What has changed since the summer of 2020? Has DEI become the next box to check? Is the nonprofit sector supporting oppression? Are nonprofits transforming their staff and boards to be more reflective of those they serve? What are reparations? How can nonprofits explore and engage the concept of reparations?

We hope participants feel the co-creation of a space for open discussion around difficult topics. Through openness and emerging relationships, our intention is to create accountability and change in the non-profit sector.

Connie Alexander (Gateway Education; Courage to Lead) and LFW peers who have been convening since 2020 all invite you to examine, reflect, listen and build our connection as nonprofit leaders. See below for facilitator bio.

ABOUT THE FACILITATOR:

Connie Alexander

Connie Alexander is one of the Founders and Co-Executive Director of Gateway Educational Services, and Gateway began in 2009.

She has 25 years of experience in higher education, including teaching and student services. She holds degrees in Political Science and History. Her role with Gateway includes daily operations, curriculum development, training, the College Readiness Program, and Summer Camps.

Gateway Educational Services is the only nonprofit learning in Santa Barbara County. We serve students in grades K-12. Our vision is to change the academic trajectory of students left behind. All programs are assessment-based, and curricula for improvement are created for each student.

Connie has held several leadership roles in the African American community in Santa Barbara, including the Black History Celebration Committee and the NAACP.

Connie is a participant in the Courage to Lead 8th Cohort.

REGISTER HERE

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES AND FURTHER READING

History and Social Justice

1. Why We Can’t Wait by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
2. How to be an Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi
3. Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
4. Stony the Road: White Supremacy and the Rise of Jim Crow by Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr.
5. Killing Rage by Bell Hooks
6. Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall
7. White Trash: The History of 400 of Class in America by Nancy Isenberg
8. The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander

Literature

1. The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates
2. Beloved by Toni Morrison
3. In Search of Our Mothers Gardens by Alice Walker
4. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Podcasts

1. The 1619 Project 
2. Pod Save the People