Mission: Impact

In episode 40 of Mission: Impact, Carol and her guests, Monique Meadows and Terrill Thompson, discuss:

• What makes up organizational culture
• Why it is so hard to be open to the possibility of changing that culture
• How to get lasting change in an organization’s culture

Guest bio:Monique and Terrill are long-time friends and co-owners of Banyan Coaching and Consulting, where they partner with clients to create healthy, vibrant, and sustainable cultures through holistic coaching and facilitation. Our love for the natural world is integrated into all that we do. We invite you to tap into your inner knowing as we together transform and expand in ways that are electrifying, unpredictable and imperative. Monique is a lifelong student of energy healing, channeling and a Reiki Master. Terrill lives in a community on a permaculture farm where they draw energy and joy from producing food, nurturing healthy ecosystems, and offering respite to activists, artists, and organizational leaders. Both earned Master’s degrees in Organization Development from American University, where they were awarded Segal-Seashore Fellowships for their commitment to social justice.Important Links and Resources:

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/moniquejmeadows/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/ctthompsonconsulting/
• https://www.banyan-consulting.com/

In Episode 42 of Mission: Impact, Carol and her guest, Marla Bobowick discuss:

• The major misconceptions people have about boards and governance
• How staff and board can shift to shared leadership
• Why boards need to focus more on the future than just talking about the past

Guest Bio:

Marla Bobowick is an independent consultant based in Washington, DC, has served as a Senior Governance Consultant for BoardSource since 2008, and is also a Standards for Excellence® licensed consultant. She has more than 30 years of nonprofit experience and a history of creative problem solving. Specializing in nonprofit management and leadership, she has extensive experience with board governance, strategy, and publishing. She has worked with nonprofit organizations of all types and sizes, including regional healthcare and social service providers, educational institutions (independent schools and colleges and universities), family and other private foundations, and local and national offices of federated organizations and professional associations. Previously, Marla was Vice President of Products at BoardSource, where she oversaw publications, online products, and research. During her tenure at BoardSource, she was an active consultant and trainer, developed educational curriculum, managed regional capacity building projects, oversaw the global program, and coordinated the annual conference. While at BoardSource, Marla managed Leading with Intent: A National Index of Nonprofit Board Practices. She was also a member of the working group for The Source: Twelve Principles of Governance That Power Exceptional Boards (BoardSource © 2005). She managed “Governance Futures: New Perspectives on Nonprofit Governance,” a multiyear research project that culminated in publication of Governance as Leadership: Reframing the Work of Nonprofit Boards (John Wiley & Sons © 2005). She is co-author of Assessing Board Performance: A Practical Guide for College, University, System, and Foundation Boards (Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges © 2018). Previously, Marla was an acquisitions editor at John Wiley & Sons, where she developed Wiley’s Nonprofit Law, Finance, and Management Series and the Association of Fundraising Professionals Fund Development Series. Marla holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Amherst College, a master’s degree in business administration and a certificate in nonprofit management from Case Western Reserve University. She is a past board chair of Maryland Nonprofits and a past board member Calvary Women’s Services.

Important Links and Resources:

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/marlabobowick/
• http://www.bobowickconsulting.com/
• The AGB Book Principles of Trusteeship
• An AGB Article: “What Kind of Board Member Are You?”

In episode 11 of Mission: Impact, some of the topics that Carol and her guest, Nyacko Perry, discussed include:

• Addressing accountability of past actions as a method of moving forward
• Creating a healthy environment with room for employees to care for their mental health
• The process of making change in an organizational structure
• The disconnect between many organizations’ missions and their internal culture
• The disconnect between front-line workers, the people running many nonprofit organizations, and the communities they serve
• Thoughts on how organizational change happens
• How systems exploit vulnerable populations

Additional Resources:

• William Bridges’ Transition Theory: https://wmbridges.com/about/what-is-transition/
• The 1619 Project: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/1619-america-slavery.html
• 1619 podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1619/id1476928106

Guest Information:

Nyacko Perry utilizes a systems-thinking approach to assist individuals, community groups, and organizations, in creating more inclusive cultures. Her decade long career as a transformational change agent includes national and international facilitation with non-profit, corporate, and government agencies. Nyacko is the founder of Yin Consulting, a collaborative focused on personal, organizational and systemic healing.

She is the Organization Development Partner at the much-anticipated Comfort Kitchen, a restaurant, community meeting space, and a food incubator dedicated to fostering collaboration, cross-cultural understanding, and community engagement. Nyacko also serves as a member of the Advisory Board for the Action Boston Community Development, Inc.

Roxbury/N. Dorchester Opportunity Center. Nyacko holds an M.S. in Organization Development, with distinction, from American University. She is also a 500-hour professional level yoga teacher, an Afro Flow Yoga® certified teacher, and weaves her

mindfulness expertise into her consulting work.

Links:

• www.yinconsulting.com/
• [email protected]
• www.comfortkitchenbos.com/
• www.instagram.com/comfortkitchenbos/
• www.allinconsulting.co

Sponsored by Grace Social Sector Consulting. http://www.gracesocialsector.com/

Learn about the Effective Online Facilitation, 4 week group coaching program.

http://www.gracesocialsector.com/effective-online-facilitation.html

In episode 86 of Mission: Impact, Carol Hamilton joins with Danielle Marshall for another learning out loud episode where we do a deep dive into a topic. Today we focused on cultural competence or cultural humility and talked about ways for people to work on and enhance their cultural competence.

Danielle defines cultural competence as the ability to navigate interactions effectively across diverse cultures, emphasizing the importance of valuing differences and recognizing that no social identity is a monolith. While it is easy to think that finding the time to improve your cultural competence is too hard, Danielle offers a practical five-step approach:

1. Assess your starting point,
2. Set your learning goals,
3. Creating a learning schedule,
4. Identify learning resources
5. Continuously monitoring and adjusting the learning plan.

Both discuss the significance of accountability partners and participating in both affinity and multicultural groups. They stress the need for ongoing self-monitoring and adaptability in the pursuit of cultural competency.

Highlights:

[00:07:16] Definition of Cultural Competence; Cultural Competence/Cultural Humility

[00:17:16 Five Actionable Steps for Nonprofit Leaders in Building Cultural Competence

[00:23:16] Cultural competence learning plan

[00:33:16] Accountability partners and affinity groups

[00:39:16] Continuous learning journey

Guest Bio: Danielle is an inclusive leader focused on strengthening collaboration among teams, leaders, and stakeholders to foster problem-solving, create solutions, and improve culture. She finds her inspiration in leading systemic change work that promotes equity and inclusion.

Danielle founded Culture Principles in response to a persistent need to operationalize Racial Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion metrics, centering REDI goals and creating accountability systems. She supports clients through her Mapping Equity Framework focused on Unearthing Knowledge, Elevating Strategy, and Transforming Sustainability. She centers her work around organizational assessment, racial equity learning intensives, and the development of racial equity action plans. Understanding that each organization arrives at this work from different perspectives, she utilizes assessment in building a customized strategy for each unique partner. Previously Danielle served as a non-profit leader for 20+ years and today works on strategy development that enables nonprofits to achieve equitable mission-driven results. Danielle holds a Master's degree in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from Louisiana Tech University and draws on her background as an I/O psychologist in applying a racial equity lens to organizational policies, practices, and programs. She is a Certified Diversity Professional (CDP)/ Executive Coach (ACC).

During her playtime, you can find Danielle traveling, knitting, and kayaking in all 50 states.

Important Links and Resources:

• Register for the Nonprofit Leadership Roundtable - Thursday, December 14th from 1-2 PM Eastern: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/nonprofit-leadership-roundtable-tickets-760734085127?aff=oddtdtcreator
• Intercultural Development Inventory: https://www.idiinventory.com/
• Learning Plan template: https://www.gracesocialsector.com/store/p12/Professional_Learning_Plan.html
• The Farewell: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Farewell_(2019_film)
• Sitting Pretty: https://bookshop.org/p/books/sitting-pretty-the-view-from-my-ordinary-resilient-disabled-body-rebekah-taussig/15391717?ean=9780062936790&gclid=CjwKCAiA9ourBhAVEiwA3L5RFoeTeGjbEOkDEOnqdXtTtl-IKnlhB3booxq0JCsSWUxy2DPPN_zNRxoCJnEQAvD_BwE
• Code Switch: https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch
• https://www.culture-principles.com/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/danimarshall/

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In episode 74 of Mission: Impact, Carol Hamilton and her guest, Veronica LaFemina discuss

• Why big change initiatives often fail
• A map of how to get from A to B may not be sufficient
• The role of a key leader visibly supporting the change is so key
• Why radio silence is a bad sign

Guest Bio: Veronica LaFemina is Founder and CEO of LaFemina & Co., an advisory firm supporting nonprofits and social impact businesses at the intersection of strategy, culture, communications, and change management. Veronica partners with organizations and their leaders to go beyond what “looks good on paper” to focus on what works well in real life. She is a leader, strategist, facilitator, trusted advisor, and certified change management professional with nearly two decades of experience as a senior executive at national U.S. nonprofit organizations and a high-impact consultant. Her work has been featured by Inc. Magazine, the Today Show, NPR, CNN, Capterra, and in news outlets nationwide. Important Links and Resources:

• Innovation Curve (explanation)
• Innovation Curve (graphic)
• Success 2.0: The Obstacles You Don’t See - Hidden Brain
• https://lafemina.co/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/vlafemina/
• Mission: Impact is a finalist for the Sonic Bloom awards!

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