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Undoing Racism®
First Monday Executive Collective Gathering
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Join Us on Zoom: Monday, February 2, 9 a.m. - 11 a.m. EST
February Topic:
Collective Rest Matters More Now Than Ever
This First Monday offering creates a reflective and supportive space to explore the essential role of rest in healthy, effective, and sustainable organizational cultures. This will be an interactive and cross-racial community care experience where we will walk through some of the challenges and realities of holding, leading, building and directing this crucial work as leaders impacted by our own lived racial and cultural backgrounds.
Participants will leave with insights and practical strategies to center rest as a leadership practice and to integrate restorative approaches into their daily lives, teams, and workplaces. We will explore how rest supports clarity, decision making, collaboration, and long term organizational health. The session will include guided reflection and discussion around common organizational patterns that impact wellbeing, opportunities for connection through breakout conversations, and collective reflection as we consider how rest can be practiced individually and collectively. Come join us as we reflect, reconnect, and strengthen the cultures we lead through intentional rest and care.
Presenter: Michelle M. Lawrence
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Undoing Racism® Executive Collective Gathering
ZOOM REGISTRATION
You Must Register in advance to join this gathering.
Click here to Register:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/C1Op85woQDuf4m2u1g82RQ
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the gathering.
PLEASE DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS EMAIL TO REGISTER.
If you have any problems with the Zoom link, please contact: mpgconsultingnyc@gmail.com
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Undoing Racism® First Monday Executive Collective Overview:
This collective is designed for individuals in senior leadership roles within their organizations, particularly executive directors and their senior leadership teams, who hold decision-making authority and are dedicated to strengthening their values-driven organizations. It is especially suited for those committed to enhancing leadership practices that foster a welcoming culture of collaboration, wellness, and accountability.
The First Monday Executive Collective provides a space to learn from guest speakers, explore valuable resources, and build community to connect, support, and inspire each other during this season of instability. Our community engages in authentic conversations about the challenges of leading and bridge-building in a fractured world. Participants develop strategies and solutions to maximize the potential of their teams and improve services for the utmost benefits for their clients. All are welcome.
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Michelle M. Lawrence is the Director of Anti Racism Organizational Development at Safe Horizon, where she leads organization wide efforts to examine systems, strengthen accountability, and support a more inclusive workplace culture. She partners with senior leadership, internal teams, and affinity spaces to translate values into practice and support sustainable change across the organization. Michelle has been engaged with First Monday since 2018 and is a recurring presenter whose work supports more effective leadership and stronger organizational systems. Her contributions extend across the nonprofit sector through advisory roles, panels, and consultation focused on leadership effectiveness, justice informed practice, and long term impact. Michelle holds a bachelor’s degree in Human Services with a concentration in Child Welfare from New York City College of Technology.
| | *Scroll down for Community Partner Events, Community Offerings and Accountability Hubs | | |
Emotional Intelligence
January 28, 2026 | 1:00 pm - 2:30pm EST
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Facilitated by MPGC Consultant, Jewel Cadet
Deadline to register: January 23, 2026
Learn more and register for FREE here.
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White Women:
Privileged and Oppressed; Powerful and Invisible
Mothers of White Supremacy and Warriors for Racial Justice
Wednesdays 7- 9 pm ET
Mar 11 & 25, April 8 & 22, May 6 & 20, June 3
Click here to learn more & register.
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MEDGAR EVERS COLLEGE
19th Annual
Social Work Conference
March 19, 2026 | 8AM - 4PM EST
Our very own Mary Pender Greene, LCSW-R, CGP
will be a speaker at this in-person event.
Click here to learn more & register.
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We encourage you to connect with ACCOUNTABILITY HUBS. All Hubs Are Free!
Our Virtual Accountability Hubs offer an additional place to grapple in meaningful ways with your anti-racist leadership, practice, and organizational culture.
See updates below.
All hubs are FREE.
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AANHPI Undoing Racism® Collective
The AANHPI Undoing Racism® Collective is an Undoing Racism®Accountability Hub for all AANHPI Leaders who are invested in nurturing their organizations to become more equitable, just, and anti-racist institutions. This group offers the opportunity to gather with other AANHPI peers to explore our AANHPI identities and discuss collectively and honestly the challenges leaders encounter and to build strategies and support for overcoming
those challenges. We are a group of Asian Americans who meet via Zoom on the second Friday of every month at 11 am EST.
To learn more about he AANHPI Undoing Racism® Collective, email Ben at BenChanInbox@gmail.com
BIPOC SHIP Undoing Racism® Accountability Hub
BIPOC SHIP is a Black, Indigenous, People of Color Accountability Hub
that meets virtually every third Thursday at 2 pm EST to grapple with the
challenges in their organizations. It is a brave space where anti-racist professionals and service providers Support, Heal, Inspire, and Plan to dismantle barriers to equity. Participants enjoy an opportunity to add to their knowledge, focus on solutions, be in community, and expand their network with other passionate professionals committed to anti-racism and anti-oppression.
This gathering is open to all BIPOC who seek connection and solutions on their
anti-racist journey.
To join us for our next meeting, email Lynn at: lynn@mpgconsultingnyc.com, Kayla at Kayla@mpgconsultingnyc.com and Claire at CjulianMPGC@gmail.com
LEADERSHIP AND MIDDLE MANAGERS Undoing Racism® Accountability Hub
The Leadership and Middle Managers Accountability Hub is a brave space
for Middle Managers, Directors and Leadership teams of all races and cultural
backgrounds who are passionate about dismantling structural racism within
their institutions. This is a gathering for leaders with substantial decision-making authority who are invested in helping their organizations in becoming more equitable and anti-racist environments where everyone feels that they belong and that they can succeed. Participants virtually meet with peers at 9:30 am EST on the second Tuesday of the month to grapple collectively and honestly with the challenges anti-racist leaders encounter in their organizations.
To learn more about The Leadership and Middle Managers Accountability Hub, email Shane at shane.king98@yahoo.com
MOCA (Men Of Color Assemble) Undoing Racism® Accountability Hub
MOCA (Men of Color Assemble) is an Undoing Racism® Executive Collective Accountability Hub and a place for all men of color (Black, Indigenous, AANHPI, Latino) to shed some of the masks that we are forced to wear daily and grapple with the challenges in our professional and personal lives. It's an opportunity to be part of a community, experience joy, share pains, get answers from the collective, and expand your network with other passionate professionals committed to anti-racism and anti-oppression. Come laugh, vent, and try your hand at 90s Hip-Hop trivia. Hell, we might even frolic. We meet virtually every FIRST Thursday of the month from 2-3:30 PM EST.
Email Christian Smith, LICSW at christians.mpgc@gmail.com and Joshua Abiazar at a.joshuampgc@gmail.com if you are interested or have any questions.
REST Undoing Racism® Accountability Hub
REST - An Accountability Hub for Black people and people of the Diaspora centering Black joy and healing. A space to lay down our masks and armor and breathe in liberatory practices that will aid in our collective healing.This space is open to anyone that identifies themselves as Black. The space opens at 3:30PM ET and lasts until 5:00PM ET. Meetings will be held on the last Wednesday of the month unless notified.
Email Michelle Lawrence, she/her creator and co-anchor, Michelle.Lawrence@safehorizon.org or Levon Williams, he/him co-anchor Levon.Williams@RootedinEquity.com
WHITE EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS Undoing Racism® Accountability Hub
The Undoing Racism® Accountability Hub for White Executive Directors is a brave space for White Executive Directors to come together and grapple with what it means to be a white executive director doing ant-racist work. Meetings are on the first Thursday of the month at 12pm EST. Gather with your peers to discuss challenges, opportunities and the state of affairs. There are occasional guest speakers as well. Email Brigid with your questions: brigid.lang@gmail.com
WHITE LEADERS Undoing Racism® Accountability Hub
The White Leaders Undoing Racism® Accountability Hub is a brave space for White folks who are looking for a community to learn about and practice Undoing Racism® in our work and personal lives. In collaboration with the multiracial First Monday gatherings, we meet as a collective to:
- Help each other while we are at different places on our anti-racist journey.
- Learn and do the work together.
- Lean on other white people which takes the burden off people of color who shouldn’t always have to teach us, hold emotional space for us, or tell us what to do.
- Allow a space for more honesty; not “performing anti-racism,” but to work through problems.
- Our group emphasizes accountability as well as putting theory into practice.
Meetings are every second Thursday of the month from 3-4:30pm EST.
For more information, email Jenn at jenniferrosepatel@gmail.com or Hillary
at hkolos@gmail.com
WHITE MEN'S Undoing Racism® Accountability Hub
The White Men's Undoing Racism® Accountability Hub holds space where white men committed to undoing racism can support, inspire and plan together. There is an opportunity for white men to share their stories and ideas, get and give feedback on personal and professional challenges, and be in community with other white men in the antiracist movement. The group values the freedom to share vulnerably, reflection on how our race and gender have been socialized, compassionate mutual aid, and antiracist organizing. Meetings are every second Tuesday of the month from 2-3pm EST.
For more information, email Dr. Ben Kohl at benkohljr@gmail.com
Please click the link below for updated information:
Accountability Hubs Flip Book
Please reach out directly to the Hub anchors to RSVP and with any specific questions you may have. We welcome additional Hub ideas.
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Undoing Racism® First Monday Executive Collective Co-anchors:
Lisa Martin, Bonnie Cushing, Robin Schlenger,
Benjamin Kohl and Mary Pender Greene
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Dr. Lisa Martin
Dr. Lisa Martin is a licensed clinical psychologist and the newly appointed Associate Vice President of the Sanctuary Institute. As a therapist, trainer, coach, and change leader, she is deeply committed to advancing equity-driven, trauma-informed care. Dr. Martin brings deep expertise in intergenerational, racial, and complex trauma, coupled with a passion for building community and helping individuals, families, and organizations to grow and thrive. She believes in transforming adversity into collective and individual power, healing through voice and creative expression, and nurturing the mind, body, and spirit as an integrated path to well-being.
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Bonnie Cushing, LCSW
Bonnie Cushing, LCSW (she/her), is a family therapist and an anti-racist organizer and educator. She is a trainer with the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond, the Center for the Study of White American Culture, the Soul Focused Group and the Center for Racial Justice in Education. Bonnie speaks widely on the impact of racism on the practice of social work, as well as its impact on white people and the specific role white people can play in the movement for racial justice.
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Robin Schlenger, LCSW
Robin Schlenger, LCSW (she/her) has many years of clinical and supervisory experience working in the nonprofit and public sectors. She is a practicing Anti-Racist Consultant, Coach, Organizer and Trainer, As a consultant, Robin specializes in facilitating presentations and trainings that are rooted in restorative and anti-racist principles. Robin is a current member of The People’s Institute of Survival and Beyond’s (PISAB) North East Leadership team and a member of The European Dissent (ED) leadership team, a group of people of European descent who “dissent” from the ideology of white supremacy. She speaks extensively on white privilege from an individual and organizational perspective and what it means to partner with people of color in antiracist work. She is also a regular contributor to the digital magazine, Three-Fifths and has co-written a chapter in Dr. Kenneth Hardy’s book The Enduring, Invisible and Ubiquitous Centrality of Whiteness.
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Benjamin Kohl, PhD, LCSW
Benjamin Kohl, PhD, LCSW (He/Him) is a social work clinician, educator and administrator whose career has focused on behavioral health services for children, youth and families in urban and rural settings. Ben is an antiracist organizer, trainer and consultant committed to the principles of the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond. Dr. Kohl has published articles and chapters on cross-racial clinical best practice, race-based caucusing, and antiracist organizational development. Currently Ben is an executive coach for MPG Consulting and convenes a monthly accountability hub for white men. He provides leadership on several non-profit boards and maintains a small psychotherapy practice on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.
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Mary Pender Greene, LCSW-R, CGP
Mary Pender Greene, LCSW-R, CGP is a career/executive coach, organizational consultant, keynote speaker, and a psychotherapist with a private practice. Mary is a thought leader recognized by her peers for her wisdom, contributions, and novel ideas on leadership, professional development, and transforming organizational culture. Through coaching and consultation, she acts as a thought partner with decision-makers to develop and enhance the leadership style of executives and senior leaders from small, mid-size, and large social service organizations in order to best serve their clients and achieve their mission, vision, and values. For over twenty years, she has guided countless leaders in the social services industry to become changemakers in their own right.
Mary is the President & CEO of MPG Consulting (MPGC), a consulting group that is committed to assisting organizations foster a welcoming and respectful work atmosphere that supports all individuals in the pursuit of their maximum potential and in achieving the utmost benefits for their clients. While MPGC specializes in supporting senior management and executive leaders, the coaches, consultants, and trainers also provide professional development to individuals at all levels of an organization. The multiracial team of 90+ consultants is composed of social workers, business experts, educators, restorative justice practitioners, attorneys, mediators, psychologists, psychiatrists, researchers, and community organizers.
Mary is the former Chief of Social Work and Assistant Executive Director at the Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services. She is the author of Creative Mentorship and Career-Building Strategies: How to Build Your Virtual Personal Board of Directors and coeditor of Strategies for Deconstructing Racism in the Health and Human Services.
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Lynn Mercredi
Lynn Mercredi (She/Her) is the Director of Operations at MPGC, Mary Pender Greene. With 15+ years of experience as an administrator, Lynn manages MPGC’s coaches, trainers, consultants, and clients with compassion and connection. She ensures the efficient handling of client inquiries, trainings, and consultations. Lynn provides logistical support for the monthly Executive Undoing Racism Collective and is a co-anchor for the BIPOC SHIP (Support Healing Inspiration Planning) hub, a virtual accountability hub for all BIPOC. She earned her BA in English from SUNY Albany.
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Kayla M. Cordero
Kayla M. Cordero (she/her/ella) is the Executive Associate at MPG Consulting, bringing a wealth of experience in administrative and office management with a focus on serving multicultural communities. She plays a key role in coordinating the monthly Executive Undoing Racism Collective and is a co-anchor for the BIPOC SHIP accountability hub. A graduate of John Jay College of Criminal Justice with a BA in Forensic Psychology, Kayla is deeply committed to community empowerment and driving meaningful change through her work.
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Claire Julian
Claire Julian (she/her/hers & Afro-Caribbean) is the Learning and Branding Coordinator at MPG Consulting, working on diverse tasks, including Accountability Hub support. She is also a co-anchor of the BIPOC SHIP accountability hub. Her professional background includes extensive corporate and vendor-side Human Resources, Recruiting, and project management at global, publicly traded organizations and small entrepreneurial environments. Claire is enthusiastic about using her diverse skill set to advocate for antiracism and equity. She is also a mother, writer, yoga teacher, traveler, and music lover.
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