HERstory In The Making

Behind the Curtain of Black and WOC Leadership and the Sacrifices of Building Power

HERstory In The Making is a panel series that takes a deeper dive into the sacrifices and challenges that Black and WOC endure when fighting for their communities and what they experience as leaders behind the scenes. Women’s History Month is about celebrating the contributions of womxn and we want to take a more intimate look at the lives of womxn in leadership and how we can support their journeys and honor their stories as they make history. HERstory In The Making panel series is open to all womxn leaders. In the series, we will address Black and WOC leadership in the nonprofit sector, movement spaces, and education. Discussions will touch upon equity, opportunity, racism, microaggressions, the importance of resources, and the tokenization of Black and WOC presence and experiences. Our panelists will come from various organizations across the US and professional sectors.

March 25, 2021, at 6 pm

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Join Deborah Harris with co-moderator LaSaia Wade as they delve into the highs and lows of building power within the movement with Angela Lang, Amisha Patel, and Jennifer Wells. We will discuss stories with a panel of women leaders of growth, advancement, challenges they face, how they see the movement progressing, and what it will take to build stronger, equitable, and sustainable spaces for Black and WOC leadership to develop.

LaSaia Wade, Executive Director of Brave Space Alliance

Angela Lang, Executive Director of BLOC

Amisha Patel, Executive Director of Grassroots Collective

Jennifer Wells, Senior National Organizer, Reinvestment Team

March 18, 2021

Join moderator Deborah Harris as she delves into the highs and lows of building power within the movement with Candis Castillo, Ciera Bates-Chamberlain, Michelle Morales, and Pat Tucker. We will discuss stories with a panel of women leaders of growth, advancement, challenges they face, how they see the movement progressing, and what it will take to build stronger, equitable, and sustainable spaces for Black and WOC leadership to develop.

Candis Castillo, 20th ward Chief of Staff/Radio Personality/Political Hack

Ciera Bates-Chamberlain, Executive Director Live Free Chicago

Michelle Morales, President of the Woods Fund Chicago

Pat Tucker, Senior Program Manager at AHP

March 11, 2021

Join moderator Deborah Harris as she delves into the highs and lows of building power within the movement with Juliet De Jesus Alejandre, Claudette Baker, and Lesley Martinez. We will discuss stories with a panel of women leaders of growth, advancement, challenges they face, how they see the movement progressing, and what it will take to build stronger, equitable, and sustainable spaces for Black and WOC leadership to develop.

Juliet De Jesus Alejandre, Executive Director of Logan Square Neighborhood Association (LSNA)

Claudette Baker, President of Claudette G. Baker & Associates, Inc.

Lesley Martinez, Chief Executive Officer at DeJan Design

Deborah Y. Harris

Deborah Harris is a South Side Chicago native community organizer, public speaker, and media commentator. She is particularly interested and engaged in bridging communities across intersectional identities with faith being at the center. She has led and supported campaigns in DC and Las Vegas that resulted in greater empathy and unity for so many. Deborah is passionate about helping people see, hear, and understand each other so we can recognize our shared objectives and achieve them together. She is a devout Christian that works every day to bridge grace and healing into the front lines of our generation’s social justice revolution. Deborah has worked in the non-profit sector for thirteen years and her journey with social justice organizing began with an issue campaign organization called Make It Work. From there she joined Women’s March from November 2016 to January 2019. During that time, Deborah also began volunteering time and organizing skills to Center for Popular Democracy beginning June of 2018. Deborah understands the importance of people realizing their power to heal, right wrongs, and change the course of history so we can finally liberate the lives of the most marginalized and oppressed. Deborah’s goal is to continue to reshape the foundations of this country and global constructs that place money, white supremacy, bias, classism, and racism above the heart and the will of the people.