By Miho Kim, miho[at]datacenter[dot]org,
written for NonProfit Day, August  2010

When it comes to the topic of shared leadership, DataCenter had typically responded to small- to mid-size non-profit organizations eager to learn about our experiences in trying to promote a sustainable organizational culture of collaboration over competition, dialog over debate, and “power-with,” over “power-over.” In most cases, callers had observed a fair amount of unhealthy, challenging power dynamics play out in the organization, and felt the urgency to ‘really do something about it this time.’

But it’s not just a desire to problem-solve that draws the emerging post-boomer generation of non-profit leaders like the X-ers (like myself) and Millenials to Shared Leadership. A participant in a small group at a workshop I recently facilitated hit it on the nail when she exclaimed, “the younger leaders seem to have a whole different set of values – whether they be about work, or lifestyle–and the E.D. position the way it’s handed down to them is simply not what they want–at all!” Every one else was fervently nodding. At that point, I knew the one thing that brought us together: whether through our research inquiry, or being in the field, we shared a burning desire to know why that is –and what we can all do about it.

In the case of DataCenter, it took literally the hemorrhaging of our organizational leadership, from the Co-Directors up through the Board of Directors in its entirety, to incentivize a rather radical structural shift to a Shared Leadership Model. This organizational ‘rupturing’ in a way cracked open the space to take what was always a highly regarded “value” at the DataCenter into an actual “structure.” But it was also a necessary shift in order for the ‘leadership position’ to be an option for any of the remaining staff – and we knew somehow, it had to be filled. Our then-Interim Executive Director would sigh and say, “unbelievable…here you have an amazing leadership opportunity, and none of you want to take it. What is going on?”

In order to learn how to promote successful executive directorship at DataCenter, our co-founder, Fred Goff, conducted more than 20 interviews for the now available Executive Director position. Concerns the staff associated with the E.D. position reaffirmed the findings from those interviews. For example:

• the loneliness of the position, exacerbated by thanklessness of the job;
• fractured nature of the job – having to juggle so much– and having to remain composed and graceful at the same time;
• constantly dealing with a crisis, and being expected to resolve them by every one else.

We created Shared leadership so as to address all three of these challenges, not solely because they themselves were problematic, but because we felt they interfered with the ability of our organization to be an effective vehicle to embody values of collaborative leadership, democratic participation, and staffing sustainability, while promoting them through our program work.

The Shared Leadership that works for your organization should start with the following guiding questions: 1) what are our values and 2) how do they relate to the organization, and lastly, 3) what needs to be in place to help create them, and maintain them.

Your organization needs to articulate 1) Values & Principles, 2) systems and structure and 3) practice that to them help uphold the values and turn them from mere ‘idea’s into a ‘thing’ that trumps all pre-established ‘norms’ and dominant convention.

There was a keen interest in my small group to explore the question of whether equal pay, a commonly suggested practice of Shared Leadership, was really feasible. “I mean, does it really work?” asked a participant with a touch of skepticism. My answer would have to be, it depends. I would like to push back and suggest that we ask the question a different way. Pay Equity made sense to DataCenter, primarily because we wanted to reflect our belief that ALL knowledge (experiential to intellectual), ALL skills (financial projections to organizing), and ALL leadership styles – including one as obscure as “good followership”–as equally valuable to our collective ability to execute our mission. I think in a few years, we may be in a different place, where we no longer need Pay Equity to demonstrate DataCenter’s core belief for whatever reason. For example, Asian Women’s Shelter in San Francisco has its own way of honoring their belief that all experiential and intellectual knowledge are equally valuable among their staff body that reflect both their constituents and non-constituents. Organizations are living beings, and each uniquely lends to expressing similar values in different ways. The important thing is, that it’s not a rule for those who have to live by it, but rather, an opportunity for ideological expression they’re grateful to take.

One way to approach this question may be to ask “if we institute equal pay, what existing impediment to fostering collective leadership would it address/resolve?”, rather than “does pay equity work?” Alternatively, one can ask, “what specific organizational value would this help manifest? Is this the best way to manifest that value, or is there another (perhaps more practical or culturally-appropriate) option?” The framing of the conversation should always be, “what is our value and how do we make it happen?” Pay equity, in other words, is a means to that goal–rather than an end in itself, or a static ‘product’ that gets placed on the moral pedestal of the organization, isolated from all others.

Also, anything with a strong ‘practice’ component means that, by nature, any tool must be nimble and adaptable. Policymaking is one possible route, but once formally prescribed, it can sometimes be a setback when circumstances change (and boy, do they). What needs to be clearly articulated and adhered to as “the law of the land” is the

On May 28, 2010, friends of DataCenter from its 34 year history gathered to congratulate Fred Goff for his lifetime of service to social change.   The date marked Fred’s last day as an official employee with the organization.   We are blessed and thankful to have had the opportunity to work with Fred.  His shining example continues to lead us in our shared struggle to to elevate the voices of the poor communities of color and to shape their own destinies and society.

In his time at the DataCenter, Fred has served as President, President Emeritus, Board Liaison, and Major Gifts Director, as well as Endowment Adviser.   Fred’s ever-evolving role in shaping DataCenter’s direction and mission underscores the indispensable nature of his contributions over the years.  The truest testament to Fred’s impact to achieving a good and just world is the legion of people who remain fiercely loyal to Fred and the DataCenter.

Fred is co-founder and President of the DataCenter.  In 1966 he co-founded and served 12 years as President of the North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA), from which the DataCenter emerged in 1977.   Previously, he worked with the American Friends Service Committee, and in 1966 served as coordinator in Santo Domingo of the Commission on Free Elections in the Dominican Republic.  He received his BA in History from Stanford University.  Fred has served on the boards of the Funding Exchange, Grassroots Fundraising Journal, and NACLA.  In 1997 he was awarded a Gerbode Professional Development Fellowship.

NPO Conference Keynote Speech – Seoul, Korea  2009 (pdf)
Read Fred’s speech which details his background and provides historical context to the eventual creation of the DataCenter.

Follow the DataCenter leadership transition at our ReGeneration Blog!

Honoring the lifetime service of Fred Goff, Datacenter employee, 1977-2010

Click on names for bios.

Allen Sin, Communications and Administrative Associate
Amie Fishman, Research Fellow
Celia Linnea Davis, Deputy Director
Lailan Sandra Huen, Research Fellow
Mary Anna C. Colwell, Major Gifts Advisor
Michael Preston, Community Fellow, Indigenous Knowledge Project
miho althea kim, Executive Director
Nat Smith, Bookkeeper
Saba Waheed, Research Director

Volunteers & Contractors

Jinee Kim Rebouh
Manjula Bhadraswamy
Tammi L. Coles

Interns

Andrew Mayersohn, Yale University, Summer Intern
Chris Moulton, MPP candidate, UCLA, summer intern
Jessie Wu, MPP candidate, UCLA, Summer Intern
Nicholas Cragoe, CSU-East Bay, Sociology Masters Program, Summer Intern
Omonigho Oiyemhonlan, Stanford University, Summer Intern
Rebecca Godefroy, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Summer Intern

Bios

Allen Sin, Communications and Administrative Associate
ext. 310 allen[at]datacenter.org
After working in the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority as an Emergency Response Team Member, Allen moved to Oakland and eventually started volunteering at DataCenter in October 2009. He studied at UC Irvine and received a BA in Psychology and Social Behavior, and Criminology, Law, & Society. Currently, Allen is a candidate for Peace Corps service in the Central Asia region. He enjoys photography, writing, traveling, running long distances, and playing music.

Amie Fishman, Research Fellow
Amie’s work for the last decade as a prisoner rights advocate and criminal defense investigator led her to pursue a master’s degree in public health (MPH) at San Francisco State University, where she explored links between community violence, trauma, health, and incarceration. She is passionate about community-based participatory research and dedicated to using research as a tool to build community power and organize for social change. Since 2001, Amie has also worked at the Catalyst Project, a center for political education and movement building that works to deepen anti-racist politics and practice among white people and support multiracial movement building. There she creates and facilitates participatory political education curriculum and organizes in support of racial and economic justice in the US and abroad. She is also deeply inspired by culinary experimentation, especially baking, candy making, and preserving, and has a secret plan to someday sing in a band.

Celia Linnea Davis, Deputy Director
ext. 305 celia[at]datacenter.org
Celia received her MLS (Master’s in Library and Information Science) from Long Island University and her BA in Sociology from UC Santa Cruz. Previously she was Assistant Research Director, General Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church. Celia’s role as the Deputy Representative to the United Nations for the FMLN (Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front) of El Salvador was to involve the United Nations in mediating negotiations between the FMLN and the government of El Salvador to end the civil war. Celia is fluent in Spanish, has two children and has worked at the DataCenter for over ten years, most recently with environmental justice campaigns in the U.S. and Mexico.


Lailan Sandra Huen, Research Fellow
A graduate of Columbia University in Urban Studies and Ethnic Studies, Lailan’s work focuses on participatory action research that increases the power of grassroots communities in Oakland and the Bay Area to create progressive change. Lailan has worked at Youth In Focus, facilitating youth-led participatory action research projects for education justice, the Avenues Project at East Oakland Community High School, coordinating arts education programs, and Oakland Leaf, developing youth leadership to address interpersonal and institutional violence. She also lived in New York City, working with a range of social justice organizations on media, leadership development, and direct action projects related to immigrant rights, the prison industrial complex, labor rights, and ending violence against women of color. She is working on a Masters in Media Studies at The New School specializing in documentary video and community-based media, and is excited to integrate new media tools into participatory research processes and the grassroots dissemination of relevant information for community change.

Mary Anna C. Colwell, Major Gifts Advisor
Mary Anna received her Ph.D. in Sociology from University of California, Berkeley in Sociology after completing her undergraduate degree at Vassar College and her M.A. at San Francisco State University. Her doctoral dissertation was on “Philanthropic Foundations and Public Policy: The Political Role of Foundations.” She has also written widely on the peace movement. She held teaching positions at U.C. Berkeley, U.C. Davis, and University of San Francisco. Long active in the philanthropic world, she has served as a consultant to grant-makers and donors, and was senior development officer at the Sierra Club. Her past board memberships include Agape Foundation, Capp Street Foundation, Urban Policy Research Institute (Los Angeles) and Northern California SANE. She was one of the founding members and President of the San Francisco Catholic Interracial Council. As Executive Director of LARAS Fund, a private philanthropic foundation disposing of $4 million in assets, Mary Anna gave the first grant the DataCenter received. Shortly after, she began her 10 years of service on our board and more recently, since 2002, has volunteered in our Development Department.

Michael Preston, Community Fellow, Indigenous Knowledge Project
Michael Preston is a young, emerging leader of the Winnemem Wintu tribe. He joined DC as a project partner and intern in 2006. He is leading the three-year Winnemem Wintu Sacred Sites Oral Documentation Project in northern California. Michael was the first in DC’s pilot internship program designed to deepen youth research skills and experience non-profit professional development. After a full year of gaining hands-on research support, collaborative strategizing, and mentoring as a program intern, Michael is now DataCenter’s first Community Fellow under Indigenous Knowledge Project. The project’s research agenda, from shaping questions to interpreting answers, is entirely driven by Michael with the tribe having full ownership. Says Michael, “DC’s unique social justice perspective and commitment to honoring community expertise and experiences has allowed me to craft a project that will truly highlight the voices of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe and demonstrate the incredible power and knowledge the community holds, while at the same time building my own research skills.”

miho althea kim, Executive Director
ext. 302 miho[at]datacenter.org
Miho is passionate about capacity-building and empowerment: she created programs to teach children and others what she knew, ranging from swimming, piano, to political education in her community since age 13 – and has created numerous academic and political programs and curriculi in Japan, Korea and the United States. Since joining the DataCenter in 2003, Miho helped develop ‘Research Justice’ as DataCenter’s theory of social change, and integrated ‘research’ capacity-building, grounded in popular education approaches, into a larger liberation framework,. As practioner of non-profit leadership committed to social justice values in 501©3, Miho oversees DataCenter’s Shared Leadership Model. As a ‘denationalized’ zainichi Corean woman from apartheid Japan, Miho has facilitated trans-Pacific solidarity for over a decade for cultural sovereignty – and developed the Indigenous Knowledge Project at DataCenter in 2008. In 2008, Miho received the Women’s Human Rights Award in Japan for organizing against state violence against women and colonized communities in Japan.

Nat Smith, Bookkeeper
Nat Smith is a light-skinned Black queer gender variant nerd. Nat loves camping, comix, wildlife, speculative fiction, and mathematical equations, and is proof that none of these things is antithetical to the hood. Nat is an anti-capitalist bookkeeper who only takes on radical non-profits and working class and/or social justice-minded individuals as clients. Nat has been known to associate with such dangerous organizations as Critical Resistance, Trans/Gender Variant and Intersex Justice Project and Laney Community College. Nat is doggedly pursuing a degree in wildlife biology/zoology and is hard at work on an anthology entitled Captive Genders, about trans and gender variant communities and the prison industrial complex (PIC), forthcoming next Spring from AK Press. Nat once made a short film about family and identity that has shown in 16 film festivals worldwide. It is now collecting dust. Nat believes that the struggle for liberation, while not involving the election of Obama must be present in all of the work/living that Nat does. You will find Nat championing piracy and challenging military intervention while at the wildlife hospital and casually dropping the “pic abolition” bomb while in line for spicy boneless buffalo wings at Lucky.

Saba Waheed, Research Director
ext. 315 saba[at]datacenter.org
Prior to joining the DataCenter staff in August 2004, Saba worked at the Urban Justice Center in New York City where she helped to build a Research & Policy Initiative that linked community-based, participatory research and organizing. She received an MA in Anthropology from Columbia University. She brings over eight years of experience in leading and facilitating community-based research projects in collaboration with local and national community groups and alliances and in particular, ways to popularize methods and analysis. In addition to her work at DataCenter, she is also an editor for SAMAR Magazine and producer for the show “Flip the Script” on KPFK.

Volunteers & Contractors

Jinee Kim Rebouh
Type of work that she enjoys the most are ones that allow her to get people together for social change. This includes coordinating events (like she is doing for DataCenter), putting on demonstrations, hooking up with other politically-minded mamas, and providing workshops to spread information and knowledge. She has more than fifteen years of experience working in educational settings for youth and young adults in nonprofits, higher education, and political organizations. Her political framework is that of global justice and supporting people’s struggle for sovereignty. Most of her time is currently, pleasantly occupied by her 3 year-old, 7 month-old, and husband.

Manjula Bhadraswamy
Manjula received her master’s in Economics from SF State University (2007). After her graduation, she worked as an intern scholar at UCSF.  She was involved in Health policy and Health research studies. She worked with a health economist on electronic health records. Before coming to United States, she worked as a lecturer in India. She taught economics to undergraduate students.  At present, she is volunteering at DataCenter, working on a housing research project.

Tammi L. Coles
Tammi L. Coles is a professional writer and trainer with more than 16 years of progressively responsible leadership in small- and mid-size organizations serving the public interest.  Tammi has worn several hats in the nonprofit sector: moving from HIV educator for a regional LGBT health initiative to director of development for a national criminal justice advocacy group. As the owner of Archer Targeted Communication, Tammi currently creates marketing successes for her small business and nonprofit clients.   Her long-time friend and our board member Neil Tangri recruited her to the DataCenter to revitalize our website and raise the visibility of the DataCenter’s research and tools among a new generation of web-savvy activists.

Interns

Andrew Mayersohn
Andrew is a rising senior at Yale University majoring in political science.  He is also the treasurer of Students for a New American Politics, a student-run political action committee. Andrew’s interests also include central Asia, libraries and bookstores, his home state of Massachusetts, blues and classical piano, and public policy.  In his spare time, he writes angry letters to the editor and does crossword puzzles.


Chris Moulton
Chris Moulton is currently a Master’s in Public Policy candidate at UCLA and plans to graduate in 2011.  He earned a Bachelor of Arts at UC Berkeley in both Philosophy and Political Science.  Before moving to Los Angeles to earn is graduate degree, Chris worked in several non-profits in San Francisco dealing with public interest law and legal assistance to low-income Californians.  His interests include labor, non-profit management, and the intersection of policy and the law.   In his free time, Chris likes bike touring, basketball, and exploring LA cafes.

Jessie Wu
Jessie is an MPP candidate at University of California, Los Angeles. She has a Bachelor Degree in Economics from Sun Yat-Sen University in mainland China.  In addition to working as a research intern at Data Center, Jessie has also worked as research assistants both for government projects and think tanks. Jessie has interests in international development.  She sees her work at Data Center as a way to leverage her analytical skills in helping under-represented groups.  Jessie loves traveling and getting together with her friends in her spare time.

Nicholas G. Cragoe
Nick received his BA in Sociology from Beloit College in 2008, and immediately following graduation, he promptly got married and moved to California. After working for a year as an Administrative Assistant to a medical office in Sacramento, Nick moved to Hayward, and is currently enrolled in the MA program at CSU East Bay, where he is writing his thesis on institutional engagement in the university community. In addition to providing research support to the Datacenter team, Nick is also the Research Director for a small consulting firm, Peregrine Research Group, and is doggedly nipping at the heels of a career in university teaching. He is a social justice fiend, Ultimate Frisbee enthusiast, avid reader, sometime artist, incurable know-it-all, and a geek. Nick lives in Hayward with his wife and two cats.

Rebecca Godefroy
Rebecca will be graduating in December from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo with a Bachelors in political science and an emphasis in statistics, after which she hopes to relocate to the bay area. In addition to her work at DataCenter, this summer she is also working on receiving certification in SAS, a statistical software program, and working on her senior project, a meta-analysis of studies that investigate prison education’s effect on recidivism. When not engaged in academic pursuits, she enjoys reading, traveling, and visiting with friends.

The DataCenter is blessed to have served the social justice Movement for over three decades. Some highlights from our past include:

1977
DataCenter—an activist library and publication center—is founded in affiliation with the North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA) by Jon Frappier, Fred Goff, Loretta & Harry Strharsky and 40 dedicated volunteers.

1979
Establish Corporate Profile Project for clients such as United Nations Centre on Transnational Corporations & customized research service for immigration attorneys representing Central Americans seeking political asylum.

1980
Publish press profiles, The Reagan File, on Ronald Reagan and his policies on labor, El Salvador, foreign policy, and military policy in Asia.

1981
New Right Project tracks the rise of neo-conservatism; Launch Right-to-know Project in response to censorship & growing restrictions on access to information; Monitor plant closures and layoffs; Publish press profile Toxic Nightmare for free distribution to leading environmental organizations

1983
Expand Search Service to include corporate accountability research to support community, labor, and corporate campaigns and political asylees from all over the world.

1984
Establish Third World Resources quarterly newsletter and specialized resource directories series.

1987
Launch Pro Bono Fund to subsidize services to low-budget social justice organizations.

1988
Search Service goes online.

1991
Launch the Cuba Project/Conexiones to respond to information needs of institutions in Cuba & facilitates information exchange between U.S. and Cuban colleagues for the next ten years; Publish three volumes of press on the First Gulf War.

1993
Launch Freedom of Expression Project & CultureWatch newsletter monitoring the culture wars waged by the Religious Right until 2000.

1994
Conduct first workshop on Research Methods for Community Activists; Partner with Communities for a Better Environment to provide research & training for grassroots toxics activists.

1997
Celebrate our 20th Anniversary with a gala celebration honoring Asian Immigrant Women Advocates, Communities for a Better Environment, The International Campaign to Ban Landmines, Progressive Asset Management, Public Media Center, United Farm Workers, & Women’s Educational Media.

1998
Launch Capacity Building Campaign to underwrite new offices and computers for all staff; Implement affirmative action policy to hire organizers from communities of color.

1999
Develop community research training program; Extensive campaign research for the anti-California Proposition 21 Campaign with a coalition of Bay Area groups.

2000
Information Services Latin America (ISLA), a DataCenter project monitoring U.S. press reporting on Latin America, becomes independent on its 30th anniversary; Create our Youth Strategy Project to support the upsurge in youth organizing nationwide. Incorporate popular education methodology in our trainings.

2001
Author the report Moving Stronger: Needs of the criminal justice reform movement based on nationwide surveys & interviews & establish our Criminal Justice Project; Launch Endowment campaign for organizational sustainability

2002
Celebrate our 25th Anniversary with a gala celebration honoring Youth United for Community Action, Southwest Organizing Project, and Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and Youth Force Coalition for their Books Not Bars campaign; recognize Fred Goff and Leon Sompolinsky for their years of service to the DataCenter.

2003
Commence Strategic Planning prioritizing Deepening Partnerships with Social Justice groups, Diversifying Our Income & Implementing Anti-Oppression Organizational Culture; Staff is majority people of color for the first time in the organization’s history; Incorporate Participatory research methodology and Decolonizing Research analysis in program work; Diversify Board of Directors.

2006
Launch Shared Leadership model with the assistance of Patricia St. Onge. Support Services, Program & Capacity Building committees lead the organizational work & a representative from each committee serves on Coordinating Council; Mission, Vision & Values finalized

2007
Celebrate 30 years of capacity-building for the Movement and honor All of Us or None, Domestic Workers United, and Mary Anna Colwell; Year 2 Shared Leadership model; Launch Research Justice framework; Launch $2 million sustainability goal for the Endowment

2008
Plan for 30 more years!

DataCenter is committed to reflecting our social justice values in all of our organizational practices.  In particular, we’ve been engaged in defining, implementing and sustaining concrete practices to dismantle systems of oppression and increase our accountability to communities on the ground.  In order to tackle challenges and dysfunction endemic to social justice-minded non-profits, over the last year we have been developing long-term sustainable leadership—in particular by people of color and working class people—by sharing it across the organization.  By building on transformative work in the movement, knowledge from people of color communities, and on our own thirty year organizational history of participatory decision-making, organizational culture work and anti-oppression work, we’ve successfully piloted and are launching the Shared Leadership organizational structure.  We believe there can be a healthy balance between organizational and individual well-being and social change work.  We believe that leadership of the organization does not belong exclusively to an executive director or the board.  Leadership is the work of every person.  We believe Shared Leadership works!
>>>Frequently Asked Questions about the Shared Leadership Model (pdf)

The Latest Updates

>>Reflections On Shared Leadership for NonProfit Day 2010 08.19.2010
When it comes to the topic of shared leadership, DataCenter had typically responded to small- to mid-size non-profit organizations eager to learn about our experiences in trying to promote a sustainable organizational culture of collaboration over competition, dialog over debate, and “power-with,” over “power-over.”  In most cases, callers had observed a fair amount of unhealthy, challenging power dynamics play out in the organization, and felt the urgency to ‘really do something about it this time.’

>>GEO 2010 National Conference: Insights on Collective Leadership 04.26.2010
As grantmakers continue to explore ways of increasing the effectiveness and impact of nonprofits, we need to think differently about leadership and investments in individuals. There is a growing recognition that to achieve large scale change, we need to unleash collective leadership . …

>>Leadership Learning Community’s Case Study about the DataCenter 02.26.2010
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. .. .