A Singular Partnership with Center for Equity and Inclusion
This year we extended and adapted our unique partnership with the Center for Equity and Inclusion (CEI). CEI is a specialized consulting agency focused on advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion efforts within organizations, education systems, and communities. Since our partnership launched in 2019, SVP has been a resource and capacity building partner for CEI, and CEI provides us trainings and consultation that help advance our equity work.
As SVP Portland Executive Director Lauren Johnson puts it, "SVP is committed to being a learner and a change agent in philanthropy, and we are privileged to have CEI as a guide in our own transformation to be more equitable, diverse, and inclusive. We are also honored to continue working with CEI to further strengthen its operating capacity. The depth of mutual learning and impact through this partnership has been remarkable, and I’m excited about the potential of what we can do together in the year ahead.”
In 2022, CEI will continue to provide support for our Equity Team and onboarding of new staff members and Partners. SVP Partner Tobias Sherwood shares, “Something about being a member of the Equity Team that gets me energized is when someone asks a direct question that centers race in a conversation and then we get to see people work through their beliefs and discomfort in real time. The vulnerability it takes to step into discomfort helps move us as a group to do things differently. It doesn’t happen often enough, but when it does, I can feel the shift, and it feels right.”
Through our partnership, SVP Partner Leah Fox and Director of Community Impact Rose Rezai will have the opportunity to attend CEI’s Facilitator Intensive. At this week-long training they will develop the facilitation skill set needed to lead complex, and often challenging conversations, trainings, or coaching sessions. Leah says, “I'm looking forward to enhancing my ability to create inclusive and collaborative learning environments, especially when navigating complex or difficult conversations. I'm particularly excited to meet and collaborate with other folks doing the important work of racial equity in our community.”
While CEI will provide SVP with training opportunities, we will be a capacity building partner for CEI through staff support, Partners, as well as SVP’s network. CEI Chief Program Officer Linda Hassan Anderson says, “On behalf of CEI, we deeply appreciate our partnership with SVP as it continues to provide us the capacity-building support for CEI’s overall business development, growth and expansion.”