Centering Care in Our Approach
December 17, 2024
By Camille De La Rosa
This fall we released our Thriving Leaders & Communities report, featuring the insights and recommendations of 58 senior BIPOC leaders representing 39 cities across the United States. A year in retrospect since our three TLC convenings, I’m reflecting on my time supporting the TLC convening experience. Regardless of community population, geographic location, or service area, the leaders found safety and joy in their time together. Grounded in the wisdom of Patricia Hill Collins, I’m proud of the ways ProInspire elevated the ethics of care in our approach to convening thriving leaders in Washington, D.C., Detroit, and nationally over Zoom.
Rest and Rejuvenation
Experiencing rest and rejuvenation during our 3-day convenings was essential during our initiative. After rich conversations together around the nuances of thriving, we wanted to provide a sense of spaciousness and physical spsaces leaders could prioritize their wellness and care. For the in-person convenings, we set up optional relaxation stations the leaders could rotate between. Similar activities were present across all convenings. In Detroit, we offered free massages and an aromatherapy and DIY scrub class with Bath Savvy.
Photos from the TLC Detroit Convening by Featherstone Moments
Arts and Crafting Insights
One key activity across all of our TLC convenings was creating collages. Following a welcome dinner with guests, we explored what thriving looked like at the individual, organizational, and community levels through this collage activity. We intentionally purchased Black-centered collage books and magazines for leaders to use. The collages served as the bedrock of our TLC experience and many peer-centered conversations throughout the convening.
Photos from the TLC DC Convening (right photo by Johnny Brooks)
Visualize Thriving
ProInspire’s only national, virtual convening called for creative ways to hold space, host activities, and distill the gems from our conversations–all in the context of Zoom. As shown below, we tapped graphic recorder Rio Holaday to surface insights throughout our conversations. We chose to bring in graphic recording for this specific convening in order to build connection and continuity across our breakouts, pair shares, and large group conversations. Having the funding to power this creative visualization was significant, as many of these recommendations served as the foundation of our report.
To learn more about our Thriving Leaders and Communities initiative and how we centered care in our approach, watch our Cultivate Thriving video where our Director of Research & Impact Ashley Bernal shares more about our research findings, the intentional design behind our research approach, and the brilliance of the leaders of color who shared their wisdom with us.