Year 1 of my co-executive directorship at TWI is a wrap. At the start, a colleague warned me that the field of professionalized philanthropy could inflate my ego and warp my soul, and that I should set a timer for a philanthropic career of no more than seven years. Conveniently, TWI is sunsetting in 2022….
AAPIP just unveiled 25 Leaders in Action and TWI is pleased to see that two of our extraordinary grantee partners are being honored this year. What strikes me about both Rajasvini Bhansali and Dana Kawaoka-Chen is that they are the kind of leaders who lead shoulder to shoulder with many others. Their facilitative leadership makes respect, collaboration, and…
As I read Ford Foundation President Darren Walker’s letter about the foundation’s newest priorities, I was most stirred by the fact that he asked for grantee feedback and is acting on it. I had to take a pause when the leader of this large, influential foundation shared that “the majority of the feedback [he] received was not…
Yesterday, I picked up a copy of Octavia’s Brood, which is an anthology of science fiction stories by amateur writers who happen to be seasoned activists for social change. I’ve been carrying one of its premises in my heart since I read the introduction: those working to bring about social, political, and economic equity are imagining new…
At my first session at the Ashoka Future Forum called “Scaling Trust,” I witnessed again the power of story and vulnerability. A woman of color executive director leading a movement of thousands strong asked a room full of social entrepreneurs, nonprofit executives, funders, and investors: In fundraising, why do I so often have to choose between…