Remaking the Economy: Redefining Leadership

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Increasingly, people of color are becoming leaders of national community development organizations. When they do so, they face not only the challenge of taking the helm in historically white-led organizations, but the challenge of leading in times when more is demanded of leaders. What strategies are being used to address these challenges? And how are notions of what it means to be a leader being redefined?

For this conversation, our panelists are:

Tony Pickett is CEO of the Grounded Solutions Network, a Black-led national nonprofit based in Washington, DC, which supports inclusive housing policies, community land trusts and multiple other housing models with lasting affordability.
Dr. Akilah Watkins is former president and CEO of the Center for Community Progress, which works to works to transform vacant properties into neighborhood assets. She will also soon be president and CEO of Independent Sector, a national nonprofit association.
Seema Agnani is the executive director of National CAPACD, a progressive coalition of nearly 100 community-based organizations that serve Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, spanning across 21 states and the Pacific Islands.

This webinar explores:

What do inclusive models of leadership for racial and economic justice look like?
Why is radical empathy” critical to effective leadership?
What does collective leadership look like?
What are some leading challenges in redefining leadership?
What is the role of partnerships in this work?
What are tangible examples of new leadership practices?
How do you invest in leadership and develop leaders?

Resources:

Seema Agnani, “AAPI Women Leaders Speak Out: We Are Not Your Flavor of the Month,” NPQ, May 25, 2021.

Michael Bochnovic and Courtney Knox, Championing Leaders of Color in Housing Equity and Community Development, Washington, DC: Center for Community Progress, April 2022.

Amy Costello and Frederica Boswell, “Facing ‘Existential Threat,’ Nonprofit Leaders Look to Cope and Make Change,” NPQ, April 16, 2020.

Steve Dubb, “What Does Community Development for Liberation Look Like?” NPQ, April 27, 2022.

Steve Dubb, “Housing Justice Leaders Assess How to Build Power for the Long Haul,” NPQ, May 25, 2022.

Tony Pickett, “Envisioning Radical Empathy for Community Land Ownership and Prosperity,” NPQ, December 8, 2021.

Marietta Rodriguez, Dr. Akilah Watkins, Lisa Rice, and Tony Pickett, “America’s Infrastructure Needs: Community Development Leaders Weigh In,” NPQ, October 27, 2021.

About the authors

Steve Dubb

Steve Dubb is senior editor of economic justice at NPQ, where he writes articles (including NPQ’s Economy Remix column), moderates Remaking the Economy webinars, and works to cultivate voices from the field and help them reach a broader audience. Prior to coming to NPQ in 2017, Steve worked with cooperatives and nonprofits for over two decades, including twelve years at The Democracy Collaborative and three years as executive director of NASCO (North American Students of Cooperation). In his work, Steve has authored, co-authored, and edited numerous reports; participated in and facilitated learning cohorts; designed community building strategies; and helped build the field of community wealth building. Steve is the lead author of Building Wealth: The Asset-Based Approach to Solving Social and Economic Problems (Aspen 2005) and coauthor (with Rita Hodges) of The Road Half Traveled: University Engagement at a Crossroads, published by MSU Press in 2012. In 2016, Steve curated and authored Conversations on Community Wealth Building, a collection of interviews of community builders that Steve had conducted over the previous decade.

Tony Pickett

Tony Pickett is CEO of the Grounded Solutions Network.

Seema Agnani

Seema Agnani (she/hers) serves as executive director of National CAPACD (pronounced “capacity”), a coalition of more than 100 community based organizations that advocate for and organize in low-income Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities. She has more than 25 years of experience in community development, capacity building, and immigrant rights. Agnani was a founder and executive director of Chhaya CDC, working in the South Asian community of New York City, leading the organization during the great recession and the aftermath of the attacks of 9/11. At Asian Americans for Equality in New York City, she managed affordable housing and economic development projects and neighborhood planning. She previously served as a member of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Community Advisory Board. Agnani is originally from the Chicago metro area, to which her parents emigrated from India.

Dr. Akilah Watkins

Dr. Akilah Watkins is president and CEO of Independent Sector. A 25-year national thought leader, conference speaker, and nonprofit executive, Dr. Watkins’ work began at the age of 14 when she led efforts to convert a vacant lot and abandoned home into a community center in Roosevelt, NY. Since then, she’s served as an executive leader for nonprofits and community development initiatives which includes work with the Obama administration, Center for Community Progress, NeighborWorks America, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and the Center for the Study of Social Policy. Dr. Watkins is an alumna of the University of Illinois at Chicago where she received her Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology. Dr. Watkins serves on multiple national boards of directors with Grounded Solutions Network, Up for Growth Action, National Housing Conference, and Common Future.

More about: Economic Justice

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