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Women of Color Leadership Circle

“Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women.” —Maya Angelou

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As part of an ongoing effort to uplift the leadership and voices of women of color leaders in Greater Boston, we are launching:
The Anna Faith Jones & Frieda Garcia Women of Color Leadership Circle.

The program is facilitated by Kelly Bates, President, and Aba Taylor, Racial Equity & Training Practice Lead of Interaction Institute for Social Change, two women of color leaders with a combined 45 years of experience in advocacy, civic engagement, education, and advancing social justice. This project, originally conceived by Natanja Craig, Andrea Madu, and Stephanie Guidry of the Boston Foundation, is inspired by two groundbreaking women of color leaders: Anna Faith Jones and Frieda Garcia. In the 1990s, they led the Boston Foundation as the CEO and Board Chair and were the first women of color to occupy those roles in our foundation’s history. The Women of Color Leadership Circle is inspired by the close partnership, vision, friendship, and legacy of these two incredible leaders. We stand on the shoulders of giants and these trailblazing women have paved the way for women of color within our sector.

 Program Information

The application deadline has passed.

For any questions, please email Talissa Lahaliyed, Associate, Programs

Download the Women of Color Leadership Circle flyer

Read Andrea Madu's posts on the WOCLC launch and announcing the first cohort

Meet the 2020 Women of Color Leadership Circle

Chastity Bowick
Chastity Bowick
Executive Director, Transgender Emergency Fund of Massachusetts
Karen Chen

Karen Chen
Executive Director, Chinese Progressive Association

Priscilla Flint Banks
Priscilla Flint-Banks
Co-Founder/Program Director, Black Economic Justice Institute
Bior Guigni
Bior Guigni
Executive Director, Boston Youth Wrestling
Charmane Higgins
Charmane Higgins
Executive Director, Trinity Boston Connects
Beth Huang
Beth Huang
Director, Massachusetts Voter Table
Heather Jenkins
Heather Jenkins
Chief of Staff & Equity, uAspire
Juana Matias
Juana Matias
Chief Operating Officer, MassINC
Myriam Michel
Myriam Michel
Executive Director, Healthy Waltham
Camila Rojas Pagan
Camila Rojas Pagan
Executive Director, Beat the Odds
Ruth Rollins
Ruth Rollins
Founder/Executive Director, We Are Better Together: The Warren Daniel Hairston Project
Bailey Siber
Bailey Siber
Executive Lead, Strategic Partners, GCODE
Olga Tacure
Olga Tacure
Executive Director, Women Encouraging Empowerment
Maicharia Weir Lytle
Maicharia Weir Lytle
President and CEO, United South End Settlements
Yoyo Yau
Yoyo Yau
Director of Programs, Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center

About the Program

The WOC Leadership Circle is a six-month cohort program that aims to support women of color leaders to advance their professional development and leadership goals. Through the program, 15 women of color leaders participate in six monthly facilitated sessions focused around topics of interest and areas of professional development and leadership. The program aims to honor the leadership, strength, and resilience of women of color who do incredible work within their communities and provide them with a cherished space to share challenges and opportunities.

Program Goals:

The Women of Color Leadership Circle aims to:

  • Build networks, deepen connections, nurture leaders and communities, and foster collaboration
  • Provide professional development support that is responsive to the experiences of women of color leaders in the nonprofit sector
  • Raise visibility of women of color leaders who are often overlooked
  • Support women of color leaders to further develop their leadership and professional goals
  • Create a safe space for fellowship, belonging, learning, and self-care

Program Offerings:

  • Six monthly day-long sessions for women of color leaders to develop professionally, unleash their potential, learn new skills and approaches through peer learning, and build strong relationships with one another. Sessions will be customized to shared topics of leaders’ interest.
  • Nine hours of executive coaching for each participant by women of color coaches.

Participant Criteria:

  • Must identify as a woman* of color in a leadership position** at a nonprofit organization, coalition or network within Greater Boston.
  • Priority will be given to women of color leaders from organizations with budgets below $5 million; Priority will also be given to women of color leaders in organizations without a professional development budget.
  • Must be able to attend all six day-long sessions.

*We are committed to supporting communities and individuals historically excluded from institutional philanthropy – including, but not limited to LGBTQIA people, immigrants and refugees, and people with disabilities. As such, we strongly encourage applications from individuals who identify with these groups and/or other marginalized communities.

**We define “leadership position” as a role where an individual has decision-making power to establish and influence organizational strategy, vision, and direction, and manages staff/volunteers, budget in collaboration with a governance body.

Program Curriculum

In this session, participants have an opportunity to form deep bonds of connection through storytelling and to create agreements and principles for developing and transforming their relationships through trust-building and a heart-centered mindset. They share their leadership journeys and generate goals for their participation in the cohort with the support of guided meditation and other inner awareness practices.

In this session, participants learn practical wisdom for leadership through an equity and transformational lens, using peer sharing and cases to support the evolution of their approaches to leadership.

In this session, participants explore how to create a regenerative work environment that is supportive of their leadership and gifts. They learn how to set healthy boundaries in their work and negotiate terms that support their leadership in areas such as salary, time off, benefits, and other needs.

Participants learn to prioritize their spiritual, mental, physical, and emotional health and growth. They are introduced to various forms of inner awareness, self-care, and healing practices to create joy, peace, resiliency, and connection in their lives. 

Participants learn ways to find and honor their true identity and strengths as women, to transform their shame into power, and to firmly own their unique experiences and narrative unapologetically.

In this last session, participants each share their leadership visions going forward and support and celebrate their journey in the cohort together.


We envision the Women of Color Leadership Circle as a safe space for belonging, fellowship, learning, unlearning, self-care, and restoration, where participants can share their challenges and frustrations and learn and grow from each other’s experiences. While the experiences of women of color differ across race, class, and gender identity, we believe leaders within the cohort can support each other to navigate the individual and collective challenges they may face. Through this program, we also hope to develop more effective ways to support women of color leaders within the nonprofit sector.

The program was designed by a team of brilliant women of color leaders who enjoy laughing, dancing, singing, and dreaming big: Andrea Madu, Kelly Bates, Aba Taylor, Talissa Lahaliyed, Fernanda Oliveira Costa, Evelyn Barahona, Trina Jackson, Suzanne Lee, Sheena Collier, Renata Teodoro, and Karla Nicholson. Sessions are facilitated by Aba Taylor and Kelly Bates from Interaction Institute for Social Change (IISC) and include both individual and team work, peer knowledge sharing, skills-building, and opportunities for joy and self-care. The program is funded by the Boston Foundation and the Angell Foundation.