Session 2
Collaboration for Long-Term Success
April 20, 2021
12:00–1:30 PM
Is it smart to go it alone?
In times of crisis, perhaps not. There are various ways organizations can support and complement one another. It may be something as simple as sharing space or staff. It could be the services offered by your highly specialized nonprofit would be more sustainable as a program under the umbrella of a larger organization. On the flip side, if your organization is experiencing growing pains, there may be a nonprofit out there already offering a program much like what you want to offer yourself. What kind of partnership might work to everyone’s advantage? Find out in Session 2, when Doug shares La Piana Consulting’s Collaborative Map.
Keynote: Doug Green
Senior Manager, La Piana Consulting
Doug will be our keynote for Session 1 and Session 2. Doug works with nonprofit leaders to help them do their good work more effectively. His consulting is informed by diverse experiences with nonprofits and organizations in times of great change. In the 1980s S&L crisis, he supported the first modern interstate banking mergers with financial analysis. He also led an AIDS services organization during the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and has been a consultant to nonprofits during the Great Recession and its uneven recovery. His past clients include Lotusland, the Santa Maria Valley Discovery Museum, the California Network of Family Strengthening Networks, Kids and Families Together, San Diego Natural History Museum, and Surfrider Foundation.
Panelists
Each of our panelists leads an organization that has undergone a significant change in organizational structure, from partnerships to mergers. Learn about the benefits and challenges resulting from their decision.
Jennifer Adams is the Executive Director of Stand Strong in San Luis Obispo. She will share insights into merging two important social services organizations in our community. Jennifer has spent the past 25 years working in the gender-based violence field. In 2004, she became Executive Director of the Sexual Assault Recovery and Prevention Center and later led the North County Women’s Shelter. In 2013, she oversaw the merger of these two agencies, thus creating RISE. She has been recognized for her work by the California State Legislature, the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office and Cuesta College. She is a Cal Poly graduate and loves living on the Central Coast, where she enjoys time with her family and friends, hiking, wine tasting, and dancing.
Elida Ledesma serves as the Executive Director of the Arts for Healing and Justice Network, responsible for overseeing all aspects of the organization including strategic visioning and financial sustainability. Elida will share how she helped form a 13-member interdisciplinary collaboration to provide arts programming for youth in the juvenile justice system. Prior to working with the Arts for Healing and Justice Network, she worked as a research assistant for the UCLA Department of Medicine on the RISE project, which examined adolescent risky behavior. Her peer-reviewed article, “Health Implications of Housing Assignments for Incarcerated Transgender Women” was recently published in the American Journal of Public Health.
Samuel Duarte is the Director of Little House by the Park, a nonprofit under the Family Service Agency where he advocates for families and individuals of all ages and diversities. With over 25 years’ experience in the nonprofit sector, Samuel collaborates with local institutions to develop educational, community engagement, and leadership opportunities for underrepresented community members to be at the forefront of decision making processes. Samuel will share the mechanics and benefits of his organization’s recent merger with the Family Service Agency of Santa Barbara County and the Santa Maria Youth and Valley Center.
Spokes Symposium 2021 is grateful for financial support from Union Bank and the City of San Luis Obispo.
And thank you to our in-kind promotional sponsors!
Note: The Spokes Board of Directors has made the difficult decision to dissolve Spokes later in 2021. In the meantime, we look forward to hosting the Symposium and offering other programs that advance our mission: Guiding nonprofits to achieve their goals through support and expert resources.
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