I was recently invited to answer the following questions regarding what I would do to if I were given the chance to lead a nonprofit for empowering latinx women:
1. What is your vision for the future?
My vision for the future begins with two keystones, has a unifying middle, and ends with a promise:
the first keystone is Puerto Rican women (women living on the archipelago, those from the recent diaspora, the descendants of the original 1950's diaspora, and those of Puerto Rican descent that are well-established abroad)
The second keystone is my deep belief that women (and their way of relating to the world) are essential to overcoming the multiple existential threats humanity faces (Climate Change, Social Injustice, a toxic economy).
A middle that we will form together, male and female, tribe and nation, community by community, by discovering each other and our allies, by deploying our power to convene, to engage, to educate, to lobby, to fund, and to act - in order to create a holistic path forward which finds a new equilibrium between people, planet and profit - in a harsher, but a much more socially united, future.
The promise is creating a group of women who accept the inescapable reality that things need to change, that it's up to us to change them, and that we must accept and adapt to this reality as fast as possible. We face challenges of Gordian intractability which do not allow easy answers or solutions, but that must be fixed with compassion and understanding.
Puerto Rican women grew up with the "Machismo" culture of our forefathers, and have tempered that experience by learning empathy, strategy, gratitude, and humility. We are intimately acquainted with the 'workarounds' needed to (re)construct, feed, and maintain a healthy habitat for our children and our elders (and know how to do that at the personal, family, community, and national levels).
We have survived a shattered economy while being battered by natural (hurricanes, earthquakes) and unnatural (political, financial) phenomena for over 15 years, and have come out stronger. We are smart, pragmatic, socially accepting, big-hearted, focused, and resilient women - actively interested in creating an inclusive, transparent, and fair economy - that demands that its members participate in the benefits, consequences, and responsibilities imposed by this earth's ecosystem and our societal needs.
As females, we can recognize and avoid the violence of the "Master of the Universe" mindset, which is destroying the planet in the name of "progress" and "development." Instead of ruling by force or coercion, we rule by consensus and accommodation, by what is best for all of us, using only what we need, being mindful, sharing with each other, caring for and respecting each other, grounded in our community, and standing in solidarity with each other.
And this is our moment. The women that came before us are 'willing' us to rise and finish what they started; the women that come after us are demanding that we rise, so they have a chance to teach their children to rise as well. This is our time to act. And the Foundation is perfectly positioned to be the catalyst we need most to come into being: empowering women, choosing guiding values that embody a timeless female ethos (supporting each other, sharing knowledge, creating proactive philanthropy, creating a space for change and inclusion, and standing together through everything), which are the best antidotes to the toxic world we live in.
I see my organization as an integrating force that brings together women and allies from all sectors - to work together to replace the noxious and old, and create the truly inclusive and new. To broaden humanity's horizon, from mere wealth to health and wellness; from accumulating money to accumulating happiness; from consuming excess to consuming 'just enough,' and leaving enough for other species to thrive; from exclusion to inclusion; from violence to love; from self-interest and greed to community prosperity, from limitless growth to disciplined degrowth, from being blind to seeing clearly, and acting boldly. I see the organization bringing the women of Puerto Rico together, of all colors and heritages, of all incomes and education, of all ages and self-definitions, and helping them build a workable future, one building block at a time. We can show the world the power we have, and help other women and other nations, achieve their own power.
The era of rapaciousness is over. We must "go back to nature," and start the human experiment again, this time letting the forces mother nature has designed to control and shape us as human animals guide us individually and as a society; we must make use of all we have learned in the last ten thousand years, and walk the line between respect and need without destroying the web of life.
2. What goals will define your leadership during the next 5 years if you were to run a nonprofit?
Back of the House: Establish the in-house work team, research potential paths forward, begin fundraising outreach, recruit volunteers and interns
Front of the House: present and educate the public on our development plan, invite communities to join, form an alliance with other NGO's that share our goals
Bring a Funding Specialist, an Entrepreneurship Specialist, a Communications Specialist, and a Volunteer Coordinator onboard to solidify relationships with sponsors, partners, government agencies, and volunteers, communicate our vision, create synergies, establish budgets, and develop commitments from available sources of funds and new clients. One of these women will become the Director after me.
Raise $1.5 million ($500,000/yr for salaries, benefits, travel expenses, and overhead costs, and a seed fund of $1,000,000 for projects and grants for the Launch Year - the year we reach our financial goals, expected to be at the end of year 2 of my directorship)
Reach out to my amazing network of female environmental and business stars for support, suggestions, and shared project potential
Plan the first five years after launch together with allies, partners, and sponsors (as an iterative, organic process)
Work with and train a visionary young successor (in her 30's or 40's) from our team, become a mentor, retire from active administration, sit on the Board of Directors of the Foundation
Launch the first round of Foundation grants, fundraising events, community outreach projects during our Launch Year, and begin offering consulting services for pay to supplement our fundraising (year three of my directorship)
Raise $3,000,000 for the second year after launch and reach $200,000 in sales (year four of my directorship)
Raise $5,000,000 for the third year after launch, and reach $500,000 in sales (year five and last of my directorship)
Raise $6,000,000 for the fourth year after launch, and reach $1,000,000 in sales (first year of the new director's reign)
3. What strategies will you use to meet those goals?
I will use my administrative experience to set up the organization correctly from the start (funding, team, goals)
I will use my personality and smarts to bring onboard amazing women to work with me to make the Foundation and its vision/goals a reality
I will use my management experience to make my work team happy, efficient, focused, disciplined, and agile
I will use my contacts to build relationships with the business sector and government agencies here and in the US
I will use my activism contacts to consolidate relationships in the environmental, feminist, social rights, environmental rights, and LGBTQ communities
I will use my communication and social media skills, working with our Communications Specialist, to set out the vision and goals of the Foundation
I will take time to mentor and work with the next Director
I will bring my knowledge of history, economics, philosophy, ethics, sociology, humanities, art, and climate change to share a holistic vision of the approaching future so we can all be aware of what is coming and how to prepare for it.
I will use my skills and experience in photography and video production to make the visual case for conscientious living
I will use my social media presence to disseminate our vision and accomplishments
I will create affordable MOOC's on Social justice, Climate Change Survival Strategies, Social and Solidarity Economy, Environmental justice, Degrowth, Transition Towns, Building an Ecovillage or an Eco-Community, Urban Agriculture, from Industrial Agriculture to Permaculture
I will create, with leading female lawyers and legislators, a transversal public policy on climate change; an appointment to government cabinet positions of people committed to climate justice; update laws to mitigate this crisis; adopt Coastal Conservations Laws; ban single-use plastics from entering the island; set up recycling and landfill management departments; set up watchdog groups to supervise contracts to avoid conflicts with environmental goals; transition to a sustainable economy; generate green jobs and green entrepreneurship that restore natural assets; create a land-use plan according to the climate crisis; generate more citizen participation; commit to renewable energy, the protection of coasts, rivers, and estuarine systems, allow only organic and permaculture agriculture, and stopping deforestation while adding tree planting programs.
