Building Capacity: Leadership for Structural Equity

February 7, 2022
4:00 pm
Start Time
February 7, 2022
4:00 pm
End Time
February 18, 2022
5:00 pm
online

Event Description:

As independent schools were increasingly learning about the racism experienced by Black students and alumni via “Blackat” Instagram accounts, letters, and calls for action to account for and address racism, leaders have found themselves struggling to understand the scope and scale of the problems in their institutions. They are also being challenged to develop appropriate responses that meet the urgency of the moment and bring about change while dealing with resistant voices or factions in their communities.  For independent school leaders who want to advance inclusion and equity, how do they navigate this challenging terrain? What are the skills, knowledge and competencies needed to operationalize equity within their institutions? This course will consider institutional accountability for equity in the areas of operation that are often overlooked but can be significant drivers for systemic change, including finance and operations and institutional advancement. Through this course, participants will: 

  • develop their leadership for racial equity to establish a point of view and sharp analysis on race and the manifestation of racism in their institutions, 
  • strengthen their racial literacy to recognize, respond to, and counter the role racism plays in their institutions and society,
  • view institutional practices in governance, finance, advancement, and operational areas of the school through a racial equity lens to advance inclusive practices

Through the learning agenda and introduction to tools and frameworks that are designed to disrupt and shift institutional practices, participants will have practical resources to take back to their schools to deepen their awareness and understanding of how to operationalize equity.

The course runs from Monday, February 7 - Friday, February 18 and is primarily asynchronous with one synchronous Zoom session each week. Zoom sessions will be Monday, February 7 at 4:00 ET and Monday, February 14 at 4:00 ET. The workshop cost is $375.

The course will be facilitated by Erika Seth Davies. Erika is the CEO of Rhia Ventures, which aims to transform the U.S. market for sexual, reproductive, and maternal health into a vibrant and equitable one through its field-building, direct investment, corporate engagement, and narrative change work. She is a seasoned leader with more than 20 years of experience in development and fundraising, program design, collaboration and partnership management, and racial equity advocacy. Erika is the Founder of The Racial Equity Asset Lab (The REAL), a venture that centers racial equity in impact investing and works to shift capital to address the persistent racial wealth gap. She previously served as Vice President of External Affairs at ABFE (Association of Black Foundation Executives) where she designed the SMART Investing Initiative, a field-wide effort to encourage foundations to incorporate a racial equity lens in endowment management practices through increased access for racially diverse- and women-owned investment management firms.

Erika is a Social Entrepreneur in Residence with Common Future and a former Fellow, Equitable Access to Capital Markets in the Fair Finance portfolio of the Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University. She was a member of the inaugural class of the ABFE Connecting Leaders Fellowship program, a recipient of the NYU Wagner School of Public Service IGNITE Fellowship for Women of Color in the Social Sector, and a member of the class of 2017 for Executive Leadership Institute of CFLeads. Erika most recently was the Associate Director of Philanthropy at McDonogh School and previously served as the Chief of Staff of the Baltimore Community Foundation. She enjoys volunteering and serves as a member of the boards of Impact Hub Baltimore, Baltimore Algebra Project, and the Baltimore Children and Youth Fund. Her most significant role is that of mother to Ethan and Evelyn.