We are pleased to announce the appointment of Caitlin Brune as our next senior fellow. Caitlin is an NCG member and former CEO of the NCG member, Pajaro Valley Community Health Trust. She begins her 18-month post in January 2020.
Caitlin will focus on personal and professional approaches to achieve social justice and equity in philanthropy through self-awareness and transformation. Caitlin posits that the personal journey towards equity and justice is as important as the organizational journey, focusing on organizational practices that either encourage – or constrain – individuals to bring the entirety of themselves to their work.
Speaking to her vision for the fellowship, Caitlin says, “I believe the key question we must ask ourselves is who do we wish to be? How do we want to hold and conduct ourselves in this time of precariousness and possibility? As philanthropic professionals inherently complicit in the use of power and privilege to direct resources, it is our responsibility to cultivate keen self-awareness of the ways in which we dismantle, transform, or perpetuate ways of being that cause harm and maintain separation. To be more than just individual change agents, we must bring greater clarity, humility, love, healing and unity to our work in the world.”
“The potential of this work is transformative – for individuals, for organizations, and for our community more broadly. This aligns deeply with our commitment to foster leadership, culture, and community in our work, allowing and encouraging team members to thrive and grow,” says Ellen LaPointe, President and CEO of Northern California Grantmakers.
“With an 18-month timeframe for Caitlin we can build a body of work to demonstrate the power of self-awareness in equity and inclusion. Her work also has the potential to connect with people in our community who are interested in transformative leadership development and inner work, as well as arts and culture as an expression of equity, inclusion, and movement building,” she concluded.
To learn more about NCG’s Senior Fellowship and be connected with Caitlin contact Kate Seely, Director of Leadership, Culture, and Community at NCG.