Becoming The Vision

Chera, Efrain and Trinel welcome Lulete Mola, Co-Founder and President of the Black Collective Foundation MN. The discussion centers on the foundation's mission to foster Black-led change and build holistic well-being within Black communities. Lulete shares insights on the broader social fatigue permeating our work and world right now. The dialogue offers a powerful reflection on the roadmaps our ancestors have left us and future visions for what we want to build.

In this bonus episode, Chera and Efrain from Freedom Dreams in Philanthropy engage in a heartfelt reflection on the elections. They explore themes of grief, resilience, and the concept of surrender amidst political and social uncertainty. The conversation covers the impact on various marginalized communities, personal anecdotes, and strategies for maintaining hope and humanity. They emphasize the importance of setting boundaries, self-preservation, and fostering a compassionate future while navigating personal and collective challenges.

In the third episode of our second season of Becoming The Vision, we welcome Carly Hare, incoming CEO of Headwaters Foundation! In this episode, we reflect on the meaning of “Solidarity,” as a practice, an ongoing process, and one that’s sometimes painful as we allow vulnerability and navigate differences. Carly grounds the conversation in her indigenous roots, her Pawnee namesake as a “kind leader of men,” and a vision of community that feels as warm and pragmatic as an elder’s love. #Philanthropy #FreedomDreaming #CollectiveLiberation #NAHM #NativeAmericanHeritageMonth #Indigenous 

In our second episode of Season 2 of Becoming the Vision, we’re excited to welcome Ryan Easterly, Executive Director of the WITH Foundation! In this episode, Ryan articulates a vision for freedom that fundamentally involves being "in relationship"—with all the identities that shape who we are and with others in the safety of community. He powerfully argues that this vision requires full inclusion of people with disabilities, moving beyond tokenization. Ryan also highlights that community can sometimes harm, emphasizing the need for ongoing adjustments to ensure everyone is accommodated. When disability inclusion is real, we all thrive!

We’re kicking off Season 2 of Becoming the Vision with a powerful conversation featuring Tonya Allen, President of the McKnight Foundation! In this episode,Tonya shares why kindness is essential to her life and leadership—delving into the profound difference between kindness and niceness, and the former's power to bear truth and foster change. She also explored how we can transform philanthropic practice by focusing less on following trends and more on leaning into our personal and professional power to rewrite the rules.

Chera, Efraín and Trinel look back on the first season of Becoming the Vision and look forward to the next one. They discuss how the words from Season 1's guests...crossroads, democracy, remember, open-heartedness, sparks and inspired...are connected and how they begin to outline a path toward racial justice and collective liberation. They also take a question from a listener about staying the course in light of rollbacks on commitments to justice.

In this episode we explore inspired leadership; how channeling our faiths and the spirit of those proximate to injustice can get us closer to Dr. King’s dream of “beloved community,” and to the philanthropy’s roots in love for humankind. Robert K. Ross is president and chief executive officer of The California Endowment, a private statewide foundation established in 1996 to address the health needs of Californians. Before he joined the endowment in 2000, he served as director of the Health and Human Services Agency for the County of San Diego. He has an extensive background in health philanthropy and as a public health administrator and clinician. He has served as a commissioner for the Philadelphia Department of Public Health; medical director for LINK School-Based Clinic Program in Camden, New Jersey; an instructor of clinical medicine, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia; and as a faculty member at San Diego State University’s School of Public Health. He has been involved in community and professional activities at both the local and national level. He is a member of the President’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for African Americans and co-chair of the Diversity in Philanthropy Coalition. He is a past member of the California Health Benefit Exchange Board, the Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors Board, National Vaccine Advisory Committee, and the boards of Grantmakers in Health, the National Marrow Donor Program, San Diego United Way, and Jackie Robinson YMCA. In addition to serving on the PPIC Statewide Survey Advisory Committee, he is a Diplomate of the American Academy of Pediatrics and has served on the President’s Summit for America’s Future. He chaired the national Boost for Kids Initiative and was honored by the Council on Foundations as the Distinguished Grantmaker of the Year for 2008. He received his MD, MPA, and bachelor’s degrees from the University of Pennsylvania.

In this episode, we explore the path from community organizing to philanthropy leadership with Rickke Mananzala, President of the ⁠New York Foundation⁠. Rickke Mananzala has been active in grassroots organizing, advocacy, and social justice philanthropy in service of racial, economic, and gender justice movements for more than two decades. He currently serves as the President of the New York Foundation, which supports community organizing and advocacy towards a more just and inclusive New York City. He previously served as Vice President of Programs at Borealis Philanthropy, a philanthropic intermediary that brings funders together to support leaders, organizations, and grassroots movements in their efforts to build power for transformative change. Rickke’s roots are in grassroots organizing, including serving as an organizer and eventually the Executive Director of FIERCE, a grassroots organization for LGBTQ youth of color in New York City that spearheaded campaigns to challenge youth criminalization. He was a New Voices Fellow at the Sylvia Rivera Law Project where he worked to integrate legal services, litigation, and policy advocacy to support organizing by and for low-income transgender people in New York City. Rickke was a founding board member of the Right to the City Alliance and served on the board Funders for LGBTQ Issues and the Third Wave Foundation (now Third Wave Fund) where he helped develop grantmaking strategies to support feminist youth organizing work across the U.S. He is currently a board member of the Public Welfare Foundation and Philanthropy New York. Rickke received his B.A. in political science from Columbia University and Master of Public Administration from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs with a focus on urban policy. --- Learn more about ⁠Freedom Dreams in Philanthropy⁠

In this episode, we explore servant-leadership and it's connection to mission, values and democracy with Fatima Angeles. We also get real about philanthropic shenanigans and what we can do to transcend them. Fatima Angeles is the executive director of the Levi Strauss Foundation, which advances pioneering social change in the areas of worker rights and well-being, democracy, reproductive justice and immigrant rights in communities touched by Levi Strauss & Co.’s business. Before joining LSF, Fatima was vice president of programs at The California Wellness Foundation where she provided executive leadership and strategic vision for the foundation’s programs in grantmaking and program-related investments. --- Learn more about ⁠⁠Freedom Dreams in Philanthropy⁠⁠

In this episode, we explore what it means to walk through the world with an open heart, the opportunities it creates for connecting across our differences, and for strengthening resilience as we manage the long work of building beloved community. Dennis Quirin is the executive director of the Raikes Foundation. Dennis oversees the Foundation’s work in advancing equity and sets the organization’s priorities on strategy, grantmaking and partnerships. In 2023 he established the Resourcing Equity and Democracy (RED) department at the Foundation to compliment the foundation's long-standing and successful focus on improving youth serving systems. RED focuses on building a representative, multiracial democracy through base organizing. While at the Raikes Foundation, Dennis has overseen the grant approval process moving 125 million dollars to hundreds of nonprofits to advance the Foundation’s work.    Learn more about ⁠Freedom Dreams in Philanthropy⁠