

It wasn’t until last year, during a staff meeting outside in our parking lot as we tried to find some sense of togetherness during the COVID pandemic, did I realize the toll that years of racial equity work was taking on my mental and physical health. I was exhausted. But it wasn’t the exhaustion induced by the pandemic alone. For the first time, I was physically feeling the toll of racial equity on my health, and it frightened me. I heard a speaker at a philanthropy conference describe that for BILPOC (Black, Indigenous, Latinx and People of Color) staff working in the space of racial equity, the work can be experienced as the equivalent of walking around with a low-grade fever.

What a time to be alive! With so much going on in the world, not only is this quite a time to be alive, but it is also quite a time to be a leader. As I’ve journeyed with leaders over the past two years as their coach and thought partner, I am reminded that so many leaders are having to learn different methods, dig deeper for resolve, and access a new level of resilience.

To Armstrong McGuire’s regular readers, hello and let me introduce myself! I’m Ann Powell—Founder and Director of Brand at Powell.

With a passion for using analytics to drive fundraising growth, Samantha Wright joins Armstrong McGuire as a Senior Advisor. Sam’s expertise and leadership in fundraising operations and nonprofit management will bring significant value to the Armstrong McGuire team and its strategic expansion of service to the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors.
Whether you’re ready to expand your organizational capacity and move forward with purpose, or just want to talk shop, we’d love to connect.
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