Board Summit: Exploring Liberatory Governance
We are talking about a structure where groups of volunteers who barely know one another, see one percent of the work, often don’t reflect the communities we serve, and who may have little to no experience running nonprofits, being given vast power to supervise leadership and determine values, policies, and practices. Why did we think this weird structure would work?
It is common in the sector to hear stories of governing boards that create harm in its oversight and hierarchy. Governance is one of the most difficult areas in the sector to innovate and take risks; however, it is possible and many in the field are already moving away from the status quo.
LSC and LLC will guide participants through a generative conversation to start imagining what liberatory governance could look like for your organization. We will hear from panelists who are practicing liberatory governance and provide time to work with your team on actionable next steps.
Organizations will benefit the most when both their executive and board are represented. Participants should arrive with a baseline knowledge of their board’s fiduciary and legal obligations when applicable.
Panelist Bios:
Cherie Hill, Director of Arts Leadership, Bridge Live Arts
Cherie Hill is a curator and the Director of Arts Leadership at Bridge Live Arts. She has co-curated Power Shift: Improvisation, Activism, & Community; Anti-Racism in Dance; and the Money in the Arts series. She co-presents on distributed leadership and worked with community engagement artists as the previous Director of Art in Community. Cherie is a researcher and has published articles in Gender Forum, the Sacred Dance Guild Journal, Dance Education in Practice, and In Dance. She presents at national and international conferences and has held multiple residencies, including choreographic residencies with Footloose Productions, Milk Bar Richmond, the David Brower Center, and CounterPulse’s Performing Diaspora.
An advocate for equity and inclusion, Cherie teaches students of all ages and abilities and produces performances in community-based and alternative spaces. She holds degrees in Dance and Performance Studies and African American Studies; Dance, Performance, and Choreography with graduate certificates in Women and Gender Studies and Somatics.
Ericka Stallings, Co-Executive Director, Leadership Learning Communities
Prior to LLC, I worked at the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development (ANHD), supporting organizing and advocacy and leading ANHD’s community organizing capacity building work. I also directed ANHD’s Center for Community Leadership (CCL) which provides comprehensive, support for neighborhood-based organizing in New York City. At ANHD I directed programs designed to strengthen community organizing in local neighborhoods. Before working at ANHD I worked at the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), managing its Immigrant Housing Collaborative. In addition, I co-coordinated the NYIC’s Immigrant Advocacy Fellowship Program, an initiative for emerging leaders in immigrant communities.
Ananda Valenzuela, anandavalenzuela.org
Ananda Valenzuela (any pronouns) provides interim executive director leadership, facilitates organizational transformation, and coaches values-aligned leaders. He is passionate about nourishing joyful organizational cultures, supporting equitable self-management, and building liberatory practices. They have served as interim executive director at multiple organizations, provided capacity-building support to nonprofits for over ten years, and currently sit on the boards of Change Elemental and Hampshire College. Ananda grew up in Puerto Rico and slowly made her way across the United States, holding a variety of consulting, governance, and activist roles along the way.
