STRATEGIC PROGRAM FOR ACTION &
COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT

Developing Leadership among Service Providers for Social Change

This program is designed specifically for staff of service organizations to build their own leadership capacities and incorporate social change values and practices into their work.  PILA believes that a social change framework – where engaged individuals analyze and take collective action to transform the systemic problems that result in inequalities – will increase the ability of service organizations to address the needs of those they serve.  Program participants will explore social change strategies and models that complement their service provision without increasing their workload.  The lens of this program is to build a bridge between service organizations and community organizing groups, especially those that serve the same constituency.  Our movement for social change benefits when we all work together.
This Program Is for You If

• You provide services to low income immigrants and people of color in the Bay Area AND
• You are interested in developing strategies for constituent engagement and new ways to connect with community organizing groups who also work with your constituency.

What to Expect

• An orientation on March 5, 10-12pm and 6 full-day intensive sessions on April 9, May 7, June 4, July 9, August 6, and September 10
• Concrete peer-learning opportunities in an environment of mutual support
• A practical hands-on approach so that participants can take the modeled techniques, tools, and training back to their organizations and communities
• Food provided & convenient meeting location

You will engage with other participants to

• Explore a social change framework that can help you to better meet the needs of your constituents.
• Develop your own leadership as an agent of change.
• Explore different models of how other organizations engage constituents for social change through service work.
• Practice new skills in areas of constituent engagement and mobilization, and partnership with community organizing groups.
• Begin building an effective bridge between service providers and community organizing groups to increase the strength and scale of our movement for social change.

To apply, please download  application
Questions?  Contact Hai Binh Nguyen, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , 415.821.4808x104

BUILDING LEADERSHIP FOR CHANGE

Connecting Services to Social Movements

MARCH 12, 2009, Preservation Park, Oakland, California

The one-day convening focused on just over  65_participating_organizations 31.50 Kb/142 participants who provide services,  advocacy, or training to immigrant constituents and are interested in integrating or shifting towards community organizing in order to increase the engagement of their immigrant constituents to create social change. It consisted of a plenary session and workshops with a focus on topics ranging from leadership development-organizational readiness; building a social change movement; movement building-electoral organizing; peer consulting and feedback; shifting framework from serving clients to empowering people as agents of social change; to connecting to organizing campaigns and coalition building. We have developed a  resource list that came out of request from each workshop/plenary!  Additionally, in an effort to document and share the experience and learning from the convening with a greater number of people, we recorded the opening plenary and two of the workshops: Crisis and Opportunity:  Building a Social Change Movement in New Economic Realities & On the Ground:  Leadership Development Roundtable. The videos are available at http://www.youtube.com/pilaweb!

Additionally, Mores resources will also be available on PILA’s website and in the coming months, we will

 be launching Build the Wheel , a new collaborative online resource and curriculum sharing website where grassroots community organizations and other movement building organizations can share tools, resources and curriculum. Please stay tuned!

Special Thanks! goes out to: Participants; Presenters/Panelists; Translators/Interpretors: Liliana Herrera, Andrea Cristiana Mercado-Hamm, and Evelyn Sanchez; Video Producer: Barni Axmed Qaasim from IFTIIN Productions; and Sponsor and In-kind donations from Van Loben Sels/RembeRock Foundation, Peet’s Coffee, and Noah’s Bagel.

Workshop_Resource_List 54.00 Kb

Quotes from Participants:

·         "Very inspiring! I loved, loved the fact that the presenters were People of Color in majority!

·         Good mix; I was glad the convening also focused on a long term perspective.

·         I appreciated the real talk more than the theory part."

"I found the 'best practices' I learned from workshops and the models presented through St. Peter’s,  Women’s collective at La Raza, and Graton’s  Day Labor Program very helpful. I also appreciate making connections to organization, representatives, and resources. "

"It had me thinking about how to engage members in the organization & leadership development, and how to use the current crisis in this country as an opportunity & possibility of mergers with relevant organizations."

List of workshops and Presenters/Panelists:

Opening Plenary: Connecting Services to Social Movements

Eric Quezada, Dolores St. Community Services; Pam Tau Lee, Chinese Progressive Association; Hillary Ronen, La Raza Centro Legal; Maria Jimenez, Mujeres Unidas y Activas; and moderated by Allison Lum, Partnership for Immigrant Leadership and Action

Workshop A - On the Ground:  Leadership Development Roundtable

Presenters: Davin Cardenas, Centro Laboral de Graton; Maria Poblet, St. Peter’s Housing Committee; facilitated by Le Tim Ly, Partnership for Immigrant Leadership and Action

Workshop B - Crisis and Opportunity:  Building a Social Change Movement in New Economic Realities

Presenters: Steve Williams, People Organized to Win Employment Rights; N’Tanya Lee, Coleman Advocates for Youth; and facilitated by Eric Shih, School of Unity and Liberation

Workshop C - Building Organizational Readiness: Approaching Leadership Development and Organizing for Service Providers

Presenters: Eric Quezada, Dolores St. Community Services; facilitated by Allison Lum and Claudia Gomez-Arteaga, Partnership for Immigrant Leadership and Action

Workshop D - Local Grassroots Organizing to the Obama Administration: Movement Building Electoral Organizing

Presenters: Robbie Clark, Just Cause Oakland; Alvaro Sanchez, Coleman Advocates for Youth; Alex Tom, Chinese Progressive Association; Geraldine Alcid, Filipinos for Affirmative Action; and facilitated by Lolita Roibal, Mobilize the Immigrant Vote California Collaborative

Workshop E - Making the Transformation: A Case Study

Presenters: Aryeh Shell, SOMOS Mayfair and Helen Kim, Building Movement Project

Workshop F - Troubleshooting for YOUR Organization:  Peer Consulting and Feedback Workshop

Presenters: Facilitated by Oscar Grande, PODER / Mission Anti-Displacement Coalition; Davin Cardenas, Centro Laboral de Graton; and Allison Lum and Le Tim Ly, Partnership for Immigrant Leadership and Action

Workshop G - Fundraising & Resources for Organizations Doing Leadership Development & Organizing

Presenters & Panelists: Carol Cantwell, Fun With Financials; Priscilla Hung, Grassroots Institute for Fundraising Training; Andrea Lee, Mujeres Unidas Y Activas; Ron Rowell, Social Justice Program, San Francisco Foundation; and facilitated by Oscar Flores, Partnership for Immigrant Leadership and Action

Workshop H - Political Engagement & Politicizing Services - Shifting Framework: From Serving Clients to Empowering Individuals as Agents of Social Change

Presenters: Maria Poblet, St. Peter’s Housing Committee; Jill Shenker, La Raza Centro Legal’s Women’s Collective; and facilitated by Claudia Gomez-Arteaga, Partnership for Immigrant Leadership and Action

Peer Learning Programs, Trainings & Events

PILA is committed to nurturing ongoing and meaningful peer-learning opportunities among our partners as a means to both sustain their own leadership development and political participation strategies as well as strengthen their alliances with each other and with organizations new to the field.

PILA in collaboration with Center for Political Education , Chinese Progressive Association and Movement Generation hosted the Grassroots Leadership Gathering (GLG) in July 2009 with 39 immigrant community members and leaders participating from 11 organizations in the Bay Area. The organizations’ new, emerging, and veteran leaders came together to learn about the ecological crisis and tied leadership development and popular education to the relevant topic of the looming ecological crisis. Participants were able to analyze through the lens of local and worldwide economics, politics, culture, and recent efforts and take that analysis to their local organizing efforts! 

Additionally, once the tools are finalized, they will be distributed to participating organizations and publicly through Build the Wheel.

What is the GLG?

¿Qué es la Reunión de Liderazgo de Base (GLG, por sus siglas en inglés)?

GLG Concept Paper Chinese

Immigrant Leadership Gathering

in April 2005, PILA along with our Partner organizations organized our first Immigrant Leadership Gathering.  During this ILG PILA partners can shared leadership strategies and experiences with other community organizations from throughout Northern California. Leaders and members shared specific examples of their work and successes in building grassroots immigrant leadership on such topics as: building multi-ethnic youth power, leadership development in legal and service organizations, parent involvement and leadership, member-led campaigns, using Teatro Popular in the community, electoral work and movement-building, and organizing immigrant workers.