We are so excited to welcome Omar Leal to our Nexus team! Omar joins us as a Leadership Intern, where he’ll be working with the Boards and Commissions Leadership Institute for the summer of 2018.
Omar graduated in 2015 with his Bachelor’s in Anthropology and International Studies from Macalester College, and has since collaborated with various nonprofits engaging with primarily Latinx youth and families.
Please help us welcome him to the Nexus family!
Nexus Community Partners seeks a full time Director of Strategic Development (40 hours a week, Monday-Friday), to join a dynamic staff of thoughtful, equity-driven individuals who are deeply committed to the organization’s values.
Nexus Community Partners is a community-building intermediary whose mission is to “build more engaged and powerful communities of 
color by supporting community-building initiatives and foster social and human capital.” Nexus addresses the deep isolation within communities of color and Indigenous communities caused by personal, institutional and structural racism by promoting an equity centered engagement model; supporting the development of leaders; democratizing wealth; and by reclaiming culture as an asset.
We are looking for a creative and strategic individual who can grow with the position and the organization. The Director of Strategic Development will be an integral part of Nexus’ leadership team and work in partnership with the staff and the Board to meet annual and long-range strategic development goals. This position will work to ensure the organization has the resources it needs to remain strong, impactful and sustainable through programmatic and organizational growth. This position will work closely with and report directly to the President and CEO.
Nexus’ Boards and Commissions Leadership Institute (BCLI) is Now Taking Applications for the 2018-2019 Cohort!
Nominations Packets due Friday, June 15th, 2018
Nexus Community Partners is proud to announce that we are now seeking nominations for our sixth cohort for the Boards and Commissions Leadership Institute.
The BCLI is a 7-month cohort leadership program that supports, trains and helps places people of color and other underrepresented community members on city and county publicly appointed boards and commissions that influence and impact equity in the Twin Cities Metro Area in economic development, health, housing, transit and workforce development.
In the past five years, The Twin Cities BCLI has trained 69 alumni, half of which have gone on to serve on boards and commissions at all levels of the state (local, regional, and state). We are excited to be recruiting a new cohort of leaders dedicated to equity work in the region and hope you will help us spread the word to friends and networks who want to be a part of a network of leaders on boards and commissions! We are pleased to add two new geographies to our nominations packet this year: welcome aboard, Roseville and Woodbury!
Learn more about the Nominations Packet (Application) Here
Moving BEYOND A SEAT at the table TO A VOTE in the decision-making process.
“We need to be running our own folks for seats by building power that pursues true democracy… We need to be developing leaders to be bold at those decision-making tables and to never leave their community behind. This is how we tell our own story. This is a story that tells everybody they can belong, and this is how we build our movement.” – Kandace Montgomery, BCLI ’14
Please join us for the following Info Sessions to learn more about the nominations process and the program!
Info Session One
Brooklyn Park
Thursday, May 10, 2018
5:30 PM – 7:00 PM
Brookdale Library, Creekside Room
2156, 6125 Shingle Creek Pkwy
Brooklyn Center, MN 55430
Info Session Two
Saint Paul
Wednesday, May 23, 2018
5:30 PM – 7:00 PM
Rondo Library, Flex Room
461 Dale Street North
St. Paul, MN 55104
Info Session Three
Roseville
Thursday, May 31, 2018
5-6:30 PM
Ramsey County Library – Roseville, Community Room
2180 Hamline Avenue N.
Roseville, MN 55113
Info Session Four
Minneapolis
Wednesday, June 5, 2018
5:30 PM – 7:00 PM
North Regional Library, South Half Room
1315 Lowry Ave N
Minneapolis, MN 55411
Click here for more information about BCLI, or contact BCLI program staff:
Terri Thao
Program Director
tthao@nexuscp.org
Chai Lee
Program Coordinator
clee@nexuscp.org
Nexus would like to send a shout out and very warm welcome to our newest team member, Elly Fireside-Ostergaard! Elly joined Nexus this month as an administrative specialist, and brings with her a wealth of experience in nonprofits and racial and economic equity.
We’re so excited to have Elly here at Nexus! Please help us welcome her by giving her a high-five if you see her in community in the coming weeks 🙂
Learn more about Elly here.
Nexus is seeking a full-time Administrative Specialist to be an integral part of Nexus’ administrative team. The Administrative Specialist will take the lead in coordinating and supporting programs such as the Community Engagement Institute, Community Wealth Building programming, the North Star Black Cooperative Fellowship, the Boards and Commissions Leadership Institute, as well as supporting Nexus’ internal office management.
For information about the position and instructions for applying, please visit: http://www.minnesotanonprofits.org/job-details?id=145429
Nexus is proud and excited to share that three of our community partners are receiving the 2017 Bush Prize for Community Innovation!
Congratulations to Appetite for Change, the Hmong American Farmers Association and the Latino Economic Development Center for the well-deserved recognition and added capacity for all your amazing work in community!
“Now in its fifth year, the Bush Prize celebrates organizations that are extraordinary not only in what they do but in how they do it. As models of true problem solving, they work inclusively, in partnership with others, to make their communities better for all.
“’The Bush Prize recognizes organizations that are creative, fierce and dogged in the way they work and in what they accomplish,” said Bush President Jennifer Ford Reedy. “As models for problem solving, they consistently pick a path of innovation that drives profound results for their communities.’”
Boards and Commissions Leadership Institute (BCLI) Program Director Terri Thao and BCLI Alumna Sonya Lewis are hitting the road to help the State of MN promote the state boards and commissions!
Come to an upcoming information session in your region between now and December 14th to learn more about how you can connect, engage and participate in the policy decisions that impact YOU by serving on a state board, commission or task force!
Staff from the MN Department of Human Rights and Governor’s Office will be present too! Click on the following link to take you to the main page where you can register as well. https://mn.gov/mdhr/news-community/diversity-inclusion/events.jsp
We are excited to have Chalonne join the Nexus family! She joined Nexus in July 2017 as the Program Coordinator of the Evaluation Fellows Program (EFP), which is part of the Community Engagement Institute in partnership with the Minnesota Evaluation Studies Institute at the University of MN. The EFP is designed for community engagement practitioners, evaluators, and funders to collaboratively explore the overlap of community engagement and program evaluation. Chalonne works closely with the EFP Advisory Group, the director of Nexus’s Community Engagement Institute, and the director of the Minnesota Evaluation Studies Institute to develop and support programming and serve as a key resource for Fellows in the program. Please help us welcome Chalonne!
On Thursday, November 12, 2015, the BCLI 2015 Cohort kicked off with their very first Issue Series. At the helms were the wonderful Diane Tran and Kristell Caballero Saucedo, both of LOCUS (of MN Rising). The topic of this first Issue Series was Intersectionality, or the critical theory of institutional oppression of individuals across all demarcations of their identities (gender, race, sex, class, etc.). The facilitators did a great job directing small group discussions after the “Who are you?” ice breaker. Ground rules were set for community expectations, and everyone seemed to enjoy engaging in the types of conversations they would not otherwise have at home or work, thanks to the safe space of this evening’s BCLI issue series. Thanks to Diane and Kristell for their leadership and insights. Below you will find some resources that the trainers shared at the Issue Series as well as some pictures.
Kyriarchy 101
http://everydayfeminism.com/2014/04/kyriarchy-101/
Kyryiarchy Diagram
http://oppressionmonitor.us/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Kyriarchy-Diagram.jpg
Key & Peele code switch sketch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzprLDmdRlc
About LOCUS
LOCUS Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/groups/locusmn/
“Boards and commissions are important bodies for impacting communities at the regional and local levels. They are instrumental in shaping key policy decisions, as well as designing and providing input on administration of city services. A unique partnership between the City of Minneapolis and Nexus Community Partners works to improve racial equity in board and commission membership, which in turn influences major policy decisions toward more equitable outcomes.
“The City of Minneapolis has over 50 volunteer-based boards, commissions and advisory committees, whose input and advice constitutes a major component of the City’s community engagement work. Approximately 600 volunteers serve on these boards and commissions.[1] As such, the City has seen board and commission service as an important leverage point for advancing racial equity. Currently, people of color represent 25 percent of the population, but only 16% of the membership of boards and commissions. It is projected that by 2040, people of color will be 40 percent of the population[2]. The City of Minneapolis recognizes that in order to be effective in their work and to truly represent the interests of all of the city residents, membership of the City’s boards and commissions must reflect the diversity of the community.” Read the full article here.
It’s been amazing two years here at Nexus Community Partners – and it is with a bittersweet and humble heart that I am announcing that I’ll be transitioning out of my role as program coordinator for the Boards and Commissions Leadership Institute by the end of August, 2015. I’ve accepted a new position with another nonprofit in the Twin Cities doing leadership development in the community that I’m excited to announce – soon!
I want to thank all of you who have been a part of this journey – from the fierce BCLI alumni, to the incredible partners I’ve gotten to work with – to the AMAZING staff at Nexus whom I will miss terribly, but will find every excuse to continue working with and dropping by to interrupt and distract… 🙂
And in the spirit of new journeys and chapters: Nexus is now seeking a Program Coordinator for the Boards and Commissions Leadership!
Please forward the above job description to your networks – and have them send their cover letter and resume to Felicia Ring by Friday, August 21, 2015 at 5pm.
Thank you again and again to everyone who has supported me, and who continues to push for a more equitable region – I greatly look forward to our continued work together in the future – albeit in a different capacity!
Sincerely,
Angie
Angie Brown
angelamariebrown0901@gmail.com
The BCLI is now targeting boards and commissions in Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Ramsey County, Saint Paul and Metropolitan Council committees. Click here to see all target seats.
Knowledge Foundations
Learn about equity issues and strategies in the areas of economic development, health, affordable housing, transit and workforce development.
Technical Skills
Learn necessary skills to be an advocate commissioner such as Robert’s Rules of Order and interpreting municipal budgets.
Political Skills
Fine-tune your art of politics with applied learning activities in areas such as creating allies and negotiation and persuasion.
Expand Networks
Build relationships with other equity advocates in the areas of labor, government, nonprofits and business.
All Nomination Packets are due Friday, June 26th by 12 midnight CST.
The fellowship runs from October 2015 – April 2016.
About the BCLI
The Boards and Commissions Leadership Institute (BCLI) is a 7-month leadership program that supports, trains and places people of color and other underrepresented community members on publicly appointed boards and commissions that influence and impact equity in economic development, health, housing, transit and workforce development.
Questions?
Contact one of the BCLI staff: Terri Thao, Program Director, at tthao@nexuscp.org; Angie Brown, Program Coordinator, at abrown@nexuscp.org.
