What have you been working on in the last month?

I have continued to work with various members of the legislature on a funding bill that will help the community, and the hope is that the bill will get some support in the Legislative session. Every week there is a new challenge in moving the bill forward. Being part of that has helped me better understand the legislative process. This will be helpful long-term as I think. about the policy changes that need to be made to advance the health and wellbeing of the Black community. I helped draft the bills at the legislative to help the African Immigrant youth and the BIPOC emerging farmers. Bills. I have been able to arrange meetings with the Governor’s staff to discuss about the bills. I’ve been watching how people with differing views on a divisive topic interact with each other. I’m hoping to get better sense of what helps form compromise and agreement rather than inciting more. controversy and anger. I continue to be engaged in some of the community meetings related to the community violence intervention with families. I have developed some important relationships that should be of continued benefit now and in the future. I have continued meeting with my coach and my mentors.
I have continued to meet with my mentors and have been discussing leadership and how to balance personal.

What have you learned?

The self-care learning continues every month. I’m learning that leadership is something that must be continually nurtured and practiced. It is built on ideas and vision but can only be realized through actions. I’m learning that I must continually push myself to stay engaged and not get discouraged and back away when things don’t go well. I continue to learn that finding a balance between professional, personal, and family issues is just as important as learning leadership skills. Without a proper balance, leadership cannot be sustained. I continue to get involved in individual cultural domestic and sexual violence issues. I’m leaning that I need to be able to effectively refer these individuals to other where there are ongoing and resourced services. It’s part of my learning to say “no” when that needs to be the response. on gaining the leadership skills necessary to do an even better job in the future. I’m thinking about the relationships that I should be building over the next two years of my Fellowship that will become part of my on-going leadership and support network.

How are you building practices to sustain your leadership?

I learned to slow down and not hold myself to the standard that I must do everything asked and needed by the community. I’m learning that having a balanced life will help sustain my work long term. Without that balance, I can see the risk of burning out and getting discouraged. To build a better and more sustainable leadership style I must pay attention to self-care and develop a balance between my needs and the needs of others. With my ongoing work at the community, I am continually learning about the extent of the needs of African-Immigrant women. The things I learn during this Fellowship will eventually allow me to do an even better job of addressing those needs.