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Shared Leadership Case Study: DataCenter

On 03.05.10, In Uncategorized, By admin

In October 2009, at a Leadership Learning Community (LLC) Bay Area Circle, Miho Kim and Celia Davis of the DataCenter shared their learning about the “Shared Leadership” model adopted by the Center in 2006. The two hour meeting was very well-attended, raising many questions, which as a result of the time constraints went unanswered. The high level of interest and participation in the topic appears to reflect the degree to which many in the nonprofit sector are beginning to explore different models and ways of working together. Miho Kim generously agreed to a follow up conversation with me to flesh out some of the questions raised at the convening (this piece is a synthesis of our interview and the Bay Area circle convening). Read the entire article here.

Click here to learn more about DataCenter’s Shared Leadership Model.

Khmer Girls for Action: Second Data Workshop

On 03.03.10, In Program Updates, By admin

“Duh!” written on numerous post-its were placed on a human body drawn on butcher paper. The body was one of three, each one representing a different audience that would receive findings from the youth survey. The body represented Khmer youth and workshop participants felt that the response of youth to each finding they reviewed, would be – of course, we already knew that.
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National Domestic Workers Alliance Project

On 03.03.10, In Program Updates, By admin

In 2003, DataCenter was approached by the Domestic Workers United to partner on a participatory, worker-led research project to document the working conditions of domestic workers in New York City. That project led to a parallel one in the Bay Area and the two projects laid down the groundwork for institutionalizing community-led research at the DataCenter.
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Tagged with: center for urban economic development • national domestic workers alliance

Updates on Da Town Researchers

On 02.26.10, In Program Updates, By admin

By Noemi Bravo

Watch: Oakland High School Student Interview; Student-Teacher Fishbowl Skyline HS

Download: Town Researchers 2010 Calendar in pdf format.

DTRretreat Da Town Researchers are moving into Phase Two of Gathering Voice: Research and Data Collection! This year, Da Town Researchers are focusing on student support systems in Oakland schools. Three different teams have focused on Student-Teacher Relationships, Counseling Systems and Emotional Support. We have finished Phase one, which consisted of surveying about 700 students. These surveys gathered voice from ten high schools with the help of All City Council. Phase two will consist of interviews, school and classroom observations, and focus groups with students, parents and school staff.
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Tagged with: Da Town researchers

Indigenous Knowledge – Youth Research Justice Camp

On 02.05.10, In Indigenous Knowledge Project, Program Updates, By Allen

By Nadine Padilla, Coordinator, MASE (Multicultural Alliance for a Safe Environment) Coalition, Albuquerque, NM.

VID00001 DataCenter and Multicultural Alliance for a Safe Environment (MASE) partnered in late 2009 to bring 12 young people together for an Indigenous Knowledge and Research Justice Camp. The 2-day camp was the first step in building a network of young people that can participate in and eventually lead the current uranium battles, offering their skills and talents as politically-oriented organizers, artists, and performers.
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Tagged with: Indigenous Knowledge Project • MASE coalition • research justice camp • trainings • youth

Welcome to Board Member Max Weintraub

On 11.10.09, In About Us, By Saba

Max is a toxics officer with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He founded the Environmental Justice and Health Union and is an instructor for the environmental justice course at UC Berkeley. Max received his M.S. in environmental advocacy from the University of Michigan and is a senior fellow of the Environmental Leadership Program.

Tagged with: max weintraub • new board member

The First West Coast Domestic Workers Congress

On 11.05.09, In Events, By Allen

The National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) is an alliance of domestic and household workers in the United States and is a vehicle to build power nationally as a workforce. Many of its member organizations, such as Mujeres Unidas y Activas and Domestic Workers United, have been long time partners of the DataCenter and have led cutting edge research projects that have supported campaigns and organizing efforts to improve the living and working conditions of domestic workers. The Alliance is now launching a national participatory research project on the domestic work industry and the weekend of November 13-15 it is holding its first West Coast Domestic Workers Congress in Oakland, CA. DataCenter will lead a workshop with its members on creating, designing and implementing a national survey.

Tagged with: domestic workers • mujeres unidas y activas • national domestic workers alliance • survey

Shared Leadership Series

On 11.04.09, In Events, By Allen

leadership learning

The motto “be the change you want to see in the world” has manifested in DataCenter’s Shared Leadership Model since 2006. With a Design Team comprised of representatives from Bay Area social justice organizations, we convened a monthly three part-series of dialog with more than thirty other organizations to document our diverse experiences – both successes and challenges – exploring alternatives to a top-down leadership structure as a social justice movement. We listened to each other and exchanged tools and resources, as well as wisdom. The knowledge capture using participatory methodologies imparted insights appreciated by grantmakers, capacity-builders, and organizers alike. Check out the powerpoint summary of this experience, recently presented at the brownbag hosted by Learning Leadership Community – the funder of the series – available on our websites!

For more information and resources, visit the Leadership Learning Community Bay Area Learning Circle wiki at: http://leadershiplearning.pbworks.com/BayArea_10212009

Download powerpoint summary pdf format

Tagged with: leadership learning community • shared leadership series

Documenting the Khmer Youth Experience

On 11.04.09, In Program Updates, Youth Strategy Project, By Allen

Khmer Girls for Action works primarily with young girls of Southeast Asian descent in the Long Beach area in Southern California. Most are from low income, immigrant and/or refugee families and face such issues such as poverty, racism, and violence. Though Long Beach is home to the largest Cambodian population in the United States, there is a dearth of data and information that reflect the experience of the community. For this reason, KGA decided to launch a research project that would assess the conditions and needs among Khmer youth in their community. KGA hopes that the findings will inform the myriad services serving youth in Long Beach so they can better meet the needs of this very vulnerable, often marginalized population.
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Tagged with: khmer girls for action • khmer youth

Sustaining Organizing Study

On 11.04.09, In Movement Research, By Allen

Sustaining Organizing

Sustaining Organizing Study (SOS): A Strategic Social Justice Movement Assessment

Building the Social Justice Movement: Our Knowledge Will Not Be Televised…

For the first twenty years of its existence since 1977, DataCenter did research for the movement, by studying the “enemy” and ensuring Right to Know. For the next ten years, we also researched with the movement, helping communities research themselves. Now, we are poised, with other allies coming together to say, “Our Knowledge Will Not Be Televised!” The social justice movement is on level playing field with other institutions in society when we see research by the movement, for the movement, of the movement!
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Tagged with: sustaining organizing study