Rebecca KellyG, photo by Liz Maney
Hello EST Community,
While I’ve had the opportunity to meet many of you, I wanted to re-introduce myself. My name is Rebecca KellyG and I am an arts, equity, and justice consultant/facilitator, interdisciplinary artist, and former civil rights attorney. I’ve had the great privilege of working with EST since 2019 on anti-bias work and community building. Now, as EST begins to open a new and exciting chapter, I am here to support in the transition to becoming a more anti-racist and equitable organization through assessing programs, shifting power, and centering the perspectives/desires of the community, particularly BIPOC voices. I will also be joined by two members of my team to support this process: Yejin Lee and Dani Lencioni. We are all looking forward to facilitating this community-driven work!
Additionally, I want to give you a brief overview of what to expect in the coming months. From a big picture standpoint, our process will contain 2 phases:
Phase 1 - The first phase will take place over the next 3-4 months. It consists of an information gathering and assessment process where my team and I will be reaching out the whole EST community seeking input on your experiences, perspectives, and visions for EST, so stay tuned to hear from us!
Specifically, Phase 1 will consist of:
Gathering information through a combination of surveys, 1:1 interviews and group work to gain feedback on the EST culture regarding bias and identity, your ideas for restructuring, and the role and shape of the Artistic and Executive Director positions.
Analysis of the existing pathways to leadership roles at EST.
Examining EST program alignment with its mission and stated anti-racist goals.
Conducting a power analysis for both formal and informal, past and present EST cohorts/programs, including but not limited to, Artist Members, EST/Youngblood, EST/Sloan Project, and Playwrights Unit to determine the varying level of access to autonomous decision making, funds, and space.
Creating a recommendation for an EST hiring Transition Team that is comprised of a cross-section of the EST community.
At the end of Phase 1, we will share a summary of the information we’ve received along with recommendations for change in line with EST’s stated vision, community will, and movement for justice in theater at large.
Phase 2 - Based on findings from Phase 1, we will work with the newly formed Transition Team to create an equitable hiring plan, offer anti-bias trainings to the Team related to hiring, as well as suggestions for an EST Community Agreement based on the action steps taken as a result of our work in Phase 1 to be refined by the community. We will also provide a framework for employing equitable hiring and programming rooted in principles of anti-racism/oppression and justice as EST moves forward.
As we engage in this exciting process, I will continue to provide periodic updates on our work. Lastly, I want to reiterate that this process will be dictated heavily by EST community-input, and I look forward to working with all of you!
Rebecca KellyG