2 minute read
Erika Gee
NATIONAL COALITION FOR ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT | OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA
Erika leads a group at Chinatown CDC’s Made in Chinatown exhibit at 41 Ross, a community arts space in San Francisco.
Erika participates in a discussion as part of the National CAPACD’s Asian American Pacific Islander Creative Placemaking Learning Circle.
THIS PROGRAM FOR ME has been a fortifying experience. The Catalyst Collective space has helped me think about how my peers and I practice leadership in ways that are authentic to who we are. We look at how we structure and interact within our organizations to be more effective, and examine systems to move the nonprofit sector to positively impact our communities and neighborhoods. I have appreciated both sessions as a group to connect with my peers and with my individual coach. These provide a time to pause, to be reflective, and to expand my leadership practice, so that I can apply my learnings to my organization and the BIPOC people that we serve.
In thinking about the future of nonprofit leadership, I am hopeful for new strategies and practices that draw on more equitable models. These include looking at what shared leadership might look like and how nonprofits are able to practice it. To make this possible, we need to consider what equitable grantmaking and resource development looks like, and how we can change these systems for more BIPOC nonprofits to be truly sustainable.
I hope that decision makers in philanthropy can see and value unrestricted general operating funds and funding for professional development like the Catalyst Collective. These offer the opportunity to equip leaders like myself with the energy, inspiration, and tools to create powerful, long-lasting organizations.
ABOUT
Erika Gee is an educator, organizer, and cultural worker. She currently serves as fundraising and program manager at National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (National CAPACD), where she supports arts, culture and storytelling efforts that further neighborhood economic development, community planning and resident engagement. Her love is developing programs for social change, which have been experienced at San Francisco’s Chinatown Community Development Center and in museums and cultural centers in Los Angeles, New York, and the Bay Area.
