Ten months into our Future Forward process and nearly six weeks since our last experiment update, we’re coming around for the home stretch. It took some doing to schedule the remaining engagements for our process, but we were finally able to align everyone’s calendars. Here’s a recap of recent and upcoming meetings: 10/16, Stepping Into Power rescoping call 10/20, Funders’…
Leslie Griep is the Director of Finance and Operations at Forward Together. Among the ‘outside’ perspectives we wanted to include in the innovation challenge were administrative and operational points-of-view, folks who aren’t always invited into such conversations. Leslie shared some of her thoughts about the workshop and subsequent experimentation process with me recently. AW: How would you describe yourself in…
Earlier this month, I corresponded with Robin Katcher to get her reflections on the Innovation Challenge workshop and impressions of the ensuing experiment process. Robin is a senior program advisor at Management Assistance Group. She brings profound love and humor to her work strengthening organizations, leaders, and networks in the social justice field. AW: How would you describe yourself in…
For the Future Forward Innovation Challenge, we were thrilled to bring together a stellar group of innovative folks from diverse backgrounds, including Steve Ma of Accelerate Change. I caught up with Steve earlier this month to talk about his experience at the workshop. AW: You’ve been a changemaker for two-plus decades—founded Live Green, a social enterprise focused on building a…
I’m tired, grateful, and excited. I’ve spent the past two days in Oakland with the most wonderful group of people you’ll ever find in one room, investigating the question: How might we generate resources differently to enable Forward Together to evolve sustainably, with agency and autonomy, toward a future in which all families can thrive? You could see and hear…
I’m excited to be embarking on this innovation stage of Future Forward, the heart of our project which we’ve been working toward for many weeks. For me, preparation started last fall when I was just beginning to learn about Forward Together and the reproductive justice movement. Stories from Ferguson, New York, Cleveland were warning all who would listen that the…
Early in January, Eugene and I met to brainstorm what the storytelling practice would look like. We had three goals: sharing what we are learning with others individual sensemaking of the unfamiliar experience collective synthesis of the emergent process and two requirements. Storytelling for Future Forward needed to be: shared. Storytelling would be the responsibility of all participants. real-time. We…
On a cool Thursday at the end of January, we gathered in Oakland. Several had traveled far, and some were meeting for the first time. By afternoon, we still had more questions than answers, but our band of 13 leaned in toward the questions and toward our common purpose, feeling the rug under our toes. Among us were funders, organizers,…