Support the Freedom of the Press – The Fight Goes On
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On November 7th, the Leaders of Color Collective partnered with AMPT: Advancing Nonprofits for LoCC in at AMPT, an event where nonprofit leaders of color came together for a panel discussion and community building.
The panel consisted of five leaders from a diverse set of organizations: ángela munguía, Executive Director of AMPT; Jamyle Cannon, Executive Director of The Bloc; Christina Bourné, Director of Development at Forward Momentum Chicago; Sheerine Alemzadeh, Co-Director and Co-Founder of Healing to Action; and Edwin Martinez, Executive Director and Co-Founder at Centro Sanar.
At the forefront of the discussion was the effort of undoing “white bias”, which can pervade every aspect of an organization’s existence. For example, philanthropy often dictates to nonprofit organizations of color that they must have the right results before funders will provide resources, leading organizations to prioritize metrics over the process. This same malefaction can also cloud an organization’s culture. The status quo of top-down leadership and lack of attention to staff care lead to leadership feeling isolated and team members feeling devalued, ultimately crippling the work.
In discussion of how to untangle from these long established and unhelpful yardsticks, each panelist had unique perspectives to share based on their challenges and successes as nonprofit leaders. A common theme was humanization: seeing each other as people first, rather than a metric or goal; centering the people who do the work through collective decision-making; and challenging the “great man theory” through co-leadership models that allow leaders to be vulnerable and lean on each other for support. Watch their conversation in-depth here.
The leaders left energized to go back to their respective teams and talk about what they learned. Many shared that they felt a renewed gratitude for the power of community. “We need each other,” one attendee wrote post-event.
Be on the lookout for the next event in 2025. There are several discussion topics in the works for following events: cultivating an engaged board, organizing community-led fundraising, and continuing to build collective power to make positive changes in the philanthropy sector.
The Leaders of Color Collective is immensely grateful to the panelists who shared their insightful experiences, to AMPT for collaborating on the event, and to all of the attendees who contributed to the energy and vulnerability in the room.
If you are a nonprofit leader of color and you would like to get involved with the Leaders of Color Collective, please reach out to Jessica Jones-Lewis at jessica(at)loganfdn(dot)org.
During a recent visit to Chicago, Rozina Breen, CEO and Editor-in-Chief of The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) in the UK, sat down with members of the RDLF team to talk about her experiences as a nonprofit leader of color.
Rozina is an award-winning editor who joined TBIJ in 2022 from the BBC. Her vision is to diversify the organization’s storytelling, representation, and sources of revenue.
Through our work with the Leaders of Color Collective (LOCC), we have seen that many nonprofit leaders, especially those of color, face unique hardships caused by a lack of trust and a withholding of resources due to ill-founded discrimination by many traditional philanthropic organizations and government agencies. However, we’ve learned that by being in community with their peers and having frank conversations about shared obstacles, nonprofit leaders of color can build toward collective action and power. We were very curious to hear how Rozina’s experience compared to our Chicago-based grantees and the LOCC initiative.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What are some unique challenges you experience as a leader of color in London?
Rozina: I think the challenges are multifold, and they’re well-documented and researched. If you’re older, female or non-binary, and of color then you have a disadvantage in many ways. There is an internal pressure that you are allowed to make fewer mistakes and you have to prove yourself more. Some might be overachieving in order to feel like they’re doing a good job. Perception is quite a big thing in our world, so how I articulate and present as a leader certainly feels different than a white male colleague in the same space.
Also, I’m older now, so I feel quite strongly that I’m going to lead in a way that I feel is really important, and that may not be traditional. For example, my style tends to be more collegiate, discursive, collaborative. I’m a good decision maker but I won’t always exhibit that like a traditional alpha male might. I think I’ve gotten more comfortable in my skin based on age and I feel more at ease with that. I’m also not scared to talk about things that matter around DEI in the newsroom because it comes from a personal perspective.
Another challenge is you don’t see many people like yourself in the space. Interestingly, if I’m in a forum with some of my colleagues who are white males, those will be the people that other people gravitate to or talk to. And then they might be surprised that actually I’m the CEO. Not that I’m hierarchical, I ironically don’t like hierarchy, but it’s interesting who picks up the conversations with who, especially in more affluent spaces. It’s back to the networks, and there are always networks. So, we learn to walk around the barriers, as we do in life.
Do you experience any lack of trust with your board or current funders? Is it hard to get your foot in the door with new funders?
Rozina: My board is really supportive. They hired me into the role. I remember Elaine Potter, our co-founder, asked me about my life on the first panel interview. She essentially deep-dived into my background, because my parents separated when I was young and we ran away from my grandparents’ home to live with my mom. She was really curious about that, and it opened the door for self-expression—to be able to feel that your history is part of your story, and your adversities and challenges as well. And so, they had really backed my ideas. I wanted to diversify our storytelling, to democratize the space of investigative journalism. I thought that was a really important thing to do, and they recruited me on that basis. I don’t feel I have to get around other barriers such as trust or presentation or communication. Interestingly, one person on our board would say I need to be more direct sometimes, and I think that goes back to style.
As for current funders, I really enjoy the relationship and the conversations with them. Logan [RDLF] is a very special foundation because it’s a place that inspires, celebrates, and requires difference, and I feel I can be my authentic self in that sort of space. With other new funders, it really depends. Some funders are really interested in our story and the work that we’re trying to do, which is around social good. You lean toward those organizations who have a similar remit or lens. Others are slightly more arms-length and conservative, and that’s fine, but you have to present in a different way. You work to the audience, really. And back to your first question, what are the barriers—sometimes I feel that maybe they would be having a different conversation if I wasn’t female, brown, or working class. But you have to learn to adapt in order to keep the organization going. And everybody in a leadership position has to adapt to meet their audience’s needs, so that is sort of a shared challenge.
It can be lonely at the top—do you have a network you’re able to lean on?
Rozina: It’s definitely lonely, and there are a lot of pressures in any leadership role. It’s easy to feel like the load is really heavy because you care for the people and you care for the output. You’re there as a collective. Newsrooms are human places and we all feel things. So, there is quite a heavy weight on our shoulders, and networks are really important.
I’ve learned to build a group of people, both professional and in my personal life, who are my go-to’s. Some of those are leaders in journalism that I go to for advice on issues or challenges, to understand how they did something or to have a trusted conversation. There are a few board members as well, and we have an advisory group that has capabilities we don’t have in the organization. Having people who have excelled in their field from whichever discipline are really good go-to people.
In my personal life, having a network of people who really know me is also really important. My husband is one of those. He’s a scientist by discipline and he knows me really well. He may not always say what I want him to say, but he’ll have a very rational, pragmatic approach. And then I have three children in their twenties. They are a really good litmus test for me, especially with the next generation. Sometimes I’ll say, I have this dilemma that I’m wrestling with, and they will tell me what my instinct is telling me in a way that a professional in the field might not. Our newsroom is quite young and we need to build trust with younger people. Public institutions, including some media organizations and newsrooms, are really losing the public trust. So, I’m not saying I’ll go to my kids and say what should I do, but they are really thoughtful young adults who are all taking different pathways in life. They present me with a different perspective on some of those challenges, and in the mix, that is a really valuable thing.
What sort of resources would have been helpful for you when you first started out as a leader of color, or would be helpful for you now?
Rozina: When I started out as a leader of color, I was really lucky. Katie Lloyd launched a program for women in leadership at BBC News. It was transformational. She would get really eminent speakers to have round tables where we learned about profile building, networking. I remember one of the speakers we had was Heather Rabbatts, who was the first woman and person of color on the Board of the Football Association. Her advice was to jump off the cliff; i.e. don’t just tread water in your careers, go where you thrive. It was a collection of these golden nuggets of advice that really spoke to you. I think that was really transformational in terms of the building blocks for resilience, networks, having your gang, looking for help out there.
The rest was more around curiosity. So, speaking to people whose value and judgement really resonated. Back again to your first question—if you feel different, you work harder in order to convince people that you can do it. So, the support network is much more around knowing what makes you good, as well as critical feedback. I remember reading somewhere that, if you ask trusted people in your network three words to describe you, you start to build a portfolio. This is who I am, what I’m about, how I’m perceived. Having building blocks of what it means personally to be a leader, how you really want to lead, how you want people to feel under your leadership—those are the things that I wish I had known way back.
Also, I always feel like I’m catching up with my career. I’m in my 50’s now, but I feel that there is so much more to do. I wish that maybe twenty years ago I’d had the confidence to go for things rather than waiting for the tap on the shoulder (which were, again, really instrumental moments in my career). So, I think my advice for the next generation is, don’t feel that you’ve reached the limit in whatever role you’re in. I wouldn’t say I would have made different choices, but I would have shot for the moon. And now I suppose maybe I’m going for some stars before I retire when I’m 80.
What do you think needs to change in the nonprofit journalism sphere?
Rozina: Firstly, all newsrooms need to be really inclusive. Representation matters at all levels of an organization. Where the decision making happens is really crucial, and giving power to people at every level is also really important.
Also, I suppose what I find uncomfortable in the nonprofit world is having to ask people for money. I come from a single parent immigrant household where my mom had three jobs so we could have piano lessons and go on school trips. And so, what I really find uncomfortable is being in a world where I have to… I mean, beg is quite a strong word, but ultimately, it’s going to people with money to survive. Some people would say philanthropy isn’t a business model, but it is a model. We are hugely grateful for all our philanthropists and people who support our world, and when you have a trusted relationship like with the Logan Foundation it feels really equitable and conversational and meaningful. With other organizations it feels a bit like going back to default and being that person in need again. That doesn’t feel particularly healthy. It brings me back to feeling like I don’t have power. And it’s not about single power, it’s about my collective power with my team. We don’t have power and yet we’ve got so much to achieve. With nonprofits, I can’t see how that will ever change.
Also, I think there needs to be an understanding at the political level and high decision-making level that independent nonprofit newsrooms are a valuable asset in the ecology of truth and trust and fighting for transparency. We say that journalism is a bedrock of a functioning democracy. Independent newsrooms absolutely play their place. In terms of the industry, we need a more level playing field with legacy newsrooms.
Thank you so much, I think that was very valuable.
Rozina: It felt like therapy, honestly, to even have the space for those conversations. Because you don’t ordinarily. I’ve had a couple of conversations with peers in the industry. Being able to say, oh wow, you also experience this, or it’s not just me—sharing experiences and having people give you tools to navigate that is really important.
On September 7th, The Reva and David Logan Foundation (RDLF) hosted an Open House and Community Day at Movement on Montrose. It was an opportunity to get to know people and businesses in the neighborhood.
The RDLF provided free food from our Rescue & Redistribution program and Cradles to Crayons provided free backpacks and diapers. Visitors helped themselves to as much as they needed.
DJ Matt kept the car park grooving all day. Inside, free dance classes were offered – from ballet to waacking – by Dance Avondale; plus, yoga from Laura Johnston and aerial silk demonstrations by Julie Matolo and Michelle Reid.
Pak Suan, a farmer from Global Garden Refugee Training Farm, brought fresh produce and free snacks of fried opo squash and marigolds both grown at the farm.
Sixteen vendors had tables in the event space, including Alderwoman Rossana Rodriguez’ office, which handed out free naloxone with instructions on when and how to use it. The Art of Wellness offered visitors a chance to sit down and relax through art making.
On August 14th, staff from The Reva and David Logan Foundation (RDLF) and children from Common Pantry’s “Common Kids” program volunteered at the second week of the pantry’s school supply distributions.
Common Pantry had supplies pre-assembled and ready to hand out to the families in line. Each child received a backpack and a school supply kit tailored to their grade level; for example, students in grades 4-6 received pencils, colored pencils, crayons, markers, glue sticks, scissors, a ruler, notebooks, and folders. Each child also received a book donated by the Lakeview YMCA and some candy to take home.
The RDLF has donated the majority of the school supplies used in Common Pantry’s distributions since 2020. Our donations increased from last year, but the need has increased even more so. Less than halfway through their second distribution, almost all of the school supplies we provided were gone.
Common Kids volunteers.
RDLF staff members Paulina Plewa, Jessie Mott, and Sabrina Boggs.
Common Pantry was able to serve 390 children through this year’s school supply distributions, which ran concurrently with their weekly full client choice grocery distribution that any person within Cook County can visit once a month. In the winter, RDLF also provides donations for their winter gear distributions through our Winter Wear program.
On July 9th, The Reva and David Logan Foundation (RDLF) celebrated the grand opening of Movement on Montrose (MoM), an event space and non-profit collective in the Albany Park neighborhood.
In addition to a large room for events, MoM has three dance studios that can be rented by organizations and community members. While the RDLF owns several buildings throughout Chicagoland, this is the first community building that will be operated by the Foundation, doing business as Movement on Montrose.
Friends and neighbors toured the space and networked before joining together in the event space for the ribbon cutting. Richard Logan, Board President of the RDLF, mentioned the importance of public meeting spaces for communities to gather in, and how the support of the community and local government is integral to the success of projects like MoM.
Alderwoman Rossana Rodriguez for the 33rd Ward spoke at the event as well, highlighting the need for more spaces in the community that are for the community. Alderwoman Rodriguez used to work as the Resident Director at Albany Park Theater Project (APTP), a grantee of the RDLF. At APTP, she became increasingly involved with the Albany Park neighborhood, helping to tell the stories of the working-class migrant families who reside there. She expressed that she’s happy to be involved in support of Movement on Montrose, which will also be for the benefit of the Albany Park community.
After the ribbon cutting, students from our partner Dance Avondale performed in one of the studios. It was an impressive and spirited performance. Dance Avondale provides high quality dance education for the community at subsidized tuition rates. They began classes at MoM on July 1st. Their summer classes will run through August 10th, and include options for early childhood, youth, and adults.
We are actively looking for partners to utilize the space. More details about dimensions and amenities can be found here. If you’d like a tour, please contact Lilly Torres, Operations Manager for Movement on Montrose, at Lilly(at)loganfdn(dot)org.
Jessie Mott is a Senior Program Officer at the Reva and David Logan Foundation, working with our Arts and Social Justice grantees. In addition, she manages our winter wear and school supplies distributions, as well as other special initiatives. Outside of her work with the Foundation, Jessie is an accomplished visual artist whose work spans an array of media, including drawing, painting, and collaborative projects. Her practice focuses on themes of identity and power by exposing unstable perceptions of the queer body. Jessie’s work has been exhibited widely, including in the International Film Festival Rotterdam and the Whitney Biennial.
Communications Coordinator Sabrina Boggs interviewed Jessie at her studio to learn more about her career as an artist, her upcoming shows, and her philosophies on being an artist and artist care.
When did you first get into art and decide to pursue it as a career?
Jessie: It started when I was young as an emotional outlet. I’m an only child and I spent a lot of time alone, so I would spend days drawing, making up creatures and naming them. Since early childhood, I have extremely vivid dreams and nightmares about animals—usually trying to save them in some capacity. Continuing into adulthood, it looks like stuffing half-dead ferrets with cigarette burns on their bodies in my coat in the subway; finding a thrashing two-headed unicorn abandoned for years in a university science lab dumpster; my body growing long hair, turning into a dog; giving birth to a hamster.
I went to NYU and majored in studio art. I loved the program but didn’t have much confidence. I didn’t think that I’d be able to support myself as an artist, so I always did other things in addition to my art making—fundraising, development, nonprofit work. I was living in New York City and cost of living was crazy, but I never stopped painting. I ended up making pet portraits for a living at one point.
It’s when I moved to Chicago that I started taking myself more seriously as an artist. I got an MFA from Northwestern, and that opened up a lot of doors, personally and professionally. I’m really grateful for that experience.
What are the inspirations for your work today?
Jessie: My work examines sexuality, power and vulnerability inherent in the permeable boundaries of human/animal, corporeal/fantastical and gender categories.
These queer bodies with their otherworldly anatomies offer sites for projection, like some kind of abject fairy tale. Tension is created by negotiating the contrast between interior worlds and the realities of external representation and exposure. Queens, mentors, mothers—figures revered, feared, and desired, embody a complexity that invites viewers to locate themselves in the flux of what is ethereal and what is tangible.
Rarely deviating from a vertical format, the images may be read as portraits. The figures often appear isolated, located in a densely colored background of non-space. When shown together, the accumulation offers various levels of interpretation about the collective gaze. Multiple eyes disrupt a traditional narrative of seeing and being seen. Ambiguous bulges suggestive of breasts—are they nurturing, erotic, and/or suffocating lumps?
I’m constantly asking myself, what are the creatures doing, why are they doing this, why do I portray them this way, how do they need to transform? In my mind I always have a non-linear narrative. I want the work to be accessible and honest. I’m still learning what my work is about.
Tell us more about your dual life outside of art.
Jessie: My passion for social justice work is intertwined with my artistic life.I have worked in a variety of community-based health settings, including Test Positive Aware Network (TPAN) for many years. My role mostly involved grant writing and other development related work, but I was also very interested in working in collaboration with people, doing direct service. I co-led an art group for people living with/vulnerable to HIV. I have a passion for social justice and find a lot of meaning when I connect with people, so I decided to get a Master in Social Work, thinking I might become a mental health clinician. Soon, though, the program got me thinking more about macro-practice, working towards systemic change. I was curious about philanthropy, having been on the grant writing side for so long. I was learning about power and money, how to move money to create power, and how much power you can have by burning down a system from within.
Richard Logan came to my philanthropy class to speak. I really admired the passionate sense of urgency, creativity, and problem solving that he expressed. It’s something artists try to do too—come up with creative solutions to problems. After the talk I told him I was going to work for him and basically harassed him until he hired me. It was a good decision.
Do you think that art needs to have meaning?
Jessie: Yes. Even if you try not to, your art will have meaning due to the choices you make, materials you choose, venue you choose to present… You can’t escape the context in which you’re working. Everyone has to go through a process. It can be so vulnerable to show your work. Here you are sitting with a painting for six months, just you and this work, and then all of a sudden it’s in the world and people can think and say whatever they want about it. And you don’t have any control over that.
What outside influences are present in your art?
Jessie: As a child I used to pore over nature books and magazines. I was obsessed with animals, and I always had nature books about North American mammals and stuff like that. And if you look at all the pictures, there’s these kind of intense anatomical images. Everything’s out there! And it’s normal because it’s an animal body. But then when you paint it, people start asking, well why did you do that?
I am inspired by artists like Louise Bourgeois, Maria Lassnig, Carol Rama, Karen Kilimnik, Nicole Eisenman. I definitely spent a lot of time in the Met and Art Institute of Chicago looking at small sculptures from Java in the 13th century, old masters paintings, Goya and Rembrandt.
In 2001 I took a painting class at NYU with this amazing artist/person Maureen Gallace, who was very much a nurturing figure in my life. I was supposed to have class the morning of 9/11/01 and got to campus (from Brooklyn) early that day. By the time I got to Union Square I saw the second tower fall. Once students went back to classes (I don’t even remember how long we were out of school), Maureen told us to make a painting about the period of time. I brought in a photo of a deer I’d seen on the beach that summer. I found her majestic yet vulnerable. With the sea behind her and her legs impossibly long. How does she even walk? How does she hold herself up with these legs, this body?
One of Jessie’s newest works for her exhibition titled “Pluto.”
Can you talk more about your upcoming solo exhibition at Goldfinch?
Jessie: I called the show Pluto. I love the myth about Persephone, although it’s a terrible story. Pluto abducted Persephone and took her to the underworld, and for six months out of the year her mother Hera mourned for her, creating a barren winter. When her daughter came to the surface for the other 6 months, there was spring.
Pluto is usually considered to be a powerful male. In my re-interpretation, they are both, but mostly female. Pluto, in astrology, is about death and rebirth. That’s really central to the work—transformation, physically and spiritually.
There are 12 new oil paintings in the show.
Where do you want to go from here?
Jessie: Collaboration has become a large part of my practice. Since 2009, I have made cartoons with the artist and writer Steve Reinke. I have an ongoing collaboration called “Like Queer Animals” with the writer and queer scholar Chantal Nadeau (our current exhibition at CAC runs 5/29-6/27). I also am collaborating with artist and musician Diane Christiansen (our current exhibition is in the Drawing Room of The Arts Club of Chicago running 5/13-September). Since 2020 I have been mailing drawings back and forth to Dutes Miller (our current show is up at Drawing Room Invitational at Lump Projects in Raleigh, NC).
Collaboration helps me loosen up, think differently, and use different materials. I like to keep things fresh and fun. I want to keep making work and showing it. That in itself is a gift. I want to grow my artist community. I have a really good group of friends who are really supportive. For me, it’s about community and always thinking, feeling, and making.
Not that I’ve had a lot of commercial “success”, but because of the kind of work I make, I can sell things. I don’t want to be dependent and make a living off my art because I want to have creative freedom. Also, I adore my work at the Foundation—I find it really meaningful (while providing me the ability to survive!).
I’m content with where I am. If you really are ambitious and think you have to have a show at this museum, or this gallery, or be represented by so and so… That can lead to a lot of disappointment and feelings of failure. You’re being susceptible to external validation to feel like you’re worth something. I try not to fall in those traps.
What do you realistically want to see change in the art world and philanthropy?
Jessie: Increased accessibility for artists who are not in the traditional pipelines, or connected to powerful institutions. More community building. Space for radical imagining and dreaming. Using less jargon when writing about art. Be real, be authentic. Why do you make your work? Where does it come from, why are you doing it? The luxury of time and space for artists to think about what they want their work to do in the world. More opportunities for artists to be artists: residencies that accommodate all bodies, family structures, childcare. Artists need to be paid for their labor, they need healthcare, they need to not be exploited. It would be a very sad world without artists. They need to be celebrated and compensated. I suggest reading the Threewalls Thriving Wage Report.
Can you talk more about what it costs to make art?
Jessie: Not only do you need space to create your work (depending on the kind of work you make), you have to pay for that on top of your rent, utilities, and the cost of materials (life in general). When I choose to make oil paintings, sometimes one tube of paint is $50 per tube. For canvases as well… hundreds of dollars. And I can actually sell my work because it is easily commodified, whereas artists working with conceptual, performance, moving image practices often have to rely on grants. Where is the time to do that? Also, art school debt! And then if you end up getting a job where you’re paid well, sometimes you don’t have time to make your work, so you have to make choices. And especially so if you are helping to support others—family, caregiving, etc … Oh, and in a school or hospital setting when there are budget constraints, art is usually the thing that gets cut first.
An array of Jessie’s paintings in her studio.
Do you have any advice for emerging artists, or artists who are balancing a full-time job and their practice?
Jessie: There are a lot of ways to look at it. I always chose the stability of having a full-time job because, even though I don’t have as much time to create, not having to worry about my next paycheck makes me more creative. Whereas, when you are cobbling together various gigs, you have some freedom with your time but you might be stressed about how to pay your rent, buy materials, or even enjoy yourself.
You have to get really creative around how you structure your time: what’s for you, what’s for them, and how you protect your mind space. Have enough time to contemplate life, contemplate your work, relax, sleep, nurture yourself. You have to figure out what feels right for you, and what you’re willing to do. Do you need a separate space, can you work from your home? Do you need to get up earlier in the morning so you can meditate, write, read a book, or think about your work? I know I don’t do well in the nighttime because I’m too tired from the day. So I get up early, and that time is just for myself.
I keep a sketchbook with me wherever I go. I write down my dreams. I write down and take pictures of things I find inspiring, and I look back at them a lot. I also keep a draft in my Gmail of the year, and anytime something significant happens, I write it down, and then look back to see what was important to me, and what came of the things I wrote down. That has helped me shape how I want to structure my future.
I think a lot about how I would write my autobiography (not that I’m going to). What was my life about? What matters to me? At the end of the day, when you’ve had your last breath—what was important to you? What are your values? When you make and show your work, what makes you feel good or not good about that? Who is the work for? If your dream is to go to Switzerland and become a circus performer, what are the steps you realistically have to take to get there? Constantly ask yourself questions.
Visit Jessie’s summer exhibitions:
Pluto (solo show of new oil paintings) Goldfinch 319 N. Albany Avenue, Chicago, IL 60612 Opening: Saturday, June 15, 2024, 2-5pm Gallery Hours: Fridays and Saturdays from 12-4pm, when exhibitions are on view; and by appointment Exhibition runs through July 27, 2024 info@goldfinch-gallery.com
Diane Christiansen and Jessie Mott: New Work (including a new animation!) The Drawing Room atThe Arts Club of Chicago 201 E Ontario St, Chicago, IL 60611 Opening: Monday, June 17, 2024, 5:30 – 7:30pm Exhibition runs through September 2024 information@artsclubchicago.org
This year, werestarted the annual Reva and David Logan Foundation ChiArts Art Competition. Previously, the competition was open only to students in photography. This year, we expanded to three categories: Creative Writing, Visual Arts, and Digital Photography.
ChiArts staff chose 6 semifinalists for each category, and the RDLF board members chose first, second, and third place winners. The RDLF board and staff were highly impressed by the skill and thoughtfulness of the entries. All semifinalists received a prize. The winners are as follows:
Creative Writing
First Place: “A Collection of Receipts and Notes” by Halle Grey
Excerpt:
Second Place: “Senior Book Project” by Kimberly Valle
Excerpt:
Third Place (tie): “Days at the Mall” by Marshall Harmon
Excerpt:
Angelica Lehr was a fun-loving girl. Yes, she did her work, paid attention in class, and got alright grades, but what she prioritized most was her enjoyment and leisure. Every day after school, she would head to the nearby mall, shopping until it was time to return (she went to a boarding school, thus there was a curfew). All the employees of her favorite stores and fast food restaurants knew her name, and almost all of them knew what times she would visit. First, Angelica would walk around, looking to see if there was anything new. There never seemed to be, but it didn’t hurt to check.
After, she would visit her favorite shop, Primevére. She would look through the clothes, shoes, and perfumes, agonizing over what to buy. At times, she would even rope the employees into her troubles, to the chagrin of some. She usually didn’t have enough money to buy much (Primevére was an expensive shop and Angelica was but a poor little high school student), so it would take up to a few weeks for her to finally decide. She would never decide what to buy while within the store—it was always later, after a few nights of sitting in darkness, staring at her ceiling.
Third Place (tie): “I Am Your Perfect Mexican Daughter” by Joc Rivera
Excerpt:
The stinging rays hit her long black hair tied in pigtails. Sweat drips down her forehead as she examines the mangos.
“Oye, Esme, mira, estos ni sirven.”
“Aye, no mames, como que no?”
Her eyes widen, “Que no digas eso,” looking at Esmeralda sternly, “tu sabes como ma se ponde, y los chingadasos que pa te va dar.”
“En verdard que no sabes como devertirte.”
She much as she didn’t want to admit it, her older sister was right. Esmeralda always sneaks out of the house, comes home late, and manages to be a good student because she believes la uni is going to be her way out of poverty. At home, she is often seen arguing with her mother, first thing in the morning, all you hear is her mother yelling across the rancho for Esmeralda and her to get up, feed the animals, and work the fields. Esmeralda doesn’t like that very much, as she thinks it’s unfair that both of them are only called for, while their bother isn’t, and, Dios, is vocal about it.
“Estrella, porque tu nunca le dices nada a ma de la forma que actua?”
She stays silent for a minute, “No se, creo que es mejor para mi que me cuede en el rancho.”
Visual Arts
First Place: “Fetus” by Eion Magana
Second Place: “Drama in the Dollhouse” by Cora Mangual
Third Place: “Untitled” by Lily Martinez
Digital Photography
First Place: “Madre y Hijo” by Nico Drummond
Second Place: “El Arbol de Juventud” by Victoria Toledo
Third Place: “Atrapado” by Adrian Lopez
Congratulations to all the participants!
Photo credit: Communities in Schools of Chicago
For Mental Health Awareness Month, The Reva and David Logan Foundation (RDLF) is highlighting 6 of our grantees for their work supporting mental health in their communities:
We asked leaders from each organization to answer 5 questions about mental health and what you can do during Mental Health Awareness Month. Responses were edited for length and clarity.
1. What is the purpose of Mental Health Awareness Month?
Camesha Jones, Executive Director atSista Afya: It’s an opportunity for our community to learn more about mental health, increase advocacy and visibility of the experiences of people with mental health conditions, and to discuss solutions to meet the needs of our respective communities.
Josephine DiCesare, Executive Director atYouth Crossroads: It’s a chance for people to increase their understanding of mental illness and resources available for help. It also is an opportunity to destigmatize mental illness.
Bartholomew St. John, Chief Innovation and Communications Officer at CIS: It helps center attention on an issue that is central to our organization’s everyday work with students and school communities. It brings issues such as the national youth mental health crisis to the forefront and incorporates calls to action that all can heed.
Patti Capouch, Executive Director atImpact: It highlights our mission to develop and champion opportunities for people with serious mental illness by providing comprehensive services in housing, employment, and clinical support so that each person can live as independently as possible.
Karim Escobar-Franklin, LSW, Mental Health Specialist atOnward House: It’s an opportunity for communities to educate themselves on Mental Health. It is not solely about mental health illnesses but also about taking care of yourself, learning the many ways that stress can be relieved, and learning that mental health starts from birth.
Karen Foley, Executive Director at JPA: It means lifting up hope! At JPA, we know that when people invest in their mental health and wellness, life improves in small and big ways. Dedicating an entire month to mental health is a wonderful way to improve individual lives and help our community feel and function better.
2. What are some ways an individual can participate in Mental Health Awareness Month?
Sista Afya: Look up organizations to support, engage in mental wellness practices, and share information with your networks about mental wellness.
Youth Crossroads: Attend events, volunteer at organizations that deal with mental health, or even just share information through social media.
CIS: Become certified in Youth Mental Health First Aid. Members of the public can visit cisofchicago.org/mhfa to learn about upcoming trainings that are offered for a nominal fee by our organization.
JPA: In a world that can feel chaotic and often unjust, take a moment to pause and reflect on something beautiful–a person, place, or thing–and enjoy the sense of appreciation you feel. Then share the peace.
Onward House: Reflect on the last time you invested into your self-care. Reduce stress with calming music and aromatherapy, and read material on how to cope with life when things become overwhelming.
Impact: Advocate for people living with a mental illness by holding space for mental health conversations. Storytelling is a powerful tool; it can be used to destigmatize mental illness and to put a face to Mental Health Awareness in May, and all year long.
The field of community health is very rewarding, but it’s also challenging. The folks who do this work endure significant stress while supporting others. If you know a mental health worker, reach out to them and let them know that you appreciate the very important work that they do.
Photo credit: Youth Crossroads
3. Do you have any tips for someone who wants to prioritize their mental health?
Onward House: Prioritizing your mental health can look many different ways, but the most general start is to initiate a self-care plan and establish boundaries to regain control of whatever is currently overwhelming. A routine and scheduled self-care is equally as important as getting the proper hours of sleep on a daily basis.
Sista Afya: Take small steps to integrate wellness into your day-to-day life. This may look like going to therapy, taking time for rest, and creating opportunities for social connection and support. Starting small is more sustainable and practical for people beginning their focus on mental wellness.
Youth Crossroads: Take time for self-care. Say no when necessary. Let others know that you are prioritizing yourself and set boundaries.
Impact: Make time for your own mental health, by knowing when you need support from friends and family. Current events, social responsibilities, isolation, and technology can all affect someone’s mental health. Practice a mindful approach to self-care, and check in with yourself to see what may be affecting your mental health. Find your support system—identify a person or people in your life who you can count on when you need help. Learn healthy coping skills by determining what works for you—anything from painting to meditating to playing with a fidget toy can be a useful coping skill.
JPA: Don’t be afraid to ask for help. The richest, most successful people I know have a trove of experts on speed dial. If you want help on your journey to prioritize your mental health, take the first step and make a call. If you’re feeling okay but want more of that feeling, be sure to be fully present for a few minutes in your life every day–you’ll notice a difference!
CIS: It’s important to note that the range of options for people to prioritize their mental health is shaped by the state of their mental health. A person experiencing a mental health crisis, as an example, needs immediate help; turning to a self-care strategy in that type of situation would not be appropriate. In other cases, however, where a person is not in mental health crisis and seeking ways to invest in their mental health, self-care strategies like exercise, prioritizing sleep, and eating nutritious meals can be beneficial.
Photo credit: Youth Crossroads
4. If someone is seeking help, where would you recommend they find it?
CIS: For people who are proactively seeking support in earlier stages of a developing mental health challenge, options could include talking to a primary care physician for initial guidance, exploring support via a mental health counselor/agency, or speaking with a school social worker or counselor.
Onward House: I would talk to my primary physician and share my experiences. They are able to start the referral process. If there is an issue with having access to insurance, I would recommend visiting a facility that charges on a sliding scale.
Sista Afya: If someone is seeking help, I would recommend calling 988 or any local mental health hotlines to learn more about resources in your area or doing a web search (google is your friend) to find mental health services near you and resources.
Youth Crossroads: We encourage people to confide in someone they trust, whether it is a friend, teacher or parent. School counselors are a great resource. United Way has a 211 line people can call. The most important thing to do is ask for help.
Impact: If someone is experiencing a mental health crisis, they can call or text 988 at any time for support from a trained crisis worker. This service is available nationwide. If an individual is eligible for our therapy, case management, or employment services, we encourage them to fill out our participant interest form: https://impactbehavioral.org/eligibility/.
JPA: JPA’s New Light clinics might be one place to try. You can also grab a copy of Psychology Today and find a therapist that seems like a good fit. Don’t be afraid to ask a potential therapist how they approach treatment, or any other question on your mind. The relationship you build with your therapist is important.
Photo credit: Sista Afya Community Care
5. What can we do to help destigmatize mental illness?
CIS: People with lived experiences of mental health challenges can be very powerful messengers to help de-stigmatize the issue. It’s also important to reinforce the message of recovery in mental health conversations. We take this notion for granted when it comes to physical health – a person breaks their wrist or contracts mono, they’re naturally asking their doctor how long will it be until they’re better. Recovery is also a central concept in mental health, but it’s not always as easily recognized. The more we can make that parallel between physical and mental health, the more we can help destigmatize people’s views on mental illness.
Impact: Our participants, and individuals living with mental illness, are courageous, resilient and creative. Our participants, however, are not alone. It is very likely that we all have experienced or encountered someone experiencing the symptoms of mental illness at multiple points in our lives. Furthermore, individuals living with a serious mental illness, either diagnosed or undiagnosed, live and work in communities everywhere. These individuals are indistinguishable from others because they are thriving members of those communities.
1 in 5 people is living with a diagnosable mental illness. The language that we use matters. Using people-first language is a step that anyone can take to remove stigma from mental illness. People-first language is a way of describing a person, not their disability, and emphasizes the person over their condition. When people have the opportunity to speak mindfully about mental health and mental illness, it can bring better awareness to the topic.
JPA: Almost all of us will have hard times in life. One way we can help destigmatize mental illness is to gather up the courage to listen when people need to talk about hard things without jumping to judgement, trying to solve someone else’s problem, or offering superficial counsel. Just be there for the other person.
Youth Crossroads: Giving people a platform to share their own experiences is extremely important. Others can see that mental illness can affect anyone – their family, friends, neighbors.
Onward House: Many times, the solution is not just found in medications. At times it requires consistent care. Regardless of the diagnosis, stability is important. Mental illness is different for many people, and usually you would never know someone’s dealing with it unless they felt comfortable sharing. It’s important to be kind to others, because you never know what they are dealing with in life.
Sista Afya: To destigmatize mental illness, we can normalize that mental health conditions can happen to anyone. Having challenges with your mental health is nothing to be ashamed of and it is a shared responsibility for all of us to support one another. Once you get the appropriate support, and you are consistent with care, you will see changes that improve your quality of life.
Photo credit: Sista Afya Community Care
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Each of these organizations approaches mental health from a unique direction, but there are key commonalities when thinking about mental health.
Many of us will deal with mental health challenges during our lifetimes, and there are a variety of resources to support us when we are in need. Mental illness is curable or containable in most cases. We are all vulnerable.
It is important, essential, that people who are suffering know how and where to find resources.
The more we can destigmatize mental illness, the easier it will be for people to educate themselves and find help when they need it.
At the beginning of April, Sabrina Boggs interviewed Roman Susan’s Kristin and Nathan Abhalter Smith about their situation with Loyola University and their plans for the future. For more context, you can read their public letter to Loyola and news coverage on their website. This conversation been edited for length and clarity.
What is the current situation?
Kristin: We still have a lease until September 2025. We are the only people in the building with a lease that long. The other commercial tenants have been trying to get their leases extended, but they’ve been getting vague answers. We’ve heard they want to tear the building down.
Nathan: We have 18 months left in the space. Yes, it may go away, but in that time, we want to celebrate what it is, help our neighbors so that they don’t fall through the cracks of development, and advocate to have public-facing cultural spaces for the neighborhood instead of eliminating them.
Kristin: There are reasons why they want to tear this building down. But they should still respect the fact that they’re displacing residents and reducing naturally occurring affordable housing. They should have some responsibility to the whole city to add apartments, not take them away. And if we’re looking at all these public improvements that are happening [around Loyola], why not consider replacing it with another project like this that’s better and functional for everybody? That’s what we want. And it doesn’t even have to be us.
Nathan: If we’re not here, we still want this area to be interesting and engaging, not walled off and institutional. We’re trying to share that with them and see what they might be interested in, or what they’re already thinking. They’re moving at an institutional, sort of glacial pace. They’re thinking about 2050. But it feels a lot different if you live here and you get notice you can’t live here in two months. There’s a pretty big disconnect there, I would say. But there’s still an opportunity for this space to continue being a vibrant space for art.
Kristin: Yeah, as long as they can look beyond the conservative structure of business economy around what it means to be successful. We’ve had a couple of exchanges with them asking about what kind of investments they’re making in arts and culture. There’s a big gap between business economics and arts and culture economics. But there’s a lot of value that people can glean from experiences of culture, and it’s a journey to help everybody respect that what we’re doing is essential.
Two dirt lots surrounding the building, demolished years ago by Loyola. And a flyer titled “WHEN WILL LOYOLA STOP?” taped by an unknown passerby on one of Loyola’s signs.
In an article by the Loyola Phoenix, Michael Loftsgaarden said this building is “probably not contributing to the university’s anchor mission.” Do you have any ideas about why that is or if it’s something that can change?
Nathan: It seems like they’re pretty set on tearing this building down. But do they displace everything that’s here, or do they make plans in their development to replace and improve it with more assets? No one can hold them to that, they would just have to decide to do it. There’s no pressure besides their own words.
Kristin: I’m pretty surprised at how callous they sounded and how easily they were willing to say, “We’ve got our own plans, leave us alone.” They seem to tout their mission and their community involvement, and that’s why we want to say, here we are, we’re the community. Let’s have conversations, because we don’t feel like we’re being seen or heard or acknowledged in any of this. And if you are saying that this is your mission, then we’d like to hold you to that.
Nathan: It’s tricky because there’s such a disconnect between intention and the functionality of business. This is a small enough situation where you could approach people individually and be humane before sending non-renewal form letters and stressing people out about their basic needs, but that’s not the business playbook. They’re just doing what you do if you’re trying to clear a building. And that just doesn’t seem in line with their values.
It did seem like some of the pushback was working, because the university later said they would be reaching out to tenants to help with the transition. Did that happen?
Nathan: We did reach out to [Loyola] proactively about it, and they said they would take it under advisement. We have talked to some of the people in the building, and we learned that Loyola is approaching people individually, which equates to them treating people differently.
Kristin: Yeah, it mostly depended on whether or not those people advocated for themselves.
Nathan: One of the things we asked Loyola to consider was offering affordable housing in the apartments they own. They set the rates, so they could definitely do that if they wanted to. Or, allow people to go month to month after their lease is up, as long as we’re here and the building exists. They’re not going to re-rent the apartment so why push people out? […] It puts all these people in a really vulnerable position. They’ve lived here for 10, 15, 20 years. The rent was cheap then and it’s still cheap. It isn’t cheap or even affordable for them anywhere else around here. It really is precarious. And in most situations, the business world just flattens these people. But this is a unique situation in which it’s an institution with a social justice mission. It’s not a huge pool of people, they certainly could accommodate them…
Sabrina: But do they care enough to do that?
Nathan: Yeah, exactly.
Can you elaborate on how the architecture of the space is unique and contributes to the uniqueness of your programming?
Photo credit: Roman Susan. Exhibition: Pink Moon, Peter Ronan and Cassie Tompkins.
Kristin: Because this building is wedge shaped, it’s on a sleepy street, and it doesn’t have large buildings blocking its sunlight, it’s able to be a beacon for the neighborhood. We keep our lights on at night whenever there’s an exhibit so people can see what’s inside, and we’ve heard feedback that people feel safe when they walk by here. This is mostly a pedestrian thoroughfare, so we might never meet many of the people who have an experience with this space. Or they might come in and say, “I’ve been walking by for 5 years. This is great, thank you for doing it.” A lot of our connections to the space have to do with how people move in the world. Because the neighborhood connects to the transit and the lake, and the people who live around the campus aren’t just students, and the students who do live around here share community at Archie’s Cafe… This area is representative of everybody who lives in Rogers Park.
Nathan: I think it’s interesting how the streetscaping and public space interact here. It’s a really small space so it’s manageable for individual artists to completely take it over. It’s also very irregular, so it’s a challenge and opportunity for people to do things they wouldn’t do in an exhibition space. Because it’s always visible from the street, people outside of art circles interact with it, which is definitely my favorite part. It’s great when people travel across the city to go see something, and the Red Line being here facilitates that very well. But it’s really joyful when you’re out in the world and discover art in a public space. Artists respond to the opportunity all of that represents. It lets some people do things they wouldn’t do otherwise, and be less precious about things. It’s really wonderful once you get into the mindset of being responsive to where you are.
This is a unique situation, which is what we’re trying to communicate to Loyola. Respond to it, don’t just go by the book, because you could do better by using what’s already there.
How has this shaped the way you’re thinking about scheduling programming this year and beyond?
Kristin: We want to celebrate our time here and bring through as many artists as possible to help us do that. There’s a project coming up by Madeleine Aguilar that involves building structures and seating, both inside and outside the space. People will be able to activate them with performances and event-based programming. And we have a few exhibits that we’ve been planning for over a year now: sculpture and installation work involving family, grief, and architecture. We’re also trying to engage the community more, as well as tenants in the building. We’ve offered some artist stipends to people because we knew they would be moving out. We’re trying to figure out how to provide the best we can as neighbors.
An example of Madeleine Aguilar‘s work. The exhibition, titled “yard model,” will be a site of activation, collaboration, and play. It opens at Roman Susan on May 11 at 4pm.
Nathan: We’re going to have at least one more round of proposals for the final year to see what people want to see. And since we have felt the precarity of this situation for quite a while, we do have four other programs that are not here. People definitely know us most for this space because it’s physically always here, but we’re setting up parallel tracks and doing things elsewhere too.
Kristin: That’s our growth model: instead of trying to find another space, or be bigger, we want to activate public space that already exists. Through the Chicago Park District, we have programming at Berger Park at least once a month. We also have a project called Navigations that’s in and about public space. It’s a commission-based project about storytelling through place.
Nathan: A lot of people naturally have been asking us if we’re going to get another storefront or gallery space. But what we’ve learned is how important and valuable it is to respond to the site you’re in. This program is this room. There’s no bridging it to another space. If we got another space, we would treat it similarly. It would be its own unique thing and it would develop through the ideas of people that come in the door.
Kristin: Right now, we’re trying to drive home the values of this space and we’re not willing to let it go quite yet, or to name what the next thing is. We have all these projects that build off this space, and remind people that their own agency in a space can be activated and celebrated artistically. The idea that this is an anomaly space can be applied to a lot of different ways of thinking about art and public life, and how we move through the world and express ourselves.
We want to be here as long as we possibly can. We’ve always expected that something like this would happen, so when they were trying to get us to leave earlier and buy us out of our lease, we said no. When institutions try to move forward despite what the public wants, we’ll be the unreasonable ones who are like, “Nope. Leave us alone.” As artists with a voice, we can remind people to question what they’re being told.
What can people do to continue supporting you?
Nathan: In this individual circumstance, a lot of the dialogue so far has happened in media, and that seems to be what the institution is responding to. When we first made the letter public, many people who live in the community and have some relationship with Loyola interacted with us and said, “This is not what anyone wants.” There are many times when a larger organization doesn’t represent the values of all the people below it. Just keep having the conversation, and advocate for the values that overlap in the community. Continue to provide opportunities for things to bubble up.
Kristin: Don’t let the story fall away. Keep the attention on the goal, which is to continue to support art, artists, and the people who live in your community. And look out for one another.
On February 29th, over 40 nonprofit leaders of color convened at Chicago Art Department in Pilsen for a kick-off celebration to share space, build community, and discuss what the future of the nonprofit world could look like. The Leaders of Color Collective is an initiative to provide executives and senior staff of color with a community, support, and access to resources in order to maximize personal potential and actualize their organizations’ missions.
This undertaking began after a series of RDLF grant assessment interviews with people of color that had recently been “promoted” to lead their organizations. What seemed clear was that although the individuals were talented and rightful holders of their new positions, their own boards, and in some cases retiring founders, were limiting their powers and exhibiting a less than welcoming and supportive backdrop to their new jobs. These new leaders of color were also regularly being met with distrust or unreasonable expectations by philanthropic organizations.
Unfortunately, while these leaders were experiencing similar things, they didn’t have the opportunity to come together and speak about these issues as a group. This is when the RDLF Board and Staff decided they should step in as resource partner to assist in community building and advocacy.
Jamyle Cannon, RDLF board member and Executive Director of The Bloc, joined the initiative and was a great asset in evolving the mission and bringing folks together by leveraging his unique position in the nonprofit community. Jamyle’s network and connections helped to bring in a diverse group of leaders to this well-attended inaugural gathering.
At the event, Jamyle talked about how nonprofit leaders of color often feel like they’re pitted against each other as competitors, rather than celebrated as leaders of their communities. A group discussion highlighted how it felt to be in a room full of other leaders of color, what the participants wanted funders to know, and what they wanted other nonprofits to know.
There was a lot of passion and energy in the room from both young and seasoned leaders. Across the wide variety of different organizations, identities, and experiences, everyone agreed that the simple act of convening felt supportive and beneficial. “Pride”, “gratitude”, “comfort”, “worthiness”, and “curiosity” were words used to describe being in community with their peers.
Leaders spoke about how philanthropic funding practices take away from the actual work, and how organizations are often forced to act with a “scarcity mindset”. They agreed that they don’t want to maintain the status quo, and that perhaps change could be possible when organizations act together. What it would mean to act together, and with what goals, is something that they hope to explore in future events.
Attendees have also shared that they don’t want this to be the only event. There were ideas circulating about meeting quarterly, doing round table and panel discussions, and creating shared resources. There have been enough convenings that felt like empty talk—the hope is that this initiative can bring a shared and continuing vision to fruition.
While supported by the RDLF*, the Leaders of Color Collective is not restricted to current grantees and partners. It is open to all nonprofit leaders of color in the Chicago area. If you’re interested in learning more or participating in future events, please reach out to jessica(at)logafdn(dot)org.
*The whole Team at the RDLF made contributions to the success of this convening, but we make special mention of Jessica Jones-Lewis, Preeti Veerlapati, Sabrina Boggs and Mustafa Abdul Maboud.
