The on-going global pandemic has forced us to change, adapt, and find new ways to serve our youth. While there have been many calls for us to get back to “normal”, many of us find ourselves reflecting on all the ways what was considered “normal” was not acceptable. Not acceptable for the well-being of the amazing youth our sector serves or for all the adults in our field who do this incredibly important work. Although crucial conversations have and are taking place around reimagining schools and our internal structures, the Youth Development Field is also trying to balance the return to in-person, summer programming, and what the future holds for the fall. It’s clear more than ever that things will need to continue to change but much harder to figure out the how. Have you found yourself wondering “Where do we go from here?” Are you looking for tools and strategies to make sure that all staff in your organization and teams are feeling supported, included, and socially emotionally well?
Join us for the second event in our Thriving Leaders Series, Building an Organizational Culture that Supports Your Team to Thrive, on August 6 for an opportunity to learn tangible practices and approaches that center racial equity so that your team or organizational culture can authentically support staff well-being.
After an inspiring Keynote Panel, we will have two different workshops for you to choose from. We are thrilled to announce our workshop presenters!
INTERACTIVE WORKSHOPS: Choose A or B
(10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.)
Program Manager
Bureau of Fearless Ideas
Program Manager
Bureau of Fearless Ideas
WORKSHOP A
Fearlessness at Play! Stories & Play as Antidotes for Institutions in the Grip of White Supremacy
Entering the Bureau of Fearless Ideas you’ll pass through a teleporter disguised as a giant pencil… to a place where phoenixes soar, yetis are interns, children write books and “Black Joy” is written in graffiti that dwarfs our solar system. Play and storytelling are essential to our work at Fearless Ideas. These themes infuse our curriculum, training, even our fundraising. They combine to help us understand our histories, to experiment and heal, communicate and collaborate. Through these lenses we see stronger communities of resilient individuals who tap into the deep wellspring of creativity. In this workshop participants will encounter examples of stories and play in the workplace, showcasing how teams can communicate better and find radical new ways to engage.
Program Coordinator
Youth Development Executives of King County
School and Community Engagement Coordinator
Summer Search
WORKSHOP B
Living into Your Mission: Putting Your Organizational Values into Practice
Learning how to incorporate antiracist practices and establishing inclusive cultures within our organizations is an-ongoing process of learning and unlearning all the ways that we’ve been institutionalized. The pandemic and what has felt like a never-ending cycle of racial violence has left many people in our field wanting more opportunities to unpack the white dominant norms that permeate the youth development sector and tangible ways to put our values into action. In this session we will unpack professionalism and its roots in white supremacy. You will leave this session with several strategies that will help you create organizational cultures that will allow all staff and teams to thrive and feel safe and emotionally well.
This blog post is featured in our July 2021 Field Notes.
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