A: Every single sector we look at in society — who’s in positions of some sort of leadership or power — there’s always underrepresentation of folks of color. That’s something that we want to change. I would love to see it in philanthropy, especially seeing folks of color who really understand the issues, have seen them firsthand, who have done work on the ground. Because then when you come to the philanthropic side, you really have an understanding of why and how the work is being done. When I was looking for work, a lot of positions required a master’s degree. And even though I have the experience of being an executive director for six years, running an organization from finances and human resources to the leadership of the organization, that doesn’t matter until you have certain credentials. We need to look at the disinvestment in communities of color and the education pipeline. How do we invest in them? But also just thinking about different types of leadership. Being a program officer, anybody can do the role. When I was an executive director, I would tell workers you could be the executive director of this organization — you’re a leader in the organization, you understand the organization, you know the work, because you’ve been on the ground, being workers in other positions where they’re helping run the organization. I was like, you can do it. Everybody is capable of doing it. I think we need to demystify this idea of professionalism and what professionalism means in order to open the doors for more people to come to the workforce, not only philanthropy.
