Supporting BIPOC Executive Leadership: A Revolutionary Imperative

In the wake of 2020’s racial upheavals, many predominately and historically white institutions began to hire BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) to serve in executive leadership roles. Those organizations that successfully hired BIPOC Executive Directors (EDs) were frequently viewed as the most revolutionary, transformative, and inspiring within the field. Yet structural and systemic challenges rooted in White supremacy, racism, and sexism – particularly impactful for women of color – consistently prevented BIPOC EDs from doing their jobs or even living out the terms of their contract. In this session, we begin to unpack the questions: “How do we mitigate the negative experiences leaders of color face when charged to lead historically white organizations? How do we support executive leaders of color – physically, emotionally, and financially - within systems that consistently fail to provide the resources they need for success? What are some tangible steps to support and help retain BIPOC EDs before and during the recruitment and hiring process, throughout onboarding, and beyond? How do we help BIPOC executive leaders at historically White institutions thrive?”

Join GIA on December 6, 2022, at 2p EST/11a PST to hear from Kellee Edusei (Dance/USA), Anne Huang (World Arts West), and Kaisha S. Johnson (Women of Color in the Arts), BIPOC Executive Directors, who are engaged in transforming their organizations and the arts field by centering anti-racist and racially equitable practices. This dialogue aims to address, through narrative storytelling of lived experiences, how the philanthropic sector must consider support of leaders of color an imperative as part of its work towards racial equity.

Live captioning will be available in English throughout the webinar. For additional accommodation requests, please contact GIA Senior Program Manager, Sherylynn Sealy, at least three (3) business days prior to the event.