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Choosing to Lead Against the Current

The Courageous Operating System for Changemakers

Heart-centered tools for social change leaders to build their well of courage, harness momentum, and power up their leadership.

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EVENTS

In the face of complex challenges, capable leaders need more than a simple box of leadership tools. They need an internal system of leadership, a tested operating system to help them navigate successfully through forces of oppression, while staying connected to their purpose, values, and vision.

This is a practical handbook for leaders in the trenches.

Over the course of my two decades as an executive director, I was fortunate to work with powerful and inspirational leaders who were making great impact. Yet, I saw to the immense challenges they faced as their path was filled with obstacles from the opposition but also from our movement. This along with the constant churning led to a journey of pain, isolation and burnout.

In Choosing to Lead Against the Current, my mission is to provide you with the revolutionary Courageous Operating System, designed to help you cultivate your power, sustain yourself both mentally and physically, and create lasting conditions for success.

I have included inspiring stories and case-studies drawn from my own experiences, as well as, from my work with other change leaders. Topics you will find her, include:

Turning encounters with adversity into sources of strength
Redefining success on your own terms
Building creative momentum against forces of oppression
Transforming failures into forward progress
Prioritizing short and long-term self-care

I have taught this system to over 200 organizations across the U.S. and global South. It’s holistic in nature, with different elements designed to work as one. Choosing to Lead Against the Current takes readers through the system’s components, with exercises at the end of each chapter to help integrate them into any leadership style.

My hope is to teach anyone leading against the current how to harness their full leadership power to build a future that values the liberation of all people and life on this planet.

What a remarkable gift to changemakers! I especially appreciate the way Eveline beautifully centers the stories of women and gender-expansive leaders, providing examples of courageous leadership and innovative solutions to structural barriers they face. Knowing the challenges that new and seasoned executive directors face today, this book will be an invaluable resource as we all continue to navigate how to effectively lead against the current.
SARITA GUPTA, vice president of programs at Ford Foundation

Ev masterfully distills her brilliance, wisdom, and experience into a practical guide for any changemaker to lead organizations and movements from the inside out. For over a decade I have looked to Ev as a mentor and movement sage, and this book serves as a powerful reminder of the invaluable lessons she has imparted—lessons I am eager to revisit and apply.
YAMANI YANSÁ HERNANDEZ, CEO of Groundswell Fund/Groundswell Action Fund and former executive director of the National Network of Abortion Funds

I wish I had this book twenty years ago! Eveline offers a practicable path to courage, making tough decisions as a leader, and facing and transforming failure. She lovingly invites us into self-knowing and real self-care, as a ground for vision and collective power.
STACI K. HAINES, founder of generative somatics and author of The Politics of Trauma

Eveline is one of the rare leaders in our movement who has achieved tremendous success in bringing people together to create structural change while embracing the challenges that often hold us back. Her commitment to addressing these difficulties has made our movements stronger and more adaptive. I am deeply grateful that her practice and approach are now accessible to so many others through this inspiring and practical guide.
TAJ JAMES, founder of the Movement Strategy Center and Full Spectrum Capital

This book illustrates powerfully how changemakers can use the Courageous Operating System to become the leaders our organizations, alliances and networks so direly need right now. I recommend this book to any leader who is finding their footing or wanting to soar.
RAJASVINI BHANSALI, Executive Director of the Solidaire Network

Events & Appearances

Ev Shen in Conversation With Matt Crawford

May 19, 2026

Curious Man Podcast

The Curious Man website

The Curious Mans Website as well as the Twitter page and Podcast are all about asking great questions and more importantly finding great answers! I have always loved reading and learning, I think most of us do and probably don’t realize it. I started this website because I wanted to not only be able to ask questions but to have them answered by the experts that know best. My wish is that my podcast will prompt enjoyable conversations that we can have here and on Twitter. Please reach out to me to ask questions, leave comments and make suggestions. A day where you don’t learn anything is a day wasted and I hope all of you make sure I never waste a day!

Listen to the recording

Eveline Shen with Monica Khant, Evelyn Lynn and Kwajelyn Jackson

TBD
Spring 2026

Atlanta, GA

Workshop at Northern California Grantmakers Annual Conference

April 30, 2026

San Francisco Airport Marriott Waterfront in Burlingame

Eveline Shen’s Workshop, Rooted in Purpose: Cultivating Courage Together

Transformative workshop designed for philanthropic leaders who are ready to cultivate their inner strength and resolve. In a world filled with challenges and uncertainties, let’s gather to explore what it truly means to build both our individual and collective well of courage. In this interactive session, we’ll engage in breath work, movement exercises, and meaningful small group activities aimed at helping you regulate your nervous system, enhance your leadership capabilities, and tap into the well of strengths and courage within you.

Facilitated by Eveline Shen, an award-winning leader in the Reproductive Justice Movement, this workshop will introduce you to the Courageous Operating System—a framework Eveline has developed and refined with hundreds of leaders across the nation. Her heart-centered tools are designed to empower you to navigate the structural challenges while staying deeply connected to your purpose, values, and vision.

Northern California Grantmakers

At its core, Northern California Grantmakers’ Annual Conference gathers our community of advocates and dreamers for collective learning. The conference is a space filled with colleagues and friends all working to mobilize for marginalized communities, collaborate for more effective giving, and deepen their understanding of racial equity. It’s a powerful culmination of the year we’ve had, the progress we’ve been driving towards, and a preview of the transformative efforts ahead.