Social Innovation Forum
Foundation staff of mid- to large-size funders are welcome to attend an interactive session exploring how to build board buy-in and alignment toward values-aligned practices.
As funders work to operationalize institutional values– from adopting Trust-Based Philanthropy to centering community interests and decision-making– collaborating with the board of trustees is critical. The art of board engagement and fostering board buy-in can require carefully navigating competing interests, choice points, and power dynamics in order to identify places of alignment and chart a path forward. In this session, current and former funder practitioners will share scenarios that draw on their own experiences engaging boards to advance values-aligned practice.
Through breakout discussions, participants will unpack the case examples to consider how they might navigate and respond to questions panelists have explored in their work. Together with our panelists, participants will reflect and surface lessons learned on effective practices to build the conditions for values alignment and board support for transformational initiatives.
Please contact Carina Traub, Funder Learning Manager, with questions.
Facilitator & Guest Panelist:
Nahir Torres, Senior Director of Leadership Programs, Justice Funders
Nahir is Senior Director of Leadership Programs, joining Justice Funders’ Leadership Programs team, overseeing implementation of the Harmony Initiative, a cohort program that equips grantmakers with the community, skills, and resources to advance regenerative and transformative practice in philanthropy. She brings over 15 years in philanthropy, with positions at The Hyams Foundation and The Boston Foundation, where she honed her skills as a facilitative leader, convener, and network weaver, mobilizing resources for social justice. Most recently, she served as Deputy Director of The Hyams Foundation, which has a mission of increasing economic, racial, and social justice and power within working class communities in Massachusetts. During her tenure at Hyams, Nahir focused on resourcing and cultivating close partnerships with BIPOC and working-class movement organizations, while working to shift philanthropic practice and funding in greater alignment with movement.
Guest Panelists:
Sasha Russell-Ciardi, Senior Director of Member Organizing, Justice Funders
Sasha is committed to dismantling systems of oppression by nurturing transformative alternatives rooted in radical imagination and decolonial, feminist love. For over 25 years, Sasha has worked for grassroots social justice organizations, progressive cultural institutions, and in radical philanthropy. Her experiences in philanthropy include serving as the Managing Director of the Solidago Foundation during its anticipated sunset, and as the Managing Director of Donor Engagement at Grassroots International. Previously, she served for seven years as the Executive Director of Tenants & Neighbors, a grassroots organizing project working to protect at-risk affordable housing, where a substantial part of her work was collaborating with the Board. She also worked for five years as the Education Director at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, and has worked part-time and as a freelance consultant for movement and movement-support organizations including the Street Vendor Project, Equality for Flatbush, and the Rhiza Collective. Sasha’s praxis as a leader includes participating in an intensive training program on Leading After the Funder, and in the North Star Fund’s Movement Leadership Program.
Natanja Craig Oquendo, Executive Director, Boston Women’s Fund
Natanja brings an unwavering passion for community solutions, her unique lived experience, and over 20 years of nonprofit and philanthropic expertise to her work as Executive Director of the Boston Women’s Fund. Since joining Boston Women’s Fund in 2020, Natanja has advanced the organization’s mission to invest in, advocate for, and uplift women, girls, and gender-expansive individuals. In 2022, she launched Boston Women’s Fund’s first-ever Seed Funding Grant to combat Black leaders’ exclusion from philanthropy. Committed to creating spaces for women of color, Natanja also co-founded the Women of Color Leadership Circle, a program uniquely designed to tackle the impacts of isolation and white supremacy culture in the workplace. Natanja believes that when philanthropy works in true partnership with communities we can create a just world for women, girls, and gender-expansive people. Prior to the Boston Women’s Fund, Natanja held positions at The Boston Foundation, Fidelity Investments, The Partnership, Inc., The Possible Project, and the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts. She serves on the board at Philanthropy Massachusetts and the advisory board at Harvard Law Center and Everyday Boston. Natanja is a part of two Fellowships: the UMass Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy and the Black Leadership Initiative. Natanja is also a YW Boston 2023 Academy of Women Achievers honoree.