In Solidarity We Build Agenda for June 23-24, 2021
Wednesday, June 23
1:30 PM – 2:30 PM EDT Opening Ceremony Day One
• 1:30 PM – 1:45 PM At the Table, spoken word by Amal Kassir
• 1:45 PM – 2:00 PM Black Girl Magic, spoken word by Mahogany L. Browne
• 2:00 PM – 2:10 PM Interim CEO Remarks & Introduction of Plenary | Elisha Rhodes
• 2:15 PM – 2:30 PM Plenary Session Opening Remarks | Hosted by Facebook.
Opening Remarks by Roy Austin, VP, Civil Rights, Facebook
2:30 PM – 3:28 PM EDT Our Lives Depend on This: Answering the Call of Justice | Opening Plenary
The historical legacy and current-day reality of racial violence and white supremacy pose a daily threat to the physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being of Black, Latinx, Asian, Pacific Islander, and Indigenous people. From the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor to vicious attacks on Asian Americans to the disparate and deadly health and educational impacts of COVID-19 on people of color, this unprecedented moment of national reckoning demands that we each answer the call of justice with the fierce urgency of now. For people of color, our very lives depend on this.
Guided by a multi-racial panel of thought leaders and activists deeply invested in the future of our nation, this intensive dialogue will explore what it means to create racial justice and accountability that builds true safety and opportunity for all. Together, we will listen, learn, and commit to action.
Moderator: Monique Dorsainvil, Director, Public Policy, Facebook
Panelists:
Charlene Carruthers, Political Strategist
Erika Lee, Professor, Author, Historian
Sarah Eagle Heart, Social Justice Activist & Storyteller
Victoria DeFrancesco Soto, Assistant Dean, The University of Texas at Austin
3:28 PM – 3:35 PM EDT Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids Presentation on Racial Justice and Health Equity
Remarks by Portia Reddick White, VP Strategic Partnerships, U.S. Programs at Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids
3:35 PM – 3:45 PM EDT Break
3:45 PM – 5:00 PM EDT Breakout Sessions
- Moving from Talking to Action
When it comes to race equity, leadership, and supporting nonprofit leaders of color, what will it take to move from talk to action? Join Sean Thomas-Breitfeld (Co-Director, Building Movement Project) for a presentation and discussion on the nonprofit racial leadership gap, the impact of COVID-19 on people of color led-nonprofits, and what steps philanthropy and the sector can take to create lasting, systemic change. This session will focus on BMP's two reports: Race to Lead Revisited and On The Frontlines.
Speaker & Moderator: Sean Thomas-Breitfeld
Panelists:
Margaret Mitchell, CEO, YWCA Cleveland
Maria Imperial, CEO, YWCA White Plains & Central Westchester - Unconscious Bias
Illustrate the different types of bias that impact how we perceive and evaluate others and equip leaders with the tools to address how these manifests with a systemic perspective and practical response component.
Facilitator: Dr. Keita Joy, Success Uncensored - Inclusive Leadership & The Learner Mindset
This session outlines leadership competencies that result in inclusive and psychologically safe workplaces. The competencies can be integrated into performance management, new people manager onboarding and training, and fortifying senior leadership teams. Deloitte's inclusive leadership module is leveraged.
Facilitator: Tricia Nabors, M.Ed, BCC, CPC - Resisting, Revolutionizing, and Sustaining Self (BIPOC)
It's exhausting to be a champion for equity, to be an anti-racist and "ally". How do we carry the weight of this either as an "only" who lives with inequity imposed upon us, or as someone learning to see their own privilege.
Facilitator: Deran Young, MSW, MPA - Transactional v. Transformational Approaches to Equity
RARE founder created a framework for equitable change that can be implemented via a transactional or transformational approach. Understand the difference and steps to take sustainable culture change.
Facilitator: Robbin Hudson, MBA, CDPC - Advocating for State and Local Governments to Declare Racism as a Public Health Crisis
In communities across the country, YWCAs have been a driving force in local and state efforts to recognize and address racism as a public health crisis. As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, centuries of racism in the U.S. have created deep inequities in housing, income, healthcare, education, public safety, transportation, food access, and other social determinants of health, with profound negative impacts on the long-term physical and mental health of millions of people of color. Addressing racism and racial inequities as a public health crisis is an important step toward establishing a coordinated public health response across these myriad systems and achieving greater racial equity.
Learn the what, why, and how of advocating for your community to address racism as a public health crisis. You'll hear from YWCA leaders in Cleveland, OH, Madison, WI, and Wheeling, WV, who have successfully advocated for state and local declarations about the advocacy strategies and partnerships that can accelerate your community's efforts.
Facilitator: Catherine Beane, VP, Public Policy & Advocacy, YWCA USA
Panelists:
Vanessa McDowell, CEO, YWCA Madison
Lori Jones, ED, YWCA Wheeling
Margaret Mitchell, CEO, YWCA Cleveland
5:00 PM – 5:15 PM Break
5:15 PM – 6:00 PM EDT Fireside Chat - Local Association Racial Justice Excellence Award
Facilitator: Saida Agostini, VP of Member Services
Panelists:
Beth Chandler, CEO, YWCA Boston
Tiffany McDowell Singer, Equity Institute Director, YWCA Evanston/Northshore
Vanessa McDowell, CEO, YWCA Madison
Margaret Mitchell, CEO, YWCA Greater Cleveland
Tara Peterson, CEO, YWCA Glendale
Thursday, June 24, 2021
2:00 PM – 2:45 PM EDT Racial Justice Summit – In Solidarity We Build | Opening Ceremony Day Two
2:00 PM – 2:20 PM EDT We Are Not Imposters | How Professionals of Color Can Thrive in the Workplace
Do you ever doubt yourself at work? Perhaps you feel like a fraud or that you don't belong. These feelings, known as "imposter syndrome," are commonly experienced among professionals across industry and demographics. But for professionals of color (POC), imposter syndrome hits differently. Join Speaker & Writer Jodi-Ann Burey as she examines how systemic bias and discrimination triggers feelings of imposter syndrome among POC. You will also learn what you can do as individuals and employers to ensure POC can thrive completely and authentically in their careers.
Speaker: Jodi-Ann Burey, Disruptor, Speaker, Writer
2:20 PM – 2:40 PM EDT Fireside Chat: Allyship and Solidarity: Doing the Work
Speakers:
Elisha Rhodes, Interim CEO & COO, YWCA USA
2:45 PM – 3:45 PM EDT Advancing Equity Through Philanthropy: Closing the Funding Gap | Sponsored by Comcast
Over the past year, conversations about race, racial equity, and DEI (Diversity, Equity and, Inclusion) have increased in the field of philanthropy. However, philanthropic giving to communities of color or POC-led nonprofits remains low. As reported in Building Movement Project's On the Frontlines 2020 report, POC-led nonprofits are on the frontlines of response and recovery efforts related to both the pandemic and the calls for systemic change. As a result, their programs and strategies are shifting, and their financial and leadership needs are increasing. Despite these conditions, POC-led nonprofits are refusing to return to business as usual. They are charting new paths for systemic change, solidarity, and sustainability. The nonprofit sector, philanthropy, and government actors must follow the lead of POC-led nonprofits in order to secure a more equitable and just future for everyone.
Join us as we hear directly from leaders in the philanthropic and corporate giving spaces who are deeply invested in the future of our country and actively committed to using their platforms to advance justice and equity.
Moderator: Ebonne Ruffins, VP, Local Media Development, Comcast
Panelists:
Ebony A. Thomas, SVP, Racial Equality and Economic Opportunity, Bank of America
Teresa Younger, CEO, MS Foundation
Monique Carswell, Director, Center for Racial Equity, Walmart
Marguerite Griffin, Director, Philanthropic Advisory Services, Northern Trust
3:45 PM – 4:00 PM Break
4:00 PM – 5:15 PM EDT Breakout Sessions
- Moving from Talking to Action
When it comes to race equity, leadership, and supporting nonprofit leaders of color, what will it take to move from talk to action? Join Sean Thomas-Breitfeld (Co-Director, Building Movement Project) for a presentation and discussion on the nonprofit racial leadership gap, the impact of COVID-19 on people of color led-nonprofits, and what steps philanthropy and the sector can take to create lasting, systemic change. This session will focus on BMP's two reports: Race to Lead Revisited and On The Frontlines.
Speaker & Moderator: Sean Thomas-Breitfeld
Panelists:
Margaret Mitchell, CEO, YWCA Cleveland
Maria Imperial, CEO, YWCA White Plains & Central Westchester - Unconscious Bias
Illustrate the different types of bias that impact how we perceive and evaluate others and equip leaders with the tools to address how these manifests with a systemic perspective and practical response component.
Panelist: Dr. Keita Joy, Success Uncensored - Inclusive Leadership & The Learner Mindset
This session outlines leadership competencies that result in inclusive and psychologically safe workplaces. The competencies can be integrated into performance management, new people manager onboarding and training, and fortifying senior leadership teams. Deloitte's inclusive leadership module is leveraged.
Panelist: Tricia Nabors, M.Ed, BCC, CPC - Resisting, Revolutionizing, and Sustaining Self (BIPOC)
It's exhausting to be a champion for equity, to be an anti-racist and "ally". How do we carry the weight of this either as an "only" who lives with inequity imposed upon us, or as someone learning to see their own privilege.
Panelist: Deran Young, MSW, MPA - Transactional v. Transformational Approaches to Equity
RARE founder created a framework for equitable change that can be implemented via a transactional or transformational approach. Understand the difference and steps to take sustainable culture change.
Panelist: Robbin Hudson, MBA, CDPC - Advocating for State and Local Governments to Declare Racism as a Public Health Crisis
In communities across the country, YWCAs have been a driving force in local and state efforts to recognize and address racism as a public health crisis. As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, centuries of racism in the U.S. have created deep inequities in housing, income, healthcare, education, public safety, transportation, food access, and other social determinants of health, with profound negative impacts on the long-term physical and mental health of millions of people of color. Addressing racism and racial inequities as a public health crisis is an important step toward establishing a coordinated public health response across these myriad systems and achieving greater racial equity.
Learn the what, why, and how of advocating for your community to address racism as a public health crisis. You'll hear from YWCA leaders in Cleveland, OH, Madison, WI, and Wheeling, WV, who have successfully advocated for state and local declarations about the advocacy strategies and partnerships that can accelerate your community's efforts.
Facilitator: Catherine Beane, VP, Public Policy & Advocacy, YWCA USA
Panelists:
Vanessa McDowell, CEO, YWCA Madison
Lori Jones, ED, YWCA Wheeling
Margaret Mitchell, CEO, YWCA Cleveland
5:15 PM – 5:30 PM EDT Break
5:30 PM – 5:50 PM Sustained Action | True Allyship in the fight for Racial Equity | Talk
White allies, because current systems and structures were established to advance white supremacy and to protect white-dominant cultures, many are unsure of how they can leverage their privilege to accelerate racial equity work or where to start. You have a role, and you have a responsibility because YOU have the advantage. We are not viewing the inheritance of and benefiting from your privilege as a fault – we are viewing it as an opportunity to combine efforts to ensure equity for all in a sustaining way. We cannot achieve Racial Justice without Solidarity!
Speaker: Rebekah Golwer, Senior Director, Content and Stakeholder Engagement, Equity in the Center
5:50 PM – 6:10 PM – Closing Remarks
Maria Cardona, Principal, Dewey Square Group; Founder of Latinovations; CNN & CNN en Espanol Political Commentator
6:10 PM – 6:15 PM Closing Poem
Healing & Unity, spoken word by Mahogany L. Browne
