Can we talk about...? A podcast on leading for racial equity in philanthropy

In this episode, Tanya Edelin and Dilcia Molina share their experiences as board members of the if Foundation for Radical Possibility. 

Throughout their conversation, Tanya and Dilcia share what it feels like to be on a board that is willing to be radical, sit in the hard conversations, and take action to shift power to community; a board that prioritizes inclusion – offering stipends to community board members and language interpretation services at every meeting – and is continuing to make adjustments as they diversify even more, so all members can fully participate. 

Together, they offer insight into what it took for the organization to get where it is today while recognizing and naming the work that still needs to be done in order to build a truly diverse and equitable foundation. 

Tanya and Dilcia’s conversation is supported by two language interpreters, Elizabeth McMeekin and Kathy Ogle. In the English recording, you will hear Kathy as the voice of Dilcia. 

In this episode, Beth McCaw (Founding Funder of Threshold) and LeAnne Moss (Executive Director of Renton Regional Community Foundation) share honest reflections of their personal journeys as white women in anti-racist work.

Together they dig into the process of embodiment – of moving racial equity from an intellectual exercise in your head with reports, data points, and understandings of history to a commitment you feel in your heart and whole body with emotions like guilt, shame, discomfort and joy. And they talk about why this can be particularly difficult for white-bodied people. 

They share the importance of boards being willing to make mistakes and interrogate what they do and why, and they acknowledge that all of the work - both personal and organizational - is messy. Amid the messiness, leaders need to remember to take care of themselves. (And yes, even for those of you who think self-care sounds “woo-woo”). “Sometimes it's hard to be the bird at the front or the bug on the windshield,” Beth acknowledges. 

Listen in as Sharon (President and CEO, Yakima Valley Community Foundation) and Brenda (CEO Headwaters Foundation of Montana) share how they’ve worked with their boards and staff to transform their organizational cultures and center racial equity amid rural, politically conservative environments.  

Along the way, Brenda shares the complexities of doing this work as a Brown woman in a conservative state, Sharon normalizes emotion and heart in the workplace, and together they emphasize that it’s not only okay to be completely human, but also necessary to move this work forward.

Philanthropy Northwest’s current and two preceding Board Chairs – Nichole June Maher, Aleesha Towns-Bain and Kevin Walker – kick off our pilot season on racial equity work at the governance level, stitching together memories across 13 years of the Philanthropy Northwest board’s racial equity journey. 

Together they reflect on where the board was in 2010 – predominantly white and male, without an explicit commitment to centering racial equity – and where it is today in 2023, with 13 of the 18 directors being people of color, an explicit and unanimous commitment to centering racial equity, and on a journey to explore of how best to live into this commitment. 

They provide a transparent account of challenging moments and lessons learned along the way, emphasizing the importance of identifying and shifting the unwritten rules of boards that perpetuate exclusive practices and disproportionately harm board members of color. They also celebrate how over time, the board shifted from a culture that shied away from conflict towards one that embraced disagreement. “That was a really powerful growth period for the board,” Aleesha shares.