Adirondack Diversity Initiative (ADI) News | March 2024 | |
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March is Women's History Month, a time to honor the often overlooked contributions and achievements of women from past to present. But it's also a time to be reminded of the issues women currently face in the US and around the world. Issues like academic exclusion, pay inequity, inequity in health care, lack of body autonomy and reproductive rights, any of the many sexist laws, policies and norms. Women's History Month is when we all (regardless of sex or gender) rise, reflect, rally and re-commit ourselves to gender equality and a future in which women (and all gender identities who suffer under discrimination) have complete access to reach their full potential.
We hope this month's newsletter will educate, inspire, and empower because women's history is the history of the world- past, present, and future!
Onward,
Tiffany Rea-Fisher, ADI Director and
Melanie Reding, ADI Associate Director
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Do You Want to Work for ADI?
ADI is seeking a proactive, creative, collaborative, and highly skilled individual to work as the ADI Administrative Head. The responsibilities of the Administrative Head include program management of ADI initiatives; event planning, execution and evaluation of specific ADI events; and serving as the ADI representative at various local and regional DEI-focused events and meetings.
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Have you joined the ADI Facebook Group?
This is a platform allows for ADI to share articles, history, events and resources for allyship and action. Visit us on Thursdays for "Do The Work Thursdays"- where we share resources to help you personally engage more deeply in racial equity and justice in your personal life and community.
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Program Spotlight: Sustaining BIPOC Leadership Initiative
Leaders of color, particularly women of color, often carry the greatest load in advancing racial equity and social justice work. We at ADI recognize that racial/social justice organizations and many nonprofits are stretched for resources. As such, leaders are often overworked, underpaid and under-resourced to no fault of their own. Rest, healing, and wellness are essential for BIPOC nonprofit and community leaders, who carry the weight of managing social justice organizations while also facing the “weathering effect,” defined by researcher Arline Geronimus as the cumulative impact of structural racism on health and well-being. This new initiative directly reflects our mission to mobilize people, resources and expertise to advance racial, social and economic justice.
Key outcomes of the initiative include:
- A network of BIPOC and historically marginalized leaders who commit to working together to support and strengthen their communities and each other
- Participants understand the importance of self-care, ways to practice it in their everyday lives and a commitment to helping each other maintain this practice
- Increased level of appreciation for and comfort in the Adirondacks
- Increased level of understanding and appreciation for nature as a tool for health, healing and wellness
Our first program Cultivating Community Leadership will be held in August in partnership with our host site, Camp Sagamore.
For more information on this program email Melanie at mreding@adirondack.org
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Upcoming ADI Sponsored event:
Talking Rivers is hosting the We Are All in This Together Symposium. This symposium is a series of three virtual events to discuss how we can expand the conception of environmental stewardship beyond the human, and unravel the historical roots of the climate crisis. The final virtual event takes place on April 9th. ADI is a sponsor of this symposium.
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The Invisible Burden
The intersectionality of gender, race, and ethnicity creates a unique set of challenges for Women of Color (WoC). They have the additional burden of navigating racial and gender disparities simultaneously, which can heavily impact their mental and emotional well-being. Systemic racism, unconscious bias, and an expectation of unpaid emotional labor (often provided to white friends and colleagues) can result in a constant and overwhelming drain on WoC. This leads to increased burnout compared to their male and white female counterparts.
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“I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own."
~ Audre Lorde
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Girl in the Mirror: My Experience as a
Transgender Person
~ by Jamie Collins
| Coming out photo- "the first [photo} I ever posted of authentic me" | |
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The Freedom Story Project is a project of John Brown Lives! that collects and broadcasts three- to five-minute audio stories and related photographs online, centering around themes of freedom and justice, human and civil rights, activism, and engagement, at local, national, and international levels. Freedom Story Project uses the OurStoryBridge methodology, making stories easily accessible and shareable.
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Support the Adirondack Diversity Initiative
ADI exists at the intersection of environmental and transformational justice, working to make the Adirondacks a more welcoming and inclusive place for both residents and visitors while ensuring a vital and sustainable Adirondack Park for future generations.
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Become an ANCA Member
ANCA members are growing our region’s New Economy by building strong, resilient systems for local food, clean energy and small business. As home of the Adirondack Diversity Initiative, ANCA is committed to advancing equity and inclusion in the Adirondack North Country.
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