(image includes a white door opening to a blue sky with clouds and text: Inside-out work: Embedding racial equity in organizational culture; May 26, 2021, 2-3:30 pm ET, part of the RACE + DISABILITY webinar series)

In recent years, many organizations have expressed a commitment to racial equity and justice and taken important first steps. Truly integrating this commitment into the fabric of a nonprofit’s mission takes leadership, intentionality, and tangible, practical work. The journey requires authenticity, vulnerability, and a willingness to make mistakes, learn and do better. Please join this conversation between Michelle McMurray, Vice President of Program and Community Engagement at The Pittsburgh Foundation, and Tricia Gadson, CEO of Macedonia FACE about what it takes to embed racial equity into organizational culture. The conversation will address the following key points:

• Equity work is about centering individual people and their experiences. This requires people to think differently about programs, populations, and outcomes, which are often siloed in their work.

• Embedding racial equity into organizational culture is more than just prioritizing it in select programs or through temporary projects. Truly embedding racial equity requires changing organizational practices and policies.

• People can’t dismantle racism without talking about race, which can be uncomfortable.

• By not embedding a racial equity lens to their work, organizations undermine their ability to create an environment in which people living with a variety of identities, including individuals with disabilities, can effectively access their services and interact with the organization.

This conversation will highlight the importance of applying a racial equity lens to your organization’s efforts and will acknowledge the intersection of race and disability. Speakers will share progress that organizations have made in this area and note challenges associated with this work. The FISA Foundation and partners look forward to attendees joining this important conversation, to start or continue the journey of embedding racial equity into their organization’s culture.