ll be at Waterstones Piccadilly to talk about The Changemaker’s Tool...
08/14/2026

London, I’m coming your way! 🇬🇧

In just one month, I’ll be at Waterstones Piccadilly to talk about The Changemaker’s Toolkit, and I’d love to see you there.

Writing this book was about putting everything I’ve learned about making change into something people could actually use. Getting to take those ideas across the pond, and have these conversations in the country where I grew up, feels particularly special.

If you’re in London, come join us!
📍 Waterstones Piccadilly | London
📅 Tuesday, September 15
🕡 6:00 PM

And if you know a changemaker in London who might enjoy the conversation, send this their way. 💚🧡

I hope to see you there!

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