Governance for Social Impact Panel Discussion

The Governance for Social Impact panel discussion explores equity, relevance, and the need for new governance models at cultural institutions. 

Four cross-sector leaders and innovators will discuss the future of governance in non-profit and community-based cultural organizations as part of a day-long convening of trustees and directors from California museums, theatres, and performing arts groups.

The panelists are:

• Roberto Bedoya, cultural affairs manager for the City of Oakland, innovator, thought leader, and champion of art-based civic engagement projects and creative placemaking
• Judy Belk, president and CEO of The California Wellness Foundation, and a frequent writer and speaker on organizational ethics, race, and social change
• Cedric Brown, chief of community engagement at the Kapor Center for Social Impact, working to increase diverse representation in the high-tech sector.
• Jeff Chang, director of the Stanford Institute for Diversity in the Arts and author of numerous works on culture and race in the US, including a new collection of essays, We Gon' Be Alright: Notes on Race and Resegregation (Picador, September 2016).

The event is presented by The James Irvine Foundation’s New California Arts Fund. It was developed by leaders from California Shakespeare Theater, Oakland Museum of California, and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, with planning support from Socius Group. It will be moderated by Diedra Barber, lead facilitator at Scheier & Barber + Group.

The livestreamed panel discussion will kick off a day-long convening exploring the need for cultural institutions to reimagine the roles and operating practices of their governing boards. As arts organizations pivot to become more equitable, inclusive, and relevant, there is a growing sense of urgency—and opportunity—to consider governance strategies that advance these goals.

Governance for Social Impact was conceived to bring board members directly into the conversation about equity and relevance, and to explore how governing boards can and should be part of efforts to engage diverse communities. The event will address questions such as:

• Given the evolving role of the arts nonprofit within our communities, how will an effective board look and behave differently?
• How do we resolve our dependence on our boards as fundraisers as we ensure they represent our full communities?
• What new governance strategies have been tried—within the arts sector and beyond—and what lessons can we learn? Do we need to make modest changes or create a new governance model?
• How do we initiate and sustain new approaches to governance? What can we do today, and what do we need to prepare to do in the future? 

About The James Irvine Foundation’s New California Arts Fund
In California, 16 cultural institutions are part of a vanguard that is forging a new vision for the nonprofit arts sector. As part of The James Irvine Foundation’s New California Arts Fund, these organizations are working to make their programming more diverse and accessible, build new relationships with audiences and collaborators, diversify staff and grow new cultural competencies, develop new funding strategies, and more. Learn more here. 

About Socius Group
Governance for Social Impact was developed with facilitation and planning support from Socius Group, the consultancy engaged by The James Irvine Foundation to manage learning for their New California Arts Fund initiative. Over more than two decades of experience supporting funders in North America and Europe, the Socius team has developed a distinct philosophy about what it takes to create meaningful and lasting change. Through innovative approaches that build permanent capacity, foster results-driven collaboration, and elevate bold solutions to challenging problems, Socius helps funders and their grantees turn investments into impact. The firm has supported the New California Arts Fund since 2014, and their team has worked with many of the world’s largest funders, nonprofit membership associations, and collaborative initiatives. Learn more at sociusgroup.net.

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