Michael O'Bryan

HUMANATURE; THE LINDY INSTITUTE FOR URBAN INNOVATION AT DREXEL UNIVERSITY | PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA

“It ‌ is my belief that we have to begin to reimagine the design and implementation of all systems through a lens of shared-humanity. This means we must start with a brave reckoning of our systems and their origins.”

Michael at Drexel Park.

Source: “Generation Change Philly: The Modern Humanitarian” by Christine Speer Lejeune, November 2021

Michael at Humanature offices.

THIS SPACE WAS TRULY TIMELY given the convergence of issues the country experienced over the last 18 months, particularly the racial and class reckoning that coincided with the pandemic. It was a gift to have a space to process and breathe with other leaders of color from around the country who are actively sense-making and working through these issues. To put it simply, it has been energizing. The Catalyst Collective program helped me stay grounded during a time of massive change and shifts in the Philadelphia region, while also providing access to coaches, reading material, and tools that supported me through leadership development and personal well-being in realtime.

A new level of collaboration and work is on the horizon and it is an exciting time to be in the field. Something that excites me about the future of nonprofit leadership is the opportunity to reimagine the sector through the lens of epistemic justice. So much of our work needs to be rooted in a full history of space, place, and the multi-sector relationships that have impacted people and the issues they are living through. We have the opportunity to share power and fully diversify who is at the decision-making table. Historically excluded populations should be actively shaping, designing, and participating in the leadership of the programs, research, sense-making, and metrics that will go into anything meant for them.

It is my belief that we have to begin to reimagine the design and implementation of all systems through a lens of sharedhumanity. This means we must start with a brave reckoning of our systems and their origins. Overarchingly, our systems were created with mass dehumanization as a core idea and function of their foundation, giving way to racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, ageism, and all of the systems of oppression we see today. While it can seem overwhelming to consider dehumanization as a common historic and active component across all of our systems, with this framing we can actively shape a new frontier of design in policy-making, systems and programs operations, research, and social impact metrics. This new frontier can be rooted in concepts like “the right to thrive” and use the human development model found in health sciences to ground that journey. We have a new opportunity to situate DEI/REI, Belongingness, and other hot-button issues within a larger framework and structure that considers the humanity, care, and well-being of ALL generations to come. The work will be hyper iterative and will need the most interdisciplinary, intergenerational, inclusive, and diverse table our contemporary world has yet seen.

“So ‌ much of our work needs to be rooted in a full history of space, place, and the multi-sector relationships that have impacted people and the issues they are living through.”

Philadelphia

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