Each year ninety-nine girlfriends hosts interactive education programs about a learning question. This year our question is “How Do We Embed Racial Equity in All That We Do?
This question echoes a challenge that many philanthropies are grappling with as the racial reckonings of the past year have created momentum for change. Other foundations and collective giving circles are already well along on their path to be more inclusive and more deliberate about how to respond to issues of racial injustice, Their stories can help us as we continue to learn and grow. Our Discovery Forum event on June 10 features speakers from other philanthropic organizations sharing the lessons they’ve learned in their own efforts to adapt and adopt ways of working to fulfill their racial equity goals. Hear about how two local foundations have shifted their work with grantees and their internal structures. Learn how one of our women's collective giving circles has pivoted to emphasize racial equity. Reflect together on where we are going in our own journey!
Speakers
Se-Ah-Dom Edmo
Executive Director, MRG Foundation
Se-ah-dom Edmo, Shoshone-Bannock, Nez Perce & Yakama, is MRG’s Executive Director. She brings deep experience in community organizing for racial and social justice work across the nation. A hallmark of her career has been fostering relationships and collaborations between tribes and organizations that do social, racial, environmental, and economic justice work across the region. Se-ah-dom is currently a member of the Steering Committee of Oregon Recovers and is an ALF Senior Fellow. She is co-editor of the Tribal Equity Toolkit 3.0: Tribal Resolutions and Codes for Two Spirit and LGBT Justice in Indian Country and American Indian Identity: Citizenship, Membership & Blood. Prior to joining MRG Se-ah-dom served as the Sovereignty Program Director at Western States Center where she was the coalition convener of Tribal History: Shared History (Senate Bill 13, 2017) in Oregon – this law established and funded the teaching of Indian History and Sovereignty in K–12 Schools across the state.
Se-ah-dom lives in Portland with her husband James and their children Siale, Imasees and Miyosiwin, as well as her parents, Ed and Carol Edmo. Se-ah-dom’s ancestors are from Celilo, a fishing village along the Columbia River and one of the oldest known settlements in the West.
Nancy Ramirez Arriaga
Building Community Program Officer, Meyer Memorial Trust
Born and raised in Mexico, Nancy Ramirez Arriaga has called Oregon home for more than 30 years. For Nancy, nonprofits have been places to build community and vehicles for supporting social justice, and she has held nonprofit positions including strategist, developer, director, adviser, consultant and board member. Throughout her career, Nancy has developed and managed multiple programs including Latino Network and Adelante Mujeres where she created sustainable, culturally specific programs with long-term community impact.
Nancy currently serves on the Oregon Department of Education Latino/a/x and Indigenous Student Success Advisory Group, and previously served on the Nonprofit Association of Oregon board where, as board President, she launched an internal diversity, equity and inclusion change process. Nancy holds a MA in Leadership and Organizational Development from Saybrook
University, and a BA in Administration of Justice from Portland State University. She also studied at Universidad Latina de América in Morelia, Mexico, and received political training at Harvard University.
N. Elizabeth McCaw
Former Executive Director, Washington Women's Foundation
Beth McCaw is the co-founder and President of Bernier McCaw Foundation. She is the former President & CEO of Washington Women’s Foundation and until 2011, practiced law as a shareholder in the Seattle office of Stokes Lawrence, P.S. As a member of the leadership team of the Washington Women’s Foundation, a 20-year old women’s collective giving circle, Beth was a key player in the group’s recent transformation to focus on increasing equity and reducing disparities through their grantmaking. A long-time community volunteer who has chaired numerous boards, Beth currently serves as the Chair of the Boards of Directors of YWCA USA and Northwest Wine Benefit Foundation. She also volunteers as a Board leadership trainer for ArtsFund and 501 Commons.
Beth received a Masters in Not-for-Profit Leadership from Seattle University in 2000 and is a graduate of Davidson College and the University of Georgia School of Law.
Welcome
Erin Zollenkopf
Susan Matlack Jones & Associates
Erin is the CEO of Susan Matlack Jones & Associates (SMJ), a bookkeeping firm specializing in not-for-profit accounting that works with over 100 Oregon and Washington nonprofits. Erin serves as the Board Chair for ninety-nine girlfriends, a collective women’s giving circle and is on the board of the Oregon Historical Society. She is also a member of the public advisory board for Portland Parks & Recreation. Erin speaks and leads workshops in her field, including a workshop series through Regional Arts & Culture Council called DIY Accounting for Small Arts Nonprofits. Besides accounting, Erin enjoys spending time with her husband and two young children, playing piano and mandolin, and adventuring outdoors.
Event Moderator
Cleo Tung
Development Director, Partnership for Safety & Justice
Cleo is the Development Director of Partnership for Safety & Justice, an advocacy group dedicated to ending mass incarceration, advancing racial justice, and helping survivors of violence heal in Oregon. Previously, she worked in development at UCLA, where she helped increase access to STEM education and raised support for the university’s research, education, and community outreach programs in women’s health. Cleo received a BA in Criminology from UC Irvine and MPhil in Criminological Research from the University of Cambridge. She serves on the board of the Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO) and Oregon Abuse Advocates & Survivors in Service (OAASIS).