We've previously mentioned that we are committed to continuously examining our internal culture. This is what brought us to the shared leadership model that we formalized this year and our culture map that replaced the old employee handbook. It's also helped to ensure that we have more sustainability and more agency for each member of our team.
This month we did a team leadership development session (with the incomparable Melissa Kopplin) where we hashed out the qualities of emotional intelligence, barriers to communication, the reasons we came into this particular Inclusive Communities space, and why we choose to stay. The last portion of our session was an exercise in intention setting for ourselves as an organization and as individuals making up this organization.
That helped us to shape the vision we have for where we're going and how we get there. Through vocalizing these thoughts it's brought us closer, as we craft a unified vision of how we come together to do equity-building work as a group of individuals with differing strengths, life experiences, backgrounds and personal goals. In as much as a shared vision is necessary for us to progress, by its very nature, the culture of inclusion is constantly evolving. The individuals who currently make up this team and will eventually join it, take on aspects of our organizational culture just as much as they influence and change it. One of our board members recently said that for us to create our three-year strategic plan, our brains first have to be "soft" - meaning that we have to be receptive to the changes that we discuss. We find our strength in this malleability and in our ability to actively and genuinely listen.
Thus, our external work also has to be a transference of culture. We know that in order to create systemic change and continue to build equity, we must determine the barriers that exist in communicating our message and be malleable in our methods so that we can truly connect with our audience. In this way, we will harvest our intentions to get uncomfortable, grow, and move into brave spaces as a community.
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Friendsgiving is Back Y'all! |
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Join us in-person or virtually for Friendsgiving on November 28th! Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar are returning and will join the Inclusive Communities team for an afternoon of hilarity, community, and celebration.
Amber and Lacey will be signing copies of their book "You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories About Racism," at this event, so bring along your copy or purchase one at the venue from the on-site Bookworm kiosk.
#ICYMI - Their book is on the NY Times Bestseller list (whuuut?!)
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Proof of vaccination required for entry to in-person venue. Masks are welcome but not required. |
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Our Team has grown!
We're excited to welcome Leontyne Evans on board as our Volunteer and Faculty Manager.
Leontyne has a degree in Psychology and Behavioral Science from Bellevue University. She began living out her passion by becoming a Domestic Violence Intervention Specialist, Trained Mediator, Life Coach specializing in healthy relationships, and Author. She devotes her time helping Survivors repair their hearts by facilitating groups and hosting events to encourage individuals to find happiness within themselves and practice self-love!
Leontyne is a published author of two books, "Princeton Pike Road" and "Relationships, Friendships, and Situationships - 90 days of Inspiration to Keep Your Ships From Sinking", which both support her mission of ending the cycle of unhealthy relationships. She has appeared on the front page on The Omaha World Herald and has shared her story with news outlets like KETV, KMTV, and USA Today. She's held several press conferences in Omaha as a sexual assault and domestic violence advocate, was a breakout speaker at the Greater Omaha Chamber YP Summit two years in a row, the 2020 recipient of the Midlands Business Journal's 40 under 40 award, and the 2020 recipient of the Omaha Jaycees Ten Young Outstanding Omahans award.
With all she has accomplished, her greatest title and accomplishment is being a wife and mother of 4 amazing children ages 19, 12, 2, and 1.
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Kandace's new portfolio!
Kandace Freeman has moved from Program Partner to a new position as our Programs and Curriculum Manager. Kandace joined our team in February and not only fit in immediately, but took on major projects with an ease and exuberance that truly demonstrates her passion for equity-building work.
As she takes on the responsibility of this new role, it expands the capacity for our team and we know that we will be able to move into many new spaces and start crucial conversations. We are incredibly grateful for Kandace and her work.
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Leadership is learning!
Tena is taking her leadership to the next level and has been accepted to the Nonprofit Association of the Midlands Nonprofit Executive Institute. This is an 11-month program designed for nonprofit leaders to enhance organizational leadership and help them transform the communities that they serve.
Along with this, Tena has also received a scholarship to Converge Academy, a partnership between American Express Leadership Academy and the Center for Creative Leadership. She was selected as one of 24 social justice leaders across the country to receive a full scholarship to attend the Academy in New York!
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Here's Kandace, Leontyne and Tena at the recent Nebraska Black Women United event |
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Spotlight on Shared Leadership |
Cammy and Maggie were recently featured in Today's Omaha Woman talking about the shared leadership model.
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Last time on Omaha Table Talk |
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Inclusive Communities brought the community together to discuss Youth Justice Reform at Omaha Table Talk.
Panelists Keenan Tomlinson and Carey Pomykata along with moderator Christine Henningsen drew from their significant expertise in working with at-risk and system-impacted youth to explain that the conversation about youth justice reform must be reimagined beyond merely making changes to the court system to include education and prevention.
Check out the conversation below!
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Brand New Native+Indigenous Table Talk is tomorrow!
We'll be talking about Mental Health in Native and Indigenous Communities with Echohawk Lefthand, Lestina Saul-Merdassi, Christina Arellano, and John Godoy.
Join us tomorrow, November 16 at 11:30 am via Zoom.
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by Leontyne Evans (She/Her), Volunteer + Faculty Manager
Since I was a child, being loud has always been seen as negative. Especially, as a Black woman. I was taught being loud was synonymous with being uneducated and unattractive. Being loud and proud meant being attention seeking and desperate. Even when I would sing, which I love to do, I was often told “be quiet, you’re too loud”. It was mind boggling to me because sometimes my passion would take over, and my voice would become elevated signaling that the song I was singing was more than words to me. It became such an insecurity for me, I became so quiet no one could hear me. When someone would ask me to speak in front of a crowd or sing a solo, I physically couldn’t convince my brain to allow me to be loud. The world crippled me.
So, I had these talents and gifts that no one knew about because I had literally and figuratively lost my voice. Being told I was too loud, overly confident, or “doing too much” combined with years of abuse and manipulation led me to believe my voice wasn’t valid. I truly believed the things I had to say had no significance, my talents were something I should keep to myself, and my successes or achievements had no meaning. Listening to the world had me “moving in silence”. I was merely a shadow of a person going through the motions. However, one day someone seen me. They saw me as a whole person and beckoned me out of the shadows. They saw something in me that I couldn’t even see in myself. They helped me to see my value again.
As I found my voice and learned my worth, I got louder. I started to speak even if I wasn’t asked. I wanted to be heard even if no one wanted to listen. What I once thought would make me seem attention seeking and desperate for validation, was now the very thing giving me strength. You see, I discovered my words have power. My contributions to this world are noteworthy, and my intelligence and experiences are worth sharing. I discovered that I matter, and I want to be loud about it! Now, that I found my voice I will never be quiet again.
My mentor once said “no one makes it to higher levels by being quiet. How would anyone know how to utilize your skills if they don’t know they exist? How can someone hire you for a job they don’t know you can do? How can someone learn from you if they can’t hear you? Being quiet could cause you to miss out on opportunities that were created specifically for you. There is someone who needs what you have, and they can’t get it because you’re keeping your gifts to yourself. We owe it to this world to be loud!”
So, the next time you hear someone being loud about the things they are passionate about, celebrating their achievements publicly, or even bragging on themselves, remember, you don’t know everyone’s story. What you may see as being annoying, cocky, or distasteful may simply be someone who has rediscovered their voice and is choosing to be humbly loud.
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