A White Affinity Group Series: "Letting Go Of Urgency & Individualism In Leadership"

“. . . part of the price of becoming American is to give up the collectivity of your ethnic background. To become American and to be American is to be individual.” — Marc Anthony Neal, Professor of African and African-American studies, Duke University,

Have you ever thought to yourself, “Sure, I want to collaborate, but by the time I figure out how to delegate all of this I could get the whole thing done myself!” As White people, our common norms around time and individualism combine to push us out of group work and into our siloes - even when we mean to be inclusive. This deprives our projects of the benefits of multiple perspectives, snubs our colleagues from collaborative cultures, and can leave us exhausted from trying to do it all ourselves.

In this introductory workshop, for white presenting participants only, we will look at the cultural norms that keep us in our siloes, as well as alternate norms common in other cultures. We’ll then embody them in simple practices to get out of our heads and into action. Join us as we expand our understandings of time and relationship, and come away with increased stamina for holding complex truths, tools to move us out of our analysis paralysis, and a keener sense of which cultural trait is most beneficial to enact in the moment. Note: this workshop was previously titled Intro To Building An Anti-Racist Culture: A White Affinity Workshop.

About our Facilitator:

Rie Algeo Gilsdorf (she/her/ella) is passionate about seeing and integrating the big picture to restore health, wholeness and equity to systems large and small. With a Master’s degrees in Biology and Modern Dance, Rie organically infuses the perspectives of the body - from the physiology of trauma to the subtlety of gesture -  into all her work. Whether she is breaking down the difficult truths of our common history so they are not overwhelming, providing a Cultural Ways of Being audit to build more inclusive culture, or leading Embodied Equity practice groups, Rie expertly facilitates development of critical consciousness across race, gender, sexuality and ability. She has been a teacher, administrator and designer of arts-integrated, student-centered K-12 schools and Reggio-inspired early childhood programs. Rie is active in the development of systems thinking and sensing tools through the U.School for Transformation, and is a national leader in the use of Social Presencing Theater in antiracism work. 

To learn more about our facilitator, Rie Gilsdorf, follow her on Instagram: @embodyequity and visit her website at www.embodyequity.com

To learn more about Racially Conscious Collaboration, follow us on Instagram: @RaciallyConsciousCollaboration and visit our website at www.RaciallyConsciousCollaboration.com to schedule a consultation