Supporting Transgender Youth: Community Connections Panel

Join Saint Paul Public Schools for an upcoming gender inclusion workshop on, open to individuals outside of the school district. Participants will have the opportunity to hear from and ask questions of a panel of local experts whose work is centered on supporting transgender and gender variant people. Topics will include child development and legal rights, and speak to multiple racial and cultural influences on gender diversity. See below for more details and to register.

Supporting Transgender Youth: Community Connections Panel
November 19th, 2014
4:30 PM – 6:30 PM
360 S Colborne St.
St Paul, MN 55102

Description
Participants will have the opportunity to hear from and ask question of a panel of experts in the community whose work is centered on supporting transgender and gender variant people. Topics will include child development, legal rights, and community resources. Multiple racial and cultural influences on gender diversity will be shared.

Panelist Information

Roxanne Anderson
Community Organizer
Associate Director for Trans Organizing at OutFront MN
Director of The Exchange
Pronouns: They/Them/Theirs

Ryan Dean, Ph.D., L.P.
Licensed Psychologist
Private Practice
Pronouns: He/Him/His

Jill Gaulding, J.D.
Civil Rights Lawyer
Co-Founder and Legal Director of Gender Justice
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Background
St. Paul Public Schools is committed to ensuring that all students have a safe, non-discriminatory school environment that will support their academic achievement and prepare them for college and careers.

Registration
Please register on PDExpress. Course title: Out for Equity/MLR (S): Gender Inclusion, Perspectives from Community Experts Panel and Discussion. Non-SPPS employees may register by emailing outforequity@spps.org.

Microaggressions Mini Film Festival Videos + Takeaways

On October 30, LOCUS hosted our Microaggressions Mini Film Festival at the Jay and Rose Phillips Family Foundation. Chelles' Kitchen provided delicious chili and cornbread for dinner and we made sure ample popcorn was available during the show!

We screened over a dozen short videos during the event, beginning with the following New York Times-produced piece that helps define and explain microaggressions.

After viewing a set of videos reflecting a wide array of diversities and related microaggressions, we facilitated a lively large group conversation discussing reactions to and questions arising from the pieces. Attendees expressed that the videos helped expand their conceptions of microaggressions, giving them additional clarifying language as well as shedding light on the multitude of possible "unintended discriminations."

Reflecting on the question of key learnings and takeaways from the evening's viewing and conversation, participants co-constructed this list of 6 important insights:

1. Microaggressions matter because they're the minor manifestations of systemic racism and policies that advantage the dominant culture.
2. "I" statements are key to effective education.
3. (Personal) safety first. Know the environment, and then choose your battle. 
4. It's your choice to speak up or not. The burden of your people is not on you. Do right by you.
5. As people of color (POC), we should be aware of our own microaggressions against other POCs. Stand up for other POCs, in the community and with your own family and friends.
6. Microaggressions are not only race-based, but are religious, gendered, ability-focused, etc.

Thanks again to those who came out to share in a tasty meal, clever videos, and meaningful dialogue!

Board Basics Training with MAP for Nonprofits

MAP for Nonprofits is generously partnering with Board Repair to host a Board Basics Training, targeted toward those new to serving on nonprofit boards and those who want a refresher. See below for more details and to register for the free event!

Organized by and for people of color, Board Repair's mission is to create a more effective non-profit sector by increasing participation of people of color on boards. Informally structured and based on a group mentorship model, Board Repair is volunteer-managed and not affiliated with any organizations. We simply ask that participants self-identify as people of color, that they be willing to share and to listen, that they maintain confidentiality, and that they be up for a bit of laughter and fun too. 

If you'd like to learn more about the basics of serving on a non-profit board (or want a refresher!), please join us for this training.

Board Basics Training
October 29, 5:45-9p
5:45 for dinner, 6:15 sharp training begins. 

Carty Heights community room

412 Dunlap St N, Saint Paul
Carty Heights is a block away from the Green Line Lexington Station, and there is also ample street parking.
Meal provided through support from The McKnight Foundation.

MAP for Non-Profits is providing this to us for free (usually $45/person), so I hope lots of us can take advantage of this opportunity to get the big picture basics. Please register once you know you can come so that we can figure out how much more outreach to do.

Registration required: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-fundamentals-of-nonprofit-board-service-training-for-board-repair-tickets-13676961159

Feel free to forward this invitation to other people of color. Thanks!

- Jun-Li & Board Repair

Soon to come: website & a listserv!

Board Repair is co-led by: Lisa Brimmer, Amelia Brown, Antonio Cardona, Marisa Carr, Christina Chang, Valerie Deus, Venessa Fuentes, Lori Greene, Daniel Le, Tou SaiKo Lee, Bekka Merrill, Anne Jin Soo Preston, Carissa Samaniego, Nicole Smith, Erik Takeshita, Jun-Li Wang. We welcome additional co-coordinators - just drop Jun-Li a line if you're interested! 

[News to Use] We must put women in the political pipeline

Thanks to Liz Johnson and Nevada Littlewolf for this important commentary and the encouragement to join #InvitationNation. Read on for more insight into and an invitation to VoteRunLead!

We must put women in the political pipeline

• Article by: LIZ JOHNSON and NEVADA LITTLEWOLF 
• Updated: October 13, 2014 - 6:02 PM

Cities and counties are a place to start — particularly in Greater Minnesota.

Minnesota boasts that it is in the forefront of women’s leadership, but one need only look at county boards to find evidence that the state still has a long way to go.

Only one in seven Minnesota county commissioners is a woman, and more than half of the state’s county boards have no female representatives at all. We need all of the best minds at the table to address issues facing Greater Minnesota — and we are missing the voices of women and women of color.

Every all-male county board is located in Greater Minnesota, and while other elective bodies have disparities, none is as glaring. According to the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota, 72 percent of the state’s city council members are men, with one in four city councils having no women at all. Only five percent of city council seats are held by women of color.

We want to share ideas for how to advance women leaders regardless of the status of women on your county commission. First, we want you to start inviting great women you know to take leadership. There’s even a fun and easy way to do it through the nonpartisan organization VoteRunLead, whose #InvitationNation campaign asks men and women nationwide to nominate three women to run for office. Whether it’s a soil and water conservation board, an electric co-op board, a county commission or the state Senate, you can participate with a few simple clicks from a phone or a desktop.

Together, we can expand the positive trend of women’s leadership from our cities to the borders of our state. We can encourage and reach women online like never before and get them connected to real resources. With organizations like the Rural and American Indian Leadership Project (RAIL) in Virginia, Minn., we can connect women to great support systems in all corners of the state.

Women like Lorrie Janatopoulos, from the Iron Range, have taken the challenge. Janatopoulos, a founding member of RAIL, ran for a county board seat in 2010. Although she didn’t win, she says that running for office was one of the best things she has done in her life, adding, “I realized that I shouldn’t be asking ‘Why me?’ — I should be asking “Why not me?’ ” She is now using her experience and her wallet to sponsor women from northeastern Minnesota to attend the national Go Run gathering in Minneapolis in November.

We need you to pinpoint the talented women in your lives and encourage them to run. Keep in mind that research shows that women want to be invited to run for office and that when a current officeholder taps them, the invitation packs a real punch. Amy Klobuchar, are you listening? Mark Dayton, are you listening?

Together we can fill the pipeline to political leadership with the names of women we know want to make a change in their communities. Ask. Ask. Ask. Ask three women you know to run for office — and make sure two of them are from Greater Minnesota. Tell them about resources like VoteRunLead, where women can acquire skills and inspiration that support their work from now until the day they take office.

We want to see one woman from every Minnesota county at Go Run. The gathering is happening in your own back yard Nov. 21-23. Visit VoteRunLead.org to learn more.

Liz Johnson is director of operations and community at VoteRunLead. Nevada Littlewolf runs the Rural and American Indian Leadership Project and is a City Council member in Virginia, Minn.

LOCUS Microaggressions Mini Film Festival

LOCUS Microaggressions Mini Film Festival

Thursday, October 30, 2014

6:00pm - 8:30pm

The Jay and Rose Phillips Family Foundation

Register online!

"Everyday slight, putdown, indignity, or invalidation unintentionally directed toward a marginalized group." So-defined microaggressions have been the subject of recent and prolific media attention, countless internet memes, and even locally documented by students at a Minnesota college.

To explore the myriad microaggressions that diverse communities encounter on a regular basis, LOCUS invites you to a Microaggressions Mini Film Festival. We'll connect with each other over a light meal, watch YouTube videos (and welcome your nominations to locus.mn[at]gmail.com), and discuss the impact of microaggressions and our personal and collective efforts to navigate and combat them. Join us!

*This event is organized for and by people of color as a supportive and courageous space.

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LOCUS hopes to serve as a meeting ground for people from diverse backgrounds to engage with one another and to examine our common needs and our common opportunities. Through the pursuit of stronger connection and purpose, we aim to create a community that welcomes and supports all. Join us at http://locusmn.blogspot.com.

You're invited to CAAL PowerTalk: Leadership for a Global Economy (Oct 27, 2014)

The Coalition of Asian American Leaders invites you to the next in their series of PowerTalks, entitled "Leadership for a Global Economy." Event details follow, along with an invitation for their Asian American Leaders Forum, slated for Saturday, November 15!

You are invited to the following event: CAAL POWERTALK: LEADERSHIP FOR A GLOBAL ECONOMY                                                            Event to be held at the following time, date, and location: Monday, October 27, 2014 from 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM (CDT) Humphrey School of Public Affairs 301 19th Ave S Room 108 Minneapolis, MN 55455 View Map Attend Event    Share this event:                                                               JOIN US for the final CAAL PowerTalk of 2014! Our world is changing; we are globally connected and increasingly interdependent. What does this mean for leaders? What assets can Asian American leaders build upon to lead in this global economy? At this final CAAL PowerTalk, we will hear from two Asian American leaders: Sarena Lin, President, Cargill Feed & Nutrition and Sri Zaheer, Dean of the... Share this event on Facebook and Twitter Also, mark your calendar and JOIN US on November 15, 2014 from 8AM - 1PM for the Asian American Leaders Forum to connect, learn, and shape priorities together. Register at http://goo.gl/8Iv1Of. We hope you can make it! Cheers, Coalition of Asian American Leaders

Learn About Becoming a Ron McKinley Philanthropy Fellow

Learn About Becoming a Ron McKinley Philanthropy Fellow

MCF’s Ron McKinley Philanthropy Fellowship, which we opened applications for earlier this month, will prepare individuals from underrepresented communities for careers in philanthropy. But the fellowship is about more than changing the face of leadership in philanthropy; it’s about infusing new ideas and viewpoints into the field.

Are you interested in applying to be a Ron McKinley Philanthropy fellow? Do you have questions about the application process?
Join Alfonso Wenker, MCF director of diversity, equity and inclusion, for a short informational webinar about the process and the program on Thursday, August 7, at 3 p.m. Alfonso will provide a high-level overview of the program and take questions from participants.

And for a look at what the 2014 Philanthropy Fellows are up to, don’t miss MCF’s new issue of Giving Forum, online and in your mailbox now.We caught up with Venessa Fuentes and Dameun Strange and asked them about their responsibilities and how they’re helping effect positive community change. Read about their experiences, then join our webinar to see what the fellowship would mean for you!