Category: Weekly Roundup

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August Round Up | Trust and Hope

August

I‘ve been a bit swamped the last month ahead of a major career transition, so I haven’t been able to document all that has been coming across my desk and into my brain. However, here are some of my highlights!

Building Trust

I really like the concept of an organization consciously developing a Trust Agenda, and engaging in a process where they research and develop Trust Profiles for different stakeholder groups–getting to the bottom of what each group deeply values and prioritizes–and then using these tools to align business practices.

“When a culture is built on an ethical framework of principles, convictions, and norms, rather than rules, the right tone can be set not only from the top, but also from the middle and bottom. Employees are empowered to make decisions about trade-offs at critical moments.”

Other highlights

  • Book: On that same note of trust, I completed the book Radical Candor by Kimberly Scott which I am definitely going to add to my top reads for managers.
  • Book: Doing Agile Right by Rigby, Elk, and Berez
  • Book: The Count of Monte Cristo by Andre Dumas
  • Book: The Poppy Wars
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Weekly Round Up | Achilles, Relationships, and Pottery


June 28 – July 2
Every week I create a round-up of my favorite reads and listens over the last 7 days. Some links go directly to articles and books, others go to my post with notes.

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This week was pretty slow in terms of recreational reading, as I ended up overloaded with work ahead of vacation. I also started a 8-week ceramics course at Kirklands Arts Center, as well as signed up for a landscape painting class with Justin Donaldson, one of my favorite painters!

My Character Design Process ft. The Song of Achilles - YouTube

The Song of Achilles

Millers imaginative telling of the relationship between Patroclus and Achilles was certainly an interesting and enjoyable read. Set from the perspective of Patroclus, it fills in details of their meeting, their time and love together during the Trojan war, and even the period post-death (from a strange ghost-like viewpoint). Stripped away, it is a young adult romance novel, so I don’t hold it to high literary expectations. The characters feel flat and one dimensional, and, as Mendelsohn describes, seems to be confused with finding tone and pace. Yet, despite being ‘fast food fiction’ it was still a fun, quick read that was a much welcomed distraction during a week of commuting.

Relationships & Communication

Whenever my partner and I have communication mishaps, I like to dig around and do some refresher reading on communication and conflict resolution techniques. My all time favorite book still stands to be Couple Skills by McKay, which I would rank in my top 10 most personally significant reads. Many of the tools I learned there appear again and again in other reads. Being reminded of reactive behaviors, communication traps, and emotional triggers helps me show up more fully and compassionately in my partnership. While neither of these books are stand outs, they were very quick reads with some good worksheets and tools.

Fragile Beauty | Brown Alumni Magazine

Pottery Deep Dive

As I jumped into my intro to wheel throwing class this week, I was on a huge ceramic content-consumption kick. I watched tons of youtube videos, instagram posts, articles, and books as I oriented myself to a new art medium. There is something really addictive about watching people create 3D works of art–whether miniature models, sculptures, jewelry, or pottery. Over the last year I’ve picked up miniature sculpture work with polymer clay, creating fantastical gardens.

However, the skillsets involved in ceramics is vastly larger. With tons of different clays, tools, glazes, and processes to pick from and learn, it is so easy to see how this becomes a lifelong practice of iteration. My architectural senses are prickling. I’ve already told my partner that a pottery wheel and mini kiln might be on my wish list now–as well as the need for at-home studio space! (Ah the dream).

I also have a ever growing list of ceramics projects, inspired by artists by Courtney Mattison and Stephanie Kilgast, stewing around my brain. Of course the usual practical pottery items like dishes and cups, but also the more creative and decorative including sculptural landscapes and textures that invoke nature–forest, desert, sea, sky.

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Weekly Round Up | Sliding Scales, Allyship, and Indigenous History

June 21 – 27
Every week I create a round-up of my favorite reads and listens over the last 7 days. Some links go directly to articles and books, others go to my post with notes.

Tuesday: Sliding Scales

I’ve always been committed to offering a sliding scale, understanding that it is an important component to promoting broader accessibility to programs and services. However, finding the right way to implement a system. However, sliding scales based on individual income levels are insufficient, as many factors complicate a persons financial position. I’ve been researching other ways people have gone about implementing their systems.

Wednesday: 1491 & Allyship Continued

Whenever I read a book, I typically end up doing a lot of broader peripheral reading to the subject, either tracking down sources mentioned, looking up additional context or historical background, or more deeply diving in to one aspect or another. This helps me more fully comprehend and place what I’m reading, and deepens the processing.

Last night I finished 1491 by Chris Mann, a book I’ve been working on for three weeks now. I’ve detailed my initial comments on last weeks round-up and have compiled my notes and excerpts here. I don’t typically take so long when reading a book, but found that both the density of the writing as well as my frequent need to engage in peripheral reading, slowed the process.

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Weekly Round-up | Performative Activism and The Truth About the History of the Americas

Every week I create a round-up of my favorite reads and listens over the last 7 days. Some links go directly to articles and books, others go to my post with notes.

This week was a particularly light reading week, with most of my time spent on making progress through Hood Feminism and 1491; Both which are still not finished. I usually get through books pretty fast but Kirkland Arts was bringing in a new Executive Director this week, which took up most of my available free time and energy.

Tuesday: Executive Onboarding

In anticipation of the new ED onboarding, I’ve been going through my old executive materials as well as looking up new resources for dealing with virtual onboarding. While nothing was stand out, I did like the break down into 5 categories by Nick Chambers.

Thursday: Poetry

Brainpickings is one of my favorite websites and this week one of the featured authors was the poet Lisel Mueller.

Friday: Performative Activism & Settler Priviledge

What is Performative Activism?
“We know performative activism occurs when those with power wish to give the appearance of supporting members of Black, Indigenous and racialized communities — but aren’t willing to transfer power and transform organizational cultures, policies, practices and behaviours.”

Why should we care about performative activisim?
Aside from the fact that the nonprofit sector is rooted in White Saviorism, “Performative activism leads to new and insidious forms of oppression for Black, Indigenous and racialized people. Performative institutions distract from the real issues at stake and also create additional labour for the Black, Indigenous and racialized people who end up collaborating with them. 

Weekend Reads: 1491

Despite going to relatively well resourced schools in the 1990s and early 2000s, I didn’t receive a comprehensive or accurate education in the history of the pre-Columbus Americas. I remember doing study projects on spanish conquistadors, with the focus on their ‘discoveries’ and achievements, rather than on the genocide of the existing indigenous populations. I was taught hat the Americas were for the most part uninhabited and underdeveloped by the time the Europeans landed, and that there were no major civilizations aside from the ‘barbaric’ Maya or Aztec.

1491 hammers home the astounding and offensive the gap between my childhood education and reality. Before Columbus, there may well have been more people living in the Americas than in Europe, with some estimates putting it as high as 112 million, many of them in urban complexes bigger and more sophisticated than London or Paris. These civilizations undertook major engineering and public work projects, build monuments to rival the Egyptians, and modified their landscapes to produce an abundance of food. Furthermore, the largest human dieback in history occurred when the Europeans arrived–carrying with them Smallpox, with up to 90% of the population dying from the disease.

I first read 1491 in college, but was so exhausted due to my academic load, that the impact of what I was reading was minor. Living now in the Pacific Northwest, and travelling more extensively across the western states of the US, this book has re-opened my eyes to the past brilliance and devastation of our indigenous populations.

Still in Progress…

I’ve been slowly making progress on these below, and will log them with my notes once I finish (Hopefully this week?)

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Weekly Round-up | Environmental Conservation, Catalytic Mechanisms, Othering, History, and More

May 30 – June 6
Every week I create a round-up of my favorite reads and listens over the last 7 days. Some links go directly to articles and books, others go to my post with notes.

Monday: The Real Origins of Memorial Day

With this past week kicking off with Memorial Day, I ended up diving into history after reading a news article about the American Legion that silenced a veteran from sharing about the black origins of the day. It’s crazy to me that I was never taught this in all of my years of schooling.

Tuesday: Environmental Conservation and Equity

On Tuesday, I had an interview with an organization that had a focus on environmental conservation and education. Typically ahead of interviews I try to prepare by deepening my knowledge of the organizations issue area.

Wednesday: Othering, Group Identity, and Collective Liberation

I stumbled upon The Othering and Belonging Institute on Wednesday. ‘Othering’ is a critical concept to understand when trying to bridge and heal communities. It has come up again and again as I’ve worked to use liberatory-based language and practices and looked for ways to understand and share an understanding of a collective liberation that connects your freedom to mine, and vise versa.

  • Article: The Problem of Othering: Towards Inclusiveness and Belonging By Powell and Menendian→
    This is a long read, but well worth the time.
    “The problem of the twenty-first century is the problem of “othering.” In a world beset by seemingly intractable and overwhelming challenges, virtually every global, national, and regional conflict is wrapped within or organized around one or more dimension of group-based difference. Othering undergirds territorial disputes, sectarian violence, military conflict, the spread of disease, hunger and food insecurity, and even climate change.”
  • Article: Us vs. Them: The process of othering By Clint Curle | Candian Museum for Human Rights→
    “People are different. We can use our differences as an opportunity to share and learn or we can use our differences as an excuse to build walls between us. When we highlight differences between groups of people to increase suspicion of them, to insult them or to exclude them, we are going down a path known as “othering.”
  • Video: Let them Drown – The Violence of Othering in a Warming World, Naomi Klein→
  • Podcast: White v White | Invisibilia Podcast→
    “A city council candidate says he’s black. But his opponent accuses him of being a white man pretending to be black. If race is simply a social construct and not a biological reality, how do we determine someone’s race? And who gets to decide? We tell the story of a man whose racial identity was fiercely contested… and the consequences this had on an entire city.”

Thursday: Big Hairy Audacious Goals and Catalytic Mechanisms

The highlight of Thursday was working with members of the Board of Directors of Parkour Visions to prepare and conduct an annual evaluation. In this conversation we discussed what it meant to measure success, and mused on the potential future of the organization. After our meeting, one board member, Jason, sent me a book that he had found useful over the years–which, turns out, was from the same author of From Good to Great. It was a nice reminder as well to revisit the BHAGs I have for my organizations and personal life.

Friday Night: History of New York City Night-Life

Friday night was focused on fun. I accidentally dove down a rabbit hole of NYC nightlife history. Truly, the 70s, 80s, 90s were a fascinating time to live in the city and these stories captured the life and death of a cultural movement that had far reaching impact.

Weekend Reads: History and Mutual Aid

I finally picked up the next set of books on my list, which include Hood Feminism, Stamped from the Beginning, and The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee, as well as the two I plowed through below. I’ve always had a keen interest and passion for history, especially works that challenge and dismantle the white, western-centric stories I was told as a kid.

So much of our understanding of reality, and our interactions with other people, is shaped by our known version of history.

Still in Progress…

I’ve been slowly making progress on these below, and will log them with my notes once I finish (Hopefully this week?)

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Weekly Round-Up | Generational Differences, Othering, and Collective Liberation

Every week I create a round-up of my favorite reads and listens over the last 7 days.

Extremely light week this week as I was completely swamped with work!

  • Article: Generational Differences in Racial Equity Work→
    “Leaders and staff have to be able to talk to one another. Elders hold valuable earned knowledge and wisdom. They know the terrain. Younger workers have fresh minds and hearts. They see old problems with new eyes. Both are necessary for addressing our biggest problems. The key is being able to sit in space with one another without turning away, shutting down, or blowing up. That can only really happen once trust has been established. And trust is born out of truth-telling.”
  • Interview: The Catalyst Project; from a place of love→ Strong recommendation to read. Clear articulation around collective liberation.
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Weekly Round-Up | Philanthropy, Wealth, Reparations, and Anti-Racism

Every week I create a round-up of my favorite reads and listens over the last 7 days.

I recently joined the Community-Centric Fundraising slack, and have absolutely loved pouring over resources and threads. While I consistently am reading and thinking about the power at play in the world of philanthropy and wealth, this week I dove specifically into some readings about the origins of Philanthropy.

All Week: Anti-Racism & Equity

I also recommend the book Decolonizing Wealth: Indigenous Wisdom to Heal Divides and Restore Balance by Villanueva, as an excellent primer and “provocative analysis of the dysfunctional colonial dynamics at play in philanthropy and finance.”

Still in the Works…

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Weekly Round-Up | Equity, Ecosomatics, and Mission-Driven Communications

Every week I create a round-up of my favorite reads and listens over the last 7 days.

Organization Spotlight

The Northwest Network of Bi, Trans, Lesbian & Gay Survivors of Abuse.
The NW Network of Bi, Trans, Lesbian and Gay Survivors of Abuse works to end violence and abuse by building loving and equitable relationships in our community and across the country.

Monday: Anti-Racism, Equity, and Organizational Development

Tuesday-Thursday: Communications & Fundraising

I have embarked on building a new multi-year strategic development plan for my current organization. A part of that process was a revisit to favorite resources on communications, including the Progressives Study Guide from Sum of Us, which I strongly recommend everyone reading–not just communications people! I also picked up two books to help me expand my thinking on Fund Development and Communication Methods.

Friday: Health / Movement / Play

Ahead of an interview, I revisited and researched readings on ecosomatics. Strengthening appreciation and connection to the places we live and play has been at the heart of my career–Parkour being an eco-somatic practice that brings together ecological consciousness with movement education, improvisation, and play. I believe it is critical to facilitate a physical and emotional connection to our natural world in order to expand our ability to empathize and take action on the larger challenges facing us as a society today.