, have devoted more than a decade of my life to
supporting women to find their power and step into their leadership.
My focus has been on three areas of interest—(1) women’s
individual development, (2) the interpersonal dynamics between women
and among women and (3) systemic and political issues that face communities
of women. For me oppression and misogyny are the threads that constitute
a dynamic interplay between and at each of these levels of system.
to focus on women,
I developed a seasoned Organization Development practice where the foci
of my work was leadership development, collaborative culture change efforts
and the management of diversity as key strategies for creating environments
that are productive and supportive of all employees. I continue to do
some of this work.
• helping women to understand their leadership potential
• consulting and coaching women to utilize and build on their capabilities
and
competence
• increasing women’s personal awareness of who they are, what they
bring, and
how they can use themselves effectively.
• providing conflict management, communication and consulting skills to
women
to strengthen their capacity for effective collaboration
• building understanding of how at the interpersonal level we can manage
our
differences and use these differences for increased collaboration.
• building bridges between women particularly around group level differences
.e.g., race, sexual orientation, religion, class, appearance, etc.
• working with women to be able to discuss, value and really delve into
our
differences
• letting women see that differences need not divide us…instead
understanding
and appreciating that differences may actually be a way for us to join and
integrate
• working to understand how organizations’ policies, practices and
procedures
influence and impact women
• understanding how systemic issues of misogyny and oppression impact
women’s lives locally and globally
• exploring and taking a political stance for social justice for women
and all
human beings on the planet
when I joined the WLC (Women’s Leadership Collaboration) developed by Alexandra Merrill
and Joyce Weir my life changed. I’ve since been involved in several
women’s collaboratives, i.e., WLC Lifelong, CenterPoint, Arana.
Then five years ago, when I became a member of the Women’s Way staff,
I realized that this work with women is my life work. I have also found that
most of my work in women’s collaborations is/has been with predominantly
groups of white women.
I have a mission
to offer this work to women of color—particularly black women.
I am in the process of developing a program offering called Tumeshajua to support women of African Ancestry.
. To sum up, my intention
is to clearly focus on TUMESHAJUA:You Already Know. I am also wanting
to build this women’s work globally in countries like Africa, India
and Curaçoa. I am clear about wanting to redefine the current
US definition of diversity, particularly as diversity impacts feminism
and global diversity.
I am a 60 year old woman. I have lived in the Nation’s Capital
for 30 years. What I know about my race is that I have African, Indigenous
(Native American) and English roots. I have no idea of the percentages;
although, I am sure that my African roots are the most prevalent, my
indigenous roots smaller and my English roots least prevalent. I was
born and raised in New England—Providence, Rhode Island—and
lived there for 30 years. I am a mother—2 sons—and a grandmother—3
grandchildren.
I am a member of the NTL Institute and haven been on the faculties of American University/NTL, John Hopkins University and The Gestalt Institute of Cleveland. |
