WEBVTT

1
00:00:09.518 --> 00:00:11.876
- I want to welcome you to
tonight's panel discussion.

2
00:00:13.486 --> 00:00:15.694
This is, I believe,

3
00:00:15.694 --> 00:00:17.698
the last Monday night
lecture of the summer.

4
00:00:18.491 --> 00:00:21.804
The title is "Promoting
Representative Leadership Structures

5
00:00:21.804 --> 00:00:24.988
"in Social Justice and
Social Service Agencies."

6
00:00:28.127 --> 00:00:30.733
We've got an interesting format laid out.

7
00:00:30.733 --> 00:00:32.621
The panel's gonna introduce themselves

8
00:00:32.621 --> 00:00:35.138
in terms of their
organization, their role,

9
00:00:35.138 --> 00:00:37.499
how they got to the role they are in

10
00:00:37.499 --> 00:00:39.147
in the organization they are in.

11
00:00:39.815 --> 00:00:42.752
And we have some questions
that we've prepared

12
00:00:43.882 --> 00:00:46.252
to really have the panel
interact with each other,

13
00:00:46.252 --> 00:00:49.450
and then really invite
questions from you as well.

14
00:00:50.881 --> 00:00:54.483
The intent really is to recognize that,

15
00:00:54.483 --> 00:00:56.812
if there really is a
commitment to diversity,

16
00:00:56.812 --> 00:00:59.264
if there's a commitment to
representing the communities

17
00:00:59.264 --> 00:01:01.803
that you are in the business of serving,

18
00:01:01.803 --> 00:01:04.266
then you really need to have
a high level of intention

19
00:01:04.266 --> 00:01:05.149
about doing that.

20
00:01:05.149 --> 00:01:06.811
It doesn't just happen.

21
00:01:08.864 --> 00:01:11.147
We really need to recognize
that we really need

22
00:01:11.147 --> 00:01:13.600
to get beyond just appearing diverse

23
00:01:13.600 --> 00:01:16.132
and actually being diverse.

24
00:01:16.624 --> 00:01:20.276
By diverse, I use words
like inclusive, accountable,

25
00:01:20.276 --> 00:01:22.177
words like that, accountable
to the organization,

26
00:01:22.177 --> 00:01:24.659
to the folks who are the reason

27
00:01:24.659 --> 00:01:26.913
your organization is in business.

28
00:01:28.275 --> 00:01:31.072
The other thing that we want to make clear

29
00:01:31.072 --> 00:01:35.478
is that there frequently
are distinctions we make

30
00:01:36.528 --> 00:01:39.669
about distance between the
folks who are doing the serving

31
00:01:39.669 --> 00:01:41.276
and the folks who are being served.

32
00:01:42.659 --> 00:01:46.425
Really, that, in a lot of ways,
can be a false distinction.

33
00:01:47.210 --> 00:01:50.889
So, folks who are from
the communities they serve

34
00:01:50.889 --> 00:01:54.239
frequently also are working
in the communities they serve,

35
00:01:54.239 --> 00:01:56.720
and are folks who may
very well have been served

36
00:01:56.720 --> 00:01:59.006
by the organizations they are now part of.

37
00:01:59.741 --> 00:02:02.365
We're really trying to also
acknowledge that the distances

38
00:02:02.365 --> 00:02:05.615
between us really are maybe
more apparent and real,

39
00:02:05.615 --> 00:02:08.473
and that some of what the
panel will talk to are

40
00:02:09.423 --> 00:02:12.879
how that plays out in the
real life of organizations

41
00:02:12.879 --> 00:02:15.212
that are in the business
of doing both services

42
00:02:15.212 --> 00:02:17.223
and promoting social justice.

43
00:02:17.223 --> 00:02:19.033
So without any further ado,

44
00:02:19.033 --> 00:02:20.291
I'm gonna introduce the panel.

45
00:02:20.291 --> 00:02:22.614
and then I'm gonna
gracefully get off the stage

46
00:02:22.614 --> 00:02:25.343
and really allow the process to begin.

47
00:02:28.497 --> 00:02:30.991
The folks up here are,

48
00:02:30.991 --> 00:02:34.957
reading from my left to my right --

49
00:02:34.957 --> 00:02:37.073
I would always start on my left --

50
00:02:38.805 --> 00:02:40.857
the first panelist is Arlenis Morel,

51
00:02:40.857 --> 00:02:45.142
who emigrated to the United
States from Venezuela in 1992,

52
00:02:45.142 --> 00:02:46.422
and is a long-time resident

53
00:02:46.422 --> 00:02:48.735
of the Bushwick neighborhood in Brooklyn.

54
00:02:48.735 --> 00:02:52.715
She became involved in
Make the Road New York

55
00:02:52.715 --> 00:02:54.184
through her mother,

56
00:02:54.184 --> 00:02:57.003
who served on the organization's
board of directors.

57
00:02:57.003 --> 00:02:58.805
Arlenis will talk a
little about how she got

58
00:02:58.805 --> 00:03:01.324
to the organization through her mother.

59
00:03:02.741 --> 00:03:07.741
In 2003, Arlenis joined
Make the Road New York

60
00:03:07.850 --> 00:03:09.185
as an office administrator,

61
00:03:09.185 --> 00:03:12.767
and has since had a bunch of
positions in the organization.

62
00:03:12.767 --> 00:03:16.468
She now serves as the
Director of Operations

63
00:03:16.468 --> 00:03:19.487
for the organization and is
responsible for maintaining

64
00:03:19.487 --> 00:03:22.473
overall day-to-day
operations in its Brooklyn,

65
00:03:22.473 --> 00:03:25.421
Queens, Long Island and
Staten Island offices.

66
00:03:26.814 --> 00:03:29.512
She has an associates degree

67
00:03:29.512 --> 00:03:31.635
from Kingsboro Community
College and is a graduate

68
00:03:31.635 --> 00:03:35.730
of Coro's Immigration
Civic Leadership program

69
00:03:35.730 --> 00:03:38.399
for emerging immigrant
leaders in the city and state.

70
00:03:39.669 --> 00:03:42.043
She's currently involved in
the community change project

71
00:03:42.043 --> 00:03:44.923
that consists of creating
better outreach strategies

72
00:03:44.923 --> 00:03:47.740
to engage community members
to actively participate

73
00:03:47.740 --> 00:03:50.362
in public policy debates
and decision making

74
00:03:50.362 --> 00:03:52.122
at all levels of government,

75
00:03:52.122 --> 00:03:54.537
building their capacity
to be agents of change.

76
00:03:56.421 --> 00:03:59.235
The next person across is Stan Holbrook,

77
00:03:59.235 --> 00:04:00.708
who graduated from the Heinz School

78
00:04:00.708 --> 00:04:02.286
of Public Policy and Management

79
00:04:02.286 --> 00:04:04.843
of Carnegie Mellon
University in Pittsburgh

80
00:04:04.843 --> 00:04:06.813
with a master's degree
in Public Management.

81
00:04:07.406 --> 00:04:09.690
In addition, he has an MBA
in International Business

82
00:04:09.690 --> 00:04:12.728
and Strategic Planning
from Point Creek College,

83
00:04:12.728 --> 00:04:15.369
and has a master's degree
in Theological Studies

84
00:04:15.369 --> 00:04:18.314
from the Reformed Presbyterian
Theological Seminary.

85
00:04:18.893 --> 00:04:21.762
He's now the president and CEO

86
00:04:21.762 --> 00:04:24.578
of Three Rivers Center
for Independent Living,

87
00:04:24.578 --> 00:04:27.358
which empowers people with disabilities

88
00:04:27.358 --> 00:04:30.907
to have and live self-directed,
independent lives.

89
00:04:31.799 --> 00:04:34.040
He's also extremely
active in the community,

90
00:04:34.040 --> 00:04:35.809
serving on committees and boards such as

91
00:04:35.809 --> 00:04:38.806
the American Society of Aging and the

92
00:04:38.806 --> 00:04:41.835
National Council for Independent Living.

93
00:04:41.835 --> 00:04:46.835
He was instrumental in
advancing and creating NCILS,

94
00:04:47.125 --> 00:04:49.927
the Council of Independent
Living's diversity initiative,

95
00:04:49.927 --> 00:04:52.655
and has chaired that
committee for eight years.

96
00:04:53.024 --> 00:04:55.360
He's also the vice-chair
of the governor-appointed

97
00:04:55.360 --> 00:04:57.605
statewide Independent Living Council,

98
00:04:57.605 --> 00:04:58.538
and president of the

99
00:04:58.538 --> 00:05:01.158
Pennsylvania Council
of Independent Living.

100
00:05:02.591 --> 00:05:04.076
Dora Robinson,

101
00:05:05.096 --> 00:05:07.237
way over there on the
other side of the table,

102
00:05:08.309 --> 00:05:11.669
has been president and chief
executive officer of United Way

103
00:05:11.669 --> 00:05:15.248
of the Pioneer Valley
since October of 2009.

104
00:05:16.234 --> 00:05:18.013
Before joining United Way,

105
00:05:18.683 --> 00:05:21.034
Ms. Robinson served more than 25 years

106
00:05:21.034 --> 00:05:23.051
in human service administration,

107
00:05:23.051 --> 00:05:25.855
including 18 years as president and CEO

108
00:05:25.855 --> 00:05:29.673
of the Martin Luther King,
Jr. Family Services Inc.

109
00:05:29.673 --> 00:05:31.299
in Springfield.

110
00:05:32.116 --> 00:05:34.393
She holds a bachelor's degree from Cornell

111
00:05:34.393 --> 00:05:37.097
and a master's degree in
Social Work Administration

112
00:05:37.097 --> 00:05:38.902
from the University of Connecticut,

113
00:05:38.902 --> 00:05:41.491
and has completed graduate
studies in Social Work

114
00:05:41.491 --> 00:05:43.960
at Smith College School for Social Work.

115
00:05:45.307 --> 00:05:47.976
Dora Robinson is also
an adjunct instructor

116
00:05:47.976 --> 00:05:49.494
at both Springfield College

117
00:05:49.494 --> 00:05:52.856
and our very own Smith College
School for Social Work.

118
00:05:52.856 --> 00:05:54.209
So, those are the panelists.

119
00:05:54.209 --> 00:05:57.431
Our moderators are
Cindy Lys, Dina Pasalis.

120
00:05:58.354 --> 00:05:59.581
I'm gonna turn it over to them

121
00:05:59.581 --> 00:06:01.932
and I think we're in for a
very interesting evening.

122
00:06:03.303 --> 00:06:07.803
(applause)

123
00:06:10.844 --> 00:06:14.225
- Okay, so to start off
our panel for this evening,

124
00:06:14.225 --> 00:06:17.009
we wanted to have each
of the panelists take

125
00:06:17.009 --> 00:06:20.028
about 10 minutes or so
to introduce themselves

126
00:06:20.028 --> 00:06:21.788
in their agency context,

127
00:06:21.788 --> 00:06:24.923
including how they got to
their leadership positions,

128
00:06:25.653 --> 00:06:28.997
and also how did mentors
factor into their ability

129
00:06:28.997 --> 00:06:30.890
to move within an organization.

130
00:06:31.934 --> 00:06:35.077
We'll let you guys go for
10 minutes each on that,

131
00:06:35.077 --> 00:06:36.262
and then, we'll go more

132
00:06:36.262 --> 00:06:38.167
into the question and answer part of it.

133
00:06:39.503 --> 00:06:42.910
- Hi everyone, my name is Arlenis Morel.

134
00:06:42.910 --> 00:06:44.804
I serve as a director of operations for

135
00:06:44.804 --> 00:06:46.464
Make the Road New York.

136
00:06:46.464 --> 00:06:48.203
It's a non-profit organization,

137
00:06:49.637 --> 00:06:53.701
and we have four different
offices in Bushwick, Brooklyn;

138
00:06:53.701 --> 00:06:58.653
Jackson Heights in Queens;
Port Richmond in Staten Island;

139
00:06:58.653 --> 00:07:01.769
and Brentwood, Long Island.

140
00:07:01.769 --> 00:07:05.369
We have currently 13,000 members

141
00:07:05.369 --> 00:07:08.424
who pay dues to the organization.

142
00:07:08.424 --> 00:07:11.458
We do advocacy through education,

143
00:07:11.458 --> 00:07:14.662
and we provide legal
services to our members.

144
00:07:15.330 --> 00:07:18.337
We also have an education program

145
00:07:18.337 --> 00:07:20.342
where we teach adult literacy

146
00:07:20.342 --> 00:07:24.560
and we teach GED classes.

147
00:07:25.984 --> 00:07:30.101
We also have a youth program for youth

148
00:07:30.101 --> 00:07:33.615
between the ages 13 through 21.

149
00:07:34.549 --> 00:07:38.239
We provide provide legal services,

150
00:07:38.239 --> 00:07:40.591
but we do it only to active members.

151
00:07:41.087 --> 00:07:43.562
The way that we consider active members is

152
00:07:43.562 --> 00:07:46.673
the people have to participate
in the organization

153
00:07:46.673 --> 00:07:49.285
in different meetings that we have.

154
00:07:49.285 --> 00:07:51.551
The way that we do it
is that we teach people

155
00:07:51.551 --> 00:07:53.793
how they can make change in the community,

156
00:07:55.083 --> 00:07:57.898
and how could they change the
policies that they don't like.

157
00:07:58.697 --> 00:08:01.375
The way that I became
involved in the organization

158
00:08:01.865 --> 00:08:06.865
when I was 16, my mom was
one of the first 15 members

159
00:08:07.032 --> 00:08:08.858
of the organization,

160
00:08:08.858 --> 00:08:13.203
and she used to go to welfare centers

161
00:08:13.203 --> 00:08:16.424
to protest against the
fact that they didn't have

162
00:08:16.424 --> 00:08:19.276
bilingual services for people
that didn't speak English.

163
00:08:20.337 --> 00:08:22.331
The news gathered the stories,

164
00:08:22.331 --> 00:08:25.168
and my mom would come up on TV,

165
00:08:25.168 --> 00:08:26.898
and it would be embarrassing for me.

166
00:08:26.898 --> 00:08:28.685
(laughter)

167
00:08:28.685 --> 00:08:30.331
So, I would tell my mom,

168
00:08:30.331 --> 00:08:32.251
"Mom, they're going to cut
off your welfare services,

169
00:08:32.251 --> 00:08:35.874
"your food stamp services, if
they keep seeing you there."

170
00:08:35.874 --> 00:08:38.703
And, she used to tell me,
"Well, that's my right.

171
00:08:38.703 --> 00:08:40.688
"I have the right to
protest and I have the right

172
00:08:40.688 --> 00:08:43.247
"to go and tell them that
they need to provide me

173
00:08:43.247 --> 00:08:46.582
"with services in Spanish
because I don't understand

174
00:08:46.582 --> 00:08:47.846
"anything they're saying."

175
00:08:48.868 --> 00:08:51.052
And I used to hate Make the Road.

176
00:08:51.052 --> 00:08:51.652
I used to say,

177
00:08:51.652 --> 00:08:52.964
"Hey, get off TV.

178
00:08:52.964 --> 00:08:54.979
"My friends are making fun of me.

179
00:08:54.979 --> 00:08:58.289
"You're always there with
a sign or something."

180
00:09:00.708 --> 00:09:02.265
When I graduated college,

181
00:09:02.265 --> 00:09:05.013
they had a part-time
position in Make the Road.

182
00:09:05.013 --> 00:09:08.068
My mom was serving on
the board of directors

183
00:09:08.068 --> 00:09:09.486
at the organization.

184
00:09:09.486 --> 00:09:13.092
Our organization's board of directors is

185
00:09:13.092 --> 00:09:17.895
more than 50% with members
of our organization.

186
00:09:18.673 --> 00:09:20.162
At that time she was serving there,

187
00:09:20.162 --> 00:09:22.605
and she told me about a
position they had and I said,

188
00:09:22.605 --> 00:09:26.765
"Hell no, I'm not going to work
there, that's embarrassing.

189
00:09:26.765 --> 00:09:28.503
"You guys are always making noise.

190
00:09:28.503 --> 00:09:30.444
"You guys are always on TV.

191
00:09:30.444 --> 00:09:32.866
"You guys are always trying
to fight the government.

192
00:09:32.866 --> 00:09:34.242
"Why do you want to do that?"

193
00:09:34.824 --> 00:09:39.102
I didn't have any knowledge of organizing,

194
00:09:39.102 --> 00:09:41.948
I didn't know anything that my
community was going through.

195
00:09:43.943 --> 00:09:46.086
I was working at the
Board of Ed at that time

196
00:09:46.086 --> 00:09:47.337
and I was unhappy.

197
00:09:47.337 --> 00:09:50.246
I was working 40 hours
a week, nine to five

198
00:09:50.246 --> 00:09:52.048
just moving papers around.

199
00:09:52.048 --> 00:09:53.693
And I said, well you know --

200
00:09:54.803 --> 00:09:57.382
the organization was two
blocks away from my house

201
00:09:57.382 --> 00:09:59.573
and because I wanted
to save on metro cards,

202
00:09:59.573 --> 00:10:04.351
I applied for the position
(laughter) as a receptionist.

203
00:10:05.517 --> 00:10:08.101
And, just a week after I started
working at Make the Road,

204
00:10:08.101 --> 00:10:10.088
I fell in love with the organization.

205
00:10:10.088 --> 00:10:11.948
I fell in love with the services

206
00:10:11.948 --> 00:10:13.423
that they were providing members,

207
00:10:13.423 --> 00:10:16.442
seeing people coming through
the doors with problems

208
00:10:16.442 --> 00:10:19.438
and us telling them,
"Well, we're not Legal Aid,

209
00:10:19.438 --> 00:10:22.457
"but we are trying to make a difference.

210
00:10:23.127 --> 00:10:25.679
"We're trying to help the
community in a different way.

211
00:10:25.679 --> 00:10:28.260
"If you want to become a
member, you have to pay."

212
00:10:28.260 --> 00:10:29.864
Back then, it was $100.

213
00:10:30.724 --> 00:10:32.615
They would pay $10 to become a member,

214
00:10:32.615 --> 00:10:35.667
and they would have two years
to pay the remainder $90.

215
00:10:36.462 --> 00:10:40.664
And, just seeing people with problems,

216
00:10:40.664 --> 00:10:42.552
nobody comes through the door saying,

217
00:10:42.552 --> 00:10:44.499
"I want to be part of social justice.

218
00:10:44.499 --> 00:10:46.036
"I want to change the world".

219
00:10:46.036 --> 00:10:47.933
Nobody does that.

220
00:10:49.298 --> 00:10:51.597
When I started working
just as a receptionist,

221
00:10:51.597 --> 00:10:55.132
I realized that people needed to be --

222
00:10:57.495 --> 00:10:59.319
they needed to come together to understand

223
00:10:59.319 --> 00:11:00.999
what we were doing.

224
00:11:00.999 --> 00:11:03.634
And after two years, I
became an office manager.

225
00:11:05.943 --> 00:11:09.281
Two years after, I became
the director of HR,

226
00:11:09.281 --> 00:11:11.504
then, Director of Finance.

227
00:11:11.504 --> 00:11:13.622
Then, they moved me to
Director of Operations.

228
00:11:13.622 --> 00:11:15.881
so I've been climbing up.

229
00:11:18.007 --> 00:11:20.826
That's the reason why I'm there.

230
00:11:21.323 --> 00:11:23.019
It's because of the members that we serve,

231
00:11:23.019 --> 00:11:24.182
the communities that we serve,

232
00:11:24.182 --> 00:11:26.659
and the work that we do
everyday to change lives.

233
00:11:30.165 --> 00:11:31.721
- Hi, I'm Stan Holbrook.

234
00:11:34.645 --> 00:11:38.362
We have a similar story,
except my mom wasn't involved.

235
00:11:38.362 --> 00:11:40.053
(laughter)

236
00:11:40.563 --> 00:11:43.946
I believe I never intended
to be in this field

237
00:11:43.946 --> 00:11:48.288
or work for justice even though
I was growing up in a time

238
00:11:48.288 --> 00:11:50.734
when there was a lot of injustices.

239
00:11:51.338 --> 00:11:53.044
I said, "I'm getting my MBA

240
00:11:53.044 --> 00:11:54.907
"and I'm getting a high-powered job."

241
00:11:54.907 --> 00:11:56.929
Well, you know that never happened.

242
00:11:56.929 --> 00:11:59.007
I moved through the ranks of working

243
00:11:59.007 --> 00:12:01.290
with public housing residents,

244
00:12:01.290 --> 00:12:04.595
building community mobilization,

245
00:12:05.902 --> 00:12:08.072
developing 501(c)(3)s.

246
00:12:08.601 --> 00:12:12.150
And, it's always someone
giving me a chance,

247
00:12:12.893 --> 00:12:14.787
and what I had to do with that chance

248
00:12:14.787 --> 00:12:16.978
is learn and make that chance good.

249
00:12:19.800 --> 00:12:24.252
What happened in 2000,

250
00:12:25.666 --> 00:12:27.082
I saw an ad about

251
00:12:27.082 --> 00:12:29.447
Three Rivers Center
for Independent Living.

252
00:12:29.447 --> 00:12:32.479
I said, "I don't know what
kind of organization it is,"

253
00:12:32.479 --> 00:12:36.247
but it said Assistant Executive Director.

254
00:12:36.247 --> 00:12:37.705
Now, I was fine where I was.

255
00:12:37.705 --> 00:12:39.841
I said, "Let me go apply."

256
00:12:39.841 --> 00:12:41.326
I went to apply,

257
00:12:41.940 --> 00:12:45.774
and with conversations with
the director then at that time,

258
00:12:46.597 --> 00:12:48.702
first, it was very interesting to me

259
00:12:48.702 --> 00:12:51.929
that I could never tell over the phone

260
00:12:51.929 --> 00:12:54.073
but he was visually impaired.

261
00:12:54.803 --> 00:12:56.680
And while there was construction going on,

262
00:12:56.680 --> 00:12:59.741
he knew how to navigate all
through this construction

263
00:12:59.741 --> 00:13:03.228
to get to his office
and back, and we talked.

264
00:13:03.228 --> 00:13:05.821
In our talks I said, "This might be good."

265
00:13:05.821 --> 00:13:07.628
Then, he said something that scared me,

266
00:13:07.628 --> 00:13:10.225
"Well, we need kind of a savior."

267
00:13:10.225 --> 00:13:11.420
I'm like, "What do you mean?"

268
00:13:11.420 --> 00:13:15.121
"Well, the organization's divided because

269
00:13:15.121 --> 00:13:17.727
"the last lady that
left in this position."

270
00:13:17.727 --> 00:13:20.491
I said, "Oh no, I'm not gonna do this."

271
00:13:20.817 --> 00:13:24.087
So, he's asking for writing
samples and everything,

272
00:13:24.087 --> 00:13:26.005
and I was purposely being late.

273
00:13:27.014 --> 00:13:30.187
Well, he was pretty persistent,

274
00:13:31.035 --> 00:13:34.202
so he waited, and I gave him my samples,

275
00:13:34.202 --> 00:13:37.963
and I got the job as
assistant executive director.

276
00:13:39.147 --> 00:13:43.572
He gave me liberty, and
mentorship is important.

277
00:13:44.517 --> 00:13:47.738
I will say that he was
an African-American,

278
00:13:48.178 --> 00:13:50.458
but he mentored me because he saw

279
00:13:50.458 --> 00:13:54.708
I had something that maybe I didn't see.

280
00:13:56.815 --> 00:13:59.396
In 2004, when he left, he said,

281
00:13:59.396 --> 00:14:02.997
"I believe you're ready
to go be president."

282
00:14:03.376 --> 00:14:05.975
Well, the board did a
national search and I said,

283
00:14:06.725 --> 00:14:09.699
"I might not win this one
because they have people coming

284
00:14:09.699 --> 00:14:11.997
"from all over the country at this time."

285
00:14:12.803 --> 00:14:16.691
But, I did get that position
and it was executive director,

286
00:14:16.691 --> 00:14:19.645
but they made it president and CEO.

287
00:14:20.749 --> 00:14:22.183
Now, right before that --

288
00:14:22.957 --> 00:14:24.312
and I'm gonna talk a lot about the

289
00:14:24.312 --> 00:14:26.780
National Council for Independent Living.

290
00:14:26.780 --> 00:14:28.611
It's a membership organization

291
00:14:28.611 --> 00:14:30.775
where I'm the diversity chair --

292
00:14:30.775 --> 00:14:33.425
he literally pushed me into an election.

293
00:14:35.263 --> 00:14:37.410
I didn't want to do it
'cause nobody knew me

294
00:14:37.410 --> 00:14:39.791
and it seemed like it
was a good old boys club.

295
00:14:40.886 --> 00:14:43.382
Finally at election time,
I went on and did it.

296
00:14:43.382 --> 00:14:45.712
Because of his push, I won.

297
00:14:46.198 --> 00:14:50.768
Because of that push,
I'm a president and CEO.

298
00:14:50.768 --> 00:14:54.068
What we do is we work

299
00:14:54.068 --> 00:14:58.196
to empower people with disabilities.

300
00:14:58.196 --> 00:15:00.854
to live self-directed, meaningful lives

301
00:15:00.854 --> 00:15:03.349
in the setting of their
choice, which means,

302
00:15:03.349 --> 00:15:05.216
hey, if you don't want
to be in a nursing home,

303
00:15:05.216 --> 00:15:08.256
we will happily transition
you out and make sure

304
00:15:08.256 --> 00:15:11.616
your health and safety
needs are taken care of,

305
00:15:11.616 --> 00:15:13.967
and there are a number
of services with that.

306
00:15:14.655 --> 00:15:16.997
So, with that president and CEO,

307
00:15:16.997 --> 00:15:21.018
I had another responsibility
at the NCIL diversity chair,

308
00:15:21.018 --> 00:15:24.686
and I will have plenty of
time to talk about that

309
00:15:24.686 --> 00:15:26.982
when we go through these questions.

310
00:15:26.982 --> 00:15:28.002
Thank you.

311
00:15:30.139 --> 00:15:33.483
- Good evening. Can you hear me?

312
00:15:33.483 --> 00:15:38.483
Okay, my journey is very similar
to both of these panelists.

313
00:15:40.705 --> 00:15:43.868
I often say when I introduce myself

314
00:15:43.868 --> 00:15:46.083
that I'm a child of the '60's.

315
00:15:46.083 --> 00:15:50.769
I grew up in the midst of
every kind of social movement

316
00:15:50.769 --> 00:15:54.812
that you're studying or that
you might even be aware of,

317
00:15:54.812 --> 00:15:57.810
and perhaps some of you
might have even participated

318
00:15:57.810 --> 00:15:59.796
in this age of movements.

319
00:16:00.134 --> 00:16:02.832
And it was an extraordinary
period growing up

320
00:16:02.832 --> 00:16:06.053
as a little black girl
in Elmira, New York,

321
00:16:06.053 --> 00:16:08.479
in a very small community,

322
00:16:09.147 --> 00:16:13.393
where, by appearances,
racism did not exist

323
00:16:13.393 --> 00:16:15.814
because there was only two high schools.

324
00:16:15.814 --> 00:16:17.989
You either went to the
south side high school

325
00:16:17.989 --> 00:16:20.303
or Elmira Free Academy,

326
00:16:20.303 --> 00:16:25.231
so, more often than not, we
were forced into integration

327
00:16:25.751 --> 00:16:28.994
by virtue of the limited opportunities.

328
00:16:28.994 --> 00:16:33.422
Growing up, I really didn't
have a sense of being poor,

329
00:16:33.422 --> 00:16:38.422
or being disenfranchised, or
being discriminated against,

330
00:16:39.223 --> 00:16:42.425
having grown up in a
family of southern folks

331
00:16:42.425 --> 00:16:44.856
that had migrated from
the south to the north

332
00:16:44.856 --> 00:16:48.116
looking for opportunity and
found great opportunity.

333
00:16:48.792 --> 00:16:52.858
As a result, I lived a very,
I would say, charmed life.

334
00:16:53.410 --> 00:16:57.092
It was only after I started
growing up in the mid '60's

335
00:16:57.622 --> 00:17:00.131
in the civil rights
movement that people said

336
00:17:00.131 --> 00:17:02.765
things were not right.

337
00:17:02.765 --> 00:17:05.987
The long and the short
is that when the NAACP

338
00:17:05.987 --> 00:17:08.547
was established in my little town,

339
00:17:08.547 --> 00:17:12.088
I took an interest in
community work and also,

340
00:17:12.088 --> 00:17:16.248
because I was very active
with my church with my mom,

341
00:17:16.248 --> 00:17:18.759
I was very active in community work.

342
00:17:19.514 --> 00:17:24.514
Then, my first job was with
EOP, Economic Opportunity,

343
00:17:24.791 --> 00:17:26.931
which again was community work.

344
00:17:26.931 --> 00:17:29.292
And so, I found myself very early on

345
00:17:29.292 --> 00:17:32.407
as a community agent and a representative.

346
00:17:32.407 --> 00:17:36.045
I had a mouth, a big mouth.

347
00:17:36.045 --> 00:17:38.182
Big mouth, right Rachel?

348
00:17:38.182 --> 00:17:40.229
I know you're listening. (laughter)

349
00:17:40.960 --> 00:17:43.593
I had a mouth on me and that mouth I used

350
00:17:43.593 --> 00:17:47.061
to really speak on
behalf of, even as a kid,

351
00:17:47.451 --> 00:17:50.543
kids that appeared to be less fortunate.

352
00:17:51.563 --> 00:17:52.865
Let's speed up.

353
00:17:52.865 --> 00:17:55.884
Sixty, forty years, fifty years later,

354
00:17:55.884 --> 00:17:58.667
here I am as the president-CEO

355
00:17:58.667 --> 00:18:03.440
of a very traditional
organization, the United Way.

356
00:18:04.652 --> 00:18:07.531
The United Way of Pioneer
Valley is 90 years old,

357
00:18:07.531 --> 00:18:09.434
actually 91 years old.

358
00:18:10.624 --> 00:18:15.624
I was hired four years ago,
so I was the first woman,

359
00:18:19.058 --> 00:18:23.295
the first woman they hired
in the 86-year history

360
00:18:24.295 --> 00:18:26.144
of this organization.

361
00:18:27.027 --> 00:18:31.757
Now, in many ways, I
should be jumping for joy.

362
00:18:32.744 --> 00:18:36.599
But over my career, I was often the first,

363
00:18:37.469 --> 00:18:40.786
and I think I was the first
in many, many situations

364
00:18:40.786 --> 00:18:43.137
because of this mouth,

365
00:18:44.525 --> 00:18:49.525
that I had an amazing way of representing,

366
00:18:49.607 --> 00:18:52.285
and advocating, and
speaking my mind and --

367
00:18:52.285 --> 00:18:54.012
Josh is out there and he knows that --

368
00:18:54.012 --> 00:18:58.108
finding myself in positions
of community leadership

369
00:18:58.108 --> 00:19:00.054
even when I wasn't looking for it.

370
00:19:00.902 --> 00:19:03.258
So how did I get here?

371
00:19:03.258 --> 00:19:04.523
Sometimes I wonder.

372
00:19:04.523 --> 00:19:07.227
I mean, I didn't take a step back and say,

373
00:19:07.227 --> 00:19:10.704
"I want to be the
president-CEO of a United Way."

374
00:19:10.704 --> 00:19:14.821
In fact, if you had asked
me that even 10 years ago,

375
00:19:14.821 --> 00:19:18.421
15 years ago, I would say,
"That's not happening."

376
00:19:21.209 --> 00:19:25.487
My journey has been very
interesting from direct services,

377
00:19:25.487 --> 00:19:30.487
and as Fred noted, I started
out here in my graduate work

378
00:19:31.503 --> 00:19:33.743
because I had such a love of working

379
00:19:33.743 --> 00:19:35.264
with adolescents and families,

380
00:19:35.264 --> 00:19:38.654
and I thought at that time
that I would be a therapist.

381
00:19:39.355 --> 00:19:40.238
That's what I craved.

382
00:19:40.238 --> 00:19:41.893
That's what I wanted.

383
00:19:41.893 --> 00:19:43.574
That's what I desired.

384
00:19:43.574 --> 00:19:47.397
But as life circumstances,
I had to take a break,

385
00:19:47.397 --> 00:19:49.658
and it was during that break I took a job

386
00:19:49.658 --> 00:19:51.738
as a program director

387
00:19:51.738 --> 00:19:54.692
for a little small
organization in Springfield --

388
00:19:54.692 --> 00:19:57.469
we were living in Amherst at the time --

389
00:19:57.469 --> 00:19:59.695
that worked with adolescents,

390
00:19:59.695 --> 00:20:03.464
youngsters that were involved
in the juvenile court system.

391
00:20:04.772 --> 00:20:06.212
I found myself in a position

392
00:20:06.212 --> 00:20:10.467
where I could really develop
programs and services

393
00:20:10.987 --> 00:20:14.186
that I felt were really
appropriate for that population.

394
00:20:14.852 --> 00:20:17.786
So, I fell in love with this notion

395
00:20:17.786 --> 00:20:19.427
that I could really make a difference,

396
00:20:19.427 --> 00:20:22.183
not just as a direct service provider,

397
00:20:22.183 --> 00:20:25.532
but by crafting services,
and the rest is history.

398
00:20:27.460 --> 00:20:31.043
By the time I was ready to
return to graduate school,

399
00:20:31.043 --> 00:20:33.644
it just made sense for
me to pursue my interests

400
00:20:33.644 --> 00:20:38.102
in administration and community
planning and development,

401
00:20:39.432 --> 00:20:43.708
but I've never lost my
love for direct services.

402
00:20:43.708 --> 00:20:47.530
My career has really been
focused on how to develop,

403
00:20:47.530 --> 00:20:50.794
how to integrate these
wonderful disciplines

404
00:20:50.794 --> 00:20:53.470
that are represented in
the social work profession.

405
00:20:54.165 --> 00:20:56.512
It's not an either-or for me.

406
00:20:56.512 --> 00:21:00.660
It's all and that we all
have to find our place,

407
00:21:00.660 --> 00:21:02.143
but at the end of the day,

408
00:21:02.143 --> 00:21:05.966
we're all in a position where
we can be an agent of change.

409
00:21:06.878 --> 00:21:10.872
And I'll tell you, it's very
different than a change agent.

410
00:21:11.518 --> 00:21:13.731
An agent of change is an advocate.

411
00:21:13.731 --> 00:21:16.729
It can be a director,
it can be a volunteer.

412
00:21:16.729 --> 00:21:20.638
We're agents of change
and that's been consistent

413
00:21:20.638 --> 00:21:21.736
across the board.

414
00:21:21.736 --> 00:21:25.576
Even in my four years at the United Way,

415
00:21:25.576 --> 00:21:28.512
I would imagine that I'm perceived,

416
00:21:28.512 --> 00:21:31.037
certainly on a local level,

417
00:21:31.037 --> 00:21:33.031
and then certainly on a state level,

418
00:21:33.031 --> 00:21:37.451
and on a national level,
with diversity inclusion,

419
00:21:37.451 --> 00:21:39.828
as an agent of change.

420
00:21:39.828 --> 00:21:43.473
I represent the new
leadership of United Ways

421
00:21:43.473 --> 00:21:46.577
across this country
because we can no longer

422
00:21:46.577 --> 00:21:50.461
just simply fund raise,
raise dollars and allocate.

423
00:21:50.461 --> 00:21:55.110
We really have to come up
with solutions in communities

424
00:21:55.110 --> 00:21:56.934
that are sustainable.

425
00:21:56.934 --> 00:21:59.878
Over dinner, I said I would give you money

426
00:22:00.708 --> 00:22:03.611
if I was in New York
because those are the kinds

427
00:22:03.611 --> 00:22:08.133
of community solutions that
are sustainable in the end,

428
00:22:08.553 --> 00:22:12.112
enabling people to represent their needs,

429
00:22:12.112 --> 00:22:15.493
to strengthen and build their
communities in their capacity,

430
00:22:15.493 --> 00:22:17.643
and to advocate for themselves.

431
00:22:19.215 --> 00:22:21.278
That's where our investments have to go.

432
00:22:21.296 --> 00:22:23.748
Certainly, if you went on our website,

433
00:22:23.748 --> 00:22:26.777
you'll see that we're doing
a lot of community convening,

434
00:22:26.777 --> 00:22:28.996
and leading and funding.

435
00:22:28.996 --> 00:22:30.948
That's our new role.

436
00:22:30.948 --> 00:22:35.948
So, I'm an ideal new United Way leader

437
00:22:36.210 --> 00:22:37.795
and I'm pleased to be there,

438
00:22:37.795 --> 00:22:40.375
although I'm tired, and I'm gonna retire.

439
00:22:40.375 --> 00:22:42.020
As I was saying earlier,

440
00:22:42.020 --> 00:22:43.738
some people have asked me this morning,

441
00:22:43.738 --> 00:22:44.623
"What are you going to do?"

442
00:22:44.623 --> 00:22:47.209
And I said, "I just want
to be a social worker."

443
00:22:47.556 --> 00:22:49.049
(laughter)

444
00:22:49.049 --> 00:22:50.904
- I just want to work with my children,

445
00:22:50.904 --> 00:22:54.372
and that's exactly what I'm
going to do when I retire,

446
00:22:54.372 --> 00:22:56.889
Is to go back to what I love

447
00:22:56.889 --> 00:22:59.141
because that's what keeps me connected.

448
00:22:59.141 --> 00:23:03.357
That's what energizes me to
continue on this journey.

449
00:23:03.683 --> 00:23:08.477
It's not an easy journey so, thank you.

450
00:23:11.907 --> 00:23:15.106
- So we'll transition
now into Dina and myself

451
00:23:15.106 --> 00:23:16.839
asking questions of the panelists.

452
00:23:17.730 --> 00:23:18.850
We'll do that for about 30 minutes,

453
00:23:18.850 --> 00:23:21.247
and then, we'll open up to
questions from the audience,

454
00:23:21.247 --> 00:23:23.577
so keep them percolating as we discuss.

455
00:23:25.186 --> 00:23:29.473
One of the first questions
we had was asking each of you

456
00:23:29.473 --> 00:23:33.651
if and how the clients of the
organization or agency are

457
00:23:33.651 --> 00:23:35.813
incorporated into the
leadership structure.

458
00:23:35.813 --> 00:23:37.953
I know, Arlenis, you
spoke to this for a bit,

459
00:23:37.953 --> 00:23:40.363
but we wanted to pose that
to all of the panelists

460
00:23:40.363 --> 00:23:42.136
to talk about specificially.

461
00:23:44.928 --> 00:23:47.866
- One thing about Centers
for Independent Living,,

462
00:23:47.866 --> 00:23:51.726
they are mandated as part of the Rehab Act

463
00:23:51.726 --> 00:23:55.157
to have 51% of their staff

464
00:23:55.157 --> 00:23:57.426
and board to be consumers,

465
00:23:57.426 --> 00:24:00.434
or people with disabilities,
cross disabilities.

466
00:24:01.549 --> 00:24:06.549
We have to have consumers as
part of our board of directors.

467
00:24:07.212 --> 00:24:10.689
We also have to have 51% of our leadership

468
00:24:10.689 --> 00:24:14.161
as consumers, also, or
people with disabilities.

469
00:24:14.732 --> 00:24:16.598
That is a mandated thing.

470
00:24:16.598 --> 00:24:19.187
We have to do it, and so we do it.

471
00:24:19.187 --> 00:24:23.083
I think the other thing
that is my personal goal is

472
00:24:23.083 --> 00:24:27.061
to not only have consumers
but to really look at --

473
00:24:27.061 --> 00:24:28.406
when you look at disability,

474
00:24:28.406 --> 00:24:31.861
there's sub-populations, sub-cultures,

475
00:24:31.861 --> 00:24:35.924
and we try to get as many different folks

476
00:24:35.924 --> 00:24:38.367
with different disabilities involved,

477
00:24:38.367 --> 00:24:40.138
if not at the board level,

478
00:24:40.138 --> 00:24:43.145
at least at an advisory committee level,

479
00:24:43.145 --> 00:24:48.145
so we can ensure that we're
providing what is needed

480
00:24:49.371 --> 00:24:53.027
to help them have a quality
of life like everyone else.

481
00:24:57.446 --> 00:24:59.336
- Just recently, the last couple years,

482
00:24:59.336 --> 00:25:00.862
I've been working with my colleagues

483
00:25:00.862 --> 00:25:05.480
from Hampshire United Way and
Franklin County United Way,

484
00:25:05.480 --> 00:25:07.816
along with what they call the

485
00:25:09.046 --> 00:25:11.442
Sustainable Communities Corridor,

486
00:25:11.442 --> 00:25:13.675
which is a regional initiative

487
00:25:13.675 --> 00:25:17.479
between Massachusetts and Hartford.

488
00:25:17.479 --> 00:25:20.604
The long and the short is
part of that initiative

489
00:25:20.604 --> 00:25:25.457
involved mobilizing and
engaging communities,

490
00:25:25.457 --> 00:25:29.276
neighborhoods, people to participate

491
00:25:29.276 --> 00:25:31.926
in a conversation about
quality of life issues.

492
00:25:33.218 --> 00:25:36.283
What was really interesting
is that we went out

493
00:25:36.283 --> 00:25:38.801
to various communities,
both rural communities,

494
00:25:38.801 --> 00:25:41.894
and certainly the urban communities

495
00:25:41.894 --> 00:25:45.365
to talk about those things
that people really cared about.

496
00:25:46.576 --> 00:25:48.539
Consistently across the board,

497
00:25:48.539 --> 00:25:51.497
whether it's the hill
towns up in Hatfield,

498
00:25:51.497 --> 00:25:56.497
or Belchertown, or Holyoke,
or Brimfield, Monson,

499
00:25:57.211 --> 00:26:00.891
is that people cared
about education, housing,

500
00:26:00.891 --> 00:26:04.848
transportation, and then, of
course, environmental issues

501
00:26:04.848 --> 00:26:06.461
were really perking.

502
00:26:06.461 --> 00:26:08.261
Even in the urban communities,

503
00:26:08.261 --> 00:26:10.107
people are beginning to understand

504
00:26:10.107 --> 00:26:11.695
that there are environmental issues,

505
00:26:11.695 --> 00:26:13.892
especially in poor communities,

506
00:26:13.892 --> 00:26:16.926
that are making them sick
and their children sick.

507
00:26:17.701 --> 00:26:20.335
So, it was education, housing,

508
00:26:21.255 --> 00:26:24.511
and certainly work opportunities.

509
00:26:25.550 --> 00:26:28.911
So, while we're not a
direct-service organizaiton,

510
00:26:28.911 --> 00:26:32.099
we're always looking out for opportunities

511
00:26:32.099 --> 00:26:34.958
to engage in conversations
with the very people

512
00:26:34.958 --> 00:26:37.422
that receive the services that we fund,

513
00:26:37.422 --> 00:26:40.259
and also trying to understand
the needs of communities

514
00:26:40.259 --> 00:26:43.021
so that it's no longer
this little cookie-cutter

515
00:26:43.021 --> 00:26:45.264
kind of approach to funding.

516
00:26:45.264 --> 00:26:49.143
But, every community has a
unique set of circumstances

517
00:26:49.143 --> 00:26:51.607
and needs that have to be considered,

518
00:26:51.607 --> 00:26:54.896
in terms of funding and
providing resources.

519
00:26:57.484 --> 00:26:58.887
- At Make the Road New York,

520
00:26:58.887 --> 00:27:03.887
we make sure that at least
50% of our board of directors

521
00:27:04.188 --> 00:27:07.304
comes from our members.

522
00:27:07.304 --> 00:27:10.779
The way that we do it is
that we have elections

523
00:27:10.779 --> 00:27:14.763
every three years, and
members can participate.

524
00:27:16.230 --> 00:27:17.712
One of the requirements is that they have

525
00:27:17.712 --> 00:27:21.098
to pay their membership dues in full.

526
00:27:21.098 --> 00:27:23.771
They have to be leaders of their community

527
00:27:23.771 --> 00:27:26.192
that they're participating in.

528
00:27:27.822 --> 00:27:29.082
It's real elections.

529
00:27:29.082 --> 00:27:31.009
It's very serious at the organization

530
00:27:31.009 --> 00:27:33.519
when we're having elections.

531
00:27:33.519 --> 00:27:37.017
They do campaign and we make sure

532
00:27:37.017 --> 00:27:40.711
that people that are
voting for these members,

533
00:27:40.711 --> 00:27:42.762
they are involved in the community.

534
00:27:42.762 --> 00:27:46.766
It can't be just that
you recruit your family

535
00:27:46.766 --> 00:27:49.443
to become a member and then
they could vote for you.

536
00:27:49.443 --> 00:27:52.238
No, you have to be active
for the past three months,

537
00:27:52.238 --> 00:27:55.000
so it takes a lot of
data, looking at data,

538
00:27:55.000 --> 00:27:58.584
looking at our database,

539
00:27:58.984 --> 00:28:01.805
and making sure that we
are doing the elections

540
00:28:01.805 --> 00:28:03.111
every three years.

541
00:28:04.291 --> 00:28:07.959
As a 501(c)(3), everybody wants people

542
00:28:07.959 --> 00:28:11.268
that could bring money,
funding to the organization,

543
00:28:11.268 --> 00:28:12.920
on their board of directors,

544
00:28:12.920 --> 00:28:16.301
but we also have to make
sure that we have people

545
00:28:16.301 --> 00:28:20.247
who are impacted directly that know

546
00:28:20.247 --> 00:28:22.470
what's going on in their community.

547
00:28:22.470 --> 00:28:23.478
They get a vote.

548
00:28:23.478 --> 00:28:26.401
They vote like every other
person on our board of directors.

549
00:28:26.401 --> 00:28:30.603
They have a voice, and they're heard.

550
00:28:32.033 --> 00:28:34.475
I feel like that's one of the ways

551
00:28:34.475 --> 00:28:37.216
that you create leadership
within an organization.

552
00:28:37.216 --> 00:28:40.139
You make sure that
people's voices are heard,

553
00:28:40.139 --> 00:28:43.456
and that the people that
you are serving are there

554
00:28:43.456 --> 00:28:46.741
to make sure that you're
providing the right services,

555
00:28:46.741 --> 00:28:49.279
that you're fighting
for the right campaigns

556
00:28:49.279 --> 00:28:51.178
that your community want to fight for,

557
00:28:51.178 --> 00:28:53.215
and that you're doing the right thing.

558
00:28:53.215 --> 00:28:56.002
They're the ones that
guide our work every day.

559
00:28:56.002 --> 00:28:56.916
- May I comment?

560
00:28:56.916 --> 00:28:58.745
- [Voiceover] Yes.

561
00:28:59.212 --> 00:29:02.633
- You just said something
really important.

562
00:29:02.633 --> 00:29:06.238
There's some attitudinal barriers

563
00:29:06.238 --> 00:29:09.229
that need to be disposed of.

564
00:29:10.788 --> 00:29:13.331
For years, people have
been thinking, "I can't.

565
00:29:13.331 --> 00:29:15.891
"I won't because people
say I can't, and I won't.

566
00:29:15.891 --> 00:29:17.230
"I can't do."

567
00:29:17.896 --> 00:29:21.110
It doesn't matter what
structure I put in place

568
00:29:21.110 --> 00:29:24.094
if they're just gonna
sit in that structure

569
00:29:24.094 --> 00:29:26.540
and not do or not think they can do.

570
00:29:27.197 --> 00:29:30.795
We are talking about creating
a system of leadership,

571
00:29:30.795 --> 00:29:33.917
and I think it's a great
point that you had that,

572
00:29:33.917 --> 00:29:36.519
hey, you gotta participate.

573
00:29:36.519 --> 00:29:38.556
You have to open your mouth.

574
00:29:38.556 --> 00:29:42.279
You have to be no longer
afraid to open your mouth,

575
00:29:42.279 --> 00:29:45.649
that you really need
to know what you need,

576
00:29:45.649 --> 00:29:47.910
and ask for it.

577
00:29:47.910 --> 00:29:49.329
There's some education involved,

578
00:29:49.329 --> 00:29:51.217
so we can put structures,

579
00:29:51.217 --> 00:29:53.491
and everybody said the board doesn't look.

580
00:29:53.491 --> 00:29:56.131
The board doesn't look diverse.

581
00:29:56.131 --> 00:29:58.846
Well, what if I had a whole diverse board,

582
00:29:58.846 --> 00:30:02.055
but only two people
made all the decisions,

583
00:30:02.055 --> 00:30:04.261
'cause the others are window dressing.

584
00:30:04.261 --> 00:30:07.582
So, looking one way and being another way

585
00:30:07.582 --> 00:30:10.392
is something we really
need to pay attention to.

586
00:30:14.483 --> 00:30:15.421
- I just wanted to comment.

587
00:30:15.421 --> 00:30:19.575
I think that these two
organizations are a bit different.

588
00:30:19.575 --> 00:30:23.389
We're now beginning to think
about being intentional

589
00:30:23.389 --> 00:30:25.181
around civic engagement.

590
00:30:25.181 --> 00:30:28.509
How do we help or create opportunities

591
00:30:28.509 --> 00:30:30.426
for people to be involved?

592
00:30:30.426 --> 00:30:31.407
That was the next step

593
00:30:31.407 --> 00:30:34.939
of this sustainable communities initiative

594
00:30:34.939 --> 00:30:38.253
is teaching people civic engagement

595
00:30:38.253 --> 00:30:41.123
in terms of the city council

596
00:30:41.123 --> 00:30:43.128
or local government structures,

597
00:30:43.128 --> 00:30:45.367
where you go when you have a problem,

598
00:30:45.367 --> 00:30:47.800
how to talk to people about your problem,

599
00:30:47.800 --> 00:30:49.300
the advocacy side.

600
00:30:49.300 --> 00:30:50.284
The other thing --

601
00:30:50.284 --> 00:30:53.038
this might be apalling to you all --

602
00:30:53.038 --> 00:30:54.734
the year before last,

603
00:30:54.734 --> 00:30:58.459
we decided to do a voter
education initiative

604
00:30:58.459 --> 00:31:00.678
for our non-profit partners.

605
00:31:01.986 --> 00:31:06.604
We signed up with this
national voters organization,

606
00:31:06.604 --> 00:31:10.232
and they were gonna send
someone down to meet.

607
00:31:10.232 --> 00:31:12.613
As I was talking to my board,

608
00:31:14.643 --> 00:31:18.271
I had board members
that actually challenged

609
00:31:18.271 --> 00:31:21.214
whether or not this organization

610
00:31:21.214 --> 00:31:24.824
should be involved in politics.

611
00:31:28.329 --> 00:31:29.485
Politics,

612
00:31:30.409 --> 00:31:34.978
not education, not
awareness, but politics.

613
00:31:37.342 --> 00:31:41.699
It was another one of those
"aha" experiences for me,

614
00:31:42.365 --> 00:31:45.426
in terms of the conservative
perspective that people have

615
00:31:45.426 --> 00:31:49.405
around the role of organizations
like the United Way.

616
00:31:49.405 --> 00:31:51.506
Do you guys know about the United Way?

617
00:31:51.506 --> 00:31:53.658
We have that Live United and it says,

618
00:31:53.658 --> 00:31:56.937
"Give, volunteer, and advocate."

619
00:31:58.201 --> 00:31:59.134
Right?

620
00:31:59.481 --> 00:32:02.302
I've been asking, "So,
what's the advocacy agenda,"

621
00:32:04.212 --> 00:32:06.023
because I believe there's one.

622
00:32:06.488 --> 00:32:08.335
I do have a committee
that's working on it.

623
00:32:08.335 --> 00:32:09.507
That's the great news,

624
00:32:09.507 --> 00:32:13.346
but it's taken like three
years to really begin

625
00:32:13.346 --> 00:32:16.503
to move the organization
where people feel comfortable

626
00:32:16.503 --> 00:32:21.503
saying that, yes, advocacy
is a major, major initiative

627
00:32:21.710 --> 00:32:23.805
for the kind of work we should be doing,

628
00:32:23.805 --> 00:32:28.097
in empowering people, engaging people

629
00:32:28.097 --> 00:32:30.102
in the political process.

630
00:32:30.102 --> 00:32:34.152
Voting is an important aspect of our work.

631
00:32:37.519 --> 00:32:40.786
- Sometimes at the organization,

632
00:32:40.786 --> 00:32:44.986
we have members who question
the work that we're doing,

633
00:32:45.920 --> 00:32:50.175
and that's when the
directors, when we sit down,

634
00:32:50.175 --> 00:32:51.903
and we're like, "That's
what we're showing them.

635
00:32:51.903 --> 00:32:54.470
"Now, we've gotta deal
with it." (laughter)

636
00:32:54.470 --> 00:32:55.746
Now, you have answers.

637
00:32:55.746 --> 00:32:59.185
You have to answer their questions.

638
00:33:02.285 --> 00:33:03.931
We've made it as a joke,

639
00:33:03.931 --> 00:33:06.328
"That's what they're gonna do next time.

640
00:33:06.328 --> 00:33:08.324
"They're gonna come and
protest in front of our offices

641
00:33:08.324 --> 00:33:10.944
"if you don't answer their questions,

642
00:33:10.944 --> 00:33:13.261
"so we better get on the
phone and call those leaders,

643
00:33:13.261 --> 00:33:14.925
"and bring them in and talk to them,

644
00:33:14.925 --> 00:33:18.314
"and explain whatever
they want us to explain."

645
00:33:18.314 --> 00:33:20.300
So, when you give people power,

646
00:33:20.300 --> 00:33:23.585
you also have to respect the fact

647
00:33:23.585 --> 00:33:26.253
that they're gonna question
what you're teaching them.

648
00:33:28.428 --> 00:33:30.103
- I think that's actually a great segue

649
00:33:30.103 --> 00:33:31.523
into the next question,

650
00:33:31.523 --> 00:33:34.462
which was really about how you
hold yourselves accountable,

651
00:33:34.462 --> 00:33:36.640
and the organization accountable

652
00:33:36.640 --> 00:33:38.970
to having representational leadership.

653
00:33:39.754 --> 00:33:43.197
What are the challenges and
the opportunities you have

654
00:33:43.197 --> 00:33:46.369
as leaders in that process?

655
00:33:48.958 --> 00:33:51.361
(laughter)

656
00:33:51.361 --> 00:33:54.677
- We have two sets of leadership school

657
00:33:54.677 --> 00:33:56.160
in the organization.

658
00:33:56.160 --> 00:33:59.679
We have Level One and
that's for new members.

659
00:33:59.679 --> 00:34:02.674
We teach them how to make change.

660
00:34:02.674 --> 00:34:05.837
We do it through an
eight-week leadership school,

661
00:34:05.837 --> 00:34:10.553
and they meet every week for three hours.

662
00:34:11.572 --> 00:34:13.428
Basically, the first week is just talking

663
00:34:13.428 --> 00:34:15.732
about the problems in their communities,

664
00:34:15.732 --> 00:34:18.813
and what can they do if they know anything

665
00:34:18.813 --> 00:34:20.643
that they could do to change.

666
00:34:20.643 --> 00:34:25.496
The following weeks, we
guide them through politics,

667
00:34:25.496 --> 00:34:27.352
through what's the city council,

668
00:34:27.352 --> 00:34:28.994
what are they supposed to do,

669
00:34:28.994 --> 00:34:31.790
how do you change what you don't like,

670
00:34:31.790 --> 00:34:33.986
and how do you organize?

671
00:34:33.986 --> 00:34:35.465
What's organizing?

672
00:34:36.474 --> 00:34:39.845
Level Two is six months after Level One.

673
00:34:41.067 --> 00:34:44.428
Basically, the leaders from Level One have

674
00:34:44.428 --> 00:34:45.816
to recruit members,

675
00:34:45.816 --> 00:34:49.757
have to show leadership
by showing attendance

676
00:34:49.757 --> 00:34:52.120
on the events, the protests, the campaigns

677
00:34:52.120 --> 00:34:54.418
that we're working on.

678
00:34:54.418 --> 00:34:57.496
Then, they move to how
to talk to the media,

679
00:34:57.496 --> 00:35:00.463
how do you go into your
city council's office,

680
00:35:00.463 --> 00:35:03.591
how you plan a campaign.

681
00:35:05.304 --> 00:35:09.647
They kinda graduate at the end
of the year by selecting --

682
00:35:09.647 --> 00:35:12.023
we have a membership assembly every year

683
00:35:12.023 --> 00:35:13.840
where we select the campaigns that we want

684
00:35:13.840 --> 00:35:16.279
to work the following year,

685
00:35:16.279 --> 00:35:18.870
and our members are the ones that decide

686
00:35:18.870 --> 00:35:22.199
what campaigns we're gonna work on.

687
00:35:22.199 --> 00:35:25.625
Our co-executive
directors don't have that.

688
00:35:25.625 --> 00:35:27.811
They don't decide what campaigns.

689
00:35:27.811 --> 00:35:29.947
It's the members.

690
00:35:29.947 --> 00:35:32.864
Basically, we have a housing group,

691
00:35:32.864 --> 00:35:37.200
an environmental group,
parents, workers in action,

692
00:35:37.200 --> 00:35:41.272
and they do a presentation
to about 700 members.

693
00:35:41.758 --> 00:35:46.056
By voting, they get a vote
-- just showing hands --

694
00:35:46.956 --> 00:35:51.650
what campaigns, for example,
paid sick days recently passed.

695
00:35:53.192 --> 00:35:54.653
That was one of the campaigns

696
00:35:54.653 --> 00:35:57.341
that we discussed three years ago

697
00:35:57.341 --> 00:35:59.105
in our Jackson Heights office.

698
00:35:59.912 --> 00:36:04.572
It was about, I would say,
175 people in the room,

699
00:36:04.572 --> 00:36:07.496
just talking about we
need to get paid sick days

700
00:36:07.496 --> 00:36:09.457
for our low-income workers.

701
00:36:09.457 --> 00:36:11.974
I don't need to lose my
job because I'm sick,

702
00:36:11.974 --> 00:36:13.896
and I can't make it to work.

703
00:36:13.896 --> 00:36:18.358
When you hear people talking
and you hear them say,

704
00:36:18.358 --> 00:36:20.155
"That's what I want to do,"

705
00:36:20.155 --> 00:36:22.310
and when you give them
the power and you say,

706
00:36:22.310 --> 00:36:23.536
"All right, let's do it.

707
00:36:23.536 --> 00:36:26.022
"We have to work with
this group of people.

708
00:36:26.022 --> 00:36:28.069
"We have to find other organizations

709
00:36:28.069 --> 00:36:29.689
"that wanna do the same,

710
00:36:29.689 --> 00:36:31.722
"and that's how you create power."

711
00:36:31.722 --> 00:36:33.178
But, it's not someone --

712
00:36:33.178 --> 00:36:35.578
it's not one of the
co-executive directors.

713
00:36:35.578 --> 00:36:37.434
It's not the board telling the members,

714
00:36:37.434 --> 00:36:38.629
"This is what you're gonna do,

715
00:36:38.629 --> 00:36:40.815
"and you need to do it
this way or that way."

716
00:36:40.815 --> 00:36:44.090
It's our own members and
they decide what's the goal.

717
00:36:44.090 --> 00:36:47.332
What do we want to get from here?

718
00:36:48.062 --> 00:36:51.673
Although they can't
write the legislation --

719
00:36:51.673 --> 00:36:53.539
we have to provide them
with those tools --

720
00:36:53.539 --> 00:36:57.461
but every step of the way,
we keep them informed,

721
00:36:57.461 --> 00:37:02.112
either by sending emails,
newsletters, mailings,

722
00:37:02.112 --> 00:37:04.720
and through our weekly meetings.

723
00:37:04.720 --> 00:37:08.214
So, every step of the
process, they're there.

724
00:37:08.214 --> 00:37:11.755
The way that they hold us accountable

725
00:37:11.755 --> 00:37:14.720
for the work that we do is by the goals

726
00:37:14.720 --> 00:37:17.000
that we set up the year before.

727
00:37:17.000 --> 00:37:19.447
We review them the year after,

728
00:37:19.447 --> 00:37:21.621
and we check off the list

729
00:37:21.621 --> 00:37:24.090
of the things that we
did and we didn't do.

730
00:37:27.893 --> 00:37:30.508
- I'm trying to figure out
which level to go this on.

731
00:37:33.355 --> 00:37:38.355
One of the core things that
Centers for Independent Living

732
00:37:39.192 --> 00:37:43.156
is the philosophy is wrapped
around consumer direction

733
00:37:43.156 --> 00:37:45.166
and consumer control.

734
00:37:46.217 --> 00:37:48.180
That's something embedded in us.

735
00:37:48.180 --> 00:37:50.313
That is the way we operate.

736
00:37:50.313 --> 00:37:53.663
We don't prescribe what's good for you.

737
00:37:53.663 --> 00:37:56.543
You tell us what service you need.

738
00:37:56.543 --> 00:37:59.085
I think they call it person-centered,

739
00:37:59.582 --> 00:38:04.582
but we actually let consumers
decide in the same way.

740
00:38:05.096 --> 00:38:09.550
We have these advisory committees
that have been developed,

741
00:38:09.550 --> 00:38:13.911
and those advisory
committees are consumer-run.

742
00:38:14.919 --> 00:38:16.957
The only thing we have is we have a staff

743
00:38:16.957 --> 00:38:19.602
that's assigned to assist,

744
00:38:19.602 --> 00:38:22.578
and we provide a little
bit of training for them

745
00:38:22.578 --> 00:38:24.455
organizationally-wise,

746
00:38:24.455 --> 00:38:27.697
and how to have meetings
and things of that nature.

747
00:38:27.697 --> 00:38:29.678
But, they meet themselves.

748
00:38:29.678 --> 00:38:31.782
They give their own fund raisers.

749
00:38:31.782 --> 00:38:34.767
They do everything.

750
00:38:34.767 --> 00:38:37.149
That's empowering to them.

751
00:38:37.149 --> 00:38:42.149
From an organizational
standpoint, anyone that aspires

752
00:38:43.078 --> 00:38:47.024
to supervisory- or
management-level skills,

753
00:38:47.024 --> 00:38:48.305
whether they're there or not,

754
00:38:48.305 --> 00:38:51.717
we do have management training.

755
00:38:51.717 --> 00:38:54.224
We have training that's a 12-week course.

756
00:38:54.224 --> 00:38:55.696
Anybody can take it.

757
00:38:55.696 --> 00:38:57.455
They don't have to be in the position,

758
00:38:57.455 --> 00:39:00.676
just to let them know some
of the responsibilities

759
00:39:00.676 --> 00:39:03.375
and things that go with it.

760
00:39:03.375 --> 00:39:05.796
From a national perspective --

761
00:39:05.796 --> 00:39:09.596
and I'm trying not to
hog everybody's time --

762
00:39:09.596 --> 00:39:12.223
we have board orientation.

763
00:39:12.223 --> 00:39:15.073
Board orientation, if you're on the board,

764
00:39:15.073 --> 00:39:16.462
you have to get that.

765
00:39:16.462 --> 00:39:20.014
If you become a chair of
the advisory committee --

766
00:39:20.014 --> 00:39:21.814
and we're rather large.

767
00:39:21.814 --> 00:39:24.718
There's about 20 different legislative

768
00:39:24.718 --> 00:39:26.919
and advocacy committees --

769
00:39:26.919 --> 00:39:30.478
you need to take this
training on how to be a chair,

770
00:39:30.478 --> 00:39:32.076
how to set the agenda,

771
00:39:32.076 --> 00:39:35.896
how to make sure that
your meeting is moving

772
00:39:35.896 --> 00:39:38.823
and going toward a goal,
and there has to be goals.

773
00:39:39.671 --> 00:39:42.230
What we've done now, I
shared with the group.

774
00:39:42.971 --> 00:39:46.419
Our center is divided
into many departments.

775
00:39:46.419 --> 00:39:48.967
There's ones that's really mission-driven,

776
00:39:48.967 --> 00:39:50.386
and there's others that deal with home-

777
00:39:50.386 --> 00:39:52.290
and community-based waivers,

778
00:39:52.290 --> 00:39:57.040
while we just make sure
everyone experiences

779
00:39:57.455 --> 00:39:59.337
a nursing home transition.

780
00:39:59.337 --> 00:40:01.924
That's from the shopping to the move,

781
00:40:01.924 --> 00:40:04.908
to moving of the consumer,
to give them that.

782
00:40:04.908 --> 00:40:09.908
We also now make sure everybody
goes on a legislative visit,

783
00:40:10.156 --> 00:40:14.908
and we do give training before
that so folks would know.

784
00:40:15.554 --> 00:40:17.781
We have some things in place.

785
00:40:17.781 --> 00:40:20.115
Some things are working well,

786
00:40:20.115 --> 00:40:23.300
others aren't because it's
a work in progress anyway.

787
00:40:23.732 --> 00:40:25.769
We're not just gonna get it here,

788
00:40:25.769 --> 00:40:28.023
but we are working toward it.

789
00:40:29.469 --> 00:40:30.813
- Yes, this is a real tough one

790
00:40:30.813 --> 00:40:35.064
for the kind of organization
that I represent,

791
00:40:36.090 --> 00:40:40.348
because we're somewhat removed
from the direct service,

792
00:40:40.348 --> 00:40:44.209
although there's been more
conversation on a national level

793
00:40:44.209 --> 00:40:46.310
around this issue of accountability

794
00:40:46.310 --> 00:40:50.009
around leadership and
representation of the organizations

795
00:40:50.009 --> 00:40:51.481
that we fund.

796
00:40:51.481 --> 00:40:53.391
And so, in some United Ways,

797
00:40:53.391 --> 00:40:58.391
they're just beginning to
require their funding agencies

798
00:40:59.161 --> 00:41:02.100
to do diversity and inclusion assessments,

799
00:41:03.449 --> 00:41:06.036
from the top to the bottom,
looking at their boards,

800
00:41:06.036 --> 00:41:08.695
the board representation, the staffing,

801
00:41:08.695 --> 00:41:12.421
to make sure that the staffing
reflects the populations.

802
00:41:13.579 --> 00:41:17.332
However the dialogue,
the discussion has been

803
00:41:17.332 --> 00:41:20.281
we're not in a position to mandate.

804
00:41:21.129 --> 00:41:25.259
However, just having
funded partners understand

805
00:41:25.259 --> 00:41:28.233
that there is an issue of accountability

806
00:41:28.233 --> 00:41:29.918
that we're beginning to explore

807
00:41:29.918 --> 00:41:32.631
around making sure there's diversity.

808
00:41:33.288 --> 00:41:36.498
On the other hand, if the
United Way does not have

809
00:41:36.498 --> 00:41:39.506
that level of leadership in diversity

810
00:41:39.506 --> 00:41:41.183
from the top to the bottom,

811
00:41:41.183 --> 00:41:43.671
then they're hard-pressed
to have that expectation

812
00:41:43.671 --> 00:41:45.634
for their partners.

813
00:41:46.327 --> 00:41:51.249
There's this movement for
United Ways to really begin

814
00:41:51.249 --> 00:41:55.432
to be held accountable
through our reporting,

815
00:41:55.432 --> 00:41:58.751
to report our representation,
our diversity.

816
00:41:59.319 --> 00:42:01.615
Again, they can't mandate
because communities

817
00:42:01.615 --> 00:42:05.359
are so different across the country.

818
00:42:05.359 --> 00:42:08.126
In some communities,
there's no diversity at all.

819
00:42:09.316 --> 00:42:10.991
In other communities, there is,

820
00:42:10.991 --> 00:42:12.897
so it's very complex.

821
00:42:12.897 --> 00:42:15.197
Within my own organization,

822
00:42:15.197 --> 00:42:17.958
if there are individuals who demonstrate

823
00:42:17.958 --> 00:42:19.835
an interest in leadership,

824
00:42:19.835 --> 00:42:23.419
then absolutely, I make
a significant investment

825
00:42:23.419 --> 00:42:26.854
in making sure they participate
in leadership programs,

826
00:42:28.044 --> 00:42:30.740
development programs.

827
00:42:31.066 --> 00:42:34.678
And, on a regional level, I've
been involved with a group

828
00:42:34.678 --> 00:42:36.826
that's called Leadership Pioneer Valley,

829
00:42:37.430 --> 00:42:41.985
where we have been recruiting
and offering a full year

830
00:42:41.985 --> 00:42:46.110
of leadership development
for middle-level leaders

831
00:42:46.110 --> 00:42:48.009
across all sectors,

832
00:42:48.009 --> 00:42:51.027
and again throughout the region,

833
00:42:51.027 --> 00:42:54.537
so you have these middle leaders,

834
00:42:55.567 --> 00:42:58.472
middle-level leaders from Northampton,

835
00:42:58.472 --> 00:42:59.475
from Greenfield,

836
00:42:59.475 --> 00:43:04.275
from inner city like
Springfield and Holyoke,

837
00:43:04.275 --> 00:43:06.056
spending a full year together

838
00:43:06.056 --> 00:43:08.866
working on regional leadership.

839
00:43:08.866 --> 00:43:12.673
There's sort of this new
level of accountability,

840
00:43:12.673 --> 00:43:14.450
not just for one community

841
00:43:14.450 --> 00:43:18.215
but looking at the reality
that many of the problems

842
00:43:18.215 --> 00:43:22.283
that we face require much
more of a regional approach.

843
00:43:22.993 --> 00:43:26.385
In order to do that, we gotta
develop regional leadership

844
00:43:26.385 --> 00:43:29.643
across all sectors where people
can work collaboratively.

845
00:43:31.596 --> 00:43:34.769
At this point, it's like
holding myself accountable

846
00:43:34.769 --> 00:43:39.769
to be involved in
providing whatever support

847
00:43:40.006 --> 00:43:42.726
and leadership I can to make sure

848
00:43:42.726 --> 00:43:46.261
these opportunities are available.

849
00:43:47.952 --> 00:43:50.512
- Speaking about accountability,

850
00:43:50.512 --> 00:43:52.447
when I really think about it,

851
00:43:53.399 --> 00:43:54.764
when I really think about some

852
00:43:54.764 --> 00:43:57.127
of the efforts we put through,

853
00:43:57.127 --> 00:43:59.275
it's not enough,

854
00:43:59.275 --> 00:44:01.441
because as we said earlier today,

855
00:44:02.481 --> 00:44:06.657
there's issues of equity versus inequity,

856
00:44:06.657 --> 00:44:08.782
and they're deep, they run deep.

857
00:44:08.782 --> 00:44:13.086
You know, I can talk about
someone being a leader

858
00:44:13.086 --> 00:44:14.997
of an organization,

859
00:44:14.997 --> 00:44:17.515
but what are the barriers that stop them

860
00:44:17.515 --> 00:44:19.307
from being a leader?

861
00:44:19.307 --> 00:44:21.241
Is it their environment?

862
00:44:21.241 --> 00:44:26.241
Is it that they're poor and
they haven't had opportunities,

863
00:44:26.527 --> 00:44:29.621
that the schools weren't
any good where they grew up

864
00:44:29.621 --> 00:44:31.619
and they didn't have a chance?

865
00:44:31.619 --> 00:44:34.826
When I look at even doing things

866
00:44:34.826 --> 00:44:37.748
from our organizational nature,

867
00:44:37.748 --> 00:44:42.748
I see inequity as a piece
that destroys all of this.

868
00:44:44.724 --> 00:44:45.802
We can band-aid.

869
00:44:45.802 --> 00:44:50.118
We can set up structures
but until we cure equity,

870
00:44:50.118 --> 00:44:52.126
making sure everything's equity,

871
00:44:52.126 --> 00:44:54.067
and you guys are students,

872
00:44:54.067 --> 00:44:56.659
you know about the social determinants.

873
00:44:56.659 --> 00:45:00.627
You know that poverty,
housing, employment,

874
00:45:00.627 --> 00:45:03.880
income, whatever we wanna throw out there,

875
00:45:03.880 --> 00:45:08.880
environment, are all pieces of inequity.

876
00:45:10.727 --> 00:45:13.800
We need to solve inequity
while we're doing

877
00:45:13.800 --> 00:45:15.548
these things we're trying to do,

878
00:45:15.548 --> 00:45:19.601
because if we build an equitable society,

879
00:45:19.601 --> 00:45:22.315
some of these things go away.

880
00:45:22.908 --> 00:45:27.004
They go away and so, I talked.

881
00:45:27.004 --> 00:45:30.649
I said inequity, it comes from,

882
00:45:30.649 --> 00:45:32.196
I'm gonna say racism,

883
00:45:32.196 --> 00:45:35.061
but I want you to listen
what I say racism is.

884
00:45:35.061 --> 00:45:37.598
Racism is a system

885
00:45:37.598 --> 00:45:42.532
that creates an advantage for one group

886
00:45:42.532 --> 00:45:45.287
versus a disadvantage for another.

887
00:45:46.270 --> 00:45:50.161
A lot of people in this room
may have been part of racism.

888
00:45:50.477 --> 00:45:54.006
People with disabilities,
under my definition,

889
00:45:54.006 --> 00:45:56.535
you're disadvantaged for a reason.

890
00:45:56.535 --> 00:45:58.751
Maybe you look different.

891
00:45:58.751 --> 00:46:01.430
There's stigmas that come with that.

892
00:46:01.430 --> 00:46:03.649
Some of it's institutionalized,

893
00:46:03.649 --> 00:46:05.793
and some things internalize

894
00:46:05.793 --> 00:46:08.078
because when we hear it so much --

895
00:46:08.078 --> 00:46:10.418
and I'm talking about attitudinal --

896
00:46:10.418 --> 00:46:12.644
we don't think we can be anything else

897
00:46:12.644 --> 00:46:15.850
than what people have told us.

898
00:46:17.710 --> 00:46:19.051
We're talking about struggles.

899
00:46:19.051 --> 00:46:20.148
We're talking about some things

900
00:46:20.148 --> 00:46:22.293
that work on the surface,

901
00:46:22.293 --> 00:46:24.754
but I'm just saying
one thing you wanna do,

902
00:46:24.754 --> 00:46:28.210
keep equity foremost in your mind.

903
00:46:35.304 --> 00:46:38.675
- Just to add to what you were saying,

904
00:46:38.675 --> 00:46:43.675
one of the things that
we try to get people

905
00:46:43.773 --> 00:46:45.628
to understand in our community

906
00:46:45.628 --> 00:46:50.422
is that you come through
our doors needing a lawyer.

907
00:46:51.206 --> 00:46:53.542
I would say 100% of the people that come

908
00:46:53.542 --> 00:46:55.249
through our door for the first time,

909
00:46:55.249 --> 00:46:56.682
they need a housing lawyer.

910
00:46:56.682 --> 00:46:59.049
They need a lawyer for their welfare case.

911
00:46:59.049 --> 00:47:02.493
They need help with
their health insurance.

912
00:47:02.493 --> 00:47:04.902
Their kids are having
problems in the school.

913
00:47:04.902 --> 00:47:08.597
The school system is not working for them.

914
00:47:08.937 --> 00:47:12.101
The first thing we tell
them, we're not a Legal Aid,

915
00:47:12.101 --> 00:47:14.335
but we're part of a bigger movement.

916
00:47:15.429 --> 00:47:17.584
Once you solve your problem,

917
00:47:17.584 --> 00:47:20.436
if you need help tomorrow,
we cannot provide it to you.

918
00:47:20.709 --> 00:47:22.181
We don't have the capacity.

919
00:47:22.181 --> 00:47:25.850
We don't have the staff to
solve every single problem

920
00:47:25.850 --> 00:47:27.247
that comes through our doors,

921
00:47:27.247 --> 00:47:30.084
but if you wanna make a
change in the long-term,

922
00:47:30.084 --> 00:47:31.865
then come back.

923
00:47:31.865 --> 00:47:35.449
Here's a membership manual.

924
00:47:35.449 --> 00:47:37.806
Read what we do and if you're interested,

925
00:47:37.806 --> 00:47:39.699
come back and be part of this.

926
00:47:40.185 --> 00:47:41.849
That's all it takes.

927
00:47:41.849 --> 00:47:44.888
There's people there
that I've known members

928
00:47:44.888 --> 00:47:47.474
since I was a receptionist 10 years ago,

929
00:47:47.619 --> 00:47:51.348
and they still come every
week to our meeetings.

930
00:47:51.348 --> 00:47:52.728
They ask me, "Hey, how's your kids?

931
00:47:52.728 --> 00:47:54.957
"I remember when you were
pregnant in the front."

932
00:47:56.416 --> 00:47:58.328
That's family, that's community.

933
00:47:58.328 --> 00:48:00.370
That's how you build power.

934
00:48:00.621 --> 00:48:03.133
- [Stan] Mm hmm, excellent.

935
00:48:05.763 --> 00:48:09.160
- Our next question is a
little bit of a shift in gears.

936
00:48:11.436 --> 00:48:12.632
During my time at Smith,

937
00:48:12.632 --> 00:48:15.515
I feel like I've learned
a lot while being here.

938
00:48:15.515 --> 00:48:18.445
I think a big chunk of
that learning has been

939
00:48:18.445 --> 00:48:20.248
learning the language of social work

940
00:48:20.248 --> 00:48:23.149
and the language of clinical social work.

941
00:48:23.149 --> 00:48:26.881
So, I'm also curious as to how an element

942
00:48:26.881 --> 00:48:30.884
of code switching plays
into your roles as leaders

943
00:48:30.884 --> 00:48:33.413
in your agencies and organizations.

944
00:48:33.413 --> 00:48:36.075
I imagine there's a lot of
stakeholders and constituents

945
00:48:36.075 --> 00:48:37.931
that you have to be
able to navigate through

946
00:48:37.931 --> 00:48:39.441
on a regular basis.

947
00:48:41.264 --> 00:48:43.882
- [Dora] Let me say (words
drowned out by throat clearing).

948
00:48:43.882 --> 00:48:45.994
I speak business.

949
00:48:46.352 --> 00:48:49.049
I speak community.

950
00:48:49.049 --> 00:48:51.685
I speak professional staff.

951
00:48:51.685 --> 00:48:53.445
I speak donor.

952
00:48:54.785 --> 00:48:56.797
I have so many languages

953
00:48:56.797 --> 00:49:00.356
I sometimes am so confused. (laughter)

954
00:49:00.356 --> 00:49:02.286
And then I speak family.

955
00:49:02.286 --> 00:49:04.675
I speak church.

956
00:49:04.675 --> 00:49:06.824
How many languages?

957
00:49:07.395 --> 00:49:09.336
And we had fun with this at dinner

958
00:49:09.336 --> 00:49:12.102
because the first question is like,

959
00:49:12.102 --> 00:49:15.328
"Do I really understand the question?"

960
00:49:15.328 --> 00:49:16.560
As we talked about it,

961
00:49:16.560 --> 00:49:19.597
it is that we're developing every day,

962
00:49:19.597 --> 00:49:23.426
as many of you, different
ways of communicating

963
00:49:23.426 --> 00:49:26.012
with different people, constituents,

964
00:49:26.012 --> 00:49:29.762
whether it's our clients, or
whether it's our families,

965
00:49:29.762 --> 00:49:31.996
or whether it's our funders.

966
00:49:33.256 --> 00:49:35.358
And we're trained to do that.

967
00:49:36.183 --> 00:49:40.023
It would be really very unrealistic,

968
00:49:40.023 --> 00:49:42.977
or very inappropriate for me to go home

969
00:49:42.977 --> 00:49:47.895
and talk to my family
when I talk about money,

970
00:49:48.825 --> 00:49:53.371
as if I'm talking to them as
a potential donor. (laughter)

971
00:49:55.248 --> 00:49:57.808
I sort of have to decode constantly.

972
00:49:59.472 --> 00:50:01.664
I think it's almost --

973
00:50:01.664 --> 00:50:04.363
it isn't even intentional any longer.

974
00:50:04.363 --> 00:50:07.914
I can move from one meeting
to another, depending,

975
00:50:08.634 --> 00:50:10.762
and automatically --

976
00:50:13.092 --> 00:50:14.831
is it decode?

977
00:50:14.831 --> 00:50:15.734
- [Cindy] Code switching.

978
00:50:15.734 --> 00:50:16.980
- Code switch.

979
00:50:16.980 --> 00:50:18.160
- [Cindy] Decode works, too.

980
00:50:19.490 --> 00:50:22.239
- I think that's a skill
that we all develop

981
00:50:23.169 --> 00:50:26.606
in order to be effective in
our respective communities.

982
00:50:27.361 --> 00:50:28.938
There was a time growing up,

983
00:50:28.938 --> 00:50:30.718
and I remember when I went off to college,

984
00:50:30.718 --> 00:50:32.702
and I came back to my little community,

985
00:50:32.702 --> 00:50:35.849
and those of my friends
that did not go to college,

986
00:50:35.849 --> 00:50:36.723
or family members,

987
00:50:36.723 --> 00:50:39.032
and they would say, "You sound different."

988
00:50:40.264 --> 00:50:41.339
- [Stan] I heard that.

989
00:50:41.339 --> 00:50:43.539
- "You sound so different,"

990
00:50:43.539 --> 00:50:47.005
and I would really work so hard

991
00:50:47.735 --> 00:50:50.461
to not sound different,

992
00:50:50.461 --> 00:50:54.135
to be like, "Oh, no, no, no."

993
00:50:54.717 --> 00:50:59.717
At one point, it was so obvious
that I did sound different,

994
00:51:01.607 --> 00:51:04.612
and that I no longer had
to apologize for that,

995
00:51:05.969 --> 00:51:08.598
because for a while, I apologized,

996
00:51:09.564 --> 00:51:13.398
and saw that as something
really bad and negative.

997
00:51:14.385 --> 00:51:16.242
Then, I realized that it was something

998
00:51:16.242 --> 00:51:18.336
that I had to develop.

999
00:51:18.748 --> 00:51:22.674
I had to learn how to
speak in different settings

1000
00:51:22.674 --> 00:51:24.446
of different populations.

1001
00:51:26.375 --> 00:51:28.732
But, when I'm at home
and I'm with my friends,

1002
00:51:28.732 --> 00:51:31.819
I know how to say "cray
cray" and you know --

1003
00:51:32.572 --> 00:51:35.286
(laughter) cray cray. (laughter)

1004
00:51:35.867 --> 00:51:37.215
I know a little bit about that.

1005
00:51:37.488 --> 00:51:39.621
Some of you don't know, I know,

1006
00:51:39.621 --> 00:51:44.248
but I do have a few words in that language

1007
00:51:45.168 --> 00:51:47.710
that I speak well, and that's cray cray.

1008
00:51:48.516 --> 00:51:50.491
Nothing else I remember,

1009
00:51:50.491 --> 00:51:52.910
but my grandchildren are
teaching me a new language

1010
00:51:52.910 --> 00:51:54.218
from time to time.

1011
00:51:54.218 --> 00:51:57.500
So, it is learning how to communicate

1012
00:51:57.500 --> 00:51:59.642
in a very different world,

1013
00:51:59.642 --> 00:52:02.887
and we can over-communicate,

1014
00:52:02.887 --> 00:52:05.423
and we talked about that
in one or our classes,

1015
00:52:05.423 --> 00:52:08.377
because sometimes we can over-relate,

1016
00:52:08.377 --> 00:52:11.346
and we come across as being unauthentic.

1017
00:52:13.105 --> 00:52:16.760
So, we have to be careful
but just to be aware

1018
00:52:16.760 --> 00:52:19.309
that we speak different languages

1019
00:52:19.309 --> 00:52:20.970
with different populations.

1020
00:52:23.448 --> 00:52:25.339
- I don't know how to
follow up after that.

1021
00:52:26.232 --> 00:52:27.463
I will say this.

1022
00:52:28.686 --> 00:52:33.376
My definition of cultural
and linguistic competency is

1023
00:52:33.376 --> 00:52:37.734
being able to serve anyone
that comes through the door.

1024
00:52:38.956 --> 00:52:40.315
It's that simple.

1025
00:52:40.715 --> 00:52:44.005
Therefore, for us to do
that, we need to communicate.

1026
00:52:44.822 --> 00:52:49.466
I work in an organization,
a disability organization,

1027
00:52:50.198 --> 00:52:51.509
so there are different --

1028
00:52:51.509 --> 00:52:53.259
I may have to use sign language.

1029
00:52:53.259 --> 00:52:57.092
I may have to have an
interpreter while I'm speaking.

1030
00:52:57.301 --> 00:53:01.680
I just had a great experience
in Washington, D.C.,

1031
00:53:03.019 --> 00:53:06.122
when we had some
international visitors here

1032
00:53:06.122 --> 00:53:09.209
that's doing independent living.

1033
00:53:10.762 --> 00:53:14.036
To my surprise, I was assigned Kazakhstan

1034
00:53:14.036 --> 00:53:16.061
to mentor all week.

1035
00:53:16.061 --> 00:53:18.385
I didn't know how well it was gonna go,

1036
00:53:18.385 --> 00:53:20.180
but working through the interpreter,

1037
00:53:20.180 --> 00:53:23.875
we had three- and four-hour
conversations about IL.

1038
00:53:24.425 --> 00:53:26.025
You know what? Guess what.

1039
00:53:26.025 --> 00:53:28.749
Their needs and wants are just like ours.

1040
00:53:30.926 --> 00:53:33.278
And just like you said, Dora,

1041
00:53:33.278 --> 00:53:36.723
you don't think about
how many different modes

1042
00:53:36.723 --> 00:53:38.419
of communication you have,

1043
00:53:38.419 --> 00:53:39.634
but when she was running them down,

1044
00:53:39.634 --> 00:53:41.416
I said, "Yeah, that's
right. I've done that."

1045
00:53:41.416 --> 00:53:43.581
You talk one way to consumers.

1046
00:53:43.581 --> 00:53:46.439
You talk to a different
set of consumers this way.

1047
00:53:46.439 --> 00:53:47.975
You talk to your donors this way.

1048
00:53:47.975 --> 00:53:49.639
You talk to your board this way.

1049
00:53:49.639 --> 00:53:53.138
You talk to your family that
way, but whatever you do,

1050
00:53:53.138 --> 00:53:56.295
you have to be concise in communication.

1051
00:53:56.295 --> 00:53:59.516
With people in wheelchairs,
I will kneel down

1052
00:53:59.516 --> 00:54:02.322
so I can be the same height,

1053
00:54:02.322 --> 00:54:07.276
instead of looking down at
them, 'cause I'm on your level.

1054
00:54:07.613 --> 00:54:09.419
I will speak that way.

1055
00:54:10.033 --> 00:54:14.496
That's something that we have
to learn in being inclusive.

1056
00:54:15.419 --> 00:54:17.962
The other thing is look
at who you're serving.

1057
00:54:19.013 --> 00:54:22.309
If you look at your demographic
of your service area

1058
00:54:22.309 --> 00:54:26.053
versus your demographic
of who you're serving,

1059
00:54:26.053 --> 00:54:28.340
then you'll see you have some work to do.

1060
00:54:28.613 --> 00:54:30.437
We have work to do.

1061
00:54:31.747 --> 00:54:33.828
We develop goals to say,

1062
00:54:33.828 --> 00:54:36.154
"Okay, we're gonna move
this up 5% this year.

1063
00:54:36.154 --> 00:54:37.545
"Let's monitor and find out."

1064
00:54:38.468 --> 00:54:41.118
But, you just hit it on the head.

1065
00:54:43.535 --> 00:54:45.573
- We were having this
conversation over dinner,

1066
00:54:45.573 --> 00:54:50.413
and one of the stories that I
mentioned is that we serve --

1067
00:54:50.413 --> 00:54:54.299
98% of our membership is Latinos,

1068
00:54:54.299 --> 00:54:56.237
and you would think that
we all speak Spanish

1069
00:54:56.237 --> 00:54:57.559
and we're all the same.

1070
00:54:57.559 --> 00:55:00.305
Well, you're wrong. (laughter)

1071
00:55:01.336 --> 00:55:04.354
In Bushwick, the majority
of our members are

1072
00:55:04.354 --> 00:55:07.527
from the Dominican Republic,
Puerto Rico and Mexico.

1073
00:55:08.141 --> 00:55:11.527
They come in, they tell you
what they want, and they go.

1074
00:55:12.164 --> 00:55:15.340
In Queens, a lot of our
members are from Colombia,

1075
00:55:15.340 --> 00:55:17.489
El Salvador, Ecuador.

1076
00:55:17.815 --> 00:55:20.961
They come in, they ask tons of questions,

1077
00:55:20.961 --> 00:55:22.337
tons of questions,

1078
00:55:22.337 --> 00:55:24.203
but they're very shy in the beginning,

1079
00:55:24.203 --> 00:55:26.789
so you kinda have to pull it out of them.

1080
00:55:28.295 --> 00:55:30.864
They ask, "Do you have English classes?"

1081
00:55:31.136 --> 00:55:31.887
Yes, we do.

1082
00:55:32.032 --> 00:55:33.035
"When are they?"

1083
00:55:33.035 --> 00:55:35.222
"And do you also offer legal services?"

1084
00:55:35.222 --> 00:55:38.811
"And I have a friend of a
friend who needed this,"

1085
00:55:38.817 --> 00:55:40.131
and they don't leave.

1086
00:55:40.131 --> 00:55:42.474
Then, we started noticing

1087
00:55:42.474 --> 00:55:45.216
that if you work the
front desk in Brooklyn,

1088
00:55:45.216 --> 00:55:47.935
you won't know how to work
the front desk in Queens,

1089
00:55:47.935 --> 00:55:51.487
because you have to learn how
to manage those questions.

1090
00:55:51.487 --> 00:55:53.720
You don't have 10 minutes for each person

1091
00:55:53.720 --> 00:55:55.664
that walks through the door,

1092
00:55:55.664 --> 00:55:58.093
so you have to learn how to communicate.

1093
00:55:59.326 --> 00:56:04.326
With our members, I remember
when we go lobbying,

1094
00:56:06.141 --> 00:56:09.748
they used to say, "What do
you do? What's lobbying?

1095
00:56:10.178 --> 00:56:12.946
"Do you just go in the lobby
and start talking to people?"

1096
00:56:12.946 --> 00:56:15.255
(laughter)

1097
00:56:16.764 --> 00:56:20.208
- Once they learn and
they learn how to talk

1098
00:56:20.208 --> 00:56:24.671
to the people that are
going to make the change,

1099
00:56:24.671 --> 00:56:27.961
then that's when you know
your job is complete.

1100
00:56:28.767 --> 00:56:30.261
As an organizer --

1101
00:56:32.681 --> 00:56:35.671
I'm not an organizer, but
when I talk to the organizers,

1102
00:56:35.671 --> 00:56:39.241
and they tell me, "This
member just started

1103
00:56:39.241 --> 00:56:41.865
"in the organization six months ago,

1104
00:56:41.865 --> 00:56:46.109
"and he had a conversation for 10 minutes

1105
00:56:46.109 --> 00:56:49.393
"with Congressman Luis Gutierrez,

1106
00:56:49.393 --> 00:56:52.083
"and they explained
exactly what's going on

1107
00:56:52.083 --> 00:56:54.530
"in their communities and
he could relate to that."

1108
00:56:55.006 --> 00:56:58.324
That's when you know you're
communicating effectively,

1109
00:56:58.324 --> 00:57:01.469
when that person could put
themselves in their shoes

1110
00:57:01.469 --> 00:57:04.237
and know exactly where you're coming from.

1111
00:57:04.648 --> 00:57:07.463
You have to learn how to
talk different to a funder,

1112
00:57:07.463 --> 00:57:11.861
to a member, to your co-executive
director, to your board.

1113
00:57:15.559 --> 00:57:20.559
- The opportunity that code
switching brings is the

1114
00:57:20.642 --> 00:57:22.628
ability to communicate differently

1115
00:57:22.628 --> 00:57:24.133
in different circumstances.

1116
00:57:24.133 --> 00:57:27.791
The next question is
about what kinds of things

1117
00:57:27.791 --> 00:57:30.736
you actually can bring to
the roles that you're in,

1118
00:57:30.736 --> 00:57:33.140
and what you have to leave behind.

1119
00:57:34.073 --> 00:57:37.788
In an organizational context
that I've been in in the past,

1120
00:57:37.788 --> 00:57:40.215
one of the things that
we would talk about is

1121
00:57:40.215 --> 00:57:42.754
that you can't necessarily
bring all of who you are

1122
00:57:42.754 --> 00:57:43.479
to your job,

1123
00:57:43.479 --> 00:57:45.762
and that gets harder and
harder the further you rise

1124
00:57:45.762 --> 00:57:47.809
in an organization.

1125
00:57:47.809 --> 00:57:49.985
What are some of the things you can bring,

1126
00:57:49.985 --> 00:57:51.393
given the roles that you have,

1127
00:57:51.393 --> 00:57:52.972
and what are some of the things you have

1128
00:57:52.972 --> 00:57:54.523
to leave at the door?

1129
00:57:55.808 --> 00:57:57.048
- I had to bring me,

1130
00:57:58.924 --> 00:58:01.333
and it's hard for me not to bring me.

1131
00:58:01.333 --> 00:58:03.686
That's a very difficult question for me

1132
00:58:03.686 --> 00:58:05.273
because I laugh loud,

1133
00:58:05.273 --> 00:58:10.022
and I try to kinda talk
softer from time to time.

1134
00:58:13.646 --> 00:58:16.227
It's hard for me to not bring my humor,

1135
00:58:16.227 --> 00:58:20.370
and my passion and my love for people,

1136
00:58:20.370 --> 00:58:21.433
so I bring me.

1137
00:58:21.433 --> 00:58:23.389
I try to be authentic,

1138
00:58:23.389 --> 00:58:27.790
and certainly appropriate
given certain situations,

1139
00:58:27.790 --> 00:58:29.250
depending on the meeting,

1140
00:58:29.250 --> 00:58:32.361
or the session or the board.

1141
00:58:32.361 --> 00:58:35.150
But, I always bring the authentic Dora

1142
00:58:35.150 --> 00:58:38.850
because I've figured out, and
I figured out a long time ago,

1143
00:58:38.850 --> 00:58:42.114
that if I couldn't bring the
authentic Dora to the door,

1144
00:58:42.114 --> 00:58:44.865
then I couldn't continue
to be true to this work

1145
00:58:44.865 --> 00:58:47.577
and to the people that I serve.

1146
00:58:49.164 --> 00:58:52.783
So, I bring my passion and my love,

1147
00:58:52.783 --> 00:58:56.398
and my commitment to
be an agent of change.

1148
00:58:56.984 --> 00:58:58.808
I think people are now --

1149
00:58:58.808 --> 00:59:00.184
I guess I've been around so long,

1150
00:59:00.184 --> 00:59:02.643
people just expect that, too,

1151
00:59:02.643 --> 00:59:05.660
that I'm going to be the Dora today --

1152
00:59:06.711 --> 00:59:07.629
if you see the Dora today,

1153
00:59:07.629 --> 00:59:09.361
I'm gonna be the same Dora tomorrow.

1154
00:59:11.734 --> 00:59:13.572
That's how I live my life.

1155
00:59:14.508 --> 00:59:16.999
It's too late to change. (laughter)

1156
00:59:18.348 --> 00:59:21.718
- I think there are some boundaries

1157
00:59:21.718 --> 00:59:23.526
being a president and CEO,

1158
00:59:23.977 --> 00:59:26.406
but like Dora, I'd rather be authentic.

1159
00:59:26.933 --> 00:59:31.553
I know something that I need
to be careful with is my faith,

1160
00:59:33.738 --> 00:59:35.270
because --

1161
00:59:37.743 --> 00:59:38.953
not that I would offend,

1162
00:59:38.953 --> 00:59:41.537
but some people always look for an opening

1163
00:59:41.537 --> 00:59:43.099
to try to get you.

1164
00:59:43.275 --> 00:59:47.002
It's just, "Oh, he made us
pray," which I don't do,

1165
00:59:47.296 --> 00:59:50.266
but I've had that happen
in an organization,

1166
00:59:50.828 --> 00:59:53.165
because someone got
fired by somebody else.

1167
00:59:53.898 --> 00:59:56.911
We had a big dinner and somebody
asked me to bless the food.

1168
00:59:57.684 --> 01:00:00.287
Of course, it wasn't real,
but at the same time,

1169
01:00:00.287 --> 01:00:01.892
it makes you think.

1170
01:00:03.224 --> 01:00:06.448
Where I like to counsel people,

1171
01:00:06.448 --> 01:00:08.596
when they're having trouble,

1172
01:00:10.136 --> 01:00:12.526
I had to be very careful.

1173
01:00:13.630 --> 01:00:17.603
However, the fun guy, the laughing guy,

1174
01:00:18.035 --> 01:00:21.609
the very serious,
analytical, quantitative guy,

1175
01:00:21.609 --> 01:00:23.017
it's all mixed up in there,

1176
01:00:23.017 --> 01:00:25.821
so sometimes, you don't
know what you're gonna get.

1177
01:00:25.821 --> 01:00:28.118
(laughter)

1178
01:00:28.534 --> 01:00:32.377
- But, you'll know it's me. (laughter)

1179
01:00:34.289 --> 01:00:35.417
And I think that's what helped

1180
01:00:35.417 --> 01:00:38.099
made me have to be honest.

1181
01:00:38.099 --> 01:00:40.043
It helps transcend --

1182
01:00:40.796 --> 01:00:43.708
you transcend groups maybe
you could not be in there

1183
01:00:43.708 --> 01:00:45.809
because of your personality.

1184
01:00:45.809 --> 01:00:49.542
What you wanna be able to do
is navigate through everybody,

1185
01:00:49.542 --> 01:00:50.885
and get their attention,

1186
01:00:50.885 --> 01:00:54.799
and be able to converse,
and talk, and negotiate.

1187
01:00:54.799 --> 01:00:56.453
Sometimes, you gotta be you.

1188
01:00:56.453 --> 01:00:57.850
You can't be somebody else

1189
01:00:57.850 --> 01:00:59.194
because you're not gonna get through.

1190
01:00:59.194 --> 01:01:01.434
You're not gonna get it done.

1191
01:01:01.434 --> 01:01:03.407
It took me a while to learn that,

1192
01:01:03.407 --> 01:01:05.149
but now that I learned it, hey,

1193
01:01:06.799 --> 01:01:08.831
everything's open.

1194
01:01:10.555 --> 01:01:12.496
- When I started working
at the front desk,

1195
01:01:12.496 --> 01:01:14.207
I (mumbles), I was very shy.

1196
01:01:14.207 --> 01:01:17.385
I didn't wanna speak English (laughter)

1197
01:01:17.385 --> 01:01:19.059
because I have an accent.

1198
01:01:19.059 --> 01:01:20.788
I felt bad,

1199
01:01:20.788 --> 01:01:23.561
and one of the co-executive
directors told me,

1200
01:01:23.561 --> 01:01:25.463
"Alenis, if you don't communicate,

1201
01:01:25.463 --> 01:01:27.737
"you don't get anywhere,

1202
01:01:27.737 --> 01:01:32.030
"and if people see that we
are teaching people yourself,

1203
01:01:32.030 --> 01:01:34.803
"and if they don't see
you practicing English,

1204
01:01:34.803 --> 01:01:37.800
"what are you telling the members?

1205
01:01:37.800 --> 01:01:41.640
"Why do they just wanna
learn how to write it,

1206
01:01:41.640 --> 01:01:43.938
"and read it, if they can't speak?"

1207
01:01:47.830 --> 01:01:50.674
One of the things that I'm
always going to take with me

1208
01:01:50.674 --> 01:01:51.975
is to be me,

1209
01:01:51.975 --> 01:01:53.671
so even if I have an accent,

1210
01:01:53.671 --> 01:01:55.111
I'm gonna try my best for someone

1211
01:01:55.111 --> 01:01:57.148
to understand what I'm saying.

1212
01:01:57.148 --> 01:02:01.078
Even if my chair and my (laughter) --

1213
01:02:03.014 --> 01:02:07.289
if my "ch" is not perfect, it's okay.

1214
01:02:07.289 --> 01:02:09.649
You guys know what I want to say.

1215
01:02:11.719 --> 01:02:12.689
I learned that.

1216
01:02:12.689 --> 01:02:13.904
I learned how to be me,

1217
01:02:13.904 --> 01:02:17.531
and not to be afraid to speak my mind.

1218
01:02:18.281 --> 01:02:19.333
I take that with me,

1219
01:02:19.333 --> 01:02:22.405
and the best thing is just to not forget

1220
01:02:22.405 --> 01:02:23.805
where I come from.

1221
01:02:23.805 --> 01:02:25.648
A lot of people think that
I'm still the receptionist

1222
01:02:25.648 --> 01:02:27.386
when they see me sitting at the front desk

1223
01:02:27.386 --> 01:02:28.729
covering for someone.

1224
01:02:28.729 --> 01:02:30.266
And I let them.

1225
01:02:30.266 --> 01:02:33.321
I don't tell them I'm the
director of operations, no.

1226
01:02:33.626 --> 01:02:37.348
I tell them, I welcome
them into the organization,

1227
01:02:37.348 --> 01:02:39.538
just like I did 10 years ago.

1228
01:02:39.931 --> 01:02:43.834
A lot of them have known that I've grown

1229
01:02:43.834 --> 01:02:45.486
and I have a different position.

1230
01:02:45.486 --> 01:02:47.494
They call me la jefe, which is the boss,

1231
01:02:47.494 --> 01:02:48.805
and it makes me mad.

1232
01:02:48.805 --> 01:02:51.380
I'm like, "Don't call me that." (laughter)

1233
01:02:51.385 --> 01:02:54.496
"I'm just Alenis." (laughter)

1234
01:02:54.496 --> 01:02:58.191
When people see that, they
treat you with respect,

1235
01:02:58.191 --> 01:03:01.872
and when you give them
what you want to receive,

1236
01:03:01.872 --> 01:03:04.062
it's just karma, and it works that way.

1237
01:03:05.208 --> 01:03:08.429
That's something that I'm very aware of.

1238
01:03:08.429 --> 01:03:10.530
It's just be yourself.

1239
01:03:10.530 --> 01:03:13.296
Never try to be someone you're not,

1240
01:03:13.296 --> 01:03:17.090
or try to be someone that you can't be.

1241
01:03:17.090 --> 01:03:18.828
Just this is what you get,

1242
01:03:18.828 --> 01:03:22.163
here, there, everywhere, it's this.

1243
01:03:23.331 --> 01:03:25.793
- You said something important again.

1244
01:03:25.793 --> 01:03:30.077
I'm just telling you
that you never arrive.

1245
01:03:30.371 --> 01:03:32.590
I don't care where you're at.

1246
01:03:35.250 --> 01:03:38.307
If you're truly stewarding,

1247
01:03:38.307 --> 01:03:39.682
and that's what I call it,

1248
01:03:39.682 --> 01:03:42.370
stewarding staff and skills,

1249
01:03:42.370 --> 01:03:45.431
hey, you're gonna go
down like you are doing,

1250
01:03:45.431 --> 01:03:46.669
and do what they do.

1251
01:03:46.669 --> 01:03:47.746
You're gonna show 'em.

1252
01:03:47.746 --> 01:03:51.810
You're gonna make sure they
have opportunity to grow,

1253
01:03:51.810 --> 01:03:53.389
for their skills to grow.

1254
01:03:53.389 --> 01:03:57.025
You're not worried about the
so-called power you have,

1255
01:03:57.025 --> 01:04:01.442
because it's your job to broker that power

1256
01:04:01.442 --> 01:04:04.321
and make sure someone else is in power

1257
01:04:04.321 --> 01:04:06.467
when it's time for you to move on.

1258
01:04:07.117 --> 01:04:09.323
If you have to sweep the floor,

1259
01:04:09.323 --> 01:04:11.200
if you have to mop the floor,

1260
01:04:11.200 --> 01:04:13.928
this is stuff I think we all have done,

1261
01:04:13.928 --> 01:04:15.194
in front of staff.

1262
01:04:15.200 --> 01:04:16.128
Why are you doing it?

1263
01:04:16.128 --> 01:04:17.621
Because it needs to be done.

1264
01:04:17.621 --> 01:04:19.331
- [Dora] Right, exactly.

1265
01:04:19.331 --> 01:04:23.306
- I think it's a good
lesson to take with you.

1266
01:04:23.306 --> 01:04:25.205
I think that does help with inclusion,

1267
01:04:25.205 --> 01:04:29.273
and even people trusting
you to move forward.

1268
01:04:31.566 --> 01:04:33.802
- That's a good point
because from time to time,

1269
01:04:33.802 --> 01:04:36.970
I'll answer the phone if
I'm out at the front desk

1270
01:04:36.970 --> 01:04:38.825
and it's ringing.

1271
01:04:38.825 --> 01:04:40.627
And it says, "Who's this? Is this Dora?"

1272
01:04:40.627 --> 01:04:41.364
"Yes."

1273
01:04:41.364 --> 01:04:42.548
"Why are you answering the phone?"

1274
01:04:42.548 --> 01:04:45.132
"Because it was ringing." (laughter)

1275
01:04:46.121 --> 01:04:47.288
"And I was standing here."

1276
01:04:47.518 --> 01:04:48.687
Yeah, again, you're right.

1277
01:04:48.687 --> 01:04:50.127
I'm very intentional.

1278
01:04:50.127 --> 01:04:51.598
I work on weekends.

1279
01:04:51.598 --> 01:04:55.368
I cover tables at carnivals and fairs.

1280
01:04:56.217 --> 01:04:59.811
I try not to ask my staff to
do anything that I wouldn't do,

1281
01:04:59.811 --> 01:05:02.694
to make any sacrifice
that I wouldn't make,

1282
01:05:02.694 --> 01:05:04.658
because I think that people watch you.

1283
01:05:05.410 --> 01:05:07.725
Mentoring is both formal and informal,

1284
01:05:07.725 --> 01:05:09.783
because people are always watching you

1285
01:05:09.783 --> 01:05:11.591
when you're in a leadership role.

1286
01:05:13.701 --> 01:05:16.044
I was at a training when someone said

1287
01:05:16.044 --> 01:05:18.807
it's sometimes as a result of watching you

1288
01:05:18.807 --> 01:05:21.779
people decide that they
don't want to be leaders,

1289
01:05:21.779 --> 01:05:23.116
because what they see,

1290
01:05:23.116 --> 01:05:28.108
they don't really respect or appreciate.

1291
01:05:29.398 --> 01:05:31.894
So, you really have to be careful

1292
01:05:31.894 --> 01:05:33.718
because we can turn people off

1293
01:05:33.718 --> 01:05:38.422
of aspiring or considering leadership

1294
01:05:39.211 --> 01:05:41.338
based on what they've observed.

1295
01:05:46.368 --> 01:05:48.010
- I want to thank all of the panelists

1296
01:05:48.010 --> 01:05:50.229
for your very thoughtful comments.

1297
01:05:50.229 --> 01:05:54.015
I wanted to turn it over
now to the audience.

1298
01:05:54.015 --> 01:05:57.215
If you guys have any
questions for the panelists,

1299
01:05:57.215 --> 01:05:59.706
now would be the time to ask.

1300
01:06:04.126 --> 01:06:06.641
- [Voiceover] (speaks without microphone)

1301
01:06:07.618 --> 01:06:08.910
- Do you have a question?

1302
01:06:09.296 --> 01:06:11.450
Please speak up, too, as
you're asking your question.

1303
01:06:11.870 --> 01:06:16.512
- [Voiceover] (speaks without microphone)

1304
01:06:30.546 --> 01:06:35.546
- [Voiceover] And I have
one question for Alenis,

1305
01:06:36.336 --> 01:06:39.570
which is about I'd love to
hear more about the meetings

1306
01:06:39.570 --> 01:06:43.751
that the members are
required to participate in

1307
01:06:45.861 --> 01:06:48.108
after they go through
the leadership training,

1308
01:06:48.433 --> 01:06:50.631
what those meetings look like.

1309
01:06:50.631 --> 01:06:55.631
Then, I'm also curious about how you

1310
01:06:57.333 --> 01:06:58.470
at Make the Road

1311
01:06:58.470 --> 01:07:00.870
and then, also, at the Center
for Independent Living,

1312
01:07:02.320 --> 01:07:04.451
integrate interpreters

1313
01:07:04.451 --> 01:07:08.929
and people needing assistance

1314
01:07:08.929 --> 01:07:11.322
in communicating with
each other at meetings.

1315
01:07:14.510 --> 01:07:18.049
- We have different organizing groups,

1316
01:07:18.049 --> 01:07:22.320
and they each deal with different issues.

1317
01:07:22.464 --> 01:07:25.270
We have Parent in Action,

1318
01:07:25.270 --> 01:07:27.680
and they deal with kids in the
school and the school system;

1319
01:07:27.680 --> 01:07:32.501
Workers in Action; Immigration Services.

1320
01:07:32.501 --> 01:07:34.848
Those are committees that we have.

1321
01:07:37.498 --> 01:07:40.457
Every night, we have
meetings in our organization,

1322
01:07:40.457 --> 01:07:42.932
especially in Brooklyn and in Queens.

1323
01:07:42.932 --> 01:07:43.977
It's like home.

1324
01:07:43.977 --> 01:07:45.131
You come through our doors,

1325
01:07:45.131 --> 01:07:48.233
and the smell of rice, chicken and beans,

1326
01:07:48.233 --> 01:07:49.193
it's everywhere.

1327
01:07:49.193 --> 01:07:50.590
My staff hates it,

1328
01:07:50.590 --> 01:07:54.035
'cause they have to pay
a lotta money for laundry

1329
01:07:54.035 --> 01:07:55.545
'cause it gets on their clothes.

1330
01:07:55.816 --> 01:07:57.598
They have to wash their hair every day

1331
01:07:57.598 --> 01:07:59.526
because of the smell of food,

1332
01:07:59.526 --> 01:08:04.386
but we have meetings every
night in each of our offices.

1333
01:08:05.117 --> 01:08:08.477
We have anywhere from
50 to 70 to 80 people,

1334
01:08:08.477 --> 01:08:10.307
and they come together.

1335
01:08:11.097 --> 01:08:15.208
The way that we do those meetings is

1336
01:08:15.208 --> 01:08:17.964
that one week it's workshop.

1337
01:08:19.410 --> 01:08:22.077
They pick any topic within their committee

1338
01:08:22.077 --> 01:08:23.527
that they're interested in,

1339
01:08:23.527 --> 01:08:26.126
and the leaders and the organizers,

1340
01:08:26.126 --> 01:08:28.573
they develop that workshop.

1341
01:08:28.857 --> 01:08:30.937
Then, we have Leadership Week

1342
01:08:30.937 --> 01:08:32.899
that's only the leaders from that group,

1343
01:08:32.899 --> 01:08:35.518
so out of the 80 people,
only 20 people come together,

1344
01:08:35.518 --> 01:08:36.862
and they decide what the agenda

1345
01:08:36.862 --> 01:08:38.478
for the next month is gonna be.

1346
01:08:38.804 --> 01:08:41.801
Then again, we have the
regular committee meeting.

1347
01:08:42.361 --> 01:08:46.838
So, every day, you would
see anywhere from 80 --

1348
01:08:46.838 --> 01:08:48.264
and if you include the youth --

1349
01:08:48.264 --> 01:08:50.717
you'll see more than a
hundred people in our offices

1350
01:08:50.717 --> 01:08:52.098
every single day.

1351
01:08:52.098 --> 01:08:54.098
We provide child care with our meetings,

1352
01:08:54.098 --> 01:08:56.594
'cause we realize that a lot of the people

1353
01:08:56.594 --> 01:08:58.974
that participate have kids,

1354
01:08:58.974 --> 01:09:02.920
and it's hard on weekdays
during school days.

1355
01:09:02.920 --> 01:09:04.616
If we don't provide child care,

1356
01:09:04.616 --> 01:09:07.189
they won't come to the meetings.

1357
01:09:07.189 --> 01:09:09.160
There's people that say, "I won't come

1358
01:09:09.160 --> 01:09:11.218
"because I have to cook for my family."

1359
01:09:11.218 --> 01:09:12.895
Well, we're gonna provide the food,

1360
01:09:12.895 --> 01:09:14.365
so bring your family.

1361
01:09:14.365 --> 01:09:16.561
You get to participate. You get to learn.

1362
01:09:16.561 --> 01:09:18.640
You get child care and you eat.

1363
01:09:18.640 --> 01:09:20.475
So, you go home at 9:00 p.m.,

1364
01:09:20.475 --> 01:09:22.316
take a shower and go to sleep. (laughter)

1365
01:09:22.316 --> 01:09:23.824
(laughter drowns out
speaker's words) the next day.

1366
01:09:25.473 --> 01:09:27.825
I forgot the other part of your question.

1367
01:09:28.779 --> 01:09:31.734
- [Voiceover] If you have
members at the same meeting,

1368
01:09:31.734 --> 01:09:33.120
some of whom speak English

1369
01:09:33.120 --> 01:09:34.891
and some of whom don't speak English,

1370
01:09:34.891 --> 01:09:35.840
how do you --

1371
01:09:35.840 --> 01:09:37.771
- We have translation equipment,

1372
01:09:37.771 --> 01:09:42.771
and that is the savior
of our organization.

1373
01:09:43.733 --> 01:09:48.031
We have right now about 50
pieces of that equipment.

1374
01:09:49.141 --> 01:09:51.199
Our meetings are mostly in Spanish,

1375
01:09:51.199 --> 01:09:54.065
but if we get non-Spanish speakers,

1376
01:09:54.065 --> 01:09:55.769
we provide translation for them.

1377
01:09:56.393 --> 01:09:57.737
We make sure that they get it,

1378
01:09:57.737 --> 01:09:59.337
so we divide it out.

1379
01:09:59.337 --> 01:10:02.356
The translation equipment is expensive.

1380
01:10:02.356 --> 01:10:07.356
It's about $4,000 for
48 pieces of equipment.

1381
01:10:07.412 --> 01:10:09.851
What we did, we divided it.

1382
01:10:09.851 --> 01:10:12.137
We have 20 pieces in the Brooklyn office,

1383
01:10:12.137 --> 01:10:13.992
20 pieces in the Queens office.

1384
01:10:13.992 --> 01:10:15.891
If they need it in Staten
Island or Long Island,

1385
01:10:15.891 --> 01:10:19.016
they have to let us know in
advance so we take it there.

1386
01:10:19.016 --> 01:10:21.571
If we're gonna have more than 50 people,

1387
01:10:21.571 --> 01:10:23.837
we make sure that we
either rent equipment --

1388
01:10:23.837 --> 01:10:28.711
we have become familiar with
a company that we work with

1389
01:10:28.711 --> 01:10:31.864
and they give us services very cheap

1390
01:10:31.864 --> 01:10:34.148
because they know the
type of work that we do --

1391
01:10:34.148 --> 01:10:37.025
but we make sure that
we provide translation

1392
01:10:37.025 --> 01:10:39.288
for our members and non-members.

1393
01:10:41.767 --> 01:10:45.468
- You asked about
interpreters or sign language.

1394
01:10:45.468 --> 01:10:48.589
We do have a deaf and
hard-of-hearing department.

1395
01:10:48.589 --> 01:10:50.354
They do sign.

1396
01:10:50.354 --> 01:10:52.987
We have an Assistive Technology Department

1397
01:10:52.987 --> 01:10:56.028
that provides all kinds
of communicative devices,

1398
01:10:56.028 --> 01:11:00.530
including phones for
people that cannot hear.

1399
01:11:02.446 --> 01:11:07.446
We also, when we have large
meetings, very large ones,

1400
01:11:07.786 --> 01:11:09.951
we Paper Cart,

1401
01:11:09.951 --> 01:11:13.085
and Cart will transcribe the meetings

1402
01:11:13.085 --> 01:11:15.648
right there on large screens where people,

1403
01:11:15.648 --> 01:11:18.549
if they don't want to
follow the sign language,

1404
01:11:18.549 --> 01:11:20.170
they can follow the Cart.

1405
01:11:20.170 --> 01:11:23.786
We also, because we started at any meeting

1406
01:11:23.786 --> 01:11:27.007
in the city of Pittsburgh
or Allegheny County,

1407
01:11:27.007 --> 01:11:29.554
if people with disabilities are there,

1408
01:11:29.554 --> 01:11:32.404
everyone now ensures that we have Cart

1409
01:11:32.404 --> 01:11:35.758
and interpreters there so
we don't leave anyone out.

1410
01:11:44.030 --> 01:11:49.030
- [Voiceover] (speaker not on microphone)

1411
01:11:51.123 --> 01:11:54.109
have been very much if there's an insular,

1412
01:11:54.109 --> 01:11:58.291
very top-heavy, very unaccountable model

1413
01:11:58.291 --> 01:12:02.525
that's permeating legal services, housing,

1414
01:12:02.525 --> 01:12:05.767
homelesssness, certainly the
community action agencies,

1415
01:12:05.767 --> 01:12:08.859
Northamshire Community
Action, for example.

1416
01:12:08.859 --> 01:12:10.734
1.5 million went missing,

1417
01:12:10.734 --> 01:12:14.269
and there's never been any
resolution of that story.

1418
01:12:15.363 --> 01:12:20.363
How do you deal with that
entrenched self-interest

1419
01:12:22.026 --> 01:12:26.572
that, the dish ran away
with the spoon, basically?

1420
01:12:26.572 --> 01:12:27.266
That's all I can say.

1421
01:12:27.266 --> 01:12:28.534
I'm sorry about that.

1422
01:12:34.413 --> 01:12:36.492
- From a funder's perspective,

1423
01:12:36.492 --> 01:12:41.492
that's a major challenge
for, I think, any funder.

1424
01:12:42.140 --> 01:12:45.280
When we're looking at
funding organizations,

1425
01:12:45.280 --> 01:12:50.057
we have a very, very rigid
due diligence that we apply

1426
01:12:50.057 --> 01:12:52.501
in terms of looking at
financial statements,

1427
01:12:52.501 --> 01:12:55.957
board composition, making
sure that things are updated

1428
01:12:55.957 --> 01:12:56.778
and so forth.

1429
01:12:56.778 --> 01:13:01.778
Unfortunately, there's this history

1430
01:13:01.780 --> 01:13:03.796
around community-based organizations

1431
01:13:03.796 --> 01:13:05.992
similar to what you just described,

1432
01:13:05.992 --> 01:13:10.196
where management has not
always been the best.

1433
01:13:12.176 --> 01:13:13.651
It's very complex.

1434
01:13:13.651 --> 01:13:15.891
Some people would say because management

1435
01:13:17.621 --> 01:13:20.296
in these community-based organizations,

1436
01:13:20.296 --> 01:13:22.259
especially like CAP agencies,

1437
01:13:22.259 --> 01:13:24.595
where the boards are primarily made up

1438
01:13:24.595 --> 01:13:28.537
of members of the community,
the neighborhoods,

1439
01:13:29.246 --> 01:13:32.766
because by law, federal
law, they're required

1440
01:13:32.766 --> 01:13:35.561
to recruit people from the communities

1441
01:13:35.561 --> 01:13:37.342
where they're located.

1442
01:13:37.342 --> 01:13:40.459
Often those individuals
that sit on those boards

1443
01:13:40.459 --> 01:13:44.709
really don't understand
the accountability factor.

1444
01:13:45.408 --> 01:13:48.597
So, their director,
their executive directors

1445
01:13:48.597 --> 01:13:50.363
get away with murder.

1446
01:13:51.210 --> 01:13:54.539
I heard, I think, yeah,
I think Stan said that,

1447
01:13:54.539 --> 01:13:56.991
within their organization,

1448
01:13:56.991 --> 01:14:00.991
they're teaching people about
governance and oversight.

1449
01:14:00.991 --> 01:14:02.504
Again, if we want to have people

1450
01:14:02.504 --> 01:14:05.598
from communities and
neighborhoods serving on boards,

1451
01:14:05.598 --> 01:14:09.427
we have to really teach
them how to pay attention

1452
01:14:09.427 --> 01:14:10.398
to what's going on

1453
01:14:10.398 --> 01:14:14.296
so that communities don't get ripped off.

1454
01:14:17.038 --> 01:14:20.743
It's an unfortunate situation
but, in these CAP agencies,

1455
01:14:20.743 --> 01:14:23.894
that has been a historical problem.

1456
01:14:25.072 --> 01:14:27.484
I don't know the answer to it,

1457
01:14:27.484 --> 01:14:29.847
except people have to be vigilant.

1458
01:14:31.324 --> 01:14:35.033
- I think I heard the
other part of that question

1459
01:14:35.033 --> 01:14:36.612
being talking about top-heavy

1460
01:14:36.612 --> 01:14:38.483
in several of these areas.

1461
01:14:39.705 --> 01:14:43.448
As long as the haves and
the have-nots keep growing

1462
01:14:43.448 --> 01:14:45.070
in this direction,

1463
01:14:45.070 --> 01:14:46.692
it'll never change.

1464
01:14:46.692 --> 01:14:49.507
You'll see housing development over here,

1465
01:14:49.507 --> 01:14:52.589
and disenfranchisement over here.

1466
01:14:52.589 --> 01:14:55.992
With disenfranchisement comes a lot

1467
01:14:55.992 --> 01:14:58.210
of other social determinants

1468
01:14:58.210 --> 01:15:00.130
that there will never be equity.

1469
01:15:00.130 --> 01:15:03.088
It's a problem of justice.

1470
01:15:03.088 --> 01:15:06.329
It's a problem where
voices need to be heard.

1471
01:15:06.329 --> 01:15:09.306
People need to stand up for what is right,

1472
01:15:09.306 --> 01:15:13.347
because as a haves and a
haves-not goes like this,

1473
01:15:13.347 --> 01:15:17.533
some of us haves may become
have-nots pretty soon.

1474
01:15:18.328 --> 01:15:20.483
So, we need to pay attention.

1475
01:15:20.483 --> 01:15:24.429
That's the best way I
can answer your question.

1476
01:15:24.429 --> 01:15:26.328
I just know it's there. It's rampant.

1477
01:15:26.328 --> 01:15:27.988
You look all around you.

1478
01:15:30.992 --> 01:15:32.802
- Just to build on that question,

1479
01:15:32.802 --> 01:15:35.223
you had commented earlier
about the inequities,

1480
01:15:35.223 --> 01:15:38.028
and that your organization
wasn't doing enough.

1481
01:15:38.028 --> 01:15:40.376
- No, we're not.

1482
01:15:40.376 --> 01:15:42.263
- If you could do anything,

1483
01:15:42.263 --> 01:15:44.854
what is something that you would do,

1484
01:15:44.854 --> 01:15:46.561
all of you in your own way,

1485
01:15:46.561 --> 01:15:49.366
to counteract the
effects of the inequities

1486
01:15:49.366 --> 01:15:50.753
that you're describing?

1487
01:15:52.374 --> 01:15:55.397
- I would certainly
promote human rights agenda

1488
01:15:57.869 --> 01:16:01.888
as one major solution
to dealing with issues

1489
01:16:01.888 --> 01:16:05.437
of injustice and equity across the board.

1490
01:16:05.437 --> 01:16:07.519
I have this fantasy what would happen

1491
01:16:07.519 --> 01:16:10.655
if we didn't have to talk
about women's issues,

1492
01:16:10.665 --> 01:16:14.057
or gay issues, or African-American issues,

1493
01:16:14.057 --> 01:16:18.238
but that we just talked about
opportunity for all of us,

1494
01:16:18.238 --> 01:16:21.912
access for all of us,
fairness for all of us.

1495
01:16:23.432 --> 01:16:26.290
I think the human rights agenda
really does promote that.

1496
01:16:26.290 --> 01:16:30.546
Unfortunately, and I haven't
done a great deal of research,

1497
01:16:30.546 --> 01:16:34.770
but the U.S. has not
been a major proponent

1498
01:16:34.770 --> 01:16:36.473
of the human rights agenda.

1499
01:16:36.473 --> 01:16:39.825
In fact, other countries (laughter),

1500
01:16:39.825 --> 01:16:43.136
third-world countries are
doing much better than we are.

1501
01:16:44.969 --> 01:16:49.051
At some point, if we
could launch a movement

1502
01:16:49.051 --> 01:16:54.051
that would speak to the
human rights of all of us,

1503
01:16:56.167 --> 01:16:58.685
the world would be very, very different.

1504
01:17:00.572 --> 01:17:04.844
- Just to add on, all
these different groups,

1505
01:17:04.965 --> 01:17:07.973
your disabled, the aged and everything,

1506
01:17:07.973 --> 01:17:10.373
we have similar agendas.

1507
01:17:10.373 --> 01:17:15.130
Just taking your human rights agenda,

1508
01:17:15.130 --> 01:17:17.306
instead of fighting for a little piece,

1509
01:17:17.306 --> 01:17:19.236
why don't we fight for the whole thing,

1510
01:17:19.236 --> 01:17:21.471
and get equitable across the board?

1511
01:17:21.471 --> 01:17:23.172
I think we all fight for little pieces,

1512
01:17:23.172 --> 01:17:25.070
and no one gets anything,

1513
01:17:25.070 --> 01:17:26.733
and the haves get more.

1514
01:17:28.416 --> 01:17:30.190
So, that takes everybody working,

1515
01:17:30.190 --> 01:17:31.171
and it's a movement.

1516
01:17:31.171 --> 01:17:33.688
It doesn't happen overnight,

1517
01:17:33.688 --> 01:17:36.082
like housing development
doesn't happen overnight.

1518
01:17:36.696 --> 01:17:39.597
If you're not in that
process for 10 or 15 years

1519
01:17:39.597 --> 01:17:41.453
when it's finally built,

1520
01:17:41.453 --> 01:17:43.858
as soon as you step
out, something changes.

1521
01:17:46.776 --> 01:17:49.293
- About two years ago,
we had a discussion.

1522
01:17:49.293 --> 01:17:51.597
Because we have different committees.

1523
01:17:51.597 --> 01:17:55.575
they tend to each one get more passionate

1524
01:17:55.575 --> 01:17:57.884
about their own fight.

1525
01:17:58.818 --> 01:18:00.673
When we had all of them,

1526
01:18:00.673 --> 01:18:03.457
most of our members in one room,

1527
01:18:03.457 --> 01:18:06.294
and we wanted to decide
what's the next campaign,

1528
01:18:06.294 --> 01:18:07.808
what do we wanna work on,

1529
01:18:09.468 --> 01:18:14.107
we realized that what people
want is respect and dignity.

1530
01:18:14.678 --> 01:18:18.358
So, we launched our Respect
and Dignity campaign,

1531
01:18:18.358 --> 01:18:22.896
and it fit every hat in every committee.

1532
01:18:24.683 --> 01:18:27.975
For Parents in Action, we
want respect and dignity

1533
01:18:27.975 --> 01:18:32.405
for our kids in the school
and for their parents.

1534
01:18:32.405 --> 01:18:35.477
For workers, we want you to respect me

1535
01:18:35.477 --> 01:18:37.418
and pay me what you owe me.

1536
01:18:37.418 --> 01:18:40.294
For those workers that go and they say,

1537
01:18:40.294 --> 01:18:45.076
"I worked 50 hours and they give me $280,

1538
01:18:46.136 --> 01:18:48.724
"I want you to give me
the dignity that I deserve

1539
01:18:48.724 --> 01:18:50.494
"for the work that I did."

1540
01:18:50.494 --> 01:18:55.494
For immigrants, I want
you to know that I'm here.

1541
01:18:57.278 --> 01:18:58.922
I'm here.

1542
01:18:58.922 --> 01:19:00.616
I'm not an alien.

1543
01:19:00.616 --> 01:19:02.355
I'm not illegal.

1544
01:19:02.355 --> 01:19:05.865
I'm undocumented, so respect me.

1545
01:19:05.865 --> 01:19:08.633
Give me what I deserve.

1546
01:19:08.633 --> 01:19:10.760
That has been one of the
most beautiful things

1547
01:19:10.760 --> 01:19:12.770
that I experienced,

1548
01:19:12.770 --> 01:19:15.677
and we've put it on our
shirts now, in the back.

1549
01:19:15.677 --> 01:19:17.415
They say, "Respect and Dignity,"

1550
01:19:17.415 --> 01:19:22.308
and whenever we have a
protest, the news will say,

1551
01:19:22.308 --> 01:19:24.648
"They're just asking
for respect and dignity.

1552
01:19:24.648 --> 01:19:26.347
"They don't want anything else."

1553
01:19:26.919 --> 01:19:28.135
It involves everything.

1554
01:19:28.135 --> 01:19:31.292
It involves every fight
that you wanna fight.

1555
01:19:31.292 --> 01:19:34.528
You have to do it with
respect and dignity.

1556
01:19:37.638 --> 01:19:39.328
- [Voiceover] Are there other questions?

1557
01:19:40.913 --> 01:19:45.158
- [Voiceover] My question
relates to voting.

1558
01:19:45.158 --> 01:19:48.592
In your various responsibilities,

1559
01:19:51.072 --> 01:19:53.072
do you consider it a part

1560
01:19:53.072 --> 01:19:57.893
of your professional
responsibilities to encourage people

1561
01:19:57.893 --> 01:20:02.740
to vote, or to become voters,
to facilitate the voting?

1562
01:20:04.911 --> 01:20:06.415
What prompted me to ask this question

1563
01:20:06.415 --> 01:20:10.809
is when you were referring
to social justice and equity.

1564
01:20:11.509 --> 01:20:15.115
Often, politicians only react

1565
01:20:15.115 --> 01:20:18.330
to what the voters --

1566
01:20:18.330 --> 01:20:19.843
or how the voters vote,

1567
01:20:19.843 --> 01:20:22.030
and if they vote.

1568
01:20:22.030 --> 01:20:25.266
I'd like your response
to that question, please.

1569
01:20:27.575 --> 01:20:31.388
- From the perspective of
disability organizations,

1570
01:20:32.365 --> 01:20:34.185
we found out that

1571
01:20:34.185 --> 01:20:37.508
if everyone that was eligible
to vote that was disabled,

1572
01:20:39.708 --> 01:20:42.669
they would've changed every
presidential election,

1573
01:20:42.669 --> 01:20:44.213
except five.

1574
01:20:44.213 --> 01:20:48.794
What we understand is, we
need to develop a voting bloc.

1575
01:20:48.794 --> 01:20:52.438
Part of the things we need to do is ensure

1576
01:20:52.438 --> 01:20:55.574
that voting machines are accessible,

1577
01:20:55.574 --> 01:20:57.462
and people can get to them.

1578
01:20:57.462 --> 01:21:00.523
That's a fight we're having right now,

1579
01:21:00.523 --> 01:21:02.123
but that's only a piece.

1580
01:21:02.123 --> 01:21:05.301
The other piece is, from
an attitude standpoint,

1581
01:21:05.301 --> 01:21:07.477
we have to let folks
with disabilities know

1582
01:21:07.477 --> 01:21:10.098
that their votes count

1583
01:21:10.098 --> 01:21:14.031
We can only change things
if they do their part.

1584
01:21:14.442 --> 01:21:16.597
That's one thing we're trying to do.

1585
01:21:16.597 --> 01:21:20.708
Most non-profits are, as far
as I know, in Pennsylvania.

1586
01:21:21.012 --> 01:21:23.412
We need to offer voter registration

1587
01:21:23.412 --> 01:21:26.437
to everybody that we serve.

1588
01:21:26.437 --> 01:21:28.798
We have to do that, and sign them up.

1589
01:21:28.798 --> 01:21:30.390
But, that's only part of it.

1590
01:21:30.390 --> 01:21:32.235
We gotta get people to the polls,

1591
01:21:32.235 --> 01:21:34.527
and the polls need to be accessible.

1592
01:21:34.527 --> 01:21:38.115
We are working hard from a local
and a national perspective,

1593
01:21:38.430 --> 01:21:42.707
to do that 'cause we realize
a voting bloc could be huge,

1594
01:21:42.707 --> 01:21:46.434
and it could move some things
the way we'd like them to go.

1595
01:21:48.285 --> 01:21:53.085
- At Make the Road, we have
free citizenship clinics

1596
01:21:53.615 --> 01:21:56.972
where we help people for free

1597
01:21:56.972 --> 01:21:59.186
fill out a citizenship application,

1598
01:21:59.186 --> 01:22:01.127
Then, we provide them with classes

1599
01:22:01.127 --> 01:22:03.613
in order to help them pass that test.

1600
01:22:04.487 --> 01:22:08.930
Last year, we registered
about 12,000 people to vote

1601
01:22:08.930 --> 01:22:12.081
in our communities, and
we are working together

1602
01:22:12.081 --> 01:22:15.028
with the Long Island
Civic Engagement Table

1603
01:22:15.028 --> 01:22:19.797
to register people in Long
Island to vote and make a change.

1604
01:22:20.422 --> 01:22:24.998
Between Bushwick, Staten
Island and Jackson Heights,

1605
01:22:24.998 --> 01:22:28.287
we did over 12,000 last year alone.

1606
01:22:28.667 --> 01:22:31.866
This year, we are starting our --

1607
01:22:31.866 --> 01:22:35.002
we call it the Voting Power campaign.

1608
01:22:35.712 --> 01:22:39.664
Our own members volunteer

1609
01:22:40.464 --> 01:22:44.589
to go out and get people to vote.

1610
01:22:45.924 --> 01:22:48.623
I'm sorry, as a 501(c)(3),

1611
01:22:48.623 --> 01:22:52.004
we're not allowed to endorse
any political activity,

1612
01:22:52.004 --> 01:22:55.298
so it's hard to get the
politicians to like us,

1613
01:22:55.298 --> 01:23:00.298
and to give us power.

1614
01:23:00.995 --> 01:23:02.702
They do it because of
the amount of members

1615
01:23:02.702 --> 01:23:04.213
that we mobilize.

1616
01:23:04.213 --> 01:23:08.602
Having 13,000 members speaks by itself.

1617
01:23:08.602 --> 01:23:09.554
- Yes, it does.

1618
01:23:09.554 --> 01:23:12.551
- And a lot of them could vote.

1619
01:23:13.380 --> 01:23:15.691
Most of them have the right to vote.

1620
01:23:18.306 --> 01:23:22.860
- I noted earlier that, year before last,

1621
01:23:22.860 --> 01:23:24.386
I had a couple of board members

1622
01:23:24.386 --> 01:23:27.606
that really did not
understand why the United Way

1623
01:23:27.606 --> 01:23:30.229
would be involved in voter registration

1624
01:23:30.229 --> 01:23:34.396
and voter education activities
but in spite of that,

1625
01:23:34.396 --> 01:23:37.610
the Public Policy and Advocacy Committee

1626
01:23:37.610 --> 01:23:40.327
won the confidence of the majority

1627
01:23:40.327 --> 01:23:44.854
to host a voter
registration education forum

1628
01:23:44.854 --> 01:23:46.538
for our community partners.

1629
01:23:46.538 --> 01:23:50.048
It was our first venture
out into that arena.

1630
01:23:50.048 --> 01:23:53.673
And then last month, at
our Public Policy meeting,

1631
01:23:53.673 --> 01:23:55.607
there's a recommendation that will go

1632
01:23:55.607 --> 01:23:58.006
to the board in September,

1633
01:23:58.006 --> 01:24:02.646
that voter education,
voter registration become

1634
01:24:02.646 --> 01:24:06.960
a core sort of activity
for this United Way.

1635
01:24:09.322 --> 01:24:13.418
We'll see what happens in September,

1636
01:24:13.418 --> 01:24:17.813
but I think we have enough
support at this point

1637
01:24:17.813 --> 01:24:21.630
where people are feeling
part of it's educating

1638
01:24:21.630 --> 01:24:25.843
our board members that we're
not talking about lobbying,

1639
01:24:25.843 --> 01:24:28.223
and that it is non-partisan,

1640
01:24:28.223 --> 01:24:30.782
and that it is another way of empowering,

1641
01:24:30.782 --> 01:24:33.741
building stronger
communities, as you said.

1642
01:24:33.741 --> 01:24:36.648
Having people involved in civic engagement

1643
01:24:36.648 --> 01:24:40.981
and having them understand
how to use their voice

1644
01:24:40.981 --> 01:24:42.930
can really make a big difference

1645
01:24:42.930 --> 01:24:46.023
in very poor disenfranchised communities.

1646
01:24:46.023 --> 01:24:46.962
That's what we're trying to do

1647
01:24:46.962 --> 01:24:50.684
is change that attitude and perspective,

1648
01:24:50.684 --> 01:24:52.530
and the hopelessness and the apathy

1649
01:24:52.530 --> 01:24:55.224
that some people experience.

1650
01:24:57.500 --> 01:25:00.359
I'll keep you all posted, or
you can go on our website,

1651
01:25:00.359 --> 01:25:04.432
see if I'm still the director. (laughter)

1652
01:25:05.746 --> 01:25:07.755
I don't think they'll
get rid of me right away.

1653
01:25:08.945 --> 01:25:10.247
- We just have a few minutes left,

1654
01:25:10.247 --> 01:25:12.400
and I know that there's one
question there in the back.

1655
01:25:12.400 --> 01:25:14.314
Let's make that our last question.

1656
01:25:16.966 --> 01:25:18.103
- [Voiceover] I was wondering, Miss Morel,

1657
01:25:18.103 --> 01:25:18.978
if you'd be willing

1658
01:25:18.978 --> 01:25:22.396
to talk about the history of
how you became organization,

1659
01:25:22.396 --> 01:25:26.364
that it seems like leadership
is a strong component

1660
01:25:26.364 --> 01:25:28.549
of who you all are.

1661
01:25:28.549 --> 01:25:29.424
I don't know if you've always been

1662
01:25:29.424 --> 01:25:30.587
that way in the organization,

1663
01:25:30.587 --> 01:25:34.890
or that's the initial
vision, or is it transformed.

1664
01:25:34.890 --> 01:25:36.532
I'd be curious to hear that history.

1665
01:25:38.232 --> 01:25:42.424
- Two of the co-founders of
Make the Road by Walking,

1666
01:25:42.424 --> 01:25:44.932
which was the original name,

1667
01:25:44.932 --> 01:25:47.225
Andrew Friedman and Oona Chatterjee,

1668
01:25:47.225 --> 01:25:50.446
they were NYU law students.

1669
01:25:51.006 --> 01:25:53.721
They were doing surveys
around the community

1670
01:25:53.721 --> 01:25:55.069
of what people needed.

1671
01:25:56.803 --> 01:26:00.064
When they went to a church,

1672
01:26:00.064 --> 01:26:02.179
Father Powers told them,

1673
01:26:02.179 --> 01:26:04.077
"Listen, we need lawyers,

1674
01:26:04.077 --> 01:26:06.040
"but we also need to teach people

1675
01:26:06.040 --> 01:26:07.885
"that they could do this on their own.

1676
01:26:07.885 --> 01:26:10.722
"They don't need a lawyer to
go for a hearing at Welfare.

1677
01:26:10.722 --> 01:26:13.879
"They could do it by going by themselves."

1678
01:26:14.869 --> 01:26:19.772
So, Oona and Andrew, instead
of becoming regular lawyers,

1679
01:26:20.226 --> 01:26:23.558
they said, "Hey, why
don't we do organizing?

1680
01:26:23.558 --> 01:26:26.200
"Why don't we start doing workshops?

1681
01:26:26.200 --> 01:26:28.918
"Why don't we teach people
that they have the power

1682
01:26:28.918 --> 01:26:33.918
"to do things that could
change not only their problems,

1683
01:26:35.435 --> 01:26:40.272
"but a lot of the problems
that we have in communities?"

1684
01:26:42.689 --> 01:26:47.689
These two hipsters, like
we call them, (laughter)

1685
01:26:48.905 --> 01:26:53.905
they had a vision and they started talking

1686
01:26:54.442 --> 01:26:56.452
to the people that they were helping.

1687
01:26:57.077 --> 01:27:00.532
One of the organizers that
has been there for 15 years,

1688
01:27:00.532 --> 01:27:02.116
her name is Yorelis,

1689
01:27:02.228 --> 01:27:04.905
she started as a client for Andrew.

1690
01:27:04.905 --> 01:27:08.924
He helped her with her Welfare case,

1691
01:27:08.924 --> 01:27:13.401
and now she is our immigrant
civic rights organizer.

1692
01:27:16.246 --> 01:27:19.390
It's just powerful to
see that you have people

1693
01:27:19.390 --> 01:27:20.787
that come from their community

1694
01:27:20.787 --> 01:27:22.431
working for their community.

1695
01:27:22.431 --> 01:27:25.492
A lot of people that work
at Make the Road New York

1696
01:27:25.492 --> 01:27:28.050
are people that grew
up in the organization.

1697
01:27:28.050 --> 01:27:30.812
We have about four youth leaders

1698
01:27:30.812 --> 01:27:33.680
that are now adult organizers,

1699
01:27:33.680 --> 01:27:37.299
and they were in the
organization since they were 14.

1700
01:27:37.299 --> 01:27:38.450
They didn't have anywhere to go.

1701
01:27:38.450 --> 01:27:40.189
They didn't have any after-school program,

1702
01:27:40.189 --> 01:27:41.852
and they would come to the organization,

1703
01:27:41.852 --> 01:27:45.654
and they formed their own youth program.

1704
01:27:47.313 --> 01:27:49.692
Little by little,
looking for some funding,

1705
01:27:49.692 --> 01:27:52.348
and trying to get money,

1706
01:27:52.348 --> 01:27:55.004
and trying to get people to fund the work

1707
01:27:55.004 --> 01:27:57.148
that they wanted to do,

1708
01:27:57.148 --> 01:28:00.319
they created a Youth Power project

1709
01:28:00.319 --> 01:28:03.610
that is helping schools in the community,

1710
01:28:03.610 --> 01:28:06.613
that's helping kids to
stay out of the streets.

1711
01:28:09.243 --> 01:28:12.454
They also have a Student Success Center

1712
01:28:12.454 --> 01:28:15.192
in two high schools near our offices.

1713
01:28:15.192 --> 01:28:19.945
Every year, they send about
180 to 200 students to college.

1714
01:28:20.581 --> 01:28:24.762
They help them from
their college application

1715
01:28:24.762 --> 01:28:27.628
to studying for their SATs,

1716
01:28:27.628 --> 01:28:29.093
to making sure that they fill out

1717
01:28:29.093 --> 01:28:30.782
the right financial aid form.

1718
01:28:33.607 --> 01:28:35.635
That's how we do it.

1719
01:28:41.998 --> 01:28:46.365
(applause)

1720
01:28:52.113 --> 01:28:52.995
- [Dina] Before we lose people,

1721
01:28:52.995 --> 01:28:54.957
I just wanted to make
sure that everyone knew

1722
01:28:54.957 --> 01:28:56.930
that there's a follow-up panel discussion

1723
01:28:56.930 --> 01:28:58.338
that Cindy and I will be facilitating

1724
01:28:58.338 --> 01:29:03.338
on Friday from 3:45 to
5:30, in (mumbles) 101,

1725
01:29:03.970 --> 01:29:06.900
that will allow us to kind
of take this conversation

1726
01:29:06.900 --> 01:29:09.196
further and think about
how we might apply it

1727
01:29:09.196 --> 01:29:12.759
to Smith as an Institution
to our field placements,

1728
01:29:12.759 --> 01:29:17.759
and to our agency life as we
move out into the real world.

1729
01:29:20.279 --> 01:29:23.344
- This is a pretty real
world, too, in its own way.

1730
01:29:24.864 --> 01:29:26.411
Thank you all for coming,

1731
01:29:26.411 --> 01:29:27.670
and thank you so much to the panel

1732
01:29:27.670 --> 01:29:31.276
for this range of perspectives,

1733
01:29:31.276 --> 01:29:35.051
to be very clear that
accountability is grounded

1734
01:29:35.051 --> 01:29:36.693
in stuff like intention,

1735
01:29:36.693 --> 01:29:39.170
and being really thoughtful
about how you get

1736
01:29:39.170 --> 01:29:42.210
from intention to actually doing it.

1737
01:29:42.210 --> 01:29:44.034
I love the idea of authenticity,

1738
01:29:44.034 --> 01:29:46.430
that you really can't be
anyone but yourself, anyway,

1739
01:29:46.430 --> 01:29:49.070
so you might as well be yourself.

1740
01:29:49.070 --> 01:29:51.819
That's gonna really be a powerful part

1741
01:29:51.819 --> 01:29:53.419
of the work that you do.

1742
01:29:53.419 --> 01:29:55.339
And also, kinda recognize across these

1743
01:29:55.339 --> 01:29:57.333
very different kinds of organizations,

1744
01:29:57.333 --> 01:29:59.093
a membership organization,

1745
01:29:59.093 --> 01:30:03.457
a consumer-driven,
consumer-rights organization,

1746
01:30:03.457 --> 01:30:04.876
a planning organization,

1747
01:30:04.876 --> 01:30:08.053
in each instance, there
really is a common thread

1748
01:30:08.053 --> 01:30:09.920
around building in structures

1749
01:30:09.920 --> 01:30:12.872
that really hold each other accountable,

1750
01:30:12.872 --> 01:30:14.099
whether it's members demanding it,

1751
01:30:14.099 --> 01:30:15.400
or consumers demanding it,

1752
01:30:15.400 --> 01:30:18.050
or funders and communities
being listened to.

1753
01:30:18.877 --> 01:30:21.736
That all is part of the
work, and that's our work.

1754
01:30:21.736 --> 01:30:23.400
Our role is to listen to folks,

1755
01:30:23.400 --> 01:30:27.399
and to kinda deal with them
from where they're coming from.

1756
01:30:27.939 --> 01:30:30.770
I just really appreciate what's been said.

1757
01:30:30.770 --> 01:30:32.199
Once again, thank you all,

1758
01:30:32.199 --> 01:30:34.172
and you got some work to do

1759
01:30:34.172 --> 01:30:35.111
when you go out into the world,

1760
01:30:35.111 --> 01:30:37.575
and to the agencies you're
gonna be doing work in,

1761
01:30:37.575 --> 01:30:40.585
to kinda bring the intention
and the accountability

1762
01:30:40.585 --> 01:30:43.080
that you have to be carrying

1763
01:30:43.080 --> 01:30:45.692
when you're out there
doing services for folks.

1764
01:30:46.856 --> 01:30:49.661
On that note of
responsibility and, hopefully,

1765
01:30:49.661 --> 01:30:51.292
intention of yours,

1766
01:30:51.292 --> 01:30:53.782
thank you very much for
coming and good night.

1767
01:30:53.989 --> 01:30:58.627
(applause)