2019 Funders Forum with Edgar Villanueva

Picture of Edgar Villanueva
When: 
Thursday, September 26, 2019 -
10:00am to 3:00pm EDT
Where: 
Congregation Bet Ha'am
81 Westbrook Street, South Portland
Registration Fee: 
Members: $120.00
Non-members: $155.00
Add to Calendar

Introduction

In Decolonizing Wealth: Indigenous Wisdom to Heal Divides and Restore Balance, Edgar Villanueva explores how money and various forms of privilege - together with colonial mindsets, processes, and structures - have divided and wounded people, communities, and organizations throughout the history of the United States. An enrolled member of the Lumbee Tribe, Edgar also suggests that Indigenous wisdom might help us decolonize wealth, so that it can be used to heal, restore, and connect.

About the Day

On September 26, the Maine Philanthropy Center will partner with Maine Initiatives to bring Edgar Villanueva to Maine. Guided by a mutual desire to promote equity in our state's philanthropic and nonprofit sectors, Maine Initiatives and the Maine Philanthropy Center look forward to hosting nonprofit leaders, funders, and community members for a morning of thought-provoking conversation. The day's schedule is as follows:  

10am - 12:30pm: A Conversation with Edgar Villanueva and Maine Leaders. The day will start off with remarks by Edgar Villanueva, followed by a conversation in which he and Jeannette Andre (the Maine Philanthropy Center's new president and CEO) discuss how equity and justice relate to philanthropy, nonprofit work, and funder-nonprofit relationships. Afterward, Maine-based nonprofit leaders and funders will share how they and their organizations are working to decolonize their professional endeavors, relationships, and institutions. Panelists include:

There will be opportunities for audience participation and questions.

12:30 - 1:15pm: Lunch. All are invited to an unprogrammed lunch. At meal's end, our nonprofit and consultant colleagues will be able to casually linger for additional networking time. Funders who are participating in the 2019 Funder Forum will transition to an afternoon content session.

1:15 - 3:00pm: Funders Forum. After lunch, funders will gather to think together about how to respond to questions of equity in tactical, strategic ways. This year's Funders Forum will focus on Census 2020 and how the philanthropic sector can help support a complete count. The afternoon's special guests will be Becky Hayes Boober, partnership specialist for the U.S. Census Bureau, and David Moy, interim executive director of the Hyams Foundation. Participants will hear about the implications of Census 2020, learn how funders are working to help ensure that under-counted communities are represented, and explore options for taking action toward equity and justice right here in Maine.

3:30pm - 4:30pm: Optional Reception with Jeannette Andre. The Funders Forum will be followed by a reception with Jeannette Andre, the MPC's new president and CEO. All are welcome - funders and nonprofit leaders alike. For planning purposes, please let us know whether you will attend by RSVPing at the "Reception with Jeannette Andre" event page.

We hope that you will join us in order to spend some time with Edgar, Jeannette, and your colleagues.

Edgar's book, Decolonizing Wealth: Indigenous Wisdom to Heal Divides and Restore Balance, will be available for purchase at a discount at this event.


Event Pricing

  Member Non-Member

Nonprofit, budget under $75,000

Nonprofit, budget over $75,000

Funder

Consultant

General Public

$40

$55

$120

$55

N/A

$50

$70

$155

$70

$70

Our event cancellation and refund policies may be accessed HERE.


About Edgar

Edgar Villanueva is a globally-recognized expert on social justice philanthropy. Edgar serves as chair of the board of directors of Native Americans in Philanthropy and is a board member of the Andrus Family Fund, a national foundation that works to improve outcomes for vulnerable youth. He currently serves as vice president of programs and advocacy at the Schott Foundation for Public Education, where he oversees grant investment and capacity building supports for education justice campaigns across the United States. Edgar previously held leadership roles at Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust in North Carolina and at the Marguerite Casey Foundation in Seattle. In addition to working in philanthropy for many years, Edgar has consulted with numerous nonprofit organizations and national and global philanthropies on advancing racial equity inside of their institutions and through their investment strategies. Edgar holds two degrees from the Gillings Global School of Public Health at The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. Edgar is an enrolled member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and resides in Brooklyn, NY.

About the Panelists

Maria Girouard of Penobscot Nation is an historian with particular expertise in the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act. She holds a master’s degree in history from the University of Maine. Maria is a longstanding community organizer and activist of environmental and social justice. She is a founder of The Peoples' Garden community garden at Penobscot Nation and dedicates many volunteer hours to community gardening. Maria is a 2015 recipient of the prestigious Maryann Hartman Award for her advocacy work on preserving the rights and cultural heritage of Penobscot Nation. She serves Maine-Wabanaki REACH as coordinator of health, wellness, and self-determination.

Marcia Minter is co-founder of the Indigo Arts Alliance—a nonprofit dedicated to the creative cultivation of people of color. Indigo Arts Alliance celebrates, inspires, and supports Black and Brown artists globally and locally. Its mission is to bring attention to the creativity of underrepresented artists of color and provide opportunity for collaboration between professional and emerging artists while building partnerships with the community. Marcia has spent her professional career as a creative director and thought leader for some of the world’s most iconic brands, including L.L. Bean, Microsoft, Nordstrom and Essence Magazine. A rare individual in her field, Marcia is a fierce advocate for the arts, community engagement and social activism, serving as a trustee of The Portland Museum of Art, and a board member of Maine Media Workshops and College, Maine Partners of the Americas, and Portland Ovations. 

Gabriela Alcalde is the newest executive director of the Elmina B. Sewall Foundation. She brings to the position over 20 years’ experience as a leader, grantmaker, and scholar working at the intersections of public health, community organizing, advocacy, racial equity and systems change. Over the course of her career, Gabriela has worked in the academic, governmental, and nonprofit sectors, developing an approach that recognizes the interrelated, systems-driven and community-centered nature of human and environmental health and wellbeing. A nationally recognized scholar and leader in public health and health philanthropy, Gabriela has published and presented widely on a host of topics related to public health, health disparities, women’s and reproductive health, intimate partner violence, immigrant justice, and equity in philanthropy. Gabriela holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Louisville, a master’s degree in public health from Boston University, and a doctorate in public health from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. 

Lelia DeAndrade is vice president of community impact at the Maine Community Foundation. In this role, she provides leadership for the foundation’s grantmaking and community impact operations, which includes the development, delivery, and evaluation of programmatic strategies and policies. Lelia holds a PhD in sociology from Syracuse University and was a post-doctoral fellow at Harvard. Before joining the staff of the Maine Community Foundation, Dr. DeAndrade was the associate director of the Center for the Prevention of Hate Violence, where she designed and delivered anti-bias programs for angry kids and misbehaving adults in a variety of settings. She moved to Maine in 1994 to teach on the faculty at Bowdoin College.

Funders Forum Featured Guests

Becky Hayes Boober is a partnership specialist for the U.S. Census Bureau, covering Midcoast and Downeast Maine. She works with local communities, nonprofits, state and city governments and other local, trusted voices to make certain a full count of everyone living in Maine is achieved in the 2020 Census. The Census impacts planning, representation, and the distribution of federal resources to local communities for schools, roads, health clinics and other important services and programs. Prior to joining the Census Bureau, Boober worked as a senior program officer and a vice president in philanthropy for a decade. She also worked over 20 years for the State of Maine, in the Commissioner’s Office of three state departments: Education, Health and Human Services, and Corrections.

David Moy is currently the interim executive director for the Hyams Foundation.  He joined the Foundation in 2006 as the program officer for the civic engagement and community organizing strategy.  He is a first generation immigrant who has lived in Boston since 1963.  David started his career as a community youth worker and worked his way through different roles in community-based organizations.  Just prior to joining Hyams, David worked 15 years as the executive director of the Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center and, before that, as the regional coordinator for the Jamaica Plain Community Centers.  David is currently a steering committee member of the national Justice Funders Network and a founding member of the Social Justice Funders Network of MA.  In addition, David is a member of Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy a founding member of the local Saffron (Asian) Giving Circle. 


Do you need an accomodation in order to fully participate in this program? Please contact Alyssa Lodewick at alyssa@mainephilanthropy.org or 207-228-8289 as soon as possible to discuss your specific needs.


Interested in this event? Perhaps the following might also be of interest:

 

Event type: