SEPTEMBER UPDATE from Rebecca KellyG

Hello EST,

At the beginning of every month, I’ll send out a newsletter offering updates about the equity evaluation and transition process. In this September email you will find information on:

Upcoming Surveys
Community Connectors
Feedback Google Form
Food for Thought

1. Upcoming Surveys

In order for EST’s work toward becoming more anti-racist and equitable to be effective and impactful, it must be informed by the community, all of you! The initial step in understanding the community perspective will be a survey, which will include questions about:

Leadership (understanding & assessment of current leadership structure & responsibilities)
Organizational Culture (experiences & assessment of EST's culture as it relates to race and identity)
Activism & Racial Justice (understanding & assessment of EST's current work and visions for the future)

We aim to distribute the initial survey to the EST community later this month.

The community's response to this survey will inform deeper engagements via focus groups and one-on-one conversations to help surface any existing challenges, ideas for change, as well as identify a collective vision for racial justice and equitable distribution of power. With an analysis of this quantitative and qualitative information, we will be in a better position to facilitate a community-centered process related to the AD/ED roles, Transition Team composition, and recommendations for organizational change.

2. Community Connectors

In order to do a thorough evaluation of EST operations and culture, my team and I will need access to various documents as well as support in reaching out to all of you to participate in the engagement activities I mentioned above.

Toward that end, we’ve solicited the help of a group of Community Connectors. It's important to emphasize that this is not a group that has more access or a stronger voice in offering suggestions for organizational change. The Community Connectors serve more of a practical function to facilitate effective execution of the work through connecting us with people and information.

The Community Connectors are:

Erin Cherry and Eddie Boroevich: Members Council
Aaron Hock and Susan Vitucci: Staff & Playwrights Unit
Shawn Randall and Bob Jaffe: Board
Graeme Gillis and Linsay Firman: Sloan Project & Young Blood

3. Feedback Google Form

Your perspectives and experiences are vital to this being a community-driven and equitable process. In addition to the various spaces for written and verbal feedback that I’ve shared, we will also have a google form in future newsletters. This google form will be a place for you to offer any additional feedback you may have forgotten to mention or new ideas/experiences since our last connection.

4. Food for Thought

Each newsletter will offer resources and/or concepts to deepen understanding of our work together. This month, I’m sharing a series of images that convey the distinctions between inequality, equality, equity and justice. These terms are often used interchangeably, but they have distinct meanings. The more we understand these distinctions, the more precisely we can understand challenges/conflicts and take action for nuanced, comprehensive, and long-lasting change.